Rise of the Hero

2: 09

Tony said, "Hey. You busy? You mind if I send you on an errand? I need you to go to my office. You're going to hack into the mainframe and you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests. This is a lock chip. This'll get you in. It's probably under Executive Files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive, in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading."

Pepper asked, "And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?"

"Same drill. They've been dealing under the table, and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them."

"Tony, you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if you're going to start all of this again."

"There is nothing except this. There's no art opening. There is no benefit. There is nothing to sign. There is the next mission and nothing else."

"Is that so? Well, then, I quit." She threw the lock chip on the table.

"You stood by my side all these years while Maritza and I reaped the benefits of destruction. And now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way, you're going to walk out?"

"You're going to kill yourself, Tony. I'm not going to be a part of it. I doubt your sister would too."

"I shouldn't be alive, unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right."

Pepper picked the lock drive back up. "You're all I have, too, you know." In Stark's office, Pepper went on a computer to use the drive. "Sector 16? What are you up to, Obadiah?" She found a video of Stark held hostage and translated it.

Maritza walked in, hearing faint sounds and walked up to Pepper.

The video's voice over spoke. "You did not tell us that the target you paid us to kill was the great Tony Stark. As you can see, Obadiah Stane..."

"Oh, my God," Pepper and Maritza said.

"...your deception and lies will cost you dearly. The price to kill Tony Stark has just gone up. As it has for Maritza. Find her."

Obadiah walked in on Pepper and Maritza and asked, "So, what are we going to do about this? I know what you're going through, Pepper, Maritza. Tony. He always gets the good stuff, doesn't he? I was so happy when he came home. It was like we got him back from the dead. Now I realize, well, Tony never really did come home, did he? He left a part of himself in that cave. Breaks my heart."

"Well, he's a complicated person," Pepper reasoned. "He's been through a lot. I think he'll be all right."

"You are a very rare woman. Tony doesn't know how lucky he is. Maritza, you're a rare woman too. Any man would be lucky to have you."

"Thank you. Thanks. Maritza and I'd better get back there." She pulled the drive out, hiding it under a newspaper.

"Is that today's paper?"

"Yes."

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all."

"Puzzle."

"Of course."

"Take care." Obadiah looked at the computer and saw that the files had been downloaded.

---

Coulson walked up to the women and said, "Ms. Potts? Ag- Miss Stark? We had an appointment. Did you forget about our appointment?"

"Nope, right now. Come with us."