I do not own any Marvel characters or plot and Jessica is my own creation.

Chapter 12: What's Wrong With Me?

When I got home last night I was in a daze. I felt strange ever since I kissed Steve I just can't seem to shake this image of Clint's face out of my head. Maybe i'm just overeacting, there's no reason to feel like I did somethng wrong.

As I watched Happy and Tony box I unconsiously slipped into a daze. I was standing there watching two men spar inside a boxing ring.

"Hey guys." I said getting both of their attentions before they looked back at each other and continued.

"Yeah Jess?" Tony got out before Happy threw a punch at him. Tony looked at him in surpurise before he focused and properly blocked him, Happy just smirked.

"How was your date last night?" Tony asked me still trying to get a punch in.

"It was great-" I was interrupted by Tony pushing Happy to the ground. Happy just shook his head and continued.

"So when do I get to meet him?" Tony asked.

"I don't know... But we just had one date isn't that a little too soon to bring him home?" I asked him.

"It is." Happy said gasping as he and Tony circled each other.

"I suppose if you're playing hard to get." Tony said. I looked at Tony completely confused.

"What?" Happy question. "If she tries to bring him home now after one date she's gonna scare him off."

"Yeah, I don't want to do that." I said quickly.

"No she won't. When she shows him that she's very serious about him he's going to be very serious about her. Look at me after I showed Pepper how commited I was to her we couldn't be any happier. Go in or go home Jessica." Tony said.

"I think it's too soon!" Happy said tackling Tony to the ground, now the both of them were scuffling on the ground trying to gain the upper hand. I leaned against the wall and let them fight without interruption for a couple of minutes.

"What does it mean when you kiss a guy but then all you can think about is another guy?" I asked carefully.

"What!?" Happy said getting held down by Tony.

"3!2!1! I win!" Tony said and then they broke apart on the blue mat. "Wait...you're thinking about another guy already? I thought that you really liked him?"

"I do, I really do. I just don't...I don't know why I just keep thinking about this other guy. It's not that it's in a romantic way, I don't even know him really." I said.

"I don't think you should let it bother you too much than." Tony said.

"What? Do you think of other women sometimes Tony?" Happy teased and Tony lifted an eyebrow at him.

"We were discussing Jesse's relationship, why are you trying to get me into trouble?" Tony said and Happy and I just laughed.

Tonight I was so tired that I went to bed a few hours earlier than I usually did. I don't know why but the more I tried to fall asleep the more my body bagan to feel hot. I sat up in bed and rubbed my hand on my forehead, it was hot and beads of sweat laid on top of it.

"Ah..." I said as I wiped the sweat away. I got up and turned on the light switch and when I did I took a good look at my hands. They were bright red and considering that I am a light shade of brown and red was showing so easily this was not good. I decided to that it was time to take another icy cold bath so I pulled out three large buckets from under the sink and went down stairs to fill them up with ice. After I was done I took of my night sleep shirt and underwear and went into the bathroom and then I started to fill the tub with cold water.

When I first stepped into the tub it was instant relief. My skin was turning back to it's normal color as I laid there in the tub. I played with the ice cubes by moving them around with my hands and submerged my head in water before I laid my head back on a rolled up towel and I fell asleep.

~.~.~.

I knew this was a dream as I sat down in a dark room with concrete wall and a bed full of furs. I dreamed of this room every night for a month. My hair was braided back and it was a deep red, so were lips and dress which remined me of ones from the renaissance period. I stood up and walked towards a golden vanity set, as I walked my fingers glided over its smooth surface and like always in this dream the door on the other side of the room opens. This is the part where I usually wake up but this time that not what happened. I couldn't stop myself as I walked towards the door and a hand grabbed me.

When I woke up the water was no longer cold but warm and steamy and I was starting to feel sick again. I unplugged the drain and got out. It was time to face that I couldn't do this by myself anymore I have to go to tell someone about this. I need to see Tony. I covered myself with a thin gray robe.

"Jarvis..." I called while I taking deep breaths.

"Yes Jessica, how may I be of service." he answered.

"Remember when I told you not to tell Tony about this?" I said.

"I'll get him right now" He said.

"Thank you." I said. I was so hot and exhausted but there was no pain. I lifted my arms away from my chest when I noticed my selves smoking.

"Oh no!" I yelled. Fear gripped me as my arms became engulfed in flame.

"There's a fire extinguisher next to your bathroom mam." Jarvis said. I went over and grabbed it and extinguished myself. I was relieved but like all the other times when this happened I became very exhausted so sat on the floor and leaned against my wall.

"Mam, it appears that has fallen asleep in the garage, traditional methods of waking him have failed.

"Then try nontraditional methods please!" I said. It was a moments later when Jarvis got back to me.

"He's on his way mam."

"Thank you." As I waited there looked down at my burned up sleeves, but my skin of course was looked untouched by the fire. I felt tears rolling down my face. "What's wrong with me?"

"Jessica what's wrong? Jarvis said there was an emergency." Tony said when he rushed into my bathroom. I didn't say anything I just fell into his arms when he knelled down to me."Ah! You're burning up! Jessica talked to me what's happening? What's wrong?"

"Don't take me to the hospital, please." I whispered and then I blacked out.

I woke up the view of the garage ceiling and I felt myself floating in icy liquid that felt too thick to be water.

"How are you feeling? What happened to you up stairs?" Tony asked me.

"Exhausted but much better... Why do you have a metal tub in your garage and what is this stuff?"

"Well I knew I would need one sooner or later I just didn't know what for and that stuff is liquid helium." I looked down at my hands in the icy cold liquid.

"I didn't know that helium could be a liquid." I said.

"Not a lot of people do." He said and I knew that he was still waiting on answers about what happened up stairs.

"I have never touched anything this cold before, why is isn't it frozen?" I asked.

"Liquid helium can't freeze it can only solidify under pressure." He said.

"Isn't that the same thing as freezing?" I asked.

"Stop avoiding the subject. Why didn't you tell me that this was happening to you. I looked away from my hands in the liquid helium and at him. It was moments before I answered him.

"I was scared, I didn't want to face what was...what is happening to me. And if you decided to run test I was afraid of the answers you would find."

Tony sat at the edge of the metal tub and reached out his hand for me to grab and I did.

"When I got this thing in my chest I was terrified. The first version looked horrific, there were wires hooked to a car battery and coming into my chest. If ever something just snapped I would die." Tony stared at the bottom of the tub as he told me this.

"I'm sorry, I must sound like a child compared to what you have been through." I said. Tony sighed and shook his head.

"No you don't. What i'm saying is that it can be very scary when something happens, something that you know next to nothing about. It's truly terrifying not knowing the answers and not having the time or the resources needed to help the situation. But that's the reason you do as much as you can find out the answers, it might lead you to a actual solution." He said that last part pointing at his chest. I nodded in understanding.

"So what's gonna happen?" I asked. Tony got up and pulled out a rolling board.

"Day 1, we found a way to keep you cool. Now we find out why you keep overheating in the first place. Are you ready to get to work Ms. Samuel?" He said. I smiled and stood up in the tub, the sounds of splashing and dripping filled the garage lab before they subsided to just drips. I pulled my thin robe around me because the weight of the liquid helium kept pulling it down.

"I would say yes, but I should go changed first."

Hello to my new and old readers, it has been about two years since I have updated and I realize I didn't give myself a great starting point to continue. What I will be doing is updating chapters and hopefully add some more later. Thank you for reading and please I would love to know what your thoughts are on this chapter so please review!