Chapter 11: Iron Upgrade

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"Holy crap, Stark really packed every inch of this thing with tech."

Bennett, now in his Grey Matter form, sat cross-legged on a makeshift table surrounded by what looked like the aftermath of Iron Man getting hit by a bomb. Every component of the Mark IV had been carefully disassembled and sorted—circuit boards here, servo motors there, micro-hydraulics in neat little piles.

Through his enhanced Galvan vision, Bennett could trace the flow of data and power through each system like reading a roadmap.

"Neural interface in the helmet," he muttered, poking at the delicate circuitry with one oversized finger. "Makes sense. No way Tony's controlling all this through brute force. The suit's basically reading his mind and doing the heavy lifting."

That explained how Rhodes could pilot War Machine without his own personal JARVIS. The armor itself was smart enough to interpret the pilot's intentions and execute them.

Bennett hopped down and grabbed another component. "But some of this stuff might as well be alien tech to me. Guess even Grey Matter has limits when the baseline education sucks."

He spent the next half hour speed-reading through physics textbooks, his enhanced brain absorbing information like a sponge. When the Omnitrix finally cycled out of cooldown, Bennett was ready for phase two.

"Time to see what happens when we add some liquid metal to the mix."

The watch projected its selection interface, and Bennett spun through the options until he found what he wanted. "Upgrade, you beautiful bastard."

The transformation hit like a wave of liquid nitrogen flowing through his veins. His skin went jet black, green circuit patterns spreading across his body like living tattoos. When it finished, Bennett stood over seven feet tall and felt like he was made of programmable matter.

"Okay, this is genuinely freaky," he said, watching his arm shift between solid and liquid states. "Like being a Terminator, but weirder."

Bennett approached the scattered armor components and placed his hands on the largest piece. Immediately, his body began flowing like mercury, spreading across the metal surfaces and seeping into every joint and connection.

The red and gold armor vanished beneath a tide of black liquid that quickly solidified into something that looked like it belonged in a sci-fi movie. Green circuit patterns pulsed across the surface, and the Omnitrix core settled into the arc reactor housing like it had always belonged there.

But the real change was internal. Bennett could feel every system, every sensor, every actuator as if they were part of his own nervous system.

"Jesus," he breathed, flexing his armored fingers and watching the servos respond with perfect precision. "It's like the suit IS my body now."

This wasn't just wearing armor—it was technological symbiosis. Bennett could consciously control systems that Tony needed JARVIS to manage, and he could modify them in real-time.

"Let's see what this baby can really do."

Bennett focused on his right arm, and the entire limb flowed like liquid metal, reshaping itself into a cannon that looked like it could punch holes through tank armor. The transformation took maybe three seconds and felt completely natural.

"Stark's gonna shit himself when he sees nanotechnology twenty years ahead of schedule," Bennett grinned, shifting the arm back to normal configuration.

He tried the weapons systems next, spreading his arms wide. Every concealed weapon in the suit deployed simultaneously—micro-missiles blooming from his shoulders, repulsors charging in his palms, energy projectors emerging from his chest and forearms.

"And the best part? Unlimited ammo," Bennett said, watching the missile pods automatically fabricate new ordnance. "I'm like a one-man army that never runs out of bullets."

For thirty glorious minutes, Bennett experimented with configurations that wouldn't exist in Tony's wildest dreams. Weapons that could reshape themselves mid-flight, armor plating that could redistribute itself for maximum protection, propulsion systems that could adapt to any flight profile.

Then the Omnitrix started screaming.

Red light flooded the factory as the warning alarm echoed off the walls. Bennett felt the symbiosis breaking down, his consciousness separating from the armor's systems as he was forcibly ejected back to human form.

The suit collapsed like a puppet with cut strings, scattering into its component parts across the concrete floor.

"Dammit," Bennett sighed, looking at the mess. "Soon as Upgrade lets go, everything goes back to normal. No permanent upgrades, no lasting modifications."

Which meant this was more of a proof of concept than a practical solution. He couldn't exactly carry around a disassembled Iron Man suit wherever he went. Too heavy, too conspicuous, and too likely to get Tony's attention.

"Now if I had Malware's abilities, that'd be a different story," Bennett mused, remembering the corrupted Mechamorph from the show. "That psycho could permanently absorb tech and spit it back out whenever he wanted."

But Malware was basically a technological virus, and the last thing Bennett wanted was to corrupt the Omnitrix with that kind of digital cancer.

"Nah, I'll stick with the safe options for now."

As night settled over New York, Bennett alternated between cooldown periods and transformations, methodically studying every aspect of Stark technology he could get his hands on.

Meanwhile, across town, May Parker was learning why New Yorkers didn't walk alone after dark.

She'd been standing under the same flickering streetlight for three hours, waiting for Peter to show up like he'd promised. Her feet were killing her, her jacket wasn't nearly warm enough, and every shadow seemed to hide potential danger.

May clutched her purse tighter as footsteps echoed from somewhere behind her. This neighborhood wasn't exactly known for its low crime rate, and a middle-aged woman standing alone with a handbag might as well have had a target painted on her back.

"Where are you, Peter?" she whispered to herself.

He'd never left her hanging like this before. Either something had gone seriously wrong, or he'd gotten so caught up in whatever teenage drama was consuming his life that he'd completely forgotten about her.

Given how obsessed he'd been with his parents' research lately, May was starting to suspect the latter.

She was just about to give up and brave the subway alone when a dark figure came sprinting out of the shadows at the far end of the street.

May's heart jumped into her throat as she instinctively stepped back against the nearest building, wishing she'd brought pepper spray.

300 powerstones for extra chapter.