A/N: Sorry for the wait...here you are
It was eerily quiet. And for a place as busy and bustling as New York City, that in itself was strange. The streets were baron, cars blocking the streets from what looks like multiple accidents.
Katie walked down the middle of the street glancing in the cars, but there were no drivers at all. That's when she heard it. That deep, throaty laughter. The laughter that she instantly recognized, and always made her skin crawl. Katie slowly turned around, and was face to face with the monster who'd become a constant centerpiece of her dreams. Her eyes when the gauntlet he wore proudly on his hand, the stones seemingly sparkling in their place along his knuckles. She looked up meeting his eyes.
"One more left." he laughed as he rose his hand, and Katie frowned before bolting toward him, but before she knows it his fingers snap, and a blinding light swallows everything.
Katie's eyes snap open, and she sits up frantically trying to catch her breath, and calm drum of her heart. She takes a couple of breaths, before turning, her eyes going wide at the sight of a red cloak just standing there at her door as if watching her.
"Strange!" the cloak quickly went flying out of the room.
Katie stalked down the halls, her eyes searching for the man. She'd been here for about a month, and still gets turned around. She stops for a moment suddenly unsure where she is. She turns down a hall and continues her search.
"I've told you to keep that stupid security blanket locked in a closet somewhere!" she stopped when she felt a presence, but didn't see anyone. She slowly turned, closing her eyes, before suddenly reaching out, feeling his arm and pulling him forward. When she opens her eyes, she sees whatever cloaking spell he'd been hiding behind is gone allowing her to finally see him. "It was watching me sleep."
"Well that is kind of impossible because it doesn't even have eyes, so watching you do anything-" he saw the glare in her eyes and sighed dramatically. "Fine, I will talk to it." Katie folded her arms over her chest. "Alright, I'm not going to talk to it, it's an article of clothing, and-" she swat his arm before turning and walking away from him. A smile came to his lips before he went to catch up to her. "So is there a reason, you're in a mood today?"
"I thought the shit story that is my life sort of justified my mood." she said glancing over to him with a sarcastic smile. "I mean, my husband left me and took my daughter, I keep having weird dreams, I'm stuck here with you, and-" their eyes look up as Wong walks by sipping on a cup of tea. "And for the life of me I can not beat that man in checkers!" she glances back at the sound of Wong's laughter and she just shakes her head and continues to walk. Stephen doesn't say anything and she glances over to him as he silently walks beside her. "This is where you say something reassuring and poetic to give me hope for the future." the man lets out a snort before turning to her. "Why do I even stay here?"
"Because you have no where else to go." he said before walking ahead of her. "At the moment, I am the only friend you have."
"Friend is a stretch!" Katie called after him. "I like Wong better than you!" she heard him laugh and and she rolled her eyes.
"Five minutes!" he called back to her. "I suggest you change, kitten pajamas are not permitted during training." she looked down to her pajama pants and smirked at the kittens that covered then, before looking back up to see the man was gone.
Katie doesn't know how her life turned into a never ending episode of karate kid, but here she was, sitting cross legged in one of the sanctums many rooms, the sunlight filtering in. Her eyes are closed, her breathing slowed as she tries to focus. After a few moments she opens her eyes, lifts her hands and begins spinning them just as she's seen Stephen do so many times. And just as she expects, nothing happens. She looks over to Stephen who sits across from her, his eyes closed as well not even paying attention to her. She narrows her eyes at him, before a sinister thought pops into her head, and so she reaches up to grab his nose, only for his hand to quickly shoot up and grab her wrist
"You know the first time, it was funny," he says, eyes still closed, and Katie attempts to pull her arm from his grip. "I mean I didn't laugh, but I remember thinking it was funny, but now after many attempts, it's just plain sad." he lets go of her hand and opens his eyes.
"This is stupid. I don't need to learn stupid magic tricks, just give me a gun, and I'm good."
"Fine." he says and before she knows it, there's a glock in his hand, and he hands it to her. She looks down hesitant before poking it to make sure it's real. The moment she touches the cool steel, her eyes widen a bit, before she grabs the gun. "Now shoot me." she looks over to the man with a quirked brow.
"Don't tempt me." she mutters, before pulling out the magazine, and checking, actually shocked that it was loaded. "You just handed me a loaded firearm." she looked over to the man with a smile. "You crazy bastard."
"Well there is a lesson in everything." he says with a wink, and before she knows it, he's just gone. She turns, expecting him to just pop up behind her, but he's not. Instead her head whips around at the sound of multiple footsteps, and without warning the door burst open and in swarms a full on swat team, all with rifles pointed at her. She jumps to her feet, her hand still gripping the glock. Suddenly the team begins moving aside, to let someone walk in, and for some reason she's not surprised at the sight of Secretary Ross standing right in front of her.
"You really thought you could hide from me, huh Banks?" that annoying smirk planted on his face underneath that stupid mustache. "Well I always knew I'd find you, knew you'd slip up, and I'd get to put you right back into your little box." Katie's jaw clenched and without really thinking, she lifts the gun in her hands and points it at the man and he laughs. He's there standing at the end of her gun, and he laughs. "C'mon Banks, you're not that stupid. You'd be dead before your finger could even attempt to move to the trigger."
"First of all, my finger is already on the trigger, and second I think my death would be a whole lot sweeter if I got to watch the life leave your eyes before mine." he simply laughs again, and Katie just rolls her eyes before dropping the gun to her side.
"You give up?"
"Well no, because this isn't real." Katie says lifting her head, looking for Stephen. "Ross wouldn't draw this out. He'd have a bag over my head, and would already be dragging me out the door. I've burned him way too many times for a little chit chat." Suddenly the swat team is gone, but Ross is still standing there, a smile on his face, and something about seeing him just rubs her the wrong way. Her thoughts go back to that stupid meeting about the accords and how that day seems to spin her entire world out of orbit. "I was fine. My life was good, and then you had to call that stupid meeting." she knew he wasn't real, knew she wouldn't feel true gratification, but she once again lifted her gun to the man. "You turned my friends against me you bastard! You fed on grief and guilt and you tore apart a family I really needed."
"Then shoot me." he said, and she was tempted. That finger on the trigger was itching to just twitch slightly and wipe that smirk off his face. She narrowed her eyes at the man, before turning to finally see Stephen standing, propped against the wall watching her as if this were some kind of show.
"Shoot him. You have your gun, that's all you need right?" Katie's eyes turned back to Ross and she just shook her head before turning away from the man, and with a wave of Stephen's hand the illusion of Secretary Ross was gone. Katie looks down to her hand, and sees the gun is gone as well before looking back over to Stephen whose still watching her before pushing himself from the wall, walking over and lowering himself back to the floor, crossing his legs and closing his eyes. Katie glares down to him for a moment before rolling her eyes and lowering herself to the floor as well.
"Hey Stephen."
The man lets out a dramatic sigh of annoyance, before opening his eyes and looking over to the woman.
"What is it-" before he could finish the sentence, Katie's fingers were squeezing his nose and he just rolls his eyes. "You're a child." she just laughs as squeezes again.
"Honk, honk." she laughs before dropping her hands back to her lap and closes her eyes. Stephen looks at her for a moment, a slight tug on his lips that he fights before closing his eyes once again.
She knew at some point her boldness would rear it's ugly head again. When Stephen brought her to the Sanctum, she told herself she'd stay inside, where she and the people around her would be safe. The first time she told the man her plan, he looked at her like she was crazy. He told her he didn't bring her here to hide, and that it's not in her nature. Every time she's even tried to hide, someway, somehow she just ends right back in front of the eyes she'd been running from. She knew he was right, even though she would never tell him that.
And now when she steps out that door, she remembers who she is. She knows how to hide in plain sigh, she knows how to evade anyone who tails her.
After her training, Katie decides she needs to get out of the Sanctum for a while, and so after she showers and changes, she skips down the stairs only to stop when she see Stephen blocking the door, arms folded over his chest.
"Was there something you needed?"
"I'm coming with you."
Katie shakes her head wildly, holding up her hands as she walks over to the man.
"Absolutely not. I see way too much of you as it is. My walks outside are just for me to-"
"Walk past the Avenger's Tower in hopes that you bump into your old friend?" Katie's eyes go wide and she swats his arm. "I'm not following you, I-"
"Definitely sounds like you're following me, you creepy little stalker. No wonder your security blanket is like a mini stalker." she says with a shake of her head. "And I only walked by once, and for your information, I did see him, and I didn't go running to him. I know I can't do that, and frankly its none of your business." he silently stares and she rolls her eyes because she knows whether she walks out of this place alone, or by his side, they were both walking out of here. "You're so annoying. Lets go." she shoves him out of the way, before spotting Wong. "Hey Wong, we're going a group trip apparently, did you want to go?" the man gave a snort, but shook his head.
"I don't think so, but I wouldn't turn down warm pretzel from the cart on the corner." he says before continuing up the stairs. "Extra cheese!"
"What is with him and those pretzels?" she asks over to Stephen who just shakes his head.
"No idea." he glances over to her, before pulling open the door, and letting him past. "She devils first." she sticks her tongue out at the man before slipping her baseball cap on and walking out, and he simply shakes his head before following behind her.
Katie assumed their walk would be respectfully silent. And after a few moments, she was relieved when he seemed to have the same understanding. Soon they ended up at a bridge that overlook the Atlantic Ocean, and the stood just admiring the waters. Her mind drifts to a moment of she and Clint playing with Natalia in one of those little kiddie pools and how the little girl's laughter seemed to fill her with a warmth that was incomparable. For just a little while they were happy, and not thinking about the world that was looking for them and trying to steal them away. And Katie couldn't help but feel that she ruined it.
"I don't get it." his deep voice said, and Katie rolled her eyes, and looked over to him. "What's the point of just looking out to water." he glances over to her, seeing the annoyance in her eyes. "C'mon, I know you're thinking it too."
"Aren't you supposed to be the enlightened one between the two of us?" she mutters, turning and walking away. He walks beside her, and she glances over and shakes her head. "Why are you here?"
"Would you believe I simply wanted the pleasure of your company?" he asked, and he noticed her quirked brow and just shook his head. "Yeah, neither do I. I wanted to see how you're handling your dreams." Katie took in a deep breath as she turned away from him. She didn't like to talk about her dreams when she was awake. She like to forget about them, and even though that still hasn't work, she still had hope one day it would.
Stephen knew the dreams were more than just dreams. He knew that they were probably prophetic of something to come, but he didn't want to pressure her about it. It was one of the last pieces of advice he'd gotten from the Ancient One about his impending role in the woman's life. He was to guide her, not lead her, which never really made sense to him.
"Well I'm not waking up screaming anymore, so I'd say I'm handling them pretty well." she replied walking over to the curb and holding her hand out for a nearing taxi. Stephen quirked a brow when the taxi stopped and she opened the door. She stopped and looked back to him. "You knew exactly where I've been going, you little stalker." she shook her head before climbing into the car, and fought another tug of his lips before climbing inside.
When they stepped out of the taxi, Stephen looked over to Katie who seemed to look at the building for a moment before she turned to him.
"How long have you known he's been here?" she asked him and Stephen sighed.
"It is my duty to be aware of any and all other worldly beings who come to Earth." he replied and she just shook her head.
"So you knew this whole time and didn't do a thing about it?"
"What exactly was I supposed to do?" he asked, and Katie just growled under her breath before climbing up the steps, and walking inside. Stephen glanced around, before following after her. He spotted Katie at the front desk signing in.
"Your grandfather is in the sun room today." front desk receptionist told her with a smile before lifting her eyes and spotting Stephen. "Can I help you?"
"Uh, I-" Katie looks back to him, tempted to accuse him of being a stalker and having the police called. He looks over to her, noticing the smirk on her face and his eyes give a slight warning as if knowing what she was thinking. She just rolled her eyes before turning back to the receptionist.
"This is my older brother. Like really older-" she leans in slightly. "I mean he's finally accepted the gray hair after a lifetime of bad dye jobs." Stephen loudly clears his throat and Katie can't help but fight her own laughter. "He's going to be visiting our grandfather as well." she looks over her shoulder. "You have to sign in, bro." he sighs, before walking over and scribbling an illegible signature on the sign in sheet. She turns back to the receptionist and smiles. "Thanks, I know where he is." she turns and Stephen quickly turns to walk beside her. "So you're here to find out what my visits are about, huh?" she looks over to him with a shake of her head. "You scared of another alien invasion." she laughs, before tripping over a flower pot that's suspiciously in the middle of the hall. She lands on the floor with a thud and glares up to Stephen who simply steps over her and keeps walking. She glares in annoyance, but for some reason she smiles, brushing off her clothes before catching up to the man.
"You were saying?"
"I was saying that you're an ass, doctor." she replied before shoving his arm and moving in front of him toward the sun room. She walks inside, her eyes looking over the patients, before spotting the one she'd come to see, sitting at the window, staring out to the city. She walks over to him and places a hand on his shoulder, but he doesn't react. He never does. "Hello Odin." she places a kiss to his cheek, and walks over and slides to the floor to sit across from him. She always expects his eyes to finally look to her, but they don't, they never do. She looks over to Stephen, who stands at slight distance, his eyes looking over to Odin as if studying him. "Something is wrong with him."
"Well that is kind of obvious."
"Do you know what is wrong with him?" Katie asked turning back to Odin, his eyes still out the window.
"I haven't the faintest clue." Stephen replies with a sigh before turning to the woman. "So is this what you do? You just look at him?"
"No, I talk to him. Let him know whatever is wrong with him, I'll figure it out, tell him I'll try to find Thor, or find out who did this to him."
"All impossible promises." Stephen replies and Katie smiles as she looks up to the man in the wheelchair.
"Well believing in the impossible has shaped my life thus far." she chuckles lightly before glancing over to the man. "It's also what kind of makes, you, you." his eyes look over to her. "Stop pretending you're not as enlightened as I know you are. Because I find it hard to believe that every thing that has happened to you, everything you are, you would've gotten if you didn't start believing that things aren't as impossible as you thought." she looks back over to Odin, and she sees a smirk on his face and she smiles and stands up and puts herself in his line of sight. "I know you can hear me, I know you're in there, and I also believe that if you didn't want to be here, you wouldn't." she tilts her head slightly, his eyes still not meeting hers. "You're waiting for something. But what?" He doesn't answer, and she doesn't expect him to. She lets out a sigh, before once again placing a kiss to his cheek. "You are not alone." she whispers to him, before standing up straight and walking out of the room.
The walk back to the sanctum is quiet, and Katie revels in it. When she spots the food truck on the corner, she heads over.
"Can I get a warm pretzel, extra cheese on the side, and a hot dog with everything." she rolls her eyes before looking over to Stephen. "Would you like anything, stalker?"
"A hot dog sounds good." he replies , and Katie shakes her head before turning back to the vendor. "Two hot dogs." she says and the vendor gives a nod before going about getting their food. Katie's eyes skim the magazines on the rack, and one catches her eye, and she plucks it, a slight sad smile on her face. Stephen walks over, glancing over her shoulder at see what she's looking at.
"Tony Stark, and CEO Pepper Potts engaged." he reads the headline, before his eyes look to Katie who still hasn't turned away from the photo of the couple whose smiling foolishly at each other.
"You're doing it, Iron Ass." she whispers before sliding the magazine back on the rack, and letting out a sigh and looking over to Stephen. "Stop looking at me." she flicks his nose before turning back to the vendor.
They're walking back to the Sanctum, both enjoying their hot dogs when Stephen looks over to the woman.
"It's a bad idea." he says suddenly and she turns to him in confusion. "You were going to meet him at the bridge, but he spotted me and walked off. He's been following us ever since." Katie looked at him with narrowed eyes. "He's CIA."
"He's my brother."
"Yeah, and he's still CIA, and he doesn't get to know where the sanctum is." he replied before turning and taking another bite of his hot dog. She watched as he didn't move, and she figures he was waiting for her to go talk to him. She let out a sigh, before handing him the bag with Wong's pretzel, and turning and crossing the street. She only walked a few feet before taking a seat on bench near a bus stop. It didn't take long before there was someone sitting beside her. A smile came to her lips before she turned to the familiar face.
"You're not supposed to follow me, Mattie." Matthew shook his head before turning to her.
"Well you show up back in this city, where there are dozens of eyes looking for you and won't even tell me where you're staying or who that guy is."
"He's my friend. He's annoying as hell, but right now, he's the only person I can even be in contact with, without putting him in danger. Which is why I wanted to meet you today." Matthew shook his head before turning away. Katie reached over and grabbed his hand. "Mattie, it's too dangerous."
"I don't care." he replied looking back over to her. "You're my sister, and when you're in trouble and that bastard of a husband has left you and took your kid,-" Matthew got lost in his anger for a moment. "I'm literally going to beat the shit out of him the next time I see him. I thought he was a good guy, thought he was gonna take care of you, but he-"
"Matt-"
"You're not going to change my mind about this. He's a dead man when I find him." he turned back to his sister and she gave his hand a squeeze. "You and me, Rinny,-" Katie heard the sadness in his voice and sighed, dropping her head to his shoulder.
"I know, but this isn't forever. This is just how it has to be until I find a way to pull my life out of the hole I dug."
"And I can help you. I don't like not knowing where you are. You're right here, and I don't want to just let you disappear again."
"Mattie, you will never have to worry about me never seeing you again. I'm going to fix this, and get back my life. One where I can talk to you, without this stupid Yankees hat, and checking for eyes lingering on me for too long." Katie lifted her head and placed a kiss to his cheek before standing to her feet. "And you can't keep going off the grid. Your boss is going to notice."
"My boss is in Korea on a case trying to sell diamonds to a lunatic." Matthew replied standing to his feet as well. "Rinny, I just-" he shook his head. "I miss you, and your annoying voice." Katie smiled to the man before placing a hand on his cheek.
"I'm going to fix this, but in the mean time, if you want family, you should talk to Tony." Matthew groaned at the suggestion. "You have to forgive him."
"He let the Secretary drag you away, and didn't lift a finger to save you."
"And you pointed a gun at me!" she replied with shrug. "But I forgave you. Do you want to know why?"
"Because I'm your brother, and families can work through things like pointing guns at each other, or working with the guy who tortured them."
"He's your family too, despite your anger with him." Katie shook her head. "He was angry with me, he'd just found out some devastating news and-"
"He just walked away."
"Yeah, he did, but I forgave him." Katie shoved his shoulder, and Matthew looked down to her. "Because I know that man, Mattie. I know his heart, and I know he regretted that decision every day after it happened. So stop being a little girl, and go play with your friend."
"You're so annoying, and yet I love you." he replied bringing his arms around her in a hug. "We're going to figure this out, right Rinny?"
Katie let out a sigh, knowing she as the big sister needed to reassure her little brother. She didn't have and answer to his question, and so she did the only thing that came to her mind in this moment. She pulled back, flicked his nose.
"I hate when you do that." he replied with a chuckle before finally releasing his hold and taking a step back to hail a cab. A taxi began driving over, and Matthew looked over to Katie. "Oh, I forgot to ask, seriously who is this friend with the gray highlights?" Katie laughed with a shake of her head. "Is he a good guy?"
"Well, yeah." she replies with a shrug. "He's a strange one though." Matthew seemed confused by that, but taxi appeared beside him, and so with one final wave to his sister, he stepped inside. Katie knew not to show how heart broken she felt the moment that cab drove away, but she knew it was for the best. With a deep breath, she turned and headed back to the sanctum.
She found Stephen sitting on the steps to the sanctum looking up to the sky. Her eyes followed his as to see what had caught his attention.
"Alien invasion?" she asked walking over to take the seat on the step beside him.
"Not at the moment." he turned looking over to the woman who eyes were closed as she lifted her head to the sky. "How did it go?"
"As best as it could." she replied opening her eyes and looking over to the man. "I gotta get my life back."
"And how do you plan on doing that?" he asked and Katie shrugged, looking back up to the sky, always expecting there really to be something abnormal up there.
"Well I'm assuming the first step is tackling whatever is coming."
"And you still have no idea what that is?"
"Well according to my dreams, it's the impossible."
"You know you can't pick and choose which impossible things to believe and those which you don't. It's all or nothing."
"It's all or nothing." Katie mocked, in a voice Stephen believes was supposed to sound like him. She turned flicking his ear before standing up and walking inside the sanctum.
Stephen let out a sigh, before glancing up to the sky again. Even though she's gone, he still feels the presence of the Ancient One in the wind some times.
"You're probably laughing this up, aren't you?" he shakes his head before standing and walking inside as well.
Pepper Potts had a smile on her face that absolutely nothing in this world could wipe away. She currently stood in a beautifully decorated grand hall, surrounded by friends, family and colleagues. Sure it was their second engagement party, but she didn't think about that. She thought about the man on the other side of the room, currently engaged in a conversation with one of her cousins, and the look on his face is genuine. Tony Stark, the Iron Man, was here, completely with her. For the longest time she thought she could never have him like that. That a part of him would always be somewhere else...with someone else.
It was as if Katie never existed. He never brought up her name, and neither did she since that run in with Matthew and that plane ride. A part of her is a happy about the fact that she's no longer wondering where or who is tugging on the strings of his heart, but another part of her seems nervous. It wasn't like Katie was dead, she could literally just walk through the door, and it's that moment she's afraid of. Even to this day, with all the promises he's made her, a part of her will still be afraid of the other woman in Tony's heart. She never quite understood her feelings on the whole thing. She knew Tony and Katie's relationship wasn't romantic or sexual, but it was that connection they had. That intimate connection that only they had, that made her embarrassingly jealous which she hated.
Tony caught her eyes on him and smiled. He muttered something to her cousin, before sauntering over to her, bringing his arm around her, and tugging her onto the dance floor.
"I can't believe you were actually engaged in what looked like an interesting conversation with my cousin, Nathan." Tony shrugged, with a smirk. "He's literally the dullest person in our family. Did he tell you about his potato shrine."
"He did, even showed me some photos I don't think I can get out of my head." Tony replied, still wearing a stupid smile that Pepper couldn't help but return.
"Then why are you smiling?"
"Because I remembered that I am about to marry the love of my life, so dull conversations about potatoes just don't phase me anymore." Pepper smiled up to the man, biting the corner of her lip, completely happy in this moment. Tony leaned in to bring his lips to hers, when suddenly someone taps his shoulder.
"Mr. Stark, Mr Stark." Tony lifted his head, and looked over to Pepper who seemed to laugh at his expression. "Thank you so much for inviting me to your engagement party."
"Hey Pete." Tony says still swaying along with Pepper, slyly distancing them from the teenager.
"Congratulations by the way," Peter continued, not getting the hint and only following the couple. "I brought you a gift. It's on the table." he looked back at the table filled with gifts. "It's somewhere in the pile." he turned back to the couple, frowning when he noticed they were further away, and so he brushed past people to get back to them. "It's a candle by the way. My aunt picked it out. She said it's one of the best kinds. I wouldn't know because-"
"Hey, Pete. We're sort of trying to have a moment. You get that right?" Tony asked, and Peter looked from Pepper to Tony, as if only now realizing his interruption.
"Oh, I'm sorry, you probably want to-" he gestured with his hands toward Tony and Pepper before dropping his hands and shaking his head. "I'm just going to-" he pointed across the room, before turning and heading back over to the food table which seemed to be his safe zone for the party seeing as he was probably the youngest person here, and didn't know anyone besides Tony and Happy who were both occupied with their dates. Peter grabbed another cookie before turning back and looking out to the people. There were a few people who looked vaguely familiar, like he might've seen them on television or something, but no one he felt comfortable just having a conversation with.
"You didn't sneak in, did you?" Peter turns at the voice, and looks over to some guy beside him. "I mean it's cool if you did, it's just, you look twelve so you stand out. You should at least try to look like one of these uppity business people." Peter looked confused, turning away for a moment. "Stand like you got a stick up your butt, you'll blend right in." Peter, despite being totally freaked out by the random guy talking to him, laughed.
"I uh, didn't sneak in. Mr. Stark invited me. We're like really good friends." The guy looked over to him for a moment before letting out a snort, and going about looking at the food.
"Table full of food, and the bastard doesn't even have the little sandwiches I like." the man shook his head, and Peter looked at him, still confused. He looked back over to Peter with a furrowed brow. "I'm Matt." he held out a hand.
"Peter." Peter hesitantly shook Matthew's hand. "Did you sneak in here?"
"Actually I did." Matthew replied grabbing a grape, and tossing it in his mouth before grabbing a flute of champagne and walking into the crowd. Peter frowned for a moment figuring he should tell someone about the party crasher. His eyes scan the crowd, and the first person he sees is Happy whose finally alone.
Peter quickly sifts through the crowd, muttering apologies as he bumps into them. The moment Happy seems him, he rolls his eyes.
"Look kid, tonight is my night off. I just want to have fun and celebrate my friends engagement. And you have that look in your eyes like you're going to screw that up."
"I'm sorry Happy, but I just ran into some guy who says he wasn't invited to the party." Peter expected more of a reaction from the man, but he simply took another sip from his glass. "Shouldn't we call security or something?"
"Listen, kid, turn around and look." Peter sighed, and turned and looked at all the people at the party.
"Ok, what am I looking at?"
"Hundreds of people, and maybe fifteen percent don't have an invitation to this party, and that's probably a low estimation. Tony's parties are one of the most crashed parties I've been to. Look as long as they don't cause trouble, they can enjoy the festivities." he gave Peter a pat on the shoulder. "Now have fun, this is a party." Happy looked up spotting the blonde he'd been chatting with earlier, and she gave him a wink. "And if you will excuse me-" Happy moved around Peter who let out a sigh. Maybe Happy was right, maybe he was worrying about nothing.
Peter turned about to head back over to the food table for more cookies when he spotted Tony and Pepper. The couple were talking, and smiling, and Peter couldn't help but smile either. His eyes drifted to the right of the couple, suddenly aware of the Matthew guy closer to them.
"Oh no." Peter said, before once again sifting through the crowd. The moment he was close enough, he saw Matt stalking toward Tony and Pepper. He glanced around, just to make sure no one was looking at him, before pointed his wrist, and shot a small web around the man's ankle causing him to trip. He didn't expect the fall to gain too much attention, but Matthew bumped into a waiter carrying a tray of champagne. The waiter stumbled, dropping the tray, and causing a crash to echo throughout the room, causing the whole party to stop and stare. Peter stood there, slap jawed, seriously not expecting to cause a scene. Tony walks over to see what is happening, and Peter goes over to him to explain.
"Mr. Stark, this guy wasn't invited to the party and I saw him walking toward you and Ms. Potts and thought something bad was about to happen, so I-" Tony walked over in time to see Matthew sitting on the floor trying to pull the web from his ankles.
"Matt?" Matthew lifted his eyes in confusion, before looking over to Peter, and Tony did the same.
"Oh, so you two know each other?" Peter asks, now regretting his actions.
The two men were silent as they stood alone on the grand balcony of the hall. Both with a glass of bourbon in their hands.
"So that's the spider kid, huh?" Matthew suddenly asked with a snort before taking another sip from his glass. "Shooting young for your new recruits for the Avengers."
"What are you doing here, Matt?" Tony looked over to the man, really not expecting to see him. "After our last meeting, I figured you and I wouldn't be seeing each other. Did Secretary Ross send you?"
"No, he does have an actual job outside of being a jackass." Matt replied still looking out to the city. "So you're closing down the tower?" Tony didn't say anything and Matthew knew they were going to have to talk with words which he really didn't want to do. He let out a sigh, before turning to Tony. "You left my sister to die."
"Is that why you're here? Matt, I told you-"
"Stop talking for a sec, ok.?" Matthew dropped his head for a moment before looking back up to Tony. "You left my sister, the only person I'd kill for, and that-" he pointed at Tony. "You weren't supposed to do that. You were-" Matthew shook his head. "You were like a brother to me." he looked back up to Tony. "I know people say that, but we hung out, and we told stupid, totally offensive jokes, that we both would laugh at like idiots. We worked in your lab, you talked to me about Pepper, and I talked to you about-"
"Whatever chick you picked up from my office." Tony chuckled with a shake of his head. "I was living vicariously through you." he stopped laughing and sighed. "Matt, leaving Katie behind, walking away, even though I was mad with her, still was the hardest thing I've done. I told myself it wasn't, that whatever happened, would happen. So I came home that night, drank an impossible amount of alcohol, and tried to forget her." he shook his head. "I don't know how I got myself to believe that I could just erase years of memories that woman had clawed herself into." he looked back over to Matt and took a sip from his glass. "Well obviously it didn't work. The guilt started to eat away at me. I went looking for that damn ship that mysteriously disappeared. I harassed Ross for answers, but he didn't even take my calls."
"And in between that you reconcile with Pepper, get engaged and live happily ever after." Matthew lifted his glass to the man before downing the rest of his drink. "I shouldn't have come here." Matthew turned and headed back toward the party, fully intending to just go to his car and drive away.
"Then why did you, Matt?" Tony turned and watched as Matthew stopped walking, and let out a deep sigh. "You came to say something, so just say it." Matthew turned back to face the man and gave a nod.
"You left my sister to die." Matthew said again. "And I was on that plane right beside you." Tony looked up to the man in confusion. "You know I grew up with Rinny, and we may not have the same blood, but she's my sister in all the ways it counts, and I pulled a gun to her. I aimed it at her, and sure I knew I wasn't going to pull the trigger, she knew I wasn't going to pull the trigger, but just the action of holding that gun and pointing it at her." Matthew shook his head at the memory. "And then the next time I saw her, she told me that no matter what happens, she will always be my sister and nothing will change that." he shook his head and snaps his finger to emphasize. "Just like that I was forgiven." he looked back over to Tony and sighed. "I guess I came here to accept the fact that even though you left my sister to die, I think I forgive you." he seemed unsure when he said it, and Tony heard the uncertainty. He cleared his throat and gave a nod before looking over to the man with a smile. "I mean, you're an asshole, but you're family so we have to get over this shit." Tony smiled before walking over to the man. "Don't you dare hug me, I swear to-" Tony threw his arms around the man in a hug and Matt just let out a sigh. "And you're hugging me."
When the men walked back into the party, Tony spotted Pepper across the room chatting with her mother.
"You haven't gotten so enlightened that you actually like old lady Potts, have you?" Matthew asked, and Tony smiled turning to the man. The smile only worried Matt who frowned. "You don't, do you, because I think our friendship will probably end again, right now."
"No, I absolutely do not like her." Tony replied turning when he see both Pepper and Vivian looking over to them and smiling. He returned the smile with a wave. "Now I have someone to share my disdain."
"Happy?"
"He likes her, and gets all judgy when I call her things like succubus and witch."
"Rhodey?"
"He just makes fun of me."
"You know I will more than likely make fun of you." Matthew said and Tony glanced over to him and gave a nod.
"I know, but you're not really good at it, so doesn't even matter." Tony said, before walking off, leaving Matthew before he could retort. He shook his head, before glancing around the party looking for the spider kid, only he didn't see him.
Peter couldn't get over the embarrassment he felt making a scene at the party, and even though no one saw him, he saw the way Tony looked at him and he couldn't take it and when Tony and Matthew went out onto the balcony, he snuck out and decided to go home.
He'd stripped off his suit, and it was now in his backpack as he swung above the city. There was no amount of embarrassment that could take away how great this feeling was. How natural it felt to be up here, in the air, then it did to be in a room filled with people.
He stopped above a tall building, and smiled at how nothing ever compared to the sight of New York City at night when it was all lit up like this. He threw out his hand, shooting another web and continuing his sail across the sky. There was one more stop he wanted to make before going home.
Peter landed on a bridge that overlook the ocean, and always reflected the light of the moon in a ways that always amazed him.
"Of course." a voice suddenly spoke, and Peter lifted his head, not realizing he wasn't alone. He looked back and noticed someone sitting on a bench, and his eyes widen when he realized he recognized the woman.
"You're-" he climbed off the bridge, and turned to the woman who hadn't moved from her seat. The last time he saw her was in that epic battle. He thought she was on the bad side, but after a talk with Tony, realized none of them had all the information. "I'm sorry." he's not sure why he said it, but when he thought about the fight, and how he actually tied her ankles with his web shooter knocking her off her feet, he felt the need to apologize.
"Why are you apologizing?"
"I uh-" Peter shrugged kind of nervous at the moment. He didn't really know the woman, and what he thought he knew was that she was helping a bad guy. Now he knows that wasn't true, but it still doesn't change the fact that she's still a stranger. "What happened, I thought-"
"You thought what everyone thought." Katie said with a shrug as she turned to look back out to the water. "You were pretty good out there. I mean it was totally dangerous, and I'm pretty sure at some point I'm going to punch Tony for drafting you in that fight." she glanced over to the kid and sighed. "You're making the news. The friendly neighborhood Spider Man is doing some good in this city. I'm proud of you."
"Uh, thanks, I guess." he replied. Silence filled the air between them, and the awkwardness was getting too blatant, and so Peter nudged his head. "I should probably be getting home."
"Yeah, me too." she sighed standing to her feet. "Before my stalker shows up annoys me to death." she looks over to the kid about to walk away, when she notices the sleek design of his suit, and chuckles before walking over and looking him over. "Tony made you another suit, and this one is-" she let her eyes scan over it. "It has it's own AI doesn't it?" she looks up to Peter with wide eyes of excitement.
"It does, her name is Karen." Peter replies with a shrug as he watches the woman whose still looking at him.
"What can it do?" she asked meeting Peter's eyes, and when he doesn't say anything right away, she suddenly realizes how creepy she seems right now. "Oh, I'm-" she takes a couple of steps back realizing she was totally in his personal bubble. "I'm sorry. I use to help Tony with his Iron Man suits in what feels like a lifetime ago. It was fun." she let out a sigh and just shook her head. "And now I'm the weird lady checking out your spidey suit." she nudged her head. "I'm going to go." she turned around and began walking away, and Peter took a step forward.
"There's 576 web shooting combinations." he said, and Katie stopped and turned back to him. "I think I've only used about two or three." he took a step toward her. "He made the eyes on the mask like super cool. I can see and hear things really far away."
"Enhancing ocular and hyperacusis fuctions." Katie mused with a nod, suddenly lifting her head and imagining the line of codes he could've used. A smile came to her face as she looked over to Peter. "Thanks for-" she wave a slight hand. "Humoring me, but you should get home." she turned about to walk away again.
"Uh, he's having a party tonight." Katie stopped once again and looked back to the boy. "I just left it actually. Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts are getting married, it's an engagement party. You should go, I mean now that he knows you're not a bad guy...bad gal," Peter shook his head, but continued. "I'm sure he'll be happy to see you." Katie smiled but shook her head.
"I think that would be nice, but I can't. I'm still kind of a fugitive you know." she shrugged.
"Oh, that-" Peter wasn't sure what to say.. "That sucks." Katie laughed but gave a nod.
"It does suck. But until I'm not wanted, I shouldn't see him. Actually he shouldn't even know I'm in this city. Would you mind not telling him you saw me."
"Uh, sure, I guess." Peter replied reluctantly. He'd learned lying to Tony could end badly, but he's also sure the woman's name probably won't even come up in any conversation with him.
"Thanks, Mr. Parker." she replied finally turning and walking away.
"You can call me Peter if you want!" he called, but she continued to walk, giving him one final wave goodbye.
When Katie walked into the sanctum, the lights were dimmed, and there was no one in sight. Katie's eyes looked to the stairs, debating if she should just turn in for the night. The thought of her nightmares made her shake her head and stalk off toward the training room. When she stepped inside, the room was already illuminated by candles. She glanced around, but didn't see anyone. She pulled off her jacket, and toss the baseball cap to the floor before walking to the center of the room. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.
"You have built a computer with scraps." she muttered, slowly spinning around. " You stealthily, sneak into any government agency without being detected." she lifted her hands out in front of her, slightly curving her fingers. "You have infiltrated, and outsmarted dangerous terrorists organizations both on earth and on Asgard." she let out another deep breath before opening her eyes. "You can do this." she squinted her eyes trying to feel that energy she knows she's supposed to feel to create the door, but she just doesn't. She lets out a frustrated huff before dropping her hands." You can't do this." she shook her head about to leave, but stops when she see Stephen standing at the door watching her.
"So that's it. You're just going to give up?" he asks and Katie rolls her eyes before reaching down and picking up her jacket and cap. "You can't just-" he shook his head. "She said you were someone you're obviously not."
"Well that happens a lot when I'm concerned. I'm not a good SHIELD agent, I'm not a good Creative Director, or even a good Avenger. And most recently I found out that I suck as a wife and mother. So I'm sorry I'm not this person you want me to be, I'm sorry, I'm not living up to your expectations, but frankly I don't give a damn." she let out out a deep breath and waited for him to respond, but he simply looked at her with a quirked brow.
"Ok." he said after a moment with a slight nod. "Wong was right."
"About what?"
"A new tactic." Stephen said, before beginning to stretch a bit. "Pick up the stick." Katie looked at him like he was crazy. He nudged his head toward her feet, and she looked down suddenly spotting a bo staff that wasn't there before. Katie looked at the stick in confusion before looking back to the man.
"I'm not fighting you. I already told you I can physically defend myself."
"I know, but there seems to be some sort of disconnect happening." Stephen suddenly pulled a bo staff of his own, and spun it in front of him. "I need to figure out where that is, and so we must start from the beginning." he quickly dragged the staff under her feet knocking her to the floor with a thud. "Pick up the damn stick!" he climbed over her, and Katie angrily grabbed the staff and jumped to her feet, and taking on a fighting stance.
"I don't know what the hell this is, but I promise you, you're the one whose gonna learn the lesson today." Katie swung the staff, but Stephen quickly blocked her, before pushing her back and swinging his staff. And the rhythm continued. She'd swing, he'd block and vice versa, until Stephen broke the pattern, sliding his staff under Katie's feet, knocking her on her back. The moment her back hit the floor, she knew she was supposed to get back up and continue fighting. It was ingrained in her to get right back up when she's knocked down, but this very moment she didn't move. She didn't want to move. The woman just laid there, her chest heaving as she stares up to the ceiling. Stephen stood above her holding his staff in his hand, his chest heaving as well, but he thought for sure she'd jump back up, but she didn't. He frowns down to the woman, not believing he would actually defeat her this easily.
"You're pathetic." he tosses his staff to floor. "And the worst part is I'm going to have to do the one thing I didn't want to do. I thought I could be a better teacher than she was, that I didn't have to revert to the extremes that she went to, but what she did accomplished what I am failing at right now."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Katie asked, glancing over to him still trying to catch her breath.
"I'm talking about the fact that once upon a time I needed a kick in the butt to realize that everything I was grasping, logic, and reality wouldn't give me what I really needed." he looked down to the woman and shook his head. "I needed hope. You need hope and the only way you will get it is if you finally pull yourself out of the self pity, and the sadness you're melting into."
"Well I like my pity, so if you wouldn't mind, just go away, I'd like to be alone."
"You know I would, but there's one problem."
"And what's that?"
"I'm not finished with you." and without another word spoke, Stephen lifted his hands, and with a swift spin, a spinning circle of light opened up underneath Katie causing her to fall to something cold. She sat up quickly, looking down to the snow she'd just fallen up to, before her eyes lifted to see nothing but the familiar sight of snow covered mountains. The winds were strong, and Katie brought her arms around her in a pointless effort to keep herself warm. "Freezing, right?" Katie lifts her head to see Stephen still above her, safe and warm in the training room. "If I remember correctly, at that temperature a person can last 13 minutes before suffering permanent loss of function...but you'll likely go into shock within the first 2".
"You son of a bitch, don't you dare leave me here." she says jumping up to her feet, trying to jump back through the door.
"I'm sorry, but this is the kick in the butt you need."
"I can't do this! I can't-" she shook her head. "Have you even thought the fact that I can't do this is because you refuse to give me one of those fancy rings?" he looks down to her with a quirked brow before looking down to the sling ring on his fingers. He glances back to her with a shake of his head.
"This isn't the first time you've been on this mountain. How did you get here? How did you get to Hong Kong, and then back to your house. You don't need the rings. The power you possess is buried deep inside of you underneath guilt and sadness. You will die if you don't pull yourself out of it."
"You wouldn't let me die."
"I guess we'll see."
And in a flash the gateway was gone, and Katie was alone. She tightened her arms around herself, as the snowy winds blew past her.
Stephen stood there for a moment in doubt. He looked down to the floor before lifting his head and turning when he felt someone watching him.
"I know what you're going to say, Wong, but it needed to be done. Plus it worked for me, it will work for her. She will get over her crap, and finally focus." Wong didn't say anything as he folded his arms over his chest. "Don't look at me like that, I know what I'm doing." Stephen turned back, looking down to the floor. "She will figure it out." he glanced down to his watch, suddenly nervous as the first minute passes.
A/N: Will she figure it out? We will see.
Just a note...I'm not going to dive right into the infinity war story line. I'm going to build to it. Not many chapters though, so stick with me kids, and we'll be alright.