Chapter 4: Chapter Four

"How does she look under your specs?" Pepper softly asked, the strange girl being somewhat dragged around by the energetic Leona and Riri, a slightly lost expression on her face. 

Tony frowned, clenching his jaw slightly, the quick scan he did of the girl before his eyes on the inside of his sunglasses. "Definitely a victim of abuse. Your runaway theory is likely." He whispered back. There were heavy traces of bruising across the near-entirety of the malnourished girl's, Jasmine's, body. Her left arm showing traces of being broken and improperly healed. He'd have to do a deeper scan to take a look at the bones and organs but it was more than apparent that wherever the girl was living before was not a place for children. 

Pepper stroked her stomach area, a frown on her face as she watched the three girls interact, Leona and Riri rapidly discussing the library they were heading to,  both girl's being genius' with technology and on track to being hired as Stark engineers and inventors if their lives stayed on course. Jasmine nearby listened quietly, head tilted with a slight frown as she tried keeping up with the excitable twins but being well out of her depth.

"The girl seems intelligent enough." Tatalia muttered. "Not many kids would come to the realization they don't know enough to figure out what to do with their life after running away." 

Tony nodded. When asked why she was searching for a library the girl hesitated, but answered that she didn't know what to do in the future and wanted to look for information to expand her known possibilities. An answer completely unexpected from a child that didn't seem to be older than four, though with how malnourished she seemed Tony expected her actual age to be a bit higher. 

A tap on Tony's shoulder made him turn his attention to the side where Natasha, Pepper's bodyguard, stood quietly. "There's a reporter three hundred or so feet ahead that may recognize you sir." She spoke softly, her smooth velvet voice music to Tony's ears. 

A few years back and Tony would be doing his best to get into the bombshell redhead's pants, but he knows he's matured a bit past that. Doesn't stop him from appreciating beauty where it is. He nodded in response, quickly tapping the side of his glasses. A shimmer passed through the air in front of his and Pepper's faces, obscuring their features to appear different enough to be unrecognizable from their somewhat well known faces... especially his own. 

Jasmine blinked in surprise as her head snapped towards Pepper and Tony, confusion crossing her face, causing a grin to widen across Tony's mouth and Pepper to smile amusedly at the small child. "Don't worry, it's just so we don't get recognized by people whose goal in life is to disrupt our leisure time." His wife assured the girl, her tone drying towards the end as she thought about the paparazzi. Luckily today isn't the opening day of the library- that was last week- so the crowd standing around just to see if they could get a clip of the Iron Man has thinned. 

Tatalia, thankfully, isn't as recognizable despite being one of the head engineers of Stark Industries, though Natasha has her own cult following simply due to her confident beauty that often boggled Pepper's mind. That she was taking lessons for fitness and body care from the former special agent was something she hid from Tony. 

The young girl nodded slowly, brief confusion passing through her beautiful green eyes before disappearing. What conclusion she reached was unknown as she turned back to silently listen to the twins argue the specifics of a new plane engine with a built in arc-reactor; a project their mother was personally working on and had several models reach the testing stage. Pepper could only shake her head at the genius surrounding her. While she was far from unintelligent, Pepper's experience landed her solely on the business and monetary side of the equation. Talks of tolerances under a nano-meter, electron jumping, and needed materials were as far as she could go on the other before spiraling far out of her depth. 

Even Natasha, despite not knowing much about technology, was a genius in regards to combat and martial arts. Pepper could only wryly smile, stroking her abdomen and wondering how smart the child between her and Tony would be... Pepper chuckled internally as fluffy feelings filled her up. Regardless, she can't wait to bring her child into the world and experience it with them. What greater joy could there be?

Her eyes slipped to Jasmine, and the fluffy feelings were overwrote with sorrow and anger. If she finds the girl's parents... Tony's hand landed and rubbed her shoulder, and she took a deep breath in response. "We can't let this girl's parents simply take her back." She whispered to Tony, whose lips thinned as he nodded.

"We'll see about getting her into a well-paid orphanage." He softly spoke, "There should be several that our company funds and equipment are going towards, yes?" 

Pepper nodded, but a feeling of hollowness panged her heart, her eyes closely following Jasmine. She couldn't help herself but imagine her child in the girl's state, and nearly bit her tongue clenching her teeth. Tony's hand on her shoulder stabilized her and she lightly shook her head to clear it. Her emotions were all over the place due to pregnancy.

Meanwhile, Jasmine was slowly growing concerned. While the intricacies of technology seemed interesting and worth looking into, it was starting to appear as if the library of technology only had knowledge relating to technology inside it. Maybe she could do something in the future with such, but a solution to her current needs of finding shelter, food, and protection would likely not be found there. Her right hand gripped her suitcase tighter in worry, her left clenching slightly with a paltry amount of force. She felt suffocated, lost. Her mind replaying when her father handed her over to that white demon, the sorrow of her bond with her twin brother fading over the course of years as she desperately clung to it, til it finally broke one night as she stayed up, feeling the last threads snap. 

"Jasmine!" Her eyes snapped into focus, Leona's hand waving in front of her face. 'her palms are pale?' Jasmine looked past the palm into the girl's curious eyes. "Yes?" She asked quietly. 

Leona grinned apologetically, "You zoned out there. Sorry if me and Riri's conversation was a bit dull, but~!" She turned around and swept her arm out, "Welcome to the Stark Library of Technology!" 

Jasmine blinked, taking in the large, oddly built building. It seemed to be made of alot of glass and steel, but squat unlike a sky scraper. The wall of the first floor was angled outwards towards the sky, doors inset into the wall with the second floor jutting out even further, providing shade to the entrance way. On top of the glass of the second floor was the name of the building in glowing blue sitting on an odd symbol made of circularly placed trapezoids. 

""Come on~"" Leona and Riri cheered as they rushed towards the building. Tatalia laughed and gently tapped Jasmine's back, causing the young girl to flinch briefly. "Why don't you stick with us older folk dearie? My girls will likely be far too deep in textbooks for a while." She smiled down at the girl, "We'll find you some fundamentals to read first." 

"Is..." Jasmine gathered her words, "Are there only books about technology in this library?" She asked, trying to keep the worry out of her voice. Her odd feeling hasn't sparked again since she met the group, so she can't help but worry her decision was wrong. When feeling the memory however, she was absolutely sure she should ask these adults. And they've been nice enough, but where did that... urge come from?

Tatalia chuckled. "For the most part, but keep in mind how vague the word 'technology' is. Basically anything us humans put together from the natural world to bend it to our whims a little easier falls under it." Tatalia tilted her head for a second, "Actually, even that description likely isn't vague enough." She mused. "How about this: Anything considered as a tool useful for accomplishing a task is technology." The woman nodded to herself with a grin. "That seems about right." 

Jasmine gave a small nod. The description giving her some hope, but not alot. She didn't think that how to find shelter and food in a city like New York would fall under that umbrella. It'd probably be similar to that 'survival guide' Vernon once spoke about having when he was a boy scout when pitching the idea to an uninterested Dudley. 

Tatalia briefly brushed the young girl's hair, eliciting a small shudder from Jasmine as several memories flashed by, happy memories, ones that are no longer untainted by what happened later. She refused to cry, so her body just shook slightly in place. Tatalia looked at the girl in worry as she took her hand away, glancing at her friends for help. While she is a mother, she has never dealt with abused children before, and nor does she have experience with an abusive environment to relate.

Pepper nodded to her, and walked up to Jasmine's other side and reached out a hand, which Jasmine looked at uncomprehendingly. "Come on, let's find you some things to read, alright?" She spoke softly, as Jasmine glanced around and saw another child holding the hand of an adult, and thus realized what the outstretched arm was for. Jasmine nodded and hesitantly put her left hand in the woman's much larger one- ignoring the brief flashes of pain that came with moving the arm for years now. 

Gently taking the little girl's hand, noting the odd way it moved, Pepper carefully led Jasmine forward into the building. 

 

>>> A couple hours later 

Pepper sipped her mocha. Some may have called it heresy, drinking hot mocha during the middle of summer, Pepper called it a necessary sacrifice so she didn't go crazy. The urges to eat random things have been overwhelming at times.

Tony to her side shook his head. "I've had Jarvis look through the New York population database with all we know of the girl. Nothing matches. Sure, we don't have a last name, and I'm assuming the name we've gotten is her actual first name, but still." 

"So she's unregistered?" Pepper asked. Eyes glancing over to the girl who was voraciously eating through several books, having graduated shockingly quickly from the youth-aimed books giving an introduction to several fields of science. The little girl's curiosity seemingly getting the better of her as she quickly consumed a book about applying thermodynamics in vehicle design. 

"That, or she's from out of state." Tony replied, eyes also flicking over to the girl, an amused smirk quirking his lips. "Looks like the girl really isn't half bad on the intelligence front either." He commented, idly wondering how much of the book the girl was fully internalizing, her little face lost in focus and curiosity. 

He blinked. "Jarvis, get into the public security networks and run a facial scan." He asked, Pepper's eyes glancing at Tony.

"Yes sir." The ever faithful A.I responded in Tony's ears.

(A/n: Note that the internet technically exists at this point of the story, but there is no easy way to navigate it at this point- you need a specific IP to get to a webpage, and the speeds are really slow for commercial access. There's nothing like Google, YouTube, or any social media yet. The closest you've got is forums for educational institutes or specific companies like Stark Industries.)

Pepper's eyes trailed back to Jasmine. Tatalia and the twins had left for the second floor where more advanced, college-level and beyond books were located. One needed a special pass to access there, as some of the knowledge up there could be very dangerous if misused, according to Tony at least. She's inclined to believe him, with a few mad scientists having already tried to break into the building. 

"Results found, sir." Jarvis chimed in, causing Tony to smile. 

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"Good, show me." A map appeared on the inside of Tony's sunglasses, with a couple nodes highlighted in red with several images from security cams to the side. Tony frowned at the sight. 'International airlines?' It appeared she arrived in New York by plane, with three others- one other child and two adults- a bit under a month ago. Jarvis did good work as always, tracking the rest of the group who had apparently left this morning- seemingly in a satisfied rush from the images- causing Tony to frown further. 'Not a runaway. Abandoned.' His hand clenched slightly on his soda in disgust.

"Jarvis. Do a sweep to see if you can find the identities of those three. stored in the airport's security." Luckily he designed Jarvis to be able to take circumstantial data into account, allowing the A.I to use the security footage to narrow down searching for the flight.

"Results found." Jarvis responded quickly. Three portraits popping up. A fourth set to the side, likely Jasmine's passport from the glance Tony gave it before returning to the main information. 'Dursley family. From Britain, huh?' He narrowed his eyes. 'Reason for coming is a business trip for Grunnings, the man's place of work.' He thought for a second. 'Isn't that a drill-making company?' Stark was once approached by them with an offer of being supplied drills. Not that Stark industries needed it- the local subcompany Stark owned made much higher quality tools than Grunnings while not being limited to drills. 

Tony tapped the table while thinking. Pepper's hand on his bringing him out of his thoughts. "What did Jarvis dig up?" She asked. Tony shook his head, "Your runaway theory is wrong." His face was grim, perpetual smirk missing, "The girl was abandoned." Pepper sharply inhaled. "The girl's relatives left back to Britain this morning." He continued, frowning.

Pepper sat back slightly. Her mocha near empty. Her eyes flashing with anger before closing as the ginger haired woman took deep breaths. Natasha shifted to the side, reminding Tony and Pepper of her presence. 

"What are you both going to do with her?" She asked, calm eyes regarding the both of them. Tony sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. Pepper frowned, looking at the girl worriedly. "We can't have her relatives take her back. Especially with her injuries." Pepper muttered, "Also, the girl needs to go to the hospital. There's something very wrong with her left arm. " 

Tony nodded at that. "I saw something on the scan like that earlier. Her left looks partially deformed in some places, as if it wasn't able to grow properly." He sighed again, staring at the ceiling, before looking down at the girl across the lounge, currently finishing up the book on thermodynamic vehicle designs, and moving onto one about gears and mechanical motion with some excitement, green eyes glimmering. 

"We'll still hand her off to Bright Star Orphanage with a full sponsorship for-" "Tony!" Pepper hissed. "The girl was just abandoned! We're not just tossing her to the side." 

Tony gave his wife a look of exasperation, "Then what do you suggest? We're not her family and we've only known her for a couple hours." He then gestured vaguely into the air, "One kid is going to be dangerous enough for the both of us." 

Pepper deflated. Thinking of leaving the poor girl alone again tore her heart and nearly made her cry. Maybe it was just the pregnancy messing with her hormones, but just carelessly handing the girl off to an orphanage seemed... wrong.

"Sir." Jarvis cut in, causing Tony to tilt his head and tap the side of his sunglasses. "Yes, Jarvis?" 

"An alert just triggered. Wanted criminal Obadiah Stane was just sighted attacking a Stark Shipment of high-end electronic and material components just outside the bay area on the Grey Sky Container Ship." 

Tony's face hardened. "I'm on my way, send the mark 2 speed suit to intercept me." He turned to Natasha. "Protect Pepper." He looked at his wife, giving her a kiss on the cheek as he stood up, "Stane is trying to raid components. If his connection to Mandarin proves true..." He explained. Pepper gave a shuddering sigh, their idle time ruined by another megalomaniac with an agenda. "He could be trying to arm the Ten Rings with power armor. I understand. Go." She stated.

He nodded, quickly leaving and drawing Jasmine's attention from her book as she confusedly watched the man go before turning her attention to Pepper, who gave her a smile across the lounge. Shrugging, she turned back to her book. But just a few minutes later Jasmine frowned slightly. Her urges were back, growing in intensity. She stood up and took her current book with her as she joined Pepper at the table, cautiously looking around. Something was going to happen. Soon...

Pepper helped the girl into a seat, smiling sweetly, "And what brought you over here?" 

Jasmine looked the woman in the eyes, hesitating before speaking up, "A bad feeling." The hair on the back of her neck was standing up, and her stomach was roiling slightly to her confusion. Pepper blinked, before getting up slightly and kneeling next to the girl in her chair, "Do you mind if I hug you?" She asked softly, causing Jasmine to tilt her head. Internally she warred with the comfort and support she used to recieve and the knowledge that it was ripped away. She cautiously looked at Pepper and lightly nodded in acceptance.

Pepper smiled and slowly wrapped her arms around the frail girl, careful to not put pressure on the girl's left arm. Jasmine leaned into the hug slightly, nostalgia wetting her eyes. Her gut jerked. Eyes snapped open, her left hand shot out towards the window, directly opposite Pepper. Natasha blinked, the odd feeling of being passed through by an EMP fizzling over her skin, several of her electronics shorting out. She moved. Glass shattered with a bang as blood and bits of flesh flew through the air. 

"Jasmine!" "GET DOWN!" Pepper carried the bleeding girl to the ground as Natasha upended the table as cover, pulling a heavy hand gun from somewhere. Jasmine's vision was white with pain, mind delirious with confusion. She followed her gut. Why does she hurt so much?

"You'll be alright, you'll be alright. Jarvis, get some spare suits here, now!" Pepper muttered, shouting at her wrist. 

"--nde---od. FZZT-" Pepper tsked. The EMP protection wasn't as strong on her wrist watch, luckily it was not completely dead. She'd have Tony fix that later. Soft thwips from Natasha's gun sounded out, evenly spaced. Four shots before she calmly ducked back around cover, another sniper round whizzing past her face. 

The blood pool under Jasmine was growing. Pepper quickly reached under her jacket and pulled out a small case, flipping it open to reveal a needle and syringe which she quickly jabbed into the girl's left shoulder- the rest of the girls arm a mulched mess with bone shards sticking out and ending at the elbow- her hand missing entirely. "Thank fuck for carrying around injury suppressants." Pepper muttered, a bit too numb to ambushes to feel panicked anymore. She'd been involved in madmen attacking her husband one too many times at this point. She shuddered as Natasha tapped her on the shoulder. "Get ready to move. Four are dead, but there's at least four more with a sniper to boot. The sniper likely has a spotter with him."

"Ten rings?" Pepper asked considering the numbers, briefly checking Jasmine's shoulder to make sure the congulant worked and stopped blood flow to the rest of her arm. The girl will need a further amputation later- but her arm is already gone for. 

"Four charged with swords." Natasha quipped. Ten Rings it was then. 'fucking bastards.' Scooping both Pepper and Jasmine up in one go, Natasha prepared to move from her crouched position. A breath later and Pepper felt her stomach drop as Natasha bolted deeper into the library. Whatever people were inside the building had panicked and ran to the exits. Luckily the corner they were in was not near an exit, else they'd have to fight past people and likely have casualties in the bystanders. 

A sniper round whizzed by- missing by a foot due to clipping the remains of glass in the window. Pepper blinked, idly remembering the glass of the building had a multi-layered nano-weave built into it, supposed to stop anything short of a direct high powered tank round. Would explain why no glass was broken outside of the first shot- but what did they fire to begin with? That glass wasn't even supposed to shatter when broken...

Natasha slipped past several book shelves, moving with sublime grace as she carried both Pepper and the near-comatose Jasmine with ease, feet assured of her footing regardless of her speed. A resounding boom chased their foot falls, debris and glass from the explosive clattering to the ground. Pepper didn't bother looking, keeping a firm hold and eye on Jasmine, who probably saved the life of Pepper and her unborn child- the defensive undershirt of reactive nano-fiber she was wearing likely not enough to stop that first, seemingly specialized round. At least it seems the Ten Rings didn't have spares.

'And that the ten rings tend not to use guns outside of snipers for some inane reason...' Pepper idly thought as Natasha slipped behind a counter, gently placing and pushing both Pepper and Jasmine into the empty foot and half tall space underneath. Pepper nodded at Natasha as the professional woman quickly slapped several circular pads around the tiny area. A brief hum popping up and fading as a forcefield engaged. It would only last a few hours, but the emergency protocols she and Tony put in place would be helping with the situation well before then- if the ex-assassin turned martial artist turned bodyguard didn't rip the problem limb from limb first, anyway...

Quickly rolling back to the balls of her feet, still crouched, Natasha paused her breathing briefly, listening to the rushing but quiet footsteps of the would-be assassins, smoothly reloading the high-velocity spark gun in her hand. A variant coil gun that fired small metal bullets. The lack of gunpowder made the bullets much smaller and easier to carry. The fact the gun fired with over 2000 joules of force just made the ex-assassin happier. 

It was about to make the five enemies alot less happy, however. The counter she was behind was in the back and a bit of a nook- more of an office area for sorting books than anything else with a few bulky computers to help. Three entrances- Two being doors behind her and one being wide and walless for about a third of the room's length. 

Her gun was raised and aimed, most of her body hidden behind a counter and between the bulky computers, as the first two assassins rushed in with both quickly getting their throats blown out- heads sagging in the odd way one does when their spine is broken from a throat blow- the two bodies jerking briefly before tumbling forward to the floor, swords clattering to the ground. 

Natasha nearly snorted in contempt. Sure, ten-rings members had near super-soldier level strength from whatever kinky enhancements the mandarin did to them in his basement, but against her? The best assassin created by the red room, who then dismantled said red room and all their enhanced fancy gizmo's? Not to mention mastering ki from some psycho banished from some fancy mountain cult? Her natural, casual base was super soldier. Their enhanced speed and reflexes meant nothing. Yet they still brought fancy knives to a gun-fight. 

The other three assassins in the building, all dressed in black like the good cosplayers they were, paused briefly before entering, hesitating on whether a different approach would be better. They weren't able to react to the silent, smooth predator that simply stepped out with natural grace, putting a single shot in each of their throats with one sweeping motion of her arm- all from woefully out of the reach of their fancy swords. 

Natasha liked that her gun didn't have recoil. Would have made a move like that annoying.