"I an, you can fly, right?"
Tony raised an eyebrow. "What if your armor's not fast enough and you take off yourself to beat ?"
He finally rembered—Malrick's own flight speed was several tis faster than his Iron Man suit.
Malrick smirked. "Do I look like the type who cheats?"
Tony shot back, "You knocked out two days ago."
"Fair. Then I'll step out of the armor. Jarvis, you take over control."
"Wait—Jarvis is flying it? You're saying your armor can be remotely piloted?" Tony's voice spiked in disbelief. He hadn't cracked that tech yet.
Malrick simply grinned. "Not bad, right?"
"It's... It's clever," Tony admitted, deflecting. "I had the sa idea ages ago—just didn't have the ti to implent it."
"Sure, Tony, Sure." Malrick replied, not buying it.
"Ahem. Jarvis, are you ready for the race?" Tony changed the subject quickly.
"Yes, Mr. Stark. Beginning countdown in three seconds. Are you prepared?"
"I'm ready."
Jarvis began the count. "Three... two... one... Go!"
The two suits blasted off simultaneously, flas roaring from their thrusters as they cut through the air, leaving brilliant trails behind them.
Malrick, still on the ground, watched the streaks vanish into the clouds.
"Honestly," he muttered to himself, "both armors are painfully slow."
He sighed and tugged at his collar. A bio-force field spread around him like rippling glass. Then, in a burst of energy, he rocketed upward—an ascending shooting star.
---
"Ooooooooh!" Tony shouted, exhilarated as he ascended higher than ever before. The sensation of unrestricted flight thrilled him.
"For millions of years, the sky's been just out of reach for humanity," he said aloud, grinning to himself. "Conquering it—it's in our DNA."
"No wonder people always dread of flying," he whispered. "It's incredible."
"Jarvis, tell we've left Malrick's armor in the dust," he asked smugly.
Jarvis's reply was brutally honest. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Stark. You've already fallen 700 ters behind the armor piloted by my subroutine."
"What?" Tony's confidence faltered. "That can't be right!"
"Regrettably, it is. Malrick's suit is faster by design—lighter fra, better motion coordination."
"Ugh! Fine, fine—Jarvis, push the thrusters beyond safe limits."
"Sir, further ascent risks freezing the suit's systems."
"Just do it! I'm not losing!"
Tony rocketed upward again, determination in his eyes. In a comic book, this would be the mont he'd surpass all limits, rising victorious.
But physics didn't care.
As he climbed higher, frost began coating the Mark II's armor. Layers of ice spread rapidly across the shell, and the suit's systems started slowing.
"Jarvis, what's going on? Why is it—"
The armor shut down.
Instantly.
Power gone. Circuits frozen. The heads-up display went black.
"Jarvis! JARVIS!" Tony shouted. "Open flaps—activate fallback systems!"
Silence.
Without Jarvis, the armor couldn't respond. Tony plumted, limbs flailing, spiraling downward.
"NO! No no no—Malrick! MALRICK, HELP!"
Then suddenly—
A firm grasp.
The fall stopped.
Malrick hovered midair, one arm catching the limp Mark II like it weighed nothing.
"You alright, Tony?" he asked calmly.
Tony panted, heart racing. "God... That was way too close. Thanks. I knew you were watching screw up from down there."
Malrick smiled. "I just wanted to see if you'd stay calm under pressure."
Tony took a deep breath. "You better be serious."
Jarvis's voice erged from Malrick's armor as it descended beside them. "Sir, I'm relieved you're unhard. That was a close call."
Malrick floated with Tony in tow. "Let's call the race here. Ti to head back."
Tony didn't argue.
---
Back in the garage, the smart arm systems helped Tony remove the suit.
Malrick stood nearby, arms folded.
Tony flopped into a chair. "Okay... you win."
"Yes, I did," Malrick said with a grin.
He walked over and sat beside him.
"But Tony... you also won."
Tony looked at him, confused.
"You taught everything I know about armor-building. I just took what you made and refined it."
"You think if you taught another engineer, they couldn't do the sa? Of course they could. Different people bring different insights."
"But creation—that's the hard part. And you created Iron Man. From nothing."
"Without you, Tony, there'd be no arc reactor in a miniaturized form, no armor. Maybe not even in 20 years."
"You lost today only because I had the ti and brainpower to make improvents. But everything I built stands on your foundation."
Tony was silent, taking it all in.
"I an... it's not like I couldn't have done it too, given ti," Tony muttered.
Malrick clapped him on the shoulder. "Exactly. You just needed ti. I had the benefit of a super brain to save so of it."
Tony's expression softened. "You really are... different now."
Malrick smirked. "Only just realizing that? I'm basically Superman's nerdy cousin at this point."
Tony chuckled. "No, I an... you've grown."
"Thanks—I think. I can't tell if you're complinting or throwing shade."
"It's a complint."
"Well, you've changed too, Tony. Ever since Afghanistan. You used to be all ego and nothing else. Now you actually listen."
"Why are you suddenly insulting ?"
"See? There it is again."
"You win, alright? You win again. God, you really should've gone to Columbia or sothing instead of staying here and annoying all day."
"And there it is again—you're flustered," Malrick teased.
"Get out! Just—get out already!"
"Okay, okay, I'm leaving!" Malrick laughed as he grabbed his armor and jogged off.
Tony watched him go, shaking his head, then smiled.
"...It's amazing."
---
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