Li Yue and Tony reappeared in Tony's villa. Tony took off the armor from his body with Jarvis' help.
Li Yue, on the other hand, raided Tony's fridge for cold Coca-Cola and shamelessly drank it while sitting on the sofa.
I just had a fight with Abomination. I didn't put that much effort into it, but all that evasive maneuvers needed a lot of focus. The exhaustion came crashing down when I relaxed my mind.
"I must say, Tony, your suit is beautiful! But do you really have to be dressed so formally every day? That seems uncomfortable."
Li Yue watched as Tony took off his armor, revealing the expensive three-piece suit underneath, before walking to the fridge and taking a can of Coca-Cola. He elegantly sat on the same sofa as Li Yue and drank the cheap soda as if it was prized vintage wine.
"You don't understand, Li Yue. I am Iron Man now. The world's most famous superhero. I have a gentleman's image to maintain." Tony crossed his legs and leaned back against the sofa.
"Come on, Tony, this is your villa. There are no outsiders here. Hurry up and change your clothes. It makes me dizzy."
"You're right. Give me a sec; I'll be back soon." Tony put his drink down on the table and went to his room, changing his clothes to a casual setting. The clothes were still obviously expensive, but it wasn't too out of place in the house.
"Tony, did you get your clothes special-ordered to have your reactor exposed?"
Li Yue looked at the Arc Reactor that was exposed in front of Tony's chest. The reactor had a triangle in its core instead of a circle. It seemed that Tony had already created a new element. The reactor was clearly displayed outside of the clothes, with a fitting hole around it.
"Of course! I had top designers working on it; it cost me—"
"Alright, alright, enough about that. Anyway, you said back in New York that I disappeared for a few months?" Li Yue interrupted Tony's shameless flaunting. He remembered what Tony said when they met today. It was a bit surprising for him; he had only been in the X -men world for a little more than a week. Why had so much time passed here?
"Yeah, you disappeared for five months, to be precise. Your girlfriend pestered me every day until a few months ago. She gave me so much headache." Tony grimaced. It must have really been a pain.
"Alright, I'll go see her right after this. Let's catch up on the major events. Has the Stark Expo begun yet?" Li Yue asked.
According to the movie timeline, the events of the second Iron Man movie shouldn't begin yet, but Li Yue wasn't sure that the plot would change with his presence.
"Major events? Not much really happened. I went through my dad's inheritance after you reminded me, but I didn't find much until I discovered that he was the founder of SHIELD a few months ago.
"I immediately went to the one-eyed director and asked him about the truth. He, surprisingly, didn't hide anything from me and told me everything he knew. He also gave me some of my dad's keepsakes—among them, a way to completely eliminate Palladium poisoning.
"So, Li Yue, did you already know about this? Why didn't you tell me? You made me waste months! Though, I still have to sincerely thank you."
Unlike his normally cynical self, Tony's expression was solemn and sincere. Li Yue's reminder had led him to his father's keepsakes. He now understood that his father didn't abandon him; both of them simply didn't know how to express their love.
"Tony, this is something that you must experience on your own. Only then could you change..." Li Yue spoke in a low voice but then stopped himself. Li Yue knew that Tony needed to experience certain key events before becoming a hero that could sacrifice himself to save the world.
"Li Yue, I understand your intention." Tony did not blame Li Yue and instead thanked him for the information.
"Oh right, I solved the palladium poisoning. I had to discover a new element—well, to be precise, my dad discovered it, though he was 'limited by the technology of his era,' as he put it. But it was no problem for the great Tony Stark. And now my Arc Reactor uses that element," Tony said with a meaningful expression on his face while tapping the Arc Reactor on his chest. He seemed to be happy.
"Well, I guess you meant it when you said there were no major events in the last five months!" Li Yue said helplessly, his hand on his forehead.
"Of course! This world has me, the great Iron Man. Even just mentioning my name would send the bad guys into hiding. Nothing bad will ever happen." Tony regained his usual narcissistic personality.
"Then what happened today?" Li Yue asked mercilessly.
"Eh, today is a special situation. The military brought it upon themselves. I don't want to wipe their asses," Tony stumbled on his words, but he stubbornly deflected.
Li Yue finished his drink in one go and placed the empty can on the table before burping and standing up.
"Burp... Alright, let's stop talking about it. I'll go see Louise," Li Yue said to Tony.
"Li Yue, don't forget to come back here tomorrow. I have upgraded my armor several times; I wanted to show you how powerful they are," Tony quickly added before Li Yue left.
Li Yue didn't say anything more and simply gave an OK gesture with his right hand before he disappeared.
"Man, that superpower's really nice. I have to speed up my armor development; maybe someday I'll have the tech to travel through wormholes," Tony thought in his heart, brimming with energy. He finished the drink in his hand and went straight to the underground laboratory to continue his armor research.
...
Li Yue arrived in no time in front of Louise's house, but he hesitated before knocking on the door. He didn't have the courage. What expression would Louise have on her face when she saw him? Would she be happy? Or would she be angry?
Li Yue steeled his resolve and raised his right hand to knock on the door.
However, before Li Yue's right hand could touch the door, he suddenly heard the sound of glass shattering.
Li Yue turned his head to the source of the sound, only to find that the surrounding scenery had greatly changed. It was as if someone had painted over the world.
In front of him was a person in a yellow monk robe, their face obscured by the hood. The person made an inexplicable gesture with their right hand and swiped it up.
"Li Yue, let's talk about your intrusion into this universe!"
"Fuck, why is she here!?"
Li Yue was shocked when he saw the face behind the hood.