MONACO IN FLAMES
"God, can you smile any wider," Tony said to Abel as her beaming and lively eyes looked at the window. Tony couldn't help to grin too. Honestly, just staring at this woman made him smile like an idiot "I'm sure you've been to Monaco before, right?"
"I have. Many time in the past actually." Abel said. Her eyes were glued to the window as she took in the beautiful view that her old eyes haven't seen in such a long time. It all looked so different yet familiar at the same time and felt this warm feeling in her heart. Oh, she wanted to go exploring. She wanted to go to the parks and sit down and take up the sun. She wanted to go to the bars and drink their best wine. There was just so many things she wanted to do.
Tony watched Abel, her eyes glowing like a kid staring into a candy shop. He could stare at her all day. "How about this. After the formalities, I'll give you free rein to go exploring for a couple of hours."
Abel snapped her head back over so quickly and stared him dead in the eyes. "Really?" She sounded beyond excited but then frowned. "But are you sure about that. You won't need me for anything?"
"Abel, I only need the most gorgeous woman in the world by my side for a couple of minutes."
Abel's face burned red for a second. "Oh, please." She ran her fingers through his hair and tapped her forehead against his before Tony broke out into a smile.
It was a vacation with a formality because of the Grand Prix going on. Tony could see that Abel had no interest in this thing and he couldn't blame her. The last thing he wanted to do was hold her down and have her uncomfortable. Given the chance, he would have loved to go and explore with her too but that will have to be for another time.
Happy drove up to the Hotel De Paris and stopped the car in front of the building. People on the side, waiting for the race, cheered when Tony stepped out with Abel on his arm. Happy came out while carrying a red case and opened the car door for Pepper before they walked inside.
"You know, it's Europe. Whatever happens in the next 20 minutes, just go with it." Tony said to Pepper.
"Go with it? Go with what?" She asked.
Natalie walked up to them and smiled at them. "Mr. Stark?"
"Hey." Tony greeted the rather lovely looking woman.
"Hello. How was your flight?"
"It was excellent. Boy, it's nice to see you." Tony linked his arm with Abel as they followed behind Natalie.
"We have one photographer from the ACM if you don't mind. Okay." Natalie said but gave an eye to Abel.
Abel moved to the side, not being a fan of cameras, and gave the spot to Pepper. Time and time again she learned to never get her photo taken because it always comes up again in the future past. Example being when Tony found out her Identity. She waited as they posed for the picture before starting on their run again.
"Right this way," Natalie said.
Tony retook Abel's hand. "What's on the docket?"
"You have a 9:30 dinner."
"Perfect. I'll be there at 1:00."
"Absolutely."
Abel's eyes looked over and narrowed in on a bar. She walked over to it and raised her hand. "Manhattan, please." She ordered with a warm smile plastered to her face.
"Same here," Tony came up beside her and ordered one too. "I never took you for a drinker."
"Hm..." Abel held the drink with her long elegant fingers. "Well...I'm not a big drinker but I do enjoy a fine wine with great company-" Her words fell short faster than her smile. "Behind you." She spoke slowly and turned her face away.
Justin Hammer's head peeked out from behind the crowd at the bar. "Anthony. Is that you?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "My least favorite meets my most person on Earth." He quickly paid for Abel drink. "Sweetheart, how about you go sightseeing now."
Abel frowned and downed her drink in seconds (Impressive). "Are you sure?" She asked, just having to make sure that he will be fine on his own. "Because I can handle Hammer if you want me too."
Tony shook his head. "That's the thing. It's just Hammer. I'm fine. Just go before he sees you." He gave her a slight push and watched as Abel made a swift escape out the back door.
Abel reluctantly had to leave Tony behind at the bar and did feel a bit bad about it but she did have this one place she really wanted to revisit as soon as possible. Her heels clicked against the cobblestone floor while she adventured down the bear alleyways were it got more and more scarce of people. Of course, normal people wouldn't be down this way when they have no business with it because it was a rich area of town. A while backâwell, actually it was a very long time ago, Abel bought a house in the region and decided to head there first to dig up some old memories and which bring out an old picture that she left behind.
It was a bit off the beaten path with a small stone walkway leading up to a white fence cottage with a protruding doorway. The stone was old that was once white but now a bit brown with age, two windows on the second floor and one on the first floor. She opened the front door with its key and took in the musty smell and honeysuckle scent the came from within. The inside was still very nice with white walls, hardwood floors and an old kitchen table with brown chairs.
"Would have been nicer if someone lived in it," Abel mumbled to herself.
She now knew that she was the first one to walk inside after who knows how many years. A thin layer of dust covered the table and the windows were coated in cobwebs. It was sad to see this lovely house in such a state but it can't be helped. Abel had once thing on her mind though that she wanted to find. An old picture that she left here. It wasn't in any of the desks in any of the rooms which were strange since that was the last time she saw it, but it didn't take long to actually find it. It was inside one of the bedside drawers. She began to feel her heart speed up in her chest as her fingers lined the frame of dust that covered the back of the picture. In a flash, she flipped it over as the biggest smile expressed with happiness came to her lips as sorrow lined her eyes.
Tony was able to separate himself from Hammer after his long bullcrap ramblings and went inside the bathroom. He undid his tie and buttoned down his shirt a bit to see black veins on his skin that were coming from the arc reactor. He stared grimly at it before he pricked his finger on a small device and the screen lit up and read 'Blood toxicity 53%'. He felt his stomach drop to the ground and he became short of breath for a moment until this bitter sensation washed over him. "Sorry, Abel..." He apologized for keeping a secret from her. He wanted to tell her about this but every time he saw that smile he loved so much, he couldn't bring himself to see it fall. He looked up in the mirror and stared at his reflection. "Got any other bad ideas?"
Tony strolled out onto the track now dressed in a blue racing suit. He jumped over the barrier and up to a car. The camera's turned to him and the flashes blinded his eyes when he walked up towards the car. "Well, what's the use of having...and owning a race car...if you don't drive it?"
Abel was enjoying herself inside an old style bar in town and was taking up the fine wine with the smell of old cigarette smoke bathed into the wood. It was nothing special but it brought back a lot of nostalgia for her which she lived for. The low tones of the bar then took a turn when she looked around and saw all the customers looking at the TV with wide eyes and began to chat with each other. She looked up at the screen and she felt her body run cold as her muscles stiffen.
On screen, Tony got set up in the car and pulled a helmet over his face.
Abel sucked in a deep breath. "What are you..." She sat frozen with her eyes glued to the screen, not sure of what to do for a moment as she watched as this man she adored, race through the Grand Prix, but what caught her off guard was on screen, this other man walked out in the middle of the race wearing an orange jumpsuit. He reached for the front of his suit and pulled it open, revealing a ball of light attached to the front of his chest. An arc reactor.
She felt her soul shrivel up and die.
This man, this dangerous man continued to walk through the middle of the street and pulled out two whips into his hands the crackled with electricity. They scorched the ground as he dragged them with him. At the moment, Tony came racing around the track and came face to face with this man and watched as he pulled back one of the whips and threw it down over the front of the racing car, chopping a piece off and sending it tumbling down the track.
Abel never got up so fast. She ran for the door and didn't even pay to the bartender who was shouting at her about the bill she had yet to pay. He went as far as to follow her out, but when Abel was about of sight, he heard a crunching sound and ran out of the bar. Abel was gone, like a ghost in the wind but the concrete out front was destroyed.
Happy drove like a mad man and busted through the barrier onto the race track with Pepper bouncing around in the back.
"Where's Abel?" Happy called back at her. "I tried to get a hold of her but she won't answer her phone. Do you think she knows what's going on?"
Pepper knew without a doubt that Abel was aware of what was happening and was probably on her way to Tony right now. "Don't worry about that right now. Drive!"
Whiplash walked over to the overturned dragster and flung the electric whip over the front of it but saw no one at the wheel. Tony came up behind him and knocked him over the head with a sheet of metal. Whiplash turned around and knocked it out of Tony's hand with his deadly whip and tried to hit him with it. Tony scrambled to his feet and did best to avoid the whip before he saw Happy driving around the corner and began to speed up right towards them. Tony leaped and grabbed the fence and climbed up just when Happy rammed Whiplash with the car and trapped him.
Tony climbed down from the fence and walked over to the car where he could hear Pepper screeching and Happy asking him if he was okay. "Were you heading for him or me?" Tony shouted at Happy.
"I was trying to scare him."
"'Cause I can't tell!"
Pepper then screamed at him from the top of her lungs. "Are you out of your mind!?"
"If I have Abel with me then I'd have better security!"
"Get in the car right now!"
"I was attacked. We need better security!"
"Get in the car. We'll fine Abel in a moment!" Happy said.
Tony rolled his eyes and moved around the other side of the car. "You're CEO. Better security measures. God, it's embarrassing." He complained. "First vacation with Abel and it went down the drain." He opened the car door when it was suddenly slashed off by the whip.
"Oh my God!" Pepper screamed as the spark-filled the air right beside her.
Happy began to reverse a bit and ram into Whiplash once again while Pepper screeched at Tony to take the case she had with her. The whip cut through the air and slammed into the car repeatedly and started to take chunks off it.
"Give me the case! Come on!" Tony shouted.
"Tony!?" Abel peeked her head up above the crowd of people and finally broke through, shoving everyone aside as they tried to get away. She then saw Whiplash raised his arm to slash the car once again but she jumped over the barrier right on time and slammed her heel into the side of the car (Denting the hell out of it) and sliding it out of harm's way. Abel turned around to face Tony and her face was drained of all color when she saw the bruises and blood on his face. "Are you okay!?" Abel called out with a desperate voice and shook Tony's shoulders and looked over him, totally discarding Whiplash behind her.
"Ah, ah, yeah, but can you...you know." Tony's eyes widen when he saw Whiplash pull his weapon back, ready to strike. "Get this guy!"
The electric whip crackled in the air and flung down upon Abel when her hand shot up and caught it, coiling it around her fist. It burned her skin black and the whip embedded itself all the way through her bones but Abel remained unfazed to the pain. She slowly turned her head around her shoulder and dropped the whip to reveal her severely burnt hand that began to steam and heals back to perfection.