After being resurrected, the white-haired couple stood in the Los Angeles house. Despite everything, they did not show shock or panic.
Howard stepped forward and embraced Malrick tightly. "Malrick! My boy — thank you for everything you've done for Maria and me. Thank you!"
When he released him, Maria hugged Malrick as well. "Thank you, Malrick. Look at you — my child. You must have suffered a lot following Tony all these years."
"Uh, actually Tony… well, he was really cared for by me," Malrick said, startled for a moment, then recovered quickly.
"I should be the one thanking you, uh…" he hesitated for a moment, thinking. It would be proper to call them parents, yet in his heart he felt only deep gratitude — not true family affection. The real bond, over the years, had grown between him and Tony, becoming a kind of chosen family.
"Just call us Howard and Maria," Howard said with a teasing smile. "You're independent now, buddy. If you still call us mom and dad, you won't get any allowance."
Howard's youthful playfulness flickered back to life. Once a womanizer in his youth, he had grown serious over time because of responsibilities and family. Since returning from Death, he'd begun to relax again. For now, he wasn't serious.
Maria nodded beside him. "Death told us you asked for our resurrection, Malrick. She asked for our souls, and returned us to life."
"You're our pride," Maria said, gently cupping Malrick's cheeks with her aged hands, studying him closely. "Adopting you was the best decision we ever made. Look at you — your eyes are still as bright as when you were a child, like two black gems."
Just then, a sudden cough interrupted the moment, growing louder and more urgent.
Tony, standing nearby, clapped a fist to his mouth, coughing harshly, like a ghost drawn back to life. His nervousness from before — when he straightened his clothes in confusion — was gone now. He looked impatient and speechless, as if screaming inside: "Can you please finish being emotional with your biological son before going on to the younger son?"
Howard and Maria both turned toward the sound.
"Oh, Tony…" Maria exclaimed.
"Why are you here?" she asked, maternal warmth surging as she moved to hug him.
Howard spoke first, though. With white hair and beard, and eyes sunken yet lively, he looked at Tony with a mixture of surprise and memory.
"Why not? Why couldn't you be here?" Tony spread his hands, tension evident on his forehead. For a moment he feared he'd been abandoned by his parents again in middle age.
Howard, this old man, had reunited with them — and now, just after resurrection, he seemed to be focusing on someone else. All those tears, all that grief had been — for nothing.
Tony felt himself bristle, ready to snort, put on a sarcastic grin, as he had in his youth. But then Howard spoke again, in surprise:
"Oh right, why are you here? So many years… Howard Potts."
"We parted ways back in the 70s at the Base, and never met again. You said your wife had a daughter. She must be about my age by now."
Tony's face went pale. It was like being struck across the universe. His mind flashed back to the banquet earlier that day in the b2 Universe. Iron Man had explained how he once traveled to the 70s, met a man named "Howard Potts," and discussed children and responsibility. When they parted, Howard Potts had said he'd do anything for his soon-to-be-born child.
Tony felt a spike of dread.
Had his father really mistaken him for someone else? Or worse, believed they had swapped children?
"I… I am…" Tony stammered, confusion and helplessness colliding in his mind.
Howard glanced at him in confusion. "You are what?"
Tony took a deep breath, as if preparing to abandon the world, and sighed. "I'm Tony. There was no mistake in adoption. I am not Potts. That Potts wasn't me."
He tried to explain everything — what had happened in the 70s, the time travel, the lies.
Behind Howard and Maria, Malrick watched Tony's reaction quietly with a small, satisfied smile.
But then Howard surprised them all again. He smiled broadly.
"What are you worrying about, kid? Of course you're Tony. Who else could you be?"
He stepped forward and embraced Tony — a hug decades overdue. Tony looked like a man whose entire life had been called into question.
"I'm proud of you, Tony. You're better than I ever was. You're a true hero."
Tony blinked in disbelief. "Wait… are you really saying that about me?"
"Of course," Howard said, his playful eyes softening with sincerity. "Everything you've done — and what your counterparts in other universes have done — I know it all."
His voice turned serious. "I love you, Tony."
Tony stood frozen, the weight of decades and memories pressing down on him. Slowly, he exhaled.
"Thank you… I love you too, Father."
At that moment Maria stepped toward Tony and gave him a warm embrace.
She smiled lovingly. "My Tony, you haven't aged at all. That serum you used — you still look as strong and sharp as ever."
Tony glanced at his mother's face, then at his hands, thinking about the serum he and Malrick had developed and used.
____
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