Anyway, unlike Earth-1218, this universe works off of completely different laws that allow magic-like technology. There are a bunch of tech trees I could unlock; damn, that sounds like I'm treating reality as a game. Anyway;

We had the whole magic that is indistinguishable from advanced technology, especially with the Asgardians and dark elves. 

We had the actual magic that is used by the sorcerers, who I think use some kind of energy from other dimensions, like the dark dimension, if I remember correctly. Though that again could be classified as simply advanced tech if it sticks within the laws of this universe.

We had Kree and Skrull-based tech, which I could access with some effort due to the fact that Marvel’s Research Ship is up there in orbit. That gives the bonus of research into the FTL they were working on, and I have an idea of how to power it without the space stone.

We had the wormhole technology from Big Hero 6. Everything else in that movie, I can pretty much guess the actual principles behind them, and they are completely feasible. 

We have the mutant gene, along with the various ways it can be artificially activated, from the space stone to cosmic rays. I also need to have a look at those machines Trask built and make sure he doesn’t.

Next is the vibranium found only in Talokan and Wakanda. I could probably raid Clau’s ship to get a quarter tonne of the stuff, but that will only last so long. I could try to steal some, but that would leave a bad taste in my mouth. I guess I could survey the solar system and see if I could find more of the stuff. If it wasn’t just one asteroid, then I should be able to find some. Vibranium is incredibly useful, mostly for its energy absorption effect but also for its ability to affect the mind and soul as well as certain mystical energies.

We have the Super Soldier serum, though I can probably recreate the same effects with a bit of research, but going off how it enhances the person, I am afraid to mess with it.

We also have the infinity stones and the myriad of knowledge about the nature of the universe that could be gleaned, but I have a feeling I will end up regretting messing with those too much at the moment.

We have the extremis virus and its miraculous effects on healing once I work out the kinks. 

We have those weird regeneration cradles that Helen Cho is making, though I have no clue why the Avengers used them when they had the Extremis virus. Though, if they had the ability to build a body for Ultron, could they be used to graph new genes onto cells? 

We also had the weird mind-uploading thing that Hydra uses. Actually, I want their thesis research as well. I think Shields might have it; they will also have the FTL drive somewhere. 

The two I had the most hope for were the arc reactors and pym particles. 

Arc reactors seemed to have a similar energy signature to what the tesseract made, and maybe, though this was a stretch, I could actually use a huge arc reactor to power an FTL drive. What even was an arc reactor? It certainly was more powerful than a fusion reactor; was it some kind of zero-point module? Was that why it could tap into the same power as the space stone? I mean, my father came up with the idea after studying the stone. 

As for pym particles, they were kind of an anomaly, and it is going to be hard to convince Hank pym to give up his monopoly. Maybe I should just steal Cross's version as a base for the research. 

My main goals for the near future were to begin experimenting with vibranium, finish the suits, and start creating an anonymous reputation as ‘Ironman.’ get stark industries out of the weapons industry while massively expanding its manufacturing capacity, preferably abroad, Deal with Aldrich Killian, get my hands on Extremis, and finally, actually enjoy life, not waste it like I have for the last thirty years.

Actually, going on when I die, one could say that building the suit was my midlife crisis, not that I have any intention of dying.

I shook off those thoughts and beamed as I looked upon my new particle accelerator. While Stark Industries had built it, I owned it privately and was very happy with the result. Once I had gotten the raw materials, I powered up the accelerator, and a purple beam shot out into a condenser. The entire process was far more refined this time since I intended to make an absolute ton of these. 

Once the whole plasmatic accelerator ring was set up, I began to fine-tune it; now all I needed were the raw materials to fuse together. The new element should possess an atomic mass of 328. The atomic mass of Uranium-238 was, well, 238, and when added to Niobium-90’s mass, by colliding the two particles together, I could synthesise the element.

I looked on in awe as metallic crystals began to form around the triangular framework. After a few seconds, I powered it down, rolled over to it, and picked up a solid, glowing triangle. It was extremely heavy, weighing about three times as much as a solid lead.

“What exactly is it, sir?” asked the AI as ideas about how to fine-tune the process began to formulate in my head. Until now, the highest discovered element was 118, and I knew in the next decade or two we would manage to get to 124, but this was something else. All of those super-heavy elements had half-lives of a few seconds at most before they decayed. “All these years are dead, and he’s still taking me to school. Jarvis This is element 164, or, as I christen it, starconium. I then repeated the process five times before using up the rest of my materials and heading back to the workshop. 

…

“Jarvis, I’m going to need a few tonnes of Niobium-90 and Uranium-238 each, please.” I said as I began to tinker with a capacitor on the suit, “Sir, I understand what you are attempting, but don’t you think uranium will raise a few too many flags?”

“Jarvis, it’s the only way we are getting our hands on any of the new elements, and besides, isotope 238 is perfectly legal to buy commercially. Oh, could you let Friday know to look for an electron microscope?" I said as I began to assemble the new thruster, which used rotating muon detonations instead of muon pulses for thrust and had about a 400% increase in thrust but took about 15% of the energy. I strained to mount it onto the suit and said, “I really need to start working out more.” 

I then spent a few hours matching the parts for the five starkonium reactors. Once they glowed to life, I had Dum-E and U replace the reactor in my chest. “Oh, yeah. That packs a punch?'' I said as the power began to course through my body. I then masticated a few times and said with a disgusted expression on my face, “Bleh, it tastes like blood and bounty bars.

I then glanced at the wall and saw four suits of armour standing haphazardly on mounts. One was the welded steel Mk.1, which I painstakingly reassembled for prosperity. The others were all painted, though. The first was the Mk.II, and it was in the classic Gold n’ Hot Rod Red colour cheme. It was, however, more bulky than the original and was essentially designed to be my direct combat suit. 

The other two were the Mk.III and IV and were painted Black n’ Gun Metal and Hotrod n’ Chrome. Respectively. The Mk.III was that colour due to the stealth coating and had graphene sheets between the gaps to basically make it almost invisible on radar, as well as a low-temperature emitter to lower my infrared signature. It was slimmer than the Mk.II, more in line with the original Mk.III, but still bulkier than the Mk.IV. 

The Mk.IV was essentially the emergency one and was intended to fold up into a briefcase, though this one looked like a leather-bound one to be less conspicuous. All three were built modularly, so I wouldn't have to replace the actual suits for a while and could just replace parts as needed. 

I got up while leaning on the counter and then handed the other reactors to U and walked unsteadily to the centre of the workshop as the floor around me began to open and attach the MK. III suit piece by piece. Once it had fully assembled, I said, “Jarvis, can you hear me?”

“Yes. I am already uploaded into the suit.” After he responded, I then said, “Flaps...” Jarvis then moved all of the flaps and said, “Operationally, all control surfaces are functioning and appear to be calibrated within tolerances for the flight management control system.”

“Sensors…?” to which he responded, “All sensors are operational, including navigational, tactical, and auxiliary." This process continued for a few minutes, and once we had checked everything, I asked, “Anyone around other than us?”

“No, sir. The closest person to us currently would be your neighbour Audrey, approximately a quarter mile away.” He said this after a few seconds of checking. “Okay, let’s go.” I then began to walk up the stairs. The noise was incredibly loud from the hydraulics, and I decided to start work on magnetic servos soon.

Once I was outside, I just squatted slightly before leaping into the air. I rose about six feet off the ground and straight into the pool. After I was lying on the bottom, I asked, “Okay, Jarvis. Any Leaks?”

“Unfortunately, the suit seems to be airtight, and all life support functions are operational. You are in a fully self-contained environment.” I checked the statistics and saw that the oxygen levels were staying the same, along with CO2 levels. “Let’s Fly.” I said this as I activated my thrusters and was propelled out of the pool. I steadied myself as I hovered about a metre above the water. It rippled as the muon engines below my feet kept me afloat.

“Activate Hover Mode.” And as I said that, I felt my centre of gravity shift as two thrusters on my back activated and my hand emitters turned off. I was steadily hovering, and it felt like I was weightless for a few seconds. I then activated my hand emitters again and shot off into the sky. “What’s the altitude record for the SR-71?” I asked out of curiosity.

“Sir, I doubt you won’t be able to break it since you are essentially flying a missile with unlimited fuel. By my calculations, you could reach orbit with your current suit, though I would advise against that since you lack the ability to not burn up when you enter the atmosphere. But if you really want to know, it's 85,000 feet.” He said it in a lecturing tone. 

“Woo-Hoo.” I shouted at the top of my lungs as I shot up higher and higher into the sky. As I smashed the record of the Blackbird in a few minutes, I continued to soar higher and higher. I stopped at around a hundred thousand feet and activated hover mode, and I was left speechless by the spectacular view before me.

I ended up spending almost twenty minutes taking it in. The horizon is forming a perfect curve in my vision. Hundreds of white blots randomly covered the thin layer of air that blanketed our planet. If I looked up, I could see countless stars—far more than I could ever see back on the ground. I could see as far as the subtly shifting yellows and greens of continental North America in one direction and the endless, deep blue Pacific Ocean in the other.

“It really does change your perspective.” I muttered under my breath.

I took a few pictures and then turned off all of my thrusters. As I began to plummet at an ever-increasing speed, I felt the hair on the back of my neck raise and my skin develop goosebumps, as if my very instincts were telling me to get my feet back on the ground. I burst out laughing, enjoying the sensation. Once I reached terminal velocity, I just kept falling until I reached about five thousand feet, when I reactivated my flight systems and gently slowed down. Once above sea level, I shot off back in the direction of Malibu, since I had come down about three hundred miles off the west coast.

As I landed with a thud, leaving a dent on my lawn, a smile spread on my face. I could now actually start doing stuff. First on the list: time to get my hands on some vibranium.