"Sir, an encrypted message has been received from Mr. Tony. He asked me to inform you that he just saw you on the satellite monitoring feed via a backup channel. He also said you should stop taking a bath in space, as it's affecting the city's appearance."
"I knew it," Henry rolled his eyes.
"That damned voyeur! He used a satellite to spy on me? Does he have no concept of privacy? He's a criminal! Jarvis, patch Tony through, I'm going to give him an earful!"
"Sir, Mr. Tony has cut off all communication channels after sending the message."
"That coward is fast!" Henry complained, then looked at the beautiful planet beneath his feet.
"Fine, since I've been discovered, it's no fun anymore. Let's head back."
He looked down at his Armor and then at the massive Earth.
"Jarvis, calculate the return speed. I want to go back as fast as possible and give my idiot brother a surprise!"
"Affirmative, Sir. Calculation started."
The next second, Henry's figure instantly vanished, transforming into a black streak of light, speeding towards the blue planet below at an incredible velocity! His speed continued to climb, so fast that even space began to subtly warp!
"Sir! Your current speed has exceeded Mach 8! And is still climbing!"
"Too slow! Faster!"
He shot towards Earth like a burning meteor, trailing a long wake. Atmosphere, ozone layer... all obstacles in his path were easily shredded like thin paper!
Finally, he completely entered the Earth's atmosphere. His maximum speed stabilized at a solid Mach 11!
"Barely acceptable," he muttered, then set his direction and sped towards his home in Malibu.
...
A few minutes later, the Malibu beachfront villa.
The night was deep, and all was silent. A black figure silently landed on the lawn outside the villa. Henry walked in through the main door, and his Armor, with Jarvis's assistance, began to automatically shed, piece by piece, reassembling into its briefcase form.
He casually tossed the briefcase onto the sofa, walked to the bar, poured himself a glass of red wine, and gently swirled the glass, enjoying the tranquility.
Suddenly, his ear twitched. He heard it.
A subtle metallic clanking sound and the low voices of two men talking came from the basement. Henry smiled, his expression knowing.
"It seems my idiot brother has finally remembered to do something productive," he picked up his glass.
"I just wonder if his brain, which is only focused on women and parties, can handle complex biological problems."
He chatted with Jarvis and slowly walked towards the basement. As he descended the spiral staircase, the voices of Tony and the other man became clearer.
"No, it's still not working. Jarvis, simulate it again. Lower the solvent ratio... and increase the energy injection frequency..."
"Tony, maybe we should take a break? You've been working for over 8 hours straight." That was Ethan's voice.
"I'm not tired," Tony's voice was filled with stubbornness and irritation.
"Hey, I say, my two diligent scientists," Henry's voice abruptly rang out at the lab entrance.
"Are you researching how to turn water into oil? Or are you conducting some unspeakable human transmutation experiments? I should remind you that we don't have enough materials for you to forge a mechanical suit."
Tony and Ethan, who were facing away from the door, were both startled by the sudden voice and spun around simultaneously.
"Henry!" Tony, upon seeing who it was, first sighed in relief, then immediately went on the offensive.
"Why don't you make a sound when you walk?! Weren't you streaking in space? Why are you back so fast? Did the aliens send you back because your skills weren't good enough?"
"What about you?" Henry countered without missing a beat.
"At least I don't need to wear a tin can just to go out. Seriously, Tony, shouldn't you be de-rusting that Armor of yours? I think I smelled rust just now."
They traded a few insults, and then Henry walked up to Ethan, smiling and extending his hand.
"Long time no see, Ethan. It looks like you're doing well at Stark Industries? At least you look a little fatter than you did in that Afghan cave."
"Long time no see, Henry." Ethan smiled and shook his hand.
"Thanks to Tony, I'm now the Chief Consultant for Stark Industries' Medical Division. I have to say, the work here is much more interesting than I expected."
After greeting him, Henry turned to Tony, a look of distaste on his face.
"Alright, enough reminiscing. Tell me, why did you call me back from my pleasant space trip? If it's just to watch you act out the real-life version of 'Failure is the Mother of Success,' then I suggest you save it. I have absolutely no interest in your failures."
"Hey! Your mouth is still as foul as ever!" Tony retorted in annoyance, but he pointed at the complex molecular structure model on the holographic screen and explained.
"Of course, it's serious business. Remember the serum we talked about yesterday? I've already figured out the enhanced Super-Soldier Serum. But..."
A look of confusion appeared on his face.
"But I just feel like I can do more. I've tried many combinations, trying to perfectly fuse those different serums into a completely new one. But no matter what I try, it fails. They're like oil and water; they just won't mix."
Ethan added, "Yes, we've tried every known method, but every fusion attempt ultimately leads to the collapse and death of the cell samples. From a biological perspective, the natures of these serums are completely conflicting."
Tony looked at the failed data, a rare look of frustration on his face. But his damned arrogance wouldn't let him admit that his knowledge base in the field of biology was insufficient.
Henry looked at him and instantly understood.
"Oh, I see," he said, suddenly enlightened, a teasing smile on his face.
"You're saying you couldn't figure it out yourself, so you called me, the real biological genius, back to solve your problem. Tony, it seems your so-called genius brain isn't omnipotent after all."
"No, that's not it!" Tony immediately countered, though his confidence was clearly lacking.
Damn Henry!
Tony was speechless. While he was also a genius in biology, Henry was even more ridiculously talented in this area.
Henry ignored him. He walked to the control console and had Jarvis bring up all the raw data and simulation processes. He started to study seriously, becoming completely focused.
"Tsk tsk, look at these disorganized experimental procedures," he commented as he watched, not forgetting to show off his professionalism to Tony.
"Mixing the inducer and the conversion serum directly? Tony, are you conducting an experiment or making a stew in the kitchen? Do you know that the energy properties of these two substances are completely repulsive? You're lucky the experiment didn't explode and turn you into a fully cooked meal."
"I was just trying a new possibility!" Tony defended himself stubbornly.
But soon, the smile on Henry's face disappeared, and his brows furrowed tightly.
"Strange," he murmured. He found that, just as Tony and Ethan said, no matter how he simulated and deduced in the virtual model, the fusion of these serums led to only one result: collapse.
"This is impossible!" Tony, looking at the repeated failed simulation results, also fell into contemplation.
"These serums clearly coexist perfectly in your body. Why can't we replicate it in the lab? Was your success truly an accident? An un-replicable accident?"
Henry remained silent for a long time. He re-examined all the data, then concluded.
"It seems so," he looked at Tony, his eyes complex.
"These serums are theoretically impossible to fuse. The only thing we can currently do is, as you said earlier, manufacture the enhanced Super-Soldier Serum."
"And," he pointed to his own continuously evolving gene chain on the screen.
"The serums Hydra injected into me were probably not the final product. Rather, these raw serums underwent a mutation that we cannot understand due to some unknown reason within my body, eventually transforming me into who I am today."
×××××××××××××××
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