Sparrows and Iron

Chapter 4

To say that things were tense between Tony and Nat was an understatement. It was like the thermostat dropped twenty degrees every time those two were in the same room together. The rest of the team tried to work around them, but it was getting difficult.

One day, Jenny was sitting against a window in the common room, trying not to draw the attention of the others who were hanging out, playing Mario Kart on the big-screen TV. She was just gazing at the skyline when Tony suddenly ran in.

"Jenny! Jenny, come here, I did it!"

She snapped her head up with an excited smile as he ran over to her, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet. He dragged her towards the lab, earning curious stares from the others as they wondered what could possibly have the pair so excited.

When they finally made it to the lab, she noticed that Bruce was nowhere to be seen.

"Here we go!" Tony practically zipped around the lab as he brought over a small, circular device.

"You're sure this will work?" Jenny asked softly, seating herself on a table. She had grown more comfortable with him, and was speaking more often, sometimes even in front of Bruce.

Tony hesitated.

"No. I can't be sure, Jenny, but this is the best chance we have."

He took one of her hands in his free one, looking into her eyes.

"Do you trust me?"

She smiled, giving his hand a light squeeze.

"I'll always trust you, Tony."

He nodded. Then, taking a deep breath, he set the device against the front of the locking mechanism. Jenny closed her eyes. She might trust him, but that didn't mean she wasn't nervous.

Tony activated the device, holding his breath. Slowly, the metal panels slid apart and the harness unlatched. They both sighed in relief, then Jenny started laughing. She jumped off the table, throwing her arms around his neck and catching him by surprise.

"Thank you, Tony," she whispered. "Thank you so much."

Hugging her back, he answered, "No problem."

Then she pulled back, suddenly serious.

"Tony... When I first told you about my problem... I didn't want to show you my mutation because I was scared. Scared that this... SHIELD would try to use me the same way HYDRA did."

She looked down, afraid to meet his eyes.

"I'm still working on... on not being afraid. But I want to try to start trusting the rest of your team."

She hesitated.

"I know Natasha doesn't like me. She's going to ask me to let the Maximoff girl look inside my head, but I can't do that."

She met Tony's gaze once more, though she didn't attempt to elaborate. Jenny shook her head and moved to exit the lab. However, in doing so, she stumbled over her own feet. As she started to fall, Tony reached out to steady her.

It was odd, he noticed as he supported her, but she weighed much more than she should have for someone her size. Through the fabric of the coat, in the area between her shoulders, he felt something not quite right about the shape of her back. Brushing it off as his imagination, he set her back on her feet and awkwardly backed away. Jenny nervously nodded her thanks before demurely withdrawing from the room.

Jenny made her way back to her quarters, her pulse racing in anticipation. Her heart was racing with the promise of the freedom which she had long been denied. Sighing deeply, she leaned back against the door she had just closed.

"FRIDAY?" she called tentatively, still mildly discomforted by the disembodied servant.

"Yes miss?" came the robotic reply.

"Can you lock the door and make sure nobody comes in here? And can you darken the windows as well?"

"Right away, miss."

With slightly trembling hands, she reached up to pull the coat from her shoulders. Reverently laying the cloak on her bed, she quickly removed the harness.

Emerging from between her shoulders, two great wings extended across the length of the room. The appendages stretched to rid themselves of the settlement of disuse, spreading the mangled feathers to reveal gaps where the horrid bindings had rubbed the skin raw. Jenny sighed to herself. It would take a while for these wounds to heal, but after all that waiting, one thing she definitely had a lot of was patience.

As she admired the neglected limbs, she thought back to when they had first started growing.

-Xavier Mansion, 1975-

"Papa, my shoulders hurt!"

"I know, darling, I know. Uncle Hank went to fetch something to make it better," her father replied soothingly, gently stroking his daughter's hair as she sat in his lap.

Just then, Hank returned with what looked to be a syringe in his hand. Charles frowned.

"Hank, is that...?"

The man hesitated.

"Well... Not exactly. This," He motioned to the needle. "Isn't even half as strong as the stuff I use. It's just to help her mutation grow without causing her pain."

The professor looked hesitant, but nodded anyway. Hank turned to Jenny.

"Alright, kiddo. Now this is gonna sting a little, but it'll make your shoulders feel better," he said.

The five year old nervously nodded, holding out her arm. Her uncle gently injected the modified serum into her veins, then carefully removed the needle. After cleaning the injection site, Hank applied a bandage to the small puncture wound.

"There, all better," he said with a smile.

To her credit, Jenny hadn't even teared up. Instead, she offered him a small grin and a hug.

They continued to give her the serum to help with the growing pains, and after a few weeks, the new extensions were recognizable as wings. They weren't feathered yet, but covered with soft, downy fluff.

"Someday," her father would say, "They'll grow big enough that you'll be able to fly."

Young Jenny lived for that day, and the freedom it would bring. But little did she know, the price of freedom was so much higher than she could imagine.