Marvel: I am Iron Man

New York, suburbs.

The night was as thick as molten asphalt. The limousine tore through the darkness, its headlights leaving red trails on the damp asphalt.

"I'm not trying to be mean, Tony, but your father was a crazy old man back in the day."

Obadiah Stan, sitting in the driver's seat with a cigar in his mouth, smiled and said to Tony, who was sitting in the back seat.

"I remember when you were a month old, he built you a robotic arm that could sing lullabies, until that thing twisted your baby bottle into a pretzel."

Obama laughed heartily as he spoke.

Tony Stark glanced casually out the car window and replied nonchalantly, "Yeah, I bet that scene is going to be hilarious."

"Indeed." Obadiah's eyes gleamed with reminiscence. "Thinking back now, it's been decades already. Time really is a cruel mistress, doesn't it, Tony?"

Tony replied casually, "Yeah."

"It feels like only yesterday you were growing up, and now you're already so big."

Obadiah let out a long breath, and a clear smoke ring rose into the air. He rolled down the car window, and the night wind carried the smoke towards the road.

"You know Tony, I've watched you grow up. You designed your first circuit board, went to school for the first time, drove your first car..."

At this point, Obadiah seemed to get a little emotional and patted the steering wheel with his palm.

"You should know that to me, you're like my own son, Tony?"

"Okay, Obi, that's getting too cheesy."

Tony said, adding in his mind, "If you hadn't wanted to kill me and take my company, my armor, and my assets, we might have looked more like a loving father and son."

The car began to slow down. Tony looked out the window at the desolate suburbs and said, "This isn't the way to your villa, Obi."

The car stopped.

Obadiah turned off the engine, took a deep breath, and opened the car door.

"Yes, that's not it."

He got out of the car. Tony got out of the car too.

The uncle and nephew stood facing each other in the night, remaining silent for a long time.

"You know, if I had a choice, Tony—I really wish I had a choice..."

Obadiah looked up, shook his head, and said regretfully.

"I really, really didn't want things to come to this."

Did he have no feelings for Tony Stark, the nephew he watched grow up? Of course not.

Every word he said was true. Obadiah had watched this gifted child from the moment he was born. He had watched him grow up, watch him become independent, and watch him use his innate talent to build the Stark Industries empire into an ever-growing power.

He could look Tony straight in the eye and tell him with the most genuine emotion, "You're like my son." Because he truly felt that way.

certainly......

Obadiah stared directly into Tony's eyes, a murderous glint in them.

He has now made a serious decision to kill Tony.

"Over the years, you can't even imagine how much I've sacrificed for this company, for Stark Industries, Tony."

"Obadai said somberly."

"I contacted officials, dealt with the military, handled public relations, and all those other messes you wouldn't want to deal with yourself."

"While you're indulging in alcohol, beautiful women, and partying all day, it's me who puts this company on the right track and makes it thrive. But in the end, everything is yours! Why should you?"

Obadiah became more and more excited as he spoke.

"Just because your surname is Stark!?"

Tony tilted his head, seemingly considering the question seriously, before answering, "That's a very important factor. But I think it's probably also because I'm handsome and charming, and a super genius..."

Obadiah frowned.

He laid his cards on Tony. He lured Tony to his ambush, baring his greedy fangs, but Tony's reaction was completely different from what he expected.

Tony was far too calm. He seemed neither saddened nor surprised by his uncle's betrayal, and he seemed completely unconcerned about the life-or-death crisis he was now facing.

That's enough.

Obadiah raised his hands above his head and clapped them three times forcefully.

"Come out."

He hired a group of top-notch mercenaries, who had been deployed here beforehand. These men would ensure Tony Stark died here and, incidentally, dispose of the body properly.

Besides wanting the assets and the entire Stark Industries, Obadiah also wanted the Arc Reactor on Tony's chest. His so-called idiotic experts insisted that building such a reactor was impossible, that the technology didn't even exist yet.

Only Tony Stark in the world could build something like this. Obadiah couldn't replicate it, so he decided to steal the finished product.

However, after three rounds of applause, nothing happened.

Obadiah remained standing with his hands raised on the empty wasteland.

A gust of cold wind blew by, and the atmosphere became slightly awkward.

Obadiah, seemingly unconvinced, raised his hand and clapped three more times.

Tony across from him yawned lazily: "No rush, Obby. Try a few more times. Maybe you'll have better luck next time?"

Obadiah lowered his hands with a dark expression.

Even if he were slow on the uptake, he should realize now that his actions had somehow been exposed prematurely. Tony must have arrived beforehand and already dealt with the mercenaries he had deployed.

He knew Tony had that flashy armor, a top-tier individual combat weapon currently unmatched in the world. For Tony, taking down a squad of fully armed mercenaries would be as easy as walking a dog.

Obadiah's face darkened for two seconds, but then he burst into laughter.

"I admit, for a moment you really surprised me, Tony. You're more capable than I remembered."

As he spoke, Obadiah slowly pulled two special earplugs from his pocket and inserted them into his ears. A second later, his right thumb was already pressing the button on the nerve paralysis device in his pocket.

That was one of the weapons Stark Industries produced, but it failed to receive government approval for production. It could release high-frequency sound waves instantly, directly interfering with the human nervous system, rendering the target incapacitated or even unconscious within seconds.

"But like I taught you, Tony," Obadiah sneered, "always have a backup plan."

He pulled the trigger of the nerve paralysis device.

Then, after waiting for three seconds, nothing happened.

Tony was still standing there lazily, looking like nothing had happened.

But how is that possible?

The nerve paralysis device can instantly paralyze anyone; he used it to kill a low-ranking member of the Ten Rings, a terrorist organization he was collaborating with. This device failed to receive approval due to humanitarian concerns.

How could it be ineffective?

"Never mind. There's an old saying, 'If you want to do something well...'"

Obadiah pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Tony's head.

"...You'll have to do it yourself."

Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

But the bullet did not penetrate Tony's skull as expected.

Less than a centimeter from Tony's forehead, the bullet seemed to hit an invisible wall, sparks flew, the metal bullet deformed instantly, and then reflected off some unseen surface.

The ricocheting bullet grazed Obadiah's shoulder, and blood immediately soaked through his expensive custom-made suit.

"Ah—!" Obadiah staggered back, clutching his shoulder, his expression shifting from ferocity to utter disbelief and terror. He stared intently at Tony, his voice trembling with shock: "No...no way! What the hell is that?!"

Tony remained standing in the same spot, not a single hair out of place.

A nearly transparent ripple slowly appeared in the air, flowing like water, gradually outlining the silhouette of a suit of armor. The dark silver armor shed its disguise as if it were alive, covering Tony's body from head to toe, and the eyes on the visor shone with a cold blue light.

"Stealth armor, do you like it?"

Tony's voice, processed by the armor, carried a cold, mechanical quality.

Obadiah slowly opened his mouth, as if even the pain of being injured by his own backfired had been numbed by shock.

Because he realized where Tony's confidence came from. From beginning to end, Tony had been wearing this armor. It was just that because of that outrageous, almost fantastical invisibility technology, the armor was invisible; all he could see was Tony hidden inside it.

"Tony, oh Tony..." Obadiah murmured, "How many more times are you going to shock me..."

Stark Industries has always possessed the most advanced technology and weaponry, allowing them to maintain a monopoly in the arms industry throughout this century. Obadiah knew better than anyone that this was largely due to Tony's genius.

Just when he thought that was Tony's limit, Tony then proceeded to handcraft a reactor in a dilapidated cave using a pile of junk and scraps, once again leaving him speechless.

Just when Obadiah thought he had become numb to it and was no longer amazed by Tony's genius, this happened again.

Stealth technology.

There are rumors in the industry that the world's top-of-the-line Quinjet fighter jet can already carry this stealth technology, but only the Quinjet can carry it—and it is already a top-of-the-line technology that is still in the experimental stage.

As for making individual combat systems invisible? Or even just making the armor invisible but still able to see through the wearer?

Based on Obama's understanding of the current state of military technology, he felt that it could hardly be called technology anymore.

This is a miracle.

Obadiah pressed his still-bleeding wound and lay back on the ground. The cold, damp air filled his lungs, making him feel icy cold all over.

"Oh Tony, Tony..." He stared blankly at the starry sky, "You just... you'll never let your old uncle win even once, won't you?"

Tony stepped forward and reached out to Obadiah, who was lying on the ground. His fingers were spread open, and the arc of his palm emitted a deadly cold light.

Obadiah Stein closed his eyes.

Images of his entire life flashed before his eyes. Working hand-in-hand with Howard Stark, leading the company to its peak. Tony's birth, Howard's death, and the beginnings of his growing ambition and desire.

He lost.

But at least he tried.

He has no regrets.

call out.

The electric pulse cannon in Iron Man's palm pierced his heart.

"Watch out... Tony," Obadiah said with his last breath. "I'm not... the only one... who wants to kill you..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

He died.