16: Talking sh*t before the competition is an essential part of communication

Tony stood in front of the experimental setup he had built.

In the center of the setup was a massive stand.

Underneath the stand was a two-meter-tall figure, covered by a large black cloth.

The sharp angles of the figure pushed the cloth up, revealing a humanoid shape beneath.

That was clearly Tony's suit of armor.

"You should feel honored," Tony said, spreading his arms wide. "You are about to witness the debut of the greatest masterpiece this world has ever seen! And you get to see it twice!"

Lyon didn't deny it. "Seems like that's the case. Go ahead, start your performance."

Tony's expression became more serious.

He maintained his outstretched arms. "Begin, Jarvis."

"Certainly, Sir."

Creak!

Upon receiving the command, several mechanical arms extended from the stand behind Tony and pulled away the black cloth.

A steel-gray suit of armor was revealed.

The iron-clad exterior, with its metallic sheen, reflected the sunlight like water.

For a moment, it seemed as if the entire basement brightened.

The mechanical arms continued their work, disassembling the armor piece by piece, then began to suit up Tony.

The iron scales, as if coming to life, overlapped and encased Tony's body.

Once Tony was fully armored in the steel suit, the mechanical arms retreated, and the eyes of the armor suddenly glowed with an eerie light.

Fuss!

The gaps between the armor plates exhaled bursts of air, like the suit was breathing.

"Look! This is... my armor!" Tony proudly spread his arms, with flames jetting out from the soles of his feet and the palms of his hands.

He lifted off, hovering in mid-air: "This is the Mark II! Now, I can fly too!"

"Wow, cool!" Lyon couldn't help but marvel at the metal-clad suit in front of him.

Jarvis's voice interrupted, somewhat inappropriately: "Sir, the flight capabilities of the Mark II still require further testing."

"No, no, no, Jarvis. Sometimes, we have to run before we can walk." Tony quickly dismissed the warning.

It was clear that he was eager to take to the skies.

Tony hovered in mid-air, flipped up his faceplate, and turned his gaze to Lyon.

"The Mark II is equipped with a flight stabilizer, palm repulsors, and a series of other devices. It's about thirty years ahead of anything else in the world."

"Now it's your turn. Where's your suit?"

Instead of answering immediately, Lyon circled Tony, examining him.

"Crafted entirely from titanium steel, with a new energy source at its core, and equipped with the JARVIS system—it's indeed a masterpiece ahead of its time."

Then, he shifted his tone: "But it's far from perfect. I remember you had some gold in the spare materials, but you didn't use it. That's going to be a flaw."

Tony was baffled. "Why would you add gold to a suit of armor? That's completely unnecessary!"

"In a few minutes, you'll find the answer on my suit," Lyon said, his eyes no longer admiring, as he rolled up his sleeves, revealing two glowing bracelets on his wrists.

"Take a good look. This is my suit. JARVIS, initiate the sequence!"

"Certainly, Master Lyon!"

A beep echoed through the room as the lights on Lyon's bracelets turned red.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling noise came from above the garage, accompanied by the sound of various objects shattering.

Tony's expression grew peculiar. "It sounds like something in my lab just shattered. What on earth are you doing?"

"Uh, that might be a slight mishap with the predetermined route... but look, here it comes!"

Suddenly, Lyon began to float, spreading his arms wide in the air.

In the next moment, a red and blue oval-shaped pod, with flames jetting out from behind, flew into the garage.

"Wait, is your suit just a big metal can? That would be... Oh my God, this is... How is this even possible?"

Tony instinctively began to mock Lyon but quickly fell silent in astonishment.

As the red and blue pod entered the garage, it started to disassemble mid-air.

One by one, pieces of a steel suit unfolded in the air, emitting flames as they did, and perfectly aligned themselves behind Lyon.

The red and blue armored plates, centered around Lyon's body, connected with impeccable precision.

They formed a suit with a blue base and red accents.

The suit's eyes lit up, and every component adjusted itself in sync with Lyon's movements, as if it were a living, breathing organism.

This was nothing short of a masterpiece of iron craftsmanship, combining both strength and elegance with its streamlined form.

Once the suit was fully assembled, flames jetted out from its feet and back, keeping Lyon hovering in mid-air.

He pointed to various parts of his suit, explaining the newly added features one by one.

"My suit is powered by these wristbands. When not in use, it functions as a flight pod, and when needed, it can provide remote support."

"Although it currently doesn't have any weapons installed, there are plenty of reserved slots for adding them later."

"The most important thing is that this suit has a propulsion system on the back, allowing you to free up your hands during flight, so you can fight or... wave hello."

"Besides that, it has a lot of other features, like a new liquid filtration system, which allows the user to... take care of business during flight..."

Tony, who was already gaping in amazement, quickly interrupted, "Wait, wait, that last part sounds a bit gross. Are you planning to pee while wearing the suit? Isn't that disgusting?"

"Oh, really? I thought you'd appreciate that feature."

Lyon squinted slightly.

Others might not know, but he understood Tony all too well.

In the movies, Tony had actually bragged about this liquid filtration feature at his birthday party after all.

So now, interrupting him mid-speech was probably just Tony trying to pick at something, unable to handle being outdone.

"Me, like that? You're joking. That kind of gross, useless feature is a disgrace to the suit!" Tony said with a straight face.

Lyon raised an eyebrow. "Well, regardless, I won this competition, didn't I?"

He started counting on his fingers, "Your suit doesn't have as many features as mine, it's not as convenient to wear, so with all these differences..."

"No, no, no, Lyon, you're mistaken about one thing."

Tony quickly began to backtrack, "What is a suit of armor? It's a weapon. Its main function is combat, so having all those additional features is just a waste of time."

"So?" Lyon motioned for Tony to continue.

"So, when comparing suits, the most important thing is to compare their performance—like speed, environmental adaptability, and strength."

"I have no objections to that. So how do we compare?" Lyon thought for a moment, forming a plan in his mind. "I suggest we fly into the sky together and see who can fly faster and farther!"

"Yeah!" Tony snapped his fingers, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

"Alright, let's go outside, have Jarvis give the signal, and then..." Lyon increased the power of his thrusters and began flying toward the exit.

"Whoa, whoa! Lyon, you're planning to race me while wearing your suit?" Tony felt something was off.

"How else are we supposed to compete?" Lyon stopped and looked back.

_________

Lyon: Will this gorgeous person add this book to the library?

Tony: Yeah, I guess he'll.

Lyon: And if he doesn't?

Tony: Then he's gay.