𝙸𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 (𝚆.𝙼𝚊𝚡𝚒𝚖𝚘𝚏𝚏)

Man, Monger, Marvel -- (Iron Man Finale)

Ten Rings Headquarters — Flashback to days prior

Raza, a Ten Rings operative and leader of this particular faction, stayed stationed outside his camp, watching a fleet of cars roll up towards him, as they had given word that they had found what their employer was looking for; the very armor Tony Stark had built in their caves with a box of scraps.

He took another puff of his cigarette, as one of his men opened the door of the first convoy, with none other than Obadiah Stane coming out. Stane toured the camp with a sliver of a smile on his face, seeing the weapons being put to "good use." He approached Raza, as the leader had welcomed him in. However, Raza now had an ugly scar to boot on his face, which Stane had obviously seen. "Compliments of Tony Stark," Raza waved his hand over the scar, still keeping his eyes on Stane.

"Well, if you'd killed him when you were supposed to," Obadiah retorted. "You'd still have a face." Raza, on the other hand, had seen no laughing matter. "You paid us trinkets to kill a prince." He scoffed back at Stane, to which he held no regard. "Show me the weapon." Stane commanded fiercely.

"Come. But leave your guards outside," Raza requested, as Stane showed his hand to his men, and followed Raza into one of their many tents. Within the tent laid the setup for Tony's ransom video, the Ten rings flag in the background, the chair Tony was bound to, and then Stane saw his prize. Scraps of armor wielded together to make a suit of armor. "So this is how he did it," He said aloud while crossing his arms.

"His escape bore unexpected fruit," Raza explained. "This is only a first, crude effort. Stark has perfected his design. He has made a masterpiece of death," He complimented the effects of the suits. "A man with a dozen of these, can rule all of Asia." He noticed Stane's looks, anxious to have his place restored to him. "And you dream of Stark's throne." He deduced. "We have a common enemy." Raza walked over to the chair and sat, wanting to negotiate with the industrial monger.

"If we are still in business, I will give you these designs.. As a gift," Raza said, pouring a glass of whiskey. "And in turn, I hope you'll repay me with a gift of iron soldiers." He raised his glass, hoping making a toast... and a new deal. But Obadiah had other plans.

Stane gently smiled, put his left arm on Raza's shoulder, and showcased a device. He slid it open, and a high frequency was emitted near Raza's ears, as he noticed glowing lights in Stane's ears. Raza shuddered in fear with veins crawling from his scar, effectively paralyzing the terrorist.

"Tumara kasurr hae yeah,"* Obadiah spoke dreadfully in Urdu, as Raza was fully paralyzed, and he was not. "Technology. It's always been your Achilles' heel in this part of the world." Stane recalled while taking Raza's glass from him. "Don't worry, it'll only last for 15 minutes." He drank up and removed his earbuds, but had placed his hand on top of Raza's shaved head. "That's the least of your problems."

(This is your fault...)*

Stane left the tent dramatically, calling out to the men. "Crate up the armor and the rest of it." He commanded them with their orders. "All right, let's finish up here." And with that, his men shot every single terrorist in sight, as he slid back into the car to make another call to one of his accomplices, William Gunther Riva.

"Set up Sector 16 underneath the arc reactor, and I'm going to want this data masked," Stane commanded once more. "Recruit our top engineers. I want a prototype right away."

End of Flashback – back at Stark Industries.

"So, what are we going to do about this?" Stane spoke up as he walked into Pepper at Tony's desk, startling her as she had come across the revelation Stane wanted to kill Tony. "Hmm?" He asked again, walking over to the good whiskey Tony keeps, pouring himself a glass. "I know what you're going through, Pepper." He spoke up again, as Pepper focused in between copying all the incriminating files and avoiding the titan's suspicions. "Tony, he always gets the good stuff, doesn't he?"