August 25, 2012

Manhattan

At least press conferences are more interesting when Tony Stark is the host, Stevie thought.

She wandered through a skeletal building, half-crushed by one of the aliens' living battleships as it fell. In the months since the invasion the rubble had been cleared away. Now the building was in the first stage of reconstruction, naked metal beams protruding from half-finished walls.

The aliens had been called the Chitauri it turned out - at least, that was as close as humans could pronounce it. Even though it was unsuccessful their invasion had caused incredible damage. Whole city blocks had been rendered uninhabitable, alien corpses and strange weapons strewn over the streets. Luckily, Tony Stark was there to help. He had dubbed the rebuilding effort "Project Resilient" - a chance to build "the city of the future."

In the gutted building, surrounded by scaffolds and plastic sheeting, Tony had set up models and prototypes of what the neighborhood would one day become – skyscrapers that grew their own food, that moved and breathed and could talk to you, probably. The centerpiece of the exhibition was the Solar Tree – a standing fan of high-efficiency solar cells that moved independently to track the sun. The prototype model on display here was ten feet tall, all silver and shiny black. To demonstrate how much power it could produce, Tony had hooked it up to one of his suits, which hovered and projected holograms while the man himself walked among the visiting politicians and reporters.

Stevie paused by a holographic display table and tried to ease her back, shifting from foot to foot to stretch her back. Super-soldier or not, the baby was taking up a lot of her personal space. The display cycled through its hypothetical life, the neighborhood growing terraced gardens and solar panels before resetting at the beginning.

Amazing. Howard, you should be proud of your son.

"Must be a shock for you."

While she was lost in thought a silver-haired woman had joined Stevie at the table, elegantly dressed in a cream-colored suit and pearls.

"Pardon?"

"All the change in the city since your day. Sorry." She extended a hand, which Stevie shook. "Linda Buckingham."

"Pleased to meet you. And yes," Stevie answered with a rueful laugh. "Shock is a bit of an understatement."

"What are your thoughts on this project, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I think it's great," Stevie replied wholeheartedly. "It's the future we all dreamed of back in '43. I'm just glad I get to be part of it."

"1943. The first Stark Expo." The woman nodded, and looked back at the model. "With your connection to history, aren't you concerned that historic buildings are being irreversibly altered?"

Stevie felt a flare of irritation. She'd met reporters like this before – people who wanted to get something controversial or inflammatory to make people read them. Now this one was trying to get her to badmouth Tony Stark. Not today, lady.

"You want know what I miss most?" Stevie said, trying to keep the smile on her face. "The Brooklyn Navy Yard. The Maine was built there. My father used to take me there, to see the ships. Nothing's built there anymore - it's all gone." She stared the other woman in the eye. "Everything changes, Miss Buckingham. Excuse me."

Stevie almost stomped away. The woman was just trying to get a good headline. It shouldn't bother her so much. Maybe pregnancy is making me irritable. It was certainly making her hungry. She snagged an egg roll and made her way to the Solar Tree, where Pepper stood alone.

"Not entertaining a VIP?" Stevie asked.

"I have a moment's reprieve, thank goodness," Pepper said with a wry smile. "How are you? Comfortable? Do you need a chair?"

Stevie shook her head. "I'm fine. You're doing all the work. I'm just here for moral support."

"The work's already done by this point," Pepper said ruefully. "That's how these things go. You prepare for months, and then it either goes as planned...or it doesn't."

"Well, from my perspective it looks fantastic. How much of this did Tony put together himself?

"Most of it, actually. The think tank worked on the development plan but a lot of the breakthroughs are his. This is." She gestured at the tree.

"That's a lot to put together. When does he sleep?"

"He doesn't." Pepper sighed. "That's the problem."

"It hits some people that way," Stevie said. "Their first big fight. He was never really trained for it. He'll be alright. He just needs time."

"I'm not sure time is all he needs." Pepper rubbed the bridge of her nose briefly, then looked back up, smile once again in place. "Speaking of plans – are you feeling ready for the big day?"

Stevie went along with the change in subject. "Ready as I can be. I did a lot of babysitting back in the old days. I know my way around a diaper."

"Really? Babysitting?"

"Oh, yeah," Stevie said. "The building was full of kids. The women helped each other out, and so did I. It wasn't like I was going out dancing."

Pepper had opened her mouth to respond when the wall exploded. Without thinking, Stevie pushed the nearest table over and dove behind it, pushing Pepper ahead of her. Rubble rained down around them.

"Are you all right?" Stevie asked.

Pepper nodded, looking shaken, concrete dust in her hair."What the hell was that?"

Stevie peered over the table's edge. There was a ragged hole in the wall, beams leaned crazily out over the room. The air was full of screams and the sound of running. Where was Tony? There – standing with his back to her, fists clenched. Above him, a masked and goggled man hovered in some kind of harness – a jet pack? His hand was outstretched, wearing some kind of metal gauntlet.

Move to flank, then rush him. Stevie's hand went to her back. The shield would resist any energy beam he could produce…

The shield. Which was back at the Tower. Because she wasn't wearing her armor- she was in a dress and pumps. And she was pregnant. Dammit.

"If you wanted an invitation," Tony was saying, bravado not quite covering the tension in his voice. "You should have called my secretary."

"I didn't want to be a guest," the man shouted. "I wanted to be part of the show! Put your suit on, old man! I'm going to show these people something they haven't seen before."

"Your funeral," Tony said, and gave a quick whistle.

The suit that had been posing harmlessly by the tree folded around Tony, and in an instant the two men were above the crowd, shooting bolts of energy at each other. Stevie ground her teeth in frustration. If I had my shield! But the guests were everywhere, some running into each other, some frozen in terror.

We need to get them out of here.

"Pepper," Stevie said. "I need your help. There's a big group of people on your right – get them together and take them out the east exit. I'll round up everyone else."

Pepper set her jaw and ran from behind the table. Stevie took a moment to check on the fight above them. Tony was obviously trying to keep the fight away from the people on the ground, but the other man wasn't. A stray blast from his gauntlet hit a beam and the metal liquefied instantly, white-hot droplets hissing on the concrete floor.

Using barked orders and the occasional shove, Stevie hustled the rest of the civilians out of one of the building's open walls into the street. She looked back. Maybe I could help...Maybe...

There was a creak and a beam, weakened at the base, began to fall toward the fleeing crowd. Tony caught it just in time, and the other man hit him square in the back.

"Tony!"

He was falling. Without a thought, Stevie ran back toward the building. Tony was trying to get up, but his suit looked scorched, and made a horrible grinding noise whenever he tried to move. The other man looked at the fallen Stark and laughed.

"I told you you'd get a show!" He yelled to the crowd of horrified onlookers. "The defeat of Iron Man!"

Stevie was crouched behind a wall. He didn't see her.

Hit him with a table. He'll never see it coming.

Inside her belly, the child kicked – and Stevie froze.

The man was saying something about selling his technology to the highest bidder. Tony was still trying to get up. There was a broken beam just ten feet away from her.

Throw it like a spear. Target his power pack. But what if it doesn't work? He'll cook you, and the baby.

The man turned toward Tony, lifted his hand. Stevie's heart hammered.

He'll kill Tony. But the baby.

She hesitated a moment, two. The man gave a mocking salute and flew away.

After some time in the workshop, Tony had left with his old friend, Air Force Colonel James Rhodes. Rhodes had his own suit, like Tony's, but his was matte gray and covered with conspicuous weapons.

"Don't worry, Cap, I'll watch his back," he had said, smile flashing white in his dark-skinned face. "And when I find the Melter, Tony here will polish my suit. By hand."

"Keep dreaming, Rhodey," Tony had responded. "The Melter? That is a terrible name."

"He melts things. What were you going to call him?"

The argument had continued as both men flew out of the landing bay at the top of Stark Tower, leaving Stevie and Pepper behind.

Now, Stevie paced in the living room of her enormous suite. She'd made herself coffee and been unable to drink any of it. She kept looking at the clock, but the hands didn't seem to move at all.

"Shouldn't you be sitting around with your feet up?" Pepper was at her door, holding a tub of ice cream.

"I'm pregnant, not sick," Stevie said. "Besides, I hate sitting still while..." She gestured vaguely at the wall of windows, out at the city where, somewhere, Tony and Colonel Rhodes might be fighting the Melter at this very moment.

Stevie heard the clinking of dishes, drawers opening and closing in the kitchen, and then Pepper handed her a bowl and spoon and pushed her gently toward the couch. The ice cream was full of chocolate chunks and marshmallows, and for a few minutes the women ate in silence.

"How do you do it?" Stevie asked Pepper.

The redhead set her bowl down carefully on the glass coffee table.

"Before Tony made the suit," she said, "if he was out all night I'd see it in the gossip blogs the next day. He'd have gotten embarrassingly drunk somewhere, or gotten a hotel room with two super models. I slept fine those nights."

Pepper looked at her hands, folded neatly in her lap.

"He's so much...better now. He cares about other people. Project Resilient never would have happened before the suit. But the tradeoff is..." She shrugged.

"Sometimes he flies a nuclear bomb into a dimensional portal full of aliens?" Stevie filled in.

Pepper laughed.

"I tell myself that it's no different from what anyone who loves a firefighter, or a police officer or a soldier goes through. They all have to say goodbye, knowing that something might happen. That the person they love might not come back. If they do it, I can too."

Stevie thought of the day she'd sent Bucky away, in his crisp uniform. How he'd never really been the same when she got him back.

I sent someone away to war, once. I thought I'd never have to do it again. She touched the curve of her stomach, felt her baby shift inside her. Would she have to go back to that – now that she was a mother? Sending other people off to fight? Can I live with that?

She looked out the window again, at her city - so familiar, yet so strange.

Will I have a choice?

Hello again, all! Sorry for the gap in posting - I had a baby. Also, This chapter gave me serious grief. I went back and forth about whether Stevie should jump into the fight or not. I decided to go with this option because it seemed so opposed to her usual character. I think in future chapters, it will make sense. But, of course, let me know what you thought of Stevie's decision.

This chapter is based on an actual Marvel comic called "Iron Man: Coming of the Melter".