Chapter 6: Arriving in America for the First Time
"Hey, stop drinking already! You're not even of legal age!" Two people who had been chatting and laughing downstairs came upstairs, only to be greeted by a wave of alcohol fumes. They then saw Tohka sprawled on the table clutching a few bottles of liquor. Tohka had been drinking both red and white wine together and had downed seven or eight bottles. Even with her strong constitution, it was enough to make her a bit dizzy.
"Tony! It's bad enough when it's just you, but now you're drinking with Tohka too? Don't forget she's underage! If someone sees this, you'd better prepare for a lawsuit!" Seeing the drunken Tohka, Pepper wasted no time giving Tony a thorough scolding. In her eyes, it had to be Tony, the bad influence, who passed his drinking habits on to Tohka. After all, Tohka's appearance was deceptively innocent.
"Hey, hey, she drank it on her own! This has nothing to do with me. I never taught her how to drink."
"Ah, feels good. Another bottle, please." At that moment, Tohka's slurred voice sounded again.
"That's enough, Tohka. You're not of legal age. I'll take you to your room to rest. Don't follow Tony's bad example—be a good girl." Hearing Tohka's words, Pepper hurriedly helped her towards her room, leaving Tony standing there, questioning his life choices.
"You troublemaker, I can't let you keep ruining others." After taking Tohka back to her room, Pepper returned and continued to lecture Tony. On top of that, she confiscated all his prized liquor collection.
"That damn girl, she's totally set me up." Unable to defend himself, Tony could only watch as Pepper took away his collection. He really hadn't taught Tohka any of this—he hadn't even drunk in front of her before.
While Tohka was sleeping, a conversation was taking place elsewhere.
"So, Coulson, you attended the press conference and saw Tony's adopted daughter. What's your assessment of her?" The one-eyed Black man asked the other about his impressions from the day.
"It's hard to believe that someone with such immense power is just a little girl. My assessment is that she's simply a child, and one who clearly lacks social experience." Although Coulson hadn't had close contact with Tohka, his years of experience as an agent made it easy for him to gauge her character.
"Don't stop monitoring her—she's a dangerous individual." As he spoke, Nick Fury pulled out several photos showing a cloud of dust caused by Tohka's attacks, with the faint glimmer of a massive purple sword among it.
"Right now, since she's Tony's adopted daughter, we can't directly investigate her." Looking at the photos, Coulson frowned. Even from a distance, the power of these attacks was undeniable—it could easily destroy a city.
"Let's not rush. This little girl doesn't seem bad. While we don't fully understand her abilities, they appear to be within a controllable range. Otherwise, Tony wouldn't be so protective of her. Focus on surveillance, but be careful not to get caught. This is crucial for my future plans. If Tony finds out, it'll be troublesome. If necessary, find a way to influence her subtly. We absolutely can't let her go down the wrong path—Tony has likely realized this as well."
"Understood. I'll issue the orders right away."
"....."
Watching Coulson's retreating figure, Fury sat alone at the table, staring at photos of Tohka. He had already attempted to investigate her background, but to his surprise, there was no trace of her. This little girl seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. It was inconceivable for someone to leave no marks throughout their life, yet Tohka had managed to do just that, which only deepened his curiosity.
Even Tohka herself didn't know that she had already caught SHIELD's attention upon arriving in America. But even if she did, she wouldn't worry. SHIELD wasn't a terrorist organization, and even with Hydra's infiltration, it wouldn't have enough manpower to act against her.
"Ugh, what time is it? I'm starving." Waking up in the afternoon, Tohka dashed to the living room. Luckily, Tony had a shred of decency. He had left a few KFC family meals on the table for her. Otherwise, Tohka might have had to venture out to find food, and who knows what kind of trouble she could've caused.
"No one's here. That guy has probably gone to prepare materials for his armor." At this moment, Tohka realized that she was the only one left in the villa. Tony and Pepper had both left, leaving her alone.
"Whatever. Let's see which superheroes are making appearances now." After thinking it over, Tohka went back to her room, where there was a newly unboxed computer—clearly a gift from Tony.
"Sigh, thankfully, even though this Earth has advanced tech, it's similar to my previous world in many ways." Opening the computer, Tohka began browsing the information on the screen. The first thing she saw was Tony's big face.
Due to Tony's announcement at the press conference, the entire United States now knew about his plan to cancel Stark Industries' weapons trade and pivot toward energy development. This not only shocked everyone but also caused ripples across the stock market. Everyone was talking about it. After all, the weapons trade had always been Stark Industries' main business, accounting for a massive portion of its profits. It's worth remembering that weapons trading has always been a highly lucrative industry on the international stage. The rise of the United States was inextricably linked to arms deals during the two world wars.
Of course, Tohka also saw her own photo. The fact that Tony had adopted her as his daughter should have been headline news. After all, it meant she had directly entered the upper echelon of American society and gained inheritance rights to Tony's fortune. However, this story was overshadowed by Tony's earlier announcement and was relegated to a much less prominent position.
"That guy, he's definitely doing this on purpose." Seeing this, Tohka understood Tony's intention. He was clearly trying to minimize her visibility. This way, ordinary people wouldn't pay much attention to her or question her identity. Meanwhile, those with power and influence wouldn't risk offending Tony by causing her trouble. It was safe to say that as long as she didn't do anything reckless, she wouldn't face any obstacles living in America.
"Here, yes, right here. Put it down properly. Okay, you can leave now." At this moment, Tohka heard noises from outside along with Tony's voice.