RIP to the great Stan Lee. You will be missed. Excelsior!

Tony's POV

Tony found himself bound to a chair when he woke up. The room he was in was brightly lit, overwhelming his senses as he struggled to remember what happened. Along the walls of the room, he saw multiple weapons and vials. By his side there was a bucket filled to the brim with what appeared to be water. It wasn't until he saw the woman who he had thought was his friend watching him from the corner, that his memory was finally jogged. Tony recalled her getting him out of his cell and leading him throughout the facility. She had told him that they were almost out when Headmistress appeared, and Natasha turned on him. Well Natalia. Now he was worse off than he was when he was in his cell by the looks of it.

Natalia approached him cautiously, taking in closer sight of her the prey caught in her web of lies. She was happy to see Stark like this after having to spend months of his non-stop talking before she was extracted from the room when they weren't getting any new information from him. Headmistress told her that she could have the fun she wanted with him. By fun, she meant torture, but it would be fun to her. He was no longer use to the Red Room, so she could kill him once she was done.

"I see that you're finally awake," she said.

"What gave it away? The fact that my eyes were open or the obvious look of fear on my face?" Tony said sarcastically.

Natalia rolled her eyes in annoyance. Faster than his mind could process, Tony watched as she quickly pulled out a knife which was promptly pressing against his jugular.

"I'm only going to ask you this nicely once. Who is the Spiderman?" she threatened.

"If this is your nice I would hate to see your mean." he goaded.

Tony was no fool. Despite his joking demeanor, he has seen what his friend was capable of. A part of him knew that he was at a huge risk of dying if he didn't give up Peter. But at the same time, he was ready to accept his death. Maybe it'll atone for everything I've done. All the lives I've taken.

Natalia withdrew the knife from his neck. For a moment Tony believed that she'd given up. Until he sat through the tense moment of watching the blade go down into his hand. He hissed in pain, gritting his teeth to prevent a scream from escaping. A scream would only be a token of satisfaction for Natalia. It would only push her deeper into programming. Stay strong, Tony. For Peter. For Pepper. For Rhodey. For Natasha. For yourself.

The two watched as the blood flowed over his hand. The patter of the blood drops falling to the floor filled the tense silence of the room.

"Is that the best you can do?" Tony asked.

"No I have other ways of making you talk."

"What if you fail?"

"Whether I do or don't succeed in this little interrogation session of ours, I will be successful in making sure your body is never found."

She pulled the bucket from his side and placed it in front of him. Tony glared at it apprehensively. It reminded him of his time with the Ten Rings. A time that he was not ready to go back to.

"Oh, remember this," she jeered, a smirk appearing on her face. "Because I do. They did this to me while we tried to make you talk earlier. It's not very fun is it. Almost drowning until you get pulled up to get a breath of air, only to be put back under. I read about what happened in Afghanistan. It's really a pity you'll be going through this again. But it won't need to happen if you just answer by question. Who is the Spiderman?"

"I guess I'm going swimming." Tony said, fear evident in his voice.

Natalia grabbed his head and pushed it down into the water. Tony held out for a few seconds before beginning to thrash wildly. Water was getting everywhere before he was allowed to come back up. He gasped for air as he was released from the hold. His eyes were frantically trying to focus on his surroundings while he tried to push back the thoughts from times spent in torture.

"I'm guessing it's the same answer as before?" Natalia asked.

"What are you, psychic?"

He found himself back underwater. This time it was even longer than before. Black dots began to cloud his vision as Tony started to slip into unconsciousness. Just as before, Natalia pulled him back up. He sputtered and spat out water that was close to gathering in his lungs. Once again Natalia asked if he was going to tell her Spiderman's identity. And once more he fired back with a sarcastic answer. She would push him back underwater for a period of time before letting him breathe again. This went on for multiple attempts. Each time was proven to be unsuccessful.

Natalia decided to try another method to get him to talk. She walked over to the wall and retrieved a baton with two metal prongs at the end. She pressed a button activating an electric charge on the prongs. It sizzled as it came to life with the simple motion of her finger. Tony looked on in horror as he realized that it would be her next way of getting him to talk. It was one thing to use electric shock torture on a person. It was wholly different matter if that person was waterboarded shortly before and was still dripping wet. At least I don't have an arc reactor to worry about keeping me alive.

"Spiderman or no Spiderman?"

"No Spiderman."

Tony's body suddenly felt like it was on fire. It convulsed violently as he screamed in pain. Natalia grinned in glee as she watched him writhe in agony. It seemed to bring a smile to her face that none of his screams would be heard. She retracted the rod from his shoulder and looked on at her victim as his fingers involuntarily twitched from the sudden electricity. Tony's hair stood up on end. Two small but thick lines were in the form of burns on his pale skin. He breathed heavily as he tried to regain his composure.

"I hope you're ready to talk now," she said.

Tony spat blood at her feet. "Go to hell" he hissed. He was no longer able to weave jokes into his pain. It doesn't matter anyway. I mean it's not like it's her doing this to me anyway.

Natalia held the rod up to his chest, only inches above his skin. "The only one who's going, is you." She no longer had use for him. With his constant question dodging, it made her doubt that she was going to get anything out of him, so it was time to get rid of him.

Tony prepared himself for the painful death that was awaiting him. The rod was hovering over the scar from where he got his arc reactor removed, the place where his heart lied. He put on a brave face as he got ready to face his fate. But, no amount of mental preparation would be enough to combat the pain he was about to endure. Natalia pushed the rod into his chest. Tony writhed in agony as this time it was worse than before. His screams reached volumes he didn't think he could reach. Tony began to feel another pain in his chest. He felt as if his heart was being stabbed repeatedly over and over again. Suddenly it felt like it was getting squeezed out of his chest. He realized that he was having a heart attack. I'm going to die. I'm finally going to die. Tony tried to smile as he screamed, as in to mock the fact that he was dying. I'll be free from the pain. Free from the guilt. And myself.

His mind began to separate itself from reality. He thought of Pepper and Peter. His love and his "son" whom he'd move heaven and the Earth for. The former who was probably conducting the search for him. She was the woman waiting for him to come back home. The one who would hang around the lab when he was there just to have a memory of his presence. The latter who was the reason why he was stuck somewhere in Russia, rotting away, as he protected his identity. The kid probably left so many voicemails on his phone, hoping that Tony would pick up. Peter would probably go about it like the way he does his little video diaries. Telling me about his day and how much he misses me. How much he wants me to come home.

Tony recalled the many moments when Rhodey or Happy had to help him out of trouble. Happy was always the best getaway driver. Rhodes was always having to explain to some government official why he thought his actions were justified or apologize for the way Tony was acting. Both men he could go to for advice, laughter, or help. They were there for him after what went down in Siberia. Along with Peter and Pepper, they were the ones that helped him deal with his trauma. Rhodey was the one who got him to start the path to forgiveness, to letting the past go.

And even though they weren't on the best of terms right now, Tony missed the other Avengers. Some more than others. Sam and Wanda he wasn't as close with, but they had good times. Sam would tag along with him and Clint when he was at the tower to set up pranks. Wanda would always let him help her cook her childhood meals, something he never got to experience when he was younger. Tony missed Clint and his sarcastic humor. And his odd habit of crawling in the vents. He missed Steve more than what he would like. The man always found a way to get under his skin but, he could always count on his support in the long run. Even after their little war, he sent the burner phone, letting Tony know that he could always call him if he needed him. He said something like the world's gonna need Avengers. Tony was still working towards forgiving Steve for not telling him about his parents and leaving him to die in Siberia, but he knew that the universe would find a way to put the team back together.

Most of all, he remembered the woman Natalia used to be. The woman who he called friend. Natasha fucking Romanoff. Natalie. Anastasia. Spidey. Red. Nat. The badass assassin who used to spy on him for the government. His confidante. His drinking partner who always knew when to stop and when to party on. The one I can't save because she's being held hostage by a part of herself I didn't know even existed. They'll find her one day. Ross will find her in this state, and there won't be any Clint Bartons to save her.

Tony began to let go. The pain in his chest was to great, the attack too strong. His vision became fuzzy and his hearing muffled as he walked the line between life and death. He suddenly heard a commotion in the room. The staff was removed from his chest and he heard it quietly clatter on the floor. A few gunshots went off around him, none in his direction. Tony felt his wrists and legs be released from the restraints. A man was talking to him as he was gently lowered onto the floor. The man turned his head to face him, which allowed Tony to catch a glimpse of his savior. All he could see was a glint of metal and a flash of blonde before his eyes rolled back into his head.

Author's Note: So yeah, as y'all can see I started another story because I'm getting ready to wrap this one up. It probably wouldn't have taken so long if I actually wrote out an outline for these chapters instead of coming up with things as I go. Learned my lesson. Anyway thanks for reading and the reviews. Follow me on tumblr at tvlifegirl12. Bye.