A Different Tony Stark

In the next few days, Tony found out that he doesn't need to eat food for sustenance. For him, it's more like something he wants than something he needs. He also found out that he doesn't need to sleep. Still, he slept during nighttime, it's not like he has something interesting to do here.

'Wait, Superman is the same. Then, I also don't need oxygen to breathe. Good to know.' Tony muttered as he held his breath. 'I guess, I am really way better than Superman.' He complimented as he felt good about himself.

So far, he found out that he can vibrate his molecular structure and phased through solid structure, which was fun and risky thing to do, especially when he tried to control his molecular structure and changed his face.

He admitted that it wasn't the smartest thing he did but fortunately, his face returned back to his original face. Still, it was a convenient ability so he didn't give up practicing it. He didn't want to let go of the ability to shapeshift.

Related to this, he also found out he can clone himself, not a clone with a different personality but just another part of him. It took him a while to get accustomed to this new feeling, it was strange, to say the least, receiving twice the information all at once. He could see through the clone's eyes, hear through the its ears and feel through its skin. It's basically another him.

Aside from those, he also found out he can teleport which was totally different from his super-speed that works almost the same, well, on limited distances. He knew that it's fundamentally different and something he's grateful for. He figured if he grew even stronger, the difference will be even more negligible.

Also, he found out about his mind powers, he can use telepathy, telekinesis and other psionic-related abilities. Right now, he doesn't know if he's on the level of Professor X but he's getting stronger every second, and that includes his abilities as well.

To train and control some of his powers, he made some sculptures using his heat vision. Of course, he only melted or outright disintegrated the materials at first but when he was able to control it, with the help of his super-breath and telekinesis, he managed to make a statue of his new self, which he destroyed soon after. Apparently, he's not as narcissistic as he thought he was.

As for his vision, he can go microscopic, telescopic, x-ray, and infrared. He can even go electromagnetic as he can even see the different signals that's being transmitted.

He almost tried time traveling but he stopped himself since he haven't even started enjoying his current timeline. Besides, he knew it wasn't wise to mess with timelines based on a whim.

'Having a bit of normalcy isn't bad.' Tony thought as he spent the day sunbathing while drinking Piña Colada.

He decided to have a vacation time in a beach in Maldives before he officially assume the mantle of Tony Stark. Not to mention, he still hasn't decided on what will be his excuse for looking jacked more than before.

After hooking up with a few sexy tourists, Tony finally decided to return to Afghanistan and let himself be found by the military.

"How was the 'Fun-Vee'?" Seeing his friend alive and kicking, Rhodey said teasingly to Tony for his poor choice of Humvee that resulted to him being kidnapped.

James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes, an officer in the United States Air Force and liaison between the Department of Acquisitions and Stark Industries. Tony met Rhodes at MIT, where the two of them became best friends, with a close bond and rivalry that would last their entire lives.

Tony just smiled at his 'friend', feeling both awkward and fascinated for experiencing this scene which he only saw on the screen in his past life.

"Next time, you ride with me, okay?" Rhodes hugged Tony feeling genuinely relieved for his friend.

"What took you so long?" Tony finally retorted.

"Shut up. Do you know how hard it is to find a single person in this vast desert? And being kidnapped certainly beneficial to you." Rhodes let go of Tony as he noticed the transformation of his friend through the thick layers of tattered clothes.

"What can I say? It is 'survival of the fittest' out here." Tony cheekily tried to brush off the subject.

"Wait, did you grew taller? You're taller than me now?"

"I had to evolve to survive to survive, Rhodey. Aren't you going to give me a ride back home?"

Rhodes could only imagine Tony has gone through to get this ripped. Still, he couldn't believe what he was seeing but it wasn't important right now. What's important is that his friend was back in one piece.

Soon enough, they left the danger zone and went to the US Military Airbase in Afghanistan before returning to California.

"Do you have a suit for me?" Tony asked.

"What for?"

"For a press conference."