Energy

After holding his gaze for another second, she tore out of Tony’s grip and rushed over to Rhodes. The suits had attracted unwanted attention, so Christie used her energy shield to protect them from bullets as they hurried over to the president. They took breaks behind shelters so James could shoot at the henchmen while Christie flung energy at them or structures nearby. Occasionally she would catch a glimpse of Tony creating havoc across the platform, but he soon disappeared inside. Christie directed her attention back to the fight and took out more enemies that surrounded the strung up president.

“Can you fly up and free him?” Rhodes questioned while reloading his weapon.

“Once we take out those ones up there, I’ll move in,” Christie answered with a point at the troublesome guards high on a ledge. Their automatic weapons were proving a nuisance, but once Christie’s energy ball hit a nearby barrel of gas they were permanently knocked down. Seeing that the coast was clear, Christie flew up with a burst of energy. She swerved past the cables holding the Iron Patriot suit in the air and hovered in front of the man trapped inside.

“Please tell me you’re a good guy,” the president breathed, making Christie smile.

“I am,” she replied. When Christie saw the relief come across the man’s face, she felt satisfied. Saving lives as a hero wasn’t too bad after all… She sliced through a cable with a quick burst of energy and one of the arms came free. The president grabbed a hold of her shoulder and Christie freed his legs. “Just hold on tight, sir!” With that, she cut through the last cable and felt the full weight of the Iron Patriot suit come onto her. Christie automatically started falling to the ground, not quite strong enough to lift so much metal. She stared down at the rapidly approaching ground, ignoring James’ panicking calls. A second before they hit the ground, Christie fired a shield force of energy at the platform, creating what felt like a soft mattress for her to land on.

“Thank you, thank you so much!” the president stammered as his knees weakened from shock. Christie struggled to keep him up, but Rhodes soon joined her side and took the pressure off her.

“I’m going after Tony,” she told him.

“Are you sure?”

“He needs me,” Christie nodded. As an ear-shattering explosion rang through the air, her stomach dropped. She looked up to see part of the platform crashing down. That was never good.



Christie weaved in between Iron Man suits, each of them busy with firing at the enemy. Eventually she spotted Tony on a ledge up above her, so she swooped upwards and landed next to him. He was staring down at a pile of wreckage below where oil had caught fire. Tony’s face was so distraught, and the man opposite him was grinning wickedly. Christie recognised him from SHIELD files as Killian.

“What happened?” Christie asked. Her voice wavered with worry, but had a touch of sympathy.

“He killed Pepper…” Tony trailed off. He was only able to watch the rising flames, knowing that there was no way Pepper could have survived such a fall, let alone the fire. His fists clenched as he turned to face Killian. The moment Jarvis redirected a suit to Tony’s location, he would make Killian pay.

“I’m sorry,” Christie whispered, doubting that he could hear her. Seeing Tony mourning angered Christie, and sparks started to fly from her hands. This man in front of them was responsible for the terrorism acts, blowing up Tony’s house, kidnapping the president… everything. Christie prepared to attack.

“Don’t.” Tony spoke forcefully, holding out an arm in front of her, careful not to actually touch her. Christie hesitated as Killian smirked.

“Why not?” she questioned, her energy dying down.

“I want to take care of him myself,” Tony answered sternly. Killian howled with laughter.

“You and what power?” he taunted. A remote-controlled Iron Man suit suddenly came from above and landed in front of the man. It easily partially disassembled and captured Killian inside.

“Jarvis, self destruct the Mark 22 in five seconds,” Tony ordered. Christie opened her mouth to question Tony’s motives, but he had jumped off the side of the platform. With nothing below but metal debris and flames, Christie couldn’t work out his logic. She too sprung from the edge and pushed energy to her feet, desperate to catch up to the plummeting Tony. Christie caught him halfway to the ground and took him to the side, just as another explosion rang out from above them. The suit had been destroyed. Christie set Tony down on the ground in what appeared to be a safe area.

“What the hell was that? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Christie shouted.

“I knew you’d catch me,” Tony shrugged as he turned to look at the pit of fire he almost fell into.

“What if I didn’t?”

“But you did,” he smiled. Christie felt a cautious question about Pepper boiling to the surface, but as she opened her mouth to speak her earpiece crackled.

“Christie, we need you to help escort the president to safety,” Fury ordered. Christie grimaced, remembering her main priority again.

“I’ll be there shortly,” she replied before turning to Tony. She placed a hand on his arm. “I have to go. Are you all right for now?”

“Yeah… I need some time…” Tony mumbled, not taking his eyes off the golden flames. Christie bit her lip gently. She didn’t really want to leave him alone, but what else could she do? Killian was dead, the henchmen had been taken care of by the extra Iron Man suits, and the president needed her help. Christie backed away slowly, and after a final mental reassurance that Tony would be fine, she took flight.



Christie returned to the spot where she had left Tony ten minutes later. The president was safely aboard a jet with Clint for protection, and Rhodes was being debriefed. She was anxious to see Tony again, to hear all about what had happened over the past few days, but that all turned to shock when she spotted Pepper, alive and unscathed, crying in Tony’s arms.

“Well… This’ll take a bit of explaining…” Tony sheepishly stated. Christie didn’t know what to think.

Natasha collected Pepper, and as other SHIELD agents swept the area for evidence and survivors, Tony had a moment to talk to Christie. He explained how Killian wasn’t really dead, due to his Extremis powers, the same ones that he had injected into Pepper. That meant that when Pepper had fallen, she had been able to survive, and it was her powers that had been the only thing that could kill Killian. Afterwards, Pepper had been terrified of her new capabilities, and Christie had returned when Tony had been comforting Pepper and promising that he would find the best researchers to create a cure for her. Christie simply nodded at the end, knowing that nothing peculiar was going on. Everything was finally over.

Remembering how mere hours ago she had believed Tony to be dead, Christie embraced him in a loose hug, careful to not put pressure on any bruises. Being so close to him again, Christie could feel how important Tony was to her. The very fact that he was still breathing meant the world. Tony was relieved that the mess of the Mandarin had been sorted out, and that Christie was still safe. After breaking his promise to keep her safe after the Loki incident, Tony had thought he’d never forgive himself. In attempt to prove his devotion to Christie, he ordered Jarvis to destroy all of his suits. Well, apart from a few…