I'm lying to you // Natasha Romanoff x OC Odindottir

Chapter 25 - Tin Can

Hyra's pov

"What is it, Tony?" I walk swiftly into his lab, immediately noticing the horrific mess of tools, paper and intricate gadgets sprawled on every inch of every surface across the room.

"Oh, Cyrus!" his head shoots up from where he was peering down at a set of minuscule wires, "Yes, I just wanted to ask how you were."

"I'm ok, seeing as I was completely out of it only an hour ago," I smile, curiously picking up a luminescent contraption the size of a matchbox, "And I can't imagine any of us are exactly in perfect health."

He pauses, quietly setting down his tools and wheeling over to me on his chair, "That's what a totally not ok person would say, don't you think?"

"But I am, Tony, don't worry," I fiddle with a small panel on the box absentmindedly, shifting from foot to foot under the billionaire's concerned gaze, "It's just been a stressful few months and- *TWANG*"

Part of the contraption flies off, pinging around the lab like an excited firework before settling on the far desk in a plume of iridescent smoke. Both of us looks to each other immediately as I guiltily place the remainders of the box down on side carefully. Despite his mildly irritated expression, I can see the tensing of a smile in his cheeks fighting to show.

"Where were you, these past months then, huh?" he asks after a moment, clearing the mess I had made into a near-full draw beneath the countertop.

"Looking for the Sceptre, just like you," I admit, after a hard time's thought, "but instead of wanting it to keep it from HYDRA, I wanted it to... to track Loki."

His expression softens almost immediately, turning his body to fully face me, "But Thor says that they're... gone."

I'm grateful for his careful wording, yet my recent revelation makes it seem almost ironic. I nod and begin pacing across the room in thought after finding simply standing too awkward. Should I tell him, or any of them? Or should I wait and investigate it further myself? The latter seems more kind if things go south or nowhere at all.

"I know, it was just an inclination, that's all," Tony seems unconvinced by my pass off, yet simply smiles.

"...Right, well, we've both got a party to prepare for," the billionaire's tone shifts to the one which so many more people are familiar with, "and I'll get my Iron Legion to kidnap you if you try to run away from it."

I slowly walk to the exit, hands raised in surrender. With a sarcastic smirk, I use my magic to open the door, "Oh, I wouldn't dream of it, Tin Can."

As the door slide shut behind me, I'm suddenly alone in the corridor. A cold sweat beads in a glimmering sheet on my forehead, prickling my senses with doubt. Should I even be here? Should I-

"Um, Miss Odindottir, are you feeling alright?" the awkward voice of Bruce Banner asks from behind me. Suddenly being shaken from my sickly daze, I push myself off the wall and muster up a reassuring smile.

"Probably just dehydration, that's all," I dismiss him with a wave and light laugh.

"I'm not just saying this as a doctor, but I need you to be careful," he insists, his voice become notably more serious, "We can't have you fainting in the field."