Marvel: The Rise of Little Iron Man

In the basement, the buzzing of the old-fashioned projector became the only background sound.

For the first time, Tony Stark turned the film carrying the last image of his father Howard Stark back to the beginning.

"That's all I can do for you."

"I was limited by the technology of my era, but one day, you will find a way."

"And when you do it, you will change the world."

In the picture, the man, who is seven or eight points similar to him, but is always separated by a layer of mist of time, said the final instructions to the camera with a trace of imperceptible tenderness and expectations.

Tony leaned on the cold metal workbench, and the palladium poisoning reaction on his chest became more and more violent. The black toxin lines were like vines, ruthlessly climbing to his heart.

He felt that his life was being taken away frame by frame, just like this repeated film.

Irriet.

Powerless.

There is still a trace buried in the bottom of his heart that even he himself does not want to admit...Guilt for my father.

Howard hid his lifelong expectations in this video, but he was like a fool who couldn't solve the puzzle. He could only look at the screen and feel the approach of death.

What exactly is hidden in this video?

Some kind of encrypted chemical formula? Or is it a string of Morse codes that need to be decoded in a complex way?

Tony's brain worked at high speed, disassembling and analyzing every frame and every line of the image, but he could never find the key to the game.

"Perhaps, you should change your thinking."

A crisp voice broke the silence.

I don't know when Paul walked in.Come on, holding a can of iced coke in his hand, he pulled open the ring, and with a "bang", the bubbles came out happily.

He glanced at Howard, who was frozen on the screen, and then looked at Tony with a decadent face.

"What idea?" Tony's voice was hoarse and impatient. He is not in the mood to play guessing games with a little ghost now.

"It literally means."

Paul took a sip of Coke and walked to the huge 1974 Stark Industrial Fair Future City Model.

This model is one of Howard's most proud masterpieces during his lifetime. It is exquisite and full of the romantic imagination of the future of that era.

Tony frowned irritably: "What does it mean literally?He said that he was limited by the technology of the times. Isn't it clear?"

"Yes, I understand very well." Paul's finger gently stroked the dome of a building in the model. "He was limited by the technology of that era, so he could not create the new element in his imagination. But he can tell you its structure in another way.

Paul turned his head and looked at Tony, who was lost in thought, with a playful smile on his lips.

"What did he do his best to leave you? It's not an encrypted telegram, nor a treasure map. He left a video and a... model.

"A model about the future."

Boom!

It seems that a flash of lightning splits the chaotic thoughts.

Tony stood up from the workbench and stared at the huge city model that occupied half of the room.

It's not the secret language in the video.

It's not the mystery in the lines.

The key is the model itself!

Howard Stark, the conceited and sultry old man, didn't play any complicated puzzle games. He turned an atomic structure diagram into a city of the future in the most direct, grand and "Stark" way!

"Fuck!"

Tony cursed in a low voice, half of which was to scold himself for being stupid, and half of which was scolding his father who liked to pretend to be mysterious.

He rushed to the model, and the flame in his eyes rekindled, which was the fire of hope and passion. He finally found the way!

But the next second, his movements froze.

"Wait... It's just a replica." Tony's face sank, "The real one... is in the company."

To be more precise, it was in his original office.

That is the CEO office of Pepper Potts now.

At the thought of facing Pepper, Tony's passion was instantly extinguished.

Damn it, he left her alone on the terrace at the party just a few days ago.

How can I open my mouth now?

"Hi, Pepper, I'm not here to apologize. I'm just here to get something?"

Tony felt his scalp ting just thinking about that picture.

"Do you need me to help you get it?" Paul shook the coke can in his hand with a "I'm very helpful" expression.

"No need!" Tony immediately refused.

What are you kidding? Let your son help you deal with this mess? Do you still want Tony Stark's face?

He took a deep breath, like a soldier going to the battlefield, tidyed up his collar, and strode out.

Isn't it just facing Pepper?

Simple!

...

The top level of Stark Industry, CEO's office.

Pepper was buried in a pile of documents, and the golden sunlight sprinkled on her through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, covering her whole body in a layer of soft light.

The door of the office was pushed open.

Pepper didn't raise his head, thinking it was an assistant, and asked skillfully, "Are you ready for the meeting materials with the Ministry of National Defense in the afternoon?"

"Cough cough."

A familiar cough came.

PEI PER'S PEN STOPPED. SHE SLOWLY RAISED HER HEAD AND SAW THE PERSON WHO SHOULD NOT HAVE APPEARED HERE.

Tony Stark.

He was wearing a casual T-shirt, his expression was a little unnatural, and his eyes were even a little dodging.

Pepper's heart skipped a beat for no reason.

Is he... here to explain?

"What's the matter?" Pepper quickly regained his professional composure, but his hand holding the pen tightened unconsciously.

"I... passed by." Tony's opening speech was so bad that he wanted to laugh himself. "By the way, come up and have a look."

Pepper's eyes darkened for a moment. She put down her pen, leaned back on the back of the chair, put her arms around her chest, and put on a official posture.

"If you are here to inspect the work, Mr. Stark, I would be happy to report to you on the recent operation of the company."

This alienated name, like a needle, stuck in Tony's heart.

"No, I'm not..." He was a little incoherent, "I'm here... I'm here to find you."

Pepper raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at him quietly, waiting for his next step.

Tony's eyes wandered around the office, and finally fell on the future city model placed in the corner, which was used as an ornament by Pepper.

He cleared his throat, trying to make his tone sound more sincere.

"Pepper, that... I like the thing on your table very much."

What he was referring to was the first-generation Ark reactor on Pepper's desk, which was protected by a crystal shield and had been scrapped.

A line of words is engraved on it: [The evidence is that Tony Stark also has a warm heart].

Pepper's eyes followed his fingers, and there was a trace of looseness in his mind.

Could it be...

"So," Tony took a deep breath and finally plucked up his courage and clumsily tried to express it, "What I want to say is... can I take that model?"

The air froze in an instant.

The last trace of tenderness on Pepper's face, like a candlelight blown by the cold wind, suddenly extinguished.

She looked at him, her eyes changed from a trace of expectation to complete disappointment, and finally returned to calm, a kind of calmness with a stinging.

It turned out that he didn't come to find her at all.

He didn't even want the reactor that was of extraordinary significance to him.

He only wants that broken model.

"So, you came up 'by the way' and 'by the way' to have a look, actually just to take it away?" Pepper's voice was soft, but like a sharp knife, it cut off all of Tony's pretending to be calm.

"I..." Tony opened his mouth and found that he couldn't explain a word.

When he saw the disappointment in Pepper's eyes, his heart seemed to be blocked by something, and he panicked.

He wanted to explain, he wanted to say that it was not like that, he wanted to say that the model was related to his life, and he wanted to say that he was really touched when he saw the reactor just now...

But when the words came to the mouth, it turned into:

"Yes, this is very important to me."

After saying that, he almost walked to the corner in embarrassment, picked up the heavy city model rudely, like a child who ran away after grabbing candy, and rushed out of the office without looking back.

With a "bang", the door of the office was closed.

The whole world, quiet down again.

Pepper sat there quietly and didn't move for a long time.

She stretched out her hand, gently touched the cold crystal shield with her fingertips, and her eyes fell on the words "warm heart".

Warm?

Maybe.

It's just that warmth never belongs to her.

...

Tony held the model and almost ran all the way back to the villa in Malibu.

He put the model heavily on the floor of the workshop, and the huge impact made several fragile buildings on the model shake.

He gasped heavily, and his mind was in a mess.

Half of it is the excitement of solving the puzzle, and the other half is Pepper's eyes full of disappointment.

"Are you done?"

Paul's voice came from behind. He was leaning against the door, looking at him leisurely.

"Hmm." Tony responded vaguely and forced himself to throw Pepper's face out of his mind.

Now, saving lives is the most important thing.

He bent down and began to study this magnificent "city" carefully.

Paul came over and handed him a bottle of water, but his eyes fell on Tony's open collar because of running.

The black toxin lines seem to have spread a little more than in the morning.

Paul's eyes deepened, but he didn't say anything.

He knew that there was not much time left for Tony Stark.

And this city is his only way to live.

Now, the game has just begun.