Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Iron Man: Armored Adventures isn't mine. Not even Tony (or Gene! D:), belong to me. The rights ultimately belong to Marvel, so there. :D Don't try to sue me, got that? I'm not making even a single cent off this story.
A/N: Thanks so much to all of you for reviewing! And as the chapter title suggests, some answers are finally going to be revealed…
Chapter Six: Truth
Whitney Stane was crouched on the roof of a building just a short distance from Stark International. Dressed in her tight fitting Madame Masque costume, she was holding a pair of binoculars she had 'borrowed' from the vault to her mask. These special binoculars not only allowed the user to see long distances, but also right through solid objects, such as walls. Which was what Whitney was, incidentally, using them for right at that moment.
She had been planning to break in after dark and try to find out why Tony had changed so drastically, why he had been acting the way he had. But she didn't have to go to all that trouble anymore. Apparently, someone else had beaten her to it.
When she'd arrived, she'd found none other than War Machine and a strange figure in black brutally fighting Iron Man in what had once been her father's office.
"Something's really wrong with Tony," she murmured, brow furrowing beneath her mask. Why else would he be fighting his best friends like this? Of course, she knew all about the trio's 'secret' identities. It had been painfully obvious that Tony was Iron Man, and after both he and the iron-clad hero had vanished, she had known for sure. And who else but Rhodey would take up the mantle of Iron Man, as War Machine? And of course, the figure in black had to be Pepper.
Swallowing hard, she continued watching as Iron Man threw Pepper against the desk, and as War Machine retaliated. She couldn't help noticing that he seemed very weak. And who wouldn't, with the beating that Tony was handing out? She got to her feet, leaning over the concrete ledge to focus the binoculars better.
Her eyes widened with shock as Rhodey was blasted into the glass wall, and it splintered dangerously behind him. She toyed with the idea of going in there and stopping Tony, but hesitated. He surely wouldn't kill his best friend…would he?
Rhodey was making his way towards the injured Pepper, seeming even weaker than he had been a few moments earlier. Now he unexpectedly spun around and blasted his repulsors at Tony. Whitney gasped, hands tightening on the binoculars, but Tony also shot a stream of power from his hands, right at the last moment. The two beams met in midair, and were held there for some time.
Whitney's free hand clenched into a tight fist as she watched, a sick feeling blossoming in the pit of her stomach. Somehow, she knew that this confrontation wasn't going to end well, especially not for Pepper or Rhodey. And when Rhodey's repulsor energy gave out, causing him to fly backwards and land beside the masked Pepper, her suspicions were only confirmed.
And then, miraculously, as Tony cruelly prepared to fire, a figure in gleaming black armor appeared between him and the others. The Mandarin took the shot meant for Rhodey, and was slammed back several feet, into the floor. Whitney's lips involuntarily parted as she saw him clutch at his mangled arm, and zoomed in with her binoculars. She easily saw the dark blood leaking from his arm, and felt a sharp pang of concern.
She didn't know much about the Mandarin, much less who he was, but he was hurt. And hurt fairly badly. The blood made that much obvious. And he couldn't be as bad as she'd heard, or he wouldn't have come to save Rhodey and Pepper, she was sure.
At that moment, as if confirming her confidence in him, the Mandarin used a burst of strength to grab Rhodey and Pepper by the arms. There was a brilliant flash of light, which blinded Whitney. She cried out and dropped her binoculars over the ledge of the roof, tearing off her golden mask. Her hair returned from black to its normal blonde as she frantically rubbed her aching eyes.
Blinking rapidly, she found that she could see again. Then she remembered the binoculars she'd just dropped. Eyes going round, she crushed her mask back into place, then flung herself off the side of the building with absolutely no hesitations. Wind burned her eyes and wildly flipped her hair into her face, but she kept her gaze zeroed in on the black object falling swiftly towards the street below. If she lost the binoculars now, there would be no way to spy on Tony, no way to find out what was going on.
Her arm was close, so close, and she stretched her fingers out as much as possible. Her gloved hand brushed the binoculars, as she saw the ground looming off with horrifying speed, then her hand clamped down around its cool surface, which she felt even through her glove. Feeling triumphant, she forced her mask to activate. As Iron Man, her repulsors kicked into gear and allowed her to fly back towards the rooftop.
Overshooting her goal, she switched back to herself a few feet above the building, flipping agilely in midair. She landed in a crouch at the very edge of the roof, only slightly breathless from the sudden drop.
Shaking her head to clear it, Whitney jubilantly raised the binoculars back to her eyes and adjusted its viewfinder. Tony's office snapped back into clarity again, this time looking just a bit different than it had about thirty seconds earlier. A person-sized hole was blasted right through an outer wall, presumably by the blast Tony had intended for his three foes. And Tony himself was stomping around the office in a clear rage, kicking chairs over and blasting his desk to one side. Whitney remained silent as she watched the magnificent wooden desk split like it was made of melted marshmallow, papers and prototypes flying carelessly through the air.
"Oh, Tony. What's wrong with you?" she breathed, shaking her head grimly. This wasn't the Tony Stark she remembered from before.
And then, as though directly contradicting her, Tony froze in the act of preparing to blow out the glass wall. His faceplate slid smoothly back, and Whitney saw true fear in his blue eyes as she zoomed in on his face. She watched with incredulity as Tony dropped to his knees, clutching the sides of his head, mouth open in a silent scream.
Hurriedly fumbling at her belt, Whitney pressed the activation device for one of the bugs she'd planted in her father's office some time ago, to keep a close eye on his weapons plans. She next triggered the reception comm. in her left ear, and it crackled to life.
Then she heard it, and almost wished she hadn't been so determined to listen in on what was going on. Tony's scream was far from silent. The bug she had previously planted allowed the torturous sound to echo into her own ears all too well. It went on and on, and tears pooled in Whitney's eyes, overflowing down her cheeks. She made a move to go to him, even if he had nearly killed his two best friends just now, but froze as the screaming finally stopped.
Tony looked around wildly, even more intense fear flooding his face, then suddenly stiffened. There was a brief and very anticlimactic flare of energy, and a man appeared in one corner of the room. Whitney's gaze combed carefully over him, taking in his neatly-combed hair and his pressed suit, which was obviously an expensive name brand. Though she didn't think the brilliant yellow tie quite suited his pale complexion. And neither did the leer of rage that grotesquely twisted his features.
"Tony Stark." The man's voice crackled over the bug with surprising precision. Whitney felt a shiver of fear run through her at that voice of his, and couldn't take her eyes away as he carefully straightened his absurdly-colored tie. Then he turned his back to her, and walked slowly towards Tony.
"P…please. Don't do this, Controller. Please." Whitney was appalled to see tears rolling down Tony's cheeks as he spoke brokenly, and her heart clenched. Nausea was slowly building up inside her. "Don't make me hurt them. Kill me, do w…whatever it is that you want. Just don't hurt them," Tony pleaded weakly.
"Oh, don't worry about your little friends, Tony Stark. I'm not going to hurt them," the man said in a smug voice. Tony visibly relaxed, then went rigid again when the man continued nonchalantly, "I'm not going to hurt them because you're going to."
And then, as she listened, Whitney felt her face become a mask of horror and revulsion beneath the golden disguise she wore. She watched both Tony and the Controller, and listened to their horrible plans.
Then, as the Controller vanished once more, leaving Tony standing alone in the rubble of his office, Whitney got to her feet. She securely attached the binoculars to her belt, allowing them to dangle off, then turned and raced in the opposite direction of Stark International, across the rooftop. She ran all the way to the edge, then fearlessly leapt out into space. Her body seemed to hover there for a few seconds, then she landed jarringly on the roof of the next building, the impact shaking her entire body.
She ran on until she was halfway across the city from the building where Tony Stark was. Then she dropped to her knees and panted for air, lungs aching and chest burning. Her mind was a whirlwind of confusion, and she was still a mixture of shock and horror at what she had seen and heard.
"Oh God," she whispered. "What am I going to do?" She dropped the rest of the way to the ground, resting her back against the concrete ledge encircling the roof. Taking her mask off, she placed it with exaggerated calmness beside her, trying to keep herself in check.
But once it was off, she couldn't control herself anymore. Tears fell down her cheeks as she cried, head resting in her hands.
Gene staggered through the darkened shop, clutching his wounded arm and trying not to cry out in pain. Such a small action took every ounce of willpower that he possessed. Tony's blast had really taken a lot out of him. And even in darkness, he didn't crash into anything, because he knew the shop by heart now, after all these years. To anyone else, all the mysterious objects would have become a dangerous maze.
Blood dripped from his wound and onto the ground, but he didn't stop to clean it up. He had more important things to worry about at the moment, such as stopping himself from bleeding to death. Besides, he could always get one of his faithful subjects to take care of the mess later, if he had to.
He made his way into the back, into the secret tunnels. He could feel himself getting weaker and weaker as his steps slowed, and by now he was limping.
When he found that he couldn't bring himself to go any farther, he began unceremoniously tearing off his armor. He felt much lighter as each piece clattered loudly to the floor, the sound echoing loudly as it bounced off the stone walls.
When his body was finally free from the restraining armor, Gene was able to examine the wound that had been bleeding so much. The gash was deep and long, trailing blood all the way from shoulder to forearm. He was vaguely surprised that he couldn't actually see the bone; the gash was certainly very deep.
He started to move towards his living quarters, to find bandages and clean the wound. But he found that his legs wouldn't exactly cooperate with him. Instead, they oh so rudely gave out on him. He collapsed to the ground in a heap, finally letting the cry of pain that had been brewing inside him burst free.
Blood continued to pool on the rock floor around him, and darkness swam ominously around his vision, threatening to overcome him.
Back at Rhodey's apartment, Pepper frowned at Rhodey as he cringed theatrically away from her. "Stop it, Rhodey! This is for your own good, and you know it!" she said hotly, pressing the cotton wad covered in hydrogen peroxide a little harder than was necessary against Rhodey's cheek. He cringed as it stung a large cut from their earlier battle with Tony, but didn't make any verbal protests.
The two of them had arrived about four minutes earlier at Rhodey's apartment, still reeling from the vicious battle and the Mandarin's surprising last-minute rescue. Rhodey had achingly changed out of his War Machine armor, strewing it carelessly across the living room. Pepper had taken off her facial disguise, but remained in the rest of her high-tech gear, including the jetpack.
Pepper was still very much in shock about Tony's unexpected attack on them. She had certainly believed Rhodey's story of their argument earlier that day, but she hadn't known just how different Tony had really become since she'd last seen him, even after their chance meeting at the café. Attacking them like he had, attacking Rhodey, had come as a horrifying shock to her. Rhodey had been his best friend. Attacking your best friend just wasn't normal.
Rhodey hesitated briefly, his inner thoughts almost too transparent on his bloodied face. "Pepper, about what happened," he began uncertainly. "I know you're probably upset about Tony, but–"
"But what, Rhodey?" she snapped, taking the reddened wad of cotton from his face. She took a step away from him, ignoring Stark as he eagerly began licking her heels, stubby tail wagging almost frantically. "Tony wasn't himself; he couldn't have been. The Tony we knew never would have done things like that. He must not have known what he was doing!"
"But he did. You heard him, Pepper. He was definitely Tony. And he knew exactly what he was doing."
Pepper turned away, biting down hard on her lip as she tried valiantly to choke back a sob. She wouldn't cry, not now. And especially not in front of Rhodey. She had been holding her tears in all the way here from the roof where the Mandarin had left them, and she was going to keep it up. No matter what.
Rhodey, sensing her brewing despair, spoke gently. "Pepper, you know I'm right. Tony wasn't himself. Something's up with him; something bad."
She nodded jerkily, then turned sharply to continue wiping away the blood on his face. "And we have to find out what, Rhodey. We can't just…let him stay like this," she managed. "He wouldn't want to be like that. He's…it's almost like he was possessed or something."
Rhodey tried not to laugh, since he knew the situation was far too bleak for that reaction. "Pepper, Tony's not possessed," he told her earnestly, suppressing a grimace of pain. "There's no such thing. I…I think you've been watching too many sci-fi shows."
She angrily threw the cotton swab towards the trashcan, missing and hitting Stark in the head instead. The dog yelped pathetically and ran for cover, ducking under a chair and peering out with round eyes. "Rhodey, we've fought psychos you probably never would have believed in before we created Team Iron Man. And you still think there's no way to be possessed?"
Rhodey's expression was defensive. "Well…I just don't think it could be true, Pepper," he retorted. "Every single one of those psychos so far has been affected by some bit of highly advanced technology that they happened to get their hands on. It's not like we've come across someone with real super abilities yet." He reached for a damp rag on the arm of the couch, and held it against his face, frowning slightly with pain.
Pepper huffed a breath, deciding not to argue with him. He wasn't going to believe her, despite anything that she said. It was useless. She took a deep breath, then said shortly, "We should warn Gene."
Taken aback by the sudden change of subject, Rhodey asked, "What?"
"Didn't you hear…Tony?" She hesitated only slightly before saying his name, trying to stay detached about the situation. She'd just pretend that none of this was happening to her; it was all someone else's drama. "He threatened Obadiah, Whitney, and Gene. And since I have no idea where that particular father-daughter combo is, and I don't really care, we need to warn Gene. He could be in danger."
"You don't really think Tony would actually go after them, do you?" Rhodey asked, slightly alarmed. Gene wasn't his favorite person in the world, but he certainly didn't want to see him killed.
"Yeah. I do." It pained Pepper to say such a horrible thing, but she knew in her heart that it was true. She'd seen that merciless, maniacal look in Tony's eyes when he'd been firing upon them. He'd had that look, the look that only insane people could wear without looking absurd.
"Pepper, I don't know. I can see lots of flaws in this plan of yours."
Pepper scowled at him. "Like what?" She sat down on the opposite end of the couch, holding another damp cloth to a deep cut on her forehead. She leaned back and closed her eyes as a blur of lightheadedness swept over her.
"Well, for one thing, Gene doesn't know that Tony is Iron Man. So if we told them that Tony had threatened him while shooting at us with lasers, he'd understandably be just a little bit curious." Rhodey absently patted Stark's head; the dog had warily emerged from under the chair, and sat panting at his master's feet.
Pepper cracked her eyes open. "So? There's no reason we couldn't tell him about Iron Man. Gene deserves to know that he might be in danger, and it's not like Tony would care if we kept his secret or not anymore," she said bitterly.
Rhodey was taken aback. He'd been expecting her to agree wholeheartedly, to say that protecting Tony's secret was the most important thing, above all. She really had changed since their school days. "Well…" He couldn't think of any other retorts, and trailed lamely off.
Getting slowly to her feet, Pepper tossed the rag back onto the couch. "Let's go, Rhodey. You know as well as I do that it would be wrong to leave Gene in the dark," she said sternly.
Rhodey awkwardly shifted his weight, hesitating for only a few seconds, then climbed slowly to his feet. "Alright, Pepper. We'll tell him. But shouldn't we, you know, change first? He gestured towards the blood staining his clothes, and at Pepper's impressive combat gear. We'll get some pretty strange looks if we just walk to Gene's place."
"No time," Pepper said hurriedly, already walking towards the door, heedless of her untreated injuries. Fiery determination burned in her eyes. "We have no idea when Tony might decide to strike. Besides, this is New York City. There's people out walking the streets who look much weirder than we do."
Rhodey heaved a sigh, giving Stark one last pat on the head, then got painfully to his feet. "Okay, Pepper, you win. Let's go."
Mysteriously, the door to Gene's antique shop, which he'd once mentioned buying control of from his stepfather, was unlocked, despite the fact that the lights weren't on inside. Rhodey opened the door, guiltily glancing over his shoulder at the darkened street behind them. He stepped inside as the little bell rang merrily, and Pepper stealthily followed him.
"I don't think he's here, Pepper," Rhodey muttered, for some reason feeling the need to whisper.
The redhead suppressed a snort, settling for merely rolling her eyes instead. "Gene doesn't live in this shop, Rhodey," she told him pointedly, keeping her voice to a soft murmur. "He probably lives behind it or something." Suddenly, she was uncertain. She really had no idea where Gene lived, as they'd never actually talked about it. Most of the time, she either didn't call Gene back when he left a message on her phone, or they talked only about her.
She felt a sudden twinge of guilt, but swallowed it back.
"Ow!" Rhodey hissed in pain, the sound accompanied by a soft crashing sound.
"What did you do?" Pepper wished that she had brought her night vision goggles with her when they'd left Rhodey's apartment, but she hadn't thought of it at the time.
"Nothing," he answered with uncharacteristic sullenness. "I just kicked a table or something."
"We have to get some lights on in here," Pepper decided briskly. "There should be a switch by the door somewhere." She walked back a few steps, shoe touching something sticky on the otherwise clean floor. She carefully felt around on the wall by the door, ignoring Rhodey's muffled complaints as he crashed into a large vase.
Fingers finally discovering the item she desired, Pepper flicked the switch up. A bright light flooded the antique shop, revealing its crowded interior. Pepper smirked as Rhodey froze, having been about to crash into a stuffed mannequin wearing a feathered hat. Then her gaze drifted towards her shoe, which was had just found another sticky patch.
Her eyes widened with horror.
Rhodey, who had been about to make a comment about how untidy Gene was, somehow sensed her shock. He turned to look at her, wincing as one of his arms brushed against an expensive-looking lamp, then froze.
Pepper cleared her throat, taking a deep breath. "I think we need to find Gene. It looks…it looks like Tony's already been here," she whispered, tearing her gaze from the pool of blood.
Rhodey felt nauseous. Even though Tony had changed so much in the past two years, he never would have thought that Tony would come to this. "There's more," he muttered grimly, eyes following the trail of crimson blood that led towards a door leading into the back of the shop. The blood looked almost black, even with the dim fluorescent lights shining down.
Pepper caught his eye and nodded. "Come on," she said bravely, walking forward. When she came to the door, she took a deep breath, closing her eyes for several seconds. Please, Tony. Please don't be the one who did this. I couldn't stand it if I knew you had. Then she pushed the door open.
She and Rhodey walked slowly into the back room. It was like a cave, large and with walls made of stone. The blood continued on into the murky darkness, and they both followed the trail after a moment's hesitation.
Please, Pepper whispered mentally. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. She found that the words had unconsciously joined with her slow footsteps, keeping in rhythm with them. She conjured a picture of Tony in her mind's eye, Tony as he had been before vanishing. That Tony never would have done this, and she prayed that he was still close enough to his old self to be innocent in this crime.
A soft noise, the sound of a shoe scuffing on stone, alerted Rhodey to a presence on his left. He instantly spun around, eyes wide as he prepared to defend himself. Pepper tensed beside him, also looking in that direction. But no slobbering monster, much less Tony in full Iron Man gear, came bursting out. Instead, as their eyes adjusted, the crumpled form of Gene Khan came into view. Along with a pile of metal, the metal appearing to be the taken-apart Mandarin suit of armor.
There were several seconds of silence, in which Rhodey took in the deep cut on Gene's arm, and the fact that he looked very battered. Then Pepper blurted out with shock, "Gene! You're the Mandarin!"
Gene just twisted his lips into a cynical smile.
Sorry that this chapter was a bit shorter than normal, but I thought that was a pretty good place to leave things. *grins evilly* Anyway, thanks for reading, and review if you get the time! :)
