Marvel Iron Age:
War Machine
Northern Indakistan,
Shiva’s Eye:
[All shields are clocked in and repulsors are primed.]
“What’s the layout of the camp?”
[Their dug into the mountains pretty deep, and their using civilians as hostages. They’ve got one anti- air and five stolen mark five units patrolling the ground.]
“So they’ve got stolen Iron man armor that’s one hundred-seventy years old. Sounds easy.”
[I am also picking up a large energy signature from other side of the mountain. I can’t get a satellite image of the other side. ]
“How long before the Supreme Commander has the 86 infantry raining fire from the sky?”
[Twenty.]
“Hours?”
[Minutes.]
“So I’m fifty thousand feet above a country I’m not supposed to be in? And I’ve got twenty minutes to clear this place?”
[Eighteen now. More than enough time.]
***
“So this is it?” General Kursk came all the way from New Latveria for this deal. They were deep into the Shiva’s eye sector of Indakistan. An area that is still heavily irradiated from the war between the countries formerly known as, Pakistan and India. He was selling the guerillas in the area Iron man tech. It was over a hundred years old, but they wouldn’t know the difference.
He himself wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t the credits or the will to use the armor. Which they did, and with great enthusiasm as well. Lord Doom would frown upon this kind of back room deal, but money was a prime factor and as well as Doom paid, he wanted more.”Of course it is, you simpleton.” He spat, looking around the camp.
The mountain was barren, any vegetation being incinerated during the nuclear war. The people he found himself dealing with were self proclaimed “freedom fighters”. Slavers and cannibals is what Kursk would call them. They even brought their women and children here and stowed them away in some bunker. They had an anti air gun on top of the mountain and pointed at the sky, ten of them were trying out the armor. Flying clumsily through the air and firing repulsor blasts into the mountain side.
“Now the small matter of my money?” Kursk said, glaring at the dark skinned man in front of him. He nodded and handed him a data pad. The General skimmed it,”All is in order.” He shook them man’s hand. “It was a pleasure.”
“What the…” An explosion from the top of the mountain tore through the sir and shook the ground. Knocking the General into the dirt. Coming up from the smoke from the top of the mountain was a small man shaped figure. He only caught a glimpse of it, before it disappeared.
The guerillas in armor came to ground, circling the general. The dark skinned man was shouting something at him in Arabic. “Sorry, but of the languages I know, Arabic escapes me.” Kursk said, irritated.
“You blew up our gun!” He replied, pointing at the mountain.
The ten armored men pointed their hands at the general, their repulsors ready to fire. The sky shook again, this time with the heavy sound of drums and the moan of an electric guitar. Then a synthesized voice sent a shudder down Kursk’s spin as it said: “I am Iron Man.”
“Black Sabbath?” The general whispered to himself.
“Correct, general.” A voice said from behind them. The all turned around quickly. It was a soldier of the Iron Army. Its armor was jet black, with dark red decals. He had armor that was slightly larger than the standard variant commonly used, it had more in common with the War Machine armor type. Yet it was much smaller and not as heavily armed.
“I’m on a Nu- classical binge as of late.” The armored man looked over the soldiers. Their armor was out of date and the energy to power them was running low. I assumed once, Kursk left he would have had his money and left them with faulty equipment. “Surrender now. This does not have to come to bloodshed.” He waved his hand in front of the group, their armor powering down.
“What have you done?” The dark skinned man yelled.
“I just shut them off. They’ll be alright.” The armored man said. “In the name of the Supreme Commander and his Iron Army I am placing you all under arrest for inciting a rebellion.” The armored man looked down at General Kursk. “I’m taking you in as yell. Doom, will answer for this breech of the truce.”
Kursk just smiled at the armored man. “You think I’d come all this way without insurance?”
[Energy spike detected!]
The armored man focused on a single point on the mountain, something big was coming out of the ground. The ground fractured and the armored man shot into the air. A thunderous roar tore through the air. On the other side of the mountain the ground burst open, a giant metallic serpent. “Give me something.”
[Processing… no data available.]
The serpent speed toward him and opened its mouth. A brilliant light glowed and it seemed to collect particles around it. “Something I can use!”
[External scans show an adamantium layer over its skin. its internal components are much softer.]
The armored man flew closer to the machine, increasing his speed to match the serpent. [A direct hit from its frontal cannon it more than likely! What are you doing?]
The first beam tore through the sound barrier; the armored man very nearly evades it. “We’ve got civilians down there. When I bring it down I don’t want this thing collapsing the bunker.”
[Collapsing what are you talking about?]
The man sped up, closing on the flying serpent. Hovering over it’s head, then in a digital pattern a large gun formed in it's place. He fired at it, engulfing the serpent in flame. To no effect, the serpent roared and fired it's beam at the armored man. He evaded again and flew past it. The mechanized creature in pursuit.
[You really thought that was going to work? That armor is nearly unbreakable!]
“Only nearly.” He retorted.
They were several miles away from the guerrilla camp, mountains surrounded them in every direction. He stopped at the base of another mountain. The metal serpent was charging it's beam weapon, moving quicker toward him. He floated in place, his arms crossed. “Over clock shields.”
The serpent opened it's mouth letting out a terrible metallic roar as a beam of intense energy impacted the man in armor. The mountain ignited, a whole side was flattened, leaving a molten mass of rock. Surrounded by flame, the armored man still floated. Unharmed, encircled by a transparent sphere that glowed with a fiery red outline. “My turn.”
Weapon Plus Program,
[Undisclosed location]
“Very good, very good.” The doctor said. He was an older bald man, his skin was sickly pale. He looked over a giant monitor, replying the battle between his project and a robotic serpent. They stood in a large round room. “You're sync ratio with the War Machine is at ninety six percent. Higher than any other prospect.”
“Was their any doubt.” The armored man said. His armor vanished in a digital haze, revealing a large man. He was of hispanic lineage, his darker complexion giving hints to an African heritage. His body showed the signs of several cybernetic enhancements, the back of his hands and shoulders had circular nodules grafted in the skin. His eyes glowed a dark red color and grid pattern showed in them.
“After the failure of weapon eleven and weapon ten having his face all over the news, I have to admit I was worried.” The doctor pulled a pair of glasses from his breast pocket and set them at the tip of his nose. “But I was wrong and I learned a great deal.”
He pushed his glasses up. “The 86 infantry captured the insurgents and they are taking samples from what is now being called Fin Fang Foom.”
The doors behind both men screeched open. A woman marched in, she had on form fitting black body armor. Her black hair being tied into a pony tail. “So how did the lab rat do?” She spat.
“Everything went according to plan, Kimura. Weapon twenty was a success.”
Kimura stopped and glanced at the man. “Except a bunch of civilians survived.”
The screen in front of the doctor panned and zoomed into a group of civilian lined out in front of a bunker. “I felt they were of little consequence.” He said, defensively. “They posed no threat to me.”
“No reason to suffer a rebel to live.” Kimura said, nonchalantly.
Back on the screen, the group of Iron soldiers aimed their repulsors at the back of the civilian’s heads. “What the hell are they doing!” Weapon twenty, shouted. They were women and children, men who'd surrendered. “Tell them to stop!”
The doctor continued to watch the screen. “I cannot. This program has a mandate against interference with regular military affairs.”
Kimura chuckled. “Not that we've followed it for years.”
Weapon Twenty glared at her and then looked to the doctor. “Please, I know you can--” He was too late. The repulsor blasts tearing them into pieces. The screen went black.
“Having the ability and knowing when to use it is a must.” The doctor said.
Weapon twenty clenched his fists and leaped across the room, holding the doctor by his lab coat. “That was not what I signed for! That was murder!” He said pointing to the screen. “You could've stopped it and you watched!”
“Too empathetic. Will have to fix this with future models.” The doctor said, pushing up his glasses. “Kimura.”
Weapon twenty let a shout escape his lips as he was jerked backward. He looked up, Kimura was in the air and was on here way down on top of him. “Night, lab rat.”
Albany, New York
An abandoned warehouse:
The full moon glimmered on her blade through the window. The room was covered in sheets of plastic, the man below her tied to an old wooden table. A single light from a lamp hung above him, while a shadow walked around him. “Do you know why you are here?”
She giggled, realizing it would be hard to talk with your mouth tapped. She stripped the tape, sweat building on the corners of his lips. “Who the hell are you?” He gasped.
She shook her head. “You are here because, you are a traitorous sow, and several people have died because of it. Innocent people. Isn't that right Commander?”
Commander Nunez was the commandant of the Albany Iron Hall and an informant for Carol Danvers. The head of the North American branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nunez gave Danvers faulty information on troop movements in the British Isles and several agents died while an escape from one of the labs occurred. “Are you a religious man, Nunez?”
“Speak!” She hissed.
“Yes!”
The woman's face was hidden in the dark, but he could tell she was smiling. “I am to.” She said, dropping a silver cross on his head. “But when you've seen your brothers all die in combat and you've got so much blood on your hands it changes the whole stand point on god.”
She lifted her knife above, Nunez's chest. Her hands were steady and her voice was cold. “I no longer believe in gods or devils.”
“What I believe in doesn't discriminate, it doesn't cause jihad against nonbelievers, and knows no exceptions. It is in fact, the only absolute. A force of nature.” She stepped in the light enough to look at her face. Her skin was pale and her eye are black and cold. “And this is the way I pray.”
She sunk her blade deep into Commander Nunez's chest, blood beading down from the wound. She let go of the handle and sat on the floor. Her body tingled and she felt cold. She looked to them moon, captured completely by it's light. Feeling rejuvenated. She could hear the dark seductive voice in the back of her mind, it was now satisfied.
She was interrupted by a chiming from her communicator. She pulled it from her equipment belt and answered it. “This is Agent Takada.”
“Ngumi Why are you in Albany, with an unauthorized transport!” A very roiled Colonel Danvers bellowed.
Ngumi closed her eyes and spoke calmly. “I went for a trip. It couldn't wait, I take full responsibility.”
“You've heard about the situation in, Boston?”
“I have. I was actually going their to observe the situation.”
“Don't bother.” Colonel Danvers said in an authoritative tone. “If it's who I think it is, then you'd only be wasting time. I've got another mission for you.”
Ngumi looked back to the moon, the darkness in her subconscious whispering with piqued interest. “I'm listening.”
The End... for now.
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