Tohka Yatogami's: Marvel Journey

"My mechanical tentacles were damaged earlier, and the previous chip had seriously affected my mind. So, Tony is helping me with a full upgrade now."

"Seriously, I was so used to them—now just walking on two legs feels weird."

Upon hearing Tohka's question, Doctor Octopus answered her doubts.

"So, this is... alright, I bet that guy Tony saw the energy sphere I generated last night and decided to cooperate with you?"

Tohka wasn't making baseless assumptions. That energy sphere Doc Ock created was truly terrifying. If she hadn't intervened, it wouldn't have taken long for that thing to suck all of New York in. Stark Industries wasn't in the weapons business anymore, so Tony needed achievements in other fields.

"Yes, and I'm really thankful to Mr. Stark. Not only is he willing to support my research, but he's also helping me fight a legal battle. After all, you saw what happened yesterday—if I'm not careful, I could easily end up in prison."

He wasn't exaggerating. Last night's experiment had cost him everything. Now that it had failed, he no longer had the funds to win any lawsuit. So, he was truly grateful for Tony's support.

As for his previous partner, he didn't believe Norman Osborn would ever lend him a hand.

"I want to ask you something."

Tohka looked at Doctor Octopus seriously and asked, "Was everything that happened last night really just caused by you? You know it takes a lot of funding to research symbiotes."

"..."

Doc Ock gave her a helpless look. He hadn't expected Tohka to ask that too.

"Mr. Stark asked me the same thing last night. Yes, I orchestrated all of it myself. Of course, I did have a partner—but don't ask me who it was. Without any evidence, even Mr. Stark wouldn't be able to do anything about him."

"You're not talking about... Osborn Industries, are you?"

Hearing that, Tohka's eyelid twitched, and she asked uncertainly. In her mind, the Osborn Corporation she had visited earlier definitely had some dark secrets.

"You actually guessed it? As expected of the daughter of the Stark family."

Doctor Octopus gave her a surprised look. He hadn't said a word, yet Tohka had guessed it precisely.

"Forget it. I don't care anymore. I'm going to find Tony. Didn't he say I should come to him?"

That company hadn't messed with her directly, so Tohka had no interest in meddling.

What she was curious about was the armor upgrade Tony had promised.

That guy swapped his armor models every few days, while hers hadn't been updated in ages.

So of course she wanted to see what he came up with.

"You're here. So, how was it last night? If it weren't for you, New York would've been doomed." Tony wasn't joking.

If Tohka hadn't been there, no one could've dealt with the energy sphere. Left unchecked, it could've devoured the whole city.

"It was okay. So, you're fixing his arm? Hm… is this the armor you were talking about? You already finished it?"

As soon as she entered, Tohka heard Tony's words. Clearly, JARVIS had notified him of her arrival.

Soon, she spotted a uniquely designed suit on Tony's armor rack. Because Tony hadn't installed his arc reactor yet, most of the suits had empty cores—except for this one.

"Yep, that's it. Want to try it on?"

Hearing her question, Tony stopped what he was doing and proudly walked over to her. He was always confident about his creations.

"So, what new features does this have? You've been studying my energy for quite a while. Haven't you discovered anything new?"

Tohka ignored Tony's smugness and was more curious about its functions.

While Tony's armor wasn't overwhelmingly strong by her standards, it was definitely useful—

Basically her main mode of transportation.

"Well... nothing too special."

Tony looked a bit sheepish as he explained, "Lately, I've been modifying suits for my own needs, but most of those upgrades wouldn't be of much use to you."

"So, this suit is an upgraded version of your original one. It includes a dedicated AI system. You can still connect to JARVIS, but this new system will manage your armor. Of course, I've upgraded it in many other ways too."

"A new system?"

That made Tohka happy. She had always used JARVIS, but since it belonged to Tony, she'd felt a little awkward. Now that the new AI was hers, she didn't have to say anything out of politeness.

"By the way, I gave you a new suit—so could you help me out a little? The energy you gave me earlier has run out again."

Tony suddenly flashed a devious smile—he clearly wanted something.

"So, I really am just a power bank to you, huh? First it was an amusement park, now it's a suit."

"You really don't hold back. But you should know, no matter how much I give you, you'll use it all up. And I can't just recharge you whenever you want."

Tohka was speechless. This guy really treated her like a portable charger. The worst part? She was starting to feel guilty—even though she'd been paid handsomely.

"What are you doing? I don't remember there being a basement like this."

Tohka had lived here long enough to be familiar with the layout, and she definitely didn't recall any secret underground area.

But the moment she walked in, she froze—

The entire basement was occupied by a giant circular machine.

"This is something I designed based on your energy. Not only can it store your power, but once it has enough stored, it can generate its own."

"So, you won't need to come here every time to recharge anymore."

Tony looked at her proudly—clearly very satisfied with his invention.