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"Of course, but if it were him, he'd definitely say—"

Malrick mimicked in a long, drawn-out voice,

"Pepper, I've got a lot of habits—but nostalgia isn't one of them. Do what you want with it: smash it, burn it, totally up to you."

Pfft~

His impersonation was so spot-on, Pepper couldn't help but laugh.

She stared down at the arc reactor in her hand, unable to look away.

"That's exactly what he'd say." She smiled. "Where is he now?"

Malrick shrugged. "Sleeping. He was up all night working, so I knocked him out."

"No sleep for days? Oh my God, Malrick, you did the right thing. Is he in the bedroom now?"

"Of course. You should check on him."

"Okay, okay, I will!" Pepper nodded eagerly and left the lab with brisk, light steps. Before disappearing down the hallway, she turned back and gave him a warm look. "You too. Make sure you rest, alright?"

"I know, I know," Malrick said with a grin. "Once I finish packing up these little toys, I'm crashing."

Pepper smiled. "That's more like it."

As soon as she was gone, Malrick let out a sigh of relief.

"Hah... Crisis averted."

Jarvis spoke, his voice cool and composed.

"Master Malrick, are you sure about this? Mr. Stark didn't exactly give you permission to—"

"What's the big deal?" Malrick waved it off. "If I wasn't here, Tony would've given her the arc reactor eventually. And let's be honest, that line I used? Pretty close to how he would've phrased it."

"Simulate it," he added. "Tell me I'm wrong."

Jarvis paused for a few seconds.

"Analyzing... Based on Mr. Stark's behavioral patterns, the projected response is 83% similar."

"See?" Malrick shrugged. "All I did was clean up the delivery."

He opened his arms as if addressing an audience.

"End result? Pepper gets her moment, Tony avoids the awkwardness, and I get some uninterrupted build time. Win-win-win."

Jarvis replied dryly,

"Mr. Stark will surely express his gratitude once he finds out."

"Oh, he'd better," Malrick smirked. "Now that no one's around to interrupt me—let's get to work."

---

Later...

When Tony finally woke up, the world felt... off.

Pepper was unusually sweet.

Jarvis kept asking how he was feeling.

And Malrick—that conniving little snake—had completely locked him out of his own lab.

His lab.

Hmph. Tony scowled.

From Malrick's overly secretive behavior, Tony suspected the kid had hit a wall and was too embarrassed to admit it. Maybe he couldn't even get the armor to work.

"Fine," Tony muttered, stretching his neck. "Two can play this game."

He stomped into the underground garage and fired up his old gear.

"If I'm locked out of the lab, then I'll just beat him the old-fashioned way. Two days from now, when I win, I'm pouring a hot can of Coke down that smug mouth of his."

He cracked his knuckles.

"Alright, Dum-E, push the bracket over here. Dum-U, prep the—"

Silence.

He looked around.

"…Dum-E? U ? …Where the hell are my robot arms?!"

Tony's jaw dropped.

He spun in a slow circle, scanning the empty room.

"Unbelievable. That kid even hijacked my bots."

Steam practically blew out of his ears as he stormed back upstairs to demand Malrick return his mechanical assistants.

---

Two Days Later.

A rare, clear morning on the west coast of Los Angeles.

Sunlight danced across the Pacific, refracting over waves like scattered diamonds. Cruise ships drifted on the distant horizon, and the coastline shimmered in peace.

But inside Stark Mansion?

The tension could be cut with a repulsor beam.

In the underground garage—cool and starkly lit—the sunlight slanted through the wide entry, dividing the space into light and shadow.

Malrick stepped into the garage, the sun catching the tips of his hair like strands of gold.

Tony sat deep in the corner, arms crossed and a felt hat angled low over his face.

"I'm here," Malrick said, his tone clipped.

"I've been waiting." Tony's voice was low, unreadable beneath the brim. "You shouldn't have come. You're going to lose."

As his words echoed ominously through the space—

A sudden burst of sharp, intense music erupted—

loud, cinematic, and totally unexpected.

"WHAT THE—?!" Tony jumped to his feet.

He'd lost his dramatic moment before it even began.

Scowling, he whipped off the hat and shouted,

"Jarvis! What the hell is this?"

"Mr. Stark," Jarvis replied calmly,

"This is 'Extreme Ways' by Moby—theme from The Bourne Supremacy. Requested in advance by Master Malrick."

Tony glared at Malrick.

"Seriously? We're competing over armor, not reenacting a spy movie! What, are you gonna shoot me if you lose?"

Malrick shrugged. "Just setting the mood, Tony. Today's the day you lose."

"Oh really? If talk could win wars, underground rappers would rule the world," Tony sniped.

Malrick crossed his arms. "Bragging before you even show your armor? That's rich."

Tony looked around.

"Speaking of which, where is it? All I see is you standing there, talking trash. Can't build it, can you? You've been stalling this whole time!"

He spread his hands like a forgiving priest.

"Malrick, come on. I've always taught you to be honest. If you bit off more than you can chew, just say so. I'll even forgive you."

"Oh, don't worry. You'll see it soon enough," Malrick replied calmly.

"Why not now?"

Malrick smirked and pointed at him.

"Because, according to proper etiquette—ladies first."

Tony froze.

His face darkened.

"Kid... I don't remember teaching you to talk to a gentleman like that."

"Oh? And which gentleman told me 'ladies first' during my graduation speech rehearsal?"

Tony rubbed his temples. "That was almost a year ago."

"And you said it loudly, in front of the board."

Tony groaned.

"Fine. I walked into that one. But seriously—don't say stuff like that again. It's rude."

"Of course not," Malrick said with a grin. "I only say things like that to you."

Tony turned around, waving him off.

"Unbelievable. I'm done arguing with a gremlin."

---

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