Hill's gaze lingered on Tony's armor for another two seconds. She kept her voice as calm as she could. "Your body... has it completely recovered?"
Tony's jaw tightened beneath his faceplate, then quickly relaxed. "Helen Cho's Regeneration Cradle had some professional standards, at least. The gene-sequence correction started off in the wrong direction, but the basic framework was sound. After a few rounds of adjustments, I'm completely a man again."
"Are you sure you're completely back?" Hawkeye added quietly.
Tony spun around. The arcs over his faceplate's eyes flared to full brightness. "Clint, if you bring that up again, I'm replacing every bowstring in your house with rubber bands when this mission's over."
Steve raised a hand between them at just the right moment and changed the subject. "Hill, are you sure we'll help by going there instead of getting in the way?"
Hill looked back at the screen. Yongye had vanished from the edge of the wheat field. All that remained was ground gouged by the battle's aftermath and two dark-red wrecks scattered among the stalks.
"Tactically, we might not be any help. But politically..."
"The head of the Eye Society just showed the whole world how firm his position is and what he can do. As the Avengers Alliance, we need to at least be seen helping."
Tony snorted. "Political optics? Fine. I wasn't looking forward to sitting on the ground watching a broadcast anyway."
Steve nodded. "Then we'll go to Metropolis. Keep a safe distance and wait for an opening."
Hill turned and tapped a few controls. The Quinjet adjusted course slightly, and the engines' low hum rose half an octave. On the tactical display beside the cabin, the Metropolis skyline slowly emerged from the distant horizon.
Tony stepped up to the console and stared at the