The darkness felt alive.
Tony floated through nothing, but somehow that nothing pressed against him from all sides. His arc reactor cast weak blue light into the void. Stars flickered in and out like dying lightbulbs. Whole galaxies spun past him in slow motion.
"Where am I?" His voice echoed strangely. It bounced back wrong, like the space around him kept changing shape.
The Infinity Chamber. He built this thing. He remembered the blueprints, the sleepless nights, Pepper bringing him coffee at three in the morning. But this wasn't what he designed. This felt... bigger. Older. Like something had been waiting inside his creation all along.
Fragments of metal and energy swirled past him. Pieces of the chamber's walls. But also things that shouldn't exist. Golden threads that hummed with power. Crystal shards that showed glimpses of other worlds. And something else.
The Stones.
Tony's breath caught in his throat. Six shapes moved through the void like sharks. Not the real Stones—he knew those were scattered across the universe. These were echoes. Ghosts. But they pulsed with familiar power.
The Space Stone drifted closest. Blue energy leaked from its edges like smoke. Tony could feel it pulling at him, promising instant travel to anywhere he wanted. The Mind Stone followed, yellow and hungry. It whispered about thoughts and dreams and the secrets hidden in every person's head.
'This is impossible.' Tony's scientific mind raced. 'The Stones can't be here. Unless...'
"Stark."
The voice came from everywhere and nowhere. It sounded like the universe itself was speaking.
Tony spun around. Nothing but void. "Who's there? Show yourself!"
"You built the door, Anthony Stark. You opened the path between what is and what could be."
A shape formed in front of him. Not solid. More like an idea given form. It looked almost human, but its edges blurred into starlight.
"I built a chamber. One that would assist me in something I desire..." Tony said. His voice shook despite his efforts to stay calm. "Not a... a dimensional gateway or whatever this is."
The spectral figure moved closer. "You built what your mind could understand. But your heart knew the truth. You sought power to protect. Power to save. The Stones heard that call."
Tony's hands trembled. The arc reactor in his chest felt warm, almost eager. Like it recognized this place. "I built this chamber to study energy patterns. To help people. Not to..."
"Touch the stones, become the catalyst of creation."
The whisper came from all around him now. The ghostly Stones pulsed brighter. They wanted him to reach out. To take what they offered.
Tony raised his hand. His fingers tingled with anticipation. Just one touch. He could understand everything. Fix everything. Save everyone he'd failed to save.
But Pepper's voice echoed in his memory: "Trust yourself, Tony. You are enough."
His hand stopped inches from the Space Stone's surface. 'What am I doing? This isn't me. I don't chase power for power's sake.'
'Or do I?'
'Something definitely feels off?'
'Have I entered the books of those abstract beings of marvel comics?'
---
Half a world away, the Land burned.
Ancient trees crashed to the ground as magnetic force tore them from their roots. The air itself seemed to scream as metal and energy collided in ways that defied physics.
Magneto hung suspended in the air, his cape torn and bloody. Sweat ran down his face as he fought against chains of pure energy that wrapped around his wrists and ankles. The chains pulsed with alien symbols, technology that felt older than human civilization.
"No!" Magnus snarled through gritted teeth. "Apocalypse, I will not serve you!"
The ancient mutant stood twenty feet tall now, his armor gleaming like liquid metal. Celestial technology covered his body in patterns that hurt to look at directly. His voice boomed across the devastated landscape.
"You will see, Magnus—strength obeys only the worthy."
Apocalypse raised one massive hand. The Celestial device on his wrist glowed brighter. The energy chains around Magneto began to change, seeping into his skin like living ink.
Magnus screamed.
The sound echoed across the Savage Land. Dinosaurs fled in terror. The few remaining X-Men who had tried to help lay unconscious among the broken trees. Storm's body was already encased in dark armor, her eyes glowing with unnatural light. The first Horseman of Death, transformed hours ago.
"I... will... not..." Magneto's voice grew weaker as the alien technology rewrote his very DNA.
Black metal began to form around his body. Not his usual magnetic manipulation of steel and iron. This was something else. Something that fed on hatred and pain and the desire to destroy everything beautiful in the world.
Apocalypse smiled, and the expression was more terrifying than his anger. "You already serve me, old friend. You simply haven't realized it yet."
The transformation accelerated. Magneto's familiar red and purple costume dissolved. In its place, armor formed that looked like it had been forged in the heart of a dying star. Black and silver, with edges sharp enough to cut reality itself.
When the light faded, the Master of Magnetism was gone. In his place stood War, second Horseman of Apocalypse. His eyes burned with crimson fire, and when he smiled, it was with someone else's joy.
You can read advanced chapters at patreon.com/marvelstark
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