Tony shrugged and addressed Coulson, mentioning that he needed clothes since he was still in a robe, and that he needed to work in the lab. He also requested a cup of coffee.
"I'm not here for that. Director Fury has given orders to use any means necessary to keep you from leaving the house," Coulson replied with a smile. He added that if Tony tried to pull any tricks, he'd be hit with a taser, and Coulson would calmly watch TV while Tony lay on the floor drooling.
"Alright, I get it," Tony said, realizing he wasn't going anywhere for the time being. He grabbed the case and started studying Howard's notes while watching old video recordings.
...
Meanwhile, in a military camp, Tony's friend, Rhodey, and his subordinates were listening to Justin Hammer, who was enthusiastically pitching his weaponry. Hammer was passionately talking about his new developments, but seeing that Rhodey remained indifferent, he decided to show his trump card—the "Ex-Wife" missile, famous from the humorous scene in Iron Man 2. But Rhodey still showed no reaction, leaving Hammer unsure of what to do next.
"So, are you going to take it or not? Be straight with me. You're like the Sphinx—completely unreadable," Hammer said, crossing his arms.
"I'll take it," Rhodey replied.
"What? You'll take it? Which weapon do you want?" Hammer asked, surprised.
"I'll take everything."
Hearing this, Hammer was stunned. He realized that now he'd have to significantly modify the suit they were working on. Looking at the silver armor in front of him, he wondered if he could hack Stark's technology.
This was the suit Rhodey had worn at Tony's birthday party without his permission. Although it wasn't exactly without permission—Tony had silently allowed his friend to take the suit since he believed he was dying and wanted to leave Rhodey something special.
The next day, Tony headed to the Stark Industries CEO office to talk to Pepper Potts. However, Pepper was in a bad mood due to negative news and didn't give Tony any attention, focusing on company matters instead. Seeing this, Tony left but took Howard's model map with him.
Returning to the lab, Tony finally discovered hidden information in the model about a new element that could replace the palladium in his reactor. He was touched and mentally thanked his father.
Tony cleared the holograms and began tidying up the lab. He then started building a small particle accelerator to synthesize the new element. While working, Coulson stopped by to say goodbye and inform Tony of his reassignment to a new mission. Eventually, Tony successfully synthesized the new element.
"Congratulations, sir. You have successfully created a new element," JARVIS said, observing as Tony carefully picked up the glowing element with tweezers.
Tony looked at the glowing blue element with excitement and pride. He placed it into the new arc reactor, which successfully accepted the element, confirming Tony's success.
"There's an anonymous call for you, sir," JARVIS said as Tony commanded the robots to clean up. Tony thought it might be a call from Coulson, but the voice on the other end was unfamiliar.
"Tony, how are you?" The voice sounded familiar to Tony. He recognized it as Ivan Vanko, the man who had attacked him at the racetrack. He was surprised, as he thought Vanko had died in the prison explosion.
However, Tony didn't waste any time. He muted the call so that Vanko couldn't hear him and instructed JARVIS to trace the call's origin. But just as the location was nearly determined, Vanko hung up, and all Tony knew was that the call came from somewhere in Manhattan or nearby.
As Tony pondered this, an image of Justin Hammer appeared on the screen, leading him to suspect that Hammer might be involved in Vanko's rescue and their plans against him.
Tony quickly installed the new arc reactor. JARVIS tried to stop him, citing the need for tests, but Tony knew there wasn't any time. He remembered that Pepper was supposed to be at the expo today and was concerned about the potential danger.
With the new reactor installed, Tony felt the symptoms of palladium poisoning begin to disappear. The reactor in his chest glowed brightly, and he felt a surge of energy.
"Smells like coconut," he noted, feeling fantastic.
...
"It's time to wake up, Noah."
Hearing Lissandra's voice, Noah opened his eyes and felt refreshed. Looking at the time, he realized it was already noon. He had slept in because the past two days had been spent in the lab without any rest. Thanks to the Resolve Rune, he could go without sleep, but he still felt mental fatigue. So, this time, he had slept longer than usual.
After his morning routine and lunch, Noah prepared to head to the expo as the time for his meeting with Peter approached.
First, Noah placed a Control Ward in the main hall. The past few days had been quite hectic: he had just moved in and immediately got to work setting up the lab, forgetting to install the ward. Unlike the Protective Ward, the Control Ward has no time limits and can exist permanently.
Noah thought it might be time to get a car. Although he could travel very quickly, constantly flying in the suit seemed odd to him. But buying a car was something for the future.
After inspecting the ward's placement in the house and bidding farewell to Lissandra, Noah used his Teleportation skill to make his way back.
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