The missile flew right through the window at the edge of the cliff and impacted the concrete wall.

The blast sent everyone back violently.

Dust and debris filled the room, engulfing them.

Laura's arms were flinging while Tony gestured his.

The Mark XLVl suit pieces instantly flew towards Pepper among the chaos and attached piece by piece within a second before the three were flung back into the wall.

Laura groaned, hitting her head, hard before landing on the floor.

Three helicopters, one of them with Killian's security guy, were flying from the ocean towards the mansion.

They brought out armed missiles and aimed it at the house.

Laura brought out her spear and looked over to Tony.

He looked back at her while they were laying down and he went wide eyed at it.

Maya was unconscious on her back.

Tony heard the cracks in the roof above him and looked up right before large concrete chunks fell on him.

Laura got up instantly but Pepper rushed above him, using the suit to break them, and opened up the faceguard.

"I got you."

"I got you first. Like I said, we can't stay here." more missiles were fired at the house, one throwing Laura backwards towards the windows.

The floor opened up between her, Tony, and Pepper, crashing onto the workshop below.

Pepper farther inside the house away from the cliff.

She aimed her spear at one of the choppers and her HUD came online on her glasses.

"Get her, I'm gonna find a way around." Tony told Pepper about Maya who hesitated.

"Stop stopping! Get her, get outside! Go!" he shouted.

Pepper grabbed Maya and used the suit to fly them out of the house.

Crashing out to the driveway.

Laura locked on one of the helicopters, her HUD highlighting one in red and fired.

A blast from the tip of the spear was shot towards it and it struck the cockpit.

It began to spiral out of control before crashing into the cliff below them.

The house rocked on its foundation and she turned back to Tony who looked stunned.

"It's kinda a long story…" she said sheepishly.

Seeing him eyeing the spear in her hand.

Missiles were fired at the foundations below them, causing Laura to lose her balance and fall.

She tumbled down the rubble to the workshop below and landed on the roof of her car.

"Ow…" she groaned while laying on her back, still gripping her spear.

She rolled off it and tried getting up.

The house began to lean towards the ocean and she began to slide towards the cliff.

She swung the spear tip into the floor and struck the floor.

"Sir, Ms. Potts is clear of the structure." she heard JARVIS announce.

Machine gun fire pinned her down and she crouched behind one of the support beams at the edge of the wall of windows.

She was crouching but she heard Tony's suit pieces flying towards him.

She brought her spear around and her HUD locked onto the one of the remaining choppers.

She fired but she heard and saw Tony firing the Grand Piano at the same helicopter.

That created a fiery inferno and the chopper tails pinned into the Pacific.

"That works I guess…" she muttered.

Suddenly the whole house began to give way.

She looked over to Dum-E who was panicking but then up but it was too late.

Her car smashed into her, taking her back towards the windows.

She was tumbling out of control as she, hers and Tony's others car fell through the broken glass and over the cliff.

She gripped the spear while free falling right by the cliff hundreds of feet down towards the water.

"Aw man..." she frowned while watching her car sink below the waves.

With a war cry she lunged towards the cliff and struck the spear into it.

Feeling her arms nearly get dislocated from the sudden stop, she cried out in pain while dangling far below.

Still high up from the water.

Her legs swinging but her spear remained firmly struck into the rockface.

She heard the rest of the house collapse into the ocean above and behind her, trying to cover the best she could.

The large chunks of debris fell over her, along with Tony into the ocean.

"Tony!" she screamed in horror.

She watched the helicopter spin around and fly back out to see towards the sunset.


Tony, meanwhile, was desperately trying to free himself from underneath the rubble on the ocean floor.

His helmet flooding with water, fast.

"Sir, take a deep breath." JARVIS said and deactivated his suit had.

It flew upwards and grabbed onto his hand.

It pulled him free and assembled back onto the suit.

"Flight power, restored." JARVIS confirmed and Tony ignited the thrusters.

He flew fast of the ocean, Laura following him with her eyes as he went supersonic behind the helicopter high into the sky.

She frowned, still dangling while gripping the spear and arched her head up.

Seeing hundreds of rocky cliff above her. "I hate rock climbing."


Laura managed to climb the cliff and heaved herself onto the foundation of what was left of Tony's house.

Pepper gasped, and rushed towards her.

She helped her up and the two embraced each other.

Pepper being relieved that her friend was okay.

Laura was calming Pepper down with her worrying about Tony.

"It's gonna be okay, Pepper. I saw him take off. He's alive." she reassured her.

Pepper looked down to the spear on the floor by her feet and Laura followed her eyes.

She picked it up, retracted it back into its handle and strapped it underneath her hoodie.

"Please don't tell anyone about that Pepper." she asked seriously.

"Oh, of course." she promised.

Pepper grabbed her hand comfortingly and she smiled.

"So many good memories here." she remembered fondly.

"You and Tony spent more time in the shop than you did at your old apartment." Pepper smiled and she smiled back.

"It was so simple back then." she said but looked down at her prosthetics.

Feeling her spear attached to her.

The two looked around the smoking, smoldering wreckage that was what was left of the mansion.

Laura turned her head back to Maya who was sitting at the edge of the driveway.

Firetrucks and police cars quickly sped up to the them and she narrowed her eyes at Maya.

"Let's see if we can salvage anything…"


Night had fallen and the house was roped off.

The media descended on them and began reporting in front of the cameras in the driveway.

The fire was put out and the debris was beginning to be cleaned up.

Laura and Pepper tried salvaging some personal belongings of Tony's… and Pepper's.

Placing them in a pile by the front door.

Pepper crouched down and removed a large stone, revealing the heavily damaged Mark XLVl helmet.

Laura stepped aside while she clenched it and leaned her head against the face.

She heard an alarm going off and flipped it over to see it inside the helmet.

Laura watched her put it on and smiled, knowing she was listening to a private message from Tony.

She took it off and she approached her.

"This is what you're gonna do…." she began but whispered into her ear.

"You're gonna ask for a ride from an officer to my house where you will spend the night. You will lock the doors and initiate level threat Gamma on my security system…" she explained but Pepper interrupted her.

"Laura what are you…" she began but she interrupted her.

"The Mandarin is still out there Pepper. Tony would kill me if I didn't keep you safe." she replied.

"And what about you?" Pepper asked with worry.

"I'm gonna have a little chat with Maya Henson. There's something else going on here. Very convenient of her to drop by out of the blue right before The Mandarin blew us up don't you think? So I'm gonna take your car and ask her some questions." she said and Pepper heard the threatening tone in her voice.

"And if she doesn't answer?" she asked back.

"She will." she threatened but unstrapped her spear, took off her necklace and bracelet.

She gave them to Pepper who looked down at them and then up at her.

"Just in case I'm right, which I always am, I don't want these falling into the wrong hands."


After watching Pepper get a ride back down to her house, she took Pepper's Audi to drive Maya home.

She was sitting in passenger seat while they drove down the Pacific Coast highway at night.

Maya herself had a large cut on her forehead.

"Why were you here tonight? I call bullshit that you were here ten minutes before The Mandarin attack so tell the truth if you know what's good for you." Laura said angrily, turning her head to narrow her eyes at her.

She stared right back her.

"I think that my boss is working for the Mandarin. So if you still want to talk about it, I suggest that we get ourselves someplace safe." she warned.

Laura's eyes furrowed in confusion.

"But you're a biologist? Why would The Mandarin…?" she asked and Maya scoffed.

"That figures. What I actually am is a biological DNA coder running a team of forty out of a privately funded think tank, but sure you can call me a botanist." she clarified.

"And who is your boss?" Laura asked her directly.

"Aldrich Killian."


Killian himself, meanwhile, was on the phone with his security guy, Savin.

"Well, we took the house down, sir…" he began.

"Mmhmm."

"But there's no sign of a body." he added.

"I see." Killian replied.

"No Stark." Savin stated.

"And what of her…?" Killian indicated.

"She is on route with Henson." Savin confirmed.

"Well, we can at least salvage something out of this. I have to go." Killian got up from his desk and began to walk out of the office.

"The Master is about to record and he's a little... Well, you know how he gets. Keep your appointment tonight and call me when it's done." Killian hanged up before he walked into a large control room.

Cameras were facing a chair with dog statues on each side. Workers were going over the teleprompters.

"Alright everybody. No talking and no eye contact, unless you wanna get shot in the face." Killian warned.

A convoy of cars approached the mansion.

The Mandarin, shield in his face with his hood walked in with his guards and sat down on the chair.

Two women took off his hood for him.

"Well then. What are we waiting for?"


Across America, everyone's TV's and radios were once again interrupted by a Mandarin Transmission.

Laura was still driving Maya back but it came on her radio.

Her breathing became hitched and she struggled for gasps.

She slammed on the breaks, pulled over to the shoulder and put the car in park while Maya watched her lose control.

On Air Force One, Ellis leaned towards the TV, watching closely along with his staff.

"Mr. President. Only two lessons remain and I intend to finish this before Christmas morning. Meet Thomas Richards." the TV showed Richards laying before The Mandarin at gunpoint.

"Good strong name. Good strong job. Thomas, here, is an accountant for the Roxxon Oil Corporation. But I'm sure he's a really good guy. I'm going to shoot him in the head, live on your television in 30 seconds." The Mandarin threatened.

"No!" Richards cried out.

"The number for this telephone is in your cell phone. Exciting, isn't it, imagining how it got there? America, if your president calls me in the next half-minute, Tom lives. Go!"

"How did he hack my phone?" Ellis asked, showing the number on his screen ready to dial.

"We can't allow terrorists to dictate..." the Chief of Staff warned.

"I have to make this call." Ellis argued.

"I'd strongly advise against that." The Chief of Staff countered.

"This is the right thing to do." Ellis ignored him and dialed the number.

Laura heard the phone ringing over the speakers while she gripped the steering wheel tight.

Rapidly breathing as sweat poured down her forehead.

She gasped and jumped in her seat at the sound of a bullet.

Not noticing Maya slowly reaching her hand for her bag that was at her feet.

"There's just one lesson left, President Ellis. So run away, hide, kiss your children goodbye. Because nothing, not your army, not your red, white, and blue attack dog, can save you. I'll see you soon." the transmission ended.

Laura closed her eyes and began to count backwards from five but felt something being injected into her neck.

She snapped her eyes open instantly to see Maya with a needle in her hand.

A smug smile on her face.

She lunged for her but was losing strength quickly.

Maya dodged her.

"Considering your reputation this was far easier than I thought it was gonna be…" Laura heard Maya's voice while the darkness in her eyes.

Her eyelids grew heavy before she passed out.

Slouching limp towards Maya who looked down at her prosthetics.

"And now for phase two."


Laura groaned, feeling queasy while she slowly came too.

Feeling nauseous, she blinked her eyes multiple times to gain her surroundings.

She tried moving her arms but she felt herself restrained around her neck by metal bars and her arms pinned.

Looking down, she saw that her hoodie was stripped of her, revealing her t shirt.

She also saw that her prosthetics were taken off.

Looking forwards, she saw Maya working at her computer.

"I'm gonna kill you…" she said weakly.

The drug still taking its hold on her.

"See that was what I was expecting." she smiled at her.

Laura looked around, seeing she was in some sort of basement.

"So you work for The Mandarin…? I figured as much." she frowned.

"See, you're injury…. Shattering of the L5 spinal cord from a gunshot wound?" Maya asked while getting up.

Walking right up to her.

Laura narrowed her eyes at.

"Leading to paralysis. But unlike most you did find a… temporary solution." she said while nodding down at her prosthetics.

"What the hell does this have to do with anything?" Laura asked angrily.

"You're aware of Extremis, yes. Killian's think tank has been trying to recode DNA although we've had some… explosive setbacks." Maya sighed and Laura went wide eyed in realization.

"Those bombs are you! They're failed trials!" she said loudly and Maya nodded.

"I'm this close. My life's work is so close to coming to fruition but now you are the key…" Maya said as she walked towards a medical table.

Laura followed her eyes to the large needles neatly arraigned from smallest to largest on it and began to panic.

She began to desperately pry herself free of her restraints desperately but Killian walked through the double doors, getting Maya's attention.

"Is she ready?" he asked Maya.

Laura watched him while still trying to free herself.

"Yes…" Maya walked up behind her and lifted up her shirt to inject the largest hot needle into her scar.

She felt like hot fire was being injected into her.

She cried out at the severe pain and heat.

It was the most severe pain she ever felt.

Killian smirked at her state while her screams filled the room.

"This is going to hurt…"