Beauty and The Beast ~ Hulk Love Story ((Book 2))

Chapter Fifteen

*Aero's POV*

I stood at the stove starring down at the two large pots in front of me. Laura and I had made a quick run to the supermarket to pick up something from dinner that would feed all the people now occupying the Barton Household. I had suggested Chicken and Dumplings one of the quickest and easiest things I knew how to make that fed a lot of people. We got enough to basically triple the recipe. Since it was my idea, Laura let me take the lead on cooking which was fun. I used to cook little meals for Clint, Natasha, and I all the time back on the Hellicarrier. Since I moved into my tiny New York apartment, I didn't cook anywhere near as much as I should've. "I didn't know you could cook Aerosmith," Tony's teasing voice came from behind me. I tilted my head back to see him standing by the opening between the kitchen and the living room. I rolled my eyes at him.

"There are a lot of things I can do that you don't know about, Mr. Stark." I cooed back playfully. I leaned over the pot taking in a deep breath to enjoy the smell. I was simply waiting for the chicken broth to boil a bit more before I added the bits of cut up biscuits. Tony's footsteps let me know that he had moved closer to the stove. I assumed he was trying to see what I was making.

"You'll make someone a nice wife one day," Tony's words cut deeper then he would ever know. I wasn't able to stop myself from flinching. I didn't look up from the pot in front of me. I grabbed the plate of cut up biscuits and put half of the pile into each pot. I couldn't bring myself to reply to him, because I knew Tony wouldn't be able to understand what about that sentence had hurt me. I simply fake a smile and continued cooking. "Fury is here too." He explained trying to find an escape out of the awkwardness he had created. He then had my full attention. I turned quickly to see Nick Fury standing where Tony had been when he first spoke to me. I gave the pots one small stir and turned the heat on low. I quickly placed the covers over both of them.

"I need to talk to you," I announced firmly. I grabbed Fury by the hand and lead him out the front door of the house. I knew that Laura could keep an eye on dinner. The dream that the witch had shown me had me scrambling for answers to questions I didn't know I had. Once clear of the house almost to the little barn, I turned to face Fury. "What am I?" I asked in a hard tone. Fury's face contorted with confusion. He didn't understand my sudden question. "What am I? Where did you find me? Why can I do the things I can? Who am I really?" I asked all the questions that swirled in my head. I felt like who I thought I was was a lie. Fury let out a small sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I knew someday we'd have to talk about this, but I didn't realize it would be so soon. Actually, I had hoped that you wouldn't remember and just accept the story you had been told you entire life." He muttered out.

"Story? You mean that my parents were SHIELD agents that died and they left me in your care. That they had discovered that I had a mutant gene that caused me to be able to do the things I do. The story that they gave me to you so I would be safe and I could get the training I would need to control these 'powers'..." I looked down at my hands that were shaking. "That I was just a normal kid who happened to have special abilities!" I yelled at him. I was angry to discover that he had lied to me my entire life. I couldn't wrap my mind around why if the whole thing was a story then who was I really and why could I do the things I could. "Fury, who am I?" I asked more forcefully.

"We don't know. We've never known." He spoke honestly. My heart sunk in my chest. "SHIELD got this call not long after I became an agent...This strange unidentified 3-year-old girl had shown up in this little town. Witnesses said that there was a large collum of rainbow-colored light and when it cleared there you sat in the center of this burn mark on the ground." He explained. I tilted my head and waited for him to continue. "You were so scared. You couldn't remember anything, not even your own name." He looked a bit sad as he thought back to when he had found me. "I wasn't the director of SHIELD yet, so the director deemed you a threat and they took you to the holding area until we could find out more about you."