A/N: This is odd for me, as I have started writing this chapter even before posting the next. At the moment, it's with my betas and awaiting feedback. That being said, I've been on a MCU kick lately, and watching everything all again from the beginning, so I figured why not keep writing while the character voices are prevalent in my mind.

I did change my mind about one thing though. Originally, I was planning on having this chapter being the events of Iron Man 3, with the bits I wanted to show last time as flashbacks at the beginning of the chapter. However, I got a few different ideas in the meantime and decided to instead do this. Events here start near the end of the conversation between Tony and Natasha from last chapter, and then run parallel to the events of The Coming of the Melter comic.

Peace and Out,

Pwn Master Paladin

Chapter Three: Hot Flashes

"Miss Potts, if you are not going to sleep, I believe you would be best suited in heading to the common area. Captain Rogers and Doctor Banner are there awaiting your arrival."

Pepper looked up in surprise from the report of SI investments that she had been reading. When Tony had moved down to the garage again she had resolved to wait for him tonight and see if she could figure out why he was sneaking out to build instead of staying with her, and while waiting had decided to get some work done. She thought about questioning why she should leave, but instead moved towards the door as JARVIS had never led her wrong. Shrugging on a thick robe over her sleepwear, she decided to follow the AI's suggestion. "Thank you JARVIS. Could you get the reports about the latest toy-line sales ready for me?"

"It will be waiting for you upon your return."

Pepper moved towards the elevator, barely even noticing that she didn't have to press the button now. With JARVIS fully integrated into the building after the redesign, it was becoming a common occurrence that he anticipated the needs of those living in the Avengers section. As she stepped in, the elevator began lifting the short distance between the two floors from her apartment with Tony to the common area. Stepping out she recognized the other two men sitting on the couch and moved to join them, stopping to grab a drink for herself along the way. "Bruce. Captain Rogers. I didn't expect to see you up this late."

"It's Steve, Miss Potts. And we weren't planning on it. The vibrations..."

Pepper sighed, nodding her head as she sat on a chair facing the other two. "Say no more. And it's Pepper."

Steve nodded as Bruce shifted, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes as he did, and from the short time that Pepper had known him she could tell he was thinking of the best way to say something uncomfortable. "About that...did you ever think about why Tony was having trouble sleeping, and seemed to be working on the armors non-stop?"

Pepper set her cup down, a brief look of shock flashing across her face. "Well...no, not really. I was up tonight and planning on asking when he came back, but only because he waited till I was nearly asleep and then proceeded to sneak out. He was never exactly adverse to long nights working before, so I just thought he might have ideas he couldn't get out of his head. It's the hiding from me and sneaking around I have a problem with, not the work itself."

Bruce nodded, sitting back and letting Steve lean forward instead, and some part of her wondered if they had rehearsed the move because it was so in sync with each other. "He probably does ma'am. Have ideas he can't shake, I mean. But not in the way you might think." Steve sighed as Pepper tilted her head slightly in confusion, trying to parse what he was saying. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. When the vibrations woke up me and Natasha, we found Bruce out here. He explained what had been going on while we were away. Natasha didn't recognize it, but it reminded me of the Commandos who got a case of shell shock, and Bruce agrees it's probably a case of anxiety disorder."

Pepper started to laugh at what she saw as an absurd idea of Tony Stark, of all people, having anxiety, until she saw how deadly serious the two men were being, and their solemnity convinced her that this wasn't a joke. She thought back over the past weeks, running everything Tony had been doing and saying, or not as the case may be, along with what Rhodey had told her and the nightmares that Tony had on and off while they had been living together. Filtering everything through what, admittedly little, she knew about anxiety attacks and issues, her face paled and she tensed in her chair. "Oh. Oh, God,"

Bruce made a calming motion with his hands, putting his glasses back on as he spoke. "Now, it's...it's not as bad as it could be. Tony hasn't had any reactions in the labs while I've been with him that I've seen. It mostly seems to be restricted to his dreams."

"Which is why he doesn't sleep?"

"Exactly. But we've got to get Tony to talk about this, or it could spread out into the waking hours as well. If it evolves into a full blown case of PTSD, he could be flying in one of the suits, see something that triggers an attack, and that would be...bad."

Pepper narrowed her eyes at the way Bruce was shifting, her voice coming out more clipped than usual in response. "Define bad."

Surprisingly, it was Steve who answered her, and his voice was steady, even if tinged with a hint of past pain. "When I pulled the Commandos from HYDRA's work camp, there was one man...he seemed fine. But in one fight at one of their other factories, he saw something that set him off. He just...snapped, attacking an empty suit of armor, shooting it until the gun clicked empty. And then he jumped on it and punched it again and again. By the time I got to him, his knuckles were already bloody, and when I tried to pull him off the suit and get him back in the fight, he punched me, hitting dead center on the shield. Broke his hand in two places. Nothing I did in that place could bring him out of whatever nightmare he was seeing, so I knocked him out and took him back to base. When he came to and was told what happened, he apologized to me profusely, promised it wouldn't happen again, but Colonel Phillips couldn't take the chance. He was sent home to recuperate. Now what happened was bad enough, losing his head in a fight could have endangered the whole operation, but if he hadn't have run out of bullets, would he have shot at me instead of punching me? Or one of the other Commandos, if they got to him first?"

Pepper could see the logic in what Steve was saying, but to imagine Tony losing control like that, especially in one of his armors... "I don't know what to say. How did I miss this?"

"I feel the fault lies with me, ma'am" The trio turned, seeing JARVIS' visual matrix appearing on one of the screens along the wall. "Had I not assumed that Mr. Stark's physical well being was all I needed to monitor, perhaps I would have been able to alert you before this point."

"JARVIS, you shouldn't blame yourself." Pepper sighed again, knowing that telling the AI not to blame himself would be an exercise in futility, but that it needed to be said anyway. Turning back towards the other two, she squared her shoulders and put her focus on Bruce, turning the same intensity that made her an effective CEO to Stark Industries towards this new issue that she was now aware of. "What do we do?"

"Agent Romanoff is talking to him downstairs, and she seemed pretty convinced that she could get him to admit needing help." Bruce looked a little skeptical about that prospect, and Pepper internally agreed. Tony asking for help was not likely to happen, but if anyone other than her or JARVIS could do it, it was Natasha. She'd seen what the other woman was capable of and knew to respect it. Bruce continued to talk, and Pepper brought her focus back to the present. "If—no, when he talks, we have to identify what specifically is his trigger, and work to help him through it. Cognitive behavioral therapy shows the most promise, from what I remember of looking up methods to deal with the Hulk."

"And how does that work, exactly?"

Bruce leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands as he considered the question and tried to remember everything he could. "First, you identify whatever the source of the anxiety or trauma is, and how thoughts and feelings about the trigger create a feedback loop. A loop is, essentially, the mind spinning in on itself, the trigger setting them back into the source of the anxiety, over and over again, until it's a downward spiral. Shortness of breath, heart attacks, even believing that he's back at whatever caused the PTSD in the first place, and not seeing the world around him, like Cap's friend. At first, simply avoiding the trigger outside of therapy sessions helps, but that's a band-aid. Band-aids can fall off. Instead, CBT tries to help the patient change the way they think about the trigger – keep it from becoming so overwhelming that it leads into one of the attack-inducing loops." Bruce turned towards the screens again, calling out as he did. "I assume you've been looking up treatment and data, JARVIS. Would you say that was a good summary?"

"I have Doctor Banner, and yes. That serves as a basic summation of treatment methods that I am able to access."

Pepper nodded, her resolve firm. "Well then, we'll do what we need to. Starting with him not flying in those armors anymore."

Steve shook his head as Pepper finished speaking. "That won't work." Before she could raise an objection, Steve continued, his voice firm as he made his point. "Tony and I are very different people. Some of that is because of how we were raised, and some of it is just intrinsic to who we are. But one thing that I know, now anyway, is that we are similar in one very important respect. We don't want others to do what we feel is our responsibility."

Pepper sat back, a rueful smile on her face. "A few years ago, I would have argued with you about that, but not anymore. What does that have to do with him going out as Iron Man?"

Steve frowned slightly, and it took him a bit to answer, seemingly considering his words carefully. "I read a lot, over the last few weeks. Mainly catching up on history to see what had happened to the world while I was asleep. And with the team files on the other Avengers that SHIELD provided, I know a bit more about what Tony has done than the general public. Including what happened with Stane."

Pepper couldn't stop the flash of anger across her face at the mention of that bastard. The way he had used Tony, used her...it made her sick to her stomach and filled her with a boiling rage still. "What Stane did was not Tony's fault."

Steve raised a hand in a placating gesture, but his tone didn't change. "I never said it was. But Tony thinks it is. He created these weapons and he watched people get killed by them. People that he had designed the weapons to protect. Iron Man, I think, started out as penance for that. A way to make up for what had been done with his ideas. But it became more than that. The world seemed to stabilize a bit with Iron Man on the case. And I think...I think that woke something up in Tony. Specifically, a belief that I share. Those that have the power and ability to make the world a better place have a responsibility to do so. Regardless of the cost to ourselves. Tony is Iron Man, just like I'm Captain America. Where we differ is that he revels in it, while I'm still a bit uncomfortable with what it means to the world. I'm still just a kid from Brooklyn."

Steve's face contorted a bit into an expression of amused disbelief, presumably at how the world viewed him, before he continued. "But neither one of us could stop. We have the power. So we have the responsibility. To step away from it, no matter how we feel about the positions we hold? It's...oh, what's that word I heard Peggy say? ...It's anathema to us."

Bruce chuckled as Steve finished talking, and nodded in agreement. "When we were on the Helicarrier, Tony was trying to get me to accept the Hulk, to not be afraid of him. He said that Hulk had saved my life, and that it was for a reason, just like what had happened with him and the Ten Rings. He said the arc reactor, and by extension Iron Man, was a 'terrible privilege'. He is Iron Man. He can't stop that any more than Thor could stop being Asgardian."

Pepper considered what they were saying, wanting to argue with them but eventually conceding the point with a small slump of her shoulders. "I know."

They were all quiet for a moment, before Pepper admitted something that she hadn't even said to herself yet, let alone Tony. "I hate it. I hate the suit. Tony has been in my life for years and I knew he had more to give the world than he thought, but...I despise those armors. Every time he goes out in one and fights? It scares me to death and I wanna scream. I'm so afraid that he won't come back one day, and all I'll have left is those empty tin cans..." She stopped then, her voice chocked with emotion as she struggled to get herself under control while Steve watched, sympathy in his eyes. "How do I deal with that?"

"The same way he will deal with his issues. Talk. Talk to him, and tell him all of this. Every bit of it. Far better to say what you need, then to leave it unsaid. Trust me, I'm something of an expert on that." Steve's eyes unfocused then, presumably lost in the past he had left behind, before he came back to the present. "And know that it's a process. You can't expect him to be perfect overnight. There may be nights that he still can't sleep, or that he has nightmares. You can be there for him in ways the rest of us can't, so...be there."

Pepper nodded, resolve restored as she accepted what Steve was saying. "I will. ...JARVIS? Is Tony still down in the lab?"

"Mr. Stark is currently on the way up from the garage with Agent Romanoff. They should arrive here shortly."

Pepper stood and moved towards the elevator immediately, waiting for it to arrive. When it did and the doors opened, she could see that something was different about Tony. He seemed...more open, in a way she couldn't describe. Not caring about any of the others present, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight to her, tangling her fingers in his hair and kissing him deeply before pulling back. "Hi."

Tony blinked, and inwardly she smirked, loving the fact that she could drive one of the smartest men on the planet to speechlessness. As Natasha moved out of the elevator Pepper reached out towards her, stopping her progress while Tony recovered his higher mental functions. "Thank you, Natasha."

Natasha nodded, smiling softly before stepping out of the elevator fully and allowing Pepper to enter it, JARVIS closing the doors and taking them back down to their apartment. "We should talk." That snapped Tony out of his kiss induced haze, and he turned to her, resignation, fear, and a bit of weariness behind his eyes. "And no, not in a bad way. I thought that kiss would have made you realize I was sticking around."

Tony chuckled, the fear receding and replaced with a spark of love that he held specifically for her. "Sorry. I haven't heard those words in any good context before...preceding kiss or not." He reached out for her hand and Pepper grabbed it, lacing their fingers together gently with a smile. "But you're right. We do need to talk. I...don't know where to start though."

"Where we should have started to begin with, Tony. At the beginning."

Tony smirked, and then let a bit of his sarcasm out as the elevator doors opened. "Well, in the beginning, there was the big bang..."

Pepper laughed and lightly slapped the back of his head. "Not that beginning. I mean...Afghanistan."

Tony tensed and Pepper waited, watching what he would do. Whatever Natasha had said to him must have worked because he forced himself to relax, nodding at her softly. "You may not like what you hear."

"No, I may not. And you may not like what I have to say in return. But..." She leaned forward and kissed him again, less intense this time but no less filled with emotion. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for the long haul, Tony."

Tony nodded before setting himself on the bed. Pepper joined him, holding his hand and giving it a squeeze of comfort as Tony collected his thoughts and began to speak. "When I was in Afghanistan, it started off great. The presentation went well, and we were coming back to the base for me to fly back with Rhodey..."

UWSUWSUWSUW

Tony, wearing the Mark VII armor, stepped out in front of Stark Tower, smiling at the crowd as he moved toward a podium that had been set up for the occasion. A week straight of six or more hours of sleep a night had done wonders for his mood and appearance, and he was once again the billionaire-genius-philanthropist, his smile wide and his voice lively. "Ladies, gentlemen, and others, of the press welcome to Stark Tower." Tony looked out over the various reporters, the cosplay group temporarily moved. He smirked and shifted weight, the remodeled Mark VII armor slower to respond than usual thanks to the large cables attached to his back. "I'm sure you're wondering why I called you all here on this fine New York City morning. Well, it's to address some rumors, issues, and near slanderous accusations from certain geriatric Roxxon executives that shall remain nameless." There was a smattering of laughter through the crowd and Tony's smirk widened, the armor moving more freely now as the systems fully powered up. "With the refinements I've made to Stark Industries Clean Energy technology, Stark Tower is the only completely green skyscraper in New York, self sustaining and efficient. And yet, said nameless exec has lead a very public campaign against me, saying that the there is no way that SI has developed tech that is as powerful and efficient as coal and oil. Today, I am here to show you that he, and all the other naysayers, are wrong."

Tony tapped a gauntlet covered finger on the podium he stood behind, bringing up the specs for the tech he was showing off today along with a very specific part of his armor. "The schematics you see here, which you should have all gotten a copy of, showcase the brand new SI Solar Cells, the latest in clean energy production. How powerful are they? Well, allow me to direct your eyes to the other piece of today's exhibit."

The schematics disappeared leaving only the hologram of the arc reactor. "What you're seeing here is the arc reactor that normally powers the suit. You'll notice the black band surrounding it now." JARVIS highlighted the specific part as Tony moved away from the podium. "That band separates the armor from the arc reactor. And these cables on my back lead back to a set of the Stark Solar Cells. That's right, people – I'm powering the armor with nothing but the solar cells that Roxxon has claimed are just a publicity stunt."

"And we're just supposed to take your word for this?"

Tony narrowed his eyes, recognizing the voice and singling out the reporter who had asked the question. "Ah Miss Everhart. Still muckraking for Vanity Fair?"

"I'm actually here with WHiH, and I was never a muckraker, Stark."

Tony narrowed his eyes and sure enough, was just able to make out the television news logo on her microphone, leading him to shrug. "Huh, WHiH normally has higher standards than that. To answer your question, no, you don't have to take my word for it. I've got all the information in those packets I handed to you, and it's all been independently verified by multiple other scientists." Christine glared at the insult but didn't comment further, instead looking through the packet as Tony continued talking. "Now, the armor is almost fully charged, and once it is, I'll be giving you a demonstration that it is working at full function. So prepare yourselves, because in just a moment-"

"You'll see Iron Man rendered OBSOLETE!" A blast of energy lanced out, blasting through the cables providing power to the suit and knocking Tony to his knees as reporters scattered for cover. Tony dropped the face-plate of the armor, turning towards where JARVIS had identified the voice originating from. Flying above on what seemed to be jets reminiscent of his own repulsors, a figure was looking down at the chaos he had caused. He was wearing some form of suit, orange and black with energy sources being cataloged by JARVIS even as whoever this was continued to talk. "By the next generation of offensive weapons designed by me, the Melter!"

"...Really? The Melter, that's the best you could do?" Tony's HUD shifted to battle mode, and he launched into the air, wanting to keep this guy's attention on him rather than the people below. "You couldn't think of anything better? Hot Streak, Human Torch, Firestorm?" Tony raised his repulsors and fired, making the other man dive out of the way. "Oh, I know! How about Hot Air?"

There was a burst of disbelieving laughter from the reporters that had not managed to find cover, and what Tony could see of the other man's face contorted in rage. Instead of responding verbally however, the Melter fired a beam of energy at the reporters, making Tony dive in front of them and take the hit directly. "Huh, not bad. Concentrated heat beam, but this armor is designed to withstand reentry if needed-"

"Sir, the armor systems are malfunctioning. Failure imminent."

Tony narrowed his eyes as warning signals began flashing and aimed a repulsor blast at the man, knocking him down and breaking the beam, allowing the rest of the reporters to get away or get under cover. Tony flew and grabbed the man by the chest piece he wore and dragged him further away, intending to drag him to a secluded spot when another warning flash lit up and he let go, the chest piece apparently able to channel the heat just like the hand beam the Melter was using. "Alright, fine. No direct contact." Tony dodged another beam as the Melter blasted at him, activating the external speakers again. "Missed me, Menopause Man."

"And who said I was aiming at you, Stark?" Without another word Tony was slammed to the ground, the big STARK nameplate on the entrance to the tower crashing into him. Between the malfunctioning systems and fact that the armor hadn't been fully charged to begin with, it was enough to leave Tony winded and down, the armor rebooting as the Melter turned towards the reporters again. "You just saw what I can do. But we live in a cynical world. You might think I got lucky. So, in the next few days, I'll hold another demonstration. After that, my technology goes on sale to the highest bidder. If you have what it takes to be a buyer, you'll hear from me, if you don't, you-"

Suddenly he was cut off, struck in the head by a very familiar shape. The hit was strong enough to knock the Melter's helmet off, leaving him glaring at the man who even now was catching the rebounding shield. Captain America and Black Widow both dropped from where they were hanging off the arms of a steadily descending armor, the Mark XX "Python" that Tony had finished a few days ago, presumably being piloted by JARVIS. Cap glowered at the Melter as he landed, allowing both the suit and Natasha to move towards Tony. "And I thought Loki liked to talk. Why not give up now, make it easier on all of us."

"Rogers. Another outdated relic of the Department, obsolete and pointless in the modern world. You weren't who I was planning on showing my weapons against, but you'll do just as well!"

While Cap began attacking the Melter, his lack of flight ability meaning he had trouble hitting the man but his enhanced speed and reflexes allowing him to dodge the heat beam and the shield taking what he couldn't avoid, Natasha moved over, helping Tony get the rubble off and stand. "You alright Tony?"

"I'll be better when I get to punch his face." Tony stepped out of the damaged armor as soon as enough space was cleared, moving quickly over to the Python suit. "Those heat blasts were enough to almost fry the suit, so stay out of range but if you get a shot take it. And call SHIELD, we're gonna need Damage Control." As Natasha nodded and moved to find a spot she could potentially get a bead on the Melter without getting hit by the blasts as the Python suit powered up. "J, give me the rundown."

"The armor itself can handle the temperature put out by the heat, but because it's concentrated on a central point, the internal circuitry shuts down. With the integrated systems for faster response time, if one part shuts down, all of the system shuts down as well in order to reboot the overheated section."

"Damn. So hit him hard, hit him fast, and hit from a distance or we run the risk of him shutting us down. Options?"

"The Python suit was never designed for combat sir. It was the only assembled armor that I was able to activate and deploy in time. Repulsors and the Unibeam are however, fully primed."

"Let's light him up." Tony launched into the air, raising both hands and firing a full powered repulsor blast that forced the Melter to dodge, leading him right into a shot from Steve's shield that cut through one of what JARVIS identified as power lines. The Melter dropped, his heat beams dissipating, but they quickly recovered, implying that the suit must have had back ups. Before Steve was able to retrieve his shield, the Melter fired directly at him, and Tony had no choice but to intercept the beam, leading the armor to start malfunctioning again. Steve attempted to intercede once he had the shield secured again, but something went wrong, causing him to have to jump away and drop the shield with a yell. He shook his hand and removed his glove, showing a visible burn on his hand.

Tony attempted to avoid the next blast. but with his worry over Cap, he was too slow. As both beams hit the same point just below the arc reactor, the armor systems shut down completely. "So you see! Iron Man and Captain America, defeated at my feet!" The Melter would have continued on, but he had made a critical error.

He had forgotten about Black Widow.

A shot rang out, piercing through the other power line and barely missing the Melter's face. The heat beams powered down and the man turned, glaring across the way to where Natasha was lining up another shot. He launched himself, his flight systems seemingly unaffected and he was quickly out of sight. Tony slowly stood as the armor reset itself, and he moved over towards Cap as Natasha joined them, raising his visor as he did so. "You missed him Romanoff."

"Clint is the sharpshooter. Not me. I prefer the personal touch." Natasha gave Tony a once over before nodding, seeing he was fine as the armor fully rebooted, then moved to check on Steve as Tony grabbed the shield, still too hot to touch without protection. "You alright, Captain?"

Steve nodded, shaking his hand out still. "The shield held just fine. It was just too hot. Started burning through the leather." He held his hand up, showing that the burn had already faded from an angry, scalded red to a more stable pink. "Should be gone by tonight., I think."

"Serum?"

Steve nodded. "Everything was enhanced. Metabolism, memory recall, immune system, healing..."

"I read what Dad wrote on the effects but to see it...peak human. What we could all eventually evolve into." Tony stared at Steve's hand even as the other man blushed a bit, before suddenly dropping the hand and then turning, priming a repulsor as a Quinjet landed nearby. He lowered his hand as he recognized the insignia on the side, and the people exiting it as SHIELD personnel. "Ah, the cavalry is here. Late, as usual. Romanoff, you think you and Capsicle can handle them? I want to get started analyzing what exactly that heat beam did to the armor and find a way to counter it, then find the asshole.."

"I got it, Tony. Go do your thing." Natasha turned and called out to the approaching agents. "Sitwell, we could use a medic to check out the Captain, and Damage Control will need a report ready..."

Natasha's voice faded as Tony flew up to the Party Deck, already dismissing the SHIELD Not-Agents from his mind. "J, get the rig ready, scan every piece as it comes in and prep the results down in the lab for me. And bring up the Mark VII and do the same."

"Understood sir. Shall I also contact Miss Potts?"

"Probably a good idea." Tony began the walk out of the armor, allowing the rig to disassemble it piece by piece and prepare for post battle analysis. As he walked the rig reset and he could hear the sounds of JARVIS bringing up the Mark VII as he stepped inside and made for the elevator, attaching an ear piece as JARVIS connected him to Pepper. "Okay first, this was not my fault."

"I leave for California for two days and you're already making a mess. I've said it before and I'll say it again. You're hopeless without me." Under her sarcasm Tony could hear the genuine concern and worry, along with a touch of fond exasperation. "Are you okay?"

"Fit as a fiddle. The armor took the heat, just messed with the internal wiring. Gonna analyze and fix it before the next fight. Speaking of, I know the plan was for me to fly back to Malibu after the conference, but I want to stay around here and track this guy."

"Can't you leave this for SHIELD, Tony? You almost got hurt – again. We talked about this."

"Can't do that. This guy made a mock armor, and managed to get it to function. Even if you say he's not my responsibility, it feels like it is. Same as Stane's weapon shipments. Same as Vanko and Hammer"

"I know. I know. Just...please be careful?"

"Hey, it's me! I'm always careful." Pepper didn't dignify that with a response, other than a snort of disbelief, and Tony smirked. "Okay, fair point. I promise, I'll be as careful as I can be. I'll see you next week when you come back to the Tower.?

"Alright. But the Tower, and you, better be there and in one piece when I get back."

"Do my best. Stay safe, Pepper." After exchanging goodbyes, Tony texted Happy, letting him know of the change in plans and that he wanted security around Pepper increased till she was back safe at the Tower with the Avengers. Once he received an affirmative response from the man, Tony moved toward the elevator again, intending to get to work. "JARVIS, send all the scans of the parts of the armor that were hit by that heat ray to my work station down in the lab."

"I'd recommend actually studying the scan diagnostics in the mission prep area of the common room sir."

"Okay...why?"

"I believe you will find it far more conducive to your goals."

Tony shrugged and altered course, heading instead for the stairway connecting the Party Deck to the common room. As he took the steps two at a time he called out to the AI, opening the door to the other floor as he spoke. "Whatever, I can do my work on any...station...Huh."

Inside the mission prep area, several monitors were already up and running, Erik looking over one particular set of what appeared to be atmospheric readings and speaking into a headset. "That's good, Jane, systems up and running now. Come on down." She must have responded with some form of joke as Erik smiled and turned, catching sight of Tony as he did so. "Tony! JARVIS said that he would set you up at the central console. Jane should be down in a moment, and Darcy is making a coffee run for us."

Tony approached the other man, still a bit surprised to see him working and wondering why JARVIS had insisted he come here instead. "Uh...thanks. What's going on?"

Before Erik could answer, the roof access elevator opened up and Jane stepped out. Catching sight of Tony she began speaking a mile a minute. "Tony! Glad you're alright. Hey, why have I had to use my room's balcony for my equipment when you have such better stuff on the roof? I didn't recognize half of the systems up there! What is it?"

Tony blinked, nonplussed at the stream of consciousness from the other scientist before deciding to just go with it, knowing that he may not get his own questions answered if he didn't answer the hyper focused fellow genius. "A lot of SHIELD tech, upgraded by me. Payment for helping them upgrade a few mobile ops systems and designing some repulsor based engines for a new helicarrier. There's enough radar and scanning systems up there that even a cloaked ship should register a ping on the Tower radar. With the Avengers moving in, we may be a big deterrent for anyone causing trouble, but the Legolas wannabe was right when he said it made us a target. I didn't want to be surprised by anyone, or anything."

Jane nodded, already moving towards the terminals she and Erik had commandeered. "Smart. Well, I added a few bits of my tech and we've already started getting readings. We should have a trajectory for you soon."

"Trajectory...what are you doing?"

Jane turned, a brief flash of surprise in her eyes. "Oh! Sorry, I though Erik would have told you."

Erik was smiling and apparently holding back laughter at Tony being on the receiving end of Hurricane Foster. "You came down before I had a chance."

"Well, I figure you're going after that Melter guy, so I'm using my atmospheric weather tracking programs to get a trajectory. The amount of heat that thing he was wearing was putting out should register on my equipment, and then combined with the stuff up there and JARVIS giving us access to one of SI satellites, we should have a cone of probability for you to track him down."

Accessing their terminals, she and Erik began analyzing data as the information started pouring in, adjusting and narrowing fields of possibility based on atmospheric disturbances. Tony blinked, once, then twice. Finally, with a shake of his head and a tiny pleased smile he moved towards the central console, speaking quietly enough that the other two wouldn't hear it but the earpiece connecting him to JARVIS would pick up. "Good call getting them involved, J."

"On the contrary sir, Doctors Foster and Selvig came up with this plan on their own once Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff went to assist you. I merely provided the work area and directed them to the equipment needed. Shall I bring up preliminary findings on the armors?"

"Yeah, let's cool this hot head down. Show me what you got." Tony would think on what it meant that the others had so quickly thrown themselves into a situation that once would have just been his own problem later. For now, he had science to do.

The three worked in silence, joined by Darcy shortly as they worked through their information. Darcy, having learned of Tony's aversion to being touched unexpectedly, merely set his cup next to him, allowing him to pick it up at his leisure, before going to help Jane and Erik, having picked up a few things from them working as their assistant the last few years. Tony barely paid any attention to them, trusting them with what they were working on as he began work on preventing the armor shutting down during the next fight. "J, you said the systems were shutting down due to the need to reboot the affected areas."

"That's correct sir."

Tony frowned in thought, bringing the schematics for the control systems of the armor up with an absent wave and studying the intricate wiring and circuitry. "Alright, so to avoid that, we can either not let him hit us, which if he has other targets around will be hard as we try to protect them, or...J, could we separate the systems? Have them linked to the main processor yes, but give each extremity its own boot up driver so they could restore independently?"

"It is possible. You would lose whatever particular part was hit still however, and if the main chest piece or helmet were affected, a total system shutdown would still commence due to the nature of the systems in those areas."

Tony watched as JARVIS implemented the proposed changes on the schematics and gave a virtual test run of the expected outcomes. Yes, if the arm was hit it would stop, but the legs and other arm would still be effective. "Add a couple of mini arc reactors to the systems to allow for faster start up time, palladium cores should be fine for this, and prepare to upgrade. Current armor status?"

"Currently, the Marks I-VI and the Marks IX-XIX are in storage in Malibu, while the Mark VII would take extra time to return to operational status due to needing to undo the retrofitting requested for the demonstration today. The Mark VIII, Mark XX, and the just completed Mark XXI are present and can be adjusted to compensate as directed."

"So something with a balance of weapons and speed, Python's long distance, or Midas' extreme speed." Tony thought about which to use as the three armors appeared, before he nodded his head. "Get the VIII up and running first, if I go back into battle soon I want all my weapons and defenses ready and VIII has the most. Midas next in case I need to get somewhere in a hurry, and then Python as you repair the systems. If nothing else happens after that, go ahead and prep VII as well, just in case. While you're doing that, bring up a more detailed scan of the places hit by that heat ray. Something is bugging me about it."

"As you wish sir."

Tony set about examining the scans of the armor that had been hit by the beam. Bringing up before and after shots from when it had been first fabricated to the damage done now, he frowned. Enhancing the image only confirmed what he was afraid of. He was so lost in his musing, that he didn't hear the person approaching him from behind, making him startle a bit when they spoke.

"Tony? You alright?"

Tony spun around, but relaxed as he recognized the figure. "Bruce. Good timing. Where'd you disappear to?"

"I had a letter to send. I heard about what happened on the way back and came up with Natasha and Steve." Tony looked over the other man's shoulder, catching the eye of the other two and nodding in greeting. "Now, again, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, armor took the hit. I was just looking over the details now. I could use another pair of eyes to tell if I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing."

Bruce nodded and turned towards the diagnostics, slipping his glasses on as he went. Tony left the other man to it, moving over to talk with Natasha and Steve so as not to bias Bruce with talking about what he thought he was seeing. "Cap, how you doing?"

"I'm fine, Tony. The SHIELD medic gave me some burn ointment which is dealing with the residual pain, and Sitwell already contacted Damage Control."

"Good stuff. How about you Romanoff, any bumps or bruises?"

Natasha shook her head. "Nothing new. I did get this though." Holding up a flash drive, she tossed it over to Tony who reached out and caught it in his hands. "SHIELD facial recognition program. It won't track him like the system we used for Loki, but it will let us know who he is. Unfortunately, Sitwell doesn't think it should be a high priority, so I wasn't able to get access to the SHIELD servers as well. It'll scan, but with the amount of various databases to go through it'll still be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Just the haystack is smaller."

"Start with the Department of Defense." Tony and Natasha turned, both raising an eyebrow in question as Cap met their gaze. "Whoever this guy is, he said he would sell his armor to the highest bidder. If he's going private sale, odds are he tried to sell it to governmental powers first. That would mean a demonstration, with some form of ID letting him onto a base or into a building for meetings. And since he called me a Department relic, and not the one he was planning on making a demonstration of..."

"He's got a grudge, probably against me and the DOD. Nice call Cap." Tony nodded and motioned the two to follow him, setting them up in another set of monitors opposite the ones that Jane, Darcy, and Erik had commandeered. Inserting the flash drive as he powered the system on, Tony called out again. "JARVIS, new software. Scan for viruses and malware traps."

"Tony, you really think SHIELD would-"

"3 different programs detected sir. Two key-logger programs and one remote up-link."

Cap closed his mouth and frowned, looking over to Natasha who was frowning as well. "Fury is still playing games."

She nodded, then shook her head. "This isn't Nick's style. He'd ask me to be in charge of the program and flash drive if he was trying to keep it hidden. He knows I can cover my tracks, and that Tony is a suspicious bastard ever since discovering Phase 2."

Tony had already stripped the spyware from the program and was fast at work setting up the facial recognition with help from JARVIS. "She's right. This isn't Fury. World Security Council maybe, working around him, or some flunky trying to make a name for themselves. J, log into the DOD, use Rhodey's codes if you need faster access. Natasha, Steve, you two set up shop here, if this search falls flat, we'll expand to other agencies."

As JARVIS began a rapid search using the new software, Tony stepped back to the center console, watching as Bruce's eyes narrowed. "You seeing the same thing I did?"

Bruce nodded, taking his glasses off and turning towards Tony. "It's not just extreme heat. It's not even a melting ray, though that is a byproduct. It's a atomic bond disruptor."

"You mean like, splitting atoms?" The two men turned, seeing Darcy had wandered over with a refill for the two. "Should we be worried about radiation? Pretty sure I remember nukes involved splitting atoms."

Taking the cup gratefully, Bruce shook his head. "No, not splitting atoms. It's...when something melts, the usual process is that the object is heated up to the point that the bonds between atoms breaks down to move an object from solid to liquid."

"Ice to water."

Tony nodded, picking up where Bruce had left off. "Exactly. But this...whatever he's done, its taken the process and switched it around. Instead of the change in state/form being from the increase of temperature, the heat is a byproduct of the molecular bonding forces loosening. Same effect in essence, but by doing it this way, he doesn't need a device capable of producing the high temperatures needed to do damage. He doesn't need something to produce heat, because his weapon splits molecules into their looser state, and the heat is produced from the split. If he improves the potential of the beam, or it strikes organic material instead of non-organic, it could conceivably vaporize anything."

"Complete sublimation of whatever it hits. Even now, sublimation is possible if the beam is allowed to hit the same spot constantly." Bruce finished the thought, nodding at a the damaged armor on the display. "Tony's armor wasn't malfunctioning from the heat, it was malfunctioning because the outer plating was starting to come apart at the molecular level, and the electronics inside were being exposed to the heat from that reaction."

Darcy's eyes widened and she turned to look over at the damage herself before turning as Jane and Erik motioned her back. "So, potentially worse than a nuke then. Great. How is this my life?!"

"Damn, I was hoping I was seeing things." Tony sighed and slumped against the console. "We can't let this tech be sold. If someone like Hammer or Ross got their hands on it..."

"That would be bad, yes. Ross especially wouldn't care about the consequences. Harlem can attest to that." Bruce went silent then, eyes fixed on some point in the past.

"You've never really talked about what happened there. I know Ross laid the blame at Hulk's feet, trying to save his own ass and career, and the WSC tried to recruit someone from his team, Blonksy I think-"

"Abomination." When Bruce spoke, it was in the deep, growling voice of the Hulk, and his eyes were flashing a deadly gamma green. With a deep breath, Bruce was able to pull himself back under control and shrugged apologetically at Tony. "Sorry. Hulk...doesn't like that guy. Either of them."

"Well, while everyone else is doing their thing, we've got time. You lot are the ones who said talking helps. I'm all ears."

Bruce seemed to settle against the tabletop as he considered whether to talk or not, before finally shrugging. "Why not." And so he spoke. Of his accident, the creation of the Hulk. How he had been on the run for years from Ross because the old man wanted to use Hulk as a weapon, and how he had eventually found someone willing to help in Samuel Sterns. How he had reconnected with Betty Ross to find the research he needed, and how they had gone to Sterns for help, only to realize that Sterns was more obsessed with using the Hulk than with helping them get rid of him. Then...Harlem. "I woke up a few days later, somewhere in the Appalachians. I pieced together what I could from news and from my own scattered memories, before moving on and starting a new path. I knew that I couldn't get rid of the Hulk now, so I started trying to work with him instead. The results have been...mixed."

Tony had listened patiently the whole time, his entire attention focused on the other man as he told the story. He nodded in understanding and stood, stretching his back as he did. "Sounds to me like Ross, Sterns, and Abomination were to blame, not you. Any idea what happened to the other two since we know Ross wriggled his way out of things?"

Surprisingly, it wasn't Bruce who answered, but Natasha, coming up to the other two men and having clearly overheard their conversation. "Both in custody. Some of Bruce's blood got into Stern's head and mutated him, increased his brain power exponentially, and he was already genius level. Unfortunately, it's also made him completely amoral and a megalomaniac, so he's sedated while SHIELD works to reverse what happened. Blonsky reverted after Hulk beat him down and currently is sedated in cryo-prison in Alaska. If they can be changed back, then we can let you potentially do the same Bruce. If they can't, and they ever show signs of waking up, they both have 24 hour guard trained to go for a head shot before any transformation can take place."

Bruce's eyes flashed gamma green again and he nodded, a pleased smirk on his face. "Good. Good riddance to bad rubbish."

Tony turned in his chair, looking up at Natasha. "Find anything?"

"Yes actually. JARVIS?"

"Bruno Horgan" Atop the central display images began playing from what appeared to be security and demonstration footage, showing the man in question. It was definitely the Melter. "According to what I've been able to find, he was the owner of a start up robotics company. He claimed he was able to build a suit similar to the Iron Man armors after Stark Industries stopped selling weapons, and the Department of Defense gave him a lab and funding to attempt to do so. Unable to create repulsor tech, he instead devised a different power source, and was able to create a powered armor suit. However, his presentation to military officials was a failure, as the power source literally melted pieces of the armor off him. His contract was canceled and he was removed from the program, with funding instead going to Justin Hammer. According to bank records, Mr. Horgan sold his company and contacted the DoD again sometime later, claiming to have improved his technology, but was rejected. Obviously he was in fact, effective in fixing his power problem."

"Yeah, by channeling the excess energy into a beam weapon." Tony sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Great. We know who he is, now we just have to find him."

"We can help with that." Jane approached the group, holding a set of papers. "Based on his flight trajectory away from the Tower and the heat his suit puts out, we've got a cone of probability and a list of potential locations."

Tony stood, eyes gleaming with manic energy again now that the answers were coming hard and fast. "J, put Jane and Erik's stuff up on a hologram, I want something I can fiddle with." A blue wire frame version of the city appeared as the assembled Avengers gathered around it, with Jane's cone of probability highlighting an area in red and expanding outward from the Tower. "Alright, if he used all his money to fix his suit and is wanting to sell to the highest bidder to get that money back, then he wouldn't be operating in the open. Too much chance of being seen. JARVIS, remove all locations that would house more than one company."

As the potential locations faded out, Natasha looked over the remaining map and shook her head. "Too many still. If we or SHIELD started raiding these he could hear about it and disappear before we find him. What about power Stark? He may have his own power source for the armor, but with the exception of the arc reactor, fabrication facilities pull a lot of electrical juice."

"Unless he's using his own power source." Everyone turned to Darcy and she put her hands on her hips defensively. "What? Tony uses the big arc reactor to power this place, why couldn't this guy use a bigger whatever he made to power his own?"

Natasha nodded, conceding the point. "True, but he would have needed the regular power grid to construct the big source originally."

"Alright J, you heard 'em. Filter excessive power usage from the time Horgan got fired and heat spikes too. If he has a bigger source there would be a lot of heat from it."

"And places that had the machinery needed to make a suit, or at least that could be modified to it." Steve spoke up as various locations started disappearing off the model, watching with interest. "Howard needed a lot of tech to build the stuff he made for the Commandos, and I've seen the stuff you use Tony. It isn't small. Or quiet."

"Filtering now." More and more places disappeared, until finally, only one was left.

Tony's eyes narrowed as JARVIS pulled up the information available about that location. "Industrial automobile scrapyard. Bought out by private contract right after Horgan sold his company, spike in power after the change over but back to normal levels now. Big place, lots of room, can test his tech on the various broken cars and no one is the wiser. I think we've got a winner."

"I'll call SHIELD, get a team assembled-"

"No." Tony interrupted Natasha's offer, already planning approach vectors as he studied the area around the scrapyard. "Someone at SHIELD is trying to infiltrate the Tower, despite you already being here. I don't trust them right now. This stays with us. And since none of you would fit in my armors, Rhodey's comms are off while he's on assignment, and as I'm not interested in finding out what happens when your bare skin meets those melting rays, that means it stays with me."

Steve moved to interject, but in doing so he raised his hand up, moving the still visible burn into everyone's eyesight, and he sighed, conceding the point. "Fine, but we'll be here on comms, and Dr. Foster, Dr. Selvig, I'd like you to keep your equipment running, in case Horgan makes a break for it again. We'll stay on comms and provide any intel we can from here. And Tony, if things look bad you get out. This guy has already proven he doesn't care about hurting people just to prove a point. A beaten Iron Man may sell this guy's weapons, but a dead Iron Man makes him rich and the rest of the world a lot poorer."

Tony nodded, touched at the sentiment as the rest of the group nodded in agreement with Steve's words. "Copy that Captain. J, get the Mark VIII to the Party Deck."

"The armor is already there and awaiting your presence for assembly sir."

The rest of the group dispersed, moving to their work stations as Tony made for the Party Deck, stepping out into the light and removing the earpiece as the assembly rig started suiting him up. Once the armor was locked in the HUD display loaded, already showing a flight path in the direction of the scrapyard. Tony took off, repulsors and thrusters pushing him to cruising speed as he flew between buildings, hoping to minimize the risk of Horgan seeing him coming. "You guys online?"

"We're here Tony. Jane and Erik have the program running and JARVIS has the Stark satellite in position. Natasha is trying to call Fury to see if we can get you some backup that he trusts, and figure out who was trying to spy on you. And Bruce is looking over the scans from the earlier fight to see if we missed anything."

"Sounds good, keep me posted." As Tony approached the junkyard he slowed to a comparative crawl, the repulsors making very little noise as he landed and began moving towards the central building. "J, any sign?"

"Nothing on my scanners sir."

Tony waited just a moment for JARVIS to confirm that he didn't detect any traps or explosives, before kicking the main door in, repulsors primed. When nothing came out of hiding, he lowered the repulsors, and instead stepped into the room. Looking around, he was surprised to find nothing too out ordinary at first. However, as Tony stepped up towards the main desk however, JARVIS highlighted what appeared to be a false wall. Once again checking for any traps, Tony opened the door, stepping in with a whistle. "Well, either this is his base or it's somebody else running a fabrication lab out of a scrapyard." Moving towards the table, Tony found a computer recessed into the tabletop, along with several access ports and a power strip. Turning it on yielded a password log in request screen, making Tony smirk. "Go Go Gadget USB Port. Get me in there J." Raising his glove, one of the finger covers retracted, revealing a USB connection.

Rather than respond, JARVIS merely activated the code breaking software and got to work, cracking the security with the same ease that the ghost drive he had given Pepper cracked into Stane's network. "It appears that this is indeed the location sir. There are several encrypted files that appear to be data-logs of tests made by the Melter when preparing his armor. Displaying the text of the latest message now."

Tony watched as the entry appeared on the screen, speed reading through it. Data Entry 371. The suit performed beyond my expectations, taking down two different Iron Man suits along with Captain America himself. Unfortunately, it was damaged by a bullet shot from one of SHIELD's little lap dogs. While the repair is simple in nature, it could have potentially convinced others that my weapons could be beaten. With this in mind, I intend to move my time table up, taking the enhanced armor I was going to keep for myself and use it in my second demonstration. Based on flight speed I should arrive at McGuire Air Force Base at 1600 today. My buyers have already been warned to be look for my latest demonstration.

Tony eyes locked on a specific line. "McGuire...Rhodey!" Raising his repulsors Tony fired straight through the ceiling and then launched, adding his arm repulsors to the other thrusters for that extra bit of speed. "JARVIS, connect me to McGuire tower, I've got to warn them."

"I just did."

"McGuire tower, McGuire tower, Iron Man inbound. You have a hostile on approach, repeat, hostile on approach, targeting Colonel Rhodes and the War Machine armor, over."

"Iron Man, McGuire tower. We detect no inbound bogie, please confirm transmission, over."

"Confirmed. Bogie will be in a powered suit similar to one of my armors. Get thermals online, bogie will be putting out massive heat. Recommend getting all personnel to cover, bogie is extremely dangerous, over."

"Understood. Colonel Rhodes is mobilizing. ETA, over?"

"ETA 5 for bogie, 10 for me. Over and out." Once JARVIS disconnected Tony stared straight ahead, laser focused even as he inwardly cursed himself for not taking the Midas armor. The reduced weapon payload and enhanced thrusters meant that he could have potentially caught up with Horgan or even beaten him to the base. "Cap, Bruce, you guys have any recommendations for me?"

"JARVIS sent us the latest schematics we could find in Horgan's notes. It looks like the enhanced suit he mentions is a full body one, with the power lines contained inside the suit. The power source for the melting ray is located on his back though, for ease of repair and replacement. Based on the materials used, your armor should be able to rip it open and remove it. It appears that the beam weapon is separate from the rest of his armor, so even if you disable the ray, it will still be able to fly and lift several tons. Honestly, it looks like one of your armors without weapons, other than the beams."

"Well, that's good news at least. Keep me posted if you find anything else. J, any way to boost our speed?"

"By diverting power from the supplementary arc reactors, we could potentially reduce our time to equal of the Melter, but then the advantage provided by the additional reboot systems would be negated."

"Split the difference. Every moment counts. Hopefully Rhodey can hang on till we get there." Tony felt the thrusters gain power, making the armor shake with the extra speed. "J, Rhodey on comms yet?"

"Yeah Tony, I'm here. What's going on?"

"You've got incoming buddy. You see the guy who attacked the press conference this morning? He's on his way to you, and he's looking to take you out as proof his weapons can beat mine. Take him down as quick as you can and make sure he doesn't hit you with one of his beams or your armor will lock up and you'll be a sitting duck."

"Got it. Take him down fast and avoid any blasts-ARGH" There was a sound of an explosion over comms, and Tony could hear the Melter in the background, cackling and giving a monologue as Rhodey got back on his feet. "Okay, this guy is going down. If you want any of this action you better get here fast Tony."

Tony cut his outbound connection, knowing that any distraction could be bad for Rhodey and focusing on getting to the base. A couple of minutes of listening to the Melter talk had him narrowing his eyes. As he approached, he hacked into the PA systems of the base, broadcasting out to call the Melter. "Oi, Hothead! Incoming!" With a final burst of speed Tony flew directly into the Melter as he was about to hit a downed War Machine, sending him spiraling out and into one of the parked planes while getting his first look at this so called enhanced armor. He had to admit he found himself, reluctantly, impressed.

Where before Horgan's armor had appeared almost piecemeal, this one was a single solid unit, orange in color with silver highlights. The helmet, previously leaving Horgan's face exposed, was a full face-plate like his own now, and as he watched, it retraced, allowing Horgan to call out. "STARK! Come for another round you will lose? I have to thank you. I'll be able to sell my armor for twice as much if I can kill you both here, you idiots!"

Tony raised his arm, allowing the blast to hit directly as he flew towards the Melter. "Actually, not an idiot. I'm a genius. You really think I would fall for the same trick twice?!" With a sputter of electronics, the armor's arm shut down, but the thrusters on his legs and the repulsors in the other arm were working just fine. Tony fired point blank into the Melter, sending him back again as he continued to fly forward, getting behind the Melter and using the lasers in the arm gauntlet to sever the connection between the Melter's power source and his heat rays.

Unfortunately, this had the unintended side effect of creating an energy feedback right into the central chest piece of the armor.

Tony was sent flying backwards, his systems shut down; thanks to the arc reactors being partially used up on the flight in, it would take a full minute to reboot. He watched as Horgan stood, grabbing one of the jets that had been sitting on the runway and lifting it over his head, opening his face-plate to gloat. "You may have disabled my melting rays Stark, but my armor is still fully charged, and yours is down. And before it can reboot, I'll have crushed you. The world will see you as nothing but the useless, obsolete trash that you are, and I'll finally have the money and recognition that I deserve! Now, say goodbye-"

Suddenly, the plane was lifted out of Horgan's hands and set aside, making the other man turn around in shock to find Rhodey, War Machine armor back up and functioning, pulling his fist back. "You talk too much." Before Horgan was able to process what was happening and lower his face-plate, Rhodey lashed out, punching him hard and sending the other man flying, leaving him splayed out and down for the count as he reached forward, helping Tony to his feet as the Mark VIII began rebooting. "You okay, Tony?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Nice shot."

"You too." The two men stood, looking over the unconscious man as the Military Police came into the field now that the danger was over. "He attacked a military base, he's under our jurisdiction now."

"Yeah. Let me take the tech though, it's more dangerous than even that idiot realized."

"How bad?"

"Not quite 'Oh God, oh God, we're all gonna die', but above 'We're gonna need a bigger boat'." Rhodey laughed and nodded, moving to keep the MPs at bay while Tony stripped the armor off Horgan, leaving him in just the under-suit and then moved to get the energy pack as well. "Cap, you guys here still?"

"We lost you for a bit there Tony. JARVIS said the suit got overloaded, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Melter is down and in custody, and I've got his tech. I'll head back to his lab and dump everything, including his notes, into an industrial furnace and let it burn."

"Nice job Tony. Come on home after, I'll get us all something to eat and we can debrief. You know SHIELD will want to know about what happened."

"Making me dinner? Ah, you shouldn't have honey. Stark over and out."

UWSUWSUWSUW

A few days later, in an office building in Florida, a man slammed his phone down, cursing softly as one of his associates stepped into the room. "Tell me you have good news. I could use some right now."

"I take it that means we won't be able to recover anything from Mr. Horgan's work?"

"No. Stark is refusing to turn it over, saying that he's already melted down the parts and notes. Horgan is refusing to share his work without a promise of a pardon and payment, but SHIELD is stepping in and preventing that. The only thing that came out of encouraging him to attack Stark before selling to us was that we found out the Iron Man suits are vulnerable to extreme heat!" The man was stomping around the room, and a red glow was slowly spreading across his skin before he stopped and took a few calming breaths. The glow receded, and he turned back towards the man who had just entered. "So again, I hope you have good news?"

"I do. And, from what you just said, we might have to thank Stark for it." The man handed over a file folder with smug look as the first man began speed reading the documents within. "The DOD has decided that, with the Mandarin bombings, and Stark being Stark, that they wish our group to provide upgrades and tech support for the War Machine. The armor will be handed over within the next month in preparation for a re-brand and reveal around Christmas time. The next step of our plan can begin."

Setting the folder down the first man smiled and stood, clasping his hands in front of his body and grinning, anger replaced with a dangerous delight. "Oh this...this is good. Go, prep the Master for his appearances. Now that we have this, we just need one more piece. And my meeting with the Vice President is set for next week. Let's get this show on the road." Stepping out of the office, the two men both seemed to shift, putting on salesmen smiles and mannerisms, and prepared to leave the building. As the door closed, the nameplate on the door came into the light cast by the hallway. Across it was a name and an acronym.

Aldrich Killian, AIM

A/N Mark II: I'm sure some may have figured out who was there at the end, but what can I say. I'm a dramatic bastard and it appealed to me to write it this way. Yes folks, the next chapter takes us into the next movie of the MCU after Avengers, Iron Man 3, and the events that will be affected by the Avengers working together rather than being split their separate ways.

I'm curious about what you think of my action scenes, as I'm not sure how well this comes across. If you can drop a line saying what you think of it, and the story so far, I would greatly appreciate it.

Peace and Out,

Pwn Master Paladin