Tony watched as the tank was violently smashed into thin metal sheets by Blake. As for the fate of the people inside, Tony had no interest in looking. However, Blake's performance today...
"Blake, does your clothing come with an automatic dry-cleaning function? Oh, for God's sake, you should clean yourself up on the plane first. You look like you've just been thrown into King Kong's anus."
Tony didn't ask directly but joked around instead.
"There are always some mysterious things."
Blake didn't plan to hide the matter about his clothes. After all, it wouldn't be a secret for long. He directly transformed his jeans and T-shirt into a fitted casual suit right in front of Tony.
"And!" Blake pointed at himself.
"This is real man's combat, much better than hiding in a tin condom!" Blake said playfully, patting Tony on the shoulder.
"Your outfit looks more like a transforming condom!"
Seeing Blake could still joke around, Tony felt much relieved and muttered under his breath. Then he suddenly jumped as if burned.
"Oh, damn! Why did you pat my shoulder? Who knows what's on your hands! JARVIS! Remind me to give the armor a full disinfection when we get back!"
"Yes, sir!"
The bald leader of the Ten Rings, at a nearby base, was once again swept through by Tony Stark and Blake. All the personnel and weaponry were destroyed again. The bald leader, far away at another desert camp, nearly had a stroke from the news. It was all Obadiah's fault. God knows how much trouble Tony Stark had brought upon them.
Even though Tony was in his armor, the bald leader immediately recognized the arc reactor in his chest from the video sent by his subordinates.
"Damn it!"
He slammed the table in front of him. It was only after talking to Obadiah later that he learned the true value of the arc reactor. Sitting on a gold mine yet developing missiles—this was the classic example of suffering from ignorance.
After venting his anger by smashing a few things on the table, the bald leader pointed at a heavy chest piece piled in the corner and instructed his men.
"Take photos of the stuff Tony Stark made and send them with this video to Obadiah. He knows its value. And have him send us more weapons. This loss must be counted on him."
The chest piece in the corner was part of Tony's unfinished Mark 1 suit. When Blake came to rescue him, he only had time to take the blueprints, leaving behind the partially constructed armor.
Tony thought these terrorists wouldn't understand the technology anyway, especially since it wasn't a complete set and lacked the blueprints. However, he didn't foresee it ending up in Obadiah's hands.
The complex web of Middle Eastern forces meant that even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence capabilities were greatly limited here. Normally, Nick Fury would have noticed Tony and Blake's activities sooner or later. However, it should be noted that S.H.I.E.L.D. had people monitoring Obadiah thoroughly at this time.
So, when Obadiah received the video sent by the Ten Rings, Nick Fury also saw it.
"This is..."
Blake he could recognize, but the other one... was it a robot? Tony's armor and Blake's combat prowess left Nick Fury utterly stunned.
However, he quickly composed himself. The arc reactor on the chest was unmistakably distinctive.
"This is Tony Stark! Should I say it's not surprising from a weapons development genius? He managed to bring out the maximum war value from a small arc reactor! Truly a genius idea!"
Nick Fury instinctively reached for his phone to call Coulson, intending to have him approach Tony Stark. But after a moment's thought, he dialed Blake's number instead.
"Oh, my dear Director, my boss, you finally remembered you have an intern agent like me!"
Blake was still on the plane returning with Tony at that moment.
Nick Fury ignored the emphasis Blake put on "intern," responding in a similarly sarcastic tone.
"I almost forgot. I should have given you a Level 8 agent position. After all, you can directly confront terrorists in the Middle East. Oh, and you seemed to have blown up a tank too. Such an outstanding guy. I should have you join the action team."
"So, shouldn't you be reporting to your boss about the situation in the Middle East and that armored guy next to you? I'm guessing he's your good friend Tony Stark, right?"
This last line was the main point.
Blake chuckled.
"Boss, are you dreaming? What Middle East? What armored guy? Is this a new movie?"
Blake replied playfully.
"Damn it! Stop pretending. You are my agent. The substantial amount of dollars appearing in your bank account every month is because of my signature, do you understand?" Nick Fury angrily crushed the pen in his hand.
"Of course, I know I'm your agent, an intern agent who can't even get past the front desk with my ID!" Blake rolled his eyes, ignoring Nick Fury's anger.
"Wow!"
Just as Blake finished speaking, Tony flicked his forehead.
"What are you doing?" Blake mouthed silently.
Tony gave Blake a look as if he were an idiot and mimicked swiping an ID card and then pointed at the plane's instruments.
Blake immediately understood his meaning—they couldn't mention it because the plane was stolen.
"What are you doing?" Hearing Blake's surprised shout, Nick Fury asked.
"I'm sailing with Tony, you know. There are plenty of young, cute girls on the boat. Just now, a blonde babe suddenly kissed me. Damn, is it my fault for being handsome? My dear boss, does shooting her count as self-defense?"
"Blake!" Nick Fury's angry shout was loud enough for Tony to hear clearly beside him.
"Stop making up stories. I want you to come to Washington immediately. Also, about your ID, damn it, I knew it! Why else would a plane suddenly get stolen—a Quinjet? I knew it. Come to Washington and see me right now!"
Faced with Nick Fury's roar, Blake put his phone on speaker and inspected his left hand, choosing a finger with a longer nail. He began lightly scratching the phone's microphone.
"What? What did you say? Oh! Damn signal! For God's sake, I'm trying to take a call from my boss! Hello? Hello?" Blake said this while hanging up the phone.
"Bang!" Nick Fury smashed his phone onto the table, shattering it to pieces!
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