Thank you so much for your enduring patience everyone, school just kicked my ass and on top of that I'm tutoring, working part time, and planning a wedding. So...yeah things are a bit rough. (Plus this was about 2100 words longer that I had planned...whoops!)
Anyways here we go!
"There are two kinds of guilt: the kind that drowns you until you're useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose."
-Sabaa Tahir
AAA
Toni awoke slowly, gently rising to the surface of awareness, while the heat and soft plush blankets around her legs tugged back toward the realm of dreams and rest.
Wait. Rest?
It was the longest she had actually slept, without nightmares, in days; she yawned dazedly as the clutches of lethargy began to release her. The engineer opened one brown eye and scrubbed the sleep and dried mascara from the other; she froze. Toni was still in the lounge, squished in between Rogers and the god of Thunder.
Pop cans, pop corn kernels, and napkins littered the coffee table and carpet, the only evidence that remained of their assault on Thor's vexing colour commentary. Clint was draped over the loveseat, limbs akimbo, an upturned bowl of popcorn at his feet.
"Can I get the time J?" Toni whispered from her nest; the temptation to simply curl back into the blankets and sleep away the afternoon danced along her fluttering eyelids.
"It is 9:20AM madam."
Toni hummed and let her eyes close momentarily.
"Mmm, well start the coffee pot Jellybean, gotta get up sometime,"
"Of course madam."
She turned slightly to her left; Steve was slumbering, deep breaths and soft snores escaped his slightly open mouth.
Toni felt the corner of her lips twitch and a plume of warmth engulfed her at the sight; Captain America snored, that would certainly be worth revisiting -blackmailing- later. She peered over her shoulder to steal a glance at Thor; the steady line of drool that made its way down his golden beard was nearly picture worthy, was there an Avengers Instagram she hadn't been made aware of? Toni smirked at the thought.
"News, J?"
"No international or local incidences madam, though CNN has been circulating several troubling news reports concerning the latest redeployment," Jarvis announced with the air of an afterthought.
"Troubling?"
Jarvis was silent for a moment.
"Jarvis?" Toni shifted the blankets away and disentangled herself from Steve's arm and Thor's legs; the lack of response from her A.I ran a cold wet flicker of pinpricks across her spine. Toni shuddered and rolled her shoulders, a pop of cartilage creaked throughout the room as she raised herself to perch on the back of the couch.
"There have been reports of fatal incidences of friendly fire and military discharges in the last sixth months, specifically from the 3rd Brigade Mountain Team," Jarvis revealed hesitantly; Toni frowned at the strange tone.
"Okay...you got me J, what's with the creepy foreboding schtick, why does this warrant our attention?"
The large television screen before her flickered to life as Jarvis pulled up several segments of local news interviews and, from what she could tell, military data. A single picture of a young woman in a combat uniform, shoulders squared and dull grey eyes unsmiling, appeared last in the center.
"Amanda Armstrong, age twenty-six, recently discharged from the 3rd Brigade Mountain Team for reasons unknown-"
"Or unreported, that's definitely not legal with all the paperwork that goes into even a general discharge…what's so special about Miss Armstrong?"
"Who's Miss Armstrong?" a small voiced tumbled through the room; Toni swiveled in surprise only to slip from the back of the couch and onto the floor in an ungainly heap.
Bruce muttered several curses under his breath as he rushed over to help the Iron Woman to her feet. Thor and Steve, awoken by the sudden commotion, leapt from the couch, battle ready and armed with pillows and remotes, hair mussed and faces creased from the press of upholstery. Clint remained on the loveseat but shifted into a sitting position, head cocked to the side, he grinned impishly.
"Very graceful Stark," Clint crowed as Toni tried to catch the breath that had been knocked from her chest while Bruce steadied her. Steve tossed his makeshift weapons back on the couch, his blue eyes followed her progress before glaring softly at the floor.
Toni managed a small choked laugh, "Well grace is a tough one, I like to think I have a little grace-"
"You can't have a little grace. You either have it or you don't!" the archer continued loftily; he ignored the confused looks from Thor while Steve turned to the screen that still displayed the information on the former soldier.
Bruce said nothing and moved towards the kitchen, suddenly leaving Toni with the memory of their last interaction the night before, the thought doused her with an unpleasant chill, she grimaced.
"Stuff it Seinfeld," she muttered darkly and moved to follow Bruce.
"Toni, what is all this on the screen? Who is Amanda Armstrong?" Steve asked suddenly, his blank tone interrupted Toni's reminiscence. With one last glance towards the kitchen Toni turned back to the lounge where Jarvis had already begun to debrief the others.
"Amanda Armstrong, age twenty-six, recently discharged from the 3rd Brigade Mountain Team, originally stationed at Fort Drum located in Jefferson County..."
"That's only five hours from here…" Steve murmured to himself, eyes focused solely on the screen, "What exactly has she done Jarvis?"
The A.I was silent for a moment before the television screen was replaced with a single image, or rather a video from CBS New York, time-stamped six months prior.
'Reports have surfaced today of strange activities occurring outside of Kandahar Afghanistan. Eye witness accounts from civilians reveal startling information about possible mutant presence in the united states infantry-'
The lounge erupted in several cries of disbelief.
"What the hell? Xavier is going to have kittens," Clint whispered gobsmacked; Toni nodded mutely. Mutants in the army, as if they hadn't already been surrounded by bad press from the hate mongers in congress, would just lead to a serious and negative reaction from the public especially if the words 'friendly fire' were circulated, fearful ignorance played the trump card every time.
Another video clip, this time from the NBC news team, began to play.
'An explosion nine miles outside of the Maywand District, that killed two soldiers and three civilians, is currently being investigated in suspicion of negligent discharge. Sources say the cause of the explosion has yet to be determined; however, a suspect, whose name is being withheld until the investigation is closed, has been detained. The suspect is reported to be a member of the 3rd Brigade Mountain Team-'
The news report cut to aerial footage above a small crater and the remains of two partially melted humvees.
'An investigation into the source of the explosion has yielded very little information for Military Police Corp officials. Provost Marshal General, Colleen McGuire, has released an official statement to the public.'
The Newscaster turned slightly towards a monitor that displayed rolling white text on a dark navy background. It promptly filled the entirety of the screen while the anchor read:
'There will be an ongoing inquiry into this violent incident and the perpetrators responsible. At this time we do have one suspect in military custody and are working diligently to ascertain the whereabouts of their accomplice. We are still waiting on the preliminary results of the forensic analysis for the type of explosive used in this incident. I would personally like to thank all members of the army personnel involved for their continued participation and investigation into this matter.'
"Wait, let me get this straight," Toni said slowly, her hand raised as though to halt the flow of information. "So this Armstrong woman is responsible for the explosion or...how did they make this connection? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that she was the suspect they were holding?"
Thor brought a large hand up to his face, his fingers stroked the space above his lip before he sat upon the couch once more. His blue eyes flicked from Toni to the screen and back again. The slight crease between his eyes furrowed deeper.
"That is correct madam," Jarvis conceded before displaying several military documents, all with multiple lines of text that were blacked out. Steve's face folded into a grimace, Clint scoffed.
"Well what the fuck are we supposed to get out of these? There's barely anything left," the archer jeered from his seat, his earlier good humor gone as his fingers tapped an agitated rhythm into the armrest, "Where is Nat, she's better with this stuff."
"I would also be happy to assist if that would please you master Barton," the A.I replied, his digital tone slightly frosty at the sleight; Clint winced at the sound.
"Thank you Jarvis, that would be very helpful," Steve said with forced cheer, ever the peacekeeper; Toni smiled in spite of herself.
"Well I don't know about any of you but I am going to indulge my caffeine cravings, anyone else up for a java fix?" she announced with a small clap of her hands, she winced internally at the awkward action.
Clint, with a short grunt of acknowledgement, waved her off while the others were still focused on the screen.
"Okay cool, keep going J, I'll be back," she hummed lightly, moving towards the kitchen once more.
Her brain whipped through the possibilities of Armstrong's situation at a mile a minute; how on earth has this twenty-six year old managed to set off a bomb that left no physical evidence at the scene? Or if it wasn't a bomb what had the capability to melt two military grade humvee vehicles and kill five people?
More importantly, she thought with a scowl, how had this woman survived…
Toni looked up from the steaming cup that was placed at her elbow, lost in thought she had approached the kitchen island and taken a seat at one of the three stools, human autopilot was a beautiful thing, she grinned slightly at Bruce whose hands were still connected to the cup in question.
He hesitated slightly, dark eyes flicked to the entryway of the kitchen and back to Toni before he sank into the stool beside her.
A sharp twist took root in her chest, deeper than even the Arc Reactor sat, as adrenaline forced her heart to rush and bound, her body screamed while her panicked brain fought for control.
People fight, she told herself, people fight and they make up...you just have to try.
People also leave, a brittle voice dripped in her ear, people leave when it gets too difficult, but you already know that...
"I'm so sorry Bruce," she whispered sharply, any louder and her voice would collapse completely, "I really didn't mean-"
"Toni," Bruce placed a warm open palm on her shoulder, "it's okay, no really," he ground out as she opened her mouth to protest.
"Nat and I talked last night and -yeah yeah don't give me that face I'm being serious here, and I care about you too much to be angry over this," Bruce said softly, his mouth quirked up in a small grin at the waggle of Toni's eyebrows, grateful for the way the tension slowly began to seep out of her shoulders.
"I shouldn't have pushed you so hard but I worry about you sometimes and...this hasn't been a great week for you so yeah…" he caught her eye before continuing, "seriously...we're okay Tones."
She nodded and looked to the mug of coffee that sat on the counter between them; the liquid olive branch Bruce had extended smelled like heaven and Toni was extremely surprised, but very grateful for it.
"So Nat huh?" she mumbled after what felt like an age.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Bruce scoffed as he raised his own mug to cover the slight blush that suffused his cheeks, Toni released an elegant snort.
"Careful big green you know what they say about Black Widows," she laughed as Bruce nearly pushed her off the stool, "oh I am wounded! You big bully."
She hopped off her perch to scamper out of reach; Bruce rolled his eyes and stood up as well before he swept around the island to the pantry.
"You go see if the others have finished with whatever Jarvis was presenting and I'm going to see if we have any pancake mix in here." Bruce said.
"That's dumb, I can ask him from here -oh you're kicking me out of the kitchen, I see how it is, I can take a hint," Toni huffed at the man who disappeared into the walk-in pantry, "ordered around in my own house, see if I ever design you those fancy stretchy Hulk pants now Banner!"
"Hey, if Banner is getting fancy clothes I call dibs on new arrows," Clint announced from the door as the trio of men meandered over the threshold of the kitchen, "and none of this boring aluminum bullshit, I'm talkin' carbon fibre Stark!" The archer easily sidestepped Toni's kick as he moved forward to claim her stool; he nimbly hooked his right foot around the one leg she left on the ground and swept it out from under her in retaliation. She squawked at the loss of balance, her arms flung out in an attempt to catch something to stop her descent. Toni hit the tile with a soft grunt.
Thor laughed boisterously and thumped Clint on the back, "Most expertly done, I do enjoy a good bout of roughhousing in the morning!"
"Speak for yourself," Toni grumbled from her position on the floor; Steve moved towards her prone form and lowered a hand for her to take, "thanks soldier, at least somebody here likes me."
Steve rolled his eyes, twin dots of colour rose along his cheekbones -that was...interesting, before he leveled a brilliant grin at the engineer. She took his hand and hoisted herself upwards, "Jarvis finished explaining the situation, we came to fill you in," Steve announced as he used one hand on the small of her back to steady her.
"The sparknotes version at any rate, and hey!" Clint nodded to the redhead, who moved gracefully past the lot of them towards the coffee machine and collection of personalized mugs that sat beside it, who merely grunted in acknowledgement, "finally sleeping beauty graces us with her presence huh?"
Natasha glared over the rim of her mug at the archer; the pair continued to converse silently in glares and raised eyebrows before Clint's eyes flicked to the open pantry where Bruce had just emerged triumphantly with a box of pancake mix and back to Natasha's still shower damp hair. He snorted and raised his hands in a mock surrender before stealing a sip from Toni's coffee that she had left behind.
"Ugh birdbrain cooties, I need a new coffee" Toni jeered from her position beside Steve, who had neglected to remove his hand from the small of her back once he had helped her up; she followed Natasha, lamenting the warmth that radiated from the captain, and snatched a new cup for herself.
"So, catch us up Cap. Nat and I," she gestured to the woman beside her with a jerk of her head, "need the highlights."
A sudden piercing alarm blared through the kitchen; each Avenger's head swiveled to Bruce who had turned on the griddle.
"That's not me," the doctor stuttered in dismay as he hurriedly switched off the appliance and ripped the cord from the outlet.
"Apologies Doctor Banner, but the Avengers presence is required in midtown, 9th Avenue to be specific," Jarvis announced, much to the surprise of everyone, "the police require your assistance in apprehending a woman who they believe to be in possession of a weapon capable of leveling a building…her description matches that of Amanda Armstrong."
"How do they know she possesses such a device?" Steve asked slowly, his face schooled into a frown.
"Because Captain, she's already done it."
AAA
"You and Thor should remain behind unless we call for backup...this is happening so close to Hell's Kitchen and I don't think folks would appreciate more wreckage than necessary. No offence guys," Steve smiled wanly at Bruce as Clint and Natasha boarded the Quinjet. Toni stood beside Steve, armor ready, with her faceplate raised.
"It's fine Steve, Jarvis and I will take over the jet remotely once you've exited and transport it back to the tower...just in case we need to make a hasty trip over there," the doctor said resolutely with a clap to Steve's shoulder, "be safe guys," he finished quietly, his eyes flicked once to Natasha's retreating back and Toni's knowing gaze before they returned to Steve's tired face.
With that, Bruce turned to head back towards the elevator with Thor in tow.
"Toni, can I talk to you about something?" Steve asked quietly as she turned to head up the ramp and into the jet as well.
The engineer raised an eyebrow, "Uh...what about Spangles? I think there might be a time limit on this mini game you know?"
Steve's eyes narrowed in confusion before his face fell momentarily, an odd expression Toni couldn't quite place. "Not that reference either? Never mind, just tell me after we get back Wonderboy," she laughed lightly and tilted her head towards the bridge. Toni stepped forward as Steve reached out to catch her arm in a firm grip; she turned slightly, a question on her lips.
"What Steve?"
His mouth opened and closed slightly, as though the words needed to be parsed and sorted before they could be released. His blue eyes searched her face beseechingly. After a moment Steve sighed heavily and released her arm, "Nevermind, you're right...we'll talk after".
Toni nodded mutely as Steve stepped past her and onto the jet; she couldn't help the small bubble of worry that grew steadily in her chest that she had somehow missed something very important.
AAA
"I think I got a visual," Toni called out as the infrared on her HUD pulled up a heat signature of a figure cutting its way through the dust and rubble of Midtown, Manhattan.
"Wait for back up, Iron Woman we don't know for sure if she is unarmed yet, Hawkeye is on route," Steve said in a steely voice; Toni rolled her eyes.
"Yeah not like I'm in a powerful set of titanium-gold alloy armour right?" She muttered, "J, quick scan of Lone Wolf over there and see if it's a possible match for Armstrong...and possible concealed weapons," she added as an afterthought.
"Scanning," Jarvis answered dutifully within seconds. The dust from the air was removed from her visuals and the figure was pulled up for facial recognition. A cycle of photos moved alongside the image until it settled upon the Armstrong photo Jarvis had provided them with earlier; it was a match.
"I cannot detect any weapons from this distance Madam," The A.I said with a slight grit of irritation, Toni grimaced.
"Get away!" the woman screamed from the street as Toni began her approach.
"Ms. Armstrong, I need you to stand down now-"
"Get out of here! I mean it...I can't control this-I mi-I will hurt you!" Amanda hissed sharply, she tensed and slid one leg behind herself, clearly poised for a fight.
"Can't control what? Okay...okay...Amanda, mind if I call you Amanda?" Toni said slowly as she lowered her hands; the whine of her repulsors as they powered down cut through the sound of fire engines and the rumble of rubble as it settled.
"Stark! You have to be kidding me, don't you dare!" Clint hissed into the com.
"Toni, keep your repulsors locked on Armstrong that is an order!" Steve barked, a hysterical note coloured his voice.
Toni twitched her head and muttered, more to herself than anything, "give me a goddamn second, I got this," before she turned off the com link altogether.
Toni felt the suit lift away from the ground. Amanda's hand had stretched out, the movements in sync with Toni's unscheduled 'flight.' Her eyes widened a fraction and her heart thrummed erratically; Toni took a small breath in through her nose to steady herself. Shit shit shit shit shit SHIT.
The news had one thing right, mutant presence in the military had not been exaggerated...
"Why should I listen to you?" Armstrong yelled, her grey eyes were wide and her arm outstretched. She mimed tightening her fingers around an invisible object and Toni heard the metal of her suit groan in protest, "Huh? Give me one good reason why I should trust you?"
Toni opened her mouth, willing something to come out that would reduce the pressure on her chest, her eyes darted to Amanda's twitching hand.
"Sometimes," she finally managed, "good people do bad things and they lose their way, but that doesn't make them a bad person...I have hurt a lot of people in my lifetime by continuing with weapons development and now...I work every damn day to try and atone for that...that is my purpose," She looked down at the arc reactor of her suit and back to Armstrong, "this is me trying not to waste my second chance...so...so who am I to take that away from anyone else?"
Amanda looked away for a moment, her face crumpled slightly but her shoulders and limbs remained frozen in a stiff line - unyielding.
"Come on Amanda," Toni wheezed against the pressure of the invisible fingers holding her up, "there's still time to fix this...no one else has to get hurt..." The metal around the suits Arc reactor shrieked and whined as it began to buckle and bend; the light flickered slightly.
Amanda's arm shook.
"I-I can't...I can't...control it...I don't know what to do..."
"We can help you if you let us, I am in contact with a man named Charles Xavier, he helps people like you-"
Amanda scoffed suddenly, a sharp crack of air that twisted her features into a scowl, "freaks."
"No," Toni said after a moment, a bead of sweat rolled down her neck and into the undersuit, "Professor Xavier helps people that don't have anywhere else to go or anyone else to help them. People at the end of their rope Amanda...he can help you learn to control these powers."
Amanda shuddered for a moment, harsh breaths wracked her torso, and released the claw-like grasp she had retained over Toni's suit.
"That's it, that's great Amanda-"
The rest of her encouragement died on the genius' tongue as the telltale hiss of metal spinning through the air snapped both women to attention. Amanda darted forward, away from the instrument that flew towards her.
The shield shot across Toni's field of vision and slammed into the lamp post where Armstrong had stood mere moments before. Caught by surprise, the soldier released the strange hold she had maintained on the suit; Toni hollered for Jarvis to resume power to the thrusters as she careened to the pavement. Her right boot whined and clicked as Jarvis attempted to restore function to the ion thrusters in each boot; the left sputtered and pulsed for a moment before the light dimmed and flickered out.
"God dammit Steve! God dammit!" Toni grunted as her feet connected with the street, her knees nearly buckled with the force of the impact.
"Amanda stop!"
"I knew I couldn't trust you! I knew you were lying!" Came a voice, brittle in terror and hysteria, that ripped across the nearly demolished street.
Steve, without his shield, had engaged the soldier in hand to hand while Natasha moved to flank the pair on the left side of the street in order to retrieve the vibranium weapon.
"Jarvis, we got enough power for the com still?" Toni barked at the A.I, her HUD flashed warnings as the life support system began to shut down.
"Technically yes but-"
"Patch me through J."
"Madam I must insist-"
"Jarvis patch me through, now!" Toni growled insistently; the A.I was silent for a moment before the sounds of Steve, Clint, and Natasha's yelling resumed in her ear.
Natasha flung the shield away from her towards the captain who spun around to catch it deftly; he raised it above his head as a concrete slab exploded over him.
"Watch it Cap, I have a limited amount of arrows in this quiver," Clint grunted over the com; Toni could see him in the distance as he ran between overturned cars. More pieces of pavement, asphalt and glass rained from the sky as Armstrong, now floating twenty-five feet above their heads, twisted and pinwheeled her arms to and fro to direct her aerial assault.
"Where is Thor?! I thought we sent the call out for backup!" Natasha roared over the din. She ducked and rolled as a fire hydrant was hurled past her head.
"Everyone listen to me," Toni snarled into the reactivated comlink, Jarvis nattered in her ear as the persistent warnings of power failure increased in their shrill rhythm, "Armstrong is a crazy powerful mutant and she needs to be subdued and brought in, she can't control these powers!"
"Seems like she's doing okay to me!" Clint jeered, now a few feet away from her own position, blood was streaked across his forehead from the gash above his eye.
"Shut it, we need to contact the X-Men now!"
"There is no time, subdue and contain, that's the mission. Hawkeye we need to get her on the ground," Steve spat angrily, his back turned to Toni.
Clint nodded as he strung a Sonic Arrow onto his bow; Toni recognized the design as one of her own, primarily used to stun and concuss enemy combatants, but from this distance the blast wouldn't be enough to knock her unconscious, especially considering how powerful this mutant was. He needed to be closer...or the target did.
"J, contact the X-Men up in Westchester, explain the situation. We need them in here like yesterday!" she muttered under her stuttering breath, "we got anymore juice in this badboy? I need to get up there."
"...thirty percent madam," Jarvis hesitated grimly, she could hear the crackle and ping of her thrusters coming to life beneath her.
"Gotta run before we can walk, let's ride!" she cried out with a sudden blast from the propulsion system that shot her through the air in a rapid spiral of red and gold.
Distantly, she heard the team through the com in an attempt to order her back to the ground; the armor clinked and groaned as Toni sped through the air towards Armstrong who now faced a second shaking building.
"Clint! When I say now, hit her with that stupid Sonic Arrow!"
"But-"
"Just do it!"
At the height they were currently flying at, she calculated quickly, a fall to the pavement would only aid in their effort to knock Armstrong unconscious rather than do any permanent damage to the powerful mutant. With a final boost of speed Toni seized the soldier by the shoulders, Armstrong shouted in surprise at the sudden presence, and hurtled her body down towards the archer.
"Now, now, now!" Toni screamed as she blasted her Sonic repulsors at the back of the falling mutant; Clint released the arrow which caught Armstrong square in the chest.
The concussive force rotated Armstrong's body to face Toni once more; the Iron Woman delivered another shot from both hand repulsors as the soldier rushed towards the ground.
"Sorry Amanda, lights out," she whooped as the soldier hit the pavement; Natasha raced towards Armstrong's prone body and carefully placed two fingers against her neck to feel for a pulse. She nodded once to Steve and blew out a sigh of relief as she sat down amidst the rubble.
Toni's laughed, slightly hysterically as the adrenalin began to wear off, but paused as Jarvis's natterings became full blown panicked orders.
"Flight systems are shutting down! Life support is offline! Madam I suggest attempting to descend immediately! I repeat, immediately!"
"Shit, shit, shit!" she gasped in terror as her repulsors faltered, the clicks and whirrs of her struggling armor ceased.
Toni began to plummet, the extra one hundred and fifty pounds of the suit -practically immovable with the support systems disabled- drove it faster and faster towards the pavement which rushed up to meet her.
"Toni!" a chorus of voices echoed over the comlink as the red and gold figure smashed into the sidewalk before she slid five feet and into the side of the Paradigm Cafe.
The HUD flickered, her entire suit flashed red as Jarvis anxiously repeated the damage taken by the suit and her own physical injuries while the A.I intermittently addressed her dazed form.
"Open the faceplate!"
"Don't move her neck!"
"God dammit Steve get a grip!"
"Toni, Toni?!"
Darkness encroached on her blurring vision and she knew no more.