The next day, Tony Stark held a press conference about the battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger on the highway the night before.
According to James Rhodes, all Tony had to do was say that Iron Man was his bodyguard and the whole thing could gradually be allowed to fade away. Major news was breaking in the United States every day, and both the White House and the Pentagon were under enormous pressure. They really did not want the rest of the world laughing at them.
Just make up an excuse and be done with it. Whether ordinary people believed it or not was up to them.
Tony Stark thought so too, at least at first. He picked up the note James Rhodes handed him. Rhodes patted him on the shoulder, meaning: just read what's written here, and please don't pull another stunt on me.
Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to make colonel? Please stop causing trouble!
Tony Stark carefully read the note twice. After an intense struggle with himself, he finally tossed it aside and told the assembled media, "I am Iron Man!"
James Rhodes stared at him as if he had seen a ghost. At that moment, the Black colonel finally understood Obadiah Stane's deep frustration. Even a good-tempered man like him wanted to pin Tony Stark to the floor and beat him up!
"I am Iron Man! Very bold words. Do you think being a superhero is your new career? You know nothing about this world."
Nick Fury rushed to Los Angeles as soon as he finished dealing with the underwater affair. When Tony Stark finally shook off the reporters and returned alone to his Malibu mansion, Fury stepped out of the shadows.
Tony Stark glanced at his access-control system and asked seriously, "Who are you?"
"Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D."
***
"I am Iron Man!"
Tony Stark's words were reported across the country and then throughout the world.
All day long, media outlets large and small kept replaying the line.
The Fantastic Four were superheroes and had a good relationship with the public, but the four of them did not generate much buzz. New Yorkers could enjoy the spectacle and move on; the rest of the world did not care.
Tony Stark was different. He was already famous, a born magnet for headlines. Now that he had suddenly announced his superhero debut, the discussion it triggered was nothing short of a tsunami.
Bella paid no attention at all to Tony Stark's moment in the spotlight, because by then Arcee had found the Swan family's group of Autobots who had been neglecting their proper duties. The female Autobot was sternly scolding Jazz, Optimus Prime's deputy, who had recently become obsessed with country music.
"We haven't heard from Optimus Prime in two years. Aren't any of you worried? Not even a little?" Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet sat in a circle while Arcee berated them.
What was there to worry about? Jazz and the others exchanged unconcerned looks.
Bella, who was watching the drama from the side, thought the same thing.
That was Optimus Prime!
A born workhorse! He handled fighting, logistics, heart-to-heart talks with teammates, negotiations with humans, searches for ancient ruins, enemy intelligence analysis, and wisecracks after battle, among a whole list of other jobs.
In Transformers 2, Optimus Prime had finally gotten a chance to rest for a bit. The moment he was revived, he went straight back to fighting the enemy without even taking time for a sip of oil, while Ironhide, Ratchet, and the rest of those slackers showed no intention of helping their boss at all. They just stood there openly watching the show from behind!
It was no exaggeration to say the Autobots could not function without Optimus Prime, because he handled ninety percent of the work by himself. If something happened to him, it was hard for anyone else to save him, because everyone else was a slacker!
"Optimus Prime was the one who said he would take the AllSpark and set out alone. He told us to wait for him on Earth," Jazz finally explained.
For lifeforms like the Transformers, whose lifespans were measured in millions of years, spending two or three years on Earth was nothing at all. It passed in the blink of an eye, so none of them had thought there was any problem...
Arcee asked anxiously, "Then where did Optimus Prime go?"
"Don't know."
"He didn't tell us."
"He never said."
Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet all shook their heads. Even Bumblebee, sitting nearby, solemnly copied them and shook his head to show that he did not know either.
Arcee made a very human facepalm. These idiots had left her at her wits' end.
Jazz and Ironhide neglecting their duties for their hobbies like this had a great deal to do with the Swan family! Seeing Arcee scold them so badly, Bella immediately offered to help.
"Let me use Divination for you."
Arcee did not understand what Divination was, but Jazz and the others knew very well. They all urged Bella to hurry up and use her Divination to find out where their leader was.
After obtaining the Secrecy Portfolio, Bella's Divination had become noticeably more accurate.
When it came to something that other people did not know but she did, she could generally complete the Divination smoothly and obtain a relatively accurate answer.
Bella not only knew Optimus Prime, she had met him and even fought beside him. She was no stranger to the AllSpark either. The conditions for this Divination were excellent. It was like plugging a few numbers into a formula and getting the answer as soon as she finished the calculation.
"Don't worry. Let me take a look and see exactly where Optimus Prime is..."
Bella took out a Crystal Ball. Swirls of mist rose around it as she demonstrated the essence of Earth's feudal superstition for the Autobots.
Meanwhile, elsewhere...
Charlie had been bored out of his mind lately. A Senator's job was mostly talking nonsense and could not compare at all with how busy he had been at the Los Angeles Police Department. In a daze, he almost felt as if he had returned to those old days of idling around in Forks.
Every day after work he went fishing. Before long, he discovered that the current vice president, Old Willy, liked fishing too.
After interacting with each other a couple of times, the two became familiar.
Party rivalry certainly still existed, but there was no need to divide fishing into Democrat and Republican. Democrats on the left bank and Republicans on the right? Completely unnecessary! It was just a hobby. Politics did not need to enter into it.
The two often arranged to go fishing together. Old Willy had decent luck, while Charlie had spent sixteen years fishing on his own in Forks and had long since mastered the craft.
"Hey, look over there." While they were fishing, Old Willy suddenly spoke and tipped his chin slightly to the right. Charlie turned at an unhurried pace and saw a beautiful brown-haired woman in a blue dress and high heels walking slowly toward them.
Neither of them knew the woman. Charlie grew a little suspicious. "You think she's here for me?"
Old Willy laughed. "Pal, what do you think? I'm almost ninety. A woman like that certainly isn't coming here for me, is she?"
"You're Senator Swan, right? I really need help. I'm from California, and I..." The beautiful brown-haired woman really had come for Charlie. She looked pitiful and kept giving him meaningful glances, hoping he would go with her somewhere more private to talk.
She crouched beside Charlie. A light breeze lifted her short skirt. Her reaction was oddly delayed; only after the skirt had blown all the way up did she finally act startled and reach down to hold it in place.