Alternate Iron #300: The Legion of Iron Men

by Matthew Malek

Chapter Five: A Look Forward At Armor

2:29 AM

Tony Stark directed his hoverchair out of the elevator and onto sub-level three of the Stark Enterprises tower. This was one of his private labs. Specifically, it was the electronics lab where he designed new components for the Iron Man armor. Although Tony's mansion was equipped with a lab of equal sophistication, he preferred to use it only for tinkering. Nearly all of the serious work towards advancing the Iron Man technology was done right here. Sub-level three was also the home of those computers that housed H.O.M.E.R., the Heuristically Operative Matrix Emulation Rostrum. H.O.M.E.R. was an advanced artificial intelligence designed jointly by Abe Zimmer and Tony Stark.

"Good evening, Anthony." stated H.O.M.E.R. cheerfully when Tony entered the lab.

"Evening, H.O.M.E.R. I think it's time. I'm going to finally take our newest project out for a test run."

"Excellent, Anthony! I am pleased to hear that you are feeling ready. As you know, we were never able to do a full test of some modular auxiliary subsystems in the lab. The field testing will certainly prove useful. The initial charging should be completed within five minutes. After that, the onboard beta particle power generator should be sufficient to maintain standard power levels."

"Thank you, H.O.M.E.R. Still, will be more than just a simple test. Since Ultimo remains a threat, I'm going to try to use our latest toy to end his rampage."

"Do you think that is wise, Anthony? So soon after your own health problems?"

"I have to try, H.O.M.E.R., I have to try. Lives are on the line here."

Tony's hoverchair carried him into the post-fabrication room, where the newest Iron Man armor was laid upon a table. He checked the readout display for the recharging unit; it was not quite finished yet. "There it is," he thought, "The most sophisticated and versatile armor I've ever created. Truly a revolutionary leap ahead in both concept and design." Like a proud father, Tony couldn't help but take a moment to admire his handiwork. Without being quite aware of it, he began thinking aloud, directing his musings towards H.O.M.E.R.

"The original concept of powered armor was born out of necessity when I was held prisoner by Wong Chu in Vietnam. I stayed with that basic concept for a long time: Design one integrated suit and make it as powerful as you can. Try to anticipate everything you will need it for, and incorporate the necessary systems into the armor. Use that single suit for everything Iron Man does.

"The second stage of this concept was the creation of specialized armor. There were some tasks that required unusual equipment, like staying in space for extended periods of time, or going on stealth missions. It was impossible to put all the requisite systems into a single suit. It was even undesirable. While the black squid ink I installed on the deep sea armor made for an effective underwater weapon, in space it would just take up needless room and add excess weight. Could you really see me squirting squid ink at Ronan the Accuser as a counter for the Ultimate Weapon?"

"Not likely to be terribly effective, Anthony?" answered H.O.M.E.R. It was only at this point that Tony realized he had been speaking aloud. He didn't care, though. H.O.M.E.R. was more than just a machine, he was a friend. Tony decided to continue sharing his thoughts with his friend.

"Precisely, H.O.M.E.R. Thus, by expanding the concept of powered armor to include multiple integrated suits I was able to broaden Iron Man's capabilities. I still have some specialized armors which have never even been worn in a fight, like the Plastic Armor that I designed for confronting Magneto. It was quite difficult to prove that plastic could conduct electricity and, if I do say so myself, I was impressed that I could accomplish it!"

"You are aware, Anthony, that such work could likely merit a Nobel Prize?"

"I suppose," Tony shrugged and continued. "Anyway, I never used the Plastic Armor or the Arctic Armor or the Inferno Armor. Although my normal armor maintained its integrity over a wide range of temperatures, specialized suits like the Inferno Armor were designed to operate even beyond those tolerances. The enhanced thermocouple design would be sufficient for work in the heart of a volcano, or even in the molten core of the Earth. For fighting purposes, that armor should be able to withstand a nova blast from the Human Torch. It might even be sufficient to allow me to defeat someone with powers like Firelord or Nova. And those two were heralds to Galactus! Could have been really interesting to test those suits out directly. Maybe I still will someday, just for fun.

"However, this newest armor makes all of its predecessors obsolete. The basic design paradigm has evolved again. I'm up to the third level now, in that I've moved beyond the concept of an integrated suit. I started experimenting with a modular component system a little bit when I designed the War Machine armors. Most of that suit was still integrated, but the shoulder attachments could be removed independently and even replaced with different armament. Now this new armor is entirely based on the idea of modular components. The suit can be reconfigured by swapping out sub-systems like the boots, gloves, or helmets and replacing them with specialized subsystems for various purposes. Also, there are plug-in points for portable auxiliary systems chosen according to specific mission needs.

"When in the basic configuration we see right now, this armor is not as powerful as the Mark VII suit which I designed after the Armor War. Overall, that was truly the most powerful armor I had ever built. Some of the specialized suits were better for specific purposes, of course. The nuclear thrusters on the Space Armor were superior to the standard boot propulsion system. Similarly, the raw strength and firepower of the War Machine armor outclasses my main suit, too. But the Mark VII had the widest array of energy weapons, sensors, probes, and other gimmicks out of all the armors I've ever made. This new suit simply does not have as much built in. It doesn't even try to. Certain systems, like the energy shield, the electromagnetic pulse, and the pulse bolts have even been deliberately removed to trim it down further.

"No, the strength of this armor cannot be measured by what it can do in the basic configuration. Its power is in expandability. The modular component system ensures that there is no upper true bound to its abilities. I've already designed a wide array of specialized modules for it, which enable this armor to do anything that the old specialty suits could. Stealth, space, deep sea, inferno... you name it! I've got modules for the pulse bolts which can be installed on either the gauntlets or the shoulders. I've got various sets of boots equipped with either nuclear thrusters, compressed gas propulsion, or conventional fuel. I've got modules for the EMP and for the energy shield. I even built some bulky strength enhancers in case I ever need to take on the Hulk. Now the limits are only those of the imagination!"

"Yes, Anthony. Very impressive." replied H.O.M.E.R. patiently.

Tony felt a little silly when he heard H.O.M.E.R.'s tone of voice. Of course H.O.M.E.R. knew all of this already. Tony had discussed the new design with H.O.M.E.R. when he had first conceived of it.

The display for the recharging unit turned green; the armor was fully powered. Tony sighed. The real challenge now was not in designing the armor, it was in using it. If Tony wanted to don this wondrous new suit, he would have to get himself out of the hoverchair first. He had almost succeeded at this a few days earlier, when no more than his pride was at stake. There was a lot more riding on the outcome this time, and Tony knew it.

Tony Stark braced himself with his hands, using them to support his upper body weight. He grimaced from the pain, but continued. The next step was for him to extend his legs towards the ground. They responded well to his mental commands, which was both an improvement and a testimony to Tony's excellence as a programmer. He grunted with the effort, and slowly forced himself into a standing position. "Slow and steady," he thought to himself. "Ignore the pain. That's it. That's it!" For the first time since he had been thawed from cryogenic storage, Tony Stark was standing up all by himself.

"Careful now," he thought. "Just standing up is a lot easier than getting into that armor." Tony took a deep breath. He was ready to try walking. "Keep balanced. One small step at a time." With that thought, Tony took his first baby step. It hurt. It hurt a lot. "Don't think about the pain. Think about the armor. Not the pain; the armor. Now another step." Straining himself, Tony forced a second step towards the waiting armor. Then he managed a third step. "Getting closer... can do this." Tony leaned forward to make his fourth step.......

.....and collapsed on the ground. Silently, he cursed his loss of balance. "I had been so close. So close!" Tony thought angrily.

"Anthony? Are you hurt?" asked H.O.M.E.R. "Shall I summon Dr. Sondheim?"

"No, no. Thank you. I'm okay. The part of me that hurts the most is my pride." Struggling for a moment, Tony lifted himself back into the hoverchair. To say that he was frustrated would have been an understatement. Tony had honestly believed that the repairs he had made to his nervous system were sufficient to allow him fully mobility once again.

Moreover, there was more at stake than his own pride. With Ultimo running rampant, more lives were at risk with every passing minute. Tony was now aware that his body was not yet ready, but Ultimo wasn't going to wait for his recovery. Besides, his greatest weapon had never been his body; it was always his mind.

Tony thought for a very long moment. He could easily fetch a telepresence headset and send a different NTU-150 into battle by remote control. Ultimo had literally dismembered the last one, though, and Tony wasn't sure how he could prevent that from recurring. He needed something different, something new, if he was to have any chance of success. This new armor, with its added capabilities, could probably work if only he had been able to use it. "Too bad," thought Tony. "That armor really takes the concept of Iron Man to a whole different level!"

"Hmmmmm..... Taking the concept of Iron Man to a different level?" The phrase stuck in Tony's mind. It now occurred to him that there could be more than one way to expand the concept of Iron Man. Designing newer armor was a proven method, of course. That was the internal road to broadening the concept. One could also expand the power of Iron Man externally, by simply increasing the number of Iron Men. Tony had toyed with this idea briefly once before. He had installed receiver circuits into one armor, and controlled it from without while simultaneously operating a second armor from within. The result: Two Iron Men fighting alongside each other. The initial tests which he had run with Rhodey had produced positive results. In addition to doubling the available firepower, such a stratagem granted the useful ability to be in two places at once. During the tests, Rhodey hadn't been able to determine which armor Tony was actually occupying; this was indicative of the level of control Tony was able to achieve via the radio wave broadcasts. However, further tests had shown that managing two sets of input for an extended period of time was impractical. The longer tests always ended with Tony abandoning the remote armor, as his one mind could not maintain a dual focus indefinitely. This was an inherent limitation of the human mind; it could not be in two places simultaneously.

"Nuts!" Tony thought. "If only there were some way to keep one armor passive, yet under intelligent control while I am actively directing the other one. And then vice-versa when I switch. What I could do is build an artificial intelligence for the suit, but that would take time. And it would need to be taught how to fight, or at least how to take basic evasive maneuvers. A sentient armor is a thought worth exploring later, but that won't help us now. Using an artificial intell..." Tony stopped abruptly. "Well, there is always H.O.M.E.R. No, I can't do that. He isn't programmed for any sort of combat. He could get damaged or worse." Once again, Tony recalled what he had learned earlier that evening. He had promised to trust his friends more and let them make their own decisions.

"H.O.M.E.R.?"

"Yes, Anthony?"

"I've got an idea that I'd like to run by you to see what you think of it..."

Tony briefed H.O.M.E.R. on his plan. While H.O.M.E.R. could not acquire the necessary combat experience in such a short time, he could occupy an armor. His presence would direct the armor to take evasive actions as necessary to keep it from being damaged or destroyed. Therefore, Tony would send two NTU-150s into battle with Ultimo. He would set up a relay circuit with H.O.M.E.R. In essence, this would be a switch that would automatically shunt H.O.M.E.R. to the unused armor every time Tony changed over. Ultimo would then have two Iron Men to contend with. At the end of the explanation, Tony concluded with, "That's my plan. It could be dangerous for you, my friend. Ultimo has proven he can defeat one Iron Man, I'd like to see if two have a better chance. But the choice to accept that risk has to be yours."

"Of course I accept, Anthony." was H.O.M.E.R.'s prompt reply. "Shall we begin?"

Tony Stark smiled, despite the mounting pressure. "Yes, let's."

Ten minutes later, two NTU-150s streaked across the sky high above the SE compound. Neither was occupied; Tony Stark directed one while H.O.M.E.R. guided the other. On the short trip to Futura, they field-tested the relay circuit by switching armors back and forth. They tried this trick over a variety of distances, and during some aerobatic maneuvers. It worked perfectly.

The NTU-150s weren't operated by simple radio control. The subspace transmissions they sent back to Tony's headset contained sensory information, which made Tony feel like he was in the armor. Shunting between armors brought a subtly different array of information to all five senses. "Wow," he thought, "this must be a little of what Nightcrawler feels like when he teleports! It's actually kind of fun." Tony shunted himself back to the other armor. "Bamf!" he thought.

As the NTU-150s drew near to Futura, they could see that the city was in flames. "This is bad. Very bad. Some serious rescue work will be needed here," thought Stark. Ultimo's towering form was obvious in the distance. Tony adjusted the course of both armors and headed in the direction of the monster. He checked the current time: 3:02 AM. He checked their current speed: 300 feet per second. At this speed, he estimated that they would engage the alien machine within four minutes.

Just then, the unexpected occurred. Both Tony and H.O.M.E.R. saw Ultimo's massive body sway back and forth... and topple to the ground!