AN: Thanks to Qweb and TheNaggingCube for reviewing the last chapter. There is one chapter left to this story after this one, but I haven't written it yet. Unfortunately, it took me longer to write the last 7 chapters than the first 21 simply because classes started in there. I will get it finished… eventually (hopefully by next weekend). Review with what you think, as well as if you would like to see more stories in this universe.


"Who's there?" the man demanded, sitting up on his cot. He looked around wildly, convinced he had heard a noise inside his cell.

"Not bad," a voice replied from near the wall. "Most people never hear me until it's too late." Scott Lang materialized on the opposite side of the room as he returned to his normal size. "But then, I suppose you should have reason to be afraid."

"Who are you?" Justin Hammer demanded angrily, rising from his bunk. "I've never seen you before."

"Seriously? Are we doing this again?" Scott said, annoyed. "Fine. We met a few years back when you were trying to steal the plans to one of Tony Stark's inventions. Still not ringing a bell? Oh, right; I've got to be a little more specific about which time when you tried to steal from Tony Stark! Okay, does getting buried up to your neck in cicadas ring any bells?"

Recognition dawned on Hammer's face and he took a step back. He pointed an accusing finger and said, "You! You were one of Anthony's security guys. You look different now…"

"Yeah, I lost some weight," Scott smirked, taking a step forward. "Of course, that's what happens when you get swallowed up in a massive inferno and nearly burned to death and go on the medically-induced coma diet! Oh, you were probably expecting the leotard, weren't you?" Scott sat down in the chair placed in the corner of the room and looked Justin Hammer square in the eye. "I suppose I should actually be thanking you," he mused. "Since my old uniform got trashed in the warehouse explosion that nearly killed me, I had to get a new one. I think this one looks a lot better than the other one, don't you?"

Justin Hammer was silent.

"I also got a couple of new toys out of the deal," Scott continued. "Do you like that nice bed over there? It looks a lot more comfortable than the ones that prisoners normally sleep on."

Hammer still didn't say anything.

"No response?" Scott smirked. "Guess you don't like it too much. Let me help you out with that." Scott held out his right arm, pointed it at the bed, and touched his fingers together. A pulse of yellow energy sprang out of the glove and hit the bed. The bed burst into flames as Justin Hammer leapt away with a yelp of surprise. "Like that? I sure do. So, thank you for nearly killing me and giving me an awesome new weapon," he said sarcastically.

Hammer moved as far away from Lang, who was still lounging on the chair, as possible. He huddled in the corner, fear in his eyes.

"What, do you honestly think I'm going to zap you with my new toy?" Scott smirked. He quickly added, "Don't get me wrong; I definitely thought about it. But no. We've got something else in mind for you. You see, we found your outside man, the one who built your drones. He's dead now, and we've managed to tie your bank accounts to his, so you're going down for this whole plot as a co-conspirator! I think the D.A. said that the judge who will hear your parole request's grandfather hasn't been born yet. You've got a nice long sentence ahead of you…" Scott observed. "You're going to be moved into the isolation ward in about an hour, where you will spend the entire sentence. But it's not all bad; you will have some company: the prison guard you bought off." Hammer's eyes went wide. "Yep. We found him, and he's been sentenced as a co-conspirator along with you, so he'll be with you through the whole thing, and in the same cell, too. Have fun!"

Scott got up and walked back to the crack in the wall he'd come in through. He stopped when he reached it and said, "But before you go off to spend the rest of your life in a dark, dirty hole in some basement somewhere, someone else was anxious to come and see you." Scott pulled the electrode out of his utility belt, stooped down, and pressed a button. Bruce Banner materialized at about a quarter of his regular size. Before he had even finished fully growing, he was already turning green. Hammer's eyes shot open even wider in terror.

"Don't worry," Scott assured. "Hulk isn't his full size, so he shouldn't be able to kill you. Well, you two have fun! I'll be back in an hour.

"Oh, one last thing," Scott said as he shrank down and started clambering into the crack in the wall. "Every year on this day, I am going to send an army of cicadas to embed themselves in the wall of your cell, and command them to chirp constantly until they die, just to remind you of this."

Scott walked out of the cell as an enraged two-and-a-half-foot-tall Hulk stalked menacingly toward the disgraced billionaire-turned-prisoner.


The first thing of which Tony was aware was that he was surprisingly comfortable. It felt like he was floating on a cushion of air. He tried to turn his head, but discovered that it wouldn't move. He tried lifting his right arm to feel his face, but realized that it seemed to be made of lead. Attempting with the left arm brought the same result.

He felt a slight pressure on his right hand. It confused him at first. The pressure felt warm and familiar. Tony mustered his strength and squeezed his right hand as hard as he could. His thumb and index finger moved minutely. The pressure and warmth on his hand suddenly increased.

"Tony?" The voice sounded vaguely familiar, though he could not quite place it. He squeezed his right hand again, and felt the same pressure on it. With what seemed like a herculean effort, Tony forced his eyes open.

The first thing Tony saw was a familiar face hovering above his head. The normally straight and well-kept strawberry-blond hair was frazzled and stuck out in odd directions. The lines on the face looked drawn, and its makeup was smeared. Deep bruising under the eyes hinted at sleepless nights filled with worry. The mouth was pulled into a tight line. Looking back up at the eyes, Tony saw worry and fear.

"P-Pepper?" Tony rasped out. He was suddenly aware of how dry his throat was.

As though she could read his mind, Pepper reached over and picked up a cup of water from the table and held it up to his lips. She slowly poured some of the contents into his mouth. He swished it around before swallowing. When he had, Pepper poured a little more in his mouth.

"Wha-what happened?" Tony asked when he had drunk enough water.

"What do you remember?"

"Not much," Tony replied, more strongly. He tried to push himself up into a sitting position, and exhaled heavily as Pepper assisted him and adjusted his pillows. He continued, "I remember giving an interview after Clint and I took out those bank robbers. I remember being tied to a chair and left in pitch darkness. I have a vague memory of an explosion and falling over and hitting my head."

"You were kidnapped," Pepper explained. "We think the reporters actually knocked you out and took you away."

"Who—?"

"Justin Hammer," she responded quickly.

"Hammer!?" Tony shouted, pushing himself up straighter in the bed.

Tony fell back, weakened by the sudden exertion, as Pepper put her hand on his arm and said, "Relax. It's already been taken care of. Steve, Rhodey, Vision, Bruce, and Scott Lang have already seen to it that he is held accountable for everything that happened."

"What did happen?" Tony asked, allowing her to fluff his pillows.

"He hacked into our system and sent us a message saying that he wanted to be released from prison, and there was nothing we could do to rescue you because he had a small army surrounding the Tower. To show how serious he was, he even had a woman shot outside the Tower.

"Rhodey and his team came in to try to find you, since they weren't in the Tower at the time. Meanwhile, Clint and Steve worked together to find the guys outside the Tower. Clint in particular went at the search like a man possessed. Rhodey found the building where you were being held yesterday about the same time that Clint and Steve came up with a plan to get us out of the Tower.

"Tony, I hope you realize how much everyone did for you yesterday," she interrupted herself forcefully, squeezing his hand. "Natasha nearly bled out and died in the street when a sniper shot her and hit her femoral artery. Lang was almost incinerated in a warehouse explosion. There was an incident where Agent Danvers absorbed so much energy that she nearly lost control of it, and who knows what would have happened. Rhodey and Vision got thrown across a room by an explosion. They were all buried in rubble when a building collapsed on them. Agent Morse may never recover from getting concussed twice and breaking both her legs."

"Believe me, Pepper, I realize how much the others would do for me," Tony replied, looking her in the eye. "And I would do the same for them if any of them were in the same situation.

"Pepper, you know that I'm not still that guy who only cared about his own life and reputation. You changed that. You are more important to me than anything else, and after you it's the members of my team. I realize the sacrifices that they made, and even more the one they were willing to make, for me. I am grateful for what they did for me. More than anything, I'm grateful to be here with you," he finished, leaning back into the bed.

"How is everyone?" Tony asked a minute later.

"Natasha has already recovered; one of the Asgardians that Thor brought gave her some medicine that healed her in a matter of minutes. Lang—I'm still not sure how he got better; the doctors said he would be out of commission for a year at the least, but he was out for a day and returned to the fight just in time to save the team. Danvers, do you even need to ask? She was dead on her feet a couple nights ago, and back to normal—well, 'supernormal'—the next morning. Rhodey and Vision are both fine. Vision didn't even dent, and Rhodey's suit absorbed most of the impact. He needs to repair a lot of the pieces on the back, but other than that he's fine. When the factory collapsed on everyone, they all got dinged up a bit, but most of them came out all right. One of the Asgardians was nearly crushed and had to be rushed back to Asgard for healing. Agent Morse came out of it the worst; she's on the other side of the curtain. Bruce is worried she will have brain damage since she received two concussions less than a day apart," Pepper rattled off. "In all, I suppose we escaped this incident relatively intact: Of the 18 S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, superheroes, and Asgardians involved in this thing, everyone is still alive, and only one is still in critical condition now that you're awake," Pepper smiled wearily.

"You look exhausted, Pep," Tony noticed with concern. "When's the last time you slept?"

"I dozed a little while I was waiting for you to wake up," she responded, stifling a yawn. "I got a few hours of sleep while you were away, but not many."

"Climb in here, Pep," Tony instructed. "The bed's big enough, and the doctor won't complain. Or at least he won't if he still wants ready access to an electron microscope!"

Tony edged himself over on the bed and Pepper eased herself onto it next to him. She was asleep before her head touched the pillows.


"Thank you, Warden, I'm sure your precautions will be sufficient," Steve said, shaking the prison warden's hand.

"I must say, it is quite an honor to meet Captain America!" the man replied. "My father joined the Army because of your videos; he will be jealous that I got to meet you."

"Next time you see him, thank him for his service for me," Steve smiled. He turned to leave, Rhodey at his side. They stepped out of the building and walked through the prison yard to the gate. The guards opened the gate as soon as they reached it, and they strode out to the quinjet parked in the middle of the nearly-vacant parking lot. When they reached it, they walked up the open loading ramp and saw three figures lounging on the benches.

"Hammer taken care of?" Rhodey asked.

"Yep. He won't be forgetting about us anytime soon," Scott smirked.

"Vision?" Steve asked.

"I recorded the whole thing as you requested," the android replied with a grin.

"Excellent. Cue it up."