Chapter 92.
Before long, everything was ready. Tony lay on the newly prepared bed, mentally bracing himself for the injection.
"It has to work! I am not spending the next week in the bathroom for nothing," he muttered, half-praying, half-pleading with fate.
Despite his bravado, Tony couldn't shake the nervous flutter in his stomach. He had reached the point of no return, and though the side effects weren't life-threatening, the thought of days filled with bathroom agony was enough to make anyone hesitate.
"Hurry up, Felix! Before I change my mind, just do it already!" Tony shouted, forcing confidence into his voice.
Felix raised an eyebrow as he stood beside the bed. "Are you absolutely sure you're ready? And... you're really not going to tell Pepper?"
Tony chuckled. Even now, he couldn't resist cracking a joke. But when Felix mentioned Pepper, his smile faltered just a bit—softness flickered in his eyes before he pushed the emotion down.
"Alright then, let's do it," Felix said with a small smirk. He turned to the small robotic assistant nearby. "Go ahead and administer the injection."
Despite Tony being its creator, the little droid didn't hesitate. A slender mechanical arm extended forward, and with a faint click, the needle pierced into Tony's arm.
Felix stood by for a moment longer. "It's all on you now, Tony. Good luck."
With that, he turned and left the room, leaving Tony alone—still, silent, and bracing for what came next.
"Alright," Tony whispered to himself. "Let's see what this superpower serum can do. It's too late to back out now."
He closed his eyes, surrendered to the moment, and let go of the fear. Come on, Tony Stark... show the world what you're made of.
Tony barely had time to gather his thoughts before the pain struck.
"AH—damn! I didn't expect it to hurt this much! Can I still back out?!"
The agony hit like a tidal wave. Even though he had mentally prepared, the reality was worse—far worse.
His nerves screamed. His muscles convulsed. Every inch of his body felt like it was being stabbed by thousands of red-hot needles, each one burrowing deep into his flesh and scraping against the bone.
At this moment, Tony wasn't Iron Man. He wasn't a genius billionaire or a global icon. He was just a man—vulnerable, alone, and drowning in raw pain.
But even as the agony threatened to break him, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
'No. I can't let them see me scream. I won't faint. Not in front of them.'
Tony had seen what Thor and Steve went through. He knew the pain would be bad. But this? This was a torture unlike anything he'd imagined.
What he didn't know was that the serum worked by rewriting the body's genetic code—down to the very core of every cell. The injection initiated a process akin to carving new pathways into his DNA with a scalpel made of fire.
It wasn't just physical—it was spiritual. A pain that touched even the soul.
Tony's mind emptied of everything else. The only thought left was hold on. No matter what happened—he had to hold on.
Outside the room, the others watched through the reinforced glass.
Banner stared at the monitors, concern etched on his face. Despite Tony's cocky personality, he was one of Bruce's closest friends—and Bruce had been watching the readings like a hawk.
"How's he doing, Banner? Is Tony okay?" Felix asked calmly.
"There shouldn't be any complications," Banner replied. "His vital signs are almost identical to when Steve took the serum. But this pain... it's going to last for a while. I just don't know how long he can endure it."
Of everyone in the room, Banner probably understood Tony best. They often argued, teased, and clashed intellectually—but Tony had always supported him when it mattered most.
That's why Bruce hadn't taken his eyes off the screen for even a second.
"I'm not worried," Felix said confidently. "Tony's not the type to give up. If he's made it this far, he'll see it through."
Banner gave Felix a sideways glance. "I didn't expect you to be so confident in Stark."
Felix didn't respond. He simply turned his gaze back to the room, eyes calm but focused.
Minutes passed like hours.
Inside, Tony trembled uncontrollably. Sweat poured from his body, soaking the sheets. Every passing second stretched like eternity, and still the pain intensified.
'Why is it still not ending? How long has it been?!'
He felt like he had aged centuries. Time meant nothing—only the pain remained.
Suddenly, Banner leaned in closer to the monitor. "Hold on... According to these readings, something's changing."
"What is it?" Steve asked quickly, stepping forward. "What's happening to him?"
"Tony's about to reach the critical stage. The mutation is about to stabilize. This is the deciding moment—it'll either succeed or fail right here."
Steve's face tensed. He knew all too well what that final moment felt like. It wasn't just pain—it was transformation.
And he hoped, with every fiber of his being, that Tony would make it through.
"Because I've been closely monitoring all three of you during your transformations," Banner began, addressing the group, "I noticed something. Although each of your experiences with the serum differed on the surface, the process always reaches a similar critical point."
He pointed at the live data on the screen, indicators flashing rapidly. "Right now, Tony's readings match the pattern we saw in Steve's final stage. This is it—the turning point. If his altered gene sequence stabilizes without being rejected by his body, then... he's made it."
"And if it doesn't?" Steve asked, tension in his voice.
"Then we've lost him."
Just as Banner was about to say more, the readings shifted.
"Wait… something's changing!"
Inside the room, Tony's body suddenly stopped trembling. His eyes snapped open, calm and focused. Unlike Steve's awakening, there was no dramatic burst of energy or glowing spectacle. Just stillness—and then a slow, deep breath.
"It looks like he made it," Banner confirmed cautiously. "But don't celebrate yet. Remember what happened with Thor—everything seemed fine, then spiraled quickly."
Banner wasn't jumping to conclusions. Up to now, everything had gone smoother than expected—but the final result was still uncertain.
"It's like soccer," he added, trying to make the analogy clear. "The field is wide open, the goalie's nowhere in sight, and all that's left is for Tony to tap the ball into the net. But... if he shoots too high, and it rebounds off the bar—game over."
Thankfully, Tony didn't miss. He struck cleanly—his metaphorical ball soared into the net.
Inside, Tony was slowly regaining his senses.
"No wonder Felix looked so relaxed after his awakening," he murmured. "This... this feeling is amazing."
Power surged through his body—limitless, intoxicating. He felt stronger than he had ever imagined, every nerve buzzing with potential. It was like his body had been forged anew—more powerful, more alive.
"I wonder what kind of superpower I actually awakened... Can I fly now? Without the suit?"
Tony knew the physical upgrades were just standard benefits from the serum—enhanced strength, speed, durability. He could shrug off small firearms bullets now, maybe even outrun a sports car. But that wasn't what excited him.
What he wanted was to know what unique power had been awakened.
"I mean, sure, I don't expect something insane like Felix's... But at least give me something cooler than Steve's Fire Body routine," he grumbled. "Otherwise all that pain would've been for nothing."
He closed his eyes again, this time searching inward, trying to find that strange sensation—something new, something unfamiliar—etched into his very genes.
Then, he found it.
"Yes! Got it!" he grinned. "Now let's see what kind of crazy trick you've got for me!"
It felt like a dormant skill—something hidden just beneath the surface of his consciousness, waiting to be called. It wasn't familiar; he'd never felt anything like it before. But it pulsed with purpose, like a fire waiting to be stoked.
Oddly, he couldn't understand it—not completely. He could sense its presence, feel its energy humming through him, but its function eluded him.
"It's just like Steve earlier," Tony muttered. "I'll have to try it myself to figure out what it does."
Resolving to uncover its nature, Tony focused, slowly directing his mental energy toward that strange, alien sensation within him. It was a mix of excitement and fear—what if it was useless? What if, after all the pain and drama, he ended up with some completely impractical power?
"Well, screw it. I've come this far. Even if it turns out to be something lame, I'll own it."
There was no room for hesitation. Tony pushed forward with determination, locking onto the source of his new power and diving in headfirst—ready to face whatever came next
Bum! Bum! Bum...
A deafening hum—like the buzzing of thousands of flies—erupted inside Tony's mind, flooding his thoughts with a chaotic, overwhelming noise. His concentration shattered instantly.
Gritting his teeth, Tony struggled to regain control, trying to steady his mind and push the noise out, little by little. His spiritual energy, still untrained in this new state, flailed like a swimmer in rough water. But Tony Stark was never one to back down from a challenge.
Meanwhile, outside the reinforced chamber, the others were witnessing something completely unexpected.
"Holy—what kind of power did Tony awaken this time?! That's insane!" someone gasped.
Even Felix was stunned. He had already been surprised by Steve's fiery transformation, but this... this was something on an entirely different level. It was unfamiliar in origin, yet strangely familiar in nature—like a half-remembered dream.
After Tony's eyes snapped open and he sat motionless for a full ten seconds, his power suddenly manifested in a dramatic, earth-shaking display. Unlike Steve, whose flames were visually obvious, Tony's ability wasn't outwardly flashy—yet it was no less terrifying.
The floor beneath the room trembled, the walls groaned, and the very air seemed to pulse with energy. Objects in the vicinity shuddered, then began to move—pulled as if by an unseen force.
First, heavier equipment began dragging across the floor toward Tony's chamber. Then, smaller metallic objects began rising into the air, levitating and flying toward the source like moths to a flame.
Jingle—clang—bang!
Dozens of items slammed into the thick, reinforced glass wall separating Tony from the others, forming a dense layer that blocked everyone's view of the inside.
"What... the hell is going on in there?" Banner muttered, wide-eyed.
Even the monitoring equipment in front of him hadn't been spared—it was ripped away from the console and thrown against the glass, possibly beyond repair.
The only reason there weren't injuries was because everyone in the room was highly trained. They reacted quickly, dodging or shielding themselves as needed. Banner, however, moved slower than the rest—he hadn't always been the Hulk, after all.
But Felix was already there, instinctively stepping in front of Banner and deflecting every airborne object effortlessly with a casual wave of his hand. The flying debris bounced off an invisible forcefield around him, scattering harmlessly.
"I really want to know what kind of power Tony just unlocked," Felix said, narrowing his eyes.
He continued to repel the incoming objects with ease, though he could feel something strange—a subtle pulling force acting on him as well.
It wasn't enough to affect him directly, but it was unmistakable. Something about Tony's awakening ability was generating a powerful magnetic-like field. Felix glanced down at his clothing, and suddenly understood.
The casual clothes he wore were woven with Vibranium—the rare Wakandan metal. And they, too, were responding to Tony's power.
"Metal..." he murmured. "Everything being drawn to him contains metal..."
His gaze drifted to the wall, where hundreds of metal-based tools, panels, and tech had clustered together like iron filings drawn to a magnet.
"So Tony... you've awakened a magnetic ability?" Felix said with a smirk. "Interesting. Very interesting."
He couldn't help imagining future scenarios—Tony casually manipulating metal with a gesture, controlling entire fields of machinery, or possibly even rivaling the power of someone like Magneto.
Felix chuckled softly to himself. "Looks like Stark's going to have some trouble walking through airport security from now on."
But beyond the joke, he was genuinely intrigued. What Tony had awakened wasn't just powerful—it was versatile, and potentially world ending. The thought of what Tony might do with it... well, that was both exciting and a little terrifying.
And knowing Tony Stark? He'd find a way to make it even more dangerous
...
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