Henry hadn't expected much when he opened the portal.
He was aiming for Kamar-Taj, hoping to ask the Ancient One a few very reasonable questions—like, for example, Why would you give me a magic book and forget the Sling Ring?
Instead, the portal opened to chaos.
He stepped through and immediately found himself on a rooftop at night, the air filled with smoke and the scent of burning metal. Sparks flew in the background. And right in front of him—
Tony Stark was getting the life pounded out of him.
Wearing the iconic red-and-gold Mark 3 armor, Tony was being held aloft like a rag doll by a giant figure clad in a bulky black steel suit.
Henry blinked.
Well, that's not Kamar-Taj.
Even more awkwardly, he had arrived right in the middle of a boss fight.
"Why am I always in the wrong place at the wrong time?!" Henry muttered under his breath.
Tony, dazed and battered, looked up and blinked in disbelief as Henry materialized from thin air.
"Henry?! Where the hell did you come from?!" he asked, retracting the faceplate of his helmet.
Henry forced a sheepish smile. "Uh… it was an accident. I was aiming for somewhere else."
"An accident?!"
"Yeah… you know how magic is."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "You just accidentally teleported onto a battlefield?"
Before Henry could answer, the massive figure in black armor turned toward him with a loud mechanical hiss. His voice growled through the suit's speaker.
"I remember you," he snarled. "You're that kid from the cave. The one who helped Tony escape!"
Before Henry could clarify or deny it, Tony interrupted, his voice firm and sharp.
"This has nothing to do with him, Obadiah! Leave him out of it!"
The man in the black suit—Obadiah Stane, now fully consumed by his Iron Monger armor—snorted with rage.
"You still have the nerve to protect people? Worry about yourself, Tony!"
And with that, Obadiah slammed Tony into the rooftop with a thunderous crash.
The ground trembled from the impact. Tony skidded across the rooftop and slammed into a wall with a metallic crunch.
Henry winced. "Tony! Are you okay?!"
A groan echoed from the crumpled suit of armor.
"I'm not dead… yet," Tony muttered, struggling to stand. "Still hanging in there."
Despite the pain and confusion, he forced himself up on shaky feet. He clearly had a dozen questions for Henry, but this was not the time.
"I'll explain everything later," Tony gasped. "Right now, you need to get the hell out of here!"
"Copy that!" Henry responded, not needing to be told twice. "You be careful!"
Tony blinked. "Wait—you're just gonna leave that easily?! Aren't we supposed to be friends?!"
Henry gave him a confident grin. "I believe in you. You've got a suit of armor. I've got pajamas and an anxiety disorder. You'll be fine."
Inwardly, Henry was thinking: I'm not sticking around for missiles and machine guns. Nope. Not today, Satan.
As Tony continued to battle Obadiah, Henry began focusing on opening a portal.
He conjured the image of his villa in his mind and rotated his arm in a circular motion, gathering energy.
Behind him, the situation was escalating.
Obadiah, now fully unhinged, turned toward Henry and growled, "You're not getting away that easy!"
He raised one massive steel arm and locked onto Henry with his targeting system.
As the mechanical cannon began to glow, preparing to fire, Tony lunged forward.
Despite his battered state, Tony hurled himself at Obadiah, attempting to knock his aim off course.
But Iron Monger's suit was an upgraded version of Tony's. Faster. Heavier. Meaner.
Tony was blasted midair and sent tumbling across the rooftop.
His suit sputtered.
Sparks erupted.
He couldn't move anymore.
Lying there, helpless, Tony screamed, "Obadiah! He has nothing to do with this!"
Obadiah laughed.
"Oh, but you seem to care about him. That makes him my problem."
He charged up the weapon again and pointed it straight at Henry's back.
"Tell him I said hello… in hell."
But Henry didn't hear any of this.
His mind was completely focused on channeling energy into the portal.
One circle.
Two.
A flicker.
A ripple.
Finally—a portal opened. This one larger, more stable than before.
He exhaled in relief.
"Okay, time to go—"
"BEHIND YOU!" Tony's voice screamed.
Henry flinched.
Then, just as he was about to step into the portal, something large—and fast—slammed into him from behind and launched forward.
A blur of metal and fury.
The portal pulsed.
Then—it closed.
Just like that.
Gone.
Henry stood in stunned silence.
Tony was lying on the ground, staring in disbelief.
"Did… something just go through that portal?" Henry asked slowly.
Tony blinked. "Uh… yeah."
"Was it a… a giant black robot?"
"…That was Obadiah," Tony said, still dazed. "He flew into your portal like a cannonball."
Henry's eyes widened.
"Wait. He tried to kill me. And instead… he fell into my portal?"
"Yep."
"I didn't even do anything," Henry said slowly.
"You didn't have to," Tony muttered. "Lady Luck just dropkicked a villain into another dimension for you."
The two stared at each other for a long moment.
Then Henry muttered, "Okay. So… I guess I really am the luckiest guy in this universe."
Tony laughed—coughing midway. "No argument here."
For a moment, silence fell over the rooftop.
Then Tony finally pushed himself up, groaning with effort.
"So… any idea where you just sent him?"
Henry frowned. "Honestly? I was thinking of my living room. But I got distracted."
Tony raised a brow. "So, what, he might be in your kitchen right now?"
"…Maybe."
Tony winced. "Poor microwave."
Henry scratched the back of his head. "Should we go check?"
Tony collapsed against the wall and sighed. "After I find a doctor… and a stiff drink."
Henry nodded slowly. "Fair enough."
A few minutes later, emergency responders arrived—shield agents, ambulances, and a cleanup crew.
Henry quietly slipped away before anyone could ask too many questions.
He had a strange feeling that tonight's chaos would be explained away in the news as "Iron Man fights unknown rival."
As for him?
He was going home to check if his couch was still intact.
And if Obadiah had landed there…
Well, he'd just add that to the list of miracles Lady Luck had gifted him.
Because clearly, something in this world had decided Henry was its favorite.
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