Time for more fanfiction!
Batman coordinates with Batgirl. Iron Man races to the Gotham Convention Center to stop the theft of his latest invention.
Want to read this from the start? CLICK HERE!
“Go ahead, caller,” Barbara said to the sound of Batman’s voice over their private line to the Batcave.
“Iron Man just left the Iceberg Lounge heading south,” Batman said. “I’m tailing him in the Batmobile. Any chatter?”
Barbara’s fingers worked the Batcomputer’s keyboard. On a spare monitor, she pulled up a list of recent police alerts. One caught her attention.
“We’ve got action over at the convention center,” she said. “Isn’t that where you met with Stark for his demo?”
“Yes,” Batman said as he steered the sleek model Batmobile through late night Gotham City traffic.
Batman’s confirmation got Barbara moving. She pulled up more data on the police report.
“Looks like someone’s blown the roof off the building, directly over the Stark exhibit,” Barbara said. “A helicopter’s there; I’d guess some goons are running the show. Other reports say Iron Man is en route.”
“So am I,” Batman said.
“You need backup?”
“Those Russians work with your red-haired mystery woman. Penguin said she’s ex-KGB.”
“She looks a bit young for that,” Barbara muttered.
“Find out who she is.”
“My worm is running. Hopefully, it’ll get us into SHIELD.”
“Meanwhile, I need you to hack me into Iron Man’s internal network.”
Barbara’s jaw dropped. “You want me to what?”
Batman steered into oncoming traffic to avoid cars stopped at a stoplight. He barely moved back into the proper lane without hitting anyone.
“Iron Man has an internal A.I. that helps control his suit,” Batman said. “I need you to isolate that network and patch me in.”
Barbara’s shock turned into a grin. “You want me to hack Iron Man?” She cracked her knuckles. “Challenge!”
Meanwhile, Iron Man cruised through the canyons of Gotham’s central downtown district on the way to the convention center.
“I’m gonna be honest, Friday,” Stark said to his Iron Man suit’s artificial intelligence. “I’ve had a bit to drink tonight, so you may have to do the heavy lifting. Literally.”
“Would you prefer I dropped you off and handled this remotely?”
“And miss the fun? No thanks. What are we looking at?”
“Logging into local law enforcement channels and satellite imaging.”
In his heads-up display, Stark saw the real-time image of Gotham City from space. The image zoomed in several times, emphasizing the Gotham Convention Center.
A military-style helicopter was parked on the roof, its blades still spinning as if ready for a quick exit. There was a large hole in the roof next to it. The image zoomed again.
Stark saw three rappel lines from the chopper dropping down into the convention center.
“How far out are Gotham’s Finest?” Stark asked.
“Usual response time is less than five minutes,” the A.I. responded. “But please note the heavy artillery utilized by the intruders. They may outmatch the police’s initial response team.”
“Any sign of Gotham’s caped crusaders?”
“The Batmobile is in route, ETA three minutes.”
“Get me there in one. But, uh, easy on the turns. Don’t wanna barf in the helmet.”
Fifty-eight seconds and several wide turns later, Iron Man arrived at the Gotham Convention Center. No sooner had he approached, but a large man stepped out of the helicopter.
The burly man wore a mask that covered his entire head in black with two red stripes running over his eyes.
The man was also jacked up like a bodybuilder in an all-black ensemble that showed off his thighs, arms, and chest.
The WWE reject pointed his left arm at Iron Man; that’s when Stark realized a cannon with two barrels replaced the man’s left hand and forearm.
“Remember what I said about no sharp turns, Friday?” Stark said. “Forget it! Evasive!”
The man launched a small rocket from his hand cannon. Friday turned the suit away from it, but the man’s aim was true. The rocket exploded against Iron Man’s side, pushing him out of his planned flight path.
He was quickly able to regain control, but the delay put him in the path of a second rocket.
The rocket hit Iron Man square in the chest, launching him backward.
“Well this isn’t going very well,” Stark quipped.
“A third rocket approaching,” Friday warned.
“How many of these things does —”
“Allow me,” Friday said.
An energy beam launched from Iron Man’s right palm. It cut through the third rocket, causing it to explode a distance from the armored suit.
“Nice shooting!” Stark said.
He looked at his opponent. The man worked at his hand cannon, probably reloading.
“Best take the advantage!” Stark said.
Too slow! The cannon man fired again, scoring another hit. This explosion crippled one of Iron Man’s boots, spinning him out of control.
“Emergency landing, Friday!” Stark commanded.
Using the suit’s hand cannons at low energy, Friday guided the suit down to a landing atop the convention center. Stark hobbled on his broken boot. He was now a hundred feet from his attacker. The two locked eyes.
“Maybe he’ll wanna do this mono-a-mono now?” Stark hoped.
“So, this is the great Iron Man?” the cannon blaster said. His accent was Russian. Fitting, after what Fury had told Stark earlier. “If this is the best America can do, we will defeat you most easily.”
“Ain’t over ‘til the fat lady, pal,” Stark said over the suit’s external speaker.
The Russian held up his cannon while walking away from the helicopter. The cannon spun at the elbow, then locked in place. Stark took an uneasy step back.
The Russian aimed at Stark and fired a volley of bullets from his hand cannon. Bullets smashed into the armor.
“Think I felt that,” Stark said through gritted teeth. “Offensive!”
Stark felt Friday raise both of his hands. She fired another blast, this time directly at the Russian. The blast went wide.
“Adjusting,” Friday said.
Luckily, the Russian’s second machine gun barrage strayed wide too.
Iron Man’s next shot didn’t.
The Russian went down.
“Let’s lead with that next time, Friday,” Stark said. He stumbled his way over to the helicopter and the fallen Russian agent.
“Warning!” Friday said. “Someone has hacked into our internal network.”
“Stark,” came a gravelly voice over the armor’s internal communication set.
“Who the hell is this?” Stark asked.
To be continued…
While writing this fanfiction, I used Green Ronin’s Mutants and Masterminds, 3rd Edition RPG, to leave some things to chance. Check it out!
Like this fanfiction? Check out Mark’s original “Shadowdance” saga books!
Copyright Info
DC Adventures, Copyright 2011, Green Ronin Publishing; Author Steve Kenson. It’s now Mutants and Masterminds, 3rd Edition
Advanced Player’s Manual, Copyright 2005, Green Ronin Publishing: Author Skip Williams.
The characters Iron Man, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Vanko, Black Widow and Nick Fury are Copyright Marvel Comics
The characters Batman/ Bruce Wayne, Batgirl/ Barbara Gordon, Black Mask, the Penguin/ Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, Renee Montoya, Commissioner Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth, Robin/ Dick Grayson, KGBeast and Bane are Copyright DC Comics
The character Juri Han is Copyright Capcom
None of the characters belong to me as this is fanfiction, done for fun, and as a creative exercise.
