**Back in the Infinity Chamber**
Tony stood in the center of his main laboratory, surrounded by holographic displays showing every aspect of his biology. M.A.R.V.E.L had spent the equivalent of three days running scans, cross-referencing data, analyzing every cell in his body.
What she'd found was impossible.
"Run it again," Tony said for the fifth time.
[Master Stark, the results are consistent across all analyses. There is no error.]
"There has to be. Because what you're showing me doesn't make sense."
M.A.R.V.E.L's avatar moved to stand directly in his line of sight, her golden form flickering with what might have been concern. "Sir, your cellular structure is no longer human. The accident—whatever happened in that dimensional void—fundamentally altered you at the quantum level."
Tony stared at the readout showing his DNA. It looked nothing like what he'd started with. The double helix structure was still there, but interwoven with something else. Patterns that folded into dimensions his equipment could barely measure. Genetic sequences that seemed to exist in multiple states simultaneously.
The Super Evolution Serum 3 had been designed to enhance his human biology, to push it to godlike levels while maintaining his essential humanity.
This wasn't enhancement.
This was transformation.
"Define 'no longer human,'" he said quietly.
[You are a new species, Master Stark. Genetically distinct from Homo sapiens. Your DNA shares approximately 60% similarity with baseline human genetics—roughly the same percentage humans share with chickens.]
Tony's breath caught. "What?"
[Your cells exist in a state of quantum uncertainty. They are simultaneously matter and energy, fixed and fluid. You retain human form because your consciousness demands it, but your physical structure has diverged completely from human biology.]
M.A.R.V.E.L pulled up a comparison chart. Tony's genetic structure appeared on the left, a normal human genome on the right. The differences were staggering.
"It's like comparing a human to a chimp," Tony muttered. "Similar on the surface, but fundamentally different species."
[More different than that, actually. A human and chimpanzee share 98.8% of their DNA. You and a human share 60%. You are as genetically distinct from Homo sapiens as humans are from most mammals.]
Tony sat down heavily in his chair, mind racing through implications. 'I'm not human anymore. I'm something else entirely.'
"The Infinity Stones," he said slowly. "When I was in that void, the spectral forms offered me power. I refused, but..."
[But the connection was already established. Your experiment with the Super Evolution Serum 3 created a resonance with Infinity Stone energy. When you entered the dimensional void, that resonance didn't just amplify—it catalyzed a complete genetic restructuring.]
M.A.R.V.E.L brought up a molecular simulation. Tony watched as his cells shifted and reformed, adapting to energy patterns that should have torn them apart.
[You didn't absorb the Stones' power, Master Stark. Your body interpreted their fundamental nature as a template and rebuilt itself accordingly. You became compatible with forces that exist outside conventional reality.]
"Meaning?"
[Meaning you are a new form of life. One that exists at the intersection of matter, energy, and cosmic law. I cannot classify you as human, mutant, or enhanced individual. You are... unprecedented.]
Tony stood up slowly, walking to one of the holographic displays. He pulled up his biological readings from before the experiment. Strength, speed, durability—all superhuman, but still within measurable parameters.
Now?
Now the readings made no sense. His strength wasn't static—it fluctuated based on factors M.A.R.V.E.L couldn't identify. His energy output registered as both finite and infinite depending on how they measured it. His cellular regeneration operated on principles that violated thermodynamics.
"What are my baseline capabilities?" he asked.
[Unknown, sir. And that's the concerning part.]
Tony turned to face the AI. "Explain."
[Your body is in what I can only describe as an infant state. Like a newborn of any species, your abilities are undeveloped and uncontrolled. You possess immense potential, but you haven't learned how to use it yet.]
M.A.R.V.E.L pulled up a growth projection chart that looked more like a question mark than actual data.
[A human infant cannot walk, cannot speak, cannot control their bodily functions. Not because they lack the capacity, but because their neural pathways haven't developed yet. You are in a similar state.]
"So I'm a cosmic baby," Tony said flatly. "Great. That's exactly what I need to hear right now."
[Not a baby, Master Stark. But you are in the earliest stages of development for your new species. Your cells are still adapting. Your nervous system is rewiring itself to handle sensory input that human brains were never designed to process. Your body is learning what it can do.]
Tony looked down at his hands. They looked normal. Human. Five fingers, opposable thumbs, the scar on his left palm from when he was eight and tried to build a combustion engine in his father's workshop.
But M.A.R.V.E.L was right. When he concentrated, he could feel something moving beneath his skin. Not blood. Energy. Potential. Like his entire body was a coiled spring waiting to be released.
"How long until I reach... maturity? Full development?"
[Impossible to predict. You're the only member of your species. There's no baseline for comparison, no growth curve to reference. It could take months. Years. Decades. Or it could happen tomorrow if the right catalyst triggers full development.]
Tony's mind raced. "What about my previous abilities? The Super Evolution Serum 3 gave me specific enhancements. Strength, speed, regeneration, energy manipulation. Are those gone?"
[Not gone. Transformed. Your Starktonium core has merged completely with your cardiovascular system. Your arc reactor isn't just connected to your heart—it is your heart. Your bones aren't reinforced with adamantium-vibranium hybrid—they are a quantum-stable metallic compound that exists partially outside normal space-time.]
M.A.R.V.E.L brought up a detailed scan of his skeletal system. Tony stared at bones that looked human but registered as something completely alien.
[Your regeneration factor operates on principles I cannot fully analyze. Damaged cells don't heal—they're replaced by new cells that spontaneously generate from quantum fluctuations in your body's energy field. You're essentially rebuilding yourself at the cellular level every few seconds.]
"And my energy output?"
M.A.R.V.E.L paused, and Tony could have sworn the AI looked uncertain.
[Theoretically unlimited. You are a perpetual motion machine that generates power by existing. But here's the critical factor: you don't know how to access that power yet. It's like having an infinite fuel tank but no idea how to turn on the engine.]
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