A/N: Hi guys, sorry this took a little bit longer than I'd like but work kicked my butt yet again this week. .

Thank you for all of your brilliant reviews, I love reading them all and it makes the hours put into each chapter so worth it, so thank you again. :D People have been letting me know what they hope to see in this showdown, and so far, as much as I can remember, I think you're all going to get what you asked for. I love reading requests for certain things that I'd already planned to put in, it makes me feel like we're all definitely on the same page. Fab. :D

So, another long chapter and I am slightly worried that I'm going to end up confusing people because so much is going on and there is only going to be more stuff as we get right down to it. I'm hoping it's not too bad though, and people can see what I'm aiming for. I guess we'll see once you read the chapter.

Hope you enjoy and I'll try to be swifter with the next chapter...

Chapter Sixty

Lewis' eyes narrowed as he skilfully manoeuvred his car through New York traffic, breaking every road rule in the book. His phone rang and he pressed a button, not taking his eyes off the road. "Yes."

Greg's worried voice was on the other end of the call. "Have you heard?"

"Yes," ground out Lewis as he swerved violently to narrowly avoid an oncoming car and then promptly mounted the sidewalk for a bit before rejoining traffic that was still moving too slowly for him.

Greg gave a resigned sigh. "I'm not getting my ice, am I?"

Lewis glanced over at the five bags of ice rolling around on his backseat as he swerved through traffic and grimaced. "Ah, no, sorry." He and Greg where having their family and friends over for a barbeque that afternoon, to celebrate their impending parenthood and Lewis had been out getting more ice when he'd heard the news report. His first thought was to get back to Pepper and he'd already called the rest of the team in when Happy had rung him, letting him know he was on his way as well.

"Oh God, why did I have to fall in love with a hero type?" lamented Greg.

Lewis smiled despite the seriousness of the situation. "Just lucky I guess."

"You be careful," Greg ordered him fiercely. "I'm too young to be a widow and black makes me look puffy. Besides, I refuse to listen to your cousin sing Ave Maria at your funeral. That woman sounds like a bull being castrated when she goes for those top notes."

"I'd hate to put you through being puffiness and bad singing, honey," Lewis teased him. "I'll be careful."

"You better be," huffed Greg. He paused briefly and Lewis could just picture him putting on a brave face. "I love you."

"I love you too," responded Lewis warmly as he cut off a taxi and ignored the abuse which was hurled his way. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, you know that, right?"

"Oh God, this sounds like a goodbye speech," said Greg dramatically. "I'm not listening, lalalalala-"

Lewis rolled his eyes and tried not to laugh. "Stop it, you idiot, that wasn't a goodbye speech because I'm not going anywhere. I'm just probably being overly cautious and nothing is going on at the Tower. I'll spend some time in the panic room with Pepper and then I'll be home to cut the cake. Save me a hamburger."

"You're not getting a hamburger," Greg said firmly. "I told you, we're going to get your cholesterol down if it kills you. You'll have a soy burger and enjoy it."

"Doesn't killing me defeat the purpose of low cholesterol results?" asked Lewis wryly as he drove the wrong way up a one way street, because he knew it was going to be faster.

"You know what I mean," said Greg, not backing down.

Lewis half-smiled. "Yeah, I do. I'll see you soon."

"You better."

oooOOOOooo

Pepper was engrossed in reading some last minute changes in the China detail contract in her office when she glanced up from her lap top to catch a picture of Captain America on her TV screen. "Unmute," she ordered it quickly. After listening for less than a minute to the news reporter, she was reaching for her phone, just as it rang. She hastily answered it when she saw who it was. "Happy?"

"You've seen it?" came the urgent question.

"I'm seeing something," said Pepper unevenly, "but I don't know what it is."

"I'm on my way to you now," said Happy determinedly. "I've already rung Lewis and he's on his way too. You're at the Tower?"

"Yes," said Pepper, her face creased with concern as she watched the images on screen. It seemed like the entire country was in an uproar. People were attempting mass evacuations of the West Coast and Mexico and there was widespread panic.

"Stay there," Happy ordered her.

"I'm not in any danger, Happy," she said distractedly. "It's not like any of the Avengers would ever hurt me, especially Tony."

"Pep, we don't know what is going on with them," said Happy stubbornly. "I don't know if we're looking at doppelgangers, mind control or what, but I do know that someone is looking to take the Avengers down and you're a big part of that. Head down to the panic room and stay there. Lewis and I are going to be there as quickly as we can."

"They're in trouble, Happy," said Pepper in distress, watching the screen in front of her and knowing that there was no way that Tony or any of the Avengers were behind this.

"I know, Pepper," replied Happy grimly, "but the best way we can help them and especially Tony, is to keep you safe. You know that's all he'll care about."

Pepper bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes, knowing he was right. "I'm heading to the panic room now."

"Good, I'll be there in a few."

Happy hung up and Pepper walked up to the screen, seeing various images of the Avengers in previous battles along with reruns of Steve's speech. She couldn't comprehend how things had gotten so out of control so quickly. Pepper wrapped her arms around herself and prayed that things weren't as bad as they seemed and that Tony had already figured a way out of this mess.

oooOOOOooo

Tony fought for control of his suit but he quickly realised it was useless. The nano-bots had taken complete control of it. The only upside was the Mach VIII had protected him from being infected himself. The rest of the Avengers hadn't been so lucky from what Tony could make out with his limited vision. He couldn't turn his head to look unless the nano-bots wanted him to.

"Jarvis, my suit!" exclaimed Tony. There was no answer. "Jarvis!" When there was still no answer Tony quickly reverted to his back up. "Re-route Jarvis relay, code seven alpha niner." Tony waited a split second for the feed which linked him to Jarvis to be redirected. "Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir?"

The automated unit's cool voice was a welcome sound to Tony and his mind was racing to fill in the blanks here. "Jarvis, the Avenger's Tower?"

"I am no longer able to communicate with the Avenger's Tower, sir."

Tony's heart sank. "You're locked out?"

"Completely, sir, I'm sorry. I am no longer in control of that building."

"I can guess who is," Tony growled. "Jarvis, scan diagnostics on my suit."

"Everything is in working order but control is unable to be accessed."

Tony's jaw hardened as he made a dark promise to himself. "I'm going to kill you, Hammer, and enjoy doing it."

oooOOOOooo

Hammer stepped out of the limousine and looked up at the Avengers' Tower and smiled. "To the victor goes the spoils," he gloated. He touched the blue tooth in his ear. "Jerry, open her up and tell me where Ms. Potts is."

The doors of the Avenger's Tower slid back and Hammer confidently walked through them into the foyer.

"I've got a visual on her," replied Jerry. "Looks likes she heading towards some kind of panic room."

"Lock her out," Hammer ordered him. "I'd like a chat with Tony Stark's better half and I'm not doing it through a locked door. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time and I want to see the expression on her face."

"It's done," relayed Jerry.

Hammer waited a moment. "What's she doing now?"

"Looks like she's heading back to her office."

Hammer smiled. "Excellent," he said gleefully.

oooOOOOooo

Jerry blew out the breath he hadn't realised been holding at how happy his boss sounded as he ended the call. A happy boss was always a good thing, particularly in this case. Jerry allowed himself the luxury of relaxing back in his chair for a moment. As he did, he felt the point of something hard pressed against the back of his head. He froze, knowing instinctively, without even having to turn around, that it was the muzzle of a gun.

And today had been going so well.

oooOOOOooo

Suddenly Tony was being forced to stand up. He looked out the side of his helmet to see Clint, Natasha, Thor and Steve all standing too and staring ahead blankly. Bruce had stopped transforming and was back to being human. "B!" Tony yelled out. "Are you alright?"

Bruce was unsteady on his feet as he stared at his hands. "I'm not changing," he rasped, looking confused.

"Stark, what's going on?" came Fury's sharp voice in his ear.

"My suit is infected with nano-bots but I'm not," said Tony, quickly taking stock of the situation. "I've got no control over the suit. All the others are infected and I'm assuming, under the same control as Cap except for Bruce, who still seems to be himself."

"Change frequency," Fury ordered him, "code Delta."

Tony quickly changed the frequency of their radio conversation so the others would no longer be able to hear them. "And I think we've found Ghost," he offered up. Tony watched the blonde woman dress in a white jump suit walk confidently up to Bruce. "You stay away from him!" Tony yelled at her.

"Or you'll do what?" Ghost mocked him. "Shout a little louder? We have control of Iron Man suit, Mr. Stark, you're redundant to us now." She turned her attention back to Bruce. "What's the matter, Doctor Banner, I thought you'd be pleased?" Ghost gave a cold smile. "You're desire to stop your transformations have been well documented and now, we've given you your wish. You should be thanking us."

Bruce's face was flushed in anger and he lunged towards the woman but she was too quick for him, shooting him with a taser. Bruce fell to the ground a convulsing mass.

"Son of a bitch!" Tony yelled in outrage at the sight.

Ghost walked up to the twitching Bruce and crouched down beside him, while Tony helplessly watched on. "But you can thank us in other ways," she observed. "The power of the Hulk is still in your DNA and once harvested, that DNA is going to be put to good use."

"The super soldier thing has already been tried, lady," Tony warned her. "And it didn't work. In fact, you could say it ended up being an Abomination."

Ghost's lips curved up in a humourless smile. "An amusing pun, Mr. Stark. I'm well aware of the creature dubbed the Abomination and the misguided science employed by General Ross' team. However, I have something they didn't."

"The nano-bot technology," said Tony grimly.

"Precisely. It's a perfect delivery system which we'll be able to control." Ghost looked down at Bruce who still didn't have control of his body but his eyes were full of horrified anger at the scheme. "You know, Hammer was all about extracting revenge on you, Mr. Stark, and the whole time he was ignoring the goose who could lay the golden egg." She gave a little sniff. "Short sightedness, it's one of his many weakness."

Tony frowned. "Why do I suddenly have the feeling that you and Hammer might not be playing the same game here?"

Ghost stood up as men in black uniforms arrived on the scene and hurried over to her. "That's very astute of you, Mr. Stark," she smirked. "The main difference between myself and Justin Hammer is that I'm not playing." Ghost nodded at the two soldiers, indicating Bruce who was still immobilised at her feet. "Take him."

"Where?" Tony demanded to know. "Where are you taking him? How do you see all of this playing out?"

"What do you expect me to do, Mr. Stark?" she asked sarcastically as Bruce was dragged away. "Outline my plan in every detail so it makes it easier for you to get a step ahead of me?" She gave him a condescending look. "Just what kind of moron would do that?"

oooOOOOooo

Pepper hurried into her office, concerned that she'd been unable to gain access to the panic room. She was in the process of calling Happy when she looked up and saw Justin Hammer sitting on the sofa in her office. He'd clearly made himself at home, lounging back into the white sofa, arms stretched out across the back of the sofa, legs crossed in front of him. Pepper scowled at seeing him, stopping dialling. "What are you doing here? How did you get in?"

Hammer shook his head and tutted. "That was a little unfriendly, Pepper."

"I'm not looking to be friendly with you, Justin," she said coldly.

"I've always enjoyed a woman who speaks her mind," he said easily.

"Then you'll love this," said Pepper flatly. "Get out."

Hammer chuckled. "Now, why would I do that when all my hard work is finally bearing fruit?" Just then his cell phone rang and he held up a finger. "Bear with me, sweetheart. I'm expecting an important call."

Pepper just glowered down at him as he answered the phone call.

"Senator Kidston, a pleasure to hear from you as always," said Hammer, speaking loudly into his phone. His smile widened as he listened to the other man speak. "You're making the right decision. The Defenders aren't going to let you down and either will I. I promise you, by the end of today, the Avengers will no longer be a problem." He nodded away. "I'll rally my troops and you do the same. Give the Prez my love and tell him you're all heroes today." Hammer hung up and looked like the cat who'd swallowed the canary. "Sorry 'bout that, you know how it is when the leaders of the free world rely on you so much." He frowned, pretending to think. "Now, where were we?"

Pepper's eyes narrowed as she realised Hammer was looking to brag about whatever he was up to. She knew the Avengers were in trouble, thanks to Hammer, so this might be a way for her to get the inside scoop to perhaps find a way to help Tony and the others. "You were just talking about fruit," she reminded him, "and I was wondering what fruit is that?"

"My just fruits," said Hammer proudly.

Pepper forced herself to be patient. "I'm afraid I don't understand, Justin," she said calmly, walking into the room and taking a seat across from him. "Why don't you help me understand?"

The corner of Hammer's lips curled up in a triumphant smile. "With pleasure, Pepper, because my guess is, right about now, our dear Anthony is starting to put the pieces together for himself. At least, I hope he is, because this plan won't work if he doesn't."

oooOOOOooo

"Talk to me, Stark," ordered Fury. "What's happening?"

"They've taken Bruce, I don't know where," said Tony urgently, "and the rest of us are standing on the lab roof."

"And Ghost?"

"She isn't around but she's ordered us to stand here and wait and we can't do a damn thing about it." Tony ground his teeth, frustrated that he was trapped inside his own creation. "It's taking a lot of power to control these nano-bots," Tony calculated, "and I've got Jarvis tracking back the source." His jaw hardened. "But I'm pretty sure I know what the answer is going to be." Before Tony could clarify, Jarvis was talking.

"Sir, I've located the power relay source for the nano-bot technology infecting the Avengers."

"It's the arc reactor in the Avenger's Tower, isn't it?" he quizzed Jarvis.

"Yes, sir."

Tony closed his eyes and pulled a face. "Damn it, I knew it. All those little problems with the systems in the Tower, I knew something wasn't right there. Hammer has managed to infiltrate my building somehow."

"Alright, we know the source, now how do we shut it down?" asked Fury, ever practical.

"If I was there I could-"

"You're not there, Mr. Stark," Fury interrupted him impatiently. "I'm only interested in plans we can actually instigate right now. I've just gotten word a moment ago, the President has approved a full scale attack on the Avengers and it's going to be spear-headed by the Defenders, they're heading your way now."

"They got the memo about the fact we've got a crazy woman willing to pull the switch and launch a few nuclear missiles onto American soil, right?" asked Tony in disbelief.

"I tried to tell them about Ghost and Hammer, but they wouldn't listen because we have no proof. All they see are the Avengers threatening to start a war and kill millions of people. Hammer has promised them that he'll be able to take down the Avengers and stop any launch of the nuclear stockpile."

"Of course he did," Tony ground out, "because he's the one pulling all the strings."

"We're working on getting the proof we need to shut Hammer down," said Fury quickly.

"And you're going to be able to get that proof in time to prevent the next nuclear holocaust?" asked Tony acerbically.

"I have my best man on it," said Fury, not flinching.

"Just in case your best man doesn't come through, I've got a backup plan. I always knew the arc reactor had as much potential for harm as it did for good and I built in a failsafe. I can remotely set up a self-destruct feature to the arc and have it implode. It'll take down the whole tower, but because I've engineered an implosion, rather than an explosion, it's not going to hurt anyone outside the tower. With the arc reactor taken out, Hammer isn't going to be able to control the Avengers anymore and then it'll be time for some good old fashioned ass kicking."

"Do it," Fury ordered him.

Tony scanned the information in front of him. "Way ahead of you, Nicky, I've just got to make one important phone call before I do."

oooOOOOooo

Hammer's leg kicked back and forth as he laid out his plans for Pepper, clearly relishing in his big reveal. "I know that Tony is one clever guy and he's going to work out where I'm getting the power to run those little nano-bots which are currently making the Avengers conform to my every whim."

Pepper tried not to show any emotion at this information, realising now that was how Hammer was making all of this happen.

Hammer was enjoying centre stage and continued on blithely. "I also know that underneath that devil may care attitude is a man who likes to cover his bases and that he'd have built some kind of self-destruct function into such a powerful tool as the arc reaction." His lips twisted. "I learnt long ago Tony Stark doesn't like others to play with his toys." Hammer shook off his momentary dark mood and was back to grinning like an idiot. "By my calculations, right about now, he's looking at setting off that fail safe and ending my control of the Avengers."

Pepper's chin came up as she regarded him warily. "If you know that your plan is doomed to fail, why did you go ahead with it in the first place, knowing Tony was going to be able to defeat you?"

Hammer threw back his head and gave a false-sounding laugh. "Oh Pepper, Pepper, Pepper, you ask the cutest questions."

"Do I get a cute answer?" she asked coldly.

Hammer stifled his laughter and sent her a self-satisfied look. "But of course, because this is the best part and the reason I had to be here and see it all for myself." He sighed happily, settling back into the sofa more. "And here we have the moment of truth," Hammer gloated. "Sure, Tony can save himself and the rest of the Avengers by taking out the arc reactor but that means he's going to have to sacrifice you to do it, the great love of his life seeing as you're actually sitting on top of the arc reactor and I think we both know that seeing as I have control of the building, you're not going anywhere. The alternative being is that he saves you at the cost of everyone else." Hammer's smile became cold. "Either way this is a win/win for me, you can see that, can't you, Pep? Whatever Tony ultimately chooses, he's going to be crippled with guilt." He leaned closer in to Pepper. "But we both know that Tony is going to choose you, now don't we?"

Pepper's pale features flushed in anger, her natural defiance kicking in. "You're insane and this plan isn't going to work."

"But my plan is already working," shot back Hammer, just as Pepper's cell phone rang. "Case in point, I bet I know who's on the other end of that phone call."

Pepper looked down at the cell phone in her hand and her nerves tightened when she saw the caller ID.

"Answer it," Hammer prompted her in satisfaction. "I'm pretty sure lives depend on it, especially Tony's."

Pepper felt her stomach tighten anxiously as she reluctantly answered the call, hoping against hope that Hammer had gotten this all wrong.

Tony's anxious voice was in her ear. "Pepper, where are you? Tell me you're not still in the Tower?"

Pepper closed her eyes, heart sinking.

Hammer was watching her reaction with cruel pleasure as he nodded approvingly. "Looks like it's time for you to make a decision, Pepper. How fitting is it that you're the one who gets to choose the brand of Tony Stark's ultimate destruction?" Hammer's face lit up. "These are good times to be alive."

Pepper glared death at him, hating the Hammer for what he was doing to them and vowing to make him pay, even as she gathered herself to respond to Tony's urgent question, her decision already made...