The doubt was a splinter in his mind.
Why had Obadiah been so insistent on this trip? "Face time with the troops," he had said. "The board needs to see you out there, Tony. They need to see you aren't just a playboy in a tower."
It sounded reasonable at the time. But now, viewed through the lens of a diary that predicted his kidnapping, it sounded like a setup.
"Jarvis," Tony said, his voice flat. "Add Obadiah to the watch list. But tread lightly. If I'm wrong, I don't want to burn that bridge. If I'm right... I don't want him to know I know."
"Understood, Sir. Subroutine 'Et Tu, Brute?' initiated."
Tony ignored the literary reference and pressed on.
The diary painted a grim picture of his future. Kidnapped. Tortured. Forced to build weapons for terrorists. Watching his own technology tear apart the very people he thought he was protecting.
And then there was Yinsen.
Ho Yinsen. The man who would die to save him.
"A tool," Tony whispered. "In the script, he's a tool. A sacrificial lamb to unlock my character development."
Tony clenched his fists. He was a billionaire. He was a genius. He was a man who solved problems that stumped nations. And yet, some writer in a fourth dimension had decided that the only way for him to grow up was to watch a good man die?
"Screw the script," Tony hissed. "I'm not letting Yinsen die. I'm not letting anyone die."
"Jarvis, create a sub-protocol for the Mark Series. Operation: Savior. Once the suit is operational, our first mission isn't to fight aliens. It's to extract Ho Yinsen from whatever hellhole he's stuck in."
"Sir," Jarvis noted. "Dr. Yinsen was last seen at a medical conference in Bern in 1999. His current whereabouts are unknown. If the narrative requires him to be in that cave with you... he is likely already captured."
"Then we find him," Tony said. "We find the cave. We find the Ten Rings. And we burn them out."
He looked back at the diary. The next entry was practically glowing.
June 11 (Update)
The Marvel Universe starts with Iron Man, and it ends with Iron Man.
He is the Alpha and the Omega.
A mortal man in a suit of metal, yet he stands shoulder to shoulder with gods. He makes Thanos bleed.
But man, the legacy gets messy after he's gone. 'Ironheart'? Really? Riri Williams?
Hollywood went off the deep end with the diversity quota there. Replacing Tony Stark with a teenager who built a suit in a dorm room? It felt unearned. Nobody can replace the OG. Nobody has that charisma.
Tony stared at the words.
"A mortal man... stands shoulder to shoulder with gods."
A shiver went down his spine. It was a phrase that resonated with every ounce of his ambition. He had always known he was better than the rest. But this? This was validation on a cosmic scale.
"Did you hear that, Jarvis?" Tony grinned, pointing at the text. "'Shoulder to shoulder with gods.' I like the sound of that. Put it on a plaque. Put it on my tombstone. Actually, no, put it on the front door."
"It is a powerful epitaph, Sir," Jarvis replied, his voice unusually somber.
The word 'epitaph' hung in the air.
Tony's grin faded slightly.
"You caught the other part, didn't you?"
"Yes, Sir. 'Starts with Iron Man, ends with Iron Man.' And the mention of a successor."
"Riri Williams," Tony read the name. "Ironheart. A teenager."
He scoffed, but there was no heat in it. "So I die. I save the universe, stand with gods, and then I check out. And some kid tries to fill my shoes."
"It is the nature of a 'Legacy Character,' Sir. Eventually, the actor retires, or the story concludes."
"And apparently, the audience hates the replacement," Tony mused. "'Unearned.' That stings."
He walked to the window, looking out at the city that he was destined to save—and perhaps die for.
"I don't mind dying, Jarvis," Tony said softly. "If the stakes are high enough. If the trade is worth it."
"But I'll be damned if I let my legacy be 'messy.' If someone is going to wear the armor after me, they better be worthy of it. They better be earned."
He turned back to the lab, his eyes burning with a new intensity.
"We have work to do. If I'm going to be a god, I need the gear to match. Let's start with the flight stabilizers."