Search for the Soul Gem

Chapter Twelve

I tore out of Tony's arms and made my way toward the door that Tony had reappeared from. I figured there had to be a way down from there.

"Lucy! Wait!" Tony shouted after me as I took off. I made it to the door and pushed it open. The hallway I emerged into was like the one I'd taken earlier get into the party. It was short and led to an elevator. A door was set into the wall next to the elevator and I assumed it led to the stairs. Without a second thought, I hurtled through the door and down the stairs. I was already down half the flight of stairs and turning to complete the flight when the door flew open again.

"Luc-stop!" Tony yelled frantic after me.

"Doctor!" James called from somewhere behind Tony.

"Dr. Scaffer, stop!" Steve's voice joined the cacophony at the top of the stairs. I glanced up through the space between the stairs and saw the heroes following me down the stairs. There was a chorus of shouts and calls from behind me as the others tried to figure out what was happening. I rounded the last turn and found a door with the number 95 stay painted in thick, black paint. I pushed the bar in and continued running. Before the door could latch, Tony flew through it. There was no way for me to out run him on a flat surface but all I needed to do was get into the lab.

As I ran by the long windows, I could already tell there was a problem, I pushed the glass door open in a grand gesture and tore though the lab. I dodged around the long tables and chairs trying to make my way to the room where Banner and I'd been working.

"Lucy, sweetheart, stop!" Tony pleaded from behind me as I made a sharp turn around a table. I heard him skid into a chair with a slight hiss of pain. The glass doors were pushed open as the rest of the heroes entered the lab. I neared the enclosed room where all my work was left and felt the panic inside me come to a head. Suddenly, my movement was halted deliberately as two powerful arms wrapped around my waist, "Sweetheart wait, the ground is covered in glass. You'll shred your feet," he hummed in my ear as he continued to hold me tight. I kicked my feet and pulled at his arms in a futile attempt to free myself.

"Let me go! Put me down! All my work, it's ruined. Anthony Stark, you put me down!" I screamed, trying to keep from crying while looking at my destroyed work. The glass door and wall was smashed and glass littered the floor in front and inside the room. I couldn't see the extent of the damage from where I was but I could tell it was bad.

"Lucy," Tony started desperately. I managed to wrench myself from him violently and took a cautious step forward. The rest of the Avengers arrived behind me but I was too concerned about crossing the glass. My feet crossed the glass lightly, feeling the glass cut into my feet. Once the sea of glass was crossed, I fell to my knees on the ground. All the tablets that I'd found were now in pieces all over the floor. I wasn't sure which pieces went together and which didn't. I tried desperately to regain the ability to breathe as I reached out to grab a piece of the tablet.

"Lucy-" Banner's voice cracked.

"What happened," I demanded quietly without turning to face them.

"Luc-" James started.

"What happened!" I hissed, turning finally. They all stood around the shattered doorway not sure what to do. Each was armed with their own weapon: Steve had his shield, Tony's hand was sheathed in one of his Iron Man gloves, Clint's bow was poised with an arrow latched already, Thor's hammer was was gripped in his hand, and James, Natasha, and Maria all had guns cocked in this hands. They were all looking over at me with different emotions in their eyes. My eyes searched for Tony's as I waited for my answer.

"I-I don't know," Tony stuttered. I growled in annoyance as I turned from him and back to the broken pieces on the floor behind me. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked up at the Carbon Dater that now had dents in it like someone had taken a bat to it. The jars of sand that I had been meaning to test was smashed and scattered all over the floor. The pot that I'd spent all day putting back together was in pieces on the table. The glass crunched as someone crossed it to kneel down next to me.