Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Smallville or Ironman!

Chloe had been following Pepper around for about an hour so far as she was given a private tour of Stark Industries and Tony Stark himself. The reporter had to admit she was seeing a side of the man as well as the company that she had not known even existed and so far she was liking what she saw. He was not what the papers made you believe and that was something Chloe admired. In some ways he reminded her of Clark, in other ways he reminded her of Oliver, and there was just a part of him which was his own sort of uniqueness.

"Down there is one of his many personal labs and this one is actually where a lot of Ironman stuff is stored." Pepper motioned to the stairs with her right hand before turning her attention back to Chloe. "Usually I wouldn't even offer, but Mr. Stark did tell me to give you a tour like no other, so would you like to see the lab?"

Chloe felt her eyes widen as excitement boiled up inside of her. Of course she wanted to see the lab,but she knew she had to remain professional since she was here for her job rather than personal enjoyment. "I would love to see the lab as long as you are sure it's alright. I wouldn't want you to get in to trouble or anything because you showed me something you shouldn't."

Pepper smiled brightly as she move forward waving her arm as a way to let Chloe known she should follow her. "It's perfectly fine I assure you. Tony trusts you and if he trusts you then so do I. Besides, even if this was some plot to steal the suite, you would not be able to because one, it wouldn't fit you and two, there are many security precautions we take in order to make sure that doesn't happen."

"I have no doubt." The blond commented as she looked around the white room they had entered. She was in awe and felt a slight jealousy at the technology he had at his finger tips, not to mention is extensive car collection that made her little yellow Yaris seem invisible. "This is amazing."

Pepper nodded in agreement. "It really is, but don't ask me what anything does because I have no idea. I can not even pronounce the name of half the stuff down here."

Chloe smiled softly at the other woman. "I know how that feels. I have a few friends who are much smarter than I am, not that I am stupid, but I am not as smart as they are and whenever they talk about something I don't understand, I am reminded of the teacher from Charlie Brown when she talks."

Tony's assistant laughed at the comment. "I will have to remember that in the future."

Chloe was going to say something in response until something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Turning, she saw a glass box with one of the original reactors Tony had built which saved his life. Next to that stood the original Ironman suite. "Wow."

"Wow is a good term to use." Pepper stated as she moved to stand next to Chloe. "I have known Tony for a very long time and I can say that since he created Ironman, there has been a change in him for the better and since he met you, even though it has only been a couple of days, I can still see a change. You are good for him Ms. Sullivan and I hope he is able to convince you to stick around for a while."

"I'm not sure how much of a help I could be." She replied feeling her face heat up as she fought off a blush. "I think you have to much faith in Ms. Potts. I do what I can in the fight against evil, but I'm not a hero by any means."

"I think you are." Pepper countered quickly. "A hero does not always have to be the strongest or the smartest person around. A hero, a true hero, is the person who know that even though there is not a lot they can do, they still stand up for what is right no matter the cost and I can tell you are that kind of person. You should try to have more faith in yourself because if you did, I bet you would end up surprising yourself with what you are capable of."

"The same thing could be said about you." The blond woman from Smallville shot back. "I know what it is like to be in the company of true heroes and I can tell you right now that I am in the company of a true hero and considering you are the only other person here with me right now, well I think you know what I am trying to say."

"Well we can agree to disagree when it comes the topic of us as heroes." Pepper told her before stepping back from the display. "Shall we continue with the tour? Mr. Stark should be back soon and I know you have something you need to discuss with him, so we should probably hurry along and finish up this tour before he arrives. Our next top would be further in the lab where I can show you the newest suite and introduce you to Jarvis."

Chloe followed along behind her since she did not want to keep Pepper busy longer than necessary because she was sure the other woman probably had other things she needed to be doing that were more important than the tour she was currently giving Chloe. "On with the tour! Don't mind my enthusiasm, I am running on only coffee and it tends to make me very hyper. As a reporter I basically live off the stuff, but I am sure with your busy schedule you consume quite a bit of coffee as well."

TBC...

AN: This was a short chapter, but it sets up events in the next chapter. i have to go back to Boston Monday and hopefully I will be back home by tuesday, but I have no idea if they are going to need me to stay. i will update when I can.

Please R&R like always!