EMERALD

I was immediately blindfolded the second that Aldrich's men unhooked me from the machine. I earned a few side glances when they noticed I ripped two needles out of my arm, but I still kept my mouth shut. With every bit of Extremis that they continued to inject in my body, my rage only grew stronger. I was going to need that if I was planning on surviving this.

After they blindfolded me, I had no idea where they took me until I felt the ground underneath me moving. Clearly, Aldrich was serious when he said that we were moving locations, and clearly, they had no intention of sharing that location with me.

Despite the piece of cloth over my eyes, my hands were bound in a simple rope knot. I knew that was the least of my concerns at the moment, but I chose to rely on my sense of hearing to adjust to my new surroundings. From the sound of it, there barely seemed to be anyone with me. As for the type of car, I guessed I was in the back of a truck. That only made my first point even more suspicious. If Aldrich had room to bring all of the Extremis patients, why didn't he do exactly that?

Wherever we were going, it was the end of Aldrich's plan. I was running out of time.

"You know," I spoke aloud, and I could instantly hear the nervous shifting of the guards around me. "I can't see anything in the back of this truck, so the blindfold is pretty useless."

I knew no one was going to accommodate that request, but I had an alternate motive. I needed to know who was here with me.

"Shut up."

Fortunately, I had grown to recognize that voice. He was one of Aldrich's most trusted guards, and from the hum appearing after his growl, it seemed he also had the Extremis virus in his system. I wondered how long it would take for him to explode.

"You're lucky that you're coming with us," he continued. "The rest of them were blown up and left behind."

I inhaled a quick breath, not expecting such a harsh response. At least, that was one answer, even if it was exactly what I was afraid of. I was the golden child. The rest of them, William included, were the misfits.

Instead of letting the bad news deflate my emotions further, I let them fuel my energy. If I had any intention of making a grand exit, I needed my strength.

"Who are you?" I finally asked. "I think I deserve a name after all the fun we've had."

He chuckled. "Why? So you can add it to your kill list?" he teased. I sat there in silence, not even bothering to respond. I wasn't going to get any more information out of him.

"Savin."

His secondary reply gave a minute later, catching me off guard. If he was as much of a maniac as Aldrich was, I now had two problems on my hand.

"Why are you doing this?" I changed the subject. "To prove a point?"

"To make the world a different place."

I frowned inside the blindfold, tilting my head to one side. "A different place?" I asked. "Not a better place?" That was the first time I heard those words used together.

"If we knew how to make it better, don't you think we would have done it already?" Savin replied easier this time.

I didn't know how to answer his question, despite its rhetorical nature.

He did have a point, as much as I hated to admit it. In a twisted way, we were both trying to accomplish the same thing. Only instead of saving the world that we lived on, Aldrich wanted to blow it all up and start over from the ashes. There was a difference between democracy and dictatorship, and that was where the line was drawn.

I kept my mouth shut for the remainder of the ride until I felt the ground stop shaking underneath my feet. Figuring we reached the destination, I immediately tried to listen in on different sounds or scents that might give away where I was located. It wasn't until someone opened the door of the back of the truck that I was overwhelmed with the smell of petroleum.

That was never a good sign.

"Ah yes, the smell of oil."

I inwardly groaned upon hearing the voice of Aldrich himself. He must have taken a different route to get to our location for security purposes. After all, he knew his days were numbered. Both Tony and Rhodey were after him, and Aldrich knew they weren't going to stop.

"Where the hell are we?" I snapped, already feeling agitated.

A second later, my blindfold was ripped from my face, and I shook out my hair from my face. Blinking a few times to regain sight was difficult enough without the constant stench of fossil fuels in the air. Aldrich only laughed at my response.

"Somewhere where the world can see our demonstration."

Squinting at the sudden intrusion of light, I barely had the opportunity to glance around at the dock I was standing on. The odor that was currently consuming our nostrils was coming from the adjacent ship – a giant tanker full of crates and boxes of what I assumed was fuel. One wrong move and the entire ship would go up in a blaze.

That was reassuring.

I opened my mouth to retaliate but immediately shut it again when I saw a familiar figure sauntering towards me. Flanked by two of Aldrich's men was Rhodey in his Iron Patriot suit. Inwardly groaning, I prayed that he was kidnapped and not here of his own free will. I wasn't sure I could handle another betrayal today.

"Rhodey?" I blurted out, tilting my head to one side.

He never responded.

"My mistake," Aldrich commented with a chuckle. "That's not your colonel." He tapped the front of the Iron Man suit, a taunting look crossing his face. "How are you doing in there, Mr. President?"

It felt like my heart sank to my stomach. This was much worse.

If Aldrich got his hands on the Iron Patriot suit and the President of the United States, there was no telling what he was up to next. He mentioned showing the world a demonstration, and if the President was involuntarily involved, it meant the Mandarin won.

I shook my head, a disgusted look crossing my face. "You are sick," I spat. "What did you do with Rhodey?"

"Let's just say I removed him from power for a little while."

I glanced over to where the henchmen were handling the President. I had to admit, this was not how I pictured meeting the President of the United States. I hadn't even considered the concept that the President of the United States knew who I was until this very moment. And now, we were both kidnapped.

"Is there anything you're not willing to do?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes.

"Not really," Aldrich responded with a shrug. A second later, he pulled a knife out of his pocket. In a split second, I figured this was the end for either the President or myself, but I should have known better. We were public figures. We were going to get a public execution.

Instead, I felt the ropes disintegrate around my wrists. I looked up at Aldrich in shock. There had to be a catch, judging from the stupid smirk still plastered across his lips.

"I would tell you not to run, but it's not like you have anywhere to go," he pointed out, gesturing around to the ship we were about to board. "Savin, tie up the President. The world is about to see the Mandarin's final act."

I flexed and extended my wrists, getting used to the feeling of not being bound at least for a few minutes. Heaving a sigh, I turned around myself, catching the watchful eyes of Aldrich's men. Even if I took off down the deck, I was no match for all of them.

I was free, but I was still trapped.

Deciding to undergo a different tactic, I focused my attention back on Aldrich. "Why me?" I finally asked, folding my arms across my chest.

"Hmm?"

Aldrich pretended that he wasn't listening to me, but I saw the way his eyebrows skyrocketed to his forehead.

"I get it," I said with a shrug. "You needed someone to bond with the Extremis without, you know, the unfortunate complications. But there are a million people out there who are stronger and better suited for this than me. Hell, there might be people who even volunteer for this. But still, you chose me."

Aldrich sighed, taking my arm softly. Together, he guided me towards the ship, but I felt the strength of his grip. I wasn't going anywhere.

"You are correct that I needed a warrior," he commented. "But I also needed someone who can be easily corrupted."

I raised my eyebrow towards him, leaning slightly away from his grasp. "You started with flattery but went downhill from there," I replied.

"Not willingly, of course," he added quickly, redeeming himself. "I needed someone the public was infatuated with enough that they would believe anything he or she said. If you said that Aldrich Killian's Extremis was the key to saving the world, they would bow down to me in seconds."

I let his words sink over my skin, recalling Pepper's speech about me being the one the Mandarin wanted from the beginning. If this was all planned out far before I even threatened the Mandarin publicly, then I played right into his trap.

"You think I'm that person?" I questioned.

"Have you listened to yourself?" Aldrich answered with a laugh. "Have you truly realized what you've done? You were the key to bringing the Avengers together. You were the key to getting Tony Stark back from the brink of darkness. You are the influencer of the century."

I continued to stare at Aldrich in a mixture of awe and disgust. "I think you've gone off the deep end," I said aloud, but even I wasn't convinced by my own words.

"I think you're being humble," he said softly, stopping us in our tracks and looking straight in my eyes. "You're dangerous, unpredictable, you definitely can't be trusted. And yet, you're going to be my greatest creation, even more so than Trevor Slattery." I tried to hold his gaze the best that I could, but with every new sentence he spew in my direction, I felt my heart racing. "Once I have Tony Stark and your other friends dangling over your head, you'll see how much power you really hold. The world deserves better than Emerald Maitland."

I pretended not to feel like I just got punched in the gut. Taking a few deep breaths to calm the rage that was boiling in the pit of my stomach, I tried to put a more confident face on. Still, I knew Aldrich too well by now. He already knew that he hit a sore spot.

"I told you, I don't bow to terrorists," I commented after a momentary pause.

Aldrich only shrugged his shoulders. "Trust me, you will," he said softly, and I had a sneaky feeling he was right.

"Tony escaped your last prison," I pointed out, desperate for an attempt to redeem myself. "What makes you think he won't escape your next one?"

"Because it's a two-way street, darling," he replied. "If you both love each other, you'll do anything to keep each other safe. I plan to use that to my advantage."

As much as I wanted to dispute and say that Tony learned his lesson last time, I saw the sureness in Aldrich's eyes. He was right, and so was I. Neither of them was planning on stopping.

A laugh erupted from his lips before he turned to one of the guards standing behind us. "Lock her up until I have further use for her," he said with a nod.

I didn't even get the last word in as I was led off in a separate direction than Aldrich was heading. I was really getting sick of being locked in rooms until someone needed my newfound talents. Upon hearing the door lock shut behind me, I heaved another sigh, clenching and unclenching my fists.

The world did deserve better than me, and yet, here I was anyway.

"Assholes."

I wasn't sure how much time passed before I heard the sound of gunshots. From the way I was pacing around the edges of the room, it must have been at least a couple of hours. Still, that sound clearly held no optimistic promises.

"What the hell?" I said to myself, glancing up at the sole window in the far corner of the room.

It was too high up for me to see anything but the darkening sky at sunset. Heading to the opposite end of the room, I tried to propel myself into the air to catch a glimpse of something that might have been useful, but I came up empty.

"Shit," I swore to myself, shaking my head.

The sound of gunshots meant that Aldrich's execution of the President was successful, or the execution was interrupted and whoever was attacking was about to be executed. Either way, it wasn't promising results.

I had to get out of this room.

Stalking over to the metal door, I tilted my head to one side as I examined the features of it. The door was made to swing open towards me, meaning that there was a possibility that I could rip the hinges off and take down the door. Of course, that was if the Extremis allowed my body to physically do that. I was no Captain America.

"Okay," I whispered to myself, taking a deep breath. "Time to put this to good use."

I took a few steps backward, mentally preparing myself, before I slammed my entire body weight against the metal. Being flung back and landing on the floor was not the outcome I desired. Still, I was running out of options.

Shaking my head, I pushed myself back to my feet slowly. "Ow," I muttered under my breath, although the Extremis immediately made the pain fade to nothing. I had one last go in me.

I glanced over my shoulder, stepping back to the opposite side of the room. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, trying to summon up as much strength as I could manage. The President was not dying because of me today. That alone gave me courage to try this again.

Apparently, a running start and motivation did the trick.

This time, as I threw my body weight against the inside of the door, the hinges snapped off, sending the door flying against the wall. I stood there in the empty space, my mouth falling open at what I just accomplished. By the appalled looks on the guards' faces, they felt the same way that I did.

"You know," I said, my gaze flickering back and forth between the hole in the wall and the guards. "I have to say, I didn't think that was going to work."

Catching them off guard was easy enough. I managed to knock them off their feet a second later, sending them careening towards the ground. Hearing a satisfying thunk of their heads hitting the tiled floor was enough to send me sprinting in the opposite direction.

I barely got down the hallway before I felt someone grab my elbow, dragging me into a perpendicular room. Heaving a deep sigh, I wrenched my arm away from my intruder before I saw who it was. My trust was pretty low as of the moment.

Still, I breathed out a sigh of relief when I met Pepper's eyes. The fact that she was standing in front of me meant that she was still alive, but it also meant that she was still on Aldrich's side for the time being. I wasn't sure what to believe anymore.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Pepper whispered, shaking her head.

I raised an eyebrow, folding my arms across my chest. "Trying to save the President of the United States," I stated matter-of-factly. "What are you doing?"

"Believe it or not, the same thing."

The expression on my face said it all. Pepper made a face at my nonverbal response as she glanced over her shoulder frantically. Her temporary cover was in danger the longer she stayed at my side, and we both knew it.

"Em, they're going to light him on fire," she said anxiously. "One last public execution."

My worst fears were coming true. I was about to be too late for the country.

"Jesus Christ," I swore, running my hands through my hair. "Pepper, why didn't you run? The longer you stay here-"

I didn't even get to finish my sentence. A part of me knew that there was no changing Pepper's mind when it came to basically anything.

"It doesn't matter," she interrupted before she grabbed my arm again, making sure she had my undivided attention. "Tony's here, Em."

Now, she did.

"What?" I exploded, my heart pounding in my chest.

I was wrong. My worst fears weren't coming true; all of them were already true.

"I brought him and Rhodey here on Aldrich's orders," she added after she saw the look of panic cross my face.

"Are you trying to get them both killed?" I questioned incredulously.

Pepper took a step back in shock, shaking her head. "I thought you would need some backup," she explained, and I honestly almost laughed in her face.

Apparently, everyone was in the mood to insult me today.

"I have this covered," I snapped.

This time, Pepper actually did laugh in my face. If I wasn't so weakened from my fight with the guards, I might have punched her again.

"Look at you," she pointed out, gesturing to where I was holding onto the wall for support. "You can barely walk, let alone get up to the top of the ship to rescue the President."

Details.

"Aldrich wanted you to bring them here because it's a trap," I said. "He brought them here to die, and I wouldn't be surprised if he plans on killing you too when this is all over." She blinked twice at my harsh words, but I felt no regret at telling the truth. "Pepper, I know you're trying to make up for what you've done, but let me do the saving from now on."

I hauled myself away from the wall, pushing past Pepper out of the room we were conversing in. If Tony and Rhodey were here under false premises to save me and the President, I hoped they came prepared for a fight. There was no way we weren't getting out of here without one.

At this rate, I wasn't sure we were getting out of here at all.

A/N: I'm actually the worst, I know. I promise, this story will be done within the next few weeks. I'm not even giving you an excuse this time LMFAO. Enjoy the extra-long chapter, and thank you all huns for the support and comments I love you.