I am Iron Man

by Colin Cook

  many numb bruises I still had covering most of my body from the near death encounters the group and I had experienced over the last few hours.

  After a few seconds the sensation eventually vanished, but the overly pleasant feeling of having my injuries instantly healed had me laughing in astonishment and fervently

  patting myself down to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

  "I must say, that was one of the more dramatic reactions I've seen from a first timer using medi-gel," Haxon remarked in an amused voice after I'd calmed down.

  "Hey give me a break, we don't have medi-gel in my universe," I countered, still smiling somewhat as I began flexing my arms and legs, relieved at being able to use them

  again without the annoying sting of bruised muscles flaring up every second.

  "That fact actually brings us to the questions that have been bothering me for the last hour. Now that we have escaped the Citadel and are no longer being pursued by

  hostile forces, I expect to receive your promised explanation for how both you and Alec seem to know almost every turn of events that is going to happen in the future. I

  believe I may already know the answer to this mystery from what information I have picked up so far, but my conclusions are becoming more and more far fetched with

  each new piece I attain. I would prefer to hear the honest truth straight from you."

  Haxon's words caused me to stiffen slightly, a small wave of panic shooting through me at the mention of my promise to explain everything I knew from the Mass Effect

  game. But I couldn't tell him quite yet; there were still a few more things I had to do first, a few more pieces that I had to bring over to our side in this inter-universal

  game of chess.

  "And you will Haxon, I'm going to explain everything to you in the next few minutes. But before I do, I first need to at least try and convince Jango to join us, since the

  answers to your questions are also going to answer a few of his as well," I responded carefully, lightly rubbing my healed eyebrow while turning to look around the rest of

  the area.

  From what I remembered of Chakwas's Med-bay in the game, there would be a large blue lit steel door built into the far back of the room that would lead into her office,

  the very one that Liara T'Soni would take up residence in when she joined Shepard's crew. As I looked ahead, I found that the same design had been incorporated into the

  Corsica's Med-bay, but with one small difference. While I noticed this identical office door far in front of me, I also noticed another door built into the wall on my right, one

  that would most likely lead to the sleeper-pod area where Alec had dumped Jango.

  "Yes I imagine so, seeing as how he and Yoda are some of the most pivotal characters from the universe of the Star Wars Sagas, just as the Replicators were one of the

  main villains in the Stargate universe. They will undoubtedly want to know exactly how they have been brought from a world of complete fiction into that of…the real

  world," Haxon said slowly and in a deliberate voice, as if he were waiting for me to give away something.

  'He knows. He already knows the truth and now he's just playing with me to see if I try lying to him or not.'

  Thinking on this I decided not to respond right away, instead choosing to quickly walk across the Med-bay to this other door and tap its glowing red lock-pad. The pad

  changed green and the door slid apart, allowing me to step into a short shiny steel hallway. The partially treaded bottoms of my combat boots clicked loudly on the

  polished flooring as I began making my way down the blue-lit corridor (Seriously, what is it with the Alliance and blue?!) toward another door built directly into the center

  of the left wall. As I walked, I looked up ahead to see a third door covering the far end, one which most likely led into whatever room was on the port side of the ship

  opposite to the Med-bay.

  This succeeded in making this entire area look almost identical to the corridor that would lead into the main conference room on the Normandy SR-2, the very room in

  which Shepard would always use to speak directly with the Illusive Man after completing a main mission in ME 2.

  Within just a few seconds I came to a stop in front of this middle door, taking a moment to look across its shiny surface before reaching for its lock-pad.

  "However I imagine it would be even harder telling them that they've been pulled from the reality of a movie and brought into that of, shall we say…a video game."

  This time instead of stiffening I outright froze where I was, my hand hovering only an inch above the surface of the lock-pad. My eyes remained wide for a moment before

  a small ironic smile formed at the corner of my mouth. I let out a short chuckle as I pulled my arm back and brought my full attention to the A.I.

  "You do know…" I stated back to him rhetorically, my voice filled with a slight feeling of humour at the way my big secret was coming out.

  "As I said I have my theories but this one seems to fit all of the data I have acquired in the most logical manner, despite however illogical the conclusion is."

  "Then I won't lie to you Haxon, your theory isn't wrong," I said to him flatly, remaining emotionless on the outside as I said it but cringing internally while I awaited his

  response.

  There was a pause of silence before Haxon spoke.

  "How? How is it possible?" he asked, sounding more confused then disbelieving. I could image after what we'd been through today, even an A.I. would be willing to believe

  anything that could make sense of all this.

  "I have no idea how, but you're looking at why this is all happening right now," I answered, raising my right hand and taking a moment to gaze upon the silver of the band

  on my finger through the holes in my glove.

  "You saw how it brought the Replicators here. Its been doing similar things just like that so as to test my ability to wield it through trials-by-fire, first by dropping Alec and I

  off in the universe of a video game, bringing us to a galaxy that's already about to suffer the most devastating conflict its ever known, and then by summoning creatures

  and enemies from my different memories to try and kill us."

  "And you have no control over what it will summon next? Or when?"

  Dropping my hand, I shook my head.

  "No," I answered bitterly, thinking back on all of the people who had been injured or killed by the ring's abilities simply because they had been in the wrong place at the

  wrong time.

  "So the ring on your finger has the power to make things from nothing. It was able to extract knowledge from your mind and pull you into a completely different universe,

  into my universe, which in your own is nothing more than a fictional entertainment?" Haxon asked, surprisingly without any anger or incredulous inflection put into his

  voice. So far he was taking this pretty well.

  "Yes, that's exactly what happened. But its not fictional anymore, all of this is real now. It may have been nothing more than science fiction to me back in my world, but

  now the ring has made all of this tangible. To both Alec and I it made all of this alive," I said slowly before looking all around myself at the shiny blue corridor.

  "Without my consent, the ring used its power to reach into my memories and summon Jango here, into this new reality, the same way it did with Jarrod. It turned fictional

  characters that I had only seen or read about in movies and books…and video games…and turned them into living breathing people," I affirmed with a stiff nod before

  reaching out and lightly tapping the door's lock-pad.

  "Wait! If all of this is, or was a video game, then you truly do know the path of its timeline! You and Alec really do know the events of the future! What's will happen next?

  What will become of Shepard and his hunt for Saren?!" the
A.I. suddenly asked, his recent acceptance of the truth now starting to make him very anxious about the

  journey ahead.

  "With Viraden complicating matters I really don't know for sure what's going to happen now, but I swear on my honour Haxon that I will tell you everything that I can. All

  I'm asking is that you trust me and be patient for just a few more minutes, the truth and the explanation for our knowledge of this universe is one that Jango and Yoda

  also need to hear…as well as a…a few other people," I interrupted him as the door slid apart in front of me, slightly hesitating once I uttered the final part concerning the

  other potential allies that had suddenly begun to develop in my mind.

  "What other people?" Haxon asked, my sudden mentioning catching him off-guard. Stepping inside, I took a look around myself before answering.

  "You'll see soon enough. They're individuals that'll definitely need the same kind of in depth discussion that you and the others will," I answered as I began to slowly walk

  deeper into the room, keeping my eyes peeled for Jango. The A.I. was quiet for a moment before responding in a more normal tone, obviously having reared in his

  emotions after accepting my mind-altering revelation about his existence.

  "Very well, I've trusted you this far and you haven't done wrong by me yet. I suppose I can wait for a few more minutes." I gave a thin smile at that, feeling mildly relieved

  at Haxon's continuing trust in me, despite having pretty much told him the entire truth already.

  The sleeper-pod area was a long rectangular room stretching down toward the aft of the ship, while being a good twenty feet wide from wall to wall. Along with the usual

  deep blue glow lighting up the surrounding space, nine soft yellow lights shone down from the ceiling, casting gentle cones of illumination on nine corresponding sleeperpods

  attached to mechanical arms spaced down either side. A narrow grated aisle-way ran down the length of the room in-between the pods with white lights shining up

  from underneath it, ending at a door built into the far back wall.

  Taking a mental note to check out what was behind that door some time later, I made my way over to the pods and stepped onto the glowing aisle-way. After slowly

  advancing several feet down its length, I finally found what I was looking for.

  Several Replicator spiders and beetles that had been left in here turned and hissed a greeting to me as I stepped into view, each of them moving away from the large cage

  they had constructed. The cell itself was only about six feet wide by nine feet long, fitting snuggly in-between two of the pods. Built into the left wall of the room and

  connected into the ceiling overhead, two other solid walls extended outward towards me with several thick bars covering the cell's front end. All of this was built using a

  familiar pattern of complex interconnecting blocks, showing that a number of Replicators had decided to break down their bodies in order to the create the bounty

  hunter's temporary living quarters.

  After a moment of examining everything I stepped toward the Replicators and their construction, moving until I stopped just less then a foot away from the bars. With a

  quick glance I looked over to my left to an area just off from the side of cell, taking notice of Jango's T-visored helmet, jetpack, gauntlets, gloves, and an assortment of

  other pieces of armour lying in an orderly pile out of arms reach, probably having been just recently arranged like that after our jarring escape.

  Turning away from them, I peered through the bars into the small area itself.

  Jango was lazily slumped back against the far wall with his arms lying loosely at his sides, still unconscious but breathing normally. Because his helmet and most of his

  armour had been removed, the Mandalorian now lay clothed in only his dark blue/purple and black body suit along with his heavily treaded combat boots. His hands and

  face were exposed, once again showing his features in the striking likeness of Temuera Morrison. On the right side of his head, a small purple coloured bruise had formed

  from the area where Chellick's concussive sniper shot had struck him.

  For a moment I just watched, mentally running through everything I knew that might be useful in persuading him. After finally deciding on a plan of action, I raised my

  hand and knocked on one of the bars.

  Twice the knuckle of my index finger rapped against the cell, giving out a small but noticeable ringing sound. However the sleeping bounty hunter didn't stir from his

  slumber. Clenching my fingers into a fist, I knocked on the bar with all of my knuckles this time. But once again there was no response from Jango. Frowning in

  annoyance, I slammed the meatier portion on the bottom of my fist several times against the bars, causing a much louder thudding sound to ring out. This made Jango

  twitch slightly, his brow frowning and his eyelids slightly rising for a moment before closing. Despite his strong stamina and natural Mandalorian fortitude, whatever damage

  Chellick's round had done was enough to keep him from regaining consciousness.

  My frown turned into a scowl of frustration at this lack of attentiveness from him.

  "He may have a concussion you know," Haxon suggested.

  "Maybe, but he's not the kind of man to get put down forever by a single crack to the head," I countered, right before drawing back my foot and sending the tip of the

  steel-toe built into my boot slamming against one of the bars!

  A loud metallic clang shot throughout the room the moment the two materials connected.

  "EH!" I shouted at him over the noise.

  Jango jerked awake with a short yell, his eyes snapping open in a flash.

  "Rise and shine soldier!" I continued yelling at him in a stereotypical drill-sergeant's voice.

  "Ahrg!" Jango suddenly cried out to my surprise, his right hand flashing up and pressing against the bruise on his head. Sitting up but then clumsily falling over onto his right

  side, he continued to cringe in extreme pain afterward while massaging his head ever so tenderly!

  "That was a rather unexpected wake-up," Haxon commented as Jango began breathing heavily, rolling over onto his back and looking up at the ceiling with the ball of his

  hand rubbing tighter against his said bruise.

  "Keep your voice down. Oww dammit," Jango growled in agony, closing his eyes and absently gesturing in my direction with his left hand.

  Suddenly the realization of what he was doing struck him, making him jerk open his eyes again and bolt upright into a sitting position. Taking the moment to flex his

  previously broken arm in and out several times to ensure it was working properly, the Mandalorian cocked an eyebrow and glanced down at his right ankle. After testing it

  with a few flexing rotations, he grunted in effort before reaching out with his mended arm and grabbing onto the far wall, pulling himself up to a cautious stand. Taking a

  moment to gingerly press his full weight onto his mended limb, the bounty hunter began slowly moving back and forth within his confined space.

  While rotating his left arm several times, Jango grimaced in discomfort and brought his right hand up to rub the bridge of his nose, the throbbing pain from his bruise

  causing a headache worthy of legend to dance within his brain.

  "Sleep well?" I asked with my own cocked eyebrow. Jango cast a deliberate glare over at me before closing his eyes and frowning as he pinched his nose even harder.

  "Aside from feeling like I've just woken up from an all night Kri'gee binge, yeah I slept pretty good," he shot back sarcastically before taking a look at his shoulder one last

  time.

  "However it is nice to see most of my injuries were able to get patched up." I semi-nodded in agreement with that, my gaze briefly resting on his bruise.

  "You actually have Yoda to th
ank for putting you back together," I added in with a nod to his leg and shoulder. Jango scoffed in surprise, his hand now moving up to rub his

  forehead.

  "That's a strange feeling, owing gratitude to a Jedi, considering it was them I was fighting against back in the arenas of Geonosis before I found myself on the Citadel," he

  began before dropping his hand and turning to face me directly.

  I fought to keep my eyes from widening at this new information.

  Jango must have been only seconds away from getting his head cut off by Samuel L. Jackson before the ring had pulled him into the Mass Effect universe!

  "You don't say," I stated in the best casual voice I could fake, saying this after forcing out a short awkward cough.

  "But then again you have put me in a cell, so I guess that gratitude might be a bit misplaced," he posed to me in a neutral voice, ignoring my statement before taking a

  step closer to the bars and gesturing to the walls surrounding him.

  "This was Alec's idea, not mine. I wasn't here at the time so I had no say in the matter," I explained with a shrug and a shake of my head.

  "Uh huh," Jango uttered, unconvinced, as he came right up to the bars and leaned against them with one arm raised above his head. Several of the Replicator spiders near

  my feet hissed lowly up from the floor, their lines of sight directed harshly at the bounty hunter, as if they were warning me to be careful around him.

  We were now standing with less than a foot between one another, staring coldly into each other's eyes, both of us gauging the other for their sense of character. With the

  distance between us and the spacing of the cell's bars, if Jango wanted to lunge out his arm and grab me by the neck he'd be more then able to. But he didn't, we merely

  continued to stare at each other until the Mandalorian cocked his left eyebrow and cast a glance down at the tense group of insects 'glaring' at him.

  "You pick these up while I was out?" he asked to me with a nod down to the group, the tone in his voice indicating he already knew the answer and had only asked the

  question to move along the conversation. I nodded back to him.