["Oh, God! Okay! How did this happen?" Pepper gasped, instinctively moving to put the magnet back.]
[Tony's eyes widened in panic, and he immediately stopped her. "Don't put it back! Don't put it back!"]
["What do I do? I—Wait, what's wrong with you?" Pepper noticed Tony's face pale, and a wave of panic surged through her.]
[Tony took a deep breath, his voice strained. "Nothing… You were just a little too rough! I'm going into shock!"]
[Hearing this, Pepper's panic turned to frustration. "What?! You just told me it was safe!"]
["We need to hurry. Take this!" Tony quickly handed her the new reactor. "We have to replace it immediately!"]
["Tony! Are you sure this isn't going to cause a problem?" Pepper's hands trembled slightly.]
["I hope not!" Tony flashed a weak smile.]
["No! It's going to be fine! I won't let anything happen to you!" Pepper's expression hardened as she steadied her hands.]
["Alright, put it on the base—carefully!"] Tony guided her. As soon as she inserted the plug, he immediately yelped, "Aaah—!"
[Pepper, startled, nearly jumped. "Oh my God, what happened?!"]
[Tony let out a breath and smirked. "Relax, just messing with you. It's in—see? That was easy, right? Kinda fun, huh?"]
[Pepper shot him an exasperated look. "Are you okay?"]
["Yeah, I'm good! How about you?" Tony chuckled, clearly enjoying himself.]
[Pepper let out an exhausted sigh, shaking her head. "Tony! Never. Ever. Ever. Never. Let me do this again!"]
["But I have no one else but you!" Tony replied, looking at her affectionately. They locked eyes for a brief moment before he smirked. "Anyway!"]
[He then peeled off the adhesive patch from his body, and Pepper flinched at the sight, shaking her hands in disgust. "Eww!"]
[After hurriedly wiping her hands, Pepper picked up the old reactor and held it up. "What do you want me to do with this?"]
["That? Destroy it. Burn it," Tony said, sparing it a glance before pointing to the new model on his chest.]
["You don't want to keep it?" Pepper asked, surprised.]
["Pepper, I have many problems, one of which is that I get bored of old things easily," Tony quipped.]
[Pepper blinked, looking at the old reactor in her hands before raising an eyebrow at him. "Anything else, Mr. Stark?"]
["Nope, that's it, Miss Potts." Tony turned away, calling out to his robot assistant, Dum-E, to begin work.]
[Pepper walked out of the basement, the old reactor still in her hands. No one knew what she was thinking at that moment. Tony, watching her leave, tapped his fingers against the new reactor on his chest.]
"Good thing you didn't throw it away, or I'd be dead," Tony remarked to Pepper with a small smile.
Pepper nodded, recalling what happened later with a relieved expression.
"Yeah… Who knows what I was thinking at the time? I figured it might come in handy, but I never expected it would actually save your life."
"Thank you for saving me. What do you want as a gift?" Tony asked, stepping closer, his gaze locking onto hers.
Pepper smiled slightly. "That depends—what kind of gift are you planning to give me?"
"Hmm… I'll have to think about it carefully."
"Ugh… that was terrifying!" First Generation Gwen shuddered at the memory of Pepper's electrolyte-covered hands.
"Yeah, most girls would probably freak out," First Gen Spider-Man agreed. "But Tony Stark is one hell of a guy. He actually let Pepper operate on him."
"Maybe he wanted to keep the Arc Reactor a secret?" Gwen speculated. "After all, it's probably one of the most advanced technologies in existence! Speaking of which, how's Dr. Otto's research coming along?"
Gwen had never been good at chemistry or physics, so she couldn't contribute much to Otto's research. But she was still curious.
First Gen Spider-Man shrugged. "Still stuck in the same place. He's currently studying the cold nuclear fusion process that Tony Stark uses, hoping it'll give him some inspiration."
"Oh, I see… Well, let's hope he figures it out soon!" Gwen nodded, wishing Otto success.
"He will! It's just a matter of time," First Gen Spider-Man said confidently, wrapping an arm around her waist.
[At a U.S. military airbase, a newly developed fighter jet slowly landed on the tarmac.]
[Rhodey walked alongside a group of high-ranking officers, speaking as he moved.]
["The future king of the skies! Will it be a manned aircraft or an unmanned one? With my years of experience, I can confidently say—no unmanned aircraft will ever replace the instincts of a trained pilot!"]
["The ability to analyze, adapt, and make critical decisions in high-stress situations is something no AI can replicate!"]
[Just as Rhodey was getting into his speech, Tony suddenly appeared, cutting him off with a teasing smirk. "Lieutenant Colonel, what if the aircraft was controlled by… an inorganic person?"]
[Rhodey didn't let Tony's teasing faze him. He turned to the officers and smiled. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome our alien visitor, Mr. Tony Stark!"]
["Hello, everyone!" Tony greeted, then grinned mischievously. "Speaking of people and no people, men and not men, it reminds me of something… Rhodey's most embarrassing moment from back in the day!"]
[Rhodey stiffened. "Tony—no—"]
["Ah, yes! Spring break—1987! That hot chick you were dating? Turns out—he was a guy! His name was Ivan, right?"]
[The officers erupted into laughter. They were professionals, sure—but this? This was hilarious.]
["Tony! Stop! Don't do this!" Rhodey groaned. "If you say it, they'll believe it!"]
["Too late!" Tony grinned, turning back to the officers. "Nice to meet you all!"]
"Oh, damn Tony!" Rhodey groaned, facepalming.
Now, he knew exactly how Dykovich and Alexei had felt when their embarrassing moments were exposed. But this was even worse.
Tony had just casually revealed to a room full of military officers that he had unknowingly dated a transgender person. At that moment, Rhodes really wanted to strangle him.
Meanwhile, Tony, who had been flirting with Pepper, suddenly froze and covered his forehead. "Oh… crap."
He hadn't expected the joke he made back then to actually make its way out into the open.
This was bad. Rhodey was definitely going to come after him.
Tony frowned, already thinking of a way to talk himself out of trouble—just as his phone started ringing.
He glanced at the caller ID. It was Rhodey.
Sighing, Tony picked up. "Hey, Rhodey! Listen, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, I—"
Before he could finish, Rhodey let out an exasperated groan on the other end.
Tony, sensing an opportunity, immediately switched gears, using his signature Stark charm to talk circles around him. Within minutes, Rhodey's anger had nowhere to go, leaving him utterly defeated.
Every time Tony did something infuriating, he always found a way to wiggle out of it. And this time was no exception.
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