Of Heroes and Villains
Chapter 2: A Visit From Agent Coulson
3rd POV
Angela slowly hummed the song 'Girls Wanna Have Fun' by Cyndi Lauper as she prepared a cup of coffee to another customer who came to visit Cal's Diner.
The brunette wore a pale peach waitress dress, a white apron and black shoes. Her caramel brown was styled in a ponytail.
Once the coffee was ready she handed the drink to one of the customers, who was Arthur Stacy, the father of her best friend from school, Jill Stacy.
"Here you go, Mr Stacy."Angela remarked.
"Thank you, Angela."Arthur thanked.
Angela gives a small smile to the man before making her way back to the kitchen counter to make another cup of coffee and three cherry jam filled donuts before placing them in a serving tray.
She then took a deep breath before making her way outside to Steve Rogers, who sat by himself in one of the seats that were outside the diner.
"Hello there, Mr Rogers."Angela greeted casually and placed a cup of coffee on his table."I brought you your coffee accompanied by the house special's three cherry jam donuts."
Angela felt her heart skip a beat as Steve's unique blue eyes went on her.
"Thank you, Miss Stark."Steve responded.
Angela simply shook her head as she sat down on the opposite seat next to the super soldier.
"No need to be formal with me, Steve."Angela remarked."You can just call me 'Angela' or 'Ange' as everyone else does."
Steve then notice the donuts on a plate next to his coffee.
"You know I didn't order for donuts, right?"Steve asked.
"Like I said, it's on the house."Angela assured with a small smug look."And besides, even a soldier that is feeling sad and awkward and trying to fit into modern society needs to try something sweet to make him better."
Angela then notice the unfinished yet unique sketching of Stark Tower on a paper that was near Steve.
Steve was an artist before he became a super soldier.
"Whoa, you're a pretty good artist."Angela remarked in awe and looked at Steve."Are you waiting for my dad to fly by? Most people come here just to see that."
"Right."Steve said with a smile.
Angela then brought out a sheet of paper with the title 'List' on it.
"I think you need to make a list."Angela suggested.
Steve furrowed his eyebrows as he looked up from his cup of coffee to the seventeen year old that sat in front of him.
"A list?"Steve asked.
Angela's eyes flickered up to the super soldier.
"Yeah. I mean, you did miss seventy years worth of stuff, Steve."Angela remarked."You've got to make a list for it all."
Steve knew Angela was right.
He had only been back for a little bit now and even with the help that Angela was giving him, Steve was way behind in everything especially the whole technology thing.
"Okay, so I'll start a list."Steve agreed."But where do I even begin?"
Angela titled her head slightly as she thought about it.
"I don't know. There's so much."Angela murmured before an idea hit her head."I know. We can start with movies. People are always making references to those things and movies nowadays are way different than the types of movies you watched back then."
Steve furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and curiosity.
"Really?"Steve asked, confused as to how the movies he remembers could've change."How?"
"First of all, they're all in colour."Angela explained with a small laugh."Then there is all of the special effects and the plots have definitely gotten better as the years have gone on."
Steve opened his mouth to speak, but Angela continued to ramble on.
"Let's see…there's a ton of movies you need to catch up on."Angela declared."Now the very important thing is to start with a good one and is not totally rubbish."
The brunette began listing off a bunch of movies.
The super soldier stared at her with wide eyes as he tried to put his mind around all of these movies she was suggesting to him.
"Ooh, I got a good one."Angela chuckled."How about Star Wars?"
Steve gave Angela a confused look.
"Star Wars?"Steve said in confusion.
"It's a very unique movie saga created by George Lucas."Angela explained and frowned a bit."To be honest, I'm actually offended that someone even has to ask me that, but you have a good excuse so I'll let it slide."
Angela moved her seat a bit closer to Steve's.
"You're gonna love it, Steve. There are six movies, so we can have a whole marathon."Angela admitted."The only weird thing is that you have to watch four, five, and six before watching one, two, and three."
Steve looked even more confused.
"Why?"Steve questioned.
"Cause that's the order they came out in and one, two, and three have a big plot point that spoils four, five, and six."Angela admitted.
Angela suddenly stopped and her eyes widened even more as a huge grin grew on her face.
"Oh my gosh. You're probably the last person in human existence who doesn't know the big plot twist."Angela gasped and then became excited."We definitely need to watch those movies together."
Then Beth, one of the other waitresses, called out Angela's name from the door entrance to the diner.
"Hey, Ange."Beth called out."I need some help here."
"Coming, Beth."Angela answered and stood up before giving a sheepish smile to Steve."See you later, Steve."
Steve gives a smile and wave to Angela as she headed back inside the diner.
The super soldier then picked up one of the donuts that Angela made for him and took a bite, only to be surprised how delicious it tasted.
Also to think Angela Stark was also the adopted granddaughter of Howard Stark, who was the very man he worked with seventy years ago.
However as Steve enjoyed his treat, he didn't notice Angela secretly watching him from inside the diner with a look of admiration as she went back to work.
After finishing work for the day, Angela returned back to Stark Tower and relaxed on her bed while reading a book called 'The Secret Garden' by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Her bedroom had a dresser while one side was a chair with a Hello Kitty plush sitting on it and on the other side was a tall box with a yellow curtain. The walls with the windows and the door had pink and white stripes on them while the other two walls were light blue. Her bed had a pink frame and was covered by white pillows and sheets and a lavender purple blanket with yellow crescent moons and pink stars on it. Besides the bed was a small table where she does her homework. There was one shelf in the corner between the windows and closet with flower pot on the top. The other shelf sits on the end of the wall with the door, where a couple of books and a radio were kept. On the walls were framed pictures that showed various events of her childhood with Tony and Pepper.
The big windows of her bedroom showed outside it was now night time and the busy road streets of New York City.
Despite the traffic and a hint of sirens heard outside, Angela was completely lost in reading one of her favourite classic stories that she enjoyed reading when she was a little girl.
Yes.
She enjoyed shopping and video games.
But there are also times that she preferred reading beside anything else.
After Angela stopped reading Chapter 8 of her book, the brunette got off her bed and closed her eyes as she reached out her hands causing deep pink-coloured energy to appear from them.
The book started moving a bit and eventually started floating before Angela slowly moved her hand to the desk and it headed right there.
Angela opened her eyes and grinned upon seeing she got her book right where she wanted it to be.
"Nailed it."Angela sneered.
Angela then placed her flats back on and saw Pepper working on one of the digital screens in the room.
"Hey, mum."Angela greeted and notice Tony wasn't around."Where's dad?"
"On his way."Pepper said with a smile."How was work?"
"Same old. Same old."Angela declared with a shrug."I live in two worlds, one is a world of books. It's a rewarding world."
Pepper smirked at Angela's respond.
"Of course you do."Pepper replied.
Then Tony's voice filled the air.
"Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy."Tony announced.
"Well, assuming our reactor takes over and it actually works?"Pepper asked.
Angela immediately ran over to the screen and frowned at the sight of her father's face coming from a built in camera in his suit.
"You aren't even here!"Angela retorted in a bitter tone.
Tony winced at the snapping tone of his daughter and smiled nervously.
"Hey, Ange."Tony greeted."How was your day?"
Angela simply rolled her eyes.
"How come I had to come home when you aren't even here?"Angela asked.
Tony chuckled softly at his daughter's respond.
"Sorry, kid. I'm on my way home right now."Tony assured."Pepper, light her up."
Pepper glanced over at Angela before gesturing towards a button.
"Care to do the honours?"Pepper questioned.
Angela grinned at that and eagerly reached forward and pressed the button.
She then sprinted over to the window and looked down and watched as the tower turned on fully.
Her warm brown eyes then caught sight of the Iron Man suit a little ways away and she knew her father was able to see the whole tower.
"How does it look?"Ange questioned.
"Like Christmas, but with more me."Tony stated with a small laugh.
This caused Angela to become offended.
"Hey!"Angela shouted."I'm a Stark too!"
"Sorry."Tony apologised sheepishly."More us."
"You gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign."Pepper explained."You need to do some press. I go to DC tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next billboards."
This caused both of the Starks to make a face.
"Pepper, you're killing me."Tony commented."Remember? Enjoy the moment."
"Then get in here and I will."Pepper encouraged slyly.
Angela pretended to gag causing Pepper to sent a playful glare in her direction, making the brunette then giggle at her.
"Levels are holding steady...I think."Pepper reported.
Tony then arrived into the room.
"Of course they are, I was directly involved."Tony admitted.
"Welcome home, dad."Angela praised.
Angela immediately turned her head to Tony's direction and grinned before running over to her father.
Tony smiled at his daughter and hugged her.
"Hey, kiddo."Tony greeted."How was your day?"
"It was good."Angela answered.
"What is it you were doing again?"Tony asked.
"Oh, I was just working on some homework at a cafe down the street."Angela replied."Then I read a few books before practicing my powers a bit."
"Did it include you saying 'Oh magic book, can you make me a candy castle? Sweet candies, delicious chocolates and also marshmallow bunnies!'"Tony replied, waving his hands about like he was casting a spell.
Angela blushed furiously as the awkward memory of her as a nine year old dressed up as a witch while Pepper simply chuckled at her boyfriend's reply.
"No."Ange responded sternly and frowned deeply."And please don't ever mention this outside. This is a family thing."
"Sure thing, kiddo."Tony answered smugly.
Tony placed a kiss on Angela's forehead before going over to Pepper while the brunette mentally sighed in relief as she sat on the sofa.
The brunette wasn't sure how her father would react about her hanging out with the super soldier, so she had been keeping it a secret for now.
If she mentioned a boy, he would go to overprotective mode without hesitation.
"Sounds like fun. Which brings me to my next question, how does it feel to be a genius?"Tony asked as he looked at Ange and then glanced over at Pepper."Both of you."
"Well, I really wouldn't know now, would I?"Pepper asked.
"What do you mean?"Tony asked."All this came from you."
"No."Pepper said as she pointed at the arc reactor in Tony's chest."All this came from that."
"Give yourself some credit, please."Tony sneered."Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself…twelve percent of the credit. And Ange gets like three percent at least."
Angela immediately stood up from the sofa and raised an eyebrow at her father's respond.
"Three percent?!"Angela exclaimed as she put her hands on her hips."Who was the one that came up with the whole idea about using the arc reactor to power the building? Oh yeah, me!"
Tony looked down at the brunette in amusement and chuckled.
"Fine."Tony replied."You can have five percent of the credit."
Angela glared at Tony as he then chuckled and held his hands up.
"I was kidding! You can have forty-four percent of the credit, okay?"Tony requested."That means each of us would get the same amount of credit and Pepper would get twelve percent."
Angela thought for a bit before nodding in approval.
"That will do."Angela chuckled.
Tony then ruffled Angela's hair, making it look a bit more wild while Pepper gave them a look of disbelief.
"12%?"Pepper questioned.
"Come on. Not you too."Tony joked."An argument can be made for 15."
"12%?"Pepper said."My baby?"
"Well, I did do all the heavy lifting. Literally, I lifted the heavy things."Tony admitted smugly."And, sorry, but the security snafu? That was on you."
Pepper gave Tony a look as she walked over to the bar in the room.
"Oooh."Pepper murmured as she poured some champagne on a glass.
"My private elevator."Tony admitted.
"You mean our elevator?"Pepper corrected.
"It was teeming with sweaty workmen."Tony complemented and notice Pepper's annoyed look."I'm going to pay for that comment about percentages in some subtle way later, aren't I?"
Tony then brought out a fizzy apple soda can from the fridge before tossing it to Angela, who caught it before landing back on the sofa.
"It's not going to be that subtle."Tony answered.
Ange opened her soda can and started drinking it.
" I'll tell you what."Tony responded, looking at Pepper."The next building is gonna say "Potts" on the tower."
Angela smirked at Tony and Pepper.
"I don't know."Angela answered smugly."I kind of like the idea of a tower with the big bold words that say 'Ange' on it."
Both Tony and Pepper smirked back at Ange as J.A.R.V.I.S spoke up.
"Sir, the telephone."J.A.R.V.I.S informed."I'm afraid my protocols are being overridden."
Then Agent Coulson's voice filled the room causing Angela to become excited.
"Mr Stark, we need to talk."Agent Coulson declared.
Tony sighed as he went to pick up his phone.
"You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark."Tony declared."Please leave a message."
"This is urgent."Agent Coulson informed.
"Then leave it urgently."Tony replied.
Angela covered her mouth to mute her giggle at her father's actions.
However, at that moment the elevator door opened and it revealed Agent Coulson inside.
"Security breach!"Tony and Angela replied in unison.
The two Starks looked at each other with playful glares.
Tony then looked at Pepper.
"It's on you."Tony admitted.
Agent Coulson then stepped out of the elevator.
"Mr Stark."Agent Coulson declared and gave Angela a smile."Angela."
"Hi, Uncle Phil. I've missed you."Angela responded brightly."Did Natasha send you to get me for training?"
"Agent Romanoff is out right now."Agent Coulson declared."I actually came here to talk to your father."
"Phil!"Pepper said as she stood up and walked over to the agent from S.H.I.E.L.D."Come in!"
"Phil?"Tony questioned."His first name is Agent."
"Or Uncle."Angela sneered.
"Only for you it is."Tony murmured.
"Come on in."Pepper insisted."We're celebrating."
"Which is why he can't stay."Tony retorted.
Ange rolled her eyes while Agent Coulson ignored Tony and held out a file towards him.
"We need you to look this over as soon as possible."Agent Coulson declared.
"I don't like being handed things."Tony admitted with a frown.
"That's fine because I love to be handed things."Pepper said as she handed her glass to champagne to Phil before taking the file from him."So, let's trade."
Pepper then handed the file to Tony before taking his glass of champagne.
Ange, feeling left out, held her fizzy apple soda can, out to Pepper and held her other hand out for the champagne beverage.
"Nice try."Tony muttered.
Angela giggled as Tony simply pushed her back.
"Was worth a shot."Angela said with a shrug.
Tony looked at Agent Coulson.
"Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday."Tony stated.
"This isn't a consultation."Agent Coulson replied.
"Is this about the Avengers?"Angela asked with a hint of curiosity.
"Can't be."Tony responded before looking at Agent Coulson."The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought. And I didn't even qualify."
"Doesn't mean I can't."Angela admitted.
Tony looked at his daughter in amusement.
"And why would you be more qualified than me?"Tony asked.
"Cause I'm amazing, that's why."Angela chuckled.
Pepper rolled her eyes at the two, but couldn't help but smile.
She lightly whacked Tony who sent another playful glare at his daughter.
"Yeah."Tony admitted."Apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed and don't play well with others.
Tony walked off and over to his desk.
"That I did know."Pepper muttered.
"This isn't about personality profiles anymore."Agent Coulson informed.
"Whatever."Tony commented before looking at his girlfriend and daughter."Miss Potts, Ange, got a minute?"
Ange and Pepper walked over to Tony who was putting the files into his own database.
"You know, I thought we were having a little family moment."Tony commented.
"I was having twelve percent of a moment."Pepper responded.
This caused Angela to laugh lightly at Pepper's respond.
"This seems serious."Pepper said as Angela's laugh lowered down in the background."Phil's pretty shaken."
"How did you notice?"Tony asked."Why is he Phil?"
"What is all of this?"Pepper questioned as she looked down at the file.
"This is, uh."Tony started as he held out his arms and Ange watched as a bunch of different holographic profiles appeared in the air."This."
Angela's eyes flickered over all of the people in holographic profiles in awe.
There was Thor with his hammer fighting the Destroyer.
The next guy was the Hulk and Ange couldn't help, but smile at that one.
However, the screen that showed Steve on it had her pausing to look at it.
The brunette watched as a video appeared that had him fighting using his shield.
"I'm going to take the jet to D.C. tonight."Pepper muttered as she looked at all of the profiles in amazement.
"Tomorrow?"Tony guessed.
Pepper shook her head.
"You've got homework."Pepper muttered."You've got a lot of homework."
"Well, what if I didn't?"Tony asked.
Both Ange and Pepper looked over at him.
"If you didn't?"Pepper asked.
"Yeah."Tony responded.
"You mean if you finished?"Pepper questioned and Tony nodded his head."Well, um…then…"
Pepper leaned forward and began whispering in Tony's ear.
Angela looked down as a blush crept on her face while Agent Coulson looked down in embarrassment.
"Ew, you guys!"Angela exclaimed in disgust while the two adults pulled way with a laugh."I'm still here you know!"
Tony looked over at Pepper.
"Square deal."Tony answered."It's the last date."
Pepper smiled and leaned forward to kiss Tony on the lips.
"Word hard."Pepper said before she pulled away and looked over at Angela."You coming with me?"
Angela looked at the stuff in front of her and then at her father before looking at Pepper.
"Actually mum, I'd like to stay with my dad."Angela said as she took a step closer to Tony and grabbed ahold of his arm."If that's okay."
Tony smiled down at his daughter and wrapped his arm around her and gave her a small squeeze.
Pepper smiled at her adopted daughter.
"Of course."Pepper replied kindly."I'll see you both later then."
Ange nodded and hugged Pepper goodbye before she walked out with Agent Coulson.
The brunette turned back to the profiles in front of them and her eyes fell upon a glowing blue cube.
Tony noticed the cube as well before he reached out and held it in his hand.
"What is that?"Angela questioned.
Tony's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he looked at the cube.
"I'm not sure."Tony muttered.
If only the two Starks knew how important that blue cube was.
Then maybe both of them would've been able to realise just how dangerous it was.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter
See you all later and have a lovely day!