Tony drove off and stopped by a Strawberry vendor before going to Stark HQ.
Ace was sitting in the passenger seat and ate a strawberry as Tony picked him up and the Strawberries up, walking into the building. He passed by the secretary and walked into Pepper's office.
Ace jumped to the ground and walked around before going up onto Pepper's desk. He sat on the desk and turned to a strange art piece that was perpetually turning. He tilted his head as Tony sat down saying "Got a minute?" only for Pepper to reply instantly, saying "No."
Tony continued as Ace tapped the turning thing with his paws, "Come on, you just got off the phone. You're fine, 30 seconds." Pepper looked at her watch and said "29, 28…" Tony started "I was, um, just driving over here, I thought i was coming to basically apologize, but I'm not."
Pepper raised her brows and said "You're not coming to apologize?" Tony explained "Well, that goes without saying. But I, just, well…" Ace slapped the turning thing after it continued turning in the opposite direction before just knocking it off the table entirely.
Tony caught the thing and put it on the desk saying "Look. I haven't been entirely upfront with you, and I just wanna try to make good. Do you know how short life is, and if I never got to express… and by the way this is somewhat revelatory to me. And I don't care. I mean, I care. It would be nice. I'm not expecting you to…. Look here's what I'm trying to say-"
Pepper cut him off saying "Let me just stop you right there, cus if you say 'I' one more time, I'm going to hurl something at your head." Ace ate another strawberry as Pepper continued "I am trying to run a company, do you know what that entails? I am trying to do the job that you were meant to do."
Tony rubbed his face and Pepper asked "Did you bring me strawberries? Did you know that there's only one thing on Earth that I'm allergic to?" Tony snapped his fingers and said "Allergic to Strawberries. Mhm."
He leaned back, continuing quickly "This is progress, Pepper. I knew there was a correlation between you and this." Pepper said "I need you…" Tony cut in, "I need you too! That's what I'm trying to-" Pepper cut him off, finishing "To leave."
Tony paused and fell silent as Ace turned his head to him, chewing on a Strawberry. Tony pulled it from his mouth as 'Natalie' walked in, saying "Wheels up in 25 minutes."
Ace turned to Natalie and hissed at her as Pepper looked at Tony, saying "What did you do now?" as she picked up Ace and continued "I really hope you get your act together because I can't keep cleaning up after your mess!" she turned to Natalie and said "Maybe you can figure out the personal belongings with him." as she left.
Ace looked back at Tony as Pepper brought him out of the office along with her.
The next day
Ace was being held by Pepper as she walked into the Expo, sitting in the crowd with Natalie for Justin Hammer's presentation. Ace was sitting on Pepper's lap, watching Hammer dance on the stage as he walked to the center with music.
Pepper looked at Natalie and rolled her eyes as Natalie smiled in amusement. They turned back as Hammer started his presentation, "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about. Thanks for comin'! Ladies and gentlemen, for far too long, this country has had to place its brave men and women in harm's way, but then the Iron Man arrived, and we thought the days of losing lives were behind us."
He paused and surveyed the crowd before continuing "Sadly, that technology was kept out of reach. That's not fair. That's not right. And it's just too bad." Pepper rolled her eyes and shook her head, muttering "Oh lord." Ace looked at Hammer funnily, this guy was something else, kind of reminded him of Gilderoy!
Hammer kept on with his speech, "Regardless, it was an impressive innovation, one that grabbed headlines the world over. Well, today, my friends, the press is faced with quite a different problem. They are about to run out of ink." There was sparse clapping in the crowd.
Ace coughed and looked at the ground shaking his tail, barely containing a laugh.
Hammer cleared his throat and two people came to take away the podium as he pressed on bravely, "Ladies and gentlemen, today I present to you the new face of the United States military! The Hammer drone!" as he waved behind him, a video came up on the screen as Hammer said "Army!"
The stage opened up and rows of drones came out with rifles on their backs.
He waved again, "Navy!"
Another few rows of humanoid drones came up, painted a different color with rocket boxes on their shoulders.
And again, "Air Force!"
A new few rows with unassuming drones, most likely equipped with flight systems.
And finally, with a hip thrust, "Marines!"
Two final rows of Humanoid drones, covered in camouflage paint.
Hammer stood in the center shouting "Yeah! Yeah! Wooo! That's a hell of a lot better than some cheerleaders, let me tell you!" as he walked to the front, continuing "But as revolutionary as this technology is, there will always be a need for man to be present in the theater of war. Ladies and gentlemen, today I am proud to present to you the very first prototype in the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit, and its pilot, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes!"
The stage opened up again and Rhodey slowly came up in the Iron Man suit that had been modified by Hammer and the military.
Pepper was shocked as Rhodey came out, saying "What?!"
Rhodey saluted and the drones behind him mimicked his movements, saluting as well.
Hammer saluted before continuing, "For America and its allies, Hammer Industries is reporting for-" before he could finish a loud rumbling was heard and everyone turned back to see Tony fly in and land on stage next to Rhodey.
The crowd erupted into cheers, far louder than during Hammer's presentation.
He turned to Rhodey and waved at the crowd as Hammer walked in front of the duo, clapping, "Hey! All right! Yeah!"
Before he could continue to posture, Tony walked to him asking "Where is he?" Hammer looked at Tony confused, asking "What?" Tony spoke, "Where's Vanko?"
Ace looked at the stage in confusion as he couldn't actually hear what Tony was saying, only Hammer's responses of "Who?" and "I don't know what you're talking about."
Suddenly, Rhodey's minigun locked onto Tony. The rest of the Drones locked in on Tony as well!
Hammer jumped off the stage as people started screaming in fear and Tony flew up into the sky.
The drones and Rhodey shot at him before Rhodey and the Air Force Drones flew off after him through the shattered glass ceiling.
Pepper and Natalie were in the crowd while Ace was stunned by the events. He looked up at the glass and turned to all the people before jumping on Natalie's head. He leapt into the sky and transformed to his human form, covered by his cloak.
He reached out with his right arm, covered in bandages before grasping the air.
The people stopped and looked up in a daze as all the glass turned into sand, sprinkling down harmlessly from above.
Ace landed on the ground, crouched with his cloak draped over his entire body. The crowd forming a circle of space around him. He slowly stood up, as Pepper shouted in shock "Mr. Snuffles?!" Natalie frowned and narrowed her eyes, reaching into her purse.