Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Iron Man: Armored Adventures isn't mine. Not even Tony (or Gene! D:), belong to me. The rights ultimately belong to Marvel, so there. :D Don't try to sue me, got that? I'm not making even a single cent off this story.

A/N: Thanks so much for those who didn't give up on this story ever being updated last time, and still continue to review. And happy new year 2010! :D


Chapter Four: Encounter

Gene staggered up the last three steps to reach the correct floor of Rhodey's apartment building, then tried to hide his relief when he saw the latter just about to unlock his door. "I could use a bit of help. For someone so small, Potts just gets heavier and heavier," he announced importantly, nodding down towards his redheaded burden.

Rhodey had spun around at the sound of his voice, and now his dark eyes were accusingly wide. "What did you do to her?" he demanded angrily, taking a threatening step forward. "If you've hurt her, Gene, I'll–"

"The most I did was order her breakfast without asking what she wanted first," Gene replied calmly. "Now, are you going to let me put her down or not? Like I said, she's actually pretty heavy."

Rhodey frowned, but he nodded and turned to insert his key into the apartment's scratched lock. The lock clicked, then he hurriedly turned the knob and pushed the door wide open. Then he made himself helpful by taking Pepper's head and upper body into his arms, while Gene took hold of her legs. A woman walking down the hall gave them strange looks, but didn't stop to offer assistance.

Stark bounded out of the apartment at that moment, tail wagging welcomingly and tongue lolling out. He leapt onto his hind legs and tried to lick a disgusted Gene in the face, as he and Rhodey hauled Pepper over the threshold and dumped her unceremoniously onto the couch.

"So this is your attack dog," Gene muttered under his breath, directing the words in Rhodey's general direction. "He leaves much to be desired, though he can undoubtedly lick any burglars to death."

"Yep, that's Stark for you," Rhodey said tiredly, closing the door and pulling the shoulder bag holding his laptop off. He seemed to sense the look Gene was giving him, and glanced up awkwardly. "Yeah, he's named Stark. Not that it's any of your business," he added embarrassedly.

"I'm more of a…cat person," Gene admitted, folding his arms and leaning against the wall beside the couch.

Rhodey stared at his sort of friend, then nodded absently. "Yeah, I could see you as a cat person. They're usually pretty smug, too."

Gene arched a brow. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Rhodey changed the subject, looking with concern at the still-unconscious Pepper. "So, what happened with Pepper? Unless you knocked her out, I'm not really sure what could have happened," he admitted uncertainly. He put his laptop bag down, then walked over to the refrigerator. Pulling out a can of soda, he offered one to Gene, who shook his head with polite refusal.

"Let's just say that she had…quite a shock," Gene replied vaguely.

Rhodey took a sip from the metal can in his hand. "Don't play games, Gene. Just tell me what happened."

Gene shrugged carelessly. "Fine, I will. Pepper and I had an encounter with none other than," he paused momentarily for dramatic effect, "Tony Stark."

Rhodey, who had been taking another sip, choked. Coughing and gagging, soda exploded from his nostrils and went all over Gene. He dropped the can to the carpet, sending liquid everywhere, still coughing and trying to get his breath back. Stark barked with worry for his master, ears back and tail drooping.

Gene stared with unveiled disgust at the liquid all over the front of his shirt, then pounded Rhodey on the back. "Breathe, Rhodes, breathe," he said serenely, still seeming more concerned about his shirt than his choking acquaintance.

Rhodey, finally getting his breath back, coughed a final time and then gawked at Gene. "You're lying," he rasped.

Gene didn't seem all that concerned about Rhodey's dubiousness. "Not at all. That's why Pepper's unconscious; she fainted because Stark…not your dog…wasn't acting very much like himself when we met. In fact, he called us by our last names, and acted like he was a completely different person. Then he basically asked if Pepper ever shut up, flirted with a woman walking past, and walked off." He didn't mention the words he had shouted at Tony about not caring about Pepper, not thinking it was really relevant to the tale. After all, he didn't want Rhodes to think that he actually cared.

"I…I don't believe you." Rhodey sank down into an empty chair, legs suddenly giving out on him. He stared into space, eyes wide and unseeing.

"Oh, it's true, Rhodes. Very true." Gene crossed his arms again, ignoring the soda stain on the front of his shirt. "In fact, I think that from the evidence, Stark was headed for Stark International, to take back the company from Obadiah Stane. He threatened me, then said he had business to take care of and wandered off."

"Threatened you?" Rhodey asked incredulously, face pale.

"He told me that if I had any sense, I wouldn't attempt to make him angry," Gene replied casually.

"That…doesn't sound like Tony."

"I know. See my point about him acting like a different person?"

Rhodey nodded slowly. "So…you really did see him?"

Gene nodded silently.

Rhodey swallowed hard, clutching the arms of his chair with his hands. Two years. That was how long it had been since he had last seen his best friend. He still remembered the horror of finding the tracking chip from Tony's Iron Man armor on the ground after he had fought the person in black. The mental pain of being unable to locate the other teen, the waiting that he had endured all this time. His feelings of despair every single time he logged onto his useless website.

Could all this really be over? Could Tony really be back?

And more importantly, would he really want to go and see Tony right now? If what Gene had said was true, wherever Tony had been all this time had changed him beyond words. He wasn't the same person Rhodey had once known, the same friend. So should he ignore news of Tony's return, and wait to see what would happen?

He frowned, thinking hard, then his decision was made. He got to his feet, grabbing the keys from where he had left them beside his laptop. "Gene, I'm going out. Take care of Pepper." He then rushed out the door without waiting for a reply and slammed it behind him. His destination was very clear in his own mind: Stark International.

Gene stared after him for a moment, then turned to look down at the happily wagging Stark. "This must not be my day, since he didn't take you with him," he muttered with annoyance. Looking down at his stained shirt again, he strode over to the sink and grabbed a dishrag. Wetting it down under the faucet, he then rubbed it against his shirt until it was soaking wet. Satisfied that he had done the best he possibly could, he turned again and surveyed the tidy apartment.

Deciding that he might as well take up Rhodey's earlier offer of a drink, he opened the refrigerator and peered curiously inside. Selecting a can of Coke, he popped the tab open and took a small sip. Then he studied his surroundings with interest, wondering what he should do next while waiting for Pepper to wake up.

He briefly considered snooping around in the War Machine armory that he just knew was behind the closed bedroom door, but dismissed the thought. He would probably get another chance to do so sometime later, and he didn't feel like investigating the armor at this very moment.

Walking over to stand beside the couch, Gene stared down at Pepper, trying to ignore the playfully bounding Stark, who was currently trying to lick the leg of his pants absolutely to death.

Looking down at her, he thought over the strange feelings that he had so recently developed for her. He had been trying in vain to deny them all this time, and it wasn't really working. He couldn't deny that the feelings were growing, no matter how hard he tried.

And yet, it didn't really matter how he felt about Pepper. Not when she felt so strongly about Tony, who had miraculously returned. And if Stark (not the dog) ever came back to his senses, then he was naturally going to return Pepper's affections.

Not even the powerful suit of Mandarin armor could help him now.

Blowing a small sigh through his slightly parted lips, Gene turned and walked back into the apartment's cramped kitchen area, ignoring the panting dog right at his heels.


Rhodey forcefully shoved open the glass doors of Stark International, striding into the main lobby. He glanced around uncertainly, biting his lip. He couldn't help but notice all the elaborate changes that had been made since the last time he had visited the building. Obadiah had really gone all out since Tony had mysteriously disappeared, apparently having paid someone to lay a lush red carpet along the lobby, and there was a new surface of granite on the front desk. The windows were also now stylishly frosted.

Walking up to the desk, Rhodey stared at the unfamiliar brunette sitting behind the counter. She stared up at him with wide blue eyes, covering the mouthpiece of the cell phone she held in one hand. "I need to see…Tony Stark." He mentally prayed that Gene's instinct of Tony's alleged destination was correct, or else he was really going to look like a fool.

The woman nodded jerkily, swallowing hard. She pressed a button on the desk's control panel, apparently activating the elevator. "Y…y…yes, sir. The elevator has been preprogrammed for the office level. My name is Martha, and, um, please don't hesitate to tell me if you need anything." Then she hurriedly removed her hand from the phone and began whispering urgently into it.

Rhodey's brow furrowed deeply, then he turned and walked towards the elevator. Climbing inside, he watched warily as the doors clanked mechanically shut, then listened to the whirring of the elevator's engines as it began moving rapidly upwards.

His gaze drifted towards the mirrored wall across from him, which helpfully displayed his reflection. He looked bone tired, even to his own eyes. His dark eyes had deep circles under them, and his lips seemed to be permanently turned down in the corners. And there was something there, something strange, on his face. Something that suggested he had experienced many months of pain and depression, with too many negative emotions for such a young life.

He quickly looked away, focusing on the elevator doors as they clanged smoothly apart.

He stepped out into the plush hallway, taking a deep breath when he saw the invitingly open doorway at the end of the corridor. The office that had only minutes earlier belonged to Obadiah Stane, now allegedly possessed by Tony Stark. Then he forced his legs to walk forward, guiding him slowly yet steadily towards his best friend, the friend who had been mysteriously missing for two whole years, without any contact.

Taking a deep breath, he walked down the hallway and towards the open door of the office. The journey seemed to take an eternity, each slow step like moving through molasses. In reality, the trip to the end of the hall probably took less than a minute, though it certainly didn't feel that short to Rhodey.

Eventually, he reached the open door. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them and stepping into the office. What he saw made him stop for several seconds, heart pounding heavily inside his chest with disbelief. Gene was right about one thing at least: Tony was back. He was sitting in the padded chair behind Stane's desk, sneakered feet propped carelessly on the paper-littered surface. His fingers formed a temple before his face, and he was staring calmly out the window.

Rhodey, knees shaking weakly, cleared his throat. "T…T…Tony?" he managed to choke out, swallowing hard.

Those familiar blue eyes turned his way, Tony's hands dropping to his lap. Rhodey barely kept his mouth from dropping open, concentrating on staring his best friend in the face. The blue eyes placidly watching him seemed less carefree than they had two years ago, but maybe that was only his imagination. It had been two years since they'd last met, after all.

"Ah, Rhodes. Today is starting to seem like a regular class reunion." Tony pulled his feet off the desk and stood, ignoring the various papers he dislodged to the floor with his sudden movement. "First Potts and Khan, then Stane and Stane Junior, and now you."

Rhodey tried his best to ignore the condescending tone in his friend's voice, concentrating instead on keeping the tears he could feel forming in his eyes from overflowing. "Tony…it's so good to see you," he murmured awkwardly, then rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Tony for a hug. In fact, he was so happy to believe that his best friend had finally returned that it took him a moment to notice that Tony's arms hung limply at his sides, and that his body was completely tense.

Pulling back, Rhodey eyed his friend warily, firmly blinking the tears away from his eyes. "Tony, I…I don't understand. What's wrong?" he asked quietly, his voice cracking.

"Nothing much. Just wondering why everyone seems so determined that I actually like them," Tony snapped, blue gaze now full of fire. He ignored the taken aback look on Rhodey's face, continuing scathingly, "All of you seem to think that I didn't leave of my own free will two years ago. How do you know that I wasn't trying to get away from all of you?"

Rhodey blinked, choking back a startled gasp at Tony's uncharacteristically harsh words. "Because…it wasn't like you to do something like that," he managed to say, still confused as to why his friend was acting like this. He had been picturing a joyful reunion, with Tony saying that he was sorry. Then, in his happy imaginings, they had gone to get Pepper and maybe even Gene, and gone out for chocolate shakes to celebrate his triumphant return from possible capture by super villains.

But that obviously wasn't going to happen.

Tony sneered at him, the cruel look alien on his normally cheerful features. "But isn't it, Rhodes? How do you know that I haven't permanently changed into the person I've been suppressing from you all these years, after my little vacation? Don't you ever remember a time when I seemed cold or indifferent from you, like I wasn't the true friend you supposedly knew so well?"

Rhodey could feel doubt creeping into his mind now, but hurriedly tried his best to banish it. "Tony, let's, um, try and get past all this," he pleaded. "I want you to meet Stark, he's my dog, and maybe come out to eat with Pepper and I. We can, you know, catch up a little." He rushed on, trying to ignore the cold look on Tony's face. He hadn't even reacted when he'd heard the name of Rhodey's dog. "And…I want to show you the War Machine armor. I built it in your honor, Tony, to take care of the city until you came back. I know it's not as amazing as Iron Man, but I thought that maybe I could–"

"Oh, I've heard all about your little dress-up games, Rhodes," Tony interrupted, lips once again twisting into a brutal sneer. "And I have to say that I'm not impressed. All you've done is battle weak and stupid thugs who wanted a steal a bit of money or kidnap some precious celebrity. If you've done this city any good at all, I can't see it."

Rhodey felt as though he'd been verbally slapped, and staggered backwards from Tony. His mouth was suddenly very dry, though his eyes were actually pretty wet again. "But…I meant to honor your memory, Tony," he sputtered, trying to ignore the mental pain he was experiencing after Tony's bluntly uncaring words.

He waved one hand flippantly, leaning against the desk that was placed conveniently behind him. "Yeah, whatever. In my opinion, all you've done is dishonor my memory, Rhodes."

Rhodey choked, the hurt increasing inside him until it was all he could feel.

"And that little brat we used to run around with, Potts." He rolled his eyes heavenward, shaking his head grimly. "Now she's certainly something, alright. Running around in that little get-up of hers, trying valiantly to 'find me'. She nearly came close yesterday, when she found me preparing for today at that laundromat. I had to have her knocked out, which was pleasant enough. She actually shut up for a change."

Rhodey's eyes widened in shock. "Are you telling me that she did find you yesterday night?" he demanded, shoving the pain of Tony's malicious rejection to the back of his mind to think about later. "I didn't believe her, and we had a fight…" His voice trailed off as he realized just how wrong he had been to not believe her.

"Oh, yes. She found me, all right. I distracted her while one of my colleagues knocked her across the back of the head. Great fun." Tony carelessly examined his fingernails, then polished them against the front of his shirt.

Rhodey had had more than enough. Hurting him was one thing, but mentally and physically hurting Pepper was another matter. He took three steps forward before Tony could react, and shoved him hard with both hands. The arrogant owner of Stark International toppled over onto his back, taken off guard. He landed with a hard thump on the carpet, then stared up at Rhodey disdainfully.

"Don't talk about Pepper like that ever again, Tony," Rhodey said bravely, trying his best to seem unafraid. "She's my friend, and she used to be yours, too. So don't say things like that about her, understand?"

Tony was back to his feet in the blink of an eye, and rushed Rhodey. Before the dark-skinned teen could even blink, he found himself flying through the air, limbs flailing. He landed hard against the wall by the door, plaster cracking under the force of his impact. Ribs feeling bruised, he slid to the floor and moaned softly.

Tony suddenly towered over him, panting with suppressed rage and eyes flashing. When he opened his mouth, his voice was as hard as uncut diamonds. "Like I told that idiotic Khan, don't bother threatening me, Rhodes. It won't turn out well for you, because I'm a completely different man than when you last saw me."

Rhodey didn't speak, staring silently up at his supposed friend. His chest ached, and not only because of his bruised ribs. It felt like his heart had literally been torn out of his chest. This couldn't be Tony. Why would he do something like this, say all those horrible things? He wasn't himself.

"Now, get out of this building," Tony added, after pausing melodramatically. "I don't want to see you, Potts, or anyone else who claims to be my buddy ever again. Do you hear me?" Tony leaned dangerously down into Rhodey's face, the latter tightly clenching his fists to keep from doing or saying something that he might later regret. "I'm putting all of you on the watch list of Stark International. If the guards see you anywhere near this place, you'll be sorry. Got that?"

When Rhodey still didn't answer, Tony leaned back and strolled causally over to the window. He clasped his hands behind his back and gazed out the spotless glass at New York. "Now, leave this place, Rhodes. Don't attempt to come back, or you'll be unimaginably sorry."

Rhodey stared darkly, eyes narrowed, at Tony's casual stance. After waiting for several seconds, he slowly climbed to his feet, holding back a grimace of pain, then limped out the open doorway. He paused and looked back, but Tony still hadn't moved from the window. Heaving a weary sigh, Rhodey walked slowly towards the elevator, not looking back.


Gene was calmly examining the plans for War Machine battle armor on Rhodey's laptop (it hadn't been too hard to figure out the password; it had only taken him about thirty seconds or so), but was interrupted when the couch cushions squeaked loudly. Gene quickly closed the laptop and set it to the side, getting to his feet. Pepper was sitting straight up, legs hanging over the edge of the couch. Her hair stuck up wildly, and her eyes were wide and just a little bit crazy. Even Stark, who had previously been asleep beside Gene's chair, didn't try to venture over and lick her.

"Potts? Are you all right?" Gene asked warily, brow furrowing deeply as he stared at her.

Pepper turned slowly to look at him, an unimaginably sad expression on her freckled face. "I…I was having this really weird dream…" she said slowly, voice cracking slightly as she spoke.

Gene didn't bother trying to mislead her. "It wasn't a dream," he stated gravely.

Her eyes widened. "You mean…Tony…he's actually…"

"Stark is back." Gene glanced quickly at Rhodey's dog to make sure that he wouldn't respond to his name, and was very relieved.

Pepper clapped both hands to her mouth, and seemed to be having trouble breathing. "Oh God…"

Gene walked quickly over to her, sitting down on the couch. "Pepper, you remember that he wasn't exactly himself, right? The way he talked to you?"

She didn't appear to actually be listening, her face very pale. "He had all those scars on his arm," she whispered to no one in particular, her hands slowly floating down to rest on her lap. "And he seemed so…afraid."

Gene seriously couldn't believe what he was hearing. "There was nothing 'afraid' about Tony Stark," he couldn't stop himself from saying. "He was a complete idiot." Unfortunately, Stark decided that they were talking about him and waddled over. He put his head on Gene's lap, ignoring his look of pure disgust, and panted happily.

"Didn't you see his eyes? There was something…off about them," Pepper murmured, frowning thoughtfully. "I could see fear in them, Gene. Even if he didn't act afraid, he was."

Suppressing an uncharacteristic eye roll, Gene forcefully shoved Stark away. The dog, unperturbed, bounced right back and started licking Gene's leg and wagging his tail. "Potts, you don't understand what I'm saying. There's something wrong with, er…" He broke off and looked guardedly at the dog who continued to lick his leg, needing an excuse to leap onto his lap, "...Tony. He wasn't really himself today. And he's been missing for two years. Don't you think that's a little strange?"

She continued to ignore him, instead glancing around the tidy apartment. "This is Rhodey's apartment. Where is he?"

Gene frowned, but didn't try to lie to her. "He went to Stark International. To see Tony." He glanced at Stark, who had thankfully moved on to licking the couch instead of his leg.

Pepper got to her feet, and Gene quickly did the same. "I'm going to go after him," she blurted out hurriedly. And then she was gone, racing out the door and slamming it behind her.

Gene was left alone in the apartment with only Stark for company, and he stared down at the dog for a few seconds. "Interesting," he said to no one in particular, quiet voice ringing out in the sudden silence of the apartment. Trying to ignore his sadness at Pepper running out on him for the idiotic Tony Stark, he flipped the switch to turn out the lights and walked over to the door. Giving the apartment one last look, he locked the door then stepped out into the hall and pulled it closed behind him.

Then he walked down the hallway alone, headed for his limo.