Project: A Stark Winter

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Inconvenience

Your eyes go wide as they settle on Matt who sat casually at the head of the conference room table. He had a briefcase open in front of him with a scattering of documents spread out for the room's occupants to see. Matt's friend Foggy Nelson leaned in to whisper to him and pulled back to shoot you a look of pity. You could practically hear the gulp he made as he looked hesitantly at Tony and back at you again, nervous about how to say what was on his mind.
"Please, take a seat, Miss. Stark." Matt called to where you stood in the doorway. He smiled warmly at you despite the formality of his greeting as the rest of the team shuffled around to make room for you. Bucky leaned against the wall in the far corner practically staring a hole through Matt's head as he sat unaware and unbothered. Rolling your eyes at Bucky, you reluctantly pull out a chair by Tony who has yet to make eye contact with you; keeping his eyes pinched shut as he awaited the final verdict. His breathing was measured and even as he sat there, his fingers picking at a scratch on the surface of the table nervously. Foggy cleared his throat loudly as he timidly glanced between you and Tony knowing the things he would say could set the hot-tempered Tony Stark on a warpath.
"Um, well. I have bad news and worse news..." Foggy starts causing Tony's head to whip up and glare at him, his deep brown eyes swirling with anger and irritation. Foggy takes a noticeable step back as he shakily adjusts his tie and glances at Pepper for help. She steps forward from her spot in the corner of the room, opposite Bucky, and rests a hand on Tony's shoulder to calm him briefly before nodding at Foggy to continue. He gives her an awkward smile as he clears his throat loudly.
"After reviewing everything...uh well there isn't a case to be made, legally. We don't know who hacked the system and when the press reports it-" Foggy continues sliding a stack of documents Tony's way which he starts leafing through in disgust.
"The press has the right to post just about anything from tonight it's-it's the first amendment. Whoever did this knew not to show too much but just enough to cause an upset." Matt cuts in, his smile from moments before vanishing as it became strict and professional. Steve scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"So you're telling me there's nothing we can do?" He asks, anger lacing his words at allowing something so hurtful to go unanswered.
"Basically, yes," Foggy confirms, displeasure clear on his face as he begins putting away the remainder of his documents. Natasha taps her fingers on the table as she ponders the information presented. Her brows lift as she refocuses her gaze on the lawyers.
"What's the worse news?" She asks with steel in her words as she looks them over. Foggy turns a lighter shade of pink as he swallows past a nervous lump forming in his throat.
"Well..." He begins but trails off as he searches for the right words to say. Matt frowns sadly as he grabs Foggy's elbow and uses him to stand from his seat. Taking his cane in his hand he taps around the table as he gets ready to leave. You could almost feel his eyes on you behind those rose-tinted goggles, the way he had turned in your direction before looking away quickly. There seemed to be lingering questions and so much that he, and the others, had left unsaid. No one had pointed fingers yet, there had been no shouting or raised voices in your direction. It dawns on you then that the members of the team hadn't truly acknowledged your presence. You anxiously peered at the people around you, hoping to find some semblance of warmth in their tense expressions but that hope faded swiftly. The aura of the room felt jagged and uneasy as your eyes swept the space and the most you could gather was that these people, your only connection in this world, clung to calmness with an iron grip trying to avoid the calamity of your temperamental poisoned nature. Your lungs released a hushed sigh as you sank into your chair and tried to avoid being more of a problem than you already felt. Bucky, however, seemed to take your shrinking stature as a challenge as he stared at you openly and unabashedly, anger flashing in his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak as Matt cuts him off with his worse news causing Bucky to snap his lips shut and lean back against the wall once again, brooding moodily.
"The new battle is the court of popular opinion. The press will run a smear campaign against her for what they think she may have done. You can't refute it because, well. She isn't exactly from here now is she? You could furnish proof of the forged documents to try and disprove the rumor mill but again...as your legal team I cannot advise that." Matt says sadly. He shrugs as he feels the weight of what he's just said affect the room. You flinch ever so slightly as the impact of his words settles in. There was no real fight here, you realize as you look at Matt and give a strangled, sad smile.
"As a concerned party, however, my advice would be to lay low." Matt declares, emphasizing his connection to you as he tilts his head to address you directly.
"Don't leave the tower, don't cause any mischief, and especially don't address the accusations. Understood?" He finished with an emphasis as Pepper stepped forward and shook his hands briskly, seeing how Bucky took a step forward at the tone of voice Matt had taken with you.
"Thank you, gentlemen. I'll show you out." She whispers as the rest of the team process the latest in a seemingly never-ending series of problems caused by you. Foggy follows Pepper quickly, but Matt lingers in the doorway got a moment as if wanting to say something else. He thinks better of it and turns on his heel; walking after Pepper and Foggy, leaving you scrambling internally behind him. The rest of the team fell into low mumbles of discussion over what was said and how annoyed they were at being told to do nothing. Pepper strolled in with a tense sway of her hips and clap her hands together loudly as she addresses the group.
"Alright, everyone but Tony and y/n out. Now." She chirps in a high-pitched tone of someone being on edge. The team eyes her suspiciously as they loud object.
"Hold on, Pepper. I think this is a team issue-" Clint voices loudly as Pepper shoots daggers his way and cuts him off.
"I understand your concern, but first and foremost this is a family issue so we'd like to discuss it with y/n privately," Pepper commanded as she looked at the faces of the shocked team.
"Pepper, what y/n did affects all of us." Sam cuts in as he leans back in his chair and crosses his arms defiantly.
"I hate to agree with Sam, but he's right." Natasha agreed reluctantly as she shot you a pitiful half smile.
"We need a moment with, y/n. Then we can talk about next steps. So out for a few moments." Pepper says, her words final as the team stand begrudgingly and move it into the hallway. Pepper pulls the door to the conference room shut and turns to you. She stands with arms crossed and a mixed expression plastered in her face. As she opens her mouth to speak, Tony's voice cuts her off.
"The plan was for you to lay low, y/n." His voice is clipped, and he stands reluctantly. He has yet to bring himself to look at you. Without a good response, you stay silent and rub your arms nervously. Pepper pulls out a chair and sits heavily, sighing loudly.
"Honey, we are just confused about-"
"No, Pepper. We aren't confused. We are angry." Tony cuts her off and places his hands in his hips.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't think-"
"Exactly. You've been doing a whole lotta not thinking lately. Do you have any clue how hard we worked for this? I can't even wrap my head around how stupid you behaved tonight. Drunk on your first public outing?" Pepper stares at Tony in shock as your shoulders slump and you take the verbal assault coming your way.
"I mean, Jesus y/n. Every time I think we make progress it gets set back by your actions. I-I don't even know what else to feel other than angry."
"Tony...I'm sorry. It was just too much..."
"Tony, I'm sorry? Alright we're gonna play it that way then...we don't get off days. You are an avenger and a Stark and do not belong here. I can only do so much to protect you if you don't stop fucking it up." Pepper gasps and Stares daggers at Tony. Your eyes widen at his statement before focusing on a spot in the table and forcing down the anxious feelings rising. You can feel Tony shift to look at your shaking form but refuse to bring your eyes to his.
"Understood." Is your mumbled reply as you try and center yourself, seeing small streaks of black working their way under your skin. Tony sighs and throws up his hands. He storms to the door then and opens it for the waiting team, each of them with a grimace at the scolding you received. They shuffle back into the room and Pepper scoffs at Tony.
"We aren't even going to try and figure this out as a family?" She seethes to which Tony groans.
"Family? These people are more of a family right now." He spits and gestures to the team. Steve winces and shoots you an apologetic look.
"Then as a family, let's look at the facts and try and-"
"Steve, cut the shit. We know what the facts are. Y/n pissed someone off and now we have to play clean up." Sam says before Steve can finish. The team once again erupts into verbal chaos as they argue over you. They were right that this was your fault, but it's not like you had planned on someone hacking the system. Your eyebrows shot up as you leaned forward anxiously, Bucky being hyperaware of your growing unease gives you a look as if to say "you okay?" to which you shrugged and rub your temples furiously. No, you hadn't planned this so that could only mean that you were being targeted. But who would target you? No one truly knew who you were in this universe and if it was some mysterious anti-Stark leader or whatever then they had to have fairly intimate knowledge of Stark tower and Industries as well as the comings and goings of someone who wasn't a public persona or attached to Tony or the Avengers in any way. It was odd and your palms began to sweat as you attempted to piece together this puzzle. It just didn't make sense.
"Hey, doesn't any think-" You begin as disappointed eyes turn to look at you, stopping you midsentence.
"Y/n, please. We are trying to fix this mess. Just-I don't know. Go get some rest or something." Tony snapped sharply, not sparing a glance to see your shocked and hurt expression. You snap your mouth shut quickly and nod your understanding as you push away from the table and storm out of the conference room as fast as your legs would carry you. You rounded the corner in the direction of your room, but decided against it and stepped into the elevator instead.
"Friday, med bay please." You call the tower A.I. and soon you feel the elevator move and carry you toward your destination. As the doors slide open you notice Dr. Lee hunched over a lab table checking a microscope. She sighed deeply as she sat back and scrawled into an open file. Quietly you walked over to Dr. Lee curious as to what she would be working on. Apparently unaware of your arrival, Dr. Lee jumped in her seat as she quickly shut the file she was writing in and gasped loudly.
"Y/N! I-I wasn't expecting you at this hour. Is everything okay?" She mumbles, her voice shaky and startled. Dr. Lee stands abruptly and looks you over. She places her hands gently on either side of your face as she clucks her tongue and shakes her head.
"What happened?" Dr. Lee inquires quickly, ushering you to the exam table as she busies herself with gathering her medical equipment. You hop up slowly and watch your legs sway back and forth; dangling in the air. Nervously, you pick at your cuticles and avoid eye contact with Dr. Lee. This entire evening was nothing short of humiliating and as much as you wanted to share your feelings, something in your gut was preventing you from opening up.
"Y/n..." Dr. Lee's soft voice cut through your thoughts. You brought your tear-filled eyes to meet her calm expression and allowed yourself to feel vulnerable. Through gasping sobs and sniffles you told her everything. Dr. Lee nod along as she listened to you explain until finally, she cut you off as you told her of your suspicions about it being an inside job.
"I don't believe that it would be an inside job. Everyone here genuinely cares about you. It could be a disgruntled intern at Stark Industries. Can you think of anyone who you might've made upset?" Dr. Lee asks using her most professional doctor voice. You shake your head and bite your lip. She was probably right. The need and desire to blame others for everything that happened was strong and it could have been anybody. But still, the idea lingered on. You looked up to see Dr. Lee readying a syringe full of the shining blue liquid. You sigh heavily and hold out your arm to receive the dose of the antidote. With steady, trained hands Dr. Lee administers the dose and places a bandage on the crook of your arm.
"There. All done." She says with a wide smile. Dr. Lee pushes back in her rolling chair and sets about cleaning her space.
"You're all set. You should probably head upstairs and to bed. Sleep this one off and I'll see you in the morning." She says without turning to look at you, her hands cleaning and packing up various instruments into a small, black bag. You hop off the exam table and feel your body sway slightly, but remain upright. As quickly as it had come, the feeling vanished leaving you confused and tired. Shaking your head you decide it was just a strong dose hitting you harder than usual. You walk to the elevator and call out to Friday to take you to your floor. She obeys silently and carries you swiftly as asked. Stepping out from the doors timidly, you tiptoe through the living space and past the kitchen. As you're about to round the corner to your room hushed voices catch your ear causing you to freeze and listen.
"I don't know how you expect me to feel, Pepper." Tony's agitated whisper echoes down the quiet corridor. You hear Pepper sigh deeply before speaking.
"I expect you to feel like a father , Tony. She is your daughter whether you like it or not." She fires back, her voice on edge.
"Don't you think I know that? Looking at her is like looking in a mirror half the time. I can now appreciate how much shit I put my old man through. But this is different."
"It's not. You're just too stubborn to work through some of these hard....inconveniences."
"Inconveniences? Pepper, reality check, darling. Y/n was the reason that seven investors pulled out from the foundation. She is the reason we are walking on eggshells every day. She is a ticking time bomb. An inconvenience is when they forget the soy sauce packets in your take out not nearly bankrupt my entire company." Tony whispers sharply as he is met with silence. You lean against the wall stunned as you overhear Tony's angry statement. Tears brim in your eyes as you bolt toward your room and crash into the sanctuary of your covers. As sobs wrack your tired body your senses aren't alerted to the figure that lurks in the corner. It slowly approaches the bed and you only register its presence when it's too late. A cloth is held firmly over your mouth and nose forcing you to inhale the vicious fumes of chloroform. Your hands reach over and scratch at the figure and trying desperately to fight against their hold on you. With a sharp kick to the figure, you hear them curse and a solid blow lands on your skull. The crack of it rattles your teeth and they drag you from the bed with rough hands to straddle you and continue to use the chloroform on you. As you try to fight, you feel your limbs grow heavier and heavier but bite down in the hand where it holds the cloth. They let out a huff of pain and lift your head up to slam it back on the floor several times; the sticky feeling of blood trickling down your forehead and neck.
"Let's go, y/n. I don't have time for this." He lifts you up and over a shoulder, your body in too much pain and dizzy from the chloroform to fight any more. Your eyes drift shut as the realization sets in that you were being taken somewhere and there was no way for you to fight back. The evil cackles of the german man fill your head once again as the dreams take over and unconsciousness wins.