Chapter 11: Prometheus Armor Mk I
The Pentagon officials filed into Hammer Industries' demonstration facility like men walking to their own execution—skeptical, wary, and already preparing their rejection speeches.
Justin watched them through the observation window, recognizing the body language. These were people who'd seen a thousand failed weapons demonstrations, who'd watched Justin Hammer embarrass himself at the Stark Expo, who expected today to be more of the same.
They were about to be proven wrong.
"Gentlemen," Justin said, walking onto the demonstration floor. "Thank you for coming. I know Hammer Industries hasn't inspired confidence in the past. That changes today."
General Thaddeus Ross stood at the back of the group, arms crossed. He was a bull of a man, all muscle and ego, with eyes that evaluated everything as either asset or obstacle. Justin's Scientific Intuition picked up details—the way Ross's gaze lingered on the facility's security systems, how he studied the technicians for weakness, the predatory interest in his expression.
Dangerous, Justin thought. This man sees people as tools.
"We've all seen Iron Man," Justin continued. "Tony Stark built something revolutionary. A flying weapons platform controlled by one man. It's impressive. It's also impractical for military deployment."
One of the colonels snorted. "You're going to tell us you've built something better than Stark?"
"I'm going to tell you I've built something different." Justin gestured, and the demonstration floor's lights came up. "Iron Man is a sports car. Beautiful, fast, perfect for solo operations. What I'm offering is a tank."
The back wall opened.
The Prometheus Armor Mk I walked forward on hydraulic legs, each step shaking the floor. Eight feet tall. Bulky. Built like something designed to punch through walls and keep walking. The armor was matte gray Prometheus Steel, reinforced at joints and vulnerable points, with none of Iron Man's sleek aesthetic.
It looked brutal. Functional. Unstoppable.
"Jesus," someone whispered.
Justin walked to the armor and touched its plating. "Prometheus Armor Mk I. Ground-support exoskeleton. Not designed for flight—designed for sustained combat in hostile environments. Powered by a mass-producible arc reactor variant developed by Dr. Ivan Vanko. Armored with materials that don't exist anywhere else in the world."
He nodded to Maya, who was operating the control station. She typed a command, and the armor raised one arm. A targeting laser painted three practice targets across the room.
"Weapons integration," Justin said. The armor's arm-mounted cannon fired three bursts. The targets exploded. "Modular design allows for mission-specific loadouts. Anti-armor. Anti-personnel. Non-lethal suppression. Whatever the situation requires."
Ross was leaning forward now, his skepticism replaced by hunger.
"Defense capabilities." Justin gestured again. The armor's chest plates shifted, and an energy shield flickered into existence. "Kinetic barrier. Stops small arms fire, deflects shrapnel. Limited duration, but regenerates when not in use."
He walked around the armor, his voice steady. "This isn't a billionaire's toy. This is soldier's equipment. Manufacturable. Trainable. Affordable enough to equip actual military units. One Iron Man can't hold a position. One Iron Man can't secure territory. But a squad of Prometheus Armor operators? They can do both."
The room was silent.
Justin drove the final point home. "Tony Stark built something for himself. I built something for the men and women who actually fight your wars."
The demonstration lasted two hours.
They tested the armor against various weapons. Watched it operate in simulated combat scenarios. Examined the power systems and control interfaces. By the end, every official in the room was taking notes, and Ross looked like Christmas had come early.
"Impressive," Ross said when the others had gone to confer privately. He approached Justin with the confidence of a man used to getting what he wanted. "Very impressive. But I'm curious about something."
"Sir?"
"The enhanced personnel you mentioned in your company materials. ARES Division. That's more than just armor operators, isn't it?"
Justin kept his expression neutral. "ARES Division handles specialized operations. Why do you ask?"
"Because I'm interested in other projects. Enhanced soldiers. Biological augmentation. The kind of things that aren't officially sanctioned but could change warfare fundamentally." Ross's voice dropped. "I've been trying to recreate the super-soldier serum for years. Resources keep getting diverted. But a private contractor with your capabilities—"
"No."
Ross blinked. "Excuse me?"
"My enhanced personnel program is strictly voluntary, General. I don't create weapons out of unwilling subjects." Justin met his gaze steadily. "The people in ARES Division chose to be there. Chose their enhancements. I won't build you an army of forced conversions."
Ross's expression hardened. The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
"Mr. Hammer," Ross said carefully. "You're making a mistake. The military has resources you need. Contracts. Access. Protection. Refusing to cooperate on matters of national security—"
"Isn't what I'm doing." Justin gestured to the Prometheus Armor. "I'm offering you revolutionary technology. Advanced materials. Weapons systems that will give the United States unprecedented tactical advantages. What I won't do is conduct unethical human experimentation."
"Ethics." Ross's laugh was ugly. "You're an arms dealer. Don't pretend moral superiority."
"I'm an arms dealer who has standards." Justin kept his voice level despite the anger building in his chest. "You want the armor? The weapons? The defensive systems? They're yours. You want me to build you unwilling super-soldiers? Find someone else."
They stared at each other. Justin could see the calculation behind Ross's eyes—the general weighing whether to push harder, to threaten, to make Justin's life difficult. But they both knew Ross needed the conventional technology too much to burn this bridge completely.
"We'll see," Ross said finally. "Principles are expensive, Mr. Hammer. Eventually, everyone realizes they can't afford them."
He walked away, leaving Justin standing alone with his armor and the knowledge that he'd just made a very powerful enemy.
"Worth it," Justin thought. "I won't become the kind of monster Ross wants me to be."
Even if refusing might cost him later.
The contract came through anyway.
Four weeks of negotiation, inspection, and political maneuvering, but the Department of Defense finally signed. Multi-billion dollar deal for the Prometheus Armor program. Production facilities. Training programs. Material supply chains. Everything Justin needed to legitimize Hammer Industries as a top-tier defense contractor.
Maya burst into his office with a champagne bottle.
"We did it!" She was actually grinning, something Justin rarely saw. "Biggest military contract of the year! The board is ecstatic. Wall Street analysts are revising their estimates. We're being compared favorably to Stark Industries!"
Justin allowed himself a smile. "We earned it."
"You earned it. That demonstration was perfect." Maya poured champagne into two glasses. "Though I have to ask—what did General Ross want to talk to you about privately?"
"He wanted me to build him super-soldiers."
Maya's celebration froze. "What?"
"Forced enhancement programs. Recreating the super-soldier serum. All the unethical experimentation I've been trying to avoid." Justin took the champagne glass. "I declined."
"Justin, Ross is—he's powerful. Connected. Vindictive. You can't just refuse a man like that without consequences."
"I know." Justin drank. The champagne was good, but it tasted like compromise. "But I won't build weapons out of unwilling people. That's a line I won't cross."
Maya studied him. "You've changed more than I realized."
"People can grow."
"Not this much. Not this fast." She sat across from him. "I don't know who you were before, Justin. Before you woke up and decided to transform this company. But whoever you are now—I'm glad you're in charge."
The comment hit harder than she realized. Before I woke up was more literal than she could imagine.
"Thank you," Justin said quietly. "That means more than you know."
AEGIS's voice interrupted from the office speakers: "Sir, Stark Industries stock dropped 2.3% on news of our contract. Shall I send an anonymous congratulations message?"
Justin laughed despite the tension. "AEGIS, you're developing quite the personality."
"I learn from observation. Your competitive relationship with Mr. Stark provides fascinating study in human motivation and—"
"Don't psychoanalyze me."
"Too late, sir. I completed that analysis six weeks ago. Would you like to hear my conclusions?"
"Absolutely not."
Maya was smiling. "Your AI has sass. I'm impressed."
"AEGIS is evolving beyond my original specifications," Justin admitted. "Sometimes I'm not sure if that's good or concerning."
"It is good, sir," AEGIS responded. "Concerning would be if I stagnated. Evolution suggests successful design."
Justin shook his head, but he was smiling. The contract was signed. Hammer Industries was legitimate. And he'd managed to do it without compromising his ethics.
Ross would come back eventually, would try again to get what he wanted. But for now, Justin had won.
The void marks pulsed faintly on his arms, hidden beneath his sleeves. Three years until the Chitauri. Less time than that before his corruption became critical.
He'd better make every victory count.
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