The temperature in the room seems to rise a few degrees as a bubble of tension surrounds me, almost anticipating what's going to happen. I draw a deep breath in and pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them, a shudder running down my spine. "The finale approaches."

Clint shifts and pulls me a little closer, "Hey, it's alright. You didn't die!"

I grin slightly and accept his half-hug. "I guess…that's about all I didn't lose."

Natasha give me a meaningful look. "You became a kickbutt superhero, silver lining over here."

I shrug as the screen lights up again.

A~A~A

Tony and Taylor are shown putting on the armors as Rhodey watches.

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen."'

Taylor grins with her faceplate flipped up. "Not bad, huh?"

Tony nods. "Let's do this. Can you move that Audi?"

Taylor fires at an already destroyed car to shove it out of the way.

Rhodey looks up at them. "Need me to do anything else?"

Tony and Taylor glance at each other and command "Keep the skies clear," simultaneously before Tony clicks his faceplate down and shoots out the hole created by the first test flight, followed by a fully suited Taylor.

Rhodey sighs and looks over at the spare armor pieces on the table. "Damn. Next time, baby." He climbs into Tony's Audi and drives out of the workshop.

.

Coulson and a few other agents are shown searching Sector 16 for Obie.

Coulson sees the original armor. "They were right, he was building a suit."

One of the other agents peeks over his shoulder. "I thought it would be bigger."

Coulson turns around to look at the area around them and sees Obie's armor light up and looms above, the holoscreen targeting him as he backs up.

"Take it out!" An agent opens fire as the agents evacuate the room, the armor getting stuck in the doorway as it tries to follow.

.

Tony and Taylor are shown flying through the quickly darkening sky towards the Stark Industries factory. "How do you think the Mark I chest piece is going to hold up?"

"The suit's at 48% power and falling, sir. That chest piece was never designed for sustained flight."

"Why didn't we design this better?"

Tony ignores his daughter exclamation. "Keep me posted, J."

The holoscreen shows that Coulson is calling, and Tony answers the call and lets Taylor join. "Coulson-"

"Stark, are you two okay?"

"I'm fine. How are..."

"Stane, he's gone insane!"

"You just realized that?" Taylor asks sarcastically. "Just now?"

Tony shoots her a warning look. "I know. Listen, you'd better get out of there."

"He built a suit!"

"Just get out! Now!" Taylor snaps.

Coulson is running out of the factory surrounded by a few agents and chased by Obie's suit, the Iron Monger.

"Where do you think you're going? Your services are no longer required." The guns on the suit's arms are pointed at Coulson.

A red blur appears, streaking towards the larger suit. "Stane!" Tony draws the fire away from Coulson while another black blur, barely visible against the sky, swoops in and grabs Coulson, bringing him to safety.

Iron Man and Iron Monger collide hard and fast, sending them both through the floor, a wall, and across a freeway, hitting several cars as the go. Taylor follows all of this quickly, approaching the scene just as Obie picks up a car with a mother and two children, threatening to throw it at Tony.

"I love this suit!"

"Put them down, Stane!" Taylor warns. "There are kids in there."

"Shut up, you little brat. It's collateral damage." Obie snarls.

Tony clenches his jaw, "Divert power to chest RT." His chest piece glows brighter and fires a laser that hits Iron Monger and knocks him back, Taylor moving to grab the car as it falls.

"Power reduced to 19%, Sir," Jarvis warns Tony as Taylor sets the car down only to have it ram forward into him.

"No, no no no no!" Tony groans as the car drives over him before he finally frees himself.

"That…looked like it hurt," Taylor winces. "You okay?"

Iron Man Shrugs as he replies, "As good as I can be right now…watch out!"

Taylor barely has time to dive wildly to the side before Iron Monger pops back up, grabbing Tony by an ankle, slamming him into the ground. "For 30 years, I've been holding you up!" He slams Tony again.

"I built this company from nothing!" Another slam.

"Nothing is going to stand in my way. Least of all you!" Obie slams Tony again before aim a rocket at a nearby bus, throwing Tony up in a huge ball of fire.

Suddenly a black blur shoots towards Iron Monger and slams into his side, knocking him to the ground. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

"Shut up, you brat!" Obie roars from inside the suit. "You don't understand!"

"Oh, but don't I?" Taylor counters in an eerily calm voice. "I understand more that you think, Stane. Like how you enjoy under the table deals. How you sold us out. How you worked me to the bone, working a three-person workload for a week by myself. I know that you wanted your own godson dead. Does that cover it yet?" she asks rhetorically, her voice dripping with venomous sarcasm.

"You little-" Obie takes a swing at her, but her suit is up and out of the way before he can land a hit.

While Iron Monger was occupied, Iron Man had fired up his palm and boot thrusters and was now hovering above Obie. "Up here!"

"Impressive! You've upgraded your armor!" Obie observes gleefully. "I've made some upgrades of my own!" He fires up the gigantic rocket boots and slowly takes flight too.

"Sir, ma'am," Jarvis reports dutifully, "It appears that his suit can fly."

"Duly noted," Tony and Taylor drawl simultaneously, both taking flight.

"Take me to maximum altitude," Tony orders. "Taylor, stay here."

"What? No!"

"With only 15% power, the odds of reaching that..."

"I know the math!" Tony snaps at Jarvis before turning to his daughter. "Under no circumstance are you to follow me, do you understand?"

"But dad, this isn't-"

"Taylor Maria-"

"Fine," she snaps, black metal glinting as she folds her arms. "No need to use the middle name treatment. Go!"

Tony doesn't reply as he takes off after his godfather turned nemesis, leaving Taylor to watch in silence from the ground.

A~A~A

"Hey!" Clint whines immediately after the screen shuts off. "He should've let you fight!"

"Do not underestimate the protectiveness of a sire over his young, friend Hawk," Thor warns. "The Man of Iron's actions were admirable."

Clint scowls as I harrumph at the screen. "I still wish he would've let me."

"At least you get to fight with us," Steve consoles me.

"Yeah," I mutter under my breath, "that's why."

"Was your dad stern like that a lot?" Bruce asks cautiously.

I study the ceiling as I consider that. "Not much, no. Mainly when it comes to a matter of life and death. Like that time with the London Loki bomb-"

"Still incredibly stupid," Clint grumbles.

"-or this one time I managed to blow up and entire lab. On accident," I add quickly as I notice their horrified expressions.

"Right," Natasha nods slowly, not looking entirely convinced. "Accident, right."

"I swear it was!" I insist. "Not my fault!"

"Sure."