[1] Lions Inside | Tony Stark

fifteen

[Jade]

Chasing after your friend after they left without a warning was not something Jade enjoyed.

Saying she was irritated when she found Tony in a giant doughnut was an understatement. And it only became worse when he didn't acknowledge or even look at her as she sat on the parking lot, her tail going back and forth in annoyment.

She heard footsteps approaching and was slightly surprised to see that they belonged to Nick Fury.

"Sir! I'm gonna have to ask you to exit the doughnut," he said and started walking towards the door before he stopped. "You might as well come too, Miss Dawson."

To say Jade was shocked would be another understatement, she didn't know how he even figured out it was her since she had been very careful with her identity.

She followed Fury inside and took a seat beside Tony before transforming into a human.

"Oh hey, Jade. Where have you been?" Tony said as if they hadn't seen each other for a long time.

"Left in a wreck you now call home, next time you might want to think about telling me where you're going."

"I can see why that might have made you a bit cranky," Tony said before he looked at Fury. "And didn't I tell you? I don't wanna join your super-secret boy band."

"No, no, no. See, I remember, you do everything yourself. How's that working out for you?"

"Yeah, how's that working out for you Tony?" Jade added, the sarcasm clear in her voice.

"It's... It's... It's... I'm sorry. I don't wanna get off on the wrong foot. Do I look at the patch or the eye? Honestly, I'm a bit hung over. I'm not sure if you're real or if I'm having..."

"I am very real. I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet."

"Not that people can be less real than anyone else," Jade mumbled to herself, earning a glare from Fury.

"Just my luck. Where's the staff here?" Tony asked and looked around, accidentally showing the markings on his neck to Fury and Jade.

"That's not looking so good." Fury said at the same time as Jade said, "You little liar, you keep on saying there's nothing to worry about. That looks worse than yesterday."

Tony decided to ignore Jade again, "I've been worse."

When Jade heard footsteps she felt herself freeze, but relaxed as a familiar voice spoke.

"We've secured the perimeter but I don't think we should hold it for too much longer."

Tony looked at her over the top of his glasses. "You're fired."

"That's not up to you," Natalie said and sat down next to Fury.

"I knew Pepper was on to you," Jade said, but Natalie's expression remained indifferent.

"Tony, I want you to meet Agent Romanoff."

Fury continued talking about what Tony had been doing wrong until Agent Romanoff came back and gave Tony an injection.

They all watched as the markings on Tony's neck disappeared while he made a comment about how they were going to steal his kidney.

"What did she just do to me?"

"What did we just do for you?" Fury replied.

Apparently, the injection wasn't a cure and it would only decrease the symptoms.

"I've been looking for a suitable replacement for palladium. I've tried every combination, every permutation of every known element," Tony said to Fury and Jade felt even more worried for him.