Chapter 11: Coming Clean

A/N: Pepper isn't ready for this meeting. Tony probably isn't either though to be fair.

-x-X-x-

Life came at you fast. If there was one thing 2008 had taught Pepper Potts so far, it was that simple fact. At the start of the year, she’d lost her boss to terrorists and it hadn’t been certain whether she would get him back, whether Stark Industries would survive without him, or whether she would even have a job by the time it was all over.

Then, three months later, he’d been recovered and suddenly everything was moving at lightning speed. Pepper found herself entering a relationship with Tony Stark, falling even more madly in love with the man than she ever had been before, and ultimately conspiring with him to seduce a woman to their bed so they could have their way with her together.

Funny, two hours ago Pepper’s greatest priority had been trying to figure out how to seduce the OTHER woman in their life into Tony’s bed. Tony might not want to make a move on Helen Cho without seeing some very clear signals from the South Korean Scientist, but frankly Pepper already felt like they were there. He was just too busy to really notice them. She fully believed she could get Helen to join their strange bedroom dynamic, adding a third woman to Tony’s stable and potentially exhausting the now-superhuman billionaire that she was dating.

But then, two hours ago, Tony had come to her and asked her to come with him. He’d brought her to this room, which Pepper was now realizing was probably the most secure room that Tony had available… and he’d begun telling her things. There were videos. There were files. There were records of illicit activities. There were reams and reams of evidence. But even still, the things he told her were… hard for Pepper to swallow.

“So… so you killed Stane and Killian because… because you had visions of the future that let you know they would be dangerous? I still don’t fully understand, Tony. Why not just expose them to the proper authorities so that they could be arrested?”

Tony just sighs, looking as exhausted as Pepper feels. This reveal hasn’t been good for either of them and part of Pepper almost wishes he’d kept it all a secret from her. But at the same time… the far larger part already feels betrayed as it is. And like she doesn’t even know the man in front of her anymore.

“Not just because of what I know they would have done in the future Pep. I showed you the videos. Stane was the one who had the Ten Rings take me in the first place. You saw their ransom video from his servers.”

Pepper winces but nods. Yes, she’d seen the video. It made things abundantly clear. If Stane had his way, they would have assassinated Tony right at the military convoy rather than kidnapping him. But the terrorists had double-crossed him… trying to extort Stane for more money while also trying to force Tony to make them weapons. They’d tried to have their cake and eat it too, and it had blown up in their faces.

She was well aware that Tony hadn’t just killed Aldritch Killian and Obadiah Stane. That he’d also killed dozens if not hundreds of terrorists when he’d gone over to Afghanistan and destroyed every single trace of the Ten Rings in the region. Tony hadn’t held anything back. He’d shown her that too. And yet… she couldn’t bring herself to care about those killings. Maybe because that felt more like war? But Stane and Killian…

“As for Killian, I showed you his human trials. I showed you his future plans. He would have gone on to blow up many more people just to perfect Extremis. I put a stop to that. And we developed Extremis humanely, with Helen Cho’s help and my future knowledge.”

Again, Pepper is forced to concede that point. The work that Killian had been doing behind Maya’s back was revolting. It was as blood-curdling as it was stomach-churning. Pepper hoped that the biologist never had to find out, truth be told. What Killian had been doing in the name of progress was chilling. Still… killing him and making it look like a suicide? Pepper just looks at Tony, still waiting for an answer to her original question. Luckily, he’s already gathering himself to give it.

“As for why I didn’t report either man to the proper authorities to let them take care of it… it’s because I can’t trust anyone, Pepper. Nobody but you and JARVIS. If I’d told the federal government about Stane’s under the table dealing, what do you think would have happened?”

Pepper furrows her brow… but only for a moment. She’s not stupid and her eyes widen in understanding as she plays out the scenario in her head.

“They would have put the entirety of Stark Industries under audit. They would have crippled us, if not tried to semi-nationalize us outright.”

Tony points a finger at her.

“Got it in one, Pep. And maybe that’s what should have happened. Maybe in a just world, my father’s company doesn’t deserve to continue existing. If that was all I could have expected, I might have gone that route and washed my hands of the whole thing. Started a new company, free of the rot, taken you and the other important people with me… and just put it all out of my mind. But I couldn’t, because they would have wanted more. They would have wanted to know how I knew about Stane.”

At first Pepper thinks he’s talking about the fact that he’s apparently seen the future. But then Tony gestures overhead and says six words that chill Pepper to the bone.

“They would have come for JARVIS.”

… Of course. That was another thing in a long list of insane things that Pepper had learned in the past two hours. JARVIS wasn’t just an advanced user interface for Tony’s properties. He was a full fledged Artificial Intelligence, like something straight out of Science Fiction. And as Tony had told her near the start, the first thing the man had done after returning from Afghanistan was to make JARVIS a hundred times more powerful.

Now… Pepper wasn’t too afraid of JARVIS. The basic idea of a Super AI certainly unsettled her, but JARVIS himself was not someone Pepper really feared. And she’d realized after the reveal that even without knowing what JARVIS really was, she’d been thinking of the AI as his own independent being for a while now anyways. It was the easiest part of this all to stomach, truth be told.

Sensing he’d gotten his point across there, Tony grimaces.

“As for Killian, AIM, and Extremis… I’ll admit that one was a little bit more selfish. I could have anonymously tipped off the authorities to what Killian was doing in a way that would have never been traced back to me. However, it would have destroyed AIM. And it would have left Maya and her Extremis Research in the wind, to be picked up by unscrupulous actors just as bad as Killian. By… taking matters into my own hands, I stopped that from happening. And I brought Maya and Extremis to us instead.”

Indeed he had. And having gotten to know Maya, Pepper couldn’t exactly be unhappy that they’d protected the woman from the government agencies and corporate boogeymen who would have wanted a piece of her. Especially given some of the things Tony had told her so far about the future. Speaking of which…

“… You are right though. If not for my visions, I wouldn’t have gone the route I did. I killed Stane to protect this company so I could build it into the powerhouse we need it to be to be ready for the things to come. And I killed Killian to acquire AIM and Extremis for the exact same reasons… because I need to be ready. WE need to be ready.”

Right. Because apparently shit got a lot worse in the future. A LOT worse. Pepper was still struggling to wrap her head around the concept. Especially the part where Tony had apparently had visions of the future while in that cave in Afghanistan. He’d seen the next ten years of important events… and it was basically one world-shattering revelation and apocalypse-level event after another.

Alien Gods and Green Rage Monsters were set to show up in 2010. A full-fledged alien invasion of New York was coming in 2012. Dark Elves would try to turn the whole universe inside out to be more to their liking shortly after. And it just kept spiraling from there, all the way until they reached 2018 where it turned out the biggest bad of all, an alien named Thanos, would try to wipe out half of all life in the universe… and succeed.

Tony had seen JARVIS die. He’d seen Rhodey lose his legs. He’d seen a young man he’d been mentoring turn into dust… and apparently, he’d seen Pepper die as well.

It was a lot. And yet… and yet…

“If you are having a hard time believing Sir’s assertions Ms. Potts, I have studied the last several months after Sir told me about his visions. Everything he has mentioned so far has happened exactly as he predicted it would, save for the things we have averted with our actions.”

There was that. JARVIS was standing behind his creator, one hundred percent. The AI had helped Tony show Pepper everything he had so far, the evidence behind Stane and Killian’s crimes, his plans for the future. And JARVIS certainly seemed to believe in Tony’s visions wholeheartedly. Pepper wanted to believe as well. It all sounded too fantastical to really be made-up, truthfully.

At JARVIS’ words, Tony perks up.

“We could wait a little while, I suppose. Let a few more months pass. There are plenty of things that I can tell you will happen in the coming days and weeks. Some of them… well I am a billionaire, so it wouldn’t be hard for me to have arranged them ahead of time. But there are others… there are things I couldn’t possibly have faked. Then maybe you’ll believe me.”

Pepper shakes her head.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you Tony. I’m just… struggling to process all of this.”

Nodding, Tony reaches out and places his hand on hers.

“I get it, Pep. I’m sorry I’m having to throw this all at you. But… I need you at my side more than ever now. And I need you to be safe.”

Right. The crux of the matter. Pepper wasn’t an idiot. She understood WHY Tony was telling her everything now. Funny to think if she hadn’t been stonewalling him about dosing her with Extremis so she would be as strong and durable as him, then he probably wouldn’t have ever told her. If she’d just accepted the drug the moment he told her he wanted her to have it, he would have left her in the dark about… everything.

Part of her feels like she should be mad about that. But then she thinks about how hard it is for her to even believe this is all real. She trusts Tony, truly she does. But what if he was just hallucinating? Except… no. He’d come back from Afghanistan aware of too damn much for it to just be hallucinations.

She wonders for a moment what he’s thinking right now. Is he worried that she’ll still say no? Or worse, that she’ll tell the authorities what he’s done? Does he have plans for if she goes rogue? Plans to silence her too?

… No. Pepper looks into Tony’s eyes, really looks into them… and sees nothing but hope and love for her there. There’s also a healthy dose of desperation and concern, but when she stares at him, she sees not a single ounce of suspicion or fear. Tony Stark doesn’t believe she’ll betray him. Not even for a moment.

That, ultimately, is what settles it for Pepper. She might be way in over her head here, but from the look of things, Tony isn’t much better off. And sure he has JARVIS, who’s probably a way better right-hand man than Pepper could ever hope to be. But she’s still Tony’s PA. And his girlfriend. And if he needs her… she won’t turn away from him. Not ever.

“… Okay, I’m in. What are our next steps?”

Tony lights up, brightening immediately.

“R-Really? Ahem, I mean… good. Great, even. Thank you for believing in me Ms. Potts.”

Smiling a little at their old call and response, Pepper pulls her hand out from under Tony’s, only to turn his hand over and lace their fingers together. Giving his hand a good squeeze, she huffs and completes the other half.

“Always, Mr. Stark.”

Still beaming, Tony looks to the side.

“Well… first thing is to dose you with the Extremis Super Soldier Serum.”

Pepper’s eyes widen at that.

“Tony… Super Soldier Serum?!”

Looking back to her, the genius billionaire blinks.

“Huh? Yeah? I thought I told you about that part.”

JARVIS is the one who answers that.

“You did not, Sir. You left that bit out of your presentation… I believed it to be purposeful.”

Groaning, Tony covers his face with his free hand. Then, still holding hands, he proceeds to tell Pepper about why his parents died back in 1991, and the five frozen evil Super Soldiers he’d found in Sibera, killed, and then brought back so that he could synthesize a serum from their blood and use that as the stabilizing agent for Maya’s Extremis.

By the time he’s done explaining, Pepper isn’t sure whether she wants to kiss him or kill him. Or maybe just hug him and hold him close so he can never risk his life like that ever again.

“Oh right, you should probably also know about SHIELD and HYDRA. And the fact that HYDRA had an AI of their own before JARVIS ate him and started pretending to be him.”

Pepper’s eyes widen in disbelief, only for JARVIS to huff (actually HUFF) from up above.

“Sir exaggerates. I did not EAT this other AI. I merely boxed him in and took over all of his processes so that I could replicate his duties and mimic his behavior, allowing us unparalleled access into both SHIELD and HYDRA’s shared systems.”

At Pepper’s look of bewilderment, Tony gives her a sheepish grin.

“HYDRA is the evil organization that Captain America sacrificed himself to defeat back during World War II. SHIELD is the ‘good’ organization that accidentally let HYDRA hollow it out and wear its skin over the past thirty to forty years.”

Pepper’s mouth opens and closes wordlessly for a moment, until Tony pulls his hand from hers so he can clap.

“Right! Extremis first! Briefing on our enemies after! You’re gonna love this, Pep. Swear you will.”

… Yeah, Extremis first. Honestly, Pepper was starting to wonder what she was even thinking before. Even without knowing all that she knew now… how the fuck did she ever think she was going to keep up with Tony Stark as a superhuman without some super powers of her own? Though… as they both stand, Pepper does reach out and grab Tony by the arm.

“I want Extremis, Tony. If it’ll make me safer, if it really is that dangerous for me… I don’t want you to have to worry about me, trust that. But also… I want you to consider giving the treatment to Maya as well. From everything you’ve told me, she deserves it, even if she doesn’t get read in on all the future stuff.”

Tony pauses and tilts his head to the side for a moment before smiling at her.

“Yeah. You’re right Pep. Maya is a good egg, whether it’s now or in the future that’ll never happen where Killian would have killed her for trying to save us from him.”

Pepper flinches at that, even as Tony continues.

“But you first. Then we ask Maya if she wants to be dosed. And then… then, we start making some real moves.”

As she follows Tony out of the room, Pepper can’t help but shiver a little bit at that. If everything Tony had done so far didn’t count as ‘real moves’… she shuddered to think what WOULD.

-x-X-x-

A/N: And there we have it. Tony doesn't tell Pepper the whole truth. He might not tell anyone except for JARVIS the whole truth to be honest. But it all works out anyways and he gets her on board.

We're nearing the end of the first arc I'd say. Couple more chapters and then we'll be entering Arc Two in earnest.