Quinn and the Avengers

Chapter One

Author's note: this story contains spanking of a minor (non sexual). If you don't like it, don't read it. Simple as that.

'Hey, kid. What's up?' Tony's voice greeted Quinn at the other end of the line. She gripped her cell tightly and took a deep breath.
'I messed up.' She near-whispered, fighting the tears in her eyes and the way her lip trembled. Tony sighed as if he was exhausted and rolled his eyes.
'What did you do? My tracker says you're just sitting on a roof." He refreshed the tracking device, but it still showed the same location.
"I- uh, could you please come here? I just need some help." Tony couldn't ignore the desperation in her voice and decided not to ask any more questions.
"I'm on my way. Stay where you are." He put on the suit and flew out the window, easily finding the girl a few blocks over.

Quinn sat with her legs dangling over the edge of the roof, staring at her hands. Tony landed behind her and removed the suit, carefully sitting down next to her. He saw that she'd been crying. This was new. Quinn never really showed much of how she felt in person, except when she was happy. Tony didn't know how to handle tears. Peter was always so positive, so full of- Tony closed his eyes. He couldn't start missing the kid, he was only a city or two over, working for a couple of years. Still, training a new teenage superhero would be so much easier with some help. And although Quinn really reminded him of Peter sometimes, it was a very different thing, training her.
"Hey." She said softly, hugging herself.
"Hi, Q. What happened?" He said, getting straight to the point.
"I- okay, do you promise not to get mad?" She looked up at him with wide eyes. Tony scoffed.
"Absolutely not." He replied.
"Oh." Quinn  looked down at her feet. "Why?"
"Because you might have done something that I would get mad about. It's your choice whether to tell me or not, but I'm not going to stay for long if there's no talking happening. I'm a busy guy." He paused. Quinn squeezed her eyes shut for a second, then waited for him to continue. "Also, your patrolling time isn't over. Every minute I waste up here is another minute I'm not developing your new suits." He finished cheerfully, pushing her shoulder a little.
"Right. Yeah, sorry for being such a waste of time, Mr Stark. You should get back home." Quinn said bitterly, turning away. Tony pulled her back around and frowned at her.
"Don't give me that attitude, Quinn Hale. I came out here to help- the only reason I'm not helping is because you aren't telling me what's wrong! I'm not going to spend time sitting in silence while I have more important things to handle. Got it?"
"I guess." She said sourly. Tony raised an eyebrow at her, and she sighed. "Sorry for being rude."
"Apology accepted. Now, why am I here?"
"I let a bad guy go." She said shakily. Of course, that wasn't the full story, but she didn't want to start crying.
"It happens, kid. Is that the only reason that you're so upset?" Tony knew that letting crime go unanswered was disappointing, but Peter had never been so distressed about a little thing like that.
"No. The guy was my old foster brother. I had him- literally, he was cornered- but then I just... told him to go. I'm sorry." Quinn swiped a hand under her nose and avoided Tony's eyes.
"Don't be. It's fine. You had a guy, but he got away. It's not your fault that you happened to have a personal history with him. Your old foster brother helped you escape, right? He was nice to you."
"Yes. But now he's a murderer. I should have pushed through all the stupid emotional stuff and caught him." She said, as if she was scolding herself. 'I'm so dumb."
"You know that you aren't allowed to say that about yourself anymore. It's one of Steve's new rules. No more self-deprecation. And the emotional stuff isn't stupid, it's just how you feel." Tony felt like he was doing a good job until Quinn started crying. He hesitated, unsure of what to do. "There's a reason why you're a superhero and not just some kid, but you also have to remember that you're still allowed to be young. You can feel things, and react accordingly, even if it means losing a bad guy."
"Okay. Thanks, Tony. Sorry to bother you." Quinn stood and leaned over the edge of the building, assuming the face of a young girl down on the street.
"Your abilities have evolved nicely- we can do some testing later in the labs." The man offered, seeing the guilt that was still etched across her features. Quinn shook her head dismissively and jumped off, landing on a dumpster and scaring away a cat.
Tony knew that the problem was far from solved, but he couldn't stop her from carrying out patrolling duties as usual, and she'd deny it if he asked her what was wrong. He checked the time, seeing that she still had three hours until curfew, and headed up to the tower.