Same Disclaimer as before. I do not own Marvel.

I want to give a special thanks to wintersupersoldiers who has proofed this for me. :)

I hope you like the Chapter, and you can let know through Reviews, which are like candy for me.

Chapter 23:

A No Laughing Zone

Toni was sitting on her cot, staring at the wall of her small quarters that she shared with Peggy, who was more annoying than ever since that kiss with Captain Ass.

Toni didn't know what it was, but she wanted to beat him, and it wasn't because she was jealous. Toni refused to be jealous because there was no reason for her to be. Who would want Rogers anyways? He was an asshole with who didn't know what he wanted.

"Are you okay, Toni?" Peggy asked, eyeing her from her side of their quarters.

The genius from the future looked at Peggy from the corner of her eyes. She wasn't sure if she liked this friendly Peggy, though she supposed it was better than the bitchy Peggy. "Just tired," she responded as Peggy packed.

They were on the move again and the word around the camp was that it could be the battle with Skully as Zola had given them what they needed to finish off Schmidt for good. "You should stay behind and rest," Peggy replied, stepping to Toni's side.

Ever since Toni had bolted out of medical wing, Peggy had been 'glued' to her side, making sure she was okay and never alone. "I'm fine, Mother Hen," Toni replied mockingly. "And I'm going." She was tired of people trying to tell her what to do. If she said she was fine then she was fine... even if she was exhausted.

Peggy backed up and stepped back to her side. "Alright then," Peggy stated, still eyeing her. "And cover that reactor up. Just because Steve and the rest of the Commandos know about it doesn't mean we want the entirety of the camp to know."

Toni took a deep breath, suddenly remembering that they had learned about it when she was out cold. She had heard it had confused the guys massively and there was some talk of her being a robot, which she wished she was. If that were the case, then she wouldn't be feeling this overwhelming guilt.

Why couldn't she go back to the time before the reactor, before the Iron Man suit and just be that egoist bitch that she was before?

"Got it, mother," she said while buttoning up her shirt. With a deep breath, Peggy started again, "Are you sure you're okay? If you ever want to talk, I'm here."

After she finished stuffing her things into her bag, Toni zipped it up and set it on the floor. "So you and Rogers, now?" she asked, changing the subject, though she didn't know if that topic was any better than the last.

"We haven't labelled it…" The agent said, slowly as if she was hesitant to speak about it in front of Toni.

"Ah," Toni uttered. There were parts of her that wanted to spoil the ending for Peggy, but she wouldn't play that card. She didn't need or want to play that card. Why in the hell would she want Rogers?

"He's Rogers again?" Peggy asked, eyeing her. Toni took a deep breath as she slipped off the bed and onto her feet. "It makes things easier," she replied. It would've been simpler if she had followed her rules in the first place and hadn't gotten close to them.

"Do you think that's wise? Shutting yourself out isn't healthy," the agent said. Her and Rogers really do belong together, don't they? She thought to herself. "We've better hurry," Toni stated, pulling the pack to her back. Her journal was buried at the bottom of her bag, hiding it from the world, as she didn't wanted anyone to read or even know about it. It was the only thing she shared her secrets with, but she wondered if that was smart as there was a chance that someone would find it.

"Toni."

"Don't Toni me," the genius snapped, glaring back at her. "I'm sick and tired of people Toni-ing me." With that, Toni bolted out of their quarters, toward the huge aircraft.

"Don't go alone!" She heard Peggy yelled, knowing why. Team Skully wanted her for something, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

*O*O*

The plane was the same plane from before, and it still made her nervous to no end. Maybe, it was because she knew all the schematics and issues with these planes. Maybe, she knew the likelihood of these things being shot down from the sky. Maybe, she knew what this plane was missing in terms of technology, but whatever it was, she had to fight her flight urge to remain on-board and take a seat.

Toni sat down near the front of the craft where Phillips usually sat and before putting her pack away, she pulled out a pen and her journal to sketch out another design for her Iron Man Suits as it was one of the few things that could calm her.

The journal was filled with many different designs, which was just a testament really. A testament to how much her mind was a fucked up place. Opening her journal, she skipped toward the back, looking for a blank page. Mixed in between her designs were her mind's random writing about her guilt and shame. Some of the writing took up pages while the other times she wrote on the edges of the pages that featured her suits' designs.

"What do you have there?" Toni suppressed her flinch and slammed the journal shut in the hopes to hide her designs.

"Just a book, Salty," she replied, glancing at the Colonel as he took the seat next to her.

Phillips buckled himself in. "Just a book?" he asked.

"Yes, just a book," she stated, looking past him toward the entrance of the plane, where she noticed a few people boarding. Though she knew it was stupid, she couldn't help but look for Barnes as the Commandos entered and it was a blow to the heart when he didn't appear. Even now, it was hard to believe that he was dead and she had to keep reminding herself that he was and there was no changing that fact.

Why did he have to die? Why did she let it happen? Would it have changed anything if she had stopped it? What did his death mean?

When Rogers stepped on board, Toni was snapped back to reality and turned away, not wanting to look at him. She hadn't spoken to him since the night she woke up from the coma and she had no interest in talking to him. She was going to keep her distance because there was a chance that she might snap at him for being the Captain Asshole if she didn't. She still couldn't understand what he was thinking when he kissed her.

Rogers took the seat directly across from Toni and the Howling Commandos followed down the row next to the Captain. Jones and Dugan glanced at Toni, if only to make sure she was fine before turning back to face their fellow commanders and rejoining their conversation. It was Rogers who kept staring at her but Toni wouldn't let it get to her.

Talking, Peggy boarded the craft, as she went over the next battle. Like everyone, she was stressing over this as it could be the end of Schmidt and it had to go prefect. There was so many things counting on this, and one was Barnes, as they wanted his death to mean something.

"I think that's it," she said, taking the seat on the other side of Salty. Phillips nodded, taking the report from Peggy.

"We're ready to go!" Howard said as he climbed aboard and made his way toward the front of the plane. In one hand, he held Toni's device in a hard metal case, while he held a briefcase in the other. "Everything's in order, and we'll be taking off in five."

"Good," Phillips replied, still looking over the report from Peggy.

Toni glanced at Phillips before she turned to Howard, who had taken a step next to her. "Comfy seat?" she asked while wondering why he was sitting next to her.

"Not as comfortable as the seats on one of my jets," he replied, sliding the hard case under his seat. "They're like sitting on clouds. You'll love them, trust me."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Will? You think I'll see them?" she asked.

Howard opened his briefcase, took out of the file and held it out to her. "Of course. What else will you do after the war?" he asked. "And you will love my labs." There was a brief second of silence before he laughed as she still hadn't take the file. "Oh, wait, I forgot. You don't like to be handed things."

Toni narrowed her eyes at him as she yanked the folder from his hands, knowing what it was instantly. She tried to fight looking over to Rogers, who was feeling just as guilty as she was about Barnes, but she couldn't stop herself and turned to him. For what felt like an eternity, they made eye contact as if he knew what she had. His eyes felt like they were drilling into her, and she couldn't help but shudder.

Turning to Howard, she asked "What are you referring to? Do you think I'll work for you?"

"Why not? What else do you plan to do?" Howard asked.

She had one plan and that was getting home to her time. "Don't you think I'll kill you or something?" she asked, opening the folder he gave her. From the corner of her eye, she eyed Phillips, who had finally put the report away and she lost the will to read the file Howard gave her.

"I think I grew on you enough for that not to happen." Toni wanted to laugh, but she couldn't as it didn't feel right to laugh, not after everything that had happened, but why was it so hard not to?

"So a job offer? Aren't you afraid that your board's going to like me better and make me CEO?" she asked, trying not to laugh. Why was it so hard?

"Oh, you think you can run Stark Industries, do you?" he asked.

She couldn't contain that laugh, which echoed throughout the craft, drawing several heads toward her. "I can probably handle it better than you," Toni said, feeling slightly better. That laugher had brightened her day. "And I would make a sexier CEO than you."

"You want to bet?" Howard asked, teasing her back.

Phillips chuckled next to them. "So nice that you two are getting along," he joked.

"You call that getting along?" Toni replied, holding the folder tightly. Did she deserve to read it when she was making jokes with her father? "I'm planning to take over his company and then he'll have to work for me." She held back her laugh this time as it was the truth. She would run Stark Industries in the future, though her father probably wouldn't like how.

"I'd like to see you try," came Howard's response.

"Is that a challenge? I live off challenges, Stark," she said, eyeing Phillips. She could barely see Peggy's form over Salty, but she could tell the Agent was listening. Why would Peggy care about her conversion with Howard? Was she shocked by Toni's playful tone like she was herself?

"Should I be scared?" Howard replied.

"I would be," Dugan interrupted from across the plane. "She can be scary when she wants to be."

"I can handle her," Howard replied with a smirk. "I-"

"This isn't the time for this," Rogers interrupted, glancing between Toni and Howard. He had affectedly silenced the craft with his harsh, cold tone and glare. "We have a mission ahead of us to prepare for."

Toni wasn't sure what to make of Rogers and his outburst, but she didn't care for it. However, after taking a deep breath to calm down and think, she knew where he was coming from and she felt ashamed. She was never any good with understanding how to deal with her emotions or how to act. Was it okay to laugh? Was it okay to talk about him?

"Rogers," Phillips called, giving him the look. "Easy." Rogers looked at the Colonel before glowering at the floor of the plane. His hands were fisted at his side as if he was holding something back.

"I think it's just our nerves, gentlemen," Peggy stated, trying to cut through the tension. "Let's take some deep breaths and relax."

With a deep breath, Toni leaned her head back and closed her eyes as everything came rushing back to her and it was all too much. She listened to the sound of the aircraft as it flew through the sky to calm her.

She held the folder firmly against lap as she was afraid it would disappear. She had to read it to settle her mind, but she wanted to do it alone, though she knew no one would let her.

*O*O*

After everything was settled for the mission commencing in 12 hours, Toni, with a heavy coat, found a spot to read the report alone. It was a bitch to sneak away, because no one would let her out of their sight and it was annoying. She wasn't someone who needed to be babysat, though she did do risky things at times. She just needed to get away so she could figure out what was going on in her head.

Located in deep within the Alps, it was extremely cold and Toni needed several layers to keep warm. It would've been wise to stay inside or by a fire, but she wasn't thinking at the moment. Sitting down at the base of a tree in a pile of soft snow, she took out the file and opened it.

She had some trouble flipping through the pages as the gloves she wore made it difficult to flip through. However, it would be exceedingly stupid to take them off as she would get frostbite in a few minutes and she liked her fingers a lot. Plus, she was already pushing it as it was, being out here, but she needed to do this. If she didn't, she would surely go crazy.

After reading through the file, she sat completely still. She knew Rogers blamed himself for Bucky's death but, according to the files, it wasn't. Bucky was doing what he was trained to and it wasn't anyone's fault but that HYDRA's soldier who fired at Barnes who was foolish enough to block using Rogers' shield. She knew Rogers felt guilty because he felt that he could've done better to save Barnes' life. Toni didn't blame him for it at all.

She felt the tears flow as she thought about Bucky and her last moments with him. He had promised her that he would come back to her, so why hadn't he? It wasn't fair that he kissed her and left her confused. It wasn't freaking fair. How dare he do that? Why was she blaming him? It wasn't his fault. If he could have, he would've came back to her.

Toni closed the file harshly as her hands shook. Perhaps her father had been correct about not knowing, because knowing was horrible. Barnes' fall kept repeating in her head as she thought about what he might have had been feeling when he knew he was falling to his inevitable death. What had went through his mind?

She felt ill just thinking about it because she couldn't even begin to imagine what he had gone through.

Shaking her head, she got to feet and shook the snow off. With a deep breath, she rolled up the folder, lifted up the back of her jacket and stick it into her pants pocket. After making sure it was secure, she made her way toward Howard and her device.

She wanted to give him the file back, not wanting it anymore, as all it did was haunt her, making her question everything. Plus, she couldn't take this time anymore and she wanted to use the device. Just as Howard and his work station came into sight, someone grabbed a hold of her upper right arm pulling her toward a few trees.

Unsure of who had grabbed her, Toni freaked out and started to kick at her attacker, who seemed unaffected by her hits. On the last swing of her arm, he caught it. "Let me go!" she demanded, wondering why she never listened to anyone.

"Toni, easy. It's me." Toni stiffened as she looked up to Rogers, who sported a worried look in his eyes.

Why was he bugging her? Was it about her walking around by herself? Was it about the promise? Sure, she made it, but it seemed like Agent Sassy Kissy Face was all he needed. "Let go of me, Rogers," she demanded, trying to pull her arm free.

"Why are you alone?" he asked, his eyes drilling into her. "Do you know how dangerous that is? HYDRA wants you."

This was why she never listened to anyone, especially him. She hated how he made her feel like a child, granted she acted like a child sometimes... but he didn't need to be given any more excuses to treat her as such. "I can handle myself. That woman just got lucky. It won't happen again."

"Toni," he said with a warning tone.

She took a deep breath because he did have a point. That Commander did say they were after her, though it was still a wonder why. How would they even know about her unless they had information about the future? "I'm going to see Stark, and you can watch me as I walk." She tried to turn to leave but he wouldn't let her. "What?" she asked, annoyed. Why was he holding her like this?

"We need to talk," he said, still not letting her arm go. "Can we talk?" he asked softly, almost as if he was scared. He eyed her, as if she was going to break.

She narrowed her eyes at him, still trying to pull herself away. "What's there to talk about?"

"Toni, please."

"Fine. Just let go of my arm," she said with a sigh.

The Captain released her arm but he didn't move back from her. "I want to talk about what happen between us. It-"

"Save it, Rogers," Toni said, interrupting him. Of all the things she wanted to talk about, that kiss wasn't one of them. That was the last thing she wanted to talk about because it wasn't as if that kiss meant anything anyways. He was hurting and needed comfort, which Toni didn't blame him for. "It's fine. It meant nothing. I understand. Now that's over with, are we done?"

"That isn't it," he said; his voice was all too soft. His voice reminded her of the Shrimp she first met.

Toni exhaled, harshly. "It is, and if you and Agent Carter need a recommendation for a restaurant, don't ask me. I usually just skip that step in the date if you know what I mean," she said, winking while forcing a smirk on her lips.

Rogers' face reddened. "I… Toni… No…I…can guess… but Peggy and I aren't going steady."

With a small laugh, she stared at his red face, not sure where he was going, but she wasn't going to try and figure out. She had to care to find out and she didn't care. "Okay," she said, turning from him. "And don't tell her that."

"Toni," he called to her.

She silently stood there for a few seconds thinking before she turned back to him. "I don't know what you want from me, Rogers."

"You're mad at me." Rogers took a deep breath. "You referred to me by my last name."

"That's what this is about?" she asked, huffing out an annoyed laugh. "This is me, Rogers. I'm not mad. I just like to be by myself." She took a deep breath as she turned from him. "I just need space."

"Bucky wouldn't want this," Rogers stated as he stepped toward her. "He wouldn't want you to cut yourself off."

Anger flashed through Toni as she spoke, "You have some nerve, Rogers. Some fucking nerve. First, you kiss me, then you kiss Sassy Pants. What can't make up your mind? Then I start to open up to Stark for only God knows why and you get pissy."

She tried to calm herself down with a few deep breaths, but it wasn't working. "You don't know me, Rogers. You have no fucking idea of who I am, where I came from or what the hell I'm going through, so leave me the fuck alone," she snapped, turning to storm away.

"Then tell me. Tell me how you got that thing in your chest," he said, calmly. Even after she had snapped at him, he was just as calm as he ever was. "Tell about your life. I want to know."

"Why do you want to know?" she asked, her tone colder than her surroundings.

"Because I realized that I don't know you, not really. Why were you in that lot? Did you ever get your memory back? Did you really have memory lost in the first place? Why are you here, fighting in this war?" he asked. "What happened to you to make you close out the world? And I know that this isn't about Bucky."

Toni stared at him, breathing deeply, as she tried to control her breathing. "Let it go. Why don't you go find Carter and bother her?" She hated that he kissed Peggy, even if she shouldn't care.

"I want to know."

"No, you don't."

"Toni."

She hated how he said her name. "Then why in the hell did you kiss her?" she asked, snapping. "Why in the hell did you kiss me?" He wasn't allowed to do this to her, not after everything that had happened. His expression softened, falling at the sight of her.

"Toni," he uttered again.

"No, answer?" she asked, after not hearing a reason. She stood still, frozen in her own thoughts, thinking if she should say what was on her mind. "Let me tell you something: I don't let people in, Rogers. I learned that the hard way, and I made a mistake in letting Barnes…and you in. So I'm correcting that."

"What happened to make you like this?"

"Really? Bucky just died and you're asking me that?" she asked.

"You were like this before he died," he said pushing her patience. Why couldn't he just let this go? Why couldn't he understand she didn't want to talk?

"Just leave me alone and go bother Agent Carter. You made your choice, and I have to say, Sassy Pants has that sexy Librarian voice that everyone craves so I completely understand your choice."

With that and without saying another word, she turned from him and continued toward Howard and her device. Talking to him made her go crazy and she refused to do so for anything longer.

*O*O*

When Toni came across Howard, he was alone in the science station, working hard as he always did when it came down to it.

"Hey," she said, as she entered. He looked up from what he was working on and smiled. The table in front of him was filled with regular 1940's guns and each looked different from the last. The table behind him was filled with stolen HYDRA weapons and they were glowing brightly.

"Oh, look who's here," he said with a smirk.

She reached for the file in her back pocket and threw it on the table in front of him. "There you go. I'm done with it," she said. "And you were correct… but don't let it go to your head." Howard didn't make any movement toward the folded, bent up file.

"In this case, I didn't wish to be," he said, eyeing her. "Are you okay?"

She wondered when she had gotten to the point that she preferred her absent father to Captain America. "I'm peachy… In fact, would you happen to have a peach? I have a peach craving right now," she said, hoping to change the subject.

"Sorry, no peaches," he said.

"Damn," Toni replied with a weak smile.

Howard sighed as he picked up one of the rifles on the table to examine it. "Rogers?" he asked, not looking at her.

"Huh?" she uttered as she stepped closer to the table.

He put the rifle down and leaned forward against the table. "I could tell from the plane that he wanted to talk to you by the way he was staring at you and I can assume from the look on your face that he did."

"I don't like that you know these things," she said, giving him one of her famous looks.

"Didn't go well?" he asked.

Toni could weight that question on a few different scales and each would be different. "Well, it depends on how you look at it. It's probably for the best," she said, shrugging.

Howard narrowed his eyes, studying her. "That's not what I expected."

She looked at him, sensing that he wanted to say something else. "What did you expect?"

"Nothing."

"Stark, what did you expect?" she asked, still feeling weird at addressing someone else with her last name even if it was his last name first.

"It's inappropriate after everything that had happened," he said with a sigh.

"What does that mean?" she snapped.

He took a deep breath before he answered, "I thought it was obvious. I have seen the way you two look at each other and then there's the fact that he never left your hospital bed unless he had to."

Toni glared at him. "That means nothing. And here I thought we were getting somewhere," she stated as she turned from him and walked out. He didn't say anything else as he watched her walk away. As she exited, she wondered why the hell he would think that.

*O*O*

Toni had no idea why she was acting like this, but her emotional self was pissing her off. She kept telling herself to grow a pair because she couldn't deal with these emotions anymore.

Yes, she knew it was okay to feel emotional, especially after losing Bucky, but she didn't want to feel these emotions. If Bucky ever came back to life, she was going to kill him again, because no one should ever be able to make her feel this way. NO ONE.

"Ms. Robot!" The genius from the future felt her eye twitch as she turned toward the direction of the voice.

"Ms. Robot?" she asked, eyeing Jones as he ran up to her.

"Well, it's the best explanation we can come up with for that thing being in your chest," he said with a smile. "I would love to be a robot myself."

The Howling Commandos kept referring to her as a robot after seeing the Reactor, and they refused and couldn't think of anything else. They just couldn't wrap their minds around it. Toni, for her part, couldn't help but wish she were a robot so she wouldn't be feeling like this. "So what are you up to?" she asked.

"Just getting things ready before we storm Schmidt's final hide out," he said with a small smile.

"I see, but if you don't mind, I need to see Phillips," she said, having no interest in talking to Jones or anyone. It was too much work to be a smartass when she was a wreck on the inside.

He smiled while bowing to her. "Au revoir," he said. Toni responded with nothing as she watched him walk away, but she knew it wasn't over with. She was too attached to the people of this time...and that was a problem.

*O*O*

When Toni came upon Salty, he was alone, looking over something as he sat silently at his makeshift desk. "Hey, Salty," she called as she entered.

He glanced up from his desk and stared at her for a few seconds before he answered. "Sark," he said, still using that fake last name of hers while officers walked in and out to talk to Phillips. "What are you doing here?" he asked, eyeing her.

"I need-" She started, but Phillips cut her off. "You're not going. You're staying back with Stark," he said. "It's too dangerous, and you did just come out of a coma."

Toni narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance. "One, I'm fine, and two, that isn't what I was going to ask. However, I'm fine and capable of going out," she said. Why did everyone insist on treating her like a child?

"If that isn't what this is about, then what?" he asked.

She took a deep breath before she spoke, "I'm leaving." His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

"What?" he asked, completely in shock. "What do you mean by you're leaving, because I can't have you going out by yourself."

Toni smiled slightly. "Going back to my time." She knew it was risky and that she should test it before using it, but she couldn't bear to stay anymore where she didn't belong. She was a woman out of time. She just wanted to go back to her life, where she could focus on her suits and only her suits.

"So your device is working?" he asked, still holding the file, but his focus was still on her.

She took a seat across of Phillips and leaned forward. "I have no idea, but I can't sit here anymore and do nothing," she said quietly.

He put the file down slowly as he studied her. "You're being emotional. You need to test that device before you do anything," he said.

Toni looked down and stared at her hands. "This isn't something I can just test and see if it works. I have to turn it on and see where it takes me." It was a big risk and it could kill her if it was anything like the last time, but she couldn't stay any longer.

"And if you end up dead?" he questioned carefully.

"Then so be it," she said. "Many scientists have died in the name of science. It's kind of like an honor." She knew what it sounded like; it sounded like someone who was defeated. It was a voice of someone who didn't care.

"Is this about Sgt. Barnes?" Phillips asked. "Or about Rogers and Carter?"

"Really? You're belittling me to the female stereotype?" she snapped at him with a glare and a sharp edge to her words. She kicked the chair back and stood. "This isn't about them. It's about me and the fact that I shouldn't be here."

"I can't help but feel you're being emotional about this," he said, holding his ground. He didn't move to counter Toni, but then again, he didn't need to move to overpower her. His voice alone could do that.

Toni exhaled harshly as she glared at him. "I'm not being emotional," she said through clenched teeth, though knowing that she was. However, she knew this was for the best, even if her emotions were running wild. She didn't belong here.

"Who are you lying to? Me or yourself?"

"I wasn't asking for permission. I'm just letting you know," she responded while avoiding his question like the plague.

Phillips took a deep breath. "And there's nothing that I can say to stop you?" he asked.

"No, there isn't," she said, turning away from him.

She was scared to use the device as it might stop her fading reactor, which could kill her. However, she had been preparing for her death for years. She never expected to live this long. She was supposed to have died years ago... and there was a part of her that wondered why she wasn't dead.

*O*O*

Toni Stark, refusing to be known as anything else, made her way to the Science Station so she could go back to being herself, back to the future. She didn't belong here, where she felt like a fool and a pretender. She wanted to be herself, where she could be an asshole and not have to worry about anyone else but herself.

To her luck, she just had to deal with the few guards stationed by the door, who only nodded to her as she passed. They were used to her late nights in the lab, and they paid no attention to her. Once inside, she looked around to make sure she was alone. Sure, it was late and there was a small chance that anyone would be, but she just had to make sure.

Seeing that she was, she made her way toward her device, which was locked in a metal chest on the other side of the room. No one, besides Salty, Howard, and herself, knew it was there, and no one else had the key. They all knew it was risky to keep it here, but it was the safest place for it while they were on the move. There was also nowhere else to keep it and it wasn't like Phillips trusted her completely, because he didn't. He trusted that she was telling the truth, but that was it. Toni didn't blame him for it as it was part of the game.

After obtaining her device, she laid it out in front of her. She stared at it for a second, wondering. Should she do it here? Take it somewhere else? If it was anything like the last time, it would attract a lot of attention, and she couldn't allow that.

...Then there was the fact that she doubted herself. Was she really going to do this? Was she really risking her life just to get home? Even after a few minutes of that negative thinking, she knew she was.

With a deep breath, Toni reached for the disconnected wire that she had left disconnected from the core, because she didn't want to risk the device going off by itself. If it did, not only would someone get hurt but she would be stuck here.

If she was stuck in this time, then she didn't know what she would do. What could she do? She couldn't work at Stark with her Father, thought it would be funny to see mini her when she was born.

Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to her device, which laid open calling to her. She reached for it, and just as she was about to reconnect the wire, she heard a thump outside. At first, she didn't think much of it as there could be a million reasons for it, but with the second thump, it had to be something. "Howard?" she called out, walking toward the entrance.

As she was like him in many ways, he could've been a night owl like her, but when he didn't answer, she knew it wasn't him. He would've answered her… unless this was a prank. He wouldn't be pranking her, would he? The future version of her father would not... but the past Howard seemed totally capable of it. "Stark, if this is a joke, I'm going to hang you up by your toes, and leave you out to dry," she warned dangerously. "Stark!" There was still no answer, which was starting to worry her.

She glanced back at her device for a second before she continued to the entrance. "Don't make me kill you and steal your company," she hissed as she pushed open the flap. She took a step out and looked around the darkened camp for any sign of movement. She didn't see anything, but even in the dark, she could make something out on the ground and as she stepped closer to see what it was, her breath was stolen from her.

On the ground a few feet away from her, the two officers, who had been guarding the entrance, were lying on the ground. She wasn't sure if they were dead but she didn't want to find out, not when the person who did this was still out there. Knowing from the many horror movies she had watched, it was never a good idea to run into the darkness as that was normally where the murderer killed you.

However, she knew she couldn't stay here, where the culprit could get her too.

Where is everyone? She thought to herself as the camp looked empty.

Toni quickly back stepped inside and ran to her device, packing it into the case as fast as she could. She knew the first thing that she should've done was go find someone, but her device was her first priority. If she lost this device, she was beyond screwed. Plus, someone had to be watching her, since they knew she would be here alone and she couldn't risk going out into the open.

Slamming the case shut, she turned back to the entrance, knowing she had to do something. However, when she turned back to the flap, she noticed someone standing there, watching her, and it wasn't a friend.

Toni's heart raced as she recognized the man from the bar and her heart beat even faster when her mind registered that it was the same man from the alley. He was the man, who was haunting her dreams, and to make matters worse, he had a knife in his hand.

It took a few seconds before Toni's senses kicked in and she could think. She had a fighting chance, considering how many guns were in her hand's reach. As not to draw attention, she slowly reached for a gun, but froze, feeling a knife to her neck. Though she tried to control it, she shuddered visibly as she wondered how someone had gotten behind her without her noticing.

Behind her was the same female HYDRA soldier from before and she was holding the knife tightly against her neck. "So alone," she said, mocking her. "No one's going to help you." Toni knew it was a risk when she went out alone, but she had to, and it wasn't like she couldn't take care of herself, though now wasn't a good example.

She hated the idea that she was weak and need someone to protect her. "Like I need help," she said, struggling against the female commander, whose name still escaped her. If Toni wasn't pissed or if she cared at all, she would ask for the woman's name, but that was a sign of respect. She did not respect this woman.

"So do I get a last meal? A phone call?"

"Shut it," the woman hissed. "I do not care for your stupid remarks today."

"Well, I don't care for your man hands, but you know, we never get what we want," Toni said, trying to inch closer to the guns on the table.

The Commander pressed the blade tighter against Toni's neck, drawing blood. "No one cares for your mouth, but that does not seem to stop you," she replied angrily.

Her crazy stalker stepped forward, alarmed at the blood dripping from Toni's throat. "What are doing? My master wants her alive."

"Your master is not my concern nor is he my superior," the Commander replied. "I do not care what he wants or thinks." Her accent was heavy and it almost enough to drown out the meaning of her words.

"And what about the Red Skull? He wants her alive," the stalker said, trying to reason with her. Toni glanced toward her stalker, realizing that he was a part of the third party that this freak commander was speaking about before, but it left her with questions.

Who the hell was this master? And did Loki have any part in it? There was no doubt in her genius mind that he was involved. Did it have anything to do with that he deal he made her?

"He is a fool," she said. Toni glanced up at the commander who was sorely focused on the stalker, making this her chance. She rammed her elbow in the woman's chest, knocking back only slightly, but it was enough for her to get out of her hold. She ducked under her hand and reached for a gun; however, that was where Toni's luck ran out.

Recovering quickly, the Commander was too fast for Toni, as she grabbed Toni by the neck and threw her hard against the tables, knocking both the guns and the genius to the floor. As the commander approached, the stalker did so as well. "Commander, we need her alive," he warned as his knife in his hand dangled dangerously.

"She needs to learn her lesson," the commander hissed, stepped closer to Toni. "She won't be able to rebel if I break a bone, right?" She asked, glaring down at Toni.

"My master doesn't want her hurt," he said. That sounded weird to Toni, considering how harsh and brutal this man had been back in the alley. There was a point that she thought he was going to severely hurt her, but now, he seemed almost scared. Did his master threatened to kill him if she was? But how would the master know how he treated her?

"It would be easier to handle her," the Commander replied. "We don't need her running away."

Though Toni was up and walking, she still tired easily as she hadn't fully recovered. Lying there on the ground in a pile of guns, she felt exhausted, and there was no chance that she could run for it. From the corner of her eyes, she glanced at the guns, wondering if they were loaded, but she knew the likelihood was low. Guns in the armory were never loaded for safety reasons, though the bullets weren't stored too far away. If only she had been knocked into the table filled with HYDRA weapons which didn't need bullets.

"Just admit you're jealous, which would make things simpler?" Toni teased, knowing full well she was playing with the beast. She hoped that someone would notice the fallen guards and check it out; however, she told Salty that she was leaving, so he might think that it was her device that had misfired, knowing how dangerous and wild it was.

"Just shut up," her stalker hissed. The female Commander laughed.

"She's stalling. How cute," she mocked. "She thinks someone's going to save her, like anyone would. You're an annoyance, who no one likes nor wants, not even the naïve Captain America wants you. How does that feel?" she asked. "And why would he? I bet half this camp would be happy that you're gone, and the only person who has ever actually cared is dead."

Toni knew what this woman was doing and she wasn't going to fall for it because that would be exactly what this woman wanted. She wanted Toni to think she was alone, because they wanted to turn her against the Camp. Besides her brain, she wasn't sure why they would want to, because she would probably make them murderous and she would end up dead. "Damn, only half? I was trying so hard to make the whole camp hate me." She reached for one of the gun, and even if was unless, it gave her mind some peace.

She smirked at Toni as she took a step closer. "This is your defense mechanism. You put up a front, trying to portray this cold-hearted bitch, but inside, you're broken, destroyed... so shattered. Though you hide it with everything that you've got, you hope that someone will notice, but no one does or maybe...no one cares. Does it hurt to know no one cares?" she asked.

"You think I care about others? I don't give a flying crap," Toni replied, as she searched for some kind of weapon. Having fallen to the ground as well, her device lay on the floor, exposed to the world; the core was jarred from the center. A few of the wires had snapped back, but it was still connected. "Just here for myself."

"Do you believe these lies you tell yourself?" She asked as she reached for the gun in Toni's hand. "Just fooling yourself." No amount of struggle from Toni could keep the gun in her hand when the commander pried it from her.

"Is there a point to your boring conversation?" she asked. "Are you trying to confess your love for me? If so, I'm sorry. Not interested. Not into the violent type."

"Shu-" Her stalker started. The Commander put her hand up to silence him. "You can stall all you want, because no one's coming, not even the love sick Captain, and you made sure of that when you sent him away, so very heartbroken."

Toni felt herself laugh. "I didn't do anything. If he's heartbroken, it's because of Agent Sassy Kissy Pants," she said.

It was the Commander's turn to laugh. "You're truly a fool," she said, yanking Toni up by the collar. "Let's go, I have grown tired of this child's play."

"Go to hell," Toni hissed as she dug her fingernails into the woman's arm, trying to draw to blood.

"I have a world to help take over," the soldier said.

"Won't work," Toni replied, still fighting. "They know where you're base is, and they're going to destroy it."

Both the Stalker and the Commander laughed as she pulled Toni's collar harder, almost choking her. "It doesn't matter if they know, because they'll meet their death, and you'll be there to watch it."

"Keep dreaming," Toni yelled, kicking at the Commander, who only laughed.

"Let go." She had no idea of where this woman's strength came from as no one was this strong normally. It was super human.

"Let's go. We've been here far too long," her Stalker said, looking back to the flap.

The Commander glanced at him before looking back at Toni. "Do I need to knock you out or do you promise not to scream, Ms. Robot?" she asked.

That nickname froze Toni, stopping her struggle, as she wondered how long these two were watching her. How much did they know? Did they hear her conversion with Phillips? She hoped not. Why hadn't she notice them? "I'm a screamer. Just ask all my partners," she teased, trying to hide her fear.

"You just like to hear your own voice," the woman stated as she let go of Toni's collar and grabbing her neck.

"Why wouldn't I? I have the voice of an angel," Toni replied.

She tried to smile, but the grip around her neck started to tighten and she was struggling to breathe. Black spots started to enter her sight, clouding her vision, and she knew it wouldn't be long before she was out.

"B…b-bit…" She could barely make out her own words.

"I… your… out," the Commander said, though Toni couldn't make out half of what she said.

"Easy… Need…her…Mas…Loki…" her Stalker stated, walking toward the two women.

"N…N," Toni said, trying to speak; however, she couldn't get anything out as her mind started to jumble. She tried to wake her mind by doing something, but she couldn't even move. Everything she was feeling started to disappear and it was only a few seconds later that Toni felt herself drift off into darkness.

Thanks again for reading!

Author's Note:

For some reason I feel like Toni is getting captured a lot... haha.

For those interested folks, I want to go into Captain America: Winter Soldiers, though I would have to get through this story first. :)