Tony Stark, who'd been a little on edge about coming to a strange new place, suddenly had his competitive streak lit up by Wong.
Who's he?
Tony Stark.
If he admitted to being the second most stubborn loudmouth in all of America, no one would dare claim first.
Of course, Tony's not just all talk most of the time.
Like now.
He was clearly getting serious.
"Don't worry, you'll see what a genius looks like soon enough."
"After all, a mortal like you couldn't possibly get the world of a genius."
Tony Stark puffed up with his old swagger.
Now that's more like it.
A Tony Stark without arrogance—would he even be Tony Stark?
"Good. I hope you can still say that tomorrow."
"Come with me."
Wong nodded coolly, clearly not buying a word Tony said.
Tony took a deep breath and strode out of the room ahead of Wong.
"You sure this is fine?"
The second Tony was gone, Wong dropped his voice and checked in with Ronan.
Yup, his whole attitude? All per Ronan's orders.
Wong might look like a stern guy on the outside, but deep down, he's pretty chill.
He wouldn't be this hard on a newbie, at least.
"No problem. For Tony Stark, this approach works best."
"Sometimes, if you hype him up, he tunes out."
"But doubt him? He'll give 120% every time."
Ronan smirked. He'd long figured out Tony's vibe.
Why make Wong the "bad guy," though?
Simple.
If Ronan played the jerk, Tony wouldn't bite.
Who's Tony Stark?
A brainiac genius with sky-high IQ, plus years of navigating the social jungle.
If Ronan tried this trick, Tony'd see through the obvious reverse psychology in a heartbeat—effectiveness tanked.
But Wong? Different story.
To Tony, Wong's a stranger—they'd never met before.
Plus, Wong's attitude? Straight out of those novels or books about mages with that "high and mighty" vibe.
So, Wong pulling this off? Way more effective.
"Fine, it's your call. If there's a mess later, you're cleaning it up."
Wong shrugged, signing off on Ronan's reasoning.
The "mess" he meant was obvious—Tony Stark himself.
Even folks who'd never met the guy could glean a bit about his personality from papers or TV.
Especially with the internet being what it is now.
If he learned magic and couldn't resist showing off, that'd spell trouble for Kamar-Taj.
That's the one thing Wong was sweating.
"Relax, I've got a way to keep him in line."
Ronan grinned.
If he was bold enough to do this, he'd already figured out how to keep Tony on a leash.
With Tony Stark's clout, if the American government tried anything, it'd be a nightmare for them.
So, pretty much no chance of a screw-up.
"Hey, you two done yapping?"
"What, scared a genius might master all your magic in a day?"
While they were talking, Tony finally lost it outside the door.
He marched up, throwing a cocky look at Ronan and Wong.
Well, mostly at Wong.
He was ready to flex his genius.
"We were just planning out your training."
"But Tony, you sure you've cleared this Kamar-Taj trip with Pepper?"
"I don't want her hunting me down every day after you head back, pissed she didn't know."
Ronan landed a pinpoint strike on Tony's bravado.
He knew Tony hadn't said a word.
The second Tony gleefully agreed, they'd bolted straight to Kamar-Taj.
Tony didn't even pack a change of clothes.
When would he have had time to clue in Pepper Potts?
"No worries there—I'll call her later."
Tony jutted his chin out.
But something about the move screamed a tiny bit of guilt.
"Alright, if you say so, let's get started!"
Over the next stretch, Tony Stark officially moved into Kamar-Taj.
He became a brand-new apprentice there.
And while he was at it, he ran into another Avengers teammate.
Bruce Banner.
Since that last incident, Bruce had been sticking around Kamar-Taj to train.
Sure, the Hulk in him meant he couldn't pick up Kamar-Taj's spells, but that didn't dampen his vibe.
Because here, he found a peace he hadn't felt in ages.
Every day, he could meditate with the Kamar-Taj mages, train, even swap ideas.
Heck, he could read tons of stuff that had zilch to do with magic.
Kamar-Taj had been around forever—its library was packed with historical records.
Most of it wasn't mystical or tied to spells.
Normally, hardly anyone bothered with it.
But for Bruce Banner? It was right up his alley.
So he trained, read, and chilled at Kamar-Taj—his mood way steadier than before.
As for the Hulk, after a "chat" with Ronan, he didn't dare throw tantrums at Kamar-Taj anymore.
Whenever he itched to cut loose, Bruce would head to the sprawling snow-capped mountains, let him rage for a few hours.
Of course, Wong and Mordo would follow up with spells to patch up the forest.
You could say Bruce found his dream hideout.
No one bugging him, no one getting hurt.
As for Tony Stark, those big boasts from day one? He didn't dare bring them up again.
His progress couldn't even touch Bruce Banner's.
Beyond basic meditation and Kamar-Taj's physical training, anything magic-related? He couldn't pick up squat.
Ronan had seen this coming a mile away.
Is Tony Stark smart?
No doubt—crazy smart.
But he's got a flaw that's not really a flaw.
His worldview's still stuck in regular-guy mode.
No, scratch that—normal guy mode.
He can roll with aliens, buy into gene-altering tech.
But deep down, he struggles to buy into "magic" as a thing.
And that's the trick with magic—don't believe in it, and you can't wield it.
Ronan wasn't worried, though.
In a few days, when Tony hit his limit, Ronan would step in and reshape his worldview.
Then it'd all fall into place.
Problem was, Ronan didn't have the time right now.
He could feel it—Odin was about to kick the bucket for good.
Which meant—
Hela's waking up!