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deannawolTitle: Crisis Point
Author: Bon
Prompt: 616 | Iron Man | Gen | Tony's first crisis as head of S.H.I.E.L.D
Rating: 12
Word count: 1,227
Disclaimer: The characters and settings featured in this story are the property of Marvel Entertainment. This is a work of homage and no copyright infringement is intended.
Warnings: Moderate Violence
Author's notes: Wow, I never realised how hard it is to trap Tony now that he's got the Extremis armour. It's the ultimate (pardon the pun) Deus Ex that throws a spanner in the works. However, it's finally given me the chance that I needed to read all of Civil War and all of Invincible Ironman. Piece is unbetaed. All mistakes are mine. Hope you enjoy.
~#~#~
c:/>Activate CommsCheck.exe
>BEGIN COMMS STATUS CHECK...
>CURRENT STATUS: INACTIVE...
>REBOOT? Y/N
c:/>Y
>ATTEMPTING REBOOT...
>REBOOT FAILED. ABORT/RETRY/FAIL?
c:/>R
>REBOOT INIATIATED. INPUT PASSWORD TO CONTINUE:
c:/>**********
>PASSWORD NOT RECOGNISED. INPUT PASSWORD TO CONTINUE:
c:/>**********
>PASSWORD NOT RECOGNISED. INPUT PASSWORD TO CONTINUE:
c:/>**********
>PASSWORD NOT RECOGNISED. EXECUTING S.H.I.E.L.D. INITIATIVE #7-D.
>Please do not leave your current location. S.H.I.E.L.D. Personnel are currently en route to take you into custody. Local lockdown has been initiated. Attempts at escape will be met with lethal force. This is your only warning.
Tony cursed as he disconnected from the S.H.I.E.L.D. Communications Network. Everything had gone dark just over two minutes ago and a carrier-wide shutdown had been initiated. Vidphones, personal cell phones, Hell, even email had gone down. Not even his Extremis upgrade had been able to get past the dampening.
The half second long squawk from the emergency klaxons had been the first sign that something was going on but there had been no follow-up. That, in itself, was unusual. His first clue that something was happening on the carrier. The second had been his office door. Solidly locked down and electrified. Nothing that he couldn't have dealt with easily but he had wanted more information on the situation before he'd gone bursting through the six inch thick bulkhead, but it seemed now that he had little choice in the matter.
Stripping out of his expensive Armani suit, he sent the mental command to activate the suit. The golden layer crawled over his skin until it covered every inch of him. He flexed, settling into the comfortable feeling of the encasing armour. Another thought and the red plates flew free from the briefcase and snapped into place. He reached up and snapped the mask into place.
A single well-placed punch was enough to buckle the doors and send them flying off their proverbial hinges and into the corridor beyond. Tony started down the corridor, amping his hearing up to take in any sound, any sign of the cause of the current crisis. Familiar voices echoed from behind locked and sealed doors. Frustrated S.H.I.E.L.D. staff trying to find a way out of the lockdown. But he couldn't focus on those now. He had bigger fish to fry.
It didn't take him long to get to the Command Centre of the Helicarrier. To his surprise, the door slid open as he approached. Carefully, he stepped inside. Everything looked normal. Technicians worked away as usual, calling out readings to one another. Tony frowned under the mask. Deputy Director Hill stood with her back to him, facing to look out the window.
"Deputy Hill?" Tony called, his voice sounding metallic as he spoke.
She didn't turn, didn't even hint that she had heard him. He moved closer, calling to her again. Still no answer. His thermograph showed her core temperature to be twenty degrees, room temperature. Cautiously, he moved around her. Her pulse was almost undetectable. Respiration rate much too low. She seemed to be only an inch away from death. Tony stepped around until he could see her face. Blank white eyes looked straight ahead, unblinking. He waved his hand in front of her face but... no reaction.
"Yes, sir. Continuing to stage 3." Deputy Director Hill spoke, startling Tony.
Her voice was devoid of any emotion. If he didn't know better, he would have assumed that she was one of Fury's LMD's, except of course, that they had better programming and were more lifelike than the woman standing in front of him.
The carrier lurched under him, pitching the command crew sideways. His eyes flicked to the window and in that instant, his heart fell. Straight in front of them, and rapidly approaching, was New York City. Tony cursed.
He rushed to the navigation console and almost threw the boy manning it to the ground as his focus narrowed to the readings on the screen. The digital display showing the altitude blurred in an attempt to map the ever changing speed of the falling carrier. Tony tried again to connect with the system. One attempt, two attempts and then breakthrough.
Redlining systems flashed across his vision as he tried to get the engines to kick back in. The bulkheads screamed in protest as the engines kicked in and the carrier fought to level out. A crack shook the super-structure as the weld holding one of the twenty-seven thousand ton engines started to give way.
Images of a long ago surfing lesson came to mind, but thankfully, this was going better that his escapades in riding the harsh waves off the Baja coast. Finally, the carrier was back on a level course and starting to rise again. Tony took a moment to sigh in relief. He quickly cancelled the lockdown and sent out a Priority One Alert.
"Nooo..."
Tony whipped around to see Maria Hill approaching him, gun out and ready to fire. The voice wasn't her usual cool, clipped tone or even the coldness that he'd heard from her earlier. This was pure guttural hatred. Instinctively, Tony held up his hands, repulsors warming with a thought.
"Deputy Director..." Tony started. "Maria... I don't want to do this."
"Aww, how sweet." The voice turned condescending. "But Maria isn't here right now."
"Ah." Tony nodded. He'd suspected as much but it was always nice to have a little confirmation. "You realise that guns won't work on me?" He smirked under the mask. "They just make me mad."
"Oh, I'm very aware of that, IronMan." There was a hint of laughter in the voice now.
Tony could see the tensing of the muscles of the Deputy Director's right hand. He moved, using the repulsors to give him an extra speed boost. The bullet shot was deafening as his hands closed the gun, wrenching it from her cold hands. But it was a fraction of a second too late. The glass behind him spider webbed and cracked. The pressurised air whistled as it escaped. And then, Hell broke loose. The pressurised atmosphere gave way to vacuum. Tony magnetized the bottom of his boots but that didn't help the agents currently plummeting to their deaths.
"This isn't over." Tony called over his shoulder as he started towards the cracked window. He barely registered the sound of running footsteps as the S.H.I.E.L.D. security forces entered the room. He pulsed a request to close the shields as he flung himself through the hole, confident that security would take care of the command crew.
He kicked the repulsors in, speeding quickly towards the falling man. It was easy to catch the first man, and the second, but the third was going to be tricky. Tony manoeuvered the men until he had enough free real estate to catch and hold the third man before heading back up to the carrier.
The airlock opened as he approached. The men fell to the floor, gasping for air. Tony quickly sent for a medical team as he waited the interminable seconds for the airlock to repressurise. He was already watching the security feeds and watching medical teams struggle to revive the command staff. Whoever had infiltrated their minds seemed to be gone leaving chaos in his wake but appearances could be deceiving.
He dialled a number and listened to the ringing, waiting for the other party to pick up.
"Hello?"
"Emma? It's Tony Stark... I need a favour."
Author: Bon
Prompt: 616 | Iron Man | Gen | Tony's first crisis as head of S.H.I.E.L.D
Rating: 12
Word count: 1,227
Disclaimer: The characters and settings featured in this story are the property of Marvel Entertainment. This is a work of homage and no copyright infringement is intended.
Warnings: Moderate Violence
Author's notes: Wow, I never realised how hard it is to trap Tony now that he's got the Extremis armour. It's the ultimate (pardon the pun) Deus Ex that throws a spanner in the works. However, it's finally given me the chance that I needed to read all of Civil War and all of Invincible Ironman. Piece is unbetaed. All mistakes are mine. Hope you enjoy.
~#~#~
c:/>Activate CommsCheck.exe
>BEGIN COMMS STATUS CHECK...
>CURRENT STATUS: INACTIVE...
>REBOOT? Y/N
c:/>Y
>ATTEMPTING REBOOT...
>REBOOT FAILED. ABORT/RETRY/FAIL?
c:/>R
>REBOOT INIATIATED. INPUT PASSWORD TO CONTINUE:
c:/>**********
>PASSWORD NOT RECOGNISED. INPUT PASSWORD TO CONTINUE:
c:/>**********
>PASSWORD NOT RECOGNISED. INPUT PASSWORD TO CONTINUE:
c:/>**********
>PASSWORD NOT RECOGNISED. EXECUTING S.H.I.E.L.D. INITIATIVE #7-D.
>Please do not leave your current location. S.H.I.E.L.D. Personnel are currently en route to take you into custody. Local lockdown has been initiated. Attempts at escape will be met with lethal force. This is your only warning.
Tony cursed as he disconnected from the S.H.I.E.L.D. Communications Network. Everything had gone dark just over two minutes ago and a carrier-wide shutdown had been initiated. Vidphones, personal cell phones, Hell, even email had gone down. Not even his Extremis upgrade had been able to get past the dampening.
The half second long squawk from the emergency klaxons had been the first sign that something was going on but there had been no follow-up. That, in itself, was unusual. His first clue that something was happening on the carrier. The second had been his office door. Solidly locked down and electrified. Nothing that he couldn't have dealt with easily but he had wanted more information on the situation before he'd gone bursting through the six inch thick bulkhead, but it seemed now that he had little choice in the matter.
Stripping out of his expensive Armani suit, he sent the mental command to activate the suit. The golden layer crawled over his skin until it covered every inch of him. He flexed, settling into the comfortable feeling of the encasing armour. Another thought and the red plates flew free from the briefcase and snapped into place. He reached up and snapped the mask into place.
A single well-placed punch was enough to buckle the doors and send them flying off their proverbial hinges and into the corridor beyond. Tony started down the corridor, amping his hearing up to take in any sound, any sign of the cause of the current crisis. Familiar voices echoed from behind locked and sealed doors. Frustrated S.H.I.E.L.D. staff trying to find a way out of the lockdown. But he couldn't focus on those now. He had bigger fish to fry.
It didn't take him long to get to the Command Centre of the Helicarrier. To his surprise, the door slid open as he approached. Carefully, he stepped inside. Everything looked normal. Technicians worked away as usual, calling out readings to one another. Tony frowned under the mask. Deputy Director Hill stood with her back to him, facing to look out the window.
"Deputy Hill?" Tony called, his voice sounding metallic as he spoke.
She didn't turn, didn't even hint that she had heard him. He moved closer, calling to her again. Still no answer. His thermograph showed her core temperature to be twenty degrees, room temperature. Cautiously, he moved around her. Her pulse was almost undetectable. Respiration rate much too low. She seemed to be only an inch away from death. Tony stepped around until he could see her face. Blank white eyes looked straight ahead, unblinking. He waved his hand in front of her face but... no reaction.
"Yes, sir. Continuing to stage 3." Deputy Director Hill spoke, startling Tony.
Her voice was devoid of any emotion. If he didn't know better, he would have assumed that she was one of Fury's LMD's, except of course, that they had better programming and were more lifelike than the woman standing in front of him.
The carrier lurched under him, pitching the command crew sideways. His eyes flicked to the window and in that instant, his heart fell. Straight in front of them, and rapidly approaching, was New York City. Tony cursed.
He rushed to the navigation console and almost threw the boy manning it to the ground as his focus narrowed to the readings on the screen. The digital display showing the altitude blurred in an attempt to map the ever changing speed of the falling carrier. Tony tried again to connect with the system. One attempt, two attempts and then breakthrough.
Redlining systems flashed across his vision as he tried to get the engines to kick back in. The bulkheads screamed in protest as the engines kicked in and the carrier fought to level out. A crack shook the super-structure as the weld holding one of the twenty-seven thousand ton engines started to give way.
Images of a long ago surfing lesson came to mind, but thankfully, this was going better that his escapades in riding the harsh waves off the Baja coast. Finally, the carrier was back on a level course and starting to rise again. Tony took a moment to sigh in relief. He quickly cancelled the lockdown and sent out a Priority One Alert.
"Nooo..."
Tony whipped around to see Maria Hill approaching him, gun out and ready to fire. The voice wasn't her usual cool, clipped tone or even the coldness that he'd heard from her earlier. This was pure guttural hatred. Instinctively, Tony held up his hands, repulsors warming with a thought.
"Deputy Director..." Tony started. "Maria... I don't want to do this."
"Aww, how sweet." The voice turned condescending. "But Maria isn't here right now."
"Ah." Tony nodded. He'd suspected as much but it was always nice to have a little confirmation. "You realise that guns won't work on me?" He smirked under the mask. "They just make me mad."
"Oh, I'm very aware of that, IronMan." There was a hint of laughter in the voice now.
Tony could see the tensing of the muscles of the Deputy Director's right hand. He moved, using the repulsors to give him an extra speed boost. The bullet shot was deafening as his hands closed the gun, wrenching it from her cold hands. But it was a fraction of a second too late. The glass behind him spider webbed and cracked. The pressurised air whistled as it escaped. And then, Hell broke loose. The pressurised atmosphere gave way to vacuum. Tony magnetized the bottom of his boots but that didn't help the agents currently plummeting to their deaths.
"This isn't over." Tony called over his shoulder as he started towards the cracked window. He barely registered the sound of running footsteps as the S.H.I.E.L.D. security forces entered the room. He pulsed a request to close the shields as he flung himself through the hole, confident that security would take care of the command crew.
He kicked the repulsors in, speeding quickly towards the falling man. It was easy to catch the first man, and the second, but the third was going to be tricky. Tony manoeuvered the men until he had enough free real estate to catch and hold the third man before heading back up to the carrier.
The airlock opened as he approached. The men fell to the floor, gasping for air. Tony quickly sent for a medical team as he waited the interminable seconds for the airlock to repressurise. He was already watching the security feeds and watching medical teams struggle to revive the command staff. Whoever had infiltrated their minds seemed to be gone leaving chaos in his wake but appearances could be deceiving.
He dialled a number and listened to the ringing, waiting for the other party to pick up.
"Hello?"
"Emma? It's Tony Stark... I need a favour."
no subject
Date: 2008-08-23 04:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 01:26 pm (UTC)I probably will try to write more of this just to see where it goes. And because Tony is such a challenge to write post Extremis.
Thanks again.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 08:45 pm (UTC)I was pretty put off by the idea of the extremis armour. It takes away Starks main weakness and heroes without a weakness are very boring, it's why I can't stand Superman. It's good to see its possible to still have a fallible Stark/Iron man. I approve!
no subject
Date: 2008-08-24 10:52 pm (UTC)Had to go and read all of Civil War (including specials) and the first 12 Invincible IronMan comics to get an idea of Extremis and try to plan a way around it.
Infact, one of the new relaunched series (post film) are really quite good because it's reset IronMan to Tony Stark.