Hiya everyone! To new readers, welcome! And to my lovely followers, welcome back! Thank you for coming to my little corner of the internet and giving my story a go :D
This is a rewritten version of an old story of mine, A Heaven From Hell's Despair. Not to go too into it, since I've done that in an Author's Note on the story itself, but that story was very flawed and problematic. You don't have to know the other story to get this one, and honestly I don't recommend reading it if you haven't already. For those who knew and loved the original, I'm leaving it up in favor of posting an entirely new version. I'm changing a decent amount in the updated version though, and expounding on a lot more. This version is going to be a lot closer to my original concept of the story I wanted to make back when I was 15, but didn't really have the ability/forethought to pull off at the time. I already have the entire story roughly plotted out, and it's shaping up to be just shy 40 chapters, which is almost double what the original version was. As the chapters actually get written, things may end up getting adjusted. We'll see what we end up with in the end :)
Some notes before starting this story though:
For any new readers, the original version of this story was started waaaayyyy back in 2013, almost a full ten years ago now, so there will be some deviation from the MCU we all know and love. This concept came into being back in the shiny happy days where we all just assumed from the ending of The Avengers that everyone was going to just move into Stark Tower, which would become Avengers Tower. Ah, to be back in the days where all we had to worry about was Thor's poptart obsession, and Clint going everywhere by vent. This story is going to be bringing back some of that. More than anything, this is more of a found family story.
Basically consider this to be canon up until the end of The Avengers, and then it deviates into this universe, which will mix in some MCU and Marvel Comics stuff. As of right now for example Hawkeye doesn't have a secret wife and kids, and he uses hearing aids (I haven't seen the Hawkeye tv show yet, but I heard that they're actually finally touching on this, which is really cool). I might even bring The Defenders into this eventually, if I see a natural way of doing it.
Also, just a little FYI: In this story, Bella's middle name has been changed from Marie to Maria, so it fits with the name of Tony's mother, Maria Stark.
In general, you'll find that I use pictures of Olivia Thirlby in my portrayal of Bella across the my stories. Nothing against Kristen Stewart whatsoever, I've just found that Thirlby matches the vibe for my versions of Bella much better than Stewart.
Anyways, I think that's it. Apologies for the long author's note. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think!
A New Heaven From Hell's Despair
Chapter 1: Despair
Charlie Swan's coffin was simple and unadorned. Just a plain black box. Charlie had preferred things that way, in both life and death, but Bella wanted to scream every time she saw it. That simple coffin contained the best father anyone could've ever hoped for. The plain black wood did nothing to convey the greatness of the man it carried. Bella was sure that if Edward were here now, her scent would be so overcome with her pain and sorrow that he wouldn't get so much as a whiff of the scent that had tempted him so. She almost wished for the burn of Vampire venom now, it was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her chest.
It had been months since that day in the woods. The day Edward Cullen had left her without so much as a backwards glance, and brought Bella's life crashing down around her ears. It was an old wound now. One that would definitely ache when poked at, his hateful words still ringing in her ears from time to time. Still though, Bella had been able to pull herself back together with the help of her friends and father. And now here she was again, lost and alone once more with the shambles of her life in a heaping ruin around her.
Leah and Seth Clearwater stood a little to her right. Leah was holding her little brother in her arms as he cried, looking on at the other coffin next to Charlie's. Sue Clearwater's coffin. Leah did nothing to hide her own tears streaming down her face as she looked down at her mother's coffin. Jacob Black stood behind Leah, a comforting hand on her shoulder as the orphaned Clearwater kids cried for their mother. Bella wasn't crying anymore. She had cried so much recently, that she couldn't bring herself to right now. Instead she was trying not to glower at the woman to her left, as Renee Dwyer perfectly acted out the sorrow one would feel at the loss of an ex-husband. Two faced, deceiving murderess that she was.
Bella figured out too late the true depths of Renee -not her mother, never again her mother- and her insanity. Not until Charlie had finally found love again with Sue. How Renee had managed to quite literally get away with murder, Bella had no clue. Renee had always had friends willing to lie for her so she could get her way in life, but to provide her with an alibi for a double homicide was far more than Bella had thought possible. The investigation had cleared her a little too quickly, but there was little she could do to prove otherwise.
Renee had killed Charlie and Sue, and she was going to get away with it.
Bella's mouth filled with bile at the thought. What could she do though? She had begged the police to take a deeper look. It had been out of the Forks PD's hands though. The whole investigation had been handled by some higher ups from Seattle, believing that Forks PD were too close to the case. They had barely even talked to Renee before clearing her, believing her story of not even being in town when the deaths had taken place. Idiots, all of them, she thought harshly as what felt like all of Forks and La Push combined queued up to offer these three lost children their condolences, all concerned about a potential killer, and not one of them knowing or believing that the killer was right in front of their noses. No one except The Pack had believed Bella after the deaths, when Bella had told everyone she could that it had been Renee, that she had seen the woman here, not in Florida like she was supposed to have been.
"You don't understand!" She had cried. "She came to visit, to bring me back to Jacksonville!"
"You have to admit, you haven't exactly been the most reliable source lately Bella."
"Were you off in the woods again?"
"Poor thing is just in shock, seeing things. You know how she's been lately."
Finally, finally the line had dwindled. The townsfolk had just started leaving to go back to their homes to gossip or grieve, and the rest of the pack headed back towards the Reservation. Bella caught Sam giving Jacob and the Clearwaters a stern look, as if reinforcing some previous order he had given his Betas. Probably to not kill Renee because she was still only human, which went against the Pack's code. Finally, the only ones left were Bella, Seth, Leah, Jacob, and Renee. The evil woman put what was supposed to be a supportive motherly arm around her daughter, who barely kept back a shudder at the touch.
"You'll love Jacksonville, Bella." Renee exclaimed enthusiastically, like she hadn't just buried the father of her child. "It's always so warm and sunny. We'll go back to that old house and get you all packed up."
"Actually," Leah interjected with a scowl. "Bella's coming home with us tonight." Renee looked taken aback for a moment, before an ugly frown crossed her features.
"Don't presume to tell me what to do with my daughter, little girl. Bella needs her mother right now." A savage growl ground out from deep in Leah's chest, mirrored moments later in Jacob, who stepped forward to Leah's side. Good, Bella thought with grim satisfaction. Let the wolves tear her apart. Seth, on the other hand, had a different idea.
"Please forgive my sister, Mrs. Dwyer." He said respectfully, taking a small step forward so he was between Leah and Renee. "We've just all been through a lot the past couple days, and we really would feel better if Bella stayed with us tonight. So we could kinda say our last goodbyes together, ya know?" He flashed Renee his best puppy dog eyes, proving to be a better actor than the rest of them combined as Renee caved, knowing that there was no way she could deny the teenage boy's request without seeming suspicious to the few remaining townsfolk looking on from afar. She grimaced, looking at Bella.
"I'll go back to the house then, dear." Renee informed her with a falsely loving smile. "I'll start getting things together."
It sounded like a threat.
Renee walked away, leaving Jacob and the Clearwater siblings to steer Bella away from the graveyard. Jake's arm was heavy and reassuring as he started to lead her towards his car, but she shook it off nonetheless. Turning back, Bella dropped to her knees in front of the grave. Her fingers dug into the freshly turned earth, and a few tears managed to slip out after all as she took in the engraved headstone in front of her.
Charles Swan
Beloved Father and Friend
"If you are going through Hell, keep going."
She hadn't picked the quote. She could only assume Charlie had. As a police officer, even for such a small town, he had to have been prepared, in case the unthinkable occurred. Why Charlie had picked such a quote was beyond Bella, but it rang clearly in her mind. Her tears stopped as suddenly as they had restarted, and Bella took a deep, shuddering breath as she placed a hand on the headstone.
"I'm going to make this right, Dad. I promise I will make sure that you're avenged."
The car was quiet the entire ride. Jacob didn't go to the Clearwater house, or his own. Instead he went directly to Sam and Emily's home, where the pack had already gathered. Bella could hear raised voices as they pulled into the driveway, and through the window, she could see Paul and Embry facing each other and yelling. Jared and Quil were holding Paul back as the hothead seemed to be screaming at the top of his lungs as his entire body trembled, as if the two boys were trying to force Paul to keep from shifting. As they approached, Paul let out another violent shudder and went limp as Sam entered their line of sight, a firm glare fixed on Paul. Jake immediately was out of the car and up at the door to the house before Bella could even finish unbuckling her seatbelt.
"What's going on?" She demanded.
"Everyone's still debating on if we should kill Renee for what she did to Sue and Charlie." Leah frowned as her brother hopped out of the back seat. "Sam's ruled that we avoid confrontation since she's human. Old rules and all."
"I wish you all would." Bella mumbled under her breath as Seth came around to help her out of the car. She had only a small overnight bag that she had opted to fill with small, precious items from her life with Charlie rather than clothes. She wouldn't be going back to that house, and there had been some things she just couldn't leave behind. She wasn't exactly heartbroken to leave behind the clothes Alice had bought her either, when it came down to it.
"Nah, you don't really mean that Bells. At the end of the day, that's still your mother." Seth objected softly, helping her out of the car.
"Don't tell me what I do and don't mean, Seth." Bella snapped in return, shrugging off the offered arm fiercely. A moment later she felt a little bad about snapping at Seth, but the boy hadn't seemed offended. She supposed he was used to it from Leah, who had been especially snippy for a long while after Harry had died. Not that it made it okay. Nothing was okay right now.
The room was quiet by the time Bella entered the house. Emily, who had been in the corner outside of her view from the window, beelined for Bella the moment she walked through the door. She immediately opened her arms for her and wrapped her in a warm, but slightly awkward hug. The baby bump Emily was sporting seemed to grow every time Bella saw her, and at this point it was a marvel to her that her friend was still able to move as easily as she was. Emily had been the softest form of comfort Bella had experienced in her whole time living in Forks, perhaps even her life. Charlie, while loving, had always been awkward. Renee had been too self involved to ever comfort her daughter, and Uncle Tony had normally excelled in the art of somehow just distracting Bella from her troubles while subtly taking care of the problem behind the scenes.
Emily didn't bother asking Bella if she was alright, or how she was doing. None of them did, they already knew what the answer would be. Emily simply led Bella to one of the many mismatched oversized armchairs, and the pack somberly gathered around them. Collapsing into chairs, the large overstuffed couch, or even grabbing blankets and pillows and settling on the floor. Seth hadn't lied to Renee when he had said that tonight was their final farewell to Bella before she left. It was just that she wouldn't be leaving to go to Jacksonville with Renee. All the arrangements had already been made. She had written a note that one of the wolves would pin to the front door later for Renee to find, leaving a false trail should her one-time mother try to find her. She had played up the pain of losing Charlie as well as the Cullens leaving, claiming that she was going to travel Europe to try to forget. Tony had suggested that bit when they were making her escape plan, considering that would leave Renee without much of a starting point in her search and give Bella plenty of time to get herself settled and safe before her mother came calling. Renee wasn't stupid enough to challenge Tony Stark's security, and Bella was eighteen after all.
Tomorrow morning was too late. Bella was sure that Renee wouldn't let her slip past again like she had today. The woman would probably show up at the Clearwaters, and then shortly after the Uley house first thing in the morning. So Bella would leave late tonight, with nothing but the clothes on her back and her small bag of keepsakes. For now though, she was with her friends. Everyone had kind of circled themselves around Bella. Jake and Leah were curled up together at the foot of Bella's overly large chair, and Seth had carefully wedged himself into the chair with Bella. Sam ordered pizza, and Emily passed around extra blankets and bowls of popcorn and chips.
"I'm gonna miss you Bells." Seth admitted softly as he curled up with her, snagging a bowl of spicy Doritos from Emily and settling it between them. "You're family, you know?" She did know. When Charlie and Sue had started dating, Bella had made an effort to spend more time with the Clearwater kids. Seth had very quickly become the little brother Bella had never had nor asked for, but she was grateful for him nonetheless. They had been endlessly amused together watching the slow growing attraction form between Leah and Jake as he more and more frequently crashed their "family get togethers" and they had positively howled with laughter when they realized that they had imprinted on each other without even realizing.
"We all will." Emily added, stooping slightly to press a light kiss to the crown of Bella's head. "We understand why you have to go, though."
"We really do." Sam agreed, following around his pregnant mate, desperately trying and failing from getting her to not carry too much. "You're always welcome on the Rez." Despite having cried what felt like all the tears she ever could cry again both before and after the funeral, Bella felt the telltale pinpricks behind her eyes as the rest of the pack enthusiastically agreed. She would miss this, she realized. She would miss them. Even Paul, who had antagonized her from the very beginning. She wondered when she had gone from Vampire Girl to an extended member of the Pack, when this house had become like another home to her in the months since Edward Cullen had left her and taken his family with him. She couldn't stay though. The Wolves may be able to handle Renee if she were to try something, but Bella would never be able to find peace with herself here. There was too much history.
She could only hope that things would be better in New York.
It was well past two in the morning when they were interrupted by the sound of the car pulling into the driveway. They had spent hours just spending time together and talking, getting ready to say their goodbyes.
"I'm worried about you Bells. You sure you're going to be safe in New York?" Jake had questioned as he absently rubbed his arm up and down Leah's back as she leaned on him. "They literally had an alien invasion there earlier this year."
"Of course." Bella replied easily, munching on a Redvine. "As safe as I possibly can be. I'm going to be staying with family."
"Right, the mysterious "family" that you've never mentioned before, and Charlie never so much as hinted at to my dad. I asked him Bells. He had no idea what I was talking about." Jake frowned, eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"We've always tried to keep it on the down-low Jake. I told you that."
"What, are you related to one of the Avengers or something?" Paul chuckled at the idea, the other wolves joining in at the idea. Leave it to Paul to be the smartass.
"Not exactly related, per se." Bella admitted, breaking out into a small grin as the chuckles coming from all around transformed into dumbfounded looks. "I only call him my uncle. He's actually my godfather." There was a beat of silence as everyone took in that information.
"Wait, you're serious?" Jake exclaimed, and Bella only nodded. "Which one?"
"I think we're about to find out." Sam remarked as all of the wolves suddenly perked up as the crunch of gravel hit their ears. Car doors open and shut, and there was a moment of quiet.
"It's not Renee." Jake confirmed, everyone listening closely. "Two men."
"That's him, then." Bella said as she hastily scrambled to get out of her chair. Her limbs popped and ached after hours of being curled up, and as she made to move she found her legs tangled in the nest of blankets. Leah prevented a particularly ungraceful faceplant in progress with a steadying arm around her shoulders. Easily, the young woman hauled Bella out of the mess and towards the entryway, and Bella was just reaching the door as the knock sounded from the other side.
"Hang on." Jake interjected from her other side as Bella was about to pull the door open. "Let me, just in case." Bella was beyond caring at that point though, and the dam had fully broken on her tears as she threw the door open and launched herself into the waiting arms of her godfather, Tony Stark.
"Woah, easy there Princess. You're gonna knock me off the porch at this rate." He commented easily as he caught her like he was expecting her attack, wrapping both arms around her tightly. Safe. She was safe now.
"Uncle Tony." Bella sobbed into his shirt as he patted her back, only encouraging her to bury her face even deeper into his chest and sob even harder. It was harder to do this with him now than when she was younger, due to the arc reactor. It poked uncomfortably into her neck, but she ignored it in favor of the comfort Tony provided.
"I know, kiddo, I know." He whispered softly, so only she could hear, not making to back off in the slightest. He moved from patting to rubbing soothing circles into his goddaughter's back, which seemed to do the trick in starting to calm her down. "I'm so sorry Princess. Everything's going to be okay, I promise." Eventually, Bella felt herself calm enough to poke her head back out. Her eyes immediately locked with the other man that was with them, and she cast a watery smile at the kind familiar face.
"Hey Happy." She greeted quietly, not yet ready to let go of Tony, who was still holding onto her comfortably with little intention of letting go until she was ready for him to. Happy grinned at her, eyes full with sympathy.
"Hey kiddo, you holding up?" She shrugged with her free shoulder in a noncommittal, so-so gesture, and he nodded understandingly. Bella finally let go of Tony, who took a small step away, running a hand down his now ruffled shirt.
"Well Princess, now that you've kindly watered all over me, shall we?"
"Hang on, let me just get my bag and say goodbye." She turned to look at the pack, who had all gathered just inside the door. Emily was holding her bag, and she stepped forward to hand it to Bella while the rest looked on in apparent shock at seeing Tony Stark on the porch. Bella took the bag from Emily, and pulled her into one last hug.
"Have a safe trip Bella, you'll call us when you get there safely?" Emily requested with one last squeezed.
"Of course." She promised. Jake yanked her into his arms then.
"Don't be a stranger, Loca. Or else I'll be forced to head to New York to knock some sense into you." Bella grinned half heartedly at him, the smile not quite reaching her eyes.
"Like to see you try." She joked weakly, before moving on to the next. It continued like that for the whole pack. Hugs from most, a warm handshake from Sam, even an awkward nod and shoulder pat from Paul. Tony and Happy waited by the door, Tony entertaining the others' many questions as Happy carefully and continually scanned their surroundings for signs of a threat. Before she knew it, she was in the sleek car rental, with the entire pack outside waving to her as they pulled out. Bella was quiet as she waved back. The hole in her heart grew ever so slightly as they disappeared from her sight, even as it also started to fill by having Tony around.
Yes, she really, really would miss them all.
The car remained quiet for a good long while after they left the Reservation. They were heading to the Port Angeles airport, she was sure. Tony, while normally animated, let Bella wallow in her silence for a while. Almost an hour into the car ride, he finally spoke up.
"I'm sorry I missed the funeral."
"You had stuff to deal with. Besides, that would be a hell of a way to tell the world that you and dad were close." Charlie had met Tony during his wild college days. Howard had insisted Tony live with roommates to teach him humility or something like, and had thought steadfast Charlie would temper his wild son. That idea had backfired on him though, as Tony had quickly recruited Charlie into his wild schemes. The pair had been thick as thieves within a week, and it had actually been at one of Tony's parties that Charlie had met Renee.
"Rhodey was upset he missed it too." Col. Rhodes had been Charlie's other best friend, and had often affectionately referred to both men as his brothers. While both of his friends had gone on to greatness, Tony with Stark Industries, and Rhodey with his military career, Charlie had been content to settle down to a quiet life with his wife and daughter. Tony and Rhodey had agreed to keep their friendships with Tony on he down low, since he hadn't wanted his life to be subject to the outside world as the other two were. For all the good that it did him in the end. Divorced, with his kid across the country for years, and then finally murdered by his own ex-wife for having the audacity to get over her. At Bella's lack of response, Tony probed again.
"So, miss broody, dark, and beautiful, you seem to be leaving your fair share of broken hearts back here in Washington." Bella laughed bitterly at the thought.
"Ask anyone in Forks Tony, I'm the one with the broken heart." Tony didn't move, but something about the air around him seemed to snap into high alert at that, and Bella could almost taste Happy listening intently.
"Charlie had mentioned something about the fact that you had been seeing a guy. Edwin, wasn't it? Did it end badly? Kind of douchey to dump a girl when her father just died."
"Edward." Bella corrected, taking a deep breath. "And it was a while ago."
"Edward? As in Edward Cullen?" Tony reeled, fury sparking across his face. "I'll beat his bitch ass so hard he'll end up back in the stone ages before Pepper even has the chance to hold me back!"
"You wouldn't be able to anyways." Bella muttered, before it hit her. "Wait, how do you know his last name?" Tony caught that first part, and eyed her appraisingly.
"So you know that he's a Vampire, then? Good, that'll make explaining shit easier. For the record though, I totally could beat his ass. I have Vampire grade weaponry on the Armor." He gestured to his feet, where a red and gold briefcase was carefully placed to be easily accessible. "SHIELD's known about vamps for ages. There's some kind of peace agreement with the World Security Council and the Volturi. Nasty bunch. We ran afoul of them a couple months ago. The Cullens are on SHIELD's list of known Vampires in America."
"And how do you know all this?" Bella asked, though she had a feeling that she knew the answer.
"Hacked SHIELD after we ran into Volturi." Tony replied easily. "There was a rogue that was causing a bunch of trouble in New York and threatened exposure. We had a whole team up and everything, before those assholes threatened us too."
"We're here." Happy announced as they arrived at the airport. He had pulled right up to the gate that Tony's private jet was on while they were talking. Tony got out of the car and guided Bella right on in as Happy dealt with the details of returning the car, and making sure that their presence here remained secret. Tony immediately made for the private bar that he had installed, and poured out two glasses of amber liquid. He immediately knocked one back, refilled it, and then came back and handed Bella the unused glass. Bella hesitated, and Tony rolled his eyes.
"Just take it, you little goody-two-shoes you. I won't tell anyone." Bella took it then, and took a small, tentative sip as Tony settled comfortably into the seat across from hers. It burned, but otherwise wasn't bad. She could even see herself liking it once she got used to it. "So, you probably know that it won't exactly be just you, me, Pepper and Happy at the Tower." Bella nodded.
"Yeah, it was everywhere when The Avengers decided to all move in with you." She recalled. She had been at school when the Chitauri invaded. She had never been more grateful for her silent mind that day as she saw the news broadcast of her godfather flying a nuke into an alien wormhole. Edward had been so livid that she hadn't told him what she was thinking, like she usually did. He had even skipped sneaking into her room that night.
"Right. So you should probably get to know what you're getting yourself into a bit better." Tony clicked a small remote, and the table in between their seats glowed blue. "So, in the months since the Chitauri Invasion, all manner of weirdos have been crawling from the woodwork, both villains and heroes. New York has kinda become a hotspot for them. That's why we all decided to set up shop there. We're not the only ones, either." News clips of various villain, mutant, and alien sightings moved across her vision, with clips of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four fighting them.
"Yeah, I know. I've been keeping up with the news" She shrugged, while Tony stayed uncharacteristically stern.
"What you don't know is that things aren't always all hunky dory at the tower, Princess. We live together because it makes the most sense to, but things can get kind of strained. You're absolutely one hundred percent safe there, but you might end up seeing someā¦let's call it "high intensity disagreements".
"You guys are fighting?" Bella asked, shocked.
"Sometimes." Tony shrugged. "And sometimes it's just especially intense arguments. A lot of these guys don't exactly know how to, well, people anymore. Or at all." He clicked the remote again, and an image of a large blonde man in armor and wielding a warhammer came into view. "For example, Thor here is a literal alien that inspired the Norse mythology deity. He once got into a literal fistfight with Barton when he ate the last poptart. He's really a big softie though, you'll like him. Just tell him when he's doing something wrong and he'll probably apologize and never do it again." Bella studied the face of the blond alien. Something about his eyes and grin reminded her of Emmett, and she was simultaneously comforted and struck with a new chord of heartache at the thought.
"There's six of you, right?" She asked to distract herself, thinking of everything that she had seen on the news. Happy came in then, and the pilot started preparing for takeoff.
"Yeah. Up next is Dr. Bruce Banner. Codename is The Hulk." Tony brought up the next image. On one side was a smaller, kind of mousy looking man with wild, dark hair and olive skin. On the other side was a giant green version of the unassuming scientist. The Hulk was an apt codename. The only word Bella could assign to the massive man was positively hulking. "Bruce is a good sort. A little quiet most of the time. Breathtaking anger management issues though. Spends most of his time in his quarters when he's not down in the workshop with me."
"You let him in the workshop?" Bella asked, dumbfounded. Tony had always been selective about those he let into his workspace. Especially after that incident with Obadiah Stane. She had never liked the man, he had even frightened her as a little one, but for Tony to let someone else outside of their immediate family group as often as he was implying showed that Tony liked and trusted this Dr. Banner more than he was letting on.
"Like I said, he's a good guy." Tony dismissed with an absent wave of the hand holding the remote. The picture shifted again to another teammate, this one another brunette man, this one holding a bow and arrow. "That's our Hawkass, Clint Barton. I've seen him snipe skittles out of the air at a hundred yards just because he was bored. He's a bit of a prankster, I'd take anything he tells you with a grain of salt. He also has a weird fascination with traveling throughout the tower via the air vents. I've tried telling him to stop, but he just turns off his hearing aids whenever I get going. Obviously the next logical step is going to be booby trapping them, which I'm going to be setting up later this week."
"I'm pretty sure booby trapping the vents isn't the next logical step for most people." She observed blandly. "Also pretty sure his codename is Hawkeye. A lot of boys back in Forks are obsessed with him."
"We aren't most people kiddo. You'll figure that out pretty quickly." He brought up the next image, a vibrantly redheaded woman this time. She seemed to hold herself with an easy confidence that Bella downright envied. "This is Natasha Romanoff, our scary spider assassin lady. We don't have much on her, and when I say don't we have much on her, I mean she's absolutely erased most of where she came from. I spent days trying to get a beat on her past. I wouldn't go out of your way to piss her off, but she's pretty closed off most of the time. Hangs around Barton a lot. Not to mention you're all nice and shit. I doubt you'll have any issues with her." Bella sat further back in her chair, trying to process all of the new information at once.
"So, Thor and Bruce are fine, don't trust anything Clint says, and avoid pissing off Natasha at all costs. What about the last one?" Tony grimaced before bringing up the last profile.
"Captain America, aka Steve Rogers. The Star Spangled Man With a Plan himself. Bit hung up on his 40s mentality if you ask me, but he'll be polite enough to you. He's a bit of a boy scout." Bella looked at the image of Captain Rogers, and she felt her stomach swoop as the jet finally took off. He was handsome, she noted, in a very classic way. Blond hair, blue eyes, strong jaw. He was clad in red, white and blue, and on his arm was a round shield with a white star in the center. He was like a walking American flag. Bella also noted that Tony had referred to him as his codename first, before his real name. As if the man was second to the myth.
"Hold up, you said this is the actual Captain America? From World War Two?" She asked when the plane leveled off and Bella no longer felt her stomach turning into knots.
"Yeah, SHIELD found him frozen in the plane he crashed last year and thawed him out. Personally, I think things might've been easier if they left him as a Capsicle. He certainly would've been less of a thorn in my side at least."
"That must be really hard on him." Bella reflected. "To be suddenly thrown so far into the future with no warning." Tony snorted, and Bella suddenly remembered something. "Didn't you used to collect his trading cards?" She recalled. "I'm pretty sure you had a vintage collection of his trading cards. And action figures too. I remember playing with them whenever I visited you when I was little." Tony stood then, giving her a stern but otherwise mild glower.
"You shall never speak of that again, Isabella, or I swear on my suit I will somehow ground your eighteen year old ass until kingdom come, you hear me?" He said severely, pointing a dramatic finger in her direction. "If anyone hears about that shit, they will literally never let me hear the end of it. Besides, I sold those cards to Agent Agent, and I don't want him finding out about that shit."
"Alright boss, she gets it. Now would you sit down while you're on the moving airplane?" Happy rolled his eyes at his boss. "I don't think you want your goddaughter to see you eat shit if we hit any turbulence."
"Like the jet would have the nerve to hit any turbulence with me on board." Tony rolled his eyes right back at Happy, who only facepalmed. "You should get some sleep Bells. We've got about a five hour trip ahead of us, and it'll be morning when we arrive in New York."
"I don't think I can." She admitted, the momentary distraction of Tony's little lesson on the Avengers slinking away and leaving that hollow feeling in her chest all the stronger. "I haven't been able to sleep for days."
"All the more reason why you should now." Tony countered. "Finish up your drink. With your newbie's tolerance that should put you right out in no time." Bella hesitated, unsure. Her body was crying out for sleep at this point, she probably didn't even need the drink to knock her out, but she was worried about what she would see if she closed her eyes. Tony of course picked up on her hesitation, and his eyes softened as he reached out and took her hands in his. "For what it's worth kiddo, if I could take your pain away, I would. Unfortunately the best I can give you is me and my unhealthy coping mechanisms right now, but Charlie trusted me to take care of you if anything happened to him, and I swear that I will do my best for you princess." Tony promised, letting go of her hands and moving so he was in the seat next to her instead of across. He pulled her into his side, and she positively melted into him, laying her head wearily on his shoulder. "I know you feel like hell right now kid, and shit has gotten complicated where it should've been straightforward for you. It'll get better though Princess, I promise." He murmured softly as he rubbed his hand up and down her arm in a soothing motion. "But for now kiddo, you need to rest. I'll wake you up when we get to New York."
"I know you will, Uncle Tony." Bella gave a little yawn, allowing her eyes to flutter shut. "Life's never straightforward, even when it should be. Living with superheroes I guess it'll be even less so." She allowed her eyes to flutter shut, and let the rich darkness of sleep overtake her for the first time in days. "I just hope things end up okay in the end."
"Me too, Princess." Tony agreed, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead as she drifted off. "Me too."
