Retrospect『 avengers au 』

Chapter II: Mutant

The men stepped onto the elevator and Steve pressed the button for the top floor, then Clint's floor.

"We're good for now. Thanks," Tony told Clint and he nodded with a wave as he stepped off the elevator when it came to the fifth floor.

The top floor always seemed to hold some sort of ominous aura, a silence overtaking it with the faint smell of leather and cleaning chemicals. Tony usually only came up here when he was technically "in trouble" and an automatic ripple of anxiety greeted his stomach as the two men stepped off and headed towards Director Fury's office. Two guards allowed them clearance and opened the doors for them, and they soon stood in front of their boss's desk as he sat comfortably in his leather desk chair.

"I assume you're here to give me a little more insight on the situation with the alien girl Stark found," Director Fury began as he stood to his feet, a sarcastic tone lacing his words.

Steve glanced at Tony uncomfortably and stepped back slightly as if to say, 'All yours, buddy.'

Tony Stark met Director Fury's gaze. "There was little time to update you while I was bringing her back here. Her condition was critical and my main focus was to take her straight to Banner for medical treatment," he explained and Fury's irritation seemed to lessen slightly at the information given. "We came to let you know what we've learned so far."

Fury sat back down in his chair, probably figuring this conversation wouldn't be a speedy one. "And that is?" He inquired, gesturing to the two chairs behind Steve and Tony for them to sit in.

The captain and the engineer took their seats, and Tony crossed an ankle over his opposite knee as he began. "As you know, Pepper and I were in Maine for the weekend, and while on a private beach near Wells, we found a girl lying by the shore unconscious," he started, lacing his fingers together. Fury rested his chin on three outstretched fingers as he listened carefully. "She was extremely pale and skinny, dehydrated, starved, frostbitten... I thought she was dead at first-"

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on," Fury stopped Tony, holding up a hand, his eyebrows knitted together. "You found her on a beach in Maine in the middle of June and she was frostbitten," he repeated in disbelief, his expression now blank as he held up a finger.

"Well," Tony began again, "we've considered the possibility that she's a mutant. She could have only been frostbitten from being in much colder waters... But her frostbite was so bad that her skin had turned blue and black and had begun to blister."

"Anybody would have died before they would drift back to shore from that far out in the ocean. She should be dead," Fury replied with narrowed eyes.

Tony refrained from rolling his eyes, then cleared his throat. He glanced at Steve and he seemed to get the message. "That's the thing, Sir. We don't think she's just anybody," Steve explained hesitantly to Director Fury. "While we were observing her in the lab, her body seemed to... heal itself of her frostbite. There's no trace of where her black and blue skin was, nor her blisters. She seems to have superhuman abilities."

There was a pause as Fury took the information in before he moved on to more important questions for now. "Has she told you anything? What else do you know?" He questioned flatly.

"She hasn't actually spoken yet but she wrote down a memory she experienced while speaking to Natasha a little while ago," Tony told Fury and he gestured for him to go on. "She recalls waking up on the beach and seeing that she was wearing a wristband with something printed on it but it was too small for her to read. It was cutting into her skin so she took it off but it was left at the beach. Nat and I were going to take her back to the beach when she's well enough to see if we can find it or if the beach jogs any other memories."

Director Fury nodded. "Good," he approved. "Is she unable to speak or is she simply choosing not to because she's uncomfortable?"

"We don't know," Steve spoke up. "She may still be in a state of shock and is having trouble getting words out."

"It's also possible she became mute due to severe traumatic experiences that have caused a mental block, her being in fear of saying something that will cause her physical or mental harm," Tony added in.

"What about her records? Your research, was any of it successful?" Fury asked.

"There's nothing, sir. No information on her or her family or where she came from. We tried facial recognition but still came up blank," Steve informed him. "Our only hope of finding these things out is if her memory continues to come back in flashes."

Director Fury nodded slowly, mulling over all of this newly received information. "Thank you. You're excused, Rogers. I'd like to speak to you for another minute, Stark," he said.

Steve nodded and stood to his feet, giving Tony a pat on the shoulder before leaving the office. Tony looked back over at the director.

"Am I in trouble?" He asked with a blank expression.

Per usual, Nick Fury ignored Tony's sarcasm and playful attitude and simply stood to his feet to pour a glass of scotch. He offered Tony some and he accepted a small glass on the rocks, taking a swig as Fury leaned against his desk with his glass.

"How old do you think she is?" He asked.

"I'd say around seventeen, maybe eighteen," Tony answered.

"I think it'd be good to fill Parker in on all of this. Having a fellow teenager in her presence may make her feel less intimidated," Fury suggested and Tony was surprised he hadn't thought of the teenage recruit to the team earlier. "Being in an unfamiliar place surrounded by adults you don't know can make you feel caged in- cornered. Peter could be a friend to her, rather than a guardian or a doctor. Someone that isn't questioning her about her past."

Tony nodded, finishing off his drink. "I'll call him and have him come by tomorrow after school," he told Fury and he nodded in approval. Tony raised his glass as he stood back up. "Thanks for the drink."

"Yup. Just stay out of any other alien mutant people's problems from here on out," Fury suggested, supposedly only half-joking, as he circled back around his desk to reside in his seat once more.

"No promises," Tony responded before exiting his boss's office and heading back down to the laboratory.

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A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please comment and vote if you're enjoying it so far. I really appreciate the support.♡

–Blys♡