Silently Tony joined the others studying the holographic representation of what awaited them. Steve and Vision were discussing terrain and strategy, but Sam was just watching and listening, so Tony sidled up to him. "Will they be joining us?"

Sam shook his head minutely, glancing at him briefly before turning back to the holograms. "Pym isn't confident Lang can hold it long enough to be useful without hurting himself. And Lang's daughter's birthday is in two days."

"Kids get upset if you miss their birthday," Tony said with an understanding nod. "We'll be fine without them."

"It's a pretty big mess," Sam said doubtfully. "We'd be better off if they came."

"We'd be better off if everyone could have come, but we'll still do some good with what we've got."

"Look at you being all optimistic," Sam teased. "Is that what happens when you talk to your girl?"

Tony shrugged. "I don't think so, but we'd have to do more experimentation to be sure," he said good-naturedly. "But the outcome can only be improved by us being there. That's not usually the case, so it's a nice change of pace."

"Mr. Stark?" Toni called.

He crossed the distance to the comm station in two strides. "What's up?"

"I was punted over to the U.S. Consulate and the duty officer wants to speak with you to verify my story," she said, sounding frustrated as she took off the headset.

He normally didn't bother with the headset, but the subtle noises of the jet in flight could be distracting to people not used to the sounds, and foreign telephone connections weren't the best for clarity as it was. "This is Tony Stark."

"Good evening, sir. I am sorry for the hesitation, you must understand that the situation is far from ordinary," the duty officer equivocated.

"I am very aware," he said dryly. "What's the holdup? We were asked by the President of Mexico to provide help and we're getting the runaround. Now can you connect us to the people in charge of the earthquake response in Tijuana or not?"

"I am not- I do not-" the officer began to stammer.

"Then get me your supervisor. Or your supervisor's supervisor. No, scratch that. I want to talk to the person that's in charge over there."

"The Consul General?" the officer almost squeaked.

"Yeah, the Consul General. Let me talk to-"

"Him," Toni prompted from the information about the Consulate she'd pulled up.

"-him," he finished. "Unless you'd like to go ahead and send us over to whatever city official is handling things."

There was a long pause. "I will see what I can do," the voice said finally. "Please hold."

Tony huffed in frustration as staticky hold music blared into his ears. "I should've asked Carmen who to call, this is ridiculous," he muttered, flicking through the information Toni had found about the Consul General.

After a few minutes, a clicking interrupted the music and a tenor voice spoke. "Mr. Stark, this is an unexpected pleasure."

"I'm glad you think so," Tony said shortly. "Did your underling explain the situation?"

"He did. Had we been notified that you were coming by my superiors, this process would have gone more smoothly."

As part of the State Department, the man's ultimate superior was, of course, Secretary Ross. Whether this failure of communication had anything to do with Ross or not, Tony wasn't sure and didn't particularly care, but it was a possibility. "I don't fault you for that," he said reassuringly. "I'm only interested in what you can do to fix it."

"My staff are already reaching out to the Secretaría de Seguridad Pública to confirm who you'll be working with."

"The what now?" he asked. He could figure out roughly what it meant, but clarity would be helpful.

"My apologies, the Ministry of Public Security," the Consul said. "We are also communicating with my superiors."

"Of course you are," Tony grumbled under his breath. More loudly, he said, "You'd do better to contact the U.N., but do whatever you like."

"It's procedure. You understand," he replied blandly.

"It's also procedure for my subordinate to be handling the communication," Tony said acidly, letting his frustration seep into his tone. "So I'm sure you won't mind if I let her do that."

"Not at all. Thank you for indulging us, Mr. Stark."

He pulled off the headset and handed it back to Toni. "They should connect you to the people we actually need. Let me know if they keep dicking around."

"Yes, sir," she said smartly. After a brief pause she was speaking to the folks at the other end of the line.

Tony lingered nearby briefly, just in case, until she switched from English to rapid-fire Spanish and began relaying their position and ETA. Only then did he return to where the others were still studying the holographic city. "Any insights? Or are you just trying to look busy?" he quipped as he stopped beside Rogers.

Rogers all but glared in his general direction, but didn't manage to retort before Vision spoke up. "With Friday's assistance, we have identified areas of significant structural damage that have not yet been reached by emergency personnel."

Friday highlighted those areas in red. "Why haven't they been reached? Damage to the roads?" Tony mused.

"That, and the natural topography. The city extends over many ridges and valleys."

"And there's only so many emergency personnel to go around," Sam added.

"Which is why we're on our way and my foundation is rounding up volunteers," Tony said, double-checking their position on a display. "We're still a couple hours out, so if anyone wants to take a nap, now's the time."

Sam met his glance and nodded, turning toward a bank of seats and folding down the backs to make a bunk. "I'll be right here."

"Vision, you and Friday keep an eye on what's going on down there. We'll want to have a clearer idea of where we can be useful in ways the ground-level folks can't by the time we arrive. We'll also want to have a good idea where we should scan first for survivors."

"I understand," he replied gravely.

Tony felt like he was being watched and glanced over at Rogers to find him staring. "What?" he demanded defensively.

Rogers didn't answer for a moment, but seemed to blush. "Will you be napping?" he asked finally.

"Yeah, I have the misfortune of not being super and also being old," he said glibly. "But it's up to you whether you want to hang out with the holograms or get a bit of shut-eye. I won't tell you what to do."

Rogers's expression did something Tony couldn't interpret, but his only response was, "All right."

Tony flipped down the bunk closest to his armor and sank down onto it, but didn't lie down just yet. He had one more thing to do. No, two. He quietly asked Friday to bring up everything they had on the pilot, then typed a quick message before skimming the results.

I have a bad feeling about Ross. He's going to try something, I just don't know what.

Hill's response came as Rogers quietly passed him in the direction of an unoccupied bunk. We'll be on our guard. Shall I bar him from the compound?

No, that would be more trouble than it's worth. Just . . . be cautious.

There was nothing out of the ordinary in the pilot's files, though their brevity made him a little suspicious until he found a note about a change in legal name and gender a few years back. No big deal, and the previous name was also squeaky clean. Nothing that would fully explain Jordan's obvious unease. Maybe he would ask Toni later.

The feeling of disquiet about Ross kept Tony awake longer than he would have liked, but he managed to get some sleep before the alarm he'd set went off, vibrating his watch and phone simultaneously. It was the don't-startle-the-assassins alarm; audible alarms they weren't expecting tended to have unpleasant consequences.

He paid a visit to the small bathroom to take a leak and splash water on his face, then checked in with Toni. She had been able to obtain coordinates for the field command center and the name of the person to contact when they arrived, which had only taken conversations with four more people after Tony had left her to her own devices. Jordan reported they were thirty minutes out from the coordinates.

Tony took in this information silently, then clapped his hands and rubbed them together vigorously. "All right, so we'll do a flyover of the area before we report to the coordinates and I'll show you and Rogers how the new scanner works and what I'm hoping for. In the meantime, both of you should take a breather and I'll mind things here. Once we arrive, there's no telling how long it will be until your next break."

"Yes, sir," they replied, almost in unison.

When Jordan slipped out of the pilot's seat, he made a beeline for the bathroom. Tony stopped Toni from stepping away with a light touch on her arm. "What's his deal?" he asked quietly, nodding in the direction of the empty seat. "Is he always so jumpy?"

"No, he's just nervous about making a good impression. He'd never met an Avenger and now there's four of you, and he's always thought highly of Captain Rogers . . . He won't let you down, I can promise you that."

"Tell him to chill and we'll be good, then," he said with a smirk.

She nodded and moved away. Tony stepped into the cockpit to glance over the screens and readouts, then nodded in satisfaction and moved over to the station Toni had been occupying. On one of the blank displays he brought up the multi-dimensional scan controls. The Tony-has-a-heart scanner? Super-penetrating scan? The Peeping Tom protocol? He needed to come up with a good name for it, preferably with a better acronym than B.A.R.F.

"Friday, when we get a decent read on things, save it where I can use it from inside the suit. That will be our best bet for navigating the mess down there." Even with his satellite in place, it was best to assume he'd lose the connection somewhere along the line.

"Yes, boss," she said.

He idly ran a quick test, but they were too high up to get a read on anything, and the emitters weren't aligned in a way that would allow a scan of the quinjet interior. Too bad; it would have been amusing to spy on the others like that. Not that he particularly cared what they were up to.

Speaking of the others . . . he came to a stop beside Vision, who stood unnaturally still, his gaze seemingly fixed on the map. When Vision didn't acknowledge his presence, he went around to the other side of the display, thinking perhaps the android would react upon seeing him. He didn't, and Tony was admittedly a little concerned when he saw that Vision's lips were moving but no sound was coming out.

"Vision? You flaking out on us there, buddy?" Tony ventured. Vision seemed to startle, and the abrupt twitch from the previously motionless being was almost as alarming as the earlier stillness.

"I am well," Vision hastened to assure him, as if sensing his unease. "Friday and I have been using the quinjet's radio capabilities to eavesdrop on the efforts already underway. I am learning a great deal of colloquial Spanish as spoken in the region."

"Ah," Tony said, not sure if he liked the idea of the android and his AI colluding. At least it was providing potentially useful information . . . "How's it going?"

Vision tilted his head as if listening to something-which he probably was-then replied, "Slowly, but they just freed the last person trapped in an elder care home."

"That's good news. Any thoughts on where we ought to start?"

Vision gestured and a shaded region of the map expanded to show more detail. "This valley and the adjacent hillside. The winding roads will be difficult to clear adequately in time for ground personnel to arrive, and comparing old satellite imagery to the most recent scans indicates significant structural damage."

A sample before-and-after image appeared, and Tony could immediately see what he meant. "Right. Seems like a good plan," he said, already imagining what it might look like on the ground. He only hoped they'd be doing more rescues than recoveries.

He returned to the pilot's area and sat down. Nothing had changed since he'd taken a look before. As he thought more about what they would find, what damage like that could mean in terms of the unsuspecting people inside those buildings, he took over for the autopilot, nudging their speed just a hair higher. Jordan had it set at the top speed allowed in the safety manual, but Tony knew the jet could go a bit faster for the short time they had left without risking a malfunction. And if he did break something, well, Toni and her tools were right back there. They could fix it, no big deal.

It was worth it when arriving sooner could mean lives saved.

There were some shuffling noises from the direction of the bunks when they were only fifteen minutes out, then Rogers loomed behind him. Rogers didn't speak at first but Tony could see his reflection in the windows, so he broke the silence. "What's up, sleeping beauty? Was there a pea under the pallet?"

Rogers's reflected expression seemed perplexed. "You're mixing metaphors again," he said finally. "What are you doing?"

"Mixing metaphors," Tony replied cheekily. "And also flying this bird. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Why?"

"Last I checked, breaks were allowed during a duty shift. And once we arrive, I don't expect they'll have a chance to pee for a good while. Might as well let them do what they need to do before all hell breaks loose."

There was no response at first, though he knew Rogers hadn't left. "That's a good idea," Rogers said at length. "I should have thought of that."

"Yeah, well, I'm in charge at the moment, so no harm done. You want to wake Wilson and retrieve the children? It's almost time to give my scanner its first real challenge."

By the time his audience had gathered, he'd dropped the speed significantly and descended to a lower altitude as he followed the U.S.-Mexico border toward their destination. They'd have to drop much lower before the scanner would work, but they were still miles away.

He said as much when Jordan showed up behind him, hovering anxiously just behind his left shoulder. "And take it easy, kid," he said with some exasperation. "I promise I know what I'm doing, and I might as well save you some time in the saddle. You'll have it all to yourself soon enough."

"Yes, sir," Jordan replied, but didn't budge, apparently content to watch.

"If you're going to keep standing there, would you do it on the other side so I don't have to talk to Toni through you?"

Jordan obediently shifted to behind his right shoulder instead. Tony sighed and rolled his eyes, then straightened in the chair and gunned the engines just a little to make a point. "All right, Toni, you'll have an audience, hope you don't mind."

"Of course not, sir," she said sounding amused.

He walked her through finding and initiating the right protocol, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on the rapidly approaching city through the windows. "Hold on, everyone, I'm taking us down over this lovely little suburb."

The 'lovely little suburb' was a scattering of houses along what looked like dirt roads before they reached the more built up areas belonging to the outskirts of the city. "Tell me what you're seeing, Toni. I don't actually know how close I have to get before we'll get something usable," he said when they could make out large letters painted on some of the corrugated roofs.

"It's-I think we're going too fast," she said, sounded confused.

"Just a sec," he said, studying the structures below them until he found one that looked abandoned. He gracefully parked the quinjet several hundred feet above it. "How about now?"

"Can we get closer?"

"Tell me when." Slowly he let the jet sink down.

"Closer . . . closer . . . now! Yes, that's much better."

"Friday, can you show me what she's seeing?" he asked. One of his readouts was replaced by what looked almost like a blueprint of the building below them. "What about the other data? Can you make something useful out of it? Maybe combine it with output from the normal methods?"

"Are we going to have to hover over every single building for this to work?" Rogers' voice inquired from right behind his seat.

"I don't know yet," he said irritably, his train of thought disrupted by the unexpected question. "Even if we do, It would still be better than doing it the old-fashioned way."

"What if we start with thermal scanning to figure out where the people are and then use this to find them within the damaged buildings?" Rogers asked.

Wilson's reply was almost immediate, "Thermal scanning doesn't work that way."

Tony let him explain the difference to Rogers while he worked with Friday to adjust the technique. They could do things the old-fashioned way, of course, but that would take so much more time. Taking a few minutes now to do the fine-tuning could save them hours.

When it seemed like he was onto something, he eased the jet into a hover over a building that might have people in it. A church, as it turned out, identifiable from its interior architecture and the arrangement of the people inside. Whether it was a regular service or a collection of earthquake-frightened people praying to their god for mercy, Tony couldn't say, but it had served the purpose of proving his idea could work.

"Let's get this show on the road," he said with no small amount of satisfaction as he set course for the city proper. "Toni, get back on with central ops and tell them we're nearly there. Jordan, it's all you, buddy."

As soon as he was free of the pilot's alcove, he stretched and went over to investigate what snacks were in the cooler. He came away with blueberries, some cheese, and a bottle of water, which he methodically consumed.

"Mr. Stark, we're clear to work wherever we like as long as we keep them notified of our location," Toni announced after they arrived at the coordinates and officially checked in. "They're mostly just grateful for the help."

"Good, at least that went smoothly." He sidled over to Rogers. "We're at the orders-giving stage. You still want me in charge?"

Steve's hand tightened as if clenching around an invisible shield strap. "Go ahead," he said almost inaudibly.

"Mr. Stark, we're closing in," Jordan called back.

"All right, let's do a flyby, see what we've got," he said confidently, moving toward the cockpit.

Seeing the damage via satellite was bad enough; seeing it in person was staggering. Buildings that still stood had visible cracks in the walls or open spaces and piles of debris indicated where less fortunate buildings used to be. The visible people were either clustered in the middle of dusty streets or huddled around the wreckage, digging out other survivors.

Some areas seemed to escape with minimal damage while others were devastated. Very few people bothered to look up at the sound of the quinjet's engines.

The slopes of the valley were littered with damaged cars, crumpled homes, cast-off tires and splintered wood and devastation in every direction. Winding roads were barely discernible underneath it all, some of them merely dirt.

"Friday, are we getting this?" Tony murmured, overwhelmed by all there was to do and ashamed that he hadn't given the earthquake victims a moment's thought until directly asked to help.

"Scans are underway, boss," she replied. "Preliminary data is being uploaded to the suit."

He mentally shook himself and refocused his attention on what they could do. "All right, everyone, here's the drill: Jordan and Toni will drop us off and do a thorough scan to locate the survivors. We'll work our way down, clearing the roads and helping with rescues as we start getting information. Vision and Rogers, you're our heavy lifting department; move as much out of the way as you can. Wilson and I will be the aerial rescue crew to retrieve as many people as we can while the roads are being cleared. Got it?"

Around him, there were nods of understanding and assent.

"Any questions? Comments? Snide remarks?"

No one spoke.

"Okay, suit up, comms in."

As soon as their attention wasn't focused on him, he stepped over to the suit, which opened obediently without him saying a word. "All systems check," he said as the suit closed around him.

"All systems go," Friday said as the HUD lit up.

"Comm check," he commanded, then listened as Rogers, Wilson, Vision, and Toni checked in. He scanned the others' faces, seeing grim determination and resolve, then nodded to himself and began to turn away, only belatedly noting the headlamp Rogers had strapped over his helmet. He grinned but didn't comment; Rogers was the only one without any capability to see in the dark, so the lamp actually made sense. He only wondered where Rogers had found it.

"Unloading in five," Toni said, and the hatch began to lower.

Tony watched as the ground grew steadily closer. "That's good enough," he said when the ramp was a few feet off the ground. "We can take it from here. Let's get out there and do what we can, people."

He waited until the others had jumped or flown out, then carefully leaned forward into a gentle glide out of the quinjet and into the evening light.

It felt damn good to be back in the suit, regardless of the circumstances.