A Different Path

Afghanistan (Part 1)

It's been two months since the board meeting that got the ball rolling for change.

Tony was giving Obadiah constant outlines and forms to look at. They effected nothing without a real push, just random weapons that Tony knew would never happen.

It had been Pepper doing it, but Tony stopped that after the third time, when Obadiah yelled at her. He didn't want her near him, in case he did something.

"But what about you, Tony?" Pepper had asked when Tony said he was going to take up the job.

"I'll be fine. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I can take care of myself."

"I know you can."

But Obadiah had soon grown bored with the forms. To keep him from getting suspicious, Tony pitched for he himself to go to Afghanistan to present new specs for security defense.

The man tried to push for him to show off the new Jericho missile design, but Tony had insisted it wasn't ready. This increased Stane's annoyance with him, but he didn't say anything more besides a terse dismissal.

"Yo, Tone," Rhodey said from his spot on the couch of Tony's private jet.

"Yeah?" The genius asked, swiping through the defense schematics again on his phone.

"Is there something going on? You aren't acting.... like usual."

Tony glanced up. "What do you mean?"

"You have stopped partying and drinking. You aren't doing a weapons demonstration. The board seems to like you a lot more now. You're showing up to public events and award ceremonies."

"Is that a bad thing? Me changing?" Tony asked defensively.

"No," Rhodey said with finality, "I like this you."

"Really?"

Rhodey's mouth tilted up. "You act more like you did in our first two years of MIT, unharmfully mischievous, always doing the best of the best on your projects."

Tony stayed quiet, letting his brother talk.

"There was always something different about you when you made weapons. Yeah, you presented them like the showman you are but it was always empty. It wasn't like when you talked about the bots or Jarvis."

Jarvis was Tony's youngest AI son. He started coding him when he was sixteen, but life got in the way and he wasn't finished until a year ago. He was learning quickly and Tony was so proud of him.

Did it really show in his speech? Tony loved his AIs. He really did, no doubt about it.

"I don't want to make weapons anymore, Rhodey," he whispered. "Pepper and I.... we have a plan. Showing up to everything, it's all about getting SI on my side."

After a beat of silence, he said, "I'm not suprised Pepper is part of this plan."

"She's the brains of it all, I'm just doing what she says to do."

"I'm with you all the way, Tony. Whatever you wanna do, I'm behind you."

Tony smiled softly. "Thanks, Rhodey."

"Welcome, baby bro," the other man said, moving to sit right beside him. "Also, going back to Pepper and you...."

"What?" Tony asked, confused.

"Man, are you oblivious? When are you going to ask her out?"

"Woah, where'd that come from?" Tony said, trying to ignore the fact that he had thought about asking Pepper out numerous times.

His best friend punched him in the shoulder lightly. "Quit pretending."

"Okay, okay, yeah, it has crossed my mind. But Rhodey-"

"It's so obvious. You two dance around each other so much."

"No! Well, maybe. But what if she doesn't actually have feelings for me? And what about the dynamic? I'm her boss!"

"Pepper matches your abilities almost exactly, Tony. You both work so fluently together, you're a team! A... power couple! Pepperony!"

Tony blinked owlishly. "Pepperoni? A pizza topping?"

"Pepperoni with a 'y' instead of an 'i'. Your names combined into, what's it called? A ship?"

Tony flopped back with a huffed laugh. "We aren't together."

"Yet. You aren't together yet."

Tony chuckled, but soon turned serious. "Seriously, Rhodey, something is going on in SI that I don't know about."

Now it was Rhodey's turn to be confused. "What do you mean?"

"Obadiah is controlling. He wants me to party. He wants me to be oblivious to the company. I show up at a board meeting and he is trying to steer me out of it or make the topics mostly unimportant. Something is going on, Rhodey, and I don't like it."

"What do you want me to do? Just say whatever you need and I'll get it."

"I need dirt on him. What I want you to do it spy on him."

"Spy kids?" Rhodey asked with tey humor, body screaming determination.

"More like spy adults," Tony snarled, "but yes."

He nodded. "I'll do it."

"Thank you."

"Anything for you, Tony."

Tony's presentation goes flawlessly. He shows off huge holograms and speaks with ease. Rhodey smiled at him constantly from the back of the room.

At the end of it, everyone clapped.

"That went well." Rhodey said as Tony got into the humvee.

"Smooth as butter," the genius replied.

"See you back at base?"

"Yeppers."

He didn't see Rhodey back at base. Tony never made it back to base.

Instead, he ended up with a bomb to the chest and captured by the Ten Rings, his only friend being the doctor who did surgery on him.

After all the torture, Yinsen inspired Tony to come up with a plan.