Chapter 93: Tears

[Third Person's PoV] 

Tony walked down to his lab where Melissa was waiting with an excited expression. In front of her floated a sleek, futuristic suit, its cape fluttering as if caught in a breeze despite the still air.

"So, tell me about it," Tony said, standing next to her with his arms crossed, examining the suit closely.

"Happily!" Melissa beamed. "You see, it all started when I was going through some files we made. One of them grabbed my attention—Pym Particles. It was the only file on the list I hadn't heard about before, and I've never heard you mention it. As I read it, I became fascinated with quantum physics. It was so interesting!

So, I kept studying, and when I came across quantum tunneling, I thought it would be an interesting idea for a suit. Using the file as a base, I developed this device called the Quantum Matrix. It absorbs energy from the Quantum Realm and uses it to phase through walls and other solid objects.

Coming up with the Matrix was a task and a half. I had to work through so many equations to ensure it could properly harness quantum energy and use the tunneling effect. Harnessing quantum energy was tricky since there's so much of it. If not controlled, the device could explode, so that's where the cape comes in. It releases the extra energy that the suit can't harness, preventing it from imploding.

I used unstable molecule fibers to make the cape since they're the only material that can adapt to the energy. And thanks to this, I discovered something else. Check this out."

Melissa ran toward the suit, removed the cape, and threw it toward the wall. The cape stuck to the surface, and then Melissa ran straight at it, disappearing as she passed through.

Her head peeked back out from the wall, and she grinned. "Tada! The cape allows people to walk through walls too! Isn't that great?"

Tony gave her a few slow claps, nodding his head. "Very impressive, Melissa."

Melissa walked out fully and began bowing dramatically. "Thank you, thank—"

"Friday, restrict Melissa's access to my files," Tony ordered, his voice suddenly cold and expressionless.

"Eh?" Melissa froze mid-bow, her sentence cut off.

"As you wish, boss," Friday responded immediately.

"Wait, what's going on? What did I do wrong?" Melissa asked, standing upright with a confused expression.

"Melissa, has it ever occurred to you why, even though I completed that project, I've never used it? Or made a suit for it?"

"Erm… Friday said it was because the Quantum Realm is too unpredictable…"

"It's dangerous, Melissa," Tony said, his tone growing more serious than she'd ever heard. She was taken aback, never having seen Tony so stern before.

"The laws of physics work very differently in the Quantum Realm. A single mistake on your part could have unimaginable consequences. You could have gotten radiation poisoning, killed yourself, or worse—you could have been trapped in the Quantum Realm for who knows how long. You could have spent your entire life in pure isolation, with not even a single second passing in the real world for me to know and rescue you."

"We always take risks when building new things, don't we?" Melissa retorted, her excitement now turning into frustration. "Now that I finally made something cool and awesome, it's suddenly a problem?"

"CALCULATED RISKS, MELISSA! We always take calculated risks!" Tony snapped, his voice rising in anger. "What part of 'the Quantum Realm is unpredictable' did you not understand? You can't calculate the unpredictable!"

Tears welled up in Melissa's eyes as she stood there, stunned. She had never seen Tony so angry, especially not at her.

It pained Tony to see Melissa in tears, but he knew he had to be stern so she would understand why he was angry. "If you wanted to dabble in something as dangerous as quantum science, you should have come to me. We could have done it together."

Melissa looked down, wiping away her tears. "I just wanted to surprise you... I wanted to show you that I could make something great... I wanted you to be proud of me... to show that I can stand by your side as a great inventor too," she said, tears rolling down her cheeks as she choked out a sob.

Tony sighed, massaging his forehead and ruffling his hair in frustration. He walked up to Melissa and wrapped her in a hug as she silently cried in his arms.

"But I am proud of you, Melissa," Tony said softly. "It's just... what you did was reckless. I understand you wanted to surprise me, but you put your life on the line. If you had made a device that let you pass through walls safely, that would be one thing. But you made a suit and immediately put it to use, not knowing the risks you were taking."

Melissa held onto Tony, her arms wrapped tightly around him as she continued to cry. "Please don't be mad at me... I'm sorry."

Tony sighed, feeling the weight of his emotions. "I'm sorry, but I can't help but be mad at you right now. I'm mad because I love you, Melissa. I hope you can understand that," he said, kissing the top of her head.

"God, I sound like an abusive boyfriend right now," Tony grumbled, shaking his head.

Melissa giggled through her tears at his comment, shaking her head. "No, I understand... I was in the wrong."

She looked up at him, her face tear-stricken. "I'm sorry..." she whispered, biting her lip slightly.

Tony sighed again, cupping her face in his hands as he began wiping away her tears. He scoffed, "You should be, especially since you've made something so cool that I'm actually a bit jealous. I'm not gonna lie."

"So, you do think it's cool, right?" she asked with a small smile, her eyes still red from crying.

"It kinda pisses me off that it's cooler than anything I've ever made," Tony admitted with a bit of an irritated expression.

Melissa smirked slightly, feeling a bit smug. "Heh."

"Don't get a big head just yet. You're still restricted," Tony scoffed, his expression turning serious once again. "Melissa, I want you to promise me that if you're ever going to mess with something so dangerous, you'll at least tell me so we can work on it together. You were very lucky that nothing went wrong this time, but you might not be so lucky the next."

Melissa nodded as she leaned into his hand. "Alright, I promise. I'll be sure to consult with you next time, so we can do it together."

Tony kissed her forehead and nodded. "Good. Now, you'd better have made one for me as well."

Melissa giggled and nodded. "Of course I have."

She walked over to her work desk and picked up a small device. "Here," she said, tossing it to him like a small disk.

Tony caught it with one hand, examining the golden disk. He pressed the middle button, and it dissolved around his fingers, rapidly morphing into a gold and white version of the suit over his body. A shiny gold cape shot out from behind him as he began to float in the air.

"It always does smell like a new car in these situations," Tony quipped with a smirk.

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