Disclaimer: The Avengers is property of Marvel. I do not own the characters. No money is made on this fiction.
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Days went by and life in the Tower began to resemble some normalcy. Devon had jumped right in to work and had set up her equipment in one of the high security labs, which she was sharing with Bruce.
Her eyes flickered to the display that was monitoring Tony in the other lab. She trusted her software to keep track of the genius. What she did not trust was that man would not try to circumvent her program. He had tried a couple of times already, but she had countered his measures within seconds. She knew that it was not over just because he looked to be working on his armor. The man was far too self-centered to let it go. To let her win, at least not without a good fight.
Devon was currently working on the electrical plans for the new Helicarrier that was being built for SHIELD. The base would be similar in structure but there were necessary upgrades to the design, security measures and special equipment to aide when the Avengers would come aboard.
Currently she was working on the wiring. She needed to restructure it to prevent the system overloads that they saw during the attack. She worked with the three dimensional holo wireframe of the pipes and electronic conduits. She took the current section rotating it around so that she could see the backside of the control panel.
Concentrating she focused on the mental trace of conduits; paths crossed and spread out across into unseen portion of the ship. Even without the complete diagram, she knew where each wire, and each pipe, went to and what they controlled.
Braking her focus at a sound her eyes snapped to Tony, who was still working in her lab. Looking around she saw that Bruce was hunched over the microscope working on his genetics studies. The sound she was surprised to find had been Steve entering the lab.
The soldier did not say anything as he sat down at the open lab table, with a notebook. She nodded to him but returned to her work after checking on Tony once more.
Hours went by in silence while the three of them did their own thing. Devon was able to rework the wiring. The new configuration allowed for a fifty percent increase in power efficiency while adding an additional level of safety in case of an overload situation.
There was a shuffle of papers, at the Steve's table, that drew her attention. The big man looked up at her, giving her a kind smile. Needing a break Devon got up and went over to where he sat. Coming up to his side, she saw that sketches covered the loose pages.
The one that covered his current page made her jaw drop. It was her face looking back at her. His art was incredible; he had captured the intensity of her look as she worked.
"Wow," Devon whispered, closing her mouth. "Captain Rogers, you're quite the artist."
"Ms. Donovan," Steve said simply, looking up at her. There was a faint blush creeping up the man's cheeks.
"I know you are being polite but I'm not old enough to be called Ms.," she said giving him a flat look. "Please call me Devon."
"Only if you call me Steve," the soldier countered.
"I think I can do that, Steve," Devon said flashing him a smile for just a brief instant.
An alarm on her computer system interrupted their moment. Rushing over to the system, she ignored the two men who watched over her shoulder. Tony was nowhere to be found, as she flipped through video feed.
"Jarvis, where is Tony?" she called out asking the computer as she moved toward the door.
The computer system hesitated before her software kicked in forcing the butler to respond, "Master Stark, is heading to the roof." The contempt in the mechanical voice was obvious. The simulated emotion would have fascinated her if she were not concerned with Tony's attempted escape.
"Very good," she said heading toward the stairs. "Thank you, Jarvis."
Devon ran up the stairs. Her feet pounding in swift rhythm as her momentum carried her up the vast flights of stairs. She slowed down enough to calm herself as she neared the door that led out to roof.
"Mr. Stark," she called out once she saw him, "where do you think you're going?"
To his benefit, Tony did not turn or even respond to her question. He just continued to walk calmly to the Quinjet sitting on the rooftop-landing pad.
Her Quinjet. There was no way he was taking her ship and she would do anything to stop him.
"You won't make it off this roof," Devon warned. "If you attempt to take my ship, it will be the last thing you do."
That threat at least awarded her with a dirty look from Tony over his shoulder.
"Your ship?" he raised his eyebrow at her. "If I'm not mistaken, Stark Industries is the one who builds these."
Devon returned the smug grin that the man had shot her, "Just who do you think designed the plans for these jets. My jets."
That caused the man to spin around to face her. His eyes narrowed as though he was trying to determine if she was bluffing. Devon knew this game well. She was a champ at poker and had learned when she was little never to give any tell.
Of course if the stress of the situation had been different Tony would have been able to think about her mission and know that she was only supposed to monitor not terminate. However, the man's ego was dominant since she had threatened it by claiming the Quinjet designs.
"So we really are under house arrest?"
The question came from behind her, as the pair of men in the lab had caught up to her on the roof. Unfortunately, they had heard her threat also.
"Freedom is an illusion, now isn't it," Devon said keeping her eyes on Stark. She ignored the men behind her as her mind raced. She could keep playing the game and possibly alienate the others or drop the act and lose any chance with Tony. "I think that is one thing we both can agree on."
"What if an Agent went with him?" Steve asked.
Devon let her eyes flutter shut for just a second, as she said a silent thanks to the soldier. Whether or not he knew it, his simple question had broken the stalemate that was forming in her mind. Going along with this new train of thought was her way out.
"I guess that could be a possibility," she strained to keep the smirk off her face and out of her voice. "If you give me time it certainly can be arranged."
Tony narrowed his eyes at her, distrust obvious on his features.
Devon tried to remain passive but slowly she returned the glare. She was frustrated. She was getting comfortable living in the tower. That comfort ability was a liability. Tony should never have been allowed to get to the roof. She had been distracted from her work both on the Helicarrier and her monitoring of the Avengers team members. Sure two of them had been in the room but the third was a problem and would continue to be a problem for her.
Taking a step to the side, Devon's look softened slightly. "Please, Tony," she offered quietly, "let's go inside and we can make the necessary arrangements."
Surprisingly Tony accepted her action as submission to his dominance. Internally she congratulated herself on her victory. All she would need is for the genius to lower his guard so that she could increase her security. She would be vigilant in her monitoring of the situation.