The Invincible
IRON MAN
#381

by Van Plexico

"POINTS OF DEPARTURE"

Tony Stark sat at a work table in his New York apartment, finding himself ambivalent about the fact that it was no longer occupied by a beautiful Japanese woman.  On the one hand, that was very, very good-- she'd owned the place twenty years in the future, and Tony was now safely back in his own time.  A time where he'd yet to even meet her.  But on the other hand... he'd rather liked Rumiko Fujikawa.  He resolved to look her younger self up, should the occasion arise.

Two other women vied for his thoughts, at that moment, as well. One of them, he'd spoken to only hours earlier, during his visit to Stark International's Long Island facilities.

He'd arranged to meet Jim Rhodes, his longtime friend and associate, at the S.I. Medical Center. The two had what Tony considered an overdue appointment, to check in on the status of someone who had once meant a great deal to them both.

A few hours earlier:

Bethany Cabe was not a patient patient, so to speak.

"So, when can I get out of here?"

"How are you feeling?" Tony asked.

"...Better, I think," Beth replied, her green eyes flashing at him, momentarily awakening memories of the feelings she'd once given him. "I think Stane used some combination of drugs and advanced hypnosis to brainwash me. Heck--let's just admit it--he had my brain drycleaned, pressed, and folded. But your doctors here have pretty much purged the drugs from my system..." She trailed off.

Tony frowned. "And the hypnosis?"

She eyed him slyly. "I only occasionally feel the desire to grab a carving knife and filet you."

Tony's eyes widened, and he took an involuntary step backwards.

"Kidding, kidding," she laughed.

"If that were any other woman, chief," came Rhodey's voice, as he entered the room from behind them, "I would kid you mercilessly for backing up. But with this lady--" he shook his head-- "I'd be pretty blasted scared, myself."

Beth laughed at both of them, then glanced to where the doctor was following Rhodes in.

"Unless we're missing something," he reported, "this young lady should be well on the way to recovery. We've compared her test results to everything in the databases you provided from the Avengers, Mr. Stark. If it's out there, and it's been documented, we've checked for it. She's clean."

Tony had said his goodbyes to Rhodey and Beth, and headed back to his New York apartment. Waiting on him there was the third female who occupied a prime position in his thoughts: Mon-Dria, the Kree officer who had accompanied him on his recent adventures, which had included visits to deep space, to two decades into the future, and to Castle Doom itself. *

* [You mean you missed the last year's worth of issues?  What are you waiting for??  Go read 'em!!  --Van]

Tony found himself wondering about the official status of their relationship.  She was beautiful, no doubt about that; the blue skin and thick, lustrous mane of white hair made her all the more exotic and attractive.  And she could certainly take care of herself, even before she'd recently gained some form of cosmic power.

But for all that, she didn't seem as taken with him as he was with her.  Tony Stark was not used to such a situation, and--he had to admit-- it irked him.

Of course, it wasn't as though they were in the midst of a passionate physical relationship...  They'd shared an intimate moment or two, during their travails, yes... but exhaustion, disorientation, and even hallucinogens could all be figured into that equation.  All that aside, he wondered, just what are we to each other?

"Idiots!"

Tony blinked, looking up.  Mon-Dria stalked around the corner from the living room, anger seemingly seething from her every pore.

"Err... what?"

She glanced at him, as if seeing him for the first time.  "I have been monitoring your planet's primitive communications network," she replied shortly.  "It leaves much to be desired."

"'Communications netw'-- ohhh!  You're watching television."

"Television.  Yes.  And the use you people put it to... shameful!  Why, for example, am I supposed to care about which of your minor theatrical performers is married to which of your athletes?  On a world of some six billion humans, you devote time to this?!  It is mindless!"

"Well, yeah, I'd agree that--"

She rolled on.  "And the news!  Local robberies, politicians arguing-- where is the real news?  Nothing about what your world is doing to solve social problems, or to advance science or space exploration!  It is shameful beyond words!"

Tony pursed his lips, saying nothing.

She stood, hands on hips, and cocked her head at him.  "I must admit, Tony... I do not understand what Mar-Vell found so enchanting about this world."  She shook her head, white hair flying to and fro.  "Perhaps he was a recluse at heart...  In searching the 'Internet' that you mentioned, I did find stories of some of your more brilliant thinkers and artists, who would go off to a desert island to live among more primitive people and to get away from sophisticated society.  Perhaps that is what Mar-Vell was attempting to do, living on this world..."

"Now, just a--"

She shrugged.  "In any case, I think it is time I began to look for a way to contact my people."

Tony studied her. "So, you're ready to leave? This world offers nothing you're interested in?"

Mondy seemed to study him in turn. Her small blue nose crinkled as she did so. "Wellll... perhaps there is something here that intrigues me..."

For the first time in quite a while, Tony felt a sense of romantic anticipation race along his spine. I could line up a dozen beautiful human women right here, right now, he thought to himself, and yet here I am, like a drooling puppy dog, over this Kree warrior woman. What am I thinking?

But even as the thoughts moved through his mind, Mondy smiled a bit wider. "You know, Tony... when you hide yourself away for hours on end, working on your armor, and leave me with nothing but your world's horrible media outlets for entertainment... well, you could hardly blame me for becoming bored. But..."

"But?"

"But..." and she leaned closer, "...it would not take terribly much for you to interest me in spending a bit more time on this world."

Tony gulped. "Ahhhm... Yeah. You're right," he finally managed. "I have been a lousy host. I suppose I could have paid more attention to you, since we got back. I apologize."

She smiled. "Apology accepted."

He continued. "And really, it's not like I should feel that I have to be so cautious, so careful around you. My goodness, we did get pretty intimate during our stay on that station. And, too, it's not like your dad is about to walk in the door and--"

"MON-DRIA.  WE HAVE COME FOR YOU!"

The voice boomed loud enough to rattle the windows, and shook the building like a small earthquake.

"Wha--?" Tony raced to the window, looking out. Mondy squeezed in beside him.

High above the building hovered a gigantic spacecraft. Smaller ships flanked it on all sides.

"No," Mon-Dria gasped.

"What?"

She smiled sheepishly at him, and shrugged.

"Dad."

*****

Tony was dressed in his armor in very short order. It was, by necessity, an earlier model, as his super-advanced version had not lasted much beyond the battle with Dr. Doom, and apparently the mental boost he'd received from those weird cosmic beings had been quite temporary.

Snapping the helmet into place, he rocketed into the sky above his apartment building, just behind Mon-Dria, who was propelled by the stellar energies imbued into her golden wristbands and anklets.

The two hovered in midair for a moment, staring up at the vast spacecraft.

"A Kree starfleet," Iron Man muttered. "Great."

"The Starfleet-in-Exile," Mon-Dria replied.

"What exactly does that mean?"

She faced him. "We--the Kree--are currently engaged in a civil war. My father's fleet refused to take sides. He believes the military should serve one thing and one thing only--the Kree nation. If the nation is divided, there is no single voice to follow. So he ordered his fleet--our fleet--away, into exile, until the war ends, at which time he'll return."

Iron Man nodded slightly. "I see..." He frowned. "Your father is...?"

"The admiral."

"Ahhhh..."

"They come in peace," she continued.

"Good. Good..."

A rectangular aperture appeared on the bottom of the central vessel, and the image of an older Kree officer filled it.

"Mon-Dria! There you are. I was worried."

"I am fine, father." She glanced at Iron Man, telling him, "This is my father, Admiral Gar-Dria."

The admiral's voice boomed out over hidden speakers. "We found the ruins of your ship in orbit. I feared the worst."

"It is...a long story, father."

"...Yes, I am sure it is." He eyed Iron Man. "And who is the metal being beside you?"

"This is Iron Man," she replied.

A pause. "Yes... I believe I have heard of him. Well, in any case, come along. We must be completing salvage operations and leaving at once."

Mon-Dria started to reply, then glanced at Iron Man. Her eyes seemed to frown for a moment. Tony later would swear that sadness passed over them.

"Father, I... I request permission to stay behind on this world for a time."

Silence.

"I... I would like a leave of absence," she continued, "... for... for research purposes... to..."

"Mon-Dria!" Stormclouds gathered about the Admiral's face. "You speak nonsense. Come along, now."

This time she did frown, her face filling with anger. "Father! With respect, you know very well that I have used only a tiny fraction of my leave time, since training. I'm quite entitled to--"

"I have no intention of leaving you behind on this primitive world, Mon-Dria. You are far too valuable to us. Why--you could easily catch some horrible alien disease, or encounter one of this world's notorious... what do they call them?... ah, yes, 'super-villains.' The place is fairly crawling with them." He shook his head in disgust. "Now, now. No more dawdling. Come along."

"I will not! This is not proper! Were I any other officer in your fleet, you would--"

"Silence!" His voice boomed across the New York skyline. "Clearly, the human has exerted some sort of undue influence over you. This is not acceptable."

The video display blinked out.

"That can't be a good sign," Iron Man muttered.

"Hmmph."

Iron Man looked to Mon-Dria, who still fumed with anger, then back to the ship.

A door was sliding open on its bottom.

"Uh oh."

"Those will be either regular troops or Sentries," Mon-Dria predicted.

"Great."

"My father can be so silly sometimes."

"Um..."

The door opened wide. A combination of jet-pack-equipped troops and huge, robotic Sentries soared out, aiming directly for the two hovering heroes.

"Both, it looks like," Mondy noted.

"Err..."

"I really do not wish to fight with my fellow soldiers," she observed.

Tony nodded mutely.

"Still," she sighed, "if it is the only way to earn his respect..."

"Wha--?"

Before Iron man could complete the thought, the first wave of Kree warriors and Sentry robots crashed into him, driving him down to the pavement.

Mon-Dria circled easily out of the way, hovering over the scene below, looking down.

Iron Man lay at the bottom of what was essentially a giant rugby scrum. Green-and-white-uniformed Kree and metallic blue Sentries packed in above him, fists swinging and raining down hard.

"Show them, Ton--Iron Man!"

The fists lifted and fell.

"Show them!"

Lifted and fell.

"Iron Man...?"

Lifted and fell and fell and fell and...

SHRAAAAAK!!!

The repulsor blast hurled all of the attackers away. All that remained in the spot below Mondy was Iron Man, much the worse for wear. His armor was cracked and dented. Sparks flew from numerous breaches.

Mondy frowned, biting her lip. "Iron Man-- are you--?"

The Armored Avenger glared up at her, then quickly returned his attention to the street around him, as the Kree attackers picked themselves up and regrouped for another attack.

"Not to be un-gentlemanly," Tony gasped, "but this is really at least as much your fight as it is mi--AGGH!" He was cut short as the Sentries smashed into him again.

Nodding to herself, Mondy sailed down and unleashed a blast into the Sentries nearest to her.

Whirling, the big robots advanced on her, futilely grabbing for her ankles, just out of reach. Moments later, though, two Kree troopers flanked her and seized her from behind. She struggled free and zapped them, but three more attacked from below and pulled her arms roughly back, aiming the wristlets away from them.

"Let her go!" Iron Man yelled, smashing the Sentry that had latched onto his waist. Rocketing into the air, he unleashed a punch on the closest soldier holding Mon-Dria. She, in turn, wrenched free of the other two and blasted them. Before they hit the ground, though, five more had grabbed her, even more roughly.

Iron Man made ready to strike again--

--and the voice echoed once more over the landscape:

"ENOUGH!!"

Everyone froze.

The soldiers released Mon-Dria and stepped back. She and Tony gazed up at the monitor once more.

"You dare to fight with your fellow soldiers, on the side of the Human?"

"I've made my position quite clear, father," was all she said in reply.

"And he battles such overwhelming forces on your behalf?"

Iron Man felt anything he might say at this point would not be well-received by anyone present, so he kept his mouth shut.

The Admiral seemed to ponder all of this. Then, after several long seconds:

"Very well. You wish to remain here, for a time. You shall be granted that right. Certainly you have more than earned a leave. I never thought you might choose to spend it here, but..." He shrugged. "So be it."

At some invisible signal, the Kree troops and robots soared back up to the ship, disappearing inside.

"I shall return for you when the time is right, Mon-Dria. And I will know when that is, believe me."

She nodded.

"Farewell."

With that, the big Kree ship lifted up into the sky, support ships following it. In mere moments, it was gone.

The two wasted little time in retreating to Tony's apartment, where he could pull his dented helmet off and collapse into a cushioned chair.

"Well..." she sighed.

"Ow."

"I... I am sorry for that..."

He eyed her for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh. After a few moments, she, too, began to laugh. The two laughed for a long while, in fact.

Finally: "So, you're staying." He smiled, thinking of the possibilities.

She nodded.

A beautiful, exotic, alien woman--and she's all mine, he thought.

"Yes. Your world has intrigued me. I am now determined to discover just what it was that made it so fascinating to Mar-Vell." She placed a blue fingertip to her lips. "Perhaps... Perhaps his son, Genis-Vell, can help me. I understand he, too, lives on this world."

Tony, suddenly very confused, nodded wordlessly.

"Good." She smiled a devilish smile. "I always felt Mar-Vell was quite attractive--for a pink, of course. If his son is anything like him..." She almost giggled. "I believe I shall quite enjoy my stay on this world."

Tony just stared at her.

"What?"

He paused in his staring only to glance over the wealth of bruises and lacerations covering his body, then looked back up at her and stared some more.

"What is wrong?"

He stared and stared and stared.

"What is it?"

"GENIS-VELL??"

THE END.

Next:  A Fresh Start for the Armored Avenger!   

SOCK IT TO SHELLHEAD!
Send mail to: vplexico@bellsouth.net

Once more, into the breach! This month's missive comes from Scott "Scooter" Chamberlain:

Once, several years ago, when MV1 and the mv1talk mailing list were still new, there was poll conducted asking what everyone's favorite MV1 titles were.

I responded with a few of the books I was reading, and tacked on at the end: "Whatever book Van is writing."

I should have remembered that these last couple of months while debating whether or not to start reading your current run on IM. It has thus far been absolutely brilliant. So good in fact that I've read it all ten issues just today.

Your version of Iron Man has a lot of the things I enjoy about comics, several of which I didn't expect to see in Shellhead's book. A big, sweeping space epic. A nice mystery involving that rather enigmatic Gatherer and his giant ant farm of a space station. (Both of which I hope to see again, either here or in another book). And a nice healthy
dose of shocking alternate realities!

Your knowledge of Tony's armor and all the gadgets and gizmos that make it work is impressively displayed in the issues. I'd like to see more characterization on Tony personally, though you seem to have got clicking on that in the last issue or two.

Mon-Dria, in my opinion, almost steals the show here. I love the character, especially with her and Tony having the hots for each other. Let's see more of this relationship. A romance between a 'low-born Earther' and a Kree officer? The possibilities are endless. Aside from that though, I think Mondy can stand on her own as a character and might deserve some spotlight once this storyline has run its course. Maybe even a limited series for her?

All in all, Van, this is your best MV1 work to date. As far as I'm concerned, you can write IM for life. :)

Scott 'Scooter' Chamberlain

High praise indeed! Thanks so much, Scott. Hope you liked the conclusion of my run.

And that does indeed bring me to the point where I must say goodbye--for now-- and turn Shellhead over to Ralph Angelo's able hands. Rest assured, however--I'll be back next year, to carry ol' Rustbucket to and through his big 400th issue anniversary! I, for one, can't wait.

In the mean time, check out the four-issue limited series I have coming up next. Here's a hint: it stars everyone's favorite time-travelling baddie--a character I very nearly wrote about in the aborted "World in Chains" mini, a couple of years ago.

See ya soon,

--Van Plexico

Atlanta, Georgia
June, 2001

Story © 2000 - 2001 by Van Allen Plexico