Mia point of view
Slowly the world comes back into focus starting with sound, I can hear Steve and Bruce whispering back and forth then the hushed voices of Thor and Ash though I can't make out what they are saying.
I open my eyes and see the ceiling of my room, that's good at least its not a Shield medical facility or a hospital.
"Morning sleepy head nice of you to join us"
I turn my head to see Clint in a chair with his feet propped up on the corner of my bed.
I sit up and lean against the headboard. I tilt my head at them when I notice that they are staring at me.
"Right. What the Phantom idiot told me" I mentally face palm.
"Uh yes you left us with a pretty big cliffhanger there" Nat says sitting down on the other side of my bed.
"I did didn't I"? I ask sheepishly.
"You bet you're sparkly behind you did" Clint quips, using the word 'behind' since Ash is in the room.
I nod.
"So what did he have to say"? Steve asks cautiously.
"More like what he didn't want to say" I say carefully.
"What do you mean"? Thor asks confused.
"Well let's just say he was less than willing to share information with me. So I took it" I tell them ducking my head as if expecting some kind of backlash.
"Took it how"? Bruce asks being the first one to speak after a few moments of silence.
"The same way I calm Tony down from his nightmares but instead of pushing away bad dreams, I pulled out information" I explain picking a spot on the wall to stare at.
"What did you get"? Clint deadpans, his voice even.
"Phantom wants to take us out- The Avengers. Next on his to do list is to uh get rid of Tony and I" I list.
"Is that all" Bruce scoffs clearly not liking where this is going.
"What else" Nat gently prompts.
I take a deep breath, this is the mind boggling bit. If what I got was right Phantom is Jerry Richards ex Stark Industries employee, fired by yours truly.
"If what I got from the henchmen was right, then I know who Phantom is" I say feeling my hands tremble a little.
You could cut the tension in here with a knife, I almost feel guilty for not realizing it sooner it all makes sense now. How Phantom got into the tower he knew the systems or knowing about Tony's connection to Afghanistan.
"Who is he"? Ash asks.
We all jump slightly as if remembering that she was still in the room.
"Jerry Richards" I state.
Suddenly all the air in the room is heavier and hard to breathe.
"Your ex bodyguard"? Steve sputters in complete and utter shock.
"It makes sense" Nat nods, I can see the wheels turning in her head.
"All the phone calls you kept getting"? Clint asks his eyes wide.
"Oh my god" I breathe blinking slowly.
Then Ash is there with her arms around my body her head laying against my chest.
"Just breathe" She whispers.
I do, until my heart stops flipping in my chest.
"This is bad" Thor declares.
"Very" Bruce agrees.
"I'm sorry" I say lifting my head from the side of Ash's head.
I avoid looking at Clint, he asked me about the calls several times and I knew something was off but I didn't tell him.
"What for"? Steve asks sitting on the end of my bed, a comforting hand on my ankle.
"I should have known it was him, I mean he's the only one who could have sidestepped Jarvis's programming and get in here unnoticed" I say feeling guilty.
"Don't go there" Bruce says shaking his head.
I tilt my head at him, I should have known he was dangerous the night of the charity ball. He stole a Stark Industries car, in hindsight it was a big red flag.
"How could I not? Tony wasn't there for the party it was me, my choices. To fire him, look what he did after" I sigh heavily.
"You didn't force him to become this villain" Thor says gently offering a sad smile.
"No but I helped, pushed him over the edge" I say looking at him.
Steve sighs heavily drawing my attention away from Thor.
"You can't put that on yourself Mia. If Tony was here he'd say the same thing, none of it is your fault" He says resolutely leaving no room for any argument.
"Steve is right. Mia it is not your fault, he made his own choices" Ash says tilting her head back to look at me.
I nod, how did she get so good at reading me?
After this mind blowing revaluation we all go to do our separate things in the tower. Nat is working on her files, Steve is on the balcony with his sketch book, Clint and Thor are playing video games Ash is sitting with them. Bruce retreated to the lab to do whatever it is he does down there.
"Incoming call from sir" Jarvis says.
"Put him through J" Clint says not looking away from the TV.
"Everyone ok? I heard some of Phantom's lackies were causing a scene in the business district" Tony asks concerned.
"We're fine" Thor says lightly glancing over at me as he talks.
I nod at him, silently telling him I will tell Tony about my arm when he gets home tomorrow.
"Oh good, Happy called me in a panic the way he was talking I thought Phantom actually made an appearance" Tony sighs in relief.
"Yes well you won't believe what we found out" Clint says pausing the game.
"What"? Tony asks.
"Ph-"
"That Phantom might be here in the states not in Europe like Shield thought" I cut in shaking my head at Clint.
"He's in the states? Does Fury know where"? He asks surprised.
"No but he's working on it" Nat puts in playing along with what I started.
"Good, maybe now we can nail the bastard" Tony says.
"Tony watch your mouth! Ash is here too" Clint says with a sigh.
"Ops" Tony hisses.
"It's ok I hear worse things on the bus" Ash pipes up waving off Clint's concerns.
"What worse have you heard"? Tony asks intrigued now.
"Ok bye Tony, Jarvis end call" I say quickly.
"Wait-"
The call disconnects.
"He doesn't need to worry about this all the way in Chicago. He'll be home tomorrow night, I will tell Tony about it then" I say when Clint gives me a questioning look.
"But he should know about this surely he deserves it after all of what Phantom has done to him" Thor adds.
"And what is Tony going to do about it? He has to finish the conference so what is the point of telling him it will only distract him" I say getting frustrated with myself and even more frustrated with Phantom.
"Mia is right. Tony has other priorities besides just the team, if we tell him now without his suits. He is going to leave the conference to try and get back here. Then the company will suffer for it" Nat says crossing her arms.
Clint and Thor reluctantly agree with Nat, I'm too tired to argue with them about it anyway. I grab Thor's cape off the table I warp it around myself and shuffle to the balcony door.
I slide the door closed and walk over to the railing near where Steve is sitting.
I can feel his on my back as I look out at the cityscape in the fading daylight.
"Spit it out Rogers" I say without turning around.
"I can feel you blaming yourself all the way over here" He says plainly, I hear the sketch book close.
I sigh heavily of course I'm blaming myself for all of this, if I had pegged Jerry earlier maybe things would be different.
"It's my fault. I should blame myself" I whisper.
"Which part? Did you organize Tony's kidnapping? Order the hit on Ash's parents? Decide to hold Archer Technologies hostage? I don't see how any of that is on you" Steve says, moving to lean on the rail next to me.
I shake my head.
"I had a feeling that it was him, but I didn't say anything. I was getting all of these creepy phone calls and Clint asked me about it and I lied to him blaming the solar radiation I give off" I explain not daring to look at him.
"You couldn't have known Mia, you couldn't" He says softly.
I look at him now.
"I should have! Ok Steve I should have, Tony getting kidnapped was the first clue. Only someone in the company would been able to find out about the Ten Rings" I start.
"Or only a Stark Industries employee could have bypassed" I finish.
"What is going to take to convince you that none of this is your fault"? Steve asks crossing his arms.
I shrug my shoulders at him, I honestly what to say not sure there is a right answer here.
"I don't know if there is anything" I say going inside.
I go to my room and toss Thor's cape on the bed, I angrily tear off my hoodie not caring that I might rip my stitches. I stand in the middle of my room in my blue jeans a white tank top for once not minding that my back is exposed.
I throw around light as I pace getting more and more angry as I go. I'm so absorbed in my angry pacing I didn't hear or see Clint come into my room, until I run right into him.
"Stop. Just stop" He says softly his hands on my shoulders dangerously so to where my scars start.
I look up at him, his eyes are a mix of emotions some I can't identify. I was about to try and apologize for lying but then he's kissing me. A feather light kiss but it's enough to render me speechless stomach full of butterflies.
"Not*kiss*your*kiss*fault" He says softly now holding my face in his hands.
I blink at him partially in shock because I never thought he actually had feelings for me.
"Then why do I feel so guilty" I ask when I find my voice again.
He sighs pulling me into a hug gentle but firm.
"Because you're human, and you have a good heart" Clint says resting his chin on the top of my head.
We stay like this for a long while. I lift my head to look at him.
"What does this mean"? I ask.
"It means Nat was right. I should stop being a scaredy cat and tell you how I feel" He says sheepishly.
I chuckle.
"I think you just did" I say kissing him first this time.
...