Chapter 110: Such a Familiar Excuse
Originally, Tony had planned to show off in front of Harvey. After all, this was his proud technological achievement.
Regardless of its actual power, the suit's appearance and the feeling of wearing it were undeniably cool.
Isn't there an age-old saying? All men understand the romance of battle armor and mecha. Harvey is a man too, so he surely gets it.
But instead of impressing Harvey, Tony's attempt left Harvey looking at him with a weird expression. Tony wished the ground would open up and swallow him.
Harvey, noticing Tony's failed attempt at showing off, suppressed a laugh and just looked at him.
"Jarvis 2, suit up!" Tony said loudly, doing his best to ignore the embarrassment.
"At your service, Mr. Stark," came the voice of Jarvis 2, the AI.
With that, the sound of thrusters ignited, and various parts of the armor flew from the underground lab and quickly attached to Tony's body.
In just a few seconds, Tony transformed into the sleek, red-and-gold Iron Man everyone knew and admired.
"It's a new AI," Tony said, turning to Harvey with a smile to mask his earlier awkwardness. "So, it's not quite as smart yet."
"Yeah, there was a hiccup, but I gotta admit—you looked pretty cool calling for it just now," Harvey said with a grin. "But this is how you transform."
With that, Harvey stood up, and in an instant, his purple-gold armor reappeared, his face was covered with a golden mask, and a white cape draped over his shoulders. His black eyes turned into majestic golden pupils.
"…"
Tony stared in silence at Harvey's transformation, feeling as though he'd chosen the wrong person to try showing off in front of.
"How do you do that? Can you teach me?" Tony asked, clearly intrigued by Harvey's sleek transformation.
"When you've truly mastered Void Energy, I'll teach you," Harvey replied casually.
"Alright, then," Tony said, remembering the purple energy Harvey had unleashed earlier. He understood.
Having evolved more than fifty times now, Tony's evolution speed had slowed significantly. Despite joining the Void for over half a year, he'd only evolved 81 times in total.
His physical strength had become incredibly powerful, but he could only manage to project a Void Force that extended about ten centimeters. It was hardly worth bragging about.
"Let's head to the underground lab. Grab what you need, and we'll be on our way," Harvey said, snapping Tony out of his thoughts.
Tony didn't dwell on it. There would be plenty of time in the future to figure things out. For now, he was already contemplating how to make an even cooler entrance when meeting the other members.
Unaware of Tony's constant need to show off, Harvey made his way to the underground lab. With a wave of his hand, Void Energy surrounded both the gravity device and Tony.
A Void Rift appeared at Harvey's feet, and in the blink of an eye, the two of them disappeared.
The next moment, they reappeared on the moon.
"…"
Tony stood inside a protective purple energy field, gazing in awe at the distant blue Earth and the vast, white surface beneath his feet.
As a scientist specializing in military technology, what scientist hasn't dreamed of stepping foot in space?
Now that it had become a reality, Tony was filled with excitement and wonder at the possibilities the universe held.
Then, a massive Void Rift, about a kilometer wide, appeared beneath Tony's feet, and in an instant, they vanished again.
"How far did we just travel?" Tony asked in amazement, as the scenery around him suddenly changed. He found himself staring at a distant black-and-red planet, unlike anything he'd ever seen before.
"We crossed a few tens of thousands of light-years," Harvey replied offhandedly.
Before Tony could fully process that, the scene shifted again, and he found himself inside a house.
The purple energy field around him dissipated, and the boxes containing the gravity device were gently placed on the ground.
"...We're here already?" Tony said, still adjusting to the fact that he could breathe normally. He looked outside the window and realized they were in a forested villa, a bit lost in disbelief.
"Yeah, we're here," Harvey confirmed with a slight nod.
"Crossing tens of thousands of light-years in under ten seconds?" Tony exclaimed in astonishment.
"This is just one form of Void Magic. Crossing that distance is nothing special," Harvey said nonchalantly.
"Nothing special?" Tony said, clearly shocked at how casual Harvey was being.
Tony knew Harvey was strong—Harvey had casually mentioned before that running into Odin or the Ancient One was merely a minor inconvenience. Harvey had to be a big deal in the universe.
But even knowing all that, every time he saw Harvey in action, Tony realized just how limited his understanding of Harvey's abilities had been.
"Right now, many civilizations in the universe can't achieve travel in ten seconds, but crossing tens of thousands of light-years in a few days is possible," Harvey explained. "So, don't be too surprised. You'll see a lot more technology that will leave you amazed."
"Remember what I told you before we got here," Harvey said in a low voice, his attention seemingly elsewhere.
Tony, snapping out of his awe, tried to recall what Harvey had said before they arrived.
Just then, a blonde woman quickly descended the stairs.
"Mr. Kassadin, welcome back," Sonya said, smiling warmly as she greeted Harvey.
"Mm. Go prepare something to drink for us," Harvey responded with a slight nod.
"Right away, sir. It'll be ready shortly," Sonya said, though she seemed a little curious about the man in armor standing next to Harvey. Nevertheless, she nodded and quickly went off to fulfill the request.
"…So, Mr. Kassadin, is that your girlfriend?" Tony asked, grinning as he watched the graceful blonde leave.
"No, she's my housekeeper, Sonya," Harvey replied, glancing at Tony. "When it comes to setting up your lab and getting the materials you need, you can coordinate with her."
"Yeah, right. If she's just a housekeeper, why haven't I seen you hire any back on Earth?" Tony said with a smirk.
Harvey was a famous young billionaire on Earth, single and well-known.
Even if Harvey had a wife, Tony doubted one woman could tie him down.
If Harvey wanted, he could easily hire a dozen or more personal assistants or secretaries—no problem.
"Believe what you want," Harvey said, not bothering to explain further.
"Such a familiar excuse," Tony chuckled, feeling a wave of nostalgia. "But given your status and power, what do you have to worry about? You could do whatever you want, and no one could stop you."
Tony was trying to stir up more conversation.
"I didn't bring you here to gossip," Harvey said, rolling his eyes at Tony's knowing smirk.