Breathing In Clouds

Hello - this is a new story, so please review. I will be updating regularly.

It will not be too explicit, but will contain mature themes (rape/non-con and the aftermath of that) but it is about friendship as well. It's set anywhere after Iron Man 3 as Tony no longer has the arc reactor, but it's in no specific time.

I do not own Marvel/The Avengers.

(Sorry if there is a formatting problem in the first few chapters, but I think it's mostly corrected now)

Chapter 1

He groaned. Slowly, he came back to consciousness, trying to regain his senses around him. He winced in pain as he tried to lift himself up with his hands; he was face down on the hard ground.

"Uhh…whaa?" He mumbled, looking around the darkened alleyway, but his vision was blurred. He realised this was probably due to the banging that seemed to be going on in his head, which subsided his thoughts as he fell to the ground again limply.

Footsteps drawing in on him told him that he wasn't alone. What had happened again? He knew it was in the back of his mind, but…Jeez, the pain! His head, and his torso, and his whole body just ached.

"You know Tony Stark, this has been fun," a rough male voice whispered in his ear and he grabbed Tony by the hair and yanked him up. He squealed in pain but was finding it hard to open his eyes to look at his apparent assailant. The man then kicked Tony over with such force that he landed on his back. His mouth went into an O-shape, wincing inwardly at the painas the wind was knocked out of him. Through his blurry vision he saw a tall man and woman with long blonde hair.

"I trust you'll have the $20 million in our bank account within the week. If not, you'll be hearing from us again Stark."

He recognised that voice.

Then it all came to him.

Out for a drink. Rhodey left early, something about a family emergency?

Blonde woman was eyeing him at the bar. He had had enough for the night.

Walked out of the bar.

Blow to the head.

Dark room. Blow to the stomach.

Reached for his phone. Rough hands grabbed it and threw it at… at the wall?

Or his head?

More blows from rough hands and also from slender, smoother hands.

He had fought back.

Bad idea.

"You hear that, Stark?" he was whisked back to the present as blonde hair covered his face and the woman he recognised hissed in his ear. He looked at her and she smiled wickedly.

"You bi-"

Tony was cut off as she suddenly reached down and bit his shoulder.

"AH! Get - get off me!" Tony stuttered as he tried to push her off only to be kicked again by the man and Tony groaned again. He only then realised that the woman was sliding her hand underneath tony to put something like paper - or card? into his back jean pocket.

Then the rest of it came back to him.

They were undressing him. He struggled.

In this darkened room which was- wait, where was it? Where was he? Why hadn't someone stopped these people attacking him yet?

Because there was no one here. No one here to save Tony Stark.

"You won't g-get away with thi-"

More blows and suddenly the pain was blinding. He tried throwing a punch put his arm was caught and his other arm were both pinned behind his back with rough hands. Too late to call his suit.

The woman looked at him maliciously.

But the pain came from behind.

NO-!

He came out of his thoughts and flashed back to the present. He tried to struggle against the girl and man who were now holding him down, but he was too weak. Damn. Dammit! I'm panicking. Panicking too much.

But he couldn't stop shuddering, shaking, panting for breath. He was scared.

The woman laughed. "Those are my bank details Stark…tick tock," she said as she let go of him and stood up. The man and woman smirked at each other and then walked away.

Tony blinked and looked up, only to find the murky night-time clouds looking down at him, threatening to swallow him up. He looked around dejectedly but was hidden behind a dumpster down an alleyway, so no one could see him.

He needed to get away, get up, get, ge..what?

His vision clouded as his consciousness threatened to leave him.

"No – no- mm, have to get up-" Tony started but then a darkened figure loomed over him, but he was different; this one was scrawnier than the others.

Suddenly he was heaved into the figure's arms and held roughly as he was chucked into a car and the door slammed in his face.

The man got in the driver's seat and shut the door.

"You sure about this boss?" his low voice cut as he was speaking into his phone.

"Yes," drawled a woman's voice. Oh crap. That was the woman. Wait, was he being kidnapped? He had to get out of there -now. Crap! He tried lifting his arm up for his suit to come to him but they were still tied behind his back.

He had a feeling the signal from his arm to his suit had been... compromised. Well, that would explain the warm liquid that was leaking down his arm. Blood. He groaned softly.

"We can't leave him in the street, as much as I'd like to," the woman's voice drawled again lazily. She obviously had something against Tony Stark - but then again he seemed too piss off a lot of people who he didn't even know. And he had no clue who these people were - which made him worry even more.

"Drop him off at his precious tower. Oh, and patch him up with those gauzes, we can't exactly leave him to die now, can we? And we don't want his playmates thinking anything unusual is up..." Tony really didn't like the sound of this.

Thewoman's voice continued over the speakerphone from the front of the car. Tony could barely lift his head, but he had to try-

"Consider it done," the man said and chucked his phone across the other seat in the front as the car leapt to life. Tony wasn't belted in.

It was the only time he wish he actually had his seatbelt on, as his head whipped against the back of the car seat, and the darkness finally swallowed him up.