Although the Little Merfolk's way of addressing him was a little off, she was still the first of Bruce's brood to obediently call him "uncle." Tony's ego received an enormous boost, and his gaze instantly softened as he looked at Miaomiao.
"What a sweet girl. Nothing like that icy Big Bat father of yours."
Tony began searching himself. After a long while, all he managed to pull from his pocket was a little metal tin. It contained the sugar-free mint lozenges Little Chili Pepper had prepared specifically to keep him from eating too many sweets-and it was already half empty.
Well, this was awkward.
Tony's expression stiffened for a moment. Then, as though nothing had happened, he turned and removed a rod about six inches long from his armor.
"Here, this is for you." Tony, who had remained perfectly composed even while carrying a nuclear missile into Outer Space during the Battle of New York, actually felt a little embarrassed now. "I came in a hurry today and didn't prepare a gift. This is a little gadget I made. It'll have to do as a first-meeting gift. I'll make it up to you later."
"Thank you." Miaomiao accepted it and turned it over curiously. "What does it do?"
"Nothing much. It's a party popper for kids... just kidding." Tony pointed to the joint on it. "This is a very powerful weapon. Don't point it at yourself. Press the button on top, and you can scare off any bad guys who bully you."
"Bad guys... who bully me?"
Miaomiao sneaked a glance at Bruce, who sat expressionlessly at the head of the table-
Since she had come ashore, if she really had to name someone who had bullied her... there was probably only that time Bruce had snapped at her for