Tony

The manse belonging to the Cult of the Mandarin was a sprawling structure that sat on the southern most edge of Braavos' shoreline. Of course calling it a manse was incorrect because the estate was actually made up of several buildings all ringed in by a tall wall of pale yellow stone. The main building, the largest and most ornate of the structures, was four stories tall and filled with balconies that overlooked the grounds. Carefully maintained areas of grass, cut so short they would barely tickle the soles of a barefoot maiden, were scattered about, adding patches of greenery to the stone that made up the many courtyards and trails that weaved around the other buildings. They were connected by covered bridges that hung several stories up, so that one could argue that the buildings were in fact simply one large structure but the heavy doors that lay on either end proved that to be wrong.

The only ways in or out were several gates made of heavy wood that required three men to open them and which had smaller doors built into the larger ones; the latter were the ones commonly used while the former clearly were for litters and wagons that might come to visit the manse. At each of these gates were several soldiers dressed in exotic armor, ten rings of gold sewn onto their talberts. While they did carry heavy shields and long spears it was very likely that they also had the same powers as the marauders that had taken Pepper and the weapons were just for show. Charging the gate would be a fool's errand, as one would need an army in order to breach it and that would give those in the manse time to prepare to repel invaders. Yet those were the only ways in.

Or… so it was supposed to be.

Tony grunted as he tightened the muscles in his stomach and swung himself up to another branch. In the hustle and bustle of preparing for the Feast of the Unmasking someone, be they outside merchant or a member of the Cult, had left a wagon unattended. The crates within were sturdy and strong and had rattled when he had shifted them so he assumed they must contain dishes for some feast… most likely metal goblets. It hadn't taken much for Tony to find some oats and lure the old wagon horse to follow him, moving the beast just a few feet closer to the wall of the manse… and the tree that hung over it.

'Someone was probably supposed to trim the branches so that it couldn't be used as a means of sneaking it,' Tony thought to himself as he carefully made his way through the foliage. 'But they didn't see why it needed to be done because no one could jump high enough to get the branch.' Tony passed over the wall and with light steps shuffled along the thick branch before spotting a pile of straw that the servants in charge of the landscaping had been using to cover some bare patches; Braavos had gone through a bit of a heat wave a month back and it had caused some of the grass to die, meaning that straw was needed to cover the dirt and the newly planted seeds for the replacement grass. The mound was thick and tall and Tony only paused for a second to make sure there was no one looked about before he dropped. There was a brief moment of gut churning freefall and then he hit the straw, his descent cushioned as he sank quickly into the pile.

Pleased that he hadn't hurt himself Tony remained hidden in the pile, wiggling only so he could peak through the scratchy stuff and keep an eye out for any guards that might come by. This also gave him the chance to slowly reach into his pockets and pull out the hidden goodies he had been collecting over the last few weeks under the Brotherhood's nose.

'I'm willing to be a good houseguest,' Tony thought to himself as he took a leather glove that had been reinforced and padded and pulled it over his right hand. 'Smile politely at meals, not spit in their faces, all that. But I'm tired of waiting for them to help me.' He took out a silver coin he'd stolen from a merchant that had come by the House of Black and White to try and dicker on prices with Mystique. This was slotted into a metal fitting he'd spent one restless night making with just the candle in his room and some cheap spoons. 'Pepper is somewhere in there and I'm going to find her.' Another fitting, this one layered with shavings from a sunstone from a broken lamp Toad had been working to fix, was next, twisting and locking onto the first fitting before all of this was attached to the leather glove via some thin straps of leather.

Tony carefully flexed his fingers before sticking his hand out of the straw pile and straightening his fingers. The leather pulled, the sunstones hit the silver coin, and a beam of energy briefly appeared before Tony relaxed. It wasn't as strong as his normal gauntlet but it would send a man flying and could probably punch a hole through a wooden door.

Feeling a greater sense of confidence in his chances he finally emerged from the straw, brushing bits of it out of his hair before he began to creep about the estate. In the distance he could hear people murmuring and chanting, most likely praising the Mandarin or whatever odd idol they had made for their religion. The guards weren't on alert but their eyes did sweep about and that made the going slow. Tony wanted so badly to rush in and attack but he knew that would only raise the alarm and the only way he was getting out of the estate would be back over that tree; he couldn't fly nor could he take bolts like he could if he had his armor.

'And then there is the fact that these bastards can melt through my armor,' Tony thought as he ducked behind some barrels of wine that were waiting to be taken down to the cellar. 'And my skin isn't as durable as that!'

He saw first the cellar entrance but dismissed that; while there might be another way out it was very likely that was the only entrance and exit and he didn't want to risk becoming trapped. A servant went through another door and Tony spotted a kitchen in there and moved on; the servants would know at once he wasn't one of them and without knowing the layout of the manse he wouldn't risk trying to find a hiding spot only to stumble into where they broke their fast.

'Perfect,' he thought to himself when he made his way to the side of one of the smaller buildings and saw a side door. There were leaves pressed against it but not as thick as they were at other doorways; this one was used but not often. Just often enough to disturb the leaves but not enough to have someone regularly clear it of debris. Taking a breath and looking about one more time Tony darted forward and pulled on the door, the hinges only giving a light squeak but otherwise remaining silent as he slipped inside.

Moving silently through the pale stone halls he quickly determined that he'd found a kind of storage building. One room had chairs piled up, most likely for when the Mandarin or the owners before him would throw lavish parties, while another had crates that smelled of lavender and lilac; candles, most likely. He moved long the first floor, only once having to duck into a room when he heard footfalls, but otherwise he didn't run into another person as he made his way up the stairs, skipping the second floor for now and moving to the third and final one. This one had far older items and was a lot dustier. No people either which was telling him Pepper wasn't being kept there.

'Would have been too easy if the Mandarin kept her in a separate building,' Tony thought to himself as he entered one room and saw it was full of targets and practice dummies. 'Hmmm… I suppose when you can make your hands as hot as a forge there isn't a need to practice swinging a sword or shooting a bullseye.' He went over to long wooden chest and opened it to find some shields, a few daggers, and a couple of shortswords. He carefully slung a lighter shield onto his back before strapping a sword to his side. He wasn't the best at dueling but it was better than nothing. And the shield would be handy if something happened to his improvised gauntlet. 'And this…' he thought as he grabbed a short handled axe, '…will do nicely if Pepper and I need to fight out way out.'

Securing that to his belt as well he briefly considered looking for some armor to try and blend in with the guards before deciding against that. He had told many of his customers when they commissioned armor from him that it was important that they wear the armor often, to learn how it shifted and moved, before going into a tournament. Only fools bought brand new armor mere minutes before they entered the lists or the melee. Every piece of armor shifted differently, pressed down on different parts of you, might catch on another piece at the worst moment. One had to understand how that extra weight would affect their movements. For Tony he wasn't that skilled of a fighter to begin with and weighing him down with armor he'd never worn before and didn't understand would only make things worse.

Checking one more time that there was no on to spot him Tony moved down to the second floor and made a quick check of that before confirming that he was indeed alone. Then, and only then, did he head towards the roofed stone bridge that linked the outlying building with the main manse. Here he made sure to square his shoulders and walk with a confident and determined stride. Not too fast, not to slow. Just as Oberyn had taught him.

"If you try to rush into a place you shouldn't be and someone sees you they will go, 'Why is that man with the shapely ass running so quickly? Perhaps I should look into it and also see if he'd be willing to let me to worship his splendid rear'. If you try and slink in and are spotted they will go, 'Hmmm, that one is being sneaky so they must be a sneak. I must find out more'. But if they see a man walking with casual confidence, even if that man should not be there, they will let it go. Because no intruder would be so brazen as to walk like that."

So Tony did just that, forcing himself to keep his pace measured and not dart about as much as his instincts were screaming at him to. It was only when he finally made it through the tunnel-like structure and entered the main manse that he finally took a breath.

And then let out a girlish yelp when a hand grabbed onto his shoulder and pulled him into a room.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Rhodey?" Tony said, blinking in surprise as he stared at his friend before his brain finally caught up and his eyes lit up. "Rhodes!" He gave the knight a hug, Rhodey stiffening for a moment before patting him on the back. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here, Tony?" Rhodey asked. "I heard rumors you were a guest of some guy named Magneto."

"I am… or was… considering he hasn't tugged on my bracelet yet-" He held up his wrist to show off the metal bobble that was still attached to it, "-he either doesn't know or doesn't care that I'm doing this. Leaning towards the former and old Mags doesn't seem like they type that would let his prisoners go off to rescue other prisoners."

"Who are you rescuing?" Rhodey asked.

"Pepper," Tony said as he moved further into the room Rhodey had pulled him in to. "Got word that the cult leader that owns this place has her and I decided to grab her." He paused. "You get captured too?"

"No," Rhodey said with a shake of his head. "I just spotted you climbing over a wall. Seriously Tony, what the hell?"

"It's Pepper," Tony said firmly, his good mood blowing away in an instant. "I'm not leaving her Rhodes."

"…yeah, should have figured that." Rhodey drew a short sword he was wearing, giving it a spin. "Any idea where to look?"

"I already went through the building out there but I think the Mandarin is keeping her tucked away in here close by."

"So most likely a fight."

"Yeah but I got an edge," Tony said, holding up the cobbled together sunstone glove. "Not as powerful but it will pack a decent punch."

"Right… that works for me," Rhodey said. "Okay, as much as I want you to just leave and us to come up with a different plan you aren't going to listen to reason so we'll have to actually do this."

Tony slapped his friend on the shoulder. "Now you are catching on!"

The two of them began their search, this time having to be far more cautious than before as they were now in the belly of the beast. They could hear the Ten Ring Cultists all over the place and more then once had been forced to backtrack when they'd heard voices drifting towards them.

"This is going to take forever," Rhodey said bitterly after they'd hidden themselves in a side room for nearly twenty minutes because several of the cultists had decided to have a conversation right outside the door. A boring one too, honestly.

"Then it takes forever," Tony said grimly. "We're getting my wife out of here." He motioned for Rhodey to follow him as he left the room. "Now come on, we need to keep going. Probably-"

Tony turned the corner and slammed right into a cultist.

He blinked.

The cultist blinked.

Rhodey slammed his sword into the man's throat.

"Theory confirmed," Rhodey muttered when the body dropped down dead, letting out a weak gurgle. "They need to activate their powers… you catch them quick enough and you can slice them open before your sword is rendered into slag."

"Good to know," Tony said only to hear more footfalls coming. "Alright, time to go!" He began to run down the hall, Rhodey fast on his heels. After a few moments they heard a cry go up and the two of them began to run all the harder. "Fuck, we should have hidden that body first!"

"no time with how close they were now move!" Rhodey shouted as they began to move through the manse. They saw other people now, servants though, and shoved past them. "We have to go!"

"not without Pepper!" Tony declared.

"Tony…" Rhodey complained.

"I'm not leaving without her!" Tony snapped. The footfalls were getting closer, the shouts louder as the servants began to alert the cultists that they'd seen the intruders. "Come on, we need to find a place to hide, let them think we escaped… here!" Tony grabbed a door, threw it open and slammed it shut the moment Rhodey was through. "Maybe we can lock this," Tony said, staring at the door. "Barricade might be too obvious. Is there a window nearby? Maybe we could climb to another room…"

"Uh, Tony?"

"Shhh, I'm thinking."

"Yeah, now might not be the time for that," Rhodey said and Tony finally turned and saw they weren't alone.

Rather than a storage room or an empty bedroom Tony found that they'd managed to bumble their way into the main solar of the manse. Or whatever the Braavosi called a solar on this side of the Narrow Sea. It was finely decorated with tapestries depicting ancient battles long forgotten by all but the tribes that had fought them, glass sculptures of various animals, solidly made wooden furniture with plush padded cushions, and a large desk filled with paperwork. There was an older man with Yi Ti features standing in the corner, his face looking like it had been cut from stone; strong but a weathering to it that spoke of long days and longer nights of travel and battle. He wore long black robes, ornate and gilded, and his long hair had been done up in a top knot. Hands were tucked into his long sleeves and he seemed to hold Tony with more than a little interest. Tony felt the same way… it was as if the two were old rivals from a past life, finding each other again.

Which was very odd indeed.

He didn't focus on the servant for too long as his attention was drawn to the surprising occupant of the room, seated at the large finely carved desk.

"Renly," Tony whispered in shock as he stared at the last remaining Baratheon brother.

His once shaven face, something that Tony had always chalked up to him trying to avoid comparisons to Robert due to their heavily shared looks, was gone; in its place was a full but neatly trimmed beard. His hair was longer than when Tony had seen him last, back during the Small Council meeting, and was held away from his eyes by a band of leather decorated with gems. He looked at Tony, eyes dark and hard, which only made the smile he wore seem all the more sinister because they simply didn't match. It was like seeing a man sobbing with a smile. Renly wore similar robes to the servant but his were of much higher quality, costing most likely a king's ransom. He had on several medallions that glittered in the sunlight and as he tapped his fingers against the desk the rings he wore on each of his fingers clicked together.

"Ah… I see my rival for your affections has arrived," Renly said as he looked at-

"Pepper!" Tony said, taking a step forward. Pepper too moved to try and get to him but Renly grabbed onto her wrist and squeezed, forcing her to remain seated. He dimly realized that Pepper was wearing a dress of Yi Ti design, her own hair looped and braided and face done up in pale makeup. "Let her go, Renly," Tony said darkly, flexing his gloved hand. "I don't want to hurt you and I'm willing to let you and your burn buddies off with just a warning for the ship but only if you let her go."

That was a lie. Tony was going to get Pepper out of there and then he was going to reforge new armor and use it to hunt down Renly and every member of the cult and reduce them to dust. No more mistakes like with the Mountain or Vanko… he wasn't leaving enemies alive just so they could return again to hurt him a second time.

"And why would I do that?" Renly asked, tilting his head. "I think it far better revenge against you for your mockery of me to take your wife and make her my lover."

"…yeah, I might believe that if I didn't know what you and Ser Loras were up to."

Renly scoffed at that. "Your friend Oberyn has sampled men and women both… I can't do the same?" He reached out to touch Pepper's cheek but she jerked her head away, glaring at him.

"You okay, Pepper?" Tony asked.

"As well as I can be," She muttered. "They have my armor."

"And we are learning so much from it," Renly stated. "I must say… an armor of flying knights will help me take control of Westeros rather quickly."

"That's your plan?" Rhodey asked with a scoff. "Conqueror?"

"Another man playing at being Aegon," Tony stated. "The maesters should come up with a name for that mental disease… its going around far too much."

"Enough!" Renly said, slamming his hands against his desk and standing up to glare at the two men. "Your japes, Stark… oh, I have had to listen to your japes for far too long. Your disrespect of me… refusing to take my commission. Then when you should have died to those bandits you instead had the gull to live. You made a mockery of my Iron Born allies and led to me losing the Reach. Even now-"

"Seriously?" Tony said with a raised eyebrow, cutting off Renly's rant. "This is because I wouldn't make you a hammer or a sword?" He rubbed his chest where the brand at marked him, feeling the scar through his shirt.

"That's all it is," Pepper confirmed. "He won't shut up about it. He's obsessed."

"All the pity."

Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper all turned and stared at the servant that had spoken.

"Wenwu," Renly said, turning towards the Yi Ti man, "how dare you speak out of-"

The servant suddenly thrust out his arms, his long billowing sleeves falling back to reveal ten bands on his arms that quickly slipped from his limbs and hovered in the air around him. Renly went utterly still, frozen in place, as the servant, Wenwu, walked towards him.

"When I found you I thought you had potential, Renly Baratheon. You were a great project for me… the perfect puppet to control and slowly bend to my will. An experiment to see if I could manipulate the mind of a human so much that even when an ocean apart and my connection to them was but a thin line you would still do as I commanded. That I could move beyond merely pulling the strings and twist them into having true loyalty to the cause where before there was nothing. And that has happened. You have been loyal to me…" He shook his head. "But only in the barest sense."

"You do not command me," Renly snapped. "You never have! I am the master here… I am the Mandarin!"

"You are a child who hasn't had a firm hand to guide them," Wenwu said before flicking his left hand, one ring beginning to glow before the others followed suit. Renly stiffened before letting out a scream, clutching his head before he was sent crashing across the desk, Pepper just leaping out of the way. "Now then-"

Tony fired on the true leader of the Ten Rings.

The man slammed into the wall and Tony darted forward, grabbing Pepper's hand. "Time to go!" he shouted even as Rhodey moved and hefted up the fallen Renly, hauling him up onto his shoulder before rushing after the couple. "Why are you bringing him?"

"He has answers about this!" Rhodey called out. "Thought you'd want to know about that."

"Yeah, that might be a good idea," Tony said just as he felt a wave of frigid air come racing behind him. He shoved Pepper forward and turned to see that the hallway had become caked in ice and snow. "Damn it, looks like he has a grab bag of abilities! Move!"

"I know a way out," Pepper assured him, "Renly like to take me for walks."

"That was nice," Tony said sarcastically. "I'll thank him for-" A wall behind him exploded, revealing a mob of cult members who were all beginning to glow with radiant heat. "Move move move move move!
Tony chanted over and over and he began to fire wildly behind him, pushing the others to keep going. The cultists were… well, not quite saying anything. It was more like they were just bellowing and hoping that the sounds were able to get mixed up and form words.

One of his blasts took out part of a wall, causing the ceiling to drop right in front of the cultists. They began to attack the stone, melting it, but there were so many of them that a bottleneck quickly formed. They began to tumble on top of each other, bumping and jostling against one another. This led the berserkers to begin attacking each other, throwing fists and kicks, which only served to make things even tighter as they brought down more of the ceiling and walls around them.

"Nice shot!" Rhodey said.

"Uh… yeah, totally meant to do that!" Tony said before focusing on the escape.

"Here!" Pepper said, pushing them down towards a set of cellar stairs. "This is how Renly was able to smuggle in wine barrels. It leads down to the docks."

"Better than nothing," Tony muttered. "Renly didn't hurt you?"

Pepper shook her head. "No… like he said he wanted to turn me against you. I think he had some grand vision of you finally being brought to him and I'd be draped over him, clinging to him like some high class whore luring in a new client." She gave a shudder at that. "If I still had my armor I would have shot his cock off."

"We'll get your armor back," Tony said. "And we'll deal with that bastard Wen-Wen or whatever his name was."

The cellar and the tunnel that led out to the small obscured dock was wet, damp, and smelled of mold but it worked for the group and soon Tony was seated on a boat as Rhodey worked to get them as far away from the Ten Rings' Manse as possible. Looking back they could hear the alarms being sounded and the guards rushing about but Rhodey assured them he could row them close enough to the shoreline that they wouldn't be spotted.

That meant that Tony was able to grab Pepper and give her a searing kiss before leaning back in the rowboat, cradling her like a child would a favor stuffed trinket after a long hard day. Pepper shut her eyes and trailed her fingers along his chest while Tony stroked her hair, feeling his heart rate slowly go back to normal while the tension eased from him. They weren't out of the woods yet by a wide margin. Tony had little doubt that Arya was going to be pissed at him. Magneto and the other Blackfyres weren't going to simply let them leave with him knowing their plans. And the Mandarin was still out there and had clearly had plans for Westeros. But at the moment Tony was able to relax. He had his wife back, he had his best friend. He had-

"Uhhhgggh,"

-Renly Baratheon, who apparently was the source of so many of his problems.

"Where's my axe?" Pepper growled, shifting up away from Tony while Rhodey stopped paddling and prepared to restrain the Baratheon man.

"Stannis?" Renly said, blinking about wildly. There was something… off… about his voice. The mocking tones that Tony had always heard in Renly's words, even when he was talking about the most mundane things, weren't there. Renly was someone that could charm the world but as one got to know him the undercurrent of arrogance and entitlement made itself known. Renly had been given power far too young and it had inflated his ego. He was the third son and should have been at best a knight or a minor lordling that, with proper marriages and alliances, founded a cadet branch of the Baratheon line. Instead he had become the young Lord of the Stormlands and Master of Laws; this sudden rise to prominence had made him believe that he deserved far more than he already had.

But now he was looking about the rowboat in befuddlement, like a puppy that had wandered off from its mother and now didn't know where it was and hoped that with a few barks it could find its way home.

"Stannis?" Renly said, before noticing where he was… and shrinking back in fear. "Who… who are you? Where are we?"

Tony and Pepper shared a look. This didn't feel like a trap. This felt… wrong. And based on what Wenwu had said Tony had a sinking suspicion just what was happening. And that filled him with dread. "I am Lord Antony Stark. This is my wife Lady Vyrgina Stark, formerly of House Potts."

"Stark…" Renly said before some tension left him. "My brother Robert is friends with a Stark. Eddard. Are you related to him?"

"I am," Tony said softly as he felt his guts clench.

"Then… is the siege over?"

"The siege?" Pepper asked.

Renly nodded. "We were getting very hungry but my brother Stannis said that it would be over soon. That smuggler brought us the onions…" Renly made a face. "I don't like onions but it was better than rats. Did Stannis ask you to get me out? Where is he?"

"Renly," Pepper asked softly, "can I ask… how old are you?"

Tony's heart clenched when Renly held up 7 fingers.