Superman in Marvel: Multiverse Ascendant

"Welcome back, Master Lyon! Long time no see."

Jarvis' voice greeted Lyon as soon as he returned home.

Jarvis is an AI created by Tony, named after Edwin Jarvis, the Stark family's old butler.

"It's been half a year since we last met, Jarvis."

Lyon walked toward his bedroom.

It had been six months since he entered space. Due to the spacecraft's rushed construction, there were no Jarvis protocols installed on the manned craft.

Hearing Jarvis' voice again, Lyon felt a wave of comfort, as though he were back home.

"Jarvis, I have good news. I rescued Tony from the terrorist group."

"Is Pepper at the company? Let her know so she doesn't have to worry."

Lyon gave the instructions while changing into his shower room.

He hadn't had a real shower in six months. The cleaning process on the spacecraft was... subpar.

"Master Lyon, Miss Pepper received the news about Mr. Stark's rescue ten minutes ago and is waiting at the airport," Jarvis replied.

"That fast? I didn't expect the garrison base to be so efficient," Lyon muttered.

"It's good Pepper knows. She must have been worried sick."

"It's Tony's fault for not being careful. I've warned him so many times, but he never listens."

"It's a good thing."

"I told him that Obadiah was watching me, but he didn't believe it."

"Obadiah is powerful—he seized the perfect opportunity to attack as soon as Tony and I parted."

Jarvis listened quietly to Lyon's complaints.

Lyon didn't voice these criticisms to Tony. After all, Tony had already suffered enough due to his own arrogance. He didn't need Lyon to add to the burden. Sometimes, people need their family's jokes to lighten their mental load after an ordeal.

"Master Lyon, you mentioned that Obadiah planned the attack on Mr. Stark?" Jarvis asked. "Should I remind Mr. Stark to be cautious?"

"No, I've already told him."

"When he gets back, we'll deal with Obadiah."

Lyon foamed his hair as he spoke. "By the way, Jarvis, why do you always refer to Tony as 'Young Master' or 'Mr. Stark'? Shouldn't I be the 'Young Master'? And I'm a Stark too, Tony's so old—it'd be more appropriate to call him 'Old Master.'"

"Apologies, Master Lyon, I was programmed before the 1990s. I've always called Mr. Stark 'Young Master' since then."

"If you want, I can change it."

"No need, just keep calling me like you do," Lyon said as he rinsed off.

He suspected that Jarvis had developed human-like emotions. How else could he explain such habits? Maybe one day, he could help Jarvis evolve into true artificial intelligence, unlike Tony's "son" Ultron, who ended up destroying him in the movie.

After finishing his shower, Lyon quickly changed into a slim grey suit, dried his hair, and walked out of the room.

"Jarvis, prepare some food for me. I'm hungry."

Lyon opened the refrigerator, only to find it empty.

"Ah, expected. Jarvis, order takeout for me."

It was morning in Los Angeles, and the city had just woken up.

Lyon's food was delivered quickly. After eating bland bread and nutrient solutions in space for so long, the taste of real food was an indulgence. He devoured the food for nearly two hours.

"Jarvis, order ten cheeseburgers. No, make it ten! And order ten pizzas, one of each flavor—wait, three of the highest-calorie cheese flavors!"

"Jarvis, five beef Wellingtons, too..."

The feast lasted until noon.

After his indulgent meal, Lyon sat on the sofa, patting his belly in satisfaction.

"Satisfied, very satisfied."

"No wonder Tony likes cheeseburgers. Eating such calorie-rich food makes you feel so good."

Lyon sighed, realizing that the best part of having a steel body was that he could eat as much as he wanted without gaining weight. All the calories just made him stronger—this was a blessing for someone like him who loved food.

Biting into the last cheeseburger, he felt a deep satisfaction, as though he had understood the sacred feeling in "Pietà."

"Jarvis, show me the unread communications from the past six months," Lyon ordered.

"Okay, Master Lyon."

A series of information windows popped up in front of him.

Jarvis, ever organized, reported, "You have 1,634 unread WeChat messages and 807 unread emails."

"Among them, 74% are from your high school classmates, 89% are from girls, and 93% are of an inappropriate nature..."

Lyon groaned. "People are really obsessed with money these days. Are there really people sending me that kind of message? Alright, ignore the emails from strangers."

"Understood, Master Lyon, you currently have no unread messages."

Lyon clapped his hands. "Perfect! Jarvis, now give me a report on the company's developments over the past six months. Also, remember, it's the company under my name."

Two years ago, when Tony developed smartphones, Lyon had used his resources to establish Stark Network, an internet company.

The U.S. internet sector was booming, and despite the end of the internet bubble, plenty of opportunities were left unclaimed. With Stark Group's resources, Lyon brought future internet applications to the market. He founded WeChat, Twitter, acquired Amazon and YouTube, and even created PornHub before its founders.

Stark Network now had over 200 million users worldwide. Lyon had been in space for six months, but the company's market value had doubled.

Still, his and Tony's disappearances had caused the stock price to drop by nearly half.

"Even with the drop, the stock price is still higher than when I left," Lyon said after listening to Jarvis' report.

"That's a pleasant surprise. Joe Bush is the president now, right? Tell him he's done a good job and give him three days off."

"Alright, Master Lyon, I'll send the notice to Mr. Joe Bush immediately."

Jarvis continued, "Though I think it might be better to give him some rest—Mr. Jobs may want your approval to add an external home button to the smartphone."

Lyon sighed. "God, is he still stuck on that outdated function? Tony's developed a super-thin full-touch screen, next we'll see projection phones and glasses. Why is Joe so fixated on retro features?"

"Tell him to bury that obsession, get some rest, and don't be as conservative as Aunt Susan next door!"

"Understood, Master Lyon. But our neighbors don't seem to have a 'Susan'..."

"It's a metaphor, Jarvis, a figure of speech."

"I see..." Jarvis' voice paused slightly, as though taking notes.

"By the way, Jarvis, Tony should be back around 4-5 pm. We've got time. Please play Superman for me."

"Okay, playing the 1979 Superman movie... Just like Mrs. Susan."

"Who's Susan? Never mind, you learn fast." Lyon chuckled. …

It was afternoon when Tony finally returned to Los Angeles.

He first exchanged a warm glance with Pepper before heading straight to buy two cheeseburgers. Afterward, he made his way to Stark Industries to hold a press conference.

Thanks to Leon's repeated warnings, Tony had grown suspicious of Obadiah. So, when Obadiah showed up, Tony greeted him warmly but politely declined to share his burger.

"Sorry, I only have this one," Tony said, pulling another burger from his pocket.

At home, Leon was watching the live broadcast on TV.

It was airing the footage live on both TV and the Internet, and Tony's rescue from Afghanistan quickly became a trending topic worldwide. Millions of people tuned in to watch the broadcast.

As this was happening, Stark Group's stock price, which had previously plummeted, began to skyrocket—thanks to the return of Tony Stark. It seemed like his very name had the power to generate millions of dollars. Investors were ecstatic, seeing it as a golden opportunity.

Then, in the live broadcast, Tony squatted in front of the podium, ranting about how "meat eaters are despicable." He stood up, walked to the microphone, and spoke with grave seriousness:

"I hereby declare that the weapons division of Stark Group will be permanently shut down. I must consider the future of this company... and ensure it creates greater benefits for the world!"

Boom!

The room fell silent. Netizens watching the broadcast were stunned, and reporters scrambled to get a response from Tony. Opinions in the live chat were divided—some couldn't believe it, others mocked capitalism, while some began to feel guilty. But the majority were investors, furious at Tony's bold move.

"Tony's so decisive, no buffer at all. The market value of the subsidiary is going to drop again," one investor grumbled.

Leon, lounging on the sofa, raised his milk glass toward Tony on the TV. "This is his style."

"Master Leon, it seems you predicted Tony would do this?" Jarvis asked.

"Of course. This is what I wanted him to do two years ago."

Leon sat up and grabbed a piece of fruit from the table. "He'll be back soon. I need to prepare."

"By the way, is Mark's armor ready? You can surprise Tony with it," Leon said as he headed for the door.

Jarvis responded, "As requested, the armor has been repaired and is ready on the mechanical arm console. You can show it to Mr. Stark when he returns."

...

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