A/N: Hello, everyone! After refusing to get into another fandom, particularly one that, for a time, looked to me sort of like a terrible AU high school fanfic with no plot, I've resigned myself to accept that there is something interesting about Iron Man: Armored Adventures. At first I hated it because it made my favorite characters act in ways that made me cringe, but after forcing myself to watch the series to help me with my Movie-verse Iron Man fic, I decided that IMAA was not that bad –if you squint. Hence, here is my first attempt at paying back the IMAA fandom for helping me with my Man in a Can fic by writing a story for them.
Standard disclaimer for all my stories: My stories are graphic, angsty, frustrating, filled with cliffhangers, drama and foul language. Read at your own risk – medical issues and subsequent bills are not covered by yours truly ;) If you don't like, please don't read. I appreciate reviews and constructive feedback but if you cannot stand the plot, save yourself and me some time and walk away. You don't have to love all IM stories :)
Remember that most of my stories, including this one, are written for the half-screen option here at FF. You'll see fewer line/paragraph breaks if you set the screen to half-screen.
Summary: The last Makluan ring guardian made it clear that Pepper Potts was more worthy than Gene Khan to possess the power of the rings. What if she had no choice but to accept this truth as her fate?
Why do I do this to myself? I really need a break, and yet I get into two more fics! (BTW, The sequel to 30 Days is now up. It's titled: 24 Hours). I don't own IMAA.
BROKEN
Prologue
"Tell me, Gene Khan: are you worthy of this power?" The protector of the 10th ring inquired.
"I AM worthy," Gene responded, not hesitating to fill his words with as much self-confidence and pride he could muster after such a revelation of his possession of the dragonseed. "And I'll do whatever I have to, to prove it."
"I do not think so," the Alien Guardian said immediately as he placed more strength on the fist that held the last ring of power. "I see much darkness in you."
"Tony, what are we going to do?" Pepper Potts, inside her new armor, asked Iron Man. The trio was standing by the entrance of the hole in the wall their previous encounter with Mandarin had created, slowly taking in the information the Alien Guardian was providing.
Tony stared at his friend from the corner of his eye before returning his attention to the conversation before them. "Hope that space lizard kicks Gene's armored butt. Gene, let it go! You can't defeat this guardian. He is the guardian!"
"This is my destiny, Stark," Gene stole a quick glance to Iron Man over his shoulder before returning to face the Alien Guardian. "Of course I can."
Without further need to remain in his human form, Gene used the rings of power to return to his Mandarin armor form and wasted no time in attacking the Alien Guardian. The protector of the ring stopped Gene's attack with no problem, startling the hell out of Khan.
"Your ancestor was far more adept with the rings," the alien teased.
"He was nothing!" Gene retorted in anger before directing more attacks to the guardian, which again did not even scratch the opponent. "I don't believe it. YOU WILL FALL!"
With the anger and desperation that came from seeing the power of nine rings collapse upon the might of just one, Gene attacked with more effort than before. The result was the same, however, and the guardian blocked his attack without breaking a sweat.
"So much petulance. So much anger. You are not worthy of the ten rings."
"You dare challenge my birthright?" Gene's anger was getting the best of him. He resorted to creating a tornado inside the already old and fragile Makluan Temple by using the power of the rings. The impact of the wind gusts reached the group of heroes, and while War Machine and Iron Man had a good grip on the ground, Pepper's armor was more lightweight than theirs to accommodate the girl's obvious limitation in strength. Tony Stark panicked for a short moment when his always-calculating mind realized this fact, his helmet twisting to the side to address the girl. "Pepper, hold on to me!"
The Alien Guardian wanted nothing to do with the twister, prompting him to use the force of the winds to relocate his form to another place in the temple.
"The Makluan ring will be mine." Mandarin asserted. "You will not stop me, Alien." In an instant, Mandarin released enough energy to stop the trajectory of the Guardian, sending him to slam into the wall before hitting the ground with a loud thud. Gene was pleased with what he saw.
"You can be harmed."
Mandarin continued his attack on the protector, putting everything he had into his next attack which the guardian received with full force, making the bystanders cringe.
"Tony, we can't let Gene win." Pepper said, placing an armored hand on his shoulder. "If he gets all ten rings…"
"No, you're right, Pepper," Iron Man said before calling upon his male counterpart. "Rhodey?"
"Yeah, let's do this." War Machine was ready to rock and roll.
As the alien hit the wall after Mandarin's last attack, Gene continued to verbally justify his right to the ring that was still being withheld from him. "Even you said this power is my birthright. You cannot deny me what is rightfully mine. Don't you understand? I'm going to bring order to the chaos of this world. You have to believe me."
"Oh, I think he believes you, Gene." The sarcastic remark the only warning Iron Man gave the turning Mandarin before all three of the iron heroes released an attack from their unibeams. The surprise attack actually managed to hit the Mandarin, sending him crashing onto the ground.
The deed was not lost to the Alien, who by now was standing from his spot on the floor, shocked at the action taken by the trio of teens. "You…assisted me."
"Yeah, well, enemy of my enemy and all that," Tony responded in an attempt to justify their gesture, but his words were interrupted when he felt as if his mind had been hit by a ton of bricks. The Alien Guardian did not require words to find the true intentions of the teenagers –or anyone for that matter. All he needed was to read their minds.
"AAH! He's inside my head!"
"Mine, too," Rhodey screamed.
"You would be far more worthy than Gene Khan to wield the rings." The Alien stated once he had finished taking the information he needed from the heroes. The statement made Iron Man chuckle nervously.
"Uh, thanks, sir, but, uh, I'm just fine without any alien DNA. No offense."
"None taken, as I was not referring to you, but to the female human."
"AH! See? Not everything is about the oh, so wonderful Tony Sta- Wait, what? Me?" She pointed a finger to her chest.
"AAH!" The screams of the now paralyzed War Machine and Iron Man was the response to Pepper's question. However, the offensive move had come from Mandarin instead.
"You are all fools if you think you can keep me from my legacy. FOOLS!"
"Pepper, stealth mode, now!" A struggling Tony Stark ordered his new recruit. Potts immediately responded by activating the handy feature and avoided a direct attack from the Mandarin. Gene, however, was not deterred.
"Fine, you're the one I want, anyway," he pointed to the Alien Guardian before a purple beam hit his hand. "AAH!"
A second attack hit his back, and Gene turned around to find the perpetrator, knowing damn well who it was. "You think you can rescue your friends, but you're wrong."
Gene released another large attack but it missed Pepper by a long shot. "You're not strong enough to defeat me."
"Oh, I think I'm doing a pretty good job so far." Pepper jested. Her taunting, however, ended when Gene found her in the air.
"AAH! How?"
"How did I find you? The rings are more powerful than you realize. That and you never stop talking!" Gene held Pepper by her arm before ferociously swinging her towards the wall.
"Pepper!" A desperate Iron Man yelled from his location on the ground. The impact was never felt by the manhandled Potts, however, as the Alien Protector cushioned the blow with his own body.
"Thank you," Pepper sighed, looking up at her savior. When she noticed his grip on her was fierce, a moment of panicked befell her. "Uh, I think I can manage now. So, if you can just let me go I can get back to minding my own business…"
"I am afraid that is not possible, female."
"Name's Pepper," she offered.
"Gene Khan must be devoid of the power of the rings he is not worthy of, and you are going to help me."
"Is that a suggestion or…?" She scratched her helmet.
"A mandate." The alien responded before a bright light illuminated the room. When everything was said and done, the lizard-like guardian was nowhere to be found, and neither was Pepper.
The three youngsters in the room stared at one another and then at the place where the guardian had once stood. The paralysis was now fading away and both War Machine and Iron Man pushed themselves from the ground. The first one to reach the dented wall was Tony, placing a metal hand on it and tapping it as if it would suddenly speak to him the answers he sought.
"Pepper? Pepper!"
"Damn!" Gene muttered. "He's gone! And he took the ring with him!"
"The RING?" Tony spat. "Are you seriously thinking about the ring?! He took Pepper!"
"Do not blame me for your shortcomings, Stark. If he took her, it is all on you. You're the one who brought her here. You're the one that put her in danger."
"That's not…I…" Tony closed his eyes. "I didn't mean to…she just…Pepper…"
A second blinding light announced the departure of the Mandarin, but neither Rhodey nor Tony attempted to stop him. Their thoughts were devoted to the bubbly redhead that had been taken away from their lives, perhaps forever.
A/N: Yeaaahhh…so this is mostly a recap of the third to the last episode of the second season of the series. Everything after that will remain more or less the same with the exception of Pepper's part in the final battle against the Makluan. Hope you're interested in the rest!