With Camille's new identification cards and having been re-registered with the mutant community, she's allowed more freedom and can finally leave the Tower on her own but only after Coulson's made a few calls to alert the authorities in Camille's old hometown that she's not a fugitive. Since Camille had to be registered with other mutants, the authorities would be alerted when she popped back up on their radar so Coulson had to explain that she'd been kidnapped and held captive, and that her kidnappers were the ones who murdered her parents in case there was any lingering doubt.
She's talking more and initiating friendly contact with others now, and it's a relief to be around people who don't find her a freak for her abilities. She thought that once she was more out in the open, Stark or Pepper or someone would talk to her about moving out and into her own space but surprisingly, no-one said anything.
In fact, they kept on as usual and even pestered her to bake more goods.
The cool weather gave into even cooler weather and with Thanksgiving being around the corner, Pepper starts making plans to have a nice dinner with those who live at the Tower.
Both Pepper and Camille are sitting at the kitchen bar- both in tank tops, shorts, and barefoot as they tap away on their respective tablet(Pepper) and laptop(Camille). It's the most Camille has seen the willowy CEO dressed down and she takes great comfort in knowing that the blonde is comfortable enough around her to show her vulnerable side.
"Hey, Cami, you're still making dessert, right?"
Said girl grins at her nickname, eyes darting up from her laptop screen. "Yeah. Tony and Tasha want pecan pie, Clint and Bruce want pumpkin, and you and Steve want apple." Pepper groans in contentment at the list of pies and Camille grins even wider- her grin faltering only moments later. "Y-you're gonna have to pay for the groceries seeing as I don't have any money yet but," she quickly rushes out, slightly grimacing. "I promise to pay you and Tony back as soon as I'm on my own and earning my fair share."
When Pepper goes quiet, Camille mentally curses and chances a look up at Pepper's face. "You're leaving us," she frowns and well, Camille didn't expect that.
"Well, yeah," she shrugs. "It's expected of me, isn't it?"
"No," Pepper nearly yelps in order to get her point across. "I mean, you can if that's what you want," she then amends and takes a moment to calm down. "It's just- it's just you've kinda been non-legally adopted by everyone here so we just expected you'd stay with us."
Camille is openly gaping now and Pepper's smile starts to reemerge. "I.. but.. huh?"
"You're allowed to stay here, Camille," Pepper assures her. "I will admit that when we first took you in- many of us were wary about you but now, we love having you here. We're not going to kick you out now that you're talking and relearning to socialize. Even if S.H.I.E.L.D tries to make you go on your way, we'd all fight tooth and nail to keep you here."
"But I can't mooch off of you and Tony forever. I need to do something to help out and repay you for what you've done for me."
"Then get a part-time job," Pepper shrugs. "Tony has loads of money. We're not looking for any reimbursement, Cami. We are more than happy to have you here and everything."
"But I- I," she stammers, mind running a mile a minute. "I don't have any schooling other than a high school education. What job can I get with that?"
Pepper takes a moment to think, her nose scrunching up in thought. "You can go to college if you want, I suppose," she says before rapidly tapping away on her tablet once more. "There are some scholarships you can apply for and even if you don't get them, I'm sure Tony will make up a scholarship of his own and grant it to you."
Camille snorts because that sounds like something Pepper can get Tony to do for her but doesn't deny the possibilities of continuing her schooling. The thought of continuing school- even though she's twenty-one- is a pleasant thought. And as she's in deep thought about whether or not she wants to further her education, she misses Pepper's pleased expression at her actually giving college a second thought.
With a murmured, "Take your time. You don't have to make that decision right now," both Camille and Pepper continue to go back to their tablet and laptop.
..
..
Time passes by but the two women never leave the kitchen.
Camille had mixed up some miniature pineapple upside down cakes that she had found the recipe for earlier and tossed them in the oven, the smell lingering around the kitchen and causing their mouths to water. The timer was down to only seconds now so as Camille pulled on oven mittens and Pepper got the cooling racks ready on the counter- neither women hear when the elevator dings or the thumping of shoes heading in their direction.
And it's only when Camille and Pepper turn around do they find Steve, Natasha, and Clint- all in uniform and duffel bags hanging off the assassin's shoulders- the two of them giving pause and Pepper immediately objects while Clint grumbles about food.
"No. No way," Pepper complains. "We were supposed to be together for Thanksgiving this year."
"Sorry, Pepper," Steve smiles sheepishly, eyes crinkling beneath his cowl. "You know we'd try to stay but this is supposedly HYDRA related." Pepper's pout immediately vanishes but Steve is quick to assure her that everything's fine when he sees the panic clear in her eyes. "It's nothing close to here so there's no need to worry and we're not even sure this is a legit lead but it's worth checking out."
"Yeah, yeah, of course."
Steve smiles at her before looking to Camille where she's grinning and popping out small cakes, settling them on the cooling rack. "Sorry we couldn't be here for your first Thanksgiving."
Her head snaps up at that, Camille shrugging. "Totally fine, Cap. Duty calls." And then looking the three Avengers in the eye, she tells them, "Be safe."
"Always," Natasha nods at her.
The team bids farewell after telling Camille about them going on radio silence for this mission and what it means. As they're leaving though, Camille and Pepper can't help but laugh as Natasha forcefully drags Clint away as he whines about not getting any snacks before leaving. But before the door to the elevator can close, Camille picks up a small cake and rushes to the side, winding her arm back and chucking it at Clint who catches it with ease.
Taking a big bite out of the miniature cake, Clint winks at Camille just as the doors finally close.
With Thanksgiving tomorrow, Camille is set up in the kitchen and rolling out crust after crust for the various pies that she promised to make. And though a trio of their group is still on radio silence, Thor managed to get them a message from Asgard that he was stopping by for a brief visit before spending the Midgardian holiday with his beloved Jane and friend Darcy.
So since it was only going to be Pepper, Tony, Bruce, and herself for Thanksgiving dinner, Pepper had gone ahead and invited Tony's good friend James Rhodes- call him Rhodey- to attend their dinner. The thought of either moving out on her own or continuing her schooling weighed heavily on Camille's mind, but she managed to push those thoughts aside in favor of preparing herself for meeting someone new.
The oven is already heated to the temperature that Camille needs it and she's only just poured the pumpkin filling into the two pie crusts sitting in their pans when thunder suddenly rumbles right above the tower, and a flash of lightening lights up the already brightened room.
"Miss Camille," JARVIS' smooth accented voice startles her even further. "My systems show me that you are suddenly distressed. Should I call for Ms. Pott's or Sir Stark?"
"Uh, no, Jay. I'm good," she answers as she places both pies in the oven and sets the timer. "Thunderstorms just aren't my favorite."
"If you'd look outside the window, Miss, there are no storms. The thunder and lightening, in which you just witnessed, was Mr. Odinson's arrival."
"Mr. Odinson," Camille frowns before she realizes who he's speaking of. "Oh, you mean Thor?"
"Yes, Miss. I've just directed him to your location since Ms. Pott's is in her last meeting of the day and Sir Stark and Doctor Banner are currently engaged in what Mr. Rogers calls Science Babble."
"Oh, alright. Thanks, JARVIS."
"You're most welcome, Miss Camille."
Camille grins at the AI's speech- she wondering just how it was Tony made him when the elevator dings open on the communal floor. Knowing that it's Thor, Camille gets back to work and starts chopping up the pecan halves even smaller for Tony and Natasha's pie.
Boots thumping along the tiled floor signify Thor's closeness and when Camille looks up to greet him, she's surprised to see him out of his Asgardian gear though he's still gripping his hammer in hand and in a dark blue short sleeve henley, dark fitted jeans, and normal boots.
"Ah, friend Camille," he beams brightly at her. "It is nice to see you again."
"You, too, Thor," she grins- said grin widening as Thor comes to an abrupt halt. "Lemon bar," she then suggests as she points out the glass dome and stand where she can present whatever treat she's recently baked for the group.
"You speak! How- when did this happen?!"
"Going on a week," she informs him, clearing her throat when she gets a bit nervous of his towering presence. "I'm still getting used to it."
"Well this is most excellent! My Jane had wanted to give her thanks for the tiny cakes you gave us long ago," he enthusiastically tells her, setting his hammer down on the bar and reaching into his pocket. "But when I told her you were of the mute, she was most saddened. Even Lady Darcy was seen frowning."
All the while Thor spoke, Camille had prepped the ingredients she needed for the pecan pie filling along the bar since the pumpkin pies took less than an hour to bake. And when Thor pulls free a cellphone from his pocket, she can't help but smile as she watches him frown and grunt as he taps none too gently at the screen.
"Do you- do you need help with that?"
"Nay," Thor grumbles before grinning suddenly. "For Midgardians, your technology is quite advanced but for an Asgardian, it's quite outdated. It takes some time to remember how to use it." Camille suddenly finds herself matching the Norse God's grin, she instantly recalling all the times Tony made fun of Steve and Thor not getting the hang of modern technology. She now just realizes it wasn't that Thor didn't know how to use it, he just couldn't remember how. "Don't tell friend Stark."
Taking in Thor's mischievous grin, she nods. "As you wish."
Thor's elated smile rivals that of Steve's and once again, Thor's distracted by the phone in his hand. Seconds later, he makes a noise of triumph. "Here we go. Now we shall call Jane to tell her the good news!"
Camille watches as Thor walks to her side of the kitchen bar, easily placing his arm across the back of her shoulders and she nearly buckles under the weight of his arm. The phone is put on speaker and she listens in as the phone rings and rings.
"Hola, muchacho! Miss me already?" There's a grunt, an oomph!, and a sharp intake of breath before an entirely different voice comes over the line.
"Darcy, you can't just steal my phone," the shrill voice scolds. A moment of silence passes as Camille and Thor look at each other in amusement, the same second voice coming back but this time, she's much more calmer. "Thor? Did something happen? You only left a little while ago."
"I am most fine, Jane. Darcy," he tells them. "My newest friend, Camille, is here with me and I have the most joyous news."
"Camille," you can hear the question in the so-called Jane's voice. "Cam- oh! Camille," she nearly yells when she realizes who he's speaking of. "The girl who made us those cupcakes."
"Uh, yeah. Hello," Camille mumbles, nervously biting her bottom lip.
There's a moment of silence on the line before, "Holy shit, she speaks!", and yeah, that's the first voice that answered the phone- Darcy. "How did this happen? I thought Thor said you were mute?!"
"Er- well," Camille gulps. "I was. It was- was a trauma thing, I suppose, but I'm fine now."
"Sweet! Well now that you're talking and everything, you wanna give me that recipe for those cupcakes? They were amazeballs!"
"Darcy!" More grunting sounds, grumbling ensues, and Camille has to keep herself from laughing even though Thor's chuckling openly. "I'm terribly sorry about my friend. She has no manners. I'm Jane, by the way."
"Hello, Jane, I'm Camille but I have a feeling Thor has already told you."
"Yeah," she chuckles sheepishly. "And those cupcakes were really amazing. It was very kind of you to send those to us so thank you."
"It was no problem," she grins, nudging Thor with her shoulder when he squeezes her a little too tight in a friendly side-hug. "I really like to bake so it was fine."
"Yeah, well," the line falls silent for a brief moment but Thor quickly comes to the rescue.
"We must go now, my Beloved. I just wished to call you and let you hear Camille's voice for yourself."
"No, wait," Darcy yelps. "I wasn't joking about getting that recipe!"
There's an audible sigh on the line and Camille finally laughs aloud. "Uh, s-sure. You have an email that you can text to this phone? I had to tweak the recipe so the new and improved version is on my tablet. I can email it to you if you'd like."
"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll text you as soon as the call ends."
"Um, okay."
Thor's chuckle rumbles in his chest, his smile blossoming. "Farewell, friend Darcy. Jane. I'll see you both later tonight."
"Bye, Camille! Bye, Thor!"
Thor ends the call on his phone and finally steps away from Camille whose heart is hammering roughly against her rib cage. Though she's a bit nervous in Thor's presence, speaking to two new people she's never met via the cellphone was just as nerve wracking.
She takes a deep breath through her nose- in and out- and works on calming herself before JARVIS can pick up on her anxiety once more.
"I am most happy you got to speak with Jane and Darcy," Thor tells her.
His phone beeps in hand and as he takes a moment to open up the text, he smiles before passing it over to Camille. When she sees the email, she walks around the counter to pick up her tablet and prepares an email with the recipe.
"Yeah. So am I," she smiles at him. "They seem like nice people."
Thor spends a few more minutes in her presence, eating a few lemon bars before JARVIS informs him that Sir Stark is requesting his presence down in the lab.
Thanksgiving had been a success even without Thor, Steve, Clint, and Natasha.
Tony, Pepper, and Bruce introduced Camille to Rhodey, the dark skinned man being very polite, understanding, and then apologetic when Tony blurted out her story like it was no big deal.
Pepper had ordered in everything for a Thanksgiving dinner- everything hot and ready to eat by the time it had gotten to the Tower. Camille had subtly kept to Bruce's side the entire dinner, his calming and quiet demeanor keeping her calm while in the presence of a loud Tony. And the dessert- the dessert was gobbled up right away.
Tony had eaten two big slices of pecan pie, Bruce ate an entire pumpkin pie, and between Rhodey and Pepper- the two of them nearly finished an entire apple pie. Everything else had then been put away in hopes that the rest of the team would get home soon to eat it before it went bad, but even if it did, Pepper and Camille had promised each other to surprise the trio of a soldier and two assassins with a proper Thanksgiving dinner.
..
..
Steve, Natasha, and Clint ended up coming home the day after Thanksgiving- the trio being treated to heated up leftovers and pies but not one of them complained.
After the food had been scarfed down, the three took a bit of time to relax before heading back to S.H.I.E.L.D Headquarters for the inevitable paperwork. They didn't talk about their mission other than that it was a mixture of a success and a failure, and Camille didn't push for further details even though the bit of bruises she could see on all three of them had her slightly suspicious.
Tony, however, didn't let it go all that easily. Since it involved HYDRA, he wanted to know everything and Steve reluctantly told him that it was a dead end. The group was only another group on the rise that idolized HYDRA but it's mass supporters is what caught them off guard hence all the bruising and prolonged radio silence.
Camille hadn't known what to feel when she saw her friends come home beaten and tired, and she felt slightly angry for them. Yes, it was their job, but that didn't mean she had to like it. They were her friends now and she was very protective over what was hers.
In the days that follow Thanksgiving, Camille oddly finds yet another friend in one Darcy Lewis- the two bonding over recipes and music.
It's easy to talk to her via email and as much as it should surprise her- it really doesn't when Darcy pops up on her screen for a video chat.
She had been making cookies down in the kitchen with Stark running commentary about some new gadget he wanted to build and dissing her taste in music on her laptop when he asked who D. Lewis was. And when she told him it was friend that Thor introduced her to, Tony immediately accepted the video call, Camille then having a first row seat to the snark fest that had erupted between the two as she balled up cookie dough balls and placed them on the cookie sheet.
She eventually got Tony to leave her alone and shooed him back to his lab- Darcy then going silent and having a freakout about how she sassed Tony-motherfucking-Stark. Camille had laughed, calmed down her friend, and then Darcy remembered what she called for in the first place and gave Camille a brand new list of songs to look up when she had time.
When their skype chats started becoming more frequent, Camille decided to tell Darcy about her being a mutant after talking to Pepper about it. So on one of their little video chats, Camille came clean and nearly started crying when Darcy visibly shut down at the admission. But just when Camille was starting to think that she made a mistake by telling Darcy the truth, Darcy perked right back up and started shooting off question after question about what her abilities were and if she could see sometime.
Camille had chuckled in relief and answered what she felt most comfortable with.
For Camille, December had always been a lazy month for her.
Living in Pennsylvania, winter always came with snow and the extreme cold always made her feel like a couch potato. Even now that still holds true, she sharing the couch with Clint as they watch Elf play out on the mounted flat screen on the communal floor. The sky outside is gray so the windows are left at one hundred percent visibilty to show off the New York skyline and the snow falling every now and then.
Buddy the Elf has just finished helping Santa fix his sleigh- the duo flying over the gathered carolers when the elevator dings open on the floor. Neither of them move to see who it but the sharp clicking of heels has Camille warily peering over her shoulder.
Pepper saunters in all bright smiles but the thing Camille notices right away is that the blonde is wearing jeans and not her usual pencil skirt. Pepper's blazer isn't one she usually wears to work and Camille is immediately on edge.
"Get up. We're going shopping."
Camille chokes on nothing but air and Clint snorts- she having to blindly kick at him for her impending doom. "What?"
"Shopping," Pepper smiles as if it's the best thing in the world. "Tony's hosting a Christmas party and I know for a fact that you do not own one single dress."
Clint snorts again which only earns him another blind kick in return. "No, but I- we're watching a-"
"Oh, would you look at that," Clint suddenly grins. "Training with 'tash starts in five minutes."
"Traitor," Camille hisses as she whirls on him, eyes narrowed dangerously.
Clint's grin widens into a smirk in return, he standing up and stretching. "Have fun dress shopping." And before Camille can even retort, he hightails it out of the room and into the elevator.
Turning back to Pepper, Camille knows dress shopping is inevitable so she does the only thing she knows might help her. She stalls and gestures to the clothing she's currently wearing which is a pair of black jeans and an off-white tank top. "I'm not dressed for the occasion."
"Nonsense. Just go put on shoes and a jacket. We won't be in the cold too long."
Biting the inside of her cheek, Camille mentally sighs and does as she's told. She ends up in her room with only the minimal amount of teasing from Tony and Clint via JARVIS, and dons her pair of knee-high flat winter boots and light military style jacket.
..
..
After much pestering from Tony and Happy- Tony's personal driver- Pepper assures them that she's fine driving Camille on her own and the ladies end up in Pepper's personal car on the streets of New York City.
They make idle chit-chat with music playing lowly through the speakers- Camille eventually asking where it is she can buy Christmas themed tins because she wanted to make everyone their own tin of Christmas cookies since she couldn't actually buy anything. Pepper smiles brightly at that and assures her they'll find something online later to have delivered to the Tower, and then asks if she's going to send any overnight to her friend in New Mexico.
Camille gapes at that, Pepper tells her Tony gossips like a woman, and Camille can only laugh in response before shrugging and saying she'll think about it.
When they finally do get to the boutique Pepper adores, Pepper is the only one to find her dress there.
Though Camille takes the time to try on anything and everything that catches her eye, she eventually gives up because the dresses don't suit her new haircut. Pepper, on the other hand, pulls dress after dress off the rack and shoves them into the changing room even if they're not styles that Camille likes.
The two women spend many hours going from shop to shop- Camille finally falling in love with a dress that Pepper immediately buys right away at their third stop. And with the dresses taken care of, they now need shoes.
Finding shoes takes another couple of hours- nothing catching Pepper's eye until they're at their second store. Camille had been hesitant to try anything on but when Pepper caught her shying away, she was fast to push a pair of stilettos Camille's way.
"No. No way," Camille sheepishly laughs. "I'm going to fall and break my neck."
"Put the shoes on, Cami," Pepper grins, wiggling them at her. "You can't be that bad."
And Pepper was wrong- oh so wrong when Camille took her first two steps.
With nearly half a shelf of shoes knocked over, Pepper doesn't push Camille to try on anything that would make the mutant wobbly and immediately finds the perfect sandals for Camille's perfect dress.
By the time they're done with purchasing their dresses, shoes, and jewelry- the sun is long gone and both ladies are hungry. So with a quick call to Tony to inform him that they're going to stop by the little hole-in-the-wall pizzeria, Tony tells them to bring him something back and then the girl's are off once again.
Since it's a little hole-in-the-wall joint, the place isn't packed at all and the establishment is horribly lit but it makes for a comfortable and calm atmosphere.
They talk over a large sausage and pepperoni pizza, and surprisingly a pitcher of beer, and Pepper informs Camille all about what Tony's party is going to entail. The Avengers are all going to be there- all out of costume, of course- as well as all the rich and important people who thrive in New York in companies associated with Stark Industries and various charities.
Camille doesn't seem to thrilled about the party but Pepper merely laughs it off and tells her that it will all be okay.
Once the pizza is nearly done and Pepper orders yet another four pizzas for Tony, Bruce, Steve, Clint, and Natasha- the two women are soon on their way towards Pepper's car. And since the pizzeria wasn't in the safest or properly lit of neighborhoods, leave it to the criminals of New York to attack Pepper when her back is turned.
Since their shoes are neatly placed in the trunk of Pepper's car along with their purchased jewelry, and their dresses are being delivered to the Tower, Pepper tells Camille to get settled in so she can hand her the boxes of pizza to place in the backseat since Pepper's car was only a two-door. Camille does as she's told, shutting the passenger door behind her once she's settled and holds her hands out to Pepper who is already standing at the driver's door- bending her knees to lean in and hand Camille the pizzas.
Three pizzas are already stacked in the back seat, Pepper leaning in for Camille to grab the last pizza box when she suddenly yelps, dropping the pizza on the seat and disappearing from view.
"Pepper," Camille's grin slides from her face as she fidgets in her seat. There's muffled grumbling and screaming, and Camille's heart is pounding faster and faster. A sharp slap the car's exterior causes Camille to jump, the blood rushing in her ears. "Pepper!"
A hooded figure suddenly appears in the doorway, a baseball cap pulled low to hide his features and a dark hoodie pulled over the cap. "Out of the car," he yells, waving a gun around.
Camille had always heard stories about being mugged in New York City but she never thought it'd happen to Pepper Potts- Iron Man's girl and CEO of Stark Industries. So one second, she's in a state of shock and terror, and in the next, she's absolutely livid.
Her lips curl back in an animalistic snarl and she doesn't think twice about launching herself over the center console divider, and shifting. One moment she's a girl and the next, she's a large black wolf snarling and barking. Her very sharp canine teeth sink into the material of the man's pullover before giving her head a violent shake and then her teeth are sinking into the flesh of the man's arm.
There's a moment of hesitation on the mugger's part since he obviously hadn't counted on the girl being anything other than normal but when he feels the sharp pain of his arm being mauled, he gathers himself quickly and yells in rage and pain, and fires off two rounds on the darkened street before pulling the wolf along with him into the nearby darkened alley.
The wolf yelps in pain, Pepper's muffled scream behind whoever's hand is clamping her mouth shut gets louder, and the partner to whoever shot Camille is livid.
"You're going to draw attention! This was just supposed to be quick money!"
"She's a fucking wolf, man!"
Camille is quick to push her pain aside, shaking herself to focus before snarling once more. Both men quiet down, their gazes drawn to the black wolf with eerie blue eyes that seem as if they're glowing in the dim light.
"See!"
The man waves his gun in Camille's general direction again, she latching onto the moment he takes his eyes off her and lunges for him. This time, her teeth latch onto his wrist of the hand that's holding the gun, he shouting in pain once more and dropping the weapon with a clatter.
As he scrambles back, the man holding Pepper roughly pushes her aside and lunges for his friend's dropped weapon only to have a set of sharp teeth snapping inches from his face. He freezes and in her fit of rage, Camille lunges again but this time, her teeth latch onto the meat of the man's shoulder and sink in.
Shaking her head violently, screams from both the man and Pepper bombard her ears but she only lets go when she feels a swift kick to her ribs.
Yelping in pain, Camille unlatches from the man and scampers backward only for the two men to collect their weapon and hightail it away from the scene.
Pepper isn't all that surprised that not one siren has been heard after the gunshots- this is New York, after all- and hesitantly moves towards the limping and whimpering wolf. "C-Camille?" The wolf whirls on Pepper, startling the CEO to freeze, but then the wolf's lips stop trembling in warning and her ears perk back up to show Pepper that she's not a threat to her. "Camille," she sighs tiredly as her eyes continue to scan the alley. "I need you to change back. We need to get to the Tower."
The wolf whimpers again, suddenly crowding Pepper into the wall with her snout, and it's only then that Pepper sees the smeared blood on her pant legs from Camille's face and a puddle of blood where she was last standing.
Swearing softly, Pepper immediately pulls free her phone from her pocket and places a call to Tony as Camille starts pacing with a limp in front of her and keeping an eye out for any signs of a threat.
And once Tony answers after the fourth ring, she's surprised at how calm she's managed to seem after having a gun waved around in her face. "Tony, Camille's injured. I need you come to the alley nearest that pizzeria I told you about."
"Pep, are you okay? What happened?"
"Dammit, Tony! Not now. Just hurry and get here."
There's muffled talking on Tony's end of the line- a voice which sounds oddly like Steve- and then Pepper's hanging up because she really can't handle all of this right now. With Tony most likely activating the tracker in her phone, she pushes it back in her jean pocket and leans against the wall to start calming herself.
Her eyes land on the black wolf pacing- the wolf favoring her left side and lightly picking up it's right rear leg. "Cami," Pepper calls out softly. "Please, come here. Tony's on the way so there's no need to keep watch. I'm pretty sure you scared off those men." The wolf huffs, eyes sliding to Pepper before she tilts her head skyward and howls to the sky. "Camille," Pepper's eyes widen in shock. "Don't do that! Residents might be scared to call for gunshots but they won't hesitate to call for a possible feral wolf!"
The wolf sniffs at her words and then decides to slowly limp towards Pepper. Hesitantly, the blonde reaches up and cups the left side of the wolf's head only to slightly smile as Camille leans in to the touch.
Pepper doesn't know how long they stay like that but suddenly, the familiar sound of Tony's suit whooshes overhead and then gets closer when he spots them. As he lands with a metal clunk off to their side, the wolf whirls on Iron Man in a panic and snarls- snapping her teeth in warning.
"Whoa, there," Tony's computerized voice echoes in the alley, his face-plate sliding up a second later as he holds up his hands in surrender. "What the hell happened here," he asks as he takes in the wolf standing in a protective stance before a crouched Pepper.
"Mugging gone wrong," Pepper sighs. "I think she's been shot."
Tony's eyes widen and in the next moment, Steve rounds the corner in civilian clothing and his shield gripped tight in hand- panting slightly heavily. The wolf pushes back against Pepper, lowly growling and Steve comes to a stop next to Tony.
"What the hell happened?"
"Mugging gone wrong," Tony tells Steve over his shoulder. "She's been shot."
"Pepper or-"
"Camille," he answers, his gaze locked on the wolf. "Rear leg. She hasn't put pressure on it."
Steve's eyes widen. "She's been.." he trails off in disbelief. "We need to get her back to the tower. If she's been shot-"
"Well then you get her," Tony scoffs. "She's not exactly friendly right now. Heya, girl," he then grins forcefully when Camille starts growling again.
"Cami," Pepper scolds, she being the only one brave enough to scold the wolf. When her hand reaches out to put slight pressure on the side of the wolf's neck, Camille whines and stops being aggressive.
"Well would you look at that," Tony smirks.
Steve rolls his eyes and pushes passed Tony to get closer. "Camille," he calls out calmly and kneels down to her level. "Camille, we need to get you home. You're bleeding out and we need to patch up that wound as quickly as possibly."
The wolf slowly blinks at Steve, it's gaze locked on with him before sliding to the car behind him. "Uh, no." Tony tells her. "I really don't think Pep would appreciate blood on the seats of her car. I'll be flying you back to the Tower."
The wolf sniffs and hangs it's head in surrender, slowly limping towards Tony. Kneeling down, Tony positions himself so he can scoop up the large wolf only to have the wolf yelp and then whine when he puts pressure on the wound.
"Sorry.. sorry," he mumbles before looking up at Pepper and Steve. "Drive Pep back to the Tower. We'll be in the labs."
Steve nods, watching as Iron Man's face-plate slides down. "JARVIS, buddy," his computerized voice sounds once more. "Have Banner gather his medical bag and prep one of the tables in an empty lab. Tell him I have incoming."
..
..
When Tony finally lands at the Tower, he doesn't bother taking off the suit because he needs the extra bit of help to hold the whimpering wolf. He is, however, quick to rush to the elevator where JARVIS readily takes him to the floor of the labs.
Once there, Bruce is waiting for him and when he sees the wolf and blood dripping, he orders Tony to place her on the table he had set up.
"What happened?"
"Pepper said mugging," Tony answers just as quickly. "Camille was protecting her when we got there."
Bruce steps forward, rubber gloves already on as positions himself nearest the wolf's hind legs. After Tony points out the wound, Bruce barely touches her leg when she snarls and snaps her teeth in warning- Tony being the only one to flinch as he starts peeling off his suit.
"Camille," Bruce sighs. "I'm going to need you to change back. I can't have you snapping at me and I need to have a clear view of the wound."
The black wolf continues to growl- her eyes locked on Bruce- before the tension visibly drains from her. She's breathing in deeply one second and the next, it's like her body vibrates before completely shifting back into the form of a fully clothed female.
Her mouth, chin, and neck are smeared with blood- some even being in her hair- and there's a tear in her pants on her right thigh.
"Looks like a through and through," Tony confirms.
Bruce nods, his gaze taking in her bloodied face before looking Camille in the eyes and frowns when he sees that she's not entirely present. "S'not my blood," she deadpans, eyes fluttering to meet his gaze.
"I figured. You okay?"
She shrugs. "As okay as I can be," she frowns and then grimaces when she moves to sit up fully. "Never been shot before."
Briefly grinning, Bruce looks back down towards the wound. "I hate to say this but you're going to have to take off your pants."
Tony snorts as does Camille before she sighs and agrees. "S'kay, Doc. Just lucky I decided to wear boyshort underwear today," she mutters as she gestures for Bruce to help her off the table. "Just like itty bitty shorts."
Tony's chuckles echo around the room as Bruce tries to busy himself while Camille struggles with kicking off her boots and getting off her pants. Once her pants are off, though, she shrugs out of her jacket as well which then only leaves her in a tank top and panties.
Tony surprisingly has water and peroxide ready for cleaning the wound by the time Camille shimmies back atop the table- she grimacing and hissing all the while, and avoiding looking at the wound itself.
The three are startled out of Bruce's cleaning when the elevator opens and Coulson, Barton, and Romanoff are running towards the lab- eyes narrowing as they take in Camille's appearance.
She had a lot of explaining to do.
Fear not, there will be a Christmas party chapter so you will get to see Camille's perfect dress and shoes :) But in the mean time, still head over to Polyvore for this chapter's set!
Next chapter.. we're gonna have some fun. And I'm bringing in a surprise guest ;)
Penny for your thoughts?