"You should try practicing Armament Haki. If you master it quickly, our team's strength will improve for future battles," Alex said to Captain America, his face pale from exhausting his internal energy.
"Alex, are you okay? Should I call a doctor?" Captain America asked, surprised by Alex's initiation technique but feeling guilty and concerned about his pallor.
"I'm fine. I've just overused my mind and spirit. A short rest will fix it," Alex replied, shaking his head.
Alex considered sharing his knowledge of Armament Haki with Captain America without expecting anything in return. First, he admired Captain America's character.
If helping him caused no harm, Alex was happy to do it. Second, and more importantly, the official forces were targeting him. Although Director Fury seemed supportive, he faced his own challenges. To protect himself, Alex needed allies. Building strong bonds with the Avengers, advancing and retreating together, was crucial.
"Hey, Alex, what were you two doing? You look drained," Tony said, approaching with a glass of juice, his work apparently finished. He eyed Alex's pale face curiously.
"Are you sick?" Bruce Banner added, joining them and looking at Alex with concern.
"Thanks, I'm just a bit weak. I'll recover after some rest," Alex said, shaking his head. He didn't want to dwell on it and changed the subject. "By the way, have you finished your work?"
"Yeah, I've set up a tracking program, and Jarvis is scanning the internet based on it. Now we just wait," Bruce nodded in reply.
"You look pretty rough. Rest up. Once you're better, I need your help with something," Tony chimed in.
"Help? What do you need? Tell me," Alex said, slightly surprised that Tony had a request.
------------------------------------------
Fighting wasn't just about strategy—it was about raw strength too. Tony Stark knew this well. Online, Jarvis was slowly tracking Loki and the Cosmic Cube using Bruce's algorithm and SHIELD's authority.
Meanwhile, Alex, after a brief rest, regained his color and followed Tony to a laboratory.
"What's this?" Alex asked, eyeing a moon-white, irregular metal block Tony held.
"It's a vibranium mixture," Tony explained. "I found it among my father's relics. Vibranium is one of the universe's strongest metals, known for its defensive power.
For example, Cap's shield is pure vibranium, absorbing any attack. My father thought fusing vibranium with the world's most aggressive metal could create something with both offensive and defensive strengths.
He succeeded, but this metal stays in this shape. No amount of hammering or forging can change it, so it's useless for crafting."
"I see," Alex said, nodding. With Tony's wealth, owning vibranium wasn't surprising—his father had given Captain America his shield. After seeing the shield's power, it made sense that Tony's father tried to create a dual-purpose metal, only to end up with an unchangeable alloy.
"Your metal-control ability can reshape metals. I want you to try it," Tony said, revealing his goal.
"This metal wasn't in the original story. Since it can't be reshaped, it's probably been locked away in Tony's vault forever," Alex thought, extending his palm.
Activating his ability, Alex felt strong resistance from the metal, unlike anything he'd encountered. Even the aviation materials in Tony's armor bent easily under his power. But as he focused, the metal slowly began to shift, visibly changing form.
"It's working!" Tony's eyes lit up, thrilled as the moon-white metal moved.
Since it was effective, Tony asked Alex to shape the fist-sized metal into two parts to fit his armor's gloves perfectly. Alex controlled his ability with precision, guiding the metal to flow like liquid over the palms of Tony's armor. It took time and drained him significantly, but eventually, the armor's palms gleamed moon-white.
Tony was ecstatic. The metal's scarcity meant he couldn't build a full suit, but coating his gloves would boost his armor's strength immensely.
"It's a bit rough-looking, but a paint job should fix that," Tony said, half-complaining about the crude finish compared to his armor's sleek design.
"I control metal, not art," Alex shot back, glancing at Tony. He raised his palm, revealing a ping-pong-ball-sized piece of metal. "There's some left. Should I make you a knife?"
"Nah, the gloves are both shield and weapon. Keep the rest," Tony said with a wave, eager to test his upgraded armor.
Alex smiled, recognizing Tony's gesture as a reward. Without hesitation, he pocketed the metal and followed Tony to the testing area.
Vibranium is one of Earth's toughest metals. Its molecules are nearly static, preventing it from conducting kinetic or thermal energy, which allows it to absorb both. That's what makes Captain America's shield so effective.
This metal, however, is a fusion of vibranium and other alloys. It retains vibranium's defensive traits but also has a unique impact effect, making it highly aggressive.
Tony tested it briefly and found that the fists of his steel armor were now far more powerful. Before, a punch might crack a stone; now, the same force could shatter it. The metal amplified the impact force significantly.
"Sir, this metal can absorb nearly all attacks, but with the same force, it delivers over three times the destructive power," Jarvis reported to Tony after a thorough test.
"Not bad. It's got both attack and defense. Three times the destructive power? Decent enough," Tony said, trying to sound unimpressed, though a grin betrayed his satisfaction.
"This metal's incredible. Vibranium's already bizarre, defying physics by absorbing all attacks. But Howard Stark found a way to pair it with another metal that triples attack force? That's just as wild," Alex thought, overhearing Jarvis' report. He was amazed.
Whether it followed physics wasn't the point. For Alex, the real win was his own gain. With a thought, he pulled out the remaining ping-pong-ball-sized piece of metal. Using his ability, he shaped it into a hollow glove, designed to save material.
"It's rough and not exactly pretty, but as long as it works, I'm good," Alex muttered, inspecting his creation.