"Light Up the Sky!"

The Living Laser, recently revealed as the imposter Iron Man, crackles with energy as he hovers in the sky above a freeway near Los Angeles. His foe, Iron Man, stares at him intently. "Laser! What did you hope to accomplish by impersonating me?"

"I wanted to ruin your standing as a superhero! Expose you for the murderer you are! You killed me! You turned me into this! You made me what I am!!

Die!!!"

The Living Laser unleashes a wide laser blast, which Iron Man easily dodges.

"The Laser's conversion from a human into pure energy caused him to lose his sanity," Iron Man recalls (and if you read Iron Man #153, you recall it too!)

- Mentally unbalanced Matt), "but I've never seen him like this! He's not making any sense at all, which makes him that much more dangerous. I've got to stop him - but how?"

The Living Laser continues to fire wide, poorly-aimed blasts. "You will suffer, Iron Man! Do you hear me? You will suffer!!"

Iron Man continues to avoid the attack. "Why is he blasting away so recklessly? It almost seems like he can barely control his attack. Could my disruptor have something to do with it?" (He used it on LL last ish - Matt)

Meanwhile, below the battle James Rhodes watches amongst the now-abandoned cars. "So the Living Laser's been impersonating Tony - I guess he's the one that fried the Mandarin. (in #347 - Murderous Matt) But how long had that been going on? Could the Laser have had something to do with the teenage Iron Man that was around before the heroes disappeared?"

Back in the air, the Laser sends another uncontrolled blast in Iron Man's direction. "Fry, you heartless monster!" he rants.

"The Laser seems to be getting even further out of control by the second," Iron Man notices. "There's got to be some way I can stop him quickly. If my disruptor's messing with his control, perhaps it can incapacitate him."

Iron Man activates the disruptor once again. The Living Laser's image briefly fades and coalesces again, but now appears slightly blurry.

"AAARGH!" the Laser screams. "You won't defeat me, Iron Man! I'll strike again - when you least expect it!"

"The Laser's full of cliches today," Iron Man thinks as the Laser rockets away at near-light speed. "Apparently my disruptor has a more potent effect on him than I thought. I'll use it to track him down later. First I'd better see if anyone needs my help."

Iron Man flies down to the now-decimated freeway. He begins clearing away some rubble as Rhodey slowly approaches. "Iron Man?" Rhodey asks.

Iron Man turns to see his friend. "Rhodey! What are you doing here?"

"Actually, I was on my way to see you," Rhodey replies cautiously. "So, ah, the Laser's been impersonating you?"

"Apparently so," Iron Man states. "He was the other Iron Man I ran into in China. The one who seems to have killed the Mandarin. Listen, Rhodey, if you need to talk to me, stop by my place later this afternoon, okay?"

"Okay," Rhodey replies, wondering how much he can really trust this man.

Jen McAllister speeds away from Tony Stark's house in her Mercedes. "Tony Stark is Iron Man?" she asks herself, having trouble believing what she saw with her own eyes (Boy, I really hope you read last issue! - Matt). "Maybe he just went out as Iron Man this once - to stop that other Iron Man. Or maybe he's the Iron Man that killed the Mandarin. What does this mean?

Rhodey wanted me to spy on Tony to make sure he was the real deal, but I never expected to find this out! If Tony's really Iron Man, then maybe that's really Tony. Or maybe this means it's not Tony. I don't know! Should I tell Rhodey? He and Tony were really close once - maybe he already knows? Oh, I don't know what to do about this. I can't think straight. I need some time to process this."

Jen tries to clear her mind as she continues to drive. However, she finds it hard to keep her thoughts away from this revelation. So distracted is she that she does not see the fog beginning to form on the road. Jen rounds a curve in the road when suddenly she sees an eagle swoop down in front of her car. She swerves to avoid the large bird, and her car slams into a nearby tree. Her seat belt and airbag save her life, but she is knocked unconscious. The eagle vanishes into the dissipating fog, and a figure approaches the wrecked vehicle...

Tony Stark opens his door to let in his old friend. "Hello, Rhodey. Come on in." Rhodey enters the house, and he and Tony proceed to the living room, where they have a seat. "What's on your mind?" Tony asks.

"Well, I don't know how to put this," Rhodey hesitates. He stares at his hands a moment, and then his gaze meets Tony's. "I've really wanted to trust you since you came back, Tony. We've been friends since you first became Iron Man. But..."

"But I haven't always given you good reasons to trust me," Tony finishes.

"Yeah, and to be honest, when this Mandarin stuff went down, I had some serious doubts," Rhodey continues. "I mean, you never were able to really explain what had happened when you - or whoever that was - went crazy and started killing Avengers (in the Crossing - Matt). You said you couldn't even remember anything from that time."

Tony looks at his friend, his face saddened by Rhodey's words. "I know, Rhodey. I really hate that how I treated you led to this level of distrust."

"Man, Tony, I didn't mean it like that-"

"No, Rhodey, don't apologize. You've got a right to be suspicious. I did regain all my memories recently (in Avengers #416 - Matt), and I really owe you the full explanation."

Tony recaps what he learned recently about his whereabouts during the Crossing. Although the tale might seem a little far-fetched, Rhodey recalls the strange events he witnessed and what he went through during that same time (see the final issues of War Machine - Matt the footnote lovin' fool) and can't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" a confused Tony asks.

"Man, I never would have thought I'd live through something this absurd when I was growing up. What strange lives we lead, eh?"

"And it gets stranger all the time," Tony smiles. "I'm glad we're still friends."

"Me too, Tony. Maybe we can move past all that's happened, and be the buddies we used to be."

"I don't know if we can ever be like we were, but I'm willing to give it a shot." Tony extends his hand, and Rhodey immediately clasps it. "Say, how would you like to help me capture a supervillain?"

"Count me in, man," Rhodey laughs. "Count me in."

-

The national evening news, the major newspapers, and the Stark Enterprises web page all scream out the exciting news: "Stark's new lens allows greater focus for lasers!" Stark Enterprises hypes its newest invention: a lens that will allow a laser beam to become more powerful and more precise than ever before. The new invention represents an incredible breakthru for the medical field, and SE plans on unveiling it on this day.

The new lens sits in a special developmental lab, awaiting the press conference. Rhodey paces about the lab nervously. "I just hope he's smart enough to try to get here before the showing," Rhodey thinks. Then the room goes white with a flood of light. Rhodey instinctively shields his eyes, even though he's wearing special protective contact lenses. The brightness fades, and the Living Laser stands in the room, looking blurry, his energy crackling about him at the edges.

"I know you!" the Laser shouts. "You tricked me into going into space!

(back in Iron Man #289 - Matt) This is a trap, isn't it?"

"You catch on fast, Laser," replies a mechanical sounding voice.

The Living Laser turns to see Iron Man standing behind him.

"I figured my disruptor was making it difficult for you to maintain your coherence. I knew you'd jump at a chance to pull yourself back together."

"It's your fault I'm like this," the Laser screams. "You destroyed my humanity, and now you're wiping me out of existence! I hate you!"

The Laser's form seperates, and thousands of laser blasts begin ricocheting around the room. "Rhodey, get behind the shield!" Iron Man warns. Rhodey is already two steps ahead of Iron Man, as he quickly jumps into a recess in the wall and activates a control panel, sliding a protective cover over his body.

Iron Man turns on his force field and begins moving towards the lens. The ricocheting laser blasts cause no damage to the specially coated walls and floor of the lab, but continue their endless journey from wall to wall. As Iron Man begins moving, the multitude of beams begin to diminish. Small individual beams connect with each other, forming larger beams, the beams continue to unite until there is only one beam streaking around the room, hitting Iron Man again and again.

"It's a good thing his lack of coherence has weakened him," Iron Man thinks as he continues to walk to the lens, "or my force field would never be able to withstand him. Unfortunately, his thought processes are addled because of his condition, so I've literally got to lead him where I want him to go."

The Laser continues to bombard Iron Man with what's left of his essence as Iron Man walks in front of the lens. The Laser bounces off the walls and the returns to his blurry form on the opposite side of the lens. "You're a fool, Iron Man! Now I'll destroy you and cure myself in one stroke!"

In a heartbeat, the Laser blasts himself at the lens in an attempt to focus himself and increase his strength, making him lethal as he emerges to strike Iron Man on the other side. However, the Living Laser's essence does not pass through the lens. Instead, his essence is collected inside the lens, which swivels to face the opposite wall. Rhodey operating the lens from inside his shielded recess, keys in a sequence that opens a section of the wall, revealing an open cube-shaped container inside. The lens discharges the Laser's essence into the container, which promptly seals itself shut.

The shield covering Rhodey retracts and Rhodey emerges from the recessed control panel. "So he's trapped in there?"

"Yes. He's coherent again, but he can't penetrate that container. I'll deliver him to the authorities shortly."

"Don't you feel bad about making up that story about new lens technology?"

"No. I actually invented it last night after we came up with the plan," Tony says as he smiles beneath his helmet. "I figured if the Living Laser wasn't good for anything else, at least he'd give me an idea to contribute to modern medicine."

"So you came up with an invention that'll save lives just so you'd have a cover story to trap the Laser with?" Rhodey asks incredously.

"That's right," Iron Man replies. "Sometimes you just don't know where inspiration will come from."

Manhattan. A young man we've seen before walks the streets, towards Central Park. His focus on the ground as he walks, deep in thought. He feels as if his missing memories are about to return. Then, he stops. He doesn't know why, but he knows he is where he should be. He looks up, turns his head, and sees... Avengers Mansion. Then, the memories begin to return like a flood.

"I know who I am! I'm Tony Stark!"

Next Issue: It's our double-sized 350th issue! This slam-bang spectacular features: Tony Stark on vacation! Mrs. Arbogast back at SE! The Titanium Man teams up with the Crimson Dynamo! Teen Tony's search for answers!

Don't miss it!