Marvel: I, Hermione, am from Hogwarts!

Absolutely!

He, Ivan Vanko, only provided the energy source in his chest.

It doesn't matter if the revenge fails, but one must not lose one's reputation, especially not let that bastard Tony Stark laugh at him.

Tony looked at this familiar scene and seemed to realize something.

He tentatively called out to the empty space:

"Hermione?"

no respond.

"Who are you talking to?" Roddy asked, puzzled.

“Uh…it’s nothing.” Tony Stark shrugged and chuckled.

He can't exactly say he suspects there's an invisible little devil watching the show, can he?

Tony walked up to Ivan and looked at him.

Ivan glanced at Tony's strange look and emphasized again:

"This armor is a product of Hammer Technologies, it has nothing to do with me!"

Tony gave him a look that said, "I understand, I understand."

"I know I know."

When Ivan Vanko saw Tony's expression, he immediately bristled:

"What do you know? You probably don't believe me! This piece of junk that falls apart with the slightest movement was definitely not made by me! If I, Ivan Vanko, were to create such garbage, I...I would..."

He wanted to preserve his last shred of dignity.

Don't be afraid of being shattered into pieces, you want to leave your innocence in the world.

“I’ll just write my name backwards!” Ivan Vanko ultimately couldn’t come up with a more vicious oath.

Seeing Ivan Vanko so agitated, Tony quickly tried to calm him down:

"I know, I really know, Hammer Technology, I understand."

Justin Hammer is taking the blame.

Ivan took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

“You have to testify for me in court,” he said, “to prove that it wasn’t a technical problem on my part.”

“In exchange, I can tell you a secret.” Ivan paused, lowering his voice, “All the steel soldiers are equipped with bombs. They will self-destruct with a countdown. You can still disarm them now.”

Tony's expression changed drastically in an instant.

He immediately activated the armor's positioning system and quickly scanned the surroundings.

"Damn it!" Tony cursed under his breath.

He saw a small red dot flashing next to the wreckage of a steel soldier on the location map, and that small red dot represented Pepper!

"Roddy, keep an eye on this guy!" Tony shouted to Roddy, then suddenly accelerated and flew towards Pepper's location.

"Jarvis, connect me to Pepper!"

As soon as the call connected, Tony shouted impatiently:

"Pepper! Get away from those steel soldier wrecks immediately! Quickly!"

"Tony? Oh my god, are you okay? What happened?" Pepper's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Stop asking, run! Those wreckage will explode!" Tony's voice was filled with anxiety.

Suddenly, a rapid and piercing "beep beep beep" sound came from the other end of the phone.

Tony's heart jumped into his throat.

The piercing alarm blared wildly in Tony's ears, growing increasingly urgent.

In the distance, the red lights on the wreckage of the steel soldier flashed wildly.

That's too late.

Tony's heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, almost stopping.

"Boom!"

The explosion finally happened.

Flames shot into the sky, and a massive shockwave carrying debris and metal fragments swept outwards.

Pepper's figure was instantly swallowed up.

"No!"

Tony let out a desperate roar, his mind blank.

A few seconds later, the flames gradually dissipated.

At the epicenter of the explosion, everything within a ten-meter radius was razed to the ground.

Tony's pupils suddenly contracted.

He saw a familiar figure.

Pepper!

She is still alive!

The enormous surprise made Tony almost unable to believe his eyes.

He accelerated suddenly and charged toward Pepper.

The armor landed with a muffled "bang".

Tony didn't care about anything else and pulled Pepper into his arms.

"Are you okay? Are you injured?"

He asked urgently, his voice trembling.

"I...I'm fine."

Pepper's voice trembled slightly, clearly still shaken from the shock she had just experienced.

Tony released Pepper and looked her over carefully.

I checked him over carefully from head to toe.

"Jarvis, scan Pepper's health!"

"Miss Potts is in good health, and no external or internal injuries have been found."

Jarvis's voice rang in Tony's ears.

Tony's anxiety finally subsided.

"What exactly is going on?"

Tony frowned.

Why was Pepper unharmed at the epicenter of the explosion?

"A spherical energy field just appeared around Miss Potts, protecting her from the explosion."

Jarvis provided the answer.

Pepper paused for a moment, as if she remembered something.

She looked down at the golden thief necklace she was wearing around her neck.

This is a gift from Hermione.

"It saved me..."

Pepper muttered to herself.

She finally understood that this seemingly ordinary necklace was not only a Quidditch championship souvenir, but also a magical artifact that could release a magical shield to protect the wearer at crucial moments.

Upon hearing Pepper's words, Tony recalled what had happened earlier and quickly told her what had just occurred.

“Hermione may have returned from Asgard,” Tony said.

A look of surprise flashed across Pepper's face.

She had already learned from Coulson what had happened in New Mexico, and that Hermione and Thor had gone to Asgard to stop Loki's plot.

Pepper was very worried at the time.

She felt that it was far too dangerous for Hermione, a young girl, to go to an alien planet with a group of newly acquainted "gods".

What if I get bullied by that Loki and the Frost Giant?

She even questioned Coulson about why S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't stop Hermione.

Coulson looked aggrieved and said that they couldn't stop the witch at all.

Pepper was on tenterhooks during this time.

Upon hearing Tony say that Hermione might be back, she immediately broke free from Tony's embrace.