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

Two days later.

Inside Duke's workshop.

Creaaak

The main door swung open from the outside, and Dakora stepped in. Her hair was pinned into a neat bun, fastened with an elegant Ionian-style hairpin.

She had barely entered when her ears were assaulted by wails of pure agony.

"AAAHHH!!"

"Father, stop!!"

"It's gonna break, it's gonna break!!"

Dakora flinched at the sudden screams. She peeked forward, and saw a scene that was more surgical horror than science.

WALL-E, now stripped of his magi-tech engine, hung from an iron hook. Duke was carefully disassembling his armored plates, each one neatly arranged to the side. The poor mechanical body had been reduced to a twitching, half-dismantled torso, wailing miserably.

Pride crouched in a corner, occasionally glancing at the half-dismantled WALL-E while clutching a book like a thief hoarding treasure.

"Shut up already! It's just a routine upgrade, what are you whining for!?"

Duke, wearing a pair of Edith-style sunglasses, continued unscrewing WALL-E's chestplate with a wrench in hand.

"Duke?"

Dakora called out cautiously. Duke froze, then smacked WALL-E on the head.

"Break time. We'll continue later."

He set down his tools, grabbed a towel, and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"You're here? Shouldn't you be off managing the prep for our voyage?"

"Jayce and Talis finished their tests. The experiment from Piltover's east side to the west went perfectly. We're moving forward with funding."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Duke rubbed his chin, a teasing glint in his eyes. "I'm guessing they used the communicator during the test?"

"They did. Everyone was stunned. A device that transmits both voice and images in real time? That's a game-changer."

"Tch. Just a side project."

Duke didn't look impressed. To him, the communicator was just a derivative gadget, important, sure, but not exciting.

He picked up one of WALL-E's armor plates and examined it. Then he opened the Supreme Mage's Rune Notes, studying the rune combinations that banished evil and repelled the undead.

"You don't seem excited at all."

"Because it's unfinished. There are still plenty of flaws."

"The communicator works by altering the geometry of the resistance chamber to convert sound and visuals into transmittable energy. But that's it."

"It doesn't have a dedicated communication channel. It's not portable. Clunky to operate. Basically useless."

"Can you fix it?"

"Sure. When I have time."

He set the plate down and returned to his upgrades. He was planning to reforge WALL-E's armor, etch it with anti-undead runes and coat it in Adamantium.

There was still a surplus of the alloy after forging the Mantis Blades. Enough, even, for a full-body coat on WALL-E with plenty left over.

"So what are you working on now?"

Dakora approached the workbench and eyed the four strange mechanical limbs laid out on top.

The limbs resembled spines, segmented and compact, designed for strength and flexibility. At the tip of each claw arm was a crystal lens, within which shimmered the light of Hextech gemstones.

They weren't a set, each arm had a separate port. Dakora glanced at the ports on WALL-E's armor and instantly understood where these were meant to go.

"Octo-arms. Each one can lift up to ten tons. The tips are equipped with Hextech laser emitters, high-intensity beams with devastating force."

Duke had walked over and was casually introducing his latest creation.

"They were originally designed to be implanted in the human body, but I modified them. Now they're external units for WALL-E."

"Impressive. Can they be mass-produced?"

"Technically, yes, but the cost is high. And they require full cybernetic surgery for humans."

"The Ferros family has never shied away from sacrifice."

"Alright, alright. Once I'm back from Bilgewater, round up a few lab rats and I'll make a batch."

"What about this?"

She pointed at a pair of silver-white power gauntlets resting beside the arms. Their interlocking armor segments gleamed with precision, with cooling vents built into the joints.

"Hextech Power Gauntlets. Can smash through any barrier."

Duke patted the gauntlets proudly. Unlike Vi's Atlas Gauntlets, his version incorporated design elements from the Winter Soldier's bionic arm, used a Hextech core for power, and added wind-up mechanisms for kinetic conversion.

The Winter Soldier's arm could tear through Iron Man's armor, it was a proven design. Duke absorbed its strengths, added his own tech, and built something better.

These gauntlets even had laser guidance and magnetic traction systems. With enough thrust, they could simulate Vi's ultimate, Cease and Desist, with devastating accuracy.

Even better, Duke's design avoided one of the Atlas Gauntlets' biggest flaws: long-term physical strain. Vi's version often led to muscle tears or even fractures.

His gauntlets, being externally mounted with WALL-E's armor as a buffer, could unleash their full power with no drawback.

"Gorgeous design."

Dakora circled the bench, then paused at a strange pair of forearm guards.

"What's th, "

"Don't touch!"

Before her finger made contact, Duke yanked her hand away.

"Is it that dangerous?"

Dakora flexed her wrist discreetly. Duke's grip had surprised her, it was stronger than expected, even for someone like her who had trained since childhood.

"These aren't like the others. These forearms house retractable Mantis Blades. One accidental tap of the activation switch, and the blades shoot out fast enough to split you in half."

"Is it really that bad?" Dakora was skeptical. "The sharpest weapon I've seen is still my grandaunt's leg blades."

"Camille's leg blades are enhanced by Hextech. Of course they're sharp. But these? These are different."

"They're made from pure Adamantium, heavy pressure won't even leave a scratch. Then I added anti-magic runes, Hextech gemstones, and reinforced them further."

"Even a dragon would think twice before facing them."

Duke gently cradled the gauntlets. When activated, the Mantis Blades would burst forth in an instant, shredding anything in their path.

The part Dakora had almost touched was the activation switch. Had Duke been a second slower, the Ferros family might be needing a new heir.

Forged from Adamantium alloy and etched with hand-carved runes for sharpness and exorcism, this weapon was terrifyingly lethal.

"Fine, fine. I won't touch."

She brushed her fingers along the edge of the workbench, and spotted another bizarre weapon.

"And this? Also off-limits?"

"That one's fine. It's just a shell, no power source yet."

She picked it up, and nearly dropped it. The weight was shocking.

The weapon looked like a shotgun, but its barrel was composed of four metal rails, leaving the center hollow. The trigger had yet to be installed, and a Hextech gem socket adorned the stock. The ammo chamber had an unusual design as well.

"It's a railgun. Uses electromagnetic acceleration to fire projectiles at absurd speeds."

"And the damage?"

"It could sink a ship. Easily."

"This weird-looking thing can sink a ship?"

"Yup."

Duke returned to adjusting WALL-E's armor, mentally planning the rune placements.

"Duke... what the hell are you planning?"

Dakora's expression was hard to read as she looked around at the arsenal.

"All this... just to deal with a pirate?"

"You're practically gearing up for war! With these weapons, one person could match an entire Noxian battalion!"

"Just a little prep work," Duke replied lazily. "Bilgewater isn't exactly... peaceful."

"Ugh, you're full of it."

Dakora scoffed. "Every time you build these ridiculous things, "

She pointed to the mountain of weapons with disdain.

", you start spouting nonsense. You never tell the full truth!"

"It's really just basic prep, I swear!"

Duke looked up with a serious expression.

The truth was, Night of the Soul Eaters was no joke. In Bilgewater, even a casual dock might hang a sea beast's carcass.

And once the Black Mist rolled in, any corpse, animal or human, could become a vengeful wraith.

From rats to sea monsters, the Black Mist twisted the dead into killers. And only special rites could shield bodies from its influence.

Lucian, cough, ahem, knew such rites, but they weren't exactly… pleasant.

"You men… always like this."

Dakora shook her head and sighed. "You talk like you're making sense, but it's always a lie."

She shot Duke one last glare, then turned to leave.

"The ship sets sail in two days. Don't be late."

End of chapter...

Want to dive deeper into Duke's world of gears, power, and shadow?

Craving early access to game-changing chapters?

Join my Patreon and become part of the machine that powers it all. ⚙️

🔹 Hexcore Initiate – 15 chapters ahead

🔸 Arc Reactor Elite – 35 chapters + 1 bonus

Join now. Power up the engine. Build something legendary.

patreon.com/MrBehringer