Tony sat hunched forward on a piece of sun-warmed rock, a half-eaten protein bar in one hand, bored expression on his face. All around him, his gleaming equipment spatial field monitors, pulse accelerators, energy density regulators hummed softly under the bright afternoon sun, lined up like obedient soldiers awaiting instruction.
And then the little peace was over… again.
A blast of force rang out like a cannon followed by a scarlet flash so brilliant it momentarily blotted out the horizon. Dust particles exploded into the air, a deep rumble echoing through the canyon walls like the aftershock of a contained meteor strike.
Tony didn't even flinch. He blinked lazily, chewing the last bite of his bar.
"Jarvis?" he muttered, already knowing the answer.
"Test twenty-two, sir," came the refined voice. "Mr. Gojo came remarkably close this time. He successfully formed and maintained the 'Red' sphere for 2.3 seconds before losing cohesion and triggering premature destabilization."
Tony sighed, brushing rock dust off his knee. "Almost. Almost doesn't count... unless you're playing horseshoes. Or throwing nukes."
Just then, a breeze shifted and Gojo appeared in front of him, teleporting in with a whoosh of displaced air and singed edges on his shirt. He said nothing, walking straight to the nearby beverage cooler, flipping it open, and fishing out a cold can of soda. He cracked it open, took a long sip, then finally muttered, "…Ouch."
Tony smirked, leaning back with a hand behind his head. "Awwn. Did that one sting, princess?"
Gojo shot him a look over the can. "You know, for a guy with no powers, you sure talk a lot of smack."
"Yeah, well. I've been punched by gods, stabbed by aliens, and watched my tower collapse twice. I earn my sarcasm the old-fashioned way."
Gojo took another sip, then groaned slightly as he rolled his shoulder. Tony raised a brow.
"You're still doing it, by the way."
Gojo blinked. "Doing what?"
"Subconsciously using your telekinesis at the last second," Tony said, tapping his temple. "Right before release instead of letting the space rupture naturally, you panic and push. That turns the whole thing into a telekinetic burst, not a Red expansion."
Gojo sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead. "Yeah. I know."
Tony leaned forward. "Then why do you keep doing it?"
Gojo cracked his neck. "Because my body's learned to save itself. Even when I don't want it to. Muscle memory's a bitch."
He disappeared again in a shimmer of energy.
"Test twenty-three: commence,"Jarvis announced.
Time passed.
Tony sat back down, propping himself against a smooth slab of rock. Somewhere in the background, a drone's hum mingled with the steady buzz of electrical equipment. He eventually nodded off under the sun, the rhythm of repeated failure lulling him to sleep like a lullaby.
Then something new happened.
"Sir," Jarvis said suddenly, "there has been a development."
Tony's eyes snapped open. "Hmm? What is it?"
A small screen on his forearm lit up a live feed from Drone-7. On it, Gojo stood absolutely still on a plateau, his shirt clinging loosely to his frame, sweat glistening along his brow. But it was his eyes that caught Tony's attention.
Focused, empty and locked in.
Balanced atop his index finger… was a small, shimmering orb of scarlet light, pulsing gently like a tiny red sun.
Tony sat up straighter. "How long has he been holding that?"
"Approximately thirty seconds, sir,"Jarvis replied. "Stability increasing. No kinetic bursts. Clean pressure buildup."
Tony's HUD immediately flared with spatial readings waves of concentrated force building at the core, layering into itself, neatly contained in quantum symmetry.
Then, Gojo raised his hand, pointed outward, and whispered one word:
"Red."
No sudden recoil. No explosion behind him.
The air before him rippled and then, with a bone-rattling thunderclap, space itself detonated forward in a straight vector. The shockwave tore across the canyon like a living blade of scarlet destruction. Rocks shattered and wind howled. Everything in its path was thrown backward in a violent burst of raw expansion energy.
The pulse ended after a few seconds, and silence returned.
Tony stood, dusted himself off, and gave a small whistle as he watched the readings level out. "He did it."
"Confirmed," Jarvis added. "Mr. Gojo stabilized the expansion for 33.8 seconds before initiating controlled release. Estimated force output: enough to obliterate a mid-sized building. Vector alignment: precise. No collateral deviation."
The dust cleared.
Gojo stood tall, breathing evenly, a slow smile stretching across his face as his fingers dropped to his side.
Tony launched off the rock and flew down toward him.
"You know," he said as he landed with a metallic thunk, "I usually hate overachievers…"
He pulled his faceplate back and grinned.
"…But damn, that was pretty."
Gojo smiled, still high on adrenaline. "Thanks."
"Now that… is an overachiever's punch," Tony continued, gesturing to the still-smoking trail of scorched earth behind them. "You just weaponized expansion. Be careful though go too far, and you'll start blowing holes in spacetime. Trust me. You don't want to be that guy."
Gojo exhaled and looked down at his hand. "Noted."
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