I always thought that the scene where the hero walks away from an explosion looks so cool and badass. I mean come on Iron Man looked so damn heroic when he walked away from an explosion when he destroyed his weapon stockpile in Gulmira. Well I got my wish fulfilled .... sort of instead of walking away from an explosion my genius self decided to get caught amidst the cross fire of it and was hit by flying debris in the forehead which I barely noticed because I was running on sheer adrenaline and fear for Tony's life which brings me to my current situation as I woke up from a pounding headache. It felt like somebody took Mjolnir sorry I mean Jonathan and bashed my head repeatedly with it. My vision was blurry at first but it slowly sharpened as I could make out the shape of a tall man in a black trench coat standing in front of me. 'Three guesses on who that could be' I thought wryly as Divya asked worriedly 'That was a nasty hit you took, are you okay?' . After reassuring Divya I'm fine I tried to sit up but winced as I experienced a dull yet insistent pain in my head.

"While you thought it was heroic to help Stark, I found your actions incredibly stupid and could have potentially blown your cover" Fury's ever pleasant voice sounded in my ears as I grimaced seeing the trademark look of parental disapproval on his face. "Well then it was a good thing that nobody could see me sir" I said my tone more harsh than I expected it to be as Fury responded in a voice colder than the arctic ocean "That was the only smart decision you made and as to how you did that we will have a discussion later. You were not supposed to intervene only to observe and report your findings on Stark's condition". I gritted my teeth in frustration but then said in a calm voice "Sir, I have already informed you of Tony's poisoning and also the key to abate the symptoms. As far as mission is concerned sir I'm pretty sure Agent Romanoff is doing a pretty good job at writing a character report for you regarding is eligibility for the Avengers Initiative" Fury's eyes narrowed in displeasure but before he could voice it I continued "Sir I know you have your doubts about me and my questionable origins and motives but one thing will always remain the same, protecting this team and this planet". Fury retorted sharply "You make it very hard to trust you Ms Malhotra and as far as motives go I have a faint idea it has something to do with your mother" I flinched at this as my hands clenched at my sides as anger burned hot in veins and a reddish aura surrounded me 'Huh so this is Shiva's power' I thought. 'Calm down Divi, He doesn't know about our situation and is acting on a hunch' Divya reasoned.

My mother was a sore spot that I didn't want to be poked or prodded at by anybody especially someone who has no sliver of an idea about what happened to her. I ground out my voice thick with pent up anger and grief "You drugged me.... and she's not the sole reason I'm throwing myself headfirst into danger". Fury was about to dig deeper into my already open and raw pain which was the circumstances under which I lost the only person who loved me but Natasha stopped him "Fury even though her actions may seem reckless there was no other way. If she hadn't absorbed the electricity from Vanko's whips until Stark got hold of his armour he would have been French fried to his death give the kid a break, it was her first mission". Natasha then nodded at me and in those mysterious green eyes I saw a glimmer of pride which was like a healing salve on my heart which was torn apart just by just mentioning my mother. I never got the time to fully accept the fact that there was a chance that I could lose my only support , my anchor if I fail to carry out the quest of steering this dimension towards the right outcome. The thought of coming back to an empty home where I can't hear my mother singing to some old bollywood song; where I cannot hear her scolding me even for not tidying up my room was unfathomable, a nightmare one always hopes to wake up from.

I stopped myself from drowning in the deep, dark and viscous ocean of fear and paranoia and boxed up all my pain and pushed it to the back to the deepest part of my heart where the constant ache of it will always remind me that I have to succeed so that a daughter is not separated from her mother, a five year old child is not separated from her father, a brother is not separated from his younger sibling and a family is not separated from it's most integral member who sacrificed her very soul to protect them. Fury broke me out of my thoughts by saying "You're off the mission for now Agent Malhotra" I just sighed and accepted it cause I didn't need to be undercover to protect now I was gonna do it anyways cover or not and I'll be damned if Fury could stop me since that was essentially the purpose of me joining S.H.I.E.L.D to help and protect the avengers and consequently this dimension. "Just let me meet them once and say goodbye" I said my tone leaving no place for an argument. Fury being the stubborn mule he is tried to argue but Natasha reasoned "It would be better for her to say goodbye cause they were worried at her sudden disappearance from the race. Miss Potts wanted to meet her at least once after her discharge when I informed her that I took her to the hospital".

My heart was filled with warmth at Natasha's support even though we may not have spent a lot of time together I trusted the cold and deadly killer more than anyone else at shield at the moment as I already knew about Hydra and its parasitic infestation within shield and thankfully I had already threatened Fury to keep every information regarding me off the records. The man seemed sceptical but agreed because Fury is a paranoid and cautious person and knew the dangers if my identity is exposed to anyone he doesn't trust. One thing that is characteristic for Nicholas Joseph Fury is that he trusts no one. I sent Natasha a grateful look which she returned "Fine, you can go one last time but then you're out" Fury said begrudgingly and I just smiled knowing that I am absolutely not out until I see this whole mission through. 'Damn this guy seems like a strict headmaster' Divya commented and I almost lost it

It had been a few days since Tony almost got his ass fried and the media was in a frenzy and it was nearing Tony's birthday and he had decided to throw a party 'Guess he thought of going out with a bang for his seemingly last birthday huh' Divya said and I winced remembering the disaster of a party this was gonna be. 'Well even when he actually was going to sacrifice his life he did go out with a bang' I said bitterly the image of him wielding all the six stones etched deeply in my mind as Divya sighed sadly. As I entered the Stark mansion with Natasha by my side I noticed a familiar face also heading towards the elevator. I eyed the man for a moment as my goldfish brain finally recalled that this man was Colonel James Rhodes aka Rhodey Tony's best friend and the iconic War Machine. He greeted Natasha with a brief nod as we entered the elevator but was a bit confused when he saw me in all my bandaged glory. "Who's the kid?" he asked Natasha and I stepped forward and extended my hand for a handshake as I introduced myself "Colonel Rhodes it's an honour to meet you, I am Divya Mishra I am an intern at Stark Industries or at least I was until a few days ago".

Rhodey furrowed his eyebrows as he said "An intern? But you look barely over twelve" and I snorted "Sir I may have a baby face but I assure you I am fifteen and was interning under a summer internship program for young budding scientist" which seemed to impress Rhodey as he said "Your parents would be proud of you". I winced and though Natasha had a neutral expression but she had a sympathetic look in her eyes. It had been twice that day that somebody brought up the topic of parents with me. "I live in an orphanage sir" I replied the lie tasting bitter and viscous on my mouth but this was the identity shield had created for me; A mutant orphan who was taken in and trained at shield since an early age. Rhodey grimaced as he apologised "I'm sorry for your loss kid" but I just shook my head and say "It's okay sir it was a long time ago". Rhodey then noticed the bandage on my head and the numerous cuts and scratches on my hands and face and asked "What's with the bandage kid? Did you get into an accident?" concern lacing his tone. I just smiled and replied "I was there in Monaco sir when the incident took place" as his eyes widened and he cursed lowly.

"What the hell was Tony thinking?" he said annoyed at his friend's actions and I just smirked as I retorted "Sir I am sure you know that even though Mr Stark is a genius he still doesn't have the best track record for thinking things through" and Rhodey snorted loudly while Natasha just shook her head slightly. "I like you kid" and I smiled a crooked smile and said "Most people do sir" and he playfully rolled his eyes and said "Oh God we have another Tony" and I chuckled even Natasha smiled slightly. We reached the floor and I spotted a frazzled looking Pepper talking on the phone. I sympathised with her and understood how tensed she must be with the pile of work dumped on her shoulders and the PR fire that she had to deal with after the Monaco incident as people questioned Iron man's capability of helping and saving people. Pepper ended the call and when her eyes fell on me she immediately started to fuss over me like a mother hen as she asked "What happened to you? Are you okay? Natasha told me she took you to the hospital and you had a head injury. Tony was worried and was looking for you but you were already taken to the hospital."

Her concern for me reminded me of my mother as I basked a little in the warmth 'She already has taken you in as her second child' Divya teased me and I almost died of holding in my laughter as I said 'I am assuming the first child is Tony' and Divya snorted 'Good you're not that dumb' I just scoffed. "Miss Potts I was just hit by a small piece of debris during an explosion at the race track. I'm fine now thanks to Ms Rushman but unfortunately I will not be able to continue interning as the orphanage has decided it would be better for me to take some rest and try again next time" I said my tone dejected and Pepper frowned as she enveloped me into a warm hug and I just melted it into it. It reminded me of my mom, the warmth in her touch soothing like a warm blanket in a chilly night. When I broke away from her I saw Rhodey smiling but his smile vanished as he remembered the reason why he was here and asked Pepper where he was and she said he was downstairs. "I should say goodbye to him too" Pepper nodded and I left the room walking behind Rhodey.

As soon as we entered the lab we saw Tony facing some holographic scenes and I deduced he was researching about Vanko. Rhodey went on to inform Tony about the National Guards decision to take away his suits and advised him to take a hold of himself and help Pepper but Tony just ignored him and when his eyes fell on me he tried to stand up but almost stumbled. Rhodey and I rushed towards him as we helped him up but he just brushed us away and sat on a nearby chair. "Kid are you okay? How's your head? You should be resting now" Tony asked as guilt and worry laced his tone. His face looked haggard as his blood toxicity had already reached 89%. "I'm fine now Mr Stark but I think I should be asking you if you're okay?" I asked and Rhodey nodded his head. Tony just sighed and directed Rhodey to go to his desk and retrieve a cigarette box but when Rhodey opened it revealed strips of palladium metal.

Tony then takes out his arc reactor and takes out the palladium core out of it which was completely burnt up and was smoking now. "Is it supposed to be smoking?" Rhodey and I sighed even more worried about Tony as Divya whistled 'That thing which keeps him alive is also killing him isn't it' and I just answered affirmatively. "The palladium core in his arc reactor is poisoning him and is causing the neuron damage from the arc reactor wall" I said my voice sombre as Tony's eyes widened in surprise and Rhodey's mouth hung open. "Seriously kid how smart are you? Rhodey asked and I just shrugged as I gave Tony a pained smile "Tony I know that Palladium in excessive amounts is poisonous and the Arc reactor as you just showed has a palladium core and I assume the more you use the suit the more palladium poisoning will be accelerated and your blood toxicity will go up. You are hurting Tony and you've been hurting for months now" and Tony just hung his head unable to meet my eyes.

"You wanna do this whole lone gunslinger act. It's unnecessary, You don't have to do this alone" Rhodey said frustrated as he became even more worried for his friend. I just clenched my fists and swallowed thickly as I remembered this is what Tony always does; trying to take the whole world's burden on his shoulder to protect the people he loves. The man whom everybody just perceives to be an egocentric and narcissistic billionaire never understood that this was just a facade to protect the man who was broken but always tried to fix things even if it meant sacrificing himself. Tony assured Rhodey that he knew what he was doing and Rhodey just shook his head and left. "So you are leaving too aren't you Divi?" Tony said sadness lacing his voice and I swallowed thickly as I forced the words out of my tongue "The orphanage where I live decided that it would be better if I took some time off and rest then try for the summer internship next time".

In the short time we hadspent together Tony and I had bonded over science as I geeked out over the Ironman armour and asked hundreds of questions about it which he answered enthusiastically. Tony sighed and asked in a quiet voice "If it was your lastbirthday party you were ever gonna have how would you celebrate it?" I smiled but my heart clenched painfully for the man who looked so broken and afraid even if he tried to put on a carefree mask and acted recklessly. He wants topush the people close to him away so that they would not hurt a lot when he dies but this idiot does not understand that it will hurt them regardless causethe guilt of not being able to be there for him in his last moments will eat them up. "Well I would try my hardest not make it my last but if it were I'd spend it with the people I trust my life with and tell them all the things I'venever had the courage to tell them. Trust me regret is not a thing you would like to take with you when you're leaving your loved ones behind" I said my expression distant and haunted as I was lost in my own memories. I broke out of my trance and saw Tony's face his eyebrows furrowed as he took in my words. "If I know one thing about you Tony it's that you are a fighter and a damn good innovator. Never give up sir you'll always find a way as long as you are determined enough to find it. We will meet soon Mr Stark." I said my voice holding strength and certainty which surprised him as I just smiled and left the room.

A/N Well I guess we all know what will happen next but comment what do you think Divija will do next since she's off the mission.