I am Iron Man
Tony patted Xia Yu on the shoulder and continued, "I don't have martial arts as powerful as yours, but I have my brain and my technology. I'm done going to meetings and social events, done signing papers and doing research. For the rest of my life, I'm going to do just one thing: put on the Iron Man Armor and protect the people who need protecting. And this..." Iron Man pointed at the reactor in his chest. "This reminds me what I'm living for. If I take it out, I'll die, so I'll never be able to forget my mission."
Tony Stark's words were utterly sincere. That was what Xia Yu had liked about Iron Man when he watched the movies in his previous life. Sharp-tongued and arrogant as he was, he was always changing and growing. After the aliens came, he wanted to put a suit of armor around the entire planet; when Vision accidentally shot Rhodey down, he added a parachute to Spider-Man's suit.
For a moment, Xia Yu didn't know what to say. He stood up, walked over to Tony, and put a hand on his shoulder. He quickly circulated the internal energy of the Nine Yang Divine Skill through Tony's body, then gave him a light palm strike on the back.
"Pfft!" Tony opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of mercury-like liquid.
"What's that?" Pepper Potts and Tony asked at the same time.
Tony Stark hadn't had the reactor in his chest for very long. On top of that, Xia Yu's appearance in this world had made Tony considerably stronger and improved his resistance to toxins, so he hadn't noticed the problem yet.
"I don't know. Ask yourself. I just figured that having something like that inside your body couldn't be all that clean, so I checked," Xia Yu said.
Tony Stark quickly realized what it was. "That should be palladium poisoning." Then he turned back to Pepper Potts. "Don't worry. I'll find another element to replace it."
Early the next morning, Xia Yu was dragged off to Stark Industries. Tony was holding a press conference that day to address what had happened the night before. Coulson and James Rhodes had prepared Tony's statement well in advance—a long-winded lie, of course. Coulson also gave Xia Yu a phone and a S.H.I.E.L.D. ID.
Xia Yu looked at the Level 1 agent designation on the ID and said glumly, "You're giving me an ID anyway. Couldn't you make it a slightly higher level?"
Coulson smiled. "Director Nick said that unless you're willing to accept S.H.I.E.L.D.'s full authority to assign you, you'll stay a Level 1 agent for the rest of your life."
Xia Yu snorted. "Level 1 it is. It's not like it gets me a discount at the supermarket."
Coulson patted him on the shoulder comfortingly. "Personally, I really envy you. You even managed to win Natasha over. Her nickname is Black Widow, you know."
Xia Yu wanted to tell him that someone with a receding hairline like his wouldn't understand personal charm. After thinking it over, he decided not to bully an honest man and said, "Don't I need to provide a personal bank account to receive my salary?"
"Nick said you're a capitalist and don't need a salary. Besides, you still owe him money," Coulson said.
"Damn..." Xia Yu wanted to say more, but Tony was already getting ready to go onstage, so he dropped it and followed him out to watch the show. Lots of people had witnessed Iron Man's battle with Iron Monger on the road, but Xia Yu had only escorted Pepper once, and hardly anyone had noticed him. He hadn't been exposed for the time being.
Just like in the movie, the female reporter who had once had a one-night stand with Tony pressed him relentlessly. In the end, Tony Stark looked at the speech in his hand and hesitated for a moment before delivering the line that launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe:
"I am Iron Man."