Alex left Romanoff covering the main entrance and moved into the vast, silent heat of the mesa. He followed the small, civilian footprints. They led away from the obvious industrial complex and toward a tangle of sun-bleached rock formations—the least likely place for a SHIELD operative or a mercenary.
He moved cautiously, the heavy, unfinished FATHER TIME chassis strapped to his torso making every climb an effort. The nanites were still working, but the high-temperature environment was stressing the Arc Core's cooling system.
[System Status: Arc Core Temperature Elevated (78°C). Recommendation: Minimize Kinetic Field Usage. Conserve Energy.]
"Right, no explosions," Alex muttered, scaling a jagged rock face. He reached a small, sheltered crevice and stopped. The footprints ended here, beside a small, almost invisible piece of abandoned equipment—a discarded sensor relay, specialized and non-military.
"SHIELD wouldn't use this. Stane wouldn't bother," he whispered, kneeling down. The air in the crevice was slightly cooler, and the scent was unfamiliar: ozone and something faintly floral, like dry desert sage.
He raised his wrist and used the Nano-Tech in his gauntlet for a purely investigative purpose. He commanded the microscopic machines to absorb and analyze the trace chemicals left on the ground near the sensor.
[Analysis Complete. Trace Compounds Detected: High-purity silica dust, low-level atmospheric nitrogen isotopes, and... a unique bio-chemical marker consistent with advanced pharmaceutical treatments. Non-standard profile.]
A non-standard profile. This wasn't just a lost hiker. This was a dedicated researcher, someone working on cutting-edge bioscience.
The Unexpected Encounter
He pushed through the crevice into a large, sun-drenched bowl carved into the mountain. In the center, beneath a makeshift canopy rigged with complex solar panels, was a small, perfectly ordered field lab.
And next to a humming piece of geological scanning equipment sat a woman.
She was focused on a laptop, her dark hair pulled back, completely absorbed in her work. She was dressed in practical, durable field gear, and a pair of heavily protected goggles sat on her forehead. She looked up sharply when Alex's metal-shod boot scraped the rock.
She didn't scream or panic. She reached instantly for a small, metallic object on her belt—not a gun, but a custom-made sonic disruption tool.
"Who are you?" she demanded in a clear voice, tinged with a slight, unplaceable European accent. "This land is staked. You're trespassing."
Alex raised his hands slowly, forcing the unfinished chassis to look less menacing. "Easy. I'm Alex. And if this land is staked, you need to call the legal owner. Stark Industries."
She squinted at the SI logo barely visible on his torso chassis. "Stark Industries? I thought they only sent corporate lawyers. You look more like an overpriced security failure." She slowly lowered the sonic disruptor, but her eyes, wide and intelligent, never left the Arc Core.
"I'm here investigating unauthorized use of SI property," Alex explained, stepping closer. "And your equipment is picking up anomalous energy signatures consistent with highly volatile, classified research."
"My equipment is picking up anomalous geological data," she countered, gesturing to the glowing charts on her laptop. "I'm charting the decay rate of primordial rock formations. I was hired by a private trust—a geological study, nothing more. And those energy signatures? I think they're coming from you."
Anya and the RUNE Resonance
She introduced herself simply as Anya Petrova. She was a bio-engineer by training but was currently working as an independent specialist studying geological anomalies and their impact on molecular structures. Alex's System immediately recognized her skill level.
[Anya Petrova: Independent Research Profile. PhD in Bio-Molecular Physics. Expertise: Molecular Stability and Decay. Threat Level: Zero. Intellectual Profile: Peer.]
Alex realized he had found his intellectual match—a mind capable of understanding his impossible problems. He pointed to her equipment. "What are you doing, exactly?"
"I'm studying the localized atmospheric nitrogen isotope decay," Anya explained, warming up as she discussed her research. "It sounds boring, but certain desert regions act as natural capacitors, accelerating the decay process. I'm charting the rate of molecular disintegration in a controlled, amplified environment."
Alex stared at her, the blood draining from his face. Howard Stark's research on RUNE wasn't just about energy; it was about halting decay—the reason for Maria Stark's death. Anya was studying the opposite side of the same coin.
"You're charting molecular disintegration," Alex repeated, his voice barely a whisper. "Does your research ever involve stable isotopes or unusual energy resonance?"
Anya's expression shifted, becoming intensely serious. She walked over to a heavy, sealed container. "I found this yesterday, buried deep in the bedrock. I ran a scan. The molecular structure is unlike anything I've ever seen. It's an isotope of titanium—but the bond stability is perfect. It shouldn't exist."
She opened the container. Inside, glowing with a soft, internal blue light, was a large, dense chunk of metal. It wasn't raw ore. It was refined, impossibly light, and humming softly.
Alex's Arc Core immediately resonated, pulsing a frantic, responsive amber.
[System Alert: High-Grade, Howard Stark-Era Material Detected. Composition Matches: Project Model Zero Stealth Alloy. System Recommendation: ACQUIRE.]
"That metal," Alex said, his control faltering. "That's what Howard was working on. It's the final piece of his suit design."
Anya watched the interaction between his Arc Core and the metal, her eyes widening in realization. "That energy. That resonance. It's not geological. It's artificial. It's what you call RUNE."
She looked up at Alex, taking in his unfinished armor, the frantic Arc Core, and the intensity in his eyes.
"You're not security," Anya concluded, her voice now holding a mixture of fear and exhilaration. "You're building something impossible. And you're dangerous."
"I am," Alex confirmed, stepping closer. "And the people who attacked the facility know that metal is here. I need to know everything you know about it. Right now."
He was close enough now that she could see the strain on his face, the fatigue in his eyes, and the desperation that superseded his arrogance. Alex, the forgotten heir, had finally found someone who could see beyond the armor—and into the secret source of his strength and his pain.
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