The MCU
She's dreaming.
Rikki knows she's dreaming. Of galaxies, of stars and currents tearing each other a part, suns imploding and black holes creeping along the edges of solar systems. It reaches out to her. Embracing her. Warm and cold. Strong and vast, beyond her comprehension. Vulnerable and fragile, soft beneath her touch.
It breathes life and death. Equally.
Space.
Engulfs her heart.
Rikki jolts awake. She at home but her pillow is moving, breathing. Alive. An illuminating light sparkles softly in the dark. Is it late or really early? She doesn't know. She doesn't care. Tony is alive. They found him.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." He's here.
"It's fine." She reaches for him, leans into his hold on her. She breathes in stardust and cold fire. "We need to talk anyway."
"That...that is not what I was hoping to hear."
"Are you okay?"
He exhales, a deep bone tired sigh.
"I am now." He runs his hand up and down her arm. "I mean if you don't mind me being here."
"You know I don't."
"That's good. I mean, I'm glad."
"Tony. I..." How can she explain this? How to start?
"JARVIS showed me. You don't have to tell me how you knew. Not right now. I mean I would like to know, you know. But I just want to be here, with you. It's not everyday my mermaid girlfriend brings up a world wide storm and a bunch of natural disasters just show how pissed she is at the rest of the world for forgetting about me."
"They shouldn't have written you off."
"Yeah, I get that. I'm just saying, it's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."
"Terrifying humanity so they'd work harder to find you, is the nicest thing ever?"
Rikki looks him in the eye in disbelief. Because he cannot be serious.
"I've gotten plenty of weird gifts and the usual proclamation of love but..." The billionaire hero looks off, tired. "Not one of my partners has ever gone out of their way to try to protect me. Not once did they ever come to my defense."
He turns his gaze back to her, expression softer than she's ever seen. And than he smiles. Not his paparazzi ready smile or his business Playboy smile either. It makes her breathe hitch a little and her toes curl.
"Then comes along this spitfire of a woman, a self made diver with a take no shit attitude who tells the world to 'go fuck itself, this billionaire is worth something and you can't have him'. That means a lot to me. It helps that you waited a bit, gave everyone a very clear warning that it was going to get really bad before going all Enraged Mother Nature."
"I am pretty badass." She grins but that grin quickly falls, "Not sure your pirate spy friend would agree though."
Tony blinks at her, completely taken back. He sits up and props himself up on her pillows. She follows slowly and a little sluggish. But Tony doesn't wait for her or let her sit up on her own. He wraps her in his arms before she even sits up and drags her back into his side. She huffs at his little show, having been curled into his side, arms around her with her legs and feet thrown over his lap.
Not subtle. At all.
But that's for another time. If there's another time. She frowns at her boyfriend and just starts with a sort of apology.
"There's a lot I haven't said. A lot of things I forgot to mention. Things I just forgot and that, that's not fair to you. I don't want that-this to start with a big gaping hole between us. If you still want it, I mean."
Rikki isn't shy or insecure. It's not in her nature to be. She's rough and upfront. Why waste time and energy trying to hold onto a lie? She likes Tony Stark. This Tony Stark that the movies don't really touch on even though they try and so far they've gotten it really close. Or as close as her memories tell her. Rikki doesn't want to be alone but since Zane, Tony is the only person she's felt the need to be near.
And it's without sacrifice.
Rikki loved being a mermaid and being able to walk on land. A foot in both worlds without feeling the need to give something up for one or the other. With the other girls, they were pulled more and more to their ties on land. With the other mermaids, the land was a strange place that was barbaric or cruel or disgusting. They acted more like arrogant nobles visiting a third world, looking down on everything and everyone.
But she saw beautiful things about both of them and she called both worlds home. Tony, in the short time that he's known, has not once asked her to part with one or the other even before he knew she was a mermaid. Solo diving has its own inherent dangers and he knew them all. He never tried to talk her out of it or make her work seem inferior. Not once.
That's the reason she wants to give them a chance.
"I do." He says. "I really do. If it's about you being a mermaid, then I'm all ears. You know that, even before I asked you to be mine, I was willing to hear you out."
"I know." Rikki runs a hand through his hair and sighs. "Its part of that. As a mermaid I have certain...perks. I can go to places and see things that normal people will never know. But after a while there is nowhere else to go. No new places to discover. So...I opened a doorway."
She takes a deep breath.
"A doorway to another world. This world."
For a moment, he says nothing. But his confusion is easy to see. "I...but...but your records. The pictures and...and everything!"
"They're all her. The other Rikki, the one born in this world. When I came, she had died, complications from after surgery, a car accident or something."
Tony frowns. "Yeah, some drunk driver, a hit and run. She went home after a few weeks. How does this fit in?"
"When she died, she just disappeared. Her body didn't just drop to the floor. But everything that made her who she was became a part of me. I took over when her life ended but we aren't that different. The only difference that really matters is that I'm a mermaid.'
"And she wasn't."
"Right."
"So not only are you a mermaid. You're a mermaid from another world...dimension...universe."
"Yup. That's right."
Tony stares at her. Rikki stares right back because that is that easy part. If he can get over this than she can ease her way into everything else. Normally, she'd just blurt everything out but she has learned this thing called tact.
Tony isn't helping though.
"Say something."
"Something." Cheeky son of a-! "So, you've sort of been...reincarnated?"
Rikki blinks for a few seconds and nods.
"I never thought of it that way but yeah. That sounds right."
"But that's not what you really want to tell me."
"No. That's the easy part. We can talk about the hard part after you've wrapped your head around this and I'm caught up on what happened while I was out."
"Oh, I can fill you in."
"And you can call you're friend Rhodey over."
"You want him to know about this? About us?"
"I don't mind. I know you trust him and he's stuck with you for years now." Rikki knows he won't turn on Tony. She knows he's one of the very few who doesn't try to break him, to kill him or smother him. "He's someone I know won't hurt me."
"You 'know'?"
"Hard part, remember?"
"Right, right." He pulls his phone from the side table and opens it so she can see what he sees. "In that case, here's what happened..."
Well, that wasn't too different from what she's remembers.
There are differences though. Glaring differences and she isn't sure what they mean or how this would effect anything else. Rikki isn't a genius but she's seen enough movies and tv shows to know that the whole 'Butterfly Effect' is no bullshit joking matter. Still, she's no genius and she can't see the future. The best she can do is live her life the best she can and give Tony all the tools he can to prepare for the future.
She is looking forward to meeting Peter, though. He was always one of her favorites and seeing the whole father-son thing on screen was amazing and just plan adorable. Rikki can't wait to see the look on Tony's face when he realizes he practically adopted his own spider son but that's for later.
"Right." Rikki sighs from her spot on the couch, her muscles ache and her throat is sore. She's taken a bath and Tony made her favorite tea. "You sure you don't want to wait for him?"
"I'd rather just get it over and done." Tony frowns but lets her cuddle into his side.
Rhodey couldn't come right away, still working to sooth ruffled feathers back in the states and Pepper is keeping the entire company together through sheer will power. Rikki's impressed and has no doubt her skills are the reason Tony made her CEO. She wishes someone was here for him because she fully intends to tell him everything she knows and it is hard. She just knows it will be but it would be worse if she hid it from him.
"It will be hard to hear." She warns him because as harsh as Rikki can be, she's never been cruel to someone on purpose. "Some of it will...well..."
"It about me."
"Yeah."
"I've got you."
The mermaid blinks. She hadn't thought of that. That he would trust her and find comfort in her. It makes her chest swell with warmth and she smiles a little. Just a little. She needs to get this done.
"So, in my original world there are movies about you."
"Movies?" His expression goes blank, too many emotions for him to really express. "Like documentaries?"
"No. Films, Tony, fantasy like comics and things." Rikki barrels on before he can asks anything. Better to rip the bandaid right off, yeah? "Its about a billionaire who becomes a hero. Iron Man. There's an entire film industry around you and other heroes. There's you and the other Avengers, the Defenders, and umm...some agents who become heroes or close enough. There's aliens and gods and things."
"What?" She doesn't look at his face as she takes a sip of her tea.
"Yup. There's an entire story lined up and everything. You becoming Iron Man is the first and its the reason I know a lot of what happens after."
"You know what happens next?" He gently takes her chin in his hand and turn her to look at him. Rikki can't really describe his expression. Disbelief? Hope? Confusion?
"Its been awhile since I've seen the older movies but I remember enough. The important bits, I guess."
"Important enough you feel the need to share."
"Yes."
"Important to me?" His is still holding her and she can feel him tremble, just a bit.
"Yes." Tony swallows and lets go of her chin to be able to wrap both arms around her. He pulls her closer.
"Tell me."
Rikki exhales but resolutely doesn't look away.
"The pirate already paid you a visit, right?"
"Fury wanted me to join his secret boy band." Tony starts. "The Avengers, you wouldn't happen to know who else he wanted on the team would you?"
"Dr. Banner, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Thor and Captain America are all of the original team."
"Wait," He actually raises his hand to stop her. "wait, wait, wait, what? Who?"
"Banner is-"
"Yeah, I know about him, he's a brilliant scientist-"
"Who can also turn into a green rage monster. You can look him up later." Rikki cuts in. "Hawkeye is a sniper with a bow, the Widow is an assassin, you'll meet her when she infiltrates your company and tries to seduce you, and Thor is an alien. Or a god. Alien god. An alien that people worshiped as a god. I'm not to clear on that but you get the idea."
"Does he have a hammer?" Tony asks with a smirk.
"Yes."
Whatever joke he planned to dies swiftly and the smirk disappears. She can tell he's struggling so she keeps going.
"The last guy is Steve Rogers, he'll be found in the ice and defrosted. He's an ass."
"Is he really?" Tony raises both eyebrows. "Or are you saying that because you don't like him?"
"Both."
"Uhuh."
The billionaire doesn't say anything else about that. Good. Rikki isn't in the mood to justify herself. She is well within her right to dislike someone. He'll understand when she's done anyway. But this is taking too long. She goes for the first strike.
"Before you meet them, you have to fix your reactor." She watches as Tony's entire being shut down. "The core is poisoning you and you need to change the element or you'll die."
They are silent for a long time. He doesn't push her away though. He doesn't yell or curse at her. In fact, he's so still Rikki isn't sure if he's present anymore. So she takes his hand in hers and interlocks their fingers. She gently squeezes them and runs her thumb over his knuckles. When he returns the squeeze and sighs, she relaxes a little more in his hold.
"Palladium poisoning."
"Yeah."
"I figure it out?"
"Well, not at first. You go through all the known elements and go on this spiraling sort of depression when it looks like nothing will work." She keeps eye contact. "You make Pepper CEO, piss off your best friend, and make him take one of the spare armors. There's also a crazy Russian out to kill you for something you father did to his father. I can't remember his name. Something with an 'I'."
She bites her lip lightly. What was his name?
"Ivan something."
"I can find that out but I found a cure?" He asks a little more urgently and Rikki smiles because this she does remember. How could she not?
"Oh, yeah. Its in this model your dad built. In the film its in an office with Pepper but I'm sure you can find it before than unless Fury has it hidden away with everything else."
"What? Wh-"
Tony abruptly cuts himself off and his expression goes dark. There's an understanding there that Rikki isn't getting. The expo model wasn't delivered to his house so they probably didn't have it but was it there before Tony decided to start the Expo again? This time Rikki frowns because she doesn't know. Tony pulls out his phone and puts it on the coffee table.
"JARVIS do some digging. Everything my father ever made or ever had a hand in, trace it."
"Of course, Sir."
"Rikki," His gaze is intense. "I need you to tell me everything you know."
"I, yeah," She frowns and gets the impression she's missing something. She's not surprised but she'll get it once she's done. "You meet the Widow, red head named Natasha or something like that. Her last name is Rushman and she evaluates you or some bullshit. But the cure is in the model, its a new element..."
She goes on about Hammer getting its hands on Rhodey's armor, on the Russian taking over when Justin gets him out of prison and the attack on the Expo. She regrets that she doesn't remember a lot of other details but Tony just urges her on. She mentions Thor in New Mexico and something about being worthy of his hammer again. There's also something about a war with Frost Giants and Loki finding out he's adopted. She tells him the Trickster doesn't take it well.
"He breaks the Bridge to get here to save the Frost Giants but it means he can't come back to Jane."
"I think I know a Jane something about space."
"Jane Foster, Sir. I'm compiling a list now."
"Good, I'll look at it later."
"So, Loki lets go and falls into the void..." She tells him how the god becomes a puppet in the alien invasion that hits New York, how Loki uses his tower to bring over an alien army, and how the Scepter holds something called an infinity stone, the Mind stone. It fails to affect him because his reactor protects him.
"That's...something." Tony's eyes flicker back and forth. Its a sign she's familiar with, his mind is whirling and jumping to new ideas and theories. She simply reaches over, picks up the tablet she's left there, its a clunky thing but she knows Tony will make do before he build a better one, and gives it to him. She's right by the disgust that flashes across his face for a second.
"Make your notes while I get more tea." She gets up and misses the fond look he sends her.
"Right, where were we?" Rikki settles back into Tony's side. There are snacks on the table because she can tell they're going to be a while longer going through everything.
"Alien invasion, Loki, and a mind stone."
"The Mind Stone."
"Okay." Tony raises an eyebrow. "Distinct, huh?"
"Yeah, its really important. I remember looking them up just so I could understand why it was so important. Apparently, they're universe shattering, like they can change the universe. There's six. Mind, Reality, Space, umm...Soul, Time...and one more, one more...Power! If you have all six, you can pretty much control the entire universe."
"And, some big bad alien is trying to collect them?"
"Yeah, I forgot his name. It was mentioned in the Guardians film but I only saw part of that. I think the power stone is one that planet though? I'm not sure which one but one is on the planet controlled by the Nova Corps and one is held by another alien named the Collector."
"The mind is in the scepter and the Tesseract is the space stone. Where are the other two?"
"The time stone is protected by a bunch of mages or wizards and I don't know about the last one."
"Wait." Tony blinks once in disbelief, "There are wizards, here? On earth?"
"You're okay with me being a mermaid with magic but regular wizards trip you up?" The look she gives him says just how unimpressed she is with his reaction.
"Right." He coughs, "Go on."
"I don't know much about the wizards, I only saw part of that movie, too. I stumbled on them while I was just flicking through the channels. Umm, I did see Ant Man and a bit of the Inhumans on Netflix, somethings with the X men, and Deadpool. I've rewatched that because it is just that good but I'm not sure if any of that is relevant here since they were kept separate."
"Tell me anyway."
She tells him everything about these other heroes and mutants. The horror and torture. The fear and the drama, like someone recounting a favorite or interested tv show to someone else. But Tony makes sure JARVIS records and makes a note of everything. The model is locked on, a quick find back in the mansion he grew up in. He doesn't make a move to have it brought to him, not yet. Because there is a lot that Rikki is telling him and he knows she doesn't realize just what she's saying.
An assassin infiltrates his company to get close to him, a honeypot at that. SHIELD becomes aware that he is dying but don't offer aide until he is literally at the end of his rope. Just that bit puts a bitter taste in his mouth because the picture it paints isn't a pretty one. No, its down right insidious. So, he makes sure to listen to everything she has to say even if she doesn't know everything. She knows enough. She knows more than everyone else in the world and that makes her a threat to those in power.
And Tony knows what happens to people who appear to be a threat. He wasn’t going to let his girlfriend be one of them especially when she mentions they put Loki in a cage meant for the Hulk. A fucking cage. He just knew for someone like Rikki? There would be no cage.
"There was a third Iron Man movie, too." She takes a sip and reaches over for a snack. "I don't remember a lot of the details but it involves the president being kidnapped and a bunch of people blowing themselves up."
"Terrorists?"
"No, umm, a twisted form of the serum?" Rikki frowns, its not the first time when she has a hard time explaining herself. "It had something to do with some serum from a woman you slept with at a party, she was a scientist, and you made some progress on her work. The guy, the villain, he uses it on himself and he turns into this fiery version of the super soldier. Its a revenge plot and you have a hard time against him because of the PTSD and anxiety attacks."
"Me?"
"Yes, you." She gives him a look. "You take the nuclear missile through the wormhole, Tony. Then, they close it with you still on the other side. The things you saw give you nightmares and you have a hard time coping. You get better but there's a lot you go through before you get there."
Tony takes a second to absorb what she says before he registers what she says. "Wait...a nuke? Someone authorizes a nuclear strike on New York City?!"
"Oh yeah." She huffs, annoyed. "I have no idea how SHIELD gets away with that but I guess when you take it through the portal, you make it look like that was part of the plan? I don't know. It was a movie for me for so long I don't know how that would actually translate into reality."
"It wouldn't." Tony frowns. As a weapons manufacturer, he is highly aware that authorizing a nuclear strike on a populated area, no matter the reason, would have all the nations in the world up in arms. Against the United States, without the President's approval? Oh, that's a very big and very ugly mess.
"What can you tell me about the serum?"
"Its called Extremis and it makes people who take to it heat up and explode. In the film, you say something about a misfire and-oh!" Her eyes light up and she grins. "AIM! That's the name of the company."
"AIM?"
"It stands for something, I don't know, but its the name of the villain's company."
"I've added it to the list, Sir."
"Thanks buddy." Tony sighs and grabs from the snack tray. "So, at the end I win, right?"
"Yeah, you blow up the other suits, too. Which I never understood. Why? They were all pretty badass and I bet they'd be useful in other areas if you put your mind to it. But besides that, you make up with Pepper and get the arc reactor taken out."
"With Extremis, right?"
His brain has been alight with ideas and moves ever since she started talking. He knows he believed her the second she mentioned the poisoning and while he doesn't want to believe half of everything she's saying, he really can't. He can't afford not to because if he does and the worse happens? That's on him. When she nods, he relaxes and makes a few notes on the tablet, also resolutely ignoring the part about Pepper.
He can see how that might have turned out except for one little hiccup. He's seen Pepper as family for over two years now. Maybe it could have moved into the romance area but with Rikki here, that possible didn't happen and Pepper has moved seamlessly into the role of sister figure. Its like they were never strangers and he's also very much aware of the basic principles of Chaos Theory. He shelves all of the 'what ifs' for another time and gets ready for another round of harsh realities.
"Thor comes back for another alien invasion in London. I only remember that it involves Dark Elves, dimensions breaking apart or something like that, Frigga, Thor and Loki's mother dies. Oh, and that Loki fakes his death."
"Fucking..." Tony closes his eyes, sighs, and opens them again. "Okay. Next disaster please."
"SHIELD is discovered to be infiltrated by Hydra."
Tony chokes on air. He knows all about Hydra, the WWII organization lead by the Red Skull. His father bragged about Rogers enough to know about some of the events that took place like the fight against Red Skull. Speaking of...
"Red Skull was reported to have disintegrated due to the Tesseract..." A slow dawning horror grows inside of him. "...but if the Tesseract is the Space Stone, then he didn't die."
Dear god. The psychopath could be anywhere in the universe. The only upside that Tony can see is that getting back to Earth would mean meeting other aliens and looking very much not human like would mean having a hard time convincing anyone to give him a ride back here.
"Yeah. He's probably stuck somewhere out in the universe. He's not a problem right now though. Its his organization that is."
"Because its been siting all cozy inside SHIELD."
"Yup." She pops the 'p' at the end. "That entire film was a mess that was just...ugh..."
She doesn't explain any further just going over the events that take place. Again, she doesn't remember the tiny details but she remembers more than the others. The Helicarriers with his tech and the purpose of them, the Winter Soldier and his true identity, a bunker with a man in a machine who feared death and who died anyway. Fury faking his death and the absolute impossibility that she describes next promises to give him nightmares.
The complete exposure of classified information on the internet.
Tony feels his breath constrict.
Rikki's disgust is more practical but also detached, secret information released without a filter and released to the public. Intellectually, she knows that's bad but she doesn't know. Just like Tony didn't know his weapons were being used against the people they were supposed to protect. Like the soldiers in the humvee who died trying to protect him.
That's what that is. Hydra was exposed, yes, but so was SHEILD and hundred, maybe even thousands, of other agents and their families. People in Witness Protection. Agents undercover and on foreign soil. What about the non-agents? The people who work HR or technicians who keep the equipment in top shape? Jesus Christ.
"You take in Maria Hill and I think you take in some agents, too. I'm not sure."
"I...I wouldn't be surprised."
Surprise and horror are his default feelings. Its followed by a hefty douse of nausea and disgust as he listens to the rest of what she says. Of what the Widows says to the committee and how he reacts. How he takes them in as if they did nothing wrong and for a moment he can't understand it. He can't comprehend it. Not until he has to remind himself that the events and people Rikki describe are not him and his actions but they are possibilities.
Tony doesn't like it, doesn't like the image he sees the more he connects the things she says with what he knows so far. He can't say one way or another how he'll react just yet because he hasn't had any real dealings with them since he turned down Fury's offer. But he knows he will, soon.
"After that? I guess the band gets back together?"
"The Avengers reassemble, yeah, and you guys are off going after Hydra."
"Of course." Tony grabs his emotions and shoves everything to the side. He needs more information and while he's glad Rikki is sharing, he's also frustrated that he can't see what she sees in her head. He doesn't have her memories and he can't look up these movies to go over the details she's missing because they don't exist here. He has to make due.
"Remember the scepter?"
"Dear god." He almost doesn't want to know. Almost.
"This one I remember better because the ending pissed me off." She scowls, absolutely offended. "There are these two people, siblings who get powers from the scepter and who work for Hydra..."
What follows is a story that both baffles and fills him with a stuttering terror. Because Tony doesn't have the arc reactor, he isn't immune to the Stone's influence but keeping the arc reactor isn't an option because the human body isn't supposed to live like this and Tony knows he couldn't live every second of his life wondering if someone will try to rip his heart out of his chest. Once with Stane is enough, thank you.
But what the Witch does...what she triggers...its just...just-
And JARVIS, his JARVIS suffers for it and the others turning against him? Roger's little rant about dying together? How is that even...! He can't accept this rendition of reality. Where his AI dies and a Hydra agent is forgiven for sending off the deep end. He can't accept that the others of this 'team' would agree to take in the same Hydra agent who abused her powers, set off the Hulk, and forced his hand in to creating a humanity hating AI!
"I need a minute."
She doesn't stop him when he gets up and heads outside. He's grateful that she doesn't look at him with pity. He couldn't stand it if she did. There was an understanding there, a knowing in her eyes that comforts him as he walks away. (Betrayal cuts deep, she knows. When Charlotte became one of them, when Lewis made a reckless mistake that nearly cost them everything, and when Zane refused to accept her for who she is. Yes, Rikki knows how deep betrayal can hurt. She knows how it leaves its mark. At least, Lewis learned from his but Rikki can't say for sure if some of the Avengers ever learned from theirs.)
(It doesn't make the hurt go away. It doesn't mean the marks go away.)
Its late by the time they come back together so Rikki can finish.
They've had dinner and cleaned their plates, taking the time to enjoy the break and the domesticity of the moment. Tony takes his seat and pulls her to his side. If he holds her a little tighter than before she makes no mention of it.
"The next bit is easy to remember."
"Its the most recent you've watched."
"Yeah," she nods her head before a grin takes over and she teases, "along with introducing your spider son."
"My...my what?!" the bewildered look is a good change from the haunted and horrified one he wore earlier.
"Another hero you recruit and practically adopt later." She pats his arm with her grin still in place. "But I'll get to that. This one starts in Lagos..."
It is not easy to listen to the Civil War. The deaths in Lagos, the power grab by Ross, and the disconnect with the United Nations. How Ross managed to get one over the entirety of the United Nations Tony doesn't understand but he supposes that's where the filmmakers were counting on the audience to suspend actual belief of how the UN works. Or they are counting on the average citizen not knowing how the organization worked at all.
Which isn't much of a stretch. Hearing about the kid from Queens is...we are not touching this right now, thank you and good bye! But T'Challa losing his shit is something to keep in mind and the amount of power that Ross manages to get, or somehow manages to blackmail his way into getting. Its something he'll have to keep an eye on because having a superpower strike force at his beck and call is not what he signed up for when he built the suit.
T'Chaka, however, sounds like someone he should talk to. If his stance on peace and responsibility is genuine. He wouldn't know until he actually spoke to him. When she starts on the fighting, he has to remind himself that it's not real. Everything she says came from a movie and none of it might even happen because she's here and she changed things.
Tony still flinches when first, Vision, than Peter go down, and has a hard time not loosening his grip on her side when she mentions Rhodey, his Rhodey falling. He's grateful that she takes a minute and stops. Let's him collect himself before going on. Except he notices the pauses are longer than before and that she's wrapped her arms around him. He notices that her grip is just as tight.
He almost doesn't want to know. Almost.
"When you get to Siberia, Zemo is waiting and the other soldiers are dead. His plan was never to let them out. His plan was never to let them live. It was always about the Avengers. It was about Sokovia and Captain America."
There's an intensity to her. A furious tempo just beneath the skin. She covers it well.
"Zemo plays a video. He wants you to watch it so you do. Its about a car driving down a road. You recognize it and the car...the time on the video shows its 1991..."
When he stiffens, she knows he's already connecting the dots. "The Winter Soldier shoots out a tire and the driver loses control. Both of them survive but the Soldier comes back around..."
Her voice falls away and Tony feels his breath catch in his chest. He knows what she's implying. She doesn't have to finish and he hopes she doesn't. He hopes she does.
"The Winter Soldier murders Howard and Maria Stark." She bites the bullet and forces the words out. But her grip on him doesn't falter. "He makes it look like an accident. He opens the trunk and takes the serum inside."
"Did he know?" Did Rogers know? Did he know?Did he know?!Did he know?!
"You turn to him and ask, he tries to lie but you see right through him. You ask him again and he says 'yes'." Tony surges up, wanting to get away, fight and scream. But her hold is strong and her weight keeps him down. He goes to lift her, to get her off, but she resist. The wind is knocked out of him. It takes a second for him to realize that she's using her power to keep him in his seat and the more he struggles the more tired he gets.
Time is irrelevant. Her power means nothing. He fights anyway.
He claws at air until he's too exhausted to fight and slumps into the couch. She lets him go and hugs him. Tony wraps his arms around her and clings. He feels the world tilting, tumbling and he can't handle it. The vertigo makes him feel sick. When he starts to cry, he fails to notice. He just buries his face into her neck and lets go. For the first time since he was an toddler, he wails his sorrow out into the world.
His grief pours out in a torrent he cannot stop, unable to stop the flow. Rikki holds him, her hands unrelenting, a lighthouse in a storm of tumulus emotion that threatens to drown him alive. But she never pushes him away, she doesn't denounce his anguish. She is warm.
She feels like safety.