A/N: Hope everyone had a great weekend! I did manage to catch Civil War. No spoilers or anything, just...yeah... Anyway, here's the next chapter. Not sure how fast the next ones will be coming out since we've now caught up to my pre-written portion. Also deciding where and how far to take this, but I'll try not to dally and have another one up quickly.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

It took longer than Bruce liked, but they got Tony stable. His heart had stuttered, stopping for a few beats, before resuming its rhythm, setting off a coughing fit - blood dribbling out of his friend's mouth - and triggering alarms across the medical equipment onboard.

Throughout the entire ordeal, though, Tony never lost consciousness. It unnerved Bruce, even knowing it was drug induced - which Bruce suspected was what was messing with his adrenaline and blood pressure levels. He needed to get to his lab and run tests on both Tony and Steve's blood to help his friends' odds of recovery and survival.

Natasha remained by Tony's side, reassuring the frightened engineer with words and tactile stimuli. Tony seemed calmed by her presence, but his eyes betrayed the fear and anxiety that coursed through him. Alternatively, Bruce found the man almost flinching at times when he would touch his arm when taking a pulse or injecting him with an IV and any response had to be relayed through Natasha.

It worried Bruce that Tony wasn't verbally responding. Normally, the man couldn't shut up, but aside from his panicked eyes, the only clue they had that he was aware of his surroundings was from the slight pressure he exerted onto Natasha's hand. One for yes. Two for no. Nothing more from the normally exuberant man than that. Bruce put it down to the trauma and mistreatment he had received at the hand of those sadistic men - and maybe the internal bleeding that was now apparent.

They landed not long after and Tony was whisked away to the medical bay on the 'carrier, Bruce relaying vital information to the doctors as they rushed in. A tall, muscular medic helped Thor support the queasy Captain, following the procession slowly. Natasha and Clint brought up the rear with the drug samples, aiming for delivery at the science labs.

The long day morphed into a long night as two healthy members of the team sat vigil outside the operating theater. Steve had been given a drug to counterbalance his withdrawal symptoms and the doctors said they would let them see him in the morning. Along with some malnourishment and dehydration - though better than anticipated - he was exhausted from fighting the effects of the drug in his system. Sleep was his greatest ally right now, as was the demigod who refused to leave the man alone.

Once their teammates had safely boarded the quinjet, Clint had had JARVIS contact Pepper while SHIELD sent a plane to get the strawberry-blond fireball. The CEO of Tony's company and heart was scheduled to arrive soon. Clint and Natasha were left dozing fitfully on the faux-comfortable waiting chairs.

After ushering Tony to the medical bay, Bruce had retreated to his lab - determined to discover what drugs were running rampart in his best friend and leader. Once medical had contacted him with news that the methadone to counteract the drug in Steve was working and that he was being monitored, Bruce had turned his full attention to Tony. Before he had left, he discussed his theories about the adrenaline with the doctor in charge. Last Bruce had heard, they still hadn't managed to get Tony unconscious - his body unable to get even a modicum of relief - so instead of being proactive with his treatment, they were forced to react to whatever Tony's body threw at them. Tony's survival, therefore, was based largely on Bruce's shoulders.

Bruce made a breakthrough in the early morning and rushed his findings to Tony's physician. Another two hours and the majority of the toxic chemicals were neutralized, Tony finally slipping into the world of the blissfully ignorant. He went into surgery soon after.

"Miss Potts?"

Pepper Potts started awake, the hand on her shoulder doing much to prevent her from pitching off the chair she had fallen asleep in that night.

"Doctor?" She wiped her hand over her eyes, trying to rub in some form of alertness. "Everything okay? How's Tony?"

"He's out of surgery and they're settling him in the ICU right now, Ma'am." Clint and Natasha shifted to listen in as well.

"Can I see him?"

"Once the nurses have him settled more, you are welcome, though he will be out of it for a while. And only one at a time. There isn't a lot of room in the ICU and we want to limit his exposure to any potential infections or bacterias right now so please be respectful of the ICU entry procedures." The doctor took a breath while the group nodded their assent. "I don't know how much Doctor Banner has told you."

"Nothing. I haven't seen Bruce yet. Clint said he was working on figuring out what drugs were given to Tony and Steve. Why? What's wrong?"

"From what Doctor Banner had been able to understand from Captain Rogers, Mister Stark was injected with three unknown drugs. One of the drugs acted almost like a super-adrenaline." He was met with three confused sets of eyes. "Basically, it caused Mister Stark to be unable to sleep or fall into unconsciousness - even medically so. Doctor Banner had to find a way to neutralize the drug so we could even operate on him."

"And now that you have?" Clint asked for Pepper, who seemed too shaken up to ask anything right now.

"He's still touch-and-go right now - that's why we've set him up in the ICU. I'm not going to lie, Miss Potts, baring any complications he should be fine, but it's going to be a long recovery."

"And the other two drugs?"

"According to Captain Rogers, one was injected with the purpose of amplifying pain and pleasure. We're not sure what was used or if it's still in his system and we don't know what was in the third drug or its purpose. Doctor Banner is still working to determine what foreign chemicals are still in Mister Stark and how to neutralize them." It took a minute for his words to sink in.

"What are his injuries, Doc?" Clint moved to draw Pepper to his chest in a half-hug for support. She looked faint at the doctor's words.

"Aside from having multiple, unknown drugs in his system and the resultant sleep deprivation, Mister Stark is also malnourished and dehydrated - both of which are being monitored and we have him on IVs to help mitigate their affects. He also has a mild concussion, but no hemorrhaging so he should recover just fine from that. Bruising and cuts on his head and face, but those should heal without scaring. Mister Stark has sustained, though, a ruptured left eardrum. From what I understand of the situation - and reflecting on the news videos I've seen - I'd say he sustained the injury from the initial explosion at the cafe - though it was exasperated with the continuous blows he received. Given time and proper care, he should regain some hearing back in his ear."

"Some?!"

"While normally a ruptured eardrum will heal up back to near normal, in Mister Stark's case, the explosion did quite a bit of damage. I would guess that he hasn't been able to hear out of that ear since the explosion, but I am hopeful that he will regain at least some hearing back given time."

"That would explain his behavior on the 'jet." Pepper's eyes bore into Clint's to explain himself. "Tony would sort of respond to Natasha, but not really to anyone else. We just assumed it had to do with the pain and the shock or something." The doctor nodded his understanding.

"Is that all, Doctor?" Pepper was hoping that was everything, but she knew it was wishful thinking.

"I'm afraid not, Miss Potts. Both of Mister Stark's shoulders have been dislocated, he has deep lacerations on both wrists, multiple fractures in his left hand, two broken and five cracked ribs - which resulted in Mister Stark being admitted with flail chest and one of the ribs punctured his lung, causing some slight internal bleeding. We've done surgery to reset his ribs and fix the internal bleeding, but we've put him on a ventilator right now to give his lungs some rest.

"It will take several weeks, but Mister Stark will be fine as long as we keep an eye out for infections. In his weakened state, it will be hard for him to physically fight off any infection nor will his chest and lungs allow him to fully expunge any potential fluid build-up. That is one of our main concerns right now."

"One of?" Pepper had found her voice, but feared the answer.

"Yes, one of three in particular." Another weary sigh from the doctor, like he was stealing himself for what was to come. "His left hand was badly broken and we've called in a specialist to come in to look at it once we've gotten some of the swelling down."

"Will... He'll still be able to use his hand though, right?" Tony lived to fiddle and create. He needed his hands for all of that. Pepper couldn't even fathom how Tony would react if he lost mobility in one of his hands.

"I can't answer that, Ma'am. That's why I'm bringing in the specialist. I'm also bringing in another specialist to help me with his back."

"What's wrong with his back?" The fear in Pepper went up exponentially.

"Mister Stark has multiple, deep lacerations on his back upper torso. The damage is extensive and may require skin grafts and more surgery." Pepper sucked in a gulp of air and turned into Clint's chest, seeking more comfort. Clint continued to rub Pepper's back in reassurance. "Right now, we are keeping the area as clean as possible until the specialist has had a chance to assess him."

"Is that all, Doctor?" Natasha now took up the reins for Pepper.

"That's everything for right now, yes." A pause. "Miss Potts, while it looks bleak right now, please know that we are doing everything we can to ensure Mister Stark has the proper care he needs and has the best chance of making a full recovery."

Pepper nodded her understanding, tears streaking down her face and gathering into the soft cotton of Clint's t-shirt. She didn't know how Tony would take the news. Would he fight? Would he crumble? What would he do if he couldn't use his hands? Could the man who had held her boyfriend for four days have possibly done what Afghanistan couldn't do in three months: had he found a way to break the great Tony Stark?