AT DEATH'S DOOR

{ C003 — AT DEATH'S DOOR }

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A roaring red flash cut through New York's traffic before arriving at a private hanger. The red GT500 stopped in the special parking spot.

Zayne got out of his car with his backpack and walked towards the runway, where a private jet was already waiting for him. Unlike in his past life, this jet specially modified by Tony would only take about two hours to reach California.

He would spend the weekend there and return tomorrow evening.

The pilot greeted Zayne as he was already familiar with him. They boarded the jet and it quickly took off after getting the clearance.

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Two hours later, Zayne arrived at Tony's mansion in Malibu. The doors automatically opened for as an artificial voice greeted him, "Welcome, Mr. Morningstar. I hope you had a good flight."

"I did, Jarvis. Thanks for asking," Zayne replied to the artificial intelligence, J.A.R.V.I.S., shortened for 'Just A Rather Very Intelligent System'.

It wouldn't be a lie to say that Tony had a knack for giving out names.

After greeting J.A.R.V.I.S., Zayne quickly walked towards the underground workshop, that was only accessible to Tony, Pepper and him.

There, a handsome middle-aged man was already working on something. But he looked haggard, with dark circles under his eyes. A blue glow shone on his chest through his t-shirt.

Zayne quickly entered the workshop and stopped the man, "Hey, Tony. I have something for you."

Tony stopped his work and looked at Zayne, "Yeah, what did you bring? Don't tell me it's one of your toys."

Zayne quickly shook his head and replied in a confident tone, "I have a cure for your situation."

Tony's eyes widened in shock before his expression turned neutral. He turned back to what he was doing and said, "Kid, that's not a funny thing to say to a dying man."

Zayne didn't back down, as he knew Tony wouldn't simply believe his words, as his situation was quite dangerous. It was almost incurable if not for his plot armour.

After getting hit by his missile, Tony was injured. Pieces of metal shards pierced through his chest, almost touching his heart.

If not for the man he met in the cave, who placed an electromagnet in his chest, Tony might not be sitting here today.

But that wasn't the main problem. The actual problem was caused by the energy source powering the electromagnet. It was made from palladium, which was slowly poisoning Tony.

It was impossible to remove the arc reactor, as the metal shards would kill him. But if he didn't, the palladium would slowly poison him to death.

The only way was to replace palladium as the energy source, but even with J.A.R.V.I.S.'s immense computational power, they didn't manage to find a replacement.

Now, all paths were a dead end. Tony was slowly reaching his wits' end. He already made Pepper the CEO in case he died suddenly.

He was now truly at death's door.

But that was if Zayne wasn't present. Since he already had a cure, he wouldn't shy away from helping a friend. And Tony wasn't someone who would snitch out on him.

During these months, Zayne came to admire him, especially after he returned from the cave. That experience truly changed him as a man.

"Look at this. I already have it with me," Zayne said as he took out a box. Upon opening, it revealed a shining herb.

Tony looked at the box in surprise. He repeatedly rubbed his eyes, as if expecting him to be imagining things.

"Is it just me, or that plant is glowing?" Tony muttered in surprise. But J.A.R.V.I.S. was quick to come to his rescue, "No sir, you aren't imagining things. This herb is glowing. Moreover, I was unable to find any information regarding it."

Hearing that J.A.R.V.I.S. searched through various databases for information regarding this herd, Zayne chuckled in amusement. He said, "Don't bother, Jarvis. You won't be able to find it. Only I have this herb."

Hearing their words, Tony felt a strange feeling in his heart. It was hope. He felt this might be his opportunity.

He spoke in a shaky voice, "Can this cure me, kid? I hope you are not joking. Because it is not funny."

Zayne quickly assured him, "Trust me. It is completely legit."

Tony gulped in hesitation and decided to take this chance. He didn't know if he would ever get another chance. He looked at Zayne with newfound resolve, "What do you want in return, kid?"

Zayne simply shook his head and refused, "I don't need anything. Just tell Jarvis to not record this. Even if you do, make sure to keep it completely secure."

Tony thought for a moment and nodded. He quickly ordered J.A.R.V.I.S., "Jarvis, delete all the recording for the last hour. Also, pause recording for whatever is about to happen next."

"Yes, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied in affirmation. "All done, sir."

Hearing the confirmation, Zayne quickly took out various utensils from his bag. It was an apothecary set which belonged to the previous lord of the house.

He took the stone mortar and placed the herb inside it. He grabbed the heavy pestle and started grinding the herb into a thin paste.

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• You Have Learned The SKILL 'APOTHECARY LV.1'.

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Zayne ignored the notification and poured the thin paste into a glass, which he then filled with warm water. After stirring the water until it took a light green colour, Zayne placed the glass on the table.

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• You Have Crafted The ITEM 'ALL-CURE POTION (S)'.

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Zayne was a bit surprised as he read the notification. Despite his poor skills, the potion was already at S-rank. It went to tell just how potent the herb was.

After putting his utensils in his back, he gave the glass to Tony. The latter hurriedly took it and just as he was about to drink it, Zayne reminded him, "You should first remove the reactor from your chest. It will prevent your flesh from regenerating."

"Oh, yes." Tony realized his blunder. He quickly went to a chair surrounded by mechanical arms and torches. After what happened with Pepper, Tony improved the setup so that he could easily change the arc reactor.

After taking a seat, he quickly ordered, "Jarvis, remove the reactor."

"Yes, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. controlled the mechanical arms and started removing the arc reactor. Within moments, the reactor was completely removed.

Tony quickly grabbed the glass of potion and gulped it down. As soon as it reached his stomach, a warm current erupted from the potion, moving towards every part of his body.

The energy rejuvenated his cells, removing all the fatigue he accumulated in the recent days. But as the energy reached his chest, his flesh started regenerating.

"Argh! Fuck it," Tony screamed in pain as the feeling of his flesh regenerating was much more painful than he thought.

But he forced himself to calm down, and in just five minutes, his chest was completely healed. Even the metal shards were eliminated from his body.

"How do you feel?" Zayne walked towards Tony and asked him in curiosity after seeing his fully healed body. Tony even seemed a bit younger, only a bit exhausted.

"I feel like I am back to my younger days," Tony said with a grin as his quivering hand touched his chest, where there used to be a hole.

"Just don't go back to being your previous self, Tony. Or else, Pepper would be disappointed," Zayne didn't forget to comment in sarcasm.

"Oh, never. I am a responsible man now," Tony chucked softly and replied, thinking about how Pepper unconditionally supported him all this time.

"You bet," Zayne muttered and turned towards the workbench with a holographic screen. "Jarvis, run all scans of Tony, and see if he has any hidden injuries."

"Yes, Mr. Morningstar," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied in affirmation and quickly began performing all kinds of tests on Tony. A few minutes later, it replied, "Sir is completely healthy. He even managed to get a few more years on his lifespan,"

"That's good to hear, Jarvis," Tony said in fake gratitude. As the creator, he knew when J.A.R.V.I.S. was joking.

"Alright then, for our victory against death, let's throw a party!" Tony shouted in excitement, as despite growing up from the terrorist incident, he still loved parties.

"Wait a minute, Tony. You still need to take care of your arc reactor. Without it, you won't be able to use your tin suit," Zayne quickly poured water on his excitement.

"Mr. Morningstar is completely right. Despite your recovery, using the palladium-based arc reactors would again lead to palladium poisoning, albeit slower this time," J.A.R.V.I.S. quickly supported Zayne's claim.

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<End of Chapter.>