"Fortunately, he is fine. He just flew directly to Tennessee? It's really far away!" Seeing that Tony was safe and sound, 3rd gen Aunt May finally let go of her worries, her shoulders visibly relaxing.
"Will he be cold? He's only wearing that piece of clothing," little Peter Parker looked up and asked Aunt May, concern evident in his young eyes.
"Yeah! Of course it will be cold! But he will be fine! He is Tony Stark!" Aunt May touched his head and comforted him with a reassuring smile.
She already knew that Tony and the others had gone to find Killian, but she didn't know what the outcome was.
"Stark always manages to find trouble, doesn't he?" Nick Fury commented, his one eye narrowed as he watched the broadcast with arms crossed.
"That's what makes him Tony," Maria Hill replied with a slight shake of her head. "Always diving headfirst into danger."
[Tony dragged his armor through the snow for an unknown amount of time before he finally saw a gas station with the lights on.]
[He walked outside the gas station and saw a wooden sculpture with a cloak on it, so he took it off and put it on himself.]
[Then he went to a nearby phone booth and connected to Stark's secure server. Now he didn't dare to call Pepper directly, so he could only contact her this way.]
["Pepper! It's me! I have a lot to say sorry, but I don't have enough time! First of all: I'm sorry for putting you in danger!"]
["That was selfish and stupid. I will never do that again!"]
["Also, it's Christmas and the bunny is too big! That's it! I'm sorry!"]
["I also want to apologize in advance, because... I can't go home yet! I have to find that guy, you have to be safe! That's what I want to say!"]
["I just stole a cape from an Indian doll…"]
"At least he's apologizing," Pepper Potts remarked with a knowing smile. "That's progress."
[Tony came to the outside of a house and used a crowbar to pry open the door of a small house. The Mark 42 leaning against the door had no force point and fell to the ground immediately.]
[He took a deep breath and threw away his cloak, then walked in and looked around. He found that this was a garage and nodded approvingly.]
[Tony moved Mark 42 to the sofa with great effort, and sat next to it, placing its hands and talking to himself.]
["Sit comfortably! Are you happy now?" He said, straightening the armor's head.]
[After resting for a while, Tony sat in front of the workbench. Just as he was using a clamp to remove a sensor from his arm, he saw a little boy walking out.]
[Harley pointed a toy gun at Tony and shouted, "Stop! Don't move!"]
[Tony raised his hand: "You caught me! The potato gun is good! But the barrel is a bit long! If it is long and thick, it will weaken its attack power!"]
[As soon as he finished speaking, Harley raised his gun and fired at the cup above him, and the cup shattered.]
[Tony blinked, and Harley tilted his head towards him, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.]
["Now you have no ammunition!" Tony put his hand down and smiled.]
[At this time, Harley discovered the reactor on Tony's chest and asked, "What is that thing on your chest?"]
["It's an electromagnet, you should know! You have a whole box here!" Tony patted the box beside him.]
["What does it power?" But little Harley was obviously not that easy to fool.]
[Hearing this, Tony tilted his mouth and revealed the Mark 42 behind him.]
[The moment he saw it, Harley smiled in surprise and even dropped his toy gun to the ground.]
["Oh! My, God! That… is that… is that Iron Man?" Looking at Mark 42, Harley was a little unsure about what to say.]
[Hearing his words, Tony said calmly: "Actually, I am!"]
["Actually, you're already dead!" He walked over and slapped a newspaper on Tony's chest.]
[Tony glanced at the newspaper, which read: 'Mandarin attacked, Tony Stark presumed dead!']
["That makes sense!"]
"The whole world thinks he's dead," Bruce Banner observed quietly. "That might actually work to his advantage. Gives him time to figure things out without being hunted."
"Classic misdirection," Natasha nodded in agreement. "Sometimes being presumed dead is the best cover you can have."
[Harley came to Mark 42, looked at it, and reached out to touch it. "What's wrong with it?"]
["Life is hard! I built it, I took care of it! Now I have to fix it!" Tony said, throwing the newspaper away.]
[Harley turned his head and looked at him curiously: "Like a mechanic?"]
[Tony nodded: "Yeah!"]
[He turned Mark 42's head and said, "If I were to create Iron Man and War Machine..."]
[Tony corrected him: "Now it's called Iron Patriot!"]
["This is much cooler!"]
[But Tony doesn't think so: "No way!"]
"I'm with Tony on this one," Rhodey chuckled. "Iron Patriot never really felt right."
"I don't know," Captain America shrugged. "I kind of like the patriotic angle."
[Hearing his words, Harley was a little frustrated and continued: "Okay! If it's me, I'll add that reverse..."]
["Retroreflective sheeting?" Tony said before he could finish.]
["It can make him invisible!"]
["Do you want to be invisible?" Tony narrowed his eyes and looked at him.]
["How cool! Isn't it?"]
[Tony smiled and said, "That's a good idea. Maybe I'll build one!"]
"That kid is smart," T'Challa observed, impressed. "Retroreflective panels would be quite useful for stealth operations."
"Shuri would like him," Okoye added with a rare smile. "She's always looking for ways to improve technology."
[At this time, Harley casually broke off Mark 42's fingers.]
[Tony quickly said: "This is a bad idea! What are you doing? Did you break its fingers off? It's in pain! It's hurt! Don't touch it!"]
["Sorry..." Harley lowered his head.]
[Tony first looked at him with wide eyes: "Really?"]
[But then relents and asks, "It's okay! I'll fix it! Um? Who's home?"]
[Harley played with his fingers and replied without raising his head: "Well! My mom went out to eat! My dad went to 7/11 to buy a scratch ticket! I guess he won the prize because it was six years ago!"]
The mood in the viewing room sobered immediately.
"Poor kid," Wanda Maximoff said softly, her eyes filled with empathy. She knew all too well what it was like to lose parents.
"That's rough," Clint Barton muttered, his thoughts immediately going to his own children.
[Tony crossed his arms and looked at him: "Yeah...it's normal, many dads run away! Don't be so fussy! I need something!"]
["A laptop, a digital watch, a cell phone! And the pneumatic spiral tube of your bazooka! A town map, a big spring! And a tuna sandwich!"]
[After Tony told him what he needed, Harley looked at him and asked, "What's in it for me?"]
[Tony curled his lips: "Salvation! What's his name?"]
[He was stunned for a moment: "Who?"]
["What's the name of the kid who bullied you at school?" Tony looked at him indifferently.]
["How did you know?" Harley was a little surprised.]
[Tony did not answer his question, but walked straight towards Mark 42.]
["I just have what you need!"]
[He opened the armor, took out the flash bomb inside and placed it in front of Harley.]
["This is a pinata for cricket! I'm kidding! This is a very powerful weapon. Don't point it at yourself. Press the button on it and it will scare away the people who are bullying you!"]
[Tony demonstrates how to use it, hands it to him and adds: "Non-lethal weapon, just to get away! Deal?"]
[Harley reaches out to take it, but Tony immediately moves his hand away to prevent him from getting it: "Deal? How's it going?"]
["Deal!" Tony gave it to him after hearing the answer.]
"Is he seriously giving that child a flash bomb?" Fury exclaimed, his eye widening in disbelief.
"It's non-lethal," Scott Lang pointed out with a shrug. "And honestly, probably better than some of the stuff I've given Cassie."
"I think it's sweet," young Peter Parker said, earning surprised looks from the adults around him. "He's helping Harley stand up to bullies. That's what heroes do, right?"
The multiverse viewers watched with varying degrees of concern and amusement as Tony Stark, presumed dead by the world, formed an unlikely alliance with a young boy in Tennessee. Neither of them knew yet how this chance meeting would change everything in the battle against Killian and the Mandarin that was still to come.
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