The weather in New York was gradually getting colder, and the thin morning fog clung to the glass of the windows, leaving a layer of hazy white that diffused the recently lit street lamps into circles of dim yellow light.
With a cup of coffee in hand, Shiller sat at the desk in Stark Laboratory. Stark came over with a large stack of data, saying, "We need to modify joint no.5 again and do a comparative experiment with joint no.13. The data for the outer armour of arm no.7 is also problematic, I'll have to adjust it later…"
Shiller said, "Can't you take a break? Don't you feel tired?"
As Stark spread out the data on the desk to sort it, he replied, "You've asked me this question at least 20 times overnight. You started asking at 7:00 last night and you're still asking at 7:00 this morning."
"That's because you've been doing experiments with me since seven o'clock last night, and I haven't even had a chance to drink a cup of coffee."
"What are you doing now then? It's been 3 minutes, you finished your coffee, right? We still have two sets of tests to carry out, and they have to be done before 8 o'clock today."
Shiller collapsed onto the table.
Peter came out from behind the lab's glass door with two documents in hand, and said, "Mr. Stark, it seems that there are some issues with the external support of leg no. 5. The data from the third set Jarvis just gave me seems to indicate that the skeletal structure is somewhat unstable, and the support could be at risk of fracture. Although Jarvis suggested that we change materials, if we use dragon bone which is too hard, it could reduce flexibility…."
Stark took the documents from Peter, glanced at them, and said, "This isn't a big problem."
He pointed at the design on the blueprints for Peter to see. "We'll add a cushioning system to this joint, and then move this part down two centimetres…"
As Peter stroked his chin in thought, Stark pulled Shiller up and said, "It usually takes you only three seconds to drink a cup of coffee, but you've already spent nearly five minutes. Get up and get to work."
"I need to restore my magical energy…"
"I remember someone saying that this was basic operation."
Shiller covered his eyes and said, "Can't you bring me a complete suit of armor? Then I can cast a spell on it and you can use it directly. Why do you have to take it apart piece by piece for the experiment?"
Stark replied a bit speechless, "Why do I sometimes think you know a lot about this, but other times, I think you're a mechanical idiot?"
He spread out the blueprint on the table, and pointed at the patterns on it, saying, "See it? After you solved the problem of miniaturization and expansion for Mark IV with magic, I was able to focus the design on its performance and functions. But each time I upgrade a part of its functions or performance, I have to test again if it can shrink and expand, or if the functions after expansion are the same as I expected."
"So, I have to do a lot of modular experiments to test whether a certain function can reach its effect as I expected when it shrinks and expands separately."
"So, which part didn't achieve the effect you wanted?" Shiller asked.
"What if it's the next one?" Stark replied.
Damn these rigorous science students, Shiller collapsed on the table once again.
Peter said, "I agree with Mr. Stark. Making this kind of armor isn't a joke. If you fly up to tens of thousands of meters in the air and a part malfunctions, that's extremely dangerous."
"There's more to it than that," Stark said while sorting the sketches. "The performance at low power and high power, even overclocking, is not the same. You have to ensure that it performs as perfectly as possible at each level of power output."
Then Stark pulled Shiller to the side of the experimental table. Peter handed him a part, Shiller disassembled it and put it back together, then Stark took it for testing, Peter handed him another part, Shiller disassembled and reassembled it and handed it over for testing.
Peter and Stark were doing experiments, but Shiller felt he was just screwing in light bulbs on a production line.
The symbiont in his head kept repeating, "Both of their heads smell so good, it's so mouth-watering, I really want to eat, can I eat one of them? Just one, then eat the other next meal, I want to eat the one with blue eyes first…"
Shiller found that the symbiont seemed to be able to detect human brain waves. When a person's brain starts to work quickly, it can sense a pheromone released by their brain. The faster the person's brain activity, the more delicious it smells to the symbiont.
Unfortunately, the brains of geniuses like Peter and Stark were like walking super yummy fried chicken to the symbiont, and it was impossible for it to resist.
For some reason, the symbiont had also learned to play the sound of swallowing saliva repeatedly in Shiller's brain, making him feel hungry.
After screwing in the last bulb handed to him, Shiller said, "Let's go eat something. Aren't you guys hungry?"
Stark threw him two compressed biscuits and said, "Thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new gadgets, I can work continuously for 40 hours now."
Shiller took a deep breath and asked, "Aren't you feeling sleepy? And you, Peter, haven't you been up for almost two days?"
"The reason I brought this kid here is that he is more energetic than most people."
Shrugging, Peter also said, "Since I got these abilities, I only need to sleep a very short time to stay energetic. Just now I slept for 15 minutes in the break room, and I'm feeling pretty good now."
"Rather, as a mage, why are you feeling tired? Don't you guys have any rejuvenating magic?"
It's not really physical fatigue that Shiller is experiencing. Thanks to his symbiont, he doesn't need to eat, drink, or even sleep. But anyone who's screwed in light bulbs for over 20 hours would still feel mentally exhausted.
Shiller doesn't understand the first thing about battle armor design, but whenever Stark steps out from behind the glass door with a new idea, Shiller has to play the cheerleader and applaud him. If he doesn't, Stark will rush back behind the glass door only to emerge after a series of bangs and clangs with a new concept.
Stark says, "How can you sit idle in face of such a significant endeavor? This is a milestone in human science and maybe even in magic! We've combined human technology with a new wondrous power for the first time. Aren't you excited about the results?"
"I'm more bothered by something else," Shiller says. "Are you going to name this series of battle armors 'Mark'? I think we need a new name."
"New name? What do you think about the 'S' series, your first name and the initial of my surname?"
"Peter would be upset. He took part in the creation."
As Stark scratches his head, Peter says, "I really don't mind that, but compared to the name, I think the new armor should have a cooler look, something completely different from the Mark series."
"I think you could design it in blue," Shiller says. "It matches well with magic, and it sets your Mark series apart."
"Alright, let's speed things up. Once we've tested all the parts, we can start assembling it. Then we'll paint it in a beautiful color. I think the combination of blue and silver is pretty good."
"Also," Stark turning towards Shiller says: "I think this armor should have some magic attack power."
"I'm sorry, but the magic I've learned doesn't have any attack power," Shiller replies.
"What about the levitation spell? I think levitating objects is not too bad."
"You should consider magnetism," Shiller suggests without any qualms, betraying Magneto. "Maybe magnetism is a bit stronger than you think."
By the time Natasha arrives, the triad have gone almost 50 hours without sleep. Due to their superpowers, Shiller and Peter look fine, but Stark is sporting huge panda eyes. Natasha says, "We were about to send out a search party for you guys. You've been missing for nearly three days."
"But we have fantastic results!" Stark announces.
Immediately after, Natasha notices Stark taking out a cigarette. The female agent chuckles, "It seems you're still clueless about certain things. Since joining S.H.I.E.L.D., I've quit smoking."
"Only thinking about health now, isn't it a bit late?" Shiller asks her.
"Health? I'm not trying to be healthy! Have you ever seen a Russian taking care of their health? The damn smoke alarm in the S.H.I.E.L.D. office goes off over 20 times a day. I quit smoking because I couldn't stand the noise it made."
"Hey, over here! What's y'all talking about? Look at me, look at my achievements!" Stark interrupts.
He flips up the cigarette, and a mecha appears on his body in an instant, composed of silver and deep blue.
This mecha does slightly differ from the Mark series in appearances. It looks lighter, smoother, and fits Stark's figure more closely. It doesn't make any mechanical noises usual armors would during assembling and operation. More than mecha, it is like an uniquely designed bodysuit.
Shiller stands up and says, "You used to be 10cm taller than me in your armor, but now it's only 3cm."
"Is that the key point?!"
"Of course, because without your armor, you're 1cm shorter than me."
"It's actually 2cm shorter, sir," Peter speaks out. "you also have to subtract the shoes."
Stark takes a deep breath, makes a light jump, and the armor hovers in the air. With less commotion than before, Stark says, "I appreciate your inspirations. I also believe jet power is a bit old-fashioned, but this magnetism suspension system is still immature. I need to refine it."
Shiller quickly asks Natasha, "Is there any business with Nick Fury? I can go over and send him one more bill, no matter how much."
Natasha replies, "Well, yes. Something's up. It's related to the ninja gang that Captain and Peter dealt with."
"So you meant, you're here for Peter. Then Shiller..." Stark speaks,
"No, don't get me wrong. I got a lot of money from S.H.I.E.L.D., so I feel it's necessary to provide them a fundamental psychological and emotional examination, which is important to field agents. It can prevent them from going cuckoo due to stress."
"No charge this time?"
"Absolutely!"