Earth-717: Iron Maiden Vol 2
Chapter 4: Crimson Dynamo
The mid-morning sun brought a pristine glow upon the San Francisco Bay Area. Flocks of seagulls acted as watchful sentries, calmly observing the entire coastline. The grand gateway between civilization and the untamed wilderness that was the Pacific Ocean was the perfect stage for an exposition. However, no one realized just what kind of exposition it would end up becoming.
Tasha put on her sunglasses as she stepped out of the car. Stane got out of the opposite side and approached her. Happy was in the driver's seat.
"Gotta park," said Happy. "Go on ahead."
Tasha gave him a thumbs up in response before he drove off. Walking together, she and Stane headed towards the outdoor presentation area that had been prepared for the expo. Stane was holding his hologram tablet, reading a list of items on it.
"Guest list for this thing is staggering," said Stane. "Quite a turn out."
"Is Hammer here? Tell me he's not here. I'd really prefer to not have to deal with that clown today."
"I don't know, I can check . . . ."
Tasha then stopped in her tracks before they got to the seating area. Large crowds of people had already arrived, and were bustling about. Taking off her sunglasses, she turned to Stane.
"Hey."
Stane blinked a couple times and looked up from his tablet, returning an awkward smile. He adjusted his glasses before speaking.
"Hey."
"Look, Obadiah . . . ."
Tasha scratched the side of her head.
"Sorry about the . . . . you know. The mess last night. I, I was . . . . I treated you all like trash, and I was completely . . . . wrong. None of you deserved that. Especially you."
"Hey, Tasha, I . . . ."
"No," interrupted Tasha. "I don't want you making any excuses for me this time. It was really shitty of me to act like that. I mean, yeah, sure, I was drunk, and angry, and totally self-absorbed, but none of those are good reasons, for, for . . . . for not respecting your friends. Especially one who's been at my side since high school."
Stane's left eye twitched for half a second.
"So . . . . so, yeah, I feel like I say this way too often, but . . . . sorry, I'm sorry. I know I can be . . . . egh . . . . the worst, at times. Just . . . . the worst. And I mean, of course, you know . . . . I care about you. A lot, a lot . . . . and . . . . I never want to hurt you. I would never try to hurt you."
"You might still do it unintentionally."
"Yeah, well . . . ."
"It is what it is," said Stane. "And we can get past it. Like we always do."
"We've been through a hell of a time, haven't we?"
"We have."
"Oby . . . . I know you hate that name, but it's always been an endearment term. You know, like when I call you a nerd. You're, you're my best friend, man. You've helped me get through so much . . . . and I don't know if I'm always . . . . let's go with appreciative. I just needed to tell you how much I care, since, well, my actions don't always make it that obvious."
Stane smiled and placed his hand on Tasha's shoulder.
"It's you and me, right?"
"Always," answered Tasha.
Tasha and Stane were silent for a couple moments, still standing in the same spot. Stane then gestured towards the presentation area.
"Know what you're gonna do?"
"Some fancy tricks with the suit," answered Tasha. "You know, for spice's sake."
"That really the best idea? I mean, you were fairly intoxicated not that long ago."
Tasha scoffed, waving one of her hands down in a dismissive manner.
"Bah. So what? I might be a teensy bit hungover. I operate like that on a daily basis."
"Teensy bit?"
"Yeah . . . . what?"
"Janice told me you downed the whole bourbon bottle after we left. Top to bottom."
Tasha's jaw dropped.
"You kidding me? That English tart ratted me out?"
"Afraid so."
"I can hear you, ma'am," said Janice, speaking into Tasha's mind through the sensor link. Tasha's head vibrated, indicating that she was startled by the utterance.
"Damn, wasn't expecting it to be that clear," said Tasha. "Feels like you're in my brain."
"I am now. You cannot escape me."
"You're enjoying this."
"Naturally, ma'am."
"Wait, what?" asked Stane.
Tasha then looked at Stane with concern.
"Oh, right. You can't hear her. Talkin' to Janice. In . . . . my brain."
Stane nodded and blinked, seemingly unsure of what to say.
"Let's just go in."
"Yeah."
Having finally found a spot in the gargantuan parking lot, Happy sighed with relief as he stepped out of the car and locked the doors. He then started making his way back to the presentation area. He wasn't even paying attention when a stunning red sports-car drove down the street past him. Had he bothered to look, he most likely would have been surprised to see that the car had no driver.
Stane was sitting next to Pepper in the audience seating. She was running through scheduling on her phone, and he was twiddling his thumbs as he waited. A crowd of around two thousand people was in attendance, including a special seating box for President Ellis and his security detail. Rhodes was one of the security officers in the seating box. He turned around and gave a small wave to Stane, who returned it.
The presentation stage played host to a metal cannon affixed to a firing platform. The cannon was about two metres long, with various wiring components visible on the outside of it. It was pointed directly downwards, into the hole that had already been cut out of the stage. Stane was thinking about how he had helped Tasha construct it when his thoughts were interrupted by Pepper speaking.
"Let's see," said Pepper, reading from her phone and oblivious to everything else. "Up next is Trask, then Oscorp. After lunch is Project Pegasus . . . . oh, even Hammer is here."
Stane put on a tiny smile and shook his head as Pepper continued to talk to herself. Happy arrived, and sat in the empty seat Stane had saved for him. Stane nodded at Happy before he looked over his left shoulder, seeing some of the audience behind him. He entertained the idea that he was being watched, but after a brief moment, he dismissed it and looked back forward. From the far back corner of the seating area, Brandt observed him from behind her sunglasses.
She then looked upwards, along with everyone else in the crowd, as Tasha soared into view in her Mark Two armour. Most members of the crowd burst into raucous applause at her arrival, but Brandt and a few others abstained from participation. Whirling about in spectacular fashion, Tasha then climbed for several dozen metres straight up above the stage.
"Showboat time."
"As you say, ma'am."
Tasha ejected herself from the suit, which promptly boosted upwards and exploded. The entire crowd gasped, and even Brandt participated. Her eyes closed and her arms outstretched, Tasha somersaulted several times in free fall before her Mark Three armour flew up to and latched itself to her body. Forming around her, it locked into place just in time for Tasha to land in a three point pose on the stage.
She threw up her arms as the raucous applause returned. Tasha then stepped out of the armour and took a bow.
"I believe the phrase is . . . . nailed it, ma'am."
"You got it, girl," whispered Tasha.
Tasha allowed the crowd to quiet down, putting her hands together and waiting. She then gestured towards and leaned against the cannon with her left palm.
"Well, as if that wasn't enough of a presentation, I also have this to show you! This, ladies and gentlemen, is the latest masterwork from the House of Ideas, Stark Enterprises. Inside this veritable and very quantifiably powerful device is a beam cannon, with a laser energy matrix composed of multiple prisms that divert the lasers in a crossing pattern to exponentially increase the output of the primary beam. I know, jargony, but what matters . . . . is the results."
The crowd murmured as they digested the slab of information Tasha had just doled out. She then flipped a switch on the side of the cannon, and the device responded by radiating with pink energy. The beam then fired down through the hole in the stage, seamlessly slicing through the earth below.
"A fully customizable, energy-efficient and pinpoint accurate mining laser," continued Tasha, now leaning her back against the cannon. "For the purposes of excavation, construction and resource retrieval. I present, the Proton Cannon."
Tasha smirked as the crowd applauded in approval. Rhodes endorsed her with a subtle nod, which she acknowledged with a snap of her fingers.
"I can even change the colour of the beam," remarked Tasha, eliciting some laughs from the audience.
As the cannon powered down, a loud engine noise was heard from the right of the stage. Tasha turned her head to see a stunning red sports-car barrelling down the highway towards the presentation area. She raised an eyebrow in confusion as the car drove off the road and onto the concrete pavement that led to the stage.
The car then started to transform.
The wheels receded into the vehicle as two metallic arms emerged from the sides. The glass panes from the windows reformatted themselves into a dome-shaped carapace. The carapace itself was translucent, showing a vaguely humanoid head shape with an angled visor inside the dome. The right hand reached out and dug its fingers into the pavement, slowing the approach of the vehicle. Legs then came out from the bottom segment as the final metal panels locked into place, and within seconds the car had finished its transformation into a three metre tall robotic humanoid.
Tasha was unable to move upon seeing what was in front of her, a trait that was shared amongst most of the audience members.
"The fuck . . . ."
The robot's gloved hands retreated into the arms before they were replaced with rotating laser cannons. The robot then wordlessly started firing with both cannons into the crowd. Pandemonium ensued on the part of the audience, which split apart and spilled in all directions like a herd of distressed cattle. Rhodes and the security detail hurried Ellis away as the robot continued its attack.
Finally breaking out of her daze, Tasha leaped back into her armour and aimed both of her repulsors at the robot. The twin beams struck the robot's front, causing it to stagger backwards. Tasha then looked to the side to see Happy scrambling to help Stane and Pepper.
"Go, Happy, go! Get Obadiah and Pepper out of here!"
Happy led Stane and Pepper away from the battle zone and towards the parking lot. Rhodes and the security detail had already placed Ellis in a limousine and raced off the presentation area as everyone else fled. Taking a step back, the robot reoriented itself and looked down at Tasha, who was crouching with both repulsors ready to fire again.
"Iron Maiden," said the armour, in a distinctly female voice with a Russian accent.
"I'm guessing you're not a robot," replied Tasha. "Who are you supposed to be? Iron Blimp?"
"You do not recognize me. I am not surprised. It has been some time since you ruined my life!"
"I did? Pretty sure I haven't seen you before. Unless I was really drunk . . . ."
"Who I used to be no longer matters. You destroyed my body. Only thirty percent of my organic matter survived our last encounter. To save my life, AIM turned me into something new, something far improved . . . . the Crimson Dynamo!"
"AIM? Killian did this to you?!"
"Have you not heard? AIM has a new leader now."
"Since yesterday?!"
The villain took a step forward, her hand cannons starting to spin again.
"Look lady," said Tasha. "Whoever you are, I'm not just gonna stand still and let AIM get their grubby paws on my tech again. So back off, Anastasia!"
Anya froze in place.
"H-How . . . . how did you know my name?!"
"Huh? Uh, lucky guess? I dunno, you have that accent, and Anastasia is a fairly common name for girls in . . . ."
Tasha was interrupted by Anya punching her in the face.
Standing behind an office building, Brandt peered around the corner to see Tasha and Anya battling as the remnants of the tech expo crowd fled the scene. She unflipped her cell phone and put it to her right ear.
"Crimson Dynamo has engaged and Ellis is on the move. Send the teams in now."
"Understood," replied Sunset, before she clicked off the call.
She then turned to Yelena, who was in her full-body tactical gear, with a katana inside of a leather sheath strapped to her back. They were standing inside of one of several AIM shuttles that were flying in formation over the Bay Area. A female Risk Control trooper was piloting the shuttle, and twelve regular Risk Control troopers were readying their weapons.
"Take your teams and destroy anything that gets in your way," commanded Sunset. "Bring him to me. Alive."
Yelena grinned as she placed triple-optic stealth goggles on her face.
"Unibeam, now!"
Tasha pumped her chest forward as a charged laser blast fired from her arc reactor. The blast singed multiple sections of Anya's armour, causing her to fall to one knee. Tasha then boosted forward and punched Anya's dome carapace, knocking the villain back but not causing any major damage.
"What is she made of?!"
"Scanning," said Janice. "The Crimson Dynamo armour appears to be made out of a specially tailored titanium, cobalt and tungsten alloy, laced with trace amounts of carbonadium. Certainly this would have cost an inordinate amount of capital to construct, and therefore would not be anywhere near cost-effective for market level mass production . . . ."
Tasha flew in a circular pattern to dodge the hail of laser fire from Anya's hand cannons.
"Didn't ask for the economics lesson, Jan! Just tell me how to break it!"
"Given its unique qualities, I would say that the armour is nearly indestructible."
"Fuckin' wonderful."
Tasha armed a wrist rocket and fired it at Anya, striking her square in the chest. The rocket explosion did nothing but temporarily jostle her. Agonizing over how to attack next, she then turned around with surprise to see four San Francisco Police Department squad cars approaching the scene. She threw her arms forward as the officers exited their vehicles and brandished their weapons.
"No, don't!" she shouted. "Get back . . . .!"
Tasha was then swiped aside by a backhand from Anya, causing her to smash against the side of the same office building that Brandt was hiding behind a few minutes earlier.
"Fire!"
The officers unloaded their weapons on Anya, but she was unfazed from marching forward by their meagre assault. She then kicked forward with her left leg, flattening the closest squad car and sending it zooming down the street. Her hand transforming into a rocket launcher, she then launched a missile at another squad car.
Flying as fast as she could, Tasha grabbed the officer in front of the targeted car and flew him out of the way of the explosion.
"Get out of here!" ordered Tasha, as she set the officer on the sidewalk. "Tell your people to stay away!"
"You got it! I don't wanna tangle with that thing!"
"Me neither!"
Boosting back into the battle, Tasha then landed a fully powered kick to Anya's torso, knocking her back with enough force to cause her to somersault backwards. Landing back on her knees, Anya responded with a laser beam that blasted Tasha to the ground.
"Ugh!"
Activating her foot thrusters, Anya soared a couple metres above the road and flew horizontally forward, parallel to the ground. Seizing Tasha around the throat, she then lifted and slammed her against the pavement, dragging her along and ripping up the road as she did so. After continuing this vicious attack for a couple hundred metres, Anya was then double kicked in the right knee by Tasha, and she lost grip and tumbled over.
Violently coughing, Tasha pushed herself off the ground as Anya stood back up and equipped her hand cannons.
"I had hoped for a bit more sport, Stark."
Breathing with tremendous weight, Tasha then looked up to see Anya in her battle ready pose. Peering behind the villain, she saw that the Proton Cannon was still on the stage, only a few metres behind Anya.
"You don't want the Proton Cannon," said Tasha.
Anya hesitated. Tasha then looked past her to see several AIM shuttles in the distant sky, flying towards San Francisco International Airport. She immediately flew upwards and over Anya, boosting over the coastline and towards the shuttles. Anya watched her leave and snarled before opening her com channel.
"This is Dynamo. Stark figured it out. I bought you all the time I could. She is headed for the airport."
"Understood, Dynamo," replied Sunset. "Head to the rendezvous and get your suit looked at. The next phase has already begun."
"Yes, ma'am."
Anya transformed back into her sports-car configuration and drove back down the highway.
