Tony asked more about Ivan Vanko and was surprised that there had been a traitor before who had been exiled. The little guilt he had vanished, and he didn't care anymore. Soon, he was led into the press ference hall, just like st time when he was here after nding from Afghanistan.

  The room acked. Reporters crowded together, cameras fshing as Tony walked up to the podium.

  "Alright, let's get this over with. I know you all have questions. Yes, the Stark Expo was supposed to be a fun-filled night of innovation and progress. No, we did not pn for homicidal mania oversized tin s to show up. But hey, at least it was exg, right?"

  A few chuckles rippled through the crowd.

  "Mr. Stark, reports indicate that two armored figures were seen fighting against the attackers. you firm if this was another one of your projects?"

  "That's an iing question." He preteo think. "Let me see if I ahat while also not answering that."

  "The public is already calling this duo 'Iron Mages.' Do you have any ent on that? Some have even termed them heroes."

  "Heroes would be a bit far-fetched since civilians were involved. I am not some hero," Tony replied.

  "I never said you are a hero," the reporter said.

  "The truth is... I am... Iron Mage." The press room exploded with questions and fshing lights.

  Liam could only sigh, as he had expected this to happen and saw it ing from miles away. Though there were ges, they weren't signifit enough. Pepper just shook her head.

  "I'll let Fury know," Coulson said and excused himself. The reporters had many questions, but Tony avoided all of that and escaped. Rhodes, too, had left to deal with the military inquisition that was going to e for him. Pepper went to the office, while Liam and Touro Tony's home.

  They went straight to the b, as Tony seemed to be more thrilled about what Liam was going to show rather than what he had just done.

  "You will create a storm, you know that, right?" Liam said.

  "You mean the identity thing? Please. Hiding was getting old, a's be ho, the gover already had their noses in my business. It was only a matter of time. I just didn't expect my big reveal to e with bonus tent," Tony grumbled.

  As Liam and Tony reached the b, the new pce looked empty, devoid of all the cars, and even the Mark armors were pced baside their shelves.

  "You said to clear up space. So I did," Tony said.

  "Sometimes you are way too effit," Liam said, and then he summohe Fe right in front of him. It wasn't just another piece of cutting-edge teology. No, this thing radiated power, mystery, and a level of engineering that Tony had never seen before.

  At first g resembled a futuristic exosuit assembly station, but there was an artistry to it—sleek metalliels formed a t, circur frame, with intricate golden and silver lines running along its structure like veins of liquid energy. Blue-white energy pulsed through its core. Holographic symbols he didn't reize flickered and rotated around the main sole, stantly shifting, ref.

  Tony eechless as he stepped closer. He reached out, fiips grazing the sole. It hummed under his touch, and the symbols rearrahemselves instantly, as if aowledging him. The interface was unlike anything he'd ever seen—no buttons, no wires, no obvious input method. Just pure, responsive energy.

  And then, with a soft whoosh, the Fe activated. A n of hard light shot downward from its apex, f the ghostly silhouette of a suit—a Javelin—h in mid-air. Tony's eyes widened as the shimmering struct took shape, shifting through different figurations: a sleek, dagger-like form bristling with energy bdes, a bulkier, tank-like version, a storm-wreathed variant that seemed to crackle with power.

  He had seen two of them before.

  "I am not done," Liam said as he went to the side of the garage and then summohe books of meid arist in front of him. The books appeared out of thin air along with two huge shelves, able to house hundreds of books.

  "Okay, now you are just showing off," Tony said as he looked at the books.

  "Tony, these are for you. Oion is for meics, and the other... let's just say it's reted to magic. I have tried reading the books, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it, as the nguage was too hard for me to decipher. Maybe you . And the Fe is the pce where you make new suits, as that has beeradition. Of course, you try to build it without the Fe. Doesn't matter to me. But I might call dibs on some of your suits ter sihat will be my payment for sharing this knowledge with you," Liam said.

  Tony had already stepped in and was busy reading the books.

  "You were right. This is totally a new nguage. I have never seen anything like this before. Yinsen is a linguist—might need his brain on this if that's cool with you," Tony said.

  "Yeah, I trust Yinsen, but don't share the knowledge with others. This Fe 't be moved or replicated and is very hard to damage," Liam said.

  "I officially owe you one. Not a small oher. Like, top-tier, 'you get first pi the apocalypse bunker' kind of favor," Tony said.

  "Don't start throwing a party yet. Making the materials for Storm or Interceptor is going to be a nightmare for you," Liam said.

  "Uh, do you know who you're talking to? I'm Tony Freaking Stark. I once built a reactor in a cave with a box of scraps. I'll figure it out," Tony replied.

  "Yeah, try to make a suit that could just fit without using an assembly station. I 't save you every time," Liam said.

  "Wow. Harsh. You mess up oime, and suddenly nobody lets you live it down," Tony growled.

  "Soon, yoing to have to ao the Senate hearing, so get your act together and e up with some solid answers," Liam said.

  Though the sequence of his life story had been very irregur, he wouldn't ighe fact that Hydra would try to get their hands on Tony's armors.

  They were way too good for ao be left free.