'Fine—this world has veered off every Marvel parallel I know. What a headache.'
After a pleasant catch-up with Susan, Artoria returned to her suite and pondered. She was an anomaly; per the Ancient One, infinite possibilities surrounded her, futures shifting with her choices—destruction or brighter peace. At first skeptical, she now saw deviations everywhere. The so-called heroes' lives diverged from comics and films.
Evidently her 'butterfly wings' had altered much—unknowingly, irreversibly. Whether good or bad, she couldn't tell.
'Now what?'
The room suddenly blacked out; Artoria's ahoge curled into a question Mark. This was the city's busiest district—how could power fail? She ordered Saturday to engage backup and scan for anomalies. Spotting Little Spider tangling with a blue-arcing villain, she sighed—another bad guy. Ever since Iron Man appeared, chaos never ceased.
She stayed in, observing Spider-Man's fight as a detached third party, then killed the feed. She had bigger issues; besides, her brother had left a message about the regeneration cradle.
'What's up, bro?'
'Where did you get this, Artoria? It's remarkably practical. I can fabricate it from the specs—do you need one?'
'It's for you, big bro. Nanotech's plateaued; this can slim down your bulky suit and add flexibility. But you'll need plenty of field tests. When the time comes, I Hope it saves your skin.'
"Don't do anything stupid! Brother."
Thinking of Tony being all alone on Titan in Avengers: Infinity War was truly heartbreaking. Especially now that he was her own brother, she absolutely had to protect this family bond.
"Alright, your brother is Iron Man. How could a hero do something that only a fool would do?"
Tony was momentarily stunned by Artoria's words, and a warm feeling filled his heart as he gave her a happy smile.
"Oh, please! With your reckless nature, I'm really afraid you'll kick the bucket in some deserted corner one day."
Artoria gave Tony a beautiful eye-roll. In the movie, you insisted on getting on that spaceship to find Thanos and almost died there; you really don't have a clue about your own reckless nature.
"It's been a long time since we've had a family gathering. Should we throw a party?"
"Absolutely not. You can enjoy those female stars yourself! I think Sister Pepper is about to be driven crazy by you. When are you two getting married? Don't stall anymore, brother. You know a woman's prime is only a few years. If she sees no Hope and you don't give her a sense of security, she'll slowly lose faith in you. Give her a proper answer; Sister Pepper is truly a good woman."
Every time she slept with her, she wore such hot outfits.
"I'll consider it."
Hearing Artoria's words, Tony gave a bitter smile. He knew his situation better than anyone. With his personality, he didn't know how many people he had offended; he was surrounded by enemies. Once Pepper entered their sights and something happened, he would regret it for the rest of his life. If possible, he wanted to give Pepper a formal status, but now wasn't the time. As Iron Man, he still wasn't strong enough. He needed to plan carefully; once everything was mature, he could give his beloved woman an explanation and a satisfactory answer.
"I Hope you don't break her heart. Otherwise, I'll never talk to you again."
How could Artoria not see Tony's expression? She knew what he was worried about. But even she couldn't guarantee the safety of everyone around her. This world was too chaotic; Artoria might be taken out by a villain in the next second. So Artoria only looked at the present and didn't consider the distant future, fearing the day she might actually encounter a powerful enemy.
Her current power was still too weak, and this wasn't something that could be rushed. If she became corrupted out of desperation, she would be the one bringing harm to her loved ones, which was the last thing Artoria wanted to see. Otherwise, there were plenty of ways to increase her strength. If the Black Holy Grail corrupted her, her power would triple instantly, but the price was something Artoria couldn't accept.
"How could I fail such a good woman? Don't worry anymore, my dear sister. Those female stars are just for fun; they only chase green dollars, while Pepper is the love of my heart. I can tell the difference."
Tony was mistaken; he thought Artoria was worried he would treat Pepper like those female stars. But the tenderness in his heart only had room for two women: his sister and Pepper. If he had a daughter in the future, he might have to add another one to form a sea-view Villa in his heart.
Tony, in the name of Iron Man, swore that if anyone caused even the slightest harm to the people he cared about, he would make them pay the price.
"Fine, I don't want to dig into your history of affairs. Just be yourself, brother. Don't just think about saving the world. You're a human, not a god. Please take care of yourself first before taking care of others."
Regardless of what Tony thought, Artoria hoped he would take care of himself. She hadn't seen her parents in a long time and didn't know how they were doing. Since they were in hiding, it was inappropriate for her to look for them. Artoria believed her brilliant father would definitely show up at the most critical moment. However, as their daughter, not being able to show filial piety and instead having the elders protect her made Artoria feel very bad.
"Using regeneration cradle technology, it's indeed possible to complete the new suit. But Artoria, I Hope you'll have less contact with such dangerous things. I want you to live happily every day as an ordinary girl. But seeing as you don't want to accept the ordinary, I can only say: don't make us worry, Artoria."
"I will, brother."
Answering her brother without hesitation, Artoria didn't intend to cause friction with the family that cared for her.
"By the way, I'm going on a long trip for a while."
"Isn't that great? Go out and see more when you have time; traveling is a good idea. The scenery in Hawaii is very beautiful; I want to take you there sometime to swim in the sea. By the way, where are you going?"
"Space..."
"What?"
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.