Chapter 16 - Iron Man the Jerk and the Hero

As Ray left Stark New York headquarters, he went to Dragon Inc New York headquarters. Dragon Inc was Ray's own technology company in New York and was involved in cutting edge weapons for the military as well. You could almost see steam of anger coming out of Ray's ears. Ray was the boss of bosses and is worshipped as a god by the Hand. In his own eyes, Ray believes he is perfect. Meeting Iron Man the jerk and having him insult Ray almost caused Ray to murder Iron Man in the spot. But Ray held his temper and looked at the big picture. Ray wondered why the hole near Iron Man's heart had not made him a better person ? Is Tony Stark really just a rich jerk ? Does Tony Stark really change for the better down the line in Iron Man 2 when he almost dies of arc reactor poisoning ?

Ray sat down in his office at Dragon Inc and drank some tea as he read Tony Stark's mind. Spew ! Ray spit out his tea as he got a shock, Tony Stark was dying ! He was dying of arc reactor poisoning, that's why he was being such a jerk to him. But inside Tony Stark's heart was the best of intentions. Tony Stark was going to Monaco next but after he gets back he was going to be the kings of jerks and push away the love of his life Pepper Potts and Rhodes his best friend. Tony Stark wanted something better for the people he loved and cared about. He wanted Pepper Potts to find love with some else. He wanted his best friend Rhodes to forget about him. In Tony Stark's mind he had planned to die alone in his house in Los Angeles with Jarvis his artificial intelligence. Tony Stark didn't want anyone to pity him or care for him, he wanted to fade away and hope his friends and love ones would forget about him over time !

Sigh ! Ray thought to himself it would be a waste for Tony Stark to die after all he had stolen from Stark's mind his arc reactor plans, his armour plans and his artificial intelligence plans. Ray slowly input into the computer by his side Tony Stark's arc reactor plan but with one single difference, vibranium will be the power source for Ray's arc reactor and not palladium. Ray keyed in the final code and the four armour he created made up of magic and science was ready to roll off the line as these new vibranium arc reactor is attached to these armours. The armour he created was known as Void, Shadow, Alpha and Omega. He would get D5 or Bakuto to get his most loyal servants in the Hand to wear these armours. None of these armours had an artificial intelligence but they were keyed in to the owners central nervous system like a part of the person's body. And these armour were nanotechnology armours that could change shape and once keyed into a person's genes they permanently melded to a person like Venom. And Ray had created four such armours. Ray thought he had better talk to Phil Coulson to make sure Tony Stark gets his father legacy to create a new element for his arc reactor and stop the palladium poisoning ! After all Ray still wanted to steal more of Tony Stark's ideas !

The next day Ray scheduled a meeting with Phil Coulson as the Wizard in New York Central Park. They met at a bench that had many people staring at them.

"So why the rush to meet up Wizard ?", Phil Coulson asked in a curious tone.

"I have some new important information after meeting Mr. Stark.", Ray said in a girlish voice.

"What new information ?", Phil Coulson asked curiously.

"Tony Stark is dying from radiation poisoning from his palladium arc reactor.", Ray said in a girlish voice with a serious tone.

"What ?! Where did you get this information from ?", Phil Coulson asked in surprise.

"After that disastrous meeting with Iron Man that day I did some digging into him and found out that he had radiation poisoning. If you don't believe me you can use a Geiger counter to test Mr. Stark's body for his radiation levels.", Ray said in a girlish voice while giving a smirk.

"Excuse me Wizard. But if what you say is true I have inform my boss.", Phil Coulson said as he left immediately.

Sitting down in his office with a black face in Shield headquarters was Nick Fury as he was briefed by Phil Coulson.

"And you are sure about this Phil ! You are sure Tony Stark is dying of radiation poisoning !", Nick Fury said in an angry tone. Nick Fury was good friends with Howard Stark when he was at Shield. And Howard Stark has helped him on more than one occasion. Having Howard Stark's son die on his watch was an insult to him and his capabilities.

"Yes sir, after getting the information from the Wizard, I had Tony Stark tested with a radiation tester. Tony Stark has radiation poisoning. And I believe the Wizard is correct, it is Tony Stark's palladium arc reactor that is causing the radiation poisoning.", Phil Coulson said with a serious tone.

"Call Black Widow back from Operation Black Web. I want her to monitor Tony Stark when he leaves for Monaco.", Nick Fury said in a serious tone.

"Yes sir.", Phil Coulson said as he left Nick Fury's office.

When Phil Coulson left, Nick Fury opened up his cabinet to take out Howard Stark's legacy to Tony Stark. Yes, Nick Fury being the bastard that he was had kept Howard Stark's legacy to his son in the hope of learning this new technology for the benefit of Shield. But the scientists at Shield were dumbfounded and puzzled by Howard Stark's legacy and could not make head or tails of it. Nick Fury thought to himself perhaps it was time to give Tony Stark his father's legacy before he dies in the hope he can crack it. And if Tony Stark cracks it and survives, he would owe Nick Fury a favour and feel grateful to him. And if Tony Stark fails, Nick Fury would get both Howard Stark's legacy as well as Tony Stark's arc reactor. Nick Fury's mouth curved into an evil smile.