Iron Woman - (Fem Iron man X Pepper)

Chapter 23 - Old Film

I was sitting in my workshop, watching an old film of dad while I went through the box.

"Everything is achievable through technology. Better living, robust heath, and for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace. I'm Howard Stark, and everything you'll need for the future can be found right here. City of the Future? City of Tomorrow? City of.....I'm Howard Stark and everything you'll need in the future can be found right here. So, from all of us at Stark Industries, I would like to personally....Y/N, what are you doing back there? What is that?" I look up to see smaller me has picked one of the buildings up off the model. "Put that back. Put it back where you got it from. Where's your mother? Maria? Go on. Go, go, go, go." A man takes smaller me off, presumably to where my mother is.

"All right, I think we got..." a man behind the camera say.

"I'll...I'll...I'll come in and..." The Video changes.

"Are you waiting on me?" I sigh as I look up to see dad drinking.

"So, from all of us at Stark Industries, I'd like to personally show you my ass. I'd like to...I can't....This is...I can't...We have this, don't we? This is a ridiculous way....Everything."

I look at the notebook and sigh as I reach a blank page, I run my thumb across it....dad never got to finish. "Y/N." I look up as I hear my name. "You're too young to understand this right now, so I thought I would put it on film for you. I built this for you. And someday you'll realise that it represents a whole lot more than just people's inventions. It represents my life's work. This is the key to the future. I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world. What is and always will be my greatest creation is you."

The film ends...and I'm left with tears in my eyes.

Is that how he really felt?

—————

I had snuck out and decided to see Pepper...I missed her. I had stopped and got her strawberry's.....I couldn't remember if she liked or hated them.

"Miss Potts?"

"Relax." I nod, walking past the woman into Pepper's office.

"Miss Stark..."

"Is here." I smile.

"She refuses..."

"I don't. It's fine. I'll just be a second." I nod and shut the door.

Pepper was on the phone, "Listen, it's our position that Stark has and continues to maintain propriety ownership of the Mark II platform."

I look to over to watch the news, "When Miss Stark announced she was indeed Iron Woman, she was making a promise to America. We trusted that she would look out for us. She obviously did not. And now we learn that his secretary....a woman named Virginia Pepper Potts, has been appointed as CEO of Stark Industries. What are her qualifications? Miss Potts has done nothing to manage this terrible..."

"Mute." I say, turning off that ridiculous thing. I look over at the corner full of stuff. "I'll get this stuff out of here."

"Well, then, tell the President to sign an order. We'll talk about it at the Expo." Pepper says, still on the phone. I pull back a sheet and find the same model as the one in the video with my father. "Hammer's giving some presentation tomorrow evening. Will Y/N Stark be there?" She looks up at me.

"Will I?" I ask, pulling up a chair.

"No, he will not. Bye."

"I would like to be. Got a minute?" I ask.

"No."

"Come on, you just got off the phone. You're fine. 30 seconds." I nod.

Pepper starts to count, "Twenty-nine Twenty-eight."

"I was just driving over here, and I thought I was coming to basically apologise, but I'm not." I nod.

"You didn't come here to apologise?"

"Look, that goes without saying, and I'm working on that. But I haven't been entirely upfront with you, and I just want to try to make good." I stare at this crazy contraption on her desk, "Can I move this? This is crazy. It's like a Ferris wheel, going. I'm trying to get some..."

"No."

"Do you know how short life is? And if I never got to express...And by the way, this is somewhat revelatory to me. And I don't care....I mean, I care. It would be nice. I'm not expecting you to....Look, here's what I'm trying to say. I'm just gonna say it." I nod.

"Let me stop you right here, okay? Because if you say I one more time, I'm gonna actually hurl something at your head, I think. I am trying to run a company. Do you have any idea what that entails?"

"Yes." I nod.

"People are relying on you to be Iron Woman and you've disappeared, and all I'm doing is putting out your fires and taking the heat of it. I am trying to do the job that you were meant to do." She pauses. "Did you bring me strawberries? Did you know that there's only one thing on Earth that I'm allergic to?"

"Allergic to strawberries. This is progress Pepper. I knew there was a correlation between you and this." I nod.

"I need you..."

"I need you too." I nod.

"...to leave now." She interrupts me.

"That's what I'm trying to.." I stop.

"Ms Potts?" Romanoff walks inside with Happy.

"Hi, come on in."

"Wheels up in 25 minutes." Romanoff nods.

"Thank you."

"Anything else, boss?" Happy asks.

"I'm good, Hap." I smile.

"No, I'll be just another minute." Pepper says at the same time.

"I lost both the kids in the divorce." I laugh. I then look over at Romanoff. "Are you blending in well here, Natalie? Here are Stark Enterprises? Your name is Natalie, isn't it? I thought you two didn't get along?" I ask.

"No. That's not so." Pepper says.

"It's just me you don't care for. No? Nothing?" I ask.

"Actually, while you're here maybe you and Natalie could discuss the matter of the personal belongings." Pepper points.

"Absolutely." Pepper and Happy leave. "I'm surprised you can keep your mouth shut."

"Boy, you're good. You are mind-blowingly duplicitous. How do you do it? You just tear things...You're a triple imposter. I've never seen anything like you. Is there anything real about you? Do you even speak Latin?" I ask. My eyes widen as she speaks Latin.
"Which means? Wait. What? What did you just say?"

"It means you can either drive yourself home or I can have you collected." She leaves.

"You're good." I stare at the moving thing and pile things up under it and throw the strawberries in the bin. I stop as I stare at the model, covering one eye.

That was a fun trip back home.