Tony placed the stack of research papers back onto the table and looked toward Ethan.
"Ethan, where exactly did you get all this information?" he asked. "The Super Soldier Serum I know about. Extremis is obviously connected to Maya Hansen's research direction. But the Spider Serum… I've never heard of anything like this."
He tapped the documents thoughtfully.
"And the enhancement effects described here sound almost too good to be true. Twenty-five tons of muscle strength, massively increased speed, stamina, and regenerative ability… those I can at least imagine."
Tony paused and pointed to one specific line.
"But 'danger prediction'? That's starting to sound a little… unrealistic."
Tony trusted Ethan's abilities. If Ethan claimed something magical existed, Tony could accept it.
But creating a serum capable of granting people such abilities still sounded outrageous.
Ethan simply shrugged.
"Tony, trust me," he said calmly. "I've personally witnessed what this serum can do."
Tony studied him for a moment, then nodded slowly.
He understood exactly what Ethan meant by "witnessed."
Tony leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
"Well," he said with interest, "you've definitely brought my research enthusiasm back to life. So tell me—what exactly are you hoping the final serum will accomplish?"
Ethan answered immediately.
"The Spider Serum will serve as the foundation. Extremis and the Super Soldier Serum will be supporting components. The final product must reach at least ten percent blood clearance."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"As for the minimum requirement… the new serum cannot be weaker than the original Spider Serum. Most importantly, it must not interfere with the spider serum's enhancement effects."
The Spider Serum's "spider-sense" ability was something Ethan absolutely refused to lose.
After explaining the concept, Ethan glanced around the room.
"Any questions?"
Dr. Kurt Connors hesitated for a moment before raising his hand slightly.
"I do have one concern," he said.
Ethan turned toward him.
"What's the problem, Dr. Connors?"
Connors adjusted his glasses thoughtfully.
"If we're going to develop a new serum, human testing will eventually be unavoidable," he explained. "But ever since that… incident in New York two years ago involving the giant reptilian creature, the government has imposed extremely strict regulations."
He didn't finish the sentence.
But everyone present understood his meaning.
That "incident" had been caused by Connors himself when his experimental lizard serum turned him into a massive reptilian monster.
Since then, biological experimentation involving human subjects had been placed under heavy federal oversight.
Ethan smiled faintly.
"Who said we're developing a serum?" he asked.
Everyone stared at him.
Just a minute ago he had clearly described a serum project.
Now he was denying it?
Ethan continued calmly.
"We're researching a medical treatment," he said. "Specifically, a drug capable of regenerating lost limbs."
"That's something that benefits society."
He spread his hands slightly.
"Why would government regulations concern us?"
Maya Hansen shook her head slightly.
"Other people won't see it that way," she said.
"What other people think isn't our problem," Ethan replied casually.
He pointed toward Tony.
"Look at this guy. He flies around the world wearing a metal combat suit that everyone knows is basically a weapon. But what does he call it?"
Tony blinked.
"A prosthetic," Ethan answered for him.
Tony gave a small shrug.
"Technically not wrong."
"Exactly," Ethan said. "Public perception is flexible."
He turned toward Killian.
"Killian, contact the Vice President within the next two days. I'd like to have a conversation with him."
Ethan smiled faintly.
"I'm confident he'll support legislation that benefits our research."
If the Vice President was willing to assassinate the President just to protect his granddaughter during the Extremis crisis, then persuading him to support a legal medical research bill would be trivial.
"Yes, sir," Killian replied immediately.
Ethan looked around the room again.
"Any other issues?"
Tony suddenly raised a hand.
"I have an extremely important question," he said seriously.
Ethan frowned slightly.
"What is it?"
Tony's expression remained unusually solemn.
"The name."
Ethan blinked.
"The name?"
"Yes," Tony said firmly. "We absolutely cannot call it 'Enhanced Spider Serum.' That sounds terrible. I propose calling it the Stark Serum."
He turned toward Ethan confidently.
"What do you think?"
Ethan stared at him.
For a moment, he seriously considered slapping him.
"Evolution Serum," Ethan said flatly.
Tony opened his mouth to argue.
Ethan immediately added another sentence.
"If you disagree, I'll call Pepper and ask her about the woman you brought here last time."
Tony froze.
"What woman?" he said cautiously.
Ethan shrugged.
"I don't know. That's something you and Pepper should discuss."
Tony immediately became flustered.
"You can't do that," he said quickly. "Pepper won't believe you."
"Want to test that theory?" Ethan asked with a grin.
Whether Pepper believed him or not wasn't really the point.
Ethan knew that with Pepper's emotional intelligence, she would absolutely cooperate with him just to teach Tony a lesson.
And Tony clearly understood that too.
After a long moment, Tony sighed.
"Fine," he muttered. "You win. Evolution Serum it is."
At that moment, Maya Hansen spoke again.
"Mr. Blake," she said cautiously, "aren't you worried about us leaking the contents of this research?"
Her expression remained slightly uneasy.
She had only been notified about the project yesterday and hadn't known anything about it before arriving. Yet during the very first meeting, Ethan had shown them extremely valuable scientific data.
Either Ethan was unbelievably trusting… or unbelievably careless.
Tony and Connors also turned to look at Ethan.
Tony frowned slightly.
To be honest, he was also a bit worried.
Ethan smiled.
"Good thing you reminded me," he said. "We still need to perform a small confidentiality ritual."
He gestured for everyone to stand.
"Place your right hand over your heart."
Although confused, they followed his instructions.
"Now repeat after me," Ethan said.
"I swear that everything I have learned today, as well as all future research related to it, will remain absolutely confidential."
"I will not reveal any of it to anyone in any form or by any method."
"This secrecy is bound to Ethan Blake."
Since it was only a simple oath, everyone repeated the words without hesitation.
The moment the final sentence was spoken, the Fidelius Charm quietly took effect.
From that point forward, none of them could reveal the secret unless Ethan himself chose to reveal it—or died.
"Alright," Ethan said casually. "You're all free to begin preparations for the research."
The scientists gradually left the room.
Soon only Tony and Ethan remained.
Tony crossed his arms and looked uneasy.
"Ethan," he said, "are you really not worried about them leaking the information?"
He gestured toward the documents.
"What we're researching here could change the world. Temptation like that isn't something everyone can resist."
Ethan shrugged.
"Didn't we just take an oath?" he said.
Tony stared at him.
"Since when did you become so naive?" Tony said. "What's the point of an oath?"
Ethan smiled slightly.
"For me," he replied, "an oath is more reliable than any contract."
Then he added casually, "If you don't believe me, call Pepper and try telling her what happened today."
He turned toward the door.
"Wanda's waiting for me at home for dinner," he said. "I should head back."
And then he disappeared.
Tony stood there for a moment, already used to Ethan's habit of vanishing without warning.
After thinking for a bit, he pulled out his phone and called Pepper.
"Hey, Pepper," Tony said. "I wanted to tell you something…"
The moment he opened his mouth, his mind suddenly went completely blank.
He closed his mouth.
The memory returned.
Tony tried again.
"Pepper, I—"
Blank.
His brain emptied instantly.
Pepper's voice came through the phone impatiently.
"Tony, what are you trying to say? I'm busy. Hurry up."
Tony paused for several seconds before sighing.
"I was just wondering if you want pizza tonight."
"…Tony."
Pepper hung up.
Tony stared at the phone and shrugged.
"Magic like that is really convenient," he muttered.
Then a new idea appeared in his mind.
"No… I should probably ask Ethan if I can learn magic too."
....
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