Malibu villa, underground lab.
Soon, the massive city model had been reassembled in the center of the laboratory.
The entire space seemed to transport them back to the golden age of Howard Stark's brilliance.
Tony circled the model like a child with a brand-new toy, his face full of excitement and curiosity.
"All right, let's see…" he ordered.
"Jarvis, activate the highest-resolution… laser scanner. Then scan it again with… radiation and gamma rays. I want a full, no-blind-spot scan! I need to know where the old man hid his private stash!"
When it came to his father, Tony rarely had anything nice to say.
But even with all his complaining, deep down he was looking forward to this.
The scan results came quickly.
"Sir," Jarvis's voice carried a hint of regret.
"According to the scans, there are no abnormal hidden metallic objects or encrypted data inside the model."
"What?" Tony froze.
He rushed up to the model, rapping his knuckles against one of the miniature buildings in disbelief.
"No way! Absolutely no way! The old man loved these kinds of cheap tricks! He must have hidden something in some corner I overlooked!"
Like a stubborn child, he started dismantling the model himself.
"Hey, stop! You barbarian!" Henry snapped, grabbing his hand.
"Are you dismantling a model, or tearing down a city block? What, you planning to reduce Dad's only relic into a pile of scrap?"
"Then what do you suggest?!" Tony spread his hands.
"There's nothing in here! Maybe he didn't leave anything after all!"
"Tony, seriously…" Henry rolled his eyes.
"You're supposed to be a genius, a mechanical prodigy. Why do you suddenly look more like the Hulk?"
He smirked knowingly.
"I've gotta say, your so-called genius brain can be really dumb sometimes."
"Excuse me?! What did you just say?!" Tony bristled.
"I said," Henry stepped up to the model, his gaze admiring as he spoke slowly,
"You hammer-wielding mechanic, you've been looking at this the wrong way from the start. It's not a container. The model itself is the message."
"What do you mean?"
Tony frowned. Somehow, whenever he was with Henry, he felt like his IQ dropped several points.
"I mean this," Henry snapped his fingers.
"You're trying to find a key inside a safe. But you don't realize—the safe itself is the blueprint for the key."
"Jarvis," he turned to the air.
"Flip the model over. Run a complete high-precision terrain scan. Then render all the building layouts into a three-dimensional structural model."
Tony froze.
He looked at Henry, then back at the huge model. A lightning bolt seemed to flash across his brain.
The next second, a holographic structure composed of countless glowing points and lines appeared in the middle of the lab.
It was the schematic of a new element—something that had never existed on the periodic table.
Tony stared at it in shock. His genius brain instantly understood.
This wasn't just a model.
This was a letter his father, Howard Stark, had left him—one that transcended time.
A riddle of fatherly love that only Tony could solve.
He remembered that stern face. The harsh expectations. The constant demands. And now…
So that's it. It wasn't that he didn't love me.
He just had his own way of showing it.
Tony's eyes reddened slightly.
"Hey, Tony, don't tell me you're about to cry?" Henry's voice cut in at the worst possible time.
"Careful—this place has cameras. If you cry, I swear I'll upload the footage online with the title: Shocking! Billionaire Tony Stark Breaks Down in Tears Over a Model!"
"Shut up!"
Tony immediately shoved down the emotions he had just built up. He glared at Henry, then quickly put his arrogant mask back on.
"Fine. I'll admit you've got some brains."
He walked up to the hologram, arms crossed, giving his verdict.
"The old man's design is a little outdated, the structure a bit simplistic, but… acceptable. Of course, compared to me, he's still miles behind."
"Yeah, yeah, you're the best," Henry muttered, not bothering to argue.
"All right, enough sentimentality," Tony clapped his hands, excitement sparking across his face.
"Since we've got a new element on our hands, what are we waiting for? Let's get to work! Time to see if the two Stark geniuses together can create a real miracle!"
For the next dozen hours, the underground lab turned into a warzone of science.
"Jarvis! Crank the power to ninety percent! No, one hundred and twenty!"
"Henry! You idiot! Hand me that tool! No, not that one—the bigger one next to it!"
"You're the idiot! Are you synthesizing a new element or building a grenade?!"
"This is called a bold experiment! Progress in science comes from trial and error!"
"Trial and error? More like trying to kill us! Point that damn thing at the reactor core before you blow up the house!"
They were a perfect team—and sworn enemies—bickering furiously while working side by side.
Formulas and data models danced in the air as holograms, machines roared around them, and flashes of light bathed the lab as bright as day.
At last, after dozens of failures and more than a few near-explosions…
A brilliant blue light flared. On the display, a stable new element hovered quietly at the center of the reactor core.
They had succeeded.
The lab fell silent.
Tony and Henry stood at the console, staring at the glowing little marvel in a daze.
Even Henry felt a touch of awe. He had known about its existence beforehand—but as a man of science, he understood exactly what this meant.
"We did it," Tony whispered.
"Of course we did." Henry's grin was radiant.
"Who do you think was leading this experiment?"
"Hey! I was the one in charge!"
"Sure you were. You were the guy holding the wrench."
They bickered again.
But this time, their voices carried no venom—only joy.
***
New week new goals, 69 stones for bonus chapter.
Let's achieve perfection guys!!
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