That afternoon, as the light turned golden in the hour before sunset, Maggie and Tony were trying to make the workshop look less like a bomb site. Tony had changed out of his greasy clothes and back into his ostentatious robe, leaving him bare chested beneath; this exposed the nasty blue lines radiating out from his arc reactor. The sight of them made Maggie wince, but she kept telling herself: Soon. Soon they'll be gone and he'll be safe again.
She kept a close eye on him in the meantime, ready to slam the new reactor into his chest the moment he showed any sign of deterioration, J.A.R.V.I.S.'s diagnostics be damned.
She stood in the kitchenette, cleaning their various mugs and glasses, as Tony bossed Dum-E and U around. SHIELD was still guarding the perimeter of the mansion, but in here at least they had peace.
When a phone ringtone broke that peace, Maggie and Tony both glanced over with a frown. I was planning to break the SHIELD communications lock, she thought. But I haven't done it yet.
It rang again.
"Incoming call with a blocked number, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. announced.
"My phone privilege is reinstated," Tony said in a tone of pleasant surprise. "Lovely."
J.A.R.V.I.S. took the call on one of Tony's computer screens, and Maggie turned around to dry off her hands.
"Coulson, how's the Land of Enchantment?" Tony greeted.
"Hey, Tony. How you doing?"
Maggie dropped the dishcloth and whirled around at the sound of a dark, accented voice which was very much not Coulson's. It was followed by a low, sinister laugh. She and Tony met each other's glances across the workshop, eyes wide.
"Vanko?" she mouthed. He nodded.
"I double cycle," said Vanko.
"You what?" Tony replied steadily.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., phone trace," Maggie whispered, and saw Tony's screen light up in response - J.A.R.V.I.S. tracing the call. She rushed across the workshop to view the screens.
"You told me double cycle's more power. Good advice." Maggie had never met Ivan Vanko, or heard him speak, but his low, amused voice set her every nerve jangling.
"You sound pretty sprightly for a dead guy," Tony grit out.
"You too."
Maggie glanced at Tony out of the corner of her eye as J.A.R.V.I.S. fired up their ORACLE satellite grid. Tony's eyes were fixed on the worktable. A moment later, he reached over and hit the mute button.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., anything?" he murmured, even as Vanko laughed through their workshop speakers.
"Tracing now, sir."
"If his supposed death was actually an escape, he could be anywhere by now," Maggie whispered urgently. She wanted to do something, to move, but J.A.R.V.I.S. was running the trace program on his own. All she could do was watch. Her mind whirled, running through options: he was Russian, so he could have returned home - but no, Vanko was too obsessed with bringing down the Stark legacy for that. She catalogued all their vulnerable parts that he could take advantage of.
"Now," Vanko said, "The true history of Stark name will be written."
"J.A.R.V.I.S., where is he?" Tony urged.
"The ORACLE grid has narrowed it down to the Eastern seaboard," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied, and the digital map onscreen zoomed in. Maggie's heart dropped.
Vanko sounded confident. "What your father did to my family over 40 years, I will do to you in 40 minutes."
Tony hit the unmute button. "Sounds good, let's get together and hash it out."
"Tony," Maggie warned. On screen, J.A.R.V.I.S. triangulated the call to New York.
She'd forgotten they were unmuted.
"Ah, you as well, Ms Stark," came the low voice. Maggie and Tony stilled. "Good." Maggie could hear Vanko's smile. "I hope you're ready."
There was a click, and then a dial tone.
"Call trace incomplete," J.A.R.V.I.S. said, the digital map on screen zoomed out over Manhattan.
"The Expo," Maggie breathed.
"What?" Tony said, sounding dazed.
Maggie turned and jabbed a finger at the far screen in the workspace, which displayed rolling Expo coverage. "The Expo, he wants to get back at you, at us, right? There's - shit, it's Hammer's presentation tonight, Vanko must have something planned, he-"
"Pepper's there," Tony realized in a low tone of horror.
"Everyone is there," Maggie murmured.
She tried to think, running through ideas for what Vanko could have planned. Hammer had kept the details of his presentation pretty quiet, at least from the Stark Expo people, so she only knew that he'd called it In Defense of Peace. What could he be planning? A bomb? Hostages? Rhodey had the Mark II armor, it was possible that-
Tony whirled as Maggie stood there, thoughts churning. She didn't realize what he was doing until J.A.R.V.I.S. protested: "Sir-"
She turned, and her eyes widened as she realized that Tony had pulled out his arc reactor, grabbed the new one, and slammed it into his chest. "Tony-"
"You wanna run some tests?" Tony told his AI. "Run them." Maggie strode over, her mouth open. "And assemble the suit while you're at it. Put it together now."
"We are unclear as to the effects-"
"I don't want to hear it, J.A.R.V.I.S.!" Tony's eyes flicked to Maggie for a moment, taking in her horror, before he glanced away again.
Hands reached out helplessly, Maggie watched as the new reactor in Tony's chest began to glow, increasing in brightness like an imploding sun. The Palladium lines in Tony's chest retracted before her eyes, until the reactor glowed too brightly for her to make out any details.
"That tastes like coconut," Tony grimaced, "and metal-" the reactor glowed so brightly now that Maggie had to raise her hand to shield her eyes, but she didn't stagger away - that thing was in Tony, it could be sapping the life from him, it could fail-
Tony crowed as he stood in the middle of the workshop, burning like a star, and Maggie could only stare with her mouth open.
Ten seconds later, it was over. Tony still stood there, the new reactor glowing steadily in his chest, and he looked… like himself. A little breathless, but himself. Color in his face, eyes shining, his skin unblemished and healthy. Maggie hadn't realized how sick he'd looked before until now.
"You're not dead," she breathed, her hands still stretched out toward him.
"No," he laughed, looking down at the arc reactor. He tapped it with one finger, letting out a glassy tink noise. Then he looked over his shoulder at the screens. "No time to gawk, I've gotta get over there-"
"We've gotta get over there," she corrected, dropping her hands and drawing in a breath. "Put on the suit, and meet me on the roof in three minutes."
Tony blinked, but didn't object when Maggie turned and ran out of the workshop.
When Maggie jogged up onto the roof three minutes later Tony was already there waiting for her, in the red and gold armor, the face plate retracted. Tony had designed the new suit last night - in many ways it was similar to the Mark IV, though the lines were sleeker, the color a little darker. Most notably, the glowing arc reactor plate had been reshaped into a triangle.
In admiring Tony's new suit, Maggie didn't realize that Tony was staring at her until he exclaimed: "What are you wearing?"
"This is my Wyvern stuff," she said self consciously, gesturing to her gunmetal grey and burgundy flight suit. She didn't even have on the gloves and cowl yet. She wore her wingpack on her back, hidden underneath a regular backpack with supplies: a few extra weapons, and a disguise. She already had a plan germinating at the back of her mind. She strode over and looked Tony in the face. "My wings won't be fast enough, you'll have to carry me."
"Right." Tony shifted. "You know, I was just thinking - I should have just left already so you'd have to stay here, stay safe."
She cocked her head. "Why didn't you?"
"It only just occurred to me," he shrugged. "I think I knew I needed you with me."
She smiled. "Good. Because if you'd have left, I would have stolen one of your suits from downstairs, flown across the country to catch you, made sure you were safe, and then kicked your ass."
He nodded. "Right, I knew there was a good reason I didn't leave you. C'mere."
Maggie checked all her gear was in place, then pulled on her gloves and cowl for protection against the wind and cold.
Tony's eyebrows flew up his face. "Claws?"
She spread her palms, and her metal claws glinted. "I'm the Wyvern, remember?"
"Yeah, I just didn't know you were taking it so literally. Next thing I know you'll have a tail."
"Don't tempt me."
"And the eyes?" he gestured to her face, his suit whirring. "Don't you think the glowing red death glare is a bit much?"
She raised her eyebrows, then realized he couldn't see her face. "Are you kidding me?"
He seemed to take stock of his own suit, and his own glowing eyes. "Oh. Right."
Maggie held out her arms. Tony hesitated, then wrapped one metal arm around her waist. She looped her arms around his neck and gripped tight. She heard his faceplate clink into place.
"I haven't carried anyone like this before," Tony admitted.
"First time for everything," she said, and in the next second Tony blasted off the rooftop and left her breath behind them.
Maggie loved flying, but she did not like this.
Clinging to her brother's uncomfortable metal suit as it hurtled through the freezing cold air was not her idea of a fun time. Her feet dangled uselessly in their slipstream, her knees banged against his metal leg plates, and whenever Tony made a course adjustment the wind felt like it was trying to tear her apart. She could see the darkening sky above them, and if she glanced over her shoulder she could make out the ground, rushing past below them at a gut-clenching pace.
She and Tony figured out a comms link between their HUDs so they could talk as they flew.
"You alright?" Tony asked.
"You're kinda squeezing me to death, here," Maggie said, wincing at the unyielding grip of his metal fingers. "Seriously, it doesn't matter if you accidentally drop me, I do have wings."
He relented slightly. But not much.
"Why's Vanko got it out for you so bad, and not me?" she asked, to take her mind off feeling like a piece of cargo.
"I'm the one out in the open running my mouth," Tony guessed as he flew. "Like you said, you make an effort not to get noticed. I guess me using his dad's tech to become Iron Man really pissed him off."
"Well," Maggie said, "he tried to kill you. And that really pisses me off."
Tony kicked their speed up a notch. "I think he's working with Hammer."
"That makes sense, Hammer's obsessed with making a suit like yours. When I was in Hammer Industries-"
"When you were where?"
"Never mind, I saw all the work they'd been doing, but they didn't know how to replicate your tech. Hammer was there in Monaco, he had to have realized that Vanko had the technical knowledge he needed." She cursed. "I should have guessed he'd do something, he wants it too bad."
"Can't really know what we're up against, though," Tony said through gritted teeth. "Vanko said he'd figured out the double cycling, so maybe he's designed a new version of those electric whips."
"Has to be more than that, though," Maggie frowned. "Especially with Hammer involved."
"I should call Pepper-"
"I don't think that's a good idea," Maggie said regretfully. "If we call ahead then we might set Vanko off prematurely, and without us there to counter him…"
"Right," Tony sighed. "It's us he wants, so if we can get everyone else out of the way…"
Maggie checked the time on her HUD. "We haven't got long. Let's work out a game plan. Here's what I was thinking…"
Stark Expo Stadium, Flushing Meadows
Maggie took the stairs up to the stadium entrance three at a time, the lights glowing down on her face and her breath rasping in her throat.
Tony had dropped her a few hundred yards away. She'd pulled on her disguise - a dark, loose-fitting business suit - over her flight suit. It looked a little lumpy, and she still wore the backpack concealing her wingpack, but she wasn't exactly worried about fashion right now.
She could hear the crowd inside the stadium cheering and applauding, and the tinny sound of Hammer's voice over the loudspeakers, as well as an upbeat patriotic tune. The stadium was designed to be open to the air so she could just see the swinging spotlights inside, as well as the massive Hammer Industries logo. Behind her, the Flushing Meadows Unisphere shone like a beacon.
She touched her earpiece. "Tony, the presentation's started. Can't see any sign of Vanko yet."
"I'll make an entrance in two minutes," he replied.
Maggie made it to the top of the steps and dashed inside, pausing for a moment to blink at the spectacle. The stadium was absolutely packed, the crowd inside cheering at the top of their lungs as Hammer showboated on stage, surrounded by four packs of… drones. The metal men were painted in the different designs of the defense forces, silhouetted by a backdrop of bright patriotic imagery. Metal blocks sat where helmets should have been, lifeless and sightless. The things had to be at least ten feet tall.
"That's a hell of a lot better than some cheerleaders, let me tell you!" Hammer grinned.
Maggie rushed down the main row of the stadium, her eyes darting. The lights flashing over the crowd had faded now, leaving the stage lit up.
"But as revolutionary as this technology is, there will always be a need for man to be present in the theater of war," Hammer told the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, today I am proud to present to you the very first prototype in the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit, and its pilot: Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes!"
Maggie looked up. Rhodey. The same panel that she had risen through in her presentation opened up, and slowly a new suit of armor rose into view: the Mark II looked completely different, spraypainted dark grey and bristling with weaponry. The crowd went nuts.
"Tony, Rhodey's on stage," she murmured. Tony didn't reply. They'd considered this possibility.
Maggie tore her eyes away and kept searching the crowd, until she spotted the back of Pepper's ginger head. She made a beeline toward her.
"Pepper!"
At the sound of her hissed voice, Pepper - and Romanoff, who sat next to her in her PA disguise - glanced away from Hammer's presentation.
Pepper's eyes widened. "Maggie? What are you-"
An engine roar filled the air, growing louder, cutting off Hammer and drawing everyone's stares. Maggie didn't look over her shoulder at it.
"Pepper, we think the Expo's about to face a major threat," she urged. "We need to evacuate these people. Now."
Neither Pepper nor Romanoff questioned her. They simply slid out of their seats and got moving, Pepper pulling out her phone to make a call - either to the local police or the security company.
Romanoff met Maggie's eyes with calm determination. "There's security in the wings, you get those on that side mobilized and I'll take this side."
Maggie nodded and turned, squeezing through the press area to make it through quicker. In the same moment, Iron Man rocketed into the stadium to gasps and pointing from the crowd, gleaming red and gold, before dropping down to the stage.
The crowd burst into applause and launched to their feet.
Maggie didn't bother turning to watch Tony onstage as he waved to the crowd. This was their plan: Tony to draw the attention, Maggie to get people to safety. She could hear Tony and Rhodey's conversation through her earpiece, though.
"We've got trouble."
"Tony, there are civilians present. I'm here on orders, let's not do this right now."
"Give them a wave."
Maggie made it through to the wings on the left side of the stadium and found one of the patrolling security guards. "Hey!" he glanced over, and his eyes widened when he recognized her. "These people are in danger, we need to get an evacuation started now. Alert-" but in the same moment, the radio on his hip crackled:
"All security personnel, begin evacuation procedures, protocol H." Romanoff had clearly gotten to her side first.
To his credit, the security guard didn't waste another second staring at Maggie. He moved, approaching the nearest row of cheering people and shouting: "All of you, I need you to leave your seats and move this way to the nearest exit. Stay calm, move this way!" It'd take a few more shouts to fully draw them away from the exciting stuff on stage, but the guard had it handled.
On stage, Tony was murmuring to Rhodey about the threat. "Listen, I think he's working with Vanko."
"Vanko's alive?"
Half a moment later the emergency lights in the stadium switched on, LED lights glowing on the ground in lines toward the exits, like on an airplane. Security guards had encroached on the edge of the crowd, shouting directions, and slowly - too slowly - people began to move. They slid out of their seats, confused, and followed the guards' directions into the exits built into the wings. Maggie ran down the length of the crowd, spreading the instructions and sometimes pulling at people to get their attention. Most of the attention was still on the stage, though, as Tony turned to Hammer.
"Where is he?"
"What?" Hammer was still grinning, playing it up for the crowd.
"Where's Vanko?"
"Who?"
"Tell me!"
"What-what are you doing here, man?"
The excited shouting of the crowd suddenly took on a new tone - uncertainty. Maggie looked over her shoulder as she waved people to the nearest exit, and saw that Rhodey's suit had levelled a machine gun right at Tony's face.
"Is that you?" Tony asked in a high voice.
"No, that's… I'm not doing that, that's not me!" Rhodey sounded scared. Maggie wasn't used to that tone in his voice. "I can't move, I'm locked up, I'm locked up!"
Maggie cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted at the top of her voice: "Everybody OUT!"
The time for calm, quiet evacuation was done. She didn't imagine that everyone had heard her voice, but a second later the drones on stage moved, lifting their fists and levelling them at Tony - at the crowd. Cheers turned to screams and like a dam breaking the crowd fled, rushing in every direction. A whole surge of them knocked Maggie back flat against the wall.
"Tony, get out of here, go! This whole system's been compromised!" Rhodey shouted.
"Vanko must have slaved the drones and the suit," Maggie gasped, wriggling free of the press of the crowd and physically pushing people toward the exits now. "Tony, the stadium isn't clear-"
Tony launched off stage. "Let's take it outside." He rocketed straight upwards, out the open skylight at the top of the roof and not a second too soon - the drones and Rhodey opened fire, a haze of bullets streaking up through the stadium and shattering the glass roof. Glittering fragments rained down on the crowd below as screaming people ducked and covered their heads while they ran.
Maggie grabbed a pair of journalists and tugged them under shelter, then glanced up to see Tony soaring away. On stage, the drones and Rhodey's repulsors ignited and soon they were rocketing up as well, chasing Iron Man. "Tony-"
"I'm drawing them off, make sure the drones down there don't hurt anyone!"
Only about a quarter of the drones had taken off after Tony, the rest were all on stage - and now they marched forward, jumping into the seating section with heavy metal feet. Maggie surged forward, fighting the tide of people, running in to help the slowest members of the audience out of the way of the ten-foot tall drones. She passed a security officer and stole his radio from his belt, bringing it to her mouth. "Don't just evacuate these people from the building, we need a perimeter at least ten blocks out!" she shouted, even as she grabbed a man in a military uniform and jerked him sideways just before a Marines-themed drone trampled him. Gunfire filled the air as Tony rocketed past the stadium, pursued by Rhodey and six drones. The air was loud with gunfire, metal clanking, and screams.
As the stadium floor began to empty, Maggie turned and almost ran right into Romanoff. She and Pepper were by the edge of the stage, watching the last of the front row disappear into the wings.
Maggie met Romanoff's steady green eyes. "Hammer," she said.
Romanoff nodded once. "He went this way."
With screams and tramping metal boots still filling the air, Maggie, Pepper, and Romanoff strode backstage, rushing past audience members, stadium employees and security guards. When they spotted the backstage control panel, manned by several men and a frantic-looking Justin Hammer, Maggie clenched her fists.
Hammer was shouting questions his men, who were making helpless gestures at the computer screens.
"He's locked us out of the mainframe!" said the sweaty man sitting at the swivel chair in front of the screens.
"Who's locked you out of the mainframe?" Pepper demanded as they drew close. Her eyes flashed.
Hammer turned and held up his hands. "Please, please, go away," he said irritably.
Maggie sidestepped Hammer even as he managed to get in Romanoff's and Pepper's way.
"I've got this handled!" Hammer urged.
"Have you now?" Pepper snapped.
"Yes I do-"
Maggie planted her foot on the arm of the computer guy's swivel chair and kicked, sending him rolling away across the floor with a bewildered look.
"In fact if your guy hadn't showed up," Hammer yelled as he gestured to the sound of roaring engines in the sky, "this wouldn't be happening! So please now go away! Thank you."
Maggie leaned over the computer and her eyes darted across the screen, taking in the situation. Oh, this isn't good. Vanko had completely overridden the control programs for the drones and Rhodey's suit, and had locked out the stadium computers. She set her fingers on the keyboard and began trying to back hack Vanko, testing the freeze he'd put on the stadium control systems.
Behind her Hammer turned to his security guy, who had a phone to his ear. "Listen, we gotta get these bitches out of here - hey, what are you doing-"
But just as Hammer turned his ire on Maggie, he was seized by the back of his suit and slammed down on the table beside the computer screens. Romanoff locked his arm behind him viciously and he yelped. Maggie didn't flinch at the violence, her eyes on the code flying across her screen. She sensed Pepper shoot her an odd look.
"You tell me who's behind this," Romanoff hissed, jerking Hammer's arm. "Who's behind this?"
Groaning, Hammer bit out: "Ivan - Ivan Vanko!"
"Where is he?"
"He's at my facility."
Romanoff glanced at Maggie, but she shook her head. "Vanko's locked out external drives, we're going to need to access the programming from the source."
Romanoff released Hammer and marched away, her shoulders straight and her chin high. Focused.
Pepper was on the phone, saying "I need NYPD, please."
Maggie jumped up from the computer and turned to follow Romanoff - she could hear the drones storming across the stadium, and Hammer was clearly useless now.
The man straightened from where he'd been slammed to the table then approached Pepper, hand out, trying to get her to hang up the phone. Maggie paused to slam her foot into the back of Hammer's knee and simultaneously shoved the heel of her palm up under his chin, sending him crumpling to the ground.
Pepper stared, even as she spoke to the emergency operator.
"You've got the evacuation handled?" Maggie asked, eyebrows raised, and Pepper nodded silently.
Nodding back, Maggie ran after Romanoff. She caught up with her halfway up the stadium, the other woman surprisingly quick on her heels. Maggie fell into step with her, eyes on the Navy drones out on the steps ahead. Their footsteps put cracks in the concrete.
"I'm coming with you," Maggie told Romanoff.
The other woman looked ahead with a firm green stare. "Of course."
They strode outside just as the Navy drones on the steps fired a volley of shells at Iron Man as he rocketed by. The shells missed Tony as he zipped past and arced across the Flushing Meadows plaza, but landed with a series of concussive explosions in the path of the fleeing crowd. More screams filled the air.
"Damn," Maggie hissed, and pushed back her business jacket sleeve to reveal her Wyvern suit - she hit a button by her elbow and a glowing, crackling disc fired, hurtling across the steps to connect with one of the drones in her and Romanoff's path. The drone seized up, crackling like a live wire, before slumping to the ground with a metal clatter.
"Nice," Romanoff said appreciatively.
"EMP grenade," Maggie explained breathlessly. "I know how annoying it is to get your power cut. I've only got a few though."
A haze of smoke filled the Expo steps, and the crowd thinned as everyone fled for safety. Maggie couldn't see any bodies, thankfully. Yet.
Overhead, Iron Man rocketed past again, closely dogged by a horde of drones who fired bullets and shells and grenades at him, mostly missing and letting the ammunition fall on the plaza below. Maggie tracked Iron Man as he hurtled out of view. "Tony needs help." She stalled at the top of the steps leading down to the plaza, then turned to Romanoff. "You take the car. I'll meet you at the facility."
Romanoff nodded, all business, then continued down the steps.
Maggie stood alone at the exit of the stadium now - the drones had fanned out, and the crowd was fleeing into the plaza and surrounding streets. Working fast, she pulled her cowl and gloves out of her pockets and tugged them on, shrugged off her business suit disguise, and then dropped the backpack. As her HUD glowed to life her wings sprang out and she soared into the air.
She felt the wind whistling over her wings as she climbed into the sky above the stadium. It was easier to see the situation from above. The drones had stormed out of the stadium, taking up strategic positions from which they could shoot Iron Man out of the sky. This meant they were also boxing in the crowd trying to flee.
She headed for the Army contingent first. They had ground-to-air artillery equipped on their backs, but they weren't aiming for her. She dove in from behind, a dark streak in the night air, firing a volley of energy bolts down at them. A few of the drones staggered, but didn't break position. Damn. Not enough power. She wheeled and activated the rest of her EMP grenades, dropping them in the midst of the drones like a bombing raid just as they turned and appeared to pin her as a target.
The EMPs flared when they landed, and three of the drones seized up and fell, their limbs going haywire. Maggie whooped. The rest won't be so easy. The rest of the drones turned and aimed their guns at her, but she was already zipping around the side of the stadium and out of sight.
She spotted a lone Navy drone wreaking havoc as it stormed through a crowd of bottle-necked civilians in the grassy area. She swooped down feet-first, extending her heel-spur with a snick. People screamed as they saw the red-eyed, black winged figure descending on them. I hope this works.
Her heelspur crunched through the tiny metallic head of the drone and into the wiring beneath, sending a bolt of electricity zinging up Maggie's prosthetic and into her leg. She yelped, stung, and then jerked her foot out of the drone's head a second before it keeled backwards with a groan. People dodged out of its way, stared at her hovering a few feet above their heads, and then continued fleeing into the streets of Queens. On the other side of the stadium she heard a rattle of gunfire, no doubt the rest of the army drones firing on Iron Man.
"Tony, you've got to get clear of the civilians!" she shouted.
Hammer Industries, New York
Vanko, sitting behind a computer screen watching his metal army unleash chaos over Stark's party, was rather enjoying himself. But then four of his drones went offline in quick succession.
Leaning forward, he eyed the drone cameras. Those drones should be impervious to small arms fire, so how... At first he saw only Tony Stark, fleeing for his life, but then one of the Air Force drones caught sight of a black-clad figure with metal wings.
He squinted at the screen, frowning, but then the figure disappeared from view. "Chto eto?" [What is that?]
Maggie flew in rings around the stadium, pushing out the perimeter for civilians and trying to keep the drones out of their way as they fled. But, apparently frustrated by her and Tony's resistance, the drones had begun a heavy bombardment of the whole area. Burning fireballs rose up around Flushing Meadows, making people scream and duck.
She'd just deflected a shell mid-air away from a knot of fleeing civilians, and soared around to the main entrance, her breath shaky and her eyes darting. This had become a warzone, and the civilians couldn't get away fast enough.
She found a plaza mostly clear of drones, and then almost ran straight into Iron Man in midair as he rocketed up from the ground. A little kid in an Iron Man helmet stared up at him.
Maggie yelped and rolled sideways, and for a moment they hovered in midair, staring at each other.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey," he replied, and she could tell he was eyeing her in her full getup.
But then they heard roaring engines approaching, and when Rhodey and the flying contingent of drones zoomed around the stadium towards them, Maggie and Tony both soared upward.
"Let's get this away from the Expo," Tony called, and in full agreement, Maggie pitched her wings up and out of the plaza.
Rhodey's voice came over Maggie's comms - Tony must have linked their sound systems. "Whoah, who's that?" he exclaimed. "I know Hammer didn't make that."
"That's, uh, a friendly," Tony replied. "Those wings really are cool," he added in a mutter.
Maggie checked her HUD - there were still drones back at the Expo, but it seemed that now Iron Man veered up and away from the stadium most people were free to get clear, leaving the area around the stadium empty. She refocused on the mission.
She and Tony flew in parallel away from the Expo, a burning comet of a man and a dark winged shadow by his side. The drones and Rhodey streaked after them, closing the distance.
A new trio of drones banked in from Maggie's left, startling her, and she veered away with a curse just as they fired a volley of missiles.
She cut into the comms. "Tony, Romanoff has located Vanko and I need to go back her up, but these things are after me too, now. Help me take down this squadron so I can clear a way through."
"Gotcha," Tony said, at the same time as Rhodey exclaimed:
"Is that Maggie?"
"Rhodey's still locked out?" Maggie asked. She and Tony criss-crossed as they rocketed over a highway, lights streaming below them. Her engines were pressed to their max to keep ahead of the drones, but her mind felt sharp.
"I am," Rhodey replied, "but - Maggie, is that you?"
Maggie rolled onto her back and fired her energy blaster at full power - the bolt knocked off one of the pursuing drones' weapons, but it stayed on course. "Sure is."
"Where did you get wings?"
"I made 'em."
"Hang on, you're… you're the Wyvern. You're in the Air Force intel notes, holy shit-"
"Freak out later, buttercup," Tony said, like he hadn't found out only yesterday. "Maggie, we're coming up to the industrial complex now, if you cut them off-"
"- at Woodhaven Boulevard, got it," Maggie finished, catching on to his idea. Like coordinated fliers she and Tony veered apart, Rhodey and his set of drones tailing him, while four more veered after Maggie. They dipped in and out of the expressway infrastructure, using the thick concrete for cover. Gunfire rattled after them, and Maggie twisted and veered and zigzagged to stay out of range.
"You know, I could definitely improve those wings," Tony said conversationally, even as he zigzagged through concrete supports. "Don't get me wrong, they're great, but they're not exactly race-winning, you know?"
"Not all of us are obsessed with winning," Maggie shot back. "Alright, I'm almost at Woodhaven."
"Got it."
Maggie blew out a breath as she veered out from under the expressway. This would require very careful timing. She did a loop and then soared out over the wide boulevard, her wings spread wide and the drones inching up behind her, rattling off gunfire. One of the bullets skittered off her left wing and she wobbled, but held steady.
She soared through a narrow intersection, and the drones followed after her just second behind - only for Iron Man to jet up the intersecting street and smash through the drones, his stronger armor tearing through their metal bodies and sending flaming machine parts skittering everywhere.
"Ha!" Tony crowed, even as he then veered down another street to avoid his own pursuers.
Maggie, free of her drones, twisted. "Tony, be smart and don't die. Rhodey, hang in there - I'm going to go find your puppet master." With an effort, she turned around and soared away from her brother.
When Maggie was a few seconds out from Hammer Industries, careening through the night air, Rhodey spoke over the comms:
"Maggie, a pack of drones just rerouted for the Hammer facility, you've got like two minutes before they arrive."
"Thanks for the heads up," she called as she angled down to the facility. A silver Audi was idling out the front, the doors open. Romanoff's already here, then.
Maggie landed a little harder than she meant to on the pavement outside the facility, jarring her knees, then fired her energy blaster at the door lock. It fried in a crackle of electricity and she pushed the door open with a shove. She tuned out the sound of Tony's flying and fighting on the other end of the comms.
She stormed through the doors, her wings folded behind her and her eyes glowing red. She paused for a moment when she spotted Happy exchanging blows with a security guard in the lobby. Sweat glistening on his forehead, Happy seized the guard by the lapels of his suit and slammed him into the wall. In the gleaming white corridor beyond she could just make out Romanoff's scarlet hair as she leaped over a metal trolley and kicked a guard in the face. Other fallen guards lay slumped in the corridor behind her like fallen puppets.
Maggie rushed past Happy with a pat on his back as he punched his guard in the face. "Remember to keep your feet apart, Hap."
Happy glanced at her, bewildered, but then had to turn around to throw himself back into his fight.
Maggie dashed up the gleaming corridor, hopping over fallen black-clad guards. She'd lost sight of the red-headed spy and she pressed forward, head swivelling - only to skid to a halt when Romanoff burst out from an adjoining corridor, her knees clamped around a startled guard's ears. Romanoff was mid swing, spinning the guard around until he crashed to the ground, out cold. Romanoff landed with perfect balance and turned on Maggie, hair flying and fists raised-
"Whoah," Maggie said, holding up her clawed hands.
Romanoff's steely eyes didn't waver. "This way." She sprinted down the corridor, and Maggie ran after her. She glanced up at one of the security cameras she passed, sure that Vanko was somewhere in the facility watching.
Romanoff had changed out of her PA dress into the black tactical suit from yesterday. But yesterday she'd been amused, soft-spoken. Today she exuded nothing but danger as she stalked down the gleaming white corridor.
A crackling radio was their only warning of the backup guards. Maggie and Romanoff rounded the corner to come face to face with them, and before Maggie could move Romanoff slid a pair of small disks from her belt and flung them at the two security guards. The disks went off with a bang, blinding the guards and releasing a haze of gas.
Maggie didn't hesitate. Romanoff went low, sliding to the floor and knocking the first guard's legs out from under him, but Maggie charged full-force at the second one, body checking him to the ground, and then slamming her armored fist into his head.
The rest of the reinforcements arrived: five men filled the corridor, wielding batons. Maggie got off an energy bolt before the men descended on them and one of them dropped, seizing. Romanoff pulled a garotte wire from somewhere and launched herself at the first, biggest man. Maggie started swinging.
Romanoff went to battle like it was a dance. Maggie knew she was nowhere near as precisioned in combat as the SHIELD spy, but she had her tech and her more brutal hard-learned moves to keep her in the game. Romanoff spun and kicked and dismantled the men, while Maggie slammed them into walls, kicked their legs out from under them, and fired her energy bolts. Romanoff ducked a guard's swing and Maggie grabbed his over-extended fist, used his momentum to swing him into the wall, and then punched his lights out. When she turned, Romanoff had somehow strung two men together with her garotte and left them out cold on the ground.
One man left - no, two, she noted as another guy ran out from another corridor, a can of mace held high.
Romanoff did a mind-boggling spinning leap onto the first man, hooking her limbs around him and whirling, legs twisting, until she hooked her arm around the back of his neck and slammed him to the ground. She turned to grab the second man's outstretched hand, twisting him into a kneel, just as Maggie launched forward and drove her knee into his face. His nose crunched and he dropped, yelling.
Maggie did feel a bit bad - these guys were just doing their job. But they were currently protecting Vanko, and there wasn't time to sit around and explain things.
Romanoff rose, preternaturally calm, and continued striding down the corridor. Maggie followed, breathless, and could only watch in admiration as Romanoff maced the last oncoming guard with the can she'd stolen from the last one, without even looking at him.
Maggie jogged after her. "Will you accept my hand in marriage?"
Romanoff looked over her shoulder with an arched eyebrow. Maggie cleared her throat. Be cool. "I've been here before. If Vanko's anywhere, he'll be down this way in R&D." Romanoff glanced down the corridor Maggie had pointed at, then nodded and turned down it.
Several very loud explosions sounded over Maggie's comms. She could only hope Tony was keeping ahead of the drones.
Happy caught up with them just as they reached the R&D wing. A security guard with a gun ran at them, shouting. Romanoff sidestepped him and kicked the guy in the back, sending him stumbling toward Maggie - who wiped him out with a blow from her left wing.
Happy gaped at the two of them.
But Romanoff was already moving again: she drew a pair of handguns from holsters on her belt and kicked down the door to the main computer hub. She darted in, guns raised, and Maggie followed a moment later.
The room inside was filled with snaking wires from the ceiling to the floor, and in the far corner a computer hub showed a programming setup as well as various camera feeds. Two black-clad security guards hung from the ceiling with cords around their necks, their eyes lifeless.
"He's gone!" hissed Romanoff.
"Shit," Maggie breathed. Her HUD beeped, alerting her to several electronic signatures approaching the facility rapidly. She hesitated, looking from the computer hub and back to Romanoff.
"We've got unfriendlies coming in. You think you can hack this?"
The redhead nodded once. "I can. If I need help you're on comms."
"Right. Prioritize Rhodey." Maggie turned and headed for the door, and Happy turned after her.
"Wait, Maggie?"
She didn't have time to respond. Breathless, Maggie sprinted through the facility toward the loading bay.
Rocketing over Flushing Meadows, Tony grinned to himself. Using the unisphere to knock out the drones had worked a treat.
"Sorry, buddy," he said to Rhodey over comms, "Had to thin out the herd. What's your 20?"
A second later Rhodey's suit tackled him out of the sky.
Maggie sprinted into the loading bay just in time to see a tall metal suit clanking out onto the street outside. She powered up her energy blasters, ready to face another drone, but then hesitated when the suit heard her footsteps and turned.
This one was no drone. It was built similarly to Rhodey's gunmetal grey suit, bulky at the shoulders and arms and with protective plating stretching down from the hips, reminding her of a samurai's thigh guard. An arc reactor glowed from the chest. The face plate retracted, revealing…
"Ivan Vanko," she realized.
He had a warrior's face, creased with scars and a violent smile. His dark eyes took her in, assessing. He cocked his head at her. "Little bird," he said in a thick accent.
Maggie flung her wrists up, aiming, but he was faster - an artillery barrel popped up from one of his bulky suit shoulders and fired, sending a short-range missile streaking across the loading bay. Maggie dove sideways and the missile collided with the wall she'd been standing next to, unleashing a thudding shockwave and a roaring fireball. Maggie covered her head as she rolled, flinching as rubble rained down on her.
She scrambled to her feet, casting an eye over the partially-collapsed roof and the flames flickering by the doorway, then turned back to where Vanko had stood. He fired up his repulsors and surged off the ground, laughing.
Cursing, Maggie ran through the loading bay and then flicked out her wings, ready to fly after him, but then she spotted the lights of seven drones arcing down toward the facility. "Shit." She glanced at Vanko's figure, growing smaller, then back to the drones. They were here for her, and for Romanoff - they'd protect their master's programming at any cost. And she was all out of EMP grenades. Damn.
Over her comms she could hear Rhodey and Tony fighting, a rattle of gunfire and panting breath.
Maggie kicked off the ground and flipped to face the oncoming drones. She felt the stretch of her wings, the sharpness of her barbed talons. The drones grew larger in her HUD.
All of a sudden the gunfire over the comms cut out. A moment later, Natasha's voice rang out over the comms:
"Reboot complete. You got your best friend back."
"Thank you very much, Agent Romanoff," Tony replied. Rhodey was silent - no doubt Romanoff had cut his suit's power completely.
The drones streaking toward Maggie through the dark sky let out a rattle of gunfire and she veered up to avoid it, roaring right over the drones and then wheeling behind them. She pulled out the gun she'd stashed in a holster on her hip and started firing.
"Well done on the new chest piece," Romanoff was saying to Tony, "I am reading significantly higher output and your vitals all look promising."
One of Maggie's bullets hit the foot repulsor of one of the drones and it pinwheeled drunkenly, smoking. Maggie surged after it.
"Yes, for the moment, I'm not dying," Tony said sarcastically. "Thank you."
"What do you mean you're not dying?" Pepper's voice, high and concerned. Romanoff must have linked her in. "Did you just say you're dying?"
"Is that you?" Tony exclaimed. "No, I'm not. Not anymore."
"What's - what's going on?"
"I was going to tell you, I just didn't want to alarm you."
"You were going to tell me? You really were dying?" Pepper's voice had gone shrill, and Maggie didn't blame her.
"You didn't let me-"
"Why didn't you tell me that?"
"I was gonna make you an omelet and tell you!" Tony shot back, his voice rising now.
Maggie swerved over three of the drones and closed on the pinwheeling one, diving in from above. "Hey guys, would you please shut it-"
"Maggie?" Pepper exclaimed. "Maggie, where are you?"
She slammed heelspur-first into the drone's back and sharply angled her wings, driving it down at a steep angle until the drone collided with the road, sparking and shredding apart against the asphalt. "I'm doing my best here, but Vanko's built himself a suit and he's heading back in the direction of the Expo, keep an eye out!" When the drone came apart in sparks she retracted her heel spur and burst back into the sky.
"Yep, you've got incoming, Tony," Romanoff confirmed. "Drones. Looks like the fight's coming to you."
"Great. Pepper?" Tony said.
"Are you okay now?" Pepper breathed.
"I am fine. Don't be mad, I will formally apologize when I'm-"
"I am mad!"
"-when I'm no longer fending off a Hammeroid attack. Be mad at Maggie, she's the secret superhero."
"What?" Pepper exclaimed.
Maggie pinwheeled and dove down to head off four of the drones, who were heading to the loading bay.
"We could have been in Venice," Tony added.
"Oh, please."
Maggie tuned out the comms chatter and focused on the fight. She had six heavy-duty drones left, and only two were tailing her now - the other four were trying to get into the facility through the loading bay, only kept back by Maggie physically diving in their way and drawing them off.
So Maggie brought the fight in close. She zipped through the pack of drones as they roared downward, sending them clanging against each other and creating a chaotic clash of metal and gunfire in the air above the facility. She pelted them with energy blasts and unloaded all her weapons at them, but she had to hand it to Vanko - he made these things tough.
When she flew in close enough she physically grabbed onto the shoulders of one of the Air Force drones, digging in her claws to stay latched. The thing rocketed through the air, Maggie clinging to its back, and the other drones fired at it. Her breath rasped in her throat as she gripped tight. When the gunfire missed and rained down on the facility, Maggie took matters into her own hands. She dug her heelspur into the back of the drone for leverage, then stuck one clawed hand in the space between the metal head and the body. She reached around as the drone lurched through the air, trying to shake her off, until she felt a bundle of wires. She wrapped her hand around the wires and tugged, letting out a whoop when she felt the whole drone short-circuit and begin falling out of the sky.
Over the comms she could hear fighting again, deafening gunfire as Tony and Rhodey fought their own set of drones.
Maggie glanced around as she disentangled herself from the falling drone and saw that two of the others had landed on the street outside the loading bay and were marching in, their footsteps heavy on the ground. She dove, and the three drones tailing her fired, raining down a storm of gunfire. Maggie didn't veer this time but dropped straight downward, drawing their fire in a direct line. At the last moment she flared her wings and rocketed over the heads of the two drones on the ground. She heard an explosion, and looked back to see that the gunfire from the drones tailing her had struck one of the drones on the ground dead center.
Maggie wheeled back for the remaining metal figure on the ground, peppering it with energy blasts and then hitting it bodily, knocking it back from the loading bay entrance. She couldn't let a single one get inside.
This drone, an Army one, recovered quickly and shrugged Maggie off, sending her skittering to the ground. It turned its gun on her and she dodged, zigzagging in closer until she was within range of the gun. She jumped up and grabbed it, using her body weight to yank the gun down, bending the metal.
Then the drone punched her in the chest.
Her armored vest barely absorbed the blow and she fell to the ground with an audible oof, gasping at the imprint of the metal fist on her ribcage. I wasn't expecting it to punch me. The Army drones must have been equipped for hand-to-hand combat.
She gasped for air, realizing she was flat on her back on the concrete, and in the next moment the Army drone dropped down on top of her, its metal knee digging into her stomach and one metal fist raised. Wide eyed, Maggie just managed to jerk herself sideways before the drone put its fist through her head. Its fist put a dent in the concrete.
Over her comms, she heard Vanko's voice - Tony and Rhodey must be fighting him.
Maggie struggled against the drone's pinning hold, crying out at the heavy metal and the yellow glow of its arc reactor. The drone kept trying to punch her, its devastating blows putting cracks in the concrete and narrowly missing her ducking, weaving head. Maggie shredded her claws through all the metal and wires she could reach, kicking her heel spur. She could barely draw a breath, the drone's weight was so heavy on her chest. Finally she flared her wings and slashed them, using the top barb of her wing like a claw. It shredded through the Army drone's helmet, jarring it enough for her to kick the thing off her. She rolled to her feet, set her claws under the bottom of the drone's head and ripped. The head came free in her hands, and the body slumped to the ground.
The sound of a lower-calibre weapon caught her attention, and she turned to see Romanoff in the loading bay, firing both her handguns out at the three remaining drones. One of them levelled an arm-mounted missile launcher at her. Maggie dove for it, engines giving her a boost, and only just shoved its arm in time to send the shot wide. The side of the building went up in flames.
"Get back inside!" Maggie shouted at Romanoff over her shoulder, trying to tug the drone off balance. But it was much sturdier than her, and jerked its arm back, sending her staggering.
Maggie didn't pause to see if Romanoff had listened. She whirled, and rolled to avoid another volley of gunfire. Her breath was loud in her ears, and her heart felt like it was about to give out. I've never fought robots before.
She dove again, using one of the cars parked alongside the road outside the facility for cover, and flinched as it went up in flames. She narrowed her eyes. I've never fought robots before.
This whole time she'd using the skills she'd developed from fighting people, who had fleshy soft spots and the capacity to feel pain. Annoyed at herself, she forced herself to think like a mechanic. They're just machines and a bit of programming. It doesn't need to take a missile to shut them down.
Maggie drew in a deep breath, then looked over her shoulder to see two of the drones marching toward the loading bay, the other striding across the ground to where Maggie cowered behind the car. Time to finish this.
She boosted her engines to hop over the car and landed right in front of the drone. It started firing straight away, a deafening spray of bullets, but Maggie weaved in close, seized it by the arm and turned it with a shove of her wings - just as the other two drones turned to face her. She aimed the metal arm in her grip and after a second her drone stopped firing - but too late. The spray of bullets she had swung around struck one of the other drones right in the arc reactor, and it dropped like a lifeless puppet. Maggie raised her wrist and fired an energy bolt into the small gap between her drone's chest plate and shoulder plate - the energy fried the shoulder joint, immobilising its arm, and like a dance she used the useless metal arm to spin the drone in front of her, shielding her as the last drone sent back a volley of retaliatory fire.
Maggie was already moving when her drone dropped, shredded apart by bullets. This time she aimed her blaster for the last drone's knee joints, where she could see some exposed wiring. They locked up, putting the drone off balance, and it keeled over onto its back, still firing at the sky. Maggie ran across the road, kicked aside the firing arms, and drove her heelspur into the gap between helmet and chest piece.
The last drone died.
Maggie stepped back, retracting her heel spur, and almost fell to the ground. Her knees trembled under her as she fought for breath. Her wings sagged, her body too tired to hold them upright. One drooping metal talon scraped on the asphalt.
The sudden silence on the street was deafening. Sparking, flaming drone carcasses littered the ground, some of them having fallen into the loading bay. Flames crackled along the side of the building and in the husks of destroyed cars. Maggie looked up and noticed Happy and Romanoff pacing out of the loading bay, their eyes on the fallen drones. Happy let out a low whistle.
Maggie tore her cowl off, still gasping for breath. Her chest ached and her limbs felt like jelly after the adrenaline of the fight. Her skin flushed hot.
Romanoff met her eyes. "Colonel Rhodes and Tony just took out Vanko."
That would explain the sudden silence over the comms, then. Maggie closed her eyes and sighed.
But then a low, broken voice filtered into her earpiece: "You lose."
A loud beep to her right made Maggie flinch, and she looked down to see the last drone's arc reactor flash red. That beep was followed by another, and another, until all the fallen drones were flashing and beeping. Happy and Romanoff stared around, as bewildered as Maggie.
Over the comms she heard Rhodey say: "All these drones are rigged to blow, we gotta get out of here!"
Heart in her mouth and her ears ringing with the rising beeping sound, Maggie launched forward. She grabbed Romanoff around the waist and seized Happy by the back of his suit and heaved, her wings roaring at full power as she pushed them into the air. Happy yelled as his feet left the ground and Romanoff gripped Maggie's arm. At first they stalled, faltering in midair, her wings unaccustomed to the extra load. But she gritted her teeth and strained, setting her engines to full power and furiously beating her wings. They soared up from the road, a strange shape in the air until-
The road below erupted. A fireball and a spray of orange sparks surged upwards, scorching the air and throwing out a shockwave that almost knocked Maggie out of the sky. She shuddered and almost fell, but rode the shockwave in an arc away from the road, gripping her two passengers. Heat licked at her feet and she felt sparks break against her wings. When they were out of range of the showering sparks and shrapnel she brought herself and her cargo in a controlled fall into a park. The three of them tumbled down in the grass next to a children's playground.
Maggie found herself lying flat on her back in the grass beside a set of monkey bars, her wings splayed and her chest heaving. For a few long moments she just lay there. Stars glittered above her.
Then she heard the others slowly getting up. Happy let out a groan, and when Maggie looked over she spotted Romanoff rocking up into a sitting position and dusting herself off. The spy looked over at Maggie sprawled on the ground.
"Not bad, Wyvern."
Maggie let out a tired laugh and sat up, wincing at the aches and bruises already making themselves known over her body. Her hair was straggled over her sweaty face, since she'd been stupid enough to put her cowl and goggles in her pocket before the explosion. She met Romanoff's eyes. "Not bad yourself, Agent Romanoff."
She thought she'd heard yelling over the comms, but when she paid attention to the slightly-fritzing line she realized it was actually Tony and Pepper… not arguing. Making up? She cocked her head, listening as their voices grew softer, warmer. I do not understand those two.
Pepper was mid-sentence saying something about the Presidency when she abruptly cut off. And then it was pretty clear what - or who - had cut her off.
A grin spread across Maggie's face as she sat in the grass. She looked over at Happy. He was on his feet now, looking rattled, staring at her.
He pointed. "You-"
"Pepper and Tony just kissed," she told him.
He dropped his finger. "Finally."
Maggie got to her feet with a groan, then limped over to pull Happy into a hug. "You did great, Happy." He patted her back.
Behind them Romanoff was already on her feet, and checking her phone. She cleared her throat. "SHIELD will debrief you in the morning, Ms Stark."
Maggie cocked an eyebrow. "Gotta catch me first."
"Oh, we will." With an enigmatic smile, Romanoff turned and walked away.
Maggie turned back to Happy as she pulled out her cowl and goggles and tugged them on. "You got the car, right?"
He frowned. "I do, but - hang on!"
Maggie had rocketed back into the air before the rest of his protest left his mouth.
Maggie found the rooftop in Flushing Meadows easily enough. An embarrassed-looking Tony and Pepper were speaking to Rhodey, who sat at the other end of the rooftop in his bulky suit with the face plate retracted. Their conversation cut off when they heard the roar of her engines, and when she dropped down lightly, her wings flared, they all stared at her.
Maggie tugged off her cowl and goggles. "Hey guys." She looked around. Rhodey sat on the roof edge, and Tony and Pepper were practically in each other's arms. The rooftop had a great view of the glowing city, even with the smoke plumes rising up from the Expo. Maggie shuffled her wings and caught her breath. "I heard we were hanging out on this rooftop?" She pointed at Tony and Pepper. "Oh, and this? I totally called it."
Pepper's face had gone white. "What are you…" she rounded on Tony. "What did you do?"
He lifted his gauntleted hands. "Believe it or not, that" - he gestured to Maggie in her suit and her wings - "was all her. Like, before Iron Man, even."
Pepper turned back to Maggie, her eyebrows pinched.
"I am sorry," Maggie said. "I should've told you guys. I know you were worried about me. But uh…" she spread her arms, looking down at herself. Her flightsuit was a bit dented and oil-stained. "Yeah."
Rhodey hadn't stopped staring at her. "I should've known," he murmured. Maggie glanced over at him. "The Air Force knows about the Wyvern, but I didn't think it could be you, not in a thousand years." He ran a hand over his chin. "Wyvern."
"Anyway," Tony said, one arm around Pepper. "You two should get lost."
"I was here first," Rhodey shot back. "Get a roof."
Tony chuckled. "I thought you were out of one liners."
"That's the last one."
Maggie met Pepper's gaze and rolled her eyes. Pepper smiled.
"You kicked ass back there, by the way," Tony told Rhodey, then turned to Maggie. "Both of you."
"Thank you, you too," Rhodey nodded. "Listen, my car got taken out in the explosion, so I'm gonna have to hang onto your suit for a minute, okay?"
"Not okay," Tony shook his head. "Not okay with that."
Rhodey got to his feet. "Wasn't a question." His repulsors roared, and a second later he'd jetted off the rooftop, soaring off into the night sky.
Maggie watched him go, her brows raised. There was a moment of silence.
"Kinda rude," she eventually said. She looked back to Tony and Pepper, who were now clasping hands and looking into each other's eyes. "Yikes, I'm going to go." She headed for the edge of the rooftop, but then Tony called:
"Hey, wait-"
She looked back. Pepper and Tony were both looking at her, Pepper with that wide-eyed surprise, still, and Tony with something a little deeper.
He frowned. "Are you…" his eyes flicked over her. "Where are you going?"
She smiled. "I'm not going far, trust me. I think I might head to the old Stark mansion, bust open Dad's liquor cabinet. Feel free to join once you're done with…" she gestured between them. "This."
Tony smiled. "See you there."
She nodded. "See you there." She backed away toward the roof edge. "I'm staying this time, Tony. I promise. And hey, didn't I tell you that between the two of us we could make anything work?" She tapped her chest. "Look after the old ticker."
Without warning she toppled backward off the edge of the roof, plummeting out of sight, and Maggie grinned to herself when she heard Pepper's startled yelp.
A second later the Wyvern rocketed upwards, wings outstretched and engines burning, leaving the rooftop and the world behind.
"So dramatic," Tony said as he turned to Pepper. "Now, how are you going to resign, if I don't accept?"
Later that night, after the cleanup and the police interviews (Maggie's story was that she helped with the Expo evacuation and then hid in a bush for half an hour), she, Tony, Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey all wound up back at the Stark mansion. Dust lined the corridors and all the furniture was covered in plastic sheets, but they gathered in the entertainment room, sipping Howard Stark's fifty-year-old Scotch whiskey, icing their injuries, and debriefing. Though debriefing was a loose term that covered 'recounting all the awful events of the evening and making jokes at Vanko and Hammer's expense'.
Everyone had a lot of questions about the Wyvern.
Maggie was reclined on a plastic-covered couch, pleasantly buzzed enough to forget about her aching body, laughing at Rhodey and Happy, when she realized that Tony and Pepper had snuck out together. She smiled, and lifted her glass to Rhodey and Happy.
"To the future," she toasted.
They lifted their glasses as well, and the red-faced Happy nearly spilled his. "To the future!"
And now we're (almost) done with Iron Man 2! On to bigger and better things.
By the way, who's excited for TFATWS? We've been waiting for this for two years, guys, I can't wait.
Reviews
The1975Love: I love their sibling relationship too, they're so much fun to write. Maggie will certainly be bullying Tony plenty in the future. Thank you thank you!
DBZFAN45: I'm glad you enjoyed all the little character moments in the last chapter, it was a good bit of fun. And I hope you enjoyed everything that happened in this chapter! Lots of Wyverning. We'll be seeing more from some other characters next chapter ;)
Wyrleen: I'm glad you like the sibling bonding too! I have fun writing it, so I'm glad you guys enjoy reading it. Maggie and Tony are definitely better when they're on the same team. Tony is definitely a fanboy for the wings. Hopefully you enjoyed the big battle this chapter!