So.....
This is fucking terrifying.
Tatsumaki had decided that the best way to get us back to someplace she called "City A" was to use her powers to FLY US THERE. Meaning the only thing keeping me suspended a few hundred feet off the ground was Tatsumaki herself, and, let's just say putting my life in her hands.......
Is the scariest thing I've ever done.
Fortunately, Ava was perfectly safe, as she was being held by Tatsumaki, and seemed to be having a good time flying, stretching her arms out.
Ava: Weeeeeeee!! Look Daddy, I'm a bird!
Ava began flailing her arms around, trying to mimic the flaps of the birds we had nearly ran into at least twice.
Ava: Papa! More birds!
Oh god please no-
Low and behold, there was another flock of birds flying straight towards us. Tatsumaki moved out of the way, but didn't move me, so a bird unfortunately impacted my helmet, much to Ava's sadness.
Ava: Birdie no!
I wipe away the mix of red blood and feathers from my porthole and glare at Tatsumaki, who looked back at me and stuck her tongue out. I wanted to growl at her and voice my annoyance, but she was the only thing keeping me from falling to my death, so that probably wouldn't be a good idea.
Finally, after what felt like days of flying, we made it to City A, a huge, well, city. It's towers rose into the sky and shined like silver in the glinting sunlight as Tatsumaki flew by them. Ava was beside herself with wonder, and even though I was some distance behind them, I could see her yellow eyes glistening with excitement. Suddenly, she looked down at the streets below us.
Ava: Look at all the people, Daddy!
I looked down and, to my surprise, saw countless people. In Rapture, the biggest groups only ever had maybe fifty people in all, but there were easily hundreds of people walking the streets below us.
As me and Ava looked on in amazement, Tatsumaki flew up towards another huge tower, much bigger than the rest, made from a deep black color instead of the silver and glass I had seen up until now. She landed at the top of it and sat us down. Ava looked sad that the flying was over, but I could not be more happy about it.
Tatsumaki walked towards a man who seemed to be waiting for us. He had greasy black hair and an extremely tired expression, which seemed to get even more tired as she began yelling at him. I didn't pick it all up, but I heard something about a "Underwater shithole" and a "Weird iron guy"
At that last remark, the man turns to me and his tired expression vanishes, replaced with one of confusion and curiosity. Cautiously, he walks over to us.
Man: So......
He pauses for a moment, seemingly unsure of what to say. After a moment, he gains a more confident look in his eyes and continues.
Man: When we sent her into those ruins, we expected her to come back with some water-logged books, maybe a few functioning video tapes, if we were lucky. The possibility she'd come back with not only a living human, but one like....
He gestures to me.
Man: Well....you, was laughable. But, here we are. Do you know how long you were down there for?
I shook my head.
Man: We found out that city was built around the 1950's. It's currently the year 2993.
Holy shit, I was frozen for over a thousand years....
As I'm reeling from this discovery, the man looks down at my leg to see Ava, who had been clutching it, watching the man as he spoke to me. She hid behind my leg as the man kneeled down to be eye to eye with her, and smiled softly.
Man: Hello, there. What's your name?
Ava: A-Ava....
Man: Well hi there, Ava. It's nice to meet you.
Ava waved shyly to him as he stood back up to speak to me.
Man: Well, I'd like to offer something to you.
I eyed him curiously as he presented his offer.
Man: You see, this city, along with all the others, face monster attacks on a near daily basis, and we're always looking for more hero's to prevent them from wreaking havoc. Would you like to help us, and become a protector of this city?
Protector....
That word reminded me of what I had been called, a thousand years ago. I looked to Ava, who was still watching the man, then to Tatsumaki, who seemed to not care about this turn of events, though I could see her glance towards me occasionally.
After a moment of thought, I looked back towards the man and slowly nodded. The mans smile widened with joy.
Man: Excellent! Follow me then, I'll take you to the training area to determine your hero rank.
———————————————————
After walking down countless stairs, we reached a massive room, built from dull, grey concrete and lit by bright lights on its ceiling. The man took me to a bag hanging from a small pole.
Man: Alright, I need you to punch this, as hard as you can.
I did as he said, reeling back my left hand and striking the bag, which broke from its chain and went flying a good ten feet. The man wolf whistles, watching it skid across the floor.
Man: Not bad, not bad at all. Tatsumaki, what do you think?
She looked at the broken bag, now spilling sand over the floor, and looks away with a "hmph."
Tatsumaki: I've seen harder hits from a toddler.
Something about the way she said that made me want to try even harder, as the man led me to the next test.
Man: Alright, here we're going to test your strength. Let's see how much you can hold. Lift that above your head, and whenever you can't lift anymore, just drop it.
He gestured to a flat board and I did as instructed. For ten minutes Tatsumaki floated weight after weight onto the board, until I finally felt my arms were going to give out, and I dropped it.
Man: Eight tons.....Damn.
Tatsumaki once again uttered a "hmph", as she turned towards the next test.
Man: This is a fifty yard dash. Run as fast as you can towards that line. Ready....Go!
I did as he said, and ran swiftly to the line. I looked to the man, who was staring at the timer, his eyes wide in suprise.
Man: 4.4 seconds....For a big metal dude, you're pretty damn fast.
I looked towards Tatsumaki, who had eyes almost as wide as the Man's, until she noticed me looking at her. She swiftly turned her head away and uttered another low "hmph" in my general direction.
Man: Well, it's safe to say you passed the physical portion of the test, but now we have a written exam for you to take.
——————————————————
After nearly crushing the seat I was supposed to take the test in, and definitely crushing multiple pencils, I finished the test. It wasn't very difficult, basic math and easy moral questions. The man went into a small room adjacent to the testing room with my paper, saying he'd come out with the results in a moment, which left me, Ava, and Tatsumaki sitting in the classroom silently, until she decided to break the silence.
Tatsumaki: How do you think you did?
I shrugged, unsure. I had nothing to directly compare to, other than Tatsumaki, who was a fucking psychic, so I know she's stronger than me. This was not what Ava thought, however. She wrapped her arms around my helmet and looked at Tatsumaki.
Ava: I know he did great, cause' my daddy's the best there is!
I silently laughed at this and patted her head, and even Tatsumaki seemed to smile at it. Then the man walked back into the room with a small packet.
Man: Well, first off let me say congratulations. You did very well, and your hero rank is....
He pulled out a paper, marked with a "B" at the top of the page, directly below it was a smaller "32"
Man: Your new rank is B-32. And the council has even decided your hero name. Let's see, it's....
He scans the page for a moment, then looks back at me.
Man: Iron Man.
What?
Man: Wait, no...
The man looks back at the page once more.
Man: My bad, it's Tin Man.
That doesn't sound much better, but I guess it's something...
Man: Also, you've been given some special permissions. Due to the fact you've been out of society for a thousand years, you have been assigned a teacher, to show you the ropes. Due to the fact you've only interacted with one person other than me, that teacher will be Tatsumaki.
Tatsumaki's eyes bulged out of her head.
Tatsumaki: WHAT!? But I can't-I mean, look at- why would I-
Man: Sorry, Tornado. It's the councils decision, not mine. You don't have much of a choice.
Tatsumaki's face turned red with rage. She puffed up her cheeks, and looked as if she was about to explode. Using her powers, she picked up the desks in the room and threw them at the man, who ducked and dodged them.
Man: Tatsumaki, the damages to this room come out of your paycheck!
She stops suddenly, and her face returns to its normal shade. She crosses her arms on her chest.
Tatsumaki: Ugh...........FINE. Come on, weirdo. Let's go make sure you don't mess up your new job.
She leaves the room, and I follow closely behind. Ava turns toward the man and waves as we leave.
Ava: Bye mister.... Hey, I never learned your name!
The man looks at her with a soft smile.
Manager: Just call me...Manager.