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It had been four years since then,He was 16 years old now,In that time, Henry had done a lot. He spent some time in the Sun to increase his strength, since solar energy was the source of his power. Besides that, Cecil and the others had grown to trust him more. Over the years, he had completed many missions with the Guardians.
Right now, he and Ned were in his Fortress of Solitude.
The fortress was nothing like before. Back then, it couldn't even be called a 'fortress,' but now it was fully equipped and reinforced with gear Henry had bought. With Ned's help, they had finished the game Henry wanted to make and had become millionaires.
Henry wasn't selfish—he split the money with Ned. His own family was already financially stable, so he didn't need it. Ned's family, on the other hand, wasn't in the best financial situation. So when one day he showed up saying they were rich now, no one understood what was going on.
Ned explained to them that he had created a PC game that sold thousands of copies. At first, only a few people bought it, but over the past two years, it had become incredibly popular. It got so big that some reporters came to interview the two creators.
Henry appeared on TV for the first time as a young game developer. He shared details about the development process and other fun facts.
Now, he and Ned were at the fortress. Ned was wearing a thick fur coat, fully protected by clothing suited for the Arctic cold.
Henry had brought Ned along because he needed help decorating the fortress. Before calling him, Henry had spent a good amount of time building robots to serve as assistants. He bought the parts with his own money, so resources were no longer an issue. With Alura's artificial intelligence, he managed to build a basic body and transfer her AI into it.
At the moment, Henry had 15 of these robots, capable of flying and possessing super strength. They weren't as strong as he was, but they could lift a few tons.
During his time with the Guardians, Henry had collected weapons and artifacts, storing them in a special reinforced area—his arsenal. He had gathered a variety of gear from those crazy villains.
Honestly, the fortress being in the Arctic was already a natural defense. Not many things could survive the cold for long.
Ned, the robots, Alura, and Henry were improving the fortress. Ned had permission to control some of the robots and was in charge of basic tasks and organization.
Henry was in the middle of these improvements when he got a call from his aunt.
'Henry, Cecil wants to talk to you.'
Henry sighed. He was really busy, but he figured he should go see what it was about this time.
'Tell him I'll be there soon.'
Henry hung up and walked over to Ned, who was giving orders to some of the robots.
'Ned, I gotta go. They need me.'
Ned looked at him and replied,
'Alright, man. Can you take me back?'
'Of course, I'm not leaving my friend here.'
Henry said goodbye to Alura and left the fortress in the care of his robots. Later, he planned to look for some metal in the galaxy that was heavy enough to use as a key, but for now, it wasn't necessary.
He flew Ned back home, which looked completely different from before. In that time, Ned hadn't just moved houses—he had also started losing weight. With the money he earned, he invested in a gym membership and a better diet. He was still overweight, but not as much as before.
When Henry left the Arctic, it was nighttime. But by the time he arrived at Ned's house, it was already daytime.
After dropping Ned off, Henry flew to the GDA. When he arrived, he walked straight through the front entrance. The GDA soldiers were already used to seeing him around since he had been on TV. A lot of them were his fans.
Many companies had even started making toys based on him.
Henry took the elevator down to the lower levels of the GDA and found Cecil. He was in a room surrounded by soldiers, watching multiple monitors.
One of the screens showed an orange-painted robot with bright green optical sensors. It was in the middle of the city, fighting against a villain wearing a futuristic battle suit. The suit was much larger than the robot and was firing missiles, tearing through the city.
Henry stepped closer to Cecil and asked,
'So, what do you need, Cecil?'
Cecil turned to him.
'See that thing?' he said, pointing at the monitor.
'Yeah… What's the problem?'
'No problem. I just need you to go talk to it. Figure out if this robot is a threat and take care of that other issue.' He gestured toward the villain.
'Cecil, the robot doesn't seem like a threat…'
Cecil paced back and forth, rubbing his chin. When he did that, it meant he was thinking hard.
'We don't know that yet. Now go.'
'Alright.' Henry figured it wouldn't hurt to check things out.
Art had made some upgrades to his suit. It was now equipped with nanotechnology. All he had to do was press a button, and the suit would gradually form around his body. On top of that, it had GPS, heat and cold resistance, and was much lighter and more practical than before.
Henry left the GDA and headed straight for the battle. He shot across the sky at high speed and reached the scene.
The fight was taking place in the city center. Several cars had been destroyed, and many people were already injured. Police officers surrounded the area, aiming their weapons at the battle.
The villain wore a suit resembling a rhinoceros, equipped with heavy machine guns and missile launchers. Inside, someone was controlling it.
Henry saw the villain preparing to fire at the robot and dove down at full speed. He landed right on the armored suit, slamming it into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust. The impact cracked the pavement beneath them, and Henry stood there, pressing his feet against the villain's chestplate.
The police and the robot hadn't been able to do much damage to the villain, but Henry handled it like it was nothing.
Because of the dust cloud, the spectators couldn't see him donning his classic suit.
A few seconds later, the dust settled, revealing his identity.
The battle was being broadcast live, and people watching at home were already familiar with him. The crowd cheered and applauded. In their eyes, Henry was already a full-fledged Guardian.
The robot stood at a distance, unmoving.
Amid the applause and praise from the police, Henry approached the robot and spoke.
'Someone sent me. They want to meet you. Would you mind coming with me, robot?'
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