Chapter 3:
I landed in the sand beside the rubble of Tony's suit, collapsing to my knees as my legs gave out. I was so low on energy, I doubted that I could manage to do much to help him if he was hurt.
"Are you… okay?" I panted out, reaching a hand out to help pull him the rest of the way out of the sand.
"Yeah." He panted, falling to the sand beside me. Together, we rested in the dunes for a moment, breathing deeply and not daring to believe that our crazy plan had worked. "We should probably keep moving."
"Probably." Neither of us moved. I took stock of where we were at. We were laying in the middle of what appeared to be nowhere (but not Knowhere, which she had heard her brother speak about in passing. The reminder of him sent a pang of grief through her heart, but she knew that now was not the time to grieve), surrounded by sand and dry land leading up to a horizon of equally dry looking mountains. I was suffering from a broken arm, the various cuts and bruises from my not so elegant landing, was dangerously low on Fire energy, and was ready to collapse due to a major bout of exhaustion. I doubted that I would be able to get back up into the air to fly any further even if I wanted to, which I did not as that would mean leaving the human behind to fend for himself and I had grown attached to him in the brief period of time that we had known one another. Tony was covered in cuts and bruises from the crashing of his suit, particularly around his shoulders and face. The device in his chest pulsed, as if to remind them that it was there.
Tony sighed. "Not bad."
I raised an eyebrow, but I agreed. It could have been much worse. At least Yinsen is with his family now. I was feeling a bit numb, pushing back the grief from losing so much in such a short period of time. Stop it, Mira, you can cry when you are safe.
Eventually, the we managed to pull ourselves to our feet. I winced at the pain in my broken left arm. Harsh rays beat down upon us from above as we walked unsteadily, torn pieces of cloth pulled over our heads to protect them from the sun. It seemed as if we were walking for days as the hours bled together into a constant struggle to put as much distance between the two of them and the now destroyed den of bad guys. I felt around with my mind for plant life to help give me more energy, but what little there was was brittle and not willing to help me. Terrible conversationalists, I thought grumpily, glaring at a small patch of crispy grass.
"So, Mira." Tony panted as we trudged through the sand. "Where'd you come from?" There was curiosity mingled with the grief and pain in his eyes.
I looked over him, carefully debating.
"I mean," He started. "I already know you aren't from around here- "
Suddenly, as they crested the top of a dune, I started at a loud roaring that came from behind them. A metal craft of some sort was hovering in the air by a pair of spinning blades.
"Hey!" Tony shouted up at them. "Hey!" I drew close to him as he collapsed to his knees, pulling my wings tightly against my back to hide them under the tattered remains of my dress. As the craft landed a short way in front of us, five figures hopped out and ran to where we were sitting, all of them wearing what appeared to be some sort of uniform and carrying weapons. I assumed that they were some sort of military presence and stepped a bit closer to my companion.
Before they could get close enough to hear, I whispered to Tony, "Friends?" He nodded. "Will they be friends of mine?" Gesturing to the abnormal (by human standards) blood staining my makeshift bandage.
Tony's eyes grew determined and steely. "I'll make sure of it. Just stick with me, dragonfly."
The men arrived, the one in the middle staring down at Tony with obvious relief in his dark eyes. "How was the 'fun-vee'?" he asked, a hint of sarcasm mixed with exasperation audible.
Tony gave a soft chuckle of hysteria as the man clapped a hand on his shoulder and then knelt down to be on our level. "Next time you ride with me, okay?" He then pulled Tony into a hug without waiting for a response. Tony gripped onto the man, tears of exhaustion and relief starting to make their way down his face.
Behind Tony, my legs gave out as I shifted a bit awkwardly, causing me to fall to the ground and drawing the men's attention to my small figure. I stared up at them as Tony drew away from the man he was clutching so desperately. "You okay, Mira?"
"I'll be okay, just tired." I gave him a weak smile, still watching the group cautiously.
"Don't worry, ma'am." Tony's friend told me. "We're going to get the two of you out of here, you'll have plenty of time to rest." He held out his hand to help pull me to my feet. "James Rhodes, at your service."
I smiled, accepting the help. I could sense that he was not a threat to me, at least not at the moment. "My name is Miralynn."
The two of us were ushered onto the flying craft, which then took us to a large human dwelling, seemingly used to practice medicine. Once they were inside, groups of what Tony called 'doctors', what I understood to be healers of a sort, tried to separate us for treatment, but Tony refused. "Either you treat us together or not at all," He told them firmly, taking my good hand in his own and staring them down.
"Tony…" Rhodes started, gazing at him in concern.
Tony cut him off. "I mean it, I told her that we would stick together. She's not from around here, I'm going to help her out."
Seeing that Tony was serious, and that neither of us needed too extensive of treatment, the doctors reluctantly allowed them to stay together, bandaging up their scrapes and bruises and splinting my arm. There was some surprise at my biological differences, but any inquisitions were shut down by Tony or Rhodes, who I was liking more and more with each interaction. Once the doctors were satisfied that they had treated every injury the two had sustained, they were left alone in a small room with a pair of beds. Sitting on one gingerly, I watched as Tony collapsed upon his, letting out an almost suggestive groan at the feeling of the mattress. I giggled, drawing his attention to me. He gave me a soft smile. "Get some sleep, Mira, we're headed out in the morning, back to my place."
I nodded, appreciating that he was doing so much to help me. "Tony?"
"Hmm?" His voice was drowsy.
"Thank you." And with that, I lay back on the bed. All it took was my head coming in contact with the soft pillow for me to be sound asleep, not waiting for a response from my roommate.
The next morning, the two of them, along with Rhodes, were loaded onto a much larger air vessel, which I was informed would take them to a place called 'California'. During the flight, I listened with delight as Rhodes told her stories of the two of them during their days of education and what mischief they had gotten into. Eventually, the plane circled to a landing in a flat area that I identified as a landing zone.
"Here we go," Tony whispered to her as they prepared to disembark. "Just stick close to me."
A ramp was lowered and Tony was rolled out in a wheeled chair with me hesitantly following and sticking as close to the man as possible, gazing around me at the airport in wonder. Before we exited the craft, Rhodes helped Tony stand and walk as steadily as possible towards a small group of people who seemed to be waiting on them. "Watch it, coming up here." He murmured quietly to Tony as they stepped off of the ramp and onto the pavement. A pair of people in uniform came walking up with what seemed to be some sort of medical bed on wheels.
"Are you kidding me with this?" Tony asked. "Get rid of them." Rhodes reluctantly waved them away as Tony continued on to stand in front of a beautiful woman with coppery-blonde hair and eyes tinged red wearing a suit of some kind. Professional? I thought that it more resembled the clothing that Tony was wearing than the uniforms of the other people around them. I assumed this was the "Pepper" that Tony had mentioned before.
"Hmm." The man in question said as he approached the woman at a steady pace. "Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?"
She gave him a challenging smile, relief hidden not so well in her eyes. "Tears of joy. I hate job hunting." She looked up at me with a bit of confusion.
"Yeah, vacation's over." He looked between us for a moment. "Oh, uh… Pepper, this is my new friend, Miralynn. She's… not from around here, so she's going to come stay with me for a while until I can help her get set up."
Pepper nodded slowly. "Okay." She held out a hand to me. I quickly glanced at Tony for instruction. He just smiled at me, so I reached out and took Pepper's hand in one of my own. The woman moved our clasped fingers up and down, gripping firmly, but not too tightly, before letting go. This must be a traditional greeting, I supposed. "It is nice to meet you, Mira."
"You as well, Pepper."
Pepper took note of our bandaged and tired forms and ushered us into the smaller craft behind her, this one designed to move on the ground, it seemed.
"Where to sir?" The man sitting in the front of the vehicle asked.
"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy." Pepper answered for him.
"No." Tony interjected.
"No?" The woman was incredulous. "Tony you have to go to the hospital, the doctor has to look at you."
"No is a complete answer, I don't have to do anything." He nervously reached out and grabbed my hand, but kept his voice firm. "I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger," (Here Mira was confused, what is a cheeseburger?) "and the other-"
Pepper cut him off, turning away. "That's enough of that."
"- is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now."
She whipped back around, alarming me a bit and causing me to tighten my grip on Tony's hand. This was not missed by Pepper, but she focused on what Tony was saying. "Call for a press conference?"
"Yeah."
"What on earth for?"
Tony looked back at their driver. "Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first." He turned to me. "We'll get you one, too, you'll love it."
I gave a small smile back to him, and then let it turn sheepish as I made eye contact with his disbelieving assistant. This was going to be a long day.
A little while later left them with greasy bags and the heavy smell of cooked food.
"What is it?" Mira poked at her unwrapped sandwich.
"It's beef and vegetables on bread. With sauce and cheese. It's good, I promise!" Tony grinned as he took a bite of his own burger.
"Beef is meat?" He nodded, mouth full. "Sorry, Tony. I don't eat meat." Mira gave him an apologetic smile and handed him back the sandwich.
"No worries, more for me."
Before long, the car rolled to a stop.
"Look at this!" They heard faintly through the door of the vehicle as they pulled up in front of a crowd. A sturdily built man, bald and wearing a crisp suit, met Tony at the door as he exited. "Tony!" They met in a brief embrace.
"We were going to meet at the hospital." The man murmured into his ear.
"No, I'm fine."
"Look at you!" The big man laughed. "You had to have a burger, yeah? You get me one of those?"
Tony brushed past him. "There's only one left. I need it."
He laughed again and began guiding Tony through the gathered crowd. "Hey, look who's here!"
Unsure of what I should be doing, I held back with Pepper, who smiled and pulled me inside. Standing at the back of the crowd, we were quickly approached by a man in a suit.
"Ms. Potts?"
She smiled at him absentmindedly, still focused on Tony as he reached the front of the crowded room. "Yes?"
"Can I speak to you for a moment?"
She shook her head. "Sorry, I'm not part of the press conference, but it's about to begin right now."
I swayed a bit, not entirely up to full capacity yet. "Pepper?"
"Oh, gosh," She steadied me. " You okay?"
The man interrupted again. "I'm not a reporter, Ms. Potts. I'm Agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."
Pepper raised an eyebrow. "That's quite a mouthful." She flagged down one of the workers, still keeping a hand on my back. "Can we get a chair over here? Thanks." A folding chair was quick brought out and Pepper sat me down in it with a concerned frown. "You sure that you don't need a doctor?"
I smiled at her. "I'm alright, just tired."
"Okay, if you're sure." She turned back to Agent Coulson. "You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA…"
He cut her off. "We're a separate division with a more specific focus. We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape."
Pepper gave him a tense smile. "I'll put something in the book, shall I?"
"Thank you."
There was movement at the front, on a small stage, and the room began to quiet. The man that had pulled Tony with him was speaking into an amplifier. "Well, let's get this started, uh…"
Instead of joining him on the stage, Tony had sat down on the steps leading up to it. "Hey, would it be all right if everyone just sat down?" He unwrapped the burger that he had brought in with him. "Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can… A little less formal and…"
The crowd slowly sat on the floor, confused murmuring filling the room. From my chair, I was set a bit higher than everyone else and now had a clear view of Tony. I met his eyes and gave him an encouraging smile.
Beside me, I heard the familiar voice of Rhodes whispering to Pepper. "What's up with the love-in?"
"Don't look at me," She replied. "I don't know what he's up to."
"Good to see you," Continued Tony from the stage. He paused, seemingly gathering his thoughts. "I never got to say goodbye to Dad. I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels. I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."
"Mr. Stark!" Called out a bunch of the reporters.
"Hey, Ben." Tony nodded to one of the men in the front.
Ben seemed genuinely concerned. "What happened over there?"
"I-I had my eyes opened." Abruptly, Tony stands and makes his way up the stage to stand behind the podium. "I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International-" The crowd erupted to their feet in a commotion, questions being shouted at Tony as he continued. The man from before was doing his best to move him out of the way. "-until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be."
"I think we're gonna be selling a lot of newspapers." The other man tried to laugh it off, speaking over Tony.
"What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well." Tony leaves the stage, looking firm in his stance.
"What we should take away from this is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever. We're going to have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with the follow-up."
Tony pulled me up from my chair and waved for Pepper to follow. "How're you doing?" He murmurs to me.
"I'm okay. A little sleep and I should be glowing." I gave him a smile and was delighted to see a spark of humor back in his eyes.
"You mean it? Like, literally glowing?"
I grinned. "I guess you'll have to wait and see."
He laughed. "C'mon, I have something that I want to show you. Pepper?" He smiled at his assistant. "Could you see about getting some clothes at the house for Mira here? And vegetables for the vegetarian." He winked at me.
"Of course, Mr. Stark."
"Happy, take us to the office."
