I stood and raised my left arm toward the sky, feeling the familiar thrill of anticipation. "I won't have to go get it," I said with perhaps more dramatic flair than the moment required. "Activate summon protocol! Come, Mark V"
Deep within the workshop, command signals pulsed through the glowing mana conduits. On the central mounting system, Mark V's power core flared to brilliant life. Securing mechanisms disengaged, and the first component the left gauntlet shot toward the workshop's exit. The massive metal doors rumbled open, and one by one, the armor components launched themselves skyward in a carefully choreographed sequence.
Back in the garden, the first sonic boom was a distant crack that grew rapidly louder. The left gauntlet decelerated with a burst from its internal thrusters, executing a perfect approach that ended with it clamping onto my outstretched arm with satisfying precision. The right gauntlet followed, then the boots, their impact lifting me into the air as their flight systems activated.
For the finale, I executed a backflip while suspended in mid-air. The remaining components thigh guards, waist assembly, chest plate, and back module swarmed around me like metallic birds, each finding its designated position and locking into place with sharp, satisfying clicks. I landed softly on the grass, the armor's weight perfectly balanced.
The only component missing was the helmet, which I could see approaching as a gleaming speck. It was coming in too fast. Instead of the elegant flourish I had envisioned, the helmet slammed into the back of my head with a resounding BONK that sent me pitching forward face-first into the perfectly manicured garden soil.
A moment of stunned silence was broken by Lyra's bubbly giggle. Even Patricia allowed herself the smallest of smiles.
"Are you quite finished making introductions with the earth?" my father asked dryly as I pushed myself up, spitting out grass. The helmet finally slid into proper position with a pneumatic hiss, and the world was replaced by the soft blue glow of my Heads-Up Display.
[SYSTEM BOOTING... MARK V ONLINE]
[WELCOME, MASTER ALARION]
[ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL]
"Tes, remind me to recalibrate the helmet's approach velocity," I muttered internally.
"Acknowledged, Master. Reducing final approach speed by fifteen percent for future deployments."
Through my HUD, I could see my father's intimidating vital signs and mana signature. "Now then," he said, rolling his shoulders with the easy confidence of a predator, "shall we see what that armor of yours can actually do?"
I flexed my gauntleted hands. The Mark V was my masterpiece, lighter and infinitely more capable than its predecessors. With a powerful burst from the boot thrusters, I launched myself toward him, leaving twin scorch marks on the grass. My father moved like liquid shadow, swaying aside just as my armored fist whistled past. But I had anticipated this. Mid-flight, I fired the right elbow thruster, altering my trajectory and bringing my left gauntlet around in a devastating backhand. He wasn't there.
[WARNING: TARGET RELOCATED]
[REAR ATTACK IMMINENT]
Tes's algorithms screamed warnings as I spun around, catching a glimpse of my father's fist streaking toward my helmet. A burst from the chest thrusters shot me backward, the knuckles missing my faceplate by millimeters.
This became the pattern a deadly dance of prediction and evasion. My father would attack with lightning speed, Tes would calculate his trajectory, and I would dodge using the armor's incredible multi-vector mobility. Blue energy trails painted the air behind me as I zipped around the garden like an armored hummingbird, changing direction instantaneously, halting full-speed charges to reverse course in the blink of an eye. My father was being forced to actually try, his casual demeanor replaced by focused concentration.
Feeling a surge of confidence, I decided to go on the offensive. I rocketed toward him at maximum velocity. At the last possible moment, I fired the right shoulder thruster, spinning my entire body and bringing my left fist around in a devastating hook, a repulsor in the palm charging with crackling energy. This time, he didn't dodge.
The air around him shimmered as his mana flared, creating an almost invisible barrier of pure force. My fist struck that barrier and stopped dead. It was like punching a mountain.
"Impressive mobility, Alarion," my father said, his voice calm but no longer playful. "But a armour is just a tool. The warrior inside still needs to learn the difference between flying and fighting."
Before Tes could even process a warning, his hand shot out with inhuman speed and clamped around my armored wrist. The servos in my gauntlet whined in protest as the metal began to deform under the pressure. With a simple twist, he used my own momentum against me, spinning me around and driving me into the ground with enough force to crack the stone pathway.
[STRUCTURAL STRESS WARNING: MULTIPLE COMPONENTS]
[IMPACT DETECTED: 73G]
[RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE TACTICAL WITHDRAWAL]
I tried to push myself up, but his boot planted firmly on my chest plate, pinning me. All the power of the Mark V, and I was as helpless as a turtle on its back.
"The suit is remarkable," he continued, removing his foot and offering me a hand up. "A true marvel. But experience is a weapon your armor can't replicate. The best defense isn't always the strongest shield sometimes it's simply not being where the attack lands." I accepted his help, the Mark V feeling clumsy and heavy now, a beautiful failure.
"The best offense," my father added with a slight smile, "is often just having a bigger stick."
As I powered down, those words echoed in my mind. A bigger stick. Lyra toddled over, her face scrunched with concern, and carefully applied a ridiculous cartoon-duck bandage to a scratch on the armor's chest plate. "All better," she declared proudly. Looking down at that silly bandage, placed with such loving care, the sting of defeat faded. This wasn't about winning, it was about protecting her. But my father's words kept circling back. Sometimes, the solution isn't more armor. Sometimes you need a weapon so devastating that no one would dare threaten what you care about.