Capítulo 40: Chapter 40: Could He Be Crazy?
"Oh? So, what do I need to do?" Alan asked curiously.
"When the frog travels across various worlds, it makes friends. When these friends come to visit, the host can enter the game as the owner to welcome guests from other worlds."
"So that's how it works. There are conditions for entry." Alan realized.
"Up to now, the Frog has already visited three worlds. I wonder when one of its friends will come to visit." Alan wasn't in a hurry about this, though.
Soon, the food was ready. Alan called Gwen, who was still running on the treadmill, to come and eat. Gwen walked over with an annoyed expression, which Alan found rather cute.
He knew she was still a bit upset about the teasing earlier, but he couldn't help it—blame it on the Frog's poorly timed return. That silly little thing really didn't know how to pick the right moment.
As they ate, Alan spent the time teasing Gwen, lightening the mood. Eventually, with good food and Alan's playful banter, Gwen gradually forgot about what had happened earlier.
After dinner, nightfall arrived.
"Alan, Connors will likely show up tonight. I want to go out and check..." Gwen said.
Alan nodded. "Before we go, let's head to your place first."
"When you get home, turn on your computer. I'll have Red Queen hack into it. Then, lock your bedroom door and sneak out through the window. That way, even if Uncle George gets suspicious, Red Queen can create the illusion that you're still at home remotely."
"You're a genius, Alan!" Gwen was surprised and thrilled by this clever idea. Now, she could stay out late without any worries. With her spider abilities, she could just climb back in through the window.
She was about to give Alan a big hug, eager to share her excitement, but then she remembered how he had teased her earlier. She stopped in her tracks, crossing her arms with a huff.
Alan, who had been ready to embrace her, paused mid-motion.
Women...
No, wait! Girls... are truly creatures that hold grudges.
"I'll head home first and turn on the computer in my room," Gwen said.
She slipped off her outer clothing, revealing the Spider suit underneath. Then, with a leap off Alan's balcony, she swung away on her web toward her house, taking down a few small-time criminals along the way.
The name of Spider-Woman was starting to spread.
Meanwhile, Alan lay leisurely on a deck chair on his balcony, sipping tea, while Red Queen reported Gwen's crime-fighting exploits.
"Sigh, once Tony Stark publicly announces that he's Iron Man, I definitely need to get a new house. And I'll upgrade everything to high-tech."
Because of his current house, Red Queen's capabilities were limited. In a place like Tony's, J.A.R.V.I.S. would have instantly pulled up live footage for him, rather than him having to rely on a small computer screen like now.
"I wonder how far Tony has gotten with his Mark armor research," Alan pondered. "Has Obadiah found Mark 1 yet?"
Thinking about Mark 1, Alan recalled how, when he first saw its blueprints, the design had deviated from the original concept.
"Will Tony's future armors end up looking like the Emperor's armor?" Alan mused.
Meanwhile, inside Tony's lab...
At this moment, Tony was covered in a fully metallic silver suit of armor. The helmet's eye section had been designed in a particularly exaggerated style.
Other parts that were originally supposed to be smooth have been radically redesigned.
If Alan were here, he'd think it looked somewhat like Emperor Armor, but not exactly.
"Okay, Yinsen, J.A.R.V.I.S. Mark II's first flight test—are we ready?"
Yinsen gave Tony an "okay" gesture.
J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice sounded inside Tony's helmet: "All set, sir."
"All parameters and flight paths have been designed."
"Great! Let's begin!"
Flames shot out from the palms and soles of the Mark II suit, lifting Tony slowly into the air. Once stabilized, Tony dived headfirst out of the underground lab.
"Wow..."
"Hahaha..."
"We did it, J.A.R.V.I.S.! Yinsen!"
Yinsen could see Tony's flight from the lab. Inside the armor, Tony was grinning like a child with a new toy. Like a shooting star, he streaked across the New York night sky—except, unlike a shooting star, Tony was flying upward.
"Alright, let's see what this suit can really do..."
"What's the altitude record for the SR-71 Blackbird?"
"The fixed-wing flight record is eighty-five thousand feet, sir."
"Records are made to be broken—let's go!"
Tony pushed the suit to its limits, aiming to break the altitude record. At that moment, he didn't seem like a scientist but more like a fiercely competitive kid.
Meanwhile, at S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury watched the Mark II soar higher into the sky. The armor's design made him increasingly suspicious that Tony was somehow connected to that mysterious mech suit. Ever since Tony's return, Fury had been keeping a close eye on him.
The moment Mark II left Tony's house, someone reported it to Fury.
"Howard, your son has really outdone himself, actually creating something like this," Fury muttered, watching Tony climb higher and higher, admiration in his eyes.
Yes, this was the kind of determination he was looking for.
Another future Avenger member...
But what happened next made Fury's expression change.
Tony continued to climb, but the higher he went, the colder it got—especially with his rapid ascent. The temperature dropped drastically, and frost began to form on the surface of the armor.
"Is this guy crazy?" Fury thought, feeling that his earlier praise might have been a bit premature.
Tony kept going higher.
"Sir, severe icing on the exterior may cause damage..."
"Keep flying!!!"
Tony refused to stop. Soon, as the frost covered the surface, the internal systems began to fail. Even J.A.R.V.I.S. went silent.
The Mark II shut down completely, plummeting from the sky.
"Ah..."
"Ahhhh!!!"
"We're frozen, J.A.R.V.I.S.! Deploy the flaps...!"
"Quick, we need to get rid of the ice!"
With no response from J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony had to manually find the emergency switch. As soon as the flaps deployed, the descent slowed significantly. J.A.R.V.I.S. rebooted just in time, and Tony regained control, skimming the ground as he flew back up.
Having narrowly escaped death, Tony burst into laughter inside the suit: "Hahaha..."
Back at S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury wiped the sweat from his brow. Agent Hill asked, "Should we include Tony in the program?"
Fury replied cautiously, "Let's keep observing him for now..."
Meanwhile, on his balcony, Alan looked into the distance at the Mark II shooting into the sky.
...
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