Glass Heart

“Wait, you did what?” Tony stopped in mid-air, holding himself in place with his thrusters as he stared at Scarlett through the helmet of the suit. Opening the helmet so that he could look at her and she could properly see his astonished and somewhat offended expression, he was about to ask her again to repeat herself when something grabbed onto his leg and flung him backwards. Quickly he triggered the helmet of the Mark V to close and just in time at that. The drone that had grabbed him, swung him violently overhead and then tossed him like a rag doll across the room and through the already broken windows out into the gardens behind the building.

Tony powered the thrusters on the gloves and boots of the Mark V but it was too late to counteract what had been done; the attack had happened too quickly. He could hear Pepper screaming for people to get out of the way as the Mark V crashed into the concrete sidewalk, tearing it up at the point of impact on either side. The suit slid through the hedges, rolled down a small stairway then spun head over feet until the suit came crashing back first into a hydrangea shrub. The screen flickered and died in front of his eyes before rebooting automatically, the familiar indicators appearing in his line of sight showing him where the most damage to his suit had been done on impact.

“Tony! Tony!” Through the ringing in his ears, he could hear the shrill cry of Pepper Potts getting closer to him. Sitting up, Tony glanced over the specs of his suit and ignored the cries of his assistant. It was sad to say, but he’d gotten used to ignoring her in times of crisis because of her constant worry. Though he thought it was sweet that she cared so much, he didn’t have time to comfort her while lives were on the line.

“Jarvis, restore power to thrusters if you can and work on repairing my targeting system. It looks like the left lower thruster took some damage. Can you repair it?” Wiping pieces of shrubbery and destroyed flowers off of the suit, Tony grunted in discomfort as he got up.

“I can perform a temporary repair.”

“Do it as quickly as you can.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Tony, are you okay? How did you get your suit back? Where’s Happy? Is he okay?” Pepper called, trying to offer him a hand to get up but also unsure if she should since she wasn’t sure how much good she’d do trying to assist a suit that easily outweighed her. So, fretting around her boss, she instead took to swatting bits of leaves and sticks away from the suit in an attempt to help him in some way.

“No time for that Pepper, I’m fine.” Tony swung the helmet of the suit open since it was easier to talk that way and started walking quickly back toward the ballroom. The drones hadn’t immediately come after him and he wondered if they’d instead chosen to focus on Scarlett who was already having enough problems. Then again, if she’d been the one to create them then maybe they were simply praising their creator for doing such an excellent job. Hurt stung within Tony and he wasn’t exactly sure why he felt so betrayed. Why would Scarlett design those things? That would be a question for her once he’d destroyed every last one of them.

On the other hand, she had instructed him on how to destroy the drones he’d simply gotten distracted by what she’d told him that he hadn’t seen the last attack coming. It could’ve easily been avoided if he had just been paying attention.

“You flew through a wall and tore up the concrete! There’s no way that you’re fine Tony!” Pepper scolded, following Tony in the suit and trying to look for potential injuries even though there would be no way for her to find any.

“Did you get in touch with Rhodes? Is he on his way yet? I could use some help.” Tony ignored her concern and tried the thrusters in his suit again but the damaged one sparked dangerously and sputtered.. “Jarvis I needed this back online like… three minutes ago.”

“Repairs are at ninety five percent, sir.” The computer responded within his helmet.

“I didn’t ask what your progress was.” Tony spat to the side, tasting blood in his throat and started instead toward the building on foot since he wouldn’t be able to fly until Jarvis had finished the minor repairs to his system.

“I can only work as fast as I am programmed to.”

“Ouch, I liked you better when you were obsessively talking about Scarlett.” Tony chuckled then looked back to Pepper who hadn’t responded to him. “Rhodes?”

“Rhodey is out of town, remember? That’s why you had to come tonight! He’s called the military but they’re still twenty minutes out, Tony.” Pepper instructed when she realized that Tony was staring at her expectedly.

“Damn, I forgot.” Tony grimaced.

“Do you ever listen to anything I say?” Pepper narrowed her eyes, once she was sure that Tony was okay.

“Thrusters are back online, sir.”

“Thanks Jarvis.” Tony fired up the thrusters on his suit and started into the air. “And to answer your question, once you start nagging me about something I stop listening entirely.”

“You’re covered in hydrangeas, Tony!” Pepper tried to pick some of the flowers out of the metallic seams of the suit but stopped when he flew out of her reach. Flipping the helmet back down on his suit, Tony looked down at Pepper.

“I’m bringing flowers to my date like a gentleman.” Tony shot into the air and turned his attention to the ballroom in front of him. “Keep everyone back. I’ve got this under control.” Like a rocket, he took off and flew back into the half destroyed ballroom. Scarlett may have had some explaining to do, but at least now he had a plan of attack. First and foremost, he’d find the half destroyed, incapacitated robot and disable it entirely to prevent any self destruct sequence that may have been triggered. Then he’d go after the others and put a stop to them. He’d have time to dwell on what to do with his mysterious houseguest once they were out of harm’s way.

Scarlett had wanted to warn Tony not to let his guard down but she hadn’t gotten the chance to before he’d gone flying out of the room for exactly that reason. Confident that he would be okay in the armor of the Mark V she turned her attention back to the man on the balcony that had been joined by two more of his buddies. His hand was on his gun, clearly not afraid to shoot at her after she’d thrown his comrade off of the side of the balcony.

“In my defense, I forgot the railing broke when I spun him that way.” Scarlett held her hands up in surrender then quickly ducked when her attacker didn’t drop his weapon and instead aimed it at her. Hurrying behind the beam that was precariously balanced near the edge of the balcony, Scarlett heard the sound of the shot ring out near her head and muttered a long string of curses under her breath in a mixture of English and Afrikaans. Heart pounding she cursed louder when she saw the drones turn their attention to her. If they’d wanted Tony dead he would’ve been dead before she’d gotten to him with the suitcase of armor. The chaos in the room was meant to distract him while the men in black suits were in pursuit of her and now that she was trapped between some drones and a hard place she wasn’t exactly sure how to squeeze her way out.

Exhausted from fighting and sore since the rush of adrenaline from her initial attack had finally started to wear off and allow her to feel the pain that had been inflicted, Scarlett knew she couldn’t fight three more men on top of what she’d already been through. Glancing back at the drones, she decided it was easier to risk her life against the armed men rather than against three badly beaten and incredibly heavily armed drones.

When she’d been trying to buy more time when she was working for MedCo she’d started putting in defense options for the drones she was to create. She’d never expected the drones to come to fruition and now realized the error of her ways. The defenses she’d designed were ingenious and perfect for distraction, not to mention wearing out those they were fighting against. Even the strongest opponent would grow weary after battling something that could only be destroyed in an obscure way.

She cursed herself for being so ingenious before hurrying around to the other side of the metallic beam that had fallen from the ceiling. Hands over her head she expected to have weapons pointed at her instantly upon stepping into view but was surprised instead to see Happy decking the man who had pointed his gun at her in the face so hard that he fell to the ground unconscious. Scarlett stared, impressed by the driver’s strength, at the man who had fallen to the ground. Happy was shaking his hand in discomfort from the impact on the man’s face.

Running to his aid, Scarlett ducked low and kicked the feet out from underneath one of the men left coming after her. He stumbled and then fell to the ground, not having expected Scarlett to come after him. Happy kneed the same man in the face when he tried to get up and knocked him backwards. Offering Scarlett a hand, which she took, Happy helped her to her feet and winced from the pain in his hand.

“I think you broke your hand.” Scarlett looked down at his knuckles carefully to try and examine the extent of the damage he’d done but was distracted when the man on the ground grabbed her ankle. Crouching down on her knees, Scarlett pried his hand off of her ankle, pressed her thumb hard on his wrist and tugged his fingers straight until she heard a pop, resulting in a howl of pain from the man on the floor.

“I did.” Happy was starting to get used to being startled by what Scarlett was capable of now that he’d seen her in action a few times. He still stared at her in awe for a second after she’d wounded the man below her so severely. The man on the ground writhed in pain and misery. Scarlett searched for his gun and when she found it in a holster beneath his coat she turned it around and smashed the butt end into the side of his head hard enough to knock him out but not hard enough to kill him. Once again, Scarlett felt pity for the men who did a job they were clearly incapable of doing. Maybe MedCo hadn’t warned them of just how hard it would be to bring her in or maybe they weren’t aware of the threat she would pose to them.

“You should try and take it easy.” Scarlett looked back up at Happy and smiled as softly as she could manage. He nodded to agree with her.

“I’m usually much better than that.” Clearing his throat Happy glanced into the hallway and grimaced when two more men rounded the corner and started pointing and yelling at them. “I don’t think I have much of a choice.”

“I find that a nice kick to the groin is good in a pinch.” Scarlett didn’t love using such a cheap tactic but she was growing weary of wave after wave of minion that was coming after her. Happy nodded and started into the hallway, obviously wanting to protect her. About to get up and go after him, Scarlett forgot about the third man that had been on the balcony. He had apparently pursued her beyond the metallic beam and had gotten trapped temporarily behind it. He grabbed her by her hair and swung her around. She stumbled but gathered her footing quickly, stubbing her toe on part of the broken balcony that started to creak beneath her again.

“…what is with the timing of this place?” Scarlett muttered and then dodged a sloppy right hook from her attacker, hopping on her right foot and cursing as she saw her toe bloodied.

Happy hurried into the hallway and the men he was running toward seemed to think that he was going to run past them and flee so they moved out of his way. Instead, he tackled one of them into the wall and threw his left fist into the man’s stomach. Clearly surprised that the rather ordinary looking man had packed such a punch they weren’t exactly on their game. Leaving his opponent on the ground, Happy kicked him in the side and then threw his arms up in front of him defensively, absorbing a few jabs from the second man. His time as a boxer was serving him well.

Watching Scarlett had inspired him along with his success so far against the men chasing her, for whatever reason or another that he didn’t quite understand, had instilled confidence in him. Dodging left then right, Happy forgot that he’d injured his right hand in the last attack and threw a punch. Pain shot up his arm and he saw stars. Slipping as he tried to step backwards, Happy fell on top of the man that he’d knocked to the ground who was trying to get back onto his feet. His head smacked right into the head of the man who was chasing Scarlett and knocked him into unconsciousness by accident. Happy was stunned but pleased by the end result of his fall.

Exhaling deeply after realizing he’d been holding his breath, Happy got to his feet and faced the man who had knocked him back in the first place and bounced back and forth on his heels.

“You want some of this?” Happy taunted, overconfidence in his abilities taking over despite how badly his right hand was throbbing from having smashed it one too many times. Angry and frustrated with their failure against the driver, the remaining man in the hallway became more and more aggressive with each blow. He threw a left jab then a right cross. Happy managed to dodge the first few blows but his attacker was skilled and knew just where to hit him when he turned to block. Taking a blow to his stomach, Happy hunched over and was surprised when an elbow met the back of his head. Backing up to avoid a second blow that would knock him to the ground, Happy felt the floor disappear beneath his heels very suddenly.

He hadn’t noticed the stairs that branched off from the hallway and down to the floor below since they hadn’t been the ones he’d used to get to the second floor in the first place. Flailing comically to try and regain his balance, Happy reached for something, anything that could keep him from falling down the stairs and what would surely result in serious injury. The man at the top of the stairs got closer to Happy in hopes of giving him that final push that would launch him down the steps. Still flailing and reaching, Happy grabbed at the corner of the wall, but his hand slipped. He then grabbed onto the next closest thing which just happened to be his attacker.

Shouting in anguish the man in the black suit tried to get away but only managed to become twisted beneath Happy. The two went tumbling down the stairs, Happy smashing his back against the stairs at first, but then managing to manipulate his attacker so that he was lying beneath him and took the brunt of the blows against the stairs as momentum forced them downward.

“Happy!” The driver could hear Scarlett yelling to him but couldn’t think to respond in the heat of the moment. Step after step they rolled, the fall seemed to take an agonizingly long time when he was worried about breaking another bone. At the bottom step which was much wider than the others, the attacker’s foot caught between the rungs of the railing causing his body to stop sliding sharply and suddenly.

Happy, on the other hand, tried to keep his grip on the attacker but momentum sent him flying feet over head onto his back on the floor of the hallway. Staring up at the ceiling for a long moment Happy resisted moving, afraid that he’d broken something far worse than his hand. Slowly he tried to move and found that he’d gotten out of the fall unscathed though he was sure he’d have a few bruises in the morning. Turning his head back and forth he didn’t hear or see any other pursuers and suddenly felt incredibly victorious.

“Yeah!” Happy cheered, throwing his fist into the air. His hand tingled with pain and he urged it close to his chest cradling it. Sitting up, Happy slowly crawled over the body of the man that he’d practically ridden down the stairs like a sled. Touching his neck to feel his pulse, Happy was relieved to see the man was still alive just unconscious.

Having learned how to handle such things from Scarlett earlier, Happy removed the man’s belt. After a few seconds of struggling he managed to tie his wrists to the rungs of the staircase. Stumbling up a few of the steps, Happy stopped to sit on the fifth one up and leaned heavily against the wall. After that last tumble down the stairs he needed a moment to catch his breath. Now he remembered why he’d taken, what he thought was, the much safer job of driver to Tony Stark.

Upstairs Scarlett had managed to find her balance but was starting to worry that the floor was going to collapse beneath her. The last of the men attacking her seemed to be thinking the same thing and was trying to keep her out of the hallway. Frustrated and starting to get sloppy from weariness she decided to take the offensive in hopes of ending this fight quickly so she could help poor Happy who had flown down the stairs and out of sight.

She could only hope that he knew how to take a fall or she’d have much bigger problems when she went downstairs to help him. That was always the risk with civilians. Even if the provided a minimal amount of help in dangerous situations, when things went wrong, and they always did, it would cause more trouble than the situation itself would’ve had it been left to the professionals.

Getting a running start, Scarlett started to head to the right of her attacker but instead very quickly slid left. Grabbing the outstretched arm of the man trying to stop her she slid beneath the arm and twisted it behind his back which forced her attacker to lean forward. Jumping onto his back, legs wrapped around his waist she grabbed his hair with her left hand. Knowing she no longer had the upper body strength to choke him into unconsciousness from her current position with her strength alone she artfully removed his tie with a few simple flicks of her right hand and then grabbed it on either side after releasing his hair. Placing it beneath his chin and around his throat she pulled hard and leaned backwards so she would put all of her weight into her tug.

The man at first grabbed at her legs to try and pry her off, but realized it was no good. If he’d hit a few inches higher on her right leg he would’ve hit gold and gotten her bloodied wound but he was too panicked to do so and very likely didn’t realize her weakness. Then he reached for the tie she was choking him with, instinctively but when that did him no good he spun around to try and shake her off. Scarlett felt dizzy but continued to pull. She was surprised when he accidentally spun them right into the corner of the hallway and the balcony. Vision blurring, Scarlett lost her grip on the tie but gathered it after a split second.

Realizing the effect bashing her against the wall had caused, the man grunted and instantly rammed her into the wall again. Crying out in discomfort, Scarlett gritted her teeth to keep it from happening again. With the second blow to the wall she lost her grip entirely on the tie and it slipped out of her hands. Wrapping both arms around his neck, Scarlett tried to keep her advantage but was losing it rapidly. Weariness was getting the best of her at long last.

With a third smash into the wall, Scarlett decided she wasn’t going to let there be a fourth. When the man pulled away to push her back again she untangled her legs from around his waist and kicked away from him. Stumbling when she hit the ground, Scarlett nearly collapsed on her bad leg and grunted in annoyance. Regaining her balance, she only managed to gather it for a second before she was grabbed by her hair and swung into the wall again. Annoyed with being pushed over and over into the wall, she went to push away but was blocked by her attacker.

She widened her eyes when she realized that the man had donned a pair of brass knuckles and ducked low very quickly. His fist hit the wall, the brass weapon smashing through the drywall overhead, it raining down like dust into her hair. Glancing at the ground for something to use to her advantage, since she obviously wasn’t going to get by on her physical strength alone after how much she’d used throughout the night, Scarlett spotted the gun she’d dropped earlier. Scrambling on the floor to reach it, she managed to wrap her fingers around it when her attacker kicked her in the side, making her roll twice and land on her stomach.

Not moving, she waited for him to come and check on her. When he did, she rolled onto her back and swung the gun hard toward his knee cap. Something inside of him cracked horribly and he fell to his knees instinctively. Hurrying onto her hands and knees, Scarlett grabbed the back of her attackers head and shoved him hard onto the ground. Leaping over him she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed as hard as she could. Wrapping her legs back around his middle she pulled him tight and manipulated her hands so that one was pressed over his mouth and the other was pinching his nose.

After a good few moments of struggling she felt her attacker’s body finally go limp in her arms. Checking his pulse, Scarlett then let go when she realized she’d succeeded in knocking the man unconscious. Releasing him entirely she shoved him away from her and then laid on the floor, pushing her sweaty, messy hair from her face.

“I have never wanted a nap more in my life.” Muttering under her breath, Scarlett got up and stumbled down the hallway before regaining her strength and her balance.

“Happy? Happy are you okay?” Scarlett hurried toward the staircase that he’d fallen down.

“I’m okay! A little banged up but you should see the other guy.” Happy called back up the stairs. Reaching the opening in the hallway she smiled down at him, seeing how he’d tied the man to the railing just as they had done in the bathroom.

“Oh, you even subdued him. Good job, Happy.” Scarlett smiled pleasantly, partially amused that Happy had used what she’d taught him in the bathroom.

“Are you alright? You look tired.” Happy slowly got to his feet, bringing a hand to his back when it ached.

“I could definitely use a stiff drink, that’s for sure.” Relieved that Happy was doing alright, Scarlett finally let her guard down. “Come on, we’ve got to go see how your boss is holding up.” Nodding toward the hallway, Scarlett waited for the driver to start making his way up the stairs.

“Have you seen Pepper? Do you know if she’s okay?” Happy was out of breath and moving slowly, but Scarlett wasn’t going to complain. Before she could respond, someone had grabbed her wrist and tugged her down the hallway. She stumbled but didn’t fall and turned to find that the man she’d knocked unconscious with the butt end of the gun earlier, or at least she thought she had, was back on his feet and as angry as ever. Getting into a defensive stance, Scarlett was surprised when he lifted her off of her feet entirely.

Reaching for his coat or something to grab onto so that when he let her go, she wouldn’t go far, Scarlet wasn’t able to get her hands on anything. When the man threw her, she slid across the balcony, right to the edge. Making a mad grab for the metallic beam that had fallen earlier from the ceiling Scarlett tried to use it to pull herself up but instead it shifted and started to slide from where it had been precariously balanced.

“Oh, come on!” Gritting her teeth in frustration, Scarlett managed to keep from falling off the edge but just barely, laying right at the end of it. When the metal beam finally crashed down it took part of the balcony with it. The ground crumbled beneath Scarlett. She scrambled to her feet to try and get away but it had happened too quickly so instead she gripped onto the flooring of the remaining balcony. Her right hand slipped but her left hand managed to find a grip and held tight. Shoulder aching from the awkward hanging position, Scarlett quickly found a place for her right hand to grab onto.

When the metal beam hit the ground below it shook the whole room. Holding onto the edge of the balcony, Scarlett held her breath and waited, hoping that the damage done to the ground below wouldn’t further affect the structural integrity of the balcony that held her life in its hands.

After the dust settled below she tried to climb back onto the balcony but was struggling to find the upper body strength to do it. Just as she thought she might have found a way the man who had thrown her so far off the edge was above her. He smashed his foot on her left hand which flew instantly off of the balcony, recoiling from the pain. Quickly she threw it back onto the edge so she wouldn’t be caught with only one hand there. Scooting her hand out of the way as the man took a second chance to smash her fingers, Scarlett grabbed onto his ankle and tried to pull herself up using his weight. The ground beneath her hand started to loosen and panic sent through her like a shock.

Abandoning her grip on his leg, Scarlett hurried along the edge of the balcony. When her attacker tried to back away she grabbed onto the hem of his pants and tugged hard. This threw him off balance and knocked him to the floor below, right on top of the metal beam which resulted in a sickening thud of flesh against metal. Closing her eyes once she had affirmed her grip on the balcony Scarlett regained her clarity before starting to scramble onto the side of the balcony.

When she shifted something cracked ahead of her. Looking around for the source of the crack with shifty eyes she grimaced when she realized the balcony was going to fall apart piece by piece with her on it if she made too many sudden movements.

“Happy! I could really use your help right now!” Scarlett yelled, trying to peek over the balcony but it was no good. Her upper body strength was finally starting to fail her. Behind her she could hear the sound of mechanics failing and Tony’s repulsors going off. He’d been busy tackling the three remaining robots. The one without its arms was dismantled and lying on the ground useless, but the other two had put up a fight.

The three remaining robots kicked into high gear once the first had been taken care of. Whoever was on the other end of the signal controlling the robots must have realized that their secret had been discovered and if they weren’t crafty, their weapons would be easily destroyed and harmless.

Tony ducked the one armed robot, turned around and fired at the second one and then turned on his thrusters to quickly fly backwards out of the way of the third. Flipping easily around in the air, Tony guided the Mark V back to the robot with one arm and stunned it with his repulsors. Soaring through the air, Tony crashed, fist first, into the robot sending them both flying against the floor. The robot retaliated with its one arm and grabbed onto Tony’s leg, flipping the Mark V into the ground and hard at that.

Ground still shaking, Tony aimed his hands at the floor beneath him and forced his thrusters on full blast to push him upright. Turning to look at the one armed robot as it pushed itself off the ground, Tony aimed his repulsors and fired on full blast. The ray of energy coming from his suit was initially absorbed but the force of it couldn’t be. Skidding on its side, the robot fell to the ground and crashed into the wall which caused the building to shake further.

Flying quickly over to the downed robot, Tony pulled the metallic panel off of the back of the robot which tried to shock him in response. Thankfully the Mark V armor only absorbed the energy of the shock. Wrapping his fingers around the wire he found there he tugged hard until it finally gave. The robot whined and died, collapsing to the ground just as Scarlett had told him that it would.

Dust and debris were raining from what remained of the ceiling. If the fighting continued much longer he’d be buried which didn’t concern him as much as the idea of Scarlett and Happy being somewhere still in the building when it happened.

Not waiting to watch the robot completely turn off, Tony turned on his heels and flew immediately at the next robot which had been coming after him anyway. Jarvis automatically targeted the joints of the beast while Tony fired several small missiles from compartments on the arms of the Mark V armor. Each hit its intended target and knocked the robot back but not off of its feet. Aiming both arms up at the Mark, Tony didn’t give it the chance to fire its weapons. Instead he flew straight into the thing. Unable to see where he was going with the robot in his line of sight he crashed straight into the wall, hitting one of the few supports left.

Nearby on the balcony Scarlett had nearly managed to climb her way back onto what was left but the blow that Tony had sent crashing into the wall had been the final straw for the balcony. Pieces of the wall nearby began to fall on either side of her, the floor of the balcony splitting and starting to buckle. Happy finally appeared in the hallway but before he could try to help her, the floor started to groan beneath him as well.

Contemplating still asking him to come and help her, Scarlett kept her grip on the collapsing balcony and shook her head as she looked at him. Happy hesitated in the hallway but then was distracted by one of the lights falling nearby.

“Go!” Scarlett yelled at him sternly, now starting to look beneath her to try and find a way to jump down without breaking, at the very least, her foot. Deciding with her wounded leg she wouldn’t be jumping and managing any landing properly and it wasn’t worth the risk, Scarlett decided to hold onto the balcony instead. If she could time her fall off of it properly then she could stand a chance. Then again, if she managed to land and the balcony just collapsed on top of her it could be just as bad a situation for her. Still, it was the only foreseeable chance she could manage. Her odds were bad with each choice she came up with, but at least this way she had a fifty-fifty chance of keeping her limbs intact.

Happy cursed and then retreated down the hallway, not out of fear or cowardice but so he could try to find a way to get into the ballroom to perhaps soften Scarlett’s blow when she inevitably fell off of the collapsing balcony. There was nothing he could do to help her from where he was at the moment.

Tony was forced to ground the Mark V when the robot tried to force him backwards. Anchoring his feet in place on the remaining marble floor so he wouldn’t slide any further, Tony blasted the robot’s chest with his repulsors to knock it back. Removing the anchors from his boots he rose back into the air, flew around the robot which followed him to try and protect its backside.

Gunshots came from behind, barely audible over the sounds of the collapsing building around them. The other remaining robot showered the back of the Mark V with bullets but Tony decided it best not to turn around to deal with the onslaught until after he’d finished up. Ducking down, Tony flew between the robots legs and then crashed at full throttle into the back of it. Crashing against the robot, Tony held it by its mid-section tightly and smashed them both into the ground, sliding into the center of the ballroom. Face down now, the robot whirred and tried to force the Mark V off of it.

Not wasting any time, Tony kept his grip on the robot and lasers from the shoulders of the Mark aimed and cut away a portion of the back panel so that the wire attached to the receiver would be accessible. Grabbing onto it, Tony pulled until it gave and the robot stopped struggling beneath him.

“Sir, the building is coming down. You have approximately five minutes before you’re trapped beneath the rubble of the ballroom.” Jarvis echoed within the helmet and displayed a timer in the bottom left corner of the Mark V’s display. “And that is being optimistic.”

“Great, I guess I’ll just have to hurry it up then, won’t I?” Tony was out of breath but invigorated since he realized there was only one robot left to disarm. Gunfire showered the back of his armor again and this time he turned to address it, throwing up the fanned out shields on the forearms of the Mark V armor. “Any word on Happy or Scarlett?” Contemplating his plan of attack for the last robot, he waited for Jarvis to respond.

“No location on Mr. Hogan sir but it seems Miss Damien is in a rather sticky situation.” Turning his attention temporarily away from the robot at Jarvis’ mentioning he noticed Scarlett hanging on the edge of the balcony that was starting to collapse away from the wall, the way that the one on the opposite end had done.

“Scarlett, hang on!” Tony yelled, Jarvis projecting his voice without having been instructed to.

“Was that supposed to be a joke?” Scarlett hissed, not counting on anyone to come and save her.

“Just hang on okay?” Tony turned his attention back to the last robot.

“Like I could do anything else.” Scarlett chuckled, but gritted her teeth, bracing herself for another injury that would set back her plans even further. Tony couldn’t help but smile. Even in the face of death or serious injury she retained her sense of humor.

“Power to chest repulsor.” Tony instructed Jarvis, waiting for the arc reactor to charge the repulsor.

“Any day now!” Scarlett felt her grip starting to falter on the balcony. Her shoulders were aching and her fingers were starting to give under pressure. It was too much to hold onto something so fragile. Creaking, louder than that of the balcony came from above echoing throughout the ballroom. Scarlett turned her attention to the sound and widened her eyes. “I’d hurry if I were you!” The ceiling was finally giving out entirely. If anything else fell onto the balcony that was on its way down, she wouldn’t be able to keep hold of the edge any longer.

“Jarvis, I need you to keep an eye on Scarlett and let me know when I’ve run out of time.” Tony gritted his teeth then pulled his arms out of the way and stumbled backwards from the force that came with the spray of bullets. “Fire chest arc.” Tony braced himself as the energy came flying out of the center of the suit and knocked the robot clean across the room, near the balcony.

“Sir, I do believe you’ve run out of time.” Jarvis alerted him.

“I just need ten more seconds, Jarvis.” The Mark V rushed over to the robot on the ground and kicked it onto its back. It was sparking and ticking, malfunctioning horribly. Thankful for the malfunction, Tony ripped the back panel of the robot open and pulled at the wire but as he did the robot exploded.

The force of the explosion threw Tony back, the power within the Mark V flickering dangerously as it had earlier. Sitting up quickly, his ears ringing from the sound of the explosion even though it was muted by the suit he wore, Tony realized that only a portion of the robot had blown up, the other parts apparently having not functioned properly. Cursing under his breath, Tony flew into the air, dodging a bit of debris that came down from the ceiling. The room was collapsing.

“Jarvis I need you to target Scarlett, now!” Tony flew toward the balcony through the smoke of the explosion. Part of the ceiling crashed into the balcony which was the last straw for the slowly descending floor. Trying to see the ground below her through the smoke, Scarlett knew that she could manage to land and survive, but if the building came down on top of her then she’d die anyway.

Deciding the only way she could get to cover would be if she dropped before the balcony, Scarlett planned to let go. The part of the ceiling collapsed into the balcony and Scarlett lost her grip. Gritting her teeth and bracing herself to feel pain and still function, Scarlett was astonished when the Mark V came soaring through the smoke.

“Faster Jarvis!” Tony shouted, heading toward Scarlett as quickly as he could.

“I do believe that is in your control sir, not mine.” Jarvis responded though the processes on the screen alerted Tony that Jarvis had transferred all extra power to the thrusters in his suit. A few feet from the ground, Tony managed to catch Scarlett and then immediately turned around and started out of the ballroom.

Instinctively, Scarlett wrapped her arms around the shoulders of the Mark. Her heart was pounding in her chest though she knew they weren’t out of the woods yet. The ballroom was collapsing and if they didn’t get out, Scarlett would still be crushed.

Deciding to have faith in the Mark V, Scarlett simply watched and hoped that Tony would still be able to dodge and maneuver while carrying her. Swooping left then right beneath a collapsing beam, Tony kept one arm securely around Scarlett and held his right hand out, palm up.

“Hold on tight.” He instructed then used his repulsors to blow up the debris in his way to create an opening in the collapsing ceiling large enough for them to get through unscathed. Flying up into the night sky, finally out of harm’s way Tony turned so they could watch the remainder of the ballroom collapse piece by piece in on itself.

Breathing shakily from the adrenaline of the situation, Scarlett could only hope that somewhere inside the building, Happy had managed to get to safety. Realizing what a miracle it was that she’d gotten out of the chaos of the ballroom safely she turned to glance at the Mark V. Grabbing both sides of the helmet Scarlett planted an exasperated but excited kiss on the Mark then she smacked the side of the helmet and hard. Tony popped the front of the helmet open and shook his head to shake off the reverberating feeling her smack had given him.

“That’s for letting dangle for so damn long!” Scarlett laughed then wrapped her arms around his shoulders again and leaned her head heavily down against him. She had never expected him to save her and she never would have asked him to but now that he had she was more than grateful. Tony was torn between being angry at her for having created robots that nearly killed him and his closest friends and grateful that she was alive. Not to mention how good it had felt to have her kiss his helmet. It was almost as good as getting the actual kiss on his lips. Regardless of how damn good it felt, she certainly had some explaining to do.

“Sir, Mr. Hogan is trying to call the phone you destroyed in the ballroom.” Jarvis interrupted Tony’s complex thought patterns. “He is alright but trapped within the first floor hallway of the building. Perhaps you should assist him.”

“Good, very good… Thanks Jarvis.” Tony smirked and then started to descend around to the side of the building away from the crowd that had gathered in the garden. He’d make sure his driver was safe, get them home and then demand answers.