Chapter 108 - I'm Iron Man

Prime stared at Pepper for a few seconds; it was evident that she was completely horrified. Prime couldn't blame her; his appearance was far from friendly. Amidst the tense atmosphere, Tony suddenly started coughing, breaking the tension.

Prime glanced briefly at Tony and could hear his heartbeat, which was normal. All his vital signs seemed normal as well. Then, Prime turned his gaze back to Pepper. Though reluctant, she stood up, keeping her eyes fixed on Prime, clearly cautious. Still, her eyes also moved to Tony.

Even though she was afraid of Prime, Pepper seemed even more concerned about Tony, worried enough to overcome her fear of Prime. Of course, it wasn't as if Prime was intentionally trying to scare her; he had simply missed the opportunity to return to his "human" form, if it could be called that.

Moreover, Prime had seen and interacted with Pepper before, albeit more cordially. He considered that they had a relatively friendly relationship. Of course, it wasn't as if Pepper could distinguish Prime from a monster at that moment.

"Don't worry, Tony is fine. His vital signs are good; he's probably just very tired" said Prime, his voice echoing around the room in a tone that was both masculine and feminine, without leaning towards either gender.

Prime watched as Pepper stared at him, still clearly scared. Even so, she approached Tony and placed her hand on his face. From the way she touched him, it was evident to Prime that Pepper cared deeply for Tony. As he thought about this, Prime felt Pepper's gaze on him and slowly turned to her. Immediately, Pepper looked away as soon as Prime made eye contact.

"W-What exactly are you? How do you know Tony?" Pepper asked.

Prime considered the questions valid and had anticipated them. Besides, he had no reason to hide them, or rather, he didn't want to hide them. Prime had never met another alien, although he knew a few meta-humans, who couldn't be considered aliens. However, Prime knew there were aliens in space; he had no doubt about that.

Without saying a word, Prime began to slowly fade away, as if returning to Sara's body. Then, a life form appeared beside him and gradually took on a human shape. Pepper looked at it with wide eyes, unsure of what to say. Despite all her lifetime of study, nothing had prepared her for that moment.

"Mr. Ryan?" Pepper asked, visibly confused.

Prime had expected to see this expression, but still, Pepper was really skilled at showing her feelings. It was somewhat amusing, as even though she had been terrified seconds ago, now she seemed just confused.

"This is quite a lovely evening, Miss Potts, both beautiful and strange" Prime remarked with a half-smile.

Upon hearing Ryan's words, Pepper put her fear aside. Somehow, discovering that the "monster" was actually Ryan made her feel relieved. Perhaps exhaustion had clouded her judgment, but in the end, Pepper no longer felt in danger.

"I can't disagree with that" Pepper said, a wry smile on her face.

Both shared a small laugh after hearing each other. Prime thought that, somehow, Pepper was starting to resemble the person he had met a few days ago. As this thought crossed his mind, a sarcastic voice sounded.

"The conversation is so interesting here that you're leaving me out?"

Hearing the voice, Pepper and Prime turned their gaze to Tony. Sara, who was beside Prime, spoke with an equally sarcastic tone.

"Have you been told that you can be incredibly annoying sometimes?" Sara asked with a smile at the corner of her lips.

"Many times, but what can I do? That's my way" Tony shrugged.

"Tony!"

A third voice burst in. Pepper quickly crouched and hugged Tony, who was still lying on the floor. As soon as Pepper touched him, a muffled cry and a pained expression appeared on his face.

"Ouch! Ouch! Watch the joints, dear!" Tony said, with his usual humorous tone.

"Ah, sorry! Does it hurt here?" Pepper asked, touching a specific spot on Tony's armor.

"Ah! Everything hurts, dear" Tony said again.

"Are you sure you can feel anything wearing that armor?" Sara commented, crossing her arms and watching from the side.

***

The next day, Prime was at a press conference organized by Tony. He was especially curious to see how Tony would proceed from that point on. As everyone awaited the arrival of the person responsible for starting the event, Prime attentively observed his surroundings. In addition to the paparazzi, some investors were also present.

Meanwhile, loud noises began to sound around. Tony took the stage accompanied by a man whom Prime remembered seeing next to Tony before. Quietly, Prime watched as Tony picked up the microphone.

"It's been a while since I've seen you all... I'll read what I've prepared here" Tony said, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket.

Everyone burst into laughter, including Prime. The only thing he could think of was that this type of joke at serious moments was entirely characteristic of Tony. However, Prime felt there was something different about Tony; it seemed he had been reflecting quite a bit during the night.

"There have been speculations about my supposed involvement in the incidents on the highway and on the roof, but..."

At this point, Tony was interrupted by a woman who seemed absolutely certain that he was involved in something. Prime, who was mixed in with the crowd and had sharp hearing, overheard the conversations around. Everyone seemed convinced that Tony was implicated and was just waiting to see what excuses he would come up with.

When they mentioned the possibility of Tony being a superhero, he seemed to like the idea, which left the woman interrogating him visibly confused. Prime let out a brief, soft laugh. To him, it didn't make sense that Tony was trying to hide anything; his behavior didn't indicate such reserve.

"Anyway, the truth is... is that..."

As Tony seemed to hesitate about what to say, his gaze crossed with Prime's. With a sideways smile, Prime seemed to understand what Tony was about to reveal.

"It's that I am Iron Man" Tony said.

After this revelation, the reporters stood up and began taking numerous photos. Prime couldn't help but laugh at the situation. It was clear that everyone would be talking about Tony, or rather, Iron Man, for a long time. To Prime, the situation was simply amusing.

Despite this, Prime had to admit that Tony completely defied his expectations. While he thought it wasn't Tony's style to keep secrets, he didn't expect Tony to just reveal the truth in front of everyone.

(Sara, are you seeing this?) Prime asked Sara, who was at home watching TV.

(Yeah, this guy is really crazy, although he was impressive) Sara replied, clearly laughing.

With a sideways smile, Prime wondered how much more Tony could surprise him. Either way, he felt that Tony's story, or rather, Iron Man's story, would still yield many more episodes. This made him question whether his own story would have a similar impact.