Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Award Ceremony
[Third Person's PoV]
After Tony and Midoriya's round, Bakugo and Melissa had to fight one last time to determine who would take third place. During that time, Tony noticed Iida was nowhere to be seen.
Melissa and Bakugo's fight didn't last long due to Bakugo's previous injuries from his battle with Midoriya. In the end, Bakugo accepted his loss fairly. He had a look of disappointment, but that disappointment was aimed at himself.
It was then time for the Award Ceremony. Midnight stood below the stands as she announced, "Let the Award Ceremony commence!"
"Now for the medals! Presenting them this year is you-know-who!" Midnight's introduction was interrupted by All Might shouting,
"I AM HERE!!! WITH THE MEDALS!" He dropped from the sky, medals in hand.
The crowd erupted into cheers upon seeing everyone's favorite hero, All Might. Midnight then held the medals as he began handing them out to the winners.
All Might grabbed the third-place medal and put it over Melissa's head. He patted her shoulders and gave her a hug. "I'm very proud of you! You've come a long way. It feels like it was only yesterday when you were small. Now look at you."
Melissa hugged him back with a small blush. "Uncle… You're embarrassing me…"
All Might moved on to Midoriya and placed the second-place medal over his head. "You were great out there, kid. It seems you have a good handle on your quirk. At the rate you're going, you'll be a pro in no time," All Might said, giving Midoriya a hug.
"All Might, about what happened…" Midoriya whispered.
"I know. We'll talk about it in private. This isn't a conversation to have in public," All Might whispered back.
All Might then picked up the first-place medal. "Young Stark—huh? Where is he?" All Might asked, noticing there was no one on stage.
Just then, someone from the crowd shouted, "Up in the skies, what is that!?"
"Is it a bird!?"
"Is it a plane!?"
"No! It's Tony Stark!"
Tony arrived at the first-place stand from the skies, his mask off, arms spread open with a large, charming grin as he descended. The entire crowd cheered and chanted Tony's name as they watched him land perfectly. He then did a gentlemanly bow as All Might placed the first-place medal over his head.
"You never cease to amaze, eh, Young Stark?" All Might asked with a weary smile.
"The day I don't is the day I die. But come on, we both know that if there ever comes a time, I'll still get out with a flare," Tony said with a smug expression, then got a hug from All Might.
"Just know, whatever you're going to say next, end it with 'Plus Ultra' since that's what they're expecting," Tony warned him.
"Eh? Really?"
Tony just looked at him strangely and nodded. All Might then began to give his speech.
As he did, Tony held his medal and waved it around like he was a prince, flashing a smile. He then looked towards the VIP section.
He gained a confused look as he narrowed his eyes to get a better look. He saw David walking around, back and forth with his phone by his ear. David then clicked his tongue as he hung up and looked down towards Tony. He typed something out and put his phone by his ear as Tony then heard Friday's voice.
"You have an incoming call from Future Father-in-law."
"Answer," Tony muttered.
Tony then heard David's anxious voice on the other side. "Tony, it's your parents. They haven't been around since the start of the tournament."
"What?" Tony asked in a low, cold voice, turning his head to the side and tapping his ear.
"Your mother wasn't feeling too well, so they decided to take a walk. They haven't returned since. I'm beginning to worry. I tried calling them, but they wouldn't answer."
"Friday," Tony ordered, his masked closer over his face, lighting up with power.
In that same instance, All Might thrust his fist to the sky as everyone shouted, "PLUS ULTRA!"
Everyone was then taken by surprise as Tony blasted off into the sky. Once he was out of the stadium, he blasted off in a sonic boom.
"Friday, what do you have for me?" Tony asked, his expression turning serious.
His HUD flashed and sorted itself in front of him as Friday said, "Here's what I was able to find."
Tony stopped midair to view the footage, which luckily had audio.
…
A bit earlier…
As Tony left their room and started his first match, Howard noticed Maria was beginning to look a bit green.
"Are you okay?" Howard asked with concern.
Maria simply put a hand over her mouth. "A bit. I'm just feeling a bit claustrophobic for some reason…"
"Is it due to your pregnancy?" Howard asked, putting his hand on hers.
"I don't know, maybe?" Maria said, sounding unsure.
"Come, let's go for a walk. It'll do you some good."
Howard turned towards David. "I'm taking Maria out for a walk so she can get some fresh air. Record Tony's and Melissa's matches for us. Oh, and if we're not back before Tony makes it to the finals, call us."
David playfully scoffed. "You sure are confident Tony's going to make it to the finals."
"Of course. He's a Stark, and the place we Starks belong is in first," Howard said confidently.
David just waved him off. "Just go. Hope you feel better, Maria."
As they exited the VIP room, a few guards posted outside started to follow them from a distance. Howard took Maria outside and asked, "How are you feeling now?"
"A little better…" she said, taking a deep breath.
Howard nodded. "We'll go on a short walk then while Tony continues his matches," he said, grabbing her hand.
They spent a good 20 minutes walking around, window shopping and exploring the city. Then, suddenly, a black van pulled up. Upon seeing it, the guards jumped into action and surrounded Howard and Maria.
One of the women guards conjured a bubble shield around them, but as she did, the back of the van slammed open.
Out came men wearing large laser guns in their hands and metal helmets with red visors. They immediately began shooting at the guards.
It quickly devolved into a firefight between the two groups. The attackers' laser guns turned out to be more fatal than expected, disintegrating any guards hit into ashes, shocking them with their power.
All Maria and Howard could do was watch in horror as the guards slowly dwindled. However, some of the attackers were killed as well, while civilians ran away.
The remaining attackers began shooting the protective bubble, causing it to pop and hit the woman protecting them, turning her into ashes.
Howard stood in front of Maria. "Wait, wait, don't attack us. Is it money you want? If that's what you want, you're in luck. But please, don't hurt her. She's pregnant!" Howard pleaded. "And if you just want to take us, we will willingly go with you."
A 2-meter tall man walked over to them. "Very well. It's good you don't put up a fight. You will make excellent bait… Follow us, or the woman gets it."
Howard and Maria had no choice but to follow. Just then, a B-Rank Hero appeared. "Stop right there, evildoer!"
The man from earlier didn't even look at him. He simply raised his blaster and shot the hero, killing him in one shot. Howard and Maria, horrified, willingly got in the back of the van.
As they got in along with the remaining men, the wheels of the black van lifted off the ground. It slowly disappeared from view and flew rapidly into the air.
…
Present:
Tony, who had just finished watching the video, clenched his fist tightly. "Friday, were you able to follow them using our satellite?"
"Yes, sir," Friday replied. A mini-map of Japan appeared, zooming in on Tokyo with a red flashing light.
"Although their cloaking was decent enough to evade cameras of this era, it wasn't good enough to stay hidden from our satellites. They're by the edge of Tokyo, in what appears to be a subway station. May I advise you to please be careful, sir? They appear to have advanced weaponry."
"Your concern is noted Friday, call forth Project Big Hero, it might be finally his time to shine…" Tony ordered as he blasted off once more, noticing behind him Melissa appearing following a few meters back.
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