He's gone but they have me

by jacquisup

What if Bucky didn't fall? Would he be able to survive being by himself? Or would he have someone to look after?

2. Iron who?

At Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.

"General." Tony said.

"Welcome, Mr. Stark. We look forward to your weapons presentation." General said.

"Thanks."

Tony was giving his presentation in the desert of Afghanistan.

"Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both? With that in mind, I humbly present the crown jewel of Stark Industries' Freedom Line. It's the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary repulsor technology. They say the best weapon is 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. Find an excuse to let one of these off the chain, and I personally guarantee you the bad guys won't even want to come out of their caves." Tony said and the missiles got launched. "For your consideration, the Jericho." he said and the missiles exploded.

"I'll be throwing one of these in with every purchase of 500 million or more. To peace!" Tony said opening a cooler full of alcohol and his phone started ringing.

"Tony." Obadiah said through the video chat.

"Obie, what are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep till I found out how it went. How'd it go?"

"It went great. Looks like it's gonna be an early Christmas."

"Hey! Way to go, my boy! I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Why aren't you wearing those pajamas I got you?"

"Good night, Tony." Obadiah said and Tony hung up the call as he entered the military vehicle.

"Hey, Tony." Rhodey said coming up to the vehicle Tony's in.

"I'm sorry, this is the "fun-vee." The "hum-drum-vee" is back there." Tony said.

"Nice job."

"See you back at base."

In the middle of a dessert in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. A convoy drove of in the dessert playing "Back in Black" by AC/DC.

In the armored car Tony and the soldiers were quiet, then they started talking.

"I feel like you're driving me to a court-martial. This is crazy. What did I do? I feel like you're going to pull over and snuff me. What, you're not allowed to talk? Hey, Forrest!" Tony said.

"We can talk, sir." a soldier said.

"Oh, I see. So it's personal?"

"No, you intimidate them." a female soldier said driving the Vehicle.

"Good God, you're a woman. I honestly... I couldn't have called that. I mean, I'd apologize, but isn't that what we're going for here? I thought of you as a soldier first."

"I'm an airman."

"Well you have, actually, excellent bone structure, there. I'm kind of having a hard time not looking at you now. Is that weird?" he said and the Soldiers in the vehicle laughed and chuckled. "Come on, it's okay, laugh."

"Sir, I have a question to ask." another soldier said.

"Yes, please."

"Is it true you went 12 for 12 with last year's Maxim cover models?"

"That is an excellent question. Yes and no. March and I had a scheduling conflict, but fortunately, the Christmas cover was twins. Anything else?" Tony said and the Soldier next to him, Jimmy, raised his hand. "You're kidding me with the hand up, right?"

"Is it cool if I take a picture with you?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes. It's very cool." [Tony said and the soldier next to him pulled his camera out and handed it to the soldier in the front seat. "I don't want to see this on your MySpace page." he said and the Soldier put up a peace sign for the photo. "Please, no gang signs. No, throw it up. I'm kidding. Yeah, peace. I love peace. I'd be out of a job with peace."

"Come on. Hurry up. Just click it. Don't change any settings. Just click it."

As the picture was about to be taken, something hit and blew up the vehicle in front of them. Gunshots and such were heard and hitting the side of their vehicle.

"What's going on?" Tony asked.

"Contact left!" a female soldier said.

"What have we got?" he asked and the driver stepped out to go into combat and was shot down.

"Jimmy, stay with Stark!" another soldier said.

"Stay down!" Jimmy said.

"Yeah." Tony said and the

Then the other Soldier from the front seat got out to shoot but was shot too.

"Son of a bitch!" Jimmy said and went out to fight.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Give me a gun!"

"Stay here!" Jimmy said, turned back around and was gunned down too, holes piercing the vehicle.

Tony's hearing and senses were dulled a bit as he got himself out of the vehicle, stumbling a bit in the chaos. He got some of his hearing back, ran and dove behind a rock for cover. Then he pulled out his phone to contact and call for help when a bomb landed next to him. He looked over to see it say: Stark Industries and tried to get up and get away, but didn't in time. The bomb exploded and made him fly through the air a bit.

"Whoa!" he said and hit the ground hard, senses dulled again.

Then he felt a pain in his chest and pulled his shirt of out the way as blood started to pool.

Later Tony was shown kidnapped by an unknown terrorist group and there was a man reciting in Urdu about his kidnapping.

Meanwhile Bucky was at home and had just gotten out of the shower after a run when there was a fast knock on the door.

"Calm down! I'll be there in a second!" he said. "Jeez." he said and opened the door to find a worried Rhodey. "Rhodey? What's wrong?"

"Tony's missing!" Rhodey said.

"WHAT?!"

"I know you retired but we need your help." Rhodey said and Bucky nodded.

So for the first time in five years he grabbed his his suit and was as Winter Soldier.

When he was done he looked at himself in the mirror and went to Rhodey.

"I'll find him. Don't worry." Winter Soldier said and Rhodey nodded.

Then they left and Winter Soldier went to find Tony.

People from SHIELD knew he would do anything for Tony and relived he was going to find him.

Replay of the attack in the first scene mixed with Tony have surgery and screaming. Tony wakes up suddenly with a tube up his nose, laying on a cot in a cave. He rips out the tube and tries to pick up a cup on the table beside him, but fails. He notices a man shaving and tries to reach further but is stopped by wires.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Yinsen said.

Tony realized he's connected to a battery and ripped off the bandages over his chest to see an electromagnet inside his chest.

Later Yinsen and Tony were sitting by a small fire. Yinsen was making food while Tony was using a mirror to look at his chest.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Tony asked.

"What I did? What I did is to save your life. I removed all the shrapnel I could, but there's a lot left, and it's headed into your atrial septum. Here, want to see?" Yinsen said and pulled out a bottle of shrapnel. "I have a souvenir. Take a look." he said and tossed the bottle to him. "I've seen many wounds like that in my village. We call them the walking dead because it takes about a week for the barbs to reach the vital organs."

"What is this?"

"That is an electromagnet, hooked up to a car battery, and it's keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart. Hmm?" Yinsen said while Tony zipped up the jacket he's wearing and looked at the camera on the ceiling. "That's right. Smile. We met once, you know, at a technical conference in Bern."

"I don't remember."

"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."

"Where are we?"

Loud voices sound from the another side of the metal door as they open it.

"Come on, stand up. Stand up! Just do as I do. Come on, put your hands up." Yinsen said.

Then men walked in with guns.

"Those are my guns. How did they get my guns?" Tony said.

"Do you understand me? Do as I do." Yinsen said and a man started speaking in Arabic so he translated for him. "He says, "Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer "in the history of America."" he said and the man spoke in Arabic. "He is honored." he said and the man speaks in Arabic. "He wants you to build the missile." he said and the man spoke in Arabic. "The Jericho missile that you demonstrated." he said and a man spoke in Arabic, handing him a picture of the Jericho missile. "This one."

"I refuse."

Then he was with his head in a large thing of water. Flashes of himself and the electromagnet in his chest were shown.

"Tony!" Pepper said as a voice in his head as he tried not to drown.

The men pull him out, put a bag over his head, and escort him out of the cave. Tony saw a lot of men, tents, and his guns. The same man speaking Arabic before spoke again.

"He wants to know what you think." Yinsen said.

"I think you got a lot of my weapons." Tony said.

Yinsen translated his words into Arabic and the same man speaking Arabic responded.

"He says they have everything you need to build the Jericho missile. He wants you to make the list of materials." Yinsen said and the man said Arabic again. "He says for you to start working immediately, and when you're done, he will set you free."

"No, he won't." Tony said shaking the Arabic man's hand.

"No, he won't."

"I'm sure they're looking for you, Stark. But they will 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?" Yinsen asked sitting around a small fire in the cave with Tony.

"Why should I do anything? They're going to kill me, you, either way. And if they don't, I'll probably be dead in a week." Tony said.

"Well, then, this is a very important week for you, isn't it? Hm?"

"If this is going to be my work station, I want it well-lit. I want these up. I need welding gear. I don't care if it's acetylene or propane. I need a soldering station. I need helmets. I'm gonna need goggles. I would like a smelting cup. I need two sets of precision tools." Tony said directing the men to where to put things while Yinsen's translating. "How many languages do you speak?" he said and they started taking apart the weapons.

"A lot. But apparently, not enough for this place. They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, Russian."

"Who are these people?"

"They are your loyal customers, sir. They call themselves the Ten Rings." Yinsen said and the men of the Ten Rings were watching Tony and Yinsen work on a TV. "You know, we might be more productive if you include me in the planning process.

"Uh-huh." Tony said and pulled apart a missile. "Okay, we don't need this."

"What is that?"

"That's palladium, 0.15 grams. We need at least 1.6, so why don't you go break down the other 11?"

"What's he doing?" Man 1 asked in Arabic.

"Working." man 2 said in Arabic.

Tony and Yinsen were working on something. Yinsen was pulling something out of the fire.

"Careful. Careful, we only get one shot at this." Tony said.

"Relax. I have steady hands. Why do you think you're still alive?

"What do I call you?

"My name is Yinsen.

"Yinsen. Nice to meet you.

"Nice to meet you, too." Yinsen said and Tony put together a device while he watched. "Whoa. That doesn't look like a Jericho missile."

"That's because it's a miniaturized arc reactor. I got a big one powering my factory at home. It should keep the shrapnel out of my heart."

"But 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."

"Yeah. Or something big for 15 minutes."

"This is our ticket out of here." Tony said looking at sheets of paper.

"What is it?" Yinsen asked.

"Flatten them out and look." Tony said and Yinsen flattened the sheets out to see a drawing of a metal suit.

"Oh, wow. Impressive."

Security footage showed that the arc reactor was successfully put in Tony, allowing him more freedom of movement without having to carry the car battery around.

Tony and Yinsen were playing a game.

"Good. Good roll. Good roll." Yinsen said.

"You still haven't told me where you're from." Tony said.

"I'm from a small town called Gulmira. It's actually a nice place."

"Got a family?"

"Yes, and I will see them when I leave here. And you, Stark?"

"No."

"No? So you're a man who has everything and nothing."

Then the men of the Ten Rings came to the door, armed. They open the hatch to see them working before turning around and leaving. Shows Tony welding metal together, while the Ten Rings watch the cameras and compare what he's creating with the Jericho picture.

"It doesn't look anything like the picture." Man 1 said in Arabic.

"Maybe it's been modified." man 2 said in Arabic.

"The tail is wrong."

"It's just backwards."

The head of the Ten Rings, Raza, watched Tony and Yinsen test out one of the legs of the suit. He and his men go visit Tony and Yinsen.

"Relax." Raza said motioning for the two men to remove their hands from above their heads. They do so as he came up and inspected Tony's arc reactor. "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. "Why have you failed me?" he asked in Urdu as he stared down Tony.

"We're working. Diligently." Yinsen said in Urdu.

Raza turned and walked toward Yinsen.

"I let you live. This is how you repay me?" he said in Urdu.

"It's very complex. He's trying very hard."

"On his knees." Razar commanded his men in Urdu while Yinsen was forced to his knees. "You think I'm a fool? I'll get the truth." he said in Urdu as he took a coal from the dying fire.

"We're both working."

"Open your mouth."

"What does he want?" Tony asked.

"You think I'm a fool? What's going on? Tell me the truth." Raza said in Urdu and forced Yinsen's head to lay on the table.

"He's building your Jericho. He's building your Jericho." Yinsen said in Urdu.

"What do you want? A delivery date?" Tony said and tried to go towards Raza and Yinsen but the other men pull their guns on him. "I need him. Good assistant."

"You have till tomorrow to assemble my missile."

Tony was hammering the helmet of the suit to shape it. He cooled it in water before setting on the table in front of Yinsen. Tony was shown wrapping his hands up and Yinsen lifting the suit up. Yinsen helped Tony suit up.

"Okay? Can you move? Okay, say it again." Yinsen said.

"41 steps straight ahead. Then 16 steps, that's from the door, fork right, 33 steps, turn right." Tony said.

Raza noticed on the security screens that Tony can't be seen.

"Where is Stark?" he asked in Arabic.

"He was here a moment ago." a man said in Arabic.

"Go look for him." Raza said and the men rush to the cell.

"Yinsen! Yinsen! Stark!"

"Say something. Say something back to him." Tony said.

"He's speaking Hungarian. I don't..." Yinsen said.

"Then speak Hungarian."

"Okay. I know."

"What do you know?"

The men were shouting through the door while Yinsen was shouting something back at them. The door was shown to have an explosive on it. The men try to open the door, only for it to explode. Raza watched this all on camera and orders his men down there.

"How'd that work?" Tony asked.

"Oh, my goodness. It worked all right." Yinsen said.

"That's what I do."

"Let me finish this."

"Initialize the power sequence."

"Okay."

"Now!"

"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."

"I have it."

"Press Control "l"."

""I.""

""I." "Enter.""

"Got it."

""l" and "Enter." Come over here and button me up."

"Okay. All right."

"Every other hex bolt."

"They're coming!"

"Nothing pretty, just get it done. Just get it done."

"They're coming."

"Make sure the checkpoints are clear before you follow me out, okay?"

"We need more time. Hey, I'm gonna go buy you some time."

"Stick to the plan! Stick to the plan!" Tony said and Yinsen ran out of the cave with a gun from one of the dead men. "Yinsen! Yinsen!" he said and watched the progress bar move while Yinsen aimlessly shot the cave walls as he ran, scarring the men.

Yinsen was stopped when he reached the mouth of the cave and a group of men. The progress bar finished loading, causing the lights to dim, and the suit to be powered. More men arrived in the cave to get Tony. Then Tony attacked them using the suit. On his way out of the cave, he attacked more of the men. Raza waited at the mouth of the cave. Then Tony arrived to see Yinsen had been shot.

"Yinsen!"

"Watch out!" Yinsen said and Raza tried to shoot at Tony but missed so Tony shot back, hitting the wall behind Raza, causing a mini explosion and knocking Raza out. "Stark."

"Come on." Tony said and opened his helmet. "We got to go. Move for me, come on. We got a plan. We're gonna stick to it."

"This was always the plan, Stark."

"Come on, you're gonna go see your family. Get up."

"My family is dead. I'm going to see them now, Stark. It's okay. I want this. I want this."

"Thank you for saving me."

"Don't waste it. Don't waste your life." Yinsen said and died.

Tony turned angry. There were men waiting outside of the mouth of the cave and shot at him in the suit, but didn't do any damage.

"My turn." Tony said and shot fire at the men and their camp from his suit. The men kept shooting at him, beginning to cause damage to the suit. He flipped a suit and shot up in the air. He screamed as he fell into the sand on the other side of the mountains. Then the suit broke when he landed. Not bad.""

Later he wondering through the desert, exhausted when Military helicopters flew up from behind him.

"Hey!" he said waving down the helicopters. "Hey!"

As one of the helicopters landed, he collapsed to his knees, holding up a peace sign. Then Winter Soldier and a few men came running up to him from the helicopter.

"Tony!" Winter Soldier said and gave him a hug. "You OK?" he asked and Tony nodded.

"Yeah." Tony said.

"Good." Winter Soldier said.

"So how was the "fun-vee" I heard about? Next time, you ride with me or Rhodey, got it?" he said and Tony smiled and nodded. "Good. Let's get you out of here."

At California Military Base a giant plane had just landed. Medical, Happy, Rhodey and Pepper were waiting there. The ramp lowered and Winter Soldier helped Tony down.

"Watch it, coming up here." Winter Soldier said.

"Are you kidding me with this? Get rid of them." Tony said and walked up to Pepper. "Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?"

"Tears of joy. I hate job hunting." Pepper said.

"Yeah, vacation's over." he said and they got into the car.

"Where to, sir?" Happy asked.

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy." Pepper said.

"No."

"Tony." Winter Soldier said.

"No? Tony, you have to go to the hospital." Pepper said.

"No is a complete answer." Tony said.

"The doctor has to look at you."

"I don't have to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger, and the other..."

"That's enough of that." Winter Soldier said.

"...is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now."

"Call for a press conference?"

"Yeah."

"What on earth for?" Pepper asked.

"Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."

'As if Steve wasn't bad enough.' Winter Soldier thought.

Happy was driving them up to Stark Industries HQ, where Obadiah was waiting with the press and their employees.

"Look at this! Tony. We were going to meet at the hospital." Obadiah said.

"No, I'm fine." Tony said.

"Not in my opinion." Winter Soldier muttered.

"Look at you! You had to have a burger, yeah?" Obadiah said. "And Agent Barnes!"

"Hey."

"Well, come on." Tony said.

"You get me one of those?" Obadiah asked.

"There's only one left. I need it."

"Hey, look who's here! Yeah!"

"Miss Potts?" Coulson said.

"Yes." Pepper said.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"I'm not part of the press conference, but it's about to begin right now."

"I'm not a reporter. I'm Agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." he said and noticed Winter Soldier. "Agent Barnes." he said and Winter Soldier waved.

"Hey." Winter Soldier said.

"That's quite a mouthful." Pepper said.

"I know. We're working on it." Coulson said.

"You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA..."

"We're a separate division with a more specific focus. We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape."

"I'll put something in the book, shall I?"

"Thank you."

"Well, let's get this started, uh..." Obadiah said.

"Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down?" Tony asked sitting in front of the podium. "Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can... A little less formal and..." he said and took a bite of his cheeseburger as everyone sat, or squat, down.

"What's up with the love-in?" Rhodey asked.

"Don't look at me. I don't know what he's up to." Pepper said.

"Same here." Winter Soldier said.

"Good to see you." Rhodey said.

"Good to see you." Obadiah said.

"I never got to say goodbye to Dad. I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels. I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

"Mr. Stark!" Reporters said.

"Hey, Ben."

"What happened over there?" Ben asked.

"I had my eyes opened." Tony said, stood and moved behind the podium. "I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International" Tony said and everyone stood up in commotion. "until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be."

Winter Soldier stood there in shock.

'This will be interesting.' he thought.

"I think we're gonna be selling a lot of newspapers." Obadiah said standing up beside him.

'You can say that again.' Winter Soldier thought.

"What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well." Tony said and left the stage.

"What we should take away from this is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever. We're going to have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with the follow-up." Obadiah said on a Segway, riding up to one of the Stark buildings with Happy leaning against a car outside. "Where is he?"

"He's inside." Happy said and Obadiah went inside to find Tony looking at the giant arc reactor and Winter Soldier next to him.

"Well, that... uh... That went well."

"Did I just paint a target on the back of my head?" Tony asked and Winter Soldier chuckled.

"Your head? What about my head? What do you think the over-under on the stock drop is gonna be tomorrow?"

"Uh, optimistically, 40 points."

"At minimum."

"Yep."

"Tony, we're a weapons manufacturer." Obadiah said. "Bucky should know after working with Howard in the beginning!"

"Don't bring me into this." Winter Soldier said.

"Obie, I just don't want a body count to be our only legacy." Tony said.

"That's what we do. We're iron mongers. We make weapons."

"It's my name on the side of the building."

"And what we do keeps the world from falling into chaos."

"Not based on what I saw. We're not doing a good enough job. We can do better. We're gonna do something else."

"Like what? You want us to make baby bottles?"

"I think we should take another look into arc reactor technology."

"Ah, come on. The arc reactor, that's a publicity stunt! Tony, come on. We built that thing to shut the hippies up."

"It works."

"Yeah, as a science project. The arc was never cost effective. We knew that before we built it. Arc reactor technology, that's a dead end, right?"

"Maybe."

"Huh? Am I right? We haven't had a breakthrough in that in what? Thirty years."

"That's what they say. Could you have a lousier poker face? Just tell me, who told you?"

"Never mind who told me. Show me."

"It's Rhodey, Bucky or Pepper."

"I want to see it."

"Okay, Bucky." Tony said and opened his shirt to show Obadiah the reactor in his chest.

"Okay." Obadiah said and started buttoning Tony's shirt back up.

"Okay? It works."

"Listen to me, Tony. We're a team. Do you understand? There's nothing we can't do if we stick together, like your father and I."

"I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads-up, okay? But if I had..."

"Tony. Tony, no more of this "ready, fire, aim" business. You understand me?"

"That was Dad's line."

"It really was." Winter Soldier said.

"You gotta let me handle this. We're gonna have to play a whole different kind of ball now. We're going to have to take a lot of heat. I want you to promise me that you're gonna lay low." Obadiah said.

Pepper and Bucky were at Stark Mansion watching the news.

Now that Tony is back Bucky had put his suit back in his closet and hopped he didn't need it anymore.

"Stark Industries! I've got one recommendation! Ready? Ready? Sell, sell, sell! Abandon ship! Does the Hindenburg ring any bells? Let me show you the new Stark Industries business plan! Look, that's a weapons company that doesn't make weapons!" a newscaster said.

"Pepper. How big are your hands?" Tony asked over the intercoms.

"What?" Pepper asked.

"How big are your hands?"

"I don't understand why..."

"Get down here. I need you." he said and she and Bucky entered the workshop to find him lying shirtless on a chair. "Hey. Let's see them. Show me your hands. Let's see them." he said and Pepper held up her hands as she came closer. "Oh, wow. They are small. Very petite, indeed. I just uh... need your help for a sec."

"What are you doing?" Bucky asked confused.

"Oh, my God, is that the thing that's keeping you alive?" Pepper asked.

"It was. It is now an antique. This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future. I'm swapping it up for an upgraded unit, and I just ran into a little speed bump."

"Speed bump, what does that mean?"

"It's nothing. It's just a little snag. There's an exposed wire under this device. And it's contacting the socket wall and causing a little bit of a short. It's fine." he said and pulled out the old device, handing it to her.

"What do you want me to do?

"Put that on the table over there. That is irrelevant."

"Oh, my God!" she said setting the old reactor on the table.

"I want you to reach in, and you're just gonna gently lift the wire out."

"Is it safe?"

"Yeah, it should be fine. It's like Operation. You just don't let it touch the socket wall or it goes "beep.""

"What do you mean, "Operation"?"

"It's just a game, never mind. Just gently lift the wire."

"Okay."

"Okay? Great."

"You know, I don't think that I'm qualified to do this."

"No, you're fine. You're the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I've ever met. You're gonna do great. Is it too much of a problem to ask? 'Cause I'm..."

"Okay, okay."

"I really need your help here."

"Okay." she said and slid her hand into the hole in his chest. "Oh, there's pus!"

"Oh gross!" Bucky said.

"It's not pus. It's an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device, not from my body." Tony said.

"It smells!" Pepper said.

"Yeah, it does. The copper wire. The copper wire, you got it?"

"Okay, I got it! I got it!"

"Okay, you got it? Now, don't let it touch" he said and she let it touch the side. "the sides when you're coming out!"

"Tony!" Bucky said.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Pepper said.

"That's what I was trying to tell you before. Okay, now make sure that when you pull it out, that you don't..." he said and she pulled out the wire with the magnet attached and the medical equipment started beeping. "There's a magnet at the end of it! That was it. You just pulled it out."

"Oh, God!"

"Okay, I was not expecting..."

"Okay, what do I do?"

"Don't put it back in! Don't put it back in!"

"What's wrong?" Bucky asked.

"Nothing, I'm just going into cardiac arrest-"

"What? You said it was safe!"

"'cause you yanked it out like a trout... We gotta hurry. Take this. Take this. You gotta switch it out really quick."

"Okay. Okay. Tony?"

"What?"

"It's going to be okay. Okay?"

"Is it?"

"It's gonna be okay. I'm gonna make this okay."

"Let's hope. Okay, you're gonna attach that to the base plate. Make s-sure you..." he said and screams went it attached. "Was that so hard? That was fun, right? Here, I got it. I got it. Here. Nice."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I feel great. You okay?"

"Don't ever, ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again."

"Or me." Bucky said.

"I don't have anyone but you. Anyway..." Tony said and ripped on the wires off and stood up.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Pepper asked holding his old reactor.

"That? Destroy it. Incinerate it."

"You don't want to keep it?"

"Pepper, I've been called many things. "Nostalgic" is not one of them."

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"That will be all, Miss Potts." he said then turned to talk to his robot while eyeing her as she walked away. "Hey, Butterfingers, come here. What's all this stuff doing on top of my desk? That's my phone, that's a picture of me and my dad. Right there. In the garbage. All that stuff."

Bucky looked at him a little worried about this and decided to keep a close eye on him.

At Air Force Base Rhodey was guiding a group of people through the hanger.

"The future of air combat. Is it manned or unmanned? I'll tell you, in my experience, no unmanned aerial vehicle will ever trump a pilot's instinct, his insight, that ability to look into a situation beyond the obvious and discern its outcome, or a pilot's judgment." Rhodey said.

"Colonel? Why not a pilot without the plane?" Tony asked.

"Look who fell out of the sky. Mr. Tony Stark."

"Hello, sir." a man said.

"Speaking of manned or unmanned, you gotta get him to tell you about the time he guessed wrong at spring break. Just remember that, spring break, 1987. That lovely lady you woke up with."

"Don't do that!" Rhodey said.

"What was his name?"

"Don't do that."

"Was it Ivan?"

"Don't do that. They'll believe it."

"Okay.""

"Don't do that."

"Okay."

"Don't do that."

"Pleasure meeting you."

"Give us a couple minutes, you guys." Rhodey said and the group walked off. "I'm surprised."

"Why?"

"I swear, I didn't expect to see you walking around so soon."

"I'm doing a little better than walking."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Rhodey, I'm working on something big. I came to talk to you. I want you to be a part of it."

"You're about to make a whole lot of people around here real happy, 'cause that little stunt at the press conference, that was a doozy."

"This is not for the military. I'm not... It's different."

"What? You're a humanitarian now or something?"

"I need you to listen to me."

"No. What you need is time to get your mind right. I'm serious."

"Okay."

"It's nice seeing you, Tony." Rhodey said and walked off.

"Thanks."

Tony was in his workshop, working on his computer and hologram table.

"JARVIS, you up?" Tony asked.

"For you, sir, always." Jarvis said.

"I'd like to open a new project file, index as Mark Two."

"Shall I store this on the Stark Industries Central Database?"

"Actually, I don't know who to trust right now. Till further notice, why don't we just keep everything on my private server?"

"Working on a secret project, are we, sir?"

"I don't want this winding up in the wrong hands. Maybe in mine, it can actually do some good."

Men from the Ten Rings were searching the desert for Tony's suit and saw the part of Raza's face was burned.

Tony was working on a boot for the new suit in his workshop and his robot, Dum-E, was assisting him.

"Next. Up. Not in the boot, Dummy. Right here. You got me? Stay put. Nice. You're of no benefit at all. Move down to the toe. I got this. Okay, I'm sorry, am I in your way? Up. Screw it. Don't even move. You are a tragedy." Tony said.

Tony was wearing the boots in his workshop for a test flight. One of the robots was filming it, while Dummy was in charge of the fire extinguisher.

"Okay, let's do this right. Start mark, half a meter, and back and center. Dummy, look alive. You're on standby for fire safety. You, roll it. Okay. Activate hand controls. We're gonna start off nice and easy. We're gonna see if 10% thrust capacity achieves lift. And three, two, one." Tony said, immediately flung back and hit the upper wall.

Dummy used the fire extinguisher on him. Tony was then seen working on flight stabilizers for his hands/arms. While he's working, Pepper came in with a wrapped box and a cup of something.

"Up two. All right, set that."

"I've been buzzing you. Did you hear the intercom?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah, everything's... What?" he said still distracted with the flight stabilizer.

"Obadiah's upstairs."

"Great!

"What would you like me to tell him?"

"Great. I'll be right up.

"Okay. I thought you said you were done making weapons."

"It is. This is a flight stabilizer. It's completely harmless." he said and the stabilizer shot, flinging him backwards and scaring her. "I didn't expect that." he said then came up stairs to find Obadiah playing the piano and Pepper working on the couch. "How'd it go? It went that bad, huh?"

"Just because I brought pizza back from New York doesn't mean it went bad." Obadiah said still playing the piano.

"Sure doesn't. Oh, boy."

"It would have gone better if you were there."

"Uh-huh. You told me to lay low. That's what I've been doing. I lay low, and you take care of all..."

"Hey, come on. In public. The press." Obadiah said and came over to sit next to Tony. "This was a board of directors meeting."

"This was a board of directors meeting?"

"The board is claiming you have post-traumatic stress. They're filing an injunction."

"A what?"

"They want to lock you out."

"Why, 'cause the stocks dipped 40 points? We knew that was gonna happen."

"Fifty-six and a half." Pepper said.

"It doesn't matter. We own the controlling interest in the company."

"Tony, the board has rights, too. They're making the case that you and your new direction isn't in the company's best interest." Obadiah said.

"I'm being responsible! That's a new direction for me, for the company. I mean, me on the company's behalf being responsible for the way that... This is great." Tony said and stood up, taking the pizza box with him and Obadiah followed.

"Oh, come on. Tony. Tony."

"I'll be in the shop."

"Hey, hey! Hey, Tony. Listen. I'm trying to turn this thing around, but you gotta give me something. Something to pitch them. Let me have the engineers analyze that. You know, draw up some specs."

"No. No, absolutely not."

"It'll give me a bone to throw the boys in New York!"

"This one stays with me. That's it, Obie. Forget it."

"All right, well, this stays with me, then." Obadiah said and took the pizza box back. "Go on, here, you can have a piece. Take two."

"Thank you."

"You mind if I come down there and see what you're doing?"

"Good night, Obie." Tony said and headed back down to his workshop."

Tony was running another flight test, this time wearing the boots and hand flight stabilizers.

"Day 11, test 37, configuration 2.0. For lack of a better option, Dummy is still on fire safety. If you douse me again, and I'm not on fire, I'm donating you to a city college. All right, nice and easy. Seriously, just gonna start off with 1% thrust capacity. And three, two, one." he said, lifted off the ground and hovered for a bit before landing. "Okay. Please don't follow me around with it, either, 'cause I feel like I'm gonna catch on fire spontaneously. Just stand down! If something happens, then come in. And again, let's bring it up to 2.5. Three, two, one." he said, lifted off the ground with less control and started hovering all over the workshop. "Okay, this is where I don't want to be! Not the car, not the car! Table! Could be worse! Could be worse! We're fine! Okay." he said, landed where he started and Dummy went to use the fire extinguisher. "No! Uh-uh! Uh-uh! Yeah, I can fly."

Tony was fully suiting up in the Mark II.

"JARVIS, are you there?" Tony asked.

"At your service, sir." Jarvis said.

"Engage heads-up display."

"Check."

"Import all preferences from home interface."

"Will do, sir."

"All right, what do you say?"

"I have indeed been uploaded, sir. We're online and ready."

"Can we start the virtual walk-around?"

"Importing preferences and calibrating virtual environment."

"Do a check on control surfaces."

"As you wish." JARVIS said and the full suit was shown. "Test complete. Preparing to power down and begin diagnostics."

"Uh, yeah. Tell you what. Do a weather and ATC check. Start listening in on ground control."

"Sir, there are still terabytes of calculations needed before an actual flight is..."

"JARVIS! Sometimes you got to run before you can walk. Ready? In three, two, one." Tony said, started hovering and flew out of the garage into the sky. "Handles like a dream. All right, let's see what this thing can do. What's SR-71's record?"

"The altitude record for fixed wing flight is 85,000 feet, sir."

"Records are made to be broken! Come on!" Tony said and started flying straight up.

"Sir, there is a potentially fatal buildup of ice occurring."

"Keep going! Higher!" Tony said and ice built up around the suit, causing it to stop working and him to start flying from the sky. "We iced up, JARVIS! Deploy flaps! JARVIS! Come on, we got to break the ice!" he said and manually got the flaps up.

Then the power started just it time before he crashed into traffic. He headed back to the mansion and hovered above it, hoping to safely land on the roof.

"Kill power." he said then the power was killed and he flew through the roof, the piano, and down into his workshop, landing on top of a car.

Then Dummy used the fire extinguisher on him.

Tony was out of the suit, walking around the workshop with an ice pack on his head. Then he picked up the cup that Pepper left earlier and noticed the package she left. On top, it had a sticky note saying 'from Pepper'. He took it off and opened the package.

"Notes. Main transducer feels sluggish at plus 40 altitude. Hull pressurization is problematic. I'm thinking icing is the probable factor." Tony said.

"A very astute observation, sir. Perhaps, if you intend to visit other planets, we should improve the exp systems." Jarvis said.

"Connect to the sys. co. Have it reconfigure the shell metals. Use the gold titanium alloy from the seraphim tactical satellite. That should ensure a fuselage integrity while maintaining power-to-weight ratio. Got it?"

"Yes. Shall I render using proposed specifications?"

"Thrill me."

"Tonight's red-hot red carpet is right here at the Disney Concert Hall, where Tony Stark's third annual benefit for the Firefighter's Family Fund has become the place to be for L.A.'s high society." a TV reporter said.

"JARVIS, we get an invite for that?"

"I have no record of an invitation, sir." Jarvis said.

"... hasn't been seen in public since his bizarre and highly controversial press conference. Some claim he's suffering from post traumatic stress and has been bedridden for weeks. Whatever the case may be, no one expects an appearance from him tonight." TV reporter said.

"The render is complete."

"A little ostentatious, don't you think?" Tony said.

"What was I thinking? You're usually so discreet."

"Tell you what. Throw a little hot-rod red in there."

"Yes, that should help you keep a low profile. The render is complete."

"Hey, I like it. Fabricate it. Paint it."

"Commencing automated assembly. Estimated completion time is five hours."

"Don't wait up for me, honey."

"Weapons manufacturing is only one small part of what Stark Industries is all about, and our partnership with the fire and rescue community..." Obadiah said.

"Hey, Tony, remember me?" a random woman asked.

"Sure don't. You look great, Hef." Tony said.

"We're going to have a great quarter." Obadiah said.

"What's the world coming to when a guy's got to crash his own party?"

"Look at you. Hey, what a surprise."

"I'll see you inside."

"Hey. Listen, take it slow, all right? I think I got the board right where we want them."

"You got it. Just cabin fever. I'll just be a minute. Give me a Scotch. I'm starving."

"Mr. Stark?" Coulson said.

"Yeah?"

"Agent Coulson."

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The guy from the.."

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"God, you need a new name for that."

"Yeah, I hear that a lot. Listen, I know this must be a trying time for you, but we need to debrief you. There's still a lot of unanswered questions, and time can be a factor with these things."

"Let's just put something on the books."

"How about the 24th at 7:00 p.m. at Stark Industries?"

"Tell you what. You got it. You're absolutely right. Well, I'm going to go to my assistant, and we'll make a date. You look fantastic! I didn't recognize you."

"What are you doing here?" Pepper asked.

"Just avoiding government agents."

"Are you by yourself?"

"Yes. Where'd you get that dress?"

"Oh, it was a birthday present."

"That's great."

"From you, actually."

"Well, I got great taste."

"Yes."

"You want to dance?"

"Oh, no."

"All right, come on."

"Thank you. No."

"Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"No. No. I always forget to wear deodorant and dance with my boss in front of everyone that I work with in a dress with no back."

"You look great and you smell great."

"Oh, God."

"But I could fire you if that would take the edge off."

"I actually don't think that you could tie your shoes without me."

"I'd make it a week. Sure."

"Really? What's your Social Security number?"

"Five."

"Five?"

"Right."

"Right. You're missing just a couple of digits there."

"The other eight? So, I got you for the other eight. How about a little air?"

"Yes, I need some air. That was totally weird."

"Totally harmless."

"It was totally not harmless, by the way."

"We're dancing. No one's even watching."

"Everybody who I work with... No, you know why?"

"I think you lost objectivity. I think they just... People... We just danced."

"No, it was not just a dance. You don't understand because you're you. And everybody knows exactly who you are and how you are with girls and all of that, which is completely fine. But, you know, then me, you're my boss, and I'm dancing with you."

"I don't think it was taken that way."

"Because it makes me look like the one who's trying to..."

"I just think you're overstating it."

"You know, and we're here, and then I'm wearing this ridiculous dress, and then we were dancing like that and... I would like a drink, please."

"Got it, okay."

"I would like a vodka martini, please."

"Okay."

"Very dry with olives, a lot of olives. Like, at least three olives."

"Two vodka martinis, extra dry, extra olives, extra fast. Make one of them dirty, will you?"

"Wow. Tony Stark." Christine said.

"Oh, hey."

"Fancy seeing you here."

"Carrie."

"Christine."

"That's right."

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here tonight. Can I at least get a reaction from you?"

"Panic. I would say panic is my reaction."

"'Cause I was referring to your company's involvement in this latest atrocity."

"Yeah. They just put my name on the invitation. I don't know what to tell you."

"I actually almost bought it, hook, line and sinker."

"I was out of town for a couple months, in case you didn't hear."

"Is this what you call accountability? It's a town called Gulmira. Heard of it?"

"When were these taken?"

"Yesterday."

"I didn't approve any shipment."

"Well, your company did."

"Well, I'm not my company."

"Please, do you mind?" Obadiah asked.

"Have you seen these pictures? What's going on in Gulmira?"

"Tony, Tony. You can't afford to be this naive."

"You know what? I was naive before, when they said, "Here's the line. We don't cross it. This is how we do business." If we're double-dealing under the table... Are we?"

"Tony, your picture, please!" a reporter said.

"Let's take a picture. Come on. Picture time! Tony. Who do you think locked you out? I was the one who filed the injunction against you. It was the only way I could protect you." Obadiah said. "No. No."

"The 15-mile hike to the outskirts of Gulmira can only be described as a descent into hell, into a modern-day Heart of Darkness. Simple farmers and herders from peaceful villages have been driven from their homes, displaced from their lands by warlords emboldened by a new-found power. Villagers have been forced to take shelter in whatever crude dwellings they can find in the ruins of other villages, or here in the remnants of an old Soviet smelting plant. Recent violence has been attributed to a group of foreign fighters referred to by locals as the Ten Rings. As you can see, these men are heavily armed and on a mission. A mission that could prove fatal to anyone who stands in their way. With no political will or international pressure, there's very little hope for these refugees. Around me, a woman begging for news on her husband, who was kidnapped by insurgents, either forced to join their militia. Desperate refugees clutch yellowed photographs, holding them up to anyone who will stop. A child's simple question, "Where are my mother and father?" There's very little hope for these refugees, refugees who can only wonder who, if anyone, will help." a TV reporter said.

"He's all yours." Tony said..

"What the hell was that? Were we cleared to go in there?" Captain asked.

"No sir, they were using human shields. We never got the green light." CAOC Analyst 1 said.

"Put me through to State. They're going to be all over this." Major Allen said.

"Get those monitors up!" CAOC Analyst said.

"We got a bogey!" CAOC Analyst said.

"Wasn't Air Force!" CAOC Analyst said.

"We got the CIA on the line?" Major Allen asked.

"I've got Langley on the line. They want to know if it's us." Captain said.

"No, it definitely is not us, sir!" CAOC Analyst 1 said.

"It wasn't Navy." CAOC Analyst 2 said.

"Wasn't Marines." CAOC Analyst 3 said.

"I need answers! Can I please get eyes on target?" Major Allen asked.

"Negative, negative. Cannot identify." CAOC Analyst said.

"Get me Colonel Rhodes from weapons development down here now!" Major Allen said. "We ran an ID check and cross-referenced with all known databases. We have nothing."

"Any high-altitude surveillance in the region?" Rhodey asked.

"We got an AWAC and a Global Hawk in the area." Captain said.

"So, this thing just appeared out of nowhere? How come it didn't show up on the radar?" Bucky asked.

Now and then Bucky would help the Air Force and after hearing about this they had been asking him to help often.

"Got a minimal radar cross-section, sir." CAOC Analyst 1 said.

"Is it stealth?" Rhodey asked.

"No, sir, it's tiny. We think it's an unmanned aerial vehicle."

"Colonel, agent, what are we dealing with here?" Major Allen asked.

"Let me make a call." Bucky said.

"Sergeant, clear a hole."

"Hello?" Tony said.

"Tony?" Bucky said.

"Who's this?"

"It's Bucky."

"Sorry, hello?"

"I said it's Bucky."

"Speak up, please."

"What in the hell is that noise?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm driving with the top down."

"Yeah, well, I need your help right now."

"It's funny how that works, huh?"

"We've got a weapons depot that was just blown up a few clicks from where you were being held captive."

"Well, that's a hot spot. Sounds like someone stepped in and did your job for you, huh?"

"Why do you sound out of breath, Tony?"

"I'm not, I was just jogging in the canyon."

"I thought you were driving."

'What the hell are you doing?'

"Right, I was driving to the canyon, where I'm going to jog."

"You sure you don't have any tech in that area I should know about? Because last I checked you don't run."

"Nope!"

"Bogey spotted!" CAOC Analyst said.

"Whiplash, come in hot." CAOC Analyst said.

"Okay, good, 'cause I'm staring at one right now, and it's about to be blown to kingdom come." Bucky said.

"That's my exit." Tony said.

"Ballroom, this is Whiplash One. I've got the bogey in my sights." Pilot 1 said.

"Whiplash One, what is it?" Rhodey asked.

"I've got no idea."

"You have radio contact?" Major Allen asked.

"Non responsive, sir."

"Then you are clear to engage."

"Hit it." Tony said.

"That bogey just went supersonic. I got a lock!" Pilot 1 said.

"Inbound missile." Jarvis said.

"Flares!" Tony said.

"Wait a second. Bogey deployed flares!" Pilot 1 said.

"Deploy flaps!"

"Holy!" Pilot 2 said.

"That thing just jumped off the radar, sir." CAOC Analyst said.

"The sat visual has been lost." CAOC Analyst 2 said.

"No way that's a UAV." Pilot 1 said.

"What is it?' Major Allen asked.

"I can't see anything." Pilot 2 said.

"Whatever it was, it just bought the farm. I think bogey's been handled, sir." Pilot 1 said.

"Hello?" Bucky said.

"Hi, Bucky, it's me." Tony said.

"It's who?"

"I'm sorry, it is me. You asked. What you were asking about is me."

"No, see, this isn't a game. You do not send civilian equipment into my active war zone. You understand that?"

"This is not a piece of equipment. I'm in it. It's a suit. It's me!"

'Shit!' Bucky thought.

"Barnes, you got anything for me?" Major Allen asked. "Mark your position and return to base."

"Roger that, Ballroom." Pilot 1 said. "On your belly! It looks like a man! Shake him off! Roll! Roll! I'm hit! I'm hit!"

"It's confirmed. He has been hit."

"Punch out! Punch out! Whiplash One down." Pilot 2 said.

"Whiplash Two, do you see a chute?"

"Negative! No chute, no chute!"

"My chute's jammed!" Pilot 1 said.

"Sir, I've got a visual on the bogey." Pilot 2 said.

"Whiplash Two, reengage. If you get a clear shot, you take it." Major Allen said.

"Major, we don't even know what we're shooting at. Call off the Raptors." Bucky said.

"That thing just took out an F-22 inside a legal no fly zone! Whiplash Two, if you have a clear shot, take it!"

"You've been reengaged. Execute evasive maneuver." Jarvis said.

"Keep going!" Tony said.

"Good chute! Good chute!" Pilot 2 said.

"Tony, you still there?" Bucky asked.

"Hey, thanks." Tony said.

"Oh, my God, you crazy son of a bitch. You owe Rhodey a plane. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, well, technically, he hit me. Now are you going to come by and see what I'm working on?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, the less I know, the better. Now, what am I supposed to tell the press?"

"Training exercise. Isn't that the usual BS?"

"It's not that simple. An unfortunate training exercise involving an F-22 Raptor occurred yesterday. I am pleased to report that the pilot was not injured. As for the unexpected turn of events on the ground in Gulmira, it is still unclear who or what intervened, but I can assure you that the United States government was not involved."

"Hey!"

"It is a tight fit, sir. Sir, the more you struggle, the more this is going to hurt." Jarvis said.

"Be gentle. This is my first time. I designed this to come off, so... Hey. I really should be able to..."

"Please, try not to move, sir."

"What's going on here?" Pepper asked.

"Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing." Tony said.

"Are those bullet holes?"

"Welcome. Compliments of Tony Stark." Raza said.

"If you'd killed him when you were supposed to, you'd still have a face." Obadiah said.

"You paid us trinkets to kill a prince."

"Show me the weapon."

"Come. Leave your guards outside." Raza said and they walked inside the tent. "His escape bore unexpected fruit."

"So this is how he did it."

"This is only a first, crude effort. Stark has perfected his design. He has made a masterpiece of death. A man with a dozen of these can rule all of Asia. And you dream of Stark's throne. We have a common enemy. If we are still in business, I will give you these designs... as a gift. And in turn, I hope you'll repay me with a gift of iron soldiers."

"Technology." Obadiah said and used a machine to stun Raza. "It's always been your Achilles' heel in this part of the world. Don't worry. It'll only last for 15 minutes. That's the least of your problems." he said and walked out of the tent. "Crate up the armor and the rest of it. All right, let's finish up here."

"Set up Sector 16 underneath the arc reactor, and I'm going to want this data masked. Recruit our top engineers. I want a prototype right away." he said talking in the phone while in the car.

"Hey. You busy? You mind if I send you on an errand? I need you to go to my office. You're going to hack into the mainframe and you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests. This is a lock chip. This'll get you in. It's probably under Executive Files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive, in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading." Tony said.

"And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?" Pepper asked.

"Same drill. They've been dealing under the table, and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them."

"Tony, you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if you're going to start all of this again."

"There is nothing except this. There's no art opening. There is no benefit. There is nothing to sign. There is the next mission and nothing else."

"Is that so? Well, then, I quit." she said and threw the lock chip on the table.

"You stood by my side all these years like Bucky while I reaped the benefits of destruction. And now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way, you're going to walk out?"

"You're going to kill yourself, Tony. I'm not going to be a part of it."

"I shouldn't be alive, unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right."

"You're all I have, too, you know." she said and picked the lock drive back up then went on a computer to use the drive. "Sector 16? What are you up to, Obadiah?" she said then found a video of him held hostage and translated it.

"You did not tell us that the target you paid us to kill was the great Tony Stark. As you can see, Obadiah Stane..." a video voice said.

"Oh, my God."

"... your deception and lies will cost you dearly. The price to kill Tony Stark has just gone up." video voice said.

"So, what are we going to do about this? I know what you're going through, Pepper. Tony. He always gets the good stuff, doesn't he? I was so happy when he came home. It was like we got him back from the dead. Now I realize, well, Tony never really did come home, did he? He left a part of himself in that cave. Breaks my heart." Obadiah said and walked in on Pepper.

"Well, he's a complicated person. He's been through a lot. I think he'll be all right." Pepper said.

"You are a very rare woman. Tony doesn't know how lucky he is."

"Thank you. Thanks. I'd better get back there." she said and pulled the drive out, hiding it under a newspaper.

"Is that today's paper?"

"Yes."

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all."

"Puzzle."

"Of course."

"Take care." he said, went on the computer and saw the files had been downloaded.

"Ms. Potts? We had an appointment. Did you forget about our appointment?" Coulson asked.

"Nope, right now. Come with me." Pepper said.

"Right now?"

"We're going to have it right now. Yeah, walk with me."

"Okay."

"I'm going to give you the meeting of your life. Your office."

"Yeah, we've been working our best to do it. Absolutely, we're... I'm going to have to call you back." William said on the phone and ended the call as Obadiah walked in. "Mr. Stane? Sir, we've explored what you've asked us, and it seems as though there's a little hiccup. Actually..."

"A hiccup?" Obadiah said.

"Yes, to power the suit, sir, the technology actually doesn't exist. So, it's..."

"Wait, wait, wait. The technology? William, here is the technology. I've asked you to simply make it smaller."

"Okay, sir, and that's what we're trying to do, but honestly, it's impossible."

"Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of scraps!"

"Well, I'm sorry. I'm not Tony Stark."

"Tony? Tony, are you there? Hello?" Pepper asked on the phone.

Then Obadiah stunned Tony with the same machine as he did Raza.

"Breathe. Easy, easy. You remember this one, right? It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis. Tony. When I ordered the hit on you, I worried that I was killing the golden goose. But, you see, it was just fate that you survived that." he said and pulled out the arc reactor from Tony's chest. "You had one last golden egg to give. Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you? Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you? Oh, it's beautiful. Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece. Look at that. This is your legacy. A new generation of weapons with this at its heart. Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands. I wish you could've seen my prototype. It's not as... Well, not as conservative as yours. Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this. I would have preferred that she lived."

"What do you mean, he paid to have Tony killed? Pepper, slow down. Why would Obadiah... Okay, where's Tony now?" Bucky said on the phone.

"I don't know. He's not answering his phone. Please go over there and make sure everything's okay. Thank you, Rhodey. I know a shortcut." Pepper said on the phone.

"Good boy." Tony said and Dummy handed him Pepper's gift.

"Tony? Tony? Tony? Tony? Tony! Tony! You okay?" Bucky said.

"Where's Pepper?"

"She's fine. She's with five agents. They're about to arrest Obadiah."

"That's not going to be enough."

"Section 16. Section 16. There it is. My key's not working. It's not opening the door. Oh, wow! What's that? It's, like, a little device. It's, like, a thing that's going to pick the lock?" Pepper asked.

"You might want to take a few steps back." Coulson said.

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen." Rhodey said.

"Not bad, huh? Let's do it." Tony said.

"You need me to do anything else?" Bucky asked.

"Keep the skies clear."

"Damn! Next time, baby." Rhodey said.

"Looks like you were right. He was building a suit." Coulson said.

"I thought it'd be bigger." Pepper said.

"How do you think the Mark One chest piece is going to hold up?" Tony asked.

"The suit's at 48% power and falling, sir. That chest piece was never designed for sustained flight." Jarvis said.

"Keep me posted. Pepper!" Tony said.

"Tony! Tony, are you okay?" Bucky asked.

"Bucky?"

"Just answer my question!"

"I'm fine. How are..."

"Obadiah, he's gone insane!"

"I know. Listen, you'd better get out of there."

"He built a suit." Pepper said.

"Get out of there right now!"

"Where do you think you're going? Your services are no longer required." Obadiah said.

"Stane!"

"I love this suit!"

"Put them down!"

"Collateral damage, Tony."

"Divert power to chest RT."

"Power reduced to 19%." Jarvis said.

"Lady! No, no, no, no, no, no!"

"For 30 years, I've been holding you up! I built this company from nothing! Nothing is going to stand in my way. Least of all... you! Impressive. You've upgraded your armor! I've made some upgrades of my own!" Obadiah said.

"Sir, it appears that his suit can fly." Jarvis said.

"Duly noted. Take me to maximum altitude." Tony said.

"With only 15% power, the odds of reaching that-"

"I know the math! Do it!"

"Sir, you're not going to believe this. That thing is back." Soldier 1 said.

"Get me Major Allen. Scramble the jets!" Soldier 2 said.

"Not necessary, people. Just a training exercise." Rhodey said.

"Yes, sir." Soldier 1 said.

"Thirteen percent power, sir." Jarvis said.

"Climb!" Tony said.

"Eleven percent."

"Keep going!"

"Seven percent power."

"Just leave it on the screen! Stop telling me!"

"You had a great idea, Tony, but my suit is more advanced in every way!" Obadiah said.

"How'd you solve the icing problem?"

"Icing problem?"

"Might want to look into it."

"Two percent. We are now running on emergency backup power." Jarvis said.

"Woah! Potts! Bucky!" Tony said.

"Tony! Oh, my God, are you okay?" Pepper asked.

"I'm almost out of power. I've got to get out of this thing. I'll be right there."

"Nice try!" Obadiah said.

"Weapons status?"

"Repulsors offline. Missiles offline." Jarvis said.

"Flares!"

"Very clever, Tony." Obadiah said.

"Potts? Bucky?"

"Tony!" Pepper and Bucky said.

"This isn't working. We're going to have to overload the reactor and blast the roof."

"Well, how are you going to do that?"

"You're going to do it. Go to the central console, open up all the circuits. When I get clear of the roof, I'll let you know. You're going to hit the master bypass button. It's going to fry everything up here."

"Okay. I'm going in now." Bucky said.

"Make sure you wait till I clear the roof. I'll buy you some time. This looks important!" Tony said and pulled out a wire from Obadiah's suit.

"I never had a taste for this sort of thing, but I must admit, I'm deeply enjoying the suit! You finally outdid yourself, Tony! You'd have made your father and Bucky proud!" Obadiah said.

"It's ready, Tony! Get off the roof! Tony!" Pepper said.

"How ironic, Tony! Trying to rid the world of weapons, you gave it its best one ever!"

"Pepper!" Tony said.

"And now I'm going to kill you with it! You ripped out my targeting system!"

"Time to hit the button!"

"You told me not to!" Pepper said.

"Hold still, you little prick!" Obadiah said.

"Just do it!" Tony said.

"You'll die!" Pepper said

"Push it!" he said and Bucky did as told.

"Tony!"

"You've all received the official statement of what occurred at Stark Industries last night. There have been unconfirmed reports that a robotic prototype malfunctioned and caused damage to the arc reactor. Fortunately, a member of Tony Stark's personal security staff..." Rhodey said on TV.

""Iron Man." That's kind of catchy. It's got a nice ring to it. I mean, it's not technically accurate. The suit's a gold-titanium alloy, but it's kind of evocative, the imagery, anyway." Tony said.

"Here's your alibi." Coulson said.

"Okay?"

"You were on your yacht."

"Yeah."

"We have port papers that put you in Avalon all night, and sworn statements from 50 of your guests."

"See, I was thinking maybe we should say it was just Pepper, Bucky and me alone on the island."

"That's what happened."

"All right."

"Just read it, word for word."

"There's nothing about Stane here."

"That's being handled. He's on vacation. Small aircraft have such a poor safety record."

"But what about the whole cover story that it's a bodyguard? He's my... I mean, is that... That's kind of flimsy, don't you think?"

"This isn't my first rodeo, Mr. Stark. Just stick to the official statement, and soon, this will all be behind you. You've got 90 seconds."

"Agent Coulson? I just wanted to say thank you very much for all of your help." Pepper said.

"That's what we do. You'll be hearing from us." he said and Bucky snorted.

"From the Strategic Homeland..."

"Just call us S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Right. Let's get this show on the road."

"You know, it's actually not that bad. Even I don't think I'm Iron Man." Tony said.

"You're not Iron Man."

"Am so."

"You're not."

"All right, suit yourself. You know, if I were Iron Man, I'd have this girlfriend who knew my true identity. She'd be a wreck, 'cause she'd always be worrying that I was going to die, yet so proud of the man I'd become. She'd be wildly conflicted, which would only make her more crazy about me. Tell me you never think about that night."

"What night?"

"You know."

"Are you talking about the night that we danced and went up on the roof, and then you went downstairs to get me a drink, and you left me there, by myself? Is that the night you're talking about? Thought so. Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"Yes, that will be all, Miss Potts."

"Don't do anything stupid." Bucky said and gave him a hug. "I'm proud of you." he whispered and Tony smiled.

"And now, Mr. Stark has prepared a statement. He will not be taking any questions." Rhodey said.

"Thank you. Been a while since I was in front of you. I figure I'll stick to the cards this time. There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop..."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you..." Christine said.

"I know that it's confusing. It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero."

"I never said you were a superhero." she said and Bucky groaned.

"I don't know who's worse, Tony or Howard sometimes." he muttered.

"Didn't? Well, good, because that would be outlandish and fantastic. I'm just not the hero type. Clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public." Tony said.

"Just stick to the cards, man." Rhodey said.

"Yeah, okay. Yeah. The truth is... I am Iron Man."

Later Tony and Bucky reached Tony's house.

"Jarvis!" Tony said.

"Welcome home, Sir, agent Barnes." Jarvis said distorted and was cut out.

""I am Iron Man." You think you're the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe. You just don't know it yet." someone said and Bucky groaned knowing who that was.

"Oh great." Bucky said.

"Who the hell are you?" Tony asked and Fury appeared in the light.

"My old boss."

"Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D." Fury said.

"Ah." Tony said nonchalantly.

"I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative."