"If you can't come up with a stronger alloy after all your research," Harvey said, seeing Tony lost in thought, "then start with vibranium. There's some on Blue Star."
"With Jarvis' capabilities, you should be able to track down a seller. Just go buy some."
"Vibranium?" Tony echoed, trying to recall any memory of the material but coming up blank.
"Yeah, look into it. You'll understand soon enough," Harvey replied, nodding. "I'll hang up now. Figure it out on your own."
With that, Harvey cut the call.
"Jarvis, search for any information related to vibranium," Tony instructed immediately.
"Right away, sir," came Jarvis' smooth reply.
In just about ten minutes, Jarvis had combed through every available channel he could access.
"Sir, there's very little information available on vibranium. I did, however, find one unverifiable lead and an interesting piece of trivia."
"Your father, Mr. Howard Stark, used vibranium to craft Captain America's shield for Steve Rogers."
Jarvis displayed the results.
"Well, isn't that something," Tony muttered, his interest piqued. "So that loudmouthed patriot got all his gear from someone else, huh?"
Hearing this unexpected tidbit amused Tony. Even if he couldn't get his hands on vibranium just yet, knowing Steve Rogers' prized shield came from his father was enough to keep him entertained for a while. The next time Steve tried to brag, Tony would have some good material to throw back at him.
"The information about vibranium on the black market is quite old, and we can't verify it," Jarvis added. "But I can pinpoint a location if you'd like to investigate personally."
"Well, let's see what we find," Tony decided, standing up and getting ready to head out.
If it weren't for the fact that Uru metal was so hard and nearly impossible to work with, he would have focused on developing his nanotech further to upgrade the overall performance of his suits.
His suits were primarily made from titanium alloy, which offered decent mobility but left much to be desired in terms of defense and durability.
He hadn't thought much of it before, believing speed was enough. But after his encounter with the Destroyer, Tony realized that to take on tougher enemies head-on, he would need to develop stronger armor.
Even if he couldn't forge a new alloy using vibranium, building a couple of vibranium suits for special occasions seemed like a solid plan.
Meanwhile, Harvey was leisurely enjoying his meal. He had no intention of intervening in everything unless he had to. Some matters were better left alone to avoid chaos.
As for the potential problem of Ultron, it didn't concern him.
If Tony managed to get his hands on a large amount of vibranium and was inclined to pursue the idea, then Ultron would likely emerge.
But if Tony never had the notion to create Ultron, then it wouldn't matter what Harvey did or didn't do—Ultron wouldn't come into existence.
And without Ultron, Vision wouldn't come into play either.
Not that it made much of a difference to Harvey. As for Wanda, the Scarlet Witch, he wasn't exactly interested in bringing her into the Void. Wanda's power and potential were undeniable, but it was precisely because of her immense strength that her mental stability was always on a razor's edge.
The moment she lost control, she wouldn't hesitate to break any rules to achieve her goals, and Harvey wasn't keen on bringing such volatility into his ranks.
Harvey's gaze shifted to New York as he tried to spot Bruce Banner, the Hulk.
It seemed, however, that it was still too early—July 2011. S.H.I.E.L.D. had yet to locate Banner.
But there was no rush. The real action was just around the corner.
After lunch, Harvey decided to take a drive, and perhaps find some beautiful women in need of a little assistance.
As long as S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't bother him, life on Blue Star was blissfully carefree.
Back on Tony's end, he managed to find an old, beat-up ship and bought a large batch of vibranium from a contract, paying an exorbitant sum to a black market dealer.
It didn't matter if he had more vibranium than he needed. If money could solve a problem, it wasn't a problem for Tony.
Once the vibranium was transported back to his lab, Tony immediately began a series of tests.
He experimented with its resistance to extreme temperatures, its melting point, and its ability to withstand different forms of attack.
After extensive testing, Tony realized that making a vibranium suit was the way to go.
Compared to his lightweight titanium alloy suits, vibranium was certainly heavier, but it offered unparalleled defense and durability.
However, the added mass and density came with a trade-off: reduced mobility.
Still, despite the limitations, his most advanced propulsion systems were strong enough to support the vibranium suit.
Though its speed wouldn't match his current titanium-based suits, the vibranium armor would be ideal for battles requiring brute force over agility.
It wouldn't be as quick to assemble or as versatile in weaponry, but it would be a beast in close-quarters combat.
Of course, the vibranium suit wouldn't be much use against opponents like Reno, who relied on supersonic speeds—Tony would never get a hit in.
That said, he began working on the vibranium suit while putting the Uru metal on the back burner for now.
After all, without the advanced technology to melt Uru, he couldn't use it yet.
For the time being, Tony focused on creating a battle-ready vibranium suit, all while experimenting with potential ways to synthesize a metal that combined the lightweight properties of titanium with at least half of vibranium's strength.
He knew achieving a perfect blend of titanium's lightness and vibranium's hardness was impossible, at least for now, but half the strength would still be a game-changer.
Tony wasn't sure just how powerful his future enemies might be, but his strategy was to prepare for anything.
After fighting the Destroyer, Tony realized the enormous potential of Void energy, even though his full-powered Void beam hadn't been able to pierce the Destroyer's armor.
This realization had set Tony on a dual path of evolution: one focused on enhancing his physical strength, the other on amplifying his control over Void energy. Both paths required balance.
While his physical abilities were already formidable, he was still far from matching Reno's speed or Kael's raw power.
Strengthening his body further was essential.
After all, he had seen Harvey traverse the cosmos with just his physical form. At the very least, Tony needed to reach that level.
His ultimate goal was to explore the universe. The last thing he wanted was to be stranded in space, frozen to death because of some unforeseen circumstance.