It didn't take long for Tony to suit up in the Mark III. He flexed his fingers a bit, then flipped open his faceplate.
"We can spar over the sea behind the mansion later—but what about your 'chief scientist'? From the sound of it, she doesn't fly."
Smith Dorr waved a hand dismissively.
"Not a problem. Bulma can just watch remotely."
"I'll take her to your rooftop," he added. "As long as we don't fly too far, she'll have a good enough view from there."
Tony nodded.
"Actually, that's not a bad spot to watch from. But you're seriously okay with letting a young girl hang out alone on the roof?"
"Too bad Pepper's not around. I'd feel better if she could keep an eye on her."
Tony had driven Pepper away not long ago, and there was no way he was about to call her back now.
Then a thought struck him. He snapped his fingers.
"She could experience it for herself."
"I still have my old Mark II—silver, no weapons or ammo loaded."
"I can have J.A.R.V.I.S. handle the flight support. Might be a good chance for the girl to feel the difference between scientists."
Smith's eyes lit up.
"Deal."
Bulma, hearing that she'd get to try on the suit herself, perked up with interest. She hadn't done much hands-on work with this kind of tech before.
She stepped onto the platform, and in no time, a few robotic arms had fitted her into the Mark II.
Tony pulled open a drawer on a workbench and took out a compact arc reactor. It was an older one he'd replaced—its energy was running low from previous use, but it would be more than enough for Bulma's short flight.
He walked over to Smith and inserted the reactor into the suit.
With a soft whir, the Mark II powered up.
---
With the energy core in place, the lights in the eye slots of the helmet came on—the Mark II was now fully operational.
"Good afternoon, Miss Bulma," came a polite voice. "I am J.A.R.V.I.S."
"Hello, J.A.R.V.I.S."
Seeing the virtual display projected in front of her eyes, Bulma was impressed. An AI assistant like this would definitely come in handy—maybe she needed one of her own. After flexing her fingers and getting a feel for the suit, she opened her faceplate.
Tony, already suited in the Mark III, looked over and reassured her:
"Don't worry, J.A.R.V.I.S. will help you fly."
He closed his own faceplate and launched into the air.
Bulma followed shortly after, guided by J.A.R.V.I.S., and Smith flew after them using Bukūjutsu.
As Bulma was getting used to the Mark II, she received a comms request from Tony and accepted it.
"Well, little Bulma, feeling the genius of the great Tony Stark yet?"
"Tony, your invention is impressive—really creative," Bulma said. "But I think I like your AI butler even more."
She wasn't particularly wowed by the suit itself. In the world of Dragon Ball, many scientists had built similar machines. She'd seen her share—from the Red Ribbon Army's Black Mecha to King Pilaf's battle suits.
But a sophisticated AI? That was intriguing. A helper like that had real potential.
"Thank you for the compliment, Miss Bulma," J.A.R.V.I.S. chimed in unexpectedly over the comms in both suits.
Tony chuckled.
"Nice eye. Hope you get to build an AI of your own someday."
After a bit more idle chatter, Tony turned to Smith, who was flying nearby.
"Alright, Smith. Time to spar."
"Let's see how my Mark series stacks up in your superpowered world."
Smith Dorr grinned.
"Haha, I've been looking forward to this."
J.A.R.V.I.S. made sure to steer the Mark II away from the fight zone, keeping Bulma at a safe distance.
In the blink of an eye, Tony and Smith charged at each other.
They clashed midair in brutal close combat.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Despite being flesh and blood, Smith's punches held up against Tony's high-tech armor—made of the same gold-titanium alloy used in tactical satellites.
Smith was surprised Tony could match his blows. He was holding back, sure, but he hadn't expected Tony to keep up in hand-to-hand.
What he didn't realize was—he wasn't actually fighting Tony.
It was J.A.R.V.I.S., controlling the suit with remote martial arts algorithms.
Tony had loaded every fighting discipline he could find—Muay Thai, Karate, Jeet Kune Do, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Wing Chun—into the AI's database.
After a few exchanges, Smith started noticing something odd. The moves were too polished, too varied. No way these were all Tony's.
This bastard... he let the AI fight for him!
Smith stopped holding back. He surged forward with a burst of energy, instantly blinking behind Tony's back. He clasped his fists together and brought them down with explosive force.
BOOM!
KRA-KOOM!
Smith's powered-up strike caused a sonic boom, hammering Tony straight down into the ocean like a missile and kicking up a massive spray.
"Sir, we have structural fatigue in the back plating," J.A.R.V.I.S. reported. "Continuing melee combat risks total failure. Hull integrity compromised."
Tony saw the red warning zone where his rear armor had taken the hit—what had been a solid blue was now deep red.
If he removed the armor now, he'd find a massive dent right where Smith had struck.
"Incredible power," Tony muttered, rising from the water.
"Smith! No more hand-to-hand."
"Now… let's show you the real power of technology!"
Tony's shoulders opened up to reveal rows of mini-missile launchers.
"If you're not confident, you can still forfeit," he warned.
Smith wasn't fazed.
"Bring it on, Tony."
Tony relaxed. That was the assurance he needed. This was just a friendly match, not life-or-death—he had to be sure Smith could handle what was coming.
With J.A.R.V.I.S. locking the target, twenty mini-missiles launched from Tony's shoulders.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Seeing the swarm of missiles heading his way, Smith reacted immediately—firing energy blasts to intercept them mid-air.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
—End of chapter—
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