Hi all! So this chapter was much longer than I had intended it to be. I got really caught up in writing fluff in the beginning, believe it or not it was longer initially. I really love the Devil Wears Prada and thats where the term Clackers comes from. Hope you guys enjoy this! If you watch the Fantastic Four (spoiler alert) they end up continuing to work with the government in the end and that is going to play in later in the story so I promise there is a point. Next chapter is a brief mention of Ant-Man and then we are on to Civil War!
As always, please review :)
Izzy was driving probably a lot faster than she should down the freeway heading from the compound to the city. She had errands to run for a benefit that Stark Industries was throwing for the NYC firefighter and police departments tomorrow. They had to be done today, well actually Pepper said she wanted them done a week ago, but Izzy had been in South America with Natasha on an Avengers mission. So now she was late, and Pepper was upset.
Glancing to the right, she spied her companion for the trip. What madness overcame her to bring Pietro along on an errand run she had no idea, but he had been cooped up at the compound since they were the only ones not on missions right now. Well, Natasha wasn't but she didn't want to deal with his hyperactive snarkiness at the moment. Also, he had given her such a pitiful look when he asked to come with her to the city that she couldn't refuse.
It wasn't all bad, they turned the radio up loud and Pietro didn't freak out with her driving at high speeds and they typically had fun together.
"So what things do you have to get?" Pietro asked as she slowed down approaching the bridge.
"I have to finalize a couple lists, we can just go to the SI office for that." She said. "And I need to go pick up my dress and shoes for the event."
"If it's for charity, why spend so much money for clothes that you wear once?" Pietro asked.
That's fair. She thought. "It is really counterproductive but the rich people that we invite to these things tend to give more if we throw a lavish party. I auction my dress off afterwards for the charity too." She said. "If it we're up to me we'd have no party, and everyone would just give money to a good cause without being plied with wine and fancy snacks."
They went to get her dress first because that was the thing needing her attention first. The event planners weren't in the city yet.
Izzy parked the Lamborghini in front of the Dior NYC office and gave the keys to the valet. They walked inside together, Pietro looking around in interest at the large building. Their sneakers squeaked softly on the marble floors and she noticed some of the high fashion people, particularly the clackers turning their noses up at the two.
They weren't dressed terribly, just comfortably. However, she knew how these people thought so wasn't surprised at their snooty attitudes.
"Couriers around back." The girl at the front desk said without looking up as they headed for the elevators.
Pietro frowned and looked at Izzy, but she just grinned and diverted to walk over to the desk. She casually leaned her elbows on the desk and waited for the woman to look up. When she finally did, they watched the color drain from her face.
"I'm here to pick up a gown for Isabel Stark." Izzy said innocently and Pietro chuckled quietly.
"Yes, Miss. Stark." The woman said quickly standing. "Right this way."
"I know my way thanks." Izzy said holding up her hand, glancing at her name tag. "Jennifer."
They went to the elevators and Izzy pressed the correct floor button.
"I thought she was going to pass out." Pietro commented.
"Sometimes they need a little reminder not to be so judgmental." Izzy said with a shrug.
The designer wanted to do a quick fitting to make sure everything was okay before they could take the dress and shoes. After changing, Izzy walked out with the designer. "Amazing as always Alma." She praises the designer.
"Thank you, Miss. Stark, I hope to see you for the next event." Alma said sweetly.
"Of course." Izzy smiled. As she turned, she tried not to laugh as she saw a young assistant shamelessly flirting with Pietro, who seemed amused by the whole thing, if a bit disinterested. As the assistant reached up to touch his hair Izzy walked forward. "Are you ready to go?"
Pietro immediately turned, offering her a smile.
Seeing Izzy, the assistant immediately backed off, scurrying away.
Pietro took the garment bag from her, effortlessly carrying it over one shoulder as they went to leave.
"You're quite popular." She commented as they got in the car.
"What can I say?" He said with a shrug. "I am very handsome."
Izzy laughed. "And oh, so humble." She teased back as she pulled away from the building.
The meetings at SI was quick and painless and they had a lot of daylight left so Izzy looked at Pietro as they waited for valet. "Anywhere you want to go or anything you need?" She asked.
He shrugged with a small shake of his head.
Because everything seemed so slow to him, Pietro was easily impatient, however, he was also easy to please. He was overall pretty happy and didn't need much except things to entertain him.
"Are you hungry?" She asked. "I know this wonderful Thai place close to the Tower that we can go to. I'm dying for drunken noodles."
After dropping her dress and the confirmed event plans off at the tower so Pepper could see them, they decided to just walk to the restaurant.
It was nearing the end of spring, so the days were getting warmer. Izzy was enjoying it immensely, she hated being cold. They got to the restaurant, a little hole in the wall place with amazing spicy aromas floating around at all times. They got a seat near the back while they waited for their order.
"So how are you doing lately?" Izzy asked. It had only been a month since the move to the compound and they had been so busy she hadn't had time to ask how he was adjusting.
"It's been good." Pietro said with a roll of his eyes. "Everyone needs to not worry."
"You're part of a team now dude." She said with a laugh. "All we do is worry."
Pietro was about to reply but someone else spoke nearby.
"Zee, what are you doing in the city?" They turned and Izzy smiled.
"Johnny." She said standing to hug her friend. "Haven't seen you in ages."
"Yeah since just before your last party got a little out of control." Johnny said.
She winced at the memory of Ultron's appearance. "Yeah it was nuts." She said. She turned. "Johnny, this is Pietro a friend, he works with me at the compound." The subtle way of saying he was an Avenger. "Pietro, this is Johnny, he's one of my oldest friends."
The boys shook hands, but it didn't escape her notice them subtly sizing one another up.
"You picking up an order?" Izzy asked to change the subject.
"Yeah, Sue was craving this place." Johnny said.
Izzy looked at Pietro. "His sister." She explained. She looked back at Johnny. "How are things going?"
"We have our first test tonight with a live subject." Johnny said. "Everyone is excited."
"You figured out how to bring something back?" Izzy said frowning slightly.
Johnny shrugged. "They think so." He said. "Some government sponsors are coming to watch."
"Johnny." She said seriously. "You know this project is crazy right? It's dangerous."
"No more dangerous than a murderous robot." Johnny pointed out.
"Way more." Izzy replied. "A robot with weapons we can quantify, not a portal to who knows where that can bring who knows what through. Johnny, you and Sue need to step away from this project."
"If I leave now, I don't get my car back." Johnny said simply. "And this is something Sue and our dad have worked for, for a long time. They aren't going to step away."
Izzy felt the frustration building inside of her. "So, you're going to put yourself and your sister in danger for a car?" She demanded.
Irritation flashed across Johnny's face. "You put everyone in danger when you created Ultron." He replied keeping his voice low to avoid drawing attention. "Not like you cared to think about everyone when that happened."
Izzy was too angry to feel hurt by that comment, but they heard the call that their order was up. "You know what, we aren't perfect, but we have done nothing but try to protect the world. At least we didn't do something risky over a damn car." She replied and went to grab the food, Pietro silently following.
Pietro opened the door for her, and she quickly brushed a hand over her cheeks to clear the tears she felt forming. They went back to the tower in silence. Once they were back, Izzy went to the kitchen to grab plates and forks so they could eat, Pietro still being a silent presence shadowing her.
"Does he make you cry like that a lot?" Pietro finally asked quietly.
Izzy froze as she set the plates on the counter. "No." She said. "I'm sorry you had to meet him like that. Johnny is normally so sweet but this project that he and his sister are working on has been a source of contention between us for a while." She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, which was getting very long. "Normally we can play it off but ever since Ultron…"
"It scares you." Pietro said.
Izzy nodded. "I'm sorry I know this isn't what you signed up for when you asked to come today." She said laughing slightly. "I promise I'm not always this much drama."
Pietro shook his head. "Somehow I think you are always some kind of drama." He teased with a small smirk making her laugh quietly. His expression sobered. "You don't have to apologize for caring about your friends." He said taking her hand in his.
She smiled with a little more joy at him. He smiled back apparently happy that she was cheering up more. She squeezed his hand back.
The moment was broken however as they heard the elevator ding. Pulling her hand back, Izzy went to see who was there. Tony and Pepper were just getting back from London.
"Hey kiddo, I didn't know you were here." Tony said. "What smells good?"
"Thai." She replied. "Pietro is here. We were just gonna dish up, you guys hungry?"
Izzy and Pietro had just ended up staying at the tower for the night since it was getting late. They didn't have anything pressing to do at the compound, so they told Natasha they were staying there and would come back after the benefit.
After Tony and Pepper went to bed, Izzy and Pietro stayed up to watch a show that Izzy had turned him on to at the compound. They were halfway through season two when she drifted off to sleep on the sofa. She woke up a few hours later feeling her chest constricting with panic, her nightmares still clawing at the edge of her consciousness. Sitting up quickly, she took in her surroundings.
Finally getting her bearings, she would have laughed at seeing Pietro with a giant bowl of popcorn, completely focused on the tv, well into the series, but she just felt too sick.
"You okay?" Pietro asked looking up and taking in her expression. He paused the show and zipped over to her quickly, brushing her hair back from her face, kneeling next to the sofa.
"Yeah." She said gasping a little. "I'm okay, I just…"
Pietro noticed her look longingly at the balcony and took her hand, pulling her to her feet, guiding her towards it. They stepped outside together, and Izzy gratefully took in deep breaths of the night air.
"Nightmare." Pietro said. It wasn't a question.
She nodded and pulled her phone from her hoodie pocket, frowning when she read no new notifications. Johnny hadn't been returning her calls or texts and it was eating her up inside.
"It's your friend." Pietro said observantly. "You're still worried."
She nodded leaning against the railing, feeling like a thousand pounds was pulling her down.
Pietro was about to say something when they both heard and felt an explosion rip through the night air. They looked up quickly, startled and saw a large skyscraper several blocks over was smoking.
"Oh my god." She whispered. "That's the Baxter Foundation." Pietro didn't understand its significance. "That's where Sue and Johnny are."
It took her three days to locate her friends. After that night Johnny and Sue has been listed as missing, along with some of their team, Reed Richards and Victor von Doom. The next day Reed's childhood friend Ben Grimm was reported missing as well.
They were being held in a secure government lab, which was essentially a black site, but Izzy had managed to track it down after locating Franklin Storm.
Izzy and Tony stood side by side staring through the viewing screen at Johnny, who was constantly engulfed in flames, like a man created from the sun. Sue wasn't much better as she was fluctuating between holding a visible form and not.
"Oh my god Johnny." Izzy muttered softly.
"What happened?" Tony demanded looking at Franklin.
Izzy listened to the rundown of the events of that night. The stupid risks that they had taken, now Victor was presumed dead and the other four had powers that no one understood.
"This is all your fault." Izzy said with venom in her voice turning to Franklin. "If you had listened to us from the beginning a boy wouldn't be dead and those kids, including two of yours, wouldn't be struggling with the fallout of powers they don't understand and can't control."
Tony gripped her arms in a warning to calm down. She turned back to the window to stare at Johnny, the anger burning in her chest reflective of the flames that cling to her friend.
"I agreed to being you here in the hopes that you could help." Franklin told them. "They aren't stable and if there is a way to change their condition, I need to find it."
Izzy could see Tony looking at her in the glass. She nodded stiffly.
Tony turned back to Franklin. "We'll help you— "
"No." Izzy said turning back to the two adults. "I'll help them,but these projects stop here and now."
Had she been less angry and terrified, she would have felt bad at the pain she saw in Franklin Storm's face. This man had come so close to losing his children and still didn't completely have them back, he already blamed himself
Izzy wanted to bring them back to the Avengers compound so they would be protected, but the government wasn't too keen on that. So, gathering as much data as they could Tony and Izzy were able to create suits that helped contain Sue and Johnny's powers and made it possible for them to control their abilities. Reed had disappeared from the facility, so they weren't able to help him, and Izzy found out quickly that the government had roped Ben into working for them. They wouldn't let her near Ben.
For months Johnny and Sue declined to help but that all changed one day with Johnny. Izzy got word that Johnny was being put into the test phases to start going on missions. She immediately went to the facility and found her friend. "You cannot be serious." She demanded as she walked up to him. "You're working for them now?"
"Gotta do something with these powers." Johnny said with a shrug. "They obviously aren't making progress in taking them away."
"This is what they are hoping for." She said. "You'll be nothing more than their pawn."
"Look, I have simulations to run." Johnny said. "I don't want a lecture right now."
"I'm not lecturing." Izzy said placing her hands in his chest, feeling tears pricking the backs of her eyes as she stared up at him. "I'm begging you not to do this. Johnny, please."
With only a brief flicker of reservations in his eyes, she saw the anger burning in his gaze and she knew she had lost him to this.
"I'm not stopping." Johnny said taking her hands and forcing her to take a step back. The hurt in her face made him pause and explain. "I don't want to burn you." With that his whole body went up in flames and he took off into the air.
It was a week later that Izzy was in the quinjet with a few of the Avengers, heading back from a mission, that FRIDAY informed her of a problem.
"A what?!" Izzy cried, startling the others.
"A singularity has formed on Earth." FRIDAY repeated. She gave the coordinates and Izzy's stomach sunk.
"What formed?" Steve asked.
"A black hole." Izzy said. "I know this location, I know what caused it. I'll go."
She activated the ramp while they were still flying but Steve caught her arm before she could get her suit.
"You aren't going alone." Steve said.
"I will go as well." Vision offered. "We will be able to reach it faster than the jet."
Steve didn't like it but nodded. "We'll be there as soon as we can." He said.
Izzy nodded and let the suit close around her. She and Vision took off towards the location of the black hole.
Amazingly, when they arrived, the black hole was closing and all that remained was a massive crater and what looked like a vortex closing in the sky.
"Look." Izzy indicated something coming down from the closing hole in the sky. She and Vision flew over to intercept the unknown, but Izzy had a guess on who it was.
Landing, Izzy looked at the four enhanced she had been studying for the last seven months.
"You know…" Johnny said stepping forward with Sue. "I think I should have listened to your lecture."
Izzy stepped out of her suit and immediately enveloped them both in her arms. "Thank god you guys are okay." She said as they embraced her back.
