Heart lodged in her throat, Pepper had actually startled, and though her gasp had been small, the cavern echoed it bigger. With a hand pressed against her chest, she turned and sagged against the cave wall, too relieved to be annoyed by Tony's utterly inappropriate sense of humor.

A moment later, she crept warily back into the dark and drew to a stop just behind Tony's left shoulder, wide-eyed as she stared up at the suit. Instinctively, she'd grabbed hold of his bicep, and her fingers trembled despite herself.

"What is it?" she asked, although what she really meant was a host of questions she knew Tony couldn't answer: why that of all things, why here, why now. "Is it real?"