Hi everyone. This is a Halo/Avengers crossover. Hope you all enjoy! (Moved from a different forum)
I’m currently waiting to hear from a literary agent on a submission of an original story that I wrote, but whilst I wait for them to respond i decided to write this – a crossover between two very popular universes. Some of you may remember my writing from B.net – in the form of the Halo 3 Epilogue, which was basically Halo 4. It was more than popular, with over 1500 replies, all of them positive, even when critical. Anyway, enough yapping from me, hope you enjoy the story.
It was faulty and he knew it, despite what JARVIS proclaimed. The new suit hadn’t been the same since his farewell message to the Chitauri – a thoughtful reminder of the effectiveness of nuclear fission. Tony would never admit it but he felt as though both he and his father had sent the enemy on their way. After all, Howard had worked on the Manhattan Project.
“JARVIS, run another diagnostic. And do it properly this time,” Stark jibed, looking around the workshop. He wasn’t sure if it had been the cold vacuum of deep space – or whatever realm the Chitauri came from – or the EMP from the explosion. Or the simple fact that it was the first time one of his suits had used up every ounce of energy.
“Sir,” chimed JARVIS in his typically impeccable English accent. “The previous diagnostic revealed no abnormalities or faults of any kind. And the suit is running at expected levels of energy usage and mobility. It is well within the designed tolerance levels.”
The holographic display sprang into life, detailing every millimetre of the armour in a multitude of wireframe models, all of them intersecting at every level. Tony looked them over, curiosity and bemusement alike written on his features.
“Well, something’s wrong.”
“Far be it from me to question your judgement, sir, but the past four weeks have been quite demanding, even by your standards. I detect no imperfections outside of design specifications.”
A smile crept across his face. Tony was right – no imperfections outside of design specifications. He wanted perfection and would settle for nothing less than that. But JARVIS was also on the ball. Recent events had taken their toll: the invasion, the realisation that we were not alone in the universe. And even the thought of being among a group of selected individuals charged with the defence of Earth carried weight. Even for Tony it was a lot to take in. He was tempted to head upstairs – to the penthouse of Stark Tower – and settle down with an ice-loaded glass of forty-year-old whiskey. But he resisted… for the moment.
“Why don’t we take the design specifications that you’re so fond of, JARVIS, and… make this thing run properly, eh?”
There was a momentary pause from his reliable AI. Tony always felt as though he could get JARVIS to slip up when throwing the occasional, subtle insult. But the accent remained. Unflustered. Untroubled.
“I take it you would rather have me subject the suit to another engine test, sir?”
Tony took a step forward, looking the wireframe over in more detail. He gently swiped his hand from left to right to rotate the model.
“Whilst you’re at it, add another layer of absorbency material, and boost the thermal properties to retain optimal heat whilst diffusing the exhaust gases.”
“I did take the time to design a spoiler, sir. Would you be interested?”
Tony ignored the retort, and focussed on inspecting the hologram. Then he saw it.
“There,” Tony pointed before expanding the image, “beneath the dorsal plating – next to the exhaust feedback system.”
“It appears that a small metal fragment has become lodged in the plating. How did I miss that?”
“Because your surname isn’t Stark. Remove it and proceed with the upgrades. And analyse the fragment while you’re at it.”
The wireframe image vanished, replaced with a solid 3D scan of the metal fragment. It looked unremarkable. But Tony left the image on display and moved on to his next task.
“Would you still like me to perform the diagnostic, sir?”
“No need.”
Tony quickly headed downstairs to check on the workmen sent from the factory. Progress was slow, but then trying to adapt the mid-level section of Stark Tower into a hanger bay was always going to be a more protracted affair than he would have hoped for, but the sign of change was definitely there. Already, enough of the level had been cleared away to give it the vaguest appearance of a hangar, and the new doors were being delivered tomorrow.
Tony was looking forward to the improvements, something eagerly suggested by Pepper, but the main hurdle would come from S.H.I.E.L.D., and their fondness of secrets and the technology hidden within. Acquiring a S.H.I.E.L.D. jet and convincing Nick Fury of the requirement would prove difficult but not impossible. After all, how else would Rogers and Banner come and go without the use of the front door – avoiding the inevitable paparazzi camped outside since New York was inconveniently redesigned. A faint smile crept upon Tony’s face – he was sorely tempted to invite Banner and then simply push him out of the nearest window, onto the waiting photographers and journalists below. Then he would sit back and enjoy the show.
Several of the workmen noticed Tony and nodded. Tony briefly waved in response.
“You guys’ help yourselves to the kitchen downstairs. They’ll make whatever you want.”
After a quick series of handshakes from some of the more bewildered workmen, Tony returned to his penthouse suit at the top of the tower.
Time for that drink, he thought to himself. He grabbed a glass and pulled out the decanter from the cupboard under the bar. It was half-full and for personal use only – containing forty five thousand dollars’ worth of the finest whiskey on the planet. He loaded the glass with ice and poured himself a generous measure and then walked over to the observation level and looked out at the glorious cityscape beyond the glass. New York was still recovering from the attack, but that wasn’t Tony’s main concern. It was, in fact, the mysterious organisation that he was occasionally employed by: S.H.I.E.L.D. Despite initially suffering at the hands of Loki, S.H.I.E.L.D. had very quickly resumed their commanding role on providing security against anything not of this world, and they had moved quickly in the aftermath of the Chitauri attack. Even after only a month, nearly all of the debris had been cleared away under the guidance of the New York City council. But S.H.I.E.L.D. had been even quicker – clearing every piece of Chitauri existence away in only four days, including the colossal serpent-like creatures that had caused so much destruction.
Tony was impressed.
He took a mouthful and savoured the flavour, before experiencing the brief burn at the back of his throat as he swallowed at least eight hundred dollars’ worth of whiskey.