Chapter 16 The Birth of Iron Man (Part 2)
After Sherlock left, both Pepper and Tony felt the entire Villa instantly become empty and much quieter. The lively feeling that Sherlock brought was gone, even though only one person was missing.
Feeling bored, Tony even lost all the excitement he had from successfully creating the World's most advanced weapon.
Tony and Pepper's lives gradually returned to normal. Perhaps the only change was that Tony no longer pursued cover girls.
This even made the front page of the newspaper, with glaring headlines like 'Prodigal Son Returns,' which Sherlock, in his shop, scoffed at.
In fact, Tony could indeed be called a prodigal son who had returned. At least after so many days of interaction, Sherlock could confirm this point, but he was still far from becoming Iron Man.
What truly changed Tony was a set of photos a reporter handed him at a party not long after.
The photos showed the Terrorists who had kidnapped Tony carrying boxes of weapons marked with the Stark logo, which plunged Tony into deep thought.
He even became a bit downcast, and even after returning home, Tony couldn't muster any interest. His mind was filled with the scenes from the cave and Ethan's image.
Feeling his mind in a mess, Tony thought long and hard but couldn't find a good way to relieve it. He involuntarily thought of Sherlock carelessly watching TV in the living room.
Mimicking Sherlock, Tony for the first time lay quietly on the sofa and turned on his audio-visual entertainment system, which he had never used before.
But what Tony never expected was that, as if by fate's entanglement, the moment he turned on the TV, it was broadcasting images of Terrorists in Afghanistan. He watched the Terrorists on TV constantly shooting unarmed civilians with their guns.
For the first time, Tony felt a Fire begin to burn in his heart, as if he had come here, experienced so many things, and felt his mission.
The wails of the civilians on TV made Tony determined. He turned and went back to his garage. After ordering Jarvis to paint the armor his favorite colors.
Tony had never felt so determined to accomplish something.
With a series of mechanical assembly sounds, the gold and red Iron Man appeared in this World for the first time, beginning to fulfill his destiny.
Meanwhile, Sherlock, lying behind the counter of his shop, was reading a magic book while listening to the news report on TV.
After seeing the images of the Terrorists in the Middle East, Sherlock seemed to have a premonition, a smile appearing on his lips as he looked far in the direction of the Middle East.
Sherlock knew that after this battle, Iron Man would officially step onto the World stage, and the Marvel Universe's originally peaceful life would begin to spiral out of control.
He casually turned off the TV sound. After a simple greeting to the uncles in his shop, Sherlock returned to his room upstairs.
He took out the helmet Tony had given him and put it on. After learning Tony's whereabouts through Jarvis, Sherlock took out his magic wand without hesitation.
Under the enhancement of magic, a pure black cloak covered Sherlock's body, along with a pair of gloves. Sherlock repeatedly checked in the mirror to ensure no skin was exposed.
Only then did he put on the Sling Ring that Ancient One had given him. As Sherlock's arm continuously drew circles, a sparkling portal appeared before Sherlock.
On the other side of the door was exactly Tony's destination for this trip, and also Ethan's hometown far away in the Middle East.
Stepping out of the door, Sherlock instantly went from bustling New York to the sand-filled Middle East. He looked at the distant town where gunshots and Fire continued to ring out.
Sherlock merely waved the magic wand in his hand, and his entire being disappeared into the swirling yellow sand.
Finding a high sand dune, Sherlock did not reveal himself, still maintaining the Illusion Charm as he stood in place, seemingly waiting for something.
In just a short while, Sherlock waited for the protagonist of this story, Iron Man Tony Stark!
The scene of Tony descending from the sky in his iconic armor, even though Sherlock had seen it countless times in movies, was still so shocking to witness in person.
Watching Tony, like an ancient demon god, deal with those Terrorists one by one as if they were little chickens, for some reason, Sherlock even felt a sense of participation in Iron Man's birth.
"The birth of a hero is often accompanied by hardship and a tragic past, isn't it?"
A pleasant female voice suddenly rang in Sherlock's ear. Sherlock was genuinely startled and instinctively pointed the magic wand in his hand towards the direction of the voice.
But the next second, Sherlock obediently put down the magic wand in his hand and respectfully greeted the owner of the voice.
"Sorcerer Ancient One? Why have you come?"
After hearing Sherlock's words, Ancient One looked with a smile at Sherlock, who stood somewhat awkwardly in place. She did not answer Sherlock's question but instead teased him.
"Very nice outfit!"
It was fine until Ancient One spoke, but once she did, Sherlock felt a sense of social death, like he had a chuunibyou moment and was caught. For a moment, Sherlock even felt he shouldn't have appeared in this place.
Fortunately, Ancient One, as Sorcerer Supreme, did not dwell on Sherlock's attire for too long. Instead, she turned to look at Tony, who was still fiercely battling the Terrorists, and continued.
"Every hero has his own experiences and difficulties. What about you? My amazing little fellow, how will you choose your path now that you wield power?"
To be honest, Sherlock was a bit confused by Ancient One's nonsensical question and even for a moment didn't know how to answer her.
After thinking for a long time with his head in his hands, he still couldn't figure out what this old riddle-teller, Ancient One, was trying to express. He even instinctively started thinking about what magic he could use to escape.
After all, he couldn't win a fight, nor could he outwit this old hag who had lived for hundreds of years. Sherlock could only think about how to run away.
Fortunately, Ancient One seemed to sense Sherlock's embarrassment and did not dwell on the question. Instead, she turned directly to look at Sherlock, who was standing to the side, not knowing where to put his hands.
"Interested in coming to Kamar-Taj for a cup of tea?"
As Ancient One's words fell, a portal slowly appeared behind Ancient One.