As soon as they got home, Lock and Tony were met by Pepper Potts.
The moment Pepper saw the blood trickling from Tony's mouth and nose, she let out a startled scream.
"Tony! Oh my God—what happened? Get him to a hospital!"
Tony waved her off weakly. "I'm fine. Just… stuck in this iron contraption and can't get out."
Pepper's eyes widened at the streaks of red on his face. "You're bleeding! How is that fine? You're not about to give me some funeral instructions, are you? I—" Her voice broke, and she covered her mouth, tears threatening to fall.
Lock sighed. Women could be dramatic. Natasha, at least, wouldn't scream every time something happened.
Without answering, Lock hefted Tony off the floor and strode straight into the underground lab. He set Tony down, leaving the rest to the robotic arms that immediately whirred to life.
With their help, Tony wriggled free of the armor and took a deep breath. "Pep, this is the guy I told you about—Lock. And this is my assistant and friend, Pepper Potts. Everyone calls her Pepper."
Pepper stepped forward, heels clicking on the floor. She was nearly eye level with Lock and extended a hand. "Thank you for saving Tony. Twice." Her gaze lingered, curiosity evident.
She knew what had happened in that cave. Tony trusted her completely and had never hidden his work from her, no matter how classified. Yet she still couldn't quite figure out Lock's motives.
"I'll be heading to the company for the next few days to take care of Tony's affairs," she said. "Why don't you stay here for a while, Mr. Lock? We haven't even begun to repay you."
Before Lock could respond, Tony leapt in. "No, no, no, no—Pep, I like peace. Lock, it's nothing personal."
Lock smirked. "I have a house to renovate. I can take a look at your designs while I'm here. Pepper, just find me a big room."
"No problem," she said promptly.
"Hey, hey—" Tony protested. "Do I even get a say in my own house? Fine, but don't put him too close to me. I like peace."
Pepper ignored him completely and assigned Lock the nearest guest room. She wasn't taking any chances with Tony's safety.
Lock didn't mind. Natasha hadn't answered his messages lately, and watching Tony build the Iron Man suit from the ground up wasn't a bad way to pass the time.
Tony buried himself in the lab, sometimes going an entire day without speaking as he calculated and designed. Lock dropped by a few times, only to find it monotonous. Movie montages left out just how tedious building a mech was.
Days later, Tony unveiled the completed Mark III armor. It was sleeker, lighter, and faster—titanium alloy instead of steel, frost-resistant, and far less prone to smashing through floors during landings. And now, it gleamed in a bold gold-and-red paint job.
To celebrate, Tony planned to attend a party. He invited Lock, who declined without hesitation. Cocktail parties weren't his scene.
At the event, a striking reporter cornered Tony, showing him photographs of Stark Industries weapons still being used to kill civilians—this time in the Middle Eastern town of Gulmira.
It hit Tony hard. He'd just shut down the weapons division, only to be slapped in the face with proof his tech was still in play.
He returned home in a grim mood and sought out Lock.
"Lock… Ho Yinsen's hometown—it's Gulmira, right?"
"Yes. And I'm guessing you just learned someone's been selling your weapons without authorization?"
Tony blinked. "You knew?"
"That's not the important part. The real question is—are you going to destroy them and save the civilians?"
Tony stared. "How the hell do you know what I was thinking?"
"It's not hard to guess," Lock said evenly. "What matters is your choice."
Tony exhaled sharply. "If I don't do something, I won't be able to live with myself."
He headed straight for the lab. The armor was still primitive by future standards—donning it required the assistance of mechanical arms, a slow, clunky process.
Minutes later, encased in gold and red, Tony stepped toward Lock. "Don't tell Pepper."
"You won't be able to hide it from her," Lock replied. "Go. If you run into trouble on the way back, call me."
Tony hesitated for a heartbeat, then blasted out the window into the night sky. The armor's thrusters roared, leaving behind a white sonic boom trail.
Lock wasn't worried. Against Gulmira's militants, Tony's suit was overwhelming. Tony demolished every Stark-built weapon in the area, eliminated the warlord's forces, and left their leader to the villagers. Whether they acted was a test of their courage.
They did.
But returning home proved trickier. U.S. radar caught the unidentified aircraft near the border, and two F-22 Raptors scrambled to intercept.
Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes—War Machine to be—was on duty. The aircraft's maneuvers looked suspiciously like Tony's. He called immediately.
"Tony, there's a humanoid target in our airspace. That's not you, is it?"
"How could it be? I'm taking a bath," Tony lied.
"Good. Because we're about to shoot it down."
A missile streaked toward Tony. He deployed flares, detonating them midair, but one Raptor got behind him and opened fire. Bullets sparked off the armor's back plating.
Thinking fast, Tony braked hard, using drag to drop beneath the fighter's belly, but he couldn't hide for long.
In the original timeline, Tony would have called Rhodes for help. This time, he called Lock.
"You psychic or something? How did you know I'd run into trouble?"
Lock chuckled. "Let me guess—two F-22s, and you can't shake them?"
"You nailed it. Come get me before I die for the third time."
"Hold on. Let me see what I've got lying around here…"
Lock glanced around the hall, spotted two antique medieval spears on display, and leapt toward the border.
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A/N: New Fanfic Is Out "Luffy Asked Me To Join His Crew!!!"
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