Pepper Potts

"Tony Stark's health?" Coulson furrowed his brow. He felt there was more to William's words than met the eye.

How could he know that it was actually a double entendre? On the surface, William was talking about the Iron Armor's icing problem, but in reality, he was hinting at Tony's health.

In Afghanistan, a Jericho Missile had blown a hole in Tony's chest. It had taken a night of surgery for the doctors to finally save him.

But there were still countless tiny pieces of shrapnel inside him, and at any moment, they could make their way to his heart. He was only barely clinging to life because the Arc Reactor in his chest attracted the shrapnel.

From then on, the Arc Reactor became his second heart, as well as the core of the Iron Armor.

However, the Arc Reactor contained a large amount of the metal palladium. Over time, its toxins would seep into his body and even spread throughout him. In other words, the source of life in his chest was slowly devouring his life.

Of course, Coulson didn't know that yet.

"I could tell you, but you wouldn't understand." William put on an air of mystery. "Our mission is more or less complete. Tony's a smart man. He should have figured out Obadiah's scheme by now. From here on, we just have to proceed step by step."

S.H.I.E.L.D. had been investigating Iron Man's disappearance in depth. They hadn't expected to uncover something that shocked them: the conspiracy behind Tony's kidnapping. The Ten Rings, the Jericho Missile, Stark Industries...

All the clues pointed to one person—Obadiah Stane!

If Obadiah had been an ordinary man, S.H.I.E.L.D. would have arrested him long ago.

But Obadiah was one of the founders of Stark Industries and had been a close friend of Howard Stark. After Howard's death, he had devoted himself to supporting Tony, helping Stark Industries grow until it became the largest arms dealer in the world.

Someone with that kind of standing couldn't be arrested without solid evidence. S.H.I.E.L.D. could only try to warn Tony, but his arrogant personality had left them getting nowhere.

Fortunately, William had stepped in to help, and Tony had realized there was a problem. It looked like the old fox Obadiah would soon show his hand.

"What should we do next?" Coulson asked curiously.

"Wait." William went back to mopping. "If I'm not mistaken, Ms. Potts will come to us on her own."

Pepper had been feeling uneasy lately. Maybe she thought she was starting to fall for her boss. Or maybe she sensed that something bad was going to happen.

Holding a folder, she headed toward Tony's underground workshop. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was surprised to find the floor covered in broken glass.

"How do you feel now, sir?"

"Y-you're going easy on me, right? This is my first time!"

The door to the underground workshop had been smashed open. From a distance, Pepper saw several huge mechanical arms dragging someone along. The person was wearing red-and-gold Iron Armor and sounded like he was in pain.

When she saw his face, she froze in shock. It was her boss, Tony Stark!

"Are those all bullet holes?" Pepper exclaimed when she saw the armor riddled with them.

Tony gave an awkward smile. "Heh, it's nothing. You've seen worse than this, haven't you?"

Iron Man had dropped into a war zone in Afghanistan and beaten the terrorists to a pulp. But when Tony was returning to the United States, the U.S. military had mistaken him for an unidentified flying object. Two F-22 fighter jets had nearly shot him out of the sky.

At last, he had made it home safe and sound, only to discover to his frustration that he couldn't get the armor off.

The Mark 3 armor was supposed to come off automatically, but after two fierce battles, most of its functions had been damaged. He could only rely on mechanical arms to wrench it off him. It had been a nightmarish experience!

"Hey, can you do me a favor?" Tony said as he removed the armor. "I need you to break into the mainframe in my office and get all the company's recent transaction records. I suspect there may be shady dealings going on."

Pepper looked thoroughly fed up with him. "Can I say no?"

"This is the unlock chip," Tony continued, ignoring her. "You'll need it to access the mainframe. What we're looking for might be hidden in the administrative files, or there might be concealed files. Check everything carefully. Once we find the records, I'll destroy all of this myself..."

"That's enough!" Pepper interrupted him. "I won't help you. I don't want to become an accomplice to your murder!"

To be honest, Pepper had mixed feelings. She and Tony had known each other for a long time, and she was used to the playboy bringing all kinds of women home to spend the night. Before, she'd never thought she had feelings for Tony. He was, after all, a womanizer through and through.

But everything had started to change that night. Tony had been drawn to the charming Pepper. After they danced, they talked on the rooftop, and the atmosphere grew more and more charged. They had nearly kissed. Then Tony had gone downstairs to get her a drink, but he never came back to find her. He had disappeared from the party altogether.

Pepper had felt a little disappointed. Now she had actually started worrying about Tony. Lately, he had been tinkering away in his workshop, and she had no idea what he was up to.

But she knew it was dangerous. Tony might even lose his life over it!

"Do you know?" Tony lifted his shirt, revealing the Arc Reactor in his chest. "I used to be arrogant and didn't understand the meaning of life. But after going through this, I feel like I've changed. Now I finally know what I should be doing. Trust me, I won't let you down!"

Pepper sighed. How had she ended up with a boss like this? But then again, she had been by Tony's side for so long that she understood the temper of this domineering CEO better than anyone. If she didn't help him, he might do something even crazier.

"Just this once."

In the silent Stark Industries building, Pepper crept cautiously toward Tony's office. She was Tony's personal assistant and could go in whenever she wanted, yet now she had to sneak around like a thief. It was ridiculous.

She went to the desk, took out the unlock chip Tony had given her—the USB drive—and inserted it into the data port.

After searching for a while, Pepper found the hidden folder and uncovered a trove of secrets. At the same time, she saw a video that shocked her.

It showed Tony being kidnapped. The terrorists were speaking in a language she couldn't understand at all, so she hurriedly translated the video.

"You didn't tell us the man we were supposed to kill was Tony Stark, Mr. Stane. You'll pay for your lies. We demand double the fee!"

"Oh my God." Terror filled Pepper's eyes. She finally knew who was behind Tony's kidnapping.