As the days passed, the scientists worked, the soldiers and assassins trained, and the Deadpool continued stalking his prey. As the days passed all of them were growing stronger. So too did the feelings Aly and Bruce shared for each other. But neither of them were ready to admit it o the other.
Aly and Bruce had become nearly inseparable. They always seemed to be working in the lab at the same time, and had begun subconsciously looking out for one another. Whenever Bruce was focused on work, Aly would always make sure he took time to eat lunch (usually with her), and when Aly hit a roadblock in her work (she was helping to modify the Avengers' weapons so that they had specific bio-encoding so the weapons only worked for their specific owners.) He was there with ideas and encouragement.
Mels and Tony were the first to notice the shared glances and extended hand touches. While Mels was more than ready to, sometimes literally, push the two together, Tony was more wary and protective.
Meanwhile, Deadpool began to grow bored of following Aly, and was hard pressed to figure out a way to separate her from the not-so-jolly green giant. He had an idea. But he needed the right moment to enact it. He just had to wait for the right distraction.
For now, though, he was sitting on the rooftop of the skyscraper directly opposite Stark Tower, munching on a taquito and watching the tower's inhabitants. He scowled beneath his mask when he noticed that The Black Widow and Hawkeye were still hanging around the tower.
"He's still watching us." Natasha whispered to Clint.
"Seriously?" He asked. Deadpool was unaware of the fact that the two spies were fully aware of him ever since he started his spying.
"What could he possibly want, though?" Clint asked. A hand inched towards the Glock he always kept holstered at his side.
"Something specific considering how long he's been tailing us." Natasha mused. "We'll keep an eye on the situation and report it if he does anything disturbing. Nothing in the database says that Deadpool is a threat to us. He's just a loner soldier of fortune type."
"You mean he's a dirty bounty hunter." Clint countered, taking a sip of the coffee he'd left on the kitchen table.
"Who's a dirty bounty hunter?" Mels asked, as she entered the room, her face covered in soot and oil.
"No one." Natasha lied smoothly. "Clint was just telling me he didn't like Boba Fett."
Mels was no fool. She knew the agents were keeping something from her. She decided to play along with it, though. "Personally, I thought Aurra Singh was pretty cool. I mean, a female bounty hunter! But then again Cad Bane has swag. Then again, I wish we could have seen more Ventress bounty hunter. What do you think?" She asked, a smirk on her face.
"I think I'm gonna go train now. " Natasha said quickly.
"Oh wow, i gotta go see Aly in the lab...she's making me a new bow." Clint said, checking a watch he wasn't wearing as he quickly vacated the room behind the red haired Russian.
"Nobody can out nerd me." Mels whispered as she went back the way she'd come, returning to her lab.
She slid on a welding mask and a thick pair of gloves.
"Jarvis, I lost count of how many times we tried this, so let's say this is attempt five." She said, grabbing two thick cables.
"Commencing attempt number seventeen." Jarvis said
"Thank you Jarvis, you're a real pal." Mels groaned. The cables were held out far in front of her.
"Three, two,..." she counted as the ends moved closer before they connected. The satellite's repulsers glowed a bright white, a mist coming from them. Slowly it started to rise.
Mels pushed up her mask, a smile on her face.
"TONY!" She yelled before scrambling to his workshop.
"I swear to God if this is another giant spider you want me to kill. .." Tony grumbled as he walked into the lab. He stopped in his tracks, however, when he saw Mels' satellite.
"I'll be damned." he said not trying to hide the awe in his voice.
"My baby is airborn! Airborn!" Mels said, excitedly grabbing Tony's face. Her gloves were still on her hands. When Tony pushed her away, she laughed at the black streaks on his face. He rubbed at his face to get them off.
"Ah, they grow up so fast, don't they?" Mels said, wiping away an imaginary tear.
Tony chuckled at her reminded him of how he felt when he'd finally perfected his suit.
But at the same time, he felt... Something. "Yeah, they grow up fast." He said, almost sadly.
At that moment, Aly walked in, her feet were bare, but she held her beat up Chuck Taylors loosely in her hand.
"Bruce and I are going for lunch, you guys want anything?"
"A victory sandwich for me!" Mels said, dragging Aly into the room. "Ta da!" She held her arms out to the hovering satellite.
"Oh my gosh it's working! Aly shouted, dropping her shoes and hugging Mels.
"You want anything for lunch, bro?" Aly asked, turning to her brother.
"Just... Be safe. Okay?" Tony asked of her. Aly raised an eyebrow, looking for some kind of joke he might be pulling on her. But Tony's expression was one of pure concern.
With a smile, Aly gave her brother a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Always. Who's gonna annoy you if something happens to me?" She giggled as she picked up her shoes and laced them onto her feet.
"I volunteer as tribute!" Mel's piped up, raising a hand.
"That's what Mels is for." Tony nodded his head in agreement.
"Bye Tony. Love you." Aly said before meeting Bruce in the hall.
"Allons-y!" She said brightly, grabbing Bruce's hand and pulling him down the hall.
"They always grow up too fast." Tony sighed, eyes lingering on Aly as she and Bruce headed down the hallway.
Mels groaned at Tony's tone. "Why are you acting so weird around Aly? Why is everyone in the tower acting so weird in general?" She asked. She pulled out a remote and turned a knob. The satellite lowered the ground slowly before it finally landed.
"I'm not acting weird." Tony said, his tone short. "Don't project your own weirdness onto other people."
Mels rolled her eyes. "You think I haven't noticed your attitude towards Aly and Bruce being together? Really. You've been against the thought of them together since day one." She said, climbing onto her satellite.
"They're not together yet. Plus, it's not the idea of them together I'm against, it's the idea of my baby sister getting her heart broken that concerns me. Aly doesn't look before she leaps. I'm not sure the doc trusts himself to catch her."
"Neither do you." Mels mumbled. She tightened a screw before looking down at Tony. "Sometimes you just gotta take a leap of faith. Life is messed up, love is messed up, there are soldiers, assassins, geniuses, and bounty hunters all out to get someone. But you have to trust that Bruce will be able to defend Aly before she ever gets hurt." She said before climbing down.
"You actually have a point, short stack. That's annoying. It's just..." Tony ran a hand through his hair. "She's my baby sister, yknow? She's all I've got left."
Mels pursed her lips in thought of what to say. She raised a gloved hand and gently patted Tony's cheek. "If he breaks her heart, believe me, you won't be the only person Bruce will have to worry about." She said. Tony nodded his head, then suddenly realized she was patting his face with her glove. Her dirty glove. He ducked away, but she walked after him. "Come back, I want to even it out on both sides!" She shouted, running after him.
"I can't believe Mels wanted me to get her a sandwich. We're in New York City." Aly commented as she walked out of Subway, a meatball sub wrapped up in the bag she held.
"All scientists have their quirks for when something works. I always have a pint of Ben and Jerrys when something goes right." Bruce commented
"Phish food?" Aly gave him a sideways glance.
"Yeah." Bruce laughed. Aly joined in.
"Okay then, we can be friends." She said
"I thought we already were?" Bruce asked, wrapping an arm around her.
Reveling in the sudden closeness, Aly wrapped an arm around Bruce's waist as they walked towards Aly's favorite Japanese steakhouse. They ordered sushi, green tea, and bento boxes to go. They then walked through Central Park towards Stark Tower.
"It's nice to get out of the tower." Aly said. Children were playing in the summer sun, while their parents were nearby. She smiled. Bruce did too, for a moment.
"I mean, do we actually have to go back right this second?" Bruce asked, walking towards a bench near Strawberry Fields. A young guy in a beanie was playing an acoustic guitar and singing "Wonderwall" by Oasis on the bench next to them.
"Well, Mels prefers her sandwiches warm, but she does have a microwave." Aly commented as she sat down. She looked over at the guitarist. He actually sounded better than the original. She nodded her head to the beat. Bruce looked over at her. Something about the way the sunlight was shining just made her look beautiful. He cast his eyes down at the mosaic. "Imagine".
It seemed to Bruce that a lot of the things that had seemed imaginary only a short while ago were real. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if witches and warlocks were real.
Then again, Aly seemed to be casting a spell on him. As he turned, Aly turned to look at him. She smiled.
"I love this song. And that guy is really good. You have any change?" She asked
"Hey, Aly?" Bruce asked. He seemed nervous. He leaned in closer to her.
"You okay?" Aly asked
He leaned forward all the way, their lips pressed together. Aly was surprised but was still happy. She closed her eyes as she relished the feeling. Bruce quickly pulled away and stood. The feeling was still lingering on Aly's lips.
"What's wrong?" She asked
"I can't I-I, Mels sub is getting cold. We, uh, we gotta get back to the tower." Bruce said, walking away.
"What the...FUCK just happened." Aly said, stomping her foot and ignoring the glare she got from the middle aged woman who had walked up with her five kids. She quickly realized that Bruce was already pretty far ahead, his head bowed low as he walked.
"Hey...Hey!" Aly yelled, running to catch up. She stopped in front of Bruce, making him stop as well. "Hey, what was that? I thought we had a good thing going on."
"I can't. It's... You're a wonderful, amazing girl, but... I..." He started before walking around Aly and down the path. Aly was so shocked, she couldn't help but stare as he left her. She shook her head to snap out of it.
Her expression softened as she closed her eyes and asked "Is... is this about the... The Other Guy?" She asked quietly, staring at her converse. "Because if it is, I'm not afraid. Like, even in the slightest. I know you'd never hurt me." She folded her arms around herself, and leveled her chocolate brown eyes at him.
"It's complicated Aly. My life, his life, my past relationships, too complicated. Everything is." Bruce said
Aly raised an eyebrow. "Wait... relationships?"
Bruce closed his eyes against the memories. "Just one, really." His voice was small, and he looked like he was trying hard not to think about something. "Her name was Betty... and Aly, I'm begging you... Please just leave it alone. Just trust me when I say I'm no good for you." Aly sighed, wordlessly stepping aside and allowing him to continue on to the tower.
"Still not giving up." She said to no one as she too headed into the tower.
Just as Bruce was about to walk into the tower, a figure in a hoodie bumped into him, knocking his phone out of his jacket pocket and onto the ground. The phone instantly fell apart, the battery popping out when the back came off.
"Oh crap, I'm so sorry!" Said the hooded man, hastily putting Bruce's phone back together. He handed it back to him, and Bruce took it back and headed into the tower without a word.
Deadpool smiled as he pulled his own phone out of his pocket. His smile widened when the screen said "Cloning Complete".
Yeah, he thought as he continued walking, this plan is great.