"Where's that guy Tony? Why don't I see him anywhere?" At that moment, Tohka looked around and asked Rhodes. After all, it was Tony who had told her to come here, but looking at all the armor flying everywhere, she was feeling a little dazed.
"Forget about that guy for now—with so many suits, it's not easy to tell where he is." Just then, Rhodes quickly pulled Tohka along and shouted. He really was in a hurry, because unlike Tony, there was someone even more important here. Then he pointed in another direction, where a man wearing an Iron Man suit was hanging there: "That's the President, they've kidnapped the President. Hurry up and get him down—otherwise America could fall into chaos."
"The President?" Tohka paused, puzzled, and looked in the direction Rhodes pointed. Then she frowned and said, "Isn't he the one who fired that nuke to backstab us during the Battle of New York?"
"Hey, hey, that's not what I meant." Hearing her, Rhodes reflexively broke into a cold sweat. During the Battle of New York, he'd been wearing his armor and doing a tour, so he missed the whole fight. But he'd heard all about it from Tony afterward. Although the government's actions had been pretty underhanded, it had been an effective way to deal a lethal blow to the enemy. But it hadn't been the President's decision alone—several government departments had been involved: "Anyway, let's not talk about that now. Didn't you see how much Tony gained from that? I heard Tony gave you a new suit—without government approval, there's no way you'd be able to use alien technology so easily…"
"Alright, I get it, Uncle Rhodey." Waving her hand, Tohka signaled that she understood: "I'm not really that petty. Let's just rescue the old man first. By the way, did you guys lock down the news? Otherwise, I would've seen this on the reports the moment I got off the plane."
"Yeah, hurry up. Blocking the news was just a temporary measure in an emergency—it won't hold up for long. Those media guys aren't easy to fool." Rhodes was growing more anxious. Who knew what would happen if word got out?
"Fine, let's go." Tohka didn't waste any more time—if she stalled any longer, Rhodes might really lose it. She grabbed him and flew straight to the destination. With a flick of her hand, she tossed Rhodes aside, then flew behind the suit and swung her greatsword, slicing the cable clean through. Then she grabbed the President and flew him back to Rhodes.
"Phew—thank you, Miss Tohka." Freed at last, the President let out a sigh of relief. He was already getting old—if it hadn't been for the armor's protection, hanging there all this time would have peeled the skin off him even if he'd survived.
"Hey, Mr. President, don't forget—that suit belongs to me. Now, please take it off and let me go deal with that bastard." Seeing the President safe, Rhodes relaxed, then eyed him in annoyance. America was serious about protecting private property. Technically speaking, this suit had been a gift from Tony to Rhodes, so only he had the right to use it.
"..."
Ignoring the two of them bickering, Tohka shot up into the sky. It was time to end this farce. Compared to the battle at Dragon Valley, this was just a petty skirmish—she didn't have any interest in wasting time on these people.
"There—so that's the so-called biologist behind all this?" Soon after reaching open air, Tohka spotted the true culprit behind everything: the scientist Tony had humiliated before, who'd then determined to stage a comeback and surpass him. Yeah, it was an inspiring story in theory—but this guy had simply put his talents to the worst possible use. Tohka had no choice but to clean him up. Without delay, she flew straight at him.
"Wahaha—Tony…" At that moment, relying on his specially processed Extremis virus, he tore apart yet another of Tony's suits with his bare hands. But then, to his confusion, Tony's previously flustered expression suddenly turned calm, and he even looked at him with a trace of schadenfreude. Tony knew exactly how destructive Tohka's attacks were—he didn't believe for a second that this guy could withstand her blows.
"Hey, what's with that look? Your armor can't do anything to me—do you really think you can stop me with just that stuff?" The villain frowned, puzzled by Tony's expression. Didn't he realize he could be crushed to death at any moment?
"Yeah, I can't stop you. But someone else can. Look behind you." At that, Tony pointed past his shoulder.
"Eh?" Tohka wasn't interested in listening to his nonsense. If anything, this guy's lack of vigilance was his own fault—keen instincts were essential for any real powerhouse, but this one was even less sensitive to danger than Tony himself. Before he could turn around, a massive sword pierced straight through his body, sending him flying out of the air. Then two more huge slashes fell, cutting him into four pieces. On the ground below, he didn't even twitch before falling silent forever.
"Alright—fight over." Tohka glanced at the now lifeless villain boss, then at Pepper not far away. Knowing them, there was a 99.9% chance was that they'd start dumping love confessions all over the place. So Tohka simply left—she wasn't about to stick around and eat that dog food. Rhodes could handle it—he was probably used to it by now.
"Hey, Tohka, you're back already? That was so fast." Just then, Miku Izayoi noticed that barely moments after she'd reached their room, Tohka had already flown back.
"Ah, it was nothing—just a couple of small fry. Compared to the real Mandarin, there was no need to even treat them seriously. That so-called Mandarin was just a fraud anyway." And she wasn't making it up. Plenty of Marvel fans had probably spit out a mouthful of blood when they saw that movie. Later, the studio had even put out a ten-minute follow-up video—probably because they'd been scolded into oblivion by the fanbase.
"Really?" Miku looked at her doubtfully but didn't say much more. After all, if the enemies had been strong, Tohka wouldn't have come back this quickly. In fact, she'd come back faster than Miku herself…
"Come on, let's go inside—huh?" But just as Tohka stepped into the room, she suddenly realized that the long-silent Reverse Tohka was trying to contact her again. Clearly, she'd discovered something—otherwise she never would have reached out, or even paid attention to what was going on outside. According to her, that was the only way not to be distracted. In reality, she just didn't want to watch Tohka stuffing her face and have to drool helplessly.
"Alright, I'm going to rest for a bit." Guessing that Reverse Tohka had finally figured something out, Tohka lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. Actually, her consciousness had already entered the special space to talk to Reverse Tohka.
"Don't tell me she's coming out again…" Watching Tohka immediately fall asleep, Miku Miku's mouth twitched. Based on past experience, this was not the time to mess with her—doing so could result in some serious misfortune.
"So, what is it? Why'd you suddenly call me?" Tohka was now in her mental sea, where she saw Reverse Tohka—yep, she was actually awake this time. Almost every time Tohka entered, she found her asleep. So, she couldn't help being skeptical whether Reverse Tohka ever actually accomplished anything—she'd never once had an energy outburst so far.
"After many experiments, I've basically figured out how to use this gem, which means we might be able to leave this world." Seeing her, Reverse Tohka spoke with obvious pride.
"Uh-huh. Hundreds of times? Weren't you always asleep? And if you really did all those experiments, why didn't I feel anything at all? That doesn't make sense." Tohka's first reaction was disbelief.
"Hmph, are you looking down on me?" Instantly bristling, Reverse Tohka glared at her, then awkwardly muttered: "Actually, it's very quick—just a little trigger each time. It only takes a few minutes. Two or three times a day… After all this time, hundreds of tries isn't that big a deal."
"…Wow, you're really efficient." Tohka's face twitched. This woman was obviously slacking off—if she'd wanted, she could've finished all the tests in a single day. Hundreds of attempts? Given her personality, Tohka was amazed she hadn't blown up. Was her luck stat secretly EX rank?
"Don't worry—with the Kabbalah Tree of Life, all the energy the Space Stone produces gets absorbed. Its capacity is enormous, so a little energy like this is no problem." Seemingly sensing her thoughts, Reverse Tohka offered an explanation—though it did nothing to reassure Tohka. Instead, she shivered. So basically, if the Tree of Life ever failed to keep up, she might get blown to pieces.
"Yeah, well, I've discovered that while the Space Stone can break that special barrier, we don't have enough of the right kind of power. And this energy is very unique." Reverse Tohka frowned, clearly troubled: "Even though the Tree of Life has vast power, neither of us can safely draw on much of it. And it's not even the main issue—the energy type is incompatible. If we force it, it might explode. So, we need energy that's of the same origin as the Space Stone."
"Mm, you mean that power?" Tilting her head, Tohka thought about it. The only thing capable of supplying huge amounts of energy to the other Infinity Stones was the Power Stone. Other people might not know where it was, but as a transmigrator, she knew exactly. That thing was about to appear soon—but not on Earth, out in the depths of space.
"You know?" Reverse Tohka noticed that instead of looking troubled, Tohka seemed perfectly calm, obviously having already made up her mind.
"Yeah—it's just the Power Stone, right? I know where it is." Actually, she knew where almost all the Infinity Stones were. As for why she hadn't gone to collect them, first, there was no need—she already had her own path to growing stronger. Second, those things were dangerously hot potatoes. Apart from Thanos, who had a special protagonist aura, anyone else who gathered too many would probably draw the Living Tribunal's attention. Tohka was under no illusion she could take that guy. Even if, in the latest comics, the Tribunal got beaten and dumped on the moon, that was after he'd been nerfed. In Marvel, power levels never made sense—those cosmic entities' abilities changed constantly.
"Alright, I'll leave it to you. I'm tired—I'm going to rest. Come find me when you have that power source." Seeing Tohka's determined expression, Reverse Tohka yawned lazily, then sat on her throne and immediately fell asleep. She looked so exhausted that Tohka's mouth twitched again. Did this woman have a passive skill called "Awake Ten Minutes a Day, 24-Hour Cooldown"?
"Whatever. Let her keep sleeping." Shaking her head helplessly, Tohka withdrew from the space. But as soon as she woke up, she met Miku's gaze—and was surprised when Miku actually flinched back in alarm.
"Huh? What's wrong—do I look that scary?" Tohka blinked, puzzled by Miku's reaction.
"Whew, thank goodness it's not her again. That scared me." Miku let out a sigh of relief, then looked curiously at her: "So, why do you look so excited—did you discover something interesting?"