Fortbend County courthouse, Richmond, Texas:
Attorney Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk is doing her best to prove that James Rhodes couldn’t have committed the murder he is charged with, as well as asking that – considering Rhodey’s service to his country – he be released. However, things are not going well, and Rhodes will continue to be confined until the trial is over.
Furious afterwards, she smashes a car and tosses it away. When a cop gives her the side-eye, she growls it was a rental car and she checked the box for extra insurance!
In Manhattan, Tony Stark is taking a flight in his stealth armor. The mark nil armor was only meant as a stopgap until the mark 72 is ready, but he enjoys the stealth function, flying under the radar of the Stark Sentinels. He puts stealth trackers on the Sentinels he passes to be able to analyze their flight patterns.
He returns to the Hellfire Club and his lab in the basement, where the Kingpin is waiting for him. Tony asks to what he owes the pleasure. He is checking his investment, is Fisk’s cool reply. Genius takes time, Tony states. Fisk counters that time is something Stark cannot afford, because Fisk can’t purchase it for him. He is being funded, assisted and protected by Fisk, so Stark can reunite him with his wife. His patience is wearing thin. Very much wanting to be alive when his appointment arrives, Tony says nothing.
He is unaware that his guest, Riri Williams, has already arrived at the entrance of the Hellfire Club, where Emma aka Hazel is brushing her off, believing Riri to be nothing more than a teenage fan. Riri sarcastically congratulates her on the marriage. She cannot imagine what went wrong in Hazel’s life to want to take the plunge with Tony. Telepathically, she orders “Hazel” to let her in and forget she ever saw her. Emma automatically uses the Red Triangle Protocol to resist telepathic intrusion, then removes her power-dampening ring.
The Astral Plane:
A moment later, now in her true form, Emma faces Riri on the astral plane and Riri realizes she is in trouble and Tony has married Emma Frost. Does he know who his wife is? she demands a moment later.
Emma quickly realizes Riri is not a natural telepath but enhanced by the Mandarin’s rings. She tells her of course he knows and hits her with her Hellfire knuckle dusters.
Riri manifests her Ironheart armor. As far as she is concerned, Emma is wanted for murder and now she is suddenly married to Tony Stark? She blasts Emma, who turns the blast into butterflies.
Tony gets to be married to one of her aliases, she corrects her and then tries to find out how the rings grant Riri telepathic powers. She’s gonna show her! Riri threatens and grapples Emma.
Reality:
In the meantime, still being threatened by the Kingpin, Tony is grateful when the mutant detector alarm goes off. The Kingpin explains Orchis offered to install the alert. Declining it would have seemed suspicious.
They hurry outside, where they see Hazel and Riri silently staring at each other, engaged in telepathic warfare. With a Stark Sentinel landing, Fisk reacts quickly. He hits himself in the face with the mysterium cane and then shouts that Mystique just broke in and tried to kill him.
On the astral plane, Emma is aware that, with her inhibitor ring off, the Sentinels will be here any time. She tears off Riri’s armor and tells her that, if she insists on doing this, they can continue their fight in one of Orchis’ labor camps. Riri agrees but slaps Emma awake.
Back in her body, Emma groans perhaps they were lucky and no sentinel was nearby. A moment later, a Stark Sentinel orders her to surrender.
Tony shouts he is jamming its connection to Orchis. Emma turns to her diamond form and orders Riri, whose armor forms around her, to throw her at it. Emma figures if this is how it ends, so be it. Iron Man joins her in the fight and tells her nothing is ending. They have too many people to avenge. Ironheart joins as well. She fires Pym Particles at the Sentinel, which suddenly finds itself shrunk. With pleasure, Emma and Riri kicks it till it’s destroyed. Tony tells Emma to put on the inhibitor ring.
When police, emergency forces and the press arrive, Fisk plays up the attack to deepen their security making mutants look bad in the process.
Inside the building, Tony hopes Riri still has some Pym Particles. She has and she apologizes to Emma for believing she was mind-controlling Tony. She promises their secret is safe with her. Tony tells Riri the Club is perfect for tinkering. He wants to show her something and has a favor to ask.
They spend hours discussing the matter. Riri admits the design is impeccable. Tony asks if she can build these ships. She asks how much mysterium they have and where on Earth it will be safe. Nowhere on Earth is safe enough, he laughs. He needs her to go up there. He warns her she has to be sure. The lives of everyone on the planet depend on her successfully fabricating those designs. If they can’t get them home, they won’t have enough firepower to finish this on D-day.
She promises to get the job done, and he will get word to those extraterrestrial smiths? He promises to get the job done. When she gets there, ask for Eitri. When she asks what he needed the Pym Particles for, he tells her to take a look. She looks through a microscope, then calls it cute. Riri promises to leave tonight. Despite the next day being Thanksgiving, which Tony and Emma spend with the X-Men and Uncanny Avengers in the Morlock Tunnels. Tony promises, one way or another, they won’t have to spend much more time in the shadows…
In the meantime, in the Polunsky Unit in a Texas prison, James Rhodes gets a present via his lawyer. The guard tells him it’s a medal of Saint Leonard, patron saint of prisoners. James puts the medal on a chain around his neck and corrects him; it’s Saint Anthony. If you look very hard at the medal, you would see the miniature saint is wearing an Iron Man suit…
