Hey guys! Here's Part 2 of Iron Man 3! I seriously hope you enjoy it! I'm so pumped and I. AM. ON. A. ROLL! WHOOO! Let me know what you think!

FLASH!

"Tyra...I don't want you getting involved with this. You're done with SHIELD remember? I don't want to put you in danger again." Steve glared at me.

"Well there's no way I'm not going to help you. You're my friend Steve! I thought Avengers sticked together!" I smirked.

"This isn't funny! This is dangerous!" Steve told me.

"I never said this was funny. You're just assuming things now." I folded my arms. "Steve, trust me on this. Fury isn't dead...he wouldn't go out like that...this is all too fishy. Something isn't right." I grew serious.

"But we saw him...he clearly wasn't breathing." Steve looked at me in disbelief.

"I know what we saw, but I'm telling you that he isn't dead." I glared at him. "Just because we saw something doesn't make it true, we don't know the whole story, we don't have all of the facts. Something tells me Fury faked his death, and for good reasons."

"So you really think he's alive..." Steve looked at me as if I was nuts.

"Oh don't give me that look, Rogers! I'm not crazy! I'm just very fucking observant okay!" I snapped.

"Alright, whatever you say." Steve raised his hands up in defense.

"You asshat..." I grumbled.

FLASH!

"Lady Stark...I...did not expect you to be here..." Thor looked surprised to see me.

Oooh damn...Jane is one lucky woman.

"Thor, for my sake especially, put on a shirt. I won't be responsible for my actions if you don't." I told him.

Thor looked down and finally noticed that he was shirtless. When he saw how red my face was, he grinned satisfyingly before going to put on a shirt.

"So, what is the reason for your visit?" Thor came back into Jane's living room.

"I just wanted to let you know that I think I've got a lead on where the scepter is. The one that Loki used." I explained.

Thor grew serious and came over to me, grabbing my hand and leading me over to the couch to sit with him.

"Go on." Thor nodded at me.

"From what I know, Hydra got their hands on it..."

"Hydra?" Thor looked confused.

"You know the guys that Steve was fighting against during the war before he was frozen? When they had the Tesseract?"

Thor appeared to be thinking about it, trying to remember and after a minute, he nodded.

"Yes...I recall him mentioning this." Thor remembered.

"Their organization was called Hydra. They infiltrated SHIELD without us knowing it this entire time, and somehow, they also got the scepter. I'm still trying to put the pieces together, but I think I have a general idea on where the scepter might be. I'm gonna look into it some more, but- -"

"Tyra? What are you doing here?"

We both looked over to the bedroom door to see a very tired looking Jane.

"I'm just talking to my buddy here. How lucky are you to be bumping the nasty with Thor huh?" I smirked.

"Bumping the nasty? Who the hell says that?" Jane laughed.

"I do." I stuck my tongue out at her.

"I do not understand...what is bumping the nasty?" Thor appeared confused.

"It's my way of saying that- -"

"I'll tell you later." Jane blurted out.

Thor still seemed confused, but let it go.

"As you were saying?" Thor changed the subject.

"I think the scepter is somewhere in Europe, maybe in Russia, pretty much across the globe. I don't have an exact location right now, but I'm working on it. My dad and I will find it soon, I'm sure of it." I finished explaining.

"Thank you for coming to inform me of this, Tyra. I will be in contact with the Avengers soon." Thor gave me an appreciative smile.

Damn...he is just so...so handsome...

"Yeah...no problem." My heart fluttered.

I looked over at Jane.

"You are so fucking lucky I swear..." I laughed.

Jane laughed along with me as I began making my leave.

"I'll see you lovebirds later!"

FLASH!

"OW SHIT!" I flew back several feet, my back hitting the ground rather hard.

God damn it...that fucking hurt...

"What the fuck was that?" I looked around frantically.

I saw a blur of white, grey, and blue fly past me again. I got in a defensive position, ready to fight my opponent. Suddenly, a boy, maybe my age, appeared right in front of me.

"Holy shit snacks!" I screamed and aimed to punch him in the face.

He quickly moved, easily dodging my attack, and grabbed my fist. He smirked at me while pulling my arm down and twirling me around until my back was completely pressed against his chest.

"You did not see that coming?" He spoke into my ear.

Well shit...is that a Russian accent I hear? What is it with this weakness towards men with accents?

I tried getting out of his grasp, but he only held me tighter and pulled me closer towards him.

You know...I'm not entirely sure I hate this position right now...

"You are Stark's daughter, yes?" He asked.

He grabbed my other arm before pulling it down and behind my back to restrain me further.

"If I say yes, would you mind letting me go?" I practically growled.

"What is wrong with how I hold you? I think you like it." He put his mouth to my ear.

Mmmmmmm...damn it. I seriously wish he wasn't my enemy.

"You're lucky you're cute, otherwise I'd really beat the shit out of you." I gasped.

"I doubt it...you like a little danger, no?" He gently bit my ear.

I nearly jolted, whether out of arousal or fear, I didn't know. Perhaps it was a combination of the two.

Okay! This really getting out of hand now!

"Okay, pal. That's where I'm gonna have to draw the line!"

I stomped on his foot, causing him to yelp in pain as he loosens his grip on me. Using the opportunity, I elbowed him in the gut and sent him to the ground with a roundhouse kick to the face. He glared up at me while panting.

"What? You didn't see that coming?" I mimicked him.

His anger seemed to vanished quickly, because he was now smirking at me in amusement.

"You are an interesting one. Not at all like your father, that bastard." He slowly stood up, wincing as he did so. "It is shame we are enemies. You are rather cute." He teased.

"I was just thinking the same thing, speedy. You must be Pietro Maximoff, I'm guessing?" I folded my arms, giving him a chance to catch his breath.

He might be my enemy, but deep down, I didn't think Pietro was such a bad guy, he just worked for the wrong people.

"You are correct."

He looked at me in confusion, probably wondering why I held off on attacking him again. I began relaxing and leaning against a tree nearby.

"Vhy do you not attack me some more? We are enemies, yes?" Pietro asked.

"What can I say? I'm a softie towards the cute ones." I smiled at him.

I didn't know what it was about this guy, but I couldn't really hate him. Pietro looked conflicted, like he didn't know whether to dislike me or not as well.

"You are an odd one. I expected to be fighting a heartless bitch. But...you are nothing like that asshole you call father." Pietro stared at me.

"I know you hate my old man...but he isn't as bad as you'd think." I told him.

"And how do you know why I hate Tony Stark? What do you know?" Pietro looked at me with suspicion.

"Because...I saw what happened."

Pietro grew defensive and confused at the same time, getting into a defensive position.

"It's not what you think, I mean...it's hard to explain...you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I know that my dad did stupid things...building weapons is one of those things. You have to believe me though, that wasn't the real him. He's actually got a heart of gold, once you look beyond his past..."

"I wish I could believe you."

"I know what happened to your parents...and I'm so sorry that your family was torn apart because of something my father created. But killing my dad won't bring you or Wanda any peace. You'll go down a path of no return...and I don't want that to happen to either of you. You and Wanda...you both seem like good people."

Pietro grew angry and in one second, sped over to me, practically shoving me against the nearest tree with his hand around my neck.

"You don't know vhat I am, Tyra Stark. Don't assume you know me." He glared at me.

My eyes widened at how quickly his mood changed, and also at the fact that he was currently choking me. I made a move and used my fists to jab him in the elbow, so he would release me as soon as his arm bent down. In a rush, I kicked him away from me before getting some distance between us.

"I'm not trying to make assumptions, buddy. Though you are very hard to figure out." I rubbed my neck. "I'm sorry if I offended you..." I gave him an apologetic look.

"Until we meet again, Stark." Pietro's glare softened before he ran off.

FLASH!

My eyes slowly open when I heard Pepper yelling right next to me.

"Stop! Put it down! Put it down. Put it down." Pepper gasped.

My vision was blurry, but I could see red and gold.

Was dad finally here?

"See what happens when you hang out with my ex-girlfriends?" Dad tried to joke.

Dad held out his hand to Pepper as the face mask to the armor slid back.

"You're such a jerk..." Pepper groaned.

"Yup, we'll talk about it over dinner." He merely replied.

I could hear Pepper sobbing as she tried to hold onto me and grab my dad's hand. I felt terrible that Pepper was in so much pain. I could feel the hole through my stomach closing up, but it was still very painful to move.

"Come on, a little more baby."

Dad finally managed to grab Pepper's hand and for a brief second we were relieved. However, in mere seconds, Killian's glowing arm came out through the floor and grabbed at dad's armor. It doesn't take long before dad is thrown backwards, unable to move as Killian crawled up from below the floor and moved on top of him to pin him down.

"Is this guy bothering you, ladies?" Killian asked Pepper and I.

From there, Killian puts a glowing red finger on the arc reactor, threatening to melt it into nothing but a puddle of goo.

"Don't get up. Oooh, is it hot in there?" He taunted dad. "Stuck, do you feel a little stuck? Like a little turtle, cooking in his little turtle suit?"

"Dad..." I groaned.

"...they're watching. I think you should close your eyes, close your eyes." My dad kept his eyes open defiantly, glaring right at Killian. "Close your eyes, you don't want to see this."

A blade unexpectedly popped out the arm of dad's armor, so when Killian tried to hit him, his hand got chopped off.

"Yeah you take a minute." Dad grumbles.

Dad gets back up as Killian fell over and was groaning in pain. I glanced over at the still glowing hand that was chopped off from Killian's body, noticing that it was melting through the floor right near where Pepper and I were. I grabbed onto Pepper quickly as we fell through in seconds.

Shit! It's moving, why is the floor moving?! SHIT!

Dad got out of the armor running after us. My eyes widened in realization.

This was just like the vision I had...but I can still try to change it.

I grabbed onto Pepper and looked at her with desperation.

"Pepper. I'm gonna throw you over there where it's safe. You have to trust me." I moaned in pain.

"Don't you dare- -" Pepper grew scared.

"We'll both fall to our deaths if we stay on this thing, we both weigh too much. You'll be okay, I promise...JARVIS will catch you." I mumbled softly. "I love you, Pepper."

"Tyra...don't...please..." Pepper cried.

"JARVIS! Catch Pepper! Disengage on firing at her! She's infected with Extremis!" I shouted.

"Of course, Miss Stark." JARVIS replied.

"TYRA!" Pepper screamed.

I noticed one of the Iron Man armor suits heading towards us. With what strength I had left, I managed to get Pepper's body out from the platform and threw her over to JARVIS, who thankfully caught her in time. I slumped against the platform, feeling exhausted and drained. I put my hand over my stomach, noticing that the hole had finally closed after healing up.

"You sure took your sweet time healing, huh?" I groaned.

I noticed my father running towards me desperately without the armor on. I was immediately reminded of the vision I had previously, where I fall to my death. I glance down at the fiery inferno down below before looking back towards dad.

"Where's Pepper?!" He looked scared.

"I threw her over to JARVIS. He's got her." I informed him.

He seems relieved to hear this as he starts reaching for me. Moving faster as panic takes over him. When dad hears the platform beginning to creak beneath me, his eyes widen with fear when he realizes it's about to fall apart.

I guess this was it...Maybe I'm supposed to die.

"Come on Tyra! I got you! You've gotta let go! You need to trust me okay?!" Dad looked ready to panic. "I'll never let you go! I promise!"

For some reason, I feel nothing but acceptance, and the fear fades away from me. I can't help but smile at my father, who notices I'm not putting much effort into reaching for him.

"Dad. It's okay if you don't catch me. Please don't blame yourself okay?" I told him

Then, he looks more determined as he nearly has his entire body over the railing as he's mere inches from touching me.

"Stop talking and start reaching for me! Don't you dare give up now!" Dad shouts desperately. "Honey I can't reach any further and you can't stay there! All right?! You gotta let go! You gotta let go! I'll catch you, I promise!"

He's right...I should at least try. If I fail, I fail. That's that.

I hesitantly let go of the railing and started reaching for my dad again. I panicked when I heard the entire platform creak right underneath me again. I could feel myself slipping instantly.

Shit...I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up, huh?

My hand grazed against my father's before I fell, the heat of the flames pressing into my back as I stare up at my father's terrified expression. Despite falling to my death, it was comforting that my father was there. It was nice that he was to be the last thing I saw.

"TYRA NO!"

Normal POV

Tony's eyes watered at the image of something he'd never forget: his own daughter's death.

He promised he'd catch her...he promised.

He stepped away from the platform as he was practically shocked to the core. When he saw Killian coming his way, his eyes flash with anger and vengeance. While he couldn't save Tyra, he could do something else for her...

Like bring down Killian.

"A shame...I would've caught her." Killian spoke up.

Tony glared at Killian and started picking up his pace as he made his way toward him. Killian also began running at Tony as well. As Killian jumped up with his fist raised, Tony went down and slid underneath him. Finally, another suit of Iron Man armor came down and Tony immediately went inside.

And so the final battle begins...

Killian had the advantage, so far. As he grabbed Tony again, he began talking.

"Well, here we are on the roof."

Killians arm glowed brighter and Tony ejected himself from the suit before he got hit. The armor was split in half and Killian just tossed the broken suit aside like garbage. Tony fell backwards, and quickly moved to pick himself up as Killian once again made his way towards him with murderous intent.

"Mark 42, inbound." JARVIS informed Tony.

"I'll be damned. The prodigal son returns." Tony barely uttered.

The Mark 42 flew to Tony, but as soon as its leg hit the railing, it fell to pieces and scattered right near Tony's feet.

"...whatever." Tony rolled his eyes.

"You really didn't deserve her or Pepper, Tony..." Killian stared at Tony like he was a joke. "It's a pity. I was so close to having Tyra perfect. She put up a good fight though."

Killian jumped down, ready to kill Tony Stark for good.

"Okay, okay! Wait, wait, wait! Slow down, slow down! You're right, I don't deserve her." Tony grew furious. "Here's where you're wrong. Tyra and Pepper were already perfect..." He glared at Killian.

Tony thrust his arms forward and using his internal sensors, pointed right at Killian. In seconds, the pieces of the Mark 42 flew around and assembled themselves onto Killian, pinning him to the wall.

"JARVIS...do me a favor and blow up Mark 42." Tony gave the final order.

Killian screamed in anger as the helmet finally latched itself onto Killian, and Tony ran for it, as the Mark 42 self destructed.

Tony groaned as he regained consciousness. He could hear the falling debris around him, and luckily, didn't get hit by any of it as it landed around him. Tony heard some clanking and noticed the helmet of the Mark 42 rolling over near him as it came to a stop, almost like a sign. Tony just stared at the Iron Man helmet as it fell apart and was engulfed in more flames. It was almost poetic and also ironic at the same time. Suddenly, he could hear faint groaning, and Tony's eyes widened when he saw Aldrich Killian rising up from the flames. His body was melted and beaten, healing itself with Extremis. The sight was enough to shake Tony Stark, as he watched the scene before him.

Did this guy never die or something?!

"No more false faces...you said you wanted the Mandarin. You're looking right at him." He rasped. "It was always me, Tony. Right from the start. I AM THE MANDARIN!" Killian declared.

BAM!

Killian flew several feet away from Tony, who was still, very much in shock. He turned over and saw Pepper Potts in the flesh, breathing hard, glowing red from Extremis, and holding a very huge metal beam with superhuman strength. Pepper dropped the beam as she stared at Tony.

"...I got nothing..." Was all Tony had to say.

Suddenly, a surviving armored suit started to fly in towards their direction. Tony quickly realized that it wasn't aimed just at Killian, but at Pepper as well.

"Jarvis, subject at my 12 o'clock. It's not a target! Disengage!"

He put his fingers over his ear before realizing that his ear piece was missing. The repulsor beam fired from the armor had almost hit Pepper, but she quickly dodged it with her newly gained fast reflexes. Pepper's eyes glowed a faint red as she sends Tony a look of anger and disbelief.

Shit...she's not so happy...

"What?" Tony asked. Pepper ran at Tony. "Oh what? Are you mad at me?"

Using Tony's knee, she jumped on it and used it as a boost so that she could punch down the Iron Man armor that was still trying to attack her and put her arm through its chest. Thinking quickly, Pepper practically shoves her arm through until she's got the arm piece to the armor and slips it on like a glove before punching an approaching Killian in the face.

"Whoa!" Tony's eyes widened.

When did she become this super badass?

Pepper saw a mini missile from armor lying on the ground and kicked it into the air near Killian, raised her arm, and used the repulsor beam to make it explode. Whatever was left of Killian at this point, Extremis wouldn't be able to heal him from that.

Killian was officially dead. There was no way he survived all of that...

"Honey?" Tony muttered worriedly.

Pepper's eyes widened, and as if snapping out of some trance, lowered her arm as she turned over to Tony.

"Oh my god...that was really violent." Was all Pepper said.

Tony resisted the urge to laugh at that comment, and gets up from the ground as he inspects his girlfriend.

"You just scared the devil out of me. I thought you were..."

"Dead? No, Tyra managed to throw me like a ragdoll over to JARVIS." Pepper said. "Who's the hot mess now?"

"It's still debatable." Tony shrugged. "Probably tipping your way a little bit...why don't you dress like this at home? Hmm?" Tony put the earpiece back in his ear. "Sports bra, the whole deal." He tried to lighten the mood.

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

"Well it's me...You'll think of something."

Tony moved over to Pepper and before he could touch her, she panicked and batted his hands away.

"No don't touch me!" Pepper protested.

"Don't worry about it." Tony assured her.

"No, I'm gonna burn you!" Pepper shouted worriedly.

Tony touched her arm, relieved that nothing happened as his hand made contact with her skin.

"No you're not. Not hot." He tried calming her.

Pepper nearly sighs in relief, but that relief is short lived when she blinks away tears.

"Am I gonna be okay?" Pepper muttered fearfully.

Tony, feeling emotional over this entire ordeal, finds himself blinking away tears as well.

"No. You're in a relationship with me, everything will never be okay. But I think I can figure this out, yeah. I almost had this 20 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?" Pepper asked.

"Uh...I'm going to shave them down a little bit." He tapped on his earpiece. "JARVIS, hey."

"All wrapped up here, sir." JARVIS said. "Will there be anything else?"

"You know what to do." Tony continued to stare at Pepper lovingly.

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

"Screw it, it's Christmas. Yes, yes..." Tony's voice cracked.

At least he still had Pepper, he could thank his daughter for that. She was always thinking about him and Pepper.

Tony shut his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Pepper and pulled her in for a hug. One by one, all of the suits began to self destruct in the air, almost looking like they were fireworks. Pepper smiled, her eyes watering as well, as she knew how important the suits were to Tony, because they were his life's work. In the end, it was his way of saying she was more important than the suits themselves.

"It's okay so far? You like it?" Tony barely murmured.

"It'll do." Pepper smiled into their embrace.

Tony's POV

And so, as Christmas morning began, my journey had reached its end.

I put flowers on the grave marked Tyra Elizabeth Stark. Pepper stood by my side the entire time, holding my hand tightly as the tears strolled down her face. Deep down, I could tell Pepper thought of Tyra as her own daughter, and that Tyra always thought of her as a mother rather than her own birth mother. Many thoughts raced through my mind regarding Tyra, many memories both good and bad. Surprisingly, all of the Avengers had come to pay tribute once they heard the news, as well as Director Fury and several others that Tyra had actually befriended over the years, one of them being the model Victoria Harris. While the public was made aware of Tyra's passing, all they knew was that Tyra Elizabeth Stark died in action trying to stop the Mandarin and protect those that she loved. She was branded a hero, awarded the medal of honor, etc.

That was what she always did. Save people.

FLASH!

"Daddy! Daddy! Look what I made!" Tyra squealed.

I smiled and let Tyra pull on my arm as she began leading me to her bedroom. The toy car she had in her room, was currently hovering in the air. I grinned when I realized she made a hover car, based off of Howard's design.

"Wow! Look at that!" I clapped. "That's how a Stark does things around here! Good job, baby cakes!"

I held out both of my hands, and she excitedly high-fives both of them.

"It's just like the Jetsons!" She beamed.

"You bet it is!" I laughed.

"Can I ride in it?" She asked politely.

"You built it! Go for it, you brat!" I smiled at the young girl.

FLASH!

When I come to, I realize that only a few select people have remained. One of them, being Steve Rogers. Steve's face looked indifferent on the surface, but I could only imagine how the man must have felt deep down. I wasn't blind, I could tell that the old super soldier had feelings for Tyra. Despite Tyra's normally discrete and even laidback nature, I could tell that she was infatuated with Rogers as well. Clint and Natasha make their way towards me with saddened expressions on their faces, and I tolerate it all as they place a hand on both my shoulders. Clint looks the most upset out of the two, but I can tell Natasha Romanoff is trying to hide how she's really feeling.

"Hey, man. I'm...I can't even..." Clint blinks away tears. "I'm sorry."

I find myself at a loss of words at Clint Barton's behavior. Perhaps he was closer with Tyra than I previously thought.

Of course...they were her mentors when she joined SHIELD.

I don't trust myself to speak at all, but give him a nod of pure understanding and respect. I do the same to Natasha who gently gestures for Barton to walk away as he tries regaining his composure.

"Stark." Natasha finally spoke. "I'm not going to say sorry."

I find myself surprised as the assassin says this, but I don't let my anger get to me as she explains further.

"When I first met Tyra, she was able to see through me right away. All she ever wanted to do, was protect you. Anyone with eyes could see that." Natasha's eyes water slightly. "She completed her mission with her head held high. She did what she always set out to do, and that was to protect you and Potts. When she was training under my wing, she asked me, practically begged me to teach her everything I knew. She had strength I didn't know she even possessed, and I never once regretted training her. So I'm not sorry, because...in the end, she accomplished her goals and had the means to do so."

With a final pat to the shoulder, and a longing glance at Tyra's grave, she finally walks away and joins Barton and Fury. Fury gives me a solemn nod as well, which conveys so much with so little words. Bruce sniffles and gives me a brief goodbye as he wipes his eyes from underneath his spectacles before walking away. I could have sworn I saw a green tint in his skin, but I let it slide. Finally, all that's left at Tyra's grave, is Steve Rogers and I. It takes a long time before either of us say a word, but Steve's the first to break the silence.

"I never..." Steve barely uttered. "I never expected her to die. She was always holding her head up high, had this confidence about her just like you did. It was like she was untouchable, even invincible."

"Yeah...she did have that air about her." I give a small chuckle.

"Words can never express how sorry I am, Tony. I don't think there are any..." Steve sighed. "I saw her before she took on the Mandarin mission. She kept acting so...calm and collected. Like the mission was just a minor inconvenience. She kept saying that she'd be back before I even knew she was gone. I think out of everyone, she made my transition into this world the most bearable."

"You loved her right?" I spoke up.

Steve looks at me with the utmost surprise on his face. Normally, I would have found his reaction priceless and teased him relentlessly about harboring a crush on my daughter, but I resisted. Steve reluctantly, but surely nods in response.

"I...I think I did actually." He mumbles.

Steve finally moves from his spot, walking over to me before giving me a small hug. I'm taken by surprise, but I return the hug. As quickly as it happens, it's over almost just as fast. Steve gives me one final nod, followed by a saddened smile before he finally takes his leave. My hand moves of its own accord as I reach for the locket Tyra made for me the following Christmas, the one of all our family photos and others uploaded onto it. I smile down at Tyra's grave and put my hand on the tombstone one last time. I got her a big and flashy tombstone of course, already imagining that she would have argued with me about its design. I take a deep breath, before finally making my way towards the car where Pepper and Rhodey wait patiently.

I'm gonna miss you, you brat...

You start with something pure, something exciting. Then, come the mistakes. The compromises. We create our own demons.

It was a relief after hearing that Happy had woken up from his coma. Things were slowly turning up for the better. But I knew it was going to be a long way, before I was truly happy again and could function without my daughter in my life.

"Tony...do you want anything before I go?" Rhodey asked.

I was currently sitting in the car, parked at the hotel Pepper and I were currently living at, until we got moved to Avengers tower. Pepper had already went inside, but I was just swimming in my own thoughts. I think Pepper knew I needed to be alone for a bit before coming inside.

Was it hard to believe that...I don't think Tyra was truly gone?

"Where are Tyra's belongings? Do you know? She had her stuff packed while she was on the Mandarin hunt." I finally spoke up.

"Yeah...Pepper actually said that the stuff was being sent to you guys. She had it packed in her car...she was prepared for anything." Rhodey said. "You should be getting it soon."

"Thanks." I cracked a small smile.

"Just talk to me whenever you want okay?" Rhodey said. "I'm here for you if you need anything."

I nodded as I stepped out of the car before locking it, and going into the hotel to join Pepper.

As promised, I got Pepper sorted out. It took some tinkering, but then I thought to 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 had in years.

The surgery was a success, and after a day or so, I was released. I was told not to move around too much, but I wanted to look through Tyra's belongings and so I did. It wasn't long before a lawyer had contacted me, making sign legal documents before handing me a tablet. A lot of the files on the tablet were projects Tyra didn't get to complete, or ideas for updates on the armor. It took hours of searching and sorting through everything before I finally found it. Her Last Will of Testament. It was updated fairly recently, particularly, on the day she died. I wondered how that was even possible, considering she didn't exactly have access to electronics. The thought of that had chills run up and down my spine. Finally, I opened the document and began reading.

My Final Will of Testament.

There are many things I want to say, but regrettably, I don't have enough time. I've already distributed other copies of my Will of Testament to a few select people, mainly Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, and finally Nicholas Fury. This tablet, has a lot of my life's work on it, and you can probably tell that it's so outdated, yeah, well the joke's on you, this from 2008. Why is that year so significant? I think you already know the answer to that question. It marks the birth of Iron Man amongst other things. It's basically the year when my life changed forever.

As much as I'd love to go over my life's story, I'm going to skip over that bullshit. Everyone knows who I am, and they know my story already. You can thank the media for that much. (Seriously, fuck those guys.) Anyway, if you have this tablet, that means only there's the possibility of three people possessing it: Virginia Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, and Anthony Stark. Either way, one of you has this tablet. So let's get started on this sad and dramatic Will of Testament, shall we?

Dad, Rhodey, or Pepper,

I'm sorry. And you already know why if you're reading this. Clearly, things didn't go as planned, and I died a little too young. In this line of work though, you can't exactly be shocked. It was bound to happen I guess. I managed to borrow someone's phone, don't bother asking who because I have no idea. He's not exactly alive anymore. So...down to business then...

Rhodey, the Almighty Godfather,

With your connections and experience in the military, I know you're more than capable of completing this final task for me. Dr. Isaac McCone was being held hostage by Aldrich Killian, and his daughter was kidnapped as "incentive" to keep working for him. I ran the numbers and it all checked out to be true. Dr. McCone said he'd be at the Lincoln Memorial a week from now at noon (so basically a week after Christmas, beginning of January), so make sure you're there to see if he's survived. In the chances that he didn't make it, find his daughter and save her at any cost if she's still alive. Those were his last wishes. He helped in releasing me and finding Pepper, so please do this for me.

Pepper,

I need you to find it in your heart to forgive me. These last several days have been trying on my mentality. It's gotten to the point that I don't believe there's a solution other than to kill Aldrich Killian, I'm at that breaking point. I know my mission is to find the Mandarin. Well, I've found him. The Mandarin was a cover. For some reason, Aldrich Killian decided to borrow their name to 'strike fear' or some bullshit like that for whatever scheme he was cooking up. But after being subjected to Extremis, I'm clearly not myself. It's as if something dark within me had been awakened and I hoped you of all people would never see it. When I get you out of his grasp, I might do something regrettable and shocking to you. I just want you to know now that I'm sorry if you had to see it. Anyway, that's not all I want to say to you. Virginia, you've been there for me since I was but a small child, a pre-teen at most, but...you've been more of a mother than I ever dreamt to be possible. You've been there for my father, and I sincerely hope you'll continue to be there for him. If not, then that's completely understandable and I wish you the best. I love you.

And finally...

Dad,

I stopped after reading that one line, feeling my breath hitch. I grew nervous, not sure if I should continue reading, but I did.

I'm sorry. I hope you never have to read this, but in case you do find yourself in possession of my Will, I need you to know firstly, how much I love you. In the beginning, you were far from being the perfect dad, but who is really? But, you evolved and became to be a person I'm so proud of. Despite what you think, you're a hero. You're my hero. You've done right by Stark Industries, you've done right parenting me and shaping me into who I am as an individual, and you'll only continue to do right by the world I'm sure of it. I need you to know that despite the fact that I'm gone, that you still have so much to keep living for. I just won't be there anymore physically, but in spirit. But you also have Pepper, and Rhodey, and so many people that care about you. Please, don't stray off of the path of righteousness. Keep being awesome and kick-ass, stay true to yourself, and don't take anyone's shit.

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, putting down the tablet as I mulled over her final words.

How this girl had the time to write this huge email is beyond me.

I looked through the rest of her belongings, and can't help but remember every year that we'd been together since the day she was born.

So if I were to wrap this up, tie it with a bow or whatever... I guess I'd say my armor, it was never a distraction, or a hobby. It was a cocoon.

Despite reasons I have no to return, I find myself going back to the ol' Malibu mansion. Or what was left of it. I walked over to the debris, of what used to be my old home for over many years. Remembering that this was not only my home, but Tyra's as well. I decided to retrieve pieces of my old projects, (AKA Dummie). For some reason, it was something I needed to do, let go part of my past in order to move forward. Tyra would have wanted this for me, I know for certain. Out of the bag I brought with me, I pulled out my old and recently surgically removed arc reactor before examining it.

Part of my life was with this thing.

I grabbed it tightly, before chucking it out into the ocean, never to see it again.

And now, I'm a changed man. You can take away my house, all of my tricks and toys.

I got into the car, my old belongings attached to the back of the car. I looked into the rear-view mirror, feeling renewed, like a different person. It actually felt great.

One thing you can't take away...I am Iron Man.

Hey guys! Don't worry! This story is not over yet! Don't even think that! I was just wrapping up the Iron Man 3 arc. I'm thinking about doing the Winter Soldier movie, I probably will to pass the time, before going into Avengers 2. God am I excited for that. I hope I didn't confused you guys in anyway during this ridiculously long chapter. I'll answer any questions you have if you wanna PM me. If I don't answer right away, don't fret, I have finals this week, so I'll be studying. I really hope you guys liked this chapter. It's okay if you didn't, honestly I felt it was a little rushed, but I wanted to get a move on! Anyway, let me know what you think! I love you guys!

-bellas2silly