Her world was a formless void of pink bliss.
And then it was gone and Pepper Potts emerged from the fog.
She remembered Maria Hill, Natasha Romanov aka’ Black Widow and Victoria Hand.
The mission they needed her help for and assurances of its ease.
She remembered BTI and its silly slutty secretary with the huge fake boobs.
BTI’s owner Mr. Fink, his assistant Manute, the elevator and----
Her memory was a jumble of images and sensations and sweet smells.
Pepper shot to her feet. Or she would have if she’d been able to:
Pepper Potts found herself in a cold metal chair bound at the wrists and ankles.
There was something drawn tight around her chest---a strap?
Pepper couldn’t tell. When she tried to move her head to look down she realized there was something around it.
Like a large bowl or Helmut that came down to above ridge of her brow.
There was something else pressed against the base of her skull, cold and made from either metal or plastic.
Wiggling her head as much as she could, she guessed it was spherical shape the size of a baseball from the way it felt against her skin.
She jerked her body to test her restraints but they refused to budge.
Sighing in disappointment, she then decided to get her bearings the best she could.
There wasn’t much to see. The only light was harsh white fluorescents from somewhere above that fell off quickly into darkness.
Pepper had a sense of movement in the dark but it could have also been her imagination.
She bit her lip resisting the urge to cuss and scream. Pepper closed her eyes and steadied her breathing.
Now wasn’t the time to lose it; Tony Stark wouldn’t lose it so neither would she.
Besides, Hill and the Black Widow were still wired in.
Pepper had no doubt that any minute Natasha would be busting in leading the Cape Killers in some balls-to-the-walls kick ass glory.
There was a click and Pepper felt the chair vibrate under her.
The sphere at the base of her neck began to hum and she noticed it grow colder to the touch.
Then the helmet began emitting a low humming noise that sounded like a mix between white static and a dial tone.
A light switched on in the dark in front of her.
It was high up, maybe 10 or 15 feet off the ground Pepper guessed the best she could.
It was a pink neon sign and Pepper blinked and furrowed her brow unsure of what to make of it:
a bright pink silhouette shape of a large breasted woman on her knees.
Beneath it was “BIMBO-TECH INDUSTRIES.”
A voice began speaking to her through a loud speaker, it was crisp and loud and that of Mr. Fink’s assistant Manute.
“Bimbo. Tech. Industries.” He said delivering each word like it was a punch line.
“B. T. I.”
“What is this?” Pepper angrily demanded.
“Where is Victoria Hand?”
Manute chuckled.
“Your friend. She has an appointment to make. As for all this?
Isn’t that kind of obvious?” He laughed again.
“I mean there’s the company logo.” Off her angry look he continued “It doesn’t matter—
“What do you mean it doesn’t matter?”
Pepper pleaded cutting him off.
Manute audibly sighed and replied “Because soon, you won’t care.
You’ll have new….desires. But don’t worry, you’ll be much happier.”
Manute paused for a second, and then he restarted his voice cool and professional. “This Ms. Potts?
This is step number one: The mind”
Before Pepper could say something the chair roared to life and everything exploded.