Summary:Skye felt hopeless as she couldn't save her timeline. All her friends and family were wiped away and crushed.
Left with no window for joy, Skye crosses from planet to planet living her life, one hard breath at a time.
In one of her incursions, she saves a kid from getting swallowed by dark matter but gets killed in her place.
Before she died, the Living Tribunal saw her heroism and gave her another chance, sending her to a universe much like her own but without the people she loved, in hopes of a chance to move on.
Broken over the fact that her loved ones are still dead, she decided to continue living as a phlegmatic individual in this new universe, where a tin can man can fly, a long-haired supposed god can usher lightening, a green man with anger issues crushing buildings, and an associate run by a sailor-mouthed man with one eye.
Not like she hasn't seen weirder things but she can maybe work with this.
Or, a story of Skye who came from another universe that has no SHIELD nor Avenger, gets sent to another version after meeting a Tribunal and learn how to heal amidst loss while incidentally helping other along the way. Mostly accidents, some misunderstandings and a lot of coincidence.
Notes:Ho ho ho. I am guilty of reading too many Marvel fics. Screw my phone.
Anyway, this came after reading all sorts of Skye/Daisy-related stories and I'm just that bored. The plot is nonexistent or I'm still trying to outline the stuff I want to put it. This would probably be 20 chapters or until I add more. I know my laziness will end up hurting you readers so apologize in advance.
For any mistakes, my apologies in advance as well.
Chapter 1: Predator and ShawarmaNotes:Takes place in The Avengers Battle of New York.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextNo matter how many times Skye sighed, the line was not budging. She narrowed her eyes at the person in front of her, who was taking too long to order his drink because he wasn't sure what went well for his suit.
Skye didn't know if that was a thing for this universe. Do people really pick their drinks based on their clothes?
It's ridiculous, it's what it is.
"Good morning, Ma'am. What can I get you?"
Finally!
Skye leaves the cafe, coffee in hand as she darts her way to the bustling streets of New York City. She looks bored as she ducks her head in time before two moving workers pass by to haul sofa furniture in their Uhaul truck. She swings her arms to avoid hitting an old woman, shouting at her phone while strutting through the sidewalk like she owns the whole block, before jumping over two drunk people who may or may not be dead.
She's never sure with those guys.
But after a couple of walking and turning corners, Sky managed to get to her workplace slash home.
She pushes the door of her van to see the glittering lights of her computers, a rolled-out futon on the sides with her matching pillows, and her clothes neatly folded to the other side of the vehicle. She made it as homey as possible but even the posters just made it look like some basement room. But it's her, somewhat, home.
She yawns before going in, closing the door, and sitting in her chair before starting to type in her computer to start looking for clients she'd be meeting for today. Not that she actually wants to.
"Let's see what we have. A 46-year-old lady asking to reprogram her laptop because of a virus she got from an identified link she clicked. A software company looking for a cheap hire to help debug their system because they don't know what they're doing. Or a kid who wants to be taught surface-level coding. Which one will it be, Skye?"
To be honest, she found each one of these to be annoying in some way or another. "Why am I doing this again?"
She groans before leaning on her chair and looking at the ceiling of her van with a dazed look. She was lost in thought for a moment. A habit she has come to do once in a while before snapping back to reality.
"Right. right. Because I'm bored" she answered before sitting up again and mauling over her options.
"But I don't want to do any of this. It's too much of a hassle! Maybe I should just take the day off, and go bowling or something. Not like I need the money."
Just as Skye proceeded to face the other side of her van, taking a sip of her drink suddenly she felt the vehicle move. "Hm?"
She felt her whole van shake, a small trembling before it started into full-blown tremors that appeared in streams. Surges of screams appeared outside as well, both far and near.
She dully stared at her hands and said, "I'm fairly sure I'm not drunk enough to cause this. Not unless that barista put several vodka shots in my coffee."
The shaking continued but Skye slowly sipped her coffee again trying to decide if she could taste the bitter intense taste. She taps her tongue at the roof of her mouth and makes a popping sound as she squarely looks at the brown liquid, still trying to discern if she's having an early afternoon.
"ahh. Help! Someone Help me!"
"Get out of the way!"
Skye could hear multiple screams outside and could even hear things colliding at the sides of her van, pushing her to be a bit worried about the paint job of her little bug.
"Okay, I'm sure there's no alcohol. So if I'm not causing this, then what is..." This time, Skye finally opens the side of her van and gets out with a simple jump.
Yet the moment her feet touched the ground, a massive ugly worm fell from the sky and unceremoniously hit the ground without restraint. The incident caused a big crater to appear as the force of impact created a shockwave strong enough to destroy concrete, cars, and metal posts, lastly making its waves toward Skye.
She pursed her lips as she hovered on the ground just in time for the collision, shielding herself and her mobile home from the shockwave with her own vibrations against it. It lasted for only a second before she stepped down on the ground again, her jacket pristine and her shirt untouched—unharmed and unabashedly unsurprised.
"Oh, so this was the one causing the quakes," she said absentmindedly, eyeing the behemoth sprawled on the ground. She also noticed flying gliders in the sky, but that didn't pique her interest because most of her scrutiny was still occupied by the weird creature lying inches from her.
Skye whistled as she came closer to it. "I've seen a near version... but I remembered that worm was more bluish than this." She rubbed her chin. However, she had no time to contemplate as more noises appeared around her.
Most of the civilians had already run away, making the whole block a ghost district in comparison. Buildings were crumbling, fires had erupted, and trash was scattered everywhere. She wasn't surprised, though. Not when a big dead alien worm was lying in the middle of the street; then she concluded that something was definitely attacking the city.
Ironically, just as she wondered what could have caused all this mayhem, they appeared as if announced in a pageant.
Five distinct and horrid creatures appeared into view.
Five distinct and horrid creatures came into view—ugly bastards who could make a run for Voldemort's money in the no-nose convention. Tall lanky things, as tall as an average Christmas tree and built like a slimmer version of the engineers from those sci-fi movies she always watches. Unfortunately, they weren't primitives. In their hands were some sort of scepter with a glowing end, much like a rifle. Three of these minions had a different facet of weapon—gun-like machines attached to their arms that would probably shoot out beams. As for their skin, it was littered with wrinkles and had a greyish hue.
Of all the aliens she'd seen, they were definitely in the top 50 weirdest ones for sure. Humans being the number one.
"I reckon you guys owned this hush puppy? I promise I wasn't the one who euthanized it," she joked while pointing at the worm.
They spotted Skye, who was out in the open, hissed, and quickly sprinted towards her in vicious leaps. Skye had to squint her eyes to see if she wasn't hallucinating or if they looked like they wanted to bite her face off. Tough crowd.
Skye snickered at their presence before holding her hand up in a joking manner. "Okay, easy there, pal. Don't want to point dangerous things at people."
From the vibrations alone, she could sense more than thirty of these ogres walking in the streets aimlessly. Not a good sign. Not if they join in on their fight.
The moment one of them got close, she attacked first, pushing shockwaves at its chest. The thing flew in the air and hit the pavement in a hard slam.
"I'm not sure if you guys know this, but I'm supposed to be relaxing today!" she gritted out.
She was cut off as more of the creatures suddenly lunged at her shoulders.
Skye ducked inches below her chest and pivoted as she grabbed one by its shoulders and flung it to the very same one who was still trying to get up, and they went tumbling back down again like uncoordinated deer.
Undeterred, the rest continued their assault. She loved the challenge and followed up her takedown with another shock aimed directly at the ground, sending all of them away, and proceeded to dodge the blasters aimed at her back. Each twist, only avoiding a margin of the hot searing beam.
After a while of dodging, she ultimately got bored. Skye knew she can't keep fighting these creatures all at the same time, and delaying the inevitable would be counterproductive. So to make it easier for herself, since there wasn't any civilian nearby, she smirked and let out a frantic frequency so thin and piercing that it not only destroyed their eardrums but exploded their heads after five minutes under its barrage.
Her face crunched up immediately, upon registering blood and alien matter everywhere.
"Sheesh, good thing I dodged that one, it smells nasty," Skye grumbled at the mess she left, before cupping her nose as the smell of their carcasses irritated her nostrils.
Surprisingly, their bone density along with their muscle strands weren't far off from humans, and although they are tougher, they are still not quite enough like the creatures she's met in Sakaar. Compared to them, these ones are twigs.
Although while she'd taken care of five alien invaders, the destruction of New York was still pretty much in development around every block and corner and didn't seem like it would be stopping soon. She couldn't help sighing because of it.
It's a good thing she saw a flying blonde man with a hammer shooting lightning and brazenly attacking monsters by the dozen, and a green massive mass of a man chucking aliens left and right. At least she knew it was under control. She thinks so at least.
Knowing everything was being handled by this Earth's defenders, she didn't need to bother and turned back around to face her van, remembering the glaring issue of her house in the middle of a danger zone.
"I should park my van somewhere else," she remarked while walking calmly towards it.
She was halfway to her vehicle when the hairs on her back stood up. The brunette felt another type of vibration lash out like a trombone.
It started fairly small and normal at the beginning.
She heard it buzz just like any other vibrations in the area. Only it had an ethereal humming of sorts, but as the frequency got tempered, all of a sudden, the sound quickly became ear-splitting—a condensed ringing reminiscent of a banshee scream. Skye's head rang excruciatingly, groaning in pain.
Unable to bear it, she glared up and tried to pinpoint where the screeching was coming from, wanting to quake it into nothingness.
Luckily, it wasn't hard to find. Not when the source of the screeching had glowing lights shooting up in the sky. A bonus was the fact that it might be the reason why there's a portal in New York.
"If I don't stop that thing, I think my ears are going to bleed!" Skye hissed as the ringing continued. She went through her options and remembered something.
Pressing the button found on the inside of her right ear, an expanding helmet covered her face and tuned out most of the sound that rang tightly in her ears. She was relieved that it worked.
"Thank you, Darth Vader! Or was it Skywalker? Shit, I forgot his name. Anyway—good thing this helmet still functions fine. Almost forgot I had it at all." She snorted to herself.
Skye shook her head to concentrate on the situation, knowing that unless she destroys that piece of equipment in the next hour, she wouldn't be able to hear anything ever again.
"Okay. Let's do this."
Angling her hand on the ground, she flew using her vibrations and catapulted herself 20 feet in the air without a single care.
Say it however one likes, Skye doesn't have the spatial awareness most of the time. Because if she did, she would have heard or at least noticed the swishing sound heading her way.
"Fuck!" she hits a flying hoverboard that came out of nowhere just as she was reaching the midpoint of her jump, and her collision managed to push the driver off the edge as her vibrations attacked on instinct.
She saw the alien driver's horrified expression as it screamed and fell to the ground like a ragdoll.
"Sorry! My bad!" Skye shouted over the edge, cringing as she saw it die by being snapped in half from the fall.
After finding her bearings, she slowly stands up.
Once she was stable on her feet, felt the thing she was standing on was still flying without a driver and discovered she was still in the air, airborne like a dart.
"That can't be good." It was at this time, that Skye noticed she wasn't alone in the glider and noticed another woman as well.
A redhead woman wearing a tactical suit was pointing a weird-looking scepter gun at her helmet/face while glaring with a cautious look.
"Don't shoot!"
Skye raised two of her hands, not wanting a confrontation with her.
She's human. That meant she's a comrade, right?
Not sure. Skye hated how much she's basically behind common news these days. It didn't help that she had no motivation to learn when she still felt a bit weirded out by their customs. Really not like she has on her universe.
"Who are you?" She edged her scepter even closer at the brunette, to which Skye snorted and was abashed that she had the gall to even ask.
"Is an interrogation really important in such a situation?" She said while slowly pushing the pointy tip away from her, only for it to come back seconds later when the woman made no signs that she believed her.
Now how do I get out of this situation?
"Look, an alien!" Skye pointed behind the woman as she played the most basic of tricks and used it as a distraction. Yet when she stared at where she pointed she couldn't help but bulge out her eyes as well.
She didn't know something was actually chasing them.
The same behemoth of an alien worm but very much alive this time.
In front of the monster, was a suit of metal leading it to them. It looked humanoid and flying using a rocket for hands.
The redhead woman, forgone her pointing and took charge of the glider before they ended up getting chewed as food.
"Raarrrr!"
"Stir it up!" Skye shouted as she could see it getting closer.
"We won't make it if we pivot!" The woman scowled at Skye.
"Point taken."
"Hey, terminator! Lead it away from us! Away!" She waved her arms to it, signaling the thing to lead it to either its left or right side with her frantic hand waving. The metal suit only tilted its head as if it wasn't sure what she was doing.
"Do you understand the words coming out of my mouth!?" Skye shouted as the giant worm opened its jaws and let out a roar that made Skye scrunch up her face as drool splattered on her.
"Come on! I had this cleaned yesterday!" She was so careful before and now she'll likely reek like vomit.
"Might want it pressure washed next time, Predator. Because that smell ain't coming off for a few weeks" The voice said in amusement.
Skye was surprised to hear a sound coming out of the suit. She thought it was just a robot, yet after the initial shock was waved off by the comment, she remembered that they were still in a sticky predicament.
"Fine. Want to play dirty? I'll show you dirty, you ugly Tanker Worm." she muttered lowly.
Annoyed and definitely displaced from her original objective. Skye decided to head along the mass jaw of destruction.
"Hey, Tin Can, boost me up!"
Before she could even finish her words, she jumped towards the man in the suit (she presumed), stepping on his back, likely taking him in surprise, and propelled herself towards the alien's open mouth.
"Hey!"
"Predator!"
The two look on at the giant monster that swallowed the unexpected woman whole. After which it didn't even take a few seconds before it continued to chase after them.
"Shit, she really went into that one."
Tony said still reeling from the reckless display of suicide fantasy.
"I'm going after her." He said right after, thinking that with her size and the monster's mouth, her chances of survival were still plausible. She wasn't chewed up and only suffocation and highly acidic stomach acid is what will most definitely kill her.
But time was running out.
Tony changed trajectory to go after her but just as he was going to, the giant alien worm stopped flying.
Its head wiggled, screaming in a panic while its body shook until it blew into a million chunks.
Natasha and Tony were shocked as their eyes were distracted by the bizarre explosion. They stared at each other as if to say 'Did you see that?'. They saw the thing's head fall to the ground, still freshly hot and severed.
"Did you see that explode or is my feed distorted?" Tony asked.
Natasha didn't answer as she saw a trail of blood and a small figure that was heading for the tower. "I guess, Predator is fine. Let's go, Tony."
"Can she do that again for the other three, it seems like a hassle to deal with them now."
"Come on, Stark. It's either the Hulk or she gets to it when they get to it."
Tony flies to go to another alien when he gets a call from Fury.
Skye winched at the sticky feeling of her body. Blood and other bodily fluids caked her so that her hair was also musing. She hated this.
"Dammit!" She couldn't help but shout.
She focused her eyes on the tower and was relieved that she was almost there. Yet apart from her distracted musing, she hadn't quite expected to see herself fling from the walls when a big green thing grappled her body.
"Ahhh! Hulk Smash!"
Skye felt her body gravitate in the wrong direction and ended up smashing along the glass as they both rolled on the floor.
"Fucking Dammit! I just want to destroy that thing!" She winced between breaths.
The brunette used her powers to make a shield just in time before the angrier Shrek pummeled her with his fist. The contact sends him flying away but not by a large amount. Fortunately, the drawback from the shield was enough to get him dazed and shook his head as well.
Using this opportunity, Skye stood up and concentrated force on her fingertips. With enough charge to maybe not damage his internal organ, she ran up to him and grounded her feet before touching his stomach. She made sure to distribute the vibration to his whole body so as not to kill him but more than enough to send him flying away.
The green man roared as he was pushed out from the building again, volitant in the air before he smashed his back into another glider that had another human-looking man with a horned helmet, now taking the two down the building in front of where she was.
"If you're a good guy I'm sorry but if you're not, screw you man, my back hurts!" She shouted but knew it would be on deaf ears as the building they hurled into was Stark Tower. A good meter away already.
Skye took a breath as the last impact took most of the air out of her.
She hunched down for a moment and started stretching his back. "Fuck, I think I'm old."
When she was done, she saw the portal growing ever bigger and the things entering the atmosphere were glaringly alarming. The sound even more harping over the helmet.
"I need to close that thing fast."
But she doubled down on flying her way there. For some reason, she'd either get side-tracked by a flying glider or a giant green monster and if she wasn't wrong, she also saw a flying blonde man. If experience has taught her anything in the last hour, it would be that these guys were way too greedy in sharing the sky.
"Fine, jumping it is."
She quickly entered the elevator to go to the rooftop so she could jump from building to building as opposed to the direct way, not wanting a run-in with another wack.
She whistled at the numbers presented. "Wow, big building almost as high as Stark Tower."
She pressed the top building and leaned on the walls, and feeling a bit grateful she could relax for a bit. Not to mention her hips were still sore from the tumbling she did that was why she smiled at the cold touch of metal walls.
The door closes after her and hears the elevator sound as it ascends.
"Nice," Skye said over the jazz tune.
She remembers the one she had in her universe was distinctly more punk rock than this one. Honestly, she prefers the jazz melody because it complements people's busy stature and it also soothes her bones.
The elevator shakes and the lights flicker from time to time but Skye is still vibing with the music. "I should find this music and mark it on my list."
When the ping sounded, Skye quickly made her way to the rooftop.
Swinging the door and sauntering out.
The light from the sun slightly distracted her before a wave in the air came too close for comfort.
She felt an arrow coming for her head and she dodged with a quick angel of her body. The arrow hits the wall and embedded itself deep as if it weren't concrete but a sponge target.
Skye raises her eyebrows, and turns to see a man holding a bow and arrow and leveling it at her. A concentration hidden between his irises that made it easy to release his grip from his bow even if they just met.
Skye noticed his attire and joked lightly. "Come on, Robinhood. You almost hit my head. It's not nice to murder someone you just met."
He had brown short hair, a sleeveless tactical vest, and pants with the same emblem of the woman she saw on the glider. Skye wasn't sure if that's a good thing or not but she chooses to believe he wasn't with the alien people.
She ignored his glare, a look she has come to be accustomed with, and quickly made her way to the edge of the building.
Although she stopped walking when another arrow hit the ground so close to her feet.
"Stop where you are. Are you with Loki?"
"Loki? Who's that?"
"Egotistical demi-god, long dark hair, horn helmet holding a glowing scepter? That Loki." He replied seriously.
Skye thinks about it. "I'm not sure I follow. I mean, I did meet a guy with the same description at Comicon before but I don't think we were at the level of friendship status and his name was Albert so I don't think we have the same guy here."
"I am not joking."
She sighed. "Neither am I. To be honest, I am not sure what's happening. I just want to get there" She pointed at the tower with a beam lightening up the sky. "... and destroy that thing. I don't know you. I don't know this Loki guy. I don't know these ugly fuckers and I definitely don't know that green anger issue rhino and frankly, I don't care who you guys are. I just want that thing gone and be done with,"
The two stared. Skye noted how he looked hesitant, but the drawl of his hand and his twitching eyebrow says he wasn't that cruel either.
He nodded his head and directed his attention back to the fight. "Don't hurt any civilians and I won't hunt you down."
"Sure. I'm not uncivilized you know." She rolled her eyes.
She acted quickly before Robinhood changed his mind, and jumped several meters from rooftops to rooftops, steadying her powers as she did so because she didn't want to destroy the structures in her wake.
She was on her third jump when lighting appeared in the sky, frying the ones above. The crackling of thunder so mighty and sharp. Skye could see some of the aliens coming into the portal were getting killed and falling like flies.
That's a nice ability.
That's when she saw the blonde man was snagged by another giant worm alien on the back and didn't have enough time to hit it with his hammer. He comes crashing on the side of the building, as he screams.
Out of instinct, her body moved and she clamored at the side, wrung the vibrations of the hammer as best she could to move it at her will. Skye dragged the hammer, its hum a weird crescendo, and placed it away from the alien worm. The man attached to it looked confused and was wondering was what happening.
Without missing a single beat, Skye raised her other hand focusing very hard not to aim her vibrations at the wrong thing. "Okay, Skye. Control it. Don't overdo it." she grits out.
She screamed as a full blast of vibration came out of her hands, more forceful and compact in a single point as it hit the head of the beast and made a hole as wide as a two-story house. It quickly fell taking the area below it.
She sighed as she finally realized what she'd done.
"Fuck me." She grits her jaw as she fully remembers that it was a foolish action. "This is not your fight, Skye. Stay focused."
She closed her eyes, breathing in and out before shaking her head.
"Was it you that saved me, mysterious woman?" The voice came from someone gruff yet sincere at the same time.
Skye looks up to see the flying Viking man, hovering. His armor was a luster of silver and tin. His red cape a glamour as it waved.
Skye could only be reminded of another person who loved Cape as much as his work. Her face turned half rigid at the resemblance.
"Nope. Must have been someone else." She said as nicely as she could but she couldn't fully take out the hardness of her voice before turning her back away unable to look at him further.
"You lie but no matter your reasons for being dishonest, as a form of gratitude, I thank thee for your actions." He said, surprisingly courteously.
"Whatever you say, gym bro."
"I must leave now." He flies away with a swish.
"You don't need to tell me though," she said offhandedly before she, too, jumped to her last destination.
Skye finally managed to get to the machine where the screeches were getting louder. Her feet touch gravel and cranes her neck to see an old man with a residing hairline. "Who are you?
She ignored him as introducing herself was never someone she liked doing and walked closer to the machine with quick steps.
"Don't touch that."
He blocked her way and Skye glared, even though it wouldn't be clear over her helmet. "Move. I'm not going to ask twice."
He was normal, that she knew but his looked like he would die before he would let her be nearer the machine.
Skye kill, but unnecessary slaughter is not on her list.
Skye was only going to knock him out, her hand gliding towards his chest to push him away but she didn't get to it when a foot came hurling on her face the minute she got close.
She groans and stepped back as the vibration of another person became apparent.
Skye shook her head a bit irritated. The air vibrated, a homing beacon that something sharp was flash towards her.
Skye reacted as fast as she could and moved her body in time to dodge a sharp scepter attempting to slice her neck.
"Hey, take it easy!" she bellows before finally realizing her attacker was the same woman she met on the glider.
She looks offended and angry. "What gives I thought we were on the same team?!"
"I thought so too." Before she started barraging her with multiple thrusts.
The brunette avoided getting stabbed before she got enough distance to grip the scepter by its neck and crash it on the ground so that it was stuck there til someone with enough strength could pull it out.
"Now will you talk to me" she whined.
The redhead woman didn't relent and kicked her in the gut. Skye got a direct hit but didn't fall as she shifted her weight grabbed her foot, swung her over her sides, and also brought her down on the ground with a practiced bodyslam.
Yet even with the impact, the woman quickly countered, pulling her body and grappling Skye's open arm for an arm lock which she snacked her legs over her neck and arm.
Skye was getting annoyed, she rolled her eyes as she tightened her fist and ceased her pulling with just a flex of her muscle.
"Sorry, but I don't think that'll work." Skye huffs.
The woman tried to break her arm out of spite but really wouldn't budge no matter how much she arched. "Okay. I know you are wary of me and I get that but I just want to destroy that machine. I think you guys have the same idea so why aren't you letting me?"
"You were going to kill Dr. Selvig," She said.
It was a bit ridiculous to be having this conversation with a woman trying to break her arm but what could she do, the woman's eyes were clearly fixed so she let out a sigh, "I wasn't going to kill him, just put him to sleep so I can destroy the machine."
"I thought you were going to open the portal even bigger?" The doctor spoke up, shocked.
"There's a bigger opening for that portal?" she asked incredulously.
"I'm not sure but it's not impossible," he murmurs.
"No, I don't kill civilians. Especially, not one who can't defend themselves. Now will you calm down." Skye stared at her.
Ultimately, the woman receded after five minutes in the hold and let go of her with a small groan.
"This is why you should talk before trying to kill someone." The brunette rolled her shoulder making sure she didn't pull a ligament.
"If it's any consolation, I was only aiming to incapacitate you, not kill." Her voice had a tinge of Russian that Skye was sure was native to Sokovia.
Not that she cares for it.
"Gee, thanks," she said sarcastically.
Skye started walking up to the machine when she felt the woman block her again. "What now?"
"We're going to destroy the machine but not yet." The woman said before pointing to the scepter Skye embedded in the ground and commanding her with her eyes to dislodge it.
She groans before doing as she is told.
"Not yet?" she asked while pulling the scepter free. A distinct hum comes from its core. Skye found it troubling but it wasn't her goal to meddle so she handed it to the strict woman.
"We need to wait."
"for what?"
"for that," she said pointing over something in the distance.
Skye followed where she was pointing and could only see a dot of white and red getting closer and closer.
"Shit! Is that a bomb!" she shouted in a panic.
"And they say Tony's dramatic." the woman whispered behind her.
Skye looks at it and at the portal then at the machine. It took her another minute to piece together what they were going to do. "Wow, That's too risky. Is Tin Can, okay with that?"
She could see the steel green eyes waver before it was hard yet again. She ignored her words, knowing there was no right way to answer that. "Tony knows what's at risk here. So do I,"
For a moment, she could see the image of Genevive mourning the loss of her son, the blonde tresses burned at Skye's eye. She stilled as the memory she tried to push back came running back into her eyes she couldn't help getting wrung.
'This isn't your fight, Skye.' She reminded.
You know what happens if you help.
Skye's face was solemn as she stared at the clouds with hundreds of aliens still entering then at the people below was was scattering for help. They look so much like my own people.
They heard it. The sound of a rocket. they looked on as the suit of metal, in all of great red and yellow glory, pushed the rocket ever so slightly to the open portal before he disappeared in it. the moment it did, the woman pierced the shield protecting the core of the machine it sounded even more screechy as she forced it to close.
Skye stepped on the ledge of the building, her eyes fixated on the portal.
Another minute passed and suddenly all the aliens started dying where they stood, some falling as if a plug was pulled on them life dismissed from their body, and then the sound of a boom as the machine blew up.
But still no sign of the suit of metal. Skye could see the two look on in worry as the portal started closing.
Skye inhaled and knew she was breaking her own rule.
She threw herself towards the clouds, eyes fixed on the small opening. The feeling oddly reminded her of her outbound trek to planet Nowhere.
The moment she was close enough, she tried hearing for the portal's frequency, making sure she hadn't mistaken it for another. Skye raised her hands and mimicked the same vibration and soon enough she was slowly down the closing. She maintained it as best she could without her power bustling out of proportions and finally saw something red pass through.
She exhaled and saw him falling before the green guy, she tussled with before, cushioning the blow with his own body.
She smiled genuinely. You did well.
With no more irritating screech, she undone her helmet and left as if she wasn't even there.
No matter how many times Skye sighed, the line was not budging. She narrowed her eyes at the person in front of her, who was taking too long to order his drink because he wasn't sure which shawarma he wanted that matched his shirt.
Skye questioned again if that was a thing for this universe. Do people really really pick their shawarma based on their clothes?
It's ridiculous, it's what it is and she still abides by it.
"Good morning, Ma'am. What can I get you?"
Finally.
Skye was leaving the only establishment still working after the battle of New York, shawarma in hand, and pushing the door.
"Sorry, my bad!"
Skye bumped into someone's arm and hit her nose when she didn't notice someone coming in at the same time she was getting out. He was tall, with blonde hair, and blue eyes, and wearing the flag on his chest. It didn't spark anything on Skye since this was the first time she'd ever seen someone wear something like this in public.
She waved her hand in a good-natured way, letting him know that she wasn't in pain. "It's fine. It's my fault I wasn't watching." She replied before passing by him. "Nice suit by the way, really patriotic."
He chuckles. "I know. Too much?"
"Not really. Enough to make a statement."
"Thank you,"
She smiled and nodded before leaving, her mind stuck on what to do for the day.
....
Steve waved to the other guys already eating their shawarma at a table a few inches away. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late, some officers wanted to shake hands and wanted to thank us for what we did."
"Look at you, Captain. Already gaining fans, I see" Tony said over his full mouth. "But know that my fans will be more than yours."
"Like I care for the numbers, Stark. Anyway, I bumped into a woman. She was nice although she smelled like she was smoked in a grill or something" He said as he started eating his shawarma.
"Anyway, it's too bad, I couldn't thank Predator for what she did for me," Tony said scratching his chin with a thoughtful look.
"Predator?" Clint asked amused about the nickname.
"Yeah. A brunette woman, almost Natasha's height, wearing his gnarly-looking mask like from the predators, and has no restraints when it comes to alien tapeworms. Romanov said she prevented the portal from closing so I could pass through." He explained.
"Ah the witch lady," Thor loudly spoke with a light laugh. "She lent me a hand hours before. Tis' true, she vanquished one of the Leviathans with sorcery. Blasted a hole at its head as if it offended her."
"I don't think it was sorcery but I can't disprove it either. I'm just going to cheer for that," Tony clanks his orange can to Thor's small beer bottle.
"Aye, a valiant warrior,"
Clint rolls his eyes but has a small smile. "I know she's good now that we're talking about it but her mask looks so damn scary, I tried shooting an arrow to her head."
"I tried stabbing her with Loki's scepter" Natasha smirked back.
"Okay, you guys have no chill," Tony said offended by the mysterious girl's place but then he also smirked "But I was going to blast her when she got into the glider because I thought she was Loki's henchmen so I don't have room to speak either."
"Get this, she doesn't even know Loki or any of us, she said she just wanted to destroy the modified tesseract." Clint took a bite and drunk his soda
"I know. What do you think she was after? She didn't even want to take the Tesseract after I blew up the machine." Natasha asked as she threw ketchup towards Steve when he asked for it.
"Maybe. She just wanted to help." Captain said before biting his food.
"She bruised me," Bruce said out of nowhere.
It was the first time Bruce talked since they ate.
They all had to digest what he said before they all stared at him inquiringly. He gave them awkward smiles before slowly opening his shirt to see some light marks on his tummy and a hand print where her hand made contact with his skin. A marred blue.
"The big guy wasn't too happy about it but I was more impressed she could leave a mark. It wasn't the kind of strength you'd feel from a punch or a hit it was more of my whole body being pushed in one magnanimous force. Although, I think she was careful not to do anything critical because she centered herself to here" he pointed at his tummy. "But the impact was all here" waving all of his stomach.
"Increasing surface coverage and a more equal force of impact. Quiet nice, considering she blew up an alien's head that she could have easily fatality wounded me but she didn't." He said and lowered his shirt.
"But why did she attack you?" Steve asked.
He continued to smile sheepishly and scratch his neck. "I attacked her first. You know how the big guy is, attack first question later or I guess in his case, no question at all."
"We like attacking her, don't we?" Clint joked but Steve interjected.
"I didn't." Steve quipped.
"And I held myself back." Tony continued.
"And I was distracted." Thor hollered.
"Okay, three for three." Clint shrugged.
They heard the door ring as it opened, they didn't mind it as people do come and go. Had they done they would have seen Skye come back to the counter to ask for sauce because she forgot to ask for it beforehand.
Skye stared at one of the tables and nodded in respect to see fellow cosplayers out and about.
After she got her sauce packet, she took out her phone. Raised her camera to get an angle with all of them in the frame. "I can respect the fast hustle but those are some good cosplay."
She took the photo and then went out to get that old lady some new systems.
Notes:Technically speaking the only avenger that didn't try to hurt Skye/Daisy was Tony and Thor.
Anyways, feedback is appreciated. Thank you for reading.
Chapter 2: Loss in TennesseeSummary:Skye tried a part-time job because a therapist told her she needed a distraction.
She tries it and now there are people after her... and oh, she finally met the great Tony Stark.
They said he was famous but she couldn't see why.
Notes:This is set in Iron 3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextSkye took a fresh breath of air and smelled the daisies opening at the first sunlight. She moved her arm and felt the grass dancing merrily under her fingertips. Then, a soft palm grazed her jaw, followed by a nip, and a small breeze of breath on her ears.
She knew that someone was with her. There was someone in her arms.
She opened her eyes to see the garden of never-ending daisies and petunias, a sea if she would compare it.
She took a chance to turn her head, to know who was beside her. The first thing she saw was an angel—blonde tresses, highly addicting green eyes, and a sly yet genuine smile that laced Skye's attention without delay.
The moment it hit her, how much her touch tingled her soul, Skye couldn't stop the sob that threatened to overwhelm her.
She carefully turned fully to the woman, hugging her body as if she would disappear any second now.
"I missed you... so much."
Her voice was a very faraway whisper.
"I know."
Her fair and soft hands played with her hair, while her other one was patting her back as if she were a child.
"I know."
"I didn't want to leave you," she stressed, avoiding even an inch of distance.
"You had to..."
...
Skye woke up to a torrent of sweat. Her beating heart ached to burst out of her chest and the stinging of her eyes, likely from overstimulation.
She sats up to get her bearings, her head throbbing and aching as her foot hits a bottle of vodka in her clumsily wake.
It broke on impact. Yet hearing the sound of breaking glass was nothing new to her this early in the day. If anything, it was routine.
"Fuck." While rubbing her eyes.
She reached for her phone to see it was 7:17 a.m. It was almost time for her part-time job.
She was staring at her phone when the screen blared and it started ringing. She has half a mind not to take it but knowing the other person on the line, she'd maybe get in trouble more than usual.
"Hello, Bella." her voice husky.
"So how many today?"
Skye rolled her eyes and started looking for clothes she could wear. Clothes that are presentable and casual enough.
"Not a lot."
"By 'not a lot' do you three or four bottles? I could guess five but then that would have meant I wouldn't be hearing from you til tomorrow."
"Haha. Just tell me which client are we going to help today, please? My head still hurts."
Bella was a friend she met at a bar months ago. She had been too drunk and passed out in the women's bathroom one evening, mumbling incoherently and lying down on the floor. It wasn't the most hygienic place to sleep in. Maybe that must have been the reason why the Latina woman lectured her over it. A complete stranger pushed tooth and spit until Skye got into Bella's mother's house so she could crash on their couch.
Not her proudest moment, but she met a nice lady with some very lovely parents. So the rest was history. She wasn't planning on traveling at the moment, so she decided to help Bella in her cleaning business while she was still in the city;
"Hmm. If you must know, we got lucky. For the next three days, we got a job cleaning three of the mansions owned by Tony Stark!" Bella's voice was giddy over the phone and all Skye could hear was 'clean' and 'mansion.'
"Ok. I get that you need me to help because Alexandria is giving birth right now and I need the distraction but really? Cleaning a mansion? Just the two of us?" Skye looks over her mini-fridge, scouring for food she can heat up and eat. She spotted a half-eaten burrito with half its contents missing.
She clicked her tongue and took it.
"Actually, there's just going to be you."
"Excuse me?"
"You see, we signed a contract already and we are heavily understaffed and need to reach a deadline with other clients. So I decided to group the girls to different places and since you did good last week working on Mr. Fugg's house on your own, I thought to assign you to one. They also said that they are very strict on security and would only allow a few people in the building."
"A few means more than one, Bella," she argued while tidying up the pieces of glass.
"I know. I know. It's just— I really need the money. Initially, they didn't agree because they thought we wouldn't be able to handle the workload but I beg them that we can, and mom..." Skye stays silent as she can hear Bella's voice getting emotional.
"... I need the money. It will only be for three days and if you do this for me I promise I will forever be grateful... and I am not going to nag you about your missing sessions."
Skye started seeing a shrink after the whole debacle in the bathroom. Apparently, Bella thought she needed help with her problems and Skye got tired of hearing both Bella and her family urging her to get professional help. So she did.
But she wasn't sure it was helping. the last thing her shrink said was to find some hobbies to distract herself from. She wasn't sure if cleaning was a hobby. It is for some but for Skye, she does it because she has no other hobby she knows of.
"Fine. But you owe me, and I want a 15% raise."
"Skye. you get more than that, Honey. Thank you so much. I'll text you the address and be sure to be respectful and wear the uniform this time!"
"Sure. See you tonight."
Skye hung up and decided to find a local gym to get a shower.
Skye peeks over her van to see a lavish white building that could house 20 families. It was that big.
Her eyes kept getting bigger, and she checked the address Bella sent her. "10880 Malibu Point 90265"
There was no wrong direction; she was at the place. "You owe me so much, Bella."
She got in pretty well; there weren't any guards, a bit surprised about that. Shouldn't people as rich as owning a big-ass mansion have security around them? But after showing the ID Bella made for her employees, she got in with only a single scan.
"Pleasure to have you, Ms. Abeline." A robotic yet British human-like voice sounded when Skye approached the door.
There have been more than three situations she's met an AI, but it was the first one she had here on Earth.
In this timeline.
Half of her experience with them wasn't bad, but no one can fully be sure about learning AIs. They're just one step from being Skynet. Just saying.
Skye quickly schooled her emotions and turned her face to the wall where cameras were installed; she gave a nod and greeted. "Hello, I was sent by CleaningMax Services. I was appointed to clean Mr. Stark's home."
"Yes. We've been informed by Ms. Maxine already. Unfortunately, Sir Stark is busy with important meetings, so he may not be able to greet you, but you are more than welcome to start with the third and second floors. The fourth building is restricted, and so is the main building. Although, the garage and closet room are satisfactory and only need a few tidying."
"I understand, and Mr. Stark doesn't need to meet me personally. My boss and he had come to an agreement about the specific services he had chosen with us, and I won't jeopardize that. I will be mindful."
"Certainly, Ms. Abeline."
Skye doesn't use her real name. She prefers that part of herself to be a secret. Something she can only know for herself since the people who knew her were already gone; there wasn't any real importance in using it to that close of a degree. She doesn't want the reminder of what it holds for her either.
So she went with Abeline as her last name as her mind would always wander to the meadows she had back home. A fitting reminder.
She hadn't gotten used to it yet, so she smiled at the AI.
"Please call me, Skye. Ms. Abeline is my mother." She hoped her voice wasn't insulting.
"As you wish, Ms. Skye. You can address me as JARVIS, and you may call upon me if you need help or clarifications."
Skye smiled and nodded.
....
Skye worked diligently. She didn't speak to Jarvis nor did she idle. She mopped the floors, dusted the shelves, seats, and corners, vacuumed the carpets, arranged the pictures and knickknacks, swiped the glass, and even bleached the bathroom to an appropriate level.
She started in the morning, and it was now almost noon.
The brunette worked so fast that even she was impressed by her work. She only needed to work on the third floor, and she could be done for the day.
She was going to the kitchen to get some water as JARVIS suggested when she caught sight of a blonde woman. She was pretty, tall, and very elegant in her suit. The kind you'd see some CEO businesswoman wear to a meeting.
The blonde woman smiled when she saw Skye. She, however, didn't know what to say to the other that wouldn't warrant her getting in trouble. So she explained first before she got the wrong idea.
"Hello, Miss. I was hired by Mr. Stark to clean some parts of the buildings. I am almost done and was going to ask for water. JARVIS said it was fine, but if it isn't, I am sorry to impose."
"No. It's fine!" The woman chuckled at Skye's worried rambling. "You should help yourself. I saw what you did to the closet room, and I didn't know it could look even cleaner."
Skye politely smiled at the compliment. "Thank you."
"Although I'm sure you haven't gotten a memo yet from your boss, we actually message her that we would be postponing the cleaning til next week."
Skye's eyes widened, and worry started to appear about the thought of them canceling on Bella. The woman must have seen the expression on her face as she started waving her hands. "It's not what you think. I promise. It's not your fault nor your boss. It's just that some recent situation has happened, and we need to push back the date. And don't worry we already gave a down payment, and we aren't going to take it back. Also, it's only going to be this place. The other appointments aren't being canceled, I swear."
"Oh," Skye said as she was relieved Bella wasn't losing a prospective client. God knows she needs this break for her family.
"If that's the case, should I leave now? Or maybe there's a designated time I should be leaving?"
The blonde gave a sad look. "To be honest, for your safety, you should leave now. Don't worry about the miscellaneous, we'll compensate you."
"Okay. Thank you, Miss."
"Pepper Potts" she offered her hand towards Skye.
She was a likable woman, Skye thought. Humble, courteous, and no bad bone she could detect. It was so easy for Skye to give a genuine response.
"Skye Abeline," she took her hand and gave a firm but gentle squeeze. "Thank you again, Ms. Potts. I hope everything goes well for you. I'll just get to my van, and I'll go."
"Thank you as well, Skye. Be safe."
Skye headed off, but not before saying goodbye to JARVIS. The AI was already growing on her—the best out of all three she had met. Less snarky, easy to humor, and less likely to kill Skye on the spot, so it was definitely a plus.
She had already changed her clothes and was sitting in the driver's seat, checking that her stuff was alright before starting the engine. She managed to get parking inside the mansion, courtesy of JARVIS, and was waiting for the counterweight door to open.
She saw a bottle of vodka on her passenger seat. While waiting, she snatched it and looked at its contents. It still had some alcohol.
This piqued her. Technically speaking, she was not working anymore, and it wasn't much that she'd be staggering on the road.
It didn't help that she didn't get a drink back upstairs because she was embarrassed by Miss Pott's entrance. Hence, her head turned around her environment to see if anyone was watching.
When she was clear, she took a big sip and hastily swallowed. Her throat burned bitterly.
"I don't know why I drink this," she mumbled.
She grabbed her steering wheel and drove out. Whereafter suddenly the door closed as a beeping sound blared through the whole garage. "Uhh, what's happening?"
She didn't get enough time, as the whole building shook, and a loud explosion resounded. Skye could see cracks forming on the walls while the alarm continued to beep.
Skye got out of the van and felt another rumble. She steadied herself as the walls were quickly crumbling. She concentrated her vibrations and tried to locate the occupants in the building. With how fast these explosions were happening, it could take the people in it to their graves.
The thought of her employers dying before her was not something she was prepared to do. Skye gave one last look at her van and patted it twice. "I'll be back, buddy. Please be in one piece."
Before dashing to the remaining people in the mansion.
When Skye checked, she could feel three human-like forms in the main living room.
She used her powers to keep explosions and debris from hurling her way, but most of the structures were already damaged beyond repair. Half of it was already tilting to one side, and she just remembered where the building was built.
Beside a fucking cliff.
Pushing her legs to run as fast as she could, she felt another explosion as the ground gave away. She jumped at the last second and reached the other side of the hallway. There she saw an armor carrying a person by the shoulders and heading outside. She could see the mask open to reveal Miss Potts, making that two people outside already.
"Okay, that makes things easier." She spots what she hopes would be Mr. Stark, her other employer, on the ground where rocks are falling over his head.
The debris was getting to her, so she turned on her helmet and prepared to pull him out when the whole thing started to go tumbling down. Unprepared for the turn of events, her feet tripped, slid down on the ground, and slowly slipped onto the glass window. "Dammit!"
She couldn't grab anything and fell first, seeing Mr. Stark holding onto a metal pillar on her way down.
Frustrated but hopeful, she spotted her small mercy as she reached for a metal barbed pole that had broken up. Skye managed to hang on for her dear life.
She looked down and could see the base of the earth already giving away; if she used her vibrations on it to fly, it would only hasten the crumbling much faster.
Not how I expected the day to go.
The sound of a propeller snaked Skye's eyes toward the three helicopters firing at them. She found the source of her woes, her fist clenched in fury. "I may not be able to quake properly, but I can assure you, I can still quake."
Skye raised her only good arm and blasted one of the helicopters on the right, aiming at the blades. No mercy in her action, she destroyed the only thing keeping them soaring as they easily malfunctioned down with a blast. She was going for the middle next when a whole-ass piano flew out and hit it straight at its hood, slapping it like a fly. It twirled and blew up when it hit the cliff shore.
She returned her sights to the last one, but it had maneuvered out of her vision's range.
She cursed under her breath and started to pull herself up, using a small amount of vibration to push herself back on solid concrete. Managing to get half her body upright and her lower torso and feet still hanging on the ledge.
Yet her concern was towards someone else. She tried to grasp if her employer was dead. Hopefully not.Seeing a red and gold metal man walking, she was washed with relief but it also flashed realization within her own mind. She was reminded of the man she met months ago.
Is her employer Tin Can?
Snapping out of her muse, she caught a glimpse of a busted aircraft and looked deeply disturbed as it was heading towards them and the remaining standing side of the property.
If that thing hits...
Mr. Stark would be in the middle of the crash, based on trajectory, and, in an attempt to prevent him from getting skewered, she used her vibrations to create a shield.
The aircraft meets her shield, but it is only half viable as she can't concentrate while half-hanging, which results in the whole building still exploding midway, bringing the whole structure down.
Skye's breath was pushed out of her lungs as both she and the pillars hit the water aggressively.
Her eyes were bleary, her body cold, and her head disoriented.
A lot of things were breaking the surface of the water, and most of them were rubbles and metal scraps. Swimming away from the tombing site, she saw Mr. Stark getting pulled down from a wire looping around his neck. Alarmed, she swims briskly to him, until she can grab his arm and start pulling him up. But the force down was more than she could handle in her spaced-out condition, so she tried something else.
Grabbing both ends of the thick wire, she started vibrating the thing so that it started heating up. Bubbles formed as the metal wire steadily melted, and he was freed.
There was still wiring on him, but since it wasn't attached to anything, she left it be. The suit started glowing again and was moving above water. Unbeknownst to her, the loose wire snagged Skye's belt and pulled her abruptly, and she didn't see one of the rocks over her head.
She hit the rock pretty badly, and she lost consciousness.
The last thing Skye remembered was the feeling of her body being pulled up and seeing the ground getting smaller and smaller.
Her skin felt rather chilly and her lips dry when Skye opened her eyes. A heart attack was close to happening when she saw she was dangling in the air several meters from the ground.
It was white and full of trees, and her situation had no signs of stopping. Skye looked behind her and saw a cable attached to her belt and the one dragging her along the festivities was no other than her employer, Tony Stark, A.K.A Tin Can.
"Hey! Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark! Tin Can!" Skye shouted as loudly as she could, but he didn't seem to notice.
Now that she mentioned it, the suit was flying a few feet from her, and with their distance, her voice wouldn't reach him, no matter how much she wanted.
You'd think he'd have noticed from the weight. She grumbled, but she couldn't change the fact that she was still hanging uncomfortably by the scruff of her belt.
It was cold, and she really wanted to go back to her van.
Wait... Her van!
"My precious baby! The maintenance! Ahhh!" She started screaming out her fears at the thought of her little bug under a pile of dirt, rubble, and metal.
It wasn't until 20 minutes of agonizing dangling that she noticed the flying pattern had changed. They were slowly descending.
She looked behind her to see the suit's eyes flashing as if it was losing power.
Skye braced herself, pulling the wire to get her closer to the suit and making a protective ball of shield around them both to cushion some of the fall.
"ahhhh!"
"Bottom biscuits!"
The two tumbled and rolled, hitting tree trunks and pavements until they came to a stop on thick cold snow. Skye groaned as she ended up on her front while Mr. Stark lay on his back. Her helmet pulled back so she could take in deep breaths.
Skye didn't move as she felt her body sore and relaxed for a bit. She noticed the other guy take off his mask and begin talking to himself.
"It's snowing, right? Where are we, upstate?"
"We are five miles outside of Rose Hill, Tennessee" the familiar AI voice sounded.
Skye was happy that she at least knew one of them, even if it was an AI, but she was mortified when she found out where they were.
"Why?" He sounded alarmed, and Skye agreed to panic.
They were in another state!
"Jarvis, not my idea. What are we doing here? This is thousands of miles away! I got to get Pepper. I gotta..."
He was losing breath and obviously his cool.
"I prepared a flight plan. This was the location."
"Who asked you?" Mr. Stark said between breaths.
Skye had an inkling feeling this wasn't a baseless location if Jarvis thought to bring them here. Skye exhaled through her nose, losing interest in the situation. They were lost regardless of why.
"Open the suit."
"I think I may be malfunctioning, sir."
"Open it, J."
The suit lights up desperately, its chest popping back, and exposing the man inside the metal. He quickly sits up, taking a moment to clear his head while breathing loudly. His eyes trembling.
"That's brisk"
The comment made Skye chuckle lightly.
He blows on his hand trying to get warm.
"Maybe I'll just cozy back up for a..."
"I actually think I need to sleep now, Sir."
"Jarvis"
"Jarvis?"
"..."
"Don't leave me, buddy."
Skye listens in and keeps silent, observant of the tension in his voice lingering that even she could feel fear from his sautéed tone.
He finally turns his head and finds her sprawled on the ground, giving him an awkward smile.
"Fuck!"
He quickly stood up and guarded himself while also continuing to assess her from the corner of his eyes.
"Hi," Skye finally sat up from the ground and started patting her body from all of the snow and dirt that caked her.
"Who are you?"
She can't blame him for being wary of her. He just lost his house, suit, and AI in just a day. His eyes didn't betray his own mixed feelings of chaos.
So she calmly waves her hand. "Housekeeping?"
"Last time I checked you need a house to have housekeeping."
"Yeah, my bad. I should try that again." Skye pinches the bridge of her nose, pondering how to approach this.
She still doesn't want anyone to know about her abilities. Because apparently, she gets in a worse situation if she lets anyone know about who she is and what she is capable of. She just wants to live a simple life.
"I was hired to clean your house, Mr. Stark." she started with that. "I was notified late that there was a change in plans. Ms. Potts told me to leave early and I was going to when the building collapsed, and I ended up falling in the water. I got tangled on a wire that coincidentally was attached to you, and I was pulled unaware of it until I woke up in the air in the middle of nowhere because I was unconscious half of the way here."
Skye settled on half the truth and waited for him to respond.
"That's impossible. You would have died from both air pressure suffocating you and hypothermia from only wearing a jacket and pants while speeding in Mach speed." He stared suspiciously at her.
"To be honest, I have no idea how I survived. My parents did say I was harder to kill than coach roaches and am terribly lucky in some regard, but if you ask Miss Peppers, she'd vouch that I am who I say I am."
"And who are you exactly?"
"Skye Abeline," she said and didn't avoid Mr. Stark's scrutinizing gaze, not that it was hard. She'd face more intimidating people than him.
"For now, let's find a way home. I don't think you're lying but you're keeping something from me. Although I'm too tired to find out." He rolled his eyes and looked at his suit with a sad look.
"Okay. But how do we do that, Mr. Stark?" Skye stood up and stretched her body, the cold getting to her.
"I saw a road pointing in that direction so that's our best bet. Come help me."
Using the wire that was still attached to the suit, they secured it tight, and the two started pulling.
While pulling, Tony looked totally disturbed and distracted. Skye didn't have to be a genius to know why. He must be worried for Ms. Potts, and rightfully so. There was no telling what happened to her. She saw them leave the building, but there was no guarantee they didn't get hurt from the attack.
"Mr. Stark, why were those guys attacking you?" She asked to pass the time.
Tony raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't know?"
She shrugged. "I have no clue."
He laughed. "You don't watch the news, do you kid?"
Skye smirked. "Not a fan of it. Terribly biased, and some of the things happening don't concern me."
"And now?" He peeked at her, his eyes twinkling in a teasing glint.
Skye replied, "Well, I guess I should watch at least a little bit. But how could I know your house would be blown up the day I would be cleaning it? It's not an everyday thing, Mr. Stark."
"You should know after the battle of New York they'd be more weirder things being made public now."
Hinting at the fact that it really isn't an odd thing considering they now know there are more threats other than humans in the universe but Skye already knows that.
"True. But that didn't answer my question"
"The Mandarin"
"Mandarin? Mandarin duck?"
Tony looked even more baffled as he snorted. "No. Just Mandarin. You really don't listen to the news, do you?" Skye rolled her eyes as he looked even more teasing.
Like she said, she doesn't care, and she doesn't like to listen to news that isn't her responsibility. Most of her time is spent looking for things to distract her, and the other times, she's drunk on her ass. For her, those are the only useful uses of her time.
"The Mandarin appeared months ago. A terrorist group that attacked cities, people, and populated areas with bombing. He's even threatening the president of the United States. He even attacked Happy, and no one gets away with messing with Happy. I plan to stop him, but I guess..." He paused, his face remorseful.
"I should have handled it differently. If I had, I wouldn't have put Pepper in danger."
Skye didn't say anything for a long time.
She sighed and quietly made small vibrations to keep them both warm. Careful, he wouldn't notice.
"We all make mistakes, Mr. Stark. Most of our choices are made because we're afraid, angry, or guilty. It's human nature, but yeah, you did mess up. But you still have a chance. Ms. Pepper is still alive; I saw her get out, and I know she still loves you regardless. I hope you can beat this Mandarin guy. You just need to be brave."
"I am brave."
"Bravely stupid" she whispered.
"Hey, I heard that."
Skye didn't retaliate or she'd get her and Bella's business under fire.
...
They found a gas station after a few miles of dragging.
"You can call, Ms. Pepper now, Mr Stark. I can pull your suit on my own."
Tony patted her back and gave a squeeze as he jogged ahead and headed for the booth. Skye waited until he wasn't looking before relaxing her shoulders. She stopped pretending to haul brick after brick on her back and pulled naturally easily.
She leaned the suit on the wooden pillar while she sat on the wood floor and relaxed for a bit.
It was a hectic day. She could almost feel the same stimulation of danger she had back when she was the protector.
Her mind wandered off.
"It's snowing," she said to no one in particular.
The snow used to be so magical. Genevieve said she loved it just as much as spring, but she'd teased her how much she couldn't handle it. She would always get sick the first couple of days since it would start raining slow-dancing crystal specks. Her nose would redden that even Rudolf would die for. Her body would be wrapped in a burrito of blankets and jackets because she wouldn't stop shaking.
... and still, she loved the season.
Skye would tease her about it. Pushed the burrito-covered Genevieve back into bed because she was as bad as a kid wanting to break out of jail to see a glimpse of it.
Only to get even sicker if she gets passed Skye.
Looking back at it. She should have let her enjoy it more.
Skye opened her palm and saw snow sit on her finger.
As for Skye, she only considered it magical if Genevieve was in the picture.
Because she actually doesn't like the cold. Who would though?
It was frustratingly much worse to die off than droughts. It brings out the fear within you, and if one isn't careful, she'd be a block of ice sooner than a body would decompose in the Sahara.
"What you thinking there, Kid?"
"How much I hate the cold?" She answered with a snipe before realizing who she was speaking with.
She spared him an embarrassed look, yet Mr. Stark didn't look offended.
"It's fine, Kid. It's not a universal favorite season. Between the two of us, I prefer springtime as well."
"I like Autumn more." She didn't explain. Mr. Stark was waiting for her to elaborate, but Skye only looked at the snow, with a contemplating look.
"Good to hear; well, I left Pepper a message. She'll get it eventually. Why don't we find someplace we can borrow for the night."
Skye went back to dragging the suit with Tony until they found a shed a few meters from the gas station.
Tony opened it using an axe. She offered to help but Mr. Stark ignored it for some good old hitting.
He looked around in it, Skye waiting to hear what he would say. Over his shoulders, she could see it was a sizable shed. Power tools, wrenches, a working table, and many more equipment you'd find in a normal working shop. He could probably use all of it to fix his gears.
"It'll do," he said still out of breath.
When he gave the signal, Skye pulled his hunk of metal and strode into the shed, plopping the armor beside the small couch and sitting in it to rest her head.
Tony looked at her, his curiosity even more apparent. "Wow, okay. You got quite an arm there, kid."
"I work out," she said dismissively. "You should sit as well, Mr. Stark."
He did.
He plop his ass beside her and took a couple of minutes to get his mind in check and ready.
"That's enough sitting." He quickly looked for tools as he busied himself with his arm.
Skye didn't disturb him and closed her eyes to get some rest while she could.
It wasn't long when a kid barged in, holding a makeshift potato gun. It amused Skye too but that was before it broke a glass jar like it wasn't gunning potatoes in the first place.
"And now you're out of ammo." Tony pointed out.
Skye shook her head as the threat was neutralized although she meant it as a joke.
"What's the thing in your chest?"
The kid was so young; she could guess he'd be 9. Was Mr. Stark good with kids?
"It's an electromagnet. You should know, you got a box of them right here."
"What does it power?"
It took a moment for Mr. Stark to respond back, and Skye only saw him move to showcase that she was behind him all along.
"You need that to power a woman? I think I'm too young for this talk."
"No!" Both of them shouted before Tony snapped his fingers as if Skye would read his mind. She rolled her eyes but she did understand what he wanted.
Pulling half of his suit into display, the kid started gasping in awe, eyes flashing as if it was Christmas already.
"Oh, my god. That... Is that Iron Man?"
"Technically I am,"
Skye drowned out most of their conversation as she placed his suit beside her since Mr Stark wasn't relaxing any time soon.
"Technically, you're dead."
The young boy handed him a newspaper while his eyes were still trained on his suit, completely ignoring Skye. Then again, she doesn't want to intrude on the boy's happy occasion.
She, however, stared at Tony.
"Does it say I'm dead too?"
"Kid, I don't even think they knew you were there as well."
"Valid point" she parroted his words back.
The two spoke engineering nerdy stuff, and Skye listened as if she knew what they were talking about. The only indication she was in the conversation was when the boy would give her glances, and Tony would awkwardly share a look that said, 'Help me.'
But she stayed completely out of the conversation since it was entertaining to see him squirm in his place as the kid broke one of his suit's fingers.
"Are you alone at home?" She finally asked.
The young boy looked down at the metal finger in his hands and started inspecting it. "Well, my mom already left for the diner, and Dad went to 7-11 to get scratchers. I guess he won because that was six years ago."
Skye and Tony felt the awkward tension, as the older man raised an eyebrow at Skye. In which she shrugged guiltily.
"Hmm." Tony hummed yet judgmental eyes were still on her. "Which happens. Dads leave. No need to be pissy about it. Here's what I need." Now it was Skye's turn to glare at him as she grabbed the first thing she touched and threw it over his face. He dodged it easily, though.
He began listing off gadgets, and she still wanted to yell at him to be more emphatic, but she stopped when Tony's eyes gave him away.
Guess, Mr Stark has daddy issues as well.
He was even nice enough to give some kind of device to the boy that would be effective for bullies. Not sure what it really does. But it's non-lethal, so Skye could ignore it.
"Can I have a sandwich too?" she asked nicely.
The boy slowly nodded.
"What's your name?"
"Harley. And you..."
"The mechanic and that one is The cleaner" and pointed at Skye.
"Come on, Mr Stark. Really? The cleaner?"
"It was that or the expendable one?" Either one of those holds no good connotation.
But Mr. Stark told the boy his real name at the end of his joking.
"You know what's going through my mind? Where's my sandwich"
Skye threw another cylinder at him.
....
When the kid left to get them their stuff and food, Skye couldn't help but be a little disappointed in him. She knew deep down it was just him deflecting the bigger issue, but the kid wouldn't have noticed that cue yet.
"You can't be sentimental for even a second." She muttered as Tony went back to fiddling with his arm.
"Kid doesn't need it. He's tough for his age, and he doesn't need me half-heartedly treating him like he's five."
"I know I said you need to be brave, but there's a big difference between being an asshole about it and saying it as it is."
"Yeah from where I'm looking my dad was way worse about it and I sucked it up."
Skye sighed. "He's not you, Mr. Stark. He clearly loved his father and he would react the way he did. And we both know asshole fathers aren't universally the same for everyone. Unfortunately, they come in different flavors. The kid looks up to you, even if you're not aware of it so please be nicer."
Skye stood up and walked towards the door.
"And where are you going?"
"Helping the kid get what you need. It's not like I'm helpful with whatever it is you're doing."
And Skye wanted to get her hands on a laptop before Tony, she wanted to check up on the news and how her van was doing.
Notes:Hello, managed to finish it early so I just decided to post it. Feedback is appreciated and I wasn't sure if you wanted a relationship for Daisy or not throughout the story.
Thank you and have a chaotic day.