"Sir, I've received an encrypted message from Mr. Tony. He asked me to tell you that he just saw you on the satellite feed through a backup channel. He also says, quote: stop bathing in space, you're ruining the view."
"I knew it." Henry rolled his eyes.
"That damned peeping Tom! Spying on me with satellites? Does he have no sense of privacy? That's a crime! J.A.R.V.I.S., patch me through to Tony—I'm going to curse him out!"
"Sir, Mr. Tony terminated all comms immediately after sending the message."
"Coward, running away so fast." Henry snorted, then looked down at the beautiful planet beneath his feet.
"Well, since I've been found out, it's no fun anymore. Let's head back."
He glanced at his armor, then at the massive Earth below.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., calculate reentry velocity. I want the fastest return possible—gotta give that idiot brother of mine a scare!"
"Understood, sir. Calculating now."
The next instant, Henry vanished, turning into a streak of black light that shot toward the blue planet at breakneck speed!
His velocity kept climbing, fast enough to distort the very air around him.
"Sir! You've already exceeded Mach 8—and rising!"
"Too slow! Faster!"
He blazed downward like a burning meteor, trailing a long tail of fire.
The atmosphere, the ozone layer…
Every barrier before him tore apart like thin paper.
At last, he pierced through and fully reentered Earth.
His top speed stabilized at Mach 11!
"Barely acceptable," he muttered, then locked onto his destination—the Malibu coastline—and streaked toward home.
---
A few minutes later, Malibu villa.
Night had fallen, and silence blanketed the seaside.
A dark figure landed soundlessly on the lawn outside the villa.
Henry walked through the front door. His armor, under J.A.R.V.I.S.'s control, detached piece by piece and reassembled into its compact suitcase form.
He casually tossed the suitcase onto the couch, poured himself a glass of red wine at the bar, and swirled it slowly, savoring the peace.
Suddenly, his ears twitched.
He heard it.
From the direction of the basement came faint metallic clinking, mixed with hushed voices—two men speaking in low tones.
Henry smirked knowingly.
"So, the idiot brother is finally doing some real work." He lifted his glass.
"Wonder if that brain of his—which only knows women and parties—can actually handle complex biology."
Chatting idly with J.A.R.V.I.S., he strolled leisurely toward the basement.
Descending the spiral staircase, the voices grew clearer.
"No, still no good. J.A.R.V.I.S., run the simulation again. Lower the solvent ratio… increase energy input frequency…"
"Tony, maybe you should take a break? You've been at this for over 8 hours straight."
That was Yinsen's voice.
"I'm not tired," Tony replied, his tone stubborn and irritable.
"Hey, my two hardworking scientists," Henry's voice rang suddenly from the lab's entrance.
"Are you researching how to turn water into oil? Or are you secretly trying human transmutation? Reminder: this household doesn't have spare material for a second full-metal body."
Tony and Yinsen both jumped, whipping around in surprise.
"Henry!" Tony exhaled in relief—then immediately snapped back.
"Do you walk without making a sound?! Weren't you streaking in space? How'd you get back so fast? Don't tell me the aliens deported you because your technique was lousy."
"And you?" Henry shot back.
"At least I don't need to go out in a tin can. Seriously, Tony, doesn't your armor need a rust-proofing? I swear I smelled iron oxide just now."
After trading a few more jabs, Henry finally walked up to Yinsen, smiling as he extended a hand.
"Long time no see, Yinsen. Looks like you're doing alright at Stark Industries. At least you're looking healthier than back in that Afghan cave."
"Long time indeed, Henry." Yinsen smiled, shaking his hand.
"Thanks to Tony, I'm now chief medical consultant at Stark Industries. And I must say, the work here is far more interesting than I expected."
After greetings, Henry turned back to Tony, expression sour.
"Alright, reunion's over. Now, tell me—why drag me back from a perfectly nice space trip? If it's just to watch you stage a live-action version of 'failure is the mother of success,' spare me. I'm not interested in your failures."
"Hey! Your mouth is still as foul as ever." Tony glared, then gestured at the complex molecular model hovering on the holographic screen.
"Of course it's serious. Remember the serum I mentioned yesterday? I've already perfected the enhanced Super Soldier Serum. But…"
A frown creased his face.
"…I keep feeling there's more to do. I've tried countless combinations, trying to merge several different serums into one new formula. But no matter what I do, it fails. They're like oil and water—utterly incompatible."
Yinsen added, "Yes, we've tested every method known to us, but every fusion attempt ends in cell collapse and death. From a biological standpoint, these serums are fundamentally opposed."
Tony stared at the failed data, for once showing a trace of defeat.
But his damned pride wouldn't let him admit he was out of his depth in biology.
Henry took one look and immediately understood.
"Oh, I get it now." His face lit with mockery.
"So, bottom line—you can't handle it yourself, so you dragged back the true genius in biology—me—to clean up your mess. Looks like that so-called genius brain of yours isn't all-purpose after all, Tony."
"No, that's not it!" Tony snapped back instantly, though his voice lacked conviction.
Damn Henry!
Tony was no slouch in biology, but Henry was on another level entirely.
Ignoring him, Henry moved to the console and had J.A.R.V.I.S. pull up all raw data and simulations.
He began studying in earnest, his demeanor shifting to razor-sharp focus.
"Tsk, look at this sloppy procedure." He clicked his tongue, showing off his expertise while scanning the data.
"Mixing the inducer directly with the transformation serum? Tony, are you doing science or cooking stew? These two compounds are polar opposites. Frankly, the fact you didn't blow yourself up into well-done steak is sheer luck."
"I was trying a new possibility!" Tony retorted, still stubborn.
But Henry's smirk soon faded, his brow furrowing deeply.
"Strange…" he muttered.
As Tony and Yinsen had said, every simulation, every model—no matter how he rearranged it—ended in collapse.
"This can't be…" Tony murmured, staring at the endless failures.
"These serums coexist perfectly in your body. Why can't we replicate that in the lab? Was your success really just… an accident? A one-time miracle?"
Henry stayed silent for a long while, reviewing all the data again, before finally speaking.
"Looks like it." His gaze was complicated as he turned to Tony.
"On a theoretical level, these serums simply can't merge. The best we can manage is what you said earlier: refining a stronger version of the Super Soldier Serum."
"And moreover—" He pointed at the ever-evolving genetic chain displayed on the screen.
"When Hydra injected me, it probably wasn't a completed formula. Instead, those primitive serums must have undergone some unknown mutation inside me, beyond our current understanding… and only then did they turn me into what I am now."
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Just 18 stones more for perfect number.
I'll post a bonus if we hit 69
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