In the end, Finney decided not to leave. Instead, he silently deactivated his stealth mode—after all, with his armor on, Tony wouldn't be able to recognize his face.
The moment Tony saw Finney, he was visibly startled. But perhaps the steel armor arm he wore and the secure, coded door between them gave him a sense of confidence. He immediately asked, "Can you identify yourself, trespasser? Unknown creature? Are you an alien? Can you talk? Did you steal that armor from some museum?"
As he spoke, Tony looked increasingly intrigued, like he was ready to dissect and analyze Finney on the spot.
"Hello, nice to meet you, Mr. Tony Stark!" Finney responded calmly, trying to replicate the composure the Ancient One showed when they first met. Unfortunately, his faceplate concealed his expression, dulling the full effect of his tone.
"Hm… So you can speak. And you know my name. Sounds like this was premeditated," Tony replied, eyeing Finney carefully. He subtly inched toward his computer as he continued, "How did you do that… that ring of fire? Is it your tech?"
"Yes. It's a skill unique to us. Many of us know how to use it—it makes traveling pretty convenient," Finney said with a touch of humor.
The portal was indeed exclusive to Earth, or more specifically, Kama Taj. Many people there had mastered the skill, and it wasn't particularly difficult to use. It was fair to say it made travel extremely easy.
"So, who exactly are you? And why are you here?" Tony asked. If it weren't for the footage Jarvis had shown him earlier, he might've already activated the villa's defense system. This was still the home of a former arms dealer—it wasn't exactly unguarded.
"Hmm…" Finney thought quickly, then said, "I'm a cosmic observer. I detected that you were developing a special kind of weapon that could force me to reassess Earth's threat level. So, I came to investigate."
Tony was taken aback, clearly startled by the implication. He paused for a long moment before asking, "Are you really an alien?"
Finney didn't confirm it directly but redirected, "Come on, you don't seriously believe Earth is the only place without aliens, do you? The Frost Giants of Jotunheim, the Asgardians, the Kree, the Skrulls… They've all been here."
Even though Tony couldn't see Finney's face, the tone of amused superiority made it clear: Finney was mocking him. And for someone like Tony Stark, a certified genius, it was a rare and stinging feeling.
"So, what do your observations tell you?" Tony asked, moving the energy cannon on his wrist into position while secretly instructing Jarvis to begin scanning and analyzing Finney. He was prepping the villa's counterattack systems—just in case.
"You're alright," Finney admitted. "Pretty clever guy."
"I think so too," Tony replied smugly, then walked over to the console and opened the door with a flourish. "Want to come in, have a cup of coffee?"
Finney raised an eyebrow but walked into the studio. On the table was a projected schematic—presumably the Mark II armor.
Noticing Finney's glance, Tony quickly waved it away and barked, "Jarvis, lock all doors, target the intruder, but don't engage—yet."
Weapons emerged from various corners of the room. Tony aimed his energy cannon directly at Finney and said, "Alright… Mr. self-proclaimed alien… if you don't mind, how about you remove that armor that looks like it was lifted from an exhibit, and we talk face to face?"
"Aren't you worried you'll provoke me and bring disaster to Earth?" Finney asked curiously, watching Tony's boldness with interest.
It was Tony's studio, so there weren't any large-scale weapons. The most dangerous was the energy cannon powered by the arc reactor on his arm.
"Who knows? Maybe this alien is just pretending to be human." Tony shrugged, then tapped the display and said, "You think no one would notice if you snooped around my house?"
"!"
Finney looked at the footage and cursed inwardly. It showed him wandering around when he first located Tony's house. He hadn't realized there were cameras in the area.
"How many cameras do you even have?" Finney asked, frustrated. There was no point denying it—Tony would investigate and find out sooner or later. Better to just accept it than risk getting caught in a worse situation.
"Who knows? I've got the money. I'm even thinking about launching a few satellites just to monitor my home," Tony said with a smug grin.
"Alright, you win."
Finney deactivated the Demon-Haunted armor. Since his identity was already compromised and Tony hadn't finished building his suit, there was no point in escalating things. In truth, he was starting to regret this entire encounter.
Tony was a bit surprised by how readily Finney complied. While scanning him for confirmation, he asked, "So… your armor—is that some new kind of nanotech? Did you really get your hands on alien tech?"
Finney's sudden entrance and the way he removed the armor were both so baffling that even someone like Tony Stark, hailed as the modern-day Da Vinci, couldn't immediately figure it out.
"Didn't you say something about coffee?" Finney asked, annoyed. He was still irritated about the surveillance. Technology really was a magician's worst enemy.
Tony studied Finney's young face. He was clean, unarmed, and clearly not carrying weapons. After a moment, Tony relaxed and lowered the cannon.
"Well, Mr. Helmet, now how about you tell me why you broke into my house? Otherwise, I won't hesitate to have my legal team contact your parents."
"Don't threaten me," Finney said sharply, his tone shifting. "That's not something I'll tolerate."
But Tony, being Tony—Marvel's top-tier tsundere—couldn't help but get in a few more jabs.
"Maybe you should think about your consequences."
"You really think I won't do anything?" Finney exhaled calmly and gave a simple command, "Jarvis, you'll temporarily follow my instructions. Begin deleting all video and image records of me. Ensure they are permanently erased and unrecoverable."
"Yes, sir. It's a pleasure to serve you."