Universal Headaches - Revised

Chapter 20

The first thing Sutton saw when she opened her eyes was the swaying silhouettes of tree limbs. She blinked a few times and was able to focus next on the pitying faces surrounding her. Bruce held her wrist and took her pulse as she fully woke up.

"How long have I been out?" She asked.

Bruce lowered her arm and checked her pupils.

"A couple minutes; nothing serious."

She nodded and sat up slowly. Someone had turned off the radio and the only sounds were a few bird songs and the wind rustling leaves on the trees.

Thor crouched down before her with a look of heartbreaking distress.

"Lady Sutton, I cannot express to you how sorry I am for my brother's actions. Know that he will see justice. He will right this wrong done to you before we leave."

She didn't like talking about sensitive topics on the ground. Sutton stood up gingerly and shook her head as she brushed off her jeans.

Could she play it cool? Act like she hadn't fainted in front of everyone?

"You don't have to apologize for him, Thor. It's not your fault." Her hands trembled as she wiped them across her jeans again. "I should have expected something like this."

Clint clenched his jaw and glared.

"I told you we can't trust him."

"Of course not." Said Natasha. "But it would have been worse to be caught. We can fix what we have to later."

Sutton threw up her hands.

"When? You have to get home before they arrest you too and- and, oh gosh, they think I'm a terrorist."

Tony shot a look over to Bruce, like something had proved him right in an ongoing argument. Bruce shook his head and removed his glasses before pinching between his eyes. Sutton narrowed her eyes at Tony.

"What?" She demanded. "What are you two not saying?"

The expression on Tony's face vanished and he wagged a hand flippantly at her.

"Don't worry about it right now, kid."

Her nostrils flared as she took a step forward.

"And when-"

"I think it's dark enough to leave," said Bruce.

It was dark and after five o'clock, but Sutton was agitated enough that she was ready to argue with Tony and delay their leaving. But he had already moved on; he dropped his briefcase in front of him and pulled it open before he straightened out and waited for it to start assembling around him. Sutton hadn't seen the suit since the pizza boy incident.

The red and gold shimmered in the little available light as it shifted around his legs and up around his arms. It'd probably help for a situation like this if he made a line of matte black suits.

Behind her, Bruce picked up Tony's wonky machine, Clint slipped his bow over his head, Natasha put on her gauntlets, and Thor picked up his hammer. Steve wore a look of dawning realization and cursed.

"My shield. I forgot it at Sutton's."

Tony rolled his shoulders in the suit.

"Little late to go back for it, Capsicle. You'll have to get a new one."

"It's vibranium."

"That's gonna be expensive. Okay, who's first? Let's get this over with."

Sutton immediately got a mental image of them all lined up like Iron Man was a new amusement park attraction.