That was sad. I mean, I was waiting for this to happen, but it was a lot more heartfelt than expected. But, that removes one obstacle to the pepperony, and sets up the Scott Summers/Jean Grey pairing. And another mention of professor X.

So, how is Maya going to be removed? I'm hoping Pepper figures out all the crap she's pulled on her and Tony and kicks her ass.

Ugh. That confirms it for sure. Maya is evil. No one would pull a move that cruel on both Tony and Pepper without wanting to watch them suffer. Although, it also confirms that she's not the one in charge. Who is she answering to, and what sinister plot is in motion? Is she working with AIM?

Although Maya set it up, the pepperony seems determined to poison itself. Is Tony really about to marry Maya? That's too much drama if so. That's gonna nail the coffin shut. How are you getting them out of this?

It was fun that you brought Happy back, though I do feel sorry for him. And Pepper is now a celebrity in her own right at Stark Solutions. That's funny XD And hey, one of the guards is named Derrick, just like my buddy.

Seriously? Tony proposed to Maya? Can you spell mistake? Sure, its D-U-M-B-A-S-S. It's definition: anything Tony Stark does with any girl besides Pepper, and roughly 50% of the things he does with Pepper anyway. Sadly though, the fact that Pepper just pretended to go along with it instead of telling Tony how it made her feel, means that she's got a definition of her own, and it's no better than Tony's. When will it end?!

Wow, so nothing changed and Maya knows. I will say, I got confused and worried about Pepper being pregnant after all, but then that page at the end...

I was actually feeling sorry for Maya there. That little speech gave Tony. I bought it all, just like him, apparently. But now she's revealed to be a sneaky, plotting bitch who will stoop to unknown levels to achieve her ends. I'm guessing she's really the hidden main enemy of these stories?

That chapter was a lot more bearable than the others in this story so far. Pretty much straight-up action, which is ironically a relaxing break from all the angst. And there was a little bit of pepperony there too. I'm pretty sure they both wanted to kiss each other and say something along the lines of I still love you. So close, but not quite.

Whiplash is back! And working for AIM? He didn't have much time or dialogue, but you still had him kicking ass. And I like how you wrote his dialogue in bold to reflect his creepy voice, nice touch.

And finally, cool cameo by those other four Marvel ladies. Always nice to see more comics characters show up in the series. Wonder if Jean and Betty will have their usual thing going on with Scott and Bruce. Then again, until the pepperony is back on track, who cares, right?!

That was pretty big of Pepper. Don't know if Whitney actually deserves the forgiveness and understanding or not, but I guess only Pepper has the right to make that call. Tony does not look like he's going along with it quietly at all.

And now I know for certain that a conspiracy is afoot and Maya is involved in it. She's drugging Tony and making plans to have his baby against his will (rape, btw), etc. But what is it all about? Is she trying to get pregnant by him so that her family can extort him for money through child support or something? Or is it darker than that? I've got my eye on her.

I was sweating along with Pepper during that countdown. Talk about tension, and so relieving that the tests were negative. Wake-up call, baby. And once again, I can't figure Maya out. You have here seem like she genuinely cares, and then, in the very same paragraph reaffirm the selfishness of her actions and hint at some sort of conspiracy. What is going on with her?

Interesting and refreshing that, despite her constant trouble with men, she specifically wants them around to be a father figure to any child she might have. Either she's looking at the whole gender roles thing with really mature eyes, or her even worse experiences with other women in her life has caused her to have a stronger trust in men than in her own gender. Don't see that a lot in stories, so it seems more real coming from Pepper.

My eyes got moist, oh yes they did. Good lord this horrible. I mean this story is truly horrible. I don't mean horribly written or thought up, or even its content really, just the effect it has on someone reading it. I'm so torn, it isn't funny. I felt so bad for Tony, I was actually agreeing with his response. Because, let's face it, Pepper really had a "take that!" coming for sending the stuff back, and on Christmas at that. But then, that last line with her crying, and then remembering Pepper has enough heart to try to get Whitney woken up again, I started to get mad at Tony again. Seriously, I don't know who to blame most for this nonsense! Grow up, you idiots!

Omg. Seriously, omg! Pepper has absolutely the worst timing on the planet! She picked the worst time to walk in on Tony and Rhodey AND she picked the worst moment to leave! Seriously, it hurt a LOT hearing Tony say all of those awful things about Pepper. Like Rhodey, I was getting pissed. Then Pepper went away and surprise! Wasn't talking about Pepper after all! Good grief this sucks. I mean, I know their situation has sucked before since the Last Month, but this just bites the cosmic hotdog. I am so glad that these chapters are short, because at this point I just want to neuter and spay Tony and Pepper, respectively, for their combined idiocy.

The only bits of good news is that it's starting to sound like Scott is losing hope of keeping Pepper and Tony is really starting to want to send Maya packing. Considering that she was spiking his drinks to try to control him in the last story, it's about time he figures out she's no good for him.

Everybody here just needs a good slap. Rhodey, my man, you're up!

Well, I guess I can count the blessings that they with each other before anyone else, since it's clear now that they weren't only with each other. Realistic, but still sad. Funny how Pepper is pointing out the details of her sex life on tv. She lied about never being with Tony, but she's got a few good reasons for that. Maya probably won't put up with what Tony is doing much longer. They are making her and Scott miserable too. Will they ever grow up?

Yeah I was right, Pepper isn't doing any better. But, at least she seems like she's ready to start getting back on track again. Most women these days would try to tell themselves what she was telling herself, about the guy not deserving her sadness and not letting him bring her down, but they try to do that right away. If they succeed, that means that what they had with the guy wasn't all the special anyway, so if it was something real, they shouldn't be getting over them right away.

I know girls handle it differently than boys do and Tony is showing it here. Boys lash out in anger until it's drained out of them, girls wallow in grief until they can't feel it anymore, and yeah sometimes the two genders switch that up, but it still takes time either way and the desired result is the same. Tony seems like he still needs some time with that anger to be worked out though. For Pepper, it seems about right that she is NOW putting it all aside after spending a month crying it out and letting the depression run its course. NOW she can start to be strong and not let her life be controlled by her memories of Tony. I doubt she will succeed of course, but the intent is a step in the right direction. If you did it that way deliberately, kudos to you for nailing a realistic portrayal of a break-up recovery. She's not over him the next day, but neither is she being gloomy non-stop until they are inevitably back together. Hardly anybody gets that right, at least in the fics I've read in the past.

So I'm guessing that AIM is the main villain for this story? Will MODOK be showing up?

I can already feel the gloom settling over the story. I've been through breakups, but I don't think I was as bad off as Tony seems to be. Wonder how Pepper is taking it. I'm guessing not any better.

That's what i meant!

I'm ready to kill you! Why are you so mean?

NOOOOO! he can't marry maya! he's suppose to be with pepper! UGH, why are you doing this to me!