Chapter 11: Iron Man
"Are you planning to make a move?"
Seeing Tony, brimming with killing intent, Tohka knew he was ready to act.
At the same time, this marked the beginning of Iron Man's quest for justice, though Tohka didn't plan to get involved.
"That's right. So, want to come along? I remember you can fly too."
Tony was well aware of the girl's strength; even with his Iron Armor, he had no confidence in defeating Tohka.
After all, the destructive power Tohka had demonstrated earlier was astonishing. Tony knew that if she wanted to, she could level New York.
"No thanks. My flying speed is too slow. It's fine within the U.S., but flying to the other side of the world would exhaust me."
Tohka rejected Tony's invitation without hesitation; the matter was beyond her reach anyway.
Even if she wanted to help, by the time she flew over, everyone would probably already be dead.
"Got it. I already have a rough idea for the armor I'll gift you in the future."
Nodding thoughtfully, Tony didn't press the matter further.
The previous armor was only a prototype, and the weight of the materials limited its potential, so Tony didn't expect Tohka to use it anyway.
"Alright, stay here and keep an eye on things for me. I'll handle the rest."
After giving instructions to Tohka, Tony walked over to the control console.
Then came the classic scene: one by one, machines rose from beneath Tony and slowly covered him with the armor.
A minute later, a red-and-gold armored Iron Man stood before Tohka.
"Takeoff."
With Tony's command, he vanished from Tohka's sight in the blink of an eye.
He quickly reached maximum speed mid-air, leaving a series of sonic booms as he disappeared from Tohka's view.
"Breaking the sound barrier, huh? That's really fast. Only the Storm Twins could probably keep up, but I definitely can't."
Watching Tony disappear in an instant, Tohka calculated her own speed again.
She realized she couldn't maintain that kind of speed for long, as it far exceeded the speed of sound.
"Forget it, I'll just watch Tony in action."
After thinking for a while, Tohka decided not to dwell on it and walked over to Tony's workstation.
There, multiple computers on stands displayed scenes captured by the external cameras on Tony's armor.
"That's such a fast speed, but this armor must be assisted by JARVIS."
Tony's not a professional fighter pilot; he doesn't yet have the ability to fully utilize the armor's potential on his own.
Staring at the various metrics on the screen, Tohka muttered to herself.
No matter how fast Tony was, it would still take him some time to reach his destination.
Having nothing better to do, Tohka left Tony's control room and returned to her own room, where the first volume of her novel was nearing completion.
Soon, it would be ready for release. Being Tony's nominally adopted daughter, she had resources far beyond the average person.
Though the book had some changes compared to the original, Tohka was still confident in her work.
"Ah, just need to finish it. Thankfully, this world doesn't have these works. I don't want to be supported by Tony forever."
"Oh, it seems to have started. Tony is really fast."
After working for a while, Tohka noticed Tony had already reached his destination.
What followed was just like the original story—Tony began his rampage.
With JARVIS's assistance, every attack hit a terrorist precisely, while the hostages they held remained unharmed.
"It's not much of a big deal, huh? I bet Tony now thinks he can protect everything on his own."
Tohka knew that when Tony returned, he would likely start planning her future.
Though she was a bit of a homebody, she was still filled with curiosity about this brand-new world.
After all, Earth, while secluded in a corner of the universe, was under the protection of Asgard and thus unnoticed by the cosmic powers.
However, in the future, even Asgard would face calamities, and Earth would likely become the focal point of the universe.
After all, nearly all of the known Infinity Stones were intricately connected to Earth.
Still, Tohka didn't believe she could control the Infinity Stones herself, but she remained deeply curious about this world.
Of course, occasionally playing the role of a superhero wouldn't be bad—she had the strength for it anyway.
After coming to this conclusion, Tohka stopped paying attention to Tony's affairs.
After all, even if Tony shot down a plane, it didn't matter. As long as no one died, he could just pay for another one. That guy definitely had enough money, and someone would clean up his mess.
Sure enough, Tohka saw Tony take down a plane. His buddy, Colonel Rhodey, immediately blamed the incident on an exercise mishap.
Tohka had to admire the efficiency—Tony hadn't even returned yet, but a press release was already being prepared for a news conference.
"Not bad, but you actually took down a plane. I bet the military will lose some face over that."
Hearing the commotion outside, Tohka headed to the basement.
At that moment, Tony was dealing with some trouble: his robot seemed to malfunction and couldn't remove the armor quickly.
"Yeah, it was a decent trip. But Tohka, could you help me take off this armor? This damned machine still needs improvement."
"No problem. Leave it to me."
Hearing Tony's request, Tohka immediately drew her weapon and prepared to strike at the machine with Tony inside.
"Stop! Someone could die!"
Seeing Tohka's giant sword, Tony was almost scared out of his wits.
He didn't believe the armor could withstand Tohka's attack.
Sure, the armor might come off, but he'd probably be sliced in half as well.
"Huh? Didn't you ask me to help take off the armor?"
Tilting her head, Tohka didn't understand why Tony, looking terrified, was yelling for her to stop.
Couldn't he just get out if she destroyed the armor?
"I don't need your help anymore. I'll do it myself. JARVIS, follow my commands step by step. Tohka, you can go back now. Pepper will be here soon."
"Alright."
Hearing Tony's words, Tohka left.
"Phew, natural airheads are terrifying."
Watching Tohka leave, Tony wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Didn't she realize she could've accidentally cut him in half?
"JARVIS, take it slow. No rush. Right here, yeah, start by removing this part."
"Understood."
"What a strange guy. Whatever, I'll just go play some games."
Unable to figure it out, Tohka decided to stop thinking about it and headed to her computer to start gaming.
Thanks to Tony, she was now the kind of enviable pay-to-win player everyone dreamed of being.
Her face stung a little.