The Rescue
The sun had barely risen when James found himself at the airport, standing beside Agent Coulson. The air was crisp, filled with the faint hum of planes preparing for takeoff.
James stood tall, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings with an air of quiet confidence.
Soon, Colonel James Rhodes approached, his military bearing evident in every step. He offered a nod of respect to James and exchanged greetings with Coulson before getting down to business.
"Here," Rhodes said, handing James a small bundle of clothes. "These are the last things Tony wore before he was taken."
James accepted the bundle, bringing the fabric to his nose. He inhaled deeply, the scent of Tony Stark's cologne and sweat filling his senses, mingled with the acrid stench of fear and oil. "Got it," James muttered, his voice low and assured. "Let's go."
Minutes later, the trio boarded two helicopters, the rotors slicing through the early morning air. James and Coulson shared one wih a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents occupied while Rhodes and the other military officers got on one.
As they ascended into the sky, Coulson glanced at James, who was staring intently out the window. "Are you sure you can track him this way?" Coulson asked, a hint of doubt in his voice.
James turned to him, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "I can track a needle in a haystack across continents. Just follow my lead."
.
.
.
After several hours of flying, guided solely by James's acute sense of smell, they finally approached the rugged mountain ranges of Afghanistan. The harsh, desolate landscape stretched out beneath them, barren and unforgiving.
Booomm...
Without warning, the ground below them erupted in a fiery explosion. Something metallic, large and unwieldy, shot into the sky, arcing through the air before crashing down somewhere in the distance.
"There!" James barked, pointing towards the object. "Rhodes, follow that. You'll get Stark."
Rhodes hesitated for a moment, his military instincts clashing with the absurdity of the situation.
But something in James's tone, a calm certainty, compelled him to trust the man. "Roger that," Rhodes responded, directing his helicopter to pursue the flying object.
Meanwhile, James turned to Coulson, his grin widening. "I'll be back," he said simply, before leaping out of the helicopter with shocking speed and power.
"Wait, what?!" Coulson barely had time to process what had happened before James was plummeting towards the earth below. The wind roared in James's ears, but he reveled in the sensation of freefall, his body slicing through the air with precision.
BOOM....
James landed with a thunderous impact, the ground cracking beneath his feet. Dust and debris flew in all directions, but James remained unphased, his keen eyes locking onto the smoldering remains of the terrorist hideout nearby.
Only a few of the enemy soldiers remained, most having been obliterated by the earlier explosion. Those who were left were scrambling, panicked by the sight of the monster that had just dropped from the sky.
James extended his bone claws with a sickening *snikt*, their edges gleaming menacingly. "Let's finish this," he growled.
RATATATAT
The soldiers opened fire, but James didn't flinch. Bullets tore through his clothes, but the bullets didn't do any damage to him.
The soldiers hesitated, their fear palpable as they witnessed the terrifying sight. But hesitation was fatal.
James's moved with deadly efficiency, his senses guided him as he sprang into action, his enhanced smell allowing him to pinpoint each soldier's position even before they could move.
The nearest soldier barely had time to react before James was upon him, his claws slicing through the man's torso with lethal precision. Blood sprayed, and the soldier collapsed in a heap, his weapon clattering to the ground.
James spun on his heel, his hyper-attuned senses picking up on the rapid footsteps of another soldier trying to flank him.
Without turning, he pivoted, his claws slashing through the air. The blade-like bones sliced clean through the soldier's rifle, rendering it useless, before carving a fatal line across his chest. The soldier dropped to the ground, his face frozen in a mask of horror.
The remaining soldiers panicked, backing away as they continued to fire, hoping to keep some distance between themselves and the unstoppable force before them.
James advanced on them with measured steps, his eyes glowing with a primal intensity. Soon he moved faster than before cutting down the remaining soldiers with ease. Each swipe of his claws was lethal, and within moments, the last of the enemies had fallen.
With the all of them neutralized, James turned his attention to the cave where he could sense Tony Stark had been held. The entrance was partially collapsed, but James could smell the remnants of Stark's presence and the scent of another, a man who had helped Stark escape.
James retrieved a bazooka from the fallen soldiers and fired it at the cave, obliterating the entrance to ensure that no one could recover the designs for the Mark I armor. As the dust settled, James moved forward and found the lifeless body of Yinsen, the man who had sacrificed himself to help Tony escape. With a solemn expression, James gently lifted Yinsen's body and carried it back to the waiting helicopter.
The helicopter touched down just outside the now-destroyed hideout. Coulson stepped out, his face a mixture of awe and disbelief as he saw James walking toward him, Yinsen's body draped over his shoulder.
"We're done here," James said as he handed Yinsen's body to one of the agents. "This man was a prisoner. He deserves a proper send-off."
Coulson nodded, directing the agents to handle Yinsen's body with care. As they prepared to depart, Coulson watched as James settled into the helicopter, closing his eyes as if the entire ordeal had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
James sighed, leaning back in his seat. "Too late," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "If I'd gotten here sooner, I might've had some real action. But now… nothing." With that, he drifted off to sleep, leaving Coulson to stare in stunned silence.
As the helicopter lifted off, Coulson activated his comms, connecting directly to Nick Fury.
"Director Fury, it's Coulson. The mission's done. Howlett handled it, but… we might need to increase his threat level. He's… more dangerous than we thought."
Fury's voice crackled through the comms, calm but laced with intrigue. "I've been monitoring him form the start, Coulson. I know about James and his pack. But this? This is something else. Keep an eye on him, for now."
Coulson glanced at James, who was now peacefully sleeping, his ferocity temporarily at rest. "Understood, sir. We'll keep tabs on him. But something tells me… this is just the beginning."
---
With Rhodes following the trail of the metallic object, his helicopter hovered over the mountainous terrain, the dust from the earlier explosions still hanging in the air. As they scanned the area, Rhodes spotted a lone figure stumbling through the rocky landscape, waving frantically at the helicopter.
"Get us lower," Rhodes ordered his pilot, squinting to get a better look. As they descended, he recognized the figure immediately: Tony Stark, dirty, exhausted, but very much alive. Tony was on his knees, a weary smile stretching across his face as he looked up at the approaching aircraft.
The helicopter touched down, and Rhodes leaped out, rushing to Tony's side. "Tony!" he shouted, his voice filled with relief and concern.
Tony looked up at him, his smile widening despite his evident exhaustion. "Next time, you're coming with me," Rhodes said, his tone a mix of exasperation and relief.
Tony chuckled weakly, his voice hoarse from days of captivity. "Deal," he managed to say as Rhodes helped him to his feet.
With a firm but gentle grip, Rhodes guided Tony to the helicopter. They climbed aboard, and the pilot wasted no time in taking off, eager to get them out of the hostile territory.
As the helicopter soared back into the sky, Tony leaned back, closing his eyes and letting out a deep sigh. The nightmare was over, and he was finally going home.