Chapter 5:
Mark stood there, completely dumbfounded. He hadn't even figured out that Chinese Translation mod and the Lucky Block yet, and now Iron Man was just... standing there in front of him.
It was definitely Iron Man. He was wearing a raggedy coat, and there was this makeshift electromagnet on his chest, all bloody, with wires running to a car battery. Even though he looked rough, Mark knew it was the real deal.
But Iron Man was a comic book character, a movie character. How was he a real person? And where the heck was Mark anyway?
"Who is Iron Man?" Stark asked, looking just as confused as Mark felt.
Mark was taken aback. Stark didn't know who Iron Man was?
Before Mark could say anything, a thin, middle-aged man spoke up. "Sir, with all due respect, we are prisoners here. Held captive by terrorists."
"Um... Are you..." Mark squinted at the man, recognizing him. "Are you Dr. Ho Yinsen?"
Dr. Yinsen looked puzzled. He didn't seem to recognize Mark. But he took the opportunity to try and calm Mark down.
Holding up his hands in a gesture of peace, Dr. Yinsen said, "As you can see, my friend and I are victims here too. These terrorists... they're going to kill us..."
He was trying to make it seem like they were all in this together.
"Hold on, let me get this straight..." Mark rubbed his forehead. He turned to Stark. "So... you really are Tony Stark, right?"
Stark hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah."
Mark needed to be sure. "You're positive?"
"Well..." Stark looked surprised. "Are there any other Tony Starks I should know about?"
Mark's mind was racing.
He'd somehow ended up in the Marvel Universe. And it looked like he was here before Tony Stark became Iron Man.
He finally figured out what that golden book from the dungeon chest was. It must have been an item from the Mysterious Island mod. That mod let you travel to different worlds. But it was supposed to take you to other places in the Minecraft world, not to the Marvel universe. Something had gone wrong.
This wasn't how the mod was supposed to work, and Mark had no idea how to get back to his own world.
Just as he was starting to freak out, Dr. Yinsen spoke up. "I don't mean to be rude, but Tony Stark is a very valuable person to these people. They won't give up easily."
As if to prove his point, they heard a bunch of footsteps rushing towards them from outside.
Mark, thinking like he was still in Minecraft, reacted quickly. He had Steve build a wall of cobblestone at the entrance, blocking the people outside.
They could hear muffled curses from the other side of the thick stone wall. "Damn it! Where did this wall come from!?"
Inside the cave, Stark and Dr. Ho Yinsen stared at the wall in disbelief. "How... How did he do that?" Stark exclaimed.
"I don't know," Dr. Ho Yinsen said, his eyes wide. "Nanotechnology? Holograms? Some kind of special ability? Or maybe... magic?"
Before they could discuss it further, desperate screams erupted from outside.
Mark hadn't just blocked the entrance with cobblestone. He'd also had Steve block the other exit of the cave. Now the terrorists were trapped in the middle passage, and Mark was picking them off one by one.
Soon, the screams died down.
"That takes care of that," Mark said.
He turned to Stark and Dr. Yinsen. "Now we can actually talk."
Stark mumbled something, still in shock from the sounds of the fight. Dr. Ho Yinsen nudged him, and Stark seemed to snap out of it. "Yeah... sure, let's talk," he said.
"Let's start with you," Mark said, turning to Stark.
He paused for a moment, then said, "Tony Stark, right? Billionaire playboy, biggest arms dealer in the world, if I remember correctly. So, tell me, how did you end up in this mess?"
"I was in Afghanistan, testing the Jericho missile," Stark said grimly. He gestured to the electromagnet on his chest. "As you can see, I woke up with this thing keeping shrapnel out of my heart. For now, anyway. These guys want me to build them Jericho missiles. I refused, so they've been torturing me."
Mark glanced at the device on Stark's chest. "He built that for you?" he asked, nodding towards Dr. Ho Yinsen.
"Yeah. I survived an explosion, and they put a bomb in me," Stark confirmed.
Stark looked defeated. He looked down at the electromagnet, then around the cave. "Look at this place. It's filthy. I could get an infection, this thing could short-circuit, I could bleed out... I could die any minute. And even if I somehow survive, these guys will never let me go."
"What's your plan?" Mark asked. "What are you going to do?"
"I have to escape," Stark said, his voice firm. "I can't build those missiles for them. They'll just kill me afterwards anyway!"
"The military must be looking for you, but this place is incredibly remote," Dr. Ho Yinsen said.
He'd been listening to Stark, and now he felt the need to add his own thoughts. "This place isn't on any maps. Satellites can only see the mountains around here. We'll have to find a way to escape on our own."
"I know, I know, and I'm working on it," Stark said, taking a deep breath. He was a playboy, used to a life of luxury. This was the worst situation he'd ever been in. The threat of death was looming over him, and he felt a mix of fear and frustration. He didn't know how much longer he could hold on.
"Maybe... we could try some good old-fashioned Eastern magic?" Mark said suddenly.
Stark froze. He turned to look at Mark, who was looking right back at him.
"Are you saying this is actually magic?" Stark asked, staring at Mark intently.
"Are you going to help us escape? And how did you even get here?" Stark pressed.
"It's a long story..." Mark thought for a moment, trying to come up with a believable explanation. The truth was, he didn't want to stay in the Marvel universe. It was too dangerous. Villains were always trying to destroy the world or something. Even with Steve, Mark wanted to go back to his peaceful Minecraft world.
But he didn't know how to get back.
'Just because I've played with the Mysterious Island mod doesn't mean I know everything about it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have ended up here by accident, right?' Mark thought to himself.
He knew he needed to make some allies while he was stuck here, and Tony Stark seemed like a good person to have on his side. Stark was rich, he was a genius, he was Iron Man, and he was going to be one of the Avengers. Having friends in high places was always a good idea.
Besides, Mark kind of liked Iron Man. He wanted to help him, to maybe even change things from how they were supposed to go.
"Have you ever heard of Stand users?" Mark asked, trying to find some common ground with Stark.
"Stand users?" Stark and Dr. Ho Yinsen both shook their heads. They'd obviously never read JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Or maybe they just weren't into anime... probably that.
"Is that what you Easterners call sorcerers?" Stark asked, intrigued.
"Actually, I'm a Stand user," Mark said with a sigh. "You might not believe this, but I was just chilling at home, and then I suddenly ended up here. And then, well, you saw what happened... those terrorists attacked me."
"Wait, you're saying you just... appeared here?" Stark looked stunned. "For real?"