Jarvis "saw" everything clearly as a bystander.
Tony felt it just as keenly himself.
In his field of vision, everything seemed to be stretching taller and larger.
Even that brat Luca seemed to have grown significantly taller in an instant.
"What did you feed me?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Tony realized something was wrong.
His usually charming, magnetic voice (in his own opinion) had been replaced by a tender, childish treble.
"Ah! What is this?!"
Tony panicked, trying to reach up and touch his throat.
But when he raised his hand, he discovered that at some point, his hand had completely retracted into his sleeve.
His originally perfectly tailored haute couture shirt had become baggy and sloppy.
"You..."
Just as a flustered Tony was about to demand answers again, he saw the grinning Luca toss a Universal Capsule in front of him.
POOF.
A huge full-length mirror appeared directly in front of him.
Then, Tony saw himself in the mirror. He had actually turned into a "boy" of about seven or eight years old!
"AHHH—"
"Hahaha~"
Accompanying Tony's childish scream was Luca, who could no longer hold it in. He was leaning against the mirror, laughing maniacally.
"Hahaha! Rejuvenation Drug! How about it? With such good stuff, I thought of you immediately~ Do you still dare say I don't like sharing?"
"Little~ Friend~ Stark~"
"Hahahaha~"
Tony stared blankly at his child self in the mirror, then moved his body in disbelief, looking around to ensure the mirror wasn't playing some special effects animation.
Even if his own scientific abilities weren't exactly conventional, and even if he had just started dabbling in magic...
Tony still couldn't believe he had literally turned into a kid.
But hearing Luca's ceaseless laughter and the teasing "Little Friend Stark," Tony felt a nameless fire rising in his chest.
"You brat, I'll fight you..."
Humiliated and angry, seeing Luca still laughing, Tony prepared to pounce on him and teach him a lesson.
But clearly, he forgot that his clothes didn't fit anymore after shrinking.
"Tiny Tony" had just raised his hands, claws out, ready to lunge at Luca...
When his foot slipped.
Splat.
He tripped over his own pant leg and face-planted.
Seeing this, Luca, the culprit, laughed even harder.
"Hahahaha! Little Tony, haven't you learned to walk at this age? Come, come, let Big Brother Luca teach you~ Hahaha~"
Hearing Luca's gleeful mockery, Tony was furious.
"You brat, you..."
But just as he lifted his head from the floor, he discovered that at some point, Luca had produced a video camera in his hand.
"Come on, Little Brother Tony, let's document your life~"
"LUCA!!!"
Little Tony let out a cute, childish roar. Throwing dignity to the wind, he kicked off his oversized clothes, hiked up his trailing pants, and charged at the camera-wielding, laughing Luca on his two short legs.
Thump-thump-thump.
But how could a Tony who had just reverted to a seven-year-old catch up to Luca?
No matter how hard he gritted his teeth and tried, Luca always kept two or three steps ahead of him. Sometimes, Luca would even be annoying enough to hold the camera with one hand and press down on Tony's head with the other, keeping him at bay.
"You brat! Stand still!"
Gritting his teeth, Tony tried to stop Luca with words.
However, his childish voice carried zero intimidation factor. Instead, it made Luca run even more joyfully, looking exactly like a husky let off its leash.
"Oh my, Little Tony, you really make me sad. It's rejuvenation! Such a great thing, yet instead of thanking me, you're so grumpy. That's not good~ Not good~"
However, just as Luca was happily circling backward while filming...
Tony, who had looked exasperated a moment ago, suddenly grinned.
"Dum-E! Get him!"
At Tony's command, the engineering robot arm behind Luca, which had been still until now, suddenly raised a broom nearby and swung it down.
Luca, who was laughing his head off, suddenly felt his foot catch on something empty. In an instant, his joy turned to sorrow.
Splat.
He fell on his butt, almost dropping the camera held high in his hand.
"Oh crap~"
"Gotcha, you brat!"
Seeing Luca fall into his "trap," Tony was overjoyed. He pushed off the ground and leaped onto Luca.
"You little bastard! Give me the camera!"
"Don't even think about it!"
The lab instantly turned into chaos. Tiny Tony rode on top of Luca, desperately trying to snatch the damn camera.
Dum-E, the robot arm that had just performed a great merit, held the broom high, aiming back and forth over their heads, foolishly unsure of who to help.
However, during the struggle...
Tony's short little hand missed the camera and accidentally grabbed the face of the watch on Luca's wrist.
Subconsciously, he twisted it.
The blue projection light flickered a few times.
In an instant, Tony discovered that Luca, whom he was pinning down, had lost his disguise and transformed into...
A seven or eight-year-old brat of the "same age" as him.
"..."
In that moment, the noisy laboratory fell into a deathly, eerie silence.
"You... you... you... you did it to yourself too!"
"Ahhh! Tony!"
Seeing his disguise broken, Luca, who had been gloating earlier, lost his cool. He reached out to fiddle with the [Transformation Watch] to turn himself back to "normal."
But how sharp was Tony Stark?
Before Luca could touch the watch, Tony yanked it backhand and actually tore the [Transformation Watch] right off Luca's wrist.
"Ahhh! Give me back my watch!"
"Give me the camera first!"
"Tony! You asked for this!"
Saying this, Luca suddenly flipped over, pinning Tony underneath him.
Although they were both seven-year-olds, Luca still had a child-sized mechanical arm, giving him the upper hand instantly.
If he didn't have to protect the camera with one hand, this "Battle of the Century" would have been decided in a blink.
However, while Luca had the strength advantage, Tony had the home-field advantage.
Throwing caution to the wind, he shouted again.
"Dum-E! Help me!"
Immediately, the hesitant engineering robot raised the broom and brought it down. Bonk, bonk, bonk.
Except...
"Ow ow ow! Dum-E! You clumsy idiot! Hit him! Hit him!"
"Hahaha! Let's see you try to resist now!"
However, just then.
Creak.
The door to the Stark family's underground laboratory opened again.
Pepper and Gwen, who had been chatting and laughing as they entered, froze on the spot upon seeing the bizarre scene before them.
This time, the lab truly fell into a deathly silence.
Well, okay.
Except for Dum-E, who was still swinging the broom bonk, bonk, bonk.
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