Days without Incident: 3
His eyelids felt heavy as he forced them open. His mind was a jumble of strange dreams and confusion. Where was he? What had happened? He was trying to remember what he had done before falling asleep, but he couldn't sort out anything in his head. As he forced himself to sit up, he noticed that his entire body was aching. Every muscle in him seemed to burn with the slightest little movement. As he popped his shoulders and collar bones, he glanced down at his hands and noticed the fresh set of small scars. The scars were barley visible, but it looked like he had been punching a brick wall. What had happened to him?
"I was wondering when you were going to wake up."
Ron quickly looked up and saw Bonnie standing in the doorway with a relieved look on her face. Her hair was a slight mess and needed to be combed, and it looked like she hadn't slept for a while.
"Bon-Bon, what happened to me?" he asked her as he tried to stand, but found that his leg were asleep. Bonnie quickly rushed to his side and caught him before he could fall.
"Don't you remember anything?" she asked him.
"Not really." Ron said as he tried to force the sleep away.
"Try and think, Ron. What's the last thing you remember?" she asked him.
"The last thing?" Ron asked as he tried to think about it. "The last thing I remember is,"
Ron's eyes bolted open as he began to experience total recall. He remembered the gas station, the military storming in, and them shooting at him. They had tackled Kim, and he tried to go after her. He got shot in the leg and shoulder and then – that's when it became fuzzy. He saw images of cars being smashed, weird speakers, and –
"KP got hurt, didn't she?" Ron asked her.
"I'm afraid so. You took a pretty good beating yourself." Bonnie said as Ron began to regain feeling in his legs. "She's all right, Ron. Her ego's more bruised than anything." She said as she glanced at his shoulder and her eyes widened a little.
"What?"
"Your wound. There's a barley a scar." Bonnie said as her fingers lightly brushed over his shoulder, causing Ron to giggle.
"That tickles, you know."
"Sorry."
"So – where are we?" Ron asked her.
"Promise you won't get mad?" Bonnie asked him.
"How's it looking, Kim?" Tony asked as he looked over the last few diagnostic reports.
"So far, everything looks like it's working." Kim said as she checked the machinery as it powered up.
"Good. Just a few more tests, and we can give it a go." Tony said as he popped his back. "Remind me to make the next suit more comfortable." He said to himself.
"Or I can just pound it with you still in it." Ron said as he slowly entered the room, trying to work the soreness out of his legs.
"Ron! You're awake!" Kim said as she ran to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly.
"Ow!" Ron moaned as Kim quickly backed off.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I'll – oh no." Ron said as he looked at Kim.
She had a large black eye and a bad looking bruise on her forehead as well. If he didn't know any better, he could swear he saw stitches near her hairline. The sight seemed to crush Ron's heart as he slowly brushed her face, trying to make sure he didn't touch the bruised flesh.
"I knew this would happen." Ron said to himself.
"No, Ron. This wasn't you." Kim said as she held his hand in hers.
"You can thank General Ross for that." Tony said as he made his way to the couple. "I have to admit, you look pretty good for a guy that took on a whole army platoon and enough firepower for a small seige." Stark said to him.
"Well, too bad you're still not hurting from the beat down I gave you last time." Ron said to him with a small glare. "So if you're here, where's the rest of them?"
"The rest of who?"
"The Avengers. Fury sent you, didn't he?" Ron asked him.
"Actually, no. He didn't. I showed up because one, you're in my hometown. And two, I'm doing this as a favor to the closest thing I've ever had to a daughter." He told him.
"Huh?" Ron asked, confused by what Stark was telling him. When Kim pointed to someone behind him, he slowly turned to see Bonnie with a slight blush on her face. "Him? He's your mom's ex-boyfriend?" Ron asked her.
"Maybe?" Bonnie asked with a nervous chuckle.
"Oh, great." Ron said as he banged his head against a wall. "Now what could happen?" Ron asked himself.
A hiss like growl escaped through his gritted teeth as he looked over the subjects that were resting in their tanks. They had now become stasis chambers since he didn't have what he needed. If they were to change now, while their DNA was still unstable, then they wouldn't survive no longer than a few hours. He had been so close to getting Stoppable's blood, and a key to stabilize his army. But those fools, those incompetent morons from Hydra had ruined everything. Whatever they used to strengthen Stoppable had been lost with his comrade's foolish attack against SHIELD.
Now, they were all dead. Out of the advance team that had been sent to prepare this world for capture and colonization, he and a few others were the only ones left. And what was worse, the soldier with the shield had returned. His old nemesis Captain America was still alive and as strong as ever. That patriotic idiot had almost killed him twice during World War II, and now he had killed several of his kind. He will enjoy ripping that human's heart from his chest and crushing it in his hand.
"Sir?" the goon asked as he slowly, and nervously, approached his boss.
"Whatever it is, it better be good." Dementor growled.
"Well, we just got – hey! Where's your accent, boss?"
"WHAT IS IT?" Dementor screamed as he turned to face the goon, with his skin a bluish gray and his eyes glowing with an inner-light.
The goon's knees trembled as he saw his boss look more like a strange reptile than a man at that moment while a strange liquid seemed to drool from his now sharp teeth.
"W-we just received this from a Hydra spy. They took it from a fire fight with the army." The goon said as he took the package he had been holding under his arm toward his boss.
Dementor quickly snatched the box away from the goon and saw the symbol of Hydra was printed on the front of it. With a sneer on his transformed face, he ripped the box open and became puzzled when he saw the vial of what looked to be blood laying in it; surrounded by dry ice. Next to the vial was a note which he quickly took as he set the box down on a near by table. As he read the letter, his sneer was replaced by an evil grin.
"Dementor,
We apologize for our failure in Middleton, and we seek to find a way to restore our partnership. With a stroke of luck, one of our well placed moles was able to capture a sample you have been trying to attain for some time. We hope you will repay the favor in the foreseeable future.
Warmest regards,
Hydra."
The chuckle Dementor began was so cold and sinister that it would have made the Grinch realize that he was nothing in the ranks of evil. His skin faded back into a healthy familiar tone as his eyes remained glowing with the blue inner-light. He grasped the vial of blood and looked on it with joy. He had finally found the missing key in his army.
"Take this, analyze it, concentrate it, and mass produce it. We shall be giving this to our men within a week." Dementor said happily.
"But boss, we don't have anyone like that." The goon said, fearing another bullet in a limb, or worse, his head.
"Actually, yes we do. He's just been standing in as my pet." Dementor said as he glanced at a small screen that was beaming him footage of Dr. Drakken's cell. "You may have some use to me after all, old friend."
"I just don't get it." Bonnie said as she sat beside Tony on his couch and watched Ron scarf down a month's worth of food at Tony's dining room table.
"Get what?" Tony asked her as he went over some of the test result he had received earlier.
"Why does Ron hate your guts so much?" Bonnie asked him.
"Ah." Tony said as he took off his reading glasses and set his notes down. "I see that he hasn't told you."
"Told me what?"
"Well – I sort of made an ass out of myself in front of them." Tony said to her.
"That's the understatement of the year." Kim said as she walked in from the kitchen, sipping a hot cup of coffee. "Tony hit on me, and insulted Ron to his face." She said to them.
"You didn't." Bonnie said.
"You know me, Bon-Bon. So – I might have deserved the ass kicking he gave me back in New York." Tony said.
"Too bad I only broke your little toy suit." Ron grumbled to himself.
"Bonnie, I think we should give the guys a minute alone." Kim said as she nodded in the direction of the stairs that led to Tony's lower workshop.
"Good idea." Bonnie said as she stood and followed Kim, leaving Tony and Ron by themselves.
"You don't like me, do you?" Tony asked him.
"How can you guess?" Ron asked him as he finished his meal.
"Well, I don't blame you." Tony said as he stood and walked into the kitchen to get himself a drink. "You want anything?"
"I'm good." Ron said as he let out a small belch. Ron raised a curious eyebrow when he saw Tony return and sit across from him with a glass in one hand and a bottle of Jack Daniel's in the other.
"Look kid, I don't blame you for hating my guts. Let's face it. I'm an asshole. I'm a spoiled rich brat that got everything he wanted on a silver platter, and an IQ that's so high that it would make most of NASA blush with envy."
"You're telling me this, why?"
"Just to let you know what kind of guy I am. You know about the A-bomb they dropped on Japan during World War II, right?"
"Yeah. It's what made the Japanese surrender."
"Well, my dad was apart of the team that developed it. After that, he created this company and started making munitions and other things. Like I said, I'm a spoiled brat. I was full and too sure of myself when I graduated MIT before my balls had a chance to really drop. I took everything, including my dad, for granted."
"What's changed?" Ron asked him sarcasticly.
"My dad died." Tony said simply.
"Oh. Sorry." Ron said, feeling a little awkward.
"He was killed in an industrial accident. So when I took over the company, I began investigating the accident. I found out it wasn't an accident after all, but sabotage. For so long, I thought it was one of my dad's competitor's." he said to himself.
"So that's when you decided to change your ways?"
"Not really. I wasn't as reckless, but I still drank like an Irishmen and had a different girl in my bed every night. I'm still surprised I didn't catch a STD."
"I still don't see the point in your story."
"I'm getting there. You see, a while back, I went to Afghanistan to promote a new weapon my company created. The convoy I was in got attacked by a group of terrorists. I tried to escape, but I didn't get far. I saw a weapon land in front of me, and I saw something on it that scared the piss out of me."
"What was it?"
"My company's logo. Before it blew up in my face. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a cave with an electromagnet in my chest."
"A magnet?"
"The bomb was a nasty one I created. It turned out that there was shrapnel still in my chest. And without the magnet, it would have been pumped into my heart and shredded it. The magnet kept the shrapnel from moving. But, I was being held prisoner with another scientist. He was brilliant, and a good man. Together, we designed a weapon that could help us escape. But he died saving my life. I owed him a lot, and I saw what those terrorists were doing with weapons they weren't supposed to even have. Weapons I had created to keep our soldiers safe and didn't even give a second thought to what they were doing to others. So, most of my stuff is non-lethal now. And I've been doing my best to make up for – well, everything. Like a certain web head I know always says, with great power comes great responsibility. I just learned it the hard way."
"It looks like you still need some work."
"I know." Tony said as he drank a large amount of whiskey from the bottle of Jack. "My point I was trying to get across is, that I know how you feel. People close to you got hurt because of something you can do and you have no control over. That's how I feel with the people that were killed by my weapons. I've been trying to make up for past sins." Tony said to him.
Ron was fixing to tell him that he didn't know how Ron felt, but he decided to keep quiet. Ron did feel bad about the Hulk because he had no control over it. And now, Kim had gotten hurt this time. But what Tony felt and what he felt were completely different. But at least he knew how much it hurt when someone you care about got hurt because of your actions.
"And one way of making up for my sins is that I'm trying to help you and Bon-Bon."
"Out of curiosity, how are you going to help us?" Ron asked with a raised eyebrow.
"That machine I was working on in my workshop is going to gauge how your body works when you transform. It'll record everything your body does and goes through. Once it's finished, a division of my company might be able to find a way of curing you of - your anger problem." Tony said.
"And you think this will work?" Ron asked him.
"Well, your two girlfriends think so." Tony said to him.
"KP is my girlfriend. Bon-Bon is just my friend."
"Sure. And I don't fly around in a high tech suit that makes Robocop look like a tinker toy." Tony said as he took another swing from the bottle and stood up. "Kim and I are going to work on the machine, and we'll let you know when its ready. You know, maybe I'm rubbing off on you." Tony said and walked toward the stairs to his workshop.
Ron sat there for a moment and tried to think about what Tony had told him. With great power comes great responsibility. He had learned that when he was given the Mystical Monkey Power, or MMP. He appreciated that Stark was trying to be his friend and mend fences and gave him some insight into why he was an asshole, so why was Ron having such a hard time trying to accept his offer of friendship? He wasn't sure. Every so often, it felt like he was talking to Senor Senior Junior. Maybe that was why. Maybe it was because Stark could be so pompous and self-righteous. Or – was he still upset over Stark hitting on Kim? But guys had always hit on Kim when they got into high school, and he never felt like this before. Even when they had started going out. So why is he holding this grudge? Unless – unless it was – the Hulk? Could part of the Hulk still be active and have more control than he thought? Good God, he was a living Jekyll and Hyde. Ron knew then and there, he needed to be cured of this thing inside of him. If he didn't, the Hulk may become more powerful than him and it might be Ron that would be stuck in the back of someone's mind. The sooner he got rid of the Hulk, the better.
Ross was puffing on what was left of his cigar when the phone rang. He damn well knew who was calling, he had been expecting it. With one last puff, he removed the cigar and extinguished it in his ash tray before grabbing the phone. Sometimes, these calls were like getting a shot at the doctor's office. Might as well just get it over with since it was going to be a pain in his ass no matter how long he made them wait. He cleared his throat one more time before placing the phone to his ear.
"Ross."
"Why haven't you obtained the target?"
"Complications arose because my men and I weren't fully prepared." He told them as he put a small edge in his voice.
"You had all the intel you needed in order to,"
"Like hell I did! You did not tell me that there were two of them!"
"What?"
"You heard me. There's a second one, a woman. And unlike this thing you sent me after, she damn well knows what she's doing! I didn't have the intel I needed, and wasn't properly prepared. Now Iron Man and Anthony Stark have him under lock and key!" Ross shouted into the phone. For a few moments, there was nothing but silence.
"You have your orders, General."
"Need I remind you that Stark is one of our primary weapons suppliers? Over half of the ordinance we have comes directly from him!"
"We can find other resources, such as Hammer Industries or Oscorp."
"What about Iron Man? He's an official officer of SHIELD and their Avenger strike team. That means if the target is under Iron Man's protection, he's under Fury's protection as well!"
"Unless the target is on SHIELD property, the target is to be brought in using any measures you see fit."
"You're telling me to declare war on SHIELD itself."
"If you want to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs. Get what you need, and bring one of the two targets in. We only need one."
"What about the other?"
"We can't risk the secrets of their biology falling into the hands of another super power."
"Please tell me you didn't just order me to do what I think you did."
"We can't risk Latveria, or any other country to acquire the method of creating a creature like the target. Bring in one, and terminate the other."
Ross was about to argue against his orders until he heard the line go dead and replaced with a dial tone. Ross began grinding his teeth as he slammed the phone onto the table and kicked over his desk chair. He had been doing the things he did for a reason, because of what he believed in. But every time he was sent on another mission, he kept seeing those beliefs becoming blurred more and more. Because of their screw ups, two lives had been ruined and he had been given an order to execute one of them. What was he going to do? The only thing he could do. He was a soldier, and soldiers followed orders. He grasped the phone again and typed in a number only he knew, and waited for an answer.
"Sir?" the voice on the other end said.
"Get your men ready, and start requesting the heavy artillery. The United States has just declared war on Stark Industries. And if need be, the Avengers."
"Oh – my – God." Drakken said as he saw the breakdown of the DNA structure before him.
"I gather that you like it?" Dementor asked him.
"This is – astounding. It's incredible. Something with this much power would be – incredible!" Drakken said. "Why are you showing me this? And what happened to your accent?"
"I've – been learning how to speak vith an American accent." Dementor said, briefly returning to the way he used to speak. "As for why I'm showing you this? I need your help." Dementor said as he spun the chair Drakken was sitting in to a large window that was darkened.
"Help with what?" Drakken asked him.
"With these." Dementor said as he flipped a switch, and the room on the other side was lit.
Drakken's jaw fell slack at what he saw. Several rows of advanced stasis tanks were lined up like old television tubes, with a human floating in every tank and unconscious. The data screens on each tank gave the heart rate, breathing rate, and even brainwaves of each subject that was in stasis. Another monitor showed diagrams of each major organ and gave a complete read out of its condition and performance. It was almost unreal to behold. But as his eyes caught the data the machines gave on their heart rates and other bodily functions, he knew something wasn't right.
"What have you done to them?" Drakken asked him.
"They all volunteered to become something amazing. However, their transformations are incomplete. They are missing the final key to making them a force to be feared by any nation on Earth. And that's where you come in." Dementor said as he looked at Drakken. "I have obtained a blood sample that is the key to making my army whole. But I do not have anyone who can use this key to make my men strong. That is, if you decide not to help me, old friend." Dementor said to Drakken, making the edge and hidden threat in his voice very obvious. Even to a college drop out like the man in front of him.
"I don't want to know what's going to happen if I say no. Do I?" Drakken asked him.
"No. You don't." Dementor growled.
"Then I guess I'll get started right away." Drakken said as he turned to face the computer screen.
"Excellent." Dementor growled as his eyes began to glow once more.
Ron gulped loudly as he made sure that the waist of the purple jogging pants he was wearing was tight enough to keep them from falling. Out of all the colors to get, why did Bonnie have to buy purple? Of course, he also couldn't help but feel nervous while he removed his shirt and watched as Tony smiled and flipped the switch to his machine and saw it come online. He saw several machines of different varieties along with several computers he couldn't even begin to guess what they did. In the center of these machines was a large table with leather straps, and it oddly looked familiar to the tables they would use for giving prisoners a lethal injection. As Stark took a few steps back with a grin that only seemed to spread wider, Ron began wondering if he had the phrase Guinea Pig written somewhere on his body.
"Sometimes I love being a genius." Tony said with pride as he looked at his creation.
"A little self absorbed much?" Kim asked Bonnie as she checked the diagnostic readings.
"What would you call it when a man creates a machine like this without anything blowing up in his face?" Tony asked her.
"How about dumb luck?" Kim asked him and tried not to giggle at the look he was giving her.
"Tease." was all he said and earned a giggle from both Kim and Bonnie.
"No offence Stark, but I'm wondering if I'm going to wake up with bolts in my neck after this is over." Ron said.
"Don't worry, Ron. If that happens, we'll just change your name to Boris Karloff." Tony said as he made one last check of the wiring.
"Stark,"
"Call me Tony."
"Okay. You do realize what you're doing, right?" Ron asked him.
"Ron, I've got everything covered. Before we turn you into the jolly green giant, we're going hook you up to an IV with a sedative strong enough to take down a bull elephant. So once the machine records everything we need, we start the sedative and let you drift into la la land." Tony said.
"But remember what happened in New York? The stuff they used on me then almost didn't work." Ron said to him.
"Which is why I asked our good friend, Dr. Ross, to send me a stronger sedative." Tony said.
"But,"
"Ron, I know the danger. I've gone over all of the math in my head several times, and I know the risk. But you've got the army coming after you now. And from what I saw at that gas station, they don't care who gets caught in the crossfire. But it's your choice. We can induce your change, get all the data we need, and knock you out so we can possibly find a way to cure or control this thing. Or you can go hide under the bed." Tony said in a matter-of-fact one of voice.
"Are you going to do this to Bonnie to?" Ron asked him.
"I'm going to have to, Ron. Different person, whole different set of readings." Tony said to him.
"Then let's get it over with." Ron said as he walked to the table.
As Ron climbed onto the table, he shivered as he felt the cold leather against his bare flesh. Once he was in place, Stark began to strap down his ankles while Bonnie and Kim strapped down his wrists. Both women noticed how nervous Ron looked as they locked his arms into place and saw the cold sweat that was beginning to form on his forehead.
"It's going to be all right, Ron." Kim said as she held his hand.
"Tony knows what he's doing. And we'll be right here." Bonnie said with a small smile while she inserted the IV.
"Just promise me you'll run if anything goes wrong." Ron said.
"Okay, Ron. We promise." Kim said as she leaned down and kissed him on the lips softly.
"Not to interrupt such a tender moment, but you might want to step back." Tony said as he began planting the sensors along his chest and on both sides of his head. "Oh. Before I forget, you might need this." Tony said as he put what looked like a mouth guard in Ron's mouth for him to bite on.
"Is this going to hurt him?" Kim asked Tony as she and Bonnie made sure they were a good distance away from Ron.
"In a word." Tony said as he grasped to electrodes, and touched them together and saw the sparks that passed between them. "Hell yeah." He said as he quickly touched them to either side of Ron's head.
Ron shouted in pain as his jaws clenched on the mouth guard hard. He quickly spit the piece of plastic out that was now almost bitten in half as he clenched his teeth together and let out a combination of a shout and growl that began to deepen. When his eyes bolted open, they were once again glowing neon green as his veins bulged and his body began to expand. Tony watched in awe as Ron's body stretched while his muscles grew and became very defined. The leather straps were beginning to strain as his mass increased, and the support of the table began to weaken as the weight against it continued to increase. Bones were popping, almost sounding like they were snapping, as they grew and the jogging pants he wore were starting to reach their limits.
"Tony?" Bonnie asked.
"Not yet. Not until he's completely transformed." Tony said as the machines kept recording vast amounts of data while Ron's hair darkened and his skin turned green. Soon, one leather strap snapped as Ron raised a balled fist into the air and began screaming loudly.
"STARK!" Kim shouted as the table began to bend underneath and the other straps were beginning to tear.
"START THE SEDATIVE!" Stark shouted as the computer finished recording the data it needed.
Bonnie quickly began to administer the sedative as one of Ron's legs broke free from its restraint, causing Bonnie to scream as Ron tried to get off of the table. Bonnie was starting grow more and more fearful as she saw the look of pure rage on Ron's transformed face.
"Why isn't it working?" she asked.
"He's burning through it too fast!" Stark said as Ron saw him and began to growl loudly.
"SMASH STARK!" he shouted as he tried to break free.
Kim quickly leapt on top of Ron and straddled his chest as she held his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. She could see the anger in his eyes was so great that she almost had a difficult time trying to find the Ron she knew. But she knew he was in there, she just had to find him.
"Ron, it's me! It's Kim!" she was saying to him. She could see that he knew her, but he was still trying to escape. He was just too angry to listen to her. "RON! CALM DOWN!" Kim shouted at him.
"STARK HURT! ME SMASH STARK!" he shouted back.
Bonnie was ready to try and get Tony out of his workshop when Kim surprised them both. She did the one thing she knew would grab Ron's attention and make him forget about why he was so angry in the first place. She held onto Ron's head firmly as she lowered herself down and kissed him on his lips with as much passion and love as she could put into it. She was trying to bring Ron back to sanity before he went on another rampage.
She could feel him stiffen at first from the shock of what she had done so suddenly before she began to feel him respond to her kiss. She could feel his large arms hold her in a surprisingly gentle embrace. She could feel his lips move with hers as he tried to show the same combination of love and passion for her as she was showing for him. That's when she could feel it. Her eyes were closed and her hands still held his face, but she could feel him begin to change again. The size of his chest and his arms began to grow smaller as the muscles began to shrink. His chest was becoming more and more slender as the bones popped and returned to normal. When she broke their kiss, she saw his skin fade to its normal pink as a thin layer of sweat coated his entire body. Ron briefly opened his eyes and Kim could see that they were their normal chocolate brown as they both grinned at each other.
"You should do that more often." Ron said weakly.
"I think I will." Kim whispered to him as she kissed him on the forehead before he passed out. "Please tell me we won't have to make him change again." Kim said as she looked at Stark.
"We got all we needed. All we need to do is record Bonnie's change, and then we can go to my company's HQ." Stark said as he transferred the data to a flash drive.
Ross gazed out at the soldiers that were dressed in black fatigues and the latest in combat armor. He couldn't help but think how they looked more like storm troopers from a science fiction film than soldiers. On each of their helmets were goggles that were a combination of binoculars, infra red, and night vision all rolled into one. The combat armor that the soldiers were wearing were the latest from Hammer Industries, since Stark would most likely stop supplying them after this mission was over. The armor almost made them look more like they were machines, almost impossible to actually see and tell that there was a human being underneath. Each weapon they held was also the latest from various other companies that the military had exclusive weapons contracts with. Supposedly, some of these weapons could disable a tank with a single shot. So maybe they could knock this Hulk on its ass long enough for them to be able to bag and tag it.
Behind the soldiers were the latest of new tanks, Hummers with machine gun turrets mounted at their roofs, several more sonic cannons, and all the anti-tank and ant-aircraft weapons he could ever want. The fact that his superiors actually approved for him to have this much hardware was astounding. Sadly, it also proved one out of two things. They really wanted this thing captured, or his superiors were sure that he and his men were about to go on another suicide mission. It wouldn't be the first time he was sent on one of those, but he had always made it out alive. But there was always a heavy cost. He really didn't want to think at what may await them, or what was going to happen. He just had to focus on the mission at hand, and then drown his sorrows in the strongest liquor he could find. That's what he did whenever the memories of past missions and wars came back to haunt him, it's what he did when he lost his wife, and its what he did when his daughter walked out on him. He was a military man, and the military didn't have room for anything else.
"Sir, we're ready to move out on your orders." One soldier said behind him.
"Everything's ready?"
"Sir, yes sir."
"Then move out. We're going to San Francisco." Ross said as he turned and walked away from the sight before him.
"Sir? If I may ask, what are we going to do once we're there?"
"If this goes anything like the last mission, we're going to burn Stark Industries to the ground so we can capture Mr. Hyde."
"You want me to do what?" the red headed woman, Pepper Pots, asked as she walked through the hallways of Stark Industries and kept her phone glued to her ear.
"Pepper, you heard me. Tell all the staff to go home, including yourself. I need the main lab for an experiment. And I don't want to risk anyone spying on me."
"Tony, that's impossible. You just can't expect me to clear everyone out. What about the night shift?" she asked him.
"Make up something, I don't care. Just get everyone out of that building in two hours."
"Tony, you're being unreasonable. Please don't tell me you're still having these paranoid,"
"Pepper, we can't risk anything. Not after Obadiah Stane."
What Tony said made Pepper stop dead in her tracks as she began to have a few flashbacks to the man who everyone thought was a second father to Tony. It was a shock to everyone when they found out he had been supplying Stark weapons to terrorists for money, but even worse for Tony when he tried to steal the Iron Man armor and created that – that thing. Tony had called it the Iron Monger, but Pepper just knew that it made her think of Frankenstein every time she pictured it in her head.
"All right, Tony. But I'm leaving Rhodey here and I better get an explanation when I come to work tomorrow." Pepper said to him.
"I'll think about it."
"TONY!" she said into the phone, but was rewarded with a dial tone instead. She let a frustrated growl escape her throat as she put the phone away and stormed off. Why the hell she put up with that asshole, she'll never know.
As Pepper walked away, one janitor kept his eyes on her until she was out of sight. He checked his surroundings one more time before ducking into a men's room and out of sight from the security cameras that he knew were hidden. He quickly made his way into one of the stalls as he unzipped his uniform and removed a small circular badge that had an eagle with open wings on the front of it. He pressed the badge once and brought it close to its lips as it became lit.
"This is special agent Wayne, can anyone read me?" he whispered into it.
"This is SHIELD, we read you loud and clear. What's your progress report?"
"Something's going on. Pots just got a call from Stark. From what I could make out, Stark just ordered the building to be cleared."
"Do you know why?"
"No, I couldn't hear Stark. I think something big is going down."
"I'll let Fury know. Try and keep out of sight."
"Roger."
"What does Stark think he's doing?" Fury asked himself as he reviewed the information he was just given.
"Has he done anything like this before?" Rogers asked.
"No, he hasn't. Not even when he decided to start manufacturing non-lethal weapons. He's up to something." Fury said as he kept looking at the data, but he just couldn't make everything fall into place.
"You're going to love this." Shego said as she walked into Fury's office with several papers and a disc in her hand.
"Why do I have a gut feeling I'm going to get pissed in a minute?" Fury asked himself as Shego tossed the stack of papers onto his desk. Fury began glancing through the papers as quick as he could before the veins in his neck began to throb. "Why didn't we know about this?" Fury asked.
"Someone up top hushed it. And I mean really high on the food chain. Nerdlinger found it by chance." She said.
"What are you talking about?" Rogers asked as Fury slammed the papers back onto his desk.
"Stoppable and friends were attacked at a gas station in California." Fury said.
"Hydra again?"
"No. Us." Shego said and saw Roger's confused look. "The United States Army attacked him, without even trying to evacuate civilians. And they were heavily armed." Shego said.
"I was afraid of this." Fury said to himself.
"But why would the Army go after Ron?" Rogers asked.
"I know you aren't that stupid, Captain. Officially, they see him as a threat to the safety of America and it's people. But in reality, some in Washington sees another way of making money and keeping America as a major superpower in the world." Fury said. "What's on the disc?"
"Wade was able to find some video footage one of the civilians was able to record with their cell phone. Take a look." Shego said as she handed Fury the disk.
Fury let a low groan as he inserted the disk into the built in player on his desk and looked at the monitor. Like it had a knack of doing, his gut was starting to tell him that this wasn't going to be good. As soon as the footage began playing before him, it turned out to be right. He saw the destruction the army had caused as people were screaming. One thing that did surprise him was seeing Kim Possible stand her ground against several well trained soldiers before they took her down. His eye widened when he saw them open fire on the store again and saw blood splash against the window.
"Was a civilian killed?" he immediately asked.
"Just watch." Shego said.
Within a few moments, Fury let out a groan of an approaching ulcer as he saw the hulk tear its way through what was left of the store front with blood on a obviously healed wound in his shoulder. He made a mental note to make a copy of the footage as he saw the Hulk fight the army, and finally saw a decent image of the "She-Hulk" and her face.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Rogers said as he watched something he used to hold in such high regard and was once proud to serve, acting like nothing more than a group of hired mercenaries.
"What the hell?" Fury asked as he stopped the footage and rewound it a few frames.
"What's wrong?" Shego asked him.
"I think I just saw an old pain in my ass." Fury said and paused the footage. He immediately zoomed in on the commanding officer as the computers cleared and refined the image. "I was afraid of this." Fury said as he glared at the monitor.
"Who is that, sir?" Rogers asked.
"General Thunderbolt Ross. If the government wants something done quietly, he's the one they usually turn to." Fury told them.
"How bad is he?" Shego asked.
"He's a lot like a bulldog. Once he bites you in the ass, he never lets go. Highly decorated, known for filling out orders to the letter, and he never gives up on a target." Fury said as he sat down and rubbed his temple. It was a vain effort, but some part of him hoped it would stop the headache he knew was coming. When Fury heard a strange metallic sound coming from the footage, he looked up to see something unexpected. "Stark?"
"What the hell is he doing?" Rogers asked as he watched Iron Man argue with General Ross.
"Whatever he did, he got the army to stand down." Shego said as she saw the She-Hulk and the Hulk change back into their normal forms. "Fury, I think I know where they are." Shego said.
"So do I." Fury said and activated the comm system. "Wade, I need you to do a quick search for me."
"What is it, sir?"
"I need to know if there have been any special weapons requisitions from the army. The requisitions are going to be covert, so you may have to do some digging."
"It'll take me some time, General." Wade said.
"How long will that be?" Rogers asked.
"Got it!"
"About that long." Shego said.
"The army put in requisitions for several advanced weapons. All of them state of the art, and most of them are from Hammer Industries."
"I was afraid of this. Is there any way you can stop those orders?" Fury asked him.
"I'm afraid I can't, sir. According to this, the army received the weapons yesterday. In fact, I found reports that a large platoon has already moved out."
"Moved out? Where are they heading?"
"I don't know, sir. I'm going to try and find some of the tracking beacons on some of these heavy transports and track them. I'll let you know when I find out something."
"Roger, Load. Fury out."
"The army's going to try and get Ron again, isn't it?" Shego asked Fury.
"I wouldn't doubt it. Unless his superiors say so, he won't stop trying to get Ron. He might question his orders, but he won't violate them." Fury said as he tried to think. "Stark had his main facility evacuated, and we know he has Stoppable, Possible, and Rockwaller." Fury said.
"Could he be trying to hide them?" Shego asked.
"But why there? There's too many people there. And Rockwaller was studying law, and Stoppable is too much of a butterfingers to keep in a lab." Fury said.
"Lab?" Rogers lab.
"Stark's HQ houses some of the most advanced labs in the – son of a bitch." Fury said.
"What?" Shego said.
"He's going to try and help them." Fury said.
"I thought he was." Rogers said.
"You don't understand, Rogers. Stark was held hostage some time ago, but he turned over a new leaf when he came back. He started making non-lethal weapons and became Iron Man to help others. He's been trying to help people in need as much as he can. That includes creating a branch of Stark Industries fir strictly medical research." Fury explained.
"He's going to try and cure Ron and Rockwaller of the Hulk." Shego said, catching on to what Fury was saying about Stark.
"General Fury?"
"What is it, Wade?"
"I've got a fix on the equipment that was shipped to the army from a transponder. It's in a large convoy that's heading to Stark Industries main facility." Wade said.
"How long until they get there?" Fury asked.
"Three hours, maybe less."
"But how did Ross find out where they were going to be?" Rogers asked.
"Stark's got a mole in his company. And it looks like General Ross is moving in for the kill. Captain, assemble the Avengers!" Fury said as he got up.
"But sir, we'll be two men short. With Pym in prison and Janet still in the hospital,"
"I'm well aware, Captain. I'll call in someone we have on reserve, but we need to get Stark before Ross does." Fury said as he stood up to leave. "And call in Dr. Ross. If need be, she might know of a way for us to stop her father when push comes to shove." Fury said as he left.
"Reserve? Who do we have on reserve to replace Pym and Janet?" Steve asked Shego.
"I think I know who he might be talking about." She said as she left and made her way to Wade. "I just hope they can stand to work together."
Next Chapter:
CLASH OF THE TITANS
The Avengers VS The U.S. Army