Above Stark Industries, Thursday afternoon

[heroic_jawline]

Steve was still sifting through the file photos of the Chinese Theater explosion when his phone rang. "Rogers," he said, sounding distracted.

"Click the link I'm sending you right now," Natasha said in his ear.

"Should I be worried?"

"Just watch it."

And that was why Tony was probably hearing some distinctly un-PG words coming out of Captain America's mouth as he watched his Tony threaten the Mandarin live on international television.

Comments

[imafuturist]

"...you okay?" Tony asked once he heard the sort of language that should probably have some &$@#% symbols in place of them.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve groaned. "You're an idiot. Other you. Sorry."

[imafuturist]

Okay, Tony could probably argue it, but only out of sheer contrariness.

"Any particular reason for that?" he asked, glancing past him to see if he could figure it out on his own.

[heroic_jawline]

"He just threatened a terrorist on live TV and gave his address out," Steve said, hiding his eyes with his hand.

[imafuturist]

"What."

No, seriously now.

"What?"

[heroic_jawline]

"Here," Steve said, handing him his phone.

[imafuturist]

Tony looked confused and concerned for the first few seconds as he watched the clip. Up until the mention of the Mandarin drained all that away to a chilly calm. "Of course he exists there."

[heroic_jawline]

"You know the Mandarin?" Steve replied, looking extremely focused.

[imafuturist]

"We've met," Tony said, faintly. "I put him in prison."

[heroic_jawline]

"In my version, he just blew up the Chinese Theater," Steve said.

[imafuturist]

"In Los Angeles?" Tony asked, trying to think of what sort of grudge he might have had against it. Other than the usual mayhem and destruction of those he felt needed it.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"How many of the rings does he have?"

[heroic_jawline]

"Rings?" Steve reached for the file while the news feed shifted to a livestream of Tony's Malibu home. "I don't remember anything about rings."

[imafuturist]

"He has or will have ten rings. They're... alien or extradimensional tech. I never had enough time to study them before the breakout happened," Tony said, tilting his head as he watched that strange Californian home.

[heroic_jawline]

"Huh," Steve said. "Maybe that's what's causing the explosions. They've burned incredibly hot."

[imafuturist]

"He also had a cult dedicated to him," Tony added helpfully. "Too scared to refuse him."

[heroic_jawline]

"That part seems about right," Steve said, pulling up the Mandarin's latest televised lesson. "Did he look like this?"

[imafuturist]

"...I suppose? In very broad strokes," Tony replied slowly.

[heroic_jawline]

"What's his organization like in your world?" Steve asked. "Maybe it'll give us some leads in mine."

[imafuturist]

"They're fanatics mostly," Tony said, taking a seat on the arm of the couch. "But he's smart. Dangerously smart. Last I heard he just disappeared into China and not a peep has been heard from him since. Which can't be good for anyone."

[heroic_jawline]

"Probably not," Steve agreed. "He's all about teaching us lessons, apparently."

He clicked the Mandarin's message aside just to watch a missile aimed at Tony's house. "Holy shit."

[imafuturist]

Tony tilted his head, only a little tightening of his mouth in response to that as he worked through the payload of that missile vs the integrity of the house and cliff side.

Because of course he was.

"Does he have an armory there?"

[heroic_jawline]

"He must," Steve said, scanning the building anxiously for the familiar flash of red and gold.

[imafuturist]

And of course someone would be just filming this for everyone to see. Tony gritted his teeth, trying to piggyback onto that signal to latch onto any unsecured systems near the house.

"Give out your damn address," he muttered. "Idiot."

[heroic_jawline]

Steve had gone entirely tense on the sofa as he watched, hating the all-to-familiar feeling of absolute helplessness. "You called out a terrorist, Tony," he muttered. "You had a plan, right?"

[imafuturist]

Well, he probably had a plan? Maybe? Tony usually had plans that went to shit and needed to be reworked all the time.

Tony put his hand on Steve's shoulder. "There," he said, pointing to a flash of gold that wasn't part of the explosion.