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?

3. Iron Man 2

"Been a while since I was up here in front of you. Maybe I'll do us all a favor and just stick to the cards. There's been some speculation that I was somehow involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and on the rooftop…" Tony said.

"Sorry, Mr. Stark, do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared despite the fact that you sorely despise bodyguards?" Christine said.

"Yes."

"And this mysterious bodyguard was somehow equipped with an undisclosed Stark high-tech powered battle…

"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." he said. "I mean, let's face it, I'm not the heroric type. A laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public. The truth is… I am Iron Man." he said on TV.

"Ivan. Vanya. That should be you." Anton said in Russian.

"Don't listen to that crap." Ivan said in Russian.

"I'm sorry. All I can give you is my knowledge." Anton said in Russian, coughed and died.

Ivan was naturally distraught and took a swig of vodka, pulled out blueprints for an arc reactor.

"270 at 30 knots. Holding steady at 15000 feet. You are clear for exfiltration over the drop zone." a man said.

6 months later there was a picture of Iron Man with an opening door in the bottom of an aeroplane and he jumped out said airplane, landing on a stage. All very ostentatious. There were dancing girls and fireworks.

At Stark Expo Tony was dismantling his Iron Man suit.

"Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony!" just about everyone said.

"It's good to be back. You missed me?" Tony said.

"Blow something up!" a man in the crowd said.

"I missed you too. Blow something up? I already did that. I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of me. I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a greater phoenix metaphor been personified in human history. I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea because I haven't come across anyone who's man enough to go toe-to-toe with me on my best day."

"I love you Tony!" a woman in the crowd said.

"Please, it's not about me." he said while people kept cheering for him. "It's not about you. It's not even about us. It's about legacy. It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations. And that's why for the next year and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, share their collective vision, to leave behind a brighter future. It's not about us. Therefore, what I'm saying, if I'm saying anything, is welcome back to the Stark Expo." he said and got a big cheer from crowd. "And now, making a special guest appearance from the great beyond to tell you what it's all about, please welcome my father, Howard." he said and Howard was on a screen, courtesy of a video recording.

"Everything is achievable through technology. Better living, robust health, and for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace. So, from all of us here at Stark Industries, I would like to personally introduce you to the City of the Future. Technology holds infinite possibilities for mankind," Howard said while Tony was off the stage, doing a blood toxicity test gving a reading of 19%. "and will one day rid society of all its ills. Soon technology will affect the way you live your life every day. No more tedious work, leaving more time for leisure activities and enjoying the sweet life. The Stark Expo. Welcome." he said and the viedo ended.

Outside.

"We are coming to you live from the kickoff at the Stark Expo, where Tony Stark has just walked offstage. Don't worry if you can't make it down here tonight because this Expo goes on all year long. And I'm gonna be here checking out all the attractions and the pavilions and inventions from all around the world." a new reporter said.

"Make sure you join me…" Happy said.

"All right, it's a zoo out there, watch out." Tony said.

"Open up, let's go." Happy said and while Tony tried passing through the crowd, from Tony's perspective.

"Hey, nice to see you. All right. Thank you. I remember you.

"Tony, Tony!" people said.

"Hey, hey."

"Call me." a woman said.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey. Come on, come on." Happy said.

"Hello. It would be a pleasure." Tony said signing a picture of Iron Man.

"Okay."

"See you buddy." Tony said ruffling the hair of a small boy wearing an Iron Man helmet making hair unreachable.

"This is Larry."

"Hey, the oracle of Oracle. What a pleasure. Nice to see you."

"Call me. Call me." Larry said.

"Larry King." Happy said.

"Larry! Larry. Yes, my people, my people." Tony said.

Soon they were finally at the door.

"Come on, Tony. There we go." Happy said.

"Very mellow." Tony said.

"That wasn't so bad."

"No, it was perfect."

"Look what we got here, the new model."

"Hey, does she come with the car?"

"I certainly hope so. Hi."

"Hi. And you are?"

"Marshal." a woman said.

"Irish. I like it."

"Pleased to meet you Tony."

"I'm on the wheel. Do you mind? Where you from?"

"Bedford."

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

"Yeah? You found me. What are you up to later?"

"Serving subpoenas." she said and handed him a letter but he didn't take it.

"Yikes."

"He doesn't like to be handed things." Happy said reaching over and taking the letter.

"Yeah, I have a peeve."

"I got it. You are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow morning at 9 am." Marshal said.

"Can I see a badge?"

"You wanna see the badge?"

"He likes the badge." Happy said.

"You still like it?" she asked showing him her badge.

"Yep." Tony said and started the engine. "How far are we from D.C.?"

"D.C.? 250 miles." Happy said and they drove off.

Late they were at Washing D.C.

"Mr. Stark, could we pick up now where we left off? Mr. Stark. Please." Stern said.

"Yes dear?" Tony said and turned around from Pepper who looked like she was trying to tell him off.

"Can I have your attention?"

"Absolutely."

"Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?"

"I do not."

"You do not?"

"I do not. Well, it depends on how you define the word weapon."

"The Iron Man weapon."

"My device does not fit that description."

"Well… How would you describe it?"

"I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator."

"As?"

"It's a high-tech prosthesis. That is… That is… That's actually the most apt description I can make of it."

"It's a weapon. It's a weapon, Mr. Stark."

"Please, if your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen…"

"My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America."

"Well, you can forget it. I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending or what state you're in. You can't have it."

"Look, I'm no expert…"

"In prostitution? Of course not. You're a senator. Come on." Tony said and people laughed and he waved but Pepper didn't look impressed at all. "No?" he mouthed and she shook her head.

"I'm no expert in weapons. We have somebody here who is an expert on weapons. I'd now like to call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor."

"Let the record reflect that I observed Mr Hammer entering the chamber, and I am wondering if and when any actual expert will also be in attendance."

"Absolutely. I'm no expert. I defer to you, Anthony. You're the wonder boy. Senator, if I may. I may well not be an expert, but you know who was the expert? Your dad. Howard Stark. Really a father to us all, and to the military-industrial age. Let's just be clear, he was no flower child. He was a lion. We all know why we're here. In the last six months, Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet, he insists it's a shield. He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it. I wish I were comforted, Anthony, I really do. I'd love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain't Canada. You know, we live in a world of grave threats, threats that Mr. Stark will not always be able to foresee. Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America." Justin said.

"That is well said Mr. Hammer. The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber. I hoped to invite Agent Barnes but he said he's busy." Stern said.

"Rhodey? What?" Tony said while Rhodey walked in and Tony got up to greet him. "Hey, buddy. I didn't expect to see you here."

He wasn't happy not to see Bucky but understood he didn't want as much attention as he can being with Tony and what he is.

"Look, it's me, I'm here. Deal with it. Let's move on." Rhodey said.

"I just…"

"Drop it."

"All right, I'll drop it."

"I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, complied by Colonel Rhodes. And, Colonel, for the record, can you please read page 57, paragraph four?" Stern said.

"You're requesting that I read specific selections from my report, Senator?"

"Yes, sir."

"It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner."

"I understand. A lot of things have changed today. So if you could just read…"

"You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summery of my final…"

"Just read it, Colonel. I do. Thank you."

"Very well. "As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests." I did however, go on to summarize that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh three liabilities and that it would be in our interest…"

"That's enough Colonel"

"…to fold Mr Stark…"

"That's enough"

"…into the existing chain of command, Senator."

"I'm not a joiner, but I'll consider Secretary of Defense, if you ask nice." Tony said and heard laughter from crowd. "We can amend the hours a little bit."

"I'd like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that's connected to your report." Stern said.

"I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images to the general public at this time." Rhodey said.

"With all due respect, Colonel, I understand. And if you could just narrate those for us, we'd be very grateful. Let's have the images."

"Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Mr. Stark's suit. This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground…" Rhodey said while Tony was doing something on a Stark device. "… indicating that these suits are quite possibly, at this moment, operational."

"Hold on a second buddy. Let me see something here." Tony said and set up his device to connect with the screen showing the pictures. "Boy, I'm good. I commandeered your screens. I need them. Time for a little transparency. Now, let's see what's really going on."

"What is he doing?" Stern asked.

"If you will direct your attention to said screens, I believe that's North Korea." Tony said and there was a video of a suit that falls over.

"Can you turn that off? Take it off." Stern said and Justin Hammer stood up.

"Iran." Tony said and showed this suit can fly for five seconds before crashing, judging by the smoke, probably on fire and Justin was by the screen, trying to find the off switch. "No grave threat here. Is that Justin Hammer? How did Hammer get in the game?" he asked. "Justin, you're on TV. Focus up."

"Okay, give me a left twist. Left's good. Turn to the right. Oh, shit. Oh, shit." TV Justin said.

"Wow. Yeah, I'd say most countries, five, ten years away. Hammer Industries, twenty." Tony said just as the non TV Justin found the plug and unplugged the screen.

"I'd like to point out that that test pilot survived." Justin said.

"I think we're done is the point that he's making. I don't think there's any reason…" Stern said.

"The point is, you're welcome, I guess." Tony said.

"For what?"

"Because I'm your nuclear deterrent. It's working. We're safe. America is secure. You want my property? You can't have it. But I did you a big favor." Tony said, stood up and turned around to face the crowd. "I've successfully privatized world peace." he said as both hands made peace signs and everyone stood up, all talking at once. "What more do you want? For now! I tried to play ball with these ass-clowns."

"Fuck you, Mr. Stark." Stern said. "Fuck you, buddy. We're adjourned. We're adjourned for today."

"Okay." Tony said and put on sunglasses while Rhodey sat there with the same look as Pepper.

"You've been a delight."

In Russian.

"My bond is with the people. And I will serve this great nation at the pleasure of myself. If there's one thing I've proven it's that you can count on me to pleasure myself." Tony said on the TV.

Ivan was still working and things were going blue.

In Malibu Tony was in his workshop.

"Wake up, Daddy's home." Tony said.

"Welcome home, sir. Congratulations on the opening ceremonies. They were such a success, as was your Senate hearing. And may I say how refreshing it is to finally see you in a video with your clothing on, sir." JARVIS said and one of the robots was trying to make a smoothie.

"U!" Tony said as U knocked over the blender. "I swear to God I'll dismantle you. I'll soak your motherboard. I'll turn you into a wine rack." he said and U looked down, sad. "How many ounce a day of this gobbledygook am I supposed to drink?"

"We are up to 80 ounces a day to counteract the symptoms, sir." JARVIS said and Tony down green liquid.

"Check palladium levels." Tony said using the same machine as before.

"Blood toxicity, 24%. It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition. Another core has been depleted." JARVIS said and Tony took the Arc Reactor out of chest and the core popped out, rusted and slightly smoking.

"God, they're running out quick."

"I have run simulations on every known element, and none can serve as a viable replacement for the palladium core." JARVIS said and Tony inputted a new silver core giving a judgment of just how badly damaged the other one was and replaced Arc Reactor in chest. "You are running out of both time and options. Unfortunately, the device that's keeping you alive is also killing you." he said and there was an image of Tony's chest on the computer screen with blue lines all around the Arc Reactor. "Miss Potts is approaching. I recommend that you inform her…"

"Mute." Tony said and put his shirt back down, computers switched to screen saver when Pepper inputs a code and opened the door.

"Is this a joke? What are you thinking?" Pepper asked.

"What?"

"What are you thinking?"

"Hey, I'm thinking I'm busy. And you're angry about something. Do you have the sniffles? I don't want to get sick."

"Did you just donate…"

"Keep your business." he said and they started walking around the room.

"…our entire modern art collection to the…"

"Boy Scouts of America."

"…Boy Scouts of America?"

"Yes. It is a worthwhile organization. I didn't physically check the crates but, basically, yes. And it's not "our" collection, it's my collection. No offence."

"No, you know what? I think I'm actually entitled to say "our" collection considering the time that I put in, over 10 years, curating that."

"It was a tax write-off. I needed that."

"You know, there's only about 8,011 things that I really need to talk to you about."

"Dum-E. Hey, stop spacing out. The Bridgeport's already machining that part." he said to another robot.

"The Expo is a gigantic waste of time."

"I need you to wear a surgical mask until you're feeling better. Is that okay?"

"That's rude."

"There's nothing more important to me than the Expo. It's my primary point of concern. I don't know why you're…"

"The Expo is your ego gone crazy." she said and he picked up a painting of Iron Man.

"Wow. Look at that. That's modern art. That's going up."

"You've got to be kidding."

"I'm gonna put this up right now. This is vital."

"Stark is in complete disarray. You understand that?"

"No. Our stocks have never been higher."

"Yes, from a managerial standpoint."

"You are… Well, if's messy then let's double back."

"Let me give you an example."

"Let's move onto another subject."

"No, no, no, no. You are not taking down the Barnett Newman and hanging that up."

"I'm not taking it down. I'm just replacing it with this." he said and stood on a desk about to take down the Barnett Newman to put the Iron Man picture up. "Let's see what I can get going on here."

"Okay, fine. My point is, we have already awarded contracts to the wind farm people."

"Yeah. Don't say "wind farm." I'm already feeling gassy."

"And to the plastic plantation tree, which was your idea by the way. Those people are on payroll…"

"Everything was my idea."

"…and you won't make a decision."

"I don't care about the liberal agenda anymore. It's boring. Boring. I'm giving you a boring alert." he said and jumped off desk. "You do it."

"I do what?"

"Excellent idea. I just figured this out. You run the company."

"Yeah, I'm trying to run the company."

"Pepper, I need you to run the company. Well, stop trying to do it and do it."

"You will not give me the information…"

"I'm not asking you to try…"

"…in order to…"

"I'm asking you to physically do it. I need you to do it."

"I am trying to do it."

"Pepper, you're not listening to me!"

"No, you are not listening to me."

"I'm trying to make you CEO. Why won't you let me?"

"Have you been drinking?"

"Chlorophyll. I hereby irrevocably appoint you chairman and CEO of Stark Industries effective immediately. Yeah, done deal. Okay? I've actually given this a fair amount of thought, believe it or not." he said and ne of the robots brought him a tray with a bottle and glasses on it. "Doing a bit of headhunting, so to speak, trying to figure out who a worthy successor would be. And then I realized it's you. It's always been you. Bucky worked for SHIELD and finally retired but is still being a godfather." he said and poured champagne while Pepper sat down, shocked and confused. "I thought there'd be a legal issue, but actually I'm capable of appointing my successor. My successor being you." he said and handed her a glass but she didn't take it. "Congratulations? Take it, just take it."

"I don't know what to think."

"Don't think, drink. There you go." he said and they tapped their glasses and drank.

Back in Russia a man handed Ivan a letter down a twitten, out of sight containing a fake passport and a ticket.

Tony and Happy were boxing and Bucky was watching when Pepper walked in.

"The notary's here! Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?" Pepper asked.

"I'm on happy time." Tony said and hit Happy in the face with his elbow. "Sorry." he said and Bucky smirked.

"What the hell was that?" Happy asked.

"You're a little rusty huh Happy?" Bucky said amused and Happy glared at him.

"It's called mixed martial arts. It's been around for three weeks." Tony said.

"It's called dirty boxing, there's nothing new about it." Happy said.

"All right, put them up. Come on." Tony said and the Notary walked in and their attention shifted to her.

Bucky stood there in shock and she saw him and shook her head so he nodded.

'What is she doing here?' he thought.

"I promise this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company." Pepper said.

"I need you to initial each box." the notary said and Happy tapped Tony on the back of the head with a light punch, not enough to hurt him.

"Lesson one. Never take your eye off…" Happy said but Tony kicked him and he went crashing into the corner of the ring.

Then Pepper and the Notary and clangs were heard.

"That's it. I'm done. What's your name, lady?" Tony asked.

"Rushman. Natalie Rushman." the notary said and Bucky quietly snickered and she looked at him.

He looked at her and raised his eyebrow.

"Really?" he mouthed and she shrugged.

"Front and center. Come into the church." Tony said.

"No. You're seriously not gonna ask…" Pepper said.

"If it pleases the court, which it does."

"It's no problem." Natalie said to Pepper.

"I'm sorry. He's very eccentric." Pepper said to her and Natalie entered ring.

Tony swung down more green liquid out of a bottle while Bucky tried not to laugh knowing what was going to happen.

"Can you give her a lesson?" Tony asked.

"No problem." Happy said and Tony stepped out of ring and towards Pepper.

"Pepper."

"What?" Pepper asked.

"Who is she?" he asked sitting down next to her.

"She is from legal. And she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that."

"I need a new assistant, boss."

"Yes, and I've got three excellent potential candidates. They're lined up and ready to meet you."

"I don't have time to meet. I need someone now. I feel like it's her."

"No, it's not."

"You ever boxed before?" Happy asked.

"I have, yes." Natalie said and looked at a smirking Bucky.

'More than you think to.' Bucky thought.

"What, like, the Tae Bo? Booty Boot Camp? Crunch? Something like that?" Happy asked and Natalie's face showed brief annoyance at his statement before Tony distracted her.

"How do I spell your name, Natalie?" Tony asked.

"R-U-S-H-M-A-N." Natalie said.

"What, are you gonna google her now?" Pepper asked.

"I thought I was ogling her." Tony said and held up Natalie's file on table which doubled up as a computer. "Wow. Very, very impressive individual."

"You're so predictable, you know that?"

"She's fluent in French, Italian, Russian, Latin. Who speaks Latin?"

"No one speaks Latin."

"No one speaks Latin"

"I do!" Bucky said shocking them both.

"It's a dead language. You can read Latin or you can write Latin, but you can't speak Latin." Pepper said.

"Did you model in Tokyo? 'Cause she modelled in Tokyo." Tony said.

"Well…"

"I need her. She's got everything that I need."

Meanwhile Bucky, Natalie and Happy, Natalie looking over, hearing what Tony was saying.

"Rule number one, never take your eyes off your opponent." Happy said and went to take a swing but she grabbed his hand and flipped him over, legs over his head.

Bucky started laughing and gave her a thumbs up.

"Oh, my God! Happy." Pepper said.

"That's what I'm talking about." Tony said.

"I just slipped." Happy said.

'No he didn't. He just got his ass kicked.' Bucky thought smirking a little and saw Natalie smirk a little to.

"You did?"

"Yeah." Happy said.

"Looks like a TKO to me." Tony said, rung the bell and Natalie left the ring.

"Just… I need your impression." Natalie said.

"You have a quiet reserve. I don't know, you have an old soul."

"I meant your fingerprint."

"Right."

"So, how are we doing?" Pepper asked.

"Great. Just wrapping up here. Hey. You're the boss."

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" Natalie asked.

"No."

"Yes, that will be all, Ms. Rushman. Thank you very much." Pepper said and Natalie turned to leave but handed Bucky a letter and left.

Then Tony turned to Pepper.

"I want one." he said.

"No."

Then Bucky opened the letter and read.

If you still worked there this would be yours.

He sighed and shook his head then put it in his pocket.

Later a news report was talking about the Grand Prix in French.

Tony, Pepper and Happy were leaving a car and walking into a building while Happy was carrying a red suitcase.

"You know, it's Europe. Whatever happens the next 20 minutes, just go with it." Tony said.

"Go with it? Go with what?" Pepper asked.

"Mr. Stark?" Natalie said.

"Hey." Tony said.

"Hello. How was your flight?"

"It was excellent. Boy, it's nice to see you."

"We have one photographer from the ACM, if you don't mind. Okay?"

"When did this happen?" Pepper asked.

"What? You made me do it." Tony said.

"I made you do what?"

"You quit. Smile. Look, right there. Stop acting constipated. Don't flare your nostrils."

"You are so predictable."

"That's the amazing thing."

"Right this way." Natalie said.

"You look fantastic."

"Why, thank you very much."

"But that's unprofessional. What's on the docket?"

"You have a 9:30 dinner."

"Perfect. I'll be there at 11:00."

"Absolutely."

"Is this us?"

"It can be."

"Great. Make it us."

"Okay."

Meanwhile.

"Mr. Musk. How are you?" Peper asked.

"Hi, Pepper. Congratulations on the promotion." Mr. Musk said.

"Thank you very much."

"Elon, how's it going. Those Merlin engines are fantastic." Tony said.

"Thank you. Yeah, I've got an idea for an electric jet." Mr. Musk said.

"You do?"

"Yeah."

"Then we'll make it work." Tony said. "You want a massage?" he asked Pepper as they walked.

"Oh, God. No. I don't want a massage." Pepper said.

"I'll have Natalie make an…"

"I don't want Natalie to do…"

"Don't want you tense. By the way, I didn't mean to spring this on you."

"Thank you very much."

"Green is not your best color." Tony said and Justin's head appeared from behind someone.

"Oh, please."

"Anthony. Is that you?" Justin asked.

"My least favorite person on Earth." Tony said to Pepper.

"Hey, pal."

"Justin Hammer."

"How you doing? You're not the only rich guy here with a fancy car. You know Christine Everhart from Vanity Fair. You guys know each other?" Justin asked as Christine appeared.

"Hi. Yes." Christine said.

"Yes." Pepper said.

"Yes, roughly." Tony said.

"We do."

"BTW, big story. The new CEO of Stark Industries." Justin said.

"I know, I know." Christine said.

"Congratulations."

"My editor will kill me if I don't grab a quote for our Powerful Women issue."

"Oh." Pepper said.

"Can I?"

"Sure."

"She's actually doing a big spread on me for Vanity Fair. I thought I'd throw her a bone, you know. Right?" Justin said.

"Right. Well, she did quite a spread on Tony last year."

"And she wrote a story as well." Tony said.

"It was very impressive."

"That was good."

"It was very well done."

"Thank you." Christine said.

"I'm gonna go wash."

"Don't leave me." Tony said.

"Hey, buddy. How you doing?" Justin asked.

"I'm all right."

"Looking gorgeous."

"Please, this is tough."

"Can I ask you… Is this the first time…" Christine said

"Fromage" Justin said posing for a camera while Tony replaced sunglasses and tried to escape. "Say "Brie"." Justin said.

"…that you guys have seen each other?"

"God, that's so awful." Tony said.

"Listen, is it the first time you've seen each other since the Senate?"

"Since he got his contract revoked…"

"Actually, it's on hold." Justin said.

"…when you were attempting to…That's not what I heard. What's the difference "Yes, what is it?" Christine asked.

"No. The truth is… Why don't we put that away? The truth is, I'm actually hoping to present something at your Expo."

"Well, if you invent something that works, I'll make sure I get you a slot." Tony said.

"Mr. Stark?" Natalie said.

"Yes?"

"Your corner table is ready."

"I actually have a slot this year. Yes, I do." Justin said.

"Hammer needs a slot, Christine." Tony said.

"We kid, yeah. We kid. We're kidders."

Later Tony was in a bathroom doing another test and it read Blood toxicity 53%.

"Got any other bad ideas?" he asked in the mirror.

The next day Towny was in a racing suit, jumping over the barrier towards a car.

"Tony and I… Tony… I love Tony Stark. Tony loves me. We're not competitors. Him being out of the picture created tremendous opportunities for Hammer Industries, you know? Everything that Tony and I do…" Justin said still inside, talking to Christine.

"Well, what's the use of having…" Tony said on the TV behind him.

"…is a healthy…"

"…and owning a race car…"

"…competition."

"…if you don't drive it?"

"Is he driving?"

Meanwhile Pepper was sitting at her table waiting for Tony when she noticed the television.

"Natalie. Natalie!" Pepper said.

"Yes, Ms. Potts?" Natalie said.

"What do you know about this?"

"This is the first that I have known of it."

"This, this cannot happen."

"Absolutely. I understand. How can I help you?"

"Where's Happy?"

"He's waiting outside."

"Okay, get him. I need Happy."

"Right away."

"I need to call Bucky to." Pepper said and picked up her phone and called Bucky.

"Pepper?" Bucky said. "Please tell me you're seeing this."

"If you mean Tony racing then yes."

"If you're going to get him I'll hop on my bike and meet you there."

"OK. Be careful."

"You to." he said and they hung up.

Meanwhile Bucky was grabbing his keys and headed to his bike.

"My god Tony." Bucky said shaking his head.

"Tony's… You know, he… We're not competitive. You know what I mean?" Justin said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, can you excuse me just one second?" Christine asked.

"Just read me what you wrote."

"I will. I will, after."

"Just read it back to me."

"But I have to make one quick phone call."

"Where are you going?"

"This is great."

"I've got some caviar coming."

"This is great stuff. I'll be right back."

"Look! That's Stark." someone backstage said while engines started revving and the race took off.

A man dressed in orange as pit crew walked beside the track. He was on the track and the lightning whips struck a car. Pepper looked terrified. Then Happy appeared at the door and held up the briefcase and Pepper went with him to the car and got in the back.

"Go, go." Pepper said.

"Hang on." Happy said and crashed through a barrier onto the track heading the opposite way to the race cars.

Tony's car got hit and he went flying, losing the front. Then Ivan headed forward and another car got hit.

"Give me the case." Pepper said.

"Here, take it." Happy said and handed it to Pepper.

"Where's the key?"

"It's in my pocket."

"Car!"

Then Ivan sliced more of Tony's car but was gone. Tony came up from behind him and whacked him around the head with a sheet of metal fighting. Tony was knocked on the floor and saw a dripping petrol. Ivan started to swing the whips but Tony moved, hit petrol and the car burst into flames. Bucky appeared, driving his bike and ran Ivan into the fence. Then Tony was up the fence.

"ANTHONY HOWARD STARK!" Bucky yelled and Tony winced. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Are you okay?" Tony asked ignoring the question.

"Yeah." Happy said.

"Were you heading from me or him?"

"I was trying to scare him but not using the Winter Soldier me." Bucky said.

"'Cause I can't tell!"

"Are you out of your mind?" Pepper asked.

"Better security."

"Get in the car right now!"

"I was attacked. We need better security."

"Get in the car." Bucky said.(Happy)

"You're CEO. Better security measures. God, it's embarrassing." Tony said and Ivan's head moved while Tony opened the door. "First vacation in two years." he said and Ivan sliced the door in half.

"Oh my God!" Pepper and Bucky reversed a bit while ran into Ivan again.

"Happy!" Bucky said.

"I got him!" Happy said.

"Hit him again. Hit him again. Football." Tony said.

"Tony! Enough!" Bucky said.

"I got him." Happy said.

"Take the case! Take it!" Pepper said.

"Give him the case!"

"Stop banging the car!" she said and out came the airbag and Ivan sliced the car in half and kept slicing at the car.

"Calm down."

"God. God."

"Give me the case! Please! Come on!" he said and she threw the case.

Then he stood on it and it turned into the Iron Man Suit. Then they fought and Bucky got ready to help. Then Iron Man ripped out the Arc Reactor, shutting off Ivan's suit.

"You… You lose. You lose Stark." Ivan said being taken away by the police and Justin smiled.

Then Bucky looked at Tony.

"Don't ever do that again!" Bucky said and Tony winced.

Later Tony and Bucky were in a prison.

"We ran his prints. We got nothing back, not even a name." a police officer said in French.

"Where are we going?" Tony asked in French.

"Over there. We're not even sure he speaks English. He hasn't said a word since he got here."

"If he can't I know just about every language so could translate it." Bucky said in French and the officer nodded.

"Five minutes." Tony said in French.

"Five minutes." the officer said and shut the door behind Tony and Bucky.

"Pretty decent tech. Cycles per second were a little low. You could have doubled up your rotations. You focused the repulsor energy through ionized plasma channels. It's effective. Not very efficient. But it's a passable knock-off. I don't get it. A little fine tuning you could have made a solid pay check. You could have sold it to North Korea, China, Iran, or gone onto the black market. You look like you got friends in low places."

"You come from a family of thieves and butchers. And now, like all guilty men, you try to rewrite your own history. And you forget all the lives the Stark family has destroyed." Ivan said.

"Speaking of thieves, where did you get this design?"

"My father. Anton Vanko."

'That name sounds familiar.' Bucky thought.

"Well, I never heard of him." Tony said.

"My father is the reason you're alive." Ivan said and Bucky remembered.

"The reason I'm alive is 'cause you had a shot, you took it, you missed."

"Did I? If you can make God bleed, the people will cease to believe in him. And there will be blood in the water. And the sharks will come. The truth, all I have to do is sit here and watch as the world will consume you."

"Where will you be watching the world consume me from? That's right. A prison cell. I'll send you a bar of soap." Tony said and got up to leave.

"Hey, Tony. Before you go, palladium in the chest, painful way to die." Ivan said and Bucky froze while Tony left the cell.

"What did you just say?" Bucky asked.

"You'll find out soon."

"I heard about your father when I worked for SHIELD." Bucky said and left.

Later on Tony's private aero plane Stern was on the television.

"It's just unbelievable. It proves that the genie is out of the bottle and this man has no idea what he's doing. He thinks of the Iron Man weapon as a toy. I was at a hearing where Mr. Stark, in fact, was adamant that these suits can't exist anywhere else, don't exist anywhere else, never will exist anywhere else, at least for five to ten years, and here we are in Monaco realizing, "These suits exist now."" Stern said.

"Mute. He should be giving me a medal. That's the truth." Tony said.

"What is that?" Pepper asked.

"This is your in-flight meal."

"Did you just make that?"

"Yeah. Where do you think I've been for three hours?"

"I tried to make it myself or at least help him but he kept saying no." Bucky said.

"Tony, what are you not telling me?" Pepper asked.

"I think you mean what are you not telling us?"

"I don't want to go home. At all. Let's cancel my birthday party and… We're in Europe. Let's go to Venice, Cipriani. Remember?" Tony said.

"Oh, yes." Pepper said.

"It's a great place to be healthy."

"I don't think this is the right time. We're in kind of a mess."

"Yeah, but maybe that's why it's the best time. 'Cause then we can…"

"Well, I think as the CEO I need to show up."

"As CEO, you are entitled to a leave. Or I could just ask Bucky to do it. He worked with me dad after all."

"Not a chance. I was trained to be a solder, not a businessman unlike you." Bucky said.

"A leave?" Pepper said.

"A company retreat." Tony said.

"A retreat? During a time like this?"

"Just a ride. Well, I'm just saying, to recharge our batteries and figure it all out."

"Not everybody runs on batteries Tony."

Meanwhile Ivan was in a cell when a guard dropped off food and someone left a note about enjoying the potatoes. That would be easier if they were potatoes and not an explosive. Then a man entered, dressed like Ivan, down to the number. Ivan escaped and a guard noticed and wanted to stop him.

"Hé prisonnier! Arrêtes toi! Que fais-tu?" the officer said in French but Ivan broke his neck.

More French shouting and Ivan got knocked out.

Later he woke up somewhere else.

"Hey. There he is. There he is. What an absolute pleasure. Welcome. Oh goodness gracious. Can we get the handcuffs off my friend here? Forgive me, I'm sorry. I'm such a huge fan of yours. I didn't want to make a first impression like this. He's not an animal. Come on. He's a human being. Thank you." Justin said.

"I am not leaving him with you." a henchman said in French.

"Let us." Justin said in French.

"I am not leaving him, he is crazy."

"Oui, oui. We're fine. My name is Justin Hammer. I'd like to do some business with you. Please sit. Dig in. What do we have today Jack?"

"We have some salmon carpaccio." Jack said.

"Salmon carpaccio. Anything you want here, we got it. I like my dessert first. I had this flown in from San Francisco. It's Italian though. Organic ice cream. I got a sweet tooth. Apparently you do too, for Tony Stark. What I saw you do to Tony Stark on that track, how you stepped up to him in front of God and everybody that was… Wow. You spoke to me with what you did. And I know that you knew that I'd be listening. This is why I couldn't bear to have you shipped off to God knows where. It would have been such a waste of talent. But if I might make a suggestion, you know, you don't just go and try to kill the guy. I think, if I may, you go after his legacy. That's what you kill. You and me, we are a lot alike in a lot of ways. The only difference between you and I is that I have resources. I think, if I may, you need my resources. Someone behind you, a benefactor. I'd like to be that guy."

"Если меня убьют, не буди меня. Лучше умереть, чем жить в своем мире."

"Okay. Do you speak English? Because I can get a translator. I don't know." Justin said. "It would be a lot easier if Agent Barnes were here." he muttered. "Have you been understanding everything I'm saying?"

"Very good, man."

"Very good, man."

"Very good, man."

"Hey!"

"Hey." Ivan said clinking the bottle with Justin's glass.

"Yes?

"I want my bird."

"A bird? You want a bird?"

"I want my bird."

"I can get you a bird. I can get you ten birds."

"I want my bird."

"Well, okay. Nothing's impossible. I could… Are we talking about… Is this a bird back in Russia?"

The next day Pepper and Natalie were back in Malibu.

"Yes, but the fundamentals of the company are still very, very strong despite the events in Monaco."

"Yes, of course." Natalie said also on a phone but a different one. "The AP wants a quote." she said to Pepper so Pepper covered the speaker.

"Don't tell them. Fax them…" she said and Rhodey started entering.

"Where is he?" Rhodey asked.

"He doesn't want to be disturbed." Natalie said.

"He's downstairs." Pepper said.

"But what happened in Monaco?" a news reader said on TV.

"Yes, but…."

"But his continuing erratic behavior may lead many people to ask themselves, "Can this man still protect us?""

"Iron Man never stopped protecting us. The events in Monaco proved that."

Meanwhile Tony was sitting in a car in his workshop looking at holograms.

"Query complete sir. Anton Vanko was a Soviet physicist who defected to the United States in , he was accused of espionage and was deported in 1967. His son, Ivan, who is also a physicist, was convicted of selling Soviet-era weapons grade plutonium to Pakistan, and served 15 years in Kopeisk prison. No further records exist." JARVIS said when Rhodey and Bucky entered.

"Tony, you gotta get upstairs and get on top of this situation right now. Listen. I've been on the phone with the National Guard all day, trying to talk them out of rolling tanks up the PCH, knocking down your front door and taking these. They're gonna take your suits, Tony, okay? They're sick of the games. You said nobody else would possess this technology for 20 years. Well, guess what? Somebody else had it yesterday. It's not theoretical anymore. Are you listening to me? Are you okay?" Rhodey said.

"Let's go." Tony said, got out the car and fell.

"Tony!" Bucky said.

"Hey, man. Hey, hey! You all right?" Rhodey asked.

"Yeah, I should get to my desk." Tony said and Bucky supported him. "See that cigar box?"

"Yeah."

"It's palladium." Tony said and removed Arc Reactor.

"Is that supposed to be smoking?"

"I don't think it is." Bucky said feeling the spy in him go off.

"If you must know, it's neutron damage. It's from the reactor wall." Tony said.

"You had this in your body? And how about the high-tech crossword puzzle on your neck?" Rhodey asked.

"Road rash. Thank you." Tony said, replaced Arc Reactor and started drinking green liquid again. "What are you looking at?"

"I'm looking at you. You wanna do this whole lone gunslinger act and it's unnecessary. You don't have to do this alone."

"He's right Tony. I've been there for you since the day you were born and I'll be there until the end." Bucky said and put a hand on Tont's shoulder.

"You know, I wish I could believe that. I really do. But you've gotta trust me. Contrary to popular belief, I know exactly what I'm doing." Tony said.

In Queens New York.

"This is where we do it. This is my humble abode. You can work in absolute peace. Must be fun to be dead, right? No pressure. Here they are. I'm very excited. They're combat-ready. I may have done a few miscalculations and rushed the prototype into production. Sue me, I'm enthusiastic. Go ahead, take a look around." Justin said as Ivan put on glasses and headed towards a computer. "You don't wanna do that. You'll be able to access that as soon as we generate some encrypted pass codes. Can we generate some encrypted pass codes? Get some of those encrypted pass codes, Jack. Never mind, I… Wow. Okay. Good stuff."

"Твой софт говно!" Ivan said.

"Sorry?"

"Software shit."

"Well… You're good. You really blasted in past the firewall there. Let me show you where you're gonna be working primarily. Go ahead, take a look. Get a good look at that. That's something, isn't it? You know, those are really just for show and tell. They're $125.7 million a pop, so… Wait!" Justin said and Ivan pulled off one's head. "Oh gosh. Jesus Christ. Get somebody up here. That's where the pilot goes. I'm having a tough time finding volunteers. I'll take care of that, just leave it."

"What you want them do?"

"Well, long term, I want them to put me in the Pentagon for the next 25 years. I want to make Iron Man look like an antique. I wanna go to that Stark Expo, I wanna take a dump in Tony Stark's front yard. You know what I'm talking about?"

"I can do that. No problem."

"Yeah? Hey, fabulous! I love it. Hey, this is our guy. Didn't I tell you? I had a feeling."

Tony's rash on his chest was getting worse when Natalie entered.

"Do you know which watch you'd like to wear tonight, Mr. Stark?" Natalie asked.

"I'll give them a look. I should cancel the party." Tony said.

"Probably."

"Yeah. 'Cause it's…"

"Ill-timed."

"Right, sends the wrong message."

"Inappropriate." she said and he drank a bit of his drink that she handed him. "Is that dirty enough for you?"

"Gold face, brown hand. The Jaeger. I'll give that a look. Bring them over." he said and she handed him the box of watches. "I'll take that. Why don't you…" he said and she sat, smiled softly and started helping him cover his bruise. "I gotta say it. It's hard to get a read on you. Where are you from?"

"Legal."

"Can I ask you a question, hypothetically? Bit odd. If this was your last birthday party you were ever gonna have, how would you celebrate it?"

"I'd do whatever I wanted to do with whoever I wanted to do it with." she said and left and he finished his drink.

Later Tony was drunk, by a DJ, dancing in the suit. Cars pulled up outside.

"Good evening." someone said.

"Yes, sir, I understand. No. No, sir, that will not be necessary. I'll handle it. Sir, I personally guarantee that within 24 hours, Iron Man will be back on watch." Rhodey said and he and Bucky entered party. "Hey Pepper."

"I'm going to get some air." Pepper said.

"What's wrong?

"I don't know what to do." she said showing them Tony.

"Oh my god." Bucky said.

'What the hell is wrong with you?' he thought.

"You gotta be kidding me." Rhodey said and Tony fell over, drunk. "That's it, I'm making…." Rhodey said.

"No, no, no. Don't call anyone. Same with you Bucky." Pepper said.

"Pepper. This is ridiculous. I just stuck my neck out for this guy."

"I know. I know. I get it. I'm gonna handle it, okay Just let me handle it."

"Handle it. Or I'm gonna have to."

"You know, the question I get asked most often is, "Tony, how do you go to the bathroom in the suit?" Just like that." Tony said to the crowd and they cheered.

Then Pepper and Bucky walked up to him.

"Does this guy know how to throw a party or what?" Pepper asked.

"I love you." Tony said.

"Unbelievable! Thank you so much. Tony, we all thank you so much for such a wonderful night. And we're gonna say good night now and thank you all for coming."

"Come on Tony, let's head up to bed." Bucky said and tried to get him away without using some of his strength.

"No, no, no, we can't … Wait, wait, wait. We didn't have the cake. We didn't blow out the candles." Tony said.

"You're out of control, okay? Trust me on this, okay?" Pepper said.

"You're out of control gorgeous."

"It's time to go to bed. It's time."

"Give me another smooch."

'What did you do to him Howard?' Bucky thought.

"Let's go Tony." he said and got closer. "I'll even tell you the day Howard got the RRS lab to explode. That sound good?"

"You're not going to be happy about this." Pepper said.

"Come on, you know you want to." Tony said.

"You just peed in the suit."

"I know. It has a filtration system."

"Tony!" Bucky said.

"It's not sexy." Pepper said

"You could drink that water."

"Just send everybody home, okay? It's time to…"

"If you say so."

"Okay. I'll take this, you take that." Bucky said and took the exchanged microphone for bottle.

"Sergeant James Barnes and Pepper Potts. Their right. The party's over. Then again, the party was over for me, like, an hour and a half ago. The after-party starts in 15 minutes. And if anybody, Pepper, Bucky, doesn't like it, there's the door." Tony said and accidentally shot it with the suit. "Yeah!" he said and a girl threw the bottle in the air. "Hit!" he said and Rhodey left as he shot it. "Pull!" he said while Rhodey went downstairs and the drunk girl was still throwing things for Tony to shoot as Rhodey got into one of the suits and another girl appeared with a watermelon. "I think she wants the Gallagher!"

"Tony!" Bucky said then Rhodey came in a full suit.

'Oh thank god.' he thought.

"I'm only gonna say this once. Get out." Rhodey said in full suit. "You don't deserve to wear one of these. Shut it down!" he said and slipped the helmet down and everybody left.

"Goldstein." Tony said to the DJ.

"Yes, Mr. Stark?" Goldstein said.

"Give me a phat beat to beat my buddy's ass to." Tony said and laughed.

"I told you to shut it down." Rhodey said grabbing hold on Tony from behind but he took off backwards.

"Now, put that thing back where you found it before someone gets hurt." Tony said and Rhodey threw things at him. "Really?" he said and hit him with a set of weights. "Sorry, pal, but Iron Man doesn't have a sidekick."

"Sidekick this." Rhodey said hitting Tony with a pipe. "Had enough?" he asked and Tony went up through the ceiling.

"Natalie!" Pepper said.

"Miss Potts."

"Don't you "Miss Potts" me! I'm on to you. You know what? Ever since you came here…" Natalie said and Tony and Rhodey came crashing through the ceiling.

"Pepper! Bucky!" Happy said and ran in to get Pepper out of the way knowing Bucky could take care of himself. "Get out of here. Get out of here now." he said and Natalie headed off somewhere but stopped and looked at Bucky.

"Come on." she said and Bucky sighed.

"I can't get a break can I?" Bucky muttered and followed her.

"You want it? Take it! [Beats Rhodey and turns to growl at crowd, who run off. Rhodey gets back up.]

"Put you hand down."

"You think you got what it takes to wear that suit?"

"We don't have to do this, Tony."

"You wanna be the War Machine, take your shot."

"Put it down!"

"You gonna take a shot?"

"Put it down!"

"No!"

"Drop it Tony!"

"Take it!" Tony said and their blasts met and Tony's house went down knocking them both backwards.

Then Tony looked around to see Rhodey take off in the suit.

Later Rhodey was at Edwards Air Force Base Mojave, CA.

"Edwards Tower, this is Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, inbound from three miles east at 5,000 feet…" Rhodey said and landed in suit.

"Colonel." Major Allen said.

"Major."

"Wow."

"Yeah. Let's take it inside."

"Clear the area."

The next day Tony was sitting inside a doughnut, eating a doughnut and Nick Fury was looking up at him.

"Sir! I'm gonna have to ask you to exit the doughnut." Fury said.

A few minutes later Tony was inside sitting at a table with Fury.

"I told you I don't wanna join your super-secret boy band." Tony said.

"No, no, no. See, I remember, you do everything yourself. How's that working out for you?" Fury asked.

"It's… It's… It's… I'm sorry. I don't wanna get off on the wrong foot. Do I look at the patch or the eye? Honestly I'm a bit hung over. I'm not sure if you're real of if I'm having…"

"I am very real. I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet."

"Just my luck. Where's the staff here?"

"That's not looking so good."

"I've been worse." Tony said and a woman walked over followed by Bucky. "Bucky?"

"We've secured the perimeter but I don't think we should hold it for too much longer." the SHIELD agent said and he looked over top of glasses to see Natalie.

"You're fired."

"Just listen to her Tony." Bucky said.

"That's not up to you." Natalie said and sat down next to Fury while Bucky sat next to Tony.

"Tony, I want you to meet Agent Romanoff." Fury said. "And obviously you already know Barnes."

"Hi." Tony said.

"Her name is Natasha." Bucky said. "Natalie was her coverup."

"I'm a SHIELD shadow like Bucky. Once we knew you were ill, I was tasked to you by Director Fury." Natasha said. "If Bucky hadn't retired this would've been his mission."

"We are talking about that later to." Bucky said looking at Tony.

"I suggest you apologies." Tony said.

"You've been very busy. You made your girl your CEO, you're giving away all your stuff. You let your friend fly away with your suit. Now, if I didn't know better…" Fury said.

"You don't know better. I didn't give it to him. He took it."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. He took it? You're Iron Man and he just took it? The little brother walked in there, kicked your ass and took your suit?" Fury said and turned Bucky then Natasha. "Is that possible?"

"Well, according to Mr. Stark's database security guidelines, there are redundancies to prevent unauthorized usage." Natasha said.

"What do you want from me?"

"What do we want from you? What do you want from me?" Fury asked and Natasha left. "You have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe. I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with." he said and she returned with an injection. "Hit him."

"Oh, God, are gonna steal my kidney and sell it?" Tony asked and the rash went down. "Could you please not do anything awful for five seconds? What did she just do to me?"

"What did we just do for you? That's lithium dioxide. It's gonna take the edge off. We're trying to get you back to work."

"Give me a couple of boxes of that. I'll be right as rain."

"It's not a cure, it just abates the symptoms." Natasha said.

"Doesn't look like it's gonna be an easy fix." Fury said.

"Trust me, I know. I'm good at this stuff. I've been looking for a suitable replacement for palladium. I've tried every combination, every permutation of every known element." Tony said.

"Well, I'm here to tell you, you haven't tried them all."

At Hammer Industries.

"Hey, hey, het. Special delivery. Candygram." Justin said and Ivan climbed down from where he was working. "I brought you something. Oh yeah." he said and removed the cloth. "We got you the bird, pal."

"This is not my bird." Ivan said.

"What do you mean? That's the bird. This is the bird. Yeah, pulled a lot of strings to get this bird. This is a great bird."

"It's a beautiful bird." Jack said.

"We got this bird all the way from Russia."

"Hey, man, this is not my bird." Ivan said.

"Well, listen, even if it's not the bird, I mean, this is a gorgeous bird. I mean, you know, look, don't get so attached to things. Learn to let go. Wait a minute. Jack, what is that? Is that… That's not a helmet. What is that?" Justin said and walked up to suit. "Ivan… What's this? Jack. Is that a helmet? It doesn't look like a helmet to me. How… How are you supposed to get a head in there? Jack, could you put your head in there?"

"No." Jack said.

"Try to put your head in there. Go ahead. Try to put your head in there." Justin said and Jack put it on his head. "See, Ivan? He can't put his head in there. That's… That's not a helmet. It's a head. I need to put a guy in there. I need to fit a person in that suit. You understand?"

"Drone better." Ivan said.

"What? Drone better? Why is drone better? Why is drone better?"

"People make problem. Trust me. Drone better."

"Ivan, you know, I like you. I got you the bird. You said, "No problem." That's what you said to me. You said, "No problem." Now I need suits. The government wants suits. Like Iron Man. You understand? That's what the people want. That's what's gonna make them happy."

"Hey, man. Don't get too attached to things. Learn to let go."

"These drones better steal the show, Ivan. You understand? Better rock my world, Ivan."

At the Air base.

"Unbelievable. This ought to get the Senate off my ass. It's functional?" General said.

"Fully mission-capable." Rhodey said.

"Good. Get Hammer down here to weaponize it."

"Sir?"

"Justin Hammer's making a weapons presentation at the Expo. We'd like this to introduce it."

"Sir, I don't believe that the Expo…"

"Colonel, the world needs to see this fast. We've got to make this happen."

"Yes, General, but…"

"It's also an order."

"Yes sir."

"Good work, Colonel. You've made your country proud."

"Thank you sir."

At Tony's broken house Tony was sitting with Nick Fury and Bucky.

"That thing in your chest is based on unfinished technology." Fury said.

"No, it was finished. It has never been particularly effective until I miniaturized it and put it in my…" Tony started but was cut off.

"No. Howard said the arc reactor was the stepping stone to something greater. He was about to kick off an energy race that was gonna dwarf the arms race. He was on to something big, something so big that it was gonna make the nuclear reactor look like a triple-A battery."

"He'd never stop talking about either." Bucky said with his arms crossed and chuckled.

"Just him, or Anton Vanko in on this too?" Tony said.

"Anton Vanko is the other side of that coin. Anton saw it as a way to get rich. When your father found out, he had him deported. When the Russians found out he couldn't deliver they shipped his ass off to Siberia and he spent the next 20 years in a vodka-fueled rage. Not quite the environment you want to raise a kid in, the son you had the misfortune of crossing paths with in Monaco." Fury said.

"You told me I hadn't tried everything. What do you mean I haven't tried everything? What haven't I tried?"

"He said that you were the only person with the means and knowledge to finish what he started."

"He said that?" Tony asked and looked at Bucky.

"Yeah, he did." Bucky said smiling a little.

"Are you that guy? Are you? 'Cause if you are, then you can solve the riddle of your heart." Fury said.

"I don't know where you get your information, but he wasn't my biggest fan." Tony said.

"What do you remember about your dad that Barnes hasn't told you?"

"He was cold, he was calculating. He never told me he loved me. He never even told me he liked me, so it's a little tough for me to digest when you're telling me he said the whole future was riding on me and he's passing it down. I don't get that. You're talking about a guy who's happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school." Tony said. "The closest thing to a father I ever had was Bucky!"

"Tony," Bucky started but was cut off.

"That's not true." Fury said.

"Well, then, clearly you knew my dad better than Bucky and I did." Tony said.

"As a matter of fact, I did."

"Fury, shut the hell up!" Bucky said and looked at Tony. "He was one of the founding members of SHIELD."

"What?" Tony said.

"You probably forget because I told you when you were five."

"I got a two o'clock." Fury said and Bucky rolled his eyes.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. What's this?" Tony asked.

"Okay, you're good, right?" Fury asked. "You got Barnes to help."

"No, I'm not good."

"You got this? Right? Right?"

"Got what? I don't even know what I'm supposed to get."

"Natasha will remain a floater at Stark with her cover intact. You remember Agent Coulson, right?"

"Yeah."

"And Tony, remember, I got my eye on you." Fury said and left.

"Agent Barnes." Coulson said.

"Agent Coulson." Bucky said and they shook hands. "And you know I'm not an agent anymore. Either Bucky, Sergeant Barnes or Mr. Barnes."

"Right, sorry."

"We've disabled all communications. No contact with the outside world. Good luck." Natasha said and left.

"Please. First thing, I need a little bodywork. I'll put in a little time at the lab. If we could send one of your goon squad down to The Coffee Bean, Cross Creek, for a Starbucks run, or something like that, that'd be nice." Tony said turning to Coulson.

"I'm not here for that. I've been authorized by Director Fury to use any means necessary to keep you on premises. If you attempt to leave or play any games, I will tase you and watch Supernanny while you drool into the carpet. Okay?" Coulson said and Bucky couldn't help but snicker.

"I think I got it, yeah."

"Enjoy your evening's entertainment." Coulson said and left.

Then Tony looked at the box that had been left for him.

Back at Air base they were dismantling the suit.

"Think this is the power source?" Major Allen asked.

"Major, this is not a scientific exercise. Let's just focus on arming it, all right?" Rhodey said.

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, yes! Oh, yes, yes, yes. Is it my birthday? You got it. What did you do? What did you do? Is this what I think it is?" Justin said entering while sucking on a red lollipop.

"Yes it is. Hammer, I want to know what you're gonna do for us."

"What am I going to do for you? Well, the first thing I'm gonna do for you is I'm gonna upgrade your software. And then, second, I think I should…"

"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about firepower."

"Well, you're talking to the right guy." Justin said and bit his lollipop.

Later he had weapons to show Rhodey.

"Claridge Hi-Tec, semi-automatic, 9mm pistol. Too downtown? I agree. M24 shotgun, pump action. Five-round magazine. You know what? You're not a hunter. What am I talking about? I'm getting rid of it. This is the FN-2000 from Belgium. They do make something better than waffles. It's beautiful, But I can tell this isn't disco enough for you, so I'm gonna put it right here. You're looking at a Milkor 40mm grenade launcher. Tear gas, smoke. Hippie control. You're tough. Let me tell you something. Size does matter. Don't let anyone tell you different. This is an M134 7.62 Minigun. Six Indvidual barrels. The torso taker, powder maker. Our boys in uniform call in Uncle Gazpacho or Puff the Magic Dragon. Okay. These are the Cubans, baby. This is the Cohibas, the Montecristo's. This is a kinetic-kill, side-winder vehicle with a secondary cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine RDX burst. It's capable of busting the bunker under the bunker you just busted. If it were any smarter, it would write a book. A book that would make Ulysses look like it was written in crayon. It would read it to you. This is my Eiffel Tower. This is my Rachmaninoff's Third. My Pieta. It's completely elegant. It's bafflingly beautiful. And it's capable of reducing the population of any standing structure to zero. I call it the Ex-Wife. That's the best I got. Are we gonna do this? Give me something here. You're like a sphinx. I can't read you." Justin said.

"I think I'll take it." Rhodey said.

"Which one?"

"All of it."

"All of it."

Meanwhile Tony was looking through the box where blue prints for the arc reactor, newspaper articles and a video reeled.

Howard (on video): "Everything is achievable through technology. Better living, robust heath," Howard said on the TV and Tony was flicking through a notebook as the video played. "and for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace. I'm Howard Stark, and everything you'll need for the future can be found right here. City of the Future? City of Tomorrow? City of… I'm Howard Stark and everything you'll need in the future can be found right here. So, from all of us at Stark Industries, I would like to personally… Tony, what are you doing back there? What is that?" he said while little Tony picked one of the buildings up off the model. "Put that back. Put it back where you got it from. Where's your mother or uncle Bucky? Maria? Bucky? Go on. Go, go, go, go." he said and a man took little Tony off, presumably to where Maria or Bucky was.

"All right, I think we got…" the man said.

"I'll… I'll… I'll come in and…" Howard said and the Video changed.

"Are you waiting on me?" the man asked and Howard drank.

Then the video changed again.

"So, from all of us at Stark Industries, I'd like to personally show you my ass. I'd like to… I can't… This is… I can't… We have this, don't we? This is a ridiculous way… Everything" Howard said and Tony reached end of blank notebook. "is achievable through technology." he said and Tony threw the book to one side and drank. "Tony. You're too young to understand this right now, so I thought I would put it on film for you. I built this for you. And someday you'll realize that it represents a whole lot more than just people's inventions. It represents my life's work. This is the key to the future. I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world. What is and always will be my greatest creation is you." he said. "And when I'm gone, uncle Bucky will be there for you." he said and Tony tried not to cry as the film ended.

Then Bucky held him close.

"Let it all out. You've held it long enough." Bucky said gently and Tony started crying.

"Don't leave me." Tony whispered.

"I'm not going anywhere." Bucky said. "And besides, I'm immortal remember?" he said and they chuckled.

Later Tony was driving down a road in car number plate Stark11 and stopped fort some strawberries.

"How much?" Tony asked in Spanish.

"$6. Six." the strawberry man said.

"I don't have any dough. Here." Tony said and took off his watch.

"No, sir, that's too much."

"No, it's fine. Take that. It's fine"

"No, señor."

"Take it. Take it. I don't like people handing me things. If you just drop that there, that'd be great."

"Are you Iron Man?"

"Sometimes."

"We believe in you!" the strawberry man said as Tony drove off."

Later at Pepper's office.

"It was an illegal seizure of trademark property." Pepper said.

"Miss Potts?" a PA said.

"Relax." Tony said.

"Mr. Stark…"

"Is here."

"He refuses…"

"I don't. It's fine. I'll just be a second."

"Listen, it's our position that Stark has and continues to maintain propriety ownership of the Mark II platform." Pepper said on the phone.

"When Mr. Stark announced he was indeed Iron Man, he was making a promise to America." a news reporter said on TV.

"No, the suit belongs to us."

"We trusted that he would look out for us like former Agent James Barnes always has since WWII.."

"Yeah, but you're not…"

"He obviously did not."

"Burt…"

"And now we learn that his secretary…"

"Yes, it does."

"…a woman named Virginia "Pepper" Potts, has been appointed as CEO of Stark Industries. What are her qualifications?"

"No."

"Miss Potts has done nothing to manage this terrible…"

"Mute."

"No… Burt… Burt… Burt, listen to me. Don't tell me that we have the best patent lawyers in the country and then not let me pursue this."

"I'll get this stuff out of here." he said looking at boxes and things in the corner."

"Well, then, tell the President to sign an order. We'll talk about it at the Expo." she said while he pulled back a sheet to find the same model as the video. "Hammer's giving some presentation tomorrow evening. Will Tony Stark be there?"

"Will I?" he asked pulling up a chair.

"No, he will not. Bye."

"I would like to be. Got a minute?"

"No."

"Come on, you just got off the phone. You're fine. 30 seconds."

"Twenty-nine Twenty-eight."

"I was just driving over here, and I thought I was coming to basically apologize, but I'm not."

"You didn't come here to apologize?"

"Look, that goes without saying, and I'm working on that. But I haven't been entirely upfront with you, and I just want to try to make good. Can I move this? This is crazy. It's like a Ferris wheel, going. I'm trying to get some…"

"No."

"Do you know how short life is? And if I never got to express… And by the way, this is somewhat revelatory to me. And I don't care… I mean, I care. It would be nice. I'm not expecting you to… Look, here's what I'm trying to say. I'm just gonna say it."

"Let me stop you right here, okay? Because if you say "I" one more time, I'm gonna actually hurl something at your head, I think. I am trying to run a company. Do you have any idea what that entails?"

"Yes."

"People are relying on you to be Iron Man and you've disappeared, and all I'm doing is putting out your fires and taking the heat of it. I am trying to do the job that you were meant to do. Did you bring me strawberries? Did you know that there's only one thing on Earth that I'm allergic to?"

"Allergic to strawberries. This is progress Pepper. I knew there was a correlation between you and this."

"I need you…"

"I need you too."

"…to leave now"

"That's what I'm trying to…"

"Ms. Potts?" Natasha said entering as Natalie in front of Happy.

"Hi, come on in." Pepper said.

"Wheels up in 25 minutes."

"Thank you."

"Anything else, boss?" Happy asked.

"I'm good, Hap." Tony said.

"No, I'll be just another minute." Peper said.

"I lost both the kids in the divorce." he said and looked over to Happy, who shook his head. "Are you blending in well here, Natalie? Here are Stark Enterprises? Your name is Natalie, isn't it? I thought you two didn't get along?"

"No. That's not so."

"It's just me you don't care for. No? Nothing?"

"Actually, while you're here maybe you and Natalie could discuss the matter of the personal belongings."

"Absolutely." Natasha said and Pepper and Happy left. "I'm surprised you can keep your mouth shut."

"Boy, you're good. You are mind-blowingly duplicitous. How do you do it? You just tear things… You're a triple imposter. I've never seen anything like you. Is there anything real about you? Do you even speak Latin?" he asked and she spoke in Latin. "Which means? Wait. What? What did you just say?"

"It means you can either drive yourself home or I can have you collected." she said and left.

"You're good." he said, piled things up under desk spiny thing and threw strawberries in the bin.

Then he went back to the model and looked at it through one eye.

Later Tony was driving it home.

When he got home headed to the workshop while Bucky was in the kitchen making lunch.

"Jarvis, could you kindly Vac-U-Form a digital wire frame? I need a manipulatable projection." Tony said.

"1974 Stark Expo model scan complete, sir." JARVIS said.

"How many buildings are there?" Tony said lifting the blue projection away from the model.

"Am I to include the Belgium waffle stands?"

"That was rhetorical. Just show me." "What does that look like to you Jarvis? Not unlike an atom. In which case the nucleus would be here. Highlight the Unisphere. Lose the footpaths. Get rid of them."

"What is it you're trying to achieve, sir?"

"I'm discovering… Correction. I'm rediscovering a new element, I believe. Lose the landscaping, the shrubbery, the trees." Tony said and flicked things away. "Parking lots, exits, entrances. Structure the protons and the neutrons using the pavilions as a framework. Dad." he said and the model now resembled a nucleus and he expanded it. "Dead for almost 20 years, and still taking me to school." he said and snapped down so the model fit in his hand.

"The proposed element should serve as a viable replacement for palladium."

"Thank Dad."

"Unfortunately, it is impossible to synthesize."

"Get ready for a major remodel, fellas. We're back in hardware mode." Tony said smashing walls with sledge hammers, drilling holes in the floor, fiddling with wires, putting together pipes."

Then Agent Coulson and Bucky entered.

"I heard you broke the perimeter." Coulson said.

"Yeah. That was, like, three years ago. Where have you been?" Tony said.

"I was doing some stuff."

"Haven't heard that in a while." Bucky said smirking a little.

"Yeah, well, me too and it worked. Hey, I'm playing for the home team Coulson, you and all your Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. But not Bucky." Tony said and Bucky smiled. "Now, are you gonna let me work or break my balls?" Tony said.

"What's this doing here?" Coulson asked and pulled a familiar looking object out of a box.

"That's it. Bring that to me."

"You know what this is?"

"It's exactly what I need to make this work. Lift the coil. Go, go. Put your knees into it. There you go. And… Drop it. Drop it." Tony said as Coulson handed it to him. "Perfectly level. I'm busy. What do you want?" he said and the shield was in position and the coil straight.

"Nothing. Goodbye. I've been reassigned. Director Fury wants me in New Mexico."

"New Mexico?" Buck said. "I don't remember hearing anything was there."

"Fantastic. Land of Enchantment." Tony said.

"So I'm told." Coulson said.

"Secret stuff?"

"Something like that. Good luck."

"Bye. Thanks." Tony said and they shook hands.

"We need you."

"Yeah, more than you know."

"Not that much." Coulson said and left and Tony and Bucky went back to building.

"Initializing prismatic accelerator." JARVIS said and Tony turned a wheel on top. "Approaching maximum power." he said using a wrench as a lever, the wheel is turned, but not before cutting holes in the wall.

Eventually it's concentrated on a triangle which started to glow blue.

"That was easy." Tony said and removed the triangle using a pair of pliers."

"Congratulations sir. You have created a new element." JARVIS said and was placed into arc reactor. "Sir, the reactor has accepted the modified core. I will begin running diagnostics." he said and Bucky smiled proudly.

Meanwhile Ivan was also building an arc reactor.

"Hey Ivan. I got Senator Stern here. Thought we'd swing over and look at some of the drone designs." Justin said on phone from golf course."

"The drone is not going to be ready." Ivan said.

"Not ready? What do you mean?"

"I can make presentation, not demonstration."

"What the hell is the difference?"

"Presentation. No fly. No shoot."

"Wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait, wait. What can you make them do? I mean, this is a weapons demonstration."

"I can make salute."

"You can make salute? What do you mean "make salute"? What the hell does that mean Ivan? This is not what we agreed to, okay? You promised me suits and then you promised me drones."

"Hey, man, everything will be okay."

"This is not what I wanted."

Later Justin was back at Hammer Industries entering Ivan's room with two men.

"Hey, there he is. It's the bird man. Now you like the bird. Is that right? Is that your bird? I'm confused. You said it wasn't, but now it looks like you're the best of pals. You love that bird, don't you? You know what? Take the bird." Justin said.

"Hey!" Ivan said as a man grabbed the bird.

"Take his pillows too. Both of them. And his shoes. Take his shoes. I took your stuff. How does that make you feel? Do you feel bad? Good. 'Cause that's how I feel! We had a contract. I saved your life and you give me suits. That was our deal. And you did not deliver. I don't know if you're a genius or a fraud. I don't know what you are. Something really, really great fell into my lap. And if it hadn't, I'd be at your mercy tonight. Now I have a piece of Stark tech that I pimped out myself. And now your overpriced paperweights and gonna look like a backdrop to my demonstration. Do you dig what I'm getting at here?"

"You talk too much." Ivan said in Russian.

"I don't know if you know this, but I don't speak Russian! I'm gonna leave now. I'm gonna go to the Expo. Maybe I'll even get laid. You see these guys? They're your babysitters. They are not to be trifled with. When I get back, we're gonna renegotiate the terms of our agreement. And you're gonna make good on our arrangement because if you don't, you're gonna be exactly what you were when I found you, a dead man. You got that? Maybe you can watch me on TV." Justin said and left.

At Tony's house.

"Dum-E, U, can we clean up this mess? You're killing me. You know I don't…" Tony said but was cut off.

"Incoming call with a blocked number sir." JARVIS said.

"My phone privilege is reinstated. Lovely. Coulson. How's the Land of Enchantment?"

"Hey, Tony, how you doing? I double cycle." Ivan said.

"Oh shit." Bucky said.

"You what?" Tony asked.

"You told me double cycle's more power. Good advice." Ivan said.

"You sound pretty sprightly for a dead guy."

"You too." Ivan said and Tony and muted his speaker.

"Trace him."

"Sir." JARVIS said.

"Now, the true history of Stark name will be written." Ivan said.

"Jarvis, where is he?" Tony asked.

"Accessing the Oracle grid. Eastern Seaboard." JARVIS said.

"What your father did to my family over 40 years, I will do to you in 40 minutes." Ivan said.

"Sounds good. Let's get together and hash it out." Tony said.

"Tri-State area. Manhattan and outlying boroughs." JARVIS said.

"I hope you're ready." Ivan said and the call ended.

"Call trace incomplete."

"Well, that could've gone better." Bucky said.

Then they saw an advert for Justin's presentation and picked up new arc reactor.

"Sir-" JARVIS started but was cut off.

"You want to run some tests, run them. And assemble the suit while you're at it. Put it together now." Tony said.

"Tony." Bucky said slowly.

"We are unclear as to the effects." JARVIS said.

"I don't want to hear it Jarvis." Tony said and the reactor gained power. "That tastes like coconut. And metal. Oh wow, yeah!"

At Stark Expo Natasha opened the door for Pepper to exit the car.

"I'll keep the car down here, all right?" Happy said.

"Thank you Happy." Pepper said.

"…Justin Hammer. His presentation will begin shortly in the main pavilion." the announcer said and Justin danced on to the stage.

"Yeah. That's what I'm talking about. Thanks for coming. Ladies and gentlemen, for far too long, this country has had to place its brave men and women in harm's way, but then the Iron Man arrived, and we thought the days of losing lives were behind us. Sadly, that technology was kept out of reach. That's not fair. That's not right. And it's just too bad." Justin said.

"Oh, Lord." Pepper said.

"Regardless, it was an impressive innovation, one that grabbed the headlines the world over. Well, today, my friends, the press is faced with quite a difficult problem. They are about to run out of ink." he said and two people ran on to remove the podium. "Get that out of here. Ladies and gentlemen, today I present to you the new face of the United States military. The Hammer drone." he said and drones rise out of the stage as he called names. "Army! Navy! Air Force! Marines! Yeah! Yeah! Woo! That's a hell of a lot better than some cheerleaders, let me tell you. But as revolutionary as this technology is, there will always be a need for man to be present in the theatre of war" he said while Ivan tied something. "Ladies and gentlemen, today I am proud to present to you the very first prototype in the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit and its pilot, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes."

"What?" she said and rose and saluted.

"For America and its allies, Hammer Industries is reporting for…" he started but then there was an incoming Iron Man and Bucky now in his Winter Soldier suit.

"We got trouble." Iron Man said.

"Tony, Bucky, there are civilians present. I'm here on orders. Let's not do this right now." Rhodey said.

"Give them a wave."

"Hey, all right. Yeah." Justin said.

"All these people are in danger. We gotta get them out of here. You gotta trust me for the next five minutes."

"He's right Rhodey." Winter Soldier said.

"Yeah, I tried that. I got tossed around your house, remember?" Rhodey said.

"Listen, I think he's working with Vanko." Iron Man said.

"Vanko's alive?"

"Yeah." Justin said and Iron Man and Winter Solder approached him.

"What is he?" Iron Man asked.

"What?"

"Where's Vanko?"

"Who?"

"Tell me."

"What are you doing here man?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Rhodey said.

"Is that you?" Iron Man said as a large gun took aim.

"No, I'm not doing that. That's not me. I can't move. I'm locked up. I'm locked up!" Rhodey said and drones took aim. "Get out of here. Go! This whole system's been compromised."

"Let's take it outside." Iron Man said and took off and drones and Rhodey fired at him while Rhodey took off.

"No, no!"

"TONY!" Winter Soldier yelled.

Then he turned around and ran to find a way up.

"Jarvis, break in. I need to own him." Iron Man said.

"Yes sir." JARVIS said.

"Tony, Tony, I'm locked on. I have target lock." Rhodey said.

"On what?" Iron Man asked.

"On you." Rhodey said and started shooting at him. "Tony, on your six!"

"What's going on? What's happening?" Justin asked running to a computer.

"The software's been overridden." a technician said.

"What? What do you mean it's been overridden? What does that mean?"

"I think he slaved the drones."

"That's impossible. Call the guards."

"All the phones are down sir." Jack said.

"Well, then call their… Call their cells."

"Their cell phones are not working either sir."

"He's locked us out of the mainframe." the technician said.

"Who's locked you out of the mainframe?" Pepper asked while she entered.

"Please, please, go away. Go away. I've got this handled." Justin said.

"Have you now?" Pepper asked.

"Yes, I do. In fact, if your guy hadn't showed up, this wouldn't be happening. So, please, now go away. Thank you." he said. "Listen, we got to get these bitches out of here. What?" he asked the technician."

Then Natasha grabbed him and held him down on the desk.

"You tell me who's behind this. Who's behind this?" Natasha asked.

"Ivan. Ivan Vanko."

"Where is he?"

"At my facility." he said and she let go and left while Pepper dialed a number on her phone.

"I need NYPD, please." Pepper said.

"No, no, no!"

"Command Central."

"No, no, honey. Don't call the authorities."

"Okay. Right away. Right away." she said. "Step aside. Step aside." she said to Justin. "Tell me everything you know. Go." she said to the technician.

Meanwhile Iron Man was still being chased by Rhodey's suit and the air force drones.

"How are we doing Jarvis?" Iron Man asked.

"Remote reboot unsuccessful." JARVIS said.

Meanwhile other drones were firing at the running crowds while Natasha left the building.

"This way." a security guard said.

"Nobody's answering the phone. What's going on?" Happy said.

"Get in the car. Take me to Hammer Industries." Natasha said.

"I'm not taking you anywhere."

"Nat!" Winter Soldier said and Natasha looked at him.

"Perfect timing." Natasha said.

"I was looking for a way to get to Tony but I guess you need help." he said and chuckled and Natasha looked at Happy.

"Fine. You want me or Bucky to drive?"

"No, I'm driving. Get in the car." Happy said.

Meanwhile there were lots of shooting drones and people screaming. The kid with the Iron Man helmet was targeted by a drone and held his hand up when Iron Man landed behind him and shot the drone with his hand repulsor.

"Nice work kid." Iron Man said and took off again.

"You got multiples coming in on you." Rhodey said.

"Let's get this away from the Expo."

Inside car.

"When we arrive, I need you to watch the perimeter." Natasha said getting undressed in the back of the car. "I'm gonna enter the facility and take down the target. Watch the road."

Happy: "I got it. I got it."

Back with Tony and Rhodey. Iron Man set off one car alarm while the drones set off the rest.

Ivan was still typing inside Hammer Industries.

"Listen, listen. A pack just peeled off. They're headed back to the Expo." Rhodey said.

"Got it." Iron Man said.

"In closing in on you. Ordnance coming in hot Tony. Watch it."

At Hammer Industries Happy parked the car outside.

"Stay in the car." Natasha said.

"I'm not staying in the car." Happy said.

"I said, stay in the car."

"What are you wearing? Look, I'm not letting you go in there alone." Happy said as Natasha and Winter Soldier headed up the stairs to the front door.

"You want to help? Keep the car running." Winter Soldier said.

"Okay." Happy said, opened the door as Natasha unlocked it and they ran.

Then Ivan got a security breach message.

"Hey, hey, hey. You can't come in here." Hammer security said and Happy punched him and Natasha and Winter Soldier headed past.

"Hold on. Hey!" the second guard said and Natasha and Winter Soldier fought the other guards.

Some using her SHIELD tech, some just kicking or punching them.

Back at Expo.

"Each set of drone is communicating in its own unique language." a technician said.

"Well, choose one and focus on that." Pepper said.

"Have you tried Russian? Why don't you try Russian?" Justin asked.

Back at Hammer Industries Happy was still fighting the same guard.

"Attention. We have intrusion on Grid W." the announcers said.

"We got it. We're on our way." a security guard said and Winter Soldier threw something and he and Natasha took on five guards at once.

Then they walked away, Natasha casually spraying one with pepper spray while Happy's fought one guy.

"I got him!" Happy said and saw what Natasha and Winter Soldier had done.

Then Ivan got up.

Meanwhile Iron Man was trying to let the drones away.

"Rhodey, you still locked on?" Iron Man asked.

"Yeah." Rhodey said.

"Drop your socks and grab your Crocs. We're about to get wet on this ride."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Rhodey said and Iron Man lead the drones through the globe sculpture with most explode hitting parts of it.

Back at Hammer Industries Winter Soldier kicked open Ivan's door, both of them a gun in each hand with Happy behind her and the room was empty.

"He's gone." Natasha said.

Back with Tony and Rhodey.

Tony: "I'm sorry buddy. Had to thin out the herd. What's your 20?" Tony asked.

Directly above him they both crashed into biodome.

Natasha put her guns on the table and Winter Soldier started typing.

"What are you doing?" Happy asked.

"I'm rebooting Rhodey's suit." Winter Soldier said.

Rhodey was on top of Iron Man, who was pushing the gun to keep it from shooting him.

"Tony." Rhodey said.

Then Winter Soldier gained access and Rhodey's suit shut down.

"Reboot complete" he said and an Image of Tony was on screen. "You got your best friend back." he said smiling.

"Thank you very much, uncle Bucky, Agent Romanoff."

He wasn't happy seeing Bucky as the Winter Soldier again but knew he would do it if it saved him.

"Well done on the new chest piece by the way. I am reading significant higher output and your vitals all look promising." Winter Soldier said.

"Yes, for the moment, I'm not dying. Thank you."

"What do you mean you're not dying? Did you just say you're dying?" Pepper said after her image appeared on second screen and Winter Soldier winced.

"Is that you? No, I'm not. Not anymore." he said and Natasha looked confused.

"What's going on?"

"If it helps, I didn't find out until Natasha told me when she was making me go with her." Winter Soldier said.

"I was going to tell you. I didn't want to alarm you."

Pepper: "You were gonna tell me? You really were dying?" Pepper said.

"You didn't let me." Tony said.

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

"I was gonna make you an omelet and tell you."

"Hey, hey. Save it for the honeymoon. You got incoming Tony. Looks like the fight's coming to you." Natasha said and Winter Soldier snickered.

"Great. Pepper?"

"Are you okay now?" Pepper asked.

"I am fine. Don't be mad. I will formally apologize…"

"I am mad!"

"Join the club." Winter Soldier said.

"…when I'm not fending off a Hammeroid attack." Iron Man said.

"Fine." Pepper said.

"We could have been in Venice."

"Oh please." she said and Tony tapped Rhodey's helmet as the system restarted.

"Rhodes? Snap out of it buddy. I need you. They're coming. Come on, let's roll. Get up."

"Oh, man. You can have your suit back." Rhodey said and his helmet opened.

"You okay?" Iron Man asked and helped him up.

"Yeah, thanks. Tony, look, I'm sorry, okay?"

"Don't be."

"No. I should have trusted you more."

"I'm the one who put you in this position. Forget it."

"No. It's your fault. I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Thank you. That's all I wanted to hear. Partner. They're coming in hot, any second. What's the play?"

"Well, we want to take the high ground, okay? So let's put the biggest gun up on that ridge."

"Got you. Where do you want to be?"

"Where are you going?"

"What're you talking about?"

"I meant me."

"You have a big gun. You are not the big gun."

"Tony, don't be jealous."

"No. It's subtle all the bells and whistles."

"Yeah. It's called being a badass."

"Fine. All right. You go up to. I'll draw them in."

"Don't stay down here. This is the worst place to be."

"Okay, you got a spot. Where's mine?"

"It's the kill box, Tony. Okay This is where you go to die." Rhodey said and drones incoming and they were still in the kill box, helmets down and shooting started.

"See that?"

"Yeah, yeah. Nice."

"Rhodey? Get down." [Laser slices all the drones in half. And a tree.]

"Wow. I think you should lead with that next time."

"Yeah. Sorry boss. I can only use it one. It's a one-off."

Back in Expo.

"I told you that five minutes ago." Justin said.

"That's your guy here." Pepper said as police entered.

"Excuse me?"

"You're being placed under arrest." an officer said.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Hands behind your back sir."

"I'm trying to help here. I get it. I see what you're doing. You're trying to pin this on me, huh? That's good. That's good. You're starting to think like a CEO, taking out the competition. I like that. You think you're making a problem for me?" Justin said being led away. "I'm gonna make a problem for you. I'm gonna be seeing you again real soon."

"When they get here, I think you should station them at the south, east and both west exits." Pepper said now outside with some officers.

"We shut down the 7 train in and out of Willets Point already." the officer said.

"Well, have city buses there to ferry people to operating lines."

"Yeah. Are you coming with us?"

"No, I'm gonna stay until to park is clear."

"Okay."

At Hammer Industries.

"Head up. You got one more drone incoming. This one looks different." Natasha said Iron Man and Rhodey on speaker. "The repulsor signature is significantly higher."

"Good to be back." Ivan said landing in a full ssuit.

"This ain't gonna be good." Rhodey said and Ivan's whisps turned on. "I got something special for this guy. I'm gonna bust his bunker with the Ex-Wife."

"With the what?" Iron Man asked as Rhodey shot it and it bounced off Ivan, fizzling off in the water. "Hammer tech?"

"Yeah."

Tony: "I got this." [Target points on Ivan's armor. Doesn't do much. Both shooting, fighting. Ends with both Tony and Rhodey held onto by Ivan's whips.] "Rhodes. I got an idea. You want to be a hero?"

"What?"

"I could really use a sidekick. Put your hand up."

"This is your idea?"

"Yep."

"I'm ready. I'm ready. Go, go, go!"

"Take it!" Iron Man said and they shot each other and the middle exploded.

Unfortunately for Ivan, he was in the middle.

"You lose." Ivan said, died and the reactor started flashing red along with all the drones.

"All these drones are rigged to blow. We gotta get out of here man." Rhodey said.

"Pepper?" Iron Man said and took off.

Meanwhile Pepper was by a drone when Iron Man grabbed her just as it exploded and they landed on a roof. Then he took off helmet.

"Oh my God. I can't take this anymore." Pepper said.

"You can't?" Iron Man said.

"I can't take this."

"Look at me."

"My body, literally, cannot handle the stress. I never know if you're gonna kill yourself or wreak the whole company."

"I think I did okay." he said as everything being on fire having been covered by exploding drones behind him.

Then there was one more explosion just as he finished speaking.

"I quit. I'm resigning. That's it." she said.

"What did you just say? You're done? That's surprising. No, it's not surprising. I get it. You don't have to make excuses."

"I'm… I'm… I'm not making any excuses."

"You actually were just making excuses. But you don't have to."

"No, I wasn't making an excuse. I'm actually very justified."

"Listen. Hey, hey. You deserve better."

"Well…"

"You've taken such good care of me. I've been in a tough spot, but you got me through it, so… Right?"

"Thank you."

"Yeah."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's talk clean-up."

"I'll handle the transition. It'll be smooth."

"Okay. What about the press? Because you only had the job for a week. That's gonna seem…"

"Well, with you it's like dog years."

"I know."

"I mean, it's like the Presidency." she said they kissed.

"Weird."

"No, it's not weird."

"It's okay, right?"

"Yeah."

"Run that by me again." he said and they started to kiss again as Winter Soldier came and smiled.

"I think it was weird." Rhodey said as they broke apart and turned around. "You guys look like two seals fighting over a grape."

"I had just quit, actually." Pepper said.

"Yeah, so we're not…" Tony said.

"You don't have to do that. I heard the whole thing." Rhodey said.

"You should get lost."

"I was here first. Get a roof."

"I thought you were out of one-liners."

"That's the last one."

"You kicked ass back there, by the way."

"Thank you. You too. Listen, my car got taken out in the explosion, so I'm gonna have to hang on to your suit for a minute, okay?"

"Not okay. Not okay with that."

"It wasn't a question." Rhodey said and took off.

"How are you gonna resign if I don't accept?"

Later Tony was inside a building sitting at a table and a SHIELD logo was there.

Then he picked up file. AVENGERS INITIATIVE PREMLIMIARY REPORT

Then Nick Fury entered while looking and stopped him opening it.

"I don't think I want you looking at that. I'm not sure it pertains to you anymore. Now this on the other hand, is Agent Romanoff's assessment of you. Read it." Fury said and handed Tony the file.

"Personality overview. Mr. Stark displays compulsive behavior." In my own defense, that was last week. "Prone to self-destructive tendencies." I was dying. I mean, please. Aren't we all? "Textbook narcissism"? Agreed. Okay, here it is. "Recruitment assessment for Avenger Initiative. Iron Man? Yes." I gotta think about it." Tony said.

"Read on."

"Tony Stark not… Not recommended"? That doesn't make any sense. How can you approve me but not approve me? I got a new ticker. I'm trying to do right by Pepper. I'm in a stable-ish relationship." Tony said and Fury walked round and rest against the table by Tony's chair.

"Which leads us to believe at this juncture we'd only like to use you as a consultant." Fury said and Tony stood and offered his hand and they shook.

"You can't afford me." Tony said clasping his other hand on top of Fury's. "Then again, I will waive my customary retainer in exchange for a small favor. Rhodey, Bucky and I are being honored in Washington and we need a presenter." he said and went to leave but turned around again. "Especially Bucky after what he's done for you."

"I'll see what I can do."

The next day Tony, Bucky, Rhodey and Stern were in Washington.

"It is my honor to be here today to present these distinguished awards to Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes. Agent James Barnes and Mr. Tony Stark, who is, of course, a national treasure." Stern said pinning on medals. "Thank you Lieutenant Colonel, Agent Barnes, for such an exceptionally distinguished performance. You deserve this."

"Thank you sir." Rhodey said.

"I was just doing my job as a godfather, former sergeant and later retired agent." Bucky said.

"Mr. Stark. Thank you for such as exceptionally distinguished performance. You deserve this." Stern said and Tony winced in pain. "Oh, sorry. Funny how annoying a little prick can be, isn't it? Let's get a photo." he said and got a picture taken.