''Rosehill Hospital, can I help you?''

''Hi, I'm looking for a patient. Ben White,'' Rebecca spoke into the cell as she turned another corner. ''He would have been admitted last night or early this morning,''

''One moment,''

Rebecca just wanted to know if he was okay. If he was still in hospital or even just in Rosehill, he would be safe. Ben had nothing Killian wanted, but she couldn't pretend he wouldn't use him against her when he was using whatever he could. Killian's offer was an obvious trap, but she had too much to lose, too many people that were in danger because of the decision she had to make now.

''Ma'am?''

''Yes, I'm here,''

''Are you the patient's girlfriend?''

''I am,''

''Normally discussing a patients personal information would be prohibited, but Ben White discharged himself from hospital this morning against my recommendation after he had some concerns,''

''Concerns?'' Rebecca worried. ''What happened?''

''He said his girlfriend was in trouble and that he had to get out of here,''

Rebecca sighed and gripped the steering wheel harder, hoping that Ben hadn't gone off on a quest to find her. She would have done the same if she was in his position, but she didn't want him involved in this. If anything happened to him because of her and what she was involved in, she'd never forgive herself. Ben had his family back in Malibu, he had a good future ahead of him. She didn't want him involved in this.

''Ma'am, there's help available if you need it. If you and your boyfriend are involved in something dangerous, there are organisations to help you, to protect you. Domestic violence, abuse within a relationship-''

''No, no, we're not in a relationship like that, we love each other,'' she explained, smiling at the thought of their happier memories together. ''We wouldn't hurt each other. When he left, was he okay? His injuries, were they bad?''

''He has a concussion and stitches. Like I said, he left against my recommendation, he should be here resting. If he's gone to go find whoever did this to him, I suggest you seek help from authorities. I know you two are involved in something dangerous,''

''Something like that,''

Rebecca ended the call and threw the phone on to the passenger seat. Ben was injured and out there somewhere looking for her, but Killian had told her he was in a hospital bed. Rebecca was relieved that Killian wasn't paying close attention to Ben, that he was able to get out there. Even if she didn't know where he was or where he was going, at least she knew that he wasn't where Killian thought he was.

She turned another corner onto a long road, following the directions Killian had given her, hoping she could make it there before he assumed she refused his invitation.

After Tony had woken up to find himself tied to a rusty old bed frame, he immediately regretted not bringing more weapons. It was a lot to come to terms with. The Mandarin wasn't really the Mandarin. He was a decoy, which meant the lunatic who was actually calling the shots and terrifying the whole country was still out there.

He knew about Killian and Extremis, but it all made so much more sense to him when he looked up at saw Maya Hansen sitting at a desk across from him. It wasn't a surprise that she was involved with the virus, he remembered that night in Switzerland when he met her and she told him about it, but he was surprised she was working for the Mandarin.

''Just like old times, huh?'' she looked over to him, seeing his hands tightly bound to the frame. ''It wasn't my idea,''

''So you took Killian's card,'' he shook his head, remembering that night as if it was yesterday.

Killian looked so frail and weak, desperately trying to hand a business card for A.I.M to Maya that night in the elevator. Tony had made it clear he wasn't interested, even trying to refuse on Maya's behalf too, but apparently she was interested after all.

''No, I took his money,''

They bantered for a moment, Tony angry at the whole situation. He had come so close, but it was all useless. All this could have been stopped thirteen years ago, he could have intervened and stopped Extremis and all of this from happening if only he'd known.

''Extremis is practically stable,'' Maya defended.

''I'm telling you it's not!'' Tony yelled angrily, thinking back to the footage he seen and the 'bombs'. ''Maya, you're kidding yourself,''

''Then help he fix it!''

Maya held up a card in front of him with the words 'You know who I am' and an equation written on the back. Tony wrote that. He remembered the name tag he'd worn that night, he remembered leaving it in her room after they spend the night together, but he couldn't believe he'd written that equation, that he had some part in all of this.

''Did I do that?'' he asked. ''Is this what you've been chasing around?''

''You don't remember,'' Maya shook her head, disappointed.

''I can't help you,'' he shook his head. ''You used to have a moral psychology. You used to have ideals. You wanted to help people, now look at you. I get to wake up every morning with someone who...still has her soul,''

They both looked up when they heard a door open behind them, footsteps making their way into the room.

''You know what my old man used to say to me? One of his favorite of many sayings, 'The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.'''

Tony looked over at Killian as he walked over to them.

''You're not still pissed about the Switzerland thing, are you?''

'' How can I be pissed at you, Tony? I'm here to thank you. You gave me the greatest gift that anybody's ever given me. Desperation. If you think back to Switzerland, you said you'd meet me on the rooftop, right? Well for the first twenty minutes, I actually thought you'd show up. And the next hour, I...well I considered taking that one step shortcut to the lobby, if you know what I mean,'' Killian explained. ''But as I looked out over that city, nobody knew I was there, nobody could see me, no one was even looking. I had a thought that would guide me for years to come. Anonymity, Tony. Thanks to you, it's been my mantra ever since, right? You simply rule from behind the scenes. Because the second you give evil a face, a Bin Laden, a Gaddafi, The Mandarin, you hand the people a target,''

''You're something else,'' Tony shook his head, unable to believe how far Killian had taken this.

''Well, I wanted to repay you with the same gift that you so graciously imparted to me,''

Tony watched as Killian threw metal balls onto the floor, rolling until they stopped and projected an image that make Tony's insides turn in disgust. Pepper was locked into a machine, her body glowing and her face twisted in a painful expression. They were giving her Extremis.

''Desperation. Now, this is live. I'm not sure if you can tell, but at this moment the body is trying to decide whether to accept Extremis or just give up,'' Killian told him proudly. ''And if it gives up, I have to say the denotation is...it's quite spectacular. But until that point, it's really just a lot of pain,''

Tony refused to look at the image again, he didn't want to see Pepper in pain. He didn't want to see them hurting her. He wanted to break free and kill them, he wanted to hurt them like they were hurting him, but he couldn't. Not yet, anyway.

Rebecca had arrived at the location she'd been given, but she didn't like it at all. There was no one around outside, no sign of Killian or any of her loved ones. Getting out of her car, she carefully walked around to the front of the building, trying to see where to go next. There was no way she was walking into the mansion without checking it out first, she had no idea what she was getting herself into.

''Well, looks like you've been up to a lot today,''

Rebecca turned to see Savin standing behind her, a satisfied grin on his face.

''Shot me, escaped from me, got a nice little haircut,'' he folded his arms, walking closer. ''I like this new look, it's rebellious,''

''Guess I'll shoot a little closer to the heart next time, shall I?'' she told him, taking a step back.

Savin glared at her, remembering his orders. He wasn't supposed to hurt her as long as she cooperated. Killian wanted her to feel like they were coming to an agreement, he couldn't let her feel threatened, but it was almost impossible not to.

''Killian said to come inside,'' he told her. ''Follow me, unless you want to refuse the offer and then, well, I guess you know how that goes,''

Rebecca angrily stared at the man, waiting for him to start walking. She was going to cooperate, she was going to speak with Killian and she was going to somehow figure out a plan. She had Extremis, she was stronger than ever, but these people were stronger.

As he followed Savin in, she saw something down one of the corridors. It was a suit, or at least that's what she thought she'd seen. Red and blue colored, just like the one Rhodey had.

''Why do you have a suit?'' she asked, stopping.

''That doesn't concern you,'' Savin told her, grabbing her arm to pull her along.

Rebecca was about to protest when she head a gunshot in one of the other rooms. Her eyes widened, immediately thinking Killian had already taken someone who loved, that she was too late.

''If I were you I'd keep walking,'' Savin suggested.

''You're a maniac,'' Tony looked to Killian who had just shot and killed Maya.

She'd tried to help him, have Killian release him, and now she was dead. Killian was crazed, he wasn't sane and Tony was finally seeing how far his mind had gotten away from him.

''Sir,''

Killian turned around to see Savin walking in the room, another pair of footsteps behind him. Killian grinned, turning back to Tony who was still staring over to Maya sadly. Savin stood where he was as Killian walked up the stairs, pulling Rebecca's arm and bringing her into the room as well.

''One of my best experiments, a success, and coincidentally a close tie to you Tony,'' he smirked.

Tony looked up, not expecting to meet the gaze of his daughter.

She was meant to be in Malibu, she was meant to be safe. All this time he thought this was his fight, that Rebecca was, for once, not dragged into something. But here she was. Her hair was shorter as if it had been hacked at with scissors, and there was something else different that he couldn't pick up on yet, but something seemed wrong.

''Rebecca,'' he spoke with a worried voice.

Rebecca stared back at him with a terrified expression. Seeing her father as a hostage once again, it brought back memories she didn't want.

''I ran into Rebecca a few days ago on a highway in the early hours of the morning. Drinking and driving, quite the mix,'' he shook his head disapprovingly at her. ''When her car rolled and smashed into the concrete road, I saw my opportunity. Tony, you don't believe Extremis works. You don't believe it does good, or that it helps people in any way. This is your proof. Your daughter, standing here alive with no injury whatsoever after I found her clinging to life. Extremis works,''

Killian grabbed Rebecca's arm and lifted it up, pulling a knife from his pocket. Rebecca winced as he put it to her skin and Tony struggled against the frame in protest as Killian pulled the blade across her skin. Tony didn't want to see, but Rebecca's skin began glowing orange. Her eyes turned red as she pulled her arm away in pain and anger and Tony saw what she was. She had Extremis. Killian turned to him with a grin.

''Do you believe in it now?''

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I started writing this story so long ago that my motivation for it and my ideas began to die away, but I hope I get some more chapters to you guys soon!