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Afghanistan, Bagram Air base.
Tony felt an uncomfortable itch in his everywhere, as they drove through the gates of Bagram Air base. Not because of any of his no doubt myriad of health issues right now…
Chez Afghanistan somewhat lacked in the room service department, understandably, plus you know… All the torture. God he could kill for a drink right now… He thought, straining his neck to try and peer ahead at the truck holding what he wanted to see.
His literal vision had come to life in front of him, his cobbled together arc reactor and desperate attempt at power armor - already eclipsed by someone else, as seen in his saviors.
And they wouldn't let him touch it!!
The worst kind of cock tease ever, and it was driving him mad!
Okay, so he was slightly malnourished, suffering from a little metal poisoning possibly, and had a battery in his chest to keep him alive - but that had never stopped him from tinkering before!
He was Tony Stark, you couldn't just wave Vibranium and power armor in front of him and then say hands off, it broke all the statues of the Geneva convention - he was pretty sure.
"Tones, come on, are you still pouting?" Rhodey asked tiredly, with a hint of exasperated fondness.
Tony slowly turned his head around to fix him with a look, "One, I am in no way, pouting, do you see a little girl here?" He raised a finger quickly, speaking over Rhodey's quick grin, "Don't answer that!" Before continuing on, "I am a man, the man, in fact, sugarplum - and men brood." he gestured expansively with one arm, "Secondly, you're not allowed to get snarky with me, for at least a year, because what!?"
Yinsen, who was sharing the humvee with them, and looked perpetually surprised to be alive, gingerly spoke up, watching him concernedly, "I don't think, under the circumstances, that it would be good for your health to get worked up right now, not until you've seen a doctor."
Tony rolled his eyes, "You're a doctor aren't you? And you've seen me plenty." He said glibly, hiding the abject terror he felt at the thought of letting some army docs dig around his chest.
He wasn't letting anyone play with his life. Not anymore.
Yinsen played with his glasses somewhat self consciously, "I didn't exactly have access to anything to treat you properly with, Mister Stark."
Tony shook his head, feeling somewhat annoyed with the good doc, because even with all the help he'd given in saving him, he'd also told Rhodey everything, which was so not cool!
Rhodey was enough of a mama bear without knowing about… That.
So he was tortured a little… Lot. It didn't mean he needed to be suffering from constant man hugs.
He stabbed a finger towards the doctor he owed his life to, "Na-ah, it's Tony from now on doc - limited time deal only for those who save my life, also your hired, the salary is whatever you want, job title is whatever you want." He paused, trying to think of anything else, but eventually shrugged, smirking at the shocked looking man, "So now you have to be nice to me!"
Rhodey clapped the man on the shoulder, looking sympathetic, "I wouldn't argue too hard, he usually gets what he wants, but forget about the nice thing, keep telling him what he needs to hear, it's good for him." He glanced at Tony, with quirked lips, "He could use a doctor he actually listens to, for his many many bad habits."
Rude. I only have like five bad habits, tops.
"I'm starting to see that." Yinsen sighed, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose.
Tony squawked, offended, "Hey! My bad habits are part of my charm!" He insisted, feeling the humvee slow to a stop, immediately peeking out to see if he could get another sight of the Vulture and Scorpion armors.
Fucking Vibranium! Someone is going to get an earful from hiding all that sweet stuff from me! Only enough for a frisbee, my ass! He thought, hands twitching, as the plans and blueprints that were practically burned into his mind at this point, itched to be made into reality.
Some two plus months in a cave in Afghanistan had not had nearly enough mental stimulation for his tastes.
"It's part of your something." Rhodey muttered, giving the still somewhat shell shocked doctor another clap on the shoulder, "Let's go doc, you should get a proper check up as well as Tony…" He said pensively.
Tony immediately zeroed in on Rhodey's face with laser focus, eyes narrowing, "Honey bear, what are you hiding, you've been off this entire trip?" He tilted his head slightly, "I mean other than the two giant power armors, the fact you're not in uniform, or the fact we're not actually outside the base medical facilities?"
Tony had been around enough of them to know the layout, and this didn't fit.
Rhodey grimaced, settling back into his seat, releasing the car door he'd been about to open. "Yeah… There's been some changes all around, Tones." He rubbed his head tiredly, "I can't even begin to get to them all right now, but as for the most immediate concern, we're parked outside the only Panacea clinic in Afghanistan."
Yinsen perked up, "Panacea? The cure for all illnesses?" He queried, peering out at the clinic, which built on a military base as it was, looked indistinguishable from any other building on base.
Tony scoffed, annoyed that his best friend was refusing to come clean about everything right away, his lips thinned as he pondered if he somehow thought Tony was fragile right now… "Bit of a pretentious name for a clinic then." He said mockingly, "And since when did the military start contracting out medical care? Congress has something against cute military nurses now?"
Honestly it wouldn't surprise me, they seem busier trying to get into people's sex lives than worrying about starving kids or the crap education system. Tony thought darkly, having had plenty of experience with the idiocy of politicians. Education one of the only national concerns he actually somewhat gave a crap about.
MIT needed less idiots.
Rhodey visibly winced, hesitating. Tony could literally see his friend parsing through what to reveal and what to hold back, his hands clenching slightly as he felt a flash of bitterness, He doesn't trust me enough, maybe he thinks I talked, gave away secrets under torture, that I was weak…
"Congress… Was completely destroyed in a terrorist attack shortly after your disappearance, only the designated survivor lived, they haven't decided anything since." Rhodey said, avoiding his gaze, his voice heavy with anger and pain.
Tony couldn't blame him, as he leaned back in his seat in complete shock, one shaking hand reaching up to rub along his jaw, as his mind whirled with this new information. Connected to me? No… This is something different, worse than 9/11, who? How!?
"Let's get you checked over." Rhodey said abruptly, opening the door on his side of the Humvee, "You too doc." He said seriously, before ducking out, avoiding the issue.
"Hey! You can't just leave it like that!?" Tony shouted, scrambling to get out of the Humvee and after his bestie, his mind drawing a blank again as he stepped outside, seeing the Vulture and Scorpion armors up close in the open truck parked ahead of them, Frank and Brock - the pilots, hanging around outside watching him.
It took Yinsen softly speaking with him to muster his will to enter the clinic, the last thing he needed right now was someone poking around his chest - and still he craned his neck back to watch the two beauties as he was ushered inside.
Screw congress, what had they ever done for him anyway?
He wanted to know more about who created those!
Unfortunately his attention was soon diverted somewhere else, as he gaped at the interior of the so-called Panacea clinic.
Rhodey stopped dead, ahead of him, sighing and muttering so low Tony almost didn't catch it, "Of course he would…"
The area inside was nothing like any military base or clinic Tony had ever seen, all earthy colors and comfort, instead of white and sterile. There was an honest to god fountain in the middle of the lobby giving the room a relaxed atmosphere that didn't fit at all with what it was supposed to be, or its location in the middle of a military base.
Of course, none of that drew the attention as much as the full wall covering portrait of Justin fucking Hammer, arms spread out welcomingly, text underneath declaring that - All are welcome, Justin Hammer will cure all your ills!
Tony wanted to gag, he'd only been gone a little over two months, how on earth had Hammer gotten his claws into the military to the point they allowed this scam?
Surely Congress all going the way of the dodo wasn't enough for everyone to lose all common sense?
Tony stepped up next to Rhodey, "Tell me you're joking, honest to god buddy, tell me you are." He said with a grimace, staring at the portrait, "I'll admit, it's one hell of a prank. You got me, we all laughed and vomited in disgust. But you know, I have a heart condition now, you shouldn't scare me like this!"
Rhodey visibly hesitated again, and it was beginning to really set Tony off, he wasn't some wounded animal that needed careful handling! He was Tony fucking Stark! "Don't bullshit me, Rhodey…" He warned, some honest anger bleeding into his tone.
His best friend rubbed his face wearily, "I'm sorry Tones, I'm just trying to not lay too much at your feet right now, you've literally just been rescued from captivity."
Tony shook his head stubbornly, "You know me, platypus, when have I ever been comfortable with being kept in the dark and fed shit? Give it to me straight, I can take it." He raised his chin arrogantly, challengingly, daring Rhodey to try and turn him down.
Rhodey nodded seriously, still looking uncomfortable, but finally acknowledging Tony was a big boy apparently, because he began talking, "It… The Panacea clinics came from a new miracle drug that Justin Hammer introduced to the world just after you disappeared." Rhodey began explaining, Yinsen stepping closer, his interest clear.
"It's a drug and genetic treatment through something called a cradle, capable of curing everything from Cancer to Alzheimer's." He said quietly, chuckling a little as both Yinsen and Tony, as scientists looked at him with skepticism. He raised his hands, "Look, it's all been proven beyond any doubt that it works, clinics are popping up worldwide, countries are fighting over who gets more access sooner. This miracle drug can even, at the highest setting - regenerate lost limbs!" At the continued skeptical looks, he added, "Tones… I've seen it happen in real time, at this base. It's real."
"This… Makes doctors obsolete." Yinsen muttered, with tears in his eyes. Tony raised a hand to maybe comfort the man, but aborted the motion halfway through, as the doctor smiled through his tears, "This is the greatest discovery in mankind's history!" He exulted, "Disease has been vanquished!"
Tony felt uncomfortable at going that far, Justin Hammer was a joke, as average a man as could be, nothing special. Certainly not like this. "Tell me you're joking, Rhodey…" He asked weakly, his eyes drawn to the larger than life portrait of Justin Hammer, and his self satisfied smirk.
"He's not joking." Came the rumbling voice of Brock Rumlow, who Tony hadn't even noticed had followed them in. He was leaning casually against the wall next to the entrance, arms crossed as he raised an amused eyebrow, staring him down. "Who do you think paid for saving your ass, for all of this?" He asked, gesturing to everything.
Tony slowly looked towards Rhodey, because that was just bullshit, right? Justin Hammer could not have been the one who organized all this, he did not have some kickass power armor, he did not create miniature arc reactors before Tony did! Not added onto already creating an honest go god fucking Panacea! "Honey bear?" He managed to choke out as a query.
Rhodey grabbed his arm, his conflicted expression telling him everything, Tony hadn't even noticed he'd been swaying as he grabbed onto Rhodey's arm with both hands, "What happened!?" He implored desperately, because this was just wrong, wrong, wrong! The world couldn't change that much!
Suddenly Yinsen was there, gently extracting him from Rhodey, leading him to an armchair, crouching down to be eye level to Tony as he sank into a chair, his mind overwhelmed with the impossibilities.
"Tony… Look at me, pay attention to my voice, breathe with me, in and out, yes, just like that, keep going, just in and out. You're doing well, just keep doing that." Yinsen kept speaking soothingly, helping Tony breathe, as his panic started to abate.
"I'm alright." Tony said eventually, taking a big gulp of a breath, his unfocused eyes going sharply back into focus as he forced himself back, Jesus I just had what? A panic attack? In front of everyone! Rhodey… He's never going to leave me alone now…
"We're ready for you."
Tony slowly got up, he needed to find out what had changed, needed to know.
He could start with this cradle, seeing it in action.
There wasn't anything mechanical on this planet he couldn't figure out. If Justin Hammer managed to do it, Tony could.
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Hours later, private jet enroute to America.
Tony sat in the darkness, watching the sleeping forms of Yinsen and Rhodey, both men apparently able to fall to exhaustion, unlike Tony.
He couldn't sleep, not with how active his mind was. How could anyone sleep with so many thoughts? So many ideas, designs, plans? His mind was always working on something, which made sleep somewhat of an impossibility at times.
And that was before he could add the life and times of chez Afghanistan to his nightmares to make sleeping a further impossibility.
He winced as he took too deep of a breath, the arc reactor in his chest pushed heavily on his lungs the deeper of a breath he took, the pain was already something he was used to. Panacea was not an option for him as of yet as they'd found out, as the clinic wasn't staffed with surgeons or experts on how the treatment could work in his case, just nurse practitioners with basic knowledge.
Trust Hammer to go cheap, he thought darkly. Knowing he was perhaps not being fair to the man, but something was definitely rotten in the state of Denmark.
The timing of it all was just too suspicious.
With the shrapnel in his chest, he'd instead been put to the side, not able to receive the miracle treatment. Instead he was watching intently as Yinsen received the treatment, healing him of all the ills his body had suffered due to the terrorists treatment of him.
The cradle was an interesting piece of technology, able to craft genetic material without as much as a hiccup, even without the Panacea drug, the cradle alone could probably deal with most genetic issues in the human genome. Tony couldn't precisely tell everything about it without getting under the hood - so to speak.
But he believed he could improve on the process, not that there was much point - not with Panacea added in, allowing for full regeneration and repair down to the cellular level. He had his suspicions there, because he'd seen something similar, once.
Just for plant matter.
The process was similar, and he had a feeling Justin Hammer had branched out quite a lot to get this result.
Which made him feel somewhat better about the whole thing.
Not that he necessarily hated Hammer or anything, he was too far beneath him to gain such attention. He just knew what kind of person Hammer was, and with his mind, and not to brag, really - but his superior mind - he couldn't take being so wrong about someone.
But if Hammer had just hired geniuses to do everything for him and just paid them, then it at least made some sense, fit into Tony's worldview a little better.
Because Justin Hammer creating a cure for all diseases? Please! He scoffed, as he savored a glass of scotch, Rhodey having failed in completely removing every bottle of alcohol on the plane. Tony had too many hiding spots on his private jet for this exact reason.
Well, he thought, not perhaps this 'exact' reason, but close enough.
He took another sip, eyeing the two sleeping beauties again, somewhat amused despite everything. The two of them had been dead-set on staying awake and looking after him, and yet they'd conked out less than two hours after takeoff.
The fact Rhodey had gotten rid of any phones, laptops or tablets however, didn't bode well, Tony thought. He was annoyed at his best friend for trying to coddle him, and also somewhat afraid to know what exactly he was hiding.
The death of Congress was enough on its own, and add Hammer both curing the world of disease, one clinic at a time - and having a power armored team at his disposal, all major changes happening since two months ago! It made him weary at the prospect of finding out what else had happened.
Especially as Rhodey had refused to elaborate on who exactly struck at American soil so completely and successfully.
Tony felt his resolve to eliminate weapons production weakening at just the thought of how to navigate these new circumstances. America would be out for blood, and anyone saying otherwise, anyone trying to get out for military contracts - would be crucified.
It was a conundrum, one his active mind couldn't work on, because Rhodey had limited the amount of information he could get!
Rhodey knew how Tony's mind worked. Knew how he'd go mad sitting around not able to do anything. And yet he'd chosen this path, chosen this as the better way. It honestly set all the warning bells ringing in Tony's head. Afghanistan had been hell, an experience that changed him for life…
He glanced at Yinsen pensively, the man responsible for saving Tony, and giving him a new lease on life, showing him that he could be more than he was, that he should be more than he was. Another man that was also hiding something from him. The offer to have his family picked up, the immigration process expedited, had been fluffed off by the man.
For someone who'd been so dead set on joining his family, he didn't seem very keen on the prospect of getting Tony's assistance to bring them over. Honestly, it had taken way too much convincing just to get the man to come to the states with them - even more to bully him into working for Tony.
He finished his glass, reaching for the half empty bottle of scotch, letting go off his ponderings on Yinsen for now.
The important thing was that his new friend was safe, and would be joining him, it meant Tony had someone he could trust to look after the whole situation with the arc reactor in his chest.
He wasn't going to trust Hammer with it, no matter what miracles they could perform. He'd find his own way. It would probably take him a few days, but he'd reverse engineer the whole thing as soon as he got his hands on a sample. Then Yinsen could perform the surgery and it would all be done and over with.
He shuddered slightly, imagining the thought of anyone digging in his chest again, putting his glass down violently, trying not to retch just thinking about it.
Ugh, I really need a computer…
This is going to be a long flight.
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Hours later, one hour out from California.
Rhodey's alarm had gone off awhile ago, waking both his platypus and Yinsen up, Tony himself only succeeded in getting perhaps 30 minutes of - kind of - sleeping, during the entire time.
His eyes had been closed. That counted, right?
Obviously it was finally time for some truths, as Rhodey came to sit in front of him, after refreshing himself in the bathroom.
Once again, Tony felt a slight bit of resentment at his friend, even as it made him feel guilty. He'd saved him, but he was also driving him mad, keeping him out of the loop like this, teasing changes but refusing to let him get his hands on all the information himself so he could parse it properly.
"Tones… There's some things you have to know about before we land." Rhodey said heavily, resting his elbows on his knees as he met Tony's eyes. Yinsen had politely taken a seat further away and was pretending he couldn't hear every word.
"You're damn right there are!" Tony said darkly, his eyes flashing with annoyance. "I could have found it all out myself if you hadn't decided to go all Mr Nanny on me and child proofed my jet!"
He could at least have left the stripper flight attendants!
Rhodey glanced at the empty scotch battle, raising an eyebrow.
Tony scoffed, waving that aside, "Oh, please, like you didn't know I'd have a stash somewhere."
"I'd hoped I found all of them." Rhodey said dryly, "I'm sorry Tones…" He said more somberly, "I was exhausted, and I didn't want you to be alone when you found out everything."
Tony felt his anger ebb away, as he really looked at his longtime friend, the stubble on his chin that was so unlike his friend he'd almost called him an imposter when he'd first seen him, the weary posture, the bags under his eyes, he felt shame and guilt fill him again, he's been looking for me this entire time, and I'm throwing a tantrum because he wouldn't give me the wifi for one night. He thought with chagrin.
"You're forgiven." Tony said magnanimously, not wanting to show how bad he felt, "Are you sure you're rested enough?" He made sure to ask, fretting slightly now that he'd paid attention enough to realize the condition his friend was in. "We can wait until we land…"
Rhodey smiled softly, chuckling, "Never change, Tony." He said, before he pursed his lips, seemingly bracing himself, "Well, better start from the beginning, really." He muttered.
"Really? I usually start with the ending, the climax!" Tony snarked, smirking.
Rhodey gave him a deadpan state, "I'm not even going to go there."
A slight cough from the side brought their attention to Yinsen, who looked much healthier, wearing an actual suit and having gone through the Panacea treatment. The doctor looked away from them, "We will be landing soon." He reminded them softly, still pretending he wasn't listening in.
"Yeah, listen to the doctor's orders, no more interruptions honey bear." Tony said with a teasing smirk, savoring the fond eye roll he received back.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Tony." He said, letting out a huff, before growing serious again, "You probably already figured it out, but I'm…" Rhodey looked pained as he let out another huff, shaking his head, "I'm no longer in the military." He finally admitted.
Tony had figured as much just from context, but he still felt a spike of anger, his career had been his platypus dream, his life. "Because of me, right?" He asked, adding that consequence to the pile of lives he'd fucked up.
Rhodey gave him a stern look, "No. And never think that again. I chose to resign." He snapped out, reaching out to squeeze Tony's knee. "I. Chose. This. You do not get to take credit."
Tony grimaced, looking away, but that only brought his eyes to Yinsen, another man he owed everything to, so he brought his eyes back to his best friend, "And why did you resign? If not for me?" He argued, although he didn't put any heat in it.
Rhodey actually chuckled at that, "Well, for one they did order me to stop searching for you, but mostly, it had nothing to do with your sorry ass, Tones."
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"Really?" He asked skeptically. Note to self, find out who his superior officer was, and destroy his career.
Rhodey nodded firmly, "The final straw was when they assigned me as the military liaison to Hammer industries."
Tony openly gaped at him, "They gave my honey bear to Hammer!?" He protested, eyes narrowing in anger, "That's not cool, you're my military liaison, I have receipts and everything, they can't just give my things away everytime I go for a stroll!"
Rhodey practically had a property of Tony Stark tattoo on him, he was not interchangeable!
"I feel the love." Rhodey said dryly. "In the end it worked out, I know you don't like it, but Hammer paid for this entire retrieval mission, and we couldn't have gotten you out so quickly without the assistance of his team."
Tony was still fuming at the temerity of assigning his best friend to his… Well not rival, he wasn't good enough for that, feuding acquaintance? Good enough, how dare they assign his best friend to his feuding acquaintance!?
"I owe him." Rhodey said simply, distracting Tony from his plotting to gain revenge on the entire Afghanistan command. "Without him it wouldn't have been possible." He hesitated briefly, "That said… You should know, Pepper and Jarvis believe he knew you'd be taken."
Tony froze for a moment, before swiveling his head towards Rhodey, from where he'd been glaring at the interior wall of the jet, imagining horrible things for the generals of Afghanistan's command structure, "Say what?" He asked flatly.
"I haven't been part of those discussions, I've been busy searching for you, but they seem pretty certain he knew, and were pretty certain he was behind it, until recent events." Rhodey admitted.
Tony admitted that rescuing him didn't exactly scream villainous intent, no matter his feelings on Hammer being a weak, two-bit copy of himself. "What's their evidence?" He asked.
"... Hammer literally took over the business world immediately after you disappeared, starting with working Arc reactors, clean energy for the world and energy weapons for the military and police services, plus the Panacea announcement on top of it." Rhodey said, shaking his head, "It hasn't stopped there, the construction industry, insurance industry, tech and communication, he's everywhere."
"Rhodey, if you're about to tell me the whole world is using Hammer phones after I've been gone two months, I'm going to jump out of this plane." Tony said flatly.
That is beyond ridiculous. Two months! I've been gone for two months! How did he do all this…?
Like a strike of lightning, it hit all at once, the weird moves for some two odd years that Jarvis was keeping an eye on for me… He was preparing!
Rhodey scratched his chin, "Alright, Tones, I won't tell you." He said not looking at him.
"...Rhodey, show me your phone." Tony demanded. I refuse to believe this.
"Tony… We have more things to talk about." Rhodey deflected, a bead of sweat on his forehead.
"Phone. Now." Tony demanded, making a grabby motion with one hand.
"I don't have it on me right now." Rhodey lied.
Tony's eyes narrowed, even as Rhodey's widened, "Tones!" He cried out, as Tony jumped across the narrow divide between them, trying to get into his friends pockets.
"Just give me the phone, you, you, Hammerite!" Tony exclaimed, having quickly come to the realization that two months of subsiding on gruel - did not a wrestler make. Not compared to the military best friend he was attempting to wrestle into submission.
"Children…" Yinsen coughed, fiddling with his glasses, as both of them froze, having once again forgotten they weren't completely alone.
Tony got off his friend, sitting back down, clearing his throat, "Ah, well, this isn't over, but it can wait, you were saying?" He said, used to just completely shooting past any embarrassing moments - that was literally the story of his life.
Rhodey smoothed out his suit, giving Tony an exasperated look, "Look, I know this is all hard to take, but you can see why it's a bit suspicious, almost like he waited for you to be out of the game to bring all this to bear, he must have had it ready before two months ago."
Tony snorted, waving a hand dismissively, "That's exactly what he did, I was keeping an eye on him, and he's been buying up land and factories, server farms and office buildings, all over the world, practically bankrupting himself over the last two years." His lips thinned as he thought over the timeline, and chastised himself for refusing to take Hammer seriously, he'd shot himself in the foot there. "He was making everything ready for his big reveal, he knew." He forced out through gritted teeth.
It's the only thing that makes sense, if he cracked the Arc reactor somehow, and this miracle cure of his… There's no way he wasn't sitting on them for a while.
Tony knew energy weapons were possible, hell, he'd drawn blueprints of some, they just hadn't been really viable due to the power requirements, something a functioning high power arc reactor might be able to fix. Which neatly proved a timeline, because without a working Arc reactor, how would Hammer have working energy weapons ready to sell? One had to come before the other.
So the sneaky bastard had been sitting on it this entire time, waiting for Tony to disappear, so he could introduce it without Tony able to immediately suss out how he did it and compete and eclipse him.
"He's not responsible for my abduction." Tony said to himself, drawing Rhodey's attention.
"You sure? I mean it's weird he saved you himself, it would have been better for him if you died." Rhodey said, uncomfortably, "It's why I have a hard time believing he's behind it all."
There really wasn't a good way to say - because he would have just killed you.
Tony nodded slowly, "If he was responsible, he wouldn't have been preparing for two years for this exact thing, he could have kicked it off whenever he was ready, and he must have had arc reactor tech ready at least long before two months ago." He felt his conclusion was right. Based on the knowledge he had currently, he'd know better once he was home with Jarvis, "He's not responsible, but somehow he knew."
Rhodey sighed, "Well, Pepper and Happy will be, well, happy, that I'm wrong." He said self-deprecatingly.
Tony frowned minutely, "Why were they so sure anyway? Pepper usually defended the loser whenever I went too hard at him."
He rolled his eyes at that, Pepper always defended the lost causes. It was endearing in a way, but wasted on Hammer. He wasn't misunderstood, he was a smug asshole.
"Right after you went missing, a team of professionals broke into the mansion and knocked out Pepper and Jarvis both. Once Jarvis rebooted, he found that his server farms had been knocked over as well, and a copy of him had been made. There were some indications it could have been SHIELD, but that might just be a red herring, Jarvis is almost positive it was Hammer behind the attack." Rhodey explained, giving Tony a sympathetic look, "Don't worry, they're both okay." He assured him.
There was only silence for a moment.
"He did WHAT…!?"
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LAX, Los Angeles.
Tony couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as he stepped out of the plane, tasting real Californian air again, but most of all, spotting Pepper and Happy at the bottom of the stairwell, on the runway, which eased his heart a bit.
Especially after what Rhodey had told him.
Somehow they'd managed to keep the media away, because he couldn't spot a single camera, something which allowed him to let loose a truly honest smile as he walked up to his employees/friends.
"I'm back." He said, spreading his arms out, "One hundred percent authentic Tony Stark." His mind turned to the arc reactor thrumming in his chest, "More or less." He added, his smile lessening somewhat.
"Mister Stark." Pepper said, losing the rest of the words, her eyes a little misty.
Tony smirked, "Tears for your long lost boss?"
Pepper shook her head, an amused smile playing at her lips, "I would just hate having to go work for Justin Hammer."
Tony stumbled slightly, stabbing a finger at her, "Hey! You can do better, Miss Potts, don't settle." He ordered, inwardly shuddering at the idea of Pepper working for Hammer of all people.
"Happy, I should fire you for not greeting me with a cheeseburger." Tony said as a greeting to his old friend and bodyguard. Rhodey walking up behind him just as Happy replied, laughter in his voice.
"Got a whole bag of them in the car with your name on it, boss!"
"You're re-hired and you get a raise." Tony told him seriously, ducking into the car, soon followed by Pepper, as Rhodey walked around to take the front passenger seat.
"Pep, I need you to make sure our people take care of someone, a Doctor Yinsen, he's still going to be stuck at the airport for a few, dealing with customs and immigration, send our lawyers to make it all go smoothly, okay, and then get him to my place." Tony ordered, as he got comfortable, immediately finding the bag full of greasy cheesy goodness and opening it up.
Pepper tapped away at her phone, watching him with a worried frown, "Should you really be eating that, isn't it a bit much." She fretted, before switching gears, the end of his order registering properly, "Your house? Are you sure?"
Tony knew why she asked, the amount of people that actually were allowed inside his home, not counting one night stands, were frighteningly small, but Yinsen had earned that right. "He's the only reason I'm alive." He said seriously, before taking a huge bite of a double cheeseburger, and practically melting into the seat.
Nothing beats some American grease for the ticker! He thought, as he suppressed a moan of delight. He didn't care if it was likely going to backfire later, it was worth it.
Pepper bit her lip, giving him a soft teary eyed look, before she returned to her phone, and Tony knew without a doubt that Yinsen would not be held up at customs for long.
In a battle between a government agency and Pepper Potts? It wasn't even a fair fight.
He was glad she had no political ambitions, she'd be a terrifying president.
"Obie couldn't make it?" He asked in-between bites, savoring the taste after two plus months of gruel and other more nasty things to eat.
The car swerved slightly all of a sudden, as Happy cursed, glaring at Rhodey, Pepper falling into Tony, extracting herself with a quick apology. Thankfully, Tony had raised the bag of cheeseburgers over his head, so no harm was done.
"What the hell? You didn't tell him?" Happy yelled at Rhodey, having corrected his driving from his momentary distraction.
Tony could see Rhodey rub his face in the front mirror, "There was a little bit too much to explain on the flight over, I figured it could wait until he got home." His platypus defended himself.
Tony raised an eyebrow, munching on his first cheeseburger still, taking his time to properly enjoy it. "What's going on? It can't be any worse than Hammer going Megacorp on everyone and curing everything, can it?"
I still can't believe that shit even happened. Two months! I was gone for two months!
That's almost planet of the apes level shit…
Glances were exchanged between everyone else in the car, and Tony's heart sank, as he lowered his cheeseburger. "What is it?" He asked flatly.
Obie didn't… Die, did he?
"Okay… So a few days ago. Tony Stark held a press conference, declaring that he was giving away Stark Industries to Obadiah Stane and it was going to be rebranded into Stane Industries." Pepper began explaining in a tremulous voice, and Tony raised a hand to stop her immediately, confused. Because what!?
"Start making sense, I'm Tony Stark, and I sure as hell wasn't holding any pressers in a cave!" He bit out, feeling faint again. Stane industries…. Obie?
Pepper hesitated, looking to the front of the car, where the two men resolutely looked straight forward, abandoning her. Tony could tell by the slight twitch in her cheek, that the two of them would pay for that at a later time. Soon enough, Pepper composed herself and began again.
Not that any of it really solved his confusion.
"All of us were locked out of whatever was going on, with no access to what we know now was a fake you, nor any access to Obadiah." Pepper wrung her hands as she continued, looking stressed, "I think Jarvis will be able to give you details better than us, but it all culminated in an operation with SHIELD and Justin Hammer, from which we found out that a doppelganger had played you, and… Stane for at least that meeting - the company transfer was immediately canceled by the courts."
Hammer again! "Why the hell was Justin Hammer involved in saving my company!?" Tony asked, just begging someone, anyone to make any sense!
And for the love of god, could any story, any, begin with something other than the words, and then Justin Hammer…
"He has an in with SHIELD, or at least something where they can't just tell him to buzz off, it was pretty clear when they came to fix things." Happy provided grouchily, adding, "Hammer also offered Pepper a job as a CEO, and eyed her up like she was a fresh catch at the fish market, you need to watch out for that guy, boss!"
Tony's hackles instantly rose, "He tried to recruit you?" He asked Pepper, his dislike of Hammer shooting into the stratosphere, "Wait, he was hitting on you!?" He growled out, squashing the bag of cheeseburgers in his grip.
Pepper shot Happy a warning look, pushing some of her hair behind her ears as she turned to Tony, "Nothing I haven't had to deal with before, and I obviously turned down his offer. As for his motivation, he seemed to want to stop Obadiah from taking your company."
Tony really didn't like that he apparently owed Hammer even more, but there were also so many things wrong with everything that happened that he didn't even know where to begin. "Obie was impersonated too, right? So he's in the clear?"
Rhodey scoffed, but didn't add anything. In fact he'd been suspiciously quiet during all of this business about Hammer. Tony stared at the front seat with a frown on his face, he really didn't like how Rhodey and Hammer had some sort of connection right now.
No one said anything, so Tony pressed on, "What happened to Obie?" He insisted. His godfather wouldn't betray him, so this doppelganger business was obviously behind the issues.
"He's under arrest right now, while they investigate his claim that he was impersonated." Happy said unhappily. "Boss, we can't be sure he was, he showed up at the press conference when the doppel SHIELD told us about was there as you."
Tony shook his head, a tiny kernel of doubt in his mind, but it made him feel so guilty even thinking of it, that he crushed it ruthlessly, "Obie would never betray me like that, and if there was someone able to look exactly like me, they could do it to Obie too."
"It could be just Justin Hammer behind it all." Pepper offered suddenly.
"Oh, come on, he saved Tony, he saved his company and exposed the doppelganger." Rhodey protested.
Pepper narrowed her eyes, "Jarvis is almost certain that Hammer was behind the attack on the Malibu Mansion." She pointed out.
Rhodey sagged in the seat slightly, "Maybe." He said reluctantly, "It still doesn't change the fact that he's done more good than bad. If." He stressed, "It was even him, and not just some of his people trying to impress him and acting on their own."
Tony just wanted the world to make some goddamn sense. He'd been kidnapped into a cave in Afghanistan not the goddamn twilight zone. Doppelgangers, spy agencies, Justin Hammer, it all just was too much bullshit. "Stop!" He told everyone sharply, "No one mentions Hammer or anything about him for the entire trip home, alright?"
Everyone fell silent, watching Tony in a manner which brought his frustration levels even higher. I'm not damaged goods, you don't need to stare at me like I'm going to explode or fall apart!
He munched on his half finished cheeseburger as he sullenly glared out the window. Obie was in fucking jail, apparently, his business was almost stolen from under him, Congress was blown up, world war 3 almost happened, this is the shittiest rescue story of all time, he thought.
His eye twitched as a billboard with Justin Hammer's face on it appeared at the side of the road, selling phone plans and H-phones.
It didn't get better, as just down the road was another billboard, this time proselytizing the benefits of getting Hammer insurance services to gain access to cheaper treatments of Panacea in case of injury.
He tossed the bag of cheeseburgers to the floor in frustration as they drove by several more billboards, and an honest to god full sized wall mural of Hammer in a white pristine outfit, holding out a glowing vial in one hand.
"I'm going to be sick…" He muttered, and it had nothing to do with the greasy cheeseburger.
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Malibu, California
He was eventually filled in on much of the rest of the information on the - almost takeover - for the rest of the trip, once he got over his frustrations and interacted with his people again, not apologizing, but lowering his antagonistic attitude. They'd lived through this, he had just gotten it all dumped on him at once, he could handle it.
He got out of the car, his eyes only for the house, his house. His home. Jarvis. The bots. For a time he'd thought he'd never see any of them again. Wondered how they'd do without him, having faith in Jarvis, but worried about how alone they'd be.
"Mister Stark, I'm agent Cou-" An agent of some kind stepped up from where they'd been waiting outside his home in a black pedo wagon. Tony walked right past him, giving absolutely no care for any of the alphabet agencies.
He couldn't help but grin as the door swung open on its own as he neared it, hurrying his steps as he burst into the house, looking around, instantly able to spot changes from the repair work from the attack, but not caring about any of it, "Jarvis…" He breathed out.
"Sir… Welcome home."
Tony smiled, feeling a lot of the stress that had accumulated, slipping off for the moment, just closing his eyes and basking in it.
He was home.
"I'm home." He said softly, knowing Jarvis would pick up on it. Leaving a lot unsaid, but basking in the feeling.
…
Hours later, he was in his workshop, his bots never more than five feet away as they kept an eye on him, worried he'd disappear if they moved too far away.
He couldn't exactly blame them.
"Jarvis, we have a lot to go through, lots of information to parse, but first… There's some things I have to take care of." Tony muttered, pushing himself closer to his computer system, his swivel chair almost not making it due to Butterfingers getting in the way, "I'm fine you clutz, get out of the way." He said, rolling his eyes.
"I assume item number one is not going to be your health, sir?" His AI drawled sarcastically.
Tony smirked, shaking his head, Jarvis had joined Pepper in the who can push harder for medical help - game. So far Pepper was still in the lead by a mile though.
"I've got a project here, for a suit, I want it off SI servers, let's keep it to just you and I, buddy." He said, distractedly, already drawing up plans in his mind.
"Your own version of Hammer's suits, sir?" Jarvis asked, seeing what he was doing in real time and analyzing its conclusion.
Tony twitched irritably, lifting a finger to point at one of the cameras dotting his workshop, "It is not a copy." He said sternly, "Jarvis, note it down, this project is not my version, or a copy. It's 100 percent mine, okay, mine, buddy."
Jarvis made a note with those exact words pop up on his computer's interface, putting a pin in it so it would be prominently displayed.
"Smartass." Tony muttered, lips twitching.
"I would be remiss in not pointing out that the public might see things differently, sir. Considering you are using the same arc reactor technology, and the same general principles of the Hammer armors, particularly the one known as Whiplash." Jarvis cautioned him.
Tony waved it away, "They'll see which one is better." He said confidently. Not wanting to get into the perception of things. Being called a version of Hammer's armored team made him want to crush something.
And he would look into just how exactly Hammer had managed it all… Later.
"If you say so sir." Jarvis intoned dryly, "What else sir?"
Tony got an intense look in his eyes, "We're going to be working all night here, buddy, start a file on SI research and developments servers, bring up everything we have on armored vehicles, body armor, search and rescue drones, radar systems, anything that can't be used as a weapon but is used by the military."
Several files popped up immediately, Jarvis working as diligently as always. "May I ask what your intent is, sir?"
Tony cracked his knuckles, "The world won't let me get rid of my weapons right now, I can see that, it would be too difficult. So… I'll replace those military contracts with defensive tech, the best of the best, so that when my contracts run out, I can give them this instead."
"Are we leaving the weapons industry then, sir?" Jarvis asked, sounding gentle.
Tony saw the flash of fire, the blood on the window, heard the explosions surrounding him, he pushed it away, a bad taste in his mouth, answering Jarvis, "I saw my weapons used to murder my people and almost myself, Jarvis. It ends. It… Ends."
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2 days later, Malibu.
"Obie! They let you out!" Tony said with a grin, stepping forward to hug his godfather.
He had looked, at the insistence of his inner circle, and neither he nor Jarvis could find any evidence Obadiah had done anything wrong.
To Tony's great relief.
Obadiah Stane laughed, pulling Tony in, "They always were going to, and by god am I glad to see you safe, my boy."
He pushed Tony away slightly, holding him by the shoulders, looking him over critically, "You're a bit thin, good thing I brought pizza."
"But did you bring anything for you?" Tony quipped, mouth watering as he realized he hadn't eaten for the past 30 hours or so, he'd been too busy working.
"Typical, you've been working already I take it?"
Tony shrugged, "A bit, got to take it to Hammer for showing me up."
Obie grinned, a glint of something in his eyes, "That's good… Knew I could count on you, Tony."
He didn't stay long, having just come to show he was free and alive, and to deliver pizza.
Tony ate, and then returned to work, feeling a little bit lighter, knowing his godfather had his back and could take care of the company while the tinkered.
It was good to have people to rely on.
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Los Angeles, Wildlife Preservation Gala, a week later.
Tony normally hated these things and tried to avoid them as much as possible - no matter how much Obie insisted he needed to be seen rubbing elbows to assure the public that he was the charitable sort.
Like anyone here gives a crap about charity, I probably give more than all of them combined… And for better things than wildlife preservation.
He wasn't here to rub elbows, if anything he was fighting off the urge to run out of the building, wanting to avoid all the fake well wishers and vultures that would attempt to descend on him. But Jarvis had clocked that Hammer would be here tonight, and that gave Tony an opportunity to get his own measure of the confusing man.
If he was behind the attack on Jarvis and Pepper… There would be consequences. That said… At the same time, he'd also saved his life. Even if he would have totally managed to escape on his own given a little more time.
Tony, unlike his normal behavior, slunk around the corners of the room, avoiding the limelight as much as he could, not having a taste for it tonight. As he walked around, keeping an eye out, his mind turned to more pleasant things.
Hammer might have a headstart on him, but he was hardly going to lay down and take it.
So he couldn't divest the company from weapons manufacturing. Yet. He'd have to ensure they became profitable enough that he'd be able to in the future. That his offerings would be enough that he could weather the storm with the military's support.
He'd already spent an afternoon lazily drawing up some products that would compete with Hammer. His lips twitched into a pleased vicious grin, or blow him out of the water…
He might not have a suit ready yet, but he'd taken one look at the exoskeleton suits Hammer was selling to the military and logistics departments of every major company, and drawn up something more effective, attractive and capable. It might cost a little bit more, but quality would eventually beat out Hammer's cheaper toys. People still counted on Stark industries for the real quality.
It would take a little bit of time to really switch production around into matching Hammer in tech for the communication and tech industry. Tony had barely had to work at it to create some cool gadgets, home security systems, dumbed down AI capable of handling all of people's home electronics on voice command, cleaning robots and the like. The piddly stuff. Easy.
Could have done it in his sleep, really.
Once he got done with this gala and sussing out Hammer, he'd go home and spend some time on the suit, and whip out a better phone and tablet to boot. Genius as he was, he begrudgingly acknowledged that Hammer had an almost insurmountable lead in the communications sector, due to owning everything from the hardware, to the software, to the phone company itself.
Stark phones would be better, and he was thinking of adding holographic interfaces to really wow people. Set them apart from cheap Hammer junk.
But he knew the expense would make it hard to ever completely unseat Hammer in that sector, especially as Hammer could offer the entire trifecta from software developer, to hardware to telecom-provider. And he didn't have the time and money to actually go ahead and build up from the ground up into the entire communication sector. Not without cutting out parts of everything else he was going to be doing.
He'd build the better phones, tablets, watches (A good idea he wished he'd had before the jerk Hammer) and gadgets, and he'd take enough of a chunk of the market that Hammer could never rest easy, and it would bring enough money for him to eventually divest of weapons once the climate eased a little.
His eyes narrowed in distaste as he thought about what he knew of Hammer's plans, what could be divined through Jarvis and his own genius. The things that were publically available about his moves in Africa.
Like hell he was going to let that man beat him to space! He could have the telecom industry, the insurance industry and other such boring industries - Tony would take space.
It had taken him literal days to make something better in everything Hammer had done so far except Panacea, Power Armor and Arc reactor tech.
Give me another few weeks, he thought, finally spying Hammer, hanging around on a second floor balcony alcove, hiding from the press of people down below, the coward. He started making his way towards the stairs, another few weeks, and I'll match and then exceed you there as well…
He was briefly waylaid as an absolutely drop dead gorgeous redhead stumbled into him, apologizing in a breathless voice, her hand on his chest tantalizingly, before she slipped away.
Tony regretted having to let her go, but loved watching her walk away. She was an absolute beauty, but Hammer was a pain in the ass to pin down, and he needed to get this done now.
His thoughts returned to the business, and his impending rivalry.
Business wise, he would be fighting from a heavy disadvantage that would be hard to make up, but quality wise?
He'd be beating Hammer on all cylinders soon enough.
He'd be behind on quantity and diversification for a long while. But even if Hammer sold more, Tony would sell better.
He casually navigated through the slightly lessened crowds on the second floor, nodding at people, but not allowing himself to get dragged into conversation, swiftly moving on whenever it looked like someone would attempt to waylay him.
Although he spotted the redhead again briefly, having to remind himself he had no time for detours.
Later, babe. He thought.
He twitched in annoyance and slightly begrudging bemusement, as he finally made his way to where Hammer was, to find that he was sitting down at a table, waiting for him, a bottle of Tony's favorite whiskey on the table, with two glasses set out.
The prick had seen him coming then.
Unusually, there were no bodyguards around, which Tony knew Hammer went nowhere without, after the failed assassination attempt by Wakanda.
And that had been a kick in the nuts to read about… He thought sourly, only marginally caring about the moronic assassination attempt by the hidden nation, as he wasn't assholish enough to want a building of people to die - but his main annoyance lay with an entire nation of Vibranium, and that he, Tony, had none.
Yet.
The fact Justin Hammer obviously did have such access, just burned harder.
"Justin. You've moved up in the world." Tony said clippedly, sitting down, but not touching the bottle. If he's behind the kidnapping or in cahoots with the real culprit… Can't trust anything he gives me.
Justin seemed irritated by something, as he leaned back in his chair, giving him an appraising look, "Anthony, you look well, considering." He waved vaguely towards his own chest area, making Tony stiffen up.
"Yes, well when you're a genius, even a cave can't hold you back." Tony said, holding his tongue to keep from snarking out, not that you'd know about either of those…
He was here both to begrudgingly thank the man, and to feel his pulse, figure out how he ticked. Because obviously, his previous assessment of the man had been incredibly wrong.
"Before we go any further," He began, wanting to get it out of the way, "I want to…" He swallowed deeply, trying not to grimace, "Thank you. For looking out for my best friend, for continuing the search for me. Thank you." God, that was more uncomfortable than the time I woke up to find that both 'women' I'd taken to my bed, weren't technically women, Tony thought.
To his annoyance, his heartfelt thanks only seemed to further annoy Hammer, who furrowed his brows, a finger lightly tapping at his glasses as he squinted at Tony.
"Well… You're welcome, Anthony." He said seemingly off kilter, still giving Tony that odd uncomfortable look. "I wasn't about to let former Colonel Rhodes continue digging through the desert on his own."
Tony's lips twitched, as he was forced to hold back a smile, remembering the mini rant his honey bear had gone on in regards to Hammer industries policy on how to address the former Colonel. In this matter, he completely agreed with Hammer's actions.
As long as it didn't get to be too much… Only he could annoy Rhodey on a consistent basis. And he wasn't overly fond of his best friend defending the man at times…
"I appreciate it, Justin." He said magnanimously, feeling a bit better about this whole thing with how uncomfortable Hammer looked, quickly catching on to the fact that the nicer he was, the more baffled his adversary appeared.
Kill them with kindness, huh?
"I missed quite a lot during my little vacation, Panacea, clean energy, telecom revolution, and so much more." Tony said idly, tapping a few fingers on the table to mimic Hammer, "You've done a great job, I couldn't have done it better myself." Well… A little lie never hurt anyone.
Hammer's eyebrow twitched, as his lips thinned almost imperceptibly, "What are you playing at, Stark!" He snapped out.
Tony affected an innocent look, it probably didn't completely work, as he couldn't even remember the last time he qualified as innocent. "What's wrong, Justin? Never learned how to take a compliment?"
Hammer looked wary, and anxious - if all that fiddling with his glasses was any sign, muttering something under his breath, before he spoke up snidely. "Considering your doppelganger, a Tony Stark going around complimenting people is a bad sign…"
Tony had to give him the point on that one, even as he smirked fabulously at his wary acquaintance, "Just imagine, two Tony Starks…" He said jokingly, waggling his eyebrows tellingly, "The female population of the world have no idea what they've missed out on."
"Quite." Hammer said shortly, eyes flashing with annoyance.
"Would it make you feel better if I called you Justine?" Tony said, enjoying himself - who had any idea that being nice to Hammer would piss the other man off like this? So many opportunities missed!
"Don't be ridiculous, Anthony!" Hammer snapped, slamming a fist down on the table, drawing eyes from all those around them.
Tony just grinned, leaning back further in his chair, almost lounging in it, feeling at ease for the first time in a long while. This, this he could do all day. "I'm not being ridiculous, Justin, in fact, if anything I'm being downright decent." He put his chin in his hand, affecting a concerned look, "And how does that make you feel?"
Good thing he hadn't brought Pepper along, she would have pulled him back ages ago. As it was, he got to sit and enjoy as Hammer ground his teeth so hard it was audible, while attempting to keep a respectful mien - due to all the randoms that were totally not watching for every little tidbit of gossip they might be able to grasp.
"Say what you came to say, and stop playing games with me, Stark…" Hammer bit out, and to Tony's surprise, one of his bodyguards, the black femme fatale, arrived from nowhere and began politely, but unerringly, usher their audience away. He hadn't even seen a message being sent, and he knew she hadn't been up here.
Tony narrowed his eyes on Hammer's glasses, paying full attention for the first time tonight, noting the thicker than normal frames, hiding wires? A transmitter? High quality lenses, more like screens… Oh, that's clever. "You haven't been selling those, why not?" He asked, nodding towards Hammer's face.
Everything he'd read up on the last few months of the actions of the man in front of him, showed someone willing to sell their mother for spare change - except he'd ensure he walked away with a million dollars, having talked some rube into believing his mother was America's next top model instead. So why not the glasses?
Hammer gave him a dirty look, apparently pondering over whether to answer for a moment - or just to give his bodyguard more time to shove away the last protesting blue bloods.
"The world isn't ready for every Joe blow having facial recognition and similar tech at their fingertips, or eyelashes as it were - everywhere they go." Hammer said, seemingly reluctant to share even that, "I intend to make Earth break out of its cocoon and erupt as a beautiful butterfly, wielding all the weapons, but people aren't ready for all of it right away."
Tony scoffed lightly, "Beautiful analogy, almost brought me to tears." He mocked, a sly smirk on his face, "But you introduced energy weapons, power armor, clean energy, and Panacea. So fancier glasses are an odd line to stop at." Damn, I still feel pissed off everytime I list all the bullshit he's pulled off, he thought irritably, not letting it show on his face. "Also, introducing better weapons is just going to add to the destruction that's already happening globally, it's not the right way to push forward."
Hammer raised a disbelieving eyebrow, "Is the former premier weapons manufacturer of the world telling me that weapons are bad? Did you lose your nerve in Afghanistan, Anthony?"
Tony internally cursed, he hadn't meant to even mention anything about weapons, Hammer's comment had just twigged a nerve on the issue he was still struggling with. He also couldn't help but notice Hammer didn't seem very surprised.
Hammer leaned in over the table, an arrogant look to his face, "Did Stark industries stop weapons development and sales? I believe I would have heard of something like that… Well, Anthony?"
Okay, now you're just starting to piss me off, Justine! He thought uncharitably. Of course Hammer would strike the minute he saw an opening, but Tony shouldn't have given him that in, in the first place. Just keep playing nice, he hates it.
"You're right of course, I shouldn't have brought it up, my apologies, Justin." Tony said, having to work hard to keep from grinning as Hammer literally reared back in aggravation as Tony apologized again, instead of feeding the man's wish for a fight.
Can't exactly blame him for weapons sales while I'm forced to keep doing the same… He thought glumly, letting none of it show. Right, I've thanked him, and this game is losing its shine, time to end this.
He stood up, offering Hammer a jaunty little wave as he began walking off, without as much as a by your leave, adding over his shoulder, "I like the glasses, Stark industries will have a dumbed down consumer version out next week."
Hammer didn't answer him, and Tony could feel his glare on his back as he walked away.
They were still business rivals at the end of the day, and Hammer might be somewhat right about facial recognition being a bit much for everyday masses - but there was no reason to sell fully tricked out glasses in the first place. Tony knew consumers.
And they were to a man, too dumb to handle anything that complicated.
He'd whip something easy up in an afternoon and send it to his research and development team to stress test and then put it into production.
He still wasn't one hundred percent sure if Hammer had attacked his home or not, if he'd been behind violating Jarvis…
He'd give the man some leeway for the moment, for all that he'd done to help Tony, to help the world. He wasn't a complete asshole.
But if he found enough proof…
Well… People that messed with Tony Stark always ended up regretting it.
As he entered the passenger seat of his new Ferrari, a purchase he'd made on a whim that morning, he mulled over Hammer's attitude. He hadn't seen the man in awhile, but he'd seemed unusually irritated by his presence, lending some credence to Hammer having a hand in messing with his stuff.
He was still sure Hammer had known somehow about his kidnapping, something he would one day find an answer for. But right now, Pepper had been right, the man was untouchable.
Happy pulled out into the street, having refused to allow Tony to drive himself to and from the gala.
Tony placed a call to Jarvis, his mind whirling with ideas.
"Sir?"
"Hey Jarvis buddy, how soon do you think we can whip up a phone tripped up to the nines and so full of awesomeness that it will make Hammer's look like a children's toy?" He queried, playing with the phone in his hands, a frankly inferior product now.
Jarvis' dry voice came out of the speaker only seconds later, "Knowing you Sir, no matter what date I give, you shall simply say tomorrow."
Tony thought about it, a grin spreading across his face, "Tomorrow it is then." He agreed.
Hammer might be personally untouchable right now, but his business was not.
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Justin had watched Stark leave, seething in anger at how that encounter had gone.
This just wasn't how it was done. Stark was his nemesis, his rival. The one measuring stick Justin had, to prove to himself and everyone else that he was better!
He couldn't just…
He almost spluttered in rage,
He couldn't just be nice now!
That was not how this worked!
Justin wanted his Tony Stark back, so he could properly rub his face in his inherent superiority!
He twitched as he got a message flashing on his glasses. Picking his phone up and calling Sunil.
"We need a customer friendly version of my glasses produced yesterday, before Tony fucking Stark does it!"
Fucking Stark… Literally telling him he was going to make them, that's just not how it's done!
His people had found no sign the Mandarin was involved in Afghanistan, so he had jumped the gun on the rescue it seemed, to his own detriment.
Should have just left him there another month…
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