"Super Soldier Serum."

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As the sun dipped below the horizon, darkness quietly swept over the sky.

Tony Stark stood in front of an old, dusty model of the Expo, gently brushing his fingers over the miniature buildings.

His shirt was soaked with sweat—not from heat, but excitement.

With everything else handled, he finally had time to study it.

Thanks to Jiro's tip, he was more eager than ever.

"JARVIS, scan the whole model. Look for any irregular structures."

A blue grid of laser light spread across the surface. In the air, a 3D projection began to form.

Suddenly, Tony's eyes locked onto the central pavilion's support structure—it was clearly a modified atomic model.

"That's it!" Tony's hands trembled as he pulled up the periodic table. "Project the structure formula!"

A never-before-seen atomic structure appeared, hovering in the air.

JARVIS immediately began analyzing. "Sir, this appears to be a stable isotope. In theory, it could replace palladium…"

Tony's eyes were burning with a wild light.

He grabbed his tools and started taking apart the model, just like he used to do with radios when he was a kid—completely focused, totally absorbed.

By the time he removed the last piece, there it was—resting in his palm. A blueprint. Howard Stark's final gift to his son.

"Dad…" Tony's voice caught in his throat, but he didn't get the chance to say more.

The lab alarm blared.

"Sir, high-speed target approaching."

Before Tony could even react, Jiro was already behind him.

"Found the new element."

Tony spun around, startled, instinctively hiding the blueprint behind his back. Then he gave a half-smile and muttered, "Not like I can hide anything from you, huh?"

Jiro glanced at the blueprint. "Your father was a genius."

"Yeah, too bad he was better at leaving puzzles than being around." Tony shook the blueprint in his hand. "But hey—this might actually solve my problem."

It was 3AM. The underground lab at Stark Industries was blazing with light.

Tony was in a grease-stained T-shirt, tweaking the particle accelerator.

Jiro stood nearby, occasionally pointing out crucial adjustments.

"That won't work—the proton beam will scatter." Jiro pointed at a parameter on the screen. "Increase magnetic field strength by twelve percent."

Tony frowned, then made the change. "You know quantum physics now?"

"Learned it an hour ago," Jiro said casually.

The machine roared to life. A beam of blue light flowed through the vacuum tube.

Tony held his breath, watching as the data curve on the monitor stabilized.

"Got it!" he shouted, grabbing the glowing triangular arc of the new element, eyes wide like an excited kid. "JARVIS, prep for the transplant!"

But Jiro placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Not now. You're exhausted."

"No, no, I'm fine—I can—" Tony's words cut off abruptly when he realized his feet were no longer touching the floor. Jiro had just picked him up like a sack of potatoes.

"A human who hasn't slept in 48 hours is not fit for precision surgery," Jiro said firmly. "Sleep six hours. I promise, everything will be ready when you wake up."

Tony tried to argue, but suddenly a wave of unstoppable drowsiness hit him.

Just before everything went dark, he vaguely realized—this alien guy was using some kind of biological force field on him.

Six hours later

Tony Stark woke up to blinding white light and the sharp smell of disinfectant stinging his nose.

His hand instinctively went to his chest—and instead of cold metal, he felt something new.

A fresh arc reactor, pulsing with an even purer blue light than before.

"Surgery was a success."

Tony turned his head sharply. Jiro was standing at the bio-scanner, while a holographic projection showed a 3D model of his chest cavity.

The surgical tools were neatly lined up nearby—but what really caught Tony's attention was that every single piece of equipment had clearly been modified.

"You... operated on me?" Tony's voice was raspy. "Right here? No medical team?"

Jiro closed the projection and walked over to his bed. "Your vitals are stable. The new element is fully integrated with your cardiac tissue. Palladium poisoning's gone."

Tony looked down at himself. No incisions. No stitches. Not even a scar. Like he'd never had surgery at all.

This kind of medical tech…

"Wait," Tony suddenly realized something. "You upgraded my surgical gear?"

Jiro picked up what looked like a standard surgical robot. "Just added a few control modules."

His fingertips glowed faintly as he swiped across the metal casing, revealing a completely redesigned internal circuit.

Tony's breath caught.

As an engineer, he knew exactly what that meant.

This so-called "Superman" didn't just have god-like strength—he had genius-level intellect to match.

"Okay, I'll admit it—you're amazing," Tony exhaled deeply. He decided to stop overthinking it.

He sat up on the med-bed, rolled his shoulders, and felt the new energy source humming in his chest.

The blue light glowed through his shirt, vivid against the dim lighting of the lab.

"How's it feel?" Jiro handed him a glass of amber liquid.

Tony took a sniff, eyebrows shooting up. "Macallan. 55 years. Where'd you get this?"

"Your private cellar," Jiro said with a smirk. "I made a few upgrades. It now accelerates cellular repair."

Tony took a sip—and his eyes lit up. "Damn, this taste! What did you put in it?"

"A substitute compound." Jiro walked over to the control console. "Boosts neural transmission efficiency temporarily."

Tony swirled the glass, then suddenly turned serious. "Why go this far for me? The surgery, the upgrades—that goes way beyond what we agreed on."

Jiro didn't look back. His fingers tapped lightly on a holographic keyboard. "Fifteen percent stake deserves premium service."

"Bullshit." Tony set the glass down. "You know what Stark Industries is worth. Even without you, I could—"

"Found it," Jiro interrupted, pulling a vial from the cryo-chamber.

The pale blue liquid shimmered under the lights, full of tiny glowing particles that seemed to dance inside it.

Tony's inner scientist instantly snapped to attention. "What is that?"

"Improved Super Soldier Serum," Jiro said, placing the vial under an optical microscope. "Based on Dr. Erskine's original formula, but without the side effects."

Tony leaned in for a better look. JARVIS immediately projected data into his field of vision.

"Molecular structure is 37% more complex than the S.H.I.E.L.D. version… these protein chains…"

"Strength enhancement is 2.5 times greater than the original," Jiro added. "Metabolic rate up by 400%. Bone density…"

He paused for effect.

"...Enough for you to fall from a 30-story building and walk away with just a scratch."

"....."