Son of Iron Man

Welcome back, true believers! Well, it's probably pretty safe to say that updates will be few and far between for a while. Exam season is upon us. So, I hope you enjoy this chapter twice as much!


Chapter Seventeen: Of Minds and Men

The still midnight air was torn asunder by the roar of an engine. A white motorcycle tore down the road as the air resistance caused blonde hair to flutter behind red glasses. As Emily rode along the still busy streets of New York, she used her ever-developing telepathic abilities to listen out for trouble. But she didn't need them. The telltale crashes of gunshot ripped through the sounds of traffic up ahead, growing louder and louder as she approached. The traffic ground to a halt and drivers were abandoning their cars and running in the opposite direction. Emily parked her bike and ran against the swell of the crowd, eventually coming to a clear area in the middle of the road. Two clear sides were taking shots at each other, using overturned cars as shields. She had stumbled across a gang war. Emily walked up behind one man and punched him with a diamond fist. The rest of the gang, their differences forgotten, fired on her. She started to fight them, but was soon overwhelmed. She lay panting on the floor, her diamond form lost. The two gangs turned their guns on her and she closed her eyes. But the killing shot never came. She opened up her eyes and saw that all the gang members had disappeared - in their place: Enigma. He held his staff toward her threateningly as he towered over her.

"Well, well," he said slowly, menacingly. "The Diamond Avenger."

"They were all you," Emily realised. "What do you want?"

"I want to see your boyfriend dead... at your hand." At that, Emily got her second wind.

"Never!" she said fiercely, kicking Enigma with a diamond foot. She followed up with an optic blast and several more physical attacks. Enigma was knocked back, but he kept his feet. A cruel laugh penetrated Emily's ear as she felt the staff crack into the side of her head. She fell back, her diamond skin receding. Her chest rose and fell as she tried to recover her breath, but she felt the staff pin her down on the left side of her chest. Her heart beat rapidly against the metal.

"You have fought well," Enigma conceded. "I have chosen the right assassin." A strange power descended down the staff toward Emily's chest. It passed through the fabric of her top and seeped into the skin below, coming to rest in her heart. Beneath the ruby glasses, her eyes glowed black before becoming an unnatural blue. She stood up, any resistance within her gone.

"I am yours to command," she said.

"I want you to kill Toby Stark, as personally and intimately as you see fit," the Enigma told her. Emily nodded.

"Of course."


Meanwhile, Magni landed on the S-shaped helipad on Stark Tower. He strode across to the door and tried knocking, but instead shattered the glass.

"Whoops," he muttered, stepping through the broken frame. "Friend Stark! Friend Stark, be thee here?" he called out. There was no reply, for Tony and Pepper were spending the night at the Avengers Facility. Magni looked around, but Stark Tower was abandoned. "Oh, no!" he exclaimed before flying out through the shattered door. Before long, he ran into Mothi. "I have terrible news, brother! The Avengers are missing!"

"They must have been captured by Hel!" Mothi deduced. "We must rescue them!" They flew off together in search of their friends. Five minutes later, Tony landed where they had been. He saw the door, smashed.

"Why is it always my tower?" he sighed.


The next morning, Ben was sat on a sofa, alone with his thoughts. Toby was in the room, but he was sat in the dining area with a bowl of cereal and a newspaper and was unlikely to want to be disturbed. The others were in their rooms or out on missions; being an Avenger was more than just fighting supervillains. He considered what Emily had said yesterday. Did he think of Katie that way? Did she think the same? He placed his head in his hands, but deep down he knew the answer. The question now was whether or not he could get up the courage he needed. Several times he moved to stand up before slumping back.

"Too much to eat?" Toby asked, a curious eye raised over his newspaper. Ben sat back, embarrassed.

"No, I was just... thinking," Ben excused.

"Careful, you'll get yourself into trouble," Toby laughed.

"No, it's important to... forget it."

"Is it what Emily said yesterday?" Toby deduced.

"...Yeah," Ben admitted.

"And what have you decided?" Toby pressed.

"I'm going to tell her."

"That's it! You go do that!" Toby told him encouragingly.

"I... can't," Ben said.

"Oh, I see," Toby replied. "Here, come with me - I want to show you something." Ben stood up and walked over to Toby, who led him to the security room.

"What are you doing?" Ben asked as they walked. Toby didn't answer. Once there, he sat Ben down in the chair.

"JARVIS, show me Katie's room," he said.

"Are you sure we should be-"

"Trust me," Toby interrupted Ben's protests. The screen showed Katie's room, the girl herself sat on the bed and brushing her hair. The image zoomed in on her open wardrobe, where Ben saw the shirt he had given her hanging. On the inside of the door was a picture of Ben. He stared for a moment.

"You knew all along," he said finally.

"I usually perform security sweeps when everyone's out for better privacy, but even so there are some things that are difficult to miss," Toby explained. When Ben said nothing, he prompted: "So, are you ready?"

"I don't know..."

"Sure you are," Toby told him, grabbing his arm and dragging him out and down the corridor to Katie's room. He knocked on the door before letting Ben go and running away. Ben looked after him, half wishing he was running with him. But there was no going back now.

"Who's there?" Katie asked.

"Ben," he stuttered.

"Come in!" Katie offered. He did so, closing the door behind him. "What is it?"

"I... can we talk?" Ben asked clumsily.

"Sure," Katie said, patting the bed next to her. Ben sat beside her and looked at her. Katie's eyes met his and didn't leave. Ben faltered.

"I-I..."

"What?" Katie pressed. Ben sighed and drew a long, shaky breath.

"Would you like to go for a meal with me?" he asked quickly. Katie stared at him for an awfully long moment. Ben's mind filled with doubts, and Katie's next reply didn't help.

"Alone?" she questioned.

"...Yes," Ben answered. "I understand if you don't-"

"I'd love to," Katie interrupted. Ben heaved a sigh of relief.

"Great!" he exclaimed. "Where do you want to go?"

"Let's decide that later," Katie said, shuffling closer to him. "I've been waiting a long time for this." She leant across and kissed Ben, who looked around as if searching for what to do. Their lips met again and he closed his eyes. What a day he had ahead of him!


Toby knocked on Emily's door that afternoon, knowing she had been out overnight.

"Come in!" she called. Toby did so and smiled at Emily, who was attacking some sort of black material with a pair of scissors. She wore denim shorts and a buttoned shirt with the top few buttons undone and the bottom tied above her midriff. Seeing Toby, she stared at him for a while as if fighting something. Then she spoke, and as she did she seemed normal. "Hey, Toby," she said. Registering the odd moment but not thinking much of it, Toby walked up to her.

"How was last night? Didn't get into any trouble, did you?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Emily said somewhat smugly.

"Good," Toby said, sitting on her bed and looking idly at some fish she liked to keep. "Hey - guess what? Remember what you said to Ben yesterday? He's only gone and asked Katie out."

"Really? I knew it!" Emily exclaimed.

"Yeah. Ben hasn't left her room since this morning, so I guess that went well," Toby chuckled. "Anyway, I know it's not so romantic as a meal with Ben, but I've been getting reports of some gangs out in the city. Interested?"

"I'll join you in a bit," Emily answered. Toby nodded and made to leave.

"Have JARVIS tell you where I am once you're ready," he said before going.


"Iron Man!"

Toby landed with a thud and blasted the terrified gang member with a repulsor. Bullets bounced off of him from all sides, but he stood there calmly and began to pick them off one by one. One thug tried to hit him, breaking his knuckles on the solid faceplate. Toby finished him off and took out the rest of the thugs but one. He turned to face the terrified man and raised a hand. Before he could fire, however, the thug fell forward to reveal Emily standing behind him.

"You took your - oh," Toby began, but then he registered what she was wearing. In place of her usual white costume was a tight, black leather one piece suit that was cut off near the tops of her arms and legs. There was a long rectangle of leather removed from close to the top of the suit to very near the bottom. This must have been what she was working on.

"Like it?" she asked.

"Why the sudden change?" Toby asked back.

"Well, let's just say I've had a change of heart," Emily said. She walked toward him, the leather ensemble squeaking as she did. "Isn't it just to die for?"

"It's lovely," Toby said, still trying to take it in. There seemed to be something... different about her.

"Sorry I was late," Emily apologised. "Is there anything else we can do together?" she then added, stroking Toby's armoured chin.

"Actually... I've got to go," Toby said, getting ready to fly.

"No, wait!" Emily stopped him.

"Really, I can't stay," Toby told her firmly, rocketing off into the sky. Below him, Emily dropped a sharpened knife. Enigma would not be pleased.


What a dastardly plot! How will Toby combat an enemy he can't bring himself to see? Find out the answer to this question and more next time!

Until next time, true believers!