Past Events

"The Arc Reactor ...yes, that's Howard's creation." Obadiah responded to the military's question, while Ivan looked away from Stark and glared at Obadiah.

Obadiah, seeing his gaze, said, "I know there's a man here who claims to be a victim, believing that Howard stole his father's work."

Obadiah leaned back in his chair, his voice tinged with nostalgia. "Anton Vanko, a scientist from the Soviet Union."

When the name "Soviet Union" was mentioned, the oldest Admiral in the room looked at Obadiah. A younger general seemed to want to stop Obadiah from continuing, but the Admiral glanced at his subordinates. In the end, no one spoke, and only Obadiah's voice echoed in the room.

"Anton was indeed a genius scientist. He was a very orthodox Soviet with exceptional talent in industry and mechanics, especially in theoretical knowledge."

"His collaboration with Howard was seamless... I have to say, Howard is also a genius, but he focuses more on creativity and is quick-witted, while Anton is more technical and theoretically rigorous. They used to be very compatible partners."

Ivan seemed to want to say something in rebuttal, but Obadiah's nostalgic tone bore the unique mark of that era, revealing a somewhat faded Iron Curtain period.

"At that time, it sounded absurd that an American and a Soviet would invent something together. Even if Anton said he had betrayed the Soviet Union, no one would believe him."

"If you investigate now, you should still be able to find a lot of tedious investigation reports in the CIA's archives, recording Anton and Howard's movements."

"Although 90% of them were illusions that I put in, there is no doubt that Anton is indeed worth their efforts to keep an eye on because he can really create something that changes the world."

"Howard and Anton created the model of the Arc Reactor together. That's right, it wasn't just Howard's invention; Anton was also the creator of the Arc Reactor."

The room was silent. It seemed that neither Stark nor Ivan had any objections to the result. Stark no longer cared whether Howard had created the Arc Reactor alone, while Ivan seemed to have expected it.

Obadiah leaned back in his chair, shifted his body, changed his posture, and continued, "Now, I'm the only one left who knows this story, but you can probably guess what it is."

"Howard and I are well aware of Anton's true stance; he is a staunch Bolshevik."

"Therefore, as time went on and the situation in his homeland became increasingly dire, their conflict erupted."

Obadiah's tone became increasingly ethereal, as if the story from back then was playing out before his eyes.

"Give up, Anton, it won't end well!"

"Why can't you see it yet? You can't save your country with just one technology or one person." In the lab, Howard pressed on Anton's shoulder. Although he was much smaller than Anton, his attitude was resolute.

"As long as you stay here, the two of us can earn more money, we will have no worries about food and clothing, and your son will receive the best education. There is no need for you to go back to the freezing cold."

"Anton, Obadiah has a way to make your disguise a reality, as long as you..."

Anton slapped his hand away and said, "This is you, Howard. You have no idea what I'm really after..."

Howard took a deep breath, looking utterly helpless, and said, "I don't want to talk to you about faith. I'm just stating a fact: it's too late now."

"Even if you take this technology back, you might not be met with praise and eulogies for heroes. You should understand that better than I do..."

Anton turned to Howard and said, "So who caused this situation?!"

"Are you trying to take your anger out on me?" Howard was also a little angry. He said, "I was just trying to give you some advice. Why can't you be a little more flexible when faced with a bad outcome that can already be predicted?"

"You American call this a workaround, yeah..." Anton's tone was full of sarcasm. He seemed unwilling to say any more to Howard and picked up the model to leave.

"You can't take it!" Howard stopped Anton.

"This is the result of both of our research! Do you want to keep it all for yourself?" Anton was furious. He cursed in Russian. Howard was also very angry. The two had a fierce argument in the laboratory.

"Finally... "Obadiah drawled, "Anton took some of the data and returned to his hometown."

"I know that your father must have resented Howard before he died. He thought Howard was trying to keep the research results for himself, which is why he stopped him from taking the model back," Obadiah said, shaking his head.

"But in reality, if he really wanted to take the model to the Soviet Union, he would have been killed by the CIA before he even left New York."

"At that time, the red behemoth was on the verge of death. No one would allow anyone to give it another boost. In the final crucial stage, if Anton got his hands on the model, he would surely die within three days."

Obadiah's voice was firm as he looked at Ivan and said, "Actually, your father brought back enough information. If you can build the Arc Reactor from scratch, then they certainly can too, and they can even do it better."

"But unfortunately, just as Howard predicted, it didn't work, and by then it was too late."

Ivan heard no condescension or sarcasm in Obadiah's tone. His voice was complex, a mixture of nostalgia and regret. Finally, he said:

"On December 16, 1991, Howard Stark died in a Car Accidents. On December 26, 1991, the Soviet Union announced its dissolution."

Ivan was silent for a moment, then said involuntarily, "Anton Vanko died on December 28, 1991."

The air in the room grew quiet. Tony Stark, Obadiah, Ivan Vanko fell silent, unsure how to express their feelings.

Just like everyone who witnessed the end of that era, the stories that happened during that Iron Curtain era were both bizarre and ordinary. When they heard such a story, everyone felt it was absurd, but at the same time, they felt a sense of emotion.

Apart from Ivan Vanko, everyone present was a beneficiary of the victory, but when this story was told in the room, few could laugh.

"Your father may resent Howard because he still clings to the illusion that if he got the complete model, he could salvage everything."

"But perhaps, before he died, he already knew it was impossible, but he just didn't want to tell you, didn't want to tell you that he only realized at the very end that he had no comrades left."

Obadiah sighed again, and looking at Ivan, he said, "Your revenge is doomed to fail because you are not like your father."

Obadiah's tone in recounting the whole affair greatly displeased the young generals listening in. They tried to interrupt him several times, but were stopped by the older Admiral in the lead.

"Those grudges and grievances are all in the past, Obadiah," the old Admiral said. "We all know that era will never return."

"Let's put aside these past issues and talk about practical matters."

Obadiah stroked the pen in his hand and said, "As you can see, the Arc Reactor is not Howard's sole property. Anton Vanko also enjoys the benefits of this achievement, and his son has already made a finished product. If he is willing to hand this finished product over to you, Stark Industries will not stop him."

"If possible, we would still like to cooperate with Stark Industries."

The old Admiral glanced at Ivan's face and thought that rather than trying to get technology from the Russians in this state, it would be better to lay low and wait for Obadiah to blackmail them.

Obadiah, however, turned his gaze to Justin, Justin a chill run down his spine.

Schiller finished his coffee and placed the empty cup on the table. Just then, Steve walked in, filled a glass with water from the water dispenser, drank it down in a few gulps, and said, "Hammer Industries has indeed been thrown out by the military to take the blame. It seems things are about to calm down."

"Where did Ivan go? He should have been deported back to his country, right?"

Steve shook his head and said, "You might not believe it, but he has the qualifications for legal residency and is not an illegal immigrant. He should have been handed over to the police, but Nick seems to have taken a liking to his technical skills and kept him."

"Is he willing to work for Nick?"

"Of course not, but Nick is much more patient than Hammer. Ivan should have found a place to live on the edge of Manhattan now, and nobody knows what he's up to."

"He's not going to seek revenge on Stark anymore?"

"But before we take revenge, we should at least fix his armor." Rhodey finished his last sip of coffee and said, "His armor and weapons are badly damaged, or rather, the fact that they can still function after such an attack is a testament to the exceptional talent of Russian-made products."

"In short, with S.H.I.E.L.D.. agent watching him, he shouldn't cause any major trouble." Steve pulled up a chair and sat down.

Schiller turned another page of the newspaper and said, "Are we just going to ignore Stark's public opinion problem like this?"

Rhodey sighed and said, "Actually, this can't really be called a media attack, because they're just repeating what Stark did..."

"Even if Stark is really a jerk, Pepper would probably try to make him look less obviously jerk, right?"

"After the negotiations ended, Stark went to see Pepper immediately. I guess he must have gone to discuss the public opinion situation with Pepper, right?"

After Rhodey finished speaking, the three of them smiled knowingly.