[official disclaimer here. no, i do not own anything but my own original character (but let's face it here, there's no paperwork on her either so) this is just for fun and practice of writing. feedback is appreciated but don't compel yourself]
CHAPTER ONE
New York
2025
"Are you going to be in here all day?" Octavia asked her brother Tony as she walked into his personal laboratory. The last time she had seen him was probably the night before, when she had dropped off his dinner. Now it was well past lunch, and she could see he had barely touched the plate of food she had left him the night before.
"I'm almost done, O." Tony said absentmindedly. He had been saying that for the last four days but something told Octavia that he hadn't notice.
"I think you should take a break." She commented as she walked over towards the giant machine he had been tweaking with. "You haven't even told me what you've been working on."
BANG!
She jumped back a step just as she was about to touch the contraption in front of her. Octavia gave Tony an incredulous look when she realized it was him that slammed the wrench onto the metal toolbox beside him. "Don't touch it. You're cosmic energy will reconfigure the machine."
Octavia narrowed her eyes at her older half-brother. "It's not cosmic." She muttered before taking a step back from the machine. Tony was right and wrong, like always. Although her energy wasn't as extreme as the cosmos, Octavia's powers could be mistaken for godlike among normal people if she had unlocked them. Inside of her core was a nest of potential energy that she could use to enhance her psychokinesis. She had promised herself a long time ago that she would use it for good, but sometimes it was hard not to create a ball of pure energy and have it soaring at her brother's face. "So are you going to tell me what this thing is or would you just like to be buried with it?"
"You're not funny, O."
"I'm not trying to be, Tony. You've been in here for days and no one knows what this is. Have you asked Steve to look at it? You know he has an eye for stuff like this."
"I don't need your boyfriend's help." Tony snapped quickly, looking back at her with a pointed look. "I can do this on my own."
Octavia set her jaw, staring hard at the man-child in front of her. "He's not my boyfriend, Tony. We're getting married." She corrected.
The corner of his mouth twitched upwards into a smile, eventually letting a laugh escape his lips. "Right. Right. I had almost forgotten." He turned back to his work, leaving the rest of the conversation.
She didn't know what could be bothering Tony. Although, he's never been known to have a simple problem about anything. Ever. It was hard to know exactly how to push down Tony's walls since she didn't exactly grow up with him and found him at times to be a stranger. Although, if there was one thing Octavia knew, it was how to read people. Having worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. for a few years, she could pick up easy tells. With Tony's back to her it was harder, but that was a tell in itself. Avoiding eye contact, minimal-to-no-speech, and busy work. All the signs of someone wanting to avoid a conversation. But, why?
Octavia could have just been paranoid, he might have really been busy after all. Too busy for her? Maybe. Things happen. But Tony had been busy since the announcement and she couldn't help but take it personally.
"It's been two weeks," she pointed out as she walked around him trying to get a better view of his face. "Steve and I were thinking of throwing an engagement party soon. You're pretty good with those…would you like to help?"
Tony didn't look up, instead he let out a deep sigh of aggravation. "O, I said I'm busy."
That was it. Octavia waved her hand and the objects Tony fiddled with were ripped out of his hands and scattered across the ground.
"Goddamnit, O! You shouldn't use your powers in here!"
"Why not?!"
"Because you're a source of energy!" Tony exclaimed. "You collect it, you-you-you store it inside of you and dispel it every time you use your powers. The more you use them the more energy is being release. What I am working on is very sensitive to those kind of energies."
"What the hell are you making?" She motioned to the giant machine built beside her. It's arc reached high over her head and almost touched the ceiling. Tony had succeeded in making half of a metal circle in her opinion.
"It's a time-machine, O." He said as he picked up his instruments off the ground. "I've been tinkering with it for the last few weeks and I've just figured out the key to it."
"Oh yeah?" She asked "And where do you think you're gunna go? Or should I say, when?"
Tony had opened his mouth to speak but closed it tightly as he looked on her. "I can't say."
Octavia gave Tony an incredulous look at his statement. "You will say."
"O…"
"You say," She raised her hand, blue lights crackling from her fingertips. "Or I turn it on. Or break it. Really whatever happens when I throw this pretty blue ball of energy right at that machine."
Tony stared hard at her, eyeing her serious expression and the growing orb in her palm. "Octavia, this isn't a game. I'm very close to getting this thing to work and if you destroy it…" He clenched his jaw at the thought. Next to the machine, the mechanics started to whirl to life.
"Tell me what the hell you're doing in here, Tony!" She exclaimed in aggravation. "You've been hiding away ever since I told you I was getting married and I find you creating some kind of time machine in the most shady way possible. I'm your sister…who else can you trust?"
Her brother's expression softened a bit at her but his jaw was still tight in distress. "Alright, alright." He succumbed, lowering his hands in defeat. "We both know whose got the bigger balls here, huh? Pissing contest over, put it away." He motioned to her hand. "I'll tell you what you want to know."
Octavia smiled, lowering her hand to dissolve the energy. What Octavia knew, but just not in that moment, was that when she dispelled energy it never truly returned back to her. Some of it would trickle back into her in the way the skin absorbs the sunlight if she had concentrated hard enough, all of it would have returned to her. Unfortunately, unless the leaked energy has somewhere to go it will draw itself to the closest organism that consumes energy. This time, it was the machine. When the buzzing from her orb dispersed she could hear the whirling of the giant engine next to her and saw that it had brought itself to life. Instead of being able to see through it like she had before there was a swirling veil of light colors crackling in the middle of it. A dread filled inside of her as a great rush of winds sucked the room towards the white/black hole. With the great push Octavia lost her footing and fell to the ground, having the wind knocked out of her on impact. She groaned as she breathed in, each intake more painful than the next.
Looking up, she could see Tony on his hands and knees beside the machine. He was being pulled down by the force of it. Octavia tried to get to him but every move she made was like swimming against the current. Her hand would slip on the ground and her body would be rushed backwards towards the opening until she used the heel of her boots and palms of her hand to hold traction on the ground. Between her and Tony, his workstation was being pulled into the abyss along with random debris flying around Octavia's head. When she made eye contact with him, she saw he wasn't holding out much longer. He started to slide behind his workstation and before he could disappear like the rest she threw her hand out to push him back across the room.
Like a feather blown through the air, Octavia's body felt weightless after she lost her hold on the ground. The last thing she heard before the darkness was Tony screaming her name.
The first time Octavia had leapt out of a plane, her stomach fell out of her backside and then rolled back up to her throat. Her body was free of all restraints except for the tight hold of gravity that ripped her towards the ground. It was a close second to how it felt traveling through time. When Octavia awoke, her whole mind was distorted and her body felt nauseous enough that she didn't think she could move for a while. She took deep breaths and waited for her brother to come pick her up but no one came.
Finally, catching her breath and sitting up she saw she was in the middle of an empty office building. Behind her she saw that Tony's workstation had knocked over a few desks. She took a sharp intake of breath as she tried to understand exactly what happened in the last few moments. Looking forward, there was no longer the giant arc in front of her but instead more desks and empty chairs. He had did it. Tony had sent her back. But where?
Thinking that maybe this room had more answers than not, she pulled herself up to her feet. Before she figured out where, or when she was, she needed to know if she still had her powers. Opening her palms she concentrated on the energy throughout her body. It stemmed through her veins, tickling her as it raced towards her fingertips. Small sparkles of blue light danced over her hand but she could not muster anymore than that. There wasn't much more she could do without absorbing more. The time machine must have used up most of her energy to pull her through the space and time to bring her here. Wherever here was.
Turning around, she stepped to the first desk she could find. After a glance over the office space, she saw it was definitely sometime between the 40's and 60's. Typewriters were placed on the centers of each one of tables with each table littered with their own types of paperwork. The one she had went to had basic salaries listings and inquires of payroll. HR, she thought. Flitting through more files she finally landed on one that was dated. December 12th, 1943. Two years until the end of the war.
"Shit." She whispered to herself. How the hell was she going to get home? If Tony wasn't there to help her, she needed the next best thing.
Before she could find him; she needed proof. Stepping to the workstation she looked for something useful. Most of what was there were tools and useless for Octavia. She pocket a wrench, a screwdriver, and an ulline measuring tape just in case but nothing very helpful. Maybe, she thought, something had scattered across the floor. The office was still dark and she didn't know what time it was or if someone would walk in at any moment. Octavia thought of her cellphone and patted her back pocket for it.
Relief filled her when she felt the thin metal at the tip her fingers. With the phone settled in her hand, it was a few swift moves that unlocked the flashlight and allowed her to get a better look under the desks. The workstation had scattered it's contents over the floor. Octavia worried more people would find the objects and look more into why a bunch of tools were lobbed across the office. If Octavia used the last bit of her energy to pull all tools back to her, it could deplete her to the point where if she was attacked she'd be useless. But she had to do something about mess.
Instead of using her powers, she decided on quickly grabbing all she could find and hiding the workstation somewhere while she figured out her next move. She collected all she could before throwing them back into their little drawers. Sliding her hand underneath one desk, she felt something larger than a wrench or bolt. Octavia dragged it out the flatted plastic she felt until she saw what it really was. It had buttons lined along the side with three meters on top that looked capable of emitting a signal. The dial in her hand felt powerless in and she knew it was emitting nothing. Perhaps she was too far from the original signal, a thought that made her laugh.
The laughter faded as soon as it started when she realized how far away from her life she actually was. She took a deep breath and tried to regain some calm. No, she did not have Tony to save her. Nor did she have her fiancé to guide her through this journey but she could make due without them for now. Octavia just had to find who she was looking for; but first she had to figure out where she was.
Hiding the workstation away in a supply closet, she used a bit of her power to lock the door from the inside. When they flew in, the workstation had crushed and cracked a few of the desks. She could have cleaned it up, waved her hand and brought it all back together. But her energy was still low and if she were going to make it around undetected then she needed all she had. Whoever found the mess would surely search for whomever had made it. Octavia thought she had an advantage since she doubted anyone would be looking for a woman from the future.
A light brown satchel hung loosely over the back of a desk chair closest to the door and Octavia thought that would come in handy. After she dumped out the contents onto the desk, she replaced it with the wrench, the screwdriver, the measuring tape, and the dial of sort she found. Then she turned off the flashlight and slid her phone into the over shoulder. It was time to go.
Without looking back, she slipped out of room and hurried to the staircase.
Octavia was ten years old when she stole for the first time. There was no thought to it beforehand as she stood in the store staring down at the yellow frosted cupcakes in their clear plastic packaging. She knew she was hungry, that she had no money, and if she was quick enough she could get away. Moments after that thought, she had snatched the crinkling package in her hands and sprinted towards the exit. Dodging other patrons of the store and skirting around the manager happened in a blur. Running was her main concern, one foot in front of the other as she darted through the sidewalk and out of view to the ones chasing her. Octavia never dwelled when she could move, never looked back when she had forward in front of her. The rush of the escape was worth more than the sweets in the end.
Octavia felt that same rush as she made her escape into the night. Often she would look back on that first evening in 1943 and never questioned her straightforward attitude. Time was on her side, for the most part, and she had often found herself in situations of great duress. Fear was something she had grown up with, slept with, eaten with, and fought with. It's greatest weapon was idleness and Octavia would not use it.
The building she walked through now was just an old - no, new, - set of office space where the Stark Tower would one day stand. She recognized the hallways and when she looked out the window at the end of it, she saw the same skyline she had woken up to everyday after she had turned sixteen. The stairwell was still in the same spot as the one she was used to, which meant the building wouldn't change too much in the years. There was a calm relief in that as she ventured towards the exit. On the bottom level, there was a murmur of noise that sounded like static from a radio. She pulled her phone out of the bag and opened the camera. Holding it just out enough so she could see around the corner without someone spotting her, she saw that the lobby was deserted. The clock on her phone was blacked out along with the reception bar, so she couldn't see what time it was. Of course it wasn't going to work, she thought, there was no receiver for it. Thankfully the apps didn't depend on signal.
Through the phone's camera, she could see a wall clock just above the check-in desk. The radio on the desk was what was playing but there was no security officer in her sight. He might have went to check on the noise she had made coming in. She could not read the exact time but she snapped a few photos so she could get a better look at it later. The emergency exit door was just in sight and Octavia didn't wait a second longer. After throwing her phone back into her bag, she took a few long strides before pushing the door open.
The wailing alarm started immediately but it didn't stop her. She kept moving along the side of the building to avoid the street lights or any other way she might have been detected. Then she remember that surveillance cameras weren't in the United States just yet, nor where their any video recording devices around for another 8 years so the chances of anyone recognizing her were slim. Her best choice was to get out of her clothes before they raised suspicion. Her grey button up, and black boots would have been fine, but her dark tight jeans would call attention to her. She could not stand out. Her goal was to blend in until she found who she was looking for.
Octavia didn't know exactly how she was going to explain her circumstances to him or even if he would believe her. Showing him her phone might work, or telling him something only she would know. But the chances of changing the future weighed on her and her choices of solution were small. What if she said something she wasn't suppose to and she changed her own timeline? What if the future she returns to isn't the one she left? What if-
"Look what I've spotted, Frank!" A rough loud voice caught her out of her paranoia, making her spin in tracks to find the source of it.
"Yeah, she's definitely pretty. I like them slim." Another voice said. From the shadows they emerged, along with an order so fouled by malt liquor she could taste it. They stepped towards her in a swayful unison that only pushed the point on her further. A battle inside her raged as she couldn't remember if this was past or present anymore.
The streets looked the same in the dark, with planted trees blocking most of the street lamps at this point in the road. That made it harder to see their faces but it didn't matter to her in the end. Faceless men were easiest to fight.
"You lost there, beautiful?" The first voice called out as he got closer. "Maybe we can help you find what you're looking for."
She doubted it.
They kept walking closer despite the fact she gave no indications for them to. Again, she contemplated using her powers to throw them back and continue on her journey. If she did, however, she probably wouldn't make it far. The last bit of energy she had was what was keeping her going now and she had to spare it. The men kept walking forward and she came up with a plan.
Had the men just kept walking this never would have happened. When the first man went to grab her, she moved her arm backwards and twisted loose of his grasp. In a swift move, she had thrown her bag over his neck and pulled him down until his nose collided with her knee. She felt the bone shatter against her kneecap but it didn't bring a grimace to her expression. The second man tried to grab her arm in protest but she rounded on him and got him in the back of the leg with her heel. Catching his wrist in her grasps she gripped it tight enough to snap it but instead she guided him down to his knees in front of her.
"I'll only take a little." She spoke down at him before bringing up her other hand and placed her finger tips across his face. His friend was screaming in pain beside them as he held his broken nose in his hands. Octavia's knee felt wet with blood but she didn't think about that. Underneath her fingers she could feel little bubbles popping against her palm and absorbing through her skin. Dancing into her veins was part of this man's potential energy that he had kept stored inside his body that he would use during times of an adrenaline rush or exercise. When Octavia took someone's energy, it left them often knocked out for days so she tried to limit how much she took at a time. The man fell back onto the ground after she felt she had taken enough. He would only be out for a few hours if he was lucky.
His friend cried on the cement, rocking back and forth as Octavia knelt down beside him. In times of war there was no need for sympathy, but she did not think this was war. Not yet. Brushing his hair out his face with her fingers, she gazed down at the young man before her. He flinched at her touch and tried to move away but she took hold of the top of his head. "You won't remember this when you wake up." She spoke in a gentle voice. "But I just want you to know that I am sorry."
The man's brow furrowed at her before he let out a gasp of exclamation. "You're one of them spies we keep hearing about in the news." He accused. "You-you're a Nazi!"
Her brow picked up at the thought and she let out a chuckle of disbelief. "Oh when there was only one bad guy, hm?" She opened her palm onto his forehead and again felt the whirl of energy rush through her. After she saw his eyes close she released her hold on him and watched him collapse onto the ground. Octavia felt different now. Better. Her senses heighten immensely, allowing her to hear five more blocks down from where she was and even to smell the blood staining her clothes and the trash that littered around the street. The darkness seemed to fade around her in gradients letting her have a better vision of what was in front of her.
She barely recognized the street she was on, but it was familiar enough to know what direction she was in. The men would have to be moved so no one were to stumble on them immediately. Octavia felt the crackling of energy over her fingertips and the two bodies slid over the sidewalk to the brick wall beside it. They toppled together in a fashion that brought a small smile to Octavia's lips.
Another thought popped in her head and with a smooth ripple through her fingers, both men were removed on wallets. Pocketing the cash, which was a whopping 10 dollars between them but she figured that might be just enough to get her by. When she found their IDs she made note to remember their names. Johnny Jermone. Franklin Mottle. With a toss of leather skinned wallets she gave them silent thanks for their donation.
Octavia picked up her bag off the ground and shoved the bit of money into the folds. She look one last look at the two men before her before continuing on her journey.
"Come on!" Tony slammed his hand down on the metal table beside him as he tried to calibrate a new remote for the time machine. The meter turned red in error and in the distance he heard a computer's voice tell him the same thing. The machine was still broken after the violent event of it being turned on. It had almost sucked in half the room before Octavia had disappeared into it. The readings had told Tony that once the organic matter had passed through then the machine turned itself off but not before sucking through parts of itself that rendered it unable to turn back on. He would have to rebuild it in order to get his sister back.
"Octavia?" Tony heard Steve's voice call out through his lab. "Tony? Are you both in here?"
I am. Tony thought, but kept it to himself. "Over here!" He called out hurriedly. How was he going to tell Steve what happened?
Walking passed some of the debris, Steve had given Tony a look of confusion before expressing it fully. "What happened? Where's Octavia? She said she was going to come in here and talk to you."
"She did…" Tony muttered, barely glancing back at his friend. "She was in here."
"Well, where is she?" Steve asked pointedly.
"A thought bounced around in Tony's head and he felt it weigh him down. "A better question would be when."
"What?
"I said," he cleared his throat. "You should have asked, when is she? As in, when in time did she land? Or when is she going to come back through that thing." Tony motioned to the metal arc that stood just to the right of him.
Steve snapped his head back from Tony and the machine until settling his gaze on Tony with a hard look in his eyes. "What the hell are you talking? What is that?"
"That," Tony had moved down from his spot at his table and moved towards Steve. "Is a time machine that my father invented. There's only one record of it working but it didn't say where it went to. It had just been powered up by some huge amount of energy that is really unlikely to have been around 70 years ago. Unless it was -"
"The tesseract." Steve finished before shooting an accusing look his way. "How is this powered up now?"
"Well, actually, it powered up because of Octavia." Tony pointed out.
"So…" Steve took a moment to think. "She's…" He pointed towards the machine.
"Lost in time. My first guest is that she's at least around the time my father built the machine so if I can get this on maybe she can come back."
"You've done some stupid things before Tony," Steve said heatedly. "But this…"
"I didn't do this!" Tony defended himself. "I told her to not to disturb the machine with all her power but did she listen to me? Now she's stuck, god knows where and the only thing I know I can do is to get this machine back on to try and get her home. Now you can help me or you can lecture me, but only one is going to help Octavia."
Steve clenched his jaw tight as he stared at Tony. Sometimes, he really didn't like him.
"Fine," he said. "I'll help you. But before I do, I need to know one thing. What was the original power source for this?"
Tony pursed his lips together and remained silent for the moment he decided exactly how he was going to explain that.
A chord followed from the base of the time machine towards the back of the laboratory where it was hooked up to a metal box that had been welded shut along the sides. There was a hum inside this box that could only be heard within a few steps of it. Inside, it emulated blue from it's main source of cosmic energy. The tesseract sat on its on pedestal that Tony had to create to keep it from burning through the building. It was the only way to break a hole through space and time, and now Tony regretted bringing it back to Earth.
Morning did not come soon enough for Octavia. It was not the first time she had slept on the streets and something inside of her told her it would not be the last. After leaving 200 Park Avenue, it was only a 15 minute walk to Times Square. When she was younger, there were a few spots she was aware of where no one would venture and she would be safe until she could get a change of clothes. Underneath many of the theaters were basements that held street access that Octavia knew exactly where to find. After her 17th birthday, she had went back to her old stomping ground to see if she could still get in but people had sealed them in hopes of keeping out the street trash. In the back alleys in 1944, they still sat and now that she had enough energy she could pick the lock and slip in with ease. The movements of all this were all too familiar to her.
Octavia did not sleep well underneath the familiar yet out of place theater. She awoke ever so often with the feeling she was back home, only to try and fall asleep disappointed that it were not so. With the day break, she found herself aching for food and knew getting food was next on her list. It would be a few more hours until shops were opened but Octavia could not force herself back to sleep. Saving the battery on her phone, she instead forced her eyes shut and imaged her return. Tony would say something sarcastic but she knew he would be glad to see her. Then she would see Steve. Her heart ached at that thought and she swallowed back the need to cry.
An eerie thought entered her mind and she realized that Steve was in fact there with her. Across the bridge he probably slept in his apartment and was none the wiser she was there longing for him. Longing for him to hold her and to tell her everything was going to be alright. He was someone she had no intention on seeing but the thought of it intrigued her nonetheless. She only knew of him during that time from what he had told her, or what she had learned through the media. Seeing it first hand would have been a different experience and she would give anything to find him, see him become the person he was meant to be. But Octavia was not there for his story and therefore could not have forced herself into it.
Then, she pondered, what if this was always meant to happen? What if she always traveled back in time and found herself on a never ending loop? Octavia's brain hurt with such thoughts and she had to force them out of her head. She could not think of what was meant to happen, or what was happening without her; she needed to think about her next move.
It would be hours before Octavia could surface the streets again and she had to make due of her time. Her first instinct was to store her energy, a process only achievable through mediation. She found now was a perfect time as any. Closing her eyes, Octavia delved deep into her mind to access the main core of her powers. This tactic was perfected when she was seven years old after her father had trained her to do such. The goal of the meditation was to store her potential energy so it wouldn't expel while she didn't use it. When unchecked, the energy inside her body would unlock countless of abilities at her disposal. If she stored the energy, she would be able to draw from it when she most needed it. With it Octavia was able to preform great acts of telekinesis and distribution of the energy inside of her through orbs she could use as weapons. Tony had even made guns that worked like connectors that narrowed the blast of her orbs like bullets. She didn't have the heart to tell Tony she could do that herself. She felt orbs caused a wider range of attack, but it was the thought that counted and she used the guns he made as often as she could. Calling the energy forward to create such tasks often would deplete Octavia, but she had found ways to thrive through it. Storing energy and using it sparingly was her best option. The second was summoning it towards her through physical contact, like she had done with the men earlier.
After the sun had risen into the sky, Octavia had felt like enough time had passed for her to venture out into the streets of old New York. The first dress shop she had found was just a few blocks away from the theater she had slept in and when she entered, she imagined she was a sight to see. Her hair stopped just above her chest, which was longer than she usually had it. The grey button she wore was trickled with blood that had splattered up from her knee. She probably looked a right mess to the store owner as she flitted through the clothes in stock. Octavia hoped the owner would not try to talk to her in her state but it was misplaced as she saw her approach.
"May I help you with anything, miss?" The woman looked her over suspiciously and Octavia moved her legs out of sight to avoid her seeing the more blood.
"Yes," Octavia said quickly. Her mind worked fast and she thought of an excuse quick enough to appease the woman. "You see, I'm in bit of a bind."
"Oh?" The shop owner asked. "How so?"
"My husband," Octavia breathed out. "He's a very important man, you see. He-he told me I must find something to wear for tonight. We're meeting someone so important and I-I have to look my best." She added a quiver to her infliction as she spoke.
The shop owner's face softened as she watched her speak, just as Octavia wanted it to. "Is your husband…a nice man?" The woman asked selectively.
"He's just authoritative, as all other men are." She made a point to be firm in that statement. Turning her attention back to the racks she shuffled through them quickly. A part of her felt guilty for acting so tenderly but she knew she had to distract her from the reality before them.
"Come with me dear." The shop owner took her hand from the blouses she rifled through and guided her towards the back of the shop. "Who exactly are you and your husband suppose to meet tonight?"
"Howard Stark." She said without skipping a beat.
"Oh, are you two going to the Expo tonight?"
The Stark Expedition. Howard Stark had started it in this very year. A fact she had forgotten about in all the chaos. If tonight was the opening, then that is where she would find him.
"Yes." She said quickly. "We've very excited to see all the things Mr. Stark has come up."
The shop owner had lead Octavia back to the dressing rooms and pushed open one of the curtains for her. "I'll bring you some dresses worthy of Mr. Stark himself." She had said proudly. "You've definitely came to the right shop."
Octavia did not realize how much she relied on the fact that this woman would discard such an accusation on a false man in order to benefit herself. Though, if Octavia knew people well then she knew they would more than often hide from the problems before them and react to what was best suited for them. The excuse was merely needed for her appearance, regardless if it were true or not, both of them accepted it.
She stripped herself of her clothes in wait for newer ones whilst the shop keeper was away. She had to use the inside of her jeans to scrub away the red stain on her knee that had soaked over night.
Upon her return, the shop owner carried five different dresses to Octavia's likening but it did not matter to her what they looked like. In the back of her mind she was giddy with delight. How often would this happen for her? If she had her way, just this once.
Accepting the dresses with a kind thanks, she pulled them into her dressing room and skimmed them over one by one. Two were a cotton blend, one light blue that buttoned down to the hem with a white collar. Another was a green and white poke-a-dot design with a matching belt in the middle of the waist band. The next three were all silk which was one of Octavia's favorite textures. The first was a brown and pink paisley print she did not care for. The second was a bright red dress that in another life she would have chosen. It fit her in the most complementary way and she almost picked it had she not decided to keep to her low profile. Instead, the dress she had decided on was a silk peach dress that synched around her waist and stopped just above her knee. It had only been 3.79 after tax, plus 2.30 for a decent pair of shoes to go with it. That had left Octavia with barely 4 dollars but she knew that was enough for one hot meal before she made her way towards the Expo.
It probably would not take long to get there but the sooner she got there the sooner she could find Howard. If she remembered correctly he had held it in Queens. More than likely, it had opened earlier today to allow more time to see all of it. When Tony opened his Expo in 2011, it was an event that lasted all week but he had only been apart of the opening night ceremony. Howard would more than likely do the same. Which meant that if she wanted to see him at all, she would have to be there waiting.
There was nothing more she could do in between then but wait. The thought of venturing the city crossed her mind but she was more worried on missing Howard than seeing the past in full. The less she stepped around the less she would change, she reminded herself. She would just have to move forward as she planned and forgo the rest.
[so the story is basically an adventure of octavia who used to be an active member of the avengers until the events of civil war but this also takes place many years after it. to the point where tony and steve can now at least be around each other][thanks for making it this far and lemme know if you want more]