chapter xxviii.
( iron man 3 )

tonight, you just close your eyes
and i just  watch   you slip away
how close  am  i  to  losing you?
today ─── the national

miami, florida
december 24, 2012

"Lisa. Lisa, you must wake up."

I let out a quiet moan.

"It's all alright, Darling." A soft, kind voice comforts me, "Just open your eyes."

I moan again before I obey. Maria Stark is peering at me with a small smile as blood trickles down the side of her head. My brows furrow and I push myself up onto my elbows. She gives me a small smile and I can't help but smile back at her.

"Hi Grandma," I speak quietly, "I've missed you." She gives me another smile, "Dad's missed you too. I think it hurts him how much he misses you."

She nods is understanding, "I know, Darling, I know. We miss you both as well." She rests a gentle hand on my sixteen year old cheek as a car fire blazes behind her, "Honey, you need to remember."

"Remember?"

"Yes, Lisa," it's Howard who is suddenly before me now, "You got to remember."

Ouch.

That's pretty much the summation of my thoughts at the current moment.

Just... ouch.

My head is killing me and it slowly comes back to me as to the reason why. Not only did I have to contend with the Mandarin or Trevor Slattery or whatever's drug-induced jabbering, I also was kicked in the face with a boot by a man with super strength. Ah, it all makes so much sense now. I realize that my shoulder is also aching, as if I've been stuck in the same position for a while. The ringing in my ears slowly begins to dissipate and the sound of voices forces me to peek my eyes open.

"No, you two are in a dungeon," Maya Hansen is facing my direction as she says lightly, "I'm free to go."

"Yeah," Dad, who appears to be strapped to an upturned metal bed frame, responds in a disbelieving tone.

I open my eyes a little more and see that I'm lying on a gray-green cement ground. There are handcuffs around my wrists and a thin chain latches me to the nearby wall. I keep quiet, not finding it within me to speak up. Blood is seeping through my sleeves, making a small puddle around my arms. My stomach is churning and all I really want is to just be at peace. At this point, sleep or death is both fine with me. Whichever comes first. Maya sighs, spinning from her chair up to her feet.

She begins walking down a few steps as her voice echoes off the walls, "A lot has happened, Tony. But I'm close," Dad struggles to get out of his holdings, releasing an angry puff of air when he doesn't succeed, "Extremis is practically stabilized,"

"I'm telling you it isn't!" Dad yells, "I'm on the street. People are going bang. They're painting the walls," his voice drops as he shakes his head, "Maya, you're kidding yourself, just as Lisa did."

I swallow harshly and wiggle on my aching shoulder.

"Then help me fix it," she holds up a small paper, shaking it as she does.

Dad pulls a face, nodding at it, "Did I do that?"

Her hand drops and she blinks with tears, "Yes!"

"I remember the night, not the morning." He peers at her from across his forehead and, if I had the energy, I would gag, "Is this what you've been chasing around?"

"You don't remember?" she asks in quiet despair, her face contorting.

"Can't help you." He responds, not exactly answering her question, before trying to get through to her, "You used to have a moral psychology. You used to have ideals. You wanted to help people."

She swallows and breathes heavily as her gaze twitches.

"Now look at ya," his voice doesn't somehow sound angry anymore.

Her face defensively pulls to the side.

"I get to wake up every morning to two people who," he pauses, "still have their souls." Tears slide down my dirtied cheeks before Dad says firmly, "Get us out of here," his head rolls back, "Come on."

Her tearful eyes become dark as she turns her back and walks away from him.

"You know what my old man used to say to me?" Aldrich Killian's voice fills my ears as his dress shoes click down the concrete stairs.

My eyes miserably close.

"One of his favorite of many sayings, 'The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese'."

"You're not still ticked about the Switzerland thing, are you?"

"How can I be ticked at you, Tony?" he spread his hands out and moved closer, "I'm here to thank you. You gave me the greatest gift that anybody's ever given me," Killian moves closer as Dad rolls his eyes over to look at him, "Desperation. If you think back to Switzerland, you said you'd meet me on the rooftop, right? Well, for the first twenty minutes, I actually thought you'd show up. And the next hour," he pauses as he looks past my father, "I considered taking that one-step shortcut to the lobby, if you know what I mean."

"Honestly," Dad shake his head a little, being his normal sarcastic self, "I'm still trying to figure out what happened to the first mouse."

He ignores him as his feet clip in my direction, "But, as I looked out over that city, nobody knew I was there, nobody could see me, no one was even looking. But then, Tony, a little girl, your little girl," his hand suddenly grabs onto the back of my neck and he yanks me up, earning a hurriedly stifled cry from me.

Dad rattles against his restraints and his jaw clenches at this maniac that I stupidly trusted touching me. His eyes are narrowed and he doesn't give up struggling against the zip ties and metal frame. Killian, keeping his eyes mockingly on my father, pulls harder at my neck and I hiss at the pain gripping onto my skin. As Dad's eyes bore into me, I keep my own eyes down and I try to keep my face turned from him. I don't want him to see this.

"She helped me realize something,"

Killian grabs onto my chin, forcefully turning my head so that I'm looking straight at my father. My lips quiver and I take in a sharp breath as his sad eyes stare at me. And, just like that, I can read him like a book again. He tells me it's okay. He tells me it isn't my fault. He tells me it's going to be okay. All the things I wanted to have someone tell me is what I see now. But this time I know he's wrong. This isn't okay. It isn't going to be okay. Tears drip down my face and my shaking breath turns ragged as determination and anger fills my chest. There is so much swirling rage within me; it's all-consuming and devouring, and it's going to get me killed one day.

Maybe not today.

Maybe not in the next few years.

But it will.

My rage will be the end of me.

And my father, my whole world encased in one person, will suffer for it.

"She gave me a thought that would guide me for years to come," he shakes a finger, "Anonymity, Tony," Killian releases his grip on my neck, pushing my head to the side as he walks away, "Thanks to you, thanks to you abandoning her that night in Switzerland," I swallow harshly and use my bleeding wrists to furiously wipe away my tears, "It's been my mantra ever since," he looks to Maya, "Right?"

She nods and gives a false and bitter smile, keeping her teary eyes on my father.

"You simply rule from behind the scenes. Because the second you give evil a face, a Bin Laden, a Gaddafi, a Mandarin, you hand the people a target."

Dad scoffs, but keeps his eyes on me as if he's afraid I'm about to disappear at any moment, "You're something else."

"You have met him, I assume?" Killian sits down and looks over at the two of us.

I look away as Dad boredly answers, "Yes. Sir Laurence Oblivier."

"I know he's a little over the top sometimes. It's not entirely my fault. He has a tenden-," Killian is quick to explain, motioning his hand about, "He, he's a stage actor. They say his Lear was the toast of Croydon, wherever that is,"

This man knows nothing of culture. King Lear is a character from a Shakespearean play. A tragedy... just like this one.

Killian draws his focus back in, "Anyway, the point is, ever since that big dude with the hammer fell out of the sky,"

Where is Mr. Muscley Muscles when you need him?

"Subtlety has kind of had it's day."

"What's next for you in your world?" Dad asks in a dry tone, pulling his eyes from relieved me and over to Killian.

"Well, I wanted to repay you the selfsame gift that you so graciously imparted to me,"

With that, his back arches as he rolls three metal balls onto the floor. As he clicks a remote, a sudden and horrifying image flickers and then projects before us.

Pepper.

"Desperation," Killian says, devoid of any empathy.

In horror, Dad's mouth opens a little and I take in a shuddering breath. Pepper is strapped down and covered in bars, resting against a diagonal metal slab. Her skin is glowing with a sickening orange color as it curls up her veins and her muscles. Tears are pouring from her eyes and her mouth moves as she begs for them to stop.

"Now, this is live. I'm not sure if you can tell, but, at this moment, the body is trying to decide whether to accept Extremis or just give up."

I catch my breath, feeling that same old bitter guilt claw unforgivingly at my chest. Dad pulls back against his restraints, squeezing his eyes closed in anger and pain. He hurriedly jerks his face away from the image and his brown eyes meet my blue ones. And then I think I see it. Blame. Anger. Disappointment. This is my fault. I let the one person in the world that he loves be tortured; I'm the reason the one person he loves might die.

"I'm sorry," I barely whisper out as my bottom lip trembles.

"And if it gives up," Killian goes on.

I choke out a sob, not caring if I sound weak or young. I don't care if I'm Lisa Stark or if I'm the Red Raven. That's my mom. I breathe in shakily, angrily pulling at the handcuffs and chains. Dad's eyes are tortured and teary as he slips his head back around to watch as Pepper cries out.

"I have to say, the detonation is quite spectacular."

I start to quietly hyperventilate and not even my silent counting can help. As my stomach churns and I gag, I think I'm going to be sick. Dad's jaw shifts in his mouth and he flinches back, bouncing on his heels. He gives a small nod, signalling that he's had enough, that he can't take anymore. Maya flickers her eyes away at the disgusting sight.

I'm not okay. I'm not okay. I'm not okay.

"But until that point, it's really just a lot of pain," Killian switches off the projection, throwing his hands up carelessly, "We haven't even talked salary yet."

Suddenly he's waltzing up to my father and grabbing him around the neck. Dad chokes as Killian's face begins to flush with orange.

"No!" I shriek as I struggle harder as my restraints.

"What kind of perk package are you thinking of?" Killian mocks.

Dad's aching eyes just slowly blink as he stares off the side. It's nearly like he doesn't care anymore. He doesn't care.

"Let him go," Maya's voice is strong, making us all turn to look at her.

"Hold on, hold on," Killian whispers to Dad, releasing him and allowing him to gasp for air, "Maya,"

"I said, let him go," Maya is holding some strange device up to her neck.

Killian holds a hand out to her, "What are you doing?"

"1200 CCs. A dose half of this size, I'm dead."

"You see, Lisa, it's times like this my temper is tested somewhat," he informs me and I glare at him before he stretches out a hand to his scientist, "Maya, give me the injector."

"If I die, Killian, what happens to your soldiers?" she begins stepping backwards up the stairs, "What happens to your product?"

"We're not doing this, okay?"

"What happens to you? What happens if you go too hot?"

Ha! Not gonna be a problem.

He steps towards her, but stops when she gives him the look that she's serious. And he knows she is. He takes in a deep breath, looking back at my father and then at me. He stares into my eyes with an arrogant, heartless smirk. I can see it coming from a mile away. I yell in warning, but it's too late. Killian yanks out a gun and shoots Maya directly in the stomach. Dad's eyes widen and I flinch. She jolts back in shock as her mouth falls open and she drops to the ground. I shudder in horror as Dad's expression turns mournful.

"The good news is," Killian tells us with a shake of the head, "a high-level position has just been vacated."

Maya falls flatly to the ground and all life is pulled out of her.

"Now to the other matter,"

A loud shriek exits my lips as Killian digs a hand into my hair and pulls my head up. As he yanks higher and harder, I feel my knees lift off of the ground slightly. My fingers panickedly scrape against the concrete below as I try to find a way to support the agonizing pull in my scalp. All that can be heard from me are quick breaths and small whimpers as the two adults watch me with two very different expressions. Killian looks nearly intrigued as he smugly looks down at me with his brows raised and his eyes wide. Dad watches me with his fists clenched above his head and his knee is bouncing in barely contained rage.

"You've made your point!" Dad spits out, "You killed the brunette, you got Pepper under your thumb, you can kill my kid, I get it! You got the power now, is that what you're trying to prove?" Dad's teeth are gritted as he gives his head a quick jerk, "It's enough."

My handcuffed hands quickly move to try to untangle his fingers from my hair.

"Hm, is it, Tony? It is now enough?"

"Knew I should've just knocked your block off when I had the chance," I grind out, unable to control my tongue.

He laughs, "Believe me, Baby Doll, the feeling is mutual."

I scoff and mutter under my breath.

"C'mon," Dad visibly clenches his teeth, "You don't need her. You got me. Just let her go. You tricked her into helping you enough."

"You know, I wish that were true, Tony. But, in all honesty, Lisa was never helping me," he pulls back further at my hair, making me hiss as I avoid looking into his eyes, "were you, Sweetheart? Were you?" his sweet voice turns harsh, "Were you?!"

My blue eyes angrily glare off to the side and I keep my jaw locked.

"Do you want to tell him or should I?" his voice mocks, treating me like a five year old, "Should you or should I?"

I let out a loud grunt as I twist my legs around, kicking him harshly in the heel.

He doesn't seem to feel a thing as he wrenches my head back, forcing me to look up into his eyes, "Tell him."

With still glaring eyes, I shake my head a little and spit out, "No."

"Tell him!" he shouts, making me flinch before he yanks me back around until I'm facing my father.

Dad's wide eyes flick from Killian to me and I can see only two emotions wired into his face. Anger and confusion. I can't tell him. I have to tell him. Oh God, what's wrong with me? Why didn't I just tell him everything from the beginning, the very beginning?! Killian's free hand suddenly jerks down and he curls his fingers into my wrist, pulling at the exposed wires and ripped flesh. A loud, desperate scream stretches out from my mouth and Dad lets out a pained grunt as he furiously yanks at the metal frame.

My scream fades into a whimper as I feel his fingers curl deeper into my flesh, "Oh God, stop, stop, please stop,"

Ignoring me, Killian informs my father very matter-of-factly, "Your precious little girl is dying, Tony."

It feels like all of the air has been sucked out of the room. I'm lightheaded and I can't tell if it's from pain or from remorse. Dad's lips part and his frightened gaze digs into me, and I can see the furious tremble building within his bound hands.

"She has been for, for what?" Killian looks down at me, feigning ignorance, "Four, five months? It's called Vein Degeneration and Toxic Infection, if I remember that right. It's been killing her from the inside out, eating through the skin, making it impossible to use her thrusters. I mean, look at this, Tony," he yanks harshly at my wrists, jutting them out so that my father can see.

Dad's face looks like he might throw up as his head continually pulls forward and back and his chest heaves.

"Yikes," Killian visibly grits his teeth down at my arms, "And you know what's the worst part, Tony, besides the obvious, of course," he laughs, looking back up at my dad, "You didn't even notice. Guess not much has changed since '99, has it, Sweetheart?"

I don't respond as I stare into my father's eyes. I see pain ravage through him as the words bounce off the insides of his dark head. I remember all those nights when my torso stayed hovered over the toilet and I vomited only blood. I remember all those times when I could hardly stand on my horrifically thinning legs. I remember when Dad and Pepper and the entire world told me what I saw in the visions wasn't real and I remember feeling like I had to keep the torn pieces of December 16th to myself. I remember how Dad didn't save me when the house was blown away. I remember all of it. A single tear burns down the side of my father's face and his head twitches to the side in response to it.

Killian waves a finger at him, "And I'm going to do what you never could," he smirks as Dad's eyes flicker with the fearful pain of knowing that Killian's probably right, "I'm going to save her, Tony. And from the very thing that you helped design with the very thing that she helped me create. I mean, isn't that poetic?"

"You are a maniac," Dad breathes out in disbelief, unable to even look at me now.

His eyes are full of tears as he lets out small puffs of air, trying to keep himself together.

"No, I'm a visionary," Killian carelessly unlocks my chains, pulling me to my shaking legs, "But I do own a maniac."

My hair flips into my eyes and I strain to look over my shoulder as Killian drags me up the stairs and towards the dungeon's exit.

"And he takes the stage tonight."

Just as we pass through the doorway, through the work tables and metal equipment, I can spot Dad panickedly yanking against his restraints. His wide eyes meet mine and one other tear drips down his face. This is the end. I somehow know it is, somewhere deep within my chest. I turn away from him just before I am completely pulled through the exit.

"So," the words burn my throat, but I push on, not finding any reason to keep quiet and 'behave' now, "What are you gonna do now, Aldrich, huh? Inject me with Extremis, pray I don't blow up? Is that how you're going to repay me for that kindness I showed you thirteen years ago? Is that how you're really gonna show you care?"

He suddenly whirls me around and slams my back against the wall, making me shriek loudly, "If you think that I actually care about you, Lisa, then you're completely and utterly wrong," I'm still trying to figure out if I should be offended or not by the time he starts talking again, "I'm paying back a debt. Nothing more, nothing else. When the Extremis has healed you, you can be on merry little way."

He pulls me back onto our path and I trip along beside him, "You don't think I'll tell everybody I meet what's really going on here?!" my voice grows stronger and angrier with each word, "You don't think I'll scream from the rooftops what you've done?!"

He rolls his eyes as we travel down gray cement halls, "Dear God, just listen to yourself. Everybody already thinks you're crazy, Lisa. I seriously doubt you could get five people to listen to you."

My mouth comes closed and my brows furrow as I ponder if that's actually true. Would nobody believe me? I-I'm Tony Stark's daughter and I'm a near-ish (not really) genius, but that doesn't mean nobody thinks I'm crazy. Would that just send them off the edge when it comes to their opinion of me? Would I scream so loud and still no one even care to listen? Isn't that what I'm already doing?

I'm jolted out of my thoughts when I see a familiar bald man step into view. A loud groan escapes me as Savin walks on Killian's opposite side. My feet stumble as I try to keep up with their brisk pace as they walk down a few steps.

His thin lips quirk up into a smirk before he focuses back on his boss, saying, "Once we get the Patriot installed,"

My eyes widen.

The Patriot? As in the Iron Patriot? They took Rhodey's suit?! Oh God, this has just gone from awful to, um, even more awful. Oh goodness, that kick in the head seems to have really messed with my thoughts.

Savin continues, "It will take me nine or ten minutes for the takedown."

"Well, that's great, but the last time I looked, there was somebody inside of it," Killian responds before he finishes dragging me down the long, dark hallway into a wide open space and saying to the guards standing around, "Afternoon, Gentlemen."

My still stinging, red eyes dance around until they land on the red, white, and blue suit hanging by chains from the ceiling. There are men in jumpsuits standing around it as they put tools against it, trying to saw through to get inside.

"Hello, Colonel!" Killian announces carelessly.

"Rhodey?!" I yell, hurriedly trying to step past Killian to get to my uncle.

Killian rolls his eyes as he throws off his suit coat and then shoves me into Savin, "Hold this."

"Lisa?" Rhodey's shocked voice sounds so distant and echoed as he stays cocooned within the metal suit.

"Step aside," Killian curtly says as he motions away the guards.

His hands begin to glow and he rests them on the suit's abdomen, taking in breaths of air as his face flushes orange.

"We'll get you out of there," Killian cocks his head back, "Don't worry."

My breath catches in my throat as I watch the metal begin to swim from the heat.

With concerned eyes, Savin pushes me closer to Killian, "You'll damage the armor."

"Yes, I will. But you can fix it, right?" Killian looks back at Savin before giving a small nod, "I'm gonna take the Chinook to base camp," his head twitches back, "And I want Potts and the Stark kid with me."

My breathing picks up as I think of how in the world I'm going to get Pepper and myself out of this. Dad's gone. I'm on my own now. I got to figure this out.

"She's still in Phase Two,"

He takes a deep breath, "You're not going deaf, are you?" Killian then looks back up at Rhodey, "Are you coming out?"

Savin's brows raise as his grip on my arm tightens.

I hear Rhodey panting before he starts quickly saying, "Do not open. Do not open. Don't open. Don't open. D," it suddenly changes to a quick, confident, "Alright, let's go."

The suit peels back and my uncle launches out of it with a fist raised. He hurls a punch into Savin's face before I send an elbow into his chin and Rhodey kicks him in the chest, sending him back away from me. Rhodey grabs onto my shoulder, twirls me around, and stands in front of me as he goes to continue on fighting. Pulling back, Killian's mouth suddenly opens and fire rages out of it in a long stream of heat.

"Holy mackerel," I whisper over Rhodey's shoulder as my blue eyes stay wide.

Rhodey pulls back, raising his brows at him, "You, you breathe fire?" he quickly nods, "Okay."

Before I can even process what's happening, Savin's is giving Rhodey a sharp shove and then my uncle is smacking his forehead against the concrete. I let out a loud cringe as he falls limply to the ground. Savin grabs tightly onto me and looks back at Killian with narrowed eyes.

Killian raises his hands up, closes his eyes, and breathes in deeply, pulling himself back together, "It's a glorious day, Savin. This time tomorrow, I'll have the West's most powerful leader in one hand," my eyes widen in realization of what he means, "and the world's most feared terrorist in the other. I'll own the war on terror. Create supply and demand," he grabs onto my arm and begins to pull me away, still speaking to Savin, "For you, for your brothers and sisters."

My body is stuffed into the back of an army styled helicopter and, when I try to start back-talking again, they put a gag in my mouth. It's far enough, I guess. The wind and the incessant hum of the helicopter threatens to burst my eardrums as I scowl over at Killian who is doing a wonderful job at ignoring me. My hands continue to work at trying to get loose from the handcuffs as we fly over the city and closer towards the coast.

The wind tosses my hair around as they drag me off of the helicopter that's landed us on what looks like a very big ship. I look around, oddly as they pull me deeper into the belly of the metal beast. My Converses scrap tiredly against the floor as they pull me into a darkly lit, gray-toned room and my eyes widen and a sharp gasp leaves my lips at what, or rather who, I see before me. Killian moves past my stunned form, bumping my handcuffed hands as he does. I bite back a wince in return for a scowl as I watch him get closer to her. Pepper lies diagonally on a frightening-looking metal slab, unconscious as sweat is built on her brow and her hair falls all around her. A nearby guard pushes a needle into her arm and I watch with baited breath before she suddenly jerks awake with a quiet gasp.

"Hi," Killian gives a creepy, white-toothed smile.

"Pepper!" I yell panickedly, making my mother look at me with darkly-smudged, wide eyes.

Confusion takes over her face as she tries to make sense of what she sees. Her chest begins to move up and down faster as panic reflects itself in her eyes. Not taking my eyes off of her, I send a hard elbow into the guard holding onto me, making him stumble back before I turn and kick the other's chest as he reaches for me. I duck under any of the others who try to stop me and then I'm right in front of Pepper as we still stare at each other with teary eyes. Stepping a few inches back, Killian motions to the men standing around, signalling for them to allow me to stand by her.

"Pepper, I'm so sorry," I whisper to her, my brows pulling in as I fight the emotions raging in me.

"What?" her strawberry-blonde hair tosses as she quickly shakes her head, "No, no, Sweetheart, it's okay. You understand? It's okay," she pulls against her metal bonds for just a moment before she continues, "Are you okay?"

I swallow harshly and give a quick nod, even if it's a lie.

"And your dad?"

"Tony Stark is, uh," Killian steps in, resting a hand on my back and putting on a small smile, "facing an ultimatum at the current moment."

As I wince at his touch, Pepper takes in a small and sharp breath, "You think he's gonna help you? He won't."

"Having you two here is not just to motivate Tony Stark," he leans in closer to her face, "It's, um, well, it's actually more embarrassing than that. You two are here as my, um,"

In realization, Pepper interrupts quietly, "Trophy."

Killian laughs nearly silently, nodding with a cringe, "Mmm."

Pepper squeezes her lips into a tight line as she pulls her gaze from Killian and back over to me. The man suddenly nods towards the guards still standing by and then they're grabbing onto me. Pepper's eyes widen and I angrily fight against them, kicking my legs and thrashing my torso around. I hear Pepper yelling for them to leave me alone, but all fades into the background as my head begins to spin and my stomach feels sick. The large men with hard, cruel fingers that dig deep drag me backwards and shove me into what feels like a metal cage.

"No!" I shout desperately, "No, no!" they lock the bars over me and then they're pushing needles and tubes into my already broken and torn flesh, "Killian! Stop! Make them stop right now!"

My screaming goes quiet when I hear this strange whirring noise. My blue eyes flick around confusedly until the metal floor rattles when the Iron Patriot crashes down into the room just over my shoulder. I jolt back in shock and a smile creeps onto my face. I see the large, American-flagged suit step proudly over towards us. Oh, thank you, Jesus! Rhodey! He's free! And he got the suit back which means that Dad can't be far behind and then that means that they're going to save us. It's all okay. It's all going to be okay, just like Dad promised.

My dad's going to make this okay.

My smile instantly falls, however, when I see Killian's reaction.

"Good evening, Sir," he tilts his head up with a smile.

The suit pulls apart to reveal the President of stinkin' America. President Ellis falls out of the suit and lands on his knees before the three of us. My jaw drops and Pepper gasps lightly, her eyes darting from the president to Killian in shock. The President's light eyes lift as he looks at all of us.

"Welcome aboard, Mr. President," Killian mocks a salute.

"The Mandarin," President Ellis scoffs out.

"In the flesh."

The president's eyes flick from the man over to Pepper and then to me, "Stark's girls?" I swallow hard, "You dragged them into all of this?! Why?!"

"I'd be worried about my own neck if I were you, Mr. President," Killian dips down his chin and peers at him from across his forehead, "You'll be hanging by it soon enough."

As his eyes widen, they drag the president up to his feet and begin pushing him towards a stairwell leading up away from us.

Killian moves after them before he seems to rethink something and then turns back to look at the guards, "Take Potts down to the bow. Miss Stark, here," he bows his head forward as his feet clip closer, "has some healing to do."

Pepper and I look at each other with wide eyes as they begin unlatching her from the metal board. She struggles against them as they pull her completely from the cage and towards the exit. Her light eyes panickedly peer into mine and I just watch helplessly as she disappears out of view. Tears burn in my eyes and my chest shudders as I angrily glare back at Killian.

"Screw you!" I yell, my young voice bouncing around the metal room.

"After all I've done?" Killian mocks, keeping his voice light, "Lisa, if you recall, I'm the one who's about to save your life. In the first place, you were the one who decided to get involved,"

"Ugh," I groan, rolling my head and eyes around, "Just kill me already; it'll spare me the pain of having to listen to you."

Killian smirks and cocks his head to the side, "Say goodbye, Miss Stark. This is the last you'll be seeing of yourself, I think."

My expression falls and my eyes fall along with it, and that's when I see orange pulsating through my body. Smoke rises up from my body as my body begins to burn from the inside out. I feel my eyes shine with an unfamiliar color, not my normal blue or even the Tesseract's bright blue: orange, a devouring orange. I take in a sharp, whimpering breath and quickly release it, puckering my lips out in hopes of cooling my insides down.

Oh God, it hurts so much.

The fire illuminates my organs until I can see my ribs and my lungs through my flesh and shirt. I let out a quiet cry as my wrists begins to burn and crackle. Embers begin to fly and my eyes drop to see what used to be my wrists but now looks like scorching lava. Black chunks of flesh move and swirl as my arms begin to reform. A loud, piercing scream echoes against the metal as the Extremis continues to rebuild my veins and decimated flesh. I feel it crawl up my neck until I can feel it in my face and that's when the lightheadedness sets in.

The only thing I can recognize before I pass out is that the world is on fire.

Everything is on fire.

And then everything truly is on fire.

My head snaps up and a quick scream exits my lips as a blast shakes the metal room I'm in and everything is thrown to the side. My ears ring and all of my blood is rushing to my head as I clamber for consciousness. I moan lightly and shake my head a little, trying to make sense out of what's going on. Continual explosions shake the room and thump against my eardrums. There is mangled, twisted metal all around me and sparks shoot off of the wall nearby. I'm, also, slowly realizing that I'm upside down, or maybe I'm right side up, or sideways, it's honestly all a little unclear. As I try to wiggle around out of the metal covering me, a sudden sharp pain pierces into my stomach and I yelp at the pain of it. I glower at the metal shaft that appears to be smashing into my stomach.

Heavy metal footsteps sound from across from me until I can see red and gold boots just feet before my eyes. Dad. I knew he'd save me. I knew he'd make this okay. A small, cracked smile finds my cheeks before I see the suit crouch low and hands grab onto the edges of the metal smashing my body. The metal whines and creaks as my father pulls it up, only to further push the shaft further into my stomach.

"Stop! Please!" I shout hurriedly, "Dad, Dad, put it down. Put it down! Put it down,"

I breathe out in aching relief as he gently rests the beam back down, trying not to hurt me anymore than I already am at the moment. Dad's knees quickly bend and he ducks his head down. His face mask immediately lifts up and my smile returns as I stare at his face. God, I've missed him.

"See what happens when you hang out with my ex-girlfriends?" he quickly tries to make me feel better.

He continues, "This is why I never used to let you meet them, Smalls."

"You're right, you're right, is that what you wanna hear?" I whimper under the weight and my fingers start bleeding from the cuts I get from trying to push the metal off of me.

"Pretty much," he concedes, tilting his head back and forth as he puckers his lips.

"Ach, you're such a turdface," I groan but let out a weak laugh anyway.

"You already used that one," he gives me a faltering smirk.

"Yeah, well," I continue to struggle, "my inspirational juices are a running a bit low at the moment," I wince and then cry out at the metal shaft pressing down into my stomach.

While his face looks like he's in pain, he still laughs a little.

"Pepper," I whisper out breathily, feeling my body heat up even at the thought of what these men have done to us.

"She's safe," Dad quickly nods, "the Legion and Rhodey got her out."

He came for me, like he once promised he always would.

I let out a quick breath as my head bobs in approval. Good, that's good.

"Hey," Dad speaks to get my attention before stretching a metal-covered hand out to me.

I hear the metal creaking and whining beneath me as a few rebellious sobs wrack my aching shoulders. My trembling hands stretch out to his, but we're still much too far apart. His brows contort as he struggles to get to me. I can't reach him. Why can't I ever reach him? I grit my teeth and groan as my fingers remain what seems like an eternity away from his.

"Come on. A little more, Smalls," he strains further towards me, "Almost there,"

A glowing hand suddenly punches through the floor and I hear the metal bang as it does. Fingers stab and twist into my father's chest, yanking and curling around his arc reactor. Dad lets out a sharp grunt as his hand falls to the ground to steady himself. His head bends forward from the pull of the hand stabbed into his chest.

"Daddy!" I scream as he groans, being pushed and falling to his back.

The beams shift further down on me and I get pressed harder down into the metal. I'm so scared of being completely crushed, but I somehow can't seem to focus on it at the moment. All I can see is my father as his chest sizzles and his eyes stare painfully up at the ceiling. I groan once more as I see Killian pop out of the glowing ground, turning to me and pointing a finger at my dad.

"Is this guy bothering you?" he mocks.

It isn't hard to muster up a scowl.

"Don't get up," he climbs over to Dad, practically sitting on top of him before he presses and wiggles his glowing finger into my father's metal chest.

My blue eyes widen in horror as I see the metal begin to smoke and burn.

"Ooh, is it hot in there?"

Dad just stares up at the disgusting man. I raspily gasp for air as I see Dad's suit continue to sizzle with the fire coming from Killian's hands.

"Stuck?" Killian coos, "Feel a little stuck?" Dad's eyes search around until they briefly land on mine, "Like a little turtle, cooking in his little turtle suit,"

I grunt and raggedly scream as I try to push the metal off of me.

I can save him. I have to save him.

"She's watching," he turns to me with a sickening smirk, "I think you should close your eyes, Baby Doll. Close your eyes. Close your eyes. I don't think your daddy would want you to see this."

"No! Dad!" I yell as my voice cracks and tears threaten to drop down my cheeks.

Suddenly Killian pulls his fist back, ready to crush my father's face in. I'm about to scream again when I see a long blade shoot out of the suit and then Dad slashes it across Killian's arm. The limb flies off of his body and rolls onto the floor a few feet from me. I gag at the sight of it as Killian groans in pain, falling to the side.

"Yeah, you take a minute," Dad breathes and nods a little.

There's this strange sizzling noise and my eyes flick back over to the appendage laying on the metal floor. The entire space around is burning red and looks nearly syrupy in consistency. Dad and I look at each other in horror just before the floor caves in. My body is torn down and then I'm falling. There's metal falling in clusters all around me and then suddenly my back is slamming in this leaning metal shaft. The metal shaft begins to move and, as I begin to slide down the side of it, two more huge beams fall and smash down into my legs, keeping me somewhat in place. I scream wildly at the agony coursing through me.

All of my fear of Killian has completely disappeared as I now hang hundreds of feet up above a fiery, concrete ground. I feel nauseous with the pain and fear as tears streak down my sweaty face. My hands wave around as I try to find something to hold onto. Bright lights from the ship blare in my eyes and my dad, not Iron Man, just my dad, is yelling in the distance. I can feel the heat of the flames on the scars of my back and shoulders as my head dangles upside down. I let out a strangled sob and a grunt as my hand scrapes across a sharp metal beam. Sudden movement forces my darkening eyes to glance down to see Dad hurriedly clambering up a yellow ladder in an effort to get to me.

"Lees, I got you," Dad's breathy voice tries to reassure me before he stretches out his arm in my direction, "Relax! I got you!"

"Daddy!" I yell as I throw out a hand towards him, willing myself to be closer to him.

All of the blood continues to rush to my head and I feel like I'm choking on it. My breath trembles and hitches as I gasp in. His face is terrified as he leans further and further towards me, barely hanging onto anything himself. The beams smashing me creak and whine, pressing harder down onto my thighs. I shriek at the rough yank on my body as the metal continues to shift and pull down.

Tears stream down my face as my eyes flicker down to the tall flames below, "Oh God!"

"Just look at me!" Dad demands and my eyes snap back up to meet his.

Our faces are both illuminated by the fire surging below us and his tears shine like the sun. There's only one other time have I ever seen him so terrified in my life. And that was in a vision of a future that everyone tells me does not exist. He's scared. He's so scared. He stretches out even further and his hand wildly grabs the air, hoping to catch mine.

I can hear the panic and tears in his voice as he yells, "Honey, I can't reach any further and you can't stay there, alright?!"

"I-I can't," I whisper brokenly as my arm hangs limply below me, "I'm sorry."

I failed him.

The world seems to slow down just for the moment, for my last moment.

I think of Pepper's face and I remember that I've loved her since I first met her. I remember slipping once and calling her 'Mom' and she nearly cried. She has always been the best mother I could ever hope for, even if I haven't kept calling her that since my mishap. Rhodey and Happy come to mind next. Uncles, the both of them. They were always willing to do all sorts of dumb things with me and they kind of made up for the lack of siblings too, in that way. Sometimes I think that maybe the misery of my earliest years were worth it, if it meant I could get them.

Maybe they'll be able to move on, though Pepper will probably have the hardest time. They still have their lives to live, people to love, purposes to accomplish. They will live. They will find a way to survive without me. They did it before. It's a great big world and I'm just a little nobody within it. The earth will keep spinning and my death won't make a bit of difference to it.

But then there's my father.

Time moves even slower when I think of his face and his laugh and his snarky comments. I don't want to know what he'll say or do when he finds what's left of my lifeless body at the bottom of this fall. But I can imagine him falling to his knees, screaming, dripping in his daughter's blood, feeling for a pulse when there isn't one. I don't want to see the look on his face and I'm glad I will be spared. I don't want to picture the weeks that will follow tonight; weeks spent in mourning as he struggles to grapple the reality that his little girl really is dead and that I'm not ever coming back. I can see the future so clearly: my body lies in a closed casket and my angrily screaming father presses his back up against it with his knees pulled up to his chest and a broken bottle in his hand. I don't want to picture the person he'll revert to: with the drinking, the partying, the women, the self-destruction.

But he has to survive too, just because that's what he does. He doesn't stop. He never gives in; Starks never do. I suppose that's another way that I have failed him.

It's enough for me to know that he will still have a life.

A little emptier for a while, yes.

But it will still be a life.

Because, in the end, when push comes to shove: Tony Stark does not need me.

And time finds it's natural course again.

"You've got to let go," Dad begs as he blinks furiously at the tears in his eyes.

Everything within me tries to reach him, to just get my fingers to touch his.

His voice is desperate and strained as he yells out, as he finally yells out, "I love you, Lisa!"

I love you.

A small sob escapes me and my wet cheeks pull back into a small, relieved, tired, finally content smile.

"I love you, Sweetheart, please, Lisa, just let go!" his voice grows taut with panic, "You've got to let go! I'll catch you, Baby, I promise!"

His eyes stare into mine and he gives me the faintest of nods, begging me to believe and trust him. He has hope. Hope has failed me so many times before, but I have to give it one last chance. I have to do it for him. He loves me. I owe him at least that.

I continue to sob and I give him a small, believing nod, "Ok-Okay, Dad,"

He promised.

He always keeps his promises.

But then I remember.

No. He doesn't.

That's when the beams snap. A loud awful noise fills my ears and I feel a terrible pull. Dad's eyes widen and I feel everything speed up. My body jolts down and then I'm falling.

"No!" he cries out in horror.

"Please!" I scream as our fingers catch onto one another's.

His fingers desperately pull at mine, but it's not enough. It's never enough. A blood-curdling scream erupts from my chest as our hands are torn from each other's. As I feel his fingers slip from mine, I realize this is the last time my father, the father who loves me, will ever hold me.

The wind pulls by me as I fall down and down, but all I can feel is this strange mix of emotion. It's not how I expected it to feel like. Death, I mean. I suppose I've danced around with it for so long that it's become familiar in a sense, perhaps even more of a home than life has been. Though I did expect more panic, but, now, all I really feel is regret. Regret for so much of my life that I wasted not taking advantage of every good possibility that came my way from spending my years with T'Challa to believing in myself to doubting my father's love.

As light glows below me and darkness reigns above me, I find that the only thing I can see is his face.

A purely sickened look of disbelief. Of grief. Of pain. Of horror.

I can't bear to see it so I close my eyes and spread out my arms, feeling the flames sizzle against my flesh. I accept the red and the fire accepts me, just as it should. And then the flames consume me and neither my father nor I can do anything to stop them. I remember all of the times he's promised to come and save me. But no matter how horrifically hard he has tried, he never has. Not from Mama, from Edgar, Vanko, or even from Loki. He always promised he'd come. He always promised he'd catch me.

But he didn't catch me.

I'm too much of a lost cause.

This time is no different.

He couldn't save me.

*tears* .... I'm sorry... But what did you think?! I did it, I did it! He said he loves her! He finally, FINALLY said it! Oh goodness, tell me what you think! I'm dying to hear your thoughts! I kinda felt bad because I totally stole Pepper's moment, but then I was like, I have to! I hope it didn't seem uncomfortably written or off or anything. I'm touchy about these last couple chapters, I guess.

A super long chapter too, but oh well. A part of me when editing this was like, well, I could just end this here if I didn't want to keep writing. This would have been the end. Lisa would be dead. Tony would have to complete the rest of the timeline without her, in memory of her. And what did you think about those thoughts Lisa has before she falls? Oh gosh, about Tony not needing her? Oh man, it's so heartbreaking.

The next chapter is sad too, so... sorry about that as well. Join me!

Vote, COMMENT, and gimme a follow!

Spoiler for ma story:

We are going to be seeing T'Challa once more before The Red Raven is over!