Hooray for my shower for giving me this chapter! Lol. Break week is going to allow me to get some stuffs done! YaYYYYYYness.

"Let her go, Chloe." Tony warned. He glanced over at Pepper through the corner of his eye; fear was deep in her features. Chloe circled Tony so she was facing his side, near Pepper. Tony turned to face her.

"Well, let's make a little deal," Chloe smirked, "let me kill you and I'll set her free." Chloe offered. Tony was silent. He knew it was a no-brainer, he would lay down his life for anyone in danger; she was no different. He looked to the floor, then to Pepper, then to Chloe.

"I'll do it." Pepper's tears flowed faster. She struggled to untie herself, but could not.

"That's more like it." Chloe pulled back the trigger.

"Wait!" Tony held out his hand in protest. Chloe lowered her weapon and glared at him, annoyed; hands on her hips.

"What now?"

"I want you to let her go before you kill me." Tony demanded. Chloe glanced to Pepper.

"And why should I? You can't make me." Tony sent her an angered glare, indicating he was serious.

"Alright, I'll let her go." Chloe went over to Pepper and untied her. Pepper immediately rose in fear. Tony aimed a repulsor at her and fired; Chloe was sent flying into a stack of crates, rendering her motionless just long enough for Tony to say one last thing.

"Tony are you crazy? Have you lost your mind? Just beat her up! You don't have to do this! It's crazy, it's unlike you…" Tony clamped his hand over her mouth. He was silent a moment before releasing his hand from her mouth.

"Tony, are you afraid to hurt her?"Pepper asked, half annoyed with the question and half worried that Tony wasn't going to stop her now, while she was down, and then they'd be doomed forever.

"What? N-no, no, that's not it," Tony stuttered.

"Then shoot her now!" Pepper yelled.

"I-I can't!" Tony panicked.

"You have to!"

"I just can't do it!"

"WHY NOT?"

"Because she's innocent and I can't hit a girl!" Silence. Pepper couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Well if you don't then I'm going to hit you! Innocent? It doesn't seem that way, Tony!" Pepper said, annoyed.

"Well she didn't mean to turn down the wrong path! She just felt lost, and she found the wrong person." Tony said calmly, staring at the fallen girl through his mask.

"Tony, she's not who you thought she was." Pepper said calmly yet sprinkling a hint of crestfallenness in her tone. Tony didn't reply. Pepper sighed.

"She is inside," tony said quietly.

"She's the first person I've met since my dad's...accident...that understands what I'm going through. There has to be good in her," Tony pleaded. Pepper was silent.

"Tony, you have real friends that understand you. We understood you from the beginning." Pepper said sadly. Her initial fear that Tony would actually fall for this new girl was growing increasingly obvious. He was actually falling for her; which made Pepper fear she was losing him.

"Well I think you're crazy, Tony." Pepper folded her arms.

"People do crazy things when they're in love," Pepper looked confused, then noticed that he was talking about her, not Chloe.

"I'd die for you, and this is the only way to make peace. If Whiplash and Chloe want me dead, so be it. If that's going to shut them up, then that's what I'm going to do. Please, Pepper, I'm sorry. I have to do this." Tony noticed Chloe begin to stir, throwing pieces of crate off of her. He opened his face plate to show her his eyes one last time. Pepper leant in and kissed his cheek. Tony placed his hands on either of her cheeks before she could turn away. He looked into her eyes one last time, and studied her face. He studied each small freckle that decorated the bridge of her nose and her cheeks. He studied the way her red hair fell to her shoulders. He studied the forlorn frown sitting below her nose. He studied her sad, pleading eyes again. He dropped his hands to his sides, his eyes welling with tears.

"Get out of here, Pepper, go where you're safe." Tony warned.

"Goodbye, Tony…" She sighed, walking off. Tony watched her walk off, distracted from the female who was walking towards him with a weapon aimed at him.

"See, Tony, remember that day on the roof? You told me you understand what I'm going through. And I said I can't be so cold hearted all the time," she pulled the trigger, "guess I was wrong." she walked away.

Suddenly, Tony felt himself fly against the wall as result of the impact of Chloe's fist. Whatever that suit was composed of, it was making her superhumanly powerful. Tony stood and didn't move. His courage had dried his earlier tears and he left his face plate open.

"Go ahead, kill me. If that's what you want. If that's what's going to make you happy, then go ahead." Tony looked at Chloe and saw a different person than the one he'd met. It looked, for a moment, that she felt sorrow and regret; but it didn't last long. She smiled devilishly at him.

"Oh, but it's not me who's going to do the killing. I'm not the one who wants revenge," Whiplash landed on the roof behind Tony, "He is." Tony turned to face Whiplash, noticing the weapon he was wielding. It looked like the one Chloe was carrying, but larger and more powerful. Tony appealed as though he didn't care. Which was true, in some ways, but was not in other ways.

"If its revenge you want, then you can have it. Just kill me," Chloe strode next to Whiplash, triumphant smirk on her face. Tony found a discarded shard of broken mirror that had been left there by an occupant of the building they were on top of. He looked to Chloe in disappointment.

"Just look at who you've become, Chloe." Tony kicked the shard over to her, feeling traces of pain from the earlier laser fire from when they were in the lab. Chloe looked at Tony, confused. Tony closed his face plate in denial of her pity as Chloe picked up the shard of mirror. She looked at her reflection in it, but only saw a monster. She wasn't Chloe Carter, she was a demon. She saw a ruthless, heartless killer. She'd become the person who had killed her parents. There was fear and regret pouring out of her as she stared more into her reflection. She dropped the shard to her side and watched as Whiplash was about to fire at Iron Man.

"NO!" She screamed, kicking Whiplash off the edge of the building. She watched him fall to his doom, and walked away from the ledge as the police arrived. Tony was confused under his armor. Chloe strode over to him and rested her hand on his shoulder in silence as she looked to the floor. She thought of how her parents had raised her to be a good person, and how Carmen had tried to raise her that way as well. She thought of how she had failed them, how she must have disappointed them in every way.

She dropped her hand to her side and backed away from Tony. She dropped herself to the ground, sitting cross-legged. She looked down to the roof she was sitting on as Tony sat down across her in silence. He looked at her with sorrow. He felt bad for her, she must hate herself right now, Tony thought. He looked out to the city that surrounded him so he could give her time to clear her mind. He looked back at her, unable not to say something.

"You saved me." Tony said softly. Chloe looked up at him. HE could tell that she was deeply disappointed with herself.

"I'm a monster," Chloe spoke. She looked at her hands, "these hands were used to harm…" Tony didn't say anything to her, instead allowed her to speak. Tears started falling from her eyes.

"I hurt you, Tony…I nearly killed you...I cut you, I blasted you, I scared the girl you love half to death…" Tony looked to her, confused at her last statement. He let it slide, knowing it was true that he did love the redhead. He'd told her, anyways. His thoughts of hoping she got to a safe place distracted him from Chloe.

"I let everyone down." Chloe cried softly.

"You didn't let me down." Chloe looked to Tony. She felt even worse as she saw his unmasked, bare face.

"You were wrong to believe in me, Tony; dead wrong…I'm so sorry for hurting you…" Chloe looked down to the concrete roof below her.

"You didn't mean to." She looked back to Tony. He stood and offered her a hand.

"I'm like a broken CD, Tony," Chloe brushed the dirt off of herself and looked back to Tony, "there's no fixing me."

~…~

Tony re-entered the armory via the sky so he could take off his armor. By the look on his face, he wasn't very happy about his victory.

"Well, what happened?" The comm. Systems broke down after she shot you." Rhodey asked after Tony put the armor away.

"She saved me." Tony explained.

"You mean you got through to her?" Tony nodded. He noticed that Pepper was behind Rhodey.

"So what's wrong?" Pepper spoke up.

"I don't know. I feel bad for her, I guess. I don't know where she is now, but she's going home to make amends with her guardian." Tony explained.

"Well as long as she's good now, and she's happy, then we have no problem anymore.

"I guess." Tony sighed.

"Well my mom's asking for help moving the couch so she can vacuum, so I'll meet you at the house." Rhodey walked out. Tony looked to Pepper. Pepper smiled.

"So," Pepper walked around Tony, and then stopped when she was standing an inch from his front side.

"Did you mean all the stuff you said up there?" Pepper asked quietly. Tony smiled.

"Now why would I lie about that?" Pepper smirked.

"Maybe you love me more than you said." Pepper leaned in and kissed him.

Well, that was cool. Don't worry, there's a chapter or two more, depending on if I want to use the idea I have. I even have a sequel idea o.O anyways, review!