"What—" Tony only had time to shout those two words before he, along with large chunks of concrete, plummeted to the floor below.
He waved his hands futilely in the air, trying to activate the thrusters, but in his haste, it was already too late to adjust his posture.
A loud bang. Then, the mournful groan of crushing metal.
Tony lay in the center of the ruins, dizzy and lightheaded.
Through his faceplate, he saw an irregular gaping hole above his head, with moonlight pouring down through the opening, illuminating the mess on the ground.
Dust drifted slowly through the air like golden snow.
He looked down beneath him; his armor was crushing something flat, something that used to be metal.
Silver-gray wreckage, four wheels, and a streamlined silhouette he knew all too well...
His Porsche.
A multi-million dollar supercar with a 0-100 acceleration of 2.8 seconds, limited to 500 units worldwide, which had taken him a year to ship back from Germany.
Now it was a two-ton iron pancake.
Tony: "..."
Mavuika slowly flew in through the large hole he had smashed, golden sparks still lingering around her.
She hovered in mid-air, looking down at Tony in the center of the ruins and the horrific wreckage of the luxury car beneath him.
She didn't speak, but the mirth in her amber eyes said everything.
"Laugh if you want to," Tony said helplessly, attempting to stand up from the rubble as the armor's joints let out protesting creaks.
"This is only the first generation suit, after all. It's normal to have these glitches; R&D is a constant process of finding errors."
He paused and added, "Besides, this car is actually out of production. The repair costs might be more expensive than buying a new one, but I'm rich anyway."
Mavuika finally laughed out loud—not a mocking laugh, but the sincere, warm laugh of seeing an old friend make a fool of themselves.
She descended slowly from the air and reached out a hand to Tony.
Tony took her hand, and Mavuika pulled him up effortlessly, as naturally as pulling a friend off a sofa; the two-ton armor felt weightless in her hand.
"Though there are still many areas to optimize," Mavuika said, watching Tony begin to check the armor for damage, "your invention this time is indeed very interesting, Tony."
Tony looked up, peering at her through the faceplate. "Interesting? Just 'interesting'?"
"Very interesting," Mavuika emphasized.
With a click of the latches, Tony removed the entire faceplate, revealing a sweat-dampened face and messy hair.
He looked at Mavuika, his eyes reflecting exhaustion, pride, and a rare, undisguised sincerity.
"Thank you, Mavuika," he said. "For going crazy in the sky with me tonight."
"You're welcome," Mavuika said. "I enjoyed it too."
Tony grinned, then began operating the armor's removal sequence.
Mechanical arms reached out from various parts of the lab, beginning to disassemble the armor plates.
Chest plate, back plate, arm guards, leg guards... the silver-white metal pieces detached from his body one by one, neatly organized onto the maintenance rack by the mechanical arms.
When the final layer of lining was removed, Tony finally reverted to being a human man in a black bodysuit with a glowing device embedded in his chest.
He stretched his aching shoulders and let out a long breath.
"I'll have to write the design proposal for the Mark III tomorrow," he said, as if talking to himself.
"The anti-icing system needs a rework, landing buffers need strengthening, and the weapons systems... no, not lethal weapons. Capture nets, EMPs, sonic cannons... non-lethal solutions take priority."
Mavuika didn't interrupt his thoughts. She leaned against a workbench in the lab, looking around at the design blueprints covering the walls, half-finished mechanical arms, and the motorcycle in the corner that she had broken countless times and Tony had repaired just as often.
"After testing with you for a round..." she suddenly spoke up, "I've got some new ideas too."
Tony snapped out of his contemplation and raised an eyebrow at her.
This was the first time Mavuika had proactively offered a suggestion for his inventions.
She usually just observed, occasionally offering praise, but never meddling.
To have the sun goddess herself ask for something was a compliment in its own right.
"Speak," Tony said, walking to the coffee machine to pour himself a cup.
Three in the morning. Another all-nighter.
Mavuika walked over to his side, looking at the steaming cup of black coffee.
"Can you help me redesign the Flamestrider in the direction of your suit?"
Tony's hand jerked, and coffee nearly spilled out.
"What did you say?" He turned his head, doubting his ears. "Did I hear that right? You want me to... turn your motorcycle... into... armor?"
"Not armor," Mavuika corrected. "Just in that direction. Your suit has flight capabilities, and I want that too. If you could add water-traversal capabilities while you're at it, that would be even better!"
Tony's lip twitched. He set down the coffee cup and looked at Mavuika with a 'are you serious' expression.
"A motorcycle, and you want amphibious and aerial functionality?"
Mavuika nodded as if it were only natural.
"Even if it could be built," Tony continued, "who could handle it? That thing would be a total wreck within five minutes—"
He suddenly stopped.
He looked at Mavuika, and Mavuika looked back at him, still wearing that calm smile.
A total wreck and a fatal crash were risks for ordinary people.
For the woman in front of him, she could catch him barehanded while falling from 14,000 meters, fly freely in a vacuum, and melt steel with fire.
A 'total wreck' of the vehicle was possible, but a 'fatal crash' for her was absolutely impossible.
Mavuika, the sun goddess of Asgard, riding her amphibious, aerial super-motorcycle, speeding through the streets of New York at three hundred miles per hour before taking off on the spot...
Tony closed his eyes. The image in his mind was so vivid he could even see the color of the motorcycle's exhaust flames.
"Alright," he heard himself say, completely convinced by his own crazy idea.
"Give me some time. I'll need to redesign the chassis and the power system. Flight stabilization is a major issue, and then there's steering control—the mechanical model for a two-wheeled vehicle turning in the air is completely different from traditional aircraft..."
He walked to the workbench and began sketching on a newly opened blueprint.
Mavuika stood quietly behind him, watching his scribbled notes gradually take shape.
"The suspension system needs a complete rework," Tony muttered to himself.
"Switch the wheel hub motors to high-torque models, the battery pack needs more capacity, the frame must use lightweight materials—titanium alloy or carbon fiber composites—and for the flight mode..."
Seeing Tony's serious demeanor, Mavuika turned and walked toward the lab's floor-to-ceiling windows. Beyond the massive glass wall lay the pitch-black night sky and the shimmering Pacific Ocean.
"Then keep at it," she said, her voice light with satisfaction. "I'm heading out."