With vibranium in hand, Ronan hightailed it back to New York without a break.
He'd hashed out a deal with Tony Stark to craft a custom suit of armor.
Tony even threw in a sweetener: Ronan could use his latest nanotech.
And—big move—he'd "loan" Ronan an arc reactor.
Of course, there were two catches.
First, Ronan couldn't leak the tech—nanotech or arc reactor—to anyone.
Second, Tony wanted Ronan to etch an energy-absorbing, converting rune array onto his Iron Man suit.
This wasn't a random ask. Tony'd been burned before.
Back when Loki stirred the pot, Tony scrapped with Thor.
Thor's lightning zapped him, and Jarvis chimed in: "Energy levels at 110% plus."
That sparked a lightbulb.
The Iron Man suit had decent juice, but big energy weapons? Too draining.
Heavy firepower meant the power tanked fast.
So Tony cooked up a fix: a converter to turn Thor's lightning into usable attack energy.
Solid play—team-up potential with Thor and a power crisis patch.
One hitch: it only worked with Thor around.
He'd hit a wall there—built the converter, then shelved the idea.
But then Ronan dropped the suit request, mentioning rune arrays.
Tony's ears perked up.
He'd been dying to fuse Ronan's mystical mojo—spells, secrets, whatever—onto his armor.
The fabled science-magic mashup.
He'd pitched it to Ronan before, but Ronan brushed it off with a "let me think."
Now, Ronan bringing it up himself? Tony saw green lights.
Better yet, when Ronan explained the array's effect, Tony nearly slapped his thigh in glee.
They were on the same wavelength.
So Tony upped the ante: free suit for Ronan, plus an arc reactor "loan."
"Loan" was just PR fluff.
On Earth, only Tony's buddy War Machine got an Iron Man suit—and an outdated one at that.
This arc reactor "loan"? They both knew it was a gift.
Ronan wasn't about to say no.
Kamar-Taj's rule was clear: don't turn away seekers.
If someone finds the place and has the knack for magic, they're in.
Sounds simple—two conditions—but it's not.
First: fate and grit.
Second: talent.
Tony? No interest in learning spells, but the concept of magic? Oh, he was hooked.
Especially mixing it with his precious Iron Man suits—his holy grail.
Ronan didn't block him.
Win-win deal.
—
Tony Stark's Lab.
Tony squinted at Ronan's blueprint, a weird smirk tugging his lips.
From the sketch, this armor looked… kinda dope.
"This suit…"
"You designed it yourself?"
Tony glanced at Ronan, sprawled on the couch.
Ronan swirled the cola in his glass and nodded.
"Yep. Unless you've seen this design somewhere else?"
Ronan had seen tons of armor vibes in his past life—games, anime, you name it.
So he cherry-picked the one that fit him best.
First off, the suit's face—like Iron Man's—was fully enclosed.
But unlike Tony's, it hugged Ronan's sharp, oval face, forming a crisp inverted triangle.
On the mask? A gold inverted triangle.
Below that, a slight V-shaped split.
The gold triangle doubled as a viewport—clear sight outside—plus a nod to his go-to move: the sling ring portal.
The V below? Pure deco—
Nah, kidding.
Ronan planned to stash the rune array's core right under that V.
It'd glow too, masking the key part.
Color scheme? All black, syncing with his cloak.
Chest area? Prime vibranium zone.
Two diamond-shaped slabs wrapped both sides of his torso.
On the left chest, another inverted triangle.
Yup, arc reactor slot.
The abs? A diagonal streak from the right chest slab down to the left ribs.
Three gold, lightning-like streaks carved in.
Legs? Less flashy, but still tech-sharp.
Arms? Right one got armor plating; left stayed bare.
Unlike Tony's full-wrap Iron Man rig, Ronan went half-covered.
Simple reason: he needed melee range.
He'd tried Tony's suit—full enclosure jacked up defense, sure.
But it nerfed his close-quarters game hard.
Reaction speed, agility—couldn't touch his raw body's edge.
So, defense versus mobility? He picked the latter.
"This suit's got flexibility nailed."
"But why no armor on the left arm?"
"Match the right—keeps it nimble and protects."
Tony piped up, eyeballing the arm design.
Ronan shook his head.
Not about looking cool—he needed room for the Infinity Gauntlet.
"Just build it like this. Anything else you'd tweak?"
Ronan tossed the ball to Tony.
"It's solid. You went light and agile—probably feels like a shirt."
"Defense won't top mine, but with vibranium? Not far off."
"If I were you, I'd slap thrusters on the soles—flight and—"
Before he finished, Ronan's cloak coiled around his back.
Then—
He floated up.
Tony's lip twitched. Right, Ronan could already fly.
"Also, your attack options are pitiful. Right arm's got an energy cannon—nothing else."
"Total waste!"
Tony pivoted to a new angle.
Ronan didn't argue this time.
In a no-energy zone, he'd be stuck with Kamar-Taj's "self-defense" moves.
"That's why I'm here."
"You're the pro at this."
Ronan tossed Tony a little ego boost.
True, too—Tony's armor game lapped Ronan by miles.
Ronan just knew stuff.
"Obviously. No one on Earth beats me at this."
"Leave the suit to me—I'll tweak it."
Tony waved him off, setting the blueprint aside.
"What about the rune array?"
"Any must-haves for my suit?"
Tony leaned in, itching to dive into the magic bit.
"Not really—up to you."
"Core's the big deal; rest is whatever."
"But if the core breaks, the array's toast."
Ronan shrugged—facts.
His suit hid the core in the faceplate.
If an enemy smashed that, they could trash it anywhere else too.
Either Ronan couldn't beat them, or they could tag him wherever.
So, core on the face? Smarter than it looked.
"Core?"
Tony quirked a brow.
"Yup—like your arc reactor."
"It powers your suit; the core holds the array together—absorbs and releases energy."
"Think relay station."
"Break it, array's dead."
Ronan nodded, breaking it down simple for Tony.
Sure enough, Tony got it in a flash.
"So it's critical, huh?"
Tony rubbed his chin, wheels turning.
Ronan nodded. Critical? Damn right.
"Then let's test what it takes to bust it."
"Can you slap that array on this suit?"
Tony waved a hand, and an Iron Man suit rolled up.
Ronan's eyes lit up.
Familiar vibes—sleeker than Tony's old rigs.
Less bulky, maybe Mark 49-ish.
Not quite finished, though.
"Sure."
Ronan nodded, hands forming seals at his chest. Red light pooled in his palms.
Under his feet, a complex rune circle flared up.
The dim room glowed bright under its shine.
Tony's pupils shrank—first time seeing this up close.
No clue how it worked, but he felt the pressure.
This was magic?
As Ronan's hands traced over the suit, Tony watched runes etch into the metal.
First-row seat to spellcasting.
Fresh. Wild.
"Where's the core going?"
Ronan multitasked.
"Chest—I wanna test it."
Tony shot back fast.
Ronan didn't flinch—locked the core right at the chest, arc reactor spot.
A blinding flash later, the array was done.
The glow faded slow.
"Finished."
"Quick tip: don't park the core somewhere so obvious."
"If your reactor blows, the energy surge might fry the core too."
Ronan tossed out the heads-up.
Tony nodded—he knew the risk.
This was a backup for reactor failure or sabotage.
No point stacking all his chips there.
He'd only set it up this way to test.
"Got it."
"This suit's scrap anyway—no biggie."
Tony waved it off, rich-guy casual.
Ronan's lip twitched, flipping him a mental bird.
Damn rich jerk!
Tony didn't catch the shade, though.
He ran his fingers over the suit, borderline obsessed.
Science and magic, blending closer—his dream wasn't so far off.
He pinged Friday, diving into this new project.
Ronan? Forgotten on the spot.
Ronan smirked, didn't interrupt, and slipped out.
Tony'd handle it—he trusted him.
Danger?
That was Tony's problem—how far he'd push it.