Supporting the still-unconscious Ethan, Tony struggled through the desert, eventually finding a shaded sand dune to rest for a moment.
He stripped off his heavy metal armor; wearing that contraption in the desert was basically a death wish. The forty-degree heat and dry weather could easily kill him without him even realizing it.
Not to mention he also had to care for the still-unconscious Ethan.
After laying Ethan down on the ground, Tony sat down and gasped for air.
This entire experience had been like a dream—although certainly not a pleasant one.
First, he was almost blown up by his own missile, then kidnapped. When he woke up, an old man told him he'd have to live with a car battery for the rest of his life. After finally making a plan to escape, his savior sacrificed himself again for him, and then came the most bizarre moment of all.
A talking cat suddenly appeared in the cave and saved his savior's life with a toothbrush!
"Maybe the bread they gave me was made from datura or something," Tony muttered to himself.
"Cough… cough! Tony… is that you…?"
As Tony was lost in thought, starting to suspect certain people, Ethan woke up. Tony rushed to his side. "Buddy! Ethan! We made it out; we're safe!"
It was a truly joyous moment. With a sudden sense of relief, Tony shed his nervous silence and began to chatter away.
"Do you remember how you came back to life? Oh, did you see Death? Does he have a cat?"
Ethan, just waking up, was bombarded with a barrage of questions from Tony Stark, making it hard for his brain to process everything at once. However, he did catch a few key words.
"Cat? A cat…?"
Ethan's unfocused eyes suddenly sharpened as he grabbed Tony's arm. "I did see a cat! It must be the soul-eating cat!"
Tony was about to explain, but a voice came from behind: "I am indeed a cat, but eating souls? That's a bit of a stretch~"
Turning around, Tony saw the cat squatting behind him, just like before. Who knows when the cat had shown up?
"Didn't you say you'd cover the rear?" Tony asked.
"Yes, indeed!" the cat replied.
Tony: ?
Leon: ?
…
Watching Tony carrying Ethan and flying away, a bewildered expression crossed Leon's cat face.
If, if indeed!
If he remembered correctly, that crudely made Mark I armor didn't perfectly complete its task, right…
"I recall… it fell from the sky…"
Damn it!
What about Ethan then…?
However, the worry lasted only for a moment. Things were different now. Because of his presence, Tony didn't excessively push that machine like he did in the original story. And he wasn't in such a hurried, panicked rush when he left this time.
Carrying an injured man, even Tony wouldn't be reckless like a firework rocket.
Abandoning his temporary, useless worry, Leon reasoned that if Tony Stark could walk out of this cave, it meant he was already safe. The rest was his own business.
With a twist of his body, he reverted to his original form.
His true form was still the most comfortable; whenever he turned into a cat, he couldn't help but think "meow, meow, meow" and lick his paws.
Picking one of the shouting idiots, Leon teleported in front of him, grabbed him by the neck with one hand, and lifted him up. "I'm asking you, do you know the Mandarin?"
That was Leon's real concern.
Thanks to Iron Man, Leon was quite familiar with Iron Man's archenemy, just like fans of Spider-Man would know about Doctor Octopus or Sandman.
The Mandarin appeared in "Iron Man 3," and Leon's impression of him was just an ordinary con man. But through comments and some fan theories, Leon learned that the Mandarin in the movies was nothing like the one in the comics.
In the comics, though the Mandarin is still a normal human without advanced technology or mutations, he possesses magical artifacts!
The Mandarin's hands are adorned with ten rings, each with a unique power, some even capable of instantly killing Iron Man in his armor.
And Leon?
He's had his cheat code on for so long! What does he have?!
Who's really the one with cheats here?!
Leon wasn't so hot-headed that he wanted to rob the Mandarin right now. With his current power, he couldn't possibly be a match for that rich warlord.
He was just asking. If he got an answer, he'd remember it; if not, no big deal.
The guy Leon grabbed flailed his arms, trying to pry Leon's hand off his throat to get more air. But Leon, with a strength stat in the 20s, was far beyond what a normal person could handle. The guy could only kick his legs uselessly as his gun fell to the ground.
"Looks like you're a tough nut to crack!"
"You son of a... oh! Sorry!" Leon put down the poor soul who couldn't even scream with his throat being squeezed.
Poor guy. Struggling to breathe and still being interrogated.
In his friendliest tone, Leon looked down at the man sitting on the ground, gasping for air, and asked, "Do you know a guy called the Mandarin?"
The man jabbered a whole bunch of things in a language Leon didn't understand, gesticulating wildly. Leon scratched his head. Language barrier, huh?
Just then, the man picked up his dropped gun and fired at Leon's constantly changing faceplate.
Leon, his head slightly tilted back from the impact of the bullet, chuckled.
"You're quite impatient."
…
Five minutes later, Leon put down the bald man's corpse.
It took a minute to clear out all the grunts; the rest of the time was spent talking to this bald guy.
Of course, the bald guy did most of the talking, while Leon mainly focused on sticking senbons (Japanese needles) one by one into the bald guy's legs.
There was no other choice!
This was the only one who could speak English; of course, he couldn't let him go.
It just goes to show how knowledge can change your fate. As it turns out, learning an extra language can give you four more minutes to live in a critical moment!
The bald guy was pretty tough, holding out until Leon asked the second question before spilling everything.
He wanted to hold out even longer, but somehow, the killer seemed to know he could understand his words and wouldn't let him off.
When asked the first question, the bald guy thought about misleading with false information, maybe hoping for some other outcome.
But the devil immediately drove two long needles (kunai) into his palms, followed by two needles into his legs.
"Do you know someone called the Mandarin?"
Toughness! Grit! Dignity!
You can kill me, but you can't... Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
At least ask another question! What kind of interrogation is this?! No sooner had a second passed without an answer, and four more needles went into his legs.
Seeing that the devilish killer had pulled out a whole bunch of other tools from somewhere, the bald guy smartly confessed, even revealing his collaboration with Obadiah.
"You see, I ask, you answer—this is the cooperation everyone wants to see!"
The bald guy, who got two extra needles in his thigh because Leon spoke without asking a question first, wanted to cry but had no tears.
Leon granted the bald guy a swift death.
Leon felt like a truly adorable little angel!
Scanning the entire camp and seeing no other survivors, Leon set it ablaze and left leisurely.
The so-called rearguard action meant cutting off all of the enemy's escape routes.
That's it, exactly!
---
Friends are coming over, so there might not be more updates tonight. Possibly only one chapter today.
(End of Chapter)