The Birth of Mark II
After returning, Xia Yu spent three whole days lying in bed. During that time, he focused on getting his left hand working again. He really couldn't stand having other people deal with his shit, piss, and farts anymore. Tony Stark made him a wheelchair, so at least he could take care of himself now. Xia Yu had been staying at Tony's house since they returned. He told Tony everything that had happened after they separated, except for Natasha and the system. He even told Tony about the Space Ring, though he said it was a family heirloom.
Tony eagerly took the ring to study it, but naturally, he found nothing. After all, it was an item from the system. Tony Stark tried countless methods to examine it, but he couldn't detect any energy fluctuations or analyze its material. It was a great blow to Tony, but he soon buried himself in designing his Iron Man Armor.
"Are you sure you don't need me to design a suit of armor for you too, Xia? Look, I even have a reactor ready for you," Tony said, pointing at the Heart of Xia on the table.
"Finish your own suit first. This is your path; I have my own way of fighting. I'll leave the Heart of Xia with you for now. It's safe here, and we'd be in big trouble if it got lost," Xia Yu said. If events followed the course of the story, the Heart of Xia could save Tony's life.
Tony curled his lip. "Don't come asking me for one once I've made it. Oh, right, come to the press conference with me tomorrow. I wanted to hold it as soon as we got back, but your situation delayed it until now. The outside world thinks I'm being treated in a hospital."
Xia Yu shook his head and declined. "What would I be going along for in a wheelchair? I'm not going."
Tony asked Xia Yu, "Do you really support me shutting down Stark Industries' weapons division?"
"Why wouldn't I? You're choosing to do the right thing, Tony. I'm happy you've found your own path," Xia Yu said.
Tony Stark was touched. "Thank you, Xia. Even Pepper said I was rushing things and told me to take it slowly. You're the only one giving me your full support."
Xia Yu shrugged. "When you went missing, Stark Industries' stock plummeted, and I spent everything I had buying shares in your company. I'll sell them all in a bit, then buy back in at the bottom after your press conference. My net worth has multiplied several times over this time. Thanks, Tony."
Tony Stark: "..."
Tony Stark's press conference caused a sensation around the world, just as expected. The world's largest arms company had suddenly stopped selling weapons, and everyone thought the news was absurd. Some television programs even openly made jokes about it, saying that if Tony Stark's company stopped selling weapons, it wouldn't be long before it went bankrupt. Regardless of what the outside world said, Tony stayed holed up at home, focused on developing the Mark II armor.
"JARVIS, you're in charge of the calculations. Dum-E, you put me out if an experiment fails. Xia, you're in charge of... never mind, just sit there in your wheelchair." Wearing only the armor on his arms and feet, Tony Stark began the initial test.
"Power at ten percent. Start." As soon as Tony spoke, a tremendous burst of power came from his feet, flipping Tony Stark over and sending his head into the wall.
"Pshhh!" The intelligent mechanical arm called Dum-E hurried over and sprayed Tony, who wasn't even on fire, with fire suppressant.
"Hahahahaha! Tony, did you put on a show just for me because you were afraid I'd get bored? I should've recorded that. Damn it, JARVIS, would you mind sending a copy to my computer later?" Xia Yu mercilessly laughed at Tony. He had seen this scene in the movie before, but it really was even funnier in person.
Jokes aside, it was only after seeing it firsthand that Xia Yu understood why Iron Man was so powerful in the movies. Tony Stark's practical skills and creativity were simply extraordinary. Basically, as long as he could conceive of something, there was nothing he couldn't make.
Watching Tony Stark perfect his armor bit by bit in the lab was a strange and wonderful feeling. It felt like witnessing history: the official beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Xia Yu began looking forward to the Avengers' first battle together. If nothing unexpected happened, he would definitely be one of them too. The thought really got his blood pumping.
Xia Yu stayed at Tony Stark's house until he no longer needed the wheelchair. As if to let Xia Yu witness Iron Man's birth in its entirety, Tony finally succeeded on the day Xia Yu got out of the wheelchair. Watching Tony Stark put on the as-yet-unpainted Mark II piece by piece with the help of the machinery, Xia Yu felt a little regret. No man could resist the allure of a suit like that.
Tony flew out with a whoosh right in front of Xia Yu and still hadn't returned after more than ten minutes. Xia Yu was planning to go home that day, but he realized he didn't have transportation. So he began looking through Tony's sports cars in the garage, intending to pick one to drive away. After looking them over, he settled on a 1967 Shelby Cobra, a classic model. He had to admit that many vintage cars really did look good. In any case, Xia Yu liked it, so this was the one. He patted the hood in satisfaction and prepared to get in and leave.
"Boom!"
Fortunately, Xia Yu pulled his foot back in time. Tony Stark had fallen straight down from above in his armor, crushing the Shelby Cobra Xia Yu had picked out. Dum-E hurried over and gave him another furious spray of fire suppressant. Xia Yu walked carefully over to Tony and looked up at the hole above. Good lord, he'd smashed through two floors.
"Tony." Xia Yu nudged Iron Man with his foot as he lay on the ground. "I think that move of yours is more destructive than your weapons system."
Tony stood up helplessly, took off his armor, and said to Xia Yu, "The material is too heavy. I'm thinking of replacing the shell with the Gold-Titanium Alloy used in the Seraphim Combat Satellite. What do you think?"
With a swish, Xia Yu pulled the Heaven Reliant Sword from his ring and pointed it at Tony. "What do you think of my sword?"
"Forget I asked, miracle doctor. JARVIS, order the material. We still need to pick a color," Tony Stark said.
"I think gold would be nice. It symbolizes Mr. Stark's wealth. What do you think, Mr. Xia?" JARVIS asked. Xia Yu didn't want to ruin Iron Man's classic colors because of himself, so he said casually, "Red and gold. Flashy and rich, which suits Tony's image."
"Although I don't really like what you said, I like this color scheme for some reason," Tony said, looking at the design JARVIS had completed on the computer in an instant.
Just then, the TV was showing a charity gala for a foundation Stark had funded for firefighters' families. Tony suddenly became interested and turned to Xia Yu. "There's a gala I sponsored tonight. Come have a drink with me. Afterward, I might consider taking you home."
"I don't have an invitation, boss!" Xia Yu joked.
"JARVIS, did we receive an invitation?" Tony asked.
"We received no invitation by any means, sir," JARVIS replied.
"See? I don't have an invitation either. Let's go, my friend," Tony said, standing up.
Since they were going to a gala, they both changed into more formal clothes. This was the first time Tony had seen Xia Yu in a formal suit. At 183 centimeters, he wasn't short even among Europeans and Americans. His tall, slender figure, combined with Xia Yu's face and increasingly heroic-looking sword brows, left even the habitually sharp-tongued Tony Stark at a loss for words.
Tony merely lowered his head and muttered, "Damn it, aren't Huaxia people supposed to be shorter?"
Xia Yu laughed. "You should thank me. You've grown at least three centimeters since you started practicing. That's much better already."
It was Xia Yu's first time attending an event like this. As soon as they got out of the car, Tony Stark naturally became the reporters' target. Xia Yu's bearing and appearance, along with the fact that he had arrived with Tony Stark, also prompted the reporters at the entrance to take pictures of him. Some even looked at Xia Yu's face and prepared to write tomorrow's headline about Tony Stark bringing a boy toy to the gala.