Marvel: Playing Iron Man, Falling In and Out of Love with Jinx

"The Dionysus Gene!"

Duke stared in awe at the single milligram of Dionysus Gene inside the test tube, his eyes brimming with fascination. The tube was no bigger than a standard penicillin vial, button on one end, injector on the other.

The gene within was suspended in a vapor-like form. Under the lamplight, it shimmered like drifting stardust, tiny specks of glowing light floating in the mist.

"A damn fine treasure."

"Compared to this, Gun Kata is nothing but scrap."

Grinning from ear to ear, Duke unbuttoned his shirt, pressed the injector against his chest, right over his heart, and slammed the button.

Click!

With a soft hiss, one milligram of the Dionysus Gene was forcibly injected into Duke's heart. He set the tube aside and pulled his shirt back on.

There was no searing agony like when he had injected the Super Soldier Serum.

But the Dionysus Gene had taken root in his body, merging with him completely.

This gene would remain dormant until Duke faced catastrophic injury or was on the brink of death. It couldn't be detected under normal conditions, no test would pick it up.

Its only function?

To bring its host back from the dead.

With this, Duke could regenerate from even a pierced heart. Death would no longer be the end, he would return, reborn.

That was the power of the Dionysus Gene.

Found among the five divine metals of the DC Universe, the gene was basically a walking bug. Even a single milligram meant Duke now had a lifeline in the face of death.

"Alright. Lottery's done. Time to get to work."

Duke set aside the Gun Kata scroll for now. He wasn't in a rush to learn it. Instead, he turned back to his designs, letting the technical work help cool his excitement.

Five Days Later

Collin's Workshop – Underground Foundry

Clang. Clang. Clang...

Under the deafening roar of the forge, flames surged within the furnace, melting the crucible's contents into molten metal. Duke gripped the T-shaped lever with both hands, pushing hard to raise the temperature even higher.

Sweat drenched his bare torso under the extreme heat, but his eyes sparkled with fire of their own.

After five sleepless days, the clockwork exoskeleton was almost complete. All that remained... was the final part.

Duke yanked the lever one last time, raising the heat to the limit, then released it and wiped his brow with the towel draped over his shoulder. Grabbing a hammer and tongs, he pulled out a glowing metal plate and began shaping it on the anvil.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The rhythmic sound of hammer on metal echoed throughout the foundry. The plate slowly took form, a leg guard, just as Duke had imagined.

After a final strike, he quenched it in a vat of special liquid.

With the forging done, Duke turned to a large mold and yanked the release lever.

Molten, crimson-gold metal flowed into it with a hiss.

It had taken him three days just to prepare the mold for the crucial components. The other two days? He'd spent fabricating the rest by hand.

Eventually, he pried open the mold and extracted a long, spine-shaped piece of metal, the final part, and the most vital: the spine support.

Duke gave it a quick polish and set it aside.

"Finally done. Now comes assembly."

He organized the dozens of crafted pieces into compartments inside a large case. Without bothering to extinguish the forge, its flame would die on its own without air pressure, he hoisted the case and headed up the stairs.

This second-floor workshop had been built just for him by Collin himself, an honor not even Orianna, Collin's own daughter, had received.

Now it was time to bring the machine to life.

Duke began carefully assembling the exoskeleton. As this was his prototype, it had to be done by hand. If the invention passed the Blue Rose Manor Evaluation and attracted investment, Duke could build a factory, set up production lines, and scale things up.

As he worked, Orianna poked her head through the door, curiously watching every move.

He was adding the finishing touches to the core spine component when Orianna tiptoed in and started rummaging through his materials.

"Hey! Don't touch that! I've organized everything just so, mess anything up and I won't be able to find what I need!"

"It's not that serious…"

"If I'm missing even a single part, this thing goes from an enhancement device to a torture rack."

Duke tapped the long spinal brace with his wrench. Orianna stuck out her tongue and slapped her own wrist apologetically.

"When will it be done, Duke?"

"Soon. And you'll be the one to try it first," Duke said, then paused as two figures flashed in his mind. "Well, one of the candidates."

"Candidate?" Orianna pouted, sitting on the workbench.

"Yeah. Two female council members are also attending the evaluation, along with family reps. It's going to be a big stage for the prototype."

"Hmph! Then I'll be the first to test it, at least!"

"Sure," Duke mumbled absently, too focused on a bolt to care. "In the meantime, go outside and say a prayer to Janna or something, she likes you."

"Fine, fine," Orianna rolled her eyes, made a silly face, and ran out of the room.

Duke wasn't distracted in the slightest.

Typical engineer, once immersed, nothing else existed. Not even a cute girl or the collapse of the world.

Seconds turned to minutes. At last, Duke tightened the final screw.

"It's done."

He wiped the sweat from his brow and slid his wrench into his toolbelt, eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

Before him stood a sleek, skeletal frame designed to fit the human body, his very first clockwork-powered exoskeleton.

The central piece was a metallic spinal column, flexible yet sturdy, aligned perfectly to support the human back.

A cylindrical clockwork drive sat at the waist, roughly the size of a man's forearm, linked to the spine via triangular support brackets for stability.

Leather-padded shoulder guards provided comfort and mobility, while skeletal arms and leg braces extended from the core, filled with gears and mini clockwork drives.

Special boots and gauntlets had been added, boots based on Duke's early "clockwork striker" design, and gloves reminiscent of Vi's Hextech-powered gauntlets.

"Time to call in the lab rat!"

Duke's hands rubbed together, eyes lit with excitement.

This prototype was only the beginning. With armor and energy modules added, it would become a full-scale power suit.

"Orianna, I'm ready!"

"Coming!"

Orianna bounded into the room, eyes wide with excitement.

"Can I test it now?"

"Of course." Duke popped open the latches and gestured like a gentleman. "Step right up. I'll help you suit up. Get ready to feel superhuman."

A Short While Later – Workshop Courtyard

Duke and Collin stood to the side, facing a test dummy.

"You sure this thing is safe?" Collin asked, arms crossed.

"Well, technically, it's a 'clockwork-powered exoskeleton.' It helps humans do the impossible, lifting heavy loads, outrunning horses, jumping like a kangaroo. It amplifies base strength tenfold."

"So… it's a weapon."

Collin frowned. He wasn't wrong, this could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

"Tools are neutral," Duke replied. "It all depends on who uses them."

Then he clapped his hands. "Alright, Orianna, come on out!"

CRASH!

The courtyard door was ripped clean off its hinges.

Orianna stood there awkwardly, frozen mid-push. "I… I just meant to open it gently…"

"It's fine. Keep going."

Collin tried to hide his growing panic, watching his daughter stomp forward in the exoskeleton. The internal kinetic systems activated as her boots touched down, feeding energy to the drive via linked gears.

Zoom!

In a blur, Orianna appeared at the far end of the courtyard.

"So fast!"

Collin's jaw dropped.

His apprentice… had built this?

Brilliant. Terrifying. Absolutely genius.

"Walk slowly. Don't force anything," Duke said gently. "There's no safety lock, so it's at full output, ten times normal strength and speed."

"But if you stay calm and learn to sync with it, you'll master it quickly. And it'll protect you more than you expect."

"Don't be afraid. Embrace it."

Orianna took a deep breath, then stepped forward.

The machine responded smoothly. Encouraged, she walked a few more steps. Duke whispered, "Janna, keep her safe."

"I would even if you didn't ask," came the goddess's reply. "Orianna is my little angel."

Duke led her to the target dummy.

"Alright, now throw a punch. Don't resist the exoskeleton, trust it. Let it become a part of you."

"Got it!"

She gripped the controller handles inside the gloves. With a shout, she struck forward.

The dummy didn't just dent, it exploded into pieces.

"Bullseye!" Duke clapped. "Well done, Orianna!"

"Oh stop," she said shyly, then playfully punched his chest.

THUD!

Duke flew backward like a cannonball, slam!, straight into the courtyard wall.

"…I need to add a safety lock," he groaned from inside the hole. "I can't take another 'soft' punch like that."