Phoenix: Well, I have no idea what's going on in my head right now. I've got my crossovers going through my head, my many stories that aren't crossovers and my own life. Am I going crazy or something?! Or am I just overloading myself? You know, a part of me wishes I was back at school where my mind would be a blank for creativity so I could at least make something out for myself. Please review and check out the other stories, especially my new one: Shouldn't have Happened.

Iron, Forged in Fire, Part 1: Iron Man Rising

By Sailor Phoenix1997

Sunlight filtered through the skylight in Tony's new room, the only other light coming from the large, circular implant in the middle of his chest. Small wire-like veins spread from the metal to the middle of his pecs.

Tony sighed, keeping his breathing as slow and deep as he could. He could hear the mechanical whirring-mixed-with-liquid-like sound of his implant forcing his heart to follow with two strong pumps of his blood through his body.

For six months this had been his routine, wake up before his alarm clock, stare at the sky outside and listen to the new noises his body made.

As planned, his alarm went off with a loud, rapid "Bee-eee-eep! Bee-eee-eep! Bee-eee-eep!"

Annoyed after the third tone, Tony snapped up in bed and turned off the alarm and pinched the bridge of his nose. Today was the first day he, Anthony Edward Stark, would be attending high school. The upside was it was also Serenity Wheeler's first day as a freshman. Joey, Tristan and Rhodey were going to help him as well as Mrs. Rhodes and Moira.

He stayed in his seated position for a few moments before Mrs. Rhodes came into his room, filling the room with the hallway light.

"Breakfast is ready Tony," she said kindly. Tony nodded.

"Thanks Mrs. Rhodes," he replied miserably. Mrs. Rhodes walked over and sat down beside him. Tony looked over at her. She probably had a case today. She was dressed in a pair of khaki pants, a white button-up shirt and a blue sweater over that. "I'll be down in a minute."

"James, Joey, Serenity and Tristan are already downstairs. "Once you're finished eating, you all can go over to Stark International, then head to school." Tony didn't show any signs of being excited or even mildly amused. "It'll be okay Tony. You'll see." Tony looked up at her and smiled a little.

Mrs. Rhodes hugged him gently and then left the room so Tony could get dressed, neither of them noticing Serenity in the hall until she entered Tony's room and shut the door behind her. Tony snapped his head up at the little auburn-haired girl.

"Serenity? Is something wrong?" Serenity let out a long sigh and sat down next to Tony.

"Listen Tony, I understand some of the stuff you're going through. When I was little, Joey once took me to the beach when Mom and Dad were fighting. We spent the whole day there, actually, building sandcastles, playing in the water, even trying to find the biggest shell possible. But then, pretty much the next day, Mom took me away with some of our stuff because my dad had gotten drunk the night before. I don't miss my father, heck he can rot for all I care. But I remember how upset Joey looked when Mom and I were driving away. I was crying too. But Mom only left him behind because he was both older and much more of a fighter. Also, the court system believed it would be better for Joey to grow up with our father while I lived with our mother. We spent quite a few years apart without seeing each other and every day I thought about Joey, but now that he's here, I don't have to worry as much as before." Tony arched an eyebrow.

"Your point please?"

"My point is, you're as much of our family now as Joey is my brother by blood. Okay?" Serenity said as she placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. The raven-haired boy smiled at her, noting what she was wearing for the first time: a white long-sleeve shirt with a little blue sailor-like cape around her neck with a ribbon tied from under her collar, and a long blue skirt.

"Thanks Renie. I'll try not to let ya down." Serenity hugged Tony and stood up.

"I don't think you will," she assured.


"Can you check again?" Tony asked the black-clad security guard in front of Stark International. "I have an appointment." The man looked him and his four friends over again.

"And you said your name was?" Tony was starting to get annoyed. This was the third time he'd done this.

"Tony. Tony Stark," the teen said, trying to hide his annoyance.

"Yea you know," Rhodey jumped in, "as in Stark International, the company you work for!" The man pressed a button on the side of his earpiece.

"Yes, kid says he's got an appointment. Says his name is Stark…Uh-huh…Uh-huh…." He removed his finger and looked at Tony and Serenity. "You can go up," he said.

"Finally," Tristan muttered as they all started on their way but the man stuck out his arm after Tony and Serenity passed.

"Not you, just them."

"What?!" Joey grabbed hold of the man's collar and pulled him down so they were eye-to-eye. "Listen here, dat's my ba-"

"Joey! No!" Serenity cried. "It's fine. I've got Tony with me. And it shouldn't be too long. We'll be back soon." Joey snarled and released the guard, crossed his arms and mumbled something incoherent under his breath. Rhodey reached past the guard and pulled Tony towards himself.

"You sure you're up for this?"

"Yea…Hey, it's still my dad's company right?" Tony said as he looked up at where his father's office used to be.


Serenity clung to Tony's arm tightly as the guard escorted them through the building. Under different circumstances, Tony would've complained but right then and there, he was please for the auburn-haired girl's tight grip. It told him he was not dreaming, but what he was walking through had to be a dream. None of the employees were walking around conversing with each other, or even laughing at the water station anymore. Everyone was silent and working in their own cubicle and dressed in black. Tony normally would've been able to tell who was who by their smiling face, the way their clothes fit themselves, and the personal touches everyone used to have. But now, he couldn't tell one person from another.

Only one face was familiar. His father's secretary.

"Trish!" Tony said. He walked towards her but the guard put a hand on his shoulder, making Serenity gasp and Tony stop in his tracks.

"Mr. Stane will see you now Tony," Trish said as she continued her typing. She sounded so sorry, as if she wanted to say more but if she did, she'd lose her job.


"No that's right, I want them brought up to the specs the military sent over. You have my authorization as CEO," Stane said as Tony and Serenity entered the now dark room. Tony shivered. Obadiah Stane had done so little but still so much to the one place besides his house he considered to be his home. Serenity gripped Tony's arm tighter still.

"It'll be okay, just stay close to me," Tony whispered.

The man behind the changes turned around in his stiff-looking black swivel chair.

"What's going on Obadiah?" Tony asked as he and Serenity sat down. "What are you doing with-"

"Tony, Tony, Tony. Don't worry. Stark International is in good hands," Stane said as he laced his fingers together and set his elbows on the desk. "Nothing you need to concern over. I'm so sorry we didn't get a chance to talk after your father's funeral. It hit us all so hard." Stane's eyes flicked over to Serenity, making the girl inch towards the edge of her seat closest to Tony. "But you have my word, I'll personally take care of everything until you're legally ready to step in." Tony's eyes narrowed somewhat.

"I want to be involved. My father built this company and he wanted-"

"This is what your father wanted Tony. He wanted you living with the Rhodes, going to school, being a normal kid." Tony released a long, heavy sigh, trying to keep himself calm.

"I want all my father's notes and my research and-"

"Everything you and your father worked on is company property. Stark International is not your personal playground, it's a business." He turned to Serenity, making her grip her seat a little harder. "However, I could use a personal assistant. It's a good position that needs a willing subject. Perhaps you Miss. Flexible schedule, good pay, and the only thing you really have to do is get the files I need and attend meetings with me." Stane's words turned from the hard speech of a CEO to an attempted purr that came out more like a primal growl.

"Uh…Hm…I'm sorry Mr. Stane but I'm only just starting high school. Perhaps when I'm older I could reconsider your generous proposal if the job is still available," she said in as kind of a voice as possible. Stane probably couldn't detect much but Tony, having lived with this girl for the majority of six months could tell that she wanted nothing more than to get out of there.

"Well, thank you anyway Miss…" Stane hesitated, noting he had never acquired the girl's name.

"Wheeler. Serenity Wheeler," said the auburn-haired girl sharply. With a sharp hiss, Trish appeared on a hologram from the desk.

"Mr. Stane, your next appointment is here," she informed timidly. Another hiss and she was gone and Stane rose from his chair, walking around his desk so nothing was between him and the teenagers.

"Glad we had this talk Tony, and I'll see you again when you turn 18," Stane said as he extended his hand. Tony's eyes narrowed almost dangerously at the sight of his father's ring sitting on Stane's middle finger.


The sound of car horns was sweet music compared to the stifling silence of Stark International.

"Hey, how'd it-" Rhodey started as Tony and Serenity walked out, only to be stopped when Tony yanked his backpack off, threw it down on the ground and kicked it as hard as he could while Serenity ran into her brother's arms and started sobbing.

"What happened Serenity?" Joey asked, brushing his fingers through his sister's hair.

"Th-that horrible man!" she said through sobs. "I th-thi-think he w-was hitting on m-me!" Joey's grip on his sister tightened, not enough to hurt her but enough to make her feel safe.

"Why dat jerk! I'll punch his lights out!" Joey snarled as the group started to school.


"Hey look at it this way. In two years, you get to fire him. It'll be worth the wait," Rhodey said as they neared the multi-story, red-brick building that was Tomorrow Academy. Tony sighed as they climbed the steps to enter.

"Do we have to do this, this…school thing? Can't we just ditch or something? I can show you guys the lab I've been fixing up," Tony said as the group started down the hall.

"No way man," Joey said as he let Serenity dart off from his grip and into her first class. "If our moms found out we skipped ya first day here, dey'd crush us."

"Yea, they are lawyers, remember?" Rhodey agreed. Tony sighed and shook his head.

"Why would my dad want me to go to school anyway? I mean he taught me everything I need to-" Not noticing where he was going, Tony had walked right into someone, sending their things to the floor, along with them.

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!" The girl Tony had knocked over was dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans and had long straight black hair that hid her face and tumbled down her back as she scrambled to collect her books and papers off the floor, apologizing over and over again. Joey and Tony bent down and started helping her.

"Hey, it's alright," Tony said. The girl looked up, her blue eyes nearly covered in her dark hair. Joey smirked a little as he collected her things from Tony and handed them to her.

"Tony this is Sarah. Sarah, Tony Stark." Sarah nodded and shook Tony's hand before turning to Joey.

"Nice to see you again Joey. I hope we have some classes together this year," Sarah said. Joey nodded. "And Tony, I'm very sorry for your loss, even if my apology's a bit late." Tony nodded.

"Its fine, thanks for your support," he said. Sarah smiled and walked off in the direction of class.

"Ya know, maybe I should give this a try," Tony said as he watched Sarah run off.


The first period was math.

Tony was pleased that Rhodey, Joey, Tristan, and Sarah were in his class. What didn't please him was how hopelessly simple the advanced class was to him.

The teacher – an older man in a beige suit and dark round glasses hanging on the end of his nose – was writing out an equation.

"What you are looking at is said to be the hardest math equation in the world and has yet to be solved," he said. Joey groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Now, what we're working on today is far less-"

"Sir?" Tony said with his hand raised. Joey and Tristan held their breaths as the teacher turned around. Tony smirked a little and scanned the equation. "42?" he said, answering the equation. The teacher looked back at the board and adjusted his glasses in disbelief.


Tony flipped aimlessly through his textbook as the teacher droned on.

Bored, he shut the book and looked up.

"Professor?" The teacher stopped and turned to look at Tony. "Do you have any other Physics books? This one seems a little…out of date." Rhodey pushed his seat – which had been right next to Tony and in between Joey and Tristan – a little away from the raven-haired youth and leaned in the opposite direction.


Science was the worst for Joey, Tristan and Rhodey. Tony had insisted on showing the class something they wouldn't be coming close to covering until the end of the year and Tony's calling of something having a simultaneous positive and negative charge and him calling it a Stark Chart.

Finally the bell rang, signaling the end of class and the humiliation of the three boys.

"Do you think there is any way for you to go over that again?" the teacher asked from his place on a lab table.


"So what do we have now?" Tony asked as he and his guy friends walked down the hall. "This is kinda fun."

"Well, I've got English Lit," Rhodey said. "Joey's got P.E. with Tristan and you've got a free period. So just hang out, relax." The bell rang, giving a warning to all the students that class would be starting in a minute. "Check out the rooftop, a bunch of us have lunch up there. And we'll pick ya up after class!"

"Yea…Okay! See ya guys!" Tony called. In seconds he realized he was standing in the middle of a barren hallway. Right at that time, the very last thing Tony wanted was to be left alone, even if there were complete strangers. With a sigh, he rubbed his chest as he headed up to the roof to wait for Rhodey and the others, not noticing Serenity following him.


Tony stared out at New York, listening to the daily chorus of honking horns and running subways and trains mixed with the occasional airplane or news helicopter flying overhead. Tony's eyes locked on the S of his father's company building, standing out like a beautiful black blemish on a white surface.

Against his will, tears began pricking the back of his eyes, making him close them and unwanted memories to rise to the surface of his mind.


Flashback

The plane lay in smoking heaps strewn about the crash site. Black smoke billowed from the ruins. The only sign of light was from the red metal glove covering Tony's arm to his elbow as his body lay motionless on the ground, covered in his own blood with wide tears in his clothes and scrapes and bruises covering his face and nearly every inch of visible skin.

The glove made a high-pitched ringing sound as it shot electricity into Tony's system, making his body arch off the ground and slump into a sitting position as he struggled to bring air into his damaged chest. Everywhere on that place hurt, his heart the most. His vision swam with black spots and haze nearly blinding him as he crawled to the black carrying case in which was the project he'd wanted to show his father.

Tony threw himself over the top of it and placed the hand not covered with the glove on the large gold button on the front, making it open. He reached in and pulled on the mask, the gold part covering his face completely.

"Ac…tivation code," he wheezed."Stark…Zero 2."Instantly the mask's inside went from pitch black to a computer showing of his environment.

"Stark exosuit activated. Scanning. Alert: Medical systems detect extensive damage to user's heart and chest. Treatment in progress," the computer said as Tony's pupils began dilating, getting bigger and smaller as if they were trembling.

"Navigation systems…engage autopilot…Take me…Take me to Rhodey."


That was the last thing Tony could remember before everything went dark.

A hand rested itself on Tony's shoulder.

"Tony?" The raven-haired boy snapped his eyes open and looked at the auburn-haired girl who'd managed to sneak up on him.

"Renie," he said softly. "What are you doing here?"

"Same as you I suppose. I had a free period and came up here. I noticed you looked upset so I decided to check up on you."

"Thanks Serenity." She smiled in response.

"What are you looking at anyway?"

"Where his dad used to work I believe." The two turned to see Pepper Potts sitting on the small tower on top of the school, munching on a sandwich.

"What?" Tony asked.

"You're Tony Stark? I mean, Anthony Edward Stark. You worked there too, since you never went to school before. Privately tutored after your mom's…" She trailed off and took another bite of her sandwich as the topic had just gotten to something very touchy. "You have to stay with the Rhodes family, they're your legal guardians now and you went missing for a week after the plane crash. How do you survive a plane crash anyway?" Tony shook his head as Pepper had asked all of her questions rather quickly.

"Uh…J-Just lucky I guess," Tony replied. Pepper's eyes went from Tony to Serenity.

"And you're Serenity Wheeler. Sister of Joseph Wheeler the second-place in Duelist Kingdom, 4th place in Battle City, only real non-placement was in the Kaibaland Tournament. You had a disease from birth that caused you to have a reduced amount of liquid in your eyes and you brother used the three million dollar prize from Duelist Kingdom to pay for your operation, and help your mom to pay off her student loans, the loan she had for the downpayment on your operation and then she gained custody of your brother and he and his friend now live with you and your mom at her mentor's house, with the Rhodes who are also your legal guardians if anything causes a premature death for your mother before your brother turns eighteen. If he is a legal adult when that happens, you go into his custody right?" Serenity glanced at Tony before nodding politely to Pepper.

"Yes. Yes, that's correct," she said with a smile.

"How do you know all this anyway?" Tony asked. Pepper looked around, making sure the three of them were alone. Thankfully, no one else was on the roof. Still, Pepper put a hand on the side of her face as if someone could see her from the roof opposite and see what she was saying.

"My dad's on the FBI taskforce that's looking into Obadiah Stane after your dad's… you know 'accident,'" she said with air quotes around accident. "He had the most to gain from your dad's death after all." Tony's eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat in a silent gasp. "Hi. I'm Pepper Potts by the way. Your friends Joey, Tristan and Rhodey already know me," Pepper finished as she hopped off the tiny tower she was on.


Serenity sighed as she took a seat on the bus. If she leaned against the window and craned her neck a bit, she could almost see Tony's red t-shirt through the crowd of people. The boy was running as if being chased by demons. Rhodey was going after him to make sure he'd get home safely.

"Tony started acting really weird after what Pepper said today. But just because someone has the most to gain from someone else's death doesn't mean they were behind it. Oh, I hope Tony doesn't try anything stupid or rash."

"Serenity?" The sound of her brother's voice next to her, brought her out of her thoughts. She snapped her head off the glass and looked at the two boys who'd gotten on the bus with her.

"Yes Joey?"

"I wanna talk to ya about why you were so upset dis morning when you came out of Stark Tower." Serenity shifted in her seat.

"I was just being paranoid guys…I'm fine, really." Tristan shook his head.

"Serenity, did I ever tell you I have an older sister?" Serenity shook her head. "Well, thanks to her I understand the difference between when a girl's really alright or when she's lying. And you're lying Serenity."

"You can trust us Renie. We're not gonna do anythin' bad. I'm your brother and it's my job to protect ya." Serenity's eyes darted around the bus, purposely trying to avoid her brother's brown gaze. Her eyes caught on a girl with long black hair, blue jeans and a black t-shirt.

"Serenity. Hello? Earth to Serenity," Tristan said as he waved a hand in front of her face, making the auburn-haired girl jump somewhat.

"Come on Renie. We just wanna help ya out, okay?" Serenity sighed.

"You guys aren't going to let it go unless I talk are you?" Tristan and Joey shook their heads. "I told you, I was paranoid. End of story."

"No amount of paranoia should make a girl start bawling when she comes out of a building the way you did," Tristan pointed out.

"Now start tellin' de truth Serenity," Joey said. "I could probably get de story outta Tony but I don't think he wouldn't be biased about it." Serenity sighed again.

"Fine. Like I said, it was probably just me being paranoid. But when he was talking to Tony, he seemed cold and business-like."

"So he was like Kaiba" Tristan said.

"Maybe, in more of a dark, hateful way," Serenity agreed. "But when he offered me a job as his personal assistant…he seemed to get…I don't know…Primal I guess." Joey's grip on the bar he was holding tightened until his knuckles were white and his jaw was the same.

"Primal?" Tristan asked. Joey grabbed hold of his friend's jacket and yanked him closer.

"Our dad would talk to our mom like dat when he wanted…You know, it. He wasn't too subtle about it either and he wasn't afraid to talk about it in front of Serenity and me." Tristan's eyes widened a bit and he looked over at Serenity, whose face was buried in her hands and her shoulders were beginning to tremble.

Tristan and Joey started biting their lips and looking around the bus to find something else to talk about. Joey's eyes landed on Sarah a few seats up.

"Oh crap! If Serenity cries, Sarah'll probably think Tristan and I are real jerks! And worse, she'll think I'm a jerk!" Joey turned back to Serenity, mouth open to try and cheer her up when he froze. Serenity was leaning into Tristan, giggling as she looked at something in his wallet.

"Oh! He's so cute! It's no surprise he's your nephew!" she cooed as she looked at the picture, not paying any attention to the fact that Tristan's face was beet red due to their proximity.


Rhodey panted as he tried to keep up with Tony as they ran through the grounds that the Rhodes lived on.

"Tony! Will you wait up?!" Tony didn't listen and kept running. "Wait! Where are you going?" Rhodey asked as he followed the boy into a building.

Rhodey looked around. The interior really showed that the place hadn't been touched in a while. Tony's footprints were evident in the thick dust on the floor. Most of the metal in the building was rusted and parts of the roof were missing. The ground floor lead out a little ways before looking out onto another area about twice the height of the original floor and about five times as big.

The ground floor was separated from this room with a few metal beams instead of a wall and the only décor were a few large airplane seats that looked like they were from a Stark International jet.

"I've never been in this wing before," Rhodey panted as he came down the stairs that lead to the lower level where Tony was standing in front of a large piece of semi-rusted metal that almost looked like two joined by iron sheets in the middle with an odd door on the front. "My parents maintained this compound for your dad but…they never let me in." Tony didn't respond to his friend. "Tony?"

The raven-haired boy pressed a few buttons and the middle part of the metal lifted. Tony entered without a word and Rhodey following a little slower. He almost had to bend over to fit into the original opening.

"This is the lab you've been fixing up?" Rhodey asked as he entered the room. A large wheel-looking device was placed on the far left side of the room, a black metal container big enough for a body in the middle of the far wall and Tony was leaning against a computer that took up the whole right side of the room. The metal container was set on two iron posts leading up to a rotating part of the room with six black doors labeled with their own number. "If this is fixed up what did it look like before?" Rhodey wondered.

"Yep," Tony said with a smirk, his eyes shining a bit with pride at his creation. Rhodey looked around a little more before shaking his head and heading towards his friend, trying to shake off his feeling of awe at the lab.

"Okay. T-Tony, you have take everything Pepper says with a grain of salt man. She's a bit on the crazy side but-"

"Crazy or not, I think she's right," Tony said as he pressed a button on the computer. The rotator moved so the number four was behind the black container that had gone up. A loud hiss and a swoosh later, the box was in front of the boys. A few mechanical whirring noises and the front folded up, revealing the red and gold armor Tony had created. "And I know how I can find out the truth," he said as he walked towards the armor, Rhodey following.

"So what are ya gonna do with this? Beat Stane up?" Tony looked at Rhodey, his eyes like stone.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm gonna do. I'm going to beat the truth out of him," Tony said, his voice not faltering even once. Rhodey looked over at Tony.

"Really?" he asked, a grin starting to grow on his face.

"No not really," Tony chuckled somewhat. "The armor has surveillance systems on board. I can use them to spy on Stane and see if I can find out anything." Tony looked back at the armor before peering at Rhodey in the corner of his eye. "Sucker," he joked.

Rhodey grabbed onto Tony's arm and both of them began chuckling as they started wrestling a little before a buzzing noise started and Tony began gasping for air.

"Tony! I-I'm sorry. A-Are you okay?" Rhodey asked as he placed a hand on his friend's back. "What was I thinking?! He's not supposed to be doing that much with his body still getting used to his implant!" Tony massaged the skin around his implant as his breath began to return.

"Yea, I'm fine," he said as he looked at his watch. "It's just a reminder function. I have to recharge in an hour or so," Tony explained as he pressed a red button on the back of his watch, turning off the reminder.

"This is a bad idea Tony," Rhodey said. "For about a billion reasons: You're still hurt. If you don't recharge the implant in your heart, it's all over," Rhodey continued as Tony started grabbing pieces of the gauntlet and putting them on his arm. "That implant's the only thing keeping him alive right now and it needs recharging practically every day. He needs to be careful now. And anyway, he's hurt. We can't be roughhousing like we did when we were little."

"I'm fine mom," Tony said, trying to get Rhodey off his back. "I'm not a baby Rhodey. I'm still the same old me just…with an implant. Can't you at least seem happy that I'm alive and know what to do for my implant and know how to handle myself. The implant doesn't change who I am."

"Fine except for an implant in your heart! If you exert yourself in the armor, or the armor loses power or…or if you're hit by lightning. I don't know what! But your heart will give out!"

"I've got to do this Rhodey, for my dad," Tony said, his voice becoming firmer, not allowing any argument to sway his decision. "I couldn't save him but I can stop Stane. I can save everything my dad built." Tony's grip tightened on the gauntlet now covering his arm to the elbow.


Tony slipped into the rest of the armor, pieces of joints coming together with sharp clicks as it slid into place until all of Tony's body was covered in the metal.

The black box's top folded down before shooting up a long metal chute and being released. Tony's feet glowed as the repulsors activated, sending him into the air. He burst out of the chute and into the clear skies.

"Yahoo!" Tony yelled into the mask.


Rhodey pulled his headphones on s his computer started up the program Tony was sending through the armor.

"Hello? Can ya hear me? Tony?"

"Rhodey, you have got to try this!" Tony said through the computer that was now showing what Tony saw as he flew through the city.


"Are you getting my feed?" Tony asked just seconds before his shoulder slammed into a building, sending him spinning for a second before he regained his place in the sky.

"Not really. No." Tony laughed aloud.

"We're gonna need to update your system…And this is incredible!" Tony shouted as the armor began beeping as the croner of a building began closing in on Tony.

"Uh, you know you're gonna hit that building right?"

"Uh, yea…Uh. I should turn," Tony said, a twinge of nervousness lining his voice as he spoke and turned, only to crash into another building and be sent flying straight towards the road. Tony shoved his boots under him as the asphalt came closer. He barely missed the top of a cab and he swerved into the air as more cars came his way. "I'm okay! Okay. No problem. I never had the chance to actually, you know, use the suit before."

"Uh-huh. You're not exactly brimming with confidence here," Rhodey said over the intercom as Tony began to hover in front of his the window that used to show his dad's office.

"I'm hacking into the Stark mainframe through the satellite feed. Shouldn't be too hard, I designed half of it," Tony said as images began to flash in front of him in the armor. "I'm downloading all of Stane's records just prior to the jet crash."

"Yea, I see them." Rhodey said as a particular image caught Tony's eye.

"Wait. What? That unbelievable- He did it! Stane turned my dad's Earth Mover into a weapon! And my laser system!"

"Tony! Tony! Are you seeing this? Stark security is receiving an alarm. There's a train that's gone out of control." Tony shook his head.

"Hold on, Stane's sending out a live satellite transmission…Rhodey, I think he's trying to sell the Earth Movers."

"Tony, something's wrong. The train is speeding up and it's been re-routed onto the private Stark tracks. It's going to crash into Stark Tower!"

"Hang on I- WHAT?!" Tony looked down from the window and onto the tracks where a white train was coming in on the tracks. "There's hundreds of people in there." The computer in the armor zoomed in on the train and then to its location. "It'll hit the building's power generators. The entire building could-" Tony shot down towards the tracks. "I have to stop it!"

He gave a sharp turn at the last second so he was nearly riding the tracks himself.

"I can do this. I just have to switch the tracks right?" Tony asked as small parts of his armor came up to slow his flight.

"You still have to slow it down! Let me see if I can find a map or something," Rhodey said over the intercom as Tony's flight came to an end, leaving him running awkwardly on the tracks until he came to a skidding stop on the switch area.

"I'm connected to the city's mainframe. Department of transportation," Tony said as he looked at the unresponsive switches. "The track switches aren't responding? That's weird."

"Tony. Where's the train?!" Rhodey demanded. Tony looked from the switches to the oncoming train barreling at him.

"Oh nuts. Hang on! I'm accessing the track schematics on file!" An image of the track switch appeared in Tony's armor for him to see. A certain part near the top flashed red . Tony scanned the machine until he saw the part and blasted it with his repulsor, sending out a wave of sparks like a firework. "Got it!" he said as the lock clicked out of place. Tony pushed against the tracks as hard as he could until the tracks clicked into place on the opposite track.

Just seconds before the train passed. Tony leapt out of the way with a small yell of surprise.

"Crisis averted," Tony said, quite pleased with himself.

"Dude, what did you do?!" Rhodey yelled.

"I switched the train to a different track," Tony said, not exactly knowing why Rhodey seemed so mad at him.

"That line only goes to Stark Tower! The track you switched it to…it's not finished yet! Instead of crashing into Stark Tower it's going to crash into the middle of the city!" Tony felt his stomach drop as the sound of bus and car horns came from the end of the track.

"Oops."


Joey sighed loudly and rubbed his ear as the sound of all the horns around them was starting to give him a headache.

"Dang. I bet Rhodey and Tony are already at home," the blonde said. Tristan sighed in agreement.

"Speaking of Tony," the brunette said, "he seemed quite in a rush to get home. Do you think he's okay?"

"Maybe we could go somewhere with him to get his mind off this whole Stark International problem," Serenity suggested. The boys nodded their agreement. "Any ideas as to where we should go with him?" The boys shrugged as a loud screeching noise rang around them, muffling the horns in comparison. "What is that?"


Tony growled as he pushed both his and the armor's weight against the fast-moving train.

"Medical alert in progress. Cardio implant is depleted. Switching to reserves."

"Tony, your heart has to be recharged. You have to stop!" Rhodey said over the intercom in response to the computer's warning.

"I can't…Too many lives…Won't stop," Tony growled as he activated his repulsors in his boots. The metal door in his hands crumpled and Tony pitched forward into the car with a yelp of surprise. Tony's head hit the back of the car hard enough to leave a dent in the shape of his head and upper torso. "Nevermind," he muttered abandoning the idea of pushing it into stopping.

Tony kicked the door open that lead to the other car. He blasted the metal connecting the two cars until it broke from the heat. The car Tony was in zipped along the tracks as the other three cars came to a stop. He glanced out the door he'd come from to see the three wooden stop barricades coming up closer and the loud honking of cars becoming louder.

He leapt out the back and latched onto the car pulling as hard as he could with his repulsors on maximum trying to slow it down.

Barricade one broke into millions of splintered shards on contact with the train car.

Barricade two soon followed in a similar fashion.

Tony's mind was reeling. He was running out of time and the armor was running low on power. Rhodey's warning flashed through his mind. He shook his head to rid himself of the thought. More than his life was on stake in this.

Barricade three marked the end of the tracks, sending the car and Tony pitching forward into traffic.

High pitched screams of panic soon replaced the horns of cars as people began unloading themselves from cars, taxis and a bus.

Tony's eyes trained on a certain trio consisting of a blonde boy, a brunette boy and an auburn-haired girl directly under the car, just leaving the bus.

Tony released the train car and instead put himself under it as so to stop its descent. Everyone in the crowd gazed open-mouthed and some even began cheering as Tony gently set the train car down in the street where no one was standing.

He looked at the familiar trio and smiled to himself before taking off back into the skies.


Joey burst past his mother as he and Tristan ran through the house.

"Where's Tony and Rhodey?" Tristan asked.

"I saw them headed into one of the buildings. I think it was one of the closer ones. The one Tony spends so much time in."

"Thanks Mrs. Wheeler!" Tristan called as he and Joey ran out the back door and Serenity entered the front door.

"Mom! You won't believe this but today we were almost crushed by a train but some flying armored guy stopped the train! We gotta find Tony and tell him! Love ya!" the auburn-haired girl said as she followed her brother and his friend.


"Charging in progress," said the computer as Tony hooked a long silver cord to the implant in his chest. He'd only gone so far as to take off his mask, which Rhodey now held in his hands.

"Piece of cake," the raven-haired boy panted. Rhodey's face looked about ready to split in half with the grin he had on.

"It's already all over the news. About a thousand people have footage of you on their cell phones. They're calling you-"

"Guys!" Joey called as he skidded into the room followed by Tristan and Serenity. All three stopped and froze in place upon seeing Tony in the armor. Joey's jaw dropped and Serenity's hand covered her mouth as a gasp escaped her lips.

"You…Were…We thought…" Serenity said as her eyes scanned the red and gold armor.

"Dude! Do you have any idea what could've happened to ya?!" Joey demanded, his ears turning somewhat pink. "Ya could'a been crushed or…Did you run low on power?!"

"How can you be so reckless Tony? You have to be careful with your implant. It's dangerous for you to do things like that." Tony raised an armored hand for silence.

"Dude, what would your dad say if he saw you right now?!" Tristan demanded. All eyes went to the brunette for a second before to Tony. The raven-haired boy sighed.

"Well, my dad always wanted to use technology to help people. To save lives, and that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to be a hero for these people. And I'm going to save Stark International from itself. And maybe along the way I'll find out what happened to my dad." Joey sighed.

"Well, every hero needs a name," he said as he crossed his arms. "What were ya thinkin' of callin' yourself?" Tony smirked.

"Isn't it obvious? I was thinking Iron Man." Rhodey chuckled.

"Good, because that's what they're calling you already," he said.


Despite the cheering joy above the ground, deep below Chinatown a dark room made of jade echoed with the footsteps of a man dressed in the black attire of a ninja. The man bowed on the floor.

"Master, the plan failed. The train was stopped before it hit Stark Tower. We did not retrieve the ring." The man didn't look up as the sound of metal scraping on stone echoed in the room. He knew who was looking down on him.

The shadow of a large man in spiked, black armor appeared over the man. The helmet of the man had two large spikes like horns nearly as long as the man's arm.

"It will be the last failure in this life that you make. Nothing shall stand between the Mandarin and his destiny! I will retrieve the ring myself!" the man said as he raised an armored fist revealing a gold ring matching that which used to belong to Tony's father but instead had a purple stone instead of green.


Phoenix: Whew! This is late in coming out! But it's finally done! YAY! Mandarin's scary. *Hides under blanket* Please review.