Left Behind Chapter 13-Last Chapter!, an avengers fanfic

GUYS! I'M BACK!

So, sorry about the long break here. Life has been HECTIC with a capital STRESSED.

So why have I chosen now to update? I'm glad you asked!

IRON MAN THREE. OMFG. No words can convey how I'm feeling right now about that movie, which I just saw for the first time last night! Whoo-hoo!

So, I'm emphasizing the next word for a reason: ****EXTREME SPOILERS****** at the bottom of this page.

Don't worry! If you haven't seen it, there are no spoilers in this story. And there will a large space between the end of this story and the actual spoilers, so you won't see it on accident!

Now, this is it! There was a large change in feelings between this and my last chapter, but I feel like I've been dragging this on long enough :)

It was a flurry of activity when four loud and demanding superheroes and their two friends entered the emergency waiting room. Doctors froze what they were doing just to stare.

Natasha led the group to where Happy, Pepper and Cap were waiting dejectedly.

"Any news?" She asked Pepper, but the woman was just staring blankly at the door to the ICU.

"None," Cap confirmed, "It's going to be a long wait." Natasha expected as much, and settled down between Clint and Cap. Thor sat down on Happy's other side, with Jane. Darcy and Bruce opted for chairs by Jane.

Not much was said during this time, though questions circulated plentifully through small glances and slight gestures.

Five hours into their wait, Pepper finally stirred. Happy squeezed her shoulder comfortingly as she blinked, "Why?" She whispered.

Cap's heart throbbed in compassion for the younger woman, "I know it must be a shock, ma'am," He began, but never finished.

"No, why?" Pepper insisted, "MODOK, what did he want? Why?"

Understanding passed through the faces of everyone. Pepper wasn't having a breakdown, she wasn't freaking out, she was just…being Pepper. If there was one thing the Avengers and Co. had learned about Tony's girlfriend, it was that she was the constant professional, constantly acting for the public eye.

And now she was doing what she did best: organizing the facts and data and coming up with a solution, and 'business plan' so to speak.

"He was extremely interested in Tony," Clint said slowly, "Something about StarkTech?"

"That's probable," Steve said, "But why try to kill Tony if he wanted Tony to build him something? Why not kidnap him?"

Pepper shuddered deeply at his words, going ever paler, if possible. Happy shot Steve a dirty look and wrapped an arm around the slender redhead in comfort.

Steve was bewildered, but Bruce and Natasha both sighed, each wearing their own personal versions of weariness. They were the only two Avengers who knew about Tony's past, after all.

"Did I say something?" Steve said in an undertone to Natasha, on his right.

She nodded, but didn't elaborate, and Steve fell silent, not wanting to upset Pepper any more than he already had.

"So, why?" Pepper asked again, meeting the eyes of everyone present, including Steve, "What could Tony have that A.I.M. doesn't?"

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The doctors finally arrived in the waiting room with news on Tony, only to find everyone asleep.

Five hours after Tony arrived, Darcy and Jane had went to get shawarma, hoping it would cheer the team up.

Six hours after, Happy and Darcy began to nod off.

Seven hours after, Jane had fallen asleep in Thor's arms, and the god began to snore quietly.

Eight hours after, Cap was drifting off, and Clint and Natasha soon followed. Neither assassin wanted to sleep, but both needed rest after their carbon monoxide poisoning.

Eight and half hours after, at 3:30 in the morning, the doctors were bewildered to find so many people sleeping outside the ICU doors.

It appeared everyone was asleep, but in fact, two people were still awake.

A redheaded woman got to her feet as soon as she saw them, the bags under her eyes dark but she had showed no sign of sleepiness.

Another man with dark hair, glasses and a world-weary expression also got up slowly. He cleaned his glasses as he walked forward to greet the doctors.

The man leaned forward and whispered something in the doctor's ear, and he nodded in agreement, before leading the two down an extremely clean looking hallway.

"Ms. Potts, Mr. Banner," The doctor said as he stopped outside Tony's designated room, "It took many hours of surgery, but Mr. Stark should be able to heal fairly well. He'll have some scarring around his wrists, and a few other places, but…" He gestured that the two should enter the room.

What they found inside was not what they expected.

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Tony was sitting up, completely conscious and apparently very aware. He grinned when he saw his girlfriend and his best friend in the doorway, both with their mouths wide open in shock.

"Miss me?" He asked snarkily. Pepper laughed in shock, a large smile crossing her face before she moved forward as if in a dream to take his hand.

"You complete asshole," She said, "You are such a jerk, scaring me like this again!" Tony received several not-so-gentle hits on the arm.

"I love you too, Pep." He said pressing her hand to his lips in a gentle kiss, before looking over at Bruce and the doctor, who wore matching expressions of disbelief. Both checked Tony's dosage count at the same time, their eyes bugged.

"C'mon Brucey, if 600 mils doesn't knock me out for five minutes, what makes you think that 2000 will for more than an hour?" Tony chuckled. Pepper settled on the open section of bed by his side, his hand clasped between hers.

"God above," Bruce said, shaking his head, "I'm glad to see you're okay, Tony."

"Ah, what's a few more pints of blood here and there?" Tony shrugged, the barest hints of pain flashing in his eyes at the movement, "Is MODOK…?"

"Gone." Bruce clarified, satisfaction crossing his face, "As if all of A.I.M."

"Doubt it," Tony muttered, "Bunch of stupid little wasps, if you ask me."

"You think some of them escaped SHIELD?"

"I think there are more of them than SHIELD realizes. A.I.M. is more like ants, I suppose. You see, they have anthills everywhere. Little nests that they can take refuge in if they want. SHIELD just got on little anthill." Tony said.

Reality hit Bruce, and he realized Tony was right. A.I.M. was far from done with. With or without their leader, they would be back.

And Tony would be the first person they would go after.

So, guys, what do you think? It's the end! Ta-da! My first story, complete! Yay!

Thanks for being amazing readers! And followers! And favorite-ers!

The reviews really helped this story along (if you ignore my haitus), and you guys really, just, wow. Thanks, guys. You're the best! *tears up*

So, the spoilers. They are down aways so I don't ruin anything for anyone the way MY JERK FRIENDS RUINED IT FOR ME, and please, do me a favor and DON'T review if you don't wanna see the spoilers! Thanks!

IM3

EXTREME SPOILERS!

So... OMFG! That movie! There are so many things I have to say to people who will actually understand, and I figured this was the place to do it.

So, number one. The new director! Shane Black directed this instead of Jon Favreau, and I don't think he did as good a job as Jon did. I don't know, I just kinda liked the first two's directing better.

2.) Bad-ass Tony! Wow, so much more fighting and so much more technique! Loved it!

3.) ALL THOSE SUITS. GOD DAMN, THAT WAS A LOTTA SUITS. If they have so many, they just can't spare one for me? :'(

That stupid Clean Slate protocol! WTH? I mean, yeah, you did it for Pepper blah blah blah, but did he really have to get rid of all of them? What's he gonna use in the next Avenger's movie? Huh? What then?

4.) His house! Gone! Poof! Maybe now he'll live in Stark Tower with the rest of the Avengers?

5.) LOL am i the only who stayed to watch the end scene credit? I love Tony Stark and Bruce Banner together!

6.) Did he really just fix his arc reactor like *that*? Why didn't he do it in the first place if it was that easy? THIS IS WHY I'M HATING ON SHANE BLACK. IT MAKES NO SENSE. And honestly, Tony without the freaking reactor is like Thor with mjolnir or Cap without his shield! This just isn't cool! At all! Whatsoever!

7.) That whole ending just makes me so upset! Like, I hate the whole thing! Hate it! HATE HATE HATE

8.) Speaking of endings, did anyone notice mine? I thought it had a nice tie-in to the movie. And really, the whole thing with me writing about AIM and whatnot is a huge coincidence. But the AIM in the the movie was nothing like the comic book AIM, which is what I'm basing my AIM on.

But really, my last paragraph or so is like shocking fitting. I'm bragging now, but I love that it fits in so well. :P

9.) Lastly, did anyone stay for after the end scene, that was after the credits? If you did, you are about as nerdy as I am. If you didn't, you missed out dude, hard core missed out.

TONY STARK WILL RETURN

On the screen, for all (and by all, I mean me, since I was the only one nerdy and fanatical enough to stay that long) to see. That's it. Right there. Robert Downey Jr. may or may not be playing Tony Stark again, but Tony Stark will for sure be in Avengers 2.

But without Robert Downey Jr., will it really be Tony Stark or some cheap copy?

But thank you, friends, for letting me get this off my chest! That movie really messed my inner nerd (and outer nerd) up. I regret nothing though, as much as I liked my understanding of Tony and the Avengers pre-IM3.

And the Avengers is still my fav Marvel movie to date. Anyone else think so too?