Steel Meets Iron

Chapter 3

Pepper had left her breakfast on her desk before she had gone to work. Raven ignored the tray, a spread of orange juice, a cheese omelet, a slice of whole wheat toast and two slices of bacon. She went for the daffodil leaves she had in a Ziplock bag and put it in his bowl, Yoda happily munched on them. She held him for a bit letting him climb on her bed and went downstairs. Had they left her alone? She stared around the empty floor, the house was so cold and quiet, she could hear her heart racing pounding against her chest. Raven gave a soft call,

"Pepper?" No answer. "Tony?" No answer.

She was alone. Had they left her here? Without warning nor note? She had woken up alone before but there was always a note. Always. Her daddy would leave her a note saying where he had gone and how long he would be gone. Sometimes he left her a number to call just so she could here his voice and tell her good morning. Why had no one left her a note? She didn't understand. And the house was so quiet. There were no birds. No cars humming distantly and no talking. Silence. Horrible silence like that night... That night.

She gave an angry stamp ready to cry, "Where is everybody?"

"Ms. Potts has left for work," a voice responded, " and Mr. Stark is downstairs and doesn't wished to be disturbed."

Raven screamed. "Who said that?" She demanded wildly. "Who said that?"

"It was me Miss Raven. I'm J.A.R.V.I.S."

"Where are you? Who are you?" She stamped her feet repeatedly in childish confusion and fear. Jarvis sounded like a robot and she was afraid of robots, deathly afraid of them.

"I'm a butler of sorts Miss Raven," he explained. "Mr. Stark has asked me to ensure you are thoroughly entertained while he is working."

"You're supposed to be babysitting me?" She squeaked. "How the hell can you do that?"

She didn't like this at all. Not a bit. Robots were evil just like the ones in the Terminator. They all had beady red eyes, spoke in weird voices, had no feelings and they could get smarter and when robots got too smart they could take over the world and kill all the humans. Raven didn't like this. Not a bit. Not at all. Back home she would have Uncle Shane there to play cards with her, watch cartoons with her, listen to her read, play with her, and all kinds of stuff. This robot was no Uncle Shane, not her Uncle Shane. Uncle Shane who pulled her ears and arm wrestle with her, who would play clue with her despite the fact he hated it. Who would come in her room and wake her saying, it's not winter yet love. She wanted her Uncle Shane.

"I control everything in the house," Jarvis explained, "and I know where everything is. Ms. Potts has also instructed me to tell you that there are raspberries in the fridge for Yoda."

Raven didn't even hear the part of about raspberries for Yoda, all she could think was that this robot knew every inch of the house, every nook and cranny. She could feel herself getting dizzy. He was smart, very smart and he took orders, those were the kind of the robots that plotted to take over the world. And Tony felt her alone with it. It was watching her, she realized, it's watching me. She looked at the ceiling trying to find a red light, a red light was usually the power source and if you broke it you killed the robot. She searched the ceiling spinning in circles trying to find the red light but she couldn't see any. Why couldn't she see any?

"Is there anything you require Miss Raven?" Jarvis asked politely.

Raven gave a frightened shout and ran back upstairs to her room, she shut the door, grabbed her stuffed monkey off the bed along with her sheet and iPod and burrowed herself in the closet. I hate this place, she thought biting back tears, I hate this place, I hate this place, I hate this place. Yoda sat in his cage munching on some Daffodil leaves that Raven had luckily given him before she went downstairs, he sat perched on his tree trunk apathetic to the petrified girl in the closet. Raven curled into a ball listening to Freddie Mercury trying not to scream out her tears, she was alone, no one was there who would come knocking on the door to check on her. No Uncle Shane, no Daddy, no Auntie Irene. She cried silently under her bedsheets snuggling into her monkey Kong, it was the last thing her mommy had given her, it hadn't been her birthday or anything like that she had just come home and put it in her hands. She had held it when her mommy had been screaming and she survived, as long as she held Kong everything would be fine when she woke up. Everything would be fine. Everything would be fine. She just had to be quiet. No one finds you when your quiet. No one finds you when your quiet. Go to sleep, she thought panicked, go to sleep, go to sleep.