Rise || Marvel

《24》Ruining Date Night

Song: Magic in Me - B.o.B

《 Tia's POV 》

With a loud thud, I felt my knees collide with a large, springy surface. My fire quickly died down. I caught of glimpse of Valerie clumsily tripping over a coffee table.

Then I fell off the couch.

"What have I told you about fire inside the tower?!" A male voice groaned in exasperation.

"IT WAS AN EMERGENCY, TONY! Valerie was in trouble!" I shouted back, wincing as I rolled over. Valerie had somehow ended up with a waste-paper basket over her head and was blinking around in complete and utter confusion.

My shoulder stung. Gingerly, I brushed my fingers over the sore bit.

"Can I have a bandaid?" I squeaked, staring at the scarlet substance that had stuck to my fingers. That stupid idiot must have got me with his dumb crowbar!

(My actual thought chain there really included a LOT more cussing and swearing, but it has been censored by Deadpool's Young Reader's Program.)

"Oh, geez..." Tony's face peered over the couch to stare at us two females floundering around like a pair of fish out of water.

"Oh my god," Valerie squealed, now staring around at her surroundings, then at Tony, "Oh my god."

"Tony, what...?" Another voice joined the conversation. A woman's face appeared beside Tony, eyebrows creased. She had long-ish, blonde hair pulled up into a neat ponytail, and was wearing a dark green jumper.

"Hi Pepper," I chirped.

"You... Brought a friend home..." Tony remarked, frowning at Valerie (who was now struggling to get the paper basket off her head.

"Yeah, I TOLD you I had friends!" I muttered.

"Tony, she's bleeding!" Pepper hissed in a scolding tone. Tony, noticing this, shot me a look that clearly said 'I swear to God, if you end up getting yourself killed--'. Leaning on the couch, he handed me a handful of tissues and muttered something about how to keep pressure on the injury until we could find some bandages.

"It was a crowbar," I said helpfully.

Tony raised his eyebrows, "A crowbar."

"Yep."

"Why did you bring a friend home with you?" He gestured at Valerie. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, finally having managed to extract herself from the basket.

"A group of drunk men corned her on the streets. I wasn't exactly going to sit there and do nothing!" I half-turned to Val', quickly making sure my hood still obscured my face, "Why were you out there anyway?"

《 3rd Person POV 》

Pepper dragged her gaze away from the long cut on the first girl's shoulder. The second girl- Valerie- looked like she'd been slapped as all eyes turned upon her.

"Well?" Tony pressed, looking impatient.

"I, uh... I," Valerie stuttered, "My friend Tia accidentally left her phone at my house and I was trying to find her... Wait, what if those men got her, too? Did you see a girl about my age with glasses, light brown-auburn hair and a dark red jacket?"

Pepper glanced uncertainly at Tony, but he was glaring pointedly at the first girl in the hood. She had stiffened.

"Left her phone at your house, huh?" Tony repeated.

"Your friend's fine!" The hooded girl interrupted loudly. Pepper sighed heavily.

"Look, I hate to break up the party..." She said, rising to her feet and indicating for the hooded girl to do the same, "But we should get your shoulder cleaned up. Tony, stop scowling. You're scaring them. Valerie, was it? You can use the bathroom down the hall. Second door on the left, then you can come have dinner with us."

Without waiting for anyone to protest, the woman laid a firm hand on the hooded girl's (uninjured) shoulder and steered her towards the main bedroom. The main bedroom had a private bathroom attached to the side.

"Are we out of sight from Val'?" The hooded girl asked suddenly. Pepper glanced back over her shoulder. Back in the living room, Tony had crossed to the windows and was staring out at the skyline. Valerie had evidently already trotted into the other bathroom.

"Yes, she's gone to the main bathroom, I think..." She affirmed.

"Oh, good."

The girl tugged her hood off. From her belt, she extracted a pair of glasses and set them on the bathroom sink.

"You might want to stand back for a moment..." The girl suggested. Pepper released her grip on the girl's arm and stepped back.
A moment later, a bright column of flame erupted around the girl. When they disappeared, the girl's attire had changed. She now wore a scarlet jacket, light grey t-shirt with a 'H' and a badger on it, jeans and Ugg boots.

"Okay, I didn't expect that..." Pepper remarked lightly, "But I've seen weirder. Come on, let's have a look at your shoulder. What's your name?"

"I'm Tia," she replied, grimacing as she shrugged off her jacket, "I've been staying here for a while. And yes, I'm the doofus who left her phone at Valerie's house."

"Ah, I see..." Pepper murmured. She extracted a box of medical supplies from under the sink, "I'm guessing you don't want your friend to find out that it's you?"

Tia nodded forlornly.

"Don't worry," Pepper tried to reassure the younger female, "Roll up your sleeve a little."

She did as she was told, pulling back the short sleeve of her shirt.

"This might sting a little..." Pepper warned. Tia shrugged. Pepper dabbed a clean cloth onto the cut, carefully wiping away the excess blood.

"Mother of a dying humpback whale...!" Tia sucked her breath in sharply as the cloth caused the wound to throb painfully.

Pepper snorted, "Told you it would sting...! I'm going to cover it up now."

"Rightio," The amber-eyed girl nodded, eyes fixed on her discarded glasses.
Pepper rummaged around in the first aid box. Her fingers wrapped around a small roll of bandages. Tongue stuck out in concentration, the blonde-haired woman wrapped the bandage tightly around the freshly cleaned wound on Tia's shoulder.

Clipping the end of the medial fabric into place, Pepper pulled back, "There we go. You'll just have to take it easy for a couple of days."

"So, no school?" Tia asked hopefully as she picked up her glasses and slid them onto her face.

Pepper chuckled, "You still have to go to school."

"Aww man...!"