I Am Iron Man

Tony felt conflicted as he watched Obadiah get blown to pieces in midair.

He had expected Roy to win.

But he had never expected Roy to win so easily.

Obadiah, wearing the Iron Monger Armor, had pinned him to the ground and given him a brutal beating.

Yet against Roy, Obadiah had been utterly unable to fight back.

Especially Roy's final Big Ball Rasengan.

The Iron Monger Armor did not exactly suit his aesthetic tastes.

But one thing had to be acknowledged: the Iron Monger Armor's defenses far surpassed those of the Mark 3.

That also meant the Mark 3 would be even less capable of withstanding the Big Ball Rasengan.

After calming himself somewhat, Tony piloted the Mark 3 over to Roy and asked, "What was that blue energy ball you created just now?"

"Big Ball Rasengan."

Roy replied.

Big Ball Rasengan?

Tony frowned slightly and continued, "That's quite a unique name. Does it have some special meaning?"

Roy shook his head and said calmly, "No special meaning. It's just the name of a technique."

"Forget that. Do you need me to take you back to the villa, or are you flying back yourself?"

Without hesitation, Tony immediately replied, "Take me back. I've never experienced Teleportation before."

"All right."

Roy nodded and grabbed Tony's left shoulder.

Flying Thunder God Technique!

The next second, he and Tony vanished simultaneously and instantly returned to the workshop in the seaside villa.

That was it?

Tony had originally wanted JARVIS to record some data during the Teleportation.

But before he even had time to say anything, they were already back in the workshop.

"Does your Teleportation have another name as well?"

Tony opened his helmet's faceplate and asked Roy.

"It does."

"It's called the Flying Thunder God Technique."

Roy replied with an utterly calm expression.

Flying Thunder God Technique?

After firmly memorizing the names Flying Thunder God Technique and Big Ball Rasengan, Tony removed his helmet and continued, "You're much stronger than I imagined. I thought you'd have to fight Obadiah for a while before defeating him."

"I didn't expect you to take him down with a single move."

Roy smiled and said, "All right, stop beating around the bush. Just say what you want to say."

Although he had not interacted with Tony many times, he knew Tony's personality very well.

Tony did not praise people for no reason.

In other words, Tony definitely had another motive.

"Since you've put it that way, I won't beat around the bush either."

"I want to know why you wanted the Mark 3 before."

"For anyone else, wearing the Mark 3 would greatly improve their combat ability."

"But obviously, you don't need the Mark 3 to improve your combat ability."

"If I'm not mistaken, wearing the Mark 3 would even affect your performance."

Tony stared seriously at Roy and spoke quickly.

"You're right. Wearing the Mark 3 would indeed affect my ability to use my original strength."

"As for why I wanted the Mark 3, the reason is simple."

"I like collecting things that interest me."

Roy replied unhurriedly.

Although he would not wear the Mark 3 into battle, he did not mind collecting a Mark 3 Armor.

Iron Man suits were every man's romance!

What was more, this was an authentic factory-original, fully articulated and wearable classic Mark 3 Iron Man figure personally made by Tony Stark!

Even if it was useless and served only as a pure collectible, it would still lift one's mood.

"Just for collecting?"

Tony's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, and he began to regret asking Roy.

"Mainly for collecting."

"Of course, I might wear it someday and try it out for myself."

Roy replied.

Hearing that Roy still intended to wear the Mark 3 and experience it personally, Tony's expression and mood both improved considerably.

The Mark 3 was his most satisfying creation to date!

If Roy only treated the Mark 3 as a collectible to admire, Tony would feel as though his proudest work had been looked down upon.

"Since you want to wear it and try it out too, I'll fulfill your wish and give you one."

Tony held his head high and said proudly.

"All right!"

Naturally, Roy would not refuse. He nodded.

The following morning.

Stark Industries Headquarters Building.

Tony's office.

Tony held the latest newspaper, whose headline read: "Who Is Iron Man?"

Pepper stood before him, applying makeup to conceal the injuries on his face.

Obadiah's beating had not caused Tony any fatal injuries, but it had still left some bruises on his face.

Roy sat casually on the sofa in the reception area, watching the television mounted on the wall.

The television was broadcasting live coverage of the latest press conference being held in the first-floor lobby.

Rhode, dressed in military uniform, stood behind the podium and read his prepared statement with a serious expression.

"Stark Industries has already issued a statement regarding what happened last night, and it has been delivered to all of you."

"Some witnesses claimed that the first two armored fighters appeared at Stark Industries' factory and fought all the way out onto the streets."

"The superpowered individual who appeared afterward was Tony Stark's secret bodyguard..."

Tony paid no attention to Rhode's speech and said to Pepper, "Iron Man is a pretty good codename, though it's not very accurate. The Mark 3 was made from Gold-Titanium Alloy."

"Still, Iron Man is quite fitting."

Without waiting for Pepper to respond, he looked toward Roy and asked, "Do you have a codename too?"

"I do."

Roy replied.

"What's your codename?"

Tony continued.

"The Fourth Hokage!"

Roy said slowly.

"The Fourth Hokage doesn't sound as good as Iron Man."

Tony looked at Roy with complete seriousness.

Just then, Coulson, the "village chief of Marvel's newbie village," entered the office in a black suit, his hairline very high. He walked straight up to Tony and said slowly, "This is your statement."

Tony did not reach out for the statement Coulson offered him.

Pepper took the statement from Coulson and handed it to Tony.

"You weren't in Los Angeles last night. You were on a yacht."

"Miss Potts took you to Avalon Island for the night. We have testimony from fifty witnesses."

Coulson continued.

As Tony looked over the statement S.H.I.E.L.D. had prepared, he said, "I think it'd be better to say Pepper and I spent the night alone together."

"We've handled everything. Just read the statement," Coulson replied.

"Why doesn't this mention Obadiah or Roy?"

Tony looked at Coulson and asked in confusion.

"Obadiah went on vacation. Small planes have always had a high accident rate..."

At that, Coulson paused. He turned and pointed at Roy before continuing, "As for Roy, you'll need to ask for his own opinion."

"I knew S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't dare offend him, but I didn't expect you wouldn't even dare arrange a statement for him. You're an official government agency, after all."

Tony teased Coulson.

"This isn't about daring or not daring. Roy hasn't authorized us to arrange a statement on his behalf, so we can't do so without permission."

Coulson ignored Tony's teasing and answered quickly.

Tony shrugged and said to Roy, "How do you plan to handle this?"

"Just say I was a secret bodyguard you hired temporarily."

"As for my specific identity, no comment."

Roy said unhurriedly.

"All right, we'll do as you say."

"One of my bodyguards got hold of a high-tech Iron Man Armor, while the other is a superpowered individual."

"It sounds ridiculous, but this is Los Angeles. Looking like a movie script is perfectly normal."

Tony said slowly.

"Whether it sounds like a movie script isn't important. What's important is that if you read the statement, this will all die down."

"You're on in ninety seconds."

With that, Coulson left the office.

Pepper picked up Tony's jacket and said to him, "Time to go put on a show."

"Honestly, Iron Man really is a great codename. I never thought of calling it that."

Tony put on his jacket with Pepper's help.

"You're not Iron Man?"

"I am."

"You're not."

"Fine, whatever you say."

Tony gave up arguing with Pepper and changed the subject. "If I were Iron Man, a girlfriend who knew my identity would definitely be happy and worried at the same time. Sooner or later, she'd start feeling unwell."

"Still, that kind of complicated inner struggle would only make her love me more."

Before Pepper could answer, Roy's voice rang out.

"I'm still here. Could you two flirt somewhere else?"

"You don't have a girlfriend?"

Tony said with a smile.

Roy did not answer. Instead, he said to Pepper, "Send him to the press conference. Rhode is running out of things to say."

Pepper nodded, signaling Tony to head to the first-floor lobby for the press conference.

As for herself, she stayed in the office with Roy to watch the live broadcast.

First-floor lobby.

When Rhode saw Tony come down from the office, he breathed a sigh of relief and said to the reporters below the stage, "Mr. Stark will now make a statement regarding last night's incident. He will not be answering questions from the press. Thank you."

After saying that, he stepped aside and gave the podium to Tony.

"The last press conference was a long time ago... Forget it, I'd better just read from the script."

Tony pulled out the statement S.H.I.E.L.D. had prepared from his pocket.

"Some have questioned whether I was involved in last night's battle..."

He had only said one sentence when Christine, a blonde, blue-eyed female reporter in a gray suit, interrupted him.

"Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Stark, but do you really think we'll believe that the person wearing the Iron Man Armor last night wasn't you, but your bodyguard?"

Tony looked at Christine below the stage and said quickly, "I know that sounds unbelievable. You can certainly question the official statement, but you can't make baseless accusations or imply that I'm a superhero."

"I didn't say you were a superhero!"

"Compared to you, the superpowered individual wearing a white Animal Mask last night fits people's image of a superhero much better."

Christine replied quickly.

"Didn't you? It does sound pretty sci-fi. I'm not superhero material. I have plenty of character flaws, and I've caused everyone a lot of trouble..."

Seeing Tony begin to improvise, Rhode quickly came to his side and whispered, "Read the script."

"All right."

Tony took a deep breath, raised the statement again, and said, "What really happened last night was..."

After thinking seriously for a few seconds, he spoke the iconic line that officially opened the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"I am Iron Man."

The moment the words fell, reporters throughout the lobby stood up and began firing questions. Camera flashes flickered wildly, and the scene instantly became incredibly lively.