Although she didn't fully understand the intentions behind Kurogai's gesture, Susan accepted the small silver device he offered and walked away, her thoughts in turmoil.
Kurogai Blackwood, on the other hand, made his way back to his spaceship base. Time was still on his side, and he intended to make the most of it. Jean Grey was progressing steadily, but he wanted her to grasp the Phoenix Force more efficiently. Training her without delay was critical.
Unlike before, Kurogai no longer needed Wanda's assistance to create space mirror portals. He had already studied and replicated the complex spell from her repertoire. Now, conjuring a portal through the Mirror Dimension was within his own grasp.
Days passed, and during this window of time, Kurogai and Jean received a significant update from New York—Tony Stark had just revealed to the world that he was Iron Man.
The announcement was bold, brash, and entirely predictable coming from Stark. Kurogai merely smirked. It was so on-brand for someone with Stark's flamboyant ego.
Shortly after, Kurogai felt a familiar tingle from a magical beacon he had left with Stark—Stark had activated the signal. The suit was ready.
"Jean," Kurogai said, stepping into the training hall, "that's enough for today. I need to head out."
Jean, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow, nodded. "No problem. I could use the break anyway. Gives me a chance to reflect on everything we've worked on."
Kurogai gave her a brief smile of acknowledgment. She was learning quickly, adapting to the force within her with surprising control.
Opening a space portal, Kurogai stepped directly into Tony Stark's mansion.
"Kurogai!" Stark called out as soon as he noticed him. "You're just in time. Come see your new toy!"
He gestured excitedly and led Kurogai down to the underground lab. In the center of the room, resting on a rotating display platform, was a sleek, silver-and-gold suit of armor. Its edges were sharp and clean, its surface gleaming under the lab's lighting. It looked like it had been forged more than built—both elegant and deadly.
If Stark's red-and-gold suit was theatrical, this one was a silent storm.
"This," Stark said proudly, "is yours. I added a unique subsystem tailored to respond only to your voice and bio-signature. Smart tech meets a touch of mysticism. Pretty neat, huh?"
Kurogai examined the armor with a thoughtful expression. "It's impressive. Very well executed."
"Of course it is," Stark replied smugly. "But one thing's missing. It needs a name. All great suits need names. Even code names count."
Kurogai stared at the armor a moment longer before answering.
"Waltz," he said softly.
Stark raised a brow. "Waltz? That's… poetic. Not what I expected. But hey, your suit, your rules."
Then, Kurogai turned and locked eyes with him. His gaze sharpened, blood-red irises revealing the three tomoe of his Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Stark," Kurogai said with quiet intensity, "I need you to disconnect this suit from external networks. That includes Jarvis and any surveillance mechanisms you may have installed."
Stark's confident demeanor faltered for a moment. "What? Why—"
"Because I know you. Curiosity is your weakness," Kurogai continued. "You might not mean harm, but I won't risk anyone tracking my base through this suit."
Stark hesitated. Then, under the influence of Kurogai's ocular powers, his body moved on instinct.
"There's only one sensor embedded," Stark said, voice monotone. "It detects spatial fluctuations. I added it out of scientific curiosity. The rest of the suit is clean. I knew you'd hate snooping, so I didn't install anything else."
"Good. Keep it that way."
Kurogai watched as Stark removed the sensor from the suit's internal matrix and erased any data traces from Jarvis's archives. Once satisfied, Kurogai stored the armor into his Kamui dimension, hidden safely away from prying eyes.
With his business concluded, he stepped back into a portal and vanished.
Moments later, Stark stirred awake in the lab, shaking off the lingering haze from Kurogai's technique.
"What just happened?" he asked aloud. "Jarvis, status report."
"Sir," the AI replied calmly, "you manually removed the spatial sensor from Mr. Blackwood's armor and deleted all associated backup data from the archives."
Stark frowned deeply. He didn't mind the deletion—that was always a risk—but what disturbed him was how effortlessly Kurogai had overridden his will.
"That's not just magic," he muttered. "That's some kind of high-level neural influence. He didn't even touch me."
He sat back in his chair, unease settling over him.
"If he ever decided to take me out… I wouldn't last a second."
Stark rubbed his temples, thinking quickly. He needed contingency plans. Not out of paranoia, but principle. Every force—no matter how powerful—needed a counterbalance.
"I'm going to need a new project," he muttered. "Something that can counter whatever the hell he just did. A specialized armor."
His mind already spinning with blueprints and energy equations, Stark smirked weakly to himself.
"Anti-Kurogai Armor. Sounds excessive, but necessary."
And with that, he got to work.