Choices

Chapter Twenty

 "One Iron Man suit," He reads off of a piece of paper. I hold my tongue from correcting him that it's an Iron Defender suit. "One pistol and one silver bracelet."

 "Thank you," I reply coldly as I power up my suit.

 "You are free to go," The chief nods.

 We turn to leave. "And Mr. Coulson," the chief calls out as we're halfway to the door, "Please keep your team from blowing up anymore of our country."

 "Can't make any promises," He responds calmly with a weary smile, "But we will try."

 The three of us exit the police station. A cherry red convertible is parked close to the entrance. Phil slides into the driver's seat. "Good thing you have your suit," Agent Coulson remarks as there is only two seats in his car.

 "You want me to follow you guys?" I ask for confirmation, "And where are we going?"

 "Yeah, we'll head back up to my jet."

 "Okay, so to the nearest air force base?" Lucis begins pulling up a map.

 "Not exactly, just follow us up," He responds before starting the ignition.

 "Up?" My voice is cancelled out by the roar of Agent Coulson's car roaring to life. I am amazed when all four wheels turn sideways and lift the car up off of the pavement. The car goes higher and higher into the sky; I follow beside them with my amazement never ceasing. It is a short flight up before I see a large aircraft above us. Agent Coulson speaks into a walkie-talkie. The hydraulic hangar hatch opens up. I fly in first, landing in front of a S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV. Coulson professionally parks the car inside next to the other car. It is not a moment later the hatch closes, securing us in the jet.

 "And that's why I love Lola," Agent Coulson grins as he pockets his key.

​ "The car?" I ask.

 "Yes, she's vintage," He smiles proudly. "Fitz-Simmons!" Agent Coulson calls out.

 Two familiar people come out of a glass lab. "Is that Iron Man?" Fitz is in awe as he points to me.

 "Oh, yeah," I take off my helmet, "No, it's just me."

 "Oh my goodness," Fitz's eyes widen as he looks over my suit, "This is a lot sooner than I thought that we would be able to see your suit!"

 "Oh my word, she is a beauty," Simmons walks up to me, "Please, I'd love to hear all about your arc reactor! Imagine what other machines she could power!"

 "And your repulors," Fitz speaks up, "I'd love to design weapons based around these, all with your help, of course. I would be honored if you could look over at a few of my designs."​

 "How about you take care of Agent Barton first, then you can annoy Monica about her suit," Agent Coulson smiles.

 "Of course!" Simmons takes notice of Clint, "Wait, Hawkeye?"

 "Yes," Agent Coulson nods.

 "Two Avengers right in front of me," Jemma sighs happily.

 "Simmons, he needs medical attention sometime today," Phil clears his throat, "He's been in captivity for a week."

 "Of course, right away," They quickly regain their posture and professionalism. The pair takes Clint towards the medical wing. Their voices fade out as they go up the stairs and out of the hangar.

 "Do you have any leads on where Tony is?" I ask as it is now just us two in the room.

 "We're narrowing down the search." Agent Coulson's expressions grows dull.

 "Is there anything I can do to help? I'm sure I can link Lucis to whatever search you have started to help speed it up."

 "I'll take you up to meet our tech specialist. She's been monitoring the search for the past few hours. She'll know if there's anything more you can do."

 "Sound good. Lead the way."

 I follow him up the metal spiral staircase. We enter a modern living area with sleeping bunks off to the side. Agent Coulson and I are up the stairs and passing through the lounge area when I remember Lucis. I temporarily forgot about him as I don't have my earpiece in, which is how I usually communicate with him.

 "Lucis! Do we have any hits on Tony's location?" I speak to my bracelet, seeing if my technology back at home has found him yet.

 "I'm afraid not, ma'am," Lucis says to my disappointment.

 I take a deep breath to keep my mind from getting too carried away. "What about Alex?"

 "As I was trying to tell you earlier, we have Alex."

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27 votes for a bonus update. A bonus update is an update alongside the regular Sunday/Wednesday update, in case there was any confusion there!

Dedication to @kbradley99 <3

[I love my CHEM-C105 class. It's all things I learned in high school, so I just sit here and edit with my notes popped up to the side!]

x JLG