At the Seaside Villa, JARVIS's voice rang out the moment Tony stepped through the door.
"Welcome back, sir."
A smile immediately spread across Tony's face at the familiar voice he hadn't heard in so long.
"Long time no see, JARVIS. Where's Loki?"
After returning to Blue Planet, Tony had parted ways with Loki right away, eager to see Potts.
"Sir, Mr. Loki is in the Underground Laboratory. He appears to have made new progress in his research."
"Oh?"
A curious look crossed Tony's face. He turned and headed straight for the Underground Laboratory.
Soon, Tony found Loki in the Laboratory, wearing a white lab coat.
He stood before a pile of machinery, studying it intently, looking every bit the scientist.
Impressive. He'd barely gotten back, and he was already immersed in his research.
Seeing him like that, Tony greeted him with a smile. "JARVIS said you've made some new progress. I came to take a look."
At the sound of his voice, Loki glanced at Tony, then continued working. "I'd already made some headway before we left. I'm just picking up where I left off."
"Tell me more, and keep it simple," Tony said curiously.
Although he knew nothing about scientific research, that didn't stop him from taking an interest.
Loki also knew Tony had no understanding of this, so he kept his explanation as simple as possible and avoided technical jargon. "It's quite simple, really. I had JARVIS assist me with some research and discovered that the hardest part of creating mechanical life isn't building the body. It's bringing a mind and will into existence."
"So I used the Mind Stone to imbue machines with a mind, then used certain methods to make them develop a will of their own. I'm almost there now. Once one develops self-awareness, it