The New Houseguests – Tony
Drabble series of various Avengers interacting with Shepard after the events of the Soldier and the Shepard. Character/relationship-development centric.
"" = talking
'' = inner thoughts
NOTES: Confirmation of Shep's pre-fic romance ahead.
Tony let out an inarticulate sound of frustration before leaning over to bang his skull against his worktable. Unsatisfied with the thump that echoed through his lab, the man then proceeded to lift his head once more to repeat the process. His oil-stained hands came up to clutch desperately at his already disheveled hair. He whimpered pathetically while tugging on the unwashed strands.
A soft whir announced Dum-E's approach as the bot wheeled over and anxiously began to tug on Tony's pant-leg. Tony made a mock-aggravated noise as he absently swatted Dum-E's arm away.
"Sir, may I ask what you hope to accomplish by bashing in your skull?" JARVIS inquired, echoing the clumsy bot's concern.
"This is all so stupid!" Tony groaned into the table incoherently, ignoring JARVIS' question.
"Perhaps I may be of assistance, Sir?" The AI asked in a markedly unsympathetic tone. "Though some elaboration may be in order." He finished as he continued to observe his creator's dramatics.
Tony released an explosively put-upon sigh before pushing himself up from his seat, trudging across the room and flinging himself down onto a stained and battered couch. He flung one arm over his face while the other trailed listlessly on the floor.
"Alright, yeah, I could use some advice." The disgruntled genius allowed despondently. "It just doesn't make any sense!"
"Sir, are you perhaps still preoccupied with the issue of our resident Shepard?" JARVIS probed disapprovingly.
"If that's even her real name!" Tony jackknifed upright and pointed at JARVIS' nearest camera accusingly. "You still haven't been able to track down any of her official identification paperwork."
The AI's guilty silence was damning.
"And you know, I've been studying her weapons and equipment ever since I confiscated them – cool it with the silent disapproval J, I made sure not to damage anything – and it's like nothing I've ever seen. Take the guns, for instance." Tony leapt up and crossed the room to where he had specs of Shepard's weapons displayed holographically.
"Look at the pistol – and I use the term pistol only because it's the closest approximation I can make for this thing. The design is completely foreign to me! There isn't even an ammunition clip! It's just got a hunk of some kind of metal. And look at this!" Tony excitedly isolated a section of the weapon. "See that there? This gun actually makes it's own ammo from that block. With the size of the projectiles and the ammo block, it's practically got unlimited rounds! It's one of the sexiest things I've ever seen on a gun." Tony exclaimed while hungrily eyeing the projection. "And don't get me started on how it can make localized mass-reducing fields. I didn't even know it was possible to artificially create those, let alone anchor them to a moving projectile."
"And look at her sniper rifle." Tony brought up the specs of a significantly bulkier weapon to replace those of the sleek white and blue pistol. "It uses the same ammunition method as the pistol. But that's not what I'm worried about. I had some bots test-fire this baby in one of my experimental ranges. Look at the readouts from this thing!" A series of charts and numbers appeared next to the gun. "The force generated by the kickback from firing this monster is severe enough to dislocate or fracture the average human's shoulder after a single shot. The only people who could safely use this thing are either supersoldiers or Thor! This thing was not meant to be used by normal humans." Tony concluded frantically.
"Sir, are you saying – " JARVIS interjected warily.
"It's all there, J. The lack of documentation, the sudden appearance, the advanced weaponry and the hinted inhuman strength plus durability. I'm about ninety percent sure our girl is an alien." Tony announced triumphantly, wide eyes crazed and bloodshot from lack of sleep.
Bruce entered the lab just in time to catch the tail end of Tony's rant. His expression was the picture of cautious skepticism. "Tony?" Bruce asked gingerly. "Did you leave the lab at all since I saw you last night?"
"This is more important than sleep, Bruce!" Tony turned to his friend while gesturing expansively at the diagrams floating listlessly throughout the lab. He absently accepted a cup of unidentifiable sludge from Dum-E when the bot held it out to him eagerly. "There is an alien in my tower that isn't Thor or hostile! I have so many questions, so many things I wanna test – I still don't know what all that bullshit thing she calls an omni-tool can do – "
"I think you can wait to figure out what to do until you've had a solid eight hours of sleep. Minimum." Bruce said in vaguely concerned amusement as he gently grabbed Tony by the shoulder and physically steered him out of the lab.
"But Bruce – the science! Aliens!" Tony whined in despair while clutching the cup Dum-E had handed him closer to his chest.
Carefully, Bruce eased the cup from Tony's grasp to give it a suspicious sniff. His nose wrinkled distastefully while his eyes immediately began to water. "You know the rules Tony," Bruce intoned gravely while safely setting the noxious concoction aside, "if you're out of it enough to unquestioningly accept drinks from Dum-E, you're not fit to be working in the lab."
"But – "
"Bed."
After waking from his much-needed rest, Tony continued to lie in bed and stare thoughtfully at the ceiling. Significantly more clear-headed than he had been before, he was able to better prioritize the issues that needed to be dealt with.
While the possibility of Shepard being an alien was both likely and enticing, Tony did not yet have the time to investigate that particular situation. What he needed to deal with now was Hydra, and the Avengers were still handicapped with Thor off prancing around in Asgard and two other members of the team taking shifts on 'babysitting duty.' Frankly, he was pretty confident that Barnes didn't mean them any harm. He hadn't acted threateningly towards anyone in the Tower during his stay so far and all of the information he'd given up about various Hydra personnel and locations had proven reliable. So long as the guy wasn't allowed to fall into Hydra's hands again, Barnes had the potential of being a decent unofficial addition to the team (an idea Steve had been pushing for barely a week after the cyborg assassin had been initially dragged inside the Tower). As always seemed to be the case these days, the problem was with Shepard.
Everything about her was one giant question mark and every attempt Tony made to find answers had simply resulted in more questions. Even more worrying was how easily she appeared to have swayed the majority of the Avengers to her side. She'd made friends with Bruce – hell, she'd made friends with JARVIS. And he still couldn't believe she'd gotten Natasha and Clint, the superspies extraordinaire, to trust her. JARVIS refused to tell him how she did it (the traitor). The whole thing was mind-boggling.
And he was maybe a little jealous Shepard hadn't made any effort to try and get on his good side like she had with everyone else, but that was probably just his wounded ego talking. He was unused to being avoided, let alone by someone in his own home (he studiously ignored the whispers in his mind that sounded suspiciously like Howard and Maria).
Bruised ego aside, Tony knew that if he wanted to tackle the problem of Hydra, he'd have to solve the Barnes and Shepard issue together. The Avengers could not afford to keep sidelining their members indefinitely if they wanted to wipe out the remains of Hydra (which promised to be significantly easier than it had been previously, thanks to Barnes' extensive if somewhat spotty intel). They needed all hands on deck.
He came to a decision.
"JARVIS, call a meeting with all available Avengers scheduled for later this evening. Make sure Shepard and Barnes are there too." Tony ordered decisively.
"Consider it done, Sir."
Shepard forcefully maintained a calm façade as Natasha and Steve escorted her and James to Stark's meeting. She heavily suspected that their uncertain status as 'guests' of the Avengers was about to be reassessed. As to whether said reassessment would prove benign or not, Shepard remained uncertain. James clearly anticipated trouble, considering he had gone scarily blank and unreadable beside her in a way that promised sudden and violent action at the first hint of a threat. Idly, Shepard threaded her arm through James' in an attempt to distract him from his rapidly elevating anxiety levels. She took great satisfaction from the fact that he barely flinched at the contact. Living with other people had clearly been doing him some good.
"So, kid. Reckon we're about to get the boot?" She joked while Steve and Natasha looked on.
"Why Shepard? Didja do anything worthy of getting' us kicked out on our asses?" James asked half-seriously while giving her a suspicious side-eye.
"Nobody is getting kicked out." Steve cut in emphatically, jaw tight with mild worry. "We wouldn't be holding a meeting with the whole team just to tell you two to scram."
Natasha remained silent and stone faced. Shepard irately noted that Widow's lack of response was exceedingly unhelpful as James' muscles tensed further under her grip.
Shepard took a discreetly bracing breath. "Well, regardless of what happens, it's been a pleasure guys." She announced with exaggerated solemnity.
Natasha finally broke her silence and huffed, amused. "Don't be so dramatic, Shepard." She said as the doors to the conference room opened with a soft swish.
Shepard and James unerringly went for the seats nearest the door while Steve and Nat took their places slightly further up the table near Stark. Everyone else was already present and arrayed around the conference room.
"Well chief, what're we in for?" Shepard addressed Tony in an exaggerated drawl, eyes half-lidded with predatory anticipation. Stark's presence still left her uncomfortably nostalgic and unbalanced, but she was determined to push through the issue. This wasn't the time or place for weakness, especially with James sitting so painfully wary and stiff next to her.
"Honestly – nothing." Stark said absently while fiddling with the tablet in front of him.
James gritted his teeth and leaned forward slightly in his seat, "Considering the two of us are here, I'd say that's a lie. Try again." He growled out warningly. Shepard could only sigh to herself in exasperation. Two words in, and Stark had already managed to get under James' skin. Even with her and Steve's attempts to socialize the kid, he still had the temperament of a feral varren.
"Look Terminator, there's a whole laundry list of crimes I could have the both of you taken in for if I wanted to – but I don't. Want to, that is. So why don't you just sit down and chill out until I explain myself, huh?" Tony looked up to see James' eyebrow tic violently in irritation while one corner of his mouth also attempted to twitch upwards in private amusement. Stark stared for a moment in confusion before his eyes widened in realization.
"Oh. Right. Chill out – because you were cryogenically frozen. Huh, didn't know you had a dark and horrifying sense of humor. I might actually have to like you now." Tony voiced aloud in disturbed realization.
Rhodes brought up his hand to rub against his creased brows, "Tones, no." He mumbled under his breath.
A razor sharp grin spread across James' face. "One asshole to another, pal? The way you're mouthing off, you're more likely to get my fist in your face than me to like you." Light glinted off of his metal arm as he flexed the fingers against his armrest.
Then it was Steve's turn to hide his head in his hands. "For Chrissakes – " He muttered into his hands.
"As entertaining as it is watching you two pull each other's pigtails, I'd really like to know what was so important you interrupted my evening out." Natasha stated serenely while lazily tapping her nails on the table.
"Don't worry Nat, that black market dealer will still be there tomorrow." Clint comforted distractedly as he continued to fashion a slingshot out of a stray ponytail holder.
"O~kay," Tony interrupted with a clap of his hands, "getting back on topic here – I want the Avengers to start a major crackdown on the remnants of Hydra."
The room went silent as everyone focused on Tony with laser-like intensity.
"JARVIS, bring up the files onscreen." Tony ordered as a display lit up in the middle of the table.
"Now, as most of you know, we've been using our various resources for the past month or so to verify Soldier Guy's intel on the big bad Hydra." Tony gave a minute nod in James' direction. "And what we found is – well, not great is probably understating it. I mean, the intel that wasn't outdate all checked out so that's good but – "
"Hydra is everywhere." James finished woodenly.
"Right, that." Tony's shoulders slumped in dismay as he began magnifying various regions on display through his tablet. "Thanks to our new handy dandy informant, we've been made aware of several worryingly active Hydra bases in these areas. Not to mention all of the minor outposts scattered around at random. And that's just everything we know about so far. If we're gonna raze it all to the ground, we're gonna need all hands on deck." Tony finished with a significant glance between his guests and their bodyguards.
"In other words," Shepard sounded out slowly, "you can't afford to focus team resources on a couple of minor security risks anymore." She looked unsurprised and even approving of Stark's appraisal. Shepard always did have an appreciation for practical delegation.
Steve looked like he was gearing up for an argument before Tony held up a hand to forestall his reaction. "You're right." He confirmed. "We don't have enough qualified personnel to keep an eye on you two anymore. Probably the only people that could reliably monitor you two at the moment are SHIELD, but I wouldn't trust them with a goldfish let alone the Winter Soldier and a mysterious unknown. You'd both be liable to disappear into the depths of the organization never to be seen again, not to mention Capsicle here would actually murder me if I tried to hand either of you over." Here Tony shot a raised brow and meaningful glance at Steve who held his gaze in unabashed confirmation. "See?" Stark gestured at Cap while holding Shepard and James' attention. "He's like a rabid mother bear with cubs or something. It's terrifying. So we can't just hand you off to be someone else's problem."
James' face went sharp with morbid amusement. "Well, if you can't keep us and you can't give us up, what're you gonna do, huh smart guy? Clap us in irons? Take us behind the shed out back to shoot us? Seriously." James snorted darkly while Steve's eyes glinted with indignation.
"Can't take these assholes anywhere." Sam mumbled in longsuffering fondness as he propped his head up on his arm. Shepard turned her head to stare James down reprovingly. He studiously ignored the eyes boring into the side of his skull.
"First of all," Tony began, expression disturbed, "we both know exactly how effective iron restraints would be against either of you – they wouldn't be. Second of all just – no, no executions, why would you even – " He forcibly stopped himself and paused to collect his rattled composure. "I'm trying to ask the two of you to join the Avengers! Jesus, I thought that would be the obvious remaining choice here!" The rumpled genius slumped back in his seat and quickly ruffled a hand through his hair.
The Avengers' reactions to Stark's proposal ranged everywhere from delighted (Cap, of course), to thoughtful and unreadable. James and Shepard were each shocked speechless for different reasons.
James couldn't imagine how anyone, let alone the Avengers (a bunch of big goddamn heroes) could possibly consider recruiting someone like him (there was Widow, but still…). Hell, it hadn't even been Steve's idea to bring the issue up, judging by his reaction (and Steve only overlooked his past cuz of his ridiculously misplaced nostalgia and guilt). Then again, Stark did have a bit of a drinking habit, maybe he'd been down in his cups lately? He had to have been, to make a stupid suggestion like that.
While James surreptitiously tried to determine if Stark was inebriated, Shepard sat rigidly in her seat to hide the fact that she was having something of a breakdown. To work with a team again – to have someone at her back – the idea was almost too much for her to handle. It helped that Stark and Steve were in charge here. She didn't think she'd be able to handle the responsibility that came with the mantle of leadership anymore. With the constant danger and threats and paralyzing grief – it was too much. She could barely convince herself to get out of bed anymore some days, let alone look after a whole squad of people. But still…
There would be no Tali to bog down the comms during combat with her incessantly adorable chatter. No Karin to hunt her down for drunken chats or medical appointments when she 'forgot' to show up for the latest checkup. No Liara, or Grunt, or Joker, or EDI and so many others… And Garrus – her second-in-command, her best friend, her lover…
'We're a team, Garrus. There's no Shepard without Vakarian.'
She didn't know if she could do this again.
A distant pressure on her tightly clenched fingers slowly brought the Commander back to reality. "Shepard?" James asked with intent concern. "Shep, you okay?" He'd leant into her space to get a better look at her face. Clearly, he'd been trying to get her attention for a while now.
Surreptitiously glancing around the table told Shepard that her little departure from reality had been noticed by the others. They were all staring at her in varying shades of worry. "Sorry, mind drifted off for a second there." She assured with her best politicians' smile while squeezing James' hand in thanks.
"Yeah, because everyone goes white as a sheet and unresponsive immediately after being offered a place in the Avengers." Stark interjected dubiously. He laid off almost immediately after being speared by James and Steve's twin glares.
"Yeesh, just making a point." The genius grumbled reflexively.
Steve turned his warning gaze off of Tony to address the rest of the team. "Well, you heard the man. How does everyone feel about adding two new members to the roster?" Seeing how everyone either voiced their assent or nodded agreeably, Steve swiveled back to face Tony and queried, "I assume you mean to keep their recruitment quiet for now?"
"Pretty much. Can't have Hydra noticing we poached their precious Soldier, and keeping Shepard off the books will make her much harder for the bastards to anticipate or counter." Here Tony made sure to address Shepard and James. "Of course, you'll have to agree to some minor stipulations if you decide to join, and you'll have to train with the team before going out on any missions, but it's a good deal overall."
"Stipulations?" James repeated warily.
"Yeah, one for each of you. For you, I need to get a look at your arm. Doesn't seem like it's given you any trouble so far, but you never know what surprises Hydra might have hidden in that thing."
Despite the fact that James' face was pinched with stubbornness, he reluctantly acquiesced. "I went over it when I first got out and removed anything harmful I found, but couldn't do much beyond the immediate surface. Not knowing how to fix the arm was one way they kept me reliant on them. I knew enough to make temporary field fixes and keep it operational when damaged but not much else. I'd appreciate someone with the know-how going over it more thoroughly, so thanks, I guess." He admitted with a grimace.
Shepard inwardly panicked at James' acceptance into the Avengers. She didn't want to join, but the kid was one of hers now. And honestly, she was already halfway to adopting Steve at this point too. Not to mention JARVIS…
'Shit, they were basically her team already, weren't they?'
Well, at least in the Avengers she'd get paid to take out those Hydra fucks, or so she told herself consolingly. She still had several issues to take up with those bosh'tets. Violently.
"And what exactly do you want from me?" Shepard asked in resignation.
"I have a question I want you to answer. Not now, later." Stark interrupted before she could inquire further. "Otherwise, I guess everything's settled. Welcome to the team, meeting adjourned." Tony finished abruptly before standing and making a beeline for the exit. "JARVIS can tell you both where to pick up your confiscated gear. Steve will schedule training and combat assessments for the two of you. Play nice, everyone!" The man threw out over his shoulder on the way out.
"Well. That happened." James leaned back in stunned bemusement.
Shepard barked out a bitter laugh.
Later that night, Shepard went back to the conference room to meet with Stark. The man had been semi-true to his word. He'd given back most of her confiscated weapons and possessions. Her omni-tool had been conspicuously absent. Upon demanding the location of her missing device, JARVIS had haltingly informed her that the genius would return it to her after she answered his question (he'd apparently wanted to keep it as an incentive for her to cooperate). Thus, she was out of bed in the middle of the night to confront Stark where he'd proposed to meet.
He was sitting at the head of table with his fingers steepled menacingly like some B-rate villain straight out of a vid. Shepard would have found the comparison more amusing if her omni-tool hadn't been lying hostage on the table in front of him.
"Well, you've got me alone for all the good it'll do you. Cut the cloak and dagger bullshit and ask me your question, Stark." Shepard ground out in irritation.
The genius paused briefly to collect his thoughts, his eyes never leaving her face. "I've been doing a lot of research on your belongings over the past month," Stark started pensively, "and I've yet to find anything about your weapons or your nonexistent past that makes any kind of sense. The tech in this thing in particular," He nudged the device on the table, "has been responsible for a number of my sleepless nights lately. The design of it is almost alien, if you catch my drift." He emphasized indiscreetly.
Shepard crossed her arms and stared Stark down. "Is this your 'subtle' way of asking me if I'm an extra-terrestrial?" She deadpanned around the air-quotes.
"Oh, there's no subtle about it. This is me, straight up asking you if you are an alien. And you didn't answer the question. So, are you?" His eyes shone excitedly as he leaned forward in his seat.
"And just what do you plan to do if I am?" Shepard questioned lowly, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Nothing." Stark answered guilelessly.
"And you expect me to believe that?" Shepard responded in mock amusement.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but aliens aren't exactly uncommon around here lately." Tony shot back immediately. "Sure it'd be interesting to know, but not something worth making a fuss over." He shrugged his shoulders dismissively.
"Knowledge for knowledge's sake?" Shepard questioned incredulously. "That's all you want?"
Tony hummed in eager acknowledgment.
"I'm an alien."
Stark's face lit up like Grunt's had when she gave him his first shotgun. "Can you prove it?" He was almost bouncing in his seat.
"Yep." Shepard snatched up her omni-tool when Stark slid it to her across the table.
"Well?" Tony encouraged impatiently after a beat of silence.
"I could prove it to you," Shepard paused dramatically, "but I won't. Not now at least." She concluded vindictively. "I answered your question, Stark. That was the deal. And I'm maybe feeling a bit spiteful after this whole song and dance routine you just made me go through." She admitted.
Stark stared at her in delighted perplexity. "Gonna play hard to get, huh? Alright, I'm game." He accepted her refusal to answer as a challenge. "You'll slip eventually, Shepard. And I'll be waiting when that happens."
Shepard snorted derisively. "Sure thing, Stark." She acknowledged before heading back to bed.