Iron Man 2121 (Collected)

#1 - The World We New

The sky was pitch black, though not for a lack of stars. People go their entire lives down here without seeing the stars. Not with the Topside, an entire city over the ruins of old New York, blocking out the sky. Here in the Boroughs, you lived not by sun or moonlight, but by neon light.

The hum of an electric engine and the crunch of tires over gravel warned of the intrusion to Skull turf. The half dozen gang members standing guard amongst the rubble of a collapsed apartment building raised their weapons. Light was spotty, but most have ocular implants giving them night or thermal vision.

"Hold," the lead Skull called out, raising his right metallic fist to signal his crew to hold their fire. His face glowed white slightly with a skull tattoo that matched the skull painted on his black body armor. Their gang's symbol whose meaning was long since forgotten.

As the armored SUV came to a halt, an archaic vehicle anywhere else but here in The Boroughs a sign of power and privilege, five men exited with their own guns drawn. In contrast to the disheveled yet militarized nature of the Skulls, these men were practically grotesque in nature.

"Goblins," one of the Skulls taking cover behind a collapsed brick wall practically spat in disgust.

The only uniformity among them was the two horns either growing or implanted into their foreheads, though there was no commonality on the appearance of their horns. Some are short, some are long. Some flesh covered, some bone, some tech.

One of the Goblins was an unnaturally large brute, no doubt enhanced through gene therapy or mutagenic compounds. Another was small and lithe, covered head to toe in either green scaled tattoos or tech mods designed to look like green scales.

The Skull lead couldn't get a good look at the two hanging back by the SUV, though he could tell from their misshapen profiles that they were equally abhorrent. Disgusting abominations all, save for one.

"Dirge, I presume," the well spoken, cleanly groomed man said as he stepped forward. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

His clothes, torn jeans, faded t-shirt, and an oversized fur lined coat, said Boroughs. Everything else about the man said Topside. Thin beard trimmed to perfection. Manicured nails. His bone horns were further back in his hair line, likely so they could be removed and the implants hidden by his messy yet finely styled locks. The only other mods noticeable were the mechanical eyes whose pupils glowed a faint, pale green.

"Yeah I bet it is, Gobby," Dirge grumbled, walking up to meet the man. He kept his hands on the plasma rifle hanging from his shoulders.

"You can call me, Erlking," he said with an exaggerated bow. "It's nice to receive such a warm welcome from the Skulls."

Dirge only grunted. He was a Hobbes all right. They were a particular set of the Goblin Legion who travelled both the Boroughs and Topside. Word was they're as insufferable up there as they are down here. Not that Dirge trusted much word he got from Topside.

"You get the welcome you deserve," Dirge barked. "You got the goods?"

Erlking's smile was sharp and off putting. "Of course."

With a snap of Erlking's fingers, one of the Goblins by the SUV opened the back and dragged something out. No, not something, some one.

The body was tossed onto the dirt in front of Dirge. A young boy, maybe eleven or twelve years old. He was bound and gagged. Unconscious but not dead. His chest rose slightly. His head was completely bald, revealing the back half of his skull had been replaced with computer mods.

"This was a hard one to get out," Erlking sighed dismissively. "Price is going to go up. Your people told us we were getting weapons tech, they never said it was attached to a child's brain."

"Weapons tech," Dirge scoffed. "You have no idea. You've kept it sedated?"

Erlking yawned. "Yes, yes. Lots of sedation the whole time, as asked. He's about ready for another dose I'd say."

"About ready?" Dirge looked up sharply. "How long..."

As if on cue, screams burst out around them. Dirge's first thought, an instinct from years of protecting Skull's turf, was that the Goblins were double crossing them. However as he stood up and raised his rifle, the Goblins with Erlking were all screaming as well. He couldn't figure out why, until he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

His heart. His mechanical heart.

Every Skull and Goblin was grasping at their technological implants.

In moments the screaming was over. The only sound was Erlking's heavy breathing. He was on his knees in the dirt, his burnt up mechanical eyes in his bloody hands, having ripped them out of his sockets.

Slowly the boy began to move, wiggling and struggling until he managed to get out of the ropes that were holding him. They weren't very tight. After all, what's to fear from such a small boy?



"Get the room prepped for surgery! I need 20cc of Rxydone, stat! Get those blood synthesizers going we're gonna need a LOT!"

The Hogan Memorial Hospital was in chaos. The young Declan Takaeda was used to seeing it busy on the occasions he came to visit his father, but not like this. As the most advanced hospital in the Boroughs, a remnant of a StarkKord PR stunt to show how much the Topside elite cared about those down here, it was often overrun by the sick and injured. And that wasn't even counting the gang violence.

"Declan!" a middle aged Japanese man shouted from the corner. Declan barely dodged a gurney as it came flying up the hall behind him. "Declan!"

"Dad?"

Dr. Keith Takaeda rushed down the hall and pulled Declan through the open door of an empty room. "What're you doing here?" the older man asked, his face stern but his voice concerned. His tightly cropped black hair was peppered with gray. There was much more noticeable gray amongst the stubble on his cheeks and chin.

"School closed early today. Mom got Teagan but said I should come get you before the conference."

Dr. Takaeda wiped the sweat from his brow, the hard lines around his eyes softening a bit. "I don't think I'm going to be able to make it."

"No shock," Declan whispered while watching more people rush past the door. His eyes darted back to his father when he slapped him in the jaw. Not overly hard, but enough to sting.

"Watch your tongue," Dr. Takaeda snapped.

Declan shrugged his shoulders to get his father's hands off him. When it didn't quite work, he pushed his father away. Not overly hard either, but enough to make his point. "Jesus, Dad. I'm seventeen, not seven!"

"All the more reason you should be respectful and mind yourself."

There was a moment of cold silence between them. Seemed to be a lot of those these days. Declan wasn't sure when it started, but for the longest time he and his father just couldn't see eye to eye on much anymore.

"Whatever," Declan finally muttered, breaking the silence. "What happened?"

Dr. Takaeda's face fell and he reached up to rub his eyes. "I dunno. Some gang nonsense, but a lot worse than usual. Something with the Skulls and the Goblins. I heard some deal went bad and then they just started openly fighting in the streets. It's chaos out there. You shouldn't have come down here!"

The silence almost returned. Declan didn't let it this time. "Then since you're obviously not coming to Mom's conference I'll go!"

"Mom's conference?" Dr. Takaeda scoffed before shaking his head. "No it's too dangerous to go out now. I'll DM your Mom and have her send you a Brigade escort."

Declan rolled his eyes.

"Enough! That's what's happening, understood?" Dr. Takaeda waited for any more dissent. When none came he continued, "Now I need to get into surgery. Come with me until the escort gets here. Maybe you can learn something."

This was the part Declan hated most about coming to see his father at the hospital. The great Dr. Keith Takaeda, one doctor in a long line of Takaeda doctors, expected his son to join that line. When it became apparent Declan had no interest in meeting those expectations, his father began trying to force the issue.

Dr. Takaeda walked the hallways at a brisk pace, just shy of running. Declan did his best to keep up without going so fast as to seem like he wanted to be there. The exertion combined with the stuffiness of the hospital caused Declan to start sweating.

Shifting his body around he took off his red and black Killian Howes designer jacket, his proudest piece of clothing, and wiped the sweat off with a hand through his slightly curly black hair. He folded his jacket almost reverently and hung it over his arm.

When they reached the surgical room, Dr. Takaeda placed his hands under the UV sanitizers next to the door and then let a waiting nurse put his gloves on, followed by his mask and smock. Declan waited outside, the door shutting behind his father and the nurse with a mechanical hiss. Knowing his father would be expecting him to, Declan pushed a button to activate the viewer, turning the large upper half of the door transparent. Next he turned on the speaker.

"-tient has second degree burns on his upper arms, chest, and face," the nurse was explaining. He was pointing with a stylus at the 3d holo-image being projected above the patient, who was unconscious on the table. "The burns all appear to be concentrated around the patient's mods and implants. We're doing a deep scan to discover just how much internal damage was done but the most important right now is the internal bleeding inside his skull. It's-"

The voices inside the room faded away as Declan focused on the image of the patient's body. Specifically the cyber mods. It was a mish mash of various tech. He recognized patented designs from Hammer Industries, StarkKord, and more. Most were older models, likely the most the Skull gang could afford or steal. His right forearm, however, appeared to have a Repulsor cannon installed that Declan recognized from his latest issue of Cybernetic American.

That wasn't supposed to come to market until next month! How did he get his hands on it? It being cutting edge would also explain why his modder appeared to have installed it incorrectly. Declan could make out that at least two of the converter connections were crossed.

Of course that was the least of this guys problems. All the mods in his body were fried. Not just fried, but overloaded it looked like. Declan put his hands on the door and leaned in, trying to see the image more clearly. Whatever did this to him bypassed or overwhelmed all the surge protectors and the backups in his mods. This guy was lucky to be alive.

The image disappeared as his father and the others began the surgery. Declan sighed, resting his forehead against the door. His father wanted so badly for Declan to continue the family tradition of being a medical doctor. Any field would satisfy him, though he clearly wanted Declan to follow directly in his footsteps as a surgeon.

It's not that Declan didn't have the potential either. He had the capability, the focus, and the grades to become a great surgeon. Dr. Takaeda liked to boast that Declan's hands were even steadier than his own. Unfortunately for everyone, Declan just didn't have any interest in healing the sick or working on the human body. It was the world of machines and cybertech that called to him.

"Mr. Takaeda?"

Declan stirred from his thoughts and turned to see two men in black uniforms with red trim. They wore helmets that covered everything but their mouths and cheeks, their visors had a deep red glowing line horizontally across them. The stylized StarkKord logo was emblazoned on the left side of their chests.

The Iron Brigade. That was fast.

"Your mother sent us. Please come with us."



The streets of Neo New York were as crowded as ever. It didn't always make sense to outsiders, even those who lived in the Boroughs. Everyone in Neo New York had flying cars? Why would the streets be crowded?

It was the leap in logic many who didn't live here couldn't grasp. Just because you lived in Neo New York didn't mean you weren't poor. It was simply relative.

Pedestrians crowded the streets, walkways, and lifts throughout. More people than the boy had ever seen. Well, with his eyes at least.

Despite the oddity of a young bald boy in a simple white shirt and pants with the back half of his skull replaced by mods wandering barefoot through the streets, no one really took notice. The crowd was all encompassing here. Teaming with life. The only ones who seemed to look at him at all were pickhackers, but even they took one look and moved on. There was no way this boy could have anything valuable.

So the boy allowed the crowd's currents to sweep him along. He knew he was headed somewhere, even if not where or why. It was why he immediately sought entrance to Neo New York after escaping the gangs in the Boroughs.

When he had arrived at one of the skylifts, the heavily armed Blue Beetle battalion had tried to turn him away. He didn't let them. There was somewhere up here he needed to be. Some...one...he needed to find.

After another few minutes of being pushed along the crowds the boy came across an open area. He recognized it from his files as Median Park. The boy was quickly overcome by the sight of what he could only assume were trees. About a dozen stood at least twenty feet tall, all in separate little pods, arranged in a perfectly symmetrical pattern.

The park itself was much larger than the cluster of trees. The area was at least a square mile, the park ever so slightly declining toward the center where the trees were. It was a crowded area as well, with small shops and kiosks set up haphazardly around the park. The flow of the crowd wasn't as organized as the streets had been, as people cut through the park in all manner of directions.

There was a desire for the boy to enter the park. To walk up to one of those trees. However, he knew what he sought was not in that park. He would need to move on. Continue. And yet...

"Are your ocular mods having trouble seeing what's right in front of your face? Is that new vocal synthesizer scratchy and full of static? Does that new addition you made for...performance...not getting the job done? Than come on over to one of our StarkKord Enhancement Offices! Our top rated Biomechologists will get you a quote and a free credit check to have that faulty mod replaced! All StarkKord cybernetic modifications come with a 2 year limited warranty on parts and labor! Don't settle for some back alley modder, come see the professionals!"

The boy stood transfixed with the holographic image hovering above a standard holo-ad display on the sidewalk. The face. The voice. William Stark. That was who he needed to find. That was where he needed to go.

To Stark.



Declan's spirits rose significantly when he was dropped off by the Iron Brigade. Dropped off out front of StarkKord Tower. He put a hand to his eyes as he gazed up at the massive, shining building. Light gleamed off it like a diamond.

"It's about time," Declan's mother Cara said as she walked out of the building, his sister Teagan trailing behind her. "I need you to look after your sister so I can get back to work. The press conference is going to start soon."

Teagan rolled her eyes up at her brother and brought up her holo-cell to continue chatting with her friends. She hated coming to these events. Really it seemed she hated anything that involved her family lately. Typical twelve year old girl behavior, he imagined.

Declan, however, loved this stuff. His mother was only head of PR for StarkKord, not one of the engineers, scientists, or biotechs. Still, getting anywhere near where the real work happened was like a dream come true. Cara had tried to encourage Declan's interest, but it was a continuing argument with his father.

"Ms. Flynn," a man shouted as he ran up, a small case in his hand. He wore a suit, like most StarkKord employees at his mother's level, though his was a bright shade of red. "We need to finish getting you ready."

"Thank you, Nigel," Cara said. She ran her hands through her red hair and held her face up, eyes closed. Declan watched as Nigel pulled a device out of the case in his hand, made some adjustments on a holo-keyboard that appeared, then ran the device an inch from her eyes, cheeks, and mouth. Perfectly applied makeup appeared on his mother's freckled face.

"You look radiant, Ms. Flynn," Nigel beamed. "Anything else I can help you with?"

The one strange thing Declan could never get over was everyone at StarkKord referring to his mother as "Ms. Flynn." True she hadn't abandoned her maiden name, hyphenating as Cara Flynn-Takaeda, and true that "Mrs. Flynn-Takaeda" was a mouthful, but he wondered if specifically dropping the Takaeda part was a deliberate choice or not.

"All right," Cara said, rousing Declan from his thoughts. She crouched down on her feet and pulled Teagan up next to her brother. "I need to get going. This is going to be a big day for StarkKord. Can you get your sister home please, Declan?"

Declan, realizing what she was asking, immediately protested. "But Mom I wanted to stay and watch the press conference!"

"Butcher's Beard!" Teagan whined. "You can't let him make me stay for this! It's boring!"

"Watch your mouth," Cara whispered harshly, lightly slapping Teagan's chin. "I've told you enough of that God Butcher nonsense!"

Teagan fumed but kept her mouth shut. Declan glared at his sister but also stayed silent. Cara looked back and forth between her children until she got them both to look her in the eye.

"I have to go," she again whispered harshly, emphasizing each word. "Declan, I know you want to see the press conference but your sister-"

"Mom I-"

"Your sister doesn't want to be here and I'm not dealing with her nonsense!" Cara whisper-shouted, louder than she intended. "Take her home. If you hurry you'll be back in time to watch the stream."

"Fine," Declan sighed. "Let's go Tea-"

"Cara!" a familiar voice shouted. "Cara, there you are! I...oh, I didn't realize your kids were here."

Cara stood up quickly, straightened out her skirt, and turned to smile at her boss, William J. Stark. "I was just sending them home. Sorry."

William Stark was a towering figure. Almost as towering as his reputation. His suit was black but his tie was striped in the classic Stark gold and red. He was six foot-one and lean. His light brown hair was spiked on top and shaved almost completely on the sides and back. His sideburns ran into a spiked beard that pointed out slightly at the bottom of his chin. A thin mustache curled up with his smile.

"No worries," William chuckled, motioning for Cara to move aside a bit so he could address the children. "Let me see if I remember...Teagan, right?" She rolled her eyes in response. William just kept on smiling. "And you must be Declan, yes? Your mother tells me you've got quite the head for engineering."

"Well I...um...I..."

"But not for words apparently," William laughed, putting an arm around Declan's shoulders. He walked them a few steps and spoke quietly. "I also hear, though it took a bit of prying don't blame your Mom, that your father is pushing for you to follow the family business. Well, as someone who did follow the family business I know how hard that pressure can be sometimes. But I want you to know that if you...if you..."

William trailed off as his eyes turned toward the street. The entire area was a buzz with reporters, businessmen and women, investors, share holders and other guests arriving for the press conference. Security was tight, the Iron Brigade armed and making their presence known. Yet somehow, walking directly toward them from about one hundred yards away, was a barefoot, bald boy.

"You gotta be shocking kidding me," William muttered to himself. Putting a finger to his earpiece, a holo-visor appeared over his right eye. "Viktor we need all units down on the street now! We have-"

The world around them seemed to explode in an instant. Something threw Declan with such force he was ripped from William's arm and flung back through the air. His forehead smacked the pavement and his eyesight went black for a moment.

When his sight and hearing returned, there was shouting all around him. Small pockets of fires littered the landscape. Dust and debris blew through the air.

"Mom!" Declan shouted, his throat hoarse. "Mom! Teagan!"

"Where is the subject?"

"We need EMTs scrambled now!"

"I said all of them! We need to get these people out of here!"

"ETA on Vibrantium? What do you mean 'they're not here'?"

Declan got to his feet and scanned the area, searching for any sign of his mother or sister. His forehead was warm with blood and he had to wipe some out of his eye. "Mom! Teagan!"

It took him another minute or two but he finally saw what looked like his sister lying on the ground. He rushed over and cleared some metallic debris off her. She groaned and slowly sat up, but Declan grabbed her arm and started pulling her to her feet.

"Where's Mom?" Teagan asked in a shaky voice. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Declan said, not even thinking about his answer. "I don't know. I don't-"

Bright flashes of blue light erupted through the smoke about fifty feet away, followed by the sound of energy blasts and gunfire. As the smoke began to clear, Declan could make out members of the Iron Brigade facing off against...that kid?

Declan tried to make out what was happening when Teagan pulled at him, "Mom!"

His attention diverted, Declan ran after his sister, who was headed toward a hazy figure in the distance. It wasn't until he was fifteen or so feet away that he could even make out his mother. She was holding her side and walking slowly but otherwise seemed okay.

"Mom!" Teagan shouted and ran to throw her arms around Cara. It was the desperate, unthinking act of a child and it caused Cara to cry out in pain and fall to the ground, her daughter's grip all that kept her from falling onto her back.

"Teagan..." Cara said through gritted teeth. "Where's..."

"Mom!" Declan shouted as he ran up. "Mom we gotta go! You gotta get up! Mom!"

Cara shushed at her son, obviously annoyed by him shouting right in her face. She held her side again with one hand and used her other to grip Declan as he helped her to her feet. The trio suddenly jumped and spun around as an Iron Brigade officer landed hard on the pavement a few feet away from them.

"No call them off!" William shouted as two Iron Brigade officers tried pulling him away from danger. He shrugged them off and turned to fire an energy blast from a palm mounted blaster. "Call Vibrantium off! They'll just make it worse!"

As if in response, the whirring sound of anti-grav boosters roared toward them from the sky. The black and gray armor slammed into the ground in a classic three point landing. The bright white lines glowed along the armor as they stood up.

"Don't worry, Mr. Stark!" Vibrantium announced, their voice digitized slightly through the armor's speakers. "I've got this!"

The boy, unfazed by the carnage around him, strolled casually toward them. His face was placid, his eyes emotionless.

"Vibrantium get out of here!" William shouted, walking up behind them. "It can contr-"

Ignoring Stark's words, Vibrantium let loose a volley of energy blasts and micro missiles. The blasts missed the target, the boy still strolling as they impacted the ground around him. The missiles, however, swept around right before impacting the boy. Instead, they headed back toward Vibrantium.

"What the fuck!" Vibrantium shouted, raising their arms to activate their Quantum Shielding. Most of the missiles impacted the shields with explosive force, rocking the armored figure but not harming them. A few, however, flew past Vibrantium.

Time seemed to slow all around Declan. He watched as one of the missiles barreled toward them. The Iron Brigade officers' only concern was for William Stark, pulling him to the ground.

Without a thought, Declan turned and practically leapt on top of his mother and sister. Covering them the best he could as they crumbled to the ground, what came next was only white light. And pain.

-To Be Continued-