His tone was aggressive: "I was in my workshop at Stark Tower, helping her fix her car... for the twenty-seventh time in two months, by the way! Then she suddenly stood up, burst into flames, and flew out the window of the eighty-seventh floor. The eighty-seventh floor!"
Tony took a step forward, staring at Mavuika. "Can you imagine what I felt? I almost thought I was dreaming or having a mental breakdown. But the reality is, the woman I know can fly and manipulate fire, and my parents obviously knew about it all along."
He turned to Howard, his voice growing louder. "So you were all in on it? I was the only one kept in the dark? Something this big, this important, and you didn't tell me a single word?"
Howard's expression changed slightly, and he quickly rebuked, "Tony! Show some respect!"
Mavuika laughed and interrupted him.
"It's alright, Howard," Mavuika's voice was calm and gentle, as if soothing a petulant child.
"I apologize. The situation was urgent. I had to leave immediately to make it in time. A few seconds later..."
She didn't finish, but the meaning was clear: if she had arrived a few seconds later, Howard might have been dead.
Tony's expression stiffened for a moment. His anger subsided slightly, but confusion and dissatisfaction remained.
He looked at Mavuika and asked the most crucial question: "Mavuika, what exactly are you? Why can you breathe fire and fly? It's not scientific. It's... it's not normal."
Mavuika smiled and waved her hand, the expression easy and natural as if discussing the weather. "I didn't deliberately hide it from you, Tony. And you never asked."
Tony faltered, his expression turning somewhat awkward. Thinking about it carefully, he really had never asked.
He had noticed Mavuika's peculiarities, guessed her identity was special, but he had indeed never directly asked a question like 'Are you hiding some secret from me?'.
He thought it was privacy, thought it was a secret his father didn't want to reveal, thought he would find out sooner or later...
Although now he certainly would find out sooner or later... but the truth was making it a bit hard for him to stay calm.
"We'll explain all this to you later," Howard said, his voice tinged with weariness. "Let's go inside first. We need to tend to wounds, we need to handle a lot of things."
He turned to the unconscious Bucky on the lawn, his brow furrowed.
Only then did Tony notice there was a fourth person. He walked over to Bucky and examined him closely by the light spilling from the Villa's entrance.
It was a man who looked around thirty, with dark hair and handsome features, but currently his eyes were closed and his face was pale.
The most striking thing was his left shoulder. There was no arm there, only a complex mechanical interface, with exposed wires and hydraulic tubes still faintly smoking.
And on the ground, a silvery-gray metal arm lay quietly, reflecting a cold gleam under the light.
"And who is this?" Tony asked, frowning. "Dressed like he's imitating some cold-blooded killer or something."
He pointed at the black tactical suit Bucky was wearing—professional, streamlined, devoid of any insignia, the standard gear for special forces or covert operatives.
Mavuika was amused by Tony's analogy. "Perhaps he isn't imitating at all."
Tony was taken aback for a moment, then realized. "Huh? A real assassin? Old man, here to kill you?"
He looked at Bucky, at his parents' injuries, at the wreckage that looked like a crash site, and finally at Howard, his gaze sharpening. "You brought the assassin back with you too?"
Howard sighed, rubbing his temples. The day's harrowing experiences had already exhausted him.
"Let's go inside first," Howard said, pushing Tony by the shoulder and guiding him towards the Villa.
"We have a lot to deal with. No time for idle chatter here."
The Villa's oak door closed behind them. In the living room, warm light spilled across the dark hardwood floor. Although there was no fire in the fireplace, the indoor temperature was just right.
Tony had barely stepped over the threshold before he turned to Mavuika. Those brown eyes, so similar to his father's, shone with unconcealed curiosity and the urgency he'd been suppressing the whole way.
"Alright!" Tony planted his hands on his hips, standing in the center of the living room, his gaze shifting between his father and Mavuika. "Now can you explain? From the beginning, don't leave anything out."
He was bursting with questions, like a kettle about to boil, the lid no longer able to hold them in.
First, of course, was the most central one: Mavuika's identity.
Tony's mind had been racing over the past hour, trying to piece all the clues together.
And the first thing he thought of was a secret that was almost public knowledge in his father's career.
"You..." Tony pointed at Mavuika, his tone probing. "You're not a product of that super-soldier program from World War II, are you? A project the Old man was involved in?"
His gaze shifted to Howard, trying to find confirmation on his father's face. "I remember files mentioning that the Military had follow-up research afterward, trying to replicate Captain America's success. Although most of the data is sealed, some of Stark Industries' early documents..."
Tony's reasoning sounded perfectly logical. Howard Stark was one of the most outstanding scientists of World War II, deeply involved in the development of the super-soldier serum.
If the Military later had other secret projects, using remnants of the serum or technology to create new enhanced humans, Howard could very well have been involved.
And Mavuika—she was young, powerful, possessed abilities beyond ordinary humans, was closely connected to his father—she fit that profile perfectly.
Howard shot his son a glare. He rubbed his temples; the wound on his forehead, just treated by Mavuika, still throbbed faintly.
"Tony," Howard's voice was low and serious. "Stop guessing wildly. This is more... complicated than you imagine."
He looked at Mavuika, his eyes questioning. Despite their long acquaintance, despite Mavuika's easygoing and friendly demeanor, Howard always remembered her true identity.
The sun goddess of Asgard, Odin's eldest daughter, a being who had lived for millennia. He didn't know if Mavuika was willing to reveal her secret to Tony.
Sensing Howard's hesitation, Mavuika smiled slightly. She walked over and sat down on the sofa, her posture relaxed and natural.
"It's alright, Howard," Mavuika said, her amber eyes turning to Tony with a hint of amusement. "Tell him. After all..."
She paused, a curious smile curling at the corner of her mouth. "He'll find out sooner or later. And, I'm suddenly a bit curious to see his reaction."
Having received Mavuika's permission, Howard took a deep breath and began his account.
Starting from the day he met Mavuika, Howard told Tony everything about Mavuika's identity and origins.
Throughout the entire process, Tony's expression shifted from initial skepticism, to surprise, to shock, and finally to a state of near-blank bewilderment.