Ugh, I'm sorry this sucks :( Also, I'll be trying to reply to all your reviews ASAP, I've been very lazy and I'm sorry about that!
And I'm also sorry for how long the Before part is, I kind of just got carried away. I'm really into Tony and Pepper origins okay XD
AND quick thank you to the Guest that reviewed daily, if it wasn't for you I would of probably updated this a month from now *subtly hints for everyone else to do the same*
OKAY ENOUGH FROM ME ENJOY :) btw if you spot the Captain America 2 reference you get a cookie. *hail hydra*
Before
Her eyes scanned over the numbers presented neatly on the paper in front of her. It was long, tedious work, but it had to be done. Her cubicle was tidy, just like her presence and work ethic. Virginia Potts never let a mistake ruin her pristine record at Stark Industries. She had been working for less than 3 months in the accounting department, never allowing herself to falter under pressure.
So her breath hitched as she saw the numerical error in the eighteenth page of the monthly accounting report. Re-reading it three times over, she hurriedly grabbed her calculator and checked the calculation.
It was wrong. The report was wrong. If it passed through unnoticed, it could cost hundred of thousands of dollars for the company, which was terribly, terribly wrong.
She quickly fumbled and gathered the papers as she stood to go find her supervisor. She needed to show him the error so he could address his supervisor, then their supervisor, then their supervisor, until the chain continued and someone eventually alerted Mr Stark himself.
Gulping, she swiftly walked to the main office of her department, knocking on the door three times. She couldn't hear any footsteps, or reply for that matter, so preceded to knock again.
"Mr Peterson left." A girl nodded from her desk as she saw Virginia anxiously trying to look through the blinds inside of the room.
Virginia looked at her watch, it read 4:56pm.
Everyone finished at 5pm, so Mr Peterson must have left early. With only four minutes to spare, she began to panic.
Looking to the girl at the desk who was now packing up her belongings, Virginia asked, "Who could I see regarding an accounting mistake?"
The girl raised her eyebrows in response, "Mistake? We've never had a mistake."
Pepper huffed, "I don't have time, there is a mistake on here," She gestured to the papers in her hands, "And I need to tell someone, because it's quite a big one."
The girl frowned, "Well, I've never really been in this situation, but I guess the only one with real power here is the big man himself."
"Mr Stark?"
"I dunno," The girl slung her bag over her shoulder, "I'm leaving, but good luck."
Stumped, she watched the girl walk to the elevator and press the down button. There was only one thing Virginia could do, and that involved going to the top floor.
She strode to the second elevator and hit the up button, immediately earning a 'ding'. The doors opened and she stepped in, not bothering to see the girl's amused look.
The ride up was painfully slow; Virginia could hear her watch ticking.
The elevator doors opened, revealing an all-marble level, however, she deterred her interest from the lavish office to the task ahead.
Approaching the receptionist, Virginia began, "I need to see Mr Stark regarding an accounting error."
She didn't let the receptionist say a word as she continued marching through the office, ignoring the shouts saying she wasn't permitted to go any further.
Quickly impeding her pathway, a large man stood in front of her, his security badge revealing his name, 'Happy'.
"I'm sorry Miss, but you can't proceed any further."
"I just need to show Mr Stark this one error," She shook the paperwork in front of him, "And then I'm gone!"
"I can't let you through without a security clearance."
Pepper was shaking from frustration, "I'm from accounting, please, this could jeopardise the whole company!"
"Then why haven't you alerted a supervisor?"
"Because he's not here!" She shouted at Happy, losing her patience.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave, I'll escort you," He grabbed her shoulders, resulting in her resisting against him.
"I have pepper spray!" She yelled as she gripped her paperwork, "I need to see Mr Stark NOW!"
She struggled against Happy's titanium grip as he forcefully pushed her away from the office. Virginia begged as she was literally dragged away from her one opportunity to alert someone of the error, letting her heels screech across the floor.
"Wow."
Tony Stark's voice made the accountant and security guard turn abruptly, with his trademark grin told to break hearts certainly making no impression on Virginia.
Breaking free of his grip, Virginia made sure to 'accidentally' bump Happy as she approached Tony, holding out the paperwork in one hand and smothering down her dishevelled hair with the other.
"There is a mistake in the accounting report that needs to be looked at."
Tony raised his eyebrows, "I read through that report, everything is correct."
"Not everything." Virginia huffed.
Tony begrudgingly took the paper and allowed the woman to point out the error, slowly nodding his head.
"Oh," He looked to Virginia, "I see."
She gave a smirk in response, immediately regretting doing so to the CEO of the company she was fairly new to.
"Thank you for pointing this out—" He stopped expectantly, giving the redhead a cue for her to introduce herself.
"Virginia Potts."
His face crinkled at the name, "I feel like you're more of a Pepper."
"Pardon?"
In a split second he had a glint in his eye, "How would you like to become my new personal assistant? My previous one was fired today due to 'mutual' issues," He paused and straightened his tie, "And I think you're perfect for the job Pepper Potts."
"I'm sorry, my name isn't Pepper." Virginia looked to him disconcertedly.
"You said you had Pepper spray, and that little 'scene' back there was probably the highlight of my week, plus, you suit the name."
She promptly blushed and shook her head, "Well, why would you want me to be your personal assistant?"
"You're observant," He gestured to the mistake in the report, "Determined," He continued as he pointed to his perplexed bodyguard, "And I think you have potential."
Pepper blinked a couple of times before processing the information in her head. A personal assistant to a billionaire with a world-renowned company that was prestigious on any resume. This was an opportunity too good to pass up.
After
"She was his personal assistant to begin with," Natasha continued, "And their relationship grew, and he eventually made her CEO."
The Avengers all listened intently to their friend as she filled them in on the deal with Pepper Potts. Tony had told them that they were to suit up and get ready for another mission, not really offering them any information except that Pepper was in trouble. He had joined Thor and was flying to the New Mexican desert, a place that was dear and familiar to the Demi-god.
The Avengers were all pretty foreign to the woman, and as they sat in the jet, Natasha filled them in whilst piloting. She knew everything there was about Miss Potts, especially due to her undercover role as Natalie Rushman, a detail she purposely decided to not include in the briefing.
"So, she's Stark's girlfriend?" Clint asked, earning an eye roll from the Black Widow.
Bruce and Steve looked to her as well; both too afraid to ask the same question but equally as eager to find out the answer.
"Yes." She sighed, "They've been working together for more than ten years, so she's kind of special to him."
"She'd have to be something to put up with Stark." Steve nodded.
"Well she obviously is, did you see the look in his eyes? He was genuinely scared." Bruce sighed.
Natasha nodded and looked back at the scientist, "Still any word on the exact location?"
"I still can't believe we're doing this literally just after saving an entire city from an alien attack." Clint muttered, earning a stomp on the foot from Natasha.
Bruce shook his head whilst scrolling through the details on his tablet, ignoring Clint's comment, "Nothing, but I did manage to uncover some details about the crew on board."
"And?" Steve asked.
"It appears that the pilot was a SHIELD agent, and the crew on board were Stark Industries Staff."
"A SHIELD agent?" Clint looked to Natasha, earning a shrug.
"Pepper was close with Coulson, perhaps he assigned her an agent to make sure the plane didn't interfere with the attack." Natasha immediately went quiet; there was a slight pain in her chest at the mention of Coulson.
"Could the plane have been hijacked?" Bruce continued to search the records of everyone on-board, "Everyone seems to either be crew or Stark Industries Representatives."
Steve piped up, "Maybe it was a Hydra operation?"
The Avengers hummed in thought, Bruce eventually answering, "I don't think Hydra is much of a threat anymore, and it doesn't make sense that they would make a personal attack on Stark, they barely know they guy."
"That's it." Natasha began to lower the plane; "There's one group that would particularly want to bring harm to Stark and anyone he cares about."
"And that would be?" Clint asked, bracing himself for the landing.
"A terrorist group called the Ten Rings."
Her heart began to rapidly beat as she opened her eyes. Pepper found herself slumped in the plane's cockpit, her eyes blinking to adjust to the light.
How long had she been out for?
Her head was pounding and she looked to her hands to see them caked in blood, along with the first aid kit splayed on the ground. Pepper's breathing quickened at the sight of the blood pool surrounding her, causing her head to spin.
She heard a noise outside, similar to the sound of a turbine. The unmistakeable sound of a helicopter whirring filled her ears; the noise was almost deafening.
The whipping of the blades continued as she shakily pulled herself up, supporting herself against the wall of the cabin. She could barely get her feet moving; She felt lightheaded, probably due to the blood loss.
Pepper's legs quaked as soon as she began to patter outside of the cockpit, there must be help outside. Her salvation was only a couple of steps away.
She could barely support her own weight as her body trembled from exhaustion. Pepper's eyesight wavered as she exited the plane, looking wildly around her for the supposed helicopter.
Using whatever voice she had left, she croaked, "Tony!"
He had to be here, who else would it be? Her mind wondered to the possibility of the Avengers turning up, what a funny thought that was.
With no apparent warning, the helicopter came into view, swerving in front of her and slowly lowering onto the sand. The sheer force of the wind released from the propellers knocked Pepper off her feet. Her knees were on the ground as she used her hands to shield her face from the stinging sand.
Despite her situation, she nearly cried from relief, Tony was here.
Pepper's thoughts were interrupted as she flinched when a canister landed in front of her. Her mind raced as she read the logo, 'Stark Industries'.
Suddenly, the canister emitted a green gas, and Pepper immediately recognised the tech. She desperately tried to crawl away from the looming cloud, but her body protested. As she inhaled the gas, her head went fuzzy.
Her last thoughts were of Tony.
Ugh crappily written angst, the best kind. I'm sorry the last part is so shockingly terrible, oh well, I'll try and fix it when I get time. By the way, thank you everyone for all your supportive wishes about my birthday, my parents are not the best HAHAHAAHA
SO if you got the HYDRA reference, tell me in the reviews, I want to discuss it with you guys because I had so many story possibilities with it that I couldn't decide on! And what do you think will happen to our beloved Pep?
Is it REALLY the 10 rings? All will be revealed in the next instalment (ok i really feel like a reality show presenter)
love you all x