This Is Magic Too

Back in the workshop, Pepper quickly found the First Generation Miniature Arc Reactor she had wrapped up as a gift for Tony—the one he had built in the cave.

Carefully putting it back in Tony's chest, she saw his complexion improve considerably. The first thing he said once he had recovered was a teasing remark to Pepper:

"Not bad. You're much better at installing it this time!"

"Tony!"

Seeing that Tony was finally back to normal, Pepper let out a sigh of relief and immediately threw her arms around him, her eyes brimming with tears. Feeney, standing nearby, was forced to watch their public display of affection.

To stop the two of them from continuing to reek of romance, Feeney played the part of the third wheel and reminded them, "Hey, hey, there's someone else here! And what happened to you? How did you end up like this?"

Hearing Feeney's voice, the two finally noticed him. Pepper's face instantly turned bright red, and she hurriedly let go of Tony and stood up. "I'll go make some tea."

As a seasoned playboy, Tony had skin thicker than anyone could imagine. He was also somewhat annoyed that Feeney had played the third wheel. "You ruined a beautiful moment, you know?"

"Give me a break. You nearly died, and you're still talking about beautiful moments?"

Feeney rolled his eyes, looking utterly speechless.

"It's precisely because I nearly died that I should cherish things more!" Tony replied seriously. Then he staggered to his feet and formally said, "Thank you!"

That thank-you was probably for both helping him find Pepper and opening a portal to save him.

Still, Tony's solemnity made Feeney feel a little uncomfortable. Just like his apology earlier, it didn't seem like Tony at all.

"It's all right. I might have had something to do with this, too."

Feeney turned his head awkwardly, then realized his words could be misunderstood and explained, "If I hadn't come to see you earlier, maybe none of this would have happened."

Tony didn't understand what he meant, but Feeney did. If he hadn't gotten involved, Pepper might not have been captured. Tony could still have been in danger, but in the end, he would have made it through safely.

Fortunately, Tony didn't press him on it. He was more concerned about something else at the moment. "Obadiah took my Arc Reactor. We can't let him figure out the technology. We need to find him as soon as possible."

Just then, Pepper walked over with a pot of tea. Hearing him, she immediately said, "Tony, he was also the one who had you kidnapped. And he set up a hidden Sector Sixteen under the Arc Reactor Project. It seems to have something to do with your armor."

"I have to go take a look."

Tony struggled to his feet, wanting to put on his armor, but he hadn't fully recovered and could barely walk without swaying.

"Enough. Get better first. I already know about Obadiah," Feeney stopped him. After hesitating for a moment, he explained, "He got the wreckage and blueprints of your First Generation Battle Armor from the terrorists and modified them to make something much bigger."

"But until now, he was missing the most important power source—you. Now that he has it, he'll probably test it. There's no need to rush."

Seeing Tony's baffled, confused look, Feeney added, "I can't actively foresee the future like my master, but I do know some things—as long as I don't get involved or change anything."

Only then did Tony truly begin to believe Feeney's earlier claims about predicting the future. He also felt a measure of awe toward The Ancient One.

"Here, have a chicken roll to help you recover!"

Feeney casually summoned two Sumire's Fried Chicken Rolls and handed them to Tony and Pepper. Both of them stared at him in surprise.

"When did you make those? Where did you get them?"

Tony looked Feeney up and down. He hadn't seen Feeney take the Sumire's Fried Chicken Rolls out of anywhere, and Pepper was just as curious.

"Magic. This is magic too!"

Feeney summoned another one right in front of them, leaving them both dumbfounded.

Pepper especially had been through a lot that day. From strange armor to a shocking portal, and now a Sumire's Fried Chicken Roll, her worldview had been shattered into pieces.

"You didn't make it out of some weird stuff, did you?"

Tony temporarily put Obadiah out of his mind and studied the chicken roll in his hand. If he hadn't been feeling unwell, he would have wanted to run some tests on it. Then he remembered that when he'd looked into Feeney's background, he'd learned that Feeney ran a Small Shop that specialized in selling chicken rolls.

"Why not take a bite and find out?"

To reassure them, Feeney took a bite of the one in his own hand. Its rich aroma wafted through the room, making Tony and Pepper swallow.

After what had just happened, they trusted Feeney quite a bit. They exchanged a glance, then bit into their chicken rolls.

As expected of food made by the Spirit of Poisoning, it brought a blissful expression to Pepper's face. Her breathing grew heavier, and two words slipped from her mouth:

"Delicious!"

Tony's expression wasn't quite as exaggerated, but he savored the taste before finally glancing at Feeney and saying, "Yeah, it's really good. If you ever can't find work, you can apply to be my chef."

Feeney rolled his eyes and ignored Tony's joke, continuing to eat his chicken roll.

One wasn't enough for either of them. They asked for two more each and kept eating until they were full. By then, Tony had more or less recovered and looked much livelier.

Once he had recovered, they began discussing how to deal with the situation in earnest.

"Do we really not need to notify the police?"

Pepper still wanted to handle things through official channels, but the two men beside her disagreed.

"They'll only mess things up with how slow they are." Tony knew how powerful the armor was and worried about the damage Iron Monger could cause. He didn't want ordinary people getting involved, so he voiced his disdain.

"I'm just not ready to deal with that organization yet."

Feeney shrugged, looking helpless.

"That Strategic... what Bureau?" Tony asked, curious about Feeney's reasons, especially now that he knew Feeney might really be able to predict the future.

"Yeah." Feeney nodded but didn't elaborate. His brief involvement with Tony had already caused such a big change. If he let anything else slip, Captain America might end up getting dug out of the ice.

"All right, two to one. We'll go deal with Obadiah. You go find Rhodes. I've already asked him to send people to protect you," Tony said, summing up the results of their discussion.

"Is your power supply all right?"

Feeney looked at Tony's chest. After all, this was the First Generation model built in the cave, so it was inferior to the carefully crafted second generation in both quality and power supply.

Tony casually tapped his chest, producing two metallic clangs, and said proudly, "The important thing is the armor. The power's recharged, so it'll be fine."

"All right!"

Feeney nodded as he watched Tony go over to use the machine to put on his armor. He found himself looking forward to what was coming. He'd thought he'd never get the experience from Iron Monger, but now things had taken an unexpected turn, and he had another chance.

"The battlefield might be at Mount Everest. Be ready!"

After warning Tony, Feeney put on Possessed by Evil Spirit and opened a portal to Sector Sixteen at Stark Industries.

Under the cover of night, two figures in armor of different styles appeared in New York. Then they set off to meet a third.