Answering To Eternity [DISCONT.]

14 | elevator to nowhere

Pepper turned around, hearing the door open. She frowned when she saw Bruce for the second time, "How come you're back so soon, Mr. Wayne?" It was then she realised that he was not alone, and had brought a companion with him. 

He cleared his throat, "I brought Diana here, she wanted to get this over and done with." 

Pepper took her hand and shook it, "Well, Miss. Prince, I'm Pepper, Pepper Potts." 

Miss Potts was a seemingly kind woman, with a gentle smile and an even gentler touch, a splatter of freckles over her button nose and shiny ginger hair that fell just below her shoulders. 

Diana smiled back, over the years she had been in America, her knowledge of mortal customs had expanded greatly. "It is nice to meet you, Miss Potts." 

Pepper brushed her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear, and waved her hand at a nearby employee, signalling for him to come closer. 

"Is there something I can do for you, Miss Potts?" The employee asked quietly, ducking his head down and listening intently. 

"Tell Tony, and the others that Miss Prince has arrived," She told him, watching him scurry off in a hurry towards the elevator, his shoes clacking loudly against the floor, a complete contrast to the silence hanging over the lobby. She turned her attention back to Bruce and Diana, "We weren't expecting you to get here so soon." 

Bruce nodded, "She thought it would be better to sort this mess out before it escalates." 

Diana tilted her head with a frown, watching the elevator doors shift. "Bruce," She muttered, tapping his arm lightly. 

Pepper noticed Diana's actions and looked behind her, at the elevator. The doors opened with a small mechanical 'clang', to reveal three people. In the centre stood a brown-haired man with a van-dyke beard, looking rather fed up. To his left, stood a tall blond man, leaning on the wall of the elevator. And to his right, a shorter red-headed woman with eyes like ice and a demeanour to match. The three stepped out of the elevator, walking towards Pepper, Bruce and Diana. 

Pepper smiled at Tony, before turning back to look at Bruce and Diana, "Tony, this is-" 

"Wayne," Tony interrupted Pepper, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Back so soon?" 

"Tony, I didn't want to keep you waiting," Bruce started, "This is Diana." 

Steve had been studying her carefully since he got out of the elevator, she looked to be only in her mid-twenties, and he wouldn't say she looked like the 'super-soldier' that Bruce described her as. She was beautiful, with long, shiny dark hair, and clearly toned - but far from possessing the sheer amount of muscle mass that he did. It was simultaneously reassuring and heart-wrenching. It was dangerous for other super-soldiers to exist - though being the only one did make him feel somewhat isolated from the rest of the population. If Diana Prince was a regular woman then the world was a safer place, and there would only be one super-soldier in the building.But, he had also been around long enough to know that looks can be deceiving, and that he shouldn't write her off too soon.