You Do It
“Blood toxicity, 24%. It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition. Another core has been depleted.” Jarvis informed Tony.
Tony had gotten home the day before from his trip to Washington and was swapping cores on his Arc Reactor. “God, they’re running out quick.”
“I have run simulations on every known element, and none can serve as a viable replacement for the palladium core.” Jarvis informed him as he placed the reactor back into his chest. “You are running out of both time and options. Unfortunately, the device that’s keeping you alive is also killing you.”
Tony just stared at the lines on his chest caused by the poison before Jarvis spoke again. “Miss Potts is approaching. I recommend that you inform her…”
“Mute.” Tony ordered as he pulled his shirt down to hide the damage done by the poison just as Pepper entered the code to come into the lab.
As she entered the lab, Tony could clearly tell that she was annoyed. “Is this a joke? What are you thinking?”
“What?” Tony asked as he tried to think of what he had done now.
Pepper kept coming towards him. “What are you thinking?”
As she kept coming towards him, Tony started backing up. While Happy was scared of Maria, Tony was terrified of Pepper when she was angry with him. “Hey, I’m thinking I’m busy. And you’re angry about something. Do you have the sniffles? I don’t want to get sick.”
That only made Pepper angrier. “Did you just donate our entire modern art collection to the…”
“Boy Scouts of America.” Tony finished for her as he walked through all the holograms he had displayed around the lab..
“Boy Scouts of America?” Pepper said at the same time
“Yes. It is a worthwhile organization. I didn’t physically check the crates but, basically, yes. And it’s not “our” collection, it’s my collection. No offense.” Tony told her.
Tony didn’t think it was possible but Pepper got even angrier. “No, you know what? I think I’m actually entitled to say ‘our’ collection considering the time that I put in, over 10 years, curating that.”
Tony and Pepper went around and around in their typical fashion until Tony finally got to what he wanted to tell her.
“You do it.” Tony said as he jumped off of a cabinet he had ended up on during the argument.
“Do what?” Pepper asked, suddenly confused.
“Excellent idea. I just figured this out. You run the company.” Tony told her.
Pepper was still confused. “Yeah, I’m trying to run the company.”
“Pepper, I need you to run the company. Well, stop trying to do it and do it.” Tony told her, desperate for her to understand where he was going with this.
“You will not give me the information in order to…” Pepper tried to say before she was interrupted by her boss.
“I’m asking you to physically do it. I need you to do it.”
Pepper was still confused. “I am trying to do it.”
Tony was getting tired of trying to explain this. “Pepper, you’re not listening to me!”
“No, you are not listening to me!” Pepper yelled back.
“I’m trying to make you CEO. Why won’t you let me?” Tony yelled, tired of beating around the bush.
Pepper was shocked. “Have you been drinking?”
“Only chlorophyll.” Tony told her. “I hereby irrevocably appoint you chairman and CEO of Stark Industries effective immediately until such a time that Peter is ready to take over. Yeah, done deal. Okay? I’ve actually given this a fair amount of thought, believe it or not.” Dummy rolled up to the pair with a tray of champagne. “I’ve been doing a bit of headhunting, so to speak, trying to figure out who would be both a worthy successor and mentor to Peter. And then I realized it’s you. It’s always been you. Outside of myself and Maria, I don’t know if there’s anyone that has loved and looked out for him more than you. You’re the closest thing he has to a mother.” Tony poured them each a glass of champagne as Pepper sat down. She was shocked, confused, and incredibly touched that he would say such things to her. “I thought there’d be a legal issue, but actually I’m capable of appointing my successor. My successor being you. Congratulations?” Tony finished as he held a glass out to her.
“I don’t know what to think.” Pepper whispered, tears starting to escape her eyes.
Tony continued to hold the glass out for her. “Don’t think, drink. There you go.” They clinked glasses. “I meant every word of what I said Pep, Peter is lucky to have you.”
“I know Tony.” Pepper smiled as tears continued to fall.
A few days later Tony and Happy are boxing in the home gym waiting for Maria, Sharon, and Peter to get back from Florida when Pepper walked into the gym.
“The notary’s here! Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?” She called.
“I’m on Happy time.” Tony called the two sparred in the ring before he hit Happy in the face with his elbow. “Sorry.”
Happy was sent backwards stunned. “What the hell was that?”
“It’s called mixed martial arts. It’s been around for three weeks.” Tony said sarcastically as he jumped around Happy in the ring.
“It’s called dirty boxing, there’s nothing new about it.” Happy told his boss angrily.
“All right, put them up. Come on.” Tony yelled at Happy before he noticed that Happy was staring at something over his shoulder. Turning around, he saw a beautiful woman walk into the gym and move so that she was standing by Pepper’s side.
Pepper’s voice snapped him out of the trance he was seemingly in. “I promise this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company.”
He was soon brought out of staring at the pair by Happy tapping him on the back of the head. “Lesson one. Never take your eyes off…” Happy never had a chance to finish speaking due to the fact that Tony kicked him into a corner of the ring before landing a couple body blows.
“That’s it. I’m done.” Tony announced before he turned to the mysterious notary. “What’s your name, lady?”
“Rushman. Natalie Rushman.” She supplied.
Tony pointed to a spot in the ring. “Front and center. Come into the church.”
Pepper looked exhausted. “No. You’re seriously not gonna ask…”
Tony quickly cut her off. “If it pleases the court, which it does.”
Natalie turned to Pepper. “It’s no problem.”
“I’m sorry. He’s very eccentric.” Pepper apologized as Natalie entered the ring.
As she made her way towards the ring, Tony swore something about her was familiar but couldn’t figure out what. Tony held the ropes apart so Natalie could get in.
Once she was in, Tony turned to Happy. “Can you give her a lesson?”
Happy smirked. “No problem.”
Tony stepped out of the ring and went to sit down next to Pepper. “Who is she?”
Without looking up from her phone, Pepper informed her boss, “She is from legal. And she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that.”
“No she’s not.” Tony murmured, watching her with Happy.
Pepper looked at Tony in confusion. “What?”
Tony was watching her closely, something was bugging him about her. “She’s not from legal.”
Pepper looked at her boss in bewilderment. “She is absolutely from legal.”
“No she’s not.” The more he stared, the more he noticed her good looks but also got a familiarity vibe from her. Finally he called over to her. “How do I spell your name, Natalie?”
“R-U-S-H-M-A-N.” She called over her shoulder.
Pepper looked at Tony disapprovingly. “What, are you gonna google her now?”
“I thought I was ogling her.” He said sarcastically as looked Natalie up on the table that doubled as a computer. It was Peter’s idea and Tony had helped him make it around Easter. “Wow. Very, very impressive individual.”
Pepper shook her head. “You’re so predictable, you know that?”
Tony ignored her and pressed on. “She’s fluent in French, Italian, Russian, and Latin. Who speaks Latin?”
“No one speaks Latin.” Pepper informed him
“No one speaks Latin?”
Pepper shook her head. “It’s a dead language. You can read Latin or you can write Latin, but you can’t speak Latin.”
Tony brought up pictures of her in lingerie. “Did you model in Tokyo? ‘Cause she modeled in Tokyo.”
Pepper looked over at the images on the table. “Well…”
“She’s not from legal. I don’t know where she’s from but it's definitely not legal.”
Tony looked up just in time to see Happy attempt to take a swing at Natalie before she grabbed his hand and flipped him over, legs over onto his back.
“Oh, my God! Happy.” Pepper was shocked as she rushed to the ring.
“Told you.” Tony said at the same time, mirroring her actions.
“I just slipped.” Happy tried to defend himself but was clearly in pain.
“You did?” Tony asked as he went over to ring the bell. “Looks like a TKO to me.”
As Tony was teasing Happy, Natalie climbed out of the ring and picked up her binder. “I need your impression.”
Tony thought that was a strange question but answered anyway. “You have a quiet reserve. I don’t know, you have an old soul.”
Before Natalie could respond, a new but familiar voice entered the room.
“She meant your fingerprint, jackass.”
Everyone turned to the doorway and saw Maria and Sharon, who was still wearing her Mickey Mouse ears, coming into the gym, guns drawn and pointed directly at Natalie.
“Isn’t that right, Agent Romanoff?” Maria asked.
Tony looked directly at Pepper, who was staring in shock at the two Shield agents, and felt the need to gloat. “I told you that she wasn’t from legal.”