Mark XLII
---
After a while, Pepper returned and said to Kai, "Kai, do you have their photos? I need pictures of both of them."
Kai shook his head. "No, but I can have Gear take a couple of photos and send them over."
Pepper nodded. "Great. Hurry up."
Kai pulled out his phone and sent a message to Gear.
---
At the manor, after finishing their meal, Banner and Samuel prepared to head back to the lab. Before leaving, Banner turned to Wanda and Pietro. "Once you're done eating, take some time to explore the manor and get familiar with the place."
Just then, Gear came running up from the basement, stopping in front of Wanda and Pietro.
The twins tensed, clearly startled. Seeing their reaction, Banner quickly reassured them. "Relax. He's Kai's artificial intelligence lifeform. He's not dangerous. He probably has something to ask you—let's hear him out."
Gear said, "The master instructed me to take your photos for official identification purposes."
Understanding the situation, Wanda and Pietro stood still obediently while Gear captured their photos and sent them to Kai.
Upon receiving them, Kai immediately forwarded them to Pepper.
After a short wait, the IDs were delivered to Tony's villa. Pepper handed them to Kai. "Here you go. Take a look."
Kai examined the documents carefully, flipping through them a few times.
Pepper chuckled. "Relax. These are the real deal. No matter how deep anyone digs, everything will check out."
Hearing that, Kai smiled. "Alright. Thanks, Pepper. I'll leave you two to your evening." With that, he said goodbye and returned to the manor.
---
When Kai stepped into the manor's living room, he found it empty.
Just as he was about to head to the basement to ask Banner where everyone had gone, he caught sight of Wanda and Pietro wandering the manor grounds through the window.
"Wanda! Pietro!" he called out.
Hearing his voice, the twins immediately ran back inside, stopping in front of him with expectant gazes.
They knew Kai had left to solve their identity issue, but now that he was back, they weren't sure if he had succeeded.
They stared at him for a few seconds. Seeing that he wasn't holding anything, their expressions started to shift—until Kai suddenly pulled the documents from his storage space and held them up. "Here. Your IDs are ready."
"Whoa!" Pietro snatched his ID first, inspecting it closely. Wanda reached out and took hers as well. They spent a long moment examining them before looking up at Kai. "Thank you, Kai! Really, thank you!"
Kai waved a hand dismissively. "Didn't I tell you not to be so formal?"
He continued, "Now that this is done, I'll head out and pick up some daily necessities for you two, as well as sort out the school enrollment details. Soon, you'll be able to start."
He took them both out for shopping, getting clothes and essential items before returning to the manor, arms full of bags.
"Alright, these two rooms are yours. Pick whichever one you like." He led them to two vacant rooms on the second floor, letting them decide. Once they made their choices, he made sure they got settled in.
That night, Kai asked Banner to keep an eye on them. He also took them to the school two days in advance to familiarize them with the route, so they'd be able to get there on their own later.
After ensuring everything was set, Kai finally had a few days to relax.
---
Not long after, his phone rang. It was Tony.
"Hey, Kai! I've got a new breakthrough. Wanna come check out my latest suit?"
Kai glanced at the time. It was getting close to the end of the year—meaning Tony's Mark 42 suit was probably finalized.
"Alright, wait for me. I'll be right there."
A portal opened, and Kai stepped through, arriving directly at Tony's underground lab.
The first thing he saw was Tony injecting something into his arm.
Kai frowned. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Oh, this?" Tony smirked. "This is my latest breakthrough. You'll see soon enough!"
He finished injecting the last micro-sensor into his arm and stood up, addressing Dummy, the robotic assistant nearby. "Hey, Dummy, clean up that bloodstain on the carpet."
Then, turning to a camera recording the lab, Tony stepped forward. "Good evening, welcome to the production base. I'm honored to announce that you all have a new little brother."
Kai raised an eyebrow, realizing Tony was speaking to the previous Iron Man suits displayed in their glass cases.
Tony continued, "Zoom in first, then a panoramic shot. Put the date and time in the corner."
Then, he took a deep breath. "Mark 42 suit test begins now!"
Kai smirked. *Called it. He finally finished the Mark 42.*
"Initiate the program!" Tony commanded.
The scattered armor pieces on the nearby worktable powered up one by one. Not satisfied with just that, Tony turned to Jarvis. "Cue the music."
A record player in the corner started playing, and Tony began moving to the rhythm, clearly enjoying himself.
He grinned at Kai. "Alright, pay close attention. You're about to witness my most advanced suit yet."
Kai chuckled. "Alright, let's see it."
Tony took his stance, stretching his left arm forward and clenching his right fist beside his ear, staring expectantly at the armor parts.
Nothing happened.
Frowning, he repeated the gesture.
Still nothing.
"Ha… that's not good," Tony muttered, tapping the micro-sensor on his arm before trying again.
This time, one of the forearm pieces responded, activating its thrusters and flying toward him, attaching seamlessly to his left arm. The transformation had begun.
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