26.

New York, 2016

This got everyone's attention, near and far.

A crowd of now wildly excited people swarmed and engulfed them, putting a lot of distance between them and the people chasing them - mission accomplished.

But now they had a mob of fans to try and avoid. Thinking quick, Kass removed her small Invisi-tech gauntlet and put it on Tony's wrist, pressing the button and activating it. Tony Stark disappeared instantly.

No one was interested in her, and so with Tony invisible and the crowd now confused, this offered the perfect space for them to slip away through a break in the crowd, leaving the fans confused and disappointed.

"Thanks, quick thinking," he told her once they were out of the mall and at least across the street.

"Yeah, the invisibility comes in handy-" That was when she noticed something was off. "Wait - where's Regina?"


California, 2016

In and amongst all the chaos at the mall, they had lost her. Though they had a pretty good idea of what had happened and where she had gone - or at least who was the source of her sudden disappearance and separation from them.

The hunt to track down those who had been tracking them - Goliath and his team, according to Regina - led them to California. Back where it had pretty much all started for Tony and Kass all those years ago.

Regina had been taken and was being held at a shipping yard, only to be released upon the return of the adamantium.

"This area looks clear," Kass told Tony through the radio from where she was walking along the docks of the shipyard. "But just cause it appears that way doesn't mean it is..."

Her suspicions were confirmed a few minutes later - hearing a low creaking sound, she turned. A giant container ship must have had its motor on, for it was moving - and it was headed right for her.

"Oh fu-"

She turned and sprinted the other way, hearing the wood tear and splinter as the ship crashed into the docks, meaning it wasn't that far behind her.

"Tony, I need evacuation RIGHT NOW!"

"Kassy - I see you, I'm coming! Stay where you are!"

"Not an option! Definitely not an option!"

"I mean don't stay where you are! Just stay where I can see you!"

Just at the last second he swooped in and scooped her up.

"You really need to make my suit flyable," she told him.

"Yeah, number one priority once we get home," he agreed.

"Well, they got our attention, that's for sure."

"Which means we probably got theirs as well."

They weren't engaged in any combat until they found themselves high up on the cranes used to move the containers.

Kass was facing off against Goliath himself.

"Your father would have been proud of how far you had come in the thieving world," he told her.

"Don't call him that!" she snapped back. "And I don't give a damn what he thought about me."

"This is a lost cause for you."

"Not yet. And besides, everyone knows anything is possible when your favourite music is playing in the background - hit it F.R.I.D.A.Y.!"

Robert Plant's musical screams filled the air as Led Zeppelin blasted through the night.

"Damn it!" Kass's cry caught Tony's attention as he was taking care of some of the other guards. She was trapped, hanging off of one of the rails.

Tony reached out to her. "I've got you, okay. Relax, I've got you. Just look at me!"

"Shut up! You're making me nervous."

He was clearly struggling. "Honey, I can't reach any further, and you can't stay there, you're just gonna have to let go, alright. You've got to let go - I'll catch you I promise."

They were just reaching for each other when a blast shook the section of metal - Kass lost her grip and plunged to the series of platforms far below.

Tony stumbled back, in shock, barely registering what had happened.

"Shame. I would have caught her," said Goliath.

Tony charged.

"You really didn't deserve her."

"Don't tell me what I do and don't deserve. I know I didn't deserve her, she was too good for me. She was perfect."

"Hey-" Ding! Goliath was suddenly knocked over by a swing of a metal bar."Hands off my man." A voice said.

In a flash, Kass appeared, the Invisi-tech deactivating. She turned to Tony, wearing parts of one of his suits. "Aw, Babe, you think I'm perfect?" Then she turned back to Goliath. "Looks like you're alone, no backup. Even I have backup."

One of Tony's suits came zooming in towards where he was waiting.

Ding! The suit miscalculated its incoming and landing and hit the toe of its boot on the railing, sending it crashing to the ground.

Tony rolled his eyes. 'Whatever."

"That's my man," said Kass. She turned back to Goliath. "See ya."

Only then did Tony notice - when she had been invisible, she had clipped the bomb to the railing closest to him.

In a flash, Tony activated his own suit, Kass jumping into his arms and he zoomed away just as the explosion blasted behind them.

They landed hard on the ground below, he landing on top of her. "Got you!

"Got you first."

"No I got you first."

"Well, I'm sure I've gotten you first before."

His mask fell away. "You scared the devil out of me. I thought you were-"

"Dead? Yeah, so did I. I thought that was it. Who's the hot mess now?"

"Eh, still debatable."

It was semi-romantic, laying there, her boyfriend hovering above her, blasts of fire and sparks going off behind his head. But that could also have just been her very fuzzy brain.

"It's going to be okay," Tony assured her.

"As I recall, I'm in a relationship with you, so nothing's ever going to be okay," she recounted, making him laugh.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too."

They stumbled to their feet. "Where's Regina?"

"I don't know, she just kind of disappeared. That sis of yours sure is sneaky, she reminds me a lot of you."

"Well, I guess the whole thieving thing really runs in the family - our family legacy. Though I'm not sure that's really something to be proud of. I don't know, I just have this gut feeling, deep down, that I can trust her. I hope she's okay. I know all about that single thief life, and how lonely it can get after a while. You don't realize it, and then just one day, all of the sudden, you're hit with this heavy wave of realization that this is how it's always been, and you wonder if that's how it's always going to continue to be."

"And then you meet a dashing and handsome genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthrophist."

"Oh boy, don't remind me," she joked. "Well, my suit is toast I'm afraid. All that hard work-"

"My hard work.

"That's what I meant."

"Don't worry, I can fix it. That's what I do, I fix things."

"Ugh-" Suddenly, Kass's stomach and head both gave a violent spin at the same time - it felt like she was about to vomit and that the air had been knocked from her lungs all at once. She could vaguely hear Tony's voice calling out to her, but it sounded as though he were calling to her through water. His voice grew fainter and fainter until it stopped altogether and everything went black.

When she came to - which must have only been a few minutes later cause everything looked the same - she found Tony looking down at her, speaking but she couldn't hear anything he was saying, she could only register his lips moving. She must have fallen to the ground.

Another face joined Tony's - Regina.

Her sister smiled down at her. This time she could hear what was being said, though it sounded distant. "Thank you. See you around, Sis."

She wasn't sure if that had really happened, or if she had imagined it, but the next thing she knew Tony was helping her to her feet.

He put an arm around her as she leaned into him. "Let's get out of here," he said. "Let's go home."

Yup, borrowed some stuff from the end battle of 'Iron Man 3'. The Epilogue is next, and it takes place post my 'End of an Era' story, just so you're aware - it's all connected, just like in the movies! ;) But if you haven't read that story, no worries, just know that the Epilogue takes place following 'Endgame' - see you there!

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)