Author's Note: And now, for something completely different... I've done two stories of Iron Man movieverse hurt/comfort, it's about time I did something else. So, I had this completely ridiculous idea, but it turned into a more-or-less serious story. It's a crossover of Iron Man and... Iron Man! Movie-Tony meets some of his comic book counterparts. Told from movieverse-Tony's point of view, so no knowledge of the comics required (though it may make this more fun to read).

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As I solder the wires to their places within the experimental gauntlet, there's a small voice at the back of my head which keeps repeating words that I said myself, not long ago. Words spoken to a conference room full of reporters seated on the floor, with half my mind still stuck in a desolate cave in Afghanistan, unable to believe I'm really back home, one hand in a sling. The voice is telling them that Stark Industries will no longer have anything to do with weapons technology. No sir, we're going to be all peace and love from now on. Oh yes, we are.

And here I am, in my workshop, crouched over a piece of technology that can only be used as a weapon and nothing else. Never mind that I first meant the suit's palm repulsors to be flight stabilizers, this version I'm working on has next to nothing to do with flying and everything to do with beating the bad guys. I guess designing something like this is a natural, primitive reaction to getting your ass kicked by someone using a rip-off of your armor that's bigger and meaner than yours. I've got to build a bigger stick, because my enemy had one that was bigger than mine and I almost lost.

All set. It's time for testing. I pick up the gauntlet from the table, worm my hand into it, connect it to my arc reactor and head to the other side of the room, where I've carefully set up a square of floor so that it's clear and well-protected, with solid concrete walls on three sides.

"Test number one. Roll camera," I say out loud, ordering my no-good robot helpers to do at least something. "Three, two, one..." I extend my hand in front of me and fire.

Something goes very, very badly wrong.

There's a blinding flash of light, as if the bolt's reflected from the three walls, but that's impossible, since the material of the walls isn't reflective at all. I pull the gauntlet off my hand, breaking its connection from the arc reactor and dropping it to the floor, but it's too late. The light's so bright that it hurts my eyes and even deeper than that, like it's boring right through my skull. It spreads through me, a tingling feeling, like an electric shock.

I think I'm on my knees. I'm not sure. I can't feel my feet anymore. I'm losing consciousness.

Whiteout.

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Someone's shaking me roughly and shouting, "Hey, you! Wake up!" The voice is extremely familiar, in a strange way. I can't figure out whose voice it is. I open my eyes and instantly know why. The face above mine is - mine.

I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths. That made no sense. I must've hit my head. Maybe it'll go away if I wait a little.

I open my eyes again and look up. It's still there, and unmistakable, even though the lights are pretty dim. My face, but not quite. The beard isn't the exact same cut - and the eyes are blue.

"Okay. What just happened, and who the hell are you?" I demand.

"I could ask you the same thing," the not-quite-me replies in my voice. "And those two as well," he tilts his head in a backwards nod.

I sit up and get my first look at the surroundings. I'm no longer in my shop. Definitely not in Kansas anymore. We're on a circular platform, surrounded by lots and lots of technology, none of which I can name, especially since it's looming at the edge of the illuminated area. The source of the light is a small device set in the middle of the platform. On the platform opposite to me and not-quite-me, lying on the floor, apparently unconscious, are... two more of me!

This is so absurd that I laugh out loud, though it comes through sounding slightly hysterical, since I feel freaked out at the same time. This can't be real - but it feels awfully real, the residual headache from the weird whiteout, the cold metallic floor beneath me, the stale air that has a faint smell of ozone.

"Maybe one of them can explain this," not-quite-me suggests, so we move on to rouse the other two. But no, they both wake up just as freaked out and puzzled as we are.

They've both got blue eyes too, and one of them doesn't have a goatee or a beard of any kind, just a thin mustache, which someone might consider aristocratic, though I think it just looks silly. They're both wearing coveralls, as if they've just been working on something, same as me. I'm not wearing coveralls, though, just sweatpants and a white T-shirt. The not-quite-me who woke me up is different: he's got black trousers, a light blue shirt and a tie. Somewhat dismayed, I realize that the three others are all clearly taller than me. We all look about the same age.

We stare at each other - at ourselves - in a stunned silence that feels very heavy and thick, as if the very air in the room has turned solid.

"You're all Tony Stark, right?" the me in coveralls who has a goatee finally breaks the silence. "Anthony Edward Stark, son of Howard and Maria Stark? Also known as Iron Man? Same as me?"

Three Tony Starks nod in answer.

"I've got to be dreaming," he shakes his head.

"...or hallucinating," the dressy me suggests.

"...or caught in an illusion created by some devious supervillain," the me in coveralls with the silly mustache offers. "Unless you're all LMDs, clones or other artificial beings that look like me."

"I think I hit my head pretty hard," I add.

"But this feels too tangible for a dream, and I'm definitely not a fake," black-tie me speaks my thoughts out loud. "We could just assume this really is real. It's not impossible, after all. It could mean that we come from..."

"...alternate universes," all four of us pronounce in unison. The many-worlds interpretation. Parallel universes. It's not just science-fiction, it's physics, and apparently the other Tony Starks know their physics too.

Damn. This could actually be real.