After crossing the snow-covered road, Kai and Tony finally reached a small, quiet town.
Tony kicked open the door of a dusty old warehouse in the courtyard. The place was cluttered with tools, wires, and a makeshift wooden workbench under a flickering lamp.
Tony took one look around and grinned. "Looks like some kid's secret lab. Bit primitive, but—hey, points for effort."
He dragged the broken Mark 42 armor onto a worn-out sofa, giving it a gentle pat like an injured pet.
Kai leaned on the doorframe. "You know this is probably someone's property, right? If the owner walks in with a shotgun, I'm not saving your ass."
"Shut up, you little punk," Tony muttered, already digging through the workbench.
It wasn't much — a few kids' tools, plastic pliers, and a flashlight. Still, Tony grabbed a pair of tweezers and started fiddling with the signal repeater on his arm.
Crunch. Crunch.
He turned around to see Kai sitting comfortably in a chair, munching a bag of potato chips like he was watching a live show.
Tony sighed. "Now I get why my dad always looked at me like that."
Just as he was about to make a snarky remark, a sharp voice came from the door.
"Don't move!"
Both turned their heads. A little boy stood there, holding what looked like a homemade potato gun, hands trembling slightly.
Tony blinked. "Seriously? Is that thing loaded?"
Kai smirked. "Don't look at me, genius. It's his house. I'm not interfering with the landlord."
Tony rolled his eyes, dropped the tweezers, and slowly raised his hands. "Okay, okay. I surrender. Nice craftsmanship, by the way — though your barrel's too long. Cuts your firing power in half—"
Bang!
A potato slug launched across the room, smashing a glass bottle on the cabinet.
Tony stared at the shattered glass. "...Well, now you're out of ammo."
The kid squinted at the glowing reactor on Tony's chest. "What's that light thing?"
Tony gestured casually. "Electromagnet. Keeps shrapnel from piercing my heart. You've got a few magnets here too, see?" He pointed at the coils on the table.
"What does it do?" the boy asked again.
Tony stood and angled the lamp toward the Mark 42 armor.
The kid's eyes widened the instant he saw it. "Oh my God…"
He dropped the potato gun without a second thought and rushed over, staring at the damaged armor like it was a holy relic.
Meanwhile, Kai was still snacking, totally unfazed.
The kid gave him a glance, and somehow instinctively decided that guy wasn't dangerous — just a bored spectator with too many snacks.
The boy traced his fingers over the armor's scratches and dents. "Is this… Iron Man?"
Tony smirked. "In theory? Yeah. That's me."
"You're alive?" The boy rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a newspaper. The headline read:
Tony Stark Presumed Dead — Body Lost at Sea
Tony groaned. "Fantastic. My PR team's gonna love this."
He glanced toward Kai, who was now peeling an orange like he was on vacation.
"Hey, Kai—"
"Don't look at me," Kai interrupted lazily. "All the cameras were on me when you fell into the ocean. I did tell Pepper you made it out, though. She saw you."
He split the orange and offered half to the kid. The boy shook his head politely. Kai shrugged and started eating again.
Tony rolled his eyes so hard it hurt.
The kid tapped the armor gently. "Why won't it move?"
"It's out of power," Tony explained. "But don't worry — I built it. I'll fix it."
"Like a repairman?"
"That's right." Tony nodded, then grabbed the other half of Kai's orange and shoved it into his mouth. "Ugh, sour as hell."
Kai shook a bag of dried blueberries at him. "Fifty grand a bag. Want some?"
"You're robbing me blind... Fine, deal."
Tony snatched the bag, grabbed a handful, and handed some to the boy. When the kid refused again, Tony popped them all into his own mouth.
The boy grinned. "If you built Iron Man and the other one… the blue one, what's it called again? War Machine?"
Tony pointed at him. "It's Iron Patriot now."
The kid's eyes lit up. "That's a cool name!"
Tony frowned. "I disagree."
He chewed another handful of blueberries. "So, who else lives here, kid?"
"My mom. She's working late. My dad's out buying lottery tickets."
The boy's tone was casual, but his eyes dimmed. "He's been buying them for six years. Guess he must've won by now."
Tony went quiet. He set the snack bag aside and said softly, "Hey… it's not rare for dads to walk out. Doesn't mean it's your fault."
He ruffled the boy's hair gently.
Then Tony clapped his hands. "Alright, I need a favor. I need some stuff: a notebook, digital watch, cellphone, the gas compression from your potato gun, a map, a roll of wire… and a tuna sandwich."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "You forgot to ask for a new personality while you're at it."
Ignoring him, Tony mouthed ten times toward Kai.
With a resigned sigh, Kai pulled out a roll of hundred-dollar bills and handed it to the boy.
The boy accepted it suspiciously. "What do I get out of this?"
Tony grinned. "You get to say Iron Man owes you one, kid. Trust me, that's worth more than the cash."