Chapter 7:
Tony Stark was a genius, even stuck in a cave. He managed to build the miniature arc reactor, but unlike in the original story, he didn't build the Mark I armor. That meant Dr. Ho Yinsen got to live! Things were already playing out differently.
Seeing all the terrible things those terrorists did had really changed Stark. He wasn't the same man anymore.
They were ready to leave the cave, but when they stepped out into a valley filled with Stark Industries weapons and missiles, Stark froze. He looked uncomfortable, like he was about to be sick. He turned to Mark and Dr. Ho Yinsen. "Can you guys wait here for a bit? There's something I need to do."
"What is it?" Dr. Ho Yinsen asked.
Stark's face was grim. "I have to destroy these weapons. I never thought they'd end up in the hands of terrorists. I used to think they were bringing peace to the world, but I was wrong."
"It's not the weapons' fault, Stark," Dr. Ho Yinsen said, trying to comfort him.
"I know, but I can't live with this guilt," Stark shook his head. "You know, those terrorists even mocked me, called me the deadliest mass murderer in the world."
"Okay, so what are you going to do?" Dr. Ho Yinsen asked.
"Just give me some time," Stark said. "I'm going to rig all these weapons to explode. I can't let them fall into the wrong hands again."
Being the genius he was, Stark whipped up a detonation device like it was nothing. After they left the valley, a huge explosion rocked the desert, painting the sky red.
They were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by sand and cacti. The sun beat down mercilessly, and the air shimmered with heat.
Soon, Tony and Dr. Ho Yinsen were suffering. They were dehydrated and getting heatstroke.
Mark, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine. It was like he was taking a stroll in the park. He even pulled out some cucumbers from thin air and gave them to Tony and Dr. Ho Yinsen.
They gratefully munched on the cool, refreshing cucumbers, amazed and a little envious of Mark's seemingly endless supply of food and his ability to withstand the harsh desert conditions. There was something mysterious about Mark, something they couldn't quite figure out. The more they saw of him, the more they realized how different he was.
Mark had figured out by now that he was kind of like Steve, his Stand. When he'd fought those terrorists, his body had been like Steve's. He'd been shot in the head, but the wound had healed quickly, leaving just a small hole. Just like Steve, he didn't need to drink water, he could walk through any terrain, and he wasn't affected by extreme temperatures. He never got tired, and even serious injuries healed in seconds.
With these newfound abilities, Mark was like a superhero himself. He helped Dr. Ho Yinsen and Stark keep going. And then, they heard the sound of a helicopter. They waved their arms excitedly.
The helicopter landed, and a muscular soldier with dark skin stepped out. Mark recognized him instantly. It was Colonel Rhodes, Tony Stark's best friend, the guy who would become War Machine.
"Enjoying your ride in the Happy Fun-Mobile?" Colonel Rhodes said to Stark, grinning. He added a teasing comment, and Stark just smiled in response.
"Maybe you can catch a ride with me next time?" Colonel Rhodes clapped Stark on the shoulder, and they hugged.
"Who are these two?" Colonel Rhodes asked, finally noticing Mark and Dr. Ho Yinsen.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Ho Yinsen," Dr. Ho Yinsen said with a smile, holding out his hand. "I'm a surgeon."
"And you are?" Colonel Rhodes shook Dr. Ho Yinsen's hand, then turned to Mark.
"I'm a Stand user, and a gamer," Mark said, not as formally as Dr. Ho Yinsen.
"A what?" Colonel Rhodes looked confused.
"I'm Mark, just a guy passing through," Mark said casually.
Colonel Rhodes didn't know what to say. He looked a little wary and put his hand on his holstered gun.
"Hey, Rhodes, relax," Tony Stark said, noticing the tension. He'd gotten used to Mark by now. Sure, Mark had weird powers and liked to joke around, but Stark didn't think he was dangerous. "These guys saved my life. We're all going back to the US together."
"Oh, okay," Colonel Rhodes said, easing up a bit.
He still had questions, but he figured this wasn't the time. He gestured for them to get in the helicopter. They could talk later.
The helicopter took off, but instead of flying straight to New York, they went to a nearby military base. From there, they would take a military transport plane back to the US.
Soon, the transport plane landed at a military base in New York.
The door opened, and Pepper Potts, who'd been notified of their arrival, was there to greet them, along with Happy, Stark's loyal driver.
Stark, now wearing a fresh suit after changing at the base, walked over to Pepper. "Let me guess, you cried when your boss went missing?" he teased.
Pepper's eyes were a little red, but she smiled. "No, I'm just happy. Now I don't have to find a new job."
"Well, well," Stark said, raising an eyebrow. "Looks like your vacation is over."
After a brief reunion, Stark introduced Dr. Ho Yinsen and Mark to Pepper. They all piled into a car, and Happy drove them to a burger joint. Stark was craving a good old-fashioned American burger.
After they ate, Stark held a press conference. Reporters were always eager to hear what Tony Stark had to say, especially since he was one of the richest men in the world.
And Stark didn't disappoint. He made a shocking announcement: Stark Industries was shutting down its weapons division.
The world went crazy. Shareholders were furious, and chaos erupted within Stark Industries.
But Stark didn't care.
After making sure Dr. Ho Yinsen and Mark were settled, he disappeared into his workshop.
Mark didn't bother him.
He'd read the comics, so he knew Stark wasn't going crazy or anything. He was just trying to work out some ideas. After all, now that he had the arc reactor, how long would it be before he built the Iron Man suit?
Besides, Mark had his own experiments to conduct.
He was still getting used to this whole Marvel world thing. He had a lot of Stand abilities to test out. It was better to figure things out now than to be caught off guard in a crisis later.
By combining his past experiences with some trial and error, Mark finally started to understand his Stand abilities.
First, there was the strength thing.
Mark realized he was incredibly strong now. He could knock someone out with a single punch.
He figured it was because he was linked to his Stand. Steve was basically a digital being, not limited by human weaknesses. It made sense that Mark would share some of those superhuman abilities.
Along with the strength boost, Mark discovered some other cool things. The flexibility of his Stand's movement module translated into amazing agility in the real world. He could do all sorts of crazy sword moves, even in mid-air, things that would be impossible in the game.
But there was one big problem. Steve couldn't gather resources in the real world. When Mark had Steve try to mine some rocks or a cactus, they just disappeared. No items dropped. It was weird.
Luckily, the blocks Steve had brought with him from the Minecraft world still worked normally. He could place them and mine them again, which was a relief.
Then, Mark discovered something else. He had Steve give him an apple from his inventory. In Steve's hand, it was a blocky Minecraft apple. But when Mark touched it, there was a flash of light, and it turned into a real, juicy red apple.
And he couldn't change it back. Mark tried to give the apple back to Steve, but it didn't work.
"Interesting..."
After some more testing, Mark nodded to himself. "Items from the Minecraft world can become real-world items, but not the other way around... Is that some kind of one-way rule?"
He thought for a moment, then his eyes fell on the Ender Hand in Steve's inventory. "What if I try something that doesn't exist in this world... What would happen?"
"What would it become?"