𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐲

༻ ❁ ༺

December 25th, 2013
Noxxon Norco Oil Rig

2:22 AM

          "...LOTTE? WAKEY WAKEY, it's Christmas!"

Charlotte's first thought when she stirred in her comatose state was to recall what had transpired before she was put out by a sedative after accidentally killing Hugh.

Oh, she had killed Hugh.

"Charlie? C'mon, open those pretty little eyes. Uncle Al has his Christmas gift ready for ya!"

That voice sounded sickeningly familiar.

Charlotte's initial thought upon opening her eyes was that she had no freedom of movement as she was strapped to a titanium frame, but what made her panic even more was the IV that had already been placed into her veins.

Before Charlotte could scream, a woman in a lab coat approached her IV and injected something into the tubes connecting to her veins; the fluid turned bright orange and made its way inside her body - and Charlotte's body became instantly and painfully hot as soon as she felt that fluid swim through her veins.

"Surprise!" Killian began, and the twelve-year-old became aware of her surrounding as she fought against the pain.

She wasn't in the same place she was in that cell - it smelled like she was near the ocean, but the salty air didn't help to relieve the scorching pain she was experiencing.

"Since your body reacted so well and accepted the first two doses of the Extremis I injected into you, I decided to test you more and inject you with a third dose! And still" he leered at her, approaching to scan her face and body, "You're still stable!" laughing, as if he had just witnessed an amazing magic trick, Killian backed away from her and clapped his hands twice, like an excited child.

Charlotte didn't feel stable, she could barely form the words to express how much she hated this man.

All she could do was stare him down, hoping to appear threatening. Charlotte could see her veins turning orange again and her light skin turning crimson just by gazing at her exposed arms from wearing a tank top, and it was getting worse by the second.

She was glad there were no mirrors around because she didn't want to look at her eyes.

"Since you've been such a good girl, I got another gift for you, and this one, you'll like!" Killian stated as he turned around towards the entrance of the area, "Bring her in! It's time for another dose!" he ordered with a grin.

Charlotte's eyes widened at the sight of her mother being wheeled inside. She wore a pained expression as she was also strapped against a similar frame that Charlotte was.

Behind Pepper, an IV pole was being dragged alongside her, already with a needle inside her vein. Forgetting the pain, the two looked at each other and instantly cried out each other's names.

"Charlie! Oh my God!" Pepper cried, tears forming in her eyes, "Oh sweetie..." the strawberry-haired woman was placed next to her, and was staring at Charlotte with a tired expression.

"M-Mom..." the little girl sobbed, happy to see her mother, just not under such circumstances.

When the same nurse injected another Extremis dose into Pepper's IV, the woman grimaced and glanced down, her head feeling heavy, and Charlotte gazed at her with troubled eyes. When the Extremis entered her body, she winced.

"Hi," Killian greeted Pepper, watching her squirm with a smile.

Pepper looked around for a second, staring at Charlotte before turning to Killian, "If you think he's going to help you? He won't," she shook her head.

"Having you and little Charlie here is not just to motivate Tony Stark. It's, um...Well, it's actually more embarrassing than that. Because Pepper, you're here as my, um..." Killian pretended to think about his next word while looking sheepish.

Charlotte didn't like how close he was to her, she tried to struggle against her restraints but they didn't budge.

"Trophy..." Pepper suddenly states at the same time Killian does, she was looking at him with a mildly shocked and disgusted expression, as if she had realized what the whole thing was about, "Then let Charlotte go. You have me."

"Nice try," Killian chuckled as he backed away away from her and looks at Charlotte like a first place prize, "No, I have other plans for her. Can't you see? While you can barely handle a single dose. Your daughter, on the other hand, has surpassed three."

Pepper looked between the trembling child and Killian with a confused and startled expression, "Charlie here, has the perfect body to be my perfect Extremis soldier."

"What?!" Pepper exclaimed.

"I know right? I wanted to make Tony watch the Extremis consume his perfect little princess but..." suddenly, he stepped forward in front of Charlotte and placed a hand on her cheeks, squeezing them together tightly, "Stark's prodigee surprised us all with how well she handled it. How can a child could be more resilient than dozens of grown men and women. Most of them soldiers, already. It's remarkable."

His voice was patronizing and Charlotte could only struggle by shaking her hand and tried to pry his hand away from her face.

"Don't touch her!" Pepper snarled.

Ignoring her, he continued, "And look at her now. I wonder what will happen if I give you the fourth dose. Or a fifth. Or perhaps a sixth!" he whispered, just so Charlotte could be the only one to hear him, "I wonder how many doses would take to drive you to insanity. To make you explode."

Letting go of her face harshly, Charlotte started sobbing at once, struggling against her restraints again, "But! I'm not that evil," he chuckled, combing his hair back with his hand and offering Pepper a smile, "No, no, my plans have changed. I no longer will kill Charlotte. She's too valuable, her blood is too valuable."

He nodded at the woman that had injected the Extremis on both Pepper and Charlotte, and she immediately walked up to the little girl with an empty syringe in her hands.

"What are you doing?" Pepper asked fearfully as she watched her daughter wince, tears rolling down her cheeks while the woman took some blood from her veins.

Killian huffed through his nose, "Thanks to Charlotte, I am now closer than ever to create the perfect Extremis. The perfect cure for imperfection. I have taken five blood samples already and tested them on animals. And you know what happened?" he turned to Pepper as he asked.

"Let me guess, they all exploded," Charlotte replied instead, making Killian grin and turn to her. The woman was done taking her blood, and she walked away with the syringe filled with Charlotte's blood mixed with the Extremis.

"No, five out of those animals, only one was unsuccessful, the other animals grew the limbs that they were born without, and even four hours after the injection they are still stable," he stated happily, enjoying the look of shock that both gave him, "Now think, human trials! This could mean a new beginning!"

"To cure people?" Pepper asked.

"To create the perfect Extremis soldiers! If I mix the Extremis with Charlotte's blood, then I will have the perfect injection! No more failed trials, and no more random explosions!" Killian explained passionately.

"I'm curious, however, as to why it did not work for you." He hummed, pointing a long finger towards the girl.

"You're insane..." Charlotte muttered, looking at him with widened, frightened eyes.

Before anyone could say anything else, the Iron Patriot suit walked inside and for a moment, Charlotte felt hopeful that her uncle Rhodey was inside.

"Good evening, sir," Killian greeted him with a grin.

The suit then unexpectedly opens, revealing US President Matthew Ellis, who falls to the floor and glares at Killian while on his knees.

"Welcome aboard Mr. President," Killian said as he saluted the man.

President Matthew squinted in confusion and recognition as he looked about. Killian assisted him to his feet and instructed the President to accompany him so he could explain his presence.

Charlotte whined as she began to feel her chest getting warmer again while they were alone, with three guards watching them. Pepper watched her daughter struggle against her chains once more, worriedly disregarding her own pain and discomfort and focussing on her.

"It burns..." she sobbed, breathing heavily.

Pepper shushed her gently, "It's okay, you're fine. Don't worry, your dad will be here any moment. I know it."

Charlotte looked at her sadly, "I killed someone..." it was eating her alive, the small redhead couldn't keep it hidden anymore. "Fire came out of my hand, and I killed him. I killed Hugh."

Charlotte lowered her eyes to avoid seeing her mother's reaction as tears began to flow "I didn't mean to. I was burning, and it just hurt so much. He wouldn't help me. I couldn't control it," sobbing, she felt the restraints around her wrists tightening as her body became weak, "But I killed him. I'm sorry..."

Pepper looked at her with a sad expression, listening to every word and feeling terrible for her. Charlotte didn't deserve to suffer like this, "Charlie, listen to me," she stopped mid-sentence to groan at the pain the Extremis in her body was putting her through, "You're going to be okay Charlie, I promise," Pepper whispered as Charlotte let out a shaky breath, "I love you."

"I love you too, mom."

༻ ❁ ༺

When Tony discovered that Killian had kidnapped him and injected Pepper and Charlotte with the Extremis, he was enraged.

And when Killian revealed what he was planning to do with his daughter, he was disgusted. When Killian left, his Iron Man armor was finally ready to use, and he was able to break free from his shackles.

He met up with Rhodey at the main house and the two interrogated a British man named Trevor Slattery, an actor with drug addictions and other legal problems, who was approached by Aldrich to pose as the Mandarin.

Despite the fact that Slattery was still perplexed by the situation, Rhodey was outraged to hear that the Mandarin was this foolish actor, they were able to gather the information they needed to hunt down Killian and halt his plot.

It appears that the man truly believed that everything was a ruse.

Tony couldn't stop Killian from abducting Ellis while commanding the Mark XLVII armor remotely, but he did manage to kill Savin for good and save several surviving passengers and crew after the Air Force One destroyed in mid-flight.

They were able to track Killian down to the Norco, an impounded oil tanker where he planned to execute Ellis on live television. Tony was feeling nauseous because somewhere in this boat, his daughter and his wife were suffering.

When Tony and Rhodey landed at the oil rig, they both crept about on the lower level before climbing the ship's iron ladder.

With Rhodey in front of the two and a gun in his hands, ready to fire, he advanced ahead a little as Tony crept behind them. The colonel looked about to see if they had been spotted while waiting for Tony, and when he was certain that no one had, he turned to his comrade.

"Come on!" he whispered, giving Tony the okay.

They snuck behind a truck that wasn't in use and stood there for a while. They proceeded to glance around, each with a weapon for protection.

"You're not gonna freak out on me, right?" Tony asks his friend, "I hope not."

"My goddaughter and your wife are in there Tones! I'm not gonna freak out," Rhodey hissed at him, "By the way, where's your friend at? You told me she'd meet us here."

Tony nodded, "She will, she must be already inside. Looking for them."

"Good, that's great, it's a relief," Rhodey sighed, imagining Charlotte in pain, "Man, I'm gonna kill him. I can't believe he'd do that to a kid," Rhodey moved forward, standing behind a wall whose level above was filled with blue barrels, possibly filled with oil.

Tony's jaw tensed as he followed his friend, "Yeah, my kid. It's my fault."

"With everything that happened with Stane and Loki, hasn't she been through enough?"

Tony sighed, sadly, guilt riddled in his chest. "Yeah, she really has."

The two climbed the wall and moved to stand behind a container, and when they looked over the corner of it, they saw President Ellias strung up over the oil tanker on high air while wearing the Iron Patriot suit, a man was underneath with a camera pointed at him, ready to go live.

Rhodey frowned as he looked up, "Oh my God..." he backed away and returned next to Tony, who was looking around attentively, "He's strung up over the oil tanker. They're gonna light him up, man," he informed the genius with a stressed tone.

"Viking funeral," Tony realizes as he quips, "Public execution," he whispers horrified.

"Yeah, death by oil," Rhodey pressed.

They exchange a glance before continuing on their way, this time following a passing truck and utilizing it as cover. They then hurriedly ascended a stairwell to a higher level.

"Broadcast will commence shortly. Take final positions." A voice says over the PA.

"Is your gun up?' Rhodey asks as they sneaked around, and Tony immediately puts his gun up.

"'Yep." Tony asks as he aims his gun at random places, it was clear he was a little nervous since he wasn't used to them. "Whay do I do?"

"Stay on my six, cover high and don't shoot me in the back," Rhodey adds quickly since he knew his friend was freaking out with a gun in his hand close behind him, even though his gaze was focused ahead of him to avoid being spotted.

"Six, high, back. All right," Tony repeats quickly, moving his aim to the front.

They were walking around the corner when they were suddenly shot at by a guard on the higher ground looking over them. Tony tries to shoot back while Rhodey takes cover, but he misses every shot and neither of them is hit. While the shooting stopped, both ducked behind a generator and remained hunched down.

"You see that? Nailed it," he told his friend, heart pounding from the adrenaline.

"Yeah, you really killed the glass," Rhodey replies sarcastically.

"You think I was aiming for the bulb?" Tony quips quickly, "You can't hit a bulb at this distance."

To prove his friend wrong, Rhodey rises to his feet and shoots at the lamp, hitting it on the first try, stunning the guard next to it, who immediately ducks. He turned to give Tony a smug look.

"All personnel, we have hostiles on east unit 12," Says the voice over the PA.

"I'm out. Give me...You got extra magazines?' Tony asked if he looked at his own gun.

"They're not universal, Tony," he retorted with an annoyed expression.

"I know what I'm doing. I make this stuff, give me another one. One of yours."

"I don't have one that fits that gun," Rhodey tries.

"You've got, like, five of them. Here's what I'm going to do," he prepared to stand up, "Save my spot, ready?" he rose to his feet, quickly peeked from their cover and ducked down again not even after a second.

"What'd you see?" Rhodey asked.

"Too fast. Nothing."

He watched as Rhodey looked at the sky as if he was trying to stay patient, "Here we go," Tony says as he looks out again for a lot longer, "Three guys, one girl, all armed."

They stood up and watched as Extremis soldiers began showing up, even more, outnumbering them.

"God, I would kill for some armor right now," Rhodey comments with a sigh.

"You're right. We need backup," Tony agrees, smiling knowingly.

"Yeah, a bunch," Rhodey adds.

"You know what?" Tony says just as they hear the sound of the Iron Legion suits flying towards them.

"Is that..." the colonel awes, looking up and watching them.

"Yep," Tony confirms.

"Are those..." Rhodey tries again as the suits arrive and surround the place.

"Yeah. Merry Christmas, buddy."