A/N: Here it is! The end! -Sigh of relief- Anyway, thanks to everyone who's read...and keep watch for a new story in this realm coming soon....no promises, though....
CHAPTER 11
"Tony, if you're listening to this...then I must've somehow done something pretty damn stupid to go out before you. Wow, that's kinda morbid, the younger sibling kickin' the bucket before the older....
"All that aside, there's stuff I gotta tell you. And, if you haven't somehow made a magical one-eighty on personality and don't care, then, yes, my tiny scrap of the family fortune's yours now. Great for you. And also, uh, my mainframe's wide open for your techies over at the company to try and crack open. If they can, then you'll have some very pretty things to play with. Market how you like, just put my name on the patents.
"Now, important stuff. Two things. If I've died because of the whole Trinity fiasco, and you're still getting earfuls from Obi, then you better hear my side. Y'know, when Dad died, how I kinda...avoided you for awhile? Didn't come over, never let you know I was around? Well, there was a reason. I was trying to keep myself away from Obadiah. You remember how he was interested in Trinity, when you graduated? He paid me some big bucks for me to refine it. But the more I perfected the program, the more it became apparent that it was transforming into a virus. Worse, it was undefeatable. There would be no antivirus, just infiltrate, trash the files, then boil the hard drive before moving on.
"Three-quarters of the reason I came to the funeral was to say bye to Dad, even though he and I never got on like he did with you. The last fourth was that I wanted to meet Obi and tell him that it wasn't working out with Trinity. I had the disk ready to prove it to him, but he wouldn't listen right then. Instead, he gave me his hotel address and room number, told me to meet him for dinner and drinks. Like I would drink anything....
"When I went to his room, he still wouldn't listen. I laid out my case, told him that in all the trails and sims, Trinity became a devastating virus with each refinement. But then he gave me a glass of water. And there was something in it. I....I know what he did to me, when I was blacked out. But then I woke up, half-naked, out on the street with the disk missing, I knew that he was taking my project into his hands. He wanted a virus. I don't know why, but he did. So the checks stopped coming. There was nothing for me to do.
"And I never told you because I was afraid that you wouldn't believe me and stand up to Stane. You and him got on too well, I didn't think you'd let your sister in edgeways.
"The other thing...it was, what, five months you were in Afghanistan? Six? And then a couple of days before the Air Force rescued you? Guess who gave them the coordinates after tracing down where they took you. You don't have to glorify my name, Tony, but, hey, some recognition would be nice after being in your shadow all my life. I can see the headline: Tony Stark's Kid Sister Admits to Rescuing Famous Brother. Or some such nonsense. On second thought, don't tell anybody. I hate the press. You wanna thank anybody, you thank Major Matsuo; she was my contact, and she was the one who saw the final location first before shipping it to your guy...whatever his name is....
"So, in short, uh, you're getting everything of mine. If my bike gets outta the shop, yeah, you get that, too. And...well, consider my promise fulfilled. I've watched out for ya, always found out where you were and what you were up to, for the most part...and so yeah. Even though Dad didn't encourage me, we always competed for favor, and, well...I guess it's just better it worked out this way.
"So...bye, I guess. Won't be hearing from me ever again. God that's morbid, okay, cutting the transmission before I really embarrass myself...."
The voice faded, and Tony had to work very, very hard to not cry. It just wouldn't make sense, for a guy with his kind of reputation to start crying. But Pepper, with that amazing perception of hers, got a hint that he was barely keeping himself together and gently hugged him from behind. Tony took a long, deep breath and squeezed her hands before managing to speak.
"I never thought…..that Andy'd…."
"Done what she did?" Pepper finished for him. Tony nodded, and he felt his chest starting to ache. For a brief second, he thought that there was a problem with his electromagnet, but he realized that it was his actual heart aching. He missed Andy. He wouldn't get to hear her call him a jerk, yell at him for being so stupid that he overlooked tiny details. He wouldn't get to be right next to her when she screwed up, to bail her out, wouldn't have to work to keep her safe from getting into too much trouble....
"Sir? There's a message for you, downstairs," Jarvis interrupted Tony's thoughts. Message? Downstairs? Probably Rhodey, then. He stood up from the sofa, giving Pepper's hands one last squeeze before venturing down into the garage.
The message didn't even need to be delivered. Tony was back up the stairs thirty seconds later, yelling for Pepper, grinning from ear to ear before dragging her downstairs with him. And the both of them agreed...the message was very good news indeed.
THREE WEEKS LATER...
British Columbia was cold, in fall. At least the suit had an internal temperature control, so the pilot didn't even feel the cold. But the HUD gave up the temperature anyway, and it was...irksome.
The mostly-black figure shoved the last few branches out of the way before spotting the cabin, just like the reports said. A faint sigh issued from the helmet before summoning up the specs on the fellow that supposedly lived here. Anger issues, this one, if the whole wreck in New York a couple days ago was this guy's - and another, who was, hopefully, really deeply iced down – fault. Slowly, the figure inched closer before peering through a window at the front.
He was really very average-looking, with tousled brown hair, t-shirt, jeans, and hiking boots. If it hadn't been for the meditation position, the watcher might very well have thought he was a perfectly happy hermit. However, a few quick focuses in – especially on his clenched fists, and the blood pressure monitor on his left arm – warned the watcher as to where the danger signs would come. But there was no point in just watching unless they actually talked...
The figure rapped armored knuckles on the wooden door, and the man inside – Bruce Banner, if the files read right – soon opened the door. He frowned slightly as he looked the figure at his doorstep up and down, and the person within the suit knew he had to be wondering what the hell someone like this was doing someplace that was basically untraceable.
"Uh...can I help you?"
"Doctor Banner, right?" the figure asked, head tilting slightly. He nodded. "I have an offer for you."
"Mind telling me who you are, first, and how you found me?"
The figure chuckled, before prying up the black and gold mask over her face. Dark eyes glittered smartly as she smirked, face lit with an extra blue glow from the miniature arc-reactor in her chest.
"Andrea Stark. You can call me Andy, though. As to the whole rest of it...well, it'll take awhile. Mind if I come in?"
