I don't really have anything clever to say today.

I did get a question about where we are in the timeline. This takes place at the end of May 2017, which puts it just a little before "Ant-Man and the Wasp" in the MCU timeline – 6 months before Thor 3 and a little less than a year before "Avengers: Infinity War." I hope that helps!

The song for this chapter is "Never One Thing" by May Erlewine. Definitely a favorite girl power anthem!

Enjoy!


Story 10: Street Fighter: Girls' Day Out


Pepper sighed. She tugged the fluffy robe around herself a little more securely and fought the urge to whine.

"It's hard to be the princess," Nat said, smirking.

"Even with your loyal handmaidens to serve you?" May's eyes sparkled. "We are here to fulfill your every whim, my lady!"

Pepper debated the merits of just throwing her flute of champagne at them both. She decided not to, purely because it wasn't only the three of them this time and Pepper was trying to prove that they weren't as bad as the boys. Not that Wanda or Maria would have been bothered, either — they lived at the Compound, after all.

But Doctor Jane Foster was new to all this and definitely didn't deserve their usual antics. Even if she did know apparently everything about them because Thor had never heard of discretion when it came to sharing with his girlfriend.

"You've definitely inspired me," Jane said, a small smile on her own face. "If I ever get married, I'm doing it in jeans. Like, in somebody's garage. And then we'll do a house party. Nothing more complicated than that."

Pepper glanced around at the gowns strewn over every possible surface — set aside nicely, because these gowns were lovely and deserved to be treated better than Tony did his t-shirts on the bedroom floor — and couldn't help but nod.

"If I thought I could get away with it at this point, I might," she said.

The tiny boutique was empty except of themselves. Pepper had requested a private showing for herself and her friends, so only the store owner and her two assistants had shown up. But after the last frustrating two hours, they had excused themselves to "check in storage" which sounded like code for some truly spectacular last-minute scrambling. They'd left their six guests with several unopened bottles of champagne, an entire spread of snacks and fancy desserts, and the freedom of the place to look through any dresses that appealed to them.

Pepper hadn't really wanted to do a bridal shower — she just wanted to spend time with the women in her life who mattered the most and take the opportunity to actually get to know Jane Foster who would be coming to the wedding as Thor's date. So she had invited May, Nat, Maria, Wanda, and Jane to join her for dress shopping as well as a fancy lunch and spa day.

At this rate, they were really going to need the spa day. At least Pepper was.

"Don't worry," Wanda said kindly. "You do look amazing in everything you try."

Pepper shrugged. That wasn't the problem. She knew she was fit and her body type went nicely with current standards of beauty. She tailored her suits for work carefully, knew how to wear clothes that flattered her, and could afford anything she wanted. Finding a dress that fit and looked nice was the easy part.

Finding a wedding dress that made Pepper feel the way she wanted to feel was the real challenge.

It wasn't what Nat said about being the princess. She didn't need a gown that looked like it belonged on the throne of a fairy tale castle. In fact, she had plenty of those to choose from, but none really touched her heart.

Pepper wanted to marry Tony looking like herself. She wanted a wedding gown that could only be hers. That looked the way she felt — beautiful, yes, but strong, too. She wanted a dress that sparkled not just with crystals or pearls, but with her sense of humor, a dress that wasn't just lovely, but meant something.

Maybe that was a fantasy worse than wanting to be an actual princess, but that's what Pepper wanted. Pepper had explained her vision to everyone in the limo this morning, and they'd all nodded.

"The thing that sucks," Maria spoke up now, "is that I get it. Nobody really wants to look like a floofy ball of cotton. I mean, unless that's your personality, I guess."

"Couldn't you work with a designer?" May asked. "I know it's almost June and you only have a few weeks, but I'm sure you could find someone who could pull it together."

"If I'd started three months ago, sure." Pepper sipped at her glass. "And I could probably just pay some poor designer to be up all night for the next month to be ready in time. But I just...I don't want to be that kind of a burden to anybody. It's not anyone else's fault I put this off too long."

"What you really mean," Nat said, "is you just want something to work out for once instead of having to force it into being by any means necessary."

Pepper dropped her head back to rest on the couch. "That is a stunningly accurate description and I'm not sure I appreciate it."

"Well." Jane had been sitting on a fancy footstool but stood up. "Here's a thought. Let's gather up the...call it five best choices. We'll figure out what you like about them. This can't be the only wedding boutique in the city. We'll scour them all until we find the dress that has all the best parts. And if we miss the spa, at least you'll get something out of it."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "Is this how you deal with Thor? You just take charge?"

"Pretty much." And Jane looked smug about it.

The SHIELD agent — now head of the Compound, Asgardian citizen, and liaison between the Avengers and more than one major nation's government — grinned. "I like it."

"It's a good plan." Wanda stood up from her place on another couch. "Let's do it."

Pepper moved as if to rise, but May waved her down. "You just rest. Or change back into your street clothes if you don't think you're going to try any of them on again. We can handle this."

Pepper shot her a look. "What makes you think I need to rest?"

"Oh, I don't know. Running a multinational corporation and riding herd on Tony?" May winked. "I'm taking this Matron of Honor thing seriously and that means I do the work and you get to relax."

And she swept away to start somewhat viciously discarding various gowns along with Jane and Wanda. Maria plucked the champagne glass from Pepper's hand, gathering the others as well.

"You heard the woman. Get dressed. We all know you're not trying any of those on again."

Pepper could only chuckle. "Is it some kind of wedding tradition to shut the bride out of her own decisions?"

"Uh, yeah." Jane looked up, holding a mermaid-tail gown in her arms. "Like, I've done a bunch of weddings with college friends and the bride and groom are usually the last to know about everything. You choose the colors and you get to pick the place, and everything after that is kinda dependent on what goes wrong at the last minute."

"When Ben and I got married," May said, dropping a pile of dresses in a chair, "Richard and Mary were supposed to meet us at the church with my dress and the rings. They didn't have a car back then, so they had to get a taxi. And the taxi driver got rear-ended on the way. They had to stand there as witnesses for an hour talking to the police for the insurance report."

She shook her head, smiling.

"The wedding stuff was in the trunk," she continued, "and part of my dress got trapped. Like, the car that crashed into them from behind hit hard enough to cause the trunk to kind of fold in on itself, and it was crunched on my dress. Mary had to cry at the police officer to get him to ask the fire department to come out with their jaws-of-life thing to unfold the trunk to even find out if my dress was salvageable."

"Was it?" Wanda asked, wide-eyed.

"Yep." May grinned. "We were dirt poor back then, so no silk or satin for me. That thing was more polyester than anything else and could have stood up against actual fire without burning. Mary rescued my dress, and Richard had the rings in his pocket, of course, so they abandoned everything else to get another taxi to head to the church. We didn't have cell phones then, so I was frantic, pacing in the nursery we had claimed as my bridal suite and thinking all kinds of things had happened to them."

"Sounds like a rough introduction to married life," Nat said.

May laughed. "It certainly prepared us for the unexpected. In the end, we were only an hour late starting the ceremony, Richard had a good story for his toast, and we got to laugh about it for years."

Pepper felt an unexpected lump come into her throat. May had turned back to the gowns, sorting them into piles as if that had been any story to tell. Not a story about her wedding day shared with her beloved husband, best friend, and brother-in-law, all of whom were long dead. As if all her grief was separate somehow from that priceless memory.

Pepper would never fully understand how May Parker could be so incredibly strong, but she hoped to learn from it.

Pepper shook herself and stood. She retreated to the huge changing vestibule and pulled on her regular clothes again. After a couple of dozen instances of flowing skirts and layers upon layers of crinoline, her slacks and light blouse felt foreign. She stepped into her comfy flats, grateful she'd decided to spend today casually instead of in her usual high-heeled boardroom battle-wear.

Tony was not the only person in this family who wore armor when they marched into a fight. Tony flew into his conflicts wrapped in gold-titanium; Pepper strode into hers on terrifyingly high heels and wrapped in thousand-dollar silk. To much the same effect, actually.

Pepper decided she should probably let Happy know about the change in plans and check in with JARVIS. She emerged from the changing area and almost walked into Wanda who was hauling an entire load of dresses from one couch to an empty rack. The couches were spread with the five dresses Pepper had liked best, and May and Jane were hotly debating them and taking pictures. Nat and Maria were already hanging up the other discards.

"Has anyone talked to Happy yet?" she asked, heading for the pile of purses (for those that carried them — Nat and Maria both refused for some reason).

"We should probably let Amaya and her people know that we didn't find anything here before we just leave empty-handed," May said. "I kind of feel bad that we took up their whole morning for nothing."

"It wasn't nothing," Maria said. "We eliminated some options. That's progress."

Pepper dug in her purse for her phone. As soon as she pulled it out, it flashed with a warning light from JARVIS. Thoughts of dresses vanished from her mind.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Forgive me for interrupting your day, Miss Potts," JARVIS said. "There is an incident currently occuring in the city only a few blocks from your current location. Mister Hogan is preparing a route to carry you away from the situation. I suggest you relocate at once."

"What kind of incident?" Maria asked. Pepper looked up to see the others gathering around.

"It appears to be a group espousing anti-Asgardian sentiments. They have stormed Madison Square Garden and are threatening the hostages on the premises. NYPD is securing the scene."

Pepper watched Nat and Maria exchange glances. "Let's get you out of here," Nat said. "Maria and I will go see what we can do."

"I'm coming with you," Wanda told her.

Pepper knew that the best thing to do was leave this to the experts around her. She knew that.

"How many hostages are there?" May asked JARVIS.

"Unfortunately, there was a Disney character meet-and-greet scheduled for today, so there are an unknown number of parents and young children at the location at this time."

"Where are the Avengers?" Jane wanted to know. "Isn't this what you all deal with?"

"Most of them are in London," Pepper said slowly, "working on the agreements for this fall. Bruce is at the Compound, and so is Bucky. I think Sam is visiting family."

"And Clint's in Missouri," Nat said.

"JARVIS." May visibly swallowed. "Whatever you do, you keep Peter away from this."

"Master Parker is spending his day with Mister Leeds. They are currently engaged in building Legos and I have strategically kept this report from Master Parker's phone for the moment. I deemed it too dangerous under the previous agreements between yourself and Sir."

"Thank you."

"SHIELD will already be moving," Maria said, looking at her own phone. "And we'll help out as well."

Pepper let out a deep breath. "I think I need to come with you," she said.

Five women stared at her.

Pepper smiled faintly — she was used to being stared at by people who doubted her. It steadied her.

"If this is an anti-Asgardian thing, it directly impacts me," she said. "It's possible I can help the negotiators by making promises no one other than an Avenger can. And I assume you're going more directly into this situation than that."

Nat nodded. "Direct is a good word for what we're going to do."

"May, you and Jane go with Happy," Pepper decided. "I'll stay and try to do something about this."

"Hmm, no." Jane shook her head. "Even if the most I can do is fold shock blankets from the side, I'm not turning my back on this. Thor has kept me at arm's length for way too long."

"I'm a nurse." May was already braiding her long hair and coiling it up in a practical bun. "I'm a first responder. And I have the same Asgardian citizenship as the rest of you, so you can't really stop me from getting involved. Besides, if Peter does hear about this, he's going to come running in. I would be able to intervene if I was there on site."

"This is a bad idea," Nat said. "We," she gestured at Maria and Wanda, "have training or superpowers and we've been in fights before. You three are civilians."

"I have fire powers," Pepper pointed out.

"My boyfriend is Thor," Jane added.

May folded her arms against her chest. "And you are my family."

Maria sighed. "The problem of you civilians is you don't take orders even when I give them. All right. We'll all drive down there. But I'm assigning the three of you under somebody I trust and you're going to be where they put you and nowhere else. Because if anything happens to one of you, I'm going to have to deal with an enraged Tony, Thor, or Peter Parker and I am not up for that today."

Pepper felt a small thrill of victory alongside the conviction and fear in her gut.

"JARVIS, let Happy know that he should return to the Tower and start securing it in case there's a second attack targeting SI. We have work to do."

"I sincerely hope you do not regret this course of action, Miss Potts," JARVIS told her.

Pepper hoped so, too.

-==OOO==-

May had a bad feeling about this. She'd had a lot of experience in the hospital reading the currents of tension while people dealt with stressful situations, and she could tell when people felt like things were going downhill.

Maria, Nat, and Wanda were gone; as soon as they had arrived at the scene (dropped off by Happy who argued with Pepper the whole ride over), they had made their way through the police line, exchanged a few words with whoever was in charge, and disappeared into the chaos. May assumed they had snuck into the building somehow and were currently doing...whatever they did best.

Pepper was standing next to the van where the professional negotiator was set up. So far, no contact had been made, but as soon as the terrorists reached out, she knew Pepper would be ready to deal anything within her power for the lives inside MSG.

May and Jane were even farther back, near where a couple of ambulances had already pulled up. They had stacked up some basic emergency supplies, more things for people in shock or distress than actual injuries, and now were standing around with the other medical personnel waiting for something to happen.

"I didn't know you went in for this stuff," May said to Jane after making sure they were far enough away not to be overheard by anyone else.

"I didn't," Jane replied. "Then we hit Thor with my van. After that, my life got a lot more weird. I've never fired anything worse than a taser, but I've been adjacent to a couple of big fights."

May huffed. "Danger adjacent describes me, too."

She checked her phone again. So far, Peter was still safe at the Leeds' house, apparently unaware. She could only hope he would stay that way.

Then May realized what she was doing — and what that meant she could find out the same way. "JARVIS, can you give me an update on the others?"

"Agents Hill and Romanoff along with Miss Maximoff have infiltrated the building through a disused side entrance. They are currently mapping known locations of terrorists and hostages and communicating their information back to the SHIELD agents outside."

"How many terrorists are we talking about in there?" May wanted to know.

"No more than two dozen," JARVIS said. "However, they are heavily armed with both firearms and potential explosives."

"What would Tony do if he was here?" May mused to herself. "Oh, who am I kidding? He'd go in the front door with a fleet of his Iron Legion suits with him and they'd just...deal with it."

"That's what Thor would do, too," Jane put in. "He's not exactly subtle."

They continued to wait, shifting their feet and feeling anxious, until suddenly JARVIS spoke unexpectedly.

"I feel I should inform you that we have a new complication. The terrorists appear to be in possession of a list of known individuals who will be or have already been granted Asgardian citizenship. I was able to access it from a phone after Agent Romanoff dispatched one of the terrorists. It does list both of your names as well as several others."

May blinked. "I didn't know you were doing this?" she asked Jane.

Jane shrugged. "I haven't really decided yet. But I told Thor it was okay to include me and I'll figure out if I'm signing on officially by the time it's relevant."

May shook her head — Jane's love life was not the most important thing here.

"It's just a list of names, right?" she asked JARVIS. "No other information...like about Peter?"

"No," JARVIS affirmed. "But a statement has been released on social media from the terrorists. They want at least five individuals named on the list to be handed over to them in return for the release of approximately one hundred children currently held hostage."

May shut her eyes. "Of course they do."

"What are you going to do?" Jane asked.

May knew before she answered, even if she hadn't fully pieced it together. It existed inside her like an instinct more than a plan. Or maybe it was as simple as knowing there was a right thing to do and needing to do it.

"Parkers help people," May said softly. "I'll go."

"What if they want to execute you? Or they torture you because you're consorting with the enemy or whatever idiotic thing they think?"

"Well." May opened her eyes. "First of all, yes. I'm going to do it because there are children in there and I'm not going to let them stay there one more minute than necessary. And, second, that's assuming these guys even get the chance to do anything to me."

May looked up to see Pepper making her way towards them. Her expression was grave.

"I heard," May told Pepper. "And I'm going."

"It's too dangerous," Pepper said. "Nat already told JARVIS to tell me to stop you."

"Gonna be hard to do that when you're going in there, too," May said.

Pepper scowled but didn't deny it. "Tony's going to kill us both if we do this."

"Tony," May said, planting her hands on her hips, "would be in there already."

"So you're really just going to walk into the lions' den?" Jane asked. "No plan, no backup, and hand yourselves over to the terrorists?"

May raised a shoulder in a half-shrug. "Do you have a better idea?"

"I mean, not yet, but gimme a minute." Jane glared. "Seriously, doesn't anybody think this stuff through first?"

"Well, if we all work together, maybe we can come up with something." Pepper still looked very, very tense. "We have two supremely skilled agents already inside, plus Wanda. The terrorists probably couldn't hurt me if they tried. It's just you two we need to be careful of."

"We also have JARVIS," May said. "And if I've learned anything from Peter, it's never to underestimate him as an ally."

"I feel I must point out," JARVIS said, "that if you put yourself into this amount of danger, I may be forced to activate your evac suit per Sir's standing instructions regarding your safety, Missus Parker."

"What, no suit for me?" Pepper asked, managing to sound mock-offended. "Don't answer that, JARVIS. I know you have one, and I know you won't send it unless I am actually bleeding to death or call for it."

"That is correct."

"Tony's protective, but I have higher security access than you do," she explained to May. "So I get more control over when his protectiveness kicks in."

"Well, now I'm feeling left out," Jane said. "I want an indestructible suit ready to haul me out of danger at any moment."

May smiled. Then she looked up at Pepper. "Speaking of, that kind of gives me an idea. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Pepper smiled back. "Oh, the boys are not going to like this."

"Worry about them afterwards," May said. "First we have to not get killed by Nat."

"Well." Jane shook her head. "Let's hear this great plan. If it isn't stupid, I might even be willing to go with you."

May smiled at her. "See, you fit in with this group of crazy people just fine."

Jane smiled back. "That's sort of what I was trying to avoid all this time, but okay."

Pepper looked down at her phone. "The plan is simple. We go in, buy time for Nat and Maria and Wanda to make their move. If it gets dicey, JARVIS can always send in the Iron Legion after us. But the more of them we can get into one place, the easier time the others will have dealing with the rest."

"It's not like Nat and Maria can't handle two dozen guys on their own," May said. "We're just making it a little easier."

"It's not the worst plan I've ever heard." Jane let out a breath. "Fine, I'm coming with you."

May's phone pinged with an incoming message at the same time as Pepper's. She looked down at it and huffed a laugh.

"Looks like JARVIS tattled on us."

"Don't worry about Tony. He's all talk." Pepper tossed her head. "And by the time they could do anything about it, we'll be done. Come on. Let's go be a distraction."

"Don't you mean bait?" Jane pointed out.

May's confidence started to wane the closer they got to the building, though. She barely listened as Pepper negotiated with the SHIELD agents, only vaguely tracking the furious texting from Nat and Maria and Wanda to them. Her heart was pounding.

"Missus Parker." JARVIS's voice was pitched low. She lifted her phone to her ear. "Your biometrics suggest you are under duress. I urge you to opt out of this plan. I will of course do my best to protect you, but without an actual suit already deployed around you, that may be difficult."

"I'm scared," May whispered to him. "I'm scared, but there are children in there. And if the terrorists are yelling at me about Asgard, they won't be waving guns at them. And I can do this." She closed her other hand into a fist. "Peter would do this. Tony would do this. Even Happy would do this. I...I need to prove I can, too."

"You don't, actually," JARVIS said simply. "You are not an Avenger, and you do not need to become one. Sir's regard for you does not hinge upon your willingness to put your life in danger."

"No." She swallowed. "But no matter how scary it is, Peter has done worse. Tony's done worse. I...don't think I'll ever really understand it if I don't try."

"If I were to tell you that Sir is attempting to forbid you from taking this chance, would it have any impact upon your decision?"

That made May huff a laugh. "No, but tell him thank you for worrying for me. I'm the only one, you know. Even Pepper and Jane...I'm the only one who hasn't been out there. And...I'm never going to be sure of myself if I don't try."

"Sir would argue that he would prefer you remain behind so that you are safe, that his heart and Master Parker's would break if you were hurt attempting to prove something that does not require proof."

"I know. That's the one thing holding me back." May shook her head. "I'm never going to be a fighter. But I am going to do what's right. And this is right. I'm counting on you to make sure I make it out if everything falls apart, JARVIS."

"I will make every possible effort not to let you down, Missus Parker."

In so many ways, this was a mistake. May knew that. She was doing something she hated that the others did. She was putting herself in danger, recklessly, without any real guarantee she wouldn't be hurt. And she was doing it without superpowers to protect her. In a way, she was being the worst hypocrite of her life.

But something else had changed in these last months since she found out Peter was Spider-Man. May would still never be a fighter, never don a suit like Tony's or train in combat like Nat, but she couldn't help feeling just a little...lesser for it. Nat and Maria had no superpowers, just a lot of training, but they ran towards the terrorists. Peter had been protecting Queens in a sweatshirt with no backup if he got hurt or ended up in over his head. Tony had become Iron Man not out of idealism, but because he saw no other way to fix what he thought needed fixing in the world. Even Pepper fought Killian and had started really training her Extremis powers in the last few months.

May didn't doubt that she had a place within her family being only a nurse, never entering their world of danger, but she didn't feel at ease within herself. She knew every member of her family could run unflinchingly into mortal danger for the sake of innocent lives and because it was right. May wanted to be able to look them in the eyes and know she had the same courage.

She wanted to be able to look at herself in the mirror and know that her choice to stay out of the fight was a choice she made for herself, and not out of fear.

So when Pepper stood in front of May and Jane and asked, "Last chance. Do you want to stay here?" May's answer was ready, even if it made her shake a little to give it.

"No. I'm coming with you."

Jane nodded. "Me, too."

And they walked into Madison Square Garden together, heads held high, and May tried to pretend she wasn't scared for her life.

-==OOO==-

Pepper had swapped JARVIS to her earpiece, a tiny thing that actually looked like an earring. Tony had his glasses; Pepper had wanted something a little more subtle. It lacked the visual element of the glasses which had a limited HUD display, but that helped prevent distraction, too. Pepper had worked out a system with JARVIS long ago where she could make small movements with her head to communicate with him when he asked questions, and when she was sure he had a view of her through a security camera, she could also finger-spell simple words.

It would have to be enough.

(And, if it wasn't, Pepper was fully prepared to put the last few months of training to work. She'd been sparring with Maria and Nat as well as Clint and, on a few occasions, Bucky, long enough to be ready to see how what she had learned translated to real life. If that failed as well, that still left her with Extremis and the will to use it.)

Pepper led the way, May and Jane beside her, into the main entry of Madison Square Garden from where the police presence was set up. As soon as they pushed through the doors, two people with guns trained them on her.

"Stop or we'll shoot!"

"My name is Pepper Potts," she said, calling on her CEO voice, "and I understand you were willing to trade hostages for me and these two."

"They are using radios rather than phones to communicate," JARVIS told her, "but I will have a lock on their frequency shortly."

Pepper gave a tiny nod to show she understood. That meant JARVIS might be able to listen in, but if the radios weren't running on something digital, he might not be able to take control over the network.

"Who are they?" one of the terrorists demanded.

"May Parker and Doctor Jane Foster," Pepper introduced them. "We're on your list."

"This better not be a trick."

Pepper bit her tongue. The welcoming committee was clearly not the brains of the operation. Every bit of information is useful, she reminded herself. "We're unarmed. And if you release sixty children, we'll come quietly."

"Get on your knees!" the first of the guards said.

Pepper risked a little defiance and shook her head. "Kids first. Otherwise we'll just turn around and leave."

The second of the guards was on his radio, speaking in a low voice. Pepper didn't really need JARVIS to translate it for her.

They never expected anyone to come. Now they're off-balance. They don't know how to respond.

"Agent Hill and Agent Romanoff have begun eliminating some more of the guards around the hostages," JARVIS said. "If you can secure one of the radios, you have the technical knowledge to attach it to your comms so that I could infiltrate their communication and imitate any terrorists you incapacitate."

Pepper took a deep breath. She had never tried anything like this before. But there were only two terrorists here, and she had to try.

"Maybe if I talk to your boss?" she offered. "Tell you what, you can stand here and guard Jane and May so you know I won't do anything."

That was a serious gambit, but worth the risk, she hoped.

The two guards approached, guns still trained on them.

"Okay," the first said. "We're gonna zip tie them and if you try anything, I'll blow their brains out."

"I've got a better idea," Jane said suddenly. "Let me talk to your boss. Everyone knows Pepper Potts is just another mouthpiece for Asgard, being engaged to Tony Stark and all. The only reason I'm on your list is because I figured out Asgardian technology and they don't like it."

The two guards exchanged looks, which gave Jane a moment to shoot Pepper a wink.

Pepper wasn't sure what Jane was thinking, but she decided to go with it.

"I don't know why you can't get along with our friends from Asgard," she said, putting coldness into her tone.

"Okay." The second guard held out a pair of flex cuffs. "You," he pointed to Pepper, "sit down next to your other friend. The boss can talk to her instead."

Pepper allowed herself to be led a few steps away, sinking into a crouch beside May while the first guard kept his gun on them. After the second one had pulled their hands into the cuffs and tightened them, he held his gun on them while the first handed his radio to Jane.

Jane smiled at him. "It's nice to know there are other people who think that Thor is not as great as he pretends to be. He's got such a fiery temper."

Pepper understood the message just in time.

She activated Extremis and easily broke the cuffs. Spinning, she gripped the end of the gun pointed at her and promptly melted it. Then she punched the terrorist in the face. He fell to the floor.

Pepper turned back to make sure Jane was okay, but Jane was standing over the other terrorist, shaking out her right hand.

"Looks like Pepper's not the only one taking lessons," May said, and her voice was shaky, but she was smiling.

"Thor gave me a couple of pointers," Jane said. "He's a lot harder to punch than these guys."

"Thor is too tall to punch," Pepper agreed. She reached over and snapped the cuffs off of May. "Okay, well, so far, so good."

JARVIS spoke from May's phone; all three of them had mashed their phones into their bras in the most uncomfortable but concealed way possible in case they'd been searched.

"They are both unconscious from the readings I can take. You must patch me into their radio network quickly."

Pepper nodded. She pulled off her other earring, the backup comm in case something happened to the first one. May grabbed the nearest of the two radios and held it out.

Pepper was not a master engineer like Tony, but she had worked at SI a long time. And Pepper made it a point to understand, if not the tiniest of inner workings of things, at least their basic concept. So when she cracked the case of the radio and pried it off, revealing the innards, she knew enough about what she was looking at to be helpful. She took the casing off her earring comm and uncoiled the tiny wire concealed in it.

"JARVIS, tell me if I've got this right." And she wrapped the exposed wire around what she hoped was the right part.

"Perfectly done, Miss Potts," JARVIS said. "I can now use their radio network directly, as well as imitating the various guards already rendered unconscious."

"Let's get these guys out of sight," Jane suggested. "Can we just toss them out the door and let the cops grab them?"

"Somebody might be watching from above," May said. "Let's just shove them in the gift shop."

"And we should get out of sight, too," Jane suggested. "So we don't have to solve more problems than necessary at the same time."

Pepper broke the door open with ease. It was the work of only a few minutes to cuff the two unconscious terrorists, gag them with their own duct tape, and hide them under a pile of souvenirs.

"What's Wanda up to?" May wanted to know when they were finished and hunkering down behind the main register.

"While Agents Hill and Romanoff have been eliminating guards at the edges so as not to alert the terrorists' leaders, Miss Maximoff has positioned herself in the rafters close to where the leaders are gathered. I believe she is using her powers to help suppress their feelings of alarm or paranoia."

"Which also puts her in the perfect place to drop down and take them out when we're ready," Pepper realized.

"Indeed," JARVIS said. "There are only a few more terrorists who can be dispatched quietly before it will be impossible to do so without alarming the rest."

Pepper held up her phone.

"Please display a layout of what we're dealing with."

JARVIS did so. "The hostages have all been gathered on the floor of the arena, with most of the remaining guards standing at the exits above them. The leaders of the terrorist cell appear to be in one of the boxes on the western side of the arena." He highlighted figures in red as he spoke.

"Where are the others?" Jane asked.

JARVIS highlighted a figure in blue in the rafters that must be Wanda. Two others were on the opposite side of the arena from here, approaching a group of three who were in a smaller room — maybe a box office, maybe a bathroom, who knew?

Pepper did a quick count. "Aside from the ones Wanda's got covered and those three who are about to have a bad day, it looks like there are nine left guarding the hostages."

"But they're spread out," May said. "Even Nat can't run from one to the next one without giving them time to shoot."

"JARVIS," Pepper said. "As soon as Nat and Maria finish with those three, pull them into a call. We need to figure this out."

They watched the hologram as Nat and Maria burst into the room with the other three, followed by a flurry of activity that ended with only those two walking back out.

"Okay, so I hear you three have had a good day so far," Maria said over the connection with JARVIS.

"But now it gets complicated," Pepper said. "What can we do to help?"

"The best move would be for us to get up into the rafters with Wanda," Nat said. "Maria and I can snipe most of the terrorists from there. If you three can take out two or three of them, we can bring down the rest before they have time to hurt anyone."

"And Wanda can back you up as soon as she handles the big dogs," Maria added.

Pepper looked up at May and Jane. They both had fierce, determined expressions on their faces.

"I think we can promise two," Pepper said. "I don't want to split us up too much."

"Okay. Then make sure you get the ones...JARVIS, show them here and here."

Two of the guards on the hologram lit up in yellow.

"I feel I should remind you that it is possible for at least a few SHIELD agents to enter your location at this time to provide backup," JARVIS said.

"There you go being sensible." Jane gave a tiny laugh. "We're on a roll here. Don't ruin it."

Pepper laughed, too. But she asked, "Can you get a suit in here yet without being detected?"

"Yes, at least those fitted with the retro-reflective panels."

"Okay, then you're our backup," Pepper decided. "When we make our move, you have those things ready to fly to the rescue, especially if these guys decide to start firing into the crowd. And get SHIELD ready to storm in after the bad guys are down."

"I am not in favor of this at all, I would like you to know," JARVIS said, and he sounded the way he did half the time he talked to Tony.

"Your objection is noted," May told him. And she looked the least confident, and also the least likely to back down. "Now, let's figure this out."

Ten minutes later, Pepper was moving alone through the concourse to her designated terrorist target. May and Jane had stayed together, and from what she'd overheard, they were cooking up some truly ridiculous tricks for their own target.

"JARVIS," Pepper whispered, "you better have a suit right on their heels. If they can't take out a terrorist with a hot dog cart or whatever they're planning, I want you to be there the instant they need you."

"I am fully prepared to do so, I assure you," JARVIS said in her ear. "I would ask, however, why you have allowed this to continue when we have ample opportunity for the forces amassed outside to take over this portion of the operation?"

Pepper let out a breath. "Because sometimes we just need to do things for ourselves. And this isn't really SHIELD's problem. These guys came after us because they think we're species traitors or something. This is an Avengers problem, and we're the closest thing we have."

"I do not understand the logic in putting yourselves at risk in this way."

"Well." Pepper slowed down to make sure she wouldn't be overheard or seen by her target. "I'm not saying this is the smartest thing. But think of this as a field test for me. I've been doing all that training. Might as well put it to use. And May and Jane have their own reasons to want to prove their strength."

"In spite of the rather lengthy objections from those who care for all of you?"

That made Pepper smile. "Well, since Peter's not here to do it, I guess I'll have to explain it with a pop culture reference. 'Sometimes you got to specifically go out of your way to get into trouble. It's called fun.' It's from Good Morning, Vietnam."

"Risking your lives against armed terrorists is fun?" JARVIS asked.

"It was either this or more dresses," Pepper told him. "Now, we're doing this. You're prepped to back us up. And everyone's ready. So we're going to stop arguing the logic and focus on the execution of the plan. Got it?"

"Very well, Miss Potts. Let me just say, then, good luck."

"Thanks." I hope I don't need it.

Pepper let out a slow breath, easing her way closer to the tunnel that led to the seats around the arena. The terrorist guarding hostages before her had his back to her, his focus on the people she could hear crying in the arena.

Pepper slipped off her shoes and moved silently, her back to the wall.

She got as close as she dared, and prayed for the signal to come fast, before the guy turned around.

The signal, it turned out, was a flying woman wreathed in red powers dropping from on high to blast the box holding the leaders with the force of a freight train.

Pepper heard the explosion of glass and the cries of shock and moved.

She took a running start at her terrorist, who only heard her to turn at the last minute.

Pepper hauled back an arm and punched him hard.

The terrorist dropped like a stone, out cold. Pepper didn't stop moving — she pulled the gun off him and bent it until it was useless. Then she tied him up with a set of flex cuffs she'd taken off their other friends at the front door, and searched him rapidly to make sure he didn't have any surprises like other guns or knives or explosives.

Only when that was done did she look up to check everything else.

A few sections of seats away, she could see May, Jane, and an Iron Legion suit standing with no sign of their target, so she assumed he was down. Jane was holding her arm like it was hurt, and May was ripping up her t-shirt to make a bandage.

"Miss Potts," JARVIS said, "Agent Hill says that one of her targets has escaped. He is running and heading in your direction."

"Oh, really?"

Pepper spun and ran back down the tunnel out into the concourse.

She heard him before she saw him, his boots pounding on the floor.

Heat pooled in her stomach, the careful control over her powers eroding slightly against the adrenaline and danger and the fact that Jane was hurt and even if it was minor, it was Pepper's fault for leading them into this.

So when the terrorist in his fatigues and body armor and clutching his assault rifle rounded the last corner to face her, Pepper wasn't just mad.

She was incensed.

The terrorist started firing. A bullet hit her in the stomach, and it hurt, but just as quickly the pain faded and she felt her body rebuilding itself around the wound, melting the bullet out of her on the way.

"You're one of those freaks!" he yelled, firing again.

"You have no idea," Pepper growled.

She charged him, dodging the bullets as best she could but not too worried if he landed a hit. He fired wildly, shooting the concession stands to ribbons around her.

This time, when Pepper reached him, she didn't just punch.

Pepper pushed off the floor with her feet in a move she'd picked up from Bucky. In midair, she folded her legs up and kicked out forward with them, catching the guy in the chest with her heels. She slammed into him and followed him to the ground, landing on his ribcage.

Then she ripped the gun from his hands and tore it in half, flinging it to the side. He was coughing and struggling for breath, but at least he was alive, and his eyes were wide with real terror.

"You're lucky," she told him, standing. "If it was my fiancé who caught you, you'd be nothing more than a smear on the wall."

"That," JARVIS said in her ear, "was excellently done. I have just shown the security footage to Sir and he is shouting most inappropriately about his 'badass girlfriend' to the others at the moment."

Pepper chuckled and tugged at her hair. "Thanks, JARVIS. Tell Tony I love him, too."

"You should know that all remaining hostile forces have been neutralized and the others are moving to your location. Agent Romanoff has suggested you all should exit with SHIELD before too many without clearance witness you in your current state."

Pepper glanced down and realized just how brightly orange she was glowing, especially where her shirt was torn from bullets She nodded.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Can you ask Happy to bring a van, not the limo, it's too obvious, and meet us outside?"

"Of course, Miss Potts."

A matter of minutes later, Pepper stood with May, Jane, Wanda, Maria, and Nat. Jane was the only one with a visible injury, and that she laughed off as a scratch — it was a gash from a too-close bullet but nothing more serious than that.

"Trust me, I had the Aether in me for days. This is nothing," Jane said.

"What now?" Wanda asked, looking around. Her eyes were bright with the fading rush of battle. "I suppose we must all give our statements?"

"Not today," Maria said, shaking her head. "I'm the boss and I say it can wait."

"Well." Nat made a smirk. "We never did find Pepper a dress."

"You want us to go out dress shopping again after all this, like nothing happened?" May started to grin. "Actually, that sounds fabulous. Especially given that some of us are going to get lectured into oblivion as soon as the boys get the chance."

"Dress shopping," Pepper said, also smiling, "and definitely the spa, and then I'm thinking wine and pajamas and chocolate and movies at the Tower all night. If Tony wants to yell at us, he can do it there where we're comfortable."

But as they made their way out, Pepper paused to hold back and put a no-longer-burning arm around May.

"Sure you're okay?" she asked softly. "If you need to have one of your freak-outs, you know it's fine. We wouldn't judge you if you weren't all right."

May leaned into the hug. "I'm all right. I'm sure when my adrenaline crashes I'm going to get blubbery for a bit, but I...I'm glad. I'm glad I proved that I could do it even if I never ever want to be in a situation like this again."

"I knew you could handle it," Pepper told her. "I never doubted it."

"And think of the face Peter will make when he finds out." May gave a laugh that was partially a hiccup. "Karma is going to be a bitch today."

Pepper could only laugh, squeezing May tighter.

"We really are sisters, aren't we?" she managed around her giggles.

"Better than that, now we're warrior sisters," May said, joining her in giggling. "Let the world tremble in fear. Not only do you have to deal with the Avengers, but you have to deal with us!"

And no amount of post-battle hysterics, mountains of dresses that were still wrong, and being yelled at by Tony and stared at in betrayal by Peter (Thor didn't yell at Jane; he crowed with triumph about her prowess in battle and declared he had never been more proud) could entirely put out the light in Pepper's heart. And it wasn't just Extremis, either.

Besides, they did find the right dress eventually, and that, they all agreed, made the whole day absolutely worth it.