Author's Note: Aside from the opening, this chapter is pretty much straight action. Even so, I hope to get you thinking about how being Iron Man and Dark Maiden puts Tony and Julia into situations where the difference between right and wrong isn't so well-defined. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 4 – Two Wrongs Make a Mess
"Is it ready yet?" Julia asked as she walked into the workshop.
Yinsen looked up from what he was working on and smiled at her. "You're starting to sound like Tony."
"He's got a point, you know," the man himself added. "Hey J.A.R.V.I.S., what is the estimated completion time on the suit?"
"Approximately one hour and fifty-seven minutes," the A.I. responded.
"Yeah, you've got two hours to kill," Tony reaffirmed.
Julia let out a long sigh. Last night she had finished working on her new suit, the Mark-J2. After it passed Tony's inspection, they had started the automatic fabrication process; it was a long wait. After a quick test flight, Stark and Ramirez planned to leave for the Middle East on their mission to apprehend a rogue army ranger.
"Actually, it's a good thing that you came down," Yinsen told her. "Tony was about to test the portable suit."
"The 'suitcase' suit? Great!"
"I'm going to grab a thick sweatshirt," Tony said, "I want to make sure that I can put in on over any clothing."
"Good idea," she agreed. "I'll put the case on the test mat."
The red and silver metal case was heavier than it looked. The idea was that Stark would be able to don his Iron Man attire in any place, at any time, so that he could tackle an emergency situation. A lightweight suit that could be carried in a practical way was the best answer to this problem. However, Tony had found it challenging to compact an entire suit of armour and then make it all reopen without jamming.
"Okay, let's do this! Dummy – roll film!" he called out to his robot.
Yinsen came over and stood beside Julia. "This is the first time he's gotten it to open properly," he whispered to her.
Stark stood in front of the case and activated it. As he picked it up, the metal unfolded and began to spread out across his chest and arms to form a suit. It seemed like everything was going all right, but then Tony suddenly cried out.
"Something's wrong - it's too tight!"
Julia and Yinsen leapt into action and ran over, but then stopped short when they realized that they had no idea how to stop the suit from attaching itself to Tony's body.
"Seriously… can't move… can't breathe…"
The chest-piece had tightened so much that he could barely expand his ribcage to draw breath. The strain of the suit constricting his body and holding his arms outstretched made him stumble to his knees.
"Get it off!" he muttered, his face going red.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., deactivate the prototype!" Julia yelled.
"Prototype deactivated."
Tony's entire upper body was already encased.
"Can this thing retract?" Yinsen asked, partly to Tony, and partly to the A.I.
"I designed it to," he replied. "Can't feel my hands…"
"Attempting to retract suit…"
There were some clicks and clanks, and then the movement stopped.
"It seems that the prototype has snagged on an article of clothing," J.A.R.V.I.S. informed them.
"Nice going with the sweatshirt," Julia teased her friend.
"I'll get a screwdriver," Yinsen announced.
Tony swore furiously under his breath. "Get that robot over here! No wait! The suiting system – get me into that!"
Between Julia, Yinsen, and Dummy, they hauled him over to the machine and let it properly remove the armour from him. The moment he was free, Tony staggered to a seat and gasped for air.
"Okay… I'll have to do… some tweaking…"
Yinsen wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. "These tests are such an adrenaline rush – I'm surprised you never talk about them in interviews!"
Just then, Pepper entered the workshop.
"Before you head off on this mission, it would be much appreciated if you… What's going on?" She eyed the flushed face of her boss, and the not-so-innocent faces of his friends, and the mangled equipment lying on the floor. "You nearly killed yourself again with one of those crazy tests, didn't you?!"
"Trial and error." Yinsen said with a shrug.
Julia grinned and Tony gave a thumbs-up sign.
Pepper sighed and smiled a bit. "I'm always missing the fun stuff."
Flying halfway around the world had never been as easy as the past several hours that Iron Man and Dark Maiden had spent traveling to their mission. For Julia, it was the first flight in her new Mark-J2 armour, and it handled like a dream. Soon enough she would get the chance to use the multitude of new weapons, but for now she was enjoying the increased power and enhanced flight capabilities.
"We're almost there," Tony said.
"I'm not picking up any signs of life on the scans."
"This is where the D.O.D. said the group was located."
"Do they know these guys are camped here, or did 'intelligence suggest' they're here?" Julia asked, being well acquainted with military lingo.
"Uh… I'm not sure."
"Well, they could be working under radio silence if they know that the military is onto them."
"I can see a small base in that small valley; want to have a look?"
"Sure. Looks pretty quiet. Maybe they're still asleep."
"Then they're in for a rude awakening."
Stark and Ramirez landed hard enough to blast the dust off the ground and everything else. They stood back to back with their weapons drawn, and inspected the camp. It was a good place to hide – it was protected by two large hills and there was likely a subterranean escape route underneath. However, nothing stirred.
"Okay, either everyone is really hung-over, or they aren't home," Tony quipped.
"Actually, it looks abandoned. These vehicles could barely run, and the shelters are tattered. This is weird," Julia murmured.
"Would they just up and leave?"
"I guess…"
"Something's not right," Tony muttered.
No sooner than the words were out of his mouth, did warning signs start flashing on the HUD of both suits.
"Incoming missile," J.A.R.V.I.S. told them.
"What? From who?" Julia asked.
"Undetermined."
"How much you want to bet that someone is trying to get rid of us?" Tony glanced at her on the interface.
"The Department of Defense wouldn't send us here and then try to blow us up… would they?"
"That's kinda how it's looking right now."
They fired their thrusters to get airborne. The estimated impact countdown showed that they had just enough time to get clear of the blast zone. J.A.R.V.I.S. flashed new information on-screen about the type of missile and its trajectory. Julia's eyes widened.
The A.I. now spoke in an urgent tone: "Inbound Jericho missile. Additional rockets releasing now. Impact in four seconds. Collision imminent."
"We're not going to get clear in time!" she shouted.
"Head for the top of the farther hill!" he yelled back.
They made an abrupt halt in midair and turned to retreat. Julia let out a gasp when she saw dozens of smaller missiles bearing down on them. If they could make it over that ridge they would be shielded from the explosion. Though Stark and Ramirez were streaking through the air, the rockets were just as fast. Scores of missiles detonated the hills just as they reached the crest, and caused a landslide in the valley they had been standing in moments earlier.
Tony and Julia had been too close to avoid damage. The immense shockwave had them reeling, and then the debris knocked them down; they hit the earth on the far side of the hill. The suits' computer systems fed Stark and Ramirez data long before the smoke cleared. When it did, Julia saw Tony lying nearby. A glance at the in-helmet cam showed that he was fine.
"I feel like we should have seen that coming," he murmured.
"That's the point of an ambush – you don't see it coming."
"How did they know we would be here?"
"Good question."
"Whenever you're ready, we can drop in on our new favourite mercenary group; J.A.R.V.I.S. tracked the missile back to the origin point."
"Do you think it was coincidence that they used the Jericho?"
"Well, if it's not then it's a pretty cocky move – trying to shoot me down with my own weapon."
"Sounds like a message to me."
"And they've got my attention. You okay?"
"Aside from my brand new suit getting scuffed, I'm alright. Let's go, I'm ready for round two."
Iron Man and Dark Maiden picked themselves up and raced towards the actual camp. Before getting too close, they both launched a couple rockets and followed the projectiles to the ground. Their pre-strike served to disrupt the mercenaries, who were rushing to ready more of their arsenal. With the suits' vision cutting through the smoke of the explosion, Stark and Ramirez got right to work destroying all the weapons they could find. In the plan that they had devised, Tony would draw everyone's attention and gunfire, while Julia would track down the group's computer systems. In addition, they had to find the rogue army ranger who was at the center of this issue. A signal registered on her HUD and it localized to a structure at the rear. Julia ran over and kicked the door in and found three men hunched over a bank of tech equipment. Including her, everyone in the room drew their weapons at once.
"Well, well, if it isn't Iron Man's bitch," one man taunted.
The other two joined in with making filthy remarks, most of them related to her gender. However, it wasn't anything she hadn't heard before. Without uttering a word in reply, Dark Maiden blasted one of the supporting beams of the structure, and stood there as it collapsed on top of everyone. She threw the debris out of her way and uncovered the computers that the men were working on.
The equipment was sturdy and thus still functioning. It appeared that they were simultaneously encrypting, sending, and deleting information. From a small compartment in her suit she pulled out one of Stark's portable drives – one that could hack into practically anything and copy the information. As she waited for the device, one of the soldiers dug his way out of the building materials and shot her point blank in the back. The bullet ricocheted off and Julia couldn't help but grin at the strength of the new armour; the damage was barely even registering. She grabbed two of the men and threw them backwards about thirty feet. The remaining man continued to fire at her until she grabbed the barrel of his gun and clamped it closed. By then the drive had finished and Julia secured it in her suit.
"Hey Tony, I've got the information. How are things going at your end?"
"I wouldn't be offended if you dropped by…" he replied, his voice sounding strained from exertion.
She recognized his indirect call for help; firing her thrusters she rushed over to the center of the camp and found Iron Man getting pelted by all manner of automatic rifles and grenade launchers. These contractors were much more prepared for their raid than she had expected. And they had the pair surrounded. Once Tony got airborne a bit, Julia was able to protect his back, but they were still taking heavy fire.
"This looks like the entire compound – why can't I see this guy?" she shouted.
"He's got to be here somewhere. J.A.R.V.I.S., scan the drivers of those trucks and see what comes up on the facial recognition."
"No matches," the A.I. responded. "However, I should warn you that power levels are at-"
"Not now, J.A.R.V.I.S."
"Wait, I'm picking up something on my scans," Julia told him. "There's an outbound vehicle heading east from here."
"I'll take a look."
"Okay. I'll check the vehicles here."
Iron Man jet skyward, prompting a momentary break in the shooting, followed by the launch of a rocket.
"Hey Tony, you've picked up a tail."
She chuckled when she heard him cursing. Julia flew over to a Gurkha LAPV and started prying the door open. She was met with a barrage of bullets to the face and she staggered backwards. Her helmet was showing some damage. The gun mounted on top of the armoured vehicle swiveled towards her and opened fire. The soldier inside Gurkha continued to shoot at her with his AK, and after a few moments she was forced to withdraw, flying up and over another structure. The mercenaries continued to shoot and the bullets were tearing through the large tent.
"Ramirez – the guy in the truck is our ranger!" Tony exclaimed.
"Great. What about that rocket?"
"Taken care of. I'm intercepting him."
"I'll meet you over there."
The Dark Maiden blasted out of the compound, but not before taking a few shots at the larger weaponry. Satisfied with the resulting explosions, she soared up over the desert, and spotted Iron Man on top of a Suburban in the middle of a fight with the ex-army ranger inside. The man was swerving wildly and trying to shoot him through a hole in the roof. As she raced towards the scene, Julia watched as the truck hit a rock and a couple tires came off the ground. She cringed as it rolled and Stark went tumbling away. After three rotations, it lurched to a halt on its wheels.
"Tony!" she yelled, and dropped to the ground next to him. Julia flipped the faceplate of her helmet open and did a cursory look at his suit; she wasn't sure if the SUV had rolled on top of him.
His helmet opened up as well and his eyes met hers; despite having a bruised face he seemed alright. "Next time, you get to chase the fleeing guy."
"I'm going to see if he's still alive."
Her helmet shut and she walked over to where the vehicle sat smoking. Cautiously going around to the driver's side, she stopped when she saw the man sitting on ground leaning against the tire, and clutching his rifle. He fiercely aimed it at her with one arm and she realized the other was broken. Although the thrusters in her palms were pointed at him, she lowered her arms and took a non-aggressive stance.
The ranger lay down the gun and stared at her a moment.
"Is Iron Man dead?" he asked.
"No."
"Then why are you here instead of him?"
"How did you know we were coming?" she countered with a question.
"We didn't. We received information that the army was planning a raid on our group. It was a surprise to have the Iron Man himself show up – and his sidekick of course. I'm kind of disappointed that the Jericho didn't bury both of you."
"How can you work with mercenaries? You were in the army."
He cocked his head. "You're military, aren't you? Which division? Army? Navy? Air Force?"
Julia was glad that her helmet not only shielded her identity, but also her expressions; she was startled by how fast he could read her.
"It's okay, you don't have to tell. Let me explain this for you. I was in an undercover op, trying to find out a leak in intelligence. Turned out that it was an officer who was doing deals on the side. I lost several friends as a result of those leaks. And after all of that, this officer gets off without a scandal. I couldn't work under anyone else like that. Going into the private sector was my choice. And I prefer 'para-military contactor', by the way."
"You did hits on the side you used to fight for."
"You've got some bad intel there. Until recently we were contracted by the military. Ever heard of General Ross?"
"As in Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross?"
"The same. He had us doing some dirty work for him, stuff he couldn't get approved, and ever since then he has been trying to cover it up by wiping us off the map. I'm just surprised that he has Iron Man on a leash."
Julia's mind reeled. She desperately needed to confirm this information, but at the same time found it difficult to question the information that Stark had received. It was just as possible that this man was lying through his teeth. She didn't know much about Ross, but his reputation was dubious at best.
Her display showed Tony approaching. "What's this? Talking with the enemy?" he heckled.
"I can't understand why you'd want to work for a guy like Stark," the soldier addressed her. "He's a hypocrite if ever I saw one."
"Well, it takes one to know one, buddy. Now isn't it time we wrap this up and stick this guy in a room full of military police?"
"It sure would've been ironic to blow you apart with your own Jericho missile," the man taunted.
"That's it-" Stark growled and started towards him.
Julia thrust out her hand and stopped Tony in his tracks. "Enough! Both of you! We are going to get this resolved here and now."
"Resolve what? We're taking him in."
"Hey Stark, why don't you listen to the Dark Maiden here?"
"I think you're missing the point of the suit – when I'm wearing it I'm Iron Man," he retorted.
She had had all that she was going to take from the arguing men. Julia got right in front of Tony and stared into the glowing eyes of his helmet with her own. "Conference. Now."
They walked a few paces from the wounded man and switched off their external audio so that they could talk privately.
"Tony, we've been set up."
"You're kidding, right?"
"I'm sure you've done business with General Ross; you tell me if he's prone to doing unethical stuff, because from what I've heard, he'll do anything for a victory. Our man over there says that his para-military group was working for Ross."
He was silent for a moment. In the face-cam she could see him absorbing the information. "Well, there was that thing with the gamma radiation testing…" he murmured.
Julia continued. "He claims that our being called out here is just a part of the General's efforts to take care of loose ends. What we need is a way to confirm if he's telling the truth or not."
"There probably is information on those hard drives you got, but I won't examine their contents without a secure setup since they likely are booby-trapped. I'm going to make a call."
A phone rang on the other side of the world, and a woman finally answered. "H-hello?"
"Hi Pepper, it's me. You sound really tired."
"Tony?" There was an exasperated sigh from the other side. "It's two seventeen in the morning! Remember what we discussed about middle-of-the-night calls?"
"Yes, I know, I'm sorry, but this is a genuine emergency."
"It better be…" Pepper grumbled.
"Okay, remember that secret mission that the D.O.D. asked me to do, the one we're on now?"
"Yes."
"I need you to look at the files for that. Please."
"Seriously? Why didn't you scan them and put them into your system, Mister Tech Genius?"
"That's not a bad idea…"
"Alright, hold on a minute, I'm going to stumble over to the office."
"Are you at my place or yours?"
"Yours. I didn't want Yinsen to have to be alone in this big place while you two were out."
"That's sweet of you. What are you wearing right now?"
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
Tony glanced over at Julia. "It'll be a minute or two – hang tight."
She sighed. All of this standing around was starting to remind her of how tired she felt without the adrenaline pulsing; though the suit could basically do the standing for her.
By then Pepper had reached the office and was pulling out the documents. "I've got them, now what am I supposed to look for?"
"I need the names of those involved with this assignment."
She flipped through several pages. "I practically had to twist some arms to get this paperwork, you know." Finally she found a few signatories and read out the names.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., cross-reference those names with General Ross," Tony instructed.
There was a brief pause, then a chart appeared on Tony and Julia's displays. "A search of our databases shows that all of the signatories are connected to General Thaddeus Ross – they have either worked together on operations, or have served under him and support his agendas."
"Well, I think that settles it."
"Mr. Stark, I'm going back to bed," his assistant announced.
"Of course. Thank you, Ms. Potts."
"Uh huh. Next time, please just scan this stuff."
"Will do. Over and out."
Iron Man and Dark Maiden returned to where the man still sat, though he now had a bit of a smile on his face.
"Watching you two 'talk' was the funniest thing I've seen in a while. All gestures, but no sound – like a couple of mimes!" He started to laugh, but winced and groaned in pain.
"Cracked ribs too?" Julia asked.
"Yeah. Thanks a lot, Iron Man," he said sarcastically.
Before Tony could reply, she began giving an update on the situation. "We've been able to verify your story. It appears that Ross got some friends of his to set up our mission."
"If he had asked us himself, there's no way I would have agreed to it," Stark confirmed. "He was obnoxious to deal with even when I was in the weapons business, and he hasn't been thrilled that I haven't wanted to share the Iron Man suit designs."
"Well, you sure could make a bundle off of that tech. Why don't you sell it?" the soldier asked.
Tony did something that was unexpected – he opened the faceplate of his helmet and couched down so that he was more at eye-level with the other man. "Because I saw what my weapons did to people. Before I was held hostage in Afghanistan, I thought of death and destruction in a detached way. I thought that since I wasn't involved in the politics and the conflicts, that none of it was my problem. I was wrong." He stood up. "I don't know why my father chose to make weapons, but that's not the legacy I want to leave behind."
The other man nodded thoughtfully. "Fair enough. But what about your sidekick? How do you fit into this crusade?"
Julia stayed where she was. "I won't stand by and watch others get beaten down, simple as that."
There was a brief silence before the man spoke again. "So, what happens now?"
"We're taking off," Tony replied.
"That's it?" the man exclaimed.
"Pretty much. Dark Maiden's radioing your team and they'll be arriving soon to pick you up."
He swore angrily. "You nearly demolished our base and cost us tens of thousands in weapons, and you're just going to walk away?!"
"You really want us to stick around and rebuild?"
Julia stepped towards him. "I am sorry that we came down on you – we should've done more fact-checking. Your group can continue contract military jobs, but this doesn't make us friends. If you cross a line, don't think that we won't come back for you."
Tony snapped his helmet shut. "What she said." He held up a couple fingers in a peace sign before they both rocketed skyward.
