Hello, hello! The Tessa train is moving on into Iron Man 2 territory! Woo! I'm so glad you're all sticking with me! Here's the daily reminder that I don't have rights over anything Marvel. With that out of the way, I'll let you chug along! Enjoy! Xoxo-NicyLynn
Over the next few months, Tony's life grew exponentially busier. There was always some interview, some photoshoot, some mission, some business, some something that he had to attend, leaving Tessa following his life through the lens of a screen more often than in person. She still spent the majority of her time in the workshop, tinkering about and working on different ways to improve the suit, but it wasn't very often that she actually got to work with Tony.
As the weeks after his 'coming out' ticked by, Tessa began to notice him growing more and more fatigued every time she saw him. At first, she had chalked it up to the constant schedule of activities that had filled up his time, but it wasn't until she had noticed black lines stretching out across the skin of his torso that she really began to worry. She had insisted on running tests, growing worried, and after analyzing a sample of his blood, well….it turned out she now had more than one reason to worry about him. The arc reactor, while keeping him alive, also seemed to be slowly killing him.
He was slowly being poisoned by the palladium core in the reactor. It was tainting his blood and building up in his system far too quickly and Tessa knew that if she didn't find a way to counter-react the effects, she wouldn't have to worry about Tony killing himself in battle, as the reactor would do that job for him. So, once again, she passed up endless nights of sleep, constantly testing out theories and formulas, trying to find the solution.
Tessa developed a formula that consisted of lithium dioxide, chlorophyll and other elements meant to counteract the effect of the palladium. But while the sludge-like drink helped slow down the poisoning, until they could find an alternative element that would replace the palladium cores, Tony's health would continue to sink further with each passing day.
Tessa was currently standing above Tony, having him laid back on a chair as she examined the flesh around his reactor. The black lines, which connected in unnatural geometric patterns had grown at least five centimeters since the last time she had checked him, and while that may not have seemed like a large number, it was far too big of a change and Tessa felt the restraint of time pressing down on her as she studied them. "How's it lookin, Doc?" Tony asked her as she traced her fingers over one of the patterns.
Tessa let out a sigh, looking up at him and just shook her head. She took the small testing device out of her pocket, taking hold of one of his fingers and pressing it into the pad where a small needle struck into his skin and drew out a small drop of blood. She pressed the droplet of blood into the reader, dropping his hand as she brought the device up closer to her view. She watched as the system analyzed the pallium levels in his blood before the screen read at ninteen percent.
She threw the testing strip on the table behind her, leaning into it as the weight of her failures pressed down on her. "Tony you've got to stop using the suit." She told him with a sigh, running her hand over her tired face.
"Yeah, well that's not going to happen." He told her, sitting up as he pulled his shirt back down over his chest.
"Tony, this is serious. The more you use the reactor to power the suit, the faster the palladium is going to saturate your blood." She said with a shake of her head.
"Isn't that why I've been drinking those God-awful breakfast smoothies?" he asked her, standing up and moving over to his own work bench where he began tinkering away on a project he had left unfinished. "They've got to be doing something, right?"
"They are, but not enough." She told him. "The suit is speeding up the rate in which the palladium is being absorbed. You've got to cut back on the Iron Man exposure. I'm working as fast as I can, but I need you to help buy me time." She told him, hoping he would see how serious this was. "I need more time, Tony."
"Fine. I'll pull back on using the suit." He agreed, causing Tessa to let out a breath of relief. "After tonight." He amended.
"Tony." She admonished, crossing her arms.
"I'm not canceling the Expo." He shot back at her. "The people are expecting a show."
"You are dying Tony!" Tessa yelled at him, moving to stand above him. "Do you get that?" she asked, angry that he wouldn't take this seriously. "I don't give a damn what the people are expecting from you! I need you here more than the world needs Iron Man!"
Tony looked up at her, his jaw twitching as he fought to keep in the words that wanted to fall out. He threw the tool in his hand back into the toolbox before brushing past Tessa, refusing to acknowledge her words. He just couldn't bring himself to. "I'm assuming it's pointless to ask you to come?" he said as he moved over to pad where he had built an installation machine to help assemble and disassemble his suit for him.
Tessa watched him in silence as he stepped onto the pad, the floor opening up as arms and levers lifted out of the floor and began snapping the metal pieces around his body. "No." she finally said after watching him blatantly ignore her warnings. "No, I have work to do." She bit out in frustration.
"I'll see you after, then." He said, his voice clipped. Never before had there been so much frustration brewing between the two and Tessa would be lying if she said it didn't bother her. But she just couldn't seem to quell the anger within her. The anger that was primarily being driven by the absolute terror of loosing him.
"Just try not to be too reckless." She told him as she turned back around and went back to her desk, keeping her back turned to him. After a minute of hearing the whirring of machines and clicking of metal plates locking into place, she heard the thrusters ignite and then she was left in silence. She let out a sigh, looking back over her shoulder to where he had disappeared and sent a silent prayer after him.
She continued her work as she sat stewing in her thoughts, the TV playing in the background as the news reporter on the screen was covering the huge event that was the Stark Expo. She let it drone on in the background as she worked. Her mind began to drift back to the first Stark Expo she had attended. The night that had drastically altered her future forever. There was a part of her that wished she could be there for Tony the same way she had been there for Howard at several of the Stark Expos that he had panned throughout the years, but she knew what she was doing was vastly more important.
Her eyes would flick over to the screen every so often after Tony made his (obnoxiously grandiose) entrance, watching him dazzle the crowd with his charm. Tony stood above the crowd, boasting himself up and reveling in the limelight as they cheered wildly. She watched and couldn't help but think that, yes, this was nothing but a show for the people. One big ego-driven show of power. She watched him woo the crowds with his words about a bright future before he walked off stage, leaving behind the image of Howard playing on the large screen behind the stage. Tessa let out a sigh as she watched her old friend speak from beyond the grave, suddenly filled with so much guilt over everything that she ended up having to make her way out of the mansion, needing a break from it all.
The next time Tessa laid eyes on Tony, it wasn't back in the workshop like she expected. Instead, she was left staring at another screen, as Tony sat in front of a committee of U.S. Senators as they tried to do what they could to force him to surrender his suit. Tessa knew this was a long time coming, knowing the government wouldn't be satisfied with the knowledge that level of technology Tony was capable of was in privatized hands and not theirs, but it just added to the massive pile of growing shit she had been dealing with. She watched as Senator Stern questioned him, as Tony did his best to act like none of this had bothered him in the slightest.
"Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?" Stern directed to him from his place at the front of the chamber.
"I do not." Came Tony's instant reply.
"You do not?" Stern echoed unhappily.
"I do not. Well, that depends on how you define 'weapon'." he then said.
"The Iron Man weapon." The senator clarified.
"My device does not fit that description." Tony responded.
"Well, how would you describe it?" he was asked.
"I would define it by describing it as what it is, Senator. It's a high-tech prosthesis." He said, causing a rise of low laughter to sweep over the room. "That is….that is the most apt description I can make of it."
"It's a weapon. It's a weapon, Mr. Stark." The Senator insisted, upset.
"Please," Tony scoffed. "if your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen-" he pressed, getting increasingly more frustrated with the dance they were doing.
"My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of The United States of America." The Senator told him.
"Well you can forget it." Tony said point-blank. "I am Iron man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself, which is tantamount to indentured servitude….or prostitution, depending on what state your in. You can't have it."
"Look, I'm no expert," Stern began before Tony interrupted.
"In prostitution? Of course not, you're a Senator. Come on!" he said, turning and flashing a smile and peace sign out to the laughing crowd.
"No-no I'm no expert in weapons." The Senator said. "We have a weapons expert. I'd now like to call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor." The Senator said as the camera panned over to the man.
"Let the record reflect that I witnessed Mr. Hammer entering the chamber, and I am wondering if and when any actual weapons expert will also be in attendance." Came Tony's quip.
Justin Hammer let out a forced laugh at the comment. "Absolutely. I'm no expert. I defer to you on that Anthony." He said, motioning across the aisle to Tony. "You're the wonder boy."
Tessa's anger spiked at the comment. "J.A.R.V.I.S." she called. "Do a full run on Justin Hammer for me." She said, lifting up the tablet beside her, curious to know more about the 'expert'.
"Forwarding results of query to you now." Came it's response.
Tessa looked over the images and pages J.A.R.V.I.S. had compiled as the hearing continued. She lifted up a brow at what she found. "Oh Justin, you naughty boy." She commented with a sly grin. She began typing up a message before attaching the video she found and sent it to Tony.
Don't you love self-righteous hypocrites? :) -T
Tessa looked back up to the screen and watched as Tony fidgeted around for a moment and began looking at something discreetly on lap. A smile tugged up the corner of his mouth, which he hid under a hand as he looked back up and listened to Justin rattle on as his opening statement came to a close.
His smile dropped, though, as the Senate called in Colonel James Rhodes, an advancement that neither Tony nor Tessa was expecting. Tony got up from his table to greet him and walked him down the remainder of the aisle as they took seats next to each other.
Stern continued with the hearing after both men had been seated. "I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, complied by Colonel Rhodes. For the record Colonel, can you please read page fifty-seven, paragraph four."
"You're requesting that I read specific selections from my report, Senator?" Rhodey asked him hesitantly.
"Yes, sir." Stern responded with a smile.
"It was my understanding that it would be in a much more comprehensive and detailed matter." Rhodey said.
"I understand that a lot has changed today. So, if you could just read-" the Senator urged with a grin.
"You understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summary of my final-" Rhodey stressed, not liking be put in the situation he found himself him.
"I understand. Just read it, Colonel." Stern instructed.
"Very well."Rhodes said, clearing his throat before reading from the pages before him. "As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a threat to the security to both the nation and to her interests. I did, however, go on to summarize that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh the liabilities." Rhodey said, hoping to lighten the damaging blow his words made to Tony's case. He tried to convince the Senate that that best course of action would be to incorporate Tony into the chain of command, before he was hushed. Tony made a joke about being made Secretary of Defense which brought on a round of laughter from the watching mass.
"I'd like to go on, if I may, and show the imaging from your report." Stern said, directing attention to the screen sitting in front of the room. Rhodey tried to object to the images as well, but once again his objections were ignored. Tessa watched the images pull across the screen as Rhodey explained the surveillance images of nations believed to be working at replications of Tony's suit. He began informing the watching world that there were varied reports on weather or not those machines were operational as Tony began fidgeting with his phone under the table again.
After a moment, he leaned forward, holding out his device towards the screens and with a press of a button, took control of them. Tessa's lip pulled up as he broke into their system and commandeered their screens. "Now, if you would redirect your attention to the screens," Tony began to say, speaking loudly for everyone to hear. He threw up video after video of the various test-runs that had been run on Iron Man replicas, expanding people's view of just how 'advanced' these prototypes the Senate was trying to use as fear-mongering were. He ran through videos of North Korea, Iran and others before throwing up the video Tessa had sent him on Justin Hammer.
In the chamber, Justin was frantically trying to unplug the screen and stop the video from being played, as on the screen Justin stood over and directed a test on Hammer Industries' own attempt at recreating a suit. Only for the machinery to malfunction and the man inside scream out in agony as he was twisted unnaturally, most likely severing his spinal nerves. Justin managed to pull the plug on the screen, but unfortunately for him, the damage had been done. He rushed back over to the mic, looking frazzled. "I'd like to point out for the record, that that test pilot is alive." He said hastily.
"The point I'm trying to make here, is you're welcome." Tony called up to the board of Senators.
"For what?" Stern asked, his displeasure with the turn of events evident on his frustrated face.
"For being your nuclear deterrent." Tony said. "It's working. We're safe. America is secure. You want my property? Well, you can't have it! But I did you a big favor!" he shouted, coming to a stand and facing the crowd. "I have successfully privatized world peace!" he claimed, casting out peace signs up in the air as the room erupted in a round of applause. "What more do you want? For now. I tried to play ball with these ass clowns!"
Tessa shook her head as Senator Stern tossed a crude insult out to Tony before the hearing was adjourned and Tony strode out of the room victorious. Tessa turned the screen off as the news reporter's face came back into view, giving a break down of today's events.
Later that evening, after Tessa had gotten a call from Tony letting her know he wanted to talk to her about something, she made her way over to the Malibu home. She made her way down to the workshop after not finding him upstairs and as she came to a stop in front of the door, she looked through the glass to find Pepper and Tony sharing a glass of champagne. She put her code into the system before pulling the door open and walking in, not meaning to disrupt the moment. They both looked over at her as she walked up to them with a raised brow. "What are we celebrating? Tony's successful attempt at telling the U.S. government to go fuck themselves?" she asked, causing Pepper to choke on her drink.
"Uh no." Tony said, standing back up and filling another cup. "We are drinking to Pepper's promotion." He said, handing Tessa the glass of champagne.
In truth, Tessa wasn't surprised. In fact, after talking with Tony in great length over contingency plans in case things progressed worse, she had managed to convince him that Pepper was the best fit for CEO that he could have hoped for. Hell, she had already been doing the job for years. It was about time she got the proper title and reaped the rewards that came with it. "Well, not sure if a congratulations, or an apology is in order." Tessa said with a laugh, looking over at Pepper. "But either way you deserve to be CEO. Congrats." She told the woman, lifting up the glass in her hands.
"You knew?" Pepper asked her in surprise.
"I had an inkling." She responded with a smirk. Pepper's cell phone began ringing, startling them all out of their moment of celebration.
Pepper took hold of the device before sighing and setting her glass down on the table. "I've got to take this." She told them. She looked over at Tony, giving him a warm smile. "Thank you, Mr. Stark." She said sincerely.
"You're welcome Ms. Potts." He replied with a raise of his glass. Pepper stood up from the couch and made her exit as Tony drained the last of the alcohol that was in his cup.
Tessa watched Pepper leave before turning back towards Tony. She took a sip of her own champagne, before sitting down in the spot Pepper had vacated. "Did you tell her?" Tessa asked seriously once she knew Pepper was gone.
Tony grimaced. "Not yet." He admitted.
Tessa's mouth inched down. "Tony you have to tell her." She told him.
"Yeah, I know. I will. Just….when the time's right." He insisted.
"I'm not sure that there will ever be a right time for that conversation." She said with a frown. They sat in silence a moment before Tessa continued. "You made the right choice." She told him, hoping he didn't have second thoughts about naming Pepper his successor. "Pepper's the right choice. She'll do great by the company."
"She's never let me down before." He said before sitting forward. "Speaking of choices." He began, looking over at Tessa. "I want you to come to Monaco with me." He told her. "We can get a cabana on the beach after the races…it will be a good time." He said.
Tessa let out a breath of air as she set her glass down on the table next to Pepper's. "Tony-" she began before being cut off.
"Look, I know. Low-profile and all that, but Tess it's been what? Over sixty years? Let's look at this from a logical standpoint….what are the chances of someone actually recognizing you?" he asked her.
Tessa's lip twitched as she processed the thought. Really, the chances of anyone being able to recognize her after all these years was remarkably low. But that didn't help quell her apprehension. "Probably not high." She admitted though.
"Exactually. I think it's time you stopped living in the shadows Tess. It's no way to live. I mean you've got to do something with your life." He said, shaking his head.
"I do do something with my life." She insisted.
"Something outside of constantly worrying over me." He elaborated with a roll of his eyes. "There's got to be more to your life than just watching me make a mess out of mine."
Tessa crossed her arms, sitting back into the back of the couch. "I don't need a motivational speech, Tony. My life is just too…..complicated." She said with a sigh.
Tony began to fidget with his hands as he tried to find the strength to say the words that so desperately needed to come out. "I'm worried about you, Tess." He finally relented. "If I die-" he began before Tessa stopped him.
"So, that's what this is about?" she asked, sitting forward again. "It's not me you need to worry about Tony!" she told him.
"If I don't then who will?" he then asked her. In truth Tony was terrified of what would happen to Tessa if they couldn't get his palladium levels under control. He knew that Tessa's whole life had been dedicated to nothing but taking care of him. If he died….well, he just didn't know what would happen to her.
"You listen to me Anthony Stark." Tessa said, sensing the thoughts fueling this change of topic. "I have been around for a long time, and I have been through a lot of shit. I've learned how to adapt. I don't want you to waste your energy worrying about me because I'll be fine." She told him, knowing it was a lie. "That's not how this relationship is supposed to work. I look after you, not the other way around." She said seriously. "And besides, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I'm going to figure this out. I'm not going to let you die." She said, swallowing thickly.
Tony went silent, his gaze dropped down in his lap. He did his best to try to convince himself of the things she said, but the sinking feeling in him persisted. "But if it makes you feel better," she continued. "I'll go to Monaco with you." Tessa said, hating to see him looking so hopeless, and wanting to do whatever she could to put a smile back on his face, if only temporarily. "But there better be lots of rum on that beach."