Kidnapped

Chapter 9

IMAA does not belong to me...unless someone knows something I don't. XD

Chapter Nine

"Nng..."

Pepper cracked her eyes open, only to wince and squeeze them tightly shut again as the dim light made her head spin and her skull seem to split open with a terrible headache. She forced herself to a sitting position, clutching the side of her head with her eyes still closed, trying to remember exactly what had happened. When the memories came flooding back, she gasped audibly and her eyes snapped open.

She was in a semi-small room, the lighting dim and the walls close. A few feet away from her was a heavy metal door with a hand scanner. And then, across the room-Pepper's heart skipped a beat and her breath caught in her chest-was an unconscious teen held up on by the manacles on his wrists.

Who else could it be other than the inventor?

"Tony!" Pepper scrambled across the floor, seemingly unable to breathe. She froze a few feet in front of the teen, eyes widening in horror.

There was so much blood...certainly more than Pepper thought a person could live without. His face was caked with it, fresh and dried, mostly under his right eyes. His left leg was at an odd angle, angry bruises and deep, bloodied cuts covered all of his exposed skin, and his red shirt was all but shredded, his arc reactor peeking through a tear in his shirt and emanating a bluish light.

"No, no, no..." Pepper whispered, crawling closer to him, her eyes welling with tears. Up close the damage looked even more extensive, and the faint light his implant was giving off gave him a ghoulish look. Suddenly Pepper was hit with a terrible thought; he hadn't moved since she'd seen him. He couldn't be...

"Tony!" Pepper cried, taking the sides of his face in both of her hands and lowering her face to his, "wake up! Please, Tony!"

He started to cough, and Pepper was relieved for two reasons: one, he wasn't the unthinkable, dead, and two, he wasn't coughing blood, which would indicate his lungs were filling with blood.

His eyes blinked open, his electric blue eyes hazy and unfocused. His sight sharpened remarkably, however, when he realized who was directly in front of him.

"P-Pepper?" He tensed, jaw forming inaudible words as he floundered for something to say, horror evident in his crystal blue orbs. "You-no, they can't-they can't h-have you!"

Pepper stayed quiet, gently wiping the fresher blood from below Tony's eye with the palm of her hand. "I can't believe they did this to you," she whispered, lower lip wavering. Tony grimaced, closing his eyes.

"It-it's not as bad as it looks, Pep," he mumbled, though his words fell on deaf ears. Then he hesitated, worry lining his blue eyes. "They didn't hurt you. did they?"

The redhead stared at him incredulously. "Me? What about you!"

"Did they hurt you?"

Pepper sighed, touching her head where she'd been hit. "I'm fine. Scared, freaked-out, worried, but physically, fine."

She exhaled through her teeth, sinking down until she was at level with Tony, laying her head on the crook of his neck and wrapping her arms around his chest, allowing herself to think for the first time since she'd found Tony. She felt Tony's shoulder jerk as he reflexively tried to wrap his arm around her shoulders, but being as his wrists were held above his head by manacles, found this impossible. Instead he rested the side of his head on Pepper's, his arc reactor humming erratically.

"Now what do we do?" Pepper asked, biting her lip.

"I-we-uh..." Tony took a deep breath. "I don't actually-I hadn't expected-"

The scientist was interrupted by Pepper's ecstatic squeal. Tony watched on in confusion as the redhead pulled away and pulled away, reaching into her pocket-only to have her face fall in disappointment as she pulled a small, rectangular device from her pocket. Tony's eyes widened as he looked at the thing in her hands.

"Is that-is that the P-Pod?" Tony asked, excitement and hope overflowing in his voice. Pepper nodded, though her expression still downcast.

"Yeah, but the screen-the screen is cracked," she frowned.

"Lemme see," he said, waggling the fingers on his right hand. Pepper reached up her arm, pressing the phone into his chained hand. "This-this is great!" he cried, tilting his head up to look at the phone. "I doesn't matter the screen is broken, it-this-do you know what this means?"

"No..." Pepper said, shaking her head though she was secretly happy to see Tony so excited again. "Care to enlighten me?"

Tony was about to answer when they heard voices echoing beyond the heavy metal door, clarifying with every passing second. Tony's face turned to chalk, making the crimson blood stand out even more, his body tensing.

"Oh no..." he whispered in horror. He looked at Pepper, electric blue orbs meeting chocolate brown, terror reflected in Pepper's own pair. "P-Pepper...I need you to listen to me very carefully...rip off a piece of my sleeve."

"Wha-why-"

"Just do it, quickly," Tony whispered, turning to stare at the metal doors in anticipation. Of course...they'd given him just enough time to begin to heal, wake, and talk to Pepper, and now...

Pepper grabbed the phone from Tony's hand and shoved it back in her pocket before ripping off a strip of Tony's already tattered red shirt with fumbling fingers.

"Pep, I want you to get as far from me as you can, wrap that around your eyes, and cover your ears. Got me?" Tony's eyes returned to her, drilling her for an answer, so she only nodded, a bit fearfully. She did as Tony said, crawling away to one of the corners and tying the cloth around her eyes. She shoved her hands over her ears right after she heard the door open and a cold voice echo around the room. She trembled fearfully, pulling her legs to her chest and holding her hands tighter over her ears.

That did nothing to drown out the screams, though.