"Gentlemen," said Justin Hammer as he led a group of assorted generals and politicians into a bunker overlooking a testing ground for the latest weapons developed by Hammer Multinational, "Thank you for taking the time to come out here today to bear witness to the greatest technological leap in weapons manufacturing."
"With all due respect Mr. Hammer, words don't defeat our enemies, only weapons." replied a gruff general, unimpressed with Hammer's boasts until he sees it with his own eyes.
"Of course general", Hammer replied, pushing a button, triggering a platform to open revealing a towering colossal mech.
"Allow me to introduce," Hammer paused for dramatic effect, "The Sentinel!"
The assembled group watched the towering colossus march forward through the testing ground, showing impressive maneuverability despite its immense size.
"The Sentinel is designed specifically as a hunter killer unit, never giving up the chase until the target is apprehended or destroyed. The weapon systems are top of the line, with multiple missile launchers, flamethrowers, and the latest pulse laser weaponry."
The robotic behemoth raised it hands a let out a blast of pulse energy, vaporizing targets into a pile of ashes. The group applauded at the ruthless efficiency of the giant robot.
"How soon can you put the Sentinels into mass production, Hammer?" asked the general. Justin smiled evilly.
"Immediately." He answered.
Sparks flew from David's torch as he bent over his nearly completed suit of armor; He took the basic design from his previous armor, while adding new modifications which would improve upon the armor's durability and firepower. It was still colored a dark black with highlights of dark blue along the sides. The eyes and chest piece glowed a blood red color as he finished tinkering with the design. What made this armor variant so much more advanced than its previous model was that the armor allowed multiple attachments for various gadgets and weaponry, making the Mark 2 customizable for almost any situation.
After a few more hours toiling away on the armor, he set down his tools, wiping sweat off of his brow, and hooked up his heart monitor to recharge. Ever since his run in with Titanium Man, his heart monitor was the only thing keeping him alive, due to the extensive trauma his heart received at the hands of the armored villain.
There was a knock on the front door and Rhodey came in. After saving his life Rhodey was the only person David could trust with his secret identity, and neither Tony nor Pepper knew.
"Hey man," he said with a smile, sitting next to David, frowning slightly as he noticed his labored breathing.
"Take it easy ok?" he implored, "it's bad enough having to lie through my teeth to Tony and Pepper about how you got like this. If you end up working yourself to death, Whitney's gonna kill me!"
"What makes you….say that?" David panted as his heart slowly recharged.
Rhodey held up an index finger, "One: She is a black belt in different forms of martial arts. Two: She has a mask that makes her whoever she wants. Three and this takes it: She has an arsenal of weapons mounted on a wall downstairs!"
There was a long pause and David sighed, "Ok point taken."
Suddenly there was a huge boom and a tremor that shook the house down to its foundations.
"What was that?" David asked, as Rhodey looked out the window and noticed smoke coming from the city.
"Oh god." he said, before running out the door. David narrowed his eyes before unplugging his heart recharger and making his way to his own armory. As his new armor latched onto him he selected a few new weapons he invented for his armor, such as his fusion lance and zero cannon.
"You aren't doing this on your own Rhodey," David said as his faceplate shut with a clang.
War Machine flew towards the city towards the rising column of smoke when he froze at what he was seeing. It was a teen boy, wearing a red tinted set of glasses, being chased by a giant humanoid robot. The Sentinel raised his hand and was about to blast the boy to ashes when a black blur scooped up the boy and rocketed him to safety.
"You dirty bastard! What the hell are you thinking?" Rhodey yelled at him. Obsidian turned to look at him.
"Your welcome."
He turned to the boy. "What's your name?"
"Scott Summers. But some kids call me Cyclops" he says, "And I'm a mutant."
Obsidian looked back at the Sentinel, "That explains a lot actually"
He stood by War Machine as the robotic soldier looked down at the two armored heroes. Armor plates opened as the Sentinel targeted its weapons at them.
Rhodey leaned over to David, "Oh this ain't gonna be good."
Missiles launched from the robot and raced towards Obsidian, who turned and flew away, with the rockets hot on his trail.
"Deploy fusion lance." David ordered, and the backpack on his armor split lengthwise into two auto-targeting segments, which swiveled and blew the rockets out of the sky.
Turning around in mid-air, he sped toward the Sentinel, who was busy dealing with War Machine.
"Oh come on!" Rhodey yelled in aggravation as his auto-cannons spat fire and lead at the robot.
"Ok, time to break out the Double XL Bunker Buster! You asked for it!" he yelled, blasting the Sentinel in the face, causing it to stagger back. Obsidian raised his arm and fired his Zero Cannon, freezing the ground and causing the robot to fall to the pavement, resulting in a massive rumble of earth. Walking up on its chest, Obsidian raised his fist and drove it into it's head, tearing out his cerebral matrix.
"NO!" Hammer yelled, "Impossible! How did he survive!?" He roared as he looked at his Titanium Man armor. "Well no matter. This time I will make sure to tear your heart from your body with my armored hands!"
KK guys this will be it for a week or so. Unfortunately my stepfather, whom I have known my whole life, passed away last night. If you wish to know his story go to Caring and Search for Michael Hibbard. Perhaps you will see how good of a man he was. Thank you for your patience and I thank you in advance for all your support of this story
