Echoes

The exquisite modern high rise loomed a glassy and intimidating reflection, towering overhead. Even so, it's unique, sleek design was still admirable. Tony hadn't been in this parking lot, standing in this shadow for a very long time. The moment felt completely surreal; out of time. There was no sign, no label as to where he was for this place needed no title to be known for what it was.

Those who passed by knew without a doubt what this building was home to.

Stark Industries.

Not the Stark Industries Tony's ex-partner and once mentor Obadiah Stane had run into the ground. No, this was the new, completely rebuilt from the ground up headquarters for the future of Tony Stark's company. He would carry on his father's legacy in a far different way than anyone could have predicted. Even a decade ago, Tony would have never thought about his legacy. Back then it was about wealth, fame- about filling the void with drugs, sex, alcohol, stuff.

It had taken Tony years to realize that what had happened to him in the Middle East, where he had been held captive in Afghanistan, had shattered his life completely into pieces that would never be picked up or put back in place. For too long he'd made the mistake of trying to do just that. What else does one do when their life is in shambles? They pick up what's left and try to rebuild.

But Tony could never be the person he had been before that fateful day when everything had gone horribly wrong after a weapons demonstration. It had been a mistake for him to even try. There was no way to erase the damage that had been done to him mind body and soul. Sure, he thought perhaps medical technology had come far enough to remove the shrapnel in his chest but as far as he was concerned the arc reactor was now a part of him completely. Unless there was immediate danger to his life he would keep it.

Even if he did there were the scars. Sure, there were scars on his chest, his back, his hands that would remind him eternally of what he'd suffered through but it was the emotional ones that had nearly ruined him. Trauma would not and could not be ignored. Not by Tony Stark and not by anyone. That was, after all, what he had done when faced with trauma. Sure, he had been forced to deal with bits and pieces here or there: the betrayal of someone who had practically been a father to him, the heart breaking failure of a relationship with Pepper Potts, becoming a super hero in a poor attempt to right the insurmountable wrongs that Obadiah Stane had left in his wake.

But Tony had never felt like a super hero. He bragged about being Iron Man, about the extent of his technology, his mental and physical prowess, his ever increasing skill. However the truth was that Tony had never felt super human. In fact, ever since that moment in Afghanistan when all hell had broken loose and he'd stared face to face with a weapon that bore his last name, he had felt completely and hopelessly human. Before that Tony had been invincible. How did one cope with losing their immortality?

Even after he'd perfected his suits, built Mark after Mark, Tony deep down had been consumed by anger and fright. For that was what had truly birthed even his greatest of creations: fear. Fear that he his newly rebuilt life would shatter again into pieces and they would be so far beyond repair that even a mind as great as his couldn't put them back together. Fear of the pain that he'd felt in Afghanistan when he'd woken up mid-surgery with a gaping hole in his chest.

No one, including Tony, ever spoke of the pain but to this day he still had nightmares. It wasn't like he'd been given pain killers or anesthetic when Yinsen had dug into his chest, carved a hole in his body and placed a powerful magnet attached to a car battery to keep shrapnel from traveling into his heart. No, the pain had been so immense Tony still wasn't sure how he'd survived. The scars around the reactor were still very much present and sometimes they still caused him pain. While he had long since grown used to the reactor itself there had been a very long while where the pain of it against the organic flesh of his being had been so terrible he'd longed to rip it out.

Now that constant pain and the past suffering had become a part of his very being. There were pieces of him that had been so destroyed they were like grains of sand in the desert. Those parts could never be replaced, never be rebuilt.

In order for Tony to finally move on, for him to truly recover from that trauma and even the trauma of what had happened to him in Manhattan he had to learn to cope with the initial instance that had started it all. So much good had come from that trauma that he had thought he was coping. Stark Industries was changing the world for the better at last and other companies were following in his footsteps. More violence wouldn't ever stop existing violence, Tony knew that. It didn't make him a pacifist, he still believed the strongest defense was a good offense. However, he knew that the weapons that his company had once produced, while they had protected the lives of soldiers, had done nothing of note. There were thousands of other arms dealers just like Stark Industries who would happily take his place.

With his wealth and intelligence Tony could do so much more than harm. As Iron Man Tony could protect people from trauma like the one he suffered. While he would never admit it to anyone, not even Scarlett or Rhodey, he was still suffering. There was a good chance he'd be suffering and struggling with this seemingly insurmountable fear for the rest of his damned life.

Today Tony was okay with that. He couldn't rebuild something that no longer existed. Tony Stark was no longer the man he once was. When he finally accepted that the true healing would begin. Scarlett had forced him to face the demons that weighed him down, had told him he wasn't alone and for the first time in years Tony realized he really wasn't alone. Pepper was there for him. Happy was there for him. Rhodey was there for him. Hell, sometimes even the annoyance of S.H.I.E.L.D. had been there for him.

Scarlett had not been the first person to reach their hand out to Tony Stark to pick him up from his knees and teach him to walk again. She was, however, the first person to see through the mask of stubbornness and straight to the root of the problem. Scarlett had become the metaphorical light in the darkness that Tony had allowed to swallow him whole. This had kept him up the entire night before wondering if that was perhaps the root of the attraction to her that he'd felt from the moment he'd laid eyes on her.

It wasn't until he had decided that no matter when they'd met, what time, what situation, what place, Scarlett would still be that light for him even if he was too blind to see it that he had realized it wasn't the root of the attraction at all. Their connection, whatever it was, was unshakeable and some things simply were meant to be whether or not Tony believed in fate. Whatever he called this connection or had decided it was Tony knew that his life was delicately intertwined with Scarlett's, with Refuge. It could have just been wishful thinking, of course. Either way, it was somehow comforting to know that no matter what hand life had dealt them they would wind up finding each other.

Tony felt full for the first time in his life when she was around and simultaneously empty without the ability to truly express this connection. Sure, when he finally managed to tell her it would sound ridiculous. When he managed to find a way to articulate this deep, complex series of feelings it would baffle the both of them. That didn't matter. Tony didn't mind sounding idiotic sometimes, mostly because he knew that of all the things he actually was stupid just wasn't on the list.

Dark windows glared down at him and Tony suddenly wondered why he'd made the building so damn tall in the first place. Yeah, it had been to show off back when he'd designed it but now it felt menacing. It had been so long since Tony had stepped foot in any Stark Industries building that he was oddly scared. He stood on the hillside staring at the metaphorical wasteland where a dragon had once laid waste.

Except there was no physical threat. Tony's dragon was just screwing with his emotions. Bravely, well at the time it felt brave, Tony walked up to the front doors and waited for the light to come on next to the door where Jarvis would customarily greet him and scan him for entry. But nothing happened.

"Interesting." Tony shrugged off the error and instead manually punched in his entry code and waited for verification. It took a few seconds longer for the computer to process his code and for a very brief second Tony wondered if Pepper had overrode his clearance when she had been angry with him. One by one the lights on the side of the door turned blue and he was granted entry. The glass doors reflected the date, time, weather, and a greeting.

"Welcome, Mr. Stark." Jarvis' comforting and familiar voice came from either side of the doors as they swung open.

"Lights, Jarvis."

There was no response.

"Jarvis?" Tony spun in place as if to search for the shapeless entity but still received no reply. Shrugging again Tony walked toward the circular security desk at the far end of the room and turned the lights on in the hallways and offices. Then he walked through the eerily quiet halls, his footsteps echoing in his mind. At first the sound was strange, the sights were stranger. Then they became comforting, familiar, and reassuring. Tony walked with confidence to his old office.

It was clean, pristine, as though he'd never spent any time away from it. Pepper must not have been using his office in his absence the way that he'd instructed her to. That was oddly endearing. For a short period of time Tony had been convinced that Pepper was trying to keep him from returning to his old job. That was proving to be mostly his anxiety and paranoia talking. She'd kept his office clean and ready for him so whenever he was ready to take the plunge it would be ready for him too.

Tony took a seat behind the curved glass desk at the far end of the office and reclined in the comfortable chair. It creaked beneath his weight, likely from disuse.

"Now, why aren't you working?" Tony turned on his computer and tapped at the screen and the desk around it. Leaning back in his seat again he considered curiously what Jarvis' absence could mean. Pepper wouldn't allow his systems to go without maintenance for that long, would she? Even just a month would set things severely out of date. Tony prided himself in having the sleekest and most efficient technology around.

If none of what he stood for was being maintained then what the hell did he pay all those computer technicians for? Once within his building's systems he found where Jarvis had been installed and saw that he had long ago been disabled. Maybe Pepper had been tired of hearing his voice or something. Tony had no idea what the hell he'd do without Jarvis. He honestly couldn’t fathom ever wishing to disable him.

When Tony enabled Jarvis' system it failed.

"Well, that's great." Tony sighed and then propped his phone nearby and slid a few files around in front of him with ease with his left hand and typed on the keyboard on the glass desk. Hey Jarvis, can you fix this mess?" The screen of the phone lit up.

"One moment, sir." A hologram appeared from the screen of the phone and spun in front of Tony in thought and then throbbed and turned red. "I require more concrete access than is available. There is something blocking me."

"How's that possible, Jarvis? It's my system, I can't be blocked."

"I cannot possibly know the answer to that, Mr. Stark."

"That was more of a rhetorical thing, Jarvis."

"My apologies, Mr. Stark. You know how your rhetoric often escapes me."

"To be honest I thought you were getting pretty good at recognizing it." Tony tapped away at the keyboard again. "Well, we'll be spending quite a bit of our time here in the next few weeks I guess. I can't believe how bad it is. I mean, things are as I left them but uh… they're exactly how I left them."

"Well, that is rather unfortunate."

"Tell me about it. Can you get into the system here at all, Jarvis?"

"Offer me a tangible link and I'll see what I can do."

Tony dug through the drawers of his desk and found a USB cable and plugged his phone into the a port beneath the desk. Afterward, with Jarvis' assistance, Tony built up his defenses on his network to properly hide himself and then began his anonymous search for MedCo and everything he could find in relation to Scarlett, Refuge, and S.H.I.E.L.D.

An hour passed with no luck. Each time Tony thought he'd found something the data would mysteriously disappear or he would have to bypass someone's poor attempt to put a virus in his computer. That, of course, wasn't going to happen. Tony spent much more time in the seedier parts of the internet than he would ever dare admit to anyone who asked. Yet every avenue he searched, every trick he knew ended in failure.

"If you don't mind my asking, sir, why are we doing this here at the office instead of at home?"

"The servers are better here, Jarvis. My connection is better here. Or at least it all used to be like that." Tony tapped his fingers on the desk. "And it's easier to explain why my computers here are breaking past secure firewalls than it would be if I did it from home and the CIA showed up at my door."

"Ah yes, the age old avoiding the authorities excuse."

"Don't get sassy with me."

"My apologies."

"Let's try something else. They obviously have people protecting their digital fingerprint." Tony cracked his knuckles and spun in his chair before adjusting and sitting at the end of it and tapping away again at the keyboard. If he couldn't directly find MedCo to get the information he was looking for perhaps he could come about it a different way. Someone he already knew how to manipulate might have something of note.

After all, Scarlett was involved with S.H.I.E.L.D. in some capacity. The appearance of bow and arrow guy had kind of solidified it. What was his name again? Didn't matter. That would be as good a place to start as any. Whatever information S.H.I.E.L.D. had on MedCo would be more than the nothing Tony currently had. Maybe they even had a better way of approaching finding them online. Technically Tony was starting at square one. He could use the leg up.

Tony had long ago hacked into the S.H.I.E.L.D. mainframe. They'd tried, as a whole, to stop him on several occasions but at some point Tony figured they were aware that he was going to keep trying and succeeding so they'd decided to focus their efforts elsewhere. If they had anything big to hide Tony likely wouldn't find it with any ease but information on MedCo didn't fall under that category. Tony knew S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't the benevolent department of super heroes they appeared to be from the outside looking in but he couldn't fight every battle, not that night at least.

Maybe after he was back on his feet, maybe after he had helped Scarlett get back on hers too. They could fight whatever threats lay ahead together. It was comforting, for the first time in a long time, not to be alone.

The amount of information S.H.I.E.L.D. had gathered on MedCo was overwhelming. What met Tony was a huge spider web of connections that had been developed and followed through the years. Tony reclined in his chair as he watched the information unfold in front of him. Hovering through the air he could see the web growing endlessly over his desk and all around him. Rubbing his fingers against his temples he tilted his head to the side curiously and wondered how the hell he would begin. If MedCo had this lengthy a history and Scarlett was somewhere within all of it how would he pinpoint where the two intersected?

Maybe start with a date of some significance. When had Refuge been founded? Tony knew all about Refuge at this point. It was as good a place to start as any and with the wealth of information ahead of him Tony would be overwhelmed no matter where he began.

"I don't suppose anyone delivers coffee at this hour, do they?" Tony joked.

"Would you truly want someone to show up with a delivery during your illicit affairs, Mr. Stark?"

"Wouldn't be the first time." Tony smirked but his smile faded as he caught something in the corner of his eye while browsing through files. "Wait a minute." Tony whispered and scrolled back through the files before he touched a folder labeled Stark Industries. Inside there were a series of photographs. Even from the thumbnails Tony recognized what they were.

Weapons.

A whole damn stockpile of weaponry.

Stark Industries Weaponry.

Weapons that he had slowly faded out of manufacturing in the years past. Yes, there were parts of his company that were still working on closing contracts. He couldn't stop producing weapons cold turkey, not when he had current contracts with the US Military. Still, the amount of his company that was still producing these weapons was minimal. Tony searched for the report that would relate to the photo only to find another folder with a dozen more photos.

Then worse than that, Tony found a database of weapons.

Weapons that had been recovered from MedCo and their affiliates either from abandoned warehouses or from scenes of horrific violence.

Tony's weapons had been at the key of it.

These weapons were not all from when Obadiah Stane had been running the company with both of his hands in the proverbial sewers. There were photos dated as little as a few weeks prior. Where the hell were these terrorists buying his weapons from? Weapons that his company barely produced anymore? Once Tony had come to terms with the betrayal of his father's partner he had gone through the company with a fine tooth comb and had done away with anything that had even appeared suspicious. Hell, he'd even turned over all the leads he had to the proper authorities.

Tony had even flown halfway across the world in a suit of armor and blew some of these terrorist cells out of existence single handedly in his anger. Going through this weapons database it did appear as though there had been a period of years where his weapons had disappeared from rotation but in the last year the influx had been innumerable. What could that mean?

"It wasn't just Stane." Tony whispered, leaning back in his chair. A chill ran down his spine and left him cold and uncomfortable. Fear gripped his chest and he wondered just how many moles had been lying in wait in his company, hoping he would let his guard down again. Once he'd gone into hiding they'd seized the opportunity. Naturally he had never shared any fears of corruption with Pepper so how could she have possibly known?

Stark Industries had become a ticking time bomb in his absence. He'd never thought that Obadiah had others in his pocket and now he suddenly felt incredibly innocent for that. Sure, he'd screened his employees and looked for suspicious activity but Obadiah had been skilled at covering his tracks so how was he supposed to find any trail of what had been left behind? Besides, he'd been a drunken mess back then and had simply gone through the motions.

How long had Pepper been manipulated by those who worked beneath her generous gaze? She likely had no idea that their weapons were being shipped out to terrorist organizations. Immediately he dismissed the idea of her being involved in any capacity. Pepper hated violence of any kind, including him being Iron Man. Even when Tony made tasteless jokes, Pepper scowled in disapproval.

Guilt washed through him. When Pepper found out what had happened right under her nose she would feel terrible. He could have put a stop to this long ago if he had just crawled out of the hole he'd buried himself in.

Then something struck him so hard that he felt instantly sick to his stomach and had to turn away from the screen. If he had only come into his office sooner and noticed the flux in weapons manufacturing and shipments to places he had no connection would there be any chance Scarlet would have been saved some grief? For all he knew he could partially be responsible for all she was going through even though he was only aware of a very brief extent of what it could possibly be.

Tony copied S.H.I.E.L.D. files to his phone and then closed the connection and leaned again in his chair. Even Jarvis had nothing to say about any of this new information. Any air of jest had faded along with his discovery. Stark Industries would need yet another purge and this time he would make sure that no one would manipulate him or his corporation with their greed ever again.

Why hadn't S.H.I.E.L.D. come to him? They had too many secrets and thinking of the reasons they wouldn't want to involve Tony in their investigation of MedCo made his head spin. Instead, Tony chose to search within. If there was someone manipulating his company they would have left some kind of trail. Someone had to authorize shipments, alter files, paperwork, to make everything appear legitimate.

What if Pepper hadn't disabled Jarvis? Maybe someone else had done so just to keep Jarvis from monitoring their communications or taking note of any suspicious activity? He was sure that if these people could manipulate Jarvis into overlooking it themselves then Jarvis would have showed some signs of it. The idea of anyone else having control over Jarvis was terrifying. That was just what he needed to worry about right now. Things would be changing drastically at Stark Industries in the months to come, that was for sure.

Sure enough as he continued through Stark Industries computer files he saw that Pepper had changed her pass code over a dozen times in the last few months because someone else had gotten their hands on it. How was that possible? How could she be so lazy about security here?

The further he dug the worse it became. It wasn't just weapons being shipped off but other projects Stark Industries had been working on. Secret plans, secret products, secret advancements that weren't ready to meet the light of day. Tony would be putting a stop to this at once.

Within the bowels of Stark Industries files Tony discovered a series of communications between someone using Pepper's identity and someone who had received several shipments of weaponry in the months past. They had to be dealing with MedCo, considering what Tony had discovered in S.H.I.E.L.D. files. Rage burned through Tony's entire being as he searched for any sign of Pepper having actually received any of these transmissions.

She hadn't. These messages were being rerouted within company servers to avoid being traced. That night, Tony would be crashing the servers but not before he caught someone with their pants down and made them suffer for what they'd done with his attempts at benevolence. They had manipulated his desperation, his sorrow and had used it for their ill conceived machinations.

Without fully thinking through the ramifications of his plan Tony created a dummy account online, similar to the ones he'd found in the communication of whoever was manipulating his company. Then he planted a message in need of weapons. If he could trap whoever it was maybe he could get some information out of them before turning them over to S.H.I.E.L.D. God, the mess that was going to have to be dealt with the next day would be monumental.

A response was received almost immediately. The contact gave him an asking price and awaited reply. Tony bargained with a little to try and keep up appearances. Once an agreement was made Tony asked where to meet up for delivery. It took awhile for this last response to come in and waiting nearly killed Tony. He never did have much patience. Constantly he checked his phone to see if Scarlett had messaged him but there was nothing. With any luck she was either feeling better or getting some well deserved rest. He sent her a message telling her hoped as much.

No response. Not from Scarlett at least.

However, the communication from the faux Pepper Potts gave him an address of an old Stark Industries warehouse about fifty miles east of his current location. Tony waited, hesitated, and then responded that he would be there in an hour to complete the transaction.

"Should I contact someone at S.H.I.E.L.D. Mr. Stark?" Jarvis spoke when Tony didn't move from his seat.

"Not yet."

"You can't be considering going to meet this man on your own."

"You forget that I'm Iron Man."

"And you forget that these are terrorist with a long web of connections and death in their wake."

Tony's confident smirk faded at once.

"I know exactly what they are, Jarvis. But I don't think S.H.I.E.L.D. is going to approve of what I plan on doing."

"If you will not contact the proper authorities would you perhaps consider contacting James Rhodes then? He could be of some use and maybe someone with a head more level than yours would be of some aid right now."

"I don't want Rhodey to get into trouble."

"I think that is the precise reason that he should be helping you."

"Either help or shut up, Jarvis." Tony wouldn't change his mind. He would tell S.H.I.E.L.D., he would tell Rhodey, but not until after he'd gotten some revenge. A few taps on his phone and Tony communicated with the Mark XLII and set it so it would be on standby if he wound up requiring its assistance. Tony needed leverage and information against MedCo. As of right now he had next to nothing to help him in his quest to save Scarlett. Granted, the very little he had to go on was a bunch of assumptions and innuendos.

He wasn't going to dip his toes into this chaos. Tony was going to dive headfirst and while that was very dangerous and perhaps a little foolish he didn't much care. Tony wanted something to hold over MedCo so that if he had to bargain for anything involving Scarlett's life then he would have it. She hadn't asked him to help her but she didn't need to. When this man or woman showed up to try and sell him his own weapons he was going to get information out of them one way or another.

Whether or not Scarlett wanted him to be, Tony was involved. He understood why she had kept her distance at least to some extent. He'd once also struggled with the idea of needing help, of not having to suffer alone. Now he thought it was more than high time for her to follow her own advice!

The drive through the California desert was a blur; a blur of loud music drowned out by complex thought. Each time he played out what would come in his mind's eye it ended in violence. Tony had a surprising amount of pent up anger but he'd had no idea where to direct it for the longest time. Now he did. He didn't know how involved Scarlett was with any of these people or even if she had been involved with them at all. For all Tony knew, Scarlett was the cause of her own misery.

All he knew was the woman who had saved him, who he'd grown so very close to. He knew that woman didn't deserve the fate she'd been dealt. If he could do anything within his power to put an end to her misery he would without a thought.

Once in the far end of the parking lot near the warehouse Tony found it abandoned and dark. Hell, it was even a little rundown. Doubt crept through his mind as he sat in his luxury car and contemplated his next move. What were the odds that whoever he had communicated with had known it was him and not someone actually hoping to buy weapons? Was someone playing him as well as he was hoping to play them? Tony sent another communication verifying the location of the meet up, explaining that he thinks there's a possibility of being followed.

His phone buzzed immediately afterward, to his surprise. It was ringing and according to the screen it was Dianne Hendricks. Tony answered at once and didn't even get a chance to greet her before she spoke.

"Tony? Tony Stark, is that you?"

"Yes, Mrs. Hendricks you're calling the right number." Tony began hesitantly. "Is everything okay?" Even just from her greeting Tony could tell she was rattled. Maybe she was having second thoughts about their teaming up. After all, they had both pretty much agreed to break the law together.

"Have you discovered anything of note yet?" She spoke in an urgent whisper.

"Yes, but I'm waiting for it to pan out before I jump to any conclusions." Tony cleared his throat. "What about you? Have you found anything?"

"I'm finally in Boston. My flight was a bit delayed but… I've decided that I'm going to break into the Refuge building like you suggested. I don't think I can hack through Miss Damien's firewall on my own. The only way I'm going to get direct access to her computer is by going inside. With this… this little thing you gave me I should be able to get through security, right?"

"Yes, don't worry. Jarvis will help you." Tony had absolutely no doubt that Scarlett's defenses were high but he very much doubted he didn't have the skills to break through them. "When you get there let me know what you find, okay?"

"Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Be safe, okay? I have a very bad feeling about all of this." Dianne wasn't sure why but the words felt odd coming from her lips, like they didn't quite belong to her. Still, she felt very compelled to say them.

"You too, Miss Hendricks." Tony smiled and then ended the call and stepped out of his car. He'd received communication during the call assuring him that the place was safe for a drop and that if he wanted the weapons then that would be where they met up. Tony checked on the location of the Mark XLII and saw it was only about a half an hour behind him. If he got into any trouble he had back up. Then he would send communication to Rhodey via the WarMachine. The US military may not have thought so but Tony could have hijacked the machine any time he wanted to.

Once inside the warehouse Tony found it dark and empty just as he expected. A large warehouse with rows upon rows of crates and shelving lined up every which way. It looked abandoned, like no one had maintained it properly in months. This was not the way Tony Stark ran his company. Guilt tore apart his insides again. His employees had been working in these conditions for far too long now. He shrugged it off. Tony couldn't carry the weight of that on his shoulders, not right now. The burden was already far too heavy.

Walking through a few rows of storage containers, Tony stared up at the catwalk on the second floor that lined the far edge of the open space. There were halls branching off to different shipping and packing areas of the building but Tony wasn't going to bother. This was a dead end. Someone from MedCo was screwing with him. When he got back to his place he would report his findings to S.H.I.E.L.D. and begin the overhaul of his company. Tony wouldn't rest until he was sure that there were no more evil assholes in Stark Industries, manipulating his good intentions from the inside out.

As he turned to make his way back to the large double doors leading to the parking lot they slammed closed. Above him lights flickered to life one set at a time from just overhead to the far end of the warehouse. Tony turned back to the doors in alarm to be met with a pair of men armed with automatic weapons and wearing gas masks.

"Mr. Stark. I don't believe we've formally met."

Tony spun in search of the Russian accent and in doing so caught sight of several other armed men spreading throughout the warehouse to cover the other exits. The strange voice had come from the second floor along the catwalk at the far end of the warehouse. Stocky, with an angry brow and a scowl on his face the man with the Russian accent stared at him. Worse than all of what met him, this stranger was covered in bloodied scrapes. Someone had very much hurt him and recently at that.

Despite his overall menacing appearance this man wore a smile. Oddly, it was haunting.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mikhail. The only remaining founder of MedCo… or at least that's what you've been calling it. Always thought it was a silly name. Allow me to clarify, I am the only coherent remaining founder."

"I could have lived without the introduction to be honest." Tony spoke confidently and took a step toward where Mikhail stood. The armed men shifted behind him, holding their guns at the ready. Tony held his hands up defensively and watched as Mikhail waved toward his men with a chuckle. They lowered their guns.

"I know what you were hoping for this evening."

"Do you?"

"Of course I do. We knew that you would find us eventually, Mr. Stark. Did you think your systems were so uncompromised we would not see you worming around within them? Searching for us as we monitored you?"

Tony's blood ran cold. Yeah, in the back of his mind he'd thought perhaps that they'd taken over his systems but he had also been so confident in the machinery he'd built and in his own abilities that he had shrugged the very idea off.

"The lesson you learn tonight will be a difficult one." Mikhail's cold laughter echoed throughout the empty space. "Obadiah Stane knew very well what the consequences for backing out of our arrangement would be. There is no backing out, Mr. Stark. Only removing obstacles in our way. You have something we need. Do you think we're going to beg you for it?"

"You do seem more like the stealing type. Your deal was with Stane, not with me. Regrettably, Stane is no longer with us."

"By your hand. You are responsible for his debt, Mr. Stark."

"I don't know if anyone's told you this but I am the least in debt guy on the planet." Tony smirked but he was very carefully and quietly taking in his surroundings and trying to memorize potential places to take cover and escape. There were too many guards for him to disarm without getting shot in the damn head. If he could stall for time while his suit was in transit he had no doubt he could make quick work of them. Unfortunately Tony hadn't actually fought anything that could fight back since the disaster in Manhattan. Beating a punching bag was a much different experience.

Oddly enough the prospect of being in real danger was both terrifying and thrilling.

"Threats don't do much for me. I uh, I'm not much into bargaining outside of the bedroom and no offense or anything but you're really not my type. I'll offer you a consolation prize though. How about we cut a deal before you and your foot soldiers meet a bad end. Turn yourself in and I won't kill you."

"Has no one ever taught you not to bargain unless you have something worth bargaining for?" Mikhail laughed and shook his head. "You are not leaving alive." With a nod of his head several of the guards cautiously approached Tony.

"Fine, fine. You're right! I don't have much ground to stand on right now. What if we make a deal in exchange for something you do want? I doubt you'll want to kill me. I'm a pretty likable guy. People are going to miss me."

"What is it you could possibly want from us that you would be willing to make a deal with the devil?"

"That's awfully cocky for a dude in a sling, but okay." Tony pointed toward one of the guards coming toward him. "Stop, just stop. This is not a good look for any of you. All of this black is really bringing me down. Get it away from me. Take a few steps back or this conversation is over."

The guard looked toward Mikhail for confirmation and received a nod. Each guard took a few steps back.

"So, what is it that the man with everything wants?"

"Scarlett." Tony's cocky smile faded away. "I want her to be okay."

"Interesting." Mikhail smiled and rubbed his good hand against his jaw and then chuckled quietly beneath his breath. "You are dripping with desperation, Mr. Stark."

"I'm usually the guy who says that but… today you're right. I'd trade anything."

"That is awfully noble of you. There is nothing anyone can do to help you now. It's far too late for her. She has long since dug her own shallow grave. By the time you understand anything it will be far too late for anyone to save her."

"What's that supposed to mean? I mean, cryptic, not helpful at all…" Tony confidently walked past one of the guards when Mikhail turned away. "By the time I understand? I'd understand just fine if someone told me. You are awfully uninformed about what kind of a guy I am for someone who has been breaking into my computers. I mean, not to toot my own horn but I'm pretty smart."

"Farewell, Tony Stark." Mikhail shook his head and stopped walking but didn't look back. "I have nothing that you want."

"At the very least you could tell me what the hell is happening! You can tell me what's wrong!" Mikhail ignored Tony's questions. Tony glanced at his phone. The Mark XLII would be here at any moment ready to defend him at his every whim but man did he wish he could have gotten anything useful out of this endeavor. With any luck Dianne Hendricks would be doing much better than he was in the information department. "I'm only trying to understand!"

As Mikhai walked away he waved his hand through the air and the guards slowly moved toward Tony slowly, guns aimed low.

"I guess there's no talking to any of you, is there?" Tony sighed and took a deep breath. "Well, here we go then." Much to the surprise of the men around him Tony held his arms out in front of him and waited. When they didn't approach him and instead just stared he shrugged. "I am unarmed and you guys are loaded. Was no one listening when I said I wasn't stupid?"

Tony counted the seconds down in his head thought it was a nervous counting so he couldn't be sure how accurate it was. One of the men nodded and Tony checked behind him quickly before twisting the unlucky man's wrist and punching him hard in the jaw before pulling his back to his chest and grabbing his gun in one swift motion. Tony pointed the gun toward those around him and backed up toward the wall where there were no guards.

"Nobody move or I'll blow this guy's…" Tony stumbled as one of the man fired straight at the chest of the man he held as his human shield. The blow was absorbed by the guard's body armor but still sent a jolt of fear straight through Tony. He immediately ducked out of the way and threw the guard away from him. Aiming low, Tony shot at the feet of his attackers before leaping out of view.

Another man came at him and punched him hard in the face. Tony could already feel the wound swelling next to his eye. Tony held up his arm to deflect another punch and threw one back. The guard pulled a knife and lunged at Tony who felt the sleeve of his shirt tear but didn’t feel the pain of the blade. Instead he swiftly grabbed the guard's wrist, twisted and spun him around and then knocked the knife clattering to the ground.

"Rusty, but doing okay…" Tony whispered beneath his breath as he grabbed the knife and shoved it in his belt. "Any second now, Jarvis…"

Keeping low, Tony narrowly dodged a bullet as a gunshot rang through the warehouse. It clattered dangerously throughout the warehouse and shattered a lamp overhead, sending a spray of glass and electricity every which way. Ducking behind a series of crates, Tony waited until he heard footsteps and then clothes lined the guard who came searching for him. The he yelped as he was kicked to the ground.

Tony wrestled the gun out of the hands of the guard and then rolled back and out of the way as another guard shot at him and took running between the crates. Adrenaline pumping through his chest Tony checked his phone to see the status of his suit but didn't get the chance to read the numbers. A guard leapt at him and pushed him hard against the crates, knocking some over next to him.

Tony absorbed the blow to his stomach and then punched his assailant hard in the face before ducking low and sweeping his legs right from underneath him. That was more like it! Tony took off at a run and then dove haphazardly to the side as someone fired their weapon toward him. Rolling onto his back he stopped at once as one of the guards loomed over him, gun aimed right toward his chest.

Holding his hands up defensively, Tony caught his breath.

"All right, you win." Tony nodded his head and tossed the knife he'd grabbed out of his hands. "I'm all yours."

With a horrible smash something punched through the glass windows of the warehouse and then soared straight toward Tony like a bat out of hell. In a flash the gloves of the Mark XLII came straight toward him and wrapped carefully around his fingers, his palm, his wrists until they crawled up his forearm, unfolding gracefully into the metallic gloves he'd grown so used to. Just as they did the guard fired his weapon. Tony deflected the shot with his arm just as the armor spread over his forearm. Bruised and beaten, Tony left to his feet as the man aimed his gun toward him again but began to back away in fear.

Clang! The armor of the Mark XLII crashed every which way, punching holes through the building as it did. Red and gold pieces unfolded in front of him and Tony stepped straight into the boots before leaping high into the air with the thrusters and coming slamming down, fist first into the man with the gun. The weapon clattered to the ground nearby harmlessly.

Turning quickly to his right Tony fired the repulsors in his gloves and another guard flew backwards into the crates. As another turned the corner Tony leapt into the air and spun, smashing the guard hard in the face before grabbing him and using the thrust of his suit to send him sliding across the concrete floor.

Hearing the familiar alerts of the rest of his armor, Tony stood upright and held his arms out on either side of him. Piece after piece of armor hugged his form, opening up and spreading into larger and larger pieces before they surrounded him entirely, snapping perfectly into place. As the remainder of the armor encompassed his shoulders Tony soared into the air and braced himself for the final piece as it attached to the back of the suit and then expanded and covered his face with a hefty metallic clank!

Flipping through the air he came down with a smash against the concrete on one knee, fish shattering the ground beneath him and sending a shockwave every which way. As he scanned his surroundings for a body count through his helmet, gun fire clattered against the armor but Tony heard it more than he felt it.

"Yep, still bulletproof." Tony caught sight of six targets in front of him then several more popped up on either side of him. MedCo had set up an actual ambush for him. Mikhail had very much meant to kill him that night. "Jarvis, you got a lock on 'em?"

"Yes, sir."

With a soft hiss metallic panels emerged from the shoulders of the armor and small missiles flew through the air, stuck to their targets and then sent an electric jolt so strong it would incapacitate each guard with ease. The air was filled with the smell of burning flesh.

"Was that timing heroic enough for you, Mr. Stark?"

"A little too close for comfort this time, Jarvis."

"Damage done to your body seems rather superficial. I'd say we did perfectly well."

"Doesn't make bullets any less terrifying without this armor." Tony stood again and blasted his repulsors straight at one of the guards coming toward him.

"I'm afraid to report they are regrouping, sir."

"I've got a good amount of pent up aggression to take out anyway." Tony clenched his fists and the backs of his gloves two blue lights glowed and with a quick twist of his wrists a beam of energy blasted straight in front of him like swords. Spinning through the air he knocked back those who came for him, at least half a dozen of them! With the use of Jarvis' advanced guiding system, Tony ducked and spun, stabbed and slashed, held up his arm and watched as the glove fanned out into a small shield then thrust the laser blade straight at one of the guards. Out of breath Tony watched and waited for more guards, waited for more back up but instead heard a low and menacing rumble somewhere in the distance, followed by shaking beneath his feet. "What the hell is that, Jarvis?"

"I'm uncertain." Calculations ran across the screen to Tony's right and while he recognized them Jarvis spoke anyway. "Judging by the sound waves and reverberations we felt I'd guess there was an explosion nearby."

"An explosion? Where? In here?" Tony didn't get a chance to speak before the entire Mark XLII was flung into the air by a blast of fire and debris. Crates fell left and right and the entire building groaned all around them. Another explosion to Tony's left sent him rolling straight into a stack of crates and they clattered dangerously on top of him, burying him beneath them. With a blast of his repulsors Tony knocked the crates out of his way and then leapt into the air. "Yeah, definitely here."

"I'd say so."

"Time to bail, Jarvis." Tony guided the Mark XLII into the air and with the assistance of Jarvis rocked beneath debris, swerved past further explosions and gunfire and then blew a hole straight through the already crumbling roof before soaring into the night sky. Below him what remained of the Stark Industries warehouse exploded in a brilliant spray of blue and red. From what he could read from Jarvis' sensors there were no living remaining within the building.

Tony wouldn't linger.

In fact, he knew exactly where he would go next.