As usual, I'm terrible sorry for the wait! I'm now working two jobs in the hopes of going back to school... enough of the excuses. Enjoy!
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Tony
"How much longer do you think this is going to take?"
"We are literally tattooing a suit piece by piece into your daughter's skin. Do you want me to be fast, or do it right?" Pym snapped.
"Iss a'right, da," Eden insisted. She was nearly done, with only her left legs to be finished. I hated seeing her bruises from the most recent sessions and wanted it to be over with so she could heal. Her girlfriend had a family emergency and flew home early this morning, which is when I decided I should go visit her.
The robots they had doing the actual work moved slow, but steadily. Every now and then Eden flinched, but when she caught my eye she tried her best to smile. It really was incredible how someone as old as Hank Pym could still come up with something as clever as embedding a working suit onto someone's body and not have it rip them apart. Even I could recognize genius when I saw it.
I leaned back in the couch I'd brought over. "You were saying something earlier about picking out a name? What's that for?"
"Every superhero needs a name," Geek said from the corner of the room.
"I'm no' a hero yet," Eden said. "But, I wouldn' mind helpin'."
"And it sounds like you need all the help you can get trying to find that Prime Minister," Beast piped up. He claimed he was double checking the robots as they worked, but every now and then I could see him watching me as he typed into his laptop or cell phone.
"How do you manage to text with hands that big?" I asked in retaliation, as well as some honest curiosity.
He answered with a glare. His phone dinged and his brows furrowed. "The professor says he needs to speak with you. There have been some concerns about your other daughter."
"What kind of concerns?"
"I would call-"
I leaned forward. "What kind of concerns?"
He sighed. "Bethany says she's worried about her anger. We can't have her running around angry, especially if she might take it out on someone innocent."
"What makes you think she's going to go around beating random people up?" I argued.
"There's video of her going after random crooks, like some kind of vigilante." He tossed his phone to me. I clicked play and, sure enough, there was Sophie, poofing from one place to another and landing more punches than not.
I tossed the phone back as I stood. "Excuse me, it looks like I have some parenting to do."
"Da, don' be too rough on 'er. Consider everythin' tha's happened, and the people she's been around. 'er Aunt Peggy, Spiderman, Deadpool, you..." It was hard to argue with Eden when she was right.
"I can't help it that she has some questionable friends. I can, however, stop her from doing it again."
Geek scoffed. "How do you plan on enforcing that?"
"By keeping her busy. Geek, pack up. You're coming with me to help."
"Me?" he visibly paled. "Why've I got to help?"
"Because she seems to like you, for whatever reason. Get in the car." He paused for another second before deciding to listen. I waited until we got into the car to ask why he was so nervous. I thought they were friends?
"Well," he played with his hands. "To be honest, I've been having some weird thoughts ever since the Gala. I don't think having Sophie and I together is a smart idea right now."
"Why not? Are they sexual thoughts and you're too embarrassed to be around her?" I asked teasingly. He squeezed his hands into fists.
"No. You guys had said they seemed to change my DNA? I feel like I'm changing." As he spoke, I noted his posture was straighter, his muscles seemed a little bigger, and his voice almost took on a different accent.
"Change of plans. Let's take you to the Professor. I wanna make sure you're all right."
"No." He gripped the steering wheel, making me fight to put the car back on the road.
"What are you doing?! Friday, auto pilot to the X-Mansion. Geek, you and I need to have a talk."
Sophie
Peter wasn't thrilled about joining me to visit Dr. Strange. Luckily (and unluckily) Wade was napping in my car and decided to join us. We pulled up to his Sanctorum without them killing each other, which is a miracle.
"Yes?" an Asian man greeted us at the door.
"Um, I'm here to see Dr. Strange? I'm Sophie Stark, Iron Man's daughter?"
"We know who you are. What do you want with him?"
"Did we need an appointment?" Wade asked sarcastically.
"No, but it would've been nice to know we were expecting company. Come in, but don't touch anything. Some things bite back," the man warned.
Peter, who'd been about to touch an old helmet, quickly pulled his hand back. I eyed him and Wade, suddenly feeling like I'd brought two children with me. A strange feeling began to grow in my stomach, leading me towards a room behind the grand staircase we were left in front of. Peter was busy arguing with Wade about something or other, as this strange force seemed to pull me towards this room.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A man in a bright red cape came flowing down the staircase, his grey eyes not leaving mine. When he got to where I was, an almost literal spark came between us.
"What was that?" I asked.
"I thought it was you?" He walked around me, looking me up and down as he did so. "You are the one who went missing for a few years, correct?"
"Yes. I don't seem to remember meeting or really hearing much about you before I was taken, or after I came back, for that matter," I pointed out.
"We tend to keep to ourselves as much as possible." We were staring each other down silently until Peter cleared his throat.
"I came here for your help," I finally said.
"With the magic that surrounds you?" Strange guessed.
I was slightly taken aback with that answer. "Not exactly. I had hoped you'd be able to help us with the Prime Minister. I think, in order to do that, we need to figure out where I was."
He smiled. "I've been looking into this case, as well, and I've been having similar thoughts that you were taken to the same place I believe the Prime Minister is now. Have you broken through that memory block yet?"
"Memory block?" Peter stepped forward to listen.
"Yes, it's a complicated spell, but I know you've got some powerful friends. I'm sure Wanda would've been able to remove it for you?" he explained.
"No, we haven't even tried. I think I've only seen her a few times since I've been home. My dad says she's been going through some personal stuff lately."
"If you're willing to wait, I'm sure I could look up how to remove it and give it a try. Please, join me in the tea room just beyond." He led us to a room that had a pot of hot tea and four cups already set up. Peter, Wade, and I were left alone with the door shut tight.
"I'm not feeling too confident about all this," Peter admitted. Wade was quietly sipping tea, doing his best to take in the room we were locked in.
"How could we have been so stupid to not have thought of it before?" I mumbled to myself. "A freaking memory block spell? We'd literally said my memory was blocked a million times! No wonder the Professor couldn't fix it – he doesn't deal with magic, just actual brain stuff. I think. And Jean. But Wanda could've totally removed it for me and Geek! This could've been solved months ago!"
"I think there was a sense of relief and 'Problem solved!' as soon as we found you. And then being dumped with the missing Prime Minister right after didn't help," Wade input into my conversation with myself.
Peter leaned forward to see Wade's face. "Are you feeling okay? I'm not sure I like having a quiet, normal conversation with you."
I snorted into my own teacup. "He's sorta right, though. Most people gave up trying to figure out where I went as soon as the Professor and Jean admitted they couldn't get through my mind. A freaking memory block spell...!"
All of this excitement of possibly knowing what exactly happened was beginning to make my heart race. I could finally answer the question that so many of us had been asking for far too long, now; what the hell happened to me? My head spun at the idea of everything being found out once and for all! Where the hell was Strange so we could get this over with?
"Perhaps we should try and find our new friend?" Wade asked in a posh British tone. He crossed one unicorn-slippered foot over the other and tucked it under his chair.
"What were you doing in Sophie's car, again? I thought Tony gave you the keys to one of the condos in the complex?" Peter asked in reply.
"I may have actually borrowed them," he admitted.
"Goddamn it, Wade. Do you ever do anything that's legal?"
"I'm pretty sure it's legal to drink tea with my best friends!"
Peter and I rolled our eyes simultaneously. The longer we sat and waited, the more I sensed something strange was about to happen. My brain began to get fuzzy, almost as if a cloud was darkening my vision. My hands clenched as my chest tightened, my breath began to get more ragged as it grew harder and harder to breathe. Just as I was about to ask for help, Dr. Strange burst through the door, with the Asian man who'd greeted us at the door trailing close behind.
"Typical doctor; making us wait an hour after our appointment time to actually see us!" Wade barked in his new British accent.
Strange stared at him with wide eyes. Peter gave him a look of "don't ask", so he proceeded with what we'd been waiting for. "I've found the spell. It shouldn't be horribly difficult, even though I've never done it before. Wong, are you ready?"
"What are you, his nurse?" Wade and I asked at the same time. Both men frowned, while Peter sat with his head in his hands, embarrassed.
"No, I am another sorcerer," Wong answered.
"Are you the sorcerer's apprentice?" Wade burst into laughter at his own dumb joke.
"Do we plan on doing this today?" Strange snapped. Wade returned to his very fake posh, much more reserved self. "Now, Miss Stark, please relax."
He raised his hands, I assumed, to begin the spell. Before he could do any more, my chair flew back to the furthest side of the room, with me still in it. He shared a concerned look with Wong. Strange stepped closer and raised his hands again. This time, what felt like an earthquake began to shake the room. We raced for the protection of the doorway. As soon as we touched the door, the shaking stopped. Curious, I asked Dr. Strange to raise his hands again to try the spell. He moved to oblige, which sent me flying into the wall.
"Sophie! Are you all right? Sophie?"
A burst of anger flew through me. Wong grabbed by arm to help me stand. The anger took over, and I shoved him into the wall I'd just flown into.
"Woo! Yeah! Get 'em back!" Wade cheered.
With the sudden mood change, I turned towards Dr. Strange. He raised his hands again, but I turned to shadow and headed out of the window. I had no idea where I was going, but an instinct seemed to pull me in the right direction.