Two weeks passed by rather slowly. I was really bored throughout the day and most of my day was spent reading on the phone that Tony had given me. I was able to download any book I wanted but even that only kept me entertained for so long. My ribs were slowly healing after Sam had tried to kick them into my lung and breathing was a lot easier. Every once in a while, Jarvis would hold actual conversations with me. Most of our conversations were like twenty questions but it was nice to have someone to talk to even if it was just the walls.

This day, however, I didn't want to talk to Jarvis and reading was becoming a boring must. I decided to work my legs a bit and start walking around the tower. Almost all of the avengers were gone so the chances that I would be stopped were slim. I started out just walking around the rooms I knew and were without a doubt allowed in. I looked everywhere learning what went where. Somehow on this little walk around, I ended up in Tony's workshop. Jarvis didn't stop me so I walked in and sat down at a computer. I looked at all the little tools lying around and fiddled with them thinking about how this room was in need of cleaning.

I spun in the chair that I was in while playing absentmindedly with a screwdriver when my leg hit the desk and the computer opened to a fresh browser page. I glanced at it for a minute before I went back spinning slowly. There was nobody I could contact anyway to save me from this prison. I didn't make friends and my current boss wanted my head because I'd failed. I never kept contact with clients and my family wouldn't bail me out even if I were in a city jail. This was my life as a freelancer. I didn't like people and people didn't like me. Most people who hired me were afraid that I'd end up turning on them or offering an out to their targets like a lot of other hit men did. I wasn't like that, though. I stayed true to my word and kept everything on the DL.

I was startled when the workshop door opened and in walked Tony not looking very happy.

"What did I say about not touching my stuff? And why the hell is my computer on?" He asked quickly closing out of the browser. "Didn't I tell you that you had no access to the Internet?"

"Chill out, it's a screwdriver, I tapped the desk and your computer woke up. The browser was already up and Jarvis never said I couldn't come in here." I said setting the tool down.

"I will not chill out. I said no weapons of any kind. This is my space so you really should have known not to come in here, and I don't believe I left a browser up in this room." He sounded accusing.

"Whatever man, who would I contact anyway?" I asked.

"I don't know, Mommy, or Daddy maybe. A friend." He snapped.

"Yeah, because I have all of those." I bit out.

He looked ready to say something but then he closed his mouth with a deep sigh. I got up to leave but he grabbed my arm and pushed me back.

"Don't tell me you're one of those typical teenagers who thinks they're alone in this world." He said.

"No, I'm not, I'm one of those few teenagers who are alone in this world. My parents don't want me. I never made friends. All of that is my fault and staying here will only be until my client is found." I snapped.

"You don't have to leave when your client is found. We can help you get your life together." He said not looking at me.

"My life was together until someone decided that they wanted you dead. Then instead of pressing charges like a normal person you and shield made me your prisoner. As soon as I can I'm leaving." I said coldly.

"You're not a prisoner here. We brought you here to keep you safe. You're just a kid and I didn't want to see you go to jail." He mumbled.

I didn't know what to say about that so I just kept my mouth shut. We sat like that for a while, not talking or looking at one another. It was almost too much and being stuck in my thoughts was not helping. He didn't mean anything that he'd said. As soon as this was over I was either going to jail or living on the streets again regardless of what I really wanted. I didn't actually know what I wanted. I didn't want to stay here but the other two options sucked as well. If I was completely honest with myself I wanted to go home. Back to Mom and Dad. I wanted to take back what I told them that day and start over. I wanted to go back to school and get an education so I could do something with my life that didn't involve killing but all of that was out of my grasp now.

"So, you know your way around robotics huh?" Tony said breaking the silence.

"A bit," I said still not looking at him.

And he went on to tell me about his many unfinished and finished projects. I listened as he explained the programming and how it worked into how he built his stuff. I gave him my opinion on how to make things better and he actually took note of what I said. This went on for a few hours. Lastly, he introduced me to DumE. The black sheep of the group of robotic arms. He bitched about the poor thing not being able to do anything right and told me why he was no longer allowed to touch the fire extinguisher. I laughed at that as we got ready to go to the living room and watch a movie.

Right before we left the workshop Tony turned to say something else when DumE accidentally pushed Tony. He fell into me and our lips collided together. Tony didn't pull away for a minute and neither did I. I was in too much shock but it was nice. When Tony finally pulled away he berated the robot telling it that he was going to sell it for scrap. I didn't know that a mechanical arm could look so depressed.

We didn't end up watching that movie like Tony wanted. Instead, we went our separate ways because we couldn't stand to be around each other after the awkward kiss that we shared. So, I ended up laying on my bed trying to keep my mind from wandering too much. Whoever said that the mind is a dangerous place probably didn't know how right they were. It was a horrible place that could slowly turn you against yourself while also making you aware of how easily you could slip away from yourself and leave your mind in suspended madness.

That was a daily struggle for me it seemed. Not being able to preoccupy myself was a big problem. I had too much time to think and sometimes it go way out of hand. I didn't want to be left to my own thoughts. It was something that I wanted to avoid as much as possible. When I still had a family and a life I didn't worry about that. Even with no friends I was a happy kid. I didn't need anyone else besides my parents, even though I was pretty sure I was adopted. My mom was five foot seven with dark brown curly hair and brown eyes. My dad was six foot four with lighter brown hair and green eyes. I was maxed out at five foot two and my hair was straight and dirty blond and my eyes were a light blue-gray color.

So I didn't look anything like them. They always told me though that I looked like my mom's mother. Hard to believe considering I'd never met her. In fact, they were both an only child and both of their parents had died before I was born. Nothing about that had made any sense but I'd never questioned it until recently. As I thought more and more about the days before what happened four years ago I felt myself becoming tired and was soon falling asleep