Next morning, jhon and the others are on a runway somewhere, presumably a military air base. The reception committee for Stark looks fairly low-key, no press or anything like that around, just an ambulance, some soldiers and a small personal welcome wagon.
In terms of clothing, Pepper looks just as we last saw her: neat, professional, ordered. But her face is the opposite. She's traumatised looking, her hair messy and going over her face. She looks like she's been through hell, and jhon knows why. The last she saw of Tony involved him giving her an apparently thoughtful birthday present and a glib remark – she probably thought that was the last time she would ever have seen him until his unlikely escape. Beside her stood jhon in a black suit, and thier was a slight smile on his face. Even though jhon knew Tony would come back safe but seeing him in front of his eyes safe and sound made jhon indescribable happy.
Behind them, looking far more stoic and reserved than we have ever seen him so far, stands Happy Hogan, in front of the Rolls-Royce. It is a moment of the utmost seriousness it seems.
Tony who just came out of the plane, A medical gurney rolls up to him stopping him midway apparently to take him to hospital, and Tony's reaction is immediate:
"Are you kidding me with this? Get rid of them."
Rhodes silently turns the gurney away as Stark walks on, some of his previous dominance in the relationship partially restored by the act.
Pepper and jhon finally broke into a smile. Jhon was happy to see his brother back while pepper didn't quite believe Stark was alive and coming home until she actually saw him with her own eyes. Either way, it's a heart-warming moment, to see her so emotionally affected by her bosses return.
Coming in front of jhon , Tony didn't say a word. Just looked at jhon with some emotion in his eyes. It would be lie to say that tony wasn't afraid of all the stuff that happened to him but looking at jhon now he forgot all the pain and suffering he went through.
Tony hugged jhon the next moment while saying." I missed you brother"
" Missed you too brother, it's good to see you back."
Seperating from jhon, Tony, for his part, puts on a look of almost mock-seriousness in response, staring intently at Pepper's apparent waterworks.
"Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?"
"Tears of joy. I hate job hunting."
Their previous dynamic is almost instantly restored, some good natured quips and joking. Tony is willing to play light with the fact that he was practically dead and gone, and Pepper is willing to make her own glib remark about the whole thing as well. But Tony is still in a very serious place.
"Yeah, vacation's over."
He is strangely determined when he says these words. It's the start of this sequence's main idea, which is Tony's decisive turn against the weapons industry.
Tony, jhon, Pepper and Happy got into the car, and it takes only a few seconds for an argument to start.
"Where to, Sir?" Happy asked with some emotion in his eyes.
"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy." Pepper said without any hasitation. But Tony declined her request.
"No."
"No? Tony, you have to go to the hospital."
"No is a complete answer."
"The doctor has to look at you."
Seeing both of them like this , jhon suddenly intrupted thier argument and said.
" Well, brother where do you want to go first ? We will listen to you."
"I don't have to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger, and the other…"
"That's enough of that."
Pepper cuts him off immediately upon hearing the word "other", with a disdainful look on her face. She's well; aware, very much so, of Tony's lifestyle and interactions with women, but that doesn't mean she has to actually put up with talk about it – But that's not what Tony actually wants (yet):
"…is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now."
"Call for a press conference?"
"Yeah."
"What on earth for?"
But this time Pepper's question are not going to get answered. Tony turn his head and said to happy.
"Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."
Seeing that Tony said everything that had to be said jhon opened his mouth next.
" Brother, I made a breakthrough in my research."
Hearing this Tony was surprised because he knew all the research related to jhon would be mind-boggling.
" Oh can you talk about it."
" Not now , first finish with your work then we will talk at home."
Next moment pepper also chimed in. And told Tony how depressed jhon was all this time and always stayed in his lab all the time.
Hearing this Tony didn't know what to say. He felt happy that his brother care about him that much. And also felt de-stress that if anything would have happened to him than who could look after jhon. But if Tony knew that jhon wasn't worried in the least what would tony think.
****
After the car came to stop, Tony, jhon pepper and happy came out of the car. Happened to meet stane who was standing outside.
"Look at you! You had to have a Burger King, yeah? Well, come on. You get me one of those?"
"There's only one left. I need it."
Tony said without looking at stane. And went inside. where a bigger, more congested crowd of people – employees, security and journalists it would seem – await. More cheering, applause, now with the flash of cameras and the roaring of questions added. Stane accompanies Stark through the throng. Behind, Pepper and jhon stays back and breathes a very interesting sigh of relief.
Pepper and jhon only had a brief second to enjoy this moment when they were approached by a stiff looking figure, a tiny bit shorter than jhon and looking almost animatronic in his movements. With the nice suit and the neat hair, we can infer before he says anything that he might be from an official organisation.
And jhon immediately knew who this person was because this person looks the same as in the movie. And not him but Tony, pepper or happy. They all looks the same so jhon wasn't surprised anymore.
"Can I speak to you for a moment?"
"I'm not part of the press conference, but it's about to begin right now." Pepper said without change in her expression.
"I'm not a reporter. I'm Agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."
"That's quite a mouthful." Jhon said on the side
" I know. We're working on it." Coulson replied without any embresement in his voice.