Ethan Blake was slightly stunned.
Tony Stark's request didn't sound like something he would normally say. The carefree genius rarely spoke in such a serious tone.
A thought flashed through Ethan's mind and he studied Tony more carefully.
Tony's face looked unnaturally pale. There were faint, almost invisible dark lines spreading along the skin of his neck.
Palladium poisoning.
It seemed Tony had already realized the problem himself.
"Hey… Ethan, why are you staring at me like that?" Tony said suspiciously. "Just so you know, I'm not into guys. And you still haven't answered my question."
Ethan smiled casually.
"No problem," he said lightly. "Pepper is beautiful, kind, and only a few years older than me. If you die, I'll make sure she's taken good care of."
"Damn it!" Tony snapped. "That's not what I meant. I didn't ask you to take care of Pepper like that… Forget it. If you can manage it, go ahead."
Tony sounded irritated, but then something crossed his mind and his expression darkened again.
"Alright, you bastard. You can go now. Just remember what you promised."
Instead of leaving, Ethan calmly walked over to the nearby wine cabinet and picked up a bottle of red wine.
"Hey! Not that one," Tony protested immediately. "That's a collector's bottle I just bought—"
Pop!
Before Tony could finish his sentence, the cork shot out of the bottle under Ethan's telekinetic pull.
Ethan glanced at him calmly.
"What were you saying?"
Tony suddenly felt extremely tired.
He waved his hand weakly.
"Nothing. Do whatever you want."
Ethan poured the wine into a glass and took a slow sip before looking back at Tony.
"How much palladium is in your blood?" Ethan asked suddenly.
"Thirty-five percent," Tony replied instinctively.
Then he froze.
Tony stared at Ethan in shock.
"Wait… Ethan, how did you know that?!"
Ethan shrugged casually.
"You can think of it as a superpower."
"A superpower?" Tony frowned. "You're telling me there's a superpower that detects palladium poisoning? That sounds like the most useless superpower ever."
"Definitely not," Ethan said with a roll of his eyes.
He tapped his own eyes with two fingers.
"These eyes can see fragments of the past and the future."
It was the same explanation he had used when dealing with Nick Fury.
Eventually people would notice something strange about his foresight. It was easier to plant a believable explanation early rather than constantly invent new excuses later.
"Man, you're joking… right?" Tony said slowly.
But after looking at Ethan's completely serious expression, Tony began to believe him a little.
After all, Ethan wouldn't lie about something like this when Tony was literally dying.
"Alright," Tony said after a moment. "I'll admit it. I'm a little jealous."
He paused before giving a self-deprecating laugh.
"In the future you saw, I probably die pretty horribly, huh?"
Radiation poisoning was a brutal way to die.
"Actually," Ethan said calmly, "it's the opposite."
Tony blinked.
"In the future I saw, you're still alive and kicking at least ten years from now. By then you've already developed armor up to Mark 50."
"What?!"
Tony's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Impossible."
"Nothing is impossible," Ethan replied. "You're going to discover a brand-new element very soon. It's cleaner, more efficient, and it completely replaces palladium in your arc reactor."
"And because of that, you survive."
Tony stared at him.
For the first time in days, hope flickered across his face.
"Really?" he muttered. "Looks like I'm still a genius after all."
Then his expression suddenly turned grim again.
"Wait… Ethan. You shouldn't have told me that."
Ethan frowned slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Tony rubbed his forehead.
"In propulsion systems, even a tiny change in the starting conditions can trigger massive chain reactions later on. It's a phenomenon called chaos theory—"
"Stop, stop," Ethan interrupted quickly. "Butterfly effect. I know what that means. What's your point?"
"You know about that?" Tony said, looking surprised.
Ignoring Ethan's annoyed expression, Tony continued explaining.
"Every new element discovered in history was found by accident. In the future you saw, there's a high chance I discovered that element by chance."
"But now that I know it exists, I'll start searching for it deliberately."
Tony grimaced.
"And that means I might never find it."
He sighed heavily.
"Before you told me this, I was certain I'd survive. Now it feels like I only have a fifty percent chance."
Ethan realized Tony had misunderstood the situation completely.
"You don't need to worry about that," he said calmly.
He took another sip of wine before continuing.
"The discovery of that element wasn't an accident at all."
"You could even call it inevitable."
Tony stared at him for a moment.
Then he slowly let out a breath.
"That's… good to hear."
A moment later, curiosity appeared on his face again.
"So when exactly did you see this future?"
"A long time ago," Ethan replied.
Tony leaned forward slightly.
"Then do you know how I discovered the element?"
"I have a pretty good idea," Ethan said.
Tony's eyes narrowed.
"So let me get this straight. You knew I had palladium poisoning. You also knew the solution. But you didn't tell me earlier?"
Tony glared at him.
"And we're supposed to be friends."
Ethan coughed awkwardly.
"Well… geniuses like solving their own problems, right? I figured telling you would ruin the fun."
Tony stared at him in disbelief.
"I'm dying and you're worried about ruining the fun?"
He shook his head.
"Your logic is terrifying. Just tell me already."
Tony paused before adding proudly:
"And for the record, I'm not just a genius. I'm a super genius."
Ethan thought for a moment.
"Alright," he said. "First question. Where's the model from the 1974 Stark Industries Expo?"
Tony blinked.
"What do I need that for? It's in Pepper's office."
Ethan shrugged.
"You asked for the solution. Call Pepper and have her bring the model."
Tony hesitated for a second before nodding.
"Fine. I'll trust you."
He was about to make the call when he suddenly stopped.
Tony slowly turned his head toward Ethan.
Then he gestured in the air with his finger.
"Wait a second," he said suspiciously. "Can't you teleport?"
He crossed his arms.
"I'm pretty sure you could grab it faster than Pepper."
"…."
Ethan silently raised his middle finger.
Then he vanished.
Five or six seconds later, he reappeared holding a display stand in his hand.
....
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