[center][img]http://fanart.tv/fanart/movies/1726/hdmovielogo/iron-man-503ce7ba6e171.png[/img][/center] Tony lifted his head off the ground, looking through the H.U.D as it flickered back to life. "J.A.R.V.I.S. You there bud?" It took a couple of minutes before the AI spoke. "Yes sir." He pushed with both hands raising him to the ground slowly in what was left of an old abandoned school house in the middle east, which had supposedly been storing several off his weapons. However now there was no school house and there were definitely no weapons. "It appears to have been a trap sir, as soon as we touched down packs of explosives went off.""Yeah, I got that. Just why does it hurt so much?" He stood as the hud became follow operational and he did a quick 360 loop to check that no-one was currently coming at him with any more weaponry. "You were flung three hundred meters into the air and landed poorly. I surmise that you have broken at least two ribs.""Oh, that makes sense." Pinging began rattling against his back, he turned and took to a knee wincing slightly as he did so. He raised his right arm and with the subtle movement off his fingers the repulsor charged and fired off a blast at his assailant, who spun and then went to the ground. "Flight systems?""Currently inoperable. I'm still calibrating the suit.""Do we produce thrust?""Yes sir.""Good, just stand by." He began walking out of what the was sure was a nice school classroom full of learning and other good things, it was just missing some decor. Like a wall, or three other walls. He sometimes wished he had built the suit for added speed, however it was a hindrance to run in and didn't really make him any faster. Pretty soon more militia began running at him, firing weapons in the air and at him. Most of it missing its mark due to the untrained nature of the militia. "They just don't learn, do they Jarvis?""Apparently not sir.""Flight systems?""Almost ready sir." "How ready?""About a minute, sir." He pushed his feet forward slightly digging his toes in as the jets on his boots activated. "All right, I'll make you stand by that remark." If all went well, he could gather altitude and then Jarvis would kick in with the flaps. Though a couple of seconds up, the pinging of weapons fire long gone the flight systems still read as down. "Uh, Jarvis.""Almost there sir." A rocket flew up into the sky as a lock on alarm sounded, he had used all his flares earlier and couldn't dodge it. He wasn't sure if his body could take another hit and then a fall. "I really need the flight systems up.""Almost there sir." The rocket continued towards him. "Jarvis!" He naturally closed his eyes though then he felt himself being pressed into the suit as the flight systems came back on. He pulled himself back before firing a repulsor blast at the missile, finally having the control to do so without sending himself tumbling out of controls. "Jarvis, you get an E for efficiency, however I have to give you an A+ in dramatic timing.""You were always one for the theatrical sir.""All right, plot me a flight path home. We've got a board meeting soon Justin Hammer is apparently releasing some kind of new aircraft trying to bid the S.H.I.E.L.D contract from us. We'll need to be there in order to counter it.""Right away sir." Several people pointed as they saw the very discreet hotrod coloured suit curve up into the sky, before going supersonic. This was the boring part, just waiting in the suit to get there. At least he could listen to music and watch some videos on the hud. --- [b]Stark Tower - Some time Later[/b] Landing at Stark Tower without being seen was always a bit tricky. He typically had to do it when there was low visibility and fly below Radar however he had also managed to set it up so that the sewer system led straight into the base of the tower, and then a "service" elevator shaft took him to where the suits were stored in the tower. It would have been far easier for him to keep the suits in his old pad in Malibu however being in the Stark Tower allowed him to easily flit between the two lives that he was currently living. Standing on the pad the suit was taken off him piece by piece and he knew that as soon as it was out of sight it would be getting repaired and re-armed automatically. If only he had the same process. His ribs if Jarvis was right would take a couple of weeks to heal, though if anyone noticed he could easily fabricate a believable story. A window popped up in thin air of a news broadcast as Jarvis' voice came over the speakers. "Sir, there appears to have been some kind of Hydra attack on S.H.I.E.L.D while we were away. The Triskelion has been destroyed." He couldn't believe it as he watched the explosion ravage the building, that was almost as big as the Heli-carrier going down. Which was entirely plausible with those old rotary engines it was using, he had told Fury that he had repuslors as Tony Stark, gave him a rough lay down on an older variant from the MkII supersized and less efficient in a way that made it look like it was unable to be scaled down. It was hard being a genius sometimes. Of course Fury had not accepted the deal, it had been far too pricey. "Have the suit repainted, repaired and re-armed by the time Hammer finishes his presentation.""Yes sir." He finished buttoning up his shirt, which he had stopped briefly at the news of the Triskelion, pulling on a suit jacket and straightening a tie he stood in the Elevator as it took him up to the conference level. His aide, a miss Pepper Potts stood waiting for him. Brown hair, glasses. Spoke with an English accent and wasn't overly unique in the looks department though she did a bang up job off keeping him on track and helping to organize the company. "So what do we know about what Hammer is revealing?""It's supposed to be some kind of new interceptor. He's calling it the Iron Falcon-""That name sounds completely unique.""It is part of his sales pitch, he says its the one thing in the sky that will be able to take out the Iron Man suits." It was times like this he wanted to mention that he was Iron Man, so that he could rub it in the likes of Justin Hammers face especially with the new piece of armour he was working on. Though it could wait. He walked into the conference room, nodding at a couple of people whom he liked and ignoring the glares of those he didn't. Obadiah sat at the end of the table and he gave the man a firm handshake. "Obadiah, how worried should I be?" It was one of the hardest things about the alter ego. As Iron Man he knew about Obadiah selling weapons to the black market though Tony Stark didn't. So he had to play along for now, until he had finally made sure that his mentor was responsible. He wasn't going to harm one of the few hairs on the mans head without proof. "Ohh, we'll be fine. Apparently he is offering for a S.H.I.E.L.D pilot to test it against the Iron Man suit. He's actually asking for it to be Captain America apparently.""That'll be one to watch.""It sure will. How are you doing on the armour project?" The Armour project, his way of distancing himself from the Iron Man suit. Stark Industries was working on its own suit the same as Fisk had. Though he was ensuring they did not resemble the suit nor any of their tech did. Part of him however felt that Obadiah knew, and that was why the project was in existence. "The same old, the suits work for mobility purposes now but we're having problems finding the right alloy to take a decent amount of damage and keep it lightweight and small. We could go bigger for armour but then we'd need to install motors and such to help with simple tasks like walking." The big screen turned on with the Hammer intro. "We'll get back to this later." --- Justin Hammer walked on screen, he appeared Sombre, or tried to. As per usual he over acted and just looked ridiculous. "At a time of tragedy such as this, I just want to say our hearts go out to the families of those who lost loved ones during this latest attack against S.H.I.E.L.D. However, we must look to the future and the future is a dangerous place. That is why I have invented, the Iron Falcon." [url=http://digital-art-gallery.com/oid/66/1600x1080_12017_Turkey_shoot_2d_sci_fi_aircraft_jets_fighters_picture_image_digital_art.jpg]A jet appeared on screen.[/url] It frankly looked a bit ridiculous however Tony wasn't placing it out of the ball park just yet, its look didn't mean anything to how dangerous it could be. The cockpit was just too large and on the whole it just looked [i]stupid[/i]. "The Iron Falcon was designed specifically in order to counter the growing threats we face today. Rogue Mutants, Hydra and all the other super villians that we find ourselves facing now adays. It is the only fighter jet in existence that is designed to be capable of taking on an Iron Man suit." Tony rolled his eyes at this, there was no way to know that for sure. "As such. I offer a challenge to Iron Man, and an invitation to a pilot selected by S.H.I.E.L.D. If Iron Man can defeat this fighter jet, I will cut the price in half and when this fighter jet wins, I will personally assist in the reconstruction efforts of the Triskelion, for free." Obviously that deal was a last minute thing, to try and curry public favour. Tony stood as soon as the video was over. "I'll be in my lab building something to counter this, call me if you need me." With that, he was gone. He could feel the looks from some of the board members however he didn't care. He had to get to the Triskelion anyway to see what Iron Man could do to help out. He technically didn't work for S.H.I.E.L.D like many heroes did however he did drop by from time to time when he was needed. --- [b]S.H.I.E.L.D Heli Carrier. Some time later.[/b] The devastation below him was worse than anything he had seen so far as Iron Man, though maybe it was because it was on home soil. The Triskelion was supposed to be one of the safest places in the planet and there it was in ruins. It truly brought home a helpless feeling and how powerful the Red Skull truly was. He supposed it was time to join the hunt himself, or at least for Iron Man too. He landed on the landing deck off the Heli-carrier and simply waved away the people who were walking around with guns as one of the agents came out to see him. "Iron Man, what can we do for you?""Actually. This isn't me asking for a favour, I thought you could use a hand." The agent went on his radio. "Director Fury, Iron Man is here offering assistance."