Greetings!

A very informational chapter. I'll just make a few comments on the stuff that made an impression on me.

"Nice day!"
"How the fuck do -you- know what kind of day it is?" Ben grumbled.
Tony eyed him warily, then grinned. "I'll get you some more coffee," he said.
Nothing worse than a morning person after an all-night bender.

The phone at the other end rang twice before it was answered with a crisp click and a filtered voice saying, "Operator."
"Mackie!" Nene said. "I need an exit."
That brought a smile to my face.

On the surface, it was a very crude piece of work, but when she looked more closely, her practiced eyes caught a multitude of little details that told her the truth. This armor, this... iron man... was a work of art to Sylia's eyes. It was unpolished, like a pencil sketch or the rough draft of a poem, but it had in it all the elements that would make the finished product a thing of great beauty.
...and I can't wait to read about how it'll look.

Nene Romanova, on the other hand, was slumped in a seat at the other table with her head on her folded arms in the classic "I'll just rest my eyes for a sec - zzzzzz" position.
Cute! :)

Tony shook his head and whispered ruefully, "God damn, I should've married her."
Damn good line.

"... All the seats in the gweepery taken?" he asked after a few seconds' consideration.
*snicker*

--Iron Man's assault on Wong Chu's compound and his death.--
Satisfying.

"... I'm not a kid," she said half-heartedly, but by the time she did she was alone in the room.
The running gag about Nene's age was great.

--Tony's final letter to Pepper.--
Heartbreaking.

Thank you for all your cards, emails, and file uploads of support. We here at StarkWire appreciate them all - except for that not-so-clever attempt to corrupt our user contribution database, SupaHax59838. The police will want a word with you in the morning, Mr. Cheong, to say nothing of your parents.

HAHAHAHA! You don't mess with a net.goddess!

The backstory on how the Iron Man came to be was very well done. I get the feeling on an old WWII "buddy movie" when I read it.

Now that we know the past, it's time to look to the future and see what this alliance between Stark Industires and the Knight Sabers will hold!

Until next time,
Zack Seaholm - Anime fan, weathernut, worshipper of the goddess Belldandy.

Today's global thermonuclear war tactic: Arabian Clandestine
Winner: None