"That's better, now your suffering, now it's fun!" The Ghost laughed, The wires of his heart implant burnt through his shirt, his chest felt like it was on fire. The pain was beyond words, nothing could be edged for the end of the roof, just to make it stop. "No, No, no. Your not getting out of this that easily." The Ghost smiled. He grabbed Tony's heart implant and ripped the rest of it out. Tony cried out in agony, he felt his heart starting to shut down.


"WARNING! Singal of Heart implant lost." The armour rang out, Pepper's eyes widened,

"No! Armour max out thrusters!"

"Maxing."


"Iron Man?" Tony turned his head to see the red and yellow blur coming towards them. It stoof on the edge of the building. Curved and the helmet stuck out like Pepper's hair did. His eyes widened in shock, "My mistake, Iron Woman."

"Let Stark go!" Pepper saw the heart implant lying on the ground next to Tony, "Oh no..."

"Wait a second," The ghost began, "Iron Man always seems to come to your rescue. The unibeam is in the same place your implant was and i bet this hurts,"

He ran over and Hit Pepper's bad arm, she shot at him as a reflex, "This is hilarious! I'm about to kill Iron Man." The Ghost alerted the media annomously who Iron Man was, but police quickly Tracked the signal and media vans and FBI vans parked underneath Stark Tower. This happened in a mear five minutes. Tony attempted to stand but grabbed his cheast and fell.

"Tony!" Pepper ran to catch him, The ghost grabbed her from behind and shot at the bootjets, once it was obviously they wouldn't work he pushed he off the building, Tony's eyes widened as she fell. She hit the ground, the armour breaking her fall, but it was too damaged to get back up there. She quicky retracted the armour and slung it over her shoulder, she ran for the stairs but the mandarin appeared infront of her and flashed her out.


They were both in Gene's step-father's shop. He walked her into the room with the mandarins chair and took off his helmet, "Gene!" She threw her arms around him, then remebered, "You're the Mandarin?"

"Is Stark really Iron Man?" She nodded with tears welling up in her eyes. "You can't save him Pepper, please who means more to you, me or him?"

"Gene you can't ask me to chose like that! He needs my help!"

"I need Iron Man dead, you understand that right?" Tears spilled from her brown eyes, Gene hugged her but she fought him off,

"I do not understand! You just answered your own question. Tony, not you." The ran for the door but Tong members blocked it, she turned back to Gene,

"You misunderstand, You can't save him, I need him dead."

"But he's your friend!"

"No, he's not." Gene brought her into a room with a tv in the corner, the news was turned on, she recognized the boy being held there by the Tong,

"Rhodey!"

"Pepper please tell me this isn't happening, The Mandarin grabbed me as soon as I went to find you!"
"It's Gene,"

"What?" The mandarin took of his helmet again, "You piece of s..."

"Rhodey! Look at the screen!"


"She's fine Stark, You designed that armour you know she's fine," Tony couldn't move he could only just about breath. The ghost grabbed him and brought him to the egde of Stark Tower, the media were taking Pictures and the news were recording. "It's been fun Stark but," He raised the gun to Tony's chest, right where the heart implant had been. "Goodbye." He pulled the trigger and dropped Tony. People gasped at the shot the screamed as he fell. The fire department had a trampoline to catch him.


"TONY!" Pepper screamed, Rhodey tried to face away from the screen but the look on Pepper's face was more painful. Tony landed on the trampoline, barely alive, a camera man was sent away by police the other's turned off their cameras. Gene turned off the TV.

"Pepper, Rhodes, you're free to go." Rhodey stood up but Pepper sat, staring at the screen. Her hands covring her mouth, her eyes glased with tears.

"Pepper, come on. We can still get to the hospital." She sat there.

"Pepper, I'm sorry. If i let you go that could have been you I couldn't let that..." Gene began.

"Stop, you've done enough! I could have got him!" Rhodey sat at the boy he was considering to be his friend,

"Your attempt would have failed like Pepper's. He 's gone because Stane put a hit out on him. You're here because I stopped you."

"Tony?" Pepper asked quietly with her shaking hand on the screen.

"You made her watch it. We owe you nothing."

"I thought she'd want to know how it happened."

"He was your friend!"

"No, I needed him for the rings, I 'll find the rest on my own! Iron Man was the final excuse, I detached, but not from Pepper. I saved her and I knew if she lost Tony she would need you!"

"Rhodey, Please tell me that didn't just happen." Pepper turned to look at her firend, tears streaming in rivers down her pale face.

"I'm sorry Pepper but it..."

"No, it didn't he's fine and and..." It finally dawned on her that he probably wasn't going to wake up. She curled up in a ball and cried. Rhodey tried to comfort her but she ran out. She ran out into the street towards the hospital. She saw Tony going in. She froze at the sight of him, She had never seen so much blood.

"Look that's Pepper Potts!" One of the media called, A security guard at the hospital quickly got her inside the hospital away from the cameras.

"Miss Potts, are you Ok?" She nodded absently,

"Where's Tony?"

"Miss Potts, he is in critical cond..."

"WHERE IS HE!" Pepper started to cried again, silent tears dripped down her face, The guard took her to the viewing point meant for doctors of the surgery room. Agent Potts saw them,

"Pepper!"

"Dad?" She wrapped her arms around him and cried, he thanked the guard who returned to his post. Pepper then released her Dad and Ran up to the viewing point, she pressed her hand against the glass and gasped, Tony was lying there attached to so many different machines. Someone was trying to replicate the heart implant, using more science but not high tech enough, they needed a Stark. One of the Doctors looked up and saw her, she couldn't look Pepper in the eye. Agent Potts finally caught up with her. Pepper collasped into his picked her up and took her to A&E for fix up on her arm.


Pepper woke up with a cast on her arm. Rhodey was sitting next to her, fast asleep. She crept out and snuck back up to the viewing point. The room was empty. Her heart sank. He didn't make it? She snuck out to be caught by a Doctor. She muttered a swear word he laughed, "Mr Stark Is alive, incase you were wondering,"

"H-How is he?"

"Terrible. He woke up once then went into a coma."

"Did he say anything?"

"He wanted to know where you were."

"Me?"

"He also said you really suit the armour." Pepper laughed,

"Can I see him?"

"I don't recommend it, but if you want to."

"I really do."

"Ok then, follow me."


Should Tony wake up or not? Ideas? Likes dislikes? REVIEW XXX

OH and for anyone reading Avengers, I'm updating tonight