Chapter 4

Tony starts to become more aware of his surroundings, but he has trouble identifying the person he sees. After a while, his eyesight clears, and he turns to see Pepper, the person he loves so much, seated next to him. "Pep," Tony murmured. "Tony, you're awake," Pepper said, holding his left hand. "Oh, if you feel weird, it's because you're on a lot of pain medication," Pepper told him. "I'm OK," Tony whispered. Tony looked around, realizing he was in the hospital. "Why am I here?" Tony asked. "You came back. I don't know how but I had to bring you here because you needed hospital treatment urgently," Pepper told him. Tony then realized his right arm had been amputated and recalled the man telling him if he returned, he must have an injury, and he had chosen amputation. "If you could explain to me how you're alive when you're feeling up to it, that would be appreciated," Pepper responded, trying to make light of the situation. "Morgan isn't here, is she?" Tony asked. "No, she's with Rhodey at home; don't worry; everything is OK. I couldn't bring her here, but it's OK when we get home. We can try and explain to her what's happened; she probably won't understand because she's only five, and it isn't normal for your dad to come back from the dead. But we can try and explain it to her together; it'll be fine," Pepper told him. "Some man told me and stated that I could return, but I would have to endure some type of consequence for what happened to me, which was basically an injury," Tony informed Pepper. " I'm just glad you're back. I thought I would never see you again. You should get some rest, and then we can discuss it." Pepper told Tony. Tony started to fall back to sleep. Pepper assured him that everything would be alright and advised him to rest. Pepper pulled out her phone to update Rhody when Tony fell asleep again, but she didn't want to leave him on his own, so she stayed in the room to make the call. She knew it might not work because the hospital signals are bad, but she tried anyway. "Rhodey, can you hear me?" Pepper asked. Pepper listened to Rhody. "Okay, good. I was hoping you could hear me. I'm using one of the phones Tony made. He created these to improve signals, essentially providing your signal wherever you are. We're in the hospital, so I wasn't sure if it would work or not, but it seems to have. I thought I'd give you an update. Tony underwent an amputation, but he should recover fine. The most important thing is that he will survive. He should be able to explain how he came back to life later, when he's more awake," Pepper told Rhodey. Pepper listened to Rhodey. "Me and Tony appreciate you looking after Morgan." Pepper informed Rhodey, "I don't know how long we're going to be here for, but I'll let you know when I know anything." Pepper told him. Pepper then put the phone down, and she then rang Bruce. She knew how close Tony and him were. He deserved to know that Tony was back. "Bruce, can you hear me?" Pepper asked. Pepper listened to Bruce. "Okay, good. I was hoping you could hear me. I'm using one of the phones Tony made. He created these to improve signals, essentially providing your signal wherever you are. But We're in the hospital, so I wasn't sure if it would work or not, but it seems to have. I thought I'd let you know that Tony is back. He has somehow returned, and he has undergone a right arm amputation, but he should recover pretty much fine. The most important thing is that he will survive. He should be able to explain how he came back to life later, when he's more awake, so either me or him will let you know what happened at a later date. I know how close you two are, so I thought I would let you know that he has returned and what's going on," Pepper told Bruce. Pepper listened to Bruce tell her that Natasha had also returned, that apparently there were five altogether, and that anyone who had died for a stone or through the power of a stone had been given the chance to return. "I wonder who the others could be; possibly Vision as he died because of the mind stone, but I'm not sure about the others, " Pepper told Bruce. Pepper listens to Bruce tell her that Loki and possibly Nebula's sister would likely be the other two, and as far as he knows, if they have returned, they all return injured. Bruce then told her that he had to go because he had to do something for Laura and Natasha. Pepper could tell he was keeping whatever it was a secret and trying not to let her in on it, so Pepper assumed it was something to do with Natasha and that she had probably returned injured like Tony and how the others more than likely have, and if that was the case, Pepper knew that Bruce wouldn't just share it with anyone; he would leave it down to Natasha to choose when and if she shared it, Pepper respected that, so she said good-bye and put the phone down. She then turned back to face the sleeping Tony, took hold of his left hand once more, and waited for any updates.

PREV INDEX Next