Revamped!
Chapter 37: Technovore Part Four
Munich, Germany - 2:44 AM
After his speech at the university, Daniel lies in his hotel room, waiting for the late-night room service he ordered to show up. He rolls onto his side and reaches for the television remote. When he turns on the television, the first channel that appears is a news network doing a story on Emily returning to New York from Prague. He smiles at the sight of his fiancée, walking in the airport. Seeing her stride in her stilettos while holding a cup of coffee in one hand and waving to the camera with the other gives him so much joy.
Then he hears his phone going off with no stop. Daniel stretches over to his bedside table and looks at the stream of endless messages from his team.
Merida: Daniel! Stark Towers is under attack! We've sent you the AIM video with the threat.
Xavier: All communications are cut off.
Angela: We just arrived but we have no visual on Emily.
James: We'll get back to you.
And at that moment, Daniel's heart drops. Emily is at home and if they have no visual, that could mean that Emily is - just somewhere else in the tower. He refuses to think the worse and all he could do from Munich is just pray that Emily knows what she's doing. She can't be dead. He won't allow it.
-o-
Stark Towers - 19:28 PM
Angela, currently kneeling beside Tony, throws the tentacles to the side and begins to wonder what to do with Tony. Giving chest compressions isn't the best idea since his now-malfunctioned arc reactor is in the way of where her hands are supposed to go. Xavier and Merida stand in front of them as a blockade against Technovore should it strike again. The creature slithers on the spot, keeping its eyes on Tony. Suddenly, it jolts and breaks through the wall to head somewhere else in the tower.
"What the hell?" Merida questions.
"Technovore feeds on arc reactor energy," Xavier says. "Tony has no more power in his so my best guess is that it'll find the next best one."
"The one in the basement?" Angela says. "Why didn't it go to that one first?"
"Proximity?" Merida guesses. "Take out Stark to avoid getting stopped?"
Merida and Xavier turn around to see Tony unconscious on the floor and Angela trying to figure out what to do. James flies in and grows back to his normal size, kneeling beside Angela in front of Tony.
"This may not work…" James mutters. "But it's worth a shot."
James lights up his hands and uses his bioelectricity to send an electric shock to Tony's heart. Tony shoots up and grips his chest, coughing and panting. His arc reactor is still dead but James's version of a defibrillator/charger should work for now.
"We would've been here sooner but we found out about the attack the moment it happened," Angela says. "And your tower is swarming with AIM agents, so we had to think of a way to do a stealthy approach."
Tony continues to focus on his breathing. He knows that Pepper is with the Scientist Supreme but he just has one important question.
"Where is Emily?" Tony asks.
"We haven't seen her," Merida says. "You're sure she's still here?"
Tony nods before falling back due to how unsteady his vitals are. Xavier looks at his team and they disperse - Xavier and Merida go to find Emily who could be anywhere in the Tower, James shrinks and flies to find Pepper, and Angela remains by Tony's side.
"Go," Tony says to Angela once the others are gone, "I'll hold back Technovore."
"You can barely stand and Technovore isn't even here anymore," Angela replies.
Tony looks around and thinks. Technovore has the main objective to consume arc reactor energy. If the one in his chest is a dud, then it will find the next best one. Then he remembers what he heard Pepper say earlier about the main reactor.
"Oh, shit…" Tony mutters. "We have to get to the main reactor now!"
"Can you make it?" Angela asks.
"Hopefully."
-o-
"Download complete."
A henchman to the Scientist Supreme removes his external device from the tower's mainframe and hands it to his boss who stands beside Pepper. She looks at him expectantly.
"Now what?" Pepper asks.
"Now, you come with us," the Scientist Supreme responds.
"Where?"
Pepper feels her arms get grabbed as her feet start dragging along. Any attempts to resist would serve no purpose.
"I said I would say goodbye to Emily before I leave," Pepper says.
"Let's see if my men have found her yet."
His evil cackle gives Pepper shivers.
-o-
Emily continues running down the stairs, heading towards the tower's main reactor located below the basement. She hears a loud thudding noise above her, causing her to stop. Emily looks up, holding her repulsor beam above her head in case she needs to shoot, but what bursts out causes her hand to clam up.
"What the -?!"
Emily is cut off by what she assumes to be Technovore falling from the ceiling. Its tentacles stretch out for her arc reactor but Emily believes it wants her whole.
She should run, but her legs freeze up and everything slows down for her. Her heart is beating so loud that she could hear it in her eardrums, all because of the intensity of this situation. She should be running as if her life depends on it because it does. Her mind is currently in a panic with no sense of direction in her own home or what her purpose in all this is. The only thing she could tell herself is to start running but she couldn't. Her legs are frozen and about to give out due to the exhaustion from the past few days finally catching up to her.
Amid Emily collapsing, Technovore pounces on top of her which sends them crashing through the floor. The two of them fly down a staircase and crash through the floor, entering the room with the main reactor.
Emily's mind wakes up again and she screams at the sight of Technovore on top of her. Nearby agents who are tampering with the main reactor stop and stare.
"What do we do about that?" One of them asks.
"Screw it, this place is about to blow," another responds as they all run out.
Emily grunts, holding the tentacles that lure in front of her. "Go back to hell, you digital demon!"
