Marvel: Starting with Iron Man in the Apocalypse

In a private training room on the top floor of Stark Tower, Chen Haotian and Tony stood facing each other. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the New York night view unfolded like a dazzling painting, but at this moment, their attention was completely elsewhere.

"Are you sure this won't turn me into something weird?" Tony looked at the pale golden energy gathering in Chen Haotian's hand, his tone teasing as usual, but his eyes were unusually serious.

Chen Haotian smiled slightly, the internal energy in his palm slowly rotating like a living fluid: "Don't worry, this is just the most basic internal energy bestowal. I spent three whole months in the martial arts world just to master how to use this power."

"A martial arts world?" Tony raised an eyebrow. "You didn't mention this before."

"We always have to leave some surprises, don't we?" A sly glint flashed in Chen Haotian's eyes. "Besides, you were busy dating some cover girl at that time."

Tony shrugged, not denying it: "So, what can this glowing thing do?"

"In theory, it can enhance your physical attributes, giving you greater strength, speed, and reaction time without relying on the armor," Chen Haotian explained. "Moreover, internal energy is different from viral enhancement; it's closer to the utilization of life energy and won't change your genetic structure."

Tony thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, I admit I'm curious. What do you need me to do?"

"Relax, don't resist," Chen Haotian said, gently placing his palm on Tony's chest.

The pale golden internal energy flowed into Tony's body like a warm stream. At first, Tony only felt a warm sensation spreading from his chest, so comfortable that he almost groaned. But soon, this feeling began to change.

"Wait a minute..." Tony frowned. "Something's not right."

Chen Haotian also noticed the anomaly. He sensed that his internal energy was encountering some kind of obstacle within Tony's body, and that a subtle conflict was beginning to occur between the energy systems of the two different worlds.

"Jarvis, monitor Tony's vital signs," Chen Haotian commanded, while carefully controlling the flow of his internal energy.

"Heart rate rises to 120, blood pressure fluctuates abnormally, and energy levels in the body fluctuate wildly," the AI ​​responded immediately.

Tony's breathing became rapid, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead: "It feels... strange, like something is fighting inside me."

Chen Haotian tried to adjust the frequency and intensity of his internal energy, but the situation did not improve. The Extremis virus energy in Tony's body and the newly injected internal energy were like oil and water, unable to mix no matter what.

"Stop it," Tony said through gritted teeth. "This doesn't feel good."

Chen Haotian immediately withdrew his internal energy, but it was too late. A faint red glow began to appear on Tony's body, a sign that the Extremis virus had been activated.

"Jarvis!" Chen Haotian shouted.

"Mr. Stark's temperature is rising rapidly, and the Extremis virus activity has increased to a dangerous level." The AI's tone remained calm, but its speaking speed noticeably increased.

Tony knelt on one knee, his right hand clutching his chest, his knuckles white from the force: "Damn it... this time we've really messed up..."

Chen Haotian quickly considered a solution. He recalled the methods for dealing with internal energy conflicts that he had learned in the world of martial arts, but those were all for internal energy of the same origin, and the current situation was completely different.

"Tony, try to control your breathing and imagine guiding that energy to your limbs." Chen Haotian squatted down and placed his palm on Tony's back again, but this time he used extremely gentle, soothing energy.

Tony followed the instructions, taking deep breaths and trying to control the turbulent energy within him. After a few minutes, the red glow on his skin gradually faded, and his breathing became steady.

"How are you feeling?" Chen Haotian asked with concern.

Tony slowly stood up and stretched his limbs. "It feels like I just finished a marathon, or like I've been trampled by a herd of elephants." He paused, feeling the changes in his body. "But... it does seem a little different."

He walked to the punching power tester on one side of the training room, and without wearing any equipment, casually threw a punch. The numbers on the screen stunned both of them: nearly fifty percent higher than Tony's usual punching power.

"This is just the residual effect," Chen Haotian analyzed. "If it could be fully integrated..."

"The price was almost spontaneous combustion?" Tony raised an eyebrow. "No, thank you. I'd rather build a few more suits of armor."

Chen Haotian didn't give up: "The problem isn't the internal force itself, but the mutual repulsion between the two energy systems. If we can find a mediating substance..."

He suddenly paused, his eyes lighting up: "Void energy crystal! Since it can harmonize viruses from different worlds, perhaps it can also harmonize energy systems!"

Tony considered the possibility: "It's worth a try, but definitely not today. I don't want to experience another internal world war."

Just then, Jarvis sent a notification: "Mr. Chen, a communication from Dr. Birkin. He says there has been an important discovery."

Chen Haotian connected the communication, and William Birkin's holographic image appeared in the training room. The doctor looked very excited, even somewhat agitated.

"Mr. Chen, I've discovered something incredible while analyzing G-virus samples!" Birkin spoke rapidly. "The G-virus isn't just a pathogen; it possesses a subtle energy conduction structure that can adapt to the physical rules of different worlds!"

Chen Haotian and Tony exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

"Explain in detail, Doctor," Chen Haotian said.

Birkin pulled up a complex set of data: "Simply put, the G-virus has a 'rule buffer' mechanism. This allows it to maintain relatively stable characteristics in different worlds. If we could replicate this mechanism..."

"That would solve the problem of the conflict between internal energy and the Extinction Virus," Chen Haotian continued.

"Theoretically, yes," Birkin nodded, "but this requires further experimental verification."

After ending the call, Tony looked at Chen Haotian thoughtfully: "So, your little adventure might not have been a complete failure."

"Scientific exploration has never been a complete failure," Chen Haotian said with a smile. "There are only different ways of collecting data."

Tony scoffed, "Easy for you to say. You weren't the one who almost became Stark roasted just now."

Nevertheless, Tony walked to the holographic control panel and retrieved the complete data record of the experiment he had just conducted.

"Jarvis, simulate the possibility of applying the G-Virus's rule buffering mechanism to internal force transmission," Tony commanded.

A few minutes later, the AI ​​provided the results: "Simulation success rate 73.4%. The main risk lies in the possibility that G-virus components may cause unpredictable mutations in the energy flow."

Chen Haotian pondered for a moment: "What if we don't use the G virus directly, but instead replicate its energy buffer structure?"

"That would require extremely sophisticated energy engineering," Tony said, "but it's not impossible."

For the next few hours, the two were immersed in technical discussions. Chen Haotian, based on his understanding of the nature of internal force, proposed the basic framework of an energy buffer structure; Tony, on the other hand, designed a specific solution to realize this framework from an engineering perspective.

"If this plan works," Chen Haotian concluded, "we can not only solve the problem of internal energy endowment, but also potentially find a universal method to reconcile different world power systems."

Tony nodded, but his expression remained cautious: "Take it slow, buddy. I don't want to wake up one day to find myself a glowing mutant."

Chen Haotian smiled and didn't refute. He looked out the window; the lights of New York were still dazzling, but his thoughts had already drifted to a more distant place—those unknown worlds waiting to be explored, and the infinite possibilities they contained.

"The new experiment starts tomorrow?" he asked.

Tony sighed. "Give me a day to recover. Also, next time you want to try out a new ability, find a guinea pig as a test subject, okay?"

Chen Haotian simply smiled, neither agreeing nor refusing. In his eyes, a glint familiar to Tony shone—the excitement of discovering a new challenge, and an unwavering determination.