Marvel: I Am The Lord of the Shadow Dimension

Starting the next day, Tony dragged Luke everywhere to fulfill his so-called "final wishes." 

But to Luke, it seemed like Tony was just acting on whatever random, chaotic impulse popped into his head. One day they were out at sea fishing for sharks, and the next day they were skydiving from 8,000 feet in the air. 

A week later, Luke and Tony were lounging on the deck of a luxury yacht in the middle of the ocean—all because Tony suddenly decided he wanted a "healthy tan." 

Though Luke figured the guy would probably be rushing to get skin-whitening treatments the very next day. Tony was incredibly vain like that. 

Tony was holding a tablet, watching a live security feed. "Looks like your Shadow army is coordinating perfectly with the construction crews," he said, turning to Luke. 

Luke glanced at the tablet. Tony had shamelessly drafted his Shadowkhan to help build the Stark Industries Expo. Using the excuse that "time was running out," Tony had demanded Luke deploy his Shadow Ninjas and Troll Ninjas as free manual labor. 

Tony didn't ask for many Razor Claws, mainly because they weren't exactly built for construction. If they took two steps on the Expo grounds, their bladed feet would leave the concrete riddled with holes. 

"Those big guys have insane strength!" Tony marveled, watching a few Troll Ninjas effortlessly lift a massive steel sphere and fit it perfectly into a circular frame. 

"They're roughly as strong as the Hulk," Luke deadpanned. "Having them haul steel beams is honestly insulting their potential." 

"How is this insulting?" Tony set the tablet down. "This is optimal resource allocation." 

"Evil capitalist. I should just hang you from one of the streetlights they just installed." 

Tony wisely decided not to argue. If he provoked Luke too much, the kid might actually hang him from a streetlight. He knew this from personal experience—a few days ago, Tony had tried to set Luke up with a few models at a party, and Luke had retaliated by hanging Tony upside down from the balcony for an entire night. 

When Tony asked why he refused the models, Luke claimed he had "mild face blindness," didn't feel a spark with those women, and preferred "inner beauty." 

Personally, Tony preferred to believe the kid was just impotent. But he knew if he said that out loud, he'd end up being used as live shark bait on one of those fishing hooks. 

Luke shook his head and scrolled through the tablet. He noticed a massive swarm of reporters at the Expo construction site today. 

A few days ago, when the Shadowkhan first appeared on the site, they had attracted an insane amount of public attention. Reporters had swarmed the area like sharks smelling blood, nearly outnumbering the actual construction workers. To ensure the project continued smoothly, Tony had Pepper kick most of them out, strictly allowing only one reporter crew per news outlet. 

As a result, even before the Expo officially opened, it had already captured the entire world's attention. According to Pepper, Stark Industries had been flooded with exhibition applications recently. Luke suspected this was Tony's true motive all along—using the supernatural Shadowkhan as the ultimate PR stunt. Otherwise, with all his billions, couldn't Tony afford a few more construction crews? 

Thanks to the Shadowkhan's tireless labor, the Expo's construction speed had skyrocketed. It wasn't like they were building 500-meter skyscrapers anyway; the tallest structures were the main exhibition hall and the botanical dome. 

After checking the construction progress, Tony flipped himself over like a pancake to tan his back evenly. To Luke, it just looked like searing a steak on both sides so it wouldn't burn. 

Luke checked the overall progress too. Most of the pavilions were structurally complete, leaving only the landscaping and interior decorating. Give it a few more days, and the Expo would be ready to open right on schedule, perfectly matching the timeline of the previous Stark Expo. 

"Speaking of which, ever since you dumped the CEO job on Pepper, it feels like we haven't seen her in ages," Luke remarked as Tony took a smug sip of red wine. "Are you seriously not going to spend your final days in a proper relationship with her?" 

Tony choked on his wine. He coughed violently, glared at Luke, and then rested his chin on his arms like a burnt piece of meat. "I still haven't fixed the thing in my chest. I'm not going to drag Pepper into this mess." 

Luke flipped him the bird. "Is that the only thing on your mind? Scumbag." 

Seeing Tony's genuinely confused expression, Luke narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Wait... have you never actually been in a real relationship? Have you just been purely transactional this whole time without any actual emotional attachment?" 

Tony coughed defensively. "Are you questioning the romantic expertise of a battle-tested genius?" 

"I'm questioning the emotional maturity of a chronic playboy." 

The more Luke thought about it, the more it made sense. Frowning, he stood up, grabbed Tony by the collar, drew a Sling Ring portal, and dragged him straight back to the Malibu mansion. 

"JARVIS, bring the yacht back. I need to have a little chat with Tony." 

A day later. 

Tony made a rare appearance at Stark Industries and walked nervously into the CEO's office. Pepper was on the phone, looking incredibly busy. 

Tony coughed twice to announce his presence. Pepper glanced at him, held up a finger to signal 'one minute', and kept talking. Bored, Tony sat across from her and stared at a swinging perpetual motion desk toy. 

After a while, seeing that Pepper was still deep in conversation, Tony grew restless. He grabbed a loose USB cable, tied up the swinging toy so it would stop moving, and stacked a few boxes in front of it just to mess with her desk. 

Pepper watched him, amused, finished her sentence, and finally hung up the phone. 

"So, what brings you here all of a sudden?" 

Tony hesitated, entirely unsure of how to start. Damn Luke! The kid had literally shoved him through the door without even letting him prepare a script! 

"Tony, what is it? I'm incredibly busy right now. The Stark Expo is opening soon, and I have a mountain of tasks to handle every single day." 

To Pepper, the CEO position was proof of Tony's utmost trust and closeness. Because of that, she was working relentlessly to prove herself. She hadn't taken a day off in ages, but she was still full of energy and determination. 

Tony thought about it, deciding to take a more indirect approach. 

"Are you free tomorrow?" Tony asked. 

Pepper gave him a strange look, then checked her digital schedule. "Um, I still have a lot to do tomorrow. Honestly, I have a lot to do every day until the Expo opens. And probably even more after it opens. Why?" 

Tony thought of a certain someone standing right outside the door, who had threatened to physically drag him back inside if he didn't successfully take Pepper out on a date. He braced himself and pushed forward. 

"Uh, well... I was thinking of taking you to see... the construction progress at the Expo," Tony stammered clumsily. "Just the two of us." 

Pepper froze for a second, wondering why they couldn't just look at the progress on a tablet. But hearing that last sentence, it only took her a moment to figure out his true intention. 

"Is this a date invitation?" she asked with a knowing smile. 

"Uh, it's more of a... work inspection?" 

Listening to Tony completely fumble his own invitation, Pepper shook her head affectionately. 

"Tony, I'm very happy you asked. But I think our first actual date shouldn't be at a dusty construction site, don't you agree? How about the Malibu mansion? No one else around, we can even turn JARVIS off, and we can just do whatever we want." 1

She knew Tony well enough to know he would never initiate something like this on his own right now. It was painfully obvious someone had forced his hand, but Pepper was still incredibly pleased. 

Silently thanking a certain someone in her head, Pepper went on the offensive. 

"Uh, isn't that a little fast?" Now Tony was completely out of his depth. He had wanted to try the 'sweet, romantic feeling' Luke had described. Even though Luke had zero relationship experience himself, his vivid descriptions had sounded rather nice. 

Pepper rolled her eyes at him. "I meant a delicious lunch, watching a movie together in the afternoon, and then a classic candlelit dinner in the evening. The classic date combo." 

Tony laughed awkwardly. Hearing Pepper describe it, it did sound really nice. 

Pepper leaned over the desk and kissed him softly on the cheek. Smiling, she said, "Of course, if you have any brilliant ideas, you can suggest them. Or surprise me. Anyway, I have a lot of work to finish. See you tomorrow. And by the way, tell Luke I said thank you." 

"Why do we need to thank Luke?" Tony, completely dazed by the kiss, hadn't processed the first half of her sentence at all. 

Pepper just shook her head, speechless. 

Outside the office, Luke—who had been eavesdropping with his superhuman hearing—was grinning from ear to ear like a proud matchmaker. He quickly composed his face and knocked on the door. 

"Tony, I think it's time for us to head out." 

Pushing the door open, Luke saw Pepper already back to typing away at her work, while Tony was still sitting in the chair, staring off into space like a complete idiot. 

Luke shook his head in amusement. Under Pepper's grateful gaze, he grabbed the dazed Tony and practically rolled him out of the office. 

Walking down the hallway, Luke threw an arm around Tony's shoulders. "You did a fantastic job today, you absolute genius."

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