Ever since that "invisibility" operation failed, Tony always felt a bit short of breath in front of Takao—looking exactly like some kind of Kong Yiji who'd squeezed himself into a suit.
"T-That counts as a failure?" Whenever Takao brought up the embarrassment of Tony getting chased around by an F-22 until he could only cower and flee, Tony would crane his neck and argue back. "That was field testing! Data collection! A necessary, valuable setback during the process of scientific exploration! The business of scholars—of research—how can you put it so harshly?"
Then he would go on about things like "first live-combat variables are uncontrollable," "the opponent's radar iteration exceeded expectations," and "we accumulated precious experience for the next-generation armor," spouting a string of hard-to-understand lines that filled the villa with cheerful laughter. Even Skadi seemed to have learned to quietly fix him with those red eyes whenever he kept acting tough—until Tony himself was the first to fold.
But beyond the fun, Takao didn't forget the threat lurking in the shadows. He didn't directly expose Obadiah Stane's plot, because he understood Tony's nearly blind trust in those close to him (at least at this stage). Saying it outright could tip the enemy off—or make it too hard for Tony to accept.
So he found an excuse and told Tony, "Tony, look—this Arc Reactor is proof of our friendship and this 'great adventure.' It's also a symbol of your rebirth. How about you make me a small one too, as a souvenir? I want to collect one."
By this point, Tony already saw Takao as a best friend he could entrust his life to. For a request with that much "commemorative meaning," he agreed without a second thought. Before long, using spare moments, he carefully made a fully functional Arc Reactor—just a bit smaller—and solemnly handed it to Takao.
Takao put it away carefully, feeling more at ease.
What was coming… finally came.
One day, Obadiah went down to the underground lab to "check on" Tony, using concern for Tony's health and company affairs as his excuse. A long time passed, and Tony still didn't come up like usual—either bursting up excitedly to show off some new invention, or cursing and complaining about a technical problem.
Alarm bells screamed in Takao's head. He shot Skadi a look, and the two of them immediately rushed downstairs.
They shoved open the lab door—and saw a toppled work chair, scattered tools, and…
Tony—curled up in a corner, face as white as paper, both hands clamped tight over his chest, struggling to breathe, cold sweat plastering his forehead. The core reactor in his chest—the thing keeping him alive and powering his armor—was gone without a trace!
"Tony!" Takao lunged forward.
Tony saw them, and a flicker of hope flashed in his eyes—but he was so weak he could barely speak. He could only force out, in a rasping breath, "Oba… he… Pepper… is in danger…"
"Don't talk!" Takao immediately pulled out the "souvenir" reactor he'd had Tony custom-make, and with practiced speed, fitted it into the electromagnet in Tony's chest.
Hummm—
A deep blue glow flared back to life. Powerful energy flooded Tony's limbs in an instant. He sucked in a huge breath—like a drowning man being dragged back to the surface—and the pallor on his face rapidly returned to color.
"Pepper! Obadiah went after Pepper! He's wearing that big thing!" The moment he recovered, Tony sprang up, frantic to rush out and summon his armor.
Takao grabbed him, expression serious and calm. "Tony, listen! If you charge in right now, you may be walking straight into his trap. If he really is wearing heavy armor, fighting in the city will hurt countless innocent people!"
"Then what do we do?!"
"Draw him here!" Takao pointed toward the wide open coastal stretch outside the villa. "It's open enough, and there are no civilians. And…" He paused, and a teasing grin suddenly spread across his face as he patted Tony's shoulder. "If the enemy is too strong, you bring him here. If you're willing to call me 'Dad,' I'll be very happy to save your life again."
Tony's face instantly turned black as the bottom of a pot. He slapped Takao's hand away and roared in fury, "Fuck you, Takao! Even if I die! Even if I jump off this cliff! Even if Obadiah tears me into spare parts! I will never call you Dad! And I definitely won't ask you to save me again!"
With that, he spun around and charged for his armor display area. Mark III completed its suit-up in an instant. The gold-and-red figure blasted through the roof, streaking toward the Stark Expo.
Takao watched him vanish into the distance, then smiled helplessly and said to Skadi beside him, "Get ready, Titi. Our 'son' probably won't last long."
Skadi didn't really understand what "son" meant, but she understood "get ready." Silently, she rested her hand on the hilt of the greatsword on her back.
Sure enough—less than half an hour later.
In the night sky, a gold-and-red figure came wobbling back toward the villa in an utterly miserable state, flying crookedly. Behind him chased a huge, crude, silver-gray iron monster that thundered with heavy metal impacts as it moved—Obadiah, piloting the Iron Monger!
Mark III had clearly taken a beating in the earlier fight. The armor was covered in scars, and its flight path was unstable. Tony fought desperately to dodge Iron Monger's machine-gun fire and micro-missiles, while yelling toward the villa with the most humiliated—and most heartfelt—tone he'd ever used in his life:
"Dad—!! Help me!!! Dad, save me!!!"
He finally said it.
Skadi, who had been waiting all along, had a cold glint flash through her crimson eyes. At Takao's command—"Go"—she bent her knees slightly. The ground beneath her cracked, and she launched into the air like a cannon shell!
Reaching midair, level with Iron Monger, she gripped the massive crimson greatsword with both hands. Borrowing the force of her own fall and her monstrous strength, she brought down a simple, unadorned overhead cleave—one that carried the power to split mountains and shatter boulders—straight onto Iron Monger's thick mechanical arm!
KRAAANG—SCHLK!!
A piercing metal-tearing shriek exploded together with sparks from shorting circuits. Iron Monger's right arm—loaded with heavy firepower—was severed clean off at the root by Skadi's savage strike! The enormous broken limb, crackling with electricity, smashed down to the ground with a heavy crash!
Inside the cockpit, Obadiah let out a shocked, furious howl. Before he could even react, Skadi landed on Iron Monger like a white reaper.
Sword light flashed again—like red lightning wrapping around Iron Monger's massive body!
CRACK! CLANG! HSSS—!
Arm plating was flicked away! Leg hydraulics were cut through! The chest armor was split open with a huge gash! The rear weapons bay was torn off entirely!
In just a few breaths, the once-arrogant Iron Monger was dismantled like a toy—Skadi's greatsword cutting it apart cleanly, brutally, and without mercy—until it became a pile of scrap metal belching black smoke and sparks. Only the central cockpit remained somewhat intact, but it was now exposed to open air. Inside, Obadiah stared in disbelief, his face drained of all color.
Tony guided Mark III down slowly beside Takao. The faceplate snapped open. He stared at the beyond-imagination demolition scene, then at Skadi—standing there with her sword sheathed, expressionless, as if she'd merely swatted a fly—and finally looked at Takao, whose face practically said, See? Calling Dad works.
Tony opened his mouth, but in the end couldn't force out a single word—only feeling his face burn hot.
That "Dad"…
Was really worth it.
(End of Chapter)
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