Just as the Alfred AI was finally completed—with his very first task for Batman being to get a good night's sleep—Iron Man Tony Stark sat before the massive Arc Reactor in the basement of Stark Tower, surrounded by a mountain of wiring, tools, and components.
"Jarvis?" Tony snapped his fingers. "Report self-diagnostic results."
"Sir," Jarvis's voice echoed from nowhere in particular. "Self-diagnostic complete. Congratulations on developing a next-generation artificial intelligence."
"Next-generation? I don't just want next-generation." Tony shook his head. "Jarvis, if I were to have you control the Iron Legion simultaneously right now, what's your absolute maximum capacity?"
"Sir, if we are talking about highly precise, synchronized operation of every single Mark suit, the amount my current computing power can support is one hundred and seventy units," Jarvis reported.
Iron Man Tony Stark crossed his arms over his chest, pondering for a moment.
"No, we don't need that many. The biggest lesson I learned from the Battle of Manhattan is that quality always trumps quantity. I'm not going to mass-produce fragile Mark suits."
"First, I need a heavy-duty suit designed to counter the Hulk and Thor."
The Jarvis AI was clearly far more humanized than before; he actually managed to register the project parameters while asking in a casual, conversational tone:
"As far as I am aware, the Hulk and Thor are your comrades-in-arms, Sir."
"Even if they're comrades, you can bet that not only me, but that bastard Peter is definitely preparing contingency plans for them too," Tony said.
"You are correct, Sir," Jarvis replied. "Heavy-armor project established. Codename: 'Veronica.'"
Tony glanced at the "Veronica" project blueprint projected by Jarvis and nodded, gesturing for Jarvis to mobilize Stark Industries' resources on his own to assemble and build it. He then pivoted to another topic:
"Also, Jarvis, did you notice the suit Batman was wearing during the Battle of Manhattan? I can guarantee that material isn't anything I'm familiar with."
"Based on your past conversations with Batman, he explicitly mentioned that he had visited Wakanda," Jarvis said. "I have reviewed all information regarding Wakanda since the birth of the internet. I believe Batman's suit may be crafted from 'Vibranium,' a metal unique to Wakanda."
"Is there any chance we could replicate one?" Tony asked.
"Sir, the fundamental application of your suit and Batman's suit differs entirely. His combat doesn't rely on the suit itself, whereas you..." Jarvis paused briefly.
Tony raised an eyebrow:
"Jarvis, are you trying to say my combat relies entirely on the suit, right?"
Jarvis spoke eloquently, demonstrating a level of intelligence nearly on par with Alfred in the Batcave:
"Precisely, Sir. You need to constantly iterate and upgrade your armor to face increasingly powerful opponents. Given that Vibranium is a scarce resource heavily dependent on Wakanda, my recommendation is to forgo Vibranium material altogether."
Tony Stark fell into thought once more, quickly arriving at new ideas:
"Then that leaves two paths open before us."
"One path is for me to use certain methods to enhance my own body while creating a modular Vibranium armor, allowing me to adapt to different opponents."
Jarvis didn't refute Tony's idea, adding:
"I believe that is also the path Peter Parker has chosen. What about the other path, Sir?"
"The other path is researching nanotechnology," Tony said.
Jarvis offered what sounded like a sigh of admiration:
"That is indeed a long and highly imaginative road. Sir, upon your mention of this idea, I searched for information on almost every scientist in the world who might touch upon this field, and I found no one capable of developing nanoparticles."
Tony Stark couldn't care less:
"No, Jarvis, you overlooked one person... namely me."
It was December 1st—the fourth month since arriving in this world.
With Alfred taking over, Batman finally relaxed a little, returning to the Forest Hills neighborhood to enjoy a home-cooked dinner prepared by Aunt May and get a solid, restful sleep.
He didn't wear his Gargoyle Suit on his person either, leaving it behind in the Batcave.
When he returned to the Batcave, seven or eight projections of Alfred were busy working around the area.
However, the instant they saw Batman, all the Alfred projections merged into a single entity, bowing slightly toward him:
"Master Wayne, you appear to have recovered well."
"I'm fine, Alfie." Batman's voice remained deep, but it was no longer as rigid as before; clearly, Alfred's arrival had put Batman in a good mood.
"Where are Robin and Thor?" Batman didn't look around, his ears merely twitching. Hearing no sound of Robin or Thor, he asked directly.
"Master Robin is at the chocolate factory—the one you specifically purchased previously to produce phenethylamine-rich chocolate." Alfred's voice carried a hint of warmth when he mentioned Robin.
Batman sat in the chair in front of the workbench, his hands lightly brushing across the surface:
"And Thor?"
"Master Thor decided to make a trip to Norway this morning. He asked me to leave a message for you, saying he will return within three days at the latest; if he doesn't, it means he has returned to Asgard."
Batman nodded, watching a series of virtual projected keypads and interface buttons appear naturally as his hands brushed over the desk.
Previously, Batman had been using physical keyboards, and even the Gargoyle Suit was equipped with a physical computer.
Batman simply hadn't possessed the spare energy to upgrade these minor details.
Yet Alfred had clearly noticed this while Batman was resting.
Not only had the computer integrated into the taken-off Gargoyle Suit been replaced, but the layout of Batman's workbench had also been completely swapped for the split, ergonomic holographic keyboard he was familiar with.
"Asgard..." Batman murmured softly under his breath, typing away on the virtual keyboard for half an hour before standing up.
"Master Wayne, you seem to be preparing for a trip to the Pym Technologies Building?" Alfred stood aside with a smile, speaking as he watched Batman rise.
"Correct. The half-month deadline I promised Ant-Man has arrived," Batman said.
"I wish you every success." Alfred watched Batman put the Gargoyle Suit back on, adding, "Remember to bring the two vials of Pym Particles you promised."
As he spoke, a mechanical arm lowered a small cold-storage box in front of Batman.
Batman was capable of synthesizing Pym Particles, but he hadn't prepared many for himself; he needed to avoid developing a reliance on them.
Aside from these two vials to be returned to Ant-Man Hank Pym, only one vial of Pym Particles remained inside the Batcave, which Batman planned to use on Professor Lizard in the future according to his plans.
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