"Tony no!"
Out of pure goodwill, Joey had just caught Tony as he was falling—but somehow ended up getting dragged into yet another mirrored dimension because of it.
Doctor Doom's attack had only been a minor injury for him, something he could recover from after a couple of breaths.
Who would've thought Tony would make a unilateral decision to escape—and take him along for the ride?
"Next time you retreat, just go on your own!"
The good news was that Tony's teleportation device had actually worked. It had successfully sent Joey and Tony back to their intended destination—the universe they had originally set out from.
The bad news was that, by forcibly performing a cross-universe jump inside a mirror dimension, they had arrived in the mirror version of another universe's mirror space.
Even though Joey's Kryptonian senses couldn't reliably distinguish mirror space from normal space, he could still clearly feel their detachment from the physical world.
The two of them floated above the night sky of New York.
Below them was the bustling Manhattan commercial district, while in the distance, the LED glow atop Stark Tower stood out prominently against the night.
"We can still see that nouveau riche eyesore of yours from here. That 'Stark' glowing logo alone is responsible for at least a quarter of New York's light pollution."
"Hey, that's not light pollution. That's the industrial masterpiece of Stark Industries—a world-famous New York landmark powered by Arc Reactor technology!"
Protesting Joey's insult, Tony flew straight toward his tower without looking back, leaving Joey floating motionless in midair.
Half a minute later, a slightly confused Tony flew back.
"...Something's not right here."
"Of course it's not right. Next time, have JARVIS run the sensor systems first. They might not be perfect, but they're still better than your eyeballs."
Right now, both of them were trapped in a mirror dimension—like standing on the other side of a mirror, able to observe the real universe but unable to interact with it.
"It's a small issue. I can figure out a way to get us across."
Now that they were out of immediate danger, Tony also noticed the abnormality of their situation.
For him, however, this wasn't an unsolvable problem.
His armor contained a full suite of analytical tools and even basic 3D printing systems. Given enough time, he could analyze spatial frequencies and figure out how to escape.
"We don't have time!"
The moment Joey said that, he felt a strange sense of deja vu.
He had only recently arrived in Tony's universe, and yet things were already back to this level of chaos.
The burn damage from his own heat vision was already fading, and the suit damage was slowly regenerating. For him, this level of attack was not serious.
It had only been a casual counter from Doctor Doom.
By Joey's estimation, he alone probably couldn't handle a magic-and-science dual-class Doctor Doom.
Regardless of which version it was, Doom was both a cutting-edge scientist and a top-tier spellcaster.
Even though sufficiently advanced technology can resemble magic, magic is still magic.
It is chaotic residue—wild energy outside the ordered universe. It was exactly the kind of power that gave Kryptonians the most trouble.
Even if Joey could gradually adapt to magic-based damage, he had no real countermeasure against binding or sealing spells.
Even so, he still had to return to Universe 2099.
"Tony, how long will it take to repair the portal?"
Inside the Iron Man suit, JARVIS was rapidly calculating using the remaining energy from the last backup Arc Reactor, assisting Tony in analyzing spatial frequencies.
"I already told you," Tony replied.
"First, we need to figure out how to get out of the mirror dimension."
Tony projected a preliminary design blueprint from the front of his armor, planning to use the opportunity to build a working prototype together with Joey.
"Otherwise, even after we teleport back, we'll just get stuck in that stupid mirror space getting beaten up again—and the magic-plus-science version of me isn't going to give us that kind of free time."
For Tony, encountering a future version of himself in a distorted timeline wasn't something unacceptable for a scientist.
But a future version of himself who could split lightning with his bare hands and cast spell seals to roast Joey to a crisp—that was something else entirely.
Thinking about it made him increasingly uncomfortable.
"I still can't imagine my future self becoming a supervillain—and dressing with such terrible taste."
"Stop overthinking it, Tony. That's not your future self. At least, not yet."
Joey cut off Tony's wandering thoughts. He scanned the projected data and cross-referenced it with his own super-senses. Within moments, he had filled in the complete design.
"Get the 3D printer running—we need to get back to Universe 2099 as soon as possible. Doctor Doom didn't bring an army of robots into that universe just to host a Spring Festival Gala."
"Right, we do need to go back—but we have to be prepared first."
Tony scratched his head through his helmet, not quite understanding what a "Spring Festival Gala" had to do with an army of robots, and began constructing the first prototype.
"Rushing back would be suicide… wait, no—I just realized something."
While building the specialized teleportation prototype, Tony suddenly noticed a critical issue.
They were not in a normal physical world.
Which meant they couldn't build the device using conventional methods.
In other words, they were effectively trapped here indefinitely.
---
Just as Joey was about to swear and give up on Tony before resorting to desperate improvisation—
Such as brute-forcing the space apart, flying at extreme speed to disrupt spatial continuity, or trying to tear open a weak point—
A burst of golden flame suddenly erupted within the mirror dimension.
A circular portal interrupted Joey's thinking-out-loud problem-solving mode.
A hooded individual stepped out of the portal.
"I've been observing you for a long time. It seems you've once again charged headfirst into the web of destiny and landed yourself in trouble."
Though the voice was calm and friendly, it carried a cold clarity, like an echo from a glacier.
The Sorcerer Supreme, dressed in yellow robes, emerged from the dimensional portal and gestured with an inviting hand.
"Come with me—troublesome Kryptonian, and you as well, Mr troublemaker."
---
Inside the Sanctuary at the Roof of the World, the Ancient One personally poured hot tea for Tony and Joey, who were sitting cross-legged before a wooden table.
Joey lightly tapped the table three times, took the cup with both hands, and drank it all in one go.
Tony followed suit, lifting the cup through his armored glove and bringing it to his mouth—only to immediately cry out in pain.
"OW!"
"Ah-ha! What did I tell you?"
Joey couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
He had pretended to be serious earlier, but then casually drank the entire cup in one go—because as a Kryptonian, eighty-degree Celsius water meant nothing to him.
"Next time use your sensors. Stop relying on your eyes."
If he hadn't been low on energy, Tony would have been tempted to blast Joey on the spot with a repulsor.
"You little—!"
The Ancient One watched the two walking disasters disturbing the peace of her sanctuary and sighed.
With a wave of her hand, the three of them were transported from the snowy mountaintop sanctuary to the hidden Sanctum in New York.
"It's time. Now we can talk."