A/N: Oh, man, I'm so sorry everyone. I promised this would be done by Guardians and clearly that worked out so well. Now the first teaser for Ultron is out and I have two fics I have to get done! *ack* But I have good news! Very long chapter for you all! Explosions, problems, and more to come!

5: Asunder

"You're so lucky you're not dead!" Pepper insisted from my bedside, and I chuckled at her though I could only really see her feet to the side. "And you saved Hap…just what happened, why were you two even there…"

"Just a bad feeling Hap and I got at the same time and we followed up on," I told her. "The bomb was not on the agenda. Also lying on this bed with my face planted like I oughtta be getting a massage. It's already been six hours…"

We were in one of the intensive care units at the nearest best hospital between downtown LA and Malibu. Both Hap and I had gotten shipped there after the explosion, though my armor had taken more damage than I had. Hap, though, was in bad shape: concussed, burned, and currently comatose. Pepper had come by to let me know about Hap's status while Tony sat with him for a bit, and I knew Tony was probably blaming himself for Hap getting hurt so badly. Honestly, that was my fault, but I knew it could have been worse. A lot worse. Especially considering the Mandarin had hijacked the airwaves again to claim responsibility for the bombing. This brought the number of public bombings to four, and ten bombings total. Though the public four had zero part remains; now I had a hinting why.

Mina had gotten back to me in the middle of the night with her analysis of the Mandarin for the public bombings versus the Mandarin of the others. While she was certain the Mandarin was the same Mandarin, this Mandarin hadn't started giving his "lessons" until after the first publicly-known bombing. I tried to figure how Killian and AIM fit into all of it, but all I got was a headache and a shot of sedative from my IV for the trouble. So, for right now, we were looking at what could be a joint operation between Ten Rings and AIM.

"Andy, your back is still a mess," Pepper tried to soothe me, but I grumbled faintly. "Okay, so your own immune system is actually healing you up really well, but I don't think you should be moving yet –"

"Pepper, I'm so close to cracking this open," I pleaded. "If Tony wasn't busy with Hap right now he'd be unstrapping me from this damned bed and you know it."

Pepper didn't speak for a moment, but I felt her hand tenderly touch my shoulder. If I didn't have world-saving to do, I could have stayed put a bit longer, make sure I was back in tip-top condition. But if Ten Rings really was involved, I had to get my feet on the ground and get running now.

"…I know you're worried about him, Pepper," I pressed, hoping to get Pepper to understand, even if a little, the situation and just how personal it was going to get. "But this Mandarin…if he's who he says he is, this is the guy who took Stane's money to kill me and Tony four years ago. He's the one who made the plans and thought out every step of that attack, plus how best to use our captivity to his advantage. And I'm starting to think Killian is involved, either as a supplier or co-conspirator. I need to know, Pepper. I can't do that strapped to this bed and stuck in this room."

"…is this about what…what I said to Tony?" she asked me after a moment. "About the suits being a distraction?"

I really had to ask myself the same question. The honest answer was hell yes. Telling Tony the suits were a distraction led to the thinking that being Iron Man wasn't worth it if it meant being pulled away from the people he loved. With his anxiety problems about New York, that thought was going to catch a lot of ground, very quickly. It meant that Tony could decide he didn't want to be Iron Man anymore. And removing that power from his life could prove disastrous in the future, if the space-man that had marked me was coming for us one day. If we weren't ready for him, we'd lose so much more than if we stayed strong.

"…you heard what he said, about what's going on with him since New York, Pepper," I answered her at last. "Maybe thirty-five suits in six months is overdoing it, but he needs it. It's part of him, like he said. Just like you, and me, and Hap are all part of him. But Iron Man's part of us, too. If Tony kills – metaphorically – Iron Man, then who is going to stand up and protect you guys if I'm not here?"

The silence meant Pepper was thinking it through, processing it. My face was still stuck to the open hole in my bed, and she'd moved close enough that I couldn't see exactly where she was. I waited with as much patience as I could, even taking the time to mentally check emails and progress against AIM's firewall – which was starting to get somewhere, but not a lot of anywhere. Maybe if I had a com-sat link…excepting the fact I didn't have any com-sat gear, or a com-sat log-in…

I jerked back to reality when I heard ripping Velcro from behind me, and I sighed in relief as the bands holding me down pulled away. Thank God for Pepper being reasonable.

"Slowly, Andy, careful!" she scolded as I started pushing myself up. I realized a bit too late that she was right; as I started bending my back to get into a kneeling position on the bed, flashing pain burned up into my shoulder blades and back down into my hips. Ow. I still managed to get myself into a sitting position, but it hurt like hell and Pepper looked on the verge of saying "I told you so".

"Yeah, it's only been six hours," I noted as deadpan as I could.

Pepper still helped me get dressed, since moving my back was a problem and fabric running along my spine made the burns itch. But we still managed, and I walked right on out of my room to check myself out. Pepper stopped me outside Hap's room, where a nurse was heading in, and I managed a smile to see Tony hidden behind some of the monitors. The TV was on, too, and I noticed it was a rerun of one of Hap's guilty pleasures: Downton Abbey. It was one of the episodes where the youngest daughter was falling for the family chauffeur, first or second season, but I remembered catching Hap watching the show before I moved out and getting him to admit he thought the show elegant. Right now, it seemed like the perfect thing to have on for him. We watched as the nurse gave Hap a fresh dose of painkillers, and she would've turned off Downton if Tony hadn't stopped her. Tony saw us, though, and got up to leave and meet us.

"Doin' okay?" he asked me quietly, taking my shoulders and squeezing tight instead of hugging me. I shrugged a bit and hugged him anyway.

"Been better," I told him. "Besides, there's a few bastards that need to get their asses kicked by the time I've recovered. I'm going to be doing the ass-kicking."

It got Tony to eke out a small smile as I let go, but I could tell he was beating himself up for both me and Hap. He started off for the exit, and I gave Pepper a silent 'get to the car and get home so I can defuse him' before I followed her. Of course, Tony was headed right for the doors to the emergency entrance, where all the reporters were waiting for us. As soon as they saw Tony the hacks started asking questions, and they got louder as I came out next to him. Thankfully, most of them turned their attention to me, so Tony could turn his attention to pushing through to the car while I did my best to ignore the questions. Just as we got to the car, a reporter wielding a cell phone got close enough for me to distinctly hear his question.

"Miss Stark, when is someone going to kill this guy?"

I paused next to my side of the car before turning to him, looking right into the camera. Right at that moment, I knew what I wanted to say and I was going to say it despite whoever thought I shouldn't, which at this moment was likely all of SHIELD and Tony. Steve would be rooting me on, so I thought of him as I formulated my answer, while the reporter pressed, "Just sayin'."

"Of course that's what you're sayin'," I replied, getting the hacks to laugh and quiet down so they could hear me. "So I have a little holiday greeting for the Mandarin and whatever other goons of his so happening to be listening in.

"My name is Andy Stark, and my brother and I aren't afraid of you. You're a coward, and before you try a stunt like this again I'm going to kill you."

"Let's make this easier," Tony spoke up, voice hard. Either he was honestly pissed off that this had now gotten personal or he just wanted the reporters to go away. "Let's say he's already dead, and we're gonna pick up the body."

"You just made this personal, asshole," I continued, now that I had Tony backing me up. "No politics, no government institution. Just us three, and you paying for these people that you killed last night, and very nearly taking me, and a personal friend of ours, with them. It's all over for you, pal."

"And on the off-chance you're a man, here's our address," Tony said. I could have hit his head into the car. "Ten-eight-eighty, Malibu Point, nine-oh-two-six-five. We'll leave the door unlocked."

But after he'd said that, his face tightened fractionally as he came back around to where the reporter and I were standing. I tried to push him off, so we could get out of here, but Tony's gaze was fixed on the reporter.

"That's what you wanted, right?" Tony asked quietly. Before I could stop him, Tony grabbed the guy's phone and hurled it into the nearest wall, which was a support for the ramada where everyone was clustered. Of course, the phone shattered, and Tony's retort? "Bill me."

This, of course, drove the press wild as Tony strode back around to the driver's side of the car. The reporter looked stunned, but I found one of the numerous spare Stark Mobiles I kept on my person and slapped one into his hand.

"Plug in your number, all your phone's apps and data will download automatically," I told him with a quick pat on the shoulder before climbing into the car. Good timing, too, because Tony floored the accelerator as soon as I closed the door.

"The hell was that about?!" I asked him, scrabbling to get legal even if Tony wasn't. He didn't answer me, so I managed to try and talk him down. "Yeah, I get it, me and Hap should've told you what we were planning, but, hey, you were busy, and I figured I could handle it! It's my fault Hap's in there still, so go ahead and say it. Then we can get onto the important thing of you just told the world press and the guys behind these bombs our home address!"

It was pretty much dead silence all the way until we got onto the PCH, when Tony finally slowed down to a speed that was less raging. I managed to calm down as he leaned back into his seat, a hand covering his eyes.

"…I know, I just…I'm just pissed off," he mumbled. "You know what's up with me, and I…I don't know what to do. I wanna protect you guys, all of you, but I…I wanna have a life, too. Normal life."

"What's normal?" I tried to joke, and with success, too. Tony managed a small smirk. That was when I remembered my back was burned and it hurt to be strapped against the passenger seat, especially going at high velocity. Ow. "So, what's the plan? And I need to tell you stuff I've figured, with the bomb things."

"Good, you can tell me that when we're home," Tony insisted, getting into working mode. "Going to look over the scene, see if there's anything to be found that anyone else is gonna miss. Jarvis can work that."

"Mina'll get on security," I added with a nod, knowing she'd get on it as soon as I thought it. "Full lockdown, no one gets in unless she clears it. Simple as that."

"Good, I like this plan," Tony agreed, exhaling as he lowered his hand. I saw he was edgy, so I took his hand and squeezed tight. I was glad he squeezed my fingers back, even if he kept his eyes on the road. Right now, we had to be ready, and, for right now, it was enough.

"Okay, Andy, gimme your details," Tony told me from his perch on one of his tool cabinets. We were settled in the garage, Jarvis projecting a recreation of the courtyard in front of Grauman's moments after Taggart's detonation. I stepped into the virtual landscape and stopped where the bench Taggart had been sitting used to stand. This was in the center of the detonation crater Jarvis had generated.

"Bomber, last name Taggart," I stated from my spot. Jarvis opened up a dossier to record my words and search for matches. "Ex-Army, Purple Heart from Iraq."

"Master Sergeant Kevin James –"

"Yes, Jarvis, that's the one."

I paced away from the detonation crater, towards where I remember Savin standing.

"This guy, Savin. I'm pretty sure he's an enforcer for Killian."

"Wait, Killian?" Tony asked. "AIM, not Rings?"

"Yep."

"…well shit."

"I am searching for correlations between AIM, Sergeant Taggart, and Savin," Jarvis reported. "I have also noted the thermogenic signature for the event; it is in excess of three thousand degrees Celsius."

"Wow, and I'm magically not crispy," I noted, looking down at the holographic projection of me and Hap. I was pleased to see how much of Hap I had been able to cover successfully, plus the wreckage of the sunglasses stand. Probably those were the only reasons Hap was still alive.

"Give us a map, Jarvis," Tony requested, and I scrabbled up next to him as Jarvis broke down the crime scene reconstruction and formed in its place a map of the continental US. Spikes from other heat-generating events – bombs, fires, that kinda thing – grew out from various points on the map. I was glad to see that the four public bombings were there, and not the ones that I was pretty sure were actually the Rings and not something with AIM's probable involvement.

"Thermogenic signatures for the past year downloaded from the Oracle grid," Jarvis reported once the map was done.

"Get rid of the bombings," I ordered; this got rid of the four Rings-copycat bombings. I tucked my chin against my hand, checking some more data.

"What about with a similar heat reading?" Tony asked, and more of the blips vanished. This left us with about five readings, and I sighed.

"So, three-kay Celsius is our goal temperature," I noted. "Not San Rafael, too cold and too close."

"What about that one?" Tony asked, motioning towards a reading in Tennessee. Jarvis brought the dossier closer, and I looked at the temperature reading I couldn't help a small smirk. Three thousand Celsius.

"Let's get a closer look," I agreed. The file opened up, showing a couple headlines and images of another Army discharge, Sergeant Chad Davis, flames from the explosion. "What's the story here, Jarvy?"

"A bomb used in aid of a suicide," Jarvis reported. "Apart from the bomber, five people died."

"Military guy, and matching heat signature," Tony noted. I pulled a picture of the aftermath closer and saw the burned shadows of those five victims.

"And shadows without bodies," I added. "Sounds like some place to look into."

"Hey, Jarvis, ever been to Tennessee?" Tony asked brightly. He was feeling much better, I saw; he had a direction, a problem, that he could explore and pick apart, and it was a suitable distraction from his personal problems that he could chase it without hesitation and compromising his feelings of personal safety. I leaned into his shoulder and earned both an arm around my shoulders – yes, despite the burn on my back – and a kiss on my head.

"Creating a flight plan for Rose Hill, Tennessee," Jarvis reported agreeably, and with a spare hand Tony disengaged the holograms.

That was when the doorbell rang.

"…was that a ding-dong? What are we still at ding-dong?!" Tony exclaimed, and I groaned.

"Mina! I thought I said full security lockdown!" I added, dropping my hand onto the tool chest we were sitting on in frustration.

"I'm sorry, Andy, but do you realize how hard it is to maintain security when the worldwide news-media feeding frenzy has this address?" Mina retorted. "Here, get a look at her yourself."

"Her?" I asked. Tony had already shoved off from his perch to get on the XVII – just in case the Mandarin-for-real happened to be a girl – so I turned towards a security screen that Mina dropped. The feed showed a black SUV at the front gate, the windows heavily tinted. This made it hard for me to look in at the driver, but I could make out long dark hair and the collar of a jacket or blouse. Otherwise, not much else. "No other feeds you can give me?"

"No, Andy, I'm sorry," Mina sighed. "I'm going to clear her anyway, she does sound…distressed."

"Fine, okay, Tony's suited in case of trouble. How's mine looking?"

"Well not every system is online, but it's functional in an emergency. Flight and repulsor power, very limited weapons."

"Eh, good enough," I decided as I watched the SUV pull through the gate and onto the driveway. "Okay, we'll meet her, just keep the hacks from coming in after her, huh?"

"That's easier said than done," Mina complained, but I knew it was more sarcastic than factual. I rolled my eyes slightly before getting off the chest and started upstairs. I heard the door open and the scanners run over our guest as I reached the top of the stairs. Tony stood in front of our guest, looking her up and down. To be honest, she didn't look like much: five-six, brown hair and eyes, semi-hipster style. I crossed my arms as I leaned against the wall, and she looked right back at us.

"...you're not the Mandarin," Tony noted as he opened the faceplate of the XVII. "Are you? Are you?"

"...you don't remember me, do you?" she asked, in that way that nearly made me groan. Since when was a local security crisis the time for Tony's exes to climb out of the woodwork?

"Yeah, well, Tony doesn't remember what he has for breakfast, typically," I deadpanned casually.

"Gluten-free waffles, Miss Andy," Jarvis supplied. Right. Yay for Jarvy. Tony rolled his eyes and shrugged a bit at the new arrival.

"Look, I need to talk to you, Tony, not here, it's urgent," the newcomer tried to insist, and I rolled my eyes. Tony glanced at me, shaking his head, and I replied with a shrug of my own.

"Normally, I'd go for that sort of thing," Tony noted as he turned away to head back for the living room. The newcomer followed, holding her purse tightly under one arm, and I came in behind her. I had a good enough facial scan to work on trying to find a match. "But now I'm in a committed relationship –"

Maya Hansen, Mina reported to me under the heavy drop of one suitcase, then another. Oh, good, Pepper was showing sense. She's got a previous acquaintance with Tony – I'm certain of the one night only type. She also appears to be listed in AIM's personnel database!

Plant from Killian, you reckon? I asked.

"Please tell me there isn't a twelve-year-old kid waiting in the car who I've never met," Tony hissed at Maya after he'd stepped out of the suit. Pepper was working on descending rapidly.

"He's thirteen," Maya answered. I nearly said some very bad words, but she recanted when Tony seemed to feel a gag reflex. "No, I need your help."

"What for?" I asked, hoping to get an answer that could explain her being here, as well as my suspicion of AIM's involvement in the Rings' plan. Whatever it happened to be. Maya looked at me, as if not sure who I was. "Andy, his kid sis, better intros later. Answer the question."

"I read the papers," Maya dodged. Damn this woman. "Frankly, I don't think either of you are going to last the week."

"We'll be fine," Tony retorted, and just in time. Pepper had just finished her descent.

Okay, AIM profile, Mina got back to me, while Pepper got Tony focused on getting away from the house as soon as possible, getting backed up with Maya. Background in genetics and microbiology, MIT, recruited into AIM in 2000, and…oh this is rich…

Tony and Pepper were arguing still, but I felt a security breach ping. Maya had turned away from the argument, and I felt Mina cursing as red alerts went off in my head. Airborne security measures were supposed to be functioning, there should be a signal going off to scramble the targeting, no, no, bad…

"Do we need to worry about that?" Maya asked as she pointed to the TV. A white contrail was streaking right for the house. I looked out the front window, eyes widening in horror when I spotted the missile for myself. It wasn't a smart missile; it was coming in a straight line from one of the news choppers that was circling the house.

I just managed to drop to the ground when it hit, taking cover not far from Maya. The impact lifted Tony and Pepper off the floor, but I heard the whir of the Mark XLII's micro-jets, meaning someone was getting suited, even if only for protection. Dust and rubble fell, and the house started groaning as the masonry began coming apart. I ducked an onslaught of rubble, pushing myself to my feet.

"Mina, I need my suit now," I groaned, head spinning and ears ringing. I didn't get a chance to even start running for the garage; more missiles hit, rubble and dust flying everywhere.

"Andy!" I heard Tony bark at me. I whirled a little to find him near the windows, probably blasted back there. He wasn't in the suit, so I had to assume Pepper was in the XLII. A chasm had opened in the floor, dropping down to the garage. I could see my suit, the red lights flaring as Mina booted the systems. "You and Pepper, get out of here, take Maya and go! I'll find another way around!"

"I'm not leaving you here!" I retorted.

"Stop stopping, go!" Tony ordered us. I looked at Pepper, who had the faceplate up. I knew what she was silently saying: you get him, I'll get her. I nodded once.

"Go!" Tony yelled, and this time we moved. Pepper ran as best she could in the suit towards Maya. Instead of following her, I ran for the chasm and dropped down. I heard machine gun bullets on approach as I landed, rolling and cursing my burned back. I pushed myself to my feet as the floor started tilting downward – meaning this place was soon to drop into the ocean, off the cliff.

"Open through the back, Mina, now!" I shouted, and the back plates slid open right as I dove into my suit. The armor closed around me, and as the HUD lit up the rockets engaged. I had just enough time to swerve up and out through the collapsing surface tunnel out of the garage.

"The forty-two is heading back inside, Pepper and that brunette are clear!" Mina reported as I surfaced. "But that suit's not weaponized, Tony's going to need help in there!"

"Retro-reflection?! Communication?!"

"Dead, as are missiles, blades, and unibeam!"

"Fine, I'll make this work," I grumbled as I wheeled around to the west. Three choppers were in an attack pattern, clearly civilian conversions to carry their payload. With nearly every weapons system dead, and failing flight power if my display was right, there wasn't much I could do on my own. But with Tony and a falling house, there might be something we could do, even without coordination.

I gunned towards the far-right chopper, turning tight over him. I managed to get a brief look inside; one pilot and a co-pilot, and the co-pilot looked very familiar.

Savin.

I was delayed from blowing up his chopper when a grand piano suddenly flew out in a straight line from the house – our grand piano. I laughed as the improvised missile hit the center chopper, sending it down into the water. I saw the chopper directly behind it starting to maneuver back around to the far side of the house; if I had to guess, he was using infrared or thermal to track Tony through the smoke and debris. I'd have to wait for Savin if I wanted to get Tony out of this alive.

"Tell me I can do a repulsor burst!" I barked as Mina as I turned up to get a hit on the guy from above. I hovered, prying off one of the plates on my arm. Sure, it exposed on of my plasma blades, but it also revealed a missile. Time to use it for something else.

"Confirm!" Mina reported, and just in time. I hurled my missile down and blasted it with a golden burst from my palm. At the same time, I spotted a second missile fly out from the house, which was caught in the initial blast and detonated as a secondary.

"Yes!" I crowed as the chopper began to spin out of control. Any celebrating had to stop the next instant; it was falling right for the house. "Shit!"

I dove, hoping to grab the chopper's tail and swing it aside, but I started too late and too high. The wreck hit the house, and if anything accelerated the crumbling wreckage. I amended my course back into the house, my eyes adapting into a thermal scan to spot Tony as he fell down into the garage. More missiles from Savin's helicopter arrived as I tried to navigate the crumbling masonry and rubble, only getting myself through the hole in the floor again on higher ground from Tony.

"Tony!" I called, hoping he could hear me over the sound of everything being destroyed. He tried to look up, and I barely had enough time to try and reach out for him. The floor under him gave way, the cars and my bike falling just before he did, out of my reach.

Those next few seconds felt like lifetimes. Staring at the space where he had been only an instant before. Dragging myself forward to dive after him, despite the cascade threatening to come down over me. Plunging into the water, plates sealed, avoiding sinking rubble in case, somehow, Tony was still alive. The upper level of the house crashing down, barely missing me as I kicked back towards the cliff side. Diving, hoping, praying, that Tony was down there.

A flash of light below me was the first sign; Tony's gauntleted hand. I activated my boots, closing the distance and tightly grabbing his hand.

"Hang on, Tony," I breathed, "just hang on, I'm here, I've got you."

I managed to pull him free from the rubble, and I saw the flash of a successful link to Jarvis.

"Initiating flight protocol," Jarvis reported to me weakly; it couldn't be fun for him to have to relocate a good chunk of his code into the suit. "Flight power is restored; coordinates uploaded to Mina. I will take Mister Stark to safety."

"I'll follow as soon as I can, Jarvis," I replied, even as I fired up for the surface, XLII behind me. "Keep him safe."

Jarvis didn't reply, which was probably for the best if he was as battered as Tony had to be. We breached the surface, house in ruins and Savin gone. I flew up to the top of the cliff, while XLII turned east. The police and fire department were already arriving, but I landed a safe distance away, staggering out of the suit once Mina released me.

I had to keep going, but I couldn't be in two places at once. I did have as close a solution as I could think of.

"Mina, take the suit," I panted out, hands braced on my knees. I felt lightheaded, hyper-aware. Too much adrenaline. "Follow Jarvis. Keep Tony alive."

"Andy –"

"I'll stay here, keep an eye on Pepper and our AIM lead," I continued. "She has to be hiding something, Savin was there, the Rings and AIM are linked…"

"But what –"

"I'll find out," I insisted, turning to look at my armor. It shifted, the red eye slit downcast.

"…but I'm not you, Andy," Mina murmured.

"…you have to try," I told her. "Please. And we're connected, remember, so if anything happens you can call me and I can talk him down."

My armor nodded, even as Mina engaged the protocols that gave her full control.

"Andy, if…if Savin was here, that means AIM might be a front for the Rings," Mina said quickly. "Find out from Maya, she has to know something. She's the project head for Extremis."

My mind was in too much of a panicked, semi-functional whirl to fully process the statement, the full implications. I just nodded before Mina turned, then took off to follow Tony.

For the first time in a long time, I was operating alone.