"Well, that was all very motivational. Now, how about we stop the world-ending talk for five minutes and let me show you my design for magical energy converters tied to arc reactors?" Tomy spoke up to cut the tension in the room.
"Now that," Avallac'h said with a grin, "might actually impress me."
Keira wasn't happy that they had come to this conclusion but she could understand. Just like theirs, it was her home too where she was brought up. Though she was very pessimistic about their world, it didn't mean that she didn't have a heart.
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Snow crunched beneath Tony Stark's boots as he stepped out of the shimmering portal and took in the sight of Kaer Morhen once more. Cold winter had started to come in, and bringing with it was a somber feeling that the winter of Kaer Morhen had never seen before. Stark adjusted his sunglasses—unnecessarily dramatic given the overcast sky—and exhaled sharply
Behind him, humming gently, floated a line of sleek cargo drones, each one loaded with crates bearing Stark Industries logos. The rumble of additional mechanical transports echoed in the mountains as more of his equipment streamed through the portal, guided by small AI-powered drones and robotic arms.
When he had arrived last time he didn't bring JARVIS and was handicapped in so many ways. This time he had integrated JARVIS inside his own suit of Storm javelin.
He had finally named his suit as MAGIK 3. Liam was confused about his naming as he was expecting to be on the MARK series but it might be because of his magical interference.
"Alright, everyone," Tony said, clapping his hands together. "Let's turn this relic into a fortress worthy of a crossover."
"This place is a fortress." Geralt said.
"Not anymore. Now it's a modern fortress." Tony replied.
Within the hour, Kaer Morhen buzzed with activity. Yinsen coordinated with the small army of drones and robotic arms, uploading schematics and adjusting energy calibration nodes while shouting over the din of machinery. Yes, Yinsen was asked to help too and he was happy to at least help in this regard. Liam and Avallac'h stood atop one of the higher towers, watching the work unfold. Triss, Yennefer, Keira, and Vesemir all looked varying degrees of skeptical and intrigued.
Tony, of course, was in his element.
"All right, let's start with Phase One: Barrier Integration."
Two compact generators, roughly the size of beer kegs, were installed at the main entrance and at the rear slope of the fortress. They pulsed with a soft blue light, casting ripples of energy that shimmered faintly against the snow.
"These babies emit a kinetic barrier," Tony explained. "Stops physical projectiles, absorbs blunt force, and even deflects magical energy to some extent. Think of it like a forcefield with attitude."
Yennefer narrowed her eyes and placed her hand near one of the barriers. The energy pushed gently against her palm, resisting her magic just enough to pique her curiosity.
"It's reactive to spells?"
"Custom-tuned to the magical spectrum," Tony confirmed. "Thanks to some of your earlier tests and Avallac'h's data." He turned to Avallac'h. "You're welcome."
The elf didn't respond directly, but his slight nod was acknowledgment enough.
"Phase Two," Tony said, striding further into the courtyard, "Automated Defense Grid."
From one of the larger drones, small turrets unfolded—sleek, compact, and loaded with non-lethal and lethal options.
"Motion tracking. Thermal detection. Arc-blast suppression beams. These babies don't sleep, don't miss, and don't care about your glowy ghost-horse look."
"What does it do?" Geralt didn't understand the new terms.
Tony snapped his fingers, and the turret whirred, locking onto a tree branch that shifted in the wind. A soft pulse of light shot out and disintegrated the branch in mid-air. Everyone tensed.
"Stun setting," Tony said with a grin. "You don't want to see lethal."
"You'll blow up half the fortress if we put that in a corridor," Vesemir grunted as he wasn't that happy about its power.
"That's why I gave the turrets personality chips. They'll learn the difference between friend, foe, and accident. Besides, they're only active during alert phases."
Next came Phase Three: perimeter surveillance. Using a combination of Stark drones and magical wards linked by Yinsen and Yennefer, they placed a ring of detection nodes around Kaer Morhen—camouflaged within stones, trees, and cliff faces. Any breach—magical, spectral, or physical—would immediately alert the defenders.
Keira walked along the edge of the keep, watching as a small hovering device zipped past her head and embedded itself into the wall with a small click.
"And what is that one?" she asked.
"Portable radar and spectral anomaly tracker," Yinsen replied. "Calibrated to track planar shifts and energy spikes. If the Wild Hunt even thinks about riding into our plane, we'll know before their horses do."
"And what's this?" Steve asked, eyeing a crate Tony had just cracked open near the forge.
"Ah, now we're getting to the fun part. Stark gear—for Witchers."
Inside were compact, modular weapons crafted in Vibranium, each one adjusted to the unique combat style of a witcher. Silver-lined blades with energy cores embedded in the hilt. Hand crossbows equipped with smart-tracking bolts. Even explosive traps that folded into pouches for mobility.
Geralt stepped forward and picked up a sword. It was lighter than his usual blade and shone in perfect black, but perfectly balanced. He gave it a few test swings.
"This blade's got a vibranium mesh core," Tony explained. "Conducts magical energy like a dream and can sync with your signs for amplified casting. Press that trigger—yes, that one—and it releases a shockwave on impact."
Geralt pressed the trigger and slammed the blade into a nearby training dummy. The dummy exploded into splinters.
"...I like it," Geralt said. Triss picked up a gauntlet lined with crystals and circuitry.
"What does this do?"
"Amplifies casting precision," Tony replied. "It reads your neural and magical signatures to stabilize chaotic spell output. Also warms your fingers. Avallac'h helped in making them."
Tony wasn't done. He gave each one of them, except Liam, their own gears. Everything ready to face the Wild Hunt.
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Read 90 chapters ahead on my [email protected]/thelightedghost