No Strings Attached

6

The device began bouncing up and down, doing flips here and there until it stood still once again.

"Cool!" Peter shouted.

"She made a toy, so what." Tony mumbled.

Angela frowned and wound up the toy even more than the first time, until it clicked.

The device sputtered as the cogs moved iin sink, what appeared to be it's legs reared back. For a second, all was still. Then, something popped and the machine leapt forward, covering several feet and landing on Tony's desk, rolling off of it and hitting the floor.

"What the fuck!?" Tony shouted, surprised by the sudden attack.

Angela and Peter burst out laughing, having successfully scared the shit out of Tony. Peter retrieved the toy and wound it up again.

The door opened and someone came in as the toy launched itself in their direction. The person caught it just in time and Peter's eyes widened at the sight of the Winter Soldier. Bucky set the toy down on the table and turned to Peter, holding his metal arm in the air.

"It's shorting out again." He said, taking a seat in an empty chair. "Who's your friend?" He asked, gesturing towards Angela with his head.

"My name is Angela, it's nice to meet you." She answered happily.

Tony was slightly shocked. He had expected her to be nervous, but she seemed comfortable around him. But instead of staying as far away from him as possible, she was up close and watching intently as Peter opened up the super soldiers arm.

Peter rooted around in the wires, trying to figure out if they were connected correctly when he accidently hit one of them. Bucky's arm reared and almost hit Peter in the face had it not been for Angela yanking his chair back.

"Sorry." Bucky apologized.

"It's not your fault. At least I figured it out. One of the wires is loose." Peter said, poking the wire and making Bucky's hand clench. "I need a-"

"Here." Angela was already there with a pair of pliers and a small butane torch.

"Thanks." He shifted slightly. "Can you hold the wire still while I fix it?"

Angela obliged, holding the pliers as still as possible while Peter melted the aluminum back into place so the wire didn't move again. Once that was done, Peter closed up the robotic arm and put his tools away. "There, all fixed up."

Bucky tested out his arm, happy with the results. "Thanks kid." Bucky ruffled Peter's hair. "It was nice meeting you Angela."

"You too Mr. Barnes."

"Please, call me Bucky." He insisted before leaving the lab.

"He seems nice." Angela commented after the door closed.

"He is. Bucky is actually one of the nicest people I've met." Peter admitted with a bit of a blush. "I thought you would have been freaking out about now."

"Why?" She asked.

"Well, when I brought Ned here, he nearly fainted after walking through the front door. You just met two of the Avengers and you didn't even blink."

That's true. Tony thought. And strange.

Angela shrugged. "They're still only people."

"Yeah, people who can play baseball with a warhead and stop a train with their bare hands." Peter exaggerated.

"Still people. They have lives and families of their own and just because they have some super human ability, doesn't make them anything less. I will treat them with the respect and decency they deserve. Besides, I personally think that heart is more important than any super power."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"Everyday, firefighters, policemen, and soldiers in the war risk their lives to save people. They are just as much heroes as the Avengers. Granted, not as well known, but heroes none the less."

Peter hummed in understanding. "Good point."

Tony felt guilt slowly inching it's way to his heart, but smushed it once he remembered who she worked for. As far as he was concerned, this was all an act and she was the enemy.

A few hours passed and Angela, exhausted from the days events and having not slept the night before, fell asleep on the couch in the lab. Peter draped a blanket over the sleeping girl and took the opportunity to go do his Spider-Man thing.

Tony worked away in his lab while Peter was out, occasionally checking his vitals and location as he tinkered away. Angela stirred on the couch and he held his breath, hoping she stayed asleep. The redhead rolled onto her back, hair sticking to her face as sweat dripped down her forehead.

Nightmares. I guess even she could have them. Tony thought.

Why should he care? He doesn't. Simple as that.

Tony glanced over at Angela as her face contorted into an expression of fear.

Okay, maybe he cared a little.

Angela's eyes flew open and she stared up at the ceiling, unmoving. Having gotten used to nightmares, she had learned to just sit still and wait until her mind came back to reality instead of freaking out. Having been scolded for screaming in the middle of the night for no good reason, she learned the hard way to keep quiet.

Once her eyes focused on the ceiling, she sighed in relief and wiped the sweat off of her forehead. She sat up and stretched her aching limbs, looking around the lab for Peter. She frowned when the boy was nowhere to be found and looked to his mentor.

"Where's Peter?"

"Uhhh." Tony tried to think of an excuse. "He's delivering something for me."

"At one in the morning?" Angela said after peeking at her phone. "ONE AM?! We have to get home! May's gonna kill us!" She shouted, grabbing her bag and shoving everything in it.

"Calm down. I called May and she said it was fine." Tony assured her.

Angela's shoulders relaxed when he said this and she dropped her bag on the ground. "Was that payback for earlier?" She glared at him.

"No, but it was funny." Tony laughed.

Suddenly, a hologram to the right turned a bright and furious red. Tony's laughing came to a sudden stop and his smile was replaced with one of worry. He slid over to the monitor and quickly answered the call.

"Kid, what's wrong?"

"T-Tony?"

Oh no. He only called him Tony when something happened.

"Kid, what happened?"

"Man... Gun...Shot..."

Angela's heart stopped when she realized it was Peter on the other line. "Oh my god." She mumbled, her hand over her mouth.

"Where are you?" Tony demanded, already getting his suit ready.

Something thumped out on the balcony and the two of them ran out to see none other than Spider-Man laying flat on the ground. Tony scooped him up and rushed out of the lab, Angela hot on his heals as the pieces fit together.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Spider-Man was set on a gurney and his mask was removed. It was like everything stopped moving. There lay Peter drenched in his own blood with a whole in his side, his face pale and chest barely moving.

"Peter..." She mumbled.

Tony spun around as if remembering that she was still there. His face flushed and he slammed the door shut, locking Angela out.