little piece of heaven (tony stark's daughter)

7

rosie's p.o.v

i spend a few hours with my dad and bruce in his lab, inspecting the sceptre. he hasn't tried to experiment on me yet so i'm pretty sure he's not like the people dad told me about, he seems nice. i'm pretty sure they're testing the sceptre for radiation and bruce asked if i can see any, i had to explain that it doesn't really work like that. in fact, we aren't really sure how it works. it just does.

i'm sat on the floor in a little pile of cushions and blankets assembled by dad for me. he sits beside me and we've been solving algorithms and equations in a bid to understand the sceptre's energy better. i'm making enough progress for it to not be useless, but not enough to be overly excited.

"little stark you're needed" all three of us look up just in time to see natasha stride into the lab. natasha romanoff radiates confidence, and i want to be just like her when i'm older. i don't think she's scared of anything or anyone, she wouldn't lose control when fury tested her or shatter lights when caught in an argument. in fact, she would probably just roll her eyes and walk away. i need to get better at rolling my eyes and walking away. "bring your bow" she adds with a curt nod.

i sit in shock for a moment, looking from my bow and arrow, which lies next to me, to dad. why the hell would i be needed? what am i needed for? why does natasha romanoff need me? dad's eyes flicker up to the assassin and he raises an eyebrow before glancing in my direction "go on then, see what they want".

i take a deep breath before i pick up my weapon and force myself to look bolder than i am "okay" i mumble as i stand up from my position on the floor, shaking off the blankets that were tangled around my legs. my socked feet barely make a noise as i walk quickly across the floor, my converse abandoned by the blanket pile a while ago when my feet got hot. i glance down at the pastel purple cotton and smile a little, finding comfort in the usual soft colours i love to wear.

nat offers me her hand to hold and i take it gladly, not in the mood to turn away any form of comfort from anyone. we're just walking through the doorway when dad coughs pointedly "if so much as a hair on her hair is harmed, i will sue you and shield for all you own and more".

i look back into the room and bruce kind of pretending not to stare with his eyebrows raised. dad is glaring at nat, who only smirks and looks down at me before carrying on walking, me in tow.

the floors of the halls we walk along are so clean that i'm certain i would've fallen over multiple times if it wasn't for nat's firm grip on my hand and the extra balance i get from my wings. i'm pretty sure we walked for hours before we reached the room that we were in earlier, the one with the big table where the man was playing galaga. with a quick scan of the room and a satisfied smirk i realise that he's gone back to his game. i hope he's having fun because he's certainly not very good at it.

the scary lady is sat across the table, a few seats across from steve, who's sat in front of thor. obviously, being thor, he's standing. i think he does it just to intimidate and make sure he's always taller than everyone else.

nat gently pushes me into the room towards the table and i lean against a chair awkwardly.

steve looks from thor to the scary lady, both of whom just look back at him. with a heavy sigh, the blonde focuses his attention on me "so we need your help".

"i got that info already" i tell him, becoming slightly impatient to know why i've been taken away from the safety of blankets and science. it had better be important.

steve doesn't give any more information, i think he's still uncomfortable with my age, what with him being super old and all, so nat moves so she's stood in front of me. with a steady hand on my shoulder, she stares straight into my eyes and talks to me like a normal human being. i always appreciate it when people talk to me as if i'm a normal human being because sometimes it's nice to pretend.

"look, if your dad catches wind of this we're in shit" she starts, and i can sense the glint in my eye.

"i'm in" i grin.

nat retracts her hand with a triumphant smile which i return, excited to do whatever it is which will make my dad blow a fuse. of course all hell is gonna break loose when he does, but it's worth the adrenalin rush whilst it lasts.

i listen intently whilst nat explains the situation in detail, loving every moment regardless of what she's actually telling me. the wave of overwhelming nausea and anxiety doesn't actually wash over me until i'm stood outside the door which closes off the room which contains loki.

i stop abruptly and close my eyes whilst the sickness settles in my stomach and i'm forced to take a few deep breaths to fill my lungs with air so the room doesn't spin. "you good?" nat queries as i bring myself back down to earth again and i nod with determination. she half-smiles as if thinking for a moment before speaking again "we wouldn't ask you if we didn't think you were the only one who could get this done efficiently. besides, you're the only one who the maniac really wants to talk to" she explains, her voice softer than usual "you'll be safe in there, he's trapped behind the glass, you have your bow and arrow and we'll be watching from the cameras ready to go at any moment".

i nod again, though this time deciding that i should say something to prove that i can "i'm ready".

oh how wrong i was.