"She's the kind of queen that knows her crown is not on her head, but in her soul."
Aphrodite Harper.
"Worst comes to worst, they put me in prison again and I just break out." I shrugged nonchalantly, putting my grey blazer on.
I had a meeting with Ross today. He wanted to see me. I knew there was a chance it was a trap, so they could arrest me, but I thought it would be nice to come to an agreement.
I'm mature like that.
Sometimes.
Like I said, I'm not opposed to breaking out of prison.
"Do you need me to come?" Tony asked, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and resting his head on my shoulder.
"No, stay here with Peter. I'll be okay." I said, turning around and placing my hands on his chest.
"Besides, Peter was talking about helping you with your suit today. You wouldn't want to upset him, would you?" I teased, kissing his cheek and walking out of the room and down the stairs.
Tony followed me, handing me my purse by the front door while Peter waved at me from the kitchen, eating waffles.
"Just be safe. If you need me, call and I'll be there, okay?" He asked, sounding serious as I took my purse from him.
"Of course. I love you, I'll be back a bit later." I said, squeezing Tony's hand, and he smiled.
"I love you too."
"Bye Pete, don't cause too much trouble while I'm gone!" I exclaimed, and he laughed, mouth full of waffles.
"No promises!"
I laughed, shaking my head and giving Tony a swift kiss on the lips, taking one of the car keys and heading out to the driveway.
As I drove, I thought about a lot of things.
Where Steve and Barnes were, and how Nat and Sam were doing.
Where Vision and Wanda were going.
How Rhodey was feeling.
If Peter's Aunt had shown any progress.
The meeting with Ross.
I guess I had a lot to deal with.
Once I pulled up to the all too familiar building, two guards stood at the door, and one stopped me by holding his hands up.
"What business do you have here?" One asked, and I refrained from rolling my eyes.
The other guard hit the first one.
"You idiot! That's Aphrodite Harper!"
"Oh shit, I'm sorry ma'am." He apologised, and I smiled.
"No worries. Could I get in though? Ross is already mad at me and I'd hate to piss him off even more." I said, and they guards nodded.
"Follow us, please."
They led me to a briefing room, and left me there.
Ross stood, looking out the window with his back to me, making me scoff quietly.
Taking the dramatic route, I see.
I cleared my throat, and Ross turned to look at me.
"Aphrodite Harper, surprised you actually showed up." He said, and I chuckled.
"I would like to live a life with Tony without being a fugitive, and I know you can make that happen. So, of course I'm here." I pointed out, making him shrug.
"I can, but you broke the terms of the Sokovia Accords, not to mention you broke out of the raft prison, injuring a few of my men and welding me shut inside." Ross said, looking bothered.
Then why did you bring it up?
"But did they die?" I shot back, and he shook his head.
"No, but-"
"Then it's fine, right?" I began, taking a chair and sitting in it, placing my hands on my lap.
"No one was badly hurt. You went completely uninjured. I broke the Accords to help a friend clear his name because you were given the wrong information and wouldn't listen to Tony when he tried to tell you that. I see no problem here." I said nonchalantly, and Ross rolled his eyes.
"Breaking the law is breaking the law, no matter the reason or the severity."
"You realise I could live happily as a fugitive, right?" I asked, leaning back in my chair and putting my purse on the table.
"I could single handedly take down any man that comes to my door. I'm here to clear the air, not get arrested." I said, and held up my hand to stop Ross talking so I could finish.
"If you want to go the hard route, I'm more than happy to do that. If you prefer easy, we can call a truce right now and I can walk away, because we both know if you arrest me," I said, standing up and pushing my chair in.
"I'll just break out again."
Ross sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.
"There is the highest security prison in the world, waiting for you. I called them and ordered precautions taken upon your arrival." He said, and I fake gasped, placing my hand over my chest.
"Oh my stars, how could you?" I said, pretending to be hurt.
"I doubt any prison could hold me, Ross. Hedge your bet."
"The entire prison is-"
"I don't care what it is, I don't care where it is. I have Tony waiting for me at home. If you put me in that prison, I will break out." I said, taking my purse and stepping away from the table.
"And if I do break out, which I will, I can personally guarantee you heavy casualties. That's a promise." I finished, and Ross looked defeated, knowing I was right.
"So," I said, walking towards the exit and putting my hand on the doorknob.
"Are we done here?"
Ross slowly nodded, and I grinned, walking out.
I passed the guards at the front door, and gave them a wave.
"Until next time, gentlemen."
Once I reached where I parked my car, I stopped.
The car was gone.
I took my phone out, quickly dialling Tony's number.
"Hey honey, how did the meeting with Ross go?" He asked, sounding happy.
"Hey!" Peter's voice can through the background, making me laugh.
"Tell Peter I said hey, and it went alright my love. Did you take the car by any chance?"
"Which one?" Tony asked, and I chuckled.
"The one I drove."
"No, why?" He asked, and I turned around to see guards with shields walking towards me.
"I have a feeling I'm about to break out of prison again."
"Do you need me to come and get you?" He asked, and I eyes the officers up and down.
"Not here. Ross said he had a cell lined up for me in the highest security prison in the world. Think you can meet me there?" I asked, and Tony paused.
"Yes. Stay safe, don't fight them." He said, and I smiled.
"I promise I'll behave." I said, hanging up and putting my phone in my purse.
"Come without a fight and we'll make sure you're safe." A guard said, and I looked at him, making him flinch.
"Okay." I said, shrugging and putting my hands up in surrender.
They all traded looks, surprised to see me go without a fight.
"No tricks?"
"No tricks." I laughed, and one guard approached me cautiously, placing me in handcuffs.
I hope they know I could easily break out of these.
The guards led me to a helicopter, and Ross was standing on the pad, waiting for me.
"You know I could easily leave right now?" I said to him, and he smirked.
"Then you'll always be a fugitive. Go now, go peacefully, and your name will be cleared."
I rolled my eyes, giving him a fake smile.
"As you wish, your highness."
"Just get in the helicopter." Ross ordered, getting in and waiting for me.
"So much for ladies first." I grumbled, summoning a gust of air underneath me so I could push myself into the helicopter since my hands were cuffed and I couldn't pull myself up normally.
The only reason I was going along with this, was because Tony told me to.
I trust him, and if he wants me to go to prison, then I'll go to prison.
I just hope Peter didn't think any less of me for this.
The helicopter took off, and we sat in silence, until I let out an exaggerated cough, catching the attention of Ross.
"Is something the matter?" He asked, rolling his eyes, and I chuckled.
"How long do I need to be in prison for, before my name is cleared?" I asked, shifting uncomfortably in my seat because of my handcuffs.
"It's undecided." He answered, making me scoff and bend the mental of the handcuffs so I could slide my hands out.
"That sounds a little unorganised to me, Ross." I grinned, and I heard the pilot chuckle, but hide it with a cough.
"It's okay, you can laugh, Ross just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." I told the pilot, and Ross glared at me.
"That's enough from you, shut it." He glared, and I laughed.
"Aye aye, captain."
I watched the land underneath me, trying to visualise what country I was in.
I had no idea, though.
Tony sounded like he knew where it was over the phone, which provided me with a little comfort.
Once we arrived to the prison, I realised I was in for trouble.
There were guards everywhere, as well as attack dogs. The building was surrounded by barbed wire, and I could see fights going on in the yard, but no prison staff made a move to stop them.
I could break out, but like I promised to Ross, there would be casualties.
Ross noticed my expression, and laughed.
"You wouldn't kill innocent guards trying to escape, would you?"
I stayed silent, and he chuckled as we landed the helicopter.
He made a move to grab my elbow and drag me to the prison, so I quickly moved the handcuffs back over my wrists as he pulled me out the chopper.
I heard a few prisoners wolf whistle at me, making me roll my eyes.
Ross pulled me inside and took me to the front desk, where a woman sat.
"Aphrodite Harper, you'll have a great time here." She said sarcastically, and I wanted to spit in her face, but I didn't.
"Here is your jumpsuit. You can get changed in the room to the left." She said, getting up from the desk and opening the door for me.
Ross unlocked my handcuffs, and gave me a look.
"See you." He said, turning around to walk out the room.
"Hope you can sleep at night." I shot back, and he left without responding as the woman pushed my shoulder, trying to get me in the room.
I walked inside while rolling my eyes, and she handed me the jumpsuit, following me in.
"What do you think you're doing?" I asked, and she sighed, annoyed.
"Making sure you don't pull anything while you get changed." She said, as if I was supposed to know that.
"We were told to take extra precaution with you, deal with it."
I laughed menacingly, and she looked worried for a second, but masked it with an annoyed expression.
"I'll take your personal belongings, too." She said, and I handed her my purse, shrugging my blazer off, and chucking it at her.
"You gonna turn around or you wanna watch?" I asked, smirking at her, making her shake her head.
"I'll turn around, but if I hear one thing out of line, I'm watching you." She warned, and I pushed my chest up, trying to annoy her.
"No worries, ma'am." I laughed, taking my top and skirt off, placing them carefully on the floor instead of throwing them at little miss grumpy in the corner.
I grabbed the black jumpsuit, sliding it on.
"You can turn around, grumble bum." I said, and she turned around, looking at me angrily.
"You are in no position to talk to me like that." She said, and I laughed.
"Alright, how do I look?" I asked, going a twirl as she scoffed.
"Terrible. Let's go." She said, grabbing my forearm and leading me out of the room and down to the cells.
"That's quite rude." I pointed out, and she shrugged.
"I don't care, get in the cell." She said, and I rolled my eyes, walking in.
"Nice to meet you, grumpy gills." I waved at her as she shut the bars and walked away, murmuring things to herself.
I noticed I didn't have a roommate, so I wandered around the cell, noticing how gross it was.
Dirt was everywhere.
The good news was, Tony knew where to find me.
All I needed to do was stay put.