Aubrey watched as her brothers snarfed down the cereal that had just been put in front of them. Her mother talked on about what they had been doing for the past weeks and she tried to pay attention to her words but Aubrey couldn't help but dwell on the dooming feeling that had been nagging her for the last couple of days. Glacier nosed her calf, his big blue and white eyes begging for a piece of her toast. Glancing at her parents, Aubrey tore a piece from her toast and bacon before discreetly slipping them under the table. However, her mother paused and shook her head
"You're going to ruin his manners doing that Aubrey" love was in the woman's voice. Aubrey attempted a smile but she knew it looked forced and her parents did too.
"What's on your mind?" Her dad put down the breakfast sandwich he had been focusing on and turned it to her.
"It's nothing I should worry you with" Glacier nosed her hip this time and woofed softly. Aubrey looked at him and stroked his soft fur, sighing under her breath.
"Aubrey don't play that game with us, we are your parents and it's our job to worry with you" her mother raised her brows, pursing her lips slightly "so what's the matter? You've barely touched your food and keep looking pensively at the door"
Puffing a breath out of her lips, Aubrey opened her mouth and the words came out all in a rush.
"When you guys got here Tony told me that some of the Avengers were hot on the trail of one of the more prominent Hydra agents and honestly they should have been back by now and I can't help but have this horrible feeling that something went very wrong or will go every wrong...I don't know" Sucking in a breath she lay her head in her hands, her mind racing and thoughts swirling. "Is it silly to worry like this?" she peeked through her fingers, taking in the concerned looks on her parent's faces.
"No, it's perfectly reasonable but have you asked Mr. Stark? It's possible they might have just been detoured on their way back or it's taking longer than expected." Her dad said as he took another bite of his breakfast, her mother nodded in agreement.
"I haven't been able to catch him since you guys got here. I think he's nervous too."
"You could ask F.R.I.D.A.Y" Her mother piped in. Aubrey nodded and looked up at the ceiling
"F.R.I.D.A.Y?"
"Yes, Ms. Cristo?"
"What is Tony doing today?"
"Well-" Aubrey couldn't help but notice that the A. I sounded exasperated "Mr. Stark is supposed to be at a meeting for Stark Industries but has yet to leave the mansion. Tonight he is supposed to attend a benefit for the local children's hospital, he was supposed to meet Ms. Potts and Happy for a recap of the month and to prepare for the MIT presentation tomorrow but it appears that Mr. Stark hasn't regard for his schedule today or tomorrow. Did you need him, Ms. Cristo?"
"I..would like to meet with him"
"He's in the upper workshop, if you could perhaps convince him to prepare for MIT tomorrow...that would be appreciated"
"I'll try but Tony does as Tony wants" Aubrey couldn't help but grin slightly as she stood to her feet, taking her one crutch and saying goodbye to her parents before going in search of Tony. It wasn't hard to find him in the workshop where they had worked together for many afternoons. Various tools and machines were littered all over the place and he was sitting on a very uncomfortable-looking stool, bent over and looking like he hadn't left the room for days.
"Mr. Stark?" F.R.I.D.A.Y started and he sat up, still unaware of Aubrey's presence.
"What?" He ran his hand through his hair.
"Ms. Cristo would like to meet with you"
"Tell her my schedules full." she couldn't help but hear the emotion in his voice...what was wrong?
When F.R.I.D.A.Y didn't answer right away Aubrey spoke
"It is full but it appears you've decided not to participate in life for...what...three...four days?" He had a certain..ripe smell about him and she pulled another stool over, easing onto it and examining the wristband he was fiddling with, beside it sat a replica of his arc reactor. When he didn't answer Aubrey sighed and leaned against the counter. "Tooonnyy-" she singsonged "-. I just have a question and then I'll leave but I've also been told to try and convince you to prepare for MIT tomorrow."
He humphed under his breath before sitting up and leaning his head back, muttering about a crick in it. Aubrey waited patiently for him to finish trying to get her to leave. He paused and looked at her
"Not buying it?"
"Not one bit" she shook her head. "Now onto my question?"
Tony turned around and mimicked her posture, leaning against the desk-like counters. "Alright, you've got my attention"
"Have you heard from Cap and the others?" The question had been burning a hole in her mind and she felt almost..slightly relieved now that it had been asked.
"No" Tony's answer did nothing to soothe her worries. She nodded, digesting the information as Tony popped onto his feet and nodded towards the door "I want to show you something though"
Aubrey got to her feet and followed him out of the room, noticing how he took her through the back hallways to his lower workshop. The desk and machines inside had been cleared away and set up were white pieces of what looked like furniture. Tony saw the confused look on Aubrey's face and went into the middle of the set-up furniture.
"Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing...It can change your surroundings" Tony bent over what looked like a candle and blew on it. A flame ignited and Aubrey watched as the white furniture took on color and three figures appeared. He stepped out of the way and the figures moved and their mouths moved like they were talking. A woman with white hair pulled back neatly sat at the piano and the man stood not far behind her.
"What is this Tony?" Aubrey took a step closer, holding her hand out and watching as it moved through the woman's face.
"It's...a very expensive type of therapy I've developed to….cope" She could tell he was choosing his words carefully.
"You programmed it to do this?"
He nodded and blew the candle out, the colors retracted and the people disappeared. Aubrey didn't know much about Tony's family, only that both his parents died early but she didn't know why.
"I'm going to show it tomorrow at MIT, but then I got to thinking and-" She heard it in his voice, the question, and interrupted him.
"You want to know if this will work on me...don't you"
"If you don't want to it's perfectly understandable" He pulled a computer on a rolling table over, along with a chair, sitting down Tony looked at her and raised his eyebrows.
"Tony you have to have a semi-okay situation to begin with. You can't change a situation that is physically painful for me to visit because the surroundings were horrible and those can't be changed." Aubrey leaned against the white piano, watching as his genius brain worked through what she said. But he shook his head.
"Technically yes but it could help to make nightmares less...potent"
Aubrey puffed a breath out of her lips, thinking that it might be worth a try just to make everything….less than what happened.
"How would you program it if it's someone else's memory and not your own?" She watched as Tony's eyes lit up and he pulled over another rolling cart with wires and things sticking out.
"I think I can connect these to your forehead and you just have to play through the memory and this computer will pick it up and translate it to the program." He pulled another chair over and motioned her to sit on it. Aubrey set her crutch down and watched nervously as Tony took various wires that had attachments onto her forehead and neck, then he held up two lenses and helped her put them into her birght, fern-colored eyes. Aubrey gulped, her tongue clicking, she knew exactly which memory would be the one, but it terrified her to even think about it….of what had happened.
"Tony?" the word came out as a whisper but he heard it and stilled, his chocolate-colored eyes finding hers as they silently asked what was wrong. "You have to promise not to...to...be disgusted or angry...It wasn't me. None of it was" Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the floor, starting to bring the memory to the surface after months of burying it as much as possible.
"I understand" he whispered as he took the chair by the computer and booted it up. "Just bring it to mind and play as much as you want altered…... Now"
Aubrey's eyes fluttered closed as a single tear leaked out, the memory started to play in her mind's eye and she couldn't help but bring a hand to her mouth to keep any sound from coming out. Minutes passed in grim silence and when she couldn't bear to play any more Aubrey's eyes snapped open and she realized she was trembling. Tony was watching from his chair silently and when her eyes opened he turned to the computer and started typing in commands before detaching the wires from her forehead. The computer chirped "Simulation prepared" and Tony pushed the white piano and couch out before taking a seat beside Aubrey and breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth.
"You're sure you want to do this Aubrey?" He looked at her once more, looking less sure of himself than he had several minutes ago.
"I...If it helps then I do." She looked at him and shakily folded her hands in her lap before focusing her eyes on the box of white walls in front of them.
The white box took on shape and color, four figures took form, Aubrey, her handler, Bucky, and Alexander Pierce.