Wow, it took me a lifetime to update and I'm so sorry about it! It was just so much on my plate the last few weeks. Well now I'm back with another chapter and I try to update faster now.
I love your reviews and I'm so happy we reached the 113! You are amazing!
This chapter is rather short and maybe a bit boring, but it is important for the next one.
Still don't own anything and the characters belong to Marvel, except Chris and Bell.
Problem solved
"Here are our claims. Remember: follow them and don't try to break out or we will blow the building and cause a nuclear catastrophe, because of you!
1st: All suits and weapons Stark had ever made.
2nd: Do not try to find any of the two of them.
3rd: Destroy the glorious image of Iron Man. He used to be a hero.
4th: Pronounce Stark dead.
5th: Col. Rhodes will be Virginia's witness at the wedding between Chris and her.
6th: Do not try to track us via satellite or some other technical devises it won't work and we have an eye on you.
7th: Fury, your idea of the Avengers: cancel it. Otherwise we will destroy them and you have to watch how Potts and Stark will die.
Stay ready for new advises."
Everyone was ready with reading and Rhodey was the first one to speak.
"They are totally insane. I mean have you read it? The claims are ridiculous, it seems like they have no idea what they are doing. It's not even threatening."
"Yes Col., but the bomb is real. So where is the loophole? I mean it's true they have apparently no idea what they're doing, but we can't go out." Natasha stated. "And it's safe to say that an enemy who has no idea what he's doing is more dangerous than an enemy who has a plan and knows how much power he has."
"That's true. The worst enemies are the ones who had no plan how much chaos the can cause. Remember Budapest?" Clint stated.
"How could I forget?" Tasha laughed.
"Enough." Fury interrupted. "We're not here to exchange funny memories. A hero and his girlfriend are missing. It's serious. Let's find a solution, after that you can have small-talk."
Everyone looked expecting at Rhodey who had the sheet of paper in his hands and stared at it with his eyebrows furrowed. Suddenly a small smile creeped over his lips. "I think I found their mistake. They always say we should stay in this headquarter, because they think that all the Avengers are here. But they're not right?"
Fury and Natasha nodded, while Barton answered. "No Bruce Banner and Steve Rogers aren't here. – Ah, I see where you are going with it. Fury, he's right. We can use the Captain and Banner from the outside to help us to find them or at least to defuse this bomb underneath our feet."
"All right Agent Romanoff call Banner, he trust you. I will talk to the Captain. Col. Rhodes, Agent Barton you search this bomb and feed Agent Romanoff with information about it so Banner can help you to defuse it. After that I need to re-install Mr Stark's security system and I could use your help Col. Rhodes and the help of your suit. We need to find Mr Stark and Miss Potts. So get to work." Fury commanded and everybody walked out of the room and headed for their exercise.
oOoOoOo
"Hello?" A hoarse and deep voice came from the other end of the line.
"Mr Banner? Here is Agent Natasha Romanoff from SHIELD. We have a problem with a nuclear bomb in our headquarter and Tony Stark and his PA Virginia Potts are kidnapped. So since you are the only scientist within reach who knows everything about gamma rays and maybe how to defuse a bomb we hope for you to help us."
"No."
"Sir, we try to save two lives, not to mention our own lives and the lives of about 200 other agents in this headquarter."
"No."
"Sir, please listen…"
Bruce Banner interrupted her finally. "I said no. The last time I had something to do with gamma rays and radioactivity it hadn't ended well and I'm not going to risk to hurt anyone anymore because of my faults. So sorry, but no."
"We wouldn't ask you if it isn't urgent. We just want to know if we could avoid the trigger so at least one agent can go out and try to find the missing persons."
A long silence settled over the line and Natasha started to think that he had hung up on her.
Finally Banner sighed: "Fine send me the information you have and I will see what I can do."
oOoOoOo
The same time Nick Fury had managed to reach the Captain and explained the situation to him. He was willing to help where he could and waited for instructions.
oOoOoOo
After searching for more than half an hour through the entire cellar and lobby of SHIELD-HQ, Rhodey and Barton finally found the nuclear bomb. It wasn't big, but it didn't look a lot professional, too.
"Now I didn't wonder why they want all Stark's weapons. They really have no clue what they're doing. Don't touch it, I don't know if it's stable." Rhodey said and Barton smirked.
"I know Col. Rhodes."
"Please call me Rhodey."
"Ok, Rhodey. I'm Clint. Well let's take a look, there must be something which isn't usual."
Rhodey laughed out loud. "Clint, it's hand-made by people who didn't know what they do. Any- and everything is not usual about this bomb."
Clint had to laugh too. "True story. – Look there is a wire and it leads to the shadow."
The two of them followed the wire and ended in a dark room where some kind of sensor was placed which was connected to every door and window that leads out of the building: This was the trigger.
"Well they're not that stupid." Rhodey admitted.
"They are, but like I said: The worst enemy is the one who has no clue what he's doing. And this is dangerous. One false move from someone, even a touch of the window could blow it up. It's damn sensible and dangerous."
They gathered all the information and sent them to Banner. He gave the instructions to stop the sensor for one door long enough to let one person slip out. They did as they said and Natasha managed to escape to meet the Captain and re-program Jarvis for further dope about Tony Stark's or Pepper Potts' current being and how to rescue them.
Pepper awoke with a start. At first she wondered why Tony wasn't beside her, but the last nights events came back like a hurricane. She lay in a dark cellar, no window, no bed and no-one by her side. The only light in the room came from a single bulb on the ceiling. On the other side of the room stood a table with a note on it:
'Good morning beautiful.
I hope you slept well. I needed to give you some pills to bring you down to sleep. You were a bit hysteric last night. You better behave in the future or you're going to pay and your boss, too.
But luckily for you, this SHIELD-group where your boss was a member accepted our claims and so I have a present for you. A wedding present. You are allowed to see Mr. Tony Stark one more time, todays evening. But only if you behave! Remember my words! Behave today or your chance is gone. And you better forget him afterwards or you are the reason I force him to forget you.
Lots of love my sleeping beauty.
- C'
Pepper was caught between two stools. She was relived with the thought of being able to see Tony, her Tony once again, to tell him one last time that she was sorry, explain why she had to marry Christopher and not him and tell him, show that she loved him. But she was afraid what Chris was about today and what he assumed from her, because she had no clue. She'd rather die than marry him, but her death would mean Tony's death, too. And she loved him too much to hurt him or let him die because of her selfish thoughts. She loved him more than her life and that's why she couldn't stop fighting, fighting for him.
A loud bang at the door stopped her train of thoughts.
Update will be soon. Hope you liked it at least a bit.
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xoxox PP-S