Down By the Bay Part 2

Dedicated to planet_moonn because she reminded me about this and how I said I'd make a part two 👍🏻

It's been four months. Four months since one more person knew what you did. Four months since you ran and tried to forget about that life. Four months since you got another job miles and miles away from your last known location, in a quaint little book store on the corner of two busy streets. But it was also close by to a neighborhood, so you got a fair amount of business. There was a coffee shop next door as well, so the two businesses decided to make a little plan to get business with both. Get a drink from them, come to the store you work at with their nice beverage, pick out a good book, and they can buy it and take it home, or they can sit in front of the fireplace and read for a bit, then buy the book. It was good and people definitely used that often.

Today was a slower day. It was freezing outside, so people didn't really leave their homes, let alone buy a drink and sit inside a bookstore. There were a few brave souls, but most of them were you and two other coworkers of yours. The first one was Indigo, a sweet girl with violet eyes and dark brown hair. The other was Drew, a tall skinny guy with blond hair and blue eyes. They were both lots of fun and were currently restocking books.

"Hey (Y/N)!" You looked up to see Indigo walking up to you. "I was wondering if I could go? My neighbor was watching my dog and said she just threw up everywhere and I'd rather not leave that kind old lady with the grossness," she asked. You chuckled slightly and nodded your head.

"Yeah I'll be fine here. Drew is leaving early too, and I can handle the shop just fine. Not very many brave people are willing to come here anyways. They should already have their books to read on stormy days at home. I know I would," you said smiling.

Indigo laughed. "Yeah, we all know you're prepared for everything. Probably even prepared to run away!" she said, laughing her head off. You joined in too. If only she understood how true that was.

You weren't able to forget about Tony Stark, and the lurking possibility he could find you again. He was part of SHIELD, and was a technological genius. He'd find a way. You had an escape plan in case any of the Avengers showed up, and you were begging not to use it.

Reality was brought back in front of you by a pair of snapping fingers. "Huh?" you asked, somewhat out of it after being deep into your own brain.

Indigo was laughing in front of you. "You zoned out, (Y/N). Whatever. You better not do that while we're gone," she said, gesturing towards the tower of a man next to her. "See you later (Y/N)!" She left, Drew following close behind and waving to you as well.

"Bye!" you yelled after them. The door closed and now you were all alone in the bookstore you helped manage, and it was freezing. You walked out from behind the oak wood counter and to the stone fireplace. You put a couple more logs into it and lit it. Yes, it was a real fireplace. The owner of the shop thought it would be better and a more homey feel than a gas one.

Already it was feeling warmer, and you went back to behind the counter to be prepared for if any idiot decided to try and brave the cold weather. It was starting to get pretty snowy and windy outside, so it was very unlikely you'd have anymore business. So instead of sitting at the counter staring at the door waiting for the idiot, you decided to relax a bit and pull out your book and read in front of the fire. You put it on, might as well make use of it. Before you sat down, you locked the door to make sure it didn't swing open from possible piles of snow and the very strong wind.

For the next half hour you sat on the couch, your feet curled up under you as you finished up the book you had started a month prior. There was only two chapters left when you heard someone knocking on the door outside. You looked up from your book and saw someone standing outside. They had on a scarf over their face, but they were waving and held up a book. So you put your bookmark back into your paperback book and hurried over to the door and unlocked it, letting the stranger inside.

"I'm sorry! I had to lock the door to make sure the wind wouldn't blow it open!" you explained, helping the person brush the snow off their body. After they were clear of the white fluff, you walked behind the counter and got ready to accept the book. But they stood there for a second, watching you.

It was getting awkward, so you spoke up again. "So what may I help you with today?" you asked them. The person started unraveling their scarf from around their face and took the black knit hat off their head. Their face was finally visible. You saw a little bit of facial hair before they turned around to finish stripping their heavy winter coats away. So they were a he. Good information.

"I was hoping to just talk with you," he said, finally turning around and leaving all his gear on the ground around him. That's when you finally figured out who the idiot in front of you was. Mr. Tony Stark.

"Look I'm sorry technically we're closed, I was only offering shelter for the moment being. If you're going to try and drag me away by my hair, kicking and screaming, you'd have better luck taming a lion. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to clean up in the back." You didn't wait to hear his excuse, you simply left and walked to the back closet area to sort books. You weren't much of a liar anyways, and you really had work to get done.

Against your wishes, however, Stark followed you to the back and kept trying to talk with you. "Look, I really just need you to listen. I'm not leaving until you talk with me, and it looks like we could get frozen in, so you might want to get me out of here as fast as possible," he said, trying to appeal to the side of you that really didn't want him here. That was all of you.

But you took his words into consideration. Yes, judging by the weather there was a large possibility the door could get frozen shut or snowed blockaded, so it would be awkward if you showed Stark your secret escape route. He'd obviously figure out it was for a similar situation to this. Besides, there was no way in hell you wanted to be shut in with...him.

Finally coming to a decision, you turned around and sighed, then looked into the billionaire's eyes. "Fine. But we're sitting in front of the fire because I can't feel half of my body right now," you said. He nodded and moved out of the way so you could lead him to the couches. You sat where you had been earlier and moved your book aside, and he sat in a chair furthest from you. Smart man. He probably knows by now that I'd kill him if he got closer.

"So what the hell do you want? Do you understand how hard it is to create a new life that's far from your old one just so you don't get caught? I took four different majors so I could be prepared for any job opportunity, and time that I had to run. I was ready. Now that you've followed me and know me, I can't rely on that anymore," you said, your voice just above a whisper.

Tony studies you for a second, taking in your (h/c) hair, watching the fire casting shadows on the walls. In you shadow, you looked weak and scared, but in the shape of a monster. The fire and your hair cause illusions, making your back look rigid and almost spiked, your shadow was more hunched than you really were. It was the perfect representation of who you thought you were.

"I want to talk to you about possibly coming back-" he started, but you were quick to cut him off. You stood up, and faced him. Your face was a light with the fire's glow, and the rage that settled inside you.

"I'm not going back. That witch made me see things I never wanted to see again. It's bad enough that I have to live with these reminders everyday, knowing just what I can do! I could just will for someone's neck to break and it would happen! I didn't choose for this to happen, but I can choose to ignore it like these...these curses don't exist!" You started to raise your voice higher and higher at this point, and Tony saw something flickering around you, your hands glowing a strange silver sort of color.

"It was all my fault, and these powers came with that! Don't you get it? I basically got "rewarded" with this thing, and watched my best friend die! Don't you understand how awful that is? Especially to see it again and not be able to do anything?! I watched him die!" You screamed the last sentence, and a burst of fire and energy exploded from your body. It was just like all that time ago, when everything burned around you.

Your knees met the sizzling ground under you, and you started to shake and cry from being under all this pressure. The cold from outside started to settle in and make its presence known to you. But the feeling faded away, as your conscious swayed from awake to asleep, before your mind finally settled on sleep. The energy that was used to burn almost everything was nearly all of your energy.

"Tony..." you trailed off as the top half of your body fell to the floor. But your mind raced. Had Tony survived the "tantrum" you just had?

~Time Skip~

Your eyelids fluttered open slowly, revealing your (e/c) eyes. The light above you was nearly blinding, but you soon adjusted. Surprise surprise, you were in what looked to be a hospital. The bed you were in was surprisingly comfortable, but then you figured you might not be at any regular hospital. That was confirmed when Tony walked through the door. He was wearing a new suit this time, and lucky for you, he still had hair.

"You're awake! How do you feel?" he asked, walking over to you. There was a slight smirk on his face. It may not have been his plan, but he got you to come back with him. "I'll go get Dr. Banner so he can make sure you're good. I don't quite understand all this stuff," he said, then walked to a different part of the room, going through a different door. You could barely make out two shadows.

In your head, you were panicking. This is most likely where Wanda Maximoff was, and that was not a road you were hoping to go down. She brought up a lot of pain, and it was hard. That was evident in the bookstore you most likely destroyed with your power. Crap!

"The bookstore," you mumbled. Your limbs were sore and weak, but you managed to sit yourself and swing your legs over the edge. There was a glass of water and some crackers on a little table by your bed, so you grabbed them both and chugged the water, and shoved the crackers in your mouth. It wouldn't be instant, but you'd get your energy back. Right now, you barely had enough to try and leave.

Once your feet hit the floor and you tried to stand, however, your body had a different idea. Your legs collapsed under you. So apparently you didn't have enough energy.  "Ow," you complained, and it sounded somewhat strangled. Two pairs of hands were soon there helping you up from the ground back into the hospital bed you tried to escape.

"So clearly you're not ready to walk yet," came a new male voice. It was Dr. Banner, better know to the public as the Incredible Hulk. Bruce Banner was quite the opposite of his green counter part. He was much gentler and was very careful when putting you back into the bed. "I'll make sure to write that down...and get you more crackers," he mumbled before walking away.

"So how did that go?" Tony asked, a smug smile on his face. Accusations came flying from your mouth.

"You! You wanted this to happen! You wanted me to came with you! You..." You scowled and pointes a shaky finger at him. It looked like he was about to burst with laughter.

"That's was adorable to watch. I won't argue with you now, but no this wasn't my plan. It just happened to work in my favor. For now, I'll leave you to recover from your meltdown," he said, before giving you a genuine small smile and walking away. Dr. Banner came back with some more water and crackers, as well as a clipboard; presumably for notes about my health.

"Alright, you look fine, just sort of low on energy and such. You can try walking again, but it would be wise for you to stay here at the compound for a couple days-" you cut the doctor off before he could continue with his "doctorly advice".

"Wait," you started, sitting back up in the bed and downing half the glass of water. "Compound? I thought I was at the tower. How far are we from my apartment? Hell, where the hell are we at all?!" you yelled. The monitor that was tracking your heart rate picked up slightly, but it was enough for Dr. Banner to attempt to calm you down.

He walked closer to you and placed a hand on your shoulder, while also looking over some monitors and adjusting things. "Look, why don't you calm down a bit an sleep. You need to conserve your energy as best as you can," he trialed off as he messed with some more stuff. You, however, had other plans. The needle poking your arm was the first to go, and you pulled it, then took off the other things poking and prodding your arms. Your legs felt a lot more like...well, like they were actually there attached to your body.

Dr. Banner beside you started to panic when your pulse on the monitor went dead, but when he turned around to look at you, you were wobbling slightly across the floor, trying to walk out and find a certain playboy genius so you could have a discussion...

You found him a few minutes later sitting in a room not too far away, standing there and talking with a woman with short red hair. She sensed your presence, and turned around before you made a sound. "Hello," she greeted. Tony saw you as well and smirked, but was also slightly shocked at the fact that you were awake.

"Hello Ms. Natasha Romanoff. Do you mind if I steal the egotistical jerk away from you for a second?" you asked her. An offended sound came from the man's mouth, but Natasha broke into laughter. You thought you heard someone stifling their laughter as well, but Tony's voice came through.

"I'm hurt, but yes, I'd love to talk to you," he said, getting his composure back (somewhat) and walking towards you. He started walking away, but you called after him. "What is it dear?" he asked, turning towards you.

"I'm slow right now, I'd love it if you could slow down a bit please," you asked, as you struggled to get down the hallway to him. He sighed and shook his head, a smile present on his lips, and headed back to you.

He took one of your arms around his neck, and then put his opposite arm under your legs. They weren't touching the ground anymore, and suddenly the Tony Stark was carrying you bridal style to a private room so you could scream at him. It was nice, in a way.

The two of you reached a private room that looked like it was for conferences. "Wonderful choice," you said, before hopping awkwardly out of his arms and into a chair. If you were going to get pissed at him, it couldn't be from such an awkward spot (like his arms). "Now, I'm going to yell at you."

"Hey who just carried you to this room even though they didn't have to?" He pointed to himself and said, "Me!"

You responded. "Yes, you did, and I appreciate that. But who also came to my new place of work unexpectedly, then ended up taking me to their compound far from home (ba dum ts)?" you asked, then you pointed to Tony. "You."

He nodded. "I had that coming. And look, I could've brought you to a regular hospital and then I never would've been able to talk to you, with all the people I'd be drowning in, all asking for autographs and such," was his reply.

"Yes because being famous and having people love you is a burden," you responded snakily. He took in a breath, but then paused and let it out. His eyes made their way to the ground.

"Had that coming too. Look," he looked back up to and tried to get a step closer to you. "Point is, I just need to talk to you about what happened all that time ago in my office. Wanda hasn't cracked, and I respect that, but it's got her in this depression like state. She feels awful about whatever she saw, and every time I bring it up she mumbles 'she's very powerful' under her breath before leaving. Of course that got me suspicious and I looked around online an in your records and I found you at your little bookstore..." he finished, trailing off and shrugging slightly.

You sighed at him, and realized Wanda did respect your privacy (after invading it) by keeping what she saw to herself. But you were still hesitant. Why did this guy want to talk to you in the first place?

"So," you started, settling down. "What do you want to talk about?" Tony sat down in the chair next to you, keeping a respectable distance from you. He cleared his throat, and began talking.

"I just want to know about your powers, and if you'd consider letting me and Brucie look into them. My other question was if you could stay here to work with them, to help control those meltdowns, and work with us. But that is completely up to and if you're not comfortable with that, then you can leave no questions asked. But I really want to look into your powers. See the cause, you know?" he asked you. You nodded, as you did understand. He's only caught a glimpse of what you can do, so of course he'll be curious.

You sighed and looked up into his eyes. He looked genuinely concerned and curious, but you focused on the concerned part. The room was so quite, with your intensified hearing, you heard both of your heartbeats. Yours was much faster than his, that much was true.

"I know when and how I got my so called "powers", but I don't know exactly what happened," you started, grabbing his attention quickly. You went on to explain that night so long ago, not going too deep into hurting details, but enough for him to understand. It was about half an hour later when you finished talking, and you both sat there in silence. This time, your mind was too busy with thoughts for you to hear anything. But then the sound of footsteps invade your mind.

"Someone's coming," you said in a whisper, but Tony heard it. He was about to ask you a question, but the door to the conference room opened and the Captain America popped his head in.

"Tony, can we talk?" he asked, not even acknowledged your existence. It was normal though, so you didn't pay much attention to that. Tony stood from his seat and looked to the other man, nodded, and then looked to you.

"How did you know that? I couldn't hear his steps..." he trailed off when he realized it might be one of your abilities. Captain America finally turned his head to you, and was confused for a moment.

He looked back over to Tony to ask who you were (even though you were right there...?) "Tony, who's this?" he asked, his entire body coming into the room now. He was in a blue t shirt and black sweatpants. Must've been on the way to or from training.

"Her name is (y/n). She is going to stay here for an indefinite amount of time. (Y/n), Steve. Steve, (y/n). Acquainted? Good. I'll get Thor to show you to a room. Nat might help him, but nonetheless, we'll get you a room," Tony rambled as he headed for the door. Steve gave you a small wave which you kindly returned, before the pair left. There was not a doubt in your mind that they were talking about you.

So you got up and tried to go to the door. You were feeling much more energy in your system, yet your legs didn't seem to get any of it. A couple minutes later Natasha and the God of freaking Thunder came and helped you to your temporary room. Natasha said that your stuff would be there soon, and that if you need anything, they'd be there for you.

The door shut and you sat on your bed. There was a big window that looked over a training ground area, and you could barely make out some people that were training.

"I'll get this figured out," you whispered. "For him."

~Fin~

A/N: What's up my dudes. Sorry the end of the chapter is a bit rushed, I just didn't know where to go with it. I'll make a part three for the week after next, because I honestly need time to think about where to go from here. I made it difficult for myself, but I'll try anyways.

And OMG THANK YOU FOR 1K VIEWS?! AM I READING THAT RIGHT? I CAN BARELY TYPE RN THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOO MUCH! Honestly though, when I read how many views I had on this, I actually squealed. Thank you guys so much!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and let me know your thoughts like always, and don't forget you can request stuff too! I'm happy to try and obliege to your needs and whatever...

Bye Lovelies!!!!!!!