"The test's over! Want to come fly around the sky with me?"
As soon as Tony saw Pichu finish testing the new suit, he crossed his arms and issued the invitation.
"Let's go!"
Pichu nodded at once.
Seeing Pichu's quick agreement, Tony went off to suit up in his Mark IV. He then asked J.A.R.V.I.S. to open the underground garage.
The lab had another floor beneath it: the villa's secure underground garage, connected to the outside world by a hidden tunnel.
Once there, both Pichu and Tony activated the flight systems of their armors. In a whoosh, they blasted through the tunnel and took off over the Pacific Ocean.
Nearly a thousand meters above the ground, two gleaming figures—one large, one small—flew through the clouds, side by side.
Pichu glanced over at Tony and gave the command, "Xiaopi, increase flight speed."
**Xiaopi:** "Understood, sir."
As soon as the words were out, the suit's thrusters gave a surge, and Pichu shot ahead with a burst of speed, leaving Tony behind.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., punch it! Let's catch up!" Tony called, instantly accelerating after Pichu.
With a *bang bang bang*, the air behind them erupted into booms.
Both Pichu and Tony were now flying faster than Mach 1—the speed of sound—causing sonic booms that split the sky behind them.
***
Just as the two enjoyed their supersonic joyride, elsewhere—
At a military air base, the soldier stationed at the radar console stared suspiciously at his screen, then urgently called out to his colleague.
"Quick, get Colonel Rhodes!"
Minutes later, Tony's old friend Colonel James Rhodes arrived.
Rhodes frowned, "What's the situation?"
The soldier replied, "Sir, two unidentified high-speed flying targets, one large and one small, detected over the Pacific near Malibu."
"Malibu…"
Rhodes's thoughts immediately went to Tony—his villa was right in that area.
Suppressing a grimace, he walked aside and pulled out his phone.
***
High above the Pacific—
**J.A.R.V.I.S.:** "Sir, Colonel Rhodes is calling."
Tony: "Put him through."
Even before Tony could say anything, Rhodes's voice shot out,
"Tony, are you up in the sky right now?"
"It's me. The Mark IV's been finished for a while, and with perfect weather today, I'm just out for a performance test," Tony replied, all smiles.
"…."
On the other end, Rhodes let out a sigh, "We just detected two aerial targets—one big, one small, one must be you. Who's the other?"
Tony's antics were a never-ending cause for military gray hair.
Tony replied, "The other one's Pichu."
"What—Pichu?!"
Rhodes startled, drawing looks from everyone in the room.
Quickly lowering his voice, he muttered, "Why Pichu?"
He knew Pichu was smart—practically a person—but he didn't realize he had these kinds of abilities. He also had no idea Tony had built a suit for Pichu; after all, he hadn't visited the villa in over a month.
Tony didn't hide it: "I made him a suit of armor."
"What?!"
Rhodes was stunned, and just a bit envious. He'd been eyeing Tony's suits for a long time, after all.
Still, as a Colonel in the U.S. military, he knew getting an armor of his own would only bring him endless trouble. The higher-ups had always wanted to get their hands on the technology—to mass-produce armor for the military. If that happened, the world would never be the same.
Regaining his composure, Rhodes sighed,
"Alright, got it. I'll come by the villa tomorrow to see you."
With that, the call ended.
***
The soldiers nearby looked expectantly at Rhodes.
With a stern face, Rhodes ordered, "Send word: as long as those two don't cause any trouble, let them be. If the media asks, tell them it's a military exercise."
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone relaxed. If anyone pressed further—well, "military exercise" was always a good cover. Believe it or not, it wasn't their problem.
***
Meanwhile, Tony radioed Pichu.
"Hey, Pichu, Rhodes just called. The military tracked us on radar—really freaked them out," Tony said.
"!!!"
Pichu froze, his expression darkening.
*Great. I totally forgot to turn on anti-radar! If it wasn't for Rhodes, they might've sent jets or even missiles after us just for fun…*
Flustered, Pichu replied,
"Alright, alright, better not get Rhodes into more trouble. Let's head back."
He added,
"Xiaopi, activate stealth mode—anti-radar."
**Xiaopi:** "Anti-radar mode is already active, sir."
"Good. Let's go home."
Tony was faintly disappointed but agreed—it was for the best.
***
After activating stealth mode, they returned safely to the villa.
***
The next day, Rhodes visited Tony's place.
He gave Tony a good-natured scolding—trying to smooth things over had nearly gotten him chewed out by his superiors. He was only spared because he'd gotten to Tony before others took more drastic action.
The powers-that-be could never decide what to do with Tony. On the one hand, they wanted to rein him in; on the other, Tony was too valuable to actually punish, and Stark Industries was too entwined with military operations.
Some just grumbled behind closed doors, powerless to change a thing.
Tony, for his part, immediately apologized and broke out his best leftover wine to toast Rhodes.
After a few drinks and some friendly words, Rhodes was grinning again. He wasn't really mad—he just wanted to score something from Tony to feed his envy over Pichu's custom armor.
Of course, after all these years, Tony knew exactly what his friend was angling for.
Maybe that's what real friendship looks like—no words needed.
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