Kill Your Mind ⋙ Avengers

n i n e

[E D I T E D]

KILL YOUR MIND
❝life is simply a mix of mayhem and magnolias, so embrace this gentle riot and gather flowers along the way.❞

09. Fighting Friendships

❝So, you're telling me that this is the big, mean, evil killing machine that Fury was bitching about to me on the phone?❞

Tony Stark was a rare fusion of annoying and funny that Elizabeth couldn't quite put her finger on. Seemingly having his hand glued to some sort of alcoholic beverage 24/7, he consisted of a wildly inflated ego and deeply rooted daddy issues. Anxiety was hidden under his humorous superior, Elizabeth knew this merely seconds after meeting him, and a hideously advanced hero complex was also present amongst other things in Stark.

Upon arrival at Stark Tower, now known as the Avengers Tower after the 'Battle of New York', Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff had been greeted almost instantly by a disembodied voice. It had startled Elizabeth to begin with, immediately getting into a defensive position, until both adults explained the source to be an all-knowing AI created by the billionaire.

Of course, her initial reaction was duly noted by both assassins. Even Natasha was intrigued by the girl. Since interrogating her alongside her superior and colleague, she'd only managed to accumulate a basic knowledge of the younger female. Usually, she'd have been able to find out the entire story within the first ten minutes but, no, Elizabeth Tyler remained a mystery. All they really knew was that she was both a very dangerous enemy and a very useful asset.

As they'd walked in, Tony Stark began to form his own opinion on the girl as well. He wasn't used to having, what he saw as, a child in his living space but he could tell just from her posture that she was more mature than he could have ever dreamed to have been at her age. He vaguely remembered hacking his father's business plans to delete upon opening at around her age and couldn't help but marvel at their frightening differences. There were more similarities, however, but he ignored those. He'd rather not accept that the pair had more in common than he'd allow to admit because that would lead to him, perhaps, giving a shit about her and that in itself could be devastatingly bad. Bruce, who had stood to Tony's right, only began to notice the poor condition of the girl's health even if he wasn't 'that' type of doctor. It was the little things that people generally didn't notice that Bruce seemed to notice: the slight shake of her hands, the irregular rise and fall of her chest, her constant vigilance.

❝Yu-huh, scary mother fucker, isn't she? I mean look at her! ❞

A small smile crept up on Elizabeth's lips at Clint's jest. It was strange to actually enjoy the people surrounding her, a blissful moment of tentative happiness, but Elizabeth Tyler could hardly focus on that. With her companion missing, a familiar emptiness lay at her chest. Of course, she missed Katherine. Despite spending years building walls around her heart, the girl had hit a soft spot and worked her way into her sentiments. She was almost shaking with the need to run. Every nerve, every tissue, every cell inside of her screamed to go. Everything in her body ached with the need to escape and hide in the darkest corners of the city like she had spent most of her life doing. Yet she couldn't. If she fled, Katherine would have no idea on where to find her. As long as she was with SHIELD operatives, Katherine would know where she is. Steve Rogers had promised to find her and, even though she had only known the man for the better half of an hour, she trusted his intentions.