Thank you so much for your support and patience with this piece, I'm so relieved to see people leaving reviews and letting me know how it's going, it really does help when you're finding yourself unable to focus and write! So thank you so much :)
Tony stood in the cold, the rain had begun to fall and the sky had opened up. He looked up at the world which was cruelly mocking him.
He was still in shock, what the hell just happened?
The ring grew heavy in his hand; the ruby was still warm from Pepper's touch. He had no idea what happened now he stuffed the ring in his pocket and clenched his hand shut.
His eyes stung with the continuously forming tears, what was he supposed to do now? He pulled his phone out of his pocket; he felt the onslaught of an incredibly drunk night coming on. Even though she wasn't here, or ever would be again, he didn't want to resort to that Tony.
'Rhodey, she's gone.' He heard himself mutter as his best friend questioned him with a cautious voice, whatever miniscule ounce of composure he retained flittered away as the words left his mouth. He dropped the phone and leaned against the door; he slid down and fell into a crumpled heap.
He dropped his head into his hands, he couldn't remember how long ago he took a dose of the 'temporary cure' or what he could even do now, their mission was a failure, he never got to meeting point three, he never got the second part of the formula. He shook his head, none of that mattered now anyway, she was the only reason he fought for it. She was the only reason he came back from Afghanistan, she was his only reason for breathing and living.
Nausea flooded through his body, spots started appearing across his vision, whatever was happening was coming fast, and he didn't care.
Drink, all he wanted was a drink… to hell with not being the old Tony, the old Tony lived up to expectations people had of him, they expected him to fail, and that's what he did. The new Tony was riddled with flaws which people expected him to overcome overnight, the new Tony cared too much and it hurt.
He got to his feet and made his way into the house; he slowly made his way across to the small bar where he displayed his alcohol. An intricately designed bottle of cognac caught his attention, he was saving this for their wedding, he leaned heavily against the cabinet and watched helplessly as his breath fogged up the glass. He realised then how hot he must be, the fever was already spiking, at least the alcohol would be fast acting.
'Time for a drink Mr Stark?'
Tony froze, he didn't need to turn around, he knew who it was he just didn't know how the hell he got into his house, his heart sunk. He was weak and he was probably going to die soon anyway. He didn't have much to live for now. He nodded as he caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection, he smiled sadly, 'care for a glass?' he held up the bottle.
A small laugh from Dragon carried across the room, 'I don't mind if I do.'
Tony poured three glasses and made his way to the couch with his own.
With a heavy sigh he began drinking the familiar, welcoming liquid.
Alcohol and his failing mind was a great combination, he looked up at the two unwelcome guests in his house, drinking his alcohol.
Sip after sip, sweet burn after sweet burn, his eyes grew wearier and the nausea was replaced by blissful peace. He looked down at the empty glass.
He looked up at Dragon, 'you going to kill me?'
Dragon finished off his glass and placed it on the table before him, 'no need Mr Stark, you know as well as I do that you're going to die soon.' He looked at his watch, 'in about an hour or so, am I right?'
A splitting pain shot through Tony's head forcing him to drop the glass, it shattered around his feet.
'I'll take that as a yes,' he mocked, 'but before you get your peaceful way out, I still need a little information from you,' he walked over to Tony, 'don't worry, it'll be over quickly.' He whispered as he stepped behind Tony and placed his hand on his forehead.
Tony's eyes remained focussed on Rick who stood before him with a smug grin, he focussed his hatred and anger on his face, the pain which seared through his mind was agony. He fought with every ounce of strength; every ounce of will to use the Extremis and what was left of his mind to protect Pepper. They could never know what his plan was, and how he was going to complete the virus, they could never know that she had the crucial piece on the flash drive.
'This isn't working.' Dragon hissed, 'he's blocking me somehow.'
Tony's face broke into a weak smirk, 'sorry, not going to be that easy, I'll be dead soon and you'll be screwed.'
Dragon pulled Tony's head back and pressed his palm to his forehead again, 'I will get what I came here for.'
Tony felt the blinding pain wash over him, his head felt like it was going to explode and he hoped that it came swiftly.
Dragons hand quickly left his face, he opened his eyes and focussed on what Rick was looking at, Rhodey, no, what was he doing here? He called him when Pepper left, why did he have to call him? Now he was in danger for a lost cause.
Rick made a move to the door, gun drawn while Dragon stood beside Tony, guarding his prize.
'Tony?' Rhodey pushed the front door open, the darkened house was silent. There was no familiar music or Tony and Pepper banter, 'Tony?' he called out again.
'Colonel Rhodes has come over to play!' An unfamiliar voice boomed through the house.
Rhodey's gaze shot toward the voice, he took shelter behind a pillar and instinctively drew his weapon, his heart raced, where the hell was Tony? What did they do to him? And Pepper's gone? What did that mean? He peeked around the corner.
'The more the merrier, don't be shy!' The voice echoed around him.
He looked around the corner again and was met by a gun in his face.
'Come on James, don't be a sour patch.' He laughed holding the gun steady to Rhodey's face.
His jaw hardened, 'what did you do to them?' Rhodey tried to keep his voice calm; his eyes finally fell on Tony's hunched figure on the couch and the man standing beside him.
Tony could see the confusion in his face.
'I just planted the seed, they did everything themselves.' He laughed now stepping forward into the light.
'What did you do to him?' Rhodey yelled.
'Why don't you find out?' The man cocked his gun, before he could fire, Rhodey had the upper hand, being a trained professional, he swiftly went for the weapon, the man didn't let go and Rhodey used this to his advantage, he pulled his arm toward the other man and forced him to pull the trigger.
The other man went down with a clean shot to the shoulder; Rhodey slammed his elbow into the first man's face with as much force as he could muster. He finally released the weapon as he fell to the ground clutching his face.
Rhodey quickly picked the gun up and ducked keeping low to the ground as he sprinted across the room toward Tony.
'Tony!' He called out in the dark; the glow of the arc reactor was alarmingly dim.
Tony raised his head slightly, 'hey.' He whispered softly.
Rhodey dropped to his knees beside his friend, he looped his arm under Tony and lifted him up, 'come on buddy, we need to get out of here.'
He dragged him down into the workshop as gently as he could, 'you're going to be ok, stay with me.'
He breathed heavily as hundreds of questions ran through his head, how would they get out of this, who could he call to help, where was Pepper? He pushed the access code into the door and dragged Tony inside, he pushed the button and the door slid closed.
They would be coming to get Tony as soon as they could, he had to think fast and work even faster.
He pushed Tony into the couch and took hold of his wrist; his pulse was weak, barely detectable.
'Tony, what happened?' He asked looking into his eyes, he was barely there, his eyes looked as though they were staring away into the distance, 'where's Pepper, is she ok?'
Tony's eyes snapped back to focus on Rhodey, 'she left me.' He managed.
'Left?' Rhodey shook him, 'Tony, what happened?'
Tony's head lolled forward, he struggled with everything inside him to stay awake, he reached into his pocket and pulled the ring out, his hand dropped by his side.
Rhodey reached down for his hand and looked back at Tony.
'She left, she left me, she left.' Tony's words were slurred.
'Christ, I'm so sorry Tony.' He leaned in and wrapped his arm around his shoulder; he saw the pain in his eyes both, physical and probably even more emotional.
He needed to call someone, he needed help so he dialled the first number which came to mind, 'Happy?'
'Rhodey?' Happy's voice came through the line, 'what's going on?'
'I need help; I've got a serious problem.' Rhodey kept his voice low, conscious of being overheard.
He looked down at Tony, he had completely lost consciousness now.
'Ok, calm down, what happened?' Happy asked calmly.
'Is Pepper with you?'
'Yes, she's fine, what happened where are you?' Happy asked.
'I'm at Tony's, there are men in the house, I've subdued them temporarily but they'll be back any time now, and Tony's down, I, I don't know if he's ok.' Rhodey muttered.
'Tony's down?' Pepper's panicked voice shot through, 'what happened?'
'I'm not sure, the powers out; I can't see if there're any external injuries,' Rhodey tried to explain everything as calmly as possible, 'one of the men shot at me, they must have the whole house rigged, everything is under surveillance, the workshop is in complete darkness, the reactor looks like it's weaker than usual, his pulse is weak.'
'Ok, calm down, do you know who the men are?' Happy asked calmly.
Rhodey looked down at Tony, his face looked completely still, his swallowed hard, 'no, but I don't have War Machine here, I don't have anything, they're going to kill him.'
'Oh god, they lied.' Pepper's voice broke through the silence.
'What, who lied?' Happy asked her.
'Rick, probably the man who shot at Rhodey, he said he would kill Tony if I didn't leave, oh god, Tony, what did I do?' She began to cry, 'he's going to die thinking that I hate him.' She sobbed.
Rhodey looked down at his friend, it made sense, she's gone, he reached for his wrist again, 'his pulse is weak, I don't know what to do, we're stuck down here.'
'I'm going to try the Mark Three armour; it's the closest to the War Machine.' Rhodey said quietly, 'but I don't know if I can do anything, they nearly killed him when he took them on.'
Pepper's sobs echoed through the phone, Happy cleared his throat, 'Rhodey, be careful, these people are serious business, Pepper told me about them.'
Rhodey nodded to himself, 'I know, Romanov told me, this is bad Hap, if we don't get Tony the cure he's dead, within the hour, and anything I do is for nothing.'
'What can we do?' Happy offered.
'I don't know.' Rhodey said quietly.
'Rhodey, please, what do we do?' Pepper pleaded.
'I don't know Pep, I honestly don't, he planned everything, I don't know what to do.' Anger filled him; he couldn't even help his friend, 'I'm so sorry,' he whispered to Pepper as much as he did to Tony.
'No, no please Rhodey, you can, the suits, there are override functions I know them, you can use one of his suits, please.' She cried and his heart broke.
He knew there were override functions; he knew he could get into one of the suits, but what then? Tony, Iron Man himself couldn't defeat these guys. And what's more, Tony lay there, dying, what could he do that Tony couldn't.
'Rhodey please!' Her voice broke on the other end of the phone, 'you can't let him die!'
'Don't you think I know that?' He spat, he had never raised his voice, he'd never yelled at Pepper like this, he closed his eyes in the dark and took a deep breath, 'I'm sorry, I know, I'm trying, I'll hold them off as long as I can.'
A crackled voice broke through the silence, 'I know you're trying to think of some heroic way to save your friend down there, but the truth is, there's nothing you can do, he's dying whether you defeat me or not, his heart has taken about as much as it can, he's not making it out of this one Colonel.'
The double meaning laced in his words infuriated him; he stood up, determined to do something. He had to.
'Too little too late.' Dragon laughed.
Rhodey heard the muffled gasp on the line, Pepper had heard, he shook his head, how the hell could he have gotten in through Tony's security?
'Pep, take the flash drive and go somewhere safe with Happy, don't tell anyone, not even me where you're going, use cash, I'll call Romanov and we'll figure this out.'
'Please don't let him die Rhodey, please help him.' Pepper pleaded, her voice broke into uncontrollable sobs.
'Don't worry, he'll fight through this, he'll come back to us.' Rhodey said quietly.
He heard Happy trying to pacify her to no avail. Guilt must have finally crept up on her, Tony had no idea why she did it, Rhodey had never seen anyone as broken as he was, the pain in his eyes was unimaginable.
He didn't believe his own words to Pepper, Tony would fight to come back, for her, now that he thought she was gone from his life, he shuddered to think that he would perhaps welcome the dark and fight to not come back.
'He'll fight through it.' He reiterated, trying to convince himself as well.
He disconnected the call and moved back to Tony, he tried to shake him awake, 'bud, I need your help, I'm really lost right now.'
Tony stirred ever so slightly under Rhodey's touch, a soft groan escaped his lips, 'so tired.'
'I know you are, but I need your help.' Rhodey tried to shake him awake again as his head lolled to the side.
'I can't.' He whispered.
'You can, if anyone can help, you can, come on Tony, wake up.' Rhodey shook him again.
'Can't,' he breathed, 'I can't.'
'You can, wake up Tony, they're going to find Pepper, we need to keep her safe.' He hated lying to him like this, but he needed a push, a reason to live.
Tony's eyes shot open and he shook his head, every movement looked like it was excruciating, 'no, she's safe now, she's gone.'
Rhodey nodded, 'she's going to come back because you're hurt, she's going to come back to tell you she's sorry so you need to get up, if she comes back they'll kill her.'
'No, she did the right thing, she's safer without me, she made the right choice.' Tony's words were slurred.
Rhodey looked away from him, he couldn't bear to look at him like this, his mind had started deteriorating so quickly.
'Tony, listen to me,' he lowered his face so that they were inches away, 'she loves you, everything she said was a lie, Dragon made her do it, he forced her to leave, do you understand?'
Tony's eyes struggled to focus on Rhodey's, 'no, she…she told me this was a joke, she left, she's gone.'
Rhodey bowed his head, 'she didn't mean it, any of it, Dragon told her that if she didn't leave he would kill you, she was trying to protect you.'
'Really?' Tony looked up at him.
'Really, come on, we've got one last shot of your serum, enough to kick this guy's ass and finish this.'
Rhodey helped Tony so that he was sitting upright; he quickly found the syringe and last vial of liquid, 'this is the last dose, we have to work quickly after this.'
The familiar burn spread through Tony's veins as Rhodey pushed the syringe through his skin.
'I can't help much, the Extremis, my mind.' Tony's words became harder to understand.
Rhodey shook his head, 'you're still Tony and I won't let you slip away, come on.'
After a few moments, he helped Tony up. The color had returned to his face slightly, but he was still far gone, his stomach dropped, was it too late to fix him, he pushed the thoughts way. No good would come from thinking like that.
'Where is she?' Tony managed.
'She's with Happy, she's got the flash drive, I told her to get out of the city, but you know her Tony, she's going to come back and then we'll be in trouble.'
'We need to contact Romanov,' Tony finally found his own feet and made his way over to his desk slowly, 'we're going to need as much help as possible on this one.'
Rhodey rushed over to him in case he needed his help, 'they've got the whole house rigged, they can see everything we do.'
Tony shook his head and slowly sat down at his desk, everything was spinning, and painful, and difficult. He looked down at the keyboard, 'there're a few channels I can try, they can't have hacked them all.'
He cautiously placed his fingers on the keyboard, he was already afraid that his mind was slipping away from him. Against the fear, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
'I'm going to try something, let me know if you get anything on that screen there.' Tony pointed to the setup of smart screens on the desk beside his.
'Ok, nothing yet Tony,' Rhodey stood in front of the screens with his arms crossed.
A few moments later, S.H.I.E.L.D's welcome logo appeared, 'we've got it.'
Tony sighed, 'ok, I'm going to try and contact whoever is watching, they've got protocols in place for hacks, they'll try and locate the source, and hopefully that will bring their attention to us.'
Rhodey smiled to himself; despite everything Tony was going through he was still as brilliant as always. A true genius' mind at work, he stepped back and let him work, only speaking when Tony asked him something, interruptions would be detrimental, so he watched on in silence.
'Ok, they've taken the bait, now we wait, and hopefully they're as efficient as I think they are.' Tony leaned forward pressing his hand to his face.
'They're not going to wait forever to come down here, Tony, we need a plan.' Rhodey said finally breaking the silence.
'I've got a plan, not sure how sane it is but it's all I've got.' Tony looked at him sideways.
Rhodey looked around the work shop, 'we've got seven suits here, we can do something with them.'
Tony nodded, 'I don't know how much I can do with this core, it's been through a lot and I'm pretty sure I'm running on backup power.'
'How long will that give you in the suit?' Rhodey wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.
Tony looked back at the screen, 'without Jarvis, I don't know, but I would imagine less than an hour.'
Rhodey nodded, 'then this is a very important hour.'
Ooooh, on to the next, so much to do, so much to be excited about :)