HEY!Theprodigalkidreturns.I'msorryaboutthelongwait,butIcanpromisethatnowtheupdatesonallofmystorieswillbemuchmoreregular.Plus,amassive 'thankyou' goestoallthosewonderfulpeoplewhoreviewed,favouritedandfollowed!
IneedtowarnyouthatinthisoneTonyissuper-badass,andIhopeIhaven'tspoiltthestory.IfIhave,thenbyanymeansletmeknow
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Tony was officially an idiot. He was going to mess up the press conference, he was going to mess up the company and most importantly, he was going to mess up himself.Thank you very much Tony. Of course, all the reporters and photographers turned to him immediately. Pepper couldn't help but be grateful that thanks to Tony she managed to escape the spotlight for a brief moment to regain her composure and calm.
One glance at Tony was enough to tell her that the situation was definitely going to turn out badly. He was leaning heavily on the crutch that he was desperately holding in his hand, but aside from the pain and exhaustion painted all over his face she could see something else – anger. Was it anger or was it fear, she wondered.
Tony,pleasedon'tdoanythingtoostupid.Tony,pleasedon'tdoanythingtoostupid.
'The CIA was being a little slow for me, so I thought I'd crash those guys' party and bring them to justice kinda thing. Ten Rings, terrorists, bombers and thieves. They stole the weapons, they bombed the embassy, they're going to end up in Guantanamo, or wherever it is they belong to.' Pepper was pleasantly surprised at how steady Tony's voice was. She was afraid he might fall over any second now and hurt himself even more.
'Mr. Stark…?'one of the journalists attempted to stark asking a question, but Tony stopped him mid-sentence.
'Wait. Let me ask you a question. Or let me ask a question to our British friends from across the pond. What the hell is this all about? Those freaks hang out in their little hideouts, building more weapons, planning more attacks and you go around persecuting the very people you should be protecting!'
'Mr. Stark, what do you think…?' the young journalist attempted to continue his question.
'I promise. If you interrupt me again, I'm going to flip out on you.' Pepper was getting anxious. She had seen Tony annoyed, working on impossible projects for long hours, trying to solve problems that were truly unsolvable. She had never seen him so furious before. She could swear that if he wanted to, he could kill somebody just by looking at them.
'Mr. Stark!' Tony was about to open his mouth again, but he realized that this time it was the home secretary himself who decided to get engaged. All the reporters had grins painted on their faces. After all, you don't get to experience such a scene every day. 'Can you calm down and let Miss Potts talk to us and then we can….'
'I'm sorry, sir. Talk about what exactly? The thugs who did it are here. Isn't that what you wanted? I have evidence, I'm going to show it to you and the courts…' Pepper could sense desperation in his voice. He was charismatic and powerful for sure, but Tony Stark was no politician and he was trying to fight a force he was never able to understand.
'I am sorry, but the Brits have made the case clear enough. The have the right to pursue justice, according to their own rules and to the international system of justice and we will try our best to… Can you please remove yourselves from here?' the Home Secretary waved a hand at the reporters and motioned for the agents stationed around the room to escort the people out of the room. They attempted desperately to take some last snapshots that would earn them a couple of extra dollars, but soon Tony, and the invited politicians and diplomats were out of their sight.
'Justice? Is that what you call justice? Is the CEO of Stark Industries responsible for security breaches? Not in this case. Are you responsible for detecting and preventing terrorists from stealing weapons? Yes. Is what you are doing here just? No fucking way.' Pepper had to hold on to a nearby wall not to fall over. She could see Agent Coulson in the background. He appeared to be very interested in the state of his shoes, as his gaze was fixed on the floor, avoiding her eyes.
'The law is…'
'There is no law involved here. This is just politics. You know it as well as I do. Case solved, what else do you want?'
'Justice.' One of the boring-looking and posh-sounding Brits suddenly spoke up. Tony was sure, that if he wasn't having so much trouble remaining upright and not wincing every two seconds, he would come up to that idiot and punch him square in the jaw.
'Justice? Let's do a little experiment here, shall we?' The next few seconds were a blur. Tony spun around, snatched a gun from the belt of one of the federal agents, and a moment later one of the young thugs still remaining on the ground was clutching his bloodied leg. Tony dropped the gun immediately and braced himself to be tackled to the ground, bound and locked up somewhere. Strong hands grasped his weak silhouette and he was about to be pushed down onto the cold marble floor, when the Home Secretary took a step forward and motioned for the agents to step back. Everybody seemed to be ignoring the young man on the ground, regardless of his sobbing and all the curses escaping his mouth. Everybody was staring at Tony, who was now defiantly holding the gaze of the Briton who spoke up.
'I just shot a man. In cold blood. Are you going to have me arrested?'
'No,' the Home Secretary said.
'Are you going to persecute me in court?'
'Of course not.'
'Why, sir? I just shot somebody.' Pepper was terrified. This wasn't Tony. This couldn't be Tony. Maybe he did finally manage to create a life-sized decoy? The people in the room who didn't know Tony very well had to be thinking that he was completely calm and indifferent. Pepper knew better. One look at his hand that was now clasping the crutch even more firmly told her how petrified Tony was.
'Well…you are Tony Stark, so I don't think you should be…you have done a lot for this country…sir.'
'Besides, he is just a common thug. Nothing more. He deserved it.' The British man stepped forward and now stood shoulder to shoulder with the Home Secretary. 'They will be interrogated and put behind bars. We will also need to speak to Miss Potts, but only in character of a witness. Nothing to fret about. Justice will be upheld, we value it highly.' Pepper could sense the unwillingness of the man to concede, but it was evident that Tony cornered him. In order to carry on making her life difficult, they would have to send Tony Stark to court…for doing their job for them. They knew damn well that he would make sure they would end up looking like the real idiots they were. A few people in high places would certainly be replaced with others, a few salaries would be cut. It was easier to just let him and leave Pepper alone.
'So shooting people for no actual reason rather than just mere revenge is what you call justice? In that case we don't have much more to talk about. We're leaving. I'll send you a dictionary and a legal code so that you can look up what you are talking about.' Tony shook the Home Secretary's hand. The man actually smiled at Tony. Tony was a pain in the ass, but he was also something of a national treasure and his company and CEO going down, as a result of foreign intervention, wouldn't look very pretty from America's point of view.
Tony managed to make it to the door, where Rhodey was waiting for him, his mouth wide-open in shock. Pepper caught up with them and caught Tony by his other arm. Tony was panting for breath by now and his eyes have turned glassy, but he spared one last look to the young man, still writhing in agony on the ground.
'Aren't you calling an ambulance or something?' Tony asked, looking up at all the people in the room.
'We need to talk for now. He'll be fine, won't he?' someone replied, scoffing.
Tony motioned with his head for Rhodey and Pepper to lead him out of the building. With what little strength he had left in his battered body, he took his Starkphone out of his jacket.
'Send me an ambulance to the conference room in Sector 1. A young, male gunshot victim. Nothing life-threatening, but you can bill me for all the expenses and if you get here quickly, I'm paying double.'
The black Rolls Royce pulled up next to the trio. Rhodey insisted that Pepper got in first, followed by Tony and then himself. Neither of them said a word. The crisis seemed to be averted, but now Tony would have even more enemies in the Senate, British diplomats wishing he was dead and he was now leaning against the seat, clawing at his shirt with his hand and squeezing his eyes shut.
Pepper was terrified. Why was he so reckless? Why did he go to all this trouble? She knew well enough. Because of guilt, because of fear, because…becausehecaredabouther. Now she was feeling guilty herself. Guilty, confused and sick worried about the feeble, quiet figure now leaning against her shoulder. She didn't want to appear weak in front of Tony, but it was all too much. As the car started moving away from the compound, tears started rolling down her cheeks. She made no sound, no voiceful indication of her distress. She just let them flow.
'Tony, what have you done…' she whispered, more to herself than him.
''m so sorry…' he mumbled. 'I wanted to do good, it had to be done… I'm so terribly sorry. I love you Peps. I love you so much I can't bear to watch someone try to hurt you and they...wouldn't just leave it…I didn't want to shoot this guy, but he was…and you were…'Tony's breath hitched in his throat. 'I didn't…'As the car came to an abrupt hold, Tony slid down his seat and his hand landed in Pepper's lap.
'Tony? Hey, Tony?' She slapped him gently on the cheek, panic rising up in her.
'Just tired. Don't worry. I think…Can I just take a nap, Pep?' She looked down on him, brushing away the tears. All the seriousness and anger were gone. He was just Tony again. No Mr. Stark. No owner of Stark Industries. Just Tony. He threw his arm over her waist and when the corners of her mouth shot up involuntarily upon seeing his normal self again, he returned the smile and took her reaction as an affirmative. He shifted a bit, burying his tired face in her blouse and she couldn't help, but hold him close and stroke his tousled hair soothingly. She was so preoccupied with the billionaire that she didn't even notice Rhodey smirking and looking out of the window, trying to hide his amusement at this sudden display of emotions.
Tony was still ill. The stocks have plummeted. SI weapons were still somewhere out there, waiting to be used. But the moment Pepper whispered a quiet 'I love you' and was rewarded by Tony's pleased murmur and a delicate smile dancing on his lips, she knew they would be all right.
OK.Somypoliticsteacherswouldprobablycrucifymyforalltheinaccuraciesinthis,butIthoughtthatsinceit'safanfic,andnotapoliticaltheoryessay,it'lldo.
Therewillbeeitheranepilogueoranotherchapterandanepiloguecomingupsoon,dependingonthereceptionofthisone.Allthefeedback,whetherpositiveornegative,willbemassivelyappreciatedandrewardedbymyeternallove.PLEASEREVIEW;)andthankyouforreading.