Prepare thyself for a very fluffy friend to make a reappearance!
Aubrey sat on the rim of the building, watching as a gaggle of geese prepared to land on the lake. Their wings flapped as they swerved in a circle before sliding onto the water. In her mind, she saw the joints in her own wings, the way they would slide together when she would flap. She held her hand out, palm down, and watched as the Nano's came out and covered Aubrey's hand, they felt cool against her skin and a small smile lit her face as she watched them flex and move. Tony had her studying the wings every spare moment he had and Aubrey had been practicing her control during the few free moments between Therapy and studying. At first, she had been fearful of the outcome...unsure what the future held….but now she felt ready. The door to the roof dinged and she knew by the sound of the gait it was Tony.
"Hey" He plopped down beside her, swinging his feet in the air as he sipped from a coffee, holding one out to Aubrey. She took it and took a drink, enjoying the zing of sugar and caffeine it brought into her. "Whatcha working on?" He looked over at her, obviously looking for the wing plans.
"Enjoying the fresh air, can't be inside all the time" She shrugged, thinking a moment before going on, "I think I'm ready Tony"
His eyebrows shot up "Really?"
"Yeah...I feel prepared"
Tony stared at the lake as she waited quietly for his thoughts, knowing that he needed a moment to think it through.
"Okay"
"That's it? No *Are you sure you're ready* speech?" Aubrey punched him lightly in the arm and he grinned
"No, if you say you're ready then I think you are"
Aubrey scootched back onto the roof, using her arms and crutches to get herself upright. Not too long ago Dr. Fletcher had cleared her to use crutches all the time and it felt like a taste of freedom. Already she could feel the muscles in her legs working to get back into shape as they stretched and got used to walking again. Rolling her shoulders back and puffing a breath out of her lips Aubrey pulled the image of the wings up in her head. Immediately the Nano's sensed their job and perked up as she commanded them into place. Streams of them came out of the left and right side of her back and they clumped together, writhing around as wings started to form. They created a series of poles that connected with joints, making the "bones" of the wings. The Nano's then stretched down, shaping into shimmery feathers as they attached to each other. On her lower back, she felt the compact jets take form and within minutes she had done it.
Aubrey craned her neck around, excitement welling up in her chest as she shook her head in astonishment. The wings were apart of her and with a single thought they stretched out at least five feet on each side. A tingle skittered its way up her spine as she turned a circle, noting how the wings moved with her and seemed to balance her weight better than the last ones…..it felt like they had been there her whole life. Some of the edges looked rough and the process had made her back ache slightly but she had done it. The one thing she had longed for for so many months had happened. Tony had jumped to his feet and was shaking his head, wonder, and amazement shining in his eyes. He stood behind her, reaching out to gently poke one of the shimmery Nano-made feathers. She felt the moment he touched it...like someone had poked her back.
"How do you feel?" Tony circled around her, nodding his head in disbelief and wondering at the back of his mind if an Iron man suit of Nano's was possible.
"Free….a little tired but...complete. Thank you, Tony...for saving my life and giving me this new adventure" Aubrey clicked her tongue in happiness, not even realizing she had done it as her wings fluttered...as if they sensed her need to fly.
"Good...That's….good. I'm glad that this has worked but I don't think you should fly today...you might be too tired. We might need to do more exercises first and I..well-" He started but Aubrey cut him off, shaking her head.
"Tony, I've just spent the last months believing I was dying and would never fly again. Now I'm alive with new wings and you expect me not to try them?" She grinned and strode to the edge of the roof, looking down. A figure sat by the lake but no one else could be seen as she took a deep breath, laying down the crutches and doing her best to stand upright by herself. Tony had come up beside her and nodded his head
"Just be safe"
"You know I will" Aubrey grinned, turning around and falling backward off the roof, flaring her wings out and laughing as she felt her wings took her up into the air. The jets whirred softly as the wings beat powerfully, Aubrey rose higher until she was well above the building, her chest bursting with excitement as she felt truly free for the first time in a while. She threw her arms out, relishing the feel of the air brushing down her body as the Nanotech wings carried her. Her flight was rocky at first but soon she became used to the feel of her back muscles working with the Nano wings to keep her in the air.
"I can't believe this" she whispered.
Tony watched as Aubrey took off into the sky, something welling up in his chest as he realized that she looked so...alive. Moreso than he had seen her since he met her. But with his happiness for her also came worry and disappointment as her new freedom meant that she was healed and no longer had to stay at the Avengers mansion. He would miss her companionship when she left, when they had first met Tony had only known the dying girl whose life depended on his success but as he got to know her...well they were more similar than they knew. She had confessed one night about her nightmares and panic attacks and from then on they had spent a lot of late nights in the lab. But Tony's feelings for her were different than the ones he had for Pepper. Aubrey felt like a close friend...something he didn't have a lot of. She understood his need to do good in the world to help reverse all the bad that Stark Industries had done...she had the same need and said so often. But he also knew how much she missed Barnes, although she had never admitted it he had seen it on her face frequently. Especially when they talked about weapons or training, she would start to say something but then stop and a pained expression would darken her face. Tony startled as Aubrey banked close to the roof, a joyful expression on her face.
"Having fun?" He quipped, wondering when to tell her about his surprise.
"Yeah, it's amazing...I don't ever want to stop" She seemed….at peace. Like all was right in her world after it had been wrong for so long.
"Well, you might have to because I set something up for today and it can't be delayed."
"What do you mean?" Her face looked curious as she lowered more, hovering just above the floor, when he didn't answer her brows furrowed. "Tony?"
"I guess you'll have to wait and see, come downstairs when you're done" He grinned mischievously before turning and walking back into the building, winking before disappearing down the stairs.
Aubrey soared over the lake, catching an updraft and turning off her jets. Silence was her companion as she relished freedom. The weight that had occupied her chest for the last couple of months had finally lifted and she watched as her shadow chased from the ground, as if trying to keep up. A figure sitting by the lake caught her eye and she banked left, coming down beside the trees and touching the ground. Her legs wobbled and Aubrey's jets whirred to life again, letting her hover. She flapped over to the bench where the figure sat and lowered to the ground, using the bench as a crutch as she took in the woman.
She knew her just by looking at her and Aubrey's knees almost gave out at the sight of her.
"Mom….?" She whispered, watching as the woman whirled around and her eyes lit up.
"Aubrey" Her mother breathed as she shot to her feet and to Aubrey, pulling her into a crushing hug. "I can't believe we got to come here to visit you."
"What?" Aubrey sputtered as she pulled back, taking in her mother.
"Mr. Stark contacted us and..well I think this was supposed to be a surprise" Aubrey's mom took a small step back, her eyes wandering to the silvery wings at her daughter's back. "Are those…." she started, watching as Aubrey turned sideways for her mother, leaning slightly against the bench and fluttering her wings.
She felt her mother's fingers stroke the feathers as she started talking.
"I knew I was ready and...I guess Tony knew it too or he wouldn't have brought you guys here...I can't believe he did that." Aubrey wiped a shaking hand down her face as her mother turned her back around. Her eyes raked over her mom and she knew she was doing the same. Since she had seen her last her eyes had dimmed slightly but she didn't look older just...weathered. Like a storm had hit and left an impact. But Aubrey knew she probably looked similar like a hurricane had uprooted her life.
"You look so healthy...I...I'm so happy" Her mother whispered, eyes misting as she tucked one of Aubrey's hairs out of her face. "We've all been sick with worry and Mr. Stark stopped sending pictures in his updates right before your surgery."
Guilt gnawed at Aubrey's stomach, she knew she should have kept in better contact but couldn't ever quite bring herself to do it….it was good that Tony had seen her trouble and taken it on without her knowing.
"I'm alright now...The surgery worked and now I have these-" she paused, fluttering her wings again before remembering Tony's words before he disappeared down the stairs. "-Tony wanted to see me downstairs and I figured I'd just be a couple more minutes-"
Her mother cut her off "Oh dear I was supposed to go there too. Perhaps I can meet you there and act surprised?" something twinkled in the woman's eyes and Aubrey nodded, grinning as she crushed her mom in a hug once more before backing up and waving as her jets fired and she blasted into the sky.
It didn't take long to land back on the roof but as she picked up her crutches something like sadness tugged at her heart. She would have to deactivate her wings for a bit, even though she wanted to keep them out forever it would be impossible and would most likely scare her little brothers. Aubrey leaned on the crutches, breathing deeply as she released the Nanos from her mental grasp. Her arms and back tingled as they retracted and soon she looked normal again. Immediately though, she knew there was a difference, Aubrey felt unbalanced and unprotected.
The crutches were nothing but a nuisance and she missed the assurance of her wings. The stairs proved more of a challenge going down than up but soon she was faced with the elevator, knowing her family was at the bottom. Something in her mind whispered "Not your whole family. Bucky is somewhere without you" and Aubrey couldn't help but feel saddened by the thought as the elevator whirred. It dinged and the doors opened, revealing the common area that Tony said the Avengers used when they were present, currently though she knew that Cap, Romanoff, Falcon, and Wanda were gone, Vision wasn't around much and Bruce Banner was...missing.
Aubrey stepped out of the elevator, watching her brothers play with a miniature Dum-E that Tony had created whilst fiddling in the workshop one night. Her father was stood beside her mother, their backs turned to her as they talked to Tony. Her enhanced hearing picked up bits and pieces "Thank you so much-" "- you don't know how much this means to us-". Tony opened his mouth to reply but his eyes caught sight of Aubrey watching from the doorway, a twinkle in her eyes and smile on her face. She watched as he grinned and said something to her parents, they turned and both faces lit up. Limping forward on her crutches, Aubrey looked between her parents, her heartwarming as she peered at Tony.
"You did this?"
He nodded, trying to keep a straight face.
Aubrey shook her head, beaming as she crushed her parents in a hug.
"Thank you, Tony, maybe there is someone buried under all that arrogance."
His face lit up in mock horror "Say it isn't so"
"I'm afraid it is" Aubrey chuckled as her brothers bounced over, giving her a double hug. Tony's pocket vibrated and he pulled out his phone, looking at it and frowning.
"I have to take this but you take your time" he backed away to the far corner of the room and answered the call as Aubrey turned to her parents.
"You're alright?" Her dad inspected her, looking for any wounds.
"I'm still standing and I feel freer than I have in a long time."
"good...so good" her father murmured as they sat down on the plush chairs. Aubrey's youngest brother, Jesse, plopped down beside her and started talking.
"Mom said that you got really sick and had to go to a hospital but this seems like a really nice hospital and I think you secretly had a lot of fun here" He paused, taking a deep breath and looking up at her with his hazel colored eyes. The last time she had seen him, Jesse had been quiet and shy around her...this was quite the opposite. Aubrey glanced at her mom who shrugged and smiled.
"Well I did get really sick but I'm okay now"
"That's good" Jesse nodded, noticing that Daniel had taken the mini Dum-E and was helping him stack potato chips at the table. "Daniel! I want to try that!" he jumped off of the couch and scurried to the table, scootching beside Daniel. Vaguely Aubrey heard Tony talking into his phone and what she heard alarmed her "Be careful with him. He got away the first time Cap and they don't say second times a charm." she strained to hear more but her mother's voice snapped her out of her head. Aubrey puffed a breath out of her lips as she turned her attention towards her family.
"It took some convincing to have Tony authorize this but once we told him the story he agreed-" Her mother paused and looked up at the ceiling "-erm...F.R.I.D.A.Y?"
"Yes, Mrs. Cristo?" came her voice.
"Could you open the door Tony asked you to keep closed?"
"Done" A mahogany door at the far left of the roof clicked before swinging open and out bounded a very big, very fluffy, exuberant, Glacier. He caught sight of Aubrey and let out a howl of excitement before launching himself in one bound onto the couch and her lap. His big wet tongue started licking her face and laughter bubbled its way out of Aubrey's mouth as she pulled the big dog into a hug.
"Glacier! You're huge!"
He woofed like he understood her as his tail wiggled back and forth, hitting her mother, who had moved out of range, in the face. Panting, Glacier leaned against Aubrey, calming down as he rested his chin on her shoulder. Clicking her tongue, she kissed his neck before stroking his mostly-white fur with gray streaks.
"He grew very fast and had a distinct taste for my shoes" Her father muttered, clearly he had the same opinion about Glacier that Bucky had.
"But he was wonderful to have around, I took him to puppy training classes and everything so he's normally very well behaved." Her mom caught Glacier's frantic tail and waited till it stopped wagging in her face.
"Ahh, you're a gentleman are you?" Aubrey hugged him again, feeling like her heart was going to explode.
Glacier woofed, scooting to sit beside her before thoroughly shaking his fur and settling down. But he kept one paw on her leg...like he didn't trust her to stay put. In her mind Aubrey promised not to ever go this long without him again..she hadn't realized how much he meant to her. She talked with her family for several minutes but when Tony got off the phone he made a show of looking relaxed as he ambled over but Aubrey saw the tenseness in his shoulders and eased to her feet.
"I just need to steal her for a moment," he said before leading Aubrey to the side and sighing.
"What's wrong?" Her brows furrowed as she watched his facial expression change from one of content to anxiousness.
"I thought you should know that Cap and his team have tracked Rumlow to Lagos and plan on capturing him. It's very possible that this place will be overrun with reporters the moment they succeed."
Aubrey felt her spine stiffen, she recognized the name...the man. Swallowing the flashes of memory in her mind, Aubrey nodded her head, feeling slightly numb. "I hope he rots in a jail cell" she whispered, not feeling sorry for the words. "I'll just stay inside and keep a low profile for a bit, how long is my family staying?"
"However long you want, seeing as your brothers are homeschooled and your parents got some time off from work. But try to keep your activities here until this blows over, alright?"
"Yes Sir" Aubrey saluted him before going back over to the couch and mentally attempting to push away the worry that was rising in her mind. She remembered Rumlow...he always had a second plan...and a third. In case something went wrong…. Ugly thoughts rose up in her mind and she struggled to contain them.
Surely the Avengers would succeed….?
A/N* Thank you to everyone who has followed and reviewed! Y'all are the best and I'm honored to have so many wonderful readers.