It's a new day and he's a new man! Connor Peterson; once a nobody, now a superhero-somebody! But has he got what it takes, true believers? Can he stand shoulder to shoulder with titans like Thor and Captain America? Bear witness to his struggle as Connor Peterson enters-
Chapter 3: Superhero Tryouts
The laboratory at Avengers Mansion was a true wonder of scientific and technological possibility. Tony had spared no expense in turning the subterranean levels of the mansion into a true superhero headquarters, complete with analysis, research and development, as well as a command centre for tactical data and coordination.
Connor found himself in the portion of the lab somewhat deemed for medical affairs, giving Hank an opportunity to study his body and abilities. "This is incredible! These metallic engravings are molecularly in line with your skin cells… they've been bonded, almost to a point of being indistinguishable!" Using a multi-positioning electron microscope, Hank studied a shirtless Connor and the lines of cyberware reaching up from the metal patches in his arms. Those on his left side rose high enough to wrap around his ear and across his back, while those on his right side stretched broadly across his pectoral.
"They showed up after the accident. I can only assume they're some side affect of the electro-fusion energy." Connor explained.
"It's still very astounding," Hank went on, "almost like living metal. We've yet to see anything like this in the field of science."
"Well, you're the microbiologist, you would know best." Connor remarked. "I remember reading about your insights in science journals. Those were my bread and butter while I was working for Hammer."
"Do you consider yourself a scientist, Connor?" Hank wondered, taking a moment to scribble some notes on a large pad of notepaper.
"Eh… maybe in a roundabout way. I have a degree in mechanical engineering. I know machines inside and out."
"Ah, so you're more along the lines of Tony's work then." Hank mused.
"Not to his level of success. I'm just a guy who knows machines well." The double-meaning behind his words was still known only to Connor and it was a secret he knew would only remain so for a little while longer.
At that moment, Janet entered the lab, still clad in her black and yellow dress. "How're we doing, boys?" She asked with a chipper smile.
"Just getting the old rundown before I tryout for the team." Connor answered, smiling a little. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, moreso than he had for the past half a year.
"I hope Hank isn't boring you to death with his diagnosis." She joked.
"We share common interests, Jan. It's hard to be bored when Connor's just as invested as I am." Hank remarked as he turned back to his notes.
"Yeah, well, I'm just excited to work on your new outfit. I haven't had a decent project like this in forever!" Jan told the new recruit excitedly. "I made my own outfit, like it?" She wondered, twirling around in front of Connor to show off her dress and matching black-yellow boots and gloves. Connor stared for a moment.
"Yellow's my favourite color." He said quickly, not even thinking about what he was saying. Jan smiled in reply. "You make your own outfits?"
"I do a little fashion design on the side. My dad always said I was good at it, ever since I was little." She explained.
"Your dad… oh! Vernon Van Dyne, the chemist. Right?" Connor recalled, very knowledgeable about most of the Avengers public identities. With nothing to do other than wait around for his next unemployment check, he did his best to learn whatever little facts he could about a variety of topics.
"Wow, looks like someone's good a Trivial Pursuit." Jan teased.
"Connor here is a science journal aficionado." Hank elaborated. "He's very familiar with my thesis on microbiology and entomology."
"Don't pat yourself on the back too hard, Hank. You'll knock something loose." The brunette joked. "I'm gonna get to work on a little something for you to wear in the field." She promised Connor with a twinkle in her blue eyes. Then she leaned over and kissed Hank on the cheek. "You boys have fun." She said with a wave, making to leave. Connor watched her go, his brain mildly obsessed with the act that had just taken place.
"So… you and her are… together?" He slowly inquired of Hank.
"Huh? Oh! Yes. Yes, we've… been together for some time. Ever since her father was killed." The doctor responded, not even looking up from his notes.
"Oh…" Connor said simply. He turned back to the lab entrance, watching Janet leave with a sway in her step. His eyes were glued to her until she disappeared completely. "You're a lucky man, Hank." He said wistfully.
"Hm? Oh, thank you." Hank replied, rather absentmindedly.
Later that day…
With his medical profile completed, Connor was ushered into the expansive training room of the mansion, a sense of utter giddiness filling his soul. It was his first big step forward, graduating from washout scientist to Avenger. Already waiting for him were Tony, Cap, Black Panther and Wasp.
"Welcome to our little training centre, Connor." Tony announced, his Iron Man helmet off and under one arm. "You'll be spending the next few days in here, getting ready for field work."
"Field work, eh? You really want me out there with you guys."
"You managed to take down and stop Roland and his gang by yourself. You've got talent, it just needs to be refined." Steve Rogers told him, the hood of his Captain America suit removed.
"Speaking of abilities, any more we should know about before we get started?" Tony inquired. Connor swallowed nervously, the moment he had been fretting over had arrived. He closed his eyes and took a breath, believing his one shot at the Avengers would be totaled.
The world generally frowned upon people like him.
"Well, you see… I'm a technopath." He confessed in a sheepish tone of voice. "From birth, I've had the power to interface with machines and technology on a telepathic level." The news surprised the Avengers.
"Doesn't that technically make you a 'mutant'?" Tony asked.
"According to all existing definitions and policies, yes." Connor said with a shrug. "My parents didn't care much for the term, though. It never manifested in strange ways and came in real handy whenever the home computer was on the fritz." The explanation out of the way, he looked up into the eyes of his teammates, all of them on him. "I, uh, hope that doesn't change things…"
"Are you kidding? We're not like those bigots who hate mutants. We love them!" Wasp announced.
"Well, 'love' is a loose term," Tony mused.
"What he means is, we'll accept you regardless." Steve told Connor. "So long as you remain a man of upright moral character and are willing to act the way you did at Hammer's headquarters, we'll back you one-hundred percent."
"So long as I can run some tests to see this in action. I mean, if you're better than my own IT guys, I might have a job for you at Stark Industries." Tony remarked. Connor allowed himself to smile, a small one.
"Thank you. I mean it, thank you. I've kept this under wraps from years, fearing I'd get put on some list and be hunted down by the government."
"Rest assured, you're safe with us." Steve promised, laying a gloved hand on his shoulder. "Now, what do you know about hand to hand combat?"
"All I know is moves from playing Street Fighter when I was younger. Even then, they're not all that realistic." Connor admitted.
"Everyone starts somewhere." Steve said. "Now, let's go a couple rounds with the bag." He suggested, guiding Connor over to a punching bag. "Arms up, loose yet coiled. Ready to spring at a moment's notice. You want your stance tight but nimble." The captain described, guiding Connor's arms and feet into an appropriate boxer's stance.
"Tight but nimble. Got it." The technopath replied, taking a few breaths and waiting until Steve had moved. Then he landed his first punch on the bag. The material was sturdy and far less flexible than he took it to be at first glance. The result was a solid impact.
"Good. Right's and left's. Go." Steve instructed. Connor did as told, applying his left hand to the mix as he drilled the bag with a steady series of basic punches. Steve watched, impressed as rough, hesitant moves become faster and more fluid. The longer Connor worked, the better he became. "And roundhouse." Connor did as asked, his right arm hooking around into the side of the bag-
"YEOWCH!" He screamed, his hand recoiling as he clutched it in pain. Steve and Wasp were there in a moment.
"What happened?" The captan asked, sounding concerned.
"I have no idea!" Connor cried, his eyes watering. "But that was the most painful thing I've ever felt!" Tony stepped in, sliding on his helmet.
"JARVIS, give me an x-ray." Using his multi-spectrum optical scanners, a blue beam swept over Connor's hand, drafting a holographic render of its findings. "Hm… no breaks…" Tony mused. "Huh. Looks like there's a space between the metal and your bones in the knuckle region."
"Oh goodie." Connor winced, still shrugging off the painful aftermath. "The force of impact must've rubbed some nerves the wrong way…" He groaned.
"Yep, looks like it." Tony surmised, his scan complete. "Hang tight, I'm sure we have gloves around here." As he walked off, Connor tentatively flexed his hand.
"Gonna be okay?" Wasp asked.
"Yeah… Yeah… just hurt like the dickens, that's all." He murmured. Soon enough a pair of fingerless gloves, padded around the knuckle, were around Connor's hands and he went right back to punching the bag… admittedly throwing out hesitant, ginger punches with his right hand until his confidence was restored.
Later, Connor was ushered into the room's sparring ring, shaped much like the typical boxing/wrestling ring. "So, uh, what's next?" The rookie wondered.
"Time to test your mettle against a real opponent." Steve told him.
"Uh… so soon?"
"We've got to get you up and ready for missions. Nothing like experience for a teacher." Steve declared, sliding his shield into place over one arm. "First, you'll face off against Panther. He'll teach you a few things about holding your own." At his word, Black Panther vaulted into the ring, always spry and agile.
"Are you ready, Connor?" He asked.
"As ready as I can be." Connor sighed, putting up his arms.
"Lesson one, be prepared to get back up again." Launching forward feet-first, Panther's boots collided with Connor's rapidly-raised arms, the blow pitching him back into the ropes of the ring. The Wakandan moved relentlessly fast, landing two blows into Connor's guard and then a roundhouse to his stomach, causing him to double over with a gasp. A final leg sweep knocked him flat on the mat, groaning as he made impact.
"I think I get it now." He grumbled, pushing himself back to his feet. "Alright, get back up. What's lesson two?"
"Use your strengths to any effect." T'Challa came at him again, Connor quickly raising his arms and blocking incoming punches. Then his arms began to glow with white veins as his magnet harnesses powered up. Quickly crossing his limbs, he reached out with the magnetic field, desperately hoping some magnetic material was lacing Panther's gloves. To his delight, they found something and latched on, managing to hold both his limbs at bay, the natural forces too much for even T'Challa to overcome. But he found a way and used the hold on his arms as a foundation to launch a dropkick that caught Connor in the chest.
"Oof!" The air rushing from his lungs, Connor was knocked flat on his back. "Ow…!"
"Lesson three, always be ready to move." Black Panther stated.
"R-Right." Connor groaned, picking himself up.
From there, the training session went much the same. Lesson after lesson, generally involving Connor getting laid out on the mat and suffering a few bruises in the process. Eventually, Black Panther switched out for Steve, the captain taking a turn as Connor's sparring partner.
"Please tell me you're gonna actually teach me some moves." He begged, feeling sore from having his ass handed to him by T'Challa.
"Pain is a part of the learning process, Connor. It helps you grow accustomed to it. And in this business, pain comes often." Steve replied, slipping his hood on. Leaving his shield strapped across his back, Captain America raised his arms like a boxer and beckoned Connor forward. "Hit me. Give it everything you've got." Striding forward, but not with much confidence, Connor swung with a right then a left. Cap dodged him with ease, landing a single punch that connected with his jaw and planted him on the floor of the ring almost instantaneously. The powerful blow was enough to cause Janet to wince uncomfortably.
With a pained groan, Connor forced himself back up and kept going. But after another handful of bruising defeats, getting laid out continually and only ever landing a blow against Cap's impenetrable block, Connor called it quits and limped over to the post of the ring for a breather.
"Feeling alright?" Tony asked as he strode over.
"I haven't felt this bad since the accident." Connor groaned, running a hand through his sweat-slicked black hair. "I can't fight like that… I-I don't know a thing about punching properly or whatever."
"Neither can I." Tony sympathized. "Cap just likes to make sure everyone can hold their own." With much difficulty, Connor crawled out of the ring and sat down beside it with a groan. As he did, Tony held out a small briefcase. "Here, I brought something I thought might be of interest." Flicking a pair of tabs the case fell open, revealing neat rows of six metal cylinders. Thoroughly interested, Connor lifted one out, the metal cold to the touch and about 8 inches in length. They were all identical.
"Huh. What is this… iron?" He wondered.
"Cast-iron. Leftover from a project that never went anywhere." Tony explained. "Naturally magnetic. Thought you could possibly find a use for it." Testing his words, Connor triggered his magnets and let the device hover above his palm, suspended in place thanks to the projected magnetic field.
"Maybe so. Thank you, Tony." Connor offered in reply. He took the case and studied the rods for a moment longer… maybe he could come up with some way to make use of them…
"Pardon my interruption, sir, but local law enforcement are responding to a Code Blue." JARVIs suddenly announced through the room's speaker system.
"Who's involved?" Tony asked.
"One Georges Batroc, sir. As well as several to-be-identified associates."
"Batroc? Again?" Cap wondered incredulously. "He was a handful last time."
"And it sounds like he's not alone." Tony mused, quickly popping on his helmet. "We'll go handle this one. Connor, stay put and keep training."
"Yeah, sure thing." He affirmed with a nod. Cap and Panther abandoned the ring as Wasp shrunk down and took flight in pursuit of her comrades, Iron Man broadcasting an alert to Thor and Hank.
"Avengers, Assemble!"
And just like that, they were gone and the training room fell silent, Connor its sole occupant.
Picking himself up, the dark haired man paused to examine the iron cylinders he'd been gifted. He studied them for some time, turning them over in his grip, feeling their cold smoothness and questioning, pondering what he could do.
"I wonder…" Reaching out with his magnets, he grasped each piece of iron and levitated them into his hand. Tapping into his technopathic abilities, he boosted the power and strength of the magnetic generators, allowing him to seamlessly manipulate the field projected around the iron rods. Pulling them into a line, each cylinder came together with a soft metallic clink, forming a single staff 48 inches long.
Taking it in hand, Connor promptly smacked one end of the staff against the training room floor, hard. A loud clang echoed throughout the room, but the staff remained intact, held together by the powerful force of his magnets. "Okay, okay… getting somewhere." He mused, a faint excitement bubbling up within him. T'Challa's words echoed in his mind, possibly the most useful ones he'd heard all day. "Use your strengths to any effect." Grasping both ends of the staff, he tugged and pulled it into equal sections of three each, forming a pair of batons. They still held together, his magnetic fields strong and nigh unbreakable. "Now these I need to learn how to use." He said to himself. He was a scientist, a mechanic, he needed to study the issue of training to be a superhero from a mechanic's point of view. "Take the situation apart. See what makes it tick." He murmured. "Once we know each working part, we deal with it one part at a time." With his batons in hand, he left the ring behind him and ventured over to the holographic display station, capable of generating enemies of any type and caliber. The room was thick with data leaping back and forth, conversations between different devices that Connor was fully capable of dissimilating into individual connections.
He reached out with his mind, his thoughts entangling with each connection one by one and deciphering their language. He could soon speak it fluently and the holograms came to life one at a time, representing faceless Hydra footsoldiers. "JARVIS? You still there?" Connor asked aloud.
"Of course, Mister Peterson." The AI answered.
"Can you play music?"
"If you mean, can I play musical tracks via the mansion's speaker system, then yes."
"Got it. Play Hearts on Fire by John Cafferty. Filter into this room only, please." Connor requested.
"Right away, sir." JARVIS replied. Moments later, the heavy synth and electric guitar opening for the headline tune from Rocky IV filled the room, Connor rolling his shoulders and psyching himself up.
"Okay, Connor," he told himself, gripping his batons tightly, "time for some trial and error."
Hours later…
The irons split into three pieces, spinning around Connor's hands until they became a blur of motion. Sprinting forward, his motions were precise and fluid, bashing two Hydra troopers in the head with heavy-metal impacts that knocked them down. The irons reformed into batons as he slid across the ground on his knees, quickly two more Hydra troopers down with quick assaults to their legs.
Yellow bullet rounds whizzed past him as three separate defence turrets attacked him with their salvos. Quickly snapping his batons together to form a staff, he planted his weapon on the ground and used his magnets to vault off, Connor flying through the air and barely managing to land on top of the central turret. A mere touch was all he needed to interface with its circuits, overriding its commands and implanting new ones in the wake of his efforts. The turret then turned first to its left, shooting the turret there before it exploded, before doing the same with the turret on its right. An explosion of sparks and rippling electricity followed suit as Connor hopped off, the turret shutting down in obedience to his new command.
Retrieving his staff, Connor paused to breathe. The turrets were down, the Hydra soldiers were down, all in all a pretty successful training run with his newfound capabilities. "JARVIS, how long was that?" He asked aloud.
"In accordance with existing Avengers training times, you have the twenty-seventh fastest time Mister Peterson." Breathing a sigh of acceptance, Connor figured it was time for a break. Sweat matted his hair to his brow, stained his shirt front to back, he was in desperate need of a shower. But not before he made sure he had something to show for his efforts.
Spying a nearby bench, he made to sit. Splitting the staff into its components, he dropped the iron down on the space beside him before also taking a seat. Connor wiped the sweat from his brow, noticing other stains under his arms as well. Footsteps suddenly sounded from the room's entrance and his head rose to check…
In strode Janet, still in her hero dress, carrying a bottle of water and a towel.
"Caught sight of you on security and figured you could use these." She said with a smile. Connor allowed himself to smile, Janet's very presence bright and cheery.
"Oh… thank you," he replied, accepting the items from her, "you didn't have to."
"Looked like you were going hard. I thought you could use a break." Janet said. With a nod, Connor happily chugged half the bottle before running the towel through his hair, doing his best to wipe up the excessive amounts of sweat. "You've been training ever since we left?" She asked. Connor nodded.
"Had to keep trying. I needed to have something to show everyone." He explained. Janet offered him a friendly smile.
"All your hard work is bound to pay off." She promised. "You're doing good, Connor. You ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask me." His smile broadened, his brown eyes meeting her blues in a moment of connection. For the first time, in a very long time, someone made his heart sing with elation. Someone looked upon him with favor and friendliness.
"I… I will. Thank you, Janet." He offered softly in reply.
"Feel free to call me 'Jan', all my friends do." She told him. "I'm gonna go work on your suit now. Catch you later!" With a cheery wave, Jan made to leave. Connor remained where he was, entranced and enraptured by her very presence. He breathed a happy sigh, content with the interaction that had just taken place.
If only she were single… He thought to himself.