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Chapter 13: Knowing the Truth, Iron Man's Rage
🕑 Added 2025-03-24 18:55:47 +0000 UTC"Although it might just be a coincidence or a name with similar syllables, it’s still a clue!" Tony Stark said.
"There's a small country in South Asia mentioned—how about this: help me contact the archaeology departments at Ivy League schools and well-known professors in the history departments. I want to fund $50 million for their research. But I have one request: I want them to organize a scientific expedition to South Asia immediately to search for information about this Ancient One. I need to know more!"
"Understood, sir. I’ll make the arrangements right away!" replied J.A.R.V.I.S.
Tony nodded.
This was the only lead he had so far.
His own power was limited, and even J.A.R.V.I.S. had its restrictions. While J.A.R.V.I.S. could easily access vast amounts of information online, some crucial details remained elusive. Information about someone like the Ancient One couldn’t be found on the Internet; real-world effort and organization were required to track it down.
And no one was better suited for this than scholars from history and archaeology departments. $50 million was more than enough to get these usually underfunded professors excited.
After all, it was common for the wealthy to fund high-tech research, but few ever funded archaeological research or obscure indigenous mythology. That was the power of capital!
Soon, a large block of text appeared in Tony's diary.
"Although Tony Stark has a sharp tongue and a biting wit, he still has the responsibilities of a superhero. After all, he escaped Afghanistan and saw the very weapons he developed to protect innocent people, only to be sold to warlords and extremist organizations. His close friend Ethan even died in an attempt to buy Tony time to suit up. And thus, Tony Stark embarked on his superhero journey. His carefree life as a playboy ended forever, replaced by the heavy responsibility of saving the world. He would never again live a life of simple pleasures."
The entire text was laced with mockery and pity for Tony Stark.
"How dare this brat say I have a sharp tongue?!" Tony was furious. This kid had complained about him multiple times in his diary.
He hadn’t even met him yet, but he was already complaining.
"How can I speak so viciously? I’m just speaking the truth!" Tony retorted, clearly dissatisfied.
"Sir, from a common sense perspective, you do have a sharp tongue, and it can be quite irritating!" J.A.R.V.I.S. chimed in.
"Shut up, J.A.R.V.I.S.!" Tony snapped.
Still, he kept reading, and the more he did, the angrier he became. From the diary entries, his earlier suspicion about being kidnapped in Afghanistan was confirmed. Even the story about forging weapons in an Afghan cave seemed accurate.
But it wasn’t as simple as the diary had made it sound. It wasn’t just a quick trip to Afghanistan and back—it was a narrow escape.
Then, Tony came across something that made him truly furious.
His weapons were supposed to be sold to one customer—the military of the Lighthouse country.
Other allied countries were secondary customers. Even then, weapons could only be sold with the Lighthouse country's approval. No one else was authorized to buy them, certainly not warlords and extremist groups. Such transactions were strictly forbidden.
Although Tony was a capitalist, he still had a code of ethics. He wasn’t the kind of person who would sell weapons with no regard for the consequences.
But now, his weapons were being used by warlords and extremists to slaughter innocent people, and that made him enraged.
"How is this possible? My weapon—how could it be sold to them? When did I approve this?" Tony shouted in fury. "J.A.R.V.I.S., have I ever signed off on something like this?"
"No, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. responded immediately.
"It must be a traitor. Someone must have made this decision without my consent!" Tony realized. If he hadn’t approved the sale of weapons to these organizations, then it had to be someone inside the company who had done it.
Something had gone wrong.
The Stark Group had strict protocols in place for the number of weapons produced each day. Every weapon was accounted for, whether it was qualified or destroyed. There were records of everything.
Very few people had the authority to hide such activities. In fact, only the chairman and a handful of executive directors had that power.
"There’s another possibility, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. said, "The military could have resold the weapons. That’s also possible."
"Yes, those guys could be behind this!" Tony instantly thought of the Lighthouse country's military. They were hardly innocent.
The war in Afghanistan had been ongoing for years, and only they knew how much military spending had been involved. The level of corruption was staggering, and Tony understood it all too well.
He had made his share of money from the military's huge purchases, so he knew firsthand what lengths they would go to for profit.
None of this was surprising.
"No matter what, we need to investigate immediately. Start by looking into the financial records of our executive directors to see if there’s any unexplained flow of funds exceeding their incomes. Also, investigate all of our weapon manufacturing plants. Every part of the industrial chain, including the supply of raw materials, must be under scrutiny. I want to know who dares to tamper with this!" Tony ordered, trying to suppress his fury.
"Understood, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied. "Should we also include Executive Director Obadiah in this investigation?"
Tony paused, remembering that his uncle Obadiah was also an executive director at Stark Industries. He had raised Tony after his parents died in the car crash, so Tony couldn’t suspect him.
Obadiah was more than just an uncle—he was family.
"No," Tony said firmly. "I trust him. He’s the one who raised me after my parents died. I can’t suspect him."
