Chapter 1

"Can't catch me!" I shout over my shoulder and laugh as I weave through the New York crowd.

"Bet I can!" A male voice behind me gleefully shouts, and I can hear sneakers slap the pavements even over the hustle and bustle of the city.

I cheer as I skid to a stop in front of glass-paned café, the banner reading Bluebird Burgers.

Arms close around my waist from behind as I whirl to face my boyfriend of just under one year, Clint Barton.

He smiles and brushes a kiss onto my nose. "Told you I could catch you."

"I still got here first." I point out, poking his chest.

He shrugs. "Whatever. Let's go get some burgers."

I nod and take his hand as we step inside our favorite café. I wave to Sharon, our usual waitress, and she comes right over and leads us to a table for two.

"Taylor, Clint, always good to have you. Will it be the usual?" Sharon asks with a smile as she sets down our silverware and menus, just in case.

I grin as Clint pulls out my chair. "Yeah, Sharon, thanks."

She shakes her head. "No, thank you for coming back. One Cupid Special, a Dr. Pepper, and a Coke coming right up. Your menus?"

We hand our menus and she whisks away towards the kitchen. I lean back into my chair, using Clint's propped up legs as a footstool. We love this little café, we know the owners by name.

"Can you believe it's almost been a year?" Clint asks thoughtfully.

I shake my head with a smile. No, I can't believe it's almost been a year since Clint asked me out in front of my dad and the rest of the Avengers. "I can scarcely believe I've put up with you for so long."

Clint snorts. "Oh ha, ha, very funny. More like me putting up with you."

I gasp and put my hand over my heart in a gesture of mock offense as I flick my napkin at him.

He grins and dodges the napkin just as Sharon approaches with our food.

"Cupid Special, one plain cheeseburger, one hamburger with everything, one order of fries. Enjoy you guys."

"Thanks, Sharon." She nods and walks away to tend to the other customers.

I munch absently on my fries as small talk is exchanged, half my mind going over some schematics my dad had asked me to look at for one of our projects.

"Taylor?"

I jerk my head up, a fry hanging out of my mouth, as Clint calls my name.

"What?

He chuckles and reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. "Is your brain stuck in the lab again?"

I blush and nod sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry. There's this one project…" I trail off as Clint nods and leans over to kiss me.

"I understand. And I'm flattered that you dragged yourself out of the cave to have lunch with me." He deadpans.

I snort as I roll my eyes and fling a fry at him. "Don't get a big head, bird boy. I had to get fresh air before I suffocated on oil fumes."

"Oh, so the only reason you emerged is so you don't die? I see how it is." He teases as he narrows his eyes playfully. "And I think the big head is yours, Ms. 198 IQ."

"Just shut up and eat your food."

He sits back and picks up his burger and I return to my fries.

Until I'm pulled out of my thoughts again, this time by my phone rattling the table and blasting out Iron Man by Black Sabbath. I glare at it and sigh as I look at it, then Clint, and then my phone again.

Clint sighs resignedly. "Go on, answer the phone. I swear, if your dad got his shirt stuck in the blender again…"

I sigh as I stand and head for the door, glancing over my shoulder to reply. "Then I'll blast him into tomorrow, okay?"

Clint nods and I push open the door and round the corner of the building and lean against the rough brick wall and press the answer button.

"Can't a nineteen year old have a date with her boyfriend in peace?"

"Well hello to you too."

"Dad, if it's the blender again..."

"No. Much more serious, I swear."

"So your shirt is stuck in the fridge?"

"Taylor. Seriously, quit with the sarcasm."

I immediately freeze as my breath catches in my throat. My dad is refusing sarcasm? Oh my god, oh my god, what is going on, what-

"Taylor? You there?"

"Oh. I'm – I'm here. I'm good. What's going on?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is going on. They're interested, per say, in IGUM. Jarvis has been compromised."

"Jarvis? Those low down, AI snatching, sons of-"

"I know, Tay. I'm assembling the Dream Team. Get here yesterday, bring Clint too."

"Got it. Beta out."

I hang up the phone and go back inside to grab my jacket.

Clint glances up at me. "Tay, what's going on? Your have business in your step and fire in your eyes. Hey, where are you going?"

I shrug my jacket on. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is sticking their nose where it doesn't need to be and I need to be at home."

He stands, shooting me a confused glance or three as I storm towards the door. "Taylor, S.H.I.E.L.D. being nosy is nothing new. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

I pause with the door half open and look back over my shoulder. "It's different when S.H.I.E.L.D. decides to steal Stark tech."

I sprint out, not bothering to see if Clint followed, and zip up my jacket, using my phone to pull a local back up drive of Jarvis and press a few buttons to call my bike from where I left it a few blocks back.

It zips through traffic and zooms up to the curb. I grab my helmet from the back and slam it over my head, the holoscreen coming to life as I jump onto the bike and start it up.

I crank the throttle and take off at full speed. Full speed being about two hundred miles an hour, mind you.

Nobody steals my family AI with me knowing. Seriously, are villains stupid?

A~A~A

"So someone tell me something." I say as I briskly walk into the main lab to find myself surrounded by the self-dubbed "Dream Team".

The Dream Team is made up of five of the best minds in the world. Me, my dad, Bruce Banner, Betty Ross, and Jane Foster. Equations were scribbled and every free whiteboard or chalkboard. There were at least ten microscopes in the room and I had to step over half built, grease slicked machines to join the other four occupants of the room.

"At about eleven thirty this morning, Jarvis detected an unknown worm in the main server with a S.H.I.E.L.D. address tag. At about eleven forty five, before he could flush the worm out, Jarvis was forcibly taken offline." my dad states in the monotone voice he uses for board meetings.

"I traced the worm's path," Jane continues, "and followed it towards the no-longer encrypted files on IGUM, project DT-Omega."

I take a sharp in a breath. IGUM, or Intelligent Global Unity Machine, is the result of a year's worth of work between the five of us, designed to be the ultimate diplomat and negotiate treaties, business deals, and anywhere else peaceful words are needed.

And S.H.I.E.L.D. is putting their grubby fingerprints on it.

I sigh and start to pace as I run my sweaty hands through my hair. "Any idea on intent?"

"Well," Bruce interjects from his seat atop a lab table, "I don't think they're aiming to make unicorns be happy neighbors with butterflies."

I glare at Bruce as Betty speaks up from next to him. "What Bruce is trying to say, is it's obviously malicious. S.H.I.E.L.D. is probably look to utilize IGUM for their own purposes."

"So making assassins make friends?" my dad sighs from behind my shoulder.

Jane, Betty, and Bruce all nod resignedly.

"So, what you're saying is, we made an all-powerful peacekeeping, AI equipped robot for purely good purposes, and a government agency known for the exact opposite has their hands on it and is probably using it to take over the world or something to that extent?"

"…yup, that just about sums it up."

I sigh deeply.

Face, meet palm.

A/N

Welcome to Iron Beta 3: What to do when your world explodes, the sequel to Iron Beta 2: All is fair in Love and War!

Taylor is 19 here, in case you didn't catch that, and it takes place after the Australia debacle.