Closed.

[Chicogal]

Tony Stark and Rain Rowe. Two broken pieces trying to find their puzzle.

 

SETTING: New York City, present day

 

CHARACTERS:

 

Username: Chicogal

Name: Rain Rowe

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Looks: Slender, medium height (5,5") with straight brown hair to her waist. Rain has bright blue eyes and tends to wear long sleeves most of the time. She has a penchant for ice bracelets - slightly bluish bangles of ice that remain on her right arm.

Personality: Rain is shy and nervous, often quite unsure of herself. This is natural, seeing as she's been told by society that she's a freak of nature her entire life. She has a good core, but has to sometimes do what she needs to in order to survive. Due to her past, she is not entirely balanced mentally and has some demons that haunt her every step.

Powers: Hydromancy; the ability to manipulate water, as well as ice.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Chicogal

[shadow_claw]

Username: Shadow_claw

Name: Anthony "Tony" Stark

Gender: male

Age: 37

Looks: Tony is generally considered an attractive man. He has a slight build, with a thick chest and generally small waist. His square jaw has a light dusting of facial hair, and his hair is somewhat long and messy. His outward appearance ranges from "super expensive suit and tie" to "I picked this out of the dirty laundry and have worn it for five days straight". There is no in between. Other than this, a miniature Arc Reactor sits in the center of his chest, working as a replacement heart.

Personality: Tony is a lonely person, filling the void of growing up (basically) alone with women and booze. He's a rather repressed person thanks to his strict father, and has never really recovered from the death of his parents. After all, being suddenly let loose to do whatever he wanted was a rather shocking thing. He suffers from multiple anxieties, of which are directly linked to his PTSD (of which he self-medicates with alcohol). Although outwardly brash and uncaring, Tony's incredibly sensitive and struggles with his own self-worth.

Powers: Tony is the head of Stark Enterprices, and is the sole inventor of all its products. He is an expert with machines, possibly even more skilled than his late father. Tony serves as the Iron Man in the Avengers, using an array of highly advanced suits to combat adversaries. Other than this, however, he has no powers.

Edited November 12, 2015 by shadow_claw

[Chicogal]

-31st January 2014-

 

New Year's Eve. 5 minutes to go. Times Square was packed with people, all sorts of people - young and old, Americans and foreigners, men and women. It was a sort of tradition - a kiss as the ball dropped. Rain hadn't really thought about it, but it would be nice - if she could find a boy her age. She was 16, and young, and laughing with a friend and her friend's boyfriend. As another minute ticked by and they headed off to get some drinks, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Turning around, she came face to face with an older man. He was in his 30s, but still very handsome, and in quite the striking purple suit. Not intimidating at all. In fact, she now remembered him again. He'd been at the orphanage, and he'd seen her powers when she thought no-one was looking. And with every second that went by, he only became more friendly and more handsome and-

"I am Zebediah," he introduced himself with a smooth smile.

"I'm... Rain," she said breathlessly.

And if things had been normal, they would not have gone the way they did.

At midnight, she had someone to kiss.

 

-Present Day-

 

For months, she lived with him. In and out of an influenced haze.

"You'll never be as good as Jessica Jones," he would sneer as he pinned her against a wall, used her for unspeakable acts.

"It's no wonder your own mother left you," he would spit as he rolled out of bed, crumpled purple suit in a pile on the floor.

"You're nothing."

And she would lie there, the hypnotism wearing off, every part of her aching. Shame welled up deep within her heart as she remembered what he made her do, and how she'd begged for it. And when she was alone and her mind was nearly clear - it never was truly free of him - she would take it out on herself. Ice could be so sharp.

 

It wasn't just that. She was also his pawn, a small warrior. Her mutant powers had been useful in achieving his accomplishments. Sometimes Rain would have to get more girls for him. Other times, she might steal or kill or help him track down Jessica Jones. He was a psychopath, pure and plain.

 

But today was different.

 

She was fighting with a large ball of water, throwing ice spikes from it, swiping at attacks. The Avengers had arrived, finally having caught up with him. He always managed to escape with her due to his powers - but they had finally gotten the X-Men to help them. Magneto was here, and he was pinning the Purple Man against the wall. Zebediah's face was starting to resemble the colour of his suit, and Magneto just smiled.

Rain barely dodged a bullet, catching it with her water and spitting it back out. Blood ran down from a bullet hole in her leg, and there were various cuts and scrapes on her legs, arms, face. But she didn't notice. Her mind still wasn't hers.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Chicogal

[shadow_claw]

It was hard to imagine that just one guy could cause so many problems. But The Purple Man, as they had dubbed him, was about as slippery as a snake could get. He was...nearly unstoppable. He could make the entire term turn on one another in seconds. It made everyone nervous to fight the man.

 

Not to mention the children he used. Little kids, some as young as twelve. It was damn disgusting. "Clint, I want you in that house and searching for the girls." Tony blasted out of the way of a ice spike, firing a few short blasts in response. The archer was too, busy trying to get inside the house. Everyone was, for that matter. "Can you see this kid's face? I need to know if she's one of the missing-"

"I am trying to get a facical match, sir." JARVIS chimed pleasantly. Even so, this mutant girl was obscured by a huge ball of water. The only real option was to pin her down all together. A nearby clang resounded as Cap deflected one of the ice spikes with his shield, before racing forward and throwing it at Rain. Frowning, he blasted away another attack. "Turn thrusters to 30%, JARVIS." Just like that, he was blasting high into the air, above the fighting to get a good few of the girl.

Face match found. Rain Rowe, last seen: January first, 2014."

That was nearly a year. Nobody had been looking for a whole year? "Rain! That's your name, right? We're here to help you!"

[Chicogal]

Rain gritted her teeth together. The Avengers were an extremely strong group of heroes. The only reason they'd had the upper hand for so long was because of the Purple Man's powers. But with Magneto, one of the strongest mutants alive who could protect himself from such things, they'd crush the Purple Man easily.

The house itself was not full of many people at the moment. Most of the time, the girls they'd take were for a night or two's pleasure, usually in college. Sometimes they were younger. Sometimes they were older. Most of the time, the Purple Man did not keep them for long. Those with family tended to be searched for quite quickly. And although he could easily hold off cops, they just weren't worth the trouble. Most weren't mutants anyway.

There were about three other girls in the house at the moment - two sorority girls he'd taken a liking to, and another teenager. None had any sort of powers. The Purple Man simply took what he liked. But none would ever match up to Jessica Jones, he said.

Behind Rain, the Purple Man slumped. Magneto had grown tired of waiting. And Magneto knew that jail was not an option for this... animal. A large chunk of metal pierced Zebediah's chest, blood flowing from around the fatal wound. His heart gave out. And he was gone.

Rain gasped, before the wind was stolen out of her. Captain America's shield sluiced easily through her water, striking her full-force in the stomach. She flew backward, a light ragdoll in comparison to the force from the shield, hurtling toward the wall. And from somewhere, she heard her name...

Edited November 12, 2015 by Chicogal

[shadow_claw]

And just like that, the fight was over. Killing the Purple Man was far from what the team had wanted, but with Magneto...there was no telling what he would do. He was unreliable and generally difficult to work with. Although hostile, disdainful glances were exchanged, nothing was said.

Besides, they were pretty short staffed today. It was just Tony, Steve, and Clint. Bruce was wandering the world again, Natasha was God knew where, and Thor was in Asgard. If not for Magneto, they would've been toast.

 

While Steve retrieved his shield, he apologized profusely. He honestly felt awful for having to attack such a young lady. "I'm so sorry, are you alright? That man..." He shook his head as a darkness fell over his face. People like that awoke a raw fury within the 96-year-old. A thick, metal hand rested on Steve's shoulder. Tony's face plate flipped upwards to reveal his face.

"It's over now." He replied solemnly. This wasn't the usual sort of super-criminal. This was a true scumbag, preying on young women. It was clear, just by the faces of those around, that everyone was disgusted. Lowering his gaze, Tony's face softened. This poor girl had been through so much. He extended an armored hand to help the girl up. "Rain...you've been here for a whole year. It's time you go home."

 

[Chicogal]

Rain didn't hear them.

For the first time in a year, her mind was her own. But it wasn't working, really. Not in the way it was supposed to. Something had taken up a part of her brain for a long time, and it was gone now. He wasn't there, inside her head.

She sat there, completely still against the wall, hands clenched into fists. Her stomach hurt, her bleeding leg hurt, her entire body ached, even from within. But when Tony extended his hand-

Flinching back, she pressed herself against the wall as she scrabbled to her feet. Rain rested heavily on her good leg. Don't touch me.

"Home?" she whispered.

There never was a home. And here were the Purple Man's enemies. Before, she'd known they were the good guys. Logic told her they were better than him, they could help her. But logic wasn't overpowering emotion.

She held up her hands in front of her protectively, gathering the water she spilled. It came to her fluidly, hovering beneath her fingers. Bright blue eyes moved from one large man to the next. Pretty words had lured her before.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Chicogal

[shadow_claw]

The look of pure pity flickered th Tony's eyes. She was so scared. Terrified at the thought of contact with another. And while Cap had to leave, unable to conceal the rage burning in his chest, Tony was...sad. This was awful. Swallowing hard, he retracted his hand.

"Sir, I should inform you that Rain Rowe has been relatively undocumented much further than her birth certificate. I'm afraid I cannot find any place of residence."

 

That wasn't good. Had she been living on the streets before this? "We can find you foster pare-"

 

"No." Clint butted in this time, growling his disapproval with surprising anger. The one girl he was carrying was carefully set down on the ground so he could argue his point. "No foster homes. I won't let you do that to her."

 

When Clint had claimed to run away as a child to join the circus, Tony had always assumed him to have run away from home. But the sheer animosity on the archer's voice had a back story to it. It had to. Had Clint been in the foster services before? Was it really that awful?

"You can stay with me, then." He decided. Standing slowly, he raised his hands to exaggerate his pacifistic behavior. "My name is Tony. Tony Stark. I can help you."

[Chicogal]

((Your signature keeps on distracting me when I'm thinking of what to write ))

 

The large man stalked away, and Rain stiffened slightly. Was he angry with her? Would he take it out on her later? There was still one in front of her, clad within a suit of metal armour. Before her, two men spoke about her future. And the one in armour - the one called Tony - he told her. He said that she could come to live with him. The one with the bow had argued against foster services. She'd been in the system before, and spat back out into orphanages again. But that was another life. So long ago. She wasn't the same girl from then.

And here was another man, offering for her to live with him. But this was different. This was not forced. This was a man with a reputation to uphold, with metal hands held up.

"I..."

It had been a long time since she'd had a conversation. Of course, she remembered how to have one. And how to speak. The Purple Man had enough power over her to allow her to sometimes go out for short times - he had never been scared of losing her. Oh, it had been a long time since she'd had her own thoughts though. Rain swallowed, eyes darting to the archer and back to the metal man - Iron Man, that was what they called him.

She lowered the ball of water, and she let it fall to her feet in a splash. She was tired. So tired. And so sore, inside and out. Her arms fell to her side.

"Thank you."

Edited November 12, 2015 by Chicogal

[shadow_claw]

Oh, thank God. He didn't want to have to fight this terrified girl. But there was no telling what she would've done. Tony looked visibly relieved at Rain's reaction, sagging visibly where he stood. "Let's...let's take care of you then." He decided. Clint shrugged, carefully picking up the girl he had rescued and carrying her to the nearby police. They had figured police would be needed. They had been right. "Can you walk?" He asked, offering a hand once again. Her leg didn't look well, and Tony wasn't opposed to carrying her.

[Chicogal]

He was taking direction for her. Rain didn't mind. She'd become used to all her decisions being influenced; at least he wasn't inside her head.

The mind control having worn off, all the pain was coming back to her. It had been there the whole time - bullets didn't just scrape - but other things had been more important. But now, attention had been drawn to it.

Rain looked down at her leg, saw the bright red blooding running down her leg, over the dark brown of the old blood. His hand was extended to her, and she flinched once more - but this time, she didn't move away.

He's trying to help, she told herself. Tears had begun to well up in her once-bright eyes; she was completely and utterly overwhelmed.

Rain extended a trembling hand, recoiling as it made contact with the cold metal. But she steeled herself, going back to gently hold onto it. The armour made her hand look so small. Hesitatingly, she tried to take a step on her leg - and immediately hissed, a small cry escaping her. Having lost her balance, she fell forward toward him, leaning heavily on his metal arm and bouncing into his torso with her shoulder. What with the Iron Man suit making him so tall, she barely came up to his metal shoulders.

[shadow_claw]

As soon as Rain fell, he was ready to catch her. "Woah...take it easy." Slowly did he shift his weight, anticipating to lift her so she wouldn't have to walk. She couldn't walk, by the looks of it. "I'm gonna lift you." He announced. One hand shifted to the back of her knees, the other beneath her mid back. And easily, Tony was lifting the girl. "How's that? Doesn't hurt?"

[Chicogal]

Rain stiffened as she was lifted. She felt weightless, suspended in those super-strong metal arms. But sbe was being touched, and it was... uncomfortable. Not too bad, what with her almost being able to imagine it was a robot touching her. And yet...

It was the first time in a year she'd been touched gently. He had been so careful and slow. Although her hands were curled into fists, Rain would not flip. He's good. It's okay.

Jaw still set, she shook her head. He hadn't hurt her.

Not once.

[shadow_claw]

Realizing that flight was probably a bad idea, Tony began to clunk back towards his tower. His house. The others could go where they wanted; he had a girl to look after.

"Sir, perhaps you should notify the police of miss Rowe's whereabouts."

"What, like it's hard to catch me?" He grumbled back. With his face plate up, JARVIS's voice could be heard softly outside the suit. "Don't worry about JARVIS. I'll fill in all the paperwork so you can stay with me."

"And those Avengers within the tower, sir."

Sometimes he wondered how JARVIS had managed to get so sassy with just his pleasant voice. He never intended to give JARVIS so much personality, but...it reminded him of the old butler he had loved so dearly.

"You're gonna love it, Rain. I promise."

[Chicogal]

(( cute! Also did you get my request on skype? Hope I sent it to the right person...))

 

Rain stiffened at the sound of another voice, seemingly so close to her. But a moment later, she realised - it was coming from inside the suit. It was... a computer?

She stared up at Tony's face curiously as he replied. Yes. A computer. And he was going to sort it all out...?

Such kindness was almost unheard of. For all he knew, she was a psycho or a spy. And that struck a chord within her. Maybe he had a weakness for women, or an inclination to take care of things - but here he was, opening up his home to a stranger.

Their proximity still made Rain's heart quicken, and every noise made her cringe, but there was something else in her eyes. A tiny inkling of trust.

"Where... are we going?"

[shadow_claw]

((I did! I added you.

 

...and then I promptly went to bed.))

 

Surprise registered on the man's face at Rain's question. She didn't seem to recognize his name earlier. Did she...honestly not know who he was? Everybody knew Tony Stark! Everyone! After all, he was one of the richest men alive! Coughing awkwardly, Tony struggled to find a good response.

Stark Tower is a composed of a 93-story Main Tower. The majority is concentrated purely on business, while the top of for lodging. The top three floors are dedicated to the other Avengers that occasionally inhabit the tower. For your lodging purposes, you will be staying in one of the residential area below this." JARVIS filled in for Tony easily, rattling off a few facts about the building easily.

"Uh...yeah. What JARVIS said. There are ten floors for housing, so you can pick your favorite." He muttered in agreement.

 

[Chicogal]

((Weird; it's still showing thar you haven't accepted me... I sent you a message, see if you received it later?))

 

Once again, that robotic - yet friendly - voice spoke up. Oh, Stark Tower? She had known of Tony Stark, of course. Just not so personally that she knew where he lived. It had seemed like a business building, for the most part.

Rain felt dizzy from shock due to her injuries. The world was starting to swim in and out of focus. "Okay," she whispered in a small voice. For a moment she struggled, trying to stay awake. Then her head flopped to the side on his metal arm.

[shadow_claw]

((My skype on mobile is giving me problems D: ))

 

Tony's face creased in concern. Maybe...maybe he should've taken her to the hospital first. Frowning, his mask flipped back down and he rocketed into the air. It didn't feel right to leave her in the tower when she was hurt like this. "Sorry...change of plans." Quickly did he blast towards the hospital, clunking into the Emergency Room. "She's hurt." He rasped.

He should've gotten help sooner. She looked awful. But if she was admitted, they wouldn't let him or the rest of the team visit. Family only.

[Chicogal]

Rain awoke a few hours later in a dark hospital room. Firstly, it was dark due to it being late evening. Secondly, the colour scheme. It was dark blue for the most part, with a translucent blue sliding door. Outside, she could see movement.

Around her, monitors beeped. Her leg was bandaged and hurt like all hell. Various dressings and patches had been applied to her wounds. Rain didn't. panic - this was a hospital. It was okay, she told herself. But which hospital had a colour scheme like this?

Her eyes found the logo on the wall - SHIELD? She didn't know of this hospital. What if... What if this wasn't a normal hospital? What if it was one of those testing facilities for mutants?

The beeping grew more frantic.

[shadow_claw]

The first person to be alerted that Rain was awake was not Tony, but Clint. Being the occasional agent, he was the one closest around. Roused from his bed, the archer bumbled into the room. He wore sweatpants and a baggy purple shirt. Clearly, he wasn't prepared for anything going on and was just shoved into the room.

"Woah, hey, 's alright." He mumbled, rubbing his face with a hand. "Tony dropped'cha off here because you were hurt. He's...sleepin' downstairs, I think..." Only a few minutes later did the billionaire run in, looking just as disheveled as Clint.

"Rain?" He asked, his gaze worried. She'd been asleep for about one day, catching up on what little rest she seemed to have gotten with that ***. "I came as soon as I heard you were up."

[Chicogal]

Rain cowered in her bed as a man ran in, instinctively summoning water from the air. It was a small sphere, but it hovered just beneath her fingertips. She hadn't been violent before her mind had been taken control of. He had implemented fighting skills in her head.

A couple of moments later, Rain remembered. This was- this was the other man who had helped to rescue her. The archer. Yes. He was looking a little worse for wear.

Then Tony came in, looking rather... worried? About her?

Clearing her throat, she let the water swirl around her wrist into an ice bangle, and pushed herself up in her bed. Still she ached everywhere, but that would be there for a while.

"Hi," she greeted him shyly, hands folded in her lap.

[shadow_claw]

While Clint slumped into one of the few guest seats, Tony walked forward to greet Rain properly. He hesitated by the edge of her bed, choosing to stay a few awkward feet away. Times like this was when he really needed a drink.

"Hey." He muttered, unsure how to start talking. After all, he sort of...lied? To her? "I, uh...you were hurt." Even Clint, who looked like he was falling asleep in his seat, made a face. Tony really needed to brush up on his "people skills".

[Chicogal]

Rain nodded, glancing down at her leg. "I can see," she murmured, taking in the various protective measures. Zebediah sure had made her take a beating. Her hands close together, she let her thumb gently brush the inside of her arm, inside her sleeve. There were the raised wounds, some old, some new.

Suddenly remembering the situation, she sat up, this time not leaning against her pillows. "Where am I?" she asked cautiously. Her hands now curled into the sheet either side of her. She was ready to run. "What's SHIELD?"

[shadow_claw]

"The, uh..." How was he to explain this? 'Oh, we stuck you in a government facility!' No, that sounded awful. Luckily for Tony, Clint was awake enough to mumble something.

"Strategic Homeland....I dunno, some weird acronym to spell SHIELD. It's like...an anti world-domination thing. We put you here so ya...." His head dipped for a moment, snapping back up almost immediately afterwards. "Wouldn't get triggered. Ya know? Being re-introduced t' society is a slow thing." Tony wasn't very good at lying. Not like Clint and Natasha. Those two could concoct a seamless lie in real time and nobody would be the wiser. Besides, it wasn't exactly a lie. Just...not what Tony could've ever thought of to say.

[Chicogal]

Rain looked at Tony - but then, Clint was speaking. It seemed that Tony was lost for words. Was the truth really so... hard? She doubted it was the truth if he couldn't even explain it. Feeling a glimmer of panic in her chest, she stiffened in the bed. It probably was one of those awful facilities she'd heard about, where mutants were no more than test subjects... And here she was, hooked up to a drip and heart monitors.

"Okay."

Glancing down at her hand, she peeled off the sticky tape herself and pulled the needle out. It was pain. That was okay. Pain like this was better than the pain in her head.

Rain never had liked hospitals.

"When can I get out of here?"