A/N: Monique is the name of Epps's wife, going by the novelisation of Revenge of The Fallen.
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or Iron Man.
Summary: NEST contact Tony Stark, who comes to help them take down the Decepticons. He brings Pepper and Rhodey along with him. Set after Revenge of The Fallen, and after the first Iron Man film.
Warnings: There may be bad language and hints of slash in later chapters, though nothing explicit.
Co-operation
Chapter 6:
Pepper met Tony and Rhodey outside the briefing room. She was currently talking to Graham about the upcoming mission. Rhodey excused himself, saying that he had to go to the stores and get some new kit. Most of his was back at home.
"Tony, are you really going with them?" Pepper asked.
"I am." Tony replied.
"We'll be happy to have him with us." Graham said. "After the combat demo I have no doubts that Tony will be a great asset to us."
"But I lost." Tony protested.
"I know, but this will be a real combat situation against the Decepticons. When you see them, you won't want to do anything else but take them down. You can tell that they're evil by just looking at them – they're also heavily armed and out for revenge." Graham said. "If you take one down, you will have the respect of every single person on this base."
"..." Pepper just gaped at Graham. "You mean that they're going to be way more dangerous than Ironhide was in the demo."
"Yes. And don't forget – Ironhide wasn't out to kill Tony. These ones will be." Graham reminded Pepper.
xXx
"Honey, I'm gonna be gone for a couple of days. Something came up." Lennox sighed, throwing essentials into a backpack on his bed. I was really hoping to go on leave soon. It's been so long since I've seen my family.
"By something came up, do you mean the usual?" Sarah's voice came from the speaker phone. Lennox could hear Annabelle making noise in the background. Lennox had forced Sarah to move back to the United States, due to the fact Diego Garcia was meant to be highly top secret and they were expecting the Decepticons to attack them there at any time.
"Of course I mean the usual." Lennox said. "And this time we have to take Tony Stark with us."
"You mean the former weapons developer... Tony Stark as in... Iron Man Tony Stark?"
"That's the one."
"Why is he with NEST?"
"He's helping us take out the you-know-what's." Lennox sighed. He hated talking on an open phone line. It meant they had to cover everything up about the Autobots and the Decepticons. Sometimes he wished they didn't have to deal with all this secrecy, but he wasn't one to put a mission in jeopardy.
"Oh. What's he like?" Sarah asked. Lennox could hear Epps having a similar conversation with his missus in the room next door, though there's sounded more heated – more like an argument.
"I'm not really sure to make of him yet." Lennox said. "Look, I'll call you another time. Things are a bit hectic at the moment due to this being last minute. Give my love to Annabelle."
"I will. I love you."
"I love you too. Bye honey." Lennox ended the call and rubbed his face with his hands. They didn't part with 'see you soon' anymore. They had both grown used to the war and the long periods of time that Lennox was away for. It didn't stop Sarah worrying though.
Lennox knocked on the door to Epps's room. Epps opened the door and let Lennox in, still on the phone. He was frowning, and Lennox could hear Monique chattering away to him on the phone and a commotion in the background. Lennox sat down on the couch and decided to wait. He could be here a while.
"Monique, can we discuss this another time?" Epps scowled. "And no! Don't phone Morshower. He has enough to handle without you shrieking at him down the phone. I'll call you when I next get a chance. Tell the kids I love them. Bye. I love you." He threw his mobile across the room and it bounced on the floor. He sat down on the couch beside Lennox with his head in his hands.
"Wanna talk about it, or do you just want me to give you the manly punch on the arm?" Lennox asked.
"Both." Epps groaned.
"It'll be okay, Epps. You'll see." Lennox grinned and punched his friend in the arm. "Now, tell me what happened."
"I told Monique we're going away again and she's furious." Epps explained. "We were meant to have leave soon and she really wanted me home. She's having problems looking after all five kids on her own – we've been away for months. All I want is to see my family."
"Can't she hire someone to help out?"
"Everyone we've hired has quit."
"Oh."
"Our kids are actually monsters. No-one will volunteer to babysit them. We can't even get anyone to babysit them by offering money. God knows why we decided to have five of them." Epps sighed. "I just feel bad that I'm all the way out here and she's back home in the States trying to do everything by herself."
"Has she asked Sarah for help?" Lennox asked.
"Don't be silly. She's too proud to ask for help." Epps snorted.
"Well then I'll give Sarah a call and tell her to offer some help." Lennox shrugged. "She'll be okay, Epps. Hopefully we'll get some leave after this one. If not, Morshower is gonna have to deal with a lot of complaints."
"Most of them from the wives too."
"Exactly." Lennox grinned, standing up. "I gotta go and finish packing. I'll see you in a while."
"Yeah. Talk to Sarah. Thank her for me."
"No problem."
xXx
"Tony, are you going to pack anything?" Rhodey sighed in frustration, throwing various pieces of kit into a backpack. "You are coming to the Arctic too y'know."
"I know." Tony said, sitting down on the couch in Rhodey's room to watch him pack. "But all I really need is my suit and some thermals. I'm not in the military, Rhodey. I haven't been issued with the rest of the crap that you guys have to take."
"Have you packed your suit and some thermals?"
"Yep."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"Don't you need any toiletries or anything, like a toothbrush?"
"Pepper always packs that sort of stuff for me. I always forget." Tony shrugged. "She really doesn't want me to go on this mission. She's worried sick about me fighting another one of these robots. Graham did a great job of reassuring her by telling her that these ones are likely to be heavily armed and out for revenge." Tony rolled his eyes.
"Well she's right to worry."
"But don't you think she worries too much?" Tony asked.
"Tony. When you got captured in Afghanistan..." Rhodey hesitated. "It was really hard for some of us, especially Pepper, okay? I spoke to her on the phone a couple of times to make sure she was holding up alright. You don't know what she went through, thinking that you were dead. I had to keep telling her that I was going to find you, and that you were going to be okay. Then we found you and brought you home with a glorified car battery in your chest."
"Before I installed the arc-reactor, I actually was being kept alive by a car battery." Tony interjected. "She's seen me in the suit, Rhodey. She should know by now that I'm always fine. So what if I need this to keep me alive?" he tapped the arc-reactor that was glowing through his t-shirt. "I'm going to be fine Rhodey."
"Isn't this what you should be saying to Pepper?"
"I already did." Tony said. "I don't think it calmed her down too much though."
"Maybe if you showed some regard for your own safety she wouldn't have to worry so much." Rhodey smiled.
"If I showed regard for my own safety I wouldn't be here right now." Tony smiled and stood up. "Well I'm off to grab my stuff and take it to the C-17. I'll see you there in a few minutes."
xXx
"Alright guys, let's start loading up!" Lennox called across the tarmac.
Tony leant forwards and brushed Pepper's hair out of her face. His hand lingered on her cheek as he stood with her, watching everyone board the C-17 in their combat gear. Much to Tony's protest, they had found him some combat gear to wear until they reached the Arctic, where he could put on his suit.
"I'll be back. I always am." Tony said.
"Be safe." Pepper smiled. Tony leant closer again and Pepper closed her eyes.
"Tony! Time to go!" Rhodey called. Tony and Pepper broke away from each other, increasing the distance between them.
"Goodbye Tony." Pepper said and walked over to where Morshower was standing.
Tony walked over to where Rhodey was waiting for him at the bottom of the ramp. He stopped and glared at his best friend, folding his arms across his chest. Rhodey frowned and raised an eyebrow.
"What's wrong with you?" Rhodey asked.
"You."
"What did I do?"
"You know what you did."
"No I don't."
"That's a lie." Tony snorted, walking past Rhodey onto the C-17. He sat down in between Lennox and Epps, and Rhodey sat on Epps's other side. "You did it because you're jealous."
"How could I do something I don't even know about?" Rhodey asked. "Maybe if you told me what I apparently did, I would be able to give a reason for it."
"Are you sure you two aren't..." Epps started to say.
"We're not!" Rhodey snapped.
"He still wishes." Tony muttered under his breath.
xXx
"Do you think they're going to be okay?" Pepper asked Morshower as they watched the C-17 disappeared on the horizon. No matter how many times Tony reassured her that he was going to be okay she still worried... a lot. It was in her nature to worry about him.
"They'll be fine. They're some of the best soldiers that the world has ever seen." Morshower said, placing a hand on Pepper's shoulder.
"I have no doubt about that." She smiled. "But... I know it sounds selfish... but it's not really them I'm worried about."
"You're worried about Tony, aren't you?" Morshower asked.
"Yes."
"Pepper, I'm sure he's going to be fine."
"He always says that to me... but when I think about it he never is." Pepper sighed. "He always comes home injured or in a mess. His heart, a broken arm, bullet holes in his suit... but he's always grinning at me, like it's some sort of game. He doesn't take things seriously, unless he's wearing the suit. As soon as he's out of it, everything turns into one big joke."
"Have you thought that he might be grinning because he's happy that he's alive?" Morshower asked.
"But most of the time he doesn't even seem to consider his death as a consequence of his actions." Pepper insisted. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. It's not going to change anything."
"Sometimes people just need to talk Pepper, and they need someone to listen to them." Morshower shrugged. "In my job, you don't get very far without listening to other people."
"Well... thank you." She smiled.
"You're welcome." Morshower checked his watch. "I have paperwork to do. Are you going to be okay on your own?"
"I'll be fine." Pepper assured him. "Have fun doing your paperwork."
"I'm sure I will." Morshower said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He headed towards the admin building, leaving Pepper on her own.
Pepper decided to go to the Autobot hangar to have a look around, seeing as all of the Autobots had left with the rest of the NEST team. She walked in through the large doors and stopped. The hangar was huge – it had to be to accommodate all of the Autobots. There was a yellow and black camaro parked in one corner, and Pepper realised that not all of them had gone to the Arctic. She was about to leave when the camaro transformed, and an alien robot was now standing over her.
Don't panic. She thought to herself. They're on our side. It's not going to hurt me.
The robot crouched down in front of Pepper, and cocked his head to the side. Pepper took a slight step back and the robot studied her, moving slightly closer.
"Who are you?" The robot asked.
"I'm... P-Pepper Potts." She stammered. "I work for Tony Stark. Do you... have a name?"
"Bumblebee."
"Hi Bumblebee. Why are you still here, when everyone else left on the mission?" She asked cautiously.
"Someone had to stay behind to protect the base." Bumblebee spoke in a very slow and calm manner. "Forgive me if my speech does not seem fluent. Ratchet only just finished fixing my vocal chords."
"Well, to me your speech sounds fine." Pepper smiled nervously.
"Ah, Miss Potts. Fancy seeing you here." A voice came from behind her. Pepper turned on her heel, and saw Director Galloway striding towards her through the hangar. He stopped about a metre away from her. "Are you lost, perhaps? All of your friends are far away now, aren't they?"
"I'm not lost. I was just coming for a look around, and then I met Bumblebee." She gestured to the yellow and black Autobot that was towering above her. "May I ask what you're doing here, Director Galloway?"
"I was looking for you actually." Galloway said. "I wanted to discuss the Iron Man program with you..."
"Oh, so you've given it a name now?" Pepper asked. She folded her arms and glared at Galloway. "Tony – Mr Stark – already refused your offer. He is not going to change his mind, no matter how many times you ask him to. His decision stands final."
"Surely we can come to some kind of agreement?" Galloway asked.
"A 'no' is a 'no', Director Galloway." Pepper growled. "If you'll excuse me, I have some calls to make." She stormed out of the Autobot hangar. Galloway watched her go, and then turned to look at Bumblebee. He looked around in confusion. There was no sign of the yellow and black Autobot anywhere. Galloway left the hangar, muttering to himself, intent on getting a hold of the Iron Man armour.
That's the end of chapter 6. Not sure when chapter 7 will be up, but stay tuned!
Thank you for all of the reviews and favs! It's nice to know that people are enjoying my work.
I Caught Myself.