24: Mom, why is the F.B.I. knocking on my door?

Daniel sat atop a mountain covered in snow and ice, still in the Arctic but several kilometers away from the fortress. He felt the fierce icy winds hitting his face and his cape fluttering non-stop. It was a bit uncomfortable but nothing that really bothered him. Even so, he couldn't help but think that he should create a special suit for snowy climates, something more padded.

He thought about it idly before rubbing his forehead with some frustration.

Although he had said he needed to resolve the whole Ten Rings issue, the reality was that he wasn't in much of a hurry. Giving a good statement, the first of them, was very important. Daniel wanted to form an image after all, not just be another hero in the crowd.

Maybe it was somewhat vain from an external perspective, but it was something he believed was necessary.

For that reason, he needed to think about his actions and words, in a way that could convey what he needed and at the same time not create a misunderstanding that would ruin his newly emerging heroic career.

Keeping that in mind, why didn't he do it in the fortress? Why didn't he use its first-class facilities and highly advanced technology to map out his next steps appropriately? Why did he leave abruptly saying he was in a hurry?

Why was he sitting on a freezing mountain letting his balls freeze? Metaphorically, of course.

Admitting it out loud was somewhat embarrassing. Here was the great Defiant, faster than bullets, tougher than steel, stronger than a locomotive, and he was running away because a teenage girl made him uncomfortable.

That's right, Carol was the reason he decided to leave, not her mother, who seemed to want to dissect every part of his body, but the girl who decided it was a good idea to activate her X-ray vision on him.

It was hard not to notice. After all, her eyes acquired an unnaturally blue glow that obviously wasn’t part of her heat vision, not to mention her heart beating like crazy or her blushing face.

Now that he remembered many things about Superman, not remembering one of his most basic powers was impossible. That's why he knew what she was doing instantly.

"I understand looking at the front but why the butt too?" Well, if he thought about it, maybe he could understand. The suit did make his butt look amazing even if it wasn't on purpose.

But that wasn't the point here!

Daniel could ignore her thinly disguised displays of affection, he could ignore her clumsy and childish attempts at flirting, and he could act as if he were blind if necessary, just like he did when she closed her eyes and thought he was going to kiss her earlier today.

Which was actually a bit funny, seeing her reaction made him have to try really hard to keep a straight face and continue explaining without bursting into laughter.

But what he couldn't ignore was her starting to blatantly look at him using her X-ray vision. Not that he would have minded in any other circumstance—hell, if it had been another woman, he might have teased her a bit, maybe even flirted a little. God knew he needed some fun these days.

The problem was that it was Carol.

"Dealing with her is getting harder every day."

A rather silly part of himself told him he was an idiot—fresh meat served on a silver platter, why not eat it?

That was the part he least wanted to listen to right now. He was trying to be a better person here, damn it!

Carol simply wasn’t cooperating.

Daniel rubbed his chin. What would his brother say in this situation? As if it were a divine answer, his voice sounded in his mind.

"Just do it, man! Or are you a fa**ot?!"

Well, maybe his brother wasn’t the best role model right now.

So… what would his father say?

"Son... are you sure you like women?"

Daniel frowned deeply; that wasn’t helpful either.

Great, two of the three people he cherished the most were now doubting him inside his mind...

Without being able to help it, another thought came to him.

What would his mother say?

As quickly as that thought came, Daniel tried to get rid of it. Wasn't she the main reason all his problems with women occurred in the first place?

No, Daniel stood up and quickly shook his head. he didn't want to hear the voice of the woman for whom he ended up running naked in the middle of the day running away from three girls.

Just remembering that event sent a chill down his spine.

There was a reason why he only sought advice from his brother and sometimes from his father.

"What would Superman say?" he tried to change focus but all he got were images of an angry older brother punching him from right to left up to the sun.

Eh, it was good that the guy wasn’t here then.

Daniel sighed and sat down again with his face in his hands.

Trying to be a better person was never easy.

He looked in the direction of the fortress, squinting his eyes. If Carol kept insisting, then she would leave him no choice but to teach her because playing with fire burns...

He quickly shook his head, sending a gust of wind in all directions.

That was his mother talking, damn it!

"You're a hero, the first one of all, you're supposed to be a role model, focus!" he scolded himself, damn stupid moral dilemmas.

Daniel blinked and looked around, making sure no one was watching him, even though he knew it should be impossible.

It had been a long time since he got carried away by his thoughts like this; from an external perspective, he surely looked like a lunatic.

"Maybe I should talk to Harleen?" But how would he do that? He couldn't just show up and say, hey, I have voices in my head telling me to do "bad things"? She'd probably slam the door in his face and call the police.

Or she'd pull out the bat she keeps next to her bed and try to fix his head with a few blows...

It would probably be the latter. Somehow, he found himself smiling at the thought. Yes, thinking about her was easier. Maybe he should ask her out and have some fun, release some stress.

"Yeah, because going out with another girl while you have problems with one always solves things, right?" That was his own sarcastic voice mocking himself.

"It actually worked a few times..." and now he was answering himself...

Alright, that was enough. It was time to keep busy, or he would really end up looking like a lunatic.

"Thank God she still isn't 18..." One had to be thankful for small blessings.

Daniel could have a lot of self-control, but no matter how strong his will was, he was still a man trapped in the body of a 19-year-old boy; he was no saint at all.

Even so, there were limits, barriers he wouldn't cross in this life or his previous one. One of them was age.

He might be 19 now, but in his previous life, he was a 25-year-old man. He wouldn't touch anything, no matter how tempting and attractive, unless it was of legal age.

"Though the F.B.I. can't do anything to you now..."

Daniel opened his eyes in bewilderment, somewhat alarmed he held his head. It seemed that even in another life, he couldn't prevent his mother's influence from slipping into his thoughts.

Normally, one would think it would be his older brother or father who would be the bad influences in his life, but for Daniel, that spot was reserved solely and exclusively for the woman who raised him.

"Why couldn't you just be a normal mother?!" he asked the void.

The only response he received was the wind howling in the distance. Daniel looked at the empty, desolate frozen lands and laughed quietly, a depressing air beginning to surround him.

"How pathetic," he scolded himself.

It hadn't even been a year, and he already missed them so much that he began to imagine their voices speaking to him inside his head.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

He sighed for perhaps the eleventh time that day and began to rise slowly into the air.

He had spent too much time self-reflecting already. He needed to take care of pending matters and think about what to do with Carol later.

As he started flying through the sky, he couldn't help but think about his next steps.

"Should I take a page from Superman's book and give an interview?" He frowned and dismissed the idea. while it would be a classic thing to do it would also be dangerous, if he just picked one reporter out of many others he would only be painting a target on his back.

No, what he should do was something different, something like a press conference, one where dozens of reporters would be present.

Now, who did he know that could get dozens of reporters to show up with a single call?

"Uh, looks like I have to talk to a multi-millionaire."

.

.

.

"What do you think?" Tony said, looking at the projection in front of him. He walked in circles around it, admiring his magnum opus.

It had taken a while, many sleepless nights, and unhealthy amounts of coffee, but he had finally done it. The Mark 3 was ready—or it would be once it started being assembled.

"An exceptional job as always, sir," Jarvis's voice responded to his question.

Several days had passed since his "debut" in Afghanistan. Since then, he had been thinking, analyzing, and trying to create something capable of keeping up with "Defiant."

His intention to create a super alloy was still in progress; it was much more complicated than it seemed. But Tony was beginning to make headway, he just needed to adjust a few more things. Even so, that project was still in a preliminary phase, and it would be a while before he had something to show.

Given that was the case, he focused on the next best option. An alternative that had the potential to be just as effective, if not more, than a super alloy.

Energy projection, or more precisely, energy shields.

A long time ago, Tony had advanced projection technology by leaps and bounds.

Even so, over time he lost interest in it. The reason was simple: power supply. While projection technology was viable, the problem was that it generated a great energy cost.

This was why the general public didn't have access to it.

It was a technology that could only be used by a select sector of people, and although those people paid well, it couldn't compare to the revenue that could be obtained by entering the public sector.

When he was younger, arrogant and cocky, Tony only thought about the profits his company could make. When he realized that projection technology wouldn't give him more than what he was already getting, he abandoned it.

How stupid.

Still, he couldn't entirely blame his past self. In fact, he was grateful to himself. Even if it had only been a passing interest, his advancements had laid a firm foundation to work with. And now that he had the Arc Reactor, it only took him a few days to surpass those advancements and take his technology to the next level.

Now he possessed solid and stable energy projection.

Tony stretched his finger and touched the projection in front of him. It felt like solid metal—same temperature, same texture. He knew that if he wanted to, all he needed was to install the necessary Arc reactors, and he could literally use the projection of the Mark 3 design as if it were a suit of armor.

Of course, it would be a highly inefficient armor with an excessively high energy expenditure—a mere shell of the real Mark 3. He hadn't stayed up countless nights for something like this.

Still, it was an incredible demonstration of what he had achieved in such a short time.

"Show me the data; I want to see the simulation results," Tony said, unable to hide his eagerness. While theoretically he knew what his new technology could do, it still needed to be tested comprehensively. That's why he had started simulations once the Mark 3 design was complete.

Soon, several screens unfolded in the air in front of him, presenting data after data.

"The energy shields have proven to be more than impressive, sir. Their defensive capabilities have far exceeded expectations. Simulations show that their structure is almost impenetrable," Tony frowned. There shouldn't be an "almost" there.

"What happened?" he asked, and Jarvis displayed the virtual simulations that had been conducted.

"The main issue is the energy expenditure. Maintaining the energy shield active at all times is completely impossible with a single Arc reactor. The greater the impact the shield receives, the more energy it consumes. Right now, using just one Arc reactor, the shield theoretically can withstand a nuclear impact of 10 megatons for 1.5 seconds," that was an impressive yet alarming figure.

One Arc reactor could only hold up for 1.5 seconds...

Tony pondered deeply on this. The primary priority now should be solving the energy supply problem. If he could do that, then he would have an impenetrable shield. Of course, Tony knew that something like that wasn't so simple. The Arc Reactor was already the most advanced power generator on the planet, and improving it wasn't easy even for him.

Fortunately, he had already thought of a provisional solution beforehand. If one isn't enough, just add more. It was something he had learned from Mark 2.

He looked at the projected design of the Mark 3 and smiled.

Though they looked similar in essence, there were still some aesthetic differences between the new armor and the Mark 2. Perhaps the most important but less noticeable were the small energy projectors carefully distributed across its surface.

They were small and easy to overlook despite being numerous. However, they were the most essential part of the design as they were responsible for covering every inch of the armor with the main energy shield.

Its color was now more golden and black, with fewer but still present red details. Perhaps it was a bit more robust, but it didn't lose any agility at all. On the chest, only one Arc reactor was visible, but behind thick alloy plates, there were three more reactors hidden—a suit of armor powered by four Arc reactors.

With this, he would have enough power to use the energy field constantly in different situations. Coupled with the already incredible natural defense of the gold-titanium alloy, it would be nearly impossible to breach his defenses.

Sometimes Tony admired himself. This time, he had truly surpassed himself by far. The Mark 2 would look like scrap next to the Mark 3 once it was assembled. In fact, why wait any longer? He wanted to test it immediately.

"Start the assembly; we'll conduct field tests once it's ready."

Tony prepared himself for a much-needed and lengthy nap; he needed to be at his best to test his new baby...

"And remind me to cut back on the coffee," he said, realizing he needed better rest or he'd start giving strange nicknames to his things.

"I'll make sure of it, sir," Jarvis responded, not entirely understanding his creator's train of thought.

Of course, that's when a strange sound filled the room, a constant beep—not very loud but enough to catch attention and echo in the place.

Tony frowned. "Didn't I tell you to cancel all my appointments?" he asked, and his faithful assistant quickly corrected him.

"I did, sir. This is something different."

Tony scanned the room until his eyes landed on the strange and intriguing device that Defiant had given him. He raised an eyebrow and began walking towards the workshop table where he had placed it.

He had only superficially studied the object; it was nothing he couldn't create himself, but certainly advanced. At least he could tell that whoever built it had solid foundations—it was functional, durable, and well-protected. Its signal was nearly untraceable unless you were rough.

Tony wasn't willing to damage it, so he hadn't studied it in depth and simply decided to leave it in a corner until something happened. He had almost forgotten about it until now.

"You know, Jarvis, change of plans, prepare me a coffee."

If Jarvis had eyes, he would have blinked in confusion, and an exasperated sigh would have escaped him.

Meanwhile, Tony looked at the device and pressed one of the buttons on it, the one clearly meant for answering, and the beeping stopped.

"Hey, it's been a while, huh?" Defiant's voice came through, and Tony picked up the device and responded.

"Just enough for me to almost forget you exist. What's up, D-boy, ready for a chat?"

"More than that, I need a favor," Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? You haven't even taken me to dinner and you're already asking for favors? I don't think you know how this works," he heard a short laugh.

"Yeah, you're right, how rude of me. How about we go grab something? My treat."

Tony thought for a moment, although he already had his answer.

"Well, I know a place..."

.

.

.

Note: VERY Important to read please.

This chapter mostly focused on Daniel; it's been a while since I delved deep into his thoughts and his past. In fact, I think I rarely do that, which I need to correct because he's the protagonist.

This chapter was also meant to fix an oversight I hadn't realized. You see, I thought I had explained why Daniel acted the way he did towards Carol in the story, but actually, I didn't—or well, I did, but in a comment outside the story...

I don't know why I thought I had already explained it, and it was thanks to several people's comments on Chapter 22 that I realized the mistake. I'm sorry about that, but hey! That's why it's important for you guys to comment! It helps me notice things.

Remember, I'm just a novice writer and still improving, sthat's why I ask for your opinions all the time. It helps me reflect and try to improve things to bring greater quality for you in the future.

I'm human, and I'll probably keep making mistakes. I'm not sure if I can fix every one of them, but I can certainly try.

And speaking of mistakes...

While reviewing the chapters in English, I noticed a translation error in one of the disadvantages, which I will correct soon. When I translated Chapter 1, I was still a novice and overlooked it, for which I apologize.

The error is in the disadvantage 'Challengers':

'individuals and entities will arise in response to your existence.'

should be

'individuals and entities will come your way in response to your existence.'

I want to clarify this disadvantage to avoid misunderstandings.

What the disadvantage means is that strong characters will appear in Daniel's path, or another way to put it is that he will be placed in the path of strong individuals.

These strong individuals will see him as someone to 'challenge' or as a 'challenge,' but this doesn't mean they will fight him or become his enemies out of nowhere. The 'bringing danger' part is because strong individuals always bring their own problems with them, problems that Daniel may or may not become involved in

And whether Daniel is able to be on good terms with these individuals depends on him.

In summary, it only makes it more likely that Daniel will encounter powerful individuals or interact with them, which may or may not pose a significant risk to his life.

It's a small spoiler, but Carol is an example. (Carol actually results from two disadvantage acting at the same time, who would have thought...)

Of course, the way it's written in the story makes it seem like Daniel has to confront all of them, which is intentional because it's a disadvantage. Daniel wasn't and won't be given an explanation like this because that would be an advantage.

Daniel makes assumptions based on what he knows; he can be wrong like everyone else when acting with limited information.

I hope this clarifies the issue completely, and once again, I sincerely apologize to my readers for overlooking this error for so long.

I still need to review all the other chapters to see if I made any other mistakes. I hope to correct them over time to make rereading this story a more enjoyable experience.

Anyway, I've already elaborated enough with this note. To conclude, I'd like to thank all my donors on Patreon and Ko-fi. You guys are awesome, and I'm really glad to have your support. The update schedule that won the Patreon vote with 78% of the votes will begin soon.

I'll do my best to meet it.

You can now find The next chapter of this story on Patreon (patreon com/EmmaCruzader). If you want to read the next chapter in advance and get some other benefits, you can go and check it out. All the support received helps me a lot ;D