Hi again everyone! Here comes the climax of Iron Man 2! As much as I love working with Tony, I am so excited to move into Avengers territory! So brace yourselves for that coming up! In the mean time, I hope you enjoy the conclusion of this part! I don't hold any rights or ownership over anything Marvel, as you are all aware! And with that being said- enjoy! Xoxo-NickyLynn
Tony and Tessa didn't waste any time in getting to work. They began reconstructing the workshop, adjusting it to fit their needs. While Tessa went out to obtain the large conducting tunnels they would need, Tony took his frustration out on the walls and floor with a sludge hammer, creating openings for the large conducting tubes. By the time Tessa returned with the large crates, there were large holes smashed into the walls and ceiling, everything ready for the construction of the particle accelerator they needed to create.
Using her powers, Tessa manipulated the large metal tubes, bringing them down into place on the various supporting structures. Though structure was a loose term as really it was just piles of whatever they could find around the house, stacked on top of each other to help keep the tubes in place. While it wasn't the most professional or aesthetically pleasing set up….it worked. Tessa was holding up the last tube, as Tony searched around for something that would keep it lifted just right so it would stay level. The beeping of the door's keypad drew Tessa's attention and she turned to find Agent Coulson walking in.
"Working hard I see." He said, walking into the room and up to Tessa. "I guess that means we'll be seeing a lot more of each other in the future."
"I mean, technically Tony's the one who figured it out." Tessa told him with a tilt of her head.
"We gave him the research and a push. Still counts as helping." He reasoned with a smile.
Tony stopped working, looking from Tessa to the agent grinning at her and things finally clicked into place for him. "Please don't tell me you actually agreed to join their boy band." He said to Tessa.
Tessa blinked over at him. "I'm not joining their boy band Tony. I just-I told them I would consider helping them if they helped figure out a way to save you. Though I have to say, I really should have worded that agreement a little more carefully." She said with a roll of her eyes, before looking over at Phil with a pointed look. "Besides, you can't really say no to S.H.I.E.L.D. Now that there's no more hiding from them, I'm either with them, or they're against me. And I really would like to avoid the latter option."
"Good choice, really." Phil commented as he began to roam through the room, looking over the items that had been pulled out of Howard's crate. "What's this doing here?" he asked, grabbing hold of and lifting up what looked like a prototype to Steve's shield.
"Oh, hey that perfect actually!" Tessa said in excitement latching onto it with her powers and pulling it out of Phil's hands. She moved it across the room, lifting the heavy tunnel up slightly before sliding the shield underneath. She let the large tube drop down and retracted her powers back into her.
Tony stepped forward with his level and set it down on top of it. "Perfectly level." He stated as he watched the small bubble settle right in the middle of the gauge.
"So, are you just going to be watching us work all night or are you going to be giving us some actual help?" Tessa asked him, crossing her arms.
"Actually, I came to say goodbye." He said instead, catching Tessa by surprise. "I've been reassigned. Director Fury wants me in New Mexico."
"What's in New Mexico?" Tessa asked curiously.
"A headache." He said simply. "We'll be in touch." He told her with a nod.
"Can't wait." She said with a sigh.
"Good luck." He then said, turning to Tony, his hand extended out towards him.
"Thanks." Tony responded, gripping his hand and giving it a firm shake.
"We need you." Phil told him as he dropped his hand back down to his side.
"Yeah, more than you know." Tony said back.
"Not that much." Coulson shot back with a shake of his head as he turned to leave. "See you again soon." He then said to Tessa before walking back out of the door, leaving them alone again.
Tessa let out a sigh as she turned back around. She found Tony's questioning face watching her. "Yeah, I don't want to talk about it." She said, really not feeling like discussing her impeding cooperation with S.H.I.E.L.D. "Let's finish solving your problem before we get into any of mine." She said, moving forward and brushing past him.
Tony didn't push the matter further and they got back to work. To be honest, Tessa didn't fully understand the mechanics of it all. She understood the basis of what they were doing, but for the most part she just followed Tony's directions. And currently he was directing her flip the switches that would connect the particle accelerator to the electrical grid. She flipped all the switches into place, sending the electricity towards Tony, who stood over the control valve. "We're online." She called over to him.
"Initiating prismatic accelerator." J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice said as the glowing beam of energy began lighting up the inside of the circular chamber. Tony took hold of the valve and began twisting it, spinning the prism inside. "We have achieved maximum power."
The muscles in Tony's arm strained against the valve as the pressure inside the chamber worked against him. He let out a groan as he pried harder against the metal. Tessa let her powers snake out and wrap around the base of the valve, giving Tony a helping hand, so to speak. The valve began twisting the prism, directing the beam of super-accelerated particles towards the housing chamber they had set up across the room.
As the beam left the confines of the chamber and hit the wall, it began searing a burning line through the walls, support beams and everything else it came in contact with. "Whoops." Tony commented as he continued guiding the beam of energy closer to where they needed it. It cut through two shelving units, sending the top halves falling to the ground, before the beam stopped moving as it became centered in the triangular unit. Tessa let her powers retract as Tony held the beam steady. They watched eagerly as the particle housing unit began to glow a bright blue as the energy coursed through it. It began to glow so bright that Tessa had to shield her eyes. "Alright shut it down!" Tony yelled over to Tessa after a moment.
Tessa did as asked, flipping the switches back into a closed position, effectively cutting the power. The beam of light died down as the accelerator powered back down. Tessa walked over to where Tony was standing as the room dimmed down in brightness. Her eyes locked onto the still glowing housing unit, containing the newly created element. "Well, that was easy." Tony said, causing Tessa to look over at him with a smirk.
Tessa carefully took hold of the glowing triangular housing unit with her powers and brought it drifting up into the air and across to the room towards them. She brought it to a stop, hovering just above her open palm. She and Tony examined it in wonder. "Congratulations Mr. Stark." Tessa said, bringing her eyes up to Tony's. "You've successfully created a new element."
He smiled over to her as she brought it down and let it fall into place in the newly designed arc reactor. She dropped her hold on it as the glass cover slid into place and the reactor began to pulse into life. "Sir, the reactor has accepted the modified core." J.A.R.V.I.S. informed them as the pulsing gave way to one steady illuminance. "I will begin running diagnostics."
Tessa couldn't stop herself. She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Tony in pure glee. "I can't believe that worked!" she exclaimed, a huge smile spread out across her face. After a couple minutes, J.A.R.V.I.S. was done running his diagnostics and the reactor was running smoothly with no problems. Tony picked up the new reactor in one hand and pulled out the old one with his other. He slid the new one into his chest and he let out a sharp breath as it connected into place. "How's it feel?" she asked him.
"Tastes like coconut." He said as the reactor began to glow brighter and he let out a shutter as the new power flowed into him. "And metal." He groaned. "Oh wow, that's nice!" he exclaimed as the power filled him with energy he had not felt since the poisoning had begun to take its toll.
After making sure the reactor was running smoothly and celebrating their success, Tessa began disassembling the structure they had built and cleaning up the workshop that had been practically demolished during their progress. While she worked, she couldn't help but marvel at the realization that they had actually done it. They had saved Tony's life. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she could finally breathe again. Her euphoria didn't last long, however. As Tony answered an incoming call, having thought the blocked number was Agent Coulson checking in on them, a voice that didn't belong to Phil echoed around the room. Tessa froze as the familiar voice hit her ears. She dropped the tube she had been lifting back into its crate and slowly turned around.
"Hey Tony, how you doing?" came the goading tone. Tessa and Tony locked eyes, both of them knowing just who it belonged to. Though, the last they knew he was supposed to have been killed in an explosion in the jail he had been held in. "I double cycle."
"You what?" Tony asked, his eyes falling back down to the screen before him. Tessa pulled out her tablet and quietly ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to start tracing the call.
"You told me double cycle makes more power. Good advice." Ivan's thickly accented voice explained.
"You sound pretty sprightly for a dead guy." Tony said as a worried look passed between him and Tessa.
"You too." Ivan responded with a laugh that sent chills down Tessa's spine. "Now the true history of the Stark name will be written."
"J.A.R.V.I.S., where is he?" Tessa asked quietly, looking over her screen. She watched as the A.I. worked to pinpoint the location where the call had been emanating from. The display zoomed down onto eastern seaboard. She stepped towards Tony, handing in over the tablet. Tony took it from her, studying it quietly.
"What your father did to my family over forty years ago, I will do to you in forty minutes." Ivan threatened.
"Sounds good. Let's get together and hash it out." Tony responded as J.A.R.V.I.S. tried to pinpoint the call further. They watched as the system was able to trace the call down to the Manhattan area.
"I hope you're ready." Ivan said threateningly before the line disconnected and the dial tone filled the silence.
"Trace incomplete." Came J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice, not being able to acquire an accurate location further than that of the Manhattan area.
Tony's wide eyes landed on Tessa's and both of them knew something bad was about to happen. "Tony, if he's in New York and going after your legacy….there's only one place he could be heading if he wants the world watching as he destroys the Stark name."
Tessa watched as Tony came to the same realization as her. "The expo." He breathed out.
Tessa was struck with another realization that sent her muttering out a curse. "You have got to be kidding me." She groaned out. "Tony who's set to make a presentation at the expo today?" she asked, hoping she was wrong, but knowing she was right.
"Justin Ham-" he began to say before cutting himself off as he made the sudden connection as well. "Oh, that son of a bitch!" he shouted in anger. "We've got to go." He then said, moving into gear and heading towards the assembly mechanisms for his suit.
"Tony," Tessa called out, causing him to pause. "Rhodey took the only other suit. I have no way of getting there in time." She told him.
"Oh, I'm sure we can figure something out." He responded with a smirk.
That 'something' ended up being Tessa clinging to the back of Tony as he flew them all the way across the country. It wasn't ideal, as the high winds made it difficult to keep a strong grip or even breathe, but it was either that or let Tony head into battle by himself. So, knowing there was no other option, Tessa gripped onto him for dear life, keeping her head tucked behind his shoulder as she did. "How you doing back there, backpack?" Tony asked, the wind whipping by Tessa's ears so loud that it was difficult to make out what he was saying.
"Just shut up and fly!" Tessa shouted over the wind, her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to keep her vision from the ground far, far below. Tessa was not fine, in fact she had been doing nothing but praying that Tony wouldn't drop her the whole time. She just kept her eyes closed, her grip tight, and just prayed they would get there quickly. She supposed quickly was a relative term, seeing as it took nearly four hours to get all the way from the west coast to the east. By the time The Stark Expo came into view, Tessa's muscles had locked up and she was almost positive her eardrums had been damaged. Regardless, she pried her head out from behind Tony's back, looking down at the ground that was incredibly closer now.
"Hammer's just unveiled his presentation…it's a bunch of drones." He told her, relaying the information coming through from J.A.R.V.I.S. "Care to take a stab in the dark at who's operating them?"
"You deal with the drones, and I'll find Vanko!" She shouted before letting go of his back and transporting herself down onto the ground. She hit the ground hard, rolling with the impact as Tony proceeded into the auditorium where the presentation was in progress. She took a moment to catch her breath, standing up and stretching out her stiff muscles. "Yeah, so not doing that again." She moaned as she reluctantly took off in a jog towards the building.
As she raced inside, she watched as Tony took off into the air, followed by a torrent of bullets chasing him. The glass ceiling above them shattered as the bullets tore through it, sending the glass shards falling down onto the panicking crowd below. A group of drones took off after Tony, following him up and out of the auditorium. The rest of the drones began marching off the stage towards the crowd, sending the mass into a stampede of fleeing bodies.
As she pushed through the crowd, Tessa caught eye of Justin Hammer running off behind stage. She transported herself through the sea of people until she landed on the stage and took off in a run after the man. She ran behind the stage, eyes sweeping for her culprit. She found him standing over some monitors, the panic evident on his face. She watched as Pepper and Agent Romanoff enclosed upon him as well before transporting herself closer. He was trying to usher Pepper and Romanoff away when Tessa reached out with her powers and took hold of his neck. She squeezed just enough to start cutting off his airway before lifting him into the air as she marched up to him.
"Where is he?!" she yelled out at him, as his feet dangled in the air. Pepper and Agent Romanoff whipped around, not having expected her to be there. She looked to them briefly before her eyes fell back on the man she had hovered above the ground.
"I-I don't know w-who you're talking about." He gasped out, staring down at her with wide eyes.
"Vanko!" she seethed, tightening the hold around his neck. "Don't play games with me Hammer! I know you've been working with him!"
"A-at my….fa..cility." he told her, his air supply running on empty. Tessa let him drop to the ground with a thud before looking over at Pepper. "Don't let him out of your sight." She said before turning and quickly making her way out of there, Agent Romanoff hot on her trail.
"I'll take care of Vanko." The agent said, causing Tessa to stop and turn around to face her. "Someone needs to stop those drones and my skill set is better off when it comes to one-on-one combat." She explained in a rush.
Tessa looked over the woman, debating whether or not to trust her. "Fine." She said after a moment, seeing the resolution in her eyes. "You stop Vanko and I'll take care of the drones." She said in agreement. The two women took off in seperate directions, Tessa heading back out through the stage towards the drones.
The drones had stopped on the steps outside of the auditorium, sending missiles out into the crowd. The missiles made impact with several of the structures around the area, sending waves of fire exploding out around them. Tessa pushed through the crowd, quickly trying to devise a plan in her head as she went. As she pushed out past the mass of terrified spectators, her eyes landed on the back of a drone which currently had its guns aimed down at a small boy who was wearing a replica of the Iron Man mask. Tessa transported herself behind the boy who had his hand raised up at the drone fearlessly. Tessa shot out a blast of power, sending the drone flying through the air, and away from the kid.
The boy swiveled around in alarm. Tessa reached down and set a hand down on his shoulder, transporting them both away from the danger. "Nice job kid, but I got it from here." She told him with a wink before leaving him in the safer location while moving herself back to where the drones continued their assault.
Her head whipped around as she watched Tony tear through the air above her, drawing several more of the drones into the air in pursuit of him. Tessa transported herself to the closest group of drones still on the ground, reaching out with her powers and latching onto their metal bodies. She lifted the three of them into the air as high as she could, before bringing down her arm quickly. The drones dropped down quickly, crashing down onto the cement, causing it to splinter out in large cracks. Tessa shot a blast of energy out at them, making sure their power circuits were fried before moving on.
She turned to find another drone a few yards away, blasting another missile into the crowd. "Oh no you don't!" she yelled out as she reached out latched onto the missile soaring through the air, freezing it in its tracks. She twisted her hand around and sent the missile flying right back at the drone that launched it. The drone exploded in a large blast, that sent Tessa ducking down as the flames flicked out over her head.
She watched as another group of drones turned in her direction and began making their way towards her. "Good, I've got your attention." She said with a smile, before transporting herself behind them and sending out a powerful blast that sent them flying in different directions. She repositioned herself to face the nearest drone which was pushing itself back onto its feet. She moved to attack it, but before she could, bullets came raining down on her and a searing pain tore through her shoulder. She dropped to the ground with a scream, using her powers to create a shield above her, stopping anymore bullets from hitting her.
The bullets stopped falling on her as a large explosion shook the area. Tessa's head whipped up to find a large ball of fire billowing out of the large geo-sphere at the end of the long pond she stood in front of. She pushed herself back up, gripping onto her left shoulder in an attempt to stop the flow of blood that was seeping out of it. She watched as two steaks fell out of the sky and went crashing into the Oracle dome, at the far end of the Expo. She watched as the drones all around her began taking off into the sky, heading in the same direction.
Tessa reached out and took hold of as many drones as she could with her power. Four of them halted mid-air, Tessa struggling to keep them from rising up any further. With a grunt, she tightened her hands into tight fists, crushing the metal of the suits in on themselves, causing a series of explosions above her. She ducked her head into the crook of her elbow until the blast dissipated. Once she felt the heat of the blast retreat, she looked back up to see the remaining drones heading right for where see had seen Tony fall into the dome building.
"Shit!" she muttered before taking off as fast as she could, using her powers to jump through the distance in spurts, following behind the drones as fast as she could. She enclosed upon the glass dome, but the drones had already flown inside. She could hear bullets and blasting echoing around the dome as the drones engaged with Tony. She transported herself inside, running past the bushes and trees until she emerged out into the opening where Tony and Rhodey stood back-to-back firing upon the drones surrounding them.
Tessa teleported down into the clearing, landing in between the two men in suits. "GET DOWN!" she yelled out, causing them to drop down. She pulled back on the reigns over her power and let it flow freely, sending it out around her in a large blast that shook the area. The bright blue blast sent the drones flying back several yards and toppled over several of the trees surrounding the area. As the blast dissipated, Tony and Rhodey stood back up, surveying the damage she had caused.
"Where the hell have you been?" Rhodey asked, looking from the motionless drones around them up to her still-illuminated form.
"Busy." She responded, looking over at Tony.
"Where's Ivan?" he asked her.
"I don't know. Romanoff went after him." She said with a shake of her head, suddenly feeling drained from using so much of her power. Unfortunately, they didn't have to wait long to find out where Ivan was, as a large metal suit dropped out of the sky, landing on the ground in front of them. The face shield on it pulled back, revealing Ivan Vanko smiling over at them.
"Good to see you again." He said before lifting his hand and sending a blast out towards them. Tessa only had a moment to prepare herself as she realized the blast was aimed right at her chest. She tried to use her power to move herself out of the way, but it all happened too quick and it hit her dead on, sending her soaring back through the air. The pain was incredible. Her whole world was consumed by the absolute mind-numbing pain that emanated out from her chest. She hit the ground, another painful explosion taking over her already injured shoulder, before she went rolling. Once she finally did stop moving, she lay there motionless, not daring to move as her entire body burned with pain.
Tessa's breathing came out ragged as she tried pushing through the pain. She could hear the suits behind her, crashing against each other as they locked into battle and she knew she had to get back up. So drawing in a deep breath, she began pushing herself back up, her body screaming at her as she did. She pushed herself up on shaky arms, looking back over at the others. Tony and Rhodey were fighting against Ivan but were having a hard time taking him down. Ivan had managed to build a more advanced version of the electrically charged whips into his new suit, making fighting him incredibly more difficult. As Tony and Rhodey struggled to subdue him, Tessa struggled back onto her feet with a loud groan. She watched as Ivan managed to wrap both whips around each of the men, sending powerful currents of electricity through their suits, rendering them nearly powerless.
With a deep breath, she transported herself back into the clearing. Standing a few feet in front of Ivan, she reached down into the pits of her center, gripping onto all the power she could muster and sent it rushing out towards him. The whole area lit up around them as the blast radiated out like a bomb. Tessa let out a roar of exertion as she thrust all her energy and focus into the rush of power. She felt her body trembling with effort and after a moment, her hands dropped to her sides as she felt a cold wave wash over her. She felt drained beyond measure and as the power faded away, her eyelids drooped heavily, and her legs gave out under her. She dropped to the ground, succumbing to the numbing darkness.