“I hope you realize, this isn’t personal.”
Screaming Mimi, in her gold and black costume, floated down to the warehouse floor. Mainframe, a digital representation of Tony Stark that activated after his death, had developed this secret location to continue the late hero’s work. Up until now, it had remained hidden.*
* [Screaming Mimi blew out an entire wall in IRON MAN #12, making quite an interesting entrance to the supposed secret warehouse – D]
“Don’t kid yourself, Mimi,” Pepper Potts said coldly. “It doesn’t get much more personal than this.”
“I’m just a hired gun,” the villainess replied. “With Justin Hammer footing the bill. Now…everyone on your knees.”
Pepper shot Happy Hogan a quick glance. The former bodyguard looked like he was ready to jump one of the dozen armored guards that Mimi had brought with her upon busting into the warehouse. The look from Pepper spoke volumes, and Happy placed his hands reluctantly on the back of his head as she had done.
James Rhodes, however, took a step closer. “If you’re working for Hammer,” he said, “then you know that we’ve been keeping tabs on him. If you walk away now, we’ll promise not to take you down with him.”
Screaming Mimi just laughed. The carapace on her back hummed with the delight of her laughter, which forced a soft vibration to flood the warehouse. Her sonic powers, while under her complete control, were ready to explode out from the carapace and liquefy all of them.
“What’s the promise of a dead man?” Mimi asked.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
IRON MAN
Annual 2009
Written by D. Golightly
“Shell Game – Part Three of Three”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Metal clinked together as Abner Jenkins, former villain and current bearer of the Iron Man defensive armor, furiously worked to make two forms of technology amalgamate into one.
“Damn piece of crap,” he muttered as he spliced cables together.
He glanced at the facemask of the rebel armor, removed from the torso of the enemy armor that Hammer had developed. His own helmet had been twisted and destroyed, and he even though he had no choice, he felt like a cannibal.
The other armor was now lifeless. It had housed only moments ago the core consciousness of Mainframe, only Hammer had twisted the programming of Abe’s artificial friend into something else.* During their struggle, Abe had been forced into initiating a vocal command sequence that, in essence, erased Mainframe from the face of the Earth.
*[IRON MAN #11 – D, again]
And now he was picking at Mainframe’s leftovers to get his own armor functional again.
He stood up, finished with his work for now. He couldn’t waste too much more time. If Hammer had sent the rebel armor to destroy Stark Tower, that meant that people there will still in jeopardy. Hammer wasn’t the kind of guy that only relied on one plan of action. He would have several back-ups going at once to ensure that he got what he wanted.
Abe knew because he had worked for Hammer on more than one occasion during his days as the Beetle. Those days were behind him now, and with the death of Mainframe, he was more determined than ever to bring Hammer down.
Behind him was the unconscious Blacklash. Abe also knew the villain from when he ran on that side of the blue line, and didn’t feel any remorse for him. Blacklash was a killer, and worse, a man who enjoyed his work. He would wake up with one hell of a headache, but Abe had trouble feeling sorry for him.
In front of him, however, was someone he did feel pity for. Hardshell, otherwise known as Leila Davis, had been an obvious pawn in Hammer’s plan. She was also knocked out and possibly trapped inside her armor. Hammer had betrayed her and commanded Mainframe, Daedelus, to sever their contract. Given their history together, Abe couldn’t help but think that he was a little responsible for her being there.
He placed the rebel armor’s helmet over his head, took in a deep breath, and switched on the power sequence. The HUD was slightly different from what he was used to. The information was similar to what normally scrolled across his screen, but there was less of it. Hammer had obviously rushed the project.
Flipping through the menus in the sequence, Abe saw the root uplink that Hammer had used to force Mainframe to download his core essence into the armor. Backtracking the connection, Abe began to sift through Hammer’s own network.
Three things immediately jumped out at him. Abe had been correct in assuming that Hammer had put multiple plays of action out there. First, there was a yacht with Rumiko and her father on board that was being held hostage. Second, the warehouse where he and Rhodes operated out of had been stormed by none other than Screaming Mimi, a woman he had known quite well from his previous life.
And lastly, there was the empty lab in Hammer’s subbasement that Abe was supposed to be in. Mainframe was rerouting Hammer’s monitors while he was away so that Hammer wouldn’t discover him missing. With Mainframe down…Hammer must know that Abe was up to something. His cover was effectively blown.
Or was it? Blacklash and Hardshell had discussed taking him back alive. They even tried to remove his helmet so that Hammer could know who the new Iron Man was.
He had a choice to make: the yacht or the warehouse. From what he saw through Hammer’s network, the yacht had only been secured. Rumiko and her father, Kenjiro, were apparently only being held hostage. He was sure that Hammer had bigger plans for them, but for the time being they seemed to be safe.
The warehouse, on the other hand, held precious knowledge on top of the three hostages. Everything that he and Mainframe had worked on was accessible through that warehouse. Hammer had only gotten partial schematics for the Iron Man armor before and he had created a deadly weapon. Imagine what he would be able to do with all of the tech info available in the systems at the warehouse.
Abe activated the boot jets in the sole of his feet, pushed off of the roof, and headed north for the Hudson. He hated that he had to pick just one location, but this was an emergency and whether he liked it or not he was going to have to play triage.
Thanks to the cosmic cube empowering his cobbled armor, he had at least one advantage over the bad guys.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kenjiro Fujikawa had been a feared man in Japan. His rivals knew his strength and had learned to honor his requests, whether it benefited them or not. His company had flourished, but due to several factors outside of his control, recent years had not been so kind to him in more ways than one.
He was a dying man. The cancer that riddled his body was now taking its toll. He coughed harshly and specks of blood flaked out onto his fist as he tried to supress the weakness. His daughter, Rumiko, was at his side even though he had done everything a father could to push her away.
“Deep breathes,” she whispered to him. “Try not to get so agitated, father.”
“Agitated?” he replied in an equally low volume. “We are being held at gunpoint on my own ship. How would you like me to act, daughter?”
Several men on board the yacht had their weapons leveled at the pair of Fujikawas. Their silver armor protected their bodies while their black masks protected their faces. They had remained silent since ordering them to remain still, as if they were waiting for orders.
Finally, one of them tilted his head to the side and raised his hand to where his ear would be behind the black mask. He waited, then nodded. He motioned to another guard to move forward with him as he flanked Rumiko.
“Stay away from us,” Rumiko said coldly. There was a fire in her eyes that would have kept a lion at bay.
“Get up,” the guard ordered as he grabbed Rumiko’s elbow and picked her off the floor.
The other guard pulled out a small camcorder from a pack strapped to his lower back. He flicked open the screen and pointed the lens at Kenjiro.
“Say exactly what I tell you to say or we’ll kill your daughter,” the guard said.
“Ignore him, father. These lackeys are nothing more than dogs sent by a desperate man.”
Kenjiro raised his hand to silence Rumiko. “What am I to say?” he asked.
“You’re going to record a suicide note,” the guard said. “Then you’re going to slice open your abdomen with that sword on the wall behind you.”
Rumiko was shocked into silence. She hadn’t expected anything like this to happen. A few hours ago she had been arguing with her father in Rhodes’ office at Stark Tower, and now she was here, listening to a random gunman order her father to kill himself.
“And why would I do such a ridiculous thing?” Kenjiro asked.
“If you don’t I’ll record my friend over there putting a bullet in your daughter’s head. Then I’ll make you watch it over and over until you beg me to kill you.”
Rumiko’s mind was racing. Why didn’t Justin Hammer simply kill them? Why did he want her father to record a suicide message? What could he possibly hope to gain?
And then it struck her. A clause put into their filings when the merger of Stark/Fujikawa had gone public. Several rival companies had sought to break the merger, citing several reasons. Whatever they could dream up, they had argued. The hearings even made it all the way to Washington before the merger finally went through. One condition, however, had survived the hearings.
Kenjiro Fujikawa was the CEO of the company. In the event of his premature death the merger would be dissolved and the two separate companies would be fair game for another corporate to takeover.
Kenjiro’s cancer wasn’t publicly known, otherwise suits would have already been brought against them on behalf of the shareholders.
His suicide would also ensure that the company would be broken up, leaving a perfect opportunity for a man like Justin Hammer to swoop in and buy up the pieces.
“Father, no!” she screamed.
He silenced her again with his raised hand. He stared down the blank guard, watching him. “And if I refuse even then?” he said.
The guard showed him a small control box in his other hand. “I blow up the boat and go home without loosing sleep. The video would be much more effective, but a random act of death will serve just as well. It will take the courts longer to work everything out—”
“Providing more time for other investors to buy the company instead of Hammer,” Kenjiro finished. “Is he willing to take that risk?”
The guard dangled the control box in front of Kenjiro. “What do you think?” the guard replied.
The elder Fujikawa closed his eyes and concentrated. He reflected on his life, his company, and his daughter. For a man once so feared, he now looked humble. A passing stranger on the street might have trouble distinguishing him from a poor fisherman.
“Very well,” he said as he opened his eyes.
“No!” screamed Rumiko. She struggled against the grasp of the guard holding her, desperately trying to return to her father’s side.
The guard angled the camcorder to center on Kenjiro. The cancer treatments had left the CEO of Stark/Fujikawa a broken man. His hair was gone. His eyes were sunken in. His lip quivered.
But somehow he had never looked more noble to Rumiko. It was for that very reason that she found the strength to break away from the guard and charge the other.
She tackled him and his surprise caused both of them to tumble over to the floor. The camcorder slipped across the planks and slammed against the wall. They struggled, and even though the guard was physically her better she kept him entangled.
Until the control box also slipped from his grasp, facedown, onto the floor.
The button in the center of the device, thanks to gravity, was pushed in.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“So, what are you waiting for?” Rhodes asked. “If you’re going to kill us, just do it already. I hate all this waiting.”
“Not until Hammer says,” Mimi replied. She casually strolled around the three of them, glancing over the equipment. “Impressive little place you have here. Your computer friend put everything together nicely. We never would have found it if it wasn’t for him.”
Pepper shot Rhodes a quizzical look. She was in the dark about everything, as was Happy. All she knew was that she had seen the face of Iron Man and that Rhodes was connected to him somehow. Now Screaming Mimi was implying there was a third character involved in the Iron Man conspiracy.
Rhodes, of course, knew exactly what the villainess was talking about. Upon returning to the warehouse he had discovered Mainframe missing and the security shut down. “Where is he?” Rhodes demanded.
“Hmm? Oh, your artificial friend. He’s—”
She paused. Screaming Mimi turned to face the far side of the warehouse, the end that she hadn’t ruptured open with a concentrated sonic blast. She nodded to a pair of the silver armored guards and they rushed off in that direction.
“Problem?” Happy asked with a curt smile plastered on his face.
The villainess shot him a glance. Then all hell broke loose.
A massive explosion rocked the warehouse, knocking over Pepper. With her hands tied behind her back she wasn’t able to do much more than an overturned turtle. Happy rushed to her side but his similar situation left him unable to do much either.
The guards all ran for cover, toting their rifles with them. Screaming Mimi issued commands for them to engage and then hopped into the air with a wail of her siren’s scream.
Rhodes bumped Happy’s shoulder with his own. “Follow me!” he shouted over the commotion, and led them behind a stack of crates.
The warehouse, for the most part, was storage. Only a small portion of it had been converted by Abe and Mainframe for use as a headquarters. The rest was a maze of storage units, crates, and shipping pallets. Given a few moments to lose themselves, Rhodes, Pepper, and Happy could become all but invisible.
“Over here,” he said over his shoulder as he ducked beneath a stack of pallets.
He kneeled down and put his back to the pallets. One of the planks in the pallet had splintered and the nails connecting it to the rest of the wood were sticking out. Carefully, and after a few tries, painfully, Rhodes succeeded in slicing through his restraints. He helped Pepper and Happy out of theirs and then moved to the end of the row and slowly poked his head around the corner.
He motioned for Happy to join him. As Tony Stark’s former personal bodyguard, Rhodes knew he could trust Happy to handle himself. He counted to three on his fingers and then leapt out on top of an armored guard.
Rhodes caught him off balance and he easily swung around behind him, pinning his elbows to his scapulas. Happy didn’t miss a beat, landing a wind-taking punch to the guard’s exposed throat. He fell limp in Rhodes arms and fell to the floor.
Picking up the rifle of the downed guard, Rhodes checked its ammo clip and nodded to Pepper for her to join them. “We move fast and we move now,” he said. “The goal is the exit. Same way we came in.”
An ear-shattering scream pierced their ears, causing them to hesitate for a brief moment. The three of them looked up just in time to see the roof begin to peal back, revealing Screaming Mimi swooping over the top of the warehouse in an aerial battle with what appeared to be a hodgepodge Iron Man.
“What about him?” Pepper asked.
“He’ll take care of himself,” Rhodes said. “Let’s move.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Justin Hammer obviously hadn’t designed his armor for a human pilot yet. The sound buffers typically incorporated into Tony Stark’s design were absent, forcing Abe to endure the brushes of screeches that Screaming Mimi hollered at him.
The pair traded dives and ascents between the clouds over the warehouse. Iron Man, much more at home in the air, was able to avoid most of her shrieks, but the edges of the soundwaves were more than enough to disorient him.
Even though Mimi had gotten herself some type of metal carapace that allowed her greater control over her flight, she was still clumsy in the air. Iron Man cut off her trajectory and dove under her, making sure to face her at all times. He didn’t think the back of his cobbled armor could take a direct hit from her painfully loud cries.
The roof of the warehouse as open, and Iron Man could see a few people scattering within. Mimi had brought back-up, but it looked like he would have to trust Rhodes to take care of them. He had proven his worth much more than Abe had as a hero, but the sooner he wrapped this up to come to his aid, the better.
Not that wrapping it up would be easy. He knew exactly just how much of a punch that Screaming Mimi, or Melissa, could hit him with. He knew because they had once been lovers.
Which was his primary reason for not hitting her back with everything he had. Not only was he hesitant to take down a woman he had once cared about, but he also wasn’t sure what kind of power Hammer’s components had at his disposal.
The energy levels were spiking up and down on his HUD. The cosmic cube housed behind his chestplate was more than enough to level a city block, and possibly more. The power was fluctuating, however. Abe’s studies based on the Red Ghost’s notes of the cosmic cube were only basic enough to understand the level of power he was dealing with. He wasn’t sure exactly how to control it.
He had helped design the interface matrix that allowed the suit of armor to convert the cosmic cube into usable power. He should be able to manipulate the cube, but the spiking levels were making him uneasy. Plus, it was all theory. He hadn’t actually worked with the equipment until he had stolen it.
He couldn’t risk fighting back directly for fear of killing Screaming Mimi. He would have to reason with her, and since they had their share of fights like any couple years before, he had an idea of what was in store for him.
Iron Man turned on his side and circled around behind the villainess. “Melissa!” he called over the ruckus of her attacks. “Stand down! Let’s talk about this?”
“Talk?” she replied after another warbling outcry. “Seriously? Now I know you aren’t the real deal. The Iron Man I fought was invincible. You sound more like you’re insecure. And you look like a recalled Japanese action figure.”
“I know you’re working for Hammer. I know how he works and it’s a safe bet that he’s got something on you. Am I right?”
Screaming Mimi dropped straight down so she was beneath Iron Man, looking up at him with dark intent in her eyes. “Hammer’s got something on everyone in the city,” she replied. “So what?”
“Melissa. You don’t have to do this. I’m taking Hammer down. He won’t be able to hold anything over you.”
Screaming Mimi spun around and kicked out her legs, mentally commanding the carapace to carry her at an angle to be level with Iron Man. She laughed. “Yeah, right. Big hero, going to save the damsel in distress?”
“Melissa, you don’t underst—AH!”
Pink soundwaves blasted his side, sending him reeling head over heals through the air. He had allowed himself to be distracted by the conversation, not realizing that she was moving into a better position to strike from. Because of her angle the blast was pointed in the same direction he was already moving, making it more difficult for him to avoid.
He recovered quickly, using the gyroscopes in his original boots to right himself. He accepted so that he was moving counter-clockwise to her clockwise movements, ensuring that another strike like that wouldn’t happen again.
She pulled in a sharp breath and readied another sonic blast. Iron Man reacted by activating the sonic weapon that Hammer had stolen from the original ‘rebel’ project that Rumiko Fujikawa had been working on. It was a long shot, but he wasn’t in a position to second guess statistics.
He fired the weapon, mounted on the top of his gauntlet. The nearly invisible soundwaves smashed against the pink screeches of Screaming Mimi. The resounding low thrum of energy shoved both of them apart as the sonics collided and pushed off one another.
Sound scraped against sound, resulting in a pitch that was several octaves lower than the human ear could perceive. The warehouse under them shook and the nearby Hudson river rippled. Car alarms for miles around went off from the interference.
A moment of deafness and then a soft ringing in their ears told them that they were still alive. After they reoriented themselves they faced off again, each breathing deeply from the sonic onslaught.
“Stay still!” she screamed.
“Melissa! I can help you! Just listen to me for a second!”
“What the hell would you know about it, huh?” she demanded. “And quit using my name like you know me! Aren’t you pretending to be a hero? What could a hero possibly know about having the screws put to them by an arrogant son of a bitch like Justin Hammer?”
Iron Man continued moving parallel to her for another heartbeat. He was going to have to risk something in order to get her to see sense. Hell, he was going to flat out risk everything.
He hovered in midair directly in front of her. Slowly, giving her no reason for alarm, he reached his gauntlets up and severed the connection with his helmet. He pulled it off, leaving his blank face to stare at her.
She squinted, as if confused.
“I’m not pretending to be a hero,” Abe said. “I am one.”
“What the hell is going on?” she demanded. “Abner? Abe? Is that you? Why the hell are you dressed like…like…”
“Melissa—”
“Wait a second. Are you with Zemo?”
Abe blinked. “What?”
“Zemo. Did he get you to do this? His plan for something about Thunderbolts. Pretending to be the good guys so we could get the public’s trust.”
The instance Abe had first come across Mainframe instantly popped into Abe’s head. He had been approached by Baron Zemo and asked to participate in a plan where the Masters of Evil would hide themselves in plain sight. They would remake themselves as heroes, and in a world that had just lost its greatest heroes they were sure to be welcomed with open arms.
But Mainframe had interrupted the meeting, controlling the Iron Man armor, before Zemo could convince Abe about the plan. Abe had been on the fence about the plan until Mainframe had busted in, scared off Zemo, and talked Abe into joining him.* Had Melissa been approached by Zemo, too?
* [This was all explained in IRON MAN #3…but you read that already, right? – D]
“No,” Abe replied, shaking his head. “No, I’m not with Zemo. I’m gone legit. For real this time. You can come with me. Maybe we could pick up where we left off in Vienna.”
She threw her head back in a brief fit of laughter. “Vienna? You mean the stakeout job for Boomerang? That was business.”
“All of it? I seem to remember a hot tub.”
She stopped laughing, although the smile remained on her face. “Okay, maybe it wasn’t all business. Still—”
“Melissa, you can reinvent yourself. I did. Of course, I had a little help.” He nodded toward the warehouse below. “And I can give you the same kind of help. I know you, I know what you’re capable of, and it’s more than just running errands for slime like Justin Hammer.”
An angry look came over Screaming Mimi’s face. “You think I haven’t tried?” she said. “I have. People like me…we don’t just turn over a new leaf. You’re not Dr. Phil. I would never be accepted. I’m one of the Masters of Evil, just like you were.”
“Then why didn’t you take Zemo up on his offer?”
“I was…I had another job,” she blurted out. “Plus Zemo hasn’t always worked with my best interests at heart.”
“Is that the real reason?”
Melissa avoided his gaze, looking through the patch of clouds to the side. “Maybe. Maybe not. It’s just…I was counting on you to join up with him.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. It’s stupid, I know. But when you turned him down I didn’t see any real reason to join up with him again.”
“I thought it was just…business,” Abe said as he drifted closer.
“Maybe.” She finally met his stare. “Maybe not.”
“You haven’t actually hurt anyone here,” Abe said. “We can round up the goons that Hammer sent with you, get the police involved, and make sure you’re able to start over again without any trouble.”
Melissa rubbed her elbows as if a sudden chill had come over her. She looked around again, avoiding his stare once more. She looked like a little lost girl that desperately wanted to simply go home. At that moment Abe saw the woman from Vienna again, the one that had let her guard down.
She sighed. “I can’t just get involved with the police,” she said. “Not with what Hammer has on me. I’ll leave, but you’re on your own.”
“Melissa—”
“It’s okay, Abe. If you can do this, I can do this. Just do me one favor.”
He raised an eyebrow in question to her comment.
“Knock that jerk on his ass when you take him down.”
With a somber look on her face, the woman Abe had known as Screaming Mimi turned away from him and flew out over the Hudson. The pink wings extending from her carapace carried her away and soon she was soaring above the clouds and out of sight.
Maybe he wouldn’t be calling her Screaming Mimi anymore.
Abe let out a breath he wasn’t aware he had been holding in. Since becoming Iron Man he had learned all sorts of things. Not once would he have assumed that he could talk his way out of a fight.
Looking back down at the warehouse, Abe lowered himself slowly through the hole that Melissa had blown open. He powered up his sonic emitter but saw that there was no need.
Standing in the center of the warehouse was James Rhodes, wielding a rifle like he knew how to use it. Pepper Potts, a woman he had rescued not long ago, stood behind him with Happy Hogan. Each also bore a rifle, although it looked too large for Pepper’s hands.
In a pile on the floor at Rhodes’ feet were the armored soldiers that Hammer had sent with Melissa as backup. None of them were moving.
“Evening,” Rhodes said as Abe touched down on the warehouse floor.
“You really wanted to be a movie action hero when you were a kid, didn’t you,” Abe commented as he looked at the signs of the firefight. “God. Everything here is wasted.”
Pepper placed her hand on Rhodes’ shoulder. “Jim,” she said. “Just who the hell is this guy?”
“Nice to see you again, Pep,” Abe said with a nod.
“You don’t recognize him?” Rhodes asked.
Ka-click!
The chambering of a bullet solicited total silence in the warehouse. “I sure as hell do,” Happy replied. He pointed his weapon at Abe’s exposed head. “That’s the freakin’ Beetle. Pepper, stand behind me.”
“Happy, wait,” Pepper urged. “I saw his face. This is the same man that saved me. We can trust him.”
“Ha! Yeah, right. You know how many times I saw Tony tangle with this guy? Too many for me to remember. He’s a bad guy, Jim! For crying out loud! Is this the nutcase you’ve been working with all this time?”
“Stand down, Hogan!” Rhodes ordered. He stepped between Abe and Happy. “I trust this man with my life. And so does Tony.”
“Tony’s dead.”
“But his replacement, Mainframe, picked him. He trusts him. That means Tony would have trusted him. That means I trust him.”
“Mainframe? You mean the computer simulation? C’mon, Rhodey!”
Pepper forced Happy to lower the rifle by moving her arm over top of his. “Happy,” she said softly. “It’s okay. This man saved my life. No matter who he is, we owe it to him to not wave a gun in his face.”
Reluctantly, he lowered his weapon. Abe remained quiet, not wishing to provoke him any further. The old Abner Jenkins would have smashed the guy’s face in for shoving a gun barrel under his nose. Now…now things were different.
“When I got here the computers were down,” Rhodes said. “Any idea what happened? Where’s Mainframe?”
Abe opened his mouth but no words came out. He didn’t know how to tell them that the last engrams of Tony Stark’s mind were now gone forever. The one piece of a hero’s had been wiped clean.
“Abe?” Rhodes said. “You okay? What happened up there with Screaming Mimi?”
“She’s gone,” he finally said. “She won’t be a problem. But…Mainframe…he’s gone, too. I’m sorry, Rhodes.”
“What do you mean?”
“His core personality. It’s been wiped.”
And the blockage that stopped Abe’s speech before was completely removed. He blurted out everything that had happened since leaving Hammer’s building earlier that day. The fight with Hardshell and Blacklash. The encounter with Mainframe being forced into the rebel armor. His corruption into Daedelus. His subsequent deletion.
When he finished talking Rhodes only looked at the floor.
“My God,” Pepper murmured. “That’s horrible. I can’t believe…I just never thought Hammer would be able to do things like this. He was always a threat to Tony, but never on this level. He never openly tried to kill someone before with so many witnesses.”
“Just means he was sure he would win,” Happy added. “The fact that he didn’t is really going to piss him off.”
“I’ll be taking him down soon, don’t worry,” Abe said.
“Yeah, but we got no proof that he did anything,” Rhodes said. “It’s all finger-pointing. His lawyers will say we’re lying and then they’ll sue us all for slander.”
“Actually,” Abe said as he slipped his helmet back on. “I’ve got an idea. Mainframe was just like Tony, right? Well, from what you told me Tony Stark always had a backup plan, just in case. If I’m right, Hammer will never see the light of day again.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The large, backlit window that encompassed almost the entire rear wall of Justin Hammer’s personal office was so clean one would almost swear it had been removed. To stand in front of it one might be overcome by vertigo, as it would appear that the looming city twenty floors below was only inches away from being a final resting place.
Justin Hammer stood at the window behind his desk, enjoying the sight of his reflection overlaid on the background of the city. New York was his for the taking. His operations, while privy to a bit of interpretation, had accomplished at least some of his goals.
Before long he could initiate a hostel takeover of Stark/Fujikawa, and once he bought out all the stockholders, he would retain the largest privately owned corporation in the world. Merged with his own company, he would have the economic pull of a god.
The smile on his face was wiped away once his reflection was replaced with the armored visage of Iron Man.
“Knock, knock,” Iron Man said from the other side of the thick glass.
“What do you want?” Hammer asked. “From the burn marks on you I’d wager a guess that you’ve been having some fun with my employees.”
“It’s over, Hammer. You’re going to be arrested.”
“Oh, that’s almost as rich as me. If I knew what you were talking about, and I’m not saying I do, then you’d have to have evidence or a witness that connects me to involvement of whatever you’re accusing me of.”
“Several counts of attempted murder,” Iron Man said, “industrial espionage, insider trading, harboring a fugitive…I could go on, but I think you get the point. You won’t even see a courtroom to appeal for a long time.”
“Preposterous. Whoever you are under that helmet, which is mine I might add, you obviously don’t know who you’re dealing with. I’m what they call an untouchable. I’ve been the backbone of this city, exerting control where I see fit. One call from me and I can have a dozen more like Hardshell and Blacklash come at you from all sides.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Iron Man replied. “But those little things you mentioned before? Evidence and a witness? I’ve got both.”
Hammer remained silent, and unless the glass had suddenly become less clean than a moment ago, Iron Man swore he saw a small bead of sweat appear just above Hammer’s eyebrow.
“Pepper Potts will testify to your involvement in her kidnapping,” Iron Man continued. “I released her from inside your building. I’d love to see you explain your way out of that. And I will, on Court TV. I’ve also already made sure that the schematics you stole from Stark/Fujikawa will be linked to your networks and found by SHIELD.”
“My networks are secure,” Hammer said. “You’ll never get a subpoena for the data.”
“Don’t need it. Not when I have Mainframe’s backup files. You remember Mainframe, right? The artificial intelligence you corrupted and forced to download into your stolen armor? Before you infected him, he ensured that there would be a way to take you down.”
“You have everything figured out, don’t you, you insignificant worm.”
“SHIELD will be here in the next few minutes. I’m sure they’ll find a lot more evidence once they gain access to the Red Ghost’s lab, who had a warrant out for his arrest, by the way. Like I said, it’s over.”
Hammer stepped closer to the window so his face was barely an inch away. “I will learn your identity. And I will kill you. I have the best lawyers on the planet on retainer. I’ll be out on bail and hunting you down with all my power. You won’t be able to hide, and when I learn who you really are, I’ll kill your loved ones, too. Their blood will be on your hands, all because you had the gall to impersonate my most hated rival, and then dance arrogantly in front of me.”
“There’s only one thing I haven’t pieced together,” Iron Man said, ignoring his remarks as if he were a child. “The cosmic cube. Where did it come from?”
Hammer laughed. “You think because you’ll have me detained for a few days that I’ll now tell you everything? There’s more to all this than you realize. The cosmic cube was given to me so that I could crush you with it. I’m not the only one who wants you dead.”
“I’ve been threatened before. Still here.”
“Yes, but are all your friends?”
Iron Man hesitated a moment before responding. “We survived your attack on the warehouse.”
“Obviously, but I’m referring to Rumiko Fujikawa and her father. Tell me, were you able to be in two places at once?”
The yacht. He had completely forgotten about it with all of the excitement at the warehouse. Rumiko and Kenjiro had been held hostage from what he saw on the network before going to the warehouse. He had assumed that Hammer was going to use them as leverage against him or Rhodes.
He was dumbfounded. How could he have been so ignorant? Hammer had done something to Rumiko and her father. Something horrible.
“What did you do?” Iron Man demanded.
“It seems there was an accident on board Mr. Fujikawa’s vessel. They’re dead.”
Iron Man’s fist slammed into the glass, sending cracks out in a radius around Hammer’s face. The CEO didn’t flinch. Iron Man pulled his fist back for another hit, but paused. “Where are they?” he demanded.
“At the bottom of the drink, I would assume.” Hammer turned to go sit back at his desk. “If you would excuse me, I have things to shred before SHIELD arrives. If you hurry, maybe you can find their corpses before they’re picked clean by sea life.”
Furious, Iron Man adjusted his gyroscopes and blasted away at full burn toward the last location of Kenjiro’s yacht.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ONE WEEK LATER
Rhodes pulled the lapels of his coat up around his neck. There had always been a breeze on the roof of Stark Tower, but it seemed colder now. Like there was less warmth in the city to go around.
He watched as Iron Man, still in his mangled armor, touched down on the roof a dozen feet away from him. He nodded and stepped closer, saying, “You’re late.”
Iron Man pulled off his helmet. “I was pulling the last of the wreckage up,” Abe said. “I think SHIELD appreciated the help. Thor is off somewhere and their equipment wasn’t able to lift he entire yacht.”
“The bodies?”
Abe looked away. “Recovered. No survivors.”
A silence passed between them. They had barely conversed since Hammer’s arrest the subsequent week. Rhodes had been busy trying to secure portions of the company while Iron Man was giving daily aid to the recovery efforts.
They had never performed operations smoothly together, but they had come to develop a certain amount of respect for each other. The last six months had been some of the most difficult for them. They had grown in a similar direction, but not necessarily together.
Finally, Rhodes broke the quiet tension. “I’m headed to Madripoor,” he said. “It’s my only shot at saving the company. With Kenjiro’s death other companies are citing contract law to break us up. Kenjiro put some projects into effect in Madripoor that might be able to pull us out of this mess. I’ve done all I can from here.”
“Is Stark/Fujikawa going to be dissolved?” Abe asked.
“With Mainframe wiped clean, this company is the only piece of Tony Stark’s soul left on Earth. I’ll be damned before I let it fall apart. I’m not giving up.”
“I’m not either, although the warehouse is completely compromised,” Abe said. “I haven’t been back there except to move all of the equipment to a secure location. I can’t…I won’t give up being Iron Man. I’ve come too far.”
“I won’t be able to help you for awhile,” Rhodes said. “I need to focus on the company. With Rumiko gone…” He trailed off, unable to finish his train of thought. He had avoided thinking about Rumiko. It was on this very rooftop that they had first opened up to each other, if only a little.
“I know,” Abe said. “It’s what I expected you to say. Don’t worry. I’ve got some new designs in mind for the next generation of Iron Man armor. You get the company back and I’ll make sure that Tony Stark’s legacy as a hero doesn’t fade away.”
Everything was changing, and they both knew it. Tony, Rumiko, Kenjiro, Mainframe…all gone. The company was being attacked from all sides by would-be usurpers. Justin Hammer was sure to come back. Whoever had created the cosmic cube that powered the armor Abe wore would probably come looking for him soon enough.
Everything was changing, but they weren’t ready to give up the game just yet.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-AUTHOR’S NOTES-
Just about everything that’s developed in this series over the past twelve issues has been resolved. I’m thinking of those twelve issues as sort of the first season of Iron Man. Next season…oh, you just wait and see.
While the first season was basically Abner Jenkins struggling to fill Tony Stark’s metal boots, the next season will really show him owning up to the Iron Man name while making it his own. That’s the main reason behind removing most of the Tony Stark supporting cast. Rhodes, Happy, Pepper, Rumiko, Kenjiro, and Mainframe were all directly related to Tony Stark’s history. Next we’ll be seeing characters that are closer to Abe’s own history.
Here are some hints at what you’ll be seeing soon in the series: past lovers, old enemies, disgruntled friends, ten rings, and young heroes. Curious? Me, too. I’ll have fun exploring what is to come.
Of course, if you want a really big hint as to what’s to come next, just keep reading…
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
EPILOGUE
In space there is no sound.
Not a whisper rippled through the cosmos when a powerful force ripped open a tear between realities. The scar in the fabric of space would only be open for a handful of moments, but it was more than long enough for a golden ship to pass through.
The hull of the enormous spacecraft was gold with red highlights streaked along the length. Hundreds of viewports offered a glimpse inside, showing machinery developed by countless worlds. Most of it was unlike anything the people of Earth had seen before.
In the command center, a half dozen figures worked furiously at their stations. All of them were encased in various forms of armor. Some red and white, others solid black. No two armor designs were exactly the same, even though they had all been designed by the same man.
No, not the same man. A version of the same man.
Earth proudly displayed itself on their view screen. The blue and white ball rotated slowly, almost too slow for the naked eye to notice. An armored figure closest to the screen turned to face the others.
“This one isn’t blown up by world war yet,” he said. “How should we approach them?”
“We’ll have to be subtle, of course,” the one near the center of the room said.
“Of course,” another added. “We’ll make contact with someone we can trust before going public. I think we all remember what happened on Earth 413. We don’t need to repeat that.”
The one closest to the screen sat at a terminal and began typing commands into the solid light keyboard. “Downloading relevant information on Tony Stark,” he said. The ship’s computer bounced a signal off the closest satellite and effortlessly hacked into the Pentagon database. After a moment he tilted his head in curiosity. “Very interesting.”
“What is it?” another armored figure said as he approached.
“Apparently,” the first replied, “Tony Stark died during an altercation with a being known as Onslaught. There is an Iron Man, however. His identity is unknown, although you should see the case file SHIELD is building on him.”
The armored figure in the center of the room removed his helmet to reveal dark hair, blue eyes, and a mustache. His features were worn, as if he had been through several wars. “Well, then,” he said. “If they’ve lost their Tony Stark then I guess it’s time they got a replacement.”
He looked at his helmet, seeing his reflection on the shiny metal. It was a face the entire crew knew very well.
It was the face of Tony Stark.
THE NEW IRON AGE IS COMING!