(Soleil's POV)
It took a while to lose her tail of paparazzi following her from the mansion but once she did; Soleil drove to Tony's garage where he kept a collection of cars that he did not drive often for safe keeping. The guard to the building let her in as soon as she showed her I.D and passed the retinal scan.
Soleil pulled in and parked the BMW I8, getting out with Maya following after her, grabbing a new set of keys from the hanger and making her way towards the Audi S5 Tony also got for her 40th. All because he said 'Audis were better than BMWs', but Soleil paid him no mind as in general; she preferred cars made not in America.
She pulled out of the garage and once she got onto the highway, Maya broke their long silence. "Where are we going?"
"We needed to get away from the paparazzi. They've been on my nerve all..." Soleil looked towards the infotainment screen; seeing the time and sighed. "All of yesterday."
"I get that, but-"
"You wanted to talk somewhere private. The mansion is..was basically never going to be safe enough to talk in. We are better off in this car, until I can think or find a place to stop at. So, let's talk Maya Hansen." Soleil faced the road as she continued to speak. "Why were you at the mansion tonight? What was so important that you had to speak to Tony? And why only him?"
Maya seemed hesitant as she took a breath before exhaling out. "I think my boss is working for the Mandarin. So..if you still want to talk about it. I suggest that we get ourselves someplace safe."
Soleil's ears flattened backwards as she let out a hiss. "Your boss works for the Mandarin, you think? One; how do you even 'think' that? Two; Tony said you were a botanist, so.."
"That figures." Maya cut her off. "What I actually am is a Biological DNA Coder running a team of 40 out of a privately funded think tank."
Soleil gripped the steering wheel tighter, claws threatening to escape and tear into the leather of the wheel.
"But, sure. You can call me a botanist." Maya finished off.
"This boss of your's, does he have a name?" Soleil asked.
"Yeah, Aldrich Killian." Maya answered.
"Son of a fucking bitch!"
~~~
(Tony's POV)
Tony and Harley had left the garage and walked into town leaving in hopes to find more information about about the suicide bombing that occurred in Rose Hill. Tony had made some makeshift charging station for his suit, so he hoped Jarvis would be back online as soon as he gets this little investigation over with.
"The sandwich was fair, the spring was a little rusty, the rest of the materials, I'll make do. By the way, when you said your sister had a watch.." Tony started off his as he and Harley turned down an alleyway, while he also pulled up his sleeve; revealing a Dora The Explorer watch on his wrist. "I was kinda hoping for something a little more adult than that."
"She's six! Anyway, it's limited edition." Harley laughed before completely changing the topic. "..When can we talk about New York?"
"Maybe never, relax about it."
"What about The Avengers, your girlfriend is one of them; Sunbeam, right? Can you talk about them?" Harley asked as he followed alongside Tony as they got closer to the explosion site.
"I don't know, later. Hey kid, give me a little space." Tony extended his arm to keep Harley at a distance while he did his best to keep control over his breathing. They soon stopped in front of the site, Tony did a quick look around before asking a question. "What's the official story here? What happened?"
"I guess this guy named Chad Davis, used to live roundabouts, won a bunch of medals in the army. One day, folks said he went crazy and made, you know, a bomb." Harley explained as he sat down near the small crater made by the explosion. "Then he blew himself up right here."
Tony on the other hand; moved to get a closer look, running his hands over the scorched marks left behind of the victim's bodies on the wall. "Six people died, right?"
"Yeah."
"Including Chad Davis?"
"Yeah, yeah." Harley watched as Tony continued to walk around, looking at the shadows of victims on the wall.
"Yeah. That doesn't make sense." Tony states as he comes to sit down next to Harley. "Think about it. Six dead, only five shadows."
"Yeah, people said these shadows are like the mark of souls gone to Heaven." Harley looked around at the walls before looking back at Tony. "Except the bomb guy, he went to Hell on account of he didn't get a shadow. That's why there's only five."
Tony rubbed his goatee. "Do you buy that?"
"That's what everyone says." Harley states before a moment of silence takes place, and he feels inclined to break it. "You know what this crater reminds me of?"
"No idea. I'm not...I don't care."
"That giant wormhole in, um...in New York. Does it remind you?"
Tony rubs one of his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose. He turns to give Harley a side eyed look. "That's manipulative. I don't want to talk about it."
Harley pushes on as if Tony's word just went in one ear and out the other. "Are they coming back? The aliens?"
"Maybe. Can you stop?" Tony breaths out. "Remember when I told you, that I have an anxiety issue?"
"Does this subject make you...make you edgy?"
"Yeah, a little bit. Can I just catch my breath for a second?"
"Are there bad guys in Rose Hills? Do you...do you need a plastic bag to breathe into? Do you have medication?" Harley started to list off a bunch of questions, which does not make Tony feel better at all.
Tony takes a deep breath in through his nose and holds it for three seconds before forcefully blowing it out through his mouth. "No."
"Do you need to be on it?"
"Probably."
"Do you have PTSD?"
"I don't think so."
"Are you...are you going completely mental?" Harley asked and paid no mind to the offended look Tony gave him as he continued on. "I can stop, do you want me to stop? Do you want me to stop?"
At this point, Tony's breathing had become more laboured than he would like and no breathing technique was worth doing right now with Harley consistently pestering him with questions that were driving him up a wall.
"Remember when I said to stop doing that? I swear to God, you're going to freak me out!" Tony snapped at the boy, looking agitated before basically giving up and letting out a grunt as he stood from his seat. "Ah man, you did it, didn't you? You happy now?"
"What did I say?!" Harley called out as Tony began jogging back towards the street -specifically away from him-. Harley soon stood up and followed Tony, his voice was loud enough that he did not hear what Tony was mumbling about. "Hey, wait up! Wait, wait."
Tony stopped running by the end of the alleyway, running out of breath quicker than usual and feeling hot despite it being frigid outside. He took off his jacket before leaning against the wall, panting and soon his legs gave out underneath him. Tony was now seated on a mound of snow; taking off his cap and trying to catch his breath.
"What the hell was that?" Harley came to stand beside Tony, looking down at the man; who took some snow and pressed it against his face.
Tony let out a breath, thankful for the coolness of the snow to help calm him down. But in these moments it did make him miss Soleil even more, as she would have been a lot more helpful than snow.
Tony rubbed the snow down his face before chucking it Harley. "Your fault, you spazzed me out."
He took another breath after seeing Harley smiling; looking not even the tiniest bit guilty for what he did, before Tony put his cap on his head and continued on. "Okay, back to business. Where were we? The guy who died...relatives? Mom? Mrs. Davis, where is she?"
Harley backed down on his preferred topic -for now-, and answered Tony's question . "Where she always is."
"See? Now, you're being helpful." Tony stated matter of factly.
Harley pointed him towards the bar called 'Walker's' down the street, and Tony shooed the boy away soon after. Deciding it be best he go alone, and he was not going to take 'no' for answer no matter how much Harley protested. Which Tony ended up reminding the kid that he was not even allowed in the bar, and Harley finally relented.
Tony breathed out an exasperated breath as he adjusted the scarf around his neck, nearing the bar before he bumped into a woman on the sidewalk.
"Uh..Sorry." Tony commented as he turned around and saw that the woman had dropped something, so he picked it up while he called out to her. "Lady? Is this uh..."
The woman came back and took her wallet from his hands, looking up at him. "Thank you."
Tony managed to keep his face neutral as he took in the burn marks and scars that decorated one side of the woman's face, and instead got out a compliment -which sounded obviously halfhearted-. "Nice haircut. It suits you."
The woman still smiled and made a quick gesture to his wrist. "Nice watch."
"Yeah, limited edition." Tony made a weird gesture of showing off the watch, not sure if he should flex it or not.
"Oh, I don't doubt it." The woman smirked before taking a step back. "Well, have a good evening."
Tony kept his eye on her for a moment longer, watching her retreating figure unable to figure out if she was good news or bad. Instead; he set the thought aside, adjusting his cap on his head and headed into the bar.
As Tony walked in, he watched as people seemed to be enjoying the holidays as they drank, talked, danced and general were just very merry. He could not help but notice the sheriff of the town, and the gun in its holster; making him keep his head down as he moved out of the way of another man.
"Excuse me." The man muttered as Tony made way for him to move to a seat at the bar, while he continued to look around without drawing attention to himself.
Tony grabbed a glass of ice water despite himself and his usual choice for whiskey, and soon manages to find a woman who resembles Chad Davis; seated alone.
"Mrs. Davis?" He made his way over as he called out to her, and when the woman looked up; acknowledging her surname, Tony set his glass down. "Mind if I join you?"
Mrs. Davis was resting her chin on one hand, while she fiddled with the chain of necklace with the other. She stopped and made a passive gesture with her head. "Free country."
"Sure is." Tony agreed as he took a seat, patting his cap against his knees before setting it on the table while Mrs. Davis turned to give him her full attention.
"All right. Where would you like to start?"
"I just want to say I'm sorry about your loss." Tony started off before continuing on. "I want to know what you think happened."
"Look, I brought your damn file. You take it and go." Mrs. Davis mutters as she placed a file and Chad's dog tags in front of him. "Whatever was in here, he wanted no part of it."
Tony opened the file and took peak at its contents, but only for a second before looking at the woman. "Clearly, you're waiting for someone else. Right? Supposed to meet somebody here?"
"Yeah."
Tony looks at the file again and notices a photo of another man named; 'Taggart, J' who had been seen at the Chinese Theatre before the explosion. His photo was right next to the Chad's own. He closed the file and leaned closer to the woman.
"Mrs. Davis, your son didn't kill himself. I guarantee you, he didn't kill anyone." Tony stated getting some semblance of a few pieces falling into place. "Someone used him."
"What?"
"As a weapon."
Mrs. Davis's lips trembled as she sucked in a breath and leaned in closer, lowering her voice. "You're not the person who called me after all, are you?"
Suddenly a badge was slammed down onto the table, causing both Tony and Mrs. Davis to look up at the person; who interrupted them.
"Actually, I am." The woman that Tony had bumped into outside, smiled before suddenly grabbing hold of his arm and twisted it. Pulling him out of his seat before slamming his head onto the table.
"Hey, hey, hey! What's all this about?" The town's sheriff called out due to the ruckus, and Tony used this moment to quickly grab hold of Chad's dog tags that were on the table and put them his jacket's inside pocket. "What the hell's going on here?"
"It's called an arrest." The woman stated plainly as she handcuffed him before she hoisted Tony up and threw him down to the ground. Tony let out a grunt as his back hit the floor while the woman turned to the man who was speaking to her. "Sheriff, is it?"
"Yes ma'am, it is. And you are?"
"Homeland Security." The woman holds up her badge. "We good here?"
"No, we're not good." The sheriff chuckled humourlessly. "I need a little more information than that."
"Well, I think it's a little above your pay grade, Sheriff."
"Yeah, well, why don't you get on the horn to Nashville and uh...upgrade me?"
While the sheriff and the woman from 'Homeland Security' talked their issues out, Tony made a gesture with his head towards Mrs. Davis. Able to take a hint, Mrs. Davis swiftly takes the file and slides it under a different table; out of sight.
"Alright. You know what? I was hoping to do this the smart way, but uh...the fun way's always good." The woman had her back turned to Tony, but what he focused on was her hand turning red, her veins began glowing and started to burn the badge that rested in her grip.
"Deputy, get this woman and..." The sheriff was cut off by the woman suddenly shoving the scolding hot metal of the badge into his face, and he lets out a cry in pain.
A woman somewhere in the bar screams, as the assailant shoves her hand through the sheriff's abdomen; reaching for the deputy's gun and pulling it through the hole she created. The sheriff groaned loudly as the women rips her hand out of him, before he keels over while she points the gun at the deputy and shoots.
Tony takes this as his cue to leave, standing up and makes his way to the exit as he hears another shot fired and the sheriff's cries of pain soon stop.
As he makes it outside, he turns to look back at the entrance and sees the woman there following after him. "Hey, hot wings, you wanna party? Come on. You and me, let's go."
As Tony turns to run again he sees another guy getting out of a car and walking towards him; specifically noticing the glowing veins on the guy's face. Tony turns once again and runs in the opposite direction as the guy gets his gun out to shoot at him. But both of his shots miss due to a snowball that hit him in the back of his head, making the guy look around catching a glimpse of a child hiding behind an electrical post.
Tony continues to run and soon takes cover behind a car, seeing a man laying low as well. "Crazy, huh?"
"Yep." The man nodded.
"Watch this." Tony said after taking quick glance back before proceeded to throw himself into the window of a food shop. Landing with a grunt, before bringing his legs through his arms and getting his cuffed hands in front of him.
As Tony stands up and looks outside he sees 'Hot wing' aiming a shotgun and wondered how she got that for a moment before taking off running further into the store. He hopped over the counter as his assailant shot at him, hitting the display glass while his back slammed into half wall separating the front from the kitchen.
Tony stayed in a crouching position as he moved further down the counter's side before taking a peak over the top of it. Seeing no one there, he quickly turned to his right to only come face to face with Hot wing.
She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, hoisting him up and slamming him into the wall before elbowing Tony in the face. Tony's head slammed into the wall once again causing him to stumble as he tried to get away and the woman proceeds to grab his wrist, slamming his hands into his crotch while she gets behind him.
She flips him on the countertop after that, and happily watches as Tony lets out a gasp of air upon impact. Tony rolls off the counter and the woman mimics his movements before she grabs his wrist once again and raises his arms over his head, then slamming him into another wall.
She gives him a cheeky grin before swiftly letting go of his wrist and brought her hands down to grip his head as her veins begin to glow once again. Tony grits his teeth before he head butts the woman; throwing her off a bit, but it gave just enough time for Tony to get the upper hand.
He manages to slide over the half wall and gets the chain of his handcuffs around the woman's neck. Now; she was currently bending backwards over the counter of the half wall with Tony yanking on the cuffs to block her air flow in order to knock her out.
But the woman just giggled as her eyes and veins glowed orange and the chain soon snapped causing Tony to fall back. Tony gasp from the heat of the scolding metal around his wrist and swiftly gets them off before they burn his flesh anymore.
He sees a jug of oil and kicks it through the door leading out of the kitchen, then kicks one of the cuffs into the trail; setting it ablaze. The fire gives him time to throw Chad's dog tags into the microwave and set a time for 10 seconds.
He pressed the 'start' button, as he turns towards the saloon style doors of the kitchen. "You walked right into this one, I've dated hotter chicks than you."
Hot wing busted through the door with gasp, skin chard but very much alive causing Tony to keep moving toward the back exit. The woman stands up with a grin. "That's all you got? Cheap trick and a cheesy one-liner?"
Tony pulls out a valve, letting gas escape into the area as he holds the back door open for himself. "Sweetheart, that could be the name of my autobiography."
Tony makes his timely exit and quickly runs towards an ice cooler, opening the door and using that as a shield as the shop explodes. When it dies down, Tony stands up faltering as he leans against the cooler for a moment and holding the cooler's door that practically fell off its hinges due to the blast.
He begins to walk away stumbling over a gurney in his path, before taking a look at his one-time use shield which was completely singed on the interior from facing the explosion. He chucked it to the side having no further use for it before he managed to catch a glimpse of Hot wing hanging on an electrical wire.
He did not have much time to get a good look at her state as he soon heard a loud creaking noise and looked behind him to see the Rose Hill water tower beginning to fall. But most importantly, it just so happened to be falling in his direction though he noticed the reddening of the tower's leg as it was being heated up.
Tony took off running, evading a few pine trees in his way before he grew desperate and jumped through the last bit, only to find a chain linked fence in front of him. As he looked up, the tower was already halfway in its decent before it crashed into the ground sending a wave of water rushing out of it.
A construction trailer was torn apart in the wake of the wave as well as a few other things in its general vicinity, and Tony choked out some water as he soon found himself -once again- pinned under some metal. Though this time, only his foot was stuck between some metal of the fallen water tower which he attempted to pull out until he heard a familiar voice.
"Let me go!"
"Help me! Help me!" The man mocked the kid. Tony looked up to see it was the same guy who had shot at him earlier and was now carrying Harley over his shoulder along with a chair in his other hand, as he approached Tony. Placing the chair down, he soon took a seat and placed the kid on his lap, holding him there as he spoke while Harley struggled in his grasp. "Anyway. Hey kid, what would you like for Christmas?"
Tony hastily tried to free his foot once again before looking up as Harley spoke. "Mr. Stark, I am so sorry!"
"No. No, no. I think he was trying to say, 'I want my god damn file.'." The man said with an evil grin directed at Tony.
Tony had to think quick or Harley was about to get roasted. "It's not your fault, kid... Remember what I told you about bullies."
Harley; thankfully, caught on quick and luckily had the weapon Tony gave him earlier on him. He soon pulls it out, closes his eyes and directs at the guy holding on to him. A bright flash appears from the gadget which causes the guy to let go and stumble back while Harley runs away.
"You like that, Westworld?" Tony tautened the guy; who quickly straightened up and look towards him. "That's the thing about smart guys, we always cover our ass."
Tony brings up his hand, revealing his suit's repulsor and fires it at the guy; who gets hit directly in the face and is thrown back by the force. He ends up in heap exhaling a breath, but Tony soon focuses on the malfunctioning repulsor that's trying to burn him as well and quickly throws it off.
Tony grabs a plank of wood near him and lodges it underneath the metal trapping his foot, lifting it up and sliding his foot out with a grunt. "Ah!"
He stands up and goes over to the guy, lets out a small sigh of relief at seeing him not breathing before his fishes in the man's pocket for his car keys. He takes them and makes his way back to the bar, where most of its customers have clear out or were still in hiding.
Tony did not care or did not really have time to as he quickly went in and got the file that Mrs. Davis had slide under a table for him before he exited and made his way towards the car. He flipped through the file to see if everything was there before the kid came back.
"You're welcome." Harley stated, as he fell into pace with Tony.
"For what? Did I miss something?" Tony placed the file underneath his arm.
"Me, saving your life." Harley pointed out.
"Yeah. A, saved you first. B, thanks. Sort of. And C, if you do someone a solid, don't be a yutz. Alright? Just play it cool. Otherwise you come off grandiose."
"Unlike you?" Harley questioned as Tony unlocked the car with the key fob and opened the door before turning to him. "Admit it, you need me. We're connected."
"What I need is for you to go home, be with your mom, keep your trap shut, guard the suit and stay connected to the telephone because if I call, you better pick up. Okay, can you feel that." Tony pats Harley's shoulder. "We're done here. Move out the way or I'm going to run you over. Bye kid."
Tony gets into the car, starting the engine and winds down the window; still seeing Harley standing just outside of it.
"I'm sorry, kid, you did good." Tony looked towards him.
Harley takes a step closer. "So, now you're just going to leave me here, like my dad?"
"Yep." Tony said after a moment before he pauses again as realization hits him. "Wait, you're guilt-tripping me, aren't you?"
"I'm cold." Harley said it in a childish voice as he wraps his arms around himself and shivers -for good measure-.
"I can tell." Tony mocks him and pouts as he continues on. "You know how I can tell? 'Cause we're connected~."
Harley watched as Tony drove off before he brought his arms down. "It was worth a shot."