With Tony's wealth and years of lavish living, hosting Rook for a day was hardly a challenge.
And sure enough, Rook had an absolute blast.
Originally, Tony had planned to continue the party into the night and take him out to paint the town red.
But in the end, Rook turned him down.
No joke, he'd gone to the bathroom earlier, and just one trip nearly destroyed the entire restroom.
The urinal had shattered.
So for now, it was best to take a step back. He'd wait until he had full control over his powers before doing anything wild.
Besides, Rook wasn't like Tony. Tony was a carefree playboy. Rook, on the other hand, valued connection. He wanted a real relationship, something sincere.
That night, Happy drove them both home.
That's right. Rook was currently living in Tony's mansion.
What kind of bodyguard lived with their boss? Was he just overly dedicated, or was he simply being a little too bold?
As mentioned earlier, Tony's house was packed with futuristic gadgets. He even had a fully functional AI butler system.
What stood out the most, though, was Tony's private workshop in the basement. It was his personal domain, where he tinkered with tech and pursued side projects.
No one was usually allowed in. Not even Obadiah. The only exception so far had been Pepper.
But today was different. Tony had invited Rook in.
Rook scanned the room, eyeing Tony's equipment and half-disassembled vintage car.
The car was mostly red, with golden highlights for accent.
Come to think of it, the color scheme looked suspiciously familiar. It practically screamed Iron Man. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Tony's Iron Man armor design was probably inspired by this car.
An idea sparked in Rook's mind.
Right then, Tony asked, "Well? Pretty impressive setup, right?"
Rook scoffed. "I honestly don't get how you people think. You've got a reliable energy source just sitting in your building's lobby, and you're using it as a damn decoration?"
Tony blinked, then suddenly perked up. "You mean the arc reactor?"
Not Noah's Ark. He meant the Arc Reactor.
Also known as the Palladium Arc Reactor, it was a compact energy source created using the palladium element.
Why had Rook brought it up?
Because on the first floor of Stark Tower, there was already a fully developed large-scale arc reactor.
And yet, up until now, it had served no real purpose beyond being a flashy corporate centerpiece. No one had ever seriously considered using or developing it further.
Wasn't that just stupid?
"You have this massive energy source sitting right there, and you're using it as a conversation piece? Isn't that a huge waste? You people should've stepped into the next era of technology long ago, but instead, you're stuck spinning your wheels," Rook said, shaking his head. Honestly, it was giving him flashbacks to advanced civilizations.
Tony frowned. "We actually did try to build on that technology once, but we failed."
"I don't know what your original plans were," Rook replied, "but here's my advice: use it purely as an energy source."
"And how would we apply that to weapons?" Tony pressed further.
Now Rook understood.
Tony and Stark Industries as a whole were weapons dealers. So naturally, their focus had always been on how to weaponize the arc reactor.
But the problem with trying to use such a vast energy source directly as a weapon was that it was way too hard to control. Not to mention the massive testing hurdles involved.
That was why even Tony had hit a wall. He'd been trying to crack this for a long time, but he just couldn't find a viable way forward.
Then Rook's offhand suggestion lit a fire in him.
"That'll cost you," Rook suddenly said with a smirk, rubbing his fingers together in the universal gesture for money.
Tony stared, dumbfounded. That level of shamelessness was kind of impressive, in its own way.
"Alright. Name your price," Tony said without hesitation.
Rook, however, shook his head. "Not now. You can pay me later, however much you think it's worth."
Tony paused. That kind of vague deal made him uneasy.
But he could also hear the confidence in Rook's voice. Pay what you think it's worth. Whatever that is, I'll accept it.
And Rook had every right to be confident.
This was the core tech of Iron Man we were talking about. For someone like Tony Stark, this was priceless.
Trying to name a price now would've been foolish.
Tony hesitated. If he were someone like Obadiah, he'd probably have agreed immediately, then figured things out later. But Tony wasn't like that. If he made a promise, he intended to keep it.
For all his carefree and reckless behavior, Tony rarely went back on his word.
Still, seeing Rook's unshakable expression made it hard to resist the temptation.
In the end, he gave in. "Fine. But if your idea doesn't impress me, you owe me one. I want you to tell me all about your civilization and technology."
Rook agreed without a second thought. Worst case, he'd just whip out a smartphone and wow the guy.
After all, this was still around 2008. Smartphones weren't nearly as advanced as they would be in the future.
Who knew? He might even make a fortune off this.
Of course, Rook wasn't in it for the money. Piling up wealth didn't mean much to him.
The real point was to give himself a reason, something that made sense plot-wise, for sharing these technologies. If he gave stuff away for free, people would ask why.
Why help Obadiah later, for example, if there was no personal gain?
What, did he like the guy?
Hell no.
So yeah, asking for payment made for a decent excuse.
Without further delay, Rook pulled out a sheet of paper—one he had drawn up earlier while hanging around Tony's office. He'd already started planning things back then and had taken the time to sketch out a rough design.
The drawing showed a very blocky, slightly lopsided robot.
To be honest, even a grade-schooler could probably draw better.
Tony barely held back a laugh. Still, he could tell it was meant to be a suit or machine of some kind. The lack of technical detail made it impossible to grasp the full concept.
Rook coughed awkwardly. Art wasn't his strong suit, but what he did have was information.
So he started explaining with confidence. "I call it... the Iron Man Suit."
"Iron Man?" Tony's eyes lit up. It was as if destiny itself had whispered those words to him.
Rook nodded. "As long as you have a strong enough energy source, this will be a fully integrated combat and defense armor. It's lightweight, highly mobile, and one man in this suit could rival an entire army."
He wasn't exaggerating.
"You guys are thinking too small. What's the point in endlessly developing new guns and cannons? Take this armor to the limit, and you could fly freely in space. Isn't that more exciting?"