Chapter 28: Climbing Technology
1999
Your premonition was correct. The intelligence Steve Rogers sent you was shocking. Because you and Einstein had invented the Ark Reactor first, Stark Industries in this world had pivoted more toward biomedicine. In the original timeline, Howard and his wife were assassinated by the Winter Soldier because Howard Stark had developed five doses of the Super Soldier Serum, a fact discovered by a high-level Hydra agent lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D. In this world, it was highly likely that Tony Stark had obtained the complete formula.
2000
According to official statistics, the market capitalization of your company, Starry Sky, exceeded $1.5 trillion, roughly on par with Apple in your previous life. Based on your 85% stake, you were losing a million dollars a minute—meaning you'd be bankrupt in about 300 years. An acceptable margin. In July, you met Tony Stark for the first time at a banquet. He made a good impression on you; a very humble young man. Of course, no one really had the right to be arrogant in your presence. Winston, however, told you he disliked Tony Stark. His reason was that the auras of intelligent people simply didn't mix. You were left speechless.
2001
Even as the 21st century began, you never neglected your social life. Despite your true age, you appeared to be a young man in your twenties. The public didn't know you were a vampire; they only knew you as a war hero and a legendary scientist who had been injected with an anti-aging serum. Meanwhile, through long-term practice of the Ripple Breathing technique and the continuous evolution of the Super Soldier Serum in your body, you could feel your intellect, strength, and agility steadily increasing, with no sign of reaching your limit.
2002
After eighteen years of hard work, you finally created an isotope of the Tesseract. The process was far more difficult than what was shown in the movie. As a scientist, you could confidently say that it would be impossible to create a new element as depicted in the film—it's a flagrant violation of the law of conservation of energy. To create your new element, you first invested heavily in a four-kilometer-long superconducting collider, which consumed five megawatts of electricity to smash subatomic particles and fuse them into new nuclei. The process took at least three days. This new element, which you named "Palladium-like," was an incredibly powerful energy source. Not only was it safe and clean, but it could also triple the output of a small arc reactor to six billion joules per second.
2003
You stepped back into the public eye, taking over the management of Starry Sky and announcing your entry into the clean energy industry, with a primary focus on controlled nuclear fusion. This announcement heralded a new era in human energy.
2005
Stark Industries announced the successful development of a human enhancement serum, capturing worldwide attention. Your guess had been proven true.
Late 2005
You learned that Bruce Banner had been tragically exposed to extreme levels of gamma radiation during a biological experiment, creating a second personality: the Hulk. You sought him out and engaged him in a fight, but the outcome was inconclusive.
2006
With the help of Winston and Dr. Zola, you began developing the Iron Man suit, using a small arc reactor as its foundation. You continued to challenge the Hulk to fights periodically; it felt like you were giving him a complex.
Late 2006
Tony Stark disappeared during a business trip, only to return two weeks later. Upon his return, he immediately fired Obadiah Stane and had him charged with murder. Around the same time, a superhero in a red and gold suit appeared on the streets of New York. Reminiscent of Batman from your past life, this man's physical abilities were at the peak of human potential, and his suit was packed with high-tech gadgets. It even included a flight system. He called himself Phoenix Man. Of course, you knew it was the incredibly flamboyant Tony Stark.
Early 2007
As expected, when S.H.I.E.L.D. followed up, Tony Stark generously admitted he was Phoenix Man. Later, at a press conference, he tossed aside the script S.H.I.E.L.D. had prepared and simply declared, "I am Phoenix Man!"
Watching the broadcast, Winston remarked, "The nerve of that guy. I wouldn't be caught dead doing something so blatant." You smiled but said nothing. You could tell Winston was lonely and wanted a friend.
2007
You created the first Iron Man suit, an armor far more powerful than the one from the movies. Winston was fascinated by it, so you gave it to him. He named it "Trampler." With it, you decisively defeated the Hulk for the first time.
March 2007
Winston began flying around in his Trampler suit, performing heroic acts and helping people. The public started calling him Iron Man. Due to his unique height and build, some people guessed his identity. Regardless, you could tell he was happy. The Hulk, on the other hand, was not. You had confronted him again, and he'd been badly beaten.
May 2007
Steve Rogers approached you personally, demanding to know if you were behind the Iron Man suit. You freely admitted it and told him Winston was the pilot. Faced with his old comrade, Steve couldn't bring himself to get angry and instead arranged for Winston to hold a press conference to deny his identity. However, at the event, Winston threw away the script and loudly declared, "I am Iron Monkey!"
Iron Monkey?! You were sipping tea at the time, and even your legendary composure failed you. You spat a mouthful of tea all over the screen.
July 2007
Phoenix Man and Iron Monkey fought on the streets of New York. Iron Monkey proved to be slightly superior, prompting Tony Stark to begin upgrading the Phoenix armor, attempting to create an anti-Iron Monkey suit. He set his sights on vibranium. Coincidentally, you also purchased a large amount of vibranium, using it to upgrade the arc reactor's materials and build a more advanced Iron Man suit.
August 2007
Thanks to Steve Rogers's mediation, Winston and Tony Stark reconciled and, surprisingly, became good friends. You were happy Winston had found someone to connect with. There were, however, less happy developments. When you next found Bruce Banner, the Hulk refused to come out.
2007–2010
As the new decade began, you had already developed seven generations of the Iron Man suit. You even gave one to Steve Rogers and one to Peggy Carter as birthday gifts. You also gave one to Tony Stark, who claimed he never accepted gifts from men but eventually took it with a swagger. In return, he gave you one of his custom-built Phoenix suits. (You obtained the epic item: Phoenix Mark I.)
April 2010
Just as in the original story, a hammer fell from the sky and landed in New Mexico. Concerned, you traveled there with Steve Rogers. To your astonishment, Steve easily lifted Mjolnir and gained the power of Thor. The real Thor, arriving late, could only cry out to the heavens, "No!"
Things eventually worked out. After a fierce battle, Thor retrieved his hammer and defeated the Destroyer. The incident left Steve deeply worried. Witnessing the power of gods and cosmic machines, he began to fear that Earth would face an increasing number of alien threats.
July 2010
The Hulk and the Abomination engaged in a fierce battle in downtown New York. Compared to the brawls with you and your three Iron Man suits, however, this was nothing. The Hulk transformed back into Dr. Banner the instant he saw you, leaving the stunned Abomination to face the consequences. With the assistance of S.H.I.E.L.D. Deputy Director Nick Fury, the battle caused no major damage or casualties.
September 2010
After witnessing more and more forces beyond his control, Steve Rogers invited you to rejoin S.H.I.E.L.D. to help fight against unknown enemies. After careful consideration, you agreed and resumed your former role as Director. Of course, the main operational duties still fell to Steve and Nick Fury. You preferred to control your own destiny rather than take orders.
April 2011
You began deploying a large number of newly developed weapons on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarriers.
June 2012
Despite your precautions, Loki used the Tesseract's energy fluctuations to pinpoint its coordinates. He appeared in the underground base and stole it. In mid-June, at your suggestion, Overwatch—oh, no, the Avengers—was born. You, Winston, Thor, Tony Stark, Black Widow, the Hulk, Hawkeye, Steve Rogers, and Peggy Carter formed the new team. You even had a custom Iron Man suit made for each of them, because money was no object.
July 2012
Loki finally opened the wormhole. When the Chitauri fleet poured through, they were met by a fully prepared helicarrier and six Iron Man suits. Victory was much easier than expected. Under your leadership, the team easily defeated the Chitauri and Loki, even managing to secure the Mind Stone and the scepter, which left the Thor who had come to help completely bewildered. In the end, the Tesseract remained on Earth, as everyone—including Thor—agreed it was safer there than in Asgard's current state.
---
⭐ $5 Tier – Early Access!
Stay 50 chapters ahead of public releases on RoyalRoad and Scribble Hub.
Latest available chapter: 78.
Chapters are uploaded as soon as they're completed, so you'll always be ahead of the curve.
By joining, you'll be directly supporting the story while enjoying exclusive early access.
🔗 Patreon link is in My Profile/About.
⚠️ Please select your membership carefully, as I have multiple novels ongoing.
🍎 If you're on Apple, consider subscribing through your browser instead — it's cheaper for you, and I'll receive payments faster.