A/n: Hey, guys! Time for the next update. Sorry for the delay but due to my freelance work, university thesis and my blog, my writing juice is drained. ON a side note, Iron Man 3 will be out next week so my brain juice should be recharged by then.
Thank you to my reviewers: TheElegantFaerie, MidnightMoon101, Ryaaaaann, Sonya, Porginess LMFAO, Daughter of the Pacific and Himedesu. You guys are awesome!
Chapter 6
"Welcome, Mister Rogers."
"I am never going to get used to that." Steve muttered, strolling into the lobby of Stark Towers and was greeted by JARVIS. He paused when he realised there were no footsteps behind him. He turned to find Katherine still standing outside the door, staring up in surprise.
"That was just JARVIS." he explained, assuming her hesitation was in surprise of the speaking lobby. "He's Stark's AI or something. Stark should be expecting us by now. Come on in."
Katherine cautiously took a step forward and felt an invisible barrier vanish as she did. "Don't mind if I do." she muttered under her breath.
Their presence was announced with a sound ding! as the lift opened to admit them into Tony's penthouse apartment. Katherine nodded in appreciation as she took in the spacious living room that dwarfed Steve's own. Facing the elevator was the bar with cabinets of liqueurs lined behind it.
"Can we move in here?" she asked Steve who strolled into the living room.
"Only if you want Tony and him going at each other's throats on a daily basis." a blonde haired female said, entering the room with a bright smile. "You must be Katherine. I am Virginia Potts but you can call me Pepper. Tony has told me so much about you."
Katherine wondered just how much as she shook Pepper's hand. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Can I get you something to drink?" Pepper offered. "Is vodka up your alley? Or would you prefer something more bloody?" she winked at that last word.
So she did know. "Vodka's fine." Katherine replied with a smile. It wasn't often she crossed a human who dare befriend a vampire.
"What about you, Steve?" Pepper called as she headed to the bar.
"I am fine. Liqueur just don't do it for me." Steve said, turning away from the view of the city night sky. "Is Tony in?"
"He is downstairs in his lab with Bruce. Oh and Clint and Natasha are here too. I think they're training in the workout room." Pepper said, snatching up one of Tony's more expensive bottles and poured its contents into the glasses before holding it out to Katherine. "So how has it been, helping Steve get reacquainted into the world?"
"Surprisingly quite well." Katherine admitted, looking over her glass rim at her student. "I have yet to kill him and we watched a movie just now. That's progress alright."
Pepper beamed as she turned to Steve who flushed under the unwanted attention of both women. "Steve, you went for a movie? I am so proud of you!" she gushed.
"I have a good teacher." Steve said weakly, offering a smile at Katherine.
"Nevertheless that's good for you. I can't remember the last time you did something fun for yourself." the blonde said.
"Try never." Tony interrupted, strolling out from the lift. "The Cap never has fun."
"Well, he did today." Pepper said looking at him in annoyance. "Which is more than I can say for you."
The billionaire smirked. "You know work is fun for me. And Katherine, nice to see you again."
"Likewise, Stark." she said tilting her glass in his direction.
"Please, call me Tony. Any friend of Steve who drinks my vodka can call me Tony." he said flippantly.
"Nah, think I am gonna stick with Stark. You don't mind me calling you Stark, do you?" she replied with equal flippancy. "Terrific vodka, by the way."
Steve couldn't hide his chuckle as Pepper groaned in horror. "Oh, dear god. There are two of them."
"So what brings you here?" Tony asked.
"Katherine wanted to check out your dig as she puts it. I know now dig or crib means home." Steve said enthusiastically.
Tony glanced at Katherine who was calmly sipping her vodka. "You got him using the MTV encyclopaedia now?"
She shrugged. "He asked. I answered. That's after all my job."
"I don't think Fury had this in mind." Tony pointed out. "But hey, maybe he'll be more fun to have around now."
Steve rolled his eyes at the obvious jab at him. Pepper placed a glass of whiskey in Tony's hand, promptly coaxing him to drink up.
"Actually I am also here to ask for a favour." Katherine said, eliciting a confused look from the Captain. She pressed on. "You have technological resources and accesses to unlimited databases and information worldwide, right?"
"At my fingertips."
"I need you to help me retrieve information from those databases." she continued. "To help facilitate Steve's lessons."
"That's an odd request." Tony said, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Isn't SHIELD in charge with providing you with everything you need?"
"Yes, well. SHIELD hasn't been completely honest with Steve to begin with so I'll pass." she said.
Steve opened his mouth to speak only to have Pepper wave him quiet. She was quite interested to see how this…odd partnership played out.
Tony pondered her words and slowly began to nod. "I suppose you do have a point. Come with me. I'll fit you in with the latest toys that Stark Industries has to offer."
"Play nice." Pepper called after them as they entered the lift together and the door closed on them.
Steve stared at the lift doors in confusion. "What just happened?"
Pepper reached over and patted his arm. "Looks like Tony found a new friend."
~.~
As soon as the lift doors closed, they dropped the illusion of camaraderie between them. Tony blurted out the first thing on his mind since she asked for his favour.
"So Katherine, what is it that I am really asking JARVIS to look for?" Tony asked.
"We were being followed at the movies. By a Chitauri disguised as a human." Katherine explained. "Don't worry. I took care of it without Steve knowing."
Tony couldn't mask his astonishment just as the lift doors opened to admit them into his computer lab. "Aren't you handy to have around."
She smirked. "You have no idea. So anyway I was able to gain some information that could be of use to us."
"Oh, do tell." Tony said, propping down into his chair.
Katherine leaned against the table across him. "The Chitauris are working with a vampire known as Amanda. She was one of Klaus' followers and has been known to have her own fleet of vampires and werewolves soldiers. That is something no vampire or werewolf has been able to accomplish ever. That alone makes Amanda very dangerous. However from what I was told, she has gone rogue."
"Rogue? Won't Klaus want her dead if that's the case? I am sure you can relate."
"Again this was what I was told." she reminded him. "But I know Amanda… she practically worships the ground Klaus walks on. No, she won't turn against him. But she has the Chitauris believing otherwise."
"Not a wise move, double-crossing an alien species that tried to take over the earth."
"Trust me. Amanda can be quite…persuasive." Katherine muttered.
Tony leaned back into his seat, eyeing the woman. "You seem to know quite a lot about this woman. Why is it that you need my help again?"
"To find her." she said. "Amanda can tell us where Klaus is and how the Chitauris are getting through."
"Hm." Tony considered the idea for a while. "Alright. JARVIS, momentarily stop all current research and focus on finding records on a vampire named Amanda and once you have a visual of her, run it through every surveillance camera in the city."
"Sir, if I may, the search would progress faster if I had a visual description of her."
Tony looked at Katherine expectantly.
She sighed. "Last I saw her, 20 years ago, she was blonde with a pair of soul-sucking green eyes. She's German if that helps."
"You got that, JARVIS?" the billionaire said. "A blonde, green-eyed German in New York. Shouldn't be too hard."
"I'll try my best, sir." JARVIS replied.
"I like him." Katherine said, impressed by the AI's advanced human-like replies. "Can I have one too?"
"Nope. Have you told Fury what you just told me?" Tony said.
She shook her head. "Only that there's a dead Chitauri body behind the cinema. Doubt he would be interested in hunting down one psychotic vampire."
"He did find you." Tony reminded her. "Is that all the Chitauri told you?"
"All I managed to beat out of him." she said, smiling to herself at the memory and maintaining to herself that she had fed the name of the Chitauris' mysterious leader to Fury earlier. Needless to say, the director was impressed even though he tried to hide it. He did also chastise her against acting on her own.
Because he's so worried that his precious Captain America will find out that his tutor is actually a vampire, she thought. Now that would be a hoot.
"I hate to be on the receiving end of that beating." Tony muttered.
Katherine straightened as something else occurred to her. "Speaking of beating, there is one more thing I need to confirm."
In a flash, she was in front of Tony, gripping his throat with one hand and baring her fangs as she dove in. Tony barely reacted before she was pulling away with a snarl, gripping her arm in pain.
"Son of a –," she cursed, trying and failing to shake off the electric current seizing up her arm, the cause being the silver bracelet that was growing red.
Tony was cursing too, stumbling shock. "What the hell?!"
"I had to be check." she muttered in between pants.
"By attacking me?" he said incredulously.
"It's your collar, Jackass." she sniped. "You rather I jump on Steve?"
Their glare contest went on for a few seconds before the lift doors opened and Bruce strolled out.
"Miss Pierce, just the person I was looking for."
"Call me Katherine and how did you even know I was here?" Katherine asked suspiciously.
He grinned sheepishly, twiddling his glasses. "The big guy…knew."
"That's…comforting." Katherine grimaced at the thought of a vampire detector in the form of a raging green beast. "Why were you looking for me?"
"I was working on condensing vervain into multiple forms, you know in case of a vampire attack and was wondering how the concentration will affect its effectiveness." he explained. "Like if an injection could incapacitate someone of Klaus's calibre."
She scoffed, settling back into her leaning position against the table. "Klaus is an old one. An injection will hardly slow him down but if he were to digest vervain directly into his system, that should stop him momentarily. And by momentarily, I give you three minutes tops."
Bruce nodded as he brought up a holographic screen and tapped in the information. "Interesting. And what about the average vampires?"
"A vervain shot will render them unconscious for a few hours depending on how strong they are." she said, shooting a glare at Tony as she remembered how he had shot her just a few days ago.
"What about werewolves?" Tony joined in. "Do they have an allergy to weed like vampires do?"
"Now that you mentioned it, they don't operate so well under the influence of wolfsbane." Katherine said thoughtfully.
"Lovely. Let me call my gardener and have him get us a batch of that." Tony said sarcastically. "How in the world are we going to get wolfsbane in a city?"
"Sir, I was able to locate a few herbal stores in downtown China that have wolfsbane." JARVIS offered helpfully. "Shall I contact them and have them deliver a batch?"
"Yes, that would be helpful. Thank you, JARVIS." Bruce said.
"That's too cool." Katherine said. "Why can't I have one?"
"Because I said so." the billionaire replied childishly.
Katherine and Bruce stared at him in disbelief; amazed by his ridiculous reply and even more so when he struck out his tongue at her.
~.~
"You know, you're eventually going have to talk to her, Nat." Clint said, ducking in between the rapid punches of his sparring partner. He dropped down into a low couch to dodge a kick and felt rather than saw her pivoted onto her other feet, allowing to her to drop another kick on him. "Whoa, hey. I am just saying."
"I don't like her." Natasha said, bouncing back on her heels, her fists prepared for swift punches.
"You don't like her because she kicked your butt that one time –," he ducked under her punch, capturing the wrist and twisting the arm behind her back. "Or because of what she is. Because, you know if it's the latter, well, in this group…"
"She." a punch. "Is." a kick at his shin. "Dangerous!" Natasha snapped as she pinned him down.
"She's an asset to us." Clint argued before he twisted himself free from her limbs and fell back into a stance. "Knowing what we're dealing with helps us. And if she's as dangerous as you say she is, then maybe it's a good thing she is on our side."
"Stark may have her under controlled now but it is not in her nature to help others. Trust me. I know. Fury has no idea what he's doing making her a part of this team."
"Nat…" Clint started to protest before a voice cut in and it was one he was hoping not to hear.
"I am hurt." an angelic smile on her face, Katherine stepped up to the sparring mats. "But nevertheless, she's right you know, Agent Barton. It isn't in my nature to help others."
"But you're helping Steve and us to hunt down your kind and the Chitauris." Clint said, unnerved that she has approached them without them even realising her presence. "That has to count for something."
"Because we're providing her protection from Klaus, that's why she is helping us." Natasha said, her body tensing as she faced the other female. "What are you doing here?"
"I got bored." the vampire said nonchalantly. "Stark and Brucy boy are upstairs going on and on about vervain bomb this and wolfsbane shots that. They lost me in the mechanics."
"Sounds about right." Clint muttered, well aware of how the two mad scientists could get.
"That doesn't answer my question." Natasha said impatiently, placing her hands on her hips. "Why are you here?"
"To talk, to spar. Whichever helps you feel better about yourself." Katherine said airily. She glanced at the archer. "Did she tell you what happened in Bora Bora?"
Natasha answered before he could. "I have no secrets with him." she said calmly.
Katherine scoffed. "And that alone is a lie in itself. But answer me this, Natasha. Haven't you wondered why I didn't kill you that day? I could have so easily."
"Nat…" Clint warned under his breath as he noticed his partner's clenched fists, aching to draw her non-present guns.
The Russian closed her eyes, seemingly trying to rein in her emotions and exhaling slowly, she stared back at the other female. "I have actually wondered. Even more so now that I know what you truly are. So why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"
"Because," Katherine said carefully. "You reminded me of myself. Ruthless, Cold-blooded. Feared by many."
"I am nothing like you." Natasha said tersely.
"Really?" Katherine raised an eyebrow. "You were afraid to die, Romanoff. I saw it in your eyes that night as I pinned you down. You still are human after all."
"I don't see how that makes me like you. Isn't being dead your specialty? You're after all immortal." Natasha said snidely.
"Isn't someone ballsy?" Katherine smirked before continuing calmly. "You fear death…just as I do. That's why I ran."
Clint and Natasha blinked in surprise to hear her admit that.
"Klaus and his brethren are not to be underestimated." Katherine warned. "You may be the Avengers but there's a reason why no one has managed to kill Klaus after all this time."
"How would you know? I doubt you tried." Natasha said.
"That's true." the vampire said nodding. "But only because I am quite keen on a little thing call staying alive. And if you knew Klaus, you would be too. Now… did that make you feel better about yourself?"
"No but beating you might." Natasha retorted, hating that this woman had the nerve to feel sorry for her when she was the cause of her distress.
An amused grin broke across Katherine's face. "Do you really think you can beat me? I am after all much older than you and that being said, much more experienced."
"Ladies…" Clint said, stepping forward to hold them off. He knew Natasha could take care of herself but as Katherine had pointed out, she was still very much human while the other woman was…a hundred year old vampire with a knack for human blood. He suddenly missed the old times when the Avengers' only concerns were the Chitauris and Bruce losing his temper at Tony's shenanigans.
The situation came at a halt when three phones went off simultaneously. Clint and Natasha retrieved their phones from their bags as Katherine read the message she had just received. Judging by the dark looks on the two agents' faces, she guessed it was the same message.
"Chitauri attack in Central Park." Natasha said, grabbing her jacket and tugging it on. "Innocents involved. Fury wants us on it. He's sending a jet to get the team in less than a minute."
Tony's voice came over the speakers in the room. "A minute is too long. I am going ahead to assess the situation. Meet me there."
Katherine on her part was still processing the message. "Huh. I guess that means it's a rain check on the ass-kicking."
A/n: I swear on my Iron Man 3 movie tickets, I'll update again by next week! R&R!