"What did you agree to?" Pepper asked, her voice low and threatening to match the glare she was throwing at her fiance.
"I already told you. Me and Rhodey-"
"Not me, I had no idea what this man was thinking,"
"I decided that we should try, you know, steering a wayward child towards a brighter future?"
Pepper sighed, dropping herself into the chair. Pepper, Tony, Rhodey, and Happy were all in the meeting room that Secretary Ross had left little over twenty minutes ago. Tony had filled the other two people in the room on what happened, and there were... mixed reactions to say the least.
"I don't disagree with that, even though she's trained to kill people, and we're," Pepper said, waving her finger back and forth between her and Tony. "The people she was sent to kill! I don't hate this, this... redemption idea, think it's great," she said. But there was a sense of something unsaid in her voice.
"I'm sensing a but, somewhere in that sentence," Tony said.
Pepper sighed, the simple action border lining an annoyed groan, but continued nonetheless. "But... Have you thought this out at all?" she asked him, her blue eyes communicating all the worry in her mind.
All eyes landed on Tony, their gazes eagerly awaiting an answer. Tony's mouth opened and closed, practically gasping for any words that could tumble out of his mouth. "Yes, I have," he said, an air of fake reassurance and confidence in his voice as he pieced together a reply.
"Then where is she going to stay?" Pepper asked. She stared at Tony, and he noticed the challenging gleam in her eyes making him more determined, and stubbornly unable to back down.
"Here,"
"Where? She can't stay in a chair for seven months. And what about food? She tried to break out the last time we gave her food. What about hygiene? Oh, and she's a girl, she has "stuff" to do once a mon-"
"Ok! I got it!" Tony exclaimed, holding his hands out in front of him and shaking them rapidly. "We have some kinks to work out here," he said.
Happy scoffed at the billionaire's statement, a small smile playing on his face. "That's an understatement," he said.
"I thought you were supposed to be on my side?" Tony asked, swerving in his chair to face him.
"Well, realistically, who do you think is going to have to watch her? I mean, I already have to keep an eye on an ambitious teen with good intentions and that's hard enough. I don't need another one with bad intentions instead," Happy explained.
"I know I already agreed with you, Tony," Rhodey spoke up from his seat, kneading his hands together and resting them on the table as he faced Stark. "But everyone has a point. I love the plan, but it's easier said than done in the real world. This might be the one thing that you can't do," Rhodey said.
Those words echoed in Tony's head. He believed than anything was possible with enough effort, and so far he'd proven those words to be true. Looking back on his life so far, nothing has ever stopped him. He wanted to make a giant pure energy generator, he made it. Make a powerful metal suit that can fly and shoot laser beams like Star Wars? Built in a day and a half. Become a superhero and save the world a few times? Been there done that. But help people... He was still working on that. He knew that it's never be finished, but that only drove him to try harder to achieve it. And nothing was going to stand in his way.
The raven haired genius stared at the strawberry blonde women across from him, their eyes connecting with the others in a locked gaze. Neither made an attempt to look away. "Hey, guys? Can I talk with Pepper alone for a second?" he asked, breaking eye contact to look at Rhodey and Happy.
"Sure," Rhodey said, lifting himself out of this chair. He took a second to steady himself before walking towards the door.
Tony watched as Happy opened the door, allowing Rhodey to walk out first. "Oh, Happy," he called.
"Yeah?" the other man replied.
"Take some food down to Sunshine in the basement. You know, since you'll be watching her so much," Tony said, his last few words having a jokingly truthful ring to them. Happy silently groaned as he walked out the door, muttering slight curses in Tony's name. "Please and thank you!" Tony exclaimed.
"Shut it!" Happy yelled as he walked down the hall, the door slowly sliding behind him.
The door closed and Pepper once again looked at Tony, gainings complete attention. "Well?" she asked.
Tony got up from his chair and walked over to the other side where she sat and pulled out the chair next to her, turning it till it faced her direction. Pepper did the same, resting her arm on the table and the other on her lap as Tony forwards in his chair on the edge of his seat.
"Look, I know stuff has been stressful-"
"It's been more than stressful,"
"Understood. But I can't help but feel as if it's something that I need to do,"
Pepper scoffed, shaking her head and folding her arms across her chest. "I know, Tony. And I don't want to stop you, because it's a great thing," she told him. "But I don't know if it's possible," she said.
"You know better than anyone that those kind words only make me want to do it even more. I've only felt like this a few times in my life, and all of them have to lead to great things. Starting my company, becoming Iron Man, asking you on a date, and now. Call it a gut feeling. She was going to be taken in by the government, Pepper. I couldn't just do nothing," he said, his voice soft but firm as he told her. His words were genuine as he talked, making sure to maintain eye contact with Pepper, to try and convey the weight and meaning behind them.
Pepper stared at him, her eyebrows curving upwards. Her heart beat just a little bit heavier at his words, and a small smile made its way to her face. Tony watched as she scooched over to the end of her seat, his body taken over by the slight nervousness that appeared within him. But as Pepper wrapped her arms around him, she calmed down, moving to return the action. He exhaled a long breath, relaxing into the hug.
"I didn't know what you were going to do, but this is nice," he said.
"I just don't want things to go downhill because of this. I want to have a life with you," she said.
"Me too. I wouldn't risk that for the world. But I know I can help someone here," he said.
Pepper smiled and let out a short and breathy chuckle. "I know. And that's part of why I love you," she said.
And there they sat in each other's arms, the warm sunlight filtering through the window as the stress seemed to slowly start to fade away.
◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆
Tonight was her last chance before she'd be put on HYDRA's kill list, and (y/n) still had no way to get out of her damn chair. She already ruled out brute strength and tried summoning different armors and weapons. Some armors would be too bulky and didn't let her move, or they only made her situation worse by causing the people behind the mirror to rush in with tasers. They all resulted in failure, and she even lost a gun due to dropping it when she tried to shoot her meal giver. A man named Happy, or something. As a result, she had her first taken away before it was brought back a few hours later. And to further the punishment, she had to be fed like a one-year-old by having him feed it to her. It was no more humiliating, miserable, and awkward for her, than it was for him.
That was two days ago. And she had no choice but to sit still and do what they told her, "behaving" herself. It was all she had left, she lay low and strike when someone had their guard down. Sure, it wasn't likely, but it was her last option.
This is ridiculous. When I get back, this will be held over my head for the rest of my fucking life, she thought, twisting her wrists in a feeble attempt to soothe the chafing feeling of her skin against the restraints. Let's face it. At this point, it's if I make it back, she corrected herself.
For the hundredth time since she's been there, she sighed, allowing her head to rest against the headrest of the chair. Every second in the chair made her restlessness grow with no way to get rid of it. She could feel her muscles practically begging her to do anything, even having a good stretch would be good enough to get rid of the physical ache.
A small knock suddenly resounded through the room, catching (y/n)'s attention. She watched with emotionless and empty eyes as Happy walked in. Her eyes took note of the plate of toast in his hand, melted butter spread all over the warm golden bread, shining in the light of the room. It had been the same meal she'd been having to eat for the past two days, but she didn't mind nor care. Still a hell of a lot better than the rations, she reminded herself.
"Hello again," Happy said as she walked behind her, pulling one of the carts that used to hold her heart monitor in front of her. He placed the plate on the cart, once again walking behind her to grab a wheeled stool for him to use. "Still chatty as ever I see," he muttered.
(Y/n) said nothing as she frowned at him, eyes dark and threatening.
"It's your favorite. Toast... again," he said, taking the toast and breaking them up into smaller pieces. His heart felt as if it had dropped into his stomach as he did, already dreading the extreme awkwardness of it all.
(Y/n) glared at him as he lifted the piece of bread to her face. She felt as if the chair was twisting her bones, making it impossible to find a comfortable sitting position. Her heart flipped as she turned her head and her face scrunched up.
Happy sighed setting the piece back down on the plate. His face wasn't that different from hers. (Y/n) could see the clear disdain of the situation on his face. And if it wasn't for the damn chemical in her blood, she knew for a fact she would have been feeling it too.
They could have chosen literally any method and I'd prefer it more than this. I can't tell if it's Stark's genius idea or just plain coincidence, (y/n) thought as she kept her eyes closed.
If I knew this was how I was going to spend my time I wouldn't have accepted that job, Happy thought ruefully. "I can't do this anymore," he muttered.
"Me neither," (y/n) quietly groaned, still refusing to open her eyes or even turn her head.
Happy's mind didn't seem to register that this was the first time she had spoken in front of her, his mind still reeling at the fact that this was his life right now. He went from assisting and protecting Tony, to dealing with hard-headed children and, apparently, force feeding them now. With that last thought, something small in Happy snapped. Not in an explosive way, but more so in a realization sort of way. Happy rubbed his temples, two sides of himself battling over his better judgment and self-control.
At the unusual sound of silence, (y/n) dared to open her eyes, just barely. When she saw that Happy was doing nothing, they opened more. She watched as his eye twitched, and the way he was glaring at the toast as if this whole ordeal was it's thought. His foot was rapidly tapping against the floor, the light sound echoing in the room. And then he placed his hands on his pockets, allowing (y/n)'s attention to latch onto the outline of a small bump in his left pocket. Her entire being froze her body and soul in place as one.
The remote, she thought. The image of Tony pulling out a small remote and pushing a button flashed through her mind, making her wrists involuntarily twist the cuffs. She could finally escape! But a lot was riding on this, and she had to play it cool, and not lose her head.
(Y/n) calmly breathed as she turned her head back, leaning on the headrest. "I don't know how much more of this I can take. You guys might as well starve me," she said flatly.
"I'm not that far from agreeing," Happy mumbled to himself.
"Might as well... This is only the beginning," she told him.
Happy's hand grasped at the space between his hand in the fabric of his pants. She could see the conflict growing on his face with every word she said, and she could practically taste her freedom already. You can do it. Just a few more words, she told herself.
"I think it's stupid, especially since I can feed myself. You know?" she said.
Happy's eyes turned to meet her own, finally registering the meaning behind her words, also registering that this was the first conversation she ever had with him. Immediately his mind went on high alert at that thought, moving his hand away from the remote and instead rested it on his knee.
He wasn't stupid, he'd read her file before coming down into the room the first day, along with hearing a first-person account of what the girl sitting in front of him was capable of. She was a person who was trained to kill to accomplish her goals or die trying. And now all of a sudden she starts talking. If that wasn't something to be suspicious of, he didn't know what was.
Happy sighed, a serious grimace on his face. "How do I know you won't do something underhanded?" he asked her, his eyes staring hard and stern as he spoke.
She didn't reply at first, but he could tell she had an answer in her mind as she was making and breaking it to fit her situation. Finally, she planted a fake smile on her face, her voice void of any sort of feeling or intention.
"You don't. But what you do know is that I'm strapped to a chair with little chance of breaking out, and with government officials behind that mirror. I'd say your chances are more than fair," she explained, glancing up at the mirror briefly before looking at him again.
She doesn't know they're gone?, he inquired to himself. She had to know that they were gone... Right? After the deal with Secretary Ross was dealt with, he, along with the rest of the government workers, left the building and went back to... wherever it was that they were before. Happy didn't know, and he didn't want to. But they were gone. Was she just acting on the safe side and assuming they were still there? Not many people have been in the room, except for him and Tony, and she hadn't seen anyone from the government walk into the room. Did they really act as a big threat to her or did she think she could take them?
He sighed, standing up from his chair looking at the deadly HYDRA agent in front of him. I'm really gonna regret this. I can feel it in my knees, he thought.
(Y/n) watched as he reached his hand down into his pocket before pulling it out, pointing it at her. His thumb rested on a button, and he glared at her, his voice low as he talked.
"You try anything, you won't even have the liberty to so much as breathe without having a red dot on your head. Got that?" he asked.
(Y/n) sighed, but nodded her head regardless. Happy gave a stiff nod before he cautiously walked towards her, anxiously anticipating for her to do something underhanded. But as he crept closer, she stayed still. Finally, he stood next to her on her left and placed the remote at the outside base of the cuff. (Y/n) watched as he pressed the button, a beeping sound resounding from it as the cuff folded back into the chair. As soon he was there, Happy pulled back from her as if she was a blazing fire whose only intent was to burn everything to ashes.
(Y/n) raised her hand, a bone chilling series of joints and bones popping at the long awaited feeling of freedom. She twisted it every which way, moving her arm as she silently revelled in the feeling of her muscles getting a chance to move. She pressed her knuckles down on the arm of the chair, a cracking sound making Happy wince.
"Ok! You made your point! Stop doing that and eat," he ordered her, a disgusted shiver running up his ears registered the disturbing sound. He watched with wary eyes as she eventually set her eyes on the toast, and reached out her hand, and...
She ate it.
That's it. That was all she was doing, eating. No guns, knives waving, or anything else she could do that was deadly. She just sat there eating her toast one bite at a time. This isn't so bad... Yet, he thought. The feeling in his gut wouldn't go away, and regret flooded over the feeling, adding to it as his mind started to chastise him for this. Something was up. And when it happened, he'd have no one to blame but himself.
Things continued like that for a few more minutes, with (y/n) sitting there peacefully eating her meal as Happy was about to have an internal nervous breakdown. They didn't talk, and the room was fairly silent. It should have calmed him down, but the uneasiness he felt seemed to increase tenfold.
"I'm done," she told him, making him jump the tiniest bit. Her voice was flat as she wiped the crumbs from her mouth with her palm. "But before you cuff me, let me ask you something," she said.
Happy's body tensed as she talked, not liking where this was going. Great, it's the gun incident all over again, he thought worriedly. "What is it?" he reluctantly replied.
"Where the hell am I? Stark tower?" she asked.
Happy internally breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah, in the basement. Also known as one of the most fortified places in the whole building," he told her, walking towards her left side again to cuff her.
"So I'm in, like, 200 Park Avenue, right?" she asked him, his face scrunching up in thought as she placed her arm on the arm of her chair.
Happy looked up at the ceiling as he placed the remote next to the cuff and pressed the button. "I think so... Yeah, 200 Park Avenue," he said, turning and making a B-line towards the door. "Bye," he called as he opened and closed the door.
He closed the door behind him, sighing as he walked down the hallway. His heavy footsteps echoed in the empty hallway as he reached the elevator. "Take me to Tony please," he called. "Right away," FRIDAY answered, the elevator softly jerking upwards as she did. He made it. He was still alive. If only the feeling in his stomach would go away.
Meanwhile, alone in the room, (y/n) sighed as she pulled her arm up from the chair. Her heart gave a quick and light flip at the sight of the empty cuff on the chair, the metal shining dully in the light. She couldn't believe that her plan had actually worked. Half of her was stunned that he was stupid enough not to notice that she had pulled her hand out of the way at the last second, while the other side was just as thankful.
I don't have time to be thankful. It's now or never, she thought. In a small flash of light, (y/n) summoned a handgun and fired a couple of rounds straight at the mirror, making sure to spread her bullets out. The loud sound echoed through the room, and no doubt throughout the hallway as well.
Against the force of the bullets, the glass shattered, hitting the ground like a thousand drops of rain. And she stared in amazement as the other side of the glass was dark, void of any living thing. She found herself freezing at the empty room, her mind filled with questions. Where are the government workers? Did they leave? Are they on break? Are they just outside the door? No, if they were outside the door they would have run in, she thought frantically, her mind pulling her through a million different questions, creating a possible solution to each one. She shook her head violently, forcing her crowded brain to become clear enough to think.
Focus! It doesn't matter if they're here or not, you can deal with them as you go. Just concentrate on getting out, she told herself.
With her goal mind, (y/n) took in a deep breath before letting it out. Her gun disappeared from her hand, the light in her hand growing and taking a longer shape until a sword sat comfortably in her hand.
Flame sword, she thought as she looked down at it.
It radiated an intense heat that others would back away from, but she held tightly, feeling nothing more than a cozy warmth from it. The blade was a sleek black color, decorated with a golden bronze metal as curved orange lines glowed throughout the blade, resembling rivers of lava that flowed from a volcano.
Her head snapped towards her other hand that was still cuffed. She carefully lifted her sword before resting the blade of it against the metal of the cuff, hastily but carefully cutting through it, watching as it slowly slid through like a knife cutting butter. She watched as he was just barely a hair away from cutting through before pulling the sword away and stabbing it into the floor in front of her feat.
She ignored the sound and smell of the floor burning before she reached over and grabbed the area of her forearm just before the cuff. Gathering all her strength, (y/n) pulled on it with all her might, her restrained arm pushing against the metal as well. Her arms shook from the force, her arms straining from the stress of fighting against the metal. But then she heard the relieving sound of the metal snapping apart, and her arm flew from the chair. The two broken bits of metal clattered against the floor as (y/n) nearly hit herself in the face with her fist and arm.
"Finally," she murmured softly as she massaged her wrist, her eyes moving to her ankles, narrowing at the cuffs holding them down.
She made quick work of them as she did with her wrist, and found herself stretching her whole body in front of the cursed chair within moments. Her body shook as her back arched and her arms and legs contracted, and another series of cracks and popping sounds came from them.
Shit, I gotta get out of here, she thought, suddenly remembering the reason for her break out. She pulled her sword out of the floor, holding it tightly in her hands as she slid up against the door.
"Might as well," she whispered. Backing up, she ran at the door as fast as she could, and slashed at the door.
(Y/n) closed her eyes as her nose was filled with the smell of smoke, and a powerful explosion flooded her ears. Her body flew forwards without any problem and she quickly opened her eyes, a wall flying towards her. She threw out her foot as it slammed against the wall, the other skidding against the floor. (Y/n)'s sword disappeared from her hands as she turned her head to look around. The hallway continued on either side of her, and she had no idea where to go.
Now what?, she thought.
Before she could continue that train of thought, a red light danced across her vision, followed by a loud buzzer noise.
For fuck's sake, she internally cursed. Her head snapped in between her left and her right, her brain trying to decide which way to run. As she turned to the right, her eyes caught the undeniable gleam of elevator doors, and she wished her heart could soar. She ran down the hall, furiously pressing the elevator doors. They eventually opened, and she hurried inside, looking wildly around.
"Where are the damn buttons?!" she asked herself, the doors closing in front of her.
"No buttons are needed, miss,"
(Y/n)'s body jumped at the sudden womanly voice. Her body instinctively took a steady stance and a gun formed in her hands. She held it in front of her, pointing it around the elevator as her eyes darted around, searching for the source of the voice. "Who's there!" she exclaimed.
"I am FRIDAY, Mr. Stark's personal AI system," the voice explained. "I run the building, as well as the elevator. Where would you like to go?" she asked.
(Y/n) looked up at the ceiling to see a small speaker next to a ceiling light. She glared at the speaker, her arms lowering down with her gun still in her hands. "Take me to the ground level floor," she said.
She tensed as she felt the elevator start to rise, her grip in the handle of her handgun tightening slightly, half expecting something to jump out from nowhere. The lift was silent as it moved upwards, except for muffled mechanical sounds from beyond the four walls.
And then it stopped with a jerking halt, causing the (h/c) haired girl to once again glare at the speaker.
"What happened? Why aren't you moving?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, but you are stuck in between floors on Mr. Stark's behalf. You will remain here until further notice," FRIDAY said.
"In between floors? What floors?! FRIDAY?" (y/n) asked, her voice rising with each unanswered question. She waited in vain as no reply came, and she sighed her gun disappearing. She had to get out of here. She was so close, she could practically taste freedom. There had to be a way out.
"A way out..." she whispered to no one in particular. (Y/n) paced the perimeter of the elevator. She repeated that phrase over and over as her thoughts ran rapid, coming up with an idea to escape. But as each idea came up, she'd reject it due to the questionable probability that it would actually work. As each idea was thrown out of her head she'd unintentionally increase her pace. "-eA way out, a way out, I just need a way out of here," she said calmly to herself, her heart flipping like crazy inside her chest. She reached the wall, her back resting against it as her body slid to the floor.
She tilted her upwards and stared at the ceiling, her mind drawn blank. Was this really the best she could do? She couldn't believe that she was barely able to last three minutes out of that stupid chair when she wasn't even a whole floor away from getting away. And now... she was going to die within days.
Too bad I can't slice my way out, she thought. Her mind seemed to focus on that thought. "Huh... slice my way out..." she muttered to herself. Her eyes seemed to travel to the ceiling, somehow unable to look away from nothing in particular. Then, it was if she was hit over the head with a stick, it struck her.
"Wait a minute..."
"..."
"..."
"Oh, yeah. it's all coming together," she said, standing up as her flame sword appeared in her hand.