Outskirts of New York, Dawn
Under the rising light, James stood in the abandoned factory, surrounded by metal debris and cracked concrete. His super-brain continued integrating absorbed knowledge, optimizing it at inhuman speed.
It was time to get practical.
"Theory's great, but real power lies in application," he said, scanning the area.
He'd create an improvised lab. No need for high-tech gear: he was the most precise instrument.
His eyes glowed red, and twin heat beams sliced through the rusted metal on the ground, vaporizing rust to leave pure steel blocks. He extended his hand, his bio-force field shaping the molten metal like clay into an experimental table, supports, and rudimentary tools.
He inhaled deeply and exhaled an arctic breath, coating the table in a thin layer of ice near absolute zero.
"Perfect for simulating a superconducting environment."
Tony Stark's Arc Reactor relied on palladium, but James had already devised a better solution. He closed his eyes, tuning his super-hearing to detect subsurface vibrations. Seconds later, he located a mineral vein.
"Uranium-238, but not pure enough… Wait, thorium!"
He bent his knees and vanished in a supersonic bang. In 0.3 seconds, he landed in a desert, plunging his hand into the ground.
BOOM!
The earth's crust cracked, and he extracted a raw mineral chunk. His eyes fired a high-precision plasma beam, isolating a few grams of pure thorium-232.
"More stable than plutonium, longer half-life, higher energy yield."
Back at the factory, he inserted the thorium crystal into a reactor frame he'd crafted. His X-ray vision adjusted the magnetic confinement structure to stabilize the plasma.
BZZZ!
A blue glow erupted from the reactor's core, energy readings soaring.
"Success," James grinned. "2.7 times Stark's efficiency."
Wakanda's vibranium was too rare, so he sought an alternative. Recalling vibranium's atomic structure, he tried replicating its energy-absorption properties.
"Carbon nanotube framework, doped with rare earths, rearranged via high-frequency vibrations…"
His hands manipulated materials through his bio-force field, forming a thin silver plate. He hurled an abandoned steel slab at it.
CLANG!
The steel twisted, but the plate remained unscathed, not a scratch.
"80% of vibranium's energy absorption, at a fraction of the cost," he nodded. "Good enough for now."
Erskine's Super-Soldier Serum enhanced the body but had side effects. James decided to optimize it. In his mind, he reconstructed the serum's molecular model, eliminating unstable genetic segments and redesigning amino acid sequences.
"Remove personality alterations, keep only physical enhancements…"
He simulated the effects on a human body via his bio-force field. Confident in its safety, he injected the improved serum into a passing wild rabbit.
POP!
The rabbit's muscles grew slightly, but it remained docile, just faster and stronger.
"Success," James said, storing the remaining serum. "Might come in handy later."
Pym Particles were too unstable, but he wanted to grasp their principle. His vision zoomed to the quantum scale, observing vacuum fluctuations.
"Each spatial fold leaves a trace…"
He tried replicating Pym Particle effects with his bio-force field, enveloping a metal scrap.
WHOOSH!
The metal shrank to nanoscale before returning to normal size.
"Not stable yet, but doable," he concluded.
James stored his creations and turned his gaze to New York's horizon.
"S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA, Stark Industries… Too many variables in this world." He pondered. "To take control, I need a base and allies."
Then it hit him: with his power, he didn't need to do everything himself. He just needed to find the richest or smartest person in this universe, offer them a small edge, and let them work for him.
And in the Marvel Universe, the richest and smartest man… His vision pierced walls, spotting Tony Stark tinkering in his lab.
"Time to hit the city," James murmured with a smile.
---
New York, Stark Industries Expo
James stood in the crowd, his black hair slightly ruffled by the breeze, dressed in a tailored charcoal suit, looking like a discreet young scholar. He'd considered tweaking his features with his bio-force field to blend in but decided against it.
"I'm Superman. Why hide?"
At the expo's center, Tony Stark presented a holographic projection, boasting about his new energy tech.
"Stark Industries' Arc Reactor democratization project!" Tony declared, arms wide. "Imagine a future where every home has its own mini-reactor, free from the grid!"
The crowd cheered. James smirked, eyeing the reactor projection.
"Efficiency barely a third of mine," he muttered.
After the expo, James lingered near a research area, pausing by an experimental arc generator. He shook his head, speaking just loud enough to be heard: "The magnetic confinement's poorly designed; plasma leakage is too high."
A lead engineer approached, frowning. "Sir, this is cutting-edge Stark Industries tech. It has no issues."
James looked up calmly. "Adjust the current distribution in the polar field coils, and you'd boost efficiency by 17%."
The engineer gaped, about to retort, when a familiar voice cut in.
"Interesting. Go on."
Tony Stark stood behind them, a glass of whiskey in hand, eyeing James with curiosity.
Tony raised an eyebrow. "What lab are you from? MIT? CERN?"
James shook his head. "Independent researcher."
Tony snorted. "Come on, plasma physics at that level isn't self-taught."
Without a word, James pulled a small device from his inner pocket—a miniature thorium reactor, the size of two fingers, glowing with a steady blue light.
Tony's smile froze.
"What's that?"
"An upgraded Arc Reactor," James said coolly. "Thorium fuel, optimized magnetic confinement, 2.7 times the energy density, 400% longer half-life."
Tony narrowed his eyes, taking the device. His built-in sensors confirmed staggering readings.
"Jarvis, scan it."
"Sir, the device significantly outperforms our latest models, with minimal radiation," the AI replied.
Tony stared at James, amusement shifting to wariness. "Who are you, exactly?"
James smiled faintly. "Someone interested in the energy revolution."
Tony was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Alright, Mr. Mysterious. Care for a drink?"
Ten minutes later, they sat in a private bar atop Stark Tower. Tony swirled his whiskey. "So, you show up with a reactor better than mine. You want to sell the patent? Work for me?"
James shook his head. "Neither. I'm just curious why you're stuck on palladium."
Tony narrowed his eyes. "Thorium's not easy to purify and stabilize."
"True," James admitted. "But combine it with vibranium's vibrational absorption properties, and you solve the critical temperature issue."
Tony set his glass down, his tone serious. "You know about vibranium?"
"The most stable metal on the planet, Wakanda's national treasure," James replied, sipping his drink. "I've also developed an alternative material, 80% as effective."
Tony leaned forward. "Jarvis, pull all classified files on vibranium."
"Files encrypted by S.H.I.E.L.D., access restricted," the AI responded.
Tony stared at James. "A normal guy wouldn't know vibranium exists."
James met his gaze, smiling. "I'm not a normal guy."
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