jail & plane
“Mr. Stark, we ran his prints,” says the man next to Tony in French [but the translation appears on the bottom of the screen] as they walk down the hall in prison. Behind the pair are also other people - prison guards, and officials. “We got nothing back, not even a name.”
“Where are we going?” asks Tony.
“French?” the teen hears Howard’s quiet question and can’t help himself.
“I’m fluent already, I should hope I don’t forget it,” he remarks, not sparing a glance at his father.
“I didn’t know you were taking French.” answers the man.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of that going around.” he scoffs. He’s sick and tired of this man not knowing a single thing about him.
“Tony speaks Italian, Spanish, and French,” adds Maria, her voice upset with probably both of them. “Now, can we continue?”
“Over there,” says the man, pointing as he hurries after Tony. “We're not even sure he speaks English,” he adds. “He hasn't said a word since he got here.”
“Oh, he’s gonna speak English alright.”
“Five minutes,” says Tony briefly, and he passes by a cell. Then the man who seems to be acting as Tony's guide opens a door into a room with gray walls. He gives Tony a warning as the genius steps inside alone.
“Are they really going to leave you alone with that man?” Maria sounds enraged.
“He probably wouldn’t have talked much with them inside.” Tony shrugs. “Plus, there are cameras and he’s handcuffed.”
Tony lets the door fall shut behind him, as Vanko sits on the bench with his back to the door, wearing only a pair of boxers. Tony walks slowly forward with his hands in his pockets and lets the silence settle.
"Pretty decent tech," he says at length. "Cycles per second were a little low." He adds, taking another step and watching the man. "You could have doubled up your rotations," he comes around to face Ivan. "You focused the repulsor energy through ionized plasma channels. It's effective, not very efficient. Passable knockoff."
“Guess not a knockoff at all.”
“You really shouldn’t be giving him any advice on how to improve his weapon,” Howard says.
“He’s locked in a cell, he’s going to jail.” Tony gestures to the screen.
“But he may get out and then it will come back to bite you.”
‘I can bite back.’ Tony thinks but decides to stay quiet and get back to watching the movie.
Tony walks up to the bench and sits down on it. "I don't get it," he presses. "A little fine-tuning, you could've made a solid paycheck. Could've sold it to North Korea, China, Iran, or gone right to the black market." Ivan, silent, turns his head and a smirk appears on his face.
“Please, don’t provoke a criminal, dear.” Maria shakes her head.
"You look like you've got friends in low places," says Tony, looking steadily at Ivan's face.
“That’s a compliment.” Howard snorts.
“He does look like that though.” Tony shrugs. “He’s super smart though, I’m sure he could’ve accomplished something if he just tried instead of getting obsessed with someone he never met and who had no idea about his existence.” the teen narrows his eyes. “It doesn’t sound logical at all.”
“There’s no logic in revenge, the feeling of betrayal and hurt.” Howard sounds oddly sympathetic and for a moment seems… human.
Finally, Ivan speaks, "You come from a family of thieves and butchers,”
“My father sold fruit and my mother sewed shirtwaists for living. Did that moron even did his research?” Howard sounds angry, offended, and protective all at once.
“and now, like all guilty men, you try to re-write your own history. And you forget all the lives the Stark family has destroyed."
“First of all, if someone realizes they want to be a better human, it’s shows growth and maturity!” Tony yells. “A few mistakes don’t mean you have to hate yourself for the rest of your life and stay the person you hate, you are allowed to change as you grow, experience new things and learn about life!” the teen wants to pull his hair out, he changed his mind - this guy is not so intelligent after all.
“You’re absolutely right.” Maria smiles at her son.
“Maybe if he went to a therapist this whole mess could’ve been avoided,” Tony growls under his nose.
"Speaking of thieves," says Tony, and his eyes harden. "Where did you get this design?"
Ivan just watches Tony intently. "My father, Anton Vanko," he starts.
"Well, I never heard of him," dismisses Tony.
Ivan's eyes drop to the Arc Reactor glowing through Tony's black shirt. "My father," he says. "is the reason you're alive."
“Oh, don’t oversell it.” scoffs Howard. “Anton wasn’t working alone, he didn’t actually finish the project, he didn’t miniaturize it and he sure as hell didn’t put it in Tony’s chest.”
"The reason I'm alive," answers Tony. "is because you had a shot, you took it, and missed."
"Did I?" sounds Ivan with a smirk flickering again. "If you can make God bleed," says the man. "then people will cease to believe in him. And there will be blood in the water, and the sharks will come." He leans back. "The truth? All I have to do is sit here and watch as the world will consume you."
“Villain speech 101,” Tony mutters. “Wait -“ the teen narrows his eyes. “Did he just call me a God? I’m flattered, really.”
"Where will you be watching the world consume me from?" asks Tony, seeming defensive if you know what you’re looking for. "Oh, that's right, a prison cell." He stands up. "I'll send you a bar of soap."
“Please, just walk out of there and don’t anger that man any further.” Maria shakes her head.
"Hey, Tony, before you go," calls Vanko, and Tony pauses on his way to the door. "Palladium in the chest - painful way to die," ends Ivan. Tony stiffens and sharply knocks on the door to be let out.
“As if the future me doesn’t already know that.” scoffs Tony.
“But why did he know that?” Maria asks.
“He had the schematics, made the Arc Reactor…” answers Howard. “He knew there was palladium involved and it’s not a secret that palladium is highly toxic and carcinogenic.”
“Oh, goodness,” she turns to face Tony. “Why would you put it in your chest then?”
“Maybe there wasn’t any other way.” the teen says. “Just a few extra months to deal with all unfinished businesses.”
“You are going to find a cure or I swear to everything that is holy, this Watcher person is going to regret having us sit through this,” Maria tells her son and strangely enough, he believes her. It’s his mother, Maria Stark after all. She’s the stone behind Howard Stark’s success, she’s the toughest there is.
Then, on a television screen, Senator Stern is speaking. And there’s a news caption 'Stark should hand over Suit!' "It's just unbelievable," he says. "It proves that the genie is out of the bottle, and this man has no idea what he's doing. He thinks of the Iron Man weapon as a toy!"
“I created the Suit, okay, I think I know more about it than you do.” Tony snarls.
It’s on a luxurious-looking plane and Pepper is in a seat across from the television. Behind her, in the doorway of the rear cabin, Tony appears with a covered plate. He pauses when he sees the screen.
"I was at a hearing," continues Stern. "where Mr. Stark, in fact, was adamant that these suits can't exist anywhere else, don't exist anywhere else, never will exist anywhere else, at least for five to ten years. And here we are in Monaco, realizing, uh-oh, these suits exist now."
“It’s literally one person who has it, and it wasn’t even a full suit,” Howard argues.
“Besides, he was dealt with in like 5 minutes,” adds Tony, crossing his hands over his chest.
"Mute," commands Tony, and the sound turns itself off. "He should be giving me a medal," says Tony, coming into the room and sitting down across from Pepper. "That's the truth." He puts down the dish with a napkin-wrapped fork and knife on a tiny table between their seats.
"What is that?" asks Pepper curiously.
"This is your in-flight meal," Tony lifts the dish to reveal what looks like an egg or cheese or both, and there’s something green mixed in.
“Ughh, judging on the appearance, I’m ready to bet I made it,” Tony says, sure that his face shows an expression of distaste.
Pepper looks from the poorly-made omelet to Tony. "Did you just make that?" she asks incredulously.
"Yeah, where do you think I've been for three hours?" Tony spreads his free arm.
“Maybe we should spend some time in the kitchen together when you come back from school.” Maria chuckles.
"Tony," Pepper turns serious, looking him straight in the face. "What are you not telling me?"
‘Awh, nothing. Just dying.’ the teen thinks. ‘But there’s really no reason to burden the woman with it.’
Tony turns his head and looks out the window. The sun is setting, and it shines on his face. ”I don't want to go home," answers the man, sounding tired. "At all."
“Oh, dear, you really should speak up. This is a perfect occasion to just sit and talk without interruptions.”
“What would it help though? It’s not like she’s a doctor and will be able to cure me. It would just be sad and awkward.” the brunet shrugs.
“Sometimes humans just need company.” Maria smiles. “Or to get something off their chest. Maybe if you finally talked to someone, at least a small part of that weight would fall off your chest.”
Pepper just smiles gently and waits. "Let's cancel my birthday party, and, ah… we're in Europe, let's go to Venice, Cipriani. Remember?"
Pepper chuckles. "Oh, yes."
"It's a great place to… be healthy…”
"I don't think this is the right time," says Pepper, though she looks concerned. "We're in kind of a mess."
"Yeah, but maybe that's why it's the best time," tries to convince her Tony. "Cause then we -"
"Well," says Pepper patiently. "I think as the CEO I need to show up."
“Unfortunately, she’s right.” Howard, of all people here, says. He was so against Pepper as the Company’s CEO. Is he really gonna pretend right now that he wasn’t?
"As CEO," Tony looks down. "You are entitled to a - a leave." he glances cautiously back up at Pepper.
God, it’s the same insecurities he has today, he realizes. He doesn’t really change all that much in the future, does he?
"A leave?"
"A company retreat," Tony amends hastily.
"A retreat?" repeats Pepper. "During a time like this?"
"Well, I'm just saying," defends Tony. "to recharge our batteries and figure it all out."
‘Or maybe that one battery will finally stop working.’ he thinks. But he doesn’t dare to say anything. His parents stay quiet as well, this moment on a plane, flying through the sky, seems too intimate to interrupt it in any way.
Pepper leans back against her seat. "Not everybody runs on batteries, Tony," she says softly. And the man just smiles and looks away.
That’s the whole problem though, isn’t it?