Light of my Life (STONY)

You Promised...

Tony and Rhodey walked silently, taking out 2 guards on their way.

"Grab their guns and any ammo, we wanna make this fast - get the president and Pepper and get out."

"And kill the real Mandarin. Oh, perfectly on time. Turn around," said Tony.

"Are they..." Rhodey trailed off to see about 50 stars rushing towards them - except they weren't stars.

"Yep. Everybody needs a hobby." A choir of 'Good evening Mr Stark' rang around the area.

"Target all heat signatures, aim to kill. If Pepper's one... don't hurt her."

"Yes sir," they replied. They weren't stars because they were suits.

"JARVIS, we need suits, lets go." A suit appeared and moulded itself to Tony's body shape, and Rhodey was forced to 'take a lift'.

"J, I want Pepper, c'mon, make it fast." The battle seemed to go on for a while, Tony taking out anyone in his way and Rhodey saving the president and re-acquiring his suit.

"Sir, I have located miss Potts."

"About time, lets get her." Tony silently flew into the storage container she was in and began to shift the rubble.

"No, don't, it's gonna crush me," she whispered. Tony flipped the mask of his helmet up and began to reach out his hand.

"C'mon honey, you gotta give me your hand. Just a little further, come on, you got it, I promise, I'll get you out of this." And just as Pepper felt the cold metal of the armour he was ripped away from her and she shrieked.

"Is this guy bothering you?" It was Aldrich Killian. He and Tony fought, so Tony smoothly ejected his arm from the suit as Killian attempted to cut it off and instead, Tony took a sharp piece of metal and sliced his orange-glowing hand off. It fell to the floor and melted the metal, forcing Pepper to hang upside down - she was about to fall.

Tony whacked Killian round the head and knocked him out, got out of the suit and then jumped down a flight of stairs to find Pepper hanging about 2 metres above him.

"Honey, you gotta let go, I'm gonna catch you."

"I can't..." she whimpered.

"Well, you can't stay there and I can't reach you so you gotta let go!" It took a minute, but finally, Pepper trusted him, and she let go. And Tony felt a pang of guilt as Aldrich Killian knocked him out of the way and her hand slipped from his.

"Shame," he smirked. "I woulda caught her."

The rest of the night was a blur. Tony killed person after person in a blind rage, not caring if he was struck back. Any suits he was offered he waved away, and he fought with hand to hand combat, resulting in numerous burns, cuts and bruises. A few possible breaks, too. Pepper, his longest relationship, his best friend - gone in just a few seconds. Finally, the battle was over and Rhodey returned to Tony who was shifting rubble, hoping and praying to find signs of life, her life.

"Where's Pepper?"

"I can't find her," whispered Tony. He wasn't wearing a suit and Rhodey stepped out of his and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Tony..."

"I CAN'T LEAVE WITHOUT HER!"

"No, Tony... she's there." About 50 metres behind them lay a body, wearing black shorts and a black sports bra.

"Holy shit." Tony ran towards her. "JARVIS, run scan."

"No heartbeat detected. I'm sorry, sir. Miss Potts is gone." Rhodey was right behind him and Tony threw himself onto the floor, tears running down his face.