Sorry for the wait guys, I've been really busy lately. I hope this chapter makes sense, I wrote at five in the morning so I'm not entirely sure if it will.
Hendrick248848 : thanks! It's great to Herat you like it!
Meota Tsukiko : Aww, your so nice. :)
Disclaimer : I own nothing. Really.
thanks to everyone who read, reviewed and favorited! Enjoy!
-July 27th, 2009-
She doesn't remember the first few days after the attack too well. She remembers blinking and waking up surrounded by men speaking furiously in languages she doesn't understand. She remembers them operating on her, remembers the IV drip and the bandages. She remembers her sleep patterns controlled by what she assumes is a chloroform-soaked rag.
She remembers one of the men — the big, bearded one, grabbing her chin, looking into her eyes, and shoving dirty fingers into her jeans and between her legs. She remembers thinking vaguely that she'd need to check for infections when, or if, she got home. Otherwise, she remembers feeling nothing.
She remembers the writing on the bomb that took out the 'funvee' — she'd know her design anywhere, and she remembers seeing it repeated over and over in the mountain hideout. Stark Industries weapons. Her weapons, and only hers. She didn't see a single design of Howard's. She has guarded the designs closely all her life, and had only reluctantly shared, and only when she gets to name the price.
She feels nothing but pain now. Tony lays flat on a table, the air around her oppressive and cold. It's dark.
She feels a dampness in the air that she hadn't before, and it throws her off. "Where am I?"
"Hell." A low voice says. She shifts only slightly, she hadn't realized she wasn't alone. She feels something pulling at her chest, and moves her had to touch it. "No! Don't touch it, you might get infected!" She wants to open her eyes, but the pain gets worse as she simply cracks them. "It's an car battery hooked up to an electromagnet. It's keeping the shrapnel from your heart."
"Shrapnel?" She questions.
"Yes. You were shot during your capture, the shrapnel is near your heart. They needed you alive, so they made me operate." She lets out a grunt. "You are in pain, I know. But they will be in soon, and you must stand. I am sorry." She lays still for far to long with the man pressing a hand to her shoulder. She knows he's being held captive here too, and she wants to ask questions, but she can't really even think past the pain. She needs to see him, the man who saved her life, and opens her eyes only briefly. "My name is Yinsin."
"Thank you." She whispers. He starts explaining everything softly, and eventually, she falls off into her first restful sleep scene she got here.
-July 29th, 2009-
They stopped the painkillers long before the hole in Tony's chest had healed. Yinsin translated their brief excuse - they'd only used enough to keep her from going into shock, and she was lucky to get anything – but Tony read the gaze of the captor without assistance. His eyes moved up and down her body, the look on his face somehow reminiscent of Obidiah's gaze.
So when she refused to help build the Jericho, like she was going to say yes, she wasn't surprised when she was bent over her makeshift bed. But that didn't stop the pain when the too-big trousers were shoved down and agony followed.
Anyone in the Nine Rings would have thought it would've broken her, but she simply laid quietly and waited. The man said something after he pulled his pants back up that Tony couldn't make out.
"He is asking if you are ready to make the missile now." Yinsin whispered.
"If you really just thought rapping me was going to make me build it then your dumber than I thought." She squeaks at them. "I'm Tony Stark, so try harder. Seriously." They stand shocked after Yinsin's translation comes through. She let out a small chuckle. "Really, your terrorists and that's the best you've got?"
She sees nothing but darkness once more as a dirty cloth bag is shoved over her head, and they speak in hushed tones. She wonders vaguely if she'll drown or be electrocuted first as they dunk her into the water.
-August 2nd, 2009-
"Fine! I'll build it, just stop! Please... Please, just stop..." The men smile down at her for a moment before she lets her eyes flutter shut.
She's got a plan. She only hopes there's enough time to finish it.
-August 11th, 2009-
"Can you put it in?" She whispers.
"Yes. But it will hurt."
"That's fine, Yinsin."
-August 12th, 2009-
As she wakes up she hears the men screaming and pointing to her. One of the bigger men comes over and rips her shirt open to see the soft blue glow that now resides in her chest. He pokes and prods at it, and then leans in.
"What is this? Not missile part."
"Needed it to stay alive, I've got the missile half built." She murmurs as he cocks his head to one side.
"One week." He says as he and his gang leave.
-August 19th, 2009-
"Every other bolt! There coming!" She yells as he's riveting the suit. They burst in and stare for a moment before screaming and running like little girls. "Stay behind me Yinsin."
"There are too many, I will go get the door!"
"No! Stick to the plan!"
"This was always the plan Stark."
"But what about your family?"
"I am going to see them now. Remember Tony, this is your legacy, your life's work. You must change or always be know as the Queen of war."
-August 21st, 2009-
She cries out in the desert despite her best efforts. She sits down in the sand and waits for a plane. Finally, she sees one, quickly she stands and waves her arms frantically, hoping that by some miracle they see her. She sits back down again as she sees them keep moving.
Then, the unthinkable happens. They circle back. The bay doors open and some men carry her in.
-August 22nd, 2009-
Finally they land. They rush her off to whatever passes as medical here, and when she wakes he's there. It's odd, because he's just got deployed here, but everyone seems to know him.
"Hey there tiger." He whispers petting her hair. "Never thought I'd see you again. Especially not like this."
"Come on Rhodey, you think I'd die on you like that?"
"The news said you died in the attack. They sent people to look for the bodies."
"I'm okay." She whispers.
"I can come back with you, okay? I'll come stay with you in the Malibu hose. No reporters, no work, just bro time as long as you want."
"You've got leave?"
"Nope, but your dad seemed to take a hint when I told him you'd need somebody to look after you." He says with a faint smile.
-August 28th, 2009-
She ignores Rhodey's hand as she gets up from the wheelchair they made her sit in, and limps her way out of the plane. Hogan, Obidiah, and some woman she's never seen are there.
"Hiya." She says to the woman and Hogan. Hogan moves first, stepping close to hug her. "Bit happy, yeah? Your kinda hurting me."
"Sorry boss. I thought... I thought you were dead. We all did." He says hugging her again. She catches Obidiah glaring at him, and pulls back.
"It's good to have you back, puddin." Obie says as he pulls her in, kissing her on the top of her head. After a moment he pulls back and the woman comes up to her. "This is , your new PA."
Immediately she tries to hand Tony something. "I don't like being handed things." Obidiah makes a face and takes it from her.
"You ready to go, boss?"
"Yeah Happy, I want a cheeseburger. Or, like, twelve." She says climbing into the limo.