Tony stood and began checking his armor's systems. Running diagnostics. Testing every function.
'The ten rings integrated into the suit. Each one a weapon system with unique properties. Matter manipulation. Ice projection. Mental amplification. Flame generation. Lightning. Wind. Energy blasts. Darkness. Light. Molecular restructuring.'
He activated each ring's power in sequence. Watching the energy flows. Confirming functionality.
'Apocalypse knows about the rings. He saw me use them against the Horsemen. But he doesn't know how I've integrated them. How I can combine their outputs. Layer their effects. Use them in ways the Mandarin never imagined.'
Tony moved to another section of the chamber. This one contained his magical research. Notes from training with the Ancient One. Spells and techniques he'd mastered.
'Combat magic. Dimensional manipulation. Reality anchoring. Energy redirection. All of it learned in secret during those sessions at Kamar-Taj. Strange doesn't even know the full extent of what the Ancient One taught me.'
He pulled up a specific spell matrix. One he'd been perfecting for months.
'Dimensional severance. It can cut the connection between an object and its power source across dimensional barriers. If I can cast it on Apocalypse while the Ascension Device is draining him, I can prevent him from pulling energy from other dimensions to compensate.'
Tony practiced the hand movements. The gestures had to be perfect. No room for error when facing someone of Apocalypse's caliber.
Hours continued to pass. The echo cores reached ninety percent completion. Nearly ready.
Tony's mind kept working through scenarios. Testing theories. Refining approaches.
'The Space Echo will let me manipulate local space-time. Not true teleportation like the real Space Stone. But enough to create gravitational anomalies. Warp the battlefield. Compress space around Apocalypse to limit his movement.'
He pulled up the technical specifications.
'Duration: Thirty seconds maximum before burnout. Effective radius: Fifty meters. Power output: Equivalent to a small black hole's gravitational field. One use only.'
Tony moved to the Mind Echo specifications.
'Neural disruption field. Targets artificial programming and technological enhancements. Duration: Ten seconds. Effective radius: One hundred meters. Power output: Enough to crash Celestial technology systems temporarily. One use only.'
He studied both cores carefully.
'Two trump cards. Two opportunities to turn the tide. I have to time them perfectly. Use them at the exact moments when they'll have maximum impact.'
Tony thought about the moment of deployment. The critical seconds when everything would depend on split-second decisions.
'Space Echo first. During the fight when Apocalypse is fully engaged. Create the gravitational anomaly. Lock him in place. Then hit him with everything I've got while he's compressed and unable to dodge.'
He visualized the sequence.
'Mind Echo second. Right when the Ascension Device reverses. The Celestial corruption is technology-based. The echo will disrupt it. Cause system errors. Weaken him at the exact moment the energy drain begins.'
Tony's expression hardened.
'And if both of those fail, I still have my Homo Supreme abilities. Quantum manipulation. Reality synchronization. The power of a species designed to transcend human limits.'
The echo cores reached one hundred percent completion. They floated in containment fields. Pulsing with barely restrained power.
"M.A.R.V.E.L., integrate the cores into the armor. Hidden compartments. Not detectable by external scans."
[Acknowledged. Beginning integration process.]
Robotic arms moved the crystalline cores carefully. They fitted into specially designed chambers within the Mark Infinity Supreme's chest piece and gauntlet. Invisible to anyone who didn't know exactly where to look.
Tony watched the integration complete. His trump cards were ready.
"Status report on external teams."
[Captain America's evacuation team has completed forty-seven percent of Cairo's civilian extraction. Quantum resonators are being placed according to your specifications. Team members believe they are standard medical equipment.]
"Good. Next team."
[Young Avengers sabotage operations are ahead of schedule. Power conduit rewiring is sixty-three percent complete. They believe they are causing infrastructure damage to hamper Apocalypse's forces.]
"Excellent. Continue."
[Doctor Strange and Jean Grey have begun preliminary mapping of Ascension Device dimensional anchors. They report the task is extremely difficult but making progress. They believe they are preparing containment protocols.]
"Perfect. And the telepathic network?"
[Cyclops has established connections with eighty-nine percent of available heroes. Network stability is high. Participants believe it is for communication backup only. The distributed processing functions remain dormant and undetected.]
Tony nodded slowly. Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.
"What about Apocalypse? Any movement from Cairo?"
[Negative. Target remains in the Akkaba Citadel. Energy signatures indicate he is preparing for tomorrow's confrontation. No indication he suspects the true nature of the hero deployment.]
"He thinks we're desperate. Throwing everything at him in uncoordinated attacks." Tony smiled. "Good. Let him think that."
He looked at the chamber's chronometer. Six hours remained until dawn outside. Fifty hours internal time in the chamber.
"M.A.R.V.E.L., I need to rest. Four hours sleep. Then final preparations."
[Understood. Initiating rest cycle. I will wake you with four hours remaining until dawn.]
Tony found a meditation platform and lay down. His body was exhausted from the battles with the Horsemen. The Homo Supreme healing factor was working but slowly.
He closed his eyes.
'Tomorrow I face Apocalypse. Tomorrow I execute the most complex plan I've ever created. Tomorrow I either save Earth or die trying.'
Sleep came slowly. His mind kept racing despite his body's need for rest.
'I wish I could tell them the truth. Wish I could explain where my confidence comes from. But they wouldn't understand. How do you explain to people that their entire reality is based on stories you read in another life?'
Tony's thoughts drifted as sleep finally claimed him.
'I didn't before but now ..I feel burdened by Truth. Their lives are in my hands with their trust...I still must never reveal what I know. It will likely cause more harm than good.'
'Steve would think I'm insane. Strange would question the nature of reality itself. Peggy would demand to know everything. And none of it would matter because the fight is tomorrow regardless.'
His last conscious thought was simple.
'I know how this story goes. I've read it before. And this time I'm changing the ending.'
Tony Stark fell asleep in the Infinity Chamber. Outside, the world held its breath. Inside, a genius prepared to face a god.
And somewhere in the quantum probability fields that governed reality, something watched. Something old. Something that existed beyond normal space and time.
The One Above All observed. And waited. Curious to see if this mortal would succeed where so many others had failed.
But Tony didn't know about that. Didn't know he was being watched. Didn't know the stakes were even higher than he imagined.
He just knew he had a plan. A good plan. A plan that would work if he executed it perfectly.
And Tony Stark had always been very good at execution.
Four hours later, M.A.R.V.E.L.'s voice woke him gently.
[Four hours until dawn. Time to complete final preparations.]
Tony sat up. His body felt better. Not perfect but functional.
"Show me real-time status on all teams."
Holographic displays appeared. He watched heroes moving into position across Cairo. Executing their missions with dedication and skill.
'They don't know they're setting the trap. Don't know every action they take is a piece of the larger puzzle. But they're doing it perfectly anyway.'
Tony stood and walked to his armor. The Mark Infinity Supreme waited. Sleek. Powerful. Hiding secrets that could change the outcome of a god-fight.
"Begin final diagnostic. Every system. Every weapon. Every hidden function."
[Running comprehensive diagnostic. Estimated completion: One hour.]
Tony waited patiently. This was too important to rush. Every system had to be perfect.
The diagnostics completed. Green lights across the board.
"Armor deployment."
The Mark Infinity Supreme opened. Tony stepped inside. Nanites flowed over his body. The armor sealed around him perfectly. A second skin. An extension of his will.
Systems activated one by one. Heads-up display. Weapons arrays. Energy matrices. Quantum processors. The ten rings' integrated powers. Hidden trump cards.
Everything ready.
"M.A.R.V.E.L., open a portal to Cairo. Drop point: Three hundred meters from the Akkaba Citadel. Exactly where I broadcasted my challenge from."
[Portal ready. Dawn will break in thirty-seven minutes.]
Tony looked at the swirling gateway. Blue light. Quantum energy. The path to his destiny.
'This is it. Everything I've prepared for. Everything I've built toward. The moment that defines whether Homo Supreme was worth becoming.'
He stepped toward the portal.
'Apocalypse thinks he knows what's coming. Thinks he understands me. Thinks five thousand years makes him untouchable.'
Tony stepped through. The portal collapsed behind him.
He materialized in Cairo. Dawn was just beginning to break. Pink and orange light painted the sky. The ruins of the city stretched around him. And ahead, the Akkaba Citadel rose like a dark monument to tyranny.
Tony's armor gleamed in the early light. He stood alone. Waiting.
'He's wrong. About all of it. And by the time he realizes that, it'll be too late.'
The sun continued to rise. Light spread across Cairo. And from the citadel, a massive figure emerged.
Apocalypse had arrived.
The final battle was about to begin.
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