Tony Stark groaned as his drunken pass-out was interrupted by the rather loud ringing of his cell phone.
"Jarvis? Ignore." He instructed, trying to unravel himself from the tangle of hair from his previous night's entertainment.
"It's Director Fury, sir." Jarvis responded. Tony wished not for the first time that he could punch Jarvis in the face. Why had he re-programmed the A.I after the events of Ultron anyway? Oh yeah, because he was a helpless workaholic who couldn't remember to eat, let alone screen his own calls.
The ringing tone continued and Tony rolled his eyes like a petulant child before leaning over to his bedside table to grab his Bluetooth. He popped a few Tylenol to try to control his oncoming headache (hangover?) before tapping the little button.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" He growled out, barely batting an eye as a very nude, very curvy young woman slid out of his bed. Ever since Pepper had left him, he'd been drowning in liquor and women. Mainly liquor. Tony's unwillingness to give up being a "super hero" had caused Pepper to walk out of his life. It made working at Stark Industries somewhat awkward, but even they could see that their failed relationship was no reason to ruin their professional lives. Still, Pepper's loss cut Tony deep. She told him she could accept him, but not Iron Man.. They were one in the same.
"It's almost noon, Stark. I need you to go run a pick-up for me." Fury's voice cut through his brain like a knife through butter. Tony nodded towards the now dressed female as she slid out of his room, knowing Jarvis would tell him if anything was amiss afterward.
"A pick-up? I'm Iron Man, not your go-for."
"Dammit Stark, this woman is a top priority of S.H.I.E.L.D right now. She's been under the radar since she was 18, but recent events have brought her to our attention. I attempted to send Barton after her but he was unsuccessful. I need someone charming. I need you."
Ah but Fury sure knew how to stroke Tony's feathers.
"Send me the details." Tony tapped the button again to end the call and made his way to the shower. Stripping down, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly this girl had done to warrant him having to go get her. How had she slipped past Barton?
Cautious eyes looked up and down the street of a quiet little neighborhood. Ever since a visit from an "agent" she had been overly cautious. Isabella "Bella" Swan stepped out of her new one-bedroom rental home and carefully made her way to her new car. She sighed as she opened the door and folded herself inside, missing her old truck. However, she had to run and her old truck had been a dead giveaway. She'd known for years someone would eventually come for her. Ever since that day...
Edward and the other Cullens had planned the wedding in Italy. The Volturi leaders had demanded witness to the union. They had smoothed her feathers and those of her family by taking on the "small expense" of having everyone flown there. The Volturi palace was a beautiful setting and her parents had been charmed. The Pack had been furious for her walking into there unprotected, but had left her to her own devices.
When the music had started up, Bella had placed a shaky hand on her father's arm. Everyone knew this wasn't what she wanted, but she had no choice. The night before leaving for Italy, she had confessed everything to her parents with the help of The Pack and Billy Black. They had been furious, worried and adamant that Bella run.
Running wasn't an option. Bella had made her bed and for the most part, she was prepared to lie in it.
However, halfway down the aisle everything fell apart. The first spray of blood, her mother's blood, splashed across her beautiful white dress. Charlie had quickly turned and ran with her as the others feasted on the human buffet that had basically been provided. That was the day she learned of her father's power.. Of her power.
Charlie Swan was not human. His real name was Cheirlos. He was from a realm not of Earth called Alfheim, the realm of the Light Elves. During a war between them and the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim, Bella's mother had been taken from them. With her last words, she had made her mate promise to protect their beautiful Isalabel. And so, Cheirlos had begged for assistance and had taken his beautiful daughter to Midgard – Earth. He spelled his features and those of his young daughter to those of the humans and had charmed a young woman named Renee into believing she had a daughter with him. As Renee had no family to speak of and was a loner, the charm was easy and had taken without fault. He adopted the human name Charles "Charlie" Swan. Isabella Marie Swan was created in the world of Midgard and no one was the wiser.
Edward Cullen had left a bad taste in his mouth and the day of the wedding, he knew why. Vampires. The death of his former wife caused a sort of sorrow in him, but his daughter was his first priority. He knew this trauma could destroy the bind he had on her elven powers so he had to keep his word to his Aiofe, he had to protect their daughter.
As they made their way back to America, he told his daughter of their lineage. As he feared, her powers began to manifest and so once they were able to land back in Washington, he made plans to train her. They had to always be moving, always be on guard.
"Now here I am three years later with weird powers, a father I can't see and people chasing after me. I had been so careful!"
Bella's main and most beautiful power was the ability to manifest creations – cartoons, chalk drawings, tattoos, etc. It was helpful in the beginning of their running to be able to have her 'breathe life' into a photograph of them to lead their pursuers away.
She pulled around behind a brick building and fluffed out her dyed-black hair before stepping out. She had to keep up appearances of her new persona. She had adopted the name of Ivey Ink and had generated a lot of interest in a small shop in the middle of town. Hiding in plain sight, Bella became very popular in the last month. She was almost grateful to that "agent" who had exposed her. Getting tattoos on her body (a defense tactic) had been amazing therapy and she herself loved giving that experience back to her clients.
She glared at the jingle that signaled her entry into the shop and tossed her coat on the standing rack. Tasker, her beer-bellied thirty-something boss, looked up from the appointment book on the counter and raised his eyebrows.
"Morning Ivey. You've got a walk-in."
Bella froze, "I don't do walk-ins. That was the deal."
Tasker smirked, "Turn around and you'll want this chunk-a change."
She glanced at the waiting area that she had previously ignored and her eyes widened behind her dark sunglasses that she had yet to remove. "Tony Stark?"
The gorgeous man stood up and basically glided his way over and offered a hand, "That's my name. You Ivey?"
She nodded, somewhat speechless before placing her hand in his. However, his firm grasp instantly left her with a bad feeling. Their eyes met and her stomach flipped. "Let's go chat about what you can do for me."