The Man of Steel in Marvel

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Tony rolled his eyes and walked around the two armored suits.

His fingers lightly brushed against his own red-and-gold nano-suit, eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Honestly, your suit looks way cooler than mine," Tony muttered with a pout.

"Black with gold accents? Subtle but loud at the same time. And no helmet? That's cheating."

Jiro smirked. "You could go without a helmet too."

"And have the media catch me rolling my eyes? Hard pass," Tony said, rolling his eyes again. "I still prefer my high-tech look."

He stepped up to his own suit and gave the arc reactor on the chest a pat—it now housed a miniature artificial sun, with golden energy slowly swirling inside.

"Jarvis, start the test sequence."

"Test sequence initiated, sir."

Tony's armor instantly broke apart into countless nano-particles, flowing like liquid metal as they covered his body.

A second later, the red-and-gold suit snapped together perfectly, the eyes on the faceplate glowing bright blue.

Jiro stood in front of his black suit, using his enhanced vision to scan every single nano-unit in the structure.

The golden "S" on the chest gleamed under the lights, and the whole design was sleeker and more aggressive than Tony's.

"Your suit really doesn't need a helmet? I still don't get that," Tony walked over, poking curiously at the neck area of Jiro's armor.

"Nope," Jiro smiled. "My eyes are the best sensors I've got."

Tony made a face. "Whatever you say."

"How's it feel?" Jiro asked, watching Tony check out his own suit like a kid in a candy store.

"Amazing!" Tony's voice came through the suit's speakers, buzzing with excitement.

"The energy flow is way smoother than before—it's like... like liquid sunlight running through my veins!"

Jiro gave a slight nod, and with a flick of his fingers, his black armor broke apart into nano-particles and flowed up his body like a living thing.

In less than a second, the suit locked into place, golden patterns glowing faintly against the matte black.

"Jarvis, start the test program," Tony raised his arm. "Let's begin with the basic functions."

The floor of the lab suddenly dropped, revealing a massive testing arena below.

Targets, obstacles, and simulated enemies rose up from the ground.

"Same deal as always—loser pays for lunch," Tony shot a look at Jiro.

Jiro's smirk grew a little. "You sure you wanna bet on that?"

"Hey, it's different this time!" Tony's suit unfolded six small thrusters on his back. "I upgraded everything with the tech you gave me!"

"Then let's go."

Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, the two of them launched into the air at the same time.

Tony fired first, blasting apart three targets with palm repulsors. His suit shifted directions with pinpoint precision, showing almost no inertia lag.

He let out a proud whistle. "See that? The Uru metal's magic boost makes the response time—"

He cut off mid-sentence.

Jiro was just floating there, totally still, with every single target around him neatly sliced apart by heat vision.

"That's not fair!" Tony protested. "You used your powers!"

"You said we were testing suit performance," Jiro said innocently, holding his hands up. "This is my suit's performance."

Tony muttered under his breath, then suddenly charged toward the other end of the test field. "Alright, let's crank it up!"

His armor's arms spread wide, launching dozens of micro-missiles in a whistling barrage. At the same time, his palm blasters fired in rapid bursts, forming a dense net of energy blasts.

Jiro chuckled softly—and disappeared.

He reappeared a moment later, weaving through the incoming fire so fast he was almost invisible to the naked eye.

"Sir, you almost can't win against Mr. Jiro in a match like this," J.A.R.V.I.S. reminded him.

"Shut up, J.A.R.V.I.S.! I'm working on a miracle here!" Tony gritted his teeth and kept attacking.

Suddenly, all the missiles froze mid-air, like they'd slammed into an invisible wall.

Jiro hovered in the center of the testing field, his eyes glowing bright gold.

"My turn."

He raised his hand slightly—and the missiles turned mid-air, all of them now aimed straight at Tony.

"Wait, what?! That's not scientifically possible!" Tony frantically activated his defense systems. "How the hell are you controlling my missiles?"

"Telekinesis," Jiro said with a smirk. "So, what do you think? Wanna learn?"

Before Tony could reply, the missiles exploded all at once—but the flames didn't scatter. They were held together by some kind of force field, forming a perfect fireball that slowly floated toward him.

"Gonna surrender now?" Jiro asked.

Tony's helmet opened up to reveal a helpless look. "Alright, alright, I'll buy dinner tonight. But…"

He suddenly grinned mischievously. "Let's run one more test!"

Jiro retracted his armor and landed lightly on the ground. "What now?"

"Let's race. Flight test!" Tony said.

"You sure about that?" Jiro raised an eyebrow.

"Positive and beyond!" Tony grinned wide. The thrusters on his suit fired up and he shot toward the skylight like a rocket.

Jiro jumped gently and instantly broke the sound barrier, leaving a ring of white vapor behind him.

The two of them blasted out of the building, streaking across the New York night sky in dazzling arcs.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., full throttle!" Tony shouted, pumped.

"Warning, sir—speed is exceeding the safe threshold!"

"Who cares?!"

Tony's suit flared with power, his red-and-gold silhouette streaking through the sky like a meteor.

Jiro easily kept pace, even turning his head casually to look at Tony.

"Sure you can keep up with me? How's that stealth mode on your suit working?" he teased.

"High-altitude winds are pretty strong up here."

"Shut it!" Tony's voice crackled through the comms. "I'm wearing the most advanced suit in the world!"

"Oh yeah?" Jiro chuckled—and then suddenly vanished in a blur of speed.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Tony's eyes widened. His radar scanned like crazy, but couldn't lock onto Jiro at all.

Then he heard Jiro's voice behind him: "You're too slow."

Tony whipped around and found Jiro floating behind him, arms crossed, looking super chill.

"Damn it!" Tony gritted his teeth. "J.A.R.V.I.S., engage overclock mode!"

"Sir, overclocking will rapidly drain your power reserves. I recommend—"

"Do it!"

In an instant, the thrusters on Tony's suit burst into a blinding blue blaze. His speed spiked again, leaving a trail of sonic booms across the sky.

Jiro raised an eyebrow, a hint of approval in his eyes. "Not bad. You're getting better."

Then—boom—he disappeared again. This time, he broke through the atmosphere and soared into outer space.

Tony followed right after, alarms screaming in his helmet.

"Warning! Oxygen levels dropping! External temperature falling rapidly!"

"Shut up, J.A.R.V.I.S.! I got this!" Tony gritted his teeth, adjusting his suit constantly to handle the pressure of near-space.

Finally, his vision cleared—and he saw it: the endless blackness of space, the soft arc of the Earth beneath him.

And Jiro, floating not far away, bathed in sunlight.

Jiro turned to him with a slight smile. "Welcome back to space, Tony."

Tony froze for a second—then burst out laughing. "Man, this is insane!"

He looked down at the Earth below. The lights of New York twinkled beneath the clouds, the waves of the Atlantic shimmered under the moonlight.

"I never thought I'd actually get here someday… flying in a suit I built myself," Tony said, a rare touch of emotion in his voice.

Jiro hovered beside him, his gaze drifting to the far-off stars. "This is only the beginning."

Tony turned to look at him. "You've gotten used to this view, haven't you?"

Jiro smiled. "Used to it? Nah. It still blows me away every single time."

The two of them went quiet, just floating there, soaking in the stillness of space.

"....."