Chapter 17

Toni Stark sighed to herself as she sat back in the car Happy was driving for her down the streets of Queens. She had tried to convince him on numerous occasions that she was more than capable of driving herself.

For Galileo's sake, she was more than capable of taking care of herself. She survived in captivity! She'd risen from the ashes when the world was just about to give up hope on her ever coming home and she'd shown them all that they were very wrong. She'd shown them that she was capable of surviving, of fighting, like she had for years for her place in the world.

But apparently, she couldn't be trusted to visit a child and his aunt and uncle without supervision.

"I'll be fine, Happy," she told him gently, as he parked the car in front of an old apartment building. "You don't need to come in with me."

"It's them I'm worried about," he grumbled. "They're the ones who have no idea what happens when Toni Stark comes into your life and changes the world forever."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," she scoffed, looking at him. "I've done nothing to ruin your life."

"I never said you ruined it, Stark," he said, giving her a gentle look, "But nothing has been the same since I met you."

She patted him gently on the shoulder, before moving to the buzzer of the complex.

"Do you think I should hack it to let me in?" she asked aloud, and Happy quickly shook his head at her.

"You're trying to make a good impression, Toni. You can't just hack into people's homes. If you want to do this, then do it the way the rest of us would," Happy smirked at her. "By pressing their buzzer and hoping they'd let you in."

"So archaic," she sighed, as she pressed the button labeled 'Parkers'.

"Hello?" she heard a male voice call out, and she responded.

"Mr Parker?" she spoke through the intercom, "My name is Toni Stark. We met briefly at the Stark Expo?"

It hadn't been that hard for her to trace the kid and his aunt and uncle back through the footage from her suit and run facial recognition on them to receive their details.

Peter Benjamin Parker, born to Mary and Richard Parker who had died in a plane crash and had been raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben since then. He received high scores through his elementary school career and already won several science fairs. The boy was a genius.

And she knew a little something about being a child genius.

If his work on the mask he had on during the Stark Expo was anything to go on, then she knew the boy had great potential to him; he just needed the right guidance. He needed someone who could help him grow his curiosity and foster his potential in a healthy manner; one her father had never been too quick to do for her.

The door unlocked and she heard a confused voice call out.

"Please, come on up," Ben said, and she nodded at Happy to wait in the car as she made her way through the apartment complex to the Parker's front door.

Less than a moment after she knocked, the door threw itself open with one Peter Parker staring back at her excitedly.

"Ms Stark!" he squealed, "I didn't believe it when I heard your voice over the intercom. What are you doing here?"

She bent down carefully and tussled his hair, "I was hoping I'd be able to speak to you and your Aunt and Uncle."

"You came to see me?" he gaped at her, looking amazed.

"I did," she grinned.

"Peter, let her through the door," his Uncle Ben said, giving the boy an amused smile.

"It's nice to meet you," she said, as Peter sheepishly gestured for her to come in.

"It's nice to meet you too," Ben said, "Under far more pleasant circumstances."

"Ben!" May hissed, as she came up from behind her husband. "Please, take a seat, Ms Stark," she said, as she beckoned for them to sit down on their sofa.

"Toni, please," she said, "He's right though. I need to apologise for what happened at the Stark Expo. I never wanted to put anyone in harm's way, and if I even thought for a second that anyone would have been in danger, I would have called the whole thing off immediately. Unfortunately, by time I knew, it was far too late."

"We don't blame you," May told her gently, "It's not your fault that a man targeted your expo to get back at your father. You saved Peter from harm's way. Who knows what would have happened to my nephew if you hadn't gotten there in time to stop one of those awful drones from doing something unspeakable to him?"

She felt her throat close slightly, "I was just trying to keep everyone safe."

"Iron Woman is his hero," Ben told her with a smile, "Peter doesn't stop talking about you. He looks up to you, you know?"

"Iron Woman isn't my hero!" Peter said suddenly, as he had been trying to listen to their conversation, drawing all eyes in the room to him.

"Peter!" May admonished him, and Toni shook her head.

"Kids are honest," Toni told her, feeling a slight pang in her chest. It was nothing that she hadn't heard before either. "There's no need to sugar coat the truth."

"Iron Woman isn't my hero," Peter told her, before adding, "You are! The suit is nothing without you behind it! You're the one who does all the fun science and makes it work as good as it does!"

She felt her throat close slightly as the boy in front of her looked at her with such earnest and genuinely that she knew there was no insincerity in his body. There were no lies or manipulation that she had grown to use to in her business when people wanted something from her or the other.

But this child, this barely double digit in age child, wanted nothing from her.

"Kids are honest," Ben remarked, echoing her own words back at her. "But you did not come here to apologise for what happened at the Expo. You already released a public apology to everyone who had been in attendance. And I doubt you are doing personal visits for every single guest at your event. So what brings you to our humble abode, Ms Stark."

"Peter," she said simply, and both of the boy's guardians looked at her sharply. "During the Expo he was wearing a mask. One which appeared to be from our Expo, however clearly it had been altered to appear more authentic and closer to mine in appearance. He claimed he made the mask, and while I'm sure the two of you assisted him with it, I did some digging into him and found that he his test scores. He consistently scored far higher than anyone else in his year. Mr and Mrs Parker, your nephew is a genius."

The two of them exchanged looks with each other, uncertain of where she was going with such a statement.

"He is more advanced for his age," May said carefully, "Several of his teachers have commented that it might be beneficial for him to skip a year or two of school so he can challenge himself. But we wanted him to be with kids his own age."

"A smart decision," Toni nodded, "My own father wanted me to skip several grades. It was rough on me, and I had a hard time fitting in."

"But you went to MIT at thirteen," Peter exclaimed, looking at her in awe. "I want to go there too! Just like you did."

"I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting in," she said, smiling back at the boy. "Which is partially why I am here. I want to offer Peter a mentorship of sorts. I know what it's like being a child genius. I know what it's like to be constantly trying to challenge yourself and find ways to stay engaged. When you want to build things, but your body hasn't quite caught up with your mind. With your permission, I'd like to give Peter an avenue to expand his horizons and to grow. I want to offer him a chance to learn, without the restrictions of traditional schooling."

"What's in it for you?" Ben asked, after a couple moments of silence, "As generous as this sounds, Ms Stark, I highly doubt you are offering personal mentorship programs to every smart child you meet."

"No," she conceded, "But maybe I should be. Children are the future after all. I don't have any agendas, if that's what you're worried about. Anything Peter invents or creates in my lab will belong to him. I won't try and patent it in my name or make a profit off of it. I'll even help you file the patent in his name if it eases your mind."

She paused for a moment.

"I recently got a new lease on life. I wasn't doing so well for a bit after I escaped Afghanistan. I don't want my legacy to be that of my weapons. I want to leave something behind that is good and memorable. I know what it's like to be a child who is that smart and have no one completely understand. I'm not saying Peter is alone. The two of you clearly care for him very much. But I want to give him an opportunity, one that I never had, to be able to just do science, with someone who understands how our brains work. You are more than welcome to be present for every session if you wish, I would never presume to tell you otherwise. And who knows, maybe if it goes well with Peter, I can make an entire program out of it to help develop the curiosity in children."

"Peter?" May said after a moment. "This is about you after all, Sweetheart. What do you think about all of this?"

"I would get to do science with Ms Stark?" Peter said, looking at his aunt and uncle for confirmation.

"You would," Ben nodded at the boy. "Is that something you would like to do, Peter?"

She held her breath, as she waited for the boy's response, as he nodded vigorously.

"Please?" Peter asked them both, "Her lab must be so cool! Think of all the things she must have in it! Would I get to see the Iron Woman suit? Would I get to work on the Iron Woman suit?"

She laughed softly, "We'll have to see about that, Peter. There are still dangerous weapons in the suit. You could see the suit as there are safety precautions but if you and I end up working on the suit it would be one without all the dangerous stuff in it."

Peter looked at his Aunt and Uncle hopefully, waiting for their response.

"Can we be there?" May said finally, "At least for a few sessions? I don't think you would put our nephew in harm's way, but I need to make sure it's safe."

"Would the press know about this arrangement?" Ben asked her, "Is this some sort of publicity stunt?"

"I can't say for sure that they'll never find out about it," she warned them, "The press has a way of finding out things no one wants them to. But I have security protocols in place to prevent things such as this from leaking to the press. I have no intention of them finding out."

"Okay," Ben breathed out. "If this is what you want, Peter, then your Aunt and I are fine with that."

"I do!" Peter said earnestly, "Thank you so much Ms Stark! I can't wait to learn with you!"

She grinned at the boy as she handed him a card, "This is a number to my AI, JARVIS. Call him whenever you want to come over for a tour and he'll set something up for the three of you. I look forward to seeing you all soon."

Ben walked her to the door, as he held it open for her.

"He's a good kid," Ben told her softly, "I wish May and I could take credit for it, but it's all him. He's smart as hell too. Thank you for doing this. I know it means the world to Peter, and that you have no reason to do any of this. But thank you anyways."

She smiled back at him, "I have a feeling I'm going to learn just as much from him as he will from me."

He gave her a smile as she waved to Peter. As she stepped into the elevator, she pulled out her phone.

"JARVIS?" she asked him.

"Yes, Miss?" he responded instantly.

"Set up a trust for Peter Parker. Full scholarship to whichever school he decides to go to after high school. Full ride, for however many programs he wished to pursue."

She waited less than a second, before JARVIS' voice came through the phone.

"Done. Will that be all, Ms Stark?" he asked her, and she nodded.

"Thanks J. That's all for now," she said, as the doors closed.


She went back to Malibu after the attack, as she drew up the specs for her newest suit.

"Fancy," she heard a voice comment from behind her, and she turned quickly to see Clint Barton standing there, arms crossed.

"Clyde," she smirked back at him, "Nice to see you here."

"I heard you accepted the invitation to join the Avengers Initiative," he said, coming closer. "Fury said you took some convincing but ultimately decided to join in the end."

"Is that a surprise?" she asked him, looking back down at her tablet as she moved around some of the numbers to change things.

"I did your profile, remember?" Clint asked her. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit surprised. I thought you would take a bit more convincing."

"Yet you said I was a good candidate," she reminded him.

"I was told by another agent to say that you weren't a team player. Narcissistic, huge ego, doesn't play with others, and the works," he admitted to her. "To confirm that public façade you play all too well."

"Perhaps I'm only playing it because the world refuses to see any differently," she countered.

"That's their own loss then," he shrugged, "I got a different reading. What good would it do to tell you all the things the rest of the world believes about you? You already play that part far too well. No, the greater way would be to show you that I knew the truth. That beyond all your masks, you're human too. You care for those close in your life and would do anything to protect them and ensure they did not come to harm."

She stiffened slightly, as she looked up and met his eyes.

"Yet you didn't think I'd accept," she pointed out.

"I didn't," he admitted easily. "You knew from the start that I was trying to manipulate you. It was only logical you would be skeptical of another SHIELD related thing being thrown at you. But at the same time, I'm glad you did. I think I'll enjoy working with you."

"Harry's my official handler," she reminded him. "He's the one I deal with directly. Not you, not Coulson."

"And yet I cannot wait to work with you on the field," he said, grinning at her. "The two of us? I think we'll do some real damage together."

"And what is it you do, Clint Barton?" she asked, stepping closer to him.

"I shoot arrows," he said, and she nearly laughed, "Code name, Hawkeye."

"You shoot arrows," she said, repeating his statement. "Like some sort of medieval archer?"

"I think you'll find I never miss," he smirked at her. "I always hit my targets. Besides, I have exploding arrows. Medieval archers never had anything remotely that cool."

"I don't even know what to say to that," she said, shaking her head.

"I look forward to working with you, Stark," he grinned, and she laughed, as he turned to go.

"You too, Robin Hood," she said, shaking her head, as the man exited her home.

Just what had she gotten herself in to?


Toni Stark looked over the specs for the tower on the hologram in front of her as Pepper walked into the room, handing her a cup of coffee.

"You are the love of my life," Toni winked at her, and Pepped didn't as much as flinch.

"You said the same thing to Rhodey last week when he handed you a donut from that store you covet so much," Pepper said simply, "So clearly your love is all too freely given."

Toni raised a hand to her heart, "You wound me oh Pepper Pot, you do. I don't know how I'll ever recover from your harsh words of betrayal."

DUM-E beeped at them both, trying to sense if Toni was okay, and Toni patted her baby bot on the head.

"Your mother is just being dramatic, DUM-E," Pepper cooed at the bot, "Don't listen to a thing she says. She's perfectly fine."

"Sometimes I think that all of you love the bots more than me," Toni said, pouting at them all.

"Whatever you say, Toni," Pepper laughed, before turning to look at the holograms in front of them.

"Do you like it?" Toni asked, gesturing to the large tower model she had projected.

"Is this for the new Stark Industries office?" Pepper asked, as she moved closer, taking a good look at designs she had in front of her. "With all our expansion, we could use a new building sooner rather than later. God knows with all your new projects our demand keeps going up and up with each day."

"Actually," Toni said, looking at Pepper. "I've been doing some thinking, Pepper," she said Pepper turned to face her.

She took a deep breath, and Pepper squeezed her hand.

"I want the new building to be in New York," Toni said softly. "A tall skyscraper with my name on it, becoming a staple to the city skyline. I want it to be the first building run on clean energy and completely off the city's power grid. I want everyone to look at the building and know my name and know that it belongs to my company."

Pepper let out a gasp, "Clean energy? You want it to run on the arc reactor? Toni that's absolutely incredible. Do you know how much such a thing could raise our stocks by?"

"I do," she nodded, "I think it could be the future. If we can make clean energy affordable, then think about the future of this country. We could do so many great things if we had the means to do so. We just need somewhere to start."

"Then why do you still have that look on your face that you get before you do something that makes my life difficult," Pepper asked her, narrowing her eyes. "What are you planning, Toni?"

"I want to move there," she said after a moment. "Not full time. But at least for a few months of the year. I miss New York, Pepper. I know I convinced you to move the headquarters to Malibu so that we can live here, but New York was where I was raised. It was my home, my mother's home. And I find myself longing for it more and more each day. I miss the city and want to at least be able to spend more time in the city my mother raised me in. I'm not asking you to pack up your bags and come with me, or even move the headquarters of Stark Industries back to Manhattan. But I want to move into the Tower once construction is done. To live in there."

"Toni," Pepper said gently, placing a hand on her arm, "You're like my sister, you know that right? I only every want for you to be happy. You've had a rough couple of years. Decades really, I could argue. And if living in New York makes you happy, then I want you to do so. Besides, you have a private jet, so you're more than able to come back for every single Board Meeting that you need to be at in person."

She exhaled, letting out a breath she hadn't even known she'd been holding, as hugged Pepper tightly.

"Thank you," she said simply. "Thank you for listening to what I had to say and for not telling me that it was a stupid idea. That the company needs me to be here and that I need to put the company over my own personal feelings. Howard and Obie wouldn't have hesitated to tell me how foolish they thought I was being for wanting such a thing. They never really understood personal emotions and wanting to do something because it was what I wanted and not what would bring in billions of dollars."

"Running clean energy would bring in billions of dollars," Pepper pointed out, "It could be argued that you need to live there to help facilitate the transition, given the fact that we are setting up hundreds of new jobs and creating new departments within our company. But regardless of all of that, I want nothing more than for you to be happy, Toni. You left New York during a time of great pain. Your mother and father passed away and it hurt you. But it always was your home. So if you want to go back, then I can hold the fort down here while you continue to grow there and take our company to new heights."

"I love you, Pepper," she told her friend genuinely. "You're my family. I'm not going to ask you to come with me, not this time. But I know Stark Industries will be in good hands with you here still. Thank you, for everything you've done for me over the years."

"Of course," Pepper told her gently, "You're my family too, Toni. Now, why don't you go over the specs of the new building with me?"

Toni smiled at her, before launching into a virtual tour of the building, explaining all the key features, showing her all the bells and whistles of the building she would call her new home in the coming months.


It took exactly six months for her new tower to be built from the ground up, and while it was still reliant on the city for power for the time being, she was more than pleased with the work that had been done on it.

She'd personally done some of the construction for the building, helping lift the lettering that spelled out her last name to decorate the building so that everyone would know just who it belonged to when they looked up at it.

Once upon a time, it had been her father that people thought of when they heard the name Stark. They might not have known what he did, but they knew who he was.

But now, everyone knew her name. It didn't matter if they loved her or hated her, they all knew who she was and what she was capable of. They saw her come up with new designs and were awed, time and time again. They saw her fly around the world in a suit and save them from whatever catastrophe had come their way.

She was the Stark in Stark Industries now.

She was the one they all thought of.

"Miss Stark?" JARVIS called out, trying to get her attention, "Peter Parker, and his Aunt and Uncle are here for their tour of the facility."

"Thanks, JARIVS," she responded, "Let them know I'll be right down."

Peter had come to visit her a few times in Malibu, as she arranged for his family to take her jet down and stay with her for the weekend, as she and Peter would head down to her lab, and she'd work on whatever he'd want to with him. So far, they'd made a volcano that produced an almost scientifically accurate lava explosion, let him build his own computer from scratch with the materials of his choosing, and other ideas that he had brought to her, excited to be able to build.

And while his aunt and uncle had watched over them the first few times, they had quickly grown to trust her, taking to touring the city instead while Peter and she worked for a few hours.

Peter was a good kid, and she was amazed watching his mind work as he came up with different ideas, and she wondered if it was due to his parents having been scientists before their passing.

"Ms Stark!" Peter exclaimed excitedly, as his eyes lit up when she stepped out of the elevator. "This is incredible!"

"You haven't even seen the labs yet, Peter," she laughed as she smiled at his Aunt and Uncle, "I'm glad the two of you could come too."

"Peter hasn't stopped talking about how revolutionary your new building will be," Ben smiled at her, "I figured we'd come by and check out your new digs."

"No one says that anymore, Dear," May laughed as she squeezed her husband's hand. "But it would be nice to see where Peter is going to insist on spending all his free time if he were allowed."

"I'm doing educational stuff," Peter pouted, "Why am I limited in how many days a week I can come here?"

"Because Ms Stark has other responsibilities too," Ben told him gently, "And you have homework that you still need to get done, no matter how boring you find it."

"It's not fair," Peter sighed, and Toni knew what he was feeling all too well.

"If it were up to me I'd spend all my time in the lab too," Toni winked at Peter, "But my friends Rhodey and Pepper insist I make time for other important things too. It's important to make time for other things too Peter."

He sighed but lit up as she called the elevator to take them up to her own personal lab.

"Peter's been so excited to find out you moved here," May commented as the elevator went up. "His own personal hero in his city."

"I grew up here," she told May. "This is my city too. It's good to be back to where I was raised."

"Are you going to be working with the Research and Development team here?" Peter asked her curiously.

"I am," Toni confirmed, "In fact, my cousin Ava moved back here with me so that the two of us could work with the team here to develop new SI products."

"That's so cool," Peter's eyes lit up, as the elevator door opened.

"Go on," Toni gestured for him to exit first. Peter all but bounced out of the elevator, stepping into her new domain, the lab she'd set up for herself in this city.

"Hi DUM-E! Hi U! Hi Butterfingers!" Peter greeted her bots as her children all but came over excitedly at the site of Peter. "Hi Mr JARVIS."

"Hello Mister Peter," JARVIS responded, and Peter beamed up at him. "How have you been doing?"

"I've been good, Mr JARVIS!" Peter chatted with her AI. "I had a math test on Friday, and I think I did really good on it. I won't know at least until Wednesday though because Mrs Burnham takes time to mark them all and I have to wait. I'm so excited Ms Stark and all of you moved up here because it means I get to see you guys all the time."

"Speaking of which," Toni interjected, "What did you want to work on today, Peter?"

He grew quiet all of a sudden, as he took some diagrams he had drawn on lined paper out of his binder from his backpack and placed it on the lab table.

"I was hoping we could make a robot?" Peter asked her shyly. "It doesn't need to be an AI, I know that must be hard to make, but I was hoping the two of us could create a basic robot that I could take home."

Toni grinned at him, "I would love to make a robot with you. What were you thinking?"

Ben laughed, "Well, we'll leave the two of you to it. Do you mind if May and I look around some of the levels open to the public?"

Toni nodded, "JARVIS, can you send up one of the tour guides to give them a personal tour? Actually, see if Ava is free, she'll make sure they get the true Stark Industries experience."

"Only if it's not too much trouble," May elbowed Ben. "We don't want to pull any of your employees away from actual work so the two of us can be shown some stuff. We don't mind waiting in here while the two of you work. God knows I don't understand a thing either of you say, but it is fascinating to watch you both work."

"It's no trouble," Toni smiled, "Besides, I have a feeling you would get along with Ava. Just send her here after you're done so she can meet Peter."

"See you in a few hours, kiddo," Ben waved, and Peter waved back quickly, as the two of them stepped back into the elevator, ready to explore her building.

"Do you think the design looks doable?" Peter asked, as he turned to her. She asked JARVIS to scan it quickly as she projected it in front of them.

"I think you did an excellent job coming up with the design for this, Peter," she praised the child, "And that between the two of us, we'll have you going home with a little robot today."


It had been nearly a year since she'd moved back to New York when she received the news.

To her defence, it had been somewhat of a busy year, between getting the reactor to be powerful enough to power her new building sustainably and setting up several meetings with the city to be able to get such a thing approved. And then came all the designs she and the R&D department were coming up with to bring in a profit, as well as the work she was still doing with the Maria Stark Foundation to give back to those who had lost so much. That coupled with visits to see her Aunt Peggy and Uncle Daniel, as well as Board meetings in Malibu, missions with Rhodey as Iron Woman, she supposed she had been wearing herself a bit thin. Which was probably why such a small blip didn't even register on her radars until after the fact.

Of course, she'd had JARVIS running scanners on any encounters that were remotely out of the ordinary. But she supposed many things had a way of slipping in New York when it wasn't seen as something out of the blue.

She supposed men running around New York in confusion wasn't enough to raise any red flags, especially when she was searching for enhanced attacks, alien encounters, and the lot.

"Toni," she heard, as Harry walked onto her floor, Ava and Uncle Daniel tailing behind him.

"What is it?" she asked, fearing the worst, "What happened? Is Aunt Peggy okay? Did anything happen to her?"

"She's fine," Harry reassured her, "But we need to talk. Something has happened, something that you need to be aware of."

"Tell me," she demanded, and she saw them all look slightly worried. "Please, just tell me what it was that happened. Whatever it is, what ever happened, I can take it, I promise."

"SHIELD was on an artic expedition," Harry began, "Top secret. Very few people knew about it and very few people were on the trip. Phil Coulson went on it, however. Him and a team of a few other were searching for an entire year working on Project Valkyrie."

"And?" Toni said sharply. She was no stranger for those who went on artic expeditions looking for Steve Rogers. Hell, her father had dedicated half his life to trying to find the good captain and bring his body home. It didn't mean anything. It didn't mean they were successful.

"They found the remains of the ship," Harry said, and she exhaled slightly. "Alongside the body of Captain Steve Rogers. And they brought him back to a SHIELD facility in New York."

"Are they going to experiment on the body?" she exclaimed, a little stunned. Her mind was racing in circles, wondering what she could do to circumvent such a thing. Her father was on the project, one of the main scientists who had come up with the serum. Erskine was dead, but her father had left her everything in his will, including the ownership of all his work. That would mean she had a claim to the body.

The good captain deserved to be laid to rest. He deserved to finally be given a permanent home that wasn't at the bottom of the ocean. She wanted to give him that much. A hero such as himself deserved a peaceful ending, not to be dissected like some sort of lab rat and tested in an attempt to try and reproduce the serum.

Of course the idea of a serum that allowed men to have super human strength was something that she could understand to be desirable. But it didn't change the fact that the man had died trying to save them all from HYDRA. Did he not deserve to finally be at peace?

"Toni," Harry said cutting off her train of thought, "They found his body frozen in a block of ice. Somehow the serum preserved his vital body functions as he was encased, frozen as he remained under the ice."

"What are you saying?" she asked him, trembling slightly, unsure of what her cousin was telling her.

Steve Rogers, the man her father preferred her to her entire life. The person Howard Stark had preferred to name his legacy over her. The man her father had searched for his entire life, missing over many important moments in her life in the search of the man over. The man that her father had claimed to be worth far more than she could ever amount to.

Steve Rogers, who was everything she'd never be. Everything she could never come close to being, no matter how hard she tried, no matter how hard she worked. She'd never be good enough, not in comparison to the honourable Captain America, no matter how much she wished she'd be worth such a thing.

And here was her cousin, telling her what exactly? What was her cousin even trying to say? Because it was impossible. It was completely and utterly impossible. There was no way that the words her cousin was trying to tell her could possibly make any sense.

She was a genius, she knew far more than anyone in the room at any given time, and yet she found herself standing here, utterly speechless, unsure of what it was that her cousin was trying to say. And even though she could feel the pieces fitting together in her head, it didn't make any sense to her. She couldn't compute the information being handed to her.

Frozen in a block of ice, preserving all vital organs.

Oh Watson and Crick.

"Toni, Steve Rogers was frozen in the ice," Harry told her slowly. "SHIELD had been defrosting his body for hours when they found out that his heart was still beating. Captain America is alive."

She grew pale, as his words registered in her ears and JARVIS played the clip of him running amok in Times Square as SHIELD personnel cornered him and Fury explained that he was in the future.

Things were definitely going to get far more interesting.