In a dark cave, high in the mountains nearby.
Laura woke up, coughing in severe pain.
"Oh thank god." she heard Tony's voice.
She groaned and slowly opened her eyes.
She saw a dark rocky ceiling and frowned.
Not recognizing it being her ceiling at home.
"Here drink this but slowly." he gave her a bottle of water.
She drank it eagerly but felt something in her ear.
She took it out, seeing it was a hearing aid in her palm and that she couldn't hear anything.
She placed it back in and looked back up at Tony.
He frowned but she saw the glowing device in his chest.
"Oh my God! What is that!" she shrieked.
"It's an electromagnet. It's stopping shrapnel from reaching my heart." he explained calmly.
She looked up at the corner to see a camera watching them and behind him to see a balding man shaving in the mirror.
"Are you finally awake?" he asked and placed the razor down.
"What do you mean?" she frowned.
"Well, you were in and out of it the past few days after the coma I put you in. You did lose a lot of blood. After your surgery that is. Here. A souvenir." he tossed her a glass vile that contained the two blood soaked bullets that struck her.
They landed on her chest and fell into her lap looked down at them.
She went wide eyed, seeing something missing.
"My necklace! Where is my necklace!" she screamed angrily.
She was about to roll off the cot but Tony stopped her with his hand on her shoulder.
"They have it Laura." he tried calming her down.
"You don't get it Tony. That necklace is my birth mom's. The only thing I have of my heritage." she said with tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Laura." he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
She tried getting up but couldn't.
"My legs! I can't feel my legs!" she alerted.
She began hyperventilating, overwhelmed with all of the change but Tony crouched down and put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's going to be okay Laura. I promise you, you're okay." a loud knock from the metal door interrupted them.
A slit opened up and a man began shouting in Arabic.
"Laura, do what I do. Put your hands on your head." Tony said firmly.
He and the balding man put their hands on their heads and she used her arms to push herself upwards.
She put her hands on her head as the two metal doors opened and a dozen men with guns marched in.
She glanced over at Tony, noticing that they were Stark guns and he gestured his hand slightly reassuringly.
A bearded man marched in the middle of the group and began speaking in Arabic.
He finished and nodded at the balding man.
"He says he's happy to see his unexpected but welcomed guest is awake. Mr. Stark's beautiful protégé. Ms. Laura Watson." the man translated.
"Mr. Stark and Yinsen, that is me. Are working on the Jericho missile. The one you presented…" he said and she frowned, wondering how they knew about that.
"And that once the missile is complete. You will be set free, along with Mr. Stark." she narrowed her eyes at him, knowing he was lying.
"I'll do what you want." she lied.
Yinsen translated for her and the man grinned and nodded back at her.
He and all of the men left, closing the door behind them and the three lowered their hands.
"Tony what the hell is going on!" she demanded angrily.
"They have my weapons Laura. Guns, missiles, all of it." he revealed.
"How do they have your weapons?" she asked confused.
"I don't know. But I'm not going to build them the missile. In fact we're working on a way to escape." he revealed.
"But how? I can't even walk." she frowned while looking down at her legs.
"With this." he handed her blueprints.
She placed them on top of each other, revealing to be a rudimentary metal suit.
"Is this possible?" she asked.
"Yes. I already have the power source." he said while tapping his chest piece.
She looked down to see that someone had changed her clothes into a pair of pants, hoodie and boots that was way too big for her.
"Did you change my clothes?" she asked, afraid to know the answer.
"Yeah, your suit was ripped open for your surgery. Please don't kill me." he joked, trying to lighten the mood and she smiled faintly.
"You're lucky I trust you."
As the three worked, Laura had learned about her captors.
They called themselves the Ten Rings and that they were mostly foreign fighters.
How they got Stark weapons was something she wanted to know.
She also deduced that she was at least partially deaf.
Only able to hear out of her left ear thanks to only having the one hearing aid in it.
And that the paralysis was permanent.
All on top of being captured by terrorists and being held in a cold dark cave in Afghanistan at the age of 24 was a lot to take in.
And not having her necklace.
Her most prized possession.
At least he had Tony with her.
Now Yinsen was inserting the finished chest piece into the hole in Tony's chest.
He got up and Laura went wide eyed, seeing how powerful it was.
He shook Yinsen's hand and she gave him a thumbs up. He smiled and gave her one back.
The weeks continued to pass and the three were working hard on the suit.
Night had fallen and Laura was sleeping on her cot.
She refused to let them break her, despite the conditions.
Not seeing sunlight for two months.
Eating mostly beans and bread.
Not showering.
She also rarely slept which caused heavy bags to form under her eyes.
And the cave was disgusting.
Tony had become her rock.
She was sleeping, her back facing away from him while having her fingers clutched where her necklace use to hang around her neck.
Meanwhile, Tony and Yinsen who were playing backgammon.
"Good. Good roll. Good roll." Yinsen complimented.
"You still haven't told me where you're from." he asked.
"I'm from a small town called Gulmira. It's actually a nice place." he answered.
"Got a family?" Tony asked.
"Yes, and I will see them when I leave here. And you, Stark?" he asked back.
He looked over to Laura and then back to him.
"No."
"No? So you're a man who has everything and nothing."
The next day, they were working on the propulsion systems for the suit.
The suit itself was bulky with poorly welded metal pieces but it would do the job.
Laura a had safety goggles on since she was wielding the suit hand to the wrist together.
She turned off the wilder and inspected her work.
She connected the wiring together and looked over at Tony for confirmation and he nodded approvingly.
She and Yinsen helped placed the leg mechanisms around his leg and he began moving it back and forth.
She smiled, seeing that it was actually working.
That night, the three were huddled around the fire once again.
"Hey, Yinsen I never actually said thank you for uh saving my life. So thank you." Laura thanked him sincerely.
Tony put a reassuring hand on her shoulder as Yinsen looked over to her.
"You're welcome Ms. Watson."
The days continued to pass but the three made steady progress on the suit.
Tony was wielding but the metal slit opened up getting their attention.
He shut the wielder off while a man shouted in Hungarian.
Laura shifted up with her hands and placed them on her head while the other two did the same.
All of the men marched in with their guns and the leader walked in the middle of them.
Laura could feel the tension in the room while the leader glanced between her and Tony.
"Relax." he said and the three slowly lowered their arms.
He walked up to Tony and lowered his collar to inspect his chest piece.
"The bow and arrow once was the pinnacle of weapons technology. It allowed the great Genghis Khan to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine. An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great and four times the size of the Roman Empire. But today, whoever holds the latest Stark weapons rules these lands. And soon, it will be my turn." he said and then turned to glare at Laura and she swallowed in fear.
"Why have you failed me?" he demanded Yinsen in Urdu.
"We're working. Diligently." he answered.
"I let you live. This is how you repay me?" he accused.
"It's very complex. They are working very hard." Yinsen defended them.
"It seems the woman is not needed…" he said in Urdu and nodded at two of his men.
They marched forwards, grabbed her by the arms and her hair roughly forced her down to her knees.
She winced in pain as one brought out a pistol and placed the barrel against her the back of her head.
She did her best to remain calm while Tony fidgeted in place.
"I see through your lies. You think I'm a fool? I will get the truth…" he warned.
"What does he want?" Tony demanded.
"They're building you Jericho!" Yinsen spoke loudly.
The leader raised his arm with a clenched fist and gave an order.
"They're building you Jericho!" Yinsen shouted.
Laura closed her eyes and the man pulled the trigger.
A click was heard in the silence and Laura released a shuddered breath.
Tony stopped in place while the leader looked between him and Laura.
"You have until tomorrow to finish my missile. Or you will watch her die first." he said angrily while pointing at Laura.
The men through her down hard and she failed to catch herself.
Tony rushed to grab her as the leader and all of the men walked out and closed the door right by them.
She was struggling to catch her breath while loose strains of her overgrown hair dangled in her eyes.
"Are you okay?" Tony asked fearfully.
The tears were streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks and she choked out a sob.
"No." she shook her head.
"We're getting out of here. Tomorrow." he said determined.
"But how?" she croaked.
He tilted her chin up with his finger so she looked at him directly while he tucked a curl of her hair behind her ear.
"Do you trust me?" he asked seriously.
"Always."
Later that night, Tony was shaping the helmet of his suit with a hammer.
He cooled it in water and picked it up with a pair of pliers.
Laura and Yinsen were working at a table, quickly sorting out the wiring for the mechanisms of the suit.
Herself still being a mess but not caring about it anymore.
He placed it down in front of them, getting their attention.
She tucked a loose curl of hair behind her ear and they worked rapidly to patch the wiring together and then the mechanisms for his arms and legs.
They assembled the metal suit pieces around him and Laura reached up to put on his rudimentary helmet.
Yinsen was at the computer and began powering it up.
"Okay? Can you move? Okay, say it again." Yinsen asked Tony about his escape plan.
"41 steps straight ahead. Then 16 steps, that's from the door, fork right, 33 steps, turn right. Laura you stay here with Yinsen until I clear out the cave." he ordered.
"Don't worry. I'm not going out without taking some of these sons of bitches with me." she hissed.
The slit suddenly opened and men began shouting in Hungarian at them.
"Yinsen! Watson! Stark!" they heard.
"Guys…" Laura alerted.
"Say something. Say something back to him." Tony whispered as Laura rolled her chair over to begin drilling in the suit.
"He's speaking Hungarian. I don't... Okay. I know." Yinsen explained.
"What do you know?" he asked.
He began shouting back in Hungarian but Laura looked over to see the bomb strapped to the door they installed.
She saw the latch begin to move and swung her head quickly behind the wall.
The bomb went off, causing a loud explosion.
The dust settled and she peaked over to see the large hole where the door use to be and the bodies of the men.
"How'd that work Watson?" Tony asked her.
"It worked." she said sarcastically.
"Initialize the power sequence." he ordered Yinsen.
"Okay." Yinsen rushed over to the computer.
"Now!" he explained.
"Tell me. Tell me."
"Function 11."
"Tell me when you see a progress bar. It should be up right now."
"Yes."
"Talk to me. Tell me when you see it." Tony said.
"I have it."
"Press Control
"l".
"I."
"Enter."
"Got it.
"l" and "Enter."
"Tony you're ready." Laura got his attention while setting the power drill down.
"They're coming." Yinsen warned about the incoming voices.
"Your suit is still powering on." Laura warned, seeing the progress bar on the screen slowly make its way across.
"We need more time. Hey, I'm gonna go buy you some time." Yinsen hinted.
"Yinsen…" Laura frowned, seeing the look on his face.
He began to ran out but tossed one of the guns by the men back at Laura.
She managed to catch it with both hands but he grabbed the other and ran out.
"Stick to the plan! Stick to the plan!" Tony shouted.
"Yinsen! Yinsen!" Laura screamed.
He disappeared from their view but the progress bar finished loading.
That caused a power surge, causing the lights to dim.
Laura had the butt of her gun pressed against her shoulder and aimed at the mouth of the cave.
She rested it against the table and arched her body forwards on it.
She had her left eye closed and was using the sights to aim.
Tony clenched his fist as the two heard footsteps.
She saw four men slowly making their way over the rubble and aimed at one of them.
She fired multiple shots instantly, striking each one in the temple within seconds of each other, without hesitation and they collapsed.
The gun briefly lit up the darkened cave when she fired and Tony looked over at the bodies and then at Laura in shock.
She simply reloaded her clip and nodded at him.
He nodded back and he turned around.
A man was shooting his rifle at him repeatedly but the bullets bounced off the metal suit.
Laura fired at him, taking him down and clearing his path.
He marched forwards as another came charging for him but he punched him backwards.
He turned over to see other men fleeing from him.
He walked towards them but they shut medal doors on one in front of him.
The man was punching on it desperately but Tony threw him against it, leaving an indent.
He repeatedly punched through the gap of it until the doors were forced open.
He marched towards the mouth of the cave but spotted Yinsen underneath a pile of rubble.
"Yinsen!"
"Look out." he warned.
The leader fired an RPG at Tony but he dodged it just in time.
He fired a wrist rocket back at him, collapsing the cave wall onto him from behind.
He rushed to Yinsen and got the debris off of him, revealing he had been shot and choking out blood.
"We got to go. Move for me, come on. We gottta get Laura. We're gonna stick to it." he said urgently.
"This was always the plan, Stark." he revealed.
"Come on, you're gonna go see your family. Get up." he deined.
"My family is dead. I'm going to see them now, Stark. It's okay. I want this. Tell Ms. Watson I'm sorry." Yinsen managed to say.
"Thank you for saving me."
"Don't waste it. Don't waste your life." he closed his eyes one final time.
Tony looked out to the cave entrance where the men were waiting for him and glared at them.
He marched out into the sunlight and all of them began shooting at him.
The bullets once again simply bounced off his suit until they all ran out of ammo.
"My turn." he fired his flamethrowers at them, burning them alive.
He aimed them at all of the Stark weapons and crates of ammo, burning them all too.
He turned around and marched back inside the cave.
He walked down the hall to see Laura crawling with her arms out of it over the rocks.
"Hey, I told you to stay put." he said while opening his face guard.
"Wasn't sure if you'd make it." she argued.
"I told you I'd get you out of here today Laura." he said seriously.
"Well, c'mon." she reached up for his hand.
He took hers and lifted her up to carry her bridal style.
"Where's Yinsen?" she asked with worry.
He simply shook his head no and she frowned with understanding.
They approached the entrance and she saw the leader's body.
"Stop." she ordered.
"What?" he asked confused.
"Just give me a minute." she rolled over and flopped down the ground.
She groaned but crawled over to his body.
She began searching his jacket pockets while Tony waited anxiously.
"Laura c'mon we don't have time."
"Give me a second. It should be here… ah ha!" she found her necklace from one of his inside coat pockets.
"Really?" he sighed while she put it on.
"It's my birth mom's Tony. The only thing I have of my parents." she snapped.
"All right. C'mon. We need to go." he repeated.
"One last thing." she grabbed the pistol that was strapped to his waist and aimed it at his forehead.
She fired two bullets into it and tossed it aside.
"What was that for?" Tony asked confused.
"I wanted to make sure he was dead!" she spat.
He frowned but offered a hand.
She crawled over and climbed into the suit arms.
He marched out of the cave and she blinked her eyes multiple times, getting use to the bright sun after not seeing it for three months.
"Hang on Watson!" he warned.
She tightened her grip around his neck while he ignited the thrusters.
They powered on, sending them high into the sky.
She screamed in terror while they were sent thousands of feet over the mountains.
The thrusters stopped and the two began to free fall as the suit began to come apart.
Laura closed her eyes and braced for impact as the sand dunes approached quickly.
Tony broke her fall but she cried out in agony, hearing several bones snap and break.
"Ow. Ow. Ah! Ah!" she winced in sever pain.
Coughing up spurts of blood that drained down her cheek.
She didn't dare move a muscle, feeling the broken bones while Tony flung the suit pieces off him to look her over.
"Careful Laura. You've got a broken shoulder and arm at best." he warned.
"Figured that much. Ow…" she coughed in pain.
"We gotta get you out of here. There should be a village nearby." he reached for legs and waist carefully and slowly tried to pick her up.
"AH! Tony stop! That won't work Ow!" she yelled as the pain shot through her.
He placed her back down in the sand and took off his jacket.
He used it shield her face from the sun and she looked over at him.
"What are we gonna do?" she frowned.
He was about to respond but the two heard helicopters in the distance.
They went wide eyed at each other while three Air Force helicopters flew over them.
"Hey!" Tony screamed while waving them down.
They landed nearby and Laura just began laughing hysterically.
Tears of joy were streaming down her cheeks and she smiled at Tony.
He smiled back as Rhodey and other soldiers ran up to them.
"Oh my God. Laura." he knelt down next to her, seeing the condition she was in.
"I'm okay Rhodey." she reached for his hand and he took hers into his.
"I'm gonna be okay now…" she closed her eyes blacked out from the severe pain.
The soldiers took her away on a stretcher and Rhodey looked over to Tony.
"How was the "fun-vee?" he joked and Tony smiled.
"Next time you ride with me, okay?"
