Defeat the fear of death and welcome the death of fear. -G. Gordon Liddy

Me? Fear anything? Watch. This is where I throw my head back and laugh. Or at least that is what I probably would have done 5 months ago. Now, the mere mention of guns and missiles kindaaaa sends me into a little bit of a twitch. Just a little. Minute. It's all good though. Just send over some ladies everything will be just fine. I'm thinking the square root of nine.

Nah, death was something I didn't have time to think about. Maybe I should have. In between Gina and Maria, maybe Hope and Theresa..Kaitlin...Krissy...

...Death! Yes, right.

It had to be in that humvee that I thought about it for the first time. Ever. Suppose landmines and enemy snipers shooting and trucks blowing up while soldiers were dying to protect me would. Funny how one minute you're laughing it up with a drink in one hand and the next your scrambling along in the dirt, running for your life. Things happen. You see things in your head and remember people. Never really believed in that whole 'life flashes before your eyes' bit but holy shit, I was sort of forced to.

I wasn't really scared, just a bit bewildered that my brain could hold that much-okay I take that back. I didn't get to where I am today without my brain...

Note: Ask Pepper if there's such a thing as brain insurance.

I'm seriously kidding.

Getting back to the point. I didn't have time to be scared after that bullet perforated me like a damn condom wrapper. I thought I was dead. You're probably thinking game over, right?

What's your hurry, bub?

Tony Stark isn't supposed to die by his own weapons. That wasn't in the plan anyways. The plan was to die like Hugh Hefner. With women around me...

Off topic again. Sorry.

Fear set in for just a few minutes when I had a gaggle of Iranians around me with guns-my guns-pointed at my head. At which point I knew if I was gonna die right then and there, at least it was going to be fast. I'd be lucky if the first bullet didn't kill me or at the first would numb me and leave me just barely coherent enough to feel the second. I should know. I designed them. Though, as soon as they stuck me in the cave with Yinsen, coming to while attached to that car battery, I began plotting my escape. Yinsen wasn't really apart of that plan right away, but he taught me something which inevitably led to where I am today.

And that was enough to drive me to think harder on how to get us out of there.

Wordcount - 443