Chang Wei Manufacturing, Tony Stark Supervision, Copyright Reserved, Infringement Will Be Prosecuted!
"File established. Encryption level: Omega, sir."
J.A.R.V.I.S. responded as data streams rapidly scrolled and encrypted across Tony's HUD. Waterfall-like torrents of data surged wildly, every line wrapped in layers upon layers of encryption runes, compressed, sealed away, and finally funneled into an isolated partition that flashed with a dangerous red light.
This was Stark Industries' highest-level Digital Fortress. Its secrecy classification far exceeded S.H.I.E.L.D.'s deepest database, accessible only to Tony himself and J.A.R.V.I.S.'s core permissions.
"Thanks, Chang Wei."
Tony's voice rang out, low and hoarse, carrying a rare sincerity and weight stripped of all mockery and cynicism.
Every word of that thanks weighed a thousand pounds, bearing the relief of surviving disaster and complicated gratitude toward the intervention of power beyond all convention.
It went beyond their countless tit-for-tat arguments, their teasing attempts to undermine each other, and even the simple acknowledgments they had exchanged after fighting side by side in the past.
This time, without Chang Wei's incredible Gravity Singularity Control and the energy transfer of the Non-standard Model forcibly freezing and stabilizing the runaway evolutionary singularity, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Tony Stark might have survived, but the price could have been the entire ocean—or even more.
"You're welcome, Tin Can. Next time, don't try to tough it out alone. Call me first."
Chang Wei chuckled. "Also, what are we doing with that 'Big Ice Block'? Want me to courier it to the Kuiper Belt, or stuff it into a black hole like a mailbox? Or... leave it to those men in suits at S.H.I.E.L.D. as their Treasure of the Bureau? I bet Fury's expression would be spectacular."
Tony looked at the Giant Cocoon glowing an icy blue, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes. "No. It stays here. J.A.R.V.I.S., activate the highest-level monitoring and lockdown