Chương 51

Most shattered harmlessly. But enough struck critical exposed sections repeatedly. Cooling vents froze over. Joint systems slowed. And suddenly Obadiah realized the horrifying truth. The ice wasn't trying to pierce the armor. It was freezing the machinery itself. Tony had already understood that before, because he knew him. The shinobi vanished instantly afterward while Tony charged both repulsors to maximum output. Iron Monger tried moving. Too slow. Frost had spread everywhere across the armor now.

The massive suit groaned loudly while internal systems started failing catastrophically.

"... NO!" Obadiah roared furiously while trying forcing the armor forward.

"Who the hell are you!" Tony fired. BOOOOOOOOM. Twin repulsor blasts struck Iron Monger's frozen chest directly. The sudden impact combined with the brittle frozen systems completely destabilized the giant armor. Massive cracks spread across the machinery instantly before the entire suit got blasted backward violently. Straight through the industrial arc reactor platform nearby. Electricity exploded everywhere. The frozen armor convulsed violently inside the overload. And finally— BOOOOOOOOM.

The Iron Monger armor exploded in a massive storm of fire, electricity and shattered frozen metal. Silence followed afterward. Tony slowly landed onto the damaged street breathing heavily inside the armor. He himself was almost out of power. Nearby, Haku stood silently while frost still lingered around him gently.

"... Yeah." Tony muttered tiredly.

"Definitely never pissing him off." Meanwhile Coulson and his agents were looking all of it with wide eyes. They could understand Tony Stark with an armor. But who was this dude? Manipulating ice and needles? How come they know none of it and somehow Tony seemed to recognize him. Both of them just looked at the explosion and tiny bit of charred flesh everywhere. Haku just sighed inside. When he arrived in this world, he thought in modern society there would be peace, especially when he saw the law and order here.

But it seemed death and destruction is the theme of every world.

"Uh.. Excuse me.. Can we talk for a bit.." Coulson could only speak that word when suddenly the man in white and black just vanished. He and all the agents couldn't even see how he moved.

"Leave him be.." Tony walked forward, as he opened the visor of his helmet.

"Mr. Stark, did this gentleman just teleport?" Coulson couldn't help but ask.

"No. He moved so fast that our eyes can't see. By the way, who are you again?"

"Tony, this is Agent Coulson who safeguarded me. Umm.. He is from..." Pepper came forward.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"That's quite the mouthful. You need to work on better naming."

"You can call us SHIELD." Coulson said.

"Tony, what is going on? Why are you in this armor..." Pepper hadn't seen him in an armor like the original canon so she had to ask.

"Umm.. can we discuss this later, people are out with phones." Tony reminded and then just flew off. Coulson and others soon left too as it wouldn't be good to have their faces on front pages the next day. The next morning Tony found himself sitting inside a SHIELD-controlled press room while Agent Coulson stood nearby holding a stack of papers. Tony already hated this. Coulson adjusted the papers slightly afterward before speaking calmly.

"We prepared a narrative to minimize public panic." Tony looked toward the pages afterward.

"...'Tony Stark was aboard a private experimental aircraft during an industrial malfunction.'" He slowly looked upward.

"... You people really suck at lying naturally." This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"We prefer controlled information." Coulson replied professionally. Nearby Haku quietly stood near one side of the room. He and Pepper both were inside the room, while Coulson was giving him a brief. Coulson had noticed the presence of Haku around a long ago and had already informed Fury. Coulson had a very strange inkling that this teenager was the man in black and white. He just couldn't prove it.

"Mr. Stark..." Tony looked toward him lazily.

"The individual in the black and white suit yesterday..." Coulson continued calmly.

"... would you happen to know anything about him?" Haku remained perfectly expressionless nearby.

"... Nope." Coulson stared at him. Tony stared back.

"... You recognized him during the incident."

"I recognize lots of people." Tony shrugged casually.

"I once recognized Leonardo DiCaprio at a party too. Doesn't mean he shoots ice out of his hands." Coulson sighed internally afterward. Because unfortunately... Tony Stark was impossible to interrogate normally. Still, the agent gave one final attempt.

"The surveillance footage showed him assisting you directly. We even saw it with our own eyes." Tony immediately leaned forward slightly afterward.

"And the footage also showed a giant evil refrigerator trying to kill people. Yesterday was weird for everyone, Agent Coulson. Including you." That effectively ended the conversation. Eventually Pepper entered afterward before giving Tony a tired look.

"... Please tell me you're actually going to follow the script this time." Tony looked offended immediately.

"I always follow scripts." Pepper stared blankly.

"... Tony."

"... Fine. Sometimes." And thus eventually the press conference began.

"Mr. Stark! Were you piloting the red and gold armored suit seen last night?"

"Mr. Stark! Was Obadiah Stane involved in illegal weapons manufacturing?"

"Mr. Stark! Witnesses reported another unidentified figure alongside the armored individual!" That last question immediately gained momentum.

"The white and black suited woman!"

"Was she using experimental weaponry?"

"Some footage showed freezing effects!"

"Was Stark Industries developing cryogenic technology?"

"Is she connected to your company?" Meanwhile Haku quietly watched from nearby while remaining perfectly calm. Tony eventually tried following Coulson's script briefly.

"She?" Tony noticed that they referred to Haku as she. Dude, you haven't even seen him, and you already think of him as a woman? So even with the face hidden one couldn't help mistake him? But then Tony refused to answer to that and followed just like the canon.

"The Iron Monger incident was an unfortunate technological accident involving—" The reporters immediately started shouting over each other again. Coulson immediately sensed danger.

"Tony—""The truth is..."

"... I am Iron Man." Haku just smirked from the side and shook his head. He won the bet with Yinsen. It took a lot of time and agents helping that Tony was out of the whole barrage of questions from the reporters. Honestly, the man looked more exhausted from the press conference than from fighting Iron Monger itself. Pepper left soon afterward for Stark Industries because the company was practically on fire internally now.

Board members panicking, stocks fluctuating and lawyers probably crying in bathrooms somewhere. Meanwhile Tony and Haku quietly left for home together. Yinsen wasn't there currently since he had gone to handle paperwork regarding his refugee status and medical registration. Apparently modern bureaucracy was now his greatest enemy. The sun had already set by the time Tony's car finally entered the Malibu property again. Ocean breeze flowed quietly while the mansion remained mostly dark. Tony immediately noticed it.

"... JARVIS?" Haku's eyes narrowed slightly afterward. And then...

"Don't bother." A deep voice echoed calmly through the darkness. Tony immediately froze slightly. Because sitting casually inside his living room like he owned the place was a dark-skinned bald man wearing an eyepatch and enough authority to make military generals nervous. Nick Fury. The man radiated "government problems" instinctively.

"... Okay." Tony slowly removed his sunglasses afterward.

"Either I'm hallucinating again or a pirate broke into my house."

"You're not the only superhero in the world, Mr. Stark." Tony blinked once.

"... You know, that sentence somehow created more questions than answers." Meanwhile Haku quietly stayed near one side of the room while observing Fury carefully. This man clearly controlled things from the shadows. Haku recognized that type immediately. Kirigakure had plenty of them. This man gave the same vibes and that itself was something he didn't like.

"... Interesting kid." Fury spoke calmly. Tony immediately stepped slightly forward afterward.

"Careful. He bites."

"Ice too from what I've heard." Fury replied instantly. Fury eventually stood up slowly afterward before directly asking:"You're the one from last night, aren't you?" Tony immediately answered first.

"Nope." Unfortunately Haku chose that exact moment to step forward calmly.

"... Would there be a problem if I was?"

"... No." Fury finally replied calmly.

"But SHIELD would like to know more about you." That single sentence immediately made Haku's posture sharpen slightly.

"... About what specifically?"

"Your origins." Fury answered directly.

"Your abilities. How someone like you suddenly appears around Tony Stark." Tony crossed his arms immediately afterward.

"... See now that's the part where things become government-y and annoying." Fury ignored him completely. His eye remained fixed on Haku.

"People don't manipulate ice naturally." Haku remained calm.

"... And men don't normally fly in metal suits either." Tony meanwhile looked absurdly proud hearing that response from Haku.

"SHIELD deals with unusual threats."

"And who said I am a threat?" Haku asked quietly. Tony eventually stepped in more seriously afterward.

"Look." He pointed lightly.

"He's not giving you some tragic backstory monologue and neither am I." Fury remained silent.

"We helped people." Tony continued.

"We stopped Obadiah. End of story."

"And if SHIELD keeps digging?" Fury asked calmly. Haku finally answered this time.

"... Then you may find things you don't understand. You are not my boss. You are a nobody. One call and you will be jailed so please get out of my living room."