When Downey Wears a Tin Can [Comprehensive British and American]

That was the light that shone in his life.

The second cosmic war started vigorously, and then ended quietly.

Life on the earth is still the same, they don't even know that during the three days when they are still busy with work and upgrades, the entire earth and the universe almost died, and their superheroes saved the world once again.

Three months later.

Stark Enterprises Coney Island headquarters.

CEO's office.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Martin, I will reply to you as soon as possible about the follow-up cooperation on clean energy and our boss's cooperation intention - yes, he is in Manhattan now - oh, no no no, the boss has not terminated with you The plan is, it's just that he's busy with those armor designs of his so there's no time, you know, as a superhero, it's not the first time he's dumped everything on me this old bone dry, yeah, very Thank you for your understanding and I wish you the best of luck on your journey home."

After tomorrow's birthday, Ms. Lenny, who will reach the statutory retirement age, hangs up the phone and glances at the president's desk outside the assistant's cubicle, which has already accumulated a thick layer of dust.

She sighed, pushed her eyes on the bridge of her nose, and picked up the phone again.

She dialed the number that she had dialed countless times and had memorized by heart.

The time is ten o'clock in the morning New York time. According to past experience, her boss is either working in the studio at this time or just staying up late after work and intends to go back to bed for an hour or two before getting up and continuing to work. In short, Ms. Rennie is dialing the number Be prepared for no one to answer.

Then, unexpectedly, after two beeps, the phone was picked up.

A man's deep and hoarse voice came from the other end of the phone, and he knew he had stayed up all night working all night: "What's the matter?"

Ms. Rennie was a little surprised, she corrected her sitting posture: "Mr. Stark."

"Correct."

Ms. Rennie: "Do you still know who I am?"

On the other end of the phone: "Who?"

Ms. Rennie: "Your personal assistant, Mr. Stark." She said with a sigh. "So let me rephrase the question. Do you remember who you are, Boss?"

On the other end of the phone: "Tony Stark."

Ms. Rennie: "I'm glad you remember your name, but you seem to have forgotten who you are. When you turned your hobby of saving the world into a job, do you remember that your side job is being the owner of Stark Enterprises?"

The voice on the other end of the phone became impatient: "What do you want to say?"

Ms. Rennie: "Time to get out of your messy workplace and get some sunshine, boss."

Ms. Rennie paused after she finished speaking, and couldn't help shaking her head.

This conversation is familiar to her, because she kept repeating it when Tony Stark locked himself in the garage a few years ago.

She still remembered that Tony Stark still cared about his work a few months ago, whether it was closing the arms research and development department or opening a clean energy project, he even treated media interviews with a lot of kindness.Ms. Rennie was surprised by Tony Stark's transformation at the time, but she was more relieved, because at that time she felt that she could finally retire with peace of mind.

This gratification lasted until three months ago, after Tony Stark returned from outer space.

Ms. Rennie didn't know what happened in outer space, and even Tony's going to outer space was discovered by Ms. Rennie after she knew that he called the Stark aircraft carrier. In short——

From that day on, the situation that had just turned up began to take a turn for the worse.

He locked himself in the workshop again

For three whole months, apart from going out on a mission with the Avengers and being captured by the media with Iron Man flying in the sky, as Tony Stark's assistant, Ms. Lennie hadn't even met her boss.

The person on the other end of the phone did not speak, but then there was the sound of something being smashed one after another, like a person who had stayed up all night and worked hard for three days and finally felt dizzy after getting up, and subconsciously reached out to help him The iron frame next to it, and then the whole iron frame was knocked down by mistake.

All the parts placed on the iron frame were scattered on the ground, and the clanging sound was accompanied by a low curse: "Damnit!"

Ms. Rennie continued: "Mr. Martin came to urge you again today. If you still intend to renew your contract with Wakanda, please take time to come to the company, or I can send you the contract, and you have to do it. All you need is to open the door for me, or if you don’t want to take the pen at all, I will even bring you the ink pad, you just need to stick out a thumb from the door and press lightly on the contract.”

The other end of the phone is the same for thousands of years: "Put the Avengers mailbox."

Ms. Rennie: "That's what you said last time, and now your mailbox is so full that you can't even put a penny in it."

Tony: "I forgot."

Ms. Rennie: "Yes, you've become as forgetful as an old woman like me."

Tony said impatiently: "2000 years ago, people would throw old women into deep mountains and old forests to fend for themselves."

Ms. Rennie: "So I am now, but I have to remind you that, out of politeness, you should respect your elders."

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to have lost all patience: "That's it."

Ms. Rennie stopped talking, she knew very well that no one could stop Tony Stark when he wanted to hang up, so she held her phone quietly and waited for the beep to sound, however, about half a second later.

Instead of the beep, she heard Tony Stark's voice coming and going: "Wait."

Ms. Rennie: "What's the matter, boss?"

The man on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, and then said, "Did you find the person you were looking for?"

Ms. Rennie froze for a moment, she thought about it for about three seconds, and then remembered what Tony Stark was referring to: "You mean that actor named Robert Downey Jr."

She casually clicked on the chat history on the computer screen: "Unfortunately, I have found many people with this name around the world, but none of them are actors who have acted in dramas, and I asked for you, Gold Medal Lawyer Neither Robert Downey Jr. nor the crew of Queen Margaret have hired a person named Robert Downey Jr. I am sure that I did not write a single stroke wrong when I reported their names, and the pronunciation is absolutely correct, so -"

"Did you remember something wrong?"

On the other end of the phone, her boss stopped talking.

Half a second later: "That's it, hang up."

This time, the beep came very simply.

Ms. Rennie looked at the hung up phone and sighed after a while.

She put the microphone back in place and wanted to close the chat history with the two crew directors just now, but before she clicked on the red cross, the placement advertisement of the chat software caught the attention of the 59-year-old personal assistant .

After a few minutes of hesitation, Ms. Rennie chose to call the hotline on the advertisement.

"Hi, hello, is this the Karma Taj Psychological Counseling Studio?"

"Yes, I have a question I would like to ask—"

Avengers Building.

Workshop on the third floor.

"You have been working continuously for more than 72 hours, Sir, the physiological feedback given by the system is that you need to rest now."

Tony Stark was sitting on a chair, he was still splicing parts very fast, and his thinking was still very clear: "I'm not sleepy."

Friday: "That's because you've just had an energy shot, and the excess corticosteroids and hemopoietin can make you dependent."

Tony Stark: "That's not important."

The smart butler wanted to say something more, but before she could speak.

Tony Stark: "Mute."

Friday: "..."

At ten o'clock in New York time, in a fully enclosed workshop.

There are lines all over the floor, equipment that has been messed up, and metal parts that were knocked down by Tony Stark just now and scattered all over the floor.

It was the same mess as the dark garage he'd lived in before, and the cramped rental house in North Brooklyn.

Tony Stark picked out the one he needed from a lot of parts, and sat back on his workbench to start the unfinished work.His expression was tired, and his eyes were dark and black, but he was telling the truth.

He really isn't sleepy.

Not only not sleepy, but also very excited, because——

He finally found something to do.

Now in front of him is the prototype of Mark 13, and in the row of display warehouses opposite him is the result of his three days of staying up late.

从最初的马克1号到后来补齐的马克12，往后是马克20，最末尾是两台马克85。而在男人面前的莹蓝色光屏上，是从马克12到马克19，以及马克21到马克84的所有盔甲的设计理念。

After returning from Asgard, the Avengers have entered the pension mode for a long time. The bad guys who went to outer space with Neisa have not come back, so the Avengers have to deal with things every day except occasionally happen on Wall Street. In street robberies, there are only trivial matters left, such as which color equipment to choose first when exercising in the morning, such as what to eat at noon.

Tony Stark hated this kind of work, especially after he repaired two Mark 85s, so he had this idea.

The design concept of those armors incorporated all the features of the previous generations of armors that Downey had told him. This is an extremely huge project.

Enough for Tony Stark to be busy for a long time, busy enough to—

He has no time to think about other things.

A thing that probably Tony Stark himself would not believe, even though he had thought about finding a psychiatrist more than once in his heart, even in the month when he was injected with the Extremis virus and his mental condition was the worst, he Neither have really practiced the idea, but now.

Just last week.

It was a private psychiatric consultation room that provided services exclusively for the rich, and the privacy issues were handled very well. The psychiatrist in uniform chatted with him very calmly: "I need to know about your mental condition, Mr. Stark."

Tony Stark remembers him saying: "I'm fine, apart from not sleeping for more than 36 hours, I know who I am."

"But I heard from your assistant that you've been trying to find someone who doesn't exist."

The first minute of the opening of the psychological counseling, after the psychologist finished the second sentence.

Tony Stark forcibly ended the psychological counseling.

Only the psychiatrist who was present at the time knew how distorted the man's expression became after hearing this sentence.He seemed to have changed back to the notorious arms dealer at that moment, with blue veins on his forehead, his hands resting on the desk, his blue eyes were bloodshot, filled with disgust and threats.

"He is not someone who does not exist. I don't want to hear the same thing a second time."

Tony Stark said in a low voice, word by word, and straightened the name tag on the psychiatrist's chest: "The number one private clinic in New York State?"

"Honestly, it's not that great."

After that, Tony Stark did not seek a psychiatrist again. He even felt that his behavior of seeking a psychiatrist was an insult to his personality, because it meant that Tony Stark admitted that he did have some mental illnesses.

but.

The only thing he didn't want to admit was that he was the only one who remembered the name when everyone had forgotten about Robert Jr.'s existence.

Yes, after returning from Asgard.

Donnie disappeared.

It wasn’t a sudden disappearance, nor was it death. Mark 85 didn’t have his body or even skin tissue. Tony Stark guessed that Downey should have received space power while holding Heimdall’s Eye in the situation Peter Parker dictated that day. The influence of Heimdall disappeared together with the Eye of Heimdall, but it is one thing to be able to guess the reason for Downey's disappearance.

Finding him was another matter.

Odin, the father of the gods, brought a message two months ago that the will of the universe was subdued by him and Frigg behind him, and then handed it to the space-time police officer who came to capture the will of the universe. After that, the order of the universe Return to normal under the control of the main universe.

A universe does not need to have two Tony Starks at the same time, so this news also means-

Death of Robert Downey Jr.

Not a physical death, but a slow, slow social death.

The first to forget who Downey was was the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had the least contact with him in the league.

Then Thor, then Captain, Patton, Natasha, Dr. Banner.

And finally Peter Parker.

Like a blunt knife cutting flesh, there are countless details reminding Tony Stark every day that someone is slowly pulling away from his life, until suddenly one day, Tony Stark woke up and found——

He seems to be the only one left in the world who remembers who Robert Downey Jr. is.

This kind of feeling makes him feel panic, a kind of panic that can't help but feel cold hands and feet after a little thought. Never heard of this guy", "Tony you need a break.", "Are you hallucinating?"

He felt he was being assimilated.

People who live in memories are always the most painful. The surrounding environment is like a swamp, trying to drag him down, and even Tony himself began to doubt himself for a while.

Could it be that there has never been a person named Robert Downey Jr. in this universe from the beginning to the end? Could it be that all this is just a way of self-salvation imagined by him after he was driven into a desperate situation? The ground was disintegrated little by little by the reactions of everyone around.

Perhaps his state of mind and mental state had really become abnormal.

He began to fear, became irritable, and began to numb himself through work non-stop, and even became afraid to sleep, because he was afraid that when he woke up, he would forget Robert Downey Jr. next.

It's him.

Tony Stark still remembered that he once heard similar words from a criminal, even if he was shot in the heart, even if his body was blown to pieces, even if he had been cremated into ashes, it was not considered death in the true sense.

Physical death is not real death.The worst thing that comes with death is oblivion.

When one day, no one in the world remembers him.

Then he is really dead.

Only this matter is absolutely not allowed to happen by Tony.

His bottom line retreated again and again, from trying to remind everyone of Robert Downey Jr. to now——

As long as he remembers.

As long as he still knows who Robert Downey Jr. is, that's enough.

But just this month, something that scares him the most happened.

He could feel his memories of Robert Downey Jr. fading too.

—He's going crazy.

The movements of the hands became messy due to the gradually irritable emotions. Tony Stark forced himself to calm down, but lacked sleep and only relied on energy potions—to put it bluntly, stimulants to support the work. The nerves seemed to have finally reached their limit and needed The physiological need for rest rings alarm bells in every cell of the body, the scene in front of me begins to dizzy, and the ears begin to buzz.

On the one hand, there are uncontrollable physiological needs, and on the other hand, extreme mental restraint. The body's tolerance limit seems to have finally reached a critical point at this moment. The hand that was rectifying the parts in an orderly manner last second suddenly clenched his fist. As if wanting to vent all his emotions at once, he slammed the desk in front of him hard.

The metal desk was smashed into depression, the sharp parts pierced the skin and shed blood, Tony Stark didn't even look at it.

After venting, he collapsed and raised his hand to support his forehead, then panted violently, trying to calm down the sudden emotion.

He didn't know how long he had been working in the same place, and the working room without lights was not divided into day and night. Tony only felt that he vaguely heard the bell ringing at twelve o'clock in the morning on Wall Street, just when he was about to return to work.

A ring of fire suddenly appeared in the workshop.

"I hear you're not doing very well, Mr. Stark."

Familiar with the voice of the ancient one mage, Tony Stark looked up, when he saw the supreme mage wearing a gray-yellow robe and a triangular hood walking out from the other end of the portal.

He glanced at Ancient One indifferently, and then looked away: "Don't step on my parts."

Master Gu Yi looked around the workshop: "Then I can only stand where I am."

Tony Stark bowed his head and continued his work: "Whatever you want."

Gu Yi was a little helpless: "Your staff has already called Karma Taj's psychological counseling department."

Tony Stark: "She's just a normal person."

Gu Yi: "Our psychological clinic also accepts ordinary people, and Modu even advertised on the website, but this is my first visit." She looked at the expression on Tony's face, "And I think it is necessary for me to Come on."

"You look awful right now."

Tony Stark wiped off the blood stains on his hands and picked up a new part: "It's much better than a few days ago, I'm telling the truth."

Gu Yi: "Are you still looking for that person?"

This question hit the nail on the head, and Tony Stark finally stopped what he was doing and looked at the Supreme Mage standing not far away.After a moment of silence, the man suddenly asked, "Do you remember his name?"

Gu Yi: "Robert Downey Jr." After she finished speaking, she immediately noticed the change in the expression on Tony's face, so the Supreme Mage had to add, "Your assistant told me."

Tony Stark retracted his expression that had just changed a bit: "Yeah."

Gu Yi: "You know very well that even the supreme mage cannot resist the laws of the universe."

Tony Stark glanced at the two Mark 85s parked quietly in the showroom not far away.

This time he was silent for a long time, and then, in a very complicated tone: "Then why is it only me who remembers?"

Gu Yi sighed: "You have to ask yourself."

Tony Stark said nothing.

There was another nearly 10 minutes of silence, and a circle of light lit up behind Gu Yi.The Supreme Sorcerer cannot leave Karma Taj for too long, which means it is time for her to go.

But the ancient goal was not achieved, and none of Tony Stark's problems were resolved.

Gu Yi can only say: "Do you have any unfulfilled wishes?"

Tony Stark: "You're talking like I'm going to die."

Gu Yi looked at the man sitting in front of the workbench: "I just want to help you."

After hearing this sentence, those cold blue pupils suddenly shrank.

Suddenly, the surrounding scene changed, and he seemed to see those warm brown eyes again.

That day he stood in the dark rental house, and Donnie stood in the sun.

- "I just want to help you."

Tony Stark still remembers that the sun shone in from the dilapidated wooden windows next to it, and even the old floors in the rental house were shining brightly.

This time he didn't lose his temper with anyone, he tentatively stretched out his hand, he wanted to walk into the sunshine again.

But just can't catch it.

The raised hand touched the metal workbench, and the cold temperature made people shiver, and Tony Stark returned to this messy workroom.

He looked at the parts on the table and the messy wires all over the floor. The daze and helplessness in his eyes gradually disappeared, leaving only machinery and numbness.

"If you really want to help me."

He looked in the direction of the Supreme Mage again, his blue eyes were out of focus.

"Can you help me forget that name?"

……

……

If the sunshine in his life is destined to disappear one day, then——

He wished he had never emerged from the darkness.