A few hours later—
The private jet cruised steadily at ten thousand meters, leaving behind the chaos and noise of Monaco far below.
Inside the cabin, however, the atmosphere was far less smooth than the flight itself.
Tony Stark had changed out of his racing suit into something more comfortable.
At the moment, he lounged with his legs crossed on the table, a glass of whiskey in hand, wearing the smug look of a man who had just saved the world and now deserved a little reward.
Pepper sat across from him, tablet in hand, her face dark.
She had been glaring at Tony in silence for a full fifteen minutes.
"Alright, alright, I surrender."
In the end, it was Tony who cracked under the torture of silence. He set down his glass, raised both hands in mock surrender.
"I admit it — I was wrong. I shouldn't have been so impulsive. I shouldn't have gone down there barehanded. I shouldn't have made you and Happy worry. I promise, next time I'll put on the armor before I go down and 'have a conversation' with someone like him."
"Oh, my God. There's going to be a next time?!" Pepper rolled her eyes, exasperated.
"It's just a figure of speech. A hypothetical. A purely symbolic promise," Tony quickly amended, flashing his best smile.
"Seriously, Pep, can you not look at me like that? You're making me wonder if I somehow lost all of our company's contracts for next quarter without noticing. You know those old fossils on the board love to come crawling out at times like this, wagging their outdated business theories at me like it's some kind of psychological warfare."
Pepper inhaled deeply, forcing herself to calm down.
She knew reasoning with this man was harder than her actual job.
Good thing Henry wasn't around right now — otherwise she couldn't imagine how unbearable the two of them together would be.
"Tony," she rubbed at her aching temples, her tone weary.
"I'm not joking. Do you have any idea how much trouble your stunt today could cause us? The military, Congress, all those people who've had their eyes on your armor — now they've got the perfect excuse. They can paint you as an uncontrollable weapon of mass destruction!"
"Let them come, then." Tony shrugged carelessly, leaning back in his seat and reaching for his glass again.
"I'm honestly curious what tricks they'll try. Slow-as-a-snail missiles? Or a bunch of guys in cheap suits and sunglasses showing up at my place 24/7 with breakfast deliveries? Please. Their creativity doesn't even compare to Hammer's pathetic weapon designs."
As he spoke, he glanced out the window. The endless night sky stretched beyond.
For some reason, his expression suddenly grew distant.
"Honestly…" he muttered in a low voice.
"That bastard Henry — is he awake yet? It's been three weeks! If he doesn't come back soon, the public's only going to remember Iron Man, not Superman."
Pepper looked at him, and the nameless fire inside her eased.
She knew — this man, for all his arrogance and constant bravado, for all the walls of pride he wrapped himself in… deep down, he was lonelier than anyone.
Especially when Henry wasn't there.
She sighed, took the whiskey glass from his hand, and replaced it with a cup of warm water.
"Drink some water. Stop drowning yourself in alcohol," she said gently.
"Henry will come back. Didn't he promise you?"
"Who cares if he does or doesn't." Tony curled his lip, though he obediently took the cup.
"He'd better not come back, actually. Saves me the headache of correcting his caveman taste every day. Did you know, last time he wanted to paint my lab green? Green! Did he think it was the Hulk's bedroom?!"
Despite his grumbling, he couldn't help but mutter into the air:
"J.A.R.V.I.S., check if that idiot's awake yet."
"Sir," J.A.R.V.I.S.'s calm voice filled the cabin.
"Mr. Henry is still in low Earth orbit. Vital signs stable. Cellular energy reserves have reached an entirely new peak."
A holographic projection flickered to life, showing Henry.
Eyes closed, body floating peacefully in the void of space — like a baby dreaming sweetly in the dark.
"Oh? Is that so?" Tony muttered, feigning indifference.
"That's… great." He took a sip of water, then forcibly changed the subject.
"Forget that solar-panel wannabe. Let's talk business. Has that moron Hammer tried any new tricks lately?"
Pepper immediately responded, scrolling quickly through her tablet.
"Hammer Industries just announced they'll be hosting the largest-ever Hammer Industries Future Tech Expo next month. Supposedly, they'll showcase a series of revolutionary, world-changing new weapons."
"Pfft…" Tony nearly sprayed the water he'd just drunk.
"'World-changing'? From him?" He snorted, disdain plain on his face.
"What's he going to change? The packaging of his knockoffs? Or maybe straighten out that face of his that looks like it got smashed in a door? Honestly, Justin Hammer doing high-tech is like a monkey playing piano — nothing but noise."
"But Tony," Pepper's expression turned serious.
"This time might be different. According to our intel, Hammer has apparently collaborated with the military… and they've come up with blueprints resembling your Mark I armor."
Tony's smile faded slowly.
"What did you just say?" His voice dropped, icy.
Pepper's heart skipped at his sudden chill. She quickly explained, "Don't overreact. It's unconfirmed intel. And you know — the Mark I tech is practically obsolete for you now…"
"Of course I know." Tony cut her off, setting down his glass and leaning back. His fingers drummed the armrest, but his eyes glinted with dangerous light.
"I'm just surprised those Pentagon fossils are dumb enough to pin their hopes on Hammer — a guy who can't even read a circuit diagram. What's next? Hand a wrench to a chimp and expect it to build a spaceship?"
His tone was still light, but Pepper could feel the cold anger simmering beneath it.
"So. They finally couldn't resist taking a shot at me." Tony sneered.
"I thought they might have something clever up their sleeves. Turns out it's just the same tired, cheap tricks."
"Boss, what should we do now?" Happy asked nervously.
"What should we do?" Tony gave him a look that said, Are you insulting my intelligence?
"Nothing. We go home, get some sleep, and wait to enjoy the show."
"Enjoy the show?" Pepper and Happy exchanged puzzled looks.
"Of course." Tony said it like it was obvious.
"You think my tech is that easy to copy?"
A sly grin tugged at his lips.
"Let Hammer build whatever he wants. I'm actually looking forward to his so-called expo turning into the biggest fireworks display in town. Honestly, I'm tempted to sponsor him a little — maybe with some high-grade explosives, to make the show really popular."
Watching Tony revel in chaos, Pepper felt her temples throbbing again.
She sighed helplessly, abandoning the idea of arguing further.
She knew — once this man set his mind on something, not even ten oxen could drag him back.
The plane flew smoothly through the night, racing toward Los Angeles.