A Stir at the Competition

Morning light streamed through the glass dome of Tony's home, dancing across the metal instruments in the laboratory.

Li Stark stared at the solar panel model repeatedly flashing error messages before him. Intelligent Particles gathered into irritated wave patterns across the workbench. Only three days remained until the science competition, yet the "self-regulating ecosystem" project he and Wanda had collaborated on still could not solve the problem of oxygen circulation. The green algae samples languished in their petri dishes as if silently mocking his helplessness.

"Still distracted by that redheaded girl?" A familiar, cool female voice came from behind him. Helen Cho leaned against the laboratory doorframe, the hem of her lab coat swaying gently as she walked. Her gaze swept over the faint dark circles beneath Li's eyes, while her fingers unconsciously rubbed the Stark Industries emblem on her cuff. "Tony asked me to take a look. He said that miniature energy-storage device you've been tuning lately might bring a surprise to the competition." Her eyes passed over the cluttered lab bench, where the blue reagent left in a beaker refracted an eerie light in the sun, carrying a trace of barely perceptible concern.

Li's fingers paused over the scorching circuit board, and the Intelligent Particles instantly condensed into a protective layer. He forced a weary smile and turned Ben's lab notebook face-down on the table. "Is Dr. Cho teasing me? At this rate, forget surprises—it'll be a miracle if we manage to submit it properly." He deliberately gestured with his chin at the drooping greenery in the incubator. "These little guys are harder to deal with than Hydra agents."

Helen Cho adjusted her rimless glasses, her gaze behind the lenses sharp as an eagle's. She slowly approached the workbench, her fingertips hovering above the copy of Slavic Traditional Agricultural Wisdom Wanda had left behind. A dried rose petal tucked between its yellowed pages trembled softly. "Using the principles of ancient irrigation systems to design a modern water cycle? That's a very interesting angle." She suddenly turned her head, the cold reflection on her lenses making Li's heart skip. "You little brat, don't try to brush me off with the sort of lines that fool judges. There's something unusual hidden in that girl Wanda's blueprints."

Li's pupils narrowed slightly, and Intelligent Particles silently formed the shape of a shield in his palm. Yet Helen Cho seemed not to notice his wariness. She pulled a miniature sensor from her lab-coat pocket, its blue metallic glow illuminating her thoughtful face. "This is the latest environmental monitoring chip. In theory, it can improve your circulation system's efficiency by thirty percent." She paused, then gently placed the chip in Li's hand. Its cold touch mingled with the faint scent of disinfectant on her. "But in exchange, you need to tell me whether those fluctuating curves hidden among the formulas could really have been derived by a high school student."

The lab's air conditioner suddenly began to hum, and his Adam's apple bobbed. He remembered Wanda revising the blueprints beneath the moonlight the night before, scarlet light leaking from the tips of her hair and staining mysterious totems across the draft paper. "Science, Ben, is supposed to break boundaries, isn't it?" He shrugged with feigned ease and tucked the chip into his toolbox. "Maybe Wanda's simply a genius, like how Uncle Tony built the Arc Reactor while tinkering in his garage."

Helen Cho gave him a meaningful smile. Her eyes swept over the wrist Li had deliberately concealed—the activation device for his Nanotech Armor was hidden there. "Let's hope so." As she turned, her lab coat stirred up a gust that made the corners of Wanda's blueprints rustle. "But remember, Stark, some 'innovations' that go beyond understanding may bring more than trophies." She glanced back at Ben's copy of Slavic Traditional Agricultural Wisdom, where the image of the Hanged Man tarot card tucked between the pages was faintly visible. "Friday at eight p.m., Stark Tower's laboratory. Bring your 'genius partner' with you. There are some questions I want to ask her face-to-face."

Li watched her leave, a thin sheen of cold sweat forming at the back of his neck. Four hours remained until the competition. At that moment, the laboratory door burst open, and Gwen rushed in carrying a stack of lab reports, her ponytail sweeping out a graceful arc as she skidded to a stop.

Her gaze swept over Helen Cho, and a flicker of vigilance flashed through her azure eyes. "Who is this?"

"Dr. Helen Cho, chief bioengineering scientist at Stark Industries." Helen Cho adjusted her rimless glasses, her gaze falling upon the open copy of Slavic Traditional Agricultural Wisdom in Gwen's hands. Her fingers unconsciously stroked the book's spine. "Using the principles of ancient irrigation systems to design a modern water cycle? That's a very interesting angle." Her voice held a hint of surprise; she clearly had not expected high school students to come up with such an idea.

Wanda entered the laboratory just then, dew still clinging to the ends of her hair. She politely nodded to Helen Cho, but when their eyes met under Helen's scrutiny, the runes beneath Wanda's cuffs grew faintly hot. "Dr. Cho, do you study agriculture as well?" Wanda smiled as she pushed Ben's lab notebook toward Helen Cho. "We're trying to use ancient concepts of ecological balance to solve modern energy problems." Her smile was sweet, but her eyes remained alert, like a fawn ready to flee at any moment.

Helen Cho raised an eyebrow, and Intelligent Particles automatically flipped Ben's lab notebook open to the blueprint page. Her pupils contracted—the seemingly crude hand-drawn plans actually contained fluid dynamics calculations comparable to those of Stark Industries. "Perhaps I can help." She pulled a miniature sensor from her lab-coat pocket. "This is the latest environmental monitoring chip." There was a little more appreciation in her voice.

Gwen slammed the lab reports onto the table, making the paper shake the beakers with a hum. "Science competitions rely on rigorous data, not farming proverbs!" She turned toward Li, her tone softening. "The intelligent flood-control system our team has been developing has already passed preliminary testing." Her eyes were full of expectation, hoping Li would change his mind.

"But the judges emphasized interdisciplinary innovation." Li rubbed his temples as Intelligent Particles condensed into a droplet shape in his palm. "Wanda's ecological circulation model happens to solve the problem of resource regeneration after a disaster." His voice was weary but firm.

The air in the laboratory abruptly heated up. Wanda's fingertips brushed across the table, and a tipped ink bottle suddenly floated into the air, the ink flowing back into it. Gwen grabbed a 3D printing pen and rapidly drew a transparent barrier, cutting off the floating ink bottle. Helen Cho watched the silent clash with great interest. On the sensor screen in her hand, two completely different energy fields were colliding violently.

On the day of the competition, the dome of Madison Square Garden was packed with top students from every school. When the judges announced the on-site challenge—"rebuilding a city's energy infrastructure after a simulated earthquake"—Gwen clutched Li's arm. "They're targeting us on purpose!" Her voice was filled with anger and unease.

"Stay calm." Li activated the Nanotech Armor core in his watch and caught sight of Wanda quietly gripping an ordinary seed in her palm. Helen Cho had appeared behind the contestants' seats at some point and slipped a USB drive into Li's hand. "An emergency power-supply plan, but the real key..." She looked at Wanda. "...is elsewhere." There was a trace of worry in her eyes, as though she sensed what was coming.

Gwen took the lead in activating the modified intelligent flood-control device, its mechanical arms swiftly constructing a temporary energy-storage station. But when she tried to connect the solar panels, the equipment suddenly short-circuited and began smoking. "Impossible! We rehearsed this hundreds of times!" Gwen's voice trembled on the edge of tears, and her eyes instantly reddened.

"Catch!" Wanda suddenly threw the seed glowing with scarlet light into the experiment chamber. In an instant, vines burst from the soil and grew around the station, their leaves converting the faint light into a continuous stream of electricity. Gwen stood frozen, watching cold sweat bead on Wanda's forehead as she still forced herself to sustain the magic.

"This is..." Gwen reached toward the glowing vines, but Li grabbed her back.

"Don't touch it! Wanda is overextending herself!" Li's mechanical armor automatically analyzed the abnormal data. "She altered the plants' metabolic rate, but if this continues..." His voice was filled with urgency.

Before he could finish, Wanda staggered and dropped to her knees. Gwen rushed over with Ben-like instinct to support her, but the moment she touched Wanda, she saw the faintly visible runes beneath Wanda's cuff. "Who exactly are you?" Gwen's voice trembled, her eyes full of confusion and wariness.

"Just like you... someone who wants to win." Wanda gave a weak smile. "In my own way." Her smile was pale but resolute.

At that moment, the device in the neighboring competition zone suddenly went out of control, and the energy wave it released surged toward their experiment chamber. At the critical moment, Gwen grabbed her 3D printing pen and drew a protective shield, while Wanda gathered the last of her strength and used magic to alter the energy's trajectory. The instant the two forces collided, the metallic fruit inside the experiment chamber split open with a crack, releasing a steady electrical current.

At the award ceremony, when the judges announced that the Midtown High School United Team had won the championship, Gwen tightly held Wanda's hand. "Next time... I'll protect you." She lowered her voice. "But first, you need to explain what those glowing vines were all about." The doubt in her eyes was gone, replaced by curiosity and trust.

Wanda blinked mischievously. "A secret exchange? I'll tell you about magic, and you teach me how to tune a 3D printer?" Her smile returned to its usual brightness.

At dusk, the three of them walked out of the venue side by side. Helen Cho watched their backs and quickly typed on her phone: "The anomalous energy source has been confirmed, but an even more valuable gain was made—a bond of trust." The recipient field displayed: "Tony Stark."