Tony was unable to rest, and due to his constant attempts to get up, Dr. Conner finally gave up and helped him out of his bed and out of the taped-off area.
What greeting Tony was a grim site. They were inside what looked like a rocky cave. Boxes were piled around, and everything was dirty.
Sitting down at yet another hospital bed with the help of Conner, Tony looked around in despair. "What is all this?" He asked, trying to distract himself from reality with some form of conversation.
"This is our prison, and most of my stuff, at least the new-looking boxes. The other stuff is some scrabs left by our hosts." Conner explained.
"And this? What is this? What did you do to me?" He asked, tapping the thing on his chest.
"That is Yinsen's work. It is not elegant and very dangerous, given the risk of infection, but it works." The man, identified as Conner, said and gave the last person a name.
"What I did was save your life, that is a makeshift electromagnet connected to a car battery. It's keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart and killing you." Yinsen said as he turned back from one of the boxes.
Yinsen then explained what he had done and why he had done so. Letting Tony see a small bottle with tiny pieces of metal that had once been inside him.
However, before Tony could say more, there was some loud knocking on the large metal doors, and both Yinsen and Conner quickly got up while Yinsen screamed at Tony to do as he did.
What followed was that Tony knew why he was here: to learn what they wanted him to make, his newest weapon. When he refused, he suffered for it.
After torture and being shown the horror that was seeing his weapons, ones made for peace in the hands of monsters and murders, he was once again back in his cell with only Yinsen and Conner for company.
The ordeal left Tony Stark with a new perspective, not just on his situation, but on his life's work. The realization that his inventions, designed under the guise of peacekeeping, were being used for terror and oppression was a bitter pill to swallow. Lying back on the bed, the physical pain from the torture was nothing compared to the torment in his mind.
"They won't take no for an answer, the torture, they will continue with it. Then they will make us patch you back together so you can take more. They won't stop until you break." Conner said after some time in silence.
"Even if I do as they ask, they won't spare us, not to mention I will die in a week anyway." Tony said, his voice devoid of hope.
"Then you have a very important week, don't you Stark." Yinsen's voice came. "Or are you going to let this be your legacy? For your inventions to be used by these murders?"
Yinsen's words struck a chord deep within Tony, igniting a spark that had been dampened by despair and physical agony. Despite the bleakness of their situation, Yinsen's challenge resonated with a part of Tony that refused to succumb to the darkness. It was a call to action, a reminder of who he was and who he could still become.
"You're right," Tony said, his voice firmer now, the spark of determination in his eyes. "My legacy won't end here, not like this."
Conner watched silently from the shadows. He was happy with the role of an observer for this important event that would forever change the nature of Tony Stark. The moment that would bring profound changes to the world itself. He stood by, watching, and grinned.
With a plan in mind, Tony changed from the down-beaten captive back to his normal self. He quickly ordered his captures around and had a grand workshop built, or as grand as it could become, in a cave with little more than scraps.
With the workshop being built, Tony took the chance to look through some of the boxes that took up space in the room. Finding them full of all kinds of medical equipment, practically everything needed for a hospital.
"This is all yours, Conner?" he couldn't help but ask the good doctor.
"Well, it belongs to the company I work for—a think tank named A.I.M. We are working on some truly ground-breaking stuff in the medical sector. I was sent here to find someone willing to test out equipment and drugs."
Tony couldn't say he had heard about them before, but he was thankful that they had this stuff; without it, they might have had to sleep on the stone floor, or he might have died from an infection from the open chest operation done in a dirty cave.
And with what he had planned, he would need another round of open chest surgery soon, so he was very happy that they had this stuff. Even if he didn't want to think about the human cost of it being here.
Surely, Conner hadn't just been going around with all this on his own. He must have had a team at some point, though only Conner was important enough to be kept alive. A skilled doctor wasn't common in this part of the world, much less for a terrorist.
The thought of needing another open chest surgery was daunting, but the arc reactor's development and integration were crucial. Tony understood that to survive and escape, he would have to take significant risks.
The makeshift electromagnet was a temporary solution, a ticking clock reminding him of the urgency of their situation. The arc reactor was the key to his survival and the cornerstone of his plan to become more than just another casualty of his weapons.
Bit by bit, Tony showed his true brilliance as he turned scrap into a true marvel of technology. By breaking down his own weapons for some high-grade metal and some Palladium as the reactive element, he did something his father had considered impossible and made a miniature Arc reactor.
He also took the opportunity to use some of the stuff looted from Conner to remake the more internal bits of the magnet mount on his chest. Reducing the future risk of complications or infections.
Conner, being the best doctor between him and Yinsen, took the reins of his operation, replaced the internal parts with the new ones, and then slotted the Arc reactor into place.
As Conner worked with meticulous care to install the new arc reactor, the tension in the cave was palpable. Tony lay on an improvised operating table, a stark contrast to the high-tech environments he was accustomed to, yet he felt a surge of hope. This operation was not just about survival; it was a pivotal moment that symbolized his rebirth.
As Conner finished integrating the arc reactor, he stepped back, allowing Tony to slowly sit up and examine his chest. The glow of the reactor shone through his shirt, a vivid reminder of his ingenuity and will to survive. It was more than a power source; it was a beacon of hope, lighting up the darkness of the cave.
"Alright, Stark," Conner said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. "The new reactor is in place. How do you feel?"
Tony tested the feel of the reactor, feeling the steady hum of energy coursing through it. "Like I could take on the world," he responded with a half-smile, despite the lingering pain.
Yinsen nodded approvingly. "That is good Tony, because you will still have to take care of everyone out there if you wish to survive." He reminded him.
Tony just smiled, hearing Yinsen's warning. He already had something in mind to allow himself just that. "Already working on it. Come here, both of you, and see what I'm planning." With both of them beside him and blocking the camera's view, he overlayed the plans he had made, and once that was done, it showed a crude robotic armor design.
"This reactor produces an enormous amount of energy, far more then is needed for the new magnet, so I was planning to use it to fuel this." He explained as the other two inspected his design.
"This could work, Tony," Yinsen said after a moment, his voice carrying a mix of awe and apprehension. "But it's going to require precision we might struggle to achieve here. Every joint, every servo motor has to be perfect."
Conner, who had been silent, now spoke up, his tone pragmatic. "And let's not forget the risk. If anyone catches on to what we're really doing here..." His voice trailed off, leaving the threat unspoken but clearly understood among them.
Tony nodded, fully aware of the dangers. "I know, but we don't have much choice. If we're going to get out of here, we need every advantage we can get. And this suit," he gestured to the design, "is our best shot."
However, it didn't take long before their captures expressed their displeasure over the fact that they had made something other than the missile they had so kindly requested Tony make.
Thankfully, Yinsen was able to talk them down; even these brutes understood that he couldn't work if he was dead, and this new thing they had made would allow him to live and work.
That began months of intense work, as they all put everything into making Tony's idea a reality while trying to hide it from the guards.
In particular, Yinsen and Tony did most of the heavy lifting, as they had the most relevant experience and expertise in the fields needed. Conner did, however, help. For one, he insisted on turning some of the treated glass he had into protections for the mask's eyeholes rather than leaving them empty as Tony would have done.
Yinsen and Conner's contributions became invaluable as they hustled through the tight constraints, working within the confines of the cave to turn Tony's vision into a tangible reality. The months of labor were grueling, with each member of the trio pulling their weight in different, critical ways.
While Yinsen handled the mechanical assembly with Tony, ensuring the suit's components were precisely calibrated, Conner's medical expertise became crucial in ensuring the suit's human interface components were safe and would not exacerbate Tony's condition.
However, their work wasn't without extra challenges other than trying to make marvels in a cave. No, their hosts quickly noticed that something didn't look right with their work. And so Tony and the others once again found themselves having to stand with their hands above their heads as they listened to the terrorist leader.
"The bow and arrow, once was the pinnacle of weapons technology." He started as he looked at the soft glow of Tony's arc reactor.
"It allowed the great Genghis Khan to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine. An empire twice the size of Alexandre the Great and four times the size of the Roman Empire." He continued dramatically.
"But today, whoever holds the latest Stark weapons, rules these lands." He said while looking at the weapon plans. Making all three nervous that he might notice that they were working on a suit of armor rather than his missiles.
"And soon, it will be my turn." He said as his tone became colder and more serious. Then, he began staring deeply at Tony Stark from up close, making everyone nervous about what he might do.
He then turned to Yinsen and started to talk in a language neither Star nor Conners understood.
However, it became clear that he was up to no good when he had his men force Yinsen to his knees and removed some red-hot coal from the furnace.
Tony could stand watching what was happening without truly knowing it due to not understanding what was being said and quickly asked. "What is he saying?"
He got no answer as the situation quickly started to escalate towards something that none of them wanted to happen; Tony tried to step forward and defuse the situation. "What does he want? A delivery date?"
The other terrorists weren't very happy with that and quickly moved up a step as they pointed their guns at him.
Stopping, Tony summoned up his courage. "I need him… good assistant."
That seemed to stop things for now. "You have until tomorrow," the terrorist leader said, looking at both Tony and Conner before walking out of the room. His ultimatum was heavy in the air.
A/N
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