After examining the scene, Jiraiya and Kankuro arrived at a deserted cliff.
Kankuro looked at Jiraiya and asked, "What should we do?"
Jiraiya replied, "We need to find Tony."
Biting his finger and forming hand seals, Jiraiya shouted, "Summoning Jutsu!"
"Boom!"
A puff of smoke cleared to reveal Pakkun, the ninja dog.
Seeing that it was Jiraiya who had summoned him, Pakkun tilted his head up and said, "Master Jiraiya!"
Jiraiya looked at Pakkun and asked, "Pakkun, do you remember Tony Stark's scent?"
Pakkun nodded, "Of course, I'm very familiar with that guy."
"Is he in trouble?"
Jiraiya explained Tony's situation, "He disappeared after an attack. We need you to help us find him."
Pakkun shook his head in exasperation, "That troublemaker. He's been captured again? Unbelievable."
Pakkun sniffed the air for Tony's scent. After a while, he looked up and said, "Tony isn't in New York; he might have gone far this time."
After a bit more sniffing, Pakkun said, "Found him. Follow me."
As Pakkun vanished, Jiraiya looked at Kankuro and said, "Stay close, Sand kid."
In the next moment, Jiraiya took off in the direction Pakkun had disappeared, with Kankuro quickly following.
...
Meanwhile-
Tony and Harley arrived in town. Tony commented on the items Harley had brought, "The sandwich is decent, but the spring is a bit rusty."
"The other materials will have to do for now."
"And you said you'd give me your sister's watch..."
Harley asked, "What's wrong?"
Tony rolled up his sleeve to reveal a girl's cartoon watch on his wrist and said, "I thought it would be a bit more mature than this."
Harley laughed, "She's only six. Come on, it's a limited edition."
Harley then asked, "When can we talk about the New York incident?"
Tony replied, "Probably not going to happen. Forget about it."
"What about the Avengers? Can we talk about them?"
Tony dismissed the idea, "Maybe later. Give me some space, kid."
As they talked, Tony and Harley arrived at an open area with memorial items and several black silhouettes on the wall.
Tony asked curiously, "What's the story here? What happened?"
Walking to the center and looking at the items on the ground, Harley said, "A guy named Chad Davis lived just around the corner."
"He won a lot of medals while he was in the military."
"But then people say he went crazy one day. He made a bomb and blew himself up right here."
Tony approached, looking at the shadows on the wall. He remembered seeing this news while having Jarvis investigate. After observing for a moment, he asked, "Six people died here, right?"
Harley nodded, "Yes."
Tony continued, "Including Chad Davis."
"That's right."
Tony sat down beside Harley and said, "Really? That doesn't make sense."
"Think about it. Six people died, but there are only five shadows."
Harley nodded, "Yeah."
"People say these shadows are marks of souls entering heaven."
"But poor bomb guy fell into hell, so his shadow followed him."
"That's why there are only five shadows."
Tony asked, "Do you believe that?"
Harley didn't say he believed it; instead, he said, "That's what people say."
Tony shook his head, clearly not buying it. He had seen hell and demons firsthand.
Harley looked at the crater left by the explosion and said, "Do you know what this hole reminds me of?"
"I don't know, and I don't care."
Harley smiled, making a gesture with his hands, "That big wormhole in New York."
"What does it remind you of?"
Tony looked at Harley, "Trying to get me to talk, huh? I don't want to."
Harley pressed on, "Aliens. Are they going to come back?"
"Maybe."
Tony, now visibly agitated, said, "Can you shut up?"
"Didn't I tell you I have anxiety?"
Harley asked, "Does this topic make you... uneasy?"
"Yes, a little. Can I catch my breath?"
But Harley kept going, "Are there bad guys at Rose Hill?"
Seeing Tony struggling to breathe, Harley asked, "Do you need a bag to help you breathe?"
"Did you take your meds?"
"No."
"Do you need to take your meds?"
"Maybe."
"Do you have PTSD?"
"I don't think so."
"Will you... will you go crazy?"
"I can shut up. Do you want me to shut up?"
With Harley's constant questioning, Tony finally snapped, "Didn't I tell you to shut up?"
"I swear, you're driving me crazy."
After a moment, Tony couldn't take it anymore. He got up and started running away, saying, "Kid, you're really driving me nuts. Are you happy now?"
Harley, bewildered, called after him, "What did I say?"
"Hey, wait up."
Harley got up and chased after Tony.
Tony had barely reached the street corner when he collapsed, shaking uncontrollably.
Harley chased after him, calling, "Wait, wait."
He finally caught up to Tony and asked, "What's wrong?"
Kneeling on the ground, Tony took off his hat, grabbed some snow, and pressed it against his face.
Tony cooled down a bit by holding the snow to his face. Then, he tossed the snow at Harley and said, "You made me have a fit."
Harley, hit by the snow, didn't get mad; instead, he suppressed a laugh, clearly finding Tony's reaction amusing.
Feeling better, Tony put his hat back on and said, "Alright, back to business."
"Where were we?"
"That guy died. What about his family? His mother, Mrs. Davis, where is she?"
Harley thought for a moment and then said, "She stays at a place, a bar."
Tony told Harley, "See, now that's helpful."
"Take me to that bar you mentioned."
Soon, Harley led Tony to a bar nearby. Tony looked at the bar across the street and said, "Harley, you wait here. Don't go in."
Harley nodded, and Tony pulled down the brim of his hat and walked towards the bar.
Just as he was about to enter, Tony bumped into a woman and knocked something out of her hands.
"Sorry."
Tony turned around, picked up the item, and handed it back to her.
"Ma'am, your thing."
The woman turned, took the item from Tony, and said, "Thank you."
A gust of wind blew, revealing a scar on the woman's face through her red hair. Tony noticed the scar and, after a brief pause, shifted the conversation, "Nice hair. It suits you."
The woman glanced at Tony's watch and said, "Your watch is nice too."
Tony lifted his arm, pointing at his wrist, and said, "Yeah, it's a limited edition."
The woman smiled, "Of course."
Then she said to Tony, "Have a good night."
As she left, Tony turned and walked into the bar.
Once inside, Tony scanned the room and found Mrs. Davis. Approaching her, he said, "Mrs. Davis?"
Seeing her look at him, Tony confirmed he had the right person and asked, "May I sit?"
Mrs. Davis glanced at Tony and calmly said, "It's a free country."
Tony nodded, "Indeed it is."
He sat down, and Mrs. Davis said, "Alright, say what you have to say."
Tony spoke, "I'm sorry for your loss. I want to understand what happened."
Mrs. Davis looked at Tony and said, "I brought the files for you. Take them and leave."
"Whatever they say, it wasn't what he wanted to do."
Tony looked at the documents labeled "Secret File: MIA Operations." Flipping through the pages with photos and details, he said, "Clearly, you're expecting someone else, right?"
"Someone else will meet you here, correct?"
Mrs. Davis nodded, "Yes."
Tony skimmed the files and then looked at her seriously, "Mrs. Davis, your son didn't commit suicide."
"I assure you, he didn't hurt anyone."
"He was used by someone."
Mrs. Davis asked, "Who?"
Tony continued, "Someone made him a pawn."
Hearing Tony's words, Mrs. Davis took back the files, tucked them under her arm, and looked at him, "You're not the person from the phone, are you?"
At that moment, the woman Tony had bumped into earlier approached the table and placed an item on it, saying, "Actually, it's me!"
Tony looked at her, and in the next second, she grabbed his arm, pinned him to the table, and handcuffed him.
###
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