Ingrid decided that she would spend the day exploring the tower. There was still many people that she wanted to meet. She made her way through the modern building, stopping at any room that looked interesting. Eventually she made her way to what looked like a gym. She peered inside and saw two people sparing. Ingrid walked in to check it out. She had probably only taken three steps into the room when the two fighters whipped their heads around to see Ingrid.
"So you're Tony Stark's best kept secret, huh?" A red headed woman said to her, coldly.
Ingrid didn't know how to respond, "I guess." She said nervously, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and looking down at her feet.
"Don't mind her," the man sparing with the red head said to Ingrid, "Natasha's just mad that someone was smart enough to be able to keep a secret from her."
Natasha shot him a glare, "So you think a secret as big as a child is ok to have when you work for S.H.I.E.L.D?"
The man rolled his eyes and walked towards Ingrid, "I'm Clint, it's nice to meet you." Clint shook Ingrid's hand and gave her a friendly smile, Ingrid smiled back.
"Thanks. Sorry for interrupting by the way, I was just exploring the tower and this room looked kinda cool." Ingrid gestured around the large facility. It didn't just have a sparring ring, it also contained a large rock climbing wall, a few trampolines, a running track, targets, and a few other things that Ingrid didn't know the function of.
"No problem, this space is open for everyone to use. wouldn't be the called the public gym if it wasn't." by this time, Natasha had made her way over to where Ingrid and Clint were standing.
"So, how to you like it here so far?" Natasha asked, the coldness had started to disappear from her voice.
"It's… Different, I guess. I met Steve last night and Bruce this morning, they seem nice which is good."
Natasha noticed Ingrid eying the sparring ring, "You want to try?" She asked with a smirk.
"Um, sure." Ingrid said innocently to Natasha.
The two stepped into the ring, "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you." Natasha said reassuringly.
"No need for that." Ingrid said with a smirk. Natasha opened her mouth to say something but Ingrid was already upon her. Ingrid had taken gymnastics as a kid and when she got older Tony had her take self defence lessons. For some reason he thought krav maga, one of the deadliest types of fighting in the world, was a great hobby for a 12 year old girl.
Ingrid kept up with Natasha and dodged all of her attempted blows easily. Eventually Ingrid pounced on the red head and had her in a choke hold she could easily snap Natasha's neck from.
"Give up?" Ingrid taunted and laughed.
"Not… Y- Yet…" Natasha wheezed when suddenly she flipped Ingrid off her back in one quick move. Ingrid landed on the floor with a loud thud.
"You ok?" Natasha offered Ingrid her hand. There were no traces for hostility in her voice now.
"I could ask you the same thing!" Ingrid laughed as she accepted Natasha'a hand.
"Wow. That was actually kind of amazing." Clint said as he walked over to the ring, "We're not getting to old for this, are we, Nat?"
"Looks like you just gave Clint a midlife crisis in his 30s. I'm impressed." Natasha said jokingly. The three of them laughed and started to make their way to the shared living room.
When they got there they saw Bruce and Tony sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch, talking to a very worried looking Steve.
"Nat…" Steve looked up when they walked in, "I think we've found him."
Natasha rushed over to Steve and put a hand on his shoulder, "Is he ok?" She asked urgently.
"What's going on?" Ingrid whispered to Clint. The solum look on everyone's faces worried her.
Clint took her aside, "Did you ever learn about Steve in history class or something?" he asked
"Yeah, him and all the other Howling Commandos. They're heroes." Ingrid said.
"Then you were probably told that only one of them lost their life during the war."
"Yeah, James Barnes fell off a moving train. What's he got to do with anything?" Ingrid was getting more and more confused.
"He didn't die. S.H.I.E.L.D's biggest enemy, H.Y.D.R.A. found him and experimented on him, trying to recreate the formula that turned Steve into a super soldier. After they had success they erased his memories to make him the world's deadliest assassin."
"So they're worried he's going to do something bad?" Ingrid asked.
"Sort of. Last time Steve saw him he may have done something that is making his memories come back. Banner suspects that this isn't good for his mental health and thinks he's a danger to himself."
"I see…" Ingrid bit her lip like she always did when she was thinking, "Are they able to bring him here? I'm sure you could all help him."
"That's what we decided on doing if this situation ever arose. We just need to find a way to get him here without emotional distress."
Steve walked over to where Ingrid and Clint were talking, "We're leaving as soon as possible." Steve then turned to Ingrid, "I'm afraid that you can't come with us. You understand, right?"
"Of course, I know I'm not a superhero and I won't try to be." Ingrid replied with a kind look.
"I'll see you later, Grid." Tony said as he gave his daughter a tight hug, "Stay out of trouble, Ok?"
"Stop it, dad. It's me who should be worrying about you." Ingrid joked.
After everyone said goodbye, Ingrid took the empty tower as an opportunity to go check out the lab. She couldn't help but gasp when she entered the large room. It was filled with thing even she didn't understand, "Finally, a real challenge." Ingrid mused to herself. The idea of a room full of machines with unknown uses excited her.
Ingrid walked around, stopping occasionally to examine any particularly interesting looking gadgets. Eventually, she found her father's desk. It was messy and covered in loose papers and old coffee mugs. Nothing caught her eye until she noticed a photograph that was taped on the computer monitor. She plucked it off to get a closer look.
"Mom…" She breathed when she realized who it was. The picture was of her mother and father at the top of the empire state building. Ingrid didn't know much about her mom. She had died after giving birth to Ingrid so she never really knew her, but Ingrid still liked to think that she was looking out for her.
Ingrid leaned back to rest against the wall when she slipped on a puddle of oil, as she fell she reached for the closest thing she could find, a small lever. Suddenly, a door opened into a room with a huge pool of a mysterious liquid. Alarms were blaring, which didn't help her situation at all as she continued to fall into it. That's when it all went dark.
A/N- I hope you all liked this chapter and thank you so much for all the reviews and suggestions! I promise to start writing longer chapters!