A/N: Hello to my many readers and fans. It's been a good ride, but it's finally time to put Act 1 of Angel of Iron to bed and move on to the next part of the story. Before any of you make assumptions, this will be one big story instead of several, each arc will be separated by transition chapters that'll help it blend together a bit more. This chapter here is one of those transition chapters since it is the end of the first arc, which is why it's so short, sorry about that for those who enjoyed the much larger ones thus far.

I'll take a bit of time off to work on my other stories before jumping into Act 2 (AKA Iron Man 2). Though it shouldn't be to long, so keep a close eye on this fic guys, because I'm far from done with it.

(I own nothing)

A wise man had once said that great change can happen when you least expect it, and for the good or the bad, can alter your whole world.

Carrie had read this in a book years ago, and she never truly grasped the meaning of it until almost three weeks ago when someone new just blew into her life unexpectedly. Spinning her whole world on its head and freeing her from the shackles of depression she'd been cursed with for far too long.

She always believed that she wasn't special, that no one in the world would ever understand her or treat her like a normal person. But the same one that came to her not only proved her wrong, but gave her everything she ever prayed for and more.

Nathan Stark had shown her compassion, understanding, trust, and most of all love. He never thought of her as weird or freaky, he only saw the her and nothing else. He pulled her from the darkness and protected her from those that wanted to throw her back into it.

He'd given her his heart, and hers to him. Even aftet only knowing each other for a short time, they felt a deep connection that seemed stronger than anything they had ever felt before. Something that would never be understood by anyone but themselves and would never be broken.

Carrie White truly did believe in god, because he sent her an angel from his kingdom to save her from her personal hell. An angel of iron whose kind heart was only matched by his intellect, both of which he used to help others before himself.

And the greatest gift he'd given her, was that he was hers and no one elses. Just like she was his.

X

Nathan closed the trunk of the lamborgini when the last of the boxes were packed inside. There really wasn't a whole lot to pack considering Carrie had so little in terms of worldly possessions, a situation he hoped to put right in the near future. But for now it was a good thing since they only had so much space to pack things away.

The telekinetic was currently talking to Rita, Sue and Tommy who were all there to see her off. Two days after the prom, they had gone to principal Morton and requested for Carrie to be given her diploma early since graduation was only two weeks away and she had already completed everything she needed to in order to graduate from Ewan.

Morton had been a little offput at first, but after recent events regarding the young woman he relented and gave her the diploma with an apology for not being able to put an end to all of the bullying she had suffered through for so long while she was in his school.

Speaking of said events, all guilty parties who had a hand in Carrie's torment had been dealt with swiftly and damning;

Tina Blake was currently in deep with her parents. After discovering how she was passing her english class her acceptance into the college of her choice had been recinded and she was being sent to live with relatives once she graduated to straighten her out.

In addition, Mr. and Mrs. Blake filed criminal charges against Mr. Ullman for underage sex with their child. The english teacher having already been fired for his misconduct. It turned out that he was also bullying Carrie in his own way thanks to Tina's influence which sickened the faculty to no end.

As for Chris...she was going down the same path as both her father and boyfriend. With all of the evidence against her, the police only needed a statement recounting all of the problems she had caused. Along with the files on her phone and her computer, she had been charged with multiple accounts. Sadly, none of them would keep her in jail long, maybe five years maximum, but she'd be marked for the rest of her life and the time spent behind bars would show her exactly what it was like for the people she tormented.

In the end, her life was forever tainted, she wouldn't graduate high school, and the future she wanted for herself before was now lost. All because she couldn't leave well enough alone.

"Everything's all packed." the young Stark announced as he made his way over. Slipping an arm around Carrie's waist when he stood beside her.

"You'll call us when you get settled, right?" asked Rita.

The telekinetic nodded, "Of course, I won't forget about you or what you've done for me." the younger woman pulled the teacher into a hug that was returned without hesitation. "Thank you, for everything."

Sue hugged ner next, "You'll have a good time out there, be sure to call us too every once in a while."

"I can have you guys flown out if you need to get away for a bit." Nathan offered. "Just drop me a line if you ever want to."

Tommy nodded and shook his hand, "Thanks, man. We'll call you out on that sometime. I really wanna check out that mustang when you finish it." The hero grinned will all the women rolled their eyes.

A few more goodbyes were exchanged before the couple got into the car and began to back out of the driveway. "Oh! I almost forgot!" Nathan exclaimed coming to a stop before pulling out an envelope from his back pocket and handing it to Sue. "That's for you and Tommy. I think you're gonna need it."

Without another word he pulled out and started driving away, leaving the three of them looking confused. "What is it?" asked Rita as the blonde opened the envelope, eyes widening a moment later.

Inside was a check for $80,000 made out to both Sue and Tommy from Nathan.

"What?" Tommy wondered as his girlfriend handed the large sum to him. "W-Why would he give us this?"

"There's a note." Sue said still in shock at the sudden gift as she took out the slip of paper with the young Stark's handwriting on it;

To Sue and Tommy,

Thanks for all you've done. It takes a lot to admit you were wrong, even more so in redeeming yourselves. But you've pulled it off and exceeded all expectations.

The check enclosed with this note is for you both and your new addition. Think of it as a gift from Uncle Nathan so their mom and dad didn't have to sruggle so hard in the beginning.

Good luck to the both of you.

Both of them stood in shock, re-reading the words printed a few more times before looking at one another. Sue's hand going to her belly, "How...How did he know?" she asked trying to figure it all out.

Tommy shook his head and scratched his neck, "Heh, guess it's easy to pick the godfather. Huh?" he said chuckling getting a laugh from the blonde as well. Rita smiled at the both of them as she looked up the street where the lamborgini had disappeared.

X

"Any idea what they're having?" Nathan asked as they drove them toward the edge of town.

Carrie smiled, "She's having a girl...I can't believe you did that for them."

The hero shrugged, "Eh, figured they could use a good step in the right direction. It's not easy for folks our age to start a family, why not give them a little help?" he felt her hand slip into his and he intertwined his fingers with hers. "No regrets?" he asked looking over at the telekinetic who shook her head in return.

"None. I'll miss Rita, and Tommy and Sue since they became friends with us, but I don't regret wanting to leave with you."

Nathan nodded, "That's good...I'm just nervous that you'll have second thoughts someday. I don't have regrets either, but things around me can get stressful. When word gets around that you and I together, you're going to be in the public eye a lot. The curse of being a Stark I'm afraid, everyone wants to know my business."

Carrie bit her lip, she had thought about that. For the longest time she wanted to be normal like everyone else. But after her powers had awoken and then shortly afterward meeting the hero that was seated beside her, she knew that her life would be anything but 'normal'.

"Good thing being normal is 'overrated', huh?" she said getting the Stark heir to laugh.

"True enough." he replied taking her hand and kissing the back of it. "No matter what, I'll always be there for you. Okay?"

The telekinetic smiled and nodded, "Okay." she looked out the window and saw the large sign reading, 'Now Leaving Chamberlain' pass them as they drove by it. Even though she was nervous about what the future would hold, she knew that she wasn't alone anymore.

And despite the difficulties that may lay in wait for them, they would be there to face them together. No matter what the world would throw at them, they would be ready.

X Somewhere in Russia X

In a dark, rundown apartment, a large figure sat hunched over a cluttered work bench covered in wires, scraps of metal and tools. The flickering lightbulb above him shined down giving him enough illumination to work as he paid little attention to the tv playing beside him or the soft squak of the cockatoo that was perched on the shelf above him.

A handful of machines hummed loudly, stutting every so often as what he was working on flickered and sparked a few times. The smell of burnt metal and ozone filling the air along with the smell of alcohol and cigarettes.

Finished with his task, the man set aside the sodering gun he had been using before reaching over and turning the dial on a nearby machine. The hum grew louder, the tv flickered and died and the bulb above shattered making the bird screech in surprise. But now the whole work area was lit up by another source, one that was now resting before him.

Ivan Vanko removed the glasses he was wearing and grinned, revealing metal teeth as he observed his work before looking at the wall ahead of him. The whole surface covered in newspaper clippings and magazine articles depicting Tony Stark and the achievements he has made over the years. His cold eyes settling on one in particular that showed Tony and his son Nathan standing side by side in their armor, helmets under their arms as they grinned. The title reading; Tony and Nathan Stark: Iron Men of the World.

"Soon, Stark." he said as he looked down at the miniature arc reactor he had just finished constructing. The man's family stole everything from him, and now, he would know exactly how it felt to have everything taken from him. "Very soon." he said with a wider grin as he picked up the energy source.

A/N: As I said up top, very short chapter, but still has a large impact on the story. Now that Carrie's out of Chamberlain and on her way to Malibu with Nathan things are gonna change in big ways. For her and for the Starks, not to mention the Marvel Universe as a whole.

That's it for now guys, stay tuned for the beginning of Act 2!