Ah, a new month but also the ending to a great story. Sorry, this took so long but when writing is just a hobby, life tends to put it on the back burner. And because of the super long wait, the last chapter and epilogue will be posted together. So enjoy!
-Infinity Heart
-Pairing(s): Tony Stark/OC
Rated: T for language and slight adult situations
-Movie-based
Disclaimer: I don't own Iron Man. The characters belong to Marvel studios and Stan Lee. I only own the OCs used.
Chapter Twelve:
"I'm No Hero.."
"..We could be heroes,
Me and you.."
~Heroes, Alesso ft. Tove Lo
"Okay, I'm heading out." Tegan stated. Right after Pepper left, she made up her mind to finally get it over with and tell Joven the truth. So she gave him a call to meet her at their favorite cafe; thinking if he at least had some food he liked, it'll help ease the blow.
Tony glanced away from the monitor towards her. "All right. Want me to walk with you to the door?"
"No, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." she said with a slight smirk, "And what's with the roll reverse? You're acting as paranoid as me."
"I can't help it. Pepper hasn't called yet." he sighed, scratching his head. "What if Stane—" His words fell short as the young woman leaned over the table and held his face in both hands. She then trailed lingering kisses from his brow to the corner of his mouth before pulling away. Wide, brown eyes stared up at her.
"..I thought you said no kissing."
"I did, but I was doing a service just now." grinned Hayes smugly, throwing his words from earlier back at him. He chuckled lightly, remembering. "See? All better now. But in all honesty, Pepper's fine. She's probably just playing off that she's busy with work or something to lay low."
"Yeah..Yeah, you're probably right." Stark agreed.
"Something to remember in the future if this relationship is going further." she joked, turning away to leave then.
The billionaire silently watched her go until she was out of sight. He slumped forward and rubbed a hand across his face with a groan. How could a kiss like that get him going that easily? Sure, he could blame it on the two month dry spell he was currently having. But it was really just that Tegan had such an effect on him; which made him revert back into a teenager. The genius needed to calm down..and a stiff drink. He trekked upstairs to his mini bar to do just that.
Upon entering the main floor, muffled ringing was heard in the quiet of the room. Tony looked around for the source and discovered it was coming from under a pile of pillows on his couch. He found it a little odd that Jarvis hadn't informed him but brushed it off. Picking it up and glancing at the caller ID showed his assistant was calling. With a mental sigh of relief, he answered.
"Tony?..Tony, are you there? Hello?" The man was about to respond when a subtle shrilling filled his ear. His body tensed painfully and couldn't move.
"Breathe." came a familiar voice to his ears as he was carefully lowered to rest on the couch. "Easy, Easy." He didn't need to see that it was Obadiah which also made clear why Jarvis wasn't working.
The Sonic Taser was waved in front of his vision then. "How cheap." Tony thought angrily of Stane's way of incapacitating him.
"You remember this one, right? It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis." His face forcibly turned to look at his former friend fully. The smug smirk on the other man's face made him want to punch it.
"When I ordered the hit on you," he stated while removing the ear plugs paired with the Taser. "I worried that I was killing the golden goose." He then reached over and picked up an extracting device. Tony knew instantly what he was truly after—his Arc Reactor. The inner voice in his mind screamed at him to move as the menacing object neared. And Stane paid no attention to his inner turmoil, just continued monologue to basically himself.
"But, you see, it was just—" The device latched onto Arc and pulled, causing Stark to gasp at the sharp pain. "Fate that you survived that. You had one last golden egg to give. Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you?"
The genius couldn't give him an actual response but he hoped his eyes showed his answer—"Yes, I do, asshole."
"Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?" With that said, Obadiah pulled back harshly, snapping the wires that still connected the arc to Tony. He then removed it from the extractor to marvel it.
"Oh, it's beautiful." Stane sighed, taking a seat beside the billionaire. "Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece. Look at that. This is your legacy. A whole new generation of weapons with this at its heart. Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands."
"I wish you could've seen my prototype. It's not as..well, not as conservative as yours. Too bad you had to involve Pepper. I would have preferred that she lived." Placing the arc in a special briefcase, the older man stood to leave. "As for Tegan..Heh, don't worry she'll keep on breathing. Who else is gonna help me create more of these beauties? But I don't believe in special treatment if you get what I mean."
"What do you mean he paid to have Tony killed?" Rhodes exclaimed. On his way home, he received a panicked call from Pepper. "Pepper, slow down. Why would Obadiah..Okay, where's Tony now?"
"I don't know. He's not answering his phone. Neither is Tegan." she told as walked with Coulson and other members of SHIELD to their vehicles. They were on their way to Stark Industries. "Please go over there and make sure everything's okay."
"All right. Sure thing."
"Thank you, Rhodey." Potts said before hanging up. She turned towards Phil. "I know a shortcut."
Once the effects of the Sonic Taser wore off, Tony moved as quickly as he could back to the basement; the best solution being the elevator. There, he could grab the old reactor and save himself from death. But every move was painful. Sweat poured off of him and his breathing became labored. He was growing weaker by the second as the shrapnel dug deeper into his heart.
The elevator opened and he stumbled out; eyes frantically searching. They landed on the glass-encased arc that was a few feet away on the work bench. Though, with the genius' current predicament, the distance was like that of the ocean. Walking any further was out of the question as his legs gave out. He would have to crawl and pray he made it. Flat on his belly, Stark dragged himself the whole way. He raised his upper body using a container filled with tools and reached out to grab the glass case. His fingers tapped against it and was so close to having it when the remaining stretch in him suddenly snuffed out.
Tony fell and was unable to getting up again. Thinking that was the end of him unless by some miracle Tegan returned and saved him. A weak chuckle escaped him. Even on the brink of death, the young woman was on his mind. He then thought about her finding him dead for real that time and when she did..she would be devastated beyond help..
"Tegan..I'm so sorry." he thought sadly, closing his eyes. Just then, a whizzing noise was heard above him. Opening his eyes in a squint, he found the glassed Reactor in front of him and then looked up to see it was Dummy that had grabbed it. Guess it was a good thing Tegan spoiled the machine.
"Good boy." he uttered before smashing the case.
The last thing the young woman was walking out the front door and a sharp piercing pain into the side of her neck then blackness. The darkness was still present but she was awake now. And attempting to move her body proved impossible as her limbs felt tied together. Shouting out for help was out of the question as well for a piece of cloth had her gagged. Which meant all together that Hayes had been kidnapped..though she had a pretty solid idea of who could have done it. After a minute of waiting, her blindfold was removed.
"..I fucking knew it." she thought as her grey eyes came face to face with Obadiah. The female genius looked away from his briefly, taking in that the place she was being held hostage was the engineering room of the original Arc Reactor and was seated on a metal table.
"Glad to see your awake now." he smirked, "I wouldn't want you to miss the premiere." Her brow raised, silently asking what the hell he was talking about. The man's hand lifted, revealing the stolen reactor. Tegan could only stare, knowing there was only one of those and it was what kept Tony living.
"I'm not gonna bother going into details of how I required this. It's obvious enough. What I will tell you is the reason you're still alive. I'm giving you the job you always wanted—making more of these babies." She blinked before muffled laughing burst from her so hard that her body leaned forward. Confused, Stane removed the gag and asked her what was so damn funny.
"Because you're an idiot. If you think for even a second I'm gonna obediently say yes then you're wrong." She instantly sobered and glared at him with all the hate in the world. "No, once I get the chance, I'm gonna fucking murder you for hurting Tony."
"That's right. Keep a strong front. Don't let your fear crawl to the surface."
A loud slap echoed through the place as Obadiah backhanded her across the face. She fell hard on her side from the attack and metallic taste filled her mouth, causing her to spit red. Tears prickled the corner of her eyes, though Hayes wouldn't give that man the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Instead, she stared blankly as if the burning sting in her cheek wasn't there at all.
"Man, that felt good." Stane laughed gleefully. "I've been wanting to do that since you ever opened that smart ass mouth of yours."
A gagging noise came from her. "Oh for god sakes, don't go getting a chubby now. I'd liked to keep what's in my stomach." Not exactly the smartest to say at the moment, but her snark was the only weapon she had against him.
"Shut up." he snapped, placing the gag back in her mouth. "And watch what you will be helping create whether you like it or not." Stepping away, the man headed towards what appeared to be a bulky and oversized version of the MARK I. Tegan didn't know how she hadn't noticed it. Even hidden in the back, it was still a big eyesore.
He admired it for a moment before reached up into the gaping hole in the chest place and securing the arc inside. The young woman silently prayed it wouldn't work. That there was a wiring problem in it that he wouldn't be able to fix in time before getting caught. But fate had a horrible sense of humor as it turned on.
She sighed heavily. "Just great."
After speeding through traffic and luckily encountering no police, Rodney made it to Stark's house. On the ride there, he had tried calling Tegan but resulted in the same thing. He then called Joven, knowing he was the only other person she'd be with. The young artist answered on the first ring. James was then told that she was suppose to meet him an hour ago but never arrived. A large pit formed in the colonel's stomach. Those two were like family to him and if they were both in trouble, he was the only one to truly help. He burst through the front door, not surprised it was left open but still concerned. It was dark inside meaning Jarvis was somehow offline and the reason no one could get through to him.
"Tony?" he called out in the quiet air. "Tegan?" When no response came, he headed down to the garage—the normal base of operations for the geniuses.
His long-time pal was found the instant he reached the bottom steps. Stark laid oddly stretched out, appearing to have collapsed or worst, dead. James rushed over and turned him around, waking him up. His skin was still pale and sweaty but he didn't look on the brink of death anymore.
Tony wasted no time once realizing it was Rhodes. "Where's Pepper?"
"She's fine. She's with five agents. They're about to arrest Obadiah."
"That's not going to be enough." he said as he was helped up. "What about Teg?"
His friend hesitated for a second. "..I don't know, man. Thought she might be with you until I called Joven..but she ain't with him either." he added when seeing the short relief across Tony's face.
The genius grimaced, "That fucking bastard. Obadiah took her. She and Pep are in serious danger." He then got moving, getting Jarvis back up and running first. Once the AI was online, Stark got into place to be suited. All the while, Rhodes watched in awe.
"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen."
"Not bad, huh?" his friend remarked, stepping off the platform. "Let's do it." He pushed his still wrecked car out of the way with his repulsor to used the gaping hole in ceiling as an exit instead.
"You need me to do anything?" asked the colonel.
"Keep the skies clear." he was told, left to watch the billionaire fly off.
Pepper and Coulson along with the other four agents stormed into Arc Reactor department. It was the place where Section 16 was located and the perfect hideout since barely anyone except a few engineers every now and then came. The assistant lead the way and once finding the door, swiped her card key for access only to be denied after a few times.
"My key's not working." she told in frustration. "It's not opening the door." Coulson was handed a small device then and stuck it to the door, telling her to 'take a few steps back.' The agents were unfazed as the lock exploded unlike Pepper who flinched and preceded inside. The sound was immediately heard by Stane. Grabbing Hayes off the table, he hurriedly dragged her further into the room; not caring as she groaned in pain as the concrete floor scarped her legs. The man harshly tossed her into a dark corner and knelt down to be eye leveled with her.
"Not a word or I'll split you in two." he threatened the young woman with a firm point. She tiredly rolled her eyes with a huff. He then went to check a monitor to make sure the bulking suit was up and running perfectly before rushing inside it.
A moment later, Coulson and men arrived; guns out and eyes peeled for any possible threat. It was eerily quiet and dark inside the work room which set the agents even more on high-alert. Setting fully into the place, the original suit was discovered.
"Looks like you were right. He was building a suit." Phil said to Potts.
"I thought it's be bigger." she stated, remembering the blue prints she had seen earlier. The agents spread out, cautiously scoping the place out. Turning around, blue eyes looked up to find snapped, sparking cables like something had been there not too long ago. As she stared at them, Pepper heard a soft muffed sound to her left. It sounded human. She quickly went to investigate on her own instead of telling the men. Nearing the spot, a familiar pair of scuffed black Converses with rope wrapped around them peeked out of the darkness.
"Tegan?!" She knelt down and reached out, pulling same person into the dim light. The young woman looked beaten up some but was very much alive thankfully. Her grey eyes were tired but grateful upon seeing her. She removed the cloth gag to allow her to speak.
"..Hey, Pep." she greeted, voice hoarse.
"Hi." the older woman smiled with ease, "Thank god you're okay."
A slight smirk formed on the other's lips. "Well, surviving hostage situations runs in the family..but getting out of binds..not so much."
"Ah, right!" The assistant began moving again, searching for anything sharp enough to cut the rope. Luckily, she found a utility knife among a pile of scattered tools and got to work removing them.
"Do you know where Obadiah is?" Potts asked her once freed.
"He's here." the female genius told, suddenly frighten. She gripped Pepper's arms tightly. "We need to get the hell out now. He's made—" Just then, the clinking of metal sounded to the right of them. The two looked and stared into the dark behind the row of hanging chain for a long moment. Glowing lights appeared and risen to a height taller than either of the women; the whirling of a machine growing loud in their ears. The assistant screamed while Hayes shouted a curse before the two scrambled up and ran for dear life; not bothering to properly warn the agents and narrowly making it out of Section 16 alive.
"How do you think the Mark One chest piece is gonna to hold up?"
"The suit's at 48% power and failing, sir." informed the AI, "That chest piece was never designed for sustained flight."
"Keep me posted." Tony ordered before calling his assistant.
Potts and Hayes had made it outside and currently caught their breath, preparing in case of another fast getaway. The night air was filled with only their harsh breathing that when a shrill ringing appeared, both shrieked. Realizing it was her phone, the older woman quickly answered via bluetooth.
"Pepper!" Stark's voice filled her ears.
"Tony! Tony, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Are you—"
"Obadiah, he's gone insane!" she interrupted in a panic.
"I know."
"Pepper, give me the earpiece." Tegan said calmly from her kneeling position then. She complied, handing it over. "..Hey there, hero."
Tony smiled; a wave of relief washing over him. Even in the face of danger, she was snarky as ever. "You okay?"
"Couple nicks and bruises but I'll live. How are you even alive right now? Stane has your mini—"
"Thankfully, someone we know is sentimental."
Grey eyes blinked in confusion and then remembered the present she gave him. "How much power are ya' at?"
"45% and continuing to down sail as we speak. Look, you'd better get out of there." Before she could reply, tremor shook the ground and the black top began to rise and crumble away as Stane's suit pushed through.
"Shit!" yelped Hayes, jumping up and putting herself behind him and her. Course, she was completely powerless against his suit but her instinct to protect others won over. Plus, cowering over Stane would wound her pride and she'd rather die than let that happen.
"Where do you think you're going?" he told them, raising his weaponized metal arm. "Your services are no longer required."
"Stane!" They all looked up to see Tony flying fast towards them. Obadiah shot at him a few times before he and Stark collided, barreling hard through the ground that they somehow ended up in the middle of the freeway behind Stark Industries. Startled cars swerved or stopped around them; some even speeding on to get away from the sudden scene. Stane wasted no time once he was freed from him, grabbing the first car near—a van belong to a mother with kids inside.
"I love this suit!" gloated the mad man.
"Put them down!"
"Collateral damage, Tony."
"Divert power to chest RT." he ordered Jarvis, blasting Stane away and barely catching the van in time.
"Power reduced to 19%." the AI informed just as the woman hit the gas, taking Tony with her. He managed to get away but didn't have the chance for a reprieve. Obadiah smacked him with a motorcycle, sending him flying back a good distance.
"For thirty years, I've held you up." the man said, tossing him around like a rag doll. "I built this company from nothing! Nothing is going to stand in my way." His body was then thrown into a bus before it was blown by one of Stane's missiles. "Least of all you!" Luckily, for the strong armor and his repulsors, he made it out alive.
"Impressive! You've upgraded your armor! I've made some upgrades of my own!" Rocket ignited from underneath him, slowly lifting the bulking suit in the air.
"Sir, it appears that his suit can fly."
"Duly noted. Take me to maximum altitude." Tony instructed the AI.
Jarvis informed worriedly, "With only 15% power, the odds of reaching that—"
"I know the math. Do it!" He unfortunately complied, taking the suit up with Stane close on his trail. Pepper and Tegan watched from below as they ascended the night sky.
"Where is he taking him?" Potts pondered aloud. Meanwhile, the female genius just smirked knowingly.
"Sir, you're not going to believe this. The thing is back." said a man to his ranking officer back at Edwards Air Force Base. On his screen was an image of Tony and Stane. The army made sure to keep tabs on the suit after what happen Gulmira and it's disappearance.
"Get me Major Allen. Scramble the jets." The young man began to call when it was cut off by Rhodes.
"Not necessary, people." he informed smoothly, "Just a training exercise." They obeyed, seeing as he was higher than all of them. Looking at the screen, Rhodey thought with a smile,
"Kick some ass, buddy."
"13% power, sir."
"Climb!" Stark shouted as he continued to push the suit farther.
"11%."
"Keep going."
"7% power." stressed Jarvis. The arc began to flicker dangerously since it was never built to handle such strain. But it managed to hang on still.
"Just leave it on the screen." his owner ordered, annoyed. "Stop telling me." Even with the head start, Obadiah at last caught up. He grabbed onto the younger man's leg, pulling him down until his hands were able to wrap around his neck.
"You had a great idea, Tony, but my suit is more advanced in every way."
The genius smirked behind his mask. "How's you solve the icing problem?"
"Icing problem?" Stane repeated as his system started shutting down from the built-up ice.
"Might want to look into it." Tony said, hitting the top of his helmet hard. The bulking suit released him and pummeled back to Earth, leaving him to watch smugly. But his triumphant came short live when the AI's voice warned in a dead tone.
"2%. We are now running on emergency backup power." The billionaire started to drop then; thankfully the thrusters helping ease the way even as they flickered on and off. Soon, he managed to safely, if not roughly, land back onto the roof of Section 16.
"Teg." he called, having enough power to get back in touch with her. While he was in the air with his former friend, she and Pepper moved to a safer distance since she knew Stane was going to come tumbling back down eventually.
"Tony, you still hanging in there?" the young woman answered with relief.
"I'm almost out of power." responded Tony quickly, removing pieces of the suit. "I've got to get out of this thing. I'll be right there."
"Nice try." He dodged just in time before Obadiah's fist could collide with his head. Turning to face him, he went to attack with left repulsor but forgot it had been taken off, allowing the other man to get a punch in. Stark recovered and returned it, clocking the side of his head with little affect. Stane grabbed his torso and began squeezing, crushing the Mark III and it's creator.
"Weapons status?" gasped the genius painfully.
"Repulsors offline." Jarvis told, "Missiles offline."
"Flares!" he commanded then, remembering they always came in handy when in a tight bind. The small projectiles fired off fast at the bulking suit, hitting everywhere and causing it to malfunction a tad. It was enough to help Tony get away and hide.
"Very clever, Tony." the mad man said, searching for him once recuperated.
"Tegan." Stark whispered.
"Still here. What's up?"
"This isn't working. We're going to have to overload the reactor and blast the roof."
"Okay, Pepper and I go to central console and open up all the circuits." she said, grabbing her and heading back inside hurriedly.
Said person blinked, trying not to trip. "What are we doing?"
"I'll explain in a second." Hayes told before asking Tony, "All right, anything else I should know before frying the bastard?"
"Yeah, once I get clear of the roof, I'll let you know when to. I'll buy you some time."
"Okay, be careful, love." the female genius uttered, ending the call. She then informed Potts of the plan and the two quickly got to work. Pepper flipped on every switch while Tegan started booting up the main system to full power and ensured the reactor was ready to go. Meanwhile on the roof, Tony did as promised. He sneaked up behind Stane before jumping onto his back.
"This looks important." he said, ripping out wires from Stane's neck. Inside his suit, the screen went black, rendering him unable to see. He reached wildly around until grasping the billionaire's head, throwing him and his mask off. His body landed in the center of the glass roofing that was fittingly above the reactor. No longer with optics, Obadiah had to open his suit to see.
"I never had a taste for this sort of thing, but I must admit, I'm deeply enjoying this suit." Obadiah expressed, crushing and tossing his mask while heading towards him. "You finally outdid yourself, Tony. You'd have made your father proud." Shots fired fast at Stark. He lifted his arm in front of exposed head, shielding with a deflector. He came out unscathed but the glass roof took the brunt of the assault. It cracked and splintered before shattering fully, raining glass down on the girls below and causing Tony to fall. He managed to catch himself but now hung in the air and held tightly onto framing of the broken roof.
Stane smirked smugly down at him. "How ironic, Tony. Trying to rid the world of weapons, you gave it its best one ever. And now I'm going to kill you with it."
"Pepper! Tegan!" the genius yelled to get their attention. Hearing his voice, the women looked up in horror.
"Tony!" Potts screamed. A missile fired, meant for him, but struck a part of the roof instead.
"You ripped out my targeting system." The bulking suit's arm raised again. "Hold still, you little prick."
"Time to hit the button!" Stark told, panicked.
"We are not pressing it until you're safe!" said the female genius stubbornly. Another missile missed, hitting somewhere behind him.
"Just do it!"
"You'll die!" stressed the other woman. One more fired and landed a foot from the billionaire. The impact shook the metal frame, making his grip slip and dangle by one arm.
"Push it!" he pleaded with his friends. Still unsure, they met gazes. Tegan slowly nodded and wasting no time, Pepper at last pressed the bypass button before they ran back outside. The reactor surged quickly up, striking Tony on the way. He was thrown hard to the other side of the roof, saving him from further damage. Obadiah, unfortunately, didn't have the chance to flee. He was violently electrocuted while the reactor's pure power burst into the sky before disappearing; it caused areas surrounding Stark Industries to black out. His limp body could no longer support the suit's weight and dropped into the reactor, killing him instantly and destroying the machine. As for the billionaire..Tony laid motionless on the roof with the arc flickering softly..
