CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE KISS

The following morning was an emotional one for me. I woke up to see my mom sitting by my bedside waiting for me to wake up. A soft smile appeared when my eyes opened and laid eyes on her angelic face. Without a word, I sat up and wrapped my arms around her. We held each other for at least 5 minutes just enjoying our reunion.

"Are you ok Allie? " she asked.

I nodded with a grin as I pulled away from her. "How about you? "

She sighed, "Well aside from being angry with your father, I'm over joyed that you are safe."

"Where is he? " I asked as my blood began to boil again.

She looked at me in shock as my hair turned a deep shade of red. "Allie…. What did they do to you? "

I glanced at her and immediately felt bad for scaring her. I closed my eyes and relaxed, turning my hair back to normal. "I'm sorry mom…it looks like dad wanted them to turn me into the next Avenger however they weren't planning on returning me like he thought…"

She shook her head and sighed heavily, "What the hell was he thinking? You're just a young girl… "

"I don't know… but that doesn't matter now. What matters is that I have to learn to control these powers. So far I'm doing pretty well,"

She sighed, "Actually Tony is down in the lab right now working on a way to get those powers out of you. "

I raised my eyebrow, "Why? "

"Well first of all you're 16 years old Allie, you shouldn't have to live your life the way your father lives his. You were supposed to be a normal teenager… with a normal life. "

I frowned at her, "I understand that mom, but I think I can do some good with these powers."

She shook her head, "But Allie don't you realize what these powers are? They could be a curse-"

"-or a blessing…"

The two of us l looked at the door and saw my father leaning in the doorframe. I got a little tense at first but then I remembered how much I truly missed him.

"Allie needs those powers Sharon." He said.

"Are you insane? She's a 16 year old girl Steve! "

He nodded, "Yeah and she's my daughter….I don't want anyone thinking they can just mess with her and easily get away with it. She needs to be able to protect herself!"

I threw my covers off of my legs in anger, "Don't sit here and talk about me like I'm not here! "

"Don't take that tone with me young lady!" he snapped "You think I would of let those bastards take you away if I didn't know what I was talking about? "

My mom gasped as I gritted my teeth together, "So you admit it…"

He looked away for a moment, "Allie… I did what I had –"

"I hate you… " I said before running out of the room with eyes full of tears. I never thought my father would drop his ego for one moment to admit to something like this but he did…. I went all the way downstairs to the lab where Tony was. He was behind his desk typing something on his laptop when I walked in.

"Hey kiddo, how are you…are you crying?" he asked as he got up from his desk.

I wiped my eyes, "No… there's something in them. "

He shook his head and put his pen on the desk, "Let's go for a walk, "

I smiled and followed him out of the lab. We always took walks like this when I was upset or he needed an opinion about something and he wanted me to hear it out. We headed towards his elevator and I began to sob yet again. As soon as we were inside he pressed a button to make the elevator stop and he pulled me into his embrace.

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." He said.

I sniffled, "My dad admitted to letting me be kidnapped. How could he do this to me? "

I felt Tony's muscles tense around me. "Don't worry about him OK? Besides I'm making you something that'll keep those powers at bay for a bit."

I looked up at his concerned face, "I'll still have them right?"

He nodded, "Yeah of course, it only rids you of them for a few hours,"

I smiled and took a step back from him, leaning against the wall. "I'm glad… I want to be an Avenger. "

"You do? "

"Yeah, fighting to protect people is in my blood." I told him.

He smiled at me for a moment and then took a step towards me. "Beauty is in your blood too."

I smiled, "Thank you… but should you really say things like that when father is nearby."

He gently rubbed my cheek as he gazed into my eyes. "I don't care about him… all I care about is you."

I bit my bottom lip as he slowly leaned in and brushed his lips against mine. I knew this was wrong but, what's a girl to do when she's trapped in an elevator with a man who can't control his feelings? My breathing trembled before his lips pressed against mine. As he pulled away he whispered "Yeah your mom is going to kill me,"

I dropped my gaze from him as my hair turned pink and my cheeks burned. Before I could respond a wave of pain filled my head as a vision of James running down the streets of New York city filled my mind. I dropped to my knees and screamed in agony as the pain grew. I saw Tony's guard's chasing him into and alley with a dead end. He fought violently against them but there were too many for him to take out. They shocked him until he was laying flat on the ground unconscious.

"Allison are you alright? " Tony asked as he held me in his arms.

I looked up at him as the pain subsided, "where is he? "

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb with me… " I snapped. "where is he? "

He sighed and helped me to my feet, "He's downstairs in containment."

"How long had he been here?" I asked.

"Since last night… In pretty sure he was coming to kill you."

I dropped my gaze to the floor, "No he wouldn't kill me… I saved him."

Tony looked at me with a puzzled expression. "You saved him? Why? "

"Because… .he's just like me, he's lost and confused in this world and I think I can help him."

He nodded, "You sound like a hero already."

I shrugged with a grin, "I learn from the best,"

With a nod of approval, he kissed my forehead and then pressed the button to take me down to the containment level. I was a bit nervous to see James...but inwardly I knew he wouldn't hurt me.