Iron Angel Project

The **Iron Angel Project** was conceived in 2033 when Natalie McKellen began to develop her personal fighting style. The Hyperion Project leaders decided to pass on their findings to another Atlasian Science team, who promptly went to *work* in designing the perfect Cyborg Soldier.

## History

After studying Natalie, Dr Valcz was intrigued. He called in his personal friend and trusted colleague Doctor Fyodor Steinmetz, who analysed the combat style and realised that they had overlooked a serious boon from Natalie McKellen, even asides from the Gene Five. Steinmetz organised a group of scientists and set to work in creating the perfect Cyborg Soldier.

### Initial Testing

Doctor Steinmetz intially gathered volunteers from crippled veterans of the African War. The initial Iron Angel design was to apply the same augmentations that had been applied to Natalie McKellen, apply a neural interface and then augment their mind to allow them to fight and think like a Hyperion Soldier. The resulting soldiers were known as the Iron Knights, and while they were exceedingly powerful they did not meet Doctor Steinmetz and Doctor Valcz's initial specifications. The Iron Knights, numbered IK-1 to IK-300 (as they had chosen to give up their former names and faces) were assigned to the Atlas Security Force. The major upside that Valcz noted was that the neural helmet was very durable and allowed for additional rangefinders that let the Iron Knights see and analyse situations even faster than their Genetic Donor Natalie.

However, despite the usefulness of the Iron Knights, they were still nowhere as powerful as Natalie McKellen.

### Mark I Iron Angel Project

Dr Steinmetz then began a far more radical design. The new Iron Angel Prototype involved a far more radical redesign of the human body that was around 95% machine. The only organs spared were the brain, digestive system and enough bone to supply both systems with enough blood to keep them running at full capacity.

Dr Steinmetz then once again gathered volunteers, this time those who were far more injured, even to the point of non-functionality. He transplanted their required organs into the Iron Angel chassis, and set them up to reactivate. Out of 300 volunteers, only 1 survived booting up. The Iron Angel, a cripple of a man injured in a massive explosion, was subsequently mind-altered through his neural interface and reprogrammed. Through tests, Steinmetz was able to acquire the results he had been looking for. Angel-1 was the perfect Cyborg Soldier. Through sparring with Hyperion Soldiers, A-1 was able to keep up with Natalie McKellen and survive against her assault for five whole minutes before it was forced to concede defeat, stating with its robotic voice:

*"I cannot break through your combat stance and you have not tired. I cannot defeat you through skill or attrition. I concede."* - Unit A-1, upon losing to Natalie McKellen.

After this victory, Dr Steinmetz went back over genetic records of the volunteers to see if there was any connection. Puzzled by his findings, he sent the records through to Dr Patrick Jameson, hoping the fast-talking man would uncover a link. Not long afterwards, Jameson found it. The man, Andreas Theodus, had been a carrier of an especially rare genetic condition that had allowed him to survive not only the explosion, but also helped Theodus accept the new augmentations without an issue. *"Looking back,"* Jameson had said, *"after reviewing Theodus' sporting and combat record we should have twigged that he was a bit special in the brawn department."*

With this discovery, Dr Steinmetz hatched a plan. After talking over his plans with Yolene van Danse, the mysterious figurehead of the Atlas Intelligence Agency, Steinmetz had secured a reliable source of viable candidates for the Iron Angel Project. A-1 was redesignated as 'Andreas' and allowed to keep portions of his prior memories, although they were altered to inspire unflinching loyalty to Atlas.

### Mark II Iron Angel Project

With the Atlas Intelligence Agency's assistance, Steinmetz began sourcing and 'acquiring' candidates for the next phase of the Iron Angel Project. His initial batch was a group of 10 individuals ranging from 18-22, labeled as Iron Archangels IA-01 to IA-10. The Iron Archangel chassis for each body was redesigned to look exactly like the candidate's former body. The 10 candidates were then forcibly integrated into the Iron Archangel Chassis, *piece by piece*. Steinmetz's team needed to remove each part of the candidate's body and set up a perfect equivalent on the Iron Archangel Chassis for the integration to have a 100% chance of success. Multiple tests were worked on over several months while the candidates were slowly surgically shredded until they were nought left but the upper half of a body plugged into life support begging for death. Then, candidate by candidate, they were taken to the operating room and fully integrated into the completed Iron Archangel Chassis. As Steinmetz lowered the first faceplate onto the partially-revealed skull of IA-01, he imagined the feeling he had must have been how Dr Jameson and Dr Valcz felt seeing Hyperion I's three hearts beating strongly when she was removed from her tube. As IA-01 sat up, confused and in agony, Steinmetz led him into the next room where he finalized IA-01's cybernetics and installed mental controls that partially wiped his memory and kept him on a short mental leash, as it were. Steinmetz then went through IA-02 and 03, making sure they were perfect. Then came 04.

### Vancouver

Chloe Vancouver was born in Toronto. The joke was not lost on her or her family. She grew up living an amazing life, with her sporting prowess becoming apparent by age 7. She gained a sporting scholarship to a prestigious High School, and by 16 years old had shattered nearly every athletics record at her school. By her reckoning, she was unstoppable. She graduated from High School easily and won a sporting scholarship to a great University. Everything was falling into place.

Partway through her first semester, Chloe attended a party with her friend Amber Tomlinson. They caught a ride home that night with another friend, Leon O'Shea. Leon was driving at the time. They decided to take a longer drive through the hills around the back of their town, and unwittingly drove into the AIA's trap. AIA had assigned Apotheosis Squad to this assignment as they had been home from a more hectic operation. The result was Apotheosis Squad's usual fare. Leon O'Shea had been decapitated by a Pulse Lance fired from a helicopter 1500ft away, and the Jeep he had been driving veered into the barrier by the side of the road and rolled down the hill. Amber was thrown clear in the confusion, and kept her head *down* as she saw armed forces swarm the stricken Jeep and extract her friend Chloe. In the space of 30 seconds, Leon was dead, the Jeep was totalled and Chloe was *gone*. Amber kept her head down for another hour as she sobbed silently into the grass. After the wait, she crawled out of the marsh she had fallen in, dragging a severely broken leg and several crushed ribs a total of 10 kilometers by sunrise. A passer-by saw the stricken woman trying to crawl to safety and called an ambulance for her. Amber was then never heard from again.

### IA-04

Chloe, meanwhile, awoke to find herself locked in a concrete room with no windows. Every day, a scientist would run scans on her or take blood samples. Then after two weeks of that, the cutting began.

She lost her right arm first. There was no pain, for the most part, and it was professionally done. But the pain came quickly in the surging feeling of hopelessness. She was soon moved to another room, where she met the other IA candidates and fully learnt what was to be done to them. They screamed and begged, of course, but nothing really helped. Piece by piece, they were reduced to naught but a torso, then simply an upper body on life support. Throughout this hell, Chloe was still able to communicate with the other IA candidates. IA-01, a strong-jawed hispanic man, never lost hope. He kept telling the others that they'd be fine, and help would come. He would tell them stories of him and his bowling team, and how they had been on track to win the Atlas Championships. Pedro de Tomaso was a beacon of hope to the IA candidates.

That was why it broke them all when he walked back into the room on mechanical legs, looking like he was whole and healed once more but with cold, dead eyes. He simply turned to Doctor Steinmetz, who strode through the room with a cold grin of pride. IA-02 was moved away next, his desperate attempts to suffocate himself failing as IA-01, no longer their hero Pedro, dragged the sobbing man to his doom. IA-01 and IA-02 came for IA-03 next. IA-03, an Argentinian woman named Reina, turned to her brothers and sisters in hell, bid them farewell and faced her 'end' with as much dignity as she could muster.

Then came Chloe's turn as IA-04. Doctor Steinmetz was annoyed as IA-02 and 03 had taken longer to complete, so he decided to install IA-04 and IA-05 simultaneously. Chloe turned to IA-05, who had become her friend during their weeks of unimaginable torment. Ryan, as his name was, turned to her and said his goodbyes. It was their time of reckoning.

## The Flight of the Archangels

The anaesthesia was not at all helpful. Chloe could only mentally scream through locked-in syndrome as the rest of her body was cut away. She felt the immeasurably horrifying feeling of having her face removed, and when her senses came back from blind panic she saw the iron visage of her own face, lovingly crafted by Doctor Steinmetz and his team being lowered onto her exposed skull. As the cybernetics were sealed around her, entombing her in the body of an Iron Archangel, Steinmetz turned his attention away to Ryan. As he finalized the physical completion of the fifth Iron Archangel, Chloe realised something. *Steinmetz had neglected to mind-wipe her yet*. She desperately tried to close her hand, her eyes flicking left and right as her brain adapted to her new form. Eventually, she felt her hand close **tight.** As a scientist approached her with a neural interface to be installed, she *pulled her arm through the 3-inch thick stainless stell restraint and caved in his skull with a backfist.* As Chloe pulled herself from the operating table, Doctor Steinmetz turned around to see a fully in-control Iron Archangel staring him down.

> *"Oh fuck-"* - Doctor Fyodor Steinmetz, shortly before being **donuted** by Chloe Vancouver.
>
>

Before Doctor Steinmetz had much of a chance to react, Chloe had closed the small gap between them and punched a hole directly through his chest. He looked at her in shock as she removed his body from around her forearm. He slumped to the ground, unmoving. She quickly ran to Ryan, and attempted to rouse him. After a few seconds, he raised his head. The two Cyborgs looked at one another for a moment, realising their chance. After a few more seconds, Chloe booted the door off the operating theatre with Ryan following her. The two of them made a beeline for the room with the others, and luckily found it devoid of the other completed Iron Angels. They talked with the remaining candidates, and granted them their wish. Going one by one, Chloe and Ryan mercy-killed the remaining candidates. Then, as the alarms blared and the sound of footsteps drew closer, they realised it was time to run.

The two Archangels ran deeper into the base, not knowing where each twisting corridor would lead them. The sounds of running grew ever closer, and they began to fear that they would never escape. Eventually, they reached a single room. A blast door began to lower, and they realised their only way forward was closing. Diving under the door, they found themselves in a room with one exit- that just closed behind them.

### Chloe's Last Stand

They were trapped in the room. The enemy was waiting at the door, Magnetic Rifles presumably at the ready. Chloe felt like crying, but she no longer had tear ducts to do so. Ryan was beginning to have a panic attack, as the stress of the situation began to take over. Chloe looked around, *desperately* searching for a way out. Then she saw it. They were trapped in a room, but the room was an **armoury**.

As the door began to raise, the awaiting mass of soldiers aimed their weapons to see a glowing blue-white device drop in their midst. The cry then went up. *"PLASMA GRENADE!"* Chloe and Ryan then strode out of the room, Energy Weapons blazing. With one hand firing a Plasma Rifle and the other cutting a man down with a Power Sword, Chloe realised they had a chance at escaping. She stayed her hand against the last soldier, and asked him 'nicely' where the exit was. After a moment of intimidation, he told her his directions. As she began to run, Ryan following suit, the soldier lay down and activated his radio. *"I've sent them to Vent 42A."*

Chloe and Ryan ran through a strange, almost industrial area. After taking the last turn she needed to, Chloe found herself staring at a small scaffold-like bridge over a massive open vertical vent that seemd to drop down into oblivion. Partway over the bridge stood a man. She could see him through the dim light of the moon shining down through the vent. She recognized him immediately as IA-02. He ignited a Power Sword, and she met him in the middle of the bridge. She heard a crash and a shout as IA-01 met Ryan, and the two perfect Iron Archangels pushed the escapees back towards each other on the bridge. Chloe and Ryan were hopelessly outclassed, their sheer strength no match for the additional combat training programmed into their physical equals. As her weapon was smashed from her grasp, she heard Ryan shout. She turned to see him bisected by IA-01. As IA-02 rounded upon her, she tipped herself over the side of the bridge and fell.

### Escape

Chloe survived the fall, of course. Doctor Steinmetz had designed the Iron Angel Chassis too well. Even despite her lack of Iron Archangel programming, Chloe was at least competent enough to land properly. She saw another grating, and ripped it from the wall. She ran into the ducts, crawling through the bowels of the base. Eventually, she crawled out a vent and landed in a waste-water disposal drain. As she sank immediately, she realised she could breathe underwater. She followed the drain for what felt like hours, eventually tearing open another grate to find herself underwater. With the help of a compass and a massive visual scan, she began to trek for shore, her mind still numb and her metallic hands still trembling.

## Modern Times

To say Doctor Steinmetz had lost a lot would be an understatement. Three Iron Angels, one destroyed Iron Angel, one Iron Angel **gone** and five dead candidates. One would almost think his 'death' was a mercy kill compared to the frustration he would feel. But men like Steinmetz do not just die. When medical teams reached the scene, they found Steinmetz had *lived*. With Doctor Valcz's help, Steinmetz moved from his destroyed body into a vacant Iron Archangel Chassis. Rebuilt and rearmed, Doctor Fyodor Steinmetz had become his own nightmarish creation.

### The Mark III Iron Angel Project

Doctor Steinmetz returned to work as soon as possible. After redesigning his Iron Archangel Chassis to reflect a younger Fyodor Steinmetz, the Doctor gathered his forces. Through his original success with the mighty Andreas, his unflinching destroyers in the original three candidates and his new empowered form, Steinmetz was able to convince the AIA to allow him more candidates. This time he would be less picky about exact genetics, be less careful with his amputations and be far less kind in his view. Gone were the tailored bodies and insane strength, as Steinmetz realised now that the Iron Angels were not to fill a similar role to the Atlas Protectorate. Instead, he designed a soulless, brutal and expendable machine. A body of dark metal with a featureless death mask shrouding the humanity of the once-human warrior. With hundreds of Iron Angels completed within the first few months, Doctor Steinmetz proclaimed success as he served Iron Angels to the Defense and Security Force. The Atlas Intelligence Agency of course took their cut as was agreed, and Steinmetz was congratulated by his friend Doctor Konrad Valcz on a job and project well done. Doctor Fyodor Steinmetz had created the perfect Cyborg Soldier.

## Iron Angel Project Characters

These are all of the listed named Iron Angel Characters, including Knights, Archangels and Angels.

### Iron Knights

* **Iron Knight (No. Unknown) "The Judge" -** The Iron Knight known as The Judge is currently tracking the Gage Resistance.
* **Iron Knight 214 "Bolts" -** Iron Knight 214 "Bolts" was an Iron Knight that fought in the Battle of the Blasted Valley. He was killed in his climactic duel with General Lucas Casali when Commander Michael Crow blasted the Night Warrior base with radioactive weapons and nerve gas.

### Iron Archangels

* **Andreas Theodus-** Andreas Theodus was originally a Greek mercenary and marathon runner before being the Prototype Iron Archangel. He is currently the most powerful Archangel.
* **Pedro de Tomaso -** Pedro de Tomaso was the first Iron Archangel and currently serves as a part of Dr Fyodor Steinmetz's personal guard.
* **Benjamin Steen -** Benjamin Steen was the second Iron Archangel and currently serves as a part of Dr Fyodor Steinmetz's personal guard.
* **Reina Sanchez -** Reina Sanchez was the third and final successful Iron Archangel. She also currently serves as a part of Dr Steinmetz's guard.
* **Chloe Vancouver -** Chloe Vancouver was supposed to be the fourth Iron Archangel. She escaped before programming, nearly killed Dr Steinmetz and stopped the Iron Archangel project. She escaped the facility and is currently in hiding.
* **Ryan Torrance -** Ryan Torrance was supposed to be the fifth Iron Archangel. He escaped before programming but was killed by Pedro de Tomaso.
* **Doctor Fyodor Steinmetz -** Dr Steinmetz became the last Iron Archangel in a last ditch effort to save his life after sustaining lethal injuries from Chloe Vancouver's attack.

### Iron Angels

There are no confirmed names for Iron Angels, although the nature of Iron Angels means that any named characters will be only in reference to who they were before their conversion.