After Coulson left, Tony Stark buried himself in the information files for an entire day. Nothing clicked. No breakthrough.
"Lock, let's go to the company and see Pepper. I have something I need to tell her," Tony finally said.
Lock thought to himself: It's finally happening.
Tony drove, while Lock lounged in the passenger seat. Since unlocking strength that dwarfed even the Hulk's, he rarely bothered with cars. The vehicles he once admired in his past life now felt trivial.
At a roadside fruit stand, Tony braked suddenly, hopped out, and bought two boxes of strawberries. Instead of cash, he slipped off his expensive watch and handed it over.
The farmer's eyes lit up. Even if the watch were fake, it was worth far more than a couple of boxes of fruit. But this was Tony Stark — the most recognizable face in America. Who would dare think it wasn't real?
One watch was worth half a farm.
By the time they arrived at Stark Industries, Tony's mood was heavy. He had come to share what sounded almost like final words. Pepper, however, knew nothing of it.
"Pepper, I brought you some fruit," he said, holding out the strawberries.
The moment she saw them, Pepper's expression darkened. "Do you realize that out of all the fruits in the world, the only one I'm allergic to is strawberries? You're always like this — so self-centered. You never think about anyone else's feelings."
Tony froze, guilt tightening his chest. At the edge of life and death, he had reached for the one person he couldn't bear to leave. And yet, in all these years, he hadn't even learned something as basic as what Pepper could and couldn't eat.
Lock stepped forward, smoothly picking up a box of kiwis. "Here, Pepper. Tony bought these for you. I'll take the strawberries."
Pepper's eyes narrowed. "Really?"
Lock grinned. "Look, I've already eaten half the box of strawberries. If Tony had bought them for you, would he let me eat them?"
Tony shot Lock a strange look. This man baffled him. Lock had an uncanny way of stepping in at the right moment — almost as if he knew everything.
Ding!
[Trust level with Iron Man increased by 75%]
Lock blinked. He hadn't expected that diffusing the awkwardness would deepen Tony's trust. Pepper meant more to Stark than he ever admitted. Husband and wife someday — destiny written all over it.
Pepper, though still prickly, felt her anger slipping away. The words had struck her heart. Beneath Tony's careless exterior, maybe there was something deeper.
Lock added with a teasing sigh, "Don't you know Tony's character? Do you think he'd come up with such a thoughtful gesture? He's too proud to admit it, so he drags me in as a shield. You should consider my feelings too, you know."
Pepper's lips curled despite herself, and her heart felt light. The man she'd quietly admired for years… perhaps he was trying to show it now.
Tony glanced sideways at Lock. This guy is too smooth. No wonder he had Natasha blushing with just a few words. I'm the Playboy, not him. I'd better keep an eye on him before he steals Pepper out from under me.
With that thought, Tony unceremoniously shoved Lock out of the office and left Pepper to herself.
Whatever they spoke about behind closed doors, Lock didn't know. But when Pepper emerged later, cheeks faintly flushed before she buried herself back into work, it wasn't hard to guess.
Ever since Obadiah Stane's death, Pepper had shouldered nearly all of Stark Industries' operations. Tony rarely stepped foot in the office anymore. She was overworked and exhausted, but carried the burden without complaint.
Lock glanced at her retreating figure and turned to Tony. "You haven't told her the truth yet, have you?"
Tony sighed. "I… I don't know how to say it."
The playboy who'd always swaggered through life suddenly seemed lost. Heavy topics didn't suit him.
Lock thought for a moment. Maybe he'd have to help again.
In the "original story," Tony had stumbled upon his father's old model of a city and discovered the blueprint for a new element. Lock scanned the office and spotted the same model collecting dust in the corner.
But Tony wasn't looking at it. He was already on his way out.
Lock picked up the model. "Tony, why don't you give this a closer look? Maybe you'll find something new."
"All of my father's designs are stored in my head already. What's left to discover?" Tony muttered.
"Is that so?" Lock asked, setting the model on the desk. "Then tell me what this is."
Tony paused. His father's words echoed back — The key to the future lies within this city. He had always assumed it meant urban architecture. But staring at the model again, something shifted. A spark of realization lit his genius mind.
Lock watched as Tony's focus sharpened, his whole demeanor transforming. The puzzle pieces fell into place.
"Lock, help me bring this back to the lab," Tony said suddenly, excitement breaking through his gloom.
He stopped, eyeing Lock carefully. "Wait. You knew. You've always known, haven't you? Why didn't you tell me outright?"
Lock only smiled. He couldn't explain. How could Tony ever understand that Lock had seen his entire life unfold in another world?
Tony grabbed him in a sudden embrace. "Lock, if I were thirty years younger, I'd swear you were an angel sent to protect me."
"And now?"
"Now you're more like my delivery guy."
"Get lost."
Back at the lab, the work began. Tony stripped the city model into pieces, feeding them into holographic projectors. Noise fell away, data extracted cleanly, until a brilliant elemental structure emerged on the display — radiant, perfect.
"Lock… this is incredible. A clean energy source that bypasses the radioactive flaws of nuclear elements. It's like the sun — infinite, pure."
"Then why didn't your father ever tell you?" Lock asked.
"Because it's too powerful," Lock answered for himself. "You were too young. He wanted to wait until you were ready. He never got the chance."
Tony nodded grimly. "Then I'll finish what he started. But I need a miniature particle accelerator. Think you're up for some heavy lifting?"
Orthodox accelerators spanned kilometers. Tony, however, only needed a contained one — enough to forge the new element. With Lock hauling equipment and bolting pieces together, construction was done in record time.
Along the way, Lock spotted something on a shelf — the half-finished prototype of Captain America's shield. Howard Stark's work. The real shield, and the man himself, still slept beneath the Arctic ice.
"Alright," Tony muttered, powering the accelerator. "This is it."
Energy gathered, condensed into a laser so sharp it sliced through metal like butter. Even Lock felt a chill — his body might withstand missiles, but this beam could carve him apart.
The laser struck the palladium core. Blinding light flared, violent energy writhing. Then slowly, the reaction stabilized, shrinking into a steady glow.
The palladium was gone. In its place — a new, flawless Arc Reactor.
Tony stared in awe. "That's it. A new element… it's real. I can't believe it was this simple."
Lock stepped forward, sensing its energy. Ten times stronger than palladium, and utterly clean. This was no mere upgrade. It was the foundation for the future — the true Iron Heart.
"Thank your father," Lock said quietly. "This was his gift to you."
Ding!
[Iron Man's trust level increased again]
Tony raised a glass of champagne. "Lock, I don't know what you're after. But you've saved me more than once. And I, Tony Stark, don't forget debts."
They toasted.
Just then, the phone rang.
Lock didn't need to guess. Ivan Vanko's voice came snarling down the line.
"Stark, I've improved the design. Double-loop system. Stronger, faster. Everything you did to my family — I'll return in forty minutes!"