The Jericho
The morning after. Christine is laying on the bed in nothing but bedsheets.
“Good morning.”
The melodic voice of JARVIS sounds.
Rhodey sighed. “I miss JARVIS.”
“Yeah, JARVIS was great.” Tony agreed wistfully. “Not that there’s anything wrong with FRIDAY, but JARVIS was just… something else.”
“Well, I think we’ve got someone even better now.” Wanda said, squeezing Vision’s hand.
“It’s 7 am. The weather in Malibu is 72 degrees with scattered clouds.”
The entire wall lights up to reveal that it’s a window.
“Wow! That’s so cool.” Peter said excitedly.
“Just look at that view!” Scott exclaimed.
“The surf conditions are fair with waist-to-shoulder high lines. High tide will be at 10:52 am.”
Christine stares out of the window in astonishment.
The camera pulls out to reveal the beautiful house, built on the edge of a cliff.
Malibu, California
Sam whistled. “Now that is a nice house.”
“Yeah, it was one of my favourites.” Tony sighed.
“Wait, one of your favourites?” Scott asked.
“Well, sure. I did have other houses.” Tony shruged.
Okoye narrowed her eyes. “Didn’t that house blow up?”
Quill almost choked on his popcorn. “What?”
Tony rubed a hand across his face. “I… yeah.”
“I can only imagine how that could have happened.” Strange muttered sarcastically.
“I have a terrible suspicion that it’s gonna be shown in one of these films.” Tony said. “So I’m just gonna have to let you guys wait and see.”
“Tony?” Christine wanders the house in one of Tony’s shirts. It is even more beautiful on the inside with an indoor waterfall.
“Oh wow, it’s even more beautiful on the inside.” Scott said.
“Don’t be getting any ideas.” Hope hissed as she leaned in.
Scott feigned shock. “Hey, I would never do something like that.”
Hope raised an eyebrow, but didn’t argue.
Christine finds a control panel and sneakily tries to access it.
There’s a sudden beep and JARVIS sounds.
“You are not authorised to access this area.”
She backs away slowly. “Jesus.”
Rocket chuckled.
“That’s Jarvis. He runs the house.” Pepper stands behind her.
“Hey, it’s Pepper!” Rhodey exclaimed dramatically.
“I’ve got your clothes here. They’re been dry-cleaned and pressed, and there’s a car waiting for you outside that will take you anywhere you’d like to go.”
“Wow, it’s almost like you need to get rid of girls a lot.” Quill remarked to Tony.
“We had a very efficient system.” Pepper nodded.
“You must be the famous Pepper Potts.”
“Indeed I am.”
“After all these years, Tony still has you picking up the dry-cleaning.”
“Oh, nasty.” Hill scolded.
“I do anything and everything that Mr. Stark requires, including, occasionally, taking out the trash. Will that be all?”
“Oh burn, Pepper!” Shuri exclaimed.
“Nicely done.” Natasha approved.
“Ha! That was a good one!” Rocket laughed.
“I don’t get it.” Drax said, confused. “Why would Stark make her take out his trash?”
Quill started to explain. “Well…”
“Never mind!” Gamora interrupted, knowing Drax would never pick up on the metaphor.
Cut to Tony working on an antique car in his lab to loud music.
Pepper enters the room behind him, talking to someone on the phone and clearly stressed.
“Please don’t turn down my music.” Tony yells.
“You are supposed to be half way around the world right now.”
“I knew he was gonna be late.” Clint said.
“How’d she take it?”
“Like a champ.”
“You could at least pretend to care.” Steve said.
“Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?”
“Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago.”
“That’s funny, I thought with it being my plane and all, that it would just wait for me to get there.”
Rocket shrugged. “He has a point there.”
“Tony, I need to speak to you about a couple of things before I get you out of the door.”
“Doesn’t it kind of defeat the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?”
“For God’s sake, Tony, just listen to her for once, please!” Steve exclaimed, exasperated.
“Larry called. He’s got another buyer for the Jackson Pollock in the wings. Do you want it? Yes or no.”
“Is it a good representation of his spring period?”
“No. The Springs was actually the neighbourhood in East Hampton where he lived and worked, not ‘spring’ like the season.”
“So?”
“I think it’s a fair example. I think it’s incredibly overpriced.”
“I need it. Buy it. Store it.”
“Of course saying that’s it’s overpriced would make him want it more.” Sam said.
“Wow, imagine having that much money to buy worthless junk like that.” Scott muttered.
“Hey, I’ll have you know that was an impressive piece of artwork.” Tony defended.
“You never even looked at it Tony.” Pepper sighed.
“It was very important.” Tony insisted.
“It was worthless, Tony, accept that.” Rhodey said.
“Okay. The MIT commencement speech…”
“Is in June. Please, don’t harangue me about stuff that’s way, way, down…”
“Well, they’re haranguing me, so I’m gonna say yes.”
“Deflect it and absorb it. Don’t transmit it back to me.”
“I need you to sign this before you get on the plane.”
“What are you trying to get rid of me for? What, you got plans?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
“I don’t like it when you have plans.”
“I’m allowed to have plans on my birthday.”
Steve threw up his hands. “You forgot her birthday?”
“Really dude, that’s low.” Quill shook his head, earning a raised eyebrow form Gamora.
Pepper comes to his defence. “Guys, it’s fine. He barely remembers his own birthday, let alone someone else’s.”
“It’s your birthday?”
“Yes.”
“I knew that. Already?”
“Yeah. Isn’t that strange? It’s the same day as last year.”
“Get yourself something nice from me.”
“I already did.”
“And?”
“Oh, it was very nice.”
“Yeah?”
“Very tasteful. Thank you, Mr. Stark.”
“You’re welcome, Miss Potts.”
“Wow, okay, you can practically taste the sexual tension.” Fury spoke up.
“Well excuse you, Mister Trust Issues.” Tony sassed, although both he and Pepper had gone a bit red.
Loud music starts again. Tony pulls up to the airport where a very annoyed Rhodey waits at the plane.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“What?”
“Three hours.”
“I got caught doing a piece for Vanity Fair.” Tony says ascending the stairs.
“I guess you could say that.” Natasha said, rolling her eyes.
“For three hours you got me standing here.” Rhodey scolds.
Tony pushes past him. “Waiting on you now. Let’s go. Come on.”
“Alright, that was very annoying.” Rhodey admitted. “Especially after I’d told you not to be late”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry, buddy.” Tony apologised.
On the plane, Rhodey is giving Tony the silent treatment.
“Come on Sour Patch, don’t be mad.”
“You’ve got nicknames for pretty much everyone, don’t you.” Quill remarked.
“Pretty much.” Tony said.
“Huh. So what’s mine.”
“Ass-hat.” Tony didn’t take his eyes off the screen.
“Hey!”
“It’s accurate enough.” Nebula agreed.
“I told you, I’m not mad. I’m indifferent, Okay?”
Tony starts trying to apologise, but gets distracted by flirting with the air hostess.
Everyone sighs, exasperated.
“Come on, again?” T’Challa scolded.
“So how’s the ‘no judgment’ thing working out for you, your highness?” Tony sassed.
“My apologies, but honestly, you do make it very difficult sometimes.”
“You don’t respect yourself so I know you don’t respect me. I’m just your babysitter.”
This gives Tony an idea. “Hey! Heat up the sake, will you?”
They continue to bicker, but Rhodey is adamant. “I’m not drinking. I don’t want any.”
Smash cut to Tony and Rhodey clearly drunk on the sofa, with music blaring in the background and lights flashing everywhere.
“Well that went well.” Sam smirked at Rhodey who’s face has gone red.
Rhodey continues to lecture Tony about self respect, however, he is clearly distracted as the camera pulls back to reveal the air hostesses dancing round a pole for them.
Another groan came from everyone.
“Okay, now this is getting ridiculous.” Strange declared.
The plane lands and the location card reads Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, where Tony stands in front of a mountain range for his weapons presentation.
“Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both?”
“Here we come with the classic Tony Stark arrogance.” Steve said.
“With that in mind, I humbly present the crown jewel of Stark Industries’ Freedom Line.”
“Now, that’s a juxtaposition if I’ve ever heard one.” Sam muttered.
“It’s the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary repulser technology. They say the best weapon is one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once. That’s how Dad did it. That’s how America does it. And it’s worked out pretty well so far.”
“It most certainly has not worked out well.” Wanda insisted.
“Howard never did it like that.” Steve agreed.
“I think we’ve already hereby established that I knew my dad better than you did.” Tony rebuked. “And yes, I know, this was a terrible way to do things, but I’ve changed all that now. I’m no longer making weapons.”
Find an excuse to let one of these off the chain, and I personally guarantee you the bad guys won’t even want to come out of their caves.”
Tony signals to fire the missile. As it shoots through the air, smaller repulser fired missiles break off it.
“For your consideration, the Jericho.”
The missiles hit the mountain range behind him and a massive explosion can be seen, followed by a shockwave that turns the whole screen white.
Wanda cringed and looked away, not wanting to witness discretion that was all too familiar. Vision put a comforting arm around her.
“This is unnecessary, Tony.” Steve reprimanded.
“All he cares about is the weapons, not the damage they cause.” Hope muttered.
“Hey, it was meant to be a scare tactic.” Tony argued. “So that the very mention of the Jericho would get the enemy to surrender.”
“So it’s a means to an end.” Vision surmised.
“Yeah! Or… it was. I understand now how damaging this can be and I don’t do this anymore.” Tony says. “I promise. I’ve learnt from my mistakes.”
Meanwhile at the back of the room.
“It’s so beautiful!” Rockets eyes were as big as planets.
‘Really?” Quill asked. “Only you would find this fascinating.”
“The destruction is very amusing.” Drax chuckled.
Tony helps himself to a crate full of ice cold drinks.
“I’m throwing one of these in with any purchase of 500 million or more. To peace!”
Tony’s phone rings.
“Tony.” It’s Obadiah calling from his bed.
“Obie, what are you doing up?” Tony answers.
“I couldn’t sleep till I found out how it went. How’d it go?”
“Okay, that’s a little creepy.” Clint said.
“He was always checking up on me.” Tony said. “Like, all the time.”
Clint nodded. “Yeah, there’s some serious red flags here.”
“It went great. Looks like it’s gonna be an early Christmas.”
“Hey! Way to go, my boy! I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”
“Why aren’t you wearing those pyjamas I got you?” Tony teases.
“Goodnight, Tony.” Obadiah hangs up.
Tony enters the armoured truck as Rhodey runs up to the door. “Hey, Tony.”
“I’m sorry, this is the fun-vee.” Tony says mockingly. “The hum-drum-vee is back there.”
“You’re still mad, huh.” Sam said.
“Nah, we were fine. I was just letting him simmer a bit more.” Tony shrugged.
Rhodey sighs. “Nice job.”
“See you back at base.” Tony winks.
“I should have gone with you, Tony.” Rhodey said. “I wouldn’t have let that happen to you.”
“If you came with me you would have died.” Tony insisted. “I’m glad you weren’t there.”
Back in Black sounds as the trucks race down the familiar road and the lead truck explodes.