"Done."
Inside the lab, Eunice had fully implanted the new program into the watch, and there were no functional abnormalities whatsoever.
Bant picked up the watch and placed it on his left wrist. The band seemed to come alive, molding itself snugly against his skin.
"With this, you'll be able to use the alien heroes' abilities without transforming," Eunice said.
"Transforming or not doesn't really matter to me," Bant shook his head. That wasn't what he valued—on the contrary, sometimes transforming was what made it feel more satisfying.
"The foundation for the no-transform function lies in the premise of fusing alien genes with human genes. Just like how you acquired animal superpowers, or how I awakened spider powers—those are successful cases of gene fusion. That's what matters most."
Bant spoke slowly.
Gene fusion was the direction of his next research, but achieving it wasn't going to be simple.
Take Spider-Man, for example. Just because Peter successfully fused with spider genes didn't mean Connors could produce a perfect lizard serum.
Even for a single species like humans, countless complications could arise—let alone fusing so many alien species with completely different genetic structures.
With the watch secured, Bant moved around a bit. It felt much more comfortable now.
Ever since he'd gotten the watch at age ten, he'd never once taken it off. It had felt a little strange at first, but now it was far more comfortable.
"How are Tony's preparations going?"
"He found the original Anmoa Mountain exoskeleton and repaired it, then injected himself with the Extremis virus. Though it seems unstable—it couldn't even repair his severed hand," Eunice said.
Her own body contained a portion of the Extremis virus as well, but Bant had specifically modified it, erasing the flaws of Killian's version while raising its upper limits. Tony's, however, was different.
Something thrown together in a rush was, at best, a low-budget version.
"Even so, he should be considerably stronger now than he was on Earth."
The main factor was the Anmoa Mountain exoskeleton's power. Back then, that turtle shell had been so tough that even Four Arms couldn't crack it in a single blow.
Bant laughed upon hearing this. "If he's not durable enough, then we can't properly test the new function's strength."
Because the Omnitrix's new function essentially fused Bant's own genes with those of other alien heroes, many heroes' abilities would naturally change when used.
For instance, originally weak heroes would be strengthened by Bant's own power, while powerful heroes might be weakened.
Especially heroes like Four Arms and Heatblast, who had been enhanced by other factors—they might not be able to unleash their current full strength at all.
After all, what was being fused was only the alien heroes' genes, nothing more.
In other words, only the base attributes would apply. Things like Sakar's Thunder or the Eternal Flame probably couldn't be used in human form.
"Alright then, let's get ready to begin the Champion Challenge."
...
"Come on, Champion Challenge—I'm not afraid of you!"
Inside the armory, Tony had encased himself in an exoskeleton suit, the metal frame hugging tightly against his body.
Thanks to the rapid advancement of Earth's technology, his—Tony Stark's—tech was far superior to what it would have been at this point in the original timeline. At the very least, replicating Primus's energy shield wasn't a problem.
The exoskeleton enhanced his mobility, the shield provided a degree of protection, and with the Extremis virus's enhancement, Tony's physical capabilities and healing factor had also improved. Even if the exoskeleton were completely shattered, he wouldn't die immediately—he should still have a chance to escape...
"I've loaded up all the weapons I can..."
It was strange, really. Tony had originally assumed he'd have to step into the arena wearing only the armor and wielding an axe. He never expected those Sakaarians to actually agree to provide him with firearms—though only small arms, nothing with massive destructive power like missiles.
Moreover, his exoskeleton was even equipped with a flamethrower—rumored to have originally belonged to that brutal Red King. The flames it spewed weren't ordinary fire, but Deathflame—a flame with an extremely high temperature ceiling, one that even his current body couldn't withstand.
It had been damaged, but when he asked if he could repair it, the arena's management generously provided materials, along with a double-edged greatsword. They even thoughtfully mentioned that this was a weapon Anmoa Mountain had once used, capable of channeling flame attacks.
Being willing to provide such excellent equipment should have been a happy thing, but Tony couldn't feel happy about it.
Because it meant that in their eyes, even with all this equipment, he still couldn't possibly win the Champion Challenge.
The girl who had looked after him before had disappeared after the first day. The stone man, however, had shown up a few times. Seeing Tony's progress, he still wore that look of pure sympathy. He'd even asked just moments ago whether Tony had any last words, or if he'd need a tombstone erected after he died.
Tony's face went dark. He ignored him and walked alone into the corridor leading to the arena.
The corridor was very spacious—over ten meters in both height and width—but he noticed marks on the walls and ceiling, clear signs that some truly colossal "contestants" had passed through here before.
Over these days, he'd heard many stories from that stone man.
Besides that terrifying giant stomach, this planet had other enormous monsters—like an octopus behemoth called Kork, extremely ferocious, but even they were no match for Ronan and Supergiant.
Tony slowly walked toward the massive gate. He could already faintly hear the tremendous noise from within the arena.
The inhabitants of this planet seemed to possess an obsessive passion for duels. He'd heard it had been this way since ancient times.
Over the past decades—possibly even centuries—the arena's victors had been crowned champions, their statues erected atop the Totem Tower.
Tony found it rather interesting. If he could resolve Earth's crisis and later return to upgrade his gear, he could come back and give it another shot.
Having his face printed on a building—even someone as flashy as him had never done that before.
Now that he thought about it, just putting his name on a building really didn't seem like much anymore.
His mind wandered through these random thoughts to ease his stress.
At that moment, the heavy iron gate before him swung open. The crowd's roar burst through the barrier and crashed over him. The light outside was slightly blinding, but he quickly adjusted.
"I believe everyone has been waiting for a long time."
Tony heard a voice booming from above—most likely the match announcer or something. The man said just that one line, and the cheering grew even more intense. Wave after wave of sound rolled in, and he felt as if the very ground were shaking.
"After so long—another Champion Challenge!"
"OH!!"
"A fool beyond foolishness, daring to challenge our Crimson Wind Queen!"
Instantly, a wave of mockery surged toward him, as if the entire world were booing in unison.
True, in the last Champion Challenge, Bant had indeed defeated Luma—even the Red King—but that was an exception. A second Sakar King could never appear in this world.
The vast majority of those who attempted the Champion Challenge met their end in death.
Nowadays, the arena rarely held death matches as brutal as before. Even prisoners could survive if they surrendered quickly enough.
Of course, surrendering right from the start wasn't allowed, and neither was stalling with staged fights.
"...So let us welcome the fearless—Iron Boy!"
Another round of cheers erupted.
Tony rolled his eyes. "Iron Boy? Who came up with that shitty nickname?"
He walked out with a dark expression.
And the moment the Sakaarians saw his outfit, their emotions instantly grew even more agitated.
Tony assumed they were welcoming him. His show-off nature made him itch with excitement, and he couldn't help but raise both arms, soaking in the cheers like a superstar—only to be greeted by a rotten egg!
"That brat's wearing Anmoa Mountain's gear!" There wasn't a single Sakaarian who wouldn't recognize the equipment on Tony, and it clearly ignited public outrage.
"Damn it, stone him to death!"
In an instant, the audience hurled whatever they had at him with fury.
"Stop, stop, stop—"
Tony dodged awkwardly, covering his head as he scrambled. "Stop throwing things, stop... Where did you even get rotten eggs? And the one who threw underwear—don't you think you're going a bit too far?"
"Clearly, our Iron Boy has landed himself in trouble." The commentator was enjoying the show, while the crowd continued hurling objects and shouting:
"Kill him! Kill him!"
"Who's the first match's opponent? Take out this bastard!"
Tony fully experienced what it felt like to be universally despised.
But still...
"I just love that expression you all have—wanting to kill me but not being able to," he thought.
He believed that with his current equipment, he shouldn't be taken down too quickly. No matter who the opponent was, he was determined to win all the way through—at least until he met the Crimson Wind Queen.
Only then could his connection—Bant Parker—come into play.
He steadied himself, ignoring the audience eagerly awaiting his death, and fixed his gaze on the other side of the arena.
The gate on that side had already opened. Inside, it was pitch black, as if a terrifying monster lurked within.
He knew that whoever emerged from there would be his first opponent.
"Who will it be?"
"Ronan? Supergiant? Or the behemoth Kork?"
He muttered the names of possible opponents one by one, his heart slowly sinking.
It was impossible not to be nervous. The outcome of this match concerned not just his own life, but the fate of all Earth.
Just as he was thinking this, a dark figure slowly emerged from the blackness.
Tony squinted. Something about it seemed familiar.
"This is..."
"Let us welcome—our supreme—our great—" The announcer raised his arm higher with each adjective, his voice climbing a pitch each time, until it finally cracked.
But still, he shouted that name:
"Hacker!!!"
In an instant, the atmosphere of the arena completely reversed.
Every spectator screamed along with him like they'd gone insane:
"Hacker!!!"
"Hacker!!!"
"Hacker!!!"
"..."
No one would ever forget that name.
In that oppressive world under the Red King's rule, it was this very challenger who had brought hope to the Sakaarians.
Back then, Bant had participated in the Champion Challenge under this title.
"Wait wait wait—who did you say?"
Tony was completely dumbfounded.
Hacker?
Did I hear that right?
Is that the Hacker I know?
At that moment, his heart was pounding louder than the earth-shaking cheers around him.
His eyes locked onto that dark figure, tense like someone waiting for a miracle outside a delivery room.
Until Bant emerged, clad in black battle attire with chains wrapped around both hands. Tony's entire body lit up with excitement as if he'd taken some kind of drug.
"YES!!! HAHAHAHA!!!"
The Sakaarians who were just about to cheer for Bant didn't even get a chance to speak before Tony's shouts cut them off. He literally jumped up, like a child in his forties.
Now it was the audience's turn to be dumbfounded.
Did this kid not know how terrifying his opponent was?
Did he think that just because Hacker didn't look particularly imposing, he could win?
Otherwise, why would he be this happy?
But Tony didn't care about any of them. His excitement was beyond containment—so much so that all he wanted was to grab every single person by the arm and shout at them: "I know him!!"
"He's my friend!!"
Tony bounced around like a complete fool, seemingly intent on sharing this news with everyone.
It was nothing short of a miracle!
"We know each other!!!"
In an instant, the entire venue fell silent.
Bant stood at the other end of the arena, watching Tony jumping up and down like a lunatic, and inexplicably thought of that idiot Thor.
In the movie, when that guy saw Hulk, he was probably just as happy as Tony was right now.
If only there'd been someone else at the scene who knew Bant to share in the moment—otherwise, this surprise would have been even more delightful for Tony!
"YES!"
"YES!"
"YES!"
Tony pumped his fist several times with force, then sprinted toward Bant, tears already welling up in his eyes.
Who could understand the feeling of meeting an old friend in a foreign land?
Especially after enduring so much pain, he had finally found the very person he'd been searching for. Now all his suffering had meaning, and Earth was saved!
"This is great, Ben!"
"I never expected to meet you here..." Tony was already choking up. He wiped his nose and said, "I originally wanted to see if that woman named Luma might know something about you... I never thought..."
He walked up to Bant. Because of the exoskeleton, he stood considerably taller than him. Tears and snot streaming, he reached out and placed his hand on Bant's shoulder, saying excitedly: "Quick, there's no time to continue this challenge match now. Earth is in grave danger. Ultron... what are you doing?"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Because Bant had grabbed his arm in return, the black battle suit as cold as the night itself.
The next moment, a fist rapidly expanded in Stark's eyes.
/-\
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