Chapter 87: Mark 4

Before returning to the Marvel universe, Wang Jing handed his armor over to Jiang Ning for modifications, wanting to avoid the awkward scenario of being caught without his suit at a critical moment. In the meantime, Wang Jing had no choice but to reactivate his old powered exoskeleton armor. When he first saw the suit again, he felt a pang of embarrassment—after all, the armor had a consciousness of its own, and he’d simply abandoned it for the new model. Now, only when updating his gear did he remember the original—a behavior that could only be called heartless.

To his surprise, however, the armor showed no sign of resentment; in fact, it seemed genuinely pleased to see him. Wang Jing hugged the exoskeleton’s arm and promised sincerely, “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you behind again. As soon as the upgraded arc reactor is ready, I’ll have Jiang Ning give you a full upgrade!”

The exoskeleton nodded happily, then opened up to let Wang Jing inside.

Upon returning to the Marvel universe, Wang Jing summoned a Russian agent with a build similar to Ivan Vanko’s. Using a medical pod, he reshaped the agent’s face to match Ivan’s exactly, then had the best tattoo artist recreate every one of Ivan’s tattoos on the double’s body. He returned this stand-in to Ivan’s old, dilapidated apartment in Moscow, then went back to the main universe. There, he had Ivan Vanko construct an exoskeleton frame matching the one in his memory from makeshift materials, and handed it to the stand-in.

Meanwhile, in the basement of his seaside villa, Stark was practicing donning the Mark V suitcase armor. “This is utterly humiliating. I designed this suit myself, and yet I have to practice putting it on!”

“Sir, this is necessary training—unless you can perfect the rapid deployment technology for the suit,” JARVIS replied.

“I’ll worry about that after I crack the new element—damn it!” Stark had barely finished speaking when his left fingertips lagged a beat, catching his skin in the mechanism and making him yelp in pain. The sudden jolt caused the armor to freeze mid-closure.

“Damn it, the hand module needs a redesign—this hurts way too much!”

“I’ve added it to your memo,” JARVIS reported.

“You’re so thoughtful, JARVIS.”

“Thank you for the compliment, sir.”

“Alright, JARVIS, get me out of this thing. I think it’s jammed.”

“Calling Miss Potts now.”

“No, no, hang up! I don’t need her help!” Stark panicked as soon as he heard JARVIS mention Potts. The last thing he wanted was for her to see him in such a sorry state.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans. Before Stark could protest further, the call went through.

“Tony, is something wrong?” came Pepper’s voice.

“Ah! No, nothing at all. JARVIS’s voice system is acting up, and I was just about to fix it,” Stark bluffed.

“Miss Potts, there is no issue with my language system. Mr. Stark is stuck—”

“That’s enough, JARVIS. I’m fine. End the call,” Stark cut him off.

“What? Tony, you’re stuck? Where are you stuck?” Pepper’s voice was tense with concern.

“No, no, don’t listen to him. I’m not stuck at all. JARVIS, end the call!” Stark barked.

But before JARVIS could comply, Stark heard Pepper’s anxious, commanding voice: “Tony, stay put. I’m on my way!”

“Oh, great. Look what you’ve done!” Stark groaned as he heard Pepper’s parting words.

“Sir, this is the most effective solution,” JARVIS responded.

“This is not the best solution! Dummy could have helped me out of here!” Stark protested, struggling.

At that moment, the slow-moving mechanical arm shuffled over, but the jam was so tight that it couldn’t budge the suit.

Ten minutes later, Pepper burst in with Happy the bodyguard.

“Oh my God, what happened to you?” Pepper exclaimed, gaping at Stark trapped in the suit.

“Uh—just a freak accident. Everyone has those sometimes,” Stark tried to explain.

“Boss, how do I get you out?” Happy asked, eyeing the half-closed chest plate.

“Just pry open the chest plate—right here,” Stark directed.

Happy immediately reached for the jammed chest plate. With a bit of effort, the suit powered up again.

Freed at last, Stark didn’t remove the armor but instead continued assembling it. “Alright, thanks, Pepper. I don’t know what I’d do without you!” he said, lifting the faceplate.

Pepper sighed. “Tony, you really can’t spend all your time down here. You need to get out and move around. You should be involved in the company. I’ve been handling everything these past few days!”

“But you’re doing a great job, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but I can’t keep running the company for you, Tony. The board is going to have a problem with this!” Pepper rubbed her forehead in exasperation.

“What could they possibly object to? What do they have against Iron Man?” Stark retorted, his face suddenly serious.

Pepper looked at him, weary. “Tony, you need to grow up.”

“But I need you,” Stark said quietly, avoiding her gaze.

Happy coughed awkwardly. “Sorry, I have something to do—excuse me.” With that, he hurried out.

“Hey, Happy—if you tell anyone about this, you’re fired!” Stark shouted after him.

Once Happy had disappeared up the stairs, Stark looked sheepishly at Pepper.

“Um, I have to get back to the office,” Pepper said, a little shyly as she stood. But before she left, she reminded him, “Don’t forget what I said—this is your company!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll make time,” Stark replied, smiling as he watched her go. As soon as she was gone, he slumped into his chair like a deflated balloon. “Oh, women are impossible to deal with!”

“Mr. Stark, I suggest you tell Miss Potts about your condition,” JARVIS advised.

“I can handle it, JARVIS. We still have the chlorophyll, don’t we?”

“But chlorophyll can’t save your life, sir,” JARVIS reminded him.

“I know, but I still have time!” Even as he said it, Stark didn’t believe his own words.

“Sir, your time is almost up. The thing keeping you alive is also killing you.”

“Yeah! That’s why I have to keep working, to find a suitable new element before this thing in my chest finishes me off!”

“But if I may be blunt, sir, you’ve almost finished testing everything on the periodic table.”

“There are still a few left!” Stark protested.

“Sir, you’re only fooling yourself.”

“JARVIS, sometimes it’s wise to keep hurtful truths to yourself. At least then I won’t be tempted to reformat you!”

“I’ll be more careful in the future, Mr. Stark.”