"A superhero? Like in the comics?" Oliver pointed at himself. "You're saying I'm a superhero?"
Oliver didn't think he was a superhero. He felt like he was just an ordinary person born into privilege, who had encountered some strange things and learned a few special skills. Now he was just trying to do the right thing to make up for the mistakes his father made.
"Hidden identity, secret base, iconic costume... You must have a codename already, right?"
Tony listed a few points, and Oliver realized he matched every single one. Thea, standing beside him, burst out laughing.
"Oh my god! Ollie, you're a superhero."
Oliver's expression was as helpless as could be. He really wanted to deny it, but he couldn't.
"Alright, let's set that aside for now." Oliver was more concerned with another part of Tony's words. "You said all of them? You've met others like me?"
"Of course. I've also met Bruce Wayne," Tony shrugged. "Though not the Bruce Wayne from your world..."
"Wait, wait, wait... Bruce Wayne? Are you talking about the Bruce Wayne I know? And what do you mean, not from our world?"
Tony paused. He didn't answer Oliver's question but turned to Ethan. "You didn't tell them?"
Oliver glanced at Tony, then looked at Ethan. "Tell us what?"
He realized he was about to hear something shocking. Now wasn't the time to appear too eager. Talking normally would make it easier to get more information. But Thea didn't have his patience or any training in this area.
While Oliver was holding back, Thea kept asking, "Is there something you haven't told us? What is it?"
Neither of them answered her question. Tony, looking amused, sized up Ethan. "I'm really surprised you haven't told them."
Thea asked again, still curious. "What is it, exactly?"
Ethan shrugged. "I just haven't gotten around to it yet."
"Don't you usually announce your origin right after arriving? And this time, you've kept it quiet for so long? Let me think, we've been here for..." Tony tilted his head slightly. "Jarvis, how long have we been here?"
The action would have seemed normal if someone else was standing next to him. But Tony was alone, and he hadn't turned toward Ethan.
"Who's Jarvis?"
Before an answer came, Tony had already continued. "We've been here thirteen days. You've known them for over a week, and you still haven't told them you're 'from another world'? Who are you, and what have you done with my friend?"
"You've been waiting a long time to say that, haven't you? How long have you been holding it in?"
"I'm definitely not telling you that."
Of course, Tony knew Ethan wasn't an imposter. He was just teasing.
After getting his fill of fun, he turned back to Oliver and answered Thea's earlier question. "Jarvis is my personal AI butler."
"AI butler?"
"Artificial intelligence."
That much was easy to understand. The concept of artificial intelligence wasn't unfamiliar to modern people. But AI didn't have physical forms, usually existing only in entertainment like movies or novels. (Oliver didn't know about Gideon, the future AI hidden in Central City, yet.)
"We're not from this world. We're from another universe."
Tony puffed out his chest and tilted his head back, striking a pose like 'we're awesome.' But a second later, he dropped the act.
"Now I get why you like to reveal your identity every time. It really feels better than hiding it."
As Iron Man, Tony never cared about hiding his identity. He wouldn't hide his origins from another universe either, especially since it was nothing to be ashamed of. He even felt proud to be from another universe. 'I can travel across planes. Aren't you jealous? I just love seeing those envious and helpless looks.'
"Another universe?"
"You've heard of the parallel universe theory, right?"
Oliver and Thea nodded.
"There are some differences, but it's close enough."
Now Oliver didn't just feel a headache coming on. He was also dizzy, even wondering if he was dreaming.
What he heard today was more bizarre than the sum of everything he had experienced in the past five years.
"In your world, is Bruce Wayne a superhero?"
"No. I met Bruce Wayne in another universe, not mine." Tony activated his nanotech armor, and under Oliver and Thea's stunned gazes, the Iron Man armor slowly covered his entire body and formed into place. "But in my world, I am a superhero."
Tony, fully suited in Iron Man armor, stood before them, proudly displaying his greatest creation.
"This is my proudest work. Doesn't it look cool?"
Ethan noticed that Tony's Iron Man armor had undergone many changes since the last time he saw it.
Compared to earlier versions, which were structurally complex and internally sophisticated but plain on the outside, this suit had more decorative patterns. The overall design had also changed significantly. Compared to the futuristic Mark series, this suit looked a bit more retro, like knight armor.
He also saw that the patterns weren't just for decoration. They were various runes and magic circles, likely inscribed to assist in fast spellcasting. These were probably just a part of it. Without seeing them in action, Ethan couldn't tell what kind of magic they were meant for.
"It looks cool!"
"It's not just about the looks..."
The armor on his right hand shifted, and the entire arm transformed into a massive hand cannon. Judging from the energy buildup in the barrel, the firepower was definitely not weak.
Oliver couldn't sense energy, but his experience over the past five years had sharpened his instincts. The moment the barrel was pointed at him, he immediately sensed a fatal threat.
"It's definitely cool."
If that wasn't enough, countless weapons appeared across Tony's armor. There were even miniature missiles, the kind familiar to modern eyes. Being targeted by that many weapons, no ordinary person could remain calm.
Even Thea, who was just standing by, felt nervous. The weapons were aimed at Oliver, and she was genuinely worried that Tony might actually fire.
The various weapons quickly retracted, and the helmet also opened. Tony spread his arms and struck another dramatic pose. "Nanostructure, easy to equip. The nano components can form various thermal weapons on demand... Basically, any weapon you can think of, I can create."
"Wait. You said this armor is technology?"
Oliver had thought this was some kind of magical item. But from Tony's explanation, it sounded more like a technological product.
"This one isn't. But if you want to see a purely tech-based version, I can show you."
Ethan saw Tony falling back into his old bragging habits and interrupted before he got too carried away. "Tony is the most famous inventor and top genius scientist in his world. His armor was originally all tech. The first generation of the Mark series armor, he actually hammered it out in a cave after being captured by terrorists."
Hammered it out? That sounded ridiculous. In that kind of situation, even making a simple iron tool for defense would be hard, let alone a high-tech suit of armor.
Listening to Ethan's short summary of Tony's transformation from famous scientist and arms dealer to superhero, Oliver and Thea were stunned.
Oliver also understood why Tony said he was curious about people like him. Tony had originally been an ordinary person (?), so he was interested in how other ordinary people became superheroes. Once he gained the ability to travel across universes, he started visiting other worlds to meet them.
"You just wanted to stand in front of those people and show off how amazing you are, didn't you?"
"Pretty much."
That hit the mark. Tony had no response, but Oliver was right. That was exactly what he wanted to do.
Boredom. With a long life, having found love, and even handing his company back to his father, Tony really was bored.
Oliver kept rubbing his temples. He hadn't expected that the question he'd been wondering about for days would be answered like this.
Why did Ethan approach him?
Because this guy named Tony was too bored.
"So... you approached me, revealed my secret to my sister, and even taught Thea magic, all because you were bored?"
Ethan nodded. Wasn't that the reason behind everything he did?
At this moment, Tony added from the side, "Compared to what gods in mythology do when they're bored, this is nothing."
"Those are just legends. Even the so-called gods are made up by people. They don't actually exist..."
Oliver noticed Tony's strange expression and suddenly had a bad feeling.
"You're not going to tell me that he's actually a god, are you?"
"Do you think a normal human can eat ore like it's a snack? Even if that ore contains energy."
"..."
(To be continued.)