Family is More Than Blood

Fresh Air

Tony stared at Fiona and Drien, the two spies from the Mob. He had the feeling that they were telling the truth, and yet he didn't quite trust them all the same.

"Do you want to take a shower?" May broke the silence, being the host to their unconventional guests.

Drien shook his head, "Some food would be nice."

Fiona shot him a look but everyone ignored her. Just as Tony can back with four sandwiches in his hands, FRIDAY announced,

"Boss, Virginia Potts entered the building. Do you want me to send her up?"

Tony froze, momentarily leaving his senses behind.

"Yes, god, yes, send her up," he begged, not caring that May was sending him a warning look.

"Tony, she's under the-" she began, but was cut off by the loud ding of the elevator arriving. 

Tony didn't care what Pepper was under as long as she was here. He waited with baited breath as the elevator door slid open...

There she stood, her lovely strawberry blonde hair in a tight ponytail, her feet slipped into sharp maroon heels, her legs long and slim. Tony let his eyes wander all over her before resting on her face - and that's when he realized that something was wrong. She was smiling, but her eyes were hard and cold. But it was Pepper and she had every right to be mad at him, he was a horrible person. He had let Peter be kidnapped, maybe now that's why her eyes weren't smiling.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, his voice cracking.

"It's okay!" Pepper said cheerfully, and Tony was startled out of his dreams. This wasn't Pepper. The real her would've been at his side in an instant, holding him while the tears flooded his cheeks. This fake thing didn't even realize that he was tearing himself apart from the inside out. She's under the... the serum. This was Pepper's body, Pepper's face, Pepper's clothes, but it was not Pepper. Whatever was inside her was only masked by a Pepper look alike. Tony wondered if Pepper was in there at all. But he had work to do.

He forced a smile onto his face.

"Great! Pep, where've you been?"

A quick look of shock passed over Pepper's face, so fast that anyone who didn't know her would've missed it. But Tony knew her. Was that shock Fake Pepper astounded that her ploy had worked, or real Pepper, hidden away, astonished that he didn't recognize that it wasn't her?

"I took a break," Fake Pepper said, "I'm ready to come back now, if you'll have me."

"Yup, awesome," Tony fought back an overwhelming urge to sob. "This is May, and this is Fiona, and this is Drien. May's son Peter - sure you remember him - has been kidnapped. So we're interrogating Fiona and Drien to see if they have information."

Anyone could've seen that Tony was not okay. His words, usually laced with sarcasm and innuendos, was like a child attempting to explain a complicated situation. Fake Pepper, however, was focused on the Fiona and Drien.

"If you're interrogating them, why are they not tied?" She asked, "Why did you make food for them?"

Ah, yes, Tony had forgotten that Pepper was clever, and her not-self seemed to be just as much, if not as adept at reading Tony.

"We decided to give them a break," Tony shaped his mouth into what he hoped passed for a grin, "You know we're good people, Pepper."

And there it was, his plea to see the real Pepper, his hope. 

"Yes, I know, Tony."

He glimpsed her then, her eyes melting into a loving, worrying expression, the Pepper he knew and loved so much. Tony bit back a gasp. Pepper was still there, he could feel it.
It may have complicated things, but Tony felt like he could finally breath again.