Chapter 9: C
Yawn… Yeah… I'm a little tired! But hello! Howdy! How are y'all? I apologize for such a late update once more. I finished many of my college applications but there are more to come… I—I'm just gonna get started. I have two competitions down below… so keep reading to find out what they are!
Disclaimer: Sigh… I'm just not in the mood.
Pepper looked down and saw that her clothes were replaced with a silky robe. She threw the red sheets over her chest and moved back to the bed frame. "You're a monster. Truly… You're a monster!" She cried.
Tony stayed silent though anger flashed across his blue eyes. An uneasy smirk twisted on his lips, as though he was about to attack. "I don't care what you say about me, Angel. I may be a monster, a crook, and a villain… But—I have you now, and there is nothing you can do to get rid of me."
Pepper watched in horror as Tony lowered himself to the foot of the bed. She wanted to whimper so badly that it hurt, but she kept a straight face. She wouldn't give in to pleasure him. Pepper was better than that.
"I could, maybe, give you some freedom." Tony said, tracing patterns on the silky bed sheets. He was uncomfortably close to her feet.
"What do you mean, 'maybe'? You can't control me! You have no authority!"
A chuckle. "Quite the contrary, actually. Remember, Angel, you're no longer in your Manhattan. This is my world… And my world isn't as pleasant as yours."
Pepper gulped, hopefully not audibly. God knew how terrible this Manhattan was. Was it in ruins? Where buildings torn down? Were people hiding from the streets, invisible to the naked eye?
As if reading her mind, Tony looked down to where her legs would be and smiled. "It's not as far fetched as you may imagine. In fact, it looks the exact same. Same people, stores, you name it. It's just—a lot rougher." His hand snaked up to her foot, and he gave a single stroke.
Pepper shuddered.
"So you're saying… I'm at home, but a crude home." Pepper said, cautiously. She monitored every movement that the Tony made. She kept a close eye especially on his face. If one thing she learned during her online training, she knew when a person would attack, just by the expressions on their faces.
Tony looked up at her, his blue eyes gleaming. "Exactly."
"So you basically don't want me to leave your sight."
"Not in this town, no, Angel."
Pepper huffed in exasperation. "How exactly did I get here? What did you do?" His hand stroked her foot again. Pepper moved in closer to her body, contempt with the look of hurt on Tony's face.
"Those questions are unnecessary. You're with me now. That's all that matters." The doppelganger kicked his shoes off onto the floor, and moved completely onto the bed.
Pepper balled up her fists. "You kidnapped me, and are forcibly keeping me imprisoned in your world. Everything I say is necessary." She watched, as Tony's face grew annoyed, and used it to her advantage. "You said that you would do anything for me."
"I would."
"Anything—right?"
Tony frowned. "Why do you ask?"
Pepper wrapped her arms around her knees, drawing her legs even closer to her chest. "Well…" She said in a small voice, "I would like you to let me do what I want. I can't do anything else here, so at least let me be free."
His face was in complete shock. For a second, Pepper thought she saw guilt flash across his face, as though he was reconsidering what he did to her.
"You'll always be free, Angel." His voice was soft. Tony looked broken, and it looked like he was contemplating the reality of the situation.
Pepper made a move to get up, but suddenly Tony snapped back. His expression grew dark and romantic.
She did not like that at all.
"Do you know how long it was since I kissed you?" He whispered softly. Pepper gaped in shock, she knew exactly where this was going. Tony stroked her foot, and Pepper couldn't pull away.
Tony must've taken that as a welcome, and grinned broadly. He sat up and put his arms around her legs. Before Pepper could react, he pulled his arms towards him. Pepper fell from the bed frame and onto to mattress.
"GET OFF!" She screamed. She watched in horror as Tony pushed her arms above her head with both his hands and leaned down.
"Not until I get what I want." He said, leaning in.
…
Tony cried out. "AH!" His instincts took over as he shoved his index finger into his mouth.
"What happened?" Rhodey shouted, running from the bathroom. He slipped on a bolt and got strewn across the floor.
Tony looked at him, his finger still in his mouth, and smiled. "You should look at the way you are, dude." He said, a laugh bubbling inside of him. Rhodey stood and looked at him, a fake frown written on his face.
"Yeah? How about I trip you and you land on a bolt." He said rubbing his back. Tony's smile disappeared, and he felt guilty at once.
"Sorry… I didn't mean it. It—It's been a while since I laughed." Tony looked back at his work desk. Metal fragments and instruments were spread out. On one corner, something looking like a remote, was torn apart.
Rhodey sighed, looking from the remote to Tony. "Don't worry about it, I was kidding." He turned his head towards the invention. "How's it coming?"
"It's not easy… At all. You're talking about an invention that warps space and time. Another dimension, Rhodey. I don't understand how the other Tony did it, because it requires a lot of chemicals and other 'stuff.'" Tony exaggerated putting finger quotes around the word.
Rhodey grimaced. "I'm guessing when you mean 'stuff' you mean stuff you can't find around here."
"Well you're right… I'll need to travel to Wakanda."
Rhodey looked startled. "Wakanda? What the heck is in Wakanda?"
Tony smiled, and pulled up a profile of Howard Stark and the Wakanda King shaking hands. "That's T'Challa. My father went to Wakanda for some research when he met T'Challa's tribe. He found some incredible material that can't be destroyed by anything but itself. I think if I can harness just a little of that material, I should be able to open a channel with another dimension."
"Why does he look so familiar?" Rhodey asked squinting at the dark man in the photo.
"Yeah, you know him. We met him before, just that—well we didn't get along then. I didn't realize who he was until he mentioned vibranium." Tony said with a smile. "Black Panther. Ring a bell?"
Rhodey's eyes widened. "The Black Panther? But—how did—how did you…?" He was a little more shocked than excited. "Wow…"
"I know right? T'Challa told me, before he left, that I could visit him at any time. He said that he owed us a favor for saving his life." Tony exited out of the screen, leaning back onto his workbench. He could see how quickly Rhodey put together the idea.
"You think vibranium will help, the invention I mean?" Rhodey asked.
Tony looked back at him, his anxiousness growing. "Let's hope T'Challa has the answer to that."
I know this is short… and I apologize—really I do. I'm just not at my best, and it's been rough… anyway thank you for reading!
The competitions:
The Halloween Contest: whoever reads this and reviews, you guys should participate! It is a Pepperony Contest and will end next week on the 7th of November. I know it's going to be after Halloween, but this gives you sufficient time to get something ready! So all participants please review or PM me that you will participate!
The second: the best reviewer will have a chance to either help me write one of my chapters, or I'll write a one-shot that you came up with! Just a way to engage the readers and also have some fun!
REVIEW! :D
