Chapter 35
Darcy rubbed her temples, her head spinning with the large amount of information they had all just received in the span of a few minutes. She pulled her gaze away from the shocked-looking heroes and stared outside. Her eyes were glued to the soldiers beneath them as they stared up at the Helicarrier and Quinjet, possibly plotting a way to bring them down. To her surprise, the deserted scenery behind the mass of servants began changing before her eyes, resembling the image of a faulty television screen receiving static from satellites.
What the hell?
She pulled her face closer to the window, rubbing her eyes under her glasses to make sure she was not being tricked. Her mouth went agape when the static ended to reveal the treasure that had been hidden behind.
"Holy crap!"
The tone in which she had uttered her disbelief caught the attention of everyone else; turning their faces to stare at her back and wonder what had caught the interest of the hyperactive grad student. Maria, who was closest to Darcy, walked behind her and peeked over her shoulder. In an instant, her face mimicked Darcy's before she snapped her head back to look at the rest of the team. "The castle is there!"
"What castle?" Steve responded and joined the rest of the team as they scattered throughout the jet to find an available window to look down.
"What the hell?" Fury mumbled.
"Pepper was right," Tony said. "It's been here all this time."
"But, why can we see it now, and not before?" Rhodey wondered aloud.
"I don't think we'll like the answer to that question," Bruce said, shaking his head. "I'd hate to have to face whatever was keeping up that illusion and is now too busy doing something else…or…"
"Do you think this means the Mandarin is dead?" Natasha asked.
"I doubt it," Jane answered.
"Maybe Loki betrayed this Mandarin person?" Thor offered, tightening his grip on his hammer at the angry thoughts that crossed his mind thinking about his brother's actions.
"That wouldn't surprise me," Barton spat.
"Well, at least we can see where Pepper is now," Tony said as he lowered his faceplate and made his way to the back gate of the jet.
"Stark, where do you think you're going?" Fury snapped at the genius.
"Isn't obvious? I'm going to go get Potts."
"Are you insane?"
"Most of the time."
"Wait!"
"For WHAT? That's all we've been doing! Waiting! I can't wait anymore!"
"So, what? Are you gonna just barge in there and take her out? Do you really think it's gonna be that easy?"
"What else am I supposed to do, huh?"
"Let's just…think for a moment. If Loki is there, who knows what else is waiting for us." Bruce reasoned. He too wanted to jump into action to rescue Pepper, but at this point they could not afford to just attack without a plan. "Clearly, they have the advantage," Banner continued, attempting to bring sense onto his friend. "They have Pepper, and Loki is helping, and they have magical rings we don't understand yet…AND," he pointed to his neck. "They found a way to suppress the Hulk. They've really thought this through."
Tony exhaled loudly, hating to accept it but agreeing with Bruce's logic. "Fine, alright! But if no one gives me a plan in the next two minutes, I'm heading out."
The pilot of the jet cleared his voice, catching the attention of the team. "We could, uhm…dump the weapons we…we…brought?"
"What?" Fury asked.
"Well," the agent began, gaining more confidence with every word he spoke. "We lost the ability to aim and automatically drop them, but if the jets are still floating, that means some of the weapons should still work, right?"
"Are there more bombs in the other jet?" Jasper asked, willing to give the pilot's idea a try.
"Yes; half here, half there, roughly."
Tony did not need to hear anything more. "Who needs a ride?"
xxxXXXxxx
"This was not supposed to happen," Mandarin stared in disbelief at the pile of ash on the floor. "She was pure, was she not? She should have not been rejected!"
"I don't understand," Loki furrowed his brows. "The scripts do not mention anything about this. Maybe the mortal did not deliver a pure specimen?"
"An impure Makluan would have not been able to open the chamber in the first place. Maybe she was not supposed to have the rings on?"
"No, she had to. Without the rings the headband would have not appeared. The chamber would have shown to be empty."
"My Lord?" One of Mandarin's servants uttered from the door. "We have a problem."
"What is it now?" Mandarin turned around to face the man.
"It appears the castle is visible to…"
BOOM!
The ship rattled with the sound of an explosion. Mandarin and Loki stared at the other with knowing looks; the battle they had been trying to keep at bay was before them. "Secure the castle. Everyone needs to protect this chamber. They cannot come here."
"Yes, my Lord," the servant responded as he was already making his way out of the room to inform his peers of the master's orders. The Mandarin kneeled down next to the ash and began spreading the dust around to try to find the rings. Loki inhaled deeply at the realization that another one of his plans had failed. He tightened his grip on the scepter and walked up to the entrance of the ship. If he wanted a last chance at making their plans work, he would have to stand his ground. The Master of Mischief placed his body in a defensive stance, ready to stop whoever or whatever crossed that door, even if it came in the form of his brother, Thor.
xxxXXXxxx
The creators of the concept of an assembly line would have been proud of the Avenger team right about now. The group had split into two squads: in one jet were Fury, Jasper, Steve, Darcy, and Jane; in the other were Maria, Selvig, Bruce, Natasha and Clint. Each group inside the craft sorted through the available ammunition, separating the ones that worked and the ones that did not, and handed the working ones to their assigned pitcher. The Quinjet that Fury directed was pitched by Thor, while the Quinjet that was directed by Maria was pitched by Rhodey. War Machine and Thor's job was to aim the usable weapons, throw them to the ground, and use either the hammer or a repulsor to make them explode once near the Extremis army.
Tony had left the team a few minutes ago, and had headed to the Helicarrier to relay the plan of attack to the agents there. In a few minutes, the remaining jets would be deployed from the carrier, and all twenty crafts plus the Helicarrier itself would begin dropping all their available weapons in the same manner the two scouting jets were doing so far.
"I'm done, Fury. Stark, out!" Tony managed to tell the team in his brief stop to the jet before he flew into action. As he hovered over the desperate army of servants, he dumped a few well-placed Black Ice grenades in order to thin out the herd, and caused enough chaos around him to cover his crash into the castle grounds.
Hold on, Pep. I'm almost there.
He landed inside the top level of palace, through the balcony, and used the annexing walls to slow down his landing. He quickly stood up and began scanning the area, trying to pick up the heat signals of 2.0's. There's so many of them; the entire fucking place is filled with furnaces!
Tony activated his flight stabilizers and began his search for the missing team member, not caring that he was destroying the castle as he did so. His only mission was finding his wife, and he would do so even if the structure ended up crashing down over them. He knew Pepper could survive a imploding building, and his armor would definitely give him a chance to do so as well.
xxxXXXxxx
"Found anything?" Loki asked, trying to stabilize himself when the underground spaceship shook again. "The explosions are getting closer."
"They're gone," Mandarin spat. "They are all gone!"
"Damn," Loki whispered ahead of an even louder explosion. The Mandarin stood up from the ground and headed to a back room of the spaceship. He opened the door to reveal a small storage of weapons. He grabbed a double-edged sword, which he then split into two before turning around to the front of the room.
"Getting ready?" Loki asked over his shoulder, watching the leader of the castle approach his location. "He's coming to get her."
"I'm sure. If anything good shall come out of this disappointment, it will be the look on his face when he realizes he is too late."
"I can live with that."
xxxXXXxxx
"Get. OFF. ME!" Iron Man yelled as he peeled off yet one more Extremis servant from his suit. He knew he had to be getting close to where Pepper was being kept since the deeper he got into the castle, the more servants got in his way. He remembered Pepper mentioning something about being underground in her dream; way below the sand, and his earlier joke about it being a basement was turning out to be not so funny after all.
"Jarvis, suit status report."
"The suit's arc reactor is at 58% capacity. Weapon ability reduced to 15%. Structural damage at 35% - the suit's integrity is compromised, sir. The Mark XLV will not hold on much longer."
"We'll it's gonna have to. At least until I can find Pepper. Any luck?"
"The amount of soldiers present is making it difficult to pinpoint her whereabouts. I have tried using the new algorithm I created for her, but so far it has failed to locate her."
"Failing because it's a prototype or because she might be…gone?"
"The data does not support either possibility, sir."
"I didn't program you to lie, J."
"I learned that all on my own."
Tony chuckled. "Well, you suck at it."
"The constructive criticism has been recorded. Evasive maneuvers activated."
"Shit!" Iron Man was hit by a shrapnel grenade similar to the one that had nearly caused him to die back in Afghanistan. He activated his electromagnetic shield to protect himself from the worst part of the blast, but the use of the shield came at a cost.
"Arc reactor capacity reduced to 35%."
"C'mon Pep. Where are you?"
Tony stopped his flight in midair and looked around him. It appeared he had reached a garden in the middle of the palace, which to him it seemed strange to have in such a remote location in the godforsaken desert. The servants were running towards Iron Man once they had realized he was a standing target, but Tony had other ideas in mind.
"Jarvis?"
"Yes, sir?"
"How many levels do you think are below us?"
"We seem to be halfway down the structure, sir."
"Well, let's take a shortcut."
"Reverting power to chest RT," Jarvis said, anticipating the order of his creator.
"Like I said before," Tony said as he felt the chest piece firing up. "You can read my mind, Jarvis."
xxxXXXxxx
"This one is the last of the Black Ice; here!" Jasper yelled over the chaos below, throwing the grenade toward Thor. The God of Thunder knocked the weapon to the desert floor below with a swift movement of his hammer, but the servants were ready for the attack. Before the grenade hit its target, one of the soldiers jumped up high, propelled by his peers. He aimed toward the incoming bomb, grabbed it in his hand, and threw it back towards Thor. The Thunderer tried to stop the impact from reaching the jet behind him, but the blast near him caused his grip on Mjölnir to loosen.
"No!"
The hammer was aiming directly toward the ceiling of the Quinjet, undoubtedly able to crash the jet by destroying the rotors. Everyone inside the jet froze for a moment until Steve jumped high in the air and cushioned the blow of the hammer with his chest and arms. Jasper and Fury up against Steve's back to slow him down, causing only minor damage inside the jet.
"Are you alright?" Darcy asked the trio as they stood up from the floor of the jet.
"Yeah; that was close," Steve mumbled, holding the hammer in his hands. "You know, I thought it would be heavier." He walked to the edge of the craft to find Thor on the ground below, his eyes wide when he saw Steve holding Mjölnir in his left fist. "We're OK" Steve yelled as he dropped the hammer back to Thor. "Carry on!
Thor's precious weapon made it back to its owner again, but not without leaving a shocked demigod in its wake, and leaving an unsuspecting super soldier unaware of the new light the Asgardian now saw him in.
xxxXXXxxx
Loki and the Mandarin had been expecting the intruders to reach the chamber via the only door in the room, so when the blast came from above them, they both lost their footing and hit the floor with a loud thud. Loki lost his grip on the scepter in the blast, but at this point he knew it would prove useless to him in a battle against the mortals or the brute, if he even showed up. The shot of adrenaline suppressant he had given Bruce when he took Pepper during the Jericho blast was supposed to last for at least two days, so he doubted he had to worry about Hulk wanting to smash him onto concrete again.
As the dust settled, Iron Man was flanked on the left by Loki, and the right by Mandarin. The two men were still partially startled by the explosion, but were aware enough to know trouble had just knocked on their door.
"Where is she?" Tony stared left and right as Jarvis scanned the area for Pepper's location. "Where IS Pepper?"
"Hn," Mandarin tightened his grip on his swords and walked up to the circular chamber in the middle of the room, Tony's eyes glued to his every move. "Do you see that pile of ash?" He pointed to it with his sword. "That used to be the Source. She is no more."
Iron Man stared at the dust on the ground and then to his left to glare at Loki. The demigod just shrugged at him. "She didn't make it after all. I don't suppose you can fix her now."
"Jarvis?" Tony whispered inside his helmet. "Report?"
"I'm sorry, sir." The AI said in a low tone after confirming the ash emanated the same EM waves Pepper did when alive. Tony closed his eyes and swallowed the knot in his throat before opening his eyes once more.
"So be it. Jarvis, initiate protocol FTS."
"Are you certain, sir? The odds of you making it out alive are quite in your favor if you retreat now."
"They may be, but…without Pepper…If my kids make it…that's all that matters."
"Very well, sir."
Iron Man raised both of his closed hands toward the hole he had just made. From the top of the forearm part of the gauntlets, four thin devices, two on each hand, popped up and aimed toward the sky.
"Leaving so soon, Stark?" Loki jested, cracking his knuckles in anticipation of giving the genius a piece of his mind and misinterpreting Tony's position for an escape-preparation stance.
"You wish," Tony responded before the flares were released. The four devices sped their way up and out the palace, and once they reached their highest point, they immediately fell down to the ground on opposite points of the land surrounding the castle, and simultaneously exploded with such magnitude even the servants stopped in mid-fight. The gas cloud that emanated from their explosion was so thick and grey it was difficult for the soldiers to realize what had just occurred.
At least until those closest soldiers to the blast began dropping like flies.
xxxXXXxxx
The sound of the explosions made everyone in the jets freeze. The sand that was being lifted off the ground forced Thor and Rhodey to return to the jets, and left them no option but closing the hatches behind them. Again, the team rushed to the nearest available window and watched in awe as the gas cloud grew thicker and thicker.
"What the hell is that?" Selvig asked.
"Is that another Jericho bomb?" Maria inquired. Natasha and Clint just shrugged; they were as clueless as the other members of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Bruce, however, knew exactly what the attack meant. He shook his head at the scene, gripping onto the edge of the windowsills and looked down. "Pepper's gone."
"What?" Rhodey snapped his head to the right.
"That attack…it came from Tony. It means Pepper's gone."
"I don't understand," Maria said. "What does this have to do with Pepper? Is this a sign of retreat?"
"No. It means Tony has nothing to lose."
"What do you mean? What is he…? What's this gas all over the place?" Natasha asked.
"That is a lethal version of the cure."
"Lethal? Cure? LETHAL?" Selvig spat. "Is he going to kill us all?"
"No, we're fine. But the soldiers down there…anyone with a hint of Extremis, is not going to be."
Everyone's eyes returned to the scene, and now that the sand was settling, it was clear what Bruce had meant. The cluster of soldiers that had been closest to the blast were now lying on the ground, still and turning black. Their bodies then began to disintegrate and produced a vapor that joined the original gas cloud and made it grow larger by the second.
"Tony combined the cure we made with the Black Ice to create a super bomb. It cures the host of the virus by giving it a version of the virus that attacks the infected cells, just the way the polluted virus that Tony infected himself with did to him. The two viruses are not compatible at all, and combined with the Black Ice it causes the Extremis to attack the host in the form of massive necrosis to try and take over again. The body then disintegrates and the vapors released contain the leftover of the cure, and it transfers itself to another host in an airborne manner. It will stop only when every Extremis soldier down there is dead."
"So," Maria whispered. "Stark wouldn't have released it unless…"
"Unless, Pepper's safety was not a concern anymore." Bruce confirmed.
"Is he coming back?" Rhodey asked aloud even though he knew the answer to his question.
"Not unless we go get him out of there."
"Should we?" Selvig asked, unsure of wanting to waltz into a fight of a man who had just lost the will to live.
"I think we should," Clint said, already on his way toward the back of the jet. Natasha tried to follow him but one look from Rhodes, Bruce and Barton was all it took for her to resign her pregnant self to remain inside the craft.
"Fine, but make sure you get him back."
By the time War Machine stepped out of the craft with Barton in tow, Thor - with a dangling Steve in his hand – was also exiting the other jet. The four of them exchanged information during their flight above the falling soldiers below them, and rushed toward the origin of where the flares had come from: the gaping hole in the middle of the palace.
xxxXXXxxx
Iron Man lowered his arms and they fell to his sides for a quick moment before he raised them again and aimed them at the Mandarin and Loki, releasing a repulsor attack that sent them both flying off. Loki recovered quicker than the Mandarin, and ran toward Tony. He grabbed the billionaire by his neck and lifted him off the ground. "Does this seem familiar, Stark? There's no suit waiting for you now, is there?"
Tony did not have a chance to answer the question as Loki sent him flying toward the back wall. Before Tony could get up, the demigod ran to him once more and smashed Tony's helmet against the wall, holding it in place with one hand as the other worked to peel off the suit from Iron Man. The billionaire tried to push the angry god away from him in any way he could, but his most powerful weapons were now offline. The only chance he had was to use his chest RT, but it would leave his suit useless afterward.
"Does it pain you to know you were too late to save your woman? Your tag on her did not work. She died not knowing who she was! Not even knowing or remembering you!"
"Shut…UP!" Tony managed to grab Loki's collar, but it did him no good other than enraging the God of Mischief even more. Loki responded to Tony's words by pressing deeper into the helmet, causing the pressure breach alarms to go off. Despite Tony's resignation to die in the field, Jarvis refused to follow his creator's orders of protocol FTS and activated the self-preservation code, causing the chest RT to power up and attack the unsuspecting god.
Loki was sent flying back, grunting and cussing out the man he had learned to loath. Tony fell to the ground on his knees; the suit of armor immediately releasing its user. The Mark XLV was now inoperable, leaving the genius to fend for himself. "Why did…you do that…Jarvis…?" Tony asked via his earpiece to the remnants of his suit-enabled AI, slowly recovering his breath.
"Back up is on its way, sir. Protocol FTS is only completely valid when there are no options left."
"Since when did you become so good at loopholes?"
"I've been programmed to protect you, sir."
"But now…I have no suit. The can is gone…now I'm just a…man…"
"My sensors indicate the Mark XLIV is on its way."
"Well, let's see what I can do until it gets here, huh? Maybe take someone down with me."
The Mandarin was just now recovering from Tony's attack, and using his swords as crutches he stood up from the ground. He walked toward the fallen hero, practically snarling at him where he lay. "You! Why is it that you live to destroy my plans?"
Tony chuckled, and despite his tired spirit and blood all over his face and body, he still had enough swag in him to mock the villain before him. He slowly stood up from the floor, using the wall behind him for support. "Don't flatter yourself, Mandarin. I have time to spare."
"Words are all you've got left, Stark. Words will not save you this time."
"Yeah, well," Tony shrugged. "I lost my suit and you lost your rings. I think that kinda makes us even."
"I do not need my rings to end your life."
"Really? What are you gonna do? Have your bodyguard over there kill me?" Tony pointed toward a now standing Loki. "Or, are you gonna choke me with your robes? They're not very in style anymore you know? You should take them off."
"He's stalling," Loki said, walking closer to the duo, but the Mandarin raised his hand at the demigod.
"Leave him to me. Tony Stark will die by the hand of the Mandarin."
"As you wish," Loki retreated and kept his distance from the two moguls.
"My honor mandates that I inform you why you are to die. If you live, I cannot rule the world, and it's my destiny to rule it and everyone." Mandarin threw his swords behind him, not caring where they fell. He then tore his robes off him, leaving him only in his pants and boots. Tony had expected the old man to be scrawny underneath, wrinkled even, but it was only pure and thick muscle that was hiding underneath the robes.
"You know, on second thought," Tony began, scratching his right earlobe. "You can leave the drapery on."
Mandarin responded to Tony's taunting by punching him in the stomach. Tony doubled over in pain but refused to give the terrorist the pleasure of screaming in agony. He then stood up from the floor once more, and raised his fists in front of his chest. "I can kick your ass, but only if you ask nicely."
The Mandarin tried connecting a punch on Tony once more, but Tony evaded it, leaving the Mandarin to punch the wall behind Tony. Tony then took a few steps away from the enraged man before he recovered and plunged toward the scientist. While it was true that Gene Khan was an expert martial artist, it seemed Tony's combat practice with Pepper was finally paying off.
"It seems I can take my leave," Loki whispered to himself, seeing Mandarin and Stark were busy fighting each other. It was clear to the demigod that the rings were gone, and with Killian dead, he was not getting the army he had been promised he would receive. "Might as well."
The demigod took a step back and then another, and before he was ready to turn on his heels to leave the premises, he was surprised by an attack from behind. He looked down to his chest only to see the tip of his scepter coming out of his front. He felt a metal hand pushing him back, digging the scepter deeper in him.
"Hurts like hell, doesn't it?" The voice of the man behind him asked him before he pulled the scepter out of the injured sorcerer. Loki took a few steps forward, holding onto his bloody chest before he turned around to face the Mark XLIV before him.
"How?" Loki looked back to see the fight still taking place between Tony and Mandarin. He then turned to the decommissioned Mark XLV on the ground before returning his attention to the Mark XLIV. "How did you hide from me?"
"A little something called Extremis 3.0 that a friend made for me. He even let me borrow his ride."
"The air is clean of the Black Ice cure in this area. You are safe to breathe without the aid of the filter." Jarvis said as the helmet pulled back to show the face of Phil Coulson.
"You?" Loki all but snarled. "I thought you were nothing more than a stump."
"Yeah, well, science and all that. Now, you can either give up now, or I can leave you to the incoming demigod. I think he's gonna be happy to see you. Oh, and by the way. You can't hide from me. Jarvis can see the entire range of the spectrum you can sneak your way around in."
"How dare you give orders to me? I'll make sure there's nothing left of you this time!" Loki launched himself toward Coulson, but the agent was stronger and faster thanks to the version of Extremis Jarvis had created for him. With the scepter still in his hands, he ducked the incoming attack and swung the weapon at Loki's legs, flipping the demigod over. Loki landed on his side, and when he tried to roll away, Phil placed a titanium-clad foot on his already injured chest, threw the scepter away from them, and aimed the repulsors at his head.
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
xxxXXXxxx
The Mandarin held onto Tony's neck from behind. His left arm rounded the billionaire's throat, and his right hand sealed the lock. Tony gagged desperately, his eyes filling with tears of anguish as the air was taken away from him. He could feel his head starting to spin, and his muscles losing their strength; however, when his eyes found the pile of ash that had been Pepper, the rage that had almost left him for a moment returned with a vengeance.
Not yet, not until Pepper's death has been avenged. He began elbowing the Mandarin's side in the same spot as hard as he could until a broken rib caused the Mandarin to release the genius. Tony crawled his way away from the Mandarin, recovering the air that had been kept from him.
"Why Pepper?" He managed to choke out. "Why did you choose her?"
"Do not be a fool! I did not choose her. Destiny made it to be that way."
"Will you stop talking about destiny? You know nothing about being destined to do anything."
"And, you do?"
"Yes. Yes, I do. You think you were destined to rule the world, but if you were, then you'd be the King of Everything by now," Tony stood up, holding his side where blood was coming from. "But you're not. You're only destined to do one thing."
When the Mandarin narrowed his eyes at him but did not inquire any further, Tony took it as an invitation to continue. "To die…to be killed…by me."
Tony yelled and pushed himself toward the Mandarin, sending them both crashing to the ground. Mandarin struggled as he tried to push Tony off him, but the genius held on tight by surrounding the sides of the man with his legs. Tony then began punching the Mandarin's face, releasing his anger and sadness with every punch.
I'm sorry, Pepper. I promised I would bring you back with me, but I didn't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
Mandarin took advantage of the slight diminishing of force on his legs, and wrapped them around Tony, pulling him off his chest and stepping over him as he ran to where his swords lay. Tony scrambled to his feet, but tripped and fell on his face. Mandarin reached his swords and picked them up, turned on his heels and ran toward Tony. The billionaire crawled away from the incoming mad man, stopping only when his back hit the wall, his hands patting the floor for anything he could use to stop the attack but finding nothing was good enough for the magnate.
This is it, Tony thought, seeing his life flash before his eyes. He saw Pepper's smile and heard the laughter of his kids. He then squeezed his eyes shut; he did not want his last image to be of the man that killed his wife. He moved his head to his left and it was then that he heard it.
The Mandarin joined his swords into one again, giving him a better grip on the final blow. The sound that Tony had heard distracted Gene Khan for only a nanosecond, his eyes looking back to see the cavalry finally arriving to the scene. He only had one chance to finish off Tony; his last chance, before any of the newly arrived Avengers made a move to stop him. The Mandarin's eyes returned to the billionaire and pushed forward, groaning when he felt the tip of the sword penetrate Tony's body. Mandarin had aimed for his heart, but Tony had moved at the last second and he had instead made a hole on the left side of his chest, right below his shoulder blade.
Gene tried to pull his sword out of Tony's chest and opt to decapitate the man, but it was then he realized he could not move an inch. Tony gave Mandarin a knowing smile, and his eyes lowered between the two. The Mandarin followed the path of Tony's eyes and his own eyes widened at what he saw. He then looked back up to stare at Tony before he turned to his right and saw the Mark XLIV standing over Loki, sans the left gauntlet on Coulson's arm; the gauntlet that was now punching a hole in Gene's stomach, while attached to Tony Stark's arm.
"Your destiny is over, Mandarin."
xxxXXXxxx
Tony pushed the Mandarin off him with his legs before aiming the repulsor at his chest, releasing a beam attack that sent the assailant to slam against the vault where his other weapons hung from, and stabbing his back with a sword that was kept there. The body of the terrorist then fell in a heap on the ground, a pool of blood quickly forming underneath him. Tony dropped his hand onto the floor; taking in deep breaths and feeling the silence of the room pushing down on his body. He stared to his left to shake his head at the newcomers, who in turn lowered their heads in understanding.
Thor walked up to Loki and lifted him by his collar, slapping an enchanted muzzle on him immediately. Coulson stepped out of the suit, and to the surprise of everyone, the man had regrown his arms and legs again. Tony chuckled, still on the floor, and gave Phil a small smile. "I thought you didn't want Extremis in you."
"Your AI has a way of putting things into perspective. Plus, you also have to thank your backstabbing, super nanny for the miracle."
"Gill?"
"Turns out she was one of the 2.0's."
Tony's eyes widened and stood up, fear filling him. "My kids, are they…?"
"They're alright," Coulson answered. "Your dog deserves a huge steak dinner. Because of him, I was able to take her down without any trouble; she was still re-growing her eyes by the time I got there. And the suborbital feature of your suit is great."
"And Happy?" Rhodey asked, joining the conversation.
"He's back at base. All of them are safe and sound. They were drugged, but they'll be fine."
"I shall take my brother from here. I will meet you back at the jet." The Thunderer informed them as he took off with Loki. Hawkeye and Steve stared at each other, both wanting to ask the difficult question but neither being able to say anything else. Rhodey, however, had no such reservations, and seeing as there was nothing more for them to do here, James wanted to know where the body lay.
"Where is she, man?"
"You should get out of here, Coulson. Suit up and go, or that cure's gonna kill you." Tony said, ignoring Rhodes' question for a moment.
Phil walked toward Tony and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," he whispered before he returned to the Mark XLIV. Tony let go of the gauntlet in his hand and it rejoined the armor as Phil left the premises through the hole Tony had made. The billionaire walked up to the now rather scattered pile of ash and knelt before it.
He sniffled and cleaned his nose with the inside of his shirt, his head bent down and being barely able to contain the shaking of his shoulders. He held the weight of his body with his fists on the floor, taking in choked breaths as the weight of the situation finally dawned on him now that the adrenaline of the fight was gone. Rhodey's eyes began to sting, but he held the pain at bay. Tony did not need people breaking down with him right now. He needed his friends to be strong for him. "Tony, you're bleeding."
"I know," Tony mumbled. "Flesh wound; I'll be fine."
"I'm gonna give these guys a ride. I'll be back for you in a minute."
Tony nodded but his eyes never left the dust. Rhodey looked up to stare at the body of the Mandarin, unmoving and still bleeding, and then faced the archer and the soldier and shrugged. The last thing Tony heard before the silence of the room engulfed him was the sound of Rhodey's repulsors taking the three Avengers back to the ship.
"Pepper," he uttered in a soft voice. "I don't mean to break my promises, you know that? I meant to take you back with me; I meant to keep this one." The billionaire stared at the ashes scattered around and wondered if he could find them all, take them back with him, and give Pepper a proper goodbye.
"I love you," he wiped tears streaks from his face with his palms. "I'm sorry." He covered his face with his trembling hands. "I'm sorry, Pep."
"No, you are not. Not yet," the raspy voice of Gene Khan said from behind Tony. The billionaire froze up, his hands still on his face. It was now that Tony remembered what everyone else had seemed to have forgotten: the original Extremis-like virus carrier was the Mandarin himself.
Tony felt the tip of the sword pinch the back of his neck but he did nothing to avoid the final blow.
"Goodbye, Tony Stark."
The genius closed his eyes and waited for the hit that never came. Instead of the piercing tool he had expected, a bright light shone before him, followed by a loud voice he thought he would never hear again.
"NO! Leave him alone!"
The light shone even brighter, forcing Tony to shift his face to look back over his shoulder just in time to see darkness enclosing Gene Khan. The Mandarin tried to pull himself from the void that threatened to devour him whole, but the power of the ring of Black Light was too strong for a half-breed. The look on the Mandarin's face would forever be engrained in Tony's memories: his pale skin, his bloodshot eyes, the recovering wound on his chest and stomach, and his outstretched hand as Gene Khan tried to reach the salvation he did not deserve to have.
The darkness began shrinking and shrinking until it finally disappeared, taking with it the last memory of the Mandarin.
xxxXXXxxx
"Tony?"
The scientist swallowed hard, slowly moving his face back to his front. He kept his gaze on the floor, unwilling to look up as to not break the hopes that were quickly growing within him. Even in his lowered stare he could make out the shape of her boots, the ones he had engraved on the edge of them the phrase: Property of Tony Stark.
Tony held his breath, afraid to believe the truth. Was she just the illusion of an angel coming to say goodbye? Did angels wear boots?
"Tony, are you OK?" The feel of her hands on his cheeks was the last straw for him. He allowed her to lift his face upward, and brown eyes met blue. She was kneeling in front of him, an ethereal glow surrounding her, making her look surreal, like a figment of his imagination – a memory of his soul.
"Pepper?"
"Tony, you're bleeding," she said as her hand covered his injury. He felt warmth surround the area and when her hand pulled back, his wound had been closed. "Does it hurt anywhere else?"
Tony's lips trembled in pain. People did not cure other people; but maybe ghosts could. People did not shine like light bulbs, but maybe ghosts did. "Are you dead?"
Pepper smiled. "No, why?"
"You…you're glowing."
Pepper looked down at her body and realized Tony was correct. "Oh! Forgot to turn that off," she mumbled and in instant she looked as normal as he remembered her. "Sorry, still getting the hang of these rings."
Tony's eyes widened, only now daring to cup her face in his hands. "Wait, you're not a ghost?"
"A ghost?" Pepper was taken aback. "Did they hit you in the head?"
"No, Pepper…you…you died."
"Oh, yeah…well, not really. Turns out the Ritual of Worthiness doesn't happen outside. It happens within," she pressed a finger onto his chest. "In the soul, not in the body. I passed, so the Makluan allowed me to come back to you."
"The ritual of what?"
Pepper shook her head. "Nothing, it doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that it's over now. The Mandarin is gone."
"Yeah, about that; where did he go?"
Pepper shrugged. "Somewhere else; somewhere… Out There. Maybe not even to a place. I don't know, but I don't think he's coming back."
"Pepper," he mumbled before he embraced her tightly, causing the woman to squeak. She returned the embrace to him with equal devotion, thanking the forces that be for letting her come back to him. Tony kissed the side of her face, her neck and her shoulder, not wanting to let go of her lest she disappeared from sight if he did. "I thought I'd lost you for good. Don't ever do that to me again."
"I'm sorry, Tony, but…I can't promise that."
"What? Why?" Tony pulled back and stared at her with wild eyes.
Pepper released her grip on him and showed him her hands. "I'm the keeper of the rings now. The responsibility is mine."
"What…what does that mean?"
"It means that I can't let anyone take them again. At least not anyone that would misuse them, just like Gene did."
"Who is Gene?"
"The Mandarin," Pepper chuckled. "I have a lot to tell you."
"Well, all I want to know is if you're going to stay with me, with us."
"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I, Tony?"
Tony shook his head. "Nevermind, then. Nevermind."
The couple embraced each other again, and did not let go until Rhodey returned to the scene of the crime only to be surprised to see Pepper was back; back from the dead, from beating the odds, once again.
A/N: Did you really think I was gonna kill Pepper here too? I'm not that mean! Thank you for your reviews! See what happens when they come up? A chapter follows! Well, one more chapter to go and then the fun epilogue, and we're done! In case anyone was wondering, Captain America really does lift Thor's hammer in the comics, so I'm not really defying the series' logic. BTW, who can guess what protocol FTS stands for? Virtual cookies for you!