Tony rushed inside the helicarrier, hurrying to where his suit was stored. Coulson followed behind him, trying to calm him down since he seemed overly worked up.
''Mr. Stark!'' Coulson shouted, but Tony didn't stop running.
Down the corridor, Bruce walked out of the lab to see Tony running at him, and he moved to the side, wondering what was going on. Coulson was chasing after him desperately, trying to stop him from wherever he was heading. Tony looked so worked up, and for a moment Bruce thought something happened between Fury and Tony that he had missed.
''Did I miss something?'' Bruce asked Coulson.
''Rebecca's taken off in the suit.'' Coulson told him hurriedly. ''Mr. Stark, you need to calm down!''
''How the hell do you expect me to calm down right now?''
With all the yelling, Natasha appeared in the hall as well, walking out of one of the rooms. Thor was also there, watching on. Tony continued down the hall, and Coulson was at loss for what to do. Bruce saw the worry in his eyes and knew it was serious, and he chased behind Tony, hoping he would listen to his friend.
''Tony,'' Bruce called out. ''What are you doing?''
Tony hurried into the lab, heading to the back to find the section his suit was hidden in. ''I gotta go find her.''
''You think that's the best idea?''
''Do you expect me to just let her go?''
Bruce sighed. ''I don't know what happened-''
''Her mother happened.'' Tony told him. ''You heard Fury earlier, her mother was here. Loki's brainwashed henchmen got in contact with her and she had to be brought in for questioning. Rebecca spoke with her, and things got a little too honest.'' he explained. ''She's hurt, and she's angry, and I know that flying off in the suit while being that emotional is not a good mix.''
Bruce understood his worry, but he knew why Rebecca had to get away. ''Sounds like she needs some time.''
Tony looked at him, shocked. ''I can't just sit here while she's out there.''
''I get it, Tony-''
''No, you don't, because you're not a father. No one here is, no one here knows what it's like, no one here gets it!'' he shouted. ''She is all I have in this world, okay? Her and Pepper are all I've got, and I can't lose her.''
Bruce nodded his head. ''I don't know what it's like, you're right. But I know when someone needs space, and she does. She's been here for days, surrounded by problems and people trying to fix them and failing, making it worse. She needs to be alone, and I might not know her as well as you do, but I know she won't do anything stupid.''
Tony took a deep breath. He knew everything Bruce was saying was true, she wouldn't do anything stupid and he knew he could trust her, but she was too important for him to not go after. He couldn't stand it if anything happened to her, but he knew she needed space. Bruce was right, she had been here too long with no break from everything, and now she had the fallout of meeting her mother to deal with. It was too much, she needed to get away.
''What am I supposed to do?'' he asked Bruce.
Bruce didn't know what to say, like Tony had pointed out, he wasn't a father. None of them were, no one knew what it would feel like to watch your child leave like that, so angry and so emotional, in something that could potentially end their life. But Rebecca wasn't like that, she was smart, she knew what she was doing.
''Wait.'' Bruce shrugged. ''It's call you can do. She'll come back, she will.''
Tony sat down on the stool in the lab, running his hand over his face. ''She's been through so much.'' he shook his head. ''I'm her dad, I'm supposed to her protect her from all this, she's not supposed to be the one who has to deal with all of this, I am, not her.''
Bruce sat down on the stool next to his friend, just offering his company. There was nothing he could do to help, the only thing any of them could do was wait, and trust that Rebecca would come back. In a matter of seconds, Coulson was at the door, and Bruce simply nodded his head as if to say everything was fine, and then Coulson walked away.
Rebecca soared through the sky, trying desperately to get away from everything that was happening. She didn't even notice how violently she was crying until she slowed down, simply floating through the clouds now. Too much had happened, she needed some space to process it all. Being told by her mother that she was never wanted was not something she ever wanted to hear, but the timing was horrible, and she didn't need it right now. She hated her mother, that much was clear, but she never had the chance to say that before, and now she knew, and it gave her enough to move on and forget her mother once and for all.
A few moments later, she tried to call Ben. She needed to hear his voice, she needed to hear him tell her it was all going to be okay, but that never happened. His phone rang out, and he didn't answer. Rebecca cried more, knowing that the comfort she needed was so far away, and then she thought about calling Pepper. It seemed like a good idea, but the more she thought about it, the more she talked herself out of it. Pepper was working, and hearing Rebecca cry and being so upset, she wouldn't be able to handle it and then she'd call Tony, and a big mess would ensue. Rebecca settled on flying around the sky by herself, enjoying the pure silence and relaxation it gave her, and she knew it was exactly what she needed.
All those years that she spent as a little girl wishing her mother was there, and now to find out the woman was so cruel and heartless, it crushed her childhood. But she knew it wasn't all bad, she knew her mother didn't ruin everything for her. She still had her dad, and he was the greatest dad in the world, the best you could ask for. He would do anything for her, and Rebecca knew she didn't need Katherine in her life at all. Tony made up for growing up without her, because he was there for her all the time. He helped her through everything, they were the world's greatest team when they were together, and Rebecca didn't regret a thing about growing up the way she did.
Tony was working in the lab, taking his mind off Rebecca not being there, and Bruce worked alongside him as they analyzed the scepter and the Tesseract's connection. Thor was in the lab as well, looking on and learning along with them. Natasha was walking down the corridor, en route to the lab, and Steve was also making his way there after hearing about Rebecca leaving. That's when it all happened.
Glass shattered in the control room, and an arrow flew through the window and attached to the computer system. Agent Maria Hill looked out, and saw an aircraft flying around them. Fury walked into the room seriously, looking around, and then there was an explosion.
''What was that?'' Bruce looked up.
Tony shrugged, walking to the door. ''I don't know.''
Natasha and Steve entered the room, looking just as confused as Tony and Bruce. ''What's going on?''
''You tell us.'' Tony told her. ''It came from out there, and we're in here.'' he pointed out.
''Sounded like an explosion.''
Before any of them had time to leave the room and rush to the explosion, they all turned to the window, seeing a large aircraft facing toward them. The next minute, they were all being blown backwards by the blast that he erupted near them. Explosives were everywhere, and there were hidden so well that none of them were expecting it. Whoever was on the aircraft was not a friend, they were an enemy.
''Stark?'' Steve coughed, looking up and only seeing Tony in the room now.
''Who the hell is that?'' Tony coughed as well, pulling himself up.
Steve helped him, pulling him to his feet. ''Whoever it is they're not friendly.'' Another explosion was heard down the corridor. ''Put the suit on!'' Steve yelled.
Tony nodded, and they both ran out of the room. Thor was gone from the room, but so were Natasha and Bruce who had fallen through the floor of the lab and into the level below. Natasha groaned as she looked up, gasping and pulling at her leg which was now stuck under a metal pipe. She kicked and grunted, trying to free herself, but then she looked over to Bruce and realized that her leg was the least of her worries.
''Romanoff?'' Fury contacted her through her communicator. He was in the control room, but he could see the footage of the lab's explosion.
''We're fine!'' she shouted back. ''We're okay, aren't we?'' she looked over. ''Dr. Banner?''
Bruce breathed deeply, trying to contain himself. Falling to the floor after an explosion, in shock. his other senses had rose, and now he wasn't handling it at all. His arms were flexed, and he was grunting, struggling to fight against 'the other guy's power over him. Natasha saw the struggle he was having and did her best to try and calm him down, assuring him it was going to be okay.
''We're going to get out of this,'' she told him calmly. ''You're gonna be okay, we're gonna be fine. I swear on my life that I will get you out of this.''
''Your life!" he shouted.
He struggled more, falling down and hitting the concrete ground. His shirt ripped under him as his skin expanded, his muscles making their way out and his skin turning green. Natasha had never seen anything like it before, and it terrified her.
''Bruce?''
Rebecca flew through the air, making her way back to the helicarrier. She felt better now, having some time to herself, but she knew she needed to get back and fix what was going on. Finding the Tesseract, that was her goal now, and nothing was going to get in the way. However, as she neared the helicarrier, she noticed that things were not as she left it.
There was a jet flying around it, and she could see a man on the back, aiming arrows at the helicarrier, and she knew it was Clint. He looked so different. His skin pale and his eyes an extreme blue hue, it wasn't the Clint she remembered. She strategically flew behind it, hiding herself enough to get back to the helicarrier before she noticed something seriously wrong.
''Bec, you there?'' Tony's voice came over her HUD.
''Yeah, I'm here. What's going on?''
''We're being attacked. Please tell me you're far away.'' he pleaded.
Rebecca was silent. ''I'm behind that jet.''
Tony cursed. ''You need to get away from here!''
''Wait, one of the engines aren't working.'' she told him. ''Something...an explosive, it's blown up in shreds.''
''I'll take care of it. Just get out of here!'' Tony told her.
''No, I'm helping.'' she told him. ''Where is everyone?''
Tony sighed. ''I don't know, we lost them.''
''What do you mean lost them?''
''There was an explosion.'' he told her. ''I don't know what happened.''
Rebecca immediately regretted leaving. Now, this had all happened and some of them were hurt and she wasn't there to help. She flew over to the engine, looking over it. Her HUD ran tests, and she had the information she needed. This piece there, that piece there, it was simple.
''I can get this thing going again.'' she told Tony.
''What? No, don't touch it!'' Tony yelled.
''Dad, I can fix it.'' she told him.
Just as she neared it, she saw Steve standing on the edge, looking out at the engine.
''What are you doing?'' she asked him. ''You're gonna kill yourself!''
''Gotta get these engines going!'' Steve yelled back. ''Or we're going down!''
Rebecca instantly hurried over to the engine. ''Stay there! I can get in and fix the debris that lodged in the rotors-''
Tony rounded the corner. ''Don't!''
''This isn't the time to get all protective dad, I know I can fix this!'' she shouted.
''Not alone.'' he told her. ''We'll fix it together, it'll be quicker and easier.''
''Fine!'' she shouted. ''Just hurry!''
Rebecca set to work then, flying inside the engine, hoping she could fix this mess. This wasn't what she needed right now. She left to clear her head, only to come back to everything literally falling apart. Inside her head, she devised a list of things she needed to do, and right after this, she was making sure every last person on the helicarrier was okay, especially those she was close to now. She couldn't bare anyone else getting hurt over this, she needed to fix it. She put her mind to the task at hand and prayed for the best. This wasn't something that was going to be easily fixed, and she braced herself for the worst.
Eeeek, I hope you guys liked this chapter. I'm so sorry it took so long for this one, I've been terribly busy. Anyway, it's getting into all the action now so I hope all goes well with my writing. It will get emotional, so I'm warning you now! Thanks for reading, and please review!
On another note, I've been approached by another writer on here to give some ideas and advice on a story they're writing. It's an Ironman OC fic that I think has a lot of potential, and I feel like I should promote it to you guys since the writer has come to me for advice and has expressed their interest in my own stories and hopefully, with the limited spare time I have, I can offer whatever help I have to give. Anyway, the story is called 'Work With Me' by the author RachWarMachine and you guys might like to check it out.