Rebecca walked into the hotel room silently as Pepper followed behind. Tony had Happy follow the chief of police car back to the holding cell where the man, who was now named as Ivan Vanko, was being held. Much to her protests, Tony had gone along to visit him and interrogate him for his actions. He needed to know why this man hated his family so much, and he intended to somehow narrow down what he was trying to achieve.
"You sure you're okay?" Pepper asked, knocking Rebecca from her thoughts that seemed to be consuming her.
"Yeah," she nodded lazily. "I'm fine. I just...wish I hadn't gone off like that."
Pepper took a seat next to her on the small sofa. "Hey, it was bound to happen. There was way too much tension between the two of you after all of that, it needed to be said, it needed to be out there."
Rebecca smiled faintly. "What about you? Are you okay?"
Pepper sighed. "Physically, I'm fine. Mentally...let's not go there. The image of your father being flung through the air by those...whips...will never escape me."
"I'm sorry." Rebecca apologized. "For running off. I just needed to stop him, or at least try, but I guess that was all a waste of time in the end."
"It's okay," Pepper reached her arm out to Rebecca's shoulder. "I know what you'd do for you dad, and I'm not going to criticize you over it, I think you've had enough of that. Just know that your father, he puts your first all of the time-"
"I know Pepper, and I hate sounding like a whiny teenager but I can't help it. He expects me to sit by and watch him continuously almost die, but I need to help. I need to do something, I'm not a kid, I can help."
Pepper nodded, although she didn't seem convinced. "I understand, really, I do."
Rebecca sat there quietly after that, by herself, just thinking of that one thing that's been on her mind for months. That suit. The suit she would prove herself with, that she could protect herself and everyone she loved, she could do it. She wasn't a child, and she could prove it.
Tony followed the guard down the corridor, staring at the door ahead. Behind that door sat the man who tried to kill him, who somehow held such a powerful grudge against his family, and he was about to confront him about it.
"Just so you know, Mr. Stark, there's eyes on you in that room. He may be a criminal, but we have a right to protect both of you, so...keep it professional." One of the officers who spoke English informed him with a concerned look.
"Professional?"
"You know what I mean Mr. Stark."
Tony nodded his agreement, he had no plans to make this visit violent, not unless there was need to. The guards put a code into the door and it make a squeak as it opened, and Tony walked through. He felt no sympathy for the man who sat in the middle of the room, shirtless as a result of his electrifying weapon and arc-reactor, as he tuned his head to see who was approaching.
Tony had no idea how to begin his words with this man, he had so many questions and he just wanted the answers now. Vanko clearly didn't care for Tony at all considering the throaty chuckle he let out when he saw him. Tony had never met him before, he was sure of that, and his immediate thoughts were that he was somehow involved with The Ten Rings terrorist group, since that was his first thought now when someone wanted to kill him, but his Russian decent didn't fit.
"You come from a family of thieves and butchers," Ivan looked over. "and like all guilty men, you try to rewrite your history, to forget all the lives the Stark family has destroyed."
Tony assumed then he was referring to weapons, since that was all the Stark family manufactured, but something in his voice hinted his own personal anguish.
"Speaking of thieves, where'd you get this design? You look like you have friends in low places." he asked, ignoring Vanko's previous words.
"My father, Anton Vanko." he answered with pride.
"Never heard of him."
"My father is the reason you're alive." Ivan became defensive, his eyes glaring.
Tony stared back at him with equal intensity. "No, the reason I'm alive is because you made a shot, and you missed."
Ivan let another chuckle escape from his throat. "If you could make God bleed, people would cease to believe in him, there will be blood in the water, the sharks will come." The look in his eyes was intimidating, as if he held so much power. "All I have to do is sit back and watch as the world consumes you. "
"Where will you be watching the world consume me from? Oh, that's right, a prison cell." he responded carelessly. "I'll send you a bar of soap."
Tony stood up from his position on the metal seat next to Vanko, turning from the man who he had gathered enough information from. He didn't need to ask any questions after all, Vanko summed up all his suspicions in his speech, this was personal. The only thing that made him feel comfortable with leaving him in this cell was the fact that he'd never be leaving it again.
"Hey, Tony. Before you go," Vanko calle out, gaining no response. "palladium in the chest, painful way to die."
Tony froze up at his words. There was more to this man than he thought, there was more to the whole situation. Somehow he knew Tony was dying, knew he was deteriorating as each day went on, as each minute passed, he was worsening. He didn't know what to say in return, he didn't want to see vulnerable and give in to his words by retaliating, so he knocked on the large metal door and was soon escorted out of the building, his mind still in a trance at Vanko's warning.
"I've got to go meet with the Stark team, their up in arms about something, though they've got every right to be angry." Pepper walked into the living room where Rebecca lay sprawled out, staring out into the dusk sky. "I'll just be down in the restaurant, I'll bring back some dinner."
Rebecca nodded, still looking out at the sinking sun. "Okay then."
Pepper sighed. "Will you be okay here?"
"I'll be fine. The child lock's on everything, right?" Rebecca peered over to Pepper who looked unimpressed. "I'm kidding, go do what you have to do, l'll be fine."
Pepper gave her a smile and picked up her handbag. "I have my cell if you need anything."
Rebecca nodded in reply and turned back to the window, waiting for Pepper to ask her if she'd be okay here alone once more. The door shut not long after, and then she was alone. She couldn't stop thinking of that man at the track as she looked aimlessly out the window into the sunset. The government was going to give Tony absolute hell for this after ensuring his arc reactor was one of it's kind and the technology wasn't advanced enough to replicate it yet.
Rebecca had no idea how long she'd been staring at the speedy sunset, but when she looked up at the door after a few knocks, she realized her vision was blurred from the concentration. She wondered who would be stopping by the room considering Tony and Happy had gone, and Pepper too. She looked up through the peep hole, cursing under her breath at who stood outside.
"Oh come on, open up. I won't bite." he joked with a much too polite tone.
Rebecca groaned and turned the doorknob, opening it up to face the man dressed in an obviously expensive grey suit.
"Justin Hammer." she smiled forcefully, folding her arms. "How can I help you? Did you get lost on your way to kiss the Senator's ass again?"
Hammer chuckled enthusiastically, clapping his hands. "That's good, got a bit of a fight in you, bit of a joker, I like you already." he continued to smile, pretending they were getting along pleasantly. "Anyway, being the do-gooder I am, I came to see how your dad's going. Quite a day he's had. Mind if I come in?" he slid past her in the doorway, making himself at home in the living room.
"Yeah..." Rebecca let out a frustrated sigh and walked over to the chair directly across from him, crossing her arms and legs as to look unamused. "He's fine."
Hammer didn't seem to be listening, he just nodded mindlessly. "I see, well, y'know I respect your father a lot so if he ever needs anything, I'm here."
The gesture was so insincere Rebecca almost let out a slight laugh, but resisted. "What do you want? I know you could care less about my dad."
Hammer looked hurt. "I in fact do care for Tony Stark, he's a brilliant man and I'd hate to see him in trouble." he defended. "You see, this is why I've come to see you. Your dad needs help if he's going to go head to head with the government, serious help, and I can offer that help, I'm all for peace between the Feds and your dad, all for it."
Rebecca gave him a glare. "Do you honestly think that I believe you? You're a liar for a living, I'm not stupid."
"Hey, hey now, I've been nothing but kind since I've known your dad, I can't control his dislike toward me." he settled back into the couch. "He needs help. I can show the government how those suits work, and how they benefit the country, and I can change the way the way they see them. The only reason the government wants that suit is to see what it's potential is, to see what it can do, because they're afraid of it. I can change that, I want to help, but it'll have to be between us, your dad won't be on board."
Rebecca couldn't believe that she was actually listening to this man, but there she was and it was making sense. All the talk about the government was understandable, and believable, but what she needed to know was how he intended on helping and what the catch was.
"You're supposed to be the guy who the government uses to go against my dad." she stated.
"I'm the weapons expert, yes, they need my knowledge in order to make your dad look bad. But they listen to me, and I can change their opinion."
"How are you going to do that?" she questioned, showing her interest.
Hammer paused for a moment. "I need...a suit." he announced. "I have to show them what it can do, and when they see, I'm going to make an army."
Rebecca's mouth fell open as her eyes widened. "You what? An army? Are you out of your mind!"
Hammer raised his hands to settle her objections. "A government army, for the military. Think about it, it'll lessen the workload for your dad with an army out there and he'll be off the hook." he explained. "Its win-win."
Rebecca shook her head: "There's no way you're getting the Iron Man suit."
Hammer sighed, exasperated. "Do you not realize what I've just offered you? An end to all your problems in return for one tiny request. I thought you, the loving child, would want this for your dad."
"You're asking me to take the suit from my dad and, instead of the government, hand it over to you." Rebecca told him. "I won't do that."
"I get it, your all about family love and trust." he nodded understandingly. "But do you realize what they're going to do to him? Huh? They're going to destroy him and everything he's worked for. That little...thing in his chest, will be worthless."
Rebecca hated the way he got under her skin and made her worry even more than she already was.
"Forget it. I'm not giving you a suit to dissect." she shook her head again.
"Well then," he shrugged. "There is another option. I know your dad didn't build that thing in the dark for weeks, you must've seen a fair bit of the production, I'd bet you could even make one yourself. Am I right?" Rebecca stared back at him, not saying a word, and he took that as his answer. "See? I know you better than you think."
"This has nothing to do with anything."
"On the contrary," he laughed. "This is everything. I have the materials, you have the knowledge. We could end this mess once and for all, no betrayal necessary."
Rebecca considered what he was suggesting. "You're asking me to build you a suit."
Hammer pulled a face, trying to come up with an answer that didn't make the truth seem the truth. "Well...y-yes and no." he threw his hands up. "Yes, yes that's what I'm asking."
"Guess I was wrong about you." she smiled. "You're even more stupid than I thought."
Hammer grinned. "I see you're on the fence about things, I understand, it's a lot to consider." he stood up an reached into his coat pocket. "Here, that's my card. Think about things, get back to me. If you really want to help your dad as much as you say you do, you'll do what's necessary."
Rebecca glared at him as she opened the door once again, gesturing for him to leave. "I'm not building you a suit Hammer, you can forget it. Now, if you don't mind, get the hell out."
Hammer slid his hands into his pocket and grinned like a child, walking toward the door, stopping just beside her.
"Well, when you're done contemplating my offer for the rest of the evening, which you will be, let me know, 'cause we'll start production straight away." he spoke confidently. "Oh, and I wouldn't mention this little business visit to your dad, I mean, unless you want more trouble for him, y'know, since I'll be addressing the Senate on this issue when I get back to DC."
"Threats?" Rebecca scoffed. "Really?"
Hammer shrugged. "Of course not."
As soon as his body was through the door, Rebecca slammed it shut in his face, locking it. He had such a nerve coming here and asking such things, and he really was losing his mind if he thought she would agree to make him an Iron Man suit. What bothered her the most, however, was the fact that he was right about one thing definitely - she would be contemplating the whole thing all night.
Rebecca sat in the chair on the jet, staring out at the clouds as they began their journey back home, her mind replaying the whole conversation with Justin Hammer as she had the previous night, keeping her from sleep. Happy had retreated to his cabin in order to get some sleep, and Rebecca could feel herself slowly slipping away as well. When Tony had arrived back from visiting Ivan Vanko's jail cell the day before, Rebecca didn't exactly patch things up with her father. They spoke about the whole incident, but she could tell her dad was firm on the whole idea of keeping Rebecca out of any life threatening scenarios regardless of whether or not she was trying to help him. Rebecca held in her protests, knowing they would be useless, and she relented, agreeing to her father's conditions.
"Hey," Pepper nudged her shoulder gently as Rebecca's eyes flew open. "Why don't you go lay down? You're tired."
Rebecca grumbled for a moment and then pulled herself up off the seat. "Mm, yeah, I think I will."
Pepper took her seat over by the window again, wondering where Tony was, he'd been out of sight for a few hours now and she assumed she was the only person awake now. Her eyes fixed on the television on the wall, and she activated the audio to listen in. It was Senator Stern, and he was talking about Iron Man.
"Mr. Stark assured us this technology, these suits, couldn't exist anywhere, and wouldn't exist anywhere else for at least twenty years." he spoke angrily, reporting in to the camera. "And now the events in Monaco just show us, these suits exist now."
Pepper frowned, watching as Stern continued to criticize Tony's failure to gain his country's trust. It wasn't fair, Iron Man had done so much for this country and the government, and saved many lives, but they still weren't satisfied.
"Senator Stern there discussing the incident at the Monaco Grand Prix involving Tony Stark's Iron Man. We'll bring you more on the issue when weapons expert Justin Hammer speaks at the Senate-"
"Mute." Tony's voice came from behind Pepper.
She turned her head to see him walking over to the seat before her, setting a plastic tray down on the table, hiding the contents.
"What is that?" Pepper raised an eyebrow.
Tony lifted the lid proudly. "Your in-flight meal."
Underneath the lid sat an unidentifiable meal, mushed together and burnt. The longer she looked at it, she realized it was his attempt at an omelet.
"You just made that?" she asked, trying to hide her repulse at the sight of the food.
"Yeah, where do you think I've been for the last three hours?"
Pepper continued to stare at the omelet, her eyes flickering between that and Tony, who was looking out the window thoughtfully. He was rarely this quiet, but given recent circumstances she understood his silence, but she couldn't let her worry go unheard.
"Tony," she spoke quietly, waiting for him to look up at her. "what are you not telling me?" Pepper knew he was hiding something, and it was big, but she didn't know what and maybe she didn't want to.
Tony didn't answer at first, contemplating the many things he needed to tell her. She needed to know that while he sat there before her, he was slowly dying. He had already swapped a palladium core, but they were beginning to become low, and he needed to moderate the usage. Telling Rebecca would break his heart, and if Pepper knew, he would have someone that knew why he was acting the way he was and search for alternate solutions. He couldn't tell her though, he couldn't bare it. The look on her face, the worry, the stress, he couldn't put that into her until he continued to try every possible way to survive, but time was running out. It was in those seconds of silence that he backed out of his confession.
"I don't want to go home." he shook his head. "At all. Let's just...let's just go somewhere. Take a vacation."
"A vacation?" Pepper raised her eyebrows, knowing that wasn't a possibility.
"Venice. Let's go to Venice."
''Tony-''
''No, no, just think about it.''
"It's just not the right time." she spoke sincerely, showing her apology. "Not with what's going on."
"But that's exactly why now is the perfect time." he encouraged. "We can get away from all of this...everything. Take some time, recharge."
Pepper sighed. "Not everyone runs on batteries Tony."
Tony stopped with his pushing of the vacation, settling back into his chair with an understanding look on his face, giving Pepper a slight smile. She returned the smile, but her heart ached at the sight of him so broken at what he was going through. Pepper had never known Tony to be one to admit defeat, or admit he was struggling with something, but right now that wasn't necessary, she could see the pain he was going through, and she couldn't help him.
Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Had a lot I wanted to explain and get through. Anyway, I just wanted to say that as much as I will be sticking to the movie, I won't be following the same timing, so a lot of things will happen before scenes in the movie, I hope I don't confuse people who are following the movie too much in this story even though I'm trying to stick to it, but I have a lot I need to incorporate into it, so the sequence of events will change, just a heads up. I hope you are all enjoying it so far and continue to follow because I have a lot of ideas and other things lined up for following chapters! Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!
