"Hahaha, I'm dying—Tony's just way too shady. Tsk tsk, that guy definitely did it on purpose. Maybe I didn't realize it before, but now that I do, there's no way that guy wouldn't get involved with that personality of his."
Just moments ago, after Tohka inputted a small amount of energy into the machine as requested by Nick Fury, an accident happened. Even though she only gave a tiny bit, the machine exploded, and unfortunately, the explosion completely destroyed everything around it.
The result now was that Nick Fury had to relocate the operation, and all the equipment would have to be sourced from Tony again—likely with another batch of equally trash-quality instruments.
Even Tohka figured that out, so how could Nick Fury not? He had seen how Tohka had barely used any power and the machine still blew up. If Tony hadn't messed with it, Fury wouldn't believe it even if you beat him.
Fortunately, their safety measures were well-prepared, so no one got hurt. He remembered how Tony had repeatedly told him to be careful, but Fury was always meticulous anyway. Tony probably knew that, which is why he'd "generously" sent over that "gift."
"Hey, is Miss Tohka there?"
Just as Tohka had left the S.H.I.E.L.D. secret lab, Tony called. Clearly, the guy had been keeping a close watch on the situation—no way he'd call this fast otherwise.
"What's up, Tony? And those machines—was that your doing? I remember the energy I put in was less than a third of what I used to charge your battery."
As soon as the call connected, Tohka questioned him about what happened today. After hearing the devices came from Tony, she had a bad feeling.
"Hmph, that bastard's screwed me over so many times. And then he uses past incidents to leech off a bunch of my tech. And now he's doing this research without including me."
Hearing Tohka, Tony didn't answer directly—he just let out a few cold laughs. "I saw that device in my father's notes before. Unfortunately, he Tony let out a few cold chuckles, not directly confirming anything.
"I saw that device in one of my father's journals. Unfortunately, he was missing key materials, so all he could get was partial data from post-war HYDRA scraps. Still, he left behind some valuable insights."
As he said this, Tony's voice grew a little quiet. After all, the death of his father was a pain that would never fade. To this day, he still hadn't figured out who was responsible—he hadn't even been able to avenge him.
But that was all in the past. Tony quickly reined in his emotions and returned to his usual sarcastic tone.
"This time, I just wanted to use the opportunity to dig into that thing. I only found out about it when Fury tried to pin that Arctic incident on me. Hmph."
"Mm, that's enough for now. Ahaha, speak of the devil—Nick Fury's calling me. Looks like he's ready to settle accounts." At that moment, Tony noticed Fury's incoming call. Clearly, Fury was calling to settle the score, which suited Tony just fine.
"I'll leave you two to it. I'm heading back."
Tohka ended the call and zipped off in a burst of speed. As for whatever shady backdoor deal Fury and Tony might be about to make, that was none of her concern.
"Ah, New York… as lively as always. Hm? Is that Spider-Kid?"
After leaving the lab, Tohka flew up into the sky and began casually cruising over New York. Since she could fly, she often enjoyed gliding around in her armor for fun. By now, the people of New York were probably used to it.
Sure enough, she spotted that ever-busy little Spider-Man, currently wrapping up a group of thugs and hanging them from a tall building.
He even used their phones to call the police. Tohka didn't interrupt him—it was clear he was still in the middle of work. Right after dealing with one gang, he rushed off to stop the next.
Even Tohka had to admire that dedication. Among all the superheroes, Spider-Man was probably the most hard-working.
And because of that, if his identity were ever exposed, the danger he'd face would be greater than anyone else's. Compared to major villains with names and faces, it was the random thugs on the street who were truly difficult to guard against. You never knew which one might target your family and friends.
"Wait a minute… is that Deadpool!?"
Just then, Tohka spotted a guy in a red and black bodysuit sneaking up on Spider-Kid. His outfit looked a lot like Spider-Man's, but she recognized him immediately—it was Deadpool, the guy who'd vanished for ages.
And she remembered something else too, so without hesitation, she descended straight from the sky and landed in front of him, giving him a scare.
"Whoa whoa whoa, my lady, what are you doing here? I finally got a gig today. You know how hard it is to survive without income these days? I've got a family to feed! The kids need diapers, my grandma needs medicine. Can't you have a little sympathy for a hardworking man like me? I barely eat, I barely sleep, look at me—I'm skin and bones…"
Before Tohka could say anything, Deadpool launched into a barrage of nonsense. Tohka was utterly annoyed—and worried. Her eyes flicked toward the quickly disappearing Spider-Kid.
Clearly, that was his target. And though she couldn't really do much to him, she wasn't about to let him get away.
"Ahem, what do you mean kids and grandma?" Tohka cut him off coldly. "I remember you didn't complete my last commission. And after that night, you disappeared. So, I'm here to demand a full refund."
"Noooo! Look at me—I only have this worthless bodysuit left! Even if you dissect me, I couldn't cough up that kind of cash. And besides, come on, for the Stark family, that's just pocket change. So don't take it so seriously."
Hearing her bring that up, Deadpool immediately tried to laugh it off. Are you kidding? Taking that money back would hurt more than dying. That's why he ran the moment he got paid. Thankfully, neither Tohka nor Tony had contacted him again—he'd been able to relax… until now.