Tony opened his eyes and was met with a the harsh glare of a blinding light. He groaned and tried to sit up.
"Woah," Bruce Banner stopped Tony by placing a hand on his chest and lightly pushing him back into a lying position. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"What do you mean?" Tony asked. He was confused and he could not remember how he had gotten to this brightly lit room. "What's going on?"
Tony took a good look at Bruce. His curly hair was messier than usual, he was wearing only a bath towel, and his skin was covered in a layer of dirt. He seemed distressed.
Then Tony stared down at himself. As soon as he lifted his head, he knew something was wrong. Pain shot throughout his system. His entire body hurt. He was wearing the same clothes that he remembered, but he was hooked up to beeping machines and he recognized the name of the heavy painkillers that were being emptied into his bloodstream. With shaking hands, he gingerly lifted his shirt and saw purple blotches discoloring his skin.
"You almost died, Tony." Bruce's voice was solemn and his face was serious.
The words perplexed Tony as he let hem of his shirt fall back into place, covering the bruises. Died? The last thing he remembered was eating breakfast. The breakfast that Anya had cooked…. Anya. Something had happened to her. He remembered worrying about her.
"Anya," he mumbled her name, his brow furrowing as he tried to recall what had happened to lead him here.
"She's fine," Bruce informed him. "You saved Anya from the Hydra agent who was trying to drown her."
Hydra? A flood of images surged through Tony's head and the situation became increasingly clearer as everything gradually started to make sense. Yes, he had rescued Anya and she was fine.
"Why are you naked?" Tony questioned his friend.
Bruce frowned, looking downward and away from Tony. His voice was unsteady, "I turned. We were under attack. I couldn't take it." Bruce squeezed his eyes shut and huffed, releasing all of the air from his lungs, his body deflating. "I couldn't fight Him," Bruce referred to his alter ego. "And Pepper—"
"Pepper!" Tony gasped, the heart monitor spiking. Her name had caused everything to come flooding back to him. He remembered watching her life slip away as he helplessly stood by. He had been able to remove the steel beam, but after that…he had blacked out. "Is she…," Tony's voice cracked as it trailed off, unable to say the dreaded words.
Bruce shook his head. "She's alive, Tony."
Relief swept over him. Pepper was alive.
"How is she?" He sputtered.
"She's doing better than you are."
The answer confused Tony. Pepper had almost been crushed to death. Surely, she must be direly injured.
Seeing the confusion on Tony's face, Bruce explained. "Anya saved her."
The answer only perplexed Tony more. "How is that possible?" he thought aloud.
Bruce shrugged. "I guess she has powers that she didn't tell us about."
Anya could move things with her mind. In the water, Anya had produced a force field to protect herself. And, she had saved Pepper? Brought her back to life?
Tony was far beyond thankful for what Anya had done, but he could not help but wonder, who was this kid?