Reply to Messy Ink's review: that is a very good point. Mikaela didn't stop the vans because I simply did not think of that. My bad hahaha. Can't believe I didn't think of that. Also, yeah, Mikaela is eventually going to be more powerful than she is now, but she'll still have limits and not all aspects of what I've read about technopathy will come into play in her character. I hope you still enjoy it!
(Edited to include my separation of the chapter into two bits)
Chapter Seven - Artificial Intelligence
Mikaela walks down the street, a half-eaten hot dog in her hand and a pink baseball cap on her head with the words "Heck the system" sewn into it in black lettering. She watches the world through sunglasses, chewing happily on her meat and bun, humming a tune to herself. Skipping across the road before a car can hit her, she saunters along the pavement towards a white van with tinted windows.
The passenger door opens for her and she pulls herself one-handed onto the seat, flashing a charming smile. "Howdy," she greets.
The man drops his binoculars into his lap and gawps at her. "What are you doing in here? Who are you?" he scrambles.
Mikaela frowns at him. "I'm sorry, I thought you liked fourteen year old girls?"
His driver door opens and Deadpool appears at his side. "Hi! The name's Deadpool, I'll be your waiter this lovely evening. If you would kindly move over a little."
The man's mouth opens and closes like a fucking fish, until he clamps it shut when he sees that Mikaela has her gun on him. She grins and gestures the gun, encouraging him to sit himself in between the driver and passenger seats. He whimpers pathetically, doing as he is bid, and Deadpool hops into the driver's seat.
"Aw, dang it, you had time for a hot dog?" Deadpool whines when he looks at Mikaela.
"Sure did," she replies, taking another bite. "Here, you have the rest," she offers around her mouthful. She stretches her arm around the fat, panicky man to hand Deadpool the dog, making sure to lean into the man with her gun as she does so.
He whimpers again, sweat trailing down his temple. Deadpool giggles like a little girl and removes his mask to eat the rest of the dog, giving the man a wink when he exclaims in horror at the sight of DP's skin.
Mikaela pushes her gun into his side, scowling at him over her sunglasses. "Don't be rude or I'll shoot your sweaty balls off."
The man clenches his eyes shut at that and purses his lips, shaking. Deadpool rolls his eyes at his cowardice, sucking the sauce off his fingertips noisily.
"So, Gordon," Deadpool begins, clapping his hands together. "You've been a naughty boy. But not in a fun way."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Gordon tries weakly.
Mikaela snorts. "Not doing a great job of convincing us there, Glenn."
"Listen, dickbag, you've got two choices: one, my little friend here goes to the cops with what she knows; or, two, I chop up your dick like a carrot, I boil it up in a nice dick-carrot stew, and I go ahead and feed it to you," Deadpool informs him. "So, what'll it be?"
Gordon glances between them, although he's barely able to make eye contact with DP and he's making too much of an effort in not looking at Mikaela. Sweaty, smelly, and shaking, his voice trembles when he answers, "Uh, the cops? Please? The cops?"
Deadpool groans loudly and drops his head back against the seat. "God damnit. I never get to cut their dicks up anymore," he mutters.
Mikaela tilts her head to the side, having already compiled all the information she had on the pervert before sending it on to the local police. "You could always cut him up a little bit?" she suggests innocently.
"What? No! You gave me a choice!" Gordon exclaims.
"A courtesy you rarely extend to your victims," Mikaela retorts, jabbing him in the side with the barrel of her gun. "Not that they'd ever be old enough to make that choice." Her anger and disgust is spiking. "You know what, DP? Cut his dick off. He should have lost it long ago."
"Really?" Deadpool asks, perking up significantly.
"They're only a few minutes out, so he'll survive to rot in jail. At least, until the moment someone shivs him."
Gordon is crying now, and begging too, but it just makes him more disgusting in her eyes. Mikaela hits him in the face with her gun, drawing blood amazingly fast, and turns to open her door, sliding out onto the pavement. She slips her gun back into the waistband of her jeans and closes the door behind her, smiling pleasantly at a woman who makes eye contact with her.
She walks around to the other side of the van and leans against it, frowning across the street at the busy playpark. The van shakes behind her half a heartbeat before muffled screams erupt from within, and she breathes deeply, relishing in the justice. Only when the screams stop does Deadpool let himself out, his mask securely back over his face.
"Passed out?" Mikaela deduces.
"Yup. I stomped on his dick in case they wanted to sew it back on; that thing has been obliterated," Deadpool replies.
"Nice," she smirks, pushing herself off the van and across the street.
Deadpool saunters beside her, undoing a wedgie as he starts to hum a cheerful song. They mount the pavement on the other side of the street and follow the perimeter of the playpark round a corner and down that street towards their awaiting vehicle. Climbing into the car, they greet Vanessa, who sits behind the wheel.
"Let's get the shit outta here," Deadpool says, leaning over to kiss her cheek through his mask.
As they drive away, Mikaela closes her eyes to double check their presence has been eradicated from nearby CCTV cameras. "We're all good," she tells them, opening her eyes again.
"Hey, cupcake, you wanna come get drunk with us?" Deadpool asks, twisting around to look at her on the back seat.
"I would love to, but unfortunately you'll need to drop me off at the bus station. I need to go see Stark," Mikaela replies.
"Ugh, why? I thought you two were done?"
"Yeah, well, he's decided he wants to fuck around with artificial intelligence, the dumb shit."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As soon as she walks through the front doors of Avengers Tower, Mikaela lets JARVIS see her. This way, Stark will have the opportunity to tell her to piss off, if he's so inclined. She figures he deserves the option after the way they left things.
"Hello, can I help you?" a pleasant voice asks.
Mikaela turns and smiles tensely at the man behind the desk. "I'm not sure yet," she admits as she approaches him. "I'd like to see Mr Stark, but it depends on whether he wants to see me."
The secretary frowns at her. "Oh, I see. Do you have an appointment?"
"No, this is a spontaneous visit of a personal and berating nature," she replies.
His mouth twitches in amusement, but he otherwise retains a professional countenance. "I will inquire as to Mr Stark's preference," he tells her.
"Thanks," she mutters, turning her gaze to look around the lobby.
The last time she came in here, she was so drunk she doesn't remember, and the last time she left, she was in such a state that she frankly did not care to look around. The lobby is minimalistic but elegant, with the secretary's desk and a small waiting area. Some subtle shrubbery lines the wall by the elevators and a large fish tank sits in the middle of the room, but it is otherwise scant.
"Oh," the secretary suddenly blurts.
When Mikaela looks at him, he has a shocked expression on his face as he holds his fingers to his earpiece. It is as if he never expected the person speaking to him to be speaking to him. He listens for a moment, nods, and then smiles pleasantly at her.
"Mr Stark is awaiting you in his lab on floor-"
"I know which floor it is, thank you," she interrupts, waving dismissively.
She walks over to one of the elevators and the doors swish open for her, having been waiting for her as soon as she entered the building. It's the simple things about her mutation that she enjoys most: not waiting on elevators, being able to turn off the TV without having to remember where she put the remote, those kinds of things.
She steps inside the elevator and twists round to watch the doors close, the secretary's curious eyes watching her through the diminishing gap. When she is alone, she sighs and rubs her hands together uneasily. She has no idea how this interaction is going to go after the mess of the last one, especially since she's here to call out Stark's arrogance and stupidity in aspiring for artificial intelligence. Why would he think this is a good idea?
"Hello again, Miss Ghost," JARVIS' voice greets her.
"You don't need to do the whole "Miss" thing, J," she replies, "It sounds weird with my shitty codename."
"As you wish."
"So, any idea what's going to happen in the next five minutes?" she jokes weakly.
"I think even I could not predict that."
She takes a deep breath again, muttering a "Yeah" quietly.
The elevator slows to a stop and the doors swish open again. Mikaela steps out and has a look around the recreational area for any new faces, but sees only Stark in his lab above. She knows he must know she's arrived, but he doesn't look down at her. He just continues with his work as if she's not there. She feels her chest tighten and sighs again, fed up of the feeling.
As she walks to the lab, she reminds herself of why she's here so that she is worked up enough to forget about her anxiety. He wants to create artificial intelligence, and that is damn stupid.
She walks in and opens her mouth to speak, but he beats her to it.
"So much for ignoring the impulse," he comments, not looking up from his work.
Mikaela shakes her head and brushes past it. "What the hell are you doing, Stark?"
"Oh, are we telling each other what we're up to now?" he quips. "I thought we didn't have that kind of relationship."
"Come on, Stark, I'm serious," she frowns at his back, moving closer to him. "This is incredibly dangerous and stupid."
He twists his body to look round at her and replies sarcastically, "Wow, really? So, if something's dangerous, I shouldn't do it? Like, say, I don't know, hiring an insane mercenary and going on some secret mission to kill a tonne of people?"
He turns back to his work and Mikaela bites her tongue. She tells herself she doesn't have the time to react to his bitterness and she needs to focus on why she came here. But, man, does she want to scream at him.
"You're trying to make something that will be much colder and more calculating than I am," she says instead.
"Okay, cool, maybe it won't make stupid decisions," he retorts.
Mikaela's fists clench and she storms over to his side, fuming. "Stark, you have no idea what kind of personality this thing will have! It could take one look at humans and think, "You know what, they're the problem, I should do away with them!"" she snaps.
He drops his equipment on the table noisily and stands up straight, looking down at her stubbornly. "Yeah, but it could also take one look at humans and think "These things are weak and naive, I should really do everything I can to protect them!"" he challenges.
"You can't take that risk!" she insists.
"There were aliens coming through a goddamn space portal over New York City, Ghost!" he shouts at her. "Aliens! We only survived because of that sceptre," he points at the sceptre she recognises from footage of the fight. "What if that's not enough next time? What if we're not enough?"
Mikaela deflates in the face of his argument. She can see where he's coming from, and she wants to empathise with him; but he is making a huge mistake and nothing will change her mind on that. She wishes she could side with him, seeing how much the concept means to him and how he truly believes it's the right thing to do. She hates the way they always end up fighting, the way they can't seem to just get along for five minutes.
"Uh, Tony," a timid voice says from the entrance to the lab. Mikaela glances over to see Bruce Banner, standing uneasily with his hands gripping each other. "I thought I'd come up to check on things before we get ready for the party."
Stark sighs and turns away from her, tapping away at his instruments. "Uh, yeah, we've still got a long way to go," he replies.
Nobody says anything for a moment. Banner is looking between the two of them apprehensively, Stark is avoiding all eye contact, and Mikaela is boring holes into the side of his head.
"This is a bad idea, Stark," she says, breaking the silence.
He looks at her sharply. "You gonna shut it down, Ghost, huh?" he challenges.
Mikaela chews on her lip, considering. There is no doubt that she could, but would she?
"See, I don't think you will, you wanna know why?" Stark continues. "Because you pride yourself on not interfering with things, because, as you said, who needs that shit on their shoulders? Besides, you know that I could be right."
"But you could as easily be wrong," she persists. "Just because there's a chance it could work doesn't mean you should do it. The alternative outcome would be catastrophic."
"If it goes wrong, we'll handle it," he tells her determinedly.
"An artificial intelligence?" she scoffs. "Don't bullshit me. If this goes wrong, you're going to need help and you're going to come straight to me."
"Would you turn me away?" he asks, no longer retorting or challenging, but genuinely asking.
Mikaela clenches her jaw and looks at him. She watches the way his eyes search her own, and she hates him for it. "No," she replies simply.
"Sorry, uh, Ghost, is it?" Banner interjects. Mikaela looks over to him, nodding. "Who exactly are you? Tony told us you're a mutant, after you were here last time, but that's all we got out of him. Who are you to him?"
Mikaela moves away from Stark to lean against a different table. "Just a kid that broke into his home to see if he was a mutant as well," she shrugs.
Banner frowns at them, watching Stark as he fiddles about with his back to them. "But, I mean, do you know him well? Are you close?"
Mikaela pouts as she considers his question. "Not especially," she admits.
His frown deepens. "Seriously?" he asks disbelievingly. "Because your fights are so… high-emotion."
Mikaela glances over at Stark, catching him watching her out of the corner of her eye. "I don't know what to tell you," she says, feeling a little uncomfortable.
"She got under my skin," Stark announces suddenly, surprising Mikaela and Banner. He turns around, crossing his arms over his chest, and looks at Banner. "Don't ask me how because I have no idea. But, for some reason, I care now," he finishes, looking at her awkwardly at the end.
Mikaela's heart is in her throat. She has no fucking idea how she's supposed to react. She wants to cringe at his admission, the way she would cringe at Diez, but instead a warmth fills her chest, so strong it threatens to warm her face as well. She looks away, clearing her throat, and scrambles for the right words. Her natural instinct is to retort sarcastically or make fun of him, but she knows that would be wrong.
"Uh, well, I guess, you know," she mutters, scratching at the back of her head. "I guess I would kind of have to say the same thing," she manages, shrugging. "I, uh, I care now too."
She can feel Stark watching her, but she can't bring herself to look at him. Charles told her to open herself up and "let them in", but he didn't warn her how damn hard and uncomfortable that would be.
Banner shifts awkwardly, reading the room. "Okay, well, I'm Dr Bruce Banner," he supplies.
Mikaela nods at him. "Nice to meet you, Banner."
"Nice to meet you too, Ghost," he smiles friendlily. "Listen, Tony, we should get ready for the party."
"Yeah," Stark replies distractedly. Banner smiles at her once more before he leaves to go downstairs.
"I'll notify you if there are any developments," JARVIS says.
"Thanks, buddy," Stark sighs, as the lights begin to turn off and the glass walls tint. "C'mon, Ghost," he says, gesturing for her.
Mikaela follows him out of the lab, wondering where they stand now after their newest argument and admission. "Listen, Stark, I don't mean to be-"
"Just stop, please, for a minute," Stark cuts in, holding up a hand. "All we do is argue, it's exhausting."
Mikaela detects a hint of amusement in his voice and allows a smirk. "Well, if you weren't so stupid," she trails off, shrugging.
Stark gives her a look, but he isn't angry anymore. "Yeah, I'm the stupid one."
"Oh, hey, is this the long-lost daughter nobody's told me about?" a woman asks suddenly.
Mikaela and Stark halt, looking ahead of them to see a cluster of Avengers, including Maria Hill, who had spoken. Banner is amongst them, looking apologetic as if he had tried to clear the group out of the way before the two of them came down. Mikaela looks around at Steve Rogers, Thor, Romanoff, and Barton, meeting their curious and cloaked gazes. She knows that Romanoff and Banner know she isn't Stark's child, but Hill seems to believe it, and she has no idea where that has come from. When Stark moves closer to her and she feels something like protectiveness coming off of him, Mikaela figures it's best to go along with whatever is happening.
"Yeah," Stark answers. "I was just walking her out."
"I'm Maria Hill," the woman smiles. "What's your name?"
Mikaela remembers what Charles told her that day in his office, and she glances up at the side of Stark's face, knowing it was stupid to ever hide her name from him. His mouth opens to reply for her, but she cuts in quickly.
"Mikaela," she says, smiling back. Stark looks at her, and she can tell from his expression that he's caught on to what's happening. "My name is Mikaela."
"Why aren't you coming to the party tonight?" Hill asks.
Stark finally looks away from Mikaela. "There will be drink," he blurts, "And lots of people. Plus, you know, it'll be her bedtime soon."
"Fuck off," Mikaela retorts, her face contorting in a scowl as she glares up at him.
"Language!" Stark chirps, clearly now enjoying the pretence of authority he has over her. "Mr Rogers over here doesn't like profanities."
The group chuckles as Rogers sighs, giving Stark a look. It is clearly some inside joke at his expense, but Mikaela doesn't have the context.
"C'mon, Stark, let her come," Romanoff speaks up, smirking deviously. "It'll be fun."
"It'd be great to get to know her," Rogers agrees, smiling at Mikaela.
Mikaela hears Stark groan quietly, clearly against the idea. "I'd love to hang out," she tells him, smiling innocently up at him.
"Only because I don't want you to," he retorts.
"That's harsh, man," Barton puts in.
Stark rolls his eyes and gestures defeatedly. "Alright, fine. But she's not my responsibility."
"She's your daughter," Hill reminds him.
Mikaela watches as the rest of the group hides smirks or looks guilty, and she knows that Hill is the only person who thinks Mikaela is just some bastard child of Stark's. But why?
