Nothing happened during those two months.
Ethan was so comfortable with his happy life that he almost forgot the main storyline was about to begin.
Every day, he was busy showing affection with Hannah.
They even hugged each other while eating in the cafeteria.
The classmates around Ethan were practically furious.
But there was nothing they could do about it.
In their eyes, Ethan barely spoke to anyone except Hannah.
He was also extremely good at fighting.
Whenever four or five students tried to bully him, they ended up getting beaten instead.
Then Ethan would casually claim it was “Chinese martial arts.”
What the hell…
One Saturday, Ethan and Hannah finished shopping and were preparing to go to Hannah’s house for dinner.
Suddenly, the black metal device Tony had given Ethan began ringing.
Ethan had carried it with him constantly.
After all, he knew Tony’s accident was supposed to happen around this time.
He pulled out the device and pressed the button.
Tony’s low voice immediately came through.
“Ethan, I’ve run into trouble.”
“Come save me.”
His voice was extremely quiet.
It was obvious that Tony couldn’t speak freely.
“Alright.
I’ll leave immediately.”
“Wait patiently.
I’ll be there soon.”
Ethan already knew that Tony had probably been captured and taken to the terrorists’ cave.
He also knew that Tony had most likely already suffered the chest injury that would eventually lead to the creation of the Arc Reactor.
“Wait.”
“Are you confident you can get us out through all the gunfire?”
“It’s me and another friend.”
“The people who captured us are terrorists.”
“There are a lot of them, and they’re heavily armed.”
Ethan could tell from Tony’s voice that his situation was bad.
Still, he answered honestly.
“No.”
“I can guarantee my own safety.”
“I can also guarantee that I can eliminate the enemy within ten minutes.”
“But I can’t guarantee your absolute safety.”
“So you’ll have to find a way to protect yourself.”
Ethan wasn’t exaggerating.
He could easily avoid bullets and other attacks.
But if dozens of people opened fire at once, he couldn’t guarantee Tony’s safety.
Unless he simply slapped Tony away.
Unfortunately, Ethan remembered the movie.
The cave where Tony was being held was deep and winding.
There was no suitable path for him to simply launch Tony away.
He could also storm the terrorist base directly.
But while Ethan was fighting his way inside, there was always the possibility that the terrorists would kill Tony.
Therefore, Ethan hoped Tony would follow the original storyline and build himself some armor.
“Then give me a week.”
“I’ll make something to protect myself.”
“But you should come here first.”
“We’re inside a fairly deep cave.”
“I’m afraid they might kill me before I finish.”
“So come here first.”
“If I still haven’t finished my protection when they decide to kill me, you’ll have no choice but to storm the place and take the risk.”
Tony thought for a moment before continuing.
“If you need anything, ask my assistant Pepper.”
“If Pepper doesn’t believe you, I’ll call again in half an hour.”
“Just have her answer.”
“She should be at my house.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll go find your assistant now.”
Ethan ended the call.
He thought for a moment before turning toward Hannah.
“Hannah, Tony Stark is in trouble.”
“I’m going to save him.”
“I’ll need about a week.”
“I’ll go home and have my dad ask the school for leave.”
“You’ll have to spend this week without me.”
“But I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t worry about me, okay?”
“A whole week?”
Hannah immediately became worried.
“If I miss you, can I call you?”
“It’s better if you don’t.”
“What if the enemy has some kind of signal interception technology?”
“That could cause problems.”
“I don’t really understand this high-tech stuff either.”
“But it’s always better to be careful.”
Ethan had seen plenty of movies where phone calls could be intercepted and people’s locations tracked.
The terrorists might not have that kind of technology.
Still, there was no reason to take unnecessary risks.
After saying goodbye to Hannah, Ethan quickly returned home.
He told his parents what was happening.
Then he immediately used his ability and appeared at Tony Stark’s house.
The moment he walked through the door, he saw Pepper.
He had met her two months earlier.
She was sitting on the sofa with an exhausted expression.
When she saw Ethan, she looked surprised.
“If I remember correctly, you’re Ethan, right?”
“What brings you here?”
“Tony isn’t here.”
“I know.”
“I’m here to see you.”
“Tony will call me again in half an hour.”
“Just wait here.”
Pepper stared at Ethan in disbelief.
Then her expression immediately became hopeful.
“Really?”
“Tony is still alive?”
“Thank God!”
“Why did he ask you to come here?”
“Tony was captured by terrorists.”
“He asked me to rescue him.”
“I’m here because I need you to prepare some supplies for me.”
“Tony was captured?”
“Oh my God!”
“I need to contact Rhodey.”
“He can send people to rescue Tony.”
“No.”
“If you send aircraft and heavy weapons over there, they’ll probably kill Tony.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Tony and I have a plan.”
“When he calls again, let him explain it to you.”
“Oh.”
“Alright.”
“I’ll wait for Tony to call.”
Not long afterward, Tony’s call came through.
Ethan handed the device to Pepper.
He didn’t know exactly what Tony told her.
But after the call ended, Pepper immediately walked over to Ethan.
“Thank you.”
“Tell me what you need.”
“I’ll get it for you immediately.”
“Please, you have to bring Tony back.”
“Don’t worry.”
“This is what I’m supposed to do.”
Ethan then asked Pepper for a tent, some alcohol, bandages, and enough dry food to last him for a while.
After gathering everything, he set off.
He was secretly excited.
Whoa.
I’m going to secretly stay near the target and protect him.
And I’ll have to stay there for an entire week.
This is basically a spy mission.
How cool is that?
Four days later.
Afghanistan.
Ethan sat at the entrance of a cave wearing his battle suit.
He stared at the endless yellow desert outside.
His smile had completely disappeared.
Damn.
I still have three days left.
Three freaking days.
What am I supposed to do for three days?
I miss Hannah.
I want to take a shower.
I want ice cream.
And I want Hannah to feed it to me…