Pepper's POV:

It was just a normal day in my life. I got up, got ready for school, and walked to school with Tony and Rhodey. We just got out of Physics and we were climbing up the steps to the roof.

"You know, every since we took down that Makluan monster, everything's been alright." Rhodey noted. He laughed; "I got a 'B' on that pop quiz. That never happens." I laughed with him. Rhodey was right though. I thought. Crime had gone down and school was becoming bearable. The worse part of it all was that Tony and I's relationship hadn't gone much further. When we were finally alone after the invasion, he kissed me on the cheek. My body became electrified with sparks! I couldn't sleep for a few days it was totally worth it. But after, it was like nothing had ever happened. Tony simply went back to spending time with his dad, which I completely understood, but I just missed spending time with my blue-eyed genius.

"Pep?" "...Hey Pepper! Whitney's back!" Someone yelled, pulling me from my internal babbling. It was the same genius I had been thinking of.

"What? What'd I miss?" I questioned. My best friends looked at me strangely. "We were saying, that you've been pretty quiet lately. Did we do anything?" Tony asked. I smiled, shook my head, but didn't respond. After the invasion, I was also wondering about the end of high school. We would soon go our separate ways, with Rhodey going into the military, Tony working at Stark International, and me (hopefully) going to SHIELD. Team Iron Man would slowly disperse, and nothing would ever be the same. I played with my short fiery hair, and quickly pushed the thought out of my mind. Walking away from my friends, I went over to my usual spot on a building beam in the sun. On sitting down, I pulled out my phone and silently checked MySpace page (anyone remember that?). While basking in the sun, I didn't heat up like a body would normally do. Just considering myself lucky, I went back to my page. Thoughts of the future invaded my head once more, but I pushed them out. "Everything will be fine." I contemplated. I sighed, not truly believing myself.

Tony's POV:

I watched my fiery red headed friend, as she sat down in the sun.

The sun beautifully lit her up, and made her figure even more defined. Although slightly slouching, Pepper still looked great and poised. Under the sun, her hair lit up, giving the appearance of the fiery dawn. Her wild onyx hazel eyes, tamed by boredom. Her few freckles popped up with the sun over them, but they accented her face well.

But I was still wondering about her behavior. 'What was wrong with her?'. It wasn't like her to be quiet like that. Not to mention, totally avoiding an opportunity to start a whole new conversation of her choosing. My mind wandered to the reason of her sudden silence. It had been a week since the invasion, and since I kissed her cheek. The days after were filled of catching up with my dad, but Pepper hadn't said a word to me. 'Did she not like the kiss? Does she not like me as much as I like her?' I puzzled. I just needed her to talk to me. For me to hear her cute rambling and just to hear her great voice was enough to make me happy. I loved her too much.

I started to make my way towards her, but Rhodey held me back. He shook his head, telling me that she needed some space. I reluctantly nodded back to him and sat down. For some reason, I felt somewhat uneasy, but quickly shrugged it off. It was a good day, and everything was fine.

3 hours later:

P POV:

I ran down the steps and jogged towards the subway. "Hey Pep! Wait up!" Tony yelled. I slowed down for him, but never stopped moving. The subway was 5 minutes away, and I needed to get home fast. My dad was about to leave for a mission, and I wanted to see him off. This would be the third time I was actually able to say 'goodbye' before he went off to who knows where. When Tony finally caught up, he ruffled his hair, smiled and stopped.

"Wow. He looks super mega cute right now. I love his kind and bright smile….Wait! Pepper, he doesn't like you that way. Just stop yourself and ask what he wants"

I wearily smiled back at him, "Why are you running after me? Don't you and Rhodey usually drive home?" Pepper said. It was their unbroken tradition. She remembered the last time she tried driving home with them. She had just dampened the mood, while the two boys snickered at each other's inside jokes while I sat in silence "I wanted to spend some time with you. It's been awhile since it was just you and me." Tony flashed me another shining smile. I shrugged it over, and continued walking to the subway.

Suddenly, a big shadow overcame Manhattan. We simultaneously looked at the sky. Shocked expressions came over our faces when we saw the cause for the shadow. Hundreds to thousands of A.I.M hover crafts. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tony dash into an alley. Seconds later, Iron Man flew out of the shadows of the alley, out to attack the threat. After minutes of chaos War Machine sped in and could be seen taking down some ships. Taking one last look at the scene in the sky, I took off for the Makluan Temple. Seemingly out of nowhere, someone roughly grabbed me and hoisted me over their shoulder. A bag roughly pulled over my head, while carrying me to their desired destination. I fiercely pounded on the the back of my kidnapper. "Let go!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Some one had to hear me! Not everyone ran away yet, right?" I kicked as hard as I could, but the person seemed rock hard. After struggling for a minute, I was rewarded with a heavy 'clonk' on the head. As I fought for consciousness, I heard a voice and the noise of working propellers. While I started diving into the dark, I could hear the commanding voice.

"Put her inside the carrier. This is perfect. She will be the beginning of a new era!" Then unconsciousness embraced me.