A/N: Part two...sign...sealed...delivered and yours.

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That night Tony stared at himself in the full body mirror, his tailored black tuxedo fitting him in all the right places. Now Tony wasn't a vain man, but...wait, yes he is.

"It should literally be a crime to look this good" he said with a sly smile while straightening his tie. He froze the moment he caught sight of Pepper in the mirror as well, and he forgot to breathe. Tony whipped around to see his fiance wearing a long, red silk gown that had a slit that ran just below her thigh. "Whoa." was the only word he could verbalize at the moment.

"So what do you think?" Pepper asked spinning around to give him a good look at the dress.

"I think we should skip the party and stay in" Tony said walking over to her admiring how good the dress looked on her and imagining that she would look even better with it on the floor.

"Well if it wasn't a party in our honor I would consider it" Pepper replied before reaching up and straightening his tie a bit. "So did you ask Katie, yet?"

"No. I haven't seen her today" Tony says turning away slightly. Pepper noticed the slight worry in his eyes and didn't understand it. It had slightly worried her the moment Tony told her that Katie and the others were coming to the tower. She felt silly at the twinge of jealously that erupted inside of her. It was their relationship that she thought she understood. That she thought she was alright with, but every time he said her name, it seemed different and Pepper just didn't understand. She simply shook her head before placing her hands on either side of his face and bringing his eyes to hers.

"I'm sure she's fine. This is our engagement party. A party celebrating the fact that very soon I'm going to be Mrs. Tony Stark." Tony smiled bringing his hands to her hips and pulling her into a kiss. "We should go before we miss our own party." Tony grumbled under his breath, but nodded and went anyway.

They saw Bruce waiting at the entrance looking very dashing in his tailored suit as well. Though it was obvious how uncomfortable the man was, simply by the way he was standing.

"Brucey, you handsome devil you" Tony jokes as they walk over to him. "If you're not careful you might just get laid tonight." Bruce chose to ignore Tony and turn to Pepper instead.

"Pepper, you look beautiful" Bruce said and Pepper smiled widely.

"Thank you Bruce. Tony's right, you do look handsome" Pepper replied.

"Where are the others?" Tony asked letting his eyes scan around the lobby for any more familiar faces.

"Well I stopped by Katie's place to let them know that the car was here and Barton opened the door and he didn't look dressed for a party." Bruce said with a shake of his head.

"Where's my kitten?" Tony asked missing Pepper roll her eyes. She still didn't like the nickname, but decided to keep it to herself.

"She wasn't there and I was going to ask him, but he didn't look too talkative."

"I'm sure everything's fine" Pepper says placing a hand on Tony's arm. "We're going to be late if we don't leave now" Tony looked over to her before looking to Bruce who simply shrugged. Tony suddenly thought back to the cryptic voice mail and the fact that he hadn't seen Katie all day. "Tony-"

"She has her phone, let me just call her" Tony said reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out his cell phone. Bruce looked over to Pepper whose expression show everything she was feeling in that moment and none of it was good.

"Pepper-"

"Don't" Pepper says holding up a hand to stop whatever excuse Bruce was about to say. They both just turned to Tony who stood with his phone to his ear. He was silent for a moment, but then started talking. After only a moment he turned back to them. "So?"

"She's-"

"Here I am!" Katie said running inside completely drenching wet with bags in her hand. "Sorry I'm late, but I got caught in the rain and I forgot how hard it is to catch a taxi in this city." she looked around to see everyone looking very snazzy. "You guys look handsome." she looked over to Pepper. "And you look hot" Pepper laughed with a shake of her head.

"Why thank you Katie" Pepper replied before looking over to Tony. "Tony we have to leave now."

"Right" Tony says before turning to Katie. "Let me just meet you at the car" Pepper's eyes widened, a flash of anger crossing her face. "I promise one minute, I just need to talk to Katie here." Pepper simply shook her head before turning and storming out of the building.

"You're starting this off real smooth" Bruce said before leaving as well.

"Tony whatever it is, it can wait. Go before your future wife kills you and then me" Katie says before walking over to the elevator.

"I will but I have something for you" Tony says reaching into his pocket. Katie looked over to see him pull out a charm bracelet.

"Tony, what-" she looked up to his eyes to see if he was seriously giving her this. "What is this, I can't accept this."

"Yes you can and you promised" Tony replied and Katie didn't quite sure know what he was talking about. Tony simply held up a piece of the bracelet pressing a small button and that's when Katie saw a blinking red light. "It's your tracking device." he clasp the trinket around her wrist. "Now I will know where you are at all times."

"That's very disturbing to know" Katie said but looked back up to him and smiled. "But it's pretty, so thank you. Now go before Pepper comes in here and pulls you out of here by your neck." Tony just nodded before turning and running out the door. Katie looked back down to the bracelet and shook her head before turning and stepping onto the elevator.

She walked quickly down the hall until she reached her door. With her free hand, she typed in the unlock code before running inside.

"Bart, I'm sorry I'm late, just let me change and we can-" she stopped when she laid eyes on Clint who was wearing the same thing he was wearing earlier. "I don't think this party is a t-shirt and jeans kind of thing" she looked around the apartment to see a couple of empty bottle of beer littered around. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not going to the party" Clint said and Katie turned to him, dropping her bags to the floor.

"Ok, that's fine. We'll stay in" Katie said not missing the look in his eyes. "You want to watch a movie, grab some dinner."

"Kat-"

"We could skip it all and head straight to the bedroom"

"Kat, will you just listen!" Clint snapped and it caused Katie to jump slightly. The room fell silent and they both stood there looking at one another. Katie took a step toward him, but was confused when he took a step back. And that when she saw it. The look on his face, she'd seen it before. It was guilt. "I've been thinking."

"That's always a bad thing" she murmured expecting at least a crack of a smile as she tried to break the tension in the room at the moment, but Clint's serious expression seemed to be permanently etched into his features. "You're freaking me out right now, so how about you just say it."

"I made a call today." Clint said and Katie inhaled deeply, wishing for nothing more than for him to just let it out. "I called Nat and told her to set me up with a post. I think it would be best for everyone if -"

"What the hell happened since I've been gone" Katie interrupted. "The last time I saw you, we were good, the last time I saw you, you were smiling. What the hell-" And that's when she thought about the truly last time she saw him and the person he was with. "Matthew"

"Kat-"

"What did he say?"

"It doesn't matter, because it made me think. About me and about you and about why we've never been able to hold onto this long" Clint said dropping his head. For some reason he was unable to keep looking her in the eyes.

"Clint, what are you talking about. You said it yourself, this time it will be better because the obstacles are gone. SHIELD is gone. It's just you and me."

"Yeah, but for how long?" Clint asked and Katie quirked an eye brow in confusion. "You know as well as I do that Fury was dedicated to that agency and now that he has the chance he is going to rebuild and make it better."

"What does that have to do with us? If Fury wants to go build SHIELD 2.0 then that's his business, but it doesn't have to change anything with us." Katie said with a shake of her head. "Especially now, when nothing has happened. You're making decisions based on things that might possibly happen." he still kept his eyes turned away from her and it was angering her. "Look at me damnit!" she stormed over to him and placed her hands on either side of his face and brought his eyes to hers. "Do not throw this away because of fear" only more silent stares ensued and for a moment Katie thought that it didn't register. She was about to pull away when Clint's arms wrapped around her and pulled her into a kiss. so searing...so passionate, that neither wanted to part. And they wouldn't have, if the need for air wasn't so great. They pulled apart, their breaths mingling together and ragged.

"I'm sorry, I'm-"

"Don't" Katie said bringing her lips to Clint's once again. "I'm going to do both of us a favor and we are going to pretend this conversation never happened. Call Natasha, tell her that you went temporarily insane when you called her."

"I can't" Clint said and Katie frowned taking a step back. "She's coming here to New York and I think this is something I should do in person." Katie didn't quite understood, but simply nodded.

"You're coming back" it was a declaration, not a question.

"I'm coming back" he assured before pressing a kiss to her forehead before moving around her to grab his jacket. He gave her one last glance before flashing a smile and turning to leave. Katie stood there, releasing a deep breath she wasn't even aware she was holding. Her eyes fell to her bags on the floor and she remembered that there was still a party she had to make an appearance.

Tony stood in the middle of the grand hall staring out to a bunch people he barely knew, who were eating and drinking at his expense. He looked over to Pepper who was laughing at something someone had said, a crowd of people around her and Tony just knew that all of this was worth it. He glanced over to the door like he had been doing routinely throughout the night.

"You should stop doing that" Bruce muttered coming up beside him. "You're not being as covert as you think."

"She should've been here by now" Tony said grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. "Something's wrong"

"You don't know that" Bruce said looking around the crowd of people. "You know for a Stark party, this is actually tamer than I assumed it would be."

"Pepper made me promise no craziness and since I don't want to die, I complied" Tony replied before taking a brief sip from his glass before glancing over to the door as well.

"So what are we looking at?" a new voice spoke and both men turned to see Matthew, all dressed up in his suit, in his wheelchair.

"You mean Blair actually let you go?" Bruce asked with a shake of his head. "She's usually a little more strict with patients."

"Well you know I'm the master at getting what I want" Matthew replied cocky.

"Wait, is that Nurse Blair?" Tony asked looking across the room to see the woman. Bruce and Matthew turned their head to see the woman as well her eyes directly on Matthew.

"I don't see anyone" Matthew lied before looking back up to them. "So where's my sister and agent ass hole?" Both men look down to the young man. "Am I the only one calling him that?"

"I think so" Bruce replied with a shake of his head. "And they're not here yet"

"Didn't you say you saw Clint earlier and that he didn't seem talkative?" Tony asked and Bruce nodded. "Well what was wrong with him?"

"I don't know, he looked like someone kicked his dog." Bruce replied. "He kept his answers short and looked like he was moments away from slamming the door in my face."Matthew muttered something and they looked over to him. "What did you say?"

"Nothing, just that hopefully super agent dick knows when to take a hint" Matthew replied and this caught their attention.

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked when suddenly the music stopped and he heard a couple of gasps. He followed everyone's eyes to the top of the stairs the overlook the hall. There stood Katie in a simply powder blue dress that stopped just below her knees. It was simple, yet elegant. She scanned the crowd before quickly walking down the stairs over to where Tony, Bruce and Matthew were. Soon the music began again, but she could feel the eyes on her and hear the silent murmurs as she passed.

"I guess people still remember that I died" Katie said walking over to them. "Sorry I'm late, but mayhem ensued. Which reminds me." She walked over to Matthew and punched him hard in the shoulder.

"Ow!" he yelped, eyes going to him. "What the hell you do that for?"

"You know what that was for, and we will definitely be talking about it later" Katie said before turning to Tony and Bruce who were looking between the two trying to figure out what was happening. "Sorry, that just couldn't wait." she glanced around the crowd to still see a few eyes on her until she spotted Pepper who didn't look all to happy either. "Look, I know I just got here, but I think I should go."

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked grabbing another glass of champagne from a passing waiter and shoved it into her hand. "Stop talking crazy. Now that you're here maybe the fun can start. These two are too lame to party with."

"Hey, I'm handicapped" Matthew said slapping the wheels of his chair, defending himself. "Couple of more weeks, and I'll show you how to party Stark. Trust you me."

"You're a dill hole" Katie said with a shake of her head before looking to Tony. "Tony, I'm getting way too much attention which is not something I should be doing at someone else's engagement party" she looked over to Pepper who seemed to be glancing her way ever so often. "This was definitely not a good idea" she looked back to Tony and quickly pulled him into a hug. "Congratulations Iron ass, and I wish you guys the best." she placed a kiss on his cheek before pulling away, but not getting far. She looked down to see his hands on her arms. "Tony, what are you doing. I should go."

"We need to talk first" Tony said before grabbing her hand and pulling her with him. Katie looked around to see the eyes on them as they sped through the crowd. They ended up outside on a terrace where Tony closed the doors before turning to him.

"What hell are you doing?"

"Ok, so we're friends right?" Tony asked and Katie tilted her head in confusion. "That's a dumb question, of course we're friends. Like best friends. We get each other in ways no one else does."

"Are you drunk?"

"No, not yet, but I wish I was" he said before letting out a long sigh."This would be easier."

"What would be easier?"

"Well I wanted to ask you something. Something that you don't have to say yes to, but it would mean a lot if you did" Tony said and Katie waited for him to continue. Suddenly Tony remembered that moment they were in the lab and he told her about the wedding and how something changed. And so he found that he would ask a different question. "What do you think about this whole wedding business?" she looked confused and simply shrugged.

"I think it's great. You guys love each other and it makes sense." she said and he looked at her knowing that there was something else. "What, that's the truth?" he continued staring and she knew that the man in front of her was one of the few who saw past the facade she put up. Katie let out a sigh before turning away. "Fine, it scares me."

"What?"

"You're getting married to a woman who isn't very fond of me" Katie said turning back to her friend "I know how selfish this sounds, and I know given everything that's happened I'm not one to talk, but trust me, you're about to embark on this whole new life and I just don't see how I'm going to fit into it." she shook her head. "You may be an ass but I've come quite accustomed to our friendship and I guess I don't want to lose it."

"Have you been drinking?" Tony asked and Katie smiled. "You're my kitten for as long as we're alive and nothing will change that." he shook his head and Katie noticed what looked like relief wash over his face. It would seem that was an answer he didn't expect.

"Wait, what did you think I was going to say?" Tony looked over to her and simply shook his head. "What?"

"Nothing, I-" Tony stammered before a buzzing sound saved him from having to lie. Katie reached into her bag and pulled out her phone to see she had a text. It was the same message that she'd received from the kid earlier with the time and address. She wanted to ignore it, but it would seem that they didn't plan on letting her do that. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing" Katie replied tossing her phone back into her bag and looking back up to him with a smile. "It's-It's Bart, he was just wondering where I was, so I should get going." she looked into the hall at the large clock on the wall that showed that the meeting time was soon approaching. "I really have to go"

"Well there's something else I wanted to ask you" Tony said and Katie turned back to him.

"Can it wait?" she asked and he actually looked offended. She figured Tony was a person who was used to getting the attention he wanted. "I'm sorry, but I promised Clint I would come straight back. We can talk tomorrow." she quickly pecked a kiss on his cheek before rushing out without giving him a chance to protest. Tony looked both confuse and slightly suspicious as he walked back out to the party.

"Where's she off to in such a hurry?" Matthew asked rolling over to him.

"Back to the tower" Tony replied with a slight shake of his head. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

"Tony, there you are" Pepper said coming over and grabbing his arm. "My cousins just got here and I want you to meet them."

"Lead the way mistress" Tony said letting pull him. He was probably being paranoid and so he decided to just let his suspicions go.

Katie sat in the back of a taxi, her fingers twitching nervously in her lap. Her head was screaming that this was stupid, that going off to meet people could potentially try to hurt her could end badly. But she couldn't stop hearing her father's voice in the back of her head telling her that running from the truth doesn't make it go away. Whoever these people were, they were persistent and hopefully she could nip this in the bud before the people she cared about got involved. The taxi stopped out side of a very shady looking laundromat, a blinking open sign in the window. She dug in her purse and handed the driver a couple of bills before stepping out. She stood across the street and stared at the building before taking out her cell phone and pressing a familiar number.

"JARVIS, I need you to do something for me."

"Yes"

"If I don't call you in the next hour, I want you to contact Tony and tell him that I am in danger."

"As you wish. Would it be more beneficial for me to contact Mr. Stark now?"

"No, right now I want to at least try to end this on my own. If I don't call, call him right away."

"Yes Katie"

Katie hung up the phone and dropped into her purse before stepping onto the sidewalk, and as if to mirror her anxiety, suddenly lightening flashed above her. She looked up to the sky.

"Well if you know something I don't, now would be the time to say it buddy" Katie said standing there for a moment before continuing. She stepped inside to find the place practically empty. A pungent smell passed her nostrils, causing her to pinch her nose for relief. There was a woman sitting in the corner reading a magazine, while another older man sat asleep. At this point Katie didn't know what to do, and so she waited. After only a few moments, a door opened and out walked a tall man dressing in a gray suit who didn't look like someone who would hang around some hole in the wall laundromat. He moved aside and Katie took that as her hint to go through the door. This was definitely stupid and so Katie did what she didn't think she would. She turned about to run. The moment she turned to the door she came face to face with another large man who was also wearing a suit. "This place must get out really tough stains" she looked between both men as they seemed to move in closer. She dropped her purse to the floor and clenched her fists, ready for whatever fight was about to take place.

"Stop!" a heavily German accented voice yelled and everything stopped. Katie looked around the large man to see a shorter man, this one younger with blonde hair that seemed to be combed back without a strand out of place. "There is no need for violence" the larger men seemed to back away as the younger man walked toward Katie. He bent down and picked up her purse and handed it to her. "May I say you look very beautiful this evening, Ms. Chambers" that was the first thing that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand. Not a lot of people knew her real name and the fact that here was a stranger saying it as if they were friends. "There's nothing to fear here"

"I'm not scared" Katie said making sure to stand straight and look the man in the eyes. It was another one of her father's lessons. Never let intimidation get the best of her. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Straight to the point, just like your father" the man said lightly chuckling. Katie felt her insides tighten at the mention of her father, letting her know that this meeting had even more implications. "I didn't know him well, but the times I did see him I always thought he was a strong man. Someone who knew how to put fear in people." this wasn't something Katie wanted to hear.

"Again I ask you, who are you and what the hell do you want from me?"

"Your father took something that didn't belong to him and I want to know where it is" the man said and Katie looked at him ask if waiting for him to explain further. "And I think you know where it is."

"You do, do you? Well I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but my father rarely shared secrets." Katie replied. "I mean I lived with the guy for the first half of my life and I barely knew who he was."

"I think you're lying and I do not like liars" The man said with a shake of his head. The sadistic smile fell from his lips and replaced with a glare Katie was sure would've made a weaker man cave. "Please don't lie to me."

"What is it that you're looking for?"

"Well it's actually not a what, but a who?" the young man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a wrinkled old picture. He held it up to Katie. The woman was very young with dark curly hair that she had pinned up on top of her head. Katie leaned in a bit closer to the picture to notice how eerily familiar the woman looked. "You have her eyes, you know?" she lifted her head to the man, the confusion probably written all over her face at this point.

"Who is she?"

"You don't recognize your own mother?" he asked and Katie's eyes widened. "What, you're going to tell me some lie about your mother being dead, about her dying during child birth" he took a step toward her. "I know your mother is alive, and I know your father knew and I don't think he would've died without telling you." he grabbed her face in his hand before reaching into his holster and pulling out a nine millimeter and pressing it to Katie's temple. "You talk or you die. Your choice."

There was a roar of thunder from outside that seemed to shake the entire building and the lights about flickered.

"I think there's a third option you didn't plan for" Katie ground out through clenched teeth.

A/N: I know a terrible place to end, but next chapter will be sure to please. Katie's mother may be a live and that will open up a whole heep of questions that Katie will want answered. Guess we'll see how she gets them.

Oh, and um...thunder that shook the entire building. We're going to see a familiar face and you won't even guess what he brings to the table.

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