Chapter 16
"Darren!" JC cried hoarsely.
Of course! How had he not thought of that? The boy was right there sitting in the car. But what could he possibly do?
"Mom? Mom, what's wrong?"
"Console…spare…hurry," she gasped. Tony felt his heart leap in his chest. Whether it was for joy or because he was starting to have a heart attack he wasn't sure. He was hoping for the former. JC had kept her spare reactor in her car. He knew that the piece of junk wouldn't run very well for very long, but it would keep her alive long enough to find Obadiah and take hers back.
"Spare? What are you talking about?"
Before she could answer she let out a pained cry, her body writhing. The magnet had to have been getting weaker allowing the barbs to start digging their way down to her lungs.
"Mom!" Darren cried out. The sound suddenly became muffled as Tony could hear what sounded like running footsteps and huffed breathing. A car door then opened and he could hear things being shuffled around. He hadn't been in the car? He must have gotten out to run away when JC never came back out. What had he thought? That she would really just leave him like that? Tony couldn't be sure, and right now, that was the least of his concerns. After several moments of listening to Darren rifling through the car he heard the sounds of more running and then the front door slamming open as he came barreling into the front entry only to skid to a stop at JC's body.
"Mom!" he exclaimed when he saw her body. "Shit! What did you do to her?"
"No…time," she gasped, the words barely coming out as she rolled over, her breath sounding weaker every second.
Darren held the piece in his hand as he knelt over her, a look of confusion and urgency on his face. He knew what was wrong, but he looked scared to do what he needed to.
"How do I do this?" he demanded of Tony.
"Plug end…to base plate," Tony managed as he tried to force his limbs to move.
Darren lifted her shirt up and did as instructed. Tony heard the all too familiar buzz of the connection as JC let out a yelp.
"Shit! Was that supposed to happen?" Darren exclaimed, looking to Tony.
"It's…normal," Tony said as he lurched forward, his legs still heavy from the paralysis sending him to the floor.
"Help…Stark," JC said weakly as her breathing started to come a little easier.
Darren looked to his mother then scowled at Tony before stalking over to him and grabbed him by the collar to hoist him up to a sitting position.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't just let you die?" he said in a low voice. "You have done nothing but cause my family pain. Why should I help you?"
"Stane…did this. He's going to kill…a lot of people…if I don't…stop him." The pain in his chest became sharper as he could feel the barbs moving in his chest.
Darren looked from him, to his mother, and back, obviously debating whether or not he was telling the truth. "If I help you, are you sure can you stop him?"
Tony's vision started to go hazy as the pain in his chest doubled. He could barely look the teen in the eye let alone give a coherent answer. Darren shook him, forced him to look at him. "Can you stop him? Yes or No?" he asked more forcefully.
"Yes," he answered.
"Tell me what to do."
"Basement," Tony groaned, pointing toward the stairs. "On the desk. Glass case. Can't miss it."
With that Darren let him go and ran to the basement, hopefully to bring back the other reactor.
Tony finally managed to get some strength into his limbs and crawled over to JC who had gone eerily quiet. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing had become so shallow he wondered if Darren had been too late. He sat up beside her, using every last muscle he had to hold himself up as he took her hand.
"JC," he said weakly, "JC, answer me."
She remained silent and motionless. Tony felt the toll his heart was taking, felt as his muscles slowly gave out on him, forcing him to slump over. He didn't want to give up, not yet. He had to stay with her, had to make sure she would pull through. He vaguely heard the sound of Darren's footsteps as he charged back into the living room and knelt down beside him.
"Hold still," he ordered as he moved in front of him and inserted the old reactor. A jolt went through Tony as the device connected with the base plate. His arms that had been holding him up gave way, sending him to the floor. Darren's voice sounded distant as his vision slowly darkened, his heartbeat hollow in his ears. He was tired. His heart ached from the exertion and the barbs that had tried to claim his life. He wanted to rest, needed to rest.
"Tony?" he heard. Who was that? Why were they disturbing his sleep?
"Tony!" he heard more urgently, the voice becoming clearer. "Darren, what happened?"
"Obadiah took those things, the arc reactors, from them. I gave them the spares, but then he collapsed, and Mom still won't wake up. I don't know what to do," Darren explained with a quivering voice.
Tony felt his body move, felt as someone shook him. "Tony? Tony, wake up man," Rhodey said.
He slowly opened his eyes realizing this wasn't a dream. He wasn't dead. What about JC? Where was JC? His eyes flew open as he reached up and grabbed Rhodey's shoulders to steady himself.
"JC," he said hoarsely. "Is she okay?"
"She's right there," Rhodey answered, showing him JC's still prone form.
"JC," he said as he lifted himself up, hovering over her. She made no indication that she heard him. Her chest moved up and down slowly with her still shallow breathing, but from her still pale appearance, it was hard to tell if she was okay or not. He put his fingers to her neck feeling for a pulse that was faintly there.
"JC, honey, wake up. You have to wake up now," he urged her. No response. "JC, please. I need your help. I need you," he pleaded as he cupped her face. Again there was no response. Tony clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Damn Stane. Damn him to Hell for what he had done. "JC, damn it, I did not carry your ass across a godforsaken desert to have you die like this!" he exclaimed. "You're a fighter. Fight, damn it! Open your eyes!"
She took in a deep, shaky breath before saying weakly, "Stop…yelling."
Tony smiled feeling himself about to cry over hearing her voice, but he restrained himself. There was no time for that. As JC opened her eyes and smiled up at him, Tony pulled her up into his arms and held her there. She was alive, alive and safe in his arms again. She returned his embrace warmly. "Don't ever scare me like that again. I thought I'd lost you, baby," he said, as he held her tightly.
"Ugh, don't call me baby."
Tony let out a strangled chuckle as he pulled away to look at her. "Deal."
"Mom?" Darren said tentatively. In all the excitement, Tony had completely forgotten about the boy. JC turned to see him nearly in tears. "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry." Before he could say any more, JC grabbed him and pulled into a hug as he started to weep. "I didn't mean it. I didn't mean any of it."
"I know, baby," she said gently as she held him. "I should have told you the truth sooner. I'm sorry." She pulled away from him and wiped away his tears. "When this is over, I promise to tell you everything. But right now we've got to find Stane."
"Pepper seems to have that covered," Rhodey said. "She's with five agents from the Strategic Homeland Intervention group. They're headed to the factory to arrest him."
"Phil and his lackeys aren't going to be enough," JC said as she and Tony got to their feet.
"Didn't realize you two were on a first name basis," Tony said. He had merely assumed that their meeting at the party the other night was their first. Apparently not.
"Another story for another time. If Stane gets your reactor into his suit, they're all dead."
"I'm more worried about getting yours back." While his would be fine until he could build a new one, if it came down to that, there was no telling how much life JC's had left.
"Why? They both work, so what's the difference?" Darren asked as he glared at Tony.
"Mine works. Not ideally for powering the suit, but functional. Your mother's is more like a ticking time bomb."
"A bomb?" Darren exclaimed as he started after Tony.
"Not what he meant," JC said quickly as she put a hand out to stop Darren. "We don't have time for this. Madman with a super suit on the loose, remember? Let's go."
"Suit? What are you talking about?" Rhodey asked as Tony started to stumble toward the stairs. JC quickly grabbed him by the arm and steered him toward the elevator.
"Long story short," JC said as they all piled into the small elevator. "Obadiah copied the suit that Tony used to escape in the desert. Since he paid the Ten Rings to kill us, he either bought or stole the original plans from them. That's the only way he could have built one so quickly and known Tony's chest piece was the power source. He was probably just going to sell the thing to the highest bidder, but if Phil confronts him, he'll easily kill all of them, then go after anyone else he sees as a threat."
When the doors finally opened, JC hurried ahead of him to the computer, typing in the password to unlock the machinery that held the armor.
"Are you sure you'll be able to handle the suit, Tony?" she asked as she started up the diagnostic programs and power up sequences.
"I'll be fine. We don't have a lot of options here," he said as he kicked off his shoes and tried to go for his flight suit.
"There's no time for you to change, Tony," JC said. "You'll have to fly it in what you have on."
He knew she was right, but that didn't make it much better. The flight suit made the armor more comfortable to wear.
The machinery came up from the floor, revealing the pieces of the suit, ready to assemble the armor. Tony stepped forward into the feet as the machinery brought the armor around him and reassembled it. Tony was just happy he had managed to repair all the damage before Stane had paid his little visit.
"So this is what you've been doing, Mom," Darren mused as he watched the suit assembly. "I gotta admit, you playing mechanic was not the first thing I would have guessed."
"Don't give me too much credit. I mostly kept him from breaking his neck, not that he made it easy."
"You're never going to let me live down the boots, are you?"
"Or the repulsors," she muttered with a smirk.
Tony saw from his peripheral that Rhodey was practically drooling from the sight of the armor. Tony would have grinned if the mission at hand wasn't so important. Pepper was in danger, and Stane was insane enough to kill anyone who got in his way.
"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen," Rhodey said in awe, pulling Tony from his previous thoughts for a moment.
"Not bad, huh?" he said as the armor finished, the faceplate still up. "JC, I'll need you here."
"No way, Tony. I'm not letting you take on a psychopath by yourself."
"Please," he said, taking her by the shoulders. "I almost lost you once tonight, and I'm not eager for a second try. This is going to be dangerous. Knowing Stane, he won't just have repulsors on his suit. He's gonna have the largest possible guns on there, and you don't have a suit to protect you from something like that. So, please, stay here."
He looked into her eyes for some type of confirmation. He was not going to put her in that kind of danger. He refused to.
"I still don't agree with it, but do what you have to, Tony," she said, a look of hurt in her eyes, but also understanding. He pulled her in and gave her a kiss which she returned. Now he knew what he was fighting for, what was important to him. He was sure now more than ever that she was what he needed, the force that drove him through those months of torture in that cave, that drove him to change even after they had returned. He knew it, and he was going to do anything to keep her safe.
"You can lecture me more when I get back," he promised and stepped toward the wrecked speedster, blasting it away with a shot from his hand.
"Need me to do anything else?" Rhodey asked.
The faceplate came down with a clunk over Tony's face as he said, "Keep the skies clear," and flew out through the hole he had created several nights before.
"Damn," Rhodey said as he watched Tony fly away.
JC looked to the Mark II armor that sat several feet away. Tempting as it was, she knew it wouldn't fit her. That and her RT probably wouldn't be able to handle it what with it being incomplete. Picking up the comm. piece she spoke into and told Tony she would be online in a moment.
"Come on, Rhodey," she said, getting into bodyguard mode. Despite what Tony had said, it was still her job to protect him. She wasn't about to let him go into that kind of danger alone.
"What?" he responded, looking at her dumbly. "You told Tony you'd stay here. No offense, I kinda agree with him."
"Technically I never said I would stay here. And besides, do I look like I take orders from Tony when it concerns safety?" she said as she rummaged through everything on Tony's desk and picked up what looked like a pair of sunglasses. On either side of the frame were pieces of tech that allowed it to hook up to the suit's H.U.D. so she could see everything Tony saw.
"What's with the shades?" Darren asked.
"A little thing we started but haven't really finished. We talked about the possibility of hooking me up remotely to control the suit from here. Tony doesn't have experience with hand-to-hand combat, but I do. So far we only got the glasses working. I'm gonna keep an eye on Tony while you drive me to Stark Industries," she said to Rhodey. "Then get to the base and keep them from mobilizing against Tony."
"Mom, there's no time for that," Darren objected. "By the time he gets you there, the Airforce will already be on top of him. Let Rhodey go. I'll get you to Stark."
"First, you don't have a license. Second, there is no way in Hell I'm letting you anywhere near Stane."
"First," Darren countered as he pulled out a card from his pocket, "I'm legal. Second, you can't drive and watch Tony. Third, we don't have time to argue. I can get you there, then get out. Deal?"
She stared at the driver's license in his hand a bit surprised since he had never bothered to mention that little fact. Then she quickly considered his proposal. He had a valid point, but that didn't mean she liked it or even wanted to consider it. Still, they were running out of time.
"Fine," she agreed with a huff. She couldn't believe she was actually agreeing with it, but it was too late to back out now. "Quick in and out. Understood, young man?" she ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," he said and followed her out of the garage up to the driveway. After she was situated in the passenger seat of the SUV, she put on the glasses and turned on the comm. device.
"Okay, Tony, what's the plan?" she asked as the H.U.D. came online.
"Was hoping you had one," he said as she watched the city fly by on the lenses. She had to admit that viewing things through the lenses was more intense that watching it on the computer screen. This was almost like being in the suit with him instead of just watching.
"Save Pepper, stop Stane, and try not to get killed in the process."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious. Now, care to elaborate on that?"
"Battling killer robots wasn't something they covered in basic training, Tony. This isn't like Gulmira. We knew what we were going up against there. This is uncharted territory. We're gonna have to make this up as we go."
"Excuse me? Did I just hear you correctly? Whatever happened to thinking before acting? As I recall, you gave me a big speech about this."
She let out a groan. Of course, he would pick now to throw something like this back at her. "Yeah, well, that only works with known parameters, Tony, which you had when I gave you that speech. You know Stane better than anyone. Where in the factory would he build the suit?"
"If he was trying unsuccessfully to integrate Arc reactor tech into the suit, he'd want it near the main reactor. Best place would be on one of the sublevels. JARVIS, get Pepper on the line."
She was trying to formulate a plan based on everything she knew, but nothing good was coming to mind. In Gulmira she had an idea of what kinds of weapons they would be facing, what kind of tactics they would use based on past experience. They had nothing. There was no telling what kind of weapons he might have equipped on the suit. It might all be known Stark tech, but it could also have tech Tony didn't know about, like the paralysis device Stane had used before. A chill went down her spine at the thought that it would be so easy for Stane to use it again. The suit wouldn't be able to protect him then. There were too many variables, too many unknowns.
JC listened as Pepper's voice finally came over the line and she started rambling about Obadiah having gone insane and building a suit. She then heard what sounded like crumbling asphalt and mechanisms whirling. That had to be Stane's suit, but it sounded huge. Then Tony finally got a good view of the suit on the H.U.D.
"Holy shit," JC said slowly as she took in the sheer size of the suit. This thing was built more like a tank. If she were to guess, Stane's armor was considerably thicker than Tony's, which would make it that much harder to damage even with what Tony had equipped. But bigger didn't necessarily mean better. In the brief look she got before Tony rammed himself into Stane's suit, she could see several outer hydraulic systems on the limbs. Stane would need that to be able to maneuver the massive suit. If they could disable the hydraulics, that would at least immobilize him.
"Tony, take out the hydraulics on his limbs. He won't be able to use the suit then."
"Oh, sure, now you come up with a plan," he said as he moved dazedly after plowing through the asphalt, at least two sublevels of the Arc station, and across the highway. When he finally maneuvered himself so she could see Stane again, he had an SUV over his head ready to use it as a projectile.
"Not good. Holy crap!" JC exclaimed as her vehicle suddenly bashed into something. She removed the glasses to see what Darren had just hit to find they were passing through the security station of Stark Industries, the gate of which Darren had just rammed through. She quickly covered the microphone.
"You break my car, I break you," she seethed at Darren.
"Your boyfriend can pay for the repairs. Besides it's not broken, just scratched. I think."
She glared at him, but was torn away by Tony shouting over the other end of the comm. "A little help, JC!"
She shoved the glasses back on in time to see Tony being thrown into a bus. Stane took a few steps away then aimed a rocket on his shoulder. JC didn't need to see what was coming next. She shoved the glasses up to sit on top of her head and hit the mute button on the comm. device. Darren pulled the car to a stop in front of the reactor station where a frightened Pepper was still standing helplessly. Moving to the back of the vehicle she grabbed her M-16 and several clips of spare ammo for his pistol and rifle from the trunk area.
"Pepper," she called to the distraught woman. She looked over to JC as if she had seen a ghost. "Pepper, go with Darren. He's going to get you out of here."
"What are you going to do?" Pepper asked, her voice still shaky.
"I'm gonna try to help Tony. Get out of here," JC ordered and used the outer stairs of the building to head for the roof to get a better view of the highway as Darren drove off. Turning the comm. back on she said, "Tony, you've got to get him off the highway before he hurts anyone else."
"Already on it," he said, and she watched from her position on the stairs as he started to shoot up to the sky. Stane's suit followed slowly behind as his own suit started to lift off.
"Tony, what are you doing?" JC demanded as she watched him disappear from view.
"You said to get him off the highway, so I'm getting him off the highway," he answered, and she could hear JARVIS ticking off reports on the power supply.
"That's not exactly what I had in mind. If he built his suit similarly to yours, he can probably go to the same altitude as you, you'll both ice up, and then you might not have enough power to start back up. How does you dying help anything?" she asked again.
"Don't you remember? I changed the metal," he reminded her. Of course, now she remembered. He had said he had changed the metal so he could fly at the higher altitudes without the ice problem. With any luck, Obadiah wouldn't know about the icing problem.
JC couldn't help but feel a pang of worry for him. He had never tried to operate the suit under such conditions. If he didn't reach altitude before power ran out, it would be for nothing. And if power ran out while he was up there…She didn't want to think about it. He was going to make it. He had to. She couldn't stand the thought of losing him now, despite what she had said earlier. What Darren needed and what she wanted didn't mesh very well, but for an instant, she didn't care. She wanted to forget it, but she knew she needed him, needed that crazy son of a bitch in her life. She thought of the irony. The one man she hated most was the one man she loved the most.
Pulling the glasses back down, she watched the H.U.D. display the power levels as Tony continued to climb until Stane caught up to him. She could practically see Tony smirking in triumph as Stane lost his grip and began to fall back to Earth. Stane's suit was not likely to regain power again in time to slow down the behemoth of a suit. She didn't envy that kind of death or the damage it would likely cause to the surrounding area, but at that moment, she didn't really care. Stane would be dead soon. She only wished she could have had a hand in it. She wanted to jump for joy until she heard JARVIS chime in with another power update. With only two percent Tony was quickly falling, and it wasn't long before he was back in sight, heading for the roof.
AN: Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. Don't forget to leave a review :)
