Tony was still crunching numbers in his head.
For Leon Ragnell, though, money wasn't the point. Power was.
Monopolizing an entire planet's resources? Please.
Give him time and the will, and he could crown himself Emperor of the Cosmos.
For several days straight,
Leon didn't so much as step past the threshold.
He trained. That was it.
His battle power climbed to eight thousand.
As it rose, the regeneration from the Majin Buu cells grew even faster. The interval on his power-gain cycle that had started at ten minutes had ticked down to nine minutes fifty-nine seconds.
If he wanted true "destroy and instantly regenerate" like Buu himself, he'd need at least Super Saiyan-class power.
Whatever Majin Buu was like in the original story—his own body was trending that way.
The stronger the ki, the faster the recovery.
Flight!
Leon drew a steady breath and lifted off the ground.
In the Dragon Ball system, there are two main flight styles:
One is the Crane School's Bukūjutsu (Sky Dance).
The other is the Demon Clan method—Piccolo's flight.
The latter is faster and more agile, but burns more ki than Bukūjutsu.
Whoosh!
Against a jet-black sky, Leon soared like a great raptor, carving through the winter bite of the wind. The rush pulled a shout from his throat before he could stop it.
A power level of 8,000—on par with Nappa.
Even the speed surprised him.
...
Elsewhere, in Tony's lab—
He'd finished a first pass on a brand-new suit of armor. Silver-white plating gave it a severe, almost glacial look.
The Arc Reactor on his chest wasn't round anymore. It was diamond-shaped.
More output. Meaner punch.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., give me weather and air-traffic control. Start listening for ground directives."
Inside the armor, Tony was itching to go—desperate to feel his new invention in the air.
"Sir, before any real flight we should run diagnostic computations on the order of ten gigabytes," JARVIS suggested with its usual best-practice calm.
"JARVIS, sometimes you have to run before you can walk!"
Tony cut him off cheerfully. "Load all optimization routines from the main interface. Surface control check."
With every command, the high-grade A.I. ran a sweep over the suit. Moments later, JARVIS reported: "All green, sir."
"Excellent. Prepping in… 3… 2… 1…"
On "one," the repulsors in hands and feet roared to life. With a sharp hiss, Tony struck a pose—and rocketed skyward.
Flying a suit yourself isn't remotely like sitting in a jet. First taste of that freedom and Tony couldn't help the whoop of joy that burst out of him.
In a stretch of empty desert, Tony raised his hand.
The armor shifted with a clatter; the fingertip formed a compact emitter.
Dodon Ray!
A needle-thin beam lanced outward.
Tony frowned. The power didn't match Leon's, not even close.
He tried the palm next.
Not a beam this time—but a ki-blast-style pulse.
Swish!
He drove both palms forward in a flowing cadence.
Prince's Battle Art!
"Sir, I've detected a flying lifeform at eight hundred meters…" JARVIS's voice cut in just as the palm blasts flew.
"Crap!" Tony blanched.
He hadn't caught the "lifeform" note—he'd thought aircraft. If this hit a plane—
Pop! Pop! Pop!
A crisp chain of detonations rattled the air. Each ki-blast burst harmlessly apart mid-flight.
Tony exhaled. "Close one. JARVIS, you said a lifeform? What kind?"
"Not an aircraft, sir. Humanoid, in flight, high speed… now on top of us—"
Tony didn't hear the rest. The "lifeform" was already right in front of him.
"Leon!" Tony blurted. "You can fly?!"
"Of course," Leon said with a nod. "What's this?"
"My latest suit. Thoughts?" Tony lifted his chin, smug. "The reactor equations you gave me are incredible—tons of headroom, and…"
He flicked a finger. A string of razor beams zipped from his fingertips. "How's that?"
Leon smiled. "Not bad. Passable. Watch this."
He slid into a classic Nappa pose.
Right hand up—index and middle fingers pressed together like a blade. He gave the sky the lightest hook.
Boom…
In an instant a dreadful surge of energy erupted under their feet, a shock front that washed across at least a kilometer. Anything living in that circle—gone.
Tony stood frozen.
This…
And that was Leon pulling the punch.
If he hadn't…
New York would have been razed with a casual flick.
Nappa's "Two-Finger City Wipe."
(End of Chapter)
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