<div class="floatleft">(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc446/ffxivghost/WM001.jpg)</div><hr/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>  Name:</strong> Tony Stark<br/>  <strong>Title:</strong> War Machine Armor<br/>  <strong>Affiliation:</strong>  Resistance<br/>  <strong>Location:</strong>   Tokyo<br/>  <strong>Tags:</strong> Anyone in Tokyo<br/><br/></span></span><hr/><br/><strong><em>Now…</em></strong><br/>It’s impossible for him at the moment to differentiate between the thunderous sound of his flight engines and his own racing heartbeat. Tony Stark has been in many a pickle in his day.. but today seems the most dire of all.<br/><br/>The end of the world.<br/><br/>Tony Stark is flying over the Pacific Ocean at mach 4, staying as low to the water as he can to avoid whatever surveillance might be out there. One would expect to see Mr. Stark clad in his red and gold armor.. the Iron Man armor. But he isn’t, at this moment.. he is clad in the War Machine armor.<br/><br/><br/><strong><em>Then..</em></strong><br/>“Tony.. . you hear something?”  The man speaking is James Rupert Rhodes.. or Rhodey as his friends and loved ones have come to call him. He’s a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marines, and one of Tony’s closest friends. At this moment, they are both sitting very casually within the confines of Tony Stark’s office in the Stark Tower, midtown Manhattan. “Rhodey.. my man Rhodey.. are you avoiding my very simple question?”  Tony grins widely as he leans back in his leather executive chair, the chair’s base and armrests made of gold of course. Rhodey frowns a little at the question, and he motions for Tony to be quiet as he gets up from his own chair across the desk from Tony.   “I’m se—“   Rhodey’s words are cut off abruptly by a voice belonging to neither of them, despite the fact they are the only ones in the room.<br/><em>++Sir, priority alert coming over the Avengers comms channel. There seems to be a disturbance in our area.++</em><br/>The voice is very proper, very soothing with an almost British accent. The voice is that of the artificial intelligence, Jarvis. Who over the years has turned into Tony’s personal assistant. Tony’s features now turn a more sober as he sits up in his chair, his fingers dancing across a screen that seems to be barely floating above his desk, only inches from it’s surface and a soft, translucent green color. As Tony works, Rhodey pushes himself to his feet, striding to the wall sized windows lining Tony’s office, offering a particularly spectacular view of the city. He leans forward a little, squinting a bit as he speaks.  “Hey.. is that smoke? Tony wha-“   he lets out a gasp as he turns abruptly, and he dashes away from the window, just as it explodes inwards towards them both.<br/><br/><br/><strong><em>Now</em></strong><br/>As Tony flies in the War Machine armor over the ocean, he feels his body aching, he’s getting tired. Well he’s been getting tired for about a half hour now. At this point, he’d be satisfied to make a little rest stop. Sadly, that would mean sinking to the bottom of the ocean if he didn’t fight to stay afloat. So he’s better off just to keep flying.<br/>“Jarvis.. where are we..”<br/>The pleasant, calming voice is heard once more in Tony’s ears, the source of the voice the helmet he wears.<br/><em>++We are currently at 31 mark 024 by 167 mark 000 heading in a westerly direction. Perhaps it would be prudent to head back to the islands we passed so you++</em><br/>Jarvis is cut off by Tony’s angry tone, angry but tired.   “We keep going, Jarvis. We’re almost there now.. assuming it’s still there.”   He says softly the ending part there.<br/><em>++Of course, sir.++</em><br/>Tony isn’t sure if he sees a landmass there on the distant horizon before them, or if it’s just a joke being played on him by his own mind. Perhaps the mind seeing what it wants to see. Tony feels his eyelids getting heavier, but his armor stays on it’s projected course. On it’s run to freedom.<br/><br/><br/><strong><em>Then</em></strong><br/>The glass from the windows in Tony’s office explode inwards, and Rhodey cries out as some of the glass slices deeply into his skin. He falls with a thud, and Tony barely ducks behind his desk, though some of the glass shards hit his forearms. With wide eyes Tony looks over the edge of his desk.. actually seeing a couple of beings in the distance.. are they the ones responsible for this attack? That’s all he can assume this is, an attack. With a grunt Tony pushes himself off of his desk, racing towards Rhodey, his best friend lying very still on the floor there.<br/>“Rhodey come on! Get up, damn it!”   He calls out as he works to slip Rhodey’s arm over his shoulders. With a swift glance towards the now exposed outside, he can almost see more beings out there. What the hell is this? He pulls Rhodey up as best he can, having to practically drag him across the office, his adrenaline doing most of the work.  “Jarvis, defense protocols omega! Right now! Prep the Mark VI and the War Machine!”   He says as he makes his way across the office slowly, papers and whatever is small enough and not nailed down flying passed him, swept outside by the strong winds of this high-rise.<br/><em>++Beginning pre-flight checks, sir.++</em>A brief pause, and then..<em>++Sir.. I’m terribly.. be-ing.. Charlie.. pea… crux…++</em>The voice of Jarvis seems to break up, as if it were nothing more than skipping record. Tony now knows his internal systems have been compromised.<br/>Tony drags Rhodey.. who’s blood is now all over Tony.. to a hidden door just inside of his office. Tony’s thumb brushes over an invisible sensor pad, and the door slides open.  “Rhodey come on! Stop making me do all the fuckin work!”  he calls out as he glances over his shoulder, pulling Rhodey through the door with him. As it slides shut.. he would swear he saw something being thrown at them, it almost looked like a spear..<br/><br/>Tony pulls Rhodey, still draped over his shoulders, down a long hallway. The hallway itself is metal, clean and without blemishes of any kind. Not a few seconds pass in their journey, and they are now in Tony Stark’s armory. But you would not find guns here, as any normal armory has you would think. Here is where he stores his armors. The armors born of his own genius, and of necessity.   “Jarvis, talk to me!”  He says as he lowers Rhodey down very carefully, his wide eyes looking over his friend. Rhodey groans and whimpers in pain.. and he’s losing a lot of blood.   “Hang on Rhodey, I’ll get you to the med bay.. and then we’ll go out there and find the guy who destroyed my office and kick him right in the balls. You’d like that, right? Kickin people in the balls?”  He says, trying to lighten the obvious mood. He kneels next to Rhodey, trying to see exactly where he’s hurt. Rhodey is pale now.. and Tony’s mind moves a mile a second. Rhodey finally opens his eyes, shaking his head slowly.   “Tony.. just..”  Rhodey winces in pain, and Tony shakes his head as he starts to push himself to his feet. “Just stay with me. I’ll get the med packs, fix ya right up.”  He says in a confident tone, or he hopes it sounds confident.  Rhodey shakes his head slowly again, reaching up to grasp Tony’s pant leg.   “Too late.. it’s.. it’s.. late.. got a short.. time here..”   Now Tony feels something he hasn’t felt in a long time.<br/><br/>Utter panic. His best friend is bleeding to death in front of him.<br/><br/>“Hey, you’re gonna be f—“   he cries out as the whole room lurches to one side suddenly, as if the whole building had suddenly been pushed on and tilted to one side, then righted. It’s enough to knock Tony right on his ass. He looks up as he calls out angrily, the lights flickering.    “Jarvis!”  He has no idea what is going on outside.. or what they are up against.. but he knows it’s not good.<br/><em>++Terribly sorry, sir. Systems are temporarily back online. The Mark VI and War Machine platforms are now ready for launch. Sir, Colonel Rhodes requires immedi-++</em>Jarvis is once more cut off by Tony’s angry, loud tone.   “I know Jarvis! What the hell is out there!?”    Tony kneels down next to Rhodey again, knowing that by the time he got the med packs and got back, it’d be to late. He tries to find one of the cuts on Rhodey’s upper chest and apply pressure to it, but he knows it won’t do much good.<br/><br/><em>++Reports are scattered, sir. But it appears to be a simultaneous attack on many of the world’s major cities. The chatter on the Shield and Avengers channels indicate an attack by superhumans. Communications from the helicarrier have been lost. It appears major peace keeping organizations and persons are being targeted. Again, the reports are scattered. They could be inaccurate.++</em><br/>Or exactly right, Tony thinks to himself. Tony looks down at his own hands a moment.. his hands covered red with his best friend’s blood. He says softly, his teeth gritting.  “Jarvis.. we’re going out there and put an end to this.”   He is about to get up, but Rhodey grabs his hand suddenly.   “T—tony. Don’t.. it’s you they’re after..”<br/><br/><br/><strong><em>Now</em></strong><br/><em>++Sir, if I may… land ho.++</em><br/>Tony comes out of his little daydream, breathing in deeply and suddenly. There upon the horizon.. Japan.   “Jarvis.. anything on the public channels?”  There is silent a moment as Tony scans the area immediately around him… and he arms War Machine’s offensive systems, putting some of the power from the boosters into weapons.<br/><em>++Japan is also under attack, sir. Exact details are unknown, the fighting seems more scattered than in New York. Scans indicate much of Tokyo is in fact, intact.++</em><br/>Tony’s brows furrow at this as he comes up the coast now, his sensors constantly sweeping around them in a full arc, watching for trouble from anywhere.  “Okay.. plot a course to Rurouni. Sooner we get there, sooner we can figure this out.”<br/><em>++Of course, sir. Shall I continue to try to contact Ms. Potts?++</em><br/>Tony continues to look around himself slowly, hovering high there in the sky, his form partially concealed in some cloud cover.  “If we haven’t gotten through by now, I don’t think we will. When we get to the station, we’ll try again.”  There is a pause in the response from his artificial intelligence companion, but eventually.<br/><em>++Very well, sir.++</em><br/><br/><br/><strong><em>Then</em></strong><br/>Tony looks down at the dying Rhodey, confusion drawn across his features. Or perhaps he knows that Rhodey is confirming his own thoughts. He kneels down once more next to Rhodey, a deep frown on his lips. Rhodey just smiles weakly, his dark skin now pale in color.  “We both.. both know.. it’s 9/11… but bigger.. sc..scale.. they’ll kill.. you..”   Tony knows that Rhodey is right, and now he reaches down to hold his friend’s hand as he speaks.    “If they’re after me, then they’re gonna get me. And I’ll put an en—“ Rhodey shakes his head slowly, squeezing Tony’s hand as best he can.   “You are.. so bad.. at that.. kinda talk.. you know they’ll .. they’ll kill you.. I’ll go, keep ‘em busy.. you get away..”   Tony smiles a little, as if sympathetically, and he shakes his head as he speaks.   “Hey, you’re in no shape to fight anyone. War Machine’s life support systems will only do so much for ya. I can handle this, I mean I’m fuckin Iron Man, when have I ever been beat?”  he says with a nod, a confident arrogance in his voice. Rhodey speaks softly once more, his eyes fluttering open.   “Different now.. I’ll be dead real soon.. I know it.. I’m hurt to bad.. that window tore me up.. world’s bein attacked.. it needs you alive.. it needs Iron Man..”  now Tony just watches Rhodey, already knowing what Rhodey intends to do. What he wants.   “Rhodey, you’re not going out there. I’ll fight them.”   Rhodey now starts to try to get up, flinching with the pain, aggravating some of his wounds. He looks Tony in the eyes, a look of defiance in his own.   “I’m dead already Tony.. the world might be too.. if I’m gonna die.. I wanna.. do it.. to mean something.. you take War Machine.. I’ll go out.. in your armor.. fight them till my end.. you get away.. regroup with the other Avengers..”   Now Rhodey starts to try and push himself up, and Tony says nothing as he seems to give up trying to talk him out of this, and he helps his friend to his feet, letting Rhodey lean against him.<br/><br/>It takes only a few moments, and Rhodey is that much more weak. But now Rhodey wears the iconic Iron Man armor, the Mark VI. His faceplate still open, he takes a step in the armor, it making a soft clanking sound against the floor. Rhodey can feel the life support systems of the suit compensating a little for his strength.. but he knows he’s still a dead man walking. He looks towards Tony.. who now wears the armor that normally Rhodey inhabits.. the War Machine. His own faceplate up, he looks Rhodey in the eyes, that deep scowl still on his lips. Rhodey’s hand moves to his own midsection, the pain now edging upon excruciating.  Rhodey’s resolve is stern, as is his gaze back to Tony. The kind of look you give someone when you know it’s the last time you’ll ever see them. He speaks in short gasps, his eyes fighting to stay open.<br/><br/>“Find the other Avengers, Tony. You live up to that name. You make them pay.”<br/><br/>And then, his faceplate slams shut, the eyes of the Mark VI armor glowing brightly. Tony stares at Rhodey, his own faceplate falling shut, the virtual environment inside of the helmet coming to life. Rhodey says not another word as he turns, his bootjets coming to life and lifting him out of the armory and down a hidden corridor, right towards the outside. His form sways a bit, his balance wobbily at best. But as he emerges in the air above a crumbling Stark Tower, he begins his own vengeance upon those who have done this. From his outstretched gauntlets, bolts of pure energy explode forth, killing anything in the air with him that they strike. He does not hold back, knowing he won’t last long. The attention of the attackers are now on their primary target.. Iron Man. War Machine bursts out of the hidden hangar, just as Stark Tower begins to fall as a whole, it seeming to collapse upon itself. Inside of the War Machine armor..<br/>“Jarvis, visual on Rhodey!”<br/><br/>The inside view of his helmet now shows in one of the corners the battle between Iron Man and the attackers. RHodey might be.. literally.. half dead, but he fights like a man possessed. But when you fight for one of your dearest and oldest friends.. how can you fight any differently? He dodges and weaves as best he can, the attacks of his enemies bouncing off of his armor for the most part. But he’s also taking a lot of damage. Tony gets some distance, keeping himself aware of his surroundings. But all of the attackers.. they seem to be focusing on the Iron Man armor. Just like Rhodey wanted to. For a moment, Tony actually considers going back to help. But..<br/>Tony begins to move back.. but the whole of Rhodey’s form is suddenly engulfed in a beam of energy, it seeming to originate from the ground. Tony gasps as Rhodey is.. just suddenly gone. Only bits of armor falling from the sky.. there is nothing left of his friend.      “No… “   he whispers.   “Rhodey.. oh God..”<br/><br/><em>++Sir, they seem to have noticed you.++</em><br/><br/>Jarvis’ voice snaps Tony out of it, just in time to see a few of the fliers moving towards him. Tony’s eyes widen as he turns to the west, and he calls out.   “Jarvis all power to the boosters!”  And with that, the power of the suit is redirected, and War Machine shoots through the air like a bat out of hell. He moves away from the city, breaking the sound barrier as he builds speed. He heads west.. trying to open communications with various stations along the way. But nothing responds, so he keeps going west..<br/><br/><br/><strong><em>Now, over Tokyo’s outer edges</em></strong><br/>From his partially concealed spot in the sky, Tony looks out towards the city. The damaged areas are obvious to see.. but it looks like the deeper you go into Tokyo, the less damage there is. Tokyo is easily less defended than New York.. and New York was all but destroyed from what he briefly saw.   “Jarvis, keep scanning police and fire bandwidths.”   He says, and then across his HUD environment inside the helmet, Japanese text starts to scroll across the top of the screens.   “Oh.. translate to English, huh? Don’t really have the patience for sticks and shapes.”   He mutters.<br/><em>++Of course, sir. Terribly sorry.++</em>The Japanese symbols convert to English, and he turns his gaze back towards the city itself.  “So.. what the hell is that..”   he says softly to himself, now noticing something along Tokyo’s borders.<em>++It appears Tokyo is being cut off from the mainland, sir.++</em>Tony shakes his head as he stares down at the city, unbelieving.   “How is that possible.. it came out of nowhere..”   He now gets some more altitude, as if needing to get a better look, finding himself above some of Tokyo’s skyscrapers.      “Christ.. whoever it is, they’re cutting Tokyo off completely. Purposely. Why?”  He can only imagine how many people are dying down there, but the scrolling text of the police and fire bandwidths pretty much confirm his feeling..<br/>