2 Chapter 2

Tony was extremely grateful for the miracle as he ended up crashing into the water after Roberta without getting killed and just some minor damage. Ignoring the pain from the fractures, Tony dived into the water and retrieved Roberta as she was still unconscious. The plasma beam had pierced through her lung and almost destroyed her heart.

There was a baseball size hole in her body and the only reason she hadn't bled to death was because of her combat suit that quickly stopped the bleeding and gave her life support. But, it couldn't heal such damage. Fortunately, she was still alive. That was the only thing Tony needed, or he would have to live his life with the guilt. He would have been the reason for her death, which wasn't wrong, since Roberta wouldn't have been in the situation if not for him. She also could have put some resistance against Blue, but because of Tony she had to take extreme measures and attacked the battle ship.

Swimming to the beach, Tony carried Roberta towards the trees to hide. The adrenaline started to wear off and he felt exhausted. Nonetheless, he didn't stop before she was better. Quickly utilizing his gauntlet equipped with the ability to control his gadgets and even allow him to hack other tech. It was his vital equipment and it was the only thing others hadn't broken.

Tony hacked the safety system on Roberta's suit and took out the healing serum. Using the syringe, the serum was administered and the affect was visible. It was a vital item for everyone in case of heavy injuries. Tony relaxed once Roberta's breathing became normal and the hole started to close slowly. Leaning against the tree, Tony looked at the gauntlet and considered calling for help. However, he saw the danger and stopped.

Stark Industries had been compromised and once he sent a signal, they would come to finish the job. He needed to gather some strength before he returned. Right now, he was powerless since his weapons had been compromised. He needed to recuperate and get some weapons.

Fortunately, he hadn't put everything in his car. Taking out the capsule case, Tony hacked into it and made it work. The capsules were revolutionary technology that could compress anything into a small one inch capsule. It was tech made by the genius scientist, Dr. Brief. Capsules were Hi-Tech items with complex safety measures, so it took some time to crack them. It was the reason he couldn't do anything when they were falling.

Once he had access to the inner working, Tony started fixing the problem before using them or the items inside would be destroyed. He felt hungry, tired but his worry for Roberta and anger against his enemies drove him on.

Working tirelessly for an hour, Tony was able to fix one combat vehicle capsule and one residential capsule. Tony disabled the tracking system on his items and picked up Roberta so that he could walk deeper into the forest. While working on the capsules, Toby had checked his location and found out that he had been flown very far from his initial position. He was really lucky to have survived such a powerful wind, as it had flown him thousands of miles and put him in the territory of the Ox King.

The Ox King was a terrible and powerful demon that ruled a territory, equal to a big city, and it was filled with monsters. Anyone that stepped into the territory was putting their life and belongings at risk. The demon was even powerful enough to fight against the generals of the Red Ribbon army and even survive against the Royal Knights. Coming across the creature was a death sentence for most people.

Tony hoped he didn't come across such pointless trouble. Regardless, he didn't cower in fear or runaway. He activated the capsule after getting deeper into the forest and a fortified shelter appeared.

"Don't worry Roberta, I will protect you this time." Tony muttered as he put Roberta on the bed inside the shelter. Looking at how companion, he found her so delicate and charming. None would think that she was a killing machine with that innocent look. Pinching her cheeks, Tony walked towards the kitchen and got some food. Once he had eaten, Tony sat down on the sofa beside Roberta to keep watch. He hadn't prepared for the Ox King territory and his arsenal was destroyed, so he couldn't allow himself to sleep. However, he wasn't used to such situations and sleep overtook him soon enough.

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Tony slept comfortably and had good dreams. He woke drowsily to the sight of Roberta sitting with her weapons. It took him a moment to remember the situation and he got up from the seat immediately.

"Roberta, I am so glad you are awake. How are you feeling? Is everything fine or do you need to visit the hospital?" Tony rushed towards Roberta as his sleepiness disappeared and showered her with questions. She was his only family and closest friend, so it had weighed heavily on his heart.

It was a surprising scene for Roberta since Tony always acted strong and would never show weakness. His worry made her feel warm and she smiled a little at his words.

"Master, I am alright now. The serum did its job and my physique is strong enough to recuperate from such injuries. I am just glad that you are safe." Roberta allowed him to hug her and hugged him back. She also considered him family, which was a far cry from the initial meeting where she only considered him an assignment.

"I was never on danger as they intended to capture me. So, next time don't make such steps and endanger your life. You are extremely important to me, understand." Tony stared into her eyes as he said those words, as he wanted to make sure that she wouldn't act like that again. His mental health was at risk from seeing her on deaths bed.

Roberta knew that it was impossible to ensure such a thing, but she went ahead and said it with a smile.

"I will try to avoid danger next time... Master, what do you intend to do now?" Roberta replied and then asked for the next step. She had scouted the region but didn't make contact with the HQ after seeing that Tony had turned it off.

"First.....we eat something. I am starving." Tony deflated and took a seat as the small energy left his body after relaxing. Roberta stood up and prepared a meal. Once it was finished, Tony started working on his remaining equipment while Roberta kept watch and shot down any monster getting close with the artillery.

It took Tony six hours to finish the rest of the capsules and then he had late lunch. However, Tony didn't leave after getting his equipment ready. His company was compromised and he didn't have any confidants that could honestly help him. Tony regretted not having a team of trustworthy people that were also extremely reliable. The people at the company that were close to him would get killed if he contacted them. But the main point was that he was too weak. He had to rely on others to survive. That fact stung now and made him understand the importance of personal strength.

Calling his best friend, Terry Bogard, who was the current King of fighters, Tony started a new project. Tony was an expert on weapons but he had never thought about attaching those items to his body. Now he could only think of doing so for personal safety and protecting his close ones.

Roberta helped him with the project by giving him combat input, since he wasn't a specialist. It took Tony one week to finish his project and Terry also only arrived a day before the end of the project. It took Terry one week to arrive because he had been occupied and hadn't seen the message.

Tony used the things available and broke them down to use as materials for his battle armor/suit. He took part his flying bike and even parts of the safe house for the task since the items were aerodynamic and highly durable.

It was fortunate that he had enough material to build a powerful suit and even if it didn't work out, Tony would have built the foundation that could be fully realized once he got back.

Before building the real thing, Tony designed the thing on his computer and tested it in multiple ways. Tony had it operate in different environments and stretched it to its limits. He had the system go through countless combat events and had the suit fight against combatants that were known. With the help of Roberta it was easier or he would have missed many flaws.

Once the design and parameters were set, he started building it and focused on creating the ultimate machine for combat. Tony's fighting style relied on his flying drones and he had incorporated that style into the suit.

The suit was built with a red and gold color scheme. It could fly at extreme speeds and it could handle high level of damage. The suit was equipped with flying funnels that could shoot plasma shots and move according to Tony's thought. He had equipped it with a vibroblade that had absurd cutting power because of high frequency vibrations. He also added plasma blades.

He added a barrier and a thick shield that could even survive atomic bombardment. He added micro-time bombs and bombs. He also added beam rifles and plasma beam gauntlets. There was a life support system for the user so that Tony could survive the extreme combat since the suit could move at mach 5 normally and could go up to mach 30 at full speed. However, it could react much faster as the suit had been equipped with the most advance sensors. Meaning, it could react to Mach 300 speed.

The control system of the suit was also equipped with a Bio-Sensor, which improves the responsiveness of the battle suit by supporting the control system with the pilot's brainwaves. It meant that he didn't have to physically move anything, as he just had to think about it. The system fed him data on the condition of the suit and the threat level of the enemy, weakness and much more.

Everything was perfect except for the fact that he was the major weakness of the suit along with the battery. It was just fortunate that he could carry back up energy in capsules or the suit would run out of energy really fast because of the advanced system.

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"So, that's what happened. Let me say first that I told you so. You should have continued training with me and this wouldn't have happened. Regardless, I am glad that you are safe." Terry commented as he gave him a bear hug and almost snapped him in half. The man was built like a killing machine and would even snap a whale in half so his human body was asking for abuse.

Terry Bogard was a charming man with an ideal and athletic figure with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was older than Tony by five years and knew him since a young age. Tony's father had invited a martial arts master to teach him and that master was Tony's teacher.

"Lay off the past, I know I was wrong and I am happy that you came. I was feeling really isolated these days." Tony was relieved at his appearance as now he had some reliable backing. Roberta was strong but she couldn't handle the current threat.

"So, what do you want to do now? Do you want to find out the person responsible for the situation? I can have Mary handle that task."

"That would be ideal. And, I also intend to check out my new weapons abilities in the field. So, I need your presence in case things go wrong."

Looking at the battle armor, Tony could see the threat from the weapon. The current world was really difficult for people like him. He was the pinnacle of humanity but a weapon could still end him. In the old days, humanity wouldn't even stand a chance against him since the atomic bomb of old was too slow and weak for him.

"Will it last against me?"

"Not yet, I will need more data and upgrades before arriving at that stage." Tony was proud of his work but that didn't mean he would oversell its capabilities. Terry was still beyond the suits capabilities as the man would destroy it with few well placed attacks. He had tested the armor against all known combatants so he knew the end result of that fight.

"I see. I look forward to the performance of this thing. Who do you intend to test it against?" Terry wasn't threatened by the new weapon, but took it as a challenge to improve further or even his weak friend would surpass him.

"Ox King, what do you think?"

"Ambitious as always, I like it." Terry patted his back and laughed heartily at the name. He was happy to see that his friend was finally walking the path of a warrior and moving away from spreading destruction across the world.

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A.N. Terry from King of Fighters/Fatal fury game