Son of Iron Man

Welcome back, true believers! I'd write a long note, but there's not much interesting to say. You're only here for the chapters, anyway...


Chapter Fourteen: The Tracker

Night had fallen in New York City. Lupin padded through the streets, following the scent of Ricardo. The trail led to a park, where the hulking man was fast asleep. His veins were visible through his skin. As Lupin padded carefully closer, Ricardo's eyes flew open to reveal pulsating green eyes. The man stood himself up while Lupin howled, his bones clicking into humanoid shape as his muscles grew. Ricardo threw a punch at the wolf, who caught it with an earth shattering tremor. He returned the favour, catching Ricardo in the face.

"Me will destroy wolf!" the man spat. Lupin made a mental note that the Viper appeared to weaken his mind.

"Poor human," he mused as he proceeded to beat the living daylights out of the man. Ricardo lay weakened on the floor as Lupin towered over him, growling menacingly. "You broke my friend. You will live to regret that." With that, he kicked the man's head, knocking him out cold. Rather than bringing him in, Lupin placed a small device on his shoulder and left.


Morning came on Sunday and Ben still hadn't heard from Lupin. The wolf had been out all day and all night. He awoke to the sound of his communicator buzzing.

"Hello?" he said groggily.

"Ben?" came the voice of Lupin. "I found your man."

"Great, what did you with him?"

"I beat the fur - er, skin - off of him and left."

"You let him get away?" Ben demanded, sitting bolt upright.

"With a tracker on him. Figured he could lead us to the others," Lupin explained.

"You - that's genius! And they say humans are the smartest creatures on the planet!" Ben exclaimed joyfully. Lupin ended the call and Ben turned his attention to the matter at hand. Katie had been too disturbed for interview yesterday, but he hoped today would be different. He got ready and changed into his Spider-Boy costume before swinging over to the tower, where Katie had been given a locked room. He knocked on her door and waited.

"Come in!" Katie called. Ben unlocked the door and walked into the room to find her already dressed and cleaned up. He set down a plate of toast on the bedside table and stood before her. She sat on the bed, brushing her hair. "Why are you still wearing that mask?" she asked.

"Not everyone on the team can know who I am, yet," Ben answered. He locked the door before taking his mask off.

"Why not? How can I know but not even your own teammates?"

"It's kind of complicated," Ben said. He then changed the subject. "What do you remember about the Dark Avengers?"

"What do you want to know?" Katie countered.

"What was the last plan you were told about?"

"I was to find superhumans and convince them to join our cause; Ricardo was spreading the word throughout the underworld," Katie revealed.

"Did you find any?" Ben pressed.

"No. I let a personal vendetta get in the way and went after you." The two shared a chuckle.

"Right. That's all I need to know for now. I'll let you know if I need anything else from you," Ben said, turning to leave.

"What happens to me?" Katie asked quickly.

"You got a home? Family?" Ben asked back. Katie shook her head sadly.

"I... killed them..." she said softly.

"Oh... I'm sorry."

"Don't be. People die every day."

"Yeah, but..." Ben trailed off with a sigh. "We'll figure something out. If nothing else, there's a spare room in my apartment." With that, Ben slid his mask back on and opened the door. He paused, looking back at Katie, who was still wearing his clothes. "If Emily's feeling any better today, I'll see if I can get her to lend you some clothes," he said to her before leaving and locking the door.

With some help from JARVIS, Ben found Toby in one of the workrooms, where he was poring over a three dimensional hologram of a building. He kept muttering to himself and dragging rooms away and toward the design.

"How's Katie?" Toby asked, not looking away from the design as he spoke.

"She'd be better if she wasn't locked up like an animal," Ben replied, sitting beside him and looking at the design.

"We can't be sure she's not going to run off," Toby reasoned.

"I've been speaking to her. She's genuinely remorseful. She told me everything I asked," Ben countered.

"So she's not evil anymore, but even so she'll try and run if she gets the chance. And if she gets out, Venom can find her again," Toby explained.

"Then what happens in three days?" Ben pushed.

"I'm hoping after three days she'll be able to go home to her parents."

"Toby... she killed them."

"Oh..."

"Yeah. She has nowhere to go. Couldn't she stay here a while longer? Perhaps she could stay in the new facility, once it's built," Ben suggested.

"OK, she can stay. And if you trust her, let her out - but make sure we have all we need from her first in case you've misplaced your trust."

"Thank you!" Ben said, relieved. "I'll just go and find her some clothes. Is Emily conscious?"

"In the bedroom next to mine," Toby answered distractedly.

"OK, thanks," Ben said, turning to leave. Toby continued to reconfigure the designs, adding an extra bedroom.

"Why not just scrap the facility and build some youth hostel?" he muttered to himself.

Ben knocked on Emily's door.

"It's Spider-Boy," he called.

"Come in," Emily replied weakly. Ben walked in to find Emily lying on her bed and under the covers.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her.

"Better than before, but I'm not going to be on any missions in the near future," Emily answered.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, at least," Ben said. "Now, I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Could Katie borrow some of your clothes? Mine don't exactly fit her."

"Sure, but they might be a little loose round the chest," she replied with a pained chuckle. "Toby's had them moved here; they're in that wardrobe."

"Thanks," Ben said. He picked out a buttoned shirt and some denim shorts. "Get well soon," he said as he left the room.

Back in Katie's room, Ben tossed her the borrowed clothes.

"Sorry about the shorts," he said. "Emily doesn't really do 'modest'."

"They'll be fine," Katie said, sliding the T-shirt off and taking the shirt. Ben looked away uncomfortably and Katie chuckled, but didn't say anything. "I'm decent," she said teasingly once she was dressed.

"Good news!" Ben said. "Toby says you're free to roam the tower. But I'm trusting you not to run off."

"I won't," Katie promised. "Where would I go?"


Toby was working on the designs for the holding cells, thinking of yesterday's events, when an idea struck him.

"JARVIS," he said, "that call Dustin got through yesterday... can you trace it?"

"I can certainly try," the AI replied. "Ah, I've found him. Would you like me to send the coordinates to your armour?"

"Yes," Toby replied, pressing his watch. Once his armour had unfolded, he opened a line of communication to all the Avengers. "I've got a lead on Hammer," he told them.

"And I know where to find Ricardo," Lupin added.

"Perfect. If we act now, we can put an end to the Dark Avengers once and for all. Who's available?" Toby asked.

"I can help with Hammer," Ben replied.

"And I can handle Ricardo," Ty added. "Gives Lupin a chance to rest."

"OK, Avengers, let's do this."

A while later, Toby touched down in Dustin's factory lair. Ben landed beside him.

"We know you're here!" Toby shouted. "Would you like to give up now or after the beating?" He was answered by a cruel laugh as Dustin stepped out to meet them.

"Ah, the first two Avengers!" he announced. "It shall be a pleasure to kill you both."

"You couldn't even beat one of us," Ben laughed. "What chance do you have against us both?"

"Oh - I'm not going to kill you. In fact, I'm not even here." Dustin flickered: a hologram. "But you'll both die. I've rigged this place with enough explosives to bring it crashing down upon you."

"Usually this is the part where you offer us a choice," Toby observed.

"Oh, you're not getting any choices this time. You've become a thorn in my side, and I'm going to take you out."

"And what makes you think my suit won't resist this collapse?" Toby asked.

"The fact that I can remotely control it," Dustin revealed.

"You can't-" Toby began, but he was cut off as his suit folded up into his watch. He pressed the button, but nothing happened.

"Three..."

"Run!"

"Two..." They ran.

"One!" Dustin said gleefully. Toby and Ben dived to the floor... but nothing happened. They looked up at the hologram to see Mothi and Magni standing over and unconscious Dustin. They flickered as they bumped fists.

"Wait until father hears of this!" Magni exclaimed.

"We shall be worthy for sure!" Mothi added.

"Mothi? Magni? What are you doing there?" Toby asked in surprise.

"Lady Forde told us where to find the Knight of Darkness," Mothi answered.

"And we discovered you had gone the wrong way," Magni added.

"So we thought we would borrow Lady Frost's motor vehicle and help you," Mothi finished.

"His armour was no match for Asgardian might!" The brothers cheered. Toby and Ben looked at each other before bursting into laughter.


That night, Toby and Tony put the finishing touches to an energy cage which could contain even the Hulk. Lupin walked in dragging an unconscious Ricardo, who he proceeded to throw in alongside Dustin Hammer. The doors closed, alongside all hope of the Dark Avengers' plans coming to fruition. The Avengers' celebrated throughout the night: the Hammer had fallen.


Looks like the end, huh? NOPE! Their first battle is won, but there are still many ahead. Join us next time when we see what happens after a year. The new Avengers facility is ready and it's time to transfer the Dark Avengers... but will all go to plan? The rise of a new supervillain may well put the happy ending on standby.

Thanks for reading this first part of the Son of Iron Man. Until next time, true believers!