I Am Iron Man

After dealing with the terrorists who had bought Stark Industries weapons, Tony Stark flew back in Mark III.

He did not know why military radar had failed to detect him when he left America earlier, but it picked him up when he returned.

The military therefore dispatched two F-22s to intercept him.

After obtaining Wakandan technology, every nation had improved its armaments to some extent. Still, most countries were reluctant to discard the weapons they had spent a fortune buying. Fortunately, they had not switched to the latest fighter jets, or Tony Stark might not have escaped the Air Force's pursuit so easily.

With the intervention of Stark's friend, Colonel James Rhodes, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Tony Stark made it home safely enough. However, Pepper Potts also discovered his identity.

After a heated argument, the veteran playboy Tony Stark ultimately persuaded Pepper to help him steal the weapons transaction records from Stark Industries.

Just as Kraft was helpless when it came to the truly important databases of other forces, Stark Industries had its own isolated, closed network. Even with J.A.R.V.I.S.'s help, Tony Stark could not hack a network that had no connection to the outside world.

In his dreams, Kraft had learned a wireless intrusion method from a guy in an LED mask nicknamed Wrench. However, it required a specially modified phone or some other device as a carrier, and he had to be near the target network to hack into it.

Tony Stark actually had similar methods, but he normally hated going to the company. Now that the board had kicked him out, he had even less reason to return to Stark Industries. The moment he showed up, whoever had been secretly selling weapons would surely go into hiding. So he could only entrust this dangerous mission to the Little Pepper he trusted most.

Little Pepper successfully stole the data, but that also alerted Obadiah Stane. He arrived at Tony Stark's mansion first and stole the miniature nuclear reactor from him.

I hate sonic weapons...

Before the shrapnel in his blood could take his life, Tony Stark finally managed to shove the first reactor he had hammered together in the Middle East into the hole in his chest.

Having been brought down twice in a row because of sound, Stark decided he had to equip the future Mark IV with a sonic weapon as well.

But before that, the most important thing was settling the score with Obadiah!

"Tony Stark has appeared again."

As Mark III flew out of the mansion, Angela promptly reported it to Kraft.

"Again? That guy really is reckless..."

Kraft smacked his lips, feeling somewhat envious. No matter what, he was only a boy who had just turned fifteen. Deep down, he very much wanted to show himself to the world. But as a chinese immigrant, he also knew perfectly well that he could never receive the same preferential treatment from the American authorities as Tony Stark.

"So, where is our playboy planning to fight crime this time?"

Picking up two dumbbells, Kraft asked while carrying out that day's workout plan.

He had no intention of modifying the human body, but biotech from his dreams offered far more than just alterations. There were also support technologies such as nutritional supplements and body-repair pods. With their help, Kraft's physical fitness had improved rapidly, and excessive training would not cause any damage to his body.

"New York."

"...What?"

Kraft stopped lifting, staring in confusion at Angela's projection on the workbench.

"Tony Stark is fighting crime in New York."

Angela repeated herself, then projected footage from near Stark Tower onto the wall.

"Who's this oversized tin can? I have to say, its design looks much more imposing than Stark's."

Kraft appraised the Iron Monger on the screen.

"Why do they all like giving themselves catfish faces?"

He truly could not understand Tony Stark's bizarre taste in aesthetics. As for the big guy, it was clearly a knockoff. It did not even have palm-mounted energy cannons, and its overall workmanship could be generously called rugged—or, less generously, shoddy. It had even copied that catfish face, so its sense of style was clearly nothing special either. Its only advantage was its sheer size, which made it look more imposing.

"Based on the audio analysis from the scene, the larger one should be Obadiah Stane, a major shareholder of Stark Industries."

"Wow. That really is... betrayal from all sides."

Tony Stark really was miserable. Not only had the board kicked him out of his company, but the armor he had just invented had been stolen by his own people. Kraft could not help feeling a little smug.

"If the terrorists who attacked him back then were hired by his own people too, that would be interesting."

After finishing his workout, Kraft sat down in a chair, sipping an energy drink and cracking sunflower seeds as he watched the show.

"Why does Stark's new armor feel worse than the previous one?"

The longer he watched, the more something felt off. Stark's red-and-gold armor performed worse than the silver-and-white one that had fought him before. It was getting pummeled by that big, obviously low-grade armor.

"His power system seems to have a problem." Angela rapidly analyzed Stark's behavior. "Since appearing, Stark has only used an arc pulse to attack once. After that, he has chosen close-quarters combat every time. The probability that this was caused by insufficient energy is..."

"Could it be that he never recharged his reactor after coming back from the Middle East last time?" Kraft scratched his head. "That's way too reckless... Isn't he going to get himself killed this time?"

In the footage, Tony Stark seemed to realize that this could not continue. He turned and flew into the sky, while Obadiah followed without showing any weakness.

He was using ordinary rocket thrusters.

"Tch, so low-grade..."

Kraft, who had never known want, curled his lip disdainfully.

The two tin cans flew higher and higher, until even the street cameras could no longer capture them.

"Should I dispatch the Banshee fighter jet for a live broadcast?"

Angela suggested.

"Forget it. Things are already so lively over there. It would be bad if someone spotted it by accident."

Though watching the spectacle was entertaining, Kraft still chose caution.

Tony Stark did not make Kraft wait long, though. Before long, the two tin cans fell from the sky and crashed onto the roof of Stark Tower. However, nearby cameras could not capture what was happening on top of Stark Tower either. Kraft could only watch sparks and lightning flashing across the rooftop through distant cameras, then imagine the lively scene for himself.

Finally, a beam of light shot skyward from Stark Tower. The powerful electromagnetic pulse caused all nearby cameras to stop working, and Kraft had no more show to watch.

"I wonder how it ended..."

Kraft scratched his chin, curious about the final outcome.

The next day, Stark Industries' press conference answered his question.

Tony Stark, dressed in a suit, stood onstage. After reading a couple of lines from his note cards, he fell silent for a moment, then addressed the gathered media.

"I am Iron Man."