(A/N) Longest chapter yet! Also I will publish a chapter tomorrow but then take the weekend off updating. Regular updating will continuing Monday.
As the rest of the team brought Tony upstairs to his room Steve took advantage of time to talk to the women who sat dazed in front of him. He was startled by how young she was.
"Is he dead?" She asked with a detached look in her eyes.
Steve felt his anger flare up. "He'll be fine." He snapped. Gaining a bit more composer he asked another question. "What's your name?"
"Melissa. My name is Melissa Turning." Her eyes grew close to tears. "Please you have to help me. I'm so sorry, I swear I didn't want to hurt him."
"You got a funny way of showing that." Clint said dryly as he joined Steve in his interrogation. There was a murderous look in his eye that you don't ever want to see in the eyes of a government assassin.
"I swear. Please he has my son." She cried letting the tears that had built up fall creating streaks of mascara to trail down her face.
Steve put a hand up to stop her. "Wait who had your son? Take it from the beginning."
She took a deep breath keeping her eyes on her fidgeting fingers. "Yesterday before all of this alien stuff happened a man called me. He said that he had taken my son and that the only way I would ever see him again was if I killed Tony Stark."
The news sunk in like it was being submerged in quicksand. Trying to make sense of it was like trying to understand molecular physics. "Someone wants to kill Stark?" Said Steve. "Who would want to do that?"
Hawkeye chuckled a bit. "Come on Rodgers you've barely known him for two days and you've probably thought about it more than a fair few times."
Melissa suddenly got angry standing up abruptly enough to make both of the Avengers flinch. "Are you making jokes? I know you are friends but I could care less about him. Daniel Turning is the only person who is important to me and I will do anything to get my boy back."
"I'm sorry mame." Steve's voice was kind. "We didn't mean any disrespect. If you help us we will get your son back."
There was a ringing noise in his ear. Silent yet high pitched making his body tense and his phone drop out of his hand. Tony felt the overwhelming need to puke out the remains of of the last meal he had but the paralysis that controlled him wouldn't allow him to twitch a finger. He felt himself being lowered down to the couch carefully but he couldn't turn to see who had him.
"Breathe." Obadiah said behind him. "Easy, easy." He showed Tony the small device in his hand about the size of a pen. "You remember this one right? It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There are so many applications for short term paralysis.
Tony felt the man who was once so much like a father to him turn his paralysed head to look at him. "Tony," he said cooly. "When I ordered the hit on you, I was worried that I was killing the golden goose. But you see it was just fate that you survived. You had one last golden egg to give."
Not the reactor, he thought, you can't do this you were the closest thing I ever had to a father if you do this you will kill me. Tony could only watch in horror as Obadiah takes a machine out and uses it to clamp the reactor making Tony's breath hitch in his chest.
"Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you? Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you."
Tony looked in his eyes and saw no warmth or affection of any sort as he ripped the Arc Reactor out of his chest.
"No!" Tony yelled sitting upright far too quickly causing an uncomfortable tugging of the wires connected to his chest. Falling back against the cool pillows he took a moment to slow his heavy breathing. It seemed silly now that he had been so affected by a dream of something that happened years ago yet he still found it hard to slow his racing heart. As an excuse to get himself together Tony took a moment to gather his surroundings. He was in his room which was a plus but his chest hurt in ways that Tony doubted he could find the proper words to voice his discomfort. Tony also noticed that he was currently alone making the only things accompanying him the sounds of his pained breathing and the hum of something electronic. Remembering what was attached to his chest was easy, looking at it was harder.
"Hello Sir." Jarvis spoke from his speaker system. "Shall I inform you have woken."
Tony weighed his options. Tell Banner he was awake and be stuck in bed, or not doing any of that. "No I'm sure he's busy doing yoga or other hippie stuff like that."
"Actually informed me of his whereabouts and he is currently,"
"Mute." Tony called shutting up his faithful A.I.. Gingerly he stood up being mindful not to screw with any of the wires. The battery buzzed annoyingly as he picked up the car battery trying not to think about the last time he had to drag one of them with him everywhere he went.
A string of curses slipped from his mouth as he limped over to his closet grabbing a hoodie and zipping it over his chest to hide the gaping hole in his chest. The trip down to his lab was slow and after the first few flights of stairs Tony decided on the elevator being best for the rest of the way down. The ride down was longer than normal with the pain that was growing in his chest but nothing could prepare him for what happened when the doors opened.
"What the hell are you doing?" Nick Fury yelled at Tony when he walked into his lab.
"What are you all doing in here?" Tony asked. "This is where I go to get away from all of you that doesn't work when you all flock here."
"Well you're lucky we are you look like you're about to collapse." Steve went to Tony's side leading him to his desk chair.
Tony let out a sarcastic smile. "After this you going to go help an old lady cross the streets?" He let out a yelp as something was injected into his neck. "What the hell?"
Bruce threw the used needle into the trash. "Pain killer since you were just shot."
"That reminds me why am I attached to a car battery you know I have extra reactors. Was it not retro enough for you or?"
"The wiring for the Arc Reactor is to short I needed more room. I don't think we should put the reactor back on for a while. At least until the stitches heal a bit more." Bruce looked truly sorry. He knew, at least he understood, how Tony was feeling about being connected to a battery. It must be traumatic, and if it was he didn't show it.
"Great." He rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "Well this thing can only last me about a week before it starts running out of juice and that pesky shrapnel goes mono e mono with my heart. So I better get to work on a reactor that can keep up with me." He made to stand up wincing at the pain that spread in his chest.
Clint put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "Or you could rest so you don't rip your stiches out. I'd rather not have to clean up your blood off the floor again."
"I'm sorry have you ever been attached to a car battery?" Tony blurted out of annoyance causing a stunned silence. "That's what I thought. Now get out I don't like loitering." None of them moved. "Did I freeze time? None of you are leaving."
"This isn't a joke Stark." Fury scolded. "There is some out to kill you."
"What? Soccer mom? Steve went all Karate Kid on her." Tony said gaining a confused look from Steve. The billionaire made a mental note of another movie to add to the Captains list.
"She wasn't doing it on her own." Bruce explained. "Her son was kidnapped and the only way to get him back was by killing you."
"Also she's upstairs." Clint said gaining harsh looks from the others. "What he was going to find out eventually."
"Alone?" Tony questioned suddenly serious.
"Of course not." Fury scoffed. "Agent Romanoff is watching her."
"Where did you think she was?" Steve asked.
"She's a spy I thought she was lurking. Not babysitting a crazy lady who made me go diesel." He waved the battery to further his point before setting it down heavily. "What else did she say?"
"Nothing much." Bruce told him having asked Steve the same question. "Remember she's a victim in this too."
The mechanic brushed his hair back letting out a heavy sigh. "Alright she can stay what's another psychopath at the dinner table. Now get I have work to do."
"Are you sure it's not too soon?" Steve asked. "You did just get shot."
Tony replied with a sarcastic smile the media loved him for. "Last time I did this I was hurt a lot more than just a bullet."
When finally got them all to leave the workshop Tony slumped back in his chair and closed his tired eyes. He felt like he could feel the shrapnel moving through him like an inchworm. The pain was unimaginable but not even comparable to when a group of terrorists cut him open in a dark cage with the help of a single doctor. Compared to that this was nothing but a paper cut. Nothing would ever fully parallel to the pain of that day