"F***, Pepper… I hope you can find my flaws… Wait—does this count as being betrayed by myself?"
In his final moments, Tony Stark looked at the figure standing before him, smiled bitterly, and then fell into eternal silence.
"Tony Stark, your sacrifice will become my triumph. I will use your brilliance to make a mortal rival the gods."
Allens' eyes were cold and deep. He stepped closer to Tony's body, his super ability — one that could perceive the very laws of the universe — beginning to operate. His gaze lingered in fascination upon Tony Stark's brain.
"Incredible… so this is the structure that allowed Tony Stark to become Iron Man — the true light of wisdom."
Unlike Inhumans, whose powers stemmed from specific neural mutations, Tony Stark's entire brain was a vast, unique circuit of intelligence. His entire being was his superpower.
Tony Stark's gift was the Light of Wisdom — a mind that transcended human limits.
His intellect was so supreme that he could design revolutionary armor in mere moments of inspiration, then refine it endlessly, driven by flashes of genius.
"It's amazing," Allens murmured, trembling with awe. "Tony Stark's light of wisdom allows his brain to absorb infinite knowledge, instantly recalling it when needed…"
Excitement and obsession gleamed in his eyes. Using his power to see through all things, Allens watched as the light of Tony's mind pulsed with brilliance.
Hum… hum… hum…
Allens' own brain began to change. Countless neurons fired wildly, forming intricate patterns — his mind now resembled a living circuit board. Streams of information flooded his consciousness.
In that instant, Allens' brain completed its transformation — becoming identical to Tony Stark's. The Light of Wisdom was now his.
Every piece of Tony's knowledge — the construction of the Iron Man armor, the secrets of the Arc Reactor, advanced physics, quantum theory, mechanical engineering — all of it flowed into Allens' mind.
It was no exaggeration to say that Allens had become another Tony Stark… no, a stronger one. His intellect now matched Tony's, but his body far surpassed human limitations.
Now, Allens possessed infinite scientific knowledge — artificial intelligence, armor engineering, Arc Reactor development, augmented reality systems, missile design, and countless other technologies.
From a mere observer, Allens had transformed into a technological god, centuries ahead of the world.
Rumble.
Raising his right hand, Allens let the sand beneath his feet rise through his telekinetic power. It swirled and buried Tony Stark's body completely, erasing all trace of him from the desert.
"Now… I'm Tony Stark."
A faint smile formed on Allens' lips. With Tony's face, his appearance radiated confidence and masculinity. He turned and began walking across the dunes, each footprint soon swallowed by the drifting sand.
Meanwhile, not far from Afghanistan, the U.S. Air Force had detected the explosion. Colonel James Rhodes personally led a search team across the Tarakan Desert, scouring for any sign of Tony Stark.
As their helicopter circled the area, one of the soldiers spotted a figure trudging through the desert.
"Sir! We found Tony Stark!"
"Are you sure?" Rhodey asked, his face lighting up with excitement. For the past two weeks, the military had been searching for the terrorist cell that kidnapped Tony, but without success.
As Tony's best friend, Rhodey had feared the worst — that Tony had been executed.
"Change course! We're bringing Tony home!"
The helicopter banked sharply toward Allens.
Whup-whup-whup—
The wind from the rotors whipped the sand into a storm. Allens shielded his face with one hand, his expression calm but with a faintly playful smile. He was ready to step into the role.
"Thank God, Tony! I finally found you!"
Colonel Rhodey jumped down, relief written all over his face as he clapped Allens on the shoulder.
"Well, Rhodey," Allens said with a weary smirk, "my 'happy Jeep' wasn't exactly happy this time."
Rhodey laughed, the tension easing. Then his expression softened. "Welcome back, Tony."
He pulled Allens into a hug, his voice sincere.
"Hey, Rhodey, this isn't the time for sentiment. Let's get out of here — I'm starving."
Allens grinned, his tone teasing, though his face remained pale and tired.
Rhodey, unaware of the truth, quickly ordered his men to help "Tony" aboard the helicopter.
"Sorry, Tony, no food on board. You'll have to hang on a little longer."
Rhodey turned to issue flight orders while Allens leaned back in his seat, a subtle smile playing at his lips.
"People of New York… are you ready to meet Iron Man?" he whispered. "The title of superhero… has a nice ring to it."
A faint sneer crossed his lips, and a flicker of cold light flashed in his eyes before he closed them, sifting through the sea of knowledge in his mind.
First on the list: the Mark series of Iron Man suits.
But unlike Tony Stark, Allens had no intention of following the same slow path of upgrades.
Armed with Tony's genius and his own powers, Allens could leap straight to nanotech armor — or even create blood-integrated bio-armor beyond Tony's imagination.
However, there was no rush. Before building his new suit, he had a more important performance to prepare — a grand show.
Soon, the world would meet "Iron Man."
And when that happened, Allens would be ready… waiting for the arrival of a certain green giant in New York.
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