I apologize for the lateness of this chapter, but I made it almost twice as long as the usual ones to make up for it! I have many excuses, ranging from homework to very long fan fictions about the Elder Scrolls universe (and crossovers, squee!). It was fun to write this chapter, and I hope you guys enjoy reading it! Thanks for your support guys! All of you, even the silent readers who add numbers to my view counter. Divines bless your kind hearts.
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I opened my eyes slowly, a haze fogging up my brain. The world looked fuzzy. Ugh. I need to get better at using and maintaining my powers. Maybe then I'd get less hung-over. At least, I think I'm hung-over. I was never the type of teen to go out to parties with friends and get trashed. Being a mermaid kind of kills your social life.
Kicking at the blankets, I rolled off of the bed. Blinking around the room, I came round pretty fast. I hadn't fallen asleep in the bedroom I shared with my mother. I was positive I'd passed out on Tony Stark's couch. Damn, that was a really comfy couch.
I crossed the hallway to the bathroom to brush my teeth, careful not to splash myself with water. As I spat foam into the sink, I heard voices in the other room. Mom had probably left the TV on, or she was watching TV. I forgot to check the clock. Rinsing my brush, I put it away and trudged out to the front room.
"Ah! You're awake, hon!" My mom smiled at me from the couch. Sitting next to her was a man with spiky black hair. Turning around, I recognized his face.
"Mr. Stark!" I exclaimed, stepping backwards suddenly, tripping over a box that mom had probably been packing. Catching myself, I straightened up.
"I'm fine," I said shakily, "But what are you doing here?" Mr. Stark chuckled, and I felt pretty annoyed.
"Your mom is a wonderful lady," He said, "But I'm here on business." I stared at Stark, watching as he stood up and crossed the room to stand in front of me.
"Fury has asked me to 'take you under my wing' so to speak. I'm here to offer you use of my pool in order to practice your abilities. No risk of getting spotted, and it's much cleaner than the canal. What do you say?" Stark grinned. I frowned, tilting my head to the side.
"As much as I don't like swimming in the canal, it's only a few minutes from the bay. There's a wrecked yacht there that I've turned into my clubhouse, and nothing beats a cool clubhouse. Thank you for your offer, though." My mom looked surprised, as did Stark.
"There's no reason you can't have both," Mom pointed out, "And as Mr. Stark was telling me before you woke up, that invitation to go spend some time at the Tower extends to me too. Think of your poor old mother!" Stark snorted.
"Please," he chuckled, "You guys can call me Tony. It's not like I'm your landlord or anything." Mom smiled. Oh god, don't tell me she has a crush or anything. That's kind of gross.
"Alright, Mom. For you," Turning back to Tony, I said, "Alright, feel like taking us there?" Mom blinked, surprised.
"Now? Honey, I have work soon. And the moon will be rising in a couple of hours…" A quick glance at the clock confirmed it, "If you want to go to Mr. Sta- Tony's and spend the night, then I won't object. Just be careful." Tony looked confused.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell Fury, I suffer from a nasty case of lunacy in it's most raw sense. The full moon affects me, puts me into some sort of trance. It amplifies my powers, and takes away much of my humanity."
"What do you mean?" Tony asked, looking back forth between my mother and I.
"The first time she got hit with lunacy, she reverted to a selfish, child-like state. That's what mermaids mostly likely are in their most feral mindset, children with a fierce loyalty to their Moon Pool. She flooded an entire valley, raising the water level enough to flood the main street of our hometown. No one was hurt, but it was terrifying. For me, and once she woke up, for Jackie too." Stark turned to look at me, but I stared at the floor, refusing to meet his eyes.
"The full moon is tonight," I said, "I have to avoid coming into contact with moonlight, I can't look at the moon or a reflection of the moon. I can come into contact with water, but even if I dry off, I won't turn human until the moon sets in the morning."
"The windows in the tower can turn opaque," Stark said suddenly, "You'll be safe from the moon there."
"Sounds easier than covering the windows with tarp and thick blankets." My mother mused, "Remember how many times we'd tried and failed to cover up all of the gaps?" I smiled anxiously, remembering how I'd eventually resigned myself to my mom's tiny walk-in closet every full moon. I didn't know if I wanted to trust my safety to Stark, at least not him alone.
"Alright, I'll pack an overnight bag on one condition. I want Steve to be there too." Tony blinked.
"I guess, the more the merrier after all. Do you have his number?" I frowned.
"No, I never got his number. I don't think he even has a cell phone, just that little earpiece. Maybe Fury can get a hold of him for us." Tony winced.
"And let him know about this slumber party thing? The man's gonna invite himself and find a way to ruin things, I just know it." Tony had a marvelous point. Fury would want to test me. In his position, he needed to know how everything worked, and to what extent. He'd want to see exactly how crazy my lunacy got, and probably whether or not he'd be able to control me during those spells.
"He wouldn't like what happened," I said, tone of voice grim, "The mermaid is, by nature, strong willed and silly, but dangerous when provoked. Fury would push all of her- my buttons." Tony nodded, and opened his mouth to speak but I held my hand up.
"However, if I have both you and Steve around, I'll feel safer. I've never been away from my mom for a full moon before, and I'm scared as hell. I'm willing to risk Fury crashing the party if only for proving to him that I'm not going to be an asset in that state, but a liability…" I swallowed nervously, my bravado wavering. I'd never willingly gave into the full moon's lure, and I didn't want to, even to spite Fury.
"You're handling this very maturely," Mom said, smiling anxiously at me, "But I need to get ready for work. You pack up, okay? Tony? Do you mind calling Fury?" Tony reached for his wireless earpiece in response, and I turned to go grab some clothes. She had never worked nights before we came here, at least not late enough that I'd be on my own the whole night. She was relieved that I wouldn't be by myself.
I shoved some clothes into a bag, and some clothes for tomorrow. I'd shower after I went swimming tomorrow, after the moonset. I grabbed a book to read too, just in case I couldn't sleep. I wondered if we'd do anything… slumber party-ish. I didn't think guys, let alone adult guys, ever had slumber parties. They're girly. And being a mermaid kills one's social life, so I forgot what people did at slumber parties. Probably gossip, eat snacks, watch movies. That sort of thing. I wondered if Steve had seen any modern movies, ones with amazing special effects. I hefted the bulky, but light backpack over my shoulder and went to the living room to pick out a movie. Tony was still on the phone, and Mom gave me a hug and kissed my forehead before leaving.
"…Yeah, she can't be alone tonight and her mother asked me to watch over her. Jackie wants to have you there too… Yeah I know I was stupid asking Fury but neither of us have your number!... Just be there, okay?... Okay." Tony hung up, turning to glance at me sorting through the movies my mother and I had stored on a shelf.
"Steve's going to head to the tower. If he gets there before us, Jarvis will let him in." I nodded, again curious about the ghost-butler, "You want to watch a movie?"
"That's what people do during sleepovers, right? Watch movies, eat popcorn. I don't think Steve has seen a movie since he woke up; I want to pick something fun that won't totally freak him out. Just blow his mind a little…" my eyes came to rest on what will be considered one of the classics of my generation, "AHA!"
"What did you pick?" Tony asked, leaning over my shoulder curiously.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl!" I exclaimed cheerfully. Tony chuckled.
"Does that have anything to do with the fact that there's mermaids in the most recent part of the saga?" He inquired. I blushed furiously.
"No! Well, a little! They had pirate movies in his time, I think. It has a lot of special effects, but not too much. And a lot of humor! And it's not one that has mermaids in it!" I scowled at him, but it was in good fun. I knew that he was trying to relieve some of my anxiety, and maybe some of his own too.
"What's the story behind Jarvis, anyway?" I asked, moving the conversation away from mermaids. Tony looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
"Well… How did he… You know… Die?" I felt awkward asking, but I was surprised to see that Tony's expression showed that he was only more confused by my question.
"Die?"
"Well yeah, he is a ghost after all. Ghosts were people once…" I trailed off when Tony started to laugh. Hard. He clutched at his sides and almost fell over. I frowned; it was my turn to be confused.
"J-Jarvis…. He-he-he's not a ghost!" Tony said, laughing so hard he could barely speak, "He-he's an AI! I made him!" I felt my ears and face catch fire as I blushed, redder than a tomato for sure.
"Not funny…" I muttered, embarrassed. Tony tried to stop, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Of course he's not a ghost. I'm Ironman! I have a program for a butler. Why would you think he's a ghost?" I paused, and Tony's face fell a little bit.
"I'm a mermaid. If mermaids are real, than why wouldn't there be ghosts?"
Tony was silent the whole way to Stark Tower. He probably felt bad laughing about my honest and innocent question, especially after he realized I had good reason to wonder. I felt bad for making him feel bad. In turn, I think it made Tony feel even worse. It was a vicious cycle.
Steve was already there when we arrived. He looked serious, and I saw a duffle bag off to the side. He brought his overnight stuff too. I just hoped we could at least enjoy ourselves. He smiled when he saw me, though, perking up in spite of being back in Tony's company. Pepper was sitting on the couch too, and I felt excited to have another girl around. Tony had Jarvis block out the light that was coming in, making sure that soon to be rising moon didn't have the chance to grab me.
I sat down next to Pepper and smiled at her nervously. We hadn't been able to talk the last time I was here, and she hadn't seen my tail. She knew what I was, but it's hard to picture something like that.
"Hey," she smiled, "How are you feeling?" I smiled back, more relaxed.
"Better, thanks," I turned to Steve, "Thanks for coming. I brought a movie!" Steve laughed, and shook his head a little bit.
"A movie?"
"I didn't think you'd gone to see a movie at all since you woke up, and I wanted to see the look on your face when you see how far the technology has come." I gave him a wicked grin as I spoke, implying that I was going to enjoy seeing the film blow his mind.
"What movie did you bring?" Pepper asked. Tony excused himself to go pop some corn and grab drinks.
"Pirates of the Caribbean, the first one. Not too elaborate, and it won't reference anything big that happened between the making of the film and the last movie you watched." Steve chuckled.
"Most of the movies they played were anti-Nazi propaganda. And when you say elaborate, you mean…" He trailed off, asking indirectly for an explanation.
"Well, people are able to use computers to make art now. They can also make something that looks real and put it over scenes that they recorded. Have the actors pretend to interact with a green screen. Some movies now are made entirely on computer, with almost no real sets. This one is real sets, but fake backgrounds make on a computer." Steve blinked, startled. I smirked.
"Like I said, it will blow your mind." And it did.
Steve's jaw was slack almost the whole time, and I loved every minute of it. I loved bringing wonder and happiness to people, especially with the simple things in life. The party ended up being great fun, and I promised Steve I'd show him all of the movies that came after that one, promising some amazing special effects. Everything was great until Tony suggested something very tween-girl like.
"Let's play truth or dare!" He announced. Pepper and I groaned loudly, and Steve was simply puzzled.
"Tony, you're mad!" Pepper stated, although her tone was light.
"What's truth or dare?" Steve asked, unfamiliar with the game. I was surprised, certain that the game had been around forever.
"Well, to start," Tony said, "I ask you 'Truth or dare' and you pick one. If you pick 'Truth', you have to honestly answer whatever question I ask. If you pick 'Dare', then you have do whatever I tell you to do." Steve frowned, skeptical of the fun that Tony insisted was there. Tony didn't care.
"SO! Truth or dare, Steve?" Tony asked, propping his chin on his hands. He looked ridiculous.
"Truth…" Steve mumbled, giving in to Tony's demands.
"Do you like Jackie?" I almost spat out my soda, swallowed quickly and coughed.
"TONY!" I shouted.
"Dare then," Steve said, avoiding the question. Suddenly, I really wanted to know too. I didn't like him like that, but I didn't want him to be hurt if he did.
"I dare you to answer the question." Tony said, unrelenting.
"That's cheating," Pepper insisted.
"I love Jackie like a brother loves his sister," Steve gave in, "She's the little sister I never had, I feel protective of her, and I like that she trusts me, but it's platonic." I smiled, and laughed. The others looked surprised.
"Oh my god!" I grinned, blushing lightly, "That saved us both a whole lot of awkward! I think of you as the older brother I never had!" Steve laughed too.
"Now you ask someone," Pepper said, now a little more interest in playing.
"Jackie," Steve turned to me, "Truth or-"
"Sir, I apologize for the interruption, but someone it attempting to override my controls." Jarvis said, causing us to jump.
"What!?" Tony was furious, "Who is it? What are they trying to do?"
"I'm sorry sir…" The AI trailed off and my heart sank when I realized what was going on. Turning around slowly, I saw that the opacity had dropped from the windowpanes. The last thing I remembered was the massive form of the full moon staring back.
