Nephilim

10

Kirstin's P.O.V.- One Day Ago

"Avery, hey. Wait a minute." I grab Avery's arm, stopping her from following Steve and the other's out onto the balcony.

"You gonna tell me that I should stay inside with Andi and Shuri? Because I swear to god, I will bitch slap you into next week for even thinking that I can't handle my-" I laugh, cutting off the blonde's rant.

"No, no, nothing like that. I know you can hold your own without any weapons. But I'm gonna give you part of something Tony and I were working on." I hold up a finger, pulling out the gauntlets I built for the new suit design out of its case. I hold them out to her waiting until she puts them on before speaking again, "I remember how much you loved the silver-tipped whip Dean got you for your birthday. I also remember how good you were with it and how sad you were when you found out it got destroyed at Bobby's house. So... this is a nano-tech gauntlet that has retractable whips instead of repulsor blasters, though those can be added later. Do you remember Ivan Vanko?"

Avery pauses for a second, thinking, "The one who tried to kill everyone at the Stark Expo and attacked Tony at a race?"

"Yes, that guy." I nod quickly, deciding to talk and prep at the same time. I was already in my black-and-white suit, with my black and white studded combat boots. I forgo the mask, everybody already knows who I am anyway, so it's kinda pointless, and pull on my utility belt sliding the weapons in easily. "Well, I took notes from him. The suit he made, that is. It can become electrified like his. I used the nano-tech, and vibranium that Tony made, to essentially let you have total control over your weapons with a single thought. One thought and it becomes an electrified vibranium whip that could slice through virtually anything, into a regular vibranium whip that can do anything normal whips are capable of, to a simple gauntlet, or even a clunky metal bracelet. There are also buttons on them, in case you have trouble with the whole thought thing. Don't worry, it's programmed to only react to our fingerprints. And Tony's, but that's for another time." I finish fiddling with my belt, smiling at my cousin, who is still watching the bracelets she's holding.

She stares down at the blue bracelets for a moment longer, sliding them on slowly. As quick as ever, they turn into the dark blue gauntlets I spent weeks perfecting in the lab. In a second, she flicks her wrist, the whip wrapping around my wrist and pulling taut, almost hauling me towards her. A second after, and another flick of her wrist, it unwinds and disappears into the gauntlet again, "You made these specifically for me? I mean, not to sound ungrateful, because I'm already in love with them, but why?"

I glance toward the balcony, checking to see if everybody was there yet so we can do a quick debriefing of our plan. Nope. "Well, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but all things considered, that's probably the least of my worries today. So... we all know as much as Tony loves to act the part, he's not immortal, or invincible, yeah?"

"Yeah, he really is a Winchester." She jokes, pushing my shoulder in that annoying older-sibling kind of way. I laugh slightly.

"Well, he figured that we'd each get fifty percent of his shares in the company, meaning that we will always have to work together. You know, he has everything set up in case he... passes. Except for one thing. Someone to pass down the mantle on Iron Man to. I mean, Peter and I have got our own things, and every other person he'd consider for the job also has their own thing, or are right up there in age with him. No, he didn't give me any of that reasoning when he told me, I made it up myself to make me feel better about his choice." I joke lightly, moving to place the stuff I was carrying the weapons in out of the way, "Anyway, he wants to have a new... replacement. Someone who knows what the hell they're doing, but can also have a fresh set of eyes. We didn't want to tell you until the suit was done, but too late now. He wants you to become Iron Man. Well, Iron Maiden. Yes, we did that on purpose." Avery takes a step back, smiling in her combat gear as though someone just told her she won the lottery.