SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER! Hang in there for the epic epilogue!

With Aldrich Killian vaporized into bits, the rest of AIM was swiftly dealt with. First of all, and probably the most satisfying, Tony and Rhodey had amassed enough information to put away the Vice President for good. He was found guilty of aiding the attempt to kidnap President Ellis, who remained eternally grateful to Iron Man and Iron Patriot for saving his life. Anyone else involved with Killian was apprehended. Last I heard of Trevor, he was checking into rehab. Poor guy had no idea what was really going down. As for those who'd helped us—I convinced Tony to send Harley more than a thank-you card for Christmas. He agreed, and pulled some strings to refurbish the kid's shed into a full-on workshop with the latest gizmos. Plus, word had come in from the hospital at Malibu; Happy Hogan was on the road to recovery, and would be up and about by Valentine's Day.

As for Extremis, Tony had it covered by New Year's Eve. He wasn't a biochemist, but provided with a good incentive (fulfilling his promise to Pepper) he'd become an expert in the field overnight*. Pretty soon Pepper was cured and walking around like a normal person without anyone being scared to touch her. But Tony was the type of guy who couldn't let a good idea go to waste. He got really fascinated by the serum's regenerative qualities. If done rightly, it could heal anything.

Even a heart full of shrapnel.

It took two whole hours for a team of surgeons to operate on Tony, removing the shrapnel and then administering Extremis to heal the tricky parts and do the rest of the job. He was never going to need the arc reactor again.

I'd hugged Tony lots of times by now, but when I hugged him after he came home from the procedure, I noticed something was there that hadn't been there before; something I never even noticed was missing when I used to hug him.

"Oh my God," I gasped, leaning away from him.

"What?"

I moved in close again, put my ear on his chest. That sound was unmistakable. "It's your heart. I can actually hear your heartbeat." This whole time, the arc reactor had muffled the sound of what made Tony human. But, I realized as I handed my uncle a stethoscope, I had never once doubted that he had one.

Oh yeah-then there was me. I had to admit, being named Tony's heiress took a little getting used to. But a week after New Year, Tony and Pepper put it down in legal writing, and that was it. The rest of my future was pretty much set.

It was what happened in between now and then that was going to be interesting.

"So will you do it again?" I asked Tony as he sifted through several construction reports for Stark Tower's rebuilding in New York.

"Will I do what?"

"Put on the suit. Be Iron Man again."

Tony glanced at me. "Maybe. But not yet. Not until I've got everything sorted out."

I could tell he was thinking about what had just happened, and that what had just happened would stick to him for a long time; no matter how good he was at moving on and rebuilding his life. I watched him sit on deck chair and thumb through file after file, but his hands shook and he had to lean back and take a deep breath.

"Shit," he mumbled as the folder slid off his lap and hit the floor. He bent awkwardly to pick them up, but I took them before he did.

"It's probably not a good idea to look at these," I said, noticing photographs of Stark Tower and the surrounding Manhattan skyline. "They trigger stuff, Tony."

"I'm okay," he said breathlessly. I tightened my lips into a straight line, and he sighed. "I mean, I will be okay." Tony took the files from me grudgingly. "It's going to take a while for me to get over, isn't it?"

He hadn't had another panic attack in weeks, but I should have known it would take him time to heal completely. There are some things, like a damaged heart, that can be fixed easy; but there were also other things my uncle had been through that I could never imagine. He'd carry that around with him forever.

And there was something else—the Avengers. If there was one thing I knew about them now, it was that they wouldn't always be there. They'd proved that much recently. Who could Tony trust to back him up, even when he didn't think he needed help?

I looked at my uncle try to steady his breathing again. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to protect him, the way he had always tried to protect me.

That was when I finally made a decision that had been put off for far too long.

"I'll do it."

"You'll- what?"

"I've been thinking about what you said, and I want to do it." I said, bending so Tony and I were at eye level. "I want to be Iron Girl."

"Hold on a second," Tony said, holding up a hand. "Iz. Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent," I said confidently. "Soon as I get out of high school- I'm almost done anyway. And I can put off going to university till the next year. Besides, didn't you say SHIELD was cool with it now?" He started to protest, and I put my hands on his shoulders. "Isn't that what you wanted? For Iron Girl to fill your shoes?"

"Not like this! Not so soon- you don't have to do this."

I smiled. "I think I kind of do. After seeing every shitty thing that happens to you while I'm not around? There's no way I'm going to let you go back into the field alone. Ever, ever again."

"Iz..."

"I mean it, Tony," I told him. "And we'll both protect each other. We'll put your demons back in their bottle." I held out my hand.

Obviously, my uncle figured we'd been through too much to seal a deal on a mere handshake. He hugged me tight, catching me by surprise.

"Okay, kid. Okay."