Ethan Cole had plenty of free time over the next few days. Whenever boredom started to creep in, he would head over to St. Norwich High School to see Lorna, and by now she seemed to enjoy his visits as much as he did.
The two of them had quietly fallen into the rhythm of an ordinary couple. When they had time, they went out together, wandered around the city, watched whatever caught their interest, or booked a table at a nice restaurant and spent the evening talking over good food.
It was simple, easy, and oddly peaceful. For Ethan, whose daily life was usually filled with calculations, secrets, and forces most people could never understand, that kind of carefree happiness was rare enough to feel precious.
As they spent more time together, their feelings naturally grew warmer. Lorna was no longer as guarded around him, and Ethan found himself enjoying the small changes she brought into his life more than he had expected.
During those same days, Ethan had also been paying close attention to Tony Stark's movements. Perhaps because of Ethan's existence, certain people and events in this world had already shifted, and Tony's kidnapping had taken a turn different from the original course of history.
The kidnappers had changed, but they were still the same kind of organization. Fortunately, although some details had been altered, the larger outcome remained close to what Ethan remembered.
Tony had successfully built his first Iron Man suit. He had destroyed the organization holding him captive, escaped alive, and returned home.
Following Ethan's orders, Swijah sent over intelligence on the person pulling the strings behind the scenes. Once Tony returned, he naturally learned the truth almost immediately.
What surprised Ethan, however, was Tony's reaction afterward. Because of Ethan's interference, the events that followed had already deviated sharply from the original storyline.
Perhaps Tony had begun secretly developing a new suit, just as he was supposed to. But he had clearly run into the same bottleneck as before: he still could not find a suitable replacement energy source.
This time, Tony did not act rashly or alert the enemy. Instead, the first thing he did was contact Ethan.
"Dude, I need your help."
It was the first time Ethan had ever heard Tony speak in such a restrained, almost submissive tone. That alone was enough to make him curious. Had the proud future Iron Man actually been shaken by what happened?
"Why should I help you?" Ethan asked calmly.
The two of them were sitting in Ethan's home, on the top floor of the sword-shaped high-rise. They faced each other across a low table, each with a can of beer in front of them.
It was not a formal meeting, but it was not quite a relaxed private chat between friends either. The air between them carried the faint tension of two men who disliked yielding to anyone, especially each other.
Tony Stark's cheek twitched when he heard Ethan's answer. He clenched his jaw, forced himself to swallow the first cutting remark that came to mind, and only spoke again after a long pause.
"Obadiah Stane is a mole inside Stark Industries," Tony said, his voice low. "I've secretly uncovered a few things. He's already betrayed a lot of Stark Industries' interests, which means both you and I have taken losses."
Ethan nodded and took a leisurely sip of beer. "Go on. I'm listening."
"Hey, buddy, I'm here asking for help, not begging for charity," Tony snapped, his temper flaring the moment he saw Ethan's indifferent expression. "What the hell is that attitude supposed to mean?"
Ethan merely shrugged. "That's convenient, then."
His tone was calm, almost casual, and it made the words even more infuriating. Tony stared at him for half a second, his expression darkening at a visible speed.
Damn it.
Tony abruptly stood up and instinctively took two steps toward the door. But when he glanced back and saw Ethan still sitting there, composed and completely unbothered, the unwillingness in his chest grew even heavier.
"Fuck," Tony muttered under his breath.
In the end, he turned back and dropped into his seat again. His eyes burned as he stared at Ethan, as if he could scorch a hole through that calm face by sheer force of irritation.
Ethan remained perfectly at ease, as if he had already grasped Tony's weakness and was merely waiting for him to admit it. That attitude made Tony's resentment spike even higher.
He disliked Ethan. There was no polite way around it.
The two of them were like natural enemies, the sort of men born to clash the moment they entered the same room. For Tony to lower his head in front of someone like that felt no better than swallowing a fly.
"Hah…"
Tony exhaled deeply, forcing his anger back down inch by inch. Then he said through gritted teeth, "Tell me. What do you want?"
Only then did Ethan raise an eyebrow. A smile finally appeared on his face, but somehow that smile annoyed Tony even more than his indifference had.
Tony barely held himself back. Before he could speak, Ethan's voice came across the table.
"Tony, how about working for me?"
"What?"
Tony blinked, genuinely caught off guard. For a moment, he wondered if he had heard wrong.
"Work for me, buddy," Ethan said, still smiling.
"Are you kidding me?" Tony asked, staring at him as if Ethan had suddenly lost his mind. He could not understand what Ethan was trying to pull.
"What I mean is, how about coming with me?" Ethan said. "After this kidnapping, you should have realized something important: power matters. A young, wealthy man like you is easy prey for a lot of people. This time, you escaped because you were clever enough. But what about next time?"
Tony had been ready to fire back with sarcasm, but Ethan's next words made him fall silent. The sharp retort on his tongue slowly faded before it could leave his mouth.
Just as Ethan had said, Tony had managed to escape this time. But what if there was a next time?
The thought was not pleasant. Tony hated admitting weakness, but the cave, the shrapnel, the terrorists, and the cold reality of being trapped with only scraps and desperation were still fresh in his mind.
"What do you want from me?" Tony asked in a heavy voice.
Ethan smiled. "Very simple. Your loyalty."
"Are you kidding me?" Tony's face tightened at once.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Ethan asked. "Let me guess. I already know what you're planning. You want to improve that metal suit, right? And what's the problem now? No energy source, correct? You came to me because you want to cooperate with me and develop an energy source that can power that metal suit. Isn't that right?"