Chapter Six: Gone Girl
Albus Dumbledore. What in seven hells was Tony going to do with the sole called wizard that was practically gifting him Holly. "Jarvis?" Tony sighed exhausted as he waited to hear his AI's voice. "Please tell me I was high or drunk during this encounter."
"I wish I could sir," came the AI's cheeky response. "But this is one of the rare chances that you were not. In fact, Albus Dumbledore is very real and he wants you to be Miss Potter's guardian."
"That's what I thought he said," Tony groaned as he went to the minibar and grabbed the best bottle of scotch that he had. "A kid? How am I supposed to take care of a kid? My own father, genius that he may have been didn't exactly offer the best parenting advice. Though I'm sure Rogers would disagree with that statement. J?"
"Sir," the AI sounded unusually concerned. "It seems that Holly has left the Dursleys' property. Though I'm not sure how I even know that information. Did you reprogram me while I was down, sir?" The AI sounded hurt.
"Of course not," Tony said. "But I know someone who did. What do you know so far?"
"I know that she left late, around the time Mr. Dumbledore left," The AI continued. "Though the Dursleys just let the police know and they filed a missing child report."
"Marvelous," Tony said sarcastically as he looked at the map that Jarvis had placed in front of him that showcased the familiar houses of the Dursleys' home and streets. "Any leads or did Dumbledore forgot to add a puppy charm on Holly when he decided to upgrade you to this new, modern version where you apparently know everything that goes on in the Dursleys home."
"I'm afraid not, sir," The AI response. "Mrs. Dursley just informed the police that she tucked in her niece to bed at night, but when she went to check up on her this morning she was nowhere in sight. According to police reports she was hysterical and worried and could not offer any more information."
"I bet," Tony murmured sarcastically as he got into his Iron Man suit. "I'm going to fly up to London, it's easier than flying on a plane. Call Ms. Potts and inform her what happened after her board meeting with the Japanese guys and send an alert to all of the law enforcement in Holly's town that I want all of them looking. She's small, but she couldn't have gotten that far."
"Yes, sir."
It took Tony a couple of hours to reach England even in his Iron Man suit, but at least flying kept him from thinking the worse. In the Dursleys' neighborhood the most dangerous thing that there seemed to be was a particularly vicious nine-year-old who enjoyed torturing the neighborhood cat and dogs. But what if there were something else? Was if there were serial killers lurking in the mist or what if Holly received any of the magical guests that Dumbledore had hinted about earlier?
He noticed that a few of the neighborhood kids that were playing were gaping at him and he retreated himself from the Iron Man suit and into his normal clothes. The last thing he needed was people asking question. He walked across the boring suburban neighborhood, but there didn't seem to be nothing out of the ordinary. Then his cell phone started beeping (which was connected to Jarvis) "What do you have for me, J?"
"Sir, she is nearby," Jarvis said. "Three feet."
"I thought you couldn't pinpoint where she was exactly?"
"Well, some things have changed. I'm not liking it any better myself."
Tony frowned. "Are you sure that you don't mean miles, Jarvis?"
"I know how many inches are in a foot, sir." Was the AI's sarcastic response. Tony didn't respond as he walked three feet which only led him towards a small bridge that led him towards a duck pond. He wandered aimlessly for a few second and he was about to correct Jarvis when he saw her. She was tiny little bundle hidden under the bridge in an old fleece coat that was several sizes too big and probably belong to her cousin Dudley. Her skin was a waxy pale, but her cheeks were flushed bright red. Tony shook her. "Holly? Holly? Midget hey wake up."
Holly stirred a little, but it was clear that she was not waking up and that she was terribly sick. He needed to take her to the hospital. He picked up and said to his headpiece. "Jarvis, where is the nearest hospital?"
"Ten miles from here, sir. St. Andrew's Hospital."
The elevator doors opened and Tony looked up from the nearly empty waiting room in the children's wing. He saw Clint, Natasha, and Steve enter the waiting room and Tony relaxed slightly when he saw them. He was driving himself crazy with only Jarvis for company.
"We came as soon as you called us," Steve told him helpfully, though he still felt that it was kind of strange for Tony to care over someone that he hardly knew, especially a child.
"Banner and Pepper will be on the next flight," Clint informed him. "The meeting that Pepper was in. . . she couldn't get out of it and she sends you. . .warmest wishes, I'm not going to repeat what she said."
Natasha rolled her eyes. "How's Holly? Any news, where did you find her?"
"They took her to the Intensive Care Unit," Tony ran a hand through his dark hair. "No news yet. I found her sleeping under a bridge. She had a high fever, but she looked ok. The doctors are looking at her right now."
Natasha's jaw clenched. "Poor thing." It was clear that Natasha had a billion questions, but she didn't elaborate though Tony feared that he was going to be questioned sooner or later by the Black Widow. He looked towards the double doors again, but no one was coming.
The cell that Loki was imprisoned in was hardly comfortable, but he could hardly complain he guessed, after all if it wasn't for his mother's unconditional love Odin would have sent him to be executed. He didn't have any "fatherly" love left for Loki at all. His green eyes went across the small room. There was a small trundle bed, a bookcase filled with his favorite books, and the remaining breakfast tray from this morning.
His eyes narrowed when he saw an unwanted guest at the end of the room. His eyes traveled towards the outside of the room, but noticed that the guards had not noticed this person at all. The lady had long golden hair up in a high ponytail and was wearing a dark blue dress that showed off her incredibly pale skin. She cocked her head slightly. "You're not afraid?"
Loki scoffed. "It is you that should be afraid of me. I see that I'm the only one that can see you."
The lady nodded, impressed. "That is correct. I'm a Lady Arista, Loki Laufeyson."
Loki was about to correct her when he stopped, she was right. He was no longer an Odinson, perhaps he had never been. "Why are you here, Lady Arista? Surely, it's not to bring me company."
"No," Lady Arista said. "But I've heard from several sources that you were close to getting one of the infinity stones-the tesseract and that you know where several others are. I think we could help each other immensely. Now how about I offer you a little deal, if you help me obtain one of the infinity stones I will help you break out of this little cage that you seem to be trapped in."
-End of Chapter Six-
