The sound of metal echoed through the lab as Iron Man shot down from the night sky and landed on the platform with a heavy thud.
"Homing sequence complete, sir," Jarvis said calmly.
With a series of mechanical clicks, the golden-red armor opened piece by piece until Tony Stark stepped out, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Never gets old," he muttered.
He walked over to the table, picked up a cup of coffee, and took a sip. Just then, the lab doors slid open, and Pepper walked in holding a tablet.
"Tony, this is you, right?" she asked with a mixture of worry and anger as she showed him the news about the mysterious steel man who attacked terrorists and saved people.
Tony glanced at the screen and took another sip of coffee.
"...Depends. Is this the part where I get praised or yelled at?"
"You flew into a terrorist camp in a metal suit!"
"They were having a bad day."
"Tony."
He sighed and leaned against the workbench.
"They attacked Yinsen's village." Pepper's expression softened. "I had people watching over him after I got back. They managed to save him, but..." He looked away for a moment. "If I'd done nothing, I don't think I could've lived with myself."
Without saying another word, Pepper stepped forward and hugged him. Tony stayed quiet for a few seconds before smiling.
"So... does this mean I'm not fired?"
Pepper rolled her eyes.
"You don't work for me."
"I keep hoping that'll change."
As they pulled apart, Tony noticed a young woman waiting outside the lab.
"Who's the new girl? Please tell me she's not another person here to stop me from having fun."
Pepper gave him a look.
"She's my new assistant, Sarah Collins. Since the CEO seems more interested in flying around than running his company."
"I multitask."
Pepper gestured toward the door.
"Come in."
Sarah walked in carrying a stack of documents.
"Hello, sir. I am Sarah Collins. Nice to meet you."
Tony looked up and smiled.
"Nice to meet you too. Good hiring choice, Pepper."
Sarah handed the documents to Pepper, who immediately passed them to Tony.
"Sign."
Tony sighed.
"See? This is why people think you're the boss."
Without looking up, Pepper replied, "They're not wrong."
Tony chuckled as he signed the papers before glancing at Sarah again.
"Looks like you've got yourself a good assistant."
Pepper raised an eyebrow.
"Tony."
"What? I'm complimenting your hiring skills."
Pepper simply held out her hand. Tony smiled, finished signing the last page, and handed the documents back. Pepper checked the signatures before giving them to Sarah.
"File these."
"Yes, Ms. Potts."
Sarah accepted the documents and quietly left the lab.
Meanwhile, inside Jack's secret training space, the sound of metal was replaced by the thunderous clash of two giant Four Arms.
Their axes collided with a deafening boom, sending shockwaves across the arena. Every step they took cracked the stone floor beneath their feet. Punches, elbows, kicks, grapples, and axe swings flowed one after another, neither willing to give an inch.
On the sidelines, Gwen and Morgan quietly watched the father and daughter fight. Morgan smiled.
"Emma always bragged about finally beating Uncle Jack the first time they met." She laughed. "But honestly, if Uncle Jack had won back then, I would've been more surprised."
Gwen looked at her.
"Why?"
Another loud clash echoed through the training arena as both axes collided, sending a shockwave through the air.
"Because Future Uncle Jack gave Emma her Omnitrix on her tenth birthday and trained her himself. For more than two years, she only focused on ten aliens that he personally chose and mastered every one of them. Meanwhile, present Uncle Jack had only used the Omnitrix for a few months and was still learning how to fight with all his different aliens."
Emma slammed all four fists into the ground, creating another shockwave.
"Oh, and female Four Arms are naturally stronger than males. Uncle Jack was the one who told us that."
"Oh! I didn't know that. I wonder what their civilization is like." Gwen watched the two giant Four Arms exchange blows. "It must be a world full of warriors. Looking at that kind of strength... I don't think I'd even stand a chance against one."
After watching Emma knock Jack back with a powerful punch, Gwen smiled.
"So Emma beating Jack the first time... was partly because she got lucky?"
Morgan shook her head.
"Not really. Luck had nothing to do with it. Emma trained under Future Uncle Jack for more than two years. She knew almost everything about how Present Uncle Jack fought, while he had only been using the Omnitrix for a few months. If anything, I would've been surprised if Uncle Jack had won that first fight."
Just then, Jack sidestepped Emma's axe, grabbed two of her arms, twisted her body, and threw her to the ground before knocking her axe out of her hands. Emma quickly got back up.
Jack smiled.
"You've gotten stronger."
Emma pouted.
"But I still lost."
Jack laughed.
"That's because I have a very good little teacher who keeps teaching me new tricks."
Emma blinked.
"But... those are your own tricks! I only learned them from you."
Jack smiled.
"Maybe. But you also showed me how to use them better."
Morgan smiled.
"Present Uncle Jack has caught up fast. But I still don't know who would win in a real fight. Emma hasn't even used all the weapons Future Uncle Jack made for her yet."
"Okay, this time let's try Diamondhead! I still have many tricks that Dad still doesn't know. I'll win this time!" Emma quickly fired up and challenged Jack to a Diamondhead fight.
Since Jack also wanted to learn those tricks, he accepted.
A flash of green light engulfed Emma. When it faded, she stood in her female Diamondhead form, her crystal body slimmer and more agile than Jack's.
Jack transformed a moment later.
Emma grinned.
"Dad... this time I'm using the trick you never expected."
Before Jack could even raise a crystal shield, thousands of razor-sharp Petronite crystals erupted from every direction, instantly turning the entire arena into a deadly crystal forest.
Jack's eyes widened.
"What the—"
A/N: The Patreon version is already updated with 20 advanced chapters. If you'd like to read ahead of the public release schedule, you can join here:
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