Hello everyone! Here it is... the last chapter of Iron Man 3. How have we reached this point already?

I just want to thank everyone for the support and all your comments for this story so far.

If you want to know more about the sequel: Age Of Ultron, I will post details in my author notes at the bottom of this chapter. Please read them!

I hope you all enjoy this final chapter...

Understanding the Real Hero: Iron Man 3

Ten

Killian approaches Tony, his skin and eyes burning with Extremis. The arm Tony cut off has regrown. Tony clambers up onto the walkway.

Everyone was still feeling quite sombre over what had just happened to Pepper, even though they knew she lived, they could feel the pain Tony had felt in that moment.

Sam's response was low, but there was anger laced in his voice. "What does it take to kill that guy?"

"A lot," muttered Tony in response. "Believe me when I say it, he has an ability to survive when he shouldn't."

"A shame. I would've caught her," taunts Killian.

"Bastard," swore Steve. "She wouldn't have been in that position if it hadn't been for you!"

No one was going to reprimand Steve for his swearing. They all felt the same.

Though Tony felt that if he had sent Pepper to a safe haven to start with, Killian would never have kidnapped her in the first place. If Pepper hadn't been at the mansion when Killian's men attacked and it had just been him and Maya, Tony would have got out of the rubble with ease. It had been his fault Pepper had been endangered in the first place.

It was always his fault.

They run towards one another at speed. As Killian leaps into the air, Tony slides underneath him and right into an armour that flies in front of him, encasing his body. He turns to face Killian and they brawl, punching, kicking and fighting one another in desperation. Killian injures his hand trying to punch through the suit. Tony uses his repulsors but Killian kicks the suit away, sending Tony flying back onto his back.

"Extremis has really enhanced him…" murmured Steve. Just like the serum had done for him, Extremis had done the same for Killian, only additionally giving him heat as a weapon to use against others.

Killian leaps after him, intent on punching through the suit at speed. Seeing his intention, Tony ejects from the suit. Tony falls through the air and another suit catches him and he flies into Killian, ejecting him into the air.

"JARVIS really had your back," commented Natasha.

"He was. He always had one eye trained on what I was doing. If I needed help, he was already making sure I had something. JARVIS was a great friend," said Tony sadly. "I know he isn't real to any of you… but for me, JARVIS was alive and he was a part of my family. Losing him was hard…"

Wanda glanced down, shame colouring her cheeks. Her own actions had led to Ultron being created and Tony losing JARVIS in the process. Though parts of JARVIS existed within Vision, it wasn't the same. Tony had still lost a member of his family. If there was a way, I could restore JARVIS for him, I would. But if I did, I'd lose Vision. Am I strong enough to sacrifice him? Wanda wasn't sure, and she hoped she would never find out if she ever needed to sacrifice Vision. The thought of losing Vision hurt her.

The Extremis heating up Killian's body has burnt through his clothes and he is now bare-chested, his tattoo's visibly showing. Tony fires repulsor blast after repulsor blast as they fight however Killian grabs the hands and manages to turn Tony's weapon against him, causing him to shoot himself back.

Tony rushes forward again, engages a thruster on his boot to kick Killian hard in the chin. Killian grabs the leg and is prepared to cut it in half as Tony ejects that leg from the suit. Finally, Killian gets the better-hand and holds Tony in place in the suit.

"Well, here we are on the roof."

"Ah… so he never really let that go." Sam rolled his eyes. "You know, I didn't like what you did at the start by abandoning him up there on the roof – and, yes, meeting him may have stopped this from happening, - but I doubt it. You probably wouldn't have partnered with him anyway. All of this still could have happened."

"He was already interested in Maya's work," said Tony. "You're right, even if I had met with him… I somehow doubt he wouldn't have pursued Maya's research himself. He knew the potential of it. Knew what it could do to help him if the correct formula was used. All he wanted from me was my money to fund his research, something I would have said no to regardless. Even if I had met with him, turning him down would still have angered him."

Tony ejects just as Killian slices the suit in half. He leaps down to Tony's position. Tony looks out to the sky and sees the Mark 42 is inbound which JARVIS confirms.

"I'll be damned. The prodigal son returns." Tony holds out his hand to summon it to him.

"Oh, this is going to be epic," grinned Bucky.

Killian watches on.

The suit opens up for Tony to enter it but it flies straight into a piece of metal and scatters into pieces at Tony's feet. Tony rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Bucky's face fell. "Or not."

"It's been an unreliable suit throughout the movie," said Clint. "What made you think it would do what it was supposed to do now?"

Bucky shrugged, unsure of how to answer.

"You really didn't deserve her, Tony. It's a pity. I was so close to having her perfect." Kilian leaps down to Tony.

Tony scrambled back. "Okay, okay, wait, wait, wait! Slow down! Slow down! You're right. I don't deserve her. Here's where you're wrong. She was already perfect."

"She is perfect," reiterated Tony to the room at large. "I wouldn't change her for anything."

He summons the pieces of the Mark 42 to envelop Killian, pinning him against the wall. Killian screams in fury.

"The one time the pieces actually respond to me without anything going wrong," grinned Tony.

"He's definitely gone if you're going to do what I think you are," said Sam.

Tony knew they would end up being surprised.

"JARVIS, do me a favour and blow Mark 42."

The faceplate covers Killian's screaming as Tony slides down the railing. Mark 42 explodes in a crescendo. A fireball rockets up and destroys the railing Tony is sliding down on. Tony leaps out into a passing suit but it's not enough to fully protect him as the explosion continues to knock him around. The crane crumbles and Tony falls to safety as the suit breaks apart around him.

Pieces of the crane and off the Mark 42 fall beside him. An Iron Man helmet lands in front of him as fire burns through it.

"You looked like you were expecting something worse to pop up when the face-place popped off," noted Steve, watching Tony carefully with a scrutinising eye.

"Well, my suit did just blow up Killian…" Tony answered, leaving the sentence open so the others could extrapolate any theories from his words.

Metal creaks and a heavily burnt Killian emerges from the flames. His flesh is barely holding together. Extremis is struggling to heal him.

Steve gaped. "How is he still alive? That explosion should have killed him!"

"Only thing I can think of is that he was already trying to heal himself and Extremis was already active when the suit exploded, yet it was enough to save his life," considered Sam. "Albeit with horrible burns. It looks like Extremis trying to repair the damage but is struggling to cope."

"No more false faces," he hisses. "You said you wanted the Mandarin. You're looking right at him. It was always me, Tony. Right from the start. I am the MANDARIN!"

"Yet still a name he stole from the real Mandarin," sighed Tony. "Killian may have taken the name but there is a real Mandarin out there too. He's just as much a fake Mandarin as Trevor was."

"I would take a guess this real Mandarin may not have been happy with his name being used for other means…" guessed Wanda.

Tony and Rhodey both exchanged a look. It wasn't common knowledge but Trevor Slattery had gone missing from his prison. No one knew how he had escaped or who may have taken him. They had a rough idea it may have been associates of the real Mandarin. It was likely, if his would-be rescuers had been agents of the Ten Rings, then it was likely Slattery was dead.

Something hits Killian right around the face and he is thrown to the side. It's Pepper, holding a metal pole, breathing heavily as Extremis courses through her body.

"Wow. Extremis did a good job on healing her after she fell into the fire!" said Clint, amazed at how Pepper's complexion had looked.

Tony is shocked to see her. "I got nothing."

Tony shrugged. "I really hadn't expected her to rescue me. I really thought she had gone."

"I think if we had all been there, we would have made the same conclusion," said Steve.

Killian gets to his feet. Another suit flies towards the two, targeting both Killian and Pepper as Extremis targets.

"JARVIS, subject at my 12 o'clock is not a target, disengage!" ordered Tony but his earpiece is not in his ear.

Sam groaned. "Worst time for your earpiece to fall out."

The suit opens fire on Pepper but misses and it flies around for another pass.

She glares at Tony.

"What? Oh, what, are mad at me?"

Rhodey sniggered despite the perilousness of the situation. "When isn't she mad at you?" he quipped.

"True," admitted Tony.

Pepper runs towards him, uses his knee to jump off and slam her arm through the armour as it flies towards her again. She disables the suit and then rips off the arm just as Killian runs towards her. She punches him away, then kicks a small metallic container towards him before firing one last repulsor blast at it, which kills Killian instantly, obliterating him from existence.

A little cheer went around the room.

"It was a long time coming," clapped Bucky. "And it wasn't even you who beat him! It was Pepper!"

"Lady Pepper should become an Avenger," decreed Thor, slamming his hands down onto the table. "She's strong, capable and has fiery Extremis. She'd be very useful as a team member."

"Something she will never become is an Avenger," started Tony. "I fixed Extremis and was able to return her to normal, which is what she always wanted. She didn't want these powers Killian forced on her. She'd rather be completely human without the worry of overheating and killing yourself and the others around you."

"Understandable," answered Steve.

"Honey?" Tony asks cautiously.

She whirls to face him. "Oh, my God. That was really violent."

"And, yet she never hesitated to defend you," said Sam. "She protected you out of instinct."

Tony is up on one knee. "You just scared the devil out of me. I thought you were…"

"I was dead. Why? Because I fell 200 feet? Who's the hot mess now?"

Bruce cringed. "Oh. She's mad."

"It's still debatable," mused Tony wryly. "Probably tipping your way a little bit." He puts the ear-piece back in his ear. "Why don't you dress like this at home? Hmm? Sport bra. The whole deal."

"You know, I think I understand why you don't want to give up your suits. What am I going to complain about now?"

"Probably the next stupid thing Tony does?" suggested Rhodey. "Even though they can argue and complain a lot, they balance each other out. Pepper is good for Tony too. They bring out the best in each other, parts of themselves which they've always had to keep hidden."

Tony smirks. "Well, it's me. You'll think of something. Come here." He approaches her.

"No, don't touch me," said Pepper. Tony tells her not to worry. "No, I'm gonna burn you."

"No, you're not. Not hot." He touches her left arm.

"Am I gonna be okay?" asks Pepper, looking a bit tearful.

"She will be," intoned Natasha. She had only seen Pepper on a few brief occasions after she had left her temporary post as an employee of Stark Industries.

"No. You're in a relationship with me. Everything will never be okay."

"She's got that right," chuckled Rhodey.

"But I think I can figure this out, yeah. I almost had this twenty years ago when I was drunk. I think I can get you better. That's what I do. I fix stuff."

"And all your distractions?"

"Those distractions did just help save her," pointed out Clint.

"Debatable," began Sam. "They also tried to kill her at the same time."

"Uh… I'm going to shave them down a little bit." He taps his earpiece. "JARVIS. Hey."

JARVIS tells him they are all wrapped up here and was there anything else he could do. Tony tells him he knows what to do.

"The Clean Slate Protocol, sir?" JARVIS asks.

"Screw it, it's Christmas. Yes, yes." Tony envelops Pepper in a hug as the remaining Iron Man suits detonate.

"You blew up all your suits?" said Steve, surprise echoing on his face.

"You really meant for JARVIS to send them back to the mansion, right?" questioned Bruce.

"I did," replied Tony. "But when JARVIS suggested it, I thought it would be best if I followed through. Besides. I could always make more if I needed them. Assembly didn't take long."

Steve clicked his fingers as he remembered something. "That's why when Fury got in contact, he told us that you wouldn't be able to join us at the start as you had to create more suits."

"Exactly. I physically did not have any at that point," finished Tony.

Pepper watches on, a relieved smile on her face. Tony presses a kiss to her cheek. "Okay, so far? Do you like it?"

Pepper sounds relieved as she answers. "It'll do."

They hug tighter.

"Blowing up your suits was the best present you've ever given her," teased Rhodey, elbowing Tony in the side.

Tony glared at his friend. "She's liked other things I've bought her."

"Okay then, give me a list of things that you've bought her, and Pepper has genuinely liked," dared Rhodey.

Unsurprisingly, Tony couldn't think of anything.

Tony's voice-over is heard, amongst flashes of Maya Hansen; Killian; the Vice President being arrested as Colonel Rhodes watches on and Trevor Slattery being escorted to prison.

"And so, as Christmas morning began, my journey had reached its end. You start with something pure, something exciting. Then, come the mistakes. The compromises. We create our own demons. As promised, I got Pepper sorted out. It took some tinkering."

"Another few sleepless nights but I got there in the end," said Tony. "Once Extremis is there, you cannot take it away but you can deactivate it. Trying to figure out the sequence was hard work. Took me a while to figure it out." A slight smile crossed his face. "What matters is that I made her normal again."

They see Tony being put to sleep on an operating table to have the Arc Reactor and the shrapnel removed from his chest. He does a thumbs up towards Pepper and Rhodey watching through a window.

"But then, I thought myself, 'Why stop there?' Of course, there are people who say progress is dangerous, but I'll bet none of those idiots ever had to live with a chest full of shrapnel. And now, neither will I. Let me tell you, that was the best sleep I'd had in years." They see pieces of metal being extracted from Tony's chest which then flies up to a magnet which is set over the operating table.

"Why didn't you have the shrapnel removed sooner?" asked Sam. "Why then?"

"One: the technology hadn't been advanced enough to deal with people in my situation. And, two, I think a part of me wanted to keep it as a reminder of what I lived through." Tony pressed his hand to his chest, where the Arc Reactor had once been embedded in his chest. "Having it removed meant I could accept what had happened to me. I didn't just do it for myself, I did it for Pepper to. For the future I wanted to build with her."

They see Tony and Pepper on a balcony where he is placing a necklace on her made of the shrapnel pieces that had been extracted from his chest. She leans in close to him.

A soft smile crossed Wanda's face. "That's nice. You gave her a necklace made out of the shrapnel. It's a very thoughtful gift."

"Thanks."

In another hospital, Happy Hogan wakes up from his coma. A nurse comforts him but he notices Downtown Abbey on his tv screen and points to it, and the nurse returns her attention to the screen. Happy discretely looks to see if she is wearing her badge.

Natasha chuckled. "Even when waking from a coma, Happy is still trying to do his job."

Harley returns home from school and finds all his equipment has been upgraded, including a new design for the Potato Gun Mark II and a new watch for his sister. Harley cannot believe it. On the sign for the Potato Gun Mark II it is sighed by 'Your Pal, The Mechanic'.

Bruce whistled. "You upgraded all his stuff. That's generous…"

"Harley deserved it. He helped me out. Wouldn't have done this without him." Tony smiled. He'd have to talk to Harley again after these movies were over. Check up on him and make sure he was alright.

Tony walks to the edge of where his mansion had once stood, the debris having all been cleared. He pulls out the Arc Reactor from a bag and throws it into the ocean below.

Tony's voice-over continues as Tony on-screen walks back towards his car where he has rescued DUM-E and U from their watery graves.

"So, if I were to wrap this up, tie it with a bow, or whatever… I guess I'd say my armour, it was never a distraction, or a hobby. It was a cocoon. And now, I'm a changed man. You can take away my house, all my tricks and toys. One thing you can't take away… I am Iron Man."

The screen goes blank.

"No matter what happens, I will always be Iron Man," said Tony quietly. "Getting rid of the Arc Reactor was supposed to symbolise the end of my constant association with Iron Man. It worked for a while… until I was called back in."

"I guess Pepper didn't take it well?" asked Steve. "I know during the Accords you were on a break."

Tony sighed. "She didn't mind me hunting down HYDRA. She understood the importance of doing that. What she didn't like was the consequences were of getting back into the suit."

Wanda's mind immediately realised what Pepper had meant. Ultron.

They seemed to contemplate Tony's words before Clint wondered whether the movie was over. It wasn't. They still had one more scene to watch.

Tony is laying on a couch. "You know, and thank you by the way. For listening. Plus, something about just getting it off my chest, and putting it out there in the atmosphere, instead of holding this in... I mean, this is what gets people sick, you know. Wow, I had no idea you were such a good listener. To be able to share all my intimate thoughts and my experiences with someone, it just cuts the weight of it in half. You know, it's like a snake swallowing its own tail. Everything comes full circle." The camera zooms out to show Bruce Banner, asleep in a chair beside Tony. "And the fact that you've been able to -help me process..." Tony stops and looks over at Bruce as he rubs his eyes. "Are you with me?"

Sam shook his head. "You barely heard any of it…"

"I was not the best person," shrugged Bruce. "I tried."

Bruce said he was.

"Are you actively napping?" Tony accuses him.

Bruce stammered a reply. "I was… I… I drifted."

"Where did I lose you?"

"Elevator in Switzerland," admitted Bruce.

"So, you heard none of it?" Tony didn't look happy.

"I'd poured my heart out to Bruce and he didn't listen," said Tony. "I'll admit, I was disappointed. But… I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that. I just wanted a friend who would be able to listen to me… let me process it in my own way whilst having the support of someone I trusted to help me."

"I know," whispered Bruce. "It's not my speciality… but… if you want to talk to me, I will try to be there for you in the future."

Bruce looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. I'm not that kind of doctor. I'm not a therapist. It's not my training."

"So?"

"I don't have the…" Bruce struggled to defend himself.

"The time?" guessed Tony.

"Temperament," corrected Bruce.

Tony rubs a hand down his face. "You know what? Now that I think about it… Oh! God, my original wound. 1983, all right?"

Clint raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Original wound?"

Tony hesitated before answering. "You don't want to know…"

Bruce nods. "Yes."

"I'm 14 years old, I still have a nanny. That was weird."

Bruce collapses his head back behind him, knowing he wouldn't be able to get out of hearing this next story.

The screen went black.

Tony sagged in relief, relieved that the movie was finally over. He'd found it hard going, especially seeing himself with the panic attacks and how witnessing them himself had nearly bought them on him again. The last thing he wanted was to have a panic attack in front of his… team? Were they a team again?

He still wasn't sure about that.

Steve stood from his seat. "There is something I'd like to say. We've all seen that Tony has been affected by what he has seen and done. Badly enough he's suffered panic attacks and anxiety. As Team Captain I should have made sure my team were alright. I didn't. I'm sorry for letting you all down. If we are going to be a team again, I intend to be better. I want to prove that I am capable, that I can help my team when they need it. I want you all to feel we can approach one another with our problems and not be frowned down upon for the way we are feeling."

"We all have demons," added Natasha. "Sometimes it is harder to talk about them. Some of us are accustomed to bottling it all up inside."

"What are you suggesting?" asked Rhodey.

"We need to meet every week to discuss any problems we have. We need to work together to rebuild the bridges that have been broken between us," explained Natasha. "We need to trust one another." She bought her eyes towards Tony. "Tony has been hurt badly by us… I understand you may not be willing to open up to us… I know you have no choice now with these movies, but you have plenty of hurt that can easily be covered up and not picked up on in these movies."

"Very perceptive, Natasha," responded Tony quietly. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Natasha was giving him the choice to agree to this or not. They wanted him to have a choice. It helped that they seemed to want to aid him now as friends rather than as an obligation as a team.

Someone had to take the first step. "I think it's a good idea. We're not a team yet but we could be if we allow ourselves to get to know one another. Perhaps then we can solve all the problems we've had. If it works, it will be worthwhile the effort we put into it."

Natasha inclined her head, feeling happy Tony had responded positively to her suggestion.

Rising from his seat, Tony decided he needed to have his customary break from this room before they moved onto the next one. "I'll be back soon."

The next movie would cover Ultron.

He wasn't looking forward to it.

At all.

To be continued in…

Understanding the Real Hero: Age Of Ultron

Please let me know what you think!

Steve is slowly learning that he needs to be a better Captain to his team and to try to support them through issues they may have. Whether it is something he will put into practice after the movies are all watched is to be seen...

The voice is taking a backseat. They do not have much to say at present... but they will return.

I know you all want to know how long it will be until I begin posting Age Of Ultron.

Honestly, I cannot really give a date. The transcript may be completely done by the first week in August, but so far only one chapter is completed. I would prefer to have the whole fic finished again before I start posting. I am also very busy with work and I am looking to take on more hours. We are also going through a third (or is it now fourth?) wave of Covid-19 here in the UK and it is very unlikely I will be shielding again so I'm going to have to work through it.

At the moment, I am anticipating the first chapter of Age of Ultron to be posted on the 26th September 2021. I know it is a long time away. 10 weeks to be precise. But with everything going on, especially with work and the pandemic, I cannot afford to stress myself out. 10 weeks should be enough for me to be able to write and finish AOU, as well as make a good start on Civil War.

Please keep an eye on my profile here. I will post updates on there. Also, please follow me on tumblr. My name on there is the-writer1988. Feel free to send me asks or message me if you want to know my progress. Just please do not hassle me to 'update now' which I seem to be getting a lot lately...especially from people on this site. It really demotivates writers when pressure is put on them to post, so don't do it. It is frustrating when people seem to wait until 1 minute past midnight on the day I say I will update and because I haven't updated yet they start to hassle me... completely forgetting the time difference and other factors that may prevent me from updating earlier on that day.

I hope you all enjoy your summer and I will respond to comments for this chapter when I post the next story in this series! :)

Until then,

the-writer1988