|
|
June
Year 1 |
Iron Man lies trapped under the steel framework of the Stark Enterprises monorail system. One of his boot jets has malfunctioned, and his arms are pinned. He looks up at the form of the person who has put him in this predicament- the mysterious Melter! The grinning Melter proclaims, "All right, Iron Man! You thought you could defeat the all-new Melter! Well, I'm more powerful than my predecessor ever was! Now let's find out what your melting point is!"
How did this new Melter manage to get the upper hand on our hero? Well, keep reading, effendi, and we'll tell ya!
Let's travel back to the previous evening. Tony Stark dines in an elegant restaurant with Jen McAllister (remember her from Iron Man #335?- McMatt). "Jen, I was very impressed with your initiative when we met. How would you like to become my new Vice President of Operations at double your current salary? I've read what you've already accomplished at Datathink in such a short time. I'm sure you'd be just what SE needs right now." Tony smiles confidently.
Jen seems pensive, and then states, "I'll admit that's a very tempting offer, Tony. I'm just not sure I'm ready for a company as large as Stark Enterprises."
"I understand your concerns. I think you're ready. Promise me you'll think about it, okay?"
She smiles back at him. "Okay."
The next day finds Tony Stark in his office at SE. He sits at his desk shuffling through his papers. "It's no use," he thinks. "I won't be able to concentrate on any work until I decide if Felix is right- if I should take SE public. We'd no doubt get a substantial inflow of capital, but I hate the idea of letting someone else have a hand in my company. When Stark International was publicly traded, I once lost control of it to S.H.I.E.L.D., for cryin' out loud! (circa Iron Man #s 118-129- M.A.T.T.) I suppose I could just buy 51% of the shares at par for myself before the public gets ahold of them. There's really no other way. We need the cash and we can't afford the debt. Besides, having shareholders keep an eye on me may help aleviate this fear I have of becoming a ruthless businessman. I let personal tragedy corrupt my business practices in that other dimension (as seen in Iron Man V.2 #1). I have to make sure that never happens here."
Tony picks up the telephone. "Ms. Edwards, get me Felix Alvarez."
"Yes sir."
Shortly, Tony is on the phone with Felix. "Felix, I've decided to do it. Let's put SE shares on the market but reserve 51% for myself."
"Don't worry, Tony. I'll take care of it."
At the end of the day, Tony prepares for a relaxing evening involving a sauna and two lovely ladies when his emergency beeper goes off. "That's a code red! In other words, Tony Stark's not needed - Iron Man is!" At the press of a button, one of the walls of Tony's office slides away to reveal his armory. Repeating the process he has done countless times in the past, Tony dons his solar-charged steel mesh armor in seconds. He rockets up the special access tube to emerge from the SE administration building roof. From there, he instantly spies the emergency. The SE monorail system, which had been sabotaged (last issue- reminder Matt), is now being totally dismantled.
Iron Man zooms toward the monorail system as he spies the cause of the destruction: the Melter. However, it is clear that this is a new Melter. Although he wears the costume of the old Melter, the new Melter is taller and more muscular, and obviously very young. "Iron Man! I've been looking forward to this!" he smirks.
"Whoever you are, why don't you quit pretending to be the Melter and give up? The old Melter could never beat me, and neither can you," Iron Man replies, as he comes to a landing and readies himself for an attack.
"The old Melter didn't have the improvements I've got!"
The Melter activates his chest beam. Iron Man doesn't attempt to avoid the blast. "My refractory coating could easily handle the old Melter's beam. Let's see if his beam is any better." Iron Man studies his Heads Up Displays inside his armor and notices the armor's temperature is rising. He is alarmed to notice the refractory coating is not dissipating any of the heat, and is beginning to break down. "I don't believe this! His beam is incredibly powerful!" Iron Man immediately takes to the air in order to gain some distance and plan a new strategy for dealing with the Melter. However, the Melter focuses his beam with pinpoint accuracy on one of Iron Man's boots. Inside Iron Man's helmet alarms go off. "My right boot jet is malfunctioning! He's melted the circuits. My stabilizers will allow me to fly with only one jet operational, but he'll just focus his beam on my other boot unless I do something."
Iron Man lands on the opposite side of the monorail. With the speed of thought, the Melter uses his beam to bring the monorail framework down on top of Iron Man, trapping him with his arms pinned to the ground. And that brings us to where we started!
Iron Man instantly begins to analyze the situation. "It would be easy to lift this thing if I could move my arms to a position where I had some leverage, but they're pinned under the framework. Even when I do get out, my ability to evade the Melter will be limited with one boot jet. Wait! If I set my repulsors on full power, they should blast me and this entire structure of the ground. It looks like my best option."
Iron Man fires his repulsors straight into the ground. This has two effects: it lifts Iron Man and the section of the monorail framework into the air, and blasts dirt into the air, temporarily obscuring the surprised Melter's vision. While in the air, Iron Man lifts the framework over his head and throws it on top of the Melter. "It should take him a few seconds to melt through that- which should give me time to come up with a plan," thinks Iron Man.
The Melter quickly breaks free. Now that security has vacated Stark Enterprises, Iron Man activates his armor's loudspeakers and broadcasts an ultrasonic sound. The Melter begins losing his balance and screams, "Stop it! STOP IT!" He staggers about with his hands over his ears firing his beam wildly.
"Even with only one boot jet operational, my avoidance program can keep me clear of his wild blasts. While he's not concentrating, perhaps I can sneak behind him and disable his weapon, or if I'm lucky he'll just pass out from my ultrasonic attack."
However, the Melter merely increases the power to his chest beam in his rage. "His powers increasing to dangerous levels! He's going to overload himself unless I do something!" Iron Man ceases his ultrasonic attack and throws power to his shields, hoping they will hold long enough for him to remove the Melter's chest beam. He flies at top speed to the Melter, but with only one jet he's not fast enough. The Melter's overloading beam begins to break down the Melter's molecular structure. Iron Man reaches the spot where the Melter stood just as the Melter dissipates into a flash of light. The Melter's bone chilling scream echoes across the now vacant Stark Enterprises campus. Iron Man stands motionless for a few moments, haunted by the senseless death he could not prevent and wondering if this is a sign of things to come....
Epilogue 1
Jen McAllister decides to call up an old friend. "Jim Rhodes! How have you been?"
Jim replies, "Jen, I haven't seen you since I left Worldwatch! Are you still working there?"
"No, I've moved on to a company called Datathink. Actually, I called to get your advice on a new job. Your old boss Tony Stark has offered me a position with Stark Enterprises as VP of Operations. I was hoping you could tell me about working with Stark."
Jim is silent for a moment. "Jen, to be honest with you, I'm not sure that's the real Tony Stark."
"What do you mean? He proved he was the genuine article in court. Has he done something to make you suspicious?"
"Well, no. In fact, in my gut I think it is him... but I could have sworn the man we put in the ground was really Tony Stark too. I'm just trying to play it safe. I've seen stranger things in my life."
"So you think I should steer clear of Stark?"
"Actually, you could do me a big favor. If you take the job, you could be my inside person. Keep an eye on him for me and help me find out if he's the real thing."
"You mean some cloak and dagger stuff? Sounds interesting."
Epilogue 2
In a lavishly decorated office, a suave man sits in his leather chair. His lackey has just finished giving him a report on the Melter's battle with Iron Man. The man's dangerously soft voice lowers the temperature in the room a few degrees when he speaks. "So the improvements we made to the Melter's weaponry worked a little too well. Have our scientists correct for the possibility of overload in the future. Perhaps our next Melter will be more successful. In the meantime, I've plenty of other ways to keep both Stark and Iron Man occupied."
Next Issue: It's action in the Big Apple as Iron Man takes on the Raiders! Be here or we'll be lonely!
Send your comments to: turnagem@yahoo.com