As they drove towards Miami they pull up to a mansion as Laura crouches next to a wall behind Tony with her spear out as they approached the entrance and jump over a wall and Tony rolls out is devices and they blow up by the guards as both her and Tony take them out and Laura using the spear taking out a few extras by hand and silently make their way throughout the mansion. Tony with the hand from the suit motioned Laura to be quiet as they hear a voice of a woman. "Why is it so hot in here? I told you to put it at 68" the woman asks the guard.

"My fault again. Let me tell you something, sweetheart. I am not your personal air con" the guard replied as Tony shocked him with the hand as Laura motions to the bed pointing at a body as Tony uncovers the blanket revealing two women both of them hear the toilet and Laura walks backwards behind the bed with Tony behind her.

"Well, I wouldn't go in there for 20 minutes" the man laughed as Laura gives Tony a confused look.

"Now, which one of you is Vanessa" the man asked?

"That's me" the woman answered.

"Ah! Nessie" the man said while throwing the fortune cookie. "Did you know that fortune cookies aren't even Chinese" the man said while laughing as Tony gave Laura a confused look.

"There's some people over here" the woman barely managed to say. "They're made by Americans, based on a Japanese recipe" he said as Tony and her got out quickly with Laura pointing her spear aimed at the guys neck.

"Don't move" she said through her teeth with Tony next to her aiming his gun.

"Bloody hell. Bloody hell" he said putting his hands up.

"Don't move" Tony repeated aiming his pistol.

"I'm not moving. You want something? Take it. Although the guns are all fake because those wankers wouldn't trust me with the real ones" the man said quickly.

"What" Tony asked while looking at Laura who gave a similar look?

"Hey, do you fancy either of the birds" the man asked pointing at the women?

"Heard enough. You're not him. The Mandarin, the real guy. Where? Where's the Mandarin? Where is he" Tony yelled?

"Where is the Mandarin" Laura said through her teeth while pressing the armed spear against his neck.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa" the man said while looking at the blade.

"He's here. He's here, but he's not here. He's here, but he's not here" the man rambled.

"What do you mean" Tony asked?

"It's complicated. Hey, it's complicated" the man continued.

"Uncomplicate it" Laura threatened.

"It's complicated" the man repeated.

"Ladies, out. Get out of the bed. Get into the bathroom" Tony shot his gun as Laura motioned her spear towards the bathroom door angrily as they ran towards it.

"My name is Trevor. Trevor Slattery" Trevor told them.

"What are you? What are you, a decoy? You're a double, right" Tony asked?

"What, you mean like an understudy? No, absolutely not" Trevor said as Laura pressed her spear against man's face dangerously getting annoyed.

"Don't hurt the face! I'm an actor" Trevor panicked.

"You got a minute to live. Fill it with words" Tony told him.

"It's just a role. "The Mandarin," see, it's not real" Trevor said as Laura looked at Tony confused.

"Then how did you get here, Trevor" Tony asked?

"Um. Well, I, um, had a little problem with, um, substances. And I ended up, um, doing things, no two ways about it, in the street, that a man shouldn't do" Trevor explained.

"Next" Tony asked?

"Then, they approached me about the role, and they knew about the drugs" Trevor continued.

"What did they say? They'd get you off them" Tony asked?

"They said they'd give me more. They gave me things. They gave me this palace. They gave me plastic surgery. They gave me things" Trevor rambled as he fell asleep as Laura gave Tony a look of disbelief.

"Did you just nod off? Hey" as Tony kicked him awake.

"…No, and a lovely speedboat. And the thing was, he needed someone to take credit for some accidental explosions" Trevor said making explosion noises.

"He? Killian" Tony asked?

"Killian" Trevor nodded.

"He created you" Laura asked?

"He created me" Trevor confirmed.

"Custom-made terror threat" Tony asked?

"A cover" Laura said while rotating her spear putting it away. "Smart it fooled me" Laura said while shrugging her shoulders.

"Yes. Yes", Trevor said pointing his finger at her while getting up. "His think tank thinked it up. The pathology of a serial killer. The manipulation of Western iconography. Ready for another lesson? Blah, blah, blah" as Trevor offered Laura a beer who gave him a death stare and backed off and offered one to Tony who shook his head. "No. Of course, it was my performance that brought the Mandarin to life" Trevor explained.

"Your performance? Where people died" Tony asked unamused?

"No, they didn't" Trevor said as they stared at him confused.

"Look around you. The costumes, green screen. Honestly, I wasn't on location for half this stuff. And when I was, it was movie magic, love" Trevor continued as Laura was knocked out by Savin from behind.

"I'm sorry, but I got a best friend who's in a coma and he might not wake up. So, you're gonna have to answer for that. You're still going down, pal. You under..." as Savin hits Tony on the head knocking him out. "Ok, Trevor, what did you tell them" Savin asked?

"I didn't tell them anything" Trevor replied.

"Nothing" Savin asked?

"No" Trevor nodded.

"You should have pressed the panic button" Savin told him.

"Well, I panicked, but then I handled it" as he opened the beer can and drank from it.


Laura wakes up hearing Tony's voice as she slowly stood up and realized she was chained to a pipe in the corner of the room and saw they didn't take her spear handle "Idiots" she murmured to herself and saw Tony zip tied to a bed while seeing Maya and moved her hands rattling the chains.

"And here you are 13 years later, in a dungeon" Tony said while looking at Laura.

"Are you ok" Tony asked concerned?

"Yeah I think so" Laura answered looking over her body.

"Oh, good you're awake. I thought he hit you to hard wouldn't want damaged goods" Maya joked as Laura gave her a death stare while moving her hands against the chains annoyed with them. "And no, you're in a dungeon. I'm free to go" Maya told Tony. "A lot has happened, Tony. But I'm close. Extremis is practically stabilized" Maya explained.

"It's immoral and wrong you shouldn't be messing with this" Laura yelled as Tony tried shushing her not wanting her to attract attention!

"And I'm on the street. People are going bang. They're painting the walls. Maya, you're kidding yourself" Tony tried explaining.

"Then help me fix it" as she showed Tony the note from 1999.

"Did I do that" Tony asked?

"Yes" Maya nodded.

"I remember the night, not the morning. Is this what you've been chasing around" Tony asked?

"You don't remember" Maya asked annoyed?

"I can't help you. You used to have a moral psychology. You used to have ideals. You wanted to help people. Now look at you. I get to wake up every morning with someone who still has their soul. Get me out of here. Come on" Tony pleaded as Killian walked in.

"You know what my old man used to say to me? One of his favorite of many sayings... "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese".

"Worst saying ever" Laura spoke up annoyed as Killian looked at her amused.

"You're not still pissed off about the Switzerland thing, are you" Tony asked?

"How can I be pissed at you, Tony? I'm here to thank you. You gave me the greatest gift that anybody's ever given me. Desperation. If you think back to Switzerland, you said you'd meet me on the rooftop, right? Well, for the first 20 minutes, I actually thought you'd show up. And the next hour... I considered taking that one-step shortcut to the lobby. If you know what I mean" Killian replied.

"Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out what happened to the first mouse" Tony joked, and Laura snorted.

"But as I looked out over that city, nobody knew I was there, nobody could see me, no one was even looking. I had a thought that would guide me for years to come. Anonymity, Tony. Thanks to you, it's been my mantra ever since. Right? You simply rule from behind the scenes. Because the second you give evil a face, a bin Laden, a Gaddafi, a Mandarin, you hand the people a target" Killian explained.

"Sometimes you just gotta let go Killian" Laura spoke up getting annoyed as Killian walked over to her.

"You have met him, I assume" Killian asked Laura?

"Yeah I was severely disappointed. Worst terrorist ever was expecting a Bin Laden" Laura told him while giving him a death stare as Killian smiled and walked back towards Tony.

"I know he's a little over the top sometimes. It's not entirely my fault. He has a tenden... He's a stage actor. They say his Lear was the toast of Croydon, wherever that is. Anyway, the point is, ever since that big dude with the hammer fell out of the sky, subtlety has kind of had its day" Killian rambled.

"What's next for you in your world" Tony asked?

"Well, I wanted to repay you the selfsame gift that you so graciously imparted to me. Desperation" Killian said as he projected an image of Pepper with extremis inside her fighting it as Laura yanked on her chains.

"Let her go now or so help me..." Laura threatened.

"Oh, I doubt it you're up after she's done" Killian said smugly. "Now, this is live. I'm not sure if you can tell, but at this moment the body is trying to decide whether to accept Extremis or just give up. And if it gives up, I have to say, the detonation is quite spectacular. But until that point, it's really just a lot of pain. We haven't even talked salary yet. What kind of perk package are you thinking of" Killian joked at Tony as Laura looked at Maya confused holding the needle at her neck.

"Let him go" Maya yelled getting their attention!

"Hold on, hold on. Maya..." Killian said approaching her.

"I said, let him go" Maya said moving the needle closer.

"What are you doing" Killian asked?

"1200 CCs. A dose half of this size, I'm dead" Maya threatened.

"It's times like this my temper is tested somewhat. Maya, give me the injector" Killian asked with his hand out?

"If I die, Killian, what happens to your soldiers? What happens to your product" Maya asked?

"We're not doing this, ok" Killian told her annoyed.

"What happens to you? What happens if you go too hot" Maya continued as Killian looked back at Tony and shot Maya killing her.

"Holy shit" Laura yelled while trying not to panic!

"The good news is a high level position has just been vacated" Killain joked.

"You are a maniac" Tony said in shock.

"No, I'm a visionary. But I do own a maniac. And he takes the stage tonight" Killian said walking out.


Later that day Laura and Tony are still tied up as a guard messes with the watch "Careful, there it's a limited edition" Tony told him. "Hey, uh, Ponytail Express. What's the mileage count between Tennessee and Miami" Tony asked?

"832 miles" the guard told him.

"Very nice" Tony replied.

"I'm good like that" the guard responded messing with the watch.

"Can you, uh, stop that" Tony asked as the guard broke the watch?

"Break it, you bought it" Tony told him.

"I think I bought it" the guard said smiling.

"Ok, that wasn't mine to give away. That belongs to my friend's sister. And that's why I'm gonna kill you first" Tony threatened.

"And I'll kill you next" Laura threatened the other guard.

"You're chained to a pipe that's not happening' the other guard told her amused.

Meanwhile Killian is heating up Rhodey's suit trying to force him out "Are you coming out" Killian asked red hot?

"Do not open. Do not open. Don't open. Don't open" Rhodey repeated while hearing beeps inside the suit. "All right. Let's go" Rhodey said jumping out and punching Savin in the face as Killian breathed fire at Rhodey who dodged it in shock "You... You breathe fire? Ok" as Savin knocked Rhodey out.

"It's a glorious day, Savin. This time tomorrow, I'll have the West's most powerful leader in one hand, and the world's most feared terrorist in the other. I'll own the war on terror. Create supply and demand. For you, for your brothers and sisters" Killian said while looking at the Iron Patriot suit.


Meanwhile Tony and Laura were still threatening the guards "Trust me, you're gonna be in a puddle of blood on the ground in five, four, three... Come on" Tony yelled!

"We've worked on this for months why isn't anything happening" Laura asked while looking at the window.

"How did we get this shift" the guard asked annoyed?

"All right, I'm gonna give you a chance to escape. Put down your weapons. Tie yourselves to those chairs. I'll let you live. In five, four, bang" Tony shouted while moving his hand!

"Wow. That was..." the guard mocked.

"You should be dead' Laura threatened.

"I am just beyond terrified" the other guard told her smiling.

"Here it comes. Three, four..." Tony yelled while gesturing his hand!

"Shut up" the guard told them.

"Five, four, three, two, one" as one of the suit pieces bursts through the window and attached to Tony's left arm. "Told you" Tony said.

"Where's the rest" Laura asked confused as Tony blasts one of the men and unties himself.

As Tony fought the other guards coming through, the suit connects to his right leg and Tony kicked a guard.

"Where's the rest" Tony asked Laura still chained to the pipe who shrugged her shoulders confused?

Meanwhile, Harley watches as the shed door shakes and runs over and unlocks it as the suit pieces out as the pieces fly out as he looks on amazed. Back in the room the pieces are still attaching to Tony as he aims the stabilizer at the other guard giving them a brief break.

"Tony come here" Laura told him quickly. "Ok get my spear" Laura told him as he did so. "Knock the handle full force through the chains" as Laura shifted getting her hands by him as Tony nodded while breaking the chains with ease as Laura grabbed her spear from him bringing it out as they shot at the guards shooting at them as she aimed her spear at the guy's head with Tony next to her.

"Honestly I hate working here they are so weird" he said as he dropped his gun and ran out quickly as they ran outside with pieces still attaching to Tony.


They're both running outside as the helmet approaches him "Not this time. Not the face" Tony cringed as it stopped and Tony grabbed it putting it on."Phew! It's good to be back. Hello, by the way" Tony greeted Jarvis.

"Oh, hello, sir" as they ran outside towards Rhodey hearing the P.A. system come on.

"All personnel, Stark and Watson are loose and are somewhere in the compound. Repeat, Stark and Watson are loose and are somewhere in the compound".

"Well we gotta Shawshank our way out of this Tony they know" Laura said while looking around nervously

"Well Let's go" he told her as the thruster misfired.

"Aw, crap" Tony said as they looked at it.

"Tony" Rhodey was heard through the comms as both of them see the Iron Patriot suit fly off?

"Rhodey, tell me that was you in the suit" Tony asked?

"No. You got yours'" Rhodey asked?

"Uh... Mm. Kind of. Main house, as fast as you can. There's somebody I'd like you to meet" Tony told him as they met up in front of the entrance as Rhodey hugged Laura relieved while looking at her spear in shock.

"Uh…" Rhodey said speechless while pointing at it.

"I'll explain later c'mon" Laura said quickly as they entered Trevor's room with Laura in a stance.

"You, you, you! Move! Get out" Rhodey yelled while gesturing his gun at them!

"The room is secure. I have eyes on the Mandarin" Tony said with Laura next to Rhodey.

"What's this? I had winners" Rhodey asked Laura confused as he shot his gun.

"What have you come as" Tony asked?

"You make a move, and I break your face" Rhodey said as Laura pressed her spear against his neck dangerously.

"I never thought people had been hurt. They lied to me" Trevor said while panicking.

"This is the Mandarin" Rhodey asked Laura confused?

"I know... disappointing isn't it" Laura told him while shaking her head?

"Yeah, I know, it's... It's embarrassing" Tony added.

"Hi, Trevor. Trevor Slattery. I know I'm shorter in person. A bit smaller. Everyone says that. But, um, hey, if you're here to arrest me, there's some people I'd like to roll on" Trevor rambled as Tony pointed his gun at him.

"Here's how it works, Meryl Streep".

"Where is Pepper Potts" Laura interrupted angrily shooting her spear into the wall closely by Trevor while pressing the spear into his face as Rhodey looked on in shock.

"Ow, I get it! Ow! That hurt. I get it! I get it! I don't know about any Pepper, but I know about the plan" Trevor said while panicking

"Spill" Tony said as Laura backed off still in a stance.

"Do you know what they did to my suit" Rhodey asked?

"What? No. But I do know it's happening off the coast. Something to do with a big boat. I can take you there" Trevor told them as Trevor yelled at the soccer match on the tv causing the three to jump. "Ole', ole', ole', ole'..." Trevor yelled at the tv!

"Tony, I swear to God, I'm gonna blow his face off" Rhodey said annoyed.

"Yeah get in line Rhodey" Laura replied.

"Oh, and this next bit may include the vice president as well. Is that... Is that important" Trevor added?

"Yeah, a little bit" Rhodey replied annoyed.

A short while later the three were pacing back and forth trying to come up with a plan "So" Tony asked Rhodey? "What are we gonna do? I mean, we don't have any transport" Rhodey asked as Trevor opened a beer can.

"Hey, Ringo. Didn't you say something about a "lovely speedboat" Tony asked him and he nodded?

"If he's right about the location, we're 20 minutes from where Pepper is" Rhodey told them and Laura nodded.

"But we also have to figure out this vice president thing, right" Laura asked while looking at Tony?

"Right. I wonder who I'm calling right now. Oh! That's the vice president" Tony yelled dramatically while holding his phone as Laura rolled her eyes.

"As you already saw don't piss off the woman with the spear" Laura said annoyed as Tony was on the phone.

Meanwhile at a Christmas party the V.P. answers his phone "Thanks. Hello"? "Sir, this is Tony Stark".

"Welcome back to the land of the living" he whispered.

"We believe you're about to be drawn into the Mandarin campaign. We gotta get you somewhere safe as soon as possible" Tony told him firmly.

"Mr. Stark, I'm about to eat honey roast ham, surrounded by the Agency's finest. The president's safe on Air Force One with Colonel Rhodes. I think we're good, here" he said as Rhodey grabbed the phone.

"Sir, this is Colonel Rhodes. They're using the Iron Patriot as a Trojan horse. They're gonna take out the president somehow. We have to immediately alert that plane".

"Ok I'm on it. I'll have security lock it down. If need be, they can have F-22s in the air in 30 seconds. Thank you, Colonel" the V.P. said hanging up.

"Rhodes and Stark out" Rhodey said hanging up. "Everything ok, sir" an agent asked him? "Couldn't be better" the V.P. answered while walking over to his daughter kissing her who happens to be an amputee.