"We need to find her." Tony pleaded in front of Directory Fury.
They were in the middle of the commanding platform, and Fury had just gotten the news about what happened. Fury looked at him with his eye and abruptly said, "No." Maria Hill was off to the side trying to give orders to some of the crew. Her head turned to gaze at the pair in worry. She knew how Tony felt about Pepper; she was just wondering how far he would go before she had to jump in between them.
"Why not?" Tony asked angrily. His fists were balled up, and his jaw was set.
At that moment, Hawkeye, Thor, Agent Romanoff, Captain America, and Bruce all entered through the sliding doors of the commanding deck.
"We're here." Steve announced. He looked up at the two that were squaring off before stopping at the center table, along with everyone else.
"Why in the hell not, Fury?" Tony continued without acknowledging Steve, and the others.
Hawkeye stood next to Natasha with his eyes planted on the scene in front of them. Everybody had their eyes on them, including the commanding crew.
"Because, Stark, we do not know what to do." Fury responded with a glare.
"I know what to do." Tony pointed to himself. "We need to get out there," He then pointed towards the glass windows, "And we need to find her before this guy makes her destroy everything."
"And what evidence led you to believe that?"
"All of the evidence!" Tony practically yelled. "The nano-remote-trackers, the fact that Pepper said she got 'bitten' the day of her super powers, and the fact that she uncontrollably fled to New York after trying to kill me?" He paused to look at Fury in the eyes. Tony's eyes were filled with cries of help. He didn't want to have to hurt Pepper, nor did he want to have to resort to killing her, but he had to do something before everything got out of hand. "Whoever is controlling Pepper obviously has something up their sleeve. And everyone in this room knows the council with have a total bitch fit if her super powers end up on news."
Fury sighed heavily and began to walk back to the center platform. His gaze was on the bustling city of New York. The clouds were hovering over them as if they were a form of protection. The fallout of Pepper's super powers could cause the council to make another rash decision, as demonstrated quite a few months ago.
"What do you purpose we do, Stark?" Fury asked him with his back to the Avengers.
Tony pressed his lips together. "We find Pepper, find out whoever is controlling her, and we contain it."
Clint furrowed his eyebrows at Tony. "And what if we can't?"
Tony turned to him with a worried, but angry, look. Clint continued, "What if Pepper takes us out before any of us can do anything? My understanding is that she has super speed, super strength, and her own suit of armor." He eyed Tony specifically. "How in the hell do we measure up to that?"
"He's got a point." Fury turned around this time with a questionable look. "Care to answer that?" His gaze fell on Tony.
Tony's mind was swimming with the very same question, and he honestly didn't know the answer to it. "I… I don't know…"
"The antidote." Bruce suddenly spoke up with a small grin.
"Antidote?" Clint asked, raising his eyebrow in curiosity. Natasha furrowed her eyebrows in response.
Bruce began to stammer as every person on the platform gazed at him. "Uh… Uh… the antidote that you wanted me to make." He pointed at Fury. "We still have a chance if we can just—"
"Hit her with it?" Steve interjected.
"Um, yes." Bruce nodded. "So to speak."
Thor sprang into the conversation. "But the maiden has super speed. How can we 'hit her' with the antidote if she can move faster than Odin?"
"There's also that armor to worry about." Steve added in.
"We really don't have any other choice." Tony folded his arms across his chest.
Fury pressed his lips together. "Take a few hours to formulate a strategy—"
"But we don't have time for that!" Tony shouted.
"I'd rather have the Avengers think like a team than die like one." Fury spat sternly, before walking towards Maria Hill. Maria looked up at him in loyalty. "I want you to watch the news feed for any activity on this matter."
"Yes, sir." Maria quickly nodded. She went behind one of the crewman and told them to monitor the news feed. The crewman nodded and slid around a few things on the screen.
"So, how are we going to play this out?" Thor asked immediately with a hint of concern.
"How else can we play it out?" Clint shrugged. "We hit her with the antidote whenever the chance arises."
"We can't just dive in there and expect her to leave an opening." Steve shook his head in displeasure.
"You mean whoever is controlling her – to leave an opening?" Tony glared at Steve.
"Her—whoever is controlling her—what's the difference? It's Pepper doing the damage!" Steve responded angrily.
"There's a big difference!" Tony furiously yelled. Bruce tried to get in between them to separate them. "It's not her fault this happened to her."
"Tony, we both know that she wanted to keep these powers." Steve began to shake his head.
"It doesn't change the fact that she's down there," Tony pointed towards the windows. "against her will because of some psychopath that did this to her."
"And if everything had gone according to plan, and Pepper could control her powers just to get them take away from her? Do you honestly think she would've accepted the antidote just like that?" Steve pressed his lips together in frustration.
"Yes, she would." Tony said calmly.
"Why, because she loves you?" Steve spat.
"No." Tony shook his head as his heart skipped a beat. "Because she trusts me."
Steve shook his head at him in disbelief. "She's only human, Tony. Trust has nothing to do with this."
"I thought you cared about her." Tony gritted his teeth together.
Steve glared at him sternly, and spoke softly. "I do."
"Then why in the hell are you making it sound like you don't give a damn about what happens to her?" Tony could feel his muscles in his arms tense up.
Steve shook his head at him. "I care about her almost as much as you do. We all care about her, but someone has to be the Captain of this team, and as Captain, I have to act serious regardless of the situation." Tony pressed his lips together and angrily shook his head at him. "No one doubts that you love her, Tony, but you have to realize that this situation could play out in two different ways."
"I'm not going to let you kill her." Tony sternly told him through his teeth.
Steve stared at him with a small frown; he didn't want to have to harm her at all. He didn't want to have to take drastic measures against an innocent person that got caught up in such a mess. His tone was apologetic, "We might not even have a choice, Tony."
Tony's eyes were closing in disbelief with his head turning away.
"Director Fury?" Maria suddenly called out, making everyone on the commanding platform gaze at her in worry.
"What is it, Agent Hill?" Fury came up from behind her.
"People are reporting environmental damage in New York from what looks like, flying cars." Hill projected the video feed.
The Avengers, as well as the rest of the crew, looked up at the projection against the windows.
"A woman in, what looks like, a replica of an Iron Man suit, is terrorizing the lower part of Manhattan. There doesn't seem to be any injury reports, but the damages of the surrounding buildings are skyrocketing as we speak." The news anchor paused. "At this time, we calmly urge everyone in Manhattan to evacuate the area. Police officials have yet to make a statement."
"What exactly is this foul creature planning to do?" Thor narrowed his eyes at the projection.
"We need to contain this." Natasha glanced at Fury, who nodded in agreement.
"Get suited up everybody. You can strategize on the way there." Fury told the group.
Bruce pressed his lips in concern. "With all due respect, Director, I don't think I'm qualified for this mission."
While the others kept on walking to gear up, Tony stood back to stare at the Doctor. "What?"
Fury took a glance at Tony.
"Bruce—"
He interjected Tony. "—I don't want the other guy accidentally ripping Pepper in half. It's the last thing I want to happen."
Tony's jaw clenched. He had a good point. Director Fury nodded at the doctor. "Stay back in the laboratory and survey the damage through the team's intercom."
Bruce nodded in agreement, and began to walk towards the lab.
…
Pepper flipped over one of the cars and kicked it across the street, into a nearby building. The explosion sent shrapnel flying towards her, but her armor encased body wasn't the least bit harmed.
"This is crazy!" Pepper yelled.
"It's only the beginning of my plan, my dear." The man's smile was anything but pleasant. His arms were waving about as the glowing gloves around his hands controlled every nerve in her body. Pepper could only watch as the street in front of her was reduced to ruble. He had made her throw cars against buildings, and had used her super speed as a way to fling debris on crowds to scare them away.
"These people—" Pepper gasped, but the man interjected.
"I don't need to kill innocent people in order to prove my point."
Pepper uncontrollably threw a street lamp straight through the entrance of a nearby bank. "And you think destroying buildings will prove your point?"
"The government will know who holds all of the cards in this game." He mumbled to himself.
"This is an act of terrorism, whether you're harming innocent people or not." Pepper tried to tell him.
"The government thinks they can rely on the Avengers to save the world." He began to laugh. "They're so very wrong."
Pepper tried to fight back the water that formed in the corners of her eyes. The thought of having to fight Tony, Steve, and Natasha made her want to double over in pain. She didn't want to have to hurt them.
"Killing the Avengers will prove everything I once stood for." The man grinned in anticipation. "I wonder," He paused to look at her. "How fast do you think it'll take you to kill Iron Man?"
Pepper tried so very hard not to shed tears. "You're insane."
"The government threw me off the project." He angrily pointed at her with his index finger, making her body uncontrollably point at him as well. "You're the reason why I continued my research. I have thoroughly tested nanotechnology with many other human specimens, and each time, their body would decay from the unstableness of the technology."
"Until you used me." Pepper drew out with a shaky breath.
The man breathed a laugh. "I've perfected the nanotechnology. And with this example, I can prove to the government that I wasn't crazy – that superhuman soldiers can be achieved through nanotechnology."
Pepper stood there with her eyebrows furrowed with absolute worry. Her breathing became unstable – she wanted close her eyes; she wanted to wake up from this horrible nightmare and find herself in Tony's arms in the Stark Tower. She closed her eyes in sorrow, and regret, but the sudden clang of Iron clashing against concrete made her eyes open.
"Ah, Iron Man." The man grinned at the superhero. "So glad you could join us." The man moved his fingers ever so slightly, making Pepper turn around. Her armor encased body stood in front of the Avengers.
Clint stood on top of a nearby building and drew back his bow in anticipation of an attack. Natasha stood behind Tony with a gloomy look on her face. Her hands were on top of her holster. Steve stood there in his Captain America outfit; his shield rested against his relaxed forearm.
Thor had the same expression as everyone else. He hadn't dare dream of fighting one of his own comrades, even though she wasn't exactly a member of the Avengers. His hand gripped Odin's hammer, ready for the unspeakable fight.
Pepper couldn't see the sorrowing expression on Tony's face through his faceplate, but she imagined it, like she did every time when he stared at her before he flew off for a mission.
A/N: I've been itching to draw something Pepperony lately. I've only drawn two things so far (found on my tumblr).
Reviews please!