Earth 534834
20th November 1992
11:27 GMT -5
"…
telling you, if you ain't got an appointment then I ain't letting you
in."
Mr. LeBeau reaches into his coat.
"How's about-?"
I elbow him. "We commend you on doing your job so diligently.
However, we believe that Iron Man has been looking for the owner of this-"
I take the ring out of subspace and slide it through the slot in the guard station.
"-for some time, and he may appreciate being told of its location."
"I can't just phone up
Tony Stark and ask him to come down here!"
"No, but you
can phone the head of security and say 'weird ring at the front gate'. And if he tells you to tell
us to get lost…" I shrug. "We'll clear off and make an actual appointment."
The security guard looks into my eyes for a few moments, then sighs and reaches for the booth's phone.
"Alright, but if Iron Man throws you off the lot with a unibeam, don't blame me."
"Thank you, wouldn't dream of it."
I take a step back as he starts dialling, keeping a watchful eye on us both all the while.
Mr. LeBeau frowns at me.
"Why didn't you phone ahead?"
"I don't have his number. And I didn't exactly
plan for you to blow up my cake this morning."
"…guy at the front gate. Says he wants Mister Stark or Iron Man. Got some weird rings-." He frowns, taking a closer look at me. "Ah, yeah? He's-." … "Right away, sir."
He drops the phone, turns, and dashes out of the booth, sprinting for the main building.
…
Oh. Oh, they think-.
Shield!
Mr. LeBeau is already on his marks, staff extended as he watches for where the attack will come from. We
both spot the plume of flame from the roof of the Stark Enterprises building at the same time. I respond by reorientating
my shield and switching to my armoured costume while Mr. LeBeau steps into the cover of the guard booth.
"What you do to rile them up?"
"I think they just had a bit of a miscommunication-"
The plume of flame vanishes as the armour switches to a dive, heading directly towards us. It's-. Not Iron Man. Dark blue, grey and white.
War Machine.
"-about who we are. You see, the
original owner of that ring-"
I send construct filaments through the opening in the guard screen and recover it. "-kidnapped Anthony Stark, gave him permanent spinal injuries and used him for slave labour before he escaped."
"So when they
ask, I didn't come here with
you."
A wave of hot air washes over us as War Machine brakes, switching to an upright position as he points his arm-mounted weapons at me.
"Drop your weapons."
I gamely raise my hands. "Strictly speaking, I'm not carrying any weapons."
"Sure doesn't looks like that to me."
"A shield is generally considered armour. May I draw your attention to the fact that I'm not
green?"
"If you're not working for the Mandarin, where did you get that ring?"
I take the finger out of subspace and throw it at him. He actually catches it rather than dodging or shooting, bringing his right hand up to his faceplate to get a closer look.
"The heck is-?"
…
"Is this what I think it is?"
"If you think it's the Mandarin's finger, yes. That's how I got the ring."
"And the Mandarin?"
"Got away, down a finger and a-" I hold the ring up. "-ring. Otherwise I'd have said something before now. Do you think you can..? Lower your guns now?"
He hesitates for a moment, then lowers his arms and descends to the ground.
"You want something?"
"A friend of mine needs a piece of equipment that I'm hoping that Stark Enterprises can develop. I wanted to offer Mister Stark this ring in exchange."
"And what does your friend hiding behind the booth want?"
I roll my eyes. "A kick up the arse, probably. Miste-. Gambit?"
Staff folded away but hands concealed, Mr. LeBeau steps back into view.
"Gambit?"
I roll my eyes. "Yes,
War Machine?"
"Question.. withdrawn."
"Hey, don't feel bad." Mr. LeBeau nods his head in my direction. "This guy picked 'Orange Lantern'."
"On Maltus, the lantern is the symbol of law enforcement, while the colour refers to-. Never mind. Has Mister Stark agreed to meet us?"
"Yeah, he'll meet you. His office is on the top floor. You want a lift?"
"
I can fly. Gambit?"
He shrugs, which is sufficiently unhelpful that I just
stick orange greaves around his legs and carry him with us. He schools his expression
almost immediately and flashes me a decidedly put-out look as we land on the roof. Mr. Stark appears to have seen us coming and is waiting for us, leaning on his walking stick. A briefcase… Probably containing a low-weight version of his power armour is propped up against the roof exit wall.
"So! You took the Mandarin's finger! Nice work. Want a job? I could always use
two bodyguards."
"Not at present, but thank you for the offer. I'm trying to improve my skills before returning full-time to the field."
"Seems to
me your skills are pretty good."
"'Pretty good' would have been getting the rest of him. Listen,-."
"I was listening. I get the Mandarin's ring, you get whatever it is your friend wants. So what does he want?"
"A friend of.. mine and Gambit's has a preternatural ability which causes her to drain the vitality out of any animal she touches. She can't turn it off. I was hoping that you'd be able to design some sort of skin tight force field that would deliver tactile feedback, because… As things stand, she can't touch people."
"Force fields aren't really my
strong point, but I could look into it. And I know some people. Show me the ring?"
I float it over to him, and he snatches it out of my construct before examining it closely.
"Yeah, I recognize this. And you
don't, clearly."
"I'm sorry?"
He looks at me like I'm a somewhat slow child.
"This is the impact beam ring. Your friend could probably make the sort of force field you want just by putting it on." He shrugs as my right palm meets my forehead. "I mean, I'll still take the commission if you
want me to..?"
Mr. LeBeau raises his eyebrows.
"How long you had dat ring?"
"A.. while, but I didn't want to risk testing it in case it was dangerous to the user, or… Had some sort of security."
Mr. Stark shakes his head. "Not as far as I know. If the Mandarin knew how to make them, he'd have them on his toes as well. I think he found them somewhere else and took them. Which
means…"
"No security, or he wouldn't have been able to."
I
sigh.
"Right! Sorry to have wasted everyone's time. I'll be heading home now to give Rogue the good news."
...Well, that can't be good... Oh hell, are we going to have a 'Let's you and Him fight' moment?
