A.N Sorry for the wait on this guys. My life is pretty busy at the moment. But I found time for this.
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"Christmas is so close I hate it." I said as I pinned up some tinsel on the shelves in mine and Steve's apartment. It's been a while since I've seen Tony and he's fine apparently. I still worry about him though. It's my job to worry, especially with Christmas just around the corner and Tony inviting everyone to a Christmas dinner at Stark Tower months ago.
"Yeah well it will be over soon and we'll get the later nights back." Steve said as he brought in more decorations. He kissed my head before going over to the undecorated tree and putting baubles on.
"I still don't know what to get, Natasha." I said turning round to Steve. "What did you get her?" I asked and Steve looked at me.
"Nothing. She didn't ask for anything." I shrugged my shoulders as she didn't ask for anything but she's been my friend for years and deserves something.
"I'll get her something whether she wants something or not."
"You heard from Tony about Happy?" Steve asked and I sighed. Happy got severely injured when a bomb went off near him a few days ago. He's in hospital in a critical condition. As soon as I found out I rung Tony. Tony said not to worry and he'll keep an eye on him. I know it was the mandarin, but I have nothing to go on to go after him. Not yet anyway.
"He's okay. Still a risk but not as much as he was." I said before leaving the room to get lights for the tree. As I came back in someone started frantically knocking at our door.
"I got it." Steve jumped up and opened the door revealing Sharon, I mean Kate, behind the door with a worried look on her face.
"Hello, Kate." Steve said before she stormed in and I put the lights on the kitchen table in worry for her. "Yeah, that's fine just walk in." Steve said sarcastically.
"You should read this." Kate said holding out a newspaper, probably todays. I looked at the paper and back at her.
"Last time I was told to look at a paper I found out two people I loved very much were dead, and they were Tony's parents. Please tell me this isn't anything like that." I said and she had that look on her face that meant it was like that. I took a deep breathe and took the paper from her. I read the title and breathed in and out very heavily. I rubbed a hand through my hair before I nearly fell back which the kitchen table stopped before Steve ran over.
"Just breathe, Ash okay?" Steve took the newspaper out of my hands and placed in on the table as he sat me down. I tried to breathe but I couldn't. I was having a panic attack. I haven't had one in a long time. "Just look at me, okay?" Steve said placing his hands on either side of my face making me look at him. "You're gunna be okay. Just breathe." I nodded and started to breathe and calm down.
Once I was stable, Steve looked at the newspaper and looked back at me. He didn't say anything, but hugged me tight and kissed my hair.
The title? Tony Stark presumed Dead after home attack. My whole world fell apart right there and then. I should have stayed. I should have stayed and helped him.
"I'm sorry, Ashley, I knew you were best friends" Kate started but I zoned out and looked at the paper as Steve stroked my cheek with his thumb. Then I noticed a key word. Presumed. He was PRESUMED dead, not that he WAS dead or FOUND dead. He's presumed dead.
"He's not dead." I said interrupting Kate.
"Ashley, I don't know-"
"Don't you dare say what I think you're gunna say." I said before Kate could go any further. "It says PRESUMED dead, it doesn't mean he IS dead." I said standing up and leaning againt the table breathing in and out still.
"Well yeah but-"
"Shut up, Steve, just shut up for once." I said trying to think. "He's not dead and I'll prove it." I said before rushing to mine and Steve's room to get some gear.
"Wait Ash you can't leave." Steve said as I grabbed a gun and my suit and shoved them in a bag.
"Oh yes I can. If Tony is dead I need to know for sure. And I've known him long enough to know there is no way in hell he's gunna die that way." I zipped the bag up and put on my leather jacket.
"Just stop and think for a minute." Kate said and I put some boots on.
"Stopping and thinking is something I don't do, Kate. You know that. Now, be darlings and take care of each other." I said getting up and picking up my bag. "I'll be back when I find him, dead or alive." I then stormed out the room and out the door to my car. I sat in my car in silence as I couldn't leave Tony for a second. I needed to find him, alive. For Pepper's sake. Pepper! Oh god I forgot about her. I need to ring her.
I set my phone up so I could use speakerphone and rung her.
"Ashley? Oh thank god you called." I heard her voice and sighed in relief she was alive.
"Pepper! You better tell me what the hell happened as I'm on my way over now." Kinda lied. I wasn't going over to her. I had a tracker in each one of Tony's suit and the tracking system was in my car. So if there's a suit out of place I'll know it's him. He never leaves his suit on it's own.
"Tony....Tony did something stupid...he told the mandarin where we lived and then the mandarin came and..." I could hear her crying and gripped the steering wheel.
"Just be calm okay, Pepper? I'll find him."
"What are you gunna do?" She asked and I sighed.
"I don't know. But I'm going to find him, Pep. I will find him." I told her and got the gps ready.
"I know you will, Ash. Just please find him alive." I sighed and turned Tony's tracker on. There was a suit way out of place. It was in Rose Hill, Tennessee, but the signal was weak, the suit must be dead.
"I can't promise that, Pep, but I'll try."
"I know you will. What would we do without you?" She asked and I smiled to myself.
"I have no idea, Pep. Be safe." I then hung up on her and started my car. I then got on the phone to my jet pilot and told him to fly me to Tennessee. He complied. I took the gps out of my car so I could easily put it in the car I get from Tennessee.
Once in Tennessee I got my car, put in my gps and followed the signal. It was dark and cold and snowy. I should have brought a coat. The signal was then getting closer and closer when finally I came upon a house. A small wooden house. I prepared myself by getting my gun. I got out slowly and looked round. Looks innocent enough, but you never know nowadays.
I got my gun ready and kicked open the door holding my gun up. Clear room, well clear except the Iron Man suit.
"God damn it, Tony, where are you?" I whispered to myself. I knew he couldn't of gone far so I got back into my car and drove into the small town. Seemed good enough. I parked across from a bar. Which seemed to be busy. I then heard screams and gun shots come from the bar. I then noticed Tony running out with his hands cuffed. I sighed and got my gun and ran out. A woman then came out and started shooting a Tony, what bitch. I made sure the woman shooting at Tony couldn't see me before I went into the little cafe. The woman then came back in, her skin seem to be really hot. She then went after Tony and I decided to make my move.
I moved out, grabbed her head and banged it on the counter.
"Ashley?" I heard Tony asked before the woman came after me and I moved out the way before she got to Tony. I then made sure me and Tony vaulted over the bar thing and Tony tried to strangle the woman with his cuffs which just melted the cuffs setting Tony free. What the hell is wrong with this woman? "Move." Tony pushed me aside as he made sure oil was spread on the floor near the entrance to the kitchen, and he made his hot cuffs glide across the floor, setting the oil alight. Didn't think of that. Tony then put something in the microwave and put it on.
"You've walked right into this one. I've dated hotter chicks than you." I rolled my eyes at his lame attempt at a joke and kneeled next to him watching what would happen. The woman then came through the door with flaming eyes and growling.
"That all you got?" She smiled evilly. " A cheap trick and a cheesy one liner." She said and Tony took out the gas plug and pulled me up to the door.
"Sweetheart, that could be the name of my autobiography." he said before grabbing my hand and running out the back door and shielding me as the place blew up. After it was done we stood up and I faced him. "Guessing you're mad at me." He was right. I smacked his head then his arm, then his head again. "Ow, ow, OW, okay stop. I'm sorry."
"Sorry? You're sorry that you told the mandarin where you lived thinking he wasn't going to do anything, when really he came and blew your house up which endangered the life of not only you but Pepper too. I had a panic attack seeing that you were presumed dead." I told him now pretty angry.
"But I'm not dead, look, I'm alive. Tah dah!" He said giving me the jazz hands.
"Oh just stop it. You worried the hell outta me." I said a little calmer.
"I know I did and I'm sorry. You wanna hug me?" he held his arms out and I crossed my arms.
"No I don't wanna hug you, I'm angry at you."
"I know but you can't stay mad at me forever."
"Tony, I.."
"Just hug me." He wrapped his arms around me and I slowly wrapped my arms around him. All the anger was gone now. "Feel better?" Tony asked as he pulled away. I smiled lightly and nodded. I then heard metal creaking and me and Tony looked behind me to see the water tower being melted down by a man version of the woman.
"Shit." I whispered before pulling Tony through some Christmas trees but got stuck by a fence before the water cane over us. I hid my head in Tony's neck and waited for the water to go. Once it did I noticed me and Tony were both stuck in between some metal. "Just what we need." I said trying to pull the metal off us but it wasn't working.
"Let me go." I heard a kid say making me look up and see the guy who melted the water tower down holding a kid that was struggling.
"Help me, oh help me." The man mocked the kid as he sat on the chair and held the kid close making sure he couldn't escape. "Hey kid, looks like your Christmas present came early. Miss Ashley Gomez in the flesh. She's pretty don't you think? But what else do you want I hear you say" I clenched my jaw and the kid looked helpless.
"Mr Stark I am so sorry." So the kid knows Tony. Good to know.
"No, I think he's saying 'give me my goddamn file." The man said towards, Tony. And what file is this?
"It's not your fault kid. Remember what I told you about bullies?" Tony asked the kid and the kid looked to Tony. Tony nodded before the kid blasted the man in the face with something making him lose his grip on him letting him run off. "You like that westworld? That's the thing about smart guys, we always cover our ass." Tony then held out his hand and seemed to have a blaster on his palm, which blasted the man back and kept him still.
"Could have told me you had that." I said moving to get a pole of metal to help us out as Tony threw the booster away which was now unusable.
"Thought it would ruin the coolness." I lifted the metal that was stopping us and we both moved our legs out so we were free. He then led me back to the bar where the file the man was after was. I helped myself to a towel behind the bar to dry my hair with.
"Do you need me for this?" I asked and Tony looked at me.
"I can do stuff without you, ya know?" Tony said and I smiled.
"I know. I've just not had much stuff to do and this excites me." I said and Tony looked at me funny.
"Cap, really isn't fulfilling your needs is he?" Tony joked and I smacked his arm and he laughed.
"Not like that. I need to kill people, I haven't killed in a while." It was true. I loved killing bad guys and I hadn't done that in a while.
"Then come and kill people with me." Tony smiled and I smiled back. "Partners in crime?" He held his hand up for a high five which I went for but held back before I did.
"But I get to be The Doctor." I said and Tony scoffed.
"Nice try, Ash. I'm The Doctor, you're Donna." He went again for the high five but I shook my head.
"Oh come on, Tony."
"Alright fine, you're The Doctor." I fist bumped the air and whispered a yes. "Now come on let's go. You got a car?"
"Outside." I said as we walked out the bar to and my car.
"You're welcome." The kid from earlier came up to us and I smiled at him.
"For what? Did I miss something?" Tony asked and I smiled lightly. He's really good with kids.
"Me, saving your life." The kid then noticed me. "Harley, at your service, Ma'am." He stuck his hand out and I shook it.
"Ashley Gomez, nice to meet you kid." He nodded at me then turned his attention back to Tony.
"Yeah. A, I saved you first. B, thanks, sort of. And C, if you do some one a solid, don't be a yutz. All right? Just play it cool. Otherwise you come off grandiose." Tony said before I unlocked the car and Tony went to get in the drivers seat. I rolled my eyes at him but gave him the keys anyway.
"Unlike you?" The kid asked stopping me and Tony. "Admit it, you need me. We're connected." Tony looked at me then back at the kid.
"What I need is for you to go home, be with your mum, keep your trap shut, and guard the suit." Tony explained taking the kids hat off him. "And stay connected to the telephone because if we call you better pick-up. Okay? Can you feel that? We're done here. Move out the way or I'm gunna run you over." Tony said before getting in the car. Harley looked at me and I smiled at him.
"Sorry kid, too dangerous for you." I told him before getting the the passenger seat. Tony then started the car and rolled down his window.
"I'm sorry, kid. You did good." I smiled at Tony and put my seat belt on. Safety first.
"So, now you're just gonna leave me here, like my dad?" I immediately felt sorry for the kid. His dad left him, that has to be hard.
"Yeah." Tony said and I whacked his arm. "Wait, you're guilt-tripping me, aren't you?"
"I'm cold." Harley said in a childish way.
"I can tell." Tony mocked. "You know how I can tell? Cause we're connected." Tony then sped off down the street leaving the kid.
"So are you actually gunna tell me what this file is for?" I asked Tony holding the file up.
"Guess I have to." he said and I waited for why all these strange things were happening.
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A.N Guys I am so sorry if this is a crappy way to put Ashley in but it was the only one I could come up with and I'm sorry if this is really late as my life is super busy right now and I hardly come on here anymore. But I won't be one that hasn't updated for months, hopefully. I'll update this as soon as I can.
As always comment your thoughts and please vote. I wanna finish Iron Man 3 quickly so I can get to The Winter Soldier as I have a much better idea for that movie than Iron Man 3.
- Emma x