YOU'LL NEVER SEE ME COMING

EMERALD

I really thought I would get used to it.

The feeling of the air rushing around my skin still took my breath away six months later. Okay, so it wasn't exactly my own skin, but at this point in my career, I considered my suit to be a secondary version of my skin. It had taken significantly less time than I expected to figure out all of the tricks, but then again, I had some help.

Tony Stark was everything I never knew I needed. I was always the independent one in the past, never wanting to rely on anyone for basically anything. Leave it to him to swoop in, literally, and change all of that. I never thought I would have someone like that at my side. He was someone who loved me unconditionally, someone who was willing to wait for me, someone who was quite seriously the second half of my brain.

Before we joined the Avengers, we were partners in crime, and saving the world felt easy with him. Now, it was that tenfold. It was a weird experience, one that took me quite a long time to get used to, but it was worth it. These past six months were among the best months of my life. I chalked up some of that to the concept of not knowing what events happened next in the universe, and the rest, I figured I would figure out along the way. It wasn't like I was on my own anymore. I didn't need help.

However, current help from Tony was non-existent.

As I glanced over my shoulder, the clouds flying by my vision, I tilted my head to one side. The number of drones that were chasing me was multiplying by the second. Apparently, Mexican terrorists were more technologically advanced than I thought.

"Any day, Tony!" I practically screamed as I looped around in another circle, hoping to collect more of the brainless drones flying after me.

Barely a second passed. "Just a little longer," came Tony's strained response.

I knew by now what his concentration voice sounded like. Still, the drones were preparing to fire, and I wasn't sure how I could dodge fifteen different sets of bullets, no matter how much the suit was equipped for that.

"I don't know how much longer I can be a distraction," I hissed back, diving back up towards the sky. "I swear, if I die, this is your fault." I paused, looking over my shoulder in disdain. "I am not dying when the world thinks of me as the Iron Woman."

The nickname had started soon after the Avengers disbanded. Once the public learned of our relationship, the stories had kicked off like none other. Tony and I tended not to listen the majority of the time, but despite the other rumors that faded into dust, the name stuck.

This was around our thirtieth mission in six months, and while we worked ourselves thin most days, it was worth it. I felt like I was doing something good in this world.

"Well," Tony responded, and I could practically hear the smirk on his face. "You are my other half."

"Shut up," I hissed as a few of the drones began firing in my direction. I paused, shooting a beam of repulsion rays in their direction, taking out a few of them in the process. That was a slight improvement. "What are you even trying to do?" I snapped back at Tony.

A pause relapsed through our communication devices in our suits, and I knew he was back in concentration mode. I set myself a mental reminder not to volunteer as a distraction ever again.

"Just… one…" he muttered. "That."

In a split second, all of the drones that were creeping up on me fell from the sky, crashing into the desert below me. I shouldn't have been surprised. There wasn't a lot that surprised me coming from Tony anymore.

I circled around the compound a few times before JARVIS pointed out Tony's location directly outside one of the back doors. All of the warehouse's defenses were down, and we still had work to do.

I landed directly next to him, but he didn't even flinch. "You know, Iron Woman doesn't fit," I continued to complain. "Someone has to contact the press."

Tony tilted his head to one side, and while I couldn't exactly see the face he was making, I knew he was exasperated with this conversation. "And what would you rather be called?" he asked.

"Iron Man fits," I said as if he hadn't spoken. "It just rolls right off your tongue. Jesus, even War Machine works." I shook my head as JARVIS alerted me of the hostiles within the building, preparing to fire. I knew Tony got the same message as well. It was an unspoken rule that we acted together.

"But Iron Woman?" I continued, despite the blinking messages across the screen in front of my eyes. "I just sound dumb."

"Again, I ask," Tony questioned. "What would you rather be called? Iron Maiden?"

I made an audible retching sound. "Then, I sound like your mother," I replied. "And don't even say Iron Girl either. That's off the table."

"That wasn't the next thing on my mind, but-" Tony teased, but I shot him a glaring look, hoping he was able to get the daggers through the facial slit of the suit.

"No."

The blinking messages about the terrorists inside were overwhelming the suit. I nodded to my partner before I kicked down the door we were standing in front of. Holding out our hands, we accepted the bullets being fired at the suits for about five seconds before I began to power up the hand repulsers as a clear sign of a threat.

"Hands up everyone," I warned.

Before they could even make a move, however, Tony launched his missiles from his shoulder pads, taking down all of the terrorists in the room in a single blow. He was such a show-off.

"You can never do it the diplomatic way, can you?" I said with a sigh.

"Not my style."

I could hear the smirk on Tony's lips as he kicked down the door to the adjacent room almost instantly after his snide comment. I had no choice but to follow him as he grabbed the sole hostile by the neck, holding him against the wall.

"Where's Diego Montez?" he questioned rather aggressively.

I folded my arms across my chest in exasperation. "Munez," I corrected, adding an eye roll for good measure.

"Where's Diego Munez?" he repeated, not even entertaining my comments.

The guy in Tony's arm kept stuttering something incoherent, even with JARVIS's instant language translator. That was one of the most underrated features of the Iron Man suit, I had to say. Still, it was no help finding the one terrorist who was the head of this cell.

Apparently, my internal inquiry was answered as a single bullet lodged itself in the back of Tony's neck, misfiring the suit's capabilities and sending him sprawling to the ground. I instantly spun around, firing back at Diego himself. He fell to the ground at my feet, and I tilted my head to one side in exasperation.

For someone so technologically advanced, he sure wasn't street smart.

"That's not going to fly with me," I scolded him as I continued to hold one arm out in his direction.

Diego apparently wasn't threatened. He spat at my feet, sending me a dirty look. "I will not die at the hands of the Iron Woman," he spoke in perfect English.

"Really?" I questioned in clear aggravation. "Now, you just pissed me off."

Instead of firing towards him, I simply punched the side of his face, instantly knocking him unconscious. That was another bonus of the suit, not having to worry about an injured hand, or any body part for that mattered.

"Miss Maitland," JARVIS spoke, jolting me out of my thoughts. "I have contacted the government police."

"Excellent."

I had another matter to take care of.

Sauntering over to Tony's collapsed suit, I shook my head. If there were any signs of distress or inability to breathe, JARVIS would have alerted me. I snapped my iron clad fingers in front of his face, testing to see if he was actually unconscious or just unable to move.

"Hey," I said. "Tone, it's time to wake up. I don't want to kiss you again."

Several seconds passed with no response. JARVIS did a quick scan of his body, confirming what I already knew to be true.

"Mister Stark seems to be unconscious," he stated matter-of-factly.

I took a step back, popping up the lid of my helmet with a sigh. "How lovely," I replied. "Would you like to do the honors or shall I?"

"It would be my pleasure," JARVIS responded before he sent a shock of electricity coursing through Tony's suit, jolting him awake in less than a second.

He bolted upright, his suit whirring back to life. Taking one look at my smirk, he shook his head, his eyes darting to the terrorist on the ground and back to me.

"For the record," he stated, shaking his head. "I prefer it when you kiss me."

"JARVIS wanted to do the honors."

I was glad Tony programmed JARVIS with sarcasm, if only for the reason to gang up against Tony with me during missions. "Sir, it was a pleasure to work with you," JARVIS stated. If he were human, we would have had matching smiles.

"Maybe I should be Iron Man," I teased. "We all know who wears the pants in this relationship."

Tony wasn't even shocked at the bantering at this stage in our relationship. "You wound me," he said before getting back to his feet slowly.

I flipped the face mask back down on the suit before powering up the flight stabilizer. "It's my job," I responded.

The police were notified accordingly. Our work was done here. I didn't waste another second to jet off into the sky, blasting through the hole in the roof that we left on our way in. Tony followed not even a second behind as we raced each other.

I had grown used to living at Stark Tower in New York, but between going back and forth between New York and Malibu, the warm weather was slowly starting to win me over. Stark Tower still had a lot of work to be done, but Stark Mansion, on the other hand, felt like an actual home.

Stability was a new feature in my life as of lately.

When we returned to Stark Mansion, I felt the familiar pull of sleep attempt to overwhelm me, but I knew it was barely five o'clock. Superhero business was harder than it looked.

Tony, on the other hand, lived for sleep deprivation.

"I'm not letting those words come out of my mouth," he said as we dissembled the suits, putting them back in the workshop until the next mission.

I rolled my eyes, climbing the steps up to our living room. "It's not that hard to say," I teased. "I'll even say it with you if that makes you feel better." I glanced in his direction with a grin, trying to get his gaze to rest on mine. I gestured for him to mouth the words along with me, but he didn't budge.

"Thank. You."

It still earned a chuckle from Tony's lips. "Fat chance," he said, shoving me to the side playfully.

I stumbled to the side before catching myself on the railing with a small laugh of my own. "You're the worst," I said, shaking my head.

"You still love me though," he responded easily.

"Oh, like you need reassurance."

I smiled over my shoulder as I headed into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator to find something that would count as an actual meal. JARVIS was slacking with the grocery list.

"You know," Tony called out after me, following me into the room. "I never thought I would say this, but I actually miss the stage in our relationship where you were infatuated with me."

He wasn't wrong. The first month or so after the Battle of New York, we were careful not to step on each other's territory. We both had been through so much that it hurt, and I knew this was one thing we couldn't afford to mess up. Slowly, the bantering had returned as we fell back into our normal routine of saving the world.

That sentence would have never existed in my vocabulary if it wasn't for Tony.

"I still am," I said as I shut the refrigerator door. "Doesn't mean I'm not sarcastic too. I learned from the best, after all."

Tony took my hand in his a moment later. A smile appeared across his face, but I could see he was still trying to push back the very real trauma he dealt with. He continuously tried to put on a brave face when I was around, which was pretty much always, and he was going to make himself sick if he kept going.

I opened my mouth to force my concerns, but he beat me to the punch.

"Hey, we did good things today."

I nodded in return, tabling the conversation for later. "Yeah, we did," I echoed before I released his hand, grabbing my wallet from the table next to me.

Tony's smile morphed into a frown almost instantly. "Where are you going?" he questioned, sensing my hesitation.

"To get Chinese takeout that I think we deserve," I responded. "If you calm down, you too can survive without me for an hour."

His mouth fell open in shock at my words. "And you say I'm the worst," he said with another shake of his head.

I laughed as I headed out the front door of our home, feeling happy and carefree. For once in my life, I was content with my life.

I should have known it was too good to be true.

A/N: If you're confused, you probably haven't read the first story in this series. Go on and head over to "There Was An Idea" - the first in the collection of stories in the Marvel 2.0 series. If you're a returning reader, WELCOME BACK. I hope you enjoy the next installment in the series.