A sense of foreboding and confusion were what clouded Tony Stark's vision as he opened his eyes, wincing at the unbearable pain ripping through his chest, crossing his eyes he saw the long, clear tube sticking from his nose. Pulling a disgusted face, he gritted his teeth and tugged the piece of plastic away from his body, the feeling of it leaving his nasal cavity, making him want to gag, his body jerking upwards with the reflex action. Reaching over to his side, with clumsy hands he knocked a cup of water from the make shift work surface. His ears throbbed hearing movement around him, determined to see his companions, he twisted round but stopped as he felt something heavy being dragged by his chest. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He tilted his head back to see an older looking thin man shaving, using the side of a pipe as a mirror before turning back to see what it was that had kept him from moving any further.
A car battery with some eastern writing on it greeted his dark eyes, with a set of wires connecting the heavy object to his chest that was swathed in grimy looking white bandages. "What have you done to me?" he growled, his voice harsh and croaky from being unconscious for so long. His numb fingers tore at the bandage, ripping it away from his body. The material tearing loudly in the silence of the cave. "It's a car battery love. It's keeping you alive; Yinsen here had to replace your heart." Said a soft feminine voice from the end of his bed. Craning his head he gazed at the woman before him, her figure hard for him to discern through his heavy lidded eyes. "But uh, he might be able to tell you more than me; apparently I'm rubbish at breaking news and explaining things." At her humorous statement his eyes boggled and his mouth fell open. "Please forgive her, she's a little tetchy today." The older man said placing his razor down into a metal bowl filled with water, and looking at the woman partially hidden in the darkness by the fire.
"You see this?" Yinsen asked waggling a small glass bottle in front of Tony's face, the tiny shards of metal rattling around inside of it. "This is what's in your chest; it's a common injury where I come from. In your chest is an electromagnet, it keeping the metal away from entering your heart." The older man stated, as he helped Tony clean the dried blood and sand off of his face and hands. "Basically if you take that thing out of your chest, you'll be dead within a week. A slow, painful death will be waiting for you my friend." Said the woman who was now bent over the fire, stirring a large pot of stew like food. Tony let his eyes wander over her doubled figure where a pair of frayed denim shorts, her tiny feet clothed in a pair of woolly grey calf length socks. Aware of his eyes on her body she straightened up turning to face him, "Oh, I'm sorry, that came out a little blunt and harsh didn't it?" a quirky grin crept onto her face, as she waved the battered metal ladle around in exaggerating gestures. Tony smiled his signature cocky grin, before hanging his head, and intently studying his battered and bruised hands, "No, it's probably best I hear it that way than it gets sugar coated. That way I know how to deal with it."
After a moment's pause, he heard a creak of springs and felt the mattress dip as she sat down beside him, wrapping her arms around him gently in a hug, being careful to avoid tugging on the wires connecting him to the battery. "You're a brave man, Mr Stark. It's a rare quality, in a man of your social stature." She almost whispered in his ear, making him chuckle, but the pain in his chest quickly cut the sound off quickly. "You know, you remind me of my PA Pepper. She's blunt but kind too." He looked up into her honey coloured eyes, "So what is your name? Miss blunt?" he asked with a smile. She returned his expression, before answering, "Me? I'm Lilly, Lilly King."