Iron Man was flying over New York City, enjoying the view and feeling proud of his latest invention. He had upgraded his suit with a new feature that allowed him to control it with his mind. He could fly faster, shoot more accurately, and perform amazing maneuvers without using his hands or voice.
He decided to test his new feature by doing a loop in the air. He focused his mind on the direction he wanted to go and felt the suit respond. He soared up into the sky, then curved down in a perfect circle. He was about to complete the loop when he heard a loud noise in his ear.
“Hey, Tony, are you there?” It was Pepper, his girlfriend and assistant, calling him on his phone. She sounded worried.
“Uh, yeah, I’m here. What’s up?” Iron Man said, trying to sound casual.
“I need you to come back to the tower right now. There’s an emergency.”
“What kind of emergency?”
“It’s…it’s hard to explain. Just trust me, you need to see this.”
“Okay, okay, I’m on my way. Just give me a minute.”
Iron Man tried to end the call, but he realized he had a problem. He had forgotten to turn off the mind control feature. His suit was still following his thoughts, and his thoughts were now distracted by Pepper’s call. He felt the suit veer off course and lose altitude. He looked down and saw the buildings and cars below him getting closer.
“Uh-oh,” he said.
He tried to regain control of the suit, but it was too late. He crashed into a billboard, then bounced off and hit a bus, then a fire hydrant, then a hot dog stand. He caused a huge mess and a lot of damage. People screamed and ran away from him. He finally came to a stop on the sidewalk, lying on his back, covered in ketchup and mustard.
He groaned and looked up. He saw a crowd of people staring at him, some with cameras and phones. He saw a news helicopter hovering above him. He saw the billboard he had hit, which read: “Lose your balance? Try our new yoga classes!”
He felt a surge of embarrassment and anger. He activated his phone and called Pepper back.
“Pepper, what was the emergency?” he asked.
“Oh, nothing, really. I just wanted to tell you that I love you and I miss you.”
“You…you what?”
“I love you and I miss you. And I’m sorry for interrupting your flight. I just wanted to hear your voice.”
“Pepper, do you have any idea what you just did? You made me lose control of my suit and crash into half of the city. I’m on live TV right now, looking like a fool. Everyone thinks I’m a clumsy idiot. Do you know how bad this is for my reputation?”
“Oh, Tony, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were using your mind control feature. I thought you were just flying normally. I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble. Please forgive me.”
Iron Man sighed. He looked at the crowd again. He saw some kids laughing and pointing at him. He saw a cop approaching him with a ticket. He saw a reporter running towards him with a microphone.
He realized he had no choice. He had to forgive Pepper. He loved her too much to stay mad at her. He also realized he had to fix his suit. He needed to add a switch or a button or something to turn off the mind control feature. He couldn’t risk another accident like this.
He smiled and said to Pepper: “It’s okay, Pepper. I forgive you. I love you and I miss you too. But I have to go now. I have some explaining to do.”
He hung up the phone and got up. He put on his helmet and activated his thrusters. He flew away from the scene, hoping to avoid any more trouble.
He hoped that the next time he used his mind control feature, he would be more careful and focused. He hoped that the next time he talked to Pepper, he would be more attentive and sweet. He hoped that the next time he flew over New York City, he would not lose his balance.
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