Chapter Seventeen

Tony

I have no idea how the serpent society got all of these weapons, but it certainly made this fight more complicated. I just hope that Reuben doesn’t get any ideas of coming down here. She needs to give herself a break. I don’t think that anyone has endured more stress than she has. I should have fought for her. It would have been the best thing for her. Just then, I got thrown through a wall.

“Tony! Get your head in the game!” Called cap.

I need to stop worrying about Reuben, she’s safe. She’s at the tower.

“Sir, Reuben has just left the tower.” Jarvis announced to me.

“What? Where is she going?”

“It appears she is going to you.”

“You need to stop her Jarvis.”

“She has already left, sir. I am unable to do anything.”

“Guys, whatever you do protect Reuben! I don’t know what she’s thinking but she’s coming.” Just after I said that, I saw something out of the corner of my eye, and then a crash. How in the hell did she get here so quickly? The tower is eight blocks away.

Reuben

The suit fit quite nicely, actually. It was comfortably fitting on me, and not incredibly tight. I would have jumped up and down for joy, but when I jumped up I didn’t come back down.

“Jesus H Christ, I levitating!”

This must be a newly developed power. All that connecting with the tesseract, I would certainly hope I got an upgrade or two. Hmm, I wonder. How the hell does this work? Thor seems to do it just fine…. I thrust myself forward and into the wall I went.

“Ow, that felt great.”

Well, how do I go down? Just think down? As I thought down, the higher got. I need that sprite for guidance. I just gave myself a little push off the wall and through my door I went.

“Oh, son of a-”

This more frustrating beyond compare. Okay, one step at a time. Slowly but surely, I went down the hall. Then, all o a sudden, I went like the speed of light through the living room window and over the streets of new York.

“Holy sweet baby Jesus!” I screamed aloud. It was as if the tesseract took over my body with a mind of its own. Over the city I went, and then I began going down at a sharp incline towards some weird guy with a snake head. I crashed right into him, did a few flips and turns in the air, and landed on my feet with my right knee bent, left straight, left arm in the air, and my right hand dragging on the ground. That’s a good way to get road rash. Now that I was back in control, my boxing instincts came into play. Viper was staring straight at me, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Oh, you were demoted quite a bit, weren’t you? Don’t worry, you’ll get there soon enough.” I said mockingly.

“You should be dead.” She said furiously.

“Oh, trust me, I was. And now, I’m angry.” I said in such an inferior voice, I was shocked myself.

Viper came straight at me, and then I let my boxing skills shine. Left hook, double fist uppercut, and to finish it off, I turned to my right, with my right foot up and kicked her in the right side of her face, and crouched and turned and tripped her on to her back. I then jumped up a little off my left knee and punched her in the throat. I stood and took a few steps back, satisfied that I knocked her out cold. Then I noticed two others, aiming their guns at me. I ducked at the exact right moment and instead of shooting me, they shot each other.

“Hahaha, that was fun.” I said smiling.

“Rue, where did you get that?” Asked Dad.

“I think S.H.I.E.L.D. has a plan for me.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D. gave that to you?”

“Birthday gift.” I air quoted. “I think they just used it as an excuse telling me to get back to work….”

“You’re not going back to work anytime soon.” Dad told me.

“Yeah… about that… I’m scheduled to work a shift from eight in the morning on Saturday.”

“What? For S.H.I.E.L.D?”

“No no, for the fire department.”

“Reuben, I’m not so sure that it’s a very good idea for you to go to work so soon.” Said James.

“I’ll be fine! I just whipped those guys in half the time, I think I can handle some fire. Besides, I have taken on this responsibility and I’m going to live up to it, whether you approve or not.”

I decided to ride in the Avenjet since my first flight didn’t go very well. Everyone was rambling on about average things that superheroes would talk about I guess. I was in my old world, thinking about everything that could go wrong that did in the past month. My mother was dead, I almost died, and James DID die. I know that my life is never going to be normal or the same again. I mean, my little brother now has to grow up without a mother. The thing is, Ryan has no idea that Mom is dead. I haven’t had the guts to tell him, and that’s not fair. However; If I do tell him, I have no idea how he will interpret it. I know that I can’t have Jackson do it, and I know this is something that can’t be said via telephone or video. I was just so deep in my thoughts, I didn’t realize James was talking to me.

“Reuben?” James said my name questioningly.

“Hm, yeah? Sorry, I having a deep conversation with myself.”

“Uh, alright. We’re at the tower.”

“Okie dokie.” I say like a child. I let James go ahead of me, since I had never been on the Avenjet before and had no clue as to where I was going. I went to my room and put my normal clothes back on, and opened the door.

‘Well, time to face my birthday gifts.’ I said aloud.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Steve said, standing at my door.

“I’m not one who is keen on receiving, more of just giving.” I say with a half smile.

“You know, you’re a surprisingly responsible person for your age. You're as responsible as I am.”

“Well, when you’re the daughter of someone like Tony Stark, you have to be responsible. Whatever I do reflects off Tony, and I don’t want to mess up and have him disappointed in me.”

“You’re just a kid, Reuben. If you mess up, it’s understandable. You’ve been an adult for too long.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, Steve, I am an adult now. I am eighteen years old, which means that every responsibility that could ever happen is happening.”

“There is a reason why there is a teen at the end of eighteen. Though you are considered an adult, it doesn’t mean you have to act like you’re thirty years old. Reuben, your Dad is now there for you. If you mess up, it doesn’t reflect off of his image, but yours.”

“Well that certainly makes me feel better.” I say with a sarcastic tone.

“Reuben, in case YOU have forgotten, you are still a teenager. You have a right to act your age at some point in your life, and the opportunity is now. I think you should take this opportunity and live your life to the fullest.”

After that, Steve walked away. I think he did that to get me thinking. By now it was 5, and by the time I got through all my presents it was probably going to be ten! The thing is, I had no idea how to act. I’ve always acted like I was older, never my age. Although I have the mind of a genius, so that could possibly have something to do with it. I picked up one of my presents and took a seat in its place. It was a moderately sized present, rectangular and slim. It was from-

Before I could finish my thought, I heard a knock at my door, and looked up to see Uncle Rhodie standing in the doorway.

“Uncle Rhodie!” I say like I’m a child and my reflexes kick in, springing me up from the bed and towards him. I hugged him, and he hugged me back, picking me up off the ground a few inches.

“Hey, princess. How’re you doing? I heard that some big stuff has happened this month.”

“You know what, I’m actually doing fine.”

“Are you sure? I know that you don’t like letting your emotions show, but someone can only keep so many feelings bottled up.”

“I’m fine Uncle Rhodie! I really am! Now if everyone would stop making it about me I would appreciate it.”

“Ah, so you’ve been taken victim of being the centerpiece of the dinner table, huh?”

“Sadly enough.”

“So you’re sure that you’re okay? I mean, being used to fight against your own friends and father can traumatize someone pretty badly.”

I pulled myself out of his hug, and gave him the most confused look I could muster.

“What?”

“You don’t remember?”

“Remember what!?”

Just then, Dad walked around the corner.