In the past, it had been Natasha Romanoff who voiced her worries about the fate of Earth. Then Polaris came along, carrying the weight of self-doubt. And now, here was Tony Stark—billionaire genius, Iron Man himself—wrestling with uncertainty.
Henry leaned back in his chair and sighed inwardly.
Was he unintentionally becoming some kind of superhero counselor?
At this rate, he could open a night school for emotionally unstable Avengers. "Welcome to Henry's Hero Mentorship. First lesson: existential dread is normal."
Despite the absurdity of it, he couldn't help but smile.
"Tony," Henry said, his voice calm and reassuring, "I don't think you need to stress so much. You've already done better than most. You'll continue to do better."
"I don't even know what 'better' looks like anymore," Stark admitted with a frustrated sigh. "I've been upgrading the suit, sure. But the enemies keep getting stronger, more unpredictable. And I feel like I'm hitting a wall."
Henry understood.
Stark was pushing the limits of Earth's technology—hell, probably even beyond those limits. But the problem was, his suit development was still bound by known science. Research takes time. Engineering requires trials and errors. And the threats Stark faced didn't care about schedules.
Stark wasn't just building armor anymore. He was trying to build certainty in an uncertain world.
"I might be able to help," Henry offered, leaning forward slightly. "Do you have any specific direction you want to take with the next upgrade?"
Stark nodded. "Yeah. A few things. The earlier suits couldn't handle icing at high altitudes, so I fixed that. The old materials were bulky, so I swapped them out. But when I fought Ivan Vanko at the Monaco Grand Prix, I realized something else."
Henry raised an eyebrow. "Go on."
"The MK5—the suitcase suit—was portable, but fragile. It broke after one major battle. Not durable enough. So I moved on to MK6. New materials, new energy source, better performance. But even that feels outdated now. I asked Ethan for ideas, but we've hit a ceiling."
"So, to sum it up," Henry said, "you want to upgrade your armor, but you're not sure how to push it beyond MK6."
Stark nodded. "Exactly. Right now, the MK6 is the peak of what I can create using current Earth-based tech. But I know there's more out there—I just don't know how to get to it."
Henry sat back thoughtfully.
This made sense.
Stark had already climbed the first technological mountain. But to ascend the next one, he'd have to challenge the very limitations of science as it currently existed. It wasn't just about materials or power cores anymore—it was about transforming the way his technology functioned.
"You know," Henry said slowly, "you might be looking at this the wrong way."
"How so?" Stark asked, tilting his head.
"You're thinking in terms of suit singularity—one ultimate suit. But what if what you need isn't a suit… but an arsenal of them?"
Stark blinked.
Henry continued. "Automation, Tony. That's your next step. Automated assembly. Remote operation. Real-time tracking and smart weapons. You don't need to climb into one suit—you need dozens. Or hundreds. And you need them to move when you think, strike when you nod, fly when you breathe."
Stark's eyes lit up like someone had flicked on a reactor core.
"Holy hell, Henry… that's exactly it. You just gave me the blueprint I've been missing."
He stood up suddenly and began pacing, his mind racing. "Auto-assembly—like modular armor! Remote combat—like a drone fleet! Autonomous targeting systems, reinforced predictive AI…"
Then he paused, rubbing his chin.
"But it's not easy," he said, back to being Tony the realist. "To do what you're suggesting, I'd need entirely new control frameworks. Materials that aren't commercially available. Nanotech that doesn't exist yet."
Henry smiled knowingly.
In the timeline he remembered, it had taken Tony nearly a full year to transition from MK6 to the Iron Legion and the nanotech-based suits. But here they were, talking about it now—months, maybe even a year earlier than he should've been.
Henry leaned forward and offered another breadcrumb. "Try experimenting with 4.5mm movable micro-actuators. Combine that with biometric scanning and adaptive response protocols. The tech is crude now, but it's a start."
Stark paused mid-step. "Wait—what did you just say?"
"Micro-actuators. Biometric sync. Responsive nano-control systems. Just some ideas I picked up in my spare time."
Tony turned slowly and stared at him.
"You… understand technology?"
Henry gave him a flat look. "Tony, I'm not a caveman with a robe. Magic and science coexist, you know."
"You're a mage!" Stark exclaimed. "You shoot fireballs out of your fingers and fold reality like origami. And now you're telling me you believe in science?!"
Henry rolled his eyes. "Magic is just science you haven't figured out yet."
Tony collapsed onto the couch in disbelief.
"This is insane. I've spent my life screaming about the beauty of rationalism, and now a sorcerer in a cloak is giving me tech lectures…"
Henry smirked. "You want to build smarter suits. I'm offering smarter ideas. Want me to wear a lab coat too?"
Tony grumbled. "It's just… weird, okay?"
Henry chuckled. "Stranger things have happened. No pun intended."
"Alright, alright. I'll take the science talk from you. But next thing I know, you'll be telling me to build a magic suit."
Henry's eyes glinted.
"That's not a bad idea, actually."
Tony looked horrified. "Don't even joke."
"I'm serious," Henry replied. "A suit that channels magical energy could exist—if you combine high-tech circuitry with enchanted runes and arcane focus points."
Stark stared. "But I don't even know magic."
Henry shrugged. "The Ancient One said anyone with a spark of talent could learn."
Tony raised a finger. "Pause. You mean to tell me I, Tony Stark, could theoretically become a sorcerer?"
Henry tilted his head. "Maybe. With effort. And a lot of humility."
Tony chuckled. "Okay, now that's the part that's impossible."
Still, the thought lingered.
Magic-infused armor. Arcane-powered flight systems. Could it work? Could Stark one day wear a suit that merged magic and machine?
It was a fascinating idea.
But for now, automation came first.
Tony folded his arms and looked thoughtful. "I'm still wrapping my head around the logistics of remote-controlled armors. Dozens of them? All tracking threats and executing protocols independently?"
"You already have the AI," Henry said. "You just need to spread it out. Think of it like this: you don't need a suit anymore. You need a network of suits."
Stark nodded slowly. "Iron Legion…"
"And later?" Henry added. "Maybe even nanotech integration. Suit on command."
Stark's mind was already ten steps ahead. "I'll need a new base protocol. Probably rewrite JARVIS from the ground up. Build secondary support AIs. I might need to map threat levels dynamically—"
"You're spiraling again."
Tony stopped. "Right. Sorry."
Henry leaned back and asked, "Still anxious?"
Tony looked up, a soft smile forming. "No. Honestly, I feel… inspired."
Henry nodded. "Then I've done my job."
Tony looked over at him. "It's official. You've become my new mentor."
"Mentor, therapist, guidance counselor—what's next?" Henry muttered.
"Don't fight it," Tony said, grinning. "You're good at this. Let me know if you ever want to start a class. 'Mage 101: Saving Heroes from Panic Attacks.'"
Henry couldn't help but laugh.
And for the first time in a long while, Tony felt less like a man in a tin suit… and more like a man with a mission.
___________________________________
Get membership in patreon to read more chapters
Extra chapters available in patreon
patreon.com/Dragonscribe31