"Yellow?" Tony answered my call, "What do you need?" Hearing him answer so casually in a serious situation only made me more angry.
"You gave your address to the ENTIRE WORLD!?" I shouted into the microphone. I could almost hear him wince as I blew up at him. "Tony, what the hell are you doing!?"
"His people almost killed Happy!" He explained, sounding strained, "I don't have to justify going after the man who hurts the people I care about." That shut me up. If anything happened to Pen, or to Steve, or Tony, I would want to get revenge too. I can't blame him for that.
"Tony, I'm sorry," I began, "But a terrorist organization is a bit more difficult than some punks in an alley. If you need anything, make sure to call me. I want you to promise me that, Tony." There was silence on the other end.
"Yeah, I'll call you." He said at last. I smiled. Without warning, Pendragon grabbed the phone from me, spinning me to face the television.
"Stark get out of there!" He shouted, "Missiles incoming!" I stared helplessly at the tv as explosions shook the cliff face, blasting part of the Malibu mansion to smithereens. Not one, not two, but three helicopters hovered nearby as the reporter and cameraman filming the event panicked. The side of the choppers opened up, revealing a multitude of weapons. More missiles launched, causing the largest circle-shaped room to crack open, bits and pieces falling into the ocean.
Without warning, a grand piano launched itself from one of the broken windows, smashing into the centermost helicopter. It went down. Good job Tony, I thought, holding my breath. Why isn't he flying? What's happening over there?
A propulsion blast exploded in the cockpit of the second chopper, sending it careening into the house. Oh no, my heart sank.
"Jarvis, what's going on over there?" I almost shouted.
"Mr. Stark is wearing a prototype suit, and it's weapons systems is currently offline. It's charging for flight power." The AI butler answered. I chewed my lip, stressed beyond all belief. Helpless to save him, I stared slack-jawed at the tv as half of the mansion fell into the ocean. Tony was likely still inside.
More debris fell into the ocean around the crumble house, cars, and machinery, probably on top of Tony. The remaining helicopter circled overhead a few times, before turned away from the ruined mansion and flying away. I felt tears spring from my eyes as I fought the intrusive thoughts that screamed at me that Tony Stark was dead. Pendragon hugged me tightly. The live feed cut to two wide eyed reporters, silent in their awe at the brutal terrorist attack we had just witnessed.
"Flight power restored," Jarvis announced to us, "Mr. Stark is alive, but unconscious. Following the programmed flight path." My knees gave out and I collapsed onto the couch. The relief was overwhelming and I couldn't help but break into tears. Pendragon sat down next to me, relieved as well.
"Where is he going?" Pen asked, and I perked up in curiosity.
"A rural town called Rosehill, in Tennessee." Jarvis replied, "Mr. Stark was investigating the Mandarin bombings and there was a very similar explosion there years ago."
"Why would the Mandarin want to attack a rural town?" I asked.
"The Mandarin never claimed this bombing." Jarvis stated, "A veteran blew himself up, along with several other citizens." Huh. How strange. I turned to Pendragon. He shrugged, just as clueless as me. I hoped that he could find something.
"Jarvis, when you get the chance please remind him that we are ready and willing to fly out to help at a moment's notice." I nibbled my lip again, tasting a hint of iron.
"It will be done." The AI acknowledged my request. For now, there's nothing I can do. Wait. I snached my phone, wincing as the sudden and firm pressure made my scarred skin burn, and selected Pepper Potts in my contacts. I held the phone to my ear, standing up and pacing around the room as it rang. Unsurprisingly, it went to voicemail.
"Pepper, it's me, Jacqueline. The mermaid." I said, "Jarvis says that Tony is okay, he's alive but unconscious. There's a programmed flight path, he's going to keep investigating the Mandarin. If he needs anything, Pendragon and I are going to go help him. If you need anything, please let us know. Thanks…" I hung up, ending the message. This is too crazy, I need to not think for a while.
"I'm going down the pool. If anything happens, can you tell me?" Pendragon smiled at me.
"Jarvis can tell us if we get a call, I'm going with you of course." I nodded, feeling a little less stressed and anxious. We meandered down to the pool and spent the next few hours relaxing, followed by going about our business. Homework, dinner, the usual routine. It was very late that night when we got an alert from Jarvis. It was Tony.
"Tony!" I gasped, unable to contain my excitement, "Are you hurt? What's happening?"
"I'm okay, Jack," He started, "But I'm going to need your help." I gingerly put the phone on speaker so Pendragon and I could both listen. "We've pinpointed to location of the Mandarin. He's in Miami."
"What." I couldn't believe it.
"I didn't believe it either. What's more, the bombs aren't actually bombs, they're people." Again, I was too shocked to say anything. "He's using some kind of super serum to cure disabled veterans and it's giving them super-strength, regeneration, and heating based abilities. When the reaction to the serum goes bad, they become the bomb."
"We can fly down to Miami on the next plane," Pendragon added, "When do you want us there, and where should we meet you?" Tony gave us the coordinates, a mansion on the beachfront. He told us to come in from the water at about eleven in the morning, then wait for his call.
And so we had Jarvis reserve us two tickets to Miami while Pen threw together two overnight bags. We waited at the airport for a couple hours, wishing we could have some kind of movie montage that could get us there faster. Alas, things do not work that way in real life.
I sat low in the terminal chair, bouncing my leg with nervousness. We hadn't gotten much sleep, but I was a bit too anxious to rest at the moment. I sipped a decaf coffee, enjoying the warmth that spread through my stomach. Several cardboard cup holders protected my gloved hands from the heat. My arms had recently become sensitive to temperature, alternating between freezing and burning. I yawned, exhausted from the stressful day and busy night. Maybe I can power nap on the plane, I told myself.
Pendragon was sitting next to me, his head resting on my shoulder as he dozed peacefully. I envied him, and his cat like napping abilities. He could fall asleep almost anywhere, and it didn't take long at all. I still had nightmares, woke frequently, and had been taking sleeping pills to combat my insomnia. According to Pen, I would move and whimper in my sleep when I had bad dreams, so he knew when to hug me if I had one while napping on the couch.
I set the empty cup down on the floor by my feet and began to fidget with my gloves. My skin had started to burn again, and the fabric was making it hurt worse. I cursed under my breath as I pulled off the gloves and rolled my sleeves up. I felt exposed, and it made me feel even more stressed than before. Like a deer caught in the headlights. I glanced around, telling myself that no one was watching me. I started to move my fingers, fighting through the pain of the tight scar tissue. Stretching is important, helps to increase the elasticity or something. Either way, it hurts to use my hands.
Pendragon stirred when our plane was called to board. I donned my gloves as we got in line after our section was called. I was sitting in an aisle seat, with Pendragon next to me. A young woman sat in the window seat. The takeoff never ceased to amaze me, feeling the pressure on my body as we sped up and the way the shaking of the plane stopped when the wheels left the ground.
After we hit the correct altitude and were flying in the correct direction, I felt tired enough to take a nap. I leaned on my boyfriend's shoulder and sighed as I finally drifted off into sleep. Hopefully, hunting the Mandarin would go a lot better than school had. Probably not, but a girl can dream, can't she?
