Oh my lucky stars! Hello everyone long time no see and I shall begin with apologizing for my lateness in updating the next chapter! I want to thank you all so much for your support and I am very happy to see many readers enjoying my story thus far and were pleased by the events of the previous chapter.

How evil of me to give you an almost kiss *evil cackling*

So lets start a shout out to my lovely fans to leave me lovely reviews that just warm my heart.

holdthepickles: I apologize for my tardiness. Things have been stressful thus far but things have seemingly became calm now with the Holidays approaching though I'm sure it'll be back to chaos before Christmas. Now I read about what you thought I was foreshadowing, as much as your guess amused me I'm sorry to say that you are a bit off since it really has nothing to do with the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. timeline (except if I ever decide to involve Coulson after his death in Avengers) but aside from that thank you for the vote of confidence. A creative genius though? As much as I'm flattered I don't think I'm much of a genius lol. But I wish you best holiday wishes as well :D.

lost in corde meo: I'm super excited that you infatuated with my work! You know how to make a girl blush.

lozipozivanillabean: I'm glad you manage to fine my little story hidden among other great ones. I'm so happy you enjoy it. I hope you enjoy this chapter too! :)

Addison7413: Thank you for your review :D.

nicsnort: Many thanks my friend. I'm glad you enjoyed that lovely tension between the two. I thought it was an excellent way to go myself! And no worries, if you ever have the time to read my chapters will always be here!

Forbidden Moons: *blushes* my story is that good? I'm very humbled.

KatThePenguin: Yeah, not many people did. And I'm excited that you are anticipating just who is showing up in this chapter. I hope that 99% worked out. ;D

Kat: Thank you for finding that scene beautiful. I worked hard on trying to write that to the best of my ability. But no worries, patience is key in this slow burning romance. xD

moonsword17: I'M SUPER HAPPY YOU LOVE IT! You are probably right about Loki not apologizing for awhile. He's a bit of a prideful creature isn't he? As for the bold and italic writing at the end of chapter 19 that was a my bad for not informing you that technically under that person's point of view it's just that one person. Call it voices inside the head. I'll be sure to be clear on that.

Alystaire: Lol, shhhhhh I'm sure Loki would strangle anyone for calling him an idiot. I'm please to know that you adore Irene.

AkeraWriterOfTheNight: Nice laugh lol.

So just a heads up guys that in this chapter with the introduction of a new character he has a unique sense of dialogue so if you just see bold letter while in his POV that is not Irene talking. They are voices inside his head. Both the italic and the bold. I'll do my best to serve this character with justice and I hope you like it.

Enjoy!

Chapter 20: Enter the Merc with the Mouth.

He was worried.

He hated to admit it. But he, Tony Stark, was actually worried. And it wasn't just him. He had shared subtle and lingering glances with Pepper. Her unease showed more obviously than his as they sat together for lunch. It was been nearly two weeks since they have seen Irene come out of her room. At first they assumed nothing was wrong. That started to change when Irene never showed up for her lessons. She never missed her lessons. It was on the second day that he had Pepper try to talk to the girl. Their only answer was the monotone voice of the girl's SGD that answered them back. She claimed that she was feeling unwell and just needed to rest.

They believed her.

But now it was Friday signifying that it has been, indeed, two weeks. Tony tapped his fingers against the glass surface of his dining table. Sending glances towards the hallway, he somewhat wished the girl would come out of her bedroom and smile, do anything, to say that she was alright. But alas there was no Irene to come and greet them.

"Tony…she's been there for days. We have to do something." Pepper said quietly, catching him in the act of peeking at the hallway for the fifth time.

The Billionaire tsk'd "What do you expect me to do? Drag her out?" He picked up his cup of lukewarm coffee and sipped on it; he grimaced and placed it back onto the table. He only drank his coffee hot, such a waste.

"No, just…should we send Conall and Godfrey to try again? Maybe they could talk her out this time." The redhead woman replied. Tony hated to see her look so distressed.

"Maybe I should call in for a doctor…the girl is sick! I should call Fury or something, he never freaking told me what the heck she was sick with to begin with now that I think about it!"

Pepper, always so supportive, leaned forward and grasped his hand. Her thumb running over his knuckles repeatedly, soothing his sudden ire towards the Director. "Tony, I think we should try one more time. But I really think you should do it."

Tony sat up straighter, frowning. "Me?" He asked, brows furrowing in displeasure. "Pep, I'm not her babysitter. I'm technically her boss and she's old enough to take care of herself."

She rolled her eyes in irritation "You're forgetting that she's just like an adult-sized kid! And in a way you are her babysitter! We are watching over her, something that you insisted in the first place since you found out about her in Fury's custody! She's your intern, I get that, but she's also your charge. You're the Guardian. So do what has to be done and get her out of her room!" She pointed at the direction of the hallway. Her blue eyes blazing brightly as she scowled at him. Tony huffed and glared at her, but she did not wither under his gaze. Instead she just glared back in challenge.

Nothing happened between them for a solid minute.

Apparently she was not going to deal with his childish attitude today. "Anthony Edward Stark!" She hissed, eyes narrowing into formidable slits. Oh boy, she hardly ever used his full name. Tony eye's widened when her finger was suddenly in his face threateningly. His eyes crossed to look at the offending digit. "If you don't try at least once you are sleeping on the couch for the rest of the month! No ifs or buts about it! Don't-!" She yelled, cutting off whatever protest he was about to say and continued. "-Irene thinks you're her friend! So for once, be that friend! What if it were me in that room? Or what if it was James?"

Tony scowled at her and stood up quickly. "Okay, fine! I get it! I'll go check on her now." Her argument was totally unfair. "Using yourself and Rhodes as an example is cheating." He all but grumbled. He approached the entrance to the hallway and peeked over his shoulder. But the icy blue eyes that stared him down demanded that he continue and dared for him to not come back until his task was done, unless he wanted to face the promising consequences. Passing the other closed doors he reached the final one at the end of the hall and to the right. And there by the front of the door was Shepard, his head resting on his front paws and ears droopy in what appeared to be sadness. The dog huffed in greeting to him but did nothing else; Tony glared down at the animal. He still wasn't entirely fond of the creature since it had the habit of stealing his stuff.

"Any sign of her coming out, fleabag?" He asked.

Shepard growled softly until it whined pitifully. He stretched out, his head leaning back against the door that he knew his mistress was behind.

Tony watched the display, "I'll take that as a no."

Stepping close to the canine Tony raised his hand and knocked on the door. "Irene?" He called out, rapping his knuckles on cool wooden surface. "I know you're in there and I know you're awake. So…open the door!" He cringed by how lame he sounded. But the silenced stretched out despite his knocking. He sighed, running a hand through his messy mop of dark brown locks. He dared to look over at the brightened end of the hallway knowing that Pepper was there waiting for him. He certainly didn't want to sleep on the couch. Not when he paid a pretty good sum of money for a Royal Pedic Premier Natural Organic Cloud Pillowtop set.

Tony rolled his eyes and knocked, this time with a little more force. He muttered to himself darkly, if not a bit childishly "I'm one if the smartest, if not THE smartest man on the planet and I can't get a girl to open the door."

He was freaking Iron Man!

"Irene! If you don't open this door in ten seconds I'm going downstairs and getting the suit to bust your door down, young lady! Do you hear me!?" He threatened, fully ignoring Pepper as she hissed 'Tony!' at him as he started the countdown.

"Ten."

Still silence on the other side.

"Nine."

He could have sworn he heard something shuffle.

"Eight."

Shepard lifted his head, his ears perking and tail wagging.

"Seven."

Pepper was now standing just at the other end of the hall, her brows raised but ultimately curious.

"Six."

Tony took a step back from the door. He was dead serious.

"Five…you better open because I'm going to start walking away now!"

"Four." A step back.

"Three." Another step.

"Twooooo…" he stretched it out for a few seconds.

"One…" he stopped abruptly when the door handle twisted. No one dared to move, Tony himself stood ramrod straight and so did Pepper as they watch the door open in what seemed to be like slow-motion. Then they saw the familiar pale face of Irene. Amber eyes shimmering in tired interest. She opened her door more fully to regard them, a small fleeting smile on her lips that didn't quite reach her eyes. Shepard was at her feet in a heartbeat. The dog whining at his mistress as its tail wagged more furiously than before. Tony released a breath he didn't even realize he was holding at the welcoming sight of her. And just like magic, the worry that had built up for the past two weeks seem to just melt away.

Then the anger came.

"Irene, whatever your middle name is, Adler!" He snapped. "What the hell! Two weeks! Two freaking weeks and not a peep from you! Not even a: 'Hey, Tony I'm not feeling well and oh by the way I'm not going to show up to my lessons' which would have been nice!" His arms flew up in his evident frustration.

"Tony!" Pepper appeared next to him, delivering a sharp jab in his side to shut him up.

"Ow…" He grumbled, rubbing his side as he attempted to lessen the pain, his anger dwindling. For a small woman, Pepper sure seemed to hit rather hard. But he couldn't linger on that so he returned his attention to his intern, and his expression dropped when the girl looked as if he came into her home and kicked her kicked her puppy. Her eyes peered up at him from under her lashes, her lower lip jutting out in a sad ashamed pout. She looked extremely guilty. Tony took these few moments to examine the girl from head to toe. Nothing much was amiss; she still seemed to be the same weight which meant she has been eating. Her hair though, usually well-kept, was messy and tangled. What he found slightly disturbing was the prominent dark circles under her eyes; it stood out against her already pale flesh like she had no ounce of sleep at all. Was the girl even sleeping? If she wasn't sleeping then what has she been up to that had prevented her from it?

"Hey, kid." He started uneasily. Irene blinked in response, so he took it as sign to continue. Rather sheepishly he rubbed the back of his neck. "Ugh…you don't look so hot. Have you not been sleeping? I mean aside from you skipping lessons and staying in your room, Pepper has been super worried about you. You even had Happy, Conall, and Godfrey worried too!"

Pepper decided it was her moment to chime in. "Tony was also worried."

"I was not!" Tony snapped quickly, his cheeks warming slightly feeling a bit embarrassed as the redhead sent him a satisfied smile. Pepper tilted her head slightly and Tony followed her gesture to see that the corners of the young intern's mouth curled up, her eyes sparkling with more life than a second ago.

Oh, she was cheering her up. He grasped. He was never good at cheering up people. It was not his thing. It was a lot more reassuring to have Pepper there suddenly.

"Irene." He said, suddenly more serious. "Why did you miss your lessons? Are you sick? Because if you are I can get a doctor, I know all the best ones in the country!"

"If you need anything you could just ask." Pepper intoned. Her dainty hands were clasped in front of her, a tender look on her face.

Irene stepped forward. Surprising them both when she grabbed each of their hands; holding both of their hands gently. Tony stood taller, tensed. He didn't really like being touched unless it was just Pepper or someone he really, really trusted. But the young woman gave his hand, what he assumed to be, a comforting squeeze. She looked happy, trying to convey her meaning that perhaps she was alright and that he and Pepper didn't need to worry. Tony could still not understand why she had decided to withdraw from everything.

He chose to ask to the golden question. "What exactly have you been doing anyways?"

Irene turned a bit flustered, releasing their hands. She fidgeted somewhat anxiously for a few moments until she moved towards her door, pushing it open for all to see. Tony couldn't help but gap at what he saw.

Irene's normally clean room was in a state of disarray. Her bed was unmade, the floors littered with what seemed like hundreds, if not thousands, of paper! All of them having some sort of writing and under closer inspection he realized it was all music.

"You were composing this whole time?" He asked, slightly awed, his dark brown eyes wide. Without even asking for any sort of permission he entered the room. Irene followed behind and so did Pepper as they looked at the scattered sheets of art everywhere.

"This…is insane." Pepper murmured, carefully she knelt and snatched one of the many papers from the carpet floor. Tony peered over her shoulder, trying to read the overly complicated notes in vain.

"Is it finished?" Tony questioned.

Irene shook her head. Her expression taking on an appearance of devoted affection to her work. With ease she managed to get to her vanity, snatching up the SGD that was laying on its surface and typed into it. The smooth automated voice filling the silence.

"It's not ready. It won't be for a while even though I made more progress on it these past two weeks."

Tony shoved his hands in his pockets, letting out a low whistle. "Wow, that's amazing. I can see why they call you genius in your field. I don't read music, but then again I'm sure any idiot can see just how extraordinary this is."

Pepper snorted, highly amused. "Did I just hear Tony Stark actually call something that isn't his own work 'extraordinary'?"

The Billionaire shrugged, "Perhaps. I really have no idea what you're talking about though because nothing is better than my work." He replied, pretending that he didn't give any compliments. He was Tony Stark after all.

"Suuuure…." Pepper drawled, her blue eyes seeing right through him.

Crap.

"Thanks anyways, Tony." Irene's eyes went over her work. When she faced away from him the sunlight from the windows caught the side of her face, and he paused whatever witty retort he was going to come up with.

"Is that a bruise?" He blurted.

"What?" Pepper's brows shot up in disbelief.

The redhead was faster than a speeding bullet, reaching the auburn hair girl in just two strides. She gingerly cupped the girl's face and examined it closely. Tony watched on as Pepper's face slackened, her brow furrowed as she spotted the mostly faded contusions on the young woman's face. Irene's eyes were wide when he head was moved one way and then another under close examination.

"What happen? Did someone do this to you? Because I swear to God the person who did this is going to pay severely!" Pepper demanded, her face contorting into a horrifying expression of unadulterated rage.

Tony would have instinctively shrunk away from that looking (having to have been on the receiving end of it many times) if it was directed at him. It was disconcerting that this could possibly be the reason why she stayed in her room for two weeks. This wasn't some sort of stroke of genius that she had to release. No, Irene was hiding some form of evidence of mistreatment from them.

Ill-treatment in his tower? Not on his freaking watch.

"Stay with her, Pep. I'm going to find out just who did it." He ordered.

Marching out of the room he rushed back to the living room. His brown eyes immediately landed on one of his many glass tables, so striding to it he tapped the surface of it and it lit up on command. Many images appeared before him. "J.A.R.V.I.S. I need all security feed of the Penthouse from the past three weeks."

"One moment, sir." The A.I. replied.

Soon there were small different little windows appearing, all of them featuring the videos of the twenty-four hour surveillance of the past three weeks. Brown eyes narrowed he carefully observed each. Nothing seemingly out of the norm at first, there was no stranger found among them. Only everyone familiar was showing up and none of them could have possibly harmed his young intern. Happy and Godfrey worked for him a long time now, their loyalty was solid. Conall had too much affection; his gratefulness to the young girl would not allow any hate to fester. Besides he was pretty positive that Conall was more loyal to Irene at this point. It did not make any sense though. Everything seemed as it should be.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. has there been any tampering with the security? Are there any signs of hacking?" Tony pressed. He really truly despised it when he couldn't gain evidence. Even worse when he knew that someone he knew was hiding something from him. He wasn't sure if he should automatically regard Irene with suspicion. Fury had told him somewhat of the events in Canada. And Coulson had added that when he had come across the young girl in a Diner there was clear evidence of abuse, all of them suspecting her father. Automatically that had placed the Governor General in the top ten of his shit list.

"Nothing found sir. Would you like me to do a scan?" J.A.R.V.I.S. inquired, always sounding polite.

"Make it quick."

Tony traced his fingers along his goatee in thought. Brows knitted as he watched Irene sneak out into the kitchens at night for food. It was too dark to really see any discoloration on her face in the videos.

"I'm afraid there is nothing wrong, sir. Systems are fully functioning normally; there are no signs of tampering with the cameras."

Surprise flickered in his gaze. "I see…" he muttered. With a wave of his hand the virtual images from the glass surface of the table disappeared. "Thank you, J.A.R.V.I.S." he rubbed his eyes in frustration, "keep me informed if anything if discovered."

"You're welcome Sir. I am also afraid to inform you that you and Miss. Potts have a flight in about an hour to Washington for your meeting. It is in your best interest not to cancel again on them."

Dammit.

"Ughhh…can't we just call in sick?" He whined. He had forgotten all about the stupid meeting with the equally stupid politicians and generals in boring ol' Washington. "Say that I'm trying to do away with a criminal organization or terrorist cell. You know duty calls for Iron Man, that kind of thing? Pepper is my official sidekick of the day so she wouldn't have to go either."

"I apologize, sir. I don't think anyone would believe it. Again I highly advise not to miss this meeting or they might have the incentive to come to Stark Tower." J.A.R.V.I.S. chided…well, if he could even chide at all. But to Tony it was somewhat the same thing.

"What about Irene?" He argued a bit unsettled that he would have to leave her after such a discovery. "There could be a possibility her offender is here in the building! We can't really just leave her alone by herself for a day!"

J.A.R.V.I.S. was silent. For a split hopeful second he really prayed that the A.I. really had no argument to rebuke his statement.

"We can establish a security team here that could stay with Miss. Adler until your return. I will recommend Mr. Hogan as your primary head of the security squad. How many would you like in the Penthouse, sir?"

Has he ever mentioned how much he really hates politicians?

"Ten."

"Very well, sir. I'll inform Mr. Hogan immediately."

With that conversation over Tony trudged back to Irene's room. Him mood more sour than before, his face scrunched up like he had strait up ate a lemon. Upon his return he found the two girls sitting on the bed, Pepper fretting still like a clucking mother hen as she sat with one arm draped over Irene's slender shoulders. Pepper's hands rubbing her arm in what was supposed to be considered calming. Her blues eyes snapped up to greet him, her features still expressing concern.

"Anything?" she prompted.

"Nothing, that's the weird part, J.A.R.V.I.S. did a whole scan and there was no altering the securities feeds. For once I'm stumped," He grimaced. Not really wanting to admit defeat to early. "Regrettably enough, you and I got a plane to catch and some bureaucrats to piss off per usual."

Pepper groaned in dismay, "Crap. I nearly almost forgot." She grumbled, though this didn't seem to on her top list of priorities. "What about Irene?" She asked. She seemed visibly discomforted now, "We can't really leave her alone."

"I agree," Tony concurred, shoving his hands into his pockets. "J.A.R.V.I.S. is sending up a security team in our absence while we are away. Until we get back from Washington I'm afraid I can't investigate much further and there is no way in Hell I'm bringing this up to S.H.I.E.L.D. because Patch would have that usual retarded smug look in his eye when he points out that not even my security is the best in the world." He pouted and rocked back on the balls of his heels. "I do have a reputation to uphold!" he sighed dramatically, his hand waving in the air like some person who lived a life of tragedy. "It's hard maintaining the perfect image that is me."

Pepper stared, deadpanned. "You can't be serious…" She tsk'd in disapproval.

"You wound me deeply!" He gasped woefully, his hand clutching his chest right by his heart. "Right here. Where my heart should be." His pitiful pout made her snort in an unladylike way.

"Tony…" she warned. She wasn't as stern, seeing that his actions were getting some semblance of a smile from the young intern.

All playfulness aside his brows furrowed, his lips turning downward at the corners. "But in all seriousness Pep. We gotta go, like now. Or else we'll be late and Heaven forbid if we are! We won't hear the end of it from Secretary what's-his-face!"

"Carter." Pepper supplied.

"Whatever."

\oooo/

What have I done?

Shaky hands picked up the sheets of scattered music carefully. She began placing them into neat and organized piles in order. Irene's heart galloped in her chest, slamming against her ribs in an uncomfortable manner as she tried to calm her shot nerves. She had been cleaning her room for the past half-hour, still in some form of shock from today's earlier events despite Pepper and Tony leaving. The soft voices of the security team in the front rooms reached her ears through her open door as a serving reminder that what happened today was indeed real. Pushing herself off the ground she stacked her piles of music upon her vanity.

Irene's brown eyes risked a glance at her reflection in the mirror. With the pads of her fingers she gently prodded her own face. Faded were the bruises mostly, and a slight crescent shape indent that was slowly fading away, she couldn't help the shudder that ran through her. Never has she ever experienced this, not even under her own father. Not to that extent. It was new…

Never at that moment had she felt fear so potently.

Her quaking increased. She knew Loki had a temper. She had weathered it since the very moments she had come across him in the woods that fateful day. She never feared his snarks or threats as she treated him. Any kindling of fear towards this easily angered Asgardian Prince didn't exist and certainly not so when he in kind helped her and took her away from the only place she had ever known, from her father.

Her gratitude outshined this fright that had presented itself.

Shakily she exhaled a breath she hasn't known she's been holding and lowered her hand from her face.

She had not seen Loki in those two weeks. Every night she stayed up in hopes he would return, only sleeping when she succumbed to exhaustion. She worried for him still.

"Irene…" Loki's tone dropped, low and daring, his emerald eyes darkened by some emotion she could not name as his thumbs brushed over her cheeks with a tenderness she did not know he possessed. He was leaning closer to her with his eyes flickering to her lips. But then he froze his eyes wide as if he had just woken up from some sort of dreamlike state. Emotions flashed in his eyes and she could read them all. Those feelings of realization, confusion, grief, rage, and fear. What did he fear so much? What had happened? She cautiously pressed her hand to his face, anxious. Clearly that was a mistake when she had her head suddenly entrapped between his large hands. Her heart hammered faster than a hummingbird's in terror as he yelled and scream at her. Whatever moment they had before, was lost.

She shuddered again at the memory. She almost recalled his nails digging into her skin with startling clarity. Irene had hoped that soon they could reconcile whatever difference had come between them and soon. She missed her friend.

A soft knock banished her thoughts. Turning she spotted Happy by her door waiting patiently. The man offered her a small smile, avoiding staring at her face for too long (she noticed) and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, it was just around lunchtime. I was wondering if you wanted anything…the guys and I were thinking of some Hamburgers and Hot Dogs." His cheeks flushed red, "Um…would you like to have lunch with us?"

Irene tried her best to return his smile, it was a bit forced but she managed and nodded her head in agreement.

"Great! We'll get that started." Happy said. "Conell and Godfrey are out today so there isn't anyone on the team you're familiar with aside for me of course, but if you hurry your way to the kitchen I can introduce you."

Irene nodded her head once more.

Once an understanding passed between them Happy left. Being alone once again she continued on her quest to clean. The smell of food gradually over time was getting stronger as the seconds ticked by.

"Lunch is ready! Get it while it's hot!" Happy's voice called.

Irene propped her pillow up and looked around her room with some satisfaction now that it was all neat and tidy.

Her stomach growled angrily at her.

Time for food she thought, a slight blush growing on her cheeks. She was glad no one else was there to hear its protest as she made her way to the dining room where everyone else was setting up plates or getting their servings. Happy was there to greet her with her plate in hand. "There ya go." He told her pleasantly, pushing the plate into her hands and ushering her to the seats.

As she sat down Irene conveyed her thanks and studied the ingredients left out on the table's surface. Did she want onions or tomatoes on her hamburger, she wondered.

She didn't get to make a choice when an explosion from a few stories below shook the Penthouse.

Irene shot up to her feet eyes wide.

Those are Tony's Labs!

At least it could have been Tony's labs it was too hard to tell when she was suddenly swarmed by her security team and led away from the only main entrance and as far away from windows as possible. Happy swung a protective arm over her shoulder and brought her up against him. "Stay near me." He ordered. Happy pressed his free hand to his ear, pressing on the earpiece he wore "All security forces, we have a breach. I repeat we have a breach. Find the perpetrators and if you must…shoot to kill."

Irene gasped softly. Shoot to kill? They were going to kill someone or some group?

Loki!

She prayed he was still around. Once more her fear arose. She clutched onto Happy as she could hear some chatter from his earpiece, but it wasn't long until she heard screaming on the other end. Happy seemed rather pale from the noises produced from the other end.

\oooo/

[A/N: This part might be confusing, this particular character has three voices: two that are in his head and himself when he talks which he usually does out loud like he talks to normal people so if you see 'yo' that means it's the sensible voice "yo" is his normal and 'yo!' is the silly dorky one in his head so don't mistaken it as someone else's dialog. Hope it helps so enjoy!]

Elsewhere in Stark Tower.

Breaking in was much easier than expected. You would think that Tony Stark would have some unbreakable windows but nope, the guy didn't. He wasn't sure if the guy was just egotistical or he did not expect to have his tower infiltrated by the world's most badass and sexiest merc. Either which way, he really did not care as he loaded another clip into his gun and stepped over a few dead bodies as he navigated his way through the labs.

'Shouldn't we not be here?' He blinked, "Why's that?" he asked himself out loud, ignoring the loud blaring alarm above his head. 'Yeah, why?'

'The whole copyright thing, aren't we owned by a different movie companies?' Deadpool, the merc with the mouth, raised his gun up once more and fired twice in rapid succession. Two security guards who were marching out from behind a wall fell quickly by well-placed bullets before they could even fire a shot. "This is the Internet, copyright has no meaning here." He replied happily. 'I love FanFiction!'

Twirling his gun (don't do this at home children) he curiously glanced about everything within the lab themselves. Stark was rather organized, with the exception of one workbench. But low and behold! A suit! He gasped at its magnificence and rushed forward. 'Shouldn't we focus on the Job?' Deadpool ran his hand admirably over the arm of the famed ensemble like a man caressing his lover and tsk'd. "But if I get the suit I could be Ironpool, Deadman, or whatever!" A lighter and more childish voice cackled within his head 'Plus it's shiny!'

"Please do not touch what isn't yours, sir." A calm voice chided.

"Wha-?" He looked at all directions, his head whipping from one way to another. "Who said that?" he asked, genuinely perplexed when he saw no one, just the corpses courtesy of yours truly. He turned to the readers, winking at them rather flirtatiously thinking it was them 'Please try not to break the 4th wall too much, you'll make the author mad' 'but it's what we do…'

"I did. My name is J.A.R.V.I.S. I am the one who runs Stark Tower. I am afraid you are trespassing." Came the smooth voice again.

The merc let out a low whistle realizing what the disembodied voice was and feeling mildly disappointed that it wasn't his adoring fans beyond the computer screen. "Stark is so rich he has a robot butler!?" Whoa, would Stark make him one if he asked when this was all over? 'Where can I buy one?' voice #1 demanded while completely ignoring the more sensible second voice "I think it's more of an A.I. than a robot."

Nevertheless this 'J.A.R.V.I.S.' responded to him "I was created by Mr. Stark. An alert has been sent to him that there has been a breach. You are trespassing, I should recommend leaving."

Leaving the suit (much to his dismay, but he can return for it later) he strode confidently past the dead bodies towards the hallway in which they came from. "No can do! I have a job to complete~!" he said in sing-song. Stark's A.I. did not seem to have anything else to say to the man in the red and black spandex as he located the elevator that would lead to Stark's Penthouse level. Any poor soul who got in his way was simply mowed down before they had a chance to defend themselves.

Pressing the button, he was surprised that the elevator itself was no longer working. Typical! They always make things hard for him!

"Hey, J.A.R-J.A.R. thing! Do ya mind!? The faster I get this done the faster I can go!"

"J.A.R.V.I.S." The A.I. corrected. "And no, you are trying to reach an unauthorized area."

"Ha! Unauthorized!" The merc cackled. Pulling out a pry bar from seemingly no where he jammed it between the two doors and started to pry them open the hard way. "Was there a joke I missed?"

It wasn't long until the doors were finally open and he had access to the elevator shaft. Of course the elevator itself was now cut from power thanks to that now annoying robot butler but that did not hinder him in the slightest when opening the emergency trap door above. So with practiced agility he hauled himself up to the top of the elevator and clasped onto one of the many steel cables and started the ascension to the highest floor of Stark Tower whistling a merry tune that echoed hauntingly.

Once he reached the desired floor he stared at the closed doors thoughtfully as he dangled.

"Now, now…how to get in I wonder~?" He sang. "You know we have a-" A lightbulb flashed. "Ah-ha! Transporting belt device~!"

One minute he was in the elevator shaft. And the next he was standing right in front of a group of stunned armed men. Just as he was opening his mouth to greet them with something witty a shot rang through the air and his head jerked back from the impact of a well-placed bullet. Ouch. Deadpool stumbled back a few steps, his hand shot out to prevent himself from falling as he braced himself against the wall.

"What the hell!?" Security douchebag #1 exclaimed, lowering his gun for just a split second.

With his bearings returned to him, Deadpool pushed himself away from the wall, his masked face contorting into a pout. "Well, that was rude! But no matter, I'm here for one 'Irene' if you have one of those can you just pass her over I'd be grateful thanks." The Stark goons shared looks among themselves, the head goon who shot him shook his head.

"Absolutely not! You have no right to barge in here and dema-!"

The 'swoosh' of a blade was his answer. The merc had crossed the room with earth-devouring strides, one of the two katanas on his back unsheathed, and with a powerful swing of his arm he easily lopped off the head of the man who denied him. Sorry, but any man who got between him and a life full of tacos was gonna die.

"Haha I forgot to mention, I don't handle rejection well." 'He really doesn't, just look at all those calls he left Domino...' 'You think she would have answered the first 467 calls'

"Holy sh-! Open fire! Open fire!"

The man next to the merc raised his weapon up in fright, finger already on the trigger. With a swift kick, Deadpool knocked his hand away before barreling into himself into the man. The momentum sent his attacker back, falling against his companions and like bowling pins all of them stumbled back to the ground trying to keep their supposed leader upright. With his free hand he upholstered his gun, firing away at the defenseless men as they scrambled on top of the other trying to untangle themselves.

The gun began to click repeatedly as the ammo had run out. In the end all of the guards were dead in a pile, with bullet shells lying in their blood that began to pool at his feet and stain the expensive tiles that lavished Stark's home. "You all could have just let me through, but noooooooooo you all wanted to have a big corpse pile on Ted" 'I don't think they would have been paid if they let us through, let alone have kept their jobs' 'Who's Ted?' Deadpool lifted up his gun and blew the smoke off the barrel before loading another clip into his gun. He holstered his gun as he stepped gingerly over the corpse pile on top of Ted. "I don't want to be the guy that has to clean this mess up" Deapool muttered with slight sympathy as he took one last look at his handy work as he headed towards the hallway in which his target might be hiding.

Deadpool stood at the start of the hallway looking at all eight doors that were present before him. His eyes roamed over each of them, his expression somewhat thoughtful even though it was covered by a mask. "Now if I was a hot girl waiting to be kidnapped, which door would I be behind?" he asked himself audibly. 'Probably the one with the most locks, security, and restraining order.' 'Like those work on us!"

"Quite in there, I'm trying to think!' Deadpool said aloud to the voices in his head before kicking in the door on the left. Inside was a lavished room with a massive expensive looking bed. The sight made him gasp dramatically as he made his way into the room "Damn, does Tony Stark know how to waste money or what? I mean look at this bed! I wish I could afford something like this." Deadpool couldn't help himself as he took a seat on the bed, enjoying the sudden feeling of the mattress beneath him "Damn this bed is comfy on my butt, if only I was kidnapping this bed!" Deadpool cried as he sank back, laying across it and unknowing staining the sheets in blood from both himself and Stark's goons on the covers. 'If we were kidnapping it we would be giving it to someone else anyways.' 'But it's so comfy!'

After what seems like minutes later he reluctantly got off the bed with a heartbroken sigh "Good bye comfy ass bed, it wasn't meant to be." He sniffed. He headed to the door but something had stopped him right before exiting the room. A suddenly dark impulse took over the merc, his voice low and menacing coated with jealousy as he spoke to no one but the bed he was leaving behind "But if I can't have you…" Deadpool reached into one of the pouches of his utility belt and retrieved a decently sized grenade. He swiftly pulled out the pin and heard the satisfying 'click' that made it come to life "No one can!" He finished. He tossed the grenade on to the bed where it landed without making a sound.

Deadpool stepped out the room swiftly and closed the door. He walked a bit more down the hallway to resume his search. "There too many doors!" he shouted, seeing that there was seven doors left. The loud explosion blew the door of the room behind him off its hinges but he hardly flinched at all as the door met its untimely demise as he continued to talk. "I mean we could re-enact a Scooby Doo episode here for crying out Loud!" 'OH OH! Can we, PLEASE!?' 'No.'

"How can I search these rooms quickly? It's impossible! I'll die of boredom if I have to go through all of them!" He kicked his foot out at an imaginary rock, his hands placed firmly on his hips in a childish tantrum as he glared at each door in distain. 'If only we had a device that allowed us to instantly move from one place to anoth-'

"Quiet! I had a…ugh…what do you call those things? They sound girly and stupid, oh yeah a hyphen! I'll just use my teleporter to go in each room real quick and see if she's there!" 'You're a genius!' Voice #1 gushed in admiration while the second one groaned in despair. 'I'm surrounded by idiots.'

Content with his plan Deadpool quickly teleported form room to room, scanning them quickly for the girl he sought. "Hello?"

*poof*

"Are you in here?"

*poof*

"How about here?"

*poof*

"¿Aló?"

*poof*

"AH HA….you're not in here…"

*poof*

"I don't know what I was expecting."

Deapool teleported in front of the last door in the hallway. "She has to be in here" he said, feeling a bit exasperated. 'Or on another floor. I told you we should have remembered which room that drone looked into' 'It's not our fault we got distracted by that hot lady jogging by…'

Having to have wasted enough time Deadpool quickly drew his sword and pointed it at the door. "You better be in here! I don't want to waste a badass entrance on an empty room!" He shouted at whoever he hoped was on the other side. His only answer was a bullet shot through the door into his head, knocking him on his back (god what was with people shooting him in the head today?). 'Well at least now we know someone is in there' Deadpool slowly sat himself up, wincing as a dribble of blood flowed from his newly acquired wound that was just a few inches from the first one he received from Stark's other goon. "Damnit I just had this suit washed too." 'You never wash this suit.' 'How else are we supposed to attract the ladies with our manly musk?'

Deadpool leaned back and hopped up onto his feet and raising his hand he traced the bullet hole healing on his forehead with his fingers. "Well now that wasn't very nice of you, I'll have to pay you back for this hole in my head. In my own special way of course." Once more he turned to face the screen of viewers and winked at them charmingly. 'Stop that, there isn't even a camera to wink at. This is all text on page, all you are going to do is annoy the author' 'But how else are we supposed to let the audience know something awesome is going to happen?' Deadpool hit the back of his head roughly with a grunt, dislodging the bullet before forcefully digging it out with his own fingers and ignoring any flair of pain he endured trying to dig it out. Once he succeeded he shook his head a bit and then look at the door. Eyes narrowed he tightened his grip on his blade and raised his sword, slashing the weak wood that separated him from 'them' to pieces.

When the pieces laid at his feet he stepped into the room and gazed at the only two surviving occupants left in Stark's Penthouse.

The merc located his target huddled in the corner of the room. The final obstacle standing between himself and the girl was the last man from Stark's security force. And man, did that guy look positively livid! The redness on that guy's face put a tomato to shame, he never thought people could get that red. Unless of course he was depriving a man of oxygen by asphyxiation, but they tended to turn more purple than red.

"Hey, do you mind stepping aside? I sort of have business with the chick only, so if you can just go away that would be very much appreciated." Deadpool waved his hand in that 'shoo' gesture. Like he was waving away some stray animal.

"If you want the girl you'd have to go through me!" The middle-aged man growled. He switched from his gun in favor of a baton "And if a well-placed bullet won't kill you then I will simply have to knock you out cold until reinforcements arrive!"

Deadpool raised a brow at him. This guy was a bit arrogant, if not a little cocky if he could actually believe that he could take him down with some fancy little stick. And he never did like anyone who was cocky…he reached towards his belt slowly…it was time to show him who was the boss around here and who made the demands.

"Yeah, about that. I'll have to pass, I have business with the girl only sooooooooooo…." With the use of his teleporter the merc appeared behind the startled goon. And with the swiftness that could probably impress Quicksilver he pulled out his new weapon of choice and brought it to his unfortunate victim's neck, the weapon squeaking as the rubber strained itself.

If you were curious about what kind of weapon squeaks than wonder no more.

Because it was a simple rubber chicken.

Remembering that they weren't the only two in the room Deadpool peered over his shoulder, placing his knee against the goon's back to make sure he couldn't escape as he addressed the girl. "I will be with you in a sec." He stated happily, ignoring the choking sounds from the man in front of him. "I just need to choke my chicken first." 'Ha Ha! Chicken!' 'As classy as ever with the ladies.'

She didn't reply as she stared at him in utter horror as the man in his grasps began to cease his struggles. Deciding that he has already done enough he started to lower the man to the ground gently. "Shhhhhhhh….shhhhhh…that's right just go to sleep~." He crooned. 'Well that's not creepy at all.' 'Maybe if you sing him a lullaby he'll fall asleep faster~?'

In the end there was no need when the man lost consciousness. "Finally!" he exclaimed, leaving the groon on the floor in a heap as he turned to face his target at last. She was rather small, not as curvy as he would have liked usually on a woman but still she seemed rather appeasing to look at. She had lovely eyes though, and her hair looked soft. She screamed out girly rather than womanly. Shame.

Still beautiful though in her own way.

"You," He pointed his finger at her, the motion caused her to flinch in fright. "Must be Irene Hawkins. There is a contract for you, and I am here to bring you back to my contractor. If you come with me without a struggle you'll make this easier for the both of us. I won't rough you up and I get tacos for the rest of my life as soon as the job is over." 'Brilliant deduction, Sherlock.' 'Who's Sherlock?'

The small young woman's brows furrowed in confusion. Her eyes sweeping down to the passed out goon and back to the merc. Seemingly lost in what to do next.

Deadpool sighed impatiently. "Lady-" he didn't even get to finish his sentence.

His eyes widened when the girl suddenly spun on her heel grabbing the closest thing to her, which was a lamp and came rushing at him in all due haste. Her eyes wild and teeth bared viciously as she swung the offending lamp at him. "Whoa! Trying to hit me with furniture, man, most women get to know me before they do that!" he shouted, stepping to the side to avoid being hit. 'I think most women you know shoot at you.' 'Like Domino!'

She snarled with no sound and swung and missed again as he dodged her sluggish attack.

"Swing batter, batter swing!" he cheered.

She struck out and missed again, he couldn't help but taunt the tiny woman further as he took on the tone of a baseball announcer. "STRIIIIIIIIIKE!"

Oh, her trying to hit him was just adorable. "You hit like a girl, a very pretty girl, but a very dainty girl none the less!" 'I don't think she's our type.' 'Where are her boobies?'

Having enough of just toying with the poor girl he caught her wrist and wrenched it the opposite way causing the lamp to tumble from her grip and break as soon as it landed on the floor. "I think it's time to go." He told her. With a single tug he brought her close, her body pressing up against his and quickly he held her in place. Her amber eyes stared up at him in alarm and her mouth opened. Assuming that she was about to scream he covered her nose and mouth quickly with a sweet smelling rag, shushing her instantly.

She struggled in vain until slowly her resistance dwindled to nothing, tears streaming down her face due to fright. Burying his masked face into her hair he murmured words of comfort to the distressed girl. "Shhhh no tears now, only dreams." 'Well that doesn't come off as creepy.'

Supporting the girl's full weight, which was nothing, he gathered her into his arms and stepped over the still unconscious goon and into the hallway. Cradling her close he travelled back to the area with all the pile of corpses, patting himself mentally on the back with another job well done.

"Well this was an easy job, I didn't even have to fight Iron Man!" 'I don't think he's going to be happy about the trail of dead guys you left behind.' 'Or that one guy we strangled.'

Ding.

"Hm?" Deadpool blinked as the elevator chimed. Doors opened and soon a new security team of goons swarmed in, guns raised and suddenly trained on him and the girl. He shifted on his feet instinctually, pressing the girl more firmly to his chest as a display of protection and turned her away from the pointed guns.

"HALT! DROP THE GIRL THIS INSTANT AND PUT YOUR HANDS UP IN THE AIR!" the man in the lead shouted, dressed like he was more prepared for a riot than in standard security uniform.

"Sorry, 'fraid I can't do that. I sort of need her." he responded casually, this earned him some scornful stares from two men out of that group. One of them, a rather tall and buff man was seething in rage, his own firearm pointing directly between the merc's eyes.

"Ye bloody bastard let the wee lass go!" he demanded.

Ugh. What is with people and not understanding that he needed the girl? He rolled his eyes "Nah, I think I'll keep her for now. Thanks for all the fun guys but I shouldn't stick around. I have some tacos to collect that are calling my name." 'Taaaaacooooooosssssss!'

Without further ado he broke out into a sprint. Charging head on to the nearest window and jumped, he curled himself around the girl as they broke through the glass, making it shatter and rain around them in millions of tiny shards as they descended down into nothing but open air. He heard the dying curses of the men above as they fell through the air, passing down a few levels of the tower rather quickly and missing the balcony of the party deck by inches.

Now he wasn't really sure if it was just his imagination but he could have sworn he had seen a flash of the color green before he had finally kicked up his teleporter and ended up in an alleyway a few blocks away from Stark Tower with his prize tightly in his arms. He checked her over, glad to see that she had suffer only minor scraps from the broken glass from the window.

Now that he had secured the target. It was time for him to rendezvous with his contractor further North. Skillfully cradling the girl with one arm he fished around until he found his 'borrowed' cell phone and flicked it open. The number automatically dialing for him. It took two rings until the person who hired him answered.

"Hello?" the voice barked, sounding strained and somewhat haggard.

"I got her." was all he needed to say. And promptly, like the badass he was he snapped the phone shut and pocketed away. He knew he was gonna get yelled at for it later, but meh, who the hell cared? He didn't because he was getting freaking tacos when this was over! Or chimichangas. Studying the alley, he made sure there was no witnesses before moving along quietly.

His destination.

Upstate New York near the Canadian border.

"Alright, little Reenie. Let's ditch this popsicle stand." He said to the girl lightly. But he never received an answer when he looked down to the girl's tear-streaked, yet stunningly peaceful face.

BWAHAHAHAHAHHAAHA! OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! IRENE HAS BEEN TAKEN BY DEADPOOL! WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NOW!

This was an utter blast guys, I enjoy writing this chapter. Sorry it took me so long but damn Deadpool is complicated as hell to write, but I hope you guys were able to understand it easily and such. Also I'm not just the only one who can take credit for this chapter alone for I was working with someone very dear to help me with my writer's block struggle. And I admit he's an utter genius and I hope you enjoyed some of the dialog he helped provide.

I WAS gonna just keep writing until after the encounter with Deadpool but I decided to end the chapter here and bring him back for the next! Now you all have to stew for awhile and freak out about what's gonna happen to Irene and all that stuff.

But fret not guys!

Another chapter is on the way and would be posted soon and not a few months from now! xD

Wow...it's 3AM, that's late.

So I'm just gonna go off to bed.

To my readers, I love you guys, and you are awesome. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

Please, review! Tell me your thoughts, and leaving me reviews encourages me to write more *winks at you guys teasingly*

-Shizu 3