Saving Grace

Twenty Seven

Trigger Warning: Tony has a panic attack in this chapter.
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He passed out. Water filled the suit, he got trapped, and he passed out. He would've drowned had Jarvis not saved him and restored the flight power.

He wakes up mid-flight to loud, annoying beeping and Jarvis shouting, "Sir!"

"Alright, kill the alarm," Tony says. "I got it."

"That's the emergency alert triggered by the power dropping below five percent."

Tony panics and tries to fix it — save it somehow — but he can't. He crash lands in the snow, in the middle of a forest.

He rolls himself over, the suit sparking as he pulls his helmet off. He frowns. "It's snowing, right? Where are we, upstate?"

"We're five miles outside of Rose Hill, Tennessee," Jarvis replies.

"Why?!" Tony shouts. "Jarvis! Not my idea! What are we doing here? This is thousands of miles away, I gotta get Grace, I gotta-"

"I prepared a flight plan," Jarvis replies. "This was the location."

"Who asked you to?" Tony asks. "Open the suit."

But he doesn't. "I... I think I may be malfunctioning, sir."

"Open eject," Tony insists. Thankfully, the suit opens, and Tony sits up. "Whew, that's brisk! Maybe I'll just cozy back up for a bit."

"I actually think I need to sleep now, sir."

And then the suit powers down. Tony doesn't even have to look; he can hear it. "Jarvis," he says. "Jarvis? Don't leave me, buddy."

But he already has.

~~~~

"Stark Secure Server: Now transferring to all known receivers," the voice on the other end of the payphone says. The suit is on the ground next to Tony, who took a poncho off a wooden statue of a Native American that's nearby. The phone beeps.

"Pepper, it's me," Tony says, "I've got a lot of apologies to make and not a lot of time. So first off, I'm so sorry I put you and Grace in harm's way. That was selfish and stupid, and it won't happen again. Also, it's Christmas time- the rabbit's too big. Done. Sorry. And I'm sorry in advance because... I can't come home yet. I need to find this guy. You and Grace gotta stay safe. That's all I know. I love you both."

He hangs up and drags the suit even farther, looking for a place to hole up. He finds a farmhouse that looks like it hasn't been cleaned in about five years. No lights are on. No one's home.

He easily busts open the barn door, then puts the suit on a nearby couch. "Let's get you comfy." He sits next to it. "You happy now?"

He leans back, catching his breath. When he's ready, he gets up and explores the barn a little bit, then sits at the desk next to him, turning on the lamp to take out the micro-reader implants on his arm.

And then he hears a voice.

"Freeze!" A boy is standing in the doorway, aiming some sort of toy gun at Tony. He looks like he just got home — if this is his home — as he's all bundled up to be outside in this cold weather. He shows no fear. "Don't. Move."

Tony raises his hand in surrender, but he's unconcerned. "You got me." He looks at the toy gun and realizes what it is. "Nice potato gun. Barrel's a little long. Between that and the wide gauge, it's gonna diminish your FPS." In response, the boy aims at a glass on a nearby shelf and fires a potato, hitting his mark. Tony sighs. "And now you're out of ammo."