The day Howard and Maria left, the weather was beautiful.
The sky was a clear blue, and a few white clouds floated leisurely.
Tony drove them to the airport, and Mavuika went along.
In the terminal, Howard and Maria dragged their simple suitcases; they had decided to travel light, and if they needed anything, they would buy it when they arrived.
"The first stop is Greece," Maria said with some anticipation, holding a travel guide in her hand.
"The Acropolis in Athens, the blue-domed churches of Santorini, the ancient palaces of Crete... we plan to stay there for three months."
"And then maybe Italy," Howard added with a relaxed smile on his face.
"Or the south of France; we don't have a specific plan, we'll just go wherever we feel like."
Tony looked at his parents and suddenly had a strange feeling.
Growing up, the Howard he saw was always serious, busy, and overwhelmed by responsibility.
But now, this old man about to embark on a journey looked so... free, so happy.
"Remember to call," Tony said, his voice softer than usual. "Let me know you're still alive, and haven't gotten lost on some island or been knocked out by local wine."
Howard laughed and patted his son's shoulder. "We'll be careful. You too, Tony. Managing the company isn't easy; don't work yourself to death."
"Me?" Tony raised an eyebrow. "I'm Tony Stark. I can manage the company, design new weapons, fix Mavuika's motorcycle, and attend three parties a week all at the same time. This is nothing."
The boarding announcement sounded over the loudspeaker. Howard and Maria hugged Tony, then hugged Mavuika, and then dragged their suitcases toward the boarding gate.
At the corner, Howard looked back, waving at Tony and Mavuika.
Then he disappeared into the crowd.
Afterward, Mavuika and Tony also turned around. The two walked out of the airport with the sunlight spilling onto them; Tony got into his sports car, and Mavuika got on the motorcycle.
The sound of engines starting rang out almost simultaneously, and then the two vehicles drove off in different directions.
After this, Tony, who had inherited Stark Industries, and Fury, who had learned of the explosion information, both became busy.
Tony's life was filled with meetings, negotiations, and decision-making.
He reorganized the company structure, pushed forward new projects, handled media interviews, and had to deal with those trying to profit from him or cause him trouble from time to time.
Fury was even more secretly busy. On the surface, he remained that reliable senior Agent, handling routine internal investigations and security assessments.
But in reality, he was fighting a silent war every day: analyzing data, tracking leads, screening personnel, and trying to identify those latent cancer cells within the massive S.H.I.E.L.D. organization.
Only Mavuika was free.
She had a place to stay; the Villa Howard gave her became her home on Earth. She rearranged the rooms and planted new plants in the garden.
She had a Flamestrider, and if she ran out of money, she could just enter a few races.
She entered competitions irregularly, but every time she appeared, she caused a sensation. Racing teams wanted to sign her, sponsors wanted to find her for endorsements, and even Hollywood wanted to invite her to film movies.
Mavuika declined them one by one, only accepting the prize money, which was enough for her to live very well.
If the vehicle broke, she would find Tony during his free time to fix it. Life was very comfortable.
...
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"