James Rhodes

Malibu Mansion, private workshop, evening.

Tony Stark leaned back in his chair, his legs propped on the worktable. He held a tablet in his hand, its screen displaying the design schematics for Mark Three. The Arc Reactor's blue glow shone through his black T-shirt, forming a circular halo over his chest.

"Adjust the curvature of the chestplate's flow channel by another half degree." His finger swiped across the screen.

"Calculating, sir." JARVIS's voice came from the ceiling.

Pepper Potts stood beside him, holding a tablet of her own. She wore a light gray knit sweater, her blonde hair draped loosely over her shoulders, making her seem much softer than she did at the office.

"...Next Tuesday's board meeting. Obadiah wants you to attend in person." Pepper scrolled through the schedule on her screen. "Also, the Senate Armed Services Committee conference call at ten Wednesday morning. Friday..."

"Mm." Tony did not even look up.

Pepper glanced at him and kept scrolling. "Saturday night, the United States Air Force Academy banquet. Colonel Rhodes called personally and said he hoped you would go."

Tony's finger paused.

"Rhodey?"

"Yes. He said, 'Don't stand me up again this time.'"

The corner of Tony's mouth twitched, but he said nothing.

Pepper sighed, shut off her tablet, and looked around the lab. The shelves held all sorts of things—bolts from Mark One, several scrapped circuit boards, and a turbine blade taken from who knew where. In the very center sat a transparent glass display case containing an old Arc Reactor. A line of small words had been engraved on its silver metal ring:

"Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart"

It was the gift she had given Tony a few days ago. At the time, Tony had said, "Put it on the shelf and don't let it get in my way," but now it occupied the very center, sitting among all those broken parts in unexpected harmony.

Pepper looked at the display case, the corner of her lips lifting slightly, but she said nothing.

Steady, forceful footsteps sounded on the stairs, each step deliberately planted hard, as if someone had come to demand an explanation.

Colonel Rhodes appeared at the top of the stairs.

He wore a dark blue Air Force dress uniform. The silver stars on his epaulets gleamed beneath the lab's cold white lights. The medals on his chest were arranged perfectly, his collar buttoned tight, his tie immaculate, as if he were attending an important meeting—or something equally formal.

Rhodey was tall and upright, broad through the shoulders and back, his uniform stretched into crisp lines over his frame. His features were proper, his forehead broad, and his eyes gentle yet carrying a soldier's sharpness. His short black hair was neatly trimmed, and his sideburns were clean and precise.

With a thud, he set the trophy in his hand on the worktable. The base was engraved with the name of some academic institution and the date of the award ceremony. Then he planted his hands on his hips and glared at Tony.

"Tony Stark." His voice was low and steady, but when he complained, the end of it rose slightly, like an old father scolding a disobedient son. "Do you know what day it is?"

Tony did not look up. "Crazy Thursday?"

"It's award ceremony day!" Rhodey shoved the trophy toward Tony. "The Harvard Business School Technology Innovation Award. You didn't show up. Again. You didn't go to the last MIT award either. Or the one before that..."

"Stop." Tony finally looked up. "Me being there would put pressure on the organizers. They'd have to prepare a bigger stage."

Rhodey took a deep breath.

"You know, Tony," Rhodey said, weariness in his voice, "I sat through that ceremony for three hours! Three hours! That gray-haired old man beside me asked every five minutes, 'When is Mr. Stark coming?' I kept saying, 'Soon, soon,' more than thirty times. By the end, even I didn't believe it."

Pepper walked over and patted Rhodey on the shoulder.

"That's just who he is," Pepper said helplessly. "How many years have you known him?"

"Too many." Rhodey shook his head, his gaze leaving Pepper's face as he began looking around the lab.

His eyes swept over Tony, who was busy doing his own thing, and the cluttered tools on the worktable before stopping at the shelf.

That glass display case.

Rhodey walked over and leaned in for a closer look. The old core inside the glass box glimmered silver under the lights, and the inscription on the base was clearly visible. He narrowed his eyes and read it aloud:

"Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart."

After reading it, he fell silent for a second.

Then he turned his head, looked at Pepper, then at Tony, and the corner of his mouth slowly curled upward, as though he had seen through everything.

"So," Rhodey said, "you two—"

"No." Pepper denied it immediately, so fast it was practically a reflex.

Rhodey raised both hands, his innocent expression entirely unconvincing. "I didn't say anything."

Pepper shot him a glare and picked up her tablet, pretending to continue checking the schedule. Tony rolled his eyes and lowered his head toward the screen again.

Rhodey chuckled, crossing his arms. His gaze moved away from Pepper and swept around the lab again.

"Oh, right," he suddenly said. "Where's that friend of yours? Chen Xiao?"

Tony's finger stopped on the screen.

Just as he was about to answer, a faint crackle suddenly came from a corner of the lab.

It was like a needlepoint-sized spark of electricity bursting in the air. The sound was not loud, but in the quiet lab, it was exceptionally clear.

Tony's ear twitched. He put down the tablet and turned to look.

A flicker of blue electricity flashed in the open space. The point of light rapidly expanded, becoming a circular blue halo with arcs of electricity dancing around its edges. The arcs sizzled along its frame like some kind of torn-open rift.

Tony stared at the portal, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. Then he turned to Rhodey.

"Speak of the devil." Tony pushed off the worktable with both feet, spinning his chair one hundred and eighty degrees until he faced the portal directly.

Rhodey froze for a moment. Following Tony's gaze toward the portal, his eyes immediately widened.

A young man in a dark gray casual suit jacket, a white crew-neck T-shirt, dark casual trousers, and dark brown Oxford shoes stepped leisurely out of the portal. He had clearly tidied himself up, though not too seriously. Holding a document in one hand, he tossed it to Pepper. "Here. The supply contract from last time. I brought it over while I was at it."

The portal closed behind him, the arcs dissipating and leaving a faint scent of ozone in the air.

Chen Xiao turned and immediately saw Rhodey staring at him.

More accurately, Rhodey was staring at the spot behind him where the now-closed portal had once been.

"Good evening," Chen Xiao said.

Rhodey did not answer. He raised a hand and pointed in that direction, turned to look at Tony, then turned back to Chen Xiao.

"Wait, wait, wait..." Rhodey's voice rose half a pitch. "What was that blue circle?"

Tony kept a straight face. "A door."

"What kind of door?"

"A portal."

Rhodey's gaze shifted back and forth between Tony and Chen Xiao.

"You've been hiding this pretty well. So is that some secret technology of yours?" Rhodey looked at Tony.

"No."

Rhodey looked at Chen Xiao again. "Yours?"

Chen Xiao nodded.

Rhodey took a deep breath, then shamelessly reached out and threw an arm firmly around Chen Xiao's shoulders.

"I want one too," Rhodey said. "Set me up with one, will you?"

Chen Xiao paused. "What do you need a portal for?"

Rhodey answered solemnly, "No traffic on my commute."

The lab fell silent for a second.

Tony rolled his eyes. Pepper laughed beside him.

Chen Xiao laughed too, picking up the trophy on the table and turning it over in his hands. "Harvard Business School Technology Innovation Award? You accepted it for him?"

Rhodey's expression instantly changed from I've discovered a new continent to You understand my pain.

"You have no idea," Rhodey said, leaning against the table's edge with his arms crossed. "At that ceremony, there was this old professor beside me who asked every five minutes, 'When is Mr. Stark coming?' I said, 'Soon, soon,' more than thirty times."

"Same thing," Chen Xiao said. "Last time he invited me to dinner, I brought Coke. He said, 'Funny, I brought some too.' Made me look like a clown."

Rhodey paused, then burst out laughing. "That was only once for you. I've been accepting awards for him for four years. Four years."

Tony sat in his chair, staring stiffly at the two of them—one in a crisp military uniform, the other in a suit—standing in his lab and mocking him right to his face.

"You two," Tony said, putting down his tablet. "Are you done?"

"No," Rhodey and Chen Xiao said in unison.

Pepper watched the scene with a faint smile. "Come on, we can eat now. We can talk while we eat." She put down her tablet and headed toward the stairs.

Chen Xiao nodded and gave Rhodey's shoulder a firm pat. "Fine. Want to have dinner together this weekend? You buy hot pot, and I'll buy you drinks. Tibetan barley wine."

Rhodey raised an eyebrow. "You've been to Tibet too?"

"A friend brought it."

Rhodey chuckled and did not press further.

The four of them went upstairs to eat.

Several white takeout boxes sat on the dining table—Kung Pao chicken, mapo tofu, spring rolls, and fried rice. Rhodey pulled out a chair and sat down. Chen Xiao sat beside him, Tony sat across from them, and Pepper sat next to Tony.

Chopsticks rose and fell, and the takeout boxes were soon emptied.

Halfway through the meal, Rhodey suddenly put down his chopsticks and looked at Tony.

"Tony."

"Yeah?"

"At the next award ceremony, are you going?"

Tony thought for a moment. "Depends on my mood."

Rhodey took a deep breath and raised his cup of Coke, taking a huge gulp. Then he turned to Chen Xiao.

"Chen Xiao," Rhodey said, "don't hang around with him anymore. Hang around with me. At least I won't stand you up."

Chen Xiao smiled. "Sure. I'll hang around with you if you buy me food."

"Deal."

Tony rolled his eyes beside them, but he could not suppress the corner of his mouth.

Pepper looked at the three men: one sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, one full of complaints, and one seemingly unserious but incredibly reliable.

"You three," she said, "don't you look like a family?"

Rhodey looked at Tony, Tony looked at Chen Xiao, and Chen Xiao looked at Rhodey.

"Not at all," all three said in unison.

Pepper smiled and shook her head, continuing her meal.

The lab was empty.

Only JARVIS ran quietly in the background.

*[System Log - 23:47:03]*

The server detected an unauthorized access attempt.

Source IP: Stark Industries internal network

Terminal ID: STANE-O-16*

Target: Medical prosthetics database

Access level: Unauthorized escalation

Automatically blocked.

Access trail recorded.

Intruder technical proficiency assessment: Low-level.

No security alerts triggered.

Threat level: None.

Log stored.

The cursor on the screen blinked twice, then returned to stillness.