Iron Woman - (Fem Iron man X Pepper)

Chapter 34 - Accident

Accident

A terrible accident that the Mandarin had caused...involving Happy.

I sat in the hospital for hours with him...he was unconscious. I was angry...upset....my best friend almost died.

"Hi." I smile as a nurse walks past me.

"Oh."

"Uh...mind leaving that on?" I ask, pointing to the TV

"Sure." She smiles as I stand.

"Sunday night's PBS 'Downtown Abbey'. That's his show, he thinks it's elegant. One more thing...make sure everyone wears their badges. He's a stickler for that sort of thing, plus my guys won't let anyone in without them." I put my sunglasses on and leave.

Waiting for me outside were many many reporters. "Miss Stark! Miss Stark! Our sources are telling us that this is another Mandarin attack. Anything else you can tell us?"

"Hey, Miss Stark! When is somebody gonna kill this guy? Just sayin'."

I turn to face the reporter angrily. "Is that what you want? Here's a little Holiday greeting I've been wanting to send to the Mandarin. I just didn't know how to phrase it until now. My name is Y/N Stark and I'm not afraid of you. I know you're a coward, so I've decided...." I remove my sunglasses and stare into the man's phone. "That you just died, pal. I'm gonna come get the body. There's no politics here; it's just good old-fashioned revenge. There's no Pentagon; it's just you and me. And on the off-chance you're a man, here's my home address: 10-8-80, Malibu Point, 9-0-2-6-5. I'll leave the door unlocked." I look up at the reporter. "That's what you wanted, right?" In anger I take the phone and throw it at a wall. "Bill me." I mutter as I get into my car.

I waste no time in investigating the accident. "I've compiled a Mandarin database for you, ma'am. Drawn from Shield, F.B.I., and C.I.A. intercepts. Initiating virtual crime scene reconstruction." Jarvis says, I start looking at all the data gathered.

"Okay, what do we got here? His name is an ancient Chinese war mantle, meaning adviser to the King. South American insurgency tactics, talks like a Baptist preacher. There's lots of pageantry going on here...lots of theater." I push the virtual information down to close. "Close." I look over at the virtual crime scene reconstruction.

"The heat from the blast was in excess of 3000 degrees Celsius. Any subjects within 12.5 yards were vaporized instantly."

"No bomb parts found in a three mile radius of the Chinese theater?" I ask.

"No, ma'am."

"Talk to me, Happy." I whisper, I walk over to see Happy pointing at some dog tags. "When is a bomb not a bomb?" I pick up the virtual image of the dog tags to investigate them further. "Any military victims?" I ask.

"Not according to public records, ma'am."

"Bring up the thermogenic signatures again, factor in three thousand degrees." I say as I sit on top of a cabinet, looking down.

"The oracle cloud has completed analysis. Accessing satellites and plotting the last twelve months of thermogenic occurrence now."

"Take away everywhere that there's been a Mandarin attack." I look around at the virtual map. "Nope." I sigh. My eyes land on an attack in Rose Hill, Tennessee. "That. You sure that's not one of his?"

"It predates any known Mandarin attack. The incident was the use of a bomb to assist a suicide."

"Bring her around." I say.