Devil of Menace

20 - Mandarin

6 months later I find myself sat in a bar with Tony and Rhodes. "Same suit, but painted red, white, and blue. Look at that. And they also renamed him Iron Patriot. You know, just in case the paint was too subtle." Joan Rivers says on the TV in front of us. Rhodey sighs, "It tested well with focus groups alright?" Tony smirks, "I am Iron Patriot." He mocks and I snort whilst sipping my drink, "It's like metal Steve." I comment and Rhodes rolls his eyes. "Listen, War Machine was a little too aggressive, alright? This sends a better message." Rhodes explains. "So what's really goin' on? With Mandarin." Tony asks, I put my drink down. "Seriously, we need to talk about this guy." I urge. The three of us lean in as best we can.

"It's classified information." Tony and I give him a look, "Okay, there have been nine bombings." He relents. I furrow my eyebrows, "Nine? The public only knows about three." I say. Rhodes nods, "Here's the thing, nobody can ID a device. There's no bomb casings." I sigh. "You know I can help, just ask. I got a ton of new tech, I got a prehensile, I got a...I got a new bomb disposal. Catches explosions mid-air." Tony pleads. "When's the last time you got a good night's sleep?" Rhodes dodges his pleas. "Einstein slept three hours a year. Look what he did?" Tony says, I scoff. "Who the fuck told you that?" I ask. Tony looks at me, "Me." He says bluntly and I roll my eyes. "People are concerned about you, Tony." Rhodes says, "I'm concerned about you." He finishes. "We both are Starko. You can't hide these things from me." I say. "You're gonna come at me like that?" Tony scoffs. "No. No, look, I'm not trying to be a dic-" Rhodes backtracks but is interrupted by a young boy and girl who approach us. "-tator." He saves.

"Do you mind signing my drawing?" The young girls asks, holding out the paper. "If Richard doesn't mind." Tony says, he looks to Rhodey, "You alright with this, Dick?" Rhodes looks at him begrudgingly, "Fine with me." He says. Tony looks at the drawing of himself as Iron Man, I lean over, "I thought you didn't like being handed things." He laughs softly, "What's your name?" He asks the young girl. I smile at the encounter. "Erin." Tony nods, he turns to the boy next to her, "I loved you in A Christmas Story, by the way." I laugh, both at the resemblance and the reminder that it's Steve's favourite Christmas movie. As Tony's signing the drawing Rhodes leans back in, "Listen, the Pentagon is scared. After what happened in New York... aliens, come on." I sigh at the memory of that battle, scars still fresh. "They need to look strong. Stopping the Mandarin is priority, but it's not..." He trails off at a loss for words. "It's not superhero business, I get it." Tony grumbles.

"No, it's not, quite frankly. It's American business." Rhodes explains, "That's why I said I...got it." Tony responds. His shoulders slump and he looks ill, "Are you okay?" I ask. He runs a hand over his face, "I broke the crayon." He mumbles. Erin looks up at Tony, "Are you okay Mr Stark?" She asks sweetly. "Take it easy Tony." I remind him. The little boy whispers to Tony, "How did you get out of the wormhole? How did you get out of the wormhole?" Tony suddenly stands and walks away from the boy. "Wait a minute! Tony!" Rhodes yells and goes after him. I call Steve on Facetime, "You kids fans of Captain America?" I ask and they nod eagerly. Steve answers, "Keep them entertained." I tell him, handing Erin my phone, "Stay here." I order and rush off outside.

As my eyes lock on Tony he's stepping into the suit before collapsing to his knees on the ground. "Check the heart, check the...check the...is it the brain?" He stutters out presumably to JARVIS. "No sign of cardiac anomaly or unusual brain activity." JARVIS states. "Okay, so I was poisoned?" Tony presumes. "My diagnosis is that you've experienced a severe anxiety attack." I sigh and kneel next to him. "Me?" I hear him squeak. Rhodey knocks on the helmet of the suit as a crowd begins to gather, "Come on, man. This isn't a good look, open up." Tony barely composes himself, "Sorry I gotta split." He says before flying off. The heat of the thrusters burns my arm, "You okay?" Rhodey asks. I shake my arm, "Fine." I head back into the bar and find the two children, they're smiling at the phone. Erin smiles at me, "Thank you Miss." She says and I smile. "Go find your parents." I say. "What was that about?" Steve asks from the screen. "Tony's getting worse." I explain as I head out to my Audi A6. "I'll be home soon." I say and Steve nods before I hang up.

I rest my head against the steering wheel and sigh heavily, releasing very little tension.