Tony: He's My Friend! We Know Each Other!

"It's finished."

Inside the laboratory, Eunice had fully implanted the new program into the watch, and no functional abnormalities had occurred.

Ben picked up the watch and placed it on his left wrist; the strap seemed to come alive and fit snugly against his wrist.

"This way, we can use the abilities of Alien Hero without transforming," Eunice said.

"Whether I transform or not doesn't matter," Ben shook his head. That wasn't what he cared about; on the contrary, sometimes transforming made him feel more excited.

"The ability to not transform is based on the premise of the fusion of alien genes and human genes. Just like when you acquire animal Superpowers, or when I awaken spider Superpowers, it's a successful case of gene fusion, and that's the most important thing."

Ben said slowly.

Gene fusion is the direction of his next research, but achieving it will not be so simple.

Just like with Spider-Man, Peter's successful genetic fusion with a spider doesn't mean Connors can create a perfect Lizard Serum.

Countless situations can occur even within the human species alone, let alone the fusion of so many alien species with completely different genes.

After putting on his watch, Ben moved around a bit and felt much better.

He's never taken off his watch since he got it when he was ten, so he was a little unaccustomed to it at first, but now he feels much more comfortable with it.

"How's Tony's preparation going?"

"He found the original exoskeleton from Angmo Asan, repaired it, and then injected himself with the Extremis Virus, but it doesn't seem to be stable; even his severed hand couldn't be repaired," Eunice said.

Her body also contained a portion of the Extremis Virus, but it was a modified version by Ben, which eliminated the flaws of the Killian version and increased its potential. Tony's version, however, was different.

Something rushed out will at best be a low-spec version.

"Even so, he should be much stronger now than he was on Earth."

The main reason was that Angmo Asan's exoskeleton was so powerful; its shell was so hard that even the Four Arms couldn't break it in one blow.

Ben laughed after hearing this, "If he's not tough enough, there'll be no way to test the strength of the new feature."

Because Little Broken Watch 'Ben new ability is essentially a fusion of his own genes with those of other Alien Hero, many heroes' abilities will naturally change when used.

For example, a weak hero might be strengthened by Ben's own power, while a strong hero might be weakened.

Especially for heroes like the Four Arms and the Heatblast, who have been enhanced due to other factors, it is very likely that they will not be able to unleash their current power at all.

After all, it was only the genes of the Alien Hero that were being fused, not anything else.

In other words, with only the basic panel, things like Sakaar Lightning and Eternal Flame would probably be unusable in human form.

"Alright, let's get ready for the Champion Challenge."

"Come on, Champion Challenge! I'm not afraid of you!"

Inside the armory, Tony was encased in an exoskeleton suit, the metal frame fitting snugly against his body.

Thanks to the rapid advancements in Earth's technology, Tony Stark's skills are far superior to those of the original timeline; replicating Primus's energy shield would be no problem at all.

The exoskeleton enhanced his Kinetic Energy, the shield provided some protection, and the Extremis Virus further boosted Tony's physical abilities and healing factor. Even if his exoskeleton were shattered, he wouldn't be killed instantly; he should still have a chance to escape...

"All the weapons that could be loaded have been loaded..."

Strangely enough, Tony originally thought he would probably only be able to go into battle wearing armor and carrying an axe, but the Sakaar people actually agreed to provide him with some firearms, although they didn't have weapons of mass destruction like missiles.

Furthermore, his exoskeleton was equipped with a flamethrower, which was said to be a weapon originally used by the brutal Red King. The flames it spewed were not ordinary flames, but Deathflame —flames with an extremely high temperature limit, which even his current body could not withstand.

It was already damaged, but when he asked if he could repair it, the Gladiator Arena manager generously provided the materials and even gave him a double-edged greatsword, thoughtfully explaining that it was a weapon Angmo Asan used before and could be imbued with flames for attacks.

The fact that the other party was willing to provide such good equipment should have been a happy thing, but Tony couldn't be happy at all.

This is because it means that, in the opponent's view, even with this equipment, they cannot win the Champion Challenge.

The girl who had taken care of him disappeared after the first day, but the Thing did appear a few more times. Seeing his achievements, he was still full of sympathy, and just now he was asking him if he had any last words, and whether he needed a monument to be erected for him after he died.

Tony was exasperated, ignored him, and went alone into the passage leading to the Gladiator Arena.

The passageway was very spacious, more than ten meters high both horizontally and vertically, but he noticed some marks on the sides and above the ceiling, indicating that some incredibly large "contestants" had once lived here.

He had heard many stories from that Thing over the past few days.

Besides that terrifying Giant Stomach, there are other enormous monsters on this planet, such as a ferocious octopus-like beast called Kirk, but none of them are a match for Ronan and the Supergiant.

Tony slowly walked to the heavy door, and he could already faintly hear the huge noises coming from Gladiator Arena.

The inhabitants of this planet seem to have an extremely strong passion for dueling, and it is said that this has been the case for a long time.

For decades, or even centuries, the winners of those Gladiator Arena were called champions, and their sculptures would stand on Totem Tower.

Tony found this quite interesting. If he could resolve the crisis on Earth, he could upgrade his equipment and come back for another challenge.

Even someone as flamboyant as him would never do something like printing his face on a building.

Looking back now, simply putting your name on a building really doesn't amount to much.

He was thinking about all sorts of random things to relieve his stress.

At that moment, the heavy iron door in front of him opened, and the shouts of the audience broke through the barrier and pressed down on him. The light outside was slightly dazzling, but he quickly adjusted.

"I believe you have all been waiting for this for a long time."

Tony heard a voice coming from above, probably the game's announcer or something. The person said just one sentence, and the cheers became even more intense, with waves of sound coming from all directions, making him feel as if the ground was shaking.

"After such a long time -- another Champion Challenge!"

"Oh!!"

"A complete fool dares to challenge our Red Wind Queen!"

A burst of laughter erupted, as if the whole world was cheering them on.

Although Ben did defeat Looma and even the Red King in the last Champion Challenge, that was an exception. It's impossible for another Sakaar King to appear in this world.

The vast majority of those who attempt to Champion Challenge end up with their deaths.

Nowadays, it's rare to see such brutal battles as deathmatches in the Gladiator Arena. Even prisoners can survive if they surrender quickly enough.

Of course, surrendering right away is not allowed, nor is wasting time by throwing matches.

"... Then let's welcome the fearless Steel Kid!"

Cheers erupted again.

Tony rolled his eyes. "What Steel Kid? Who came up with that shitty nickname?"

He walked out with a dark expression.

Upon seeing his attire, the Sakaaran became even more excited.

Tony thought they were welcoming him, and his flamboyant personality made him itchy to oblige. He couldn't help but raise his hands, greeting them like a big star. However, what he got in return was a rotten egg!

"That kid's wearing Angmo Asan gear!" No Saka could fail to recognize Tony's equipment, which clearly inflamed public anger. "Damn it, smash him to death!"

Immediately, the audience, filled with anger, threw whatever they were holding at him.

"Stop, stop, stop--"

Tony dodged awkwardly, covering his head and running away. "Stop throwing them! Stop throwing them! Where did you get these rotten eggs? And you, the one who threw the underwear, aren't you going a bit too far?"

"Clearly, our Steel Kid has gotten himself into trouble." The commentator, always eager for drama, remarked as the spectators smashed things and shouted.

"Kill him! Kill him!"

"Who's our opponent in the first match? Let's take down this bastard!"

Tony fully experienced what it meant to be disliked by both people and dogs.

but...

"I love the look on your faces when you want to kill me but can't do anything about it," he thought.

He felt that with his equipment, he shouldn't die so quickly. No matter who his opponent was, he was determined to win until the very end, at least until he saw the Red Wind Queen.

Only in this way can his connections— Ben Parker— come into play.

He calmed himself down, ignoring the spectators who were hoping he would be killed, and looked towards the other side of the Gladiator Arena.

The large door on that side was open, and the inside was pitch black, as if a terrifying monster was hiding there.

He knew that the person who would appear there would be his first opponent.

Who could it be?

"Ronan? Supergiant? Or the Great Devil Corker?"

He muttered the names of potential opponents one by one, and his heart gradually calmed down.

It's impossible not to be nervous. The outcome of this match concerns not only his life, but also the fate of the entire planet.

Just then, a black figure slowly appeared in the darkness.

Tony squinted, as if the face looked vaguely familiar.

"This is..."

"Let us welcome -- our supreme -- great --" With each adjective the host uttered, his arm stretched higher and his voice rose a notch, until it cracked at the end.

But he still called out that name:

"Hacker!!!"

In an instant, the atmosphere in the arena completely reversed.

Every audience member was shouting along with him like a madman:

"Hacker!!!"

"Hacker!!!"

"Hacker!!!"

"..."

No one will forget this name.

In the oppressive world ruled by the Red King, it was this challenger who brought hope to the Sakaaran.

At that time, Ben used this title when he participated in the Champion Challenge.

"Wait, wait, who are you talking about?"

Tony was completely dumbfounded.

Hacker?

Did I hear that right?

Is it the Hacker I know?

At that moment, his heart was pounding louder than the earth-shattering cheers.

Two eyes fixed on the dark figure, as tense as someone waiting for a miracle at the door of a delivery room.

When Ben, dressed in black armor and with chains wrapped around his hands, walked out, Tony became as excited as if he had taken a drug.

"Yes! Hahahaha!!!"

The Sakaar who were about to cheer for Ben hadn't even had a chance to speak when Tony's cheers interrupted them. He jumped up like a forty-something-year-old child.

Now it was the audience's turn to be dumbfounded.

Does this kid not know how terrifying his opponent is?

Could it be that they thought they could win just because the Hacker didn't seem that intimidating?

Otherwise, why would you be so happy?

But Tony didn't care about them. He was so excited he couldn't contain himself any longer; all he wanted to do was grab everyone's arm and shout, "I know him!!"

He's my friend!

Tony jumped around like a fool, seemingly intending to tell everyone the news.

It's simply a miracle!

"We know each other!!!"

For a moment, the entire scene fell silent.

Standing at the other end of the Gladiator Arena, Ben watched Tony leaping and bounding about, and for some reason, the image of Thor, that idiot, popped into his head.

In the movie, when that guy saw Hulk, he was probably just as happy as Tony was.

In other words, there was no one else at the scene who knew Ben to share the surprise with him; otherwise, the surprise would have been even more enjoyable for Tony!

"YES!"

"YES!"

"YES!"

Tony clenched his fists several times, then ran towards Ben with all his might, his eyes already brimming with tears.

Who can understand the feeling of meeting an old friend in a foreign land?

Especially after he endured so much suffering and finally found the person he was looking for, all the torment he had endured had meaning, and the earth was saved!

"Great, Benny!"

"I never expected to run into you here..." Tony's voice choked with emotion. He wiped his nose and said, "I was hoping that woman named Looma might know you... but I never expected..."

He walked up to Ben, much taller than Ben because of his exoskeleton. Tears streaming down his face, he put his hand on Ben's shoulder and exclaimed excitedly, "Quick! There's no time to continue this challenge! Earth is in danger! Ultron... what are you doing?"

He couldn't continue speaking halfway through his sentence.

Because Ben grabbed his arm with his other hand, his black battle suit as cold as the night.

The next moment, a fist rapidly enlarged in Stark's eyes.

Thank you to reader 20220812205850460 for the 500-point reward! Thank you, boss!