Disclaimer: For the second time I do not own the X Ambassadors. I also do not own Iron Man. I just decided that the bird bath was a failure and moved them to providing support for my grape vines. It's actually working quite well.

Chapter 24: Renegades

X Ambassadors- Renegades

"So." Angela turned from where she was foggily watching the still burning building. "I've been thinking," Tony announced.

She barely managed to keep the 'that can't be good,' from falling out of her mouth. Her thoughts felt slower than usual, and when she'd turned her head she'd had a momentary spate of dizziness. There was something important she was forgetting.

The sound of wheels on pavement drew her attention to a familiar black car. Pepper was out of the vehicle almost before it had completely stopped.

"Oh my God!" The red head crossed to them faster than a woman wearing her heels should have been capable of. Her hands hovered in the air, unsure if she should touch them, and if so, who to touch first. "Oh my God! Are you alright? "

Whatever Tony had been planning to say earlier was abandoned in favor of answering Pepper. Angela dismissed the bickering in front of her, trying to puzzle out what her mind was half remembering.

Not far from them a car door shut rather forcefully, drawing her eyes to where Happy had emerged. Angela had enough time to take in the grim look on his face and feel her stomach cringe in guilt before being distracted by the glare of the headlights on the other cars in the lot. Her brows furrowed.

"Angie!" Pepper barked.

She jerked. "What?"

The red head gave her an impatient look. "Are you alright?"

Drawing in a deep breath, Angela hid a grimace when her ribs protested. "I'm fine."

A skeptical look slid across Pepper's face before something shattered in the building behind them. Wide blue eyes swung back to the destruction and Angela's gaze followed them back to the flames. "What happened here?" The red head wondered quietly.

From beside her Tony announced smugly, "She blew it up."

Angela shot him a look of incredulity. "Don't blame this on me. You told me to blow it up. It was your plan," she accused.

"Oh my God," Pepper said for the third time, though instead of worry the words were smothered in exasperation. Her attention bounced between the two of them. "I knew it. I knew this would happen."

Tony sputtered in protest and Angela suddenly remembered a long ago conversation. She couldn't help but let out a soft, slight hysterical laugh.

Pepper glared at her. "This is not funny!" She fumed.

Angela's laughter ratcheted up a notch. It was even in self defense! Her ribs protested and she wrapped an arm around her chest to try to support them. It was futile while wearing the suit.

"I feel like I'm being left out of the loop," Tony complained. "I don't like it. What's the joke?"

"You two are impossible," Pepper spat in disgust.

Tony threw his hands out to his sides. "Wait, what did I do?"

Before Pepper could answer Angela's brain finally seemed to fully come back on line. She connected the cars with Pepper and the still burning building. Her laughter abruptly cut off. "Shit," she spat.

"What?" Tony and Pepper chorused.

Angela turned her full concentration to the red head. "Where are the Agents?"

Pepper's mouth dropped open, her eyes flickering back to the wrecked power plant.

"In there?" Angela's voice rose in slight panic.

"They were in the basement," the PA confirmed shakily.

Tony was already moving. "There's a rear loading entrance."

Angela hurried after him. The suits were not meant to move quickly on the ground.

"Call the LAFD," he ordered over his shoulder.

Impatient and worried, she flexed her hands and feet to engage the repulsors, flying ahead of him around the side of the building. She landed heavily on a dark concrete ramp, immediately spotting two men dragging out a third.

"Mrs. Harper." The man who rose to greet her looked remarkably unruffled next to his companions. He also looked vaguely familiar. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Angela blinked, part of her mind tracking the sound of Tony coming closer while another placed the voice of the man speaking to her. She dismissed it all in favor of the pressing problem. "Likewise. How many still in the building?"

He blinked in return, "Three."

"Show me," she commanded.

…...

After freeing the agents and stowing the suits the first fire truck pulled wailing into the lot. Coulson hustled them off discretely, requesting Pepper stay and help sort out a narrative. The red head agreed, but had to take a detour to sooth her disgruntled husband before heading over to talk to the incident commander.

Angela slid into the backseat, more than happy to rest part of her weight against Tony's shoulder. He leaned into her as well, head turned to watch the anthill of activity that had taken over the lot in front of the power plant.

As they pulled away from the scene Angela groped for a way to apologize to Happy. The man was radiating anger. By the time they made it onto the PCH she still hadn't come up with anything that didn't sound shallow and insincere. Glancing over at the unusually quiet man next to her, she found Tony asleep, arms crossed and chin dropped to his chest in a manner that looked decidedly uncomfortable. A soft scoff of disbelief left her.

She caught a flicker of movement from her peripheral vision and drug her gaze back to where she could see Happy dimly reflected in the rearview mirror. Girding herself, still unsure of what to say, she opened her mouth. "Happy…"

"Not tonight," he cut her off.

"Right," Angela whispered to herself. She settled for staring out the window, watching the half illuminated roadside blur passed. The ride to the West complex was suffered through in a tense silence.

It was a pain in the ass carting the suits down to Tony's shop piece by piece. Afterward Angela stood in the shower, ignoring the sting of the hot water where it ran over the cut on her face. She idly soaped her hair, staring at the wall while trying to process.

Stane was dead. That was a relief. But Pepper had almost died and Happy was pissed. Guilt curled sickly in her stomach. Tony had almost died. Tony had been betrayed, and lied to, and fought a man who was part uncle, part father, part brother. And Angela had killed that man.

She rinsed her hair out.

Stane was dead and the anger he inspired in her was not gone. Given the chance to do things over she'd kill him again. That probably said worrying things about her.

…...

Angela returned downstairs to find Tony standing in the foyer speaking with Agent Coulson. She wandered over, finally feeling the full aftereffects of her earlier fight. "Agent," she greeted.

The bland man turned to her and held out his hand. "We haven't been formally introduced. I'm Agent Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

That was a mouthful. She didn't comment but reached out to shake his hand. "Angela Harper."

"Also known as the vicious Panda," Tony chimed in.

Angela cut her eyes to him threateningly.

Tony tucked his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "Example." He nodded towards her.

"You have an impressive ability to go to ground, Miss. Harper," the Agent claimed.

If he was expecting a display of sheepishness for her constant dodging of him he was in for disappointment. "I had assistance, but thank you." She still didn't want to talk about Italy.

The older man's eyes didn't dart towards Tony like she had expected them to. "Since we've missed our chance at an earlier debriefing, perhaps you could spare a moment now."

"That'd be best," Tony advised from where he'd sidled closer to her. "Get it done tonight. Tomorrow's going to be busy." At her nod he abruptly turned, leading them toward the living room. Angela noticed how he avoided the couch, choosing instead to seat himself on one of the boulders in front of the fireplace. She glanced at him in curiosity but gingerly settled onto the sofa.

When the Agent had taken a spot on a nearby stool she asked, "So, what do you need to know?"

…...

"'Iron Man.' That's kind of catchy." Tony continued reading the article, trying to ignore Pepper buzzing around him as she covered up the bruises on his face. "It's got a nice ring to it."

He glanced over the section of the article dwelling on Angela. They were calling her 'Iron Woman' - not very original, but Tony liked the sound of it anyway.

"I mean," he continued, tilting his head so Pepper had a better angle, "It's not technically accurate. The suits are a gold titanium alloy, but it's kind of evocative, the imagery, anyway." Pepper pulled a bandage off his nose and he grunted.

Coulson crossed the room and handed him a set of cards. "Here's your alibi."

Tony took the slim stack while Pepper continued some last minute touch ups. "Okay." He folded the paper and put it down. From the front two black and white pictures stared up at him, both were from the freeway but showed he and Angela individually.

"You were on your yacht," Coulson coached.

"Yeah," Tony grunted switching his attention to the cards in his hands.

"We have port papers that put you in Avalon all night, and sworn statements from 50 of your guests," the agent summarized.

"See," Tony started, not caring for the cover story that much. "I was thinking maybe we should say it was just Angela and me alone on the island." Pepper ripped another bandage off his brow and gave him a warning look. Tony flinched under her glare. He wondered what she was warning him about.

Coulson broke in calmly. "That's what happened."

"All right," Tony agreed half heartedly. The story just didn't seem believable to him.

"Just read it, word for word," the agent pressed. It was like somebody had warned him not to let Tony go off card.

He did a quick speed read, flipping through the notes, and frowned. "There's nothing about Stane here," he realized gravely. Tony looked up in question, peering past where Pepper was dabbing make up on his brow.

"That's being handled," the plain man assured. "He's on vacation. Small aircraft have such a poor safety record."

So publicly Stane would go down in a plane crash. The idea of having to hold a company memorial for the man, as if he wasn't a greedy betraying monster, stuck in his throat. He pushed passed it.

"But what about the whole cover story that they're bodyguards?" Tony gestured and tried to find the right words. "They're my... I mean, is that...That's kind of flimsy, don't you think?" He argued. Letting fictional bodyguards take the credit, Tony didn't care for that very much. He and Angela had worked damn hard on those suits. There were some logistical concerns too, like the fact he wasn't a naïve little duckling.

"This isn't my first rodeo, Mr. Stark. Just stick to the official statement, and soon, this will all be behind you.," the man replied, trying to placate him.

Tony wasn't sure he wanted it behind him, wasn't sure it ever could be. Pepper finally finished with his face and brushed her hands off. Could he brush off what had happened to him as easily? Could Angela?

"You've got 90 seconds," the agent estimated and started to leave.

Tony flipped through the cards again, assessing. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw his assistant turn to catch Coulson before he left. They had a quick conversation before she turned from the door and announced, "Let's get this show on the road." She bent to pick up his jacket.

"You know, it's actually not that bad." Tony stood to cross the room. He was trying to convince himself more than he actually believed what he was saying. "Even I don't think I'm Iron Man," he joked.

Pepper helped him into his jacket. "You're not Iron Man," she argued.

Tony stuck the cards in his mouth and pushed his arms through the sleeves of his suit coat. "Am so," he argued through his teeth.

"You're not," she disagreed.

"All right, suit yourself," he straightened his cuffs. "You know," he began, having rolled the idea around in his head all night, "If I were Iron Man, I'd have this girlfriend who knew my true identity. She'd be stubborn," he felt his mouth curl up, "And right beside me, 'cause she couldn't stand worrying that I might die without her."

He turned around and let Pepper continue to fuss with the lay of his suit. "She'd be proud of the man I'd become, but wildly conflicted about the danger we were in. The whole thing would only make her more crazy about me." He paused to catch Pepper's eyes then asked, "What do you think my chances are?"

"With Angela?" Pepper studied him without a hint of surprise but then narrowed her gaze in thought. She pulled the handkerchief from his pocket and refolded it.

Tony waited. He wanted her opinion. Pepper knew both of them well and Tony couldn't get the taste of Angela's lips out of his head. It'd been brief and he'd still been half in panic. He didn't want to screw it up.

Angela was a force of nature, but so was he. Pepper was right, they were explosive.

The red head started to smile a little. It was a smile that made Tony very uncomfortable. "I thought so," she announced smugly.

Tony thought of the weird looks he'd been getting from her and cleared his throat a little. The woman was far too perceptive.

"You should ask her," she finally advised. Mischief dancing in her eyes she primly inquired, "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

Tony's eyes widened in dismay. She hadn't answered his question. Was that good or bad? Was Pepper teasing him?

She continued to give him a smug little grin. Finally Tony gave up on his assistant giving him a clear answer. He figured it was woman code or something. "Yes, that will be all, Miss Potts," he mumbled uncomfortably.

Tony left to head to the podium. He wondered in paranoia if Angela and Pepper ever talked about him. That could be bad. Maybe?

Rhodey was standing on the stage and Tony heard his introduction. "And now, Mr. Stark has prepared a statement. He will not be taking any questions. Thank you."

Tony stepped lightly up onto the riser and took his place behind the microphones. The situation was familiar and comfortable. It felt old though.

"Been a while since I was in front of you," he said jokingly. Tony pulled the cards from his pocket. "I figure I'll stick to the cards this time."

There was a murmur of laughter from the packed press area in front of him. Cameras flashed.

He lightly cleared his throat and then began. "There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop…"

The blonde who'd given him the pictures of Gulmira cut him off. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that those were bodyguards in suits that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you…"

Tony cut her off in turn. He was really starting to regret his dalliance with her. She was becoming annoying. "I know that it's confusing," he said sarcastically. "It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero."

"I never said you were a superhero," she denied.

"Didn't?" Tony asked a bit wrong footed.

The blonde gave a hum of denial.

He tried to gain some traction back. "Well, good, because that would be outlandish and," Tony looked down and admitted, "Fantastic." He shuffled uneasily behind the podium. "I'm just not the hero type. Clearly." There was so much about him that was not a hero, calling him one was almost blasphemy. "With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public." So many public mistakes, he mentally lamented.

Rhodey sidled over to him and whispered tensely, "Just stick to the cards, man."

"Yeah, okay. Yeah." He could do that. He could tell this convoluted lie of an unbelievable cover story. But didn't truth have to start somewhere? What happened to accountability? If he'd taken the time to pay more attention to his responsibilities to his company maybe the events of the past few months, the mistakes of the past few years, wouldn't have happened. And where would Angela be, where would they both be, if he had pulled his head out of his ass for five minutes five years ago?

And who was going to clean up the mess of SI weapons still in terrorist hands? For that matter, who was going to be held accountable for the destruction on the freeway? Well him - as in his company - but not him.

Tony could go back to his normal life, play the persona, be the playboy billionaire, or…

"The truth is," he paused for a long second. It was the point of no return. Screw it. He was the best. "I am Iron Man."

The press in front of him went nuts and he felt a little smug. In the public eye SHIELD couldn't strong arm them. In the public eye he and Angela would be held to responsibility and accountability. He'd be able to manipulate his image into a tool to leverage the next steps he wanted to take with SI.

After a moment of basking in shattering his old public persona his mind did a quick calculation about exactly who he hadn't discussed this with. Tony had to stop a look of terror from crawling across his face. He might be in trouble.

…...

Angela had been bumping around the Stark Complex West since Tony and Pepper had left that morning. There was really nothing for her to do but nurse her injuries and look over the updates about construction on her house in Topanga. She wondered if she could have them retrofit the basement with under-floor compartments like Tony's. Clicking through her email, she composed the query and sent it off to the foreman.

It'd be a week or better before Tony thought he'd have all the bad eggs separated from SI. Then she could finally, maybe, get back to some normalcy. The idea didn't settle as well with her as she would have liked.

She'd have to call Mike later, but it should just be an easy call to assure him that she was nowhere near what happened the night before. It'd be a lie. She wasn't exactly comfortable with that either.

Angela had been harsh with Mike. She'd stretched the truth, she'd omitted, but she'd never outright lied to him before. Her activities of late weren't something she could hide behind a non disclosure agreement however, even if technically it was covered.

Her options for distraction upstairs eventually ran out and she headed down to the lab. She wanted to tinker with some way to supplement the flight stabilizers that gave her more use over her hands. That limitation was seriously starting to bug her. It was worse because she'd been the one to push for the design to be that way. Tony was going to be unbearably smug.

When the time for Tony's press conference came, she returned to the living room and the turned the TV on. Seated on the couch she watched Jim deliver the preliminaries. A few minutes into it there was a buzz through the gathered reporters as Tony walked toward the stage.

Jim gave the introduction before stepping off to the side, and Tony bounced up the steps. Angela marveled at the man's resilience. After a few hours of sleep her headache had subsided, and while her ribs were thankfully not broken, the muscles in her torso protested any harsh movements.

She glanced over Pepper's handiwork. The man looked as normal as ever. Angela was sporting a huge bruise along her forehead and cheek, cuts on her brow and lip, not to mention where glass had cut into her hands.

"Been a while since I was in front of you," Tony started. He pulled some cards from his pocket. "I figure I'll stick to the cards this time." There was a murmur of laughter and Angela felt herself smirk along with the crowd. She was disturbed to find how fond that grin was, and then thoughtful. Maybe it was time for her to be bold in a new way.

"There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop…"

A blonde reporter that Angela recognized as the pushy one from her trip to Stark Industries interrupted. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that those were bodyguards in suits that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you…"

Angela gave a bit of a groan. That woman was annoying and Tony probably wasn't going to take her challenge well. Sure enough, he made a condescending face and started babbling about the woman insinuating he was a superhero.

"No," Angela murmured, shaking her head. Someone needed to get the man back on his cards. Didn't she warn Coulson?

The stupid blonde reporter kept poking him. "I never said you were a superhero," she quipped.

Tony looked a little lost. "Didn't?" He paused and glanced around. "Well, good, because that would be outlandish and fantastic."

"No," Angela said a little louder. She scooted forward on the seat and then looked around frantically for her cell phone. She needed to call Pepper. No, Jim was closer to him. She needed to call Jim. Her phone was over by her laptop on the kitchen counter. Angela rose to retrieve it when Tony continued.

"I'm just not the hero type. Clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public."

Angela saw Jim lean in to whisper in his ear. Bless him for getting the man back on track.

Tony glanced down at the cards appearing thoughful. "The truth is," he paused and looked up at the reporters. Angela felt a sick swooping in her stomach at the look on his face. Don't do it, she mentally chanted. "I am Iron Man."

Around him the press went crazy and Angela froze in front of the couch, hands loose at her side, staring wide eyed at the TV. A realization slowly filtered into her brain. "I'm gonna kill him," she whispered. The man had not just said that to a room full of the media during a live press conference! He stood there, half smirking, as the room went insane.

Angela drew in a deep breath and then shouted toward the ceiling. "I am going to kill him. No one will ever find the body," she declared clenching her fists, "Because I am going to kill him." With quick strides she stormed across the room to pick up her phone. The crazy man had no idea what he had just pointed at them.

JARVIS chimed in. "If you are contemplating homicide, and wish to not be prosecuted, it would be best if you did not formulate your plans aloud."

Pausing, Angela realized she'd been muttering out loud about dropping Tony off the continental shelf. "Thanks for the tip, JARVIS," she said tiredly. With a punch of her finger the phone started ringing and she waited for it to connect.

"Potts." The woman's voice was clipped. Angela knew how she felt.

Despite JARVIS's warning Angela announced baldly, "I'm gonna kill him." It was all she kept thinking. After fifteen years she was finally going to murder Tony Stark, and she wasn't going to feel bad about it.

Pepper gave a long sigh.

"Do you realize what he's done?" Angela asked. Because she was pretty sure the red head hadn't put it together yet.

"This is a PR nightmare," Pepper admitted.

"No," Angela drew out. "He just told the world he's Iron Man. There's an Iron Woman," she pointed out. And God she hated that name. It was worse than Panda. "The world is going to speculate about who she is," she continued. It surprised her how even her voice was after her shouting fit. "Who do you think are going to be the two front runners?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone as the assistant took in what she'd just been told. Pepper gave out a little warble of a moan. "I'm going to kill him," the red head announced viciously.

Angela nodded sagely in agreement. Tony Stark had no idea what he had just done.

…...

Notes: After a ton of re-writes this is finally done. I am so relieved, but also a little sad. During the course of this fic I started plotting these two through some of the rest of the MCU, so there will be a sequel…sometime. And while it's great to know I have a way forward with them, I'm sad that this insular little tale of two crazy smart people finding purpose is at an end. There's something innocent and awesome about the MCU Iron Man film. Maybe because it's a beginning - especially now after many of us know the end. But, that's what fan fiction is for!

Thanks for reading. And thanks to everyone who reviewed, liked, favorited, gave kudos, etc. Your encouragement has kept me banging away at this when the muse was three days dead and I just couldn't get a scene to stick after seven tries. You guys are the oil to my engine. Till next time.

-Tora

PS: In the between time while I'm wrestling with the beast that is the sequel to this fic, have a preview.

It had been almost an hour and a half since the end of the press conference, and while the talking heads were deeply embroiled in debates over legality and accountability, the real story emerging was the mystery: Who was Iron Woman?

There both were, and weren't, a lot of women in Tony's life. Of casual one offs there were plenty. Of women around him enough to make a credible suspect for a suited partner in crime, few. Angela and Pepper's names were already at the top of the list.

The front door opened, the sound of clicking heels and two sets of heavier steps drawing Angela's attention from the windows. She shifted around to face into the house, almost immediately meeting a pair of probing, whiskey colored, eyes. She must have had an interesting expression on her face because the man who owned them stilled like a prey animal.