Title: Turned to Steel
Author: fadingtales
Fandom: Iron Man & Vampire Diaries
Ship: Caroline/Stefan as Tonya Stark/Virgil "Pepper" Potts
Rating: T
Summary: An Iron Man/Vampire Diaries Genderswap AU Fic featuring Caroline Fobres as Tonya Stark and Stefan Salvatore as Virgil "Pepper" Potts. Accompanied by Bonnie Bennett as Jamie "Rhodey" Rachel Rhodes, and Isobel Fleming as Obelia Stane.
A/N: As you may have already noticed, I'm taking bits of the Iron Man movie and bits of TVD and trying to incorporate both. SO tehre will be some quotes that you recognize, although the setting and context may be different. I'm just trying to give this crossover genderbender AU a fresh spin. I hope you enjoy! And once again, thank you to snarkystarky for beta-ing this for me!
PART TWO – The Girl in the Armor
The party is in full swing. Chattering and noisy buzzing filled the room, flashes of cameras every which way as reporters and cameramen vie for celebrities' attentions.
The clamor raised an octave when she enters the room. Reporters tripped over themselves to get a comment, but she just smiled and gave the excuse of "cabin fever" to all who asked what she was doing here.
She barely makes it five feet pass the barricade of flashing cameras and into the sanctuary of the ballroom when she hears someone calling her name.
"Tonya!"
She turned and saw Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes approaching her in all of her uniformed glory.
"Well, don't you look distinguished, platypus? By the way, Paul Dean called. She wants the ribbons for her pies back. My god, how many of these little things have they given you?" Tonya teased as she playfully fiddled with the ribbons on the Lieutenant Colonel's lapel.
Rhodey slapped her hand away.
"I didn't know you were going to be here."
"Wouldn't want to miss a party," Tonya grinned.
"Does Obelia and Pepper know you're here?"
As if right on cue, Tonya looked to her left and saw Pepper in a handsome black tuxedo chatting away happily with several other distinguished figures in the distance.
"No, but I see Pepper over so I really should head on over to say hello."
Without waiting for Rhodey's response she made her way through the throngs of people to Pepper's side.
"Excuse me. I'd like to borrow my assistant for a moment if you please."
Pepper whirled around, his previously easy smile replaced with a look of genuine surprise.
"What are you doing here?"
"Everyone keeps asking me that. Whatever happened to just 'hello'?" Tonya rolled her eyes. "Thought I'd help boost morale for the company by showing up."
"I really wished you told me beforehand," Pepper sighed resignedly.
"What fun would be in that?" Tonya cheekily replied. Another beat later she said, "Do you want to dance?"
"No, no. I don't dance."
"I'm not taking no for an answer, Potts."
Pepper began to protest more, but Tonya had already grabbed his hand and was leading him towards the dance floor. Eyes gravitated towards them and other dancers parted as they made their way to the center. She could feel Pepper's apprehension in the way he held her hand rigidly, his shoulders tense.
With a smirk, Tonya placed Pepper's hand on her waist and held the other in her right.
"You look angry. Well, actually you lookvery dashing. Very handsome. That's a very sharp tuxedo. I like it. What is that? Hugo Boss? Armani?"
"Men's Wearhouse, actually."
"Men's Wearhouse?" she said and quirked her eyebrow at him.
"Ok, I am pretty I am paying you much better than that. But if this is a clever way to talk me into a raise-"
"It's old. I was strapped for time and didn't have time to shop. I've been preoccupied with a certain troublemaking boss of mine."
The corner of her lip quirked into a half smile. "She should do something to make it up to you. Get you something pretty."
"Or maybe she can just take it easy on me and stop causing trouble everywhere she goes."
"It's a wonder why you stay with her."
She said it with a lighthearted tone, but there was a brief flicker of fear, of panic that passed through her. That perhaps by saying that she had granted him an opening, an invitation to leave.
"She needs me," he replied simply.
But of course he's Pepper and if anything he's loyal. Maybe even to a fault. He'd stay because she needed him. And somehow coming to that realization caused a terrible clenching in her chest. Loyalty and duty were not the reasons why she wanted him to stay.
"And... maybe I need her too," he said in a low voice, barely above a whisper.
She blinked at him, too startled to mask the surprise. He met her wide eyes with a steady gaze, as if daring her to contradict him. Her pulse quickened and she thanked god for the arc reactor to keep her heartbeat steady.
"It would be hard to find a good job in this economy," he joked, small smile on his lips.
She let out a laugh and the mood lightened once more.
"You look beautiful as always," Pepper complimented. "I don't even notice the reactor at all in that dress. How did you manage it?"
"Oh, a girl should never reveal her secrets," Tonya replied.
She gets a full on grin with that.
Pepper turned her once, in rhythm to the music and she felt like the air was been knocked out of her, she was so breathless. She may be the one that forced him to the dance floor, but he's the one that took the lead. And for all of his protests about not knowing how to dance, he is as graceful on the dance floor as he is with everything else he does.
"Are you alright? You look a bit flushed," he asked, his voice tinged with concern.
As if perfectly timed, the music ends there and Pepper regains his stern expression once more.
"Come on. We should go get you some air."
It's his turn to take her hand this time and he ushered her out towards the balcony, away from prying eyes.
xxx
Once the cold night air has hit her face, she finds herself regaining her composure.
"Well, that was fun," she beamed at him.
"Thatis never going to happen again," he answered, dead-panned.
Her face falls. "You didn't like dancing with me?"
"It was highly inappropriate."
"What? What was so inappropriate about it?"
"You're my boss, Tonya. And everybody knows how you are."
"How I am? What is that supposed to mean?" she said, arms crossing over her chest.
"You know what I mean," Pepper sighed, too used to her petulance to be put off by her pouts.
"No, Pepper," she answered in her best bitchy tone. "I don'tknow what you mean."
Just because he was used to it, didn't mean she wasn't going to let him off easy.
"I mean you and your string of boys. You're never really serious about any-"
"I can, too, be serious!" She protested.
"Maybe about quantum physics and jet propulsion, but..." he trailed off. He stared at her for a moment before letting out another heavy sigh. "You are my boss," he repeated.
She heard him the first time so she wonders if he's repeating for his own benefit.
"I could fire you if that will make you feel better," she offered.
He laughed and shook his head. When he looked back up at her, there was amusement in his eyes.
"I don't think you can tie your shoelaces without me."
"I'll learn to wear ones with the straps then. The Velcro ones."
"Velcro, really?"
He quirked an eyebrow at her.
"Yes, Velcro. The Reeboks with the straps," she answered. "To be precise."
His amused expression intensified.
"Did you just reference a Flo Rida song?"
"Shut up."
He grinned at her. They were back to their usual bantering, the tension in the air momentarily dissipated. He kept smiling at her in silence and once again she felt flush under his scrutiny. This was the moment. This was the opening she needed.
She had had a lot of time to think when she was held captive in that cave with Yinsen, back when she wasn't sure if she was going to make it out of there alive. And often times, she had found herself thinking of Pepper, most importantly, about her feelingstowards Pepper. But with the maelstrom of reporters, disgruntled shareholders, anxious employees, and a hovering Obelia Stane around them, she had not found the proper moment to speak with him privately. At least not about things that weren't about Stark Industries.
"Pepper... maybe I might have not been serious about the others, but maybe-"
Suddenly a loud gunshot, ringing like thunder above the noise of the party, tears through her moment so much like tissue paper.
They both quickly turned towards the direction of the noise. From their view on the balcony they witnessed pandemonium forming below near the front gates of the building.
"What's going on down there?" Pepper's expression is serious as he surveys the crowd below.
Tonya follows his gaze and despite all the confusion in the crowd, she'd recognize that face anywhere.
It was the leader of the Three Rings. The face that still haunted her dreams of the cave and the torture. It was the face of Yinsen's murderer.
"Stay here, I'm going to figure out what's going on."
Before Pepper can respond, Tonya already took off.
She weaved through the party with barely concealed urgency. The people in the ballroom had yet to become aware of all the chaos just on the other side of the doors and she had to make haste before panic caused a pandemonium. She rushed towards the direction of the ladies room. But as ladies rooms are wont to be, the line is seemed endless.
Tonya growled with exasperation. She couldn't change into the Iron Woman armor with all of these people about. Thinking on her feet, Tonya charged towards the front of line.
"I'm sorry, ladies. Just found out that this restroom is having some plumbing issues. Verynasty. And will be out of commission for the rest of the evening. If you could all head towards the east wing down the hall to your left there will be other facilities there for you to use. Very sorry about the inconvenience."
There's a wave of disgruntled murmurs and more than a few grimaces, but slowly the ladies turned towards the direction of the east wing. Once the last of the ladies trickled away, Tonya breathed a huge sigh of relief and rushed inside the now vacated restroom.
The lie had served two purposes: one) to clear the room so that she would be able to change into the Iron Woman suit and, two) to evacuate all the women to the wing farthest away from the commotion without causing panic and therefore minimizing the evening's casualties.
She made quick work of her dress and stuffed it into an inconspicuous corner. Then, with subtle trepidation, she retrieved the robotic arm she had been painstakingly working on from her purse.
"Alright... time to put this baby to the test."
Attaching it to her forearm she watched as the gears whirled to life. Metal plates, like scales, quickly unfolded themselves in rapid succession, covering her bare skin in armor. Her vision is obscured for a brief second when the faceplates of the helmet cover her face. And then... the lights turn on. It was like the Vegas Strip inside the helmet. Digital data, stats, and analysis right there in front of her, analyzing everything from the distance from the sink to the door to the number of tiles on the floor.
"Hello, miss. I see you're trying on a different type of attire for tonight's event. As requested, I've added the 'hot rod red' to the finishing of the armor. How is it to your liking?" J.A.R.V.I.S.'s familiar automated voice inquired through the earpiece.
She looked down at her hands, flexed it, and upon looking up caught a glimpse of herself in the bathroom mirror. She's clad in glossy red and gold, the eyes of the helmet luminescent.
"Oh yeah. This will do."
She looked freaking awesome.
xxx
The moment she stepped out of the restroom a scream filled the air. That moment of peace before all hell broke loose is gone and chaos takes over. She makes a mad dash in the direction of the ballroom and sure enough the party is in complete turmoil. People rushed about trying to find the exit only to find the doors have been barricaded from the other side. They were locked in. Panic and hysteria was about to overcome the anxious occupants and she had to think fast of what to do to avoid further casualties.
"Hey!" she shouted above the roar of the frantic cries and screams.
The helmet had amplified her voice ten-fold and the room goes instantly silent as everyone took in the sight of Iron Woman standing in their midst.
"Duck," she commanded.
And everyone quickly knelt down and covered their heads. As soon as she saw the chance she shot a beam towards one of the door, blowing it wide open. Once the dust settled people quickly made their way through the opening.
Before she could shout to tell them to head east, away from the direction of the party crashers, Pepper beats her to punch. He and Rhodey had already begun organizing people and directing the party guests to the safest emergency exits. She smiled at their efficiency.
For a moment her eyes met Pepper's. Despite the suit of armor, she felt so very naked under his scrutiny. As if he knew.
They are both soon distracted, however, when machine guns started firing. Screams once again rang through the air, tangling with the sounds of gunshots and cries of agony.
Guns she could deal with. Even if they are her own. What she didn't expect was the ghost of the Mark I suit to haunt her.
Before her stood a massive iron giant. The design was nearly identical to her original, except for one crucial detail: the arc reactor.
Tonya smirked from the inside of her suit. The looks were impressive enough, but it's still nothing but a cheap knock-off.
"Come on, you big oaf. Show me what you got," she taunted.
The leader smirked and Tonya noticed a new scar running down from his ear to the left corner of his mouth, probably from the last time they met. He glanced up at the iron monstrosity and pointed at her.
"Destroy her."
Tonya spread her legs apart and raised her hands up in a fighting stance. The giant rushed towards her, its size impeding its speed, and she easily ducks the blow it dealt. The giant's fist that missed her slammed into one of the building's columns instead and the concrete almost seems to shatter upon impact. The building quakes, its foundation compromised. Tonya glances quickly in Pepper and Rhodey's direction, hoping that they'd be able to make it out before the roof collapses over their heads. She spotted them with Obelia who looked distraught and the three of them were quickly making their own way towards the exit. The brief distraction is enough of an opening for her opponent to surprise her with a blow to the head which sent her tumbling through the air and careening into the wall.
Beeps and flashing lights filled her helmet as the J.A.R.V.I.S. reported on the damage done to the suit. She doesn't hear a thing and instead tried to focus on how to keep her eyes from swimming. She doesn't have long to rest, however, when the iron giant is hurdling at her again.
She only barely dodges this time, sending a repulser beam towards the hulking mass of metal at the very last moment and enabling her to scamper away.
The clomping beast destroys everything in its path in chasing her.
"Miss, a speedier evacuation is required of all persons within the vicinity. I'm afraid at this rate the foundation will be compromised," J.A.R.V.I.S. voiced inside the helmet.
"Kinda busy trying not to get squashed here!"
She rolled to move out of the way of a slamming fist and then crouched on her heels to launch herself into the iron knock-off. The two of them go plummeting through the opposite wall, sending plaster and debris everywhere.
"You're not doing a very good job maintaining the structure of the building," J.A.R.V.I.S. chastised.
The giant smacked her across the face and gave her a gut wrenching punch which sent her flying.
"Tonya, you have to be careful. Your vi-"
"Shut up!" she screamed at the A.I. in her head.
Tonya picked herself up and hurled a steel beam that had come apart from one of the building's columns at the giant. It ducks and the beam nearly takes the head off of the Three Rings' leader who was standing about a hundred yards away. The man's terror brings a smile to Tonya's face.
The smile doesn't last long because she has a colossal mechanical pain in the butt to deal with.
"Alright, jerkwad. Dancing time is over."
And with that Tonya activated the repulser beams in her palms again, shooting consecutive shots into her opponent's armor, knocking it to the ground. She didn't waste any more time and quickly launched herself on top of the fallen giant. She shoved her armored hands through the joints of the armor, took handfuls of wire and ripped them out, immobilizing the upper limbs of the giant. She then did the same to the joints of the lower limbs. Convinced she had paralyzed the suit, she pried open the helmet, revealing a terrified man inside.
"Please! Please don't kill me!" he pleaded.
Tonya scoffed. "As if. I'll let the cops deal with you. I got bigger fish to fry."
She then turned towards the direction of where the Three Rings' leader had last been seen, only to find him nowhere in sight. Sirens rang from the outside. A quick x-ray with her helmet showed that a majority of the party goers had already vacated the building and the ones that haven't are already near the exits. She spots Rhodey and even Obelia through the x-ray vision, but nowhere to be found was the man who caused this entire mess.
"Dammit!"
The police was starting to make their way into the building, rounding up the straggling Ten Rings members as they encircled the premises.
"Attention all individuals inside the building," a male voice rang through a megaphone. "We have the premises surrounded. Disable all weapons, put your hands up, and get down to the ground now! Any suspicious movements and we will fire!"
Tonya inwardly groaned and considered her chances of flying away only to hear helicopters overhead. They really did have the building surrounded. She would be impressed by their speediness if it wasn't such a nuisance to her.
With a sigh she realized there was only one course of action. Before the law enforcements could make their way into the building she was going to have to make a run for it. And so, run she did. She blew a hole through the wall, cutting a direct path towards the ladies' room where she stashed her dress and sprinted. Behind her she can hear the yelling of various officers and military personnel. She strategically placed various obstacles in their path.
She almost made it when she nearly runs head first into none other than Pepper Potts.
"Wait! Don't shoot!"
Her hand had been raised, repulsers aimed, thinking that he was some sort of threat. When she recognized him she let her hand drop. And in letting her hand drop, suddenly all of the battle's weariness got to her and she found herself dropping down to one knee.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she rasped.
He looked concerned, but was wary enough to not approach her.
"I'm looking for my boss. She wasn't amongst the people that got evacuated."
He came back for her. The thought was so amusing Tonya laughed, only to stop short when a piercing pain shot through her ribs. And once she noticed that pain, the rest came to her. Her arm was stiff; she couldn't seem to move it properly without gasping. And her vision was still blurry, although that could be a result of the helmet's digitalized screen malfunctioning. As the continued beeps and flashing warning lights added to the migraine she was having, she made the executive decision to take off the helmet. It was making her dizzy anyways.
"Helmet, off."
With the simple voice command the metal plates that made up the suit's helmet retracted, exposing her face to fresh air.
Pepper gasped as the armor fell away.
"Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."
She tried to smile, but ends up wincing instead. She managed to move her arm, it was sprained not broken, to press the button on her wrist to collapse the armor. Pepper watched in awe as the armor unfolded itself and retracts back into the robotic gauntlet.
"Oh my god," he breathed.
"I was hoping that would be your reaction when you finally see me naked," Tonya teased, only to ruin the moment by coughing uncontrollably.
When she moved her hand away from her mouth she found blood staining her palm. Her broken rib must have punctured a lung, she thought idly. She would have to increase the portable suit's steel density. But increasing the steel density would mean a heavier armor and that would totally defeat the whole purpose of a portable suit to begin with. She's going to have to hash out the details with J.A.R.V.I.S. later. At the moment she had a very shell-shocked Pepper to deal with.
"I know you have a lot of questions, but first," she paused to take a painful breath. "H-Help me get out of here," she rasped.
He was quickly by her side. She recalled arms wrapping itself around her waist and her arms circling loosely around his shoulder before blackness took her.
xxx
In the backseat of a darkened car Obelia tried to brush her hair back in some semblance of order. Her nerves were shot from the evening's events. It had not at all go according to her plans. Just as she snapped her mirror shut, her makeup and hair now perfectly rearranged, the car door opens and a shrouded figure enters the vehicle.
"What the hell kind of operation are you running?" Obelia barked at the stranger. "What was that back there? Are you insane?"
The figure pulls back the head scarf that was obscuring his features and smiles.
"You said you wanted to test run the suit."
"Not through a terrorist attack at the Met where I was attending an event, you imbecile!"
"How else would you be able to witness the test run?"
"You mean the test failure? Iron Woman could have decapitated you and the suit was nearly destroyed."
"All part of the-"
Obelia held a hand up, silencing her companion.
"Enough! I don't need hear any more of your excuses. Two very good thing came out of this entire mess. It's now clearer than ever to me that the secret behind the Iron Woman suit lies in the arc reactor technology. I've also realized that I no longer have a use for you."
The man's face screwed up into frown as Obelia turned away from him and proceeded to put what looked like earphones into her ears. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? If you think- Hey! Are you listening to m-"
His words are cut short when he was suddenly paralyzed with piercing pain. A high pitched hum filled the room and he noticed through stinging, bulging eyes that Obelia held a small device in her hands and a wicked smile on her face.
"Like I said. You've overstayed your use. Twice now I've hired you to eliminate Tonya Stark, but instead you come to me yet again empty handed."
Obelia watched with eerie calm as the man besides choked and attempted to scream only to find that his tongue was as paralyzed as the rest of his body. Throbbing veins lined his forehead and his eyes leaked bloody tears.
"Well, it's my fault really," she sighed with cold detachment. "I should've known that if you want anything done right... you got to do it yourself."
The man spluttered one last time before falling to the ground unmoving.