The surgery started quickly—and ended just as quickly.
Under Henry's almost miraculous control, the metal shards that had once threatened Tony's life were wrapped in an invisible energy field and slowly drawn out from his chest.
They fell with a crisp ding ding dang dang onto the metal tray nearby.
The entire process hadn't spilled a single drop of blood.
Henry glanced at the shards, then at the still-unconscious Tony, and couldn't help but chuckle.
"This guy really does have nine lives."
Next, he used the same method to remove the circular reactor that had been slowly releasing toxins into Tony's body.
But this time, he didn't implant the new reactor back into Tony's chest. With his current regenerative ability, Tony no longer needed it to stay alive.
When it was all done, Henry let out a long sigh of relief.
Watching Tony's chest slowly heal shut, a relaxed smile appeared on his face.
He knew that from this moment on, the shackles that had bound Tony all these years had finally been broken by his own hands.
"Alright, Jarvis." Henry clapped his hands and gave a new order.
"Get me in touch with Wakanda's diplomat in the U.S.—yeah, the one who always wears those ridiculously expensive, culturally stylish clothes. Book me a meeting. Tell them the second boss of Stark Industries wants to discuss a big vibranium deal. And make it soon—within the next couple of days. If possible, I'd even like to meet their king."
"Understood, sir. Contacting now."
This was all part of Henry's plan. He had more money than he could ever spend—he was the richest man in the world.
So if something could be solved with money, he rarely chose to start a fight.
At that moment, soft footsteps echoed down the spiral staircase in the lab.
Without even turning around, Henry spoke lazily.
"Hey, Pepper. Shouldn't you be buried under that never-ending mountain of paperwork at the company? What brings you back here?"
"How did you know it was me?" Pepper was startled. She stared at Henry's back, surprise written all over her face.
Walking into the lab, she froze at the sight before her.
"What… happened here?" She glanced at the still-running instruments, then at the massive city model.
"You didn't stay up all night, did you?"
Then her eyes landed on Tony, lying unconscious on the medical platform.
"Tony! Oh my god! What happened to him?!" she cried, hurrying over.
"He's not waking up?"
"More or less." Henry replied casually.
"He just had a little surgery to make sure he sticks around longer."
"Surgery? What surgery?" Pepper turned back, confused.
Then she noticed the tray—the shards of metal, and the circular reactor.
"That thing… was killing him? Oh my god, what on earth—"
"Exactly what you're seeing." Henry shrugged.
"He was getting poisoned by that old lightbulb, so we found a new one—brighter, no leakage, safer. Swapped it out. Problem solved. He's not dying anytime soon."
Pepper looked down at Tony's face. Though asleep, he looked peaceful. Her eyes instantly reddened, tears sliding down uncontrollably.
Hearing Henry's words, she finally came to her senses, wiping at her tears messily with the back of her hand.
"That bastard… he better not die on me," she choked out.
"Don't worry. He won't." Henry chatted with her a while longer, comforting her until she calmed down.
"I need to get back to the company." She glanced at the clock on the wall.
"There's a damn press conference at three. The reporters are probably tearing the doors off by now. Don't be late."
She gave Tony one last lingering look, then turned and hurried out.
Henry watched her retreating figure and shrugged innocently.
"What a stubborn woman."
He shook his head, then said to the air, "Jarvis, let our two guests come down."
That's right.
His senses told him Banner and Blonsky had been holed up in the upstairs rooms this whole time, too wary to wander outside.
But they couldn't stay in his house forever—Henry didn't have space for other men in his home.
"Yes, sir," Jarvis replied at once.
Henry stretched, then walked back to the console.
As he pulled up armor schematics, he chatted with Jarvis.
"Be honest, Jarvis. My design sense these days—isn't it way cooler than Tony's ketchup-and-egg-scramble armor? You better tell me the truth, or I'm cutting your power bill."
The schematics he displayed were for his usual black "Godslayer" armor. But now, he was upgrading every material.
Every detail screamed expensive and powerful.
The last set had been damaged in the fight with Abomination and Hulk.
Even if the armor was partly for show, it was still his treasure. And he hadn't forgotten—this time, it was getting a serious upgrade.
"Based on my aesthetic database and global fashion indexes," Jarvis analyzed, "your design scores higher in minimalism, power, and mystique. Mr. Tony Stark's design leans toward flamboyance and visual impact—more like a walking fireworks display."
"Oh, please. You just don't get art," Henry scoffed, though Jarvis's praise clearly pleased him.
"Black is timeless. It's the color of the universe. Tony's palette? Looks like some circus clown in tin armor—the kind that gets pelted with tomatoes."
As he spoke, he swapped out every material symbol with vibranium, mixing in other alloys.
He reserved large amounts of space in the inner structure, filling them with nano-particle symbols. His workflow was seamless.
He also reinforced the buffering systems for strength and energy—to make sure no one broke his armor again.
"Perfect. Mine's done."
Satisfied, he admired the schematic before pulling up another design: Tony's Mark III armor.
"As for this tin can…" He stroked his chin, then began bold modifications.
"The weapon systems are pathetic. Needs more! Laser cannons, micro-missiles, cluster bombs—load it all up! And this power core? Too small. Not bright enough, not flashy enough. Gotta be bigger—so when my brother shows up, he blinds everyone on the spot. That's real style!"
"Your ideas are very advanced, sir," Jarvis commented.
"Of course." Henry looked smug.
"Genius is always a step or two ahead of its time."
Soon, a sleek, muscular red-and-gold armor design took shape—completely different from Tony's usual style.
For its appearance, Henry had modeled it after Tony's future Mark 85.
He had Jarvis fine-tune the details, then opened another window, his expression growing serious.
"Jarvis, pull up everything on nanoparticles. Yeah, the super sci-fi-sounding stuff that's already been theorized for years. I need to see how to actually make it."
"Yes, sir."
Countless papers, models, and data on nanotech filled the lab's holographic displays.
The formulas and diagrams were enough to make any ordinary person's mind snap.
On Earth, there was one place where nanotech existed—and was already highly advanced.
Wakanda.
Their king, the Black Panther, wore vibranium nano-armor.
That thought reminded Henry—vibranium wasn't only found in Wakanda. Supposedly, there was more in Antarctica.
But if memory served, Antarctica wasn't just about vibranium. Strange things lay hidden there.
In one comic, the Avengers had ventured in and found a primordial jungle, running into all sorts of bizarre events.
Henry decided that when he had time, he might go take a look.
***
we're close to 69 guys keep the Stones coming
If you're interested and wish to support me, you can read advanced chapters:
p-atreon.com/Redestro666