"Is it over? Tohka, so this is what your battles are like?" Just then, Miku Izayoi flew in from outside wearing her spirit dress. After all, the commotion their fight had caused was simply too enormous. Even standing far away, she had felt the earth shaking, so as soon as things calmed down, she rushed over immediately.
"It's fine. Let's go." Glancing at the ruined land, Tohka couldn't sense that guy's presence anymore. Even if he hadn't died, and had improved his skills just like in the original story, Tohka wasn't worried. None of these people could match her now, and they wouldn't in the future either—she could feel her power still growing, and by then he absolutely wouldn't be her opponent.
"Let's go. There are still plenty of places in this country. Since our visa is still valid, let's just travel around. I remember there are several famous cuisines here—come on, let's go eat them all." Since there was nothing else to do, Tohka's appetite kicked in again. For foreign visitors, the food here might be hard to get used to, but that didn't apply to her. Especially after transmigrating, everything she ate tasted delicious.
"Ugh… fine." Speechless, Miku Izayoi didn't say anything more. Sure, in America the two of them were famous, but here hardly anyone knew them, so they could play around without any burden. As for Tony, Tohka had already completely forgotten about him. Even if the real Mandarin had been dealt with, that impostor—if Tony still couldn't handle him, he might as well not be alive.
…..
"Ahhh, this past month was just too wonderful. If Pepper hadn't called me, I wouldn't have wanted to go back at all." She really hadn't planned on going back, but just today Pepper had called her, and the reason was exactly as Tohka had guessed—Tony had been attacked. Although this time there was the protective barrier formed from Tohka's energy, Tony had never expected someone would come directly to that place to hit him, so his usual precautions were incomplete. After withstanding a few missiles, the defenses were blasted open, and then came a full bombardment. As a result, Tony was now missing just like in the movie.
So, the panicked Pepper's first thought was to call Tohka. After all, Tohka had saved their lives several times before. As for everyone else, Pepper simply didn't trust them.
"You—how can you eat so much spicy food without feeling sick? What is your stomach made of?" Miku Izayoi didn't know exactly what Pepper had said to make Tohka rush back so urgently, but she definitely didn't want to keep wandering around with Tohka.
Just yesterday, they had traveled to the province in China known as the "Land of Abundance." The moment Tohka arrived there, she started ordering all sorts of local dishes without restraint. It had been unbearable for Miku—she didn't have Tohka's monstrous digestion, and she'd never eaten anything that spicy before, so she could only suffer. After all, Tohka remembered seeing in the news in her previous life about a foreigner who had to get his stomach pumped after eating
"Ahahaha. Alright, let's not talk about it anymore. Let's just rest a bit. That guy didn't even equip this suit with a flight system, so flying back would take too long—it's better to take a plane. Besides, if I'm not mistaken, when we get back, it'll be another big battle."
Since they had only just boarded the plane, Tohka figured that by the time they flew back, they'd arrive right at the climax of the fight. She just didn't know whether Pepper would end up injected with Extremis. Strictly speaking, there were quite a few differences from the comics. In the comics, Tony had given himself the Extremis virus, and he had also obtained the superpowered Extremis armor. But in the movies, it was different—Tony hadn't intended to inject himself with Extremis. What's more, he had cured the Extremis in Pepper's body.
"Fine, whatever you say." Hearing Tohka's explanation, Miku Izayoi didn't argue and instead leaned against Tohka and fell asleep. It would be a long time before they reached New York—no point in worrying now.
By the time the two of them arrived back in America, Tohka was already unable to contact Pepper. Instead, she reached Tony himself, but he didn't say much—he simply sent her an address for a pier.
"What is this, Tohka? An address… It looks like it's for some dock." Seeing the note in Tohka's hand, Miku Izayoi was puzzled.
"Never mind. You go back to Avengers Tower first." At that, Tohka sighed a little helplessly. Glancing at the sun, which had already set, she knew the fighting had probably already begun. That was likely why Tony hadn't had time to explain—he must have been too busy to waste words.
"Alright. Be careful." Knowing Tohka was about to go off fighting again, Miku didn't try to stop her. She just gave her a gentle reminder, then headed off toward Avengers Tower, while Tohka went straight toward the dock Tony had given her.
"So that's the battlefield, huh… Those flying things in the sky should all be Iron Man suits." Even before she reached her destination, Tohka could already see the flames in the distance and hear explosions carried by the night wind. She knew she wasn't too late—at least she'd made it back in time for the final battle.
"Hey, Tohka, is that you? Don't worry about Tony for now—come over here!" But just as Tohka arrived at the port, she heard someone calling her. Turning her head, she spotted Colonel Rhodes, who had revealed his position by yelling, and was now being chased all over by several Extremis-enhanced soldiers. As for Tony—Tohka didn't spot him right away. There were just too many Iron Man suits in the air to pick him out.
So Tohka simply dropped down from the sky, landing squarely in front of Rhodes. After all, this colonel had helped her out a lot—otherwise, if she'd trespassed on military bases as often as she did, those people would have exploded long ago.
"These bastards are insane—to think they'd dare come here." Frowning as she looked at the men charging toward her, Tohka really wondered whether they thought Extremis made them invincible. This stuff wasn't a healing factor—if you took enough damage, you still died.
With that thought, Tohka decided not to hold back. She swung her giant sword, cleaving the thugs who rushed her cleanly in two. The men she'd cut down twitched a few times, then stopped moving altogether.