Seeing the excitement lighting up everyone's faces, Liam let out a small, satisfied smile. The energy in the room was exactly what he wanted—hungry, driven, and just a little reckless.
"Congratulations," he said calmly, letting his gaze sweep across the group. "You've officially entered the X-Men preliminaries."
John, the one they called Pyro, immediately raised his hand with a puzzled look. "Boss… what exactly is a preliminary team?"
Liam didn't rush his answer. He leaned back slightly, giving them a moment to settle before explaining. "It means you're candidates now. Cyclops and Storm will oversee your training, and if you pass their evaluation, you'll become full members of the X-Men."
The explanation was simple, but it carried weight. This wasn't just a title—it was a test of whether they could truly stand at the front line.
Understanding dawned across their faces almost instantly.
Iceman raised his hand next, unable to hide his curiosity. "What about the armor? The Iron Man suits?"
Liam chuckled lightly. "You'll get them once you officially join. But for now, you can start thinking about what you want—features, upgrades, anything. I'll pass it along."
That was enough.
The moment he confirmed it, their motivation shot through the roof. The idea of earning not just recognition, but a customized suit of Stark-grade armor, pushed them into a completely different mindset.
Cyclops and Storm quickly stepped in, beginning to organize their next phase of training while the excitement was still fresh.
Meanwhile, Liam's thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.
If these ten were added to the roster, the X-Men would reach sixteen members including himself. Even excluding Logan and himself, that still meant fourteen suits.
He had only secured eight from Tony.
Not nearly enough.
Of course, not everyone actually needed a full suit. Someone like Colossus, for example, would be restricted by armor rather than enhanced. But specialized weapons or auxiliary systems? Those could still make a huge difference.
Liam crossed his arms, already plotting.
He needed a way to squeeze more out of Tony.
Right as that thought formed, his phone rang.
He glanced down, and a grin spread across his face.
Perfect timing.
"Hey."
"Wes—get over here. I need help."
Tony's voice came through, tense and urgent. There was no trace of his usual arrogance—only pressure.
At that moment, Tony was facing dozens of drone soldiers alone. Individually, they were nothing impressive, but in numbers, they were overwhelming. Even worse, Rhodes' armor had been hijacked, turning an ally into another threat.
Tony would never ask for help under normal circumstances.
But this situation had crossed that line.
"No problem," Liam replied easily. "I'll handle it. You go save Pepper."
"Wait—no, listen—"
"Don't worry," Liam cut him off smoothly. "You owe me."
"I'll give you anything you want!" Tony snapped, clearly running out of options.
There was a brief pause.
Then—
"Tony," Liam's voice came again, calm and almost amused, "anything you want to say to Pepper?"
Tony froze. "What?"
"Already got her."
While Tony had been speaking, Liam had already located Pepper through electromagnetic tracking. From there, it took him three seconds—three—to reach her, eliminate the threat, and secure her safety using nothing but raw speed.
"Tony, are you okay?" Pepper's voice came through the line, filled with relief and concern.
Tony blinked, still trying to process what just happened. "Pepper… you're safe?"
"Yes. Mr. Weiss saved me."
"…Good. That's—good."
The tension in his voice finally eased, even if only slightly.
"Where are you?" Pepper asked quickly.
"I've got this under control—"
A sudden crash cut him off, followed by the unmistakable sound of impact.
"Tony? Tony!" Pepper called out, panic creeping in.
The line went silent.
She turned to Liam immediately, her expression tense. "Please… can you help him?"
Liam folded his arms, considering it for a moment. He knew Tony well enough—his pride would never allow him to openly accept help.
But Pepper asking?
That changed everything.
"Alright," Liam said with a faint smirk. "Since you're the one asking, he won't complain."
There was also a small part of him that was… curious.
Watching Tony struggle a bit before stepping in? That had its own kind of appeal.
"Thank you," Pepper said, her voice soft with relief.
"Stay here," Liam replied. "I'll bring you back a fully intact Tony."
With that, he vanished.
At the same time, inside a massive botanical dome, Tony struggled to his feet. A recent explosion had left him disoriented, and now more than a dozen drones surrounded him.
"…This is bad," he muttered, frustration creeping in. "Should've let Wes handle it earlier."
Too late now.
"Hey, Uncle Tony. Need a hand?"
The voice came out of nowhere.
Tony looked up instinctively—and there he was.
Liam floated in midair, legs crossed, one hand propping up his chin as if he were watching a show.
Relief flashed across Tony's face, but he quickly suppressed it.
"I didn't call you," he said stiffly. "I can handle this junk."
Liam raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Sure about that?"
Then he smiled.
"Alright. I'll leave you to it."
And just like that—he disappeared.
"…Hey!"
Tony stared blankly at the empty space for half a second.
Then the drones opened fire.
Bullets slammed into his armor in rapid succession, each impact carrying enough force to stagger him despite the suit's defenses. He tried to regain control of the situation, but the sheer number of enemies made it difficult.
To make matters worse, Rhodes' suit was still active nearby, limiting his options even further.
And then—
A shadow dropped from above.
Ivan Vanko landed heavily, his armored frame sending a shockwave through the ground as he stepped forward, electric whips crackling in his hands.
"Tony," Ivan said with a grin, "I hear you've been improving. Not bad."
Tony pushed himself upright, steadying his stance. "You're still a loser."
Ivan laughed, amused rather than offended. "You don't seem to understand your position."
One of the whips lashed out.
Tony rolled just in time, the strike narrowly missing him and tearing into the ground instead. Before he could recover, the second whip followed immediately, forcing him to dodge again.
He was being completely suppressed.
But then—
Everything stopped.
Ivan's armor froze mid-motion. The drones around them halted instantly, locked in place as if time itself had been paused.
Ivan frowned, trying to move, but nothing responded. "What the hell…?"
Tony blinked in confusion, then looked up.
There, floating casually in the air once again, was Liam.
The realization hit instantly.
"You didn't have to help," Tony said stubbornly, even now refusing to drop the act.
Despite everything, his tone remained just as hard-headed as ever.
....
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