They let me go from the infirmary on strict orders to rest, and I was more than fine with that. Our house, it was gone, not that it mattered right away, because we were going to be staying at the tower just to insure our safety. I knew what I had done, and I knew that it wasn't from Adrenalin, but I didn't know how to say the words. I knew it would make me then bad guy, the enemy.
My dad barely left my side. He blamed himself for everything. Whenever he was near, I could feel his despair, his guilt, his anger. I had no real knowledge of how to control it. I knew he had something else on his mind as well, and I knew it had something to do with Ironman, but I was afraid to bring it up. Nobody came to check on me, it was my dads orders. Peter disobeyed him, but I think he was the exception. Pepper and my dads room butted up to mine, and I had heard their sharp tones in the night when they thought I was sound asleep, but I was too afraid to ask what was wrong.
It was a week since the incident when my dad pulled me and Pepper into my room. "Listen, I have to tell you both something, and I don't want any real push-back from this. This is my choice, not either of yours. Okay?"
"If you aren't wanting push-back, I think you are talking to the wrong people." Pepper snapped.
"Enough. This is serious, and it is my choice." My dad snapped back so hard I actually flinched. Then he sucked in a deep breath and softened his tone "There will be no more Ironman. After everything that has happened, putting both of your lives in danger, and after coming face to face with the possibility of leaving you two so soon, I know I can't do it."
"Whoa, wait a minute!" Pepper burst out, "you are just walking away from all of this?!"
"We are walking away from this. When we have the all clear, when we know everything is done, when it is completely safe, I will move the three of us away. We can go wherever we want to go." My dad replied.
" I don't want to go anywhere, Tony! This is our home! This is what we do! What about the others?!"
"I like it here, too." I said, "I don't want to move away."
"Ruby, this isn't up for discussion. I won't risk your life. Pepper… I have to do what is best for Ruby. I understand if you don't want to go… but I really want to be with you, I want to protect you." He said.
"I can't believe this! Ugh! I can't talk to you right now!" Pepper yelled and stomped from my room, slamming the door on the way out.
"Dad, don't do this." I begged.
"Ruby… I wish you could understand how I feel." He said, his voice low.
I could feel just how he was feeling with extreme clarity. It felt like I could, in some way, read his mind. The fear he had for me and Pepper, the emptiness he was feeling when he thought about not being there for us, to see me live my life, I could feel it all. I wanted to tell him that, but I knew now was not the time. "Dad… I don't think you should jump to this right now." I said, "A lot just happened, and maybe making big decisions isn't a good thing to do right now."
"Well, there is time before we go, but don't get your hopes up on my mind changing." He said, "Why don't you get some more rest." It wasn't a question, it was an order. I no longer had any sort of say on my own life. He left me alone in my room, and I felt the hot angry tears streak my cheeks. I wasn't going to take this lying down. I flung myself out of the bed and put on street clothes. I brushed my hair out and made myself presentable, and then I snuck out of my room.
I quickly went to Peter's room where he was packing his clothes, getting ready to go home. "Peter" I said, my voice catching slightly, tears still streaking my face. "Peter everything is wrong!"
"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked as he set down the shirt he was packing and walked over to me, wrapping me in a hug. His arms were the first comfort I had felt in a week. I knew it was dumb, we barely knew each other, and this wasn't some Disney movie, but I didn't know who else to trust.
"My dad, he is going to take me away. He said he is done being Ironman, and that he can't risk my life. He might even leave Pepper if she doesn't want to move with us." I sobbed.
"What?! Has he told anyone else this?" He asked, and I responded with a shake of my head, "Ruby, it's going to be okay. Right now he just wants to protect you. That's not wrong of him, he will come to his senses."
"Peter… I can't leave. I don't want to, but I don't think it is a good idea for me to either." I said as I sucked snot back into my nose.
"What do you mean?" He asked, clearly confused, "I mean, I don't want you to go obviously. I really like you."
Every fiber in me wanted to tell him. I didn't want it to be a secret. I could feel the feelings he had for me, how they warmed my core, and I could feel his curiosity about what was wrong, but I was afraid that warm fuzzy feeling would quickly turn cold and hard if I told him. I shook my head, "I don't know." I said as I looked down to my feet, "I don't know how to feel right now, my thoughts and feelings, they are all mixed up."
He hugged me and rubbed my back gently, "It's going to be okay." He whispered. I wanted so badly to believe him, but I just couldn't. "Ruby, if you are thinking about running off, don't." His voice was stern, he meant what he was saying, "That might kill your dad, he doesn't need that now anymore than the rest of us do."
"What if… What if it was better for everyone, safer for everyone, if I wasn't here." My voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. I was the ripple here, if I had never come, this wouldn't be happening. My dad would be happy, not even considering giving it all up, him and Pepper would be fine, the tension wouldn't be here, who knows what else would be different.
"Ruby, if you had never come here, I would probably be dead. You saved me, remember? And if you weren't here, who knows what other bad things would happen. Don't think like that." Peter replied, his voice warm, but stern.
I nodded my head slowly. My chest ached, it felt like my heart was truly breaking. "I'll let you finish packing." I said, then turned and left his room. I heard him call after me, but I wouldn't turn back. I was walking for the training room, I wanted to blow off steam, when I ran right into a tall, thin man with jet black hair and piercing green eyes. "Sorry" I mumbled, and went to move forward, but he grabbed my arm and spun me back around.
"You're Stark's daughter, aren't you?" He asked, his voice was dark and attractive.
"Yes, who are you?" I asked.
"My name is Loki, Thor is my brother. Where are you going? I thought your father had you on lock down."
I was confused by his question, and alarm bells began ringing through me. "I snuck out. Why do you care?" I asked.
He looked around, looking for any people, then looked at the cameras, eyeing them. He pulled me close and bent to my ear, "You are a mutant." He whispered, "I can tell." My body went rigid and cold. He stood back up, waiting for a response, but then speaking before I could, "I won't tell anyone… at least not yet."
"Why- how-" I fumbled with my words.
"Loki!" Thor's voice boomed through the hall, making me jump, but Loki's eyes just slid up from me to Thor. I quickly turned to face him as well. His face was stern, almost angry looking. He looked me up and down, but I avoided eye contact, and then he turned his eyes back to Loki. "What is going on here?"
"Ruby here smacked right into me. Poor thing was sobbing, I was only ensuring she was okay. I wouldn't hurt a child, brother." Loki lied so smoothly it was scary.
Thor looked down to me, "Are you alright, Ruby?" He asked.
I felt Loki's eyes on me too, boring a hole into the side of my head. "I'll be fine." I said, my voice cracking as I fidgeted beneath Loki's gaze.
"Why are your eyes producing water?" Thor asked.
"It's called crying, brother. Simple words." Loki snapped, and rolled his eyes.
I cleared my throat, "I am sure you will both know why soon enough. I doubt it'll be much of a secret." I said, then pushed passed both of them, practically running to the gym. I pressed the door firmly behind me, taking long deep breaths as I tried to calm down.
"What are you doing here, kid?" Natasha's voice made me jump, my heart was pounding so hard it was making me physically sick. I spun around to see her and the guy from the plane that I didn't recognize.
"I'm sorry- I- I just needed-" I fumbled.
"Whoa, whoa, easy. It's okay, calm down." Natasha said as she moved closer to me, "What's the matter, are you okay?"
I nodded my head quickly, "I just need to blow off steam. I needed to get away." I said.
She raised her brow, but nodded, not wanting to question me. The first nice gesture she had really made to me. "Alright, why don't you train with us. Have you two met?"
I quickly shook my head no. "My name is Steve, most know me as Captain America." He said as he stuck out his hand.
I raised my brow, I knew exactly who he was. "Ruby" I said and shook it.
"Good to meet you. Why don't you go and put on one of the training uniforms."
I nodded and quickly went and changed. They let me hit the punching bag until I was exhausted, not saying a word to me, just letting me be, and then they let me keep doing it until Pepper came in. "There you are." She said, her voice soft, kind. I looked at her, fighting the urge to burst into tears at the sight of her. "Are you okay, Ruby?" She asked as she cautiously took a step closer, "You don't look okay, do you want to talk?"
I sucked in a breath as tears filled my eyes. "None of this is fair." I choked out.
"I know, but I promise, it will be okay." She said.
She was being honest, but anger still flared in me. I couldn't deal with all of the emotions I was feeling. It felt like it would crush me. "You can't promise that." I said.
"Ruby, why don't you come with me." She said as she stuck out her hand.
I could feel that strange energy soaring through my body again, threatening to unleash itself. I tried to steady my breathing- to calm down. I nodded and followed her, not saying anything out of fear that it would send me spiraling down emotionally, and everything would suddenly be even more out of my own control.
We walked in silence to the car garage. "Where are we going?" I asked.
"Shopping." She said nonchalantly, "You need a dress, and we both need to get away from this tower. We are going to swing by my old penthouse where you can grab a quick shower and I have a change of clothes for you."
I nodded my head as I climbed into her BMW. It was new and comfortable, I knew my father had bought it for her. "Won't my dad be mad when he realizes were gone?" I asked.
"Well, when he realizes you're not asleep he will be panicked and furious when he finds out I have taken you out of the tower, but if it were just me, not so much. He knows he isn't my boss." Pepper said, "but don't worry, he won't punish you for this."
An uncomfortable silence filled the car. "If he doesn't change his mind, are you going to come with us?" I asked, scared to hear the answer.
Her brows furrowed slightly. "I don't know. This is my home, Ruby. I love it here. I love your father, too, but I don't know if I can live with someone who just thinks they can up and move and just expect me to be okay with that. I don't want to leave him, or you though Ruby."
"I don't want to go without you." I said, my words barely slipping out above a whisper.
I felt her eyes on me, they were full of compassion. "Why don't we not talk about this on our day away." She put on a happy tone, trying desperately to keep things positive.
"What do you want to talk about then?" I asked.
"How about… Peter." She said, and I quickly snapped my head around to look at her, she had a smug look on her face.
"What about Peter?" I quickly asked.
"Everything about Peter! He has been desperate to see you, even breaking your father's orders. He really seems to like you."
I felt my face get red and hot. "Yeah… I really like him too. He's nice." I said.
"And cute." Pepper quickly added on. "Do you think you guys are going to be serious?"
I rubbed my arm and shifted in my seat. "Maybe." I said. "I don't know."
She pulled into a large parking garage, "This is it." She said as she pulled into a spot with her name on it. She had to put in an access code for the elevator to stop at her room. Her apartment was huge, and it looked as if it was straight from a magazine. She handed me some clothes and pointed me to the bathroom. I let the hot water run over my body, calming myself down, then I was quick to finish up, dry off and get dressed.
"That was quick." Pepper said as I walked back out into her living room, "I have a few places we can go, do you know what you want?"
"No… not really." I said, "Something to go with the theme, I guess."
"Alright, let's get this show on the road." She said with a huge smile.
The first dress shop we went to had all kinds of dresses. Different shapes, different colors, different everythings. I figured if there was a dress for me, it would be there, and when it wasn't there, I knew it would be at the next one. 5 dress shops, and what felt like 300 dresses later, we were close to giving up hope. I had tried on what felt like every dress there ever was, dresses that costed thousands and thousands of dollars. It was at a small consignment shop in the window. It caught my eye, and I insisted we go in. It shocked Pepper because it was the first dress I had found myself to try on. The old woman at the counter was also the owner. She told us how it was handmade. I couldn't help but to feel her eyes boring into the back of my head.
"I can help you put it on." She offered like every other dress shop had, and I had declined, but this time I nodded in agreement.
"I wouldn't want to hurt it." I said. It was form fitting, but it felt as if it was made for me, it was emerald green. It hugged my body util around the knees where it flowed elegantly down to the ground. There was a split up the side almost to my hip. It had an illusion neckline and beautiful beading along the edges of it. I knew instantly it was the dress.
"You have a hard journey ahead of you, but I fear it is short." The woman said. Her eyes, they were glazed over, like she was in another world altogether.
"I'm sorry?" I asked. I realized I could not feel anything that she felt.
She put her hand to her head, blinking several times. "Oh… You look beautiful." She said.
"What did you say?" I whispered, "The first time."
She pressed her lips together, then shook her head, "I'm sorry." She said, then opened the curtain and gestured for me to step out. I hesitated, but let it go. I walked out and Pepper gasped.
"You look so beautiful! It's like it was made for you!" She giggled. "Is this the dress?" She asked me.
"Yes, definitely." I said.
"How much?" Pepper asked.
The old woman stared at me, as if she were looking through me, I could tell she was back in the other world, but Pepper didn't really seem to notice.
"$500." She finally said.
Pepper gave her 3,000 for the dress. Insisting it was worth so much more than 500 and she didn't want to feel like she was ripping her off. She thanked her profusely, then bagged the dress up nicely for us. I wanted to so badly ask her what she had said before, but now she wouldn't even look me in the eyes. As we were walking out, I turned to see her staring at me one last time, then Peppers phone ringing had me spinning my head.
"Crap… It's your dad." She said, and then answered. "Hello?" I could hear him freaking out on the other line. "Tony… Tony, I have Ruby! She didn't run off. I took her dress shopping." Screaming insured. "She is fine! Both of us are fine! Yes, we are coming back right now!" She quickly pulled it away from her ear. "Come on Ruby, it's time to face your father."
The ride home was silent. I carried my dress inside, my heart pounding furiously in my chest. I was terrified of what he would say to say the least. We walked into my room and he was there, he had clearly been pacing back and forth. "Finally! There you two are! Do you know how worried I have been!" He was screaming, his hands were shaking. I was slammed with his anger as soon as we walked in.
"Tony, calm down. We needed to get out, she needed a dress, she was with me the whole time, she was perfectly safe. We both were." Pepper said trying to stay calm.
"Ruby, I told you to stay in here, to rest, I can't believe you would directly disobey me like that!"
"Tony, we aren't prisoners!" Pepper finally snapped, "You need to stop treating us like we are!"
The emotions were too much. I quickly began stepping back and out of the room. I dropped my dress and ran. The energy that was soaring through me was too much. All of it hit me like an agonizing sadness. I couldn't deal with my own emotions, let alone everyone else's.
I found myself on the roof. I looked over the city, letting everyone else's emotions leave my body. "Ruby?" Peters voice hit me just as his emotions did. His emotions were something I needed, like a breath of fresh air. I turned to see him standing there, his mask off, his eyes full of concern for me.
I wanted to say something to him, to just say hi, but I couldn't bring words to come. Instead, I just flung myself into his arms. He wrapped me in a warm hug as I breathed him in. "What's going on?" He asked.
"My dad and Pepper, they're fighting. She took me out to get a dress for the dance, and he is just really mad." I said as I pulled away. "I'm really glad I met you. I just want you to know that."
"I'm really glad I met you, too, Ruby." He said with a cheesy grin. "What color is your dress?"
"Green. Emerald green." I said "It's perfect." My thoughts ran back to the woman at the shop, what she had said to me, and then suddenly I was hit with emotions so strong they were projecting images.
"Ruby, what's wrong?" Peter asked as I gripped my head.
"I don't know." I said as searing pain shot itself through my head repeatedly. I felt his hand on my shoulder, like he was making sure I wouldn't fall.
"What's happening to her?" I heard Loki's familiar voice, and even through the hot pain it sent a cold shiver down my spine.
"I- I don't know." Peter said.
I felt Loki push Peter away and grip both of my shoulders, "Tell me what it is Ruby." He ordered, but I couldn't make out any of the images. They were so blurred. I knew some of the faces, the Avengers, but there were some I didn't know either. Then, I saw my own face. Bloody and beaten, but not defeated, I wore a tight suit with the Avengers logo on it. Then, just as quickly as I saw it, it all disappeared. I looked into Loki's eyes, then shook his hands off of me.
I looked at Peter, who still looked terrified. I had to tell him, I had to tell him now. I didn't know why, but I did. I went to, but Loki quickly interrupted, "I think we should get you back inside. I heard you have a lot to deal with, that on top of you already recovering can cause bad side effects. You should rest." He said.
Peter cut in between us, and took my hand into his own. "I'll walk you inside."
"I don't want to go back in there." I said.
"You need to, Ruby. Besides, I have to go home." He said. I pressed my lips into his, enjoying it for a sweet second before we parted. He smiled his cheesy grin again. Just as we walked back in, my father was about to walk out.
"There you are." He said, his voice was still angry. "Lets go."
He basically drug me back to my room. He was silent. "Why is your first instinct to run away?" He asked.
"Well, it's fight or flight and I would never fight you." I said, "I didn't want to hear you two scream at each other, and I didn't want to get screamed at."
"Ruby… I was scared to death when you weren't here. I thought they may have found a way to take you. I was terrified." He said, and gently brushed hair out of my face.
"I didn't want to scare you, but I feel trapped in this room. When Pepper asked me to go dress shopping, I didn't think it would be a big deal. Really, I didn't. If felt good to get out. Please, don't be mad at her either."
"I'm not mad at either of you." He said as he took a long breath and sat next to me, "I'm mad at myself. I'm mad I couldn't protect you two like I should have been able to. I'm scared for both of you too, and it's all my fault. I shouldn't have taken it out on you two." He said, then gently kissed the side of my head. "Just bear with me kid. It's gonna get better."
I nodded my head and leaned on his shoulder. "I'm not mad at you." I said, barely above a whisper, "I'm not scared either. You can't blame yourself or live in fear."
He didn't say anything. Just squeezed me gently from the side. "Why don't you go ahead and get some rest. You look exhausted." It wasn't an order this time. I nodded my head, and he left me alone in my room. I laid back, closing my eyes, trying to sort through all my thoughts until sleep finally found its way to me.