I tried to block the images from the fight out of my mind.
The twisting of Hulks limbs until his breaking point without anyone even touching him.
Natasha getting shocked until we couldn't even be sure that she was alive.
Thor's hammer turned against him- turned against us all.
We were defeated- no doubt about that. It was a wonder we weren't all dead. They chose to leave us alive. There was no doubting that either, we were completely beat and at their mercy, but they turned back. We wouldn't have made it long enough for our back up to arrive. In those moments, I thought about Ruby. I thought about how she would be parent-less again- an orphan. I thought about Pepper, and how she would feel obligated to keep Ruby, and would never be able to move forward from me while she was there. I thought about everything that would happen to both of them, how they would be expected to move forward with the legacy, how Ruby would fight to avenge me no matter how hard anyone tried to stop her. I wondered what would happen to Peter- what would happen to the rest of the world? I fought harder with every thought, but it would all be in vein if they hadn't decided to let us live.
We just kept Natasha and Bruce alive the whole way back. None of us discussed the major loss. The infirmary quickly took them, and we all opted out of getting examined- they needed to keep all of their attention on the two who were badly injured.
"Sir" Peter's voice broke through all of our thoughts as we sat in the infirmary waiting room, "Don't ever ask me to stay behind again."
We all looked at him, "Kid… You being there, it wouldn't-" I started.
"It might have. It could have made all of the difference." He cut me off, "Never ask me to do that again, because I won't." He had never stood up to me before, and I didn't have anything left in me to continue the conversation. I knew I was no use there, and I knew they would call me with any updates. Without saying a word, I stood up, the pain making itself more than known. I could feel the blood from an injury trickling down my side. My head spun.
"Where are you going, Tony?" Clint called after me, but I didn't reply.
Despite my best judgement, I climbed in the driver's seat of my car, which brings me back to the present. I don't know how long I sat in my driveway, not confident enough to pull the car into the garage. I opened the door, and fell onto the ground. The world spun around me. I pushed myself up, determined to make it inside. I was quiet coming through the door, but I still woke Ruby.
"Dad, what happened?!" She gasped when she came around the corner as I was struggling to get my shoes off.
No, don't worry. You're safe. I will keep you safe. "I'm alright, Ruby. Everybody is alright." I quickly said, desperate for her to not worry.
"Let me help you." She quickly said as she approached me, "Who did this to you?"
"It's a long story- and really I don't know who they were. None of us do. Peter is the only one who has seen them before, they were the ones that did that to him." I was hesitant to say anything to her, "But you don't need to worry Ruby, we will handle this. You are safe. Peter is safe too, we left him at the tower for eyes."
"I could help you." She quickly said, so desperate to be in the fight, "Let me help you. All of you went and faced them and look at you. You need more help."
"Ruby, this isn't up for discussion. Not now, not ever. You will never be an Avenger, you will be a normal person. I will make sure you never are, and I don't want to hear anymore about it! Do you understand me?!" I was furious at the thought of losing her, but I don't know why I yelled at her. My thoughts- none of them were straight. I couldn't sort through them, it was like wading through tar. Her face looked hurt at first, but I saw her push it away.
"I just want to help you get to bed." She said, her voice much softer
"I can get myself to bed." I snapped, then began trying to go before hurting her more. I didn't realize that she followed me until my head started spinning so fast and pounding so much I couldn't walk anymore. As I fell to the ground, I felt her grab me, guiding me down so I didn't slam into the floor.
"You're bleeding. This doesn't look good, I think we should take you to a hospital." She said, and I realized I had bled through my shirt. I don't remember clearly what happened, but I remember trying to get back up, and blackness swallowing me whole. I fought back to the light, but I was in and out of it, I could feel my body moving, but it wasn't because of me.
When I finally woke up, I was lying in my own bed. Some of my strength had come back to me. I sat up some, just enough to see two lumps at the foot of the bed- Ruby and Pepper. I used my foot to nudge Ruby. Her eyes flicked open, she blinked as they adjusted to the light. She looked over at me, "Are you okay?" She asked, her voice meek and child like.
"Yeah, I'm alright." I said, whispering. "Are you two okay?"
"Yeah, we're okay." She whispered a reply, "We were worried about you though."
"You don't need to worry about me. But thanks for taking care of me. I know I was pretty… mean... last night. I'm sorry for that." It wasn't fair of me to act like I did, no matter the circumstances.
"It's okay." She replied.
Pepper sat up, her eyes immediately went to me, "Your snoring is getting out of control. It was so bad Ruby thought there was an earthquake and came in here to sleep. It brought a whole new meaning to sawing logs, because look, it actually cut me!" I said, my main goal being just to see her smile, and she did, even though she tried to hide it, she laughed. Ruby got up, and Pepper crawled closer to me.
"You scared the hell out of us. What were you thinking, driving home in that shape?" She asked.
"I needed to be here. I couldn't sit there anymore." I said as I pulled her closer, "but I am so sorry that I scared you." I said and kissed her cheek.
Suddenly, Ruby's screams filled the house. I jumped from the bed, I knew this wasn't an 'I'm afraid of spiders and just saw one' scream, something was seriously wrong, "Unlock the suits downstairs if you can get there safely." I ordered, pain was searing through my body. I ran into the halls, where I saw the same people I fought last night surrounding my daughter. I charged into the middle, ready to defend her as well as I could. I knew in those seconds that I would not hesitate to lay my life down for her right here, and there was a good possibility that that would happen. We were back to back, I was facing the electricity guy, and she was facing the ogre of a girl, and the one that could transport between dimensions or something was to our side- her right, my left. I wanted to soothe Ruby, tell her everything was okay, but I had no clue what to say. Suddenly, we were being charged. I felt a shock ring through my body, but just as it started it stopped. I heard a thud, but it sounded distant. I went to turn, but my suit was suddenly hooking itself to me. Good, now it was time to fight.
When I turned back, the big one was on the ground, and Ruby and the transporter were both gone. "Where is my daughter?!" I yelled.
"How the hell did she do that?!" Sparky asked.
I looked back at the ogre, Ruby did that? I turned back to sparky just as he was throwing a bolt at me. I quickly took cover, shielding myself. "Tony!" Pepper yelled, she was hiding around a corner, "Tony what is happening!"
"Don't leave there Pepper! Whatever you do, stay there until I can get to you!" I knew backup had to be close, I could hear banging outside, and I thought it might be them, but why wouldn't they come in? I bolted into the kitchen, sparky on my heels. I turned the sink on, spraying him with the detachable faucet, then lifted myself off of the ground thanks to my suit. I turned the gas on the stove then bolted back out to grab Pepper. "Close your eyes, don't open them until I say to. Keep your face against me." I ordered as I picked her up, cradling her to me despite every inch of my body screaming. I flew us straight up, straight up through the roof.
I felt a weight on me, and as I turned back and looked down, I saw Peter, flapping in the wind, his web hooked to my foot. "Mr. Stark, land! We have Ruby! Land!" He screamed. I quickly changed directions, coming down. I grabbed Peter as I passed him so that way he wouldn't be hurt when we landed. Normally, the ground would split and crack underneath me, but as I landed I could barely keep myself up right.
"Get him on the ship! We are finished here!" Cap's voice caught me off guard, "I'll catch you guys at the tower!" I felt Peter and Pepper both support me, and Clint followed us, I was amazed at how weak I was. I looked back to see my house emitting smoke. Cap made sure we got onto the plane before turning back. Once the door was shut, and Thor began the takeoff, Peter quickly went to Ruby. She had a streak of blood from each nostril, her eyes were bloodshot, and her face was pale. After a few moments I had enough strength to push Clint and Pepper off of me, "Let me go, let me see Ruby!" I yelled as I pushed off of them and went to her. Her big eyes looked up to me, they were glassy but so bloodshot. "You alright, kid?" I asked as I touched her face, which was cold and clammy, clearly seeing she wasn't alright, but wanting to hear her say something.
"What happened?" She asked, her voice hoarse- raw sounding.
"I was about to ask you the same thing. What happened to the big one and the transporter one?" I asked, did you really take out two of them by yourself, when we as a group couldn't even take out one? How?
She thought briefly, although not completely convincing me that she really was thinking on it, and then shrugged slightly, looking confused "Are you hurt?" She asked. I knew she was worried about me just as much as I was about her.
"I'm fine. You're not looking so hot though, what happened?" I asked as I wiped some blood off of her chin, I just wanted some answers from her.
"I don't remember." She said, and I knew she wasn't being honest. She had lied about not remembering stuff before. "Why are they after us?"
I stood up, not sure how to answer her question. I didn't answer it, they were after us because I had went after them. This was my fault. I walked to the front of the plane where Thor was, "I am willing to set aside all differences between me and anybody to destroy them." I said.
"I will notify my brother." He answered, "I don't think it is necessary to tell Steve."
"I would have to agree with you. Do you think Loki will be of value?"
"Yes, Loki knows of these types of things generally speaking. Not usually with humans, but in Asgard and other galaxies, he was very informative."
"They aren't aliens, they are mutants." I said.
Thor laughed as if I was stupid, not even entertaining my comment with an answer apparently. Silence filled the plane until the tower was in view. We were landing when Ruby let out an agonizing scream. Peter was there first, he grabbed her arm as her body spasmed and she nearly slid to the floor, "Ruby what's wrong?!" He asked.
I was next, I came to the other side of her placing my hand lightly on her head, "Tell me what hurts, Rubes." I barked, trying to get her to concentrate on the question.
"Fire" She choked out, it sounded as if she was in fact inhaling smoke. As if she were really burning up.
"Ruby, what do you mean, fire?" I asked as I tried to shake her out of it. Tears streamed down her eyes, and then after several long seconds her eyes rolled back into her head. As soon as we landed, I picked her up and ran to the infirmary. I didn't think my body could do it, but it did. I knew Peter was right behind me, and Pepper wouldn't be far behind him. "I need help!" I yelled as Dr. Anderson spun around to see me bursting in, "You have to help her." I begged, thinking that after the last time she was here he would want nothing to do with either of us.
"Lay her on the bed, I need an IV and vitals." He quickly barked.
I laid her down on the bed and then looked up at him, "I don't know what happened to her, her eyes were bloodshot, she had a nose bleed and then she was screaming about fire. Her voice, it sounded as if she really were on fire." I said.
"Mr. Stark, have you thought any more about what I told you last?"
"No." I quickly responded, "but I am not crossing anything out right now."
"We don't have time to run that test, I want brain monitoring, now!" He barked.
I stepped back, letting the nurses do as they needed. Every part of me was hurting, but I was ignoring all of it. I couldn't deal with that right now, Ruby had to be top priority. As usual, it didn't take long for results to start coming back. Dr. Anderson looked confused.
"What do you know happened? Has she slept at all in the last two days?" He asked.
"We were attacked, she tried to fight, I don't think it went well for her, but two of them were unconscious and she was the only possible explanation we had. Yes, she has definitely gotten sleep. Last night not a ton, but the night before a solid 9 to 10 hours." I said.
"Her brain, it is showing absolute exhaustion." He said.
"Her temp is dangerous." A nurse said.
"Lets ice her. If she is in a state of delusion I don't want to see what her body is capable of doing to itself." Dr. Anderson said, and they quickly took her from the room.
Silence filled the room, and then I felt eyes on me. "What did he tell you last?" Clint asked.
I stared at him, unsure of what to say, unsure of what was safe. "They thought she might be a mutant." Pepper said, "however, she has shown us no reason to believe she is."
"Except maybe having taken out two of those mutants that took out two of our own, and all of us as a team couldn't take." Clint said, "You didn't get her tested when they said they thought she might be?"
"No." I said.
"What was their reasoning?" Clint asked.
"Unusual swelling on the brain- they began to think maybe it wasn't swelling." I said.
He jerked his head back in shock, "A mutant gene so strong it has visible effects on the brain?!"
I sucked in a breath, "Or it was just swelling. I asked her about it, she said no. I have had no reason to think otherwise. I believe my daughter." I snapped.
"Tony, what if Ruby doesn't know of her strange gene." Thor said.
"I would have to pass it on, do I look like a mutant?" I argued.
"Sir, it doesn't have to be apparent in the carrier. Also, if you have never been tested, it actually could be the reason you are so smart." Peter said, "Being a mutant… I… I don't think it is a bad thing."
"It's not Peter." Pepper said, knowing he was hurt and confused by everything that was happening. "There isn't a damn thing wrong with it. Everyone has powers, it's all in how you chose to use it."
"There is no sense in arguing it." Dr. Anderson said, "That swollen spot, it is gone as far as we can see. The amount of adrenaline her body produced is amazing, and it can cause this. So, she may be, but there is nothing we can do to change that. We will get her body temperature down, and then we will see if we can wake her up."
We all sat in the waiting room for around an hour when Steve came in. "I heard the kid had some trouble." He said, "Is she okay?"
"They're working on it now." I replied, "What happened to my house and the 'guests' in it?"
"Dead. All of them. The lightning bolt ignited the gas, died instantly, the unconscious big one hit her head on the way down I think, because she never got up, but she may have burned, and the transporter went in and couldn't get back out. A beam fell on her, burned her up, but I think smoke inhalation was the main cause. Your house, it's done for."
"She died from smoke inhalation while burning?" Peter asked.
"Interesting- almost like Ruby could feel that." Clint interjected.
Steve's brow furrowed in confusion, "I don't follow."
"Ruby, Tony's daughter, may be a mutant." Clint said.
"Does it really matter?" Loki's voice reminded me of what I imagined a snake would sound like if it could talk, "She's a human, just a different human. You could be a mutant for all you know. That could be why you are so good with a bow. Mutants are just the next step in evolution."
"It doesn't make her bad if she is." Pepper said.
"Just means power." Loki said, "Where is she, I would like to study her."
"You are NOT going to study my daughter!" I snapped as I shot to my feet.
"Wait, its your child? You have a child? A teenage daughter? Since when." Loki hissed.
"Loki, it is not time to discuss this. You cannot study Ruby. We don't study teammates." Thor said.
"She's not a teammate either. She is just my daughter." I growled.
"Tony… If she can beat them, and we can't-" Steve started.
"I suggest you not finish that sentence." I snapped at Steve, ready to rip his and everybody else's head off. "My daughter will not walk this path. I'm taking her away from it. Her and Pepper both."
"Tony-" Pepper went to argue.
"They are safest right here, Tony. For now at least. However, you will all be happy to know, when the others realized their 3 friends weren't coming, they scattered. I think those were their only cards." Nick suddenly said as he also entered the waiting area.
"As in this is over?" Clint asked.
"For now, at least."
I sat back down in my chair, relief washing over me. I sat my face in my hands, my body still hurt all over, and exhaustion was setting in fast.
"Mr. Stark, Ruby is awake." Dr. Anderson said. "She would like to see you."
I followed him back to her room. She was crying, she look terrified. "Dad" She cried as she saw me. I quickly went to her bed, sitting at her side and embracing her. "Don't cry Ruby, you are safe now." I cooed.
"Dad, what if I'm not." She said, and I pulled back quickly.
"You are, sweetheart. You are safe. They are dead."
"Really?" She asked as she sniffed.
"Yes. There was a fire, they all died in it." I said.
"I didn't kill them?" She asked.
"No, no sweetie. I did, really. I turned the gas on and sent sparky off. Everyone is safe."
She laid against me, "I'm so glad it's over" She sobbed, her throat sounding so raw still.
"I know Rubes, I know. I'm so sorry this happened. I am so sorry, but they are gone now. It is all over." I said.
As she cried into my chest, I realized that I couldn't do this to her anymore. I couldn't bring danger home to her. I couldn't risk her like this. She didn't sign up for this, and I was no longer willing to put her through this. I had to do something good for her, I had to protect her. In that moment, as I laid with her in a hospital bed and she sobbed, her skin cold from an ice bath, her skin red and blotchy from the amount of Adrenalin, I knew that Iron man was done.