Pepper

"Tony?"

"In here!"

Pepper sighed as she walked into Toad's workshop, her husband standing in front of a table with some sheets of parchment, a piece of charcoal wrapped in thin leather clutched in his hand as he stared down at the drawings he'd made. Around him were bits of metal in various states and conditions, each done up in a different color. He'd taken off his outer coat at some point and was wearing only an undershirt which was already dirty from the general mess that came about in working with metal.

"And why am I not surprised that you are in the one place I told you NOT to be?" Pepper asked.

"Come on, that's like asking a fish not to be in the water. You know what they call a fish not in the water? Dinner. Do I look like dinner to you?"

"One I might send back to the cook," Pepper stated. "Tony, we are supposed to be packing."

"Packing makes it sound like we are going on a pleasure trip," Tony commented. "There is nothing pleasurable about being dragged around as glorified hostages for a demented would-be Overlord." He paused, bobbing his head from side to side. "Okay, admittedly my mind is thinking up about 5 different scenarios in our bedroom where that would be very pleasurable but that is beside the point."

"Yes, and the point is that we are supposed to be getting ready so we don't anger the Overlord that can move metal with his mind."

"He doesn't use his mind, actually. His body produces magnetic waves and he uses that to manipulate the metal. See, he has to be a certain distance in order to do it and it loses strength the farther away he is. That's why he can't just thrust out his hand and make the Iron Throne eat the Lannisters." He chuckled at that. "Which would be funny to see in a horrifyingly violet sort of way."

"Tony?" Pepper said. "Getting ready to leave?"

He waved his hand dismissively at her. "I'm working on more important things."

"And what exactly is so important?"

"Armor."

"Of course," Pepper said dryly.

"Hey!" Tony complained. "You might be fine with your armor being all intact but Rhodes got screwed!"

After Braavos had repelled the Mandarin and his forces the Brotherhood had stormed his manse, searching for clues and pillaging for spoils. Down in one of the basements they'd found Pepper's armor, is perfectly fine. No one was quite sure how it had ended up there as the entire ship attack was a blur of chaos and destruction, but it was there and Pepper was glad to have it back.

"So I need to get him a new suit. And I want to work on your's as well… Erik might be delusional but he's really good at metal and showed me a few tricks. I think I can slim it down so you could wear most of it comfortably under your dresses. Of course it might be too warm for that right now but winter is coming as Ned always loves to remind us so-"

Pepper reached over and pressed her hand to his mouth to get him to stop talking.

"Tony… we are leaving in a few hours. You won't even have time to ink your drawings." She stepped closer and locked eyes with him. "I need you to say this with me: you aren't going to get to work on any armor for at least two months."

Tony mumbled something and she pulled her hand away.

"Kind of hard to say something with you when you are covering my mouth," he pointed out. Pepper shot him a look and he laughed. "Come on, I get it. I just-"

"No."

"I mean-"

"No."

"Why-"

"No."

A dry chuckle filled the air and Pepper turned to see Mystique lounging in the doorway. "You know… you haven't trained him very well if he's still talking back at you. Maybe you should use a rolled up scroll, bop him on the nose."

"I would pay to see that," Arya said, phasing through the wall and entering the room.

"I must admit that is a neat trick for getting around people," Pepper said.

Tony though shot Mystique a look. "Aren't you going to get on her for misusing her gifts or rot like that?"

"Why would I?" Mystique asked, tilting her head in bemusement. "Would you complain if she used her fingers to scratch an itch rather than paint a mural?"

"Depends on where the itch is," Tony said. "I mean, if it was a king or queen and she began to scratch at her ass because she can't wipe properly-"

"Could you not!?" Arya exclaimed.

Tony frowned. "…you do know how to wipe properly, right? I mean, that's something Ned told you?"

"I… you…"

Mystique suddenly shifted in Ned. "Daughter, it is important to make sure you are clean, for Winter is Coming."

"And the stick up your ass should go in cleanly," Tony added.

Mystique shifted back and shared a smile with Tony but Pepper noticed that Arya wasn't looking delighted at all. And not just because she was mortified by the teasing. No… when Mystique had become Ned the girl had… well… frozen up. Stared at him for just a second utterly haunted. Pepper got the feeling that Arya hadn't known if she wanted to flee, attack, or latch onto her 'father'.

'Oh, the poor child,' Pepper thought to herself sadly.

All their plans had been scuttled by the Mandarin. No one had been allowed out of the city for a week due to the attack. Charlus had called for all who had attended the festival to aid in the recovery efforts, as there was so much to do. Cleaning streets that had been filled with fallen buildings. Removing half burnt wood and broken stone. Chopping up the Sentinels, which many had delighted in and was a task so popular that they'd been forced to draw up lots so everyone could get a turn. Wealthy merchants who hadn't done a hard day's work in years suddenly found old strength again as they took up axes and cleaved at the wooden creatures. The pampered wives strolled out wearing their husband's or son's clothes so they could attack the still creations. It was common to hear a grieving mother or father cry out the names of their dead as they attacked the sentinels, ripping them to pieces.

The dead.

That was another task and one taken with far less joy than the Sentinels.

The streets had been cleared of them by the second day but that had begun to horrible task of trying to indentify everyone. First was the fact that there were cultists mixed in with the fallen Braavosi that needed to be removed. The Red Priests had proven helpful in that, moving silently to inspect the bodies. Many of the cultists had exploded when killed, thanks to Arya's method, but there had been a fair number that did not… no one knew why. But the Red Priests were able to look over the bodies and tell which was which; Hank had tried to explain it to her as they watched but much of what he had said had gone over her head.

Then had come the slow, painful task of identifying the fallen

'If this had been Westeros the bodies would have been give to the Silent Sisters who would have done little to determine who was who.' She bitterly added, 'Unless they were a lord's family.'

Everyone liked to say that the Silent Sisters were the only objective and neutral group in Westeros. Even the Night's Watch had a reputation of being 'Of the North' since they focused on the Wall and all that lay beyond and would call on the Starks for aid. But the Silent Sisters would journey from place to place, dealing with the dead. None ever barred them from doing so; the only case Pepper could think of was Tywin Lannister and when he'd destroyed Castamere but from what Tony had learned it hadn't entirely his need to make an example out of them that had caused him to stop the Silent Sisters. Rather he had warned that the flooded mines were so dangerous that they would lose more trying to claim the dead. The Sisters had finally decided to leave it be.

But while everyone liked to say that, the truth of the matter was that they only were able to function thanks to the wealth of Lords. And thus when they cleared the battlefield they looked for the richly decorated dead first and foremost. The common soldier? They were prepared yes but nothing was done to determine who they might have been. Enemies were all placed in the same shallow graves, no marker to state who they were. Many times where they were laid to rest was forgotten within a year.

But in Braavos it was different.

'They have long memories. They remember when they were slaves and to die meant that you were left to fester in the sun, your family and friends and those around you forced to work on even as you rotted. An inconvenience at best.'

As such all the Braavosi dead had been brought to cool dry cellars and left in state so families might inspect them and try and determine if they were a loved one. Rolls were kept of the missing and the numbers constantly changed as the days went on; there were people who had fled during the attack and only returned days later, much to the excitement of their families. Pepper had witnessed one father burst into tears when a soot-stained little girl of three had emerged from her hiding spot two days after the battle; she'd somehow squirreled herself away in a bakery and lived on breads and jugs of water until the rubble that had trapped her inside was removed.

And through it all, the clean up and the recovery of the dead, the Brotherhood and Charlus' students had been there.

"Is Magneto doing well?" Pepper asked. "He looked tired yesterday."

Mystique let out a sigh at that, shifting back to her blue-skinned form, a white dress forming as she walked over to them, easily leaping onto a table and settling down. She motioned for Arya to join her and the poor girl did so, it clear she didn't know if she wanted company or to flee as fast as she could. Mystique began to lightly run her fingers through the young woman's hair, Arya shutting her eyes as she did so.

"He worries," Mystique stated.

"Yeah, kind of blows his chances to claim he can unite the Seven Kingdoms if his own home base gets attacked," Tony snarked.

Pepper glared at him. "Tony, that isn't polite."

"…and that is a shock to you?"

"It is when you saw both Lannisport and Iron Pointe attacked under your watch. And Magneto isn't even the true leader of Braavos."

Tony held up his hands. "I'm just saying-"

"No, you're just being rude."

He frowned at that, brow furrowing. "Why are you defending our kidnapper?"

"I am not defending our kidnapper. I'm defending a man that has spent the last week doing all he could to help out Braavos." She waved her hands about wildly. "I know you had to have seen it! He helped gather bodies. He has been clearing roads. Repairing buildings. He dredged the bay all by himself! Can't you give him a little bit of credit?"

Tony paused.

"…did they give you some of their fruity cult drinks? I warned you-"

"They did not-"

"-not to accept anything they offered you. I thought you knew better than that."

"-offer me anything. Or have YOU forgotten that my family is Blackfyre loyalists!"

Mystique chimed in. "I have not and neither has Erik. It is why we plan to name you Warden of the West."

Pepper's eyes went wide at that and Tony smirked, looking rather pleased. "Ah, so from unofficial-"

"Not you," Mystique said coolly. "You are her husband. You will run the household and throw feasts and make sure her clothing is ready when she rides."

Tony chuckled. "I was actually going to say that Pepper was already the unofficial Warden of the West, running things when I had my head up my own ass."

"A common occurrence."

"I'm sorry," Pepper said, cutting in. "You want… me to be Warden of the West?"

"Erik is… far more proactive when it comes to the roles men and women must play. Arya will be Warden of the North. We are undecided on the Riverlands… perhaps Toad? Though that seems a bit-"

Tony cut it. "On the nose? River. Toads."

Mystique conceded that point. "You can still have your heir rule after you. Jon Stark… I will pleased to meet him."

'And I will do all I can to avoid that,' Pepper thought. She knew one thing about the Dragons, red or black: they didn't share. 'If they learn that Jon is Rhaegar's son they will know he is a threat to them. The Blackfyres and the Targaryens… they nearly tore Westeros apart. Magneto and the Brotherhood would at best lock Jon away. Most likely they would kill him.'

She knew this because of where they were being forced to go.

Magneto had announced that they would be traveling to the newly named Dragon's Bay to call upon Daenerys. And Pepper knew it wouldn't end well.

"She has no hope of ruling," Magneto had told them all at dinner two nights ago, when he had taken a rare break from working on fixing the damage done to Braavos. "Her father was the Mad King and while I am sure her advisors will try and claim she is nothing like him her family blood tells the true tale. Her father was a mad man who should have been smothered in his crib. Rhaegar was a fool who dreamed of prophecy so much he couldn't even see Robert's warhammer until it struck his chest. Viserys got himself killed by the Dothraki… oh yes, that tale has spread to Westeros by now, I am sure. People will not trust her… not with that history of madness.

"Then there is the matter of her allies. Dothraki screamers. Former slaves. Exiled knights. We dine with the daughter of the Warden of the North; she sups with mutilated sellswords. And there is of course the matter of her heir… she has none. Her desire to save her dothraki warlord husband caused her to turn to a witch. A foolish choice which only shows how unfit she is to rule, especially when said witch had seen her village burned to the ground, her loved ones raped and killed, and she herself made into Daenerys' slave. Her spell gave the girl what she wanted in the cruelest sense: the dothraki lived but as an unseeing, unhearing, soulless shell. Her child was twisted and mutilated in the womb and removing it left her completely barren. When she dies her line will end. For a Lord that is fine… they can select an heir. But for a Queen? No… no the lords of Westeros will never accept that. We will ensure she… understands… that."

Pepper knew what that meant. At best Magneto hoped that Daenerys would agree to be a privileged guest of his for the rest of her life, much as Baelor had done with his sister-wife. But as he had said himself Daenerys had the blood of the Mad King running through her veins and a brother who had whispered in her ear since birth that they were supposed to rule.

'No… she will not give up her claim. And so the Blackfyres and the Targaryens will go to war one more time. And after dealing with her… will they accept another child of the line of Aerys? Would they ever accept Jon?'

Mystique looked over at Tony's plans. "Interesting. But unneeded at this moment. You should be preparing for our trip."

"You know King's Landing is going to wonder about me not coming back," Tony pointed out. "Varys has his little birds probably already whispering to him that I am not staying at some grand manse."

"They were whispering when your ship never arrived at port," Mystique pointed out. "And you have been spotted often in the city." She gave a casual shrug. "And why would we care? How many times as the King of the Seven Kingdoms rattled his sword and proclaimed that they would make Essos pay? Time and time and time again the people of this city have heard the proclamations. Your King Aerys alone stated on five occasions that he wished to be Emperor rather than King and would do so by take over all of Essos. And yet your flags do not fly. You will forgive us for not being concerned."

"You'll think differently when Tywin Lannister sends a minstrel to you. I believe even across the Narrow Sea you have heard 'The Rains of Castamere'."

"We have," Mystique confirmed. "Just as we have heard of the Field of Fire and how the Lannisters fled like cowards." She glanced at Arya, who was being unusually quiet as Mystique played with the strains of hair. "People always mock Torrhen Stark, saying he was 'The King Who Knelt'. Yet from where I stand the Starks were the only ones in all of Westeros to see giant fire breathing monsters and realize that it was wisest to bend the knee. The Lannisters, the Iron Born, the Gardeners… all knew what Aegon had and decided to foolishly attack." She paused, leaning forward to look Arya in the eye. "The greatest mistake of my house was not seeing the cunning and intelligence of the Starks and making them our close allies. It is an error that Erik and I will not repeat." She looked back at Tony. "But Tywin Lannister? I do not fear him."

"You should," Tony said bluntly. "Because everyone that has uttered how he isn't a threat has had a habit of… dying."

"Then he must have uttered those very words about himself."

Tony frowned at that. "What do you mean?"

"If all has gone according to plan then word will be received in the next week or two that the Old Lion has finally perished."

Silence stretched for several moments before Tony let out a chuckle. "That… that is a good one."

"It is no tale."

"Uh huh, sure." He shook his head. "Sorry but I'll believe that Tywin is dead when I see his corpse. That man… I think he'll outlive us all."

"That may be but it does not excuse you from preparing for the trip."

"See, that's what I don't get. Your merry band of cultists-" Tony paused but for once Arya didn't interrupt him to proclaim the Brotherhood wasn't a cult, "-well, yeah, them I get. But me? Why drag me along?"

"You developed a suit of armor that allows you to fly, Lord Stark. You truly believed that we wouldn't be interested in that?"

"Magneto can rip the suit off my body that I would appreciate it if he didn't. Mostly because, uh, it might end up ripping me apart and no one wants that. Well, not no one as I'm sure the Mandarin would love me hacked up but you get the idea. Point is you still don't need me."

"Tell me this then: if you have a chicken that can lay a golden egg do you allow it to wander off or do wait to see if more will be produced?"

"…am I the chicken or the egg in this scenario?" Tony asked. Mystique merely smirked and Tony shrugged. "Okay, fine. Packing for my hostage taking that's going on the road." He rolled up his plans. "I'm assuming Arya is already packed. Got lots of warm coats?"

"I assure you that Meereen is rather warm this time of year," Mystique said.

"The Riverlands has a dish that is made with four kinds of fish but uses a beef-based sauce."

"Pardon?"

"I thought we were spouting off random facts." When the blue woman just stared at him Tony waved his hand vaguely in Arya's direction. "She still needs a warm coat-"

Pepper felt her heart freeze. 'Tony… don't you fucking dare!'

"-what with her going back to Winterfell."

'Gods damn him!'

Mystique slowly turned to Arya. "What?"

"I… I was-"

"Arya, leave," Pepper said firmly, stepping forward. "Go to your room and finish packing."

The girl, thankful to have everyone's attention focused elsewhere, quickly phased through Mystique and the table and hurried out of the door.

"You," she snapped, pointing at Mystique who was clearly ready to chase after the young woman, "stay."

"I think you forget who is in charge here…" Mystique threatened.

Pepper grabbed a forge hammer and slammed it down onto the table, causing it to crack.

"Its not an axe but it will fucking do."

Mystique, terror suddenly flashing through her eyes, sat back down.

"By the Old, New, and-"

"Shut your mouth," Pepper snapped, twisting to glare at Tony.

"Right. Shutting up now. I can do that."

"You will go and you will pack and if you put up any kind of fuss or try to weasel your way out of it I swear I will drive a tent post through your scrotum!"

Tony help up his hands in surrender. "Right. Yeah. Totally on board withtthat." He quickly fled, leaving Pepper alone with Mystique, the blue woman looking all sorts of confused.

"We are going to have a polite conversation. Do you understand?" She brushed off a space next to Mystique and hopped up onto the table. "And before you begin with the threats… yes, I know you probably have about 7 different ways you could kill me right now with just your bare hands."

"With just my hands," Mystqiue confirmed. "If I can't use them I can kill you 4 ways with my feet, so long as I remove my shoes."

"Right," Pepper said dryly. "But if you want things to go right between you and that young woman who just fled out of here you are going to listen to me."

That made Mystqiue frown. "And why would I listen to you to begin with? You aren't a mother."

"No… no I'm not," Pepper conceded. "But I am a daughter. And once I was her age and had a mother who felt that she could control all I did. So I have a far better understanding of what Arya is going through."

Mystique didn't say a word.

"My parents were against me marrying Tony and not for the thousand little jokes you are ready to make." She had seen the way the woman's jaw had begun to twitch, longing to make some joke or insult which Pepper completely understood as she had set herself up for them. Living with Tony though had taught her how to cut such jokes off at the knees. "We didn't leave Westeros in disgrace. We were proud to have supported the Blackfyres and refused to bend the knee to the Targaryens. Not a single Targaryen king or queen left a stable line of succession. Even the Conciliator muddied things up horribly. The Dance of the Dragons showed their greed and the Blackfyres… they were a chance for something new. My family left because we wanted to have the world we believed they could bring and not the one that the Targaryens would offer. One that was just… the same after the same after the same. So we traveled to Essos and waited. And even when the Blackfyres wasted away we remained. In Westeros we'd been lords, yes, but never on the level of the Tyrells or the Tullys. We were at best at the level of the Freys, as horrible as that is to consider."

"Quite," Mystique said with a smirk.

"In Essos though the name Potts means something. My brother is wealthy enough to buy entire villages, merging them slowly together into a great empire of commerce. Tony had come to learn from my family and when he fell for me… well, my parents weren't thrilled. 'He is just a kneeling bastard who supports those Targaryen bastards. The kind that mock us even as we hold more wealth and power than many of them ever will.' They were clear that I was not allowed to marry Tony. That there was no chance that I was going to be allowed to do so."

"And we see how wrong they were," Mystqiue stated.

"Yes but that is the point I'm trying to make." Pepper sighed, shaking her head. "I was a child, honestly. Barely ten-and-three and I had decided that this foreign devil I had just met would be my husband. If my parents had suggested that we stay at their estate, get to know each other better and spend more time together… well, I hope I would have made the same decision because I wouldn't trade my time with Tony for anything but who knows. He could have easily said the wrong thing and caused me to banish him from my sight. Instead my parents threw him out and declared that I wasn't allowed to see him and… well… I ran off with him the next night. It took over a decade before I was willing to open the lines of communication with them, sending messengers to let them know that I was okay. But we never really recovered after that. They still saw me as their willful child and I saw them as my stubborn keymasters holding me in a gilded cell.

"Arya is young. She might not look it but she is. You have to remember that if Magneto hadn't performed his ritual she wouldn't have even bled her first time yet."

"Believe me, I know that," Mystique said with a faint smile. "After it happened the first time she broken into Magneto's cabin on our ship and began to shake him, screaming that she wanted him to undo this all because, "Being a grownup isn't worth pissing blood 3 times a month and feeling like a bear was twisting up her innards."."

"If he actually could undo that for all of us then he'd be able to take the throne bloodlessly… and I am so glad Tony isn't here to make a joke." She shook her head, a faint smile on her lips before she continued. "The point is… she's a little girl in a woman's body. One who has led a very sheltered life. From what Tony has told me his cousin Ned… the Rebellion caused him to pull back. He was fostered in the Vale. Brandon was fostered for a while in Barrowtown. His brother Benjen, according to Tony, was supposed to be fostered with Ser Kevan Lannister. There was talk of Lyanna going to Sunspear or perhaps King's Landing to serve under Elia Martell, in the greatest of ironies. But Ned refused all offers for his children until he allowed Tony and I to take his bastard, Jon."

And how she hated calling Jon a bastard. But… it was his armor. His sworn shield. The one thing that would keep the Blackfyres from killing him.

"In any other house Arya would have been sent to be fostered. Instead she was kept at Winterfell. Catelyn Stark took Robb and Sansa to visit the Riverlands but I don't think she went after Arya was born. King's Landing was her first grand adventure. You showing up? It was like… the old tales come to life. A call for exciting and daring." She paused before leaning towards Mystique, well aware that the woman could kill her right there. But she had to try, if only for Arya's sake. "Did she even understand what you were offering?"

"…no," Mystique whispered softly. "No… I suppose she didn't."

"She swore herself to you all because you gave her safety and strength. And I don't doubt for a moment she is forever grateful for all that. But it doesn't change the fact that she never really had a choice. It was either go with you or end up like her sister… and we know how that ended." Pepper let out a sigh, remembering the pretty little girl who hadn't understood the world at all and who hadn't been prepared to be a part of it. "I don't want it to sound like you were in the wrong or forced her into it. You didn't. You deserve… every ounce of praise I can give. You kept her alive. Her father couldn't do that. Her mother. Her brothers or her sister. It was you, Raven."

It was a low blow, to use her real name.

Pepper Stark didn't fight fair.

"But," she said after letting Mystique digest that, "it doesn't change the fact that she's a little girl. One who has suddenly found herself far from home. The shine of adventure is beginning to go away and that is making her suddenly realize all she left behind." Before Mystique could speak Pepper pressed on. "I'm not saying she didn't gain more coming with you. I can tell how much she loves you all. She wouldn't care if she never got any powers… she would still love being with you all. Learning from you. Relying on you. And you relying on her. It tore her to shreds coming to the decision that she wanted to see her family again."

"So she leaves me," Mystique said bitterly. "Rogue. My children. Kurt. All of them leave."

"But Arya will come back," Pepper stated. "But… and I can't stress this enough… if you make her choose you will lose. If she leaves and you shut her out then she'll never come back. And if you try and keep her here she will not forget what you took from her." Pepper gently patted Mystique's hand. "Let her go home. Let her not look at it while only remembering the good. Let her remember all of it, good and bad, so she can decide where the winds should take her."

"I… I don't know if I can let her go-"

"Then don't," Pepper said.

"Pardon?"

"Magneto doesn't need you to go talk with Daenerys. That's why you formed your Brotherhood, is it not? Go with Arya. Take a few of the Brotherhood with you if you need to. Show her that you are willing to meet her halfway."

"I couldn't… Erik-"

"First off if he truly is your husband and you are the woman I think you are then it should be simple enough to convince him. And if he still presses… I don't know… tell him you are preparing for his arrival. Seeing what the state of Westeros is like. Joffrey is dead and if you are right and Tywin is too then things will be different. Isn't it better you see it all?"

Mystique considered that for a long moment.

"You are a wise woman, Lady Stark." She smiled and got off the table, walking away.

And Pepper ignored the voice that whispered in her head that she'd just sold out all of Westeros.

Fuck Westeros.

Family came first and Arya?

Arya was family.