Just as you feel the cold seeping through your bones, as if it's a part of you, you catch a soft, golden light in the corner of your eye. Curiosity forces you to slowly drag yourself over and investigate, even though you desperately want to just sit back and wait for the inevitable to happen.
- - - -
Tony paces back and forth in his workshop, frustration and panic warring inside him. All he wants to do is search the city for any sign of you, but he's currently stuck with Pepper and her 'this is completely unsafe' lectures.
"Do you even realise how cold it is out there?" She asks, pointedly looking at the clothes Tony's wearing right now.
It's not his fault the Tower's A/C is up so high, if he puts any more clothes on, he'll melt. "I'll have my suit," he protests. "It has in built heating."
"And what happens if it gets damaged and the heating malfunctions? If you're injured, who's going to find Y/n when all resources will be focused on finding you?" She argues back. "It's too dangerous. You know as well as I do that police and EMT's aren't be permitted to do any rescues until the storm passes, which could be days."
The incessant pacing slows as Tony considers Pepper's argument. As much as he hates to admit it, she's right, her arguments are strong.... But so is his determination to find you. "I'm going." He says, his voice may be quiet, but his tone brooks no argument.
- - - -
The more you inch towards the light, the easier it becomes to see exactly where it's coming from. There's a large gaping hole in the floor. As you look down to try and figure out what is causing the light, you feel a rush of soft warmth hit you, as a breeze blows the inside heat at you.
For some reason, every instinct inside you tells you to go as far away from that place as possible, but you're not one to run from something so intriguing. Not that you're able to run if your life depends on it at the moment.
- - - -
Tony gets his suit on in record time, ignoring the relentless warnings from Jarvis about weather conditions, and how much the suit can handle, or whatnot.
"Sir," Jarvis says, "I advise you to wait at least a few hours before going out. The storm is too intense right now."
Tony sighs irritably, wishing the AI wasn't always so concerned for him.... Or right. "You can't make me change my mind, J" he warns.
"Pepper was right," Jarvis continues, choosing to ignore Tony's statement, "it could be days before this storm ends. Y/n's smart. He/she will find somewhere sheltered to wait out the storm."
"You can't be sure about that," Tony mutters. "I'm going out there."
- - - -
You let out a small groan when you hit the bottom. Blinking a couple times, you try to get used to the light. Why does it have to be so bright in here? You end up using your hand to shield your eyes as you properly look around.
As you slowly get your bearings, you realise you're in some kind of a temple. The walls shimmer with a golden/green-y haze, an altar towards the front of the room has a very distinct green touch to it. Behind the altar appears to be some sort of throne. The throne is large, green and it has a large platform beneath it, raising it so that the throne appears to be the tallest thing in the cavernous room.
You raise your head to find the hole you jumped from, so you can see how far you fell from. The ceiling appears to be much higher than you had originally thought, and you see the tops of the large pillars supporting it. However, as your eyes roam the ceiling, you find no sign of the hole you jumped from. You try not to worry too much, but you can't stop the sinking feeling in your stomach as you realise you're trapped.
- - - -
Tony flies across the city, tempted to push the suit as fast as he can, but the harsh winds and pelting rain that he has to battle forced him to slow. His search is.... Erratic, impulsive, driven by the panic that he won't be able to find you. His scanners are wracked by near constant static from intervene due to the storm. Even with his lights on full, he can hardly see more than three feet in front of himself.
"Sir," Jarvis's voice comes through glitchy, but there, "I urge you to turn around. The storm is too large for the suit."
"It's fine," Tony grunts. "The suit can handle worse."
"The suit was made to handle large bursts of power and electricity. Not the constant pressure of a storm of this magnitude."
"It'll be fine," Tony says, brushing off Jarvis's concerns.
"It won't be fine. Sir-"
"Jarvis, mute."
- - - -
Just as you manage to control the panic rising in your chest, you hear the telltale 'clack-clack' of footsteps in the distance slowly coming towards the wall. A different sort of panic rises in your chest as you duck behind a pillar just as the large, wooden doors at the side of the room creak open.
You hold your breath as the footsteps pass the pillar you're hiding behind. Your heart is hammering in your head so loud you swear the stranger can hear it.
"Hiding? From me?" A familiar voice drawls. "I invented hiding, darling, and you're not the best at it. I'm a little surprised it took you a while to come here, but all that matters is that you're here now."
958 words
Been a while, but my project is still going, and just finished yearly's, so I'm probably going to have more to write some fics. We'll see what happens.
