In the laboratory.
Various sounds echoed in the empty garage.
Tony, wearing goggles and holding a high-powered welding torch, was making the final welds.
His movements were swift, his eyes blazing with fervor; he showed no signs of being a patient on the verge of death.
Luca sat to the side, a glass of whiskey in his hand, legs crossed, watching Tony work like a supervisor.
"My God, Tony, are you sure this pipe you've built is an accelerator and not a distillation device for making moonshine?"
Luca took a sip of his drink and mocked without any mercy.
"This wiring is even more unbearable to look at than the mess on the street."
Tony stopped welding, pushed up his goggles, and glared at Luca with annoyance.
"Shut up, Luca. This is precision engineering. You wouldn't understand something someone like you who only watches cell division under a microscope."
"If it weren't for the time constraint, I would have made it as perfect as a work of art."
Tony grumbled as he walked to the control panel and began rapidly typing on the virtual keyboard.
" JARVIS, connect main power."
"Okay, sir. Power is on, and power output is stable."
Tony took a deep breath and walked to the makeshift accelerator that had just been set up.
He then picked up a wrench and aimed it at one of the bases.
"Damn it, this thing needs to be manually calibrated."
He twisted the wrench forcefully.
"Buzz!!"
A blinding blue high-energy laser beam shot out from the transmitter in an instant, traveling rapidly along the pipe and undergoing several refractions.
Ultimately, it transformed into a dazzling beam of light, striking the core of a triangular reactor placed on the central pedestal.
"Boom!"
Intense energy fluctuations rippled through the laboratory.
The light faded.
A pure and deep blue-white light was burning in the recess of the triangular reactor.
No radiation, no impurities, only endless clean energy.
At this moment, New Element was born.
Tony stared at the reactor, his eyes slightly red.
Without hesitation, he reached out and pulled the old reactor off his chest.
Then, he picked up the brand-new reactor, aimed it at the indentation in his chest, and pressed it down hard.
Click.
Perfectly fitted.
The pure light illuminated Tony's pale face.
Almost instantly, his previously heavy breathing became incredibly smooth.
Tony closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and felt the long-lost energy.
"I feel like... I could kill a bull in one go." Tony opened his eyes, his smile gradually becoming more confident.
" Iron Man is back to life."
"Clap, clap, clap."
"Congratulations, Tony. You no longer have to worry about suddenly dying in some beautiful woman's bed."
Luca put down his glass and gave a perfunctory clap of applause.
After saying that, he stood up and slowly walked over to Tony.
"Now that you're not going to die, we can proceed with the next step of our plan."
Tony paused for a moment, but seeing Luca's malicious smile, he suddenly had a bad feeling.
"What's the next step? The New Element is all set up. Now all I need to do is upgrade my armor..."
"No, no, no." Luca waved his hand, interrupting Tony.
He took a syringe filled with a dark blue liquid from the safety box on the table.
The liquid shimmered under the light, seemingly containing a raging life force.
"What is this?" Tony asked, feigning ignorance, as if he already knew the answer.
" Enhanced Super Soldier Serum," Luca said with a grin.
"Tailor-made for you. No side effects, guaranteed to teach you how, one injection and you'll be Captain America 3.0."
"Don't even think about it!" Tony shouted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I've already said it, I'm a genius who makes a living with my brain! I don't need to become a muscle freak with pectoral muscles bigger than my head! Get that thing away from me!"
Luca sighed, looking utterly disappointed.
" Tony, has your brain become so overloaded with too much high-brow stuff that it's causing erectile dysfunction?!"
"You have a reactor on your chest that could blow up half a city, but your physical condition isn't even as good as an IT guy who often stays up all night."
"What if the armor runs out of power one day? What if the enemy just rips it off? Are you going to fight Hydra monsters hand-to-hand with your weak fists?"
Luca pressed on relentlessly.
"As a man of the Stark Family, you can't always hide in your armor. You need a body worthy of a genius mind."
Tony was somewhat resistant, still stubbornly insisting, "My armor will never run out of power! And I..."
Before he could finish speaking, Luca suddenly moved.
He was so fast that he was invisible, appearing behind Tony in an instant and grabbing his shoulder.
"Let me go! Luca! You bastard! If you dare to drive in, I swear I'll tear your sports car to shreds!"
Tony struggled desperately, but he couldn't move at all in Luca's hands.
"Don't yell like a girl, Tony. This is for your own good."
Ignoring the shouts, Luca plunged the needle directly into Tony's body.
Soon, all the serum was pushed in.
After pulling out the needle, Luca quickly took two steps back, crossed his arms, and prepared to watch the show.
"Ah!!"
Tony clutched his neck, letting out a low growl of pain.
The moment serum enters the bloodstream, it's like a raging fire burning in the blood vessels.
Tony knelt on the ground in agony, his muscles beginning to swell uncontrollably.
His vest ripped instantly, revealing his muscular physique undergoing a transformation.
His bones cracked and popped, and Tony grew five or six centimeters taller in a short period of time.
Moreover, his body, which had been somewhat thin due to spending years in the laboratory, began to become fuller and more robust.
Perfectly sculpted pectoral muscles, chiseled abs, thick and powerful arms...
Along with the healing abilities granted by the serum, Tony's chest, the hole where the reactor was located, also began to change.
"Click... click..."
The newly installed reactor was being squeezed outwards by the newly formed muscle!
Clang!
The sound of an object hitting the ground rang out.
That's right, the reactor was ejected and rolled twice on the floor.
The bloody hole in his chest that had nearly killed him had disappeared.
Soon, Tony stopped panting and stood up from the ground.
Then, he froze.
He looked down and saw the reactor lying on the ground, then touched his powerful chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"This... the reactor was squeezed out? And his chest has completely healed?"
Tony muttered to himself, utterly shocked.
"Don't make a fuss, Tony."
Luca crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.
"The enhanced serum's self-healing ability can even regenerate severed limbs, let alone a hole. Your body is instinctively treating the reactor as a foreign object and naturally rejecting it."
Luca stepped forward and kicked the reactor on the ground with his toe.
"From now on, the reactor will be installed on the armor. As for you..."
Luca looked Tony up and down, his muscles now comparable to his own, and couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration.
"Your current body is your strongest weapon."
"This... this is simply unscientific."
To prove it, Tony walked to the lab table, tentatively grasped the corner, and gently bent it.
"Snap!"
He easily broke off the corner of the table!
At that moment, Tony's eyes widened.
In his excitement, he threw a punch at a steel pillar not far away that was used to test the firepower of the battle armor.
"Bang!"
A loud bang.
Deep fist marks were left on the steel pillar, which was still trembling violently.
Tony was even more shocked.
Looking at his fist again, he felt an unprecedented surge of confidence welling up inside him.
Damn it, is this Luca's usual state?!
No wonder this guy has started to stop using his brain!!
Fuck! That was fucking awesome!!
" JARVIS! Scan my body immediately!!" Tony shouted.
"Okay, sir. A full scan is in progress..."
A few seconds later, JARVIS's report appeared on the projector.
"Sir, your bone density has increased fortyfold, and your muscle fiber count has increased fiftyfold. Your cell activity has reached an immeasurable peak."
"According to calculations, your current running speed can reach 300 meters per second, and your neural reaction speed is dozens of times faster than that of an average person."
"As for your estimate of basic strength..." JARVIS paused for a moment.
"Estimated at around 65 tons."
Sixty-five tons!
Tony gasped.
This means that even without armor, he can now flip a tank with his bare hands!
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Tony suddenly burst into laughter, looking at Luca with a smug grin, his chin held high.
"See that, Luca? Sixty-five tons! I'm a walking, talking cannon now! I don't even need the Mark Armor anymore; I can smash the villain to pieces with my bare fists."
Seeing Tony's excited expression, Luca immediately poured cold water on his enthusiasm.
"Don't get too cocky, Tony. Sixty-five tons is nothing compared to me."
Luca extended a finger and gently shook it.
"I only need one finger to pound you into the ground. You'd better upgrade your armor quickly, or you'll be too embarrassed to go out and say you're my brother."
Tony was momentarily speechless, but was in a great mood and completely ignored Luca's taunts.
"Jealousy? You're just jealous that I have a better figure than you!!"
Tony patted his abs and nodded in satisfaction.
"Let's go, buddy. Now that we're this strong, it's time to show our faces at the company and give Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D.. a hard time."