Marvel Iron Age: War Machine
Machine Men and Agents of Death 2 of 4
Abandoned Subway Tunnels,
beneath Manhattan:
“We're secure for the moment. But this location will no longer be of use.” Ngumi said. After the brief confrontation War Machine went with Ngumi to a small facility in the subway tunnels. The tunnels were nearly two hundred years old and had seen little use. The perfect hiding spot. She learned that War Machine didn't remember his name, that he was always referred to as weapon twenty. That an organization called Weapon Plus was building living weapons. Ngumi alerted Carol Danvers immediately with this news.
“Fine. What about him?” Carol said over the screen, gesturing toward the War Machine.
“He's just confused, Colonel. I think this is the first time he's ever had a choice.” Ngumi turned around, he was sitting next to an old train car. Saying nothing as he stared at the ceiling. “I'm going to keep an eye on him.”
“What do we know about Weapon Plus?”
“Nothing ma'am. But I suspect that they are a Ferrum sub-division, of an older program of the same name.” Ngumi answered. “We can't say how much he actually knows.”
“I'll be the judge of that. Get him to base.” Carol ordered. An agent ran beside Carol, looking frantic he whispered something into her ear and exited the screen. Carol chewed her bottom lip, contemplating what she heard.
“Colonel?”
“I need you to make a detour. I'm sending you the coordinates and further instructions, bring guns.” Carol cut the connection, the screen went black.
“What do we do know?” Weapon twenty said. “You take me to your leader and she decides what to do with me?”
Ngumi walked from the monitor and over to a table on the other side of the tunnel. “She will want to speak with you. I suspect...” She lays her hands down on the table, pressing a button and putting them in a glass box. “You can do what you like from there.”
The glass box beeped and scanned her hands. Tiny mechanical arms from underneath the box got to work on her missing fingers. A red light paced back and forth on her hands, while the arms cut into the nubs and started threading bone and tissue together. After a minute her fingers were completely repaired.
She pulled her hands out of the box and sighed. “That’s better.”
“What was that?” Weapon twenty pondered.
Ngumi walked to an old closet and pulled out the old leather jacket she was wearing before, the words “wild pack” were stitched into them and were starting to fade. “Homio-synthetics. A mix of organic and cybernetic. My skin and bone, just a little extra.” She said casually.
She pulled out two mass accelerator pistols and holstered them in her jacket. She turned around and walked to the exit, pulling out her communicator. “Stay here.” she ordered
Weapon twenty got to his feet and marched to the agent. “I'm coming with you.”he objected.
He grabbed her shoulder, Ngumi whipped around giving him a detached apathetic look that sent a chill through him. “Well then... by all means come.”
Latverian quarter,
Iron Skirt bar:
Weapon twenty observed the bar. They were in a small Latverian speaking district in New York city. It's drunken patrons were singing loudly in their native tongues. Since New Latveria is comprised of several former eastern European countries many languages were being spoken all at the same time. A less than flattering picture of Doctor Doom hung on the rafters. He was bent over wearing a bright pink miniskirt, large fake prosthetic breasts clung from his forehead.
One man in particular caught his attention. He seemed to stick out. He wasn't singing, or speaking. According to his scans he was however just as drunk. He looked as though he hadn't bathed in weeks and something weighed heavy on his mind. “So that’s him?” he said disbelieving.
“Yep.” Ngumi whispered, sitting at the bar. “Darius Stane aka Distain.” She ordered the both of them a drink. The bar tender nodded, while cleaning a glass. Two orders of captain and coke arose from two slots in the bar stand and slid to the pair.
Weapon twenty has heard of Distain. An ebony clad armor terrorizing the Iron army for months. The doctor at Weapon Plus expressed interest in pitting the two of them together and examining his armor, against Distain. The fight was just as appealing to him as well. “Okay, the plan is--” Ngumi looked at him and before she could say anything weapon twenty was headed toward Darius.
“Shit.” Ngumi said downing her glass of captain.
“Darius Stane?” Weapon twenty growled in a hollow metallic voice.
“Son of Nicodemus; son of Samuel; son of Zachariah; son of Ezra; son of Jeremiah; son of Solomon; son of Ezekial; son of Obadiah.” Darius said in an almost ritualistic fashion. He chugged a beer and downed a shot of whiskey, throwing the glass on the floor. “Liars!” He collapsed on the table and buried his head in his arms.
Weapon twenty lifted the man by his shirt collar and stared at him. “You are the, Distain? A drunken slop of a man. The man who burned off that psychopath Scalphunter's face and stole his sword.” He dropped him on the floor, leaving an audible thud when he hit the ground.
On the other side of the bar, Ngumi was sipping her other drink and turned to the barman. “I hope you have good insurance.”
The bar got quiet. Everyone was watching the two men. Darius smiled at weapon twenty and raised a finger. “Friend...” In a heart beat a techno-organic black armor molded over his body. Unleashing the, Distain! He fired powerful repulsor blast at weapon twenty that sent him flying out of the bar. “You've just done the dumbest thing in your life! Do you know who I am!”
A flash of green light appeared beyond the debris in the other building that weapon twenty was shot into. Enveloped in the War Machine armor he floated silently toward, Distain. “No,” he said. “But lets get acquainted!” In a flash he flew back into the bar and both armored warriors were launched through the back wall.
Ngumi took cover behind the bar and spoke into the communicator. “Colonel this is agent Takada... War Machine and Darius Stane are engaged.”
“What the hell happened!” She barked, the holographic image of the Colonel didn't quite display the amount of fury on her face.
“Send back up.” Ngumi cut off the communicator and ran after the two.
The fight in a very short amount of time enveloped the entire Latverian district. Anything, Distain could dish out, War Machine could take. And just as well give. “Die!” Distain roared firing the omni beam from his chest. War Machine threw up a shield that took the blast and sent it back at Stane. Hitting him directly.
Distain crashed into the ground leaving a large crater. War Machine's armor formed a large cannon on top of his right forearm. He fired a beam of intense energy at Distain. Darius quickly fired up his jets and flew out of the way, the beam following him. He flew in circles as the beam cut into several buildings. He charged War Machine, managing to smash the cannon with a well timed replusor blast.
Darius swung a right hook that knocked him on top a roof top. Unlocking his napalm cannon he sprayed liquid fire on the armored man, enveloping the surrounding buildings in flame. “Not so big now! I don't know who you are but an antiquated copy of my Supremis!”
[I've never heard of the Supremis. But there is nothing antiquated about the War Machine.]
In the corner of his eye, a message read on his visor.
Foreign artificial intelligence attempting to hack into systems. WARNING! WARNING! Supremis' systems are being compromised!
“What!” Darius couldn't believe it, his suits systems were being hacked. A situation he hadn't prepared for. “Activate counter measures! Determine source of cyber attack!”
“Right here!” War Machine hollered, landing an uppercut on Distain. Darius crashed into the lobby of an empty building. War Machine's armor opened up at the shoulders and fired a volley of hellfire missiles at Distain, leveling the building.
Distain flew out of the rubble, his deflector shields held. War Machine charged slamming his fist through the shields and into Darius' face. The impacted knocked him on his back and sent him skidding on the street and landing on the remains of a hover car. War Machine walked forward. Darius was furious, everything he attempted was countered by this thing. All his defenses ignored.
He raised his right had and prepared to fire his Type- Z repulsor cannon. “I'd like to see you get up from this you #%$&!”
[Type Z repulsor cannon hacked. Functions ceased.]
“That armor. It's more advanced than anything the Iron army or Ferrum is developing.” War Machine said, his metallic voice echoing in Darius' helmet. “The people that made me are ten years ahead of whatever you've got inside the Supremis. Any guess on what I was made for?”
Darius laughed. “Same can be said for you.”
[Virus detected. All weaponry off line. This guy is good, I didn't even notice he was countering us.]
“What?”
Distain ran after War Machine on foot, tackling him to the ground. He landed a series of vicious punches against the War Machine. War Machine returned with a knee to the ribs and an elbow to the top of Distain's head. War Machine pulled up Distain's left arm and planted a foot on his back. “Why do you do this. Why fight the Iron army.”
Distain rolled over and swept the legs of his armored enemy. He drew Scalphunter's sword and swung at War Machine. He raised his arm and blocked it with ease. “With the power you have in this suit you could do so much more. You can be more!” War Machine booted Darius in the chest.
Darius stood his ground, War Machine no longer attacked. His question echoed in his mind. All his life he's hated Tony Stark, feeling him responsible for all that was wrong in the world. But since his defeat at the hand of the Supreme Commander, also known as Stryfe. Stryfe had gone through his mind like a book and revealed every falsehood he'd been told. He wasn't only beaten, he was humiliated and had nothing left. “It's all I knew.” Darius answered.
“IN THE NAME OF THE SUPREME COMMANDER, YOU ARE BOTH UNDER ARREST!” A large voice exploded from the sky. With both of their suits systems being hacked, both War Machine and Distain hadn't noticed a battalion of Iron soldiers floated in the sky above them. They had their weapons at the ready.
War Machine and Darius regained control of their armors systems, readying their weapons. The stared at each other for a while, then nodded. They pointed their weapons at the Iron soldiers around them. They're back to back, ready to fight until the last Iron soldier was standing.
“Now that won't be necessary.” Ngumi said, coming out of a dark portal that seemed like a cut in reality itself. A similar dark portal opened up around them and then swallowed them into overwhelming darkness.
Distain and War Machine stood enveloped in the darkest area they've ever known. War Machine scanned the area picking up nothing but trace amounts of dark energy and something else. “Where are we?” Distain questioned.
“I don't know.” Light poured in, blinding the two of them. When they regained their composure they found themselves in a dense forest area.
“You were both in the Darkforce.” Ngumi answered from behind them. Next to her stood a silver haired woman, who had an angry scowl on her face.
“Ngumi, Carol payed me to pick up the two of you.” She pointed at Distain and glared at the woman. “Nothing was said about a third so his ass gets dropped off here!”
Ngumi walked passed her and without looking at her she says, “Of course, Silver.”
Ngumi eyes, Darius for a while. Darius looks back at her confused as to the days goings on. “Mind telling me what the hell is going on?”
Ngumi said nothing. “Who are you people?” Distain demanded.
“My name is Agent Ngumi Takada of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Ngumi answered in an official tone. “I've come to speak to you by the order of Colonel Danvers.”
Darius being born in New Latveria knew what SHIELD was. There they acted as a kind of elite guard as far as he understood. He never really payed it any attention. But here in North America, they were the suspects in the Chicago Incident. Darius crossed his arms, suspicious of the Shield agent. “And what could she want?”
Ngumi cracked a knowing smile. “She's building a team.”
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