In Tony's workshop:
"Jarvis, dismantle every part of it."
"There has to be a power source somewhere!"
Tony stared at the digital model of the Emperor Armor in front of him, unwilling to give up. As a scientist rooted in materialism, he refused to believe that a suit like this could fly freely in the sky without any energy source.
Unless, of course, its user was a mutant like Magneto. But Tony had never heard of such a person among the mutants. As the richest man in the world, he had plenty of dealings with Professor X. At the last party, Tony had even casually asked Professor X if any mutants wore armor like his.
Professor X's definitive answer was no.
This made Tony firmly believe that this golden armor must hide some kind of energy source he could potentially replicate or use.
After another round of analysis, Tony finally gave up and slumped onto the sofa.
"Shut it down, Jarvis. I need a break."
The workshop dimmed as Jarvis reminded him, "Sir, don't forget your chlorophyll juice."
"Thanks for the reminder, Jarvis," Tony replied, reaching for the glass on the table. It was full of chlorophyll juice, which helped suppress the spread of the palladium in his system.
Sensing Tony's hesitation, Jarvis continued, "Drinking it is the only effective way to counteract the palladium in your body."
Tony shrugged, "Jarvis, sometimes I wish you weren't so smart."
"You made me this smart, sir."
"So that means I'm the smartest," Tony muttered as he downed the chlorophyll juice in one go, feeling his body relax as the adverse reactions subsided.
"Hey, Tony. What are you still doing here? Why are the lights off?"
In the darkness, Happy came down from upstairs, surprised.
Tony snapped his fingers, and the lights in the workshop came on. "Happy, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be taking Potts home at this hour?"
"I thought you might have forgotten about tomorrow."
Tony's face showed a flicker of confusion. "Tomorrow?"
Happy wasn't surprised at Tony's reaction. "Did you forget? You're supposed to be in Washington tomorrow..."
With Happy's reminder, Tony remembered the whole thing. He had been so busy with the new element lately that he had completely forgotten about this minor obligation.
"Washington huh..." Tony smirked.
It seemed like a good place to have some fun. He might as well take Potts there for a few days and, while he was at it, put those defense department guys and that pompous Hammer in their place.
"Sir, it might be good for you to take a break," Jarvis chimed in again.
"Great idea, Jarvis! Keep an eye on that golden armor for me while I'm gone."
"Of course, sir."
"Happy, wait for me in the car. I'm going to change into something a bit more stylish."
"No problem, but don't take too long. We'll want to get some good sleep once we reach Washington DC."
Tony gave a thumbs-up. "No problem."
As Happy walked upstairs, he noticed that Yinsen was sitting on the sofa with a troubled look on his face.
"Hey, Yinsen. I didn't see you just now. What's wrong?"
Happy, always sharp, immediately sensed something was off with Yinsen's mood.
Knowing that Tony didn't want too many people to know about the palladium situation, Yinsen casually replied, "I just got back."
"I was thinking about my late wife and child."
Happy walked over and patted Yinsen on the shoulder. "Don't be sad. I'm sure they wouldn't want to see you like this."
Yinsen nodded. In truth, he had just come back from visiting Dr. Otto, where he had learned more about the palladium situation. He realized that Tony was merely clinging to life at this point. Dr. Otto had even bluntly stated that there was no material on Earth capable of replacing palladium.
Happy didn't know how to comfort Yinsen. After all, up until now, he had always been a loner himself. The more he thought about it, the more it brought him down as well.
And so, the two men sat in silence on the sofa, each lost in their own thoughts.
...
"It seems like everything will have fermented nicely by tomorrow," Alan remarked, satisfied as he reviewed the website's backend data, including traffic and comments.
Only then did he realize that Pikachu hadn't come over to snuggle with him tonight. Looking around, he noticed Pikachu standing on the balcony, staring blankly at the sky.
Curious, Alan closed his laptop and walked over. "Pikachu, what are you doing out here?"
Pikachu turned around, raising both little arms high. "Pika... Pika..."
Alan chuckled and crouched down to pick Pikachu up. "Alright, I've picked you up. Now what?"
Pikachu pointed towards the sky. "Pika... Pika... Pikachu..."
"You mean Gwen took you flying today, and it wasn't what you expected?"
"Pika!"
Pikachu nodded vigorously, indicating that not only was it different, but it was also quite scary!
Alan laughed heartily and then asked, "Would you like to try really flying in the sky?"
Pikachu's eyes lit up instantly. "Pika... Pika... Chu..."
"Alright, then I'll take you up there!"
"Pika..."
Alan waved his hand. With the growth of his psychic powers and physical abilities, he no longer needed a belt to summon the Emperor Armor.
"Emperor Armor..."
"Unite!"
In Pikachu's astonished gaze, a burst of golden light enveloped Alan, transforming into a suit of armor.
"Armor, unite!"
"Are you ready, Pikachu?"
"Pika... Pika..."
Pikachu had never seen anything this cool before and became extremely excited in Alan's arms.
"Then let's go!"
"Teleport!"
With a thought, Alan and Pikachu were suddenly in the sky.
Boom!
With a sonic boom, Alan soared into the air with Pikachu. Protected by Alan, Pikachu in his arms felt no wind pressure, only a gentle breeze.
"Pika... Pika..."
Pikachu was overjoyed. This was what flying should feel like!
...
Tony, now dressed in a suit, walked down to the first floor. The scene before him made him pause. He saw two grown men sitting on a sofa, both looking very dejected, as if someone owed them money.
"Hey, what are you two doing?"
Tony's voice snapped Happy out of his thoughts, and he quickly withdrew his hand from Yinsen's shoulder.
"Uh... we..."
"He's feeling down, so I was comforting him."
Tony gave the two a strange look. "Yinsen, is that true?"
"Yes."
Seeing Yinsen so downcast, Tony immediately understood that Yinsen had probably gotten bad news from the friend he went to see. But with Happy there, Tony didn't want to discuss it further.
Instead, he asked Yinsen, "We're heading to Washington. Are you coming?"
"If you don't come, you'll have to stay here and house-sit."
"This house is pretty big; it might get boring."
Yinsen composed himself and looked at Tony. "I'm not really good at house-sitting. Let's go together."
"Good!"
But now Happy looked troubled. "Tony, the car I'm driving only seats two."
"Is that so?"
"I remember I just gave you that car."
Happy nodded.
"Give me the keys."
Obediently, Happy handed the keys to Tony.
Tony took the keys. "I'll drive. You and Yinsen can pick a car from the garage."
Happy wanted to protest that the car was meant for him to drive, but since it was the boss's order, he had no choice but to comply.
"Come on, Yinsen. I know there's another good car down there."
Happy led Yinsen towards the basement garage, while Tony watched them go and glanced at the keys in his hand.
"Time to indulge a little more."
Tony headed to his car.
As Tony was about to start the car and speed off to Washington DC, a voice echoed from inside the house.
"Sir, the golden armor has appeared!"
Tony instantly perked up, leaping out of the car and sprinting toward the basement. "Jarvis, prep the suit!"
"Right away, sir!"
Back in the lab, Tony stepped onto the armor assembly platform, and with Jarvis's help, he began to don his new suit.
Meanwhile, at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters...
Nick Fury was still puzzled, staring at the footage of Howard Stark. "Howard, what did you leave behind?"
Just as he muttered in frustration, the door to his office suddenly burst open. The abrupt intrusion made Fury hurriedly turn off the video, looking as though he'd been caught watching something inappropriate.
That's certainly what Hill thought as she entered, apologetically saying, "Sorry, Director. Should I come back later?"
Fury was a little irritated, knowing full well that watching Howard's private recordings meant for Tony was unethical. "Didn't I tell you to knock before entering my office?"
Feeling guilty, Hill began to close the door, thinking that perhaps Fury's "personal business" was more important than what she had to report.
After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents knew that Fury had been single for far too long and wasn't exactly popular with women. Rumor had it that Fury was deeply in love with someone, though no one knew who.
The last person to make a joke about that rumor had been reassigned to the bottommost levels of the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier as a janitor and had never returned.
With his mood already ruined, Fury sighed, knowing the footage wouldn't provide any new insights anyway. "Alright, what is it?"
Hill then calmly said, "The golden armor has reappeared."
Fury blinked in surprise. "Show me!"
Hill tapped a few keys, and the large screen in Fury's office lit up, displaying Alan flying in the sky. As he played with Pikachu, Alan flew casually around New York City, which left Fury utterly confused.
"What is he doing?" Fury asked, baffled.
Hill shook her head, equally unsure.
At that moment, Tony, now suited up in his armor, shot into the sky.
Down below, Happy and Yinsen had just driven up from the underground garage and witnessed Tony taking off.
"Is he planning to fly to Washington in his Iron Man suit?" Happy asked Yinsen.
The two of them looked at Tony's luxury car, which still had the keys in the ignition, and then exchanged grins.
With a fancy car available, who'd want to drive an old one?
After all, Tony had flown off in his suit anyway.
"Jarvis, can you locate the golden armor?"
"Of course, sir. It's ninety kilometers east of your position."
"Jarvis, divert all power to flight."
"Sir, doing so will accelerate the symptoms of your poisoning."
Tony clenched his teeth. This might be his only chance. "It's fine. I know my limits. Now, hurry!"
With that, Tony's speed surged.
Up in the sky, Alan had just finished a lap with an exhilarated Pikachu in his arms. He glanced down at the excited little creature. "Pikachu, having fun?"
"Pika... Pika..."
"Alright, let's fly home now."
"Pika... Chu..."
Pikachu posed like Superman in Alan's arms. Just as Alan was about to head back, he felt something and turned around.
"Oh? Tony's here too..."
A moment later, Tony's silver and red armor appeared before Alan.
The two hovered in midair, facing each other. Tony, of course, had no idea that the person inside the golden armor was Alan.
Back at S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury watched the scene unfold in amazement.
Tony and the golden armor had finally met!
After the last party, Fury had asked Tony why his Iron Man suit resembled the golden armor so much. Tony had jokingly replied that it was just because the golden suit looked cool, and he wanted to imitate it.
Now, the scene playing out before them was like a fanboy meeting his idol!
Tony, excited to finally meet the golden armor, introduced himself eagerly. "Hey... I'm Iron Man."
Alan responded calmly, "Emperor."
...
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