WHOSE PROPERTY
Abel opened up the door to Tony's Malibu house and closed it behind her. She wasn't paying attention as her eyes were held to her phone screen that played Tony's meeting he had with the court conference about his suits that they're treating like a weapon. She wasn't able to go because of...personal reasons but Tony was able to back himself up pretty firmly with the findings on Justin Hammer.
She sighed deeply, watching Hammer try and struggle to unplug the TV screen that showed off his own attempt to replicate Tony's suit that ended poorly. "It's funny...how a creepy hunch I had with such a guy turned out to be true." Then again, her hunches were always true since she had more than enough time to hone them to perfection. Needless to say, it's hard to lie around her.
Abel descended to the lower area of the house where Tony's workspace was located. The same place that held all the memories of the past when working with the Mark 2 and the rather...difficult ones. But aside from that. She found this place to be the most comfortable. She halted in her tracks though and picked up on a small hint of iron in the air. Blood, without a doubt but something else was mixed in with the smell that puzzled her.
"Tony?" She called out and unlocked the door. She looked up just in time to see Tony turn off his computer screen.
His eyes lit up when he saw her, which made Abel's heart totally melt. "Hey. Missed you at the meeting. You should have been there." He got up from his chair to give her a kiss on the side of the head.
Abel smiled and patted the side of his face. "Sorry." She apologized and lifted her phone to show him the video she was watching. "You seemed to have handled it though."
"Hey. I would've been able to if you haven't found those videos of Hammer. Just how the hell were you able to come across those?"
Abel winked at him. "Being as old as I am...it's good to have a couple of connections. " Connections being SHEILD. Abel glanced her head back to the door and frowned. "Oh...you're in trouble."
Tony gave her a questionable look but he found her worries in a fuming Pepper who was marching down the stairs. "Oh...that's what you meant."
Pepper huffed and walked inside. "Is this a joke? What are you thinking?"
"What?" Tony actually hid behind Abel and placed the immortal between them.
"What are you thinking?" Pepper tried to get in front of him but Tony maneuvered Abel with him so she wouldn't get past. "Are you serious?"
"Hey, I'm thinking I'm busy. And you're angry about something." Tony began to walk around the room and kept a steady pace beside Abel for his own safety.
Pepper followed. "Did you just donate...our entire modern art collection to the..."
Abel answered. "Boy Scouts of America."
"Boy Scouts of America?" Pepper grabbed Abel by her shoulder. "Are you upset too? You were part of it."
Abel gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Pepper. I mean no offense but that really wasn't anything that I held close."
Pepper sighed. "You know, there are only about 8,011 things that I really want to say to him but... The Expo is a gigantic waste of time."
Tony spoke up to that. "There's nothing more important to me than the Expo...aside from Abel but that's a different story. It's my primary point of concern. I don't know why you're..."
"The Expo is your ego gone crazy," Pepper said bluntly.
Abel placed her hands up and washed them clean and let Pepper and Tony argue back and forth. More like Pepper digging into him and Tony acting like it's not a big deal. She found it amazing that they can argue like an old married couple, but that's probably because they've known each other for a long time.
"I don't care about the liberal agenda anymore. It's boring." Tony rolled his eyes. "You do it."
"I do what?"
"Excellent idea. I just figured this out. You run the company."
"Yeah, I'm trying to run the company."
"Pepper, I need you to run the company. Well, stop trying to do it and do it."
"You will not give me the information."
"I'm not asking you to try..."
"In order to."
"Pepper, you're not listening to me! I'm trying to make you CEO." He almost snapped out. "Why won't you let me?"
Pepper froze. "Have you been drinking?"
Abel picked her head up and gave him a glance. "Pardon?"
"Ah. Chlorophyll." He patted Pepper on her shoulder. "I hereby irrevocably appoint you chairman and CEO of Stark Industries effective immediately. Yeah, done deal. Okay?" He walked over to Dummy who was carrying a tray of champagne with glasses. "I've actually given this a fair amount of thought, believe it or not. It was actually a close match between you and Abel, but I knew she would never want the spotlight."
Abel smiled. "Thank you for being considerate."
"Whatever you wish sweetheart." He winked and gestured her over just as he popped the bottle. "I thought there'd be a legal issue, but actually I'm capable of appointing my successor. My successor being you." He faced Pepper who slowly sat down, stunned. He poured three glasses, one for Abel, himself and the other for Pepper. "Congratulations?" He handed a glass to her. "Take it, just take it."
"I don't know what to think."
"Don't think, drink. There you go." Tony smiled and tapped their glasses together.
Abel's lips curled up and her whole body just felt warm. It would have been a perfect moment if the faint smell of blood wasn't still in the air. She glanced her head around to locate the smell and found it hovering around Tony's desk. Her inhuman, sharp eyes narrowed in on this small device sitting on his desk where something read on the screen that said 'Blood toxicity 24%'.
Abel never really though herself as a perfectionist, but staring at Happy as he was trying to teach Tony how to box was starting to flare up some tendencies.
"The notary's here!" Pepper called at to Tony as she walked in. "Can you please sign the transfer paperwork?"
"I'm on happy time," Tony called back.
"I promise this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company."
Abel let out a laugh and glanced over. Her smile dropped as a woman walked into the room. She was very attractive with noticeable red hair. This woman's eyes slowly made eye contact with Abel that burned intensely into the woman's brown eyes. Abel's expression fell and she sharpened her gaze.
This woman walked over to Pepper and held out the documents. "I need you to initial each box." She said to her and handed her a pen.
Tony looked over his shoulder and saw Abel giving this woman a strange and concerned look. He suddenly felt Happy tap his boxing glove on the back of his head. "Lesson one. Never take your eye off..." Tony kicked him in the chest and he crashed up against the corner of the ring.
"That's it. I'm done." Tony walked over to the edge of the ring. "What's your name lady." He called out to the new woman.
"Rushman. Natalie Rushman." She answered.
"Front and center. Come into the church." He pointed to the ring.
Abel's eyes went wide. "Tony, wait a moment." she got up from her seat and raised her hand.
"It's no problem." Natalie's eyes locked with Abel before she walked up into the ring.
Tony swigged down some green liquid that was in a bottle and didn't break eye contact with her. "You give her a lesson." He asked Happy.
"No problem."
Tony got out of the ring and grabbed Abel by her shoulders and sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her. "Don't tell me you're jealous."
Abel slowly cranked her head over to him and stared at Tony like he was insane. "I am not." She said as firmly as she possibly could while holding eye contact with him the whole time.
Tony shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you say, sweetheart. Who is she anyway."
"She's from legal," Abel responded and watched the ring.
"And she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that." Pepper eyed him.
"I'm not ogling her." Tony defended himself. "Why would I ogle her when I can stare at someone like Abel all day." He saw Abel stifle a smile beside him.
"You ever boxed before?" Happy asked with a sly smile while facing down Natalie.
"I have, yes."
"What, like, the Tae Bo? Booty Boot Camp? Crunch? Something like that."
Natalie lowered her head to the side to hide the fact that she was slightly annoyed by that statement. She lifted her head back up and glanced at Abel as she smiled at Tony.
"Rule number one, never take your eyes off the opponent." Happy goes to swing at her when Natalie snapped her head back and grabbed his arm. She twisted it and flipped him with her legs and got him on his back in seconds.
"Oh, my God!" Pepper shouted. "Happy."
Natalie released Happy and got up.
Happy got back to his feet. "Just slipped." He defended himself.
"Over her legs that were around your neck?" Abel questioned with a smile, trying not to laugh as she leaned against the ring.
"Ah..." Happy was at a loss for words to try to find a way out of this mess to save his pride that was crushed by a woman who was even smaller then Abel.
"And one more thing when you were training Tony." Abel pointed with her fingers. "Your legs were too far apart and your arms were to low. You lost balance way to easily and you can't defeat yourself when your arms are not up high enough.
Happy raised his brow and stared at her. "Are you sure about that?" He even goes as far as to question her.
Throughout her long life, Abel has had many, many opportunities to learn things like boxing or judo. The list was endless though and she's pretty sure a lot of those styles were mixed together over the years of endless use. Her own fighting style was unique because of that. It's how she was able to counter Stane when he attacked her and Tony. Still, Happy was in the dark about her true identity so...
Abel held her hands up. "Well...what do I know honestly..." She smiled and detached herself. She looked over her shoulder and saw Happy actually checking his leg stance and hand positions.
Natalie walked back over to Tony. "Just...need your impression."
"You have a quiet reserve. I don't know, you have an old soul." He began before she cut him off.
"I mean your fingerprint."
"Right." He stamped his finger and pressed it against the documents as Pepper walked over.
"So, how are we doing?" She asked.
"Great. Just wrapping up here. Hey. You're the boss."
Natalie closed the documents. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"
"Yes," Pepper cut in. "That will be all, Ms. Rushman. Thank you very much."
Natalie was about to walk out of the room before she found Abel's large brown eyes burning a hole through her. Her deep gaze dropped though and she smiled. "It was nice meeting you...Ms. Rushman." Abel's voice dropped down and had a low, vibrating rumble to it.
Natalie nodded her head and left.
Author's Note:
This is all I'm going to give you until I finish writing the story. I'm sorry to do this to you and you have no idea how happy I was to see so many familiar faces favorite and follow this story in a single night after first posting it. I work night shift so I have to sleep while I can and I heard my phone buzz all night haha.
I'll see you all later, my lovelies!
