Guess what? I UPDATED! YAY! anyway, here's a really long chapter with plenty of Tony-whump as a reward for your patience!
"King?" Tony repeated doubtfully, shaking his head, "That is a new low, even for MODOK."
The agent righted Tony's chair roughly, "King MODOK shall be great. He is never wrong, and he will make the United States free again."
"Let me get this straight. MODOK wants to give a country more freedom by becoming a ruling monarchy?" Tony said sarcastically.
"That is correct."
"That is bullshit. Are your helmets on too tight? What part of my sentence didn't clue you in to my obvious disdain? My ever present sarcasm? You want to serve your country, then become a soldier. Do some real good in the world."
He should have learned by now that his words would never stop bringing him trouble. Tony had honestly been telling the kid to enroll. But that was never the whole story.
"I DID! I DID HELP MY COUNTRY!" The agent screamed, suddenly whipping his helmet off, "I helped America! I did all I could! I fought and killed for my country! And when that wasn't good enough, I took a missile to my leg for her too."
Tony could only swallow in attempt to keep from becoming nauseous, and keep his face blank. Horror was washing through him. The man's face, he looked to be about late twenties, looked almost melted on one side of his face. The left corner of his mouth drooped, as did the left corner of his eye. It didn't look as if he had a cheekbone anymore either. It was just loose skin, pale and pasty. There was almost a line separating his left side from his right.
"I was a soldier, and I did all I could. But when a missile exploded and sprayed me in a virus designed to target human nerves, I was defenseless. I was sent home without legs, and with my left half completely unreactive."
Watching him speak and move was terrifying, although Tony just looked bored, but that wasn't without effort. His right side was completely animated, lighting up with a furious glint in his eye. But his left was just….dead. No matter how alive he really was, his left side remained still and frozen.
The agent stripped off his yellow suit, revealing jeans and tee. Surprisingly plain and almost fashionable.
"So you really were a guy this whole time," Tony said, smirking, "Could've fooled me."
Then Tony saw the metal limbs. Where there should have been legs and a left arm were artificial limbs.
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The agent stared down at Tony disdainfully, "My name is Agent Qui. My partner Len and I are waiting for the signal from MODOK before proceeding."
Tony shifted his weight to try to get more comfortable, "Proceeding with what? Giving me more helpful information?" This kid obviously had a screw loose in his head, and Tony decided to try to play mind games with him, to trick him.
Right now, Qui and Tony were the only two in the room. But soon, the other agent named Len entered, "MODOK is on his way. He should be here in ten minutes."
Ten minutes. Tony had met MODOK a few years ago, and had run into him too many times to count; usually it ended with jail bars between them.
But MODOK was not to be underestimated. His mental powers were astounding. Unless Tony had his suit on, the genius doubted he would be able to overcome the baddie's paralyzing telekinesis.
"Ten minutes is too soon, "Qui muttered, "It has to be later, it has to be later!"
"Why? MODOK…"
"MODOK will take this man and turn him into a mindless drone! I have to make him see, I HAVE TO MAKE HIM SEE!" Qui tore at his hair and moved as if in extreme agony. Tony was careful to school his features into bland disinterest, but his mind was racing on the inside.
"Make him see…what do you mean?" Len asked, sounding almost astonished. However, Len still had his suit, and therefore his voice modulator, on whereas Qui did not.
"Do you know what Tony Stark did to America when he stopped supplying us weapons?" Qui whispered suddenly, "MODOK must make him the chief supplier in our war against freedom."
"MODOK wants him dead, you know that!" Len said, sounding nervous again.
"I know that, I know that." Qui sounded as if he was trying to convince himself.
Tony's mind was whirling. The Qui guy…he was really messed up. A plan slowly started to form in his mind.
"Qui…" Tony spoke up. The fire in Qui's eyes had him quickly correcting himself, although he really just wanted to tell the man to fuck himself, "Agent Qui. I have a plan for you."
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"That's your plan." Qui repeated, not sounding doubtful, but instead thoughtful. Tony nodded slowly, trying not to look too eager.
"Yes. You in?" Now was not the time for jokes.
Qui stared Tony down for a few moments. Tony didn't waver and blink.
"I'm in." He said each word distinctly. Len muttered nervously from behind Qui.
"Do you have a problem, Len?" Qui asked angrily, turning on the other agent, "I will have you killed! I WILL TELL MODOK OF YOUR BETRAYAL! HE WILL burn you. HE WILL destroy you. You're WHOLE FAMILY will die. Tonight. You have no more time left, Len." Qui had switched so quickly from being against Tony to with Tony that the other agent had no time to recover from his shock. Len just wordlessly gaped at Qui, slack with disbelief.
"Now, Tony." Qui said conversationally as if he hadn't just been threatening a man, "Let me get you out of those restraints so you can show me the way to your labs…"
Qui flicked out a pocketknife, and Tony eyed it warily. The blade glistened as if covered in some clear liquid, and Tony wouldn't be surprised if that was poison.
The knife was just brushing against the ropes around Tony's wrists when everything went to hell.
"Are you in need of assistance, sir?" Jarvis asked smoothly, already fully aware that Tony did. The AI had probably already called the police.
Tony couldn't see Qui, but he could feel the fire in his gaze as he glared at Tony. Tony cursed on the inside, having known exactly what happened.
No doubt when they attacked the tower, they disabled Jarvis. It was quite a feat, and Tony was sure only a large group of AIM agents could have accomplished it. They were the extreme future technologists after all. He expected nothing less of them, or they wouldn't be worth his precious million-dollars-a-minute time.
But Jarvis had a safety feature, a four-hour wait period. If Tony hadn't reactivated Jarvis by then, there was a code written that opened his most basic features. Well, by basic features, he meant the important features, even if they were extravagant.
And one of his basic features was to call the police.
Qui walked out in front of Tony, bending over with his hands on his knees, and put his face right in Tony's until they were almost brushing noses.
"Did you activate the robot?" He asked softly, almost gently.
"No."
But surely you wrote a code that would. You're Tony Stark, are you not? I have no doubts."
"I-"
"DON'T LIE TO ME, ANTHONY!" Qui screamed, ripping himself away from Tony, "You have less worth than I thought!"
Tony saw it coming, and reacted. But it wasn't nearly soon enough.
Tony threw all his weight backwards just as Qui swung his arm out with the knife. The tip brushed across his collarbone as the chair fell backwards with a resounding crash.
Tony felt the crash in every bone. Unlike when he had been knocked sideways, he had wanted to go backwards as quickly as possible. When Qui had hit him, he had used what little he could move his feet to try to slow the fall.
He had done none of that now. Pain shot through his body, and as soon as that faded slightly, a burning took its place.
Definitely poison, Tony thought, deadly, lethal, poison.
Maybe Pepper is right, I will go to heaven. He thought, Maybe. Maybe.
Slowly, almost lovingly, Qui leaned down and pressed on the deep bruise on Tony's shin that that very agent had left him. Tony grunted and struggled to get away.
Then, Len was punching Qui in the face.
"MODOK said not to kill him!" Len screeched, "King MODOK is ruler of all! King MODOK's rule must be obeyed!"
Qui screamed, feral and wild. He picked up the nearest thing to him and chucked it at Len as hard as he could. But Len ducked out of the way, and the projectile hit the wall that wasn't even two feet to the right of Tony.
The wall exploded into flames, revealing whatever thing Qui had chosen as his weapon was flammable. Personally, Tony would have bet on some sort of napalm bomb or something. God knows what those crazy AIM agents carried around with them these days.
"Shit!" Tony whispered, struggling to clear his head, struggling to think. And struggling to get away from the fire that was slowly eating its way towards Tony.
Qui and Len continued to fight, completely ignoring the trapped genius. Tony was dazed, and he could practically feel the heat of the poison spreading through his veins.
"TONY STARK MUST NOT DIE NOW!" Len screamed, "MODOK MUST BE THE ONE TO END TONY STARK'S LIFE!" Well, Tony thought, at least I have one guy on my side, even if he does want me dead eventually.
The fire began to lick at Tony left side. The chair started to blacken. His skin turned bright red. Tony fought with all his strength to pull the chair away.
Out of nowhere, Len was leaning over him, pulling the chair away from the flames.
Qui was laying on the ground, completely unconscious.
"Jarvis, douse the flames!" Tony commanded, but the AI didn't answer. Tony cursed whoever had disabled his friend this time. Or maybe that just wasn't one of his basic features. Tony didn't know at this point.
One good thing came from the fire, and that was that Tony's ropes were singed and burned (along with some of his skin) and with some minor pulling and twisting, they snapped. They left his wrists bloody and raw as well as burned, but Tony tried to ignore it.
It still felt like his hands had just been stuck in a pot of molten lava.
"NOOO!" Len screeched, lunging at the billionaire, "MODOK! MODOK, COME QUICKLY!"
Tony shook the agent off, knocking him into the one wall that wasn't in flames. A sudden eruption of flame distracted Tony, and he looked in fascinated horror as Qui went up in flames.
In what had to be one of the most disgusting things Tony had ever witnessed, he saw the plastic melting off Qui's face, revealing blackened bone and skin. His skin melted. The metal dripped and twisted, crackling merrily. Tony was almost sick.
Len landed a solid punch to his temples that sent him stumbling. Stars echoed across his vision, and there was so much pain for a moment Tony thought he would end up like Qui; unconscious and burning to death.
"No!" He grunted, thinking of Pepper, and forcing himself up. He couldn't get to his suits. He couldn't use Jarvis. It was just him and Len.
And apparently, MODOK would be here any moment. Tony had to escape, or at least get one of his suits, before MODOK got here.
So Tony did one of the most douche-y things he could, and nailed Len right between the legs with a metal pipe laying on the table behind him.
Len didn't even react.
"What. The. HELL?" Tony shouted angrily.
"Tony Stark, surrender!" Len said, "I do not want to harm you before MODOK!"
Tony flipped him off, glad he could now do so, and tackled Len hard. Then, Tony ripped the suit of the agent, revealing…
A robot. Tony gasped, instantly recognizing the designs. He looked like a mini compact Iron Monger, one of Obi's designs. It was like a slap to the face for Tony, and he struggled to remove the helmet to see. He just had to see.
Obi is dead. Obi is dead. Obi is dead. Obi lives through his designs…
Len struggled, but Tony was desperate, and quickly had the helmet off. And there was just a normal looking man inside.
Tony quickly knocked him unconscious with some technique that Steve had taught him, and he stood. He had to use the wall for support as dizziness washed over him.
By now, the whole room was in flames. Tony was standing right next to the door, thankfully.
Qiu was nothing more than a large bonfire. Tony just had to glance that way before he was losing what little he had eaten three days ago.
When the nausea had passed, he stumbled out of the room.
"Jarvis?" He rasped, his throat suddenly sore from the smoke, although Tony suspected it had started hurting a long time ago, and he was just now noticing.
"Are you alright, sir?" Jarvis answered immediately, "I was blocked from that room by an unknown user."
"I've been better, J," Tony admitted, "But douse the flames."
"Right away, sir." Tony walked towards his front living room, where the elevator was. He had to get to the labs for his suits…
"Sir, someone has entered the master suite and is approaching quickly," Jarvis said just as the elevator doors slid open to reveal MODOK.
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"MODOK." Tony said, trying to remain invincible, although he knew he looked bad.
Trying to describe MODOK was like trying to describe how water tastes. There was no words for it other than bland, although in this case the word would be ugly.
His metal shell was hovering a foot or so off the ground, powered by tiny little jets. His tiny arms and legs waved around angrily. And his face was twisted in extreme fury. It was almost comical. (AN: If you haven't looked at a picture of MODOK at this point, you probably should. It'll really help. Cause he is a pain to describe!)
"Tony Stark." MODOK's voice was like nails against a chalkboard.
"If you don't mind, I'm going to just slip by you." Tony said, inching his way around towards the elevator. MODOK watched him without amusement.
He needed to get to the labs. He needed his suits. But MODOK was not going to move, and with his freaky mind tricks, he could easily send the weakened genius flying out one of the windows, and he didn't have his bracelets this time…at least Loki had granted him that courtesy…
The bracelets! Tony had left them in the bathroom when he had showered.
"You can not pass, Tony Stark." MODOK said blandly, "MODOK will stop you."
"Stop this, dick!" Tony chucked a nearby table lamp at him with his flagging strength, and raced back towards the private rooms where his bathroom was.
"Argh!" He heard MODOK cry, before the sound of the jets increased and Tony knew he was being pursued, "MODOK will catch you, Tony Stark!"
Bathroom. Bathroom. Bathroom. Tony chanted, trying to force his tired body to run. Then, just as Tony thought he was just going to have to stop, or die right there, he saw his bedroom, and from there, the master bathroom.
"Yes!" He said as the slipped the bracelets over his incredibly tender wrists. The bracelets moving against the raw skin was pure agony, and Tony gritted his teeth as blackness washed over him for a moment.
Tony made it out into the master bedroom before MODOK caught up, and Tony grinned at him before purposely tossing himself out the window.
"NO!" MODOK said, "MODOK will follow!"
Just like with Loki, Tony thought he was going to splatter, fall to his death. But his suit got there in time, just like always.
(AN: So, I rewatched that one scene of Avengers where Tony is falling, and I will admit, it's been a while for me since I've seen the movie. And just that one little tiny scene had me squealing like a demented fangirl. I swear, it was pitiful. Just imagine if I were to watch the entire movie now…)
Tony spun in the air, feeling every little bit of his body complain as the suit pressed against different parts of his body. He hadn't had time to put on his neoprene suit (it wasn't true neoprene, but something of Tony's own design. He just called it neoprene for convenience and not because, as Clint said, he had run out of ingenious names for his designs), so the metal of the suit was irritating to small bruises and cuts he had.
"MODOK!" He yelled, "I'll give you a five second head star…" He trailed off as he saw the most comical sight ever unfold in front of him.
MODOK , the chubby machinery, was falling from the hole that Tony had left in his living room wall.
(AN: At this point, I was so excited about that one scene that I had to just watch the rest of the movie. Every time I see the 'A' at the end of the movie on the Stark Tower, I get chills, and I just basically can't focus on anything but the epicness that is that movie!)
So basically, I ended up losing motivation to write here. That movie...wow. I love it like I love coffee in the morning (I seriously love coffee).
So I leave you with a nice long chapter and one word of advice; review! :)