It was a beautiful place.

Golden light cascaded from every angle, filling the dimension with a warm glow. Large boulders hovered, suspended above, in scattered formations throughout the realm. One particularly large chunk of land housed a curved tree, branches adorned in cherry blossoms. Its foliage extended over a miniature pond, surface still and clear as glass.

It was the most beautiful place that didn't exist.

At least, it didn't exist to the mind of the mortal. But for those who had passed on from the first stage of life, the spirit realm was a very real place indeed.

Especially for Tony Stark, the spirit realm was home. He had accepted his fate after the snap, knowing well that his actions would save billions of innocent lives throughout the galaxy. He had done all the things he never planned on doing before the age of 60, like holding Pepper's hand while she cried over him and offering her a smile as his final breaths rattled out of his lungs.

He had given up a life with his daughter, a retirement with his wife, but… he didn't think about those things. They hurt too much.

For the most part, however, he was at peace. I did good. Take that, Thanos. Which was why he lingered beneath the cherry tree, eyes closed and palms resting against the ground beneath him. His fingertips, ever so slowly, began to glow.

He had quickly discovered the power of Chi upon his arrival in the realm. It was quite a rude awakening, actually; he'd been thinking about his final sacrifice and his hands just turned gold. Very jarring - even for a man who had several gods and superhumans in his contact list.

Now, though, it was something he welcomed - a reminder that he was not dreaming, that he was safe in this strange dimension. Despite everything being different, he was confident that Chi would remain with him as long as he was a spirit. Plus, it was very cool how his Chi could move things. He'd once sent a boulder hurtling across the vast golden space solely with his newfound power. It was reminiscent of the blasters in his Iron Man suit, except with less mechanical whining and, y'know, destruction.

He chuckled to himself as he meditated beneath the tree. "Inner peace, inner peace," he said to no one in particular. Since he hadn't seen a single living creature during his time in the realm thus far, he often spoke to himself (even in jest) to fill the silence.

The power of Chi flowed through his veins, tingled at his fingertips - and his nose tingled too. "Itchy nose," he muttered, nostrils flaring. One sneeze sent a rosy pink flower petal catapulting away from his face; it must have landed on his nose while he was deep in thought.

Tony laughed at the silliness of it all. Magical realms and itchy noses. Perfectly normal. So, so average. "Finally, inner peace," he sighed.

Another aspect of Chi that Tony had learned recently; it provided its users with a sixth-sense, an extra layer of awareness. His new sensitiviChi, as he called it (It made him think of Peter's Spidey-Sense. How he missed that goofy teen; thinking of Peter actually brought him joy, knowing that the kid would still get to be a kid - and keep the city safe).

He figured this new sense would be useful, would help keep him safe in the event of something dangerous happening. Dangerous? In the spirit realm? Inconceivable. He found the idea of danger in this illustrious land hilarious.

And yet, as he rested beneath the tree and pondered inner peace, his Chi sense began screeching in alarm. The wispy brown hairs on his arms stood on end as a prickly feeling flooded his body.

Tony simply groaned. "Now what?"

He kept his eyes shut; he didn't need them open anyway. He felt it coming, could almost see it hurtling towards him at lightning speed: a rocket. Small and unassuming, but he knew the damage it could inflict.

Of course he did. The name STARK INDUSTRIES was branded on the side.

Tony commanded his Chi to surface from his left hand, and the golden light destroyed the missile before it could approach further. His eyes flew open and he stood, glaring towards the shadow of a man in the distance.

And suddenly he knew. Clearing his throat, he addressed the shadow by name. "Obadiah, old friend!"

The shadow melted away as the man stepped into the golden light, and his identity was confirmed. "Tony Stark."

Obadiah Stane had not changed much; his appearance had been the same upon banishment to the spirit realm. His shiny scalp remained bald, and his cheeks still sported stubble from a failed attempt at a beard. He was still tall, with muscular arms and huge hands. And that stupid smile was still on his face. It was the same Obie that Tony had befriended, and the same Obie that had betrayed him.

Tony had to banish him to the spirit realm. Dad would've understood, right?

"Our fight ended over 10 years ago!" He threw his hands up in mock exasperation.

"Well, now I'm ready for a rematch," Obadiah grinned.

"Took ya long enough!"

And that set Obie off. With an otherworldly roar of rage, he shot up from the rock he was standing on and lunged at the spirit Avenger. Two more rockets exploded a boulder that blocked his path, and Tony fearfully recognized a metal gauntlet attached to his villain's hand. That must be where the rockets are coming from.

Obadiah crashed, on all fours, into Tony's tree-island. The gargantuan impact sliced the island in two, and Tony leapt high above him as Obie got to his feet. His special power kept him floating weightlessly.

"You've grown stronger," he admitted, tracing the Chinese symbol for Chi with his finger. He waved his hands, and the symbol plummeted down upon Obie in a rush of sparks and a flurry of golden dust. The powerful attack brought the sinister man to his knees.

"A decade in the spirit realm," he said, slowly standing. "You pick up a thing or two. I have taken the Chi of every hero here." He brushed a calloused hand over his belt, which carried a handful of green medallions.

Tony squinted. There were other heroes in this realm? He could make out faces on the medallions, the faces of - oh.

Quicksilver, Loki, the green woman from Titan. An elderly man with a bushy beard and an eye patch. King T'Chaka of Wakanda and a bald woman in yellow robes.

Vision.

He couldn't help his despair. "No," he gasped.

"Oh, yes." Obadiah laughed, a deep rumble that rose from his throat. "And soon I will have your Chi too."

"When will you realize," Tony urged, "The more you take, the less you have!"

Obie leapt towards him once more, rocket blasters at the ready. Two whistling missiles hurtled towards Tony, who frowned in concentration.

Come on.

Come on!

A massive spiral of golden light generated from Tony's palms, encircling him and deflecting the projectiles effortlessly. The impact sent him wobbling backwards through the air.

I'm not going to win this.

A pulse of energy rendered him paralyzed, forced to watch as his former companion made circling motions with his hands. The tips of his fingers glowed a vibrant green, and the power lured Tony closer against his will.

"With your Chi, I will finally be able to return to the mortal world," he snickered as he brought him forth. "And this time…"

He could feel his body slowly solidify into jade. Oh, good grief.

"And this time, you won't be there to stop me."

Fighting to remain calm, he contemplated his options. If Obie makes it back, who will be there to stop him? He considered his team, but remembered that the Avengers had been scattered after the effects of battle and the Blip. They might not be organized enough to stand against him, he concluded. They're probably going to need some outside help.

He thought for a moment. A name suddenly surfaced in his mind, and he recognized the remnants of his Chi sense at work.

Peter. It has to be Peter.

"It was never my destiny to stop you," Tony responded frankly, serenity relaxing his thumping heart. "I have set another on that path."

You can do this, Pete.

And with that, the hero of iron turned to stone.

—

December 21, 2020

A/N: Hey everyone!

Yep. This is a weird one. I watched Kung Fu Panda 3 the other day and found myself captivated by the opening sequence (Oogway vs. Kai). Oogway's omniscience and golden power was so cool to watch. The music was just incredible, too. I was mesmerized.

And so I wrote a little story about it! For some reason, I could imagine Tony in this realm after the snap, and I wrote this down before I could forget the idea. I might make this a full-blown story since Grey's Anatomy is on winter hiatus, so there may be updates in the future! In this current moment, it's a one shot.

Completely inspired and based off the opening scene of Kung Fu Panda 3, which you can watch on YouTube (I highly recommend it, it's really good and will add some clarification to this story!) I tried to keep details as accurate as possible; hopefully I did okay.

Hope you guys enjoyed this! It's kinda weird (I even thought so as I wrote this haha), but I hope it was an okay read nonetheless. Have a great day :)

galaxyquill