"Forty-six!"
"Ah!"
"Forty-seven!"
"Oh!"
In the basement on the lowest level of the villa, Tony Stark sat alone at a table, using an injection gun to jab his arm again and again.
"Forty-eight!"
"Ow!"
After gritting his teeth and delivering the final injection near the end of his arm, Tony Stark set down the injection gun and used the gauze clenched between his teeth to wipe away the beads of blood seeping from his arm.
"Micro-sensor implantation complete!"
As he wiped the blood from his arm, Tony Stark spoke, impatience already appearing on his face.
Just then, J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice rang through the room.
"Sir, please give me a few hours to calibrate."
"No need!"
Tony Stark could no longer wait to test his new suit. Calibration could be done later.
"As you wish, sir."
J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice sounded again.
"I have also prepared a safety manual for you."
"I don't need that!"
Tony Stark could not even wait for the sensors to be calibrated, so how could he possibly be in the mood to read some safety manual? True to his usual style, he was going straight in!
"All right, let's begin!"
Tossing the bloodstained gauze onto the table, Tony Stark stood and strode toward a circular platform in the center of the room.
"Sir, you have not rested for seventy-two hours."
J.A.R.V.I.S. tried to persuade Tony Stark, but he ignored it outright.
Standing on the platform, Tony Stark turned to look at the row of early Iron Man suits displayed in a glass case along one wall—Mark I, Mark II, and several others. In the solemn manner of a product launch speech, he spoke.
"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. Welcome to the delivery room! I am delighted to announce that your powerful little brother is about to be born!"
After