Tony re-entered the common room to find everyone (except Clint, who was still off doing the family thing) arrayed around the conference table, attentively listening as multiple voices spoke heatedly over the speakerphone. He quietly took the closest empty chair, which happened to be next to Rogers. "What'd I miss?" he asked, his voice pitched low so it wouldn't carry.
"The entire panel called back," Steve murmured. "Right now they're debating whether planning for the next HYDRA attack should take precedence over volunteering as search and rescue."
"They have a point," he replied. "But if we're splitting up, why can't we do both?"
Steve grimaced. "Rhodes tried to suggest that, but none of the panel acknowledged the idea. I think they'd prefer to argue amongst themselves."
"Yeah, they do that sometimes."
Rogers gave him a pointed look, but he brushed it off, instead leaning forward and speaking toward the phone. "Excuse me, folks, sorry for the interruption." One by one, the voices fell silent. "I was fashionably late, so would anyone care to fill me in on the argument?"
Rhodey started to speak, but Tony gestured for him to stop.
"There is a difference of opinion about the team's priorities," the panel chairman said diplomatically. "Helping earthquake victims is admirable, but some think your focus should be on wrapping up the HYDRA cleanup."
Tony pointed at Rhodey and waved his hand for him to go ahead.
"We can do both, sir," Rhodey said, his tone not betraying the exasperation Tony could read in his posture.
Tony nodded in satisfaction and leaned back in his chair as the panel finally saw sense and the conversation turned to the stipulations for their participation in the relief effort. "Up to four of you may go, and the usual limits apply-team members in good standing cannot be outnumbered by those on probation."
"Are we clear to use our gear even though it's not a mission?" Sam asked, leaning forward toward the phone to make sure he was heard.
When there was no immediate response, Tony spoke up. "The panel approves our activities, but we decide what equipment is appropriate. The gear and whether we use it is up to us. Am I interpreting that correctly, Mr. Chairman?" He knew he was right, but the confirmation would reassure everyone else.
"That is correct," the chairman replied.
"Understood, sir. Is that all?" Rhodey inquired.
"That will be all, Colonel. Let us know when you would like to conduct your next mission."
"I will, sir," Rhodey said respectfully. He released a long sigh, then looked around the table. "All right, we talked a little about who might go, but those conditions mean we have to adjust the roster. Anyone want to back out, or should I make an executive decision?"
Tony spoke up before anyone else could. "For the benefit of those late to class, would you care to share who's currently on the list?"
"Vision, Steve, Sam, and Wanda would like to go. I thought this might be a good time to try your new scanning capabilities again, but I'm not going to speak on your behalf," Rhodey replied.
"No, it's all right, you can order me around, gumdrop," Tony said. "Yeah, I'm in. It's not a mission and I'm off medical restrictions now, so I'm available." He hesitated, glancing across the table. "And Wanda, I'm sorry, but you should stay behind. We'll be crossing the border and with the immigration stuff up in the air . . . I don't think we want to give Ross that opportunity. Don't get me wrong, you'd be a great asset, I just don't think it's worth the risk."
Wanda's expression remained solemn, but her fingers nervously played with a piece of paper, folding and unfolding and refolding it over and over again.
Steve's objection seemed to startle her. "She's left the country for missions, how is this different?"
Tony's gaze left Wanda to skim the other faces at the table as he replied. "On missions she's under the protection of the U.N. And it's not like Ross can pop onto the quinjet when you're flying in. But it would be no trouble at all for him to have someone nab her in Tijuana, especially in all the chaos from the earthquake."
"Wouldn't that be illegal?" Sam asked doubtfully.
"Didn't stop him from keeping you on the Raft."
"But how would it be worth his time or energy-"
"I will stay," Wanda said emphatically, putting an end to the developing argument. "I do not wish to be a distraction."
"Then that's it," Rhodey said. "Let's do this." He looked over at Tony and Steve. "Do I need to designate who's in charge or can you figure it out yourselves?"
Tony shifted his attention to Steve, who was studying his clasped hands on the tabletop. He was very curious what Rogers would say.
"I don't think I know enough about the new scanning things you have to give you direction," Steve admitted, turning minutely in Tony's direction but still gazing at his hands.
"I'll have to give the rundown to the techs we bring anyway, so you could sit in," he offered. As if a conversation held within the confines of the quinjet wasn't already going to be overheard by everyone present. "It's pretty easy to use."
"I'll take you up on that, but it would be best if you take the lead for now," Steve said. "Once we assess the situation, we can decide if that still makes sense."
"Deal. Quake folks, be on the jet at the top of the hour. Pack for at least four days away."
Rhodey shook his head and held up seven fingers.
Tony raised his eyebrows. "A week? All right, scratch that and make it seven days. Anything else you want to correct me on in front of everyone?" he teased.
"No, I'm good," Rhodey said, grinning. "You'll figure out the rest."
"Of course I will, I'm a genius," Tony retorted with feigned offense.
As everyone dispersed, Vision approached him. "Since I do not need to pack, is there anything you would like me to do?"
He took a deep breath and let it out through pursed lips as he considered which of the half a million things that needed doing could be delegated. "Check over the quinjet, get everything started up so we can leave as quickly as possible. We'll be taking the one you used for the mission a few days ago." That, at least, meant he wouldn't have to do any last-minute code debugging.
Vision nodded and disappeared through the floor. Tony would probably never get used to that. He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Hill, requesting that she have Toni the mechanic and a quinjet pilot report to Vision on the jet for the rescue effort. So much the better if either or both of them spoke Spanish, since his knowledge of the language was limited and someone was going to have to coordinate with the people already on the ground.
On his way to his bedroom to do his own packing, he had Friday move the Iron Man armor to the jet and start running a set of diagnostic scans, just to be sure. He'd get there faster if he flew himself, but he had to train the techs (and Steve) on the new scanners. And with how long he'd been out of the suit, he honestly had no idea how long he'd last before he needed a break and it would be just his luck that flying out there would be enough to tire him out.
Packing his pills reminded him of the blood pressure monitoring, so he stopped to see the medical people on his way out of the building and tell them this would be the last they'd see of him for a few days at least. The doctor he talked to seemed unbothered and promised to pass the word along to the staff and Dr. Mann.
When he arrived at the quinjet, Steve was already there, his stuff piled neatly out of the way. Tony went over to where his suit stood stiffly near the wall and dropped his duffel at its feet. "Friday, how do we look?" he asked the faceplate.
"All systems are within expected parameters, boss," she reported.
He patted the shoulder. "Good. Put 'er in standby and we'll be ready for showtime." Only then did he look around to see what everyone else was doing.
Their pilot was standing behind the driver's seat with Steve, who was bringing him/her (he couldn't tell which from behind, just that the person had cropped dark hair and was moderately tall) up to speed on the situation. Vision and Toni were standing a short distance behind, listening. Toni seemed amused, though Tony had no idea why.
He approached her. "Thanks for joining us," he said, offering his hand.
She shook it firmly. "Thanks for asking for me, Mr. Stark," she replied. "Dare I ask why you need a mechanic on this trip?"
"Here, it's Tony," he said. "And there will be any number of things that could using fixing at the other end. Plus you never know what will happen to this bird along the way. We have a tendency to find trouble."
"Usually because you go looking for it," she said wryly.
"You're not wrong," he admitted cheerfully, then nodded his head in the direction of the pilot's seat. "So what can you tell me about this guy? Gal? I don't even know."
She laughed. "Jordan is definitely a guy. And he's pretty good. Former Air Force."
"More military. Figures. I should ask Hill how many of our people started as civilians, because it seems like we're severely outnumbered."
"Does it matter?"
"Probably not. I'm just feeling a little fish out of water here." But then, he's pretty much always been the odd man out for a whole host of reasons, so that wasn't anything new.
"Let's get this party started, the snacks have arrived," Sam announced as he stepped into the jet, his bags on one shoulder and his other hand carrying one handle of a large cooler.
Clint was carrying the other handle. "Courtesy of Sara and Laura. Apparently only the ladies ever remember that people need to eat," he joked.
"However did we manage to feed ourselves before they came along?" Sam asked dryly.
"I don't know about you, but I have an AI to remember that sort of thing," Tony retorted.
"Most people aren't mad programming geniuses," Clint said as he and Sam set the cooler down next to the Iron Man armor. "I'll see you all on the flip side. Good luck."
"Tell Lila I'll read to her as long as she likes when I get back," Tony said quickly.
Clint nodded to him, then saluted everyone and hurried back down the ramp.
Brief introductions were made as the ramp was raised. Tony took a seat, turning his attention to a few last things he needed to do.
The message to Pepper was simple enough: Guess who's coming back to the west coast? If she wanted more details, she'd ask.
The email to Bill took a little longer, since he had to explain what he'd heard from Mel about possible donations for the Avengers before asking what would be possible to do with it. He included his thoughts on the matter, then left the decision in Rhodey's hands as the man in charge.
That sent, he realized he forgot to talk to one more person before leaving, and this was something best handled verbally.
"This is Mel."
"Remember how you wanted me to warn you the next time I was going to do something that would end up on the internet?"
"Yes?" She sounded wary, and who could blame her. She was still dealing with questions from the press conference, those documents had been released while he and Rhodey were talking to the President, and he was about to drop something else in her lap.
"We're off to do something that will end up on the internet," he said and walked her through everything, from the volunteering to the helicarrier.
"Well, okay," she said. "Do you want me to announce that you're doing this, or merely confirm your presence if I'm asked?"
"Just confirm. The attention needs to be on the people who always respond to these sorts of things. And donations should go to them, not us, if anyone asks."
"Got it. Thanks for the warning."
"I'm helpful like that."
She snorted and hung up.
"So how is this going to work?" Sam asked. "It's more difficult to do search and rescue in the dark and there won't be much light left by the time we get there."
"That's where I'm hoping my new scanning program will come in, combined with the usual x-ray and infrared options." He explained how and why he'd developed it, and had Friday bring up the scans from the last mission as an example of what it could do. "It's still a prototype, but I'm hoping it will give us more detail of the areas where people are trapped so we can figure out how to retrieve them more quickly, and which buildings are in the most danger of collapsing so we hit those first.
"If that doesn't work as planned, or even if it does, Vision can phase through the buildings as reconnaissance in addition to what my armor and your drone can figure out before we go in. Wanda would have been helpful to move things or reinforce weak spots, but we'll have to make do." He'd also brought his repulsor bot to field test, but he didn't mention it. No point in showing it off when he had no idea how well it would actually work.
"Have you contacted Lang? He might be able to help with moving things if he can stay big that long," Sam suggested.
"I haven't, but if you want to give him a call, that's fine with me. I know you two have history," Tony replied with a wink. "Pym would have to come, too, to keep the U.N. happy. I can send the chopper for them if they want in."
"Then there would be more than four of us," Vision commented.
"There are still only four Avengers," Tony countered. "I don't think the U.N. panel was including Lang. But if we want to stay true to the letter of the law, either Rogers or Wilson can step back while Lang is working. Then there will only be four in action."
"Assuming he's willing and able to help. We don't know if he's capable of what you're thinking," Steve said.
"I'll find out," Sam said, moving across the jet to gain some semblance of privacy and minimize the disruption to the ongoing conversation.
Tony's phone rang a moment later and he knew without looking that it was Pepper. "Excuse me," he said, already moving away in the opposite direction. "Hey Pep."
"Please tell me you're not in the suit," she said without preamble.
"I'm not in the suit," he said obediently as he leaned his shoulder against a bulkhead, his back to the others. "Why?"
"Because it would be just like you to go from not flying for months to crossing the country on a whim, to hell with your doctors," she replied. "Why are you coming?"
"We're going to help in Mexico. Unofficially. Well, we were asked officially but we're going as volunteers. Some of us. And I'll have you know I'm as good as cleared when it comes to the doctors."
"Of course you are." She sounded amused. "And here I thought you might be coming because I teased you earlier."
"Oh, I still expect you to make it up to me sometime," he said, grinning.
"Come by after you're done being a hero and I'll see what I can do." Her voice took on the timbre that he'd only ever heard her use when whispering dirty things into his ear.
"It is patently unfair of you to take that tone of voice with me when I can't do anything about it, Ms. Potts," he protested.
"Feel free to make a note in my file, Mr. Stark," she said lightly. "I would relish watching you explain such a complaint against your CEO to the board."
"Let's not and say we did, but I love the way your mind works," he said, glancing over his shoulder when he heard Sam's voice join the others'. "I should go."
"Be careful. Do I need to ask Rhodey to keep an eye on you?"
"Rhodey's not with us. He's back at base being in charge."
"I suppose I'll have to trust your questionable instinct for self-preservation, then."
"I won't do anything stupid when I have you to look forward to."
"Forgive me if I'm not convinced. I've seen you do some pretty stupid stuff while I've been around."
"That was then." He hesitated before adding, "I love you."
"I love you too, Tony," she said, her voice soft.
He took a deep breath before turning to rejoin the others. In his absence, Steve and Vision had Friday pull up a map of the target region and overlay it with what was known about the damage. Along with Sam, they were studying the hologram projected from the center console and periodically focusing in on particularly hard hit areas.
When Tony approached, Steve straightened and said, "I thought it would be a good idea to find out what we'll be dealing with. If that's all right." He sounded strangely uncertain.
"Of course," Tony replied with a nod. "Friday, do we have any satellite data to add to what's here?"
"The scans just finished, boss," she reported, and an additional layer of imagery appeared.
"If you want more detail of any area, just ask Friday," Tony said, clapping Steve on the back as he headed for the pilot's alcove. "Hey there, how's it going?"
"It's all good, Mr. Stark," the pilot replied, glancing at him only briefly before returning his attention to his displays.
"You can leave it alone for a few minutes. I promise the autopilot is reliable. I coded it myself," Tony said genially. "Your name is Jordan, yeah?"
"Yes, sir," Jordan said uneasily, turning his chair around to face the rest of the aircraft.
"And you speak Spanish?"
"Only a little, sir."
Tony examined him quizzically, wondering what made him so nervous. Before he could formulate a question, Toni spoke up.
"I'm fluent," she said.
"Good, because I'm better with French and I'll make a hash of this by myself. Is there anything you don't do well?" he joked.
"Pretty much everything else," she said cheerfully.
"All right, Jordan, at ease, return to your post, yadda yadda. I'll let you know when you're needed." Dismissing the pilot as irrelevant for the moment, he gestured for Toni to join him as he sat at the communication station. "You're familiar with the equipment here? Of course you are, you maintain this thing."
"I could use a refresher," she said.
"We can do that. You'll need to know what you're doing if you're going to be coordinating up here while we're on the ground."
It took maybe five minutes to cover the basics he thought she'd need, then he had her take point as they began reaching out to the operations control center in Mexico. He observed for a while as she persuaded the person on the other end to let her talk to his supervisor, then turned away. She had it under control, and she'd call if she needed him.