Earth-717: Iron Maiden Vol 2

Chapter 7: Light Show

"Another bum patrol, Sarge?"

"Looks like it."

Juliette shook her head and scoffed as she leaned back in her seat. She scraped her hat off of her head with her right hand and let it fall to her lap before running her hand through her hair a few times. Officer McGee, who was driving the police cruiser, gave her a tiny smile before returning his gaze to the road.

He took a left on to Hollywood Boulevard.

"Don't worry, Jules," said McGee. "We'll get you some action."

As he said this, a large pink laser zoomed over the car. McGee slammed on his brake, and after putting the car in park, both he and Juliette got out and looked up.

"What the . . . . hell . . . ."

Lines of magenta coloured mist began to swell and consume the air between the buildings as surges of pink electricity ran along the windows. A fevered buzzing drowned the rest of the noise from the atmosphere as the pulses of energy grew more powerful with each passing moment. Glittering ripples of light danced back and forth through the air, forming schizophrenic zigzag and crisscross patterns at random.

Clutching her gun with both hands, Juliette trepidly glanced at McGee.

"S . . . . S-Sarge? A-Any . . . . any idea, w-what, what this . . . ."

"No, kid. I don't."

The sky was then set alight, burning with a wave of pink fire that felt like it was nearly as bright as the sun. McGee, Juliette and the hundreds of people on the ground all looked away in pain, covering their eyes from the ocular onslaught. The energy supernova was accompanied by a startling, garbled shriek that pierced the eardrums of everyone within its radius.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHH!"

McGee moved his hand away from his eyes as he watched the wave of pink fire transform into a humanoid construct of light energy. The construct floated twenty metres in the air, in front of a tall building. McGee narrowed his eyes and dropped his mouth in awe as Arthur finished his transition into his construct form.

A massive image of Arthur's face and torso was then displayed across all of the windows of the building behind him, mirroring his movements.

"PEOPLE OF THE WORLD!"

Juliette felt her breathing slow to a standstill as she listened to Arthur's bellows.

"I AM . . . . I AM . . . . THE LIIIIIIIIVING LAAAAAAAASER!"

Everyone on the ground was transfixed by what they saw before them. Even the dogs didn't bark because of how stunned they were. There were no sounds but Arthur's.

"I was . . . . once one of you . . . . a meagre being of flesh and blood . . . . but I have been . . . . REBORN! RENEWED! I have become that which is greater than all of your worthless lives combined . . . . I . . . . AM . . . . POWER!"

McGee and Juliette looked at each other for a brief moment, and they could feel each other's fear.

"I have . . . . only one . . . . question for you," stated Arthur.

Everyone's heart skipped a beat.

"WHERE . . . . IS . . . . TASHA STARK?!"


"Tasha!"

Tasha shook her head at Rhodes as the Juliet armour finished wrapping itself around her body. She walked towards one of the airlocks at the side of the helicarrier.

"Don't you see, Rhodey? This explains why AIM attacked my building. They broke into the containment lab and stole something that was off the record . . . . the arc reactor that was storing Arthur."

"If that's true, then you know that this is way too dangerous!"

"It doesn't matter. I have to do this. Look at what AIM already did today! Attacking the President? Giant indestructible armour? Armies of mind-controlled soldiers? And now Arthur, one of the most powerful beings I've ever seen, is out there, because of them? If I don't stop him, Arthur will hurt people . . . . and if AIM is helping him . . . ."

"Listen to yourself!" yelled Rhodes.

Tasha looked at Rhodes with concern. Fury was standing beside him, his arms folded.

"You barely survived this morning!" continued Rhodes. "Who's to say what AIM has waiting for you this time? They want you gone, Tasha. You're not some kind of war machine. You're gonna get yourself killed if you go out there alone!"

"Colonel Rhodes speaks truthfully ma'am. We don't know if . . . ."

"Shut up, Janice!" snapped Tasha, turning around and standing in front of the airlock. "Fury, open the door."

Fury didn't respond.

"Open the door!"

"Tasha!" chided Rhodes.

"You can't help me!"

Rhodes took a step back at the volume of Tasha's voice.

"What are you gonna do? Shoot your gun? Arthur is made of pure energy! I'm the only one who can stop him! You can't help me with this. SHIELD can't help me with this. No one can help me with this."

"But . . . ."

"I've beaten him before. I'll find a way."

Rhodes frowned, unsure of what to say next.

"I have to do this . . . . alone."

Tasha looked at Fury.

"Open the door, Fury, or I make my own."

Fury scowled for a moment.

"Hill."

The airlock sealed behind Tasha before opening on the other side.

"Tell your people to stay back, Fury," ordered Tasha. "They can't deal with something like this. I guarantee it."

"You'd be surprised," replied Fury.

Tasha then flew through the open door before it closed again. Rhodes sighed in frustration as he wondered if his friend was heading towards her own certain death.


"GIVE ME TASHA STARK . . . . NOW!"

The crowds screamed and fled in terror as multiple streams of light energy cascaded through the air and struck the ground, annihilating vehicles and pieces of the road. Grimacing with both unbridled anger and sadistic delight, Arthur fired another ricochet laser blast from his right hand, which lashed against the ground several times, just behind the feet of fleeing civilians.

"Get more back-up down here!"

McGee put down his radio and took aim at Arthur again, firing all of the bullets in his clip at the villain. Juliette did the same, but they had zero effect.

"This ain't workin', Sarge! It doesn't hit him!"

McGee looked at his empty gun and threw it against the ground.

"Sarge?! What do we do?"

Juliette looked up at McGee as she waited for some form of direction. For the first time since he was assigned as her superior, he honestly didn't have any. Looking up past her, he saw Arthur firing another laser blast from his left hand, and that it was headed straight for them.

"Get down!"

McGee seized Juliette around the torso, before pulling her to the floor along with him. The laser blast struck their squad car, which they had been using for cover. The car split in half, with both segments soaring over their bodies. Arthur followed up with another blast, which sent another car into the air.

McGee and Juliette looked up from their prone position to see that the car's trajectory would land it right on top of them. Juliette yelled in fear as McGee held her close. Mere moments before the car would have landed on them, Tasha flew overhead and caught the car, before heaving it away from the two officers.

"You two!" she shouted. "Get out of here! Tell LAPD to stay back! You can't handle this!"

McGee nodded in understand before helping Juliette to her feet. McGee grabbed his radio off of his belt and started yelling into it as they ran off with the rest of the crowd. Tasha then turned around to face Arthur.

"Arthur!"

Arthur stopped firing lasers and looked at Tasha, laughing with satisfaction upon seeing her.

"Iron Maiden . . . . at long last, we finally meet again."

"Arthur! Stop this! You wanna fight? Fight me, but leave these people out of this!"

"Oh, of course, of course . . . . I was only trying to draw you out . . . . so I can PUNISH YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

"What did I do, Arthur?!"

"YOU . . . . SSSSSSSTOLE FROM ME! YOU USED ME! YOU SAID YOU WOULD HELP ME, BUT INSTEAD . . . . YOU TOOK MY WORK, MY DESIGN, AND STOLE IT FOR YOURSELF!"

Tasha shook her head.

"That's what this is about?! The Proton Cannon?"

"YES! My new friends . . . . Advanced Idea Mechanics . . . . they set me free and told me what you did. How you stole my laser grid design . . . . FOR YOUR OWN PROFIT!"

Tasha hovered closer to Arthur, noting in her head that the street and surrounding area was nearly clear of civilians.

"Arthur, listen to me . . . ."

Arthur growled at her. Tasha held out her hands in a calming gesture.

"Listen . . . . the people from AIM are not your friends. They don't care about you. They're using you, can't you see that? They just wanted to give you a reason to fight me, because they want me dead! As soon as they have what they want, they'll get rid of you too!"

"No . . . . No . . . . they want me. They need me. You were the one who wanted me gone . . . . that's why you hid me away . . . . so you didn't have to help me . . . ."

"I wanted to help you, Arthur! I tried! I did! But I needed more time to study and understand the laser matrix . . . . I had to work with the tech to find a way to reverse the process . . . . I wanted to do it. Not just for you, but for your sister, Judy!"

"NO MORE LIES! You never would have helped me . . . ."

"Arthur!"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT! ARTHUR PARKS . . . . IS DEAD! THERE IS ONLY . . . ."

Arthur held out both hands, and light energy from neon signs and other sources started draining into his body.

"THE LIVING . . . . LASER!"

Arthur combined both of his arms and fired one gigantic laser blast, which Tasha boosted out of the way of with her shoulder jets. The massive blast left a large, crater-like sear across both lanes of the road.

"Match energy signature," said Tasha. "And reverse unibeam polarity!"

"As you say, ma'am."

In his true laser form, Arthur bounced from building to building before slashing past Tasha's waist. She fired off a repulsor shot from her right hand, but he avoided it. She fired off several quick shots with both hands, but he weaved through all of them before leaping directly at her from the front. Tasha held her chest open, ready to fire the unibeam vortex.

"Not this time!"

Arthur exploded into mist just as Tasha activated the vortex. She looked around in confusion for a few moments before the mist reappeared behind her, and Arthur reformed himself. Tasha turned around just in time to see Arthur as he punched her across the face.

"Ugh!"

Tasha aerially rolled backwards several times before she regained her hovering position.

"I've learned a new trick since our last encounter," said Arthur, waving a finger side to side. "Your little trap won't work this time!"

Arthur fired a pulse of energy from his body, which turned into a dozen prismatic lasers, all of them aimed at Tasha. She held both of her arms in front of her face, activating her defense shield. The shield absorbed the laser attacks, before converting all the power to her unibeam, which she fired directly at Arthur, striking him in the chest.

"Ayugh!"

Tasha tried to follow up her attack with more repulsor blasts, but Arthur started moving too fast. She then boosted away from him, leading him along as he gave chase. She continuously tried to hit him with repulsor shots, but he always bounced away or turned into his mist form before they could land.


Sunset, Brandt and DeWitt were watching the battle through the display screen, inside of the shuttle that was hidden nearby. As the struggle continued, Brandt began chewing on her left index fingernail. Sunset did nothing but slowly narrow her eyes.

A man in a red hazmat suit walked up behind them. It had a domed facial section, showing that he had green skin, with his bones visibly glowing through it. He had an internal gas mask over his face, and his breathing was heavy and laboured.

"Is it time?" asked Chen.

Sunset licked her lips.

"Go."


"This isn't the sorta light show I typically like! Any suggestions, Jan?!"

"I might be able to come up with something, but I would hate to be told to 'shut up' again, as you say."

"Oh, come on!"

Flying close to the abandoned street, Tasha lobbed a cluster grenade from her wrist, which split into a dozen spherical explosives that rolled along the street under her. They started a chain reaction of explosions that tore at Arthur, but they only slowed him down. Wailing with fury, Arthur caught up to Tasha and seized her by the throat.

"This time . . . . YOU DIE!"

Holding her with his left hand, Arthur started to climb higher and higher into the sky, until he was well above the precipice of the tallest buildings in the city. His hand repeatedly surged energy through Tasha's suit, with the pain lashing at her skin. Once he reached a suitable altitude, Arthur held her up with both hands.

"And now . . . . everyone . . . . will see me . . . . DESTROY YOU!"

Tasha groaned as Arthur tried to suffocate her.

"N-not . . . . t-this . . . . time!"

Tasha placed her hands on both of Arthur's temples, firing both repulsors at full power. The double attack to Arthur's head caused him to let go of her and fly away, reeling in pain.

"RYYYYYYYYYUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAARGH!"

Gripping his head with both hands, Arthur shook it back and forth. Tasha fired a unibeam blast at him, knocking him further away. He then boosted downwards, and Tasha followed suit. When he landed on the ground, he punched down with one fist, creating a massive energy shockwave that fired in all directions for almost a hundred metres.

The shockwave tore apart all of the vehicles and other items, littering the streets with debris. It even broke apart the sections of the some of the nearby buildings. The high end of the shockwave struck Tasha, causing her to crash into the ground, rolling over almost a dozen times before she came to a stop.

Sputtering profusely, Tasha found herself nearly out of breath as she struggled to pull herself together. Her armour was gashed at several points, and she was physically exhausted. She was only able to get herself to one knee as she looked up at Arthur, who was now floating in the air, laughing.

"Ma'am . . . . suit integrity is decreasing rapidly," reported Janice. "You will not be able sustain this battle for much longer."

"I know."

Tasha then felt her heart sink in her chest as she saw a red sports-car driving down the street towards her. She barely had time to register that threat when she saw that Chen Lu, the Radioactive Man, was being airdropped by an AIM shuttle high above the city. He landed on the ground, and looked up at Tasha with a sinister glare. Anya transformed out of her car mode and into her armour form before equipping her rotating laser cannons.

All three supervillains stood side to side, all of them looking directly at Tasha. For the first time since she was inside that tiny cave in China, Tasha felt true fear.