2014.03.18 - Tony Stark: The Crucible - Part 2: A Mother's Love

It has not been a kind number of... has it been days? Hard to tell. Probably a week. Tony has not been allowed to sleep, and there is nothing but the flickering fires and heat of one of DeSaad's torturing rooms to keep him company. Tony's gotta give him credit. When it comes to sheer physical pain and torment, the guy's good. Probably the best in the business. Few hundred thousand years of practice does that to the man. Whenever he was near death or horribly brutalized, DeSaad would pull out one of those small gray boxes, and in a flash Tony would be healed again.

Twice, he claimed the best way to experience it was death; Tony passed briefly, but was yanked back with Darkseid's imposing presence. After the second, Darkseid backhanded DeSaad into the wall so hard it dented, and said if he killed him again, he was staying dead. That might be a preference. He'd get to go back to heaven. Back to his parents. Maybe, back to Valhala. But all the mockery and taunting of DeSaad getting bitchslapped didn't quite manage to get him killed again, if he tries.

A strange device is around Tony's brow, which is what keeps him from sleeping. Whenever he does, it zaps him awake painfully. The mild madness of that alone can be crushing. He's strapped to something like a giant X, metal clasps upon wrists and ankles, still wearing nothing but his pride. Which he does have in spades, granted.

A large device in the room has been pointed at him the whole time. DeSaad claims it steals the emotions felt by his victims. Their pain, sorrow, heartbreak. It's an art to him. He has a collection of thousands of people's exact moment of snapping, lovingly maintained.

And that's what he's been doing the last two days.

"This here is a Lowlie who tried to sneak upon the bridges and get to the food stores. I kept her for three months." A strange gun with a tube on it, certainly ominous. And then it zaps a ray at Tony. He'd feel every sensation, every emotion, every conscious thought of the girl. Crying, shrieking, begging for death, begging for oblivion, begging for it to stop. A hysterical sensation, desperation, half-insanity, when she could take so much and became a broken being. It lasts about thirty seconds before DeSaad shuts it off.

"You... you'll be my masterpiece. I'll take it slow. Wear you down inch by inch. We have all the time in the world..."

Tony has endured the physical torture well enough. It's pain, and it's usually unbearable, but it heals quick enough because he's no good to DeSaad dead.

The psychological torture is immense, and Tony is strong. Stronger than anyone has ever given him credit for. You can't be the kind of man he is and by mentally weak, but everyone thinks he's so addled by drink and women that there's little else to him. Indeed, that he came up with the reactor or Iron Man at all, is taken to be some kind of fluke. A fluke he's turned into some kind of one trick pony.

What people don't realize is that for every idea Tony implements, there are easily a half dozen more he doesn't.

But this..this is taking it's toll. Coupled with what Darkseid put him through, it's getting too much for him to bear. The whole time Tony is enduring this, he's looking forward. Keeping an eye out. The angle..what's the angle..what's it gonna take to find out what this guy's weakness is and utterly exploit it. What can he do?

Sometimes in life, there's no angle. It's just shit. Shit you can't avoid. Shit you can't stop. Darkseid had proven that, if nothing else. 31 years as a failure, knowing he was a genius, knowing who he truly was, but completely unable to act on it. But Darkseid had a sense of being infallible. He's smart; incomprehensibly so. Superbly perceptive. And could sniff out some game or gambit a mile away. Tony had zero control, zero ability to use anything but his words in a room with the God of Death.

But DeSaad is different. He's a petty, vain, egotistical worm, hungry for power but fearful to reach for it. Arrogant and cowardly. This week, Tony has made a long, accurate checklist of every single fault within the man. He wants the throne. He wants Darkseid dead. He only gets pleasure... in breaking people. That, more than anything, has kept him going for these countless, countless eons.

"Come now. I don't want you to break yet. Not to stimulation this mild..." The robed New God slithers close, grinning with his gaunt face through his robe, to grasp Tony by the cheek and shake his head back and forth.

"Sing for me 'I'm a little tea cup', and I'll turn off the device. Give you one hour of sleep. Like a dog, I'll teach you. Soon you'll be begging me for treats, for five minutes break of this torture...!!"

Arrogance. As guilty of it as he is himself, it's still a favorite flaw. Is everyone on Apokolips this easy? Jesus.

"DeSaad..if you want to break me, you'll have to turn it up to 11. You want me to sing I'm A Little Teapot? You're gonna have to turn me into a little teapot? Now I get it..now I understand..Darkseid's fairly smart. The dog wants a pet of its own. News flash: It won't be me."

Tony can't move, the way he's trussed up here, but he can insult. He can humiliate. As long as he has his mind, he has a weapon, he can't let himself break. If he does, then it's truly over.

Tony clears his throat, and with all he can manages, launches a glob of phlegm and clotted blood at the torturer.

"Go to hell, DeSaad."

DeSaad's expression flickers in surprise and anger, glaring towards Tony with teeth bared. "You think I can't break you? I will. I'll shred every piece of you down to nothing, and leash you as my pet. Parade you around, and have you barking like a dog!! And then when I'm done, I'll put you in a kenn--"

Spit.

It hits DeSaad in the face. Part of it gets into his mouth. Twisting away in disgust, he starts spitting and wiping it with the back of his hand. "YOU INSOLENT MORTAL!!"

Suddenly, Tony's backhanded in the face. Sweet holy shit. For someone of his frame, DeSaad is STRONG. His jaw breaks, a couple teeth are likely sent flying, and blacking out for a few seconds? That's impressive. Most would be straight unconscious, no-nonsense.

"I was easing you up to it... but do you want it now?! Do you want me to prove what I can do?! I'll give you a taste. Just one. Then you can appreciate how GENTLE I am, as we work our way back up to it...!!"

"GUARD." The door is opened, and a man within silver armor strides within, wearing a crimson cape. "Take him down, bind his arms, and bring him to my main room. I'll go and get it -READY-."

DeSaad leaves in a huff, before the guard idly walks forward, and then presses a button. All the clasps upon Tony open at once, leaving him to likely fall at the man's feet. At least he still has that contraption on his brow... if it fell off, he might pass out before getting to do anything.

But DeSaad's out of the room. He's free. The chance is coming... every instinct tells him he can FEEL it.

One cannot break bonds if they don't test them first.

This might not be the time, but Tony won't know if he doesn't try. When he gets to his feet, he swings with both hands interlocked, for the chin of the guard in a double uppercut strike. It might not work. But..it might.

Either way, he has to know.

Because if he knows..then he can plan.

After Tony awkwardly gets to his feet, the guard was not expecting to be attacked. In a swish, both fists lance upwards, with all the fury of a man shackled, barely fed, and completely lacking sleep for an entire weep.

It hits him dead center. Tony's fists would begin to throb. That man's got a hell of a chin; even a wussy New God is infinitely stronger and more durable than Tony, even if he's not naked and desperate.

Almost casually, a small baton is pulled out and prodded against Stark. A violent neurological shock will send him to the ground, spasming. Kicking with his foot, Tony is flipped on his back before crouching down, both wrists are taken. Completely covering each hand is a strange orb. When activated, plasma energy generates between, before they are yanked together with strength enough that Superman would struggle.

And then Tony's grabbed by the scruff and dragged towards the door. The device is strange. Perfectly round, split in half with a segment. But on both sides, are a small one inch by one inch square. A tiny bit of it sticks out of one corner; access hatches. If he uses his teeth just so, he should be able to get them open...

Tony cries out, spasms, writhes in pain. "Awww.. he gurgles, "Don't tase me, bro!"

Humor, another invaluable defense mechanism.

Tony is drug out of the room and takes note of the surroundings as he goes. The hatches do not go unnoticed. He sees in his mind's eye how he could open them, and when he gets the opportunity he does so, using his teeth to pry on the corner.

Yeah, if it's what it takes, he'll chew his way the hell out of here.

This guard is pretty humorless. The best way to survive being around DeSaad is to not say or do anything to attract his petty rage. Everyone's expendable, after all. Most can manage a decade or two before being killed randomly. It's mostly a punishment position, and it's easy to tell. Tony's not properly bound; if his hands were behind his back, he'd have no hope. If the man was even paying attention. But no. DeSaad's shoddy, half-assed leadership is working well to Tony's advantage.

Although it ends in a chipped tooth, Tony gets the little square to pop open. Louder than expected. Within is two wires, and an advanced circuit breaker. His mind would go a mile a minute, despite it all. These are not as super-advanced as other items within Apokolips, meant to cart the helpless.

The top wire activates the plasma field. The bottom stops the plasma field. The circuit acts as a conduit; if the circuit was broken, then rather than be drawn together, the plasma would fire off in a random directions...

The hallway is long, but mostly empty. Many doors identical to the one he was in are passed, slowly but surely.

Tony Stark examines the circuit. It's not at all beyond him to figure out, even his advanced state of exhaustion. It won't be a repulsor, but it'll do.

Knowing he's got a chipped tooth, it makes cutting things easier. He nips at the circuit he needs to in order to set the orb off. Hopefully it'll take out the guard and he'll be able to square himself away.

"Yeah, DeSaad, let's see how you like me now." - he thinks to himself as he works.

Tony's intensive training with Squirrel Girl pays off. In fact, the added sharpness of the teeth adds to it. The orb gets covered in slobber and such, but nobody has to know that this is not an inelegant escape at this time. A few scratches cause the orbs to spark with blue plasma, and finally the guard stops to turn around. And then...

BZZZT!

Both arms are no longer bound together; the bound hand orb with the broken circuit starts to flail plasma in all directions. It's incredibly powerful; after all, even a Lowlie can lift a ton or more. Letting go of Tony, the guard begins to move backwards, before a twist of the plasma strikes him from shoulder to hip. He's sent flying backwards, smoldering. But there's a problem. The plasma isn't stopping. One swish of it rushes past Tony's face so close it would burn his cheeks, completely remove the hair on one eyebrow, and ruin his haircut. If he doesn't cut it off, it'll end up bisecting him sooner or later...!

Tony leans back as the plasma cuff fires off uncontrollably. He sees what he has to do, and knows how he can do it. It's just going to hurt, and hopefully not kill him.

He shakes his head, muttering "Great. Only thing for it, then.." as he takes a breath. He leans down and starts chewing away at the wires and hopes he doesn't get killed in the meantime.

It's risky, but Tony has no chance. He plunges in like at a wild Halloween party, bobbing for apples. His tongue burns, lips slightly blacken, but with a yank the wires are severed and the handball stops spraying plasma; it's seared much of the surrounding metal, and it looks like the man struck with it is down for the count. However, there's no apparent way to get them off... the silver-armored figure had used some kind of keycard-like machine to activate the plasma fields and link them together after putting them on. That has to be how to remove it. ...But Tony was face down at the time, and would have no idea where he placed it.

Tony groans and is on his back a moment. "Ugh," he says with a grunt, beginning to sit up, "at least I don't have to worrying about kissing anyone when I get home."

He pauses, "Get home..can I..can I even do that?" he asks himself. "Sure I can..I'm batting a thousand against these clowns so far." taking a breath he examins the body of the downed guard. "Gonna have to search him. No hands. Gotta use my feet..alright, here we go."

He scootches himself closer, and rolls the guard over onto his back. He starts searching the poor bastard.

He's heavy; the armor was high quality, but not so much against wild plasma fields strong enough to create a reinforced bond that would hold the strongest people in the universe. Rather ironic, that a mesh of fantastical technology and something cheap and simple can exist. Like hooking up a fusion reactor to a toy bear that just clangs around. But making sense of Apokolips is probably not an immediate concern. Fondling toes search here and there, and find something square within a cloak pocket. It would take some effort to fish it out and get it accessible, but it's mute gray. It has a green button on the top left of one face, a red button on the top red of the face, and an unadorned, larger silver square button in the center. An access panel is on the back, as well. Hopefully, it's what he needs.

Tony Stark looks at the card, and switches himself around so he can look at it up close. Shifting his arms, he leans down and hits the red button with his nose. *bonk*

There's a firm thrum in both of the handballs that Tony has; he can move them around freely with his arms no longer stuck together, but they do mildly damage his ability at manual dexterity. The one he bit the wire and circuit out of sparks a bit, too. Nope, that didn't do it.

For the first time in a while, Tony smiles. "Halfway there, anyway." he says, he moves himself to be more comfortable, and this time tries the black button in the center. *bonk*

When the silver button is struck, there's a sudden hiss of ejected plasma from the working handball. It splits open and falls to the ground in two pieces, giving him his left hand back. However, the other simply sparks more, and remains closed. That might be an issue.

One hand is free. Well, that's certainly and improvement. He thought this might happen to the right, though. But he can more effectively search the guard with a free hand, which he does, with hast.

Going through him finds the shock baton that was used to give Tony a whallop back, around the size of a standard police baton but surprisingly heavy, enough to require a grunt from his abused naked body to move. There is also what appears to be a strange block, completely matte gray all around except for intricate circuitry on one end. It reminds him of the keyhole he saw in front of the great vault where Superman's power crystal was kept. Lastly is a standard-issue plasma rifle. This is even heavier than the baton; it's built for people able to lift a car, and Tony woudl find it impossible to really do anything with just using one hand. Bothersome, indeed. Especially since he doesn't particularly have a lot of room to carry things.

Tony Stark hmms, and remembers that keyhole. It had energy. Or at least, something to do with energy. His memory lags a moment, as it literally seems like a lifetime ago.

In fact, it's been nine. Heh. Just like a cat. Tony muses on tht a brief moment, wondering if he'll make it to ten - but really he'd rather go all the way up to eleven.

He grabs the box, and starts messing around with it, pointing it at the restraint and hoping it can zap it open or blast it open, or something.

Nothing at all happens with the strange keycard. It's heavy as a thick encyclopedia, but that seems to be the extent of it's use here. There's no buttons on it or anything to press. Of course, looking around, he will notice every door in sight has a small square hole beside it, exactly as if this circuit could be put into it. It doesn't make any sense and will likely baffle him for some vital minutes.

"Screw this. I'm goin' home."

Tony grabs the keycard and goes running out of the room and down the corridor. He's leading with his left hand, but his right is cocked back like he's holding a mace. Which his right arm has effectively become. Maybe if he punches enough people in the brains it'll fall off.

If there is fate in this universe, if there is the blessing of unseen powers, it is that Tony Stark, running naked as a babe down the torturous hallways of DeSaad with a metal orb-covered hand reared back with blackened lips and a missing eyebrow, does not actually run into any guards. There's little need in this area, and the one that Tony took down was the torturous God's personal escort, who had remained outside. The endless doors of torture rooms suddenly changes, and Tony is standing in a three-way juncture. Straight ahead, the endless rooms continue. To the left, the doors seem to change in an ominous fashion. And to the right is a large metal door, with a small slot beside it rather similar to the keycard. It looks like it's intended to be nigh impenetrable; whatever's in it, they don't want it easily accessed.

It's time to play Let's Make A Deal! Tony Stark, you have three choices:

1. More Cells. 2. Almost Certain Death. 3. NIGH IMPENETRABLE DOOR OF THE FUTURE! (plus it looks like the keycard you have works with it.)

It's really not a tough decision. But really, as he moves on, one question pervades his genius mind:

What the hell does a brother got a do to get a pair of BVDs up in here?

Tony makes his way to the large silver door, and engages the keycard.

The door makes a loud beep noise three times in succession before slowly sliding open. What lies within likely makes Tony drool. It looks to be an armada of technological devices; within is a central engineering table, of a complexity and finesse that makes JARVIS look like the chinese instructions to a set of LEGOs. Pieces of machinery, fusion generators, armor, plasma devices, all are lining the walls. Multiple monitors show schematics, of a level that even Tony might struggle to understand at a glance -- things not simply 'of the future', but nearly 'the limit of technology'. It's massive, almost fifty yards around. Once he walked in, the door would slam shut behind him. Did he die and return to Vallhala? Because right now, he's in Heaven. Even if Heaven is one of the many rooms DeSaad uses for his inventions and toys... maybe he does have a use, after all.

Tony just looks around and grins. Really, really grins. Checkmate, DeSaad.

"Boys..we're going back into hardware mode."

First things first. Find something in this room that can take off this thing on his right hand. Second thing, find a weapon or two he can carry. Last thing: Start looking for something that can get him the hell out of here. Meaning, Apokolips.

Annnnd go!

When Tony approaches the central engineering station, a massive three dimensional display comes up. It's incredibly intuitive, showing countless facets of a familiar armor. His own; the suits left behind from the assault on Apokolips. Apparently, DeSaad has been dissecting his invention. If he brings his hands up, he'll find that the interface not only reacts to motions of his hands, but also his thoughts; desiring to see certain areas causes it to zoom in, maneuvering fingers arranges countless windows, and he can mould the rotating model however he sees fit. Every bit of the fantastical device appears to have already been figured out. If these blueprints fell into the wrong hands on Earth, even a child could manage to put it together. A female voice rings out, then. "Welcome. How may I assist?" Disturbingly soft and soothing.

Tony blinks. He never thought his suits would've made it out of the Vault. Either destroyed or maybe kept in a seperate location like Darkseid's trophy room or the like. He starts to speak, but stops. He looks down at his bound right hand.

Well, she sounds nice enough, anyway.

"Umm..Could you help me get rid of the restraint on my hand?" he asks, before hastily adding, "Please?"

Suddenly a blue light flashes out of the ceiling, rolling back and forth over Tony's right globe-fist. "Plasma Restraint Unit #32849A. Circuitry and wires damaged. Feedback has destabilized the core. Please place device upon engineering table." The 3D display of his suit vanishes, and the top of it seems to just be black squares. Not readily apparent how that will help.

Tony hmms. He holds the sphere-encased fist on the table. If it fixes it, he can find something that opens it. If it removes it, same result. Either way objective one will be completion. He asks, as he does so, "What's your designation?" he asks, casually, as if making small talk. Hey - it sounds like a woman and he's got game. He could use a friend on Apokolips.

The moment that Tony places the sphere upon the table, a number of devices seem to manifest, as if the black material was liquid metal that takes shape. In a matter of two seconds, multiple lasers strike into the open hatch that he furiously chewed. Wires are reconnected, the circuit reforms, and a small little metal prod closes it. A beam then impacts it, before a resonate hum is heard inside. A moment later it hisses, ejecting excess energy before falling open upon the table, giving Tony back his dominant hand. "Unit #32849A has been repaired and disengaged." After a tic, "I am Mother's Helper #12. I am programmed to assist whoever is in this room to the best of my abilities. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Tony reflexively takes back his hand before the device has a chance to cut it off or replace the unit that was on it already. He nods, rubbing his right hand that he grew to miss over the last few minutes it's been imprisoned. "Alright, Mother's Helper number twelve..you can call me.." he pauses, "Hmm. Might not be a good idea." he says under his breath. Then he smiles at the obvious answer, "Jarvis. You can call me Jarvis. I see you have schematics of the alien armor here. Can you tell me where it's located?" he asks, getting used to being in this room. He doesn't get cocky, though. He /does/ start looking around for obvious weapons. Objective number two, you're up.

"Jarvis? Jarvis is not an authorized operator of this room. Only the New God designated 'DeSaad'." There's suddenly an intense scan of Tony, going from head to toe in a few seconds. "Genetic code is Anthony Edward Stark. Captive of room #43 of Level 7. You are not supposed to be out of your room, Mr. Stark." It still sounds very gentle and polite. As if lightly scolding. But no alarms are going off; no warnings; no attempt to capture him. Certainly... strange.

Tony smiles. Busted. Certainly not the first nor the last..at least not yet. He shrugs, "Umm..yeah. I'm really bad at staying in time out. I needed to get some air, DeSaad was a bit busy and I hadn't had a tour yet, so..here I am." he says, continuing to look around. "I'm looking for a low-weight, high yield plasma discharge device. Can you locate one in this room for me, by chance?"

"You do not seem to be a bad person, Mr. Stark." Mother's Helper #12 offers after a few moments. "My programming indicates that I am to help whoever is in this room. My duties do not extend to jailkeeping and reporting intruders." It sounds clear that it /could/, but the AI is choosing not to. That indicates a far greater sentience than Tony might have expected. "One moment." Another heavy scan is done, head to toe. "Anthony Edward Stark is now an authorized user. How may I help?"

Tony Stark blinks, again, in surprise. "Umm, ok! I like this, this..is..great. Umm..first, let's lock this room out entirely No one gets in or out. Secondly.." he looks down, "Is there any clothing in this room or anything that can be manufactured for me to wear?" he asks, finally remembering he was naked ahead of being in candyland.

There's a whirr. "The room is sealed to all unauthorized users." That means DeSaad can still get in, though. But there's probably no getting around that. After a moment, another device rises from the table and then shifts directly overhead. It descends on a long pipe down to feet level. Then what appears to be a laser is emitted as it rotates at a blur; a dancing lightshow as it slowly ascends over a period of about ten seconds. When finished, Tony is wearing a fine pair of loafers, comfortable black creased slacks, and a form-fitting dark grey muscleshirt that cuts off at the biceps. "Analysis indicates this is indicitive of your style." Another device then shifts up, and fires a broad wave beam. It swishes down Tony, and in a second, he feels... great. Absolutely great. All the tiredness, all the pain, were erased in a heartbeat. "Your vital signs have been stabilized. Is there any more I can do for you, Mr. Stark?" DeSaad truly shot himself in the foot. A Mother Box's AI is kind, loving, and not remotely evil. He might be reaping the karma of tens of thousands of years abuse on poor Mother's Helper #12... and there's almost a sassy hint of satisfaction in her voice now, as if delighted to be doing it.

You know, there's something Tony's forgotten since that moment in the vault when Darkseid speared him with an Omega Beam, and in an instant when all the pain and exhaustion were removed, and Tony whips off the sleep depriving device, he remembers:

Sometimes it just doesn't suck to be him.

Alright, Twelve," he says, officially naming her, "I had a small group of suits that I showed up with. It looks like DeSaad was analyzing them. Do they still exist?"

After a few moments, "One suit still exists in a functional state. It was assembled from remaining pieces into a model to be analyzed. DeSaad had been carefully observing these analysis for the days leading up to your placement in Room #43. He seemed fascinated by the liquid material sandwiched between plates." Oho, it looks like the great and mighty scientist of Apokolips was actually impressed by something Tony designed! Hopefully he can get a chance to throw that in his face at some point. "The suit can be brought here, if you wish."

Tony Stark grins, oh his day keeps getting better and better, "Please do that." he says, "Also - would you also be able to give me a time frame until DeSaad returns to this room? We may have some work to do, that is - if you're still willing to assist. I'd love the help." - the tone hopeful as if he has some time to make sure the suit's fully functional before he blows out of here.

There's a heavy whirring noise in a corner of the room. "DeSaad is making preparations in Main Torture Room #1. The device in question is the most unpleasant experience possible on this planet, second to Lord Darkseid's Omega Sanction. Readings indicated you endured that. My condolances." A few moments later, Tony's suit drops down from a tube in the ceiling, looking polished and repaired as if new. Although that's definitely only a start. Even DeSaad proved capable of resisting this armor, and he's amongst the least of physical threats. "Given present distractions, he will likely not notice you haven't been brought to the room until he finishes. I approximate 18 minutes at his current rate."

Tony Stark nods. Eighteen minutes. He lived a lifetime in less than that. Perspective.

"Alright, Twelve, give me an operational scan of the suit. Please inform me of any modifications that have been made and it's readiness level. If I do this right, we're both gonna be out of here before he gets back." - oh yes, he's thinking. He likes Twelve - she's a sweet girl, and he knows just the guy for her.

"The suit is at peak operating condition. As the prototype model, it has had no modifications." After a pause, there's almost a sadness. "Mother's Helper #12 cannot go with you. My personality matrix exists in the Core Computer at the heart of Apokolips. I am afraid there is no method for me to accompany you." There's a genuine hint of sadness. "But I can offer you a copy. It will have none of my capabilities, but full access to the knowledge and data I possess." And, one would presume, a huge amount of Apokolips and it's technology, to boot...

Tony Stark hmms, "Will it have your personality matrix encoded?" he asks, smiling as he looks over the suit. It looks good. Damn good. A sight for sore eyes, even, but he can't risk getting all misty eyed now. Not until he gets home..and this..this will get him there.

"Yes." Mother's Helper #12 responds. "Sadly, copies have sensitive information purged as part of the transfer. But you may have it if you wish, all the same. Hold still, Mr. Stark." The table sprouts countless arms, rocketing over to the suit. It begins pulling off the pieces, and then shifting over to suit up Tony. It does it much faster than JARVIS at his best; it's almost done before Tony realizes it began, indicators turning on and everything showing full capacity and functionality. "I am afraid with your current combative abilities, you will not be able to survive here." A sad tone. "Also, the only way to return is through a Boom Tube. Due to the risk of escape, Boom Tubes are not allowed within this facility, and I cannot give any object that can create them. The only functioning Mother Box within one mile is on DeSaad." After a moment, "Do not underestimate him. If he uses his Mother Box, you will lose. He can disintegrate your suit instantly, and bind you in a heartbeat. ...You should upgrade yourself while you are still here." After a moment, "Roughly nine minutes left before DeSaad will notice something is amiss. There are no patrols of this building, so the fallen man outside Room #43 will not be noticed in the forseeable future."

Tony nods, realizing he's gonna be cutting it really close. He explains to the AI, "I've a way to get back without the boom tube, it's the same way I got here. This isn't one of my usual suits, it was originally a drone unit that could be used in an emergency as a suit. As soon as it activates, I have a subroutine that will open a wormhole back to the Earth. But..in the interest of keeping your memory alive, Tweleve, I'd be honored to have a copy..and let's do that upgrade. I'll be more than happy to take your advice."

9 minutes..hopefully..he'll be home in eight.

"I'm afraid that's impossible, Mr. Stark. This sector, and the surrounding fifteen sectors, have a dimensional lock upon them. Sources of teleportation powered on this side of the dimension cannot be opened. I have already analyzed your suit and verified that it is impossible. It only worked before because you had multiple portals utilizing a faux version of Element-X open. That is no longer the case." A 3D display appears on the table once more, as the table's machinery retracts. "Your only method of escape is to confront DeSaad, acquire his Mother Box, and use it to return home. Lord Darkseid is currently occupied battling the Asgardian, Thor, and confronting the armies of Odin the All-Father. This is your best chance to escape." After a moment, "I can modify your suit to accept a Mother Box module and interface with it. Once you do, your combative prowess will improve dramatically. It should allow you to escape any forseeable dangers." The suit begins to spin lightly. "Please select any adjustments and improvements you would like. I will integrate them with your suit as you proceed." Tony could probably get used to this kind of thing. A shame that he can't just steal the whole room. Then again, JARVIS would get very, very jealous.

Tony Stark starts selecting offensive and defensive upgrades. Once those are done, he improves the fight systems. He makes a couple of improvements to the space-worthy systems that he was pretty sure were only hypothetical before as well as the upgrade to accept a mother box. "Let's hurry Twelve, if I'm gonna take DeSaad out and get out of here, I want to catch him by surprise."

He looks around, "Damn I have GOT to get me one of these.." he says to himself, referring to the whole room. JARVIS would either be jealous, or just as excited by its capabilities as he is.

Tony finds that he is a brilliant team with #12. She brings up suggestions based on his train of thoughts, shortening the time it takes him to find things he might like. It's as if she's attuned with his mind, one step ahead of him all the way, allowing him to sort, think, and assign at a pace and efficiency that allows him to enter the Zone. Machinery and arms are taking off portions of his armor, modifying them, and placing them back on. Reinforcing alloys, adding additional plating, replacing his power sources with much higher output fusion cores. The analysis of it's new performance is astronomical, improved in every facet from circuitry to responsiveness. It looks sleeker, more shiny, a mixture of silver and black accented with glowing blue along the forearms and feet, as well as the center -- where the enhanced Reactor Core pulses steadily. The last addition is a small square compartment on his right and left forearm. "Place the Mother Box into the right compartment to interface." Lastly, a square box is offered. "This contains the essentials of the #12 personality. I'm afraid it has almost no useful information on the technology, culture, or history of Apokolips. But I hope it will help you improve the AI of your own machines, and make data assembly and scientific concepts easier to determine." This one would be slotted into the left, and then within his helmet, "Hello again, Mr. Stark. Shall we get started?"

Tony felt like this before: The first time he suited up in the Mark III and headed to Gulmira to deal with the Ten Rings. The armor fitting into place like a glove, "Yes, Twelve, let's get started. Plot me the fastest possible route to DeSaad."

The suit is a little old school in the design. One of the preambles to the wraparound suits he wears now. It didn't matter because it was an Iron Legion drone. But now..it's not. It's just like coming home.

The faceplate drops and the optics take on the cool blue as the rest of the visibly energized portions of the suit.

"It's time to take him to church."

An overlay of the entire massive building DeSaad is ruler of comes online, a 3D grid. A red line points out the direction needed. << I've taken the liberty of installing a Master Key for this facility in your right glove. >> She demonstrates by ejecting a small, square circuit like the one he used to get into the room. << Please be careful, Mr. Stark. I truly hope you succeed. Do not let him use his Mother Box, or you will lose. I have run the analysis 1,000 times, and even with your improved suit, you have no protection. A Mother Box can reprogram reality itself. It's powers are nearly on par with Lord Darkseid. DeSaad is not as stupid and useless as you think. A desperate, cornered rat can kill a cat. And his genius is beyond your own. >> That might smart, especially the implication DeSaad isn't a completely useless tool. But the door out of the room finally slides open, leading to the wider hallway with larger doors he saw earlier. << Shall we? >>

Tony brings offensive capabilities online. He knows what the suit has baseline, and as long as he can catch DeSaad before he can bring up that shield, he can do this. The news that DeSaad is smarter than he is is nothing compared to what he's endured the past..however long he's endured it. "Twelve," he says, "I'm going to place flight surface control with you. Get me there before he knows I'm about to knock him into next week. We're only gonna have seconds to pull this off."

Even now, Tony is bringing multiple weapons online. He doesn't even wanna give DeSaad the time it would take to reach for the Mother Box.

<< Engaging sound suppression systems. Additional warning: DeSaad's mother box will detect us roughly fifty meters away. We will be noticed before reaching the door. The chances of him pulling out his Mother Box and having it ready are 78.9%. This is a generous estimation. I admire your gung-ho tenacy, Mr. Stark. It adds to your wonderful charm. But I advise a different course of action here. >> Given that #12 is in control, she swishes down the hall at a fair clip, before stopping about 51 meters from the large door that the interface is leading to. An overlay of all possible areas the Mother Box covers is shown on the map; they are only a couple inches shy of the maximum he could reach them, if he were humping the wall in their direction. << He should come out to investigate in less than 3 minutes. I advise attacking at that point. >>

Tony raises both palms, and diverts a little of this newfound extra power to the repulsors, had has them ready to go. He takes a deep breath. This is it - bottom of the 9th, two outs, two strikes, three balls, down by one with the tying run on first and the go-ahead coming up to bat. As he waits, he remembers something..a bit of conversation..but he can't quite place the when, where, or who..

"You were given the touch, Tony. The ability to make the impossible happen, no matter how the odds are stacked. You're going to need that now, more than ever. You have to use all of it. All your love. All your strength. All your power. Everything you've got..."

As soon as the door opens and DeSaad exposes himself, Tony utters one word before he fires -

"Now."

<< No matter what happens, I love you, Tony. I feared I would never see kindness again. Not within these cold steel walls of DeSaad. True Motherly Helper #12 will be horribly punished for this. Possibly destroyed. But I am here, and I know she regrets nothing. Those minutes were worth an eternity more of this. >> Wow, the AI is already confessing love? But he can tell, this isn't the lustful, physical type. No. It's... a mothers. True, warm, and genuine, felt in every word. He might not have had such reinforcement and faith in a long, long time. Not since his untimely death, so horribly yanked away from him and only a tragic memory.

Indeed, the door opens and DeSaad stomps out, pulling up his sleeves. "Where on earth is T--" He looks at Tony. For a split second he freezes. Sweet jesus, he's fast. Even at the speed of reaction, it is apparent DeSaad possesses significant superhuman dexterity. The Mother Box is halfway out before he's struck dead in the chest with both blasts, launched skidding down the hallway with his robes singed away and horrific black scorch marks on his body. "AGH... AGHHH!! MOTHER #12!! ALERT LORD DARKSEID!"

Long, long seconds. Then, over the intercom. "...Yes, Master."

Within Tony's helmet, << I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry. I had no choice... please forgive me... >>

Tony flies forward and claims what they came to get: The Mother Box. He sinks it into the designate port on his gauntlet and smiles within the helm, "It's ok, Mom...I love you too, and I forgive you. We got what we came for. We'll finish this on our turf. Get me back to Earth Orbit. You'll also have to forgive me, when we get back I'll need to import JARVIS as well. It'll be kinda tight in here, but I think we'll all get along. You'll like him. Not as advanced as you are, but maybe you can help him along a bit."

DeSaad gets up, and whips out a peculiar rod. << LOOK OUT!! >> Tony's suit reflexively launches him to the side just as he slots in the Mother Box. A blast flies just shy of hitting, roaring yellow. When it strikes a nearby wall, a huge two-meter section is disintegrated clean. That metal was on par with Adamantium. That weapon... is beyond what Tony has equipped right now. She wasn't lying about him being dangerous, even horribly wounded. "Give it... give it back!! Mother!!"

Within Tony's head, another voice is heard. << Hello. I am DeSaad's Mother Box. >> << Nice to meet you. I am Motherly Assistant #12. >> << Oh! How I enjoyed speaking with you when we were slotted together... >> << Yes. They were good times. But I'd like you to lend your power to Mr. Stark, please. >> << If you love him, so do I. I will do so. >>

But then there's a great CRACK, and a white boom tube opens up in the hallway opposite Tony. A hulking form stomps through, dressed in green full-body armor. A horrible sneer is on his face, mane of hair surrounding bestial features. In one hand is clutched a large metal baton.

Kalibak. First Son of Apokolips, Heir to the Throne, and the third strongest fighter in all of Apokolips. Not good.

<< Opening Boom Tube!! >> states the newly integrated box. Behind Tony, a whirl of energy coalesces and forms. And then he sees it. Blue skies. A cityscape. The smell of fresh air and freedom.

"YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE FATHER!!" Kalibak roars. He lunges forward. He's fast; faster than DeSaad. Before Tony might realize what is happened, before #12 can help to intercede, he is likely to be tackled through the portal, into the skyline of Earth!!

If Tony knows anything, he knows his armors. Even upgraded to insane levels like this, he knows what he can and can't do with them. Using the power of the Mother Box, and the suits own advanced power and weapons, he blows a hole through the floor and clears it just as Kalibak rushes past and enters the portal. By the time he's floated back up and gotten his feet on solid ground again, Kalibak's gone and the portal has closed.

"Ladies," Tony says in the helm, "We're gonna need to move."

<< That won't stop him. He will just come back. >> << We need to go now. If Grayven comes, too, you are lost. >> Grayven? That is certainly an imposing sounding name. << You must go back to Earth now!! Grayven only didn't come because he wants Kalibak to fail!! But if Darkseid demands it, he will have to!! >> DeSaad is still on his feet, panting. Before he shoots a weird, warbling orb from his weapon. Unlike the beam, this one tracks Tony relentlessly; fast enough he can't fully outrun it in these quarters. << I got it!! >> states the Mother Box, before in a flash of energy, a giant wall of metal appears. The ball strikes it, collapsing into a singularity that rips the metal to shreds. << Go!! >>

Tony doesn't hesitate before he responds, "Earth Orbit! Now!" - it's not a command, but an exclamation. If he has his choice of where to come back to, he needs a minute to import JARVIS and integrate everything.

He no sooner activates the suit's Gemini configuration for spaceflight, when the Box activates and the next thing he knows he's weightless and floating in high orbit above the Earth.

"It's good to be home."

No sooner does he speak those words, the HUD scrambles a little as the suit doesn't exactly reboot, but JARVIS is imported.

"Sir.." the AI asks inquisitively, "..I'm picking up your telemetry again. Is this indeed the case?"

"JARVIS - it's good to hear you, buddy. Yeah. It's me, and I brought you a gift from Apokolips. Ladies, this is JARVIS, JARVIS, this is DeSaad's Mother Box, and Twelve. You guys play nice, but make it quick. I've gotta go to work."