As Tony began his ascent in the air, he began feeling a weakness in his muscles and bones. He had been fighting for a really long time, and his body was finally starting to process everything.
Jarvis chimed in through his earpiece, "Would you like me to call Miss Potts?"
"Might as well." Tony's mind started to process everything as fast as his body. He won't be coming back.
The ring of Pepper's cell phone startled her. Her eyes were glued to the tv screen, and the last thing she had seen was the Ironman suit which seemed to be holding a bomb heading up into the sky, towards the unknown.
What is he doing? She looked down at the phone and saw his face.
"Tony!" She practically yelled into the phone.
"Hi..." He grunted weakly on the other line.
"Hi." She smiled a little, she was just happy to hear his voice. Then reality hit her again.
"Tony, what the hell are you doing?"
"This is the only way... Pepper... God, I'm glad I got to you."
"...Me too." She tried to be reassuring as tears fell down her eyes. This isn't happening...
Suddenly, he slipped and let out a scared cry that jolted Pepper. She could tell he was getting weaker, and now he almost dropped the bomb. Damnit. It was torture being trapped on this damn plane, unable to help him somehow. "Pepper, there's something I want to say. I don't know why I've never said it before. I always should have... Pepper, I lo-"
"I know." She said, reassuringly. He didn't have to say it, she always knew. Besides...
"Besides," she smiled, "You can tell me all about it when you get home."
"I like the sound of that." Tony smiled, his strength building through the pain. "Okay, Pep. I don't know how long I'm going to have, but I just want to keep talking to you. Tell me something sweet."
She could feel the wink he was giving her through the phone. She smiled and played along, "Well... you're looking awfully cute in that suit of yours."
"Yeah?..."
"Mm hm... And when you get home, I'm going to take good care of you."
"Oh boy..." He smiled wickedly. He was reaching the barrier fast now, and they were both bracing themselves.
"And Tony... I love-"
Static.
"Tony?... Tony?"
The next few minutes felt like years as the world lost sight of Ironman. She was struggling to keep her composure in front of the others when, "Attention. Something's coming down fast. It appears to be... yes, it is! It's the Ironman!... Oh no... He's coming down too fast now!..." She was gripping to her chair so hard her fingers were probably bleeding. "What's that? It looks like, no. Yes! It appears the "Hulk" has caught him! Wow!"
She breathed out a painful breath as she pulled her hair out of her face. She slumped back in her chair and couldn't stop a few more tears from coming down as she tried to take in a few more breaths.
"Are you all right Miss Potts?" someone asked.
"Yeah, I'm all right..." She looked back at the screen at her hero, her best friend and the man she loved. "We're all right."