His first day on the job! The time has come for Connor Peterson to take to the world stage, true believers! Bear witness as he embarks on his first-ever heroics with the mighty Avengers! Interested? Intrigued? Scroll down to read all about his-
Chapter 4: Life in the Limelight
A bright, mid-morning sun shone brightly across the metropolis of New York City, the crimson and gold armor of Iron Man bright and visible as he flew across the skyline. To the Avenger, it was another day of seeing the same sights from high above, watching vigilantly for any sign of crime or criminal activity. "Ahhhh… a balmy eighty degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Normally, I'd say its time to take a trip to Miami, but oh well. Someone's gotta watch the city." Tony remarked, setting down on a rooftop. "How about you, Connor? Feeling the vibes of the day?" He wondered.
The man in question was right behind him, clad in an all-new outfit designed by Janet. Primarily a metal-mesh bodysuit of silvery-grey, a large black chevron spread across his chest. Above it, the suit covering his shoulders and neck was dark grey, which wrapped around his head and across his eyes in a chevron-shaped mask. His arms were wrapped in linear strips, save for the padded gloves covering his forearms, which allowed he lines of cyberware along each to be exposed. He truly looked a bit more like a superhero. "I'm-woah! Getting the hang of it…!" Connor exclaimed as he stumbled into a standing position on the same rooftop. He took a moment to regain his footing and affirm it before he straightened up. "Clever of Jan to think about putting metal soles in the boots so I can use magnetic forces to move around in the air." He mused, checking the bottom of his black boots to reveal a silver patch between the heel and toe grips.
"Actually, that was my idea." Tony revealed, his golden mask sliding up to reveal his face. "Figured your magnets could do something with them."
"Uh, well… yeah, I guess so." Connor mused, rubbing the back of his head. "I… It's gonna take some getting used to, this hero stuff." Turning, he rested a boot up against the edge of the building's roof. "I've never done anything like this before… as far as I'm concerned, I'm still just a nobody scientist. This is way above my pay grade."
"Give it time, not everyone adapts to the hero life right off the bat." Tony assured him. "Well, except for me, that is. I was a natural." Connor snorted in amusement.
"Well, can't say that about everyone."
"Hey, buck up! You just need some experience is all." Tony promised. "Listen, I meant when I said when I told you you were Avengers material. The whole team meant it. Your abilities can propell us light years ahead when it comes to deal with technological threats. You're unique and you've earned your place with the team, Connor. Do you think any of us knew what we were getting into when we started this group?" After a moment of consideration, Connor simply shrugged. "Well, we didn't. Even now, we're still feeling our way through this. But you can help us, you add a new piece to the equation. You're a pioneer into the realm of technology and cybernetics unlike anyone else. You can help us do things no one else can." Connor stayed silent, processing everything Tony had to say.
"Wow… you really mean that?" He asked after a moment.
"Of course I do." Tony said sincerely, a hand on his shoulder. Before he could continue, the sound of an explosion ripped through the quiet air, coming from further down the street below him.
"That… didn't sound good." Connor remarked.
"Certainly not the ten o'clock subway." Tony agreed, his mask flipping into place. "JARVIS, what are we looking at?"
"Multiple armed hostiles are attacking a building belonging to Roxxon Oil, sir." His AI revealed, a scan showing a dozen armored and armed individuals on the warpath.
"Wow, definitely a party down there. Ready for your first day on the job, Connor?" Tony asked.
"You lead I'll follow." Connor promised, quickly leaping up onto the edge of the rooftop. Iron Man took off with his jet thrusters as Connor levitated into the air, using his magnetic control over his plated boots to fly under his own power.
Down the street, about a dozen individuals in SWAT-style body armor, armed with advanced energy-based rifles as they stormed a simple brick-front building. One of which was hefting a massive cannon over their shoulder, clearly a weapon capable of causing plenty of harm.
"Attention wannabe-thieves!" Iron Man announced, drawing their attention to the airborne duo. "You know, there's more constructive things you could be doing with your time. I mean, if you're this dedicated to busting into someplace, imagine what you could do if you applied yourself to a real job." In response, all of them simultaneously opened fire on Iron Man.
"Woah!" Connor immediately dropped to the ground and reached out with his magnets, snaring two rifles and pulling them from the hands of their users. With a flick of his wrists, the weapons were sent hurtling into other felons, smashing them upside the head. Iron Man promptly nailed the other two with repulsor blasts. "These guys aren't kidding around!" Connor remarked.
"You're telling me," Tony agreed, his sensors sweeping over the crook with the shoulder-mounted weapon, "that's a proton cannon; powerful stuff!" The moment he finished, the cannon-wielding fiend turned and fired on the armored Avenger, Iron Man quickly countering with his chest-mounted unibeam. The two beams of energy collided, a struggle for dominance unfolding as Connor continued to dismantle the rest of the goons.
A flick of his wrist propelled a rifle back into the face of its user while he made a fist with his other hand that caused another rifle to be crushed. Turning towards a pair of three villains, Connor drew his irons from their sheaths on his pants and sent them flying towards the trio with a flick of his wrist, all three taken down as two cylinders apiece slammed into their heads and knocked them out cold. Recalling the pieces, Connor quickly forged a pair of batons and sent them hurtling towards another pair of felons, his weapons smashing into their helmets and taking them out cold. Reaching out with his magnets, Connor grabbed two by their chestplates and yanked them ahead, slamming them both into his still-spinning batons.
Diverting more power to his unibeam, Iron Man won his stalemate by overpowering the proton beam and simultaneously destroying the cannon. The goon was laid out flat as his remaining fellows resumed firing. Iron Man took them all down with a quick volley of repulsor blasts, taking down the last of the goons with ease. "Well, that was eventful." He remarked as he touched down. "Nice work, Connor."
"Helps they're full of metal objects." The technopath remarked, sliding his irons back into his pant slips. "Any idea what they were after?"
"Well, it's Roxxon, so it could be just about anything." Iron Man mused, walking over to the destroyed proton cannon. "What I'm more interested in is this tech…" His optical scanners raked over the device and began tracing the various components, comparing them to known diagrams and existing company patents. "This stuff was built by Stane International." He announced after a moment.
"A competitor? I'm not familiar with him." Connor asked.
"He filled in the gap in the weapons-manufacturing business when Stark Industries backed out." Tony explained. "He's got all sorts of contracts… but what's his tech doing in the hands of lowlifes like these?"
"Sounds to me like he was either robbed or he's paying this lot to steal something from Roxxon, and supplied them too." Connor suggested.
"Could be. I've suspected Stane was up to something, but I've never had any proof. Maybe I should have a chat with him, CEO to CEO." He mused, standing up. "Notify the authorities, Connor, I'm off to have a little chat." With that, Iron Man took flight and was rocketing across the city.
Stane International was a towering monolith of glass and steel, refined and cutting edge in its efforts to emulate the will of its owner and founder, Obadiah Stane. An older man, complete with balding grey hair, beard, and piercing eyes, Stane was a masterful strategist and a cutthroat businessman who was absolutely merciless when it came to making advances within the market. His company made and produced weaponry of all kinds for many different organizations and contracts… not all of them legal.
Seated at his opulent desk of custom-crafted stainless steel, the last thing he was expecting was for his secretary to poke her head through the door, announcing a visitor he was also not expecting.
In strode Tony Stark, clad in a fine-pressed and expensive business suit, his hair neatly brushed and his goatee immaculately combed. Walking with a proud sense of purpose, he ventured into Stane's office undeterred as the older CEO stood. "Tony Stark. Whatever earned me the pleasure of receiving a visit from the 'Iron Man' himself?" Stane inquired, a partial smile on his face as he tolerated the presence of his rival.
"Long time no see, Stane. Just figured I'd pop in, see how things were going." Tony nonchalantly replied.
"Really." Stane remarked. "Color me surprised if I don't believe that."
"Yeah, you're right." Pulling a device from the inside of his jacket, Tony placed a holographic projector down on the desk and triggered a display. "Was running around the city today and discovered some goons who turned out to be carrying weapons made by your company." He announced, the blue image showcasing the shattered proton cannon. "Thoughts?" Studying the image with a shrewd and scrutinizing gaze, Stane had an answer in moments as his expression softened.
"Well… this is most… unexpected." He replied, picking his words carefully. "There was a break-in a few weeks ago at one of my warehouses. Looks like this is what become of the lost goods."
"Do tell," Tony mused, swiping the device and tucking it back into his suit jacket, "I know what that feels like, to have your stuff stolen."
"I'm sure you do." Stane remarked. "Don't tell me you're getting envious that I took your place in the weapons business." Tony simply smiled.
"Hardly. Stark Industries is doing just fine. And, hey, you wanna do weapons, that's on you." He said. "And, well, you know; when you have something actually worth stealing, everyone wants a piece. It's a feeling I know well." He replied. Stane frowned.
"Indeed." He stated as calmly as he could. "If that will be all, Tony, I do have a business to run."
"Sure sure, sorry for taking up your valuable time." Stark agreed. "I'll see myself out. But, uh, do me a favour and change the locks on the warehouses alright? I'd hate to see more of your stuff get stolen… and then have to deal with it." He mused with a cheeky smile as he paused by the door. Obadiah offered a simple smirk in return.
"As would I." With that, Tony disappeared as quickly as he came… and Stane's pleasant demeanor ended just as quickly. "Arrogant pup." He growled, facing his office window that offered him a brilliant view of New York's skyline that included Stark Tower. "He thinks he can make a mockery of me, in my own office?" Turning around, Obadiah paused by the game of chess off to one side of his desk and maneuvered the black king and the white king into a showdown position in the centre of the board. He then triggered his personal phone, opening a direct line to his secretary. "Contact Doctor Zeriah. Tell him I'm on my way."
Taking a private elevator down to the lower levels of the company headquarters, Obadiah Stane entered his personal research and development labs where only projects that piqued his interest were studied and commissioned. Disembarking the elevator, he was greeted by a thin man with sparse brown hair and thick-rimmed glasses. "Zeriah, I want results and I want them now." Stane commanded simply.
"Y-Yes sir! I was just assembling a little presentation for you." The lead scientist quickly stammered in reply, hurrying to match Stane's determined stride. "The micro-scanners placed around the city have been collecting data every day for the past few weeks. We've got perfect scans of Iron Man's armor everytime."
"Good. And what are we doing with that data?" Stane inquired.
"Using it to further Project Warhorse." Zeriah answered. "And… well, the results need to be seen to be believed." They paused before a railing, a mechanics bay beneath them. Gripping the barricade, Stane looked down on a most impressive sight.
A replica of Iron Man's armor; bigger, cast in blue and far more massive than the armoured Avenger, sat on a production table as both drones and humans worked on it. It was mighty, it was impressive, it made Obadiah Stane smile broadly.
"If I wasn't a believer before, I am now." He mused. "Finally! A weapon to surpass all others… a machine that is superior to Iron Man in every way."
"We have yet to run any tests, but construction should be finished today." Zeriah quickly informed him.
"Fine. We'll start same-day trials today." Stane announced, surprising him.
"T-Today?! But Mister Stane-"
"No excuses, Doctor! Trials start now and that's final." Obadiah told him with a sharp glare, causing him to shy away. "And you know as well as I do that there's nothing like a field test to test one's mettle. Now contact the Chessmen, and tell them Operation: Absolute Pin is a go."
Later that day…
Avengers Mansion was an impressive estate that had been in the Stark family for generations. Located within Manhattan's district limits, the old-style mansion was quite the sight amid the towering modern skyscrapers of the city. Within its walls, the Avengers partook in simple, daily activities. Steve, Janet and T'Challa found themselves in the kitchen, the captain snacking on an apple while the Wakandan king enjoyed a fresh cup of tea along with Janet.
"I never took you for a tea granny, Panther." Janet mused, stirring her cup.
"In Wakanda, we have over three-hundred different flavours of tea. We mix different wild herbs to create new flavours." T'Challa replied, slowly sipping from his cup.
"Three-hun-… have you tried all of them?" An incredulous Janet asked.
"Most of them." He answered with a simple, knowing smile.
"Back in my day it was coffee or nothing. Now they serve it all kinds of ways; cold, with a dozen different flavours, on ice even…" Steve remarked. "I didn't even think it was possible to enjoy coffee cold. Now everyone's drinking it."
"Cap, if you don't like a caramel macchiato, I don't think we can be friends." Janet teased with a giggle. As she did, Connor slowly entered, mask lowered and on the phone.
"…I'll catch up with you later. Yeah, sounds good. Bye." Clicking the device off, he slipped it into one of his many pant pockets. "I forgot how nice it is to have a working cell phone." He remarked.
"Who was that?" Steve asked.
"Just my younger brother. We check-in on each other once in a while." Connor replied.
"I never knew you had a brother," Jan said with a slight gasp, "you're full of surprises, aren't you?" Connor smiled and shrugged.
"Pretty sure I'm winning the next round of 'two truths and a lie'." He joked. Just then, Hank dashed onto the scene.
"Have you guys seen the news?" He asked urgently.
"I didn't think you watched the news, Hank. There's no tv in that lab of yours." Janet remarked. With a roll of his eyes, Hank glanced to the kitchen's roof.
"JARVIS, bring up the current news program." He tasked. A hidden panel opened as a basic television monitor descended, quickly flicking on to reveal a live broadcast featuring multiple armored felons armed with powerful weaponry attacking a building.
"Huh… kinda reminds me of the gang Tony and I stopped this morning." Connor mused, leaning back and crossing his arms.
"And speaking of Tony…" Hank trailed off, pointing at the monitor to reveal the building currently being attacked.
"Wait! That's Stark Tower!" Janet realized.
"How long has this been going on for?" Steve asked, ready to spring into action.
"Must be recent if they're reporting on it now." Connor suggested. "But why wouldn't Tony call us?"
"It's his company, his responsibilty. Something about pride of ownership getting in the way of him seeking us out." Hank theorized.
"Now that we know, it's our obligation to help a fellow Avenger." Steve declared, slipping on his hood to complete his Captain America suit. "Avengers Assmble!"
The forces assaulting Stark Tower were far from the average ensemble of faceless footsoldiers or recognizable supervillains. Each one was unique in their own way, the number of forces even, their maneuvers strategic and almost militant at a glance. This is what Tony Stark observed as he jetted onto the scene in his Iron Man armor.
"Show's over people!" He announced, unleashing a burst of micro-missiles from concealed shoulder launchers. Some took cover, while others opened fire on him with a variety of weapons, Iron Man dipping and rolling through the air to avoid getting hit as crackling electrical beams, sizzling energy blasts and a staccato of rapid-fire rifle rounds zipped through the air around him. "Need another notice of eviction, huh? Alright, can do." Pausing in midair, he charged his repulsors with his unibeam and unleashed a triumvirate blast that ripped through the midst of their forces, causing goons to scatter left and right as his beams tore up concrete and shattered the pavement.
Amid the smoke, a pair of hulking mechanoids stepped forth to attack. Their design reminded Iron Man of a fusion between SHIELD Mandroid tech and Hydra's own armored Dreadnought troopers. Their hands containing heavy autorepeating cannons, they blitzed him with a barrage of firepower that marred his armour, Tony raising his hands to keep his face from getting struck. The mechanoid then unleashed multiple rockets from ports on their backs, the projectiles screaming through the air and slamming into Iron Man, pitching him back and through a wall with a cry.
With their focus on Iron Man, none of the goons noticed he arrival of the Avengers further down the street. Captain America and Black Panther led the way, while Ant-Man, Wasp and Connor flew in under their own power. "Alright guys, who do we think? Hydra? AIM?" Wasp asked.
"I see no green and no yellow. I don't recognize any of them anyway." Ant-Man replied.
"These guys really look like the ones I dealt with this morning." Connor remarked. "But I can't figure out the helmets and weapons, though." Panther slid to a halt, a keen eye scanning every single felon on the ground.
"There appeared to be a uniform element to their attire," he observed, "each one of them bears a resemblance to the pieces in a game of chess." Connor dropped down to the ground, stumbling a little as he caught himself and found sure footing.
"Of course!" He cried with a snap of his fingers. "I see it now! Those are pawns," he stated, pointing to the ones carrying combat rifles and wearing dome-shaped headpieces. "Those two are rooks," he said, gesturing to each mechanoid whose cycloptic heads were shaped like the tower of a castle, "that pair has to be bishops," his finger drawn to the two with electro-staves in hand and adorned with cone-shaped helmets. "There's the knights," The two most-burly goons equipped with energy lances and their masks shaped like a horse's head. "Which makes her the queen." He concluded, pointing to a masked woman in far more elaborate armor with a crown upon her helmet.
"But who's the king?" Cap wondered aloud, seeing as they were missing one of the sixteen pieces.
"That we must ascertain from the others, I suspect." Panther determined.
"Villains modelling themselves after board games… what's next? Checkers? Poker?" Wasp remarked. The Chessmen closed in on the recovering Tony as he pulled himself free from the debris of the wall.
"Let's folks on one batch of games at a time." Cap suggested. "Starting with this lot. Keep them away from Stark Tower!" The group sprang into action, dividing into teams as Panther, Wasp and Connor went after the Chessmen while Captain America and Ant-Man made to protect Iron Man.
Just as Tony realized one of the rooks had him in its sights, the star-spangled red white and blue of Captain America came between them, his shield raised high and tanking every shot from the mechanoid with ease. Beside him, Ant-Man grew to his normal size and offered a helping hand. "Next time, just call us in advance. Waiting for the news to inform us you're in trouble isn't exactly a time-saver." He quipped.
"Thanks, I'll remember that the next time I'm ambushed." Iron Man retorted as he stood, JARVIS quickly performing a scan of his siut's integrity and coming back with an 81% functionality report.
"These guys just came out of nowhere?" Cap questioned as he adjusted his stance to take the incoming fire of both rooks.
"One minute I'm in my office, the next JARVIS is telling me there's fifteen individuals attacking the tower." Iron Man replied, quickly priming his weapons systems. Before he or Cap could take necessary action against the rooks, Connor climbed atop one and unleashed his technopathic abilities. The coding and computations were easily within the scope of his understanding, his mind quickly synching with the processors and data transmissions until he himself had been integrated with the CPU of the mechanoid. With a single thought, the rook turned and fired on its equal, quickly evaporating it's armaments with rockets before shredding its chassis with sustained autocannon fire. Using his magnets, he then grabbed the head of the mechanoid he was atop and released it from his control before leaping off and dragging the head with him, tearing out all manner of wiring and cabling as the rook shorted out and collapsed to the ground.
Black Panther, the claws of his gloves sharp and humming with raw Vibranium, cut cleaning through the weaponry of the knights, the King of Wakanda's superior athleticism and combat prowess on clear display as he singlehandedly took on the more-powerful Chessmen alone. Wasp was doing her part barraging the pawns with her bio-stings, keeping them distracted and trying to fire on her instead of Tony and Stark Tower.
"T'Challa and Connor noted this lot resembles chess pieces." Cap informed his armored comrade as he promptly socked out a pawn with a hard jab that cracked his dome-shaped helmet. "There's fifteen different individuals here, but the normal chess game involves sixteen."
"Which piece are we missing?" Tony wondered, vaping another pawn with his repulsors.
"The King." Hank answered before growing to his massive Giant Man form and swinging a colossal hand down and across the ranks of the Chessmen, sending the remaining pawns flying helplessly through the air. A quick infusion of yellow Pym Particles shrank him back to normal as he continued. "There's a queen, bishops, knights, rooks and pawns, but no king. My guess is the 'king' is the mastermind behind all of this." Tony could see the logic in his assessment.
"Maybe a bit on the nose, but-"
"Tony Stark!" Interrupted by a synthesized voice bellowing his name, Iron Man turned as a new player arrived on the battlefield. A massive electromechanical suit of blue armor touched down from the skies, dwarfing all of the Avengers. Staring in shock and awe, Iron Man reached a singular conclusion.
"I'm gonna take a guess and say that's the king." He remarked. "JARVIS, scan this guy. What am I looking at?"A cross-referencing grid search allowed JARVIS to analyze every inch of their new foe… and draw a startling conclusion.
"Over seventy percent of the armor is similar to yours, sir. Including microcircuitry and power distribution."
"What? How?" A shocked Tony gasped. Before he had a chance to answer, the queen agent stood by the armor's side.
"Prepare for your end, Tony Stark!" Its wearer announced.
"Not on my watch!" Rocketing past Captain America and Ant-Man, Iron Man surged ahead and slammed into the massive suit of armor, the two quickly travelling skyward as the queen made to engage the other Avengers.
Brandishing a sceptre glowing with red energies, she fired a bolt that struck Cap's shield, the first Avenger retaliating with a shield toss that smashed into a force field hastily projected. Black Panther moved in next, hurling a rio of Vibranium daggers the queen shot from the sky, his claws striking the sceptre to no effect.
"It appears to be shielded with a micro-transistor shield generator, drawing power from the sceptre itself!" He announced to the team. Thinking quickly, Cap drew up a strategy.
"Connor, can you interface from a distance with your powers?" He asked the technopath, who shrugged.
"I'll give it a shot, but it might take some time." He replied.
"We'll buy you some," Cap responded, "Avengers! Hit her with everything you got!" He called to the team, hurling his shield in emphasis. Panther renewed his efforts as Ant-Man and Wasp joined the fray, bio-stings and a small army of ants quickly attacking the queen. From his distant vantage, Connor allowed his mind to drift, sensing various different technologies in the area. He closed them out and narrowed his focus, his mind processing various data outputs and circuit signals until he zeroed in on the one he was not familiar with…
In the skies above, Iron Man grappled with his blue-plated foe and having already borne the brunt of several missile and energy-based attacks. Thankfully the reactor powering this machination was nowhere near as good as his own ARC reactor, but that didn't mean it didn't pack a punch. "My particle beam emitters have twice the capacity of yours, Stark! I don't have to divert energy to keeping myself alive!"
"Man, this guy's a blowhard!" Tony grumbled as he burst free of a crushing hold and unleashed his unibeam. "JARVIS?"
"I have successfully analyzed his voice patterns, sir, and run it through a speech-comparison algorithm." His AI responded. "I have deduced with ninety-nine percent accuracy the wearer of that suit of armor to be Obadiah Stane."
"Stane?!" Tony cried in disbelief, promptly hammered with a big blue fist moments later.
"Well well, you've figured me out, have you? Now you can give your impending doom a name!" Stane roared as he blasted another missile in Iron Man's direction. Acting quickly, Tony destroyed it with a repulsor blast before Stane tackled him and flew them both into the ground, slamming Iron Man into the stairs leading to Stark Tower's front entrance. Despite the high-velocity impact, Tony struggled to free himself from Stane's grip.
"What's this about, Stane?" He rasped, fighting hard to overcome his enemy's far stronger pneumatic grip. "Why are you doing this?"
"It's simple really," Stane replied, grabbing Iron Man by the head and slamming it into the ground, "you're on top, even after you left the weapons game, and I want what you have: prominence!" Another slam, another cry from Tony as his armor impacted with the concrete stairs. "I'm better than you Stark! You really should fear an old man in a profession where men fall out young. I've got a better suit, a better business, and I make my own weapons… with which I'll raze your company to its foundations!" Forcing some additional power form his reactor into his pneumatic servos, Iron Man pushed against Stane's armoured hand, managing to free himself.
"Trying to beat me at my own game, push me out of the hero market," he grunted, "you're just a regular monger, aren't you?"
"Ha! Maybe so!" Stane cackled, smashing his fist into Iron Man's helmet before lifting him up with the other. "An Iron Monger! That's what I am!"
Meanwhile, Connor had done his best to harmonize with the data transmissions of the queen's power sceptre and, while difficult from a distance due to the lack of physical touch, he had finally integrated himself with the coded programming and accessed the sceptre's functions. A single thought was all it took to force an override, sending jolts of energy into the user and freezing the queen in her tracks with a pained cry.
She was unable to defend herself as Cap landed a solid right cross on her jaw, sending her spinning into Ant-Man's path as he lept from his insect mount and landed a super-powered microscopic punch that snapped her head to the side. Wasp flew in to finish her off, unleashing a potent two-handed sting that struck the queen in the forehead, overloading her neurons with a blast of bioelectricity and causing her to collapse flat on her back. Miming a gun with her thumb and index finger, Wasp blew nonexistent smoke away with a smile.
"Checkmate." She quipped with a smile. The celebration was short-lived, interrupted by a thunderous cacophony of metal on metal as Iron Monger landed another punch on Iron Man. Connor was already moving, sprinting towards the unsuspecting Obadiah Stane and reaching out with his technopathic senses. The suit was comprised of common technology, surely he could find a weak point.
Bent over the pinned Iron Man, Iron Monger was unable to react the moment Connor lept on his back and touched his suit. Instantly, a whole new world of cybernetic connections and complex data transmission was opened to him, like seeing the stars of the cosmos for the very first time. It was brilliant, wonderful even. So complex in its own way that Connor lost himself for a moment before forcing himself to renew his quest. His mind synced up with Iron Monger's very processing systems, a complete readout of the suit's functionality and system mapping available to his mind's eye.
He needed only the briefest of glances to find Iron Monger's first flaw.
"His joints… His joints!" He cried out to his fellow Avengers. "They're based on a chain-drive system, hit them!" Black Panther wasted no time hurling a Vibranium dagger with precise timing, the weapon burying itself in Iron Monger's left elbow and shattering the whirling gearbox with a shower of sparks. Within the suit, Stane growled in frustration as he turned around and tried to whip Connor off his back. Using his magnets to remain attached, Connor held on for dear life as Captain America sent his shield spinning towards Monger like a discus, ricocheting off his right elbow and cutting the local gearbox to pieces.
Stane uttered a roar as he struggled to regain control of his suit. "No, NO! You are beneath me! You will not best me!"
"I'll tell you what is underneath you," Ant-Man remarked, his silver helmet generating harmonic infrasound frequencies that drew an entire army of ants up out of the ground, "Camponotus pennsylvanicus. Better known as black carpenter ants… pack quite the bite too." He recited from memory as the colony swarmed Iron Monger's legs, quickly cutting through all sorts of wires and mechanical components in the suit's knees, forcing Iron Monger to fall to the ground. Unleashing one more technopathic thought, Connor successfully shut down the suit's onboard computer systems before restraining Stane's arms by pulling back with his magnets.
Down for the count, Stane's struggles were for nought and he loosed a roar of outrage from the confines of his helmet. Rising to his feet, Iron Man approached him and ripped off the blue faceplate, revealing the red face of Obadiah Stane contorted into an expression of rage. "Three strikes and you're out, Obi." Tony teased. "Guess you didn't think this plan through, did you?"
"Do you really thinks this changes anything?" Stane sneered.
"Sure does. Mainly my perception of you as a mere business rival. Now you're one of my rogues gallery." Tony remarked. "By the way, while you're in prison, make sure you design something that's not a simple knock-off of my armor. This thing looks like you bought the oversized version from China."
"I made it myself!" Stane snapped, done taking barbs.
"Well, guess that's about the same as being made in China then." Tony quipped.
SHIELD and the local authorities arrived within the hour to haul off Stane and his Chessmen. The Avengers stood by to observe, ready to take action if necessary, Wasp and Ant-Man normally sized and standing tall and proud alongside their teammates. The queen agent was revealed to be Indries Moomji, an Indian supermodel that had been missing for quite some time… and was also a former interest of Tony Stark.
"Always wondered where she went…" He mused.
"Do they know why she partnered up with Stane?" Cap inquired.
"SHIELD suspects hypnosis, she's not acting like herself." Iron Man replied. "But they'll run some tests to find out for sure."
"Man, what is it with these big-buck CEO's and their mad schemes?" Wasp questioned. "It's like they need something to blow those six-figure cheques on."
"Eh, Stane's a one-off." Iron Man replied.
"Uh, do you know Justin Hammer?" Connor shot back. "Trust me, it's most of them."
"You would know." Iron Man relented. "Speaking of you, good work back there. Managed to help us all out of a jam, first with the queen and then with Stane. I for one owe you for ensuring he didn't turn my suit into a soda can." He continued, thanking Connor in his own way.
"I guess being an Avenger means helping your friends too… provided you consider me a friend." Connor replied, feeling somewhat bashful after the compliment.
"Aw, of course you are!" Janet stated with a cheery smile. "You're one of us now. Hey, speaking of which, what're we gonna call you? It's high time you picked out an alias." She queried. Connor scratched the back of his head, pondering the same thing.
"More like, what are they going to call him." Black Panther corrected as he pointed out several arriving news vans eager to cover the story now that the battle had ceased.
"Oh good, a press conference, just the quiet thing I needed to end the day." Iron Man quipped. "Guess you better piece together a name quick, Connor. You'll never get any sleep if you stick with your real name."
"Paparazzi. Got it. No pressure." The technopath remarked. He started thinking, pondering dozens of possibilities as a female reporter approached with cameraman in tow. He needed something, something that defined him and who he was; another unique member of the Avengers. It was then that he recalled Tony's words of encouragement from earlier that morning.
"You're a pioneer into the realm of technology and cybernetics unlike anyone else. You can help us do things no one else can."
He dealt on words such as technology and cybernetics, then pioneers. When he thought of pioneers he thought about trailblazers… Techblazer? No, too much of a mouthful. Old-time settlers, greek sailors, the first astronauts…
Astronauts. That was it!
Snapped out of his thought by Tony's words to the reporter, Connor came around just in time to hear, "It would've been a lot harder if not for our new recruit here." The reporter turned to him.
"A new recruit? And who might you be?" She asked, turning her microphone over to him. Rushing for an answer, Connor pieced together a word he could be proud of… a name he could go by and do good under.
"Cybernaut." He finally answered with a smile. "My name is Cybernaut."
Elsewhere…
After the massive breakout involving the escape of over seventy different super criminals, SHIELD was working on a brand new installation to hold the returned escapees, one that would have no weaknesses like installations such as The Raft or The Cube. So far it was being tested on new criminals captured by the Avengers, namely the five scientists turned villains hellbent on revenge against Justin Hammer.
Alone in his cell with a power-dampening collar around his neck, Mark Moran stewed in his anger and loathing for Connor Peterson. If not for him, his life would've stayed the same, he would've been fine. Now he was a freak, a tier lower in the evolutionary chain as far as he was concerned. The brutish nature of his powers had demoted his life from scientist to mere grunt.
His colleagues always said he was too emotional, too quick to give into whatever he was feeling. Right now, he was not interested in their thoughts. Only in revenge.
It was then that the dimness of his cell was illuminated by a green flame, one that formed a rectangular shape across the door of his cell. His vision narrowed, Mark peering into the foreign act with intense curiosity as the flame formed a portal and from the portal stepped a woman. Clad in green of varying shades, her corset-style top boasting much cleavage, even her emerald eyes shone with a wicked gleam as she offered him a smile.
"Who are you?" Mark demanded, lurching against his shackles.
"I, Doctor Moran, am here to offer you a chance." She replied, casting her hand towards him and unleashing a bolt of magical flame that shattered his collar and snapped loose his bonds. Mark slowly rose, still clad in his blue suit.
"What kind of chance? And that doesn't tell me who you are." He growled.
"Do calm yourself, Doctor. I am not your enemy, but a friend." The woman replied in a voice as smooth as silk. "I am The Enchantress and I offer you what you desire most."
"And just what is that?" Mark questioned, reaching for his mask.
"The world has turned its back on Doctor Mark Moran," Enchantress continued. Behind her the portal flashed and a second individual emerged into the cell. Clad in purple and gold trappings, the royal garb of Baron Heinrich Zemo concealed his face behind a mask of indigo but Mark knew him well enough to recognize him. "But as Cobalt," Enchantress mused, her lips curling into a smile, "we can offer you the chance to take your revenge."
Author's Note: Man I hope you all are loving this as much as I am. Returning to this old idea and acting on it is like a breath of fresh air. Anyway, we're off to the races now, folks! Season 1 Episode 12 coming up next!