"You're still so stubborn. Look at that beard—once your pride, now it's a tangle of weeds."
"You're not one to talk. I didn't know my brother had taken up running around shirtless," Tony shot back, smirking.
He never lost a verbal sparring match. Or rather, he thoroughly enjoyed bickering with Lyon. In a way, it made him feel... different. Like he had family. Because, in this world, Lyon was the only family he had left.
"And next time, try a better angle with your jabs. Hearing my voice in a spaceship in outer space? Please. That's not even funny. Did you forget in just half a year since graduation that sound doesn't travel in a vacuum?"
Tony emphasized his scientific sharpness, confident he could see through Lyon's bluff in a heartbeat.
"So, what made you come back early? Did Pepper contact you? Is she… is she alright?"
"No, she didn't reach out. Maybe she didn't want you to know the bad news—that you were attacked and unlikely to make it," Lyon replied with a shake of his head.
"But I did hear your voice on the spaceship. You were calling my name—I heard it. It's part of my newly awakened ability."
Tony's mouth opened slightly. "This ability of yours is really unscientific… Sound is produced by vibration, and it can't travel in a vacuum—especially not from space…"
"But that's how it is. I've awakened quite a few unscientific abilities lately. You'll have to test me again sometime."
As Lyon spoke, he studied Tony carefully.
He could see the fragments of shrapnel embedded in Tony's chest, dangerously close to his aortic valve. Lyon's expression darkened.
"You don't look good, Tony. Those terrorists really put you through hell."
His brows furrowed. "Shrapnel lodged near your heart, held at bay only by magnetism… It's like living with a knife hanging over your head. Those bastards…"
Tony paused, caught off guard by the sudden intensity in Lyon's eyes. He was touched—more than he expected. His lips moved to speak, but instead he shook his head.
"This little injury? It's nothing. But it's great that you showed up now. I was planning to break out tomorrow with Yinsen. But since you're here, we can just fight our way out—no need to worry about his safety anymore."
"Oh, right. Yinsen!" Tony suddenly slapped his forehead and jumped up, just realizing how long it had been since he'd heard from the man.
"Yinsen? Are you alright? Are you…? Ah, there you are."
Tony gave a sheepish smile.
Standing quietly nearby was a middle-aged man with thinning hair and a plain vest—Yinsen. It turned out he'd been there the whole time, just unnoticed while Tony focused entirely on Lyon.
"I didn't sleep," Yinsen said calmly. "Actually, when this gentleman fell from the top of the cave, I came over."
Tony nodded awkwardly and chuckled for a moment before pulling Lyon over.
"Yinsen, this is my brother, Lyon Stark. Lyon, this is Yinsen—my friend. He saved my life."
They shook hands.
Lyon regarded Yinsen with respect. "I didn't expect Tony to make friends in a cave. You must have looked after him. With his injuries, surviving wouldn't have been easy without your help."
"Ah, no, I just…" Yinsen began, but Lyon raised a hand.
"No need to be modest. Yinsen, you saved Tony. That makes you my friend, too."
His tone sharpened as he turned toward the cave entrance. "Now, we need to fight our way out—and send those men outside straight to hell."
"Maybe we should come up with a plan first," Yinsen suggested cautiously. "They've got a lot of firepower."
"Plan? No need!" Tony cut in, full of swagger.
He walked over to the armor he'd spent months constructing and patted it with pride. "Lyon, this is my masterpiece. Even without you, Yinsen and I would've taken them down!"
Lyon looked at Tony showing off his invention like a child and shook his head.
"Save your little toy for later. I'll go ahead—you just follow."
He added calmly, "I haven't spent the past six months basking in the sun for nothing."
"Toy? Unbelievable," Tony scoffed. "Lyon, I know your grades weren't the best, so maybe you don't understand how incredible this armor is."
He puffed out his chest. "So instead of mocking what you don't understand, just watch me in action."
Lyon placed a hand on Tony's shoulder.
"Tony, your little toy might be excellent. But just so you know—I flew here directly from space in these pants."
Tony's eyes widened.
He flew… from space?
He looked Lyon up and down. The pants looked worn but intact—no burns, no signs of atmospheric reentry. Tony immediately grasped what that meant.
"You… you…" he stammered.
Game over. His armor really was just a toy.
"Just follow behind me," Lyon said with a smile. "But before we leave, there's one more thing."
His gaze dropped to Tony's chest. "I need to deal with the hidden danger first."
"Hidden danger?" Tony asked, confused.
Lyon moved before Tony could react.
Without a tremble, he pressed his right hand onto Tony's shoulder. His left hand blurred with motion.
A spike of pain hit Tony's chest—sharp, intense—then vanished just as quickly.
"One, two, three… Quite a few fragments," Lyon murmured. "You survived this? Impressive. You've got tenacious vitality."
"What did you say?" Tony asked, instinctively touching his chest.
When he looked up again, Lyon was holding out his palm. A dozen small, twisted fragments of metal glinted in his hand.
"Here," Lyon said, offering the shrapnel. "Keep these as a souvenir of the day you nearly died and finally started to grow up. Maybe even learned to take responsibility."
Without waiting for a response, Lyon turned and walked toward the cave's sealed door.
In less than a microsecond, he had:
Used a bio-force field to immobilize the shrapnel,
Made rapid incisions with his left hand to extract each fragment,
And sealed the wounds using a targeted heat ray.
The entire process was smooth, silent, and nearly invisible. So fast and subtle that Tony's view of Lyon hadn't even shifted.
By the time Tony realized what happened, he touched his chest. The Arc Reactor remained, but his shirt now had a dozen small holes.
"This… this…" Tony stammered again, looking between Lyon's palm and his own chest.
Lyon had shocked him too many times today. For once, Tony didn't even bother arguing after being told he'd "finally grown up."
"Let's go," Lyon said, calm and composed as ever. "It's time to leave."