Marvel Iron Age:
War Machine
Machine Men and Agents of Death 4 of 4
New Latveria,
Valeria Base:
Ngumi and Weapon Twenty step out of a dark portal leaving Silver Sable in, Cuba. Valeria base is deep inside New Latveria, located inside the former country of Romania. Surrounded by it's high walls and anti-air and Doom bot ground support, Valeria base is heavily fortified. Behind the walls and guard towers lay a large landing strip and several research buildings. Transports were leaving and going at all times. “What ever you do just don't draw attention to yourself.” Ngumi warned. “They don't really like, Iron Army soldiers, former or not roaming their bases.”
“I would hope not, Lieutenant.” said a uniformed man above them. He was escorted by a group of Doombots. Another man accompanied him, he was wearing white and black body armor, a shield with an eagle stained on the chest and also carried a large weapon that seemed to resemble an axe/hammer hybrid. “But it would seem, Carol Danvers does.”
Ngumi stopped and saluted the group. “General Kursk it is a pleasure as always.”
Weapon Twenty scanned the general and the other man. The general was definitely the same man that he met in Indakistan. He scanned the other man, his suit picking up a foreign energy signature from it. [Bio- Mechanical technology. The harness and the belt under his suit seem to be the source for the reading. No telling what he can do.]
“No need to be so intrusive, my friend.” The man with the hammer extended a hand, “I am, Perun of Shield.”
Weapon Twenty took the hand. “How did you--”
Perun's eyes flashed white and then returned to normal. “So if there is no need for introductions, we will be taking the War Machine.” Kursk said, cutting in between the two.
“I will speak with this, Carol Danvers.” He said. “But I will not be “taken” anywhere.”
“The Colonel is not here.” The General said in a strong Latverian accent. “But with you being an agent of the Supreme Commander, I will not allow you to walk these premises.”
“Carol told me we'd have full access.” Ngumi protested.
Kursk snapped his head to Ngumi. “She does not make the rules in New Latveria! This... thing will be shackled and under guard.”
“You'll have to kill me.”
“It may come to that.” Kursk said, glaring at Weapon Twenty. He raised an arm, his Doombots reading their wrist mounted lasers.
Before Weapon Twenty prepped the War Machine, Ngumi stepped in front of the two of them.”This is a shield matter General. You lack the authority to arrest an asset of shield.” The agent interjected. “So unless you get NLS-Director Carter or Doctor #$%&ing Doom himself to say otherwise, clear the gangway.”
Perun put a hand on the, General's shoulder. “She's right comrade. We can't touch him, by the order of Lord Doom has granted such liberties with the organization.”
Kursk slapped the hand away and signaled the Doom bots to stand down. “Very well, come then.”
Valeria Base,
Central Hub:
The central hub of Valeria base is located under the main building and from here communications can be set up anywhere in, New Latveria. It's purpose is to monitor research on base and the several listening posts on the borders of New Latveria. The main room itself was circular, operators were stationed along the walls, with a large with a large holo-screen in the center. Weapon Twenty and Ngumi were brought here. A link was set up with, Carol Danvers. General Kursk and Perun sat at the side waiting.
The Danvers was on the screen and seemed to the be contemplating the man she sees before her. This was Weapon Twenty, War Machine. A product of the Weapon Plus program. She had so many questions and he was to answer them all. “Tell me about Weapon Plus.”
Weapon twenty didn't know what to expect from this, Carol Danvers. His records show she's at least over a hundred and should in no way be alive today. Yet she barely looked forty. I wish she'd meet us in person.]
Carol was right to business, which was preferable than the exchange of pleasantries. “They are based in, Genosha. The City has a number of projects going at the same time and thousands of Ferrum scientists work there.”
Carol locked her fingers together, her face giving nothing away. “I've been told you refer to yourself as Weapon Twenty. Why? Are there more of you.”
Weapon Twenty crossed his arms, staring at the, Colonel. “As far as I know I'm the twentieth weapon in a series of soldiers. I am the only one I know of with the War Machine armament.”
“Is there a strong Iron Army presence on Genosha?” Kursk questioned.
“No, not a single Iron soldier has ever stepped foot onto the island. The Supreme Commander has restricted it as a no fly zone and the City's defenses are programed to shoot on sight if our air space is invaded. The Supreme Commander himself has never stepped foot on the island.” Everyone in the room was taken by surprise. Wide eyed and with his mouth open, General Kursk marched over and stepped in front of the screen. “Really? And I suppose he's creating some kind of army while he's at it.”
Weapon Twenty leered at the General. “The City has a number of mechanical and bio divisions I've never seen. It is possible.”
Carol nodded. “You keep referring to, Genosha as the City. Why?”
He looked back at the director. “Because it is not just any megapolis. It is a sentient being in itself and runs the projects all at the same time. It is an incredibly advanced A.I.”
Carol frowned and her brow furrowed. “Is it linked over the Intranet? Can you communicate with it?”
“It's processes are located on platforms within the City, it is isolated. And yes I can communicate with it. It speaks to me even now.”
Without a second thought, General Kursk drew a pistol on Weapon Twenty and signaled his Doom bots to take aim. “I am sorry, Danvers but, Q/A with this thing it over.”
Carol slammed her hands onto her desk, putting holes into them. She leaned forward, furious at the General she shouted, “What the hell do you think you're doing? He could prove to be an asset, to Shield!”
“You assume I give a damn, that's cute.” He laughed.
“ Cut the comm!” Kursk ordered.
“Don't--” Carol was cut off before she could finish, the screen went black.
General Kursk's finger trembled on the trigger and his breathing grew heavy. “You will not get away from me like you did in, Indakistan.” Weapon Twenty didn't move, he didn't even blink. He just watched the man with his cold eyes. “Die!”
Kursk squeezed the trigger, The grid pattern in Weapon Twenty's eyes flashed and Kursk dropped his gun and backed off, holding his hand in pain. The Doom bots lowered their weapons and pointed them at Kursk. “Mass accelerator weapons use an internal drive to regulate heat. I hope you enjoyed that little burn.”
[Long range scanners are picking something up. Electromagnetic interference in the region.]
Weapon Twenty looked over to, Ngumi. She held the General at gun point. He then cocked his head to the side, Perun just stood there and watched him. “You felt it to then?” He said, grabbing his hammer.
Before he could answer he was stopped by a sudden distortion in the air. The environment twisted and bend until a large bright green hole in the center of the room formed. The nodules on Weapon Twenty's hands and shoulders flashed, activating the War Machine armor. He knew who was responsible for this and this meant everyone on base is in danger. “Everyone get down!” I barked in his metallic voice.
The portal flashed blinding him as he activated the suits barrier. When he regained sight the room was engulfed in flames, Ngumi, Kursk and Perun were at his side. In front of him stood a colossal man, almost his entire body was covered, huge cybernetic arms being the exception. Behind him stood dozens of smaller soldiers, dressed in black, wearing an “x” insignia in their chests.
“Weapon Twenty, the Doc, ain't happy with you. Told me to bring you in by the part.” The large man said, his voice being as metallic as Twenty's.
“That so, Brigade?” War Machine fired up his rockets and propelled toward Brigade. Slamming him up through the roof, leaving Ngumi and the others behind.
Valeria Base,
Above ground:
War Machine flew, Brigade from under the base. Smashing through the under ground structure and the building above. “So he sends just you, fourteen! Insulting, he should have sent you all!” He said, holding Brigade by the throat miles above the base.
[So we're into gloating now? Look behind you!]
War Machine did as he was told, another portal had opened, shooting a pillar of fire at the pair. “Damn it!” War Machine feel into a free fall, crashing into the landing zone of the base. He left a crater were he had impacted the ground, Brigade was a few feet away. He looked around, destruction had consumed the entire base. Portals opened over several points in the sky, spewing flame and soldiers from the Weapon Plus program. The soldiers dispatched Doom bots and human guards. The pillars of flame pinned down the bases defenses.
Brigade was back on his feet, seemingly unharmed. “That tickled a little. Try again?”
War Machine ran at him, charging a repulsor blast. Brigade also ran toward him, once he was close enough he scooped War Machine up with one arm, pointing a fist at the other. “Gotcha!” His fist displayed a bright red light and slight whistle turned into a beam that sent the, War Machine falling into the air. “How 'bout a little fast ball special? You game?” War Machine heard him shout.
Another portal opened as War Machine shot through the air. A woman rolled out of it, large blades extended from her forearms. She wore an armor similar to a slim version of Iron army armor. Parts of it being segmented to allow for increased mobility. She grabbed onto, War Machine and in a flash of orange light War Machine smacked the ground hard. The woman standing on top of his back.
“No, one really leaves the Iron Army, twenty.” She said in a bored rehearsed like fashion. “You should know.”
Another two walked out, a little boy wearing a long black coat followed a smaller woman with long black hair tied into a ponytail. She wore black combat armor that seemed to belong in the twenty first century, her face gave away no emotion. “Weapon Twenty by order of tthe Supreme Commander , I have come to over see your destruction.”
Paragon leaped off of War Machine's back and to the side of this woman. Brigade marched over to the group, cracking his knuckles and kept an eye locked on twenty. “Major Kinney, the bases defenses have been overwhelmed. And look who we found.”
The smaller woman nodded and patted the boy on the head. “Good.” She turned walked carefully to twenty, kneeling down on one knee to face him. “Do you know who we are?”
War Machine has heard of this team. Brigade, Paragon, and Major Kinney. When he was on, Genosha they were some of the most feared agents in Weapon Plus. “You are Major Laura Kinney aka Talon,” War Machine glanced at the rest of her team, the explosions and weapons fire around them forced him to speak louder. “ and they are a team of your, Reavers.” War Machine answered, still laid out on the ground.
Major Kinney's face wrinkled as she scanned the environment. She looked up, the clouds in the sky twisted and churned lightning cracked and thunder roared over the explosions on base. The Major flipped away from War Machine as a bolt of lightening crashed to the ground behind him. War Machine used the distraction to fly back on his feet. Behind him were, Perun, Ngumi and General Kursk.
“That's good to know.” Ngumi said, looking sharply at Major Kinney, there was something familiar in her eyes.
“If you really are acting on the orders of the Supreme Commander then this is an act of war against New Latveria!” General Kursk shouted. “There will be blood for this.”
“Yes there will be.” Talon said.
The boy next to her raised a finger, a smaller portal like the larger ones before it opened up. The boy had a wild look on his face, he smiled widely. A pillar of flame shoots from the portal enveloping the general's head. Kursk feel to the ground with a blood curdling shriek. Grasping at his face, his skin began to melt off. Leaving nothing but the sight of bright red bits of his skull as he screamed in agony.
“Paragon.” Talon grunted. Paragon leaped into the air and in an orange flash, she disappeared with Perun. Without so much as a glance, Brigade charged at War Machine, leaving herself and Ngumi.
The both of them stared each other down, examining each other. Ngumi tosses her pistol aside, and goes into a defensive stance, waiting for the Major to strike first. “Are you sure you don't want to use that gun?” Talon asks, crossing her arms.
Ngumi didn't say a word, the look on her face being all the answer the major needed. “Alright.”
***
Brigade was engaged in a shootout with War Machine. In a short amount of time his barriers were already have weakened and he was struggling to keep him away. “You can't run from me, boy!” Brigade says firing a wave of crimson energy at War Machine.
The blast breaches his barriers and his suit takes most of the blast. He bounces on the ground and rams into the the ruins of the main building. Leaving a hole in the wall. [Suit rupture! Remaining functions calculated at 72% ! Warning Functions will cease if you continue to take this ass kicking!]
In a digital haze a cannon forms on, War Machine's right arm. He raised it aiming on Brigade's chest. His arms shook and he couldn't her a clear shot. He fired it, a beam of focused particles at the cyborg. Brigade continued his advance, the beam not effecting him in anyway. The beam instead arched around his torso. Once he was close enough he grabbed the cannon, tearing it off and with his free hand landed an over head pound on War Machine.
Brigade grabbed War Machine one handed. His massive hand covering half his upper body. Brigade's arm glowed red as he charged weapon twenty with power. [Suit over load imminent! Damage to internal processing unit has caused life support to drain! Functionality is at 43% and falling!]
“Argh!” War Machine screamed, both his arm were rapped around his opponents cybernetic arms. Brigade was striking him with a nonstop wave of punches to his face. His visor fractured and through parts of it he only got static. “Reroute life support energy to repulsors!”
He didn't hear anything his vision began to fade in and out. The nodules on his armor grew brighter. With both his hands pointed at the face of Brigade, his repulsors charged to full capacity. His arms were heavy and the armor was stiff, and within this range he didn't need the voice in his head to tell him the outcome. “I hope this hurts you. Bastard!”
***
Perun and Paragon countered each others attacks perfectly. When she'd jumping for an attack with her blades, Perun would deflect it with his hammer. “Why would the, Supreme Commander order this invasion? What is his motivation?” The shield agent demanded, swinging his hammer at Paragon's head.
She blocked the strike with her blades. “If he was the one calling the shots at Weapon Plus I'd tell you.” The remark caught the agent by surprise, leaving an opening. She swung at his head, leaving a deep slash above his eyebrow.
Blood covered Perun's face as blood seeped from the wound. His hammer began to glow white, he floated into the air and the crack of thunder could be heard over everything. His eyes turned white, lightening cascaded from the sky around him. He whirled his hammer above his head, electricity sparking out like snakes through the air. Pointing at Paragon with his hammer, a bolt of lightening shot from the hammer, hitting her directly through the chest.
***
Talon spun around for a roundhouse kick, Ngumi weaved back. The kick grazing her chin. Ngumi ran at her and slide underneath Talon's legs, turning over quickly to kick them in the opposite direction. Talon fell backward as her knees bent forward. “Ah!” She grunted as her legs snapped.
Ngumi jumped and landed on her head with a knee. Then by grabbing her opponents hair she lifted her head and repeatedly launched her knee into Talon's face. Bone cracked with each strike, but Ngumi had every intention to make her suffer during this fight. Snikt! Talon's foot rose, a blade stuck out of it and raced through the air at, Ngumi.
Ngumi rolled to the side, the blade slicing open her cheek. Talon got back on her feet, her leg seemed to be about healed, the broken bones in her face quickly knitted back together. Her fists were balled up and her wrists were striaght. “It has been a long time since I have popped the claws.”
Snikt!
Two metallic claws jutted from between the knuckles in her hands. The blades glistening in the fire of battle around them. Ngumi got ready for the fight to continue. “Well then...” Major Kinney shrugged and sheathed her claws back in her forearms. “I give this bout to you, SHIELDling.” The Major bowed her head and turned to the boy.
He nodded and with a wave of his hand, another of his portals opened. “We aren't finished yet.” Ngumi said under her breath.
“ If we ever meet again... I will kill you.” Talon warned. She walked toward the portal, Ngumi stood in place. She did not try to follow her. She got one foot in her portal when she looked back at the shield agent with the same cold eyes that she'd looked at victims with. “I do have a message for, Danvers. Will you deliver it?”
Ngumi glared at the other woman, her battle being denied to her. “Yes.” she hissed.
“Tell her...” She looked away for a moment and then turned back to, Ngumi.
“Tell her that, Wide-Awake will commence.”
To be continued in further Marvel Iron Age tales
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