Not much time had passed since the incident in Monaco. Prime had done nothing but follow the news about it. Although Annie had attracted quite a bit of attention due to her mysterious appearance and disappearance, the news was mostly focused on Tony.

Prime wasn’t sure if this was good or bad. On one hand, he felt relieved that the media wasn’t making specific critiques or praise about Annie in her symbiote form. This was mainly due to the fact that almost no one knew exactly what Annie was at that moment.

Although there had been some sightings of Annie in her symbiote form, they were so rare that people soon forgot. After all, there was nothing to gain from prolonging the topic. This brings us to today, when Prime decided to visit Tony, as it had been a while since he had heard any news about him.

As soon as he arrived at Tony’s house, Prime got out of the car and walked up to the entrance. The foyer, as always, was huge. The TV was on, and Pepper and Natasha seemed busy on the phone. On TV, another report on Tony’s conduct was being broadcast.

“Where’s Tony? I’ve been trying to reach him, but it seems his phone has disappeared off the face of the Earth”

Upon hearing the voice from behind, both Pepper and Natasha turned to Prime. Natasha was watching him with an analytical look, while Pepper clearly showed signs of exhaustion. Prime guessed she had been taking those calls for hours.

“He asked not to be disturbed”

“He’s downstairs”

Natasha and Pepper spoke at the same time, exchanged a brief glance, and quickly went back to what they were doing. Prime noticed they were occupied with the calls and decided to leave them alone.

Prime began to head downstairs slowly. Although he hadn’t mentioned it, he already knew Tony was in the basement, as the readings indicating Tony’s presence came from there. Additionally, there was another reading Prime had never seen before, possibly from another guest who had arrived before him.

As he descended, Tony’s garage came into view. Tony’s cars were still in place, and Prime wondered if Tony actually used them or if they were just for decoration. At the back of the garage, the armors were also on display. Although they seemed relatively easy to steal, Prime seriously doubted anyone could do it if Tony really didn’t want them to.

When the door opened, Prime found Tony at his desk, accompanied by a man Prime didn’t know. As he approached, Tony was the first to notice his presence. For some reason, Prime felt Tony would make a sarcastic joke upon seeing him, and, as expected, that’s exactly what Tony did.

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“Look who it is, my two favorite dads. Didn’t know it was bedtime already?”

Hearing Tony’s words, Prime shook his head from side to side, determined to ignore him. He then cast a brief glance at the other man present but quickly returned to ignoring him as well. Prime’s attention was fully focused on Tony’s neck.

“Looks bigger than the last time I saw it”

Prime said, pointing to Tony’s neck. He noticed a change in the expression of the man behind Tony but decided to ignore it. It seemed like they had been discussing this topic recently.

“Anyway, I came because I thought something was wrong. You weren’t answering my calls, and I really started to fear you might have been kidnapped”

Upon hearing these words, Tony set his mug on the desk and wiped his face, trying to get rid of the sweat.

“Look, contrary to what people think and say, I know exactly what I’m doing”

Saying this, Tony briefly directed his gaze between Prime and the man whose name Prime still didn’t know.

“I just ask that you both, the two people I trust the most, also trust me”

After Tony’s words, Prime and the man exchanged a brief look. Although it was quick, both reached an unspoken understanding: they considered Tony a great friend and decided to trust him, seeing where it would lead them.

"Alright, fine, but remember that none of us are your father, Tony"

As the man’s words echoed, he began walking toward the door leading to the upstairs. Before ascending, he shot a brief glance at Tony and murmured a few low words. However, Prime's ears caught what he was saying clearly.

"I really hope you know what you’re doing, Tony"

After saying this, the man vanished, leaving only Prime and Tony at the scene. Prime then turned his gaze to Tony. In truth, he didn’t have much to say; his initial intention was merely to check if Tony was alive. Now that he had confirmed that, Prime pondered whether he should offer any kind of help.

"Do you need help with anything?"

Tony merely shook his head, dismissing Prime’s words, who sighed in response.

"If you need anything, just give me a call"

Saying this, Prime started walking toward the exit. Although some thoughts lingered in his mind, he pushed them aside for now. It was clear to Prime that Tony was dying, but he didn’t believe he could do much to help in that situation. Prime had already offered a symbiote to Tony, at least until he found an alternative that wouldn’t compromise the current Arc Reactor battery.

After some time, Prime again heard nothing from Tony. After all, Tony was an adult, and it wasn’t as if Prime was his father. Furthermore, Prime was busy with his own plans. The building he had requested to be constructed was finally complete; now he just needed to hire staff and scientists to develop the medications.

Prime was a bit reluctant about the latter point: hiring scientists. It seemed somewhat strange, considering that the main ingredient of the medications would be the small symbiote he would create. However, after some reflection, he decided to confide the truth to a few trusted scientists so they could handle the rest of the work.

Everything was quiet and going well until Prime’s phone rang, catching his attention. Checking the screen, he saw it was a call from Tony. Prime was a bit surprised and confused, as it had been weeks since they last spoke, making Tony’s call quite unexpected.

"Hello?"

As soon as he said this, Prime heard a muffled sound on the other end of the line, which seemed to be from thrusters. It was quite clear that Tony was in his armor, but Prime had no idea why.