"Well," Tony said, breaking the silence that had settled like dust after the vision. "I've got a question." He glanced at Aryan. "Since you're the senior member here. You should probably give us some guidance on what to do now. There are a lot of options on this menu, and I have a feeling not all of them are created equal. Do you have any suggestions?"
T'Challa nodded in agreement. "Experience has weight," he said calmly. "You were here first. You know the terrain."
Wanda didn't speak immediately, but her attention was fixed on Aryan.
Aryan looked at the two men across from him. Wanda remained in the periphery. She knew that her time for "upgrades" would come later, once she had established a background that could mask her evolution from the prying eyes of Sharon Carter and the intelligence agencies she represented.
"Wanda is right to wait," Aryan said, addressing the unspoken thought. "But for the two of you, the variables are different. You are already in the spotlight. You are targets. You need to be untouchable."
He swiped the holographic panel into the center of the table, expanding it so all could see. "I've curated a baseline survival suite. It's designed to ensure that no matter the ambush, no matter the betrayal, you walk out of the rubble."
The panel displayed the "Apex Survivor" package, the text glowing with a reassuring blue:
High-Speed Regeneration (Gamma Level): $1,000,000,000
Bullet Time (Beta Level): $100,000,000
Eye Boy (Delta Level): $10,000,000
Total: $1,110,000,000
"Let's be clear on what this buys you," Aryan stated, tapping the first item.
High-Speed Regeneration (Gamma Level): "This is biological sovereignty. If you are shot, your body expels the lead and knits the wound in seconds. More importantly, it digests neurotoxins, poisons, and radiation. You could breathe in sarin gas or walk through a reactor core meltdown, and your body would treat it like a mild inconvenience."
Bullet Time (Beta Level): "This is Neural Acceleration. When the threat level spikes, your perception of time dilates. The world slows to a crawl. You can count the rifling grooves on a bullet in mid air. It allows you to move between enemies as if they were statues."
Eye Boy (Delta Level): "The ultimate diagnostic tool. Full-Spectrum Vision. X-ray, Ultraviolet, Infrared, and Microscopic. You can see through walls, track thermal ghosts through concrete, and identify structural weaknesses in a tank with a single glance."
Tony stared at the breakdown, his fingers tapping a rhythmic pattern on the cold stone table. "A billion for the regeneration alone. That's a steep entry fee, even for me. That's a lot of satellites." He looked at T'Challa. "What do you think, Prince? Does the Panther need to heal faster than he already does?"
T'Challa studied the symbols. "Resources can be replaced, but time and life cannot," he said, his voice measured. "I have seen warriors fall to the invisible killers, poisons, radiation, and chemical agents. Things that no amount of training can stop. And this 'Bullet Time'... it would turn a single man into a ghost on the battlefield. The tactical advantage is worth any price."
"It's about the lack of footprint," Tony added, catching on. "There's no serum to analyze. No tech to hack. If I have 'Eye Boy' vision, I don't need to put sensors on the outside of my suit. The suit becomes just a shell and I am the sensor."
"Precisely," Aryan intervened. "It's the ultimate 'under the skin' upgrade. You'll be the most advanced weapons platform on the planet, and a medical exam wouldn't find a single wire."
Tony looked at the total again. "One point, one billion. Fine. I've spent more on failed satellite launches and cars I never drive. If I'm going to be a god, I might as well start with the eyes and the healing factor."
T'Challa nodded, his decision made. "Wakanda's treasury can bear this. To ensure the safety of the throne and the secrecy of our nation, it is a necessary tithe."
"Survival is a prerequisite," Aryan said, leaning forward. "But once you are safe, you must become dominant. For the next stage, I have two specific paths in mind for you."
He looked at Tony. "For you, Stark: Magnetism, the fundamental control of electromagnetic fields. You would control the very energy that binds atoms together."
Tony leaned in, his mind already racing through the Maxwell-Faraday equations, calculating vectors and flux densities.
Then Aryan turned to T'Challa. "And for you, Prince: Precognition. The ability to see the shadow of an event before it happens. You would know the enemy's move before they even thought of it."
T'Challa's eyes sharpened, a predator scenting the wind. "To see the future as it unfolds... that is the ultimate crown."
Tony leaned forward, practically vibrating with excitement. "You mentioned Magnetism. My brain is already running through the physics. If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, we're not just moving paperclips."
Aryan nodded, sliding a new panel toward him. "Exactly. It's about Fundamental Field Manipulation. In your world, you use electricity to create motion. With this, you become the source of the field itself."
Tony's eyes lit up, manic genius taking hold. "If I have direct control over magnetic flux, I'm a walking EMP. I could induce a high intensity pulse to fry every circuit in a two-mile radius without even drawing from my Arc Reactor. It's about the Lorentz force. I could create a localized magnetic bottle to contain plasma, or use magnetic pressure to reinforce the structural integrity of my suit's alloy beyond its theoretical yield point."
"Go further," Aryan challenged.
"Propulsion," Tony whispered, the world falling away. "Magnetohydrodynamic drives. I could ionize the air around the suit and use magnetic fields to accelerate it. And defense? I could create a diamagnetic shield. If a lead bullet flies at me, I repel it before it even touches the 'Bullet Time' threshold."
"And sensors," Tony continued, pacing mentally. "Every wire, every heartbeat, every electronic signal creates a field. With this, I would feel the electronic signature of the entire city. No one could hide a secret from me if it had a battery attached to it."
T'Challa had been listening, his expression one of deep contemplation. He turned his gaze from Tony's ecstatic rambling to the panel Aryan had prepared for him.
"And for me," T'Challa said, his voice measured. "Precognition. You spoke of seeing the shadow before the event."
"For a King, the greatest enemy is the unknown," Aryan explained. "It's about Tactical Causality. In the heat of a hunt or a political summit, you will perceive the 'intent' of the universe. You'll feel the air shift before a blade is drawn. You'll know the outcome of a choice before the word leaves your mouth."
T'Challa closed his eyes, visualizing it. "It is the ultimate wisdom. If I know the path of the spear before the hand even moves, then the shield is never truly needed."
"It's the difference between a fighter and a master," Aryan added. "A fighter reacts. A master exists in the moment where the fight has already been won."
Tony Stark stood before the floating panel, his arms folded and eyes sharp. Lines of golden data reflected in his pupils as he reread the final entry.
MAGNETISM (Alpha level, Limited to 10 meters) - PRICE: $20,000,000,000
"You know," Tony said, a breathless laugh escaping his nose as he glanced at Aryan. "I've spent more than this fixing mistakes I made in my twenties. Might as well spend it on never making them again."
"It's your capital, Tony," Aryan said with a shrug. "I'm just here for moral support."
T'Challa stepped forward next.
PRECOGNITION (Alpha level) - PRICE: $15,000,000,000
As he touched the panel, Aryan thought of the origin of this gift. A sliver of the power held by the mutant seer Idyll. It was the ability to feel the "intent" of the universe before it acted.
"I accept," T'Challa said, his voice resonating with authority.
CONFIRMED
"Don't go looking for the spark yet," Aryan cautioned them as the panels dissolved into light. "The Castle anchors the power to your soul here, but it requires the friction of reality to manifest. You won't feel the stitches knit or the time slow until you are back in the world of matter. The 'Truth' of your new bodies needs a physical canvas to paint on."
Tony let out a long breath, half-disappointed but mostly intrigued. "So, I'm currently a god in a zip-file. I have to hit 'extract' when I land in Malibu. I can live with that."
He leaned back in his chair, arms folded behind his head, clearly satisfied with himself. "Well," he said, "now that we've all collectively agreed to make terrible life decisions with unlimited consequences… why don't we form a group in real life?"
Wanda blinked, surprised. "A group?"
"Yeah," Tony continued easily. "If one of us gets kidnapped, cursed, or accidentally pokes something cosmic, the others show up. Also, if anyone needs emotional support, I can contribute money. I'm bad at hugs, but I'm great at wiring funds."
T'Challa gave him a dry look. "You assume money solves most problems, Stark."
"Statistically," Tony replied, "it solves ninety-nine percent of my problems. The other one percent usually involves Pepper being mad at me."
Aryan laughed quietly and shook his head. "You're not wrong, but there's a complication. Reality is annoying. If we suddenly act like we know each other in the real world without any record of meeting, it'll raise flags. Background checks. Especially with you two." He gestured to Tony and T'Challa.
Tony grimaced. "Ugh. Paper trails. My greatest enemy."
"We need a clean excuse," Aryan continued, planning on the fly. "I'm about to launch a major project. A new information platform under Umbrella. It will be big enough that a meeting between a billionaire industrialist and a Prince of an isolationist nation wouldn't look strange."
Tony's brows shot up. "Hold on, you're launching an information platform?"
Aryan shrugged. "I'm the CEO and founder of Umbrella."
There was a brief pause. Tony slowly leaned forward, squinting at him. "…Wait. That's where the money's been coming from? I knew you weren't just casually burning cash. For a minute there, I genuinely thought you were robbing someone."
"I wasn't," Aryan said evenly.
T'Challa's eyes sharpened with understanding. "Umbrella. So the resources, the access… they were never coincidental. Few men without power move so freely among powerful things."
Tony laughed, shaking his head. "Alright. CEO of a mysterious corporation, building a world-shifting platform, casually buying future visions like they're movie tickets… I take it back. I no longer think you're robbing people. I think people are robbing you, they just don't know it yet."
T'Challa nodded once. "A public launch is wise. It gives structure to coincidence."
Tony looked at Wanda. "And you? You already have a record."
She smiled faintly. "I work at Umbrella. He offered me the job."
Tony's head snapped toward Aryan, his grin widening instantly into something mischievous. "Wow. CEO already, and you've got a brilliant assistant and a rumored girlfriend? You're moving at billionaire speed, kid."
Wanda sputtered, color rising to her cheeks. "I'm not his…!"
"She's my assistant," Aryan said firmly, shooting Tony a warning look. "And she's terrifyingly competent."
Tony nodded solemnly. "Ah yes. The classic cover story. Every 'definitely just an assistant' says that."
T'Challa observed them with visible amusement. "In Wakanda, such denial usually means the truth is… developing."
Wanda stared at him. "You too?"
T'Challa's lips curved slightly. "I said nothing of certainty. Only probability."
Aryan sighed. "You're both impossible."
At last, The Fool spoke from the high throne, his voice rolling through the hall like thunder, defining the end.
"This gathering concludes."
As the silver fog swallowed Tony and T'Challa, returning them to their lives, Aryan reminded them one last time. "The power will manifest only when you return to the world of matter. Don't fight the unboxing."