Keeping The Light On

The One Where Avery Wants A Blanket

Avery woke up to a voice calling her name, but it wasn't Pepper. It sounded strange. It was still dark out when she moved the covers from in front of her face. She turned and looked around, not seeing anyone in the room and seeing no shadows under the door.

"It's JARVIS, Ms. Killian. I was told to wake you up and direct you towards Mr. Stark's lab." The voice, JARVIS, informed her. Avery assumed the voice was in every room, and if so she considered it very creepy. But either way she got up and headed for the door, not bothering to change her clothes.

I thought Ms. Potts was going to check on me, not call me to Mr. Stark's lab.

As she followed JARVIS' instructions, Avery couldn't help but worry. She knew they would send her back eventually, but maybe they were doing it now. Avery's throat started to burn badly, and breathing wasn't working. She asked JARVIS to change directions towards the closest water source, it was the bathroom water fountains. Avery drank as much water as it took for her throat to cool down a little bit and continued on her way to Tonys lab.

It didn't take long to get there. Avery walked in the door with her hands wringing and her steps cautious. JARVIS greeted her, causing Tony to look up from his lab table and at her, making eye contact. He didn't look so angry like he did last night, but still looked conflicted. The man noticed the girl's anxiety but did nothing to quell her worries.

"DNA test came back," Tony stated, looking highly uncomfortable. He was playing with a tool that was on his desk, and avoiding eye contact with Avery. "You really are his daughter, aren't you?"

Oh god. He saw everything else as well. He knows what I am.

"Yes, sir." Avery meekly replied, avoiding eye contact with the man. Avery didn't know what else to say, she probably should have said more but she didn't want to upset the man even more. She just watched one of the mechanical arms with great interest.

I wonder how he made that? It's like it has its own personality, that's so cool!

"Jesus Christ, kid. None of his records show a child, I looked. So how the hell are you here?" Tony asked the young girl, he was obviously confused. It was understandable, nobody ever expects the bad guy to have any kids- though a lot of them do- so no one looks for them.

Except Tony Stark. He tried to see if dad had any kids.

"Well he- dad just didn't want anyone to know about me so he got rid of my records and hid me away, y'know?" Avery explained to the man who looked even more confused than he did before. Avery was going to try to explain more when Tony cut her off.

"Why? Why did he keep you a secret, Avery?" He demanded, though Avery suspected he already knew the answer. Tony Stark was a smart man and he had seen her DNA results. There was no denying what her father had done to her now. And so she told him.

"He made extremis perfect before he died, Mr. Stark. You know that, but it wasn't him that he perfected it on. It was me." She told him, but he hadn't looked surprised- not that she thought he would- instead he looked at her like she was insane.

Why was he looking at me like that? I gave him the answers he wanted and now I would be on my way.

"So, what? You thought you would come here to get me to fix you like I did Pepper? Is that why you waited so long before coming here? You waited to see if it could be fixed? Is that why you convinced Pepper to let you stay here last night?" He was almost yelling at this point. He was asking Avery too many questions for her mind to catch up in time and it made her throat burn and chest feel hot, she knew what was going to happen if she didn't get out. So she ran, and she ran and she ran. She didn't stop until she had turned two corners, and then she jumped into the closest room to her. A supply closet.