"Vibranium."
Ethan Blake said the word casually, almost like he was mentioning an ordinary piece of metal.
Tony Stark froze for a moment.
Then his eyes widened.
"What?!"
He immediately grabbed one of the cylindrical metal rods from the box and began examining it closely. Tony was one of the world's top experts in mechanical engineering and materials science. His understanding of advanced metals easily ranked among the best on the planet.
Of course he knew vibranium.
He had studied it before.
The problem was that before today, the largest amount of vibranium he had ever personally seen was five grams.
Five grams.
But now the three rods sitting in front of him weighed dozens of kilograms.
Tony stared at the metal in disbelief as he turned it over in his hands. His mind struggled to process what he was seeing. Could there really be this much vibranium on Earth?
"Ethan," Tony said slowly, "where did you get so much vibranium? Don't tell me this is another one of your superpowers. Did you just gather every piece of vibranium on the planet?"
The sheer amount of the material in front of him completely exceeded Tony's imagination.
Ethan rolled his eyes.
"Obviously not," he replied. "There's no such ridiculous power. Some idiot just delivered it straight to my door."
From Ethan's perspective, Nick Fury qualified as that idiot. Of course, that judgment was based entirely on the advantage of information asymmetry.
Tony still looked skeptical.
"…Really?"
"Of course," Ethan said. "Why would I lie about something like that?"
Tony sighed enviously.
"Man, I wish I could meet idiots like that."
To Tony, vibranium was irresistible. It was like a gambling table to a gambler or gourmet food to a chef. And considering his identity as Iron Man, the metal was even more valuable to him.
Tony leaned forward slightly, his eyes still fixed on the rods.
"Hey, let's make a deal," he said eagerly. "Sell this to me. Fifty thousand dollars per gram. Or if that's too much, I'll just take half of it."
Ethan smiled faintly but didn't answer.
Tony immediately understood the meaning behind that silence. His shoulders slumped slightly in disappointment.
"Right," he muttered. "I forgot you're ridiculously rich too. And the worst part is that you made that money from Stark Industries."
Tony shook his head before continuing.
"Anyway, back to the main topic. What exactly do you need my help with?"
Ethan explained his idea.
As soon as the conversation turned to engineering, Tony's expression changed completely. The playful tone disappeared, replaced by the focused seriousness of a scientist analyzing a problem.
He lowered his head and thought carefully for a while.
Finally, he spoke.
"A nano battle suit," Tony said slowly. "It's a great concept, but with current technology it's impossible. To build the kind of suit you're imagining, we'd need at least another fifty years of development."
Ethan pursed his lips.
Fifty years?
Ten years from now Tony would literally be wearing a nano suit while fighting a purple alien warlord on another planet. Calling it a fifty-year problem was a bit exaggerated.
"But for you," Ethan said calmly, "that shouldn't be an issue."
Even if the exact nano armor couldn't be built yet, Ethan believed Tony would find another solution.
Tony grinned proudly when he heard that.
"Man, I didn't realize you trusted me this much," he said. "You're right though. The nano armor you're imagining can't exist yet, but I can build something close."
"Close?"
"A pseudo-nano battle suit."
Ethan scratched his head slightly. The term didn't mean much to him.
But in his mind, technical details weren't important.
Professional work should be handled by professionals.
His requirements for the armor were actually very simple.
It had to be easy to carry.
And it had to provide strong protection.
That was all.
After all, the suits weren't even for him.
They were meant for Wanda and Pietro.
When danger appeared, Ethan only had one instruction for them.
Run.
"As long as it works, that's fine," Ethan said. "Make two suits. Whatever vibranium is left over can be your processing fee."
Tony's eyes lit up immediately.
Ethan's requirement that the armor be lightweight meant the suits couldn't use too much material. That guaranteed there would be a significant amount of vibranium left over.
But after thinking about it more carefully, Tony's excitement faded slightly.
Not only had he failed to repay Ethan's debt, he had actually ended up owing him another favor. Vibranium wasn't something money could easily buy.
That realization left Tony feeling oddly depressed.
At that moment, Phil Coulson walked into the room.
He greeted Ethan politely before turning to Tony and handing him several sheets of paper.
"This is your alibi," Coulson said. "Last night you were on a yacht. According to port records, you spent the entire night at Avalon with fifty witnesses to confirm it."
Tony glanced at the papers and frowned.
"I think it would sound more believable if Pepper and I were alone on a private island."
Then he looked up again.
"What about Obadiah?"
"He's on vacation," Coulson replied calmly. "Unfortunately small aircraft have poor safety records."
Tony sighed.
"This bodyguard story still sounds fake."
"Just read it," Coulson said patiently. "It's not my first time handling this kind of situation, Mr. Stark."
Tony looked down at the prepared statement in his hand.
Nearby, Ethan smiled slightly. He was already looking forward to the upcoming press conference.
…
Tony Stark had stood behind countless podiums before, but this time he looked strangely distracted.
After a short pause, he began speaking.
"It's been a while since I addressed everyone. I think today I'll just read directly from the prepared statement. Some people have raised suspicions…"
"Excuse me, Mr. Stark."
A female reporter suddenly interrupted from the audience.
"Do you really expect us to believe that a bodyguard in a high-tech suit just happened to appear during that battle?"
Tony paused.
"I understand it sounds confusing," he said. "And questioning the official explanation is one thing. But making wild accusations or suggesting that I'm some kind of superhero is a different matter."
"I never said you were a superhero," the reporter replied immediately.
"Really? Good," Tony said. "Because that would be ridiculous. I'm obviously not a hero. I have plenty of personal flaws, and I've made more than my share of mistakes…"
Beside him, James Rhodes couldn't take it anymore.
"Just read the script," Rhodes whispered.
Tony nodded slowly.
He lowered his gaze to the paper in his hand. For a moment his expression became strangely complicated.
Then he spoke again.
"The truth is…"
Tony suddenly stopped.
He looked up at the crowd.
Then he casually tossed the prepared speech aside.
"I am Iron Man."
The moment the words left his mouth, every reporter in the room jumped to their feet.
The entire press conference erupted into chaos.
....
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