Somewhere in the Middle East At a Ten Rings base, Rowan’s old acquaintance—the bald terrorist leader—was entertaining his biggest investor.
Inside a large tent, Obadiah Stane stared at the humanoid armor standing before him.
His eyes burned with greed.
Slowly, he reached out and touched the circular opening in the armor’s chest.
Deep in thought.
Meanwhile, the bald leader continued rambling excitedly about the future.
About how, once they built armor like this, they would rule the world.
Then…
There was no “then.” Obadiah activated a high-tech ultrasonic paralysis device and effortlessly incapacitated him.
Shortly afterward, the entire Ten Rings base was purged.
If Rowan had been there, he would have spat directly in the bald man’s face.
“You?
Rule the world?” “Who gave you that level of confidence?” Stark Industries Headquarters Rowan had transformed into an orange cat and turned invisible as he followed Pepper into the building.
Pepper entered Obadiah’s office and began copying files from his computer.
Meanwhile, Rowan remained outside on lookout duty.
Everything was going smoothly.
Until he spotted Obadiah walking toward the office.
Rowan glanced at the door.
Pepper wasn’t finished yet.
He sighed.
Another busy day.
Dropping his invisibility, Rowan casually strolled forward on soft cat paws.
Obadiah was smoking a cigar while heading toward his office when a chubby orange cat suddenly appeared in front of him.
He frowned.
“Security!” “How did a cat get in here?” “Get rid of it.” The orange cat calmly continued walking.
Then stopped directly in front of him.
A second later— It jumped.
“Secret Technique: Cat Cross Slash!” SWIPE!
“AHHH!” Two fresh claw marks instantly appeared across Obadiah’s face.
He stumbled backward, clutching his cheek.
“You stupid animal!” “Catch that cat!” Security guards rushed over from every direction.
Rowan effortlessly dodged them.
For the next several minutes, the entire floor descended into absolute chaos.
Guards chased.
Employees screamed.
Furniture was overturned.
A perfectly organized corporate office transformed into a zoo.
Inside the office, Pepper finally finished copying all the evidence.
Hearing the commotion outside, she quickly packed everything away and slipped out unnoticed.
Taking advantage of the confusion, she hurried downstairs and left the building.
Watching her safely escape, Rowan nimbly avoided several more guards.
Then he slipped into an empty corner.
His invisibility returned.
The cat vanished.
Leaving behind a group of utterly confused security personnel.
And one furious Obadiah Stane.
Still cursing under his breath, Obadiah returned to his office.
Almost immediately, he noticed something wrong.
Someone had touched his computer.
His expression darkened.
He immediately pulled up the security footage.
Several moments later, Pepper’s image appeared on-screen.
Obadiah watched as she exited his office in a hurry.
Then met a government agent waiting downstairs.
The two left together.
CRASH!
Obadiah smashed the monitor with a single punch.
As he stared at Pepper’s retreating figure, murderous intent filled his eyes.
After completing his mission, Rowan returned to Malibu.
After checking in with Tony, he immediately left again.
This time, he had a very important objective.
Eating.
His goal?
To eat his way across all of Silvara.
Several days later…
Rowan slowly flew home while rubbing his stomach.
He looked completely satisfied.
And slightly disappointed.
“Sigh.” “I thought I could conquer the entire country with my speed.” Turns out he hadn’t even made it out of Sichuan.
Complete failure.
Absolutely not because he lacked determination.
The problem was simply that Silvarise food was too powerful.
Every city had another must-eat restaurant.
Every street had another incredible snack.
The mission had been doomed from the start.
His phone suddenly rang.
“Tony?” Flying through the clouds, Rowan answered.
“What’s up?” “Rowan.” Tony’s voice was urgent.
“I need your help.” Rowan’s expression immediately changed.
“What happened?” He accelerated instantly.
“Obadiah attacked me.” “He took the arc reactor from my chest.” Rowan’s heart nearly stopped.
“What?!” “Tony, are you okay?” He had assumed that because Pepper escaped cleanly, Obadiah wouldn’t move so quickly.
Clearly he had underestimated just how dangerous the bald old snake really was.
“I’m alive.” Tony let out a breath.
“When I thought I was dying, a strange energy suddenly appeared inside my body.” “It restored my strength long enough for me to reach the original arc reactor Pepper had stored away.” Tony paused.
“Was that your magic?” Rowan immediately remembered the Nourishment spell he’d placed on Tony.
The emergency lifesaving effect.
He finally relaxed.
“Yeah.” “That was me.” “It’s a spell that activates when you’re close to death.” “Good.” Tony laughed weakly.
“You saved my life again.” “Come on.” Rowan rolled his eyes.
“We’re brothers.” “You don’t need to thank me every time.” Then he became serious.
“What do you need?” “Pepper.” Tony’s voice tightened again.
“She took agents to arrest Obadiah.” “I need you to stop him until I get there.” “I’m on it.” Rowan’s answer came instantly.
“Pepper will be fine.” The call ended.
A moment later, a golden streak tore across the night sky.
Outside Stark Industries Pepper and several agents entered the building.
Their goal was simple.
Arrest Obadiah Stane.
Unfortunately…
They were too late.
A massive explosion erupted beneath the building.
The ground shook violently.
Pepper ran outside in panic, reaching for her phone.
Then the street exploded.
A gigantic steel monster burst up from underground.
The Iron Monger.
Inside the armor, Obadiah grinned viciously.
He raised one massive arm.
Ready to kill her.
An eagle’s cry echoed across the night.
WHOOSH!
A golden blur flashed past.
Pepper vanished.
Obadiah stared blankly.
Then roared in frustration.
High above the city.
Pepper found herself dangling from the sky.
A massive claw gripped her arm.
She immediately began screaming.
“PEPPER!” “It’s me!” Rowan’s voice came from above.
Pepper froze.
“Rowan?” She looked up in disbelief.
“What exactly is happening here?” “I’ll explain later.” Rowan continued flying.
“First, let’s get you somewhere safe.” Moments later, he set her down far from danger.
“Go back to the mansion.” “I’m going after Obadiah.” Before she could reply, he shot back into the sky.
Meanwhile, Obadiah had chosen the least efficient route imaginable.
Despite having a flying suit.
He was running.
Actually running.
Straight toward Tony’s mansion.
Cars swerved frantically to avoid him.
Some failed.
Vehicles were sent flying.
People screamed.
Accidents piled up behind him.
Rowan cursed.
“What a psychopath.” Then he made his move.
While flying overhead, Rowan shifted into human form.
A spell flashed from his hand.
“Entangling Roots.” Immediately afterward, he transformed back into a Roc.
Below him, thick vines erupted from the ground.
They wrapped around Iron Monger’s legs.
The giant armor’s momentum did the rest.
CRASH!
The massive machine face-planted directly into the pavement.
Hard.
Very hard.
Obadiah struggled back to his feet.
Looking down at the vines around his legs, he frowned.
“What is this?” “Where did these vines come from?” Ten seconds later, the spell expired.
The vines vanished.
Completely.
Obadiah stared at his feet.
Then at the empty road.
Then back at his feet.
His face slowly filled with confusion.
“Who am I?” “Where am I?” “…What just happened?”