Meanwhile.
In sunny Los Angeles, on Malibu Beach.
The atmosphere in the lab was a little different from usual.
Tony and Luca sat side by side on two high stools in front of the workbench.
A holographic screen floated before them.
It was packed with streams of complex data.
A short distance behind them stood three newly completed suits of armor.
Two were sized for a normal human body. One had been painted red and gold, while the other was black.
Besides those, there stood a massive suit fully three meters tall.
At the moment, however, neither brother was paying attention to the armor.
It was a rare sight.
Both looked rather serious.
Tony raised his glass of red wine and took a sip, then pointed to a long string of red data on the screen.
"Listen, Luca."
"Even though I didn't major in bioengineering or genetics, any science student fresh into college could tell you what these figures mean."
Tony put down his glass and gave Luca a suspicious look.
"You really didn't lie to me? You're sure those were the formulas you used to turn yourself superhuman?"
"Or did you take a hit to the head while you were kidnapped, lose a serious chunk of your IQ, and even forget the proportions in the serum you mixed yourself?"
Faced with Tony's doubts,
Luca acted out of character this time and didn't say a word.
He stared solemnly at the screen, his hands tapping rapidly on the keyboard as he adjusted the various parameters again and again.
"JARVIS, increase this, and lower the proportion of the fusion agent in the energy absorption serum a little. Try it again," Luca ordered in a low voice.
"Certainly, Mr. Luca. Running the forty-eighth fusion simulation."
JARVIS's calm voice echoed through the lab.
A few seconds later, two spiral gene chains on the holographic display slowly approached each other, attempting to join.
But the instant they touched, the model suddenly flashed a blinding red, then rapidly collapsed and dissipated.
Another prompt popped up on the screen.
[Fusion failed! Molecular structure collapsed!]
Seeing the result, Luca took a deep breath and couldn't help rubbing his temples.
Tony folded his arms and stared at the failure message on the screen, beginning to give the problem serious thought as well.
"This doesn't make any sense, Luca."
"The two serums do completely different things."
"One is a modified version of the Super Soldier Serum that strengthens the body's basic physical attributes. The other is a special serum that absorbs external energy to make you stronger."
"By scientific logic, the molecular structures of these two serums are completely incompatible! They're like water and fire. They can't possibly fuse in the same test tube, let alone produce an effect where one plus one is greater than two!"
Tony spread his hands, his face full of disbelief.
"The theoretical possibility of fusion is infinitely close to zero!"
"So how exactly did you manage to fuse them in the first place?!"
Luca ignored Tony, his brows knitted tightly as he went over every detail in his mind.
"That can't be right..."
"JARVIS, let's try a different approach. Use another catalyst, cut the reaction time in half, and run another fusion simulation!"
"Understood, sir. Running the forty-ninth simulation."
The result was obvious. A few seconds later, the same words mercilessly appeared on the screen again.
[Fusion failed!]
Without exception, every adjusted approach had ended in failure.
Seeing the screen full of red, Luca stopped what he was doing.
He leaned back in his chair and sighed helplessly.
"That makes no sense. It's absolutely impossible!"
"Back then, I just casually poured the ingredients together, and they fused successfully on the very first try! There wasn't even a rejection reaction!"
"But now that I'm back home, using the most advanced equipment in the world and the best computing power available, how can it keep failing?"
Refusing to accept it, he pulled up the data again and checked every corner of it carefully, trying to find an error in the formula.
But there were no errors.
The formula was perfect, and each serum was perfect on its own, but they simply wouldn't fuse.
After checking for a long while, Luca suddenly laughed.
He really did laugh, sounding a little helpless and a little cocky.
"Tony, I get it now."
Luca looked at Tony and spoke with conviction.
"This definitely isn't my fault, and it definitely isn't a problem with the formula."
"This must be God's fault. Or rather, it was simply a miracle that can't be replicated."
Tony was utterly baffled.
God's fault?
Am I still asleep, or are you?!
Luca smiled slightly and pointed at the data for the two serums as he explained.
"The problem is obvious now. With our current technology, we can make the enhanced Super Soldier Serum on its own, and we can also make the serum that absorbs energy to make someone stronger on its own."
"But we can't use scientific means to fuse them and create a serum identical to mine."
Tony: ...
Wasn't that just stating the obvious?
How is that any different from saying nothing at all...?
Still, now that Luca had said it, Tony understood the harsh reality.
He shrugged, his tone growing somewhat flat.
"In other words, the serum in your body, or this mutation of yours, is one of a kind. It simply can't be recreated."
"Even if someone else were to get both serums separately in the future, they definitely couldn't gain the same monstrous strength and defense you have now. At best, they'd be a defective product."
Luca spread his hands and put on an innocent expression.
"The facts are right in front of us. You saw it too. They can't be fused."
"So the plan to make you just like me has completely failed."
Luca looked at Tony, a teasing glint in his eyes.
"If you want to get stronger, you can only choose one of them. Do you want super strength, or do you want to absorb energy?"
Hearing the suggestion, Tony raised an eyebrow and refused without hesitation.
"Give me a break. I'm not doing that."
"I don't need to inject myself with any of those weird potions."
"The reason Tony Stark stands at the top of the world has always been his genius brain and the technology he creates!"
Tony pointed to his head.
"As long as I have my brain, I can use a wrench and blueprints to create power greater than any serum! Technology is the answer to human evolution, not turning yourself into a lab rat!"
Luca curled his lip, knowing Tony was just putting on a brave front.
"Can you do anything besides put on a brave front?"
Luca stood up from his stool, walked over to Tony, and looked down at him.
"Yes, I admit your technology is impressive. The armor you made really is good."
"But no matter how indestructible the armor is, you're still just flesh and blood inside it!"
"Put that genius brain of yours to work. If-and I mean if!"
"If one day something unexpected happens and your armor isn't with you, or someone destroys it, what will you do then?"
"If something happens to you, what about everyone else? What about me? What about Pepper?!"
Luca's words echoed through the lab, striking Tony to the soul.
"Don't forget what we went through in Afghanistan! The enemy won't always give you time to put on your armor!"
"And even if you don't need it, what about Pepper?"
"Pepper is just an ordinary person who can't even defend herself. We're going to be superheroes now, going after dangerous people. The enemy will definitely target her!"
"She has to take the enhancement serum! Otherwise, what will she do if she's in danger someday? Can you guarantee your armor will protect her from every angle, without a single blind spot?!"