Who am I? That's what I'm asked everywhere I go. To understand who I am you must understand where I come from.
When the plague hit, my dad, god rest his soul, did all that he could protect us; mom, my sister, and me. He put plastic and wood over the windows, filled every container in the house with water, and kept the first wave from overtaking us. The second wave, the looters and marauders almost did him in. He'd bought a shotgun just as the news started reporting the outbreaks. He also bought all the ammo he could. Well for a guy that had never fired a weapon he learned fast. While the rest of our cul-de-sac was overrun we were still safe. Then the third wave hit. The goddamn government. They showed up one day and I remember Dad saying, "See I told you that we'd be rescued if we just held fast." Dad opened the door and took a sniper's bullet to the head. Mom and Lisa were screaming and suddenly they were in the house. They grabbed my mom and sister and dragged them out. I tried to stop them but got tossed aside like a rag doll. My mom told me to run, and I did. I didn't go far enough. I watched as the Army, the damn United States Army lined up the survivors they had found and killed them all. It was like those movies my social studies teacher showed of the mass killings in Cambodia. Only it was my family, my neighbors, my fellow citizens. I ran. I ran as fast as I could. I went from house to house evading the infected and the military as best I could.
Now my father had raised us right. He had raised us to believe in heroes. To believe in what's right and just. He told me stories of Tony Stark, you know Iron Man, and Bruce Wayne. Both billionaire industrialists who worked hard to save the world from itself, Stark as an armored hero, Wayne by his support of the Batman. Well from what I hear, when the outbreak started Stark and Wayne began collaborating. Looking for the source of the outbreak, looking for a cure. The government didn't like that and had them both killed, well Stark anyway. Wayne got away. That wasn't the end of it though, the Army took War Machine and Rescue and began using them to "Pacify" resisters. Wayne has never been seen again but he has to be around. Why? Because I've seen the Batman. If the Batman is around you know Wayne has to be close.
Anyway the point is, there I was wandering around. It felt like I was walking forever. One night as I was trying to grab some sleep I heard that sound. You know the one we all dread. Well, I didn't wait around. I did what I did best and ran. I ran to an industrial area, found a warehouse with an open window, climbed in, and waited. When morning came I looked around the warehouse looking for anything I could use. That's when I found the van. The thing had a black with a white skull on the hood and no plates. I looked inside.
I nearly pissed my pants. There in front of me was a damn Iron Man helmet. Granted it wasn't the whole thing but it was there. I knew it had to be bulletproof so I put it on. That's when my life really changed. The thing worked. Turned on immediately. Now it's no Iron Man suit of armor but it does have all kinds of enhanced audio and video capabilities. I'm talking night vision, x-ray, thermal. All kinds of good stuff. I took it along with a bunch of body armor, ammo, a pistol I found, and this beauty. I had no idea what it did but I knew it could help. I was scared of it at first and used the pistol until I ran out of ammo. That happened while I was damn near surrounded by infected. So I flipped a switch and pulled the trigger. Nothing left but a cloud of vapor. The best part is Big Mama here never runs out of ammo.
Now I was somebody. I didn't need to run anymore. I took out infected and my favorite part, I took out every damn soldier I saw. I went from place to place killing the traitorous bastards. Then I found Springfield. The city was a fortress. The walls keep the infected and soldiers out. Enough supplies for the people inside. They let me in after seeing me kill a bunch of Marines. Took me straight to the man in charge, Cobra Commander. We talked over a meal, well I talked, Cobra Commander didn't say much, just listened. I told him everything. When I was done he sat back, folded his hands, and told me about a plan to take back the United States from the corrupt politicians and generals who would kill a young boy's family for their own pleasure. I told him I wanted, no I needed to be a part of it. He nodded his head. He called in his top brass and asked me to introduce myself. When Generals Tomax and Xamot asked me my name, I answered. "I am Iron Man."
