Notes:
I struggled with writing this chapter quite a bit, because I didn't want it to feel too dragged on. But there was a lot of information and time that I needed to convey with this chapter before getting into the next one. Hopefully it doesn't seem too scattered with the time jumps. Anywho, I hope you all enjoy!
- Faylor

Nearly an hour had passed on Tony's flight back to upstate New York. He sat comfortably in his seat, sipping on a freshly made cup of coffee as his mind trailed through the events of the past couple days. It had been an unexpected and unfortunate turn of events, but it almost didn't surprise him. It seemed as if everywhere he went, trouble followed just behind him. His conscience was troubled, knowing that his efforts hadn't saved everyone during the earthquake, including Doctor Murray.

He rubbed a hand across his forehead at the haunting thought, letting out a sigh. It could've been worse - much worse - had he not been there with the suit, though. And he had made sure to set up a fund for those affected by the incident before heading off, which did give him a small amount of comfort.

However, there was one memory from that day etched into his mind, playing almost on a loop.

The girl - Doctor Murray's daughter. What was her name again? Aly? No, no. Alex? Yeah, that was right.

He had definitely seen her use some sort of unnatural ability to stop that debris from falling on them, and it sparked endless questions within him. How did she become enhanced? What all was she capable of? Was she dangerous? Did anyone else know about her?

It simply struck him as odd, and he needed to know more. He pulled out his phone, hesitating for a moment before his curiosity got the best of him.

"Jarvis? Can we pull some data on Doctor Miranda Murray's kid?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir," the AI replied, and within moments, a number of files and photos began popping up. He quickly gestured a hand over his phone, and the images became holograms in front of him.

"What've we got here..." Tony's eyes scanned curiously at the information sprawled out before him.

"Alexandria Murray, fifteen years old, currently enrolled at Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, California," Jarvis informed.

"Any info on her... enhancements?"

"Negative. No records found on them."

"Hmm... Alright. Family history? Anyone of importance?"

"Not particularly. As of yesterday, her only currently living relative is her biological father."

"What've you got on him?" Tony took another sip of his coffee, his eyes slightly narrowing as they focused on the newly shown documents.

"Marcus Calloway, convicted felon. He's been locked away in prison for the past twelve years," the AI continued.

"What for?" he questioned.

"Black market arms dealings and money embezzlement."

"Interesting." He paused, setting down his mug. "So... the kid's got no one, huh?"

"It would appear that way, Sir."

"And where is she now?" Tony's voice became curious.

"Child Protective Services in California currently have her in custody. She's going to be put into foster care in a few days."

"Right..." He paused, his gaze averting out the jet's window next to him. "Jarvis, get ahold of Pepper for me, will ya?"

Without a word, Jarvis did as asked. It took only moments for Pepper to pick up the call.

"Tony?" her voice rang.

"Hey, Pep. Uh, change of plans. I'm gonna be a little late getting back."

"What happened?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just... I need to take care of something."

"And what might that be?"

"Something I hope I don't regret."

xXxXxXx

Alex's tired eyes gazed absentmindedly out one of the windows in the office, her mind drifting as it had been frequently in the past couple of days. Two days. Two days now she'd been in custody of CPS, awaiting to be shipped off to some random foster family. She hated this. All of it. Everything had changed so fast, and for the worst. Just this morning, she'd been told that a potential home had already been found for her. She wasn't ready by any means.

"Alex?" a voice suddenly spoke, snapping her attention back from whatever void it had been drawn into.

"Hmm?" Her gaze shifted toward the woman sitting behind the desk parallel of her - Ms. Ortiz, one of the CPS officials who was apparently in charge of Alex's case.

"They're here, if you're ready," the woman informed.

Alex sighed, her eyebrows momentarily lifting. "Sure, yeah. I guess."

"Alright, I'll be right back." Ms. Ortiz stood from her seat and left the room.

Alex's fingers toyed with the hem of her flannel shirt while her thoughts began to race again. She didn't want this. She just wanted to run away and be alone. She was only on the second floor of this building. She could slip out the window pretty easily, maybe no one would notice.

She shook her head at the idea, letting out a breathy scoff just as she heard the room's door handle begin to move. Her heart jumped a bit as she set a careful gaze on the doorway as it began to open. Ms. Ortiz's face came into view, followed by... No.

Ms. Ortiz led the man into the room before closing the door behind them, and her eyes found the girl once more. A slightly puzzled look spread on her face as she noticed Alex's own expression.

"Alex, this is Mr. Stark, which... I'm sure you already know," she chuckled.

"W-What are you... Why are you here?" The teenager's voice was quiet and slightly timid as she stared at him in disbelief.

Tony looked at the official, removing his glasses. "Do you mind if I have a moment to talk with her?"

"Sure," she replied with a subtle smile. "I'll be right outside."

Tony watched as Ms. Ortiz walked out the office's door, and as soon as it was closed, he turned himself to Alex.

"Look, kid. I'm gonna just cut to the chase, alright?" he started. "They're gonna put you into the system in, what, couple days?"

Alex's eyebrows immediately furrowed at his words as her lips slowly parted, but she couldn't manage to put her vocal chords to work. Tony took a brief moment of silence as well, his eyes studying her expression.

"You ever been to New York?" he asked.

"What?" her voice finally muttered. "I-I don't understand..."

"I'm gonna take that as a no," he remarked. "Welp, first time for everything, I guess."

"Mr. Stark, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Long story short, you're coming with me, kid."

Alex's eyes became much wider now as her mind tried to process such a shocking sentence. Was she hearing him correctly? Did he actually just say that? Her throat was tightening, and her stunned gaze didn't budge from his own.

"Unless you'd prefer to go into foster care, that is," Tony added, taking a small step in her direction. "It's up to you, really."

"Why... Why would you do that? I don't..." Alex squeaked out. "You don't even know me..."

"So are we just gonna ignore the fact that you stopped over a hundred pounds of falling concrete from crushing both of us, without even touching it?"

Alex felt a chill course its was through her body as her heartbeat began to pick up pace. Of course he had seen it. She knew that. But all of a sudden, he wanted to take her in because of it? Why?

"I suspect your... powers, or whatever you call it," he continued, "won't settle too well with any family you might get put with."

"But they will with you?" Alex spoke a little more audaciously.

Tony raised an eyebrow at her. "I've seen worse, kid. I promise. And besides, you'll fit right in."

"Are you... trying to recruit me or something?" She raises a brow.

Tony's head cocked to the side as his face showed signs of thought. "I wouldn't exactly put it that way. But if that's what you wanna call it-"

"I don't," Alex interrupted, her tone cold and firm.

"Okay, alright. Well then it's not." Tony hesitated, attempting to pick his next words very carefully. He needed her on his side. "We'll stick with calling it... a new start, yeah?"

Alex fell silent once more, her eyes dropping to her hands that were clasped in her lap.

"What d'ya say, kid?" Tony's voice sounded again, this time at a slightly quieter tone.

"I... I don't know..." Alex, whispered, raising her head to him with hesitation.

Tony took another step toward the teen, crossing his arms. "Listen, I know this whole thing sucks. I do. But trust me, it's gonna suck a whole hell of a lot more if you're stuck in the system."

"How would you know?" Alex rebutted coldly. "You don't have the first clue."

"Look, kid, I'm here to help you. Not the opposite."

"By doing what, exactly? Trying to drag me into your super cult?"

"Not a cult, first off. Second, with your fun little abilities, you'll fit right in with the rest of the circus freaks without anyone batting an eye." He smirked.

Alex huffed through her nose as she subtly shook her head. "Do I really have a choice at this point?"

"Logically speaking... No, not really."

The teen rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. Whatever." She sighed. "Just... I'm gonna need my stuff."

"Oh, that's not a problem. It's being taken care of..." He paused, tapping his finger on the screen of his phone a few times. "...now. And I'll deal with all the paperwork mumbo jumbo, with your autograph here and there, too, of course."

Alex's eyes narrowed slightly as she finally stood from her chair. "Don't make this weirder than it has to be."

xXxXxXx

Pretty much all of Alex's free time was spent hidden away in the room that Mr. Stark had made for her out of one of the guest rooms. He had made sure that all of her posters and books were properly put in place. However, her clothes remained in her open suitcases that were carelessly laying in the floor. She hadn't bothered to put them up yet, simply sifting through the now disheveled piles whenever she needed to get dressed.

She kept to herself as much as humanly possible, only making an appearance outside of her room when it was time to eat. Even if either Mr. Stark or Ms. Potts had attempted their hand at small talk with her during said appearances, Alex kept it short and simple. The last thing she wanted to do was bother anyone or get in their way. She had grown practically reclusive, holed up in her own space away from everything else. But due to that, her mind kept toying at dismal thoughts to the point where she just wanted to scream.

Nightmares had started to infiltrate her sleep, and they were becoming more frequent and terrifying as the nights went by. They were always about the same thing - the same day. About her mother. In the midst of these grim visions, her body would jolt awake in the middle of the night, a cold sweat beading on her skin as she attempted to catch her breath. She thought that it might get better over time, but it seemed to be going the exact opposite. It didn't help that the overall feeling these nightmares gave her lingered into the day, which only added onto the weight she was already carrying with such a sudden, drastic change in her life.

It had been nearly a month since she'd been brought here, and she was having such a hard time attempting to adjust to this new lifestyle. Moving away to a different city - across the country, let alone - was hard enough to adapt to on its own, but now she was living in an unimaginably state-of-the-art tower which belonged to someone she only barely knew.

Everything felt extremely out of place, especially herself. Why was it that Tony Stark was willing to offer up a place in his own home to a random fifteen year old? Sure, he'd told her that it was to protect her from any kind of danger her abilities might put her or others in with an unknowing family. But was there more to it? Was she supposed to be some kind of lab rat for him to experiment on? Surely not, she thought.

On top of that, she couldn't shake the overall feeling of grief that ate away at her day by day. She attempted to fixate herself with diversions to ease the pain, but it never really went away.

She let out a heavy sigh as she absentmindedly flipped another page in her book. It was all she could do to keep herself distracted from the racing thoughts that overtook her mind, trying to focus on her reading to little effect.

It was too quiet.

Decidedly, she stood from her desk and made her way toward the small stereo that resided on her nightstand and turned it on, instantly connecting her phone to it and opening one of her many playlists. Only moments later, her room was filled with the sound of Iron Maiden.

That was better.

She flopped back down in her desk chair, returning her attention back to her book. She tapped her fingers against the desk top as she read, focusing to the best of her ability. Her eyes kept scanning the print on each page, but it hardly seemed to register. It was a mindless task at this point, if she were being honest. Maybe she could use a break - a real break. Something outside the four walls she so intently kept behind. She thought that maybe a little self-given tour of the place might not be so bad.

Opening her door, she made her way out into the corridor. Instantly, she could hear two voices that were bickering back and forth, causing her to hesitate for a moment before continuing. The voices became louder as she approached the main living area of the suite, and she stopped right in her tracks as soon as the source of the voices finally came into view.

"-not right to just leave her all alone in that room for so long, Tony!"

"I'm giving her some space! Is that reallysuch a bad thing? After what happened, do you think-"

Tony's cut himself short at the sudden sound of Alex clearing her throat rather loudly. The two adults quickly whipped their heads in her direction, a surprised expression appearing on both of their features.

"Alex..." A soft yet nervous smile appeared on Pepper's face as she spoke. "Did you need something?"

"Oh, no. I was just... Study break." Her words were followed by a shrug. "Needed to get my mind off things."

Tony's face turned to slight confusion. "You're studying? It's summer."

"Just mindless reading. For fun, I guess." Alex glanced toward the floor, a forced breathy laugh slipping out.

"Listen, uh, I've been meaning to talk with you about some things, kid," Tony stated, trying to change the subject.

"Oh? Um... maybe later?" Alex replied, her eyes flickering back up to Tony. "I just really need some fresh air, ya know? Good for the soul."

Her lips pressed into a fine line as she gestured toward the balcony adjacent of her, and she started to make her way toward it without another word. She had hoped that she'd made it clear she wasn't in the mood to talk, at least not about the subject matter she was certain that he'd implied.

This particular balcony had quite a beautiful view of the city. Alex's eyes calmly scanned back and forth through all the buildings as a slight breeze brushed against her. Maybe it wasn't so bad, being here. At least, she tried to think it wasn't. But those same dark, invasive thoughts kept creeping up on her, and they made her feel absolute guilt. How could she live happily ever after when she could've saved her mom's life? It just wasn't fair. None of it was.

xXxXxXx

Later in the night, she'd finally lulled herself to sleep after a few hours of failed attempts, but it didn't last. She jolted awake with a strained yelp, her body wringing with sweat as she sucked in stifled breaths. Her eyes began to sting, tears welling within them as she blinked rapidly. These haunting nightmares had become a regular occurrence over the past few weeks, but this was different - worse. It felt so real. She recalled how the image of her mother stared dauntingly at her, repeating "You could've saved me..." over and over again.

Alex pulled her knees tightly into her chest, wrapping her arms around them before burying her face within them. She was fully crying now, muffled sobs wracking her body. She didn't remember falling back asleep.

The next thing she knew, her eyes were fluttering open to see bright sunlight spilling into the room - much brighter than she'd been used to. She glanced to one of the room's windows. The curtains were... gone? It took her only a moment more to realize that they'd fallen to the ground as her eyes trailed to the floor.

It wasn't just the curtains, either. Books, clothes, and even her bed covers among other things were scattered all around. She sat up quickly, a small gasp escaping past her lips at the sight. Had she done this in her sleep? The thought made her feel sick.

Her abilities were still a mystery to her, and this just added insult to injury. Did she really have no actual control over them?

Maybe Mr. Stark was right all along. Maybe she did need his help.

She quickly dressed herself in the first pair of distressed jeans and old t-shirt she could find before heading out of her room in search for some coffee. She reached the suite's kitchen, finding it completely empty to her contentment. She pulled a coffee mug from one of the cabinets before starting the coffee maker. The thick aroma filled her nostrils, which eased her a bit in contrast to the thoughts of what had apparently happened last night.

"You been having nightmares, kid?" The sudden voice made Alex nearly jump. She turned around to see that Tony was now standing just on the edge of the kitchen, mug in hand.

"Jesus... A little warning next time would be nice."

"You didn't answer my question." Tony took a sip from his own coffee. "You been having nightmares?" he repeated, this time a tad more foreword.

"What are you talking about?"

"Let's not play dumb, alright? I have Jarvis monitor your heart rate at night," he explained nonchalantly. "It's been kind of alarming the past couple of weeks. And last night, it was practically off the charts."

Alex chewed at the inside of her mouth in hesitation as her eyes averted his gaze. "It's nothing," she answered after a moment.

"Nothing, huh?" He raised a brow. "Then why does it look like a tornado destroyed your room?"

Shit.

Alex felt her heart jump slightly, a pang of embarrassment hitting her. She had intended on cleaning up all of the evidence before anyone had time to worry about it, but that was entirely out of the cards now.

"I mean, I could just assume that you had an overly-dramatic fit of teen rage and trashed everything, but I don't think you quite fit the bill for that." Tony's tone was amused as he spoke, and it was obvious to Alex that he'd pieced together what had happened.

"I didn't think you'd see," she admitted, her fatigued eyes finally looking up to meet his own. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"Jarvis informed me, and I'm glad he did." Tony raised a hand defensively. "Besides, don't be sorry." His reaction garnered a perplexed expressed on Alex's face. "This is sort of what I've been meaning to talk to you about, anyway."

"What?"

"You need to control this... this thing you have, right?"

Alex sighed, her eyes dropping to look at her hands. "This thing..." she repeated with a scoff before turning back to him.

"Whatever you wanna call it, you gotta learn to control it. I don't wanna come home one day to find... Well, no home. Capiche?"

"It's not that simple," she retorted. "I don't even know how it works in the first place. It just... does."

"Okay, well we can figure that out," he assured.

"How?" Her voice was almost amused at this point.

"Run some diagnostics, tests - all that jazz."

"No," Alex disputed, her tone much more serious, if not skittish now. "No tests."

"Okay..." Tony's eyes studied her for a moment, curiosity laden within his gaze.

"I just... I don't wanna be poked and prodded at is all."

"Fair enough." He paused. "Tell you what, no tests - yet. But you've gotta work with me here. We need to figure out what makes those little powers of yours tick, and in order to do that, you need to show me what you can do, alright?"

"I guess..." she spoke slowly, her gaze carefully watching him. "But I-"

"Okay, great." A smug smile began to form on his lips. "We'll get started on your training tomorrow."

Alex's eyes suddenly grew wide as her eyebrows wrinkled. "My what?"

"Hope you have some kind of athletic wear," Tony added as he turned to walk away. "Might be a little challenging in those skinny jeans."

"Wait- No! Huh-uh," she retorted, starting after him. "You're not gonna turn me into a freaking Avenger! You said you weren't recruiting me!"

That stopped Tony right in his tracks, his sneakers squeaking on the floor as he abruptly came to a halt. He slowly turned himself around so that they were facing one another again, his lips pressed into a fine line.

"You're gonna be one tough egg to break, aren't you, kid?" he asked, his voice writhe with sarcasm.

Alex's face settled into a much more subdued expression, her arms crossing firmly over her chest.

"That's the problem. I'm already broken, dumbass."