A Stark Awakening

I woke up with a jolt, my eyes snapping open. This wasn’t my bed. I wasn’t even in my apartment.

I was lying on a bench in a park. The sunlight was bright, casting long shadows, and birds were chirping in the distance. Everything around me looked perfectly normal — trees, grass, people walking by. But something felt wrong.

I had gone to sleep in my room, in my bed. How did I end up here? I rubbed my face, trying to shake off the disorientation. The park seemed familiar, but I could tell almost immediately that I wasn’t in my neighborhood, not in the place I had known.

As I looked around, the sense of dislocation deepened. The people here — they were mostly Caucasian. A few had darker skin tones, but there was a distinct lack of Asians. I was Asian, and the more I looked, the more I realized that I didn’t belong here. Even the buildings, the layout of the streets — nothing was right. I was in a place that didn’t make sense.

My mind raced as I tried to gather my bearings. This wasn’t my world, I was sure of it.

I stood up from the bench, brushing myself off and starting to walk. The sounds of the park — the birds, the distant chatter — felt oddly muffled, as if the world around me was too quiet. I couldn’t figure it out, but it was clear: I was not where I was supposed to be.

After a few minutes of wandering, I found myself in an alley. I was still trying to make sense of the situation when suddenly, I heard growling. Turning my head, I saw three stray dogs emerging from the shadows of the alley, their eyes narrowed and teeth bared.

My heart skipped a beat. I had to get away from them. Instinct took over, and I raised my hands in a slow, non-threatening gesture, trying to calm them down. But the dogs weren’t slowing. They were closing in, barking louder, their hunger clear in their eyes.

"Woah, woah, woah! Stop, stop, stop!" I shouted, backing up as fast as I could. My panic escalated as I turned and ran toward the nearest fire escape ladder. I couldn’t outrun them — I had to get up.

My legs pumped faster, my breath ragged. I reached the ladder, scrambling up it with all the speed I could muster, not daring to look back. The barking was deafening behind me.

Once I reached the top, I finally dared to glance back over my shoulder.

The barking had stopped.

I froze, heart hammering in my chest, and looked down into the alley.

The dogs were completely still.

One of them was mid-run, its front paws suspended in the air, as though it had been caught in a moment of movement and frozen there. The other two were locked in place, their bodies rigid, frozen like statues in their aggressive stances.

My mouth went dry. Had I done that? How?

I blinked rapidly, unsure of what I was seeing. It felt like time had stopped for those dogs.

I descended the fire escape slowly, my mind spinning, but the dogs didn’t move. They were frozen — as if I had somehow...stopped them.

I slowly approached them, but even as I neared, they stayed completely still. My mind raced, but there was only one thought that cut through the confusion:

What the hell just happened?

I backed away, my legs shaky, and left the alley quickly. I couldn’t stay there, not with what had just occurred. I needed answers, but right now, nothing made sense. I was in a place that felt wrong, trapped in a reality that wasn’t my own.

I walked down the street, trying to focus, when I saw a TV store up ahead. Curious, I wandered over, peeking in through the window at the crowd of people gathered in front. Inside, a news broadcast was playing.

It was an interview, and the person on the screen was unmistakable.

Robert Downey Jr.

But he wasn’t just any actor. He was Tony Stark, the famous billionaire inventor. And the text at the bottom of the screen read:

Tony Stark is Iron Man.

I froze, my mind trying to process the impossible. This... this couldn’t be real. My gaze flicked nervously to the side, and that’s when I noticed a man standing just a few feet away, holding a newspaper.

I stepped closer, my heart racing, and glanced at the date on the paper. It was from 2008, the exact year Tony Stark had revealed himself as Iron Man in the first film, just after the events of the movie.

This wasn’t just some random coincidence.

I was in the Marvel Universe.

A sinking feeling hit me hard in the gut, and the only word that came to mind was simple, but it hit me like a punch to the chest.

Crap.