A terrorist propaganda video was playing on the television.
The man known as The Mandarin was admitting to carrying out bomb attacks on the United States in a slickly shot propaganda video.
"I think he's professionally trained," John said, watching the terrorist declaration with appreciation and nodding approvingly. "Look at that camerawork. So professional."
Tony fell into thought at that. That was what he was focusing on?
Shouldn't the focus be on the terrorist out there wreaking havoc?
"For the past week, every day I've closed my eyes, then woken up less than an hour later."
The two sat in Tony's underground laboratory, with John eating strawberries.
Perhaps it was because John was someone he could just about call a friend, or perhaps their journey into the boundless universe together made Tony think he could help.
Tony buried his face in his hands and rubbed it hard. "Some nightmares have been haunting me."
"I don't know. Maybe someday a hole will open in the sky, and aliens will come pouring through." Tony pulled his hands away from his face, a trace of exhaustion lurking in his eyes.
"Do you have anxiety?" John took a bite of a strawberry. Hmm, JARVIS really is handy. He can even wash fruit.
He said casually, "You just blew an entire alien stronghold to pieces and killed hundreds of thousands of aliens."
"If anyone should be scared, it's them. You're a cold-blooded, merciless executioner, the world-ending calamity that wiped out the Chitauri. You could go down in Chitauri history as their cruelest demon, the one they use to scare crying children into silence."
Tony: "..." Is he complimenting me? Not sure. Better keep listening.
John's way of giving compliments briefly made Tony feel like an utterly irredeemable villain.
While they had their heart-to-heart in the