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Tony straightened up, his expression turning serious."You replicated the Super Soldier Serum? In just a few days?"
"Not exactly replicated," Jiro replied, spinning the test tube slowly between his fingers."I rewrote the entire genetic sequence. No side effects like Red Skull, and it won't mess with someone's personality either."
The lab went quiet for a moment.
Tony's eyes flicked between the test tube and Jiro's calm face, before settling on the latter."Why?" he asked softly. "This goes way beyond what we agreed on."
Jiro placed the test tube into a portable cooler and pushed it toward Tony."Because it's interesting."
That was the excuse he went with. The truth was, he'd made up his mind while Tony was unconscious.He suddenly got curious—what kind of impact would a physically enhanced Tony Stark have on the Marvel universe?
Of course, more importantly, as Superman, he knew the system would eventually reward him with the Silver Superman template.
And if his ultimate goal was to travel across different worlds, he needed someone powerful to watch over his home base—this Marvel universe.
Right now, Tony was the best candidate.
"Interesting?" Tony frowned. "What's so interesting about it?"
"That armor," Jiro said casually.
"Or maybe the fact that, instead of throwing all your resources into building countermeasures, you chose to trust me."
Tony opened his mouth to reply but had nothing to say. He looked down at the cooler, then suddenly let out a laugh."So this is your return gift? You want to turn me into Captain America 2.0?"
"3.0," Jiro corrected him. "And it's optional. Just insurance. Besides, this is only one of the surprises."
Tony picked up the cooler, feeling the chill of it in his hands."Will it make me all noble and self-righteous like Rogers after I take it?"
"Nope." Jiro shook his head. "It'll only boost your physical attributes. Willpower, personality, morals—those are still all up to you."
Tony stashed the cooler in a safe under the workstation. The fingerprint lock beeped in confirmation.
When he turned around, that familiar cocky grin was back on his face."So, we're officially partners now?"
"If you want to be," Jiro said, walking over to the floor-to-ceiling window. The morning sun was starting to tint the New York skyline a soft red.
"But I'd recommend a full-body checkup before injecting it. I've removed all the side effects, but everyone's body is different."
"Yeah yeah, you sound just like my dad—so damn chatty…" Tony waved him off, then suddenly remembered something.
"Wait, you said one of the surprises? There's more?"
Jiro smiled mysteriously. "You'll see once you've used the serum."
Tony narrowed his eyes. "I want to know now."
"Patience is a virtue, Mr. Stark," Jiro said as he began levitating toward the window.
"Make sure to inject it within 72 hours. After that, the active compounds start to degrade."
"Hey! Wait a sec!" Tony reached out, but Jiro was already gone.
Only his final words echoed in the lab:
"See you in three days. Hopefully, I'll be meeting the upgraded you by then."
Tony stood there for a while, then called out to the empty lab,"JARVIS! Begin analysis."
"Yes, sir," JARVIS replied after a short pause. "Shall I contact the medical team to prepare for a physical exam?"
Tony looked over at the safe, tapping his fingers on the workstation absentmindedly.
Finally, he took a deep breath."Get me Pepper… No, wait.
Pull up everything we've got on the Super Soldier Serum. Start with Dr. Erskine's original research notes from 1943."
A holographic display spread out in front of him, but Tony's eyes couldn't help drifting toward the safe.
A strange feeling bubbled up in his chest—something like curiosity, almost childlike anticipation.
It had been a long time since he felt anything like that. Not since his dad passed away.
Outside, sunlight broke through the clouds, casting a golden glow over Stark Tower.
Tony was still zoning out in front of the window when JARVIS broke the silence.
"Sir, an unauthorized aircraft just landed on the rooftop helipad."
Tony raised an eyebrow."Media chopper? Tell them this is private airspace."
"It's not media, sir," JARVIS replied, unusually cautious."The signal shows it's a S.H.I.E.L.D. customized Quinjet."
Tony's face instantly turned cold.
He spun around, quickly slid the cooler into a hidden compartment, and shut down the holographic projection of the serum's molecular structure.
"Activate defense protocol. Lock down all data related to Jiro," he ordered quietly, straightening his crumpled shirt.
"Let's welcome our one-eyed guest."
As the elevator doors opened, Nick Fury stepped out with his signature long black coat trailing behind him. His one good eye scanned the lab sharply.
Two fully-armed agents followed close behind, standing guard at the elevator.
"Stark," Fury said in that low, no-nonsense voice of his. "We need to talk about your new friend."
Tony leaned against the control panel, casually picking up a glass of whiskey like he didn't have a care in the world."Nick, showing up this late? Don't tell me you're here to invest in my clean energy project?"
Fury ignored the jab and walked straight to the central holographic platform.
With a flick of his wrist, a mini projector landed on the table, instantly displaying security footage from a bank in Queens a few hours ago.
It showed Jiro in black armor effortlessly taking down a mutant.
"Explain this, Stark," Fury said, staring Tony down. "Who is this guy wearing one of your suits and pulling off supernatural stunts? And don't give me the 'he's Superman' line."
"He's not in the S.H.I.E.L.D. database."
Tony took a sip of his drink, eyes lingering on the screen for a moment."You guessed it—he's Superman."
He paused, then glanced at the ever-stern Fury."Alright, fine. It's a trade secret, Nick. He's Stark Industries' new security consultant. That's all."
"Security consultant?" Fury gave a cold chuckle and swiped his finger across the projection. The image switched to a set of energy readings.
"This 'consultant' casually unleashed a strike powerful enough to take down Stark Tower. What do you think he could do if he went all out?"
Tony set his glass down, the usual playful smirk fading from his face."So you're spying on me?"
"We monitor all potential threats," Fury said as he took a step forward, closing the distance between them.
"Especially when a certain billionaire suddenly starts working with an unknown superpowered individual."
The air in the lab tightened instantly.
Tony could feel the pressure radiating off Fury, but he didn't back down an inch.
"Listen, Fury," Tony's voice cooled. "Jiro is my partner. Where his powers come from and what he's doing with them—that's my business. Not S.H.I.E.L.D.'s."
Fury's one eye narrowed slightly."Anything supernatural falls under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s jurisdiction, Stark. Especially if it could be a threat to national security."
"National security?" Tony scoffed.
"You guys are the biggest threat to security I've seen. I've seen your so-called 'safety measures'—treating the Tesseract like a toy. I don't know exactly what that 'toy' can do…"
"But last I checked, HYDRA was using cosmic magic for some pretty nasty stuff."
Fury's expression twitched."How do you know that?"
"I know way more than you think, Director," Tony cut him off and walked over to another holographic terminal.
"For example, you've got the big green guy under 24/7 surveillance."
Fury was quiet for a moment, then suddenly changed his tone.
"Stark, I'm not here to butt heads with you."
His voice softened."Actually, I came to invite you to join the Avengers Initiative."
Tony turned around, raising an eyebrow."Avengers? Sounds like a garage band."
"It's a special response team," Fury said, pulling out a classified file from his inner pocket.
"Made up of the world's most exceptional individuals—superpowered and scientific. Built to deal with threats no ordinary military could handle."
"....."