No Warnings.

Chapter 17

"Okay, Jimmy, that time was much better the last time. Your natural projection is much further than what it used to be." Eli said with approval. Jimmy, or Leech, had come very far with his abilities. He could now stretch his power to reach almost twenty feet around him, and was even able to pinpoint specific targets. Above that, Jimmy was now able to "turn off" his power as well. It was something that Jimmy was very proud of. "Alright, now take it back in all at once."

Jimmy's brows furrowed with concentration. Eli watched with sharp eyes. She could feel the snap of his abilities instantly. Silently Eli savored the feel of her abilities, no matter how diminutive. Eli smiled broadly. "It's amazing how far you've come in the past six months. You almost learn faster than I do. You should be very proud of yourself."

"Thanks Eli!" the youthful teenager smiled brightly. "I wouldn't have been able to do it if you hadn't been here."

"True, but you did most of the work. Pretty soon you won't have to concentrate on what you're doing; it'll be second nature." Eli said happily. Jimmy's smile faded a little.

"Are you sure that you have to leave?" Jimmy asked.

"Yup, I've neglected some very important things for too long, and I have to visit a few friends. I should be back sometime in the summer, maybe even later." Eli smiled sheepishly. It was true. Eli was going to make a special visit Tony, before heading over to England to work with some college graduate who supposedly found record of a map that lead to worlds away. It was something that Eli could not pass up. "I'll be sure to write, call, e-mail, Skype, text and even hack into the mansion's mainframe just for you."

Jimmy laughed and walked Eli back to the mansion. They parted ways when several of the younger children huddled around Eli. She had become quite a hit with the students, more so than Logan had been. By the time Eli made it back to her room she was exhausted.

"Miss Eli, are you going to tell Miss Potts that for the past six months you've been battling death?" Jarvette asked as Eli began to packed her bags.

"I'm telling her at lunch. I think that it is about time that I actually be truthful with her. I'll tell her everything; about the dreams, about the inhibitor, and about the fact that Phil fucking Coulson is still alive. That bastard." Eli was increasingly salty about that one. She had felt the tenor of his mind, but not it's state or health. But he was definitely alive. Nick Fury had been dodging Eli's calls, e-mails, and her many attempts to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.

"I don't think that's his fault," said Jarvette.

"I know, but it doesn't make me any less angry." Eli threw a thong into one of her traveling bags. Eli's fingers brushed against the green cape that the person she loves most gave to her. Her resolve was slowly wavering as the months, especially so when she found out that Phil was alive. Without realizing it, Eli had forgiven him, even though she promised herself that she wouldn't. Eli quickly folded the cape and put it into a hidden compartment in the bottom of her purse. There was a knock at her door.

"Come in," Eli said as she continued to pack her things.

"Eli!" said Pepper's voice. Eli dropped what she was doing and hugged her. "It's been too long!"

"You need to call more often," Pepper said hugging Eli tightly. "It's so good to see you. How packed are you?"

"I should be done soon." Eli said happily. She wondered if she should tell Pepper now or later. "Come help me."

Pepper nodded her head, and helped pack Eli's things. They spoke about the brunette's time at the mansion and how she and Tony were doing, and when they were going to take the wedding off of hold. When they finished, Eli levitated her bags to the garage and into the trunk of Happy's car. Eli briefly wondered where the driver was at.

"Do you want to eat here or do you want to go somewhere?" Eli asked her red-headed friend. Pepper thought for a moment.

"Let's eat here; I think Happy was already headed for the kitchen." Pepper answered, and Eli nodded. The rehabilitated mutant would make them something to eat. She was excited about that. Eli could soften Pepper up with some food.

Happy wasn't in the kitchen, and Eli didn't know if she glad or depressed about that. He might have been able to help out when Pepper did have her freak-out moment. Eli strategically waited until Pepper was halfway through her meal to give her the news.

"So, Pepper, there's something very important that I need to tell you; and don't get mad, alright." Eli said cautiously. Pepper looked at Eli flatly. "The inhibitor I was working on, before that crack-pot cure inhibitor came out, was actually killing me and for the past six months I have been working on getting my body healthy again."

Pepper put down the drink she had, had in her hands. She took a deep breath and laid into Eli. "And you waited until now to tell me! You are just as bad as Tony! What made you think that that that you dying wasn't something that I should know?! Did Tony know about this? Or or Rhodey or Happy? Oh, my god, between you and Tony I don't know how to deal with either of you!"

"Pepper," Eli stopped her friend before she could continue, "If you weren't around, Tony and I would be… we wouldn't be who we are today. I know we put you through a lot of bull shit, but you make us better people. We don't thank you enough for that."

Pepper deflated. She stood and hugged Eli. The copy-cat mutant was glad that Pepper was so understanding. It was probably the only thing that kept she and Tony sane. Although, Eli was questioning her sanity more and more all the time. "If it makes you feel better, I just got over a bad cold." Pepper laughed.

Eli stood at the top of the staircase as she watched Tony walking frantically back and forth between the living room and the bottom the the staircase. Pepper had left a little bit ago after she had been called into the office. He was freaking out about something that Eli had missed. She could honestly say that he was probably going crazy faster than she was.

"Okay, okay, Tony, you have three seconds to stop acting like you're seconds from going off the deep end, or will seriously tie you to a wall and leave you there for an entire day!" Eli called angrily. He was practically foaming at the mouth.

"Don't even reference...there!" Tony yelled back. Eli stomped down the stairs and marched right up to Tony. He looked at her with crazy eyes. Eli grabbed his arm and pulled him to the couch.

"I'm going to facilitate your problem for now, but I swear to god, Tony, that if you keep this up I will literally paint your entire house to look like the New York skyline!" Eli watched as Tony pulled on his hair when she mentioned New York. Eli sighed and sat down to her mad genius friend. "Tony, you can get through whatever you're going through; it's just going to take some time. Just talk to someone, like me or Bruce or Steve. We know what you're going through, and all of us have gotten over it one way or another."

"Right," Tony said sarcastically, "If any of you have gotten over whatever crap you've been through then you're the ones that need therapy!"

"Tony, I did a lot of things that I'm not proud of. A lot of things that I can never come back from, but it doesn't help to dwell on them. Sometimes you just have to learn to forgive and forget and move on. It's true for almost every situation life can throw at you." Eli said with wisdom. Tony stared at Eli, then he shook his head and told her that she was crazy. "Alright! Then show me what you've been doing since May."

Tony thought for a moment and nodded. He lead Eli to his "lair" as she liked to call it. It didn't look out of the ordinary. So Eli just waited for Tony to tell her, as she felt out with her mutant abilities. She felt a massive amount of metal and magnetic fields below her feet. Tony was typing something on one of his virtual keyboards, and the center of floor split away and a spiraling staircase opened up. Eli followed Tony into the hole. How Tony hid this from Pepper was beyond Eli.

The first thing she noticed was that there were several new models of the Ironman suit. There must have been thirty at the very least.

"Tony, how many of these do make in a week?" Eli asked in wonder.

"It depends, but I can get about five done in a month," Tony said.

"Do you even sleep?"

"It depends…"

Eli shook her head, "I don't know who's worse, you, me or Logan… I don't know how to react to this, Tony."

"Then just pretend like you haven't seen anything." the mechanical genius said simply. Eli sighed.

"Do I need to put my business trip on hold?" the brunette asked seriously.

"No, no, no." Tony said with exasperation. Eli smiled at how normal he was acting.

"You do know that you'll have to tell Pepper eventually, right?"

"The key word is eventually. How long are you here for?"

"Until tomorrow morning. My plane leaves at eight." Eli said as she walked up the stairs. "I probably won't be back for six months to a year."

"Are you trying to get me to ask you to stay?" Tony said sarcastically.

"I worry, Tony. You and Pepper mean a lot to me, and we've all had a rough… past few months, and-"

"More past few years."

"I just want all three of us to be… content. Yeah, content is a good word."

"Content is a word that people who are hiding some deep, dark secret use." Tony jabbed.

"Like you're one to talk. I didn't tell her that you knew. I owe you for not saying anything, but you will need to tell her at some point. Preferably before shit hits the fan." Tony laughed. It was true that neither of them had any luck with waiting for the opportune moment.

"I'll keep it in mind. Let's just have one day to relax and pretend that the world actually likes us." This time Eli laughed. "Rhodey's coming over too so it'll be one big happy reunion."

"Just like the good times."

"There were good times?"

"I think they only lasted for a few seconds."