Los Angeles, Malibu, Stark Villa.
Pepper Potts felt like she was about to break down.
It was the third night since Tony Stark went missing, 2:17 AM. She was sitting on that $80,000 Italian leather sofa in the Villa's living room, holding her third cup of cold coffee.
A laptop was open on her lap, and on the screen was the latest satellite scan report sent by S.H.I.E.L.D. through "special channels"—still no results.
The coffee table next to her was piled high with documents: stock analysis for Stark Industries, minutes from emergency board meetings, search and rescue progress updates from the Military, and dozens of media inquiries she needed to handle.
She hadn't closed her eyes for nearly seventy-two hours.
Her eyes were dry and aching, the veins in her temples were throbbing, but she couldn't sleep.
Tony was missing, Howard and Maria were anxiously waiting for news in Florida, and although Obadiah Stane appeared to be coordinating everything on the surface, Pepper could sense a certain... strangeness about him.
The entire Stark empire was currently hanging by a thread, and she was the only one still desperately holding onto the end of it.
"Miss Potts." The voice of the AI, Jarvis, came through the Villa's sound system, gentle and calm.
"Colonel Rhodes is on the secure line, channel three. He insists on speaking with you."
Pepper took a deep breath, set the coffee cup on the coffee table, and reached for the landline receiver next to her: "Put him through."
"Pepper." James Rhodes' voice came through the receiver, with the sound of helicopter rotor noise in the background.
"We searched the Gami area again, expanding the radius by fifty kilometers. We found some... traces, but none of them are Tony's."
"What kind of traces?" Pepper gripped the receiver tightly.
"Some tire tracks heading northeast, but they disappeared after entering the mountains. The terrain there is too complex; satellites can't capture it, and drones can't get in." Rhodes' voice was filled with exhaustion and frustration.
"Pepper, I'm so sorry. We've used every resource available, but..."
"But he's still alive!" Pepper interrupted him, her voice trembling slightly but exceptionally firm.
"I can feel it. A man like Tony... he won't die so easily."
There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds. "I hope so too. We will keep looking, I promise you, but Pepper... you need to be prepared. It's already been three days. In this environment, if he was kidnapped, then..."
"He won't die." Pepper repeated, more like she was trying to convince herself.
After hanging up, she slumped into the sofa and covered her face with her hands.
Tears finally welled up, not out of weakness, but because of the fear, pressure, and helplessness that had built up over the last three days.
Tony Stark, that arrogant, conceited, willful man—but also the man she had known and worked for for years, who in some ways had become the most important part of her life—was now missing, his fate unknown.
And apart from sitting here waiting for a phone call, there was nothing she could do.
Outside the window, the faint sound of the Pacific night tide could be heard.
The Villa was built on the edge of a cliff, with an eighty-foot steep rock face and black seawater below.
Tony liked it here; he said the view helped him think better.
Pepper looked up, gazing out the floor-to-ceiling windows. The night sky was clear, the stars sparse, and a waning crescent moon hung low over the horizon, casting broken silver light onto the black sea.
Then she saw a point of light.
At first, she thought it was a hallucination; she was too tired, her eyes were playing tricks on her.
But that point of light grew brighter and larger, speeding toward the Villa from the distant horizon.
It wasn't a plane, it wasn't a helicopter; the thing had no sound, no navigation lights, just a warm, golden glow, carving a graceful arc through the night sky.
Pepper stood up abruptly, knocking over the coffee cup onto the carpet; the dark brown liquid quickly soaked into the expensive Persian rug.
But she didn't notice at all; her entire focus was concentrated on the glowing orb drawing closer outside the window.
The orb slowed down above the Villa, hovered for a moment, and then slowly descended onto the wide terrace facing the sea.
The light gradually faded, revealing three figures inside.
Pepper's breath hitched.
Standing in the middle was Mavuika. Pepper had known her true identity for years; after all, she was the person Tony was closest to besides his parents.
Pepper had thought Tony was crazy at the time, until one day when Mavuika came to the Villa to find Tony, and Pepper saw with her own eyes her summon fire out of thin air to help Tony smelt metal...
Now, Mavuika was dressed in casual clothes, her golden-red hair fluttering in the night wind, with tiny golden sparks still lingering around her.
Her left hand was supporting a thin man wearing broken glasses, and her right hand was supporting...
"Tony!" Pepper screamed, not with the respect of an assistant for her boss, but with the instinctive reaction of someone seeing a loved one return.
She rushed toward the terrace, pulling the glass door open violently.
The night wind rushed into the living room, messing up her hair and the documents, but she didn't care at all.
Tony Stark stood beside Mavuika, looking absolutely terrible.
That favorite Armani suit of his was reduced to rags, stained with grease, sand, and dried, blackened blood.
His face had new and old bruises, the corners of his mouth were split, his eyes were sunken, and he was so thin he was almost unrecognizable.
But the most shocking thing was his chest; there was a metal device embedded in his flesh, shimmering with a cold, hard luster in the moonlight, the surrounding skin swollen and festering, making Pepper's heart tighten sharply.
But he was alive, he was breathing.
His eyes were open, and although bloodshot, they were still those familiar brown eyes, a mix of arrogance and cynicism.
"Hey, Pepper." Tony spoke, his voice as raspy as sandpaper rubbing together, but his tone still carried a hint of teasing.
"I'm back. Is there any coffee and cheeseburgers at home? I haven't had a proper meal in three days."
Pepper rushed to Tony, her hands trembling as she wanted to hug him, but she didn't dare to touch him.
He looked too fragile, as if he would shatter at the slightest touch. Her gaze moved back and forth between Tony's face and his chest, and her tears finally broke the dam.
"Tony... your chest... oh my god, you..."
"I'm fine, Pepper, really." Tony tried to smile, but it pulled at the wound on the corner of his mouth, making him gasp in pain.
"This is Ethan; he saved my life. Mavuika doesn't need much introduction, right? She pulled me out of that hellhole. Alright, can you let us in first? I can barely stand."
Pepper finally snapped out of it and quickly stepped aside: "I-I'm sorry, come in! You need a Doctor, I'll call a Doctor right away..."
"No Doctor." Tony walked into the living room, supported by Mavuika, every step looking difficult.
"I have Jarvis. Jarvis, scan my vital signs, formulate a treatment plan, and prioritize treating the infection and nutritional replenishment."