"Hey, Saitama, you weren't lying to me before, were you?" Skye asked, eyeing him suspiciously as she sprawled on the couch with a full belly.
"Huh?" Saitama stared blankly at her.
"Air conditioning, supermarkets, discounted goods. Those are all things from Earth. You talk about them all the time, so you're not an alien at all, are you? You actually lied to me?" Skye glared at him, her brows knitted. She was so full that when she tried to move, she couldn't get up, and ended up sprawled on the couch again.
"I never said I was an alien! I just don't know how to define what I am," Saitama protested.
Skye froze. Thinking it over, she realized Saitama really had never said he was an alien. "Tch! Still, it's all your fault."
"..." Now it was Saitama's turn to be speechless.
But Skye was suddenly in high spirits. She'd realized that Saitama really was incredibly strong. She'd thought he was powerful before, but assumed there had to be a limit. Now it seemed Saitama was a complete monster. Earlier, she'd objected to him going to the Middle East to rescue Tony Stark because she hadn't known how strong he was and had worried he'd be in danger.
But now that she knew just how powerful Saitama was, sending him to rescue Tony Stark didn't seem like a problem at all.
"Saitama, just how fast are you?" Skye asked seriously.
"Hmm." Saitama rested his chin on his hand, wondering how to describe his speed. "Pretty fast, I guess."
"...Pretty fast? How fast is 'pretty fast'?"
"Pretty fast means... pretty fast!" Saitama's limited vocabulary left him unable to find a more accurate way to describe his speed, so he settled for "pretty fast."
"..." Skye stared at him, speechless. "We should test it. Uh, I guess there's no way to do that. You can get from Argentina to the United States in just a few minutes, so you must be incredibly fast. Uh, the speed of light? With speed like that, you really wouldn't have to worry about anything. Even if you couldn't win a fight, you could just run away! At that speed, not even a missile could threaten you. I even doubt a Nuclear Bomb could hurt you."
"I've decided! We're going to Stark Industries," Skye declared excitedly, clapping her hands.
"Stark Industries? Why?" Saitama asked, confused.
"To rescue Tony Stark, of course," Skye said excitedly. "You don't think we can just decide to save Tony Stark and then run off to find him, do you? We have to agree on terms with Stark Industries and settle on a reward first."
"Oh. I see." Saitama nodded.
"With your speed, Saitama, you'll definitely be able to rescue Tony Stark. Then we'll be rich! Hahaha! We can buy a house—maybe in Manhattan, the most prosperous part of New York. It's the best in every way. Then we'll buy the fanciest cars. Maybe we can even hire a few maids..." Skye imagined it all with an excited smile.
"Oh!" Saitama sat nearby, staring blankly as Skye dreamed. He had no idea what to make of any of it. Where he lived didn't matter to him. As long as he had air conditioning at home in summer and could sit by a warm heater and eat hot pot in winter, that was enough. Well, there was one more thing: he could buy discounted items at the supermarket. And he'd already got that.
The next morning, Skye and Saitama stood outside Stark Industries, gazing up at the towering skyscraper in amazement. So this was the Stark Industries building.
But now they faced a problem: they couldn't get inside Stark Industries. They couldn't meet anyone in charge, so there was no way to negotiate.
"Those security guards look down on people. Damn it, I should've known better than to sell Tony Stark's business card," Skye muttered, frowning.
But Skye clearly wasn't about to give up. This was a golden opportunity to make money.
Just then, a bald man with a thick white beard appeared.
He was Obadiah Stane, Stark Industries' chief executive and the company's current head. Aside from Tony Stark, he was the most influential person in the entire company. Tony Stark was a playboy who rarely paid attention to the business, so Stark Industries practically operated according to Obadiah Stane's will—for example, selling weapons to terrorists.
Obadiah Stane was in a good mood. He'd arrived at the company and was about to go inside when a flash of light struck his eyes. He narrowed them briefly, then opened them and saw a bald head even shinier than his own.
The man had a blank expression and was Asian. He seemed dull and dim-witted—possibly even an idiot. Beside him stood a woman who looked rather clever, her eyes darting around as if she were plotting something.
The pair's unusual combination piqued Obadiah Stane's curiosity.
Of course, Tony Stark's disappearance was also putting him in an especially good mood, so he asked them a question. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"Uh, we're—we're mercenaries. Yes, mercenaries. Very capable mercenaries. Mr. Tony Stark disappeared in the Middle East, didn't he? I also heard that you're sending people to look for him, so we came. Don't let the fact that there are only two of us fool you—we're both very capable. Yes, very capable. If you hire us, we'll definitely find Mr. Tony Stark." Skye looked at Obadiah Stane, figuring he must be someone important at Stark Industries, and hurriedly explained.
Even if the security guards wouldn't let them in, Saitama was fast enough to get inside anyway. But it would be even better if they could walk in openly.
"Mercenaries? You two?" Obadiah Stane paused, sizing up Saitama and Skye. One looked like a bald idiot, and the other like a woman who enjoyed playing little tricks. They claimed to be mercenaries, but it was obvious they were frauds. That was why the security guards had stopped them at the entrance. Anyone could see they were scammers.
Obadiah Stane suddenly smiled. "Good. I can tell at a glance that you two are highly capable mercenaries. You're just the people we need to find Tony. You, come here." He beckoned to a security guard at the entrance. "Take them inside and show them the way. After all, mercenaries as 'capable' as these two might actually be able to find Tony."
Obadiah Stane didn't believe Saitama and Skye at all. He thought they were scammers. But since he was certain they couldn't find Tony Stark, he'd arranged this on purpose. That way, he could appear eager to find and rescue Tony Stark.
"You really have a good eye. You could tell how capable we are at a glance. Don't worry, we'll definitely find Mr. Tony Stark and bring him back. Absolutely." Skye hadn't expected things to take such a turn, and her face lit up with excitement.
"I'm sure you can do it," Obadiah Stane said with a smile, nodding.
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