Notes: So. Finally getting somewhere. Please review,guys. ;_; I need inspiration and your comments really help.
Chapter 10: Penny for Your Thoughts?
Tony's first thought when he woke up draped over his desk with Hollie standing over him was that he must be hallucinating. How was she standing by herself? How the hell did she get into his workshop? Did Clint and Nat manage to intercept the - Fuck.
"Oh fuck, Natasha..." He mumbled, fighting a massive migraine and unceremoniously shoving Hollie aside.
"I took care of it. They're going undercover. You've been unconscious for about four hours." Hollie said, watching him like a hawk. "Pepper was by earlier. Seeing you like that nearly gave the poor woman an ulcer." Tony flopped back down in his chair and looked up at Hollie blearily. She was leaning on a copper pipe for support, but still, the speed with which she was recovering was remarkable. If she kept going at this rate, she might even be able to go back into covert ops eventually.
"What did she want?" Tony groaned, holding his head in his hands. "Actually, sorry. Could you be a doll and get me the Advil from that cabinet there, sweetie pie?" Tony added, pointing at a cabinet above the sink in the corner. He knew it was kind of a dick move to ask her, but he was kind of curious how well she was able to walk by now. Hollie glowered at him, but did as she was told. Tony watched her hobble over there in amazement. She'd really come a long way since taking her first steps a week ago. He was secretly proud of the huge strides she was making in her recovery. ...Even if it had all been Bruce's idea.
"Miss Potts found something she shouldn't have in the company logs. There's a group of engineers in the research and development department that's been selling weapons parts under the table to a private partner. She was able to track the shipments to areas close to the Macy's bombing and the one in Queens. But she thinks they're working on full-scale nuclear weapons in secret, too." Hollie explained, while the color drained from Tony's face. "...Which makes sense, with the cargo that Clint and Natasha stumbled on."
"Damn it." Tony swore and got to his feet. "I have to do something about this!"
"Like what, exactly? Right now we haven't gotten caught snooping. If you start blowing shit up, we will." Hollie snapped. Tony flinched, but looked at her with a suitably cowed expression. She was right, he knew that, but it didn't make it any easier to accept. Wryly, he glanced at her and the copper pipe in her hand. Bruce had told him about conductive objects becoming charged if Hollie touched them. If he could apply that to...
"Hey, can I see something for a second?" Tony asked as he got to his feet, and met her halfway across the room on her way back to him. Hollie raised her eyebrows and tossed the bottle of Advil to him, which he caught deftly. Curiously, he wrapped his hand around the copper pipe just below hers.
"Shit!" He said, letting go almost immediately and rubbing his hand that went numb from a nasty shock that he felt all the way up his arm. "That's... So fucking cool."
"What...?"
"Come over here, I want to show you something I've been working on in my downtime." Tony said and swallowed a couple of the pills, all traces of his previous shitty mood gone. Uncertainly, Hollie followed Tony to other side of the shop where he kept the suits he was working on. The table there was covered with blueprints for the Mark 43. 43? He's made that many?
"When I started designing this, we weren't sure if you'd ever be able to walk again. Honestly, the others would probably kill me for doing it – but I kind of feel like what happened to you is my fault. So, this was sort of a way to give you some mobility if Bruce's theory didn't work out." Hollie shook her head, she was pretty sure where this was going, and wasn't all that crazy about it.
"Anyway, it's not done yet... Which works out fine because I just got the awesomest idea to make it pretty much the most badass thing ever." Tony rambled, and flipped a switch open a set of metal doors to reveal a half-built suit that was definitely Hollie's height, and female in shape. It was bare metal and not yet painted like the others. She had to admit, it was pretty cool and a much sleeker, and more aesthetically pleasing design than the monstrosities Stark liked to fly around in. Still, Hollie wasn't all that thrilled by the idea. The helicarrier and quinjets were bad enough. Flying wasn't her thing, and heights were her one true fear.
"Why do you blame yourself for what happened to me?" Of all things she could have asked, Hollie wasn't entirely sure why that was the first question to come out of her mouth. Tony regarded her in silence for a moment before he answered.
"It was my tech. Maybe I don't make weapons anymore, but I still see it as my personal responsibility to stop shit like that from happening. Fury told me the Macy's bomb was originally looted from a SHIELD warehouse. That wouldn't have happened if he'd just handed everything over like I asked. I even offered to pay him for it. The Tea Party probably wouldn't have the foothold they do if Fury had just co-operated with me. He did the same thing with the Tesseract. They just don't learn. No offense to you personally, but most of the people I know that work for SHIELD have their heads so far up their own asses that can't tell right from left." Tony explained disgustedly.
"It isn't Fury as much as the security council. Fury has to answer to them, and if he doesn't, they have other ways to get their orders carried out - with or without his approval." Hollie told him flatly. "Though, he is an arrogant self-righteous dick."
"So am I. The difference is I willing admit it. No wonder it always ends in disaster when we're in a room together. Anyway, I'll have this puppy done by the end of the week. I'm going to try a few things, but I think I can make your repulsors able to generate a sort of shield based on the way the metal in the suit will conduct energy from your body. Don't worry, the arc reactor can handle it. It's virtually indestructible." Tony chattered, looking like a kid with a new toy. "You know, I always wanted to make Pepper a suit, but she..." His voice trailed off and Hollie could easily sense to hurt in his expression.
"Obviously disapproved of your 'hobby'." Hollie drawled and leaned against the edge of the counter. She'd reached her physical limit about an hour ago, but didn't really want to show any more weakness than necessary.
"And then some. But I don't hold it against her... Do you disapprove of my 'hobby'?" Tony asked suddenly.
"Not particularly." Hollie said enigmatically. "I don't need something like this, but I suppose it might be... fun." Tony smiled like an idiot, even he knew she said it entirely for his benefit. Something told him Hollie didn't even know the meaning of the word 'fun', but by the time he was done with her... Well. Tony was pretty sure things were going to interesting.
"Let's get you back upstairs. I think you've probably overdone it there, Sherlock." Tony said and held out his hand. "Here, you can lean on me. I'm not sure I trust you not to short-circuit the elevator with your lightening rod, there."
"You're up to something." Hollie muttered and tossed the pipe aside. It sparked as it hit the floor. She took a hold of Tony's arm and allowed him to lead her into the elevator.
"I have honestly no idea what you're talking about." Tony babbled, and pressed the button for the penthouse. "Because – Damn it. That's annoying." He swore, shaking his hand that got shocked when he touched the button due to being in physical contact with Hollie.
"It is, isn't it?" Hollie muttered. Tony just looked down at her with a frown. She was a good foot shorter than he was, and he wasn't exactly tall. So that made her... like four and a half feet tall at the most? The mafia's most lethal killer was almost legally a dwarf? He hadn't noticed how small she was before, even building the suit. But he knew better than to see that at as a weakness – especially for an assassin. Her small and compact build must have made breaking and entering disgustingly easy.
"I never noticed how short you are." Tony said with a chuckle as the elevator stopped on the penthouse floor. She looked up at him, and for a second, he saw a flash of pure hatred in her grey eyes.
"This was not my first spinal injury, Mr. Stark." Hollie said icily. But Tony could tell the venom wasn't meant for him. He knew next to nothing about her, yet it was obvious that she'd been abused and hurt in more ways than he could imagine. She would had to have been, there was just no way she could be the way she was otherwise.
What really surprised Tony was the sudden, raging desire to find whoever did this to her and introduce them to his fists. Since when was he even capable of feeling like an angry, overprotective mother bear? And why now? Why did he want so badly just to see Hollie be happy? Maybe it was just his way of always trying to achieve the impossible. Making Hollie smile had to be about as hard as beating Obadiah at a chess game. He hadn't managed it yet, after all. ...Not a real smile, anyway.
"So, what's your story, anyway? It's starting to seem like your biography might give The Godfather a run for it's money." Tony quipped as they stepped out of the elevator. Hollie frowned and stared at the carpet. She hated the way she was clinging to Stark for balance, yet at the same time, she didn't want to let go. He annoyed the living shit out of her on a good day, but something about him felt safe in a way she couldn't remember since being a child. He would protect her if anyone meant her harm; Hollie knew that and it terrified her. Stark was as good as dead already. Just like her mother. Just like poor Maria and her family. It never failed.
"It's pretty simple, really." She said quietly, eyes still downcast. "Everything I love dies. The end."
"That's a bit melodramatic." Tony replied, steering Hollie not to her room, but to the large sofa in the lounge.
"Yes, but true." She said, barely above a whisper. Tony just let it drop; he might not always be the most observant person in the world, but there was no missing the pain in her voice.
"Well, then forget about it. It's done and over with anyway. Shit happens, life sucks and God's an asshole – if he's even real, and not a space viking with a penchant for world domination. Deal with it and move on. We all make enemies. The difference is whether or not you kick their asses, or let them keep you down." Tony said sagely and patted her on the head like a puppy as he deposited her on the sofa. "I'm starving. Chinese or Pizza?"
"...Chinese." Hollie mumbled, lost in thought.
Had she been letting her past imprison her all these years? She hated to think about it that way, but maybe she had been. Maybe it was all in her head, but she wondered if she could escape it all once Dante was killed. None of the other mafiosi knew her face because of her role as an assassin. They only knew the scar, which was easy enough to hide with make-up. She'd been doing that since she was six years old because she couldn't stand to look at it. Hell, she could probably even pester Doctor Strange into surgically removing it if he thought it was for a good cause.
But what would she even do with a new life free of her chains to SHIELD or the Mafia? She was almost thirty years old, and didn't want the responsibility (or liability) of a family to look after. She doubted she'd ever be completely free of the mafia, anyway. Just when she finally thought they were gone for good, would be when it all went to pot. They'd wait for her to let her guard down, and destroy everything she'd fought for just as they always had.
...Never mind that Hollie didn't even really know how to live in any other way.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Hollie blinked and looked up at Tony.
"My thoughts are worth more than a penny, Mr. Stark. I doubt you could afford them." She snapped.
"I can afford to buy Kim Kardashian custom tailored lingerie. I think we're good here." Tony said with a wink. "So, what'll we call you? I was thinking Iron Maiden, but even though they're an awesome band, it sounds kind of cheesy for a super hero name." Hollie didn't comment, and pointedly stared out the window at the setting sun. For a moment, she desperately wished she could stay with the Avengers when all was said and done.