Chapter 15

The area around it was quiet as usual, but when Tony stepped into the compound, the dead silence felt wrong. Everything about the building felt wrong. Located in one of the mountains in eastern U.S.A., the base would have been packed. Quinjets would have been taking off and agents would be bustling around inside. But there was nothing. Scanning the area for any threats, Tony stepped inside the mountain.

Lights flickered in the dark hallways as he crept through. Blood stained the floors and walls with piled of bodies littered the corners and doorways. He shouldn't be in there. He knows he shouldn't be in there.

He walked along, staying as silent as he could until he reached the corridor where Lessa's room was located in. Tony kept his breathing calm as he peered into the open doorway. The bed was empty and unmade with the sheets spread out all over the floor. The desk and chair were flipped over on the ground next to a pile of white dust. The celing had a hole in it.

Something moved under the bed, knocking against the sheet that lied next to it. A light trail of blood went from the bed to the doorway. Looking back on the scanner, the dot led him to the room. Someone hid underneath the bed. "Lessa?"

"Iron Man?"

Lessa pulled herself out from under the bed and peered up at the metal man standing before her. She knew the red and gold plating anywhere from the countless videos Emily watched of the Avengers in New York City. She shifted upward from her curled up position, hissing at the pain in her leg. Her jeans were spotted in red and dirt as well as her blue t-shirt.

Tony knelt down. "What happened here?"

Lessa wiped her nose. "I think it was who my mom was working for. I was sent here after Nick Fury died. I planned to contact you somehow until the base went into lockdown."

"I'm glad you hid yourself," Tony said. He examinded her body for any injuries. "Can you walk?" Lessa shook her head and pointed at her leg. He leaned over to pick her up and she wrapped her arms around his armored neck. "Let's get out of here."

Lessa nodded. "Please."

He took her back to the tower. It was a long, couple hour flight with a few breaks, but they made it there. He didn't set her down till she was placed in the medical bay that was first to be renevated and finished out of everything else in the tower. She sat on a bed while Tony stepped out of his suit outside of the room.

Back inside, he cut off her end of her pant leg right above the wound. "I should have taken you to a hospital right away," he muttered.

"Need help?" Bruce asked, rushing in. J.A.R.V.I.S. informed him that Tony was back and in the medical bay.

"Yeah," Tony passed the bandages and cloths to clean Lessa's leg.

Lessa tensed as Bruce came up. He didn't say anything else as Lessa watched him treat her leg. It was gross to her, considering it was her leg that was shot and whose skin was torn.

The bandage was tightly wrapped around her calf and secured. Lessa inspected it. "Thank you, Bruce."

"As much as it is wonderful to see you again, Lessa, I wish it would have been under different circumstances."

"You and me both." With a small smile, she hopped down onto her good leg and limped out of the room. Bruce bit back a protest.

Tony was out in the lounge. She limped over and hopped up the small flight and stairs and towards him. His eyes were glued to the tablet in his hand, reading what was on it.

"I want to go home," Lessa said from the top of the steps.

He looked up from the tablet. "Now? Wouldn't you want to shower and sleep before you go?"

Lessa shook her head with a frown. "Can you take me home?" She asked.

Tony looked up through the clear glass of the medical bay and met Bruce's eyes. They seemed to have a silent conversation that Lessa couldn't figure out. Must have been a superhero thing. After a moment, Tony stood up. "Come on, let's get you home."

They were about halfway to the townhouse when she made Tony stop the car. Her whole body froze, her eyes fixed ahead as she tried to sort out her thoughts. "She will find me there again, won't she?" she asked, alluding to Jennifer.

Veering off the main road, Tony parked the car along the street. He wasn't sure how he could tell an eleven year old that their mother would. Helping the kid, Harley, out in Tenessee the previous year didn't prepare him enough for this moment.

"Take me back to the tower." Her voice was quick and sharp at her request.

Tony didn't put the car back in drive. "Are you sure you don't want to go home?"

"I can't," she responded, tearing her eyes away from the windshield. "I don't even know if they are alright. When my mom took me, they were all gone. And if they are back, I don't know how I could tell them about what happened..."

"Your foster mom, Ceri, was searching for you. She came to the tower and demanded where you were."

Lessa didn't hide the shock from her face. "She did? I never thought she cared. But either way I don't want to go back there. I can't." Pursuing her wishes, they went back to the tower. For the next few hours they were there, Lessa remembered walking in the building for the first time and coudn't keep her eyes off the view of the city. She planned on keeping the promise she made to the other girls.

More days passed at the tower. Nightmares of her time with Jennifer and the Hydra attack woke her up many nights and only Tony could calm her down. But besides the nightmares, something exciting was happening. Lessa was getting adopted.

Yes, that's right. Lessa was getting adopted. There was a family south of the city who had been meaning to adopt Lessa for a while, but she wasn't told. After going through countless calls among the system and through Ceri, the couple finally got a hold of Tony. After a call with them herself, she deemed them wonderful. Lessa couldn't wait to to live them.

She talked Tony and Bruce's ears off about what it would be like and the layout of her room. The situation with Ceri was taken care of and the other girls were taken to live in better homes. Angie was adopted by the foster family that took her in and talked to Lessa ecstatically over the phone one day.

She was also given the news that Jennifer was arrested and placed in a penitentiary.

On the day her new parents picked her up, the goodbyes in the tower were tough.

Saying goodbye to the Avengers she met over her stay were fairly easy through her excitment. Tony was a bit different. He was reluctant at first at letting the couple take her, but after reassurance from everyone, he pulled Lessa into a tight hug and let her go.

Lessa chatted with her new parents about the house and what the neighborhood was like. She was finally getting what she dreamed of having. Nice lovable parents who care for her and didn't mind calming her down after waking from nightmares. Alessandra was happy.

The End