Before the elevator even started, Vegapunk's legs seemed to take root, refusing to budge another inch.
His eyes stared straight ahead.
At the center of the Eclipse Armory, the enormous Arc Reactor was running at a steady rate.
Its cold blue glow illuminated more than half the workshop.
Twelve sets of massive superconducting coils surrounded the reactor. There were no exhaust pipes, and not even a hint of grating mechanical noise.
The metal case in Vegapunk's hand nearly slipped from his grasp.
He stumbled forward several steps and pressed himself against the safety mesh surrounding the reactor.
"This is impossible..."
Vegapunk muttered to himself, tears welling in his eyes.
"No heavy pollution, no enormous cooling towers, and even heat loss is kept below three-tenths of a percent."
"Cold nuclear fusion... they've actually achieved lossless output!"
He reached out a trembling hand, wanting to touch the instrument panel behind the mesh.
"Keep your dirty hands off my baby, old man."
Tony casually removed his helmet and held it against his hip.
He strode over, giving the excited Vegapunk a sidelong look.
"That's the second-generation Arc Reactor powering this entire underground base."
"If you break any of its components, selling that enormous head of yours wouldn't cover the bill."
Vegapunk whipped around, pointing at the reactor as he shouted.
"Do you have any idea what this means?"
"This is unlimited energy!"
"With this, we could completely eliminate the Mother Flame's flaws and recreate the Ancient Kingdom's energy grid!"
Tony scoffed, looking utterly unimpressed.
"Stop acting like some country bumpkin who's just arrived in the city."
"It's just a toy I threw together a few years ago when I was bored."
As he spoke, Tony reached out and tapped the case of research materials in Vegapunk's arms without a shred of courtesy.
"Back