71: Return and Time Difference

Marvel Universe.

Stark Mansion, Los Angeles.

"Beep beep beep!!!"

As soon as Lyon reappeared in the basement, all the instruments and lights turned red, and the alarm blared urgently, as if signaling a crisis.

Fussss~

Dum-E rolled over, holding a disinfectant spray, and began spraying Lyon down without hesitation. U also stood by, ready with a fire extinguisher, poised for action... and the little shit already did!

"Okay, okay! Stop! Do I look like a lab burglar? Hey—! U, I swear I'll scarp you up! What's with the whole spectacle?" Lyon waved frantically at U to stop.

Only then did the alarms and red lights finally cease.

"Master, you have finally returned. It seems your experience in the other world was not exactly smooth," came J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice.

"Finally? How long have I been gone? Don't tell me it's been years," Lyon's heart sank at the thought. If several years had passed, something like the Decimation might have already happened.

"It has been exactly 12 hours and 37 minutes since you left. The current time is 7:49 AM the following day."

"Ah?" Lyon raised an eyebrow, "I've only been gone twelve hours, and you're using the word 'finally'? J.A.R.V.I.S., I think you might need to reload the logic for your phrasing program."

"Master, I selected my words based on Mr. Stark's mental state changes after your departure," J.A.R.V.I.S. explained.

"So, you're saying Tony missed me a lot?" Lyon couldn't help but laugh.

"I believe so. Three hours ago, he was asking about your return every seven minutes on average."

"And for those past three hours? Was it every minute?"

"Mr. Stark fell asleep three hours ago. He is currently on his way down after hearing the alarm."

"Did I just hear you guys talking behind my back?" Tony suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs, still wrapped in a silk robe, clearly having rushed down from bed.

"Look who finally decided to come home! Is this our Peter Pan returning after getting hurt outside and coming back to complain?" Tony's initial excitement upon seeing Lyon quickly faded into his usual nonchalant attitude as he lazily collapsed into a chair with a swaggering walk.

"I was just worried about the lonely empty-nester back home." 

Lyon chuckled, "Didn't expect you to be so attached to me, Tony. Only twelve hours, and you're already calling out my name in your sleep? How could I not rush back?"

"Calling out your name in my sleep? That's a joke..." Tony laughed but quickly stopped as his expression froze. "J.A.R.V.I.S. told you?"

"What do you think? Keke"

"Fucking asshole!"

"Watch your language, Tony," Lyon said as he sat on the table next to him.

"To clarify, sir, I did not mention to Master Lyon that you muttered his name in your sleep 17 times over the past three hours," J.A.R.V.I.S. added, throwing Tony under the bus.

Tony smacked his face in frustration. "Well, great. Now you've told him."

"Apologies, sir."

With a resigned sigh, Tony rolled his neck and looked at Lyon. "So, did you have a rough time in that other world?"

"Why would you say that?" Lyon asked, puzzled. J.A.R.V.I.S. had made a similar comment earlier.

Tony spread his hands, glancing around dramatically. "It's pretty obvious, isn't it? You lost the Super Mark 1 suit, along with the J.A.R.V.I.S. sub-system inside it."

It seemed Tony's guess was spot on.

"Well, yeah—"

"Exactly!" Tony exclaimed, tapping the pencil on the box for emphasis. "You see, if time flows the same in both universes, that's not supposed to happen—at least not if you were dealing with different dimensions or universes that are isolated from each other. Typically, time dilation, different gravitational forces, or even different laws of physics would mean the time flows at varying rates."

Lyon raised an eyebrow. "So, what are you getting at?"

Tony pointed the pencil at Lyon, as if conducting a lecture. "It means there's something tying your world to theirs—something more fundamental. It's not just random dimensions, but they're somehow linked. That, or you've got a pretty insane deal with the universe to keep everything synchronized."

Lyon scratched his head. "So, the time synchronicity is actually something weird?"

"Absolutely. It's not something we usually expect in multiverse travel. It's like…" Tony twirled the pencil in his fingers, searching for an analogy. "It's like every time you cross dimensions, you're hitting 'pause' and 'play' on both worlds at the exact same time."

"Interesting," Lyon said thoughtfully. "I just assumed it was a lucky coincidence."

Tony shot him a sideways glance. "There are no coincidences when you're dealing with alternate realities. Something's keeping them in sync, and that's something worth looking into."

Lyon chuckled. "So, you think this is something we should study?"

Tony leaned back. "I don't know, but if we can figure out how that synchronization works, we might just crack something new about dimensional travel."

Lyon's realization hit him hard. He furrowed his brows and suddenly understood what Tony was implying.

"Wait a minute..." Lyon muttered, thinking out loud. "If the time flow in both worlds should be different due to their mass and gravitational forces, then why do I instinctively feel like they should be the same?"

"Exactly!" Tony snapped his fingers, leaning in. "That's the mystery, my friend. Something—or someone—is making you feel like the time flows are naturally synced. It's like your brain is wired to expect them to match, even when they shouldn't."

Lyon's eyes narrowed. "You think someone is manipulating my perception? Or controlling the way these universes are linked?"

Tony shrugged, picking up the box and pencil again. "Maybe not controlling. But there's definitely something beyond just physics going on here. If the worlds are tied together somehow—beyond just coincidence—then whoever or whatever is behind this synchronization is playing a much bigger game than we realize."

Lyon rubbed his chin, the gears in his mind turning. "And if they can manipulate time flow across different universes, that means they might have control over a lot more than just that."

Tony nodded. "Spot on. It's worth investigating—before it becomes a problem."

Lyon leaned back against the workbench, staring off into the distance. "I might have to dive deeper into this. But for now, I need to make sure both worlds are stable."

Tony smirked, tossing the pencil onto the table. "Well, you've got the right tools. Let's just hope whoever—or whatever—is behind this synchronization is on our side."

Lyon couldn't help but chuckle at Tony's sudden shift to a mentor-like tone. "You're really enjoying this, huh?"

Tony grinned, clearly proud of himself. "What can I say? Being the older, wiser brother comes with its perks. Plus, it's not every day I get to mentor the guy who can fly, shoot lasers from his eyes, and punch through steel."

Lyon shook his head, still processing everything Tony had explained. The idea that he might be subconsciously controlling how time flowed between the two worlds made sense in a bizarre way, given all the strange things he had already encountered.

"Alright, I'll try to experiment more with the time travel thing, but I'm going to need a few more trips back and forth to really get a handle on it."

Tony nodded. "True. You've got the power, you just need the practice. And who knows, maybe next time you'll figure out how to control the time flow even better. Just make sure you're not late to any of my parties, alright?"

Lyon rolled his eyes but smiled. "Yeah, yeah. I'll make sure to show up on time, Mr. Stark."

With that, Tony gave Lyon another pat on the shoulder, his face turning serious again. "Jokes aside, Lyon, be careful. Jumping between worlds like this, there's no telling what kind of ripple effects it might have on either side. And I'd rather not have to figure out how to fix a broken universe."

Lyon gave a firm nod. "Got it. I'll be careful."

"This time, you win. Go ahead," Lyon sighed, giving in.

Tony grinned even wider, humming a tune, clearly basking in his small victory.

"Alright, you enjoy that for now," Lyon said, smirking. "I'm going to test this time-travel thing again."

"Wait!" Tony jumped up, his silk robe sliding off his shoulders. "This time, you have to take me with you! I mean, it's just one percent more energy, right? What's the harm in bringing another person?"

"It's dangerous, Tony. You don't want to get over there and catch some virus..." Lyon's gaze drifted to Tony's chest, noticing the glowing triangular reactor.

"Wait, you put the arc reactor back in? Does that mean... the new element is working?"

Tony's smirk grew even more smug. "Yep. Two hours after you left, it worked. I named it Badassium. Pretty catchy, huh?"

Lyon's expression twitched. "I... well, that's certainly... something."

"Come on, if Dad knew I named the new element that, he'd probably crawl out of his grave to punch me."

Tony chuckled darkly. "Too bad for him, he's already cremated. No crawling for him." His natural talent for grim humor shone through.

"So, are you gonna let me come or not?"

"Hmm... I need to think about it. By the way, who was it that said I don't think things through?" Lyon teased, his lips curling into a grin.

Tony looked around dramatically. "Who? Who would dare say such a thing about you? What a terrible person!"

__________

Read 15 Chapters ahead:

P@treon: LiveLifeLove