Chapter 10

"Get down!" Romanoff yelled, dragging Pepper to the ground with him.

Shards of glass rained down on them from where a bullet had shattered the window. Exactly where Pepper had stood seconds before.

No, not now, Tony thought. Not now, when there was nothing he could do.

Romanoff jumped up and drew her gun. "We've got to get out of here! I saw at least fifteen men out there! Probably more."

"Ten Rings?" asked Rhodey, full of dark foreboding.

"Yes," Romanoff replied curtly, coming up to Tony and Rhodey as Pepper sat up, shock written all over her face.

"And again... what have you done?!" Romanoff shouted at Tony.

But Tony couldn't answer, the reactor was already flaring up again and the stabbing pain in his chest reached a horrifying level. The next thing he saw was the floor - where he was lying. Rhodey was bent over him.

"I told you to stay in the house and keep your feet still until we find out more," Romanoff yelled angrily. "And how the hell did you manage to hack S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Tony groaned and tried to sit up. Immediately, Rhodey and Romanoff grabbed him under the armpits and helped him up.

"Yelling isn't going to help right now," Rhodey interjected. "Let's concentrate on a way out."

"Jarvis, how many are there?" Romanoff ignored him.

"I'm registering twenty men," Jarvis replied. "They're approaching the house from all sides."

"Then let's get to the cars. We need to get Stark out of here."

More shots rang out, glass shattered, and everyone ducked. Tony felt terribly sick. Romanoff's bad temper was justified. They were here because of him. The surviving terrorists in Afghanistan must have informed Raza and his people here in America. They most likely knew that he had been hit by one of those magnets and had been incapacitated. And now they were taking advantage of that by attacking him - and those who were here with him.

"Let's go!" Romanoff urged them on, waving over Pepper, who was still sitting on the ground.

"Wait!" Tony called in a weak voice. "I have something important to tell you. My reactor, I think the problem -"

Another shot rang out and Romanoff pulled Tony with him.

"No time for that! We have to get out of here first!"

The small group began to move, Romanoff taking the lead. Outside, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents appeared to be engaged in a fierce battle with the terrorists. Numerous shots were fired, and a few screams indicated that some of them must have hit their targets.

Supported by Rhodey and Romanoff, Tony dragged himself forward. His legs almost wouldn't support him, he was completely powerless and exhausted, and his heart was beating painfully fast.

Then - something else flew in front of them through a shattered window.

"Grenade!" Rhodey shouted as it exploded violently in front of them.

Tony was thrown through the air by the force of the blast and came to rest. Thick, black smoke surrounded him, making it impossible to see. The terrorists would be here any moment; they had already sent their greetings. Irritated, Tony still lay there. He didn't know if he was hurt or if any of the others had been hit. Only one thing mattered right now. The reactor. And the sharp pain in his chest.

"Tony!"

Rhodey's voice was close to his ear. Tony could have sworn his eyes were open, but all he could see was blackness. Was he about to pass out?

"HEY!" Rhodey yelled, pulling at him, but Tony was unable to sit up. The pain in his chest was overwhelming.

"Damn it, Tony!"

Rhodey gave him a couple of hard slaps, yelled at him and continued to pull. And indeed - dimly, he began to recognize Rhodey's face again.

"Rho -"

"Get up!" his friend said again. "We have to go to the workshop!"

Fortunately for them, the smoke billowed through the room. Just as they couldn't see, neither could their opponents. Rhodey lifted his friend and then dragged him, more or less propping him up. Tony's heart raced and he felt the painful throbbing in every fiber of his body.

"There's Stark! He's here!" a voice shouted right in front of them.

Without waiting, Rhodey drew his own gun and fired three times. The figure collapsed and Tony could tell the masked man was dead as they made their way past him.

The room seemed to have become a war zone. Screams and gunshots rang out from every corner, but no one could see anything.

"Pepper," Tony groaned, clawing harder at Rhodey.

"Romanoff's with her," Rhodey explained curtly.

There was a loud bang behind them, followed by another shockwave; the whole house shook.

They had almost reached the stairs leading down to the workshop. But what about the others? Were they already downstairs or still in the middle of the commotion? Or even dead? Rhodey let go of him and peered down the stairs with his gun raised. Tony began to sway.

"The coast is clear, I think!" he called over his shoulder. "Follow me!"

Tony didn't follow. The reactor flickered again, then died. Tony stopped and saw Rhodey turn to face him. For a moment, they just looked into each other's eyes. Then the world dissolved into pain and Tony heard nothing but his own screams and the frantic pounding of his heart in his buzzing ears.

When he opened his eyes, the reactor was glowing. He was on the ground again, but now right in front of the stairs, where Rhodey must have dragged him.

"We're almost there, Tony!"

That would have been great. Except all Tony could feel was that there was no way he was going to make it. His body felt like an empty, useless shell - out of order. With great effort he managed to get back on his feet. Only the stairs... impossible.

"Here," Rhodey said, as if reading his mind, and reached out his arm.

Rhodey put Tony's arm around his shoulder, held his hand there, and then almost carried Tony down the stairs. The smoke cleared and at the bottom the view was completely clear.

Rhodey punched in the code for the garage and hurried on. The others were not there...

"Wait," Tony gasped. "Pepper... Romanoff... And what about Happy?"

"We don't have time."

"No... we have to... go back..."

"She will be fine. Romanoff is with her."

"No."

Tony made a pathetic attempt to free himself, but he had no strength, and Rhodey probably didn't even notice. But no, he couldn't leave Pepper behind! It was his fault that the terrorists had come. They wanted him. What if Pepper got shot? If only he could use the suit.

Stopping in front of Tony's Audi A8, Rhodey carefully let him go.

"Hang on!" he said forcefully, guiding Tony's hands to the roof of the car. Tony didn't know how long he could keep himself upright.

"Where are the keys?" Rhodey shouted, snapping his fingers in front of Tony's face as the faint sensation clouded him.

"On... on the..." Tony muttered. He pointed at the desk and held on to the car even tighter to keep it from toppling over. Rhodey sprinted off.

Welding beads dripped from Tony's forehead, and he knew the reactor would fail again any minute. Full of fear, he stood on shaky legs, waiting for the pain to set in at any moment. But he had to tell Rhodey what he had discovered before it was too late. His life depended on it.

"Rhodey..." Tony gasped weakly.

Too weakly. Rhodey didn't answer, just rifled through the cluttered desk. Tony watched as Rhodey hurried back, car keys in hand, unlocking the car on the way.

"Rhodey..."

"Get in, come on!"

"Rhodey, listen..."

"Get in the damn car!"

"Rhodey, my leg!" Tony said again, trying to stay conscious with all his willpower. "My leg... you have to look at my leg... the right one... it's about..."

"Tony! Get in the fucking car now!"

Tony didn't get in. The reactor stopped.

"Rhodey..."

There was something pleading in Tony's voice and the Colonel knew immediately that something was wrong. He turned around just in time to see Tony - now pale as a corpse - coughing up blood and then collapse.

"N-no!" Rhodey groaned, stumbling over to his friend and dropping to the ground beside him.

Tony had lost consciousness, and this time slapping his face did not help. Tony didn't react. With trembling fingers, Rhodey reached for Tony's neck. He still had a pulse. His heart was pounding like a sewing machine. The reactor didn't light up again. The lights stayed off. The reactor didn't restart...

"Fuck!" Rhodey screamed, looking around for help in sheer panic. But there was no one. He could still hear noise, screams and gunfire from above, but it would take too much time to find Romanoff or any of the others... if they were even alive...

"Damn it, Tony, what do you want me to do?" he muttered, shaking Tony whose shirt was splattered with blood.

So the shrapnel was now inexorably approaching his heart, and certainly faster than Jarvis had originally predicted. Had one of the shrapnel already hit an organ? Was that why Tony was coughing up blood?

"What are you doing?" a voice suddenly shouted.

Startled, Rhodey drew his weapon and looked up.

"Coulson?"

The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent ran towards them. Also with a gun in his hand.

"Get him in the car, now! What are you waiting for?!"

"Y-yah."

Rhodey tossed the car keys to Coulson, lifted Tony into the back seat and sat down beside him. Coulson started the engine and drove off with squealing tires.

"Where did you come from?" Rhodey asked.

"I never really left," Coulson replied calmly, driving the car out of the garage. "What's the situation back there?"

"He... his pulse seems to be out of normal range and the arc reactor is still off!"

"If it doesn't restart, his heart will probably stop any moment. That's the case, right?"

Gunshots rang out on the side of the car, and the two of them instinctively slid deeper into their seats. Coulson was driving faster, some of the terrorists had turned their attention to them even though they were in the middle of a bloody battle with the agents. It was only a few meters to the exit of the compound.

"Make way," Coulson said quietly, heading straight for three terrorists who immediately jumped aside.

Rhodey's head slammed painfully into the front seat as the car burst through the gates and onto the street. Dazed for a moment, he sat staring out the window until he realized Coulson was talking to him.

"Talk to me, Colonel! Hey, can you hear me? Is Stark still alive?"

"Wha...? Y-yes."

Rhodey collected himself and stared at Tony. Coulson was driving like a madman, making it difficult for Rhodey to keep his balance. He was in a useless hurry. Rhodey began to curse loudly, but then his fingers finally found Tony's neck.

"So?" Coulson called back.

Rhodey felt for a pulse.

"His heart... it's not beating!" Rhodey shouted back, and now all the sweat his body seemed to have ever stored broke out.

Coulson sped around a curve and glanced in the rearview mirror. But it didn't look like they were being followed. Then everything just seemed to be in a trance for Rhodey. He couldn't believe it. Tony was dead...

But then he suddenly remembered what Tony had said. My leg... you have to look at my leg... the right one... His leg? What had Tony meant?

Rhodey's hands felt for Tony's leg, but it seemed perfectly fine. He pulled himself together and ripped the pant leg from the butt to the knee. Coulson's driving style still didn't make it easy for him.

He twisted Tony's leg back and forth and lowered his head further to get a better look. There's nothing there, he thought panicked. Damn it, there's nothing...

Or was there? Rhodey grabbed Tony's leg as hard as he could to keep him still. Yes, there was something! Reddened skin, just a small spot, and in its center something even smaller, looking like a slightly thicker, short needle, barely visible to the naked eye. Rhodey bent low, then grabbed the needle with his hand and pulled gently. The needle came loose, revealing something at its end that looked a bit like a miniature button battery.

Whatever it was, it was out now. Rhodey's eyes darted up to Tony's chest, but the reactor was still off.

"Son of a bitch! Get started!" he yelled at the reactor.

Desperate, he stared down at Tony. Dead. He was dead.

Then the reactor flared up again. It flickered and died, flickered and died. And then it finally stayed on. It lit up again with full power and consistency. But was it too late?

Rhodey bent down to Tony's head and suddenly felt a violent rush of adrenaline inside him.

"Breathing!" he shouted. "He's breathing again! So..." He felt a heartbeat. "Yes! He's back! His heart is beating!"

Coulson blew out a puff of air and then said matter-of-factly: "Good."

Gradually Rhodey felt his body again and relief spread through him. But would the reactor stay on now? Rhodey clutched the little something in his hand. Whatever it was, it was obviously responsible for the failures.

For now, the most important thing was that Tony was alive. He just hoped it wasn't too late. Had he restarted his heart fast enough or had too much time passed? Was there any permanent damage? Too much oxygen deprivation in the brain for too long? Had the shrapnel traveled too far?

And what about Pepper, Happy, and Romanoff? Were they injured? Were they still alive?

Pepper opened her eyes and saw nothing but blurry colors and shapes. Her head hurt like someone was drilling into her brain. She blinked a few times. Things became clearer in front of her. She was lying on the ground, rubble and dust around her. She sat up with a start.

"Oh my God..." she said in horror.

There was a huge hole in the wall of Tony's house, revealing even more debris inside the building. The destruction was undeniable.

Pepper looked up and saw Romanoff's face. There was a cut on her forehead and blood running down her face, which she casually wiped away with her arm.

"Are you okay?" the agent asked, holding out her hand.

"I think so," Pepper said unsurely, letting herself be helped to her feet.

"That'll have to do for now," Romanoff replied.

Pepper nodded and wiped some dirt off herself.

"Where's Tony?" she asked, letting her eyes wander over the battlefield.

All Pepper could think of was him. She just had to know if he was alive and what had happened to the reactor.

"I don't know," Romanoff replied.

Pepper still felt a little dazed. Apparently she had been unconscious for a moment and her head was throbbing. Still, she could feel the uneasiness that Romanoff's "I don't know" was causing her. She continued to look around, hoping to see Tony somewhere. But there was no sign of him. There were many ambulances outside the house, tending to injured S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, while police officers went from one to the other, asking questions and apparently trying to make sense of it all.

It appeared that some of the terrorists had been apprehended. The expressions on the cops' faces suggested as much. A couple of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were conferring a few steps away.

"Better get a medical check," Romanoff said, pointing at Pepper's head. "But don't talk to the police. We'll have to sell them a different story later."

Without arguing, Pepper followed her advice and walked to one of the ambulances. The sun was low, how many hours had passed? She waved to one of the paramedics.

"Alright, let me take a look," one of them called after seeing her wave, and maneuvered her to an ambulance.

Pepper sat down in the back of the ambulance and had her head examined.

"Are you experiencing any discomfort? Pain, disorientation, double vision?" he asked, applying a large bandage to her temple and checking her pupillary reflexes.

"Just a headache," Pepper said, still distracted by her search for Tony and Rhodey. "But I know who I am and where I am. Other than the pain, everything seems fine."

"That's good. Mild concussion, I suspect. We'll take you to the hospital just in case, though."

"No, thank you."

The paramedic gave her a questioning look. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital? It would be best."

Pepper shook her head and got to her feet.

"Have you seen Tony Stark?" she asked, "Or James Rhodes? Happy Hogan?"

"Sorry, I haven't. Although Hogan... that name rings a bell. I think he's being looked after over there."

Pepper's eyes followed the paramedic's outstretched index finger, and sure enough - there was Happy, lying on a stretcher some distance away, one leg bloody and bandaged. She could tell from his expression that he was in pain, but it didn't look like a serious injury. A small relief came over her. She thanked the paramedic and decided to go over to Happy.

"Potts, wait." It was Romanoff, hurrying toward her. "Come with me."

Confused for a moment, she followed the agent to a black Cadillac and then took a seat next to her in the passenger seat.

"I just got off the phone with Agent Coulson. Stark and Rhodes are safe. They're alive."

A lump in Pepper's throat finally dissipated. The two had made it out safely. They were alive!

A short time later, Pepper and Romanoff arrived at a house somewhere near Los Angeles. It was in a suburb and looked completely unremarkable.

"This is the place," Romanoff said, getting out of the car.

Pepper followed her. Her body tingled with excitement. She wanted one thing. To make sure Tony and Rhodey were okay. The two entered the house. It was sparsely furnished and probably served only one purpose: to provide temporary shelter for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Romanoff led the way, then opened a door. Pepper entered the room after her and stopped in the doorway. There was Tony, sitting in a wooden chair next to a small round table, one arm casually propped up. He looked exhausted, his skin pale and his eyes bloodshot. But when he saw Pepper, his expression changed abruptly.

"Pepper!" he exclaimed, smiling at her with such genuine delight that it warmed her heart.

She noticed that Rhodey, Coulson, and two other female agents besides Romanoff were in the room with him, but she couldn't take her eyes off the man in front of her. She didn't care what the others thought - in five long strides she crossed the room and threw herself into Tony's arms.

"Jesus, Tony..." she whispered, unable to hold back a few tears of joy and relief.

She clung to Tony's neck and pressed her face into his hair. Underneath her, she felt Tony's posture relax and he snuggled up to her a little as well. He wrapped his arms around Pepper's back and gently held her closer.

Then she leaned back a little and studied his face. Tony looked at her confusedly, as if to ask what had suddenly come over his personal assistant, but Pepper laughed out loud for a moment and more tears dripped from her face.

"Tears for your long-lost boss again?" he asked, and Pepper understood the allusion to the moment of his return from Afghanistan.

"Yeah, I still hate job hunting."

Tony grinned sheepishly as he wiped away her tears with one thumb and continued to hold her with his other arm.

"Are you feeling better?" Pepper asked, looking down at his chest.

She could see the reactor glowing brightly under his shirt, which was a good sign.

"Yeah, all good," Tony said quietly. "Problem solved."

Pepper realized that it was far from appropriate to continue clinging to Tony when she remembered that they weren't alone in the room. Suddenly blushing, she put some distance between them and wiped the last tears from her face herself. Then she glanced at Rhodey, who was eyeing her and Tony suspiciously. Romanoff next to him rolled her eyes and Coulson just smiled his usual friendly smile.

"Are you hurt?" Rhodey asked, pointing to her head.

"Nothing serious," Pepper replied.

For a moment, Tony feared his heart would jump again when he looked at Pepper. He'd gotten all hot and bothered when she'd hugged him so tightly. He was so relieved that nothing worse had happened to her. Just a scratch, it seemed. He was also comforted by the news that Happy was alive and not too badly hurt.

Apart from that, Tony felt weak more than anything else. His heart had stopped beating for a moment, but overall he wasn't feeling too bad. His bruises and his shoulder hurt quite a bit from the overexertion and the wrong movements. Still - the fact that he was able to sit halfway upright on a chair here was more than fortunate. He was glad to have a smart friend like Rhodey who had understood what Tony had tried to tell him before he collapsed. Words could not express the gratitude Tony felt for him.

He looked over at Rhodey, who returned his gaze with a brief smile and then went back to listening to Romanoff's account of what had happened outside Tony's house. He was sure that Rhodey understood his gratitude without many words.

"So please tell me, what about the reactor?" Pepper asked, looking at him with a little more concern now.

Tony pointed to a small dot on the table next to him that Pepper didn't seem to have noticed until now.

"What's that?" she asked.

"A little device that was interfering with my reactor," Tony explained. "When that magnet I told you about stuck to the outside of my armor, it must have poked a tiny hole through the armor and stuck this little device under my skin at the same time. Since I was under fire like crazy, I guess I didn't notice it."

"This magnet - as you call it," Coulson said. "was it just a diversion?"

"Yes and no. It caused my armor and all my systems to fail. I think this little thing here was plan B in case they couldn't get me out of the armor fast enough to kill me."

Tony took the device and ran it thoughtfully through his hands.

"It's pretty clever. The needle and the tiny thing were so small that there was no visible damage on the outside of my body. There was no noticeable hole in my pants, no drop of blood. Besides, these two lovely ladies here..." Tony gestured and winked at the two female agents. "...found traces of local anesthetic on it. Apparently, when the device was inserted under my skin, it immediately released the anesthetic and numbed everything. That's why I couldn't feel it even hours later. Pretty ingenious. And this device kept sending out electromagnetic pulses that caused my reactor to fail.

"How did you figure that out - in your condition?" Romanoff asked, crossing her arms.

"I realized that there simply had to be something else on or in my body. There was no other reason for my intact reactor to continue to malfunction, even though the magnet wasn't even attached to me anymore. After all, the other functions came back to life as soon as I removed its big brother on the outside."

"And why didn't Jarvis find anything? He scanned you several times, didn't he?" Pepper asked.

"Stealth mode," Rhodey replied this time. "Used by a lot of fighter jets to stay off radar. It's a very specific kind of stealth that Jarvis apparently couldn't detect."

"I'm sure he'll be offended," Tony grinned.

He put the little thing away and tried not to look worried. These terrorists had actually designed this specifically to fight him. What else had they thought of? What would come next?

"Someone put a lot of thought into this," Romanoff said, too.

"Which is exactly why we agreed you would lay low for now, Mr. Stark," Coulson said.

"Oh, did I sneak out of the house despite being grounded? Sorry, Mom," Tony said, waving him off.

"It's not funny," Romanoff shouted angrily. "You saw the fire it caused. Some of our people died!"

"Yes, and that's terrible! But I didn't ask you to stand guard outside my house!" Tony shouted back, now angry. "Ever since Raza showed up at my house, I've had a permanent Open Door Day!"

"Would you rather have been alone today?"

Tony stifled another comment. He knew it was pointless. Both sides had their points. Both were right in some way. Both would have to lick their wounds now.

"Mr. Stark," Coulson said quietly but firmly. "I must point out to you again that by publicly announcing that you are Iron Man, you have thrown away the card of secrecy that we actually agreed to before this press conference. S.H.I.E.L.D. is now involved, whether you like it or not."

Tony fell silent and shifted slightly in his chair. He was getting very tired and just wanted to go home and rest for now.

"And one more thing. I don't know how you managed to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D., but if you do it again, Director Fury himself will come and tear you a new asshole. Promise."

There was silence for a moment as Tony stared at Coulson with a mixture of defiance and amusement on his face.

"We're on your side, Mr. Stark," Coulson added.