21: The Road to the Future (skipable)

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After Tony asked, he was worried that Lyon might take offense, so he even joked about it.

"For example, should you really become a Superman and save the world by dragging all the nukes into outer space to destroy them?"

"Or maybe find a few more girlfriends and pass down your powerful Superman genes?"

"Come on, tell me, you seem to have it all figured out and aren't lost at all, so you must have your own ideas. Satisfy your big brother's curiosity!"

Tony tried to "gently" coax him.

"Anyway, if I had your abilities, I'd date ten cover models in one night, then fly out to the sun or something, looking for aliens. Maybe I'd even run into some alien beauties!"

Lyon couldn't help but laugh; this was definitely something Tony would say.

"You're more likely to find face-hugging aliens instead of beauties," he joked in return.

"I'm not really like you. I don't have that many ideas. I'll live the way I used to live."

"In the past, I was the second young master of Stark Industries. Everywhere I went, I was greeted with smiles, and the world treated me with kindness."

"Now, even though I've gotten stronger, none of that is going to change. I don't have any reason to go do bad things, right?"

"Exactly, very well said, kid," Tony nodded, his eyes full of pride, like a father watching his son grow up.

Lyon took a deep breath: "Tony, if you keep looking at me with that gaze, I swear I'll grab the slippers Pepper just bought and smack you on the butt!"

"I'm just your brother, stop trying to treat me like I'm your son, OK?"

Tony wasn't having it: "Lyon, you see, you're always so sensitive. Come on, maybe if we toast, you'll feel more like an adult."

"You're saying it as if I'm not already an adult. You think that, but aren't you also?" Lyon clinked glasses with Tony, refusing to fall into the trap of Tony's words.

He continued: "I wasn't done with what I was saying earlier."

"Even though I don't plan on changing my daily life, I'm also going to embark on another path!"

"Hmm.. What path?" Tony sat up in the water, intrigued.

"The path of pursuing greater strength." Lyon downed his glass of wine in one go.

"That's it? But you're already strong enough!"

Tony was utterly surprised.

"This world doesn't have kryptonite, and there's no one you can't beat, so why would you need to get stronger?"

Lyon smiled and replied, "There isn't now, but there will be one day."

Tony wasn't convinced: "And how do you plan to get stronger? Keep basking in the sun?"

Lyon shook his head.

"Of course, I'll still be basking in the sun, but relying solely on that, there's a limit to how much strength I can achieve!"

"So, I plan to improve my abilities from multiple angles!"

"I'll learn some magic, practice some chi techniques, and gain more knowledge in science."

"And then, when I have enough understanding, maybe I can raise the upper limits of my body through genetic research!"

The moon reflected on the water, and Lyon lightly clenched his fist while submerged.

"Genetic research? Like the Super Soldier Serum that made Captain America?" Tony felt a bad premonition. "That stuff shouldn't have any effect on you, right?"

"It doesn't," Lyon agreed, "but what I want to research is my own genetics!"

Lyon looked at Tony seriously. "The genetics of a Kryptonian!"

Tony was stunned for a while, his face shifting slightly. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"In the comics, anyone who researched Kryptonian genes usually ended up creating Doomsday!"

It was clear that Tony had been reading quite a bit of DC comics lately, considering he even knew about Doomsday.

"Doomsday is a Kryptonian bio-weapon, created only for slaughter, bringing nothing but destruction to the world. Even Kryptonians themselves couldn't control that power!"

Tony's expression grew serious. "This is not an easy path, nor is it a smooth road!"

"If Kryptonian genetics were that simple to study, with their numerous super-intellects, they would have ascended to godhood ages ago!"

"Lyon, maybe you should reconsider. You don't have to study genetics; there are many other ways to get stronger. I can help you find them!"

Lyon shook his head. "I will try other methods, but I won't give up on using genetics to fundamentally improve my strength."

Tony, frustrated, submerged himself in the water till his face was inside.

Blup-blub-blub

He felt like a parent dealing with a rebellious teenager, trying to offer advice but unsure of where to start.

"Think about this, Lyon—have you considered the possibility that if something goes wrong with your research, you could end up becoming another Doomsday? What would happen then?"

Tony continued guiding him, "We already said that no one on Earth could stop you. You could do whatever you wanted."

"And if you turned into Doomsday, what would happen to the Earth?"

"Wouldn't destruction be the only outcome?"

"You're getting a bit extreme here, Lyon!"

"This..." Lyon stared at Tony in a daze, falling into deep thought.

In the original movies, Tony was actually a rather radical person himself.

When it came to pursuing progress, Tony would never back down. In the face of significant decisions, he always stuck to his choices.

Like the creation of Ultron and the Avengers' Civil War—these events partly happened because Tony's personality was too aggressive, once he made up his mind, he would never turn back.

But now, it was this same Tony, known for his aggressive decisions, telling him that he was becoming a bit too extreme!

This forced Lyon to reflect on whether he was truly being reckless in his pursuit of power.

"Alright, I admit, directly researching Kryptonian genetics might be a bit extreme."

After a long pause, Lyon nodded slowly, allowing Tony to breathe a sigh of relief.

But in the next second, Lyon changed his tone, "However, after I get my hands on some Kryptonite, I will still start this research!"

Tony's eyes widened. "Wait, Kryptonite? Does our world have Kryptonite? Are you joking?"

"Our world doesn't, of course." Lyon gave Tony a strange look. "I'm talking about getting some Kryptonite from the DC Universe."

Now Tony was confused. "The DC Universe... Wait, wait, are we seriously discussing dream content right now?"

"...I'm serious." Lyon shook his empty wine glass.

"I have a feeling my time-traveling ability could let me cross over to the DC Universe."

"So, once I get my hands on Kryptonite, I'll leave it with you. If I really turn into Doomsday, you can deal with me."

Tony completely ignored the latter part of Lyon's sentence.

He was utterly confused, "Forget about Kryptonite for a moment. Time travel? You have that ability? And the DC Universe is actually real? Though, theoretically, that might be possible..."

Lyon was exasperated. "I remember telling you on my birthday that I awakened Kryptonian blood and the ability to travel through time and space. But you didn't believe any of it?"

In fact, Tony had never truly believed Lyon had awakened Kryptonian blood.

He had assumed Lyon's power to grow stronger under the sun was simply a genetic mutation.

It was only after Lyon returned from space, displaying more and more powers similar to Superman, that Tony finally started to believe him.

However, Lyon's time-traveling ability, which he had mentioned earlier, had long since been forgotten by Tony.

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