Son of Iron Man

Welcome back, mighty Marvellites! Only this chapter and the next to go before the first new character is introduced. So far we have Nathan Fury, the heroic Hotshot; as well as Eleanor Wilson as Deadpool on the way. I'm just about done writing Nathan's introductory chapter, and let me tell you, we're in for a good old ride with him. Current ideas for extra characters that I've come up with are a young Laura Kinney (X-23/All-New, All-Different Wolverine in Earth-616, the main Marvel comic universe) with an updated story for my own universe, because I haven't taken enough liberties with original Marvel characters or the alternate dimension thing yet; Matt Spector, the Fist of Khonshu, the mysterious Moon Knight; and Caitlin Pryde, daughter of the X-Men's Kitty Pryde and friend to Nathan Fury. I'm telling you this because they don't have any decided story or characteristics yet (even their names can be changed) and I thought I'd let you readers contribute if you wanted.

But now, back to your regularly scheduled programming. It's probably one of the shortest chapters I've written, but we've got some bigger ones on the way, so never fear, true believers!


Chapter Twenty-One: The Black Queen

Morning came, shining a bright light through Emily's window and over her eyes, causing her to wake up. A weight had been taken off her shoulders when Ben came onto her side, and she moved with renewed bounce as she retrieved her costume from the wardrobe and squeezed herself into it with a squeak of leather. She observed her body in a full length mirror, taking pride in her form as she did in the days before the stress of opposition. Ty still had his own will, of course, but she could bring him onside if he resisted just as she had with Ben. She still had to thank Enigma for the lipstick which had helped enforce her will. Although, she thought as she continued to admire herself in the mirror, it probably wasn't all down to the Enigma's Asgardian trickery.

She walked into the living room to find Ben already there making toast.

"For you, my mistress," he said upon seeing her, turning with a plate of buttered toast.

"Why, thank you," Emily said, taking the toast in exchange for a quick peck just to reinforce the effects of the lipstick. She wasn't sure how long it lasted, but she sure as anything wasn't taking any chances. If Ben had been wanting to resist before, knowing she'd forced him to obey her will would make him downright rebellious.

"Woah, what's going on between you two?" came a third voice. Emily whirled about to see Ty on the sofa, orange juice in hand. He pulled the headphones off his head and classical music became quietly audible – a measure he took to keep calm at all times.

"Just a little reward for Ben's loyalty to me," Emily replied flatly.

"I'm loyal," Ty said eagerly, sitting forward. After a moment of silence and a glare, he simply waved a disinterested hand and returned to his music.

"So, what is the plan for today, then, mistress?" Ben asked.

"Avengers business. I've received reports of a ring of thieves in the city. Nothing I can't handle alone," she assured him.

"Are you... Benching me?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Not at all, mistress. I could do with the rest, actually."

"Good. Don't forget to feed your dog," Emily said before taking the toast back to her room.


George Newton walked briskly with the crowd around him. Using the people as cover, he reached out to grab an apple as he passed a greengrocers. As he bit into it, he saw a fat-looking wallet in the rear pocket of the man ahead of him. Looking around quickly to make sure he wasn't being watched, he reached forward and nimbly swiped it, pocketing it immediately. It felt heavy, though that could just be an overabundance of coins. He hoped not. Tossing the finished apple core under a passing taxi, he broke away from the crowd and into a comparatively quiet alleyway. To a lesser man, it may have looked ominous, but Newton was the type of person who justified people's fears of dark alleys. To his right was a door which he unlocked with the key in his pocket and pushed open to reveal an unlit single-roomed apartment. The only sources of light came through a grimy window and flickering fluorescent edging around the bathroom mirror. He sighed and crossed to the grotty sink, running the cold taps and washing his face. When he looked up, he saw two faces in the mirror – one, predictably, was his; the other that of a beautiful girl.

"Holy sh-!"

"Hello, George Newton," said the woman. Her black leather outfit allowed her to blend in with the shadows, except for the admittedly large amount of her skin that was on show.

"How-how do you-?"

"Know your name?" the girl finished, stepping forward. "You're an important man, George. A member of a prominent ring of thieves, yes?"

"Yes," Newton replied, a little more confident. "Though I wouldn't say I'm that important."

"Oh, you're very important to me, George," the girl said, stroking his chin as she circled him slowly.

"I, uh," Newton stammered, flabbergasted by the scantily clad young woman and her magic touch.

"Oh yes, very important," she nodded, coming to a stop and looking into Newton's eyes through her red lenses. "Because you're going to tell me everything you know about your friends." Newton's eyes widened.

"What if I told you I wouldn't?" he asked.

"Then I wouldn't keep doing this," the girl replied before giving him a brief kiss.

"Uh, you've got Barry operating in Queens," Newton said quickly. He was rewarded with another kiss. "Jeff on the subway station nearest to here." Another.

"And who's the leader?" she asked.

"Uh-uh," Newton said. "Payment in advance." The beautiful blonde shrugged before locking lips with him a second time. This time, there was passion in the kiss, and it lasted several minutes. By the time it was over, the girl was on her back on Newton's bed while the man himself had two red hands where he had tried to open the window on her uniform.

"Hmm, I enjoyed that," she purred. "Now, your boss?"

"Name's Ricardo," he told her. "He'll probably kill me for telling you, but that was so worth it." But Emily wasn't listening by that point. Horror had crept into her expression at the name. "Uh, are you OK?" Newton asked.

"No!" Red blasts shone out from her eyes, ploughing through his head and killing him instantly. "It can't be him!" She let out a scream of hatred before taking several deep breaths. "OK," she told herself. "I'll just kill him."

As she turned to exit the hovel of the ex-thief, the air crackled before her and a man in a black cloak appeared before her. She immediately dropped down on one knee and bowed her head.

"Master!" she gasped.

"Frost," Enigma acknowledged. "I wanted to congratulate you on killing Stark. You didn't know it, but I was there, watching."

"Thank you, master. I could not have done it without your help," Emily said.

"Nevertheless, you have proven yourself a worthy servant. As such, I shall reward you with control of your own private army of shadows," Enigma said. He handed Emily a black gem. "Simply touch the gem and speak your intention for them, and the shadows of the dead will pour from the gates of Helheim."

"I-thank you, my master," Emily said, her voice shaking with gratitude.

"Continue to serve me and you shall be looked after," Enigma told her. "Fail or betray me, and I shall wear your pretty little hide as a reminder never to trust again."

"Yes, my master," Emily said submissively. She dared not look up again until she heard the crackle of his departure, at which point she stood and examined the gem he had given her. As she looked into Newton's mirror, she placed the gem into her navel, where it magically adhered itself. Now... Ricardo. Oh, what should she do with that man? It came to mind that the Dark Avengers were probably part of Enigma's plan, seeing as he had rescued them from the Avengers. As much as she hated the man, Ricardo would have to live...


Back at the facility, Ben was wandering the halls, pondering new ways to please his mistress. As he walked, however, he heard a voice.

"Ben?" it said. Ben looked around, but saw no one. "Down here!" the voice added. He looked down and saw a grate in the wall. "Ben! Oh, it is you! Thank God! I've been crawling around these ducts for hours!" Ben knelt down. He thought he recognised the voice, but... It couldn't be...

"Toby?!" he gasped.

"The one and only."

"Oh, mistress Emily will not like this!" Ben fretted.

"Mistress?" Toby echoed. "Oh, she's done something to you. Here, rip the grate open and I'll see if I can fix it. No, wait, where are you going? Ben! Ben, come back!" But Ben had left, probably to tell Emily about him. What a situation! Slamming his fist on the metal duct, he crawled back into the depths of the facility.


Ah, so Toby is alive? But how can this be? We pretty plainly saw him die. Could this be a side effect of the Asgardian sorcery in action on Ben? Most importantly, what could a living Toby do against an army of the dead? I'm sure answers will come soon enough. If I remember correctly, I believe the next chapter sees Toby with a super neat new suit, so he's got that going for him. Not bad for an apparently dead man.

Until next time, true believers!