Dented Iron (Hiatus)

We picked each other up, again.

A/N: This scene is sad and the changes begin.

"A shame. I would've caught her."

Alex turns towards the man, an anger so intense fills her being, an anger she had never felt before.

'ALEX!'

'what you just saw, that is your legacy Stark'

'is that the last act of defiance of the great Alexandra Stark, or are you going to do something about it'

Her glare could have killed, and at the moment that's all she wanted. Alex took off running towards the man, no suit, no gun, nothing to protect her except her own hands.

Alex ran towards Killian who charged her, with perfect timing she slid under him and grabbed the gun lying on the ground. She hit him three times, but it did nothing. But Jarvis always had her back. She was engulfed in a suit and turned towards Killian.

Repulsors fly and skin burns as she moves from one suit to the next delivering blow after blow to Killian. Alex learned quickly that the repulsors were not going to cut it. Her only hope was in hand to hand.

Alex find her footing at some point pinning Killian to the roof, her hand delivering punch after punch to his face, not even the burning in her chest was going to stop her. She made a fatal mistake as Killian moved and Alex punched the roof, giving Killian the opportunity to fling Alex off of him.

"Well, here we are on the roof." Killian says as he slices the suit in half and Alex falls to the next level.

"Mark 42, inbound." Jarvis said.

"I'll be damned. The prodigal son returns." Alex whispered looking at her suit, only to be disappointed when it falls apart when she needed it the most.

"You really didn't deserve her, Alex. It's a pity. I was so close to having her perfect." Killian jumps to the floor that she was on. Alex tries again but Killian only melts the metal bar she planned on using to hit him.

"You're right. I don't deserve her. I never did" Alex said glaring at the man "Here's where you're wrong. She was already perfect."

Alex surprises Killian with the gauntlet of the Mark 42. The others pieces of the suit flit around Killian pinning him to the ground as Alex delivers blow after blow.

"Jarvis blow Mark 42."

"No!" Killian's voice is muffled, Alex was unable to get away fast enough and the two fall to the ground below. Pieces of the suits surround Alex, followed by bodies. But the worst was the familiar one, the woman she loved. Pepper.

She was laying face down, hatred flares up as Alex finds Killian's body. One of the suits lands near her and Alex steps inside, she was going to make sure Killian was dead for what he did. And she did.

Alex didn't know how long she had punched Killian, she knew he was dead, it wasn't until Rhodey pulled her away, with the help of Jarvis that she stopped.

Rhodey helped pull her out of the suit and Alex ran to Pepper.

"Pep?" Alex examined the body her eyes filling with tears "come on baby, don't leave me. I still have so much to tell you"

Alex began searching for a pulse, for anything. She is so concerned with Pepper that she doesn't realize Rhodey approaching, or the fact that Killian had already started the broadcast, the whole world was watching. They saw Alex and Rhodey, a two-man team take on the Mandarin and rescue the president and they were about to see a part of Iron Man they had never seen before.

Rhodey knelt down, right next to Alex searching for a pulse as well.

"Pepper?!"

"There is no signals of life, Ma'am" Jarvis's voice fills the air but Alex and Rhodey don't give up.

Rhodey gently pushes Alex out of the way and begins CPR. Alex falls back and can feel the panic attack coming on, the fear of losing the one she cared about the most. She couldn't save Pepper, not with her suits, not without them, it was her fault Pepper was in this mess, it was her fault all of this happened. If she had just told Killian yes all those years ago.

Time goes by and neither of the friends realize it until, Jarvis' voice says "I'm sorry ma'am but Miss Potts is gone. The extremis virus did not take hold."

Alex broke down, she scrambled over to Pepper and cradled her in her arms. "Pepper... I'm sorry" Alex said finally, the two words she should have said so long ago. "I'm so sorry"

It takes time for the secret service to arrive, time for the fire to die out, time for Rhodey and Alex to move from Pepper's body and even longer for Rhodey to leave Alex.

"I couldn't do it..."

'So, you are a woman who has everything and nothing'

'its you, it's always been you' 'I need you too'

'I don't have anyone else but you'

'You look fantastic I almost didn't recognize you'

'tell me you never think about that night?'

'Alex, what are you not telling me?'

'You deserve better. You've taken such good care of me. I've been in a tough spot, but you got me through it'

'Uh, Hap, you still got that ring?'

Alex reached into her pocket, the ring still in pristine condition. Alex watched as the clean up crew got to work, Rhodey and Jarvis took to collecting all the pieces of the destroyed suits.

"Al?" Rhodey's voice reached through the fog in Alex's mind. She looked up, not for the first time did she realize that there was an audience. "Come on, she's gone, Jarvis is taking care of it. You need to get checked out"

Alex allowed Rhodey to pull her up and allowed her to lean heavily against him as the two, for the umpteenth time in their life, picked each other up.