474/Bombshell Bonding

Bombshell Bonding
Date of Scene:	17 May 2017
Location:	New York City
Synopsis:	Pepper Potts is kidnapped! Only one person can help! Black Widow to the rescue. The women are forced to move beyond their history in a crisis.
Cast of Characters:	Black Widow (Romanoff), Pepper Potts

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Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
The attack came out of no where. There wasn't a chance to even scream. One minute she was fine. The next she was bound, gagged and thrown into a vehicle of some sort. By the space and the sounds around her, it may have been a van. Perhaps a closed in truck. What does it matter? The fact is she was taken and no one has said a word since she was kidnapped. Then she is being moved, lifted into a fireman's carry. The sounds change, metal grating on metal. The clang of something, echoing oddly. A squeaking protest of some sort of vermin disliking the distubance. Then the smell. Oh God, the smell which is enough to make anyone's stomach turn sour. It smells like a sewer. In time she is placed on a seat, her bonds removed. Her gag. Lastly her blindfold.

The huge stone or concrete chamber has several circular openings leading in, a moat of disgusting liquid surrounding the large square are where her seat is centered. The light is low, more emergency lighting high up on the walls but it's enough she'll be able to tell that yes, she is in a sewer. There are three men facing her, all dressed in black and wearing ski masks. One of them has a very large gun in his hand. Still they haven't said a word.

Pepper Potts has posed:
While Pepper had absolutely no clue what was going on, it didn't mean she didn't fight like the dickens. She tried to scream, to struggle, to kick, claw and make it as hard as possible to take her. Not that she much was succeeding, but she had to try. Her spike Prada shoes got into a few good nooks and crannies of bodies, before they were even taken off of her. It's all for naught, in the end. She's shoved into that little area and darkness. It's only there that she lets herself give up, fall into tears. Quiet, silent sobs, too proud to cry out again. But this felt like it really could be the end.

The smell gets to her. She turns her head, quickly puking up what little she had for a rushed lunch at the office earlier. That just makes things worse. She then looks up at the men, those masks, through watery eyes and green face. She looks shaken and a little bit broken, but she's fighting her bonds even as she sits in that chair. She tries to breathe through her mouth, not her nose. It doesn't much help. "...W-what....what do you want? Why do this? We... we have money.... we can pay. I can pay you..." SHe stammers out raggedly.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
The man on the left with the gun just watches her, his pale eyes cold as the ice they resemble. Her tears mean nothing. Her words mean nothing. "Already getting paid," he finally says in a voice as dead as his eyes. "To make sure you aren't in the picture next time Stark goes missing." He can monologue a little, he's earned the right after taking a Prada heel to the groin to the back of that van. It was only lack of air that kept him from letting her know how well she'd scored in her fighting. So yeah, he's going to enjoy this a lot. He starts to raise the gun...

There is a faint sound in the air, a sizzle of electricity. His arm stops where it is. He twitches once. Twice. His eyes roll up into his head and he falls face forward to the concrete. The gun he was holding skitters across the ground toward Pepper's feet.

The two other thugs look around with shouts of surprise, pulling out knives since they didn't get the good pick of the weapons for this job then snap their heads back toward their victim.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"I can pay you more. Whatever you're being paid, I've got more. It's not worth it. Iron Man will never let you sleep." Pepper tries to keep steel behind her voice, but she's terrified now. Terrified and sick. It's hard to sound intimidating when one just puked and one is pretty sure they have nothing in their hand to play. Pepper has no power here, and she's used to having the power. She blinks against another sting of tears behind her eyes, but tries not to give in. They cling to her lashes.

And then? There is a moment of hope. Her green eyes shoot wide, a touch of shock crossing her face as she turns her head, looking frantically about. "Tony?" She yelps in hope. Maybe he had a tracker on her, she could dream this time. He'd talked about it once and she told him no, it was creepy. But now she had hope.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
There is a PFFT sound like air being displaced, a minimal sounds but in the large chamber it carries. A grapple line lands between one of the men's legs, the hook expanding. With a jerk, the hook goes back and catches him around the ankles, sending him toppling to his knees, hands pinwheeling in the air on the way down. He ends up on all fours, the dagger sliding away to the edge of the mucky water. Now, the third man has decided enough is enough. He isn't getting paid enough to deal with someone who is fighting back. Pepper is forgotten. His partners are left in the dust. He hightails it for one of the sewer exits, running at top speed.

As the second man struggles to get his feet untangled from the grappling hook and line, Pepper's hero emerges from a tunnel.$e$eNo Iron Man. It's a diminutive figure in black who she knows very well, yet not at all. Natasha clears the moat with a diving roll then heads for the still conscious man, her expression dark. "Pepper, are you alright?" she asks but her gaze never leaves the moving man since he is still a threat.

Pepper Potts has posed:
The ragged looking blonde is, in truth, looking the worst that Natasha has EVER seen her. Make up smeared, eyes puffy, a bruise forming at her temple where she slammed into one of the men. But she doesn't seem to be actively bleeding anywhere and her eyes are responsive enough that she's probably not concussed. "Natal... Nat!" She catches herself, realizing that the woman's name that she knew really isn't her name. But there is pure relief in her tone, excitement to see her, continued shock, but mainly happiness. Pepper couldn't that angry with her.

Not when the woman was saving her life!

"I'm fine, fine...just... God, it's awful down here. Thank god you're here..." She half whimpers out, still trying to frantically get her own hands free. She tries to be a self rescuing princess, she's just not all that good at it. Not yet. Her green eyes flicker between Natasha and the last combatant, worry etching itself on her pale face.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Out of somewhere Natasha pulls a knife which she cuts those bonds with. Pepper is now free at least. The hard part is over. Just get the man into custody, call for help and escort her out. All in a day's work. She needs to evaluate Pepper but she can't do that until he's been neutralized. She doesn't bother with anything fancy. A kick to the head has the man falling over next to his body. She squats down, pulling zipties from somewhere and quickly binding the two men, arms and legs.

Only then does she walk over to Pepper, looking at the bruising, running her eyes over her former ...friend might be too much of a word. They might have been if things had been different. Isn't that always the way in Natasha's life? Might have. Would have. The work gets in the way. Keeps those things from happening. She reaches up and touches her radiocomm unit hidden just inside her ear canal. Then she frowns. She taps again. "Great. We're too far down and I'm getting no signal. If you can walk, we'll head for the surface and I can get someone to pick these losers up." All business, no touchy feely BFFs getting back together. She knows their last meeting was anything but good for the other woman and the gratitude for the rescue can only last so long so better to get her out sooner than later to avoid any drama.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"I...I can walk. God, you move fast. You're faster than Tony." That's a damn fine compliment from Pepper, considering the way she often thinks the sun shines out of Tony's very annoying ass. She flexes her fingertips thankfully as her hands are cut free, getting the feeling back in them and then happily stumbling up to her feet. They hadn't been kind in tying her, especially after the way she fought, but moving for a few moments will get the blood flowing again, "Yeah. I'm fine. Let's...let's get out of here. It's awful..." And then Pepper realizes what she's walking on. Sewage. They are in the sewers, and she has no shoes.

Somewhat abruptly, Pepper's head turns and she half pukes again. Not much left in her stomach, but this was the most disgusting situation she'd ever been in, probably in her life. "...Don't suppose you brought extra shoes?" She asks shakily, trying to put a laugh behind it, but she sounds a bit too desperate to be fully joking. She then moves up closer to Natasha, at least willing to start moving again. "...How... how did you know? Why are you here?" She sounds relieved still, but also shocked. She never dreamt Natasha would come back for her.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"You work in corporate America. You've slogged through way worse than this," Natasha says, a smirk appearing on her lips. "I'd offer mine but not the same size." With the woman being so much taller than her, they'd have to pull an evil-stepsister cutting off her toes to get in Cinderella's slipper for that to work. Probably not a suggestion she should make outloud. And they say she has no tact. She begins leading the way to the tunnel that she entered from. At the moat of muck, she is able to leap over and with Pepper's long legs, it should be an easy jump for the woman. Natasha waits to steady her if necessary then when they are together again, leads into the dark tunnel. She flicks on a flashlight attached to her gauntlets, lighting the way for them. They stay to the right side of the tunnel, on the narrow walkway and out of the sewage running down the center.

"I happened to be coming for a chat, to see if I could arrange another meeting with your big draconic friend. I got there just in time to see you get pulled into the van." There is an annoyed note to Natasha's voice, one that might seem to be directed at Pepper or the kidnappers. Hard to tell. In reality, it's aimed at herself for not being fast enough. "I had to trail and almost lost the van a couple of times but thankfully, I found where they stopped at a manhole. The rest, as they say, is history."

Pepper Potts has posed:
The leap across the muck of a stream makes Pepper whimper, wincing deeply even as she makes it, as she doesn't even want to imagine what would have happened if she fell. She still looks gray/green around the edges, but she's managing along side of the stronger, shorter woman. "I'm going to have to shower for five hours after this..." Pepper whines to herself, but she's carrying on. Crisis mode. She can manage, no matter how much she hates what she is doing.

It feels like it's taking far longer to get up than it did down, but when blinded and gaged one loses some sense of time. A thankful, quiet hand reaches out for just a moment, brushing against Natasha's arm gently, "...well... thank you. For... coming after me. It's not your job, not... any more. You really didn't have to. But... thank you." She means it, too, from the very depths of her heart. "I don't know how to repay you... I don't think money really matters to people in SHIELD. Am I wrong?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"There is nothing to repay me for," Natasha says, a little surprised at the touch on her arm. It's more friendly than she would expect of someone she's used. Unusual. It's so Pepper though. The Widow frowns as she continues on. "I know that it doesn't seem like it with our history but this is what I do. I help people when I can. Use the skills I have been blessed with..." Cursed with? Somedays it seems like it. "For the better good."

She stops very suddenly, putting back a hand to stop Pepper from taking another step. The beam of the flashlight is shifted to their feet, showing a tripwire. "They had the tunnel booby trapped. I didn't have time to scout properly trying to get to you in time. Step over carefully."

The faintest of rumbles goes through the tunnel. Then another louder, closer. The stonework around them cracks slightly, some dust drifting down on top of them. Natashe lets out a curse in Russian. "They're blowing the tunnels! Run!"

Pepper Potts has posed:
Maybe betrayed, yes, but it's still Pepper. The woman has issues holding grudges, even if she's justified a thousand times over. Her small palm gives Natasha's arm a single, almost too gentle squeeze before her fingertips drop away and she keeps double timing as fast as her muck covered, ripped stockinged feet can take her. "Well... I'm not... your charge, or anyone special. I still appreciate it." There is a tremble behind her voice that says how terrified she was. How much this means to her, even if she can't put it into words.

And then things are changing very quickly, Pepper nearly sets off that trip wire immediately, but stops herself right next to Natasha, gasping in surprise at the thing. "Trapped? God...why... I'm nothing special. Why me?" She geniunely seems confused, still nothing more than a secretary in her head. Even if she was a secretary that became CEO.

And then, suddenly, she hears the other rumbling. That's enough to make her purely panic. She turns as Natasha gives the order to run... and her feet go straight out from under her, the floor too slick and she wasn't ready to have to book it. Down she goes, hard, straight onto that tripwire. The explosion around them is defeaning and violent, but not immediately lethal. The explosives were built into the walls, not directly around them. But it's cement, crumbling structure, and pure force shoved into both of them. It's not going to be pretty.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
It's like everything goes in slow motion. Natasha sees Pepper slip and she reaches out, trying to catch her. It's like she's moving through quicksand, her movements too slow, not enough. Never enough. But just before Pepper actually hits the wire is when the charges go off. It wasn't the other woman's fault. It was a remote trigger. Not that Pepper will probably realize that. If either of them can realize anything after this.

Oh this is going to hurt a lot.

Since she can't stop the explosion from coming, she does the only other thing she can. She flings herself atop Pepper as she's falling, covering as much of the other woman with her own body as she can while the tunnel around them collapses.

When the rumbling finally ends, there the tunnel is mostly blocked on either end and there is a pile of rubble where the women were a moment before. Dust floats in the air, making it hard to breathe. If anyone is breathing. A few rocks fall as the debris settles, more rumbling explosions happening further away, moving off into the distance as the rest of the charges go off in other tunnels.

Beneath the rubble there is the tiniest of movements. A few rocks move. Then Natasha manages to roll a little, dislodging a few of the pieces of cement and giving a chance for Pepper to move if she's even alive.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Whether Pepper will realize it wasn't her fault or not, only time will tell. Right now, she had no time to do anything. There was never enough time. Her scream is drown out by the echoing violence of the explosions around them and the collapse of the tunnel. Screams of pain, of shock, pure panic. Even the cool as a cucumber Pepper Potts can break. This is a thing which has broken her.

It feels like there is violence on every side of them, but the very worst of it is protected by something else. Another body, softer and protective. Pepper doesn't even have time to react to Natasha's selfless act, except for instinctively pressing her head between the woman's shoulder blades. Despite everything, she trusts Natasha. With her life, clearly.

And then it's all over. The dust settling, rocks and infrastructure crumbling around them. Pepper doesn't move beneath Natasha for a few moments. Maybe it's too late, maybe something got her at just the right angle. Seconds feel like hours with the redhead trapped beneath Natasha's body, but then there is the faintest of coughs. Pepper's head moves against her shoulders. She gives a little moan, trying to shift more. Everything hurts. "...N-nat?" She rasps faintly.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
There isn't any more sound or movement from Natasha. She is still half on top of Pepper, rubble covering half her body. Her legs are almost completely buried. She lays there for long moments with her eyes closed but she's breathing. In truth, she's awake and she is wishing she wasn't. The pain is extreme. All of her hurts, a mass of bruises, cuts and scratches. But somewhere in the rubble covering her legs, the pain has her wanting to scream. It is only through discipline and years of training that she isn't screaming her head off. Something there is bad. Seriously bad. It's not a broken bone unless it's a compound fracture.

There is a wet sticky feeling atop her head, top back area. Probably a head bleed which always look worse than they actually are. It doesn't feel severe. Probably a concussion.

She finishes her self assessment and forces her eyes open, pupils not adjusting as quickly as they should. She brings her arm up and sends a prayer of thanks that the flashlight on her gauntlet is still working. It gives them a little light.

When she speaks, her voice is tight. "Pepper? Are you okay? Can you get out?"

Pepper Potts has posed:
"I-I...don't know..." Pepper breathes out, not having the years of training that Natasha does. Not having EVER been in pain like this before, even the few times things got messy with Tony. She has no clue how to process all of this and her body is tripping through from pain to shock quite quickly. Natasha might be able to feel the faint tremble of the woman beneath her, but then again, Nat might be in far too much pain for that.

Pepper tries to remember to breathe, to keep it slow, but panic is forcing her breath shallow and fast. This is so far from a business crisis. This is something she has no clue how to handle. "...A-are...are you okay? I feel blood. Oh god, you're bleeding..." Pepper's head turns, looking up to see Natasha out of the corner of her eye and comprehending just how much blood there is. Even if it's facial wound, it does bleed like mad. Pepper then tries to very faintly shimmy forward, a whimper of pain crossing her throat. It all hurts. But she can move. "I... I can get... forward, I think."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"The head looks worse than it is," Natasha tells her quickly, giving a tight lipped smile. "You're doing just fine. Are you bleeding? Anything feel broken? You're gonna hurt. I just need to assess you." The smaller woman tries to roll a little more, to give Pepper the space she needs so she can wiggle free of the debris. She brings the flashlight around, shining it on the other woman and looking for anything worse than cuts.

When there is enough space, she starts to try and shift her legs. It was a mistake. That tight lipped smile goes a little white around the edges. She inhales quickly through her nose, biting her tongue literally to keep from making a noise. Mentally, she tries to control it. To push it back. But this time, she's finding that hard to do.

"You're doing great, Pepper," she says reassuringly, knowing the other woman isn't used to being in this type of situation. Hell, she isn't either but at least she's been hurt more times than she can count. Pepper, no doubt, hasn't.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Definitely bleeding in several places, nothing looks dramatic enough on Pepper to be life threatening right now. Her clothes are ripped and when she moves her breath takes in in a way that probably implies she's got at least a cracked rib or two, but nothing near so obviously bad as Natasha. She just doesn't know how to handle this. It's Natasha's reassuring voice that has her keep going, especially as she hears the pain in the experience agent's tone. "I...I just... I can do it..." She's trying to convince herself as much as Nat.

It's a few more pained moments of shifting, but Pepper manages to pull herself out into the little nook that has been made by luck, their bodies, and the cave in. SHe's at least free now. She looks like a broken and ragged doll, but she's free. Her panicked green eyes flicker down, trying to take in more of Natasha. "You...you're hurt bad, aren't you? Let me see it. I... I can at least tie things off. I... won't have you bleed out here. You can't. We... we're both getting out..."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Of course you can do it," Natasha says with another of those tight smiles. She isn't trying to get out of the rubble. She's doing her best not to move her lower body at all. At first she though it wa the weight but she's beginning to realize that she couldn't get out if she tried. She glances down her torso to where the rubble is, seeing a few pieces of rebar sticking out of the large pieces of concrete. Yeah , this is bad.

Natasha starts to move some of the smaller pieces of rubble, every time she shifts or turns her upper body the pain flaring in her lower. When the smaller pieces are gone, the problem becomes clear. Her left leg has been penetrated by three pieces of rebar stuck in the large piece of concrete. They go all the way through the outside of the thigh. Upon impact with the floor of the tunnel, the rebar bent upwards. There is no way to remove it without cutting her out. "Hm, not sure that you'll be able to tie anything off here," she mutters. The bleeding is not as bad as one might expect but once the bars are removed, it'll be worse. "I think you're going to be the one getting us out of this." She looks to Pepper as she takes off her left gauntlet, the one with the flashlight beam. "Can you take a look around? See if you'll be able to get down the tunnel at all?" She offers it to Pepper.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper is not going to puke. She's not going to puke. She repeats that thought over and over in her head, even if she goes entirely gray ashen pale seeing the state of Natasha's leg. She's never seen an injury like that up close before, but it's enough to kick her crisis mode up another notch. She reaches one shaking hand out, trying to take Natasha's palm and give it a tight, firm squeeze. "I...I can do this. I won't let you die here. I... I promise. You just have to talk me through it. I'll get us out. I promise." Her fingertips squeeze tighter a moment, trying to reassure soul-deep, a promise between friends. Even if they weren't, this mattered to Pepper.

Then her hand gently lets go, green eyes turning backwards as she tries to look out of the pile of rubble they are in. "Here...let me see..." She accepts the gauntlet, even if it leaves Nat in darkness, trying to peer past the rubble. "I...I think I can see ceilign further down. If I can push a few of these free, I should be able to..." But she doesn't exactly have a lot of strength. Hopefully adrenaline will help her as she starts trying to shoulder some of the bigger bits of rubble. ANother pained whimper escapes her lips, but she doesn't give up.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Hearing that sound, Natasha reaches out a hand to touch Pepper's back. A comforting moment like the one she had just been offered. While they hadn't been friends, they could've been. That was the worst part. She actually admired the woman who handled business so easily. Had a mind for it. Could keep Tony Stark in check like no one else. Yet still was one of the nicest people she had ever met which seemed at odds with the world of cutthroat business. She doesn't want that scarred from this and she fears it will be. So she helps the only way she knows how. "I'll be alright once we get someone here to get this stuff off." Out, but she's not saying that word. "I have something that might help."

She touches a spot on the gauntlet she still wears. A small baton shaped piece slides out of a hidden compartment. She pulls it out and with a flick of her wrist, it extends to about two feet and a handle snaps out of the side. "Use this for leverage," she say, offering the tonfa.

Pepper Potts has posed:
The oddly gentle touch from Natasha's hand catches Pepper off guard. She never expected tenderness from this woman, this woman who nominally betrayed her and yet just nearly got herself killed trying to save Pepper's life. There are layers here the green eyed secretary can't entirely understand, but she's seeing them. She looks back to Natasha, expression tender, thankful... A bit weirdly longing. "I'm getting *us* out of here. I promise." She huskily murmurs to Nat, squeezing her hand once more.

And then that baton comes out and she blinks, a hint surprised at all the things Natasha HAS at her disposal. Pepper grabs at it, experimenting with the weight for a few heartbeats before reaching forward and using it to lever some of the bigger pieces against other ones to push them aside. It definitely helped her put her back into it more. The grinding of concrete pieces can be heard as a few others fall to the side. "...Nnph... god..." SHe whimpers, ribs crying out at every motion. But she couldn't stop, not now, not while adrenaline is going. Looking back to Natasha's wounded body gives her another hit, like a mother with an injured child, and she uses that rush to push the largest piece of wall free. It collapses open, exposing another tunnel to her side.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
If she only knew what that tonfa and gauntlet she was given could do. Not that she'll be able to trigger anything accidentally. There are failsafes built in should Natasha not be in control of the weapons.

Watching Pepper work, able to read by her body language and breathing, she knows something is cracked in there. Perhaps broken. Hard to tell without hands on or an x-ray but that's the impression she gets. Her admiration for the woman grows. She doesn't stop. She doesn't give up. Even when she wimpers in pain, she fights through it, focused. She is holding it together, maybe by hope and a prayer alone, but she is. When many would have already crumbled. Most civilians would be curled up in the space they had open to them, waiting for the 'hero' to get them out. But not Pepper.

She is the hero here.

Natasha doesn't realize the other woman has an eye on more space, so she speaks, trying to offer something. "I know you feel betrayed. By what I am. But I want you to know I never meant to hurt you, Pepper. It was a job to play the role but that doesn't change how it effected you. I'm sorry."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Those words stop Pepper. Or maybe it's the pain in her side, it's fairly fierce. But the look in her eyes, as she gazes back to Natasha, isn't about physical pain. Pepper does stop for a heartbeat or two, breath caught in her throat, a little ragged, but she's trying to not collapse. If she stops, she's not going to get back up. So, she remains standing, but she looks down into the woman's eyes. "...Nat... it... I just... You were a friend. I *want* you to... be my friend. I don't have many of those, so... to see you walk out like that?... Fuck. I... guess I was just a puppet. I was stupid enough to... want a friend. That hasn't changed..." Pepper looks like she wants to say more, her throat tight, but she looks back over her shoulder to the corridor she can see.

"But... we can talk when you're not bleeding massively. I think I got through to another tunnel. Do... do you have a comm unit I can call for help? I don't want to just leave you here..." Pepper clearly still cares, torn between limping for both of their freedom and not letting Natasha bleed and shiver in pain all alone.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Although she wants to argue, wants to explain that Pepper wasn't a puppet, she knows this isn't the time. There will be time later. She hopes. All depends on if Pepper manages to get them help before she bleeds out. The rebar keeps the wound mostly blocked so it's more a trickle but still. Too long and the other woman will be right.

"Here," she says, reaching up and pulling the small comm unit out of her ear. She flicks a tiny switch on it, setting it so that it's won't have to be inserted into Pepper's ear. She will be able to talk to it and the audio will come out loud enough to be heard without sharing ear wax. Ew.

"This is a direct like to SHIELD. You shouldn't have to go all the way up to the surface. Just a little closer than we are now."

Pepper Potts has posed:
It's leaving Natasha like this which breaks Pepper more than anything. She can handle the injuries, the pain, adrenaline and shock is doing quite nicely to push those things aside. But leaving a friend in this state? That kills her. Pepper kneels down gently by Nat, accepting that comm unit with a gentle squeeze of her hand. She blinks against a strange sting of tears behind her eyes. "Thanks..." She breaths out softly.

Then she looks back over her shoulder, into the ceiling, to where she might be able to get them escape. "I won't be long. I'll call them and come right back. I promise. Just... promise me you will stay awake. Be here when I get back. Stay awake for me and we can get through everything else. Promise?" Pepper doesn't look like she's leaving until she gets that promise.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"I'm not going anywhere," Natasha quips, a wry grin on her face. Physically of course she isn't. This is more a promise of her staying around to fight another day than about their current predicament. "I wont let myself sleep. I'm not even feeling that way yet." When the adrenaline wanes, it'll be another story. She's not sure she can keep that promise but she's going to try. Sleeping would be the worst possible thing at the moment. "But be careful, Pepper. I doubt there's any tripwires left and I'm sure the guys are long gone but just in case. Don't rush, much as you want to. Slow and steady. Okay?" She puts a gentle hand on the other woman's arm again, giving a careful squeeze.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"O-okay. Alright. Just... hold on. I'll be back. Hold on..." Pepper breathes out, giving Natasha's hand one last squeeze before relcutantly letting go. She gives another little whimper as she stands up, more of the pain setting in, but she can't give up yet. She has to keep moving. So, she limps forward, pulling herself up and over the rubble pile and stumbling down into the next tunnel over. Once there, she's moving as fast as her eyes will let her see there are no trip wires around. Every five feet, she's trying to comm..."Virginia Potts to SHIELD, Please come in. SHIELD Agents, please come in, this is Virigina Potts." She repeats it, over and over. HOpefully it won't be too long.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
It's a good seventy feet before there is a crackling sound through the comm. "...Identify....SHIELD operatives only...get off...." Apparently they think they've got someone who is on a wrong frequency. They are also just slightly out of range. Ten more feet and it's clear. "Identify. This channel is for SHIELD operatives only. If you are not a SHIELD operative, get off this frequency now." Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"My name is Virignia Potts... I've got Natasha Romanova's comm unit. She was trying to rescue me from kidnappers when the area blew up around us. I need an extraction team and a medic for Natasha Romanova. DO you copy? I...I don't have her code. But she's hurt. Bad. We need someone here ten minutes ago." Pepper's voice crackles a bit with the threat of tears and panic that these people might not take her seriously.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Nothing.

The silence stretches out for what seems an eternity but is really less than a minute.

When the next transmission comes through, the voice is different. This is a woman and her tone is clipped and sure. "Miss Potts, we have identified the comm unit you have as belonging to Agent Romanova. GPS activated. You're...underground?" She sounds a little surrpised. "We have an extraction team on the way. Medical personnel dispatched. Are you injured?" While the woman is precise and businesslike, there is a hint of concern in her tone when she asks about Pepper.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"Not bad. Not as bad as Natal... Nat. Just send people. Quick. I'm going to leave the comm here so it can be traced. We're about 100 feet south of here. Yell when you get to the comm, I'll here you. I'm going back for her..." Pepper would rather stay on the phone with emergency personnel. That's what a good girl is SUPPOSED to do in an emergency. But she's not leaving Natasha alone. So, having given all the information, she leans over to set the comm unit on the ground in a secure location.

With that done, and what last fingers of adrenaline are left in her, Pepper begins to jog-limp her way back in the direction of the largest pile of rubble, where the walls between the two tunnels collapsed. She calls raggedly as she goes, "Natasha!! Nat! Help is coming...god, Nat... be awake still..." Getting down to that lower area was going to be more of a challenge. SHe uses the baton to help balance herself, but she doesn't stop.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Pepper," comes the voice from the darkness ahead, where Natasha waits. "Stop. I'm okay." Now isn't that the lie of the century. "You're going to hurt yourself worse." She manages to sound bossy despite the tiredness in her voice. She can't believe the woman is coming back. She has to try to stop her, to keep her from doing something stupid like climbing back into this mess. There could still be collapses and she doesn't want Pepper back in the danger zone.

"Why don't you sit where you're at? We can talk until they arrive." Which shouldn't be long. Natasha has managed to reach that mental plateau, using meditation techniques to focus her mind. As the adrenaline is fading, the pain is growing and she has to keep running through the exercises in her head, like she was taught in training. And now, now she's strating to get a little tired. So the talking will help.

On the streets of the city above, SHIELD emergency vehicles are screaming their way toward the trapped pair.

Pepper Potts has posed:
As adrenaline begins to cut out, and it really is going to die out soon, Pepper's ankle protests almost as much as her ribs. She's never been this injured in her life. And hearing Natasha's voice confirming that the woman is still awake is enough to slow her down from the climb. She half stumbles, swearing lightly, before finally pausing halfway down the rubble pile. She could hear Nat from here and watch for the SHIELD lights. It would have to do.

"...F-fine... fine. I'll wait. I can see the other tunnel easier from here. Hopefully... hopefully they won't be long. But you are staying with me. Going to talk to me until they get here, alright? I demand it. I mean, I'm not still your boss but... we're going to pretend for a bit. I'm your boss and i'm ordering you to stay awake. Because... dammit... We were friends. I'm not letting you go." Pepper's voice is the rambling, half tearful tone of someone who is terrified and desperate not to mess this up. Not to lose her friend. So she's talking to fill space with all the terrified, strange things her heart wants to say.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Natasha actually closes her eyes, listening to the other woman's voice. Her tone. She's still holding it together but just barely. Her chuckle is calculated, a soft laugh carrying out from the dark. "If you're my boss again, I want a damn raise for this."

She waits a moment before she continues, forcing her eyes open to stare at the nothingness around her. Eyes closed is too tempting to just doze off.

"If we can both move past what happened, we maybe could still be friends," she finally says, much more seriously than before. "I don't have many of those either."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"...Anything. If you come back to work... 80,000 a year. I promise. And full benefits. And a ten grand bonus..." Pepper offers, really only half joking. She needed a head like Nat's, and she did miss the woman. A half drunk on the last bits of shock laugh escapes her lips as well. But she's forcing herself to stay upright, keeping watch, determined to remain put together until the extraction team got there. She always could handle a crisis. It was afterwards when she went to pieces.

"...I... I don't either. And I guess I'm...boring, compared to SHIELD. Everything else you do. But... God, Nat. I don't know... I liked getting drinks with you. You didn't... well, it felt like you didn't bullshit me. Not about work stuff. Just about... personal things." She sighs quietly, "...was all that talk about running the company just buttering me up?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Every word of that was true," Natasha tells her when she hears that tone, that little thing that shows how much relies on the answer. "I still believe in you. You have an amazing mind and spirit." She reaches up a hand in the dark, feeling the wound on her scalp to find it's stopped bleeding. Definitely worse looking than it is. "And you aren't boring, Pepper. You're a genuinely good person. You care. You give of yourself. It's the exact opposite of me. But, I enjoyed spending time with you," she admits in a low voice that is almost lost in the space between them.

Pepper Potts has posed:
While Pepper had been rambling, the honest admission from Natasha was enough to make her quiet for several heartbeats. Her chest tightens a hint more, throat thick with emotions she wasn't expecting tonight. Maybe it was just dust in the air, but probably not. She draws in a deep, shaking breath. "...I'd... like to get to know the real Natasha. If you're willing. I know... there are SHIELD things. I won't ask about... classified stuff. But everything else. Who you were... how you got here... If you are willing to share. And I'll answer questions too. I... think that's how friendship starts. Getting to know each other..."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"I'm not sure how good I'd be at that," Natasha admits in that same low tone. "It's not something I do. But, I'm willing to try."

Which is when there is a sound at the far end of the tunnel, away from the collapsed section. Down near where Pepper had left her comm unit. SHIELD agents come down the tunnel in a standard two-by-two formation, weapons at the ready, floodlights filling the space ahead of them as they move closer to where the two women are.

Pepper Potts has posed:
"I'm holding you to that. Trying...is all I ask." Now Natasha REALLY had to survive. THey were going to work on this friendship thing and that would kill Pepper if she lost Nat just as she thought they had a chance. THe moment she hears those agents, she lets out a brief of relief, "HERE! We're over here!" She waves her arms, yelling towards them desperately hopeful. She's stumbling up to her feet again... trying to get there attention, but that motion makes the whole world spin.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"There she is!" comes the voice from one of the men. The sound of their feet get louder as they rush toward Pepper. Behind the first group come the medical squads, carrying backboards so that they will be able to get the women out if their injuries are too severe for them to walk. They agents stop by Pepper, paramedics rushing to her while the others begin their ascent to the top of the pile, shining flashlights to where Natasha is laying.

The conversation for the two women is over for now. It's all the bustle of agents trying to get Pepper to safety while they assess how to get Natasha out of the debris.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper simply stood up too fast. Or, perhaps it's the last fingers of adrenaline leaving her, the rush of relief that she's seeing help. Or simple shock finally, fully taking over. But as fast as she's stood, she's sinking back down. FOrtunately, there is a medic right there. She'll be scooped up and out to safety quicker than Natasha is, but she's not pinned to rebar. At least both of them are headed out to being safe and sound now...