"Jarvis, pull up the scene where Mike repelled the aliens…"
Pepper's departure did not dampen Tony's enthusiasm for researching new armor.
Or rather, without the disturbance, he became even more focused.
"Alright, retrieving video for you now. After filtering, there are two videos that meet your request. Playing them for you now…"
Immediately, two videos appeared on the virtual screen in the workshop. One was a scene of Mike smashing an alien semi-mechanical warrior with a single punch on the street, with Captain America on the car roof also captured.
The other was a scene where Mike helped Black Widow out of trouble with a wave of his hand.
"Remove the first video. Play the second video at 0.5x speed, and simultaneously zoom in on Mike's perspective…"
The first video was purely violent destruction and offered no help to Tony's research on anti-Mike armor, so he focused his attention on the second video.
…
"Slow down the playback speed a bit more…"
"…Freeze the first-person view on Mike's hand movements…"
"Right there, pause…"
After watching the video repeatedly several times, Tony finally froze the frame on Mike's subtle hand movement when he waved.
Looking at the pure white light that appeared around Mike's hand in the video, Tony said with a troubled expression, "To research anti-Mike armor, I first need to understand what those white lights are. They don't look like lightning energy…"
After rubbing his bed-head hair a few more times, Tony, still unable to understand the source of Mike's energy, decided to ask his intelligent butler for help, "Jarvis, what have you discovered from his movements?"
"Calculating for you now… After data analysis: Mr. Mike's movements have no necessary connection with the appearance of the white light."
"His movements are more like a person shooing away mosquitoes. Would you like me to play a video of people shooing away mosquitoes?"
Tony, who had been listening intently to Jarvis's analysis, gradually developed a strange expression.
Finally, he couldn't help but look up at Jarvis's virtual body and retorted, "Has anyone ever told you that your cold jokes aren't funny at all?"
"Appropriate humor makes me more human. If you don't like this mode, I will delete the 'cold joke' option from the system for you…" Jarvis replied mechanically.
As for Jarvis's increasingly "human-like" behavior, it was also Tony's own previous request.
"No need, this is good. I mean, I really like your sense of humor, keep it up," Tony seemed to have discovered a new continent, and the expression on his face relaxed.
"Okay, the system will continue to retain 'humor', 'cold jokes' and other options for you…" Jarvis replied.
As the intelligent butler independently developed by Tony himself, the name Jarvis was taken from the name of Tony's father's butler.
Therefore, for Tony, Jarvis was more like "family," someone he was willing to give more attention and patience to.
At least, more patience than when he faced Pepper.
And after an interesting exchange with Jarvis, Tony's tense nerves relaxed somewhat.
He patted his cheeks, re-energized himself, and once again began to study the video in front of him.
At the same time, Mike, who had left Kamar-Taj through a space portal, arrived directly outside Stark Tower.
"Please verify identity… Identity verification successful…"
"Welcome, Mr. Mike. Please come in."
Since the New York War, Tony, who was extremely insecure, had upgraded Stark Tower with a new defense system.
From the outside, it somewhat referenced the Tesseract's S.H.I.E.L.D. mode.
"Hi, Jarvis. Is Tony home right now?" Mike, who had stopped at the second-floor balcony, greeted Jarvis's system avatar.
"Mr. Tony is currently researching armor in his workshop. He has already been informed of your arrival, please wait a moment," Jarvis replied.
"He's such a workaholic…" In his main world, Mike was also a wealthy magnate in New York.
But he could guarantee that he definitely didn't have the same level of work enthusiasm as Tony.
Of course, he didn't understand it, but he respected it.
After complaining about Tony, Mike didn't say anything more.
Then, at Jarvis's invitation, he walked into Stark Tower.
"You, you're Mr. Mike? I've seen you in promotional videos. Are you here to see Tony?" After entering the building, he didn't find the main person, but first encountered Pepper, who was spaced out in the living room.
Tony's Miss Secretary recognized Mike's identity at a glance.
As for the reason, after the alien invasion, the severely damaged New York needed faith.
In this situation, to stabilize public morale, the "heroes" who joined Avengers were promoted by the relevant departments.
Although Mike did not join Avengers, given his excellent performance in the alien invasion battle, he was also promoted incidentally.
Among these, there might have been an element of Nick wanting to show him favor.
After all, expending a little bit of promotional resources to potentially win over a strong individual seemed like a worthwhile endeavor.
"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Tony's Miss Secretary, Pepper Potts. You can call me Pepper." After confirming the visitor's identity, Pepper then introduced herself.
"Hello, Pepper. I am indeed here to see Tony this time." Mike nodded to Miss Secretary.
"I'm sorry, Tony is busy right now, you might have to wait a while." Pepper apologized on Tony's behalf, then greeted, "What would you like to drink, coffee or tea? I'll go prepare it for you."
It was clear that Miss Secretary was very competent.
It was just a pity that she also didn't fit Mike's aesthetic.
"Tea, thank you," Mike settled into the sofa and observed his surroundings.
Compared to King's Building, the area here was obviously much smaller, and the tech-oriented decor also lacked the warmth of King's Building.
Overall, this place wasn't as good as his own building.
After making this assessment in his mind, a slight smile involuntarily appeared on Mike's lips.
"Here's your tea, Mr. Mike," Pepper, who came out with a cup of sugared black tea, happened to see the smile on Mike's face, and then familiarized herself by asking, "When you see Tony, you must persuade him. He's so engrossed in researching armor that he even forgets to eat. This can't go on…"
Perhaps she urgently needed someone to confide in, or perhaps Mike had a reassuring aura about him.
In short, before long, Pepper was nagging about her dissatisfaction with Tony in front of Mike, a guest she had just met for the first time.
Of course, the concern in her words was very obvious.
"Oh, I knew something felt off today, it turns out someone was tattling behind my back…"
Just as Pepper was "speaking her mind," Tony, looking disheveled with his T-shirt sleeves rolled up halfway, walked into the living room.
His sharp tongue accompanied his arrival.
"You finally decided to leave that workshop?" Pepper, already accustomed to Tony's way of speaking, didn't back down.
But her strong attitude looked more like she was acting spoiled.
"I'm passionate about my work. Forget it, you wouldn't understand…" Tony turned his head and walked past Pepper, then spread his arms, saying enthusiastically, "Mike, my friend. You finally decided to come see me."
"You know, I hadn't heard from you all month, I thought you'd disappeared."
Indeed, one becomes like those one associates with.
Tony's demeanor and tone at this moment were somewhat similar to Pepper's earlier.
"Sorry, I'm not used to hugging men," Mike avoided Tony with a look of distaste.
"Haha, we really do have good chemistry. I never get close to men either, but you're different, you saved my life…" Tony put away his exaggerated gestures and didn't feel embarrassed.
Then he noticed the cold black tea on the table.
"Pepper, how could you let my most distinguished guest drink something like this? Go to the wine cabinet and get out that bottle of red wine I've been saving. I want to celebrate properly with Mike." Then, Tony unceremoniously bossed around Miss Secretary.
…
"Seriously, where have you been this past month? Not just me, even S.H.I.E.L.D., haven't found any trace of you." Tony slumped into the soft sofa and asked his question.
In this era of advanced information, it was extremely difficult for a person to truly "disappear."
Unless the person didn't use any technological products, or simply didn't exist in the world.
But looking at Mike, it seemed neither was the case.
Therefore, Tony had a premonition that he could uncover some of Mike's secrets from his whereabouts.
"I went to Kamar-Taj, a place that trains sorcerers." Mike explained.
At his level of strength, there wasn't much he needed to worry about.
Moreover, Kamar-Taj was not isolated from the world, and there was nothing that couldn't be said.
"Sorcerers? So the ability you used before was magic?" Tony, who thought he had caught onto something, immediately became energized.
"No, although I can also use magic now, what I used before was [Holy Light]." Feeling Tony's thirst for knowledge, Mike explained again.
"Is there a difference between the two?" Tony sat up straight.
"There's a bit of a difference. One's power comes from the mind, the other from faith…" Mike thought for a moment, condensed a magical light ray, and then conjured various complex images, saying, "If you really want to talk about the difference, magic is more dazzling to use and more suitable for combat…"
At the same time, the magic in his hand transformed into a long whip, lifting the surrounding sofas and tables.
It was like a visible large hand had appeared.
"As for [Holy Light], besides being used for combat, it's actually more suitable for healing and recovery…" Mike dispersed the magic, then condensed a ball of Holy Light and threw it onto Tony, "I can see that your body and mind are very tired. How do you feel now?"
"Amazing!!! This is it, I feel great now!" Feeling the changes in his body, Tony excitedly jumped up and moved his limbs.
At this moment, Tony could feel that the fatigue and palpitations that had troubled him for a long time had all disappeared.
In his current state, he could definitely get a good night's sleep.
But before that, Tony couldn't help but worry about his research on anti-Mike armor.
After all, the more abilities Mike displayed, the harder it would be to develop anti-armor.
"By the way, can I learn your Holy Light ability and magic?" Tony, who had calmed down, asked.
If you can't beat them, join them, which might not be a bad idea.
Moreover, Tony was very confident in his intelligence, believing that even if he couldn't learn Holy Light Power and magic, he could quickly find ways to counter the opponent's abilities while learning from Mike.
Looking at Tony's eagerness for magic, Mike, even without using [Mind Reading], could roughly guess some of his thoughts.
"Don't even think about [Holy Light], you won't be able to learn it anyway. As for magic, the next time I go to Kamar-Taj, I'll ask Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One if she's willing to teach you." Mike gave two non-answers.
The refusal was very clear.
After all, Tony wasn't some golden-haired, wavy-haired beauty, and their relationship hadn't reached the point where Mike would selflessly bestow [Blessings] upon him.
"Okay, if I can learn magic, that's not bad either. Can you tell me about Kamar-Taj and that Sorcerer Supreme named Ancient One?" Tony still didn't give up any opportunity to "improve" himself.
It was at this moment that Pepper, returning with the treasured red wine, interrupted Tony and Mike's conversation.
"You two seem to be getting along well. I rarely see Tony chatting so congenially with anyone…" Pepper, in a good mood, prepared red wine for both of them while observing Mike carefully.
She truly wasn't lying; not many people could make Tony, who was focused on armor research, leave that workshop.
Therefore, Miss Secretary was already thinking that the next time Tony became engrossed in his research to the point of forgetting food and sleep, she could perhaps invite Mike over.
"Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One, who is skilled in magic, should have abilities similar to Thor's father, All-Father Odin. She's considered one of the top powerhouses in this world." Mike, on the other hand, continued the previous topic, explaining to Tony, "As for Kamar-Taj, it's considered a sacred place for training sorcerers. Every so often, it recruits a batch of talented magic apprentices."
"Of course, besides talent, learning magic also requires a certain destiny with magic. Otherwise, you won't even be able to find the door to Kamar-Taj…"
"And after becoming a magic apprentice, to master powerful magic, you need to go through many trials. Constantly honing your body and willpower…"
As Mike introduced, Tony first yearned for the powerful Sorcerer Supreme, and then upon hearing that the life of a magic apprentice in Kamar-Taj was very difficult, he felt that he probably didn't need to endure that hardship.
After all, magic, Holy Light, and even Thor's power, were all just forms of strength.
In this situation, Tony, who excelled in intelligence, clearly understood where his advantage lay.
Rather than being mediocre and trying to learn everything, it was better to focus on his anti-armor research.
One force can break all methods…
Having understood the key, Tony felt as if a layer of shackles had been removed, and his spirits quickly returned to normal.
Then he noticed that Pepper, standing beside him, hadn't left and was looking at Mike with a somewhat "infatuated" expression.
How could this be allowed???
Although Tony hadn't yet formalized his relationship with Pepper, it was undeniable that he had developed feelings for Miss Secretary.
"Hmm," Tony cleared his throat loudly, reminding the captivated Miss Secretary to rein it in, then turned to Mike and asked, "By the way, I haven't asked you yet, what brings you here this time?"
This was definitely not a dismissal.
Tony, confident in his charm, claimed he was just caring about Mike.
However, the topic shift was so abrupt that not only Mike, but even Pepper could feel the jealousy emanating from Tony.
"You two talk, I'll go prepare something to eat for you." Miss Secretary smiled meaningfully, then turned and left the living room.
But it had to be said, Mike was indeed very charming.
…
"Stop looking, she's long gone." Mike looked at Tony, who was like a "husband-watching stone," and said with a laugh, "If you really like her, why don't you express your feelings to her sooner? I can tell Miss Secretary is also interested in you."
"Don't talk nonsense," Tony denied it as if it were a reflex, "You know, playboys like us can't possibly hang ourselves on one tree…"
"By the way, you still haven't said why you came to see me this time."
Contradictory words, another clumsy topic shift.
"Alright, hearing you say that, I feel no burden." Mike wasn't an relationship expert and didn't need to rush to help Tony solve his relationship problems, so he asked with a smile, "Is our agreement from a month ago still valid?"
"You mean, the cover girl??"
"Mm!"
"…"
The two equally promiscuous men quickly reached an understanding, and simultaneously, the smiles that all men understand appeared on their faces.