Chapter 61: Lynn: This Is a Hell of a Surprise
Seeing the worry in Tony's eyes, Lynn shook his head. "She's fine. She's staying at Natasha's apartment right now."
"With Nat and Steve protecting her, she's safe. Me, on the other hand... because Pepper asked, I hopped on a plane yesterday and flew all the way from New York to Tennessee."
He looked right at Tony. "Eat up. When you're done, we're going back to New York."
Tony thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't think I can. Not yet."
"That goddamn terrorist, the Mandarin... he's targeting me. If I go back, I'm just putting Pepper in danger all over again."
"Lynn, she's the most important person in my life. I can't keep dragging her into this shit."
He stood up, and for a rare moment, his eyes were completely serious. "So... I'm going to end this. I'm going to find the Mandarin, and I'm going to finish him. That's the only way Pepper will ever be safe."
"Buddy, I'm on my own here, and my suit is wrecked. I need you. As a friend... I'm asking."
"Oh, come on, Tony. Don't give me those damn puppy-dog eyes."
Hearing Tony say 'I need you' with that much raw emotion made Lynn's skin crawl. "I have a lot of respect for everyone's... choices... but my orientation is strictly normal, okay?"
"Jesus, there's a kid here! Don't be weird. And I have Pepper!"
Tony threw up his hands, then held out a fist. "So, we good?"
"You're such a child."
Despite the words, Lynn bumped his fist against Tony's.
"Oh, right. This is for you."
Lynn tossed him a red 'sobering-up' potion. "Figured you might need it."
Tony's eyes lit up. "You are a godsend, Lynn. You know, if you were a woman…"
"Stop. Right there."
Lynn walked over to the battered suit of armor, resting a hand on the cool metal. "If you really want to thank me, you can build me one of these when this is all over."
In his past life, Lynn had collected all kinds of Iron Man figures and helmets.
Now that he was actually in the Marvel universe, he'd be damned if he didn't get a real Mark suit. It was about fulfilling a childhood dream.
"Done. No problem."
Tony shrugged, looking smug. "I knew it. No man can resist the suit. Not even a Sorcerer."
***
An hour later, in the center of the small town.
They stood in front of a ruined wall, covered in flowers and lit candles. A memorial.
And on the wall itself... a perfect, black scorch mark, the shadow of a human being, blasted into the concrete.
Tony looked at Harley. "What's this?"
"That's where Chad Davis lived. He used to be in the army, got a bunch of medals."
Harley crouched down, lightly touching one of the flowers. "Then one day, people said he went crazy. Made a bomb... and just... blew himself up. Right here."
Tony stared at the scorched silhouettes on the wall. "It says six people died. Including him?"
"Yep."
Tony nodded, then glanced at Lynn.
Lynn was standing perfectly still, staring at the memorial, but his focus was elsewhere. He was looking at the spirit of Chad Davis.
The man had been dead for a while, but his spirit was still here.
And... he could talk. Or at least, he could force out a few broken words.
This made Lynn's pulse jump.
'This meant... this meant Chad Davis's obsession was stronger than the purple-level spirits of those girls. This was a whole new level.'
'Finally. Something beyond purple.'
"Not... me. I'm... not... the killer. Kill... Killian. Revenge."
Hearing the spirit repeat those same broken words...
...Lynn knew this was the best goddamn windfall he could have asked for.
'And there was no way Chad Davis was the only victim of Killian's Extremis experiments.'
'Killian's main base... it was probably full of these high-level, obsessed spirits.'
The thought of it sent a shiver of pure anticipation through him. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to tear Killian's operation apart and harvest every last one of those obsessions.
"This doesn't add up, Lynn."
Tony walked over, pointing at the wall. "Six people died, but there are only five shadows on the wall."
"And remember what Happy said? The guy who attacked him... he was burning up. 'Like lava in his veins,' he said."
"I think... I think this is all part of Killian's experiments."
Lynn nodded, pulling himself back to the present.
He was just about to speak when Harley piped up. "People in town say the shadows are the people who went to heaven."
"But Chad Davis was the bomber. He did a bad thing, so he had to go to hell. That's why he doesn't have a shadow."
Hearing the kid, Tony just shrugged and looked at Lynn. "So my theory holds. Killian's experiment... maybe it gives people regeneration, but it also turns them into human bombs."
"And the guy funding him... it has to be the Mandarin. Maybe we can take them both out at once."
"Works for me."
Lynn nodded. "So, what's the plan?"
"Hmm. We need more intel. Hard data. And I need to fix my suit."
Tony looked at Harley. "Kid, you can head home. My friend and I have some business to take care of."
"You sure you don't need me?" Harley asked, clearly disappointed.
"Positive."
Tony pulled the kid's hat down over his eyes. "This next part's dangerous. Your mission... is to guard my suit. Think you can handle that?"
"Absolutely!" Harley snapped a salute. "I'll protect it!"
As the kid ran off, Lynn raised an eyebrow. "You're pretty good with kids."
"Of course I am. Smartest man in the world, remember? Handling a kid is easy."
Tony's expression turned serious as he looked toward a bar down the street. "When I was talking to Harley earlier, he said Chad Davis's mother hangs out at that bar. Started drinking heavy after he died."
"Maybe she can tell us something."
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