This is a story that popped into my head this saturday and would not let me concentrate on the second part of Shared Perspectives. So, thinking it was just a quick drabble sort of thing, I decided to jot it down and get it out of the way. Somehow it snowballed along the way, divided itself into parts and ate my word processor. This is Part one.
I own nothing and no one.
Tony Stark was having a nightmare
Tony Stark was having a nightmare. As his sweating body twisted in his bed sheets, his mind was back in the hellish cave where he'd been held in Afghanistan. Only this time there was no Yinsen, and it was no armored suit that he toiled on endlessly in the dank cavern. In this Afghanistan and this cave in his mind, the terrorists had Pepper and would kill her unless he built them the Jericho missile launcher.
Tony tried to wipe the sweat that was burning in his eyes away with one filthy hand as his other held the pieces of the modifications to one of his company's missiles in place so he could solder them together. Lightheaded from the fumes that would normally be vented away, but instead filled the cave; Tony tried to concentrate on the task at hand but found he could not summon his usual discipline for mechanical work. They had let him see her again that morning, chained up in a cell carved out in another section of the cave system that was the terrorist's main camp. She'd been even thinner than the last time they'd decided to "motivate" him, and a large purple bruise stained her cheek just under her right eye. Her face was pale and her eyes dull and exhausted; she didn't even look up at the sound Tony made as his guards thudded him up against the door to her prison. Forced to look at her through the bars of the small opening in the crude wooden door Tony tried to call out to her, to comfort her, tell her that somehow he would get them out of this, begged her to please just look at him. But she never looked up and the guards dragged a fiercely struggling Tony Stark back to his own personal hell.
The bright sunlight of the desert blinded Tony after his months locked in the cave and his eyes streamed tears as they adjusted to the light of day. The prior evening Tony had finally completed the weapon he'd been forced to build for the terrorists. Today was to be the test of his work and the whole camp had been assembled to see the might and the fury of Tony Stark's Jericho. He hated himself for what he had done, but was thankful at least that soon Pepper would be free, even if she would hate him for building the Jericho even more than he did. Pepper….he twisted in the arms of his captors trying to catch a glimpse of her red head amongst the crowd milling in the canyon. Where was Pepper? Tony started to panic and struggle with the men holding him, craning his neck this way and that looking for her. Before he could find her he was being frog marched forward towards the assembled Jericho and the leader of the faction, who smiled at him in a way that made Tony want to lunge at him and beat him to the ground, but the men at his sides kept their grip on his arms bruising tight and he was helpless.
"I have decided to let you have the honor of being the first to fire the missiles you were so kind to build us." The leader's English was clipped and heavily accented. "And have even arranged a most attractive target." His smile was back and had turned into a vile, face splitting grin as Tony's heart plummeted into the ground. In the distance he could make out a petite figure in a full length blue dress that he knew without seeing, would be backless. 'O god, o god' repeated one part of Tony's consciousness while another just screamed RUN at his motionless assistant. But Pepper didn't run. She didn't even look at him as he went down flailing under a mass of men trying to keep him from running to her.
It took six men to beat him into submission and four to restrain him after. The leader turned the initiation key in the remote detonator for the Jericho and a little red LED on the top began to blink. The last two guards wrestled Tony's arm up, out and then down on the large red button on the detonator. Tony felt the button depress, heard it click and heard the hiss of the rocket taking off. Saw the explosion envelope the still motionless blue figure of Pepper Potts.
Tony Stark was having a nightmare and he woke up screaming.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it and if you did, or even if you didn't and have constructive criticism please review. I would love to hear your thoughts. And hey, if anyone knows a good LJ community for this fandom I'd love to know what it is.