Natasha tilted her head slightly.
"They're scientists," she said. "For them, today is Christmas… just with safety protocols."
Eric slowed his steps, allowing himself, for the first time, to think without speaking.
HYDRA.
The word floated through his mind with unsettling ease.
He knew that sooner or later, leaked information would end up where it shouldn't.
But honestly…
I don't care, Eric thought.
It wasn't blind arrogance. It was cold evaluation.
HYDRA could know he was fast. They could know he was light. They could even know his weakness.
So what?
In the face of absolute power, conspiracy was just organized noise.
Even if they know… he thought, what are they going to do? Dump the ocean on me with a spoon?
Besides…
The shop was still there.
PS kept accumulating even now.
And that meant any future threat was, at the very least, negotiable.
HYDRA was the least of his problems.
The real problem was the Multiverse, and all the lunatics scattered across it.
The doors to the testing area slid open with a soft hydraulic hiss.
The space was enormous.
A reinforced white hangar, composite walls, impact measurement markings on the floor, sensors embedded into every surface, and elevated platforms where technicians moved with tablets and barely contained excitement.
At least a dozen researchers were waiting.
Some tried to hide it. Others didn't.
"There he is," someone whispered.
Eric raised an eyebrow.
"Wow," he murmured. "I feel like a new phone model."
One of the scientists stepped forward, adjusting his glasses.
"Mr. Eric," he said with genuine respect. "Thank you for cooperating. We'll try not to… push anything."
Eric smiled politely.
"I appreciate the effort."
Clint leaned against a railing.
"I'm just here to see what breaks first," he commented.
Natasha ignored him with practiced elegance.
"Before we begin," she said, "everything here is voluntary. If something doesn't feel right, we stop. No pressure."
Eric nodded.
"Don't worry. I love cooperating."
"Very well," one of the researchers said. "Whenever you're ready."
Eric stepped forward, positioning himself at the exact center of the marked area.
"What do you want to see first?" he asked. "Speed? Projection? Fine control?"
The scientist exchanged looks with two others.
"We'll start with basic mobility," he said. "No maximum output."
Eric gave a thumbs-up.
"I can do that."
Then he took a step.
And became light.
A clean, elegant, controlled conversion.
Eric reappeared five meters away, perfectly stable.
Sensors flared. Screens flooded with data.
"God…" someone whispered.
"Repeat," another requested.
Eric did.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Each displacement identical, precise.
"There's no residual inertia," one researcher said. "It's like he… chooses where to exist."
Clint whistled softly.
"That still doesn't seem fair."
Natasha watched in silence.
She wasn't impressed. She'd already seen what Eric could do.
"Eric," Natasha said, "would you mind showing something more delicate?"
He looked at her.
"What did you have in mind?"
Natasha pointed to a coin resting on a table thirty meters away.
"Move to it… without displacing it."
Eric smiled.
"Nice challenge."
He became light again.
Appeared beside the coin, two fingers gently holding it, without a tremor.
He returned to the center and dropped it into Natasha's palm.
"Partial intangibility," she murmured.
"Yes," Eric nodded. "If I don't control it, I pass through things I'd rather not pass through."
Clint frowned.
"That sounded… uncomfortable."
"It really is."
Notes piled up. Time slipped by too fast for the scientists to notice.
Eventually, someone remembered they were still human.
"Final test for today," the lead scientist said. "Energy projection. Low intensity."
Eric took a deep breath.
Extended his hand.
A thin beam of light shot out, striking an absorption panel rated for tank fire.
The panel heated… and shut down.
Absolute silence.
"…low intensity," Clint repeated dryly.
Eric shrugged.
"I'm being polite."
Natasha stepped closer.
"Eric," she said quietly, "does it bother you that so many people know about this?"
He shook his head.
"No," he answered honestly. "What would bother me is not knowing who knows."
The lead scientist closed his tablet.
"That's enough for today," he said. "Thank you, Eric."
Eric let the light fade and became just a man in simple clothes again.
"Anytime," he replied.
As they left the testing area, Clint walked a step behind him.
"I've gotta say," Barton said, "I'm glad you're on our side."
Eric glanced back.
"Me too," he answered.
Hours later, they guided him to what would be his room while staying at the facility.
It was surprisingly comfortable.
A large bed.
A reinforced window with a view of absolutely nothing interesting.
And in the center of the adjoining space, a metal structure covered in white sheets.
His suit.
Eric sat in a swivel chair, rocking gently, watching technicians move around the project like overly excited surgeons.
"I won't lie," Eric said. "This feels dangerously close to an unboxing video."
One of the scientists laughed nervously.
"It's a prototype," he replied. "Nothing final yet. We don't even understand a fraction of your full capability, so don't be too hard on the suit."
Eric laughed, genuinely amused.
"That won't stop me."
The sheet was partially lifted.
It was… elegant.
Dark, flexible materials with integrated luminescent conduits.
Minimal plating only where necessary.
Gloves with fine control nodes.
Boots designed not to interfere with photonic conversion.
"Let me see if I get this," Eric said, standing. "This isn't meant to contain my power."
"Exactly," said one of the researchers, a woman clearly fascinated by him. "It's meant to accompany it."
They showed him the details.
"Emission regulators," one explained. "To prevent unnecessary flares."
"Phase anchors," added another. "They assist transitions between intangibility and solidity."
"Environmental sensors," a third continued. "To detect large bodies of water nearby."
Eric smiled.
"So… a suit that reminds me 'don't be an idiot.'"
"In technical terms… yes."
Eric rested a hand on the material.
"I like it," he said. "It's humble."
From the doorway, Natasha Romanoff watched in silence.
"Doesn't it make you look like a god?" she commented. "That's intentional."
Eric turned, laughing.
"I don't need help developing a superiority complex," he replied. "I already have Clint for that."
From somewhere far away, a faint "Hey" echoed.
Meanwhile, in the world…
Screens talked about nothing else.
Tony Stark had vanished.
Contradictory headlines.
Speculation.
Awkward silence from the Pentagon.
"Kidnapped?"
"Dead?"
"Covert operation?"
And, as if fate had a sense of humor, the Iron Man vs Thor short resurfaced with renewed force.
"IRON MAN IS MISSING. COINCIDENCE?"
"WAS THE VIDEO A WARNING?"
"DID STARK KNOW SOMETHING?"
Debates reignited with fresh anger.
"Thor is a symbol."
"Iron Man is real."
"So what now?"
Fans split again.
Some defended the human genius.
Others said he'd be better off dead and that Thor was the true hero.
---
S.H.I.E.L.D.
In a windowless room, Nick Fury stared at a map filled with blinking red dots.
"The noise is increasing," Maria Hill said. "And Stark isn't around to distract it anymore."
Back in his room, Eric fell onto the bed, hands behind his head.
Tony Stark had disappeared.
The debates were on fire.
Eric refreshed his account status.
Once.
Twice.
He smiled.
Channel Status
Marvel Studios
600,214 subscribers
Marvel Shorts
290,087 subscribers
"…okay," he murmured. "This isn't growth anymore. This is hunger."
Eric opened the system shop, just to confirm what he already knew.
[PS: 17,900]
✨ Do you enjoy what I write?
Support me on Ko-fi and help me keep creating stories, chapters, and futures that don't exist yet.… but are already waiting to be born. ☕📖
📩 Any issues with the book or questions? Feel free to message me via DM. I always reply.
🚀 20 early-access chapters now available in my store!
Get access before anyone else to the story, twists, revelations, and moments that haven't been released to the public yet.
✒️ko-fi.com/kanekikun99✒️