Iron Man

Chapter 25: Heavy Metal Meltdown

"It was your idea to put Beth in the armor?" Tony asked and coughed. It had been a week since his reconstructive surgery, and he still looked worse for wear.

James Rhodes nodded. "We didn't know you had made arrangements with Little A, Tones, and I knew somebody like that Blizzard dude was going to come after you. Since I still got issues with your longjohns, Beth was the logical choice."

"It was difficult getting used to that new armor, Tony," Beth added. "You just love being a few centuries ahead of the trends, don't you?"

"You put yourself in a great deal of danger for me, Bethany-"

"No more than you would have if you were my bodyguard…and speaking of which…"

Tony looked from his best friend to his ex-girlfriend. "What?"

"Pepper and Little A's been talking to us, Tones. They feel that the way you're…you know…crushed…you need us around. Beth's going to be your bodyguard, and I'll be temporarily acting as your assistant." James looked mildly pained at telling Tony the news.

"What? But I'm doing fine." As if to provide counterpoint, Tony started hacking and coughing.

"Oh, let's not start playing 'Old Times' here," Beth said, rolling her eyes. "You know I'm competent, Tony-and Rhodey ran your company when we all thought you died. Having him, Jocie and Pepper working together assures that Stark Solutions will run smoothly."

"Just as long as I don't have to work with Mrs. A," Rhodey mumbled.

"It's not going to be Stark Solutions much longer," Tony replied.

James Rhodes' eyes narrowed. "What you talking about, Tones?"

Tony adjusted himself in his bed. "I've been doing a lot of thinking of late, ever since Justin Hammer tried to take me down. I may have been spending a lot of time playing dilettante, fooling myself into thinking I can be some sort of modern samurai, but to the world I'll always be Tony Stark, major player and industrialist. So maybe it's time I stop trying to be a hired gun and become my own man."

Beth's mouth slowly dropped open. "You're not…"

Tony nodded. "I am. Once I'm out of this hospital bed, I'm going to talk to the Fujikawas and to Morgan. I think it's time to stop playing at being the industrialist's version of Yojimbo and take back Stark International."



The woman in the blue and yellow costume handed a binder over to the man with the first name of Murder. He acknowledged the act with a slight, crisp bow. "It's all in here."

The woman nodded. Her outfit had been worn before by two other people before her-both men. Since she had taken it over, she had made modifications to it, adding in special traps and devices she had devised when she was called the Saboteur.

She called herself the Spymistress now.

Satsujin Moomji leafed through the schematics. "They seem in order."

"I can't account for their accuracy," the Spymistress admitted. "They were reverse engineered by this hotshot on the Armor Wars circuit, Terry Newcomb. But the rumors are he was pretty good; even got some attention from Baintronics before he was busted."

"Accuracy I am not so worried about," the young industrialist said as he tucked the binder under one arm. "My operatives can certainly…improvise in such a way as to surprise the opposition."

"Fine. Then I'll assume my payment has been properly transmitted?"

Satsujin smiled. It was the sort of grin that never spread to the rest of his face. "Certainly. I took the liberty of depositing it through several cut outs to protect your privacy."

"Mighty kind of you."

"Yes. I will point out, though, that the gesture was not without ulterior motive." The young man met the woman's gaze. "I would be quite interested in anything involving Anthony Stark and his future plans. If anything does come your way, I hope you will remember my consideration and generosity."

Satsujin Moomji saw the Spymistress' mask twitch into a smile. "I just might, Mr. Moomji. Pleasure doing business."

Happy Hogan looked intently at his ex-wife looking intently at Scott Lang with a thought that shamed him.

That thought was I could take him.

The three of them sat in Jack Hart's workspace. Jack himself was dividing his attention between the conversation and monitoring the astral positions in the star systems just outside Pluto. Apparently, there were discrepancies, which according to Jack meant that the Stark fleet he was so worried about was approaching. "So this armor is actually…alive?" Jack asked.

"Not really," Scott answered. "It is-well, I don't know if I can call it bio-organic, but the resulting shell includes a simulation of Iron Man's DNA. It literally is a part of him now. No one else can use it."



"Well, what would happen if Iron Man couldn't do the job and someone had to take over for a while?" Happy asked. He pointedly hadn't looked at neither Scott nor Pepper for some time.

"The Safe Armor he's been using for months is still available, as will Jocasta and Ms. Cabe to pilot it. And Tony insisted that there was a backdoor keyed into Jocasta's unique positronic brainwaves for absolute emergiences. The thing to keep in mind about the Living Iron Armor is it uses Iron Man's nervous system as its Sysop, making it more responsive, quicker and more adaptable. Plus, since it is bio-organic, it is capable of actually mending minor damage. It won't be able to recover from what the Destroyer dished out, but something analogous to everyday hazard damage it can. And that's not the best part…"

Pepper grinned. "I smell something good."

"Tony and I adapted the nanotech of the modular armor and kicked it up. This means that the Living Iron Armor can switch between three different 'modes'-and since the wearer's nervous system is the driving force, the switch will be near instantaneous. We designed a mode for evasion, one for normal firefights, and one for heavy response."

"Sounds pretty tough," Happy mumbled and rose. "You guys excuse me, I gotta go check on the…on the environmental control system."

Scott watched Happy leave. He bit his lower lip and silently admonished himself. He had known that spending time with the man's ex-wife was causing tension, but Scott didn't know how much until now. He felt Pepper's hand lightly touch his. "It's okay."

"I'm sorry," Scott replied. "I didn't intend-"

"Look, the marriage was long over. Long over. We're still friends, but that's it. Don't worry about it."

Scott looked toward Jack. "But with this invasion coming, we're all going to need to stand together."

The freckled redhead smiled softly. "Let me talk to him, then. I do have some experience when it comes to smoothing things over with the lug."

Jack clapped Scott on the shoulder. "Comon'. Tell me more while I focus in on the coordinates. Lord knows I need to know everything about my resources."

Scott looked for a second at Pepper as she went to go after her ex-husband. A strange expression flickered on his face before he rose to join Jack.

"Can he do it?"

"Beth, look who we're talking about," James Rhodes replied with a slight, arch smile. "If anyone could…"



"Yeah," the redhead said. She brushed some strands of hair away from her face as they reached the elevators. "But should he? I hate to say it, but even with the pounding he got from the Destroyer, he seems…"

"Relaxed?"

"Normal. He doesn't seem tense or overburdened or, you know, anything. Maybe getting back into the international scene at such a level won't help him."

"Not our decision, Beth. It's Tones."

The elevator pinged and the doors slid open. Inside was a well-dressed woman, her face hidden by a large bouquet of summer flowers. Bethany and Rhodey stepped aside to let her off. As Rhodey stepped inside the elevator, Bethany's gaze lingered. "Is that…?"

"Karyn Celeste. Yeah."

Bethany watched the woman head towards Tony's room before joining Rhodey inside the elevator.

The man with the first name of murder, accompanied by the leader of his Chessmen and his Master of Traps, entered the special holding cell to talk to the Adaptoids that had made up the Captains of Industry.

The android no longer bothered trying to maintain disguises. Even though their forms had since been flushed of the special radiation that inhibited their ability to transform, a malaise had come over them. These creatures-originally manufactured to be emotionless weapons of AIM-seemed to be suffering from actual depression at being captured by Satsujin Moomji.

--the Adaptiods fell prey to this trap last issue, although it was first used in issue #18.

At his right, the leader of the Chessman, code-named Knight, passed out schematics to each of the Adaptoids. The one who had once been Diana Moffat (distinguishable by her decision to modify herself into a female form once her transformative abilities returned) looked up. "Free us."

Satsujin shook his head. "No."

"Free us," added the creature that had once been Mel Travantis.

"No. And if I receive that demand one more time, I will authorize Mr. Snare to give you another dose of what disabled you. A fatal dose."

The dwarf in the medieval costume raised a small mechanical box. "It would be my pleasure, Master."

"No!" the sole female-formed Adaptoid said. Satsujin marveled at how the machine seemed to actually sound…desperate. It lowered its head. "We will listen."



"Good," Satsujin Moomji said. He slowly circled the room. "You are Adaptoids. If I do not miss my guess, you are survivors of the Boca Caliente disaster. That rock was the 'Homeland' you keep referencing."

When the Adaptoids did not respond, Satsujin continued. "I am prepared to help finance the founding of a new 'homeland' for you completely…a gift from me to you. But only if you do this one thing that I suspect you will not find at all distasteful."

The Adaptoid that had once been masquerading as John Waak examined the specs before him. "What do you want?"

"I want you to study those specs and mimic the armor depicted therein to the best of your ability. Make whatever improvements you wish to do. Then you will travel to Stark Solutions with my friend The Knight here…"

"…and kill him, my Heavy Metal Team."

Jocasta watched Tony slowly rise from his wheelchair. She held back her anxiety upon seeing the wince of pain on his face.

They were down in the bowels of Stark Solutions-the private laboratory Tony referred to as 'the skunkworks.' There, amidst all the equipment that would baffle lesser men, Tony Stark attached electrodes to his temples and over his heart.

"Tony, is it necessary to test the activation protocols now?"

"I have to, Jocie. All this sitting around-literally-is driving me nuts."

Jocasta wondered if Tony wasn't hiding a greater anxiety, namely that his wheelchair-bound condition reflected that period of his life where he was paralyzed from the waist down. "But you're still not properly healed-"

"If it's all working properly, it won't matter how healed I am."

But what if it isn't? Jocasta thought to herself. She proceeded to the monitor that would record fluctuations in Tony's condition as he activated the 'Living Iron Armor.' "You need to be more careful, Tony."

If Tony heard his friend, he did not acknowledge her comment. He put his hands on two spherical devices that would help monitor galvanic skin response. "Ready?"

Jocasta nodded.

"Okay," Tony said. He took a deep breath and added, "Activate Evader mode."

The effect was instantaneous and more than a bit disturbing. Ropy tendrils of what looked like molten metal flowed over Tony's body. Jocasta knew that the effect was just an upgrade of the nanotech Tony used to create his 'modular' armor, but the fluidity with which the shell 

formed, coupled with the knowledge that the nano-machines were pouring forth from devices implanted along Tony's spine made the effect rather disturbing. In a matter of seconds, the shell had covered Tony's entire body and was being molded to the activated setting.

The resulting armor looked very different, starting with the skull-like helmet that was colored gold. The golden motif-apparently reversing the traditional color schemes of his older armors-continued in an asymmetrical chestplate, gauntlets and boots. The Uni-Beam this time was triangular in shape, and this armor did without the nodules on either side of the housing. Underneath, red metal mimicked the musculature of Tony's arms, legs and chest.

"Not too bad. Hardly felt a thing," Tony commented.

"This is the…Evader…mode?"

"Yes," Tony replied. He flexed his arms. "It's designed primarily for speed and mobility, Jocie. Armaments are at a minimum in favor of expanded fuel converters in the cuffs of the gauntlets and boots and more powerful thrusters. This is the armor you use when you want to avoid being hit." He lifted his helmet. "You'll gather up the results?"

Jocasta nodded. "Of course." She paused before adding, "You're not going to…"

"Take it out for a spin? I'm not that reckless." He moved back to his wheelchair and lowered himself into it. "And I won't test activation of the other two modes, either. Happy?"

"Yes."

"Good. De-activate Evader mode." Within seconds, the armor seemed to disintegrate into a shower of gray flakes. "Now let's go topside. I have lunch with Karyn, and I don't want to keep her waiting."

As Jocasta gathered up the information, she had a thought that mirrored one Dr. Erica Sondheim had when she operated on Tony the previous week.

Oh, Tony, she thought, Are you even human any more?

"Get out of town!"

"It's true."

Who is this?

"Your new Knight, father."

What happened to my old Chessmen?

"Mr. Snare, the one who served as your Rook, is still with me, father. He has served me very well in this game. The others have been…taken off the board for their incompetence in dealing with Iron Man."



"Hey, Mr. M-you're not thinking of-"

"No, I'm not. Just follow orders and you will be well cared for into your old age."

"This is still too freaky. I thought he was dead."

"He still is. We have just transcended death thanks to friends in Wakanda"

--Surely you remember that little exchange in issue #16 of this series?

He does bring up an interesting question, my son-how did I end up in this tube?

"Your soul was culled from the afterlife by a cult of Wakandan mystics who maintain a curious little item called The Resurrection Altar. Usually, the Altar is able to implant the soul into the dead body of the subject, effectively reviving him. Since your body was in…less than ideal conditions, we chose to have the mystics create an artifact called a Spirit Jar to contain you until I was ready to proceed further with your revival."

I don't think I like floating in a glass tube very much, my son.

"That's okay, father. In fact, once our Knight here conceals this device on the grounds of Anthony Stark's home, you will be able to break free temporarily to test my theories while a new home is found for your magnificence."

A new home?

"Yes, father. It is being located as we speak. I was positive you'd want to watch tony Stark's ruination first hand."

Jack Hart turned to Bethany Cabe. He clapped his hands together. "And that's it."

Beth wrinkled her nose. "No disrespect, Mr. Hart-I hardly even know you after all-but do you ever poke your head out of this lab?"

Jack smiled sheepishly. "It shows, huh?"

Beth nodded and walked to one of the dry erase boards set up around the area. "It must be difficult, knowing something is coming of that magnitude."

"Yeah," Jack nodded. "I was hoping Tony and Scott would be able to help me prepare but, you know, with that new armor and all-"

"Time is limited." It was Bethany's turn to grace Jack with a slight, wan smile. "Believe me, when it comes to Anthony Stark and time, I understand completely."

Jack sighed. "And the worst of it is even if Tony and Scott had the time, I would still be in way over my head. I mean, I really could use some skilled biochemists and xenobiologists and…well, you get the idea. I may have spent a lot of time in space, but I still don't have the 

theoretical or practical grounding to spearhead a defense force against invasion. I mean, last time I ran into the woman who's behind this, she captured me."

Bethany paused for a moment. "Have you ever thought of calling the Avengers West Compound?"

"I don't know. It's not like I'd know what to say."

"Well, that you know Tony Stark for one," Bethany replied with a laugh. "He does fund the Avengers. And if you really need a biochemist with some knowledge of non-human biology, Hank Pym's your man. In fact, I'm sure we can find all the support you need from the people who have been Avengers in the past."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Jack went to the phone. "Thanks, Ms. Cabe."

"Glad to-"

That was when the rafters shook.

Karyn Celeste glanced over the table. She fought back the impulse to panic.

Tony still looked so…frail even after all this time to recover. When he did stand up, his limbs shook with an alarming unsteadiness. She knew Tony was older than she was (But not older than that Ms. Cabe, she thought before tamping that fear down), but he never appeared as such until that moment.

Tony continued eating his chicken masala, his actions seemingly slowed. Karyn bit her lower lip and wondered what to say to her…

Was he her boyfriend now? They had been dating for a while, and they'd been over each other's place, but…

"You okay, Karyn?"

At first she smiled and said, "Fine, hun, fine."

Tony continued looking directly at her. She put down her fork and sighed. "Okay, maybe not so much."

"If it's something I did-"

"No, no." She reached out and touched his hand. "It's just…I knew you were up to it to your neck, Tony, but I never expected being in the eye of the storm so quickly. Being kidnapped by super-villains, learning you were caught in the middle of that rampage by the Destroyer-"



"Luckily Iron Man and the Jack of Hearts was on the scene. It could be-"

"Don't."

Tony tilted his head. "Don't what?"

"Look…you know, it's hard to take when you came this close, and now…"

She let herself trail off, unsure of how to bring up her concerns about the arrival of Bethany Cabe. Before she could decide if she could tell Tony she was threatened by her, the rafters shook.

Whitney Frost stepped nimbly along the lawn outside Tony's house with the information she gleaned from Brian Webster swimming in her head. She shifted her outward appearance to represent Bethany Cabe in a form fitting black leather outfit much like her own. For some reason it appealed to her to take the appearance of the one woman she thought of as an equal in getting her vengeance.

She pitied Karyn Celeste, she did. The poor girl didn't know what she was getting into.

As she mounted her motorcycle, she caught sight of five objects flying toward the house. They looked familiar to her, especially the one in emerald and forest green with the wedge-like helmet. It was a Guardsman.

On the right flank was the gray and silver armor of War Machine.

And on the left, the midnight blue armor of the Iron Monger.

She did not recognize the other two armors, but was sure they were enemies of Tony.

She thought about warning Tony, of standing by his side as he stood by her of late. But the thought of the person behind her chronal disease getting away with killing her slowly for another second burned in her mind.

She pealed out just as the advance wing fired their repulsors as one.

"What is it?" Karyn Celeste asked.

"Take cover!" Tony called out. He immediately began intoning "Activ-" before a twinge in his side made him bite back the command. After all, Karyn was staring right at him; the last thing he needed was to bring another of his girlfriends prematurely into his inner circle.

The Jack of Hearts and Jocasta rose into the air to meet the five figures. As Tony studied them, he gasped.

"What's wrong?" she asked.



"Those…those are…well, armors I had a hand in, except for those two. The Guardsman, War Machine, the Iron Monger-all designed by me or derived from work I did. The only problem is they shouldn't exist any more."

Tony thought long and hard. He started wheeling his way to the nearest door. "I have to notify Iron Man."

"Mutha of…"

Scott Lang picked himself up. His hand dug in his pocket for an object the size of a marble. "What?"

James Rhodes pointed to the figure in black and green presently trading blasts with the silvery female form of Jocasta. "That armor…I used to wear it…I destroyed that sucker."

"How dangerous?"

"Very dangerous." He turned to Scott. "I don't know what they want, but I need to get Tony away."

"I'll evacuate the others!" Scott said and ran out of the room. Unbeknownst to Rhodey, Scott broke the seal on a cylinder on the small object in his hand. It became a helmet with antenna and a red, black and blue costume.

As he shrugged the helmet on and started contacting his friends, Scott Lang muttered, "Damn. I promised Cassie I'd stay out of trouble.

The massive blue armor barreled into Jack. He felt the impact deep in his stomach.

To his right, the weird looking character with the wrist blades was stabbing them at Jocasta, causing sparks to jump from her sleek form.

Jack gave his enemy an uppercut fortified with Zero Fuel and turned to fire a blast at the War Machine. The gray and silver enemy fired off his gattling gun, the bullets pinging off the ancient armor Jack used to contain his boundless energies. "I recognize the guy in green, but who are these losers?"

"We are Heavy Metal!" The Guardsman proclaimed loudly as he fired at Jocasta's back. The woman ducked down, and the Eidolon caught the brunt of the repulsor blasts.

The man in the blue armor fired at Jack, driving him upwards. "We are the sins of Tony Stark come home to roost!"

The Eidolon raised its cannon arm to aim at Jocasta. Twin red beams flew from the android's eyes and shredded the device before it could fire. "You must be some of Mr. Stark's…dumber sins."



"Say that now!" called out the War Machine as it blasted Jocasta in the back. "Get her, Monger."

"With pleasure," the man in blue armor responded, pounding on Jocasta with his two massive fists.

"Why don't I get you instead!" an all-too-familiar voice to the defenders of Stark Solution said. There was a streak of red-and-gold as the Iron Monger was tackled and driven to the ground.

"Oh, no…." Jocasta muttered as a figure in red and gold armor, unfamiliar yet very recognizable climbed out of the small pit the impact caused. The usual color scheme was reversed, and the yellow chest plate had a wedge-shaped construction that flared out at the shoulders. The helmet was a solid gold, and resembled a skull. Gauntlets that flared at either side and high boots were also golden, while small constructions of tubing lay on both hips. The figure fired a golden beam from the triangular lens on its chest, and the Guardsman went tumbling end over end.

Iron Man had arrived.

Karyn Celeste ran through the corridors, looking for someone, anyone who still remained and needed to be evacuated. She had boasted when she first met Tony that she used his status as a 'proactive corporate samurai' as an inspiration for her own life.

Tony had gone to get Iron Man. To be worthy of that boast she made, she decided not to cower behind the table in the dining room and help.

She ran through the corridors of the first floor, opening doors and looking for anyone trapped. There weren't many people working at Stark Solutions, but she knew most of them were Tony's friends; he would be crushed if anything happened to them.

Just as she was about to mount the staircase to the lower floors, the ceiling burst open.

What came through wore a suit of armor of shiny black metal. The helmet had a strangely familiar shape, looking like the visor of a knight of old. The rest of the outfit seemed perfectly modern and sleek, with scored lined decorating the intruder's chest, boots and gloves.

He clenched his fists, producing a shield and mace made out of pale pink energy. "My, my, what have we here?"

Karyn backed away. She scanned the area for anything she could use as a weapon. She had appeared vulnerable to Tony earlier today; she'd be damned if she folded now.

The high-tech knight moved closer. Karyn feinted to her left, then dove right, grabbing a carafe of coffee from the coffee maker by the door and throwing the scalding liquid, aiming for the knight's face. The armored intruder's shield went up, deflecting the attack.



"Very clever, missie."

"You better get the Hell out of here," Karyn warned. She put her foot against the table in front of her and pushed. It tumbled toward the Knight, knocking him off balance. "You don't know who you're dealing with."

"A little pris who thinks she can hang with the big boys?" the Knight replied, knocking the table aside. He flexed the fingers on his left hand and the mace transformed into a set of bolas. Her whirled them over his head and let fly.

Karyn found herself falling to the ground. She hit her chin hard, and she felt a tooth chip.

She could hear the footsteps of the Knight grow closer. Her legs were bound tight, and she struggled to loosen the wires that wrapped around them.

"You're lucky I don't have much…" the Knight started to say before he emitted a startled yelp. She turned over to see the man scrabbling at his helmet, crying for all he was worth.

"What the?"

"Shhhhh…." A tiny voice said next to her ear. She looked over to see a man in a silver helmet and a red and black outfit riding an ant. "My friends and I will get you out of this."

Iron Man rose into the air again. The Jack of Hearts drifted to the left to give him clear passage into the disoriented Guardsman.

"I don't know whose idea of a sick joke this is, but it stops now," the Golden Avenger proclaimed. He twirled in the air, a pokpokpok reverberating as he did so. The War Machine's gattling gun suddenly disintegrated into a shower of shrapnel, while the Eidolon's carapace cracked in several places.

"What's that?" Jack asked as he flew over the Eidolon and fired a blast that continued to shatter the Eidolon Warwear armor.

"Rail gun," Iron Man replied, firing his Uni-beam to knock the Iron Monger down to the ground again. "Uses magnetics to fire high velocity, high concentration metal slag. Can't…use it often, but it's a good conversation starter."

Jocasta nimbly dodged the Guardsman as he charged and delivered a blow to the back of the enemy's head. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Iron Man responded, firing both repulsors at the War Machine. The blasts hit the guantlets on his opponent, smashing his own repulsors. "This shouldn't take…much longer."

The Guardsman looped low and came up underneath the new Iron Man. The emerald armor lifted the Golden Avenger higher. Jocasta heard a click and her friend's gauntlets began to glow a bright yellow.



"The problem with this Heavy Metal is that….their armors are ancient," Tony continued, bringing his glowing fist down hard on the Guardsman's back. A large crack formed in the carapace. "They may have….been a chore for me…when I wore the older armors, but with the power of…the Living Iron on my side…"

Tony's other fist glowed. He plunged his arms down into the Guardsman's shell. There was an audible crack as his fingers dug into the titanium plate. Lifting the enemy over his head, he added, "…this is all Child's Play!"

He hurled the Guardsman downward on top of the Iron Monger armor. Jack strafed it on the way down, blasting it and causing large shards of metal to fly off him. Iron Man turned to snap fire his rail gun twice, snapping the Eidolon's wrist blades cleanly. Jocasta closed in and let fly with a rain of blows that sent the wearer of the alien armor plummeting to the ground to join his comrades.

As one, the three heroes turned to the disabled War Machine. Energy crackled around Iron Man's gauntlets. "It's just you now, buddy…"

The War Machine held up his hands. "No…this is not what Moomji promised! He promised us a homeland! No….no!"

The gray and silver armor turned green and wavered. Details were lost, to be replaced by a smooth countenance. The creature went limp and plummeted to the ground. Jack raced to catch it.

"Well, that was different," Jocasta suggested.

"Agreed. Now all we have to do is-"

With a cry of startled pain, Iron Man crumpled. With lightning quickness, Jocasta instituted the programming in her head that allowed her to take over the armor-the only one that could. She headed back to the compound, the curled up Iron Man following behind.

It was painful, the crawling sensation all over his body. They were everywhere, and as long as he was in the armor he couldn't escape it. The former Raider now called the Knight quickly worked his chin toggle to unseal his helmet. Unsteady hands allowed him to remove the headpiece.

"I know who you are," said the redhead who had joined the cute blonde. She held a gun in her right hand. The grip seemed very casual, but the Knight knew it was aimed directly at his forehead. Next to the women was a large black man with arms folded. "Good work, Ms. Celeste." The blonde seemed startled at the redhead's praise. "T-thanks."

A small speck flew around the redhead's face. "She had some help you know."

"So before the three immensely powerful big guns return," Bethany Cabe said, "want to tell us what this was all about?"



Suppressing a smile, the Knight proceeded to recount the cover story he was given.

So our Knight was taken.

"Yes, father. But do not worry. As you taught me through my mother, I am already thinking three moves ahead. His purpose was served, as was that of our Heavy Metal Team. The device is secured, and we will test it soon."

I do not think I like this idea, becoming a nomad drifting from shell to shell.

"Do not worry, father. I think you will…like your new body."

And in the ruins of a castle in Hong Kong, Count Zorba's team of mercenaries dug deeper. They had been working for three days straight, and some of them were despairing of ever finding it….

…until one caught a glimpse of a crimson glove with a golden window just below the knuckles.

"Good morning, Mr. Stark," the man said with an arrogant smile before calling his comrades.