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LAURA
The tunnels under the mill's basement stunk of degradable waste and rot. The low drips of a leaking pipe sounded far away and the only loud noises being our own footsteps. My boots stuck to the greasy floor with every step forward, making my footfalls the loudest. The darkness was put out instantly when M'lanz braced her spear forward in defense position, the circular sphere fitted between the axel bathing the tubes in a light blue warmth. Eddie led the way, picking out leads via his seventh sense aka, Venom. Tony and his suit followed close behind, the armor apparently in sentry mode. I was at the end of the track but M'lanz frowned at that.
'Center way, Laura. You're the only mortal among us and we can't compromise.'
I was interrupted before I could even argue. I wasn't a weakling - I'd taken two-month self-defense classes back at home. I had even bagged a prize for that.
'Pascal's right, Sharp. Get over here.'
I internally laughed at his nickname derived from the sweet green reptile from a Disney movie. Recently, most of his nicknames had been procured from the children's franchise. In the end, I'd ended up behind Eddie and in front of the suit. Tony flanked my side, making Eddie throw cautious glances behind him every now and then.
'I'm not the one for small-talk,' the genius started suavely, pocketing his fists. 'But this silence is mentally shredding me.'
'Me? Talk with you?' I scoffed. 'Tony, you wouldn't talk to me even if I were the last person alive.'
'I don't do animosities, sweetcheeks. But you profoundly intrigue me.'
'I have that effect on people,' I smirked. 'The entire aura of curiosity and inscrutability seems to get people talking.'
'Now you sound like me,' he said with his tongue in cheek. 'See? We can relate on so many levels. You and I are the same complexes.'
'Oh, mhmm. I too was close to flatlining nine years ago,' I said with dry humor, nudging my shoulder with his. 'How the heck do you live with it?'
'The honor, ultimate power? Or the quality save every single time?'
I laughed. 'Good and bad, Mr. Stark. Not just the pros.'
'I've elected to ignore the cons,' he shrugged. 'Last year, I tried to get God's most righteous man to abide by the by-laws. Did me wrong. Lost a whole bunch of colleagues.'
There was shrouded sadness in his voice when he spoke about the loss. It must've meant a lot to him - Steve Rogers, I mean. This dude was almost everyone's role-model. To be as law-abiding and perfect as the super-soldier all of USA looked up to.
