"Carrie! Could you help me with this?"

Carrie Perez looked up from the benefit programs she was sorting and stacking. "Sure, Anne. Hold on just a sec."

Putting the programs down, Carrie crossed the floor of the gymnasium, careful to avoid the line of volunteers carrying food and drinks from the kitchen to the sumptuously adorned tables on the other side of the room. Anne Carter was perched atop a ladder, pinning up the last of the giant banners. Carrie couldn't read it from her angle, but she knew well enough what it said: The Maria Stark Foundation Welcomes You to the Opening of the Seattle Youth Recreation & Services Center.

"Hold the ladder for me, will ya?" Anne called once Carrie had reached the foot of the ladder. "That's a 2-story drop, and I can't get any of the food geeks to answer my cries for help!"

Carrie grinned and, placing a hand on either side of the ladder, stepped up onto the bottom rung, anchoring it with her weight. "Good enough?"

"Thanks," Anne answered, stretching to hammer the last nail into the wooden beam. You really needed 3 hands when doing something like this - one to hold the banner, one to hold the nail, and one to swing the hammer - and you especially needed to not be balancing on the edge of a 25-foot drop. But there was no way she was climbing all the way down and moving this ladder a measly 2 feet so she could reach better. She liked volunteering for the Maria Stark Foundation - and it kept her school guidance counselor off her back about community service - but once she drove this last nail in, she was done for the day. A girl had to have a social life after all, and she had-

A silver glint of metal appeared in the darkness above the rafters, winking to life right next to her hand. She cried out in surprise and sudden fear at the uncertain shape, and lurched backward. For one terrible moment she teetered on the edge of the ladder, arms pinwheeling, Carrie screaming in alarm from the floor... then one of her flailing hands caught the top step and she managed to steady herself. She heard the thunk of her dropped hammer hitting the brand new gym floor a heartbeat later.

"Anne! Are you alright?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine," she lied, holding onto the ladder with both hands now, her heart thrumming in her throat. She stole a furtive glance back toward the darkness above the beams.

Whatever she had seen there was gone now. If it had ever really been there at all.

"That was bad, Shirley," the golden man said, softly reprimanding the small pod-like device - barely the size of a closed fist - that hovered through the darkness. The pod dropped into the man's gauntleted palm, seeming to hunker down in shame there.

"We must be patient," the man explained, watching from a rafter near the back of the gym as the girl Shirley had startled shakily descended from her ladder. "You could learn that from your sisters. Look how quietly they wait for the proper moment. Tony Stark will be here soon, my pet. And then we'll have plenty to do."

Following is an excerpt from this morning's episode of Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge, with Millie the Model:

Millie: "Good morning, Seattle! Do we have a treat for you today! Young author Jay Corafa will be with us later to discuss his latest novel, Ageless Fury, tearing up a Borders bookstore near you. Just before him, we've got George Clooney..." (waits for shriek of applause to die down) "Yes yes, I know. He's a very Bat Man, isn't he, ladies? But don't get too worked up yet, or you might wear yourselves out. In fact, I want you to know, before I introduce our very first guest, we have taken the liberty of turning up the air conditioning - cause I know you're ALL going to be feeling just a tad overheated in a few moments! Can you please join me in giving a big Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge welcome to Mr. Tony Stark!"

(Tony Stark enters from backstage, crosses to Millie, giving her a kiss on the cheek before taking a seat across from her)

Stark (after raising his hand to acknowledge applause from audience): "Thank you... thank you, Seattle. And thank you, Millie. It's great to be here today."

Millie: "Mr. Stark, I hear we had to reshuffle at the last moment, since you won't be able to hang around for the rest of the taping. Care to share with our viewing audience what you'll be doing instead?"

Stark: "Well, first of all, I usually insist on my friends calling me Tony, Millie. So get it right next time, will you?" (laughter and applause from audience) "Actually, I'm glad you asked about my other business, because it's something I wanted to get the word out about. The Maria Stark Foundation - the charitable organization named after my late mother - has recently finished construction on a brand new youth center, located in downtown Seattle. I'll be attending the party at its grand opening this afternoon. In fact, I'm heading straight there once I get done with this interview."

Millie: "Well, I'm sure the single girls in the audience - and probably some of the married ones too - are happy you could give us what time you could. And speaking of your power over the opposite sex, any chance you'll be accompanied by Jennifer Lopez at this shindig? You've been spotted several times with her in the last weeks, and the rumor mills are going wild over it. How does Puff Daddy feel about this?"

Stark (waves dismissively): "Jennifer is a very good friend, Millie, and that's it. I'm flattered that the press thinks she might be interested in me, but she seems more than happy with her current romance."

Millie: "'Flattered'? False modesty hardly becomes you, Tony. You've been one of People Magazine's top 5 Most Eligible Bachelors every year since you were 18 years old... well, except for that year you were dead."*

(* Millie is referring to Tony's "death" shortly before Heroes Reborn - Russ, Teen Tony Hater at Large)

Stark (ironically): "Yes, there was that."

Millie: "Now, about this unveiling party tonight... will your bodyguard, Iron Man, be there?"

Stark: "Iron Man is almost always close by."

Millie: "Except when he's away adventuring with the Avengers."

Stark: "Of course."

Millie: "Is there any truth to the rumor of some angry tension between your armored bodyguard and that other super-hunk Avenger, the Sub-Mariner? My spy network tells me there were some blows traded between the two last week shortly after that salvage ship was supposedly attacked by a 'sea monster'."*

(* The fight happened in issue #6 and the 2000 Annual -Fishbait Russ)

Stark: "Well, that was one of those famous superhero misunderstandings, Millie. I'm not at luxury to say exactly what happened, but rest assured that they teamed up at the end to defeat the bad guy."

Millie: "And what about the recent melee in Korea? I understand he helped you put the kibosh on Hydra's attempt to bomb Japan."*

(* Check out the "Morning Calm" storyline in issues #1-4 - Russ, Hiroshima Hero)

Stark (blinking in surprise): "You missed your calling, Millie... you should be working for NSA. Actually, I didn't do much in Korea. It was Iron Man who found a way to divert the Gamma Bombs. I was just lucky enough to catch wind of the attack in time to send him to investigate."

Millie: "You said he's almost always close by, Tony. Is the armored Avenger here now?"

Stark: "Of course."

(Millie looks meaningfully at studio audience, which 'oohs' and 'ahs' in anticipation)

Millie: "Any chance of him stepping out for everyone to see?"

Stark (smiling indulgently): "I don't think he'd care to give away his position, Millie. He did tell me he's a big fan of yours though, from your modeling days. He was hoping I could get your autograph, in fact."

Millie (flushing): "Iron Man... wants MY autograph?"

(Stark nods)

Millie (laughing): "I think something can be worked out."

"I knew you'd be in here."

Pepper Potts looked up from her monitor, the microphone of her headset bobbing up and down at the sudden movement. "Happy," she said in greeting.

Harold "Happy" Hogan, former chauffer to Tony Stark and current head of the Community Outreach program for the Maria Stark Foundation, looked stiff and uncomfortable in his tailored suit. Happy's muscular build and pug nose were testament to his years as a semi-pro boxer. The career had defined his sensibilities and comfort zones, and not even the time he'd spent as Tony's sharp-dressed driver had made him comfortable in such formalwear.

"Shouldn't you be at the opening for the youth center?"

"Not for another hour or so, Pep. If you come right now, we can make it, easy."

"Me? I never said I was going."

With a sigh, the big man walked across the carpet to stand in front of Pepper's desk. As Tony Stark's executive assistant, Pepper was the spoke around which Stark Solutions turned. She was good at her job - good at taking care of the company. Happy remembered a time when she had been good at taking care of him, back when the two of them had been married... but it was best not to dwell on such things just now.

"Well, I'm invitin' ya. A pretty girl sittin' all alone when there's a fancy social function she could be at, turnin' guys' heads? There ain't no justice in that."

Pepper smirked, her freckled nose crinkling in amusement and annoyance. "Thanks, Happy, but I've got a minor crisis going on here. Tony's contact database has been partially erased, and Jacosta and I can't figure out why. I was trying to get some last minute RSVP's for the party tonight, but a whole bunch of people are just... gone from the book... And besides, I'm not exactly dressed for a formal party."

Happy put his hands on the desktop and leaned over it at her. "It's Friday afternoon, Pep. We both know you'll be in here tomorrow, doin' what you do best, and Sunday too... but even you need to get away from work once in a while. 'Tony Stark's Secretary' is your job title, not your name."

"Happy," she said, turning from her work and locking eyes with him, "I can't. Okay?"

Happy sighed and straightened, putting his hands in his pockets. "Don't say I never offered to take you nowhere."

"Happy," she said, trying to soothe his obviously hurt feelings, "c'mon. Try to understand. I've got a lot of work here."

"Sure, I understand." His attitude and demeanor made it pretty clear to her that he didn't, though. "See ya on Monday, right?"

"Where else would I be?"

Happy nodded. "Right. Where else would ya be?"

Then he was gone. Sighing, Pepper returned to her work.

After a hasty 'thank-you-goodbye' to Millie, Tony Stark slipped backstage during a commercial break. He was already running a few minutes late. With any luck, Happy was already at the youth center, running interference for him.

His Plymouth Prowler was in the studio parking lot, with the top down. He tossed his jacket in the back seat and touched the door handle. A fingerprint reader under the metal lever clicked in approval and the driver's side door opened.

"Hey handsome, where you off to in such a hurry?"

Tony looked up at the sound of the voice, his face breaking into a wide and honest smile. "Jan!"

Janet Van Dyne, aka the Wasp, moved in and embraced him. As always, Jan looked sharp and fashionable in a beige sweater and tight-fitting black pants.

"What brings you out to the left coast, Miss Van Dyne?" Tony asked, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

"I was in town trying to hammer out some details on a fashion show I'm holding here next month. Millie's an old friend, so I thought I'd drop by and check out the set of her new show. Imagine my surprise when I found she was hosting my favorite philanthropist."

Tony shrugged. "Well, it's not Oprah... but at least it's not Jerry Springer. Do you have any plans for tonight?"

"Nope, but I'm on the redeye home first thing tomorrow morning, so don't get any ideas about keeping me out all night," she replied, giving him a flirtatious wink.

"Why don't you come with me to this youth center opening?"

"You mean Tony Stark doesn't already have an escort?"

"It's not really that kind of affair... but it should be fun. And really," he continued in a lower voice, "how often do we get to spend time together without the masks on?"

"True. Well, I don't see why no-oh wow, nice car."

"Thanks. It just got out of the shop. Had a run-in with Whiplash a while back that fried most of the special features.*

(*See Marvel's Iron Man V3 #8 - Russ, S&M Queen)

The two of them got in and Tony started the engine while Jan pulled on her seatbelt. "You sure you don't want to just change into your, uh, 'work clothes' and fly there?"

"Why should I? I told you this thing just got out of the shop."

He hit a switch on the dash and, with a thump, the Prowler's 4 wheels flipped down so the hubcaps were lying against the pavement. Something whirred to life under the hood, and suddenly the car was airborne, pushed aloft by turbofans in the flipped wheels.

"Nice," Jan said with a laugh. "Think you could get me one of these things? Maybe something in a Mercedes?"

"I'll see what I can do. After I licensed the design to SHIELD, I had to agree to make only so many for private use."

The Prowler climbed into the late afternoon sky, causing a commotion at the parking lot's guard stand. Jan put an arm up on the door and settled back. "So... what is going on with you and Jennifer Lopez?"

Jim Rhodes strolled up the path to Tony Stark's front door and raised a hand to knock. Before the first blow could fall, though, a pert redhead opened the door.

"Jim?" Pepper Potts put out a hand. "Come on in. Tony's not here right now... he's at a charity function."

"Nice trick," Rhodey replied. "How'd you know I was here?"

"Jacosta ID'ed you as soon as you entered the driveway. You wouldn't have been allowed on the estate if she hadn't recognized you."

Rhodey nodded. "Well, I'm here looking for Tony, but I guess after all these years I should know better than to come by without calling. Any idea when he'll be back?"

Pepper shrugged. "Sometime tonight. I'm sure he'll stay till the party's over."

Rhodey nodded again, eyeing the woman speculatively. He seemed to mull over his next words for a moment, then went ahead. "Look, I've got some tickets to a small jazz show tonight. I was gonna take Tony cause he loves jazz and... well, I don't know anybody else in town, to tell you the truth." Rhodey laughed self-consciously, Pepper continued to stare at him blankly. "So do you want to go, or not?"

Pepper blinked in surprise. She still hadn't figured out what had happened with the addresses in Tony's database. There was a Stark Solutions job coming up in Norway that she had to finalize arrangements for. She thought about how she'd refused to go with her ex-husband to the youth center that night... and she couldn't honestly tell herself that she had less work on her desk now than she'd had then.

"Let me get my coat," she said finally.

"I'm going to start my speech with a cliché," Tony Stark began. "I know Toastmasters tells us that's a bad thing to do, but the thing about clichés is... they got to be that way because they're almost always true. So, you've been warned... are you ready? Here we go, say it with me: 'The children are our future'. Not only a cliché... it was a Whitney Houston song, too.

"The only way we're ever going to wake up one morning to a better world than we went to sleep to, is if we do everything in our power to give our children the tools they need to make their lives everything they can be. This is the challenge the Seattle Youth Recreation & Services Center intends to address. It's not just a youth gymnasium, it's not just a youth social center. It's not even JUST a youth counseling and education planning center. It's all of these things. The Center is manned by a fully-funded staff - paid for through Maria Stark - trained and outfitted to meet as many of the problems, crises, and questions facing children in America as we old fogeys could possibly anticipate.

"As you tour the building tonight, and browse through the fantastic displays our volunteers have set up, keep in mind all that we're trying to accomplish here. If you're a member of our illustrious fifth estate, please try to focus on that. I'm not the star here, and as grateful as we are for their presence, neither are the other patrons attending tonight. The children of Seattle are the reason we're here. If you're going to talk or write about anything, make it about them. Thank you."

"Nice speech," Janet said, smiling and applauding along with the rest of the crowd as Tony stepped down from the podium.

"Thanks. Are you enjoying the party?"

"When have you ever known me to not enjoy a party? I just wish I'd had time to throw on something a little more formal."

"You look great, Jan...." He paused. "What in the world?"

Janet Van Dyne turned and followed the direction of Tony's puzzled gaze. Above the crowd of tuxedos and formal gowns spread paradoxically across the gymnasium floor, several small metallic objects had appeared, flying almost soundlessly under their own power. They had begun drawing the attention of the other partygoers too, as they made their way slowly but inexorably towards the podium.

"Part of the entertainment?" Jan asked.

"If it is, I don't know about it."

"Maybe we should-"

Before she could finish the thought, the lead robot - Tony was pretty sure that's what they were, though they didn't appear very sophisticated - zipped forward at startling speed. Without pausing for even a beat, an energy beam suddenly strafed down out of its forward edge and punched a hole through Jan's midsection.

"Janet!" Tony cried, then caught himself as he realized the crumpled shape lying on the gymnasium floor was just his partner's empty clothing. That meant...

"Oh, poop!" he heard near his left ear, then another energy blast seemed to originate from mid-air, flashing back up toward the lead robot and scoring the casing badly. The robot wobbled in its flight path, then crashed to the floor behind the podium.

"Jan? Are you okay?" Tony said to the empty air. He looked around as the party's attendees began to edge toward the doors. If someone didn't calm them in the next couple moments, it was going to turn into a stampede.

"I'm fine... just not fit for public consumption," she answered. Tony still couldn't see her; she had shrunk too small, and he guessed that was exactly what she'd intended. "Those clothes were new! I never had a chance to treat them to shrink when I did!"

"It looks like we've got other problems..." Tony said, looking about as the rest of the robots - a half dozen of them - began closing a circle around him.

"Easy for you to say. You're not running around in your unmentionables."

"They don't seem to be making any hostile moves," Tony observed. Raising his hands, he called out to the partygoers, still teetering on the edge of a panicked stampede. "Everyone! You do not appear to be in any danger! Please exit the building in a calm and orderly fashion until we can sort this out!"

"There's nothing to sort out, Mr. Stark," a new voice proclaimed, floating down from the rafters in a golden suit of armor and mask that covered his face above the upper lip. "And I'm afraid our guests simply cannot leave yet."

He waved a hand, and all of the doors leaving the building - even the ones that led back toward the office areas - swung shut on their own, the electronic locks clicking loudly and obviously.

"What do you want?" Tony asked. "Whatever the problem is, I'm sure we can work this out."

"Oh, I doubt very much you're willing to just give me what I want, Mr. Stark," the golden man said. "You or Miss Van Dyne. And speaking of the lovely Wasp, please tell her to grow to full-size immediately, or I'll order Penelope and Tricia to start firing into our guests."

"Jan?" Tony said softly.

"I heard him," she grumbled at his ear, "and I'm not close enough to take him out." With a sigh, Janet Van Dyne grew to her full 5 feet, 3 inches. She was wearing only her bra and panties, but didn't try to cover herself. Tony suspected she didn't want to give the golden man the satisfaction. Tony doffed his dinner jacket and put it around her shoulders.

"Okay, now what do you want?"

"I've been hired to retrieve certain information from you, Mr. Stark, and I was ordered to do it in a very public venue. I was content to simply do that and go on my way, but your teammate had to go and harm Elizabeth-"

"Elizabeth?" Tony asked. "Who? That robot?"

"SHE IS NOT A ROBOT!" the golden man insisted. Tony and Jan didn't flinch under the verbal assault, but most of the partygoers cowering at the exits did. "She was a thinking being, with emotion and nuance and..." The man shook his head in disgust and floated closer to Tony and Janet. "I would have expected better powers of observation from a man of science such as yourself, but I won't let you sidetrack me...."

"You were going to tell us what you want," Jan prompted.

"Ah yes." The golden man cleared his throat and straightened as power began to radiate from his gauntlets. "Mr. Stark, if you wish to leave here alive, and you care for the safety of our guests and your teammate Ms Van Dyne"-absurdly, the golden man touched his helmeted forehead and nodded at Jan, as if tipping his hat to her-"you will immediately produce Iron Man. Today will be his final hurrah... the day he falls prey to the power of... ARMADA!"

Next Issue: Iron Man and the Wasp versus Armada, as we conclude our romance-themed 2-parter. And who is the mystery villainess behind Armada's attack? With cameos by Warbird and Namor the Sub-Marine