All righty then!! On with the story! Last chapter :D It's quite a bit longer than any of my other chapters, but it's probably also the best! Maybe that's just my opinion. Anyway-read on!

Chapter Six

Pepper woke, her eyelids heavy, she could barely keep them open for more than a second, so she decided that listening may be a better plan. Her ears perked at the low talking from another room. She could barely move her head, either. 'What did they hit me with? A ton of bricks?' She thought. She tried to move her hands, but found them tied together, even her feet seemed to be tied to the legs of the chair she was sitting on. A cold, hard metal chair, as a matter of fact. Her body ached, her head felt like it could explode, and she had an itch. The door opened, slamming against the wall. Pepper winced at the loud noise, the boom of the door echoing through her mind.

"Well, well, the girl is awake." Someone chuckled, Pepper once again tried to lift her head to see who was speaking, but it just felt too heavy.

"Why won't you look at me when I'm speaking to you?" They asked, she still wasn't sure who it was, Mr. Fix? Maybe.

"I...can't..." She whispered so softly that the man before her could barely hear a word she said.

"Look at me!" He yelled, roughly grabbing her chin and forcing her head up to look at him. It was Mr. Fix. She squinted through the glow of computer screens and stared into his face.

"Do you think your friend Tony Stark is smart enough to find this place?" He asked quietly.

Pepper nodded, "He'll find you." She tried to sound menacing, but she sounded more scared than what she wanted.

Mr. Fix stared at her for a moment, let go of her chin, and smacked her across the face. Pepper let out a small gasp, tears springing to her eyes.

"Were you able to speak to him with that communication device that I provided for you?" He asked, "I was kind enough to have given that to you." He said sarcastically.

Pepper nodded her head slightly, "Yes." Was all she could muster.

"I was hoping that he would be able to pick up that signal and speak with you, just to torment him. I wish I could have seen his reaction when he realized he hadn't made it in time. I hope I'll get to see that reaction now. Although, I don't think he'll find us. It's the last place he would check, really. One of his very own weapon facilities. One that is outdated and no longer used, but owned by none other than Tony Stark himself." Mr. Fix paused, "You know, the only reason I sent Whiplash to get you from the building before it exploded was so that I could use you to get the rest of the technology that Tony left out, but now I see that it was a mistake. I should have left you there to burn." Mr. Fix spat.

"And Iron Man cheated! He used his friend Rhodey to help him. How would I know he had two suits? One for him and one for his friend. Although, if I hadn't sent Whiplash to retrieve you from the building, you would be alive anyway. Rhodey surely would have made it in time." Mr. Fix stood, staring at an unresponsive Pepper.

"No matter, we'll take care of that soon anyway." Mr. Fix said casually.

Pepper squeezed her eyes shut, she knew that pain was coming, it was only a matter of time before she would be gone. She would never see Tony or Rhodey or her father ever again. Silent tears poured down her cheeks, her lips quivering. 'Don't cry, don't cry. He'll only see it as a weakness.' She told herself over and over.

Mr. Fix was about to strike her again when he heard Whiplash, "Sir! It's Iron Man!" He hissed from the other room.

Mr. Fix paused, arm poised in the air. He lowered it, walking briskly to the other room. "The direction he's heading is toward this warehouse exactly. He knows." Whiplash said.

Mr. Fix thought for a second, "Meet him outside and take care of him." He turned on his heel and headed back to the other room.

"Now, where were we?" Mr. Fix asked, a rhetorical question. Pepper sniffed and pursed her lips. She could do this, she could get through this.

He was about to strike her again when he stopped, "Oh, and, if you ever see your friend Rhodey again, which I doubt, tell him thank you, for letting slip that Tony Stark was Iron Man. It really helped me out." He snickered. She felt him hit her chair, toppling it over onto the left side. She swore she heard something crack, her chest hurting immediately after. Had he kicked her? She could barely think, her head had hit the concrete floor quite hard when she was knocked over. Her vision became blurry, her body sagging.

Mr. Fix grabbed part of the chair and lifted her to an upright position. "How...did you...find out?" Pepper gasped.

"I hacked into a private video feed from your school. I heard the whole conversation." Mr. Fix laughed maliciously, he rubbed his hands together. "Well, I'll just let you sit there and take in that information while I watch Whiplash tear your friend apart." He flipped a couple switches and clicked a few buttons, finally finding Whiplash and Iron Man.

Tony landed at the front of the building, having already spotted Whiplash. "Oh, why hello. It's Whippo again. How's it going?" He asked casually, trying to hide his fear for Pepper. "Or was it Whip It Good? I never remember names, I'm not good at that stuff." Trying to crack a joke.

Whiplash hissed menacingly, "I'll whip you until you're in tiny pieces, Iron Man. Don't test me."

"Huh...I see. Well, I'm here to rescue someone, so if you'd like to move aside, that would be great." Tony said, trying to ease the tension, but knowing that Whiplash wouldn't let him get anywhere without a fight.

Whiplash laughed, "That's what I'm here to keep you from doing." One of his whips lashed out toward Iron Man, causing Tony to jump as high as he could, but his whip caught his left foot, yanking him down to the ground. Tony groaned and got up hastily, building up energy into the chest area of his suit and aiming it at Whiplash. Releasing the energy toward him, Whiplash barely had time to react, half of his body getting caught in the blast. He was thrown back, his body made a sickening sound as it impacted the brick wall of the warehouse.

"Ouch." Was all Tony said, walking toward Whiplash slowly, who was gasping on the ground. Tony sighed, "You know, you could just give up." He said nonchalantly.

"Never." Whiplash countered, flinging one of his whips at Tony, electrocuting him. Extra energy ran through Tony's suit. 'Maybe I could harness this energy and counter it back to him.' He thought, trying to ignore the pain of the electric currents running through his body as well as the armor. He instructed the suit to reverse the energy intake, and aiming it at Whiplash, he let it loose.

The blast hit Whiplash in the chest, the energy that his whips used reversed and dissolved his weapons, the acid-like energy raving over the metallic body of Whiplash. "AAHHH!!" A high pitched terrible scream came from Whiplash, drowning out everything else. Tony cringed, he couldn't watch. Whiplash literally dissolved right before Tony's eyes, his screams echoing off nearby buildings.

Mr. Fix sat in surprise and fear. Iron Man had just defeated his only safeguard. He watched the screen as Tony punched his way through a wall, announcing his presence within the building. Mr. Fix could hear it simultaneously down the hall. He was doomed, unless...He glanced at Pepper and made his way over to her.

Tony entered the building "Iron Man Style" by punching through a wall. "Mr. Fix! Where are you?!" He yelled, his anger was getting on a serious edge, any longer and he wouldn't be able to control it. He entered a dark room lit only by the glow of computer screens.

"Why hello, Iron Man." Tony turned in the direction of the sound, he spotted Mr. Fix, holding a broken and bruised Pepper in a head lock, an arm around her throat, and in his other hand, holding a gun raised to her temple. "If you come any closer, I will shoot her."

Tony frowned, 'Using a gun? Well that's different. Normally enemies have some new weaponry to use.' He thought. He stood his ground. He had come this far, he was not going to mess it up and get Pepper killed.

He stood, unmoving. "I know what you want, if you let her go, I'll tell you all of the information that I left out."

Mr. Fix stood emotionless, "I'm not so sure about that. You won't keep your word."

Tony clenched his jaw in frustration. "Just give her to me."

Mr. Fix shook his head, "Not until you give me the information." He stated.

"Tony, please." Pepper pleaded, fear in her eyes.

Tony nodded, "Where did you put the bag with the stuff I gave you?" Tony asked.

Mr. Fix moved hesitantly, moving Pepper along with him, his left foot faltered, giving Tony all the time he needed. Mr. Fix's arms flailed, trying to regain his balance. Tony shot forward and grabbed Pepper from him, scooping her up into his arms. He flew down the hallway and out the hole he had made in the wall.

Tony opened his faceplate, "Pepper. Oh Pepper, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Tony cradled her against him, and couldn't think of anything else to say. He hovered over the warehouse. Before Pepper could say anything they heard a gunshot. The bullet whizzed through the air, passing by Tony's head within a couple of inches. Gathering by how high up Tony had flown, Mr. Fix must have souped up the gun in some way in order to be that accurate in almost killing him. Tony had almost forgotten about Mr. Fix in his haste to get Pepper.

Tony could see Mr. Fix on the ground, standing right outside the makeshift hole Tony had made. Tony aimed a missile at the warehouse, intending not to hurt Mr. Fix, but destroy his illegal operations, what he didn't know, was the left over and long forgotten weapons stored in the warehouse. Out of date weapons and unused chemicals. Tony fired the missile, the entire building going up in a giant ball of flames. Tony barely had time to react, the force of the explosion sent debris flying everywhere. Tony turned away from the building, shielding Pepper from shards of metal and pieces of brick flinging through the air. He regained his balance, looking in the direction of the building. Anything within at least twenty-five feet of the building was incinerated. Mr. Fix didn't survive that one.

"Tony....is he? Is he gone?" Pepper asked quietly, her arms around his neck, her eyes were shut tightly.

Tony turned away from the fire and headed toward the armory where Rhodey would be waiting for them. "Yes, he's gone, Pepper." He looked at her with concern.

Pepper leaned against him, finally feeling safe for the first time in two and a half days. "Thank you, Tony." She whispered.

Tony nodded, "Pepper, I would go anywhere in the world, even to another planet, to save you. You don't need to worry anymore."

Pepper sniffed, "Thank you." She said again, tears made tracks down her cheeks and she buried her head in the crook of his neck.

They made it back to the armory in about ten minutes. Tony let Pepper down just before they went in to the armory. He pressed a button on his suit and it quickly removed itself from Tony and gathered into its backpack form, dropping it to the ground. Tony turned to Pepper and brought her to him, hugging her tightly.

Pepper smiled for what felt like the first time in a week and hugged him back. They stayed like that for a minute, neither of them wanting to let go. "I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't made it in time." Tony whispered hoarsely, "Pepper, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that, I'll never let anything like that happen ever again."

Pepper nodded her head, taking comfort in his words, for once, she couldn't think of anything to say. Tony pushed her away from him gently, his hands on her shoulders. He examined her, looking for any injuries that she might have sustained. He grabbed her hands, angered to see welts, small cuts, and rope burn from where her wrists had been tied and retied, along with what looked like electrical burns. He grimaced, bringing both her hands closer to his face, he kissed them gently. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

Pepper shivered, and not because it was cold. She had never seen Tony like this. This was a new side of him she had never witnessed before. "It's okay, I'm sure they'll heal quickly." She said quietly, barely above a whisper. She looked up at him and gave a small smile, wincing when it pulled at her bruised cheekbone, where Mr. Fix had hit her.

Tony frowned, just noticing a slight bruise forming on her left cheek. He traced it tenderly with his finger, leaning toward her, he gently kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry." He said again as he pulled away.

Pepper could feel the heat rising in her face, 'Did Tony just kiss my cheek? Am I dreaming? It's now or never, Pepper.' She thought to herself. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, "Tony, I've been meaning to tell you, I meant to tell you when I was in the shipyard when we were talking, and I've been meaning to tell you for awhile, but I just couldn't figure out the right time, or the right place, and I didn't want it to be totally awkward and I-" She was cut off when Tony's lips met hers. Her eyes widened for a moment and then closed gradually. Her arms snaked their way around his neck, his hands on her hips. They finally pulled apart, the kiss was sweet, tender, and passionate. Everything Pepper could have hoped for.

"Fewer words, Pepper." Tony whispered, laughing slightly.

Pepper blushed, "Sorry, I guess you got the idea though." She bit her lip in embarrassment.

Tony grabbed her hand and led her into the armory. Rhodey was waiting for them, just as he had promised. Slowly getting up from his chair and giving Pepper a hug, groaning when she hugged him too tightly, his ribs screaming in protest. "Okay, I need to sit back down." Rhodey whined, finding a chair and slowly sitting down.

"Oh no! What happened, Rhodey?" Pepper asked, concerned.

"It's a long story, Pepper, and not one we really want to relive at the moment. We're just glad you're alive." Rhodey wheezed.

A few days later, Pepper and Tony sat in class, Pepper had finally convinced her dad Sunday night that she was perfectly fine, aside from the bruised ribs, cheek, and wrists, and that she was perfectly able to go to school the next morning. It would do her good to get her mind off of things. He dad had reluctantly complied with her wish.

Pepper's eyes were drooping and she was hardly paying attention. Math class equaled boredom to Pepper. Tony nudged her slightly, "Hey, don't fall asleep." He warned.

Pepper snorted, "It's more day dreaming than sleeping."

"What are you day dreaming about then?" Tony asked, curious.

Pepper's mouth dropped open, "Well....nothing." She ended with.

"Really? Because it sounds to me like you were actually thinking about something, and I so rudely interrupted you." Tony teased.

Pepper rubbed the back of her neck nervously. It definitely wasn't the time for this conversation. She had, in fact, been day dreaming about the moment between her and Tony...the oh so amazing kiss...she could feel herself disappearing into day dream land again, and reverted back to her conversation with Tony.

"I'll tell you about it later..." She trailed off, hoping he would forget.

After math was over they parted ways, Pepper heading to her history class, while Tony went to his science class. They met on the roof afterwards for their free period. Pepper stood at the far end of the roof, looking out over the city. She could see the direction of the shipyard near the bay, and vowed she would never go there again for as long as she lived. She rubbed her arms, a slight chill in the air. She could feel a presence slowly coming up behind her.

Arms came around her, "You feeling all right, Pepper?" Tony asked.

"Yes, just thinking, that's all." She said, crossing her fingers, hoping he wouldn't ask her what she had been day dreaming about.

"I had a couple of questions for you. It's about, well...about when you were kidnapped." Tony stuttered, "How did he find out that I was Iron Man?" Tony asked, "Because, I can't imagine what he must have done to you to find that out." Tony's voice was soft.

"Oh, well...he didn't do anything to get that information from me. He didn't even get it from me. He said he got it from our school's private security camera. He could hear Rhodey talking." She trailed off hesitantly, "I guess we need to be more careful." She sighed. "Ooh! I could come up with a bunch of code names!" She exclaimed.

Tony laughed, stepping beside her and gazing at her carefully. The bruising on the side of her face was slowly going away, but it was still noticeable. Her wrists were still swollen, along with her ankles and calves. She had also suffered a slight concussion and had bruised ribs. He couldn't think about all her injuries without cringing.

"What? Something on my face?" She asked self-consciously, her hand automatically coming up to her bruised cheek.

Tony grabbed her hand, "No, no...I was just thinking about everything you went through. I'm sorry." He said for about the eighteenth time.

"Tony, really, you don't have to say you're sorry. We've already gone over this. You saved me, that's all that matters." She said firmly.

"All right, all right. Second question. Did he mention anything about Whitney?" Tony asked.

Pepper frowned, "No, he didn't. Wait, why?" She asked.

Tony's mouth opened and closed, thinking. "Oh, I guess you didn't hear. Mr. Fix kidnapped her too, and he told us the opposite locations. I had chosen to get you...but it was really Whitney. I still don't understand why he kidnapped both of you." He said quietly.

Pepper thought for a moment, "I'm not sure. Maybe just to make things more complicated for you. Maybe he asked her father for ransom money and we just didn't hear about it. I really don't know."

Tony looked at her for a moment, "I'm glad you're all right, Pepper."

Pepper smiled kindly, "Thanks Tony, that means a lot to me." She stepped closer to Tony, smiling. "Is Whitney all right?" She asked as an afterthought.

"Oh, ya, she's doing fine. I dropped her off at the hospital, she was barely conscious when I took her there. She doesn't remember anything." Tony said, shrugging his shoulders.

Pepper snorted, "That's probably a good thing, considering what I remember." She recovered quickly, "But everything is okay now. I don't need to worry, since I've got Iron Man on my side." She grinned.

Tony smiled, looking down for a moment, "So...are you going to tell me what you were day dreaming about?" Tony asked, changing the subject.

Oh snap. Well, there went Pepper's hope for the day.

Butterflies made their presence known in Pepper's stomach, her nerves rising. "Uh, well...to tell you the truth, it was about what happened, the night you rescued me." She said quietly. "I was thinking about you and me, and where things were going and if that was just a moment and if I should just forget about it and not hope for anything, because I don't want to ruin our friendship, and we can totally stay friends if you don't want anything more, and-" Once again, Tony found that the only way to get her to stop talking was to capture her lips with his own.

They broke apart after a moment, "Pepper, what was it that I told you last time?" He laughed.

Pepper closed her eyes, leaning against his chest, his arms wrapping around her, she responded by not answering his question, "Mmm...if I kept talking, and talking, and talking, would you do that every time?" She asked, feigning innocence. Tony laughed, she could hear it rumble through his chest.

"I think that could be a possibility." Tony smiled, Pepper laughed.

Ooooh!! Precious! :D I hope everyone enjoyed the story! Let me know what you think of it by pressing that gray and green button, thanks!