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𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐒,
𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒
TONY
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When Tony felt the wires pierce through the nape of his neck, he almost didn't feel lonely anymore. He had himself, ultimately. He had his conscience being torn out of him for the sake of the heroism. Only he wasn't going to give up or give in to the affliction as a whole. Sooner or later, just not now. His mother had told him he was a fighter no matter how twig-like he was when he was younger, it took him a month to realize that she meant in his heart. He knew what was right and what was wrong - there was no between.
He thought he could no longer be startled when a certain redhead walked in on when he was recalibrating, her jaw clanging open in an animated gesture. She took in the unfolded scene in front of her, blinking at the wired-up machine and panels that ran scans of his brain. He was audacious enough to raise his hand for a wave.
Pepper Potts was loved by Tony just because of her zero tolerance to bullshit. Which was exactly why he knew was the sole and only heir to Stark International while he focused on maintaining the arrays to Iron Man and the Avengers. And to see Pepper speechless was to see armageddon in your very eyes. Now that she was all settled in, she just raised her hands in surrender with a mere shake of her head.
'I'm saying nothing. This all seems very... devastating.'
'Thank you,' he nodded, ignoring her vote of sarcasm. 'Status rep?'
'Happy's with Rhodey in the Queens unit,' she shared to the best of her knowledge. 'Osborn's retrofitting any sort of Iron Man tech HAMMER has seized. As in, he tried to ambush your workshop and failed.'
'He wants to publically arrest you with all his circumstantial evidence,' Adam filled in, shutting down a working panel and facing Tony. 'It's all over the media. Happy's your head of security so there's a word for his arrest, too.'
He swallowed hard. 'Where's Elle?'
'The kill switch you operated months ago took a toll on HAMMER systems so he's countering for his loss,' Pepper added, efficiently dodging Tony's question. Instantly, he felt a tough breath leave him. 'Stark Industries is now on cruise control, Tony. He liquidated the parts of the company which were making money after Stane's attacks. It's an efficient way to lower payroll for the staff.'
Tony simpered at the chaotic turn of events. He had expected so the surprise didn't hit him as hard. 'So, even the rats have gotten off the ship.'
'Metaphorically,' Pepper shrugged with a sigh, 'yeah, we're restrained to a skeletal level staff.'
