"You do realize that could be because of a-" You cut yourself off, dismissing your own explanation to stop you both from continuing down the hall with a raised hand, and motioned for him to face you, which he did with some confusion, "Here, let me just..."
You put two fingers to the back of his hand and paused, letting your powers flow throughout his muscles to find the source, and you couldn't help the small smile that crossed your expression when you did. In an instant, it was fixed, and he inhaled sharply, almost inaudibly.
"I didn't ask you to do that." He scolded lightly and you smiled knowingly.
"Yeah, but now you'll sleep better." You pointed out and he gave you a tight smile with a short, grateful nod before you both started down the hall again.
He led you to a man standing outside of a room that was surrounded by windows, but you didn't bother glancing inside, only interested in the well-dressed man in front of you.
"Tony, this is the faith healer, Y/n, Y/n, this is-"
"'Faith healer', Haps?" You scoffed, only partially offended, "I'm not even religious and you've duped me as a 'faith healer'?" You could tell he knew you were messing with him, so you slapped his arm playfully, "And here I thought we were friends."
"I need your help." Tony told you, ignoring the exchange as Happy sent you a disgruntled huff, but then he looked back to his boss, just as surprised as you were.
"I thought you were just going to talk to her."
"Change of plans," He eyed his friend with a look that told him not to question it and then peered back over at you, "I need you to heal someone."
That was the moment you took a second to glance inside the room, and you immediately gathered it wasn't a regular space, but one made for the patients of their medical section in this tower. You weren't familiar with the set up or anything, so you didn't recognize it at first, but then you spotted a woman hooked up to some machines on a bed, your attention immediately snapping back to the distressed billionaire.
"No."
"No?" Tony spat back incredulously, "What do you mean 'no'?"
"Tony, what happened?" Happy asked him before you could quip something and Tony sighed, peeling his glare from you to set it back on the other man.
"Mission went bad, fast, and um...she barely made it," He cleared his throat, trying to keep his expression steeled, "Banner said it was a fatal hit."
"I'm gonna go." You thumbed it behind you and only gave your attention to Happy, uncomfortable with how Iron Man was staring you down like he either wanted to change your mind telepathically or just set you on fire.
Dealer's choice.
"You're not going anywhere." Tony growled.
"She didn't sign up for this, Tony." Happy reminded him, even if he was still a little confused as to why you wouldn't help someone when he's seen what you can do, not only up close and personally, but from the news.
"I have an hour," He snapped, his eyes still on you as you were leaning towards heading back from where you came, "I bought an hour when I agreed to redo that park."
"To talk." Happy spoke up in your defense, but then his mouth clamped shut when the man glared at him.
"Fine," He finally huffed, and you thought you were good to go until he added, "What more is it going to take?" You turned to side glance him, wondering how serious he was, and he continued, "What do you want? Money? How much? Name your price."
You studied him for a moment, the way he was struggling to keep composed, and you knew this was someone he had a strong connection with. He was covered in a light sheen of sweat, muddled by some soot, and he must've been wearing this suit under his Iron Man suit because certain spots were only affected as if it happened when his mask was up. But he was close to losing it, the idea or the actuality of losing whoever that woman was to him could definitely push him over the edge.
There was no way in hell you could leave someone to die, but you didn't like the idea of being used for what you could do – you despised it – and you also knew the repercussions of saving someone when they're on the brink of death.
"If I do this," You swallowed thickly, eyeing the woman from a distance through the bullet proof glass, and then flicking your eyes back to the billionaire, "And it works, you leave me alone. For good," You narrowed your eyes when you saw him debating – actually debating whether it was worth it, "Forty-eight hours after I heal her, I never hear from you again."
"Why two days?" Tony asked with furrowed eyebrows and you strolled over to the door that led to the woman's room, eyeing her softly as she laid there helplessly, most likely being kept alive by those machines.
"Have you ever seen those movies? Final Destination?" You asked them both, but didn't wait for an answer, "If someone was meant to die and I stop that, it's like I tried to play god or something and they'll die within forty-eight hours like it was fate."
"Can't I just give you half a million dollars instead?" He offered pathetically after they both processed what you were saying, and you gave him a death glare, strong enough to make Happy's eyes widen.
"I don't like you," You told him bluntly, "Your friend is nice, but I don't support the avengers and all they've done, I've been on the ground – seen the aftermath, and I'm not sorry because I value my freedom and values way too much to get involved."
His eyes seemed to dart across the floor, trying to come up with a response, but he was exhausted and out of options, so he just nodded ever so slightly, agreeing to your terms.
You reached for the handle and before you opened the door you asked,
"What's her name?"
Tony peered up from the floor and set his sad, scared eyes on you, desperate for this nightmare to be over.
"Romanoff. Natasha Romanoff."
