Chapter 2 | Explanation

Thankfully, Tony didn't have to wallow in dread — to be a prisoner of his ever-so-active mind, wondering if death has finally sunk its claws upon him, just like in Siberia — for too long as in the next ten minutes, the emergency power finally kicked in. And not a minute later, Maria Hill and a couple of the former SHIELD agents burst through the fire exit.

Hill took one look around before making her way to Tony, but not before instructing the others to apprehend the person with an obvious HYDRA insignia on his shirt.

"You good, Stark?" The woman asked as she took out a dagger to cut him free.

Despite giving the sharp object a wary glance, Tony merely shrugged. "Just peachy." He said drily, "After all, I definitely get nazi visitors who like to tie me up to my chair every other week."

Tony grinned triumphantly when Hill let out soft snort. Ever since he took her in as Pepper's PA, he made it his mission to wheedle out some sort of reaction from the stone-faced agent. He knows that he's growing on her. And he knows that she knows that he knows.

"Oh, and there's also this girl." Tony added as an afterthought, "I'm about seventy-six percent sure that she's not HYDRA, but it's a bit suspicious that those bastards snuck up on me when I was investigating her."

Hill cocked an eyebrow at him, "Investigating her?" She said it in an unmistakable tone.

His mind was quick to supply what she was implying. "Ah," Tony grinned lecherously, wiggling his eyebrows at her. "Though it'd have been a great kind of foreplay, it was not that kind of investigation, unfortunately."

"How unfortunate." Hill drawled.

"Very unfortunate." Tony nodded empathetically before snapping his fingers at the ceiling, "FRI?"

At his prompt, FRIDAY took over with a much more detailed explanation, "At 5:14 in the afternoon, an unconscious female crashed through one of the Tower's glass window— Oh and Boss, I've taken it upon myself to lead her towards the other HYDRA members in hiding."

Tony blinked in surprise, "Are you sure that's a good move, FRI?" He asked.

"Positive, Boss. I've interrogated her enough to deem her a non-priority threat, and I've yet to detect any deceit from her biometric reading."

"Alright, I'll trust you, babygirl." Tony nodded. "Oh, and do a search on Holly Potter for me, will ya?"

Tony startled when Hill's head whipped from where she was looking thoughtfully at the surveillance camera to him. "What did you just say?" She asked, her voice just slightly above whisper.

Tony glanced around and saw that the other agents seemed to have stepped out during their conversation, leaving the two of them alone in the room — three, counting FRIDAY. "Uh, do a search on Holly Potter?" He said questioningly, watching as Hill's eyes widen in, what he thought to be, recognition.

"Holly Potter is here?" Tony heard her mutter.

Tony narrowed his eyes slightly, "You know her." He stated more than asked.

The agent blinked and, after a moment of consideration, nodded. Unfortunately however, before he could pester her about the intruder, the woman was already walking away, on her phone with whom he suspects was to be the not-so-dead Fury.

["Be a dear and record that conversation for me, will you FRI?"]

["On it, Boss."]

It was at times like this that Tony was grateful for his newfound power.

In the meantime, Tony had opted not to tell anyone of this fact as he'd like to test the limits he had before anyone else did.

The sound of a door swinging open pulled Tony's attention. He was surprised to see that the girl — Holly Potter — had come back with a pile of unconscious HYDRA goons floating behind.

"And that's the last of 'em." Potter said, dropping the group none-too-gently to the floor. She then turned towards Tony and smiled, "Everything's all clear, yeah?"

A bit unsure as to how he should treat the seemingly-good-guy-yet-definitely-not-harmless Jane Doe before him, Tony shrugged in response, "Uh, I'm pretty sure, yeah. FRI?"

At his call, FRIDAY piped up, "All HYDRA agents have been detained, Boss. There are no other unidentified presence in the Tower."

Tony noticed Potter curiously looking around in search of the owner of the voice and felt the corner of his lip twitch up. It'd been a long time since someone new was made aware of FRIDAY's presence, which was unfortunate as he took great pleasure in seeing their initial shock when meeting his babygirl. Though different from the usual reaction, the Potter girl didn't inquire about FRIDAY, instead she merely smiled at one of the walls.

"Thank you for your assistance, Miss Friday." Potter nodded in appreciation before walking over to Tony and offering him a handshake, "And I do apologize for the disruption, Mister Stark."

Tony couldn't help his blink of surprise as he shook her hand. He had initially thought she didn't know about him — which was a ridiculous notion as he's Tony Fucking Stark — but she proved him otherwise.

"Well, I'll be right outta your hair now." The girl said assuringly, taking a step back as some black-shadow-mist-thingy started to swirl from beneath her feet, slowly covering the... alien? Or maybe, even witch? "Say hi to your godfather, will ya?"

Tony squinted at her, not bothering to conceal his contempt for the man that came to mind, "If you're talking about Stane, then sorry to burst your bubble, Hogwarts, but he's dead."

"What?" There was some confusion in her expression before it cleared up. Potter shook her head with a smile, "Oh, no no no. I meant godfather from your mother's side, of course."

"My mother's side?" Tony knitted his brows together as he tried to remember whether he'd met anyone of that status. "Who—?"

Tony wasn't able to finish his question quickly enough as the black shadow thing had managed to engulf the girl whole before dropping down and dispersing into nothing. Words died in his throat as he stared at the spot Holly was standing just a moment ago.

"Did that just happen?"

"Yes, Boss. Miss Potter just vanished into thin, black mist." FRIDAY supplied helpfully. "She has left the premise as well, as I couldn't detect her in any of our scanners."

"What the fuck."

Rubbing a hand over his face, Tony let himself fall back onto the sofa and decided to just wait for the S.H.I.E.L.D agents to gather back in the room.

Hill better have some answers by the time she got back.

。*✧(•⁠ᴗ⁠•)⁠✧⁠*⁠ 。

"So, did Fury give you the green light to explain who our mystery person is?" Tony questioned as soon as Hill stepped back into the room.

Hill eyed him for a moment before offering a small nod. "Miraculously, yes — he actually did."

Tony perked up at that. Fury voluntarily giving out information was not something you see every day. But as much as he'd like to poke and prod on that fact, he's more interested in what Fury had to say about his british, teleporting Jane Doe.

"Holly Potter," Hill began slowly, "is a presence that transcends the boundaries of reality. It'd be better if you just let her be, Stark. She is not someone to be trifled with."

Tony stared at her, utterly bewildered. "Transcends the boundaries of— You're joking, right?" he asked, his tone full of disbelief. "We've met aliens and actual Norse gods, and now you're telling me she's even crazier than them? More incredible than Thor, the literal God of Thunder? What is she— Jesus?!"

Hill remained unperturbed by his outburst, her expression unchanged. She simply inclined her head in quiet affirmation. "Yes, Stark. She's of even greater importance than aliens and Norse gods," She replied, her voice steady. Then, with a thoughtful tilt of her head, she added, "And your guess isn't far off the mark — though, in truth, she's quite the opposite."

Tony blinked at her statement as his mind could only come upon one name.

"SATAN?!" Tony exclaimed, "You're telling me that I just met motherfucking Satan?!"

A single flat stare was enough to tell him that he was wrong, which was a relief.

"What?" Tony quickly said defensively, "We now know that Thor, Loki, and all them Norses are just aliens. We even saw those robotic snake things come out of a damn huge portal on above my tower. At this point, Satan is definitely not an impossible thought..." He casted another dubious glance at the PA, "Right?"

Instead of answering him, Hill merely continued to stare him down. "When did you last sleep?" Hill asked instead, as she seemed to have just noticed the dark bags under his eyes.

Tony wasn't given a chance to lie as a disembodied voice quickly answered in his stead. "Mr. Stark last slept seventy-seven hours, ten minutes and twenty-two seconds ago, Secretary Hill." FRIDAY answered eagerly, which prompted the woman to give him a look that eerily reminded him of Pepper. And not just any Pepper, but a very angry Pepper.

"Get some sleep, Stark. You're not sober enough for this." Hill ordered, her tone firm as she began directing the agents back to their stations with a wave of her hand.

"But—"

"Sleep." Hill cut him off before he could utter out another word, "Sleep for eight whole hours, then I'll answer your questions."

。*✧(•⁠ᴗ⁠•)⁠✧⁠*⁠ 。

Tony knew that Hill wouldn't have joked nor lied about it, so slept he did. And since he's always the overachiever, Tony even slept for twelve whole hours to make sure that she'll keep her words.

The next day, Tony didn't even stay in his lab for a whole hour before he was already making his way down the Tower — something he'd not done since Siberia.

"I slept for half a day, Hill!" Tony announced as he reached the door to her flat and started hammering on it, "You better spill everything that you know on that Potter!"

The door slowly pushed against his palm, and who he saw was both a surprise, yet also not quite.

"You better shut your damn mouth before I shut it for you, Stark!" Fury hissed as he quickly pulled the billionaire through the doorway before slamming it close.

Tony had to take a moment to adjust his sight to the dim lighting of the room. He had been taken to a nearby couch, where he sat across both Fury and Hill.

Tony crossed his arms across his chest and jutted his chin out. He did his part of the deal after all. "So?"

There was a twitch from Fury. He looked like he was about to give Tony a lecture. About what, Tony didn't know — perhaps about anything and everything that Fury could think of to pull Tony attention away from getting the answer he wanted. But then, Fury deflated. The man heaved out a sigh and sagged back into his seat.

He gestured at Hill, "Just give it to him." Fury said with an exasperation that's somehow ever-present whenever Tony's involved.

Curious, brown eyes followed Hill as she took out a plain, yellow manila folder. Tony gingerly took it. He gave the two one last questioning look before finally diving into the information he's been given.

———————————————————————————
S.H.I.E.L.D. PERSONEL EVALUATION REPORT
Subject : Holly Potter [Death (Living Counterpart)]
Evaluation Date : 07/05/2010 [LAST UPDATED]
Classification : Top Priority
———————————————————————————
I. SUBJECT OVERVIEW
Official Name : Holly Potter
Known Alias : [Death, Grim Reaper, Thanatos, etc.]*
Date Of Birth : [Unknown]
Gender : Female
Known Occupations : Writer, Investor
Known Affiliations : Avengers Initiative
                                           (Disaster Level Only)

*Holly Potter  claims to be the "living  counterpart"
  of Death,  where her job is to deal with  anomalies
  in   the   "Material Plane"   (as   quoted  from  Holly
  Potter).     An    example   would   be     to     prevent
  unscheduled deaths from happening sooner than
  it is meant to be.
———————————————————————————
II. KNOWN ABILITIES
1. Utilizes a black, smoke-like substance  that   seems
    to   be   controlled by mind.   The   substance   is  able
    to     change     its     materialistic      nature      between
    gaseous, fluid, and solid.    It   has  the   capability   to
    materialize      whenever     and    wherever    its    user
    wants  it   to   be.    It   gives   the   user  the   power  of
    Teleportation and Flight.
2. Hand-To-Hand Combat
3. Weapon Specialist
———————————————————————————
III. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
        Holly Potter's personality  and    behavior    present
    almost   zero   concern for   the   population's    safety
    due  to  the fact that her sole mission  is  to  keep  the
    people's  demise  from  going too early  nor  too  late,
    as  stated   from   above.   However,  it  is  also  reason
    that  Holly Potter  is  not  the  optimal  choice  for  the
    Avengers Initiative:
    — Priority:  Above  all  else,  Holly Potter's priority  is
         to  keep  the  balance  between  the  living  and the
         dead.  She has zero concern of keeping those  who
         are actually meant to die from their end.
    — Lack   Of  Compassion   &   Morality:    As    stated,
         Holly  Potter   is   the  living  counterpart  of   Death,
         which could lead to lack of connection to humans,
         as  well  as  a  different set of morality  than  we are
         accustomed to.
    — Absence     Of     Authority:     As     a     being     that
         exceeds  logic,  it  is  unknown  whether   there  are
         others like  Holly Potter that can keep her in check.
         It is obvious  however  that she  does not  succumb
         to the hierarchical structures of earth,  though  she
         does follow the existing rules to keep a low profile.
         Due   to  these  factors,   Potter's   inclusion   to   the
         initiative is not recommended  unless the world is
         reaching its end from an abnormal cause.
———————————————————————————
Report Submitted by:
Director Nicholas J. Fury
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters
———————————————————————————

Tony had to reread several lines as he tried to wrap his head around the string of words before him.

Suddenly, Tony slammed the file down onto the table between them.

"She's an Avenger?" was the first thing the Billionaire asked, his face twisting in mixed emotions. "Where was she when New York happened?! I'm pretty sure I didn't see any shadow-wielding witch flying around to help us!"

"She's—"

Tony didn't even let Fury finish his sentence as continued on his tirade, the horror of the Battle of New York suddenly surging to the forefront of his mind. "Did you even call her? Wouldn't you think that that would be a 'world at peril' situation? Oh maybe, all those deaths were actually something scheduled—"

"It's not, Stark. And yes, I did page her." Fury stated in a louder volume, effectively quieting him down for a single second. Fury barrelled on when he saw Tony opening his mouth to retort, "I paged her as soon as the portal was opened. And she did help."

When Tony still looked unconvinced, Fury prompted him, "Four years ago, why do you think the Chitauris only came through in waves? They're an army for Christ's sake, they could've just swarmed in bulks but they didn't. Or better yet, how do you think you got through the portal in time, Stark? You must've already checked your chances of survival in that time cause how else were you so damn sure that you're gonna die. Did you really think you got to live another day by some fucking miracle? Come on, Stark. Put that goddamn genius brain to work."

Taking a deep calming breath, Tony went through some breathing exercises he learned online as the gory images started to subside from his vision.

Tony kept his eyes on Fury as he processed his words. Because Fury was right — As soon as the nuke was launched, he had calculated the trajectory in his head. And though there had been a chance of him being blasted back into by the impact from the nuke, the distance should've been too far for him to reach in time but...

"She brought me through?" He asked, his voice steady.

In response, Fury sent him a look that clearly questioned his intelligence.

。*✧(•⁠ᴗ⁠•)⁠✧⁠*⁠ 。

Holly: *Tipsy and teleported randomly into a room*
Holly: "Ooooh, wha'sh tha?"
Holly: *Seeing the HYDRA logo on a big machine*
Holly: "Hehe, funny octopu'sh."
Holly: *Aims a finger at the skull*
Holly: "Bang."
Holly: *Magic shot out of her fingers as she quickly sobered when she realized what she'd done*
Holly: *Teleported outside before it hit the machine*
Holly: *Watching the building explodes, which then made a chain reaction as the building around it followed suit*
Holly: *Sighing* "Bollocks."

。*✧(•⁠ᴗ⁠•)⁠✧⁠*⁠ 。

Hi guyssss (^-^;) I'm finally back... again? Honestly, at this point, it'd be weirder had I not disappeared for... quite a long time, before finally back with the milk (or in this case, a new chapter).

I really am grateful for you all for waiting so patiently for my updates ('－ω－)人

Unfortunately, I've been so busy with college but NOW! I'M ALMOST FREE!! And currently, I finally got time to reread some of my fics for inspiration to continue writing and voila! I did it!! (^-^)/

Though, I do feel a bit rusty after not writing for over 1-2 years. So I hope this chapter is still up to par with my previous writings (T_T)

P.s. I recommend reading the "SHIELD Evaluation Report" with the smallest font in Wattpad.

J Out!