Tony was stunned. He felt his brain, which was hailed as the strongest of the century, had just crashed. He looked at the theoretically impossible genetic sequence model marked by Jarvis on the holographic screen.
Then he looked at his younger brother, who had an expression that said, I told you so. He felt his scientific worldview, which he prided himself on, being thoroughly smashed.
"Wait a minute, let me get this straight," he rubbed his temples, his face a mask of disbelief.
"You mean, the reason you became this monster who can fly and shrug off bullets is entirely because of an accident? An un-replicable genetic mutation?"
"Something like that," Henry shrugged, taking a sip of wine.
"You can think of me as a lottery winner who hit the jackpot. And that winning ticket was freely given to me by those unlucky bastards at Hydra."
"So, the serum that created you is a failed product?" Tony pointed at the screen, his face a look of heartache, as if he were a collector who had just discovered his limited-edition figurine was a defective item.
Henry looked at him, feeling like a collector who had just discovered his limited-edition figurine was a defective item.
"From the perspective of mass production and replicability, yes, it's a failure—a failure that couldn't be more complete."
Henry nodded, then his tone shifted, a smile appearing on his face.
"But, it created me. A perfect, unique, and incredibly powerful success. So, do you think it's a success or a failure?"
"..." Tony was speechless again. He looked at Henry's matter-of-fact expression, feeling his fists clench. He took a deep breath and rolled his eyes.
"Fine, even if you are a successful accident, that doesn't change the fact that the stuff itself is garbage."
He tried to salvage his dignity, then took another glass from the bar and poured red wine for himself and Ethan.
"Come on, Ethan, let's have a drink. Let's celebrate the great conclusion our lab reached after 10 hours of work: that this stuff can't be replicated."
Ethan smiled and took the glass. He was already used to the two brothers' unique way of communicating.
"But, it doesn't matter that it can't be replicated," Tony took a sip of wine, his face regaining that confident, in-control smile.
"I still have my Mark Armor, and..." he deliberately drew out his words, glancing at Henry with an arrogant look.
"I still have the Super-Soldier Serum that a certain someone has been whining and begging me to develop since he was eight years old. Albeit an enhanced version now."
Ethan chuckled, and Henry smiled too.
"Oh? Is that so?" Henry mercilessly exposed him.
"I seem to recall a certain someone who struggled to do a single pull-up, seeing Captain America's documentary, and then telling me with a face full of envy and jealousy..."
"'Hey, Henry, you have to help me get that serum. I can't let a geezer in tights be more physically attractive than me, a Playboy!'"
"That's preposterous!" Tony immediately refuted.
"I did that for the future of humanity! For the advancement of technology! What do you know! I just felt that Super-Soldier technology shouldn't be buried in the dust of history! It's a desecration of science!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," Henry was tired of arguing. He put down his glass, walked up to Tony, and said casually.
"So? Since you've created this 'great invention for the future of humanity,' what are you hesitating for? Don't you want to personally experience what it's like to have an American Ass?"
Tony and Ethan were stunned simultaneously.
"American Ass?" Tony's face was full of question marks. However, his first reaction was to ask if it was a beautiful woman.
"Is that a new model? What's her figure like? Do you have photos?"
"It's a certain old popsicle," Henry smiled, not answering directly.
"That's not the point. The point is, if you inject it, you can become a 'seven-times-a-night man.' Think about it, Tony, seven times. How do you think your high-and-mighty models will look at you then?"
Tony's eyes instantly lit up. He felt this was practically custom-made for him!
"Now! Immediately! Right now!" He was excited, then immediately realized his slip-up, cleared his throat, and returned to his arrogant demeanor, explaining to Ethan.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not doing this because of the 'seven-times-a-night' thing. I just feel that as the chief developer of this project, I have an obligation and responsibility to personally test its safety and effectiveness. This is purely out of a rigorous scientific attitude. It has nothing to do with my personal desires."
Henry and Ethan laughed.
"Of course, of course, we all understand," Henry patted his shoulder, continuing to add fuel to the fire.
"Besides, think about it, Tony. If everyone assumes your strength comes only from that Mark Armor, and then one day, some arrogant villain finally defeats your Armor after using all his strength, and is about to boast to you, the seemingly defenseless Playboy..."
"You can slowly step out of the broken Armor, dust off your clothes, grin at him, and tell him... 'Congratulations, little monster from the starter zone. You successfully broke my equipment. Now, welcome to the Phase Two Boss Battle.'"
"Then, you can use your super strength to punch his confidence and his jaw into tiny pieces. Making him completely question his life. Doesn't that sound incredibly cool?"
Tony and Ethan were stunned speechless. Tony had even mentally visualized the scene—he, in broken Armor, standing on the enemy's corpse, with fire exploding behind him, and countless beauties screaming for him! Damn, that image is so cool!
"Ahem," he forcefully suppressed the smile that was about to take over his face, and said with a tone of distaste.
"What kind of random nonsense is in your head? You sound like a second-rate comic book writer. But..."
He paused, a look of excitement on his face. "I have to admit, I really like that visual!"
With that, he eagerly walked towards the experimental chamber in the centre of the lab. It was a silver-white metal pod, connected to countless tubes and precision instruments, filled with a pale blue nutrient solution.
"Jarvis! Activate 'American Ass'... No, activate 'Project Prometheus!' Fill all the nutrient solution! I want the best! The most expensive! The most concentrated!" As he walked over, he continued to complain.
"Honestly, this Henry guy makes it sound so vulgar, even though it's for the progress of all humanity. It's truly an insult to my noble character."
Henry and Ethan followed him, both wearing amused smiles.
"Yeah, yeah, you're the noblest," Henry ruthlessly mocked.
"You're so noble that you're willing to sacrifice your precious kidney for science."
They also walked towards the experimental chamber.
×××××××××××××××
If you're interested, you can read advanced chapters:
p-atreon.com/Heroicverse