"This is absolutely insane, kid." Tony muttered, staring at the four metallic samples laid neatly across his workstation. Each was shaped differently—one smooth and flat, one jagged, one like a sphere, and the last coiled like a spring. His fingers danced through the holographic interface above his desk as he recorded the readings. Then, grabbing a scanner, he passed it over the samples with a low electronic hum.
"The composition of these metals doesn't match anything found on Earth," he said, voice rising with disbelief. "You've literally created matter that shouldn't exist. That's… ridiculous."
"I didn't expect this either," Marcus admitted. That, at least, was true. When he had first seen the ability description for Metallic Transformation, he'd assumed it was something similar to the T-1000 from Terminator—just a shapeshifting metal body. He hadn't realized it bordered on the divine, the kind of ability that let one create entirely new substances from nothing.
[Skill: Metallization]
Transform any part of your body into bio-metal. Shape and density can be freely altered. Liquid form cannot be maintained for long.
Apparently, anything that came with the word "any" in its description was never something simple.
"Jarvis, analysis results?" Tony snapped his fingers toward the empty air. The AI's calm, synthesized voice soon filled the lab.
"Scan complete. All four bio-metal samples show atomic instability. Estimated disintegration in approximately one hour."
Tony sighed, disappointment flashing in his eyes. "Pity. Guess I can't use your bio-metal for armor manufacturing after all." Then his usual grin returned. "Still, congratulations, kid. If that stuff didn't dissolve after an hour, you'd be worth more than the entire gold reserves of the United States. You'd have people lining up with mining drills to dig pieces off you."
Marcus smirked faintly. "Good thing it doesn't last, then."
Tony chuckled. "Relax. I'm not one of them."
Next came the skill tests.
Tony stepped back a few paces, raising a hand to signal Marcus to begin.
Marcus exhaled slowly, his right arm morphing into a gleaming silver longsword. He raised it before a steel humanoid dummy, his expression calm and precise—the look of an executioner preparing to deliver judgment.
Then—
Vrrrrrmmmm!
The blade began to vibrate at a frequency so high it blurred, the sound sharp and resonant. The entire underground lab seemed to tremble as wind whipped through it, stirred by the vibrating metal. The friction generated enough heat to tint the sword an incandescent crimson, waves of thermal distortion rippling through the air. Even Tony reflexively lowered his helmet's visor.
High-Frequency Slash!
A blinding red arc flashed across the steel dummy—clean, silent, almost elegant.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then, as Marcus relaxed his arm and let the blade revert to flesh, a bright glowing line appeared from the dummy's forehead to its groin. With a hiss, molten metal poured from the wound like blood. The once-solid figure split neatly in two and collapsed to the floor with a heavy clang.
Tony stared down at the bisected machine for a long moment, then spread his arms. "Okay. I saw it before, but seeing it again—wow. Just… wow."
The power of the High-Frequency Slash was undeniable—but so was its cost. Activating the blade alone drained ten percent of Marcus's total bio-energy, and maintaining it consumed another one percent per second. Even at full capacity, he could only sustain it for ninety seconds before burning out completely.
But pure destructive power wasn't everything. Against agile opponents, the attack's wind-up made it impractical. That was where his true ace came in—God Spear.
By channeling bio-energy to accelerate the blade's retraction and extension, he could strike faster than sound. Just ten percent of his total energy was enough to deliver a supersonic thrust. And unlike the slash, the Spear could emerge from anywhere—his elbow, knee, even his back—without warning. It was the perfect assassination weapon.
Which was precisely why Marcus didn't plan to demonstrate it in front of Tony Stark.
"Alright, kid," Tony said after running the numbers, walking up with that mischievous glint in his eyes. "Now let's test your punching power. No blades, no claws, no tricks—just a good, old-fashioned right hook."
Marcus arched an eyebrow. "A punch? Why bother with something so weak?"
"Because," Tony said evenly, tapping his armored chest, "you don't always need to kill. Sometimes holding back saves you more trouble than swinging to kill."
Marcus almost laughed. There it was again—the heroic lecture. The inevitable "you can still be good" speech every do-gooder seemed born to give. But fine. If Tony wanted a show, he'd get one.
He clenched his fist, drawing on about half his strength, and struck.
The impact echoed like thunder. The floor cracked beneath Tony's feet, but the billionaire barely flinched. He stood perfectly still, chest puffed out proudly, as if the punch had been nothing more than a gentle tap.
"Come on, that all you got?" he said, voice smug. "You just had lunch. Don't tell me you're that out of shape."
Marcus felt a twitch of irritation. Watching Tony's self-satisfied grin, he realized the man wasn't testing him anymore—he was testing the durability of his new armor.
'Fine,' Marcus thought. 'Let's see how much you can really take.'
He rolled his metallic right arm, flexing it until the skin shimmered into silver steel. His eyes glinted with mischief.
Tony caught the look and tensed. "Hey—wait. We agreed—just the fist, no weapons."
Marcus smiled coldly. "Exactly. Just the fist."
He swung.
BOOM!
The punch landed like an artillery shell. A visible shockwave rippled outward, shattering light fixtures and rattling the walls. The reinforced floor beneath Tony's boots spiderwebbed with cracks as the Iron Man armor caved inward under the force. Sparks burst from the crushed circuitry as Tony was launched backward—
—like a cannonball.
He smashed through the reinforced lab wall, tearing open a massive hole before hurtling out into the open air. Marcus watched, expression unreadable, as Tony skipped across the ocean's surface like a stone before finally plunging beneath the waves with a distant splash.
"…Guess that's a pass," Marcus muttered.
____
T/N:
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