Chapter 9

Pepper Potts warily let herself into the house. The hammering and cursing could be heard from outside – the tone of voice instantly familiar. As a result, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know what the foyer now looked like.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she stepped inside: it wasn't quite as bad as she'd been afraid of, and while the once-shiny hardwood floor was now covered in bits of plaster, wood and drywall, most of the floor and walls were in one piece. It seemed Tony had opted to tear apart only the bottom part of one section of the wall by the stairs. The man himself had stopped hammering and was now lying on his stomach, only his bottom half showing.

She sighed and wondered if she should just book a contractor to come fix this sometime next week. It certainly wouldn't be the strangest repair she'd ever asked them to do. The contractor she always went with had stopped blinking and looking surprised at her requests ages ago.

"Good afternoon, Ms Potts. I'm afraid Mister Stark is rather preoccupied at the moment."

"I can see that," she said dryly. "Has he been at this long?"

"Since yesterday evening. He gave up on looking through the schematics in my database at 8:23 pm."

She rolled her eyes, not at all surprised. "Tony?" she called loudly. There was no response, so she gently kicked at his foot. "Tony?!"

Tony visibly stilled and then, after a moment's pause, she faintly heard something that could've been a yelled reply, probably something along the lines of 'Just a minute!'. So, she stood back, crossing her arms as she waited. Footsteps alerted her to someone approaching and she turned to find Vision with a tray of coffee and sandwiches. There was even a plate of scones.

"Hello, Vision," she said with a smile.

"Hello, Ms Potts," he greeted in reply. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Yes, please."

Vision set the tray down on the steps and began pouring her coffee. Pepper watched him, suddenly struck by how human he seemed compared to the bio-droids at the police station. Pepper didn't own one herself, but her mother had one to help her around the house so she'd definitely encountered them before. Bio-droids were hardly uncommon, although between purchasing them and keeping them fueled they also weren't a cheap commodity either. Vision was still stoic as any of the others she'd encountered, his voice void of emotion, but somehow he seemed ever-so-slightly more animated, more human. Then again, Tony had most likely set the bar when he'd started treating Vision as an actual person and not a highly-advanced appliance.

Vision handed her the coffee. She thanked him and took a sip. As usual, it was exactly the way she liked it with no sugar and a dash of cream. Tony drank his coffee black, so Jarvis must've told Vision she'd arrived for there to even be cream on the tray. She then watched the bio-droid cock his head at his owner.

"Don't worry," she told him. "I'll make sure he surfaces soon."

Vision nodded at her and left. Pepper grabbed a scone and sat down on the stairs.

It took Tony several minutes more before he finally slithered out of the wall. His hair was an even bigger mess than usual and caked with dust. But he was grinning triumphantly as he held up a circular metal disc. There was a small red light blinking next to his hand.

He sniffed the air. "Ooh, coffee?" he said and then zeroed in on the tray sitting on the steps.

"Tony, wash your hands before you touch any of it," Pepper admonished.

Tony paused just in front of the steps and blinked up at her. "Oh, hey Pep, when did you get here?"

She rolled her eyes. "About fifteen minutes ago."

"Oh." He placed the metal disc down, grimacing when he noticed his hands. They were black with filth. "Okay, I'm gonna be right back. Don't you dare drink all the coffee!"

"Wouldn't dream of it," she said. She did, however, pour herself another cup.

Tony looked much cleaner when he returned. There was still quite a bit of dust in his hair, but at least it no longer looked like he'd rolled in it. He poured himself a cup of coffee, not even bothering to put the carafe down as he guzzled it down, and then poured himself a second. Pepper reached over and nudged the plate of sandwiches towards him. He took one and sat down on the step next to her.

"So, how's the security system coming?" Pepper asked.

"Oh, the security system's not even the most interesting part," said Tony almost immediately. "See, first I had to figure out just how Stane managed to get past my security systems. I told you I'd transposed ones from the Tower, right? Those are systems I designed. No one should've been able to get through them as easily as they managed to."

Pepper frowned. "So how did they do it?"

Tony chuckled. "They cut the power to the mansion. We never noticed, because we never tried turning on any of the lights. See, the Tower has a back-up system that initiates an automatic full lockdown if the power flickers for more than sixty seconds unless I enter the override code. But I never bothered installing that into the manor, because there isn't as much sensitive research here and the Tower's mainframe is separate and can't be accessed from here anyway, not even by me. Plus it would mean some major construction on the house. I figured I could always do it later."

Pepper nodded slowly, but her frown deepened. "Did the power come back on part-way through?"

"Nope!" Tony took another large bite of his sandwich, his eyes sparkling merrily and silently prompting Pepper to finish her thought.

"But Jarvis still worked, and so did that security system. I mean, those robot crab things you described probably would've had their own internal power sources, but the chandelier sounds like it'd be too big and complicated for that..."

"Bingo! Which is when I realized that Jarvis said himself that he's been online for over two hundred years. I checked the records and the house hasn't been hooked up to the city power grid since Anthony Stark abandoned the place. Which means that, somehow, this building has its own, independent power source. And a pretty impressive one if it's still going strong after two hundred years of continuous use."

"Hm. That is impressive. And I take it you haven't had any luck with the building schematics?"

Tony stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and grimaced. "No. There's nothing that would indicate extra wiring or where this power source could be located."

"What about the bunker?"

"Checked that. It's a dead end. There's a regular old generator powering it. In fact, it's so old it's probably the original one Howard Stark installed in the 1960s – probably wouldn't last more than half a day at best at this point and that's assuming it even turns on. I don't think Anthony touched it at all, which makes me think the independent power source is probably his creation."

"What does Jarvis say?"

"He says he doesn't know, so either Anthony deleted the information from his memory banks, or made it inaccessible except by password. Or possibly built it before he built Jarvis."

Pepper looked to the hole in the wall. "So, I take it you're hoping to trace the security system to the power source."

"Exactly!" Tony put down his coffee and jumped to his feet. He took the steps two at a time as he went down to get the metal disc he'd dug out from the wall. "These guys here are clearly controlled by radio signals of some sort, and I'm thinking if I can trace them, then I'll have a place to start looking for the power source."

Pepper nodded. "And you won't forget that you need something to show the board on Monday?"

Tony winced. "Can't you just go to the meeting for me? I'll give you the schematics and projects and everything you need to know..."

She sighed. "Tony, you're the CEO."

"Then I'll make you the CEO. Actually, that's not a bad idea. I can still be the brilliant genius owner in the background and you can do all the business stuff that you do better than I do anyway. Jarvis, remind me tomorrow to call my legal team about making up a contract."

"Yes, sir. I'll pencil it into your day."

"Tony!" Pepper finally managed to stop gaping and found her voice. "You can't just stop being CEO! The company's just gone through a major upheaval. Another one right on top won't look good at all."

Tony waved her off. "Please, most people already think I'm too unstable to run Stark Industries. Stane was good at the business administrative stuff, which is why the company stayed in good standing. They'll see this as me acknowledging my weaknesses and leaving the parts I'm not so good at to someone who is. It's not like I'm giving away the company – just handing the administration part of it to someone else."

"Yes, but me? Tony I don't have the qualifications to be the CEO of Stark Industries."

The look he sent her was the sort he tended to give scientists when he thought they were being particularly stupid. "Pep, you're already doing most of the job. It's just that you have to get me to do the speeches and proposals and can't sign the paperwork yourself. You even write most of those speeches!"

Pepper still gaped at him. She couldn't help it. She'd always known she was going above and beyond what was technically in her job description, but she'd never really thought of it that way...

"Obie was full of it, but one thing he said during the invasion sort of hit close to home. He said that behind every Stark was a brilliant business administrator, the person who actually kept the company going. But none of them were ever truly acknowledged for the work they did. It was always a Stark in the foreground. I want to change that. You're better at the business thing than I am, so why shouldn't I let you take over? Ultimately, it'll be better for the company if I can concentrate on coming up with something that'll put us back into the technological forefront, right?"

"Well... yes, I suppose."

"Good! Then take the weekend off and think about it. I'll have the contract drawn up by Monday and we can present it to the board along with whatever brilliant thing I come up with. I've actually nearly got a prototype of the pendant-cam ready to go."

"Right, okay." She shook her head. "Wait, Tony, you do realize it's Tuesday, right?"

He blinked. "Is it? Well, then make it a long weekend. A really long weekend."

"You wouldn't survive without me for nearly a week."

"Um... sure I could..."

"Uh huh. Tell you what, I'll take the weekend off, but I'll work until then."

Tony beamed. "Sounds good," he said before turning his attention to the folded-up crab robot.

Not knowing quite how her day had taken such a twist, she placed her empty coffee cup onto the tray and stood to go.

"Bye, Tony," she said, not really expecting a reply now that he was preoccupied again. She didn't get one.

"Bye, Jarvis," she then added as she made her way to the front door.

"Good-bye, Ms Potts. And if I may, congratulations on your promotion."

"Thanks," she said, looking back fondly at her boss. "I think."

"I imagine that time will indeed tell," said the AI, sounding amused.

Tony startled and dropped the magnetic screwdriver in his hand when his comm bracelet vibrated. Blinking, he looked up for the first time in... he wasn't quite sure how long. Although at some point it seemed to have gotten dark outside. And someone had lit the chandelier. Probably Vision, or possibly Jarvis, come to think of it. If he had control over the gas dispensing mechanism inside, then he probably had control of the lights as well.

The bracelet continued to vibrate insistently. He tapped the gem and the name Pepper Potts came up. Raising an eyebrow, he accepted the call.

"Hey, Pep, what's up?" he said with a smile. She looked anxious: had he forgotten to do something?

"Tony, stop whatever you're doing and go check the news," she said, her words coming faster and more jumbled than usual.

"Shit, is it Stane?" he asked, already on his feet and rushing off to the entertainment room in the lower level of the residential wing.

"No, no, it's nothing to do with Stane or Stark Industries – at least not directly anyway. There... there's been a vigilante attack in China."

"An attack?"

He threw the doors open and ran in, finding the television already on and displaying CNN. Later, he would have to remember to ask Jarvis how he'd managed to get so much control over the house's systems. At the moment, though, Tony was too busy staring at areal views of several piles of rubble that were once the Chinese government buildings. All around them, Beijing was burning.

"Holy shit," he said.

Then the footage changed to something that was clearly from earlier in the night, and probably shot by an amateur if the shaky quality was anything to go by. It showed a giant oblong shape coming down from the thick grey early morning clouds like a ghost, silent and ominous. And then bright beams of blue light started shooting down at the city. The image shook even more.

"That's not just a vigilante, that's a fucking space ship!" said Tony. "Are we being attacked by aliens?"

"Although there is always the slight possibility of alternate entry, I should point out that none of the Stark Industry satellites have registered anything entering our atmosphere."

Tony paused. "Wait, you have access to the satellites?! I don't even have access to the satellites for anything other than using them as relay ports!"

"The United World Council was not aware that I existed, therefore no steps were taken to revoke my access."

Tony gaped.

"Tony, that's not important right now," said Pepper. "Should I contact the Maria Stark Foundation treasurer and tell him we're authorizing a large donation towards the relief effort?"

"What? Yes, yes of course. Oh, and that factory out in China's still ours, right?"

"Yes, Stane got the one in Bangladesh, but the one in China's still ours."

"Good, then call the factory director and tell him – no, wait, it's a 'her' isn't it – right, tell her that if any of the workers want to go volunteer with the relief effort, we'll pay them their regular wages. Tell her to bill the New York office directly for that and the transportation to get them there. I'm assuming they've gotta have trucks or something at the factory, right?"

He could see Pepper smiling on the holoscreen. "I imagine they do. Should I also tell her to load up whatever space is left on the trucks with food and water and send us the bill for that too?"

"Good idea, absolutely."

"I'll get right on it. Bye, Tony."

"Bye, Pep," he said absently, eyes glued to the screen all over again as CNN showed live footage from a flyover of the city. There were holes among the buildings now, giant craters where other buildings used to stand. Chunks of the city now demolished. Complicated twists of roads, zoom tunnels and bullet-trains were all fused together and jumbled into an unrecognizable heap in the midst of crumbled cement and scorched metal.

The doors to the entertainment room opened and he pulled himself away in to turn to Vision. The bio-droid was staring at the screen, his eyes slightly wider than usual.

"It's pretty bad, huh?" said Tony.

"Yes, sir," Vision said, blinking once before looking away to face Tony. "I apologize for interrupting you, sir, but the intruder in the garden is back."

"What?!"

Not even stopping to consider whether or not said intruder could be dangerous, Tony flew through the house. By the time he reached the kitchen he was out of breath, but he only paused for a moment to glance out the window to make sure the woman was still there. She was.

Tony quietly opened the door and stepped outside. He was already half-way there by the time it occurred to him that maybe he should've brought something weapon-like with him. Not that it would've done him any good, except make him feel slightly less nervous.

He was starting to wonder whether the woman knew he was approaching, when she suddenly stood. She turned, sharp eyes immediately finding him and boring into his eyes, as though examining his very soul. He froze to the spot, speech abandoning him for the moment. She wasn't doing anything but standing, yet there was a power and confidence in her stance that spoke of someone who had very little to fear, knowing they could take down any who opposed them. If he'd ever doubted her proficiency with the sword at her hip, he certainly didn't anymore.

"You are the new resident of the House of Stark," she finally said, leaving Tony unsure as to whether or not he'd passed her soul-searching test.

"Er, yes, I'm Tony Stark," he said, pulling himself together enough to flash her his most charming smile. Not that she appeared to notice. "And this house and its gardens are mine. I've sort of noticed you've been visiting and thought I'd come say 'hello', 'who are you' and 'what are you doing trespassing on my property'?"

The light from the house only barely reached this far, but Tony could've sworn amusement flashed through the woman's eyes.

"Well met, Tony Stark," she replied. "It is an honour to make the acquaintance of a scion of Anthony's line. I am Sif, Valkyrie and Lady of Asgard. I come here to pay my respects to my prince, who disappeared from this place many years ago."

"Asgard?" Tony asked, his eyes widening in amazement. "I've read about Asgard, but I was never sure if it was meant to be a real place or an ideal, like an end destination. Doctor Jane Foster wrote about it in her work on the Einstein-Rosen bridge. A lot of the publicly-available texts have been heavily edited over the years, but we had hard copies of her original texts at home when I was growing up. She mentions Asgard and something called the Rainbow Bridge in her work. So, you're saying Asgard's a real place, somewhere she was trying to get to?"

Lady Sif nodded. "The Lady Jane was my prince's beloved. The Rainbow Bridge is how we travel between our realm and yours. It was once broken for a time, and so the Lady Jane sought a way to reconnect with Asgard herself."

"Wow, wow, okay that's incredible!" Unable to stand still anymore, Tony began to pace. "That completely changes everything about her work. I mean, it always seemed odd that she just assumed things, unscientific even. But if she'd actually seen it working, then her methodology is no longer quite so suspect."

When nothing answered him but silence, he paused in his motions and glanced to the side, just in case she'd disappeared while he wasn't paying attention. But, unlike all his other friendly visitors, she was still there. The hard expression on her face had eased slightly and developed an amused, but melancholy edge.

"What?" he asked.

She shook her head, now definitely amused. "You remind me of Anthony Stark."

He blinked, slowly turning to face her again, not doing a thing to keep the incredulity off his face. "You knew Anthony Stark?! But he died almost two hundred years ago! There's no way you're that old."

"I am much older than that." She grinned sharply. "Do not measure me by your human standards, Tony Stark, for I not only knew Anthony Stark but fought by his side. Prince Thor and his shieldmates disappeared on the eve of a great threat. An evil man who called himself the Mandarin had procured the powers of ancient beings and, using them, endeavored to bend your world to his will. With Thor gone, myself and the Warriors Three took his place in aiding the Man of Iron and his compatriots, the Soldier of Winter, the Daredevil and the Fantastic Four in the glorious battle to defeat this foul villain and rid your world of his nefarious evil. If you wish I will gladly regale you with the tale, for it was a hard-fought battle, though we emerged victorious in the end."

Tony wasn't even sure where to start with this new information. Man of Iron? No doubt that was Iron Man, the last of the vigilantes who died protecting New York from a malicious android. Not many people knew the name of the man inside the armour, though it wasn't exactly difficult to find it in the records.

"So you knew Phil Coulson then?" he asked. She cocked her head at him. "You know, the man inside the Iron Man armour? They got his identity when they fished the wrecked armour out of the New York harbour."

Lady Sif laughed. "I do not know how that transpired, for I was back in Asgard then, but you are wrong, Tony Stark. The Son of Coul was many things, a brave and honourable man for certain, but he was not the Man of Iron."

Tony stared at her, trying to figure out whether she'd have any reason to lie to him. He couldn't find one. Just then her eyes glanced to something behind him and she froze, her expression closing off instantly. Tony turned, but only saw Vision approaching them with his usual calm, measured gait.

"Hey, Vision!" he called, hoping to put Sif at ease. "Something wrong?"

"Not any more wrong than previously, sir," said Vision, his eyes darting quickly towards Lady Sif before coming back to Tony. The gesture looked almost nervous. "I merely wished to ascertain whether or not you needed me to prepare refreshments."

Tony blinked. "Ah, I don't know." He looked back to Lady Sif, noting how she didn't look even the slightest more at ease than before. "Lady Sif, care to join me for some coffee and whatever food Vision can magic up this late at night?"

The Asgardian warrior was still standing ramrod straight, her jaw clenched as she observed Vision. "I think not, Tony Stark." She turned furious eyes on him. He only barely managed to stop himself from taking a step backwards. "I had thought better of you. Your predecessor was an honourable man and so I thought you would be as well. I am disappointed to find that you are capable of such heinous acts."

She spun on her heel and stalked across the lawn. Tony gaped after her. The accusation stung, especially so because he had no idea what he'd done to earn it. Did Asgardians have some sort of law against androids? Except that didn't really fit with her words either. As she got closer to the high stone wall, she broke into a run and then leapt over the wall in one, smooth motion.

She hadn't looked back once.