Chapter 3:
The view changed to show Tony walking out of the plane with the words Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan flashing up on the screen.
Tony walked down the stairs and approached a bald man wearing glasses.
„General," said Tony, holing out his hand.
„Mr. Stark," he said shaking his hand. „I look forward to your weapons presentation."
„Oh, that I want to see," said Pepper.
Tony just looked at her questioningly.
„What? I wasn´t there for that, I never saw it," she said.
The shot changed to show Tony in front of a mountain, beginning with his speech.
„Is it better to be feared or respected? I say," the shot widened. „Is it too much to ask for both? With that in mind, I humbly present the crown jewel of the Stark freedom line." The shot changed to show Rhodey in a US Air Force Uniform.
„It´s the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary Repulsor technology,
They say the best Weapon is the one you never have to fire, I respectfully disagree, I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once. That´s how dad did it, that´s how America does it, and it´s worked out pretty well so far."
„That´s a pretty impressive speech, Stark," said Fury.
„But it´s not done yet," mumbled Rhodey.
"I just came up with it a few minutes before this," said Tony and everyone were impressed.
The shot changed to show Tony gesturing at a missile.
„You let one of these off the chain, and I personally guarantee you the bad men won't even want to come out of their caves."
Tony gave a sign to fire the missile, it focused on the mountains.
It fired and left a trail of white vapor in its wake.
„For your consideration the Jericho," Tony raised his arms.
„You call that the freedom line?" said Erik Selvig, who up until now was silent.
Tony just nodded.
The Jericho opened up to deployed smaller but identical missiles. They flew towards the mountain. The explosions erupted behind him, so hard sending a shockwave towards the soldiers, their hats were knocked back.
„You developed that yourself?" asked Bruce.
Everyone looked impressed and speechless.
„What can I say Genius," said Tony tapping his head trying to sound nonchalant, but inside he was ashamed.
Pepper sensed it and rubbed her hand down his back and said, "It´s ok, Tony."
„Boy, am I glad that you´re on our side," said Fury raising his eyebrow.
The scene changed to show Tony opening up a container, which revealed drinks and glasses.
„I´ll be throwing one of these in with a purchase of 5 million or more.
To peace," he said raising a glass to his lips and taking a sip.
„You call that peace?" asked Steve.
„Back then I did, but that weapon doesn´t exist anymore."
„What do you mean?" asked Jane.
„You will see," was the only thing he responded with.
Tony took out his phone, revealing Obediah Stane in his bed.
„Obie, what are you doing up?" asked onscreen Tony.
Offscreen Tony just shuddered.
„I couldn´t sleep till I found out how it went, How did it go?"
„Went great, looks like it´s gonna be an early Christmas."
„Hey, way to go, my boy," cheered Obediah. „I´ll see you tomorrow, yeah?"
„Why aren't are you wearing those pajamas I gave you?"
„Goodnight Tony," he said ending the call.
„Oh my god, that son of a bitch," Pepper almost screamed.
„What is it Pepper?" asked Tony.
„He ordered it and yet he still said see you tomorrow," she said sounding horrified.
„Yeah, I know, but that´s all in the past now," he said trying to reassure her.
He took her in his arms, kissed her forehead and held her.
The others felt like they were intruding on a private moment.
They have never seen them so open with their feelings.
Tony got into the car and Rhodey appeared at his side.
„Tony," he said.
„I´m sorry this is the fun-vee," said Tony leaning out of the window.
„The hum-drum-vee is back there."
Rhodey just said, „Nice job," and tapped on the door.
The cars were seen driving along a road when suddenly the first one exploded.
The shot changed to show Tony lying on a gurney. Some men operated on his chest, and he lay there screaming as they put a metal cylinder in his chest.
Only then did they knock him unconscious with a cloth over his mouth.
Everyone was speechless. Only Bruce said something.
„They operated on you? Without antiseptic? Are they crazy?"
„They´re terrorists they want to inflict as much pain as they can," said Tony.
„Why didn´t you tell me about that," asked Pepper raising her head from his chest.
„I didn´t want to worry you." Was the only thing he said.
The shot changed to show Tony waking up with a tube up his nose and obviously disoriented. He tugged on the tube and pulled it out of his nose, and it was very very long and kind of disgusting.
„Ewww, that´s disgusting," said Darcy, shuddering.
„How do you think it felt for me?" answered Tony.
He tried to reach over for a cup of water but knocked it to the ground. Only then did he notice a man looking in a mirror shaving his beard, and whistling a tune. Tony tried to reach for something but was stopped by a wire.
„I wouldn´t do that if I were you," said the man.
The shot changed to show a car battery attached to Tony.
Tony ripped open his bandages and saw what they did to him.
„Oh My God," Bruce said sounding horrified. „The amount of rust on that metal could have killed you."
But Tony didn´t say anything he just stared straight ahead.
The shot changed to show the man cooking something over a fire.
Tony sat on his cot and looked at his chest with a mirror.
„What the hell did you do to me?" he asked sounding slightly out of breath.
„What I did?" the man said chuckling. „What I did was to save your life. I removed all the shrapnel I could, but there´s a lot left and it´s heading to your atrial septum."
„His what?" asked Darcy.
„His heart," Bruce and Betty said simultaneously.
„Here. Wanna see? I have a souvenir. Take a look," he said tossing a glass bottle with metal shards to Tony.
„I´ve seen many wounds like that in my village. We call them the walking dead."
„Oh, I love that show," said Darcy and Clint.
They looked over at each other and smiled.
Natasha slapped Clint on the head and said, „Would you be a little more considerate? That´s a life and death situation."
„Sorry."
„Because it takes about a week for the shards to reach the vital organs."
„What is this?" asked Tony.
„That is an electromagnet," the man replied. „Hooked up to a car battery, and it´s keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart, Mh."
Tony zipped up his hoodie and noticed a camera in the corner.
„That´s right smile. We met once you know, at a technical conference in Bern."
„I don´t remember," said Tony.
„No you wouldn´t, if I had been that drunk, I wouldn´t have been able to stand, much less give a lecture on integrated circuits."
„Oh, I remember that night, Newyears Eve, 1999," said Tony.
„Why do you remember it now and not then?" asked Cap.
„I was disoriented in that moment, but now I remember it," responded Tony.
Suddenly there was someone at the door yelling a word in a different language.
„C´mon stand up, stand up. Do as I do."
The door opened to reveal three men, two of them had guns in the hand.
„These are my guns, how did they get my guns?"
The man in the middle said something and gestured to the man beside Tony.
He translated. „He sais welcome Tony Stark the most famous mass murder in the history of America, he´s honored he wants you to build the missile, the Jericho missile that you demonstrated." the terrorist handed a piece of parchment.
„That one."
Tony considered it before saying, „I refuse," and throwing his full weight behind his glare.
„YOU DON´T SAY THAT TO A FUCKING TERRORIST, STARK," yelled Fury at the top of his lungs.
Tony just sat there and weakly said, „I know that now, too."
The shot changed to show Tony´s head shoved under the water. He became a shock from the electromagnet, and you could hear Pepper yelling Tony in the background.
„You heard me?" asked Pepper astounded.
„I never stopped thinking about you while I was there," he responded, kissing her.
Pepper was the only one that could stop him from having a panic attack.
They led him out of the cave with a bag over his head.
They came to the mouth of the cave, where the sun was shining.
They pulled the bag from his head and the sun blinded him, and he could see a camp with a lot of terrorists. Everywhere he could see was weapons from Stark Industries.
„He wants to know what you think," said the man.
„I think he got a lot of my weapons," said Tony looking at the terrorist.
The man translated it.
„He sais they have everything you need to build the Jericho. He wants you to make the list of materials, he says for you to start working immediately, and when you´re done he will set you free."
Tony took the hand of the terrorist, smiled, and said, „No he won´t."
The man confirmed, „No, he won´t."
But the terrorist just grinned at Tony.
The shot changed to show a man on a hill twirling a ring around his finger. He was obviously the leader of the group.
„Are you really building it?" asked Steve.
„No of course not. I´m...building something else," he just said without an explanation.
The scene changed back to inside where Tony was sitting in front of a fire.
„I´m sure they´re looking for you," said the man. „But they would never find you in these mountains. Look what you just saw, that is your legacy, Stark. Your life´s work, in the hands of those murderers. Is that how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great Tony Stark. Or are you going to do something about it?" He finished.
"Oh Tony," Pepper said, feeling bad for him.
He just took her hand in his and let himself be comforted by her presence.
„I shouldn´t do anything, they´re gonna kill me, you, either way. And if they don´t I´ll probably be dead in a week," Tony responded.
„Well then, this is a very important week for you, isn´t it?" said the man.
The view changed to show the terrorists weapons and tools into the cave.
„If this is gonna be my workstation, I want it well lit, I want all of these tools. Welding gear, I don´t care if it´s acetylene or propane. I need a soldering station, I need helmets, I need goggles, I would like a smelting cup. I need two sets of precision tools."
The scene showed a Stark Industries missile lying on a table. Tony unscrewed the top of the missile wearing gloves.
„How many languages do you speak?" asked Tony.
„A lot. Apparently not enough for this place. They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, Russian," responded the man.
„That is a lot of languages," said Darcy.
„Who are these people?" asked Tony.
„They are your loyal customers, Sir. They call themselves the ten rings."
The view changes to show a few terrorists watching them work on a monitor.
„You know we might be more productive if you include me in the planning process."
Tony just said,"Yeah?" and pulled apart a missile
The scene changed to show Tony sitting at a desk, „Don´t need this." Throwing something behind him.
„What is that?" asked the man.
„Palladium," he said holding something with his tweezers. „0.15 grams. We need at least 1.6, so why don´t you break down the other eleven.2
The terrorists watching them asked,"What are they doing?" „Working," responded the other one.
Tony mixed something together in a bowl and melted something in the fire.
„Steady, steady. We only have one shot at this," said Tony nervously.
„Relax, I have steady hands, why do you think you´re still alive?"
„What do I call you?" asked Tony.
„My name is Yinsen."
„It´s nice to meet you."
„Nice to meet you too."
„You waited this long to exchange names?" asked Pepper.
„The opportunity never came up before that."
Tony took the ring of palladium out of the bowl and laid it on a piece of glass.
He was seen doing something with welding gear. Tony continued working and soon the familiar blue glow of the arc reactor lit up the room.
„Oh my god, I knew you were a genius, but that´s insane how did you do it?" asked Bruce.
„I just did it," he responded.
„Just like that?" asked Maria.
„Yup."
„That doesn't look like a Jericho," asked Yinsen.
„That´s because it´s a miniaturized arc reactor, I got a big one powering my factory back home. This´ll keep the shrapnel out of my heart."
„What could it generate?"
„If my math is right and it always is, three gigajoules per second."
„That could run your heart for 50 lifetimes."
„Or something big for 15 minutes," Tony responded throwing some papers on a table.
„This is our ticket out of here," said Tony.
„What is it?" asked Yinsen.
„Flatten them out and look."
Tony did it and Yinsen could see the first Iron Man suit.
„Impressive," he whispered.
„The Reactor and the Suit?" asked everyone who didn´t already know, astounded.
"What can I say, Geni-," but Natasha didn´t let him finish. She walked over to Tony held her Hand over his mouth and said,
"If you say genius one more time I will haunt your dreams forever, clear?"
Tony just went along with it and nodded, knowing she was only kidding.
I hope you liked that little Natasha and Tony interaction at the end. And because of Thor Ragnarok, I will add that to the first chapter. But I don´t know if I should add other characters, comment on who I should add. I was thinking of probably adding Bucky, Sharon Carter and Sam Willson when it´s time to watch Winter Soldier. Let me know what you think.