So, the Intel Fury had sent over had warranted investigating. There had been a report of a weapons cache in North Korea that had his name on the side and that was unacceptable. He'd done what they expected of course… suited up and gone for a bit of a poke around. JARVIS had informed him when they approached the country. That was fine; this was going to be a quick sweep. Have a look and get out of dodge before the cavalry even noticed he'd been there. Easy! He was approaching in stealth so they'd not even notice him. Well, that was the theory.
"Sir, we have incoming,"
A warning light began flashing on the HUD, "We're flying stealth J!" he protested. The red light said otherwise. So much for a quiet look around.
"Thrusters, those look like heat seekers. Go dark." The moment the words left his mouth, JARVIS complied. Then the real work began. Dodging the first set of missiles was a case of ducking and dodging until they collided with something else. Beneath him were trees, which proved highly useful for getting rid of the welcoming party.
That was when something clipped his leg, "What the hell?"
"That was a surface to air missile, sir." JARVIS said.
"Where from?"
"Launched from the Korean Coast sir." He replied, "They detected you about fifty miles from the boarder it seems."
"Right." Another missile shot passed, inches from his right arm.
"There are more coming sir."
"Got it!" he said, rolling to the left, "Tell you what, we need to approach silently, J, I need you to cut the power." Playing dead would be a way to shake them off his tail and get a good look around. "Need these jerks to think I'm dead!"
"Very well sir, cutting power in 3…2…1…" The thrusters cut out and he began to free fall towards the water below.
"HOLY SHIIIII…!" He howled as he hurtled towards the water. Bracing himself for the impact, he screwed his eyes shut and hoped. It was like hitting a brick wall! The rattle, and resulting splash, as he hit the water sent a major jolt through every limb, leaving him gasping. "Uh, that was rough," he managed to gasp.
"Do you want the power bringing back on?" JARVIS asked.
"Sure, keep us submerged for the moment though." It would take a minute to get his breath back after the impact and now seemed as good a time as any. They'd want to try and confirm they'd got him and so waiting it out would give them time to check. A deep breath had a lance of pain shot through his side and he winced.
"Sir, I'm detecting significant bruising around the sternum and a cracked rib," JARVIS said.
"I'm fine," he replied, dismissing the concern, he'd had far worse on other missions anyway! "Stealth again then J, is you please." Leaving it a moment longer, he thrust into the air once more, "Any sign?"
"Negative sir."
"Pop up those co-ordinates Fury sent, let's get this done and get out of here," he said. JARVIS complied and the location flashed up on the GPS in front of him, "No more close calls." Using the rockets, he began moving towards the location. The speed was doing nothing for those broken ribs, which clamoured for attention.
It didn't take long to approach the co-ordinates, and what he found when he got there did not please him. There was no time for a closer look however as once again, lights began flashing. "Sir, we're under attack!" JARVIS said frantically.
"I thought you said we were clear!" he shouted. Dodging small rockets through the trees, he dodged first left, then right. Twisting a hand back, he blasted them out of the sky. Below, the familiar rumble of an engine told him a truck was on the way too. Another host of rockets rip into the air and once more, he's off. This time, not quite so lucky on the uptake; one of them slammed into his thigh. "Argh!" he yelled, "What the hell?"
"You have sustained a blast wound to your leg sir."
"They have amour piercing rounds now?" he hissed. Right, of course they did! So much for the sneak a peek method… Pushing the pain to one side, he boosted into the air once more. Speed, that was going to be of the essence here. Streaming as fast as he could towards the bunker, he decided that, seeing as the weapons within were likely made by his people; he'd blow it up and go. Not what SHIELD wanted but that was their problem.
Another set of rockets streaked after him. As he wove through the trees, an idea occurred to him. Slowing a little, he made sure those rockets were still behind him. Gathering them all up, he then flew straight at the warehouse which housed the weapons, "Hang on, this is going to get rough!" he yelled as he burst through the open door. Several people leapt to the side and he shot through. The rockets were still following him. Perfect. He banked left, they followed. Flipping over and to the right, the rockets weren't able to keep up. They slammed into the side of the building, exploding on impact. Exiting the same way he had entered, the smaller explosions had set of a chain reaction, which was perfect.
Letting out a sigh, he hoped that was enough. "Sir!" JARVIS called again.
"I see em, let's go!" Work done, his main priority now was getting the hell out of there and heading for home. Engaging the thrusters, he boosted off. Shaking the rockets was the first task. He thought he'd done it, thought he'd got rid of them all with some artful weaving through some more of the trees. The moment he began to relax, pain thrust through his left shoulder, turning his vision swimmy for a long moment.
"Sir, I am detecting significant blood loss," JARVIS indicated.
"How bad?" He could feel the hot liquid seep through to the flight suit underneath
"No major arteries have been damaged but the bleeding is substantial. It will require immediate medical attention." JARVIS said.
He shook his head, "Not here."
"Of course, sir."
With the last of the rockets gone, Tony realised that it was going to be a long, agonising flight home. Ordering JARVIS to set the course, he was able to focus on not letting the pain overcome him.