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VALOR
vi. NONE OF YOUR BEESWAX!
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"IT'S NOT THAT CRAZY," defended Agent Riley O'Dair. "Come on, you can't tell me you didn't feel the sparks between them!"
Natasha Romanoff scoffed as she waited for Tony Stark inside a Monaco hotel for the Grand Prix. The Russian remained nonchalant while speaking to the transparent girl. "I shouldn't have let you watch those movies on the plane," deflected Natasha.
"Teen movies are good entertainment," defended Riley. "That's beside the point. Don't you think they'd be cute together?"
"Are you seriously asking me if I think Tony Stark and Pepper Potts would be a cute couple?" Natasha lightly demanded. She shook her head. "Shouldn't you be asking me if they'd be a realistic couple?"
Riley paused. "Well, I think they'd be cute," she mumbled. "Even if Tony is kinda eccentric..."
"Uh-huh," dismissed Natasha, spotting Tony, Pepper, and Happy enter the packed room. "They're here now, so zip it."
"I know the drill," sassed Riley before going silent.
"Mr. Stark, hello," greeted Natasha. She approached them with a hardly noticeable smile. Natasha had been officially hired as Tony's new personal assistant, which was perfect for her and Riley's mission. "How was your flight?"
"It was excellent," responded Tony coolly over the thunderous noise in the room. "Boy, it's nice to see you."
Pepper forced a smile as a man with a large camera approached them. "When did this happen?" Pepper interrogated Tony.
"What? You made me do it."
"I made you do what?"
"You quit," Tony reminded the slender blonde. "Smile. Look, right there. Stop acting constipated. Don't flare your nostrils."
"You are so predictable," Pepper retorted as Natasha guided them throughout the room.
Riley nearly swore very loudly when a stranger stepped on her foot. The crowded room they were in was a nightmare for someone like Riley. Not only was she particularly very small, but being invisible didn't seem to help at all.
"You look fantastic," Tony complimented Natasha. "But that's unprofessional. What's on the docket?"
"You have a 9:30 dinner," Natasha informed her new "boss" as they stopped at a corner table near a set of windows.
"Perfect," returned Tony. "I'll be there at 11:00." He motioned to the table. "Is this us?"
"Well, it can be."
"Great. Make it us," Tony instructed before stepping away with Pepper toward the bar. Riley was nimble in maneuvering throughout the tightly-packed crowd of people to spy on Tony and Pepper.
Riley was unable to shake off this strong feeling of confusion when it came to Tony Stark. She was baffled by someone of his nature, unsure of how anyone could keep up with him enough to truly understand him. Were most people outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. like this? Or was Tony the exception?
Riley was a little disappointed when she was only able to gather from Tony's conversation with Pepper was that they bickered a lot more than normal people did. It made Riley question her original statement about how they'd be a cute couple. Also, Justin Hammer, Tony's supposed rival in the industry, was very annoying.
Riley was waiting for something interesting to happen. She hadn't realized that her regular missions were where all the action was. She was fearful that nothing interesting would ever happen until Tony excused himself from the table and hastily headed to the bathroom.
The invisible girl didn't think much of it at first, but when Natasha cleared her throat and motioned toward the man, Riley quickly realized that she was supposed to follow him. Riley was initially hesitant when she saw him walk into the bathroom. Was she supposed to just... follow him in? Wasn't that an invasion of privacy? Then again, her only job was to snoop on his private life...
And so, Riley followed Tony into the bathroom just before the door shut behind him. She hadn't expected anything particularly exciting to happen. It was just a bathroom trip, after all. Plus, Tony Stark was a fairly open person. It seemed like everyone knew everything about his personal life.
So when Tony pulled out a strange device to check his blood toxicity, Riley was curious.
Black veins stretched out from beneath his arc reactor after he unbuttoned his shirt. The device in his hand revealed his blood toxicity was at 53% out of 100%. Riley grew concerned, unsure of what to think of this. Was Tony dying?
A troubled expression colored Tony's face as he cleaned his finger. Riley made a mental note to ask Natasha about what she had seen, suddenly concerned for the innocent man and eager to help him.
Riley felt her heart stop altogether when Tony looked up at his reflection and challenged himself, "Got any other bad ideas?"
Riley froze. She knew it wasn't plausible, but it truly sounded like Tony had been addressing her. She had been so started that her focus merely dissipated to the point where she turned visible again.
Tony leaped out of his skin when he noticed the small girl standing in the men's bathroom with him. He leaned against the sink, brown eyes widened with astonishment. "What the—!? When did you get in here?" demanded Tony.
Riley was a true deer in the headlights. What was she supposed to do now? She didn't think this would actually happen. 'C'mon, Riley, think! Don't blow your cover now!'
"Uh..." lingered Riley. She was unsure whether to speak French or English, considering she was in Monaco speaking to an American. "My dad... Je cherche mon père. Uh... I'm looking for... for my dad."
Tony stared at her momentarily. "And you thought you'd find him in here...? Not where all the people are?" He pointed toward the door that would bring them back to the public event.
Riley shrugged. "He's just a... nervous pee...er," Riley spat out. She wanted to slap herself. Maybe she really was in grave need of field experience. "It's really bad. Mhm... 'specially in crowds."
"A nervous... pee-er," Tony doubtfully repeated.
"Hey, it's a thing!" interposed Riley. "Have you never met someone who gets so nervous they have to pee? It's, uh, it's genetic, you know!"
"Genetic? Does that mean...? Never mind," Tony dismissed. He turned to face her properly, making a dubious face. Tony never liked kids, and it showed. "What's your name, kid?"
"R—Athena," Riley quickly said, using her biological mother's name. "I'm Athena."
"Last name?"
Riley was about to tell him, only to realize that a genius like Tony Stark would certainly recognize the name. Riley's mother, Athena O'Dair was a famous scientist. If she told him, she'd make things worse.
"None of your beeswax!" the girl objected, causing Tony to sigh defeatedly. Tony was curious by her sudden defensive nature, but then he realized: he didn't actually care enough to know more.
"Okay, Athena None-of-your-beeswax," Tony paused to roll his eyes, "if you could do anything right now, what would it be?"
The way he asked his question made it seem like he was looking for Riley to give him an idea. She didn't know why that would matter or where his question had suddenly come from. Riley was sure it didn't matter, so she chose to say the first thing that popped into her mind.
Riley didn't know it then, but she'd soon live to regret telling the impulsive man that was Tony Stark that she would love to drive around one of the racecars outside.
○ ○ ○
"Shit, shit, shit, shit," repeatedly murmured Riley O'Dair under her breath.
The invisible girl propelled her way through the crowds of people inside the Monaco hotel. She grumbled wildly to herself as she scrutinized the room for a sliver of fiery red hair. Riley had seriously messed up, and she needed to find Natasha Romanoff.
Riley couldn't believe it. The one thing Riley had to do was stay silent and invisible. How could she have messed up the one thing she had to do? The poor child filled with anxiety felt like an absolute idiot.
She sped ahead once she spotted Natasha standing near the table reserved for Tony and Pepper. The CEO of Stark Industries sat alone, skimming the menu. Riley puffed her cheeks out in relief to see that Natasha wasn't preoccupied.
The Latina shuffled to Natasha's side, unsure of how to gain her attention. So, Riley did the first thing she thought of and lightly smacked Natasha's arm. The redhead jolted upward with surprise, swatting back instinctively.
"It's me," whispered Riley through gritted teeth. She tried to speak unostentatiously so as to not gain unnecessary attention. "We... have a... problem."
"Spit it out," muttered back Natasha, maintaining her neutral facial expression despite the unexpected emergency.
"Tony Stark," continued Riley without missing a beat. "It's Tony. He saw me."
Natasha's eye twitched. "He what?"
"I didn't mean for it to happen!" Riley insisted. She began to fidget with her hands—a nervous habit. "We were in the bathroom and..." Riley was interrupted by the television before them displaying an image of Tony Stark sporting a blue racing suit outside the hotel. He leaped over the barrier and trotted toward one of the racecars. "...and... Oh, no."
"Natalie," beckoned Pepper, panicked. She signaled the redhead over to her side. "Natalie!"
"We'll discuss this later," rapidly asserted Natasha before hurrying to Pepper's side, where they discussed how Tony Stark had unexpectedly entered himself in the Grand Prix.
Riley was about to follow after her superior as she retrieved Happy Hogan outside, until Natasha barked, "Stay put."
Riley sighed in defeat. What was she meant to do now? Sit around and let Natasha clean up after her again? Maybe. After all, Riley had royally screwed up. It was a minor mistake and could be easily amended, but it frustrated her nonetheless.
Observing as Tony Stark pointed his finger at the camera, Riley seemed to know exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted to fix her mistake. She wanted to help. And she'd be damned if she was going to sit around and depend on Natasha for the rest of her life.
Riley knew she was going to save the world one day, but before she did that, she needed to learn how to save herself first.
That being said, Riley had no idea how to do that. But, hey, she was running on pure adrenaline and she needed to act before it all wore off. Keeping this in mind, Riley turned on her heel and sprinted outside toward the racetracks.
By the time she was outside, the race had already commenced. Tony Stark and the racers had taken off at the speed of light. Engines revved and tires burned along with eager shouts that came from the bystanders. Riley didn't know much about racing cars, but she could understand the appeal.
Riley glimpsed up at the monitor that was set up for the viewers at home. She was unsure of which car Tony had boarded, but she wanted to figure it out in order to keep track of him.
Riley squinted at the monitor and sighed, frustrated by her impaired vision due to her accident. S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists had compared Riley's eyesight to how one's vision can deteriorate by staring at the sun for too long. Essentially, that was what had happened to her, with the added fact that Riley could see every ultraviolet ray in existence.
Regardless of that, Riley didn't need perfect vision to spot the strange man in an orange jumpsuit swaggering down the racetrack. He was also adorned with a strange mechanical vest and held peculiar objects in his hands—whips composed of electricity.
'This guy's bad news,' thought Riley as she moved forward without hesitation. 'There's a lot of important people here, so he's gotta be targeting someone, right? But who? If he's on the tracks, then maybe it's one of the racers? But... the only racer that's actually important enough to target is...' Riley's eyes widened. 'Tony Stark!'
Riley sprinted forward to the general area the strange man was in. She never really noticed it until the situation called for it, but her accident seemed to have enhanced her body in terms of things like her strength and speed. She arrived at the future scene of the accident within two minutes. Riley just barely made it on time when it happened.
The man swung his electric whip, slicing through one of the racecars. Riley gasped at the sight. The car split and proceeded to flip through the air. Riley flinched at the thought of being inside of it.
The uproar had occurred so fast that she couldn't keep up. Riley felt her chest tighten and her breathing accelerate. This was what always happened to her in high-stress situations—Riley would panic, worrying about the others around her to the point of being unable to fend for herself.
But now wasn't the time to panic. Riley knew that. She just needed to focus on what the man was going to do next. She wasn't sure how she'd help everyone, but Riley didn't care about that. She studied him and awaited his next move.
Riley felt her entire being twitch when she noticed the man move his arm, preparing to swing again. This time, his target was whoever was driving the racecar with the American flag stamped on it. Riley knew that had to be Tony Stark.
Riley worriedly watched as the man brandished his whip, piercing through it just as he had to the previous one. Riley couldn't stop thinking about how Tony was just an ordinary man. He had no powers or protective gear to save him. Riley knew she was the only one at that moment with the power to help.
Riley outstretched her arms in an instant, focusing so hard that she could feel her blood vessels nearly pop. She clenched her jaw and put all of her being into creating a large forcefield around Tony Stark just as he was thrust upward.
Screams penetrated the atmosphere as civilians fled the Grand Prix. Dread swamped the heavens. Riley winced at the panic all around her. It made her want to panic in return, but instead, she continued to focus solely on protecting Tony Stark.
In the midst of the smoke and flames that polluted the world, Riley sighed in relief when she saw Tony. He didn't... look dead. That was all that mattered to Riley.
"Come on, Tony Stark," encouraged Riley despite knowing he couldn't hear her. "Get up!" She groaned in agony when he remained in his seat. "What do I do? What do I do?"
Riley racked her brain as the terrorist stalked toward Tony. If Tony wasn't going to exit the racecar himself, then Riley needed to find a way to make him move. But how?
Then Riley realized it: She didn't need to be down there to move him! She'd discovered this just last week in training. Riley could create forcefields, manipulating them as she pleased. That meant she could push Tony out of the car herself, right? That made sense, right?
Riley didn't have time to second-guess herself. Instead, she moved her hands and recreated her previous forcefield around Tony. She used all the energy she could possibly muster up.
Riley never paused to consider that by moving him in the forcefield, she was also attempting to move his body weight, as well. Whatever was coursing through her veins, UV energy or adrenaline, it was just enough for her to push him out of the demolished car and onto his feet.
Riley relaxed upon seeing that she'd given him enough time to recover from the accident to protect himself. She even laughed as he hit his attacker with a car door. Moreover, her smile faded once the criminal hit Tony with his whip again.
'Who does this guy think he is? Indiana Jones?' quickly crossed Riley's mind. Riley motioned to create another forcefield to protect him, but the first two times drained her completely. She watched as Tony dodged each attack, but she was worried nonetheless. How long could Tony keep this up for?
The more Riley tried to use her powers again, the more her vision became spotty. Riley had reached her limit on her forcefields and needed to stop before she hurt herself. But Riley didn't want to stop. She didn't know what to do.
Luckily for her, though, Happy managed to drive onto the track and slam into Tony's attacker just as Riley felt herself grow more and more exhausted. Her work as Tony's temporary guardian angel was done.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?"
"I WAS ATTACKED!"
Riley didn't have the energy to question the interaction between Pepper and Tony below her as she sat down on one of the bleachers. Now that the bystanders were gone, she turned herself visible again. Riley propped her elbows upon her legs, her head resting in her hands.
"Ahem."
Riley glanced up tiredly, only for the adrenaline to kick in once more as Natasha Romanoff stared down at her unhappily.
Riley puffed out her cheeks and sarcastically grumbled a little, "Well, that was fun," before passing out altogether.