Tony and the unnamed woman he spent the wild night with looked at me, her eyes wanting to play more. But Tony was annoyed and said he'd contact his driver, Happy, to take the woman he'd been with yesterday home.
"Aww... I wanted to stay and play more..."
"There's business I need to talk about with the guys. Right, Jin?"
Tony got up, threw on a robe, and winked at me as if to say 'play along'.
"R-Right. Shame, but next time..."
We chatted for a bit and waited, and soon we heard a car outside. Happy and Pepper came in. Happy immediately escorted the unnamed woman out with him, and Pepper was about to leave carrying laundry and the trash can.
"Excuse me, wait. You're the famous, capable secretary Pepper Potts, right?"
"O-Oh, hello. You flatter me, Jin."
I was so well-known my face and name were everywhere. Seeing that, Tony said,
"Whoa whoa~ Jin! Pepper is off-limits! Don't get greedy. I'd be screwed without her."
"If she's such a capable secretary you don't want to give up, maybe you should have someone else do the laundry and trash, or do it yourself?"
When I said that, Tony looked flustered.
"Jin, you misunderstand! I didn't tell her to do that."
"That's right. It's just... he doesn't clean, and it's so dirty I couldn't stand it, so I ended up doing it..."
"Ahem... Pepper, it wasn't that bad, was it?"
"No, it was. If I didn't do it, how filthy would it get?"
Listening to Tony and Pepper, it was exactly like a third-rate drama couple fighting.
"Haha~ I see. I misunderstood. Still, if anything happens, call me here."
I took out a business card and handed it to Pepper.
"Understood."
"Geez, I said Pepper's off-limits."
After sending Pepper off, Tony guided me around the house and showed me the devices he'd made. I looked them over and quickly fixed a few glaring software bugs. I'd absorbed Nano's knowledge over several years, so this much was easy.
"Whoa~ So this is what it takes to be a tech mogul in IT? Want to make some fun toys together later?"
"Sounds good."
I played at Tony's house until it got dark, then went outside to leave. Tony came out to see me off, but he couldn't take his eyes off my car.
"Wow! That's a '69 Ford Mustang Mach 1! Jin, sell it to me!"
Tony must've been into old cars too.
"Haha, then hand over Miss Pepper to me? I'd welcome a secretary that capable anytime."
"Ahem…"
Tony hesitated for a moment, then shook his head vigorously.
"No matter what, Pepper's a no."
"Hahaha, I was kidding. I can't sell it, but I can lend it to you. Want to take it for a spin?"
I held out the keys.
"Great!"
Tony got in the driver's seat, and I rode shotgun. We drove one lap around Malibu. The engine roar rumbled through my chest.
"Wow~ I really want this. Jin, you really won't sell?"
"I told you, I can't sell it. But since you like it so much, I'll lend it to you for a month."
"Kuh… Can't be helped. Then I'll wash it clean and fill the tank full for you. And it's getting dark, so stay over. I'll send you home tomorrow on the private jet."
I drank Dalmore with Tony and had fun, and the next day I returned to New York on Tony's private jet.
Having stewardesses do a pole dance on the private jet was a fresh shock in its own way.
After that, I visited Tony every few weeks, made toy-like robot arms together, went to casinos, and had fun. A year passed in no time. The media ran weird reports like 'Tony Stark is corrupting Jin', but I didn't care much.
I also didn't forget to support the poor magicians at Kamar-Taj with new smartphones and some money regularly.
"Minerva, it's about time to slowly unwind our 'Stark Industries' shares so it doesn't impact the company."
"Understood."
'Stark Industries' was currently skyrocketing because of the Jericho missile, so even if I pulled out, it wouldn't take much of a hit. A few days later, Tony called me.
"Jin, I'm heading to Afghanistan in a few days for a Jericho missile demonstration. Want to come? It'll be fun."
"Tony! When are you returning the Mustang you borrowed last month?"
"Uh… I'll call you back later!"
Click~ Click~ Click~
Tony hung up in a panic.
"Now the original story starts."
About a week later, news broke every day that Tony Stark had gone missing. I knew Tony was safe, but I still called Rhodey to ask about Tony. I'd gotten close to Lt. Colonel Rhodes while hanging out with Tony.
"Right after it happened, we checked the scene and there was no body. He was probably kidnapped. We're searching hard."
"I see, got it. If they demand ransom, tell me. I'll help."
"Yeah."
I decided not to interfere this time. Tony becoming Iron Man was an important event, so I'd leave it alone. Instead, I'd make money.
With Tony missing, 'Stark Industries' stock plummeted, so I bought shares.
A few days later, an article came out saying Tony Stark was found in the Afghan desert, and the stock went up like crazy.
"This is good enough, Minerva!"
"Yes, Master."
"Sell all our Stark Industries shares."
"Understood."
Rhodey contacted me that Tony Stark was coming to the US, so I waited with Pepper at the airport, Happy driving. Pepper saw me holding something and asked curiously.
"Jin, what's that?"
"Ah, this? It's a welcome-home gift and a thank-you present."
"Thank you? Thank you for what?"
"Ahaha, just... for returning safely..."
"Right. Tony made a good friend."
Pepper would faint if she knew how much money I made shorting stocks. That's why I prepared something for Tony as thanks.
And so Tony's military transport arrived, and with Rhodey's support, Tony safely set foot on American soil. After returning, Tony got an earful from Pepper, then shook hands with me and gave a light hug.
"Tony, glad you're back safe. This is for you."
"Wow~ How'd you know to bring this? I've been craving it so much there."
Tony was moved, looking at the In-N-Out cheeseburger and can of cola in the paper bag.
"I figured you'd want it most after going through that."
"Right, Jin."
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
We got in the car like that. Tony was uncomfortable with one arm injured, so Pepper helped him eat the burger.
"Haa… Yeah! This is it! Jin, want to work as my house chef?"
Seeing someone savor a burger was a first. Hearing Tony's nonsense, Pepper said incredulously,
"No! Are you seriously trying to hire the world's richest man as a chef?"
"Haha, just leave him be. He's joking."
"It's not a joke. Anyway, I realized a lot there. Pepper, set up a press conference."
And so we moved to the hastily prepared press conference.
Obadiah had heard the news and was at the press venue, and SHIELD agent Phil Coulson was also visible. There, Tony dropped a bombshell.
"What I realized there is, we make weapons to protect our soldiers and citizens, but I saw them dying to the weapons I made. I saw that the weapons we made were falling into the wrong hands. So today, I declare that Stark Industries will cease weapons manufacturing."
Hearing that, Obadiah hurriedly tried to stop Tony. The press room erupted.
"From now on, we'll do work that helps the national interest —"
And so 'Stark Industries' stock plummeted terrifyingly. Once it stabilized somewhat, with only one way to go—up—I started buying massive amounts of shares again.
[Viewers, a weapons company says it won't make weapons. Can you believe this? Because of that, the stock is crashing, but the world's richest man, Jin, is buying up 'Stark Industries' shares in bulk, barely holding it up. Thanks to having a good friend, they can just maintain the company. Tony should thank Jin.]
The media misunderstood strangely, but it wasn't bad. That way they wouldn't think I was manipulating stocks to make money.
Then Tony contacted me.
"Jin, thanks for the company stuff. And I'm making something, need help on the software side."
"Got it. I'll head over now."
Tony was using the Mustang like his own car, so I had no choice but to drive a Porsche 911
I bought new to Tony's house. By evening
I arrived at Tony's house. I took pizza and cola from my inventory and went down to the workshop in the basement of the house. Tony was building the leg parts of the Mark 2.
"You here, Jin?"
"Is this the new toy?"
"Yeah, but it's not a toy anymore. This first version saved my life in Afghanistan."
Tony tapped the Mark 2 with his finger as he spoke. I slowly looked around the Mark 2.
"Hmm… Better change the material here. It'll freeze up in the air."
"Really? Didn't think of that."
"How about gold titanium used in satellites?"
"Oh~ Nice! Good thing I called Jin."
"Let's eat first. I brought pizza because you haven't eaten since morning."
"Good. I've been starving."
We ate pizza, and I organized the software for him. Tony started soldering and making the leg joint parts for the Mark 2.
We stayed at Tony's house for a few days, changing the Mark 2's outer metal to Mark 3. Thanks to me handling the software, energy efficiency improved, and the existing movement performance increased by 10%.
"Time to test."
"Man, what a hassle. Staying home for days."
"Haha, I'll buy you a drink later."
Tony stood in the center of the workshop, and robotic arms helped him suit up in the Mark 3. Seeing that cool scene in person was moving. Plus, I'd helped make it, so the feeling was doubled.
"Jin, Jarvis, you hear me?"
"Yeah."
[Speak.]
"Pull up the display."
[Check.]
"Connect to home network."
[Understood.]
"How is it, Jin?"
I checked the Mark 3's status on the monitor and saw no issues, so I gave a thumbs up.
"Good, no problems."
"Check flight systems."
[Understood.]
Panels for flight on the Mark 3 extended and moved up and down, checking status.
[Test complete. Self-diagnostic system online.]
"Check weather and air traffic."
Tony was planning to do a flight test right away.
[It's dangerous. Before a real flight, we need exact figures...]
"Jarvis, sometimes you gotta run before you can walk. Jin! You good?"
"Sigh, do what you want."
"Great! You ready?"
"3."
"2."
"1."
The Mark 3 slowly lifted off, then Tony leaned forward and shot up fast, flying along the underground road and up.
"Whooo~~~oh~~ha~~eheh~ Jin, you see?"
"Yeah."
Tony was either nervous or moved flying the Iron Man suit for the first time—he was making weird noises while flying.
Tony flew one lap around Malibu city without issue. I was watching that on the monitor.
"It's flying well."
"We made it, of course it should fly well. Good! Let's see the performance."
Tony got excited because it flew so well and tried to test the flight performance limits.
"Jarvis, what's the SR71 recon plane record?"
[Max flight altitude is 85,000 feet.]
"Records are meant to be broken! Let's go!"
The Mark 3 started climbing rapidly into the sky.
[60,000 feet]
[70,000 feet]
[80,000 feet]
[85,000 feet]
Definitely different from the movie—with my advice, the metal was changed, so it flew fine without freezing.
[87,000 feet, oxygen is thin. Dangerous.]
"Tony! It's dangerous, come back!"
"Just a little more!"
Tony ignored my and Jarvis's warnings and stubbornly climbed higher.
[88,000 feet]
[89,000 feet]
[90,000 feet]
"Tony!!!"
[91,000 feet]
[90,000 feet]
[85,000 feet]
"Tony! Can you hear me? Tony!!"
Tony had lost consciousness and was falling silently. So I was about to go outside and catch him with Teleport, but then Tony's voice came over the speaker again.
"Whew… I blacked out for a second. Haha!"
"Is that something to laugh about?"
"Sorry, so how high did I get?"
Tony was more curious about the record than the fact he nearly died. I shook my head and answered him.
"You're impossible. 91,000 feet."
"Ooh~ Broke the SR71 recon plane record."
"Whew… Yeah. Congrats."
And so Tony flew back over the house. I'd forgotten because of what happened earlier, but suddenly a movie scene came to mind. I tried to stop Tony, but it was already too late.
"Tony wait..."
"Power off."
Thud! Crash! Smash!
Because of its heavy weight, the Mark 3 made a loud noise as it smashed through the house ceiling, then the underground parking garage ceiling, and landed precisely on top of my newly bought Porsche 911.
"Ah... my car..."