Born to wealth, his inheritance more then just monetary, Tony Stark received his fathers genius and business savvy, along with his mothers good nature and common sense . Bolstering these with a natural talent for engineering, along with a will of Iron, Anthony Stark became an even more accomplished businessman then his father. But tragedy struck the young Millionaire, trapping him , he thought at the time, forever, in a suit of Iron to match his inner resolve! Since then he has fought back against many trials and tribulations, conquering every one like a shining knight of old. His steel mesh armor acting as a weapon for good against the most hi-tech villains of all time! He is the shining warrior of the future! The Golden Avenger! He is the one and only, the invincible
"Tony , Wake up!" The words ring painfully in Tony Starks mind, prodding him
like a hot poker between the ribs.
His blurred vision suddenly sharpens with the vivid clarity of a camera coming into
very sharp, and deadly focus!
"What? Bethany?!?"
Above Tony Stark's face hovers the beautiful face of his one time lover Bethany Cabe,
only at the moment she looks less then lovable , as in her hand hovers a long , cruel
knife, pointed at Tony's throat! Her eyes are glazed over in madness!
Tony rolls off of the cot he's laying in, as he hits the floor hard, he pushes himself
away from Beth. His mind immediately takes in his surroundings, a cell, dank and damp. A
wet dripping sound fills his ears with a constant, exact rhythm. In the cell next to his,
grasping the bars desperately, and impotently is Jim Rhodes. Staring wide eyed at his
friend , trying to get to him in vain. For an instant, Rhodes places his left index finger
above his right, but instantly , Stark nods his head from side to side quickly, and if one
were not watching for it , imperceptibly.
Cabe runs at Stark, knife gleaming in the cold cell, reflecting light from the single
bare light bulb that hangs from its ceiling.
Stark drops back to the floor, on his back, jamming his foot into her stomach as she
slashes at him. He heaves her over head powerfully. She lands in a heap, but quickly
scrambles to her feet, holding the knife as if it sustained her life itself!
"I don't believe this " He Thinks, "Beth's obviously
deranged. She's got the insane gleam in her eyes of a maddened killer . Her hand
to hand abilities are better then mine. But maybe in her confused state I can get
the advantage."
She leaps to attack him again, savagely, like a mad dog, slashing at Tony with the
knife, muttering over and over, "I'll kill you" under her breath.
Nearby, and unable to do anything but watch, Jim Rhodes pound on the bars angrily,
trying to get Beths' attention, to no avail. Her eyes are only on Tony, as if he was her
entire reason for being.
She slashes at Tony, as he backpedals from her, as she cuts his arm with a back handed
slash. Instantly blood wells up in wound, but Stark ignores it, as he circles right, to
avoid her next slash.
"Tony!" Yells Rhodes !
Suddenly, Stark feints left, then dives right, his quick left cross smashing her
beautiful jaw painfully! Quickly he follows it up with a knee to her stomach, off his
right leg. She drops the knife as the air is smashed from her lungs, as she's dropped to
one knee.
"I'm sorry , Beth."
She raises up again, right into Tony's powerful right cross, that knocks her to the
ground like a sack of potatoes.
She slides across the ground, to stop at the other end of the cell, unconscious. Stark
kicks the knife over to Jim Rhodes, who grabs it between the bars.
"You okay , man?" Asks Rhodey.
Stark grabs his arm where Bethany cut him, and grimaces painfully. "I've felt
better , Jim."
Suddenly a sarcastic clapping sound fills the otherwise empty row of cells. Both men
turn towards its source.
"Stane." Growls Tony through grit teeth. "Or some doppleganger ."
"No, Anthony. I am the real thing. Of that you can be sure. I rather enjoyed your
fight for your life just then. It was interesting to say the least. I have to say, I was
rather hoping that the young woman would win, and save me the trouble of doing away with
you myself. It would have been delicious to watch her reaction when she came to from her
delirium and realized she killed the great love of her life. Oh well, there are other
alternatives."
"How'd you survive , Stane? I saw you blow your own brains out. You died. There
was no doubt about it. It was you."
"Perhaps Anthony, or perhaps not." Stane walks over to the cell door and
simply pushes it open. Behind him two machine gun toting guards obediently follow his
every move.
"But this place is rather bleak for our conversation. Lets say we continue this in
my offices upstairs?"
"No Stane, I like it fine right here. It seems to remind me of you down here with
the dampness and the rats scurrying about in the shadows. It's just the sort of place I'd
expect to find you."
"Ah Anthony ,"Stane continues, "I truly must insist otherwise."
Behind Stane, the guards both point their guns at Stark, who silently complies, and
follows them out.
"Stane begins to follow them, then turns towards Jim. "Oh and Mr Rhodes, I
believe you have something that belonged to Ms Cabe? I'd like that back, now."
"My pleasure, dirtbag." Answers Jim, vehemently.
Rhodes flips the knife, blade end first towards Stane, who catches it rather deftly.
"Nice throw, Mr Rhodes. Enjoy your stay."
Stane turns and leads Stark away. Once again , Rhodes raises his left index finger
above his right, and again he catches Starks eye, who gives him the "no" sign
with his eyes.
Rhodes watches them recede into the distance, exiting a dimly lit doorway, before he
slumps back into his cot.
"Great." He mumbles aloud.
In Stane's rather sumptuous office, Tony seats himself in a plush desk chair, while an
armed guard stands behind him, his machine gun aimed steadily at Starks chest. After
several minutes, Stane enters the room.
"Tung, you may leave us both. Mr. Stark will afford me no trouble, especially with
his two friends as my guests."
The guard bows gracefully, and leaves. Shutting the door behind him as he goes.
"Now on to your questions Anthony."
"Yes, Stane. The most pressing is How'd you survive our last encounter? You were
defeated I had beaten you on every plane imaginable. I had a business up and running, away
from your foul touch, and when we came to our final confrontation, I bested you physically
as well. My Iron Man armor destroyed your Iron Monger suit in up close and personal
combat. You were beaten. Then I watched, horrified as you disintegrated your own head with
a repulser blast."
"That all sounds about right, Anthony. Except for one last point, that you were
not aware of. You saw a man die that day. You saw Obadiah Stane die that day. But you
didn't see the real Obadiah Stane die that day."
"What are you talking about, Stane?"
Stane begins walking around his office, touching items on the shelves that line his
walls. The rich oak and mahogany wood fills the room around him, as he takes a moment to
compose himself before continuing.
He turns towards Stark then.
"Have you ever heard of the geneticist, Miles Warren?"
"The Madman who became the Jackal? What about him?"
"Well Old Miles was indeed insane, but he was also a genius. He needed money to
forward his hidden research, and he had heard, through the underground grapevine as it
were that I would be happy to fund certain illicit scientific activities. He had other
benefactors as well*, but I was among the most well heeled."
Stark coolly sits in the chair, eyeing Stane emotionlessly. "Go on, Stane."
"Warren had engineered a genetic virus that copied ones cell structure, ones very
DNA onto another beings genetic code, in essence turning that second individual into an
exact copy of the first. Not quite cloning, but more then good enough for my
purposes."
"So the man who died that day was a copy of you? But really it was someone else
entirely ?."
"Correct Anthony." Stane fills a goblet of wine and drinks of it , then fills
a second, and motions it towards Tony, "Drink?" He asks venomously.
"Go to hell , Stane."
"Ah yes, the classic Stark wit. Anyway, as I was saying, This genetic doppleganger
is the man you witnessed kill himself. He actually believed he was myself, as strange as
that may seem. This just perfected the illusion that much more. While he killed himself
before your very eyes, I was on a jet heading to Switzerland. I knew my time was finished,
in the spotlight , as it were. And I knew you had won. I had decided to live the rest of
my life away from the rest of the world. My fortune was well hidden, and more then capable
of sustaining me indefinitely."
"So what brought you back out from under whatever rock you were hiding beneath?
And back into my life?"
"The Mandarin did, Anthony. He found me here in Madripoor, where I was enjoying
the life of an elected public official."
"I other words , you were legally pillaging these people, adding to your own
fortune at their expense."
"I suppose that is one way of seeing it, Anthony. But all in all, I was growing
quite bored. I knew you would never find me here, as I had changed my name, and was
functioning for quite some time in this new arena. But the Mandarin was correct in his
assumption of one thing, I was growing tired here. I needed a new challenge, or rather an
old one. So we devised a plan that over the long term, would lead to your
destruction."
"So, "Begins Stark, "You hired Bethany under a false name, and drew her
here. When she realized who you were, you sent men to capture her."
"All true , Anthony. The Mandarin then used his mind control techniques to break
her will, even without her realizing it. She then became our willing pet."
"You animal."
"She was merely a tool , Anthony, to get at you. She served her purpose. Even to
the extent of attacking you earlier. But the time for chit chat is over. It's time you
were returned to your cell, where you will spend the rest of your life."
"Like hell, Stane."
As he speaks, Stark taps his right index fingernail, with his left index finger, and
suddenly, three floors below, in the dungeon-like cell of Jim Rhodes, his own finger nail
begins to pulse light.
"Great, now he does it, after tellin' me not to for half the day." As he
mumbles angrily to himself, Jim Rhodes duplicates Starks movement, and then stands at the
ready for something to happen
Back above...
"What have you done, Stark? " Shouts Stane, as the incoming scream of a
seemingly guided missile fills the office with its fury!.
Ba-BOOOM!
Suddenly the wall in Stanes office crumbles like paper, as the gleaming Iron Juggernaut
known as Iron Man is there!
"This is impossible! You're Iron Man!": Shouts Stane, as he runs for his
office door!
Zark! Zark!
Repulser blasts dog his trail, as he throws himself into the hall way.
"He was Iron Man at one time, Stane, but there's a new sheriff wearing the star in
this town." Comes the electronic, mechanized voice from the suit.
Then, Iron Man turns towards two pots in the room, and blasts them with his unibeam
Laser, destroying the hidden surveillance equipment . After that, the suit splits open
down the middle, and wraps itself back up, around Stark, the seams sealing perfectly.
"Now back to Rhodey!"
Suddenly, before Iron Man can move, the floor beneath his feet explodes upwards, as a
silver-gray titan rockets upwards, smashing the floor with is right fist, while carrying
the unconscious Bethany Cabe in his left.
"I see everything's cool here, Iron Man."
"Yes, War Machine, it's all very cool."
Then, a familiar voice from wall mounted speakers intrudes upon them. "Whoever you
are in those suits, it doesn't matter. I will see you both destroyed!"
"Stane." Growls Iron Man.
"Yeah, where is the ugly bum anyway?" Asks War Machine
"He ran out of here, when I , er, Iron Man arrived."
"Yeah, same thing happened down below when War Mach made an appearance."
Then, the remaining walls shatter around the two armored heroes
Boom!
"Incoming, War Machine!" Shouts Iron Man, as he streaks out of the way of
flying debris
"No Iron Man, You think?" Grumbles war Machine as half a wall falls on him.
There hovering in the air surrounding the two heroes are five different versions of the
Iron Monger suit. One is bulkier then the rest, one is thinner and lighter, another glows
externally with energy, yet another seems to actually shimmer in place, and the final one
is the original design.
"Uh oh." Breathes War Machine nervously.
"Ditto." Answers Iron Man.
Next: Final Conflict in Madripoor!
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