Stark Industries had changed direction.
Or rather, it had been forced to.
Because there was no more war in the world.
Stark Industries had gone from manufacturing weapons to energy and medicine.
It had the most advanced medical facilities in the world, yet the woman running the company, Pepper Potts, was not happy.
Rhomann Dey's words echoed in her mind. Stroking her ring, she murmured, "Was that a dream?"
She looked at her photograph, with Tony beside her.
"I can't tell anymore, Tony."
In this world of eternal sleep, everyone had fallen into a beautiful dream.
Everyone except Pepper Potts. The world she remembered was not like this.
This place was wonderful, with everything she had ever dreamed of.
Everything except the man she loved, who loved her in return.
She had tried to move on. It had been a cruel process.
She had met Erik, gotten to know him, and gradually been drawn to his wit and humor.
Yet she always saw traces of Tony in Erik.
That was why she had acted so strangely when Rhomann Dey asked that question.
She did not know whether she loved Tony or Erik.
That conflicting feeling had brought her close to breaking down.
It was an awful feeling. Pepper Potts pressed the ring against her forehead.
Its cold touch kept her from losing herself in the dream.
"Tell me what you want me to do, Neville."
There had been three men in her life.
One was Tony Stark, who belonged to her past.
One was Erik Stevens, with whom her future remained uncertain.
And there was one more, the most special of all.
Neville Longbottom.
A Wizard.
Someone so powerful that he inspired despair.
Pepper Potts had taken Tony's place as the new Iron Man.
The power technology gave her had