The Other Stark

Seeing James again

In the year it has been since I last saw Steve I had a great time. I drank all day, partied all night, realized that I was an adult and saving my virginity was a shit idea, so I lost it to the cover of this month's playboy. Like I said when I left the new avengers place I never looked back. My father still visited them, but I never did. Every now and then I thought about it, at least wanting to visit Natasha, but I never got the balls to. God did I love my new life tho. For once I was not worried about HYDRA, the world, boys, or school. This was a whole new me that I never got to explore before. I traveled all over the world, met many different people. Some at formal events that acted like snobs, others street fighting who adored my strength. 

Pepper and my father broke up. Well Pepper broke up with him. Tony had to take over the company, and once again I was by his side learning the trade. Team Tony(i) was back in action. I went with him to the MIT speech and took over for Pepper's speech. When I walked off stage my father came up and hugged me. I don't know what happened, but he whispered in my ear, "You are my greatest creation, I don't know what I would do without you" I smiled back and wrapped my arm around his waist as we waited for the elevator to bring us up from the basement. Right as the doors opened to our floor, he didn't even look at me before saying, "Oh next stop is with the Avengers, you are going too, first I need to pick up a friend". I glared at him, but followed his orders. The ride to see the Avengers was awkward, not even thinking-about-an-ex weird but looking at this man, secretary of state. I knew what he stood for, he stood for all of the people who almost killed me as a child. He stood for placing the fear of god into me as a child because I was different. I was almost relieved when I got to the compound. I shook everyone's hand at the compound and sat by my father listening to the secretary of states speech about the destruction that has been caused in Uganda during the Avenger's latest mission. I felt like crying looking at the damages, the dead bodies. Steve looked at me struggling and had to tell him, "that is enough" and the Sokovia Accords. The avengers would no longer be a private, Stark project. The Avengers either need to sign or retire. At the end of the conference I looked at my father in the hallway and asked slightly aggressive, "Tony why is it necessary for me to be here, this has nothing to do with me?" We were not the only ones fighting as I could see Sam and Rodney having an argument about it as well. "Because it is important that we play by the rules, Cap may not want that and you need to, lets say persuade him if necessary". I took this moment and slapped him before walking inside the glass room where everyone stared at me in shock, with Steve looking concerned, acting as if he cared. It pissed me off. I don't need him to save me every time I get a little uncomfortable. Ultron brought up a "formula" since Tony made it known he was Iron Man the number of known enhanced humans has increased along with threats. I stood up to Ultron, "I'm going to stop you right there because I know exactly what you are talking about. Correlations doesn't mean causation. So howabout you take that little formula and shove it up your ass. No one here knows what it is like to be born different, no one here knows what it is like as a child to hide who you are from everyone, including your father, the only family you have, no one here knows what it is like to be haunted for these differences that you hide. When my father came out it didn't make mutants, it simple inspired them to come out and this would cause my people to have a forty year set back. God you people are all so obsessed in being like us, but you will NEVER know what it is like. YOU chose this life. For real who the fuck does that?!?!"

I stormed out of the kitchen. I couldn't breath. My hands were shaking. I thought back to when I was a child and the men attacked my school, my home. I was so arrogant then. I herd the news that Peggy died from Sam who was leaving with Steve for London for her funeral. I giggled, walking away from him as I stole a bottle of whiskey and a car. I checked into a hotel for the weekend of the conference and had a binge. I looked at the bottle in my hand and thought. Time to run again, they will come looking, just like before. I was asleep when a knock was on my hotel door. I opened it to see Steve. I was shocked. I was embarrassed at how I looked, baggy sweatpants, a little too tight sports bra. Messy hair, no make up. I looked like shit. I was too shocked to speak but Steve broke the silence, "Can I come in?" I stood to the side, inviting him in. I closed the door and began to move things around, kicking the bottles under the bed. I stuttered a little bit but managed to get the words out, "I'm sorry for your loss Steve" He gave me a sad smile and replied, "Thank you, Toni" He sat on the edge of the bed and patted a spot next to him which I obliged. "I have had a lot to think about recently. I think about you" It was quiet for a minute, "I think about what you said. No one should feel that way. You have always been scared of this haven't you?" I looked over at the clock, "Shouldn't you be at the conference?" He looked at me and took my hand, stroking it with his thumb, "I am exactly right where I need to be". I woke up to the TV was playing the conference and knew that I was only dreaming, of course Steve didn't want me. The tv showed James, they said that he caused the attack, but I know that is not true. I know then that I needed to find him.  James had given me a burner phone with only one number saved before we left each other. I gave the code and he gave the location, Bucharest. I was there before nightfall, a perk of being a Stark. I thought I looked inconspicuous enough and I looked over the plan I drew up on the plane. It was time for us to hide again. James would understand, he didn't choose this life either.

In his hotel I began to pack everything back into his bag and then a door opened. It was not James as I expected, it was Steve. He stood frozen both of us looking at the other. At least until he quietly closed the door, not breaking eye contact. I would not back down and let him hurt James. As soon as I pulled out my phone, Steve hit my arm with his shield. I cringed in pain and dropped it as he knocked me against the wall. He yelled in my face, "Where is Bucky" I spat in his face and replied, "Fuck off. I am not telling you. What do you want with him?" His pressure on my neck became tighter, "I am not messing around Toni he killed people and needs to be arrested by me before the others find him". My eyes were caught to James on the other side of the room hiding, watching us interact, "Some best friend you are, you didn't even ask him if he did it" With that something happened that I never would of guessed. Steve head butted me and I could feel blood run down my face. He let go and I slid to the floor laughing as he rummaged threw Jame's book. A picture of me fell to the floor and I stopped laughing.

When Steve bent down to pick it up he saw James helping me up. He looked between the two of us before asking, "Do you know me". James looked from me to him before replying, "You're Steve I read about you in a museum" I knew James was lying but he had explained it to me before. Steve began to walk closer easing James with his words, "I know you are nervous. You have reason to be, but you are lying" James responded "I wasn't in Vienna, I don't do that anymore" Steve never stopped walking when he instructed, "Well there are people who think you did and they are on their way here now, and they are not planning on taking you alive" I took my arm from around Jame's shoulder and looked around for an exit, thinking of a plan. James took my hand and said, "That's smart, good strategy" and Steve gazed at the hands holding each other before continuing, "This doesn't have to end in a fight Buck". I looked up as I heard footsteps. They are above us on the roof. Bucky let go of my hand and walked to the table, taking off his glove, "It always ends in a fight", I activated my gloves as Steve continued his pleas, "You pulled me from the river, why? Why did you take Toni from me?" My mouth dropped. James's eye became narrow, "Can't take from you what isn't yours".

Then a flash grenade was thrown in the room, only to have Steve hit it with his shield. Another landed by Jame's feet and he kicked it over to Steve who placed his shield onto of it, not letting it go off. James flipped the mattress over us, and I could hear the door being hit by a battering ram, so James tossed the table to jam the door. Two men flew into the window one attacking James, the other I hit with my laser as Steve took on the one that came in threw the kitchen door. James took my hand and he tried to run out it, only to have Steve take my other hand and yell, "Buck! Stop you are going to kill her!!!" That must of gotten James mad because knocked Steve to the ground, who took me with him, only letting go of my hand when James tried to punch his face in with his metal arm. I grabbed James's bug out bag and James told Steve, "I would never hurt her like you did" He tossed the bag from my hand onto the roof of the next building and nodded at me. I started to run and once I was on the edge I jump, which I barely made it. I rolled on the ground and started to breath heavy, damn I am out of shape. I looked up expecting James to be behind me, but I only saw more men charging the apartment. I ran to grab the bag and saw James make the jump.

 Once he rolled out of the jump I took his arm and yanked him forward for us to run, at least until I was tossed to the ground and looked up to see a man in a leather leotard fighting James. When James was knocked down I took a turn and hit the man with my laser. He shot back but had cat-like reflexes and avoided the beam before going after James and I both. Steve jumped on the roof, I wasn't paying attention to the cat man and got hit in the face slicing my cheeks open. I stood up and yelled "What the fuck dude" before I saw Sam with his wings on knocking down the helicopter that was shooting at us. I smiled at this act while James took the opportunity to knock down cat-man and jump off the roof, with cat-man, Steve and I following. We started running in an underground tunnel in traffic so the other helicopter shooting as us couldn't see us. I could see a cop car behind us and I was telling myself, "Shit, shit, shit" until I saw Steve get run over by it. I stopped for a second, the second our eyes made contact, but when I saw Steve get up I began to run again, just trying to catch up to James. At the end of the tunnel cop cars tried to block us and I jumped over them as James pulled me on a motor cycle. Some how cat-man gabbed on back but James made sure we didn't crash, or at least until the cat pulled me off the back, cracking the back of my head open and giving me a massive head ache. I watched as Steve pulled the car guy off James and cop cars pulled in. I was flipped onto my stomach and cuffed. I called out for James as we were separated and tears flowed from me eyes.