AN: I do not own Iron Man or anything else in this story but the OCs
Chapter 3: Of Masks and Rescues
Sub-Chapter B: Fiery Problems
After Kari found out Robert's secret identity and was shown Armory she naturally had many questions. Anything ranging from how fast each of the armors are, to how precise is the Extremis R's control over both the armors and machines is, to the reason behind having more diversity among the Iron Man armor category armors than the others, to just about anything else you could think of her asking. Downey and Paltrow were smirking the whole time at Robert's uneasiness at her knowing, and having to answer so many questions at once, along with the fact that she seemed to ask some of those questions in just one breath. They could have sworn they heard Robert mutter that she sounded like the Iron Man: Armored Adventures version of Pepper Potts for days.
After receiving the grand tour, being sworn to secrecy, and going through everything else that was involved with Kari being allowed to remain in on the secret, not that they could change that fact, Kari ended up being much more understanding of Robert's absences and sudden disappearances during their dates and decided to even help out with Robert's hero career. Every time that Robert had to go off and armor up for action, Kari either stuck around to help in some way if she could, or just made a bee line for Armory where she would be safest. Plus it was also a big help having someone help to cover for him with others when he had to suddenly leave. Of course that did not mean Caz became less suspicious of the whole thing.
When Kari was not doing anything important other than helping with Robert's training in the suits or just hanging out with him, Downey, and Paltrow at Armory, she spent some time in the Hall of Armors looking at all the different suits. Although she seemed to stare at them all for equal amounts of time, the most observant of people would be able to tell you she was looking at one armor category more than any other; that category being the Rescue armor category.
Robert and the two Iron Man movie actors noticed this and figured that she just found them to be the coolest since the Rescue armor was the only suit that was clearly designed to have a female pilot for it, and that she would just lose interest in looking at them one day. They were right in that regard, but they did not expect her interest would change in the way it did when that one day finally came.
It was just a normal day at the start, and Robert had finished up a training session with the Mark Thirty Three, Silver Centurion armor when Kari walked into the room. Downey had motioned to let Robert know Kari had just come up from another "Rescue Armor Window Shopping Session", as he had come to call them much to the girl's annoyance, and Robert turned to his girlfriend as his face mask lifted up to show his smiling face to her. His smile always made her stomach do somersaults, but Kari suppressed the feelings it normally gave her since she had something important to say, something she had a strong feeling would make both men, and Paltrow when she heard, be startled beyond belief. She took a deep breath, and before Robert could say anything she blurted out, "Robert, I want to become an armor pilot and help you fight crime and all the other bad guys."
She was right in her assumption. The two men were shocked beyond belief. For two reasons though, one being what she had said of course, but the other was that she had said it so fast that they were not sure they heard Kari right. Paltrow walked in a moment later and noticed that neither of the boys were bragging or playfully arguing like they usually were these days, especially when Kari was in the room.
"What is it," Paltrow finally asked.
"Unless I misunderstood, the kid's girlfriend just said she wants to join the team," Downey replied. Now Paltrow was just as shocked, and due to this, neither of them noticed that Robert had stepped out of his armor and was now frozen in place.
"Uh Kari, I am not sure I heard you right. What did you just say again," Robert finally asked very slowly.
Kari took a deep breath to calm herself, having expected that reaction but finding it uncomfortable all the same and said slowly, "I said that…I want to join you in your fight Robert…I want to become an Armored Avenger."
This time Robert knew for a fact he understood clearly and was a bit less shocked. He was able to recover a little more quickly this time however as he adopted a serious expression and gave his own answer to that. "No."
Now it was Kari's turn to be shocked. She had expected Robert to be slightly cautious and asking her questions to make sure she wanted to do this, not flat out refuse to let her like this. "Why not Robert? I mean I am more than capable of helping you out there, so why would you not want me to help?"
"Kari, you know better than anyone how dangerous that is because you witnessed it firsthand once," Robert replied. "Did you forget that Whiplash tried to kill you when you were just yourself?"
"Of course I did not forget that, nor did I forget the fact that he tried to kill you as well and so did that Mister Fix guy. And just so you know, I have seen how dangerous it is more than once," Kari had froze as she realized what she had said in her retort.
"If you are referring to when you snuck back into the restaurant to watch the fight between me and Crimson Dynamo I am fully aware of that," Robert told her, having just been reminded of that himself. "But that more than proves my point. I know how dangerous this stuff is and yet from where I am standing you seem to ignore that knowledge and do whatever you want."
"Need I remind you that I did not know your secret identity as Iron Man at the time, and those other times after I found out had more than once helped save you and a lot of other lives as well?" Now normally Kari would be maintaining a calm exterior and demeanor in these arguments, but this time it was more than different.
It came to be even more so when Downey cleared his throat before adding his two cents. "You know kid I have to agree with the girl. I told you that you need to help recruit members to become pilots for the other armor categories and already we have a volunteer. She is more than qualified to handle one of the suits. I think we should let her."
Paltrow also voiced an agreement to that and now it was completely the opposite of what Kari thought would have happened. Instead of Robert agreeing with her and arguing with the other two about why she should be allowed to wear one of the suits, it was the other way around with Robert arguing why she should not be allowed to and Downey and Paltrow were agreeing with her. She decided to get their attention as soon as it started to turn into a full blown argument.
As soon as she did, Kari told Robert, "I know you may not believe this Robert, but I have thought this through. I want to join you out there Robert. I want to be an Armored Avenger. Like you."
"No way. Absolutely not!" Robert was practically screaming now, and before anyone could say another word the alarms went off.
"What is going on," Downey asked as he spoke into the intercom microphone.
"Sir there is a report coming in about a heavily armed arsonist attacking the research firm known as Bio-Farm. Threat Level: have also confirmed that the suspect may be using technology that may have been provided by Mister Fix," was the computer's reply.
"We will talk about this later," Robert told Kari as he moved to his usual launch pad. He then asked Downey, "How is the Mark Forty Two?"
"It is still undergoing repair from your battle with Whiplash and Mister Fix last week," Downey told him. "Thankfully, we still have both the Mark Thirty Three, Silver Centurion and the Mark Seventeen Heartbreaker ready for action."
"Well I had best get moving. Ready the Mark Thirty Three, because it is time to armor up!" Robert cried out as he extended his hand towards the previously mentioned suit, sending the mental signal for it to form around him. A moment later Iron Man was blasting off and flying to the scene.
Iron Man had arrived on the scene just as said arsonist was launching another barrage of flames at the building. He could see why the computer would classify his tech as the kind Mister Fix would provide at first glance, but after zooming the camera on his armor's viewing lenses for a better look, he had to disagree. The man was wearing a black and orange full body suit that was clearly led lined, with goggles on his mask also led lined and with darkened lenses to prevent people from seeing his eyes. He also had a large pair of twin propane tanks with long houses that connected to fire emitting devices on his arms, which he was using to burn the building. The only visible, defining detail about him was the messy blonde hair that he let fall freely from the back of his mask.
Iron Man was not about to let Bio-Farm be destroyed, because for one reason he knew that they were doing major work that involved medical research, and another reason was because there were probably still people inside. He immediately flew down to intercept the culprit, and knowing his repulsors would more than likely cause more problems than they would resolve in this instance, he tackled the arsonist hard as he flipped over and threw the man at the wall.
"Well, well, well. Iron Man. I was wondering how much more I would have to burn to get your attention," the unknown arsonist told him.
"Wait, are you saying that you are putting lives at risk and causing important biological research to be set back by years just because you want attention?" Iron Man asked incredulously.
"Nah, I burn stuff for the rush of it, and for the right price as well hero."
"Well I guess you will have to get a new hobby and send a refund from prison, because that is exactly what you are going to be doing when this is over." Iron Man moved into a fighting stance with a repulsor raised and ready to fire.
"Please," the arsonist scoffed. "You cannot stop me. No one can stop me, and everyone will soon forever remember the name Implosion!" With that he let lose a massive fire blast that enveloped the armored hero.
Iron Man simply walked through the blaze as he asked, "You do know that I wear an indestructible suit of armor right?"
"Everything burns Iron Man. Everything as long as you have the right amount of heat."
Implosion started letting lose more and more blasts of fire from his wrists and then eventually started tossing bombs at him that caused even more of a blaze. Iron Man hated to admit it, but this Implosion guy was right. His armor's heat shields could only hold for so long and this guy was trying the limits of it. He tried flying out of range, but that proved to be problematic. It quickly became evident that this was not going to end in a victory for him, and it seemed Implosion had won, but before the arsonist maniac could finish Iron Man, the sounds of police sirens stopped him.
"I have done the job my client asked for. Do not get in my way again hero," Implosion told Iron Man before using his fire emitters to fly off.
"Robert! Robert, are you okay?" Kari's voice cried out through the communicator in the suit.
Robert groaned in reply as he stated, "If anyone over there even thinks of saying that I got majorly burned, and I know you are thinking of it Downey so do not deny it, I will blast them with my suit's unibeam when I get back."
Later that day, Implosion was doing maintenance work on his equipment and making sure he was ready for Iron Man the next time he ran into him when he got a call from a blocked number. He hit the speaker phone button as he answered, "You have got Implosion. What do you need me to burn?"
"Implosion, I heard that you were able to complete my last job for you fairly easily," a distorted voice asked from the other end of the phone.
"Well my mystery friend," Implosion smirked. "Yeah I got the job done, and I got to scorch Iron Man a bit as well."
"You encountered Iron Man?" the voice asked.
"Yeah, but I did not get to toast him permanently before the cops showed."
"Well you may get the chance to do so. I have another job for you. The bio-research complex known as DN-Advancers."
Implosion noticed how this was the third time at least that this client asked for a bio-research place to be burned, but did not care as he clarified once again, "I do not do anything without being paid."
"I am well aware of that Implosion. Just make sure that the facility goes down in flames." The distorted voice of his current employer told him.
"Not a problem, considering that making stuff burn is my specialty," Implosion smirked as he strapped on a new glove-like device that practically fizzled with flames and hung up.
On the other end of the line, on the edge of the city of Los Angles, California, the mystery client smirked as she hung up the phone herself. "I know that quite well, and I am counting on it," one Jennifer Calypso smirked with a twisted pleasure at the thought.
After Robert had returned to Armory, and endured Downey's fire related joke about how his fight with Implosion went which came despite his warning, the team had quickly done a search for information on the arsonist. They found their answers quickly, in the form of multiple police reports. The arsonist was a wanted pyromaniac and hired gun who was known for causing massive fires to major businesses and other locations and places. He was wanted for questioning for sudden infernos that took the lives of political figures, bombings of major research firms, and multiple other similar crimes along with several accounts of theft of arson related technology.
The whole team was suddenly questioning why Mister Fix hired this man, especially since it seemed that Fix would want any kind of research information intact and had no interest in political affairs, but they decided to worry about that later and figure out a way to track him down and determine his next target, which would be very difficult at this moment in time.
That was almost two days ago, and right now Robert and Kari were out having a small date. Robert was decked out in his new usual attire the only difference being that his usual jacket had been replaced with a vest of the same color and similar design as his jacket, the main difference being the gold colored stripes went up along the front sides of his vest, while Kari was wearing a pink short sleeved shirt with dark colored jeans. The two were simply enjoying a lovely stroll through one of the city parks. Well they were trying to enjoy it, but they were still arguing over the same issue that had been raised two days ago; whether or not Kari should become an Armored Avenger.
"Kari, sweetie, I am saying this as nicely as I can right now. No means no," Robert told his redheaded beauty for what he believed to be the thousandth time.
"And I am telling you, you still have not given me a reasonable reason as to why not," Kari fumed. "Why do you not think I can do this?"
"It is not that I do not think you can do it Kari. It is the fact you asking me to let you risk your life as a superhero. This life is not easy and it is not a game either Kari. People die in these things if you make one mistake."
"I know full well that it is not a game!" Kari shouted now beyond annoyed with her boyfriend. "And I know how serious it is, but I am telling you I do not care! You cannot expect me to just sit on the sidelines and worry for you every time you go out there like some helpless little girl! I know what this involves, and I want to do this."
Robert was stunned by this. He knew Kari cared about him a great deal, but he did not realize how much his new life had her worried. He needed to clear up why he was so against the idea of her wearing one the armors now more than ever.
"Kari," He said softly as he placed his hands on shoulders so that their eyes became locked with one and other. "I know I may seem harsh in saying that I do not want you wearing the armor, but you have to understand why that is. It is not that I am worried that you are not qualified, because I know full well that you are, but the problem is that as soon as you put that armor on, you will have to face dangerous individuals like Mister Fix or that Implosion guy, who was hired by someone we still do not know to attack Bio-Farm, and the thought of you facing that kind of thing and not coming back from that scares me."
Kari's heart was beginning to race faster as she was starting to realize why Robert was so against it. He was not worried that she could not do the job, but rather he was just as worried about her safety if she were to wear one of the suits as she was about his when he was. Though something in what he said about Implosion stuck out to her, so much so she did not hear Robert as he continued talking.
"The thought of you not being in my life, or not being around at all scares me, because I-."
"Wait a minute. Bio-Farm," Kari suddenly exclaimed as she interrupted Robert. "We have to get to Armory right now!"
Robert was so confused by Kari's sudden outburst that he just let her drag him back to his car and remained silent the whole drive over to the secret underground hanger of the Armored Avengers. After arriving, it was clear that Downey and Paltrow were working on finding Implosion when they turned and saw the young couple walk in. "Did we not tell you two to just relax for the day while we worked on this?" Downey asked once he saw them.
"That was before I realized why Bio-Farm sounded so important," Kari replied. "Do we have a list of all of Implosion's most recent targets?"
Paltrow and Downey looked to Robert who simply shrugged in confusion. "Yeah right here," Downey replied as he handed the girl the data pad with the information. "They are all places that do some research in bio-technology, but beyond that we have not seen a connection of any kind. The research they do is all completely unrelated for the most part."
"There is one connection," Kari said as she looked up from the list. "These are all places that Doctor Jennifer Mascara had previously worked at."
"Wait a minute Kari," Robert finally cut in. "Are you referring to that woman that I met at your old business place the other day with that Project: Mirage thing?"
"Project Masquerade," Kari clarified. "And yes. I recognize all these places from when I looked into her job history. Apparently she had been fired for multiple accounts of refusing to listen to superiors and using their research for unauthorized research in biological weaponry."
"Wait are you saying this Mascara woman, is hiring a wanted arsonist like Implosion out of revenge?" Paltrow asked.
"I never thought she would do something like this at first, but obviously something has changed. In the past she has always just talked about making sure people who had 'wronged her', at least from her point of view, paid the price but now it would seem she is actually following through on those threats."
"If that is the case and Mascara is hiring Implosion, we might be able to use that to both expose her and stop Implosion," Robert declared. "Is there any place that Mascara used to work at that Implosion has not hit yet?"
"A few actually," Kari said as she skimmed through the list again, "but assuming this is listed in chronological order of when Implosion hit the places then it would seem she is having him attack them in the same order as she was fired from them."
"Yeah that is the order it is in," Downey confirmed.
"Then I know where she will send him next. A complex called DN-Advancers," Kari told them confidently.
"Well then, I think we have a plan on how to lure her out and capture our guy," Robert then announced.
That night, Jennifer Mascara was standing in a shadowed alley near DN-Advancers like she was waiting for something. She wanted to be away from the area when Implosion arrived, because there was a chance he may find out she was his employer, and that would quickly compromise her standing in the scientific community. What she did not understand is how the person who called her out here knew she hired him or why they wanted to meet her here. That is until she heard a voice from behind her. "So I was right. You are behind Implosion's latest series of attacks aren't you Jennifer?"
Mascara spun around and watched as Kari stepped out of the shadows, clearly irritated and disappointed. "What is it to you if I am Calypso? These people need to learn why they needed to run my research and why it was a mistake to fire me," Mascara hollered at her fellow redhead.
"But why Jennifer? What are you trying to prove here," Kari asked.
"You know full well why, since you were there when Tomorrow Genes was attacked," Mascara yelled. "These so-called 'superheroes' and villains that are supposed to be the stuff of fiction are now real and a very great threat! We need to be able to protect the good and normal people from these freaks that are now practically appearing on our doorstep and if necessary the vigilantes that claim to be here to help us only to cover up the fact that they are more than likely planning to do exactly what those other guys are doing!"
Kari was stunned by this realization. This whole thing was because Mascara was scared by what had happened at Tomorrow Gene. Whiplash and Mister Fix's attack, Iron Man's appearance, it did not matter which one it was, one of those things was the trigger for causing her to throw all her self control to the wind and start doing what she was doing. "Jennifer please listen to me. It is not too late to stop going down this path."
"I do not want to stop going on this path Kari. We need my bio-technological weapons to stop these…these menaces!"
"Like me," a voice asked from behind her. The two girls looked and saw Implosion standing there, slowly stalking towards them with a sinister smirk clearly present on his face despite the fact his face was hidden by his usual mask and goggles.
"So my big tough boss man turns out to be some pissed off scared little science girl huh," Implosion droned out. "I would be mad, if I did not have the perfect little targets to burn to make me feel better."
He raised his two fire blasters at the girls who ran off into DN-Advancers to find safe haven. This was a serious mistake when Implosion followed them into the complex and let lose more fire blasts and tossed some fired grenades at them, causing fires to start lighting up the building from the inside and spread due to explosions of volatile chemicals. Kari looked for Mascara after getting separated from her while dodging the pyromaniac's assault and noticed out of the corner of her eye that Mascara had dodged long enough to pull out what looked like a mask, which she recognized from the design specifications she had seen from Project: Masquerade. She then realized that Mascara had gone ahead and developed the device without anyone's approval and decided to be mad about it later as she tapped a small device she had hidden in her coat sleeve.
A moment later, there was a sound of breaking glass as Iron Man came crashing through the window, decked out once again in the Mark Thirty Three Silver Centurion armor, as he shouted out, "Attention insane pyromaniacs, misguided fools, and all other forms of criminals!" He landed in the iconic Iron Man pose of kneeling down with one fist on the ground while the other was above him as he finished saying, "You are now officially toast."
Implosion turned his attention to the red and silver armored hero and shouted out a battle cry as he unleashed a new barrage of flames and explosives at the hero. This time Iron Man was more than ready, and had the armor direct his repulsor blasts so that the shots would be more precise in their hits. The battle turned to one of dominance between repulsor technology and fire based weaponry as the two fought tooth and nail to top the other, and Implosion's new heat directing and flame generating gloves were making it a very even battle.
While this was going on, Kari took the opportunity to search for Mascara so she could drag the woman out of the building and tie her to the nearest pole of any kind with a sign saying "Say hello to Implosion's most recent employer. Please arrest her." She would normally take great pleasure in seeing the woman dragged off by the police for this sort of thing normally, but in this case she could not help but understand her reasoning behind it all. These battles that Robert had to fight in were terrifying, and she would not have been surprised if there were at least a few people who felt the same way that Mascara did, but Kari doubted that anyone would have gone as far as Mascara did. She was brought out of her musings when she heard Mascara crying out for help, and turned to see her trapped under some rumble directly beneath what looked like a vat of chemicals.
"Kari please help me," Mascara called out. "Those chemicals are harmful in the state they are in right now! I do not want to find out what they do to humans first hand!"
Kari did not need that further amount of persuasion as she had already raced over and started to shove on the rumble, but sadly she was not strong enough to lift it. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the building, as Iron Man finally landed a direct final hit on Implosion, but the shockwave caused the already fragile infrastructure holding the vat up to finally collapse and the chemicals fell downward towards the two girls. Iron Man flew as fast as he could, but he knew he could only save one of them.
He grabbed Kari, wrapping his arms around her waist, and blasted up out of the way as the chemicals fell onto Mascara. Kari cried out in despair as she saw what she believed to be the end of the woman she once hated dealing with so much and the building's fire suppressant system finally activated with a little push from Extremis R courtesy of Iron Man.
When the chemicals had finally washed away from the young woman, Mascara seemed to be fine for the most part, but her breathing and heart rate were shallow according to J.A.R.V.I.S., and her hair seemed to give the impression of being burned in several places. The worst of it was her face, as it appeared to have been mutilated greatly and disfigured in so many ways that would normally be associated with multiple different injuries. Robert did not even need to ask J.A.R.V.I.S. to call for an ambulance when he alerted the authorities.
A few hours later when the police had finally arrived, Iron Man handed Implosion over to them while Mascara was wheeled into the back of an ambulance that immediately rushed off to the hospital. The doctors told Kari, who had stayed behind to tell the police what she knew about the situation and the relationship between Mascara and Implosion, that they would do everything they could for Jennifer Mascara, but it seemed likely she would not make a full recovery, if any at all. Kari had nodded in understanding and after making sure the police and medics did not have any other questions for her, she walked over to Iron Man and asked him to take her home, which was her way of asking Robert to take her back to Armory so they could tell Downey and Paltrow what had happened there before returning home. Nearly the whole flight, she had silently cried into Robert's armored shoulder.
A few days later, Kari and Robert had gone to visit Mascara to see how she was doing in her recovery. Kari had told Robert that even though she did not like the woman that nearly caused all three of their deaths it did not mean she outright hated her. She had only broached the topic of becoming an Armored Avenger a few times since then, but after what had happened with Implosion Robert was more against the idea of Kari donning a suit than ever. Though deep down, Robert was honestly beginning to think that maybe it would be better if Kari became an armor pilot.
Just then, despite the atmosphere, Kari thought of something from the other day when they had the revelation about whom Implosion's employer was. "Hey Robert," Kari said getting a grunt of acknowledgement in response. "Right before I figured out that Mascara was the one employing Implosion, I think you were about to say something really important." Kari's face went from excited, to shy, to mischievously grinning as she finished by saying, "Go ahead."
"What," Robert asked in confusion before realizing what she was referring to, and then he instantly became flustered. "Oh that. No it was nothing really. I was just…I mean I was simply…"
They came to Mascara's room as he was saying that and they were then both met with a startling surprise that cut off any further conversation on the topic. "Doctor," Kari called out. "Doctor we have a problem!"
"What is it," one of the doctors who heard said as he came running.
"It is Jennifer Mascara. Did she check out?"
"No why?"
"Because," Robert replied. "She is not here. She is gone!"
AN: Ooooh the plot thickens. Mascara is seriously hurt and now missing, Kari's expressed her desire to don a suit, and Robert nearly told Kari those three simple words.
Robert: Uh, I'm uh not going to do that for real anytime soon am I?
AN: As long as I have anything to say about it, and I have everything to say about it, YES! That'll be a big deal for the story. Ahem. Anyways…
Next time on Iron Man and the Armored Avengers, Mascara has gone missing, and with Mister Fix making himself known and Implosion now behind bars, you would think that Robert, Kari, and the others would have had enough by now. Sadly, things have only just started to go from bad to worse our new masked menace finally arrives on the scene. "Who are you?!" "I am the one person who is willing to stand up to you menaces like you Iron Man. I will expose you and all others like you for what you truly are."
And when things get major, Caz finds himself caught in the crossfire of the newest face off of good versus evil. "Mister Samuels, I have got a small proposition for you." "I am not interested in anything any freak like you has to offer." "You presume you have a choice in the matter, but you do not. I intend to make sure that fake hero is exposed for what he truly is and your friend Doctor Calypso pays for what she has done to me, and you will help me."
With things getting crazier and crazier by the minute, Kari's choice to don one of the armor will suddenly become one more of necessity and be pulled out of everyone's hands. "Iron Man watch out!" "What?" "Hi there." "I did not know you now had a Rescue Iron Man." "I do not." "Yeah because FYI, my name is Iron Woman."
What will be Robert's reaction to Kari donning one of the armors against his wishes? Will Caz meet his end at the hands of this new menace? And will we see the beginning and the end of Rescue? Find out on the next exciting, breathe taking, and dramatic chapter and the final tale of the first story arc saga of…Iron Man and the Armored Avengers, Of Masks and Rescues! Please read and review
