Henry then went to Tony. Tony was even younger, more arrogant, and more of a jerk than he was now. After listening to Henry's theory about needing power to face a future crisis, he just yawned dramatically, patted his shoulder, and said:
"Hey, little brother, you have a great imagination; you could write sci-fi novels. But why waste time? Come to a party with me instead. I just met a few models with amazing figures." He dismissed Henry's worries as the unrealistic fantasies of a child.
Henry fell silent. He knew he couldn't convince anyone; he had to rely on himself.
From that day on, he began to study fanatically, absorbing every piece of knowledge he could access—physics, chemistry, engineering, biology...
He wanted to change the family's predetermined tragic fate with his own power. He couldn't forget how Tony had snapped that wretched finger in Avengers: Endgame to save the world, then turned to dust.
He also firmly remembered another date: December 16, 1991. That was the day the Howards' couple was murdered.
He constantly reminded himself, Tony, and Howard that they could build Armor for self-defense. But the materials and energy technology of that era were insufficient to support the concept. Tony was still immersed in his hedonistic life, and Howard was busy with company affairs and Peggy Carter's S.H.I.E.L.D. matters. No one took his warning seriously.
Henry was speechless and despairing. He could only resort to the most desperate method.
On December 16th, he used every excuse—throwing tantrums, acting sick, being a nuisance—to keep his parents, who were planning to go out, at home. The couple, who doted on their youngest son, patiently stayed with him all day, even though they didn't understand why he was acting so unusually.
When the clock struck midnight and a new day arrived, Henry breathed a long sigh of relief, seeing his parents safe and sound. He thought he had succeeded, that he had changed history with his insignificant power.
But fate, like the most wicked playwright, played a cruel joke on him. The accident didn't happen on the 16th.
On the evening of the 26th, the Howards couple was going to a friend's dinner party—a routine outing. Henry didn't pay attention; he and Tony went to another party together.
The next day, he received the news that his parents had been killed in an attack. At that moment, Henry felt the world spinning. Fate seemed to be relentlessly mocking his overestimation of his own power.
Later, he slowly realized that, according to Marvel's damned, nonsensical settings, some events might be unavoidable 'absolute points in time.' You can dodge it for a while, but not forever.
From then on, he became more diligent and more obsessive. He practically forced the perpetually idle Tony out of his soft life and into the lab, working day and night together. His hanging heart finally settled down the moment the first crude, even ugly, Mark I Armor was built. At least Tony had some ability to protect himself.
But unexpectedly, what was meant to happen still happened. Even though he was wary of Obadiah, Tony, lacking direct evidence, simply refused to believe Obadiah would harm him. Henry had calculated everything, but he hadn't accounted for becoming a kidnapping target himself.
However, if it hadn't been for this kidnapping, he wouldn't have accidentally gained this power.
Henry looked at the surrounding clamor, gently swirled his glass, and downed the remaining champagne. He thought, perhaps this was fate—full of irony and full of surprises.
Time slowly passed, fueled by alcohol and music. The party gradually wound down. Tony, with his arms around a hot brunette, stumbled over.
"Hey, little brother, it's getting late," he hiccupped, his face flushed with intoxication.
"This party needs to end, but our party is just beginning. Let's go. Time to go back."
Henry smiled, glancing at the female reporter who had been sticking to him and successfully managed to extract quite a few exclusive stories.
"Of course."
He called the reporter over, and the four of them walked to the villa entrance. Happy was already waiting, his face a mixture of resignation. He probably complained that his two bosses had finally finished.
"Where to, Boss?" Happy opened the car door for them.
"Home!" Henry and Tony said in unison, then exchanged a knowing smile.
"Malibu villa!" Henry added.
The car drove smoothly through the night streets of Los Angeles. Inside, Tony and Henry deployed their endless humor, constantly mocking each other and telling jokes, making the reporter, a brunette named Jenna, laugh heartily. The atmosphere was light and pleasant.
"Honestly, Henry, your black Armor has terrible taste," Tony leaned back in the seat and said to Jenna next to him.
"See, black is so depressing. It doesn't suit my sunny, cheerful disposition at all. My gold-and-red color scheme has so much more vitality. Don't you think?"
"I think both are very handsome, Mr. Stark," Jenna replied, smiling.
"Oh, come on," Henry immediately countered.
"Your colour scheme looks like a cooked lobster that's been splashed with gold dust! It's just tacky. My black is 'understated luxury,' understand? That's art."
"Art? You call that art? That's, at best, Goth funeral style."
Soon, the white villa nestled on the cliff edge appeared in their sight.
"Look, this is our secret base," Tony said as he got out of the car, showing off to the two ladies like a child with his toys.
"It looks a bit minimalist, but trust me, the things inside will blow your mind."
"Minimalist?" Henry followed, complaining relentlessly.
"Do you call a house with its own helipad, underground lab, and independent power station 'minimalist'? Tony, do you have a misunderstanding of the word 'minimalist'? Your bathroom is bigger than most people's houses."
They walked into the villa, laughing and talking.
"Welcome home, Mr. Tony, Mr. Henry," Jarvis's gentle greeting echoed in the hall.
"Hey, Jarvis, good evening." Henry smiled in greeting, then introduced the two curious ladies beside him.
"Let me introduce you: Jarvis, our super butler. He's omnipotent, except he won't cook for us or clean my room."
"Good evening, ladies," Jarvis responded politely.
"I'm pleased to meet you. Also, Mr. Henry, your room cleaning service was completed at 2 p.m. this afternoon."
Henry: "..."
They continued to chat and laugh as they walked towards the second floor. The second-floor living room was dark.
"Jarvis, what's wrong? You're cutting costs too much. Not even turning on the lights?" Tony complained.
"Apologies, Sir, I did not receive an instruction to turn on the lights."
"Well, you have it now. Turn on the..."
But before Tony could finish, Henry suddenly stopped speaking. He stood still in the darkness, his eyes fixed on something ahead. Tony looked at him in confusion and said humorously, "What's wrong, little brother? Scared of the dark? Or did you drink too much and can't find the light switch?"
Henry ignored his teasing. He suddenly smiled. Then, he turned and patted the blonde reporter's curvy bottom.
"Hey!" the reporter let out a surprised yelp.
"Sweetheart, my apologies," Henry said with a slightly apologetic smile.
"Why don't you and Miss Jenna go up to the indoor swimming pool for a while? Or, you could take a shower and change first. My brother and I have some family business to discuss."
The reporter paused, looked at the equally confused Jenna, and then at Tony. Although Tony didn't know what Henry was up to, he knew his brother. He must have a reason for doing this.
"Go ahead, girls." He winked at the two beauties.
"The upstairs jacuzzi is temperature-controlled, and there are essential oils in the water. Enjoy yourselves. We'll join you after we finish our family matters."
The two beauties, though perplexed, obediently walked upstairs.
×××××××××××××××
If you're interested, you can read advanced chapters:
p-atreon.com/Heroicverse