OLD FREINDS
"Tony!" said Howard "Tony get up! Robby's here!"
The two boys left the house and walked down the street. Robby was one of Tony's friends in his neighborhood. Although they went to different
Schools they still were good friends.
"Hey Robby wanna see what I found?"
"No." said Robby sarcastically.
As they walked down the street they messed around pushing each other, usually into people. Then Tony stopped and pointed to a dark spot between two buildings.
"There." Tony said." Right there look."
Robby looked and saw a little round device.
"What's this?"
"See that press it. Wait! Look away first."
Robby did and a bright light illuminated the space and caused both of them to see blue dots.
"What was that!" said Robby
"I made it."
"Wow. Here" Robby handed the device to Tony who told him to keep it.
PRESENT DAY
Tony sat on a bench at the airport waiting for Robby to show up. He waited there for two hours before Robby finally stepped out of the plane.
"Robby!" the two men hugged and talked.
"Wow I usually don't hug anyone."
"I bet you usually don't get called Robby either."
"No I don't it's usually Mr. Kane, Robert, your Majesty. Depends on who I'm talking to. You can call me Your Highness though." Both men laughed and asked each other questions about what has been going one since Robby left New York. They made it to the car when Robby told him he had something for him. He pulled out a bottle of wine and asked him if he wanted to open it now.
"Sorry Robby I guess you haven't heard but I'm actually a recovering alcoholic."
"Really? Sorry man but it's been so long since I've seen you I didn't know."
"It's alright I guess I can invite some people over and celebrate. If you don't mind people drinking your gift to me."
"Not at all"
2. Back at Tony's house there was a huge celebration going on. Most of Tony and Robby's old friends have made it to the party.
"Hey what kind of party is this without chips?" Said a guest
"Hey I'll get them." Said Robby
"No I'll send someone to get them" said Tony
"No it's ok… I don't feel comfortable with these Big wigs around."
"Alright. Just be back before Ten o'clock" said Tony acting like Robby's dad.
While driving to a local store Robby felt like conversing with Tony's personal driver and started asking him if he liked driving Tony around and about his family. The driver answered yes and pretended to rub money between his fingers which made them laugh. The driver looked back to Robby when he made the sign and didn't see the red SUV go through a red light. When he looked forward they collided and crashed in the middle of the intersection. The odd thing was that a corvette had been following and had ample time to exit the car. BAM! BAM! BAM! The man in the corvette released a volley of bullets shredding the car.
OLD FRIENDS DIE HARD
"They thought I was him…"
"It's not your fault."
"It is! They were after me. They thought he was me!"
"You didn't know… you couldn't have done anything-"
"Yes I could have!! He told me not to let him ride in my jet so I didn't send it and he was two hours late. Then I let him ride to the store and he gets shot. I invited him to my house so we could talk and remember the old days. And that's all we have left… no more talking only my memories…." Tony talked to a friend who was at the party of the night Robby died. It is a few days after the murder and Tony still hasn't recovered from the tragedy. "I'll get them… I will…"
"Sir let me take you home…" said one of his staff members
"No I'll walk home."
Tony walked down the street while his thoughts ran through his head." Who could gain from my death? lot's of people." Tony walked down the street as if guided by an unseen hand. Tony finally came back to room and took off his suit and shirt and sat on the couch. "Too many people…" he thought as he sat there his eyes wandered around the room and fell upon his gift. The bottle sat there unopened because Tony wanted to wait for Robby to come back before they opened it. Tony walked over to it and opened it. He smelt it and as he did memories flew through his head of the pain and suffering he endured through his fight with the demon in the bottle. All of them making him feel better because that pain and suffering were dwarfed by what he felt now.
"Just a little drink" he said "just to get my mind off things."
A typical statement for an recovering alcoholic about to flush his struggles down the drain. He poured a little into a glass but soon stared down the empty bottle. He couldn't hold his drinks well anymore and passed out on the floor.
Tony woke up late in the afternoon and almost passed back out from the pain. "What happened?" He asked himself he got up and stumbled but then stabled himself on the couch. "huh?" Tony didn't remember anything from the other night but now had the urge to take a walk. He did not know he had been drinking because to him he was still clean. He took pills for his head and guessed that he must have spent more time mourning the death of his friend. He exited the building and walked down the street. He didn't know where he was going but at the same time he did. He was once again surrounded by the sensation that he was following a path. He turned a corner than stopped. He saw an alley and the two buildings that made it were old and looked condemned. It was dark and he realized what it was that looked so familiar about it. It was here that he hid his device. Remembering Robby hit him hard. He traveled farther than he realized in so short a time. He continued to walk and remember what he used to do when he felt sad…drink… he glided through the city once more and once again stopped at a predetermined stop. He looked up at the sign and saw in neon letters "Booze." "He remembered how he felt after he drank but also remember how it served as a portal to forgetfulness. He was pushed into the store by the unseen hand and bought bottles of the poison. He gained control of his thoughts and walked out of the store. He looked at the bag but couldn't seem to part with it. It was the key to the portal and once again he decided will he cross it. He walked back home and poured himself a glass. He drank a few glasses and decided that he should patrol the city. He walked to a table and decided that if he could walk parallel to the table than he would be fine. He succeeded and looked around. The place was clean and left to get a suit. Once gone a staff member walked into the room and put away the glasses and put the upturned table back on its four legs.
"Tony must still be mad if he trashed the room like this" Thought the servant.
Flying over New York Tony's mind wandered. He flew around not paying attention to anything. He looked down and there was a packed club. "Maybe I'll stop." He said to himself. He flew to a warehouse that he owned and landed. Using the communications in his helmet he called his secretary and told her to pick up his car in the usual crate, which was an excuse to get his suit back unknown. "And make sure to tell them not to open the crate". He looked in the crate and pulled out a suit, some cash and a cell phone. He put them on and closed the crate. He walked away and went towards the bar. He used his money to get him into the bar and called the secretary again. "Also around one o' clock can you call Hank to pick me up?" Without waiting to hear an answer he clicked the phone close and went to the bar. A few drinks later he wondered if the crate was picked up. He thought nothing of it and used his charm to get a few numbers and kisses. He attempted to dance with a girl but couldn't keep his legs under him. A few hours later he got a call from his secretary.
"Sir. We think that the car was stolen."
"What!"
"Sorry sir but the guy who picks up your cars said that the crate was opened and that the padlock was on the hinge.
"f#$!"
"Well sir you have to be more careful. Anyways you have a lot more cars. "
"… Yeah… I guess I do."
"Have you been drinking sir? You don't sound right"
"No" he said. He hung the phone up and waited outside. He went straight home and passed out on his bed. In the morning he woke up and took the first step of containing this disease.
"Hi. I'm Tony and I had a lapse in my recovery."
"Hi Tony."
Somewhere in New York a teenager was kicked out of a store for trying to use a counterfeit ID to purchase beer. The kid walked down the street and heard a bang. He turned the corner and peered into a warehouse. Inside saw a richly dresses man walk away from a crate brushing himself off. The man staggered a bit but stood up straight. The man was probably loaded. The kid decided to see what the man was doing in the warehouse. Once the man was out of site he entered the warehouse. He looked around and saw a giant crate. He went over to it and saw that it wasn't locked. He opened it and was shocked beyond belief. Inside he saw the legendary Iron Man suit. He entered the crate and looked at the suit. "That man must have been Iron Man." The kid said. He messed around with the armor for what seemed like hours trying to get it on. Once it was finally on he took another hour trying to figure out how to use it. He got the basics down and figured that it would probably be better to use it somewhere else. There was an old abandoned subway the wasn't in use because it collapsed. Maybe he could go there. He figured out the basics of hovering and flew across town. Every now and then he would crash or go flying into a wall. He finally arrived and started to try and master the suit. He practiced flying and got used to it. While messing around trying to figure out how the rest functioned he sent out a blast from his hands that blew a hole in the wall. He was amazed but realized that it was getting late. He couldn't leave it here so he flew it to his house. He opened the bulkhead to his basement and dented the handle. " I'm gonna have to get used to that." He said and took off the suit and covered it with a blanket. He decided that he could get anything he wanted now. He smiled and went to his room quietly so as not to wake his parents. "Tomorrow I'll really test this thing out." he said. Then fell asleep.
New Beginnings
In the morning the kid got up out of bed and got dressed. He walked downstairs and left his house. Halfway down the drive way he remembered the suit. He ran to the bulk head and opened it. He half thought that it was a dream until he took the blanket off. The suit was there. The kid smiled and decided to tinker with it a bit more. This time he observed the suit and the devices in it. He didn't know a lot about the suit. Really only the things he saw in the news. He knew it could fly, could lift heavy objects and that it could shoot blasts from the hands. He decided since he was gonna keep it he might as well modify it. He knew a lot about engineering and thought that he could basically learn most of the suits functions. He new no matter how much he new he could never know everything about the suit. So he went to the library to pick up some books on different subjects to help him with the understanding of the suit.
"Hey Adam." Said the librarian.
"Hey." Said the kid. Adam lived with his dad who worked most of the day. The time that he didn't he slept. Adam was a regular teenager. He was rebellious and hung out with the wrong people. He always gets into trouble, people say that he just wants to get his dads attention. But it wasn't only that. He always looked for the next adventure and took the Iron Man suit. To him the suit was the key. He picked up five books from the library and brought them home. He mostly skimmed them and stopped at chapters that he thought would help him with the suit. He passed by a chapter in one of the books that dealt with communications. He realized that this suit must have communications built in. Communications meant GPS and GPS could be bad for him. He looked at the most logical place to put in comm.. devices… the helmet. He looked in it and saw speakers. Inside he followed wires that came from the speakers till he saw a mess of wires connected to a bunch of things he couldn't describe. He took a pair of wire cutters and made a few cuts. He decided to keep it together just in case he messed up the suit so he could always just reattach the wires. At around 8 o' clock he decided that he new about most of the suits functions and decided to take it out for a spin. He went down to the first place he thought of going. The liquor store…
In a building across town two men were talking about recent actions.
"I thought you said that he would lose his company."
"Well his will is stronger than we thought."
"Yes. We have attempted to destroy his life and his career secretly. Now we do it my way."
Adam flew across town and went to the liquor store that he got kicked out of. He went in and looked around. Every one stared at him in disbelief. They must of thought that he was looking for one of them, because they hurried out of the store. He walked up to the counter.
"Wow. I can't believe it's really you… You're…wow man. What can I do for you?" said the clerk.
Adam walked around and picked up some bottles.
"These." He said
"Sure thing."
The man took the bottles and put them in a bag. Adam took the bags and walked to the door.
"Hey! You gonna pay for that."
Before he got an answer Adam flew away. He looked down and there was a robbery in progress. Reporters all pointed at him. But he continued flying away.
Back at Tony's place. Tony walked into the kitchen and grabbed a remote. He turned on the news and watched it while he drank from a carton of juice.
"Iron Man was seen today breaking the law." Said a reporter. " He failed to help people in need and thus broke the law. Show the tape again." She said to a crew member. The clip showed the side of a police car outside a bank. At the front door of the bank stood three armed men with hostages.
"Hey it's Iron Man!" said a bystander. "Iron Man down here!"
But Iron Man looked down and kept flying. "Wait we're getting something else. "said the reporter. "We bring you too Christine Young our field reporter. What have you got Christine?"
"Well this man here said that Iron Man went into his store and stole over one hundred dollars in alcoholic beverages."
Tony by now had figured what was going on and was already putting on a suit. "If this punk thinks he can do anything he wants he's got another thing coming. He blasted out of a secret hatch and reached the sky. Once outside he tried to contact the suit again. He had been trying but the comm.. in the suit doesn't work or the GPS. He looked down and saw a mob outside the Stark Enterprise building. He kept flying in hopes of finding the rogue suit.
" Wow." Thought Adam as he flew through the sky. He had dropped the bag off at his house but didn't stop for long because he was having too much fun. By now it was night and he soared between skyscrapers. "Hahahaaaa!" he laughed he was laughing so hard he had too close his eyes and didn't see the blast come from the real Iron Man.
"Ahhhhh!!!!" screamed Adam as he plummeted to the ground.
Wham! He hit and cracked the cement. BAM! Iron Man Dove into Adam and plunged him further into the ground. Iron Man got off and started talking.
"Now that I've got you pinned give me back the suit."
"Hughnn…"moaned Adam.
"Fine then I'll rip you out."
Iron Man bent down to lift Adam off of the floor. As he did Adam kicked him and turned on the thrusters in his boots sending Iron Man flying. Adam stood back up.
"Hahaha…having too much fun to stop now."
Tony was already on his feet and ran towards Adam who flew away. Tony shot at Adam missing but eventually hit his mark. Once again Adam fell but this time he stopped himself before hitting the floor. He returned fire but missed. He flew away again in hopes of running away. Tony followed and realized that Adam hasn't mastered the suit yet because he hasn't gone mach 1 yet which was put in as a different propulsion system so as not to hurt innocent bystanders. Adam realized that he couldn't outrun Iron Man or fight him. But he had no choice. The suit would run out of power soon so he decided that all he could do was fight until he could find an opening and run away. He flew into a forest in hopes of losing him but didn't he landed and waited for Iron Man who flew straight towards him. Adam sent blasts from his hands at Iron Man who dodged them effortlessly. WHAM! Iron Man got to close to dodge and got hit at the same time he collided into Adam. He went flying through trees as Tony landed on the floor. He checked the damage and found that the blast hit him square in the chest. Tony flew over to where Adam lay ready for another blast. Adam stood still prone to the floor. Tony went over to him and bent down to start taking off the suit but couldn't. He felt the sensation to not take the suit off. He couldn't tell why but couldn't get himself to take it off. Beep Beep. The fuel cells were depleted. He was so preoccupied with the fight he didn't realize the warnings. He used the emergency fuel cells to fly him back home. He could have brought the suit but the sensation stopped him from picking it up. He flew back to his building took off the suit and checked the damage. He wondered on what the sensation was that stopped him. He couldn't overcome it, it was as if he was being stopped. He didn't stay on the topic long because on the news there was a report going on two identified objects in New York.
"Two objects were seen tonight fighting in the skies of New York. We believe one to be Iron Man." The shot froze and a white circle appeared around one of the figures. The figure was illuminated by one of the blasts coming from it's hands. The shot unfroze and the reporter continued. " Mobs have gathered around the Stark building in protest to Iron Man declining to help stop a bank robbery. One man said that Iron Man probably only stops supervillians as to up his ego."
Tony shut the t.v off and continued working on repairing the suit.
In the building across town the two men talked once again.
"Good. Job Influence." Said one of the men
"Yes. I had to stop Tony from taking the suit away. This way he'll be to occupied to notice our attack Stalker."
The next day Adam decided to practice using the suit again. The beating he took the other day from Iron Man made him realize that he needed to master the suit even more. He put the suit on and flew around. He landed in a dump and decided that it was a perfect place to practice. He went over to a car and lifted it. Minutes later he was having fun again and forgot about his surroundings. He blasted targets to perfect his aim and figured out how to lock onto targets. Iron Man flew overhead once again looking to retrieve the stolen suit. He has been looking around for hours and spotted him. He once again caught Adam off balance and blasted him in the back. Adam went flying and quickly recovered. Iron Man once again flew at him but stopped. He couldn't move. In his current state he was a sitting goose for Adam. Adam blasted him in the chest. Tony flew and hit a pile of cars they collapsed onto him. Still unable to move he wondered why he couldn't move. The suit wasn't malfunctioning. Adam walked over to where Tony layed. He went and was going to stop Iron Man from bothering him anymore. He sealed a blast with his fist and punched the cars. He found Iron Man laying there and charged his fist again. He couldn't do it…he couldn't kill Iron Man. He started to walk away when he got hit in the back.
He went flying into a pile of junk.
"You just don't give up. I decided to leave you alone. Why don't you return the favor" Adam said as he got up. He turned around and was confused. Iron Man had not moved but instead he was punched by a man in a tattered trench coat. "Who are you?"
"The names Stalker. I though that we could count on you to kill him kid. I guess not."
Stalker dove at Adam and punched him in the face. Adam flipped over and was punched again in the stomach driving him into the floor. Tony got up and held Stalker so he couldn't move. "You think you could stop me" he said. Stalker broke free from Tony and punched him in the stomach. Tony took the blow but then blasted him away. Adam got up but couldn't move.
"Need help Stalker" said Influence.
"Who are you guys." Said Tony
"I guess I'll tell you." Said stalker as he threw a car away from on top of him. "Since you're not going to live long anyways. We were hired to destroy either you or your business. I'm stronger than you and my friend here can control your mind. So you have no hope a winning this fight." Stalker runs over and grapples with Iron Man. Adam being sure that these men are bad flied over to influence to punch him. Influence dodges easily and gains control of Adams mind.
" Iron Man still grappling with Stalker charges his hands sending Stalker flying. "humph… I thought that you could beat me" said Tony "Guess you're not that tough after-"
"You're not either." Said Adam. 3 against 1. Tony didn't like these odds but couldn't do anything about it. Tony had an idea … but would it work?
Adam knocked Tony into a pile of appliances. Before he got up Stalker jumped into the air and slammed Tony into the ground.
"Uggghhh…."moaned Tony.
Influence mentally knocked out Adam and gained control Tony. Tony stood still and got punched around by Stalker. Stalker punched him into the air then jumped up and kneed him in the face flipping him. Tony hit the floor and Stalker stomped on his head. Tony was lifted into the air. Iron Man looked destroyed and was dented all over. He was thrown onto the floor and was mentally released. Feeling the pain he began too moan.
"Think we should finish him?" said Stalker
"If you don't want to beat him around some more." Said Influence.
"No I'll just finish the job. Make sure he can feel this."
Stalker lifted him up and ripped off his mask. He pulled back his fist but heard a blast behind him. Adam had regained his consciousness and shot Influence knocking him out.
"I'll just finish you off later." Said Stalker talking to Tony.
Stalker ran over to Adam who readied himself. Stalker picked up a Dish washer and threw it at Adam who blocked it but then received a kick to the head hurling him to the floor. He got up but was quickly grabbed by the throat. Stalker slowly crushed the armor around his throat. The suit made a hissing sound as the compressed air inside off the suit escaped. Adam panicked released a unibeam that disabled Stalker sending him into a wall and immobilized him. Tony got up and picked up Influence and Stalker.
"Think you can fly?" asked Tony
"Yeah…"said Adam.
Both of them flew back to Tony's base.
"Here take off the suit and put these on." Tony gave Adam clothes.
Adam reluctantly took off the suit and stood awkwardly amongst every form of Iron Man suit.
"You're young? Huh… You're pretty good kid. Here follow me."
Tony walked away and led him to where he worked on the suits. Both of the wrecked suits sat on a table.
" I made this when I heard of Ironlad. I wanted him to see how good this suit was compared to his." In front of Adam stood a new Iron Man suit never seen before. "and I'm giving it to you."
Adam stood in disbelief. He had just received an Iron Man suit made by one of the richest men in New York. Tony and Adam sat down at a table and started talking about the days events.
"So you wanna help me find who hired these goons?"
Downtown at a shield base. Influence and Stalker went through an interrogation.
Stalker's mind was probed while Influence was interrogated physically.
"They know no names but have met at several locations, Iron Man." Said a shield soldier.
"That's ok just give me a location."
"Right there." The soldier pointed at a map.
"Then that's where we'll go…let's go…iron…boy?"
"No. You can call me Andron."
The two metal men flew into the night.
"Andron?"
"Sorry. I couldn't think of anything."
Iron Man and Andron flew to the building and crashed through the roof. A man was sitting at a table with two other men playing cards. The man got up and welcomed the two intruders.
"Welcome! Nice to finally meet you Iron Man and who's this your ward?"
"Huh…we'll have time to talk later." Iron Man shot a repulsor at one of the men who ran towards him. The man flew into the table. The other man took out a gun and shot at the approaching Andron. The bullets bounced off of him. The man stopped and radiated electricity off of his fists. He punched Andron who blocked it but was forced back from the charge. Iron Man rushed up to the man who greeted him and punched him in the face. His fist went right through him and Iron Man stumbled.
"Can't hit what's not there Iron Man. They call me Illusion."
Andron continued fighting but decided it best to use projectiles. He mastered the suit already from help from Tony and shot repulsors at the man. The man counter balanced the energy with his hands and neutralized his attacks. Andron remembered one of the devices stored in the suit and shot a ball which was caught. The ball exploded and released a knockout gas making the man pass out. Tony still tried to find the illusion but he kept making copies of himself. Iron Man was hit by the man in the back of his head. The man was also using a cloaking device that hid him from the suit's sensors. Illusion also had a suit. Not a sophisticated as the Iron Man or Andron suit but it hid him from the sensors and granted him a little strength boost. Iron Man filled the place up with smoke.
"Wait Andron."
With the smoke filling the room the two looked for any swirling of the smoke caused by movement. Andron detected a swirl and shot repulsors in the direction. He hit Illusion and grabbed him.
"Why did you try to kill me?" asked Tony.
"Why? You ruined my business and drove it to the floor."
"That's what business is. It's survival of the fittest."
"Huh. Because of you I lost millions. I grew up being rich and was never accustomed to being poor until it was forced upon me by your business. I too developed tools for the military. I made cloaking devices and weapons until you destroyed the market and set up a better cloaking device and better bombs."
"Well you can have a lot of ideas when you are in jail."
"Too bad I'm not going." Illusion distracted both men from his hands and set off a bright light and loud bang. The object overloaded the suits senses and caused it to momentarily lose control. Illusion vanished without a trace. Andron and Iron Man both flew back to the shield head quarters and reported on the day's events. After wards both men flew away.
"You did good… was it Andron?"
"Yeah I guess I'll keep the name."
"Huh… still sounds weird."
"Thanks… for the suit."
"Huh? Oh yeah no problem. Ironlad never took it and I can't wear it."
"Why don't you join a team?"
"I don't like to socialize much." With that Adam flew away and went back to the abandoned subway. He made up his mind. He will be a super hero and with a little work he could make this place his head quarters.
