We get back to the compound after a long, quiet bus ride, and the whole compound is swarmed with paparazzi and reporters. Ugh. I can't deal with this right now, and clearly no one else can either. Everyone is grumbling about it, and everyone on the side of the bus facing the paparazzi and reporters is flipping them off. They're way too insistent and invasive.
Kandyce broke the news last night on her Instagram, and in the last 24 hours, countless sites reported on it. When we went to the store on the way, the news had already hit the papers. Seeing someone die, even a loved one, is so much worse when everyone has something to say. There's a lot of "he deserved it, he's rich and selfish" and a lot of "tony was amazing"s. Neither are totally true, but everyone seems to think they can just say how they feel without affecting anybody.
There's no room to pull in with the bus, it's too flooded. There's gotta be 20 news van parked outside. We park in the road and start to get out. We are immediately bombarded, and I try, without luck, to push my way through.
I struggle through the paparazzi, finally making it close to leaving. Someone grabs my arm. I twist out of their grip, but they hold on. I yank my arm again, but they hold as tight as they can.
"We have a few questions for you!" A woman shouts. I'm still trapped.
"I'm sorry, but as soon as we're ready we'll have a-" the person holding my arm pulls me to them as hard as possible. I look over and it's an older man. Hell no.
"I'll hold a press conference. Please let me go. I'm not answering any of your questions." I'm still getting pulled and shouted at. Someone asks if Kandyce killed Stark. People are taking pictures and asking really personal things about Tony.
I try to walk away, but i'm still being held by the arm. I tug again, but they don't let go. I turn around and punch him in the face as hard as possible. My whole area goes quiet. I broke his nose. Oops. I go inside.
Kandyce is already there, and Mara walks in directly behind me. We hang out for a bit before I start to make food. I throw an apple at Kandyce, and she grabs it and takes a bite.
"I'm going live," she tells me.
"That might be a bad idea-" I start, but she doesn't respond. I keep cooking, and the people on Live are clearly being rude to her.
Once I finish baking the cookies, I eat one. They're delicious, as usual. I go on my phone. There's a bunch of articles about how I punched that guy and I have a bunch of messages about a thousand things, from Tony's death to the paparazzi to accusations against Kandyce to me punching a dude. He's probably going to press charges. Most of the adults other than Emma are still out there, dealing with the last of the journalists. Tony would know what to do.
I decide to call a press conference.
I call a press conference for next Monday. I have 8 days before it to prepare. i hear the front door open, and I expect to see the adults, but I see a man in a gray suit.
"I need to speak to Tony," he says, demanding. I look up.
"He's dead, dipshit."
"We both know that's not true," he says, stepping closer. We're face to face now.
"It is true. I watched him die. He's probably getting an autopsy right now." He frowns and steps forward again.
"I need to speak to Tony."
"Well you can't! No one can! He's dead!" I'm close to tears, and I can't handle this anymore. I subconsciously use my powers, lowering the frequency until he explodes in front of me. Shit. Shit shit SHIT.
I grab a rag and some bleach and clean up the goop, throwing out his suit. My hands burn. I forgot gloves. Finally the door opens again, and the adults walk in.
"What happened?" I ask. Nat explains that they had to answer some questions and deal with a certain situation. The will reading is scheduled for tomorrow. All the adult Avengers have a will. They need to.
I swallow. We're all still in our dirty, bloody clothes. I wasn't before, but my clothes sure are bloody now. Between the guy I punched and the guy I just exploded, Im coated in other people's blood. I retreat to my bedroom and text Kandyce. I don't tell her what happened, but I tell her about the guy in the gray suit, describing him.
She saw the same man. The man I killed.
The day goes by quickly. No one really speaks, and everyone stays pretty secluded. There's a will reading this morning at 10, so I shower and put on a black flair dress. It has white and gold flowers on it, and little mesh cut outs near the waist. It has a sweetheart neckline, so I put on a cardigan. I don't need Steve to lecture me. We all crowd in the living room, all of us dressed completely in black. The woman who will read the will sits down on a chair across from us. She's tall and thick, and she's wearing her brown hair in a tight bun.
"My name is Livia Augustus. I was sent here from SHIELD, and while I'm reading the will today, I will be taking over management of the Avengers, so it would behoove you to get to know me." She says, pullling out a folder of papers.
"Excuse me? Why are you in charge? My dad ran the Avengers. I should be in charge," Mara argues
"I'm in charge because those are the rules." She looked up at Mara and smiled.
"As I was saying," she began, "Mr Tony Stark specified in his will what would happen with his asset as follows: $250,000 to each Avenger, and the rest to Pepper and Mara." She shuffled a few papers and pulled a thick stack out. "As for the Avengers, all management, as per the US government, will be transferred to me, a SHIELD representative. As such, you are all required to complete a new tryout, including but not limited to an aptitude test and combat skills test. We reserve the right to add or remove anyone we see fit. Good luck," she winked.
I got a sick feeling in my stomach.
