Fun fact: I discovered that even though "Iron Man" came out in 2008, the movie takes place in 2009. It's amazing the things you find out when you check the timeline to make sure you don't make a mistake.

Tony gets sent back in time (to 2009, not 2008 like I originally thought), sees a face he never forgot, and comes face to face with the Ten Rings once again. He still doesn't like them.

In hindsight, Tony really should have remembered that in addition to the many pros of going back in time, there were also many cons. For instance, cons . . . he would have to get used to building suits that didn't manifest on his body from an arc reactor, get used to still being in control of Stark Industries, have to deal with many of his old villains . . .

And Afghanistan. He could one hundred percent say he was not looking forward to Afghanistan.

But wow, it was a shock when he opened his eyes and found himself squinting in darkness. It was such a shock that he tried to jerk upright, knocking over the glass on the table over and yanking on . . . right, it was a car battery that was powering his first arc reactor.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

And wasn't that a shock as well, and Tony looked to the side, shocked to see Yinsen at the mirror on the wall. His mouth opened and closed before he realized there was still a tube in his nose, and grimacing, he slowly pulled it out. He jerked slightly at the noise it made, then tossed it to the side, wrinkling his nose.

In that time, Yinsen had moved over to the fire he had in the cave, whistling a tune absently to himself. Tony slowly sat up, careful not to move too quickly, and looked long and hard at the battery that was currently powering the only thing saving his life. "A car battery," he finally said in disbelief, still shocked at how rudimentary tech had been fourteen years ago . . . well, now, Tony supposed. He was back in 2009 now, not 2023.

"A car battery, yes," Yinsen looked up at him. "And it is hooked up to an electromagnet, which is keeping shrapnel from entering your heart."

"Shrapnel?" Tony repeated, wincing and rubbing his head. Either he was still woozy from the time he had spent unconscious in Afghanistan before waking up, or the time travel was making him dizzy. It could have been both.

"Yes," Yinsen nodded. "I removed all the shrapnel I could, but there's a lot left, and it's headed into your atrial septum." He stood up, reaching for a glass bottle. "Here, want to see? I have a souvenir. Take a look." Tony caught the bottle tossed to him, and he cringed, looking once more at the bloody shards inside. "I've seen many wounds like that in my village. We call them the walking dead because it takes about a week for the barbs to reach the vital organs."

Tony finally looked up at Yinsen. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

Yinsen paused, looking at him. "You're welcome," he nodded. Tony put the bottle down and zipped up the sweatshirt he wore, looking around the cave to get his bearings back. Some moments in Afghanistan he remembered much better than others, and he had learned from Natasha and Clint that it never hurt to keep looking. He found the camera in the corner almost instantly. "That's right," Yinsen smirked. "Smile!"

Tony looked back at Yinsen, frowning. "Have we met before?" he asked, already knowing the answer. "You seem familiar."

Yinsen's eyebrows shot up. "Yes, we did," he nodded. "Once, at a technical conference in Bern. I'm surprised – if I had been that drunk, I wouldn't have been able to stand, much less give a lecture on integrated circuits or remember the face of a man you spoke to for only a few minutes."

Tony smirked. "Must have been an impact on me, then."

Yinsen blinked, but both men turned when the door rattled and they heard men shouting. "Come on, stand up!" Yinsen rushed to him, and Tony was grateful for the help in hurrying to do so. "Stand up! Just do as I do." Tony nodded, and when Yinsen told him to put his hands up, he did so quickly, just as the door slid open.

It was still a gut punch when he recognized the weaponry in the hands of the terrorists. "Those are my guns," he scowled, feeling more anger than shock last time. It's going to be just as satisfying kicking their asses again.

"Do you understand me?" Yinsen hissed. "Do as I do!"

So Tony stayed silent, even though he was gritting his teeth as the leader of the terrorists spoke in Arabic. He almost missed when Yinsen started translating. "He says 'welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America.' He is honored." Tony's eyes narrowed as the man continued. "He wants you to build the missile, the Jericho missile that you demonstrated." Tony didn't need to look at the diagram Yinsen showed him, but he did anyway. "This one."

He had no desire to almost drown again, but Tony wasn't about to not give an answer and have them imply it as him being complicit. "I refuse," he said simply.

Tony supposed that after almost getting beaten to death by two super soldiers in the freezing cold of Siberia, getting his head repeatedly dunked in water was much easier to withstand. But his past self was nowhere near as experienced to action and pain tolerance as his future self (though he was technically his future self in his past self's body . . . time travel was weird), so Tony despised the burn in his lungs as a bag was forced over his head and he was dragged out of the cave.

The bright sunlight made spots appear in his vision, and he closed his eyes, waiting for his head to settle. When he opened them again, it was to the still horrifying sight of Stark Industries weaponry of all kinds scattered across the terrorist camp.

The terrorist leader said something, and Yinsen said in a deadpan voice, "He wants to know what you think."

Tony went with exactly what he said last time. "I think you got a lot of my weapons."

The man kept talking, and Yinsen kept translating. "He says they have everything you need to build the Jericho missile. He wants you to make the list of materials. He says for you to start working immediately, and when you're done, he will set you free."

Tony eyed the man's hand, resisting the urge to punch him in the face. That would probably get him and Yinsen hurt, despite how satisfying it would be. This was the only way he could think of that he could get started building the first Iron Man suit, his ticket to escape . . . no, their ticket to escape. Because if Tony had been sent back into the past to change things, he could start right now, and he could start with Yinsen.

So he smiled a shark like smile with all teeth, shaking the man's hand and remembering when he had defeated all the men he had in Gulmira after his first time using the Mark III in a fight. "No, he won't."

"No, he won't," Yinsen agreed grimly.

"Build the Jericho, my ass," Tony scoffed the moment they were back in the cave. He was about to start pacing when he realized he had put the car battery down, and with a huff, he picked it up to do what he planned on doing. He was really ready to build the next arc reactor so he wasn't hauling a noticeable amount of extra weight along with him.

Yinsen watched him before speaking. "I'm sure they're looking for you, Stark. But they will never find you in these mountains."

Tony nodded in agreement. "But those are my weapons, out there," he pointed towards wherever the cave entrance was; by Yinsen's startled face, he'd gotten it somewhat correct. "My life's work, and terrorists are using it, some of the worst of the worst." He shook his head, facing the man. "If I die here, that's what my legacy's gonna be. Unacceptable."

Yinsen smirked. "The great Tony Stark has more defiance in him."

"Damn right I do," Tony nodded. "And if nothing works . . . the bright side is they'll kill us either way. Or if not, I'll probably be dead in a week."

Yinsen snorted. "Well, then, this is a very important week for you, isn't it?"

Tony smirked into the flames, already feeling adrenaline get his heart pumping. He was ready to do one of the things he did best: build an Iron Man suit.

"If this is going to be my work station, I want it well-lit," Tony told the Ten Rings as Yinsen translated, several of the men rushing around to do as they said. "I want these up. I need welding gear, I don't care if it's acetylene or propane. I need a soldering station, I need helmets, I'm gonna need goggles. I would like a smelting cup, I need two sets of precision tools."

He started working almost immediately with Yinsen watching over him. He was almost working on autopilot, letting his hands do the work as his mind thought of other things . . . more specifically, how he could get Yinsen out of the cave alive. He was the man who had encouraged him to do more with his life, had seen the potential for him to be more than just a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist. He had been the one to save his life, had been the one to essentially build the first arc reactor for his chest. Oh, that was an idea . . . Yinsen was a skilled doctor as well. Tony could ask him to stay with Stark Industries and help him with the arc reactors. Whatever happened, Tony wanted to know Yinsen would be safe and nowhere near Gulmira when the Ten Rings hit the village.

He was a good translator, too. Speaking of . . . "How many languages do you speak?" he asked when he honestly couldn't recall as he worked on one of his weapons.

"A lot," Yinsen shrugged. "But apparently not enough for this place. They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, Russian."

Tony grimaced. "And who runs this place?" He knew, of course, but that would definitely confuse people if he (the 2023 Tony) knew who his captors were when he (his 2009 self) wasn't supposed to.

"They are your loyal customers, sir," Yinsen answered. "They call themselves the Ten Rings."

And wasn't that a name Tony still despised.

"You know," Yinsen crouched down by Tony as he went to work on the end of one of the weapons. "We might be more productive if you include me in the planning process."

"I have an idea," Tony told him, yanking out the core. "Just give me . . . one second." He plopped it on the work bench and used a pair of pliers to examine inside. "OK, we don't need this," he declared after finding what he needed, tossing the rest of the core behind him and onto the floor.

Yinsen watched the core drop, then turned his attention to what Tony held up. "What is that?"

"That's palladium," Tony answered. "0.15 grams. That's what I need you to do. We need at least 1.6, so can you break down the other eleven?"

Yinsen nodded in agreement.

Tony knew this worked before in the previous timeline. Actually, he was pretty impressed with how well he remembered how a lot of things went in the previous timeline.

That didn't mean he was still a teeny tiny bit nervous as Yinsen used tongs to remove the bowl out of the fire. "Careful," he couldn't help but warn. "Careful, we only get one shot at this."

"Relax," Yinsen told him, moving over to the table. "I have steady hands. Why do you think you're still alive?"

Just like last time, Tony didn't have a good counter to that. Yinsen was right, after all; he was alive thanks to him. That reminded him . . . past him hadn't asked Yinsen's name yet. "What's your name?" he asked.

"I am Yinsen," he answered, carefully pouring the melted liquid into the mold.

"Yinsen," Tony nodded. "Nice to meet you."

Yinsen chuckled. "Nice to meet you, too."

Tony was in his element as he created the next arc reactor, even if it was in a cave away from his workshop with the best materials. He knew how to make this work, he knew his way around the cave, and most importantly, he knew the timeline he had to get this right. He couldn't go outside, but he could tell he had more time than before.

That was unless the Ten Rings caught on, at least. But at least he was a bit ahead of schedule.

He finished the last bit of soldering, then flicked the switch to turn the power on. He sensed Yinsen come up behind him, and he peered down at the arc reactor, eyes wide. "Wow," he whispered, bending down to get a closer look. "That doesn't look like a Jericho missile."

Tony cracked a grin. "That's because it's a miniaturized arc reactor," he said. "I got a big one powering my factory at home. It should keep the shrapnel out of my heart." It would, but how was the 2009 Tony Stark supposed to know that?

And now he was thinking of himself in the third person . . . wonderful. At least his head had sorted itself out quickly. "But what could it generate?" Yinsen wondered.

"If my math is right – and it always is – three gigajoules per second," Tony answered.

Yinsen looked at him with wide eyes. "That could run your heart for fifty lifetimes!"

"Yeah," Tony nodded. "Or something big for fifteen minutes." He stood up and moved to a clear table, picking up the flimsy paper with pieces of designs on them. He turned on the lamp and handed Yinsen the papers. "This is our ticket out of here."

Yinsen frowned, flicking through the papers. "What is it?"

"Flatten them out and look."

Yinsen did just that, and Tony grinned, seeing the Mark I armor form under the light. "Oh, wow," Yinsen breathed in shock. "Impressive."

Tony nodded in agreement, rubbing his hands together. "Let's get to work."

A/N: I realized I really missed Yinsen when I wrote this. And I discovered Ramin Djawadi had a really incredible soundtrack. I'm really excited to write the rest of the movie.

Next time - Afghanistan part two and working on the Iron Man armor.