(Published: 31/12/2018)

(Edited:18/01/2019)

Eirflower

Chapter 2:

Reviews:

Sakura Hatsu:I literally screamed when I read your review! It made me so happy to read it. Your encouragement motivated me to write this second chapter as fast as I could. Thank you!

TheManyFacesOfAnon: thank you! I'm glad you liked it.

Guest: Thank you guest. This fic is my baby now and I have so many ideas for it, this is just the beginning.

I'm so delighted for the amazing response this had for the short amount of time since I posted it. Thank you for the follows and favs, and obviously the reviews. It made me so happy to know you guys are enjoying this a much as I am.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing, just Alex.

Do not mind anything that anyone tells you about anyone else. Judge everyone and everything for yourself.

-Henry James

After what seemed like an eternity, Alex finally calmed down enough to approach Tony. One hesitant hand rested in his chest whilst the other was placed in his forehead. He was breathing steadily and the gash in his brows seemed to be a few days old, besides that, he looked alright. A thin coat of sweat covered his face and the smell of whiskey grew stronger when his mouth fell open forcing her to cover her nose. This is not how she pictured their first meeting, all she wanted was a super heroic and cool meeting, with her easily impressing Tony with her super Valkyrie abilities, but no, the universe must hate her, because she got a dirty alley, an unconscious Tony and, she was a hundred percent sure that a rat just ran past her.

Alex bit her lip, she needed to drag him out of here before a mugger or a junkie jumped at them, and now she wasn't feeling too brave to fight or face anyone. All her energy was going to be focused on getting them out here, heal Tony and call someone, preferably Pepper. Happy probably would be more suspicious of her, since she looked like a hobo. In fact, she must really look like a runaway teen with her dirty sneakers and the big hoodie, and to top it all off, one could tell her bag had seen better days.

Step number one, fix Tony. She lifted her hand and paused, how did she activated the healing thingy? Lady Eir said her knowledge would meet with hers, but so far her brain was filled with pastry recipes and the avenger's theme song. Maybe if she closed her eyes? No, too cliché. She sucked a breath and placed two fingers in the gash, nothing happened right away, and she was ready to remove them when a purplish light coated the tip of her fingers and the wound disappeared, even the bluish tint of an old bruise was gone, leaving his face as flawless as it could be.

Amazing, she was amazing! Never in her life she would've thought of being capable of something like this, something so magical and- and it was hers. "Thank you Lady Eir" she whispered before positioning herself behind Tony and putting her arms under his armpits to start dragging him away. He was surprisingly light, (though this was probably another effect of Lady Eir powers) as she dragged him out of the alley. She was expecting to see the tall and imposing buildings of New York, instead, they were surrounded by smaller and not so modern looking buildings. The sound of a party could be heard nearby, and she deduced Tony was there before fainting in the alley.

She frowned, that didn't make sense. After he created the Iron man suit Tony slowly started to change his lifestyle, unless; she looked down at his hair and was surprised to see a full head of black hair, not a single gray hair peeked through, and she wanted to scream. Please let it be dyed, Alex silently prayed as she dragged him away from the noise and possible people who could report her as an assailant. Dear goodness, she could already picture her mug shot along the headline "Young homeless woman tries to assault billionaire Anthony Stark-" Thinking like that wouldn't do her no good.

Thank goodness it was nighttime and no one was walking around to see her. Still, she didn't want to tempt her luck, so as soon as a bench came into her sight she wasted no time in dropping him there and search his pocket to find his phone. Yup, she totally looked like a robber now.

"Bingo!" she pulled the small device and pressed the middle button, the screen lit up showing a finger scan, and she groaned. Hastily, she grabbed his right hand and pressed his thumb on the screen successfully unlocking it. She scrolled down the favorite contacts list until she found Pepper's number, well or what she assumed was Pepper's, judging by the amount of missed calls.

For good measure, she used Tony's finger to press the contact, better be safe than sorry. She waited exactly ten seconds when a feminine voice greeted her from the other side of the line.

"You know how many times I've called you-"

"Hello" Alex interrupted her scolding.

"Hello" Pepper said distrustfully, lowering her voice, "Who are you? And what are you doing with Mr Stark phone?" she said in a more accusing tone.

She leaned back on the bench "I'm Alex, I found Mr Stark passed out in an alley, so I called you to ask for help"

A pause, a deep intake of air, and then she spoke "Where are you?"

"I have no idea," she admitted and Pepper sighed "But there's a coffee shop in front us, it's called," she frowned, squinting her eyes "Marko's corner or something like that, we are sitting on a bench next to a lamppost" she described vaguely, it wasn't her fault she had no idea where she was.

At that moment Tony grunted, startling her as she moved away from him to give him some space.

Pepper seemed to hear this, because Alex hear her tapping her screen hastily before talking "Someone will pick you up, stay there, " she muttered the last sentence as a warning, try anything funny and you'll regret it, was left unsaid, but Alex knew better and opted to rot herself on the bench and wait for whoever Pepper sent after them.

She blocked the phone and put it back at Tony's pocket. There, it was done, he'll be fine now, technically she was free to leave, but she was sure Pepper or Tony himself would like to question her, and to be honest, she kind of wanted to go, because, when was she going to get another chance like this? Possibly never, so she wanted to enjoy it as much as she could.

Next to her, Tony jolted awake, grunting and rubbing his eyes as he peered one eye open to survey the area. Confusion overtook his features, so she decided that was her cue to talk.

"Hey," she said and cringed internally, she sounded so lame. "I'm Alex, I found you in an alley" She truly deserved a prize for being the most tactless person in history.

"Are you a hobo?" he asked, frowning, his face inching closer "There's no need to mug me, all you needed to do was ask," He stopped talking to fish something out of his pocket and handed to her. "This is my buddy Benjamin, take care of him." He patted her in the back and stood, leaving her speechless holding the bill as he walked away.

She jumped to her feet, shoving the bill in her back pocket as she ran to catch him "Wait! Mr Stark I've already called your assistant, she told me to stay here or else…" she paused for dramatic effect, giving him a puppy look. "I don't want to get in trouble."

He regarded her with a lifted eyebrow, "And how, did you do that? Because I'm sure I'm only one who can access my phone."

"Oh, it was easy, I used your finger to unlock it," she said, managing to sound smug of her achievement. "I assumed your assistant's number was the one with the multiple missed calls."

He scratched his beard in contemplation and his eyes narrowed "So, you mean to tell me you deduced all that because of my reputation?"

She fidgeted and hung her head, she was about to answer when a horn interrupted her. A fancy black car pulled over next to them and two men stepped out, their hands resting at the side on their hips as they walked over. They studied her appearance with disdain and one of them, (the tallest) and closest to her pulled out his phone.

Tony waved a hand dismissively, "It's alright, and she didn't do anything illegal to me, unless you count hacking into my private phone as an offense?" He gave her a pointed look and placed a hand on her shoulders, guiding her to the car as she fought the urge to escape.

She no longer wanted to meet Tony Stark.

Alex was thrust inside the car with Tony blocking the door as he also stepped in, smirking at her. "So, what's your sob story? He asked once he was properly seated and a glass of whiskey was handed to him. "Ran away from home with a boyfriend? Probably named something stupid like Scotty or Todd, then you found out he was a good for nothing and you need more than love to survive so you left and turns out, one day as you walked around in the middle of the night, surprise! You found a passed out billionaire and, instead of doing the obvious thing and mug him, you choose to call his assistant, so he could arrive home safely and ta-da you are awarded with a lot of cash so you're set for life," He turned to face her and was surprised when he realized she had lowered her head and was clenching the hem of her hoodie. "Did I hit a nerve?"

She shook her head, "No, Mr Stark," she said quietly so only Tony could hear her. "You couldn't be more wrong, I choose to help you because this world is full of horrible people and I wanted to help you," she raised her chin, smirked and felt the need to say "besides, I doubt the rats knew how to work your phone." Tony's mentions of lots of money reminded her of the wrinkled bill in her pocket, so she slammed it in his thigh, "You can keep your buddy Benjamin, I'm not good at making new friends, and, have you considered writing soap operas? Because that history you just made up, would be a total success in South America, especially Mexico, I hear they're really into that dramatic shit." She shot back earning an amused look from Tony that transformed in a breathy laugh.

"You hear that Happy? She thinks I'll be an amazing scriptwriter!"

Happy shot him a look through the rear-view, "We're here boss."

She hadn't even noticed the car had started moving, she needed to pay more attention to her surroundings.

Tony clapped his hands, "Get out kid, we have lots of talking to do."

She pursed her lips, "why?"

"Well, for once I not sure if you stole the info from my phone and two, you could be an undercover hitman plotting to kill me or something." he said too casually for the grade of his accusations.

She swallowed hard, suddenly feeling nervous "Fair point." she conceded before stepping out.

She blinked multiple times to make sure she wasn't having a vision. Alex was standing right in front of the Malibu house, meaning Tony wasn't even the Iron man, yet or knew about alien races or S.H.I.E.L.D, and here she was, next to him about to be questioned of her sob story.

"You look a little pale." he pointed out "Never seen a house before?" He teased a little as he started walking.

"Not one like this, its breathtaking." she lied smoothly to mask her reaction before following Tony inside.

But as soon as she stepped in, Alex realized the word breathtaking didn't do it justice. The Malibu house, was the perfect mix between modern, technological and aesthetic. She'd seen in before in the movies, but standing literally in the middle of it was a new experience. She resisted the urge to call for Jarvis as they made their way to Tony's workshop.

They were briefly intersected by Pepper, who looked like she just woken up, so Alex felt the need to apologize to her, but the woman only smiled a little and shook her head, "There's no need for that, Thank you for calling. I know Mr Stark can be a bit handful." She extended her hand and Alex gladly shook it "I'm Pepper Potts, pleasure to meet you Alex."

"The pleasure is mine, Ms Potts" She responded in what she hoped, was a pleased voice.

"Get her something to eat Peps, we'll be downstairs" Tony intervened "Come kid, we have lots of talking to do.

However, lots of talking turned into a staring contest until she looked away to stare at Dum-e. What could she say, he had a strong gaze. Tony sat at his desk, distrust filling his gaze as he placed his phone under a machine that resembled an x-ray machine and ordered Jarvis to scan it for any possible copied files or stolen data, basically any sign that proved she had helped him under other reasons besides just wanting to help him.

Alex felt sorry for him, he was used to people using him for their own gain, except Pepper and Rhodey, and herself, of course, though that depended on in Mr Stark himself.

A blue light shone from the machine before a disembodied British voice informed them, that in fact, the device remained untouched, besides the recent call made to Miss Potts there was no other sign of Alex presence in his phones, but that didn't ease his accusatory stare.

He folded his arms as a line appeared in his brow "What's your real name?"

She blinked, not expecting that question "My name's Alex, short for Alexandra."

He sized her up for the hundred times, and his mouth twitched to fight down a smirk "Who do you work for?"

She glanced up to the ceiling, praying to any deity that dared to listen, to give the strength to deal with this, "I work for no one, How you went from thinking I was homeless to think I'm a hitman?" she asked in exasperation.

Tony grinned and his eyes glinted in delight "I never said you were a hitman."

She huffed in response "You did, in the car. I remembered because I thought I'd look funny with a bald head and a suit." she shrugged offhandedly.

His grin disappeared and his lip set in a thin line. "Look, we're going nowhere with this whole questioning thing, so why don't you take this," he slid a folded paper in her direction which she grabbed reluctantly "and forget any of this happened." he advised, seeming done with their conversation.

Slowly, she unfolded the paper and was not surprised to find a check. She blinked twice, to make sure she was reading the amount correctly, a whole $3.000 for herself. That was, without a doubt the biggest amount of money she ever had to her name, too bad she wouldn't accept it.

"I told you I'm not good at making new friends," she said, folding the paper again, "It doesn't matter if you introduce me to Chester check or Carlos cash, I'm not taking any money from you. I didn't help you hoping for a monetary compensation." She said, mustering all her sincerity in her voice.

Sadly, that didn't convince him either "I'm willing to raise the amount, C'mon kid name your price. A house? A car? Name it and it's yours."

She hunched, a defeated sigh escaping her lips as her eyes welled up "You just don't get it, do you? You don't have to give me money to pay off whatever imaginary debt you made up, I'm okay with just your gratitude, I-"

"Seriously, who do you work for?" cause I don't believe this whole Mother Teresa act you're trying to pull off."

Alex gave a bitter laugh, clenching the check harder before she tore in half, leaving the pieces to fall to the ground and a stunned Tony behind. She halted in her steps, making him believe she regretted her decision, but when she looked over her shoulder, he had to force himself to maintain his stare.

"I'm sorry for you Tony, it must be hard knowing people only talk to you to get something for themselves, and I might be many things, but greedy and ill intended aren't one of those. Have a nice day, Mr Stark, and if I were you, I'll take a double take in my so-called friends."

And with that she was gone, storming out of the workshop almost colliding with Pepper in her haste. The woman grabbed Alex elbow, taking notice of her glossed eyes, momentarily forgetting about the plate she was carrying she squeezed Alex arm in reassurance, "What happened?"

Alex shook her head and discarded Pepper gentle touch, "I'm leaving. It was nice meeting you Ms Potts."

"Alex wait-"Pepper called, but she was already gone. With a sigh, she dropped the plate on the console table, not caring if the heat would damage the polished wood before walking as fast as her heels allowed her to in the direction of the workshop where she found her boss sitting in his desk with a thoughtful look planted on his face as his eyes glared at the ground.

Understanding dawned on her, approaching her boss slowly she spoke "You offered her money, and she rejected it." she quickly deduced.

Tony turned at her, and Pepper was filled with confusion, "Mr Stark, your face is flawless."

He snorted, amused with her words as smirk adorned his lips "Took you long enough to notice, we can-"

"Is not that," she interrupted him, resisting the urge to roll her eyes "The gash in your brow is gone, the bruise too." she said handing him the spoon she was still holding from Alex's uneaten meal.

He lifted a hand, touching the area he knew was scarred, but felt nothing but smooth skin, even with the slight distortion of his reflection, he could clearly see that Pepper was right, his face was flawless.

"I still had them yesterday when I left," he muttered more to himself, but she still nodded.

A few seconds passed and they both shared a look.

"Jarvis, I need you to find information about a girl around 16 to 20, name's Alexandra, 5.6, short black hair, brown eyes." he said listing everything he could remember about the girl.

"I found a list of 200 girls in the Malibu area, sir." came the AI's voice.

He nodded "Show it to me."

Alex wanted to smack herself. Hard, preferably with a rock or something just as hard. She had literally walked away from Tony Stark, future superhero and her only possible link to the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. First day as Lady Eir's chosen one, and she was already failing. She grunted and smacked her coffee against the plastic table, a couple next to her gave her weird looks, but besides that they continued their discussions as if she wasn't there.

She was sitting in Marko's corner, and despite their slogan "The best coffee in Malibu." she was sure she had better coffee prepared by Kat's grandma, and the hag hated her guts, and it was also very pricey for such a horrible drink. Alex wanted her $5 back, her funds were in the meager amount of $37 plus the cent she found outside near the entrance, so she was not in the most desirable situation to waste her money like that, but somehow she ended up walking back there, and a warm cup of delicious coffee sounded nice, and they also had WI-Fi. Which she was using to find any sorts of shelter or any place she could stay until she found a job.

This is not how she imagined her first day would be.

She sipped her drink again, making a face when her phone was taken from her unsuspecting hand. Alex opened her mouth to kindly tell her attacker to give it back, but she closed it as soon as she recognized Tony Stark himself standing in front of her in a coffee shop that sold the worst version on the drink she ever tasted in her life. He looked more put together than he did before, he had even changed to a more casual outfit with plain AC/DC shirts with jeans and still managed to look more presentable than her.

In Alex defense, she had a rough night, even more than him.

"You said you weren't homeless." He said as he took a seat across from her, still scrolling down her phone with an unreadable face.

"I never said that," she retorted quickly, "I just don't have a place to stay."

"That's the definition of homeless, kid." His tone was serious yet amused, he gave it one last look before he pocketed her phone away.

Her nostrils flared "Hey! That's mine." she protested. The couple next to her glared at them, but they stopped once they realized who was sitting, lest that 2 meters apart from them, and they tried discreetly to take pics. Tony barely turned to them and smiled for the camera.

He, then, faced her "I'll give it back once I'm sure you're not trying to kill me." He said simply, standing up and motioning her to do the same.

"I haven't finished my coffee yet." She said defensively just to have the pretense she had at least, a bit of control in the situation.

Tony gave her a look as he reached for her drink and threw in the trash, "You're done now, get up."

Alex grunted, her $5 were now sitting at the bottom of a trash can. Great, she could've drank it to make herself feel better about the wasted money, "That was also my breakfast you know, you could've handed it to me. I can multitask." She retorted.

His eyes darted away and rested a hand on her back to get her moving. Unknowingly to her, Tone felt his stomach drop at her words as he guided her to the waiting car.

Alex peered over her shoulder "We're doing lots of talking again? Cause I'm not in the mood to stare at you and break another check today."

A corner of his mouth lifted, "Nope, you're explaining how on earth you did this to me." he said pointing to his brow.

"I'm sure you were born like that Mr Stark." Of course she knew what he meant, she just wanted to play dumb for a while.

He gave her an unimpressed look, "You know what I mean."

"Do I?" Another answer like that, and Tony would shoot laser from his eyes.

"I'm not joking kid, you're in some serious shit."

Alex huffed, "Maybe next I should've accepted the check and be on my merry way." she lamented.

Tony agreed with a nod, "Too bad your good heart wouldn't let you."

"You know, maybe I should've left you with the rats. I'm sure they would've figured out your phone by now."

Alex fidgeted in her seat as a blue laser scanned her completely. It didn't matter how much she insisted, Tony just frowned and assured her that Jarvis could find all of her secrets and her real intentions, and not wanting to pop his bubble she just let him.

Jarvis was polite and kind enough, to assure her that the process wouldn't hurt and that it would be done before she even noticed. True to his word, Alex had barely blinked to block the blinding light when Jarvis announced he was done, and to Tony's disappointment no information of data had been found. Not from hospitals, orphanages or prisons. So he had resorted to just ask her questions.

"How old were you again?"

"19, Mr Stark," she said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, he needed to ask whatever he wanted, or she was going to smack him, she was tired of the 20 questions crap "I believe you want to know how I healed you."

His eyes lit up "So you're finally talking," he said as he came closer, dragging a chair with him "Jarvis, inform Ms Potts of the kid's arrival, have her bring something to eat for the visit."

"Right away Sir."

"I have magical powers." she blurted, and he plastered a smile on his face.

"Lying would get you nowhere."

She rose from her seat and lifted her left hand whilst the other pulled out her pocket knife from her bag. She stared directly at his eyes as she ran the sharp object in her palm. Fresh blood spilled to the floor, staining the gray concrete as Tony shot from his seat towards her.

She raised her injured hand, and he halted, and she placed two fingers in the open wound, the purple light immediately covered it, and she removed her fingers revealing the flawless skin to him. The only evidence of the wound, was a pink line that was starting to vanish.

His mouth was agape for a second, before he closed it and scratched his beard, "You have powers," he said simply, "Are you sure you're not here to kill me?"

A loud sound from behind made them jump, and Pepper was making her way to them with wide eyes and a pale face, the broken plate, forgotten in the ground and Alex stomach protested at the image of the food splattered on the floor. She just wanted to eat, was it too much to ask for?