…
Youth has its advantages.
Close your eyes, open them again—another day gone.
When Leon woke up, an entire day had passed.
Tony was sitting backward on a chair beside the bed, arms folded over the backrest, watching him with wide, overly expressive eyes while sipping something that looked suspiciously like swamp-colored vegetable juice.
"Well, skinny kid, you're finally awake."
"Do you realize you just set a Guinness World Record?"
Tony drained the rest of the oversized beer mug of green sludge and swiped across a tablet, pulling up a violently fluctuating heart-rate chart.
"Peak heart rate: 315 beats per minute. You're officially insane."
"And your weight? Also abnormal. Over 200 kilograms. I guarantee no girl wants you on top of her at that number."
"Getting you into the medical bay nearly killed me."
Tony leaned forward.
"So. Want to tell me what happened?"
Leon pulled on a shirt casually.
"Just ran a small superpower experiment. No big deal."
"In short—I got stronger."
He quickly changed the subject.
"If I weigh over four hundred pounds now, how exactly did you move me with those noodle arms of yours?"
Tony smirked.
"Excellent question."
He ignored the slander and led Leon downstairs.
"Watch your—"
BOOM.
Leon stepped forward and immediately fell through a concealed hole in the floor.
"What the—?!"
"…There's a hole there," Tony added helpfully.
Leon stared up from the workshop level.
"Did your inner husky awaken or something? Since when do you remodel by demolition? And you even covered it with cardboard?! Thank you so much!"
"Just ran a small experiment," Tony replied, copying Leon's earlier tone and flashing a smug grin.
"You did that on purpose."
"I'm writing this down."
He dusted himself off as J.A.R.V.I.S. quietly logged the "incident."
Then he saw it.
Suspended among dozens of robotic arms—
The silver, streamlined Mark II Armor.
Sleek. Refined. Elegant.
Behind glass nearby sat the Mark I Armor—Tony's crude but historic first creation, salvaged and brought home earlier.
"Well?" Tony folded his arms. "Same core tech, but performance? Night and day."
"And the flight system? Fully operational."
"I'll show you."
Before Leon could respond, Tony stepped into position as the robotic arms began assembling the suit around him piece by piece.
Seconds later—
Whiiiiir—
CRASH!
Tony shot upward—
And immediately smashed into the ceiling.
A second hole appeared.
Leon stared at the flattened million-dollar sports car beneath Tony's armored body.
"That's it? That's why you dug a trap for me?"
"…Minor calibration issue."
Tony rubbed the side of his helmet awkwardly.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., flight assist?"
"Sir, you disabled the flight assist during your first test."
"…Right."
Tony lay there, staring at the ceiling from the wreckage.
"Flight control needs refinement. And the icing problem at high altitude still isn't solved."
He was already problem-solving mid-crash.
Leon shook his head.
Maybe this was what being a genius meant.
He walked over and casually rested a hand on the Mark II's plating.
[Query: Would you like to complete today's sign-in?]
System, feed me.
[Ding. Daily sign-in complete. Reward obtained: Starlight Template.]
Leon's eyes widened.
[Starlight Template: Enhanced human physiology with emphasis on durability and stamina. Grants energy absorption, conversion, and projection. Output dependent on host's physical capacity and proficiency.]
[Description: Good child. If you're hungry, absorb more energy. Recharge.]
Leon almost laughed out loud.
Perfect timing.
Not only did this further boost his base physical stats—
It solved the biggest limitation of the Soldier Boy Template:
Flight.
Maybe not supersonic yet—
But hovering? Definitely.
And with Leon's superior baseline physique, the output would exceed Starlight's own performance.
He skimmed his updated status internally:
Host: Leon Stark
Abilities:
Soldier Boy Template
Super Self-Regeneration
Adamantium Skeleton
Starlight Template
Items:
Soldier Boy Suit Set
Infinite Desert Eagle (Quality: Indestructible)
The Starlight Template fused almost painlessly compared to the Adamantium Skeleton.
No agony.
No blackout.
Clean integration.
Leon suddenly slapped Tony's shoulder armor.
"Watch this!"
"What—?"
Before Tony could react, Leon began absorbing electricity from the surrounding grid.
It wasn't gradual.
It was predatory.
The workshop lights flickered.
Power conduits hummed.
Even the Mark II's systems began to surge.
Tony's Arc Reactor sparked erratically as energy was siphoned from it.
"Leon—!"
Sparks crackled across Tony's armor, briefly electrocuting him into silence.
Leon's eyes glowed gold.
His palms shone with concentrated radiance.
He thrust both hands downward—
Energy discharged.
And his body lifted.
Unsteady.
Wobbling.
Floating upward in jerky increments.
Tony stared, stunned.
What the hell?
That was exactly what he'd tried yesterday.
Except Leon didn't need thrusters.
He was the thruster.
Because this was raw ability—not mechanical assistance—Leon had no HUD, no gyroscopic stabilizers.
Just instinct.
Under Tony's shouted guidance, he gradually adjusted his posture and output.
The learning curve was steep.
Then—
Beep.
Fingerprint lock disengaged.
Pepper walked in wearing her office attire, two cups of coffee in hand.
"You two—"
CRASH.
CRASH.
Two more million-dollar cars flattened.
Leon and Tony lay sprawled across the wreckage of their respective "landing pads."
They looked at each other.
Then burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHA—!" ×2
Pepper stood frozen, coffee splashed across the floor, wondering what kind of madness she had just walked into.