Los Angeles, Malibu Beach.
After Tony Stark's return, he appeared only in front of the press, announcing that Stark Industries would no longer manufacture weapons.
He stayed alone in his lab; apart from Pepper checking in daily, no one else saw him.
He was in hiding, working on his armor designs.
The blueprints he had drafted in Afghanistan were brought back and uploaded to his computer.
At that moment, a 3D projection appeared in front of Tony—the very model he had constructed in the cave using available resources.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., remove the outer shell but keep the core technology intact, then repackage it with a new exterior design."
"Yes, sir!"
As J.A.R.V.I.S. responded, the 3D projection in front of Tony began to rotate.
The outer armor components scattered and vanished.
Then, images of more armor parts appeared out of thin air.
They assembled themselves around the central Arc Reactor, methodically snapping into place one by one.
The MARK II model had been initially completed.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., how are you?"
Tony rotated the projector with his hand, examining it carefully from every angle—front to back, left to right.
"Sir, I must say, your work is ahead of its time!"
"I always anticipate the next move. J.A.R.V.I.S., place the orders for me—I need the first batch of materials delivered as soon as possible."
The preliminary design for the battle armor was finalized.
Tony picked up another launcher on the desk.
In his concept, this launcher could serve both as a propulsion system and as a laser cannon for conventional combat.
"Looks like I need to upgrade the reactor immediately. The current rotation speed is too low to meet the armor's energy demands."
Tony muttered to himself as he lowered his head, placing a brand-new Arc Reactor on the desk.
…
"Mr. Qin, good afternoon! Mr. Stark is in the lab. I'll notify him that you're here!"
Tony had initially allowed Qin Xiao into the house, but that did not include the underground lab.
Access was restricted to Pepper and Rhodey, both of whom had the passwords and clearance provided by J.A.R.V.I.S.
Now, there was one more person granted access.
"Mr. Qin, Mr. Stark wants you to go straight down. The basement door will be opened shortly. The code is 106!"
(Qualifying note: This password is a reference to Iron Man 1, when Pepper enters the basement.)
When Qin Xiao entered the basement, he coincidentally saw Pepper reaching into Tony Stark's chest.
A wet copper wire was pulled out from inside.
It was admittedly gruesome and unsettling.
There was a hole in his chest, and someone was sticking their fingers inside.
"Whoa… what am I seeing? Is this your new pose, you two?"
"Tony, have you been inside too many women before, and now it's a woman's turn to be inside you?"
"Hey!!! Qin, I didn't think you were this cheeky!"
Pepper initially looked shocked, but after Qin Xiao teased her, she quickly regained her composure.
"That's because you don't know him yet, Pepper. You'll understand in time. Compared to him, I'm as honest as a cow on your uncle's farm!"
Tony had Pepper connect the wires from the new reactor base to his chest and then walked toward Qin Xiao.
"Tony, are you going to keep living like this? I mean, aren't you going to see a doctor to remove the shrapnel or fully treat yourself?"
Qin Xiao pointed at Tony's chest.
"To be honest, the chest light looks cool, but it's huge—it's uncomfortable to have it implanted."
Tony became unusually serious when talking about the reactor in his chest.
"I'm not taking it out. That thing saved me—not just my life, but it decided the kind of person I should become. I have to keep it to remind myself."
"What about the old reactor?"
Pepper, still Tony's personal assistant, asked about the old reactor as she prepared the lab for Qin Xiao's visit.
"Destroy it, burn it. I have many traits, but nostalgia isn't one of them!"
"Got it!"
Pepper carried the old reactor upstairs. Qin Xiao knew she would seal it in a transparent cover and keep it as a gift for Tony.
That old reactor had once saved Tony in a critical moment when Obadiah stole the one from his chest.
But now, with Qin Xiao in the picture, that path needed to be avoided.
And Qin Xiao had come specifically to resolve this issue.
"Hey, Tony, don't you have something to ask me? About Afghanistan!"
Seeing Pepper go upstairs, Qin Xiao spoke first.
Even ignoring missions or protocol, the two had known each other long enough to be friends personally.
Apart from the secrets of the system and time travel, Qin Xiao had no reason to hide anything from Tony, which sometimes created minor friction.
"Two days ago, a man came to see me. He's from an intelligence agency—a long and complicated name. What's his name again? Anyway, he's an agent with a very high hairline."
Tony pointed to his own forehead, describing the visitor.
"He told me everything about you—your parents' death, how you got the serum, how you met that sexy female agent, and so on."
"You also said you joined them to save me. But I won't thank you—you tricked me. Your power comes from the super-soldier serum, not Chinese martial arts. Hell, I even paid you over a month's salary for it."
Tony grabbed two beers from the fridge, handing one to Qin Xiao.
Don't expect Tony Stark to thank you easily.
Yet Qin Xiao could see that, despite claiming deception, Tony's eyes reflected gratitude.
Otherwise, why would he have given him the basement password today?
"Alright, you didn't lose. You even won millions at the casino—that was all thanks to me. Was that what the low-hairline agent told you?"
Qin Xiao thought of his old friend, Agent Coulson.
"Hmm?"
Tony drank his beer, puzzled.
"You bastard, what else are you hiding from me?"
"That's not true. Seems he didn't clearly explain how I found the secret cave that the U.S. military couldn't locate for over a month."
"Oh?"
Tony seemed to be thinking. He slightly raised his head, signaling Qin Xiao to continue.
plz support me if you can
patreon.com/fatimasoomro123
this fanfiction is 30-chapters ahead and also this fanfic is 30 chapter ahead there