Tony drove the car into the underground garage, turned off the engine, and rested in the driver's seat for a while.
The voice in my head spoke first, languidly. "Finally here. Your crappy car's suspension is really terrible, you can't even afford to modify it yourself?"
"Stop talking nonsense."
Tony opened the car door, his feet sinking into the cold concrete, and pressed his earpiece. " JARVIS, contact Lynn and have him come to my office."
"Yes, Mr. Stark."
When Lynn arrived, she was holding a half-full cup of coffee. Leaning against the office doorframe, she smiled and said, "You're back? I thought you'd be staying in Tennessee a few more days, exchanging engine tips with that kid."
Tony raised his eyes. "You even sensed this?"
"Ever since the Mind Stone appeared, I've been using wide-range perception to constantly sense the anomalies in the universe."
Lynn walked in, placed the coffee on the desk, and pulled up a chair to sit down. "You're just a side thing. After all, the energy fluctuations of that person in your head are quite significant." He paused, tapping the table with his fingertips. "So, you called me in such a hurry, it wasn't just to report on your travel experiences, was it?"
Tony didn't beat around the bush and told Lynn his thoughts directly.
"The matter of the Mind Stone is currently facing an inexplicable crisis."
In case I'm ever unable to take action, or... worse, someone has to step up and lead the way.
I had pinned my hopes on Peter, but as you know, that kid's personality is really hard to judge. So I went to find Harley.
Lynn raised an eyebrow, his gaze drifting to the window, and muttered softly, "That's good. Giving it to Harley is better than giving it to a black girl to film a sci-fi action movie."
Tony didn't hear him clearly. "What did you say?"
"Nothing."
Lynn immediately turned her face back, her expression serious, "You've seen the child? What did you think of him? Are you satisfied?"
Tony's tone softened. "Pretty good. Calm and composed, knows when to do what, and knows how to handle situations. We can cultivate other aspects gradually."
Lynn nodded and stood up. "Then do as you wish. What do you need me for? You've already confirmed it yourself, so it can't be wrong. Just let me know if you need any help."
He picked up his coffee and walked out, but paused at the door and added without turning back, "Don't be too anxious. Even if you can't solve it, you still have me, right? If I can't either, at least we can keep each other company."
The door closed. Tony sat in the chair for a while without moving.
He knew Lynn was reliable. But Lynn had Lynn own responsibilities.
That evening, Tony called Harley.
Harley's voice was a little hoarse and slightly breathless, "Hello?"
"I am Tony Stark."
There was an instant silence on the other end. A loud clatter sounded, and it was unclear what had fallen. Three seconds later, Harley's slightly trembling voice came through. " Mr. Stark?"
"It's me."
Tony leaned back in his desk, tapping his fingertips on the surface. "To make a long story short, I have a position I'd like to ask if you'd be interested in learning more about it."
Harley was silent again, so long that Tony thought the signal had been lost, before he heard the boy's low voice ask, "What's your location?"
" Iron Man's sidekick."
There was complete silence on the other end of the phone.
Almost half a minute later, Harley's voice came through again, sounding somewhat bewildered. "Why me? There are so many people in SSC, many who are better than me and more experienced."
"They're not suitable. Fieldwork, research, and logistics are all handled by different people. This position needs to be created separately."
He paused. " Harley, I want you to know me, be me, and then surpass me."
The office was quiet, with only the faint sound of traffic in the distance outside the window.
Tony added, his tone softening slightly, "There's something I need to apologize for first. I had JARVIS look into your background and observe you for a while."
There was a long silence on Harley's end, so long that Tony thought he was going to refuse, before the boy's voice rang out, a little hoarse but very firm. "I'm willing. But... I still want to go to school."
Tony immediately laughed.
"I didn't say you had to take a leave of absence. I'll arrange your studies; you'll transfer to a public high school in New York. You don't need to worry about your enrollment, tuition, or accommodation. You can attend classes normally during the week and come to the base in your spare time. It won't interfere with either."
"Real?"
"Really. If you don't have any other questions, I can get the paperwork done in two or three days. Then I'll send JARVIS to pick you up."
Harley agreed readily, paused, and then added quietly, "Okay! Thank you, Mr. Tony."
Just call me Tony.
Three days later, Harley stood at the entrance to the SSC base. He carried a worn-out travel bag, his canvas shoes were covered in dust from the road, and he looked up at the huge building embedded in the mountainside, its glass curtain wall reflecting the morning sunlight.
" Mr. Keener, this way please."
Harley turned around, and standing next to him was JARVIS, whom Tony had sent to pick Harley up.
He was genuinely terrified when he first saw JARVIS looking like that.
JARVIS bowed slightly. " Mr. Stark is busy, so let me show you around the base first. Your accommodation has been arranged in the staff quarters, a single suite."
Harley nodded quickly and followed him inside.
The corridor was spacious, with matte metallic walls. Agents in combat uniforms and researchers in white lab coats walked by, nodding to JARVIS whenever they saw him.
Walking into the lounge area, I ran into Banner and Phastos huddled in front of a holographic drawing.
JARVIS stopped. " Dr. Banner, Mr. Phastos. This is Mr. Keener. Harley Chinaa, the guest Mr. Stark mentioned earlier."
Banner looked up, smiled, and waved. "Welcome, welcome."
Phastos nodded, looked Harley up and down, but before Harley could speak, his attention was drawn to the blueprints Banner was pointing at, and he turned to argue about material stress.
Harley smiled, his palms slightly sweaty. He had only ever seen the name Bruce Banner in the news and online forums.
As Harley passed by the training complex, he couldn't help but stop. Behind the huge floor-to-ceiling windows was a panoramic simulation training ground, with holographic projections showing the ruins of an abandoned city. Several field agents moved between bunkers, energy blasts hit the walls and sparks flew, and tactical commands came from the loudspeakers.
JARVIS stopped and explained, "This is a routine tactical exercise for the field team. You'll need to learn about it in the future. You can apply to join; take it one step at a time, no rush."
Harley nodded, his palms sweating slightly; everything here was beyond his comprehension.
As we walked through the research and development area, training room, medical center, energy core area... JARVIS explained in great detail what each department does, who to contact in an emergency, and how to open access control.
Finally, we arrived at the residential area. The rooms weren't large, but they were fully equipped with a kitchen and bathroom. The floor-to-ceiling windows faced the surrounding mountains and forests, and the morning light streamed in, making the room bright and airy.
"Call me anytime if you need anything; the entire area can respond." JARVIS stood in the doorway. " Mr. Stark will be waiting for you in Lab Three tomorrow morning at nine o'clock."
"Okay, thank you."
JARVIS nodded slightly, turned around, closed the door, and left.
Harley tossed his travel bag onto the bed, walked to the window, looked out at the rolling mountains and forests, and let out a long sigh.
The next morning at nine o'clock sharp, Harley stood at the door of Laboratory Number Three. The door was ajar; he knocked twice, and a voice from inside said, "Come in."
Pushing open the door, Tony stood with his back to him in front of the holographic screen. On the screen was a very old photograph, taken by Lynn, showing Tony in a cave in Afghanistan, wearing his first Mark I armor, dusty and covered in bullet holes and welding marks, looking terribly ugly.
"Here we are." Tony didn't turn around.
"Hmm." Harley went in and stood half a step behind him.
Tony turned around, leaned against the workbench, and crossed his arms. He wasn't wearing a suit or armor, just a slightly worn black T-shirt with light gray oil stains on his forearms, looking no different from a seasoned mechanic in a car repair shop.
Tony looked at him, his tone flat, "For the first lesson, I want to teach you something else. What a rich, tech-savvy person should do."
Harley looked up.
"You've probably seen a lot of news about me online," Tony said. "When I was young, I made and sold weapons; I thought that's what geniuses should do."
He tapped the rough suit of armor on the screen with his fingertip.
"In Afghanistan, I was blown up by a bomb I made myself; shrapnel came within centimeters of my heart. It was in the cave with Yinsen, building that suit of armor, that I first learned the truth: the thing I built killed the people I wanted to protect. Many of them shouldn't have died."
Lynn helped me a lot later.
Tony's tone softened slightly, his eyes darting around. "I'm slowly realizing that I don't want to be a hero; I just want to live a good life with the people around me. But I have the technology to create destruction, and I should also be able to protect."
Harley looked at him and nodded seriously.
The Mark I was still lit on the screen. Tony looked at the photo without saying anything more. Harley didn't ask either.
"Alright, that's enough for today."
Tony straightened up and clapped his hands. "Go and familiarize yourself with the surroundings, or just wander around the base. JARVIS has already set up access controls for you. If you don't understand something, just call out to any of the cameras."
"Okay." Harley nodded and left.
The door had just closed when Lynn's voice drifted in from the doorway. "Not bad, Tony, the first lesson isn't a professional course, it's a moral education class first."
Tony turned his head and saw Lynn Yi standing on the door frame, holding a coffee in her hand, with a smile in her eyes.
"What else? Should we just teach him how to blow up the enemy right from the start?"
Tony snorted and leaned back against his workbench. "Techniques can be learned anytime, but if you go astray, the more capable you are, the worse it will be."
That makes a lot of sense.
Lynn walked in, glanced at the still-lit Mark I image on the screen, and asked, "Can he handle it?"
"Have no idea."
Tony said, "Teach me slowly. I'm not planning to die tomorrow."
Lynn smiled, said nothing more, and left.
Tony stood there for a moment, looking at the old photo on the screen.
At the end of the corridor, Harley gripped his backpack strap and walked forward. After a few steps, he glanced back in the direction of the training hall.
In Harley's third week at the base, Tony placed the first suit of armor in front of him.
The matte charcoal gray finish and heavy lines, along with the double-layered reinforcement of the shoulder and chest armor, and the wide-view helmet visor, make it look Dum-E overall, like a humanoid tank wrapped in thick armor.
"The basic version of the Mark III." Tony kicked the armored base beside his foot, making a dull metallic sound. "Structural redundancy maxed out, energy output locked at 30%, maximum flight altitude 3,000 meters, weapon system only a basic palm cannon, its power isn't even as great as the blast cannon in your repair shop."
Harley looked up, his eyes shining, but also a little puzzled. "So conservative?"
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Otherwise what? You think you're just given a nanotech suit to fly and burrow into the ground at will? Learn to walk before you learn to run."
He tapped the area of the breastplate. "This suit may not have much else, but it's incredibly durable. The structural strength is stretched to 1.5 times the standard for actual combat, and the outer armor can withstand a frontal impact from an RPG. You're still getting used to it, so safety comes first."
Harley nodded and reached out to touch the edge of the arm guard. The metal was cold and heavy.
The training starts from the very basics: donning and doffing armor, sensing the energy core, basic balance, and low-altitude hovering.
Harley's progress isn't fast.
The first time he put on the armor, he could barely stand, almost tripping over his feet. Tony scoffed beside him, "You're like a toddler learning to walk."
After two weeks, he was able to hover steadily at a height of ten meters, fly smoothly along the markings of the training hall, and hit the bullseye with his palm cannon every time.
Training ended that day, and Tony stood below with his arms crossed, watching Harley slowly descend from mid-air. His helmet lifted, revealing a boy whose forehead was covered in sweat, but whose eyes shone with an astonishing light. "Not bad. Faster than I expected."
"It's just... I always feel like the response is a bit slow. When it comes to energy output, there always seems to be a half-beat delay."
Tony waved his hand. "It's normal. I deliberately added a delay to buffer your actions, in case you unleash too much damage and can't control it. Once you've mastered this setup like it's second nature, I'll give you the latest version."
He paused as he was speaking.
His eyes were still fixed on Harley, but his pupils seemed unfocused, vacant for a couple of seconds.
Before Harley could ask what was wrong, Tony suddenly spoke, his voice flat but his tone a little strange, "The energy circuit of the seventh node can be compressed by another five percent, phase shift 0.3."
Harley was stunned. "Huh?"
Tony blinked sharply, his gaze refocusing.
He frowned, but quickly masked it, waving his hand. "It's nothing, I was just thinking about something else. That's enough for today, go back and rest."
"Oh... okay."
Harley nodded, picked up his helmet, and turned to walk towards the dressing room. After taking a couple of steps, he couldn't help but look back.
Tony was still standing there, looking down at his fingertips, his brow furrowed.
This isn't the first time.
Sometimes when discussing modification plans with others, he would suddenly drift off into thought, spouting a nonsensical formula that had absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand.
At first, Harley thought Tony had been staying up too late and was a little dazed.
But after it happened so many times, he gradually realized something was wrong.
That afternoon, the two were in the lab testing the neural interface of the armor. Harley sat in a chair wearing the test helmet, while Tony stood beside him, staring at the neural feedback waveforms on the screen.
Tony pointed to a peak on the screen, "Here, reduce the latency by another ten milliseconds. Try it to see if it's too sensitive."
Harley adjusted the parameters as instructed.
The waveform on the screen jumped slightly.
Tony stared at the screen, then suddenly fell silent.
The only sound in the laboratory was the soft hum of the instruments.
After about five or six seconds, he suddenly spoke, his voice cold and harsh, completely unlike his usual tone. "The synaptic coupling is too low; this won't work. Connect directly to the basal ganglia."
Harley abruptly ripped off his helmet and turned to look at him.
" Mr. Tony?"
Directly accessing the basal ganglia? That's an experimental and dangerous procedure; it could easily damage the nerves. Tony had repeatedly told him before that he absolutely mustn't go in that direction.
Tony seemed to have just come to his senses, and he paused for a moment, looking down at the screen and then at his hands.
"... I was just talking nonsense."
His voice was a little deep as he rubbed his temples. "I haven't been sleeping well lately, and my brain's a bit out of whack. Remember, never touch the basal ganglia access point; the risk is too high, not worth it."
Harley asked in a low voice, " Mr. Tony, are you alright? Maybe you should rest for a few days?"
"Fine."
Tony waved his hand, turned and walked to the control panel, his back to Harley. "That's enough for today. You can go back now."
Harley stood up, hesitated for a moment, but didn't ask any more questions. He then tiptoed out of the laboratory.
The door clicked shut.
Tony's hand, which was gripping the control panel, tightened suddenly, his knuckles turning white.
That last sentence wasn't his. "Direct access to the basal ganglia?" He had never considered that approach; it was too dangerous, he had repeatedly emphasized this to Harley.
Tony took a deep breath, looked up, and stared at the pulsating neural waveforms on the screen.
He had always thought that the thing in his head meant no harm, it was just a place to stay.
Now he's a little uncertain.