Fic: In Extremis, part 5
TITLE: In Extremis, part 5
Iron Man (movie)/ Transformers (movie)
AUTHOR: Macx
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belong to me, sadly. They are owned by people with a lot more money
Author’s Voice of Warning (aka Author’s Note):
English is not my first language; it’s German. This is the best I can do. Any mistakes you find in here, collect them and you might win a prize The spell-checker said everything's okay, but you know how trustworthy those thingies are....
FEEDBACK: Loved
BLAME: Sapphire made me do it. No, seriously, I was toying with the idea and Sapph wasn’t trying very hard to discourage me. She actually went over some of the ideas with me. Between her leaving on Sunday and the next weekend I wrote this baby. All blame to her. And the rather receptive brain cell.
PLOT-BETAS: Sapphire and elfin
GRAMMAR-BETAS: okami_myrrhibis and elfin
This was worse than a ‘mundane’ kidnapping. This was alien and weird and… something that could only happen to Tony Stark.
The call came in while Ratchet was going through the latest inventory list with Lieutenant DeMarco. The base had been rather quiet lately. Jazz and Arcee were at the Arctic station, helping with the reconfiguration of the Ghost-2 for the next mission. Knowing Barricade, he would be around there somewhere, too. Ironhide and Will were mostly at Nellis, working with Bowman on operational matters. Sam and Bumblebee had taken some time off. The young engineer had claimed vacation time, but he would be back this weekend. Ratchet had taken the peace and quiet to go over base matters, as had Optimus Prime.
Ratchet was surprised to note that the emergency caller was Hot Rod. The younger mech hadn’t been in much personal contact. He sent brief reports, but he rarely came here at all. His time was occupied by guarding Tony Stark - who was apparently more than a handful. Ratchet respected Stark as a scientist. The man’s brain was amazing and his thoughts never followed a normal pattern.
He opened a com line.
“Ratchet, this is Hot Rod,” the mech said, sounding a bit… stressed. “I need help at the following location.” There was a burst of coordinates. “Tony was attacked.”
“Attacked by what?” he asked, keeping his voice calm. Why wouldn’t Hot Rod call one of Tony’s associates?
“I don’t know. Ratchet, he’s… there’s some kind of metal on his skin and it’s growing!”
Ratchet was speechless. “Metal?”
“Yes. Ratchet, it has Allspark code on it.”
Ratchet froze for a full second, shock racing through his systems. “Hot Rod, repeat!” he ordered, voice firm. “Did you say Allspark code?”
“Yes. Something happened, Ratchet, and I think it’s connected to the Extremis project Tony has been working on. I need help immediately!”
“Understood. Keep him safe.”
Ratchet severed the connection and called up the fastest way he could think of: a flight from Nellis. Captain Bowman answered him on the second ring.
* * *
Hot Rod had never felt so relieved than the moment he saw the Airforce helicopter land on the parking lot. Police had cordoned off the area, probably completely unaware of what was really going on. Lennox and Bowman hopped out of the helicopter, followed by someone Hot Rod had never met.
Lennox stopped and his eyes widened as he looked at what had by now become a cylindrical cocoon.
“Well, shit!” he breathed, then he gathered his wits. “Let’s get him aboard. Hot Rod, you need to drive back. We can’t airlift you.”
The R8 transformed. “On my way!” And he shot away.
Hot Rod kept his com lines open, getting updates on the position of the helicopter and any changes in Tony’s condition. Part of him reminded him that the probable cause was Dr. Hansen, but he couldn’t care less. Tony was his to guard and he had failed.
Still, he accessed the closest satellite and cast out an electronic net to alert him should the name of Dr. Maya Hansen appear somewhere.
* * *
Optimus Prime was already waiting for the arrival of the helicopter, as were six of Epps’ men, and Epps himself. Ironhide stood at his side, twitchy, tense, expecting the worst. His guns were charged and he was ready to act should anything happen. He had come back from Nellis the moment Bowman and Lennox had taken off. As the helicopter door slid open, the men converged and helped unload the object. Prime’s optics widened as he took in the look of the metal and the carvings. Ratchet was already walking past him, advising how to get the cylinder into the base and his lab.
“Will?” Prime asked softly.
“I have no idea, Optimus. None at all,” the Ex-Army Ranger replied tightly. “Hot Rod is on the way and I bet he’s breaking every speed record. He has no idea what happened, but a lot of theories.”
Prime looked at his ally and friend, noting the tightness to the human’s features and the way he was rubbing over the permanent band of glyphs around his wrist.
“Are you all right?”
“Fine. Just… freaked. You should’ve seen the runes. I don’t know what they’re reacting to, but they did. Still are.”
He pushed back a long sleeve and showed Prime a rather tight assortment of ancient code, all indecipherable to him.
“Do you hurt?”
“No. I’m okay. It’s just… weird.” Will pushed down the sleeve again. “I’ll see what Ratchet finds out. I think he’ll also want to know about my reaction to this thing.”
Prime nodded. He followed the human, scanning Will briefly for any signs of trouble, but all he got was a tight smile from the man. He had felt it. Of course he felt it, he reminded himself. It was well-known how receptive the hybrid had become.
*
Ratchet had run all kinds of scans and he had come up with… nothing. None of his instruments could penetrate the metal cocoon that, according to Hot Rod, contained Tony Stark. That it was the exact same dull bronze and burned gold color as the Allspark didn’t help settle the ill feeling the medic had. That there were runes apparently carved into the metal added another level of fear.
Will stood to one side of the examination table, brows drawn over unreadable brown eyes. The runes on his skin were reacting quite vividly to the presence of the cocoon and whatever it was that had turned Stark into… this… it was Cybertronian. At least in part.
Hot Rod was off to one side, blue optics alight with fear and worry, and he hadn’t left the lab for a single moment. Ratchet had been able to ban everyone but the guardian of Tony Stark. He understood Hot Rod’s worry. This had happened while he had been just been around the corner.
“Do you have access to these Extremis files Tony was working on?” Ratchet now asked.
“No, but Jarvis has, and I think I can convince him to let me copy them,” the younger mech replied.
“Do it. Whatever this is, it isn’t just Cybertronian.”
Will reached out and suddenly touched the metal shell before Ratchet could stop him. He withdrew his hand with a hiss.
“Will?”
“Nothing. It’s… just not a good feeling. Like being zapped and frozen at the same time,” Lennox replied, sounding uneasy.
He held up his hand where runes had pooled together, forming tight knots of writing, twisting and wriggling, diving back into the skin and reappearing somewhere else. None of the coding was ancient Cybertronian or anything else Ratchet could read. All of it was cosmic code.
Lennox’s skin suddenly changed coloration and with tense fascination Will watched as it now resembled more of a dark bronze and gold metal, while still being soft skin. It spread, adding sharp slashes and deep grooves that were all optical illusions
It unsettled him even more.
“Interesting,” Ratchet commented, scanning again, this time Will.
The hybrid winced and the runes flared, then his skin reverted back to normal human coloring.
“Damn, that’s uncomfortable, Ratchet.”
“I apologize. But the scans, while not penetrating, show me that what happens with you as a result of the Allspark shard, happened to Tony Stark. I just don’t know why yet.” He turned to the other mech present. “Hot Rod, I need those files,” he repeated.
Hot Rod nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
He left the lab, though rather unwillingly. Once outside he used a private line to reach Jarvis to request the files. He would have to call Pepper, too.
Sighing softly to himself, Hot Rod waited for Jarvis to answer his call.
* * *
Pepper didn’t know how she made it through the call without losing it. Without laughing hysterically or crying or screaming or even losing the ability of rational thought.
Tony had been attacked by a crazy woman. He had been injected with Extremis. He was now in a cocoon of metal of some kind.
No one knew what was going to happen.
Ratchet was running simulations on the files he had recovered from Stark Labs.
Pepper felt herself starting to shake.
I need to clear his schedule. I need to make arrangements. Have to call Keller. Rhodey has to know.
Keller would cover them. She felt a wave of relief at the presence of the former SecDef. It was one less worry and he could represent Tony if anything important came up.
“Jarvis?” she spoke up, her voice unnaturally calm.
“Yes, Ms. Potts?”
She hesitated. Then, “Did Hot Rod inform you of the latest events?”
“Yes. I’m very much aware of Mr. Stark’s condition. I supplied Ratchet with the required files.”
“Good. Anything in the lab that needs attention?”
“No. I have locked down everything of importance.”
“Good.”
Pepper stood in the middle of the living room, unable to decide what to do next.
“May I suggest a cup of tea?” Jarvis offered.
She smiled dimly. It was something that had first happened when Tony had been abducted in Afghanistan. She had started spending her work time over at the sprawling complex Tony Stark called a home and she had drunk tea. One day she had found the water already hot and ready to be poured over the leaves.
Pepper had thanked Jarvis, the AI had replied, and the ‘tea ceremony’ had begun.
Now she walked over to the kitchen where the hot water was ready. Her hands trembled as she poured herself a cup.
“Shall I inform Mr. Rhodes?” Jarvis asked.
“Yes. Let him know we have a… situation. I’ll talk to him then.”
“Very well, Ms. Potts.”
“Thanks, Jarvis.”
She had a few minutes to settle her nerves until she had to tell Rhodey what had happened - and what had happened anyway? She had no real idea. The Autobots had no idea.
This was worse than a ‘mundane’ kidnapping. This was alien and weird and… something that could only happen to Tony Stark.
Pepper laughed a little, sounding desperate. Her cell phone rang and she flinched.
“Mr. Rhodes wants to talk to you,” Jarvis informed her.
Pepper picked up her Blackberry and collected herself. “Hello, Rhodey…”
* * *
When Banachek had approached him with the offer to take over as chairman of the board of Stark Industries, John Keller had been surprised. He knew SI and about the involvement of Howard Stark when the Manhattan Project had first been put into motion. Stark senior had always been a major developer for the United States military and his son had smoothly taken over, pushing Stark Industries, acquiring millions worth of contracts. A lot of technology today was thanks to SI. Had Keller known back then that everything had already been laced with Cybertronian technology, he would probably have flipped.
As it was, it had taken a lot more to make him aware of what was going on behind the backs of the people and the government. Now he was part of that secrecy.
When he had retired from his post as Secretary of Defense, Keller had known it wouldn’t be a quiet life tending to his garden or playing Canaster. Still, he hadn’t imagined he’d be heading up the board of directors at Stark Industries.
Of course he knew who Tony Stark was. Of course he had known about Iron Man. Of course he had read everything there was about the man, including secret information only Stark and the Autobots knew. Like the arc reactor.
Now Stark had gotten himself into a very tight spot and it was up to Keller to cover the man’s back. He had help in form of Pepper Potts, Stark’s personal assistant, who had a lot of routine in that kind of work. She had worked for the man long enough.
Looking at the schedule Pepper had already rearranged, Keller nodded to himself. He could do this. He had done the same while working for the US government. Actually, that had been more complicated. He laughed a little to himself. A lot more complicated and restricted. This would be a walk in the park.
tbc...
Iron Man (movie)/ Transformers (movie)
AUTHOR: Macx
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belong to me, sadly. They are owned by people with a lot more money
Author’s Voice of Warning (aka Author’s Note):
English is not my first language; it’s German. This is the best I can do. Any mistakes you find in here, collect them and you might win a prize The spell-checker said everything's okay, but you know how trustworthy those thingies are....
FEEDBACK: Loved
BLAME: Sapphire made me do it. No, seriously, I was toying with the idea and Sapph wasn’t trying very hard to discourage me. She actually went over some of the ideas with me. Between her leaving on Sunday and the next weekend I wrote this baby. All blame to her. And the rather receptive brain cell.
PLOT-BETAS: Sapphire and elfin
GRAMMAR-BETAS: okami_myrrhibis and elfin
This was worse than a ‘mundane’ kidnapping. This was alien and weird and… something that could only happen to Tony Stark.
The call came in while Ratchet was going through the latest inventory list with Lieutenant DeMarco. The base had been rather quiet lately. Jazz and Arcee were at the Arctic station, helping with the reconfiguration of the Ghost-2 for the next mission. Knowing Barricade, he would be around there somewhere, too. Ironhide and Will were mostly at Nellis, working with Bowman on operational matters. Sam and Bumblebee had taken some time off. The young engineer had claimed vacation time, but he would be back this weekend. Ratchet had taken the peace and quiet to go over base matters, as had Optimus Prime.
Ratchet was surprised to note that the emergency caller was Hot Rod. The younger mech hadn’t been in much personal contact. He sent brief reports, but he rarely came here at all. His time was occupied by guarding Tony Stark - who was apparently more than a handful. Ratchet respected Stark as a scientist. The man’s brain was amazing and his thoughts never followed a normal pattern.
He opened a com line.
“Ratchet, this is Hot Rod,” the mech said, sounding a bit… stressed. “I need help at the following location.” There was a burst of coordinates. “Tony was attacked.”
“Attacked by what?” he asked, keeping his voice calm. Why wouldn’t Hot Rod call one of Tony’s associates?
“I don’t know. Ratchet, he’s… there’s some kind of metal on his skin and it’s growing!”
Ratchet was speechless. “Metal?”
“Yes. Ratchet, it has Allspark code on it.”
Ratchet froze for a full second, shock racing through his systems. “Hot Rod, repeat!” he ordered, voice firm. “Did you say Allspark code?”
“Yes. Something happened, Ratchet, and I think it’s connected to the Extremis project Tony has been working on. I need help immediately!”
“Understood. Keep him safe.”
Ratchet severed the connection and called up the fastest way he could think of: a flight from Nellis. Captain Bowman answered him on the second ring.
* * *
Hot Rod had never felt so relieved than the moment he saw the Airforce helicopter land on the parking lot. Police had cordoned off the area, probably completely unaware of what was really going on. Lennox and Bowman hopped out of the helicopter, followed by someone Hot Rod had never met.
Lennox stopped and his eyes widened as he looked at what had by now become a cylindrical cocoon.
“Well, shit!” he breathed, then he gathered his wits. “Let’s get him aboard. Hot Rod, you need to drive back. We can’t airlift you.”
The R8 transformed. “On my way!” And he shot away.
Hot Rod kept his com lines open, getting updates on the position of the helicopter and any changes in Tony’s condition. Part of him reminded him that the probable cause was Dr. Hansen, but he couldn’t care less. Tony was his to guard and he had failed.
Still, he accessed the closest satellite and cast out an electronic net to alert him should the name of Dr. Maya Hansen appear somewhere.
* * *
Optimus Prime was already waiting for the arrival of the helicopter, as were six of Epps’ men, and Epps himself. Ironhide stood at his side, twitchy, tense, expecting the worst. His guns were charged and he was ready to act should anything happen. He had come back from Nellis the moment Bowman and Lennox had taken off. As the helicopter door slid open, the men converged and helped unload the object. Prime’s optics widened as he took in the look of the metal and the carvings. Ratchet was already walking past him, advising how to get the cylinder into the base and his lab.
“Will?” Prime asked softly.
“I have no idea, Optimus. None at all,” the Ex-Army Ranger replied tightly. “Hot Rod is on the way and I bet he’s breaking every speed record. He has no idea what happened, but a lot of theories.”
Prime looked at his ally and friend, noting the tightness to the human’s features and the way he was rubbing over the permanent band of glyphs around his wrist.
“Are you all right?”
“Fine. Just… freaked. You should’ve seen the runes. I don’t know what they’re reacting to, but they did. Still are.”
He pushed back a long sleeve and showed Prime a rather tight assortment of ancient code, all indecipherable to him.
“Do you hurt?”
“No. I’m okay. It’s just… weird.” Will pushed down the sleeve again. “I’ll see what Ratchet finds out. I think he’ll also want to know about my reaction to this thing.”
Prime nodded. He followed the human, scanning Will briefly for any signs of trouble, but all he got was a tight smile from the man. He had felt it. Of course he felt it, he reminded himself. It was well-known how receptive the hybrid had become.
*
Ratchet had run all kinds of scans and he had come up with… nothing. None of his instruments could penetrate the metal cocoon that, according to Hot Rod, contained Tony Stark. That it was the exact same dull bronze and burned gold color as the Allspark didn’t help settle the ill feeling the medic had. That there were runes apparently carved into the metal added another level of fear.
Will stood to one side of the examination table, brows drawn over unreadable brown eyes. The runes on his skin were reacting quite vividly to the presence of the cocoon and whatever it was that had turned Stark into… this… it was Cybertronian. At least in part.
Hot Rod was off to one side, blue optics alight with fear and worry, and he hadn’t left the lab for a single moment. Ratchet had been able to ban everyone but the guardian of Tony Stark. He understood Hot Rod’s worry. This had happened while he had been just been around the corner.
“Do you have access to these Extremis files Tony was working on?” Ratchet now asked.
“No, but Jarvis has, and I think I can convince him to let me copy them,” the younger mech replied.
“Do it. Whatever this is, it isn’t just Cybertronian.”
Will reached out and suddenly touched the metal shell before Ratchet could stop him. He withdrew his hand with a hiss.
“Will?”
“Nothing. It’s… just not a good feeling. Like being zapped and frozen at the same time,” Lennox replied, sounding uneasy.
He held up his hand where runes had pooled together, forming tight knots of writing, twisting and wriggling, diving back into the skin and reappearing somewhere else. None of the coding was ancient Cybertronian or anything else Ratchet could read. All of it was cosmic code.
Lennox’s skin suddenly changed coloration and with tense fascination Will watched as it now resembled more of a dark bronze and gold metal, while still being soft skin. It spread, adding sharp slashes and deep grooves that were all optical illusions
It unsettled him even more.
“Interesting,” Ratchet commented, scanning again, this time Will.
The hybrid winced and the runes flared, then his skin reverted back to normal human coloring.
“Damn, that’s uncomfortable, Ratchet.”
“I apologize. But the scans, while not penetrating, show me that what happens with you as a result of the Allspark shard, happened to Tony Stark. I just don’t know why yet.” He turned to the other mech present. “Hot Rod, I need those files,” he repeated.
Hot Rod nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
He left the lab, though rather unwillingly. Once outside he used a private line to reach Jarvis to request the files. He would have to call Pepper, too.
Sighing softly to himself, Hot Rod waited for Jarvis to answer his call.
* * *
Pepper didn’t know how she made it through the call without losing it. Without laughing hysterically or crying or screaming or even losing the ability of rational thought.
Tony had been attacked by a crazy woman. He had been injected with Extremis. He was now in a cocoon of metal of some kind.
No one knew what was going to happen.
Ratchet was running simulations on the files he had recovered from Stark Labs.
Pepper felt herself starting to shake.
I need to clear his schedule. I need to make arrangements. Have to call Keller. Rhodey has to know.
Keller would cover them. She felt a wave of relief at the presence of the former SecDef. It was one less worry and he could represent Tony if anything important came up.
“Jarvis?” she spoke up, her voice unnaturally calm.
“Yes, Ms. Potts?”
She hesitated. Then, “Did Hot Rod inform you of the latest events?”
“Yes. I’m very much aware of Mr. Stark’s condition. I supplied Ratchet with the required files.”
“Good. Anything in the lab that needs attention?”
“No. I have locked down everything of importance.”
“Good.”
Pepper stood in the middle of the living room, unable to decide what to do next.
“May I suggest a cup of tea?” Jarvis offered.
She smiled dimly. It was something that had first happened when Tony had been abducted in Afghanistan. She had started spending her work time over at the sprawling complex Tony Stark called a home and she had drunk tea. One day she had found the water already hot and ready to be poured over the leaves.
Pepper had thanked Jarvis, the AI had replied, and the ‘tea ceremony’ had begun.
Now she walked over to the kitchen where the hot water was ready. Her hands trembled as she poured herself a cup.
“Shall I inform Mr. Rhodes?” Jarvis asked.
“Yes. Let him know we have a… situation. I’ll talk to him then.”
“Very well, Ms. Potts.”
“Thanks, Jarvis.”
She had a few minutes to settle her nerves until she had to tell Rhodey what had happened - and what had happened anyway? She had no real idea. The Autobots had no idea.
This was worse than a ‘mundane’ kidnapping. This was alien and weird and… something that could only happen to Tony Stark.
Pepper laughed a little, sounding desperate. Her cell phone rang and she flinched.
“Mr. Rhodes wants to talk to you,” Jarvis informed her.
Pepper picked up her Blackberry and collected herself. “Hello, Rhodey…”
* * *
When Banachek had approached him with the offer to take over as chairman of the board of Stark Industries, John Keller had been surprised. He knew SI and about the involvement of Howard Stark when the Manhattan Project had first been put into motion. Stark senior had always been a major developer for the United States military and his son had smoothly taken over, pushing Stark Industries, acquiring millions worth of contracts. A lot of technology today was thanks to SI. Had Keller known back then that everything had already been laced with Cybertronian technology, he would probably have flipped.
As it was, it had taken a lot more to make him aware of what was going on behind the backs of the people and the government. Now he was part of that secrecy.
When he had retired from his post as Secretary of Defense, Keller had known it wouldn’t be a quiet life tending to his garden or playing Canaster. Still, he hadn’t imagined he’d be heading up the board of directors at Stark Industries.
Of course he knew who Tony Stark was. Of course he had known about Iron Man. Of course he had read everything there was about the man, including secret information only Stark and the Autobots knew. Like the arc reactor.
Now Stark had gotten himself into a very tight spot and it was up to Keller to cover the man’s back. He had help in form of Pepper Potts, Stark’s personal assistant, who had a lot of routine in that kind of work. She had worked for the man long enough.
Looking at the schedule Pepper had already rearranged, Keller nodded to himself. He could do this. He had done the same while working for the US government. Actually, that had been more complicated. He laughed a little to himself. A lot more complicated and restricted. This would be a walk in the park.
tbc...