…
Malibu Mansion.
After leaving Stark Tower, Leon found a secluded corner, took off directly into the sky, and was home in no time.
"Welcome back, Master Leon."
"Where's my brother?"
"He is currently in the workshop one level below, performing final preparations on the Mark III Armor."
"The Mark III?"
"It's finished already?"
Leon was genuinely surprised by Tony's efficiency. The Mark II—intended as the first true prototype—had barely seen any field time.
It really did prove a saying Leon had quoted before—
Human desire is like a boulder rolling down a mountain. Once it starts, it never stops.
Once you have one suit of armor, you want two. Once you have two, you want a third…
The same logic applied to Leon.
Charm one woman, and you'll want to charm a second. Charm the second, and you'll start eyeing a third…
Chuckling, Leon shook his head and took the elevator down to Tony's "man cave."
The first thing that greeted him was a sleek suit of red and gold armor, style rating completely maxed out.
"Back pretty fast, Leon," Tony called out.
"I thought Pepper would've kept you standing in the corner for detention."
Tony set down the screwdriver he'd been using, wiped sweat from his brow, and casually took the glass of green juice Dum-E handed him before walking over.
"Heh. Same to you."
Even though Leon had already seen what upgrades the Mark III received in the movie, he decided to indulge Tony's ego and need to show off.
Pointing at the armor, he asked, "So this is…?"
"Mark III," Tony said proudly.
"An upgraded version of the Mark II."
The moment armor entered the conversation, Tony came alive.
He downed the rest of his juice in one gulp and continued:
"To adapt to high-altitude environments, I performed a full upgrade on the electronic sensor suite. The pressurization and exhaust systems are also being refined toward operating smoothly in near-space conditions."
"I replaced the exterior plating with a gold-titanium alloy sourced through the Seraphim Satellite program. It's lighter overall and significantly stronger—strong enough to tank a direct hit from a tank round without catastrophic damage."
"How'd you solve the acceleration load problem?"
"And shock absorption. You're the one wearing this thing. One extreme impact and the G-forces alone would turn your internal organs into soup."
That was the question Leon cared about most—the same one Marvel fans had debated for years. Neither the comics nor the films ever clearly explained how Tony dealt with inertia.
"Bingo!"
"Leon, you nailed it."
Tony snapped his fingers excitedly and gestured for Dum-E to bring over a touchscreen display.
He pointed to a dense schematic filled with equations Leon couldn't begin to understand and launched into an enthusiastic explanation.
"The issue you're talking about doesn't just affect the armor—it applies to your Jet Glider as well. Extreme velocity brings extreme load stress that normal humans simply can't withstand."
"Even for a genius like me, it was a serious challenge."
"But thankfully… I solved it perfectly."
"I built a device that generates an Anti-Inertial Field to offset excessive acceleration loads."
"An Anti-Inertial Field?"
"Is that even still science?"
Even with the schematics practically shoved in his face and Tony explaining step by step, Leon understood absolutely nothing.
It felt like holding the answer sheet while a world-class professor explained the solution—and still not comprehending a word.
"Tony… you really are a genius."
Leon meant it.
"Hmph. Who do you think I am?"
"I'm Tony Stark. The finest engineer of the century."
Tony's face was full of pride, clearly enjoying his younger brother's admiration.
"Come on."
"I upgraded your Jet Glider too."
Tony led Leon down another level via elevator, passing through a one-meter-thick reinforced blast door into the Jet Glider hangar and modification bay.
Because of various delays, this was only Leon's second time here since first activating it.
J.A.R.V.I.S. had apparently relayed Leon's renovation suggestions properly. Not only was the blast door reinforced, but the surrounding walls had been replaced with one-meter-thick, single-cast titanium alloy panels.
Once sealed off from the outside world, this place would be nearly inescapable. Short of someone on Leon's level—or perhaps Homelander himself—any intruder would be stuck staring at the walls.
At that moment, the Jet Glider stood quietly in the center of the chamber like a cold, elegant beauty awaiting her pilot.
"Woo! Now that's what I'm talking about!"
Leon ran his fingers lightly across the genuine leather seat like he was playing piano keys.
"Jet Glider 2.0," Tony announced.
"Power system, propulsion, defense grid, electronics—all comprehensively upgraded. In addition to the gold-titanium alloy plating and Anti-Inertial Field generator I mentioned earlier…"
"I also installed a rather impressive weapons package. Thirty-two 'Ex-Wife' missiles—each packing firepower comparable to a cruiser's main gun—and dual plasma beam cannons matching the Mark III's chest repulsor at full output."
"Now it not only eliminates excessive pilot load stress, but its top speed has been boosted to Mach 5. The upgraded Mid-Size Arc Reactor can sustain maximum-output cruise for an entire month."
"Peak performance in high-velocity engineering."
"So? Like it?"
Tony smirked.
"Tony, the next year's worth of cover models are all yours."
"This beauty is all I need."
Leon's excitement was impossible to hide as he made what could only be described as a deeply generous decision.
"You little—"
"You said it!"
"I'll meet you outside at the launch tunnel."
Not giving Leon a chance to back out, Tony thumped him on the chest and hurried upstairs to suit up.
"Damn."
"Was that impulsive?"
As reason returned, Leon felt a flicker of regret—but the thought of other high-quality story heroines yet to be conquered quickly restored his balance.
He retrieved his repaired Soldier Boy Suit from the System Storage Space and changed into it. This time, he even put on the slightly questionable-looking helmet.
Oddly enough, with Leon's looks carrying it, the ensemble had its own unique charm.
Call it intensity. Or the thrill of contrast.
That sharp visual contradiction was exactly what Leon wanted.
"Oh right—almost forgot."
Fully suited up, Leon walked over to a metal workbench cluttered with mechanical parts.
Resting there was a silver-black shield resembling the Soldier Boy Shield.
Tony had already reinforced and repaired it per Leon's request.
A small note was stuck to it:
For my Shield Boy.
The overall design remained largely unchanged.
The biggest modification was its thickness—upgraded from two finger-widths to three—giving it a far heavier, more imposing profile. Not something an ordinary person could even lift.
Leon's request had been simple:
Melt down the shattered tungsten-alloy fragments from the original shield, reforge it to the same specifications, and then apply a seamless half-centimeter Vibranium outer layer across the entire surface.
If half a centimeter could still be called a "layer."
This way, the shield retained its satisfying original weight while gaining Vibranium's kinetic and energy absorption—and reflection—capabilities.
And at half a centimeter thick, it was certainly more substantial than Captain America's relatively thin Vibranium shield.
Granted, Cap's shield was rumored to contain a trace of proto-Adamantium mixed in by Howard Stark—but Leon's entire skeleton was bonded with Adamantium.
He wasn't worried.
Worst case, he could grind off a bit of his own bone and fuse it in. Super Self-Regeneration would take care of the rest.
Of course… Adamantium was absurdly durable, and Leon had no interest in testing his pain tolerance.
Better not to push it.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789