James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhode

Descending the stairs to the basement, the space is furnished like a high-end salon. Large floor-to-ceiling windows offer direct ocean views; What If...? you could open them and listen to the sound of the waves, it would be a very comfortable and relaxing place.

However, Henry was wondering how the people living here would cope with the high levels of salt and moisture in the air. This was supposed to be a high-tech giant; their air purification equipment must be some kind of cutting-edge technology.

Virginia Potts jogged to the single elevator entrance to wait, then helped Catherine Hepburn out.

Tony Stark, who had originally planned to sit on the sofa and greet people with a cocky attitude, stood up to greet them. In terms of etiquette, he had the air of a noble young master, unlike his dissolute demeanor in the media.

Tony Stark still showed full respect to this four-time Oscar-winning actress. Even a burly black man next to him stood up to greet her.

"Kate, you've arrived." Tony Stark stepped forward and gave her a cheek kiss.

"Tony Stark, you sure know how to give this old man a hard time. What made you suddenly decide to move to Los Angeles? Are you trying to be like your father, taking charge of Stark Studios and hunting for women in Hollywood?"

Perhaps if Howard Stark could hear such teasing from above, he would seriously explain that he moved to Los Angeles to start a film company because he was interested in making movies... and that womanizing was just a side thing.

Tony Stark certainly didn't want to defend his father; he just wanted to distance himself. "Kate, do you think I need the power of making movies to attract women? That underestimates me."

The old man patted Tony Stark's hand lightly. "Nothing to be proud of." He then looked at the black man. "Aren't you going to introduce me to this handsome young man?"

"James Rupert Rhodey, U.S. Air Force Colonel, Stark Industries ' liaison with the military, and also my classmate at MIT. My best brother."

As Tony Stark spoke, he even imitated a street gangster, giving James Rhodey an awkward fist bump, though the latter seemed somewhat reluctant. Then Tony Stark introduced another person, "Rhodey, this is Catherine Hepburn, a good friend of our family."

Rhodey was a nickname for Rhodey, which shows how much Tony Stark valued this friend he had made at university.

"So you have friends after all."

"Kate!" Even with a net worth of tens of billions, being stabbed will still hurt. Tony Stark protested indignantly.

Catherine Hepburn shook hands with James Rhodey, saying, "I'm quite curious how you two met. Even at school, Tony Stark must have looked like someone you wanted to punch."

"Ha, that's true. But it wasn't me who wanted to beat him up, it was someone else."

Catherine Hepburn immediately perked up. "Tell me, what's going on?"

Hey Rhodey!

"No, no, no, Tony, I have to say this." As if he had finally found an opportunity and someone to complain to, James Rhodey recounted the old story vividly.

"This genius got into MIT at fifteen. Do you know how many people disliked him? Oh, I should ask the other way around: how many people liked him?"

James Rhodey painstakingly counted on both hands, then lowered one hand. "Hmm, not that many people, one hand is enough. Aha, actually not even half, can you believe it?"

"Most people, even if they didn't like this kid, wouldn't dare do anything to him because of the Stark name. But there are always some who dare. They're not reckless fools; they're simply not afraid of the ' Stark ' surname. The result was that a group of people cornered this kid in a secluded spot, intending to teach him a lesson. What If...? I hadn't stood up for him that day, some of them would have been terrified and would have gone home crying to their mothers."

Recalling the past, Tony Stark looked indignant. "Fuck, even if you hadn't stepped in, I could have dealt with those people on my own. I had a plan in place, but your recklessness interrupted it."

"Ha, with your tiny, chick-like physique back then, I could easily beat a dozen of you. No matter what strategy you have, you're destined to get a beating from those guys who can legally drink."

"Fuck!" Tony Stark cursed again.

But this time, the old lady slapped my arm. "Polite language."

The aggrieved young master looked like he'd just eaten dog poop; it stank to the extreme.

Catherine Hepburn looked at her newly acquainted Black friend with a sense of relief. "It must have been so hard for you to take care of Tony Stark back then."

James Rhodey looked righteous. "I didn't think that much about it, ma'am. I joined the U.S. Air Force after graduating high school and went to MIT for further training to become a pilot."

"Protecting others has always been my belief, and it has kept me going until now. Back then, even if others were being bullied, I would stand up for them. But to be honest, it was actually quite satisfying to take this opportunity to beat up those rich kids."

The black officer's last words made Catherine Hepburn's eyes light up. "Ah, I know that feeling."

Tony Stark flinched, covered his nose, and took a big step back.

Although he hadn't been severely beaten by Catherine Hepburn, the incident involving his father's broken nose had become a historical laughingstock. Tony Stark didn't want both his father and son to be ruined by the same woman. While Henry and his two children watched the drama unfold, Henry was pondering how to use the embarrassing history he'd heard today when the black officer approached and extended a friendly hand. "James Rhodey, you are...?"

"Henry Brown. It's an honor to meet you, Colonel." Henry didn't stand on ceremony, shaking hands in return and greeting you politely.

"Ah, so you're Henry Brown. I've heard plenty of complaints about you."

"I won't even ask what they're complaining about." The Kryptonian was too lazy to bother with such verbal sparring. If they wanted to fight, they'd exchange punches. The Kryptonian wouldn't even let the other side strike first.

"No, that's not the point. What I'm trying to say is that the fact that Tony remembers someone's name to complain about is itself a remarkable achievement. If you don't believe me, you can ask him what the name of the person who tried to cause trouble at MIT was."

"I remember you shouldn't eat those pickled radishes. Ugh." The young master, of course, got beaten again. The old lady, annoyed, used her "Mysterious Palm" technique, which floated aimlessly in front of him. "Polite language."

"Understood." Tony Stark casually grabbed the old man's hand and firmly restrained him. If he didn't want to get beaten up, he would have to disable the old man's tools.

James Rhodey chuckled, ignoring the little theater around him. "Anyway, you're the second person I've heard Tony complain about using a name."

"Oh, I'm really curious, who was the first one?"

Justin Hammer, owner of Hammer Industries.

Henry could only say that it wasn't surprising at all to hear the name James Rhodey gave. "It's him."

Tony Stark quickly retorted, "No! That guy is insignificant too. But I just never imagined there could be such a shameless person in the world, jumping in front of me time and time again. If I could, I would have thrown him into the sea to feed the sharks long ago."