DISCLAIMER THE FIRST: "Has he lost his mind? - Can he write or is he blind? - Is it conceit or is it gall; That Marvel and Paramount owns it all? - Or if he's sued that will he fall? - Is he alive or is he dead? - Has he trademarked thoughts in his head? - We'll just leave this here: No money was made; So he's in the clear!"
PITHY STATEMENT RELATING TO THIS CHAPTER: "In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are consequences." – Roger G. Ingersoll – American lawyer, a Civil War veteran, political leader, and orator during the Golden Age of Free Thought, noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of agnosticism. He was nicknamed "The Great Agnostic"– 1833-1899
LAST UPDATED ON: 03-22-2020
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CHAPTER FOUR – FALLOUT
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20 KILOMETERS SOUTHEAST OF WOR MAMAY, PAKTIKA PROVINCE, AFGANISTAN, AUGUST 7th, 2010 – AFTERNOON
Riri stumbled as she made her way down a dune as she angled towards what looked like a river valley. While the nearby foothills might provide shade and shelter, going there would bring her closer to the Ten Rings base. So, while she wasn't happy with travelling in the sun, she knew she had to put some distance between where she landed and her one-time captors.
For the millionth time since waking up in the cave, Riri cursed that Tony had never created some sort of sub-dermal beacon which would have told Colonel Rhodes where they had been taken. That sort of beacon would come in handy now given it was a race between being found by the Ten Rings, being found by unfriendly locals, being rescued or dying of her injuries and the heat pouring down on her from the scorching sun above.
While she had a bit of the inner lining of the Iron Man armor to cover her head, she was practically naked in cargo shorts and t-shirt she'd long ago ripped into a tank-top when working around the hot forge in the cave. So not only was a great deal of her skin exposed, some already burned to begin with, she had no water.
Indeed, except for her make-shift sun shield, about the only thing she had was the small bag Tony had made her promise to get to Stark Industries. Given his worry, she had that stowed in her panties in case she was searched. If necessary, she had a plan for hiding the items further if drastic measure were needed.
As she doggedly made her way towards what she hoped was water and civilization, Riri couldn't help but be suspicious of what had happened to her. She had been in a death spiral before she blacked out. While the Iron Man suit lacked instruments, Riri knew she had been going fast enough that she shouldn't have survived plowing into a dune no matter how soft or powdery.
Then there was the suit itself. The just wasn't any applicable impact damage. It was possible that she somehow had managed a landing and then had tried to take off the armor before passing out but that seemed impossible. The evidence pointed to a soft landing somehow and then her armor removed to make it look like she crashed. There were too many catches, latches and the like which weren't damaged like they should have been if ripped apart during an impact. Most people might not have noticed the lack of signs of a crash but Riri Williams was not most people.
So how had she survived and who or what was behind her survival? There wasn't much in the way of clues. About the only thing she had noticed prior to leaving the area was that the sand in the area seemed to have been magically brushed smooth. There certainly wasn't what you'd expect from an impact. It was almost like someone had somehow fiddled with the sand to erase their tracks.
Riri had done a spiral away from the impact zone for quite a while but there were no tracks to be found. Just a general circle where the sand had been somehow smoothed. Outside that circle, the sand was much more asymmetrical. Riri for the life of her couldn't figure out what could have done such a thing.
But finally, her curiosity gave way to the realities of her position relative to a rock and a hard place set in. So, while she still tried to run various scenarios, she tried to keep focused on where she was going. She'd almost gotten sidetracked down a wadi into going the wrong way twice already.
She was so focused in fact that she was surprised when two MH-60G Pave Hawk combat, search & rescue choppers flew over her followed by two Apache gunships. She was so startled she almost fell down the dune she was traversing. However, she quickly got it together and began to wave at the retreating helicopters.
She sank to her knees in relief when all of the airships turned around. The gunships did a sweep while the two CSAR choppers hovered briefly before one of them finally landed on a relatively flat bit of ground to her right. Riri found she was suddenly so exhausted, physically and emotionally to do anything but watch as USAF personnel jumped out to secure the area even as the two Army gunships circled menacingly overhead.
In short order Riri was surprised to see that she recognized the leader of the team who ran up the dune to where she knelt in the sand.
It also didn't surprise her that Colonel Rhodes scowled at her, "Where's Tony?"
Even in her exhausted state, Riri was able to give the man a look which screamed, "Oh really?" before shaking her head, "Well he's not hiding in the Funvee, that's for sure."
The Colonel scowled even harder as he motioned the waiting medics who had to physically help Riri onto their stretcher. The water they gave her was sweeter than anything she could ever remember tasting. As they secured her in the helicopter, Colonel Rhodes continued to hover and glare at her.
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She motioned for him to come closer, "Look Colonel, I'm sorry but Tony's dead so I'd appreciate it if you'd cut with the death glare. He died saving my life even though I thought we were supposed to escape together. And he wasn't the only one who died. The Ten Rings have a lot to answer for."
Colonel Rhodes' face darkened but finally gave a curt nod, "Oh they're going to pay if I have anything to do with it." He turned when one of his men yelled at him from the cockpit but Riri couldn't hear what he was saying over the noise of the rotors getting up to take-off speed.
Rhodes just nodded and gave a thumbs-up before turning back to Riri, "You rest Ms. Williams. We're going to fast track you out of here!"
For some reason Riri didn't like the sound of that.
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CENTCOM FORWARD HQ, DOHA, QATAR, AUGUST 8th, 2010 – EVENING
"Look, I fully appreciate the need for debriefing and all that. I've gone through the whole song and dance of the security faeries back at Stark Industries. I'm not some noob here. But I'm also an American and I want to see a lawyer and I want to see one before I say another fucking word, you hear?" Riri snarled as the man on the other side of a plain, government issued desk.
While the shower, new clothes and food (to say nothing of the IV which had pumped much needed water into her) she felt that she was being jerked around from the moment they pulled her stretcher off the CSAR chopper. Colonel Rhodes had seemed happy enough to fob her off to the medical people who seemed to her to do the barest minimum before they in turned fob her off on the faceless security types who had hustled her onto a C-5 and out of Afghanistan.
The only good thing going for her was she had managed to stash the flash drive and jewel module in a way which so far had escaped detection. Stark may have made fun of her full afro, but she was sure he would be surprised to find it now hid the flash drive. While the security drones might have well have been robots, one of the medics back in Afghanistan had pressed a bag into her hand before she was taken to Kabul for the flight out. It turned out to be a care-package which included some hair products and best for her, an afro pick. Her jailors might have felt her vain in that she took so much time getting her hair back to its former glory. Little did they know what her hair hid!
Where the jewel monitor was hidden was less obvious but more easily discovered if they gave her a cavity search. However so far, she hadn't been searched. But she wasn't going to hold her breath on that potentially lasting given the man in front of her. She wondered if he had watched the Matrix too many times; she half expected to be referred to as 'Ms. Anderson' at any moment. He'd been blunt to the point of rudeness and other than the 'Michaels' listed on his black BDUs which had no other identifying patches, she knew nothing of the man other that she was coming to really want to punch him in the face.
As much as people had pushed Riri for details, she had flat out refused to discuss how she got out of the Ten Rings base or anything about the ARC reactor in her chest. She simply kept repeating that until she could talk to someone at Stark Industries, her non-disclosure contract kept her from talking. Whether that was actually true in this case or not, Riri didn't care. It was her excuse and she was sticking to it.
However, before Michaels could reply, the door to the interrogation room opened and a middle-aged man already starting to lose his hair in a smart suit came in with a briefcase. With a casual air of someone used to having people obey him, he turned to Michaels, "Agent Michaels that will be all."
The man looked like he was going to argue before simply nodding with a curt, "Yes sir!" before he quickly left the room.
The other man set his briefcase on the table and hummed to himself while he rummaged around in it for some papers. He then closed it and leaned over with an outstretched hand, "Ms. Williams? I'm Agent Coulson of SHIELD and I'm here to get you out of here. However, there are some things we'd like to confirm before that happens."
"Don't care. Sorry Agent Coulson but right now I want to see a lawyer before I accidentally say something which gets me disappeared. I'm sorry but since I'm the last person to see Tony Stark alive, I'm thinking it might be in certain interests to see that my story never reaches the light of day," Riri said firmly as she shook the man's hand.
Agent Coulson looked faintly surprised and a bit impressed, "Ah yes, well that is probably true. However, SHIELD isn't one of those groups. I've been directed to facilitate you back to the States. From earlier comments, I see you wish to go to Pasadena instead of back to MIT?"
Riri nodded, "Yes; I have some messages for Ms. Pepper Potts."
Coulson looked serene but quickly countered with, "We could easily arrange for Ms. Potts to meet you in Massachusetts."
Riri shook her head mindful of the flash drive hidden in her hair which suddenly felt like it had gotten hot and heavier. "No, I know with Tony's death, Ms. Potts will be needed in Pasadena just as Mr. Stane is probably already in New York. Better I go to her."
Coulson looked like he was mulling that over before he shrugged, "It's doable. But first, I realize you want a lawyer, but SHIELD would like to get your impressions of the Ten Rings base, their personnel, and most of all their leader. The initial report states you never saw their overall leader, correct?"
Riri shook her head, "No, our jailor Bakar mentioned the Mandarin once or twice but that's it. I never did get an answer from Tony or the others why an Islamic group is run by someone called the Mandarin. All I saw was his lieutenant Raza who hopefully is dead back in that cave. Sadly, I was on the clock and couldn't check."
Coulson chuckled, "Yes well the Ten Rings may play at being an Islamic jihadist type organization but that is but a cover. In truth, the Ten Rings is an organization of the likes we haven't seen since World War II and the Cold War. They are an organization bent on domination and they have many different faces. The one which captured you is but one face. Sometimes in our business it's hard to sort out who is in charge of who and what the real mastermind is."
"Great…a real-life COBRA; Tony would have loved that," Riri muttered.
Coulson chuckled again, "Yes but with a lot less ninjas. Now Ms. Williams, I'm to take you out of here within the hour. I'd like to provide you with a special SHIELD laptop. It's designed for agents coming back from a mission, so it will work you through your experience. Seeing them first hand, I'm sure you can understand how anything we can get from you to help shut them down is desperately needed. The fact that Anthony Stark died during this is on the tactical front of little concern to SHIELD. Strategically his death is a huge blow but right now we're more concerned with taking down his killers. You can help."
Riri thought about it and what she knew of SHIELD. Given her associate with Stark Industries and their connection with SHIELD, Riri realized she was probably in better hands than if she was in CIA or even the FBI's hands. SHIELD's mandate, from what she'd seen, really wasn't domestically orientated.
So, she shrugged, "Okay I'll play nice, but I still refuse to release certain information until I get the go ahead from Stark Industries. I didn't get away from terrorists just to get tossed in jail for violating a contract. And speaking of prison, am I a prisoner or what? I've been denied any sort of access to…well everything. At the very least being able to call my folks and tell them that I'm not dead would be nice."
Coulson nodded, "No you're not a prisoner and I apologize for your prior treatment. Sometimes agents out in the field get wild ideas of what their jobs should be. As for the rest, how you got out isn't important as the tactical info you can give us. We can afford to wait till Stark HQ gives you better directions."
Riri nodded but didn't say anything.
Coulson patted the file in front of him, "Right now you're only a person of interest to SHIELD. Hopefully a status which will end after your debriefing. Although I'm sure Director Fury hopes you continue your work. With Tony Stark gone, I'm sure your brilliance will be in great demand given how both SHIELD and the DoD depend a lot on Stark Industries."
Riri couldn't help but smile enigmatically at that. SHIELD and the DoD were probably in for a big shock. She didn't know what was on Stark's flash drive, but she'd had plenty of discussions with him while they had worked feverishly on the Iron Man armor. She was relatively certain that Stark Industries days of being ironmongers as Tony had said Stane bragged about being were numbered.
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LOS ANGELOS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, CALIFORNIA, AUGUST 9th, 2010 – MID-MORNING
Riri inwardly cringed before the ramp of the C-17 was even on the ground. The look on Pepper Potts's face was something she had been dreading the entire trip from Dover Air Force Base. Even after the six-hour flight, she still didn't know what she was supposed to say to the woman. For all Tony's flirtations, it was generally held throughout Stark Industries that both Tony and Pepper held torches for each other but had never acted on their feelings.
If true, she could only wonder at how Pepper saw her; the woman who got out alive while the man Pepper loved had died. At least Pepper looked crushed and not angry. Riri really didn't want to deal with that. She'd already gotten a bit of that from Colonel Rhodes and the non-SHIELD interrogators. Only Agent Coulson had seemed to not care that she was the one who made it out rather than Stark.
Her attendant began to roll her down the ramp. While her hands had not been as burnt as badly as she had worried, her legs actually ended up being in bad shape given the heat from the booster jets. This had been compounded by her walking on them through the desert. She'd be mostly confined to a wheelchair for a week or so. It had hurt to find her attendant's name was Manning just like her one-time USAF driver who was presumably in a shallow, unmarked grave back in Afghanistan.
Finally, the moment she'd been dreading arrived as Manning stopped in front of Pepper. Riri recognized Tony's driver and long-time friend Happy Hogan as well as Jennifer Walters but the rest were presumably HQ personnel she'd never met while at Stark's Boston lab. While Riri had met Pepper in passing quite a few times, she wouldn't dare say she knew the woman.
Amazingly to Riri, Pepper suddenly reached down and hugged Riri tightly as she whispered, "Thank you for making it back. Not knowing what had happened was killing me."
Riri simply hugged the woman back, daring not to jinx the moment. However, she felt she owed it to Tony to crack a joke when Pepper straightened out, "Well Tony said you'd kill him for dying; I hope that also doesn't apply to me for not bringing him home. Lord knows I tried but he had to get all heroic there at the end."
Pepper gave a bark of a laugh which was almost a sob, "Yes well he grew up listening about Captain America his whole life; I guess in the end I shouldn't be surprised he gave his life so others would live."
Riri reached out and took Pepper's hand and spoke softly enough that only the red-head could hear her, "Well I'm sorry that like Captain America, he left a woman who loved him behind. All I can say is it hurt him. I don't think he worried about dying in as much as worrying about the pain it would cause people like you, Mr. Hogan and Peggy Carter."
Pepper pulled her hand away from Riri. She covered her face as a sob broke out which quickly worsened. Happy leapt in and hugged her, patting her on the back as the woman broke down against his chest. Riri could only watch and be thankful that except for a Stark Industries photographer, the press had been kept away. Even now everyone except Jennifer Walters made a hasty retreat to give Pepper some privacy. Riri could almost feel the embarrassment radiating from Manning behind her.
Jennifer Walters picked up on it as well. She motioned to Riri, "Ms. Williams, why don't we get out of the sun. I dare say you've had your fill of that. I have a special van waiting if you'd wish to lie down and get out of that chair if the flight was too taxing on you."
Riri was about to say she was fine when she realized she was tired of sitting and her legs and back did hurt. She also had visited the area enough to know that with LA traffic being what it was; it might be awhile till they got to Stark HQ, "Thank you, Ms. Walters; that would be lovely."
As Manning began to push her chair to follow Ms. Walters, Riri took one last look at where Happy was helping the still weeping Pepper into a company limo. Riri could only hope that there would be something on the flash drive she had kept secret would give the woman some peace from her grief.
OoOoO
Riri had to hand it to Pepper; she was a consummate professional. The woman that strode purposely into her office without a hair or bit of make-up out of place was a far cry from the woman Riri had seen sobbing hysterically only two hours before. It really brought home how much of Stark Industries direction and success had come from this woman.
While Obadiah Stane had certainly helmed the company for decades, it was becoming obvious to Riri he was involved in long term things along with being the public face of Stark Industries given Tony's unreliability. So, it had obviously fallen to Pepper Potts, who most viewed as merely Tony Stark's personal assistant, who was the person that the day-to-day operations of much of Stark Industries fell to.
Pepper sat down without looking at the other two women. She sat perfectly motionless for a moment before taking a deep breath before looking up, "So, what do we got?"
Walters looked to Riri who brought out the flash drive, "Tony made me promise to bring this to you and only you." Riri looked over to Walters, "I know, however, he expected Ms. Walters to be allowed to see it. All I know for sure is Tony left some instructions, a few video messages along with those from Dr. Fazli and Professor Yinsen before they died. I'm sure you'll see about getting those to the right people. Beyond having some suspicions, I don't really know what else is on the drive. I do know that you're supposed to set me up with access to his lab as I've got something he wanted me to do with JARVIS."
Pepper took the flash drive with a nod, "Well beyond any secrets, Tony probably didn't want anyone to try to access this given how many of our drives like this are designed to wipe if a certain level of hacking is involved. So far, we've never had any organization get past it. The better they get at hacking it, the higher the chance the drive self-destructs."
Riri's face lit up in understanding, "So if I tried to hack it, no problems as I'm not a computer nerd but if some hotshot SHIELD techie tried it..."
"Poof!" Pepper confirmed. "A bit of how it works is we have special dedicated USB ports which I'm sure you've noticed in your work at our Boston facility. I'm betting Tony was worried the drive would be destroyed unintentionally before you got here."
Riri scowled, "Well before Agent Coulson came, that was damn likely if they had known I had the drive."
Pepper smiled, "Yes well Phil is a good guy. I've worked with him a bit before and he was the main SHIELD liaison keeping us in the loop while you and Tony were missing."
Riri rolled her eyes, "He certainly was a leg up from the Agent Smith wannabe. Do they go to some special spy school that turns them into faceless assholes?"
Pepper frowned at that, but Walters broke out laughing, "I've wondered the same thing. I can't tell you how many times I've had to repeat the phrases 'No I don't know where Bruce is; no, I haven't been in contact with him and no I have no idea where he might be.' I might as well get flash cards made up."
"Well let's see what we got here," Pepper said as she inserted the drive and started to peruse its contents. She hummed a bit to herself while the other two women waited patiently. Finally, Pepper shook her head ruefully, "Wow there is a lot of stuff on here. Did Tony ever sleep?"
Riri shrugged, "Well I did sleep a lot due to my injuries, so I can't say. But yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if he only slept two to four hours at the end. He was a machine."
Walters nodded, "Sounds like Tony. He didn't even need the typical nerd juice of choice or stimulants. He just worked till he dropped, and it took a long time for that to happen. I had to have him sign some stuff once and then had to come back a few days later to find he had worked through the entire time."
Pepper muttered something which sounded suspiciously to Riri like, "stupid idiot" under her breath before brightening, "Aha! A lot of these files look like his last thoughts on various projects and other Stark Industry things. I found the video files; Jen, one is labeled New Stark Will. Will that be legal?"
Walters nodded, "A valid will is actually easy to make if you know what you're doing, and Tony does. Did you sign anything, Ms. Williams?"
Riri shook her head, "No but for the most part Tony had access to two other people who could have been a witness."
Walters nodded again, "Given how you were the most likely candidate to get out of there, chances are Tony didn't want you to sign. While still legal, it's always better to have someone not in any way connected to a will be witnesses."
"Well I'm pretty sure I've found the summary we need to see. Tony seems to have made a few depending on who might see it. I'm going to go the one tagged for the three of us."
"Tony did say that was who he expected to see what he wanted, so yeah, fire it up," Riri said.
"Give me a moment," Pepper typed a bit before the projector on one of the bookshelves to the right of Peppers desk hummed to life. All three women turned to the blank area on the opposite wall. Within moments the video started. Riri cringed at seeing Tony. At the time, how bad he looked had gotten to be normal. Seeing it now after being back in civilization brought back how bad it had been.
Pepper obviously felt the same way, "Oh my god!" she said sounding sick.
"Whoa! I've read the summary brief but wow, this really brings it home!" Walters said in agreement.
The video started.
"Pepper, Jen, Riri, hopefully you are indeed the ones watching this. For speed's sake, I'm not going to be coy or do anything with code. Either the drive's security worked or I'm screwed. So, on that note, let's just get with it.
Pepper…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for so many things but the most I'm sorry I was a Stark and was scared of real life. I don't know how good of a man I could have been for you, but I know you were always more of a woman a man like me could possibly deserve. To try to sum everything up…well how about let's go with 'As you wish' and call it good, okay?"
"Oh Tony!" Pepper said as tears began to stream down her face. Riri was tearing up as well. Only Tony Stark could tell the woman of his dreams how much he loved her in an oblique movie quote.
It was obvious to Riri that Stark was no novice when it came to video conferencing given how he seemed to pause almost the perfect amount of time before resuming.
"Jen…hoo-boy am I leaving you a mess. I've done what I can with the documentations and I'm pretty sure my new will is pretty full proof. However, I know the Board and…well I know Obi too. I need you to be strong and get this done for me. I took a bit of a risk bringing you on board so high up so early, but I never regretted my decision and I'm confident that in this last bit of legal wrangling you'll get it done like you've always done. People might think your cousin is tough but that's because they haven't seen you in action."
"Damn straight!" Walters said in a voice choked with emotion.
In the video Stark suddenly looked unsure of himself and looked off camera for a moment. Riri realized from the angle, he probably was looking at her while she slept.
"Now for the moment I've been dreading. Where I drop some bombs on all of you; you most of all Riri. In two days, Project Iron Man goes active and it's going to change the world. Or I guess since you're watching this, that change has already happened. Riri, Fazli was right and wrong. He was right that we both added to the sum total of death in this world. I accept that. Yet Yinsen was also right in his own philosophy. Pacifism can only take us too far and as a doctor, Fazli should have known sometimes you have to cut away the bad to save the good.
Project Iron Man is a step towards that. Yes, it obviously could be weaponized. Hell, we weaponized it but that had to happen. Now that you're safe, we cannot allow the Iron Man concept to become the new weapon of choice. I love me some Heinlein as much as the next nerd, but dear old Earth isn't ready for Mobile Infantry just yet. That and all of the repulsor based weaponry needs to go. They're too powerful and it's just going to start an arms race that leads nowhere but more pain and misery. I do not want that to be my legacy."
So, to that end, in my will and in the various documents and videos I've left behind, this is what is what I want to happen. First off Riri, you were right about your vow. Getting in bed with me was the worst thing you could have done."
"You slept with Tony? Wait…why am I surprised at this?" Pepper said angrily.
Riri looked at Pepper with a scowl, "It was nothing remotely like what you are thinking. Until you get taken hostage by terrorists and forced to work in unspeakable conditions for over a month…well you have no concept of what we went through."
Again, Stark seemed to have accurately gauged the reaction to his words.
"Pepper, you're probably given Riri the business but don't. We were a man and woman in a horrible environment and we did what a man and woman tend to do in that type of situation to stay sane. The problem is for me, that wasn't all there was to it."
Stark paused again while looking down at the laptop's keyboard in front of him. Looking up, he looked embarrassed and sad.
"There is no way to sugar-coat this. What we did was great but for me there was a secondary purpose. One which I have confirmed about 10 minutes ago. Congratulations Riri, unless something has changed, you're going to be a mother."
"WHAT?!" all three women exclaimed together.
"I predicted some fluctuations in the ARC reactor's output if you were pregnant and if my math is right, and it always is, you are going to be the bearer of the Stark heir. I didn't do this out of ego. I didn't do this out of some idea that the noble Stark name and legacy had to go on. No, I did it to help make the world a better place. So, while I know you're probably ready to burn me in effigy, hear me out. And hang on, Pepper and Jen; it's going to get wild.
Tony held up a hand and began to tick off points on his fingers.
"First off, I've made you, Riri Williams, my heir. That means once things get probated, you are Stark Industries. Congratulations even though I know what a Sisyphean problem I've just saddled you with.
Second, I know that Obi and the board are going to go nuts when this gets out. They'll say I wasn't sane when I made my will. They'll contest you getting anything. And they'll do this all the more because of item number three.
Three being I have left detailed instructions as to how I want Stark Industries to be restructured. Pepper, we're going to phase out pretty much anything that can kill people. We'll obviously honor our current contracts but that's it. However, any of our defensive stuff, we'll keep on trucking with that. Some of that tech saved both of us when the Ten Rings ambushed us.
Now your status as being pregnant with my child relates to item the second, Riri. While I was over 18 when my parents died, having Obadiah be the regent till I got more experience was seen by everyone as the way to go. The problem is he's an old school iron-monger; something he's quite proud of. He is not going to be happy with this so while he's been great, right now he's not the one to help change the direction off the company. That's what I need you for, Riri. You and Pepper. Being the mother of my child will help. I know there is all sorts of legal wrangling that's going to go on for a long, long time, but I'm betting that regardless of what happens, I do know that in the end, our child will inherit Stark Industries. This means that Obi and the rest of the war for profit types will not get their grubby mitts on the Stark goodies.
So getting you pregnant wasn't ego on my part. Yes, yes, I know but I had to grow up someday. While I am glad that a part of my family will continue, sadly the child is just another part of the plan to get Stark Industry out of the war business.
Tony looked away from the camera momentarily. All three women just stared speechless at what they'd just heard. Tony looked back and Riri saw the same steel in his expression he had had right after he'd kissed her good-bye and charging out of the room, gun blazing.
"I freely admit that I've been manipulative to Riri, to our unborn child. And in truth if she decides to not keep the child, I understand. But when Fahim got shot, I realized that it wasn't about me, not my reputation or my family's. It was about Stark Industries. If I didn't do everything I could, my company would continue to churn out killing machines. So I decided it was time to get all royal. I couldn't afford to act like a man but had to make decisions as a king in order to do what's best for the all concerned. As a man, I'm shattered that even after death, I'm continuing to make the lives of a lot of people I care about worse. But Riri, think of Fahim and his family; remember what he said and how he died. I think that is enough to see how I decided to do what I felt had to be done. I only hope you agree and have the strength to see things done. I am asking so very much of you and I'm sorry.
Riri felt as if she was suddenly channeling Pepper from early as the tears kicked in again, "Oh Tony!"
"So, there you go, my Angels." All three women snorted almost in unison at that comment. "In closing, I know I've dumped a lot on you but I'm not just going to ring down the curtain and join the choir invisible and leave you hanging. I may be a late billionaire but I'm trying to do better. So, Pepper, I need Riri to have full access to my private lab. The sooner the better. If I haven't totally pissed off the Karma Army, JARVIS and Riri will be able to do something that will make things a bit easier. But it's all got to be done on the down and low. This is a part of a long-time project I've been working on solo to the point where right now, JARVIS is the only one who knows the whole scope. So if you go down to the lab and there is a security lock-out, well there is a reason for it. Just keep calm and don't panic and all that happy hitchhiker stuff."
Tony's face suddenly lit up with a smile and for a moment looked like the old Partyman Stark all three women were familiar with.
"If all goes well then this will be my best work and prank yet because while by now I may be stiff and bereft of life, I'm not ready to go on the cart quite yet!"
With that Tony reached up with two fingers and kissed them toward the camera, "Peace out," before hitting the key which ended the video.
For almost a minute, all three women stared at the now blank wall.
Finally, Riri said, "So... I'm fucking pregnant now? And going to be head of Stark Industries?"
Pepper seemed lost in her own world, "My god…this is going to change everything. People are going to go insane over this!"
Walters simply made a face, "Peace out? Peace out? Are you sure that wasn't a Stark life-model decoy?
The two other women looked at the lawyer.
Walters just made a face, "What? Am I the only one here who isn't creeped out by this? How can you not be creeped out by that? Riri said his dying words was a Star Wars quote for God's sake! Peace out? I mean really!"
Riri and Pepper looked at each other and suddenly began laughing hysterically. Walters quickly joined in. As they laughed and laughed (with Pepper actually slipping out of her chair) Riri couldn't help but think of an old Piranhas song one of her tutors had on a mix CD of British pop she liked to play while they worked on advanced math problems together, "You have to laugh, or else you cry."
As Riri continue to laugh at the insanity that was her life now, she knew how true that 80's song really was.
XxXxX
A/N: So the scene is set to start on the aspect that caused me to write this fic in the first place. What is JARVIS? For a heads up, anyone who has read David Brin's novel Existence will notice some of the concepts I talk about. That and elements from James P. Hogan as well.
Lawyer Shenanigans: Don't be surprised if this chapter gets updated and changed. I have some lawyer friends looking into some of the legalities of what Tony is trying to do. Sure, I could fan-wank it like I have and call it good but I HATE doing that. So for right now, don't bother saying, "That won't work" but instead PM me and give me how it might work. In the end, I may just have to fan-wank it but I won't do it without researching things first. However right now I figure this will hold for now as a lot of the "Lawyer up!" sections will be in a bit in line with the original Iron Man film when Obi brings pizza back from NYC.
Glossary
CSAR: Combat Search And Rescue. Pretty much exactly what you saw in Iron Man.
USAF: United States Air Force.
DoD: Department of Defense
Dramatis Personae – For those who don't know their comics well enough to catch every character reference.
Agent Coulson: Again, pretty much straight from the movies. Haven't seen much but a few of the first series of Agents of SHIELD (I'll someday binge watch it on Netflix) so pretty much what you see in the films.
Bruce Banner/The Hulk: As mentioned at the beginning, right now even though Mark Ruffalo is The Man™ when it comes to the Hulk, my Bruce Banner starts early and begins more with the Ed Norton version. Just imagine him being replaced with Mark Ruffalo!
