Tony had promised her that she was cured. She had to be... but sometimes Pepper worried Extremis never did fully leave her system.
It was in the headaches, the occasional fevers, the pain she swore radiated from the injection points. Maybe it was all in her head, but today she couldn't stand whatever it was that plagued her.
Pepper politely excuses herself from a meeting she definitely needs to be in, rushing down the hall the moment the doors close. She slips into an empty meeting room, sliding to the ground with her back firmly against the wall. Focusing solely on slowing her breathing, Pepper doesn't notice someone come in behind her.
“Mom?” Katie asks looking worriedly at her mom. She had been looking for her mom to talk to her about the SI project she was working on and FRIDAY had told her that she was here. But she hadn’t expected to see Pepper like this.
“Mom, what’s going on? Are you ok?” Katie asks as she walks into the room making sure to close the door behind her.
"Just because I'm your kid doesn't mean I'm not gonna worry about you!"
"Ok, mom I don't care what you say, something is definitely wrong and if you won't tell me what it is then we need to go to the medbay." Katie scans over Pepper, her worry increasing every second.
"People will talk if they see you walking me to Medical."
It's faint, only lasting a moment or two, but her eyes almost seem to shift and glow a reddish orange.
"I've waited it out in the past, I'm sure it'll pass-" She's hit with another wave of pain that finally makes her give in. Her voice drops low, like it's some sort of secret. "...Katie, what do you know about Aldrich Killian?"
Pepper's eyes quickly return to a familiar blue, now filled with deep concern at her daughter's odd reaction.
"Yes, he... created something. Something dangerous. Something he used against Tony." She hesitates, having wanted to forget about that entire ordeal. "...using me."
Tony had promised her that she was cured. She had to be... but sometimes Pepper worried Extremis never did fully leave her system.
It was in the headaches, the occasional fevers, the pain she swore radiated from the injection points. Maybe it was all in her head, but today she couldn't stand whatever it was that plagued her.
Pepper politely excuses herself from a meeting she definitely needs to be in, rushing down the hall the moment the doors close. She slips into an empty meeting room, sliding to the ground with her back firmly against the wall. Focusing solely on slowing her breathing, Pepper doesn't notice someone come in behind her.
Peter had been picking something up for the interns from this floor. He's walking down the hallway when he sees Pepper rushing down it. He ducks into the meeting room she's in, eyes rounding with concern.
"Mom?" He comes to sit on the floor cross-legged, facing her and noting her breathing. "What's wrong?"
"Seems like a pretty bad headache..." Peter muses. "I thought you had an important meeting today." He shakes his head to drive that thought away. What's important is making his mom comfortable. "Do you want me to go with you to the penthouse? I can find some pain medicine for you while you lie down."
"You don't need to be there if you can't stand up," Peter says gently, reaching out to put a hand behind Pepper's head in case she runs the risk of hitting it on the wall.
"If you really need someone to be there, I can go for you, but you need some rest. Do you want to lay down the rest of the way or me to help you move somewhere else or anything?"
Pepper leans her head back into his hand, heat radiating off her skin at a level Peter can feel even through her hair.
"...lay down fully, please." She lets outs a quiet exhale. "Have Tony take over the meeting. He can probably answer more questions about the product than I ever could."
"Okay," Peter says before muttering a command to FRIDAY so she'll tell Tony. He embraces Pepper with his free hand so he can slowly help her lay down.
"You're... really warm," he notes quietly. He's encountered Extremis twice, once in Pepper's case and once more recently with Harley, but he never noticed after-effects. The thought hasn't occurred to him yet.
She graciously accepts the help, leaning deeply into Peter... but Pepper's skin is dangerously hot, practically at uncomfortable level for her to be so close to him.
"Am I? I hadn't noticed..." She mutters sarcastically, but there's no malice in her words.
Tony had promised her that she was cured. She had to be... but sometimes Pepper worried Extremis never did fully leave her system.
It was in the headaches, the occasional fevers, the pain she swore radiated from the injection points. Maybe it was all in her head, but today she couldn't stand whatever it was that plagued her.
Pepper politely excuses herself from a meeting she definitely needs to be in, rushing down the hall the moment the doors close. She slips into an empty meeting room, sliding to the ground with her back firmly against the wall. Focusing solely on slowing her breathing, Pepper doesn't notice someone come in behind her.
“Mom?” Katie asks looking worriedly at her mom. She had been looking for her mom to talk to her about the SI project she was working on and FRIDAY had told her that she was here. But she hadn’t expected to see Pepper like this.
“Mom, what’s going on? Are you ok?” Katie asks as she walks into the room making sure to close the door behind her.
"Just because I'm your kid doesn't mean I'm not gonna worry about you!"
"Ok, mom I don't care what you say, something is definitely wrong and if you won't tell me what it is then we need to go to the medbay." Katie scans over Pepper, her worry increasing every second.
"People will talk if they see you walking me to Medical."
It's faint, only lasting a moment or two, but her eyes almost seem to shift and glow a reddish orange.
"I've waited it out in the past, I'm sure it'll pass-" She's hit with another wave of pain that finally makes her give in. Her voice drops low, like it's some sort of secret. "...Katie, what do you know about Aldrich Killian?"
"A talk?" Peter echoes softly. He blinks up at her, his pupils blown out wide enough to almost swallow the brown of his eyes. He immediately sits down. "...You're mad?"
Tony had promised her that she was cured. She had to be... but sometimes Pepper worried Extremis never did fully leave her system.
It was in the headaches, the occasional fevers, the pain she swore radiated from the injection points. Maybe it was all in her head, but today she couldn't stand whatever it was that plagued her.
Pepper politely excuses herself from a meeting she definitely needs to be in, rushing down the hall the moment the doors close. She slips into an empty meeting room, sliding to the ground with her back firmly against the wall. Focusing solely on slowing her breathing, Pepper doesn't notice someone come in behind her.
“Mom?” Katie asks looking worriedly at her mom. She had been looking for her mom to talk to her about the SI project she was working on and FRIDAY had told her that she was here. But she hadn’t expected to see Pepper like this.
“Mom, what’s going on? Are you ok?” Katie asks as she walks into the room making sure to close the door behind her.
"I wouldn't mind getting out of this building for a while. Are you hungry? There's a new Italian Place that opened up on 9th Avenue Tony's been pestering me to check out."
"I won't get us into an accident!" Katie pouts as she starts walking out of the room. "I am a great driver, I only crashed like once. That's it!" Katie exclaims.
Pepper sits down in the passenger side, letting out a long sigh.
"Busier than usual... Our medical department is working on a new product that seems to need more permits and paperwork than it's worth but your father insists it'll change the market. I've been on the phone for the past 3 hours straight."
Tony had promised her that she was cured. She had to be... but sometimes Pepper worried Extremis never did fully leave her system.
It was in the headaches, the occasional fevers, the pain she swore radiated from the injection points. Maybe it was all in her head, but today she couldn't stand whatever it was that plagued her.
Pepper politely excuses herself from a meeting she definitely needs to be in, rushing down the hall the moment the doors close. She slips into an empty meeting room, sliding to the ground with her back firmly against the wall. Focusing solely on slowing her breathing, Pepper doesn't notice someone come in behind her.
Peter had been picking something up for the interns from this floor. He's walking down the hallway when he sees Pepper rushing down it. He ducks into the meeting room she's in, eyes rounding with concern.
"Mom?" He comes to sit on the floor cross-legged, facing her and noting her breathing. "What's wrong?"
"Seems like a pretty bad headache..." Peter muses. "I thought you had an important meeting today." He shakes his head to drive that thought away. What's important is making his mom comfortable. "Do you want me to go with you to the penthouse? I can find some pain medicine for you while you lie down."
"You don't need to be there if you can't stand up," Peter says gently, reaching out to put a hand behind Pepper's head in case she runs the risk of hitting it on the wall.
"If you really need someone to be there, I can go for you, but you need some rest. Do you want to lay down the rest of the way or me to help you move somewhere else or anything?"
Pepper leans her head back into his hand, heat radiating off her skin at a level Peter can feel even through her hair.
"...lay down fully, please." She lets outs a quiet exhale. "Have Tony take over the meeting. He can probably answer more questions about the product than I ever could."
"I wouldn't mind getting out of this building for a while. Are you hungry? There's a new Italian Place that opened up on 9th Avenue Tony's been pestering me to check out."
"I won't get us into an accident!" Katie pouts as she starts walking out of the room. "I am a great driver, I only crashed like once. That's it!" Katie exclaims.
Tony had promised her that she was cured. She had to be... but sometimes Pepper worried Extremis never did fully leave her system.
It was in the headaches, the occasional fevers, the pain she swore radiated from the injection points. Maybe it was all in her head, but today she couldn't stand whatever it was that plagued her.
Pepper politely excuses herself from a meeting she definitely needs to be in, rushing down the hall the moment the doors close. She slips into an empty meeting room, sliding to the ground with her back firmly against the wall. Focusing solely on slowing her breathing, Pepper doesn't notice someone come in behind her.
“Mom?” Katie asks looking worriedly at her mom. She had been looking for her mom to talk to her about the SI project she was working on and FRIDAY had told her that she was here. But she hadn’t expected to see Pepper like this.
“Mom, what’s going on? Are you ok?” Katie asks as she walks into the room making sure to close the door behind her.
"I wouldn't mind getting out of this building for a while. Are you hungry? There's a new Italian Place that opened up on 9th Avenue Tony's been pestering me to check out."
"I won't get us into an accident!" Katie pouts as she starts walking out of the room. "I am a great driver, I only crashed like once. That's it!" Katie exclaims.
Tony had promised her that she was cured. She had to be... but sometimes Pepper worried Extremis never did fully leave her system.
It was in the headaches, the occasional fevers, the pain she swore radiated from the injection points. Maybe it was all in her head, but today she couldn't stand whatever it was that plagued her.
Pepper politely excuses herself from a meeting she definitely needs to be in, rushing down the hall the moment the doors close. She slips into an empty meeting room, sliding to the ground with her back firmly against the wall. Focusing solely on slowing her breathing, Pepper doesn't notice someone come in behind her.
Peter had been picking something up for the interns from this floor. He's walking down the hallway when he sees Pepper rushing down it. He ducks into the meeting room she's in, eyes rounding with concern.
"Mom?" He comes to sit on the floor cross-legged, facing her and noting her breathing. "What's wrong?"
"Seems like a pretty bad headache..." Peter muses. "I thought you had an important meeting today." He shakes his head to drive that thought away. What's important is making his mom comfortable. "Do you want me to go with you to the penthouse? I can find some pain medicine for you while you lie down."
Tony had promised her that she was cured. She had to be... but sometimes Pepper worried Extremis never did fully leave her system.
It was in the headaches, the occasional fevers, the pain she swore radiated from the injection points. Maybe it was all in her head, but today she couldn't stand whatever it was that plagued her.
Pepper politely excuses herself from a meeting she definitely needs to be in, rushing down the hall the moment the doors close. She slips into an empty meeting room, sliding to the ground with her back firmly against the wall. Focusing solely on slowing her breathing, Pepper doesn't notice someone come in behind her.
“Mom?” Katie asks looking worriedly at her mom. She had been looking for her mom to talk to her about the SI project she was working on and FRIDAY had told her that she was here. But she hadn’t expected to see Pepper like this.
“Mom, what’s going on? Are you ok?” Katie asks as she walks into the room making sure to close the door behind her.
