This story is going to deal with what she had to go through in a lot of depth. I'm using this story to explain everything that happened in-between The Avengers and Iron Man 3. I'm going to try and make Iron Man 3 a little shorter than it originally was going to be, mostly because a lot of that was her moping and dealing with a dog in the middle of a crisis. I think I'm going to do the same thing I did during The Avengers, I think I'm just going to have her drop him off somewhere.

Also, I don't really know how to write this stuff. I know how to write the kids dealing with the abusive uncle, I did my best trying to write his wife in this scene, but I don't know how good of a job I did on it.

I did my best.


Chapter 2: Family Affairs

Speaking of family, I think I need to cover that. The morning after The Battle of New York; I got the calls from Robert and Jamie and their Mom. They ended up dragging me to the emergency room and getting me checked over, even though they knew I had already been. I think Robert just wanted to give his Mom and sister some peace of mind. We were in and out before the video had even been posted. Then, I got a call from Uncle Trent, while I was standing in his living room. He was in Europe, pissed as hell.

That conversation, is one that I have to explain fully:

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" He yelled. The phone wasn't on speaker, but the others could hear him loud and clear.

"I wasn't." I said honestly. "I got myself in trouble. I didn't know how to get out of it." They just stared at me, not even breathing.

"He got arrested." Uncle Trent said.

"What?" I asked. I shot a panicked look at the others.

"What is it?" Aunt Ava asked quietly.

"Arrested." I mouthed. She put her hand over her mouth. That was the one thing we worried about constantly.

"You heard me." He said. I silently switched the phone to speaker. "He got arrested back in Stuttgart." I hadn't known that he had been arrested yet. I had known that S.H.I.E.L.D had taken him in. I had thought that Fury was going to use the papers—and him—so they could track The Seven down. "How much did you tell them?"

"I—I didn't tell them anything. They followed me into Stuttgart. They told me to try and get myself into the gala, but I couldn't. He showed up and got me in and I talked him into leaving. They must have gotten him around then." I said.

"That, I'll agree isn't entirely your fault. I know many a Harbor man that wouldn't have done that much." He said. It was true. They would sell each other out so quick that the others didn't even know what hit them.

"Th—They have the address." I said quickly. I mentally cursed myself, unsure why I was helping him. I didn't want to be like them, I didn't want to help them. But I was doing it. If they found out that I knew something, and I didn't tell them about it, they would kill me.

"Which one?" He asked.

"All of them." I said, "All the warehouses, all the houses, all the safe houses; everything I knew about's now corrupt." I had to tell him the truth. If I didn't, I would literally die.

"You told them?!" He yelled.

"No, he stole paperwork from me." I said. That was a half truth. It wasn't exactly paperwork, but it was a very important piece of paper.

"Who stole it?" He asked, "Which one of S.H.I.E.L.D's agent's has it. Some of them might just use it for blackmail. I just need to know which one of them took it, so I know what we need to do." He explained. I wasn't sure how much trouble I was in, I knew very well that he could be lying. I gulped.

"N—Nick Fury." I said, waiting for the explosion that I knew would come.

"NICK FURY?!" He yelled.

"I—I didn't know what to do. At first, I didn't know he took the papers. I had them in my journal. I didn't realize my journal was missing until it was too late. By the time I got it back, he had everything he needed and the papers." I said, "When I found out he took the papers, I thought he was going to use it to find you guys."

"Alex," He said with a sigh, "I didn't want to do this." I shot them another panicked look. That didn't sound good.

"Who are you with?" He asked. I glanced back at the others.

"Nobody." I lied, "I was going to go talk to Aunt Ava about it, to see which number I should have used, but right now nobody's around." That wasn't entirely false, I had planned on asking Aunt Ava how to contact them, but I knew that I'd get hell for it.

"Well, Alex, it seems like it's happened again." He said, "Maybe it's time we told you the truth."

"W—What do you mean?" I asked. I didn't know if that was what S.H.I.E.L.D had found out about me, that I had partial alien DNA in me.

"You're part of a bigger picture. Involving S.H.I.E.L.D, involving The Seven, involving the entire planet." He said. Jamie looked confused, but both Robert and Aunt Ava knew about that. "Your Father spent his entire life protecting you from S.H.I.E.L.D, protecting you from their enemies; and you threw it all away. Because of that, you and me are going to make a deal."

"What kind of deal?" I asked. With him there were two types of deals. Money and death. I didn't know which one was worse.

"Money." He said, as if reading my thoughts. "You're Father had roughly $50,000 in his bank account when he was taken by S.H.I.E.L.D after he was taken, that money disappeared. I want you to bring me $50,000 by the end of October." I was gaping.

"T—That's not enough time." I said.

"It'll have to be." He said, "That's when I need the money by. It's that or a Death deal." I took a shaky breath, trying to calm myself down.

"I—I'll take the deal. I'll get the money." I said, "I'll get it by October."

"That's all I ask." He said. Then he hung up the phone. I looked towards the others.

"What do I do?" I asked, "I might be able to get it. But if I can, what do I do?"

"Give it to him." Aunt Ava said.

"You do know he'll kill you as soon as he gets the money, right?" Robert asked. I nodded.

"I'll die either way." I said.

"He won't kill you." Aunt Ava said.

"Mom, he's not a good man." Robert said, "He killed Sam because he screwed up."

"Your brother messed up big time." Aunt Ava said, "He threatened all of our lives—especially Alex's life. That's why he's been so tough on you all. He needed to make sure you'd stay in line."

"You can't do this!" Robert yelled, "You can't justify everything he's done."

"Every little mistake." Jamie said quietly, "He's punished us for it. Me, Robert, Dina, and Alex. I never got to meet Sam, and he doesn't sound like a good person; but he shouldn't have died because he messed up. Even if he did put us all in danger."

Jamie was wise beyond her years. She was one of the sweetest little girls I knew, and that was why it killed me that she knew that her Dad committed the murder of the older brother she never got to meet and was able to accept it so easily.

"He's not that bad." Aunt Ava said, "He was a good man. He cared about all of you. He took care of all of you so well."

"He used to beat us." I said, "He doesn't care. He may have cared—when we were little. But whatever man he used to be, isn't there anymore. We've accepted that—we've moved on. Aunt Ava you have to."

"He's not a bad man!" Aunt Ava cried.

"He abused all of us growing up. Robert, Jamie, Dina, and myself. We all learned to deal. We all learned to fight back in our own ways. You have to find your own, whether it be telling him off, letting him know what you know, or flat out packing up and leaving; you've got to do this." I said.

"It's not like I want to stay." Aunt Ava sobbed.

"I can get you a way out of this—Fury can get you a way out of this. He and I might not see eye to eye, but he can do this for you, if I ask him to." I said.

"How?" She asked, wiping her eyes.

"I—I don't want to ask Fury for help." I said, "But if it means keeping my family safe, then I'll do it."

"You don't have to—" Aunt Ava started.

"Don't you fucking tell me that I don't have to do this." I warned. She looked taken aback, "If this keeps you and Jamie and maybe Robert safe, then I'll do it."

"I'd have to stay." Robert said, "I'm too involved in all of this."

"We can figure all of this out after we find out what to do about the $50,000." I said.

"You're not going to have the money." He said. I shrugged.

"The night he disappeared, an mysterious transaction was made to his bank account. All that money was transferred somewhere, and I think I know where that is." I said, "What I'm going to do is—if I'm correct, is check it, transfer the money in his account, and hope for the best."

That night, we went to the bank and checked my account. Just like I thought, all of his money was in there. There was the $30,000 there had always been, the college fund he had made fore me; and the $51,294 he had in his account at the time of his arrest. I kept $31,294 in there and transferred the $50,000 into Uncle Trent's bank account. I thought everything was over with. But that night I received a text from him.

"Transfer another $50,000 in my bank account by January 1st. Our previous deal still stands."

I had known that he was going to do that. I had just hoped that it wouldn't be that soon. I knew that he was never going to lighten up, but he thought that since I had such ease getting him the first $50,000, that it would be easy for me to get him another $50,000. I knew that I'd have a lot of trouble getting him that money, I didn't have enough in my college fund, and I didn't exactly want to sacrifice my college fund. I still wanted to go to college, but if I wanted to live, I'd have to give him the money.

I was tempted to text him back telling him that I had $31,294 in my account, but I decided not to. If he didn't know that I had that money, I thought that I could get away with some money still left. I didn't know how I was supposed to get the money, but I told myself that everything was going to be ok. I knew that it wasn't going to be, but I had to hold onto a little bit of hope. That little bit of hope, was the only thing helping me sleep at night.


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