Days passed, and the development of the armor neared completion, transitioning from component testing to full system tests. Half a month later, Tony planned to conduct a full flight test of the suit.
"Jarvis, calculate the flight trajectory. I'm going out for a test."
"No, Tony, the armor still has many unrefined aspects. We should refine it a bit more."
"Yinsen, how will we ever know what needs refining if we don't test it?"
With that, Tony piloted the armor and flew out of the villa, while Yinsen stayed in the lab, watching the various data streams on the screen. Inside the suit, Tony cheered with the excitement of a child.
"Jarvis, what is the top record for the SR-71 Blackbird?"
"Sir, the maximum flight altitude of the SR-71 Blackbird is 85,000 feet."
"Records are meant to be broken. Let's go!"
Without hesitation, Tony maneuvered the armor and shot straight up into the sky.
"Sir, high-altitude icing will lead to major malfunctions."
"Keep going up."
"Tony, the armor doesn't have a de-icing or constant temperature system yet. Come back down and refine it first."
Watching from the side and noticing Yinsen's worry, Brown found an excuse and stepped outside.
"System, twenty consecutive draws."
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for drawing the Krypton spaceship and the Krypton Codex."
"Yes! I pulled two great things related to me. It's time to transform and go check on Tony."
Meanwhile, Brown flew up into the sky and just happened to see Tony icing up and plummeting. He zipped over.
"Hey, Tony. You should have listened to Yinsen and Jarvis—should've waited until it was fully refined before taking off."
Hearing that familiar voice, Tony was first shocked, then overjoyed.
"I knew it, you rascal, you were hiding some real tricks!"
With a hearty laugh, Brown helped Tony clear away the ice, then flew out toward space, heading to the other side of the solar system where he summoned the spaceship and the Codex.
"Tch, the system didn't mention whether the ship was big or small. I had to fly all the way out here just to summon it. The Codex is somewhat useful, but right now I don't have the required equipment to cultivate Kryptonians."
Seeing that the spaceship was not a large vessel capable of cultivating Kryptonians, Brown wore a look of disappointment. He stored the ship away in his spatial ring, flew back toward Earth, and returned to Tony's villa.
When he reached the lab, he found Tony, the silver-white Mark II armor, and Yinsen, who still wore a worried expression.
"Tony, don't do something like this next time. Wait until the R&D is finished before you fly. I can't stop you anyway, but what would you do if you iced up and crashed like today and something went wrong?"
Tony originally wanted to talk about the fact that Brown could fly, but seeing Brown shake his head, he kept his mouth shut. Seeing that Tony didn't reply, Yinsen spoke up.
"Let's continue refining the armor and think through every possible scenario we might encounter."
"Yinsen, we've been cooped up in this lab for over half a month. I've got some matters to attend to, and you should take a break too. Let's both unwind, what do you say?"
Hearing this, Yinsen figured Tony's request made sense and nodded in agreement. Seeing Yinsen nod, Tony grabbed Brown and led him out of the villa.
"Ah, nothing beats the fresh air outside! After being cooped up in there for over half a month, it's time to relax."
With that, he got into the car and motioned for Brown to take the passenger seat. On the drive, Tony asked, "Is your ability to fly something you were born with?"
"Yes, everyone in our race can fly, and the stronger your power, the faster you fly."
"So, are you an alien? Did you come over to see if our planet is suitable for colonization?"
"Not at all. My home planet was already destroyed, and I'm the only one left of my entire race, so I ended up here."
Brown shared the background story of Superman Clark.
"Oh, that's a real shame. How was your planet destroyed? Was it an invasion?"
"No, the main reason was that it was destroyed by our own over-development of the planet, which led to resource depletion and environmental collapse. Added to that were rigid social stratification, stagnant technological development, and the abandonment of deep space exploration."
Hearing the reasons, Tony felt even more strongly that he should transition his company toward clean energy.
"By the way, I heard you used all the money I gave you to buy the dip on my company's stock."
Hearing this, Brown smiled faintly.
"That's right, Boss. I spent all my capital buying the dip on the company's stock. I'm the third-largest shareholder now." (Tony Stark is first, Obadiah Stane is second, and the protagonist of this story is third.)
"So basically, you're working for me as a bodyguard, and after buying up shares in the company, I now have to work for you to boost the company's market value and dividends."
"That's right, Tony."
The two of them exchanged a knowing smile as they arrived at Tony's desired destination: the Walt Disney Concert Hall. At the entrance, a reporter was broadcasting:
"With the red carpet rolled out, the Walt Disney Concert Hall is brilliantly lit tonight, bustling with activity for the third annual charity gala hosted by Tony Stark for the firefighter families foundation."
At this moment, Tony parked the car right at the entrance on the street and handed the keys to the valet to park. Brown got out and followed Tony, since his public identity was, after all, Tony's bodyguard. Spotting Obadiah, Tony went over to greet him.
"What kind of world is this when the host isn't even invited to the party?" Obadiah said with a broad smile upon seeing Tony.
"Oh, Tony, you're here too. I really didn't expect it."
The few whispered sentences that followed were uninteresting to Brown—nothing more than polite hypocrisy.
Tony strode into the interior of the concert hall and headed straight to the bar. Meanwhile, Brown spotted Coulson standing near the bar.
"Hello, Mr. Stark. I'm Agent Coulson."
"Oh, right, right, right. I remember you. You're from that bureau, whatever it's called."
"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."
"Good grief, you guys really need to change that name."
"Yes, quite a few people say that."
"I know, you're having a rough time right now."
Drinking a beverage and looking around, Tony hadn't heard a single word, as if he had spotted someone.
"Let's schedule another time to talk, Mr. Stark."
"Yeah, no problem. You're right. You're completely right." Tony shook his hand, adding, "Let me go find my assistant first, and then we'll nail down a time."
Tony walked over to Pepper.
"You look breathtaking. I almost didn't recognize you."
"Oh, Tony, why are you here? Did you come alone?"
"No, Brown came with me. He's over there drinking water, don't worry about him."
Endowed with super hearing, Brown put down his cup upon hearing this, curious to hear what Tony and Pepper would talk about next.
"Where'd you get that dress?"
"It's the birthday present you gave me."
"Oh, is it? I certainly have great taste. Let's dance."
Without waiting to see if Pepper agreed, Tony pulled her toward the center of the dance floor. Brown couldn't be bothered to listen to the murmurs that followed between them and simply continued sipping his drink, cup after cup.
A moment later, Brown glanced over and saw Tony ordering two drinks at the bar. A reporter also walked over to speak with Tony, pulling out a few photographs to question him. As Tony looked at the photos, asking for details and when they were taken—just as Tony was about to take the pictures and go confront Obadiah—Brown appeared.
"You can't go question him."
"Why not? There has to be a reason, doesn't there? Besides, you're the bodyguard I hired, or are you condoning what he's done too?"
Furious, Tony demanded answers from Brown, who calmly replied, "What you want to investigate and what you want to do is up to you. But when it comes to certain things, you'd better not trust this uncle of yours too much."
Hearing this, Tony snapped back to reality, realizing there might be more to the story. He drove back to the villa, and before leaving, he tossed out a single line: "You're off the clock."