Howdy everyone! Just a couple of things before I get started-recently, my grandparents have been unable to go to their second house in Michigan, up by Great Bear Lake. We'd sometimes go and take care of the house, so that it doesn't get all nasty and stuff, but we're going to be going quite often for several days at a time. I'm leaving this Monday (Tomorrow! ), and I'll be back maybe Friday. We'll be working on things there, making the lawn look all nice, getting the musty smell out, raking the lake seaweed, etc. Just thought you guys should all know!

Thank yous-

Alice. Dreamer 15-Awesome!

Finny-Kun Goddess-thanks!

Cindylou30-It was awesome! DEFINETELY cool! And YAY! Good for you! Just remember…with great power, comes great need to eat bacon. :)

Chapter 6, "Painful Memories"

"Done!" Pepper announced. "I still need to bandage him, though." Rhodey came over and admired her work. All of the blood was gone, and the gashes were nicely cleaned. Tony's harsh breathing had evened out; it no longer seemed to ravage his throat, though his skin was chalk-white from losing so much of his life's blood. Pepper got up and walked over to a pot simmering on an open fire and poured its contents into a cup after adding several white leaves.

"What's that?" Rhodey asked, wrinkling his nose at its rank smell.

"An herbal draft. It'll help him heal faster." She said matter-of-factly. She then knelt down next to Tony and put her hand behind his head, lifting it up a bit, and gently trickled some of the warm liquid into his mouth. When he coughed and sputtered, choking on the unexpected drink, Pepper spoke to him gently with her mind.

(Swallow. It'll do you good.) Obeying her, with difficulty he swallowed, and the fits of coughing subsided. He took a shuddering breath and slowly his eyes fluttered open.

"You're awake!" Pepper exclaimed. "Aghh…I think so…" Tony said faintly, as the room he was in started to swirl.

"Here, have a little more, it'll help." She said, offering him the cup of cream-colored fluid. He did, and slowly his vision came into sharper focus. The first thing he noticed were the many ugly slashes on his chest, smeared with green and very deep. Pepper noticed his alarm, and spoke to him in soft, reassuring tones.

"Don't worry; you'll be fine once you get a little rest, and once I bandage them. You're safe here."

"Thank you." He gave her and Rhodey a grateful smile, and attempted to rise, wincing as pain shot through his body. With Rhodey's help, he managed to sit up, leaning his back against the wall.

"What happened, exactly?" Tony asked, his voice a little hoarse.

"Well, you were flying, and you were caught by the M.R.D…" Pepper began.
"And so Rhodey and I got you free. But then you started to fall, and I pulled you inside the plane. After that…well, Rhodey landed the plane and we brought you here…"

"…And Pepper treated your wounds." Rhodey finished.

"Hey, how DID you get hurt in the first place?" Pepper asked, but immediately she sensed she had asked a bad question, because Tony suddenly tensed. He looked away, but Rhodey and Pepper could see the anguish in his eyes. He couldn't stop the memory of that awful attack from coming into his mind, no matter how hard he tried.

Now, if you haven't guessed already, Pepper is a telepath, just like Charles Xavier. She can see into your memories, hear your thoughts, and speak to you through your mind, and force you to do her will. And so, when Tony flinched and looked away, she put two fingers to her temple and entered his mind, and at the same time projecting her thoughts into Rhodey's mind so he could see as well.

(It was raining…water pouring down from the heavens in torrents…and a lone dragon was racing through the streets of a small village, pursued by a mob. He was running…down the stone-paved road, bolting past alleyways and not daring to hesitate at a crossroad, for fear that they would catch him…he was running away from the mob of angry villagers, wielding pitchforks and sickles, the only weapons they owned. One peasant, particularly angry-looking, carried a short dagger and a scythe, whose tip bore a bloodstain. Another held a taut bow and a quiver full of arrows across his back.

The dragon slipped in a puddle and fell down, hard. Rising to his knees and spitting out a chunk of dirt, he looked back in alarm, the mob was nearly upon him! He sprang to his feet, wincing as his leg's wound sent a wave of pain up his thigh, and kept running. The mob behind him jeered and threw stones at him as he ran away. He couldn't keep this up much longer; he was weakening; losing blood and hope. Turning at a crossroad, he screeched in alarm and abruptly stopped running.

He had reached a dead end.

The dragon tried despairingly to climb the wall to freedom, but the rain made the stones slippery and it was impossible to get a grip on them, even with his sharp talons. He screeched again, in terror, his glowing blue eyes wide open as the mob marched up behind him, closing him in…the one with the dagger and scythe approached…a mad gleam in his evil black eyes…he lashed out with one hand, closing his fist around the dragon's scaly neck, and pinned him to the wall. He laughed in a mad glee and raised his dagger…a voice came to him as his vision was fading through the pain and terror…"At last, vile demon, you shall meet your end! You shall no longer steal from us, our homes, our village!" The dragon, knowing what was about to happen,, opened his eyes and stared pleadingly into the eyes of the man who was pinning him to the wall, and desperately croaked, "No…please!...let…me go…I won't…bother you…again!" the man laughed, causing the mob to do the same. His laugh was something awful, harsh and cruel without humor or joy.

"Let you go?" he repeated, a snarl embedded in his voice. "I don't think so, dragon!"

He shouted, to the roaring approval of the crowd behind him. He raised his dagger, to strike, to stab, to kill…)

Tony cried out in pain, jarring the three of them back into reality, and drew his knees close to his body, ignoring the pain that went up his torso, his face white with shock. The memory was so real, and so vivid. It was as if he could feel once more the frigid air, the pounding rain, the agony…he could still hear the sniping taunts of the crowd he had fled…the numbness of the freezing air…the world started to swirl into a haze…

It was all too much. The vision of that man about to stab him filled his head, and when the man struck, Tony passed out, his consciousness fading into black, into nothing.