Stark Expo

Ever since the Harlem incident, Tony Stark had been like a wound-up madman.

He practically tortured himself by staying in the underground workshop around the clock. Caffeine and high-calorie pizza had become his staples, while the workshop was perpetually filled with the burnt smell of welded metal and a faint tang of ozone.

More than once, Pepper had tried to drag him out of that steel cave and make him get some sun, or at least sleep through an entire night. But every time, all she saw was Tony with two enormous dark circles under his eyes and a manic gleam in them.

"I'm fine, Pepper. Never better!" he said without looking back as he calibrated the miniature missile launcher on Mark 4's arm. "I just... found some new inspiration."

Pepper looked at the brand-new suit behind him and sighed helplessly.

Mark 4.

It was sleeker and more elegant than any previous generation. Its entire body was made from a lighter, stronger titanium alloy, and its signature red-and-gold paint scheme was brighter than ever. Most importantly, it was powered by a new Triangular Arc Reactor, with energy output more than three times that of Mark 3.

During a secret late-night test flight, Tony had easily broken Mach 3 in it and had even made a brief cruise through low Earth orbit.

That sensation—that unmatched speed and power—had utterly consumed him.

Yet the shock Chu Hang's punch had given him when he saw it in the footage still remained buried in his heart like a thorn.

He could fly higher and faster, but he still lacked that pure physical power capable of leveling an entire city block.

"Not enough... still not enough..." he muttered, staring at the streams of data flickering across the holographic display.

A few days later, during a