Marvel : Copycat System

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Kai answered Pepper's call.

"Hey, Pepper, what's up?"

While Pepper and Coulson were searching Stark Industries for Obadiah, she told Kai, "Kai, you finally picked up! I just called Tony, but he didn't answer. I'm worried... he answered, but there was no sound, and then the call disconnected."

Hearing this, Kai immediately realized that Obadiah must have attacked Tony.

"We know Obadiah's after Tony," Pepper continued. "We couldn't find him at the company, so I'm afraid he went to Tony's house. Can you check on Tony for me?"

"Got it. Don't worry, I'm on it."

After hanging up, Kai teleported directly to Tony's villa. Not seeing Tony in the living room, he knew Tony must have crawled to the basement.

Sure enough, Kai found Tony near the workbench, barely conscious and exhausted.

"Hey, Tony!"

Kai rushed over, grabbed the old arc reactor Pepper had kept, and reinstalled it in Tony's chest.

Tony gasped for air, his pale face slowly regaining color.

"Oh... Kai, thanks for saving me again."

"You should be thanking Pepper too," Kai said. "If she hadn't kept your old reactor, you'd be in real trouble."

Hearing Pepper's name, Tony's face filled with concern.

"Where is Pepper?"

"She's with SHIELD agents, tracking down Obadiah."

"SHIELD agents? That's not enough!" Tony said as he staggered to his feet and hurried to suit up.

Just then, Yinsen returned, carrying bags of supplies from a shopping trip. He'd taken a rare night out, which explained why no one had been home earlier.

Seeing Tony's distressed state, Yinsen asked, "Kai, what's going on?"

Kai quickly explained what had happened. Yinsen's face darkened with guilt.

"This is my fault," Yinsen muttered. "If I hadn't gone out—"

"Yinsen, don't blame yourself," Kai reassured him. "This is all on Obadiah."

Meanwhile, Tony, now fully suited up, flew off without a word, too worried about Pepper's safety to wait.

Seeing Tony's determination, Kai turned to Yinsen.

"Tony's not going to stop until he finds Obadiah," Kai said. "Want to go with him? After all, Obadiah's the one who caused the chaos in your hometown."

Yinsen clenched his fists, clearly torn, but finally nodded.

"Yeah... let's go."

Kai teleported them both to Stark Industries.

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**Meanwhile, at Stark Industries**

Obadiah had just installed the arc reactor he stole from Tony into his Iron Monger armor.

Moments later, Pepper, Coulson, and the agents arrived, blasting open the door to Obadiah's workshop.

Hearing the explosion, Obadiah climbed into Iron Monger and powered it up.

As Pepper and Coulson moved deeper inside, they spotted Tony's original Mark I armor.

Coulson frowned. "Looks like you were right... he's been building armor."

"And it's bigger," Pepper muttered uneasily.

Suddenly, behind a row of hanging chains, a pair of glowing eyes flickered to life — Iron Monger's optics.

Pepper's heart raced as Obadiah's mechanical voice boomed from the shadows.

Before she could react, Iron Monger lunged forward.

"Run!" Pepper shouted.

She bolted, narrowly escaping through a side door. Obadiah crushed two agents — one with each hand — before his massive armor got stuck in the doorway.

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*On His Way to Stark Industries*

"Jarvis," Tony asked, "how long can the Mark I's arc reactor last?"

"Sir, power is at 48%, and this unit isn't ideal for extended flight."

"Just keep me updated," Tony said, pushing the suit to its limits.

On the way, Tony called Pepper.

"Tony!" Pepper answered, her voice frantic. "Obadiah's lost it! He's in that giant suit — he killed two agents, and now he's after me!"

Before Pepper could finish, Iron Monger burst through the ground behind her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Obadiah growled.

He advanced, step by step, forcing Pepper backward.

Just as Iron Monger raised his fist to strike, a portal opened behind Pepper, and she vanished into thin air.

"No!" Obadiah roared as his target disappeared.

Tony arrived just in time to see it happen. As Iron Monger turned to face him, Tony landed, ready to fight.

---

Pepper opened her eyes, bracing for an impact that never came.

"You're safe now," Kai's voice reassured her.

Pepper turned to see Kai standing beside her. She was about a hundred meters away from the chaos.

"Oh, Kai!" Pepper gasped. "You saved me!"

Relief washed over her face, but her expression quickly turned serious.

"Obadiah's gone insane — Tony's in danger! Please, you have to help him!"

Kai smiled calmly.

"Don't worry," he said, "look who's here."

Pepper and Yinsen followed Kai's gaze to see a streak of light approaching — Tony had arrived.

"Jarvis, find Pepper," Tony ordered. "I lost her on the call."

"Sir, she's safe with Mr. Kai and Mr. Yinsen," Jarvis replied, displaying a zoomed-in view of them on a nearby street.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he turned back to Iron Monger and delivered a powerful punch, sending Obadiah's armor skidding across the pavement.

Watching from a distance, Yinsen turned to Kai.

"Aren't you going to help him?"

Kai shook his head.

"Tony's strong enough to handle this... but if things go south, I'll step in."

Pepper and Yinsen exchanged glances, unsure whether to be relieved or worried. For now, they could only watch as Tony Stark and Obadiah Stane battled for control — and for survival.

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