An Iron Encounter Pt 2, (Gwenpool and Iron man)

[John Kilroy]

Earth 1218D

Gwen stepped through the portal leading Tony by the hand. It was really no different than stepping through a door. Gwen's room looked like something a hybrid time capsule of the 80s 90s and early 2000s The overall layout was something straight out of the 80s. As Gwen had a Pac-Man theme styled bed complete with a pillow along with various video game, movie and 80s music posters.  in the far corner of the room was one of those old CRT TVs with a sega genesis and a dvd player hooked up to it. It looked like Gwen had been playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Hyperstone Heist on the sega and forgot to turn it off. the song "Everybody wants to rule the World" by Tears with Fears could be heard playing on a mini boombox CD player on Gwen's nightstand.

 (80s-style bedroom by WarioMan3K and the National Video Game Museum)


there were also Newgrounds posters and especially Marvel Comics posters....lots and lots of Marvel Comics posters all over the wall and ceiling. her most prize posetion had to be the life-sized picture of Carol Danvers in her Ms Marvel/Warbird outfit giving a dynamic pose with a playful grin on her face. 


Gwen looked at the Warbird poster with a melancholic sigh and looked around. "Well, this is my room. It's a bit of a mess sorry and it's far from your standards I'm sure. Again, sorry, this was a bit spur of the moment." she had a look of visible embarrassment. She hadn't exactly planned on inviting an avenger to her house in HER original home earth. let alone a billionaire avenger like Tony Stark. She went to her attic and came back with something in her hand.
"look before I show you this. I just want to make it clear. I don't know how this mutiverse stuff works. I've got my beliefs, my theories, but I could be wrong. In fact part of me hopes I am."


her hand started shaking a little as she handed Tony what she had in it. it was an original copy of Tales of Suspense #39 that belonged to her father, The first-ever appearance of the one and only Iron Man.


"Here you go...just please be careful with it. I'm not concerned about the money value it's just...it belonged to my father before he...anyway it has a lot of sentimental value to me."


  

[Rift]

Whatever means Gwen had for traversing dimensions it was not too bad. As far as moving from one dimension to another went it was actually fairly peaceful compared to some methods that Tony had experienced. There was not residual energy built up, no blinding lights, and no disorientation. It was actually quite fascinating and brought up several questions, questions he wasn't certain the young woman could answer even if he asked.

I wonder what Richards would make of this? he thought. I mean he's probably had more cross-dimensional travels than I have and he is an expert in these matters having built his own methods of moving through different planes of existence. Might want to drop by and ask him when I get back, pick his brain a bit, because it never hurts to have some means of moving about the multiverse on hand for whenever another threat pops up. And it will, because they always do.

It was at that moment that Tony pulled himself away from those thoughts. That was how he did things, analyzing a situation, thinking about how resources could be used to make something faster or better, developing contingencies, and going into engineer mode. He was always looking to make things and to some degree people, better. Everything was a problem to solve or to prepare for.

But that's not why you are here. You are giving the girl the benefit of a doubt and trying to not think too hard about the tidbits she's dropped so far.

Glancing around he noticed the room was very...retro.

"You didn't mention your home dimension was stuck in the late-80's or early-90's? Because this looks like it could have been yanked right out of a sitcom. I half expect Time Warp to start playing," he said.

Looking at the posters he smirked. "Okay, not bad. Shocked you don't have The Clash up here somewhere and also I was expecting boy bands for some reason, but it could be worse. I mean..."

Before he could finish he took in the many comic posters. The names stood out and were familiar. The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Uncanny X-Men, and more. People he knew, worked along side, battle with and against all captured in print, the styles reminiscent of bygone eras.

Okay, interesting, but doesn't prove anything. There are comics about us back home too, usually over exaggerated kiddie fare designed to sell toys. I mean I had to get the Stark legal department on that lest someone start putting out Iron Man themed boxers and turning a profit the way Jameson and others have with Spidey. So that's not too strange...

Looking at the life-size Carol he smirked. "And to think, PR people insisted that girls wouldn't connect with Danvers old look. Personally, I was always a fan for...uh....reasons, but here you are head of her fan club. She'd be..."

It was then that Gwen returned, a comic in hand that had belonged to her father. He gently took it, noting that she was trembling, and looked at the cover. He hoped that his attempt to keep his face blank as he read the title was working, but despite his rational mind telling him that it was no big deal, he couldn't help but think there was something to all this.

He tried focusing on the cover rather than look at the girl.

She's either fangirling or getting close to passing out. I mean I am used to some folks acting star struck, but this is beyond that. This means something to her, my being here and seeing all this.

Eyeing the comic he saw more of the familiar. The cover had what looked like a take on the Mark I armor on the front, the suit he'd built to escape captivity, the first time The Iron Man became a reality. Something about that image stirred something in his memory and he blinked away Yensin's face as he examined it closer.

Clearing his throat he said, "Okay, so this world has merchandise based on me. No big deal. Good likeness."

Ever the multitasker, he'd realized that since stepping through the doorway he's been silently trying to get signals. The Extremis in his body had been reaching out trying to connect to the web, wanting to link to satellites, and all the other functions that had become routine for him since he'd been forced to undergo the procedure that had essentially rebuilt his body. All he received...was silence.

Alright. Think Tony. This means what? There's no Stark-Tech in this world. Not too surprising, Doesn't prove anything. Maybe their internet is set up differently somehow, he thought.

"So what you are saying is that here, this is all we are? Images on cheap paper? There's no Avengers, no heroes, just stories?"

[John Kilroy]

"You didn't mention your home dimension was stuck in the late-80's or early-90's? Because this looks like it could have been yanked right out of a sitcom. I hainsert quote here

lf expect Time Warp to start playing," 

Gwen couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, it's not my earth, just me. I'm the one that's stuck in the 80s and 90s most of these posters belonged to my dad. but I've gradually tried to add to it over the years. 

"Okay, not bad. Shocked you don't have The Clash up here somewhere and also I was expecting boy bands for some reason, but it could be worse. I mean..."

"Oh I love The Clash, but I've only got so much wall and ceiling space in my room though. I put many more posters on these walls I might as well make said posters my wallpaper. 

"And to think, PR people insisted that girls wouldn't connect with Danvers old look. Personally, I was always a fan for...uh....reasons, but here you are head of her fan club. She'd be..

Gwen couldn't comment on that being busy in the attic but she certainly had her thoughts though they'd have to come later. 

"So what you are saying is that here, this is all we are? Images on cheap paper? There's no Avengers, no heroes, just stories?"

Ah there is was THE question. The question was the reason why she was trembling. She could see it in his eyes. He was trying to be stoic but once the wheels in Tony's brain turned there was no hiding it. She probably wasn't very good at keeping a poker face either. she could almost imagine his inner thoughts.



*he probably thinks I'm fangirling, or about to pass out.* she thought to herself.

But she wasn't shaking because she was a fangirl. She was shaking because she was terrified, her heart and stomach filled with dread...but then she noticed something in his wording that made her breathe a visible sigh of relief. "Here" meaning Tony was simply questioning the nature of her earth and her earth alone. remove the first part of that question and Tony would have asked the question that Gwen was fearfully anticipating.

"this is all we are? Images on cheap paper? There's no Avengers, no heroes, just stories?"

But Tony didn't ask THE question. Whether it was intentional or not (Considering it was Tony Stark, either was a possibility.) by saying "here", he asked her a different question, he gave her a way out, and she was more than happy to take that out. Her body visibly relaxed. her breathing became steady and normal, and she was able to talk to him like he was just someone interested in her hobby and asking questions, and of course, being a geek, she was more than happy to share. 

"Here? that's correct. This Earth here is about as dull as you can get. Radiation from animal bites or otherwise cause cancer not superpowers, aliens don't exist and magic is all tricks and special effects... at least that's what I thought until I got my portal gun. it's a double-edged sword. On one hand we don't have to worry about getting our souls sucked out by demons, or aliens taking over the planet or our reality unraveling. On the other hand. People like Kingpin, and groups like the Hellfire Club, those people are the biggest threat to our world... they are our Thanos and Galactus equivalents....and we really don't have a way of defending ourselves against them. We can only hope to of live our lives and outlast them and pray they don't screw us over. What's mundane for you guys are world-ending threats for us, for you, every problem can be solved with a new invention or if all else fails, you can punch you're way out.  for us, we don't have that option. Any progress we make on ANYTHING gets shut down if not by nature itself, then by a bunch of bloated self-absorbed politicians with a god complex. We can't beat them head-on. We can only hope they collapse under their own weight and hubris and thrive in whatever comes after the post-economic or social collapse. 

Green energy, chronic Illness, aging, child play. These are problems you've personally made leaps into solving yourself for seemingly no other reason than you wanted to see if you can. Am I wrong on that? Your technology is tens, hundreds, and in some way thousands of years ahead of ours. You guys can do things that we can't. you're...well superhuman in our eyes you guys can save the world while at best all we can do is swim with the current and adapt to ours....BUT again at least we don't have to worry about a Thanos or a Galactus or a Mephisto or a Skrull invasion, we don't have to worry about the fear that at any second the world could just be snapped away in an instant just because some mad titan has a death fetish...so I mean if you were to say my world is better, and I should count my blessings for how mundane and quiet it is by comparison I don't feel like I have the right to say you're wrong.

I guess it depends on what you value vs what you take for granted. My world takes its mundane existence for granted; we get bored. we long for more. We long to be able to do stuff like cast magic spells or shoot metal claws out of our knuckles, crawl on buildings, like a spider, or have metal armor that can fly us to another planet, but we forget how terrifying your world can be for a normal person has to live in it. Both our earths have one thing in common though.... our governments are equally as stupid and incompetent and will likely be what does us in."

she giggled at her own cheeky comment and decided to monetarily distract herself.

"Do you want something to drink? I'm a big RC girl but I can see what else I have."

[Rift]

Tony listened to her talk, not interrupting despite brimming with questions.

Do aliens not exist in this dimension or is the technology so limited that they haven't been able to make contact with advanced civilizations. That is if any life that may or may not exist out there can even be considered advanced. Same for the mystic. I've always told Strange that it is just another form of science that could be understood if someone like me or Richards took the time to properly study and dissect it. I mean Thor gets his cape in a bunch over the very notion that it can anything other than spiritual, but then the guy also was worshipped in ye old loincloth days so his ego might actually be bigger...nearly as big as mine.

As he listened to her explain the sheer level if mundane contained in this realm, he couldn't help but think back to his youth and what he'd learned of the past of his own world. The likes of Thor and Hercules would have argued that there were always heroes and beings with extraordinary powers running around through human history like it was their own personal backyard, but there was a time before what some would-be scholars started to try and call the Age of Heroes when things seemed fairly normal. Sure there were urban legends about monsters or men capable of doing something beyond the feats of a normal person, but there was no hard proof. Heck, many people didn't even realize that Rogers was anything more than a red blooded American draped in the flag during the Second World War. 

Of course that all came to end when men that declared themselves deities started falling from the sky, giant killer robots began stomping through downtown, and a metal clad egomaniac regularly endangered the world.

Doom. I'm thinking of Doom, he clarified realizing that the description could, at least if one listened to the talking heads on the news, apply to himself as well. And here I am acting as if my armor needs to record all of this. If I was a resident of this reality I wouldn't even have the armor and not a soul alive would care about my need to constantly be recording my thoughts just in case.

"Okay, so the place is boring, Regular street crime, gangs, government overreach, tinpot dictators that can't shoot lasers from their hands, warlords, that sort of thing. I get it. That's kind of a universal constant. Every other reality I've ever been to has had some variation of that. Heck, other planets and species have the same problems. But that doesn't mean the things from my world don't exist, just that this dimension has yet to discover them or some event has not yet transpired to allow for the jump in technology. Could still happen," he said, more to himself than anything else.

Still holding the comic with his likeness on it he tried not to stare a hole through it.

I've seen, hell I licensed some products before. Games, comics, that kind of thing. So why does this bother me? he wondered.

Subconsciously he tried to have the Extremis in his system reach out and do a search, to instantly get as much information as he could on the world and the comics depicting him and his allies. He almost winced when nothing happened.

Right, great, now you probably look constipated. Gotta remember that stuff doesn't exist here, he thought. Any info I need has to be done the old fashioned way. The slow way.

It was at that moment that Tony realized that it was not being considered fiction that bothered him, it was that as long as he was in this reality he was slow. Limited. Unable to be a step ahead of everyone else. And that meant obsolete. Deep down that was his greatest fear, that he wouldn't be able to keep up, that eventually everything he did including The Iron Man would become like 8-Tracks or the horse and buggy. Irrelevant.

"RC? Didn't even know they still made that back home. Sure," he responded.

Admit it, the revelation that there exists any place in time, space, and reality where you are not ahead of the curve almost makes you want to throw some rum in with that just to momentarily forget that gnawing pit you've had in your stomach ever since you crossed paths with Zeke Stane.

"Okay, so things are slower. Sucks, but not the end of the world. Maybe there is a me equivalent out there working on a suit of armor right now. Or if this place is more backwards, maybe there's a Victor von Doom somewhere making free energy for all by cracking the code to cold fusion. I mean sure it probably isn't as stylish or cool as my stuff, but it might be happening. I mean progress always marches on even if that march is more of a snail's leisurely stroll."

[John Kilroy]

Gwen couldn't help but smirk just a little. It wasn't a sort of gotcha moment or pulling one on Tony sort of look. It was a sad...almost defeated look.
"Yet, I see that same look of fear of your eyes that I have. Something about this place...about me...it feels different, doesn't it? You have comics fictionalized accounts of your stories. merch that kind of thing, but it's not like THIS place, is it? Something about this place feels...otherworldly. Like outside of the scope of EVERY OTHER reality, you know. 

she took a deep breath.

"It's like you're looking at another plane of existence...someplace more real than real." At this point, she knew she was going to have to rip the band-aid off. Either he was going to Blue Screen of Death, or he wasn't. 


"*sigh* Welcome to Earth-1218 Tony or as I like to call it, Earth Prime at least a variant of it, I don't think my world is the original Earth-1218 but I think we are as close as you'll get...but yeah, the Home of your Creators, the place where everything you know is written, illustrated, inked, and brought to life. The true Nexus of where all other universes are born and made real. The home of the people who made the likes of The Watcher, Galactus, The Darkhold, the very multiverse itself.... everything you love and hate about your world you can thank people like me for dreaming up and making it your reality. We are every bit as pathetic as we look so feel free to express your disappointment."

she sighed again after the awkward pause.

"I'll go get you that RC, to answer your question. They are still around. They just are sold at more local grocery stores."

When she got back with the drink, she noticed the look on Tony's face. She could see it. He wasn't upset about being fictional...he was terrified, of being in a world that functioned without him...a world where he was obsolete. She knew enough about him, his fears. Namely his fear of being left behind being unneeded...still that couldn't have come from a vacuum not entirely. So she'd figure she'd take a wild shot in the dark. Hopefully, he wouldn't call her bluff. 

"Alright," she started, giving him his drink. "Who got in your head? Was it Zeke Stane, Norman Osborn, Victor "Overacting" Doom?"

"Look, Tony. You need to get this fear of yours out of your head. first of all, you're NEVER going to be obsolete, you are one of the most brilliant minds ever conceived on pen and Ink. You can make a freaking arc miniature arc reactor in a shack out of a box of scraps you'd find in a trash can, you can power a house out of a potato and some wiring. If a societal apocalypse happened, you'd be the first one everyone would look to, to reestablish a modern standard of living, so let's get that out of the way. Second, you've got to get the idea out of your head that just because something is improved automatically means it is better. Not everything that is improved is better."

take a look at a smart car. So many cool features...in theory supposed to be safer...stronger, more fuel efficient. Yet...any little thing that goes wrong the slightest little glitch causes the whole thing to break down. It can't be repaired without specialized parts that you HAVE to get from the manufacturer, it's new, it's top of the line. yet because it's unable to do the one thing it's supposed to do. Drive you from A to B. It's unreliable... worthless...Obsolete...not every problem needs a complicated solution... in fact, sometimes said solutions are actually worse than the problems they are supposed to solve, the treatment is worth than the disease."


she couldn't help but grin. "You think I haven't noticed that "I'm about to crap my pants" look on your face? You've been trying to connect to any piece of tech you can think of ever since you first entered my earth. Well, you're out of luck. Everything is done with Wi-Fi and servers. Tech so old not even Tony and his cyborg body can hack into it. You worry me you know. You've got so much metal in you that you're becoming more "IRON" than "MAN" are you trying to prevent yourself from becoming obsolete? is being human obsolete? Trust me, you don't want to go down this path. In fact,..."

Gwen went to one of her bookshelves and grabbed another book:

"You want to help me save a world while seeing where this fear of yours will lead to? . This is Earth-21129- In-Universe of Earth-616 prime, it was "Created" by the Darkholm as a manifestation of Tony Stark's fears and insecurities. He has that fear of Obsoletion too. In reality, it was a one-off issue that ended on a cliffhanger that was never intended to be continued. So, it's frozen in time.... unless someone continues the story., someone like us. Read it. It won't hurt you. It's just a comic book. The book literally ends on a shot that we can easily enter into and ambush This messed up version of you and treat him. SPOILER ALERT Not only would we be saving Pepper Potts, this alternate you, and his world, I think the experience would be good therapy for you. That is...if you want to. We don't have to do it right now. That universe isn't going anywhere. We have all the time in the world to come up with a plan."

she pulled out a couple of Sega genesis controllers. Assuming he agreed with her theory that this was Earth Prime (or a version of it made manifest) he most likely had a ton of questions and to be fair, so did she, and right now it looked like they both needed a chance to relax. So, she gave him a warm smile and offered him a controller.

"Wanna play?"

[Rift]

Tony sat taking the controller in one hand and sipping at the soda held in the other. For a moment he did something terribly uncharacteristic and sat silently, contemplating the information he had been given. Much of what the young woman was saying indicated that she was not just making things up or even jumping to conclusions. There were things she knew, things that were not public knowledge or at the very least the true details of which were known to select few. People like S.H.I.E.L.D personnel or Avengers team members. Yet here was a woman, practically a civilian, spouting off random facts about his armor, enemies and events that had been classified, or even insecurities that should exist only in his head. All of that as if she had simply read it or seen it on a television screen.

The problem was she had likely done just that.

"Okay, so long as this isn't Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine we are good to go. There was a night in college, too much drinking, it...doesn't matter. Load something up," he said.

Sipping from the soda and staring at the screen he thought about all that had been said.

"Fiction in your reality is my reality or at least some version of it. That tracks. Doesn't mean I'm not real and everything I've ever done was dictated by someone typing away. The multiverse theory has room for the possibility. Maybe somewhere out there is a world where our roles are reversed and I am explaining to a version of you how your world is dull because everyone who wrote about it in my reality had turned to AI to write their scripts. No biggie. Existential crisis averted, moving on," he rambled.

As he watched the loading screen of the game he set the drink down and picked up the comic she had indicated, grimacing over the Darkhold. His experience with what amounted to the evilest text ever committed to paper was limited, but he knew the gist from reading reports of those who more frequently dealt with the occult and supernatural side of his world. It never ended well. It usually required Strange, Ghost Rider, and a lot of things he didn't want to think about as they challenged his notions of what was real and how things like physics worked.

"Alright, stopping a twisted version of me can wait. Backburner for the moment. Maybe I have a few hangups about falling behind, no longer being who I think of myself as, that kind of thing, but there's another issue here. You mentioned that my reality is similar to but not identical to the ones you read about. That means that at best you can guess at what may or may not happen, maybe with a bit more accuracy than the rest of us, but you can't be certain. With that in mind you need to be careful because the danger is twofold," he explained, pressing buttons on the controller.

Tearing his eyes away from the cover and the twisted version of the Iron Man on it, he continued. "First off, you cannot get a God complex about this. Ironic coming from me, granted, but I mean it. You can guess but you are not ever going to be sure of an outcome and you can't go about trying to meddle in every dangerous scenario on the off chance you can get a positive outcome. You not only don't have the experience and skill to tackle everything back home, but there's an issue of free will. Just because we are ink and lines on a page here doesn't mean others are going to see it that way and some forces get kinda bent out of shape over folks meddling in free will. Also, there are those who are so stubborn they'd just as soon ram an adamantium claw into their own eyeball as they would do what they are told to by someone. Plus we already have enough folks who think they are the only people capable of saving the world and good intentions pave the road to Tin Men in Skirts with funny accents. Pretty sure that is how the saying goes."

Hitting more buttons to move his character about he stopped for just a moment to finish off the soda.

"Second, this is a recipe for disaster in the making. Which mean you have to keep this to yourself. I am going to make sure that there is no record of any of this beyond my own memories of this terrifying jaunt through reality, because if the wrong people find out about you and what you know or think you know? You'd be a target forever. Best case scenario you have to run from the maniacs and mad scientists of my world forever. Worst case they end up reaching here and depending on just how much your reality influences mine they may decide that this is a better place to take over or that destroying any person and any ability to craft stories that can touch my reality is a damned good way of destroying it. Whether that tracks with truth or not doesn't matter if it gets a ton of people killed and as you point out your world cannot do what mine can. One Mandarin or Doom gets here and that's all she wrote...pun sorta intended."

[John Kilroy]

Gwen couldn't help but smile. Should she go full throttle with this and try to explain the nature of Earth MHR-616 universe? Naw, that would be silly. She was already pushing it by explaining the nature of comic books and honestly, she was surprised that he took things as well as he did. But, maybe she could explain it in a way that would be easiest to swallow.

"Well, you don't need to worry about me in regard to danger. My...well let's call him my guardian angel won't let me die. Heck even if he did he'd have to go through a lot of red tape to get it done...and he tends to like putting me in more light-hearted situations and putting more dangerous stuff in between. I may get pumped and bruised and battered, but I'll be ok I promise. besides if anyone tries peering into my mind, they're probably going to break and go insane.... honestly, you're handling this a lot better than I thought you would.


"But, you're right I can only predict what COULD happen. Still, If I can give you guys just an ounce of encouragement or warn you if I see a trainwreck approaching then I feel like it's better than nothing. Do you really think I'm just going to stand by and watch you guys fall apart over and over again? When you or Carol started spiraling due to your alcoholism did your friends just stand by and let it happen because of Free Will or did they try to intervene and tell you that you had a problem? Look, I know all rights I should be on par with cosmic-level beings given my nature, but I can't just snap my fingers and make this world perfect. That red tape I was telling you about?  It limits what I can do so if you're worried about me controlling all of you like toys or something well I can't so no worries there. That doesn't mean though I won't try to support you where I can. Besides I won't try to do anything to crazy just...maybe try to take over the Hand kill the demon that leads it and reestablish the organization as a force for good to help out the Avengers and the city. Nothing too big.

Gwen gave a big cheeky grin and took a drink of her drink as the two defeated Tatsu (The Boss of Stage 3 of the game) and entered The Boss Rush Stage Stage 4: The Gauntlet.

"As far as the bad guys entering my world, that will only happen if my guardian angel let's it happen and even then he won't let them do too much damage for now anyway. Actually, if you ever needed a universe where you guys can jump off, lick your wounds or heck just take a vacation and get away from it all for a bit my world is probably the best place to do it.... though I doubt you'll want to sleep in my house. Considering your wealth though I don't see you having difficulty finding a nice penthouse...Do you happen to have an Elon Musk in your universe? He's about the closest thing to you in our universe and he still pales."

Gwen looked at the screen and noticed that like her, Tony hadn't died once yet. She smiled.

"Well look at you, never took you for a retro gaming master. Maybe instead of calling you Iron Man I should call you Gamer Man" 

[Rift]

Stark let the girl talk without interrupting. Some of what she said made sense, plenty didn't. While he was not a fan of not understanding things, he opted not to pry too much deeper. She was clearly convinced of everything she was saying and more than likely wouldn't be swayed by any amount of theorizing, science based or otherwise. Maybe it was coming from the world she did, possibly it was having thought everything from his was mere stories she knew inside and out, or perhaps it was the fact that many people at her age were convinced they knew everything. Whatever the case, it wasn't worth arguing, especially when he himself didn't have the answers and most definitely didn't have the tech necessary to run tests on the dimension she called home.

Best I can do is hope she realizes that despite what she thinks she knows she doesn't think she can meddle in everything she doesn't like from her books. Pretty sure every world can only handle so many God complexes and between Victor von Doom, Pym, and myself we have that covered, he thought. Besides she's new to the whole hero thing. This life has a way of smacking you upside the head regardless of how hard it is and making you reevaluate everything you think you understand.

"Yeah, well I got bored. A lot. Being ahead of everyone else means I did many things to keep my mind occupied," he said in response to her comment about his gaming. "Still think I prefer the arcade port to the SNES, but this isn't bad. The AI is definitely tougher which is welcome."

As he moved Mikey into place he smirked to himself.

Wonder what Natasha would think about this? I'm sure there a re plenty of folks curious as to how we worked out as we have. She's a super spy and I'm...me. I am definitely not the easiest person to get along with if social media opinions is any indicator, but I have been trying to better myself. Not just with tech, but as a person. I worked to actively be better and somehow I thought that meant our engagement showed immense progress on my part. But if Gwen's ideas are at all correct then it is all the whim of some writer or writers. Not something I like thinking about.

"Notice of course that I spent enough time with this particular game to find the perfect character. I mean under normal circumstances most folks would assume Donnie is the direct parallel to myself. Genius, inventor, makes everyone else look cooler by default, and the bo-staff clearly shows favoring long range," he said of the game. "but Mikey? Coolest person in the room, funny, fast, and grows on you over time."

As he pressed buttons to attack the boss he changed subjects again. "Okay, so this other Earth. It needs saving. It needs saving from a version of me who isn't exactly vibing and playing games. You say the Darkhold is involved, that means magic which I hate by the way, but that tends to be the forte of Doc Strange or Brother Voodoo or the like. So, evil juju screws with other me and my armor. My neurosis is amplified to where I think I have a right to upgrade everything and everyone."

Having the character dash he continued, multitasking as usual. "So if this is supposed to uh, what, teach me a lesson? Convince me I am going down a dark path by pushing everything to the bleeding edge? Then do tell Nostradamus, how should I suit up for this particular ball? You've all but outright said you are against Extremis, which I mean the validity of is in the air, not gonna lie, but what does that mean? You are not expecting me to fight a me that may be ahead of where I am in tech development with something like the Mark I are you?"

It was an honest question. He wasn't likely to take this strange new girl's advice on battle tactics and which armor to utilize, but it was worth asking. After all, the comic she'd handed him, grim and dark as it was, had some familiar designs. If the tech of that world could threaten to overwhelm his own armor,than maybe the original version of The Iron Man was a good play.

It is built to tank missiles and tear apart tanks, but it lacks most every feature its successors. No AI, no wireless signals, no internet connectivity possible, no sensors, and the only vision I'd have is what my own eyes could pick up. Plus, if this other me insists on unpleasantries it may not be quite as resilient against my own tech as it was terrorist weapons, he thought, already considering other potential armors and configurations.

[John Kilroy]

Gwen saw the wheels spinning his head. She couldn't help but wince. she had said too much as it was she could see it in his face. "Look I don't know for sure if this is how the multiverse works, this is just my best guess based on what I've seen and experienced. Just don't think about it too hard or too much.

she couldin't help but laugh about his jokes about Mikey, she was as happy to change the subject as he was. "I hold that Mikey is the strongest of the turtles. See no greater an example then Mikey from the 2003 animated series. Was able to go toe to toe with his brothers without having to think. If he ever snapped and became as angry as ralph or as stoic as Leo...holy crap he'd become dangerous real quick."

Level 5, tony went to the subject of his insane counterpart. "I don't think the Darkhold's magic actually affects the universe beyond using the 616's memories and insecurities to create these twisted worlds. I honestly don't think they were intended to actually exist permently. There was this one Earth, Earth-73640 it was literally unraveling, and nobody knew why but I think it was because of the influance of the Darkhold. Long story short I managed to fix it by joining forces with the venom symbiote and there was this whole thing with the Infinity stones....sorry off subjerct. As far as your 21129 counterpart goes, I know that the suit has some form of artificial inteligence as it calculated that in order to keep it's wearer "safe," it had to remove his skin and replace it with steel, essentially fuse itself with it. What I don't know is if the AI has hacked itself into his brain to keep him from resisting it's assimulation plot...OR if he really is just that obsessed with upgrading himself I don't know. As far as convincing you that you're going down a dark path, trying to take everything to the bleeding edge? come on, I don't have to convince you of anything. I'm just saying outloud what you've probably been thinking in your head for a long while now. 

As far as what suit you should go with? I'd suggest any suit that can't connect directly to your brain, also any suits that can fight off hacking attacks, or can't get hacked period. We probably need to look at this as fighting another version of Ultron as much as another version of you.  So if you had any suit in particular that was effective against Ultron, that'sprobably going to be your best bet."

she then thought about all of the features that the original OG armor had....or rather didn't have. No AI, no fancy bells and whistles no digital cells that could be hacked. It'd be like malware trying to hack solid steel. thing is

"Honestly, and I don't think you're going to like this, but going Old school maybe the best bet. *Sigh* still I'd be cool if we had an armor that had a bit of power to it without all of the digital gadgets." She pulled out one of her other comic books. "Too bad we don't have the Hydra Stomper Armor." 




"In an alternate universe, your dad made an iron man type armor for a Stever Rodgers that never received the Super Soldier Serum. The Armor was like if the MK1 armor and the Hulkbuster armor had a baby. No computerization just high-powered heavy metal. Howard used the Tesseract, but honestly a portable nuclear core could work too."

[Rift]

Stark listened to her speak, still keeping his attention on the game.

So, old school tech could work, but how old school are we talking? Is the Modular armor too advanced? And then if not we would need heavier artillery. Silver Centurion would be my first instinct. Or perhaps I can go back to drawing board. She did say she can take us to whatever the moment of no return is whenever I am ready, so perhaps something new, but old. After all, occult junk has always been an Achilles heel. Out of date may stop hacking, but if this Darkhold business can warp armors to absorb the wearers I'm going to need some extra defenses against bad mojo. Side note: I hate magic. he thought.

At her mention of his father, Tony almost frowned. There was a time he put Howard on a pedestal. He was everything he had wanted to be and more. As he aged he realized that Howard was not a saint, but he also wasn't evil. Just like him, his dad had wanted to make the world a better place and knew his brain was the way to do it. He just appeared much more comfortable with his inventions laying waste to things in order to make that better world.

Even you from on other planes of existence you still managed to inspire me pops, he thought, listening to her description of an armor.

"Okay, so before we get into the what part of the mission, I need some more info on the why. I get we don't like seeing anywhere subjugated, especially not by a guy so much like myself. But why me? If this dark version of me used an evil spell book, and I can't tell you how much I hated even having to say that phrase considering mystic stuff has always been an annoyance, why me? Having told me about this, wouldn't it be prudent to contact Doctor Strange since he knows about all the spooky junk? What about the other Avengers? I mean Thor still thinks he's magical. Why would we want to send me who in all likelihood thinks a good deal like this mirror universe version against that? His Book of Bad Juju could maybe have similar effects on my armor, he could potentially anticipate what I would do, and to make matters more interesting we then have to find a way to contain the energies of the book or pages or whatever it is he actually has his hands on. That sounds like an all hands on deck situation where you, being the new kid, opens the way and let the experts i.e. not me, handle Bad Me," he said.

Turning to her he asked, "I get that this is supposed to be a lesson of some kind. You know, tough love, etc. to make me see the potential error of my ways, but we can't go at this half-cocked. And if I am going to have to fight alongside you, I need to know what it is exactly you can do. How high are the chances you can pull us out of there if things go sideways? Do you have skills beyond retro gaming and eerie almost preternatural knowledge of beings from another dimension? You know, that kind of thing."

[John Kilroy]

Gwen at first didn't quite know what Tony was Talking about and then it hit her. "oh, no no no, you're misunderstanding what I'm saying. I need to explain myself better. On Earth-616 Prime, When Doom Uncovered the Darkhold of earth-616 Prime he opened up a gate that let Chthon out. So the Wanda of that universe gathered up the Avengers to defeat him, she had them read from the Darkholm so they'd have an easier time fighting him when each of the Avengers read from the Darholm, the Darkholm or rather Chthon manifested stories that recreated their most iconic moments or aspects of themselves but twisted them to reflect their deepest insecurities and character flaws In an effort to corrupt and control them, long story short, it kinda worked kinda didn't Wanda of Earth-616 prime absorbed Chthon and the Darkholm no more Darkhold for earth-616 Prime." *At least until the writers decide to make it a threat again.* she thought to herself silently.

"The thing is I don't think Chthon realized that once you tell a story, and create a world, it can stay, linger, and get a mind of it's own with or without your influence. It's a matter of if people tell more stories within those Earths or not. The Iron Man's Earth is Earth-21129, Darhold Wasp: Earth-52433...oddly enough that universe actually ended up pretty normal I guess Chthon thought that Janet and Hank Pym's Marriage was a screwed-up situation enough already." 

Gwen looked back on when she visited earth-52433. After the end of Darkhold: Wasp, Janet was acquitted in the stabbing of her husband, she had an edgy loner streak for a while and wore an edgy red and black costume and wore a pair of gauntlets with metal talons. Eventually, she'd return back to the Avengers and marry the 2nd Aunt Man, Scott Lang who on that earth was widowed after he lost his wife to cancer, Scott to put bluntly was everything Hank Pym wasn't. When Gwen first went to that universe she figured that she'd have to fix the universe. Only to fine that the universe itself was perfectly normal in fact Janet was perfectly stable once she got past the initial trauma of killing her husband and it didn't take long for her and Gwen to befriend each other, again perhaps Chthon believed that marriage was messed up plenty and all he needed to do to drive Janet mad was to mock her for her inability to free herself and stand up to abuser...and given the results maybe he was partial right. She shook her head when she realized she was spacing out in deep thought. 


"Sorry, thinking about that Darkhold Janet, we're actually pen pals. Anyway, the point is that the influence of the Darkhold is long gone from these universes. They're just normal Earth's at this point. So no need to worry about some third-party magical mumbo jumbo interfering with anything. This version of you isn't holding any magical pages of the Darkhold or anything, he's just a version of you that's screwed up and is screwing up his world thanks to his personal mantra of chasing perfection gone amok. As for why I want to bring you along and not say the other two guys you just mentioned, to be blunt I think it would be overkill, Thor and Dr. Strange would straight up obliterate him and everyone infected by his augmentations, viewing it as essentially mercy killing. Having you around would serve two things. One, it would be a form of therapy or tough love as you put it. The other thing is....Well. The armor is trying to literally replace Dark Tony's flesh and organs with steel and computer parts he's kind a living soup contained in a can at this point. I have medical experience but I can't save him or the people he's trapped into a suit alone but you can, you have the area, and the team.

And to answer your question, if things go sideways I can easily pop us back here with my portal gun. Even if he does end up here he can't get far or do anything of note. My earth is essentially a safe zone. to answer your other question, I'm a marine. I have eight years of combat experience."

Gwen couldn't help but smile, "...follow me."

Gwen took Tony to a basement and on the wall were weapon racks as far as the eye could see. In fact, she didn't have a weapons rack, she had an entire WEAPONS VAULT.

"I've got just about every gun and explosive you can think of and yes, I do know how to use them."

[Rift]

Tony looked at row after row of weapons and ammunition. It was an impressive arsenal and though he couldn't say for certain what laws this dimension had that were different than back home, he had to assume that at least some of the weapons were the kind that various alphabet agencies would frown upon a civilian, even an ex-Marine, having access to.

"Huh," he said as he looked around. "And you are sure your not linked to Deadpool? Because this seems very Deadpool."

For all his ribbing it was at least reassuring to know that the girl had some skill. In the past he would have dismissed the use of firearms and military training as not particularly useful against those with beyond human abilities and especially against a twisted, possibly insane, most definitely evil version of himself. But between Steve Rogers and Natasha he'd had to reconsider how he classified such combatants.

No doubt in my mind that if she really wanted to, Nat could take me out regardless of how many suits I build. Of course, that could actually be fun... he thought, mind wandering to other places.

"Right, okay so I go back home, figure out if this requires a new old suit or just an old suit, and explain to S.H.I.E.L.D. and likely a couple politicians at this point that I have been out of contact and untraceable for some time for...reasons. I dunno. Designing in the garage, jogging, driving with the top down, whatever. Point is if we are going to do this I have to think some things through, maybe come up with some counter measures."

And maybe figure out why I am trusting a strange interdimensional girl I've just met without even running it past any fellow Avengers, Reed, or the shrink I clearly should be seeing for even considering doing this, he thought.

Maybe he saw something of himself in Gwen. Sure she wasn't a genius, billionaire but she seemed genuine in her intention to help make the world, even one that wasn't hers, a better place. And coming from somewhere else with a story that would either be seen as insane or cause normal folks an existential crisis? It meant that she was, for the most part, alone. Friends if she did make them would look at her odd and if she was totally honest may not trust her. That was something he was sadly familiar with.

Besides, this isn't just about her. It's for me. I hate sitting in a chair most the day, doing paperwork, trying to wrangle politicians and world leaders, and genuinely all the administrative stuff that comes with the co-Director title. Galivanting off to an alternate dimension to mete out some justice to a world threatening evil all while proving you are still the same Iron Man even if your world can't see it? That's totally selfish, just for me, which is scarily on brand but at least I'm honest about it.

"So, tell me Sarah Connor, which of these boomsticks do you intend to introduce evil me to? Depending on his armor you might be heading towards a repeat of what happened in one of your funny books upstairs. Remember, the guys that held me captive when I built the Mark I didn't exactly make a dent."

[John Kilroy]

Gwen couldn't help but roll her eyes at that comment. Once again she did not like being compared to Deadpool. "I just like to prepare ok?

She went through her arsenal. "Sticky bombs are going to be my default. A cluster of these together and it'll create a fireball strong enough to knock the wind out of him and stagger him a bit." Probably the best bet would be a Laser-Induced Plasma Channel Rifle...or as I like t call it a Tesla Rifle. It'll zap the electrical systems  evil Stark's suit and if nothing else stun him. if all else fails...I always got these."

She pulled out a weapons box full of what looked like Sidewinder Self-Guided Missiles

"Ex-wife missiles, ones that actually work and do everything that is claimed they do. Course If I want to use these We'll need to get him out of the open. so that others don't get hurt. These babies are like miniaturized Jericho missiles, and before you ask one of my old military commanders and I tested these in an open field...and it was a lot of fun.." Gwen noticed her Candice change to that of Gwenpool and she stopped herself closed her eyes and stopped herself. There was no way in heck that she was going to let that mass-murder out of her mental cage.

"...Still though I need your help as I want to do this with as few casualties as possible... preferably zero if we can help it.

[Rift]

Tony was listening, sort of. In truth he was already multitasking, thinking over both what Gwen was telling him and visualizing plans for a suit. Not just any suit, but something that was more like an old friend. He'd already reconstructed and stashed the MK. 1 somewhere. His tech had outpaced the early stuff very quickly and there was no real reason other than nostalgia and sentimental value to hold onto the first suit of armor.

It saved your life and in a way is a symbol of the new you. The Tony Stark that got out of that cave is not the same man that went in. And the Tony you are now coming out the other end of Civil War is not the same as the guy that you were before hand. Maybe that's not such a good thing and maybe you hold onto that relic as a way to remind you that you need to always remember that promise you made Yensin, he thought.

Of course there was also the engineer in him that was never satisfied. Like an artist drawing one of the comic books Gwen had shown him, he was constantly refining designs. A final product was never final, just as good as it was going to get at the time. That also played a role in why he had reconstructed the Mark One. It had been updated. Granted, it was nowhere near the level of Extremis armor. Heck, it wasn't even up to par with his Silver Centurion gear. There was something about the ruggedness of the armor that he still liked. That was why while it was put together almost identically to how it had been first constructed, it had some improvements without going too far.

Like a classic muscle car. You want the look, the body, and the power. You don't want to gut the poor thing and shove junk like digital radios and GPS in them, but depending on where you live, a modern heating and cooling system or power steering wouldn't be marring the spirit of the machine. Same with Mark One. Thing can still tank a Howitzer and rock your average bad guy's day, but it's more comfortable and has some bells and whistles I couldn't manage to put in while in captivity. Nothing hackable, no onboard A.I., and it takes more physical effort to get going but that baby might be just what I need for this.

Looking at the Tesla gun he nodded in approval. "Huh, not bad. Depends on how shielded I, uh he, me, whatever is against energy weapons. If his armor is still based on some of my older designs there is a good chance that would not only stun him but fry a good number of the electrical systems in the suit. Of course that's assuming the Evil Book of Evilness hasn't added some tricks we aren't aware of."

When she brought up the missiles, he said "Well, yeah. I'm not a fan of deadly force if it can be avoided. Only a last resort kind of thing not to mention I don't want to know the therapy bills after I explain I was forced to off myself because he was evil and just a little too much like the OG model. Also, something tells me that unless this world is drastically different than my own or the one we are going to rescue, you might have a hard time precuring replacements. In fact you probably shouldn't have those now and Uncle Sam likely would strongly disapprove of those not being behind the walls of guarded bases. Am I right? Of course I am, never mind. Don't want to know. Not that interdimensional subpoena's are a thing, but I honestly can't be called if they suddenly become a thing."

Thinking for a moment he sighed.

"Uno momento Ripley. This comic, does it reveal anything else? Like where the rest of the Avengers are? Did Mirror World me give them armor that absorbed them in turn? Because gotta be honest, not sure me in an old set of armor and you going full Punisherette can handle the entirety of the team alone."

[John Kilroy]

Gwen couldn't help but rub the back of her head. "Well I don't know what it's like for other universes but aside from a background check, military arms like tend to fall under the 2nd amendment...I know some guys that straight-up own a tank. I actually bought these missiles at a discount from some of my higher-ups before they were going to be sent to a military surplus store. It does require a lot of paperwork, mostly waivers. Do the different alphabet agencies like it? Oh I guarantee you heck no. can they do anything to prevent me from lawfully obtaining them as I have? not legally no.

When Tony brought up the other Avengers Gwen opened her mouth only to freeze before a response could leave her mouth. You know that was a good question, where were the other Avengers in this timeline and why weren't they mentioned? The out-of-universe explanation was that the writers simply wanted to do a horror story based on Iron Man and weren't thinking that deeply about it. Essentially a case of "Just let us roll with the premise and we'll tell a fun story we promise." But given at this point it was its own established earth that meant it was bound to have other heroes as well, but where were they? Well given the fact that Earth-21129 far more resembled the MCU compared to the comics it'd be far more accurate to use that as a base.

"Hmmm the comic doesn't mention anything but given the time frame and the OG Earth that Earth-21129 is based off of...Cap is still on ice, Thor is partying in Asgard, Bruce is probably in Kolkata trying to learn how to meditate, and at the point we are entering it's not widespread enough to get Phil's attention so no S.H.I.E.L.D meaning no Nat or Hawkeye...Hank Pym is a bitter old man so don't count on him...HEY Carol's in space and I have a communicator...granted it's a toy but consideringt my Portal Gun was also supposed to be a toy, it might work maybe we can call her and..."

Gwen stopped mid-sentence as she realized somthing. If Earth-21129 was based off the MCU then that meant its version of Carol Danvers was based off Bri Larson...oh boy.

"Err...Carol Danvers may be able to help but fair warning she's not likely to be likable...at all."