Chapter 37! I hope you like it and please let me know what you think! And thank you very much for the reviews! You're right, Group C are Phil and the others. Who knows, maybe we'll meet them in person sometime? I just realized that I got the first ideas for this story about seven years ago, crazy how fast the time passes. Back then, I just had the idea of the first chapters and didn't know where this would be heading, most of the ideas came to me just recently. It makes me happy to know that people are still reading this and that you like it, so thank you very much for your support!
I don't own the characters or places!
Everything hurt. The crash drew the air out of Tony's lungs and stones and other parts from the tower fell down on him. He was lucky that it didn't crush him right away. Luckily, the suit could stand things like that – until some point. Which had been crossed now.
He was buried under stones and couldn't breathe properly. His back was hurting like hell and he felt a sharp pain in his leg. Apparently, one of the metal plates of the suit was bent and cut into his flesh. And his arm, which wasn't healed completely after the incident in California, was also hurting again.
"JARVIS?" He asked, hoping that the suit still functioned.
"It seems like you made the tower fall, Sir." Tony had never been happier to hear JARVIS' voice. "You have bruises on your back and there is a long cut on your leg, you are losing blood. And your arm is bruised as well."
Tony groaned. Blood loss was never a good thing. "How long do I have? And does the suit still work?"
"The suit is intact, but there is a large stone on top of it. When you shove it aside, you will be able to move again. And with the blood loss, you will loose consciousness in about thirty minutes."
"What about the others?" Tony asked, already trying to push the stone aside. However, it wasn't easy with his injured arm.
"Captain Rogers and Mrs. Romanoff are fine with just a few bruises, as well is Thor. Mr. Barton might have cracked a few ribs and Dr. Banner is chasing the Hydra agents who weren't injured by the fall." JARVIS informed him.
Tony sighed. "Alright, let's get this stone out of the way." He muttered and began to push against it. It took all his strength, but in the end he was able to move the biggest stone aside and he was able to stand up. "How many soldiers are injured?" He asked when he looked around. There was still much dust in the air. Tony thought that he saw Steve in the distance, helping a few men, but he wasn't sure.
"The tower destroyed most of the military base, Sir." JARVIS said.
Tony groaned. "And all because of a stone…"
"It was not your fault, the shots were aimed at you perfectly. It would have been difficult to move aside in time. And they would have hit the tower either way."
"Are you trying to cheer me up, JARVIS?" Tony asked lightly and tried to walk towards the others. However, the sharp pain in his leg made him sink to the ground again. "Can we get this off?" He reached for the metal on his leg and tried to pull it away. Slowly, the pain lessened. But then Tony saw the blood and he knew that he had to bandage the wound quickly.
"Tony?" A voice called and he looked up to see Steve running towards him. He was covered in dust and there was blood on his face, but otherwise he looked fine. "You're injured." Steve knelt down next to him and looked at the wound. "We've got to get you to the jet. Can you walk?"
He nodded. "I'll be fine. How are the others?"
While Steve helped him to walk towards the jet, he informed Tony about the situation on the ground. "Most of the Hydra agents were in front of the gate when the tower crashed. The others were able to escape, but Bruce is chasing them. Thor and Natasha are helping the soldiers of the military to find the people under the pieces of the buildings. Clint is injured, he's sitting somewhere close to Natasha, he didn't want to leave her. He said he can still use his bow, even if he's injured." At the last words, Steve rolled his eyes. "What happened there? I saw them shooting at you and the next moment, the tower was coming down on us."
Tony groaned. They had reached the jet and he stepped out of his suit. Now he could see the cut on his leg better. It really didn't look good. He sat down quickly, not wanting to fall in front of Steve. "They hit me with a few warheads and I crashed into the tower." He said shortly and inhaled sharply when Steve began to clean the injury. His head was hurting as well, but JARVIS would have informed him about a concussion.
"Then you've been lucky." Steve muttered. "You could have been dead."
Tony laughed dryly. "Yes, and everyone else here as well. You've been lucky too."
Steve shook his head. "Nat and I had my shield and Thor just jumped out of the way. Clint hasn't been that lucky, he was also hit by a stone. His good reflexes saved his life."
Tony sighed and clenched his fists when Steve bandaged the wound. "You need to see a doctor."
Tony nodded. "JARVIS, can you arrange that when we get back to New York?"
"Of course, Sir." Tony nodded slowly and leaned back. That wasn't a good idea, it felt like his whole back was a single bruise. He sighed.
"You won't let me help you at removing this mess, will you?" He asked and Steve shook his head.
"You're injured. And besides, I'll just get the others and then we have to leave. Someone needs to look at your injury. And Clint needs a doctor too." The concern in Steve's voice was evident.
Tony nodded slowly. "I thought so." He used all his strength to stand up and looked at the suit. He had straightened out the plates on the leg so they wouldn't hurt him again. "Too bad, Steve. I'll go with you either way. After all, it's also my fault that this happened."
Steve sighed, but didn't protest. He knew that it was useless when Tony made up his mind.
"They would have hit the tower either way." He said simply when Tony tried to step into the suit and stumbled. Steve caught his arm and raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure that you don't want to wait here? You lost much blood and I bet your other injuries are hurting as well."
"Sir, you have three missed calls from Colonel Rhodes. Maybe you can hear what he wants to tell you, it seemed to be urgent." JARVIS said in this moment.
Tony frowned. "Are you siding with him now, JARVIS?"
"You need rest, Sir. And as I said, Colonel Rhodes emphasized that it is urgent."
He sighed and sat down again. "Let me hear those calls." He muttered when Steve left again to look for the others.
Twenty minutes later, the Avengers were on their way back to New York. Their help hadn't been needed at the military base anymore after reinforcements arrived. They had left when Bruce returned. He'd caught some Hydra agents, but a few had been able to escape.
"Shooting at the tower wasn't a good idea." Clint muttered in the jet. He was lying on his back and tried to breathe slowly. Bruce had already given him and Tony something against the pain, but it didn't help that well.
"I think they noticed that." Tony muttered, but didn't look up from the screen of his tablet. He'd called Rhodey back and of course he'd started to look for the people who tried to hack the government immediately. He thought that he already knew who it was, but until now he couldn't find any signs of Hydra. And JARVIS was also on it.
His headache was getting stronger and it was hard to concentrate, but he kept going. At least he had something to do that distracted him from the pain. Outside, it was dark and somehow, Tony hoped that Pepper was asleep already. He didn't want to face her right now. Another argument just because he got hurt was nothing he wanted yet.
"We'll be there soon." Steve announced. This time, he was flying the jet. "Everyone still feeling alright?"
"Fine." Clint muttered.
"I'll live." Tony replied thoughtfully and frowned at the screen. "And soon, we'll find out who wanted to hack into top secret government files." He'd informed the others about Rhodey's call.
"Maybe you should let JARVIS go on with this. Someone really has to look at your injuries now, Tony." Bruce suggested slowly and when Tony looked up, he saw the worried look on his face.
He sighed and nodded. "Would be better, you're right. JARVIS is on it either way." The bleeding on his leg had stopped, but he'd need some stitches. And more painkillers for his back.
They landed on the roof of the tower and Steve helped Tony to get out of the jet, while Natasha and Bruce supported Clint. There was light in the living area of the tower and Tony knew immediately that Pepper was still awake. Great, this was the last thing he needed now.
He also didn't want to scare her again. Their dramatic arrival in Malibu had already shaken her, and back then Tony hadn't even been injured. Now he was in the worst condition of them all, next to Clint. Stupid stone. And stupid tower.
When they entered the tower, they headed for the elevator quickly. JARVIS had told them that a doctor was already waiting for them in the hospital area. Tony looked around while Steve supported him. His friend seemed to notice his uneasiness, because he scanned the room as well. "No one there." He whispered and Tony's lips twitched.
Just in that moment, the door which led to the kitchen opened and Pepper left the room. When she saw them, she stopped immediately and paled. Her eyes grew wide when they landed on Clint, Natasha and Bruce. When she finally found Tony, she inhaled sharply. "What happened?" Her voice was quiet, but it echoed through the room since all the Avengers had stopped walking when they noticed Pepper.
Slowly, she walked towards them. Steve was still standing between Tony and Pepper, but after a few steps she was able to look at him properly. Her eyes wandered from his face to his leg and she swallowed. The provisional bandage was already red from blood. He noticed that her hands, which were holding a glass of water, were shaking slightly. "Tony…"
He breathed in deeply and forced a smile on his lips. "Everything's fine. Just a small incident on the mission. Maybe someone threw stones at me and I crashed into a building."
"Which collapsed." Thor added and made a gesture with his hands. "It was quite spectacular. It buried many people under its remnants."
Tony glared at him. "Not helping." He muttered and looked at Pepper again. "It looks worse than it really is, we're on our way to the hospital wing." When she didn't reply and just stared at him, he glanced at Steve. "It will be fine, Pep."
Slowly, they continued their way towards the elevator. Only Tony and Steve remained standing and he tried to smile at Pepper again. "Do you want to come with us or will you stay here?" He asked softly. He knew that Pepper didn't like going to the hospital area.
To his surprise, a stern determination was in her eyes when she nodded. "I'll come with you."
He nodded. "Great, then we should get going. I really need to sit down."
An hour later, Tony was lying on a bed in the hospital wing. Their doctor had cleaned his wounds and bandaged his leg. He also got painkillers. The cut wasn't too deep, the blood loss had been caused by the metal of his suit, it had prevented normal blood circulation. It should heal fast, however he needed to stay calm for a few days.
And he hated not being able to do anything. However, Steve had suggested that he found the hacker of the government and after that, he could already start to figure out how they could get into that Hydra base in Alaska. That would give him something to do. Fixing the stabilizers of his new suit would have to wait as well, his arm was bruised again and he had to spare it.
Maybe he should really continue his work on the Extremis… After he'd gotten it out of Pepper's system, he'd done more research on it, but then he'd dropped that subject. Bruce would be interested in that as well, they could look into it together. He made a mental note to mention it soon.
There was a soft knock on the door and Pepper walked in. In front of the bed, she hesitated for a few moments, before she ignored the chair for visitors and sat down on the bed. She'd accompanied them downstairs, but she'd been quiet all the time, even when Steve told her what happened. To Tony's surprise, she didn't say anything like 'You said you'd be careful' or 'Why on earth did you have to crash into that tower?'. When the doctor wanted to stitch up Tony's wound, Pepper had left for some time. Tony knew that she didn't like to see blood, even if she'd never admit it.
"How are you feeling?" She asked and the worry in her voice made Tony smile.
"I'm fine, I told you it's nothing."
She sighed. "It doesn't look like nothing. And the doctor said that you need to stay still for at least five days. Do you think you can manage that?"
He rolled his eyes. "I'm not a child, I can follow the orders of the doctor."
"Normally, you don't care about those orders." Pepper threw in.
He smiled slightly. "That's true. But I'll do it this time, I promise."
To his surprise, her lips twitched. However, the concern in her eyes remained. "You nearly gave me a heart attack when you returned." She admitted and looked at her hands in her lap.
Tony reached out to take one of her hands and squeezed it. Luckily, she was sitting on the side of the bed with his good arm. "I'm sorry, Pep. I really didn't want you to worry about me."
Slowly, she looked up again. "You know that I'm always worried. Please don't make a habit out of this, coming back from your missions injured."
"Last time it wasn't me." He interjected immediately.
"I don't want any of you to come back injured." Pepper said seriously. "And especially not you. From what Steve said, you can be lucky that you're still alive. All of you."
"He likes to exaggerate." Tony muttered.
"No, he doesn't and we both know that. And I bet JARVIS would also tell me how close you were to –"
"But I'm fine." He interrupted her before she could finish that sentence. How close you were to dying. He really didn't want to think about that. "They caught me off guard, it won't happen again. I calculated this wrong."
For half a second, she frowned and there was something else in her expression. Was it guilt? However, the look vanished so fast that Tony thought he'd just imagined it. "What's wrong?" He asked, not really expecting an answer.
"Normally, you don't calculate things in the wrong way." Pepper replied and he raised his eyebrows in surprise.
He sighed. "The past weeks haven't been easy." He said slowly and realized how true that was. The whole fight with Pepper and everything that came along with it had distracted him. But was that really the reason why he didn't see those missiles coming today? He'd rather say that it was just bad luck. "But today, it was just bad luck. Things like that happen, remember the incident in China when I didn't see the plane coming and I flew into it?"
His attempt to cheer her up didn't succeed. "I have to apologize, Tony." Pepper told him. "I didn't want to be a distraction to you. I know I haven't been very kind to you these past days."
Wow, he expected everything, but not this. "What do you mean?" He asked with a frown. "When this is still about Maria –"
"It is. I know that she's just your assistant because SHIELD needs a cover and I overreacted." Pepper said those words quickly, like she needed to get them out now. "I shouldn't have acted so cold towards you."
Tony smiled at her. He'd already expected that this was the problem but hearing it from her was something different. "You could have told me that she bothers you." He said softly. "I already told you that we can figure things out together."
She nodded. "I'm sorry, it was stupid. But we just got each other back and sometimes, I can't help feeling a little… I don't know." She admitted. "It just bothered me."
He squeezed her hand again. "You shouldn't feel like that. I love you, Pepper. More than anything. It's always you, remember?"
Her lips twitched. "I love you too." She leaned down to kiss him. It was a short kiss, but after it they were both smiling. "Please don't do something like that again." Pepper muttered.
"I'll be careful." He promised.
She didn't look convinced. "You already said that earlier. And look what happened."
"You know that I can't promise you more. The risk is part of the job."
She nodded. "I know that. That doesn't make it easier."
"You know that I'll always come back to you." Tony whispered and she smiled.
"I know."
