Marvel Classic Novels--X-Men and the Avengers by Greg Cox

Author:Greg Cox
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Titan

CHAPTER FIVE

“THERE. That should do it.”

Iron Man stepped back from the operating table, where he had just finished reconnecting the Vision’s severed arm. A pen-sized laser wielder was gripped between the steel-sheathed fingers of his right gauntlet. Magnifying lenses, which had slid into place within his eye slits, receded now that the delicate work was completed. “I’m no Henry Pym,” he announced, referring to the Avengers’ premiere roboticist and the Vision’s putative grandfather, “but I think he should be good as new.”

The seemingly lifeless synthezoid rested atop a shining chromium operating table, located in a sub-basement of Avengers Mansion in Manhattan. The reattached arm remained softer and less incredibly dense than the rest of the android’s body. Adamantium supports held the surgical platform intact despite the extreme weight of Iron Man’s mechanical patient. An unlikely assortment of X-Men and Avengers looked on anxiously while the Golden Avenger waited to see if the Vision would spontaneously awaken now that he’d been repaired. Iron Man wished he could wipe the sweat from his brow, but he could hardly remove his helmet while the X-Men and the Hulk were present. That’s the problem with having company over, he thought wryly.

Several seconds passed and the Vision remained as inert as before. Only the Hulk appeared unconcerned; the green goliath slouched against the far wall, looking bored and impatient. He cracked his enormous knuckles noisily. “Aren’t you done yet?” the Hulk rumbled. “For pete’s sake, he’s just a machine. Only you do-gooding Avengers could get this worked up over a piece of broken hardware.”

Iron Man clenched his fists so hard the laser wielder crumpled within his grip. He started to reply angrily, but caught a warning look from Cap. Instead, to his surprise, Storm spoke up. “Our friend and ally Douglock is a machine as well,” she rebuked the Hulk, “but we X-Men consider his life to be of no less value than our own.”

“Then you’re all a bunch of soft-hearted suckers,” the Hulk retorted. He glowered at them from beneath a sloping brow. “Trust me, when you’ve trashed as many killer robots and mandroids as I have, you get a lot less squeamish where smashing wind-up people is concerned.”

I’ve fought plenty of mechanical men, too, Iron Man thought indignantly. Dreadnought and adaptoids and so on. But that’s no excuse for callous disregard toward a hero like the Vision.

The android Avenger had proven his humanity and courage a hundred times over, no matter how cold and unfeeling he might seem to the outside world. You’d think a misunderstood monster like the Hulk could appreciate that, Iron Man thought.

Cyclops forestalled further debate by stepping between Storm and the Hulk. His glowing red visor and serious expression offered little hint of his own feelings on the subject. “How is your patient, Iron Man?” he asked. “When do you expect him to revive?”

“I was hoping that his cybernetic brain would reboot automatically once I restored his arm,” Iron Man admitted, “but it’s looking like I’m going to have to jumpstart his entire system.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.