Revamped!

[How do you think Emily will be in battle?]


Chapter 35: Technovore Part Two

Stark Towers - 18:27 PM

Emily's not only suffering from unbearable fatigue but also jet lag from Prague's six-hour time difference with New York. Not to mention that she's barely gotten any sleep while in Prague because she's been busy with her business affairs, the ideas that her intellectual mind keeps on making, and Xavier's call about the team. As of right now, her body is the equivalent of a car with an empty gas tank that's scratching the surface to use the little bit of energy is left. Her brain, however, is incredibly active, always coming up with the best ideas when sleep-deprived. She wonders how she hasn't passed out yet.

Her body knows that it should rest and wants to, but her mind won't allow it.

Needing more coffee, Emily yawns as she turns from her workstation to find the nearest espresso machine. She opens the door and sees several masked agents wearing the same yellow jumpsuits. They're all standing in a triangular formation with their guns pointed right at her. It almost seems as if they have been waiting for her to walk out for a long time.

A part of her wonders if she's going deaf or just didn't hear them assembling right outside her door. Or why they didn't just blast through and kill her. The same goes for the unanswered questions she asked Jarvis a while ago which she just remembered she asked.

Emily hesitates, unsure about what the hell is happening. She does understand one thing: these people want her dead.

"Okay, look," Emily starts, holding up her hands to show that she has no weapons on her. "I plan to have an open casket which means that when you fire your weapons at me, you'd better make my corpse pretty. I need to be as intact as possible which means that I'd better have two eyes, one nose, all my limbs, and a full set of teeth. Those must all be there or I swear that I will haunt you, do you understand?"

Nobody responds or moves for that matter. Emily stands there awkwardly.

"While you guys discuss a new strategy on how to kill me without deforming me…" She mutters, walking backwards. "...I'll just wait in my lab. Could one of you grab me an espresso?"

"Fire!"

"Or just forget the espresso!"

As guns start to fire, Emily quickly turns around and sprints towards her workstation. She leaps over a table, purposely bringing it down with her so that it lands on its side and she could use it as a shield.

Emily curses as she hits the ground because of that fucking hurt.

-o-

The elevator doors open and Pepper sees the same type of agents who are currently with Emily. Pepper stands up straight, heart racing, as she backs up as far as she can before hitting the elevator wall (which makes her jump a little). The agents corner her as one of them (one with a badge of authority on his chest) grasps her arm tightly.

"Hello, Mrs. Stark," the leader greets, tapping his fingertips on her bicep. "Do you know who I am?"

Pepper takes a slow breath. "Should I?"

"You really should. I am the Scientist Supreme of the Advanced Idea Mechanics, AIM for short. I'm now in control of you."

Pepper scoffs. "Possessive, much?"

Ignoring that last comment, he continues talking, dragging Pepper with him. She would escape but she's surrounded by the Scientist Supreme's henchmen and their guns.

"To keep you informed, Mrs. Stark, I have released my pet and creation, Technovore, in your tower. Its only purpose is to consume. Its goal right now is to feed on any arc reactor activity, like the energy powering your husband's heart. It has the power to crush an army."

"Good thing Tony doesn't have an army," Pepper responds.

"If Technovore feeds on your husband, Tony must agree to give up all his technology for his life to be returned. Even if Tony does concede before feeding time, he will still be eaten."

Pepper looks up at him. "Technically speaking, Tony can't give you his tech if he's dead and I wouldn't give it to you either."

"That's also why you're here and why my men are searching for Emily as we speak. Just a little something to speed up the trade. In fact, I think they have her in sight."

-o-

Behind her table, Emily feels all the bullets bounce off. She's not scared because she's beyond terrified. She's alone, inexperienced in this kind of situation, worried about her parents, unarmed, and about to throw up the bile that's rising in her throat. Her body is shaking like an earthquake as the bullets deafen her. She looks at her hands and sees her engagement ring that still sparkles in the danger. That ring calms her down, clearing her mind and she realizes that something else is shining in her eyes: the completed parts she has for her suit.

It's not enough for it to materialize onto her body because she didn't finish yet, but it's enough to use each part individually.

Emily quickly crouches forwards and scrambles for parts she has and rushes to put them on, along for a pair of tennis shoes that were under the other table. Overall, she has her non-dominant hand with a repulsor beam, the armour of it going up to her elbow just before the joint; her opposite leg going up to her knee, also just before the joint; and the metal brace that goes across her chest, torso, and back with an arc reactor in the middle of her chest.

"Come out, Miss. Stark," they taunt her, "we don't want to hurt you."

Emily rolls her eyes. If they didn't want to harm her, they wouldn't have started firing at her simple request of an espresso.

"Open casket or closed?" Emily asks them.

They surprisingly stop firing at her odd question. Emily smiles at herself.

"Cremated," they respond in unison, making one of Emily's eyebrows rise. She didn't think she'd get an answer.

"Good," she replies, "then you won't mind me blowing your face off."

Emily quickly stands up and fires the one repulsor beam she has at them. Taken by surprise, they immediately fall back. Emily starts flying with the one boot she has, making a staggered and slower flight pattern. She falls forwards as one agent grabs her dominant hand. He uses his advantage in strength against her. Emily panics a little, looking down. She uses her armoured foot to kick him over.

Emily hears another agent running up to her from behind. She turns around, swinging her armoured leg as her attack but the stubborn screw from earlier pops out, causing the whole thing to dismantle.

"...well, that's embarrassing," Emily says.

To keep her fight going, Emily holds up her hand to fire but then realized that she's pointing her weaponless hand. Again, embarrassing. In her defence, the only motivator she has to keep fighting is her will to survive.

-o-

From a hole in the wall, Technovore slithers out and lunges itself at Tony. He falls onto his back with the creature on top of him. With his arms, Tony grunts as he uses all of his strength to keep Technovore off of him. Tony takes a moment to examine the computerized creature as it opens its mouth. He sees the tentacles inside and notices them salivating, specifically over his arc reactor.

Tony pushes his arms to the side, tossing Technovore. He quickly stands up and sprints down the corridor. He glances over his shoulder and sees Technovore already on his tail. The moment Tony's eyes land on Emily's suitcases, he's automatically grateful that Emily is a procrastinator when it comes to certain tasks. He picks one up by the handles and swings it as Technovore like a baseball bat. Technovore flies into a different room that Tony quickly closes the door to give himself more time (probably a few seconds) to formulate some sort of plan. Tony opens one of Emily's suitcases and searches for something useful, finding nothing. He pulls out one of Emily's cardigans and grips it tightly. She won't miss this. She probably forgot she owns it.

As Technovore pounds against the door Tony confined it to, Tony runs over to the elevator and pries the door open just big enough to squeeze through. He wraps Emily's cardigan around the cables to use as a rappelling rope of some sort. Once it's secure, he hears Technovore burst out of its containment. Tony jumps, sliding down the elevator shaft with no creature above him until he lands on top of the elevator car.


[Not gonna lie, Emily is me in fights]. [2020: Nah, I'd die before the attack].