Hey! Okay, the last chapter...wow.

Anyways, i'm NOT happy with the ending, so sometimes later i may change it.

Thanks!

Rhodey is dressed in his military clothing, standing at a podium and blinking calmly at the flashes of cameras

"An unfortunate training exercise-"

Here, Clint couldn't help but snort, still rubbing his head from where he was sure he would gain a bruise."

"- involving an F-22 Raptor occurred yesterday. I am pleased to report that the pilot was not injured. As for the unexpected turn of events on the ground in Gulmira, it is still unclear who or what intervened, but I can assure you that the United States government was not involved."

"Tony…" Steve sighed while Thor looked confused.

"I do not understand, wasn't Friend Stark's act of valor recognized as an action of bravery?"

"It's…Military wants to know everything, and they get upset when they don't know the smallest things." Bruce huffed, looking at the TV in disdain.

Scene Change

Pepper is walking down the stairs at the Stark Manor, walking towards his lab and typing in something at a key code, pausing when she hears Tony.

"Wait- there's only a key code?" Steve asked in surprise, blinking while Bruce looked at him confused.

"I- wouldn't they have the thing that scans your eye? Or the fingerprint thing? Or-"

"Steve, We're living in a Sentiment house. Who's going to 'sneak in' when the house can kick you out?" Clint snorted, watching the TV.

"Hey! "

"It is a tight fit, sir. Sir, the more you struggle, the more this is going to hurt. "

"Be gentle. This is my first time. I designed this to come off, so... Hey. I really should be able to..."

"Clint snorted, ducking the swung bowl and trying his best not to fall off of the couch laughing.

"Please, try not to move, sir."

Tony freezes, looking over as Pepper is staring at him, having walked in with him thrashing, trying to get the suit off of him.

"What's going on here?" Pepper asked, watching Tony balance precariously on a robotic arm.

"Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."

This time, Clint actually did fall over cackling.

"Are those bullet holes?"

Pepper whispers in horror as Tony blinks, looking down at the marks on the suit.

Scene Change.

The leader of the 10 Rings and Obadiah, Raza walking out to meet Obadiah who is dressed in a smart looking black suit, as well as his military men.

"OBADIAH!" Thor shouted, jumping to his feet in anger as he spotted Raza with Obadiah.

"THAT BACKSTABBING DISGRACE OF A-"

"I LIKE TO SHOUT TOO THOR- SIT DOWN." Clint roared, matching the voice of Thor who plopped down, glowering at the screen as Raza walked towards Obadiah.

"Welcome. Compliments of Tony Stark."

He explained, pointing to the ruined half of his head.

"If you'd killed him when you were supposed to, you'd still have a face."

"Just wait and we'll see if you have one by the end of this." Natasha murmured.

"You paid us trinkets to kill a prince." Raza sneers.

"Show me the weapon."

"Come. Leave your guards outside. "Raza looked, guiding Obadiah into a tent, where a metallic suit lay in ruins.

"His escape bore unexpected fruit."

"So this is how he did it."

Obadiah sighs, crossing his arms as he circles the metal ruin that created the suit.

"This is only a first, crude effort. Stark has perfected his design. He has made a masterpiece of death. A man with a dozen of these can rule all of Asia."

"Wait- all of Asia? That…Why would he say that?" Bruce frowned, causing Clint to look at him.

"Well, Asia is nearby."

"But the way he says that- he doesn't say himself, he's…it's almost like he's talking about another person." Bruce blinked. "Never mind."

"And you dream of Stark's throne. We have a common enemy."

Raza sits down, pouring a drink from a flash.

"If we are still in business,

I will give you these designs as a gift. And in turn, I hope you'll repay me with a gift of iron soldiers."

Raza holds up the drink and smiles as a toast.

A loud pitch squeal goes off, and Raza pales, gasping for air as a sonic device is shown, veins popping out as he struggles for breath, not able to move...

"Backstabbing Son of a-"Clint murmured.

"Technology. It's always been your Achilles' heel in this part of the world. Don't worry. It'll only last for 15 minutes. That's the least of your problems."

Obadiah sighed, walking out of the tent, signaling to his men.

"Crate up the armor and the rest of it. All right, let's finish up here."

"He's going to kill the-"Bruce started, drawing silent as the guns go off, causing the room to tense up.

"Set up Sector underneath the arc reactor, and I'm going to want this data masked. Recruit our top engineers. I want a prototype right away."

"And I want you to die right away." Clint mimicked, dodging the bowl.

Scene change.

Tony's lab, Pepper walks in and Tony's at a computer, typing away.

"Hey. You busy? You mind if I send you on an errand? I need you to go to my office. You're going to hack into the mainframe and you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests. This is a lock chip. This'll get you in. It's probably under Executive Files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive, in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading." Tony stated, handing over the drive.

"Smart, if he went in, Obadiah would shoot him down before he could get close. Hopefully Pepper will be a better move." Natasha hummed.

"And what do you plan to do with

this information if I bring it back here?"

"Same drill. They've been dealing under the table, and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them."

Tony says all of this with a blank face, not looking at Pepper and instead at his computer screens.

"…Anybody else feeling the tension?"

"In here or in the film?"

"Tony, you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if

you're going to start all of this again. There is nothing except this. There's no art opening. There is no benefit. There is nothing to sign."

Tony's fist clenches, and he says nothing.

"Shit- she's going to pull the card!" Clint yelped, and Natasha said nothing, freezing in place having noticed what Clint had.

"There is the next mission

and nothing else."

He looks at Pepper, letting her know that he is dead serious.

"Is that so?"

"Well, then, I quit."

She throws the drive onto the table, turning to walk out.

The team blinks, stunned, then finally, Steve lets out a low whistle.

"…She's coming back, right?" Steve asked, looking at Bruce, who shrugged.

"You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction. And now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way, you're going to walk out?"

He asks, turning in his chair to look at her, not a single smile on his face.

"I- have you ever seen him like this?" Natasha asked Bruce, who shook his head, watching intensely.

"You're going to kill yourself, Tony. I'm not going to be a part of it."

She sighs, turning again.

"I shouldn't be alive, unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do."

He looks at her desperately, voice cracking slightly as it goes soft, as if he is nearly breaking down.

"And I know in my heart that it's right."

His voice catches and he looks away, assuming that she's already gone.

"I- oh my god, I'm having this creepy urge to suddenly hug him…I don't want to hug him." Clint squeaked, Thor biting his lip and turning the other way- he had seen that face too many times.

"You're all I have, too, you know."

Pepper dryly states, picking up the drive and walking out, Tony wearing a small smile.

Scene Change.

Pepper is walking through the SI building, noticing that it is empty as she walks towards Tony's office, closing the large doors behind her.

She sets down at the single desk, inserting the flash drive and notices the warning sign for a security breach; it then vanishes as copies of all files pop up, one standing out.

"Sector 16? What are you up to, Obadiah?"

"She's going to find out." Bruce muttered.

She looks down; noticing a video pop up in a different language, typing in the translator key as she sees's Tony in Afghanistan.

"You did not tell us that the target you paid us to kill was the great Tony Stark. - As you can see, Obadiah Stane..."

"- Oh, my God."

"Think I'll be allowed to kill him after this?" Clint hummed and Natasha growled low in her throat.

"... your deception and lies will cost you dearly. The price to kill Tony Stark has just gone up."

"…Look up- he's right the-"

"So, what are we going to do about this?"

Pepper looks up in alarm- Obadiah is in the doorway, walking next to the bar.

"Shit Tasha! How did you know that?" Clint jumped, holding a hand to his heart as she said nothing.

"I know what you're going through, Pepper. Tony. He always gets the good stuff, doesn't he?"He sniffs the whiskey before pouring himself a glass.

Obadiah looks over at the screen just after Pepper pulls out the drive, showing him nothing.

"Hide it Lady Pepper." Thor urges quietly.

"I was so happy when he came home. It was like we got him back from the dead. Now I realize, well, Tony never really did come home, did he? He left a part of himself in that cave."

Pepper says nothing, swallowing thickly.

"I feel like I'm going to need metal help after this." Clint groaned, Steve casting him an outride incredulous look.

"You? Imagine Tony."

"Breaks my heart."

"Well, he's a complicated person."Pepper returns with a tight smile.

Obadiah takes a drink.

"He's been through a lot. I think he'll be all right."

"You are a very rare woman. Tony doesn't know how lucky he is."

"Get out of there!" Bruce shouts this time, and Steve swallows thickly.

"Thank you. Thanks." Pepper offers a small smile.

"I'd better get back there."

Pepper manages to sneak the flash drive under a newspaper, taking both.

"Is that today's paper?"

"He knows." Natasha emotionlessly states.

Pepper freezes.

"Yes."

"Do you mind?"

"- Not at all."

"- Puzzle."

"Of course."

"Take care."

Pepper walks away, clutching the drive in her hand.

Pepper walks out of the door in a rush.

"Ms. Potts? We had an appointment. Did you forget about our appointment?"

Coulson walks up, and Pepper takes his arm in a hurry.

"Good- he'll keep her safe." Clint mutters, watching as they hurry to get out, and then Obadiah shouting in anger as the Computer had transferred all the files.

"Nope, right now. Come with me.

"- Right now?"

"- We're going to have it right now.- Yeah, walk with me."

"- Okay."

"I'm going to give you the meeting of your life. Your office."

Scene Change.

Lab people working on the larger Arc Reactor inside the first Stark Industries building.

"Wasn't that the place where Tony showed Obadiah the rector in the first place?" Steve asked, blinking and Bruce gave a curt nod.

"Yeah, we've been working our best to do it. Absolutely, we're... I'm going to have to call you back."

The man see's Obadiah walk in, and hangs up, nervously wringing his hands as he approaches.

"Mr. Stane? Sir, we've explored what you've asked us, and it seems as though there's a little hiccup. Actually..."

"- A hiccup?"

"Yes, to power the suit, sir, the technology actually doesn't exist. - So it's..."

"- Wait, wait, wait. The technology? William, here is the technology. I've asked you to simply make it smaller."

"Okay, sir, and that's what we're trying to do, but honestly, it's impossible."

"Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of scraps!"

"I hate that man so much right now."

"We feel it, Tasha."

The man swallows, afraid by Obadiah's shouting, others turn to look, and the man's voice is considerably quieter as he answers.

"Well, I'm sorry. I'm not Tony Stark."

Scene change.

Tony's living room.

He walks in, about to sit on the couch until he hears a phone go off. He takes it, seeing caller I.D. and sits down, flicking the on button to answer Pepper.

A loud high pitch noise causes him to stiffen and not say anything

"No!" Bruce shouts, other sounds of outrage from the others as Tony gasps.

"Tony? Tony, are you there? Hello?"

He falls back, limp and growing pale, eyes bugging out as he is limp, not able to say anything.

Thor growls.

"Breathe. Easy, easy. You remember this one, right?"

Obadiah holds up the sonic device.

"Same one they used on Raza." Steve muttered sourly.

"It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis. Tony. When I ordered the hit on you, I worried that I was'"

He pulls out a metal device, the perfect size for the arc reactor

"What is that?" Steve asked, alarmed as the others watched, growing horror on their faces.

"Killing the golden goose. But, you see, it was just fate that you survived that."

Tony recoils as his Arc reactor is yanked painfully out of his chest, showing the empty cavern. Tony say's nothing, still paralyzed and unable to stop him from probably dying.

"No- Nonononono! He'll die without that! You bastard!" Clint screams, this time Natasha didn't hit him with a bowl, instead grabbing his arms and holding him to the couch.

"You had one last golden egg to give. Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you? Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you? Oh, it's beautiful. Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece. Look at that."

Obadiah observes, turning the Arc Reactor just in front of Tony.

"This is your legacy."

They all twitch at the word, touchy since Yinsen…

"A new generation of weapons with this at its heart. Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands. I wish you could've seen my prototype."

Obadiah stated, opening a briefcase and setting the Arc Reaction inside it.

"It's not as...Well, not as conservative as yours. Too bad you had to involve Pepper

in this."

"Leave her out of this." Bruce growled, eyes green as he glared.

"I would have preferred that she lived."

Obadiah walks out, leaving Tony on the couch.

Scene Change.

Rhodey on his phone.

"What do you mean, he paid to have Tony killed? Pepper, slow down.

Why would Obadiah...Okay, where's Tony now?"

Pepper was rushing down steps, SHIELD agents with her.

"I don't know. He's not answering his phone. Please go over there

and make sure everything's okay. Thank you, Rhodey. I know a shortcut."

"Where were we during all of this?" Clint muttered and Natasha sighed.

"That mission in Argentina- remember?" She growled, and Clint cursed under his breath.

Scene Change.

Tony is gasping, trying to make it to the ground, a heartbeat is loud in his ears as he drops. Crawling and pushing aside a rolling device as he is now ghostly pale, breathe stuttering.

"Oh- oh my god." Steve whispers, room turning to watch in morbid fascination, wanting to look away but cant.

He reaches for the Arc inside of the glass case Pepper gave him, but falls short, lying there dying.

"Reach! Reach you damn idiot!"

A hum is heard as Dummy lowers it to his height.

"Good Boy" Tony breaths, voice rasp as he lifts it, slamming it onto the ground.

Scene Change.

Obadiah plugs in Tony's reactor into a prototype, the suit glowing as it loads up…

"…Okay- I really wished we didn't take that mission."

"I wish I wasn't in the ice."

Scene Change.

Rhodey is walking through the halls, down the hallways.

"Tony? Tony? Tony? Tony?"

"Check the lab! When isn't he there!"

"Tony!"

Rhodey sees Tony on the ground and rushes over.

"Tony! You okay?"

Rhodey rolls over Tony, seeing the Arc glowing in his chest.

"Where's Pepper?" Tony groans, grabbing his arm and managing to look drunk with the bloodshot colour of his eyes.

"She's fine. She's with five agents. They're about to arrest Obadiah."

"That's not going to be enough."

"They've got Coulson." Clint cursed.

Scene Change.

Pepper along with several guards are hurrying towards the room.

"Section 16. Section 16. There it is." She breathes, flashing a key and again, frowning when it doesn't work.

"My key's not working. It's not opening the door."

An unnamed command and a small explosive is passed forward.

"Oh, wow! What's that? It's, like, a little device? It's, like, a thing that's going to pick the lock?"

"Explosive." Clint growls.

"You might want to take a few steps back."

The door explodes open.

Scene Change.

Machines work and Tony is in his suit.

"Why does it look so complicated then?" Steve asks and Bruce smiles slightly.

"He's had more time to make different models- this is the Mark II. He's flying the Mark VII now."

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen. Not bad, huh? Let's do it."

Tony looks to Rhodey, completely suited up.

"You need me to do anything else?"

"Keep the skies clear."

"Damn!"

Rhodey looks to the other suits on the wall.

"Next time, baby."

Scene Change.

Pepper and the troops venture inside the lair.

"Looks like you were right. He was building a suit." Coulson noted, looking at a model on the wall.

"I thought it'd be bigger."

Pepper notices snapped wires and follows along as others see computers that have status on them. Pepper looks up, seeing chains move around, she approaches them, seeing eyes glow up and rise high above her.

"Run."

She screams, running out as a huge metal monster chases after her.

"RUN!"

Scene Change.

Tony is blaring through the sky, looking for Pepper.

"How do you think the Mark One 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."

"Keep me posted."

"It's odd how Tony can communicate with Jarvis like that." Bruce sighed.

"Pepper!"

Tony calls through a phone.

- "Tony! Tony, are you okay?"

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

-" Obadiah, he's gone insane!"

- "I know. Listen, you'd better get out of there."

- "He built a suit."

The ground cracks, and he rises out of the ground, causing Tony to gasp.

"Get out of there right now!'

"Where do you think you're going?"

Obadiah laughs, looming over her in a huge silver metallic suit, similar to Tony's but more bulky.

"Your services are no longer required."

" Pepper!"

"Get him!"

Tony blasts down, slamming Obadiah into the ground. Tony rises and Obadiah spins, grabbing a car with a screaming family.

"There's kids in there!"

"Stane!"

"I love this suit!"

" Put them down!"

"Collateral damage, Tony."

"Divert power to chest RT. Power reduced to 19%."

A beam blasts Obadiah away, the car lands and the terrified woman floors it, running and slamming into Tony, as he scrambles for a hold.

"Lady! No, no no no no!" He yelps, slipping and having the car drive over him.

He groans, getting to his feet as Obadiah grabs a nearby motorcycle, throwing the driver off and hurling it at Tony before grabbing him, slamming him into the ground.

"For 30 years, I've been holding you up! I built this company from nothing!"

At each phrase, he flings Tony into the ground.

"Nothing is going to stand in my way."

Once again throws Tony onto the ground

"Least of all you!"

Obadiah points, a missile appearing and shooting just as Tony fires his repulsors, shooting into the air, using flight as Obadiah looks up.

"Impressive! You've upgraded your armor! I've made some upgrades of my own!" Obadiah's suit moves, legs twisting as suddenly, rockets appear and he lifts off, at a much slower pace at first before gaining speed.

"Sir, it appears that his suit can fly."

"Duly noted. Take me to maximum altitude."

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

"I know the math! Do it!"

Scene Change.

The air force base, people are looking at the screens in surprise.

"Sir, you're not going to believe this. That thing is back."

"Get me Major Allen. Scramble the jets!"

"Not necessary, people. Just a training exercise." Rhodey warns, and the major swallows before nodding, putting down the phone.

"Yes, sir."

Scene Change

Tony is flying while Obadiah is following, they get higher and higher, the city lights fading.

-" Thirteen percent power, sir."

- "Climb!"

-" Eleven percent."

- "Keep going!"

"Oh god Tony…" Clint groans, and they watch as they get higher, Obadiah gaining.

-" Seven percent power.

- Just leave it on the screen! Stop telling me!"

Obadiah grabs Tony's neck, not noticing the ice that is coating his suit.

"You had a great idea, Tony, but my suit is more advanced in every way!"

"Yeah? How'd you solve the icing problem?" Tony asks, noticing the ice that covers Obadiah.

"Icing problem?"

"Might want to look into it."

Obadiah plummets as a block of ice, Tony following, flailing as the repulsors seem to not work.

"Two percent. We are now running on emergency backup power." He descends further, jets flickering as he takes a fall then slows himself to descend.

"Potts!"

"Tony! Oh, my God, are you okay?"

Tony lands on the roof of the Main Reactor, stumbling a few steps.

"I'm almost out of power. I've got to get out of this thing. I'll be right there."

Tony knocks off one of his gloves, Obadiah landing behind him. He ducks a punch, throwing out a hand of the glove he just discarded, before being grabbed and squished, suit failing slightly.

"Fight him!"

"Nice try!"

" Weapons status?"

" Repulsors offline. Missiles offline."

"Flares!"

A flash of light blinds Obadiah as Tony ducks, leaning against one of the pillars, hiding out of sight.

"Very clever, Tony." Obadiah roars.

" Potts?"

"Tony!"

"This isn't working. We're going to have to overload the reactor and blast the roof."

"No! The backlash energy would override his reactor- he'll kill himself!" Bruce shouted, nearly jumping up to his feet.

"Well, how are you going to do that?"

"You're going to do it. Go to the central console, open up all the circuits. When I get clear of the roof, I'll let you know. You're going to hit the master bypass button. It's going to fry everything up here."

Pepper nods, seeing the broken glass on everything as she walks through the open doorways, walking towards the sparking reactor.

"Okay. I'm going in now."

"Make sure you wait till I clear the roof. I'll buy you some time." Tony whispers before turning and jumping on the back of Obadiah. He tugs, yanking a large wire out from his back.

"This looks important!"

Obadiah roars, his sight blinded as he throws off Tony, causing the man to scramble as he nearly falls into the skylight- the glass having shattered. Obadiah opens the main compartment, his targeting having broken.

"I never had a taste for this sort of thing, but I must admit, I'm deeply enjoying the suit! You finally outdid yourself, Tony! You'd have made your father proud!" Obadiah aims and misses several weapons, his targeting system gone and he being a lousy shot.

"It's ready, Tony! Get off the roof!"

"Tony!" Pepper screams, glass from the weapon's impact raining down on her.

"How ironic, Tony! Trying to rid the world of weapons, you gave it its best one ever!"

He gasps as a missile nearly hits him, causing his grip to loosen.

"- Pepper!" He shouts, looking down at the woman far below.

"And now I'm going to kill you with it! You ripped out my targeting system!"

"Time to hit the button!" He screams, knowing that everything is futile.

"No- Don't hit it!" Bruce shouts.

"You told me not to!"

"Hold still, you little prick!" More missiles nearly collide with him, causing him to dangle with one arm.

"- Just do it!"

-" You'll die!"

"…He- he's going to do it." Steve murmured, flinching.

"Tony has a thing for suicidal moves." Natasha noted, eyes narrowed.

"Push it!"

Pepper presses the button, and the Arc flares, Pepper screams, running out of the building as electricity travels upwards.

The power rushes up, Tony managing to pull himself up and rolling out of the direct way as Obadiah shouts, electricity frying him and causing his suit to fall down into the core of the Reactor.

"Tony!" Pepper screams, voice mirrored by the Avengers.

Fire explodes upwards as Obadiah falls into the main core, shooting high into the sky by where Tony is.

Tony is lying on the ground stiff, not moving an inch. His Arc Reactor fizzling as it faintly tries to stat alit- slowly dying out as the screen moves away.

The Avenger stares.

"What- what just happened?" Steve asks, blinking while Bruce clears his throat.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that he just died." Bruce stated, voice cry and emotionless.

"There's more." Thor states, the others watching as the scene changes.

Scene Change.

Rhodey is at a podium, talking to the audience.

"You've all received the official statement of what occurred at Stark Industries last night. There have been unconfirmed reports that a robotic prototype malfunctioned and caused damage to the arc reactor. Fortunately, a member of Tony Stark's personal security staff..." Rhodey's voice trails out as Tony is inside a tent, Pepper cleaning some of the wounds on his cheek.

"Iron Man." That's kind of catchy. It's got a nice ring to it." He shrugs, getting up while Pepper makes his tie.

"I mean, it's not technically accurate. The suit's a gold-titanium alloy, but it's kind of evocative,

the imagery, anyway." Tony shrugs, seeing Coulson walk in with papers.

"Here's your alibi." He hands the papers over, in which Tony sifts through.

"Okay."

- "You were on your yacht."

- "Yeah."

"We have port papers that put you in Avalon all night, and sworn statements from 50 of your guests."

"See, I was thinking maybe we should say it was just Pepper and me alone on the island." He smiles, and Pepper smiles as well, working on the small mark on his forehead.

"That's what happened."

- "All right."

"Just read it, word for word."

Tony looks through the note cards. Frowning as he looks at Coulson.

"There's nothing about Stane here."

"That's being handled. He's on vacation. Small aircraft have such a poor safety record. But what about the whole cover story that it's a bodyguard?"

Tony looks at Coulson in confusion.

"He's my... I mean, is that... That's kind of flimsy, don't you think? This isn't my first rodeo, Mr. Stark. Just stick to the official statement, and soon, this will all be behind you. You've got 90 seconds." He nods, walking out of the room, in which Pepper follows.

"Agent Coulson?"

He turns, looking and patiently waiting.

"I just wanted to say thank you very much for all of your help."

"That's what we do. You'll be hearing from us."

"From the Strategic Homeland..." Pepper frowns, trying to remember it all.

"Just call us S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Right."

Pepper turns, moving back to Tony and fixing his collar as he reads the cars.

"- Let's get this show on the road."

"- You know, it's actually not that bad." Pepper comments.

"Even I don't think I'm Iron Man." Tony adds with a smile.

" You're not Iron Man."

" Am so."

- "You're not."

"All right, suit yourself." Tony shrugs, waiting in silence for a while until he turns, looking at Pepper dead in the eye.

"You know, if I were Iron Man, I'd have this girlfriend who knew my true identity. She'd be a wreck, 'cause she'd always be worrying that I was going to die, yet so proud of the man I'd become." He added.

"That…that was…" Steve blinked and Clint snickered.

"Oh Tony- I think that's as romantic as he can get." He laughed, everybody finally relaxing after the fight scene.

"She'd be wildly conflicted, which would only make her more" He clears his throat. "crazy about me."

Pepper smiles, not looking at him in the eye.

"Tell me you never think about that night." Tony adds quieter.

" What night?"

"You know."

"Are you talking about the night that we danced and went up on the roof, and then you went downstairs to… get me a drink, and you left me there, by myself? Is that the night you're talking about?"

Tony gives a little noise in his throat as Pepper smiles.

"Thought so. Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

" Yes, that will be all, Miss Potts."

Scene Change.

"And now, Mr. Stark has prepared a statement. He will not be taking any questions. Thank you." Rhodey nods, Tony walking out and taking his place at the podium.

"Been a while since I was in front of you. I figure I'll stick to the cards this time. There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop..." Tony starts before a reporter cuts him off.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, - despite the fact that you..."

"I know that it's confusing. It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero." Tony brushes off.

"He's normally better than this." Natasha frowns, causing Steve to shrug.

"Perhaps the Man of Iron is distracted?" Thor offered.

"I never said you were a superhero."

"Didn't? Well, good, because that would be outlandish and fantastic."

Tony sighs, looking at the cards and shifting them.

"Oh- he's going to crack." Clint grinned, wincing as the bowl collided hard with his one arm.

"I'm just not the hero type. Clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public."

"Just stick to the cards, man." Rhodey whispers in Tony's ear, causing him to blink/

"Yeah, okay. Yeah. The truth is…" He hesitates, eyes scanning over the reporters before his face goes blank.

"And- here is comes." Clint sing-song'ed

"I am Iron Man."

"Called it." Clint grinned while the others shook their heads at his antics.

The screen showed credits, but they were moving too fast for one to actually be able to tell what they said.

"So…what? Are we still locked in here, or what? And- oh shit. Tony's in his lab." Clint gasped, everybody freezing in their spots as the credits continued.

"…What are we supposed to do no-"

"Jarvis!"

Clint jumped, looking at the TV.

"Huh- after credit's scene. Not many of those." Clint blinked, watching as Tony walked through the hallway from the front door, at ease as he entered the main living room, freezing in the entryway.

"Welcome home, sir."

Tony watches, seeing some person in his living room, looking out from the long wall of glass panels, looking at the view.

"I am Iron Man." You think you're the only superhero in the world?"

"Fury?" Steve blinked in surprise, looking Natasha who shrugged.

"Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe. You just don't know it yet."

"Who the hell are you?" Tony blinks, standing in his room as the other man turns, walking out into the light.

"Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative."

The screen goes blank.

They blink, Clint even walking up and hitting a button on the TV. Even the power button refused to work and activate it, until a whirring noise and suddenly the lights flickered.

"My apologize, I have regained control of the circuitry in this area." Jarvis announced, causing Bruce to frown and make his way to one of the doors.

"…We can leave? It's done?" Bruce blinked.

"Correct. Would you like me to contact, Sir? He is currently in the workshop."

"How long have we been here?" Steve asked, the movie felt like it had been days.

"I have lost contact for directly 126 minutes."

"God…" Clint breathed, running a hand through his hair.

"…I think it would be wise to contact the Man of Iron." Thor added, still sitting from his spot on the chair.

All eyes moved to Steve who shifted in his spot, looking unsure.

"I- call him up." Steve sighed, dropping back onto the couch he had been sitting on for the two hours.

The others moved to their respectable spots, waiting and finally the door swung open with a loud bang.

"Is there a reason why Spangles suddenly pulled me awa-" Tony blinked, looking at the sight.

Nobody was talking, nor were they lifting their heads to look at him.

"Um- who died? 'Because I'm really sure I didn't miss something big…Did Fury call? Do we have to go save the world again?" Tony asked, approaching and sinking into the only available chair left.

"Okay, speak. Why do you all look like somebody died, and Legolas, why, does it look like you slammed into a brick wall and got punched by Thor?"

The silence was brutal. Eventually, Tony threw his arms up into the air.

"That's it- if you're not talking I'm leav-"

"We watched a movie." Steve spoke up. Tony blinked, looking at Steve as he lifted a single eyebrow.

"Okay? And why do you guys look like you've witnessed a horrible acid- oh…You watched the Justin Bieber Movie, didn't you?" Tony asked, sympathy on his face.

"What? No- " Steve started, blushing as he was cut off by Thor.

"A move appeared, Man of Iron, about your past victory." Thor stated, and Tony blinked.

"A newscast? Can someone just spit it out-"

"A movie appeared and we got forced to watch it. It was about you, Tony." Clint stated, and Tony froze, blinking a few times.

"O-okay? And? You're not giving me anything to work with." Tony huffed, causing Clint to sigh.

"I- It started in Las Vegas, and ended with you telling the world you're Iron Man."

Tony froze.

He didn't blink, he didn't move or say a single word. Clint shifted, feeling guilty as hell before he looked at Tony.

"I-" Tony started, swallowing and looking away at the Coffee table, blinking as suddenly there was a piece of paper, folded in half with his name on it.

"The creepy movie monster strikes again." Clint muttered just as Tony stiffly unfolded the paper, the feeling of was slightly stiffer, more similar to fancy stationary.

Anthony Stark,

I apologize for intruding upon you past, however it was required for acceptance from the team.

You may not believe me, but you have hacked every file, every documentation found about each of your teammates. You know their secrets, it's time that they know yours.

I apologize for not allowing you to be present during the screening, however you mental stability would be questioned.

Nothing past the point of your reveal of the Iron Man has been shown, nor has any reference to a point before your capture.

I sincerely wish we will be one even ground eventually.

I feel your pain.

Tony blinked, looking at the elegant font and slight ink smears, before he blinked, grabbing the paper and shoving it into his back pocket, clearing his throat and looking at the others who seemed rather expectant of something.

"Okay then…" He stated with a low sigh, getting up and making his way to the kitchen.

"I'm making a sandwich- anybody want one?" He asked, looking over his shoulder as everyone simply stared.

"No? you sure? Fine- oh, and nothing leaves this room."

Clint turned, looking at Natasha and stated rather lowly, but still loud for everyone to hear.

"Did we just break him?"

"Hey! Who took my bowl!" Tony's shout was heard, and instantly Clint pointed to Natasha, who scowled and held up the bowl.

Tony scowled, stalking over and grabbing the bowl. Turning but pausing when looking the other way.

"Clint?" He asked, and said man turned to look.

BAMM-MMM-MMmmmm

"Nobody, takes my bowl." Tony glared, getting up and stalking to the kitchen.

Maybe he could get rid of some of the anger he was hiding by stabbing Summer Sausage.

Yes-Sausage would do.

Tada! Okay- crappy ending. I'll fix it later.

Anyways, i'll post a sequel eventually, but it's going to be the THOR movie, not Iron Man, i've already made a deal with a few people about that.

So! Who do you think left the letter? (grin) I bet you you all know anyways...

Review~!

~Oceanbreeze7