A/N: Guess whose...guess whose...guess whose back!
Read it. Enjoy it. Review it.
"You were meant to be more!"
Katie's eyes snapped open, her entire body drenched in sweat. She placed a hand over her chest, trying to calm her breath, and the ramming of her heart. Her eyes lifted to the window on the other side of the room, the sun filtering in. She sat up from the bed, the booming voice still causing her to shake a bit.
She heard the sound of distant laughter from outside the room, and she let out another deep breath before standing to her feet to pull on her robe. She went into the bathroom, and splashed some water on her face, before drying with a towel and glancing up to the mirror. Her hair was a mess over her head, verifying another night of tossing and turning. She grabbed a rubber band and pulled her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head.
"You're fine." she whispered looking back to her reflection. "They're just dreams." with another deep breath, she turned and headed out the room to the ridiculously long hallway of their safe house.
When Clint said he had a friend who had a great place for them to disappear, she didn't expect a modest mansion in the middle of miles of land. Apparently the place was one of SHIELD's old safe houses. It had all the amenities and more because anyone sent here probably wouldn't see the rest of the world for a while. She climbed down the stairs, the sound of her daughter's laughter getting closer.
Soon she spotted the child, and the moment Natalia saw her mother, she ran right to her. Katie scooped the girl into her arms, just as her husband ran in.
"Look who's awake." Clint's says walking over to the woman. "I thought I was going to have check on you."
"Well that's what happens when daddy keeps mommy up all night." Katie replied as the man leaned in for a kiss, only for his daughter's hand to shoot up and stop him. He looked down to the girl and smiled. "Have you fed our little monster?"
"I have, we were just on our way upstairs for a bath." Clint says snagging the child from his wife. "And then we're going to go to the market and get some food. Check out the list in the kitchen, and see if anything needs to be added." he placed a kiss to her cheek before heading upstairs, Natalia's laughter echoing as they left.
Katie smiled with a shake of her head before heading off to the kitchen. She spotted the list, and instantly shook her head at the amount of sweets listed.
"Oh no you don't." she muttered, already imagining her little toddler hyped up on sugar. She walked over, and pulled open a drawer to grab a pen only to pause at the sight of something else. The small flip phone was just sitting there. She forgot all about the phone Steve had given her before they left. She picked it up, and powered it on. Holding her breath at the thought of a missed call, or text. A sigh of relief escaped her lips to find that there was nothing waiting for her. She scrolled through it a bit, still finding it funny that Steve had actually given her a flip phone. It was smart, harder to trace, but it still made her cringe when she had to press so many buttons. She pulled open the contacts to find only two names. Her eyes glanced from Steve's name, to Tony's and her mind instantly went back to the last time she saw him, on that plane and how he looked at her. She could never get over how the friendship she thought she could always count on through anything, was just gone. With a shake of her head, Katie once again powered off the phone before tossing it back into the drawer and grabbing a pen.
After a few moments, the woman poured herself a cup of coffee and stood staring out the window to the backyard. The sound of footsteps tore her from her thoughts, and she turned to see Clint and Natalia, both changed and ready to go. Clint grabbed the list, and shook his head at the changes Katie made.
"Did you really add carrot sticks?" he asked looking over to Katie who chuckled. "But they're gross."
"They're also healthy, and are the type of food she should be snacking on instead of cookies and candy." Katie replied as the man looked back down to the list. "You know I should just come with you and—" Clint lifted his eyes to Katie and she let out a sigh. "That's right, I forgot. I'm a prisoner."
"No, you're safe. The moment you step outside, the moment some facial recon satellite finds you, and then our safe little life here just goes kaput." the man folded the list and slipped it into his pocket. "I don't want to leave anymore homes."
"Because of me."
"That's not what I meant, I just-" he sighed, because he didn't want to have this conversation. Because he's sure it will turn into an argument, and that's the last thing he wants. "We should get going. We should be back soon." Katie didn't push, she never did. She didn't want to argue either, but it didn't hide the truth. She simply gave a nod, before watching the pair leave.
Katie stood there for a few moments, until she heard the sound of engine of Clint's car, before she hurried upstairs. She quickly changed into a pair of yoga pants, and a long sleeved shirt. She grabbed a baseball cap, and a pair of sunglasses before quickly hurrying down the stairs and out the door. She wasn't proud of herself for keeping this from Clint. It's just she was going crazy locked away in this big house. She needed the feel of the sun on her skin, the wind against her hair. It's why every time the man goes on his weekly trip to the market, she goes for a quick jog. At this point, she has a route, one that's not too far, and allows her a bit of freedom before she has to head back.
She'd gotten to the end of her trail, when she was about to turn back, but a sudden whistling sound caused her turn and search for the source. Her eyes glanced around, not seeing much beyond the tall trees. Her eyes suddenly caught something in the distance. Katie squinted slightly, making out what looked like a person wearing a hood.
"Are you ok?!" she called out to the person, but they didn't say a word. The whistling sound only got louder and Katie clasped her hands over her ears, tightening her eyes closed unsure what was happening. Without warning, the whistling came to a sudden halt. Katie's heart was still racing as she lowered her hands, and opened her eyes only to find that the person was gone. She looked around for a moment, but they were really gone. With a shake of her head she turned, about to run back to the house, when the hooded person was now in front of her. "What-" he threw a punch, that she quickly dodged, before instinctively throwing a counter punch. The moment she threw the punch, her fist had only touched the hood before it felt like it was pulling her. Katie stumbled forward, before lifting her head and realizing she wasn't on the trail any longer. She was in the middle of a crowded market road. She looked around in confusion, before turning and walking from the crowd. Katie found herself on another road, one less crowded, but more confusing. She didn't have a phone or anyway to call Clint. She didn't actually know where she was right now.
That was until she saw it. It was the old wooden double doors from her dreams. One of the doors, suddenly cracked open on it's own, and Katie took a slight step back, her eyes looking around to see if anyone else had saw it. No one made any sign that they cared about the door, or her in that moment. She turned back to the door, and slowly crept forward.
Matthew Banks hated his job. He assumed after the whole thing with his sister, the world thinking she and Captain America were fugitives, that he'd be chained to a desk right now, but nope...he was in India.
In India, where it was hot and he was wearing entirely way too many clothes. His current mission, follow Tony Stark. To reiterate, Matthew Banks hated his job.
The young man was heavily disguised, with a blonde wig, and even a prosthetic nose to avoid being identified by Tony. The current Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross was intent on getting a lead on both his sister or Steve and he figured one of them would reach out to Tony. Matthew thought it was a crock of you know what. He wasn't completely sure of what actually happened between the three of them the last time they were together, but he knows something changed. It's why he knows there probably wouldn't be any secret meetings between them.
Matthew followed Tony's expensive car, back to his even more ridiculous expensive hotel which was the only highlight to Matthew's stay.
"Thank god." Matthew muttered realizing they were returning to the hotel. He watched as Tony went inside, before he followed.
Once inside, he spotted Tony stepping onto the elevator, and so he walked over to catch the one beside it. Matthew's floor was below Tony's, but he'd already gotten access to surveillance video on Tony's floor allowing him to see when the man came and went. He headed down the hall toward his room, when he got the sudden feeling that he was being followed. Matthew stopped and glanced over his shoulder, but didn't see anyone. He shook off the feeling, before turning and continuing to his room. He'd only taking a few steps before that feeling seemed to creep back up, and this time he turned around fully to scan the hall. It was this moment a familiar fragrance met his nose, and the man just rolled his eyes. Matthew turned and continued down the hall, making the normal left at the end of the hall, but instead of continuing, he pressed his back against the wall and waited. As expected, just moments later, Matthew quickly grabbed his stalker, slamming their back against the wall as he holds them in place. Only problem was, it was the one person Matthew really didn't want it to be.
"Hey, watch the suit!" Tony snapped before pushing the man back. He looked at Matthew for a moment, that's when Matthew realized Tony didn't know who he was. "Why are you following me?" Matthew wanted to respond, to deny the allegation, but he was never good at disguising his voice. He was more of in the field agent, not some rich boy babysitter. Instead he turned and continued to his room. "Hey, I found you, you're caught, just tell me who you're working for?!" Tony didn't get a reply, which only annoyed him. "Well suit yourself." Matthew had taken only a single step before hearing something metallic behind him. The moment he turned, he saw Tony with one of his iron suit's hand, pointed right at him. Matthew quickly reached for his gun, but before he could, a jolt of electricity hit him square in the chest, and stole consciousness from him in a blink of an eye.
It was yelling that finally stirred Matthew. His initial response was to move, but he instantly noticed that he just couldn't.
"What the hell were you thinking, Tony!" a voice snapped, and Matthew cracked open his eyes to see Tony, and a very angry Pepper Potts standing in front of him. "You can't attack people, drag them to your room and then tie them up."
"That's funny, because that's exactly-" Tony turned to the man, now seeing his open eyes. "Well hello there." he walked over, towering over the man who looked up to him. "So I've run your ugly mug through facial recon, and I've gotten nothing. So either you don't exist, or you're one of either SHIELD, or a very stupid HYDRA flunkie who missed the memo." Matthew didn't say anything, as he dropped his head and groaned at the soreness that seemed to be radiating off of him. "Speak!"
"You know what-" Matthew finally spoke lifting his head to the man. "Fuck it. It's the nose, and the contacts, maybe the wig. Once they're gone, your little program would've told you exactly who I am."
"Matthew?" It was Pepper who spoke, instantly recognizing the voice as she walked over. Tony suddenly reached forward pulling off the wig and the prosthetic nose, and looking down to the man instantly recognizing him. "What is this?" Matthew didn't say anything as he looked down to himself to see how he was tied. It seemed to be some kind of metallic clamps that didn't give the man any wiggle room to move at all.
"You know buddy you don't have to dress up like an asshole to hang with me. All it takes is a phone call." Tony replied and Matthew scoffed.
"Buddy, huh?" Matthew said glancing back up to the man. "You're not my buddy Tony. I mean you left my sister to die, you're furthest thing from my buddy." Tony dropped his head and turned with a shake of his head.
"Matthew, Tony told me what happened." Pepper said, crouching down in front of the man. "He said it was an impossible situation-"
"Tony Stark said a situation was impossible, and you believed him?" Matthew asked and the woman sighed. "Can you just release me from whatever this is? Don't worry the moment I get out of here, you won't ever see me again."
"Hey Pep, can you give us a minute." Tony said and the woman turned to him with a furrowed brow. "Please." the woman gave a nod before turning back to Matthew giving a slight pat on the knee before turning and leaving the pair to the adjoining room.
"You know I love that leaving my sister to die, somehow pushed you to go find Pepper and reconcile. You probably told her Rinny was dead, and that sealed the deal, huh?"
"You know what Mattie, you want to be an asshole, fine, but you leave Pepper out of it!" Tony snapped, grabbing a chair and sliding it to sit in front of the man. "What is this? Is this Ross? He is your new master, right?" Matthew chuckled with a shake of his head. "what does he want?"
"For some reason he thinks Steve or my sister will reach out to you and when that happened, he wanted eyes on you." Matthew replied turning back to the man.
"So that means she escaped?" Tony asked and Matthew shook his head. "Matthew, look, I looked into that ship, and I was going to-"
"Were you going to go back for her?" Matthew asked. "They tortured her Tony. They were looking for her mother who has the secret to make the perfect unstoppable soldier in her head. But you know Rinny, she didn't talk." Tony dropped her head once again, letting a hand slide through his hair. "Let me go Tony. You won't see me again."
"Bucky Barnes killed my parents." Tony said plainly, lifting his eyes back to Matthew. "And she-"
"She didn't know Bucky killed your parents." Matthew said with a shake of his head.
"No, she did know that their deaths weren't and accident. And she knew HYDRA was behind it and she didn't tell me." Tony replied before standing to his feet and walking over to the window. "Steve knew and didn't tell me and when I tried-"
"When you tried to kill Bucky, Steve stopped you. Then when you tried to kill Steve, Rinny stopped you." Matthew said, but Tony didn't turn to the man. "And since she wouldn't stand there and watch you kill people, you let her go off to destination unknown."
"You don't think I feel guilty about that?" Tony asked stalking back over to sit in front of the man. "You don't think I would do things differently if I could. I would Mattie."
"I don't care what you would've done, because it doesn't matter. Tony if I could, I would've understood why my sister was helping a man I wanted to kill. If I could, I would've been smart enough not to point a gun at her. I would've believed her from the start, but because I-" he looked at the man and sighed. "But because we didn't trust her, we ended up on the wrong side of the fight."
"Mattie-"
"Will you stop calling me that? She calls me that. Its her name for me." Matthew said before looking down to himself, once again. "Will you just let me go?" Tony sighed, before reaching into his pocket and grabbing his phone. He tapped a few buttons and suddenly the clamps just fell to the floor before coiling up into a box. The moment he was free, Matthew stood to his feet and stalked toward the door.
"Matt!" Tony called after the man, and despite the young man's anger, he stopped. "I'm sorry."
"I don't want your apologies, Tony." Matthew said, glancing back to the man. "I just want to know where my sister is, I want to know if the only niece I have has said her first words yet, you know I actually wouldn't mind seeing C." the man shrugged. "Things happened, and now we live with them." and with that the man turned and left.
Pepper heard the door, and finally came back to the room where she found Tony, just standing there looking at the door. She walked over, slipping her hand in his, before dropping her head to his shoulder.
"She's alive." Tony said suddenly, and Pepper lifted her head to look at him. "I knew she was alive, knew somehow, someway she'd get away from Ross."
"Does that mean you're going to go looking for her?" Pepper asked, trying to keep her tone void of the emotions that suddenly hit her.
"It means that she's alive and I'm fine with that." Tony replied turning to the woman, placing a hand on her cheek. "I should head back to New York, I have the feeling Mr. Parker is tangling himself in a web he may not be able to get himself out of."
There was an odd smell in the air as Katie moved about the dim lit hall. She was screaming in her head to turn, and leave and just go back home. It was strange though. Despite the screaming in her head, she kept walking, kept going further, trying to find whatever it is she was apparently looking for.
Katie came to a hall, and she didn't hesitate to turn. That's when she knew whatever was happening couldn't be normal. Her feet seemed to know where she was going in this building that looked like a battle had ravaged it's walls. Soon she found herself in a room, that was completely destroyed, as the walls seemed to be coming down, and crumpled bricks covered the floor. There was something about this room, something that she couldn't explain. She spun around unsure what about this room had drawn her.
"It's strange the things you can hold onto if you try your hardest." a voice spoke, and Katie whipped around and saw standing there the bald woman from her dreams, dressed in some sort of strange yellow garment. "Hello Katherine."
"You-" Katie found herself speechless. It's strange the moment you see something you only thought existed in your head.
"I wanted more time. I wanted to show you the world that's locked away from you, but I can't." the woman said with a slight smile, before glancing up. Katie followed her eyes suddenly seeing the ceiling cracking and some sort of light coming through. "There is a battle happening." Katie dropped her eyes back to the woman. "A battle, like the others, you are destined to attend."
"Destined?" Katie asked, unsure why that sounded so strange. The woman smiled with a sigh. "Who are you?"
"Someone rooting for you." the woman said, placing a hand over chest. "That feeling moving around you. That will lead you, you must follow it, only when you're controlling it."
"What does that-" before Kate could even ask the question, the woman was gone. "It's official. I've gone insane." Katie turned, sliding a hand across her face. "That feeling will lead you." she dropped her hand to her side. "Lead me where?" Katie closed her eyes, because at the moment she was at a loss. Unsure what was happening, or why she was just letting it happen. When she opened her eyes, ,she shook her head before turning. She decided this truly was insane, and she was going to leave and hope to hell she made it back before Clint.
She started to move out of the room, but something stopped her. Something she couldn't explain, just would not let her leave that room, and so she grit her teeth and turned around.
"What is it?" she muttered, closing her eyes and letting out a deep sigh. "Just show me!" suddenly something hit Katie's shoulder and when she opened her eyes, she wasn't in that room anymore. She was outside, but if her eyes were seeing what she thinks she's seeing then she thinks she may be in Hong Kong. "It's official. I'm bat shit crazy."
Clint's eyes always scanned around the house when he pulled up. He was always watching for a sign that it wasn't safe, that something was wrong. At the moment, there were no sign, but for some reason he just had this nagging feeling that something wasn't right. He glanced back to his daughter who had fallen asleep during the drive. He smiled over to her, before stepping out, and going to pluck her from her car seat. Her head fell to his shoulder and he placed a kiss to the top of her head.
Once inside, noticed there wasn't the smell of food in the air. Since they arrived, Katie had taken up cooking to cure her boredom. She'd gotten a book of different recipes, and she decided that she was going to try all of them. Some of them were good, others were not. But walking into the house to smell of something cooking always brought a smile to Clint's face. It made this place feel real. Like a home.
Today there was no aroma in the air. Clint walked over to the kitchen to find it empty. His eyes glancing over to the mug of coffee he remembers seeing Katie holding before they left. He walks over, and with one hand feels the back of the cup, only to find its ice cold. His wife doesn't waste coffee. She's actually a bit of a coffee addict, so there's no way in hell she'd only drink half a cup.
Clint tightens his grasp on Natalia, his eyes searching for any irregularities, listening for any foreign sounds. If they'd been found, he'd be in handcuffs right now. He narrows his eyes before heading for the stairs only to stop when there's a knock at the door.
Clint slowly turns, because in all the months they've stayed in this house, no one has ever knocked on that door.
Was she dreaming?
Katie pinched herself, and when she felt the pain, she knew this really was happening. One moment she's in a wreck of a room, and the next, she's walking down the street in Hong Kong.
People were running, screaming in fear, buildings were destroyed and Katie lifted her eyes to see the source. There was something happening with the sky. It was broken somehow, and something was coming through. Something dark, but filled with ominous colors at the same time. "What the hell have you gotten yourself into this time?" she spun around figuring the sky being torn by another dimension screamed Asgardian, and she hoped to spot Thor, the only person that could make her not feel nervous right now. She began walking, foolishly in the direction peopled seemed to be running from. There were two men up a head who didn't seem to be running in fear. As Katie neared she heard them speaking.
"The Dark Dimension. Dormammu is coming."
"Dor-who?" Katie spoke suddenly and both men turned to her, and Katie's eyes went wide because she recognized them instantly. She took a step back, once again speechless at the sight of people she only thought existed in her head. "Wait, I'm dreaming, this is-" she slid her hands through her hair, and closed her eyes because these things just didn't happen in reality.
"Katherine." Katie opened her eyes and looked over to the man who looked a bit more kempt since she last saw him. she looked at him in confusion, because he'd just said her name. Some guy from one of her dreams is standing in front of her and he just said her name. "She said you would be here."
"Who-" Katie shook her head. "How do you know my name?" she glanced over to the other man who stared in shock as well. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she turned back to the man who somehow knew her name, her eyes dropping to necklace around his neck, the green gem catching her attention. Katie reached out, wrapping the stone with her hand, and it was as if nothing else mattered.
"Katherine, look at me." the man said, but Katie was too engrossed. He turned to his friend who glanced to him in confusion. "At some point we're going to have a conversation about this, but right now we need to stop-" he glanced up to the sky seeing the dimension spreading further and further. "We need to stop that."
"Not stop, Stephen." Katie said suddenly lifting her eyes to the man. The words weren't hers, or at least it didn't feel like they were. There was something about the stone in her hand, the energy emitting from it. It was strange but it was as if the words came from it. But that's not possible...was it? It was still speaking, and so she continued. "Undo." he looked at her for a moment, when it clicked. She released the necklace and took a step back, before Stephen turned, and so naturally lifted his hands spinning in a circular motion, and suddenly everything started moving backwards. Katie stood there, and watched as everything around them was being rewound back. Collapsed building's being rebuilt, injured, or dead people, now back and alive. Katie looked around, wondering why she seemed immune to whatever was happening around them. Her eyes lifted to the sky to see the dimension that was spreading above them now getting smaller.
Stephen dropped his hand, and turned to Katie whose eyes stayed to the sky. His eyes caught a piece of flying debris that was coming right toward her, and he quickly grabbed her shoulders, pulling her out of the way. She turned to him with a shake of her head, her eyes still not quite believing what they were seeing.
"We have to move." Stephen told her, and she nodded before they began running, trying to dodge people and flying objects as everything seemed to be going back to it's original state. Suddenly Stephen was tackled, and Katie stopped to see an unfamiliar man in a familiar yellow garment, but she could tell from his dark eyes that he was the enemy here. Katie took a step to help him, but was grabbed from behind by a woman who didn't seem affected by the rewind thing that was happening around them either. The woman threw a punch, but Katie dropped missing it, before spinning, grabbing the woman's other arm, twisting it behind her back and shoving her to the ground. Her eyes widened, and she had to quickly jump back to dodge a car that sped by. Katie turned to Stephen who was still engaged in a fight of his own, before looking back at what was happening around her. Everything was moving so quickly, and Katie had to keep moving. This seemed so unreal, and even though Katie was standing right here witnessing it, she still didn't believe it. There was a sudden cloud of smoke and dust that took over the area and blinded them, and Katie spun around unsure where to move, until she's bumped from behind so hard that she's almost thrown across the road. She lets out a grunt falling on her back, before turning to see Stephen lying there beside her. There were nearing footsteps and she quickly stood to her feet, slightly wobbling as she tried to steady herself. The man in yellow stalked toward Stephen, and for some reason...some completely stupid reason, Katie moved to stand in front of him.
Here she was totally and completely out of her element. Practically seconds from a mental breakdown, and there's still a bit of boldness within her. Still that fire inside of her that keeps fighting even when nothing around her makes sense. Right now she was prepared to fight in a battle she has no doubt is beyond her realm of belief. And yet she stands tall, and stares the man down.
"What are you?" he's asks, his eyes studying her, and noticing something strange about her instantly. He just can't figure out what.
"Angry." Katie breathed, just as Stephen's friend suddenly threw out some sort of glowing whip that grabbed the yellow man's ankle and tossed him into a wall that seemed to trap the man inside.
They stand and watch as everything keeps rewinding, and the dimension slowly goes away.
"Wong!" Stephen says, and he and his friend run over to someone. Katie's eyes are drawn to the sky, to the dimension, and the stars and she feels that familiar feeling that twists inside of her as she looks up to it.
"The sanctum is restoring, but they will attack it again. We have to defend it." she turns at Stephen's voice, glancing over to Katie, and his friend's follow his eyes. "Katherine-"
"Mordo." she says pointing to the man at Stephen's right, his name suddenly at the front of her mind, before turning to the man to his left. "Wong." she drops her eyes to the stone around Stephen's neck. "And let me guess, I'm here because of that." she met his eyes. "I'm not here to fight. You're going to figure out how to use that-" she pointed to the green gem around his neck that she knew had to be an infinity stone. "It's time." she tilted her head as she looked at the stone once again. "Some people fear of their time running out, but not many understand the fact that some moments need to end." she met Stephen's eyes once again. "You will keep it safe at all costs." it was an order she found herself with the unspoken authority to give, and he simply gave her a nod, before she once again looked up to the sky. "I'm too close to him here." she didn't know what that meant. She didn't know who "he" was, but she felt with every fiber in her body that the statement was true.
Katie closed her eyes and turned around, and she could just feel it instantly. The moment she was some place else. She opened her eyes and found herself standing just outside of her house and relief washed over her.
The plane ride back to New York was painfully silent, and less amusing as the flight to India. Pepper's eyes looked over to Tony who kept his eyes out the window, an untouched drink in his hand.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Tony turned with raised eye brows at the question. "I can practically see the wheels spinning Tony. What's up?" Tony shook his head before taking a sip from his glass.
"Nothing, I'm fine." he pulled on a carefree smile, she knows he's learned to perfect even when it's a lie. "Just upset this trip was a bust."
"Tony, I'm sure Bruce is fine, we'll see him again." Tony gave a slight smile and a nod before looking back out the window. "But that's not who you're thinking about right now." he turned back to her and she just smiled. "You know can talk to me about her. You can tell me you miss her or that you're worried about her." Tony sat down the drink and looked over to the woman in surprise. "What?"
"You don't have to do that, Pep. I understand the pressure points of our relationship and that's one I don't plan on pressing again." Pepper turned away, hating that he was right. She knew the conversation she was trying to initiate would probably shred her insides, but she also knows the love of her life is sad.
"Tony-" she turned back to the man. "If our relationship can't stand the pressure of certain topics, then it's not as strong as I know it is. Talk to me."
Tony turned away, his hand scratching across the slight stubble on his chin before he lets out a sigh and turns back to Pepper, but he still didn't say anything and she just rolled her eyes.
"Fine, how about I start. You miss her."
"She lied to me."
"You miss tinkering with her in your lab, and blowing stuff up."
"She kept the truth about my parents from me, and that's unforgivable-" he shook his head. "And we didn't blow stuff up." he tilted his head slightly. "Not often."
"You miss your weird genius moments where you're talking in your computer language that I don't understand."
"She wasn't who I thought she was."
"And yet you miss her."
"Pepper, really I don't miss her." Tony sighed in frustration before turning back to the window. "I nothing her." Pepper let out a snort and Tony turned to her.
"Tony you blackmailed that woman to work with you."
"I wanted her for her brain." he replied with a shrug and Pepper shook her head at the man.
"Tony you can lie to yourself all you want, but it will only hurt you in the end if you do. You need to feel what you're feeling and find a way to move forward."
"I can't forget what she did. I can't pretend that the betrayal isn't between us right now. Look she made a choice, and now she will live with it."
"And if any of that is true, so is one other thing."
"Don't say I-"
"You miss her Tony." the man threw his hands in the air in frustration before grabbing his glass and standing to his feet.
"I need another drink."
Katie had never been more happy to see this house than this very moment. The moment she saw it, she quickly rushed inside, her eyes darting around in search of her husband.
"Bart!" she called anxiously. She had no idea what time it was, or even what day it was, but she knew she needed to see Clint's face, knew she needed to just hold her daughter in her arms and never let her go. Ironic how time was not her friend at the moment. She rushed upstairs, hurrying into the bedroom and her eyes immediately went to the closet. She panicked the moment she saw his clothes were gone. She turned and headed down the hall, going into Natalia's room, and seeing her clothes and toys were also go. "No, no, no." she rushed back down the stairs, relief only coming to her when she sees the man sitting at the kitchen table. "Bart." she walked over to him, only for him to stand to his feet to keep distance from her. "I know you're probably angry right now, but I have to explain the shit load of craziness that just happened." she glanced around before turning back to the man. "Where is Tai?"
"You left the house." he simply said, and Katie quirk a brow because he didn't answer her question.
"Bart-"
"We went to the market and then we came back, and you were just gone."
"Bart, I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now, but I promise you I can explain everything." Katie replies taking another step toward the man. "Where is Tai?"
"She's not here."
"I see that, but where exactly is she? Do you want to move again?"
"Actually no Kat, I don't want to move again. I really liked this place. But you left the house when we're being hunted right now. You know I thought you were in danger, I thought they found us." the man shook his head. "Then I find out you left voluntarily."
"Found out from who?"
"Does it even matter Kat?" he asked and Katie shook her head. "Why isn't this enough? Why is a quiet life with your husband and your daughter just not enough."
"It is!" she said, taking another step toward him, but he only backed away from him. "It was a run, that turned into something else. I'm not going anywhere."
"That's just it Kat, you're already gone." the man said before looking down to his watch then looking back over to the woman. "My daughter was supposed to grow up in a nice house, and have friends and go to school. I'm going to ensure that happens."
"Bart, where is my daughter?" the woman asked before the man's phone rang.
"I'm on my way." he said before ending the call and looking back over to the woman. "Kat-"
"You're leaving, and you're taking my daughter." she stated and the man couldn't even reply. She couldn't see how much this was breaking his own heart.
"You know when we were in that chapel in Vegas, and we stood at that alter and said vows, I meant every word."
"Except that you would stick by me through the tough times apparently!" Katie snapped. "Bart something is happening. I can feel it, and it's drawing me into it whether I like it or not. If you would just let me explain what-"
"And then I took another vow the day that little girl was born." he continued, not even listening to her excuses anymore. "I promised her that I would die before I let any danger come to her." he looked at the woman for a moment, taking a step toward her, his eyes cold. Something she never thought would see aimed at her. "And right now that's you. You're dangerous Kat." the woman turned away from his eyes with a shake of her head. She swallowed the lump in her throat, because the moment the words came out of his mouth, it was like a knife to the heart.
"You can't just take my daughter away from me. I'm her mother." she looked back to the man, placing a hand on her chest above her heart. "I am her mother and I am your wife, and I don't know what I will do if you walk out that door." Clint dropped his head at the words, and knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up if he didn't leave right now.
"Her safety comes before everything, right?" he asked looking back over to the woman. "Before everything." Katie stood there, and she could feel her body shaking. She watched as Clint turned, and she knows that she should go after him, that she should stop him from leaving and taking her baby, but she couldn't stop thinking about his words and the truth they held. She has been the most dangerous person in her daughter's life, and she can't blame the man for doing something about it.
The moment the door closes behind Clint, Katie just drops to the floor sobbing. Her world just walked out of the door, and now she doesn't know what she's going to do.
She doesn't even know how long she was on that floor when suddenly there were footsteps behind her, and at this point she didn't even care if it were enemy or friend.
"Katherine," a voice spoke, and she lifted her tear filled eyes to see Stephen. A part of her really wanted him to just be a figment of her imagination, and the last couple of hours to not have happened.
"You can't be real." she said with a shake of her head before dropping her eyes. "Because if you're real then I'm-"
"Then you're Katherine Barton." The man replies, before lowering himself to sit in front of her. "And I am Dr. Stephen Strange and you don't know this, but your random appearance earlier tonight helped me in ways I can never repay. So thank you. Why are you crying?"
"Because my husband just left me and he took our daughter with him." she looked up meeting his eyes with a shake of her head. "And I can't blame him, because I screwed up. I always screw up. It is my destiny to screw up and lose the people that I love." she dropped her head to her hands and sighed. Stephen sat there, watching the woman, looking for something. After a few moments of silence, she lifted her eyes back to the man. "Why are you here?"
"I don't know." Stephen replied honestly before reaching forward and taking her hand in his. "But I know you must come with me now." Katie furrowed her brow, before glancing over to the door. There was a small part of herself that believed Clint would come back for her, would just feel that she needed him, but he never did.
"He wouldn't just walk away." she whispered her eyes still on the door. "He wouldn't just leave me alone." she turned back to Stephen who looked at the woman unsure what to say to make her feel better in this moment.
"What if I told you that you were not alone." the man replied and Katie let out a sigh with a shake of her head before standing to her feet and stalking off. Stephen sat there for a moment before standing to his feet and following after the woman who hurried upstairs. When he found her, she was in a bed room stuffing clothes into a bag.
"You're not real." Katie muttered to herself. "It's why he left and took my baby with him. Because whatever this is inside of me that sees you, and keeps finding these damn stones is ruining my life." she zipped up the bag, before stalking out of the door, only to appear back in the bedroom. She stopped and looked around in confusion before glancing over to Stephen who stood arms folded over his chest as he looked over to her. She glared at him before shaking her head, and once again stalking out of the room, only to end up right back in the bedroom. "Will you stop that!"
"Stop what? This isn't real, remember?" he said with a shrug of his shoulders, and Katie looked over to him before dropping her head. "Or all of it is real and it's happening to you for reason. I'm standing in this room in utter frustration for a reason."
"And what reason is that?" she asked looking over to him.
"Some strange woman showed up out of no where on Mount Everest and told me to believe in the impossible, and for some reason I did." he looked over to the woman and just shook his head. "I thought you were a figment of my imagination. Whenever I asked about you to the Ancient One, she always answered my questions with more question until the moment she was gone."
"The moment before she was gone." Katie replied turning slightly remembering seeing the woman she thought was a figment of her own imagination. "I think I got her last few seconds." she looked back over to the man and stared at him as if searching for something inside of herself to rationalize this moment. Something to prove that she really wasn't crazy. "What did she tell you?"
"She said you were going to need help. You would need someone to keep you from getting lost."
"You're my compass." Katie replied remembering the words from a dream with a shake of her head, before turning back to the man, the pair standing in silence, until Katie speaks, her voice almost a whisper as if someone could be listening. "Something is coming. Something big and powerful that's not going to get knocked down by just the two of us."
"And how do you know this?" he asked, the woman speaking of things that have not yet happened only reminded him of the ancient woman who gave him a second chance at life.
The woman just shook her head, because even after all this time, this feeling moving inside of her, that seemed so strong, she still didn't know what it was.
"I don't know."
That night Katie seemed travel from Nepal to New York in just a matter of minutes through a door of spinning light created from Stephen simply spinning his hand. The moment she stood in the massive building that seemed so out of place on the streets of New York, her eyes looked around before Stephen's voice filter in.
"I'm still not completely sure where everything is, but I'm positive that if you get lost here I will probably find you." he said, and Katie turned to him with quirked brow and he just shrugged. "Or you could be lost forever. I'm just being honest. I will show you to your room." Katie took a step, but stopped to grab the handle of her bag, only to find her suitcase gone.
"Where-" she looked over to Strange who was already walking. "What the hell am I doing?" she shook her head before catching up to the man.
It was the dead of night when Katie sat freshly showered at the window listening to the bustling sound of a city that held so much of her. This was the last place she was supposed to be. With Ross, and probably a couple of more people on her ass, returning to this city was probably the last thing she should be doing. Well maybe not the last thing. She was currently holding the small flip phone Steve had given her, the one with two numbers programmed, debating on hitting the button on one of them. Her eyes glanced out the window once more, the sounds and lights of the city only reminded her of a simpler time when everything wasn't so screwed up. She glanced up to the starless sky and sighed thinking about her husband and daughter who felt the need to leave her. Her heart still ached, and she doesn't think it will go away until her eyes see them again. She glanced down to the phone once again, her finger hovering over that green button, and against her better judgment she just throws caution to the wind and presses it. She brings the phone to her ear, listening to nerve wrecking ring. For a moment she doesn't think he will answer, and there's some relief in that. She's about to end the call, when the audible click of the line finally answers, but no sound follows. He doesn't say anything, and neither does she.
"Hey," she finally speaks, her voice not as strong as she hoped for in this moment. "Guess who's not dead?" he still doesn't say anything, only verifying her fear that this was a bad idea. "Right," she shook her head. "Right, this was a bad-"
Tony slips out of the bedroom onto the terrace, closing the door behind him. He glances back to make sure Pepper was still asleep before stepping over to the balcony.
"Of course this was a bad idea." she continued. "I won't call you again."
"I really did think you were dead." Tony finally spoke. "Like I replayed that moment I saw you being dragged unconscious to destination unknown, and I just turned around and left you there." the man looked over to the bright lights of the city "Never thought I'd be so angry with you, that I'd just not care what happened to you."
Katie dropped her head against the glass of the window, closing her eyes, and feeling like this call was a mistake with every passing second.
"It's fine, I don't blame you. I messed up." she chuckled dryly, as the truth of her words hit her. "And when I mess up, the people I care about leave me behind." the line was silent for a moment, before Tony once again spoke.
"Where's Robin Hood?" he asked, and the line was dead silent, and it was answer enough for him. He sighed, dropping his head. "Did he leave you and Natalia? Did he just walk out on his family, like a dirtbag?"
"No." she replied, lifting her head to once again try to get lost in the lights of the city instead of the truth of her life. "He took her with him and just left me alone." saying it out loud seemed to twist that knife in her heart that much deeper. "I know I'm not supposed to call you, that you'd drawn that line, and I saw it, and it was very clear." she shook her head and sighed. "And this is my fault, and my problem, and I shouldn't pull you into it."
"Just—just tell me where you are."
Despite his feelings toward the woman, there was always that instinctual nagging inside of him needing to just help her when he knows she's reached the bottom.
Katie silently shook her head. "I'm not going to do that. This wasn't a call for help. It's just, I'm usually good at being on my own, I mean at one point in my life it was actually a preference. But then this guy told me I'd never be alone, and I believed him and now-" she slid a hand over her face. "Now he's gone, and he took my baby with him, and I don't know what to do. He was right, I was the dangerous one, I'm the one he needed to protect Tai from."
"Wait, what? Look I don't know what happened, but I have no doubt that you're the last person your daughter needs protection from." Tony said with a shake of his head. "Just tell me where you are, I will find you and-"
"No you're not, because that's not a conversation you'd be able to explain to Pepper." Katie says glancing over to the magazine that had the newly reunited couple on the cover. "You have your life back. That life that made sense before me, and right now I refuse to mess that up for you." she felt tears on her cheek, and she quickly wiped them away. "Which is why I'm going to hang up now, and you're going to pretend this call never happened." she fully intended to end the call, and try to not feel so pathetic and helpless right now, but she really never felt so lost as she did right now.
"The truth, my life before I met you was kind of a blur. I mean I was kidnapped, created an Iron Man suit, told the world I was Iron Man, but then someone broke through a firewall I worked years on to perfect. Then I met this someone, this woman who was scared, but tried her best not to show it. That woman got under my skin, and no matter how much I try, I just can't get her out."
"I gotta hang up now."
"I shouldn't have let Ross take you."
"I should've told you the truth about your parents." Silence followed the statement.
"You're not alone. As long as I'm alive, then you will never be alone, do you understand?"
The words needed to settle before anything else was spoken. So that intermittent silence that had become an occupant in this conversation, once again took over. And after the silence past, there was only one more truth that needed to be admitted.
"I miss you Kitten." Tony stated. Katie smiled at the stupid nickname she felt like she hadn't heard in ages. "Like really miss you."
A very selfish part of her just wanted to just tell him where she was, so he could sweep in and just save the day. She wanted so badly to snatch back part of her life that slipped through her fingers because of her disastrous curiosity. A part of her really wouldn't mind going back to Malibu to that lab in Tony's basement, and creating a magic that only existed between the two of them. But she loved him too much to do that. At the moment she was an anchor, dragging the people she loved into danger.
"I miss you too, Mr. Stark." she smiles and she knows he's smiling too. "I still have it Tony." Katie lifted her arm and looked down to the bracelet that she could never find it in herself to remove from her wrist. "I still have the bracelet, and the moment I step into something I might need help with, then I'll turn it on, but for now I'm going to let you try out happiness with that woman you're crazy about and wrangling your spiderboy."
"You're never going to let me live that down are you?"
"Probably not." she said with a shake of her head. "I helped you find him so you could stop him, not give him a complex. But that's neither here or there, I'm sure you're handling it."
"I am."
"Good, so I'm going to hang up now. For real this time." for the life of her, ending the call was the last thing she wanted to do. It was as if she were letting go of a life line she really needed right now, but she knew she had to. She knew what ever was pulling at her would only wreck more lives, and she wouldn't let that happen. "Goodbye Iron Ass."
"Nope, not goodbye." Tony replied. "We're never goodbye."
"Well then, see you later." she said, before the line finally ended.
Tony pulled the phone from his ear, and sighed, unable to rid himself of the sudden nervousness he felt.
"Tony?" the man turned to see Pepper who looked liked she'd just woken up, standing at the door of the terrace. "Is everything alright?" she looked to the phone in his hand with a frown. "Who's calling you this late?" Tony shook his head as he looked down to the phone before looking back up to her.
"Just Happy again, complaining about being a babysitter." Tony smiled as he walked over to her, and brought an arm around her waist. "Lets go back to bed." He gripped the phone in his hand as they headed inside.
Flying above the clouds usually gave Clint a calming feeling. At the moment it just wasn't happening. Nothing could make him calm, or feel less guilty about anything that has happened tonight. He walked away from his wife, the woman he loves, and he's not even completely sure why.
He felt eyes on him, but he wasn't sure yet that he could look over and not totally go ballistic, because right now that's what he thought would happen. He replayed the words he said to Katie, the words he was made to believe he needed to say.
"Clint-" he tensed at the voice, before finally turning to the woman who stared at him. "I know you're having second thoughts about this-"
"Well of course I'm having second thoughts!" he growled, glancing down to his sleeping daughter who stirred in her sleep as she laid on his chest. He glanced back over to the woman and just shook his head. "You and your husband show up at my house, a house you're not even supposed to know about and-" he frowned as he remembered the things they said. "You told an impossible story."
" A story you obviously believe, or you wouldn't be here." she said and Clint shook his head before turning back to the window. "This is only temporary. You will be reunited before you know it." Clint gave a snort before turning back to the woman.
"Well if this thing is a big as you say it is, and she's the one in danger, I don't care what you say, I'm going back to my wife."
"Clint-"
"Cynthia." the woman turned her head to see her husband who was walking over. Martin's eyes turned to Clint and gave him a nod. "We wouldn't expect anything less, son."
A/N: Yes I have seen Infinity Wars. Yes I've sought counseling and it's not helping. Mind freaking blown after that movie, and now I must mull over which direction this story will go...But until then, enjoy.