Tony gripped the handle of the door at Johnny's inquisitive stare. It annoyed him that Johnny was so laidback yet hid the side of him that was observant. When he was able to pick things out of people without trying, Tony saw the connection between him and Sue. She was too observant and interrogative for her own good. Johnny exhibited the the same trait when he saw fit, making it unexpected and easier to read people's secrets. Although Tony would call them alterations of the truth, he didn't like being read.
'Stark, if you've done something to her, I swear-'
'I haven't done anything,' Tony bit back. 'She stayed at my house last night. We played uno and watched a chic-flick.'
'Is that supposed to be slang for something?'
Tony left Johnny's room and stayed in Happy's for the rest of the night. He had half a mind to go back and apologise to the man who saved Happy. Whatever exploded would have left nothing but a Happy-shadow if Johnny wasn't there to take the heat. But like most things, Tony's pride wouldn't let him.
Sue rushed into the room when morning was well into its duration. Tony ripped his blank stare from Happy's bed and stood to his feet. The woman looked at Happy and parted her lips at the state he was in. The swollen eyes, red welts, burns, everything was raw and bleeding. Sue hung the jacket she held over the end of Happy's bed, walking to stop next to Tony.
'Why didn't you wake me up?' her voice was small, her eyes not leaving Happy.
'After last night, I thought you deserved a bit of peace...' Tony slipped his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. He gave Sue a strained smile and Sue returned one. It reassured him that she wasn't thinking too much about last night. He took advantage of this and slid his forefinger into the space between hers and her middle finger. He then laced the rest and edged her to be against his side.
'Johnny's okay. Still insufferable,' he said, his hand squeezing her delicate one. 'He took most of the hit.'
Johnny was asleep when Sue went to see him. Tony waited outside and said they would go home for now. He had a lot of work to do now that The Mandarin made it personal. But they would be back for regular visits.
Sue held Johnny's hand that wasn't in the sling and sat with him for a few minutes. He wasn't too hurt and Sue was grateful for his firey abilities. But he was still at the location of a bombing, one that incinerated anyone in its radius. She looked over the bandage around his head and the sling holding his arm. The Mandarin found a way to involve both her and Johnny in his despicable acts, yet she wasn't sure why he and Happy were even at The Chinese Theatre. She was sure she would find out once Johnny woke up. For now, the anger towards the terrorist was seering in both Sue and Tony.
The reporters that sat around the entrance of the hospital was overwhelming. As Sue and Tony stepped out and descended to their parked cars, they were bombarded with microphones and cameras in their faces. Flashes filled Sue's sight and she kept her head down, following Tony's lead as he pushed his way through with his sunglasses over his eyes.
'Mr Stark! Mr Stark! Anything you can tell us about the recent Mandarin attack?!'
'Miss Storm! What's your brother's condition?! What do you have to say about the attack?!'
'Hey, Mr Stark! When is somebody gonna kill this guy?!'
Tony stopped at his car and turned around, making Sue do the same. She was about to make her way to her Audi that was parked behind Tony's sportscar, but she could see the hard glaze in Tony's eyes. He had ripped his sunglasses off his face and stared at the reporter who held his phone to record any quotes. The reporter looked smug at the fact that he was able to catch the superhero's attention, but he would soon regret it.
'Just sayin',' the reporter shrugged.
'Is that what you want? Here's a little Holiday greeting I've been wanting to send to the Mandarin, I just didn't know how to phrase it until now,' Tony spoke loudly to the group of reporters. 'My name is Tony Stark and I'm not afraid of you. I know you're a coward, so I've decided that you just died, pal. I'm gonna come get the body. There's no politics here; it's just good old-fashioned revenge. There's no Pentagon; it's just you and me. And on the off chance you're a man, here's my home address: 10-8-80, Malibu Point, 9-0-2-6-5. I'll leave the door unlocked.'
Rumbles ran through the hoard of reporters and Sue couldn't believe what she was hearing. Tony's pride and confidence had gotten the better of him once again. This time, it could get him and everyone around him killed. Whether it was his trauma or lack of sleep, Tony acted as if he was a god. And Sue wasn't sure if she could protect him this time. They were a team, of course, but no team can work if one puts them both in obvious danger just because of his ego.
'That's what you wanted, right?' Tony grabbed the phone out of the reporter's hand. He turned and threw it over the roof of his car, reporters ducking out of the way. The phone smashed and the reporter stood embarrassed and furious with Tony Stark.
'Bill me.'
Tony ducked into his car and screeched off to the main road. The reporters attempted to run after him to get more information and Sue took the distraction as an opportunity to get into her own car. She followed Tony out and came to the t-section that led out of the hospital. If she turned right, she would be on the way to Tony's house. If she turned left, she would be on her way home.
'He'll kill me one day,' Sue sighed to herself and turned right.
---
Pepper and Sue packed half of Tony's wardrobe. The two cleared out rails in the overtly large dressing room and zipped up duffle bags that contained everything the man, who only wore heavy metal band t-shirts, would need. Pepper was at the house when Sue came home and the two understood each other without saying barely anything.
'He's insane,' Pepper had said.
'He's unwell,' Sue agreed. 'I'll get JARVIS to get the plane ready.'
Sue carried three bags down the stairs while Pepper threw them down to the next level. Tony was in the workshop and Sue couldn't bring herself to suffer anymore stress by going down there. She assumed he was barricading the house and setting JARVIS up to release missiles if the alarm was sounded. She hoped he would be, at least.
The doorbell rang throughout the house and Sue thought she imagined it. She saw the press helicopters through the windows in the living room that hovered in the air. No one tried to climb the long driveway of the premises, but the sound of the doorbell made Sue think otherwise.
'Wait there,' Sue turned around and saw Tony in his suit. He climbed the stairs from the workshop and headed for the front door. She ignored his command and followed him, seeing a brown-haired woman standing outside. The glass that seperated the three opened and the woman stepped into the house.
'Right there's fine,' Tony stopped her, the helmet popping open to reveal his face. 'You're not The Mandarin, are you. Are you?'
'You don't remember. Why am I not surprised?' the woman laughed humourlessly.
Sue listened silently as the two spoke back and forth. She learnt that the woman was named Maya Hansen, the woman that hung off Tony at the New Year's science conference in Switzerland. Sue didn't want to seem awkward, so she walked to the living room and sat on the sofa. She could hear Pepper come down from upstairs and scold Tony for having guests when he threatened a terrorist on live TV.
'You are going out of town,' Pepper said to Tony while Maya was momentarily forgotten about.
'Okay, we've been through this-' Tony sighed and tried to argue.
'Yep!'
'The man says no.'
'The more time we spend here, the more danger you put everyone in the perimeter in.'
'Great! Let's go,' Maya spoke up and went to grab the bags to get them out the house.
Sue stood up from the sofa to intervene in the bickering. Pepper went on about how irresponsible Tony was for giving everyone his address, and Tony barely got a word in. He got to the point of replying with a simple 'yep' or an 'okay'. Pepper didn't notice and Sue turned to face the ocean that was strangely rough for the sunny day. Helicopters occasionally flew by, their cameras filming the house for any sign of Iron Man activity. She looked to the horizon and saw a dot appear, enlarging as it got closer. She squinted from the sun's glare and caught sight of the smoke that wafted behind the dot.
'Do we need to worry about that?' Maya's voice barely made it to Sue, but she whipped around when her fear was confirmed.
'GET DOWN-'
Sue was cut off as the missile hit the windows and exploded. The forcefield that only formed to half of its capacity was enough to cushion Sue's fall. She bounced off the pillar that was structured through all floors of the house and landed on the floor with a grunt. Debris from the ceiling and walls crumbled around her and covered her in dirt and soot.