C O L U M B I N E

Elena's plan was simple. Borrow one of Tony's cars and drive away before Lieselotte could do anything.

Well, it would have been simple if she knew where Tony kept his keys. She had been searching for over an hour, yet she had barely scratched the surface. Avengers Tower may have looked grand on the outside, but it would've been hell if anyone lost anything.

Slumping down in a nearby chair, Elena sighed. She ran a hand through her hair, and leaned forward. Was escape really this hard? It wasn't like she was going to steal anything. She'd return it... one day.

God, she sounded like a thief.

All she wanted was to leave. Meet with Lieselotte on her own terms, and fix everything with minimal damage. If she stayed, then who knows what would happen? Especially when the Avengers seemed to draw attention anywhere they went.

Footsteps drew Elena out of her thoughts. She looked up. Clint walked towards her, and Elena choked. She gaped at his white shirt.

"What are you wearing?" she asked, standing.

Clint glanced down at himself. "Huh? Does this look bad?"

"Since when did you own a shirt that wasn't purple?"

He did not look amused. "I happen to own a shirt of every color, thank you very much."

"Right."

"Nat just happened to purge my closet yesterday," he muttered. "Said that if she didn't, I'd be wearing the same thing every day."

Laughing, Elena covered her mouth. "She's right."

"Do you really have so little faith in me?"

Elena grinned. "As a matter of fact, yes. Yes, I do."

Clint snorted and shook his head, but Elena caught his small smile. She nodded at him.

"Seriously though, you actually tried to dress up today," she said, eyeing his neat hair. Elena inclined her head when she saw a hearing aid, blinking. "What's the occasion?"

"Nat wouldn't let me out of my room until I cleaned up," he said. "So I figured why not go out for coffee since I'm already dressed."

Elena narrowed her eyes. "And how many cups would this coffee run take you?"

Clint didn't even hesitate. "Fourteen," he said, daring her to argue.

Elena raised her hand in surrender. Rolling her eyes, she cursed under her breath. "We'll have a problem when you reach twenty. Anyway, get me one?"

"I might drink it all by the time I get back."

She stared at him, deadpanned, and Clint laughed. "Okay, okay. One coffee for the doctor, coming right up."

Elena watched him leave, biting the insides of her cheek. She pursed her lips. She didn't know why she asked for a coffee when she planned to be gone before he returned. Sighing, she shook her head. Maybe it was best to let him believe that she wasn't going anywhere.

Turning away, she continued searching for Tony's keys for another hour before giving up. She'd just have to hope for a voice command system. Worse case scenario, she'd have to hail a taxi.

Before long, Elena ended back up in her suite. She looked around, letting out a breath of relief when she realized Tony had left. She wasted no time in gathering her things, stuffing them all in her bag. She didn't know how she had managed to fit everything in the first time.

She struggled to zip it shut, and in the end, she gave up and left part of the bag open. Clicking her tongue, she stood and looked out the window. Dusk wouldn't be for a couple of hours, and knowing Clint, he'd be out for at least another hour. When it came to coffee, she knew he would stay out as long as he could just to buy more.

Elena ran her hand along the window sill. There was only one more thing left to do before she would have to leave. Write a note.

When she found a pen, the words came out surprisingly easy. It was almost like writing a diary entry, only it wasn't too personal. Elena stared down at the note, rubbing her wrist. It seemed almost too easy to write the apology, the farewell.

Did that mean she didn't actually like them? That she wasn't friends with them?

Somehow, the thought comforted her. It was better to leave with little to no bonds that could lead her back.

Picking up her backpack, Elena nodded once. She left her room and didn't look back. It was finally time.

To her relief, she didn't run into anyone as she walked. She did, however, stop in her tracks when she passed the training room. Looking back, she blinked. It would have been stupid to leave without a weapon.

Elena quickly grabbed a bow off the wall with a quiver of arrows. Slinging them on her back, she looked around before moving away. This time she was actually stealing, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Elena's breath caught when she opened the door to the garage. Her heart skipped a beat at the line of cars. She knew Tony was a billionaire, but her imagination had done his collection of cars an injustice. Rows and rows of colorful cars lined the garage, and Elena froze at the selection she had to choose from.

In her head, she thought Tony would have at least one average-looking car, but she was wrong. Elena didn't even know why she thought it. It was unlike Tony to not want to flaunt his wealth.

She walked deeper into the garage, clearing her throat. Tony was going to kill her if she scratched any of the cars. And if he didn't, she would herself. The cars were worth more than her for goodness sake.

Standing in the middle of the garage, Elena looked up. "So uh," she said out loud to herself. "Hello? Voice command? Is that a thing here?"

Silence answered her.

Elena jutted out her lower lip. She looked around at a loss. Out of curiosity, she walked towards the nearest car, trying the door. It was locked, but Elena stopped at a button on the door handle. 

She pressed it.

"Voice activation required."

Yelping, Elena stumbled back and barreled into another car. She gasped and spun at her heels. To her relief, she didn't leave a scratch.

"Uh, here's my voice, I guess?"

A beep.

Elena tried the door again, but the voice repeated itself. 

"Voice activation required."

Frowning, she scratched her head. "Elena," she said. "Elena Fan."

Another beep.

"Dr. Fan?"

Beep.

Elena bit down on her lip, rubbing her wrist. She didn't even know if Tony had added her to his security. She wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't. She wasn't an Avenger.

But there was one last thing she could've tried.

"Dumpling," she said.

"Welcome, Dumpling." The door clicked open, and Elena could have laughed.

She carefully opened it, swallowing at the fancy interior. Shaking her head, she tossed her things to the backseat, shrugging off her bow. Just when she was about to get inside, the door opened.

Elena snapped up, immediately freezing.

Tony didn't look happy to see her. His forehead creased with confusion, and anger radiated off of him. "Dumpling," he said curtly. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Her mouth went dry, and Elena opened her mouth. No words came out.

Tony crossed his arms. "That was a question."

"I'm uh," Elena glanced at the car, "borrowing."

Before he could say another word, she climbed inside and slammed the door shut. She gulped when Tony began walking towards her. Quickly looking around, she found a hand print on the dashboard. She hovered her hand above it.

"Voice activat—"

"Dumpling." Her voice had shot up several octaves, but Tony's security recognized it nonetheless and the car started.

"Hey!" Tony hissed. "Dumpling!"

"I'm sorry, Tony," she whispered, hitting the gas. Her stomach flipped, the car backing up faster than she had ever gone before.

"Jarvis, I want—"

Elena was louder. "Open the garage gate!"

The gate began to rise, and Tony was now running. Elena winced at him, noticing that he was one button away from changing into his suit. If that happened, she didn't know how she would escape.

"Close it! Jarvis, close that gate!" Tony shouted curses. "Dumpling, stop where you are! Let's talk this out!"

Elena looked away. "I'm sorry, Tony!" she repeated, louder this time. "I'm so sorry."

"Elena!"

Elena's hair flew back behind her as she drove the car straight towards the closing gate. She winced at the rearview mirror. Tony, it seemed, had froze, staring at her in disbelief.

She looked away, squeezing her eyes shut as she approached the gate. This was going to be a big crash.

Miraculously, Elena didn't crash. Somehow, she made it safely out of the garage, and the gate shut behind her. No glass had broken, but one look at the roof sent chills right down to her bones.

The dent was so big you wouldn't have been able to tell what it was supposed to look like. Tony was really going to kill her the next they met.

...

It's go time! :D 

Elena girl, is finally making her own decisions. Horrible decisions, but they're still decisions. 

I'm honestly so excited for what's to come even though I have no idea what I'm doing.