Pepper Potts (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
handing) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
entranceway2014-09-05 05:31 pm
handing) wrote in entranceway2014-09-05 05:31 pm
Action + Video
[She's heard before of the phenomenon where things happen both incredibly fast and slow all at once. She's even experienced it to some degree, staring at flashing red lights or down the arm of a massive mechanical suit ready to kill her. But this, this is something new, and all the more horrible for it. Wind and heat wrap around her body, flames from below that promise her doom. She's falling, faster than any person should, too fast for Tony to summon a suit to save her.
And the worst part is that they both know it. That's the part that happens slowly for her: what she sees above, the horror and shock etched so perfectly on Tony's face when their fingers just miss. She knows, knows in her heart what's going to happen then, her body clenching as his eyes send the message home even more certainly than the pyre beneath, the ground too far below.
She's going to die.
But even though the fall only takes seconds outside of her own head, that's still enough time for things to change. Just as fire surrounds her, burns her flesh and blinds her eyes, the world shifts in an impossible way. She should have landed among oil drums, brought down during the dark night just before Christmas. Instead Pepper falls from a clear blue sky, not into fire but the fountain, sending up a wave of water and steam with her landing.
That shouldn't have been enough to save her, however. Not that she knows it yet; her world is comprised entirely of pain, her body glowing bright as it stitches itself back together. Broken bones set themselves and mend, burnt flesh reforms with a different brand of fire. The heat surrounding her is immense, and any who have already arrived would be wise not to touch her. Even after she stands, when Pepper can finally try and figure out what's happened, she's still burning under her skin.
Eventually, her mind clears. Memories of Wonderland return, and whatever calmness she can find knowing that Killian hasn't truly killed her, neither here nor at home, manage to make the heat of Extremis ebb. She won't go to the clinic--no matter who tries to take her there, no matter how much they swear she needs to be looked at, Pepper staunchly refuses. She's had more than enough of people examining her, and other things that are fare more important. She has to find Tony, to replace that last memory of his eyes with something far better, to tell herself that things truly are and will be okay--eventually.
But there's still the virus inside of her, the danger it presents. Pepper can't remember much from her time spent as a captive, but she knows why Killian and Maya were after Tony. They needed him to stabilize Extremis, to keep people from dying. The future's promise, that in a few months back home she's going to be lunching with Natasha, only does so much to ease the burden of the presence. She needs a sense of control, which is why for almost everyone else, her reintroduction comes in the form of a video message. She's put herself together as much as she can, showered and dressed, looking as far removed from the woman who fell from the sky hours before as she can manage.]
This is Pepper Potts; I'm back now. [She hesitates, on the verge of apologizing for any inconveniences her absence caused. That's too formal though, too businesslike. She's talking to people who care about her, friends who are going to see through whatever facade she tries to put up, because she's never been good at lying, and some of them are very perceptive. Her lips pressed together, Pepper takes a breath, then manages something close to a smile. She won't stop people from visiting, and she can't stop them from asking, but this way, hopefully, she can manage the conversations.] I guess I should ask what I've missed. I've heard it's been over two weeks since I was gone?
And the worst part is that they both know it. That's the part that happens slowly for her: what she sees above, the horror and shock etched so perfectly on Tony's face when their fingers just miss. She knows, knows in her heart what's going to happen then, her body clenching as his eyes send the message home even more certainly than the pyre beneath, the ground too far below.
She's going to die.
But even though the fall only takes seconds outside of her own head, that's still enough time for things to change. Just as fire surrounds her, burns her flesh and blinds her eyes, the world shifts in an impossible way. She should have landed among oil drums, brought down during the dark night just before Christmas. Instead Pepper falls from a clear blue sky, not into fire but the fountain, sending up a wave of water and steam with her landing.
That shouldn't have been enough to save her, however. Not that she knows it yet; her world is comprised entirely of pain, her body glowing bright as it stitches itself back together. Broken bones set themselves and mend, burnt flesh reforms with a different brand of fire. The heat surrounding her is immense, and any who have already arrived would be wise not to touch her. Even after she stands, when Pepper can finally try and figure out what's happened, she's still burning under her skin.
Eventually, her mind clears. Memories of Wonderland return, and whatever calmness she can find knowing that Killian hasn't truly killed her, neither here nor at home, manage to make the heat of Extremis ebb. She won't go to the clinic--no matter who tries to take her there, no matter how much they swear she needs to be looked at, Pepper staunchly refuses. She's had more than enough of people examining her, and other things that are fare more important. She has to find Tony, to replace that last memory of his eyes with something far better, to tell herself that things truly are and will be okay--eventually.
But there's still the virus inside of her, the danger it presents. Pepper can't remember much from her time spent as a captive, but she knows why Killian and Maya were after Tony. They needed him to stabilize Extremis, to keep people from dying. The future's promise, that in a few months back home she's going to be lunching with Natasha, only does so much to ease the burden of the presence. She needs a sense of control, which is why for almost everyone else, her reintroduction comes in the form of a video message. She's put herself together as much as she can, showered and dressed, looking as far removed from the woman who fell from the sky hours before as she can manage.]
This is Pepper Potts; I'm back now. [She hesitates, on the verge of apologizing for any inconveniences her absence caused. That's too formal though, too businesslike. She's talking to people who care about her, friends who are going to see through whatever facade she tries to put up, because she's never been good at lying, and some of them are very perceptive. Her lips pressed together, Pepper takes a breath, then manages something close to a smile. She won't stop people from visiting, and she can't stop them from asking, but this way, hopefully, she can manage the conversations.] I guess I should ask what I've missed. I've heard it's been over two weeks since I was gone?
[Video]
Pepper! Are you alright? Where are you?
Re: [Video]
But that only eases the reality so much. In many ways, Pepper needs to hear those same words again: that she's okay.]
I'm fine. [Physically speaking, at any rate. No one would ever guess by looking that she'd fallen so far, ended up broken and burnt in the fountain. Certainly no one would think that she's been altered on a genetic level. She swallows, looking away for a brief moment as her hands tighten on the phone.] I'm in the room I'd been using for an office, if you want to stop by.
[Video] -> [Action]
[ She's already moving before she even gets an answer, but Pepper's reply gives her a direction and she's there a few short minutes later, peeking her head in the door to find the other woman right where she'd said she'd be. ]
Welcome back. [ It's said ruefully as she steps inside, her green gaze intent and assessing, as if that alone might clue her in to what Pepper's been through. ] So I'll ask again. How are you? Maybe try for the truth this time, or at least lie better.
[ It's said teasingly, but there's still genuine concern in her tone. She knows what pepper was going back to - at least some of it. ]
[Action]
She's on her feet when Natasha arrives, next to the desk that looks exactly how she left it, except a little dusty. Her arms folded in front of her, her fingers tighten on her sleeves when the door opens. She turns instinctively, eyes wide and fearful for the heartbeat it takes to recognize her visitor.]
Natasha. [She breathes out slowly, willing herself to relax with that recognition. The mirrors she can't get rid of have already been broken, but Pepper still gives them a glance as Natasha teases her.]
I've never been a good liar. [Although now she wishes she were. Pepper braces herself, then asks the first of many things she doesn't want to.] How much do you know about my kidnapping?
[Action]
Natasha's expression turns serious as she comes further into the room, closer to where Pepper stands. ]
Most of it. [ She's honest about that, at least. ] I was part of SHIELD's debrief in the aftermath and what wasn't discussed there... You and I talked quite a bit.
[ Because she was one of the few people SHIELD had that was on friendly terms with both Tony and Pepper, and someone who could understand - to an extent - the ordeal Pepper had just endured. She was hardly a psychiatrist or a doctor. But she could be a friend. And she'd always been good at listening and occasionally, at offering a different point of view. ]
Re: [Action]
It's only a temporary stay, but still. Pepper breathes easier for it.]
I was only home for a few hours. Maybe a day. [Just long enough for her entire world to change, and she closes her eyes, her head tilted forward. All that lets her see is the bright burning of flames, however, and she looks back at Natasha a heartbeat later, her smile so clearly forced.]
The last thing I remember is falling. [And if she truly has come to trust Natasha so much in the aftermath, that will tell the woman everything.]
[Action]
[ She frowns at the realization of which fall Pepper is talking about, because yes, she knows about that. Knows about most of the events that night and she still has some explaining to do then, because leaving Pepper's knowledge at that isn't acceptable - unless the other woman would prefer it that way. ]
Come on. Sit down. This might take a bit. Would you like me to fill you in on what you once told me?
Re: [Action]
[So the reason for Pepper's relief should be evident when Natasha offers to fill in those gaps. Before she hadn't wanted to know so much about her future, to prevent herself from worrying over the inevitable. This time, however, Wonderland allowed her just enough awareness to plunge everything into a dark mass of uncertainty. Here and at home, she needed to know things truly would resolve themselves in good ways.]
Please. [She tries not to sound so desperate as she is, quickly settling into one of the chairs.]
Re: [Action]
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What Natasha goes on to say makes just as much sense. Pepper had been disoriented at first, but not unaware. If anything it had felt like her senses were taking in too much, that she could hear and see far more details than normal. She doubts she could describe those first moments in Wonderland either, not before she'd been found and spoken to.
Still, that's where the logical path ends for her. She stares at Natasha in utter shock as the woman reveals that Iron Man and his armada hadn't been the ones to resolve everything.] What? Me? But...how is that possible? I don't know how to fight, and Killian can. He has Extremis, he took out Tony in one of the suits. [So it makes no sense to think that Pepper could be the one to end things.]
Re: [Action]
From what I learned from you and Tony, he tried to end him by trapping him in one of the empty suits and exploding it, but Killian still healed, it didn't burn hot enough and fast enough to overwhelm his regeneration ability. You reappeared when he was closing in on a downed Tony and knocked him aside, then rolled a missile shot in his direction and exploded it with a blast from one of the broken suit's repulser arms. That apparently did the trick. Tony thought you were acting mostly on instinct, on the need for survival. He explained that Extremis speeds your ability to reason, to strategize, to look at what you have available to you and make use of it. Which you were already good at, maybe just not typically in this particular way.
Re: [Action]
That... [She wants to argue still, to say it can't make sense. But when she thinks through those moments just after her fall here, she can't deny similar thoughts ran through her mind. Not of missiles and broken suits, of course, but of things around her, how to defend herself, weaknesses to exploit.]
It's just really hard to think I could do something like that. It's really...violent.
Re: [Action]
[ She'd always suspected that Pepper could be capable of amazing things. She'd seen her handle Tony with an adeptness that could leave even Coulson utterly speechless - an impressive feat, that - and the way the woman had dealt with Hammer at the Stark Expo had more than secured Natasha's deep respect for her. ]
Re: [Action]
Maybe that's how it had been with Killian too, and all the more so because she could save Tony that time.]
I guess that's one good thing to come out of this. [She looks down at her hands, slowly curling her fingers, then stretching them out, all the while half expecting to see them suddenly glow. One good thing, but how high is the cost for it?] But I don't think I can complain about Tony and his suits anymore.
[Action]
[ She leans forward then and lays her hand on Pepper's, meeting her gaze seriously. ] But this is something you can learn to control, Pepper. You will be okay. Tony found a stabilizing agent once, he can do it again. You're not facing any of this alone.
Re: [Action]
Thank you. I can't tell you how much I needed to hear that. [All of it, from someone who can call Pepper's future their past. To know she's not alone, and that she won't be when she has to live through all this again, is the best thing she could have asked for.]
Re: [Action]
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[To throw around the term Tony loves so much.]
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You realize that's what every member on our team has said a dozen times at least and yet. Here we all are. I think it's what you can do in the heat of the moment that counts. You didn't panic. Your reaction was to protect. That says more than you think.
Re: [Action]
It's still pretty hard to see myself doing what I've seen you do. [But she isn't going to push the point too hard. Even if Pepper doesn't imagine herself at that level, the potential usefulness is undeniable.] But I guess stepping up my training couldn't hurt.
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