SCU 3: Tera Howe & Tony Stark (Lady Soulstrifer & Alexander Tau)
The Narrator speaks...
Our story began about six months after Tony Stark became Iron Man but before the events of Iron Man II. Tony is not dying of radiation poisoning. But rather than going to the Monaco Gran Pre he headed to Australia to meet a girl.
Tera Howe is an American from a somewhat famous family. Mostly she loves to race in road Rallys but she has also invented a new form a battery. Called the Spark this device is nothing less than the next generation of storage technology. It holds more than 10 times the energy of any existing device. Even better it regenerates a bit as it is used so it puts out more than is put in.
Tony Stark and others scrambled to get this new Tech. Tony won but just barely. In SCU 1 the two main Stars of our story met and survived an attack from an unexpected direction. An old girl friend of Tony's named Whitney Frost set a dangerous and elaborate trap for Iron Man. She now wears a golden mask and calls herself Madam Masque. With Tera behind the wheel of an armed powerhouse of a vehicle called Thumper Tony managed to survive.
The trap that was laid was in the form of an armed camp. Specialized heavy weapons were used. If Iron Man had gone in alone he would not have come back out again. This crystallized something that he had been thinking for a while. As his friend Rhody had warned him the lone gunslinger act was dangerous.
Tony has formed Iron Man, Inc. They have taken over the main Stark Industries factory in California and are a completely separate entity now. Pepper Potts is the CEO of SI with Natalie Rushman doing the same for IMI.
This new company is intended to both support Iron Man in his efforts but also to create new ideas. Tech that can be used by others who are following the path of the Hero.
Tony wants to start a team.
At the moment the name Avengers belongs to SHIELD so to speak. They have not recruited anybody to their Avenger Initiative but Tony knows about it. So at the moment at least the team he is going to form is going to have another name. To date he has made contact with only a few others like himself. In recent days he has made a deal with SHIELD for access to a large part of their database. In particular they sent 3 semi-tractor loads of data on the SuperSoldier project.
Along with the files, pictures, films, and the other things you would expect from a project that has spanned decades was one odd item. A large metal tube with a man frozen inside. He had been in there since 1945. It did not take Tony Stark long to decide that the man once called Captain America deserved to be brought back.
After the chaos that went along with Steve Roger's successful revival Tony learned a few more interesting facts. Chief of which was that Natalie Rushman was working for SHIELD. She was known as the Black Widow and was 104 years old! She took some of the same early SuperSoldier formula that kept the 86 year old Fury in top condition.
In an attempt to ward off Senate Hearings (like the ones that happened in Iron Man II) Tony gets into an armored fist fight with James Rhodes. Wearing an updated version of the Mark II test armor Rhodey and Tony wreak a good part of Stark Mansion. In the end Rhodey wins and flies to Edwards Air Force Base.
On the way to Edwards he discovers that the Arc is sealed and cannot be accessed without triggering a nasty meltdown. He also finds that only his voice will work the armor. These two facts cause him to realize what Tony's true plan is. When he reports to the General in charge of the Base he makes sure he will remain in control over the Mark II armor.
After their adventures in Australia Tony invites Tera to live with him for a time. He needs her to develop her Spark so he can use it in his armor. But beyond that she will be one of the driving forces behind much of IMI's work. She is valuable so you can see why he would want her protected. But in his house? Tony Stark the #1 Playboy on the planet?
It would seem that perhaps deep down Tony Stark may have found a soulmate. He does not think this is so at the moment. Tera hopes it is.
The woman now known as Oracle and the man they call Iron Man are together.
Anything could happen and probably will.
It is 10:00 am, Saturday, May 24th.
