marienomad

Title: Furry Iron
Fandom: Iron Man
Character: Pepper and Tony
Genre: Romance/Drama
Rating: PG
Summary: Tony woke up one day completely changed. How will Pepper cope and will this mysterious Dr. Strange be able to help them?
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel Comics. This is very late addition to the Comics Panel challenge in the

its_always_been community in Live Journal. This one features a scene inspired by Prompt number 6. This is also inspired by "Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus".
Many Thanks to

arcanelegacyfor the betahelp.

Furry Iron
Part One
By Marie Nomad

It was morning and Pepper walked into the house. She was ready and willing for another day of work and heroism. She paused when she noticed how quiet the house was. She went down to the workplace expecting him to be there in his tank top and pants working on the latest Iron Man upgrades only to see nothing. She went to his bedroom and knocked on the door. "Tony? Are you still asleep? We have a meeting."

"Pepper, don't come in here. Please," Tony pleaded. Pepper's heart pounded. What happened to him? Was he injured? Was he dying again?

"Ms. Potts, something had happened to Tony. He does not wish for anyone to enter his bedroom," JARVIS stated.

"What happened?" Pepper demanded as she pounded on the door. She struggled with the doorknob.

"Pepper, please, I'm not dying, just don't come in."

"Let me in," Pepper begged as she pound on the door until her knuckles get raw. "I want to help you."

"I'm fine... I think. Look, I've called Hank and Bruce and they are coming. Just don't come in."

"I thought we agreed no more secrets! Damn it, Tony!" Pepper felt herself started to cry. She didn't want to think that Tony didn't want her to help him in whatever happened.

After a long moment, Tony said, "JARVIS, unlock the door. Pepper, promise me that you will not freak out."

"I promise," Pepper opened the door. She was prepared for anything. She took a deep breath and walked in. The first thing she saw was hair. There was some sort of hair covered man sitting in bed. He looked like Chewbacca's long lost cousin except the obvious glow from the arc reactor. Hair covered every part of his exposed body, even his face. She could barely see his eyes and his mouth. "T-tony?" Pepper nearly collapsed into a nearby chair.

"No freaking out!" Tony reminded sharply.

"Right." Pepper took a deep breath. She was used to seeing all sorts of things ever since Tony joined the Avengers but nothing like this. "What happened?'

"I don't know. I just woke up one morning and I look like this." Tony stared at his hair covered hands. "JARVIS ran a scan on me and he said that I'm normal."

"This is not normal! Have you tried shaving it off?"

"Yeah." Tony pointed to the connecting bathroom to reveal a huge pile of discarded hair. "It all just grew back."

"I see. I will cancel all your meetings and get rid of all bottles of alcohol." Pepper went into professional assistant mode as she tried to think of ways to hide this from the company.

"Yeah." Tony just looked down. Then, he gazed at her for a long moment.

"What?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Just leave me alone." Tony covered himself up with a blanket.

XXX

Pepper was busy rearranging everything so that Tony had a free schedule for the next few days. She didn't know how long they could hide something like this but maybe Hank and Bruce could figure out some way to help Tony. Despite the fact that Hank had multiple versions of the exact same outfit and talked to ants and Bruce literally had an explosive temper, she trusted them. They were experts in their fields and if anyone could help Tony, it would be those two.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO?!" Tony screamed.

Or maybe not.

Pepper snuck to the bedroom where she listened to the conversation.

"There are no obvious mutations. We don't know what is going on," Hank Pym confessed. "I think that the medical equipment in the SHIELD headquarters could help."

"I am not going to SHIELD looking like this."

"Damn it, Tony. This is not-" Bruce's monitor beeped. "Wonderful, I am getting angry. Take deep breaths... deep breaths... don't let the Hulk show up... calm down..." Bruce breathed in and out.

"Like Bruce was saying, SHIELD has seen a lot of strange things. They won't react to your appearance."

"Not going. People will see me."

Bruce opened his eyes and looked at his monitor. "Tony... I know someone who can help. He's this guy that I went to while I was trying to find a way to control the Hulk. He's really good but unorthodox. He's also very good at keeping secrets. I will call him at once."

"Good, you do that."

"How is it going?" Pepper asked as she came in. Tony was still in bed. He covered himself up and peeked out from under the covers. She could see his dark eyes just barely there.

"Not too well, Pepper," Hank stated. "We did genetic and physical tests and other than the fact that Tony has symptoms of terminal hypertrichosis, which is strange since those usually occur at birth. And the fact that his hair grows back instantly is puzzling."

"Is there anything you can do?" Pepper pleaded.

"No, not right now but I'm not giving up," Hank vowed.

"Yes, his name is Tony Stark. Uh huh. Great." Bruce turned off his phone. "He will be here any minute."

"Good."

A moment passed and the quiet was suffocating everyone.

"Do you want something to eat?" Pepper offered hoping to ease the tension in the room. "Did you eat breakfast yet?"

"Not hungry." Tony covered his head with his blanket.

Pepper didn't push the subject. Tony would eat when he wanted to. When he wanted to, he would eat a ton but he could still go for days without eating if he was busy.

"Sir, a visitor has arrived. He said that Dr. Banner had called him."

"I will bring him in," Pepper volunteered as she marched out. She hoped that this 'unorthodox' doctor could help Tony out with this problem. She went up to the front door and answered it. He was a middle aged man with gray streaks in his black hair. He was dressed in a trench coat, a gray fedora, and a gray suit. "Yes?"

"Is this the Stark residence?"

"Yes, are you the doctor Bruce called?"

He flung off his coat and bellowed, "I AM DOCTOR STRANGE! SORCERER SUPREME OF EARTH! MASTER OF THE MYSTICAL! MIGHTIEST MAGICIAN IN THE COSMOS!"

Pepper sighed as she rubbed her temples. Tony needed a doctor and ended up with Dr. Houdini. "I'm sorry, but... Tony needs a real doctor."

"My dear, I am a real doctor," Dr. Strange said, insulted.

Pepper didn't know how to answer this. This man was not what she expected. She wanted someone to help Tony and she didn't know how Tony would react to this man. Tony Stark was a man of science and this man seemed like a man of magic. "I didn't mean to insult you it's just..."

"By the Eyes of Hoggoth." Dr. Strange marched towards her and Pepper held up her hand. Then, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. She turned around to see Dr. Strange walking towards the bedroom.

"How?" Pepper was stunned. There was no way that JARVIS would let this strange in any of the other entries. The doctor went up the stairs and Pepper trailed him.

"You will need to magic proof this house. I can't sense any barriers," Dr. Strange explained.

"Well... uh... slow down!" Pepper sputtered out. She followed him to Tony's bedroom. "I don't know how you did that-"

"I AM DOCTOR STRANGE! SORCERER SUPREME OF EARTH! MASTER OF THE MYSTICAL! MIGHTIEST MAGICIAN IN THE COSMOS!" Dr. Strange bellowed at the top of his lungs at the doorway.

Tony got up from his covers and stared at him. "Bruce... did you get a magician to help me?"

Dr. Strange turned over to Bruce. "Hello, Bruce. How was your quest for control of your inner beast doing?"

"Very well, thanks."

"Dr. Strange?" Hank went next to Bruce and whispered, "Are you serious about him? Tony needs a real doctor."

"I am a real doctor!"

"Uh huh. What's your full name?" Tony asked as he got out his Starkphone.

"Dr. Stephen Strange. S-T-E-P-H-E-N. Yes, it is my legal name."

Tony tapped in the name and paused. Pepper stared at his face but with all that hair covering it, it was hard to tell if he was shocked or amused. "What did it say?"

"Yup, he was a neurosurgeon about ten years ago before getting into an accident that weakened his hands and ended his career." Tony paused. "We have people working on nerve damage in our Stark Industries Medical section."

"Let's focus on your condition first." Dr. Strange waved Tony off with slightly shaking hands.

"You…Disappeared in the Himalayans for seven years," Tony went on, "before opening up a New Age shop in New York City that specializes in mystical cures."

"Well?" Dr. Strange asked. "Will you let me try to find what is wrong with you?"

Tony shrugged. "Well, you are already here and you are a real doctor."

"I have seen the depths of the nine rings of Hell. I have met abominations that would make your head explode. I have learned the recipe to the Coca Cola soda drink! I can keep a secret," Dr. Strange vowed. "Now, let me get out my bag." The doctor reached into his coat and got out a black doctor's bag. "When did this happen? What time?"

"Here are my test results." Dr. Pym said as he handed Dr. Strange some notes. "I had also done blood work as well as testing the hair for any abnormalities."

"I see. Thank you."

"Wait, where did you perform the tests? You and Bruce haven't left the bedroom since you arrived." Pepper asked.

"Oh, I used my pym particles to make portable labs. It makes things much easier for me."

"I prefer portable dimensions myself," Dr. Strange admitted as he looked through the tests. "Thank you, Dr. Pym, Dr. Banner, now I can focus on my own brand of tests. Can everyone leave this room? I do not want any interference."

Pepper glanced at Tony and he nodded. "Go ahead. JARVIS will alert you if something goes wrong."

To Be Continued...