A/N: This chapter was hard to write. Mainly because of something I do to a pair of characters I really like (which I will expound on more in the bottom Author Notes), and because of how it's set. This fic is centered around the idea of how things will change with the Avengers sticking together throughout the events of the MCU. But, there are certain events that have been in motion for years already, that would still occur despite that. The reactions and outcomes of those events will be altered, but the events themselves will take place. For example: Robbie Reyes from Agents of SHIELD has, off screen, already had his fateful encounter with a certain Mr. Blaze, and those familiar with those characters as portrayed in the MCU know what that means.

This chapter is a prime example of that. As I showed in the last scene of last chapter, AIM is about to make their play, and this chapter will cover a fair bit of Iron Man 3. But, the ripple effect of changes hasn't been enough to alter their plans too much. So how to make it interesting. I hope that I've done a decent job, and that you enjoy the various fight and action sequences that come up.

Peace and Out,

Pwn Master Paladin

Chapter Four: Ready, Fire, AIM.

Steve threw his pencil down and let a harsh sigh escape, reaching for the nearby tea and taking a long sip as he stared out over the New York City skyline. The streets and buildings were covered in Christmas decorations and holiday spirit that provided illumination to the street in the dark of the winter night. It had been four months since he had first moved in, and already he had adjusted to the new normal that he found to be his living conditions. The constant sounds from the city, the explosions or cackles of mad genius that filtered from the labs whenever Tony wrangled the other scientists to assist him in his latest project, even Natasha coming and going at all hours of the day and night, occasionally in such effective disguises that Steve had been tempted to ask JARVIS if someone had breached security...all of it was very different from what he had been used to before his time under the ice, but it had become home, albeit one filled with a chaos that both disturbed and comforted him in equal measure.

But now, for all the craziness that normally inhabited the Tower, it was strangely quiet. Jane, Darcy, and Erik were all out, visiting family for the holidays. Natasha had been gone a week on a mission, though she was due to be back this afternoon provided nothing had gone wrong. Tony and Pepper were gone to California to finalize the move of Stark Industries central hub from the west coast to the Tower, but with the amount of paperwork involved that required actual signing and physical meetings, they weren't scheduled to be back until after Christmas. Even Bruce, the only one who was still at the Tower with Steve, had run out to check a P.O. box he kept separate from the mail he had delivered normally. The only other person that was here at the moment was JARVIS, and he had his own worries to keep him quiet.

Speaking of the AI however..."JARVIS, any word from Pepper?"

"Miss Potts has one of the private Stark jets fueled as we speak, Captain, ready to fly when she and Mr. Stark arrive. I've already set several Stark satellites to give me a constant view of their flight once they take off until they are safely back at the Tower, and if sir continues to refuse to leave once Miss Potts is ready, my priority subroutines will allow me to...force the issue."

"What the hell was he thinking, giving out his address like that?"

"I suspect that in his anger and grief over Mr. Hogan's injuries, that he was, in fact, not thinking, sir."

Steve sighed, conceding the point. When he heard from JARVIS that Happy had been injured in an explosion at the Chinese Theater and had been taken to the hospital, he had immediately turned on WHiH, watched the story develop, and even caught their replay of the message from the Mandarin as he called Pepper, wanting to make sure the two were alright. He had been on the phone with Pepper when Tony had stormed out of the hospital and been confronted with the mob of reporters, his usual playboy smile nowhere to be found. Tony was angry, and in his anger, had called out the Mandarin, even inviting him to confront him directly at his Malibu home while Steve and Pepper listened in, shocked. When Tony had gotten into the car to leave, Steve had heard Pepper sigh in exasperation before she promised to get him to pack up and that the two of them would head back to the relative safety of the Tower.

Judging by JARVIS' previous comment however, Tony was being his usual stubborn self about the matter. "Any contact from Rhodey?"

"No sir. It's possible that he is unaware of the issue, due to his mission to root out the Mandarin and his forces, and after Mr. Stark's refusal to hand over the work and lab notes of The Melter-"

Steve interrupted, being well aware of the issues that had come from that. "The DoD doesn't want Tony having any contact with Rhodey when he's on a mission for them unless it's an Avengers-level threat."

"Indeed sir."

Steve sighed again before the sound of the elevator opening up had him turning, spying Bruce coming out into the common room. "Bruce. Welcome back." When the other man didn't respond, Steve took a second look, moving closer when he noticed the sense of melancholy around the scientist. He placed his hand on the other man's shoulder, attempting to get his attention. "You alright?"

In lieu of an answer, Bruce waved the paper that was still clutched in his hand. Steve admitted to himself that he was curious what the letter could have said that led Bruce to such a look of resigned acceptance and sadness, but knew it would be the height of rudeness to ask. So it came as something of a shock when Bruce pushed the letter into Steve's hands and made for the bar. "Here. I need a drink and someone I can talk to. Talking about Harlem with Tony helped settle Hulk about everything that happened that day. And I definitely need settling now."

Steve nodded, wondering if he should convince the other man to stay with non-alcoholic drinks as the last thing the world needed was a drunk and/or hungover Hulk. But he reconsidered, knowing that Bruce was well aware of his limits, and instead looked down at the letter, and began to read.

Dear Bruce,

It's been a while. Thank you for sending my mother's necklace back to me. I'm sorry it took a bit to reply to you, as your letter had to get forwarded to me. I'm currently in South America. Apparently a new branch of graviola research has had some interesting results for cancer treatment and the team contacted me to come down and provide independent peer review of their tests to confirm it. The head of the group here had heard about my work and after Culver decided not to renew my contract, I thought a change of pace was in order.

I'm so sorry about what happened, Bruce. Dad has always been stubborn and hard headed, not to mention self-righteous. I can't believe that he helped create that thing that you fought in Harlem. And afterwards, blaming you for everything... I thought he was a good man. He might have been once. But that time has long since passed. I told him never to contact me again, but he keeps trying. He thinks that he can convert me to his side, that you're dangerous and should be controlled.

That's one of the reasons I'm writing this letter. I love you, Bruce. And I always will. But after everything that has happened? My father will never stop trying to take control of the Hulk. His entire life is fixated on it now, because it's the only way to justify to himself that everything he's done has been worth it. And he won't stop. I believe that the only thing stopping him from finding you now is SHIELD. He ranted at me about it one night, wanting to know if they had contacted me as well. After the stuff in New York, he was ready to head down and try to capture you again, but SHIELD stepped in and forced him to back down.

But if I came and worked at the Tower, and you and I were together again, I don't think even that would stop him. He's convinced himself that you are a weapon, and a highly dangerous one outside of any hands but his own. And if he heard that we had found each other again, he would stop at nothing to get you, both to further his own goals and out of some misguided idea that he would be protecting me.

I can't take that risk. We would never be free of him if we were together, and you deserve a chance to be free. I deserve it, too. I'm going out to dinner with one of the research group tonight, now that my peer review work is done and any possible claims of bias can be dismissed. I don't know where my path leads, but I know that it's better for both of us if we don't walk it together.

I'm so glad that you found someplace to call home again. A place with people who understand that you aren't a monster. You're a hero, Bruce. Whether you see it or not. And that's not a path I can walk with you. But they can. Listen to them, believe them. And know that I'll always care for you.

Betty

Steve put the letter down, eyes finding that Bruce had poured himself a drink but had yet to actually drink it. Instead, he was staring down into the amber liquid, thoughts a million miles away if his expression was anything to go by. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were seeing anyone..."

"I wasn't. Well, not anymore. Betty was my research partner, and since her father was General Ross, she was able to get me into the team to help recreate your serum. After the accident...I was on the run. It wasn't any kind of life for her. She helped me with the stuff in Harlem, but General Ross was even more on my ass after that, so I went into hiding again."

Steve nodded, connecting the dots in his mind. "And now that you have a safe spot here at the Tower, you got in contact with her."

"After getting permission to extend a spot for her here like Tony did for Jane, Darcy, and Erik. Fat lot of good it did me." He finally reached for the glass and took a long draw of it, setting it back on the table when half was gone. "I shouldn't even be that mad at her. She's doing the exact same thing I did. Separation to help keep me safe. And knowing Ross, she's probably right about what he would do."

"It still hurts, though. Dear John letters always do." At the other man's look of surprise, Steve raised an eyebrow in return. "You all seem to forget that I was stationed overseas for most of the War. I saw a lot of these letters. I think the name for them even got started around that time, or at least it was the first time I had heard the expression. Sometimes they had good reasons, sometimes not. But every one of my men hurt just the same."

Bruce blinked before covering his surprise by taking another sip of his drink. When he set it back down the surprise was gone from his face, but the melancholy had returned. "I thought...she could have been my future, you know?"

Steve's eyes got lost in his own memories then. "Yeah, I know." He shook himself, the memories of his time in the war with Peggy moving back to the back of his mind and he focused instead on the present. "But she's right about one thing. You're a hero. And more than that, you're a good man. If Betty has decided she can't live that life with you, then maybe she wasn't the one after all. And maybe, you should look around for the one that is."

Bruce let out a snort of laughter. "Yeah, like that will happen any time so-"

Before Bruce could finish his thought, the Tower began to reverberate with alarms. Steve jumped into action, unconsciously reaching for his shield despite the fact that it was still in his room. "JARVIS, what's going on?"

"I've lost all contact with the Malibu servers. Last readings are consistent with some type of explosion."

"Bring up the WHiH feed – they've had a camera crew in a helicopter ever since Tony's announcement went live, or at least they did this morning."

Without a word, JARVIS did as asked, the central display showing a scene of horror. There was a helicopter firing on Tony's home. The image cut as the news crew made to leave the area, but not before the two men watched as what appeared to be one of Tony's armors sank down into the ocean, the house crumbling into the water behind him. Bruce stared as the image changed back to the news room of WHiH, before he called out, his voice soft. "JARVIS, was Tony in that suit?"

There was a note of frustration and fear in JARVIS' voice as he responded. "Unknown. However, last readings indicated he was inside the Mark XLII. With the satellites in the area re-purposed to watch the planned flight path back to the Tower however, I have no way to confirm with the Malibu servers apparently destroyed."

"And Pepper, is she alright?"

JARVIS worked frantically, the frustration in his voice doubling. "As of last readings."

Steve let out his own huff of frustration, before an incoming message alert had him straightening, hoping that it was Tony contacting them to say everything was alright. The image that appeared on the screen dashed that hope, as the video call connected to reveal a different face on the end. "Director Fury."

"Captain Rogers, Doctor Banner. I take it you're aware of why I'm calling?"

"The attack on Tony."

"Exactly. I was hoping one of you might take a Quinjet to confirm what happened."

Steve narrowed his eyes, a question in his mind. Bruce beat him to asking it however, the other man's own eyes focused on the video call. "Why us? Why not a SHIELD team?"

Fury sighed, one hand reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose as if to stave off a headache. "After the WSC managed to sneak that malware onto the facial recognition program, Stark had a few choice words for them. Apparently they took offense to his tone. When I wanted to send a security team last night, I was told in no uncertain terms that 'If Stark can't keep his fat mouth shut then it's on his head, not ours' and was denied. I was planning on sending Natasha anyway when she came back today, but until she reports in, she's out of contact to avoid blowing her cover."

Steve couldn't hold back a snort of derision. "Typical REMFs. Rather than admit they were wrong they double down and punish the one who caught them."

Fury let out a snort of laughter, but whether it was at Steve using that particular acronym or the rest of the comment he kept to himself. "Fortunately, while I can't send a team out now, they didn't order me to keep equipment away. I can have a Quinjet at the Tower in fifteen minutes, with restock equipment, bound for Los Angeles."

Steve nodded, determination settling across his face. "Understood. We'll be ready."

"No, I'll be ready. You're staying here Cap." Steve turned towards Bruce then, raising his eyebrow in inquiry. "Someone needs to be here in case Tony contacts us, and to let the others know. Director, can you have a second Quinjet sent to us? I'll take the first and then when the others are ready, they can fly out as well."

Fury nodded, his eyes narrowed as he picked up something the other man wasn't saying. "Good plan, Dr. Banner. I even have a pilot I trust who can be ready with the second jet. Fury out."

Steve turned towards his teammate as JARVIS ended the call. "Now that Fury's offline, what's the real reason you want me to stay behind that you couldn't say out loud?"

"If the WSC is willing to let Tony die, I don't think they'll approve any help from SHIELD. And if Tony did manage to survive, the Mandarin won't let that stand. Whatever happens next, it's on us. If Tony survived and we have to go to ground to avoid any other terrorist attacks, I'm better at staying under the radar than you and I'm less recognizable. When Natasha gets here, along with this pilot that Fury trusts, contact me. I'll get a burner phone in L.A., then let JARVIS know the number on my way to Malibu." Turning back to the screen, Bruce continued. "J, Tony have any unlisted vehicles I could use to avoid anyone finding I'm on the way?"

"Unfortunately no. Everything in Los Angeles is listed under Stark Industries. However, I do have another option."

"Oh? What's that?"

In response, a compartment Steve had been unaware of opened, revealing a standard leather briefcase. When Steve grabbed it and opened it up, curious about what JARVIS had planned, he found the briefcase was full of bundles of cash. "Mister Stark is a firm believer in having enough cash on hand to buy anything he might wish. Including cars."

Bruce let out a low whistle, before nodding and moving towards his room to get ready. "Yeah, that'll work. Steve, when Natasha gets here, let Fury know, then stand by for a message from me. If you haven't heard from me in 24 hours, bring the cavalry, and be loud about it. As long as I know where you are, I can make my way to you."

Steve nodded, reluctantly. He could see the sense in what the other man was saying, even if he didn't like it. "Alright. Stay safe, Bruce." A few minutes later, Bruce was on his way to California, and Steve had suited up, if for no other reason than having something to do. He was back in the common room, attempting to calm his nerves when the elevator pinged and opened to reveal Natasha had returned, and was already pulling off the wig she had been wearing for this latest assignment. When the hair cleared her eyes and she took in the fact that Steve was in uniform, her steps didn't even falter as she started moving towards her room. "Fill me in while I get suited up."

UWSUWSUWSUWS

Bruce closed the flip phone he had bought and got out of the SUV he had purchased earlier that day. It probably wasn't as flashy as the things that Tony would normally buy, but it fit in well with the flow of cars on the 405, and that was what he had needed. Originally, the plan had been to head to Malibu as soon as he landed, but that plan changed nearly immediately. Before he could head out he had bought the phone and contacted JARVIS, who had told him that Pepper was alive and mostly unharmed. The police had her in protective custody, but Pepper had insisted on heading back to the house the next night. So Bruce changed his plans.

Now, with another update to JARVIS done, he mentally prepared himself and began sneaking through the various vehicles that were surrounding the house. He waited until no one was looking, then grabbed a CSI jacket and clipboard from the closest van. He kept his head down, walking with purpose to where Pepper's red hair was standing out in the crowd of police workers. His ruse seemed to be working, as no one paid him too much attention, taking in the jacket and clipboard and then moving back to whatever they were doing. As he approached, he watched Pepper put on one of the helmets from the armors, and when she took it off again, she was crying, but smiling. Taking that as a good sign, he made the final approach towards her, softly calling out her name. "Pepper. Hey, Pepper."

She turned, and it took her a moment to recognize him in the dim moonlight, but when she did, she smiled again. "Bruce! What...are you doing here? I thought you were at the Tower?"

He stepped to her side completely; now that he had made it through the police blockade, he was less sneaky, confident that she could vouch for him. "After JARVIS got word of the attack, I hopped on a Quinjet and got here this morning. Didn't know where you were going to be until tonight. Did Tony make it out too?"

She shook her head, then nodded. "Yes and no. He's alive. I thought he had died, but he left a message on the SI servers for me. Here, listen." She turned the helmet around, speaking softly into the audio receiver inside. "Replay previous message."

From inside the helmet, a female voice responded even as Pepper placed it over Bruce's head, confirming the order, then Tony's voice began speaking through the speakers. "Pepper, it's me. I've got a lot of apologies to make and not a lot of time. So...first off, I'm so sorry. I put you in harm's way. I let my anger get the better of me and acted without thinking. It was selfish, and stupid, and it won't happen again. And I'm also sorry that I can't come back yet. I need to find this guy, because now I know he won't stop until I'm dead, which means I need to stop him before I come back to you. You gotta stay safe. That's the most important thing to me. Head to the Tower, the others will look after you. And tell Steve to get the Fancy Dress Protocol ready, just in case. Him, Natasha or Bruce. JARVIS will recognize what it means, but it has to be one of the Avengers that says it. I love you. I'll be back to tell you in person as soon as I can."

Bruce removed the helmet, relief and worry battling in his expression. "He's alive. That's the good thing. Do we have any idea where he is from the message?"

Pepper shook her head again. "It's from the secure server. As long as you have a pass-code you can access it from anywhere in the world that has a phone line. What's this Fancy Dress Protocol?"

It was Bruce's turn to shake his head, this time in confusion. "I have no idea. It must be something he kept secret but coded to us at the Tower. I'll get a hold of JARVIS so he can update everyone. After that, let's get you out of here. The World Security Council is tying SHIELD's hands, and considering how deep the Mandarin has been able to get into various places, I don't trust anyone but the Avengers at this point. I want us as covert as possible, okay?"

Pepper's eyes widened at that, but before she could respond there was a commotion from out front. Bruce turned, getting ready to release the Hulk if he needed to to keep Pepper safe, but it was just a single woman that had apparently tried the same trick he had to get through the police cordon, only she hadn't succeeded. "Miss Potts, please! Tell them to let me through!"

Bruce turned, seeing Pepper's eyes go flint like as she put a professional mask on, hiding her emotions. "You know her?"

"Maya Hansen. One of Tony's old conquests. She came by just before the attack to warn us about something. I'll handle this. You call the Tower."

As Pepper made her way to the police group, Bruce pulled out his flip phone and made the call to the Tower. "We're here, Bruce. Any updates?"

"Tony's alive. I don't know where, but he left a message on the Stark servers for Pepper, along with a request for all of us at the Tower."

There was an audible sigh of relief as Steve processed that, one Bruce well understood."That's good, at least. What's the plan now?"

"I'm getting Pepper out of here. I've got a fair bit left from the stash that JARVIS set me up with. I figure I can get us to a hotel overnight then we can get to LAX tomorrow. If all goes as planned, we should be back at the Tower no later than tomorrow night."

"Understood." It wasn't Steve's voice that answered this time, but Natasha, and Bruce realized that JARVIS must have him on speaker for everyone. "Our Quinjet is ready to go, just say the word."

Bruce shook his head before remembering that this wasn't a video call and instead responded verbally. "No, I'd rather you stand by. The Mandarin was able to get one of his bombs into the heart of a military base not that long ago. He's either got connections or followers with connections. I don't want anything that could possibly lead to us until we are already aboard a plane and on the way. You know I can make my way around airport security, and once we are aboard somewhere then I'll call you before liftoff for an escort."

There was silence on the other end as they considered his words, before Steve spoke again, reluctant acceptance lacing his tone."Alright, but keep us posted. If we haven't heard from you in 24 hours we're flying out no matter what."

"Sounds good. Oh, and Steve, Tony left part of the message for you. Something about a Fancy Dress Protocol?"

"Fancy Dress Protocol?"

JARVIS cut in before Steve could continue, his voice clear and relieved now that he knew that Tony was alive. "Fancy Dress Protocol enabled. It's something that Mister Stark has been working on ever since the Melter incident. If you'll head down to the garage, I'll have it ready to show you. Dr. Banner, your part I can load onto the Quinjet or bring to you if needed."

"Uh...thanks, I guess. Still not clear on what this is, but if you and Tony think it may be needed, go for it. I'll talk to you guys later. I'm gonna get Pepper out of here now." Closing the phone, he made his way over to where Pepper was standing with the other woman, Maya. Raising an eyebrow at her he turned back to Pepper. "We need to go. I'm parked out a bit in an SUV. You able to walk that far?"

"I can. She's coming with us though. I have some questions for her." Bruce shrugged and then began leading the two through the various police cars until they were clear of the group, heading for where he had parked. Once they were back on the road, Bruce turned on the radio to listen for any traffic updates, knowing how bad the freeways in California could get, as Pepper sent a few updates to SI through her tablet, making it seem like she would be back in tomorrow for anyone that may have an ear inside of the company. Finally, she put the tablet down as she turned towards the other woman, Bruce paying attention with half an ear as he made his way to a hotel he knew about from his days of hiding from Ross. "Alright. Time to explain some things. Why were you at the house tonight? What was so important that you had to speak to Tony about?"

"I think my boss is working for the Mandarin. So if you still want to talk about it, I suggest that we get ourselves someplace safe."

There was silence for a moment in the car before Pepper turned more fully to face the other woman. "Your boss works for the Mandarin? Tony said you were a botanist!"

"That figures. What I actually am is a biological DNA coder, and my team of forty works out of a privately funded think tank. The guy running the think tank is the one I think works for the Mandarin."

"What's his name? The one running the tank?"

"Aldrich Killian." Pepper made a gasp of surprise at that, but before she could comment further, the Emergency Broadcast System tone sounded, and Bruce leaned forward to turn up the radio, wondering what else had gone wrong now. But when the tone ended, it wasn't the EBS that came through. Instead, it was the sound of screams, explosions, and then, the voice of the Mandarin.

"Mr. President. Only two lessons remain. And I intend to finish this before Christmas morning. Meet Thomas Richards. Good strong name, good strong job. Thomas here is an accountant, for the Roxxon Oil Corporation. But, I'm sure he's a really good guy." There was the sound of sobbing in the background, as presumably the man the Mandarin was introducing was put in front of the camera. Even if they couldn't see it, the Mandarin made a show of everything. "I'm going to shoot him in the head, live on your television in 30 seconds. The number for this telephone is in your cell phone. Exciting, isn't it, imagining how it got there? America, if your president calls me in the next half minute, Tom lives. Go!" There was silence for a moment, other than the sounds of Tom sobbing, until at the 20 second mark, the phone began to ring. Bruce let out a sigh of relief, but one that was short lived, as even with the phone ringing in the background, a gunshot was heard. There was silence for a moment, then the Mandarin began speaking again. "There's just one lesson left, President Ellis. So run away, hide, kiss your children goodbye. Because nothing, not your army, not your red, white, and blue attack dog can save you. I'll see you soon."

The car was silent for a moment, the three inside shocked at what they had just listened to, before Maya spoke, breaking the silence with a sob in her voice. "Why...he called. The president called. The phone was ringing, why didn't he let him go?"

Bruce gripped the steering wheel, knuckles white from the force of his grip. White, with a hint of green. "Proving a point. That nothing we do can stop him from what he has planned. That even if we agree to negotiate, this maniac isn't willing to. He's going to perform his 'lessons' and we can't stop him." He took a few deep breaths, calling on the calming exercises he had learned in his quest to keep the Hulk away years ago before he had settled on his current method. As he pulled off the road into a motel, he managed it, the green gone from his skin and eyes as he went in, paid for a decent sized room with two beds and a pull out couch, and moved the car to park.

Once they were all settled again, Bruce ordered some room service for dinner then settled on the couch, rubbing the bridge of his nose and looking as Maya and Pepper settled on the beds, facing each other. "What happened, Maya? What made you think Killian is working for the Mandarin?"

Maya leaned back, eyes lost in memory as Bruce listened. "What happened. Fun fact? Before he built rockets for the Nazis, the idealistic Wernher von Braun dreamed of space travel. He stargazed." She laughed scornfully then, coming back to the present. "When the first V2 fell on London, he said 'the rocket performed perfectly, it just landed on the wrong planet.' See, we all begin wide-eyed, pure science. I bet you can agree to that, Doctor Banner." When Bruce raised his eyebrow in surprise, Maya gave him a look. "You may not be as well-known as Tony Stark or Steve Rogers, but there are more than a few scientists that still remember you from your days working at Culver University. I bet that if you hadn't dropped off the map, that you would have been approached by Killian, too. Can you imagine it, Doctor? Someone, offering you the funding needed from a private organization, to pursue your research. Private, not government, meaning anything you were able to do you could actually use and give to the people, rather than having it classified under layers and layers of government restrictions?"

Bruce nodded, knowing well the appeal of research and science unrestricted by government mandate. "I can. It's a bit like what I'm doing now actually, for SI."

"Now, can you imagine giving your research to anyone else? That, after having this funding and power given to you, you wouldn't take it as far as possible? Your ego kicks in, obsession to prove your theories, and suddenly, you look back, and see the mistakes you've made. The dangers you've helped create."

Bruce was silent, his mind filled with the flashes of his time as Hulk before he gained the little bit of control he now had. Instead, it was left to Pepper to get Maya to continue, offering what comfort she could to the other woman. "Maya, you can't blame yourself. You gave your research to a think tank, there are hundreds of scientists who have done the same."

"Yes, but Killian built that think tank on military contracts."

There was a knock at the door then, bringing Bruce out of his memories. He stood, moving to the doorway and looking out before relaxing as he recognized the food he had ordered on the tray. He opened the door and moved aside, letting the waiter in. The next thing he knew, there was a sharp pain in his neck, as if a sting from a bug or a needle, and he passed out, darkness overtaking him even as he heard Pepper calling out for Maya to run.

UWSUWSUWSUWS

Pepper gasped awake, her thoughts clouded even as she began trying to move her body but finding herself strapped down to some form of medical table, various machines keeping track of her vitals. Slowly, her mind came out of it's fog and she remembered what had happened after Bruce collapsed. Killian had injected something into him, fast acting enough to keep him from changing. Pepper had tried to fight them off, using some of the training that Natasha had been giving her whenever the two had a chance, but Maya had turned on her, revealing that she was working for Killian the whole time, before Pepper had joined Bruce in unconsciousness. Judging by the light that was streaming in through the window, she must have been out for at least the whole night. She tried again to move, but couldn't, not even her head, which meant she was forced to see Killian's smug face as he stepped closer to her. "Good morning, sunshine."

Pepper didn't respond verbally, instead spitting in his face. "Where's Bruce, you asshole?"

He just chuckled at her again, before stepping back and wiping the spittle of with a handkerchief. "As feisty as ever, I see. I like that in a woman. As for Doctor Banner, he's fine. Sedated though. We have plans for him, and we wouldn't want his big green alter ego to spoil the party." At Pepper's surprised look, he smirked again. "Oh, yes. We know all about Doctor Banner. How do you think we were able to make a sedative that was fast acting enough to knock him out and keep him out? Some of the people interested in my think tank's products know all about the Avengers, in and out of battle."

"You know all that, and you still think your side will win? You're working for a murderer, Killian, a lunatic!"

Killian raised his eyebrow in surprise, before a look of realization crossed his face. He moved around to her side where she couldn't see him as he continued talking. "Oh, you mean the Mandarin. No, no, Pepper." Suddenly, there was a sharp jab into her side and she cried out as she felt something being injected into her. A burning sensation starting crawling along her skin, so much so that it threatened to make her black out again from the pain of it. But still, his next words pierced through. "No one has ever seen the guy, whoever it is. Personally, I don't think he exists. Just a figurehead for the Ten Rings. And since they've been laying low ever since Colonel Rhodes took out a bunch of their camps and bases, I decided to borrow the title."

Pepper paled, the implications setting in ever as whatever she had been injected with continued to burn its way through her body. "No..."

"That's right. I'm not working for the Mandarin. I guess you could say, I am the Mandarin. The man you see on TV? He works for me. And so do many others, all of them with that same serum running through them that I've just given you. That burning sensation you feel? A new version of a special DNA sequencer called Extremis. Maya developed it, but it has the unfortunate side effect of causing some subjects to...well, blow up. What I've put in you is a refined version I made some changes to. Still has a chance for explosion, but it's much more powerful than the run of the mill serum. Soon, your body will reach a point that it either rejects or accepts the changes. If it doesn't accept the changes, well, that's when things can get a little...energetic. But if it does, we move on to step two, where you and I can truly begin to work together."

"I'll never work with you Killian." Pepper did her best to glare at the man despite the burning pain she was in, managing to bite out her retort in scathing tones.

Killian laughed again. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you think I was giving you a choice? No my dear, you see, step two? It's a process one of my first buyers gave me when I first started this little project. They call it the Faustus Method. And it will make you happy to comply with anything I ask of you. After all, it made several military veterans, tried and true patriots, willing to turn terrorist against their own country."

Pepper only gaped at the man, her eyes wide in horror before they reflexively closed again as a wave of pain shot through her body, feeling like her very blood was on fire. "You...won't get away with this."

"Oh, Pepper...I already have. And with you under our control, Tony Stark is going to make sure of that fact." Killian adjusted something on the table facing her then, and he stepped out, sealing her in the room as he left. One of the other people approached him, handing over a vial of red fluid. "The extraction worked then. Good, get that sent to General-" The heavy thud of the door closing cut off his speech, and made her think it was made of something heavy, probably rated to contain the blast if she truly was going to explode. She tried to keep focused, keep her breath even like Natasha had shown her, but the pain became too much. She winced and cried out, her mind losing all sense of time as the pain continued to burn through her. She felt someone come in and move her, then she was loaded into what sounded like a helicopter, before even that much awareness was too much and all that was left was the pain, and then blissful unconsciousness again.

When she woke once more, it was to a different room, but still seeing that smug smirk of Killian's. "Hello again."

Pepper didn't bother with a response, instead taking stock of her body. The burning sensations were gone, but something...it was if her entire body was recovering after a long illness. Sluggish and slow to move. She turned her attention back to Killian finally, narrowing her eyes as best she could. "You think he'll help you? He won't."

Killian moved closer, leaning into her personal space. "Having you here is not just to motivate Tony Stark. It's, well..."

Pepper got it before he finished speaking, the sluggish feeling starting to vanish. "I'm a trophy for you. Proof you won."

"Basically." There was a thud, and Pepper looked, momentary relief filling her as Rhodey appeared in the Iron Patriot armor. But when the rest of the room didn't begin to freak out, that relief fled as the suit opened, dropping out not Rhodey but President Ellis instead. "Ah! Welcome aboard, Mr. President!"

Pepper began testing the bonds that were holding her down, trying to work her arms free even as Killian and his goons brought the president up a few levels to a monitor showing some kind of ship. "You ever hear of an elephant graveyard Mr. President? Well, two years ago, the elephant in the room was this scow. The Roxxon Norco. She spilled a million gallons of crude oil off the coast of Pensacola, and thanks to you and your allies in Congress, not a single fat cat exec saw a day in court."

Ellis snarled, standing straight. "There was more to the story than that. But cut to the chase. What do you want from me?"

Killian blinked in surprise, and even from this distance Pepper could see that stupid self-satisfied smirk when he did respond. "Uh, nothing, sir. I just needed a reason to kill you that would play well on TV. I've found myself a new political patron, and this time tomorrow, he'll have your job." Turning to his men, Killian shoved the president towards them and gave another order. "String him up." Pepper watched through the windows as the put the president up onto some rig, back inside the armor. The sluggish feeling was wearing off slowly but surely, and in its place was...power. She could feel it, burning through her. She wasn't sure what she could do with it, but she knew whatever Killian had injected her with, her body had accepted it, and it had changed her.

"All personnel, we have hostiles on east unit 12." Pepper looked up from her internal musing then, as the people began scattering to face whatever threat had appeared. They were all racing towards a certain part of the dock, and didn't notice the light approaching in the distance. But Pepper smiled, and started laughing. She knew that light all too well.

Sure enough, the light resolved into repulsor fire, then more, and more. Every suit of armor that Tony had built since the Avengers first formed seemed to be present, and a few suits that she hadn't even recognized.

"Oi, Killian! Testing testing one two three. Can you hear me?" Pepper smiled wider, hearing Tony's voice echoing through the external speakers of every armor. "Last chance. My armors outnumber your Extremis soldiers, and the heat they put out makes them easy targets. Give up, and you'll get a fair trial. Or I can kill you here and now and save the taxpayers money."

Killian growled and grabbed a nearby microphone, turning on his own external speakers as he did. "Last I knew, Tony, my soldiers already proved they could take out your suits. So why should a bunch of empty tin cans scare me?"

"Who said they were all empty?" Before Killian could comment, one of the suits shot into the air, before a flair of light came down in the center of a group of Extremis soldiers. Whatever it was set off a massive explosion and the three went flying away."That bad boy is piloted by someone I didn't expect to see at this little pow-wow, but is most definitely welcome. The Iron Ranger, a long range recon armor, with plenty of sensors, targeting scanners, and long range weapons complete with crossbow style rail gun, with Hawkeye at the helm. What's up, Legolas – they finally get you cleared?"

"Free as a bird, Stark. Nat, container at 3 o'clock, gamma signature inside. You're up!" Pepper smiled as she heard the voice of Clint Barton coming over the speakers as well, before the room she was in shook, and then a mighty roar of rage bellowed out from somewhere that she couldn't see to her left.

"That would be the sound of my Iron Spook. Lacks the weapons of Ranger but makes up for it with retro-reflective stealth technology. Perfect for the spy on the go. And that roar means that Black Widow has found Doctor Banner and the Hulk shall soon be joining us as well. Wouldn't want him to feel left out, so JARVIS, go ahead and suit him up in the Iron Brawler, would ya?" Pepper watched as pieces of gigantic armor flew away, heading in the same direction that the roar had come from, and the sounds of gunfire and screams rapidly increased.

"Now, you may actually have some bigger weapons that might prove dangerous to my tech, so the armor for the Avenger still not present has something for that. Oh, JARVIS? Have the Iron Leiptr take care of that would you?" Another armor shot up and quickly flew out of her sight, even as the people around Killian, and Killian himself, watched in a state of stunned disbelief. "Leiptr is Norse, by the way. For lightning." A great flash of light spread down and out, and every bit of electrical equipment in the area fried completely, leaving only the emergency lights running. "Oh, and last but most certainly not least, while I've kept your attention, AKA distracting you, my good friend Colonel Rhodes has gotten a lift from the last currently-present Avenger. Ladies and Gentlemooks, I give you The Iron Soldier and the War Machine. Cap, get the president out of here, your armor is faster than Rhodey's and he's more familiar with the tech." Another armor flew away, this one with a person hanging on outside of it, while Rhodey set his guns to work, shooting at another group of Extremis soldiers. "Like I said, give up. You've already lost."

Pepper watched as the room was steadily lit with an orange glow, and she turned her attention back to Killian. He was glowing, his eyes and face contorted into a somewhat literal blaze of rage and hate. He grabbed the microphone again, but his hand started burning away at the metal. He set it down quickly and shouted out, any composure that he once had now completely gone. "KILL THEM ALL!"

"Suit yourself. JARVIS, target Extremis heat signatures. Execute with extreme prejudice."

"Yes, sir!"

The armors began throwing themselves into battle, explosions and gunfire shouting out through the area. The room she was in rocked as an explosion hit a bit too close to home and sent her and everyone else in the room flying. Some flew outside, being met by armor or the Avengers, but a set of debris crashing around her kept her pinned down. A few moments later, one of the armors flew in through the hole in the wall, and the face-plate opened up to reveal Tony. "See what happens when you hang out with my ex-girlfriends?"

Pepper closed her eyes, crying and laughing with relief. "God, you're such a jerk."

"Yup. We can talk about it over dinner. Come on, give me your hand, I'll pull you free and get those restraints off of you."

Pepper reached out, her hand not quite reaching Tony's as she did her best to move from the restraints and reach him. Right as she managed to make it, a burning orange hand shoved its way up through the floor, grabbing on to the arc reactor in the suit and burning the covering to slag before pushing out, sending Tony falling backwards. Pepper could only watch in disbelief as Killian, still glowing orange, pulled himself through the hole he had melted in the floor and turned towards where she was pinned. "Is this guy bothering you, sweetie?"

Killian moved, straddling the damaged armor with Tony inside, and his hand glowed orange again as he began to heat the armor up, cooking Tony alive. "No, don't get up Stark. How's it feel, little hot? Like a little turtle, cooking in his own shell?"

Pepper grunted, trying to get free of the restraints. "Tony!"

Killian turned and then looked down again. "She's watching. Pepper, you may want to close your eyes. You probably don't want to see this." His body glowed a brighter orange and he reared back, aiming his fist at Tony's face, when suddenly a short blade popped out of one of the gauntlets. With a quick thrust, Tony disarmed Killian, quite literally, as his hand separated from his body. Even as she watched however, his arm appeared to be growing back, the still-glowing separated appendage landing near her, melting through the floor. The new hole, combined with the one Killian had made, was too much for the integrity of the room and the floor collapsed, sending her down to hang off a crane, pinned to it, with the ship deck several stories below. One of her hands popped free from its restraints, and she started working desperately to get the other free as well, but any movement made her precarious position worse as the debris holding her in place from dropping shifted with every twitch that she made. Something must have gotten turned on, as the crane began moving, and she watched as Tony rushed after it, trying to get to her.

The crane stopped in a new position, the gears grinding to a halt as the debris that was keeping her trapped gummed up the works. It gave Tony enough time to reach her, and she watched as he stretched out his hand, trying to pull her in. "Come on honey, reach. I promise, I'll catch you!" Before she could do so, the gears crunched their way through the debris, sending a jolt throughout the crane that shook her loose. She yelled out, Tony's hand too far away for her to reach, and could only watch as he stayed above her while she fell down into the fiery conflagration below. She closed her eyes, expecting to never open them again.

With a solid thud she landed, and the first thing she felt was agonizing pain as her bones snapped into angles they were never meant to go in. Surprisingly, she had survived, but with the amount of fire and smoke around her, she didn't think it was much of a blessing. She coughed, smoke already filling her lungs, when a new type of pain began to take hold. At first, she thought that the fire was burning her alive, but this heat was coming from inside her own body. She finally opened her eyes and watched, in stunned, pained disbelief as the same orange glow that had been surrounding Killian and his troops suffused her own body, setting her bones to right with painful snaps and movements. When Extremis had done its work, she moved out of the fire, and took a moment to take stock of herself, stretching her arms and legs in surprise as there seemed to be no lasting damage. A creaking, groaning metal sound caught her attention and she watched as the crane and containers above her came crashing down, making her lunge to get out of the way.

When she looked again, she saw Killian coming after an armor-free Tony. She grabbed a heavy piece of pipe and swung with all her strength, sending Killian flying off and away as she continued to feel her body burning with power. Tony stared at her, slack jawed with such an expression of hope in his eyes that it took her breath away, before finally, he shook his head. "I got nothing." The moment was ruined by the sound of one of the suits approaching, and Tony's expression of hope changing to one of fear, even as Killian stood up again. The suit shifted, aiming not for Killian, but for her. "JARVIS, subject at my 12 o'clock is not a target, disengage!"

The suit continued its attack run, and Tony reached up for his earpiece, realization turning his face back into horror as he discovered it had fallen out. Pepper, still high on adrenaline and happy to have something to lash out at, could only give him a look as she dodged the first repulsor blast, and then, ignoring Tony's protestations, used his knee as a springboard, jumping up into the air and instinctivly channeling the burning feeling down to her fist. She struck, punching a hole straight through the arc reactor of the armor, disabling it, before turning and knocking Killian back away as he made a charge at them. She shoved her hand down into the gauntlet, and remembering Tony's instructions about how to get the repulsors to fire manually, kicked one of the anti-tank rockets that Tony used in his suits over, knocking the wind out of Killian as it stuck to his body from the force of the kick, leaving her more than enough time to fire.

With a roar of flame and pressure, the rocket, and Killian with it, exploded into hundreds of pieces, scattering across the deck of the ship. Breathing hard, Pepper worked to get the heat inside under control, even as Tony called out to her. Turning towards him, she took a deep breath, before letting it out, the adrenaline leaving her system. "Oh, my God. That was really violent."

Tony leaned down, picking up the earpiece that was the connection to JARVIS even as he spoke to her. "You just scared the devil out of me babe. I thought you were-"

Tony couldn't even finish the sentence, and Pepper knew that the thought of what almost happened still scared him, so she tried to lighten the mood with a joke. "What, dead? Because I fell a measly 200 feet?" The joke fell a little flat, because she knew that, for all intents and purposes, she should have been dead. And that knowledge left her shaking and scared. "Who's the hot mess now?"

"Still debatable, though probably tipping your way a bit."

Tony continued, trying to make a few jokes of his own to lighten the mood, but Pepper was instead looking down at the gauntlet she was wearing, speaking up when Tony stopped talking. "You know, I understood why you didn't want to give up the suits, but I still didn't like it. But, after this...I think I'm getting it." Looking up, the fact that she was alive, that he was alive, and they had both made it through, filled her with a kind of giddy energy. "What am I gonna complain about now?"

"Oh I don't know." The two turned at the other voice, relaxing as Natasha faded into existence, her suit sparking as the retro reflective panels finally gave out after the battle. "I mean, it's still Stark, so I imagine that there will always be something to complain about."

The other Avengers soon joined them as well, with Rhodey being the last to arrive as Hulk began the process of shifting back into Bruce, the armor falling off of him as he shrank. "Final sweep confirms all targets down. Steve called too, said that the President was secure. And already making calls about taking the Vice President into custody. I think we did it, Tony."

Tony smiled, moving to embrace her, and Pepper backed away, worried. "No, don't touch me. I don't want to burn you."

"It's okay. See?" Tony took her hand in his, giving it a squeeze. "Not hot. Well, not hotter than I normally find you."

Natasha snorted as Clint rolled his eyes, handing Bruce a pair of pants that he had gotten from somewhere. "Really, Stark? Is now the best time to flirt?"

"There's always time to flirt, Barton. If you had a girlfriend you'd know that." Pepper let out a choked laugh at that, but she was still worried, and Tony could tell. "You're gonna be fine. I had JARVIS download all of Hansen's notes. I almost had this over a decade ago when I was drunk. I can figure it out."

Natasha piped up then, her eyes giving the group a once over to check for any hidden injuries. "Though from what I saw, you seemed to have a handle on it anyway."

Tony nodded, giving her a squeeze again as his eyes locked on hers. "And I promise, I'll make this my focus until it's fixed."

Pepper smiled, pointing up towards the armors that were still circling the area. "Aside from the armors you mean?"

Tony shook his head, surprising her. "No, actually. I think it's about time I cut down on my distractions." Reaching up, he tapped his earpiece once, making sure it was on. "JARVIS, you up?"

"For you sir, always."

"I do believe it's time. Clean Slate Protocol, please. Iron Avengers excluded of course." Tony moved to hug her and Pepper looked up as he did, watching as the armors began exploding all around them, and Pepper nuzzled in against his neck, letting out a soft little laugh as she did. "Come on, honey. Let's go home."

UWSUWSUWSUWS

Tony looked around the gathered crowd of Avengers, Pepper having gone to get a few tests done with a SHIELD medical team. Fury, when he heard what had happened, had torn strips off the WSC, and forced them to give Tony and the rest of the Avengers anything that they needed to help Pepper. The medical staff was currently in one of the modular labs that Tony had converted into a medical bay, going over everything while he kept a close eye on things. "Thanks for coming, guys. You as well Barton. I didn't know you had finally gotten the all clear."

Clint smiled, waving away the thanks. "Technically I haven't actually finished. Final paperwork has to be signed on the last bit of work I was doing. But, when Fury called and said that things were going down and the rest of you might need a pilot, I was excused from my current projects."

Steve spoke next, rubbing the back of his head. The stress of the last few days, and said stress finally having a resolution, left him visibly tired to even Tony's untrained eye. "When we didn't hear from Bruce, we figured that things had gone bad. We were about to be in the air when JARVIS was able to get back in contact with your suit." Steve blinked, then cut himself off. "How does that work anyway? I thought JARVIS was in the suits thanks to the Stark Satellites? How can he just...be cut off from the suit?"

Instead of Tony, it was JARVIS himself that answered. "The Mark 42, like many of the suits that sir has been working on, were prototype suits designed to test a specific idea or concept for possible implementation into later designs. As such, they all had a instance of my programming that was designed to monitor performance and upload data to my servers. The Mark 42's transmitter was damaged in the Mandarin attack however, and wasn't repaired until Master Keener was able to recharge the armor enough for a proper diagnosis of the problem."

Steve blinked and them shrugged, accepting the answer. "Anyway, once the suit was able to contact us here at the Tower, we were ready to go. I'm just glad we got there in time to help."

"Of course you got there in time – you were in my suits, after all. Speaking of, how did you like them? After the Melter, I thought having suits tailored for you all would be a good idea. Rapid deployment, faster than a Quinjet, and better protection than the stuff you have now, vibranium shield not included."

The five looked at each other, but it was Natasha that spoke first. "I liked the stealth tech, but I don't think I'll be using it too often."

"What? Why?"

She shrugged, unconcerned with the note of wounded pride in his voice. "I'm not trained to fight in them. I've got years of experience without it, where your training consists of working with the armor constantly. It's too heavy for my style of fighting, and it threw my timing off."

Tony pouted, lips stuck out before he took in the guilty looks on the other Avengers faces, except for Rhodey. "Barton, Rogers? Hulk I can understand, the big guy doesn't really need it, but you two, too?"

Clint nodded, just as unconcerned as Natasha. "The long range sensors and recon were definitely appreciated, and the crossbow rail gun was a nice touch, but yeah, basically."

Cap at least had the good grace to look abashed. "It...actually slowed me down a bit. The suit couldn't keep up with my movements, which is why I didn't exactly argue with getting the President out of there and leaving it to the rest of you. I would have been more of a hindrance than a help I think."

Tony glowered, mock-glaring at all of them. "I get no respect. Unappreciated in my time."

"Like I said, parts of it were awesome. If you could make that long range sensor package something I could use without the full suit I would take it in a heartbeat."

"Same for those arc powered Widow's Bite bracelets."

"And the shield recall magnets on mine."

Tony looked around as the three spoke, before his eyes sparked, ideas starting to fly. "Okay, compromise. We keep the suits as back-ups, just in case something like this happens again and you need the extra defense, and you tell me what you liked about them. I'll upgrade your stuff to include as much of it as I can. Sound good? And that includes you, Rhodey. I'm gonna make you a whole new suit. I don't want anything AIM may have managed to sneak in to come back and bite us in the ass. If the DOD doesn't like it, they can bite me."

The others nodded, Rhodey laughing as he did so. "Sounds good to me. After this debacle I don't think they will have any objections."

Bruce spoke up next, and Tony could tell that the other scientist had an idea as well. "If you're going to be building new suits eventually, I do have a thought or two. If you can make something the size of the Iron Brawler and have it function with a human sized pilot anyway."

Tony nodded, turning and catching Pepper's eyes as the doctors continued their tests and sending her a little wave. "I think we can manage that. Alright then, get on out of here, all of you. Get me a list of what you want from the armors. I'm gonna stay here till Pepper is done."

"You sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"Relax, Cap. I've got JARVIS with me. Go, get some rest." The others all nodded, leaving Tony alone with his thoughts as Pepper was looked at. Moving to his bag he pulled one of his tablets out, looking at the data load-out from the analysis of Maya's work. "J, give me an update."

"There are still a few terabytes of information that I must compile into usable form, sir, but based on the formula you scribbled on the back of that name-tag, I believe I have an avenue of research to pursue."

Tony relaxed a touch, his confidence and bravado about being able to fix the problems with Extremis justified with JARVIS' help. But he then frowned, knowing that he couldn't rush this, needing to get it exactly right. Which meant a lot of testing and retesting in simulations by JARVIS, and a lot of down time for him. "I'm going to need something to do while all these tests are running." He thought back over the battle, seeing in his mind how the armors had fared against the Extremis soldiers, before an idea struck him. "J, bring up a standard armor build set for me?"

"Another armor sir? Should I label this the Mark XLIII then?"

"No, just start machining another copy of XLII for me so I can have something ready just in case it's needed. I'll work out the kinks and plan out 43 properly when I get Pepper sorted. No, this is going to be something specific, like the Iron Avengers were."

JARVIS brought up the schematics on Tony's tablets and he began to get to work even as the AI spoke again. "And the purpose of this armor?"

"Extremis. There's no telling who Killian managed to con into buying it to get more funding to further his research. And they can burn through the armors given enough time. I need something that can take that heat and channel it. Maybe into some kind of power source like the Melter had. But it has to be something that can operate without a pilot if needed. That kind of heat is dangerous. Maybe even have the suit able to surround someone with Extremis and absorb the heat for safe dispersal externally..." Tony trailed off, already going through several ideas and feeling the rush of creating something new coursing through him. "Yeah, let's explore that idea. JARVIS, go ahead and label it Project: Remote Extremis Secure Containment and Use External."

"That's rather a mouthful sir."

"That's why, like you my dear Just A Rather Very Intelligent System, we shall be calling it by the acronym. Upload it to the main servers downstairs under the folder name Project: RESCUE."

A/N Mark II: And done. Boy this chapter was a slog to get through. There are parts of it I'm still not happy with, but I needed them, in order to set up things that will happen in later chapters. Some comics fans in particular may have seen a few things here and there that will make them squee.

There's still a little bit of fallout to come from the events here, such as Tony fixing Pepper and getting rid of the Arc Reactor, that I'm going to be putting my own unique twist on, and then we actually have a fair bit of time that passes between Iron Man 3 and Thor 2. That lets me take a chapter to set up a few more twists and turns that we never saw in the series, but make sense in the context of the MCU.

Now, for the thing I promised to talk about. Betty Ross and what I did to her and Bruce. I actually really like Betty. I like her with Bruce, especially as they were portrayed in the MCU. The woman stood up to her controlling, manipulative father and shoved his words back in his face! That takes courage and heart. I liked her, but, I also needed her to NOT be in the Tower. I need her away from Bruce, because if she was there, just like I had her write, then Thunderbolt Ross would never give them any peace. And I have plans for the "good" General. Oh yes, plans indeed. I've even hinted at one of them in this chapter. Let me know in the reviews if you think you know what it is. Until next time!

Peace and Out,

Pwn Master Paladin.