“This…this is amazing,” Iron Man blurted out.
The gray armored figure in front of him, who bore a huge silver sword magnetically sealed to the back of his armor, placed a lumbering gauntlet on Abe’s shoulder plate. “Aye, it is truly a thing of wonderment,” Ironheart said. “I remember the rapture I partook in when I first came aboard the Citadel. ‘Tis an amazing moment indeed.”
“Let me get this straight,” Iron Man said. “This ship is populated by a ton of alternate versions of Tony Stark, and you’re all here to…what exactly? Change the world?”
“For the better, yes,” the central figure on the bridge replied. His red and black armor shone with perfect care. His helmet was removed to reveal, as impossible as it appeared, Tony Stark’s smiling face. He had identified himself earlier as Iron Man 213. “We’re a conglomerate, traveling between dimensions to share our knowledge.”
“There is no more noble purpose than this,” Ironheart said. “When I first slew the trolls that had come down from Asgard, even my wide-eyes could not fathom the accomplishments I would see done with this crew.”
“Asgard?” Iron Man said, looking over the sigils carved into Ironheart’s armor. “How different are your worlds from mine?”
“Different enough to know where we went wrong, and where you need our help the most,” Iron Man 213 replied. “We’re going to remake the world, Iron Man. Onboard this ship we have cures for hundreds of diseases, even ones that haven’t developed in this dimension yet.”
“Sounds almost too good to be true,” Abe replied. “And in my experience, when something is too good to be true then someone is pulling your leg. What do you need me for?”
“You have already fulfilled part of your destiny by taking up where the Tony Stark of your world left off,” Ironheart said. “Continue in the steps he had no chance to take. Join us!”
_______________
IRON MAN
Issue #14 written by D. Golightly
“The New Iron Age – Part Two of Five”
_______________
The engine room of the Citadel spacecraft took up nearly a third of the entire ship. The massive power couplings needed to traverse between dimensions hummed with energy. The engine, designed by several of the Starks in tandem, was an engineering work of art.
Stacks of massive rings, one on top of the other, channeled power up through the engine. Massive turbines on either side of the stack of rings provided the propulsion needed to make the jumps between dimensions. All of it was contained by specially designed rupture shields based off of Stark repulsor technology.
Several armored figures looked over the engine, ensuring that the core did not rupture. Because of its unique properties, constant monitoring was necessary to make sure a tear didn’t form in reality inside the ship. The worst case scenario for a core rupture would result in a black hole being created, and given their proximity to Earth, it could mean the end of the human race.
“Increase rupture shields by thirty-seven percent on the third rung,” a man in black armor ordered. The faceplate of his helmet was twisted, leaving the mouth open more so than most of his counterparts. It was his duty to oversee the containment crew that worked furiously to keep the engine in check, making sure nothing was missed.
The Iron Men at the control console made the adjustments he had ordered. The shields surrounding the third ring thickened slightly as a power spike made its way up the engine. Once it hit the third ring, however, it quickly dissolved and was absorbed by the rupture shields.
“Couldn’t have done it better myself,” an Iron Man wearing orange and blue armor said as he approached. “The relief team is here. Take a break.”
The man in the black armor nodded in approval. “Only two spikes this shift,” he said. “I almost got bored.”
“The new arrival is on the bridge, in case you were wondering,” the orange and blue Iron Man said. “Looks like this world doesn’t have a Tony Stark anymore. Someone took over for him.”
“Hopefully he’ll be a good addition.” The black armored man took one final glance at the engine before relieving his seat to the new overseer. The rest of the containment crew left their posts, switching out with their replacements as well. “Take care of her.”
The new team instantly fell into their routine of monitoring the engine. The black armored Iron Man crossed the massive room to the lift and caught one last sight of the engine before the doors hissed shut.
He removed his helmet, holding onto it with one arm. He was alone in the elevator. Privacy aboard the Citadel was a rarity. He would have to take advantage of the solitude to make the communiqué he had been waiting for.
He only had a few moments before the lift reached the deck where his living quarters were. Pressing a button on his gauntlet, he opened a scanning frequency to check that no one was monitoring the recumbent signal he used. All of the broadcast signals onboard the Citadel were carefully monitored, but he had devised a way to get a message through without being noticed.
After all, why would Tony Stark suspect himself of treason?
A holographic display was projected from the helmet. The rerouting of the recumbent signal had successfully gone through again. He was patched in to a secure location down on the planet and the man he needed to talk to could be seen in the hologram, smiling.
“You’ve been keeping me waiting,” the sinister man in the hologram said. “I thought we agreed that you would never keep me waiting.”
“I had no choice,” the Iron Man replied. “I have obligations. If I shirked them people would get suspicious.”
“I don’t care for your excuses. Just tell me what I need to know.”
“I don’t have the access codes yet. I was nearly done hacking the systems when I was relieved of my post.”
The man in the hologram slammed his fist down. “Perhaps I was not clear. Without those codes I cannot—”
“Let’s get one thing straight here. I’m in control of this operation, not you. We’ll move when I say and not beforehand.”
The man in the hologram smiled again. “Of course. Forgive me. I’m merely frustrated, you understand. You approached me almost two months ago, if you recall. You discovered my dimension before the rest of your…brothers. You saw opportunity and I appreciate that. However, you cannot expect me to complete my end of the bargain unless you provide me with the access codes to the engine systems.”
“And in order for me to have enough time to get the codes I’ll need some sort of distraction. Something large enough to draw most of the crew out of the ship. Do that and I won’t be interrupted again while hacking the core.”
The hologram sneered. “You’re beginning to ask for a lot of favors. If I use my resources for this distraction, then you had better succeed in getting me the codes.”
“You’ll get them. Just make sure that this Abner Jenkins is found as the guilty party and not me. I would hate to have to come down there myself and deal with you if you double-cross me, Mandarin.”
“Oh, you need not worry.” The snarl on the face of the Mandarin widened as he pressed his fingers together to form an arch. The ten rings on his fingers sparkled inside the hologram. “Abner Jenkins and I have unfinished business. Trust me, I’m quite looking forward to his demise.”
_______________
Abe followed Iron Man 213 off the bridge and through the massive corridor. “Just how large is this ship?” he asked.
The red and black armored Iron Man replied over his shoulder, saying, “Only thirteen decks. We had originally planned on it being twenty-seven, but we found that certain structural integrities were lost once we got above thirteen. It has to do with warp physics. Apparently only so much mass can be shoved through the worm holes we open to move between dimensions.”
“Worm holes,” Abe repeated. “That’s how you came here. You opened a tear in reality and walked through.”
“In a manner of speaking. It’s perfectly safe.”
“Seriously? Because it doesn’t sound like it. How on Earth did this conglomeration start in the first place?”
“Let me ask you something, Abner.” The Iron Man stopped and turned to face Abe. “Did you ever meet Tony Stark before he died in your world?”
Abe quickly flashed on all the altercations he had with Iron Man during his days wearing the Beetle battle armor. “A few times, yeah. We weren’t best friends or anything, but yeah, we met.”
“Then you probably understand that he was always ready for the worst. If he was anything like me then I bet he had contingency plans put in place in case of his untimely death, plans that eventually led to you being put in the armor you’re wearing now. Am I wrong?”
Again, Abe remembered the series of events that had led to him encountering Mainframe and eventually putting on the Iron Man armor. Tony Stark had never actually intended for someone like Abe to wear the armor and carry on his legacy, but since Mainframe had been modeled after Stark’s engrams, it was a safe bet that the late Tony Stark would have approved.
“Actually, you’re nearly hitting the nail on the head,” Abe replied.
The Iron Man spread his arms, motioning to the corridor around them. “And that’s what this is all about,” he said. “The first Tony Stark that began our mission, the one that survived a cataclysmic event on his world, managed to get word out to three other dimensions about the danger he was in. He was looking for help, and just in case he ever found himself unable to fulfill his duty, he had distress beacons ready to launch. He knew that the infection that had ravaged his world had the ability to traverse dimensions and his warning became a wakeup call for the rest of us.”
“So the three dimensions he contacted coordinated their efforts?”
“They did, but it wasn’t enough. That world was lost, but the Tony Starks that had been brought together decided to build this ship and reach out to other realities and gain more support for our mission.”
“And this mission,” Abe said. “Ironheart said that you were going to reshape the world somehow.”
Tony smirked. “A slight exaggeration, but not an incorrect one. We have so much to offer, Abner. With your support we can turn this world around before really bad things start to happen.”
“What kind of bad things?”
Tony sighed and replaced his helmet, sealing it off with a nearly silent hiss. “You’ll have to see for yourself. Follow me.”
Abe made sure his own helmet was sealed tightly as he continued in the same footsteps as Iron Man 213. Several other armored figures passed them as they went, each wearing a variation of the armor. Most designs were accompanied by odd color coordination or differences in the helmets. For the most part it seemed like Tony Stark, regardless of what dimension he was in, had the same basic ideas when it came to engineering.
They paused as a secure door that looked thick enough to stop even Iron Man from entering. Iron Man 213 placed the palm of his gauntlet against the scanner beside the door and said, “Designate 213, alpha protocol. Tech recognition.”
A blue beam swam over his gauntlet and information scrolled by on the screen. Abe looked at what appeared to be schematics. “Did that just scan your armor?” he asked.
“Since all of us share the same DNA, we have to be a little more creative about how to unlock certain doors around here.”
The scan completed and the door slid open. Huge bolts in the sides of the door, now visible from it being opened, moved back into the wall. Abe had seen bank vault doors with smaller bolts for fortification. Whatever he was about to be shown was something they took very seriously.
“A word of caution,” Iron Man 213 said. “Don’t get too close. We can contain him, but we can’t do much to control him.”
“Control who?”
“Remember I told you about the Stark that started all of this?”
Abe nodded. “You said he survived whatever ravaged his world.”
“He survived alright, but that doesn’t mean he lived.”
Floodlights suddenly burst on, illuminating a containment cell. In the center of the small cell was a man hanging from a pair of thick, steel chains. He knelt on the floor, his arms pulled up by the chains. His head hung low, but Abe could see the dark hair of Tony Stark. He had no helmet, but he still wore a battered suit of red and gold armor.
Abe looked closer and was stunned. What he thought was shading due to the relatively poor lighting was actually much more serious. Entire chunks of the man’s abdomen, armor included, were missing. It looked like a cannon ball had blown through his side, opening him up enough to let his intestines hang out.
The tips of his gauntlets were seemingly chewed away, revealing bone fragments where his fingertips should be. His hair was thin and damp from sweat. When the caged Iron Man looked up at them, Abe almost threw up inside his helmet.
Just like his abdomen, portions of the man’s face were completely missing, as if an animal had swiped out one of his cheeks with its claws. His right eye was sunken back and only one of his nostrils was visible.
“My God,” Abe muttered. “What…what happened to him?”
“He’s dead,” the other Iron Man answered. “Or rather, he’s undead. A plague swept over his world, turning everyone into bloodthirsty savages that were reduced to eating each other.”
“He’s a zombie?” Abe exclaimed. “Are you kidding me? He’s a friggin’ zombie?”
“It’s not really a technical term, but yes. We can’t figure out how to get him out of his armor without killing him completely. It seems that the armor is keeping him alive without the need to feed, not that he doesn’t try every chance he gets.”
“So this is the Stark that initially contacted other dimensions.”
Iron Man 213 nodded an affirmative. “But when we got to his world we were too late. We built this ship, loaded him on it in hopes we would find a cure, and moved on to the next dimension. Since then we’ve managed to save countless lives.”
“By remaking the world in your own image.”
“We have a lot to offer your planet, Abner. All we ask, in exchange for the betterment of humanity, is that we’re allowed a limited amount of control. That’s only to ensure that resources are used properly so that our goals are met.”
Abe looked at the undead Tony Stark, whose breathing was beginning to increase slightly as he pulled on his chains. “What happened to him, it could happen again? It could happen here?”
“It might. Unless we put in the safety measures we’ve developed first. And we can’t do that without your support, Abner. You’re the Iron Man of this world. It’s your destiny to join us.”
Before Abe could respond, a red light flashed in the corner of the containment cell. Iron Man 213 noticeably grew stiff just before he started inputting commands into the side of the pad on his gauntlet.
“Something wrong?” Abe asked. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the undead creature staring at him.
“Looks like a little crisis just erupted planet side,” the Iron Man replied. “We don’t typically like to reveal ourselves this way, but it seems like we have no choice. Despite our cloaking technology it seems someone has found us and they’re sending a welcoming party.”
“What kind of welcoming party?”
“The kind that just destroyed our antenna probe we had orbiting and is heading straight for us.” Iron Man 213 placed his hand on the side of his helmet, switching on a microphone on the inside of his faceplate. “Attention all units! Incoming hostile! Iron Men 1602, 767, and 3490, please report to the airlock. This is not a drill!”
“I’m going, too,” Abe said. “This is my reality. My responsibility.”
“I was hoping you would say that. I’ll show you where you can meet the others. Don’t worry about remembering their dimensional numbers, they’re the ones that stand out the most around here.”
______________
In the outskirts of the Earth’s atmosphere, a lumbering beast of metal hurled straight up toward the Citadel. Its wingspan surpassed that of any living creature. Gnarled claws and teeth reflected the sunlight. If Abe hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed that a two hundred foot tall metal dragon was heading straight for him.
The airlock in the base of the Citadel’s hull spat him and three other armored figures out into open space. Abe only had a few seconds to look them over and was thankful that Ironheart, apparently also known at Iron Man 767, was among their number.
The armored person designated with the dimensional number 3490 couldn’t quite be called Iron Man. Instead, given the interesting curves of the armor, Iron Woman was much more apt.
“Ready the way!” Iron Man 1602, who also called himself Lord Iron, hollered over the roar of the rushing atmosphere around them. “My lightning bottles will make short work of this monstrosity!”
“Stay in formation!” Iron Woman commanded. “Ironheart! You’re up first! Go in high and we’ll back you up!”
“Aye, m’Lady!” Ironheart replied as he swept his massive sword out from behind his shoulder.
The bulky gray figure of Ironheart dropped like a stone through the sky. The dragon roared as he approached, seemingly rising to his battle cry. Ironheart used the momentum of his drop to add to the force of his strike, slicing his thick sword into the neck of the metal beast.
Sparks sprang out as metal ground against metal. The dragon shirked away, but only to bend its neck enough to snap at Ironheart. The noble warrior managed to slip his arms around the dragon, sliding down its long and slender neck to land on its back, having done barely enough damage to even dent the beast.
Lord Iron fired his retrorockets to slow his descent just enough to allow him a steady aim. Unleashing the fury of his lightning bottle, electricity arced out at the dragon, lancing into its eyes. The dragon thrashed wildly, bucking up and down and nearly dislodging Ironheart.
“Iron Man!” Iron Woman called out. “I need you to take out the right wing. Can you do that?”
Abe saluted and sped off to flank the dragon, using his gyroscopes to keep him on course. The anti-grav engine enabled him to drop steadily down without worrying about the atmospheric pressure jostling him too much. He looked over to see Iron Woman doing the same and smiled.
Who knew that Tony Stark could look so hot?
Iron Woman focused the lens of her uni-beam and fired a stream of energy at the dragon’s left wing. It clipped the wing clear off, vaporizing the bulky hinge that connected it to the dragon’s body. The beast roared again and flicked its head out widely, catching Iron Woman off guard.
The heroine was sent toppling head over heels. Abe made a move to intercept her, but Lord Iron went whizzing by over his head to catch her. Satisfied that she would be safe, Iron Man followed suit and focused the lens of his own uni-beam.
ZZZZZ-WACK!
The force of his energy attack not only cut free the dragon’s wing, but it completely obliterated the back half of the metal creature. The swapping tail burst free from the main body and fell away, leaving the upper body of the dragon to flail about mindlessly in robotic pain.
Since incorporating the cosmic cube as a power source into his armor designs, Abe seldom had a chance to let loose against someone for fear of killing them. He would have to remember to thank whoever had sent the dragon after them.
“Most impressive!” Ironheart called up to him from where he rode on the dragon’s back. “Allow me to finish this brute off!”
As the dragon began to fall back to the Earth, Ironheart sliced into its exposed hide with his sword. He carved a tear through the underbelly of the dragon, revealing gears and circuitry that quickly spilled away into the open air.
Miles underneath them, Abe saw the landmasses grow larger and larger as they descended. Their velocity was growing exponentially and he had to make sure that wherever the dragon’s remains landed that innocent bystanders wouldn’t become casualties.
Directly under them he could see a large body of water that fed into the ocean near the tip of Southeast Asia. If he could manage to nudge the dragon’s carcass over just a bit he could avoid racking up a body count.
He recognized one landmass as where Singapore was located, but for some reason could not seem to remember where he had seen this section of the world before. It looked strangely familiar.
Iron Man swept underneath the falling dragon and pushed against the steel skin. “Ironheart,” he said. “Mind giving me a hand?”
“I’ve got it,” a feminine voice said from beside him. Abe looked to his left to see the armored form of Iron Woman move into position beside him. “Into the Strait of Malacca I’m assuming?”
“What? Oh, yeah. Of course. Ready?”
With a quick nod, Iron Woman fired her boot jets just as Abe did the same. Together they shoved the rest of the creature out over the open water, ensuring that the residents of the island keys below wouldn’t be crushed to death by the falling corpse.
The inanimate dragon smashed into the water, sending pile driving waves out in all directions. The beast floundered one more time before it started to sink down into the water as the onrush of displaced waves came crashing back down on top of it.
Lord Iron swept down to join the other three armored figures where they hovered in the air over the drowned metal monster, brandishing the severed tail in both his hands. “A true feat of curiosity, my new friend,” he said to Abe. “Your actions here will not be forgotten by the rest of us. Indeed, you have proven yourself our equal.”
Ironheart clapped him on the back. “He fights like a warrior born!” the gray-armored Iron Man added.
Iron Woman looked above them and tapped the side of her helmet to open a communiqué with the Citadel. “Situation contained,” she said. “Ready to arrival.”
“Arrival?” Abe commented. “You don’t mean—”
Looking at the coastline of the nearby island, Abe realized where he had seen this part of the globe before. The Strait of Malacca, Southeast Asia, the proximity to Singapore…
“Shit,” he muttered. “That’s Madripoor, isn’t it?”
Something shimmered over his head and he looked up to see the Citadel phase into full view. Its pristine red and gold exterior shone brightly in the evening Madripoor sunset. He could just imagine how the world was going to react to seeing the ship appear suddenly after an obvious attack on it. More importantly, as he looked at the coastline of Madripoor, he imagined what the reaction of James Rhodes would be like, who was only a few miles inland.
Whether he agreed to join them or not, it seemed like the world was about to change.
_______________
“As we’ve said, this was the scene only hours ago—”
A gloved hand switched off the TV set, eliciting cries of irritation from two other individuals watching the news feed. “Oh, shut your faces, already,” the owner of the hand, a young teenager known as Patriot, replied to their comments. “We’ve been watching this nonstop for the last hour.”
“They could open the doors any minute!” Asgardian, his fellow Young Avenger, said. “You know what this means, right? I mean, seriously, guys, you know what his means, right?”
“Yes, yes, we know.” Patriot rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. “But we can’t be sure about anything until we have more information.”
Iron Lad typed away furiously at the holographic display that his armor was projecting in front of him. Their newly found lair, while discreet, was a far cry from comfortable living. Despite the fact that Asgardian had located a couch, two mattresses, a mini-fridge, and even a television set did not mean the underground location was secure. He had been working since their arrival from the future to determine as much as he could about their place in time.
“It means we might not be too late!” Asgardian exclaimed as he stood up.
“We don’t know that yet,” Iron Lad said.
“Dude. Here’s what we do know.” Asgardian stuck out his index finger. “First, the event that destroys our time started roughly during a twelve month period, which we are currently in. Second, our history books told us that to avert the disaster Tony Stark would have to lead the way. Third, when we get here we find out that Stark is dead.”
Asgardian walked to the dead TV set and stabbed his finger at the screen. “But did you see who was chillaxin’ on rocket boots beside that giant spaceship? Four Iron Men! One of them has to be Stark! Maybe the history books were a little off about what was supposed to happen. Maybe we can still—”
“I’ve been monitoring the situation using my time-circuits,” Iron Lad responded. “I’m not convinced yet.”
“But you admit that there’s a possibility, right?” Patriot asked. “As much as I’m tired of listening to him, Billy might be right.”
Iron Lad paused in his work to look over his shoulder at the other two teenagers. “I admit that although it first appeared that we missed our window of opportunity with Stark’s death that we may still have a chance of success. My armor has been able to analyze the source of that ship’s propulsion, and it matches the same signature that brought us here.”
“So, what does that mean to us?” Patriot asked.
“It means that I don’t believe in coincidences,” Iron Lad replied as he shut down his holographic interface. “While I can’t be sure of what will happen next, we’re obligated to investigate.”
“Sweet!” Asgardian said as he pumped his fist in the air. “The Young Avengers are going to go save the world!”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NEXT ISSUE: The world is ushered into the New Iron Age! Will everyone be compliant with their plan to reshape the planet? Rhodes sits down with Abe while the Young Avengers take a leap of faith! And the Mandarin moves one step closer in his plan…