Adopted Assassin [COMPLETED]

Chapter 8

.08
TESSA: STARK TOWER
PRESENT

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"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I said as I stepped out of the elevator and into the living room. "What is happening here? I'm gone for a little over an hour and war starts." I turned to Bucky. "Is this normal?" He shook his head.

Clint had his bow and arrows out, Natasha had her guns out, and Steve had his shield. He stood in front of Nat and Clint in a protective stance. They were standing on the right side of the room. Tony looked angry and Bruce was turning green. They stood on the left side of the room, or what was left of it. Bullets and arrows stuck out of the walls. Thor stood in the middle, holding his hammer. Burn marks, probably from the hammer, were all over the place. I immediately ran over to Bruce.

"It's okay, calm down, Bruce," I said gently. His face turned less green. "Good, good. Now, what happened?" He didn't say anything. I turned to the rest of them. "Anyone?" Everyone looked shamed. "Okay!" I said and clapped my hands together. "I'll pick."

"Tessa, they wanted you to leave," Clint said quietly.

"What?" Bucky questioned, turning to the left. I felt something rip inside of me.

"That's not what we meant!" Bruce stated. "I wanted you to find your parents so they could know that you're alive," he said to me. I nodded. I then turned to Tony.

"And you?"

"I don't see why you have to stay!" He said. Bucky gave him a look. "It's my tower and my home. I get to choose who stays and who leaves, right? Is that fair?" Tony looked around at everyone.

"Okay, and I'm guessing you guys had something to say about it..." I turned to Clint, Nat and Steve. They nodded.

"We thought that you could stay until you found your parents. Bruce agreed, but Tony wanted you to find somewhere else to stay," Steve said. I looked at Clint and Natasha and I nodded to them. They shook their heads and pulled me aside.

"Tess, this is a bad time to do it," Clint warned.

"Why not now?" I said, fumed. I turn around, but Natasha caught my arm.

"Tessa, don't."

I wretched my arm out of her hand and barged up in front of Tony.

"You are so selfish!" I yelled. He looked surprised. "You are spoiled and only care about yourself. I know that you don't want to hear this, you never do! You don't have flaws or anything, do you, Stark? You only care about what happens to you and how people feel about you, not anyone else!" I started screaming. "What about your daughter, huh?" I asked him. His jaw dropped. "You were so caught up in a fan that you let her get kidnapped!"

Tony just stood there. "How did you -"

"I'm not finished! She was beaten up and brainwash to forget you and your stupid home. She was trained to be an assassin! She never gave up on you. You never tried to look for her or save her. You were too caught up in yourself. You wanted to gain attention off of it. You gave up on her. So she gave up on you. She gave up hope." My voice broke. "She didn't trust you anymore. She never, not once again thought that you would get her back. She thought that you wouldn't come. How could you do that to a 5 year old, Stark?" I gave him a hateful look. "How could you do that to me?" Silence filled the room.

"Tessa?" Tony said, his voice just above a whisper. "You're -"

"No. I'm not your daughter anymore, Stark," I said, crying. "I'll never forgive you. You put me through a lot of crap when I was 5."

"You were four," he said to me. He started walking towards me. I backed up.

"You wanted me to leave?" I asked him. I looked him straight in the eye. "I'm leaving." I ran into the elevator. As the doors closed, I cried out. I screamed and let out the feelings that were bunched up inside of me.

"Miss Tessa?" I heard JARVIS ask.

"Don't open the doors, JARVIS. Don't let anyone after me," I croaked. "Take me down to the garage."

"Where are you going, Miss?" JARVIS asked.

"Away from here, JARVIS," I said, then sniffled. "Anywhere from here." It was a long ride down to the garage. When the doors opened, I ran. I didn't look back. There was nothing here for me anymore.

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I ran until I couldn't anymore. I wound up in some park. I looked around. Shivers went up my spine. This was the park I was kidnapped in. As I looked around, I noticed changes. It had worn really badly. The slide's paint was chipped. My favorite swing was broken. The tunnel had graffiti all over it. The monkey bars were a lot lower to me. I touched them as I passed under them. Nothing has changed, I thought to myself. I walked around until I found an alley. I walked back it. It went pretty far back. I finally found the end, a brick wall. I settled down in the corner. I closed my eyes, ready for a long night. No one will find me.

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TESSA: CITY
ONE MONTH LATER

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It had been a month since I ran away. It was just starting to get cold, but I was fine. I was starving, but I'm used to it. But I was almost hungry. I was just starting to get good at sleeping the whole night. I had a couple of bruises and scrapes, but that was from breaking up a fight. I can't stand when people take advantage of the underdog.

I'm glad that I took a 50 dollar bill before I left. I was hungry for fruit or something that would hydrate me. But I was scared, because I only had my t-shirt and shorts on. I couldn't have anyone notice me. I did have a baseball cap, but I wasn't sure that it was enough. I finally decided to go. I hurried out of the alley-way and I ran to the mall. I jogged into a boutique and tamed my hair.

"Rough day, kid?" I heard a voice asked. I turned around to see a girl behind the counter with a smile on her face. "You lost your folks?"

"I don't have any," I lied. "Lost 'em all in a fire, along with my house. I just grabbed a bill before they, uh, and I want to, uh -" She came over and hugged me.

"It's okay, hon," she said. "Lemme do something for you."

"No, I don't want to -"

"Sh. Come 'round here with me. Just about to go on my break. Want to eat with me?" I nodded, happily. She led me into the back and we had sandwiches. I didn't like sandwiches, but I was starving. "How long have you been an orphan?" She suddenly asked me.

"Month," I answered with my stuffed mouth. I swallowed and apologized. "I wasn't thinking, I haven't had anything for a while. Sorry."

"It's okay," she said. I noticed a security camera in the corner. I stood up quickly and knocked over the chair. "Are you okay, kid?" No, I'm not, Stark could find me here.

"I'm gonna go now, thanks for the food," I thanked her. I pulled my cap over my face and I ran out of the store. I bumped into a big, manly figure outside. I fell on my face. My head started to bleed. The guy helped me up. "Watch where you're going, dude!" I yelled, holding my head.

"Sorry, miss," I heard a familiar voice say. I looked up at the guy's face. "I didn't see you there."

"Steve?"