"Talk is cheap," Ryuuto muttered as he sealed his hand signs and let the Seventh Gate slide shut. He sprinted to the cliff edge. If Tony went over now, it wouldn't be easy to pull him back.
Pepper was already doing the sensible thing: sprinting after him. High heels and a pencil skirt didn't slow her for long — she kicked the heels off mid-run and kept going. Stark Industries' heartbeat had to stay alive.
Ryuuto rubbed his palms together, then launched a barrage of kicks.
Ninjutsu · Leaf Hurricane!
A gust that screamed across the cliff sent Tony tumbling out of freefall. The armored hero slammed down into the grass in a brutal herringbone, faceplate flashing warnings in angry red.
Ryuuto landed like a cat on the turf, calm as ever. Tony's HUD was screaming numbers.
"Calculate the impact force just now," Tony panted.
J.A.R.V.I.S' reply was clinical. "Equivalent to a Boeing 747 falling from one thousand meters."
Tony groaned. No wonder the armor had been launched skyward. "If the thrusters kick in early—"
"Comet impact," J.A.R.V.I.S finished. "The unknown energy you carried was near-thermal-ultimate. Combined with kinetic transfer, impact would be catastrophic. If declared friend, current outcome is optimal."
Tony stared at the shattered HUD. "I have to fix this."
"I can help," J.A.R.V.I.S offered.
"You'll be my patchwork for now," Tony said, half to the AI, half to himself. "I'll pick the fastest, most efficient fixes."
"Efficiency will improve as you input data," J.A.R.V.I.S confirmed.
Ryuuto and Pepper walked up as Tony struggled to his feet. Ryuuto grinned. "Kids' games get dangerous quick."
"You did that to my armor," Tony hissed, wiping grass and dirt off a damaged joint. "I'm going to be in the lab rebuilding this for days."
"Pepper's in charge while you sulk," Ryuuto said. "Plenty of time to drone on about specs and sip something expensive."
Tony shot him a look. "You ruined the thrust system."
"So you said. Fix it. Then upgrade it." Ryuuto circled the suit as if he was appraising a wild animal. "Change the energy intake. If your armor can absorb solar energy and convert it to kinetic thrust, it'll be a lot more self-sustaining."
Tony laughed, a showman's guffaw. "Next-gen energy harvesters are on the roadmap. Not easy—top-tier robotics, thermal converters, micro capacitors. Takes months."
Ryuuto tapped the arm plating where a spent ammo magazine normally lived. "You store bullets in the arm magazine, right? Convert that cavity — or replicate it — into a modular energy converter. If the clip is inside the arm, it's cleaner for ballistics and flow dynamics."
"Did you graduate MIT or something?" Tony asked.
"Better," Ryuuto smirked. "Axville School for Talented Youth. Good place to learn weird stuff."
Tony's face went incredulous. "Not bad. You sound like an engineer."
"Mutants hide their edge when they need to," Ryuuto said. "Most of us look ordinary unless we use our abilities."
"Most," Tony echoed. "Some can't control their powers. They hurt people. That's the problem."
Ryuuto's expression dipped. He thought of Rogue's drained fingers, of the tiny, dangerous things that hurt people by accident or design. "Right. That one you mentioned — the energy-draining type? Dangerous on contact."
"It's downright creepy," Tony agreed. "Absorbers are a biohazard if unchecked."
Tony changed the subject. "You ever consider college?"
Ryuuto blinked mid-breath as Tony's metaphor stumbled toward embarrassment. "Why go to university?"
Tony warmed to the pitch. "You're sharp. Eighteen and already fighting the Hulk and sparring with the Avengers. You could be—"
Pepper rolled her eyes and walked off before Tony finished his awkward pitch. Tony cleared his throat, unfazed. "Universities are stimulation. You get smarter if you surround yourself with bright people."
Ryuuto towel-dried his hair and felt the truth in Tony's tone. Education could give him new tools—better tech, more allies, safer ways to push limits. But he wasn't a kid to be enrolled without reason.
"If you want, I can send you to any school," Tony offered. "Name it and we'll sort the logistics."
Ryuuto's smirk returned, half amused, half calculating. "We'll talk later. First—help me tune that armor. Make it less of a bowling ball and more of a sun-catcher."
Tony's grin spread, the challenge welcomed. "Deal. And Ryuuto? Next time you try the Seventh Gate, warn me. Or at least give me coffee."
Ryuuto laughed. "I'll think about it. No promises."
The Atlantic spread blue beyond the cliff. For the briefest moment, everything felt simple: a kid from Japan with too many tricks, a billionaire who didn't sleep, and a woman who'd traded heels for heroism. The equation was messy, but Ryuuto liked messy. Messy could be fixed. Messy could be upgraded.
[Ding! System Notification — ]
[Newbie Package: +1 Technical Insight (Stark Armor Systems) unlocked.]
Ryuuto glanced at the sky and felt, not for the first time, that his path was getting exponentially wilder.