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Prologue II: Homecoming

=IS=

Part 1

=IS=

Ten Rings compound

Afghanistan

I suddenly came awake with the Force singing in my ears. I felt like a Star Dreadnought ran me over, followed by its whole attending fleet.

On the bright side, I was awake, thus alive, and felt no danger. I could also sense Yinsen's familiar presence nearby.

A few furious blinks later, my eyes managed to focus. It was still dark.

"Tony, are you all right?" Yinsen croaked and suddenly was fussing over me, checking my pulse.

"I went a bit overboard."

"You tore apart a small army!" Yinsen snapped. "And…." He looked around before staring at me, then just shook his head. "Never mind. That strange woman is in the caves, checking for survivors."

"Ms. Agent? I'm not surprised. We need to find a radio and call for a pick-up. I don't know who Ms. Agent works for exactly, and best be safe than sorry." I tried to stand up, but my body had a different idea. My muscles locked up and collapsed back on my ass, still leaning against something hard.

"That's not a good idea, Tony. Between the shrapnel and everything you did…." Yinsen grimaced. "I'm amazed you're as well as you're right now. You need a proper hospital."

"I'll live." I paused and looked at Yinsen. "Right?"

"Not if you push yourself too much. I don't know how those pieces of metal would react to all the jumping around and getting shot at!"

"I'm as well as I can be then. Now, please try to find a radio or a phone."

Yinsen shook his head at me and soon vanished into the darkness. I closed my eyes and focused on restoring and healing myself with the Force. It flowed quicker through me, feeling like a soothing shower.

Slowly, painfully slowly, the cramps and fire in my muscles began to dissipate. I thought about trying to stand up but thought better of it. I had to conserve my strength and rest for as long as possible before seeking any more trouble.

Yinsen eventually returned, carrying a satellite phone.

"That's my man!" I gave him a thumbs up and grimaced when my hand cramped at the effort. Ho brought the phone and fiddled with it until we got a signal. I wasted no time and dialed home. After a few too-long beeps, a familiar voice answered.

"This is Jarvis…"

"Buddy, track the call and call the cavalry. I need a pick-up yesterday. The service out here sucks."

"Sir, is that you?"

Did I hear genuine surprise in my AI's voice?

"Only a few people have this number, as you very well know."

"I'm tracking the call, sir, and calling Colonel Rhodes."

"That's my boy. Put him on a conference call."

"Yes? It's Colonel Rhodes…" Rhodey's tired voice was like balsam for the soul.

"Colonel Rhodes, this is Jarvis. I have Mr. Stark on a conference call. He needs help."

"What? TONY!?"

"Hi there, buddy. I'm in a spot of trouble and can really use a pick-up before more terrorists decide to come knocking."

"Where the hell are you?! How are you?"

"I'm at a terrorist compound. A Ten Rings one if it rings any bells. It's in a valley in the mountains somewhere."

"Colonel Rhodes, I've tracked the call to a satellite above Afghanistan. The call originates from the eastern border near Pakistan. I'm still triangulating precise location." Jarvis pipped up.

"Tony, stay on the phone! We're coming for you! Are you safe right now?"

"I think so. It depends if Ms. Agent, who claims to be from something called SHIELD, is friendly or not. I'm not exactly fit for another round."

"I have the location. Sending it to you now, Colonel Rhodes."

"Rhodey, this place is chock-full with my fucking weapons, be careful on the way in. You might want to bring whatever investigators you've got to try and track how all the ordinance got here."

"Just stay put and safe, Tony!"

"I'm not going anywhere."

Unsurprisingly, Ms. Agent returned long before the US military could get here. I could sense her presence approach. She paused soon after I could see her lithe form.

"You've called for help?" She asked.

"I have trust issues." I shrugged.

She slowly walked towards us, carefully holding her hands up.

"As I said, I'm here to get you back home, Mr. Stark."

I focused on her face, pushing the Force to help me see in the dark. Her signature sharpened as if coming into focus. I could barely make her features while a strong pulsing life force distorted them.

I knew this face, not just from a movie I barely remembered from so long ago.

"The Black Widow," I said carefully.

The woman paused her approach.

"Back in the day, my family's security detail had certain contingencies. If the Winter Soldier or the Black Widow came for us, we were to run while they tried to die slow enough to give us a sporting chance to get away." I stared at her.

There was a flash of something that I could clearly read. It wasn't quite regret, but certainly, it wasn't pride at her reputation as a master assassin.

"I work for the good guys nowadays, Mr. Stark. If I didn't, you wouldn't be having this conversation. Are you feeling better? Do you need medical attention?"

"I've been better." I shrugged.

The Black Widow slowly walked closer, and my breath caught in my throat. She moved like a deadly predator ready to pounce, her hair and eyes… If I didn't know better…. I stomped on that train of thoughts.

Bo died a long time ago, years before I made that Holocron. An eternity now, really.

"You don't look or sound particularly well, Mr. Stark. Then again," the assassin smiled, "there aren't many people who would be as well as you are right now after going through more than forty terrorists alone. I didn't know you had the necessary training for something like that." She looked pointedly at me before glancing at Yinsen.

Ah, yes. She knew I wasn't a normal fellow anymore, didn't she? That would lead to some complications. Perhaps shooting her might have been the better option? Well, it was too late for that. As exhausted as I felt, I wasn't sure I could take her out with the Force before collapsing and getting killed or worse.

The Black Widow slowly sat on the ground before me. "I've checked the caves and the perimeter. There's no one else alive around here but us. I've also called for a pick-up. The military will likely arrive sooner." She noted.

That was good, if true. I didn't get the impression that she lied to me.

"Fishing for information, Ms. Agent? You haven't even introduced yourself properly yet, much less bought me a drink and a dinner." I offered her a patented Tony Stark TM smile. "Yet you already want to get in my head."

"You're joking, right Tony?" Yinsen eventually asked. "This can't be the Black Widow! She's just a myth!"

"That's her in the flesh, I reckon. And we're both still alive, lucky us!"

The assassin tilted her eyes to the side and kept examining me, not unlike how Yinsen did a few months ago. I am no one's lab rat, thank you very much!

"I'll go with Ms. Agent for now." I could hear the amusement in her voice.

She now spoke in a soft accent I couldn't recognize. It was certainly not Russian, or Easter European for that matter. Like German, those accents tended to be harder, unlike those from Southern Europe.

"Tones, man tell me you're still all right? We're bringing the cavalry!" Rhodey's voice came over the phone.

I picked up the handle.

"I'm still alive and kicking, buddy. Ms. Agent is back, and so far, she isn't hostile. We're waiting to get out of here."

"Good, please keep talking! We're about four hours out."

I glanced at the phone. "The battery of the sat phone won't last that long. I'll hang up when it has about thirty minutes left and call back later."

"That's…" Rhodey trailed off, and I could hear muffled voices coming from his side. "That's prudent, yes. Call if there's any problem and hide! We're coming, and we'll get you out, Tones, I swear!"

"I know you will, buddy!"

"So, Miss Agent, how did you find this place when the military couldn't?"

"I asked nicely."

The pulse of sharp, vicious satisfaction that burned through her told me exactly how "nicely" she asked.

We spent the next few hours sparing verbally, with Ms. Super Assassin constantly fishing for information. Curiously enough, she didn't even hint that I shoved her with my mind, so to speak.

Another curious thing was that she clamped up as soon as we heard the approaching choppers. Blackhawks and Apaches judging by the sound. They arrived just a few minutes after daybreak, coming low and fast.

Soon, a Blackhawk headed straight for us while a pair of Apaches circled above the valley. Two more hellos passed by and hovered above the valley, near the cave's entrance. Their side gunners kept scanning the area for threats while the side doors opened and soldiers began rappelling down.

A fire team quickly surrounded us, followed by a pair of medics who ran at us. Only then Rhodey rappelled down as well and ran my way.

"Tones, man, I'm damn glad to see you!" He hovered protectively nearby while the medics began to poke and prod me.

=IS=

Part 2

=IS=

Ten Rings compound

Afghanistan

"Rhodey, a few points before we head to civilization. And showers. A lot of showers." I made a show of nodding to myself. "I'm going to live, right?" I asked the medics.

"Sir, you've got something glowing on your chest, and you look like a tank just ran you over." A short woman built like a wrestler deadpanned at me.

"Ah, that. I've got shrapnel in my chest, and this gadget keeps it from killing me."

"Jesus, Tones!" Rhodey exclaimed. "What did those bastards do to you?"

"That was one of the missiles they hit us with when they took me. It was one of mine, Rhodes. There's enough of my weapons here to fight a war." I waved at the valley. "Someone in the company sold us all out." I glowered.

"We'll get the bastards."

"That we will. But first, there's a Frankenstein suit of power armor near the entrance of that cave. Please make sure it doesn't get lost. The last thing we want is terrorists with something like it. Your buddies in the military might consider it a proof of concept even if it sucks."

"You build a power armor? In a cave?" One of the soldiers holding a perimeter around us exclaimed.

"The leader of this bunch of bastards seemed to like the idea. He thought we were building it for him and even had his minions help us."

"That explains a lot. Only you, Tones." Rhodey shook his head. "I'll make sure we secure your armor."

"The weapons too. They might be our best lead to figure out who fucked us over."

=SI=

What followed was positively underwhelming. A Blackhawk with escorts flew us to the nearest US base, where the medics ushered us into a field hospital. The pocking and prodding intensified. We got enough shots to feel like dying, and I ended up with an IV stuck in my arm to get properly hydrated.

"Ho, I don't want to push, but if you don't want to go home, I can offer you a job. I'm sure legal can pull a few strings and get you citizenship, too. Medical, research and development, you name it, I can get you there." I offered Yinsen after the medics got bored of using us as pincushions.

My new buddy stared at me with that fair-away look.

"You noticed then?" He eventually asked.

"The way you spoke about your village and family? You noticed I'm not as dumb and willfully blind as I like the world at large to think." That was my story, and I was going to stick to it until I had to explain how I became a space wizard.

"Yes, that was a shock." Yinsen snorted. "I still remember how you managed to give that lecture drunk. Until recently, I wasn't sure if that was mere luck or brilliance."

Let's try having a lot of experience with being drunk all day, almost every day, for a long time now. Thinking about it, I might have gone cold turkey in the first days after the ambush, which, combined with my wounds, would explain a lot.

"That's Tony Stark like the world knows him." I nodded. "Just think about my suggestion."

"I will." He promised. He stretched in his hospital bed and groaned. "I've forgotten how a proper bed is."

"These? I'll have one of my departments' design proper beds for field hospitals, and barracks for that matter."

The field barracks I was accustomed to having much more comfortable beds. Then again, they came from the fabricators of a civilization thousands of years more advanced. At that thought, my fingers shook, this time in anticipation. I had so many ideas and projects I wanted to pursue now. In the coming years and decades, I could reshape Earth and eventually turn it into interstellar power.

But first, I had to clean up the house. And get a cheeseburger. I haven't eaten a proper one in a lifetime or two.

=SI=

Being Tony Stark had its perk once I found myself in civilized company. As soon as the medics were sure I wouldn't fall dead and gave me the green light to travel, I found myself alone in the back of a C-5 galaxy.

I settled for long flight home with a fighter escort because the US military didn't want to misplace me again. I had time to relax, recover, and begin plotting in earnest. Yinsen tentatively agreed to my suggestion, so I would have Pepper get legal to expedite his arrival. However, he first wanted to visit his village and dead family.

Next task, after getting some delicious fast food… I did remember what Tony would have done in the movie next. An out-of-the-blue press conference announcing to the world that SI would no longer build weapons. That wasn't happening. I would first arrange a meeting with the US military, offer them some incentives, then perhaps shut down the weapon division for proper investigation. Whoever fucked me over either worked in there or had contacts who helped make weapons disappear. On the top of my head, I could think of two options, and one was more likely than the other. I couldn't recall the details of our contracts with the military. Such pedestrian things weren't for Tony fucking Stark to deal with; they were boring. He had a legal department for it.

So option one, there was a discrepancy between the contracts on our side and the military. We build more weapons than the military paid for, and someone made the surplus vanish. This was unlikely. The option was too dangerous and easy to discover by accident. The more likely variant was ghost production. It was a time-honored tactic when a manufacturer covertly built more weapons than officially contracted for and sold the surplus to the highest bidder. That was much easier to keep in-house and worse for me because the rot had to encompass multiple SI divisions to keep it hidden. From logistics, procurement, and the auditors, there were many moving parts that had to be compromised for ghost production to happen in any meaningful quantities.

I saw that too many of my weapons were on the market. Too many for a small operation to account for. The more I thought about it, the clearer it became that clearing this mess internally might be unfeasible. At least some of the people who would conduct such investigation working for me had to be on it or otherwise compromised - blackmail, bribery, the works.

I might have to go to my contacts in the military and government. I was sure they would like to protect their golden weapons boy from the mean corporate shills who betrayed us all. Such an angle might lead to a closer relationship, an option for me to start influencing and subverting parts of the US government beyond my position as Tony Stark already did by default; like it or not, being a billionaire came with a lot of perks.

Sadly, I had a lot of work to do before I could focus on sciencing my way to power, so no one could kill me or wreck Earth. After all, I kept all my things here and had people I wanted to protect.

=SI=

Edwards Air-force base
California

I was deep in meditation, guiding the Force to heal me when we arrived. I looked close enough to sleeping that the crew had to come and wake me up.

"Thank you for the five-star cruise." I offered them a disarming smile and slowly got up. My muscles still ached, but it was a far cry from how I felt not so long ago.

I looked at one of the pilots. He was little more than a kid. His face and general bearing reminded me of one of the soldiers who died escorting me back in Afghanistan. It was that kid who rode next to me. A pang of regret rang through my heart.

"You look like you want to say something. Shoot away."

"The rest of the guys want to know if we can take a picture with you, sir!" He stammered.

The things we do for PR and, more importantly, to keep the people supposed to keep me in one piece happy…

"Sure. I'll throw an autograph or two if you want." I nodded.

That's how I got a picture taken with the whole crew before they opened the ramp, and I was greeted by the good old California sun.

I descended the ramp slowly, not having to fake my discomfort. The sun reminded me of the heat of Sundari's desert. Point to myself, get a proper residence in a place with a moderate climate until I invented an armor with adequate air conditioning. Fuck California and its heat.

The first things I could see when my eyes adjusted to the angry glow of the sun were a pair of paramedics complete with a gurney. There was an ambulance nearby, accompanied by a police car – likely to escort it into the base.

At least two fire teams from the base security held a perimeter around the plane. Ah, good old-fashioned closing the barn's door when it was too late. Some things never changed.

My eyes focused on a striking redhead who looked like she had been crying. What's with the redheads in my life anyway? I could feel Pepper's emotions, and they were humbling. I had to remind myself that when Tony Stark used to be an oblivious ass. She cared, and that sent a pang of unease through me. Tony, he had taken him for granted.

"Pepper," I smiled tiredly at her. "Thank you for caring."

Whatever she expected me to say, this wasn't it.

"I'm all right, folks." I waved the paramedics away. "Let's get out of the sun." I nodded to Happy, my driver cum bodyguard. He had the distinction of being one of the three people in the world who could stand Tony for prolonged periods of time. Happy, Pepper and Rhodey.

No matter the pay, prolonged exposure drove everyone else up the wall and straight to drinking. That or in the hands of the nearest therapist, likely both.

"It's good to see you alive, boss!" Happy grinned at me.

We got in the car, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Air conditioning! It was one of the greatest inventions of the civilized world. It would do until I had enough access to the Force to make heat and cold more or fewer non-issues.

"Where to?" Happy inquired.

"Hospital!" Pepper ordered. "Tony, you look terrible!" She added worriedly.

"I'm as well as one could expect. A hospital visit won't get me much better anytime soon. I need food, liquids, and rest." And someone to get the expertise and tools to get the shrapnel out of my chest, but that would be a long-term issue. "Some vitamins too. It's nothing a stop by a pharmacy on the way home can't fix. But first, cheeseburgers! Happy, I'm ready to kill for some fat food. I spent the last three months eating second-hand MREs. Pepper, take note! We'll be making proper meals for the US military! Proper beds for field hospitals and barracks too!" I announced, making my best typical Tony Stark impression. "I'm fine, Pepper."

I could feel a bit of relief rising within Pepper and Happy. Now I sounded almost like Tony used to.

"Are you really?" Pepper asked in a tone that was an odd mix of disbelief, worry, and relief.

"Fine enough." I nodded. "A man kept me alive; we were both prisoners in Afghanistan. His name's Ho Yinsen. I offered him a job, and he accepted. He'll be coming to the US sometime after he visits his home village. Make sure legal smooths things over and get him a first-class ticket to LA."

"I'll see to it, Tony. Are you sure you're all right?" Pepper pushed again.

"I'm as good as can be expected. I got held in a cave for months, Pepper. By people who had enough of our weapons to outfit a small army. A bunch of American soldiers were murdered with weapons we produced while the poor bastard tried to keep me in one piece." I bit out.

"That's…" Pepper's shock was genuine. Good to know. It was a relief that one of the few people I trusted was almost certainly not involved in betraying me.

"Yes, my thought exactly. Happy, drive us to the burgers. You two are among the few people I trust without reservations right now. Suggestions?"

"You can't go wrong with cheeseburgers, Tony. More security?" Happy asked and started slowly driving away from the plane.

"Among other things." In my current condition, a strike team that knew what they were doing might be able to take me out. Proper security was a must. Ideally, they would eventually form the core of a small or not-so-small private army. "Pepper? You are one of the smartest women I know. What are you thinking?"

"You!" Ms. Potts jabbed a finger at my chest. "Hospital!" She spoke slowly, as if I was a small kid. To be honest, from what I remember, that was necessary an embracing number of times.

"Dully noted Pepper. I'm glad you're concerned for your poor old boss."

She growled in frustration.

I stretched and relaxed in the seat.

"You know, I haven't thanked you two for putting up with me."

"You're not that bad, Tony." Happy glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

"Yes, he usually is." Pepper sighed. "What brought this up, Tony?"

"People say that the thought of imminent hanging concentrates the mind. I had to grow up or die, Pepper."

"Who are you, and what did you do with Tony?" The red-haired beauty peered at me.

"I had a lot of time to reflect on my past actions. Let's just say I didn't like what I saw when I thought about myself."

"That's surprising." Pepper looked thoughtful. "Does that mean you might try to look after yourself occasionally?"

"Just from time to time." I smiled. "Being sober for months sure helped," I said in a more serious tone. "How is the company?"

"Pretty good, all things considered," Pepper answered. "SI's shares took a major hit after all thought you died and have been slowly recovering."

"Thanks to Obi, no doubt." I voiced my thoughts.

"He's been swamped." Pepper agreed.

"Who wants to discuss my escape besides the media? I don't feel like giving a press conference anytime soon."

"FBI, CIA, the Pentagon…"

Hmm… Who would be most helpful? FBI for a domestic angle, the latter to sick on the Ten Rings…

"We'll figure something out. Perhaps tomorrow afternoon. Get them all together – I don't feel like answering the same questions multiple times."

"I'll arrange it." Pepper nodded and made a note on her phone.

"Where's Obi?" I asked.

He could help me figure out if someone in the company was up to no good, well beyond the usual. If I could trust him. He was much more involved in everything than Tony ever was. Then again, the very thought that Obi betrayed me was offensive. When all was said and done, Obi was more of a father to me than Howard ever was, even when still alive.

"At the central."

"We'll go to meet him after the burgers. And the vitamins..."

=SBB=

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