Chapter 9

Tony fired up the assembly arms already loaded with the completed armor pieces. As each piece was attached and bolted into place, Tony felt like a kid at Christmas about to play with his new toy.

"Tony, are you sure about this? Maybe we should wait until-"

"Until when? We can't do it in the daytime unless you want everyone to see me," he pointed out.

"Right, because no one's gonna notice a pair of rockets flying through the air attached to your feet at night?" she said dryly as she looked him over. "I'm not worried about people seeing you. I'm worried that something will go wrong and you start plummeting several hundred feet to the ground to become street pizza, or worse, the ocean where no one will find your body," she explained.

"Okay, first, the exosuit will keep me from becoming street pizza, mostly. Second, the boots aren't going to give out. You've seen the tests yourself," he tried to reassure her.

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of."

"JC," he said, gripping her shoulders in his metal covered hands. "Everything is going to be fine. Nothing bad is going to happen. Just relax, okay?" he tried to reassure her.

"I already agreed to it, but that doesn't mean I like it." She heaved a sigh of frustration before saying, "Let's just get on with this before I come to my senses," and moved to the computer to start typing in commands.

He released her and went for the face piece of the helmet. "Jarvis, you there?" he asked the AI.

"At your service, sir," the British accented voice responded.

"Engage heads up display," he commanded as he attached the piece.

"Check."

"Import all preferences from home interface."

"Will do, sir." Tony watched as his HUD lit up with a myriad of information as it went through scans of the environment, bringing up available info on anything he chose to focus on.

"What do you say?" he asked from Jarvis after a moment.

"I have indeed been uploaded. We are online and ready," Jarvis reported.

"Start the virtual walk around," he ordered.

"Importing preferences and calibrating virtual environment."

"Check on control surfaces."

"As you wish."

Tony stepped toward the launch pad as every movable surface of the suit lifted and turned with Jarvis's tests.

"Okay, I've got this thing rigged for your HUD, ATC, and GPS for the suit. Basically, I'll be able to see whatever you see and monitor you from here. Jarvis will keep us in communication via this earpiece," she said, holding up a small Bluetooth earpiece. "Ready whenever you are."

"Okay, do a weather and ATC check. Start listening in on ground control."

"Sir," Jarvis chimed in. "There are still terabytes of calculations needed before an actual flight is attem-"

"Jarvis," Tony said sternly. "Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk. Ready, JC?"

"Fire away," she responded.

"Okay, in three, two, one." The rockets engaged and he hovered for several seconds before angling his body and shooting out of the garage into the sky with a loud whoop. With several more shouts of glee JC's voice came over the intercom.

"Hey, banshee, you might want to keep the yelling down to a minimum. You're not the only one who can hear it," she chided.

"Sorry, JC. I wish you could be here right now. This feels like a dream," he breathed.

"Thanks but no. Me and heights don't do well."

"Wait a second. You're in the air force and fly helicopters, but you hate heights? How does that work out?" he asked a bit confused.

"I don't fly. It's a common misconception that everyone in the air force flies. My friend Carl does all the flying, and it scares the crap out of me every time. His co-pilot seat has permanent indents from my nails," she explained.

"And yet you kept working with him?"

"The thrill was exciting, I must admit. Though, I don't think I could do what you're doing. Watching the HUD is enough for me," she replied, a smile creeping into her voice.

"You should try it at some point. It wouldn't be too hard to arrange," he offered. He almost hoped she would jump at the offer. After all the bad things that had happened, this was one good experience he could give her, and he wanted to be able to share it with her through more than just a computer screen.

"As tempting as that sounds, I would never want to do what you're doing."

He chuckled at her and said, "Don't dis it 'till you try it."

"Tony, if the world followed your reasoning, more people would have addictions to every known substance."

"Hey," he interjected. "I didn't say it worked for everything."

"Right," she drawled, unconvinced. "Just keep your eyes on the sky. It looks like the carnival is running tonight. You might want to keep your distance."

"I see it, mother," he heaved as he zoomed in on the Ferris wheel.

"Tony," she warned.

"I know. You really don't like this," he said as he zoomed in on one of the children taking a ride on the wheel. They both watched as he licked his ice cream until he licked it right off its cone. They snickered at the boy and got back on track.

"Let's see what this thing can do. Jarvis, what's the SR-71's record?" he asked.

"The highest record for fixed wing flight is 85,000 feet," the computer replied.

Tony smirked to himself and commented, "Records are made to be broken."

"Tony," JC responded, the sound of a chair scraping against the floor. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I told you. I want to put her through her paces," he answered as he continued to ascend.

"Sir, there is a fatal amount of ice forming," Jarvis reported.

"Keep going," Tony strained as he pushed farther.

"Tony," JC exclaimed. "Fatal means death. Pull back now."

"I can make it," he urged.

"Tony, stop! Now!" was the last thing that Tony heard her yell before his boots suddenly cut out and the suit shut down completely sending him into free fall to the ground. He gave a loud yelp before regaining what little composure he could.

"Jarvis, deploy flaps," he ordered trying to keep calm. When no answer came, he became nervous. "Jarvis?" he called out to the AI. "Come on, we gotta break the ice," he yelled out as nothing happened. He clawed at the switch that he knew would manually deploy the flaps to break the ice.

With barely a moment to spare he broke through the ice over the knob on his hip, and with a turn the flaps shot out breaking through the built up ice. Moments after, the HUD lit up through its startup cycle. As the city below approached faster his rockets fired off and shot him back through the sky as he gave a holler of joy. Over the intercom he could hear JC's cries over his assumed demise.

"JC, you can relax. I'm fine," he told her when he had calmed himself enough.

"Tony?" she breathed almost in disbelief and relief.

"It's okay. I'm coming back."

"Good," she responded, conviction filling her voice. "Hurry up before I think of too many ways to skin your hide."

He knew he was in trouble from the very beginning, but at that moment, it was worth any wrath she could possibly bestow upon him. At least, he hoped that.

He flew to his home and landed in the garage. That is, if falling through the roof, the living room below, landing on a grand piano, and destroying his favorite car could be considered landing in the garage. Dummy proceed to douse him with the extinguishing foam as JC rushed to his side.

"Tony, did you break anything?" she asked as she removed the face piece.

"Just my pride," he moaned, more for the fact that the car was destroyed rather than any physical injury.

"Good. Get out of that thing. I'll see you upstairs," she responded, the contempt coming back as she stomped up the stairs. Figuring that it couldn't get much worse and that he would have to face her at some point, he got himself up and out of the suit. On his way up, he grabbed an ice bag from the fridge and the mug of coffee Pepper had left earlier, which was now stone cold.

"All right, let's hear it. Yell at me and tell me I was stupid, but whatever it is, it won't put a damper on my…mood," he trailed off as he saw her expression in the glass of the living room window.

She had her back turned to him, anger, disappointment, and what he could only assume was fear etched in her body language as her face contorted in a look of un-amusement and dissatisfaction. She stayed silent.

"Well, aren't you going to say anything? A minute ago you were ready to tear my head off, and now this. You really need to make up your mind."

"I have never lost anyone I was assigned to protect," she stated, her voice low and serious, her back still turned. "I would consider amending that for Takeshi, but he was not the one I was supposed to protect," she said, referring to her former Japanese employer. "Not once have I even come close until what happened in Afghanistan. And after we returned, I never imagined anything like this would happen." She turned to him, her stare fixated on him with a look of severity he had not seen on her in quite some time. "You are hell bent on being my first."

"Listen, JC, I-"

"I'm not finished," she interrupted. "We made an agreement, but once again you proved that your word means very little when it comes to something you want. I understand it was important, but putting your life at risk by pulling a stupid stunt like that? That was plain lunacy. What were you thinking?" she demanded.

"I didn't know that was going to happen," he answered, trying to think of something to placate her.

"Bull shit," she retorted. "You were clearly told 'fatal buildup'. What exactly did you think that meant? I know sometimes you have to push limits to find them, but you do it smartly, not go off halfcocked and get yourself killed." She put up a hand to stop what was left of her tirade and took several deep breaths trying to compose herself. "I'm tired, Tony. I don't want to fight you. I just want you to think before acting from now on. Will you at least consider that?"

"JC, it was one time."

"One time? Tony, that seems to be the theme of your life right now. When you decided to shut down your weapons development, did you really think it all the way through?"

"Not you, too," he said disgustedly. "I'm trying to do something better with my life, with my company. Of all people, I thought you would understand that."

"I do understand, but at what cost? How many people lost their livelihoods that day, huh? While you're figuring out your next step, they're without jobs. These things don't happen overnight. What are they supposed to do over the next few weeks or even months? And what happens if they decide they don't want to come back? There are worse people out there than Stark Industries, and if any of your workers are desperate enough, they will gladly turn to those people. Did any of that even cross your mind for an instant?"

Admittedly, it hadn't. All he had thought about was that his weapons were being used against the people he had created them for, and the only way to start ensuring no more could be taken, production had to be shut down immediately. He hadn't considered yet what would happen to the workers, not yet. He was still developing a plan for that, but right now the suit was taking precedence, not his corrupt company. Which, he was starting to see, was JC's point.

"That's what I thought," she said when he didn't answer. "I don't want to scold you anymore, Tony. Just, please, think about it next time," she said and started towards the front door.

Here he thought there was nothing at all she could say to disturb him, and once again, she proved him wrong. He gritted his teeth as she passed by. He knew this would be his only chance to atone before she held a permanent grudge.

"JC, wait," he said, stopping her before she could reach the door.

"What, Tony?" she demanded, exasperated.

"I…I'm sorry, JC. I…I don't know how else to say it or any better way to say it. I just…" he trailed off not quite sure what else to say for the first time.

"I get it," she said, her gaze softening. "I know you're used to getting your way with just about everything, but it's got to change. In case you hadn't noticed," she continued, walking back, "doing everything your way isn't always the best way. Now," she paused, clearing her throat and changing subject, "since I have thoroughly demoralized you for a moment, time to return to my job. How's your head?"

Tony gave a little smirk before saying, "I've had worse. I think I'll live."

"All right then." JC gave a loud yawn and rubbed one eye before saying, "I should get home now. My son's probably wondering what's happened to me. I'll see you in the morning."

"Are you okay to drive?" Tony asked as he watched her drag her feet to the door. He spared a glance to the wall clock and noticed it was now 12:30. NO wonder she was so tired.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I've driven under worse conditions before," she answered.

"That's not exactly comforting," Tony said. "Why don't you stay in the spare room tonight? Give me a little peace of mind," he offered.

"That's touching, Tony, but-"

"I insist," he interrupted. "Look, I don't want to wake up to the morning news to hear you've gotten into a crash because you fell asleep at the wheel. Besides, if you end up in the hospital, who's gonna be around to make sure I don't wind up there?"

"Tony, I can't. I–"

"At least get a couple hours of sleep. Leave whenever you want to in the morning. You don't even have to come back until the afternoon or later. I'm just going to be doing calculations and some recalibrating. Nothing life threatening, just computer work. Deal?"

She gave him a small grin before sighing and replying, "All right, Tony. I'll just leave a message at home so Darren doesn't come storming up here with the police wondering why I never came home."

"He wouldn't really do that, would he?" Tony asked, all of a sudden having second thoughts about asking her to stay. If her son was going to do that, he was almost more willing to just let her leave. Almost.

"He's capable of just about anything. I wouldn't put it past him not to try something like that," she said, pulling out her cell phone.

"I'll just go see if there are some spare clothes up there. Pepper sometimes stays the night when she works really late and always has a pair of clean pajamas."

She nodded in response as she began speaking into the phone and he went upstairs. Sure enough, Pepper had left several pairs of pajama pants and shirts, so Tony grabbed a set and left it out on the bed for JC. After showing her to her room and saying good night, Tony went to his own room and changed his clothes before slipping underneath the sheets for a long awaited rest.