The next day those in Stark tower found themselves the same as yesterday. Tony was still very sick and they were no closer at finding the cause. Bruce and Steve had left to get more supplies from S.H.I.E.L.D, and to bring in more experts. Hopefully with fresh eyes and new tech, they'd be able to get at least something.

"Tony, are you hungry? Do you wanna eat something?" Pepper asked kneeling next to him. He was tired of being in bed so she took him to the lounge area. He sat watching tv, seemingly unaffected by the program.

"Uh, I can try." He said looking at the beautiful ginger with tired eyes. Pepper rubbed his leg soothingly.

"Ok, what do you want, I'll make it." She offered.

"Hmm, I'd love a cheeseburger." Pepper smiled. That's his favorite.

"The usual? From Burger King?" He simply nodded with a hint of a smile on his face.

"I don't know that I can trust you by yourself." She joked.

"Oh, you know me Pepper, I'm a model patient." He quipped, his voice was slow with fatigue. Pepper giggled and lowered her head. She looked up at him and saw how tired he was.

"Well, since Happy is with Bruce and Steve, I'll just order it and have them deliver." Pepper said while standing.

"They won't. They're a bunch of sticklers. Besides, it'd be good for you to get out of the house for a bit. Get some fresh air; especially since you've been in an enclosed area with me for several days." Tony gave her a smile.

She knew what he was doing. He was trying to convince her that he was ok. He knew she would probably figure it out; which she did. But, he tried anyway. He hated feeling vulnerable, especially in front of Pepper.

"I don't know, Tony."

"Hey, I'm probably gonna go lay down for a while anyway. They're slower than snails down there."

"Are you trying to get rid me?" For a moment, Tony's facial expression turned very serious.

"I would never... I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, Pepper." Pepper was taken aback. She'd never heard Tony talk like that before. That made her think that whatever was wrong with him was starting to affect his mind. For a split second she was terrified of that notion. She decided she would ask Bruce about it.

"I know, Tony. I don't know what I would do if I lost you either." They sat in a moment of silence.

"Okay, let's get you into bed. You need some rest. You better stay there while I'm gone." He rolled his eyes when she wasn't looking. She definitely saw him, but she didn't say anything.

"Where did Capsicle and Green rage monster go to?" Tony asked. Pepper looked at him with wide eyes. They told Tony that they were going to report to Füry. They were gonna bring back some medical supplies and some doctors from S.H.I.E.L.D.

"They're at S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. You don't remember them telling you?" Pepper asked softly, with worry clear in her voice. Tony looked at her with a confused look on his face.

"Pfft, I was half alseep when they told me." He's starting to have memory loss. Pepper knew he was hiding it. Tony'd be damned if he started losing his mind. Pepper knew it was affecting him more than he was letting on. She was definitely gonna have to tell Bruce.

"That explains a lot from this morning." She joked. Tony smiled at the quip. Pepper helped Tony get settled into the bed, and proceeded to leave. She stopped at the doorway when she heard her name.

"Pepper." She looked at Tony who looked at her with love and adoration. The expression took her by surprise.

"I love you." Pepper smiled almost immediately. He didn't do this very often so she took the moment in, savouring it.

"I love you too, Tony. I'll be back soon. Don't blow anything up while I'm gone." She jested. Tony smiled and closed his eyes.

ONE HOUR LATER

Happy dropped off Steve and Bruce at the door, then followed the S.H.I.E.L.D agents to the back to help unload supplies. Steve and Bruce carried what they could upstairs hurriedly to check on Tony. Tony would never know that Pepper had called from the taxi, as long as they didn't mention it.

Bruce and Steve took the long elevator ride to their flat in silence. They walked in and set the boxes and bags in the lab real quick and began to look for Tony.

"Tony!" Steve called.

"Pepper said he layed down for a bit." The two heroes walked to Tony and Pepper's bedroom but found no one in the bed. Bruce left to go check the rest of the complex. Steve looked around the room for a second, looking for... well anything really. Then heard the most gut wrenching sound he'd ever heard.

"Tony?" Steve started walking around. Steve heard that sound again as he neared the bathroom. He located where the sound came from and went in. He saw Tony's wheelchair on it side just outside the door. Tony was hunched over the toilet bowl emptying the contents of his stomach. But, steve knew his stomach was bare; which made it even worse.

"Tony." Steve said calmly while rushing over to Tony. Tony wreched again, not noticing Steve's presence. Steve placed a hand on Tony's back when he started to tip over.

"Whoa. Easy, Tony." Tony had stopped vomiting and was breathing very heavily. They sat there for a minute or two before Bruce came in looking for his fellow Avengers.

"Jesus. Tony, are you alright?" All Tony could do was shake his head. Bruce looked at Steve.

"Let's get him back into bed." Steve nodded and they carried Tony to the bed and settled him in.

"I'm gonna grab my kit. I wanna do another blood test." Tony didn't say a word. He just lay there his face scrunched up in pain. After Bruce was finished poking him Tony was left in the dark room. Steve and Bruce left for the kitchen. Just then, Pepper walked in.

"Hey guys." She saw the looks on their faces and her stomach plummeted.

"What happened?" She asked quickly.

"He's ok. He was throwing up when we got here. He's back in bed." Steve said, reassuring his friend. Pepper sighed in relief.

"What is wrong with him, Bruce? Do you have any idea what's happening to him yet?"

"No. But, with the tech that S.H.I.E.L.D loaned us, I'm hoping to figure it out. I've already taken some more blood samples." Steve walked over to Pepper and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Tony's strong. He'll hold on until we can figure this out." Pepper was grateful for his comforting words. She placed a hand on his in gratitude.

Suddenly J.A.R.V.I.S' voice came over the intercom.

"Miss, Potts. Mr. Stark needs some assistance." They were just about to go into the bedroom, thinking Tony was throwing up again. Boy were they wrong.

Out of the blue they saw Tony walk into the open space between the kitchen and living room. He had beeds of sweat on his brow. His complexion was grey, making his features seem even more sunken in than they were. They looked at him fearfully.

"Tony?"

"I-" Tony coughed.

"Tony what's wrong?" Pepper asked. She started to move slowly towards him.

Everything happened so fast. Tony grabbed his stomach as he threw up right then and there. Pepper and Steve rushed to Tony's side. Bruce ran around the counter ready to help. However, as soon as he rounded the corner, he saw it. Blood. Bruce alarmingly followed the three into the medical lab.

Tony was grunting in pain as they moved him onto the exam table. Pepper attended to Tony while Bruce pulled Steve over to the side. Steve looked at Bruce with a wild look on his face.

"Where did that energy come from? He's been way too weak to stand let alone walk?" Steve asked.

"I don't know. Something must've given him a jolt of adrenaline." Bruce looked at Steve alarmingly.

"What?" They spoke in hushed voices.

"Tony's getting worse." Steve's eye softened and he lowered his head.

"I need Dr. Cho's help in here." Steve got on the phone to call her in. Bruce began starting an I.V for Tony. He was breathing heavily and Pepper was brushing the sweat off his forehead with a rag that was nearby. Bruce gave him pain medication first, then a sedative.

"At this point, we've already ruled out everything that would cause all the symptoms. At least..." Bruce trailed off.

"What?" Bruce started his nervous tick again. Steve didn't like where this was going.

"Well, uh, we've ruled out everything here...on Earth." Steve was a little surprised. What was he talking about? Bruce went over and hooked him up to the vitals monitor.

"I need to stabilize him before we take more tests. We gotta do another MRI and CAT scan. His bleeding isn't from an injury. But, he can still turn septic if it continues."

"Septic?" Steve didn't know all these medical terms that he was used to hearing.

"Infection of the blood, where someone's own blood is poisoning them."

"How dangerous is it?" Steve asked.

"It can be fatal." Pepper wasn't a physician, but she had some medical knowledge. Bruce looked at her with sad eyes.

Steve's eyes widened slightly in shock. He looked at Tony who was slowly starting to calm down; thanks to the sedative.

"Dr. Banner?" Dr. Helen Cho entered the room in her lab coat ready to help her patient.

"Yes, okay we need an X-RAY, a CT scan and an MRI. I don't wanna leave a stone unturned." Dr. Cho looked at Bruce oddly.

"But, we've already done those tests, we-"

"Do them again!" Bruce cut her off. He didn't mean to yell. He covered his mouth and closed his eyes for a second. He looked straight at her.

"I'm so sorry. I'm just- im frustrated. I really thought we would've figured it out by now." Dr. Cho surprised him by coming closer to put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok. I understand. We will figure this out." She encouraged. Bruce gave a small nod. Dr. Cho nodded and proceeded to help Bruce with Tony. Pepper and Steve stepped out of the way and watched as they took Tony to the other lab.

As they watched the two doctors wheel Tony away, they couldn't help but feel...helpless. There was nothing they could do to help Tony. They tried to make him comfortable, at least while he's going through whatever this is. But, their hope was being snuffed out by this 'illness'. Every day was a battle for Tony, fighting for his life. The toll watching that fight it took on his friends and loved ones, was enormous. But, that didn't match the toll this was taking on Tony.

Steve put a comforting hand on Pepper's shoulder. She couldn't help the tears that escaped her eyes. Steve could think of only one thing to do, so he pulled his friend in for a hug. He held on to her trying to give her comfort. He made a silent promise to look after Pepper while Tony was sick.

Later that day the other heroes joined their saddened friends at Stark tower. They had already discussed the mission, and confirmed Steve's theory that they were H.Y.D.R.A. They were successful in apprehending the agents who sold the Chitauri weapons. They took down the criminals who bought said weapons on the black market.

"So, we still don't know what's killing him?" Clint asked agitated, sounding almost harsh. He was never good with patience when it came to situations such as these.

"Not yet. Bruce is running more tests." Steve answered standing in front of the four other Avengers. Clint and Nat were sitting on the sofa near the bar, and Thor was standing across from Steve. Thor had a puzzling look on his face, apparently thinking. Nat was hunched over, her elbows on her knees.

"Steve?" She knew there was something else. She learned his tell months ago.

"Tony's gotten worse. Something caused him to vomit blood."

"How? There's no way he was thrown that hard in that warehouse. I was there." Clint argued.

"Whatever this is, it's acting fast." Nat supplies.

"What? I've seen my fair share of these cases. " She explained leaning back, crossing her arms and her legs.

"But, there is something else. Something that everyone is afraid to suggest. Steve?" Nat looked at Steve expectantly. Clint looked between the two.

"Am I missing something here?" He asked looking around the room, his arms raised in a questioning manor. Without warning Thor's deep voice bellowed across the room.

"You don't think this is from Earth." It was more of a statement than a question. Steve sighed.

"No, we don't."

"What about that Chitauri spear that cut Tony?" Nat asked.

"No, those weapons would not cause such illness. They are only crafted to draw blood." Thor shot that suggestion down. But, he was nice about it.

Pepper was watching Tony in the MRI scanner from the observation room. Rhody walked in and stood next to her. He didn't say a word at first. He just stood there. She knew he was there. She also knew that they didn't need to exchange words to know what they were feeling. They both knew Tony well and they were family. It's hard on both of them to see him like this.

"Wait a minute guys. That sphere thing Tony found, could that be doing this? I mean it did fling him across the room." Clint asked using his arms again to exaggerate Tony flying across a big room.

"...It is possible... this sphere, what did it look like?" Thor asked moving to sit on the sofa near Clint. Steve even stepped a little closer.

"It was shaped like a sphere, but it had indents in it, like that..that ball from that wizard game from those magic movies...you know? The kid with the lightning scar on his head that didn't die when he should've...?"

"Harry Potter?" Steve asked. The others looked at him.

"What? We never had movies like that back in my day. It's pretty cool."

"Ookay, well do you know what I'm talking about?" Clint asked impatiently.

"Yeah, it's called a quaffle. The indents are supposed to make it stay in the air longer, and move faster." The other two were staring blankly at him.

"Uh, hang on a second." Steve left the room for a moment or two. Nat asked Clint how he knew about the wizard movies and he whispered so low Thor couldn't hear. Thankfully Steve returned seconds later with a pad and pencil. He took a few moments to sketch out what it looked like.

"Yup that's it. Except smaller, and without the triangle. Its a sphere, dude." Clint received a glare from Steve on his criticism.

"I believe I have seen this device before." Thor spoke. His face seemed troublesome, and his voice sounded of unimaginable defeat, and sorrow.

"What is it, Thor?" Clint asked shifting to look at Thor. Steve's face was contorted into that of worry and confusion. There was a hint of saddens. Nat was waiting for an answer.

"I don't know. I was only a child when I saw it. I remember it because after I found it, I noticed that my brother got sick. I was too young to know what was happening."

"This thing affected Loki?"

"The healers in our world uses what we call a soul forge. It must be how they were able to detect what it was doing and stop it."

"So it if can almost kill a Demi God, what can it do to a man?"

"It's too hard to tell. Humans are physiologically weaker than Asgardians."

"So how do we save him?" Was all Bruce managed to say. No one gave him an answer.

TO BE CONTINUED...