Fic: [Marvel Comics] Avengers Wreckage
Avengers: Wreckage
Note: While it hasn't come up in reviews, I thought I should note that I won't be featuring the Runaways, their villains or the Loners, all of which are LA based. I greatly respect the Runaways series, but I have WAY too many characters on the go as it is.
Chapter Twenty Seven
"All right, what happened?" the Master Planner demanded. The mysterious figure wore a swirling cloak and a hood, the fabric hiding everything but the strangely glowing golden eyes.
"She gave us the slip," Crimson Dynamo admitted reluctantly.
"Turns out her magic works on us," Mauler noted, the woman carrying her uniform helm under her arm, "as long as she's indirect." She calmly spelled out what happened, the former stunt woman meeting her boss' gaze calmly.
The Master Planner sat back, looking annoyed. "You should have stunned her before she escaped," the distorted, genderless voice said irritably.
"We tried," Crimson Dynamo answered defensively, "but she just shrugged off my electrical attacks!"
Master Planner sighed. "Get out of here, both of you," she ordered, adding, "and wash off your suits again. You still smell."
"Maybe we should run them through a car wash?" The Dynamo sighed as they tromped out of the meeting room.
"Might work," Mauler agreed.
After a few moments the Master Planner in the office simply flickered out of existence. In her headquarters across town Carolyn Trainer deactivated the holographic projector, smiling coldly. An improvement on a device she had created back when she fought Spider-Men, it allowed her to project a seemingly solid hologram anywhere she wished in the city.
"You sure it's a good idea to frame Ultron like that?" The Tinkerer asked, the old man looking at her with a scowl. Phineas Mason was in his wheelchair across from her desk, working on a unit for another armored suit.
Carolyn was VERY unsure about bringing him into her 'inner circle' but she needed a technical genius on his level. Worse, she KNEW a simple holographic disguise wouldn't trick him, so... it was either let him know who she was, or kill him. And she needed that brain, damn it.
"All I've done is toss in a few cues that the Master Planner might be Ultron," Carolyn answered mildly. "Besides, I doubt he'd care."
"Really?" Tinkerer asked mildly.
"Now, if I was targeting the Avengers, I might be concerned," Carolyn conceded, "Ultron is fixated on the team. But I doubt he'd care about these b-listers out here."
Tinkerer snorted with amusement. "Those AIM techs get back to you yet on the suit upgrades?" he asked a touch resentfully.
That amused her. Tinkerer DEARLY wanted access to the Stark technology, and part of her bargain with him was that he'd get samples to study. Of course not until he was done with what she needed him to do, of course. She wasn't dumb.
"They're still working on it," Carolyn said casually. She smirked, "And they want them for a attempt at murdering Tony Stark too."
"Won't that interfere with your own plans?" Tinkerer asked shrewdly.
"Not really. I have planned out multiple routes to victory," Carolyn answered calmly. She smiled, "If they succeed in killing Stark, I gain in removing a enemy from the board. If he survives he'll be severely weakened and AIM will be removed. Both outcomes work to my advantage."
Tinkerer nodded slowly, "You're a piece of work."
"Now, I need you working on something," Carolyn addressed him coolly.
"Oh?" Tinkerer looked at her calmly.
"You were able to devise equipment to hurt a invulnerable man, correct?" Carolyn asked.
"Luke Cage, yes," Tinkerer conceded thoughtfully, "but he is not invulnerable, exactly. Just very hard to hurt."
"Well, I need you to turn that expertise on Asgardians," Carolyn said seriously, "I need to have some leverage on Amora, assuming my people ever catch her. Not to mention dealing with that hero Thunderstrike."
Tinkerer nodded, adjusting his wheelchair away from the table. "I'll do what I can," he said as he rolled away. Thoughtfully he murmured to himself, "We might have a few anti-hulk weapons, could try that..."
Carolyn sat back, sighing as she considered what to do next. AIM was nearly ready to launch their attack on Stark, and she had her own plan ready to go, to take advantage of the confusion. Her 'Master Planner' identity had recruited the majority of Amora's people, and she had new recruits arriving soon.
Which left one loose thread: Morgan Stark. She had been useful in getting things organized and had provided invaluable local contacts. But the woman knew too much, now, and was one of the few people who could connect her to all her criminal activities. It was simply too dangerous to let her run free with that information. Thankfully, that was easily fixed.
"Morgan," Carolyn said when her cellphone connected, "thank you for the help with baiting Amora. I'm sorry things didn't play out as planned."
"That scared the hell out of me," Morgan admitted over the phone, sounding a bit stressed.
"I am sorry," Carolyn said. "We agreed on compensation before the operation, but I'm willing to consider a danger bonus. Would you care to come over and discuss it?"
"The usual place?" Morgan asked.
"Meet you there," Carolyn agreed. She put the phone down and sighed at how gullible people could be...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Tony Stark hadn't expected to be back in LA so soon. He certainly didn't expect to get summoned back to the city to check in on his cousin, who had apparently become FEMALE.
"Mr Stark, thank you for coming," the doctor nodded, leading Tony down the hall. His white labcoat fluttered over medical scrubs, and he looked visibly tired. "This is quite a fascinating case," he noted mildly.
"How so, Dr, Churchill?" Tony asked. "Did my cousin get surgery, or something?" he asked grimly.
Churchill looked surprised, "No, no. Did you not get my note?"
"I've been busy," Tony answered with a sigh. "What happened to him? Or her. Whichever."
"Her. And it appears to be a complete physical change. Right down to DNA," Churchill said excitedly. "Someone, presumably with advanced technology, rewrote Morgan Stark from the ground up as a WOMAN. Imagine the possibilities."
"Don't get too excited, doc," Tony sighed. He gave the excited medic a look, "I run into crazy stuff like this regularly, and almost always it has no real world applications."
"I suppose so," Churchill admitted, deflating a bit. "She's just ahead..."
"Hey, Tone!" Morgan waved cheerfully, the black haired woman sitting up on her bed.
It was DAMN eerie. She really looked naturally female... in fact she kind of reminded Tony of his mother, oddly. Tony strode into the room, nodding to her as he said politely, "Morgan, that's a new look for you."
Morgan snorted, "You can say that again. Last time I work for Amora the Enchantress..."
"The Enchantress?" Tony blinked. He grabbed a nearby chair and sat down, "How the heck did you get involved with her?"
"Long story..." Morgan sighed and started to explain.
"Damn," Tony said, blinking. "Wait a minute... when did you get changed to a girl?"
"I know," Morgan made a face, "there's... about a month gap in my memories. I kind of freaked out, which is why the cops grabbed me and I ended up here."
"Doc?" Tony looked at him.
"Yes?" Churchill asked.
Tony took a breath then said, "I'd like to bring in a expert or two."
Tony talked Morgan through his recent life several times, and everything was consistant. He had been working for Amora, turned into a woman, recruited former super criminals then... blank. The details matched up to what Tony knew, as well as new reports he had read. So why did Morgan's memories just stop? What did he know?
Reed Richards and Hank Pym turned up within the hour, both rather intrigued by the case. They posed as regular doctors so as to not cause a panic, and each carried seemingly normal medical gear. They were both disguised, advanced gear, but the patients didn't need t know that. They examined Morgan, asked some questions, then left.
"Well?" Tony asked impatiently as they were running through the data.
"No sign of brain damage," Hank said thoughtfully, "or at least no conventional brain damage. Whatever erased her memory didn't hurt her."
"There's some fascinating electrical activity in her brain," Reed noted excitedly, "it's quite unique, actually."
Tony nodded slightly, "You haven't seen it before?"
"It resembles the device that switched our minds with dolls once," Reed mused, remembering one of his teams more unusual adventures.
Hank nodded slightly, "You know, it DOES almost look like someone... just digitized her memories, somehow, downloaded them and edited them."
"So... not magic?" Tony asked patiently.
"PROBABLY not magic," Reed corrected. "We should probably consult Dr Strange too. But just looking at it, I'd say no."
"This gets odder and odder," Hank noted, "he goes to work for a sorceress, gets zapped into a woman, then a mad scientist presumably takes her memories."
"Could be someone working for Amora," Tony pointed out reasonably. "Either way, we need to track her down at least."
To be continued.
Note: In comics canon Carolyn had mind altering technology. More in next chapter.