10 – Masque
He coughed, pushing concrete off of his legs. The suit had crumpled under the weight of the rubble. "JARVIS," he tried, hoping against hope. There was no response, just as he'd expected. He sighed, sliding carefully out of the suit. He winced as he tore his leg on the warped metal of the armour. With a pained hiss and a final pull, he dragged himself free of the rubble and the destroyed suit. Reaching up, he ripped off the ruined chest plate and tossed it aside. Glancing around he spotted Stane lying on a jagged piece of exposed metal. He dragged himself over to the other man, placing a hand on his neck, and another against his palm. No pulse.
He sat back, shaking his head to clear it as he glanced around. Masque must have activated a bomb on her way out. The doors were short-circuited, and without the suit, he couldn't force them open. He needed to think of a way out, and fast. If he didn't escape, he'd one out of air. And if he couldn't stop Masque, who could?
- HPIM –
The bomb she'd had the mercenaries set up worked even better than she hoped. She'd definitely made the right choice in not telling Ezekiel about it. She'd hoped to be able to keep her 'partner' around a little while longer, but she could make do without him. With Stark out of the way, the rest of the plan would be almost too easy anyway. She leaned back in her seat, and closed her eyes. Once the plane landed in New York, she could put the next stage of the plan into motion. Soon, everything she ever wanted would be hers.
- HPIM –
Edwin led him into the lab, moving straight towards the computer. Neville frowned slightly at the screensaver. "You said you found something?" Edwin nodded.
"Bring it up, JARVIS" he told the A.I, before turning towards Neville. "Meet Madame Masque. Alias, Giuletta Nefaria." Neville stared at the holographic figure in front of him. Blonde locks cascaded down her shoulders. She wore a black and white leather suit, a golden mask in one hand and a gun in the other. He stared into her blue eyes.
"You figure out how Harry and I recognise her?" he asked the older man. Edwin nodded, smiling sardonically.
"Here's what we have on her so far. Born Giuletta Nefaria, in Italy. The daughter of an infamous European crime boss. Twenty-five years old. Expert marksman and master assassin. Her parents were killed under unusual circumstances when she was only an infant. The killers were never caught, although several suspects were put forward, including Obadiah Stane. Interpol suspected he may have carried out the hit on Howard Stark's orders. Still others implicated shield in the slayings. Regardless of who killed her parents, she was adopted by an American family. Her name was legally changed to Whitney Stane." Neville covered his head in his hands.
"Of course," he murmured softly. "How did we not see it before?" Edwin shrugged.
"we had not seen Miss Stane for nine years, and she has gone to great lengths to cover her tracks. After being sent to boarding school in France by Obadiah, she elected not to return to the United States after graduation. Six years ago, Madam Masque first appeared on the scene, beginning with simple bank robberies and petty thefts. Within two years of her arrival, however, she controlled most of Europe's underworld. It's not entirely clear how she produces the clones you had to deal with in Germany". Neville nodded, frowning slightly.
"Any idea what she wants?" he asked the older man. Edwin shook his head.
"Likely, she desires vengeance. Either for Stane's death or the murder of her biological parents. Beyond that, her motives are unclear. She seems to be targeting large Stark Enterprises properties at the moment however, so we may be able to narrow down the list of possible targets for her next attack."
Neville nodded, moving towards the elevator. "Get onto that, you two. I'm going to head up and let the girls know. See if you can get in contact with Harry as well. He'll need to know all of this."
- HPIM –
She stared at the words in front of her in horror. The matron glanced up, "Dr. Lovegood," she murmured softly, "is everything alright?" Snapping out of the trance, Luna glanced up at her in shock.
"Oh, yes," she replied, smiling tiredly. "Just bad news for a patient of mine." With that, she turned and walked away from the service desk. She was reasonably sure that once she figured out what the toxin was, she would be able to treat it. Though that all depended on harry getting back from Taiwan alive.
She was moving towards the exit when the ground shook and screams from outside the building rent the air. Rushing out into the open air, she was met with a horrific sight. Dozens of mercenaries armed with assault rifles rushed down the streets, gunning down civilians as they went. Explosions rent the air as bombs went off along the block. She threw up an arm to shield her face and drew her wand as she went.
She fired a bone breaking curse at the nearest mercenary, shattering his skull. He crumpled to the ground, blood spilling from his temple. She rushed over, kneeling over his fallen body as she looked for identifying markers. With a start, she leaped back. Printed on his right shoulder were two words she never expected to see on a weapon again; Stark Enterprises.
Soldiers rushed towards the clinic. Thinking fast, she cast a disillusionment charm over herself, and cast several more bone breaking curses and bombardment curses. With luck, the muggles would just think her spells were explosive shells. She dived behind a car, taking several deep breaths as she waited for the next wave of enemies.
- HPIM –
As she sat at the head of the table, listening to complaints from the other board members, several alarms went off through out the tower. She glanced up suddenly as the room went silent. The guards moved down the hall to see what was causing the commotion. She and the other board members glanced at one another warily, even as she stood slowly to move towards the door. Explosions shook the tower, and machine gun fire lit the hall. She rushed towards the door of the meeting room.
"Miss Potts," called one of the other board members, clearly horrified, "we should stay where it's safe." Ignoring him, Hermione stuck her head out the door, glancing down the hall. The guards lay slumped against the stair well doors, clearly dead. Marching down the hall towards her in two lines came eight men. She stepped forward into the hall, discreetly slipping a hand towards her wand. A young masked woman stepped into the hall, walking past the now still soldiers towards her.
"Miss Potts," she greeted, stopping just a few feet in front of her, "as I understand it, you're the woman I need to see about an arc reactor around here?"
- HPIM –
Several SHIELD choppers touched down on a burning street in downtown Taipei. Nick Fury climbed off the lead Helicopter, Natasha 'Black Widow' Romanoff, and two other figures following closely behind him. Standing on his left side was a younger man with light brown hair, wearing a dark purple suit and clutching a bow in one hand, arrow knocked to the string. Another individual with the appearance of a middle-aged man with dark brown hair and beard of a matching colour stood just beyond the three. Fury turned first to Romanoff.
"have our agents link up with rescue crews here. If Stark's still alive, we need to dig him out." She nodded, recognising she was dismissed. She walked towards the fire fighters digging through the rubble of the collapsed Stark facility. He turned to the other two, addressing the archer first.
"Something has come up in New Mexico, so l'll be sending you out there. Check it out, and report back as soon as possible." Hawkeye nodded, jogging back towards the cockpit of the nearest chopper. Fury turned his attention to the other man. "You may want to get a lift back with him," he told him glancing at the damage around them.
"You're headed north. That's the last place we heard he was going. Maybe somewhere in Alaska or Canada. Go get him, then we'll talk about what you wanted." The other man snarled, stepping towards him menacingly as he gripped him by the collar and placed a hand, curled into a fist, up against Fury's chin. The SHIELD director merely raised an eye brow. After a tense moment, his assailant stepped back.
"Go fuck yourself, Fury" despite the aggressive tone and words, the grip on his throat loosened, and the other man clambered into the helicopter, glaring back at him as they lifted off into the air. For the briefest of moments, he caught a single gleam of silver pointed up towards the sky in his direction, where the middle finger would normally be. He chuckled, turning towards the scene behind him once more.
He made his way over towards Romanoff.
"What's the verdict?"
Without even glancing at him, she replied, "Damage wasn't actually as extensive as they originally thought. And the tracker in Stark's suit is still viable. With the help of the locals, we should reach him within the next hour."
"Got a replacement suit for him?"
She patted a red and gold brief case at her side.
- HPIM –
They marched into the Queens public Library, pointing their guns towards the now cowering civilians. The commander fired several shots into the air, before grabbing the frail elderly librarian from behind her overturned desk. She whimpered softly, gripping at the hand around her neck. Her painted nails dug into his wrist, even as he pushed his pistol into her chest firmly.
" Please," she whispered softly. Her eyes flickered briefly towards a door at the far end of the building. He frowned, watching her carefully as she continued, "you can do whatever you like to me. Just let the visitors go," he smiled at her, showing his cracked and yellowed teeth.
"Don't worry," he told her, speaking sweetly. She smiled gratefully. He squeezed the trigger of the hand gun against her heart. Three shots slammed into the old woman. She slumped forward, and he instinctively knew she was dead. He released his grip on her throat, letting her corpse fall against the floor. "I'll end it quickly for them." From the other end of the room, he heard a faint gasp. Spinning around, he saw them; there were two girls, both young. One was blonde, with a red head band to keep her long locks out of her face. She stared at him; green eyes wide behind her glasses. Clutching her with one hand, the other on the exit door, was a slightly taller brunette whose blue eyes were also covered by a pair of glasses. Meeting his gaze, the brunette slammed her open palm against the door, dragging her companion with her as she ran.
He turned to his second in command, gesturing to half of their men. "Take this what, get after those brats." The younger man hesitated, frowning deeply at the command. He glared, gesturing with his gun towards the door, before turning it on the mutinous soldier. The boy blanched.
"Boss," he began, clearly shaken, "th-the-they're just a pair of little girls." He nodded, pushing the barrel of his gun against the other man's forehead.
"Yeah, Clark," he told him, "they are. And what do you think will happen if they escape? They'll send the police right here. I know you don't want our work interrupted, do you Clark?" the boy – if it were possible – paled even further, before nodding faintly. He turned to the men, ordering them to follow him.
- HPIM –
The two men glanced at the screen, watching the devastation across the city's five boroughs unfolding before their eyes. The police struggled against the attackers, desperately trying to hold out for reinforcements – the national guard, Iron Man, anyone – to arrive, providing vital back up. The various news crews on the scene were all asking the same question. "Where is Tony Stark? Where is Iron Man?" Neville's phone in his pocket began to wildly vibrate in his pocket. He slipped it out, glancing at the caller ID. Luna's face shone up at him. He quickly hit the answer button, accepting the call.
"Go ahead, love,"
"Is Harry back from Taiwan yet?" he frowned slightly, glancing worriedly at Edwin before responding. The older man was clearly also concerned. The fear in his eyes as he alternatively cast his eyes from the TV to the two-way comms. Device he used to keep in contact with harry was palpable.
"Not yet, no," he replied, unable to keep the concern from entering his voice.
"that's not good," she told him, and he could hear the urgency in her voice. In the background, he heard shooting, and her voice fell silent for several seconds. Cold fear gripped his heart.
"Luna," he shouted into the phone, "are you alright?"
"Yeah. Sorry about that, Nev. Sending them back a few shots to keep them busy. Listen, if Harry doesn't show up soon, we're going to lose a lot more then New York's fine architecture". Neville's frown deepened.
"What do you mean? Did you find out something? What's the matter with Harry?" he asked. At that, Edwin's head snapped up to meet his gaze. Neville waved the older man off reassuringly, although he too was just as mortified.
"Yeah. Nev, listen. I was wrong, it's not just stress; Harry's dying. He's got a rare neurotoxin. And with how advanced it by now, if I don't treat him by dawn, he'll be dead." Neville nodded, though he knew she couldn't see him. He fell silent, running a hand warily through his hair. Luna's voice tore him from his reverie.
"Neville, sweetheart, are you still there?" he blinked back tears before answering.
"Yeah – yeah I'm here. Listen, don't' tell Hermione yet. She's got enough to worry about. In the meanwhile, Edwin and I will try raising Harry. We'll also send you some back up to throw these guys back a bit, if we can". He turned to Edwin as he hung up, explaining the situation hastily. The older man's skin paled to the consistency of paper, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Is there any way we can put the suit on auto-pilot? Send it out to help deal with these bastards while there's nobody in there?" Edwin frowned slightly, thinking quickly. The old man scratched his chin.
"I'm afraid not. Harry and I were toying around with the idea of a fully automated suit to act as back up or a quick replacement in the field when you went to Germany. Unfortunately, we put the project on hold, because the suit drains too much energy when we leave the autopilot running with the other systems still switched on." Neville nodded, thinking quickly.
"What about the Iron Breaker armour?" he asked suddenly. Edwin raised an eyebrow. "What about it? If you're thinking of using it, I need you down in the labs. We're on our own, if they attack the manor – " Neville shook his head, quickly cutting him off.
"No. We could switch off a few of the excess systems. Send it into the field. They're going to need all the support they can get out there". Edwin nodded as they stepped into the elevator together. The older man whacked the button heading towards the nearest lab.
"I'll start on optimising the suit. You boot up the computer, start looking for Harry. The quicker we track him down, the quicker we can end this ridiculous charade of Whitney's. then Luna can cure him". Neville nodded as they stood side by side.
They stepped out into the lab, and he rushed for the computer, switching on the power. The machine slowly booted to life, as Edwin strode over to one of the lockers along the side of the wall. With a metallic whine behind him, the locker opened, and he heard the older man muttering as he puttered around the lab floor, grabbing everything he would need for the 'operation'.
"I'm switching off everything but movement and melee combat. I'll hand the reins over to JARVIS fully so we can focus on finding Harry", Edwin let out a groan. Neville glanced up.
"What is it?" he asked the older man.
"I'm not sure, to be honest. JARVIS is showing major systems damages. He's completely offline. I'll have to pilot the suit myself for now". Neville swore.
"Hey Ed," he called, as the computer came to life. "What's the password?"
"PotterFirebolt. One Word. Backwards seven instead of an R in 'Potter'." Neville snorted at the response, rolling his eyes. 'Of course,' he thought bluntly, remembering the seven imprinted on Harry's crimson Quidditch robes. He typed in the password, and the computer proceeded to the home page.
- HPIM –
They made their way further into the bowels of the building, a gun pushed up against her back. Masque strode purposefully, pushing her along faster. "whatever you want to do with the reactor," Hermione told the maniac, "it isn't going to work. Tony will stop you." Masque and her man laughed behind her. She frowned.
"What's funny?"
"Tony won't even make it back to New York. Either the lack of Oxygen will kill him, or the neurotoxin I coated the bullet I put in his shoulder in Europe will. Face it Potts, you just scored yourself a promotion. You should be thanking me. Of course, you aren't going to live long enough to enjoy it". Hermione felt hot angry tears spring into her eyes. Whether it killed her or not, she swore to herself then and there, she was going to make Masque suffer. If she was going to die, so was the other woman.
- HPIM –
The girls rushed out into the courtyard, the brunette looking around warily. Her friend gripped her hand tightly, whimpering softly. Spotting a concrete table with solid seating, she tugged the shorter girl towards it. Releasing her friend, who tried desperately to grip her hand once more, she pushed her swiftly under the table, and quickly followed her. They hid, backs pressed against a thick slab of concrete. The door they had just exited through slammed open, and they heard heavy footsteps stepping out into the courtyard, followed by a voice giving orders to spread out and search for them.
The brunette gently gripped her friend's hand, and placed her free hand over the other girl's mouth.
- HPIM –
Brooklyn was a warzone. They'd been attending a gala – raising money for one of hank's latest projects – when the attack had begun. Soldiers had burst into the building, firing machine guns in the air. The guests had either ran for the exits or ducked for the nearest cover. She and her husband had slipped out through the ballroom doors and into their respective suits. Now, she found herself darting up and down the street, firing off her stingers as she went, zipping around the confused soldiers constantly. Hank pulled up alongside her astride one of his ants, and frowned slightly.
"You know this isn't fun for me, right?" he called over the sounds of battle and the buzzing of the thousands of ants. she nodded, letting out another whoop as she downed another of the thugs. She turned to him, hovering in mid-air as they caught their breath.
"Your pacifism has been noted, dear" she replied. "But until Tony or the Hulk shows up, you're all the backup I've got right now." Hank shuddered at the mention of the green goliath. He frowned, glancing across the New York skyline.
"Where is Tony, anyway? Normally, he'd be right in the thick of something like this. She nodded. It was concerning not to find their friend leading the charge. She shrugged in response.
"I'm sure shellhead will show up eventually," she told the diminutive scientist.
She rushed an incoming group of infantrymen, firing her stingers as she went. The gold light struck the lead soldier between the eyes twice, and he crumbled to the ground, unconscious. Beside her, hank swooped in, his own stinger firing at the men on either side of the leader. Machine gun fire erupted around them, striking the oncoming storm of ants. several of the insects were torn to pieces, a mist of organs floating through the air towards the ground in their place. She slammed her fists into one of the soldiers, knocking him to the ground. growing to her original size, she kicked another in the wrists, disarming him. Beside her, Hank drove another into the concrete below. Within moments, they had sent the group running off.
They were left with no time to celebrate however, as a massive rumbling noise split the air. Glancing up, she spotted a large military air craft passing overhead.
- HPIM –
A thin shaft of light split the darkness. He glanced up, coughing slightly. His head was throbbing like never before, sweat beading down across his forehead. He let out a soft moan as he tilted his head towards the light, weakly stretching out a gauntlet enclosed hand. There was a beam of a flashlight poking through a small hole in the rubble. A rescue crew, he thought blearily, slowly staggering to his feet. Moving towards the hole, he staggered slightly twice, falling onto his knees. He heard shouts coming from the other side of the collapsed wall, in both Mandarin and then English. A familiar voice called out through the crack.
"Stark? You still alive in there?"
"Romanoff," he called back weakly, "that you?"
"Yeah. We'll have you out in a moment. Might want to step back". He moved away from the wall, which moments later, collapsed in on itself. Romanoff stepped into the chamber, glanced first at Stane's body, then at him. He staggered towards her slowly, and she moved forward to meet him in the middle. He collapsed forward, head resting on her shoulder, as she wrapped an arm around him to keep him standing.
"Thank you – Natasha" he murmured weakly. He felt her nodding slightly before her reply came.
"you're welcome – Tony".
She helped him out, into the main building, then into the light of the city. She helped him sit on a piece of broken rubble as Fury made his way over to the pair. Natasha stood back as the director of shield took her place, glancing down at him.
"Nice to see you again stark," he stated simply. Harry grunted, "you're missing out on the worst night in New York history." The spy told him. Harry glanced up at him warily.
"What do you mean," he asked slowly. It was Natasha who responded. He glanced curiously at her as she spoke.
"Masque attacked the city en masse. We don't know yet who the soldiers she's got on pay roll actually represent, but it's enough to literally be called a private army. She also made of with your weapons – a lot of them. Not sure what she wants to do with those, but it can't be pretty whatever it is". He nodded warily, grunting as he stood.
"Do what you can to get me back on my feet. Then get me back to my house, I need a suit." Natasha smirked.
"No need," she replied, holding up a suitcase, "we've got you covered". Despite the pain across his entire body, he grinned.
"Looks like you lot really did think of everything," he told Fury. The older man frowned.
"Almost," he replied, "although we didn't count on Masque getting her hands on an army."
Natasha grinned, and the sight was terrifying, promising blood and pain, "but there's one thing she didn't count on; you."
- HPIM –
Behind her, Masque addressed her men as she walked. "Get the planes in the air, and deliver the pay loads. Tonight, New York City will burn in a fire of Stark's own design." The soldiers did not reply, but Hermione heard their heavy footfalls fading as they left, and she came to a stop in front of the reactor. Yes, she thought brightly, this is my chance. I just need to keep her busy. Get her off guard…
"Turn the reactor on. Now," Masque snarled, pointing her gun towards the back of Hermione's head. She turned the first key, moving towards the second. She hesitated, hand hovering over the button. Masque glared at her coldly, her cold eyes sneering from behind the mask.
"What are you waiting for, Potts?" Hermione, still – deliberately – hesitating, framed her response as her own question.
"What are the planes for?" she demanded. Masque watched her silently for several seconds, before shrugging.
"You'll be dead soon, so you might as well know. A fuse. A fuse that will light the fire that will burn this city – and this reactor – to the ground. the resulting blast from the reactor will darken the entire eastern United States. Half the country will have no power. It will take weeks – maybe even months – to restore power. Even then, it will be centuries before this region is liveable once more.
"and why are you doing this? What did we ever do to you?! What did Tony ever do?!"
Masque lowered her head, and raised her hand to remove the golden face mask. She spoke softly, head lowered as golden locks of hair framed her face. "Stark and his company killed my father – twice!" she looked up, rage burning in her eyes. Hermione took a step back, shocked, as she gripped her face in her hands, horrified.
"Whitney?" she gasped softly.
- HPIM –
Neville grinned, as the computer started pinging suddenly. Edwin – currently moving the Iron Breaker through the Bronx, spun around at the whoop Neville let out. The older man abandoned the controls, rushing over to join him.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I've got Harry on screen, heading over the pacific." Suddenly, the phone by his side started to vibrate. He placed it on speaker so they could both hear. Harry's voice came through, weak and tired, but there.
"What the hell is going on with JARVIS? I've got no comms. Or HUD at all?" it was Edwin who responded, sitting beside Neville, who was still to stunned to reply.
"Apologies sir, he's been down for a few hours now. Rather than reboot him, we sent the Iron Breaker into the field under limited auto-pilot. We felt that was more important as things stood".
"Yeah. Fury might have mentioned you were having a bit of a mess over there. What's the situation at the moment?"
"Masque has brought in an army. They're attacking all five boroughs at once. Oh, and Masque is actually Whitney Stane."
"See if you can work out what she plans to do. Get in contact with Hank and Jan, see where they are and how they're holding up."
"Right," Neville replied, as the call cut out.
- HPIM –
They stepped out into the courtyard, guns at their sides as they walked. Clark turned to the others. "Spread out and start looking. They can't have gotten too far." The other soldiers spread out across the courtyard and the street, each fanning out in different directions. He made his way slowly through the courtyard, looking for any sign of them. As he was passing by one of the concrete eating benches, he felt his boot kick against something hard. Glancing down, he spotted a pair of thick science books. Kneeling down, he picked them up, and glanced at them.
A book on applied physics, and one on engineering, he frowned slightly, about to drop the books on the table and keep moving when he heard a low, yet audible gasp from beneath the bench. Glancing around quickly to make sure none of the others were watching, he knelt slowly. Sure enough, glancing at him, the brunette covering her companion's mouth with her hand were the two pre-teens. He placed the books back on the ground, sliding them slightly towards the pair as he raised a hand to his lips, before standing back up. He moved off carefully, pretending to check the large oak near the park benches, and moving further away from the girls' hiding place.
As he was moving around the back of the library, he heard a shout followed by a shriek. Turning around and rushing back around to the side door of the library, he found the rest of the men standing in front of the bench or making their way over. One of the men gripped the girls by the necks. Guns were trained on both of them. He rushed forward to give new orders to take them alive as an ear-splitting sound burst through the air, and two of the group of soldiers collapsed, beams of light slamming into their backs. The ground shook, as iron man slammed into the cement floor, rushing at the soldiers. He slammed a gauntleted fist into one of their heads, driving the man to the floor instantly, a crimson line running down his face. The others fired haphazardly as they tried to hit him. The hero zoomed from one to the other, slamming them all into the ground and firing repulsor beams at the others. Within seconds, it was over.
Stark turned towards him, advancing slowly. Clark raised his hand gun, firing once, twice, three times. He felt an iron clad hand grip him by the collar, and another wrapped around his hand, squeezing tightly. He let out a scream as he felt the bones in his hand breaking, and the gun slipped from his hand. The brunette darted over, gripping the hero by the knee.
"Don't hurt him," she begged, "he tried to save us." The hero glanced at her for several seconds, Clark whimpering softly as he waited. Slowly, Stark nodded, dropping him to the ground. he felt himself slowly slipping out of consciousness as the pain in his hand spiked.
- HPIM –
He stared down at the girl, slowly reaching up and removing his face plate. "Hey there," he greeted, smiling kindly as he glanced between the brunette and her friend. The two glanced back at him, the brunette in awe, the other seemingly too terrified to register his existence. He smiled at the girl.
"Hi," she whispered, scuffing her shoes against the pavement. He grinned. Clearly the girl was a bit of a fan of iron man. He glanced into her blue eyes, and ruffled her hair. As he glanced past her, towards the blonde, something caught his eye. Standing up, he made his way over to the table, reaching down to pick up a pair of dropped books. He turned to the blonde with a smile.
"Are these yours, kiddo?" he asked. Slowly, she shook her head.
"They're mine, sir" her friend replied. Harry grinned, glancing at the titles of the books as he handed them over.
"Applied physics and engineering, huh? Pretty clever for someone your age." The girl blushed at the praise, as he ruffled her hair once more. "what are your names?" he asked. Behind him, he heard the screech of tires, followed by the slamming of a car door. The girl opened her mouth to answer, before she was cut off by a shout.
"This is Gwen," she gestured to the blonde, "and I'm – "
"PENELOPE MARY PARKER!" came a shout from the side of the street. Harry glanced around, spotting a woman who looked a few years older than him running over, dark brown hair tied behind her head in a bun. The girl – now Penelope, he thought – glanced up.
"Aunt May! Look who's here!" the woman nodded, as she ran past him, pulling both girls into a hug.
"I see him, Penny," the woman replied, still gripping her tightly. She glanced up at him, "thank you," she murmured softly. Harry nodded smiling. As the four of them stood there together, the sound of a jet engine roared above them. Harry tilted his head up, frowning at the side of a large bomber plane soaring over them with Stark Enterprises printed on the side. He frowned. There hadn't been any planes in Taiwan. What the hell was Whitney up too. His suit comms registered an incoming call.
"Go for Stark". Edwin's voice greeted him.
"We have a new problem sir" he stated. Harry nodded, with a tired grin.
"Yeah. These planes, right? Tell me what we know about them."
"They came from southern England. They hadn't been decommissioned, because the RAF made a deal for them before we shut down the weapons line of the company. Recently, the British courts found in their favour. They decided to destroy them now would be a breech of contract, and gave us a month to turn them over. The real problem, though, is the cargo the RAF bought with them".
"Which was?"
"During the cold war, Howard started working on Thermobaric weaponry. The largest vacuum bombs in history. They were designed to give nuclear weapons a run for their money. Howard knew countries would continue to go to war, and that they would progressively develop nuclear weapons. In an effort to mitigate the potential destruction, he tried to give nations an alternative to drop on each other."
"you think that's what these planes are carrying?"
"undoubtedly, sir".
"What sort of damage am I looking at?"
"by my calculations, each of the five missing bombs could decimate an entire borough of the city, and if Manhattan goes up –"
"So will the reactor at the company HQ".
"Right sir".
"Get Fury and the president on phone. Get as many jets scrambled as possible. We can't let these bombs go off, if even one drops, millions of people are going to die."
"Yes sir. What are you going to do?"
"see if I can disarm the run flying over my head."
"Good luck".
He shot into the air, soaring up towards the plane. Beneath him, he heard Penny calling out, thanking him and wishing him luck. He smiled as he soared towards the plane circling above. 'thanks, kiddo', he thought to himself as he came to a stop near the back of the plane. He glanced at the metal, trying to find a way in. there, he thought, spotting an emergency exit near the tail. He flew over, pulling open the hatch and squeezing in. he shut the hatch behind him. The pilots spun around, one of them leaping into action. The man rushed at him, a skull with six curled tentacles emblazoned on his airman's cap. Harry blanched, doing a double take; Hydra?!
He slammed his fist into the pilot, knocking him to the ground. a follow up bombardment hex rune left the other man dead. He stalked over to the other pilot, pushing him back in his seat. "Put the plane on auto," he ordered. The man nodded, pointing to a switch he couldn't reach it. Harry flicked it, a green light signalling the auto pilot had engaged.
"Now," he snarled, "Where's the bomb?" the man eyed a device behind them. Harry nodded, "thanks," he told the other man, before headbutting him. The hydra soldier slumped forwards, unconscious. He made his way over to the bomb. It took a few tense moments, but he managed to disarm the device, and set the plane to land at the nearest air field with room.
- HPIM –
Hermione glared at the younger woman, who smirked.
"surprised," Whitney asked, "you didn't think I'd let Stane or Stark get away with murdering my family, did you?" Hermione frowned, raising an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?" She slowly slipped a hand into her pocket, gripping the end of her wand tightly. Whitney cocked the gun, glancing up as a plane rumbled above the plane. She smirked.
"That aught to be the hellfire that's about to rain down on this miserable little town," she sneered, "a shame you aren't going to live to see it" she fired, just as Hermione flicked her wand out between them.
"Protego!" the bullet slammed against the shimmering silver shield; the inertia ripped from it instantly. Stane took two steps back, gulping as she stared at her in shock.
"Wh-what was that? Who are you really, Potts?" the blonde staggered back, fear in her eyes as the gun fired twice more, each bullet slamming harmlessly against her shield. Hermione flicked her wand, disarming the other woman, and shattering the bones in her leg with a bone-breaking curse.
She walked calmly towards the fallen criminal, kneeling. "I'm Hermione Granger, and you tried to kill my best friend. Twice. You won't get a third chance. Obliviate!" she smiled grimly as Whitney screamed, years of memories disappearing as she watched, tilting her head curiously.
- HPIM –
The morning after New York's darkest hour dawned bright and early. Citizens across the city's five boroughs awoke to the news that a disaster of holocaust-level destruction had been prevented by the heroes Iron Man, Ant Man, and the wasp, along with the US air force. Five planes had been either landed or shot down over the city. Each had been carrying enough explosives to nearly decimate the city.
The attack had been carried out by remnants of Hydra, an offshoot of the Nazis, whom many had believed defeated by Captain America in the war. It had been led by Madame Masque. She had been arrested after a call from Virginia 'Pepper' Potts, the new COO of Stark Enterprises. There seemed to be little chance of her ever regaining her faculties to stand trial. She would spend the rest of her life in a mental hospital, never understanding why she did what she did, or who she was. Or – at least – that was what she claimed. No one could explain how, only that she was not faking the sudden loss of memories.
And as for Harry Potter and his family, they spent the day after the attack at a local wizarding hospital, as he had a procedure to remove a near-fatal neurotoxin from his bloodstream. The young wizard – when pressed = couldn't explain how he had contracted the toxin.
- HPIM –
Three days after the attack on New York, Tony Stark walked into the Mayor's office without an appointment, and without stopping to speak to the assistant at the desk. In his pocket was a check for a quarter of a billion dollars – enough to pay for the city repairs in full.
- HPIM –
There was a faint nock at the door. It had been a week since May had brought home an excited Penny and a shaking Gwen Stacy. In the week since the 'invasion of New York' as the papers and TVs were calling it, his niece had done nothing but rave about her meeting the billionaire super hero, Tony Stark.
He stood up from his lounge chair, Penny and May following cautiously as he opened the door. Standing at the door in front of him was a thin tall man with black hair and green eyes. Behind him, Penny let out a gasp, followed by an excited squeal. "Hi," greeted their visitor, extending a hand, "Tony Stark."
Slowly, stunned, he shook the offered hand.
- HPIM –
Harry grinned at the small family of three staring at him in shock. "I'm sorry to drop in like this," he told the stunned man in front of him, "but I did some research, and found where you lived. I decided I had to drop in on you." The other man frowned, running a hand through his light brown hair. His blue eyes narrowed slightly.
"Why?" he asked, frowning slightly at him. Harry glanced over his shoulder towards the other two standing in the hall.
"Because of Penny, actually," he replied. The other man cocked an eyebrow at him, frown deepening.
"You wanted to see me, Mr. Stark?" the girl asked, grinning broadly. Harry nodded.
"Yeah, kiddo".
"Why?" Ben Parker repeated, more firmly.
"I did my homework, Mr. Parker. Penny is a child prodigy. I'd like to take her under my wing, teach her some more challenging stuff in my labs. Let her have the run of the place. And of course, you and your wife would be welcome to join us. You can wait at the house while the lessons are on, and then stay for dinner before heading home with her." The girl let out a squeal, before rushing over to the pair, and tugging on her uncle's hand.
"Please?" she begged. Harry laughed.
"An Iron Man fan girl huh?" he asked. She shook her head.
"Iron Man isn't my hero," she replied, missing the brief look of hurt which flashed in his eyes, as she continued, grinning up at him. "You are. Iron Man's just the suit. You're the one who builds it, fixes it, and pilots it. You're a genius Mr. Stark." Harry grinned, tears brimming in his eyes. It felt good to be someone's hero for his own merits, instead of something he'd done as a baby, he thought.
Ben Parker nodded. "Alright Stark," he stated, "She can go. But we're coming with her to check the place out."
"Of Course, Mr. Parker."
- HPIM –
A/N: Well, that's that then! Arc II is done. It took about 23 hours over three consecutive nights of work to get too this point, and I'm still not sure I liked this chapter. Let me know what you think!
Penny is going to play a bigger role going forward. As will Gwen.
Next up, another interlude.
BTW, in regards to my A/N in the last chapter on expanding the universe, I have a competition for anyone interested. I'd like to involve fans of HPIM in the universe more, so I'm looking for 'co-Authors'.
I'd like someone else to write the story I mentioned. The Captain America solo story, framed as Edwin telling Harry the story.
As for the competition; I'd like anyone interested to PM me with their version of the first chapter of such a story. If PMing doesn't work, email the chapter to me at danielallen096 the winner of the competition will be announced at the end of the second of the next to Interludes before Arc III. They will then be given my permission to write, and post the story under their username, with limited oversite story-wise by me. All I ask is that a note is placed in the story description explaining that it is part of the HPIM universe.
Good Luck to anyone who enters the competition! I look forward to reading entries!
As for the new characters introduced this Arc
Whitney Stane / Madame Masque – Jennifer Lawrence
Ezekiel 'zeke' Stane – Nicholas Hoult
May Parker – Carey Mulligan
Ben Parker – Ewan McGregor
Penelope 'Penny' Parker – Georgie Henley (age 9)
Gwen Stacy – Dove Cameron (age 8)
Clint Barton / Hawkeye – Jeremy Renner
James 'Logan' Howlett / Weapon X / Wolverine – Hugh Jackman