Chapter 17: The First Meeting with Iron Man
Chapter 17: The First Meeting with Iron Man
"Jarvis, retrieve all surveillance footage and analyze the possible escape routes of the robbers!"
Inside the Mark IV armor, Tony instructed the AI, Jarvis.
"Yes, sir!"
Jarvis, the AI, was incredibly efficient. It quickly analyzed the surveillance data and determined the approximate route the school bus had taken after breaking away from the police pursuit.
After a high-speed flight, guided by Jarvis, Tony didn't take long to find the school bus, which had suffered a blowout, and the teacher and students inside.
Upon learning that the four robbers had taken a young boy as a hostage and fled into the woods, he used the tire tracks and additional surveillance to confirm the robbers' vehicle and route, eventually locating the warehouse where they were hiding.
Compared to the police, who relied on manpower to review surveillance footage and conduct the search, Jarvis was significantly faster.
"Scan the warehouse structure and determine the number of people inside!"
Since the robbers had a hostage, Tony didn't immediately charge in with his suit and take them out with a few repulsor beams. Instead, he used the advanced scanning system in his armor to survey the entire warehouse.
"Sir, there are five people inside the warehouse: four adult males and one child. However, the four adult males are no longer showing any signs of life!"
"What?"
Tony's face showed a look of surprise upon hearing Jarvis's report.
"Boom!"
A repulsor beam blasted open the door, and Tony, clad in his armor, walked into the warehouse.
"Who... did this?"
Blood, bodies, and money were scattered on the ground, and the warehouse was eerily quiet, as if a pin could be heard dropping. It was clear that someone had found the robbers before him and killed them all.
...
"Oh? The police arrived so quickly, that's quite efficient!"
Jerry, lying in bed with his eyes closed, immediately sprang up at the loud noise from outside.
"Wouldn't this seem a bit too abnormal?"
A eleven-year-old boy, kidnapped by four ruthless robbers, should be terrified, not calm. This didn't seem quite right.
After a moment's thought, Jerry pulled out his wand and cast a spell on himself:
"Uncontrollable Snot!"
A faint magical glow illuminated his face, and two streams of snot began to flow down his nose.
This was the Snot Charm, a spell that caused the target to have a constant runny nose.
Since Jerry had reduced the amount of magic he used, the effect was much weaker.
He put away his wand, rubbed his eyes hard to make them red as if he had been crying, and added a look of fear and panic to his expression.
Perfect, a normally frightened and traumatized young boy was now ready for his dramatic entrance.
A moment later, the wooden door was violently kicked open, and a tall figure in armor entered the room.
"Iron Man!"
Jerry, with his face covered in snot, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
He had thought it would be the police who found him, but it turned out to be Iron Man.
"Oh, right, it's me, the incredibly awesome Iron Man, so don't worry, you're safe now. Come here, I'll take you home!"
Hearing the reassuring voice from the armor, Jerry paused for a moment, then wiped his nose and said in a childishly innocent tone:
"Iron Man, you're so cool!"
"Yes, very cool. If you behave, I might consider giving you a small model!"
Tony didn't take Jerry out through the warehouse's main entrance, which was full of bodies and blood. Instead, he raised his hand and used repulsor beams to blast through the wall, exiting the warehouse.
“Jarvis, contact the police who are still searching for the robbers. Send them the address here and all the records from when we entered until we left!”
After giving Jarvis his instructions, Tony scooped up Jerry and flew low toward the direction where the school bus had been.
“What's your name?”
“Jerry!”
“Did you hear any strange sounds in the room just now?”
“Just some gunshots and shouting!”
“Shouting?”
“Yeah, like ‘idiot,’ ‘bastard,’ ‘bitch’…”
“Alright, no need to repeat those bad words. Forget them…”
“Are you really Iron Man?”
“As real as it gets!”
“Is it true you said you’d send me a model?”
“Of course, it’ll be at your doorstep first thing tomorrow morning!”
Jerry tried his best to act like a normal kid, chatting casually with Tony.
“Looks like I should get a flying broom over here!”
Watching Tony fly freely in his suit, Jerry couldn’t help but show a look of envy on his face.
People who are free at heart all have a dream of flying, especially the kind where you control it yourself and soar through the air without restraint. Jerry was no exception.
Fortunately, wizards had their own unique ways of flying.
The simplest and most convenient method was the flying broom. An ordinary flying broom, like the Nimbus 1000, could reach speeds of about 100 miles per hour, or roughly 160 kilometers per hour.
Better brooms, such as the Nimbus 2000, could reach speeds of over 200 kilometers per hour, and even faster models like the Firebolt were available.
Once a wizard became powerful enough, they could learn the Flight Charm, which allowed them to fly as a streak of white light without the need for any magical tools.
Of course, whether it was a flying broom or a Flight Charm, their speeds couldn’t compare to Tony’s Iron Man suit. In his previous life, he had heard from a colleague that Tony’s suit could reach supersonic speeds.
However, wizards only used flying brooms for short distances. For long distances, they could use Apparition, Portkeys, or Floo Powder, which could transport them to their destination in an instant.
To ensure Jerry’s safety, Tony didn’t fly particularly fast. It took about an hour to reach the location where the school bus had been parked.
The area where the school bus was located was already surrounded by a large number of police officers. Tony had sent the bus’s location to the local police department as soon as he found it.
“Jerry, oh, you’re safe! That’s such a relief!”
Almost all the students had been safely escorted home by the police, but Miss Berry had stayed behind, worried about Jerry’s safety. She had insisted on waiting for the rescue to conclude.
Miss Berry, though young—only in her mid-twenties—was a very responsible teacher. Her actions on the school bus, where she had volunteered to be a hostage to protect the students, spoke volumes about her character.
As Jerry’s teacher, the guilt of not confirming his safety would have weighed on her for the rest of her life.
“Miss Berry, I’m… I’m fine!”
As soon as Jerry landed, Miss Berry, with a look of relief and joy, hugged him tightly and kissed him on the cheek. Jerry was momentarily stunned.
(End of Chapter)
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