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*****
"Aren't you afraid I'll get lost!"
Feny understood Tony's anxious tension. He replied with a hint of helplessness, "Call me if there's a problem. If it's an emergency, give me your location first—the more detailed, the better!"
"Thanks."
At this moment, Tony felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Feny. He didn't know why Feny was helping him so much, but he could feel the sincerity. After a brief hesitation, he eventually murmured softly, "About before... I'm sorry."
The invisible Feny wore a look of utter shock. Having interacted with Tony, he understood his personality better than most; hearing an apology from him was both surprising and rare.
"Has he already left?"
When no one answered after a few seconds, Tony assumed Feny had gone. He muttered under his breath, "Rude kid. This is a Tony Stark apology we're talking about."
"So, should I have recorded it and kept it forever?"
Feny snapped out of it and couldn't help but tease back.
"..."
Tony's face soured again instantly. Fortunately, he was worried about Pepper's safety; otherwise, he probably would have argued about this topic for a long time.
"I'm going to look for her then."
Feny didn't forget his objective and prepared to search for Pepper's whereabouts.
"Right, wait a second." Tony suddenly remembered something. He pulled a key card from a corner of the office and held it up. "This is my access card. Take it with you."
Feny took it without ceremony. If Obadiah really had caught Pepper, it was unlikely he'd just leave her in a hallway.
The two split up. Feny didn't have a specific target, so he searched through rooms that looked spacious or empty. After a while, a realization hit him.
When the call came through, there couldn't have been many people around, otherwise she wouldn't have called him for help. Assuming she was inside the Stark Building, the most likely place for an attack was the office.
Pepper Potts was a grown woman, and Obadiah was just an old man. For reasons of both physical capability and secrecy, he couldn't have taken Pepper very far.
Thinking of this, Feny immediately doubled back and began searching the vicinity of the office. Finally, he heard a sound coming from a storage cabinet in one of the rooms and found a trapped, pale, and weak Pepper Potts.
Deactivating 'Incursio,' Feny returned to his normal state and rescued Pepper.
"Hello, I'm Feny Halsey. Tony's... friend, I guess."
Feny introduced himself, though he hesitated slightly on the word "friend," as he wasn't entirely sure if Tony considered him one.
"You're the boy Tony mentioned?"
Looking at Feny, Pepper asked weakly. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she looked as though she had been through an ordeal at Obadiah's hands.
"Tony mentioned me?"
Feny was surprised again, though he figured that since Pepper had his number, it had to be because of Tony. He just wondered what Tony's evaluation of him had been.
Pepper nodded with effort, then urged anxiously, "You have to tell Tony. Obadiah hired the people who kidnapped him. He also built a hidden facility under Sector 16 of the Arc Reactor project."
"It's okay, Tony already knows." Feny comforted Pepper, then took out his phone to call Tony, only to realize he didn't actually have Tony's number. The last time Tony called, it had clearly been through a masked line.
"Do you know Tony's number?"
Luckily, Tony's assistant was right there. Feny handed her the phone. "He's in the building right now looking for Obadiah's whereabouts. Call him and let him know you're safe."
Pepper skillfully dialed the number, but after waiting for a long time, no one picked up.
"That guy..."
Feny's expression shifted as a bad premonition gripped his heart. He asked Pepper, who was sitting on the floor, "Can you stand?"
Pepper nodded and stood up with difficulty, asking worriedly, "Did something happen to Tony?"
"I think he might have run into Obadiah."
Feny voiced his suspicion and sighed worriedly. "Where do you think he would go if he were looking for Obadiah's location?"
"Follow me!"
Pepper's knowledge of the Stark Building was perhaps even greater than Tony's. Hearing this, she immediately had an idea and invited Feny along. But before moving, she suddenly remembered something. "Wait, let's call the police first. I know an agent named Coulson; I can call him."
Phil Coulson. Feny knew him, of course—S.H.I.E.L.D.'s busiest man and one of the few subordinates Director Nick Fury actually trusted.
"No rush. Calling agents will only make things more complicated."
Feny didn't really want to deal with S.H.I.E.L.D., so he stopped Pepper from making the call. "Let's find Tony first. Don't worry, I have a way to protect you both."
If it was just Obadiah, Feny could take on ten of him without even needing to equip 'Incursio.'
Hearing Feny's words, Pepper was initially hesitant. But when she saw Feny equip 'Incursio' and turn invisible again, she ultimately chose to trust him.
Pepper stumbled her way to a room that appeared to be the main security monitoring hub. Only Tony was inside, sitting in a chair with his back to them.
"Tony!"
Seeing Tony, Pepper cried out in joy, but Tony didn't turn around. He remained motionless.
Sensing something was wrong, the two rushed over. They found Tony slumped in the chair, his face deathly pale. His eyes held a look of pain mixed with a trace of relief at seeing Pepper. His lips trembled as if he wanted to say something.
Most importantly, the miniature Arc Reactor in his chest—the thing keeping his heart beating—was gone.
"The two of you really are a handful!"
Feny deactivated his invisibility. Looking at Tony's state, he couldn't help but sigh in frustration. He asked Pepper nervously, "Is there a spare one at his house?"
He was truly afraid that his arrival had changed things for Tony. If Tony hadn't kept the old reactor, what would they do next?
Seeing Tony in such pain, Pepper was panicking and at a loss. Hearing Feny suddenly speak, she snapped back to reality and said hurriedly, "Yes, in the lab! I'll go get the car!"
Feny breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
"No need, that's too slow. Just hold onto him."
This was the Stark Building in New York. If they waited for Pepper to drive all the way back to Los Angeles, Tony would likely be long dead. Fortunately, Feny had learned the Portal spell; otherwise, there might not be an Iron Man in the future.
Pepper didn't understand what Feny meant at first, but when a ring of orange-red fire appeared before her eyes, she jumped in fright. Especially when she saw the scenery on the other side was Tony's workshop, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"Take him through, quickly."
Opening the portal, Feny moved to Pepper's side to help support Tony. Seeing her dazed expression, he added, "Don't worry, it's just a portal. It won't hurt you."
Pepper snapped out of it. The most important thing right now was saving Tony.
(End of Chapter)