"We can go to another room, you know. There's no reason we have to wait in here."

May crinkled her nose at this.

"No," she said. "I'd just... I'd rather stay here."

Hopefully being so young would excuse her suspicious behavior. It seemed to work pretty well for normal children. Mr. Stark seemed to hold onto a thought for a moment, but then let it go.

"Whatever works for you."

May looked at the clock. It had been several hours already, so how much longer would it take for her to finally see her father? The metal bracelet on her ankle had begun to itch, which was most likely in her head. It was understandable, considering that she had never killed an innocent man before. And according to the internet, not only was her father innocent, but he's done a lot of good as well. But her mother was family. He was just a stranger.

A stranger that she had carried in a heart shaped locket on her charm bracelet from the very day she was born.

God she was driving herself up the wall. Why does the clock run so damn slow?

"Got a lot on your mind?" asked Tony.

May nodded.

A small green dot began flashing on the monitor in front of him. Tony threw back the rest of whatever drink he had poured for himself and stood up.

"Alright. I'll go get him. I won't say anything, just stay here."

"Gotcha."

The door closed behind him and May scooted her chair over to the cart that hid her gun. She laid her foot on the edge of its handle and waited, her heart beating out of her chest.

Footsteps sounded from the other side of the door. Then voices rose from behind the metal.

Something inside May went calm, which was odd considering she had never felt more out of control in her life. She used the ever-increasing weight of the ankle bracelet to pull her back to earth, and with a few steadying breaths, she thumped the gun reassuringly and smiled.

The door opened and her smile faded.

Her hair and eyes were something she had gotten from her mother, she had been sure of it. But now she wasn't. Her father smiled at her and it was a shame that he'd have to die without knowing who she was.

Stop. Emotions had no place in an assassin. That's what Barry always said. But there was one day when he hadn't felt well. He was grumbling all day and let something slip that he very well shouldn't have.

"You get to choose," Barry had said. "You, May."

Steve Rogers walked towards her and Tony stayed behind him at the door. With every bit of courage she had, May dragged the gun from under the medical table in one fluid motion and kicked it into her hands.

They moved fast. Faster than she expected, but she had been trained too well. The first shot rang out and Steve fell back.

"Stark!" he called.

"On it."

Tony's hand was wrapped in a segment of the iron suit that May knew him to wear. Within a second he blasted the gun from her hands and pinned her to the cold tile floor.

"I HAVE TO KILL YOU," May screamed, thrashing left to right. They could hear her. She knew they could. "I HAVE TO!"

'You get to choose.'

May chose.

She made her decision when she flung herself around on the floor and the bottom of her jeans rolled up, exposing the bracelet which was flashing and whirring mechanically.

She saw it click on their faces. Tony used his iron wrapped hand to shoot out the window in the room, which Steve dodged, clutching his shoulder. Tony pinned May's arms behind her and her father ran towards her with his shield. He didn't hesitate when he raised it above her. May shut her eyes and turned away.

Metal sparked, pain shot through her ankle, and the bracelet came off and was slung through the open window without a second to spare. The explosion it created pushed everyone to the floor and probably did a number to the lower levels of the building.

"Holy shit. Are you ok?"

May couldn't respond to the voice. Vintex was never beat so easily, and the burning pain spreading into her chest was a testament to that.

"She's been poisoned," said Tony. "Hand me the stabilizer."

May wasn't sure what a stabilizer was, but it was stuck to her chest, a needle poked into her arm, both of which were followed by the most monotonous computer tones she had ever heard. The needle in her arm burner hotter than whatever the bracelet had stuck her with and eventually her vision blacked out and her head rolled back.

"No more surprises. Got it?"

She narrowed her eyes at Tony in response.

"Take it easy on her," said Steve.

"Yeah, take it easy on me."

May shifted uncomfortably in the bed. She wasn't bothered by the immobilizers on her wrists, but she hated sitting still. There was still too much adrenaline in her body to relax.

"She just woke up. Can the interrogation wait?"

May looked at Steve for the first time. Since shooting him, she had been too scared. But here he was, as good as her mother had promised.

"If she's well enough to come in here guns blazing then she's well enough to answer some questions."

May pulled against the constraints on her arms. At first, Tony smiled, but when the metal began to creak, he and Steve moved into a defensive position. Within another second May pulled the metal apart and tossed it onto the floor. She took the charm bracelet from her wrist and tossed it to her father.

"You're my dad. The serum they gave you worked its way into your DNA and was passed down to me, but it doesn't work the same in my body. I'm 3 months old, and I'm dying. Your girlfriend was captured by an illegal company called Vintex when she was pregnant and when she had me, they trained me to be an assassin."

They looked at her with blank stares and open mouths.

"No more surprises," she promised.

The examination room seemed smaller the second time she stood on the round table. Tony spun the monitors around and showed them to Steve faster than he could comprehend.

"Her body is fighting the serum instead of absorbing it like yours did. So it comes in spurts, she's had two so far, and each one nearly kills her."

"Gets worse each time," May added.

"See how it's not really bonded to her DNA? It just kind of floats there."

"But she's my daughter? How?"

"There's no question to it, and the whole condom on the banana thing? Yeah that's just an example. You have to actually..."

"Ok yes. Thank you."

He looked like he was going to be sick. May walked to the edge of the table and put her hand on his shoulder somewhat hesitantly.

"I'm sorry I shot you," she mumbled.

"You were just trying to survive. It's not your fault."

May shook her head.

"Even if I had died, they wouldn't be done punishing me. I was trying to protect mom."

"She's still alive?"

"I don't know."

May had never been the affectionate type. In fact, when she wrapped her arms around her father and hung from his neck, she reminded herself of a sloth. This thought made her laugh, and it surprised her when tears came to her eyes. Steve didn't hesitate to hug her back, and that was her favorite part about him.