Looking at Obadiah, whose body had been completely obliterated in the explosion high above, Tony’s emotions were complicated.
He had expected Roy to win.
What he hadn’t expected was for Roy to win so easily.
Obadiah, wearing the Iron Monger armor, had pinned Tony to the ground and beaten him mercilessly.
But against Roy, Obadiah hadn’t even been able to fight back.
Especially after Roy used the Big Ball Rasengan.
The Iron Monger armor didn’t really match Tony’s sense of aesthetics.
But there was one thing he had to admit.
Its defensive capabilities were far superior to those of the Mark III.
Which also meant that the Mark III had even less chance of surviving a direct hit from the Big Ball Rasengan.
After calming himself slightly, Tony controlled the Mark III and flew over to Roy.
“What was that blue energy sphere you created just now?” “Big Ball Rasengan.” Roy replied.
“Big Ball Rasengan?” Tony frowned slightly.
“That’s a pretty unusual name.
Does it mean anything special?” Roy shook his head.
“Nothing special.
It’s just the name of the technique.” “Forget that.
Do you need me to take you back to the mansion, or are you flying back yourself?” Tony answered immediately.
“Take me back.
I’ve never experienced teleportation before.” “All right.” Roy nodded and grabbed Tony by the left shoulder.
Flying Raijin Jutsu!
The next second, both of them vanished.
In an instant, they were back inside the workshop of Tony’s seaside mansion.
That’s it?
Tony had originally planned to have JARVIS record the data generated during the teleportation.
But before he could even say anything, they had already returned to the workshop.
“Does that teleportation ability of yours have a special name too?” Tony opened the Mark III’s faceplate and looked at Roy.
“It does.” “It’s called the Flying Raijin Jutsu.” Roy replied calmly.
Flying Raijin Jutsu, huh?
Tony firmly committed both Flying Raijin Jutsu and Big Ball Rasengan to memory.
Then he removed his helmet and continued, “You’re much stronger than I expected.” “I thought you’d have to fight Obadiah for a while before beating him.” “I didn’t expect you to finish him with a single attack.” Roy smiled.
“All right, stop beating around the bush.” “If you’ve got something to say, just say it.” Roy hadn’t interacted with Tony that many times, but he understood Tony’s personality well enough.
Tony didn’t praise people for no reason.
Which meant he obviously wanted something.
“Since you’re putting it that way, I’ll get straight to the point.” “I want to know why you wanted the Mark III before.” “For anyone else, wearing the Mark III would dramatically improve their combat ability.” “But clearly, you don’t need it to become stronger.” “If I’m guessing correctly, wearing the Mark III would actually interfere with your fighting style.” Tony looked at Roy seriously.
“You’re right.” “Wearing the Mark III really would interfere with my normal combat abilities.” “As for why I wanted one, the reason is simple.” “I like collecting things that interest me.” Roy answered unhurriedly.
Although he wouldn’t wear the Mark III into battle, he certainly wouldn’t mind owning one.
Power armor was every man’s dream!
More importantly, this wasn’t some cheap replica.
It was an authentic, fully articulated, wearable, factory-original classic Mark III Iron Man collectible, personally built by Tony Stark himself!
Even if Roy never used it for anything, simply keeping it as part of his collection would make him happy.
“Just to collect it?” Tony’s expression immediately became somewhat unpleasant.
He also began regretting asking the question.
“Mainly as a collectible.” “Of course, I might put it on and experience it for myself someday.” Roy replied.
Hearing that Roy at least intended to try wearing the Mark III, Tony’s expression improved considerably.
The Mark III was the work Tony was most satisfied with so far!
If Roy only treated it as something to put on display and admire, Tony would’ve felt as though his masterpiece was being looked down upon.
“Since you want to experience it yourself, I’ll satisfy that little wish of yours.” “I’ll give you a suit.” Tony raised his chin proudly.
“Great.” Roy naturally wasn’t going to refuse.
…
The next morning.
Stark Industries headquarters.
Tony’s office.
Tony held the latest newspaper in his hands.
The headline read: WHO IS IRON MAN?
Pepper stood in front of him, applying makeup to conceal the injuries on his face.
Obadiah’s beating hadn’t caused Tony any fatal injuries, but it had still left quite a few bruises behind.
Roy sat casually on the sofa in the reception area, watching the television mounted on the wall.
The TV was broadcasting the latest press conference being held in the first-floor lobby.
Rhodes, dressed in full military uniform, stood behind the podium and read seriously from the prepared statement.
“Stark Industries has already issued a statement regarding last night’s incident, and copies have been distributed to all of you.” “According to eyewitnesses, the first two armored combatants appeared to have fought their way from a Stark Industries facility onto the surrounding streets.” “The superhuman who appeared afterward was Tony Stark’s secretly hired bodyguard…” Tony wasn’t paying attention to Rhodes.
Instead, he said to Pepper, “‘Iron Man’ is actually a pretty good codename.” “It’s not very accurate, though.
The Mark III is made from a gold-titanium alloy.” “Still, I have to admit, Iron Man does have a nice ring to it.” Without waiting for Pepper to answer, Tony turned toward Roy.
“Do you have a codename too?” “I do.” Roy replied.
“What’s yours?” Tony asked.
“Fourth Hokage.” Roy answered slowly.
“Fourth Hokage doesn’t sound as good as Iron Man.” Tony said with complete seriousness.
At that moment, Coulson entered the office.
Wearing a black suit and sporting his famously high hairline, Marvel’s proverbial “newbie-zone guide NPC” walked straight over to Tony.
“Here’s your statement.” Coulson held out the document.
Tony didn’t reach for it.
Pepper took it from Coulson and handed it to Tony instead.
“You weren’t in Los Angeles last night.” “You were on a yacht.” “Ms.
Potts took you to Avalon Island for the night.
We have statements from fifty witnesses.” Coulson continued.
Tony skimmed through the statement prepared by S.H.I.E.L.D.
“I think it would sound better if we said Pepper and I spent the night alone together.” “We’ve already taken care of everything.” “Just read the statement as written.” Coulson replied.
“Why doesn’t this mention Obadiah or Roy?” Tony looked at Coulson in confusion.
“Obadiah went on vacation.” “Small aircraft have always had relatively high accident rates…” Coulson paused.
Then he turned and pointed toward Roy.
“As for Roy, you’ll have to ask him what he wants said.” “I know S.H.I.E.L.D.
doesn’t dare offend him.” “But I didn’t expect you guys to be so afraid that you won’t even write a cover story for him.” “You’re an official government agency.” Tony teased.
“It isn’t a matter of whether we dare or not.” “Roy hasn’t authorized us to issue a statement on his behalf.” “We can’t make one up without his permission.” Coulson ignored Tony’s teasing and answered promptly.
Tony shrugged and looked toward Roy.
“So what do you want to do?” “Just say I was a temporary secret bodyguard you hired.” “As for my exact identity—no comment.” Roy replied calmly.
“Fine.
We’ll go with that.” “One of my bodyguards somehow got his hands on a suit of high-tech armor.” “The other one’s a superhuman.” “It sounds ridiculous, but this is Los Angeles.” “Sounding like a movie script isn’t exactly unusual.” Tony said.
“Whether it sounds like a movie script doesn’t matter.” “What matters is that if you read the statement as written, this whole thing will die down.” “You’re on in ninety seconds.” With that, Coulson left the office.
Pepper picked up Tony’s jacket.
“Time for your performance.” “Honestly, Iron Man really is a pretty good name.” “I’m surprised I didn’t think of it myself.” Tony let Pepper help him into his jacket.
“You’re not Iron Man.” “I am.” “You’re not.” “Fine.
Whatever.” Tony gave up arguing with Pepper and changed the subject.
“If I were Iron Man, then my girlfriend knowing my secret identity would definitely make her both happy and worried.” “Eventually, all that stress would probably start affecting her physically.” “But that kind of complicated emotional struggle would only make her love me even more.” Before Pepper could respond, Roy’s voice cut in.
“I’m still sitting right here.” “Can you two flirt somewhere else?” “You don’t have a girlfriend?” Tony asked with a grin.
Roy ignored him and looked toward Pepper.
“Get him down to the press conference.” “Rhodes is about to run out of things to say.” Pepper nodded and gestured for Tony to head downstairs to the lobby.
She and Roy remained in the office to watch the broadcast.
First-floor lobby.
When Rhodes saw Tony finally arrive from upstairs, he visibly relaxed.
Then he addressed the reporters below.
“Mr.
Stark will now issue a statement regarding last night’s incident.” “He will not be taking questions.” “Thank you.” With that, Rhodes stepped aside and surrendered the podium to Tony.
“It’s been a while since my last press conference…” Tony paused.
“Forget it.
I’ll just read the statement.” He pulled S.H.I.E.L.D.’s prepared script from his pocket.
“There has been speculation that I was involved in the events of last night…” He had only gotten one sentence out when a blonde, blue-eyed female reporter in a gray women’s suit interrupted him.
Christine.
“Sorry to interrupt you, Mr.
Stark, but do you really expect us to believe that the man wearing the metal armor last night wasn’t you, but one of your bodyguards?” Tony looked down at Christine.
“I know it sounds hard to believe.” “You’re absolutely entitled to question the official statement.” “But you can’t just make reckless accusations and insinuate that I’m some kind of superhero.” “I never said you were a superhero!” “Compared to you, the superhuman wearing the white animal mask last night fits people’s idea of a superhero much better.” Christine shot back.
“I didn’t say you did.” Tony continued.
“And yes, the whole thing does sound pretty far-fetched.” “I’m not really superhero material.” “I have a lot of character flaws.” “I’ve caused everyone plenty of trouble…” Seeing Tony start improvising, Rhodes immediately stepped up beside him and whispered, “Read the statement.” “Right.” Tony took a deep breath and raised the document again.
“The truth is…” He stopped.
After thinking seriously for several seconds, Tony spoke the line that would officially mark the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“I am Iron Man.” The moment those words left his mouth, the entire lobby erupted.
Reporters surged to their feet and shouted questions.
Camera flashes exploded nonstop.
The room instantly descended into chaos.