Stark Industries Tower, New York
It had been a full year since the alien invasion that had devastated Manhattan, and New York had spent every day of that year rebuilding. The reconstruction efforts had been massive, involving countless construction projects, infrastructure repairs, and technological upgrades throughout the city.
Among all the corporations involved in the rebuilding process, Stark Industries had benefited the most significantly. This wasn't just because of their involvement in reconstruction contracts, but because every department within Stark Industries had been intensively studying the crystallized technology left behind by the Chitauri army—technology that Marcus had made available to them.
Because of this unprecedented access to alien science, Stark Industries' development had been nothing short of extraordinary. Their progress was like riding a rocket, advancing by leaps and bounds in ways that would have been impossible through conventional research.
"Tony, you absolutely must be present at the press conference this afternoon!" Pepper Potts announced as she strode into Tony's workshop, her voice carrying the tone of someone who had already had this conversation multiple times.
"No way," Tony replied without looking up from his work. "It's just some analysis of alien technology. What's there worth announcing to the world?"
Tony waved his hand dismissively, clearly disdainful of attending what he considered a low-level press conference. He had more important things to focus on than media presentations.
"You have to go," Pepper insisted firmly. "This press conference is extremely important. We're not just presenting the analyzed alien technology—we're also unveiling the energy system that you personally optimized."
At the mention of his energy system, Tony finally stopped what he was doing and looked up.
"The energy system I optimized?" he asked, his interest clearly piqued.
This actually intrigued him considerably. The energy system in question had been reverse-engineered from Chitauri spacecraft technology, and after his extensive modifications and improvements, the overall performance had increased by an impressive twenty percent.
That twenty percent improvement represented a significant validation of his abilities as a researcher and engineer. After all, this was technology from a spacecraft capable of interstellar travel—far more advanced than anything Earth had produced, including their most sophisticated space shuttles.
The fact that he had been able to enhance such advanced alien technology demonstrated his exceptional scientific capabilities.
"Alright," Tony conceded, "I'll attend the press conference this afternoon. But I want to demonstrate the energy system's performance personally."
This response left Pepper momentarily stunned. No matter how much she had pleaded with Tony in the past, he had always refused to attend public events without hesitation. But now he was not only agreeing to appear, but actually requesting to give a personal demonstration.
"Okay, I'll arrange everything immediately," Pepper said, quickly adapting to this unexpected development. "But you absolutely cannot run away at the last minute."
"I'm Tony Stark," Tony replied with characteristic confidence. "Running away at the last minute isn't my style."
Tony waved his hand casually and walked deeper into his laboratory. He was in the process of completing his newest Iron Man suit, and the battle from a year ago had filled his heart with a profound sense of urgency.
During the Chitauri invasion, it had been Marcus who had broken through the portal alone and eliminated the alien threat, ultimately saving Earth from destruction.
But Tony couldn't continue putting all his hopes on Marcus—especially since the man had disappeared without a trace and hadn't been seen or heard from since.
"Seriously, where did that bastard disappear to?" Tony muttered under his breath as he put on his control interface and gently grasped the table in front of him.
A holographic projection immediately appeared, displaying the new generation Iron Man suit he had been developing. This armor was constructed entirely from vibranium alloy that his father Howard had left behind in the underground laboratory on the farm.
While the design of this Iron Man suit wasn't dramatically different from his previous versions, it represented the work he had put the most effort into creating.
"I wonder if this suit could actually take a hit from that bastard," Tony mused, studying the projection critically.
Every technology incorporated into this Iron Man suit had been analyzed and optimized from Chitauri spacecraft systems. It could honestly be said that this was his most powerful armor to date.
But Tony still had doubts about the equipment's capabilities. He didn't believe that anything he could create now would be able to overwhelm the Chitauri army the way Marcus had.
After all, Marcus had been the one who had crushed and destroyed the entire Chitauri force in a single decisive action. Tony didn't think he could match the level of power that Marcus had demonstrated during that battle.
However, he still wanted to try. Even if he could only block one attack from Marcus, it would be worth the effort. In that case, the gap between his capabilities and Marcus's would be much smaller.
Beep beep beep
Tony picked up two sleek bracelets, pressed several controls on them, and slipped them onto his hands. The center of the laboratory suddenly opened, and the Iron Man suit from the projection slowly materialized in front of him.
"You'll be demonstrating with me this afternoon!" he said to the armor.
As he walked toward the new Iron Man suit, the armor quickly disassembled and reassembled itself around his body with practiced efficiency.
When the last piece clicked into place, Tony strode confidently onto the laboratory's balcony.
The powerful thrusters in his boots activated instantly, and Tony shot into the sky, flying away from Stark Tower with impressive speed.
"Hey, this guy has a new toy again?"
On the street below, Marcus stood among the pedestrians and looked up at Tony flying through the air. Some things never changed about his old friend.
As soon as Marcus finished speaking, he vanished from the spot instantly. Tony, who was flying high above the city, suddenly felt that his flight pattern was becoming slightly unbalanced.
"What's going on? Is there a problem with the propulsion system?" Tony wondered aloud, but immediately dismissed the thought. "Impossible. I've built how many Iron Man suits now? How could such a basic technical problem occur?"
"Hey there! How have you been recently?" an unexpected voice called out from behind him. "Did you stop being a homeless war profiteer and decide to become a human surfboard instead?"
Hearing this voice, Tony was startled. He hadn't expected anyone to be able to approach him during flight, let alone speak to him from directly behind.
"Jarvis, deploy weapons and lock onto whoever's behind me!" Tony commanded immediately.
Following his order, all the weapons hidden throughout the Iron Man suit emerged and activated, with red targeting lasers locking onto Marcus from multiple directions.
"I want to see exactly who you are," Tony said grimly.
The scene behind him appeared on his helmet display, and when Tony saw the man casually standing on his back as if it were solid ground, he was stunned.
"Marcus? You're back?" Tony exclaimed, his voice filled with genuine surprise. "Jarvis, disengage all weapons and retract them!"
Seeing that all the weapons aimed at him had disappeared, Marcus lightly stepped off Tony's back and flew up beside him as if moving through the air was perfectly natural.
"As a skateboard, you're not very qualified," Marcus commented with amusement.
"You bastard, you're back?" Tony replied, his voice mixing irritation with relief. "And let me make it clear—who exactly is the skateboard here? And how did you suddenly appear on my back?"
Hearing Marcus's slightly sarcastic comments, Tony couldn't help but respond with some trash talk of his own. Although he had genuinely missed the time they'd spent together on the farm, seeing Marcus again brought out his competitive instincts.
Seeing Tony's rapid-fire questions, Marcus couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't move!" he said, reaching out and placing his hand on Tony's armored shoulder.
The two of them disappeared in a thick fog instantly.
In front of Tony's mansion, Marcus and Tony emerged from a sudden cloud of mist.
"We're here," Marcus announced casually. "Let's go inside."
Seeing Marcus's behavior—acting as if he owned the place—Tony was speechless, but he also felt curious about what he'd just witnessed.
Although he knew that Marcus's combat abilities were extraordinary, he hadn't known that Marcus also possessed teleportation powers.
"How can you teleport?" Tony asked as he began removing his Iron Man armor. "And why did you appear behind me like that?"
After deactivating his suit, Tony poured two glasses of expensive whiskey, handed one to Marcus, and waited for an explanation.
But Marcus took the wine glass and smiled mysteriously, swirling the golden liquid as he replied, "Of course I can teleport. But this method of teleportation is actually the easiest approach."
As he spoke, blue sparks suddenly burst into existence in front of Marcus, and a portal made of crackling energy appeared before both men.
"This," Marcus said with a grin, "is how I prefer to travel these days."
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