Laura drove back to her house and put on a red dress and stilettos for the gala.

She pulled up to the red carpet, right behind Tony, as reporters took pictures of him.

"Really Tony, I managed to drive back to my house, change into this stupid dress, do my hair, and drive here in the time you managed to change into a tux." she joked while giving her keys to the valet, and he rolled his eyes.

"On second thought you don't have to be here. Go and enjoy your evening alone." he tried shooing her away with his hands.

"Nope. I'm here now whether you like it or not so deal with it." she walked past him and he followed her up the stairs.

They began walking up as Tony attracted everyone's attention.

"Hey, Tony, remember me?" a random woman smiled at him.

"Sure don't." he ignored her and Laura smirked, enjoying the woman's rejection.

"You look great, Hef." he patted "Hugh Hefner's" back as they walked past him and up towards Obie who was talking to reporters.

"..Weapons manufacturing is only one small part of what Stark Industries is all about, and our partnership with the fire and rescue community. We're going to have a great quarter." he saw Laura and Tony walking up.

"What's the world coming to when a guy's got to crash his own party?" Tony joked.

"Look at you. He even got you to come along." he smiled at Laura.

"Annoyingly. I'm gonna get a drink." she left them and walked inside.

Tony began to follow her, but Obie grabbed his shoulder.

"Hey. Listen, take it slow, all right? I think I got the board right where we want them." he asked.

"You got it. Just cabin fever. I'll just be a minute." Tony reassured him.

"Captain and Coke please." Laura tipped the bartender as Coulson walked up to her.

"Ms. Watson." he got her attention.

"Agent Coulson. I didn't know agents attended these events." she joked while taking a sip of her drink.

"I'm seeing a cellist I have practice." he smiled.

"Ooh fancy. Well, you fit right in high society." she complimented.

"Is Mr. Stark here we need to debrief him." he asked as Tony walked up to them.

"Tony you remember Agent Coulson right?" she introduced him.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The guy from the…" he tried remembering but Coulson interrupted him.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." he corrected.

"God, you need a new name for that." Tony joked and Laura smiled.

"Yeah, I hear that a lot. Listen, I know this must be a trying time for you, but we need to debrief you. There's still a lot of unanswered questions, and time can be a factor with these things." Coulson asked.

"Let's just put something on the books." Tony tried dismissing him.

"How about the 24th at 7:00 p.m. at Stark Industries?" Coulson suggested as Tony spotted Pepper on the other side of the floor.

"Tell you what. You got it." he shook Coulson's hand.

"You're absolutely right. Well, I'm going to go to my assistant, and we'll make a date." he walked over to her.

"It was a pleasure to see you again Agent Coulson." Laura shook his hands.

"We'll be in touch." he nodded back as she followed Tony.

"You look fantastic. I didn't recognize you." Tony complimented Pepper.

"What are you doing here?" she asked surprised.

"Just avoiding government agents." he muttered as Pepper got a look of Laura.

"Wow Laura look at you. You look stunning." she complimented, and Laura smiled faintly.

"Thanks. You know how much I hate these things so enjoy my stunning self as it lasts." she joked and Pepper smiled.

"But I should be the one saying that to you." she complimented back.

"Are you by yourself?" Pepper asked him.

"Yes. Where'd you get that dress?" he asked.

"Oh, it was a birthday present." she answered.

"That's great." he replied.

"From you, actually." she added.

"Well, I got great taste." Tony said confidently.

"Yes." she agreed.

"You want to dance?" he asked.

"Oh, no…" Pepper gave Laura a pleading look as she walked away from them. "

I'll catch up with you later Pepper." she said while smiling.

Later, Laura was talking with some colleagues as Christine approached her.

"Where is Tony Stark?" she asked angrily.

"Uh…" she turned around to the dance floor, not seeing him or Pepper.

"I don't know why?" she asked.

"Because I need to speak with him and I'm not leaving until I do." Christine said firmly.

"All right. Hang on, hang on he's… there." she pointed at him walking towards the bar and walked up to him.

"Hey Laura and… Carrie?" he greeted unsure.

"Christine." she said annoyed.

"That's right." he said uninterested.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here tonight. Can I at least get a reaction from you?" she asked angrily, and Laura took a sip of her drink, amused with the situation.

"Panic. I would say panic is my reaction." he joked, and Laura choked on her drink, getting their attention as she tried to force down a laugh.

"Sorry, sorry." she regained her composure.

"Cause I was referring to your company's involvement in this latest atrocity." Christine accused.

"Yeah. They just put my name on the invitation. I don't know what to tell you." he joked.

"The gala isn't that bad Tony come on." Laura joked as well.

"I actually almost bought it, hook, line and sinker." Christine clarified.

"I was out of town for a couple months in case you didn't hear." he reminded sarcastically.

"Is this what you call accountability? It's a town called Gulmira. Heard of it?" she handed him photos of Stark weapons, including Jericho missiles.

"When were these taken?" Tony asked as Laura took the photos.

"Yesterday." she answered.

"I didn't approve any shipment." he said firmly.

"Well, your company did." she accused.

"We stopped selling weapons though. This doesn't make any sense." Laura said with eyebrows furrowed.

"Come on." Tony said and they walked outside towards Obie who was still addressing the press.

"Have you seen these pictures? What's going on in Gulmira?" he asked him angrily.

"Tony, Tony. You can't afford to be this na?ve." he replied.

"You know what? I was na?ve before, when they said, "Here's the line. We don't cross it." he told him.

"This is double dealing. Why are you double dealing?" Laura accused bluntly through her clenched teeth as reporters took pictures of them.

"Tony, your picture, please!" one of them asked.

"Let's take a picture. Come on. Picture time!" they all posed for the cameras casually.

"Tony. Who do you think locked you out? I was the one who filed the injunction against you. It was the only way I could protect you." he patted him on the back and they glared at him as he walked away.

"Meet me back at the house. I need to do something." Tony told her.

"Tony, wait up." she tried following him quickly in her heels down the stairs.


Later that night, Laura walked down the stairs, by broken glass, and into Tony's workshop, seeing him sitting on the couch with a suit hand on.

"Sorry I'm late so what's going on?" she asked.

"Here." he threw her an earpiece.

"I'm going over there and destroying those weapons." he walked over to a platform and began suiting up.

"Tony I know you're mad so am I but this…" she began but he interrupted her.

"Not now I'm going." his helmet came on and he flew vertically upwards, through the hole he created earlier.

Laura tried taking off her heels while walking towards his setup at the same time.

"I'm 5'4" on a good day why do I even bother with these stupid things?" she said annoyed while tossing them across the room.

"Tony you there?" she asked while sitting down at his setup.

"I'm here." he answered.

"All good on this end."

Meanwhile, in Gulmira, the Ten Ring's terrorists were rounding up civilians as Tony landed in the middle of them.

One began shooting his machine gun at him and Tony punched him into a wall.

He fired blasts with his hand stabilizers at multiple men but stopped, seeing others aiming their guns at civilians and he lowered his hand.

His HUD aimed at the terrorists heads and he shot bullets at them from his shoulders, dropping them instantly.

A child reunited with his father as Tony grabbed his former captor and threw him through a wall, in the middle of the villagers.

"He's all yours." he took off and the villagers glared at him.

He flew high above the clouds and his HUD highlighted one of the Jericho missiles.

A tank shell hit him, and he slammed into the ground.

"What was that?" Laura asked, hearing it.

"Nothing." Tony said while crawling out of the hole.

Another shell was fired at him which he dodged smoothly.

He aimed a wrist rocket at it, and it bounced off the tank.

Tony began walking back as the tank exploded behind him.

The terrorists all shot at him as the bullets ricocheted off the suit.

He hovered above them and sent blasts at the remaining Jericho missiles.


"Well, that went better than I thought it would." Laura said cautiously as Tony flew away.

"Yeah, that could've…" he began but saw Rhodey calling him.

"Hey, speak of the devil. Hello." he greeted over the wind.

"Tony?" Rhodey asked from Edwards Air Force Base, hearing it on his end of the line.

"Who's this?" he asked.

"It's Rhodes." he answered.

"Sorry, hello?" Tony repeated.

"I said it's Rhodes." he spoke louder.

"Speak up, please." Tony asked.

"What in the hell is that noise?" Rhodey asked still hearing the wind.

"Oh, yeah, I'm with Laura driving with the top down." he improvised.

"Hi, Rhodey." Laura said quickly.

"Yeah, well, I need your help right now." he asked.

"It's funny how that works, huh?" Tony joked.

"Yeah. Speaking of funny, we've got a weapons depot that was just blown up a few clicks from where you were being held captive." he stated suspiciously.

"Well, that's a hot spot. Sounds like someone stepped in and did your job for you, huh?" Tony said while trying to catch his breath.

"Why do you sound out of breath, Tony?" he noticed it.

"I'm not, I was just jogging in the canyon." he lied.

"I thought you were driving." Rhodey asked confused.

"Right, I was driving to the canyon…" he began but Laura interrupted him.

"…Where we're going for a jog." she finished smoothly.

"You sure you don't have any tech in that area I should know about?" he asked again.

"Nope!" Tony yelled as two F-22's flew up behind him.

"Bogey spotted!" Rhodey saw him on the monitors.

"Whiplash, come in hot."

"Ok, good, cause I'm staring at one right now, and it's about to be blown to kingdom come." he warned.

"That's my exit." Tony barrel rolled, trying to lose the jets following him.

"Ballroom, this is Whiplash One. I've got the bogey in my sights." the pilot said.

"Whiplash One, what is it?" Rhodey asked.

"I've got no idea." he answered.

"You have radio contact?" the Major asked.

"Non responsive, sir." he answered.

"Then you are clear to engage." Supersonic flight appeared on Tony's HUD.

"Hit it." he went supersonic, causing a boom.

"That bogey just went supersonic. I got a lock!" the pilot locked a missile onto him and fired.

"Inbound missile." JARVIS warned.

"Flares!" they were deployed, blowing up the missile but caused Tony to lose control.

"Wait a second. Bogey deployed flares!" the pilots dodged them as Tony free fell but regained control and the pilots continued to chase him.

One of them began shooting his gun at him, hitting him.

"Deploy flaps!" they deployed, and Tony flew between the jets, narrowly missing them.

"Holy!" one of the pilots got a glimpse of him.

"That thing just jumped off the radar, sir." an analyst told Rhodey

"The sat visual has been lost." another added.

"No way that's a UAV." the pilot looked around for Tony.

"What is it?" the Major asked.

"I can't see anything." he replied.

"Whatever it was, it just bought the farm. I think bogey's been handled, sir." the other pilot said and Rhodey shook his head unconvinced as Tony called him.

"Hello?" he greeted.

"Hi, Rhodey, it's me." he admitted.

"It's who?" he asked.

"It's Tony, Rhodey. It's Tony!" Laura said urgently.

"No, see, this isn't a game you two. You do not send civilian equipment into my active war zone. You understand that?" he told them firmly.

"It's really Tony Rhodey!" she tried again.

"You hear her! This is not a piece of equipment. I'm in it. It's a suit. It's me!" Tony yelled.

"Rhodey, you got anything for me?" the Major asked a dumbfounded Rhodey.

"Mark your position and return to base."

"Roger that, ballroom." the pilot saw Tony hugging the belly of one of the F-22's.

"On your belly! It looks like a man! Shake him off! Roll! Roll!" the pilot rolled the jet, flinging Tony off.

He was sent flying backward but smashed the wing of the other jet.

"I'm hit! I'm hit!" he yelled while nosediving.

"It's confirmed. He has been hit."

"Punch out! Punch out! Whiplash One down." the pilot ejected right before the jet exploded and everyone in the control rooms held their breaths.

"Whiplash Two, do you see a chute?" the Major asked.

"Negative! No chute, no chute!" he warned as the pilot free fell.

"Shit." Laura heard it all from Tony's perspective.

"My chute's jammed!" he yelled while trying to unjam it.

"Tony, get him!" Laura yelled.

"I'm on it!" he yelled while flying down towards him.

"Sir, I've got a visual on the bogey." the pilot had Tony in his sights.

"Whiplash Two, reengage. If you get a clear shot, you take it." the Major ordered.

"Major, we don't even know what we're shooting at. Call off the Raptors." Rhodey ordered him.

"That thing just took out an F-22 inside a legal no fly zone! Whiplash Two, if you have a clear shot, take it!" the Major ignored him.

"You've been reengaged. Execute evasive maneuver." JARVIS suggested.

"Keep going!" Tony flew down to the pilot and unjamed his chute.

"Good chute! Good chute!" the pilot said relieved.

"Oh, thank God." Laura sank back into the chair.

"Tony, Laura you still there?" Rhodey asked.

"Hey, thanks." Tony thanked him as he flew away.

"Oh, my God, you crazy son of a bitch. You owe me a plane. You know that, right?" Rhodey joked and they both laughed.

"Hey, we tried to warn you." she joked.

"She's got a point Rhodes." he joked as well.

"Enoughn you two, Now, what am I supposed to tell the press?" he asked.

"Training exercise. Isn't that the usual BS." Tony suggested while flying away.

"Works for me." Laura took off her earpiece and tossed it on the desk.

"It's not that simple."


Later, Laura was watching Rhodey's press conference while waiting for Tony to fly back.

"An unfortunate training exercise involving an F-22 Raptor occurred yesterday. I am pleased to report that the pilot was not injured. As for the unexpected turn of events on the ground in Gulmira, it is still unclear who or what intervened, but I can assure you that the United States government was not involved…" he addressed the press as Obie watched as well.

She heard him flying back and turned around as he landed through the same hole in the roof.

"Well, that could've gone worse I suppose." she crossed her arms.

"Hey all things considered I think it went rather well. The weapons were destroyed weren't they?" he argued as he walked over to the platforms and robotic arms began to take the suit pieces off of him.

"Would've gone better if you didn't go all Tom Cruise Top Gun on Rhodey." she countered.

"Well, I think it went… hey!" he yelled, feeling a pinch.

"It is a tight fit, sir. Sir, the more you struggle, the more this is going to hurt." JARVIS explained.

"Be gentle. This is my first time." he joked as the arms continued to struggle to take the pieces off.

"Hold still Tony you're like a child." Laura told him.

"Hey, I really should be able to…" he began but was interrupted.

"What's going on here?" Pepper asked from the bottom of the stairs.

Tony and Laura slowly turned around, with her still in the dress from the night before, unsure what to say.

"Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing." he joked.

"Are those bullet holes." Pepper gasped.

"It was him!" Laura pointed at Tony, throwing him under the bus.

She quickly grabbed her heels, sped walked around Pepper and left the awkward situation quickly.