The next day everybody talked about how the Flash was defeated and unmasked by the Hero-destroyer. The reactions were a mixture between sorrow and joy. Although most people regretted the fact the Flash was put out of buisiness by that villain, a remarkable number of people loved what they had seen on TV. At last those arrogant superheroes got what they deserved. One newspaper even headed :

" HERO-DESTROYER : A NEW BREED OF HEROES "

In his office Dr Jasper read the story over and over again. The picture of the unmasked Flash was large on the front page. This was all going even better then he had dared to expect. Working together with the Hero-destroyer and Tyke had some great advantages. No superhero would be safe from now on. David Jasper had come to the conclusion, that the town should be cleaned from all superheroes. Damien had no idea however that it was Tyke who slowly had manipulated his mind into believing it were only the superheroes who made this town dangerous to live in. So far they had Captain Marvel, Captain Invulnerable, Kid Liberty, Mysticlad and the Flash caught or neutralized. Superboy was even killed by the Hero-destroyer. A small mishap, but alah!!! Damien knew many more victories were needed before their goal could be reached.

While Damien was making new plans for eliminating more superheroes, the only real dangerous villain, Tyke, was already taking his plans to the next level. The Flash proved to give them hardly any trouble. He appeared to be more cute then powerfull. Without his superspeed the Flash turned out to be next to nothing. The next one on Tyke's list to be eliminated was much more dangerous and that's why Tyke decided to fullfill this next step himself.

>From childhood on Tony had been a weak child. He was born with a heart disease and the muscles in his legs were bad. At the age of eight he already had taken six operations. After that there was nothing more the doctors could do to improve his condition. He just had to learn and live with his heart-condition. Tony however was not the person to sit and sob. During his college years, he turned out to be a brilliant student. After finishing University he founded Stark International, a research conglomerate responsible for numerous inventions. Within a few years Stark had become a famous millionaire, inventor extraordinaire. If not the nearly fatal accident with Bruce Banner had taken place, Tony would never have used his still experimental life-preserving Prometheum armor of his own design. The armored suit proved more then usefull. As long as he wore the Prometheum-armored suit his heart would be like that of a 20 year old topathlete. His legs wouldn't give him any more trouble. The suit supported them. Tony soon re-evaluated the path his life had taken - and he decided to take advantage of this fateful occurrence by using the armor to fight for good as the invincible Iron Man!

Today, the world thinks Iron Man is an employee--Tony Stark's personal bodyguard--and in this dual role, he faces corporate intrigue and super-powered menaces. He's a modern-day knight in armor, fighting injustice wherever it rears its head.

Tyke knew that the legion of superheroes would suffer a great loss when Iron Man could be eliminated. It was one of the few heroes around who used heavy armor to fight evil. Iron Man's suit was heavily armored. It would be difficult to fight and defeat a fully armored Iron Man. Tyke knew however it was the young and weak Tony Stark who was Ironman. It would be no problem at all, defeating Tony Stark, as long as he could be prevented from using his armored suit.

ELIMINATION, part 2

Tyke knew that the legion of superheroes would suffer a great loss when Iron Man could be eliminated. It was one of the few heroes around who used heavy armor to fight evil. Iron Man's suit was heavily armored. It would be difficult to fight and defeat a fully armored Iron Man. Tyke knew however it was the young and weak Tony Stark who was Ironman. It would be no problem at all, defeating Tony Stark, as long as he could be prevented from using his armored suit.

Tony Stark was a bachelor. He's had a few girlfriends before, but after a short while he had stopped those relations again. They didn't give him what he was looking for. If not fighting crime as Ironman, Tony Stark spent most of his time trying to invent new weapons to battle the most powerful supervillains. He hated all those parties wealthy people were supposed to show up. Most evenings he worked at Stark Labs, on his own, improving his Ironman-suit. He had become a bit of a loner. Had only one good friend, who now and then visited him while he was working on his own there at night.

Last night Tony also saw how his friend the Flash was defeated by that new villain, the Hero-destroyer. Ironman just felt as if a good friend had died. He was shocked ! The Flash had been around for so many years already. He knew it was impossible for Barry to show up as the Flash again. Villains were capable of anything. The first hours after this horrible news, Ironman flew over town, not really knowing why he was up there. Tony knew it felt good to be in the armoured suit. He felt no invalide anymore.

Just before dawn he returned to his secret lab. He disabled the Ironman-suit and got out of it. To make the best contact with the armoured-suit, he always wore a black catsuit inside it. Only a few minutes after he got back, he heard a noice behind him. When he turned around, he saw a dark figure standing on the other site of the spacious room. " Who are you ? ... And how did you get in here, without setting off the alarm ? ", Tony got out, realising he might be seen getting out of his Ironman-suit. " What do you want from me ??? " Tony walked over to the figure, somewhat limping. The figure at first didn't say anything. He waited until Tony Stark was close to him. Then he stepped out of the dark. " Mysticlad !! You here ! " " No Stark !! I am Tyke !!! " Tony Stark was more then surprised. He had spoken with Mysticlad a few times before already and this "Tyke" looked exactly like him. Remarkable. " Are you related in any way to the hero Mysticlad ??" " Mysticlad ?? I regret to say, he's my twin-brother !!!! " " He has a brother ?!! " " Yes, he has .. or better, he had, because he gave up all his powers to me! "

Tyke started to tell how he had captured several superheroes already, including Mysticlad. He was so confident, that he told Tony Stark about his plans to eliminate all superheroes on Earth and than take over full control of the planet. Tony could not believe what he heard. All he knew was he better get into his Ironman-suit as soon as possible. His legs couldn't carry him fast enough though. He had no chance avoiding this intuder.

" ..... AND NOW IS YOUR TURN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ", Tyke stated.

With this Tyke hit Tony hard in the face. The young man fell backwards against a desk. Tyke followed his attack by a knee into Tony's gut. Tony fell to the floor, protecting his gut. His attacker then pushed him sidewards. Tony fell to the floor. He hit the side of the desk with his bad leg. He cried out from pain and grab his sore knee.

ELIMINATION, part 3

Tyke hit Tony hard in the face. The young man fell backwards against a desk. Tyke followed by a knee into his gut. Tony fell to the floor, protecting his gut. His attacker then pushed him sidewards. Tony fell to the floor, groggy. He hit the side of the desk with his bad leg. Hew cried out from pain and grab his sore knee.

Tony desperately crawled towards a control-panel, where he would be able to activate his Ironman-costume. His leg was too hurt to stand on. If only he could manage to get into his armored suit. Tyke however saw what Tony's plan was and stopped him from turning into Ironman. He kicked him into the side of his head. " AAAARRRKKKK.....", the young man rolled over the floor and came to a halt against the wall. Tyke pulled the weak Tony up and threw him against another wall. Tony felt how his heart started throbbing unregularly. " MY HEART ......!!!!! ", he cried out and grab his chest

Tyke then dragged the easily defeated Tony to the centre of the room, tied up his ankles and hoisted him up from the deiling, head down. Tony, still dressed in his catsuit, hung down helplessly. " Huh ? ", was all Tony could get out, when he regained consciousness again. " Wh ..what ?! " Tony got out and he started squirming to get lose .....

" I'm not gonna kill you right now, Stark! ", Tyke told him. " For now I only want to have some fun with you !!!" " Damned you ..get me out of here !!!". Tyke started to gut-punch Tony. " OOUCCHHH!!!!! " Tyke punched and punched into Tony Stark's weak body. " NAAARRRGGGHHHH..... " " You ..you .....aaauwww.. not ... ..... " Tyke then spin kicked into his crotch, karate-chopped his chest! Tony squirmed from pain ..... " don't ... let ... aaaauuwww ... iuuunngghh.... " Tony reached for something hidden in the back of his neck. Tyke noticed, grabbed Tony's hand and found a small remote-control. " Not this time............ !!! ", Tyke said, while he smashed the control against the wall. " NOOO !!!!!!! ", Tony cried out when his only chance of activating his costume was destroyed. Tyke then kneed Tony's face. Grab Tony's throat and crotch.........squeezed them as hard as he could " UUUUUURRRRRKKKKKKKKKKK................. YOU.......uuurrkkkk...you're no........." Stark tried to hit Mike's body .. he missed ... He tried again and again ... Tyke kneed Tony's crotch and squeezed even harder. He screamed on the top of his lungs ..... The villain went on hurting his victim .... kneed his kidneys............. Tony hung helplessly ..... arms down, fists clenched. Tyke leaped, and doubled fisted into Tony's crotch hard!!!!!!!!!! " AAAAAARRKKKK...... !!! ". Tony dropped a small syringe from his hands " Oh........trying to play dirty eh? ". Tyke spin kicked into his sides!

" Uunghhh............ " He then applied several knee breakers into HD's spine and lower back ! Tony Stark's muscles started to go limp ..... He got pummeled into back of his head. Not much later the one to be Ironman was unconscious again.

Tyke stopped his attack. " Don't forget Ironman. Next time we meet, you are going down for good and all will be witness of the event !!!! "

Before Tyke left Tony's secret lab, he destroyed most of the equipment around. Within a few mnutes his well aimed energy blasts blew up all that was important to Tony Stark. The last energy blast hit his famous Prometheum-armored Ironman suit. It blew up in hundreds of pieces. Tyke laughed out loud when he witnessed the effect of his attack. When Tyke left the place Tony Stark was still unconscious and bleeding, hanging upside down from the ceiling.

ELIMINATION, part 4

The last energy bolt from Tyke blasted Ironman's Prometheum-armored suit into hundreds of pieces. Tyke laughed out loud when he witnessed the effect of his attack. When Tyke left the place Tony Stark was still unconscious and bleeding, hanging upside down from the ceiling.

For a long time Tony Stark stayed unconscious. Because of the fact it was Stark's secret lab, hidden underground, no one else ever came there. The only one knowing about his secret identity, Bryan, didn't visit Tony every day, so it was more then fortunate for Tony his friend had decided to pay him a visit just that morning. If he had not, Tony probably would have died.

"MY GOD !!! ", Bryan got out when he witnessed the wreckage in the lab. "What happened here ???". Nothing stood upright anymore. " TONY !!!!", he then cried out when he saw his best friend hanging down from the ceiling like a chicken ready to be decapitated. He managed to get Tony down gently. Got him down on the floor between the remains of his lab. Bercause of this Tony at last regained consciousness.

" Who did this to you ??? ", Bryan asked as soon as he was sure Tony was okay. Tony was still too weak to answer the question. He only knew he was safe now. His mind however started thinking about what happened before and he realised he was alive only because Tyke had decided to. This thought made him shiver. Never before had he been so close to death. Ironman had lost his share of battles, but he always could gain the upperhand again. This time it was different. Tyke not even had used a fraction of his powers yet and the effects were devastating.

" It's over Bryan. Ironman is no more !!! " " Fuck you !!!!", Bryan responded. " Ironman can't be beaten ... ever !!!" " Damned you !!! Look at this place !!! It is no more !!! " " Whatever happened here is not the end. !!" " It was Mysticlad's dark twin brother." " Hey .... does that guy have a brother ...... hmmmm... never knew that ??? " " No, I was surprised too !!! "

Bryan kept on talking into Tony Stark, showing him, he still could beat that Tyke. There still was a second suit, hidden in the mountains. If the only could reach that place, he could activate his substitute Ironman costume. In the end Tony still had his doubt, but he gave in to Bryan. He would take up the fight against Tyke as Ironman. Not much later the two young men drove off into the mountains, not knowing what lay ahead of them.

While Tony was on his way to prepare for the battle against Tyke, the twin of Mysticlad was admiring his earlier catches. Marvel, Invulnerable and Liberty were almost completely drained of their energy. They looked a bit like deflated balloons. Muscles were next to nothing anymore, costumes definitely oversized, eyes like black holes in their faces. It was impossible for Tyke however to completely drain them from their powers. The last one in the row was Mysticlad. Tyke stopped in front of him. He smiled seeing his brother this helpless.

" ... and how are we feeling today ?", Tyke asked Mysticlad. It seemed as if Mysticlad was just unconscious but soon after Tyke had put him into the tube and started the drainage of his powers it turned out both brothers still could communicate telepatically. This way Mysticlad had found out what had happened with the Flash. < Why .... why are you doing this ???> " Black power .is always about all or nothing !!!! ... You should know !!! " < You promised .... I gave up my powers so you could survive ..... why the Flash ???> " You 've always been someone who believed everything he wanted to believe !!! " < YOU GAVE ME YOUR PROMISE !!!!! ............... >

Tyke then recalled into his mind the events that had taken place in Ironman's lab. He tranplanted these images into Mysticlad's brain. The tortured hero "saw" what Tyke had done to Tony Stark. Saw how the crippled man desperately tried to reach his suit; saw how eventually the lab was totally destroyed and saw how Tony Stark was left behind, more dead then alive. Mysticlad felt helpless. He didn't have the power to break free out of his predicament. He lost it all to his brother. He was desperate. He knew Tyke was more powerful then any hero on Earth. There was only one way to defeat Tyke, but for that he had to escape first. The only possibility was to break into the brain of Damien or the Hero-destroyer. They could get close to him, without any suspicion from Tyke.

Bryan and Tony had reached Eastwood Creek. They drove up a small mountain road. Not much later the car vanished into the bush. They reached the cave where Stark's substitute Ironman-suit was hidden. Tony, still weak from Tyke's attack, stepped into the suit and then activated it. After all those years it still worked. Tony felt how the power spreaded through his own body again. He felt reborn. Ironman was ready to take on Tyke.

The two of them never realised that Tyke already had them monitored. He knew what they were up to and he allowed them to go on with it. He wanted to destroy Ironman, not Tony Stark.

ELIMINATION, part 5

Tony, still weak from Tyke's surprise attack, stepped into the suit and then activated it. After all those years it still worked. Tony felt how the power spreaded through his own body again. He felt reborn. Ironman was ready to take on Tyke.

The two decided that Brian would stay behind monitoring the performance of the suit. Tony Stark just wanted Brian out of the way. He knew this was going to be a hell of a fight, maybe even his last one. That Tyke had many powers, not only physical ones but also mental and maybe even spritual ones. Ironman decided to fly straight into town to lure Tyke away from it, so there wouldn't be any damage in town itself.

Aided by the jetstreams coming from his boots, Ironman sped into the air on his way back to town. Before he reached his goal, still outside town, he was hit by an electric charge, strong enough to kill an elephant. For a few seconds his armored suit was short-circuited and he dropped about 100 feet down to earth before his suit gained control again. At a distance Tony saw how Tyke floating in mid-air. It was he who executed this sneek attack. " You should be more careful Ironman ... could be your last mistake .... hahaha !!!! " Before Ironman could start a counter attack, he was hit again by an even larger charge. His suit disfunctionated again. He fell down into the ground, creating a hole several feet deep. When Ironman came out of that hole, he saw Tyke approach with increadible speed.

Ironman, as in a reflex launched a miscile from his underarm. Tyke was hit in full air and got slammed back hundreds of feet. He was smashed into a mountain wall. It crumbled down on top of Tyke. Within a few seconds however the villain got out from under it. " You need much more then that to defeat me, Ironman !!! " Tyke then created a hurricane, sweeping Ironman from his feet. He tumbled down a steep mountain slope, rolling over several times. One of his miscile launchers broke off on his unvolontary way down......

In their hideout Brian watched all that was happening. He saw how the left launcher was destroyed. " ... maybe the suit ... is not ....... strong enough .....", Brian thought to himself. His confidence in the suit wore off.

Tony Stark, inside the suit, had the same worries. If at this stage a part of his suit breaks down already, what can he expect from the rest of this battle.

Energy level : 96 %

Tyke flew into Ironman and threw his body into him. Because Tyke had increased the density of his own body several times, Ironman was knocked back most easily. Tyke then managed to disable Ironman's back-mounted rockets and blasted Ironman himself into a mountain wall. As Tyke moved in for the kill, Iron Man let Tyke have it with a volley from his right-hand machine gun! Tyke was not impressed. He fired off an electromagnetic pulse ! Ironman fell to the ground. His system was shut down completely. Ironman lay there on his back, helpless. Tony knew it would take his suit valuable seconds to reboot again. Tyke grab a huge rock, several tonnes in weight and dropped it on top of the Prometheus-armored suit. The rock disappeared for about halfway into the ground, Ironman still underneath.

Energy level : 81 %

ELIMINATION, part 6

Tyke grab a huge rock, several tonnes in weight and dropped it on top of the Prometheus-armored suit. The rock disappeared for about halfway into the ground, Ironman still underneath.

Energy level : 81 %

It took him some time but Ironman dug his way from under the boulder. Tony was confused. He felt doubts about this fight. Then Brian came with a not so very pleasant message. The power-regeneration-module in his suit didn't work. He could only loose energy from now on, unable to stay on an acceptable level of 90%. " You have to leave that place... It's too dangerous for you !!! " " NO!!! I can't !!! " Ironman started a new attack on Tyke, but instead, he was hit by a powerful laser-beam. Tyke started cutting Ironman's armored-suit. Ironman himself was forced to the ground, but his suit was strong enough to withstand the attack. The heat that was developed increased the temperature of the suit to about 300 °C. Tony could feel the heat inside ... started to sweat, felt his own bodypowers decreasing, fading away slowly. Needed much power from the suit to stop himself from being boiled.

Energy level : 69%

" Please Tony ... Give it up !!!!! " Ironman didn't listen. He had to defeat Tyke. He then fired two handgranates. Tyke chanted a spell, making the granates return to their owner. Ironman got hit twice. The explosions were tremendous. Ironman was knocked back for miles. He tumbled through the air, towards the city. Before he knew it, he smashed down in the centre of town.

Before Ironman could get back to his feet, Tyke drove him into the ground. Huge clouds of dust covered the whole scene. Nobody could see what was happening. Then it was Tyke who leaped out of the huge crater. Brian was shocked. What happened !!! His direct voice contact with Ironman was broken.

Energy level : 44%

By-standers were shocked. First the unguided projectile of Ironman slammed into the ground, followed by a black figure driving the hero even further into the ground. Was Ironman defeated already before he hit the ground? Who was this dark-clad figure fighting with their powerful protector? Ironman came out of the crater. He didn't look very powerful anymore. He had trouble getting out. One of his chest-plates was missing. Electric wiring showing. Ironman had trouble moving around.

Energy-level : 32%

Then Tyke grab the weakened body of Ironman and lifted it up in the air. Before Ironman could react, Tyke threw him towards an articulated lorry. He slammed into the tank, which contained a highly explosive liquid. The tank ripped and within a fraction of a second a chain reaction started, causing an enormous explosion with Ironman still in the centre of it. The ball of fire reached about 400 feet high. Most windows within a distance of hundreds of feet were shattered into pieces.

No one gave Ironman any chance anymore to come out of that explosion alive. The fire was still too intense to see what had happened to the hero. He didn't show up out of the fire. Slowly the flames extinguished, but still there was not a single trace of Ironman. " HE MUST HAVE VAPORIZED !!! ", some cried out. Others thought the iron of his suit had reacted with the liquid, in doing so causing the demise of their hero.

Brian dropped back in his chair. He was devastated. He had warned Tony exactly this could happen. " Why?? Why didn't he listen ...... He didn't have any chance anymore with his powers dropping below 50% ", Brian thought. He realised Tony had given his life trying to save the city, the country and the whole world from this dangerous fool.

Tyke too knew Ironman was dead. He couldn't detect the presence of Ironman anymore. Although he would have liked to add Tony Stark to his collection, he could live with this result. Ironman, one of the strongest creatures on Earth, was eliminated. Tyke decided to fly back to his hide-out. Brian, still shocked left and drove back to town.

Energy-level : 3%

The message on the energy-meter in the car gave Brian the best news ever. Tony was still alive. But where could he find his friend. An energy-level of only 3% was not enough to survive very long. Brian had to find Tony as soon as possible before it would be too late after all.

Energy-level : 2%

THE END ?????