New Sun and the Mark-3 Eclipse Edition

"I am Iron Man." Tony's confident face froze on the television screen.

Chen Tian clutched his stomach and burst into laughter, occasionally putting on Tony's pretentious voice. "I am Iron Man." He even shook his head dramatically as he said it.

Tony paid no attention to Chen Tian's laughter and instead looked immensely pleased with himself.

"What? Are you jealous of my brilliance?"

Tony smugly crossed one leg over the other, lifted his wineglass, and took a sip. In an exaggerated tone, he said, "Oh~ my dear Chen, ordinary mortals like you would never understand. When a genius, billionaire, philanthropist, and superhero says those words, the sheer charm of stunning the entire world~" He deliberately drew out the last word and flamboyantly tossed his hair.

Chen Tian made an exaggerated gagging motion. "Blech—Tony, do you know you look like a peacock in heat right now?" Mimicking Tony's tone, he said, "'I am Iron Man'? Good lord, that's even more embarrassing than the cringe lines at a comic convention!"

"Jealousy, naked jealousy!" Tony wagged a finger, his face full of infuriating smugness. "Admit it. You're just envious that I get to say such a cool line. Want me to teach you a few moves? I guarantee they'll be a hundred times cooler than your 'In the name of the moon, I'll punish you'~"

"Ha!" Chen Tian sprang to his feet, planted one foot on the coffee table, and struck a superhero landing pose. "Then should I say, 'In my father's name'? Or, 'This is justice in the name of the moon'?" He deliberately finished in an affectedly deep voice, then cracked up before he could hold it together.

Tony collapsed onto the sofa laughing, clutching his stomach. "Oh my god! You're even more of a chuuni than I imagined! JARVIS, record that. I want it played on loop at the Stark Industries Christmas party!"

"Recording complete, Sir," JARVIS replied calmly.

Chen Tian grabbed a cushion and hurled it at Tony. "Shut up, you show-off! That line of yours sounds exactly like some teenage boy practicing embarrassing fantasies in front of the bathroom mirror!"

Tony nimbly dodged the cushion, then struck a bodybuilder's pose instead. "But you can't deny it—the whole world is crazy about me~ while some sourpuss can only rage impotently here~"

"Pfft!" Chen Tian rolled his eyes. "If I hadn't stopped you, you almost said something as painfully embarrassing as, 'I am Iron Man, your king,' at the press conference, remember?"

Tony's eyes suddenly lit up. "Wait, that's good! JARVIS, write it down. I'll use it at the next press conference!"

"Nooooooo—" Chen Tian howled as he lunged at Tony's neck. The two immediately wrestled into a heap on the sofa, like a pair of childish grade schoolers.

2B stood quietly to one side, a trace of helplessness flashing through her mechanical eyes. "Master... do you require sedatives for yourself and Mr. Stark?"

The two lay sprawled on the sofa as their laughter gradually subsided. Chen Tian looked at the starry projection on the ceiling, the flickering points of light reminding him of the coming storm.

"Tony," Chen Tian suddenly said, his voice carrying rare seriousness, "have you ever considered that maybe you aren't the only special being in this world?"

Tony lazily swirled his wineglass. "What do you mean? Are you finally admitting I'm more handsome than you?"

"I mean," Chen Tian turned to look directly into Tony's eyes, "if one day, you met someone who could catch a tank shell with his bare hands, or a god who could summon lightning, or even... monsters from outer space, what would you do?"

Tony lightly tapped the rim of his glass with a finger. "Sounds like the plot of some B-movie you watched last night." Though his tone remained flippant, his gaze had turned serious.

"Just say I'm overthinking things," Chen Tian shrugged. "But if that day really came, would you be afraid?"

The laboratory fell into brief silence. JARVIS dimmed the lights at just the right moment, leaving only the blue glow of the Arc Reactor flickering between them.

Tony suddenly chuckled and drained his glass in one gulp. "Afraid?" He stood and walked toward the workbench. "I wasn't afraid even in that cave in Afghanistan."

Chen Tian watched Tony casually activate the holographic design interface, the blueprints for the Mark-3 rotating in the air. "I'm serious, Tony. Some enemies may be beyond anything you can imagine."

Tony's fingers paused. He turned around, and in the dim surroundings, his determined eyes shone in the blue light. "Listen, buddy. Real strength has never been in the armor." He tapped his temple. "It's in here."

He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and overlooked the city beneath the night sky. "If someone wants trouble..." Gold-and-red armor components suddenly descended from the ceiling and automatically assembled around him. "Then let them see what Iron Man can do."

The instant his faceplate shut, Chen Tian heard Tony's final words. "After all, I'm Tony Stark."

Chen Tian watched the gold-and-red figure smash through the glass and soar into the night sky, a smile unconsciously rising to his lips. He murmured, "Yeah. You're Iron Man."

Looking in the direction Tony had flown, Chen Tian took a deep breath. He turned and smiled at 2B. "Come on. Let's help Tony become the man who, with a mortal body, stands shoulder to shoulder with gods!"

A rare smile blossomed on 2B's delicate face, blue streams of data flashing rapidly in her eyes. "As you command, Master." She gave an elegant bow, her silver-white bob glowing softly beneath the laboratory lights.

"JARVIS!" Chen Tian strode toward the holographic console, his voice brimming with energy. "Pull up Tony's new energy research data. Initiate the highest-level encrypted project, codename—"

His fingers swept rapidly across the holographic keyboard, and a blazing sun symbol appeared in the air.

"The 'New Sun' Project."

S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, the Triskelion.

Natasha Romanoff and Phil Coulson stood before a holographic projection, reporting to Nick Fury. In the dim conference room, Fury's single eye looked especially sharp beneath the blue projected light.

"So this Chen Tian claims he's with Stark?" Fury's fingers lightly tapped the tabletop, producing dull thuds.

"Yes, sir." Natasha crossed her arms and leaned against the table. "His exact words were, 'Tony and I are in this together. We'll fight for this world.'"

Coulson added, "According to our investigation, Chen Tian's appearance was far too abrupt. We didn't even know Obadiah was plotting against Tony, yet he somehow obtained evidence of Obadiah's crimes in advance, as if he could see the future. And..." He paused. "When Obadiah attacked Tony on Malibu Beach last night, he wasn't worried at all."

Fury's brow furrowed tighter. He pulled up Chen Tian's file. In the photograph displayed on the holographic screen, Chen Tian was flashing a sunny smile at the camera.

"A Chinese man who appeared out of nowhere, immediately hit it off with Tony Stark, can swing a blade with the force of a missile explosion, and claims he wants to fight for the world?" Fury sneered. "That story is a little too perfect."

Natasha shrugged. "He was very confident. Even when Coulson and I had guns pointed at him, he wasn't afraid in the slightest. Especially..." She hesitated. "He seemed to know me already."

Fury's lone eye narrowed sharply. "What do you mean?"

"He called me 'Nat,' not 'Agent Romanoff.'" Natasha recalled. "And his tone was as familiar as if we were old friends."

The conference room fell into a brief silence. Fury stood and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at Washington's nightscape. His grim face reflected in the glass.

"Agent Romanoff." Fury spoke without turning around. "I want you to go back to Chen Tian's side."

Natasha raised a brow. "Continue surveillance?"

"Surveillance? That's too blunt. We should call it making friends..." Fury turned around. "I want you to get close to Chen Tian. Since he likes making friends so much..." A cold smile curled his lips. "Then give him a 'friend.'"

Coulson looked like he wanted to say something but held back. "Sir, if Chen Tian truly is on our side..."

"Then he should be even more willing to accept our 'friendship,' shouldn't he?" Fury interrupted. "This world is becoming more dangerous by the day, Coulson. We can't place our hopes in a stranger's goodwill."

Natasha nodded, her red hair gleaming darkly under the lights. "Understood. I'll arrange to join Stark Industries as soon as possible."

"Remember," Fury said in a low, dangerous voice, "I want to know his every move. Especially..." He pointed at Chen Tian's photo on the screen. "Why he knows so many things he shouldn't."

Tony piloted the Mark-2 armor through the night sky, the gold-and-red figure gleaming beneath the moonlight. He had just finished an "impromptu performance"—pulling off some stunt flying above Los Angeles, while teaching a few rich kids street racing late at night a lesson.

"JARVIS, open the garage," Tony said lazily, a smug smile playing beneath his faceplate.

"Welcome back, Sir," JARVIS said as the villa's roof slowly opened.

Tony landed lightly on the dedicated platform. The armor components automatically detached and lined up neatly to one side. He stretched, casually grabbed the whiskey from the bar, and took a large swig.

"Where's Chen? Don't tell me he's playing games again?" Tony looked around but didn't see the figure who always loved trading barbs with him.

"Mr. Chen is in your laboratory, Sir," JARVIS answered. "He has been there for seven hours and twenty-three minutes."

Tony nearly choked on his drink. "What? Chen Tian? In my laboratory?" He put down his glass, disbelief written all over his face. "Are you sure 2B isn't the one doing experiments while Chen Tian naps beside her?"

"Confirmed, Sir. Mr. Chen has proposed several improvements regarding the Arc Reactor."

Tony raised a brow and quickly headed toward the laboratory. Through the glass door, he saw 2B busily working at the holographic console, all kinds of complex molecular diagrams rotating in the air. Meanwhile, Chen Tian lounged lazily on the nearby sofa, holding a tablet and swiping it every now and then.

"JARVIS, scan my retinas." Tony rubbed his eyes. "Did I drink too much? Am I hallucinating?"

"Your vision is perfectly normal, Sir."

Tony pushed open the door and cleared his throat theatrically. "Ahem, did I come to the wrong place? When did this become a leisure café?"

Chen Tian did not even look up. "Quiet. I'm thinking."

"Thinking?" Tony walked over to 2B and looked at the new molecular structure being simulated on-screen. "What is this?"

2B stopped working. "Master suggested that we combine the new molecular structure left behind by Mr. Howard with energy technology from my world, to develop a new form of clean energy with self-repair capabilities."

Tony looked at Chen Tian in surprise. "You? Giving suggestions?"

Chen Tian finally looked up, coughed a few times, then pointed toward a model Pepper had specially brought back for him from Stark Industries.

The model was the terrain model of the Stark Industries Expo once overseen by Tony's father, Howard Stark.

Chen Tian put on an inscrutable expression and pushed up glasses that did not exist.

"I happened to see this model. You know, my instincts have always been sharp. I had a feeling something was off, so I asked Pepper to bring it back. Then, guess what happened."

Chen Tian clapped his hands. "I copied the model into a 3D virtual image, removed the roads, all the landscaping, the shrubs and trees, every parking lot and entrance. The more I looked at it, the stranger it felt. Then 2B pointed out that if the large globe sculpture at the Stark Industries Expo was treated as the atomic nucleus, and the protons and seeds were marked as wireframe models..."

Chen Tian snapped his fingers, and all the laboratory lights went out. He abruptly spread his hands wide.

Suddenly, countless points of starlight formed circular structures around Tony and Chen Tian.

Tony stood at the center of the ring of stars, those flickering blue lights reflected in his pupils. His fingers trembled slightly, wanting to touch them yet afraid to, as though everything might vanish like a bubble.

"This... this is impossible..." Tony's voice was so hoarse it barely sounded like his own. He slowly turned, watching the precisely arranged atomic structures rotate through the air. "My father's design... was hiding..."

Chen Tian stood before the holographic control console, a faint smile on his lips. "Your father saw farther than anyone, Tony. He just... didn't get the chance to tell you."

The laboratory lights came back on, but the atomic structures still floated in the air. Like a sleepwalker, Tony approached one molecular model, his fingertips lightly tracing its outline.

"A perfect replacement for palladium..." Tony muttered. "More stable, more powerful, and..." His eyes suddenly brightened. "It has no toxic side effects at all!"

2B stood quietly to one side, her silver hair glimmering amid the starlike blue light. "According to calculations, the energy output of this new element is 12.7 times that of the current Arc Reactor, Mr. Stark."

Tony abruptly turned toward Chen Tian. "How did you find this? I've studied my father's materials for twenty years and never..."

"You know," Chen Tian shrugged, "a mysterious method of observation from an ancient Eastern nation." He walked toward the Expo model. "I figured your father didn't seem like the kind of jerk who would leave you nothing at all~ I happened to be bored, so I looked into your father. Tony, your father left the future to you. It just needed a... different perspective."

Tony suddenly burst into laughter, his laugh filled with indescribable emotion. "JARVIS! Start the Mark-3 modification plan immediately! We're redesigning the entire energy core!"

Tony was as excited as a child receiving a new toy. Just as he was about to rush to the workbench, Chen Tian grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait, genius," Chen Tian said with a mysterious smile. "Don't rush to tear apart your toy." He clapped again, and the starlight surrounding them instantly vanished. In its place, a dazzling blue sun slowly rose at the center of the laboratory.

Tony's pupils contracted sharply, the blue light of the Arc Reactor illuminating his stunned face. "This... this is..."

"Your father's new element, combined with the mechanical life-form energy technology from 2B's world," Chen Tian softly explained. He gently plucked the ball of blue energy from the air and handed it to Tony. "I call it the 'New Sun—Eternity Core.'"

2B stepped forward, her silver hair swaying slightly. "According to calculations, its energy output is 387 times that of your current Arc Reactor, Mr. Stark."

Tony's fingers trembled slightly as he turned to Chen Tian. "Are you sure this isn't alien technology? Or... magic?"

Chen Tian burst out laughing. "Come on, Tony. You're a scientist. This is entirely based on your father's research and technology from 2B's world." He paused. "We just... optimized it a little. And—"

Chen Tian shouted into the air, "JARVIS! Show the genius Tony everything we designed today!"

JARVIS's voice immediately sounded. "As you wish, Mr. Chen."

The laboratory lights dimmed again, and the holographic projection system activated. A blue beam shone down from the ceiling, gradually constructing an entirely new armor model in midair. The armor retained Iron Man's signature gold-and-red color scheme, but its lines were sleeker and brimming with futuristic technology.

Tony's eyes widened. "This... this is..."

Chen Tian walked before the projection and tapped it lightly. The armor's individual components began to separate for display. "It combines your father's new-element energy core with some mechanical life-form technology from 2B's world."

The chest plate opened, revealing a circular core larger than a traditional Arc Reactor. It emitted a blue light more intense than any energy source Tony had ever seen.

"The energy core's output has increased by 387 times," 2B added from the side. "It also incorporates self-repairing nanotechnology."

Like a child seeing a new toy, Tony circled the holographic projection. "This propulsion system... this energy distribution network..." He suddenly stopped and pointed to a special device on the armor's back. "What's this?"

Chen Tian gave a mysterious smile. "We call it Photon Wings." He snapped his fingers, and two pairs of blue energy wings abruptly unfurled from the armor's back, shining like an angel's wings.

"A plasma field built from the new element's excess energy," Chen Tian explained. "It can reach Mach 8 within the atmosphere, protect you from the pressure caused by excessive speed, and even..." He paused. "Theoretically support short-term spaceflight."

Tony's jaw nearly dropped. "You're telling me this armor can..."

"Fly out of Earth? That's right." Chen Tian nodded. "Of course, I haven't tested any of this. But..."

2B continued, "According to simulations, this armor can withstand the heat and pressure of atmospheric reentry."

Tony suddenly rushed to the workbench. "JARVIS! Begin manufacturing the prototype immediately! Move every available resource!"

"Mr. Chen exercised the authority you granted him to mobilize resources this afternoon. Resources are currently being transferred, Sir," JARVIS replied. "The basic framework is estimated to require seventy-two hours."

Chen Tian walked to Tony's side. "Don't rush, genius. This armor has more surprises." He pulled up another interface. "Look at this defense system."

In the holographic image, the armor's surface was suddenly covered by a flowing blue energy membrane.

"An energy shield," Chen Tian explained. "It can withstand a direct hit from an anti-tank missile. And..." He looked toward 2B.

2B nodded in understanding. "Combined with mechanical life-form technology, the shield system can automatically draw energy from the core to repair itself when damaged."

Tony suddenly grabbed Chen Tian's shoulders. "Man, where do you even get these ideas?"

Chen Tian shook off Tony's hands, hooked an arm around his neck, and laughed heartily. "I told you I'd help you make an even flashier Mark armor. Hahaha! Oh, right—you still need to name this armor..."

Tony slowly released Chen Tian's shoulder, his gaze returning to the holographic projection of the armor floating in the air.

The laboratory lights cast deep shadows across his sharply defined face. His expression shifted from delight to focus, finally settling on the energy core in the armor's chest.

"Mark-3 Eclipse Edition."

Chen Tian stood beside Tony, watching the new suit with him. Behind the armor, the Photon Wings erupted with blue flames.