18. 6 Months Later.

The rest of the Senate hearing went smoothly after the earlier incident. As they stepped out of the building, Tony looked at Jhon and said,

"That was nice."

Jhon was baffled for a moment but quickly caught on.

"How did you figure it out?" Jhon asked, his expression filled with surprise.

"Did you forget that I'm on the same level as you? Even though my control over the elements isn't as refined as yours, I can still sense the small fluctuations during the hearing," Tony replied.

Hearing this, Jhon simply laughed and said nothing. After that, the two of them returned home. The last two days had been exhausting, leaving them completely sleep-deprived. As soon as they arrived at the mansion, both of them headed straight to bed.

---

The next day began like any other. Tony busied himself with inscribing new runes, while Jhon focused on practicing a new meditation method and honing his elemental abilities.

Because of Jhon's influence, Tony wasn't behaving as recklessly as he did in the movies. However, the timeline remained largely unchanged. Tony's birthday came and went without any major incidents. But the pressure from the military had intensified several-fold.

After much discussion, the two brothers reached a decision: they would hand over one of Tony's suits to the U.S. military, specifically to Rhodes. Although Senator Stern had tried to manipulate Rhodes, they both knew Rhodes wasn't a bad guy—he genuinely cared about Tony. With Jhon adding a few persuasive words here and there, one of the suits was handed over to Rhodes.

This move significantly reduced the pressure from the military, though the Senate wasn't pleased. Still, there wasn't much they could do about it.

As for S.H.I.E.L.D., their focus lay elsewhere: the Avengers Initiative.

---

Tony's palladium poisoning, however, remained a pressing issue. The toxicity in his blood had increased dramatically, leaving him increasingly anxious. Meanwhile, Jhon silently cursed Nick Fury in his heart.

It had been six months since the Senate hearing, yet no one from S.H.I.E.L.D. had approached Tony. This lack of action made Jhon even more nervous.

"Did I change the future too much?" Jhon wondered to himself.

---

On this particular day, Jhon was seated cross-legged in his lab, inscribing one of the three runes he had obtained from the teleportation circle. His fingers moved steadily, the rune before him becoming denser and more intricate with each stroke. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and his complexion grew pale.

Just as the rune was nearing completion, an accident occurred—the entire rune suddenly dissipated into thin air.

Opening his eyes, Jhon sighed helplessly. It had been over six months since he started working on this particular rune, yet every attempt ended in failure. Despite this, each failure had taught him something new.

He had now mastered 98% of the rune. With just a little more effort, he was confident he could succeed in inscribing it into his spiritual sea.

The difficulty of inscribing runes depended on their elemental class. Simpler elements like fire, water, and wood could be inscribed in a day. However, more complex elements like electricity, metal, and this current rune took far longer. Moreover, as one's level increased, the difficulty of inscribing runes multiplied exponentially.

Jhon remained patient. As the pioneer of this path, he was determined not to make any mistakes in his quest for power. He would take his time.

---

Meanwhile, Tony's life returned to normal, apart from having to part with one of his suits. He wasn't too concerned, trusting Rhodes to handle it responsibly.

After six months of hard work, Tony had successfully inscribed a new elemental rune into his spiritual sea. He continued searching for a solution to his palladium poisoning but hadn't found anything yet.

One day, while working in his workshop, he heard about a race in Europe. On a whim, he decided to participate. The next day, Tony left for Europe with Pepper, Happy, and Natalie (Natasha), without informing Jhon, who was busy meditating.

---

Upon arriving in Europe, they went straight to the venue, as Natasha had already arranged everything.

"You know, it's Europe. Whatever happens in the next 20 minutes, just go with it," Tony said as they walked.

"Go with it? Go with what?" Pepper asked, confused.

Natasha interjected, "We have a photographer from the ACM, if you don't mind."

"When did this happen?" Pepper asked, puzzled.

They entered the hall where the guests had gathered. Tony briefly met Elon Musk and exchanged pleasantries before returning to his conversation with Pepper. Next their discussion was interrupted by Justin Hammer, who appeared out of nowhere.

After a meaningless exchange with Justin, Tony excused himself and went to the bathroom.

Inside, Tony's demeanor turned serious. He pulled out a small device to check his blood toxicity level. The results showed what he had expected: 67%.

Pocketing the device, Tony composed himself and went out of the building.

Justin, who was speaking to Christine, continued boasting,

"Tony and I… Tony… I love Tony Stark. Tony loves me. We're not competitors. Him being out of the picture created tremendous opportunities for Hammer Industries, you know? Everything that Tony and I do—"

Before Justin could finish, Tony reappeared on a television behind justin, now dressed in racing gear and giving an interview.

"Well, what's the use of owning a race car if you don't drive it?" Tony quipped.

Justin, startled, asked, "Is he driving?"

Pepper, watching the scene unfold on a nearby TV, immediately called Natasha.

"Natalie! Natalie!" Pepper called Natasha in an urgent voice.

On the other end, Natasha suddenly ran to pepper and answered promptly. "Yes, Ms. Potts?"

"What do you know about this?" Pepper demanded, her tone sharp.

Natasha's brows furrowed as she glanced at the TV. "This is the first I'm hearing of it."

Pepper's frustration was evident. "This cannot happen!"

"Absolutely. I understand," Natasha assured her, her voice steady. "How can I help you?"

"Where's Happy?" Pepper asked, cutting straight to the point.