Tony and Bruce excused themselves from the room, taking a walk through the compound with T'challa's permission.

"I owe you an apology." Bruce was the first of them to speak and his words stopped Tony in his tracks.

"What?"

"There's a lot a didn't do back during Ultron," Bruce admitted. It was the first time saying this all allowed but it was something he felt had to be said. "You know, I let you take the fall for him, but I helped."

"Because I convinced you to. It's not like I gave you much of a choice."

"Your a lot of things Tony but you are not as powerful as you think you are. And I mean that in the best way." Bruce clarified. "I made the choice to help you, I was just as excited about it as you were and I really thought we could do it, if anyone should have known better it should have been me."

"Bruce-"

"You've never been anything other than straight with me Tony, and I've tried to do the same for you so don't bullshit me now. Look we both made our mistakes, I just remember you getting a lot more flak for it than I did and I let you take it. So here's me owning up to my part in it. Just accept it."

"There's really no arguing with you is there?"

"I might get angry if you try." Bruce smiled and Tony held up his hands in surrender.

"You've changed."

"No, I've always been this way. I guess I've just started to internalize things less."

"It suits you."

And Bruce really believed that Tony was telling the truth. The didn't talk after that and Bruce still felt like he had a lot of questions but it just didn't seem the time to bring up the Civil War or the apparent rift between the team.

They'd have to talk about it eventually but for now, it was good to just be friends again. Science Bros as it were.

INT. LAB - CAVE - DAY 22 Tony flickers awake, disoriented. A tube protrudes from his nose. He sees - Yinsen, humming a tune as he shaves by a broken mirror. But more importantly right now - There is a jug of water on the table. Tony tries to speak, can't. It's the damn nasal tube. He pulls at it, gagging as two of feet of tubing slithers from his nose.

Many of the occupants had to turn away, all doing their best to suppress the urge to gag.

When he turns his head, his breath is perceptible, revealing just how cold it is.

Bruce is instantly concerned. He wasn't that sort of doctor or at least he always told the others that, but he knew enough about medicine to be worried about the conditions, especially after such extensive surgery.

TONY (hoarse whisper) ...water...water.

Yinsen keeps humming. Tony yanks the IV from his arm and stretches for the water, but is stopped by - A wire, under his chest bandages, snapping taut.

"I wonder how long he's been there to be so at ease." Sam wondered allowed.

"He might not even be a captive. It could be a trap, get Tony to trust him before turning on him." Natasha mused. She knew more about the circumstances surrounding Afghanistan than most, but Tony had kept a lot of his stay a secret even from SHEILD.

"He's not," Tony told her. He was looking at the screen with a horrible sadness in his eyes. Natasha had never seen him so emotional, he was normally so good at hiding his feelings, she looked back at the screen wondering who he was and how he was able to make such a huge impression on their resident genius.

Tony follows the wire with his eyes and finds, to his horror, that it's hooked up to a car battery. He starts clawing at his chest bandages. Yinsen turns. Tony sees his ugly chest wound.

Bruce clenched his hands at the absurdity of it all. "You could have contracted tetanus, not to mention the heat from it." He muttered.

"Is that a car battery!" Rhodey gaped at the screen. He glared over at Tony silently cursing him for never saying anything. Tony just shrugged back like it was no big deal. "Did you say heat?" His head snapped toward Bruce. Tony made ixnay motions over Rhodey's head toward Bruce who of course ignored him.

"What Tony has in his chest is an electromagnet and not a very advanced one, if it's that rusty and being powered by a car battery no less then it likely has no cooling core and all that energy will heat up the metal in his body." Bruce ground out still glaring at the screen. It was one of the first times he'd ever wanted to let the other guy have a real go at someone.

Bruce's words cut through the hearts of the Avengers.

T'Challa was highly disgusted by the treatment but also impressed. Tony Stark was a very strong man.

Bucky looked down at his shoulder where metal met skin and then over at Tony. Neither of them had wanted what had been forced on them and he felt a sense of kinship with iron man, something that he had certainly not foreseen happening.

Tony's shoulders tensed he could feel Bucky staring straight through him analyzing him, judging him. It both pissed him off and unnerved him. He kept his gaze on the screen refusing to meet anyone's eyes. His weaknesses were on display for them and Tony cursed Strange in his mind for putting him through this.

INT. LAB - CAVE - HOURS LATER - DAY A23 Yinsen stirs a bubbling pot on the furnace. He flicks glances at Tony, waking up on the cot. Tony eyes the bulky chest-piece protruding from his fresh bandages.

TONY What the hell did you do to me?

Bucky tensed against Steve his fingernails digging into his palms.

"What the fuck did you do to me?!" Bucky's arms and legs were shackled. He had no memories just vague notions of time and wrongness. He could hear wind rattling the windows cold seeping through the cracks and chilling him to his core.

Men in lab coats and thick military jackets whispered over head.

"This is not Captain America. What is this?" Captain America. Why did that sound so familiar…

"... Hope for the future…"

"Mental implantation… simple"

His didn't want this. No. NO!

"Bucky!"

Bucky's eyes shot open. When did he get on the floor? It was discombobulating and he was immediately on guard. Steve was by his head looking down on him and for a moment Bucky didn't see Steve he saw a man in a lab coat.

Bucky struck out with his metal arm. Steve could have easily blocked the blow but he could see the panic and so he let it land Bucky would continue to fight as long as he felt threatened.

As soon as his fist hit skin Burealizedised what he'd done and he scooted away. His heart was beating a mile a minute and he turned his head to the side and emptied his stomach. It had been so long since he'd had an episode.

T'Challa was by his side as soon as he realized that Bucky was not about to attack them.

"I shouldn't be here." Bucky told the king of Wakanda.

"You need to be." It was the weirdo with the cape again. He looked at least somewhat apologetic but his words were firm. "It won't work if your not here."

"Maybe we should post pone this." Steve cut in.

"We don't have the time."

Bucky looked at T'challa "Fine but I just need a moment."

T'Challa nodded.

Tony watched it all play out. It was probably the first time he'd given Bucky and Steve more than just a passing glance since he'd gotten there. Steve was like a kicked puppy when Bucky wouldn't let the star spangled man walk with him, instead choosing to take a moment alone.

Tony had a hard time looking at the spot on the floor Barnes had occupied just a moment ago. The convulsions and hyperventilating, an extreme anxiety attack, he thought to himself. How familiar.

Doctor Strange would not let them continue watching until Bucky had returned and T'Challa had some people come and clean up the mess. It wasn't much of a break the atmosphere in the room was far too tense. Between Tony's Trauma and Barnes's episode there was no room to relax.

Steve paced, he had never been good at staying still especially with all his pent up emotions. Between Tony and Bucky, he felt like his heart would never settle.

When Bucky finally returned he got comfortable back beside Steve. Tony watched Bucky put a hand on Cap's shoulder and the ease with which he was able to calm him. He glanced back at Rhodey.

Tony could at least in his head admit to his mistakes. Sure he and Steve had been friends but really how could he have ever thought that their friendship could be more than what he had with Bucky. If Steve had tried to kill Rhodey Tony wouldn't have gone as easy on him as Steve had. What kind of person did that make him?

YINSEN What did I do? I removed what I could, but there's a lot left headed for you atrial septum. Do you want a souvenir?

Steve looked over at Tony eyes wide. He didn't know. How had he not known any of these.

"It's not your fault. From the looks of things Tony's not a sharer." Bucky tried to reason with Steve he knew that look on his friends face.

"Yeah well none of them shoved thier shield through his chest!" Steve whispered furiously before realising what he'd just said and the implications that came with it. "I could have killed him, and I wouldn't even have known it."

"It wasn't your fault you were trying to protect me."

"I know and I would do it again, what does that say about me?" Steve looked imploringly at Bucky like he wanted the man to make everything right again but he just didn't have that power anymore. The old Bucky would have known what to say. He hated that he couldn't be that person anymore he hated disappointing Steve. So he didn't say anything at all, and the look in Steve's eyes just made him feel worse.

He'd just have to try harder, Bucky would work on it he'd force himself to be who Steve needed him to be.

He tosses Tony a jar with scores of bloody Christmas treelike barbs. Tony regards the 'shrapnel' he owns the patent to, and lets the jar drop.

Steve felt that twist in his gut. He never wanted to kill Tony. Hurting the man had been bad enough and it had shattered something in him when he'd walked away.

YINSEN I've seen many wounds like this in my village. The walking dead we called them, because it took a week for the barbs to reach vital organs. I anchored a magnetic suspension system to the plate. It's holding the shrapnel in place...at least for now.

TONY What is this?

YINSEN That is an electromagnet, hooked up to a car battery, and it's keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart. Hm?

Tony tapped his fingers nervously against the reactor in his chest. It was well hidden beneath layers but he still felt like the others were staring.

And now they knew just how easy it would be to kill him. He wanted to believe that they wouldn't but there were a few choice members whom he believed would hardly hesitate.

Tony struggles up, sits on the cot and notices something - TONY'S POV: a surveillance camera on the cave wall.

YINSEN That's right, smile. (then) We met once - at a technical conference in Bern.

"Everything started in Bern. If I had one night to do over." He muttered to himself.

"Please, you and I both know it wouldn't be Bern." Rhodey spoke up

Tony looked at him and really War Machine was right. IF Tony had one night to do over Bern wouldn't even make it on the top five. He glanced sideways at Steve. There was really no competition, there was only one thing he'd want to change.

TONY I don't remember.

YINSEN No, you wouldn't. If I had been that drunk, I wouldn't have been able to stand, much less give a lecture on integrated circuits.

"I'm multi-talented." Tony bragged.

"You would make a good russian." Natasha joked

"Wow what a compliment"

"Don't let it get to your head."

"You know me and my ego, Natasha."

"Right and maybe I'll just stab you in the back later Tony." She shot back. Damn it she never lost her cool around anyone else but goddamn Tony Stark.

"I can't help but notice you guys saying each others name in a hurtful way and I'm very confused and intrigued." Clint spoke up glancing between the two of them.

"Which we don't really have time to explain." Natasha said simply with a small shrug.

"Dammit" Clint pouted at the redhead who completely ignored him.

TONY Where are we?

The door-slat flies opens and a pair of dark eyes stare in. Yinsen drops his spoon, puts his hands on his head.

YINSEN Stand up! Do as I do. Now!

Tony gets to his feet, can't gets his hands up. Yinsen helps him.

The tension in the room immediately rises everyone staring at the screen except Tony.

"Here we go." He mumbled under his breath before putting a hand on Rhodey's shoulder.

YINSEN Come on, put your hands up.

"Jesus Tony listen to him don't you know how this shit works."

"No! I didn't." He looks at Clint like he's an idiot which Tony firmly believed was true.

TONY Those are my guns. How did they get my guns?

"What are you doing? They have guns just do as your told!" Clint didn't know why he was freaking out Tony was alive but it wasn't like he hated Tony. Sure he'd been pissed the last time they talked but its not like he wanted to see the man hurt.

Tony rolled his eyes at Clint.

YINSEN Do you understand me? Do as I do!

The leader strolls in, a larger man with a dark beard, holding a rolled up piece of paper. He begins to speak a different language, and when he finishes his sentence, he nods to the man next to Tony as an indication for him to translate.

"He says, 'Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America. He is honored.'"

Wanda really hated agreeing with a horrible man, but he did have a good point.

YINSEN He wants you to build the missile; the Jericho missile that you demonstrated. This one.

TONY I refuse.

"Fuck." Sam whispered.

The scene changes immediately and Tony is being held underwater, thrashing and screaming for air. When he's finally pulled back up by the hair, he gasps for breath, spitting the water out of his mouth. Before he has a chance to completely catch his breath, he's shoved back under, the water reaching the cables in his chest and shocking him in the process. He's pulled up again, this time thrashing and fighting with his captors as they manhandle him and pull at his hair.

Tony watched his own torture and he was silent. There was once a time that watching this would have made him tremble with the left over fear and pain he'd felt. But his torture had long since become irrelevant. The only pain he carried from it now was Yinsen.

INT. TUNNEL - CAVE - DAY C23 TONY'S POV - THROUGH HOOD: approaching the tunnel opening. 23 EXT. CAVE COMPLEX - MINUTES LATER - DAY 23 CLOSE ON - TONY: the hood is yanked off his head. He squints into the stinging daylight, his expression turning to shock. In a bowl of tall mountains, camouflaged tarps are furled, revealing skids upon skids of Stark Industries weapons dating back to 80s Afghanistan. VARIOUS SHOTS - OF CRATES: the STARK INTERNATIONAL MUNITIONS logos. Some faded, some new. Tony, stunned, staggers along the crates. Yinsen follows.

The leader speaks again, and the doctor elaborates, "He wants to know what you think."

TONY I think you got a lot of my weapons.

Sam looked over at Tony something dawning in his eyes. He didn't know. Sam had always assumed he had, what kind of CEO didn't know what was going on in his own damn company.

Sure Tony had become Iron Man, he had changed but Sam had always thought his time in captivity had made him see the error of his ways. It had never occurred to him that the man could be innocent.

YINSEN He says they have everything you need to build the Jericho missile He wants you to make the list of materials. He says for you to start working immediately, and when you're done, he will set you free.

TONY No he won't.

The harsh reality of that moment, Of Tony smiling when greeted by the likelihood of his death, made T'Challa feel a deep respect for Tony Stark.

YINSEN No he won't

Tony sees a heavily armed and imposing man surrounded by several men, who act as pilot fish around him. This is Warlord RAZA, a man you don't mess with.

Steve could instantly recognize the man as the real leader of this group despite the other guy doing all the talking. He had that look on his face, one Steve remembered seeing during the war.

INT. LAB - CAVE - DAYS LATER - DAY 24 Dark. Tony sits in a wheelbarrow by the furnace, wrapped in an Army surplus blanket. Yinsen looms over him.

YINSEN I'm sure they're looking for you, Stark, but they will never find you here.

"Bullshit. I would have found you." Rhodey grit his teeth. "I would never have stopped looking."

YINSEN Look, what you just saw, that is your legacy, Stark. Your life's work in the hands of those murderers! Is that how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great Tony Stark? Or are you going to do something about it?

"I like him." Clint smiled.

Wanda who had been tense the entire time her heart flip flopping from moment to moment unable to settle on anger or guilt. She looked at Clint then. "He reminds me of you." She spoke softly.

Clint squeezed her hand tightly.

TONY Why should I do anything? They're going to kill me, you, either way. And if they don't, I'll probably be dead in a week.

Steve blanched, never in his entire time knowing the genius had he ever seen or heard him sound like that. Not when the world was ending, not even in that siberian bunker and it shook him to his core to see it here. There was just something so fundamentally wrong with seeing Tony with no fight in him.

Steve would give anything in the world to never see Tony look as he did on the screen ever again.

YINSEN Well then, this is a very important week for you, isn't it?

Tony paces, barking what he needs done while more of Abu's Guards carry in missiles and materials. Yinsen follows, translating as Tony assesses his work area.

TONY If this is going to be my work station, I want it well-lit. I want these up. I need welding gear. I don't care if it's acetylene or propane. I need a soldering station. I need helmets. I'm gonna need goggles. I would like a smelting cup. I need two sets of precision tools.

Bruce sat forward eagerly in his chair. "I know you built it in a cave but actually getting to see you do it." Tony laughed at Bruce but felt a warmth in his heart for his fellow science bro.

"It is remarkable. Shuri was so impressed by you, she'd never admit it but you inspired her to come forward to my father with her own inventions." T'Challa smiled

Tony laughed "Shuri is far above my level, that little genius is going to rule the world. I told her as much when we met."

"I know, she was nearly insufferable when she came home." T'Challa shook his head as he remembered his sisters babbling about new ideas and all the things she could create. He wasn't sure the world was ready for Tony and Shuri working together.

"You know Shuri?" The words were out of Bucky's mouth before he could stop them. It was the first time he'd addressed Tony directly.

Sensing the tension T'Challa stepped in "When I brought Shuri to America I introduced the two of them. Shuri spent a week at Stark Industries."

"She's an amazing young scientist. Pepper was distraught but we didn't destroy anything beyond repair so win win." Tony spoke more to T'Challa than Bucky and the king sighed. They could try to ignore each other but there was only so long they could make that work eventually there would be a confrontation and he could only hope that it would not end as it had in Siberia.

INT. LAB - CAVE - NEXT DAY - DAY D32 Tony pulls open a missile-housing and removes a glass ring from the inner workings of its guts. Then - He leads Yinsen up to a large missile crate. They remove the chip-rack cylinder from a larger warhead.

TONY How many languages do you speak?

YINSEN A lot. But apparently, not enough for this place. They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, Russian.

TONY Who are these people?"

YINSEN They are your loyal customers, Sir. They call themselves the Ten Rings.

"Are they still around?"

"No." Tony answered eyes burning with a deep hatred.

There's a brief view of the security camera, then switches to the men holding them captive overseeing the process from TV screens, before returning back to Tony.

"Are you not worried about them watching you?" Thor wondered

"I couldn't really do anything about that, I just had to hope that they were too stupid to catch on." Thor laughed at that.

"Aye I see." Thor smiled "You remind me a bit of Loki… uh I mean the Loki of the past not the one you met."

"Right."

"I meant it only as a compliment." Thor said sheepishly.

YINSEN You know, we might be more productive if you include me in the planning process.

TONY Yuh-huh.

"So your like that with everyone." Bruce commented dryly, Tony both talked to much and not enough at the most inconvenient times.

"Like what?" Tony asked

Bruce rolled his eyes.

He starts pounding on the missile with his forearm, demonstrating a considerable amount of strength, causing the end to pop off. He pulls something out, setting it on the table and picking something out of it with a pair of tweezers.

TONY Okay, we don't need this (Throws it over his shoulder hap hazardly)

"Does he do that in his lab too?" Natasha asked

"Without a care." Bruce answers looking at Natasha fondly. Nat was another person he owed a conversation. He wasn't sure how it would end up, but seeing Natasha looking at him then, he had a feeling that they would be ok.

YINSEN What is that?

TONY That's palladium, 0.15 grams. We need at least 1.6, so why don't you go break down the other 11?

There's a bowl of red-like-sand, the billionaire grabbing a hand full and putting it into a cup. There's a smelting cup being pulled out of the fire by the other man, Tony behind him holding the car battery over his shoulder.

"Look at those muscles." Rhodey teased "Your this tiny little shrimp sometimes I forget."

"You know what-"

"Children, shut the fuck up." Fury cut them off giving them a look. Rhodey had actually forgotten he was there. He was good.

"He started it." Tony pouted "And I am not a shrimp."

"You just happen to have really tall friends."

"I hate you."

TONY Careful. Careful, we only get one shot at this

YINSEN Relax, I have steady hands. Why do you think you're still alive?

TONY What do I call you?

YINSEN My name is Yinsen.

Tony smiled through the absolute agony ripping through him.

TONY Yinsen. Nice to meet you.

YINSEN Nice to meet you too.

Tony lifts the palladium ring out of the mold with a tweezer.

Tony throws a generator switch. The lights go up and down. INSERT SHOT OF: the finished RT device, wired to the generator cable, beginning to glow on the workbench.

"Its beautiful." Steve says aloud.

Bruce nods in agreement. Tony puts a hand over the reactor on instinct.

"You have both seen it before."

"There's a difference with seeing it on the suit and watching you make it." Steve looked at Tony. "You're amazing." He added. They stared at each other for a moment before Tony seemed to realize his mistake and his face instantly closed off. Steve watched with a sigh as the genius angled his body away from Steve.

Yinsen wipes his face, and trails Tony to the workbench. He undoes the wires, holding up the glowing RT device.

YINSEN That doesn't look like a Jericho missile.

TONY That's because it's a miniature ARK reactor. It should suspend the shrapnel in my chest and keep it from entering my heart.

YINSEN But what could it generate?

TONY If my math is right, and it always is, three gigajoules per second.

YINSEN That could run your heart for 50 life times.

TONY Yeah, or something big for 15 minutes.

"Did you even test it!?" Scott asked

"No time, besides technically this was a test."

"On yourself."

"No better way to know if it works."

"And if you die?"

"I haven't yet."

"Your crazy."

The billionaire lays down a pile of papers, turning the light on next to them. Yinsen shuffles through some of them before setting them back down.

TONY This is our ticket out of here

YINSEN What is it?

TONY Flatten them out and look.

YINSEN Oh, wow. Impressive.

"The first Iron Man!" Scott looked cheesed the others stared at his excitement and the man cleared his throat and tried to play it off like nothing happened.