"Tragic about all those hurricane victims, don't you think?"
Tony's eyes flicked up from his work station quickly, then back down.
"Better a hurricane than another alien invasion or super-bot, don't you think?"
"Tony!" Piper let out an exasperated sigh. "If I remember correctly, you made the super-bot."
"Exactly," Tony nodded, not looking up. "That was a completely human error. There's nobody to blame a hurricane on. Makes' people feel better about humanity."
Piper pulled a face. She crossed the living room of their massive penthouse atop Stark Tower, moving behind Tony at his work station and rubbing his shoulders.
"A tragedy is a tragedy, Tony. We should organize a banquet or something. To raise money for those who were killed. Build back some public trust."
"The public don't want to hear from me, Pep." Tony sighed, shutting down his work station and giving up on the suit modifications for now. "They especially don't want to see me ponying for attention after what happened in Sokovia and using hurricane survivors to do it. Some anonymous donations would be better."
Vaguely, Tony could make out a quiet whirr heading in their direction. He frowned, moving away from Pepper and further into the living room towards the windows.
"I'm just saying that you can't hide up here forever, and this may be the opportunity you've been looking for to-"
"I'm..." Tony held up a finger, his eyes glued on the landing pad outside the window. "I'm gonna stop you real quick, did you order pizza?"
Pepper stepped towards him, watching as a large black jet lowered itself onto the platform. The blinking red lights bounced off of her face, her brow furrowed.
"I thought that the SHIELD jets were confiscated as evidence?"
"Stay here."
Tony strode over to the door and pulled it open, stepping out into the still New York night, the cold biting at his skin. The ramp on the jet lowered. Tony cupped his hands around his mouth.
"You're trespassing here. Governor Cuomo's building is a few blocks down south, people mix us up all the time. You need to leave."
At the top of the ramp, the familiar frame of a tall, muscular man appeared, the red landing lights bouncing off of his perfectly quaffed blonde hair. He raised two fingers in greeting.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Tony grumbled. He rubbed his eyes. "Hey, Steve, good to see you buddy. You know we have a welcome lobby for a reason, right?"
Behind Steve came Natasha, and behind Natasha was a middle-aged unfamiliar blonde woman with an unpleasant look on her face. She carried a small briefcase. Tony zeroed in on her, and as she pushed her glasses up her nose, he noticed the scars that covered her hands.
"Sorry if I'm forgetting, but did I arrange a slumber party? If so I'm afraid it's a bad time, Pep and I had a long night planned-"
"It's not a bad time at all," Tony winced as he heard Peppers voice behind him. "Steve, Natasha, it's so good to see you both."
"Pepper," Steve gave her a warm smile. "Good to see you too."
"I'm afraid that we're not just here to catch up," Natasha pitched in, her face much more somber than Steves. The captains' smile dropped. "Tony, Pepper, this is Special Agent Enola Haze."
"From what agency?" Tony narrowed his eyes at the woman, but she did not falter under his intimidating glare. She stared back.
"I'm here on the behalf of the World Security Council. Mr. Stark, I'm afraid that there may be an issue in need of some...oversight, if you will, from people who are more equipped than your average National Guardsman."
YOU ARE READING
SURVIVE ➤ BUCKY BARNES
Fanfiction"i think of you-" "think of me?" August had never identified as a hero. She had never chosen to do what she did. Spending her entire life as a pawn in somebody else's wretched game. She was whatever they made her - a hero, a...
