"So, is this your new armor? It's quite different from the last one, at least visually" Sara commented, sitting on a table while looking at Tony's armor.
With the help arriving, Tony didn't waste any time and quickly got back to finalizing his project. Given that Obadiah had taken the Arc reactor, it was only a matter of time before he used it to power his own suit. Tony realized this from the conversation he had with Obadiah when he took the reactor.
In short, everyone was in danger. Tony wanted to prevent his invention from falling into the wrong hands, and unfortunately, Obadiah fit that profile perfectly. That's why Tony was rushing to finish the suit. It was practically ready, although a few minor details were still outstanding. However, Tony couldn't afford to be picky since time was running out.
"Are you really not going to help?" Tony asked, turning his gaze to Ryan.
Prime, on the other hand, was watching Annie and Sara near Tony's cars. They both seemed to be having fun getting into the vehicles. Prime was a bit surprised that Tony hadn't tried to stop them from messing with the cars, considering they probably cost a fortune. But Tony had bigger problems to worry about than the cars.
"I wouldn't mind helping, but is that really what you want? Especially since all of this happened because you didn't follow my advice? This is your fault, you know?" Prime replied with a smirk, while Tony just sighed briefly.
"You and who else? My mom, maybe?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow. However, this only lasted a few seconds before a sigh escaped his lips. "The worst part is that I can't deny what you said, but for some reason, it sounds so much worse when it comes from you" Tony said, fiddling with something on the computer that Prime didn't even try to understand.
As Tony worked, Prime remained silent. Although some thoughts crossed his mind, none of them were particularly important. However, there was something Prime wanted to ask Tony.
"Do you like Pepper?" Prime asked, while Tony looked at him with an eyebrow raised.
"Why that question out of nowhere?" Tony replied.
"Just out of curiosity, I don't take much pride in admitting this, but I've never dated anyone before. In fact, I don't think I've ever really been in love. And honestly, you don't seem like the kind of guy who would fall for just one woman. I mean, you're a bit of a player, you know?" Prime said with a straight face.
"You saying that with that straight face is actually impressive" Tony said, genuinely surprised but unable to deny Ryan's words. "I've never really thought about it. Pepper's been with me for so long that it would feel strange not to have her by my side. I'd say I'm leaning more towards liking her, but I don't know if she feels the same" Tony replied, momentarily pausing what he was doing on the computer.
"Seriously? From what I can see, she likes you enough. Why don't you ask her out? If you wait too long, someone else might get there first" Sara chimed in, having stayed quiet until now.
Tony briefly turned to Sara and found her smiling playfully. For some reason, he felt like she was enjoying his suffering. However, from Tony's perspective, the advice he received was good, even if he didn't know Pepper had feelings for him too.
"I'll consider your words" Tony replied, refocusing on what he was doing before.
After a few minutes, Prime and Sara turned their attention to the armor upon hearing an activation sound. Looking at the suit, he realized it was powered up. Although he didn't fully grasp the concept behind it since that wasn't his area of expertise, he thought it was probably any man's dream.
"Is it ready?" Prime asked.
"Practically, the only power source it needs to function is right here" Tony said, pointing to his chest where the Arc reactor was visible through his shirt. "This is the old version; I probably won't be able to keep it powered for long. Obadiah took the new one I built, so I don't have time to make another" he continued, walking toward his armor.
At that exact moment, Tony's phone started ringing again. Turning around, Tony was surprised to see the phone flying toward him, thrown by Ryan.
"Hello" Tony said, answering the phone.
"Tony? You finally answered! I thought something had happened" Pepper said from the other end of the line.
At that moment, Tony's eyes widened slightly, and in a near panic, he started speaking.
"Pepper! Where are you right now?" Tony asked.
"I'm almost at the building where Obadiah is, with some agents. We're going to get him" Pepper replied. Just then, Tony heard a small explosion in the background.
"Pepper? What was that noise? Are you okay?" Tony asked, concerned.
"Y-Yeah, it's just the door that wouldn't open. I think Obadiah revoked my access. Anyway, I have to hang up now. We'll talk later" Pepper said before ending the call.
"What? Pepper, don't hang up! You don't understand, Obadiah has one of my suits. You and the agents need to get out of there immediately... Pepper!"
But no matter how much Tony called, there was no response from the phone. Throwing it on the ground, he rushed as the armor began to fit over his body. Prime, watching from a distance, understood the gravity of the situation. He had also placed a small symbiotic bat on Obadiah's tail. Things were getting really complicated, enough for Prime to question whether or not he should act.
"Are you sure your suit can take Obadiah's? His looks way bigger" Prime said.
"Yeah, it'll hold up" Tony replied.
As he said that, Tony shot at a car in front of him and quickly moved to a more open space.
"Need anything else?" Prime asked with a smirk, watching Tony.
"If I don't come back, I want you to hire Pepper at your company" Tony said as he closed the helmet of his armor.
Prime watched as Tony took off, leaving them behind. Although he found Tony's request pretty self-centered, what could he do? To Prime, Tony had always been someone very focused on himself. However, Prime didn't intend to stand by if things went south, and of course, he wouldn't let Tony die.
"So, what's the plan? Do we go home and wait?" Sara asked next to Prime.
Hearing Sara's suggestion, Prime briefly reflected on it, but the answer had practically been decided from the start. It was better to follow Tony because if something happened, he needed to be close; if he took too long, it might be too late.
"Annie and Ema are heading home now. You and I are going after Tony and staying nearby. I don't think we'll need to intervene, but it's better to be prepared" Prime said with a shrug.
Annie and Ema, who were at a distance, just nodded. Anyway, Ema was starting to get sleepy, and Annie wasn't too interested in following Tony, so she didn't really care much about the situation.