You were his wife in the 40's through thick and thin, sickness and health, richer or poorer, and through all of the twists of life. Even 70 years later you continued to love him, and stay by his side.
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I awoke to the shrill noise of unfamiliar beeping coming from medical equipment around me, my vision focusing, and un-focusing erratically like a camera. Snippets of memories flashed in my head, scrolling out one by one like film strips, appearing frequently. My head felt blurry, like my brain was drowning in the ocean, and it hurt to even crack my eyes open.
The dull white light of the foreign room I was in so bright that it made me frown, and squint my lids back shut, like a turtle fleeing back into it's shell. "What happened?" I thought, the frightful dizziness making it feel as if I were rocking back, and forth on a ship even though I was planted firmly on what seemed to be a hospital bed.
The anxious rush of not knowing, feeling ignorant to everything around me causing a chill to race down my spine, and never before had I felt so small. A grain of sand against a whole sandy beach, a faded star within the Milky Way, an inconsequential speck that felt the tremoring feeling of loss. Loss of everything that I once held dear, stripped away like paint peeling off a wall.
I noticed that I was hooked up to an IV, and that surrounding me were all sorts of exotic, odd gadgets, and devices. Jazz was playing on a record player, the vinyl spinning along smoothly underneath the weight of the magnetic cartridge. The song the only familiar note amongst the symphony of strange things that were encompassed around me.
I glanced over at the heart monitor, the pressure, and flow of blood within my cardiovascular system stabilized. I felt weak, and every inch of me ached like I was forcefully tied down to the bed even though I wasn't.
Cautiously, I pushed myself up, a whimper escaping through my lips, and sat up in an upright position, noticing a man seated beside me.
He was a brunette in his mid-40's, hazel eyed, slight goatee, wearing a band t-shirt, and jeans. A piping hot cup of coffee was in his hands, steam swirling out of the top, dissipating within the air, and I caught a whiff of the roasted aroma.
"Howard Stark?" I dubiously blurted out.
The man raised an eyebrow, staring over at me.
"Nope, it's nice to know that I look like my old man though, but I'm Tony. Tony Stark. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."
He picked up my hand, and shook it even though I couldn't return the greeting since it hurt.
"Where am I? Who are you really? Howard Stark didn't have any children when I last saw him, and certainly not one middle aged."
"Ouch, middle aged?" Tony commented, that apparently being the stand out thing that I mentioned within the series of other, more important matters.
"I'll have you know that I look pretty good. Every woman in this day, and age wants me. And, the last time you saw my dad was nearly seventy years ago. My dad is dead now, along with my mom. You're at the Avengers Tower, freshly thawed from a block of ice." Tony elaborated, hoisting himself up from the chair he was seated at, and pacing around the room.
"I know this is a bit of a shock, like you just woke up with a hangover, and no recollection of what you did the night prior, but we're not going to hurt you here."
I eyed him skeptically, breaking my attention from him momentarily to spot a tray full of food on the nightstand beside me. And, discreetly I swiped the knife, and tucked it underneath the blankets.
"We could of made the transition better for you, temporarily, but after Nick Fury's people defroze Captain America I decided to not fabricate a whole 1940's ploy to bring you some sort of useless false comfort. See, Cap saw immediately through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hoax when he woke up, and then he went berserk, running stupidly all throughout Times Square. You, I figured, since you aren't super human would be easier to suppress, so a false advertised room wasn't necessary." He spoke fluidly, not missing a beat, his hand gestures seamlessly running with everything he said.
"I did, however, bring over my dads old record player. Do you like the music? Steve said that you used to love listening to music, so he brought over a vinyl he knew you'd like."
My eyes widened at that well-known name, that striking a cord within me, a heavy rock that held the most weight.
"Steve is here? Alive? It's seventy years later... I don't believe you." I stated, my defense wall strung up high, impenetrable, and my distrust of everything around me sprouted back up.
Tony sighed, exhaling for what seemed like an endless amount of time, draining his body of all oxygen before he breathed in again.
"Look, you were stuck in ice, we found you a bit after we woke up Steve, okay? You were in the Alps, frozen, and I was the one who orchestrated my team to pull you out of your asleep like state because Steve wanted a familiar face. We could of kept you in the ice, but he said no."
Abruptly ripping the needle out of the vein in my arm I flung my IV pole at him before wrangling my way out from under the white sheets.
He deflected my attack, pressing a button on his watch, a red, and gold mechanical arm forming around his flesh, and bone one.
He grabbed hold of me, vehemently keeping me still, his iron clad arm wrapped around me securely.
"Okay, I know this is a lot to process, but take it easy. You've been in a coma like state for seventy years. I'm actually surprised that you can even walk, let alone attempt to fight since you're a normal person."
"Shut up." I spat back, jamming the knife I had previously concealed directly into the gears of his red, and gold arm, finding an opening between the armor plates.
Sparks began to sputter out of the circuits like lightning, and I tore myself away from his grip, jumping in the air, and smashing him to the floor with a kick.
While he skidded across the tiles I bolted towards the door. Though just as I was about to escape into the hallway I bumped into someone's muscular chest.
"You're late, Cap," I heard Tony say, getting back up on his feet, and groaning. "Jeez, I didn't read her whole chart, but was she like an agent in the 40's, or something?"
"Yeah, she was apart of the Howling Commandos, but even before that she could always defend herself." Steve answered, placing his hands on my shoulders, gently impeding me from attempting to run away again.
"Yeah, I got that. She also cost me hours of work, and thousands of dollars by wrecking my Iron Man arm here. She doesn't even fathom modern technology, or my personal mechanical devices, yet she could still somehow pinpoint the weak spot through the armor." Tony complained, ripping the piece of silverware out of his damaged, electricity spewing red, and gold arm before tossing the cutlery aside.
"She's smart." Steve added, nearly beaming.
"Stop smiling, Capsiscle. It's not like you carbondated her. Alright, you two catch up, and reminisce. I'm going to get a shot of something strong on the rocks, and put a cold pack on this black eye of mine." Tony exited with a wave.
I looked up at Steve, his overwhelming familiarness bringing tears to my eyes, and I had a myriad of questions for him, the only person I could trust within this strange place. But, evidently my legs gave out on me, and I collapsed into his arms, the weakness returning.
