In the end, Lucas decided not to write about the messy plotting of the Kang Dynasty.
"The instruction manual says one thing," he mused, "but the actual product is a different beast."
Marvel writers retconning things wasn't news. It was Tuesday. He closed the diary interface and leaned back.
One Month Later.
30,000 Feet Above New York.
The sky above the city was a blanket of grey clouds, threatening rain. But above that blanket? It was endless, brilliant sunshine.
And floating right in the middle of it was Lucas Chen.
He wasn't using a jetpack. He wasn't using magic. He was just... lying there. As if the air was a comfortable mattress.
"Finally," Lucas sighed, basking in the pure, unfiltered UV radiation. "Flight unlocked."
It had taken weeks of intense sunbathing, but his Kryptonian physiology had leveled up. He wasn't just jumping anymore. He could defy gravity. He could break the sound barrier.
His strength had doubled. His durability was off the charts. He was no longer "Captain America level." He was approaching "Golden Age Superman."
"Still just the tip of the iceberg," Lucas reminded himself. "Compared to Silver Age Superman who could sneeze away a solar system? I'm a toddler."
But a toddler who could bench press a 747 was still pretty good.
A commercial airliner roared past in the distance. Lucas cracked one eye open.
Inside the plane, a little girl pressed her face against the window.
"Mommy! Mommy! There's a man sleeping on a cloud!"
"Don't be silly, sweetie," her mother laughed, not even looking up from her magazine. "It's just a trick of the light. Or maybe a weather balloon."
Lucas smirked. "Weather balloon. Classic."
He closed his eyes again, ready for a nap. The world below could deal with its own problems. He was just here to tan.
Whoosh.
A sound cut through the thin air. Not a jet engine. Not a bird.
It was the distinct, high-pitched whine of a Repulsor Thruster.
Lucas's eyes snapped open. His super-hearing picked up the sound instantly.
"What the...?"
He turned his head.
Streaking toward him was a blur of Hot Rod Red and Gold.
"Holy crap," Lucas blurted out.
It was a suit of armor. Sleek. Advanced. The faceplate was iconic—the golden mask with glowing blue eyes.
It was the Mark 3. Or maybe the Mark 4.
And inside it was Tony Stark.
Lucas felt his brain short-circuit.
"Wait a minute," Lucas thought, panic rising in his chest. "This isn't right. This is wrong. This is impossible."
According to the timeline:
Tony goes to Afghanistan.Tony gets kidnapped.Tony builds the bulky Mark 1 in a cave.Tony escapes, comes home, and then starts building the sleek suits.
But there had been no news of a kidnapping. No "Missing Billionaire" headlines. No press conference where Tony asked for a cheeseburger.
And yet, here was Iron Man, fully formed, flying at Mach 2.
"The timeline changed," Lucas realized, horror dawning on him. "He skipped the cave. He skipped the kidnapping. How?!"
Inside the Armor.
"Jarvis," Tony Stark said, his voice tight. "Target ahead. Is that... a person?"
"Affirmative, Sir. Biological entity detected. Floating at an altitude of 32,000 feet. No propulsion system detected."
Tony slowed down, hovering a hundred yards away. The thrusters hummed as he stabilized.
He zoomed in with the HUD.
The face on the screen was familiar. Very familiar.
"Jarvis," Tony whispered. "Is that... Lucas Chen?"
"Facial recognition confirms a 99.9% match. It is Mr. Chen."
Tony Stark, the smartest man on Earth, felt his jaw drop inside the helmet.
"Lucas?"
He knew Lucas. He had read his diary every day for a month. He knew Lucas was a "Transmigrator." He knew Lucas was "waiting for him to be kidnapped." He knew Lucas was a broke tutor who liked sunbathing.
But nowhere in the diary did Lucas mention that he could fly.
"He's a regular guy," Tony muttered, his mind racing. "Psych profile said 'Civilian.' 'Lazy.' 'Likes money.' Since when does a civilian float in the stratosphere?"
"Unless," Tony realized, "he's been lying. Or... he's been leveling up."
The two of them floated there in the silence of the upper atmosphere.
The Man of Steel (Lite).
And the Iron Man (Early Access).
Staring at each other.
Both thinking the exact same thing:
"What the hell are YOU doing here?"