This chapter is being posted today as I didn't update last week.

FIVE

A U.S Air Force plane landed on a runway. Pepper stood wearing a brown business suit, her hair tied back, and she trying not to cry as Happy stood to the side by the car.

Tony smiled sadly. Pepper had really missed him. She had been so relieved when she'd known he was coming home.

The ramp descended and Tony gets up from the wheelchair and Rhodey helped him down the ramp. Tony's right shoulder was in a sling. Tony's face was a mask, and he looked as immaculate as he could be.

"The patent Stark look," mused Tony.

"What do you mean?" asked Bucky.

"It's Mr. Stark's mask," answered Vision cautiously. "He wears it in public. Only a few have ever seen him with the mask down."

Medics approached with a stretcher but Tony dismissed them. Rhodey waved them away. Tony walked towards Happy and Pepper. Pepper smiled, her eyes nearly watering with tears.

Tony scrutinised her, and he still had cuts on the right side of his face. "Hmm. Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?"

"Tears of joy. I hate job hunting."

"Yeah. Vacation's over."

Tony frowned. "What did Pepper do whilst I was away? Stane used her, didn't he, as his own PA?"

Rhodey nodded. "He did. But she didn't really enjoy it. She was looking for another job before the news came through you had been found. She dropped all applications."

Tony felt his heart tug at that. Pepper had stayed for him.

They got into the car and Happy asked where Tony would like to go. Pepper intervened on Tony's behalf, telling Happy to take them to the hospital. Tony refused, and though Pepper tried to convince him to go, Tony stated: "I don't have to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do."

Clint shivered. "I really hope it isn't what I'm thinking it is."

"It's not," replied Tony.

"I want an American cheeseburger, and the other…."

Pepper interrupted: "That's enough of that."

Tony eyed her. "…is not what you think."

"I know I had a reputation but even for Pepper that was a bit harsh…" mused Tony.

Rhodey snorted.

"Ok," admitted the engineer, "maybe it wasn't, but still…"

"You did surprise her with what you really wanted to do though," finished Rhodey.

Tony wanted to call for a press conference. Pepper wanted to know why he did but Tony didn't elaborate, ordering Happy to drive but to get the cheeseburger first.

They were soon arriving at Stark Industries. There was a crowd of people waiting outside to welcome Tony back, including Obadiah. They all began to clap as the car pulled in. Stane opened the door and Tony got out, wiping his mouth. The two men hugged. Stane mentioned that they were going to meet at the hospital. Tony admitted he was fine, and Stane admired him, surprised to see how well he looked, considering the living conditions Tony had been in for the past three months.

Happy came round with a Burger King and Tony reached out for one. Stane asked if one of them was for him. But Tony stated that as there was only one left, he needed it.

"Plus, I was hungry," defended Tony. "I'd been living off rice and beans for months." He shivered. "Never again."

As they walked into the conference room together, photographs were taken of the two together. Pepper smiles as she followed. Everyone was clapping Tony's return and Pepper sighs in relief as Tony made his way through the crowd.

"She loved you even then…" mused Sam. "Did you know?"

"I used to flirt with her. I always knew she liked me. But I didn't know I was in love with her until after Afghanistan. I wish I'd realised earlier," sighed Tony. "But I was too self-absorbed. People would say I still am… To the public, I am but to the people who know me… I'm not as bad as I was."

A man in a business suit approached her. He had close-cropped hair.

"Coulson!" Steve said shocked.

"I had a run-in with him a few times," shrugged Tony.

Coulson wanted to speak to Pepper for a moment. Pepper explained that she wasn't part of the Press Conference but that it was about to begin. Coulson explained he wasn't a reporter but that he was an Agent with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"Otherwise known as SHIELD," clarified Barton.

Coulson handed her his card. She stated that it was quite a mouthful. He said they were working on it. She took the card and Pepper elaborated that they had already been approached already by the DoD, the FBI, and the CIA. Coulson told her that he was with a separate division with a more specific focus, and that they needed to debrief Tony on the circumstances of his escape. Pepper promised to put something in the book for them and Coulson thanked her.

"Wait." Tony held his hand up. "Did SHIELD have suspicions about my escape?"

Clint eyed him warily. "There was the consideration you may have betrayed the country, that you may have given them secrets."

"I blew them up. How much proof do they need that I wouldn't do it?" Tony shook his head in wonderment. "I thought SHIELD knew me better than that."

"Trouble was, Stark, is that we didn't know what they had done to you out there, nor what you may have done for them. It was National Security that you be debriefed. You know SHIELD has ways of making sure others tell the truth when they are being interrogated." Clint turned back to the screen. "You didn't exactly cooperate with them, did you? As far as I can tell, you were never debriefed. And you wonder why we think you're not trustworthy? You could have betrayed our country."

Stane stood at the podium, looks around, and notices Tony was sitting on the floor in front of the podium, getting the last Cheeseburger out of his pocket. Tony asked if it would be alright if everyone sat down as that way, they would be able to see him and he would see them. The reporters looked amused and surprised but sat down. Tony took a bite of the cheeseburger. Stane sat beside him and as cameras flashed on the historic moment, Tony began to speak.

Rhodey whispered into Pepper's ear, wondering why Tony was being close to the press. She didn't know what he was up to.

Tony looked at Stane. "Good to see you."

Stane returned the compliment.

Tony gritted his teeth as he watched. Stane must have been so angry on the inside that Tony had survived and come home. He had set Tony up to die, had wanted to become CEO, and had conspired to have Tony killed. His former co-partner had an excellent poker face if he had been able to hide his duplicitous side without Tony realising.

But then I never used to take notice of anything. Now, I do.

"I never got to say goodbye to Dad." Tony began. "I never got to say goodbye to my father."

Bucky winced. He hated being reminded that he'd killed a friend, had taken two innocent lives away because Hydra had wanted what they'd carried with them. He'd made Tony an orphan. He wondered if Stark would ever be able to forgive him?

Tony finished eating his burger. "There are questions I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels."

Steve frowned. What did that mean? Had Howard really changed as much as Tony said he had?

Rhodey lightly smiles.

"I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

A reporter raised his hand. "Mr Stark?"

"Hey, Ben," answered Tony.

"What happened over there?"

"Uh, I had-" Tony got up and started to walk around the podium, "-my eyes opened. I came to realise I have more to offer this world than just making things blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International."

"You didn't even talk through with anyone before announcing it?" gasped Steve, surprised at how quickly Tony had decided to end manufacturing.

Tony nodded. "I didn't. I didn't want any more people killed by my weapons. I wanted production stopped, all orders cancelled and anyone who was using them to return them to us for authorised destruction. My business, my rules." Granted, he could have gone another way around it though.

"Let me say, your announcement gave SHIELD a field day. Fury was… furious," remembered Clint.

"I bet he was," Tony grinned.

The reporters got to their feet, shouting questions and talking over one another. Pepper looked shocked, her mouth hanging open in surprise at the announcement.

Tony was still at the podium, still trying to speak over the ruckus. "Until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be."

Stane tried to take over, to salvage the situation, trying to tell Tony that they would be selling a lot of newspapers.

Tony pushed back. "What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country as well."

Rhodey looked disappointed.

"I was disappointed at first," admitted Rhodey. "The army depended on Stark Industries for everything. To have that suddenly cut off caused a lot of problems. I wasn't happy first either but once I understood… I supported it."

Tony nodded his thanks.

Tony started to walk through the reporters as Stane stood at the podium. "What we should take away from this is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever! We're going to have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with the follow-up."

Steve frowned. "Wait. Didn't Stane die a short while after this?" When he'd been reading up on his teammates shortly before the Avengers formed, he had read something about a man named Stane.

"He did," remembered Bruce. "It was in the papers. Killed in a crash?"

Tony crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to yield. "You'll find out." Though they would probably figure out Stane's involvement at some point.

Happy stood aside, guarding the car as Stane arrives on a Segway, smoking a cigar. He wanted to know where Tony was. Happy pointed him to the building behind him. Happy took the Segway and Stane used his keyguard to unlock the front door and enter into the building where the original Arc Reactor stood.

Tony stood in front of it. Stane stepped up, cigar in his mouth, and his hands at his sides. He said the press conference had gone well, implying that it hadn't by the tone of his voice.

Tony asked whether he had just painted a target on his back.

"Little did I know I already had one," mused Tony. Stane had put one on his back years ago, but it had taken a few years before he had decided to finally do something about Tony and take aim at him by putting him into a situation where his very life was in danger.

Stane walked forward, claiming that it wasn't just Tony's head, it was his own as well. They discussed what the stock market would do following the shocking announcement and they predicted, optimistically it would drop to 40 points.

"Tony, we're a weapon's manufacturer."

"Obie, I just don't want a body count to be our only legacy," explained Tony.

"Too much death and destruction on my hands already," winced Tony. "It had to stop."

Wanda peered at Tony curiously but didn't say a word.

"Weapon's manufacturer or not, your company had other branches it had footholds in, didn't it?" queried Sam.

"It did. Weapons manufacturing was our primary contract but we had lots of other contracts coming through as we were moving into innovating technology." Tony looked back at the screen. "I should have gone about it differently. Not been hasty, instead discussed with the board of directors before proceeding forthwith. But I had to stop those weapons from getting out."

Stane said that was what they did, that they were Iron Mongers. Tony replied with it was his name on the side of the building. Stane counteracted with saying it was keeping the world from falling into chaos. Tony shook his head.

"Not based on what I saw. We're not doing a good enough job. We can do better. We're gonna do something else." Tony was adamant about it.

Stane queried with what, and whether it would be baby bottles.

Steve narrowed his gaze. "He's quite condescending. He's not even considering it, is he?"

Tony shook his head. "Nope. Stane wouldn't. He built his career around being an Iron Monger."

"I'm sensing there is more to you two than we're seeing…" mused Steve.

Tony chose not to elaborate.

Tony suggested that he thought they should take another look into Arc Reactor technology. Stane said the Arc Reactor had been a publicity stunt. They had built the thing to shut the hippies up.

Steve frowned. "Howard just built it for that reason? He couldn't do anything else with it?"

"No," answered Tony quietly. "He was limited with the technology of his time. He couldn't advance any further."

"It must have frustrated him," mused Steve, "not being able to advance further. He was always inventing things."

Tony couldn't disagree with Rogers on that assertion. For once he was right about Howard Stark.

Stane walked around frustrated. Tony was adamant that it worked. Stane was not so receptive to the idea stating it was just a science project and had never been cost effective, and they'd known that when they'd built it. He asked Tony if Arc Reactor technology was still a dead end. He was standing behind Tony, who was struggling not to smile. "Maybe…" toyed Tony.

Stane glanced at the Arc Reactor. "Am I right? We haven't had a breakthrough in that in what? 30 years?"

Sam winced. "Someone told him. Who was it?"

Rhodey had the audacity to look embarrassed. He'd always trusted Stane. For him to betray Tony and his country in such a way had been… hurtful.

Clint noticed his reaction. "Rhodey. It has to be."

Tony turned to face Stane, stating that's what they say about the technology. They eye one another up and Tony broke first, asking Stane if he could have a lousier poker face, wanting to know who told him. Stane wanted to see it and it didn't matter who had told him. Tony guessed it was either Rhodey or Pepper but Stane gave it away when he said he wanted to see it. It had been Rhodey.

"Knew it," said Clint.

Rhodey raised an eyebrow. "Only because you saw my reaction. Not really your own deduction really, is it?"

Clint frowned.

Removing his arm brace, unbuttoned his shirt, they both looked around to see they had privacy before Tony revealed the Arc Reactor embedded in his chest. It shined brightly, sitting in his chest. Obadiah nodded, buttoning the shirt up. He was laughing quietly.

"Why do I get the feeling this is just a profit for him?" queried Bruce.

Tony would have said something if he didn't want them to find out as they watched.

Tony said it worked. Stane put his arm around Tony's shoulders, telling him that they were a team and that there was nothing they couldn't do if they stuck together, like Howard and Stane had been.

He didn't really believe that, thought Tony. He wanted to be CEO. He wanted to have what I had. Stane's betrayal made him wonder if his father's friend had ever contemplated arranging the death of Howard Stark too? It wasn't an answer he would ever have.

Tony apologised for not telling him either but Obadiah interrupted, telling him there was no more of this 'ready, fire, aim' business. Tony noted that saying had once been his father's line. Obadiah wanted to handle this, and that they were going to have to play a whole different kind of ball now and they would have to take a lot of heat. He wanted Tony to promise that he was going to lay low for the time being.

"But laying low isn't what you should do," pointed out Bruce.

"It isn't?" Steve was surprised, as was Tony.

Bruce nodded. "Tony's made a big announcement to the world to shut down weapons manufacturing, renegading on Government contracts, and other deals he may have had in place. He should be out there justifying why it's a good idea to do so, to throw it all away and go in a new direction. Hiding away and allowing Stane to deal with it is asking for trouble."

"Wish I'd thought of that back then, Bruce," noted Tony.

"It just seemed obvious to me," shrugged the other scientist. "Only way of getting people on your side is to be visible and laying out plans as to how it will work and not ruin the reputation of the company."

Tony leaned back, thoughtfully. "Points well made. I guess I trusted Stane to do the right thing."

Trust was hard to come by these days.

Only Pepper, Rhodey and Happy. They are all I can trust.

There was a tv programme called Mad Money mocking Stark Industries. The presenter got a baseball bat and smashes a cup, comparing it to S.I's new business plan. Pepper winced as she watched it, as the presenter continued to take the mickey out of the latest business decision from the weapon's company. Pepper winced again over the sounds of a toy gun firing.

Bucky frowned. "He's going a bit overboard."

"Stark Industries became the laughing stock of a lot of entertainment shows for quite a few weeks," said Natasha. "SHIELD was monitoring the situation."

Tony leaned forward, fixing Natasha with an intense gaze. "You were? Why?"

"SHIELD had a vested interest in you. They were very surprised when you announced the immediate closure of weapon's production. They were ready to step in if things got out of hand."

That surprised Tony. "Slander in the media was never SHIELD's thing."

"It got our attention. More so since SHIELD had quietly been investigating your disappearance. Isn't that right, Clint?" Natasha called out to her friend.

Clint fidgeted on his seat. "Maybe." He couldn't look at Tony.

"Wait. Are you saying what I think you are?" Rhodey looked from Natasha to Clint and back to Natasha again.

"SHIELD had agents in Afghanistan looking for Stark before he escaped," admitted Clint. "Nat and I spent a few weeks there."

"I… I…. never knew that," swallowed Tony, surprised SHIELD had been looking for him too.

"We never got any leads. The Ten Rings were very thorough. Even if we had located you, extracting you may have been… impossible," explained Natasha.

"But why would SHIELD care about Stark?" sniped Wanda. "He wasn't a part of them."

But it was Steve who realised. "Weapons."

"And military secrets," whispered Tony. "I was partial to quite a few secrets as their primary weapons manufacturer. Plus, I could hack into any system I wanted. I was a security risk."

Natasha inclined her head, her red hair trailing down her shoulders. "A risk SHIELD couldn't afford to lose or be used against us."

"Barton was bought along for a reason, wasn't he?" Tony had already caught on.

Natasha bit her lower lip. "Yes…"

Steve's eyes widened. "Wait. SHIELD would have-?" He gaped.

"Had me assassinated if they had found me and couldn't extract me." Tony wasn't surprised.

Horrified was an understatement. Steve shook his head. "SHIELD shouldn't-"

"Stark was a security risk," stated Clint. "If he helped the terrorists and we had a shot to take him out, then it would have been for the good of the country."

Tony could understand why an order of assassination may have been made. It didn't mean he had to like it. "Taking me out would have been smart. But, as you saw, the Ten Rings were very thorough. I was rarely out in the open."

"What's important is you didn't sell out America or any of its secrets. You got out," clarified Natasha. She could see Steve didn't like the idea of assassination. "But SHIELD had been investigating your company during your absence. SHIELD knew your weapons had fallen into the hands of other groups. We just didn't know how. Your subsequent kidnap rose suspicions, and that's why we had those orders. If we couldn't get you out, we had to stop you from becoming a threat."

Tony turned away from her. "Always knew Fury never liked me much."

"It wasn't Fury."

Surprise crossed his face. "Oh. Who?"

"Alexander Pierce, former Head of SHIELD and…"

"HYDRA…" Tony realised. "That makes sense…"

"We didn't know it at the time. I think we took out a lot of targets that could have been helpful to SHIELD but would have become threats to HYDRA if they'd been allowed to live. A lot of good people died because we simply didn't know how deep they'd dug their claws into SHIELD."

"But if HYDRA really wanted you dead, they would have sent me," said Bucky. "Not those two."

"Then I'm grateful HYDRA still felt they had a use for me to not send you in the first instance," replied Tony, briefly making eye contact with the former HYDRA prisoner. He returned his attention to the screen.

Tony's voice came over her earpiece, asking her how big were her hands. Pepper muted the TV and connected to Tony, who repeated the question. She didn't understand why he needed to know. He ordered her to get down there as he needed her.

Steve frowned. "You didn't treat Pepper well when she was your PA. Always ordering her around. People shouldn't be treated like that. Why didn't you just ask nicely?"

Tony glared at Steve. "It was the way we were with each other. And, I was her boss."

"Still should have respected her."

Wanda sniffed. "Stark is like that with me. Giving me orders. Only difference is he gives them through others."

Shaking his head, Tony wondered whether it was worth his breath to argue back.

"Wanda, he was trying to protect you. He knew you wouldn't listen to him if he told you himself. That's why he asked Vision to keep an eye on you. He didn't want anything bad to happen to you," explained Rhodey. "Tony has his faults – and he has many –"

Tony shot him a look.

"Oh, you know you do, Tones, but he means well, even if he goes about it the wrong way."

She frowned, looking thoughtful.

Pepper went to Tony's lab where she found him sitting on a chair, leaning back, shirt off. His chest was exposed and there were wires attached to him, including an ECG line to test his heart rate. In Tony's hands was a shining, round object.

"What are you doing?" gaped Steve.

"You'll see," smiled Tony. "If you think I treated Pepper badly, wait to you see what I ask her to do here." He knew they'd probably criticise him for it but Pepper… He trusted her. Trusted her with his life. Always would.

Pepper walks warily in.

"Let's see them. Show me your hands. Let's see them," ordered Tony.

"Please was never in Tony's vocabulary," pointed out Rhodey before anyone could make a remark about the way Tony had phrased his request to Pepper.

Pepper raised them.

"Oh, wow. They are small. Very petite indeed. I just need your help for a sec."

Pepper stared at the Arc Reactor in his chest. "Oh, my god, is that the thing that's keeping you alive?"

"It was," he admitted, "it is now an antique. This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future. I'm swapping it up for an upgraded unit," he looked at Pepper, "and I just ran into a little speed bump."

Sam understood first. "Your hands are too big. You can't swap it out yourself."

Tony shook his head. "No, I can't. I made sure in future it was something I could do though. Not sure how long Pepper would have stayed if I'd asked her to keep on doing it for me."

Steve eyed him curiously. "Why?"

"You'll see."

"Speed bump, what does that mean?" Pepper queried.

"It's nothing. It's a little snag," corrected Tony. "There's an exposed wire under this device." Tony started to fiddle with the device in his chest. "And it's contacting the socket wall and causing a little bit of a short." He pulled the shining Reactor out. Pepper jumped at his movement. "It's fine."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Put that on the table over there. That is irrelevant."

Pepper took the old Reactor from him, and placed it on the table. "Oh, my god."

"I want you to reach in, and you're just gonna gently lift the wire out."

Wanda shuddered. "You're asking her to put her hand inside of you? Why would she agree to this?"

"She's the only one who could," explained Tony. "The original Arc Reactor wouldn't have lasted long if I didn't replace it with an upgraded model. Pepper was one of the only people who I would trust with this." He side-glanced at Rhodey. "His hands would have been too big for what I needed Pepper to do."

Wanda pulled a face. "It's still 'ew'."

Pepper looks at the hole in Tony's chest. "Is it safe?" she asked worriedly.

Tony tried to reassure her. "Yeah, it should be fine. It's like Operation. You just don't let it touch the socket wall or it goes 'beep'."

Bruce threw Tony a perplexed look. "You didn't know it was safe though, did you?"

Tony shook his head.

"Mr. Stark was prone to taking risks, even when all risks combined together assumed it should not be taken," advised Vision.

Steve frowned. "You still do it, Tony. Take risks when you don't have to, not when there is an easier option."

Tony sneered. "What? Like ignoring the will of over one hundred countries calling for accountability, Rogers? You took a huge risk and turned the world against you. Don't lecture me about taking the easier option when you explicitly took the biggest risk possible!"

Steve didn't reply but his face reddened.

"The easier option would have been complying and making changes," continued Tony. "Most of you are criminals in the eyes of the law. How is that even the easier option, Rogers?"

Abashed, Steve stayed silent, lowering his gaze to avoid having to meet the others.

Pepper was perplexed. She'd never heard of Operation before. "Operation?"

"It's just a game. Never mind. Just gently lift the wire. Okay? Great."

"Okay." Pepper started to put her hand in and begins to pull it back out. "You know, I don't think I'm qualified to do this."

"No one is," commented Rhodey.

Bruce raised a hand. "Apart from me, maybe. Not my area of expertise but I'd be the most qualified of all of us."

Tony was certain she was. "No, you're fine. You're the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I've ever met. You're gonna do great."

Tony smiled gently. "I trusted her. I valued her more than you believe I do. I just didn't show it as much as I do now."

"I…" Pepper started to respond however Tony continued.

"Is it too much of a problem to ask? Cause I'm… I really need your help here."

"Okay, okay," relented Pepper.

Tony nodded. "Okay."

Pepper took a deep breath, raised her hand, and puts it into the hole within Tony's chest, moving it slowly downwards. "Oh, there's pus!" she grimaced, her features disgusted by what her fingers were feeling.

Everyone winced.

Wanda closed her eyes, sticking her tongue out in disgust.

"It's not pus. It's an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device, not from my body," he reassured her.

"That still doesn't make me feel better about you asking her to put her hand down there," muttered Steve quietly.

"It smells!" She wanted to gag.

"Yeah, it does." Tony seemed almost proud of that fact.

"Why do you look so pleased?" Clint threw Tony a dirty glare.

Gritting his teeth, Tony refused to say anything. His reactions to Pepper swapping out the Arc Reactor could have been nicer.

Pepper looks away as she fiddled inside.

"The Copper wire, you got it?" Tony checked.

"Okay, I got it. I got it!" Pepper affirmed.

"Okay, you got it? Now, don't let it touch-" Tony screamed aloud as a loud buzzing is heard, "-the sides when you're coming out, that's what I was trying to tell you before!"

"You deserved that," said Clint, sounding slightly too gleeful.

Wanda nodded in agreement.

But Bucky frowned. "I do not believe he does. He's just trying to make light of a bad situation, even if it comes across as if he is enjoying it."

"Thanks," whispered Tony quietly.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Pepper started to pull something out, directing the wire away from the sides as much as possible.

A thin copper wire was seen being pulled out of Tony's chest. "Okay, now make sure when you pull it out, you don't-" Pepper started to pull it out. "There's a magnet at the end of it!"

Pepper yanked out the magnet.

Bruce paled. "That shouldn't have happened, right?"

Tony shook his head.

"That was it." Tony stared at the magnet hanging in the air between them, dripping substance from it.

The monitor began to beep rapidly, detecting changes to Tony's heartrate. "You just pulled it out."

"Oh god!" Pepper looked terrified.

"Okay, I was not expecting that," admitted Tony, trying to maintain a semblance of calm.

"You look shocked," observed Steve.

Tony scoffed. "The magnet was keeping the shrapnel in place. Of course, I was shocked! I could feel the small pieces in my chest, moving further towards my heart!"

Steve blanched, understanding the implications of how the Arc Reactor had been keeping his teammate alive for years.

Pepper started to put it back but Tony stopped her.

"Don't put it back in."

"Why not?" cried Sam. "You need it!"

"There is another magnet attached to the new Reactor." Tony glanced along the row. "The magnet had to come out. But I had devised a safer way to extract it without putting myself in much danger. Unfortunately, we had to act fast."

She placed it on the tray next to her. "What's wrong?"

"This isn't the time to be asking questions!" Bruce winced.

"What's happening?" Thor wondered.

"Nothing. I'm just going into cardiac arrest 'cause you yanked it out like a trout!"

Pepper stood over him. She was panicking. "What? I thought you said this was safe?"

"This isn't the time to be questioning him!" yelled Sam. "How can you be so calm?"

"I knew if I panicked it would make my end come quicker," answered Tony. "I wasn't in a hurry to die. Keeping calm was the best option for me." In retrospect, asking Pepper to do this for him had been a bad idea, but he'd been left with no other option.

"We gotta hurry." Tony tried to maintain some semblance of control. "Take this. Take this." He handed her a new Arc Reactor. "You gotta switch it out really quick."

Tony pointed out the obvious. "That's why she didn't need to take out the magnet just yet. My plan was to swap the two out and in within seconds."

"Okay. Okay." Pepper held the new Reactor. "Tony, it's going to be okay."

"What?"

"It's gonna be okay."

"Is it?"

"I'm gonna make this okay."

"Hurry, Pepper!" Steve knew Tony was fine and had survived this but he was still concerned that Pepper was waiting precious seconds.

"Let's hope."

Pepper bent over Tony's chest and starts to put the new copper wiring into the plate.

"Okay, you're gonna attach that to the base plate and make sure-" Tony was cut off as she made the attachment.

"YEOOOW!" The heart monitor stopped beeping rapidly. "Was that so hard? That was fun, right?"

Most of them breathed a sigh of relief as the Arc Reactor was attached in place.

"I don't think Pepper thought that was fun," glared Clint. "I'm surprised she didn't walk out after having to put her hand in your chest."

"Clint…" Steve's voice was low, warning the archer to stop.

Clint stood up, his arms folded across his chest. "He didn't even ask her properly. He just expected her to do it! What kind of boss gets his PA to do something so… Not of their skill set? I would never ask Laura to partake in something like… that!"

"I couldn't trust anyone else," replied Tony, knowing it wouldn't make a difference.

"Still not acceptable behaviour," raged Clint, moving to sit down again.

Rhodey sighed. "Maybe when this is all over, all of you should talk to Pepper and see how she really felt?"

Clint's expression slightly softened. "I think we can do that, but it doesn't mean I won't continue to judge him for his actions."

As Pepper let the rest of the new Arc Reactor down into the socket, Tony took it from her. "Here, I do it. I got it."

Pepper's hands are wet and slimy as Tony made the final connections, fixing the Arc Reactor in place. "Nice."

"Are you okay?" Pepper's eyes were wide, her hands still dripping.

"Yeah, I feel great!" Tony enthused. "You okay?"

"At least I checked up on her," Tony pointed out.

Clint ignored him.

Her breathing was calming as Tony laughed. A stern look crossed her beautiful face. "Don't ever, ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again."

"I don't have anyone but you," admitted Tony, looking at her sincerely.

"I didn't." Tony's shoulders slagged.

A hand landed on his shoulder. "Hey, no matter what the others say, I'm here for you," Rhodey reassured him.

"I know." Tony wilted.

They stared at one another, both of them coming to the same conclusion. They didn't have anybody else. Tony shrugged and gave her a half-smile. "Anyway…" Tony pulled off the monitoring wires and climbing out the chair whilst Pepper wiped her hands clean.

"Awkward," grinned Sam. "You two fancied one another for a long time, yet you were constrained by being boss and employee."

"Pepper was excellent at deflecting me," mused Tony. "The only PA who stood her ground. Any PA who jumped into bed with their boss as soon as he hits on them, isn't worth keeping around."

"You sacked them?" Steve was horrified. "After sleeping with them?"

"No. I had them transferred to another department. Many of the people I had as PA's before Pepper applied because they wanted to sleep with me. I indulged them. But I never had them sacked for it. I do look after my employees," explained Tony.

"And, Pepper, never applied to be Tony's PA either," Rhodey pointed out.

"She didn't?" Wanda was surprised by this news. "Then how did she get to where she was?"

"Pepper worked in finance. She spotted an error in the budget. Went to her supervisor who explicitly told her, 'Mr. Stark does not make mistakes', and told her to leave it. Pepper refused and decided to go above her superior to Tony himself. She didn't have an appointment to meet him. Security was called… She had a can of pepper-spray and defended herself with it," grinned Rhodey. "Poor Happy."

Tony picked up the reminiscent. "I heard the commotion and came out my office to see Pepper had pepper-sprayed my security guards because she was trying to force her way in and they wouldn't let her without an appointment. I wanted to know why she had done that, and she explained to me her reasons. I had made a mathematical error with the budget. I corrected it and promoted her to my PA. I used to make little errors, looking for people who were not afraid to pick me up on them. Pepper was the first one to act on it. She was promoted because she was intuitive and wasn't afraid to stick to her guns to make sure the company didn't lose money."

"Stark Industries wouldn't have lost money anyway," added Rhodey. "Tony always tracked any deliberate errors he had made and altered them before they were officially processed. He was looking for the best of the best to be his new PA. Pepper was unique. No one dared questioned Tony's equations, mathematics, pricing… Nobody. Until her."

Tony fidgeted in his seat. "To be fair to Pep, the mistake I made wasn't one I intended to make. If that mistake had gone through, the company would have lost millions."

"It was luck the error was caught and it was Pepper who happened to pick up on it then," mused Bruce.

"Pretty much," Tony confirmed. "I knew I could trust her to keep me grounded." He glanced at Wanda. "That's how Pepper became my PA."

Wanda couldn't help be surprised with how Pepper had become Stark's PA. Stark had rewarded her with a better position within the company for her dedication to her previous role, and had risked her position to make sure the company hadn't made a catastrophic loss. It stunned her a bit. A small part of her began to wonder if maybe all she knew about Tony Stark was mired in falsehoods and untruths. Had she misjudged him? It doesn't change the fact he's still responsible for killing my parents.

Despite this, Wanda still felt her feelings soften slightly.

Gathering the old Arc Reactor in her hands, Pepper turned to face Tony. "What do you want me to do with this?"

Tony glanced at it and then dismissed it. "That? Destroy it. Incinerate it." His fingers taped his new Arc Reactor.

"You're not one for nostalgia, are you?" commented Steve lightly.

"Never been me, Rogers."

"You don't want to keep it?"

"Pepper, I've been called many things. Nostalgic isn't one of them."

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"That will be all, Miss Potts." Tony walked away, instructing his robot, Butterfingers to clear his stuff off of his desk and put it in the garbage.

As Pepper walked away, Tony cast his gaze back as she left, once again tapping the new Arc Reactor in his chest.

Sam shifted in his seat. He hadn't criticised Tony throughout the swapping the Reactor scene. "You know… I may not like how you do speak to people, Stark… but you're not appearing to be the person I have been led to believe." The former soldier glanced at Wanda and then at Steve.

Wanda avoided Sam's gaze and Steve's cheeks went red, but neither of them spoke.

"I think watching all of these movies will give us an entirely different opinion of you. What we saw of you before this, isn't who you really are," continued Sam.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the air after Sam's words, but Tony couldn't help but be grateful that Sam Wilson was giving him a chance.

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think!

I think the idea SHIELD was looking for Tony in Afghanistan is probably quite accurate. Tony was a security risk to the US because he would know secrets, would be in a position to betray his country if he chose to. I think it is likely if Tony's location had been discovered, SHIELD agents may have tried to infiltrate and assassinate or rescue him if possible. But, since Tony was a security risk, it would be more likely to be an assassination. And, the assassination was ordered by Alexander Peirce, who is above Fury, and is HYDRA, eliminating a potential threat this way.

Sam is starting to realise everything he knew about Tony may have been misguided and he is willing to give him the chance now.

Next chapter will be posted next Sunday!

Until then,
the-writer1988