Disclaimer: I do not own any of the movies set up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe nor any of the Star Wars movies, cartoons, games, books or comics. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with commercial aim. I make no money from it. It is not for sale or rent.

The Iron Sith

=IS=

Phase 1: Homecoming

=IS=

Part 1

Desert

near a freshly nuked terrorist hideout

Afghanistan

The ground shook when my kit-bash fusion reactor went critical. Yinsen stumbled and planted his face in the sand.

"What was that?!" Ho spluttered after finding his footing.

"Our goodbye present. I hope that it was a big enough invitation for the US military to come pick us up because I don't feel like stumbling through the desert for days." I explained.

"That could have killed us too!" Yinsen didn't sound reassured.

"That was plan B. Being tortured then killed wasn't on my to do list and that's what awaited us if we didn't manage to escape." I pointed out.

Ho blanched and shook his head in denial.

"You're crazy!"

"I can assure you my friend, I haven't been saner in a long, long time." There might be benefits of the lack of my power. Its been months since the Dark Side could whisper sweet nothings in the back of my head. It felt surprisingly good not to have to waste effort on ignoring it unless it suited my purposes.

"You could have fooled me." Yinsen grumbled.

"Will you help me get out of the suit?" This whining was becoming tiresome. "Before the sun goes up otherwise I might just bake inside."

Ho began muttering in various languages I didn't know but at least came to help. Getting out of the armor felt longer than putting it. Perhaps it was the lack of proper instruments to aid us and the damage locking my left arm in place didn't help either. We could see the horizon lit up in orange by the time I was free from the exo-skeleton. Luckily no terrorists came looking for us – which meant they were all dead or too scared to pursue. It wasn't like we had time to cover out tracks nor there was wind to bury them.

The downer was no US presence we could see. I was hoping that a satellite or drone had us locked in and rescue was on the way but that wasn't something we could count on. Not after my friends in the military failed to locate me for so long.

"Thanks. Now to ensure no one is going to easily reverse-engineer this toy…" I put a few of our remaining grenades inside the exo-skeleton.

"Insane, I tell you!" Yinsen glared at me and ran.

I shrugged, set up the explosives and ran to the other side of the dune where the armor laid. Just in time too because a heartbeat or two after I landed in the sand the grenades detonated and shredded the exo-skeleton.

"Now we can go!" I smiled brightly.

Ho glared balefully at me and refused to speak.

We walked in silence until the next afternoon when a US Blackhawk deigned to show up with a rescue party. Instead of being helpful, they covered us with their weapons – sold to them by yours truly, and began demanding that we identify ourselves.

"Hey, isn't that Stark?!" One of the troopers pointing a SAW at my face exclaimed.

"You sure?"Another asked.

"I saw him when he came in for that weapon demonstration..."

"You're late!" I snarked once the soldiers got convinced we weren't a pair of Taliban stumbling through the desert.

Needless to say the flight back to their base was quite awkward.

=IS=

What followed was underwhelming. Once we landed, Yinsen and I were ushered into a medical tent where we were examined, got enough shots to ensure we would wish we were dead and then finally got to shower – which along with some not too terrible food were the high points. Unfortunately, Ho still refused to speak with me. There were some pointed questions about how the hell did we get away, though telling most of the truth with few creative omissions tied in was enough to get me on the first flight for the good old US of A.

Tony's memories turned out to be a mixed blessing. While they helped me fit in, the patriotism I inherited was becoming an issue. There were even a few random thoughts about ceasing weapon production once I was back that popped up in my head and I had to squish them ruthlessly. The overwhelming need for a drink or three wasn't helping either.

I sighed. Life would have been much easier if I didn't have this irritating sense of patriotism towards America and what it stood for. Seriously? Freedom? Democracy?! I saw firsthand what that led up to in the Galactic Republic.

God damn it, this was going to be irritating.

For some arcane reason I felt like I wanted to devour a couple of cheeseburgers too.

Damn you, Tony!

Ho still refused to talk to me. Eh. I would go bothering him to come work for me later.

=IS=

Being Tony Stark had it's perks. On the way back home I got the passenger compartment of a C-5 Galaxy all to myself. It was only now that I could feel somewhat safe and relax a bit. The fear I've been doing my best to suppress for months tried to surface again making me shake.

I've forgotten how weak an ordinary man could be. Tony hasn't really thought about it since he was a kid and his father told him horror stories about assassins like the Winter Soldier. The memories of those conversations were still vivid. The plan what to do if encountering that man too – run away while the security detail tried to die slow enough for a lot of help to come.

The shaking intensified. I was just a man in a world where super-soldiers existed. This was the home of monsters like the Hulk and if I encountered one of them today all I could do would be to die. Oh, I would fight. Run if I could.

I couldn't win.

I was weak and I despised weakness.

It meant you will die screaming.

This had to change. After my time in captivity I was in a better physical shape than Tony ever was and he wasn't one to let himself really go… I frowned. Eh. He was. It was Ms. Potts, Pepper who kept him from killing himself by not paying attention to his body. How could someone so intelligent be so stupid?! Yet, perhaps it was worth it if that was the price for his genius.

I took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. I was getting nervous. Rambling too. To think my captivity could have such effect on me.

I would be home soon – I focused on that thought. I needed a solid plan.

Cheeseburger! The part of me that was shaped by Tony's memories exclaimed.

Well, yeah. That sounded like a good idea… My mouth watered at the very thought.

OK. First – stop for good old fashioned American food. What's next? Security. I was too damn vulnerable. I needed people I could trust with my life at least until I could build at least a few HK droids. That's points one and two figured out. Next…

Find who was selling my weapons in bulk to terrorists and other undesirables. Impress upon them how poor decision they made and make sure they won't live to regret it. Talk with the people in the government and find a way to sick them on the Ten Rings because for the time being I was in no state to go after the rest of that organization. Find a way to launder money to hire mercenaries? That might be feasible too.

Most importantly, figure out how I could take on most known threats by myself because this weakness of mine could not continue!

The last point might be the hardest… As a start I should find a way to replicate the new armors Republic R&D got for the GAR – they had built in exo-skeletons which according to some people already made them knock-off power armors. Recreate proper personal shield technology, especially the Mandalorian melee ones they used in the past… Power generation…

Let's not get ahead from myself. I already had a rough plan for uplifting Earth. Power – lots and lots of practical fusion. Ion engines to open up the Solar system for exploration and resource extraction. Inertial dampening. Those three things would give us the stars even if hyperspace travel as I knew it was impossible. It would take years but it was very much doable with Earth's tech base.

Then there were weapons – laser cannons, blasters, sonic and all other things that I could thing of. My friends in DOD were going to love me.

Then there was political power and I'm rambling again…

I closed my eyes and began some mental exercises to calm myself down.

=IS=

Edwards Air-force base

California

I apparently got asleep because one of the crew members had to awake me. The kid who was barely old enough to shave himself appeared quite eager too.

"You want to ask something. Shoot away." I smiled disarmingly. He reminded me of that soldier who rode next to me during the ambush, which made it hard to keep my smile up.

"The rest of the guys want to know if we can take a picture with you, sir!" He stammered.

The things we do for PR and more importantly to keep the people supposed to keep me in one piece happy…

"Sure. I'll throw an autograph or two if you want." I nodded.

That's how I ended up getting a picture taken with the whole crew before they opened the ramp and I was greeted by the good old California sun.

The bloody thing reminded me of shambling through the desert back in Afghanistan.

"This is a bit much, don't you think?" I whistled once my eyes adjusted to the sun.

There were couple of paramedics complete with a gurney, their ambulance along with a police car which probably escorted them to the base, couple of infantry squads who were surrounding the plane and looking for trouble…

A striking red-head too, who looked like she had been crying. My heat skipped a beat at the realization that Pepper was one of a handful of people who cared about me, well, Tony, for himself, not because of what he represented. The same could be said about me in the other universe – the people who saw me as anything but dangerous asset or mere threat were few and far between.

I didn't really care back then. It came with the territory. Tony… From what I gather he didn't admit to himself that he gave a damn either and usually either got drunk or buried himself in his work when that became an issue.

What a pair did we make…

"Pepper…" I trailed off. "Thanks for caring."

Whatever she was expecting me to say, this wasn't it.

"I'm all right, folks." I waved the paramedics away. "Lets get out of the sun." I nodded to Happy, my driver cum bodyguard and the second person in the world who could stand Tony for prolonged periods of time.

Enough! I hissed in my mind. I was Tony Stark! Thinking of us as different people was going to cause problems. Besides its not like I haven't been through this before.

"Where to?" Happy asked when we were all in the car.

"Hospital!" Pepper ordered before I could open my mouth.

"No need. I got pocked and prodded enough already. I'm fine. Nothing that some proper meals and vitamins can't fix. So you can stop by a pharmacy on our way to get few cheeseburgers."

Pepper frowned at me.

"That's enough, Tony! You need..."

"I need a cheeseburger. Perhaps two." I frowned. "Maybe three. I'm fine, Pepper."

"Are you really?" She asked in a tone of mixed concern and disbelief.

"As fine as I would get for the time being. I got held in a cave for months, Pepper. By people who had enough of our weapons to outfit a small army. A bunch of American soldiers were murdered by weapons we produced trying to keep me in one piece."

"That's…"

"Shocking, I know." I sighed.

Pepper narrowed her eyes when I interrupted her again.

"Happy, drive for the burgers. Right now, you two are among the few people I trust. Suggestions?" I asked.

"You can't go wrong with cheeseburgers, Tony. More security?" Hogan asked.

"For starters. Pepper?"

"You." Ms. Potts jabbed a finger at my chest. "Hospital." She spoke slowly as if I was a small kid. To be honest, from what I remember, that was necessary an embracing number of times.

"Dully noted, Pepper. I'm glad you're concerned for your poor old boss."

She growled in frustration.

A personal assistant who was also my minder, my driver and bodyguard and Obi who I'm sure we would be meeting later today. These people were the closest thing I had to family in this world. No matter how hard was to admit it, I was… fond of them. I would prefer not to see them harmed or them hating me.

Yet another complication…

I stretched and relaxed in the seat.

"You know, I haven't really thanked you two for putting up with me."

"You're not that bad, Tony." Happy glanced at me through the rear view mirror.

"Yes, he usually is." Pepper sighed. "What brought this up, Tony?"

"People say that the thought of imminent hanging concentrates the mind. I was forced to finally grow up, Pepper."

"Who are you and what did you do with Tony?" The red-haired beauty peered at me.

No idea? Really.

"I had a lot of time to reflect on my past actions. Let's just say I didn't like what I saw when I thought about myself."

"That's surprising." Pepper looked thoughtful. "Does that mean you might try to look after yourself occasionally?"

"Just from time to time." I smiled. "How is the company?"

"Pretty good all things considered." Pepper answered.

"Thanks to Obi no doubt." I voiced my thoughts.

"He's been very busy." Pepper agreed.

"Who wants to discus my escape, besides the media? I don't feel like giving a press-conference anytime soon."

"FBI, CIA, the Pentagon…"

Hmm… Who would be most useful? FBI for domestic angle, the latter to sick on the Ten Rings…

"We'll figure something out. Perhaps tomorrow afternoon. Get them all together – I don't feel like answering the same questions multiple times."

"I'll arrange it." Pepper nodded and made a note on her phone.

"Where's Obi?" I asked. He could help me figure out if someone in the company was up to no good, well beyond the usual.

"At the central."

"We'll go meet him after the burgers. And the vitamins..."

Obi… Tony's memories screamed at me that he was trustworthy. Was he really? I needed to clear him first. He would either be of tremendous help or he was a dagger poised at my back and had to be dealt with. Pepper and Happy… Could I really trust them?

Without the Force I couldn't be hundred percent sure. I shiver ran throughout my body. You're only paranoid if there weren't people out to get you.