I'm Iron Man, And I'm Agent Coulson

Chapter 23 The Kiss that Broke Me

"Vanko, this isn't what I had in mind!" Hammer's shouting slowly woke me up from the fog of memories, and the influx of emotions they brought back. I had no idea how much time passed, but my head splintered with the noise and the words of my grandmother flittered in front of me.
She knew back then, who I was, and the trials I would face. I just wish I would of listened.
Why didn't I listen?
Because I thought she was losing her mind, and the pain of losing my beautiful mom..
As a young child I believed she was a sorceress, like the characters in the stories she would tell me before I went to bed. She was devout in her old Aztec beliefs and old ways of life, but after a few short years, I began to blame her for my parent's untimely and brutal deaths, by filling my mom's head with the same nonsense she continually fed me, which is part of the reason I left home and joined the military.
I didn't want to end up like my mother, who married her highschool sweetheart, only to die by my father's own hands. I refused to end up like that, but in my broken stupor, she was there, and the memories helped eased my torment for a small bit of time.
Maybe I was meant to see her now, as I teetered on the real possibility of life and death?
Maybe she really did know what I'd face, and in my delirium my mind reached for her comfort?
I couldn't deny something was happening to me, it's been happening to me, for as long as I could remember.
Who knows, all I do know is that the vision I had of her, gave me some strength, and her words carried a wisdom and larger shards of truth.

As I got older, and started high school, I started to see things, feel things, differently than I'd ever had before, and it continued as I began to go through my life, but I never admitted to it, not even to my grandmother, or myself, as she lay on her death bed. If I admitted it, then I had to admit she may of been right, and at the petulant age of twenty-one, I still didn't give her what she wanted.
It wasn't till after she passed, that I actually began to believe in her words, just a little, especially after the accident in Kandahar. I didn't know why or how I knew something bad was coming, but it didn't matter, my crew ended up dying anyways, and I left my questions behind after I left the military.
Whatever internal alarms I had, or ability, went off around Stane, and in Monaco before the races, and a few other instances throughout all that. My unease in Justin's apartment once I sobered up was there, but I didn't listen to it, too afraid of what it may mean.
I've always known life was hard, but remembering those words, and seeing her, just reiterated the belief maybe she was right.
That's the only reason why she would of shown me exactly what I needed to see, in order to get through this.
What I wouldn't of given to talk to her, but Hammer's shrieking voice pushed my grandmother's face further away from me, till she was gone altogether.

"I needed suits, not drones.. and what the hell'd you do to her?" Justin's voice cracked and I felt a cold wet cloth on my face, "christ, look at her, she obviously doesn't know anything. She would of told you by now, it's been over fourteen hours..."

"Don't touch me..?" I moaned, but leaned into the cold, wet cloth. I couldn't see much because one of my scalp wounds dripped blood onto my swollen eye.
The thoughts of my grandmother, Tony and James swirled in front of me, as my hands and feet began to ache and burn, slowly waking up the rest of my painful body.
Alcohol and stupidity got me into the position I was in, and it was up to me to get out of it. I didn't expect to be rescued, by anyone. I had my own strength to save myself, and believed my grandmother's ghostly appearance was sent to enforce that, but how?

"I'm losing my fucken mind," I whispered to myself, as Justin paced in front of me.
"Drones better, and she knows everything, she been by Stark's side since the beginning of Iron Man, he care for her, maybe loves her. She will break.." Vanko started, "or I kill her, either way, Stark suffers..."
"Tony doesn't love me," I croaked, struggling to keep my head up, "we work together, that's it fuckrag..."
"No, we're done here," Justin stated, as his fingers snapped, and I dropped my head back down to my chest, "these two gentlemen are gonna make sure you don't move, clean her up and put her in my private quarters, I'll have a doctor come by after the expo, then decide what to do with her."