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A group of soldiers rushed over the moment the helicopter touched down, rifles raised, the front man flipped up his visor, and Jimmy immediately recognized him.
If his eyes were not lying, that was James Rhodes.
"Care to introduce me to your new party friend?" Rhodes said with a grin. "Next time you throw a party like this, maybe invite me."
Rhodes pulled Tony into a tight hug.
"Alright," Tony said, still weak but smiling, "let me do the introductions, I always thought you preferred women."
He turned slightly. "Jimmy, this is James Rhodes, an actual soldier."
"Rhodes," he continued, "this is Jimmy, Jimmy Halstead."
Then Tony's tone shifted. "Do you have a doctor, my friend Yinsen needs medical attention immediately."
"Nice to meet you, Mr Rhodes," Jimmy said.
"Nice to meet you," Rhodes replied.
Jimmy lifted Yinsen onto his back and followed them toward the helicopter.
The medics moved fast, water, injections, vitals, working efficiently.
Jimmy, meanwhile, shocked everyone by eating enough food for eleven people in one sitting, if Tony had not stopped him, he probably would have kept going.
Even after all that, Jimmy's stomach barely looked full.
Tony stared.
So did the soldiers.
After draining two large canteens of water, Jimmy finally felt human again.
Tony fell asleep almost immediately.
Jimmy glanced around the cabin, leaned back against his seat, and passed out just as quickly.
Noise was not a problem.
Anyone who complained about noise simply was not tired enough.
After days of constant tension and exhaustion, sleep came instantly.
The cabin was quieter than it looked anyway.
The helicopter jolted.
Jimmy snapped awake, fist clenched, instincts flaring, three claw tips nearly breaking skin before he forced them back down.
He exhaled slowly.
---
They arrived at a base.
Not just a base, more like a small town.
There was a full military hospital, and even a bar.
Tony and Yinsen were taken straight to the hospital.
Jimmy was assigned to the barracks.
He turned on the shower and washed properly for the first time in days, then shaved off the beard that had grown wild, finally feeling refreshed.
When he stepped out, dressed in clean clothes they had prepared for him, all the scrap he had collected along the way was gone.
---
"Hello, are you Jimmy Halstead?"
Jimmy had just walked into the common room when two men in suits and dark sunglasses stood up from the couch.
"We are with an investigative agency, and we need to ask you a few questions."
Jimmy dried his hair slowly while studying them, folded the towel neatly, and placed it on the rack.
Only then did they really look at him.
He was large, broad-shouldered, but that face.
At most sixteen years old.
Possibly younger.
The two men exchanged a glance.
Questioning a minor was not ideal.
They did it all the time, worse things too, but never in the open.
And this kid had arrived with Tony Stark.
If Stark filed a complaint, not only they, but even their superiors might not survive it.
"What do you want to know," Jimmy said calmly.
"Did you meet Mr Stark along the way, or did you escape the cave together?"
"Together."
"Were you in the cave before Mr Stark arrived, or did you arrive after him?"
"After, I think."
"How did you get into the cave?"
"I do not know."
The two agents looked up at the same time.
"I really do not know."
"Alright," one of them said carefully, "then what is your identity, where are you from?"
"I do not know."
"You do not know that either," the other asked, clearly frustrated, "then at least tell us your age."
Jimmy paused.
The smiles on the two agents' faces slowly faded.
"Oh," Jimmy added calmly, "I hit the back of my head before all this, so I forgot a lot of things. What I remember is everything I already told you. You can ask Tony; he probably knows more than I do."
The two agents exchanged looks.
If they could ask Tony directly, they would not be sitting here questioning a teenager.
"Then why were you not examined at the hospital," one of them asked.
"Can a base hospital do full neurological scans," Jimmy replied.
The two agents paused.
That question sounded uncomfortably reasonable.
"Alright," one of them said, recovering, "if you remember anything else, contact us immediately, here is our information."
He handed Jimmy a business card.
"Okay," Jimmy replied.
As Jimmy walked them out, he added casually, "Oh, by the way, do you know where the cafeteria is? I'm kind of hungry."
A soldier standing guard nearby spoke up. "I will take you."
"Thanks."
Jimmy tossed his jacket over his shoulder and headed for the mess hall.
He ate with frightening efficiency, so fast and in such volume that even the cooks began to doubt themselves.
Is the food really that good?
They tasted it.
Same as always.
Maybe kids just had different tastes.
Jimmy had no idea he had just inspired professional self-reflection.
After eating, the same soldier guided Jimmy toward the hospital, where he wanted to check on Yinsen and Tony.
---
At the field hospital, after a brief exchange with the escort and a nod to the guards, Jimmy stepped inside.
---
Tony stood in a tailored suit, one arm wrapped in a cast, arguing loudly with Rhodes.
"No," Tony snapped, "you cannot restrict my freedom, I was trapped in that damn cave for three months."
"And those intelligence people, investigative people, whatever they are, tell them to stop asking me those stupid questions."
"They were not there when I was captured, but now they want to know how I escaped."
Rhodes raised both hands, trying to calm him down. "Tony, listen to me, we are not restricting you, we are protecting you, protecting."
"We still do not know who took you, or if they have people left in the area."
"Hey, Tony," Jimmy said as he walked in, "what happened to your arm? Is Yinsen alright?"
Tony turned at the sound of his voice, then froze.
"Oh," Tony blinked, "oh wow, who are you?"
Then his eyes widened.
"Wait, Jimmy."
"You are Jimmy."
He stared harder.
"A kid."
"Wow, I was about to invite you to one of my parties, but I guess that is off the table, you probably cannot drink yet."
He leaned closer, circling Jimmy.
"Let me guess, fifteen, maybe."
"Looks like you should be calling me uncle."
"Rhodes," Tony added immediately, "get me a satellite phone, I need to contact a middle school."
Jimmy shrugged. "I knew you would react like this, maybe I should not have shaved."
"And calling you uncle is not happening," he added, "you and I are both minors, why would I call you uncle?"
"Hey," Tony protested, "how am I a minor?"
"Unmarried people are minors," Jimmy replied seriously.
Tony stared.
"But I have had a lot of girlfriends," Tony said, then paused, realizing what he had just said, "Sorry, that topic might be a bit early for you."
Jimmy raised an eyebrow.
The argument was just getting started.
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