After reading it, Pepper froze.
"Weight unknown? What does that mean?"
JARVIS promptly offered a helpful explanation.
"Miss Potts, Mr. Luca's muscle and bone density have now reached a staggering level, exceeding the parameters of conventional measuring instruments."
"As a result, we cannot accurately measure Mr. Luca's true weight within the operating limits of our instruments."
Pepper's eyes widened.
Even Stark Industries' most advanced instruments couldn't measure his weight?
What was he, a humanoid black hole?!
But before she could think any further, the data continued to update.
She could only keep reading.
[Muscle density: Cannot be accurately calculated, as it is increasing in real time.] [Current base strength: 107] [Estimated strength at full power: 600 tons] [Flight speed: Limit testing has not yet been conducted. However, based on the aerodynamic calculations and energy output estimates just obtained, the minimum starting speed is no less than Mach 5!] [Ground running speed: Based on the treadmill test just conducted in the testing chamber, the exact figure is 357 meters per second. This speed exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1)!]
As they looked at the string of data, the laboratory fell briefly silent.
Tony was the first to break the silence.
He turned, looked Luca up and down, and began mocking him in a deliberately exaggerated tone.
"Fuck! A base strength of 107 tons? That means you could blow an armored vehicle over with a sneeze!"
"And 600 tons? When you go all out, are you planning to throw trucks around like toys?!"
"That means you could run over to Times Square right now, rip the Statue of Liberty out by the roots, and swing it around like a baseball bat!"
"If you played football, you could smack the ball straight into outer space in one hit!"
Tony pointed at the data on the projection, shaking his head as he teased him.
"Luca, you're not human at all."
"No, no, no, you're definitely a fucking alien!"
"Come clean, kid. Where did you hide the real Luca? What secret are you after, disguising yourself as him to get close to me? Where did you park your spaceship? Let me guess, you're after the cheeseburger recipe?"
Luca: ...
Gee, thanks, Tony.
At Tony's sarcastic remarks, he rolled his eyes and fired back without holding back.
"Shut up, Tony. Is it that hard to admit the truth?"
"Even if you brought that Hulk who was running around smashing things a while back and stood him in front of me, I could slap him so hard his own mother wouldn't recognize him."
Luca walked over to the projection and proudly flexed the muscles in his arm.
"This is biology's perfect masterpiece."
"Unlike you, who spends all day hiding in that tin shell. Can your armor run at 357 meters per second? When I run, even sound can't catch me!"
Tony curled his lip dismissively.
What a joke. He was Tony Stark. How could he possibly bow down to a damn musclehead?
He had to build the greatest armor ever and wipe the floor with this younger brother of his who only knew how to pick up girls.
Of course, most importantly, he would never allow another kidnapping to happen.
He would use technology to protect his only family... all right, his idiot younger brother.
Though that was what Tony thought, he had no intention of letting Luca off with his words.
He continued studying the physical data, looking for something to mock.
"Let me see. Tsk, tsk, a flight speed of Mach 5?"
"Do you know how serious the aerodynamic heating problem gets above Mach 5?"
"When you fly through the sky, you'll roast yourself like a burning meteor! Your face will turn into a lump of charred mush!"
"My body is tough enough to withstand those temperatures! That's the advantage of being a superior life-form! A mortal like you wouldn't understand."
"A mortal? I have a brilliant brain! You're just a barbarian with nothing but muscles in your head!"
The two of them began a friendly exchange, trading remarks back and forth.
But Pepper, standing to one side, was utterly bewildered.
What on earth were they talking about?
Hundreds of tons of strength? Running faster than sound? Flying at Mach 5?
She hurriedly clapped her hands hard and loudly called a halt to the two childish idiots who were still arguing.
"Stop! Stop! Gentlemen! Both of you, shut up!"
Then Pepper pointed at the data projected in midair and demanded, her face full of confusion.
"Can someone tell me what these outrageous figures actually mean?"
"I remember we're standing on Earth right now, not on the set of some science-fiction movie, right? This is a world that operates on science, isn't it?"
"Then what is the deal with this data that obviously doesn't belong to a human being?!"
Pepper turned to Luca and looked him up and down.
"Luca, don't tell me you were turned into Captain America in that godforsaken cave in Afghanistan!"
"But even Captain America wasn't anywhere near this outrageous, was she? I grew up reading her comics and watching her movies. You can't fool me!"
"A base strength of 107 tons? Running at the speed of sound? This is like listening to a science-fiction story!"
Seeing that Pepper looked ready to lose her mind,
Luca spread his hands, looked at Tony, and shrugged innocently.
"Bro, I didn't tell her."
Tony smiled.
He walked over to the bar, poured himself a glass of red wine, and took a small sip.
"You got part of it right, sweetheart."
Holding his wineglass, Tony walked over to Pepper, his tone turning serious.
"We really were modified. But there's one thing you got wrong."
"It wasn't those terrorists' doing. Those idiots couldn't even make a decent lighter. We modified ourselves."
Tony was just about to launch into a lengthy speech.
But before he could finish,
JARVIS spoke again from midair, ruthlessly interrupting him.
"Sir, I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your speech. However, I believe you will be very interested in the second set of core data, which has just finished processing."
Hearing JARVIS's words,
the group's attention was drawn back to the projection.
Tony rolled his eyes and turned his head, somewhat displeased.
The image on the holographic projection flickered.
A complex energy analysis chart appeared, accompanied by long blocks of warning text.
"Sir, the results show that Mr. Luca's cells contain a vast and active unknown energy reaction."
"According to the laser penetration test just conducted, in theory, Mr. Luca can not only emit high-energy rays from both eyes. In fact, he has already gained voluntary control over projecting energy from his palms and any other part of his body."
"Furthermore, the energy he projects reaches a staggering instantaneous temperature of over 5,000 degrees Celsius!"
"This temperature can instantly melt most metals currently known on Earth, including the hardest titanium alloys."
Pepper covered her mouth and sucked in a sharp breath.
Five thousand degrees? He was practically a walking, human-shaped furnace!
He could even vaporize a person in an instant, couldn't he?!
At that, Tony raised an eyebrow.
Five thousand degrees? That was fucking hotter than a volcanic crater!
Damn it, Luca, and you still say you're not an alien!!
But JARVIS's report wasn't over yet.
"Furthermore, Mr. Luca's cells possess a devouring property."
"His body can independently absorb energy from external sources to evolve. In other words, Mr. Luca's current state is nowhere near its upper limit. He can grow stronger and stronger by absorbing energy! And he is absorbing energy and growing stronger every moment!"
"For example, the simplest method is to expose himself directly to sunlight and grow stronger by absorbing the energy of solar radiation!"