Chapter 22

The taste of metal was still in his mouth, and while it was not uncommon for him to suffer wounds during battle, he would never get used to coming back home battered. His mind searched for the details that would tell him how he had ended up hurt again, but he could not recall battling a super villain or being run over by a train, which was exactly how he felt at the moment.

He ventured to open his eyes and darkness was his only company. He turned to his right and saw a familiar nightstand he had not seen in months, telling him he was in his room back at his father's home.

Why am I here?

He struggled to sit up on the bed and the instant sharp pain down his back and left leg reminded him that he had been severely beat up by his disturbed girlfriend, who apparently was nowhere near him right now. Even if she was still mad at him for somehow looking like Gene to her, he still wanted to know how and where she was.

He closed his eyes and rubbed the side of his forehead with his right hand. He remembered Pepper falling into a severely shocked state. He remembered finding her in the shower. He also remembered thinking for a brief instant that Gene had actually abused her, but was also glad to remember that the test has come up negative.

However, the events of the fight between them and how it had ended were not as clear to him. He slid his body to the side of the bed and slowly forced himself to stand up. Once he felt stable enough, he walked up to the door and left the room, heading directly to the lab to contact his AI. As soon as he arrived at the technology lab in his father's mansion, he was not surprised to see Howard Stark already there, but he was surprised to see Dr. Yinsen and his redhead all sitting in a circle and drinking tea.

"Pepper?"

"Tony!" The ginger's head snapped up and she nearly dropped her tea but managed to catch it in the end. She placed the cup on the table to her left before she stood up from the chair and ran to the inventor. Tony prepared for the hug he saw coming, but a second before she was to surround him with her arms, she hesitated and held back.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked with her head down and her hands curled up on her chest. "You…you've been asleep for a week. I…I didn't know what to think…"

Tony's eyes shifted from the guilt-ridden girl to his father's and then Dr. Yinsen, both of which shrugged at him, confirming to him that it had been a week since he had passed out on the floor of his lab, but the idea of passing out for that long seemed foreign to him. The genius then returned his attention to the ashamed girl, and he cupped her shoulders with his hands. "I'm OK," he assured her. "Are you alright? What are we doing here?"

Pepper lifted her head to stare at him and bit her lip before she turned behind her to eye the doctor. Yinsen took his cue from her and stood up, followed closely by Howard. "Tony, glad to see you are awake. Your injuries are recovering much faster than anticipated, probably due to the Extremis. You should be back to normal in no time."

"Has it really been a week?" the young man asked, removing his hands from Pepper only to then hold hers in his by their sides. "Answer me, Pepper. Are you alright?"

"Son," Howard began and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I think we should sit down for this. Dr. Yinsen and I analyzed the medical records you had sent to him, and the remainder that JARVIS compiled after you two passed out. What we found is…well, like I said. Let's sit down."

Tony narrowed his eyes in distrust, and for a moment he wondered if he was dreaming or if he was again trapped in a virtual reality courtesy of the Controller. With this thought in mind, he leaned down to Pepper's ear and whispered to her.

"When did I first tell you I love you?"

"Tony?" She furrowed her eyes.

"When?"

"Uhm…" she hesitated for a moment. "The cab. You didn't say it aloud, but I got the gist of it, in the cab."

Tony nodded at her, taking what he could get for now before he took her with him to sit with the doctor and his father. The redhead sat next to her boyfriend and as she stared down at their intertwined hands she wondered how much longer Tony would hold her after he found out what had occurred to her.

"OK. What's the deal?"

"Well, first of all, I'm happy you kids didn't kill each other. When you said you wanted to take Pepper out on a haunted house hunt, I didn't think you meant inside the temple, Tony." Howard jested, trying to ease the tension he could see pouring out of his son. "But, Tony, don't ever piss her off again. She can take you, from what I can see."

"Only because he wouldn't fight back," she added, trying if only for a moment to help him save face.

"Why are we here?"

"Because I brought you here," Howard responded, in a matter of fact. "JARVIS sent me a distress signal and I drove there as fast as I could. Not soon enough to stop you from passing out, but still fast enough."

"Distress signal? I don't remember setting up a procedure for that."

"You didn't. I did."

"What?" Tony's grip on Pepper tightened, but a simple pat from her on his arm made him relax again. "Why did you hack into my system?"

"Because I care, Tony. Because after Pepper was taken, I was afraid you would do something awful to yourself."

Tony exhaled and looked away from their eyes, knowing that at some point he had considered taking the easy way out. "Whatever."

"You're right. Whatever I did saved your lives." Howard said, not at all regretful of ignoring his son's request to leave him to his own devices and by himself.

"Anyway," Yinsen interjected, feeling the need to stop an already escalating argument between father and son. "Both you and Miss Potts have been cleared of major injury, and we also determined the cause for her catatonic state."

At hearing this, Tony's head snapped back to the conversation, his eyes hopeful as he watched the doctor bring up a simulation of what he believed was Pepper's brain. "You see, it turns out that Miss Potts is extremely susceptible to EMF waves. Being in your lab with so many electronic devices giving off these intense waves caused her to hallucinate. That, compounded with her experience during her captivity, triggered the episode you had the misfortune of encountering."

"EMF? This was caused by EMF? All of it?" A disbelieving Tony spat.

"Yes. We also detected similar amounts of it coming from the systems you installed in her home, which would probably explain why she is also hallucinating there. If you think about it, has she mentioned that she sees things that are not there anywhere else other than in her home and in your lab?"

Tony's eyes showed that he was searching his mind for an answer, or something that could disprove the doctor's theory, but when he found none that would irrevocably destroy the argument, he growled. "That's ridiculous! If Pepper has always been like this, why didn't she show it before? She spent almost every day with me at the lab for nearly TWO years and she never suffered an attack! It just doesn't make any sense."

"It actually does, son. You didn't have as many devices there before. You really went all out when she was gone, but, as you are already suspecting, it's not just the devices that triggered Pepper's sensitivity."

"So? What is it? I can reduce the EMF emanations in the lab and her house. But, what else can I do for her? What can I do to stop this from happening again?" He stared down at Pepper, who was yet to face him again.

"Pepper?" Howard spoke to her, as they had all agreed that it would be best if it was the redhead who told Tony the truth. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes," Pepper swallowed hard. "Do you mind giving us a minute?"

"A minute for what?" Tony asked, but when he saw Yinsen and Howard stand up and leave, Tony knew what she had meant.

Pepper rearranged her position in the chair so that she was facing Tony but did not look directly into his eyes, which caused the inventor to fear the worst. "Pepper…what's wrong? Are you ill? Are you dying?"

"No, I'm not dying."

"So, you are ill?"

"I guess you can say that," she chuckled, bitterly. Tony could no longer stand the look on her face so he forced her to stare at him by lifting her chin and redirecting her face to his.

"Just tell me, Pepper. The sooner you tell me, the sooner we can fix it."

"You can't fix what's broken in me, Tony. Nobody can. Or, at least the one person who could've fixed it is no longer around to do it."

"No way, Pepper. There's always a way to solve problems; you just have to know where to look."

Pepper shook her head and pulled herself away from Tony's grip, took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Remember the DNA test I had JARVIS run for me?"

"Yes?"

"And the pregnancy test?"

"Yes. It's still negative, right?"

Pepper nodded. "It is, but not because Gene didn't touch me."

"What?"

"When I was showering…I…I remembered some things. The EMF brought it all back. Things that I had forgotten…memories that Axonn-Karr didn't want me to have about Gene. I remembered what Gene did to me, and I lost it."

Tony's jaw clenched. "Are you saying that he did…?"

Pepper nodded slightly. "But it doesn't matter now. Axonn-Karr made it so that Gene couldn't get what he wanted; an heir."

"Why do I feel he did more than that?"

"Because he did. I took the pregnancy test because I was late, but it turns out that I can't get pregnant because Axonn altered my DNA."

"Altered, how? Are you like Gene now? Are you part Makluan?"

"No, not really. He just…well, genetically speaking, I'm no longer a girl."

"What?"

"It's hard to explain…or believe…I…Dr. Yinsen said that at a chromosome level, I'm practically genderless."

"What?" He asked again, his bright mind having a difficult time to process what Pepper was trying to explain to him. He knew he would eventually read the tests himself, but for now all he could focus on was the fact that Gene had actually hurt Pepper in more ways than he had possibly imagined, and the fact that Pepper was turning into something neither of them knew what it would lead her to become. "How is that even possible, Pepper?"

"Magic?"

"There's no such thing as magic."

"Then really advanced science not even you know about. Based on what I learned from Axonn, we are one of the least advanced species when it comes to technological progress."

"Why would he do that to you? How did he ever think that would protect you? Gene still did to you what he wanted."

"But the result he expected was not there because Axonn blocked my ability to be…a woman…or human, take your pick."

"So, what does that mean? Are you going to turn into something else? Someone else? A guy?"

Pepper shrugged. "I don't know. I'll just have to wait and see."

"We, Pepper. We just have to wait and see."

"No, Tony, I don't think this is going to be good for us. You…you don't deserve this. You had plans for your life. I…" she eyed her promise ring and slowly took it off. "I heard you telling them to my dad. I can't be part of those plans. I can no longer give you what you want."

The girl held the ring on the palm of her hand and waited for Tony to take it back, but when Tony shook his head at her, Pepper began to cry.

"You don't know what I want, Pepper. I can adjust. I can find a way to reverse what was done to you. I've been studying Makluan science more than my dad by now. I may be able to see things that he is not even aware of."

"Tony, I don't want you to. For once, I want you to listen to me and stop. I'm tired of this, and you must be, too. I'm done trying to fix this."

"Trying? We haven't even started, Pep! Aren't you even going to give it a chance?"

"I HAVE given it a chance and I nearly killed you!"

"Is that what this is about? You're scared of you and me sparring?"

"Sparring? Is that what you call getting your ass kicked by a freak?"

"I just didn't want to fight back, Pepper. Besides, without the EMF, you should be fine, right? If not, we can get some treatment for you…we can…"

"Will you STOP saying WE? There is no WE, Tony! There is you and me, and not necessarily together now that I'm turning into some…thing…"

"Yes, there is," he spat back, grabbed the ring and held onto her right hand. "One last chance, Pepper." He said as he slid the ring back onto her finger. "If you don't want to try after one last chance, I'll let it go. But not before that. We're both fucked up, Pepper. I still have to respond for the people in the car accident, and you still have not tried to cure whatever Axonn did to you."

"I…" she eyed the ring once more as she tried to think of what else to say, but she would be lying to herself if she said she did not want to try it one last time. "If it doesn't work…if it fails again…"

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it. Alright?"

"When…when we come to it."

"If."

Pepper finally nodded and closed her eyes, hoping against hope that Tony was right.

xxxXXXxxx

The Baxter building itself was impressive, but more so was the fact that she was listening to two geniuses talk science, and she was apparently understanding most of what was being said. Thanks to her memories slowly returning to her, and the other ones that had been returning since her incident at the lab nearly a month ago, she was now able to recognize that Axonn-Karr had foreseen his and Gene's death, and he had wanted to pass on the legacy of his culture to her, simply because he had deemed her worthy of it; although the way in which the knowledge had been inherited nearly resulted in her killing her blue-eyed boy.

You could've given me a heads-up, Axonn, she thought with a sad smile, almost missing her capturer and companion of months. Despite the hard times that befell her during the time she was gone, for the first time in her life she felt as if her talents had been appreciated by other than a handful of people who probably had had no choice but to recognize her need for adventure.

If only you'd left me as a woman, and not an IT. Her chromosome makeup was still to return to normal, but the EMF sensitivity had decreased thanks to a wristlet Tony had built for her. Even though Tony did not believe in EMF sensitivity as it had never actually been scientifically proven to exist, Dr. Yinsen was adamant that it did exist, and as such had helped developed the device if only to give the redhead some peace of mind. She eyed the small contraption that looked like nothing more than a charm bracelet, but it was in fact an advanced form of wave neutralizing sensor based on some principles of Makluan science.

Makluan science; one of the reasons she was here. The other reason being Tony and his apparent Extremis malfunction. If worst came to worst and they were not able to find their answers here, she would at least have the honor of saying she had met the Fantastic Four in person.

"That's a possibility. What do you think, Potts?" Pepper heard only her name called, and she immediately turned to look at Dr. Richards and Tony. Dr. Richards was monitoring the devices he had hooked onto Tony, and Tony was sitting in a chair looking like a human surge protector – wires all over his body.

"Do what?" She asked as she stood up and walked over to the scientific duo.

"Were you not listening again?" Tony asked as he began pulling off the wires from his bare chest. "View too distracting?" he pointed to his chest and winked at her. Pepper rolled her eyes and shook her head, secretly glad that nothing bad had happened to them since the day at the lab.

"Nothing I haven't seen before," she responded and purposefully pulled on a wire with more force than needed, taking with it a handful of Tony's small chest hairs.

"Ow! That hurt, Pep."

"That was the plan," she smirked. "So, what did I miss?"

"Dr. Richards…"

"Reed," the doctor corrected the boy.

"Reed thinks that the Extremis has been in me for so long that maybe it has evolved into an entity of its own."

"Really?" Pepper arched a single brow. "And you believe that? No offense, Doc, but doesn't that sound like a little bit of a stretch?"

The moment the word left her mouth and her eyes landed on Mr. Fantastic's elongated hand, Pepper wanted to be eaten alive by the earth beneath her. She eyed Tony who gave her a mocking smile before she shifted her gaze to the amused hero. "I mean, I…I didn't meant to say that it was a stretch because, you know, you…you…are…like that…I just…Tony…he didn't use a lot of Extremis and none of my analyses show any proof that the virus is a separate entity…so…stretch. I mean, NOT a stretch…just…farfetched…that's the word: farfetched."

The two men remained silent and smiled at her, causing the redhead to throw her hands in the air. "Never mind," she began as Susan Storm walked inside the lab. "I'll just make myself invisible over here," the redhead said but then groaned when she saw Susan's eyebrows shoot to her forehead.

"I mean, not invisible as in…I didn't say that because you were walking in…I just…I…forget it. Sorry." Pepper said and busied herself walking around the lab. She had spent most of the time sitting in a chair watching and listening to the two men work, and frankly she was growing bored by this point.

Her walk took her to a display of trophies and awards with Dr. Richards' name, and she spent a few minutes admiring them in wonder. Once she grew bored of doing that as well, she took a step back without looking and hit a pile of containers that had been stacked under the table behind her, causing a ruckus that caught the attention of everyone else in the room.

"Everything OK, Pepper?" Tony asked.

"Yes, sorry. I just hit something." She gave Tony a thumbs-up as she kneeled down and picked up the containers. Once she restacked the containers she began lifting herself from the floor, but she miscalculated where the table began and hit the back of her head on it. "Dammit!"

"Pepper, what was that?"

"Nothing…I just…ugh…I hit myself…" she rubbed her head. "Damn…why does this thing have to be as hard as rock?" She asked as she straightened herself up only to see The Thing staring back at her with furrowed brows. "What? Seriously?" Pepper sighed incredulously. "Why are you here?" She asked the newcomer.

"I live here, Red."

"No, I mean, why did you walk in when I'm putting my foot in my mouth?"

The Thing looked to his right and stared at Tony. "Is your girlfriend always this weird?" he pointed to the redhead.

"No. Sometimes she acts weirder than this."

"Tony! Look, I'm sorry Mister…, uh, Thing… I just…" she sighed. "Never mind, I'll just go walk around the tower. Call me when you're ready to go, Tony."

"Are you sure, Pepper?"

"Yeah, I'm really sure," she said as she turned around and waved at him and she walked backwards to the exit.

"Well, be careful, Pep."

"Relax, Tony. It's not like I'm going to set myself on fire or anything."

The smiles of all the people staring back at her made her freeze on the spot, and she did not have to look behind her to know she was not alone by the door. "He's behind me, isn't he?"

The sympathetic look Tony gave her was the only response she needed before she groaned, turned on her heels, covered her face from Johnny Storm's sight and silently walked out of the lab.