As Annie was being electrocuted by the man, she could only wonder why she had jumped in without any kind of plan. Furthermore, revealing her symbiotic form in the daylight certainly wasn't part of her plans. Although the pain wasn't severe enough to seriously injure her, it was enough to leave her disoriented.

As the shock coursed through her body, she felt a strong sense of paralysis, as if all her muscles were stiff and rigid. However, deep down, Annie was glad to know that her uncle was safe. She didn't even want to imagine what might have happened if Tony had been hit by that blow.

"Ugh!"

As these thoughts raced through Annie's mind, she felt her strength being further drained, forcing her to fall to her knees. It wasn’t as if she was truly being harmed, but Scream was likely using all her remaining strength to protect Annie from serious injury.

(Scream!)

"This guy... is starting to get on my nerves! I'm going to rip his head off and eat it while looking into his eyes filled with suffering and misery"

Annie was genuinely surprised by Scream's words. Moreover, because of their bond, Annie knew that Scream was serious. If she could get close to the man, Scream would indeed do what she had promised.

Annie desperately thought of a way to escape the situation. She didn’t want Scream to endure any more blows. If her transformation wore off, she would be completely vulnerable. For the first time, Annie blamed herself for not having trained. Her father made it seem so easy and straightforward that she believed if she had power similar to his, she would be invincible.

At that moment, a flash of light passed by Annie. Turning her gaze back, she saw Tony in his armor, which she recognized. His arm was extended towards the man, with a faint glow emanating from the palm of his hand, indicating that the attack had come from him.

Unfortunately, even that didn’t seem enough to stop the man. Tony shot again, but the man simply deflected the attack with his whip. Then he used the whip to ensnare Tony.

"Ugh!"

A strong electric current coursed through Scream's body immediately after. Although Annie was still relatively safe, she felt her strength being drained, and the electrifying sensation coursing through her body intensified suddenly.

(Was he still not using all he had?)

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

That thought crossed Annie's mind, but she quickly dismissed it. Instead, she decided to focus on how to get out of the situation. She thought about how her father would act—what would he do? Annie tried to adopt that perspective but couldn’t imagine her father in such a complicated situation as hers.

Soon after, Annie saw Tony rise and look at her from behind the machine. Unable to see his face, she focused on his actions. Tony grabbed the man’s whip with his hand, and Annie quickly did the same. Both started wrapping up the whip, slowly advancing toward the man.

Annie and Tony continued to wrap up the whip until they were close enough to the man. When they finally got near, the man tried to strike Tony, but Tony easily dodged and landed a punch to the man’s stomach, causing him to lean forward.

At that moment, Annie kneed the man’s feet, making him fall to his knees. Tony then grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground. Then Tony approached and pulled something from the man’s chest. Somehow, they had won. Annie watched as the guards approached, clearly hesitant and afraid of her, unsure whether to come closer or not.

"Are you okay?"

Hearing Tony's voice through the armor, Scream merely nodded. Then, she cast a quick glance at her father and creator, who watched the scene from a distance, and then leaped, disappearing quickly from the sight of everyone present.

***

With the event canceled, Prime found himself in the hotel room with Annie, Ema, and Sara. Together, they were discussing what had happened on the racetrack.

"First of all, to be clear, I'm not here to reprimand you for what happened. In fact, you did well protecting Tony. However, I would have appreciated it if you had informed me before taking such action. I was quite surprised and a bit concerned when you suddenly threw yourself in front of Tony, understand?"

As mentioned, Prime really wasn't angry with Annie. For starters, he didn't care if others discovered Annie's identity. Although it wasn't pleasant having so many eyes on them initially, he knew that, eventually, people would come to accept the situation. Humans have a remarkable ability to adapt, even if it might seem daunting.

Annie, who was the focus of Prime's gaze, didn't know how to react. She felt genuinely guilty for making that decision without notifying him. However, if necessary, she would do the same again, but next time she would ask her father for permission.

"Understood, Dad. Where is Tony?"

At Annie's question, Prime let out a brief sigh and reflected on the conversation he had with Tony earlier. For some reason, he felt somewhat dissatisfied with something. Perhaps "dissatisfied" wasn’t the exact word, but it was the best Prime could find to express his feeling.

“Tony went back home and seems quite concerned about what happened”

Said Prime. Hearing this, Annie looked up and raised an eyebrow in response.

“Really? He didn’t seem that way to me”

“That’s just his way. He’s probably trying to figure out who attacked him. Also, many people have negative opinions about Tony right now”

Upon hearing her father's words, Annie mentally agreed. Tony was undoubtedly an eccentric person, but he also knew how to take responsibility for his mistakes. At least, that was the Tony she knew now. Although Annie wished to help, she knew there wasn’t much she could practically do about it.

On the other hand, Prime felt that things wouldn’t end like this. Although he hadn’t mentioned it, he noticed that the energy source of the man who attacked Tony was similar to the Arc reactor, a technology that Tony claimed to be exclusive to him.