Pepper's phone kept buzzing in her purse but the noise no longer seemed to register as she starred ahead, blinking numbly. She wasn't allowed to see him yet, and she'd all ready run out of tears, the back of her thumb pressed to her lip as she tried to process this. She wished she'd brought Anthony now. She wanted to hold him close. The purse buzzed again and she glanced down with a frown, finally registering. Everyone was waiting on her to tell them what to do. She clicked the phone off. She wasn't prepared to be the C.E.O. right now. She wasn't even prepared to be the wife.
He wasn't supposed to be working. And where was everyone else? How had they broken into a place like Stark Industries, let alone cut the power? They had systems in place for this. And what the hell had they been after that was worth this?
A doctor finally approached her, and Pepper stood, afraid to meet her eyes. "Mrs. Hogan, I'm sorry..." she began.