MARVEL: THOSE YEARS I WAS UNDERCOVER IN S.H.I.E.LD

"Hey man, how's my studio?"

With open arms, Tony Stark gestured toward the sleek, high-tech laboratory inside his villa. He turned to Grimclaw with a smug grin. "You know, this is a lab built by the one and only Tony Stark!"

"Well, I like to call him Derpy," Tony continued, gesturing toward a robotic assistant. "He's my intelligent mechanical aide, controlled by J.A.R.V.I.S."

At the mention of its name, the mechanical assistant—Derpy—turned toward Grimclaw. Its three-clawed robotic arm extended slightly, as if attempting a greeting.

"How about you, S.H.I.E.L.D.? Got anything like this?"

Grimclaw stood with his arms crossed, eyeing Stark's expression of pride. He smirked slightly and replied, "What do you think?"

"Well… well, I hate that look—like you've seen everything already!"

"Oh, by the way, I know you haven't seen what I'm about to show you next," Tony declared confidently. "I promise you that!"

With that, he walked over to a test platform, pulling a pair of sleek, newly-welded steel boots toward him. Holding them up, he turned back to Grimclaw.

"You know what? People have always dreamed of flying—soaring through the sky, free as a bird."

"But, since humans can't naturally fly, they made airplanes, fighter jets, you name it!"

Tony lifted the boots slightly. "With these, people won't need planes anymore."

Midway through his explanation, he suddenly paused, as if something had just occurred to him. He turned to Grimclaw and asked, "By the way, does your aircraft take off without waiting for you? Or do you have to wait for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s plane?"

Grimclaw smirked again, his arms still folded. "Wait for the plane? Usually, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s plane is waiting for me. I don't think I've ever had to wait for it, not once."

"Oh, and as for whether an Aegis-class jet would leave without me? That's not happening either. Even if it means delaying the flight by two hours—or more—it won't take off without me."

Tony Stark nodded. "If a private jet doesn't wait for you, is it even a private jet?"

"Like the time I was flying to the desert for a weapons demo. Can you believe that Pepper actually told me that if I didn't hurry up, the plane would—"

He stopped mid-sentence, shrugged, and said, "Forget it. Let's not talk about that. Thinking about it just reminds me of that time in the cave… Damn."

Shaking off the memory, Tony signaled to Derpy, who carefully placed the prototype boots on the ground. He raised an eyebrow and grinned at Grimclaw.

"Alright, man, take a good look. You're witnessing the invention of Tony Stark."

"Humans can finally fly without airplanes!"

Excitedly, Tony stepped into the boots and commanded, "J.A.R.V.I.S., activate video recording. Capture everything."

"And run data analysis in real-time. If this fails, I want to know why."

Then, as if remembering something, Tony turned to Derpy. "Hey, Dum-E, stay close and be ready to put out any fires, got it?"

With a deep breath, he picked up the control grip, stared at the camera, and said, "Alright—manual activation ready!"

"Technically, we should be starting small. Maybe testing at just ten percent axial load first…"

"But screw it—let's go big."

"Alright, three, two, one—"

Tony pressed the controller.

Instantly, a surge of energy blasted from the boots, lifting him off the ground—before violently launching him backward into the lab's ceiling.

Before he could crash into the reinforced stone wall behind him, Grimclaw disappeared from sight in a blur.

BAM!

The very next moment, Tony found himself suspended midair, held firmly by a single hand gripping the steel boots.

Grimclaw, now hovering effortlessly in the air, smirked. "Turns out people can fly—without your so-called invention."

"Uh…"

Still dangling upside-down, Tony stared at him, wide-eyed. "Alright, that's cool—but is that your ability? Or do all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have this trick?"

Grimclaw raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"The other thing…" Tony added with an awkward chuckle. "Mind putting me down first? Hanging upside down like this isn't great for circulation."

"Oh, and uh… technically speaking, this was my fault."

With a nod, Grimclaw adjusted his grip, smoothly flipping Tony upright before lowering him safely to the ground.

"Whew…" Tony exhaled deeply, glancing back at the ceiling.

"Man, if I had actually hit that thing, I'd definitely have been injured. Again."

Turning back to Grimclaw, he grinned. "Hey, thanks, man. I definitely appreciate the rescue."

Then, his eyes gleamed with curiosity.

"Also—can I study you?"

Grimclaw narrowed his eyes.

"Don't get me wrong," Tony quickly added. "I mean, I'm really curious about your ability."

"You just teleported across the room in an instant—to catch me, no less!"

"So… what exactly is this power of yours?"

Tony's gaze locked onto Grimclaw's, filled with intrigue and excitement.

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