Across the Universe

“I need my suit! Hogan?” Tony’s whispers were harsh, cutting through the darkness. It wasn’t that he couldn’t protect himself without the suit or anything like that. He didn’t feel safe without it, that was true, but he could certainly hold his own if necessary. But could he defend everyone inside the restaurant without it? Certainly not. There may have only been a marginal amount of civilians left inside but still, to one man, it was overwhelming.

“Happy went to get the car, Tony.” Pepper felt panicked and made no attempts at hiding it. She wasn’t a fighter! She was a secretary! And while there was absolutely nothing wrong with being a secretary it did very little to prepare her for situations such as this. Hell, she didn’t want to prepare for situations like this. If she had wanted to be a crime fighter then she never would’ve taken a job as an assistant. Sometimes she cursed her loyalty to Tony Stark. “This was only supposed to be dinner! No danger involved! Just watching you make a fool out of yourself in front of a hundred or so people!”

“You are not helping.” Tony scolded her but then turned his attention to Scarlett who was sizing up the situation and hadn’t said a word. This was exactly the sort of fight she was built for. Somehow that both made him nervous and comforted him. So much for a romantic first date experience! He’d have to try again.

But what if danger continued to intervene? Over and over they would make attempts to have a normal romantic life but what if this cycle kept repeating itself? Tony could suddenly see why Scarlett had been so nervous to go into the public eye. The magazine headlines the next day were surely going to be a disaster. Everything had gone far too well. Tony didn’t expect anything to interrupt but Scarlett had been waiting for the axe to drop the entire time. Sometimes he forgot how charmed a life he’d lived for so long.

“You two bickering isn’t going to help anyone. Fight about it after this is over, okay?” Scarlett snapped at them both but her mind was miles away. Half a dozen men wouldn’t be terribly difficult to overcome but it wouldn’t be easy either what with all the unpredictable factors involved. There could be more of them hiding anywhere and what they were armed with, she had no idea. Civilians would make the process far more complicated, particularly if these men were armed and Scarlett had to act under the assumption that they were. She exchanged glances with Tony who seemed to be thinking along the same lines she was. “Go get your suit.” She nodded resolutely. It was the only way to tackle the unpredictable factor. Tony had a distinct advantage when Jarvis was there to aid him.

“Are you sure you can handle this while I’m gone?”

“Me?” Scarlett laughed hesitantly though her resolve showed on her face. She very suddenly felt old. That was a first. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this. Six men, possible fire in the back there. There were what, ten other people in the restaurant dining? Maybe a dozen or so staff left to clean up? No big deal.”

“That didn’t make me feel better, if that’s what you were going for.” Tony glanced toward the door behind him. Seconds felt like minutes as the chaos unfolded.

“Go, Tony.” Scarlett slipped out of her high heels and threw them to the side near Pepper. She couldn’t risk them breaking in such a dire situation and throwing off her balance. “I’ve got this, really.” Giving her a sloppy kiss on the cheek, Tony patted her backside gently before running out the door to find Happy and retrieve his suit that he’d kept hidden in the very car he’d gone to retrieve. He knew he could trust Scarlett to keep Pepper safe and do what she could to subdue the men in black. When it came down to it, despite his fear that she would somehow get in over her head he knew Scarlett was capable of taking care of herself. It didn’t make it any easier to leave her in the middle of a fight, but it did ease his mind. At least a little.

“Pepper, I need you to stay out of the way. Find a corner and stay there.” Scarlett stepped into the open entranceway of the dining room and searched for civilians. They were huddled in the back corner near the stage, making attempts to either hide or escape from the fire. The men didn’t seem very interested in them from what she could tell, though the orange glow from the stage seemed to imply that a struggle had already taken place somewhere out of view. What were they doing there? What could possibly be of interest inside the little dinner theater that these men in black would come after? Scarlett only had two answers and one of them was her and the other was her boyfriend.

Worse than the possible threat to the civilians was what was going on behind the stage. The orange glow only meant one thing in Scarlett’s mind and that was fire. One quick glance around the restaurant told her the place was not up to code and the amount of tapestries covered in dust that hadn’t been cleaned in years would provide ample kindling. It wouldn’t take long at all for the place to become completely engulfed. The bad news kept racking up.

“Behind you!” Pepper shouted but Scarlett had already heard the sounds. Someone had crept around the dining room and through the kitchen to sneak up behind Scarlett. She ducked out of the way as they swiped at her with what she guessed was a nightstick. When she’d saw them approaching she had thought they were armed but now up close, even in the darkness she could see there were no guns. Whoever these men were they were on a non-lethal mission. And yet, they’d started a fire. Perhaps the fire had been accidental.

The men in the shadows were sending very conflicted messages. Scarlett regretted the dress she’d worn to dinner at once. This was the second time now that she’d been caught in a dress not fit for fighting and had needed to fight. But, damnit, she wanted to look nice for her date! Was that so much to ask? As the man in the shadows took another swing at her with the nightstick he accidentally stepped on her dress, tearing the bottom of it. Scarlett grew angry. Her frustration had finally tipped over the edge.

There was no reason she shouldn’t be allowed to have a night out like this! None! Adjusting the straps of her dress, Scarlett grabbed at her attacker’s wrist and twisted hard until he lost his grip on the nightstick. He attempted to retaliate but Scarlett had mastered the art of dodging and worked quickly. Years of stealth missions had honed her skills. She twisted his arm, grabbed the nightstick and then turned just in time to make contact with a second man who had shown up behind her. That was two out of six that she knew of, she would have to keep an eye out.

“Is that fire? I see smoke!” Pepper squealed uncomfortably from across the lobby, confirming what Scarlett had already theorized.

“Get somewhere safe, Pepper! And stop shouting!” Scarlett scolded but didn’t turn her attention to the redhead. It was likely she wouldn’t be able to locate her in the shadows at this point anyway, unless of course, Pepper hadn’t listened and still stood in plain view in hopes she could help. Why was it that civilians always tried to help? Of course, good intentions and all that but in the long run they only got in the way or got hurt. She would end up concentrating more on keeping Pepper safe than the men attacking her and would end up vulnerable and likely injured.

Upon making a second swing with the nightstick she was blocked by the second man while the man she’d disarmed grabbed her from behind and held down both her arms, attempting to restrain her. Scarlett shrugged her shoulders and tried to break free but the man held firm. The second assailant that now stood in front of her took something off of his belt, obscured by shadows. She only knew what it was the moment it obstructed he vision entirely.

They’d black bagged her.

They were there for her.

Of course, they were. Why had she thought she could go out in public? There was still a hefty bounty on her head!

They had to be from MedCo, it was the only reasonable answer.

Maybe she had become paranoid after the company had spent so long pursuing her and ruining her life but it was the only explanation she could come up with that made sense. Either that or it was the weirdest hazing ritual she’d ever seen before in her life. Somehow Scarlett doubted S.H.I.E.L.D. would condone this sort of behavior even for an agent such as herself.

Scarlett closed her eyes; she didn’t see the point of trying to discern shapes through the thick black cloth surrounded by the darkness of the lobby. Instead she focused on the arms holding hers. Suddenly she dropped to the ground and twisted her hands around to grab the wrists of the man who held her. He yelped in surprise as she pulled him down in front of her. Twisting around, she kicked him hard in the chest so he fell forward and knocked the second man off balance.

Quickly she pulled the black bag off of her head and blinked her eyes open. Unbeknownst to those who had subdued her, they had only aided her in adjusting to the darkness. The time spent with her eyes closed had done wonders for her night vision. The man in front of her kicked at her while she was on the ground and she leaned her head out of the way just in time. MedCo guards had always been terrible at non-lethal abduction mission. Though Scarlett always had a knack for pissing them off too. Still holding the bag she grabbed his foot and felt around at his ankle, beneath the very top of his shoe.

“Tibia, fibula, there it is…” Scarlett muttered under her breath, pressing hard against the bone between the foot and his lower leg until she heard a snap as she squeezed it hard and shoved it out of place. He howled in pain and then kicked hard at her with his other foot before recoiling to hold his now broken ankle. Scarlett released him and rolled backwards out of the way.

“Look out!” She could hear Pepper yelling, far too close for comfort. Scarlett wasn’t sure what she was looking out for but she heard footsteps and took a dive to the side, just in case. Her dress halted her jump as it became caught under the foot of another assailant. She hadn’t anticipated that she was the target. Perhaps she shouldn’t have told Tony to go off and get his suit. She could’ve used an extra pair of hands. What was taking him so damn long anyway? Then again, only mere moments had passed. It only felt like forever.

Scarlett saw that one of the men had withdrawn a knife from a belt he wore. That belt would now be her source of defense. She guessed that breaking another man’s ankle had somehow signaled it was time for them to use more aggression in their abduction tactics. She sat up and blocked another blow with the knife, shoving the man’s hand up and away by the bottom of his arm. In the darkness it was hard to see the knife, though the orange glow of spreading flames reflected nicely off of the blade and gave her a focal point.

Risking getting cut was the only way to subdue him quickly so Scarlett faked left and then grabbed instead at the arm that held the knife. The blade scraped her skin but it was only a tiny nick, the best she could’ve hoped for. She twisted his right arm behind him and forced him to drop the knife with a quick jab to the bundle of tendons in his wrist. Then she took the black bag which she still held desperately onto and shoved it hard over his head before swinging him around and bashing his head into the nearby railing of the stairway that led up to the balcony. The resounding thud echoed through the lobby and she could hear Pepper wincing at the sound of it.

There was no time to rest, there were still four more men to deal with and that was if she didn’t count the man whose ankle she’d broken or at least severely damaged. The ligaments and tendons between the ankle and the shin bone were sensitive and easily twisted when a person knew what they were doing. Thankfully, Scarlett knew exactly what she was doing. Her college professors would probably be appalled to know what she’d done with what they’d taught her.

On her feet again, Scarlett retrieved the nightstick from the floor and just in time. Another man was swinging at her and wildly at that, grunting with each throw of his punches. She had no idea just which man was attacking her now, in the darkness she could only guess. Mentally she’d only assign them numbers to make sure she’d accounted for them all so no surprises would occur at the very end. Right now that number was five, just in case.

Scarlett blocked a hit with her elbow then swung around with the nightstick and twisted it in her hand to hit him in the face. But he grabbed her arm before her backswing and spun her around, knocking her off of her feet and leaving her to slide across the lobby floor.

“Oh no!”

Scarlett was getting really tired of the peanut gallery that was Pepper Potts. Her intentions were good enough but she was only making herself a target by not hiding and shutting up. Everything was happening so fast, so mentally while Scarlett wondered what Tony was taking so long she knew only a few moments had transpired and kept reminding herself of that.

Before she could get to her feet she was pinned down and grabbed around the neck. She quickly freed her neck from her assailant’s grasp with a swift punch and twisted his arm out of the way aided with a knee to the groin. It was cheating, but she thought it was fair enough since she was not exactly in the best clothing to be rolling around on the floor in. In fact, she was pretty sure she was flashing half the people in the restaurant. Thank god it was dark.

Rolling him onto his back Scarlett punched him hard in the nose for good measure then pressed hard on his throat. He hit her in the gut to knock her off but she didn’t budge. He grabbed at her arms but the leather gloves he wore did nothing but slide over her skin, causing her no damage. Soon he fell unconscious and Scarlett climbed off of him. She did so just in time to be grabbed from behind by a third man. That was four now, at least two of them were unconscious and one had an injured ankle. She stomped on his foot and elbowed him hard in the gut before ducking low and sliding backwards between his legs. Then she knocked him hard in the back of the knee with her heel, returned upright and shoved his head hard into the wall.

A second man stopped her momentum by grabbing her arm so the first didn’t fall unconscious from her throw. She blocked a blow from a nightstick but it still hurt against her bare arms. She was going to have to start bringing a jacket out with her, at the very least, just in case. Instead of blocking she deflected the new attacks away from her to try and throw him off balance and slow his attacks. The belts they wore had various weapons hanging from them, a hunting knife, handcuffs, black bags, nightsticks, and what looked like a taser. Now she definitely knew it was MedCo. They were always trying to electrocute her into submission one way or another. It was a wonder they hadn’t tried that already.

Maybe they hadn’t gotten the opportunity. These weren’t the long range stun guns with the wires and hooks that launched from a great distance but rather the close range kind with tiny electrified needles that delivered a jolt upon skin contact. Well, if they weren’t going to utilize them then she most certainly was going to. The man reached to swing hard, pulling back his arm, and in that split second Scarlett ducked under his arm and let him swing then stood upright again, locking his arm behind her and throwing him off balance.

She reached for the stun gun and released it from his belt before quickly jabbing it against his side and pulling the trigger. He twitched in front of her, the small sparks released from the end of the device lighting up against his skin in a brilliant flash of white. She released the charge and engaged the second one and pressed the needles hard against his flesh again. It did the trick and he fell unconscious, in a slumped pile on the ground, his fingers and feet occasionally twitching.

Discarding the stun gun Scarlett turned just in time to be face to face with one of the three remaining assailants. The man with the injured ankle came upon the other side of her and jabbed her hard in the side with his own stun gun while she was distracted.

“A taste of your own medicine.” He hissed, revenge thick in his voice. Scarlett slumped against the first man and gritted her teeth. No matter how many times she’d been shocked before it still hurt like a bitch. Her feet gave out from underneath her and she would’ve slid to the floor but one of the two men on either side of her held her upright. They pulled her arms behind her so she couldn’t swing and the man with the injured ankle withdrew a second black hood to place upon her head.

“Joke’s on you.” Scarlett shook off the feeling of electrocution though her fingers and toes still felt numbed. “You’ve done this before.” Scarlett pushed the man holding her arms back and then kicked the injured man in front of her in the stomach. Bracing herself between both men she wrapped her legs around the injured man’s neck and propelled away from the man behind her. Weak from his ankle, the injured man fell to the ground with Scarlett’s weight on top of him. She twisted her legs away from his neck just in time so they weren’t stuck beneath him.

“Scarlett! Look out!” Pepper squealed but she’d been too late to warn Scarlett. Thankfully she’d been aware that the man she’d kicked back would come back for her and rolled out of the way. She then knocked him hard on his back and jumped over him, leaving him on the floor on top of the injured man. It took them only seconds to return to their feet. “Good job! But they’re getting back up! And… I can see your…” She drifted off.

“Pepper! Get out of here! Does that really seem important right now?” Scarlett shouted over the chaos, but made a point to fix the pertinent areas of her dress. She hadn’t noticed that it’d shifted out of place and it didn’t seem to matter much. Sirens were ringing from somewhere nearby, people were shouting in the restaurant to escape through the kitchen. As the first man rose to his feet, Scarlett readied her fists. “You boys need to learn some new tricks.” Scarlett’s fingers were still tingling from her shock but she was doing well enough considering, though she was out of breath. The air in the restaurant had become thin from the fire raging through the dining room.

Before Scarlett could strike the decorative display that framed the entranceway with flowerpots and decorations came crashing down in front of her. Scarlett rolled out of the way just in time but her assailant had not. Pepper had come up behind it and shoved it over in hopes of helping her. It didn’t look like the odds were good for Scarlett and even though they weren’t exactly friends, she certainly didn’t wish any harm upon her either.

“Damnit Pepper…” Scarlett cursed under her breath as the men who had come to their senses looked for the person who had created the distraction. They would subdue Pepper then come back for Scarlett or even worse, use Pepper against her. She had to get the redhead out of harm’s way and out the front door. Her objective suddenly changed. But before she could find Pepper, Scarlett was grabbed again by the shoulder in an attempt to be subdued. She twisted beneath the grip, turned around and gave a harsh jab to the man’s chest and then kneed him in the stomach before smashing his knee, and then his foot. How many of the men she’d knocked to the ground had gotten back up? Were there more assailants than she’d originally counted? Six had seemed like a lot to deal with on her own but if there were more the odds steadily declined.

She’d thought she’d whittled the number down to three but there were clearly five on their feet and at least two on the floor unconscious. Others must have joined the fray when she was too busy battling them off left and right. The darkness wasn’t helping but was slowly being lifted as the fire in the other room spread throughout the restaurant along the tapestries and curtains. The haunting orange halo of light lent Scarlett enough visibility that she could see that none of the men wore anything that would identify them as MedCo guards.

And yet somehow Scarlett had a feeling that’s just who they belonged to. To MedCo or Scott, her ex-boyfriend, but realistically there was little to no difference between those things now. Scott had become the monster MedCo made him. Scarlett sparred with the man in front of her for a few moments before she managed to get her arms around his neck and to squeeze him into unconsciousness. She could hear Pepper yelling for help across the room but she didn’t let go until she was sure he was knocked out.

Discarding the fallen soldier in her arms, Scarlett dodged past a second attacker and then leapt over the fallen display of pots and decorations. Pepper was being held with her arms behind her back by one man and was kicking frantically at another with her heels. She had a black bag over her head and was shrieking at them to let her go to little or no effect.

A flowerpot that remained unbroken caught Scarlett’s gaze on the ground so she picked it up quickly, approached the man holding Pepper from behind and smashed the pot against his head. She was sure she could’ve seen the light going out in his eyes if he hadn’t been wearing a ski mask and it hadn’t been so damn dark in that corner of the lobby. Pepper fell to the ground with a yelp and quickly removed the black bag from over her head.

Scarlett grabbed the second man who had attempted to take Pepper away by his wrist where he held a nightstick and twisted him around. She then kicked him hard in the back so he fell face first to the ground. He most certainly wasn’t unconscious but Scarlett had grown weary. She’d had too much wine and had been, by no means, ready to fight a troupe of MedCo security guards. Was it unfair of her to be irritated that she wasn’t quite on her game for the night? She didn’t want to fight. Hell, she wanted more wine.

Pepper was soon back on her feet with Scarlett’s help though she was shaking like a leaf. She wanted to tell the woman to get to safety and escort her to the door but Scarlett was instead grabbed around the waist and thrown hard toward the stairs that led up to the balcony. She rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up, trying to fix the damn dress that wouldn’t get out of her way so it wouldn’t get caught beneath someone again.

“No! Let me go! Help!” Pepper squealed as she was lifted straight off of the ground in an attempt to carry her away. The flames had caught on the curtains of the windows near the front door by now. If they stayed in the restaurant much longer the whole place would be filled with smoke and no one would be able to breathe.

An assailant purposely stepped on her dress and so Scarlett kicked him hard in the face. It was a mistake to think that she would be spending half the time trying to cover herself up. Scarlett was nowhere near that vain. What did she care if she was indecent for a few seconds? It was a little more important at that moment to be making sure she didn’t get injected with anything, electrocuted, or have a black bag shoved over her face.

She grabbed a fistful of his shirt and tugged him closer to her before jabbing him hard in the throat, making him choke. She tossed him to the side and bashed his head hard against the railing over and over until the railing itself split. Scarlett was incredibly tired of fighting these goons.

“Brace yourself!” Scarlett shouted and before Pepper could respond, Scarlett ran headlong at the man who was carrying Pepper over his shoulder. She slammed into his back and the entire group fell into a tangled pile in the middle of the floor. “Get up!” Scarlett grabbed Pepper’s forearm and shoved her as hard as she could away from where the man beneath her on the ground was getting back to his feet. Pepper stumbled out of the way, fell to her knees, then quickly got to her feet. She too had discarded her heels.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and attempted to cut off the air to his lungs but he wasn’t having any of it. He elbowed her in the stomach and then tossed her away from him with ease. As she got to her feet she found Pepper waiting nearby. She quickly urged Pepper toward the stairwell. From what she knew there wasn’t anyone upstairs that would harm them so if she could keep Pepper corralled behind her then she could potentially keep her safe until they found an opportunity to go outside.

The man got to his feet and withdrew his knife and swung at her. Scarlett leapt backwards out of the way of the knife and urged Pepper higher up the stairs and to safety.

“Oh god! He’s got a knife! Scarlett, watch out!” Pepper shrieked, gesturing toward the man pacing around them and waiting for his opportunity to strike.

“I can see that!” Scarlett kept her eye on the blade. The last thing she wanted was to get cut or stabbed. She’d already gotten scratched from the same weapon earlier and that had been bad enough. Little cuts tended to sting and become annoying. Sometimes it was almost better to be stabbed. Things were moving so quickly there was no way she’d have gotten through this many guards if they had each decided to utilize their hunting knives. Thankfully, many of them hadn’t been willing to risk a killing blow. He jabbed the knife toward her and she dodged the stab and swatted his wrist so his arm fell but then he sliced the blade around toward her.

Scarlett barely missed the blade as she spun out of the way and then jumped again out of the way of it as he twisted it in his grip and swung at her wildly. She wasn’t going to stay this lucky for much longer. She needed a weapon of some kind. There was never a time she would leave the house again after this without being armed. Swatting the armed man away from her again she shoved her palm against his nose hard enough to break it and then kicked him backwards. On the ground she found a nightstick that had been discarded and then returned to her feet.

“Scarlett, we have a problem…” Pepper whimpered behind her, trying to stay out of harm’s way on the staircase.

“You mean something other than the men attacking us, I presume?” Scarlett spoke through gritted teeth as she blocked blow after attempted blow from the man with the knife. He shouted as he swung the blade toward her frantically, becoming increasingly frustrated with each missed attack. Finally she managed to hit his wrist hard enough that he faltered and stumbled forward.

“Yes, the fire! It’s… the roof is creaking! I think it’s going to break!” Pepper shouted over the chaos inside of the building. From what Scarlett could tell the other civilians had either managed their way out or had gotten trapped in the other room. She couldn’t really do a whole hell of a lot about it if she kept getting attacked by the guards. Eventually they’d wear her out and she wouldn’t even be able to protect Pepper. Maybe Tony would have had the foresight to help the civilians while she kept the guards distracted. That was what she could hope for at least.

“Well, I did tell you to get out of here while you could!” Scarlett shouted, using the nightstick to manipulate the man’s arm up and out of the way. She then jabbed his forearm and his fingers relinquished the blade. Swinging the nightstick around she then jabbed it hard against his forehead twice for good measure before pushing him onto the floor and away from her.

“I wasn’t leaving without you!” Pepper yelled stubbornly but then her shouting suddenly became screams of fright. “No! They’re coming down the stairs! How? Scarlett!”

“Damnit!” Scarlett grabbed Pepper’s wrist and pulled her down the stairs and behind her protectively from one of the two men racing toward her. They’d gotten too close for comfort. Still holding Pepper’s wrist she swung the nightstick with the other hand to put some distance between her and the guards. But there was too much going on and she hadn’t been fast enough to stop them.

The second man on the stairs took a stab toward Pepper, hoping to get her out of the way so that they could continue toward their intended target. Scarlett instinctively pushed Pepper behind her, leaning against the railing of the stairs but couldn’t block the blow of the knife fast enough. The blade dug sharply into her shoulder and the twinge of pain she felt ran all the way down her bicep and into her forearm, leaving her already tingling fingers aching.

Pepper screamed at the sight of the knife in Scarlett’s shoulder but Scarlett didn’t react. Letting go of Pepper, she switched hands with the nightstick so that she wouldn’t have to move the knife if she could help it and then attacked the man on the stairs, forcing him to let go of the blade’s handle. She pushed him hard against the opposite end of the railing and bashed the back of his head against it before tossing him over the side and onto the floor below. She then ducked low and pulled the leg out from underneath the second man, making him trip down the stairs before he could swing at her or Pepper.

Pepper jumped out of the way just in time otherwise she would’ve been knocked to the floor by the man Scarlett had kicked toward her. Scarlett ran behind the man and pressed her foot to his throat, hoping to cut off his airways. He grabbed frantically at her leg to try to get her to stop but she pressed harder and swung the nightstick as hard as she could. The resounding crack against the side of his head was devastating enough that the nightstick itself broke and the bottom half went flying across the room and shattered a window.

The sudden increase of oxygen in the room sent the fire roaring more intensely through the lobby. Frames were falling off of the wall as their hangers were burned to a crisp and a chandelier that had been barely hanging on for the past few minutes because of the damage to the roof finally came crashing down in the center of the room. Scarlett protected Pepper from the spray of glass that came off of the chandelier by standing in front of her but thankfully it did no damage to either one of them.

The attackers who remained had begun to flee. Fire had damaged the restaurant so badly that there was no way they could hope to keep fighting, at least that’s what Scarlett guessed. Instead they retreated through the dining room of the restaurant and through the flames toward the stage where the whole thing had begun.

“Okay, time to get you out of here.” Scarlett wasn’t going to let them get away so simply. She wanted to know who had sent them and where to find them. They’d ruined her night, ruined her dress, and most importantly had nearly killed her friends. After getting Pepper outside she would be coming right back in to get some answers.

“He stabbed you! Oh god! You’re bleeding!” Pepper thought about touching the wound on Scarlett’s shoulder so she could help keep it clean but with the knife still sticking out of it, she didn’t know what to do so instead she held her hands up and stared. “Did it go through your shoulder? Oh, god!” Pepper was suddenly nauseated at the idea that it had gone that far through.

“I don’t know. Did it?” Scarlett tried to look over her shoulder and mouthed a wince but couldn’t see far enough to be able to tell. “I’m not gushing so I’m guessing that’s not the case.” Scarlett dragged Pepper down the few steps they’d climbed and over the bodies of the men who laid unconscious on the floor. A shot rang out overhead and instinctively Scarlett pushed Pepper to the ground and ducked herself.

Someone in the restaurant was firing at her. Apparently at least one or two of the men had come armed with guns.

“Are they shooting at us?” Pepper practically screamed at the top of her lungs. This was one of the most dangerous situations she had ever been in before in her life! It only kept getting worse. “I thought they didn’t have guns! Scarlett! Did they shoot you? Are you okay? Like a knife wasn’t bad enough, now this?”

“No! You have got to calm down! Oh Happy, thank god! Where the hell is Tony?” Scarlett shouted at the sight of the driver who had come inside upon seeing the building burst into flames. The fire caught on the curtains behind them and Scarlett pulled Pepper away from them with Happy’s help and patted down part of her dress that had been singed. But the more she moved the more the adrenaline wore off and the wound in her shoulder throbbed painfully. She was reminded of when she’d been shot in the very same arm months before as her fingers went numb and her hand quickly became useless. The knife had to have hit some kind of nerve or tendon. Even when she’d been shot, the devastation hadn’t spread this quickly.

How many times was she going to get attacked on that side? Why did villains favor her left? She’d add it to the very long list of questions she had for the men who had decided to ruin her night.

“The doorway to the kitchens collapsed and the staff was trapped inside!” Happy yelled through a handkerchief he was holding over his face to keep from inhaling the smoke that was very rapidly building up within the lobby and choking them. “…is that a knife?” His eyes suddenly widened at the sight of the blade in her arm.

“Was he able to help them?” Scarlett ignored the inquiry but Pepper didn’t and quickly spoke over her, grabbing Happy’s arms frantically. Why was everyone so obsessed with injury? It wouldn’t do her much good to address being stabbed now when there was still so much danger!

“It is! They stabbed her! You should’ve seen him swinging at us! She was amazing but there were too many of them and then…” Pepper gestured to Scarlett and then was caught in a fit of coughing from the smoke. Scarlett gritted her teeth and then grabbed Happy by the shoulder. They stayed low, hidden by fire as another shot rang overhead. There would be plenty of time to catch up when they were all safe.

“Get Pepper out of here! Get her to the car and wait for the police to show up! I’m going after these guys!” Scarlett gestured toward the main room of the restaurant which seemed like a terrible idea, even to her. Pepper and Happy both stared at the dining room that was engulfed with flames and appeared like a warzone then back to Scarlett in disbelief.

“No way, I’m not leaving you in here alone. Tony would kill me.” Happy helped Pepper to her feet regardless of his words. It was obvious that he was very concerned about leaving the redhead inside the building. He knew that Scarlett could take care of herself if need be but Pepper was so close to having a panic attack that her usually rosy red skin was pale and almost green. In the dining room there was a loud crash as part of the rafters came smashing down into the middle of the room. “I’m definitely not leaving you if you’re going in there.”

“I can handle my own. I’m not going to do anything stupid! If it’s as bad as it looks, I’ll turn back! But I have to try!” Scarlett coughed, covering her mouth with her hand to keep the smoke away.

Happy’s response was drowned out by the roar of the Mark VII as it flew through the dining room doorway and landed in the middle of the lobby. Sure that Tony wouldn’t let Scarlett do anything rash, particularly with her arm in such dire straits, Happy scooped Pepper off of the ground and ran out the front door, coughing all the way. Finally Scarlett could stop worrying about Tony’s assistant and focus on the fight at hand. But now that she could focus her arm was killing her and sending panicked signals of pain throughout her chest and down her back.

Gunfire rang through the lobby again. There wasn’t much time to catch up now that the men had returned through the restaurant dining room wearing gas masks and armed with guns. Scarlett ducked down low near one of the men she’d knocked out earlier and grabbed the hunting knife from his belt. Tony fired his repulsor at one of the men then flew close to a second and crushed his gun before he could get a shot off. She could hear fire ricochet off the suit as he defended her like a human shield.

Scarlett peered through the smoke and flames and threw the knife she’d retrieved at one of the men. It stuck him right in the chest and he fell onto one of the tables that hadn’t been completely destroyed by the fire, knocking it to the ground in a heap.

“Nice shot!” Tony shouted, firing another repulsor blast. The roof wasn’t going to last much longer under the pressure of the fire. Rafters from the old shows that were held for dinner theater years ago were giving way and soon it would be too much on the support beams. Jarvis was keeping track of the building’s integrity to let Tony know when he had to get out of there. It was one thing for him to be stuck in the burning building and another thing for Scarlett. She had no protection against the elements.

The man whose knife she had stolen had gotten up from the ground and made a grab at Scarlett’s legs. She fell face first on the ground, forcing a strangled cry of pain from her lips as the knife only dug deeper in her skin when her shoulder smashed into the ground. It was keeping it from bleeding all over the place and her from losing consciousness, it was the only reason she hadn’t yet removed it. But now she’d have to, since it was causing her too severe pain to continue with. The more it shoved into her flesh the worse the damage would get.

She kicked hard at the man behind her, at first only hitting his chest but then aiming higher and kicking him hard in the jaw. He pulled her across the floor and closer and he bashed the end of the knife in her shoulder on purpose, making her see stars.

“Cheap shot!” With gritted teeth Scarlett kicked him hard again but only long enough before she could steal the taser on his waist. She jammed it right into his face and pulled the trigger with a yell. “Son of a bitch!” She cursed, standing over him as she fired the second cartridge of electricity into his body. He twitched unnaturally until he fell in a smoking pile on the floor. For good measure Scarlett kicked him repeatedly in the side. Now she was angry. The adrenaline from her injury left her filled with rage.

“Scarlett! Get down!” The building groaned overhead and the beam that had supported the chandelier gave into the fire that had engulfed it. Tony flew overhead just in time and grabbed onto the fiery beam, along with the bits of ceiling that had come down with it. Scarlett had done as she was told and leaned close to the ground just below the now collapsing ceiling. Despite Tony’s attempts to shield her, pieces of the ceiling and drywall fell around her. “We’ve got to go!”

“Tell me about it!” Scarlett was frustrated that she wouldn’t get to pursue the men who had attacked them but it wasn’t worth her life. She already knew who she was looking for, at least she thought she did. Leaning over she pulled on the handle of the blade in her skin. With each small tug it pulled at her flesh, tore at her muscle, and sent pain through her nerve endings. She had to remind herself that pain was just a signal in her brain but even so it sure hurt like a bitch. Seconds passed by agonizingly slow and her breathing became rapid and struggled the more she pulled.

Finally the blade gave way with a slurp. With a shaking and now bloodied hand, she threw the knife to the side. But as it lay against the ruined carpet she saw the tip of it had broken off and was presumably still somewhere within her flesh. Metallic arms clamped around her sides and lifted her to her feet. Tony could see the blood pouring from the fresh wound on her shoulder, dripping down her arm and over her fingers and onto the carpet. He knew that something had gone horribly wrong and instantly felt guilty for not coming to help her immediately.

Before she could insist that she didn’t need his help, Tony scooped her off of the ground and flew through the hole created in the roof by the beam that he’d discarded before helping her up. Scarlett pressed her hand to the wound on her shoulder in an attempt to stop the bleeding since it was all she could do. She hated flying with Tony’s suit, it was the most uncomfortable feeling. With her shoulder bleeding painfully with a shattered piece of steel inside of it, flying was even more uncomfortable than usual. Considering the amount of times she’d hitched a ride on Tony’s suit she thought she’d get used to it, but that hadn’t been the case.

Tony flew away from the building and turned in mid-air to watch as it gave into the inferno inside of it and collapsed into a heap of burning wood and metal on the ground. This place where he’d gone every summer as a kid had been destroyed. He’d wanted to make it a tradition for them, the first one he’d ever made with a woman. So much for that idea. He glanced down at Scarlett who was holding her shoulder and keeping her eyes closed. He knew how much she hated being in the air with him. It wasn’t nearly as comfortable to fly around outside of his suit as it was for him inside of it, sometimes Tony had a hard time remembering that.

Slowly he carried her to the ground, locating Pepper and Happy who stood by the car they’d driven from Manhattan. Pepper was on the phone with someone, talking frantically and looking worried. Happy was staring for any sign of them in the fire. When Tony landed nearby Pepper held the phone to her chest and threw her arms around them both.

“Careful!” Scarlett held up her hand to stop the woman who looked near tears. Pepper’s blue eyes were mixed with emotion and tears streamed down her still pale face.

“We thought you were still in there!” Pepper shouted, ignoring the phone call she’d taken. She handed the phone off to Happy and helped Scarlett steady on her feet. Then she took Happy’s jacket without asking and held it to the wound on Scarlett’s shoulder that now bled freely. Adrenaline had kicked back in once the pain and the blood had become overwhelming. If she could hold onto that feeling long enough without going into shock then Scarlett figured she’d be just fine. There was no reason to make things worse than they were. “God, look at all that blood.”

“It’s not as bad as it looks.” Scarlett assured her and glanced back at Tony over her shoulder. He was being unusually quiet, considering everything that had transpired. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of the fire raging in front of them. Those sweet memories he’d shared with her and the other dinner patrons were burning away in front of his eyes. Scarlett walked away from Pepper but took the coat that had been commandeered from Happy and held it to her wound. She placed a hand on the shoulder of his metal suit and watched the fire burn what remained of the building with him.

“We have to get out of here before the press catches wind of this.” Tony flipped the helmet of his suit up and turned toward Scarlett. His eyes were big and sorrowful but something was brewing behind them, Scarlett just didn’t know what it was. She guessed that this was not going to help whatever was keeping him awake.

“Good idea.” Scarlett nodded and looked toward the car. “But legally we can’t just leave, right? I’m not a criminal anymore, remember?”

“I already thought of that.” Pepper hung up her phone after finishing a heated conversation near the car. Her hands were shaking but she sounded far more confident than she had inside the restaurant. “I called S.H.I.E.L.D. They’re on their way to take care of it. We should get back to Manhattan. You can reschedule your date for another night.” Pepper spoke resolutely. “This deserves a second try, I think.”

“You mean a third try.” Scarlett muttered but thankfully no one had heard her.

“We have a place booked for the night.” Tony argued. He didn’t want this to ruin their date. How often would their nights be ruined by something just like this? Tony was tired of it! He wanted to go out and have a good time without getting shot at. How many times was he going to let Scarlett’s past bite him in the ass?

“She’s right, Tony.” Scarlett grabbed the hand of the metallic suit and Tony melted. The anger immediately dissipated. He knew that it wasn’t her fault that this had happened. Pepper smiled warily and then Tony nodded reluctantly.

“Alright, but I’m not wearing this thing the whole time. The drive is too long.” Tony stepped away from Scarlett so that he could trigger the suit to move away from him and collapse into pieces that they could return to the trunk of the car.

“That’s it for me. No more double dates! I am so incredibly glad that you are his girlfriend and I can just go back to dating normal, boring men.” Pepper pointed at Scarlett and then started around the car so she could get in the passenger seat, complaining the whole way about how dangerous Tony’s life had become. Scarlett watched Pepper disappear into the car and then looked back down at the wound on her shoulder. It was already bruising around the edge of her shoulder. So much for a normal night out on the town. She’d hoped this would’ve eased Tony’s mind, not make things worse.

And so much for teaching those men who they were messing with! She hadn’t been on her game, not in the least. Questions rang through her mind and part of her wished to disappear into the shadows to pursue those who had gotten away. If she could get a few answers then maybe she wouldn’t feel so unfulfilled. Happy guided her into the car followed by Tony. Before she knew it they were back on the freeway on their way to Manhattan, listening to Pepper list their options along the way. But Scarlett wasn’t listening. There was too much on her mind.