"What I mean is, you can fly on your own, right?"
"If your armor isn't fast enough, why don't you just fly up and overtake me?"
Tony finally remembered—Leon's own flight speed was dozens of times faster than the Iron Man armor.
"Am I the kind of person who would cheat?"
"You wouldn't cheat? Then why did you knock me out two days ago?"
"Okay, fine. I'll get out of the armor. Jarvis, you take control."
"Wait, Jarvis is controlling it? Are you telling me your armor can operate completely unmanned?" Tony hadn't gotten that far in his own research.
"Uh-huh. What do you think? Pretty strong, right?"
"It's… ahem. It's a good idea. I thought of that too—I just didn't have enough time to implement it."
"…You're really something, Tony."
"Ahem. Okay, Jarvis, are you ready? We're starting the competition."
"Yes, Mr. Stark. I'll begin the countdown in three seconds. Are you ready?"
"I've been ready."
Jarvis began the countdown: "Ready. Three, two, one… Go!"
The two suits blasted their thrusters simultaneously, soaring into the sky at full power. Trails of exhaust streaked behind them, cutting through the horizon.
Leon watched the clouds where they vanished and couldn't help but mutter.
"Honestly, if you ask me, both of those armors are too slow."
"As expected, armor is only useful to me for sentimental reasons—nothing more."
He casually tugged at his collar. In an instant, a shimmering bio-field unfurled from his body, and he launched upward like a reversed shooting star.
"Whoa!!" Tony marveled as he ascended rapidly into the sky. He had never felt such exhilarating freedom.
"For millions of years, the sky has hung above mankind's head…"
"To fly into it—to conquer it—is a desire etched into human DNA."
"No wonder so many people in history tried to fly. This feeling is… incredible!"
At that moment, Tony felt like the invincible King of Machines.
"Jarvis, is Leon's armor far behind me now?" he asked confidently.
But Jarvis, ever brutally honest, responded, "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I regret to inform you that the mecha controlled by my subprogram is currently three blocks ahead of you."
"What?" Tony was stunned. "That's impossible!"
"The current distance between your armor and Young Master Leon's is approximately seven hundred meters," Jarvis reported.
Tony squinted upward, but the thick clouds blocked his view.
"This has to be a glitch. Jarvis, accelerate! Full speed ahead!"
Mark 2 roared louder as the thrusters pushed harder, cutting through the upper atmosphere.
Minutes passed, but Tony still couldn't spot Leon's armor—or even its exhaust trail.
"Damn it! How is he so fast?"
"Because Young Master Leon employs a more refined motion coordination system and has significantly reduced the armor's weight, resulting in better acceleration and top speed," Jarvis explained.
"…Fine. I'll admit it. That kid's a genius. But I won't lose. Jarvis, use overload power!"
"Sir, I must warn you: continuing upward may result in system failure due to subzero temperatures."
"Just do it! Keep going!"
Tony's competitive spirit flared. In a passionate comic book, this would be the moment he'd power up and overtake Leon in a dramatic reversal.
Unfortunately, the Marvel universe doesn't bend its physics for dramatic effect.
As the altitude climbed, frost began to creep across the surface of Mark 2, thickening rapidly.
The suit's speed began to drop.
Before Jarvis could say more, the inevitable happened.
Mark 2 stalled.
All internal circuits froze, cutting off power.
"Wait, what's happening—uh, ahhh!"
Tony's body twisted helplessly in mid-air as the armor plummeted, his limbs flailing like a falling frog.
"Jarvis! Jarvis! Open the wings!"
But the frozen circuits meant Jarvis couldn't respond. The AI had shut down.
Gravity had full control.
"Not good! Not good! Leon! Leon, help me!" Tony screamed in panic.
In the very next instant—
"No problem, Tony."
Leon appeared out of nowhere, catching Mark 2 around the waist mid-fall, stopping the descent instantly.
This infuriating sense of security was almost too much to handle.
Tony, still shaken, gasped, "God, that was close… Thanks, Leon. I know you must've been watching me flail like an idiot."
"Not really," Leon replied calmly. "I just wanted to see if you could pull off a miracle."
"You better mean that…" Tony exhaled deeply, trying to compose himself.
From above, Jarvis flew down in Leon's armor.
"Sir, I'm relieved you're safe. That was extremely dangerous," the mechanical voice said with concern.
Leon carried Tony steadily downward. "Alright, race's over. Let's head back."
Tony didn't object.
On the way, he suddenly asked, "The gold alloy you mentioned before—was that to deal with the high-altitude freezing?"
"Exactly. Gold helps maintain conductivity and operation even in extreme cold."
Tony fell silent.
Back in the underground garage, Tony stepped out of his armor with assistance from a robotic arm.
"Leon… you won," he admitted, sitting down with a heavy sigh.
"That's right. I won."
Leon smiled brightly and sat beside him.
"But Tony," he said gently, "you also won."
Tony glanced at him, puzzled.
"You taught me how to build the Iron Man armor. Without you, I wouldn't have created mine."
"It's like teaching—if you taught a bunch of engineering professors how to make your suit, don't you think they could do it?"
"Sure," Tony said. "With their own approaches, they might even add better features."
"Exactly. The hardest thing in the world isn't learning or iterating. It's creation—creating something from nothing."
"And you, Tony—you created it."
"If it weren't for you, no one would've built a mini arc reactor in twenty years. No one would've developed Iron Man armor."
"I won today because I refined things you hadn't gotten to yet."
"Are you really saying you couldn't have done those things?"
Tony quickly shook his head. "Of course I could…"
"It's just… give me a little more time, and I'll catch up."
"There you go." Leon patted his shoulder. "You just needed time. I just had a super brain that let me speed through it."
Tony's earlier frustration faded. He looked at Leon with a mixed expression. "You've really… changed."
"You're only noticing now? I'm like a mini Superman—I'm not the same as before."
"No, I mean… you've matured."
"Wow, I can't tell if that's a compliment or a diss."
"It's a compliment!"
"Alright, Tony. I should also say—you've grown too, especially after coming back from Afghanistan. You never used to—"
"Stop! Stop! Why are you circling around to roast me?!"
"You see? Just proving my point."
"…Fine, fine. You win again. This damned adolescent need to win—go to Columbia already and stop annoying me at home."
"See? You're flustered again, Tony."
"Get out! Go!"
"Fine, I'll exit gracefully." Leon picked up his armor and dashed off in a blur.
Tony watched him go, shook his head, then suddenly smiled.
"…That kid really is something else."
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