Inside of Stark Electronics and Repair...

The shabby and somewhat empty insides of Stark Electronics and Repair lay still and silent. Repaired appliances sit underneath the front desk, and the other pieces of scrap that remain broken are on the back table, easily visible from the front of the store. Stark keeps it like this because he likes the customers to see him working on their items. He knows that they enjoy it too.

What paying customer wouldn't want to see the work they paid for being done honestly and quickly, right in front of their eyes? Admittedly, there are sometimes things that take longer than just a few minutes to repair, or rather, these are the things that Stark takes his time on. He knows that no normal repairman gets everything done perfect and in a mere matter of minutes. And he's one of the few that knows he is not a normal repairman.

So is she.

She lands gently outside of the closed shop. It's twelve o'clock midnight, so she's not too afraid of being seen. And even if she was, she doubts that it would be a problem. Stark's really good with keeping his identity.

As she stands, she looks like a Roman goddess, powerful and bold, beautiful and forbidden, like the mighty Athena. Her long auburn hair flows thickly below her shoulders, curling slightly at the ends, and seems to cradle her face like a desperate mother holding her newborn child for the first time. Her face is noble and royal, fittingly, her features strong and still feminine. Her nose is skinny and long, her eyes as deep a green as her mother's, and her pouty red lips remaining in the gray area between scowl and smile, a line which can be crossed either way with any passing moment. Tall in stature, like both her parents, she stands a towering six feet and two inches, her legs long and powerful, at the ends of which are sets of wings, sprouting from her ankles.

She goes barefoot and barelegged, and also bare-armed, showing her bare muscles for all the world to admire, lust over, and fear. A navy blue shield, of sorts, covers her shoulders and her upper chest, and a similar shade of navy blue is the color of her traditional superhero "shorts", as she calls them, although they are much more reminiscent of large bikini bottoms. Underneath the cover of navy blue is a tight black suit, stretching across her upper body. The only true symbol of identity is the yellow belt she wears, on which lies an upside-down symbol of her father's lost kingdom: a trident, simple and easily recognizable.

A magnet for all things public and press-related, she knows she should get inside quickly, no matter how barren the streets seem. She swiftly unlocks the door with the four-digit code..."1-9-8-0" ...and it opens without trouble. She only looks at her surroundings for a second, after closing the door, then she walks towards the back, ignoring the "Employees Only" sign.

"Oh, Tony", she says quietly aloud. She hardly knows why he goes to the trouble of putting that sign out. Not only is it obvious that the area is for employees only, but Tony only has one employee: himself.

She walks further back into the only other room of the small business suite, a seemingly normal room with only a large chest in the corner and a small, circular table in the middle. The girl walks over to the rotten old chest and opens it. Strangely, she tucks her large frame inside, and closes the top.

The whirs of machinery and gears can be heard.

The young woman is used to this sensation and the noises, by now. She has been in the "basement" many times before. Standing slowly, she realizes that she is very nearly at the end of her descent already. She looks out and sees the vast expanse of complicated machinery that lay before her. One may think that she would be used to this sight by now... but she isn't. She's still amazed at how Tony's place looks, in no small part due to the fact that every time she comes down, there are at least a few new inventions or advancements in his laboratory. Walking off of the platform, she sets to flight and glides to where she knows Tony will be, the heart of his laboratory.

Already she can see a figure, waiting, and with nearly impeccable posture. "He knows I'm here," she thinks with both amusement and bewilderment. Despite the lower-class looks of the upper level, Tony's place is highly secure, nearly impenetrable. The girl begins to slow as she approaches her friend, and she realizes that he is in his armor. This is a strange occurrence to her, because she knows that he only dons his armor for... well, "business". His real business.

Finally she reaches Tony, and lands a few feet in front of him. "Ah, Giantess. I'm glad you decided to come," he says, a bit sarcastically, as he turns away and begins walking in the other direction.

"Okay, Tony, so I'm a little late. I wanted to make sure no one saw me coming in," the Giantess says in her defense, and she begins to follow him.

"Oh yeah, and you can just call me Dormalla down here, Tony. There's no need for codenames."

Tony stops at a lab table on which certain detection-related machines and other items of technological advancement were placed. He begins picking up some of them, and plugging them into his red and yellow suit. "I'm still going to call you Giantess, and I'd much rather you call me by my codename, if you can." Tony has a way of speaking that's not impolite, it's just blunt and to be obeyed.

"Oh... alright, To... I mean, Iron Man."

He turns around and has two or three new additions to his otherwise plain armor. Tony Stark had grown tired of the growing advancements on his suit, so he finally decided upon a "classic" look. His two-pointed yellow facemask is set over a red metal-mesh head covering. The general undergarment of the suit is a thicker and more advanced yellow mesh, but is not bulky at all. Red boots, gloves, pantaloons, and his necessary chest-plate cover their respective areas, and his simple yellow circle stays centered in the middle, constant as the North Star.

"So why did you call me here? I mean, there are plenty of Avengers to choose from..."

"I called you here tonight to help me investigate some abnormal readings and reports that have been coming from the Crimson Desert, just north of here."

"What kind of reports?"

"They are mixed, but most people that are talking about it seem to think it's superhero related."

"Well that's hardly possible... normal people couldn't survive the nuclear radiation in that place, and even most superhumans would have a hard time."

"I've been there plenty of times, Giantess, and I myself am, as you put it, 'normal people."

Tony is intimidating a lot of the time.

"Haha... well, you know what I mean, Iron Man... anyways, what do you plan to do about it?"

"I plan for you and I to go into the Crimson Desert, see if there truly is any superhuman activity out there, and document it if there is."

Iron Man walks briskly past the Giantess towards another area of his laboratory, where the secret exit may be used. A bit confused, she follows, and takes to flying to get ahead of him.

"Tony! Don't I get anymore explanation than that?"

"No." he replies, and continues walking.

"Goodness! Tony, I'm a trusted friend of yours! You helped train me... I was one of the first of your recruits for the Avengers... I'm the Princess of Avengers City, Tony!"

When he doesn't respond, she lands right in front of him and he halts abruptly.

"Well? What do you have to say?"

Even though Giantess can't see the look under his mask, she can tell by his voice coming through the miniature speaker on his suit that he is not pleased.

"While you may be the princess of a whole city, you are still inexperienced. You are only twenty years old. I'm thirty years your elder. I'm your leader. I'm your trainer. I decided to bring you along on this expedition because I figured that you would enjoy something a little more relaxed than the usual Avengers business. If you don't want to come along, that's fine by me."

Tony continues walking again, and the Giantess stands alone for a moment. She realizes how immature she's acting. She knows how Tony is... and she knows how wise he is, too.

"Hey T... Iron Man... wait up!" she calls down the underground corridor, and quickly flies after her mentor.

Luckily, Iron Man's secret exit not only opens far away from his repair shop, but also in the approximate direction of the Crimson Desert. The two heroes fly in the upper altitudes, Iron Man's suit easily matching the speed of Giantess's wings. She may be quick, but she's not up to her full potential yet, and Tony knows it. That's why he pushes her so hard... that's why he pushes them all so hard... Dormalla... Ben... Robbie... they all need direction, and he knows that it takes hard work.

Still, sometimes he wishes he could let up...

"So what do you think we'll find out here? Anything?" the Giantess asks inquisitively.

"I have no clue. Maybe some band of lost superhumans... maybe some members of the Chaos Order... maybe nothing. Some of the reports included word of ghosts of some sort."

"Oh, honestly..." she replies with doubt in her voice.

"You can't count out the unlikely. That's why I've brought these sensors with me, just in case."

"Well I hope you don't plan on using them... really, Tony, you're smarter than that."

"I'm smart enough to think that maybe science doesn't always have the answers."

"And that coming from the most reclusive and secretive inventor in all of Avengers City!"

"Second most reclusive and secretive... don't forget Magnus."

They both laugh, Tony a little more rigidly. A joke... unusual from Tony. Dormalla takes notice, but forgets about it soon as Tony tells her that they are quickly approaching the outskirts of western Avengers City.

Both of them remain relatively quiet as they pass over the precise borders of their beloved city, going into the skies of the neutral wasteland of red sands as they continue to their final destination, the dangerous, deeply hued plains called the Crimson Desert.

Dormalla immediately notices a slight change in the air as they pass into the area. The whole three mile radius is still teeming with radioactivity, large portions of the sand burned to glass, and even melted and evaporated at the pinnacle of the blast. The feeling is one of extra weight and compression for Dormalla, but Tony doesn't realize at all. His suit is completely pressurized, basically its own environment, and the only way he knows that they are over the Crimson Desert is the built in Geiger counter in his armor.

"So here we are." Giantess calls out to Iron Man as they keep on flying over the barren lands.

"Where do we go from here?"

"The area that most of the reports came from was the very edge of the desert, near northern Avengers City. We'll start there."

Within minutes, the two heroes arrive at the outskirts of the northern area of their city, and there, they stand, waiting.

"Um... what now?" the young woman asks.

"We wait," he replies calmly, and so, they do.

They wait for minutes upon minutes, each one seeming to last longer and longer for Dormalla, for whom there is little patience at her young age. The sandy winds blow against her steel-hard skin, and she feels the cool breezes of the night, but easily withstands them with her resistant body. Iron Man feels none of this... all he feels is the comfort of being within his armor, and watching the landscape before them, empty and indifferent.

The scene is interrupted by the gentle forming of sand being blown by the wind.

It's hard to notice at first, but both Giantess and Iron Man quickly realize the form being created from sands before them. The sands begin changing color and forming a shape, and soon, both heroes stand in awe, staring at the apparition that has appeared in front of them.

"What in..." Dormalla starts, but quickly stops.

The shade is dressed like a superhero, in a way. His blue hood and body-suit are highlighted by red fist cuffs, a red belt, and red collar that connects to his red and blue cape. His face is hidden and shadowed by the hood, but burning red eyes can be seen through the abyss of his hood.

The apparition stands, arms crossed, and his legs seeming to come and go at will, part there and part not there.

He speaks.

"There is a reckoning to be had in this desert." the haunting voice comes from as if nowhere, but apparently is controlled by the shade.

Neither hero says a word, and the ghost speaks again.

"Come into the wastelands, or forever carry the burden of neglect upon your backs."

That sounds like a direct threat. Iron Man remains cool, but the Giantess doesn't take well to this. She is scared and a bit angry, and also somewhat cranky, from lack of sleep.

"Why should we go out there?! You're just a bodiless spook who probably wants to kill us out there."

"Hush, Dormalla," Tony says, and she obeys, reluctantly.

"You have been told. Approach the Crimson Desert with your heart ready and in place."

That is the last the ghost says, as his sand particles disperse back into the winds and the sands below him, back to their original color.

Everything is as it was. Dormalla breathes deeply. Iron Man is silent, until he turns on his jets and begins flying slowly into the Crimson Desert.

"Tony!" Dormalla cries out, and goes after him quickly.

"What are you doing?!" she asks, very concerned.

"Why, I'm avoiding the burden of neglect. Aren't you coming?"

Somehow, Dormalla knows Tony is smiling under that mask.

The two heroes, Iron Man and Giantess, make their way into the heart of the Crimson Desert.

After another quick burst of flying, the heroes land. They don't know why they chose this place, but they both choose the same spot to land, and do so. In the near distance, a small pale red mountain range can be seen, and the rest of the land is generally flat and red. Just an endless sea of crimson sand particles, barren, hot in the day and freezing at night, dangerous... the name fits well.

Iron Man and Giantess stand, not knowing what to do next. They followed the advice of the mysterious apparition, and chose a spot in the heart of the Crimson Desert to land at. Now, once again, they wait. Neither of them know exactly what to expect, although they both have ghastly thoughts on their minds. Dormalla is thinking of her home at the castle, with her father and mother and brother... well, not so much her brother. She's thinking of the city, and its people, and the other Avengers. And Dormalla the Giantess is thinking of ghastly superheroes, haunting her. Iron Man is thinking of little besides his inventions and what may be waiting in the desert's infinite wastes.

And, from the desert, a quiet bustling can be heard.

The sound is not loud, nor is it immediately noticeable. It starts very quietly, like a small vibration or water running in a creek. But as time goes by, the noise begins to crescendo greatly, not all at once, but very gradually. Dormalla notices the noise first and gets nervous, standing closer to Iron Man, who finally hears the sound and is as baffled as she is. Soon, the ground itself seems to be quaking and all of the area around the two Avengers is a mass of shaking and loud, shifting, rumbling sounds. The two stand as close as comfortable to each other now, nearly back-to-back, and suddenly, they make their appearance.

In the direction of the mountains, the sands begin to rise up, blown violently as if by the wind. But this is not a natural wind. The sands, like before, take shapes and colors, but the tons of sand are forming many, many figures. They all come quickly into view, each one speaking loudly and at the same time as the others. The scene is madness, and it is frightening for both Princess Dormalla Mackenzie and Tony Stark. Closest to them forms the ghost from before, the blue-hooded figure who had beckoned them to this place, which they are both now regretting.

They try to listen to the rambling of as many figures as possible.

One man, dressed in a blue body suit with yellow boots and a diamond on his chest, speaks very boldly and almost heroically. "I am the hard shield between crime and the innocents. I am the strong rock behind society. Criminals cower and fail as I battle them... I am the Blue Diamond!"

Another man speaks. He is scantly clad, even for a superhero. He wears no shirt or pants, just brown boots, brown pantaloons with a yellow belt, and a blue hood and cape. On his chest is a gold clock, and he carries a scythe like Death. He speaks in more of a deep, loud whisper. "Battling the scourge of crime, I devote my entire life to stamping out the evil web spun by master criminals. Evil knows that its time is up when I, Father Time, swing into action."

A demon-like ghost speaks in a monotone and hypnotic voice, capturing the two Avengers like a fisherman's net. His face is pale and devoid of emotion, and his purple suit with a skull on the chest reminds them of a pirate. "The world now is engaged in a war which is slaying thousands of men, women, and children every day. Out of all the chaos and destruction, I come, never to rest until the Destroyer has ended the Nazi hordes!"

There are more who speak... a man in a blue suit , with a large yellow belt, a red head-mask and cape, calling himself the Witness. The green enshrouded Challenger, who is almost as dark and mysterious as the shade who brought the two heroes here. A man calling himself the Fin, with goggles, a loose-fitting gray suit, and a gray elfish hat. There are other figures, some of them human, and some of them not. A brown-haired man with whitening sideburns, appearing in a green and black costume, speaks very little. A reddish beige skinned creature does not move its mouth, but speaks telepathically in an unknown language.

Finally, the first shade speaks, and the others stop their manic introductions. His voice, again, is ghastly and resembles a bitter breeze on a winter morning.

"I am the Thunderer. I am to be feared. We are all to be feared."

No one says anything. Iron Man and the Giantess stand back-to-back, sweating, eyes wide, hearts pounding.

"Do you fear us?"

The question is meant to be answered. Dormalla knows she can't say anything. Leave it to Tony to break the ice.

"No. Not a bit."

The look in the eyes of the Thunderer sharpens, and the burning intensifies.

"We ARE to be feared. Do you FEAR us??" he asks again, more sharply.

"I told you: you are not feared."

With that, there is a horrible uproar. Nearly all of the ghosts and apparitions, the shades and the demons, howl and yell, exhaulting their titles and actions.

Iron Man yells, assuredly, back at them.

"Shut up! Stop, all of you! You are not feared!"

For some reason, they all obey, and listen.

"None of you strike fear in the hearts of anyone anymore. You are all dead. Some of you didn't even do so when you were alive. The causes you fight for aren't even around anymore. Times have changed. You, Destroyer. The Nazis lost over fifty years ago. You may rest. The World Wars are over. There is no Earth to save, just Mars. You, the Witness. You're not around to witness anything anymore. You were just S.T. Anley back on Earth, and you were gone long before the Earth was gone. Don't you see that none of you serve a purpose!?"

Blank stares from all.

"Damn it! No one is scared of you anymore! Rest! We don't need you!"

One by one, the forms vanish. This time, there is no returning of the sand to the desert. The figures evaporate into a red mist that carries over the two heroes. The warm mist can be felt even through Iron Man's suit. In the end, all that is left are the mountains, the desert, the Giantess, Iron Man... and the Thunderer.

The shape of his eyes can be seen, and they look sad. The fire behind them seems to have nearly gone out, and his apparitional arms hang loosely at his sides.

"What are you still doing here?" Tony asks a little forcefully.

"Then... it is true? Earth is gone?"

"Sadly, yes. Over twenty years ago. This is Mars."

"I... I see. Then I am useless."

The Thunderer begins to fade away, but Dormalla feels a nagging in her heart. She knows that anyone who put their life on the line isn't worthless. She speaks.

"Thunderer, wait!"

Reluctantly, the spirit reforms.

"What do you ask, young woman? I can only give you my apologies."

"I don't want your apologies. I want you to realize that you aren't worthless."

"Eh...?"

"Anyone, man or woman, who puts their life at risk for the sake of others is certainly not worthless. You did great deeds for your country and planet when you were alive, and now you've earned your rest. Please, go home happy."

"I... thank you, child. You have opened my eyes, and I am in your debt. Please... if you ever are in need... think of me."

The Thunderer slowly melts away to the ground, and then evaporates into the air like the others. His mist is even more warm, like a quick zephyr in the desert, similar to the one they are in. It passes through the two heroes, and it is gone.

Then there were two.

"My goodness... what a night." Dormalla says, as she and Iron Man return to the western area of Avengers City.

"Agreed. My sensors picked up an amazing amount of psychic energy, in the areas where there was the most amount of radiation. There may be a link. I'll have to run some more tests..."

"Besides that, Tony! Think about all the ghosts of the past we saw. No one else has seen anything like that."

"I'm sure someone, somewhere, has seen a similar display. We just happened to be lucky enough to see it tonight."

"But..."

"Now, Dormalla, it's not something you should focus on. You'll see plenty of amazing things in this business... God knows I have. They can be beautiful, they can be horrible, and they can be strange... but you get used to them. Now, I suggest you get home before the palace has the royal guard all over town looking for you. It's already six o'clock in the morning."

She realizes that he just called her Dormalla, her real name. She decides not to dwell on it.

"A little too late for me. I need to get some sleep... I guess I'll go ahead and go home."

"Sleep well... tomorrow we have an Avengers meeting."

"Another one...? Alright, Tony, good night."

She starts to go her own way, but then she remembers something that interested her.

"Iron Man, hold on a bit!" she calls out, and returns to his side.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to know... how did you know about those old heroes? I mean... you even knew the name of one of them."

"Well, Giantess... I'm a bit of a nostalgic person, when it comes to heroes. I used to read all about the older heroes, and I still remember a lot."

"You mean heroes that were on Earth when it was destroyed?"

"Ohh, long before that, even! I wasn't even born when some of these guys where fighting the good fight... I guess that sort of makes me a library of heroing from four generations... you're making me feel old, Dormalla. I think you'd better go home."

Dormalla laughs, and so does Tony. Dormalla feels good, but a bit tired, so they say good-bye again and go to their respective homes.

On the way back, Dormalla thinks...

"No one but Tony remembers those heroes from so long ago... and that's just because he's a heroics history buff. Some people are already forgetting some of the heroes that died on Earth, or even some of the ones that came to Mars... I wonder... maybe Tony was right? In the end, is it all worthless?"

"Is anything worth anything at all?"

Special thanks to Ray Bradbury and his novel, The Martian Chronicles.

Will Short can be reached at WeekapaugB@aol.com.