Constant

During the trip, Tony got to know Alan a little better. Apparently the boy had no self-identifying documents and he(Alan) slightly hinted that a little help would be welcomed.

Tony agreed to help because at the moment he was desperate himself. One more ally by his side wasn't extra.

Although he was wondering 'who is this abnormally tough guy sitting next to him?', he couldn't find out anything cause Alan claimed that he is just a guy from Rose Hill.

After a while they came to a news van and met a Tony's fan who was more than happy to help them. And then they watched the video where Extremis was tested on injured people.

Eventually Tony came to a conclusion that Mandarin bought Extremis from Aldrich Killian.

"Maybe they work together?" Alan suggested.

Tony looked at him disapprovingly.

"Just saying." Alan shrugged "Better safe than sorry." It seems hard to change the 'flow' that Pot mentioned.

Soon after, they found out exactly where Mandarin was. Tony decided to buy some equipment to break into the mansion.

"Erm, it's really unnecessary. I can handle the 'break into' part myself"

"Better safe than sorry." Tony winked.

Sigh...

"Sure"

~~~~

They arrived to a relatively big mansion guarded by about 10 people.

Tony was fully-equipped with his electro-glove, self-made pistol, another electro shocker and etc.

Tony cautiously approached the stairs and began to fire on one guy and then knocked out another one using his glove. Looking around, he saw that the remaining 8 were successfully knocked down by Alan.

Alan folded his hands as if saying 'I told you' to which Tony rolled his eyes.

They stealthily sneaked into the mansion trying not to attract attention of the inner guards. Afterwards, Alan cleared every room except bedroom and basement.

They hid behind the bed hearing someone talking. The voice certainly belonged to Mandarin which made Tony confused.

"Did you know that fortune cookies aren't even Chinese?" Mandarin chuckled.

"There are two guys over here" A woman lying on a bed said. But Mandarin didn't bother to listen to her.

"They're made by Americans, based on a Japanese recipe."

"Hey!" Tony revealed himself pointing a gun to Mandarin's head.

"Bloody hell. Bloody hell." Mandarin raised his hands looking a bit comically.

"Don't move"

"I'm not moving. You want something? Take it. Although the guns are fake because those wankers wouldn't trust me with the real ones."

"What?"

After a brief conversation Tony assumed that he was a fake Mandarin and started a little interrogation. The girls got up from the bed and run away. Alan was just sitting and spectating the whole scene with amused smile.

Eventually Tony found out that Killian was responsible for the explosions. He was disappointed. When he reluctantly looked back, to his surprise, Alan didn't look smug.

Seeing the dejected Tony, he came closer and patted him on the back saying:

"Cheer up! Don't worry I'll kick his(Killian's) ass" Alan smiled confidently. His hand-to-hand combat skills were peerless and he was now sure of his capabilities.

"Sure you will..." Tony sighed.

Alan looked how much points he gathered during two days and was pleasantly surprised. He then turned back and headed towards the basement. Killian should be there right now.

Tony dragged fake Mandarin with him and followed Alan.

They went down to the basement and saw several people there, including Killian, who was heating the suit in order to pull out Rhodey.

Alan quickly ran to a small crowd and started to clobber people. His every punch send people flying. He did not hold back cause he had a feeling that Killian might run away.

And not long afterwards he did run by breaking down the wall. It wasn't in Killian's style to retreat that easily. And Alan assumed it was due to that 'flow' thing that ruled in this universe.

Alan tried to catch him but to no avail. Killian sailed away on a boat.

He heard Rhodey shouting at 'Mandarin'. But after hearing his ridiculous and coward words he relaxed a bit.

"Caught him?" Tony asked with Rhodey and Trevor(fake Mandarin) beside him.

"Nope"

"Who is this?" Rhodey asked.

"It's Alan he is a ... friend from Tennessee" Tony responded tiredly rubbing his eyes.

"James Rhodes" Rhodey extended his hand and Alan did the same.

"Hi"

"Trevor, where did he go?" Tony asked impatiently, looking towards the shore.

"I heard something about a big ship-" Trevor started telling what he knew.

Alan did not listen to his story and thought about something else. 'Where is that woman, scientist who initially created Extremis?'

Then he walked back into the building and carefully examined the people lying on the ground. Only now he noticed that among the unconscious men there was also a woman.

Alan turned the body over to be sure that it was her. And...

Huh

'But she shouldn't have died, I changed everything!' He thought while looking at a dead body of Maya Hansen.