Chapter 26
"If he's right about the location, we're twenty minutes from where Pepper is," she said determinedly as the boat sailed on through the waters.
"But we also have to figure out this Vice President thing, right?" Rhodey confirmed with her, looking slightly torn.
And she didn't blame him.
One was a matter of choosing one of the most important men in America. And the other was their family.
And if they could only save one, how did they make that decision?
"I'll get on calling him," she said, as she began to dial him on the phone.
"Hello?" the vice president answered, almost immediately.
"Sir, this is Toni Stark," she said, as Rhodey stood beside her.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," the man said, sounding unsurprised. For all he had known, she was dead, yet clearly to the Vice President, it didn't make too big of a difference.
Well, nice to know people cared about her.
"We believe you're about to be drawn into the Mandarin campaign. We have to get you somewhere safe as soon as possible," she told him quickly, wanting to get across the information she and Rhodey received.
"Ms Stark, I'm about to eat honey-roast ham, surrounded by the Agency's finest. The president's safe on Air Force One with Colonel Rhodes. I think we're good, here," he said, brushing off her attempts to keep them safe.
She hated men like him sometimes.
But despite that, her blood ran cold. Did he just say the President was on Air Force one with Rhodey?
She looked over at her friend, as she realized suddenly where the Iron Patriot Armour had taken off to suddenly.
"Sir, this is Colonel Rhodes," Rhodey took the phone from her. "They're using the Iron Patriot as a Trojan horse. They're gonna take out the President somehow. We have to immediately alert that plane."
"Okay, I'm on it," his voice grew somber. "I'll have security lock it down. If need be, they can have F-22s in the air in 30 seconds. Thank you, Colonel."
"Rhodes and Stark out," Rhodey said, ending the call.
"We gotta make a decision. We can either save the President, or Pepper. We can't do both," Rhodey told her and she felt her heart drop.
How could they choose? How could they choose between the President and her best friend? The woman who had been by Toni's side for over a decade, through all the things in her life? Through the many times she'd nearly died, all the scandals the media had concocted? Through everything?
"I know this isn't easy for you, Baby Girl," Rhodey said softly, "Whatever you want to do, we'll do it. There's no right answer. Not with a situation like this. We can go save Pepper; the President has the Military and several soldiers. But Pepper is alone."
"Miss, I have an update from Malibu. The cranes have finally arrived, and the cellar doors are being cleared as we speak," JARVIS spoke through the suit.
"And what about the suit I'm wearing?" she asked, looking down at the damaged suit on her body.
"The armour is now at 92%," J told her.
"That's going to have to do," she sighed. "Rhodey, I know what we need to do. And I don't like it one bit."
"Oh?" he asked, looking over at her.
"Call Harry. Ask him to send SHIELD to get Pepper. I trust him to get her out of there safely," she told him firmly. "See if they can't send one of the supers spies or something with them."
"And you?" he looked over at her, wanting to hear her say it.
"I'm going after the President," she told him calmly.
"Not alone you're not," he said, coming closer to her.
"Sugar Plum, you don't even have a suit," she reminded him gently. "I know you're more than capable without one, I've seen you in action. But you won't be able to get there in time. Not like I would."
"Okay," he let out a sigh. "You know, I think I finally understand how hard it must have been for you all these years to watch me leave. I hate knowing you're going out there, alone, and that I can't come and fight by your side.
"I know, Rhodey," she told him softly. "I'll be careful. I promise."
He came close to her and pulled her into a tight hug, "I know you'll be fine, Toni. But promise me you'll come back to me, okay? Promise me you won't put yourself needlessly in danger if you can help it."
"I promise," she whispered.
"Then go get them, Baby Girl," he told her with a smile. "Your country needs you."
"Miss if I may," JARVIS cut in then, and she listened carefully to what her child was telling her.
Asdf
She got onto the plane easily, and part of her was concerned how little effort it took for her to do so. She might not be in the business of creating weapons anymore, but she still cared about defense. Enough so that she knew the plane was in dire need of an upgrade.
She snuck through it quietly, worried by the lack of people on the plane.
Except for the one asshole who she kept running into.
She threw him into the wall before he saw her coming. Why wasn't he wearing the suit?
He flared slightly orange, and she knew already that something must have happened.
"The President," she demanded, "Now."
"He's not here," he told her calmly. His hand glowed brightly, as he grabbed her suit, and she could feel the power surge in her suit.
"Try the jet stream?" he suggested, as he released his grip on her. "Speaking of which, go fish."
He raised a remote, and she watched in horror as one of the doors of the plane blasted open, leaving a hole in the side of the plane.
She could feel it begin to shift, as the screams filled the air.
She tried to punch the man, only for him to grab her again, and she knew it was no good. Even if she brought him down, there were still several people falling to their deaths at that very moment.
Her suit flared to life then, as the arc reactor let out a fatal pulse of energy, blowing a hole straight through the man's chest.
Well, that was one less problem for her to deal with.
"Walk away from that, you son of a bitch," she told him, feeling no remorse. He'd hurt Rhodey and Pepper; there was no compassion for men like him.
She turned then, flying quickly through the plane as she shot after the falling passengers.
"How many in the air?" she asked as the exited the plane.
"Thirteen, Miss," JARVIS told her carefully.
"How many can I carry?" she asked, as she scanned the passengers, trying to formulate a plan in her head.
"Four," J told her, and she swore.
Four meant that nine people would die still. Four passengers was unacceptable. It wasn't enough.
She felt her breathing falter slightly, as she flew towards the falling people.
And suddenly, she was free falling again, as the portal collapsed around her.
Oh God.
She couldn't do this.
Her mind began racing, as she struggled to keep herself calm.
She felt so alone, and she had no idea what she was doing.
Maybe she should have sent Rhodey after the President. She wasn't a hero. She was just pretending.
'Shine bright, my sweet girl, and know that I will always be with you. You will never be alone,' she heard the words echo in her head.
The words she had memorised from reading so many times over.
Jarvis' final words to her.
'You will bring the world down to its knees and show them all in time that you do not fall down to their expectations,' She heard her mother say to her.
She let out a sob.
'You will unmake the world as it is and write it in your image,' her Aunt Peggy said in her head, in her strong confident voice that always made Toni believe she was capable of being more than what she was told she would be.
She was Toni Goddamn Stark.
She was made of iron.
She would not break.
Nor would she bend.
She had survived Afghanistan. She had survived her father. She survived Obie. She survived being poisoned, and an alien invasion.
She would survive this too.
She took a deep breath. She had people to save.
She flew straight into the first air hostess she came across, grabbing her as they continued to fall.
"Oh, God! No! No!" the lady screamed, still panicking.
"Slow down," she told her softly, "I need you to relax. What's your name?" She scanned the lady's nametag. "Heather?"
The plane went up in flames then, falling out of the sky, as the screams around her continued.
"Listen to me. See that guy? I'm going swing by; you're just going grab him. You got it?" she asked Heather, trying to keep her as calm as possible.
"What?" the lady asked, seeming stunned.
They flew towards the man, as a plan formulated in her head, "I'll electrify your arm, you won't be able to open your hand. We can do this, Heather."
She hovered close to the first man, as Heather missed grabbing onto him. She took a deep breath and flew them closer, the second time, she grabbed onto him tightly.
"Easy, see? Eleven more to go," she told the two of them, as they flew towards the rest of the falling passengers. "Remember that game called Barrel of Monkeys? That's what we're going to do."
"18,000 feet," JARVIS spoke in her ear.
"Come on, people. Everybody, grab your monkey," she told them, as they gathered up more people into their chain. "Nice."
"10,000 feet," JARVIS said, and she flew them close enough to grab two more people. Her mask showed the missing passengers and drew a chain for her to follow. "6,000 feet."
"Come on, people," she said, urgency increasing in her voice, as they nearly missed grabbing the next passenger. "Come on, come on, come on! Yeah!"
One more.
They could do this.
They just had to grab one more passenger.
"1,000 feet. 400 feet. 200 feet, Miss," JARVIS' voice grew more alarmed.
The last one was falling rapidly, and she tried to fly them down to him faster. "He's a chunky monkey, let's get him. Hello."
They managed to grab a hold of him, just before he hit the water and she let out a sigh of relief.
Her suit grew heavy then, and she knew she had no choice but to let them all drop as they hovered a few feet above the water. They would have to tread water for a bit, but they had made it. All of them were alive.
She flew above them, making sure none of them had gone below the surface of the water.
The passengers began cheering, and she spotted a boat a few yards out that would pick them up.
"Nice work guys," she said, smiling. "Excellent. Good team effort all around. Go us."
She flew forward then, as the suit collided with a truck and fell apart on the ground.
She lost connection then to the suit as Rhodey turned to her.
"You flew into a truck," he deadpanned. "And you say you're the better flier."
"I would have been better if I was there," she pouted, "You're the one who convinced me to stay."
Rhodey snorted, "Please, JARVIS suggested it and you practically jumped at it."
She was quiet for a few minutes before turning back to him.
"I missed the President," she said softly.
"You couldn't save the President with the suit," he told her gently, "He wasn't there when you arrived."
"I should have been faster," she lamented.
"Now what?" he asked her carefully, wanting to know how she wanted to proceed going forward.
"Say, JARVIS, is it that time?" she asked, an idea forming in her head.
"The House Party Protocol, Miss?" JARVIS asked her carefully.
"Correct," she said, eyes lighting up.
Despite those idiots taking over her Honey Bear's suit, they weren't smart enough to disable the tracker on it.
That was on them really. But if anything, it made her life easier, as it led her and Rhodey Bear straight to them.
She snuck carefully onto the loading dock, climbing up the ladder in the shadows so no one would see her.
Only to be tapped on the back the moment she got on.
She turned quickly, pointing the gun she had been carrying at him.
And found she had been aiming it at her cousin's head.
He put a finger to his lips to make sure they didn't draw any attention, but the amused look on his face showed he was more entertained than worried for his life.
She could have shot him.
That jerk.
Beside him stood Steve Rogers, decked out in a SHIELD issued uniform and she could see evident relief on his face.
"Toni," he breathed out, looking glad to see her. "I'm glad you're okay."
"It's going to take a lot more than a missile to take me down," she said, giving him a smile. "I'm harder to kill than that."
He didn't look amused by her jokes, but instead of saying anything, he pulled her into a tight hug.
She didn't say a thing, shocked, as she wrapped her arms around him carefully. The two of them had never hugged before, but she supposed her supposed death had affected the man far more than she thought it would.
His body felt warm against hers, and she wondered if he always felt like this.
Safe.
"I missed you too, you know," her cousin coughed from behind them, and she quickly pulled away from Steve and hugged her cousin.
"I'm okay," she told him, knowing he was wondering the same thing.
"Good," he said firmly, "I was worried about you. You have to stop getting yourself into near death situations, Tonia."
"I'll try," she gave him a wry smile. "Now where are the super spy twins?"
"On the other side of the boat," Steve told her. "Clint wanted to take out a few people for what they'd put you through. And it means less guards for us to go through, so I was hardly going to stop them."
"Wow, it's almost as if all the Avengers came through for me," she laughed quietly.
"Bruce is with Ava," Harry told her softly, "She wanted him to be here, but he doesn't feel comfortable releasing the Hulk unless necessary."
"Good," she nodded, "He can keep her safe. I'm not having anyone else I love be targeted because of me."
"Toni," Rhodey warned her. She simply shook her head at him, and he sighed. "Okay, let's get this show on the road. We still have to save Pepper and the President."
She nodded as they moved through the shipping yard.
And there, in the middle of it all, wearing the suit she had made to keep her Rhodey safe, was the President, suspended in the air by chains.
"Oh, my God," Steve breathed out.
"He's strung up over the oil tanker. They're gonna light him up, man," Rhodey said, sounding worried.
"Viking funeral," she said in understanding.
"Public execution," Harry said grimly.
"Yeah, death by oil," Rhodey confirmed.
"We need to move fast," Toni told them all. "Get him down before the broadcast starts."
"You don't have a suit, Toni," Steve reminded her gingerly, "Plus you're hurt."
"I know how to fight, Captain," she told him firmly. "And right now, we need all the help we can get if we're going to bring this guy down."
"Stay in the shadows," Harry told them carefully. "We can't be seen."
She nodded, as they made their way through the shipping yard, carefully climbing on top of a ladder to get closer to the President.
"Broadcast will commence shortly. Take final positions," she heard a voice say on the PA system.
"Is your gun up?" Rhodey asked her as through the levels.
She was glad he was in front of her, and she quickly raised her gun, "Yep. What do I do?" she asked, as Harry snickered at her.
"Stay on my six, cover high and don't shoot me in the back," Rhodey said, sounding fond of her, despite the slightly tense situation they were currently in.
"Mmhm," she nodded, "Six, high, back. All right."
The shot came out of nowhere as Steve pushed her to the ground, "Watch out," he said, dropping on top of her to cover her from getting hit.
He got off of he, and she held her gun up, shooting back at the man at the roof.
The shots came down like rain fire and she ducked behind a shipping container.
"You see that? Nailed it," she said, sounding proud of herself.
"Yeah, you really killed the glass," Rhodey deadpanned.
"You think I was aiming for the bulb?" she asked, giving him a look, "Besides, it's not like you can't hit a bulb at this distance."
He gave her a look, before moving away from the safety of the container to shoot a bulb dead on.
"Fine, I guess you can," she sighed.
"Not the time," Steve said tightly, as he threw his shield at a man approaching, knocking him out.
"All personnel, we have hostiles on east unit 12. I repeat, hostiles on east unit 12," a voice cried over the PA.
"Well I guess our cover is blown," Harry said, with a roll of his eyes.
She strained to look over the shipping container, as she saw a group of men approaching their way. And as two spies came up from behind them, taking them out swiftly, she nearly let out a cheer.
"What did you see?" Steve asked her.
"Clint and Natasha are kicking ass," she grinned. "Glad we brought the spy twins. But also, there's another group heading out way. Three guys, one girl, all armed."
The four of them carefully looked over the shipping container, guns raised.
"God, I would kill for some armour right now," Rhodey said, frustrated.
"Can't keep up without it, Old Man?" Harry grinned at him.
"I'm sorry when you can shoot cool weapons out of your body without a suit then we can talk," Rhodey smirked at him.
"We need backup," Toni agreed with Rhodey.
"Yeah, a bunch," Rhodey nodded, as the amount of men increased.
"You know what?" Toni said, as she gestured with her head as she knew the House Party Protocol was being carried out.
"Is that?" Harry asked as the bright lights came their way.
"Yep," she said, proud.
"Are those?" Rhodey asked in awe.
"Yeah," she beamed, as the suits stood in front of them in the sky, ready for action. "Merry Christmas, buddy."
"I didn't know you made so many," Steve breathed out. "Toni, those are incredible."
"Thanks," she flushed slightly, before turning to speak to her AI. "JARVIS, target Extremis heat signatures. Disable with extreme prejudice."
"Yes, Miss," JARVIS responded, voice coming through all the suits he was piloting.
What would she do without her baby boy?
"What are you waiting for? It's Christmas," she said, raising her arms, "Take them to church."
And just like that, the suits began taking out Killian's lackeys, one by one.
"Incoming!" she shouted, as they ducked while a suit crashed by them and onto the ground. She could feel the ground begin to shift under her. "JARVIS, get Igor to steady this thing."
"This is how you've been managing your down time, huh?" Rhodey asked her carefully, "Instead of sleeping?"
"Everybody needs a hobby," she said nonchalantly. Steve looked at her carefully then, and she wondered if she would get another lecture now, or if it could wait til after.
"Heartbreaker, help Red Snapper out, will you?" she asked, as one of her suits struggled to take on three of the Extremis powered soldiers.
She watched as fire emerged around her from the Extremis attackers and her suits.
A suit dropped in front of her, one of her earlier models, and she let it envelop her carefully.
"Time to put an end to this," she said.
"Go," Steve said to her carefully, "We'll take the soldiers. Find Miss Potts and the president."
"Oh, yeah. That's awesome. Give me a suit, okay?" Rhodey said, looking at her expectantly.
She wanted to laugh and make some quip about how the suits were just for her. But she'd changed her code already, several times, to make it so in case something happened to her, Rhodey could pilot them. Given the circumstances of her near Palladium poisoning, she wanted to make sure the world would be safe.
Just because she never told Rhodey that, didn't mean he had any less access.
"Take Mark 21," she told him carefully, "It's most similar to your War Machine suit."
"You know what, after AIM was responsible for the entire Iron Patriot rebranding, I think we'll change the name back," Rhodey grinned at her.
Together, the two of them shot up into the air, ready to take on whatever else was thrown their way.
"Miss, I've located Ms Potts," JARVIS spoke in her ears.
"Thanks Baby," she told him with a grin. "Let's go get our girl, shall we?"
She landed carefully, inside the control room, as she looked around the fallen debris.
She went to lift it when Pepper started screaming, "Stop! Put it down. Put it down. Put it down."
"Pep," she said, lifting her face plate, "It's me. I'm here. I'll get you to safety, I promise."
"Toni," she let out a relieved sob, "I got your message, but I was so worried. Thank God you're okay."
"Let's get you out of here," she told Pepper gently, "Take my hand, Pep. I got you."
Pepper reached out to her, and Toni strained, trying to take her hand in hers, as a hole made way in the floor. She felt a hot hand reach up and clench her arc reactor, and she let out a wince of pain as she fell on her back.
She watched as Aldrich Killian rose in the air, body burning up.
"Is she bothering you?" Killian asked, trying to be all smooth.
Oh she hated men like him.
"Don't get up," he moved quickly, until he was straddling her. "You know there was a point in my life when I wanted you on your back. And I wanted to give it to you hard for how you treated me that night. But now, having you here, I don't see what all the fuss is about."
"I could say the same thing," she smirked, "You seem really keen on pushing these new powers of yours. Compensating for something?"
He glared at her, lighting his finger up as he placed it over her heart, "Ooh. Is it hot in there? Stuck? Do you feel a little stuck? Like a little turtle, cooking in her little turtle suit."
"Oh, Toni," Pepper groaned.
"She's watching," Killian grinned down at her, "How does it make you feel to know she's going to watch you die? I think you should close your eyes. Close your eyes. Close your eyes, Baby. You don't want to see this."
She glared back up at him.
She didn't listen to the countless other assholes trying to tell her how to live her life, why would she listen to him?
He grew angry at that, raising his arm to hit her down, and a long blade came out of her suit then, cutting his arm off cleanly.
He stumbled off of her, as she said, "Yeah, you take a minute."
The severed arm burned a hole through the floor, and she saw Pepper fall then.
She stumbled out of her broken suit, as Pepper remained trapped in a moving contraption. She ran towards her, dodging the men that came her way.
"JARVIS, give me a suit right now!" she screamed as she jumped over two disconnected sections.
A suit hovered near her and she tried to jump into it, only for it to be blown to shreds.
"Oh, come on!" she screamed.
"I got eyes on the President," Rhodey said over her comms. "I'm going to get him."
"I might need some help with Pepper," she said with a grunt.
"On it," Steve confirmed, "On my way, Stark."
She barrelled towards Pepper, dropping down onto a shipping container trying to get closer.
"The President is secure," Rhodey's told them. "I'm clearing the area."
"Nice work old man," Harry said in response.
"And I did it without a suit," Rhodey said, pride in his voice.
"Yeah you did, Honey Bear," she grinned.
She moved closer to Pepper, seeing her dangling in the air.
"Toni, I'm here," Steve said, as he approached them.
"Nice to see you again, Captain," she said, slightly tense. "Help me try and get her down."
She leaned up, trying to get Pepper, but came short by a few feet, "Pep, I got you. Relax, I got you," she said, as Pepper screamed, "Just look at me!"
"Miss Potts, you need to let go," Steve said softly, as the mechanisms began to shift.
"Pepper, I can't reach any further and you can't stay there. All right? You've got to let go. You've got to let go! I'll catch you, I promise," she told her friend.
It jolted then, and she watched in horror as Pepper began to fall, only for Steve to grab her at the last second.
"I have her," Steve told Toni, as he pulled the woman up. "Miss Potts is secure."
She let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Steve," she said, as she pulled Pepper into her arms. "You're safe, Pep," she told her friend as Pepper sobbed into her arms, "But you need to get out of here, okay? You cannot stay here. Captain, can you get her clear of here until JARVIS can send a suit for her, please?"
"On it," Steve told her with a nod, "What are you going to do?"
She gestured back towards Killian who was making his way towards her, "I have an appointment with an old friend."
"Be careful," Steve told her softly, "I'll be back here as soon as Miss Potts has cleared the site."
She nodded at them, as she turned her attention to the man approaching.
"It's a shame. I would've caught her," Killian told her with a shrug, "Guess you do need someone around to help you after all."
She moved towards the man quickly, knowing she had no suit, and no powers.
She slid under him as he lunged in the air, and straight towards the suit that had landed towards her.
He hit her in the face, and she punched him straight in the stomach as her suit flared slightly. She grabbed his face, shoving it towards the metal railing and he ripped off a piece of her armour, as he ran towards her and shoved her straight to the ground.
He landed on top of her again, trying to punch her in the face.
But she was done being on her back around him.
"Eject," she said quickly, as she shot backwards, free falling again. But this time she knew she would be caught.
And sure enough, another suit enveloped her seconds later, as she flew straight up, picking up Killian, and slamming him straight to the ground.
She saw his shirt burn off from the heat radiating from his core and she aimed her thrusters at him, as he dodged her attacks and grabbed her hand, aiming it back at her.
The suit kept her afloat, as she tried to bring her down. He nearly sliced off her leg, as she ejected that portion quickly, as he hit her with her own armour and brought her to her knees.
She tried to punch him, as he grabbed her hand, crushing it in his.
"Well, here we are on the roof," he said with a smirk. "Only took us decades to get here."
"I never owed you anything," she spat back at him. "You're nothing more than an entitled nice guy, who thinks they're owed the world. News flash, you aren't owed shit."
His hand reached back as he brought it down on her, slicing through her suit. She fell out of it, and onto the platform beneath them.
She heard a flight sound and looked up in shock as J spoke into her ear, "Mark 42, inbound."
"I'll be damned. The prodigal son returns," she beamed up at her youngest child.
She lay our arm out, ready for the suit to attach itself to her, only for it to crash just feet away.
She sighed.
She'd need to work on that.
"Whatever," she groaned.
"You really don't deserve her, Toni," Killian looked down on her. "She was nothing more than a glorified secretary for you, even after all this time. "It's a pity. I was so close to having her perfect."
He landed on her level and she stood firmly, meeting his gaze.
"You're right that I don't deserve her," she told the man firmly, "But she is not a secretary. She is the most badass woman I know. She's my COO, helps run several of my foundations, and beat me out as the most powerful woman in America last year. And she deserved that. But you're wrong that she needs to change. She always perfect. She doesn't need some serum to make her better."
She lifted her hands then, directing the suit to attach itself to Killian. It restrained him, holding it back.
"JARVIS, do me a favour and blow Mark 42," she said, throat clenching. The suit didn't have any sentience, not of it's own. Not like her bots or JARVIS. But it still hurt to watch.
She jumped away then as Killian screamed, the flames quickly overtaking the roof.
A faulty suit caught her as she crashed downwards, only to land on top of Steve Rogers. His arms tightened around her as she landed straight on his chest, and she wondered if she'd hurt him with the fall.
"I got you," he said as he padded her fall. "I got you, Toni."
She smiled up at him, "Thanks for breaking my fall."
"Any time," he grinned, as she stood carefully, as he helped her up.
The ground beneath them began to shift, "We should go," she told him quickly. "Need a ride?"
"I wouldn't be opposed," he shrugged, as she held onto him tightly, trying to fly them both down to the ground in the few pieces of armour she had on.
She looked over at where Mark 42 lay in pieces, and she wondered if she'd made the right call.
"It's over," Steve told her carefully. "It wasn't your fault Toni."
"It was my call," she reminded him. "I could have tried to save him."
"He didn't want to be saved," he told her gently. "It was you or him. And for what it's worth, I'm glad it was you."
He brushed a strand of hair away from her face then, as she saw something emerge from the flames.
"Dear God," Steve breathed as the burnt man made its way towards them.
Extremis was burning through him, and she could see fire pouring out of his body.
"No more false faces. You said you wanted the Mandarin. You're looking right at him. It was always me, Toni. Right from the start. I am the Mandarin!" he shouted.
Steve raised his shield, ready to fight him, as Toni looked at the burning man. Her suit was too damaged to fight, and she didn't know if another one could get to her in time.
Pepper came up from behind him then, hitting him with a large pole, as she pushed him to the side.
Her body was glowing orange and Toni let out a strangled breath.
"I'm not going to sit on the sidelines while you get hurt, Toni," Pepper told her firmly, "I'm your family. That's not how this works."
A suit flew towards them then and she knew her order meant Pepper would be in danger.
"JARVIS, subject at my 12 o'clock is not a target, disengage!" she shouted, but unfortunately for her, her comms had flown out.
Pepper ran towards her, using her as leverage then, as she jumped into the air, and took Toni's suit out with a single punch.
She threw Killian back as she kicked a missile at him and used the repulsors of the suit to light it up.
"That was incredible," Clint said, as he came up behind them then, "Stark your girl is a badass. Maybe I was sent in to seduce the wrong woman."
Steve glared at him then and Toni laughed, "I doubt you could seduce Pepper if you tried. She's too good for us all. A goddess among men and women alike."
She looked carefully over at her friend, as Natasha looked ready to engage if Pepper lost control.
"Pep?" she said softly.
"Oh, my God. That was really violent," Pepper said, looking stunned.
"You just scared the devil out of me," Toni told her carefully, as she moved over to her. "I'm glad you came back, because honestly I don't know if we could have handled him alone. Killian was kicking my ass."
"Who's the hot mess now?" Pepper let out a hysterical laugh.
"It's still debatable," Toni shrugged, "You've read the articles about me. But right now, probably tipping your way a little bit. Why don't you dress like this at home? Hmm? Sport bra. The whole deal."
Pepper threw her head back and laughed slightly, as Toni moved closer to her.
"You know, I think I understand why you don't want to give up the suits," Pepper said, looking down at her body
She moved to hug Pepper, only for her to back away, "No, don't touch me. I'm gonna burn you."
"No, you're not," she told Pepper carefully, touching her arm, "Not hot, okay?"
"Just a little bit hot," Clint leered quietly, and Steve hit him on the head.
"Am I gonna be okay?" Pepper asked her carefully.
"No," Toni shrugged, "You work with me. And you're my family. So 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. I was reminded recently that I'm somewhat of a mechanic. I think I can handle this."
"And all your distractions?" Pepper asked her carefully, "I won't ask you anymore to stop with the suits, Toni. As long as you don't hide behind them. You need to face your problems head on and not go into life without sleeping.
"You're right," Toni sighed, "I'm going to work on that. Get some help, maybe. JARVIS. Hey. How are we doing on clean up?"
"We got all the soldiers," Natasha told her with a nod. "And all the regular humans have been detained."
"All wrapped up here, Miss. Will there be anything else?" JARVIS asked her as she paused for a minute.
"You know what to do," she said. The suits were damaged and if anything, she learned she needed to take a step back and deal with her issues. More suits wouldn't help her, not really.
"The Clean Slate Protocol, Miss?" JARVIS asked.
"Yes," she nodded as she took a step back.
The rest of her group looked confused, except Rhodey who gave her a look of pride. He wrapped his arms around her, and the group looked off as her suits went off one by one, almost like fireworks.
"You really know how to put on a show," Harry grinned at her.
"It's beautiful," Steve looked up in amazement, and she smiled over at the man.
It was finally over.
Well, not really.
The Vice President was apprehended with Rhodey there to oversee it. Trevor Slattery brought in, taking in all the fame that came with it. And the Extremis removed from Pepper.
But that wasn't all.
She knew logically the reactor in her chest was a crutch. One that had to go. One that would continue to nearly kill her every day.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Rhodey asked as she lay in the hospital bed.
"There are other ways," Ava told her as she held her hand in hers. "You don't need to do this."
"I know," she told her family carefully. Happy was standing close to Pepper, as Harry looked worried about her. "But I do need to do this. I need it out of my chest, if I want any chance of having a normal life from here on out. Or as normal as it can be."
"We're here for you, Sweetheart," Uncle Daniel said, giving him a smile. She'd told him he didn't need to come all this way, not when Aunt Peggy would be alone if he did. But Aunt Peg had been having one of her good days during those calls and yelled at her for that, saying that she would be on the next plane over if given the chance.
"It'll be okay," Pepper said to her, "The doctors are the best available. You'll be okay, Toni."
"I know," she smiled up at them.
"Miss Stark?" a nurse said, as she came into the room. "It's time. If we could clear the room, we can get you ready for the operation."
They say that change was progress is dangerous, but she'd bet none of those idiots ever had to live with a chest full of shrapnel. And now, neither would she.
When she woke up from the surgery, she knew she'd need to be better.
To do better.
She had PTSD, she knew that much. But she owed it to her family to get help.
She stood there, at the edge of the cliff where her house once lay, as she took the reactor out of her chest and threw it into the water.
She knew it was symbolic really. She could build more easily. Plus the element she'd discovered had been removed so no one could fish it out and use it in the future.
But it felt good to let it go.
To move on.
"We'll rebuild," Rhodey said, coming up from behind her. "Pepper's already contacted the contractors."
"Good," Toni said with a smile, "But for now, I want to go back to New York. I have amends to make. And I want to be there for Peter. His family was right to keep me away, but if they'll have me, I want to show them that I can be better. That I can do better."
"You already are," Rhodey kissed her head gently, "I'm so proud of you, Toni, and how far you've come. You've made us all so proud."
"I love you too, Rhodey," she grinned up at him.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked her, "The bots are getting restless."
She grinned at him, "Of course my babies are. They must have been so worried."
She walked back with him then, getting into her red sports car with an attachment so she could bring her bots back to New York with her.
At the end of the day, even without her money and toys, she knew she was enough.
She was Iron Woman.
And that's all there was to it.
Which brought her back to the current moment. She opened her eyes then, looking around the room.
"Thanks for listening," she said softly as she sat up on the couch. "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. And the fact that you've been able to help me process it all.
Bruce had been furious with her when she'd returned, and she knew that it was because he'd cared about her. And he'd been the only one not there to help her fight.
She stood by his reasons, and she knew she wouldn't want him to do anything that made him uncomfortable.
"Toni," Bruce told her softly, "You gave me a home when no one else could even look at me without fear in their eyes. I might not be a psychiatrist, but I'm always here to listen to you as your friend. That's what friends are for, right?"
She grinned at him, "Right."
Because no matter how she'd felt over these last few months, she knew she wasn't alone. No matter what life threw her way, she'd have her family behind her.
