For more than a month, Abel's life had settled into a pattern. School. The occasional visit to Kamar-Taj. And the rest of the time spent in his room, door closed, working on potion restoration.
The materials from Technology Pioneer had been useful, but not in the way he'd originally hoped. After weeks of experimentation, he hadn't managed to successfully restore Veritaserum. The serum compounds were too crude, too unstable, and the substitutions required were more complex than he'd anticipated.
But he had made a breakthrough with something else.
Using the materials he'd purchased at the Black Cauldron weeks ago, combined with careful study and careful experimentation, Abel had finally managed to restore The Draught of Living Death. The potion was crucial—dangerous, yes, but essential for any serious magical practitioner. And this time, it had worked.
The effect was almost identical to what he'd created in his previous life. Almost.
Theresa had been surprisingly supportive of his "chemistry experiments," as she called them. Her enlightened approach to parenting meant she didn't pry into his business, didn't spy on his activities. She simply accepted that her son needed space to work on his projects. It made everything easier.
Abel had filled an entire black notebook with his findings—every step of the restoration process, every failed experiment, every breakthrough. It was his first potion book, compiled entirely in this world. A record of what he'd learned, written in his own hand, in his own words.
He was in the middle of writing an entry when his phone rang.
"Yo, did you forget again?" Sean's voice came through, exasperated but affectionate.
Abel blinked, completely lost. "Forget... uh, I actually yeah. Can't remember. What am I forgetting?"
"It's Friday. 6:30 PM. Movie night. The one you promised me a month ago?"
Oh. Right.
It had been Sean's hurt face at the party that had gotten him to agree. Abel had disappeared without explanation, vanishing to chase down Tessa. When he'd gotten back from the Technology Pioneer break-in, he'd found Sean waiting with visible disappointment. To make it up to him, Abel had promised to go to movies with him when something new came out.
And apparently, today was that day.
"High School Musical 3?" Sean said when Abel asked what they were seeing. "You know, the third one in the series? It's perfect for... well, for going with certain girls."
Abel grimaced internally. That movie sounded absolutely painful. But he'd made a promise, and Sean was his friend. "Fine. I'll be there before 7:30."
When Abel arrived at the cinema, Sean was already there with a small group—a few guys and several girls that Sean had "arranged" for Abel to meet, though Abel had no intention of actually engaging with any of them. The group bought tickets and headed into the theater.
Abel naturally positioned himself in a corner seat at the edge of the group, while Sean strategically managed to sit next to the girl he was interested in. Once seated, Sean was completely absorbed—paying zero attention to the movie, focused entirely on the girl next to him.
Abel, meanwhile, didn't watch the movie at all. His mind was elsewhere, running through scenarios about how to approach Tony Stark. It was the obvious next move. Stark had money, resources, ambition. If Abel could frame his research facility proposal correctly, Stark would probably be interested. But the approach had to be right. Too direct and Stark would brush him off. Needed to be... casual somehow.
After the movie ended, the group went to a burger restaurant nearby, talking and laughing for a while. Eventually, people started leaving. Sean decided to continue his extended "communication" with the girl he liked, so Abel didn't want to be a third wheel. He politely excused himself and caught the bus home.
The bus rolled through the evening traffic smoothly. Abel gazed out the window, lost in thought, watching the New York city lights blur past.
Then the bus lurched to an abrupt stop.
People on the bus gasped and stood up, staring forward. The sound of explosion and violent impact came from somewhere ahead, loud enough to cut through the traffic noise.
Abel's eyes snapped open, immediately alert.
He pushed the window open and looked out. And then he saw them.
Two humanoid metal armors collided violently in the middle of the street. One was massive and iron-gray, dominating in terms of size and raw power. The other was smaller, sleeker, gold-red, and relied on speed and agility to counter the larger opponent's brute force advantage.
Iron Monger and Iron Man.
Abel's calculations kicked in automatically. The timing matched up perfectly. This should be happening around now. Iron Man's first major public confrontation, the moment when the Avengers timeline officially began its acceleration.
And Abel was right here. Right now.
"Perfect," he muttered.
He didn't hesitate. Abel pulled his hood up, pushed the window open wider, and jumped out of the bus. He moved quickly to a less visible area, then used Levitation to propel himself upward, soaring just above the traffic toward the ongoing battle.
Stane was lifting an entire car full of a mother and her children, preparing to hurl it at Tony.
Without thinking, Abel pointed his wand at the vehicle. The car lifted away from Obadiah's grip, floating gently to the side of the road and settling down safely. The mother—terrified but smart—slammed on the accelerator and drove away immediately.
Problem solved.
"Who are you?" Tony and Stane asked almost simultaneously, their armored heads turning toward this new figure in a black hoodie standing between them.
Abel didn't answer. Instead, he pointed his wand at Stane and spoke clearly.
The massive Iron Monger suit lifted off the ground, Stane inside it struggling and roaring, thrashing against the invisible force holding him. Abel waved his wand again, and the entire armored figure went flying toward the edge of the city, toward the industrial districts where no civilians would be caught in the crossfire.
When Stane was far enough away, Abel turned to look at Tony—actually look at him, getting his first real sense of the man behind the suit.
"I took him down in an area with no civilians," Abel said simply. "There are too many ordinary people here. We need to move this fight somewhere else."
He didn't wait for a response. Instead, Abel used Levitation on himself and disappeared upward into the night sky, following the path Stane's armored form had taken.
Behind him, Tony Stark watched this mysterious figure soar into the air, and for the first time, he had to seriously question whether he was actually the only one with advanced technology in New York.
END CHAPTER 21