Ch. 4 Sticks and stones
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will always hurt me." – Sophie Hill
"We chose sexy badass anti-heroes." I said when Al barreled into the military base, Luci moved down from my shoulder to the floor. "Ember." Rhodey was mad, Luci growled at him. "Hi Rho how's it going so I heard that you have Stark tech that we did not give over willingly. So in other words I'm here to take it back." I smirked at all of them with my hands up shrugging, "Or you can always fight Aline I mean I don't mind, but it's more likely that you'll die from the second option and I'm not responsible for that after all this is just self-defense."
I sat down in the chair Rhodey occupied before our arrival and spun it around to look at all of them as Al walked around growling. Luci jumped down into my lab, "It's your call Rhodey." I looked at him, his face went from pissed to sad to regretful; and that's when I knew I won. "I knew you understand that the only way is my way." I stood up to give Rhodes my full attention and saw his heartbroken look.
"Look ok you can't have the War machine but I'll make you something else you veterans can use." I rubbed the back of my neck in shame at causing that look Luci stood by my heels waiting. He looked at me happily like a dog that got the biscuit or in this case new advanced stark weapon. "I was waiting to use this to appease S.H.I.E.L.D but I'll give it to you. A missile that separates in four parts one sends an E.M.P., another scatters even smaller missiles that will prompt people to move to one place, one is a heat seeker to go after your specified kill and the last cleans up the place that almost has an hydrogen bomb look to it but you don't see it's smoke cloud. I call it Blight."
I pulled out a hologram version of Blight and showed what each one was as I described them. "I'll send the schematics for it to you later when I make a prototype." I moved past Rhodey as I beckoned to Al and Luci that we were leaving. "What you don't have a prototype?" I heard him ask me as he walked with us. "Well I did but I used it." I shrugged, "You used it?!" He gave me a shocked look. "What can I say, I had to find out if it worked." He sighed at this, I saw Al smirk.
"Please tell me you used it on a land mass and not people." I smirked and gave him a look that said 'Who knows.' "Just like your father." I heard him say under his breath. "What can I say I'm my father's daughter, goodbye Rhodey." He smiled at me before telling me goodbye as he watched the plane take off. "Jarvis contact the old man and tell him I have War Machine and he needs to come take it back before I scrap it." I said as I pulled up the design of Blight and started redesigning it for the military when we got back on the plane.
"Ms. Ember your father sends you his thanks and wishes for your help." Jarvis said from the plane's intercom, I just frowned at his words. "What did he actually say Jar?" "He says and I quote 'I had it covered you little shit and I could use your help Ebs.'" I smirked, "That's what I thought Jarvis." "I was censoring his language, since it's inappropriate and distasteful." "First I thought you didn't care and second why don't you censor something more useful like the old man's bank account. He keeps spending money and thinks that I don't know." I chuckled as I child proofed Blight, wondering if Rho will notice.
"I always cared Miss Ember and I do the same to your messages when you send them to your father. I'll start laying down counter measures on your fathers spending anything else Miss Ember." Jarvis replied I just shook my head at his statement, "Every day you get sassier, I wonder if that's your programming?" "Who knows." I just gave him a look that said 'I can't believe you used my words against me'. We landed on a strip for airplanes that the school uses for training.
"Forgive me Miss Stark, just standard protocol." I showed the security guard my papers for my plane, it stated that Nick Fury signed off on it being here. He tipped his hat at us before we left, Al ran off the moment we saw the school. I checked my phone for the time, 12:30 right on time for lunch. I walk in to see Sophie getting beat on by kids, I throw my knife at the wall in between the kids and Sophie. "Soph, what's wrong?" I asked like nothing happened as Al made sure those kids stayed put.
"Ember?" I heard her voice quiver I grabbed her head to check her wounds, before speaking. "Al sic them." All I heard were screams as Sophie fainted into my arms, I bridal carried her to the infirmary. "Jarvis send medics to attend to Sophie's assaulters, we don't want them to die." I spoke into my Bluetooth headset, "Very well Ms. Ember." I continued on through the halls with Al on my heels growling. "I know I'm worried too." I picked up the pace when we got to the infirmary no one was there, I set her down as I went and grabbed the first aid kit.
I undressed her to check for more wounds but mostly found bruises and luckily no broken bones. "She's fine Al, she'll be fine." I said mostly to calm myself from going back and beating the shit out of them. Her head injuries weren't as serious as I thought, I finished bandaging her up before sitting down with my head in my hands. "How does Shield agents beat on a kid, Al. Tell me what reason they have to do that cause that shit is not right." I spoke quietly as to not awake her, my voice quivering whether in rage or disgust I didn't know anymore.
"How do you know her Al?" I asked to get us off the path that would lead to vengeance. "She gave me food and visited me every day under that tree that we met at. I got attached." I chuckled at her before looking at her, "Of course she gave you food." I said as I looked back at Sophie as she started to stir. "Don't sit up too quickly sleeping beauty." I said as I steadied her and assisted in slowly sitting her up.
"How are you feeling?" I watched her facial expressions as my question went unanswered for a second. "Like shit." I laughed at her answer as she smiled at us. "I don't think I ever heard you cuss before." I looked at her with a serious expression my eyes watched as I inhaled. "Why were they beating up on you, Sophie?" she looked down at her interlocked hands and shrugged.
"Because it's my fault, I deserved it Ember." Her voice shook with unshed tears as she never looked at me. "I don't believe that Sophie, do you really think you deserved to get beat by them." She nodded "Then I should've never saved your ass!" she flinched at my voice. "They must have filled your head with stupid notions like this never would have happened if you never were here or that you started this. It doesn't matter whether you were here or not they would have still done this shit." I held her head up so I could look into her eyes.
"Don't let their words become you; you are you no matter what they say, your actions become you not their actions. Once you let them get to you, you might as well have put a bullet in your brain because your killing yourself by letting them tell you you're worthless. Why do you believe their words over ours, why do you want to be hurt?" I asked tears running down my face as I saw a glimpse of my younger self in her. The hateful comments, the punches thrown, the blood spilled, the drugs I took to keep me sane as I let the words get to me. I sat on the bed and hugged her close to me as I cried out "Why?"
Sophie kept repeating "I'm sorry" to me as we cried, Al sat their watching sending her support to us by staying. I wiped both our tears before holding her away from me. "I just don't want you to end up like me Soph. I've been down that road I know what it leads to, depression, drugs then eventually when you can't take it anymore suicide. Lots of kids die because they are being bullied by other kids or adults whether in side of school or at home."
She looked up at me and smiled her first smile all day, "I won't go down that path not when I have people who love and support me." I nodded before getting off her bed and looked at Al telling her with my eyes to watch out for Sophie. I walked off towards the office to talk to Fury, if he didn't do something I would.