Tony couldn't move, he couldn't speak, he felt completely paralyzed. All he could manage to do was stare at his reflection in utter shock. But it wasn't his reflection… It was a dragon, a legendary creature that didn't exist, shouldn't exist.

It was hard to try and remind himself of this, however, as the creature staring back at him in the mirror was breathing and blinking in unison with him. When he tilted his head, so did the reflection. Such a transformation should be impossible, but then again, he had seen many strange things in his lifetime… Maybe he shouldn't be so quick to deny his own eyes.

This… Is me? He wondered, taking a few hesitant steps closer to the mirror and beginning to examine himself. His scales were the color of a blue sky, his claws were a light grey that seemed to extend out if he flexed them, and his eyes were the same brown as his human eyes with black pupils that changed size with his emotions. Strangely, Tony also noticed that his body was peppered with gold scales that glimmered even in the fluorescent light.

He backed up a bit, getting a better look at the rest of him. He had long blue wings that folded easily against his sides, a smaller set at the base of his long tail, and at the end of that tail were two tail fins that moved on his command. He had a snort neck, and his eyes were near the front of his face, which resembled a gecko's head with slits for nostrils and a prominent snout.

On the top and sides of his head were ear-like appendages, two largest ones on the top of his head and three smaller ones on both sides of his head. They seemed to move as his emotions changed, and were currently raised all the way up, letting him see that they were also sprinkled with those gold scales.

Staring at the middle of his head were some spike-like spines that went all the way down his body, stopping just as the tail fins began. He noticed that they seemed to curve down and raise up with his mood, to the point you wouldn't know they were there unless you were looking, and were a darker blue than his scales.

From head to tail, he was so long he had to curl his tail so it didn't hit the wall. If Tony had to guess, he would say about thirty feet in length, but he couldn't tell for sure. His wings, when he tried to raise them, were too long to get open all the way without hitting many things.

Having finished his examination, Tony crept back over to the mirror and raised one of his clawed legs, placing it against the mirror and watching the reflection do the same. He raised his head, looking into those brown eyes of his. It is me… He confirmed. I'm.. I'm a dragon. But.. But why? What's the point?

"Boss?" The sudden, frantic voice of his AI getting his attention and startling him. The spines raised up again, his claws scratching the mirror's surface as he whipped aroundt, ready for an attack… And then he recognized the voice. She spoke again, curther calming his nerves. "Boss! Is that you?"

Tony opened his mouth and tried to say,"It is me, Friday!" But that wasn't what came out; Instead it was a noise that sounded like a grumbling purr of a large big cat which echoed around the room. Tony instantly shut his mouth, pupils getting bigger in surprise. I can't… I can't speak like a human!

He frantically spun around, his tail knocking more objects down, and releasing more of the half-roar noises and even some frantic whimpers in a desperate attempt to get Friday to understand him.

Friday stayed silent for a few moments, and then said,"If that is you, boss, you need to leave now. Colonel Rhodes will be here in less than five minutes, and Ross has followed him here."

No! They can't see me like this! Even if Rhodey doesn't do anything, Ross kill me or.. Or will lock me up for sure! Tony thought in a panic, quickly releasing a thankful croon to Friday and then running to his door… Which was shut tightly. He frantically screeched, slamming his paw against the handle and denting it, but the door still wouldn't budge.

He growled aloud, panic gripping him again. "Let me out! Let me out!" He yelled, which came out as angry roars. When the door still wouldn't open, a sudden fury rose up within him. "LET ME OUT!" He roared louder and, along with the sound, a blast of white and blue fire slammed against the door, burning through the thick wood in seconds and melting the metal frame around it.

Tony stared at it for a second with slit pupils, in complete awe of what he managed to do. But, he quickly shoot himself from the stupor. Leave while you can! Before they get here! He told himself, running through the remains of the door and down the hallway. His wings and tail slammed against things several times before he thought to fold his wings flat against his sides.

"I've opened the garage for you, please use it to get away," Friday mentioned, and the human turned dragon quickly warbled out another thankful whine, dashing to the large garage and through the doors. The trees felt like they were miles away, and he frantically tried to flap his wings and get into the air. He got a few feet into the air, but then his whole body started to lean to the side and then crashed back onto the ground.

He groaned in frustration, shaking his body free of the faint feeling that gripped it. Okay, don't try and fly just yet, just get away! He thought, bounding into the thick trees surrounding the compound and out of view.

"Sir, perhaps it would be best to just give Tony time to cool down," Rhodey tried to placate,"We're not going to get anything done if he is arguing with you the whole time." As much as the colonel hated to put down his best friend, he knew that preening Ross's feathers a bit might help calm the man down… Even though Tony's reaction was much more justified.

Ross waved him off and then crossed his arms like a petulant toddler. "I don't care, we had a meeting and we'll finish it! If he wanted this to be an easy meeting, he should have listened instead of acting like a child!" He snapped.

Look who's talking! Rhodey wanted to snap back, even though he knew what consequences that would bring. He bit the inside of his cheek and leaned back in his seat, forcing himself to stay silent.

When they got into the compound, Rhodey quickly hopped out of the car and said,"I'll go and get him, you can get comfy in the meeting room."

"No, I'll come with you," Ross sneered,"I want to make sure Stark knows exactly who he is messing with."

Rhodey forced his face not to change as he nodded in agreement, and hurriedly entered the compound. "Tony!" He called, pushing the door completely open. "I'm back with Ro-"

He couldn't even finish his sentence when he caught sight of the state of the entire compound. Furniture was broken, patches of carpet were missing and there were scratches across several surfaces, and Tony's door was smashed and burned.

"What the hell happened here!?" He heard Ross exclaim behind him, and for once Rhodey was thinking the exact same thing.

The colonel frantically ran to Tony's room and, to his horror, the place was in an even worse state. His desk was broken in half, the mirror was scratched, the floor was dented and cracked, and things were a mess.

Still spinning around in complete loss of what to do, he demanded,"Friday! What happened?!"

The AI quietly replied,"I do not know, Colonel. I have no footage of the incident."

Rhodey's heart skipped a beat, and the fear within him tripled in size. Who could have managed to hack Friday and get rid of the video? What happened here?!

"But… But we were only apart for thirty minutes!" Rhodey muttered,"Who could have- Why would they-"

Ross quickly interrupted him. "Stupid questions aren't important, what is important is that we find Stark and discover what happened," He declared,"I'll get my men on it right away."

The colonel was too shaken to verbally respond, so he simply nodded and then hurried to look around the room more.

When Ross was sure that the man was completely distracted by searching for clues, Ross turned his secret service men and firmly said,"Message the others, tell them that the Rogue Avengers have struck again."

Tony didn't know how far he had gone, other than that it was far enough that he couldn't see the compound anymore. He was a bit surprised, he had never been able to run that far before, especially after he got the arc reactor in his chest.

He skidded to a stop when he found a bigger gap in the trees, still panting hard from the extortion. He raised his ear-like appendages, listening for any sound from Ross or any of his goons. After a few seconds of nothing, he sighed in relief and flopped down onto the grass, his wings spreading out next to him.

That was close… Too close...He thought with another sigh, which was quickly followed by an annoyed growl. But why did this happen?! Why am I… Why am I a dragon!? Is it because of that thing?

Tony suddenly recalled the crystal he had seen, and how he had touched it. Out of everything that happened in the past few days, that stuck out the most. It HAS to be from when I touched it. He decided, and then growled again. What was I thinking!? Why did I touch it when I had no clue what it would do?!

Of course, Tony knew he was being too hard on himself. The second he heard that song, it was like he had been entranced. He didn't really do the action on purpose… Even so, look where that got me. He grumbled to himself.

Pulling himself back into a sitting position, he looked around discreetly. There's no one here, I'm safe… It's okay to change back. He told himself, squeezing his brown eyes shut and waiting for the transformation…

But when he opened his eyes, he was still looking at the blue legs and gray claws. The frills on his head flattened, pupils widening as he let out a nervous whine. Why isn't it working?

He squished his eyes shut again, and thought as hard as he could… But again, nothing happened. He roared again, stomping his paws against the ground and shooting a blast of flames onto the grass below him.

Quickly realizing how his temper got the better of him, he patted the fire away painlessly and then sighed in relief when all that was left was a patch of black grass. His anger then came back, and he started pacing.

It was so sudden when it happened, I didn't even feel it! What am I doing wrong!? Why can't I change back!? He thought, tail whipping back and forth behind him as he huffed and puffed, steam floating from his mouth.

After a few minutes of this, he forced himself to calm down. Okay, nothing will change if I just stay angry. I need to relax, think logically. He told himself. I'm a genius! I can come up with something, I just need to calm down first!

Tony sat down and brought a paw to his lips, licking it and rubbing at his face for a few seconds before his human mind caught up with him. He froze, lowering his paw and staring at it. What am I doing? He asked himself, grumbling deep in his throat.

Before he could try to even forget what he had done, he heard the sound of footsteps. His eyes widened, the ear-like appendages raising as he looked towards the source. He stood up, sniffing their air.

Humans… He realized, and then growled at himself. No! You're human too! This is just temporary… It'll be fixed! It's just… Erm… People that shouldn't see me right now!

Just as he managed to shake himself out of the stupor, he heard the footsteps again… But this time they were right next to him. In a moment of panic, all he could do was crouch low on the ground and desperately think about not being seen.

Just as he did so, the bushes and leaves were pushed aside and a middle aged man with an angry look on his face showed himself. He stared right at Tony for several seconds, but then turned his eyes to look everywhere else. After looking around for a full minute, the man then sighed and muttered,"Damn kids…" And turned back the way they came.

Tony stayed frozen where he was until the footsteps were gone, and then let out a huge sigh of relief. Was he blind or something!? I was right in front of him, how did he miss me!?

The genius shook his head, and then started to walk back to the trees in order to hide better. Then, he saw it. Where he stepped, the grass got squished down, but he didn't see anything there.

His brown eyes widened, a confused croon coming from him. He raised his paw and waved it around and still saw nothing. With a more panicked noise, he turned his head to try and see his body… But it was gone. Now I'm invisible?! What is happening to me!?

He flattened himself against the ground with a loud whine, the frills on his head flattening as well. Be visible! I don't want to be invisible! He thought, but nothing changed.

Tony took a few deep breaths. Calm down, calm down… Maybe I'm not doing it right… What do these past few incidents have in common? He asked himself.

He thought hard, and finally came up with an idea. I transformed without meaning to because I was emotional, I used my fire because I was desperate to escape, and I turned invisible to hide. He listed. All of these were… Oh!

The genius suddenly caught on. It was on instinct! I did those things on instinct! He realized, turning his head to look at the empty air behind him. He closed his eyes, and reached out to the instincts deep within him. The danger is gone, I'm safe, there's no reason to hide.

A strange tingle went down his scales, and when Tony opened his eyes he was greeted by the sight of those sky blue and gold scales again. He released Happy chirps as his pupils dilated and his frills raised up with his glee. He pranced a little in pride, raising his wings and wagging his tail. I did it! It worked!

His excitement was cut off when he heard the footsteps again, and the old man's voice growing,"I told those punks to stop messing with the trees!"

Okay, celebration later. Time to leave. Tony decided, feeling a little bold thanks to his new discovery. He flapped his wings and leapt into the air, going farther than he had last time before he started to tilt to one side. With a nervous warble, he started to fall.

Turning around frantically, Tony forcefully reminded himself. Don't force it! Instinct! Instinct! He stopped trying to control every little movement, and followed his gut.

He flapped his wings again, this time turning his tail fins with his body and wings and, this time, he stayed in the air!

He looked down at the fins, a dragon's version of a grin climbing up his face. With a happy trill, he flapped his wings harder and flew high into the air, the world below becoming insignificant.

Tony almost felt like he did when he was flying in the iron man suit, but this feeling was different… It was more pure. As Iron Man, everyone knew who he was, he wasn't free from the chains of his human life.

But in this form, nobody knew who he was, nobody except him knew about this form yet. There were no expectations, no responsibilities. He wasn't flying to some dangerous situation where he could die, or to be belittled by some egotistical Secretary. He was just flying to fly, doing something that he wanted to.

It was something he hadn't had the power to do, even when he was a child. He always had responsibilities, something to do, someone controlling his schedule. But as he climbed higher and higher into the sky, that silly smile still on his face, surrounded by only the blue skies and the clouds within it, he came to a realization.

This is what freedom feels like.

Tony spent hours up in the sky, flying around and enjoying the feeling of the wind and passing through clouds even after the sun had set. The stars and moon glimmered brightly, making his gold scales shine back. Oh, how Tony yearned to stay in the sky and fly forever, but he knew he couldn't leave his human responsibilities forever, and he sure as hell couldn't leave Ross alone; That was like leaving a toddler next to a socket with a metal fork.

After spending a few more minutes in the night sky, he followed his own scent back to where the Avengers compound was and slowly landed down in the trees. He knew he couldn't get too close right away, just in case Ross was prowling.

Slowly creeping closer to the compound, Tony looked around for the sight of anyone nearby. Maybe he could sneak back in, get to his lab, and then worry about how to transform back after. That's when he saw the familiar form of Rhodey sitting just outside the front door, his head buried in his hands.

Tony let a sad whine rise up in his throat, his frills flattening against his head and wings drooping sadly. Recalling the state he had left the compound in due to his escape only made him feel worse. Honey bear is probably worried sick… Tony thought, and slowly began to step out of the bushes. No matter what he was going through, he had to be there for Rhodey, it was like an instinct to him. The colonel was his best friend, after all.

As he walked closer, things began to change...

"Why the long face, honey-bear?"

Rhodey jolted out of his saddened slump, quickly turning to face the voice. Sure enough, standing in front of him (and still wearing the outfit he had on at the meeting) was his best friend, Tony Stark. He had no bruises, no scrapes, he looked perfectly fine.

"Tony!" Rhodey exclaimed, jumping to his feet and pulling the younger man into a tight hug for several seconds, simply to convince himself the man was really there. Once he made sure he wasn't hallucinating, he pulled away and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Where were you?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"

The genius had the decency to look ashamed, and replied,"I'm sorry, platypus. I knew Ross would probably follow me back here and screech at us, so I just went to one of the diners and stayed there for a while after I stopped here. If he tried to say anything else, I was gonna blow up. I guess I should have warned you about the temper tantrum I left behind, huh?"

The colonel looked at him like he was crazy. "Uh.. Duh! Of course you should have! Ross has been running around like a headless chicken because of it!" He said,"Now you're gonna get us both yelled at again!"

Tony scoffed and easily replied,"He doesn't have to know. We'll say it was a malfunction with the new security system or your enhanced suit. The second we go into tech-talk, he always blanks. We should be good."

Rhodey still had his doubts… He felt like Tony wasn't telling him everything, but he didn't want to pry, especially after what Ross had said to him. He'd put his suspicions aside for now, he was more happy that nothing bad had happened to his best friend.

That relief appeared on his face in the form of a big smile as he patted Tony's shoulder. "Well, I'm glad your back and calm," He said, heading back inside the compound. "Let's go and call Ross, the sooner we get that out of the way, the better."

Tony snorted in response, and said,"No kidding." He watched Rhodey walk into the compound, waiting until he was a couple feet in. Then took a second to turn and look back at the sky longingly, before following the colonel back inside.