911 | james barnes

022

4:17pm, November 23, 2013

New York City, New York

"J.A.R.V.I.S. report on the little one?" Tony spoke almost absentmindedly. He was tinkering with new Widow's Bite gloves for Natasha since hers malfunctioned on their last mission.

"Miss Tchaikovskaya would be most accurately described as having a 'mental breakdown' Sir." The monotonous voice replied, Tony's head snapped up toward the speakers at the words.

"Where is she?" Tony demanded, as he stood from the stool in his lab. He rushed toward the elevator while J.A.R.V.I.S' voice followed his movements between rooms. Upon entering the elevator, he saw the button for the 86th floor already illuminated, and took a heaving breath when he realised Violetta was in her bedroom.

"Tell Romanoff I might need her help." Tony finalised before he left the elevator. He passed Clint's bedroom door, passing three more before he arrived in front of Violetta's.

Tony gripped the cold metal of his honorary niece's door, twisting it and stepping inside as quietly as he could. In the middle of the room, amid the tossed clothes and ripped papers, he spotted the fifteen year old. Crouched down and cradling her head, he could see her occasionally pull at the roots of her white hair, the lengths of it blanketing her face from Tony's view.

"Hey Little Flower, wanna show me that pretty face?" Tony whispered as he stepped toward her slowly. The thin fingers tangled in the roots of her hair tensed again before they released, her hands falling delicately into her lap. Tony was but a few feet away when she turned to him, eyes red and puffy with tears daring to spill over. He crouched down beside her and leaned against the side of the bed as he opened his arms. Her fatigued form crawled into his arms, her knees tucked beside her, head on Tony's chest. His arms rest gently around her body, his fingers combing through her hair soothingly.

"What's up, apple pie?" Tony asked, his voice hushed as he analyzed the wilted posture of a girl who seemed so confident and upbeat all the time.

"I need to find him." She replied, voice as quiet as a mouse. Tony looked at her in confusion, her words not sparking recognition of any kind within him.

"Who? Your dad? He'll be back from Ohio later today."

He felt Violetta shake her head against his chest, her tears leaving a small spot on the collar of his graphic tee. She sniffled lightly, and Tony swore he could feel his heart break.

"No. The soldier. I need to find him. He needs me. I promised him I would help him, but I never did. I just left, like everyone else." Violetta whimpered before she sniffled once again. With a heaving sigh, she stood up from Tony's embrace and huffed, grabbing a jacket from the mess she had created, she stalked out of the room, leaving a baffled Tony Stark on the floor.

He was jolted back into action upon hearing the ding of the elevator, demanding J.A.R.V.I.S to lock down the tower and get Natasha on board to look for Violetta. He ran toward the stairwell, heading up toward the higher levels of the tower where the elevator was going.

The power cut off abruptly and the elevator came to a staggering stop. Emergency lights began pulsing annoyingly as Violetta looked around the small metal box for an escape. With a lingering stare on the small vent on the roof, she nodded to herself. With a large jump, she kicked out the panel, hearing it clatter to the side above her. She jumped once again, cursing her father's small frame for not giving her a few extra inches of height. Her hands locked in on either side of the cavity, sending her small body sailing through the air to land with a small thud on the top of the elevators.

Violetta rolled her eyes, staring up at the floor she wanted to get to; 94. Just eight floors away, she could do that. Her soft hands gripped onto the ragged edges of the cable holding the elevator from plummeting to the ground. Her hands climbed swiftly up the elevator shaft, her body following. Once she reached the top however, it was much more difficult than she had anticipated to wrench the metal doors open. She slithered through the small gap she was able to create before she took off, running through the halls of the Avengers Tower to reach the helipad; the easiest way off the tower. When she arrived, she took one lasting look at the place she had called home. With a deep breath, she ran toward the edge and jumped over the railing in a daring leap of faith.

"God I hope this works." She muttered, falling toward the ground at increasing speed.

Her eyelids slowly closed over grey irises, dark eyelashes resting atop her porcelain cheekbones, slightly rustling due to the high speed winds. Her face became at peace, the ghost of a smile morphing her dusty rose tinted lips. The long tresses of white hair billowed out around her head like a halo, she looked ethereal, angelic. The white nightgown she had donned hours previous wrapped around her like the protective arms of a loved one. She took one final breath before she let the air out of her parted lips. 

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