Ethan's suggestion wasn't accepted. Neither Tony nor Howard liked the name, which Ethan found quite regrettable.
After a brief chat with Howard and Maria, Ethan left the "delivery room." Tony came out shortly after.
Howard and Maria's daily activity time was strictly regulated. Once Jarvis gave the reminder, they had to return to their equipment to continue sleeping and await their next period of activity.
Once Tony came out, Ethan brought up the equipment needed to help Selene strengthen her body and transform her physique using the serum.
Since the requirements for this equipment were basically the same as the principle behind the maturation device used by the Stark couple, and Tony definitely had spare equipment and parts on hand, it could be assembled in a short time.
"That's not difficult. Do you need it now?"
"No need to rush. Assemble it first. I'll use this time to prepare the necessary serums."
Tony looked at him as if to say, "Are you kidding me? You want me to assemble the equipment before you even make the serum? What if I finish building it and then you tell me you can't make the serum?"
He knew Ethan wouldn't do something so unreliable, but that didn't stop him from complaining a little.
"During this time, I'm not just preparing the serum to change Selene's physique. I also need to make a batch of serums, including one for you."
Tony's body, having been slowly cultivated and improved during this period, had not only returned to its peak but even surpassed his prime.
That was the effect of the serum he used back then, along with his poor physical foundation — the main issue being his age.
So now, his current state was the full realization of the serum's effects. It hadn't pushed him to the limit of human potential, nor made him look younger, but he did look more energetic and full of vitality.
"Besides the extras for your parents and one for Pepper, do you need any more?"
Ethan asked because he wanted to know if Tony would want to prepare one for Rhodey. After all, Tony didn't have many friends in this world. Arguably, Rhodey was his only one. If he had something good to give away, apart from Pepper, it would likely be Rhodey.
Ethan also had a good impression of Rhodey. He didn't care about his military status or anything like that. Ethan even thought Tony could establish closer ties with the military high command through Rhodey, which would provide more support and help prevent Tony from being played for a fool by someone like Ross—who lost his military post and was forced into politics. How dare that guy claim the Avengers' battles had caused countless innocent casualties? Weren't the civilians killed in the Hulk vs. Abomination fight even more innocent?
Leaving aside the Tony in the comics, the Tony in the movie universe was definitely a greenhouse flower—a political idiot. As a capitalist giant with vast resources, fully qualified to influence certain decisions in Washington, Tony had seemingly never thought about putting effort into that area.
Of course, if we're just talking about the movies, it involved production concepts, audience preferences, directorial choices, and so on. But here, this was the real world. The fact that Tony hadn't done similar work only proved that in this universe, Tony was indeed a pure scientist who neither liked nor was good at handling those matters.
In that regard, his father Howard was far stronger. He knew how to use capital to gain leverage. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become one of the founding members of a special organization like SHIELD.
Ethan suddenly realized that the resurrection of Howard and Maria probably wasn't just about Tony getting to see his parents again. It might even profoundly affect the subsequent plot of the Marvel universe.
"Anyway, I've already torn everything apart. There's no plot left to speak of…"
He estimated that perhaps only Doctor Strange and Ant-Man remained unaffected. As for events like the formal formation of the Avengers, the Battle of New York, the Battle of Greenwich with the Dark Elves, etc., none of them had happened. Earth remained peaceful, and most ordinary people still lived in a "normal" world.
At the same time, without the Avengers, even if SHIELD were disbanded and Hydra reemerged later, things wouldn't develop the same way they originally did: with the Avengers becoming a private organization instead of an official one, attracting the displeasure of politicians from various countries.
In this world, with Howard's reminder, Tony definitely wouldn't allow the Avengers to openly operate from his private property.
Even if he were to form or accommodate the Avengers, Howard would surely make Tony obtain an official identity for them, turning the Avengers into an official organization so that this force could be better preserved.
Ethan even suspected that once Howard regained full mobility, he would likely take over SHIELD's remaining forces.
Whether it was reorganizing SHIELD or forming a new agency based on it, it would be official in nature.
The Avengers, having become allies of many politicians, wouldn't be viewed as a threat anymore. There would be no need to suppress or defame them. In fact, their achievements would likely be praised and used as leverage to climb higher or secure positions.
His thoughts had drifted again. After Tony hesitated for a while before saying he might need a few more doses, Ethan knew Tony hadn't yet decided whether to give one to Rhodey.
If it had been something he developed himself, he could give it away however he pleased. But since it was a gift from Ethan, he felt a bit awkward, wondering if using Ethan's item to do someone a favor seemed inappropriate.
"Don't overthink it. Rhodey and I are friends too."
As for whether giving away the serum would attract the greed of some fools, Ethan didn't care at all. He believed that with Rhodey and Tony's personalities, they would definitely handle such people appropriately.
Even if someone was truly courting death and insisted on provoking him, Ethan still wouldn't care.
Not to mention that he now possessed the Infinity Stones and the Gold Cloth. Even without using either of those, his magic alone could make people understand what it meant to provoke someone they shouldn't.
To put it plainly, the increase in his own strength meant he no longer needed to act cautiously on Earth like before. He didn't even bother issuing threats like, "If you dare to provoke me, I'll kill you!"—because threats were meaningless. He could talk until his mouth went dry, and there would still be people who didn't believe in fate.
So the old saying was right: if you can act, don't waste your time talking. Just talking is useless.
Nick Fury and the Security Council should feel fortunate that Ethan hadn't been powerful enough at the time. Otherwise, for those who tried to steal the Infinity Stones from him, Ethan wouldn't have just let them die. He would have extracted their souls and tortured them.
However, the members of the Security Council probably didn't have time to deal with him recently. Nick Fury's plan for a large-scale purge within SHIELD seemed to be going smoothly. SHIELD's Triskelion headquarters still stood intact in Washington, and there hadn't been any signs of Hydra reemerging.
The conflict between both sides had remained in the shadows. It was also possible that the higher-ups had received some intel and quickly sealed off leaks to prevent public panic or unnecessary chaos.
But Ethan knew that while both sides were currently restrained and keeping the conflict hidden, that wouldn't last forever.
When the battle reached its final stages, no matter who had the upper hand, SHIELD or Hydra, the losing side would definitely make a last-ditch effort. At that point, nothing would be hidden anymore. The priority would be to beat the other side down first.
Especially Project Insight. Once Hydra, in desperation, implemented Project Insight, they definitely wouldn't care about being exposed. After all, the three helicarriers in orbit could supposedly eliminate all threats. One had to admit, Hydra was truly optimistic.
Leaving others aside, just Tony Stark alone could dismantle the three helicarriers with his Iron Man suit. Their only chance might be to catch Tony off guard and blast him to death when he wasn't wearing his suit and had no idea what was happening.
Ethan didn't know if they had a chance in the original plot, but in this timeline, it was absolutely impossible.
Tony had been spending most of his time recently in the underground lab, with occasional breaks to spend time with his parents, research new technologies, and practice arcane magic.
His current magic level was at the beginner stage. Even if he went out without his suit and got targeted by a helicarrier, he didn't have to worry about being instantly killed. Even if he couldn't avoid injury completely, he could still survive.
As long as he wasn't instantly killed, he could immediately use the life-saving serum Ethan had prepared to revive with full health and then deploy his nanotech suit to dismantle the helicarriers.
That's right. Not long after returning, Tony had already built his first nanotech suit. Moreover, thanks to his knowledge of magic, his nanotech armor could now transform into discreet accessories worn on his body, instead of being stored in the chest unit like the original version.
Tony was now beginning to explore the perfect integration of nanotechnology and magic. Once successful, even without an arc reactor, he could power the entire suit using arcane energy.
But this was still in its early stages. He was pondering how to effectively combine his armor with magic—for example, how to cast more powerful spells while wearing the suit and how to use magical power to enhance his armor's strength and durability.
He was currently stuck at this stage, while Ethan had already completed all the serums and begun further cultivation using the Reality Stone:
Using his own magic to create a real, tangible item.
(To be continued.)