CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:
❝︎Curiosity Killed The Cat❞︎

TONY STARK AND ELOISE GARDNER MADE THEIR WAY TO THE AVENGERS COMPOUND, BOTH OF THEM DETERMINED TO FIGURE THIS OUT. Eloise didn't even know where to start. Once Rosalynn handed her the case, Eloise just stared at it. How was she supposed to know the username and password? Eloise had bit her finger, letting blood pool on it before pressing it against the lock of the case and watching it click open. Now a username and password blinked at her and she had been staring at it cluelessly for thirty minutes. Tony had just watched her stand there and stare at it, and although he knew it shouldn't have been amusing, it was.

     Eloise slammed her head on the table, letting out a groan of annoyance and slight pain. She kept her head on the table as she said, "I don't even know where to start." Eloise sat up, blowing her hair out of her face. She looked over at Tony, her hair falling in her eyes. A permanent frown was on her lips.

     Tony smiled at her, pushing the hair from her face. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart."

     "No, no it's not." Eloise leaned back in the seat she was sitting on and let out a sigh. "I hate my  brain. If I hadn't had the simple thought of curiosity, we wouldn't be having this problem. Sometimes I wish I could just shut my brain off. It keeps going non-stop, all day, all night. I just need it to stop, to be quiet. Otherwise we wouldn't be put in these kinds of situations."

     Tony took a seat beside of her, grabbing her hand. "You're being way too hard on yourself, El. We're going to figure this out."

     "You say that and every time we have not in fact 'figured it out'."

     "El, it's going to be okay." Tony assured her. "You've not known what's in this thing for years, what's wrong with waiting a little bit longer?"

     "Curiosity killed the cat," Eloise said.

     Tony pointed at her. "But satisfaction brought it back."

     "This case is going to be the death of me. Why won't you let me in!" She hit the thing and huffed in frustration. "This is getting me all worked up. This is so stupid. I never should have even guessed that I could figure out my parents brains."

     "Hey, I'm not gonna let you give up." Tony sternly told her. He swore it to himself. If Eloise wanted to figure out what she'd risked her life for all of these years, then he would do just that. He wasn't going to let her give up so easily. If Tony was being honest with himself, he wanted to know what was inside the case as well. It's been sitting there for years and Tony wouldn't lie and say he didn't glance at it every time he passed it, but out of respect for Eloise, he didn't lay a finger on it.

     "I have an idea." Tony suddenly said. Eloise just rose an eyebrow at him. "Let me make a call. I'll be right back." Tony walked out of the room and Eloise watched him go before placing her head back on the table. Tony walked back in a few moments later. "This may or may not work how I'm hoping, but I'm giving it a shot."

     Eloise looked at him, narrowing her eyes slightly. "What did you do?"

     "Why do you always assume I did something?"

     "Because you always do."

     "That's not what you said earlier."

Eloise just rolled her eyes in response.

     A few moments letter, a familiar head of brown hair walking through the door. Avery Barton looked at Tony, crossing her arms over her chest. "You better have a good reason for making leave the comfort of my bed to come here."

     "Did you do what I asked?" Tony countered, ignoring the annoyed eye roll that came from the teenager.

     Avery let out a huff. "Yes." She turned her head and nodded at someone Eloise couldn't see.  Calliope Hart walked through the door. Her hair was curly and her hands fiddled with each other. The anxiety was practically radiating off of her. Avery noticed. She placed a hand on her friends shoulder and offered her a small smile, nodding her head. "It's okay, Cal, these are my friends. Of course you know Tony Stark." Tony waved. "And that's Eloise Gardner, Tony's girlfriend."

     "That half-vampire, right?" Calliope asked.

     Eloise tried not to wince and instead offered the girl a polite smile. "That would be me."

     "Avery said you needed my help."

     "We do."

     Eloise looked at him. "We do?"

     "Calliope was the one that helped us find you." Tony told her.

     Eloise looked at the teenager in surprise. "Thank you for helping save my life." Calliope nervously smiled and nodded her head. "Here's the deal, inside of this case is my parents work, which I've protected my whole life and it was the reason HYDRA came after me in the first place. Anyways, point is, we can't get into the case cause it involves a username and password, which I don't have, and I guess Tony brought you here to try and hack into it."

     "I can do my best, but I can't promise you anything." Calliope told her.

     Eloise smiled. "The best of you is all I ask." Eloise stood from the chair and Calliope took her place. She stared nervously at the case.

     "She can't work with people watching, it makes her nervous." Avery explained and the couple nodded before leaving the room with Avery following after them. "I don't get it, why all of a sudden? You haven't questioned the case in years, Eloise, why now?"

     "It just came to me, and now I can't stop thinking about it." Eloise shook her head, crossing her arms. "It must be important if HYDRA's trying to kill me for it."

     "You're also dating Tony Stark so someone's going to be after you your whole life whether or not you like it."

     Eloise smiled sarcastically. "Thanks for that, Avery."

     Avery smiled. "Happy to help."

     "What do you say we get some food while we wait?" Tony suggested.

     "I'd say you read my mind, Stark." Avery smirked. She walked away and Eloise just shook her head in amusement whilst Tony put his arm around her and followed after the girl.