Agent Potts and the Man in the Iron Suit

XI

Virginia fidgeted with a pen as she stared across the table at Tony, who was busy rambling off all the technical details for his thumb drive idea and gesturing at the prototype in his hand. It was just her luck that they had scheduled to meet the day she bumped into Stane. She wished she had at least been given another day to mull over how she was going to tell Tony that she was suspicious of his mentor being involved in the case they were solving together.

Why else would they be having a private meeting in Hammer's office? The companies were rivals - or at least used to be. If Tony successfully reinvented Stark Industries, they wouldn't even be in the same industry anymore. So what use would an alliance do?

"Everything okay, Pepper?" Tony asked. At some point while she was lost in her thoughts, he had noticed her blank stare.

"Yeah, of course," she exclaimed, smiling too wide. "Please, keep explaining the whole thumb drive thing."

He studied her face. "Have you been listening at all?"

Virginia slumped in her chair. "No," she admitted as she looked at the pen in her hand. "I've got a lot on my mind, I guess."

"Want to talk about it?"

 "It's fine. Just all the details for this mission spinning around my head." She stood and rummaged through her cupboard for a snack. She needed an excuse to stop facing him before he read her too easily again.

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Let's get back to talking about the thumb drive."

"Pep-"

"Tony, I'm fine!" Virginia exclaimed, spinning around to face him. She spun a little fast, though. Her socked feet lost their traction on the linoleum floor, and her momentum carried her forward.

Tony hopped up from the table and caught her. Virginia's hands landed on his chest. Time stood still as she looked up at him. Then she felt an electric pulse go through her hand and jerked away.

"What was that?" she asked, looking from her hand to Tony.

"What was what?"

"An electric pulse. It came from- from your chest," Virginia stuttered out, torn between embarrassment and confusion.

Tony grimaced. "Oh. That." He undid just enough buttons on his shirt for her to see a piece of what appeared to be white duct tape stretched across the center of his chest. He glanced up at her as he pulled it off. It revealed a circular mechanical device emitting a soft blue glow that was implanted in Tony's chest.

Virginia gasped. She stepped closer again, mesmerized by the strange device. "What is this?"

"Basically an over-complicated battery."

She met his gaze, eyes wide. "This is the power source for the suit?"

Tony nodded.

Virginia turned back to the device. She slowly reached forward and rested the tips of her fingers against the face of it. The soft blue glow encompassed her hand. "Is it painful?" she asked softly.

"Not anymore. I've modified it to improve its energy strength, function, and connection to my body. It hurt a lot at first... when I woke up with the crude electromagnetic base for it in a cave."

Virginia looked up at him again. The pain reflected in his eyes made her heart ache. She hadn't thought much about what he must have endured during his time as a hostage. She didn't want to think about it now. But recognizing the rough time he had been through lately and knowing he carried within himself a battery powerful enough to charge an insanely impressive high-tech suit was enough to fix her resolve that he deserved to know if there was a chance someone close to him was up to no good.

"Tony, I-" she began. An electric pulse reminded her that her fingers were still pressed against what was technically his chest. Virginia pulled her hand back and started again, "I saw Obadiah Stane today. In a meeting with Hammer."

Now it was Tony's turn to step back. "What? Why would he be there?" he said with a frown.

"I don't know. That's why I'm concerned."

Tony locked eyes with her. His frown deepened. "You think he's part of this."

Virginia hugged herself and averted her gaze. "I don't know what to think. But I thought you should know, just in case he is up to something shady."

"I've known Obie my entire life," Tony said. "He's a good man. This must be some sort of misunderstanding."

"I hope it is. But there is a chance that-"

"What? He's been sneaking around behind my back? Messing with the company he helped my father build?" Tony asked, staring her down. When she said nothing else, he sighed and added, "Sorry to cut this meeting short, but I think I need some time." 

He collected his things and opened the apartment door. At the last moment, he turned to her and said, "I'll figure this out."