Birth of Ironman Part 3
Chapter 9
-Stark Malibu Home-
After spending a few days getting suits tailored for the boys, running Gohan through everything he can expect during public events like these, and putting together a backstory to tell the press, Tony and Pepper's time runs out.
The dreaded evening of Obadiah's 'Welcome' gala had arrived.
Tony and Pepper are doing some last minute preparations with Gohan and Goten before heading out.
"Alright, Kiddo, you ready for this?" Tony asks Gohan as he's helps the boy with his tie.
"Yeah, I'll be fine, don't worry." Gohan reassures, fairly confident this night will go by smoothly.
"Are you sure, Gohan?" Pepper asks, stepping into the room with her formal dress on and a pouting Goten –dressed in a suit of his own– in her arms. "These kind of public events can be overwhelming."
Gohan smiles, amused at Goten's clear disdain for wearing a suit and just repeats, "I'll be ok. I've been through a share of overwhelming events in my life, this can't be worse than those."
"You're right, I just wish we could've had more time to prepare for this."
Tony walks over to Pepper and places a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get through this, Pep. Just one night, then it'll be back to business as usual."
Once in proximity, Goten starts reaching for Tony. "Dada!"
Pepper hands Goten over to Tony as they both laugh at the baby's moodiness. "What's wrong, Buddy? My Monkey doesn't like wearing a monkey suit?"
"He definitely doesn't, he's had that pout since I put it on him." Pepper reports.
"Uhh! Off!" Goten demands, tugging at his little overcoat.
Tony laughs again. "Sorry, Half-Pint, it's just for a few hours. Then you can take it off."
Goten scowls at Tony, then turns to Gohan and starts reaching for him. "Bubba!"
Gohan gives his brother a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, Goten, this is just what we have wear for this party. It won't be too long."
Goten scowls at his brother, then lays his head on Tony's shoulder in defeat, cheeks puffed out in frustration.
Everyone laughs as Tony bounces Goten in his arms to try and lift his spirits. "Come on, Monkey, it'll be ok. There'll be food there, maybe even ice cream, or cake."
Goten lifts his head back up and breaks out into a big grin. "I-cweam!"
Tony smiles at Goten's quick change of heart. "Atta boy."
Pepper chuckles and heads toward the door. "It's time to go, boys."
With no way to put this off, they all reluctantly head outside and are welcomed by Happy. "Boss, Pep, boys." as he opens the door to the limo for them.
They pile into the vehicle and Happy chauffeurs them to the event hall.
As they arrive at the venue and are about to exit the vehicle, Tony hands Goten back to Gohan. "It's time, Kid. Just stay close to Pep and me, also try not to look directly at the flashing lights or you'll be seeing spots for a while."
Gohan nods. "Anything I should avoid saying, besides the obvious?"
"Nothing I can think of."
"Alright, I'm ready." Gohan declares. "Let's do this."
Tony taps on the window, Happy opens the door for them, and the sounds of dozens of different overlapping voices and camera flashes erupt from the outside.
Tony and Pepper step out first, followed by Gohan with Goten in his arms.
Tony and Pepper make sure the boys are between them, to be a buffer between the boys and the press.
Gohan is a tad surprised by the large number of people here for this party. 'I wonder if this is what it's like for that Hercule guy?'
He's brought out of his thoughts when he hears some sniffling. He looks down and finds Goten tearing up and trying to hide by curling up and tucking his face into the crook of his neck.
At first, Gohan assumes Goten is just overwhelmed by all the flashing lights and loud voices, but just to be sure, he extends his senses.
He almost wishes he hadn't. A shiver rips down his spine as he feels a dark blood lust.
Gohan scans the area until he spots the source, Obadiah, looking at them with what appears to be a kind smile, but being able to see the man's true nature, it just unnerves the boy, so much so he latches onto Tony's arm with his free hand.
Tony glances down at Gohan, noticing both he and Goten seem very upset.
He puts his hand on the older boy's shoulder to hopefully assure him he's right there with him.
As they enter the event hall, Gohan calms down and telepathically warns Tony and Pepper, 'Something is different about Obadiah. His presence, it's so much darker than before.'
'What does that mean? Do you think he'll be making a move soon?' Tony asks while calling out to Obadiah, "Hey, Obi, looks like you told every news crew in the state."
"Don't be silly, Son, you know once the word's out it spreads like a virus."
"Well there's always a patient zero to trigger it."
Obadiah just acts like he didn't hear Tony's retort. "Come on, before we head in let's get a family picture with all of us.
'Gohan?' Pepper asks, their telepathic link still going.
'I'm not entirely sure what it means, but it's probably best to play along for now.' Gohan replies.
Tony stands next to Obidiah, facing a cameraman, and Gohan moves to Tony's side oppisite of Obadiah.
"Come on, Boy, stand in the center so the man can get a good shot of you and the little fella." Obadiah tells Gohan.
Tony is about to protest, but Gohan complies and moves between the two men.
'Kid, are you sure?' Tony asks.
'Yeah, better to get it over with.' Gohan answers, fairly certain that the man won't try anything while surrounded by all these people, but better do as he asks for now to keep him calm, just in case.
Tony relents and places his hand on one of Gohan's shoulders while Obadiah places his hand on the boy's opposite one.
When Obadiah's hand touches his shoulder, Gohan suppresses a shudder and forces the biggest smile he can muster.
With the picture out of the way, Tony leads Gohan inside the event hall back to where Pepper is waiting for them.
"Are you ok, Gohan?" Pepper asks, unable to hide the concern on her face.
"Yeah, this is nothing I can't handle." Gohan assures, putting on a brave face.
Pepper looks ready to put an end to all of this right now, but pauses when a man approaches them.
"Hello, everyone, I'm agent Phil Coulson of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division."
"That's a mouthful." Pepper mutters.
"We're working on that. Anyway, Mr. Stark, I'm sorry to intrude on this special event, but if you wouldn't mind, my organization would like to set up an appointment for a debriefing about your time in captivity."
"Sure thing, Mr. Agent. Another time though, thank you." Tony waves the man off.
He wraps an arm around Gohan's shoulders and guides him over to the nearest table.
As they're moving away from the man, Gohan feels him out and informs Tony and Pepper, 'That Coulson guy isn't as ordinary as he appears, but I don't feel anything negative from him. I don't think he'll be a problem.'
"Of course, Mr. Stark, please just take my card and give me a call when you're ready." Coulson pulls a card out of his pocket and offers it to them.
Pepper takes the card. "Thank you, Mr. Coulson, we'll be in touch."
She exchanges some brief pleasantries and goes to join Tony and the boys as Obadiah walks up a the podium set up in the center of the ballroom.
"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight is a very special occasion for Stark Industries. Welcoming two very special boys to the Stark family. Tony has always been like a son to me, and now it's like I'm welcoming my own grandsons into the fold. Tony, come bring those boys up here to say hello."
Tony and Pepper both turn to Gohan, checking if he's ok with it.
Gohan nods at them, and they head up to the podium together.
An attendant clips small microphones to Tony, Pepper, and Gohan as they come up to speak.
Gohan faces the crowd and recites the cover story he, Tony, and Pepper worked out.
"Um...hello everyone...I'm Gohan." He hefts Goten up a bit. "And this is my little brother Goten...Our father was killed protecting me from a mugger right before our mother found out she was pregnant with Goten. Then a little under 2 months after Goten was born...our mother and grandfather were killed when we were hit by a drunk driver...With no other family, we had nowhere to go."
He glances over at Tony and Pepper. "Until an old friend of my mom's, Ms. Potts, found out about our situation and she and Mr. Stark invited us to stay with them. We've been staying with them for 6 months now, and they have both been so great to me and Goten. I'm very thankful for their kindness and support in this difficult time."
As soon as he finishes, a barrage of questions are fired at Gohan by the reporters who were allowed in.
Gohan turns to Tony and Pepper with a frantic look. 'What do I do?'
Tony steps up next to Gohan and addresses the crowd. "Please, people, take it easy on the kid."
Tony takes over answering questions for Gohan, wanting to get this part out of the way as soon as possible.
Once they had their pound of flesh, the reporters are promptly escorted out, and the so called 'party' gets underway.
Gohan sits with Goten in his lap, watching some people dance, and greeting others when they came to their table to offer their 'congratulations'.
"Ugh, these people are all almost as full of you know what as Obi." Tony complains, even with the threat of Obadiah, he's still as bored as he normally is when forced to come to these events. 'I guess even blackmail can't make this interesting.'
"Tony." Pepper scolds.
"What? I censored myself. Besides, it's true and you know it."
Gohan laughs a bit as Pepper continues to lecture. "Yes, I know it's true, but just play nice a bit longer, then we can go home."
As a new song start to play, Tony smirks, gets out of his chair, and offers his hand to Pepper.
She raises an eyebrow in question.
"Come on, Pep, if we're gonna play along, we may as well kill some time dancing instead of dealing with the brown-nosers all night."
Pepper turns to check with Gohan, but he waves her off. "I'll be fine, you 2 should have some fun. I'll just raid the buffet a bit and see what desserts there are for Goten."
"I-cweam!" Goten shouts at the mention of desserts.
They all laugh, Pepper rolls her eyes, takes Tony's hand, and lets him lead her to the dance floor.
Gohan watches them for a moment before taking Goten to explore the buffet.
Gohan checks out the food and asks Goten, "What do you think, Buddy? Anything look good?"
Goten looks around and spots a dessert bar, he turns to Gohan while pointing it out. "I-cweam!"
"Ok, ok, let's get you some ice cream." Gohan placates, chuckling to himself while getting his brother the promised treat.
Gohan heads back to their table, balancing Goten, the food he picked out for himself, and Goten's ice cream in his arms.
Gohan manages to get Goten to eat some of the food he picked out before leaving the baby to his ice cream while he watches Tony and Pepper on the dance floor.
As Gohan is wiping Goten's face and hands clean, the chair beside him is pulled out. He turns, expecting to see Tony or Pepper, but finds Obadiah sitting next to him instead.
"Do you need something, Mr. Stane?" Gohan asks, trying to be polite.
"Actually, there is something we need to discuss. So if you could come with me?"
Sensing the deceit, but confident the man couldn't possibly pose a threat to him, he agrees. "Sure, just let me hand Goten to Tony or Pepper and I'll be right with you."
Obadiah places his hand on Gohan's shoulder. "Don't worry about that, this won't take long. Besides, it looks like Tony and Pepper are still enjoying themselves. Wouldn't want to interrupt their fun now would we?"
Gohan glances over at Tony and Pepper, bantering and laughing as they danced. 'They've both been so stressed out over all of this. They deserve a break and to have some fun.'
Not wanting to bother them, Gohan nods. "Ok, what do you want to talk about?"
"Not here, let's go out into the hall where it's quieter."
Gohan complies and follows Obadiah.
When they reach the hallway, Obadiah drops the act. "Listen, Boy, while I wasn't thrilled about Tony letting you and your brother stay with him, I'm beginning to see the potential in you."
Not surprised at the change in attitude, but curious at the last part of the man's statement, Gohan asks, "What do you mean?"
"Tony shutting down the weapons division is a thorn in my side, but once he's gone, I'll start it back up, while having access to the greatest weapon imaginable."
Gohan scowls at the man. "If you think I'll let you hurt Tony or anyone else with your selfish plans, then you really don't know as much about me as we were afraid you did."
Obadiah flashes the boy a smug smirk. "Unfortunately for you, thanks to the thoroughness of Tony and JARVIS, I have exactly what I need to keep an unruly Saiyan brat under my thumb."
Before Gohan can react to Obadiah's declaration, the small mic still clipped to his shirt collar sprays him in the face with a gas.
"What the?!" Gohan coughs as all his strength is sapped from his body.
Obadiah snatches Goten out of Gohan's arms as the boy collapses to the floor, unable to move.
"Bubba!" Goten screams as he begins to wail in Obadiah's arms.
"Oh shut up, you animal!" Obadiah commands as he digs out and starts squeezing Goten's tail.
"Don't touch him!" Gohan snarls.
Goten goes quiet and passes out as Obadiah keeps a firm grip on the baby's tail. He leers down at Gohan. "I'd be more concerned about myself if I were in your position."
"What did you do? Why can't I move?"
Obadiah smirks. "You have your own biology to thank for this, Boy."
Obadiah crouches down, pulls something out of his pocket, and sprays Gohan with more of the same gas, causing him to pass out.
Obadiah tosses Gohan over his shoulder and carries both boys out through the back of the building.
-In the Ballroom-
Tony and Pepper are finally having some fun at this blatant publicity stunt, dancing and joking around with each other.
After the current song playing ends, they both look over to their table, expecting to see their boys there, but instantly become worried when they find no one sitting there and staff clearing the table.
They both jog over to the busboy and Tony asks, "Hey, where are the boys who were sitting here?"
"They left with Mr. Stane about 15 minutes ago."
Tony and Pepper's stomachs drop.
"Where did they go?"
"They went out to the hall."
Tony and Pepper turn on their heels and head that way, though once they get there, all they find is Obadiah, alone, heading in their direction.
"Obi!" Tony shouts at the man.
"Well what's got you in such a fit, Son?"
"Where are Gohan and Goten?!"
"Oh, they seemed tuckered out, so I sent them home."
Tony levels a deadly glare at him, not buying that bullshit for a second. "Why didn't you tell us?!"
"Well, Gohan was going to, but I insisted he let you and Pepper enjoy yourselves a bit longer and he agreed."
"Of course you did!" Tony growls. 'Damn it, Kid, couldn't you think about yourself?'
Before Obadiah can retort, Tony turns away from him with Pepper and starts heading outside.
"Where are you going, Son?"
"Well, if the boys went home like you said, then I should head back too." Tony says as Pepper gets her phone out to call Happy.
Obadiah lets them go without another word.
"Shit! I should have stayed by their side for this entire farce!" Tony yells, frustrated with himself for not keeping an eye on the boys throughout the party.
"This isn't on you, Tony, we all underestimated Obadiah." Pepper tries to assure, feeling just as bad, but not letting it show.
Before Tony can argue, Happy arrives and they both practically jump into the car.
"Happy, drop me at home, then take Pepper to Stark Industries H.Q." Tony tells his friend.
"You got it, Boss." Happy replies, then starts driving.
"Tony, why are you sending me to H.Q?"
Tony reaches into a compartment in the car and pulls out a flash drive. "Because, Pep, while I'm checking home for the boys, I want you to check Obi's office computer. Put this flash drive in it and it'll do the rest. If Obi is making a move, then it's time we make one of our own."
Pepper takes the flash drive and nods. "Alright."
-Elsewhere-
When Gohan regains consciousness, he finds himself tied to a bed with an I.V drip in his arm.
"Where am I? What's going on?"
He tries to break free, but can barely even move.
"How-" Gohan starts to question, but is interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Ah, you're awake."
"Obadiah! What did you do?! Why can't I move?!"
Obadiah comes into Gohan's line of sight while he gloats. "Well, I couldn't have pulled this off without JARVIS' scans of you and your brother from the day you appeared."
"What do you mean?!" Gohan shouts in frustration.
Obadiah just smirks and continues monologuing. "I watched those memories of yours that Tony's B.A.R.F recorded, and when you explained that Saiyans will lose all their strength if their tails are grabbed, I saw my potential window of opportunity."
Gohan's eyes widen as Obadiah explains, "With those handy scans of your brother's tail, my employees found a gland that when enough pressure is applied to it, secretes a neurotoxin into the rest of the body, causing the powerlessness you are currently experiencing. Thanks to the talented scientists under my employ, I now have a near unlimited amount of what I like to call 'S-Suppressor'."
Gohan is speechless, which just amuses Obadiah. "That's right, I knew no weapon on this planet could take you on, but thankfully for me, your own biology has a built in weakness I could exploit."
"Well, why not just kill me? Like you said, I'm helpless right now. So what are you waiting for?!" Gohan dares, a slight tremor of fear in his voice.
Obadiah just chuckles and says, "I did consider it for a little while, but then I saw how I could use you and your sweet little brother to my advantage."
Gohan eyes momentarily flicker green, and his hair flashes gold for a second as he demands to know, "WHERE IS GOTEN?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BROTHER?!"
Obadiah flinches at Gohan nearly turning Super Saiyan, but laughs when he sees that thanks to the S-Suppressor feeding into his body from the I.V, the boy can't maintain it.
"Oh, don't worry, my boy, he's safe. And he'll stay that way as long as you listen to your 'Good ol' Grandpa Obi'."
"What could you possibly want from me?!" Gohan snarls.
"Boy, you really need to lose the modest goodie 2 shoes act, it's unbecoming. Since Tony is going to be gone soon, I'm going to need another genius to build my new line of weapons for the company, you certainly fit the bill. I'll also be selling your services to the highest bidder on the down low. Your fighting skills are going to make me a pretty penny."
Gohan comes to a horrific realization. "So you're going to kill Tony, then hold Goten hostage to ensure I'll do whatever you say indefinitely."
"Bingo, my boy. See? You are a clever one." Obadiah sneers, condescendingly patting Gohan on the head.
Gohan vision turns completely red.
He briefly turns Super Saiyan again, and declares, "THE SECOND I HAVE THE CHANCE, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, STANE!!!"
Gohan manages to tear some of the binds holding him, but falls back into his normal state before being able to free himself.
Obadiah laughs again and taunts the boy, "My word, you are a tough one. I'll have to double the dosage, maybe that will keep you in line."
Before he can do so, Obadiah is distracted by a call from a nearby monitor. "Mr. Stane, you asked us to keep you informed on Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts' movements."
Obadiah turns to the screen. "Yes? Go on."
"Mr. Stark was just dropped off alone at his home, and now Mr. Hogan is taking Ms. Potts to another location, we're not yet certain where."
Obadiah smiles, shuts off the monitor, and turns back to Gohan. "Well, my boy, as much as I enjoy our talks, I'm going to have to go. It's time for Tony to take his exit."
Gohan desperately tries to tear through his binds. "NO!!!"
Obadiah flashes Gohan a sinister grin. "Aw, don't fret, I won't leave you here all by your lonesome."
Obadiah disappears from Gohan's line of sight for a moment, returning with a sleeping Goten wrapped up in a blanket in his arms.
"You can watch your brother for me while I'm out." He taunts as he lays Goten down on top of Gohan.
Before Obadiah walks out of the room, Gohan warns him, "Tony won't go down easy. He's a lot stronger than you think."
Obadiah halts for a moment. "Maybe he is, but that won't matter with what I have planned."
Obadiah slams the door shut behind him, leaving Gohan alone with Goten, trapped and weakened.
"He won't lose to you, Stane!" Gohan declares with confidence.
He looks down at Goten, remembers the promise he made to him, which strengthens his resolve. "And we won't either!"