Chapter 139: Transformer Armor Awakens! BBQ Stand Owner Tony!
Following Tony’s call, Pepper came out of the kitchen.
She was wearing an apron and seemed to be preparing dinner.
"Are you making dinner?" Tony asked.
"No." Pepper wiped her hands on the apron. "I’m washing vegetables."
"Okay."
Tony clapped his hands and began the introductions.
"This is Lorien, the best psychologist in the country.
This is Wanda Maximoff, also known as Scarlet Witch, once a member of the Avengers.
And this is Gwen Stacy, also known as Spider-Woman, a hidden superhero of the city."
Tony gave a brief, humorous introduction of everyone. But it didn’t really matter—Pepper already knew who they were!
She looked at Lorien and the others in surprise, especially Wanda and Gwen, both women... both superheroes... and both with the same man!?
"Oh my gosh!"
Pepper was stunned. She quickly stepped forward to introduce herself.
"Hello, I’m Pepper Potts, Tony’s partner."
After Pepper introduced herself, Wanda and Gwen also stepped forward to do the same. At the end, Wanda smiled.
"Don’t think of me as a superhero anymore. I’m just a housewife now, like you."
"Really?" Pepper was even more surprised. "That’s incredible!"
A superhero willingly becoming a housewife. That answer was far more shocking than anything else. But why? What made her decide that?
And that wasn’t all.
Gwen added,
"I’ll be a housewife too, but I still have to attend college... and part-time, I fight crime in the city."
As soon as Gwen said that, Lorien’s mouth twitched. He knew what was coming.
Sure enough—
"College?" Pepper froze. "Then you’re still in high school?"
"Of course." Gwen nodded. "But I’ll be starting college once the new term begins."
Pepper lifted her head and looked at Lorien. Her eyes held both admiration for him... and a certain unspoken meaning.
Tony also turned to Lorien. He gave him a nod—the kind of nod that said, "You’re impressive."
Lorien: ...
He really wanted to say—what if he wasn’t much older than Gwen himself? She was about Wanda’s age, maybe at most five years younger? That wasn’t such a big gap. It was just that "high school student" sounded... bad.
"Your grades must be excellent."
Pepper nodded approvingly. Compared to herself, Gwen really was far more capable and had accomplished so much more. She herself was already overwhelmed just working remotely, and that was after Friday had cleared some of the workload.
Just like that, the three women quickly fell into conversation.
Seeing this, Tony decisively turned away.
"Let’s go. Let’s leave the kitchen to them. Time to show you the gravity room."
Once women started talking, they couldn’t stop.
Lorien nodded.
"Let’s go."
Tony led Lorien down to his basement. They first entered the study.
Tony clapped his hands.
Clap clap~~
A corner wall split open, revealing a hidden passage. Behind it was a tech-themed dark room.
Outside, it was a wooden study. Inside, a technological laboratory.
How to describe it? It fit perfectly.
"You’re not surprised?" Tony sounded a bit uncertain.
"Surprised about what?" Lorien shook his head and said matter-of-factly, "Isn’t this exactly what a tech geek should have?"
A tech geek. If you have the skills, you pour them into technology—research, experiments, all kinds of high-tech projects.
If you don’t, you set up a gaming room, maybe with a sleek style or RGB lighting. Right?
"Fair enough."
Tony sighed helplessly, then led Lorien into the lab.
As soon as Lorien stepped inside, he saw several Iron Man suits walking around.
Some of them were even wearing lab coats, looking like actual researchers...
Wait.
These Iron Man suits really were doing Tony’s research.
Tony explained,
"At first, I did all the research myself. I could even go two days and two nights without sleep."
"But that was when I was young. Now, I’m old. So I leave the renovation, simulations, cleaning, and troubleshooting to them. Life’s a lot easier now."
Hearing this, Lorien said seriously to Tony...
"So you finally understand the ultimate truth of technology."
"?" Tony froze. "What is it?"
"It’s laziness."
Tony opened his mouth, ready to argue and show off his knowledge. But after thinking for a while, he clapped his hands and nodded.
"Alright, you’re right. Let’s go, I’ll take you to see the gravity chamber."
It was clear—Tony was genuinely impressed.
The two of them arrived at the gravity chamber.
It looked impressive, and the interior space was quite large. There was a touchscreen panel outside the door, and Tony stood beside it, explaining.
"Don’t let its compact size fool you. It relies on massive external equipment to generate the gravity.
It can simulate zero gravity like in space, or the crushing pull of a massive planet—dozens of times that of Earth.
But only a few dozen times at most. Beyond that, the equipment can’t handle the stress."
Lorien nodded. He knew reducing gravity was easy: remove the air or escape Earth’s pull. But increasing gravity was difficult.
Gravity in the universe comes from mass. To increase it artificially requires equipment and enormous energy.
At present, among humans, only Tony had achieved this.
"Not bad."
Lorien stepped inside, closed the special gate, and casually pulled the settings straight up to thirty times gravity to see how it felt.
"Hum~~~"
The device roared as the gravity intensified.
"Hey! Lorien?" Tony was startled and rushed forward to stop him.
Thirty times Earth’s gravity was no joke—especially all at once!
A normal person would faint at just 3.5x sudden pressure. Trained F1 drivers could endure 5x. Fighter pilots could last at 7x. Astronauts could withstand 9x—but only through gradual adaptation.
Even Tony’s Iron Man armor experienced 12–13 G’s during sharp turns, but only because of its internal pressure systems. That’s why he trained so hard.
But Lorien had gone straight to 30x!
Tony tried to intervene, but the machine activated too quickly. The chamber’s gravity surged upward in seconds.
Lorien waved his hand, telling him not to worry.
Seeing how calm he looked, Tony thought the machine hadn’t activated. But when he glanced at the display—
"What the hell?"
[Current gravity: x15+]
x16... x17...
The numbers climbed rapidly before his eyes.
Tony turned back. Lorien was strolling around inside as if nothing had changed.
"Huh?"
Was the display broken? Or the actuator?
Tony moved closer to the monitor.
x20... x21...
Not broken.
Which meant...
Lorien wasn’t affected by the gravity at all?
What the hell?!
In no time, under Tony’s gaze, the machine hit its peak: 30x gravity.
At the limit, Lorien gave a small jump. As expected, nothing seemed to change—but he could feel the pressure pressing down on his body.
That’s why on planets with low gravity, you could leap higher. On planets with strong gravity, you could barely move.
If the Olympics were held on two different planets, each with its own gravity, you’d have two entirely different records. One world’s long jump champion might reach 8 meters, while on another, it could be 15.
That was just natural.
After wandering around leisurely, Lorien shut down the gravity chamber.
The machine gradually powered down, and gravity eased from 30 back to 1—normal again.
"Pfft~~~"
When the gate opened, Lorien walked out completely unharmed.
Tony’s eyes widened. He circled Lorien twice, then blurted out,
"You have abilities too?"
"When did I ever say I didn’t?"
"...Damn." Tony sucked in a sharp breath. "I saw your Transformers and thought you were just another tech geek."
Tony sighed.
This was hopeless. Everyone had abilities. Were there really so few who relied only on technology?
Not really. Many big names in Marvel were tech geniuses—but technology was only part of it. Abilities were the real edge.
"How about it?" Tony tilted his head toward the chamber. "Not bad, right? But how are you supposed to move it?"
"Simple."
Lorien glanced at it. Since the gravity chamber was added later, Tony had built it with a modular design, separate from the lab.
Lorien snapped his fingers.
Snap~
In an instant, the chamber shrank down to the size of a figurine and floated into his hand.
He tossed it casually—sending the miniature chamber into his storage space.
Tony froze, eyes wide.
"Fuck!"
He grabbed his head, his worldview crumbling.
"My life is over! That’s magic, isn’t it?
I need to learn magic! I’ll combine mechanics and magic!"
Watching Lorien’s casual display, Tony felt utterly defeated.
It was like the scientists in The Three-Body Problem who had their progress sealed away by the sophons.
Of course, Lorien wasn’t using magic—it was his ability.
Magic was one form of ability. Ability itself was just ability. They weren’t the same.
Still, magic and mechanics together... that did have potential.
In the movies, Tony only had the Hulkbuster Armor. But in the comics, he wielded countless specialized armors designed to counter anything and everything.
Even Celestials Armor!
Its codename: Godkiller Armor MK II.
There’s also Symbiote Armor, Prometheum Armor, True Infinity Stone Armor, and so many others. That’s what it means for a human body to truly stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods.
What good is technology alone?
You need technology plus mutation to make it work!
How else can you survive in America without stacking buffs?
The movie endings lean more on willpower, personal sacrifice, and heroism.
But that’s not real ability.
So Lorien patted Tony on the shoulder.
"Learning more can’t hurt.
You’ve already unlocked the tech tree for Iron Armor.
That means you should study different abilities to perfect it.
Didn’t you develop the Hulkbuster Armor once?
Then why not learn some magic and make an anti-sorcerer suit?"
Tony thought it over, and his eyes grew brighter with each second.
"This... this might actually work!"
Excited yet careful, Tony began running through the possibilities.
"Anti-magic armor, anti-Thor armor, anti-anything armor... As long as I learn it, I can add it in."
Now that was the right mindset.
If you can’t beat them, join them.
If they can play, so can I.
How fun is that?
After a long moment of thought, Tony lifted his head and gave Lorien a serious nod.
"Lorien, thank you for pointing me in this direction. Otherwise, I never would’ve thought of it."
Many scientists hit dead ends simply because they don’t see the other paths.
Sometimes, a single flash of inspiration is the most crucial step.
Just like when Tony discovered the treasure his father had left behind—that spark had saved his life.
Of course, this was something Tony would’ve discovered sooner or later anyway.
...
Lorien had simply let him realize it earlier.
The same with going into seclusion.
Without Lorien’s influence, Tony wouldn’t have chosen to step back from the spotlight so soon.
So Lorien waved his hand.
"It’s nothing. Just consider it payment for building me the gravity chamber.
Now let’s head up and grill some meat. I want to see how this fruitwood turns out."
Tony clapped his hands and followed.
"Then I still came out ahead. That idea alone is enough to last me a lifetime."
"Is it really that exaggerated?"
"Of course."
...
The two returned outside and first carried over the big grill, setting it up in Tony’s yard.
Lorien glanced at the lawn and the lake out front.
"With a spot like this, why don’t you get a couple of dogs? That’d be fun."
Tony thought about it and nodded.
"You’re right. How about I buy two Blue Bay Shepherds? Do you want one?"
"You want me to take two more off your hands?"
Lorien waved it off. "Forget it, I can’t keep dogs right now."
Blue Bay Shepherds—recently bred.
They looked like wolves, but were loyal, obedient, and had gentle temperaments. Each one now cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
After setting up the grill, the two went to the wood shed for logs.
But when Lorien saw them—
Damn. Every log was as thick as a thigh. No short pieces, no thinner ones.
He immediately looked at Tony, who seemed a little guilty.
"So, you suggested barbecue just so you could get someone to help chop wood, right?"
"Cough, cough, cough." Tony grew flustered. He pressed his lips together. "But the meat I bought is top-quality. All USDA Prime+ beef."
After saying that, Tony nodded vigorously.
"Really. I’ll show you, it’s resting right now."
USDA Prime is the highest grade of beef in the U.S.
And when Tony added a "+"? That likely meant a special batch of cattle raised exclusively for billionaires and top officials.
So, for the sake of Prime+, Lorien nodded, rolled up his sleeves, and said,
"Fine. We’ll chop together.
We’ll time it for half an hour. Whoever chops less has to handle the grilling."
Tony nodded. "No problem!"
They began carrying the fruitwood logs into the yard.
In truth, each only brought a few thick ones—barbecue didn’t need much wood anyway.
Tony then ordered one of the Iron Man suits to bring over two alloy axes and chopping blocks.
Each took one, divided the wood, and got ready.
Tony, of course, made a show of things—deliberately picking logs that his mental calculations told him would be easier to split.
Lorien didn’t care.
Because tonight’s grill master was already destined to be Tony.
Once everything was set, both Tony and Lorien stripped off their jackets, leaving only T-shirts.
Tony glanced at his smart Iron Man suit.
"Mark, set a timer for 30 minutes. Countdown from 3."
Mark acknowledged and began the countdown.
"3, 2, 1."
Chop!
Thunk!
In an instant, Tony swung his alloy axe into a log.
He had trained at least somewhat, so his first strike split nearly half the trunk.
But then he heard a different sound from Lorien’s side.
Tony turned to look—
And froze.
Lorien had stacked several logs together... and with one swing, he cleaved through three trunks at once!
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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