Chapter 2 Meeting Mother

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:48:55 -0700

~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 2~~~~~~~~~~

(Alice’s POV)(I hate taking leaps of faith, but this one feels necessary)

Mr. Stark decided to follow us in, much to my amusement afterwards. I suppose Pandora had forgotten to tell Jeff about her dog, because the minute we stepped into the mansion he was tackled by a wall of black fur.

“Get off me you motherfucking mutt!” He roared, reaching for his knife. Fortunately, he never got around to using it, because Pandora stepped in and tackled the Dane off of him.

“SHERMAN! BAD DOG, OUT!” she roared, even louder than Jeff, which surprised me. Sherman tucked his tail and ran off, obviously scared out of his wits.

“Sorry ‘bout him, he doesn’t know when to stop-“

“You could have warned me!” Jeff growled, shooting her the evil eye. Pandora shrugged.

“I forgot, okay? It happens a lot to me these days.”

“Jeff, she’s obviously sorry about it.” I tried to soothe him, helping him up. Pandora snorted in contempt.

“Hardly. Never thought I’d see Freddy run over by my dog.”

“Freddy?” Jeff shot her a cocked eyebrow, which was mirrored by Pandora.

“Kreuger. Obviously.”

“Well excuse me Hermione.” Jeff shot back. Pandora let out a laugh.

“He reads! Oh good grief, I thought you were completely uncultured- now I know you’re only 90% uncultured.”

Jeff leaned over to me to whisper in my ear. “Can I kill her please?”
“No, she’s the one who invited us over, now don’t be cruel.” I replied evenly. I saw Jeff clench his jaw but he didn’t do or say anything else, which was a relief.

“Follow me, please.” Pandora motioned, but was interrupted by Mr. Stark.

“Not so fast, Panda. You’ve gotta give me those iris lenses first.”

“But Toooonyyyy…”

“Who are you talking to?” Mr. Stark gave her a cocked eyebrow, confusing me.

“But Daaaaaad…”

“No buts, missy. Even though you’ve got a fine one yourself.”

“ANTHONY STARK! I’M NINETEEN, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! THAT’S BORDERLINE PEDOPHILIA COMING FROM YOU!” Pandora shouted indignantly. Mr. Stark laughed but held out his hand to her, causing her to cross her arms indignantly.

“There was a please in there, right?”

“Oh great virtuous damsel, could I please have my prototypes back?” Mr. Stark grinned. Pandora rolled her eyes before complying, popping out what appeared to be contact lenses and handing them to him.

“I ain’t virtuous, you know.” She quipped, leaning into Ezio who had placed his hands on her shoulders.

“So you’ve finally fucked her, have you?” Tony asked him. Ezio sighed.

“Not yet, I’m afraid. She still flinches when I get in the shower with her, let alone getting into bed with her.”
“You never knock on the door! You’re a freaking assassin, of course I’m gonna flinch when I feel someone starting to scrub my back and I don’t know who it is!” Pandora retorted indignantly. Ezio simply laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. Despite telling me that she didn’t have the capacity to feel love or empathy, I could clearly see her relax in his grip, her eyes closing as she raised a hand to stroke his cheek.

She was in love. There was no doubt about that.

She was also in denial. Deep, depressing denial. It was probably because she didn’t want people to think she was keeping Ezio all to herself just because he was a hunk of a man, but the way he looked at her and interacted with her left no doubt in my mind that those two were in it for the long run whether they wanted to be or not.

Mr. Stark cleared his throat, causing the two lovebirds to separate awkwardly. “Are you two gonna need a few hours to get to know each other again, or are we going to focus on the guests in the room?”

“Er… right. Zio, hon, could ya please get started on dinner while I show our guests around? Lizzie will be here soon with Anya to help you out, but for now you can get started on the stuff that does NOT include turning the oven or the stove on.” Pandora asked, pecking Ezio’s cheek before grabbing my hand and dragging me upstairs.

“If ya want her, you might want to follow!” She shouted down to my companions. Jeff and Dementia looked at each other before following close behind, with Jack and Leo coming in a close last.

“Why, pray tell, did you grab me?” I asked her, not even bothering to struggle out of her grip. If this was how she interacted with people, I might as well get used to it.

“Because you’re A- closest to me, B- the one with the most strings attached, if I may use the term, and C- the only one who would have grabbed Jeff’s attention.” Pandora replied cheekily. I sighed, unable to deny her logic.

“Just give me a fair warning next time.” I pleaded. Pandora only snorted in laughter.

“But then they would have been able to do something about- OUCH!” Pandora tripped over a foot that had suddenly appeared in the hallway, letting go of my hand as she fell over. Loud laughter could be heard from the room the foot had originated from. I grabbed the handle of my Vorpal Blade (which I had gotten out of the luggage after my little cat fight with Pandora) and proceeded to look into the room.

What I didn’t expect to find was a heavily muscled strawberry blonde lounging on a couch with what appeared to be a bottle of liquor in her hand. She was completely and utterly topless, which left her breasts completely exposed. I averted my gaze away from her chest and focused instead on anything else in the room.

“Who are you?” I asked politely when I realized she was the culprit. The woman gave a little hiccup before giving me a lustful gaze.

“I dunno who I am, but I know you’re next in bed. Come on little imp, I’m more fu’ when I’m half drun’.” Even though she slurred her words, I could make out the distinct clip of a Russian accent in her voice. I backed up into Jeff, who had come into the room after me.

“I don’t think so, bitch. Ally’s mine.” He growled, whipping out his own knife. The minute he did, however, a throwing knife embedded itself in his arm, not even an inch away from my ear.

“I don’t take kindly to being threatened.” All traces of intoxication were gone from the woman’s voice as she sat up. Jeff’s gaze went from the evil eye to completely glazed over as he eyed her exposed tits.

Pandora scrambled through the door and gave the woman the evil eye. “Belinda, was that really necessary?”

“Tripping you, or, more specifically, tripping your other leg? Yes, very necessary. I daresay it worked, didn’t it?”

Pandora sighed before smacking Jeff, waking him out of his trance. Belinda rolled her eyes.

“Why’d you do that? He was obviously enjoying the view.”

“Because I needed to. Jeff, Belinda Miles- assassin, seductress, dominatrix, mistress, whatever-the-hell-you-wanna-call-her extraordinaire. Belinda, meet asshole.”

“Can I lick it?” She purred, pushing me out of the way and sidling up to him before yanking out the knife in his arm. “I always was gifted with my tongue…”

“How about, NO. he’s a taken man, after all.” I growled, shoving her away and making sure I scratched her with my nails in the process. Belinda looked at the scratches quizzically before turning to Jeff and licking up the blood as slowly as humanly possible, her eyes locked with his.

“You might want to keep your pet in check.” She growled after she finished. Jeff simply chuckled.

“I try, believe me, but Ally has a mind and a will of her own. I have yet to chain it around my little finger.”

“Oh well, if you ever need help I’m always open to… councelling.” Belinda offered.

Pandora shivered. “EW. Bells, I really have to question your taste in sexual partners sometimes. This is one of those times, by the way.”

“Pandora, you always were such a prude.”

“I don’t aim to please when it comes to you. And don’t mention my leg, it makes me uncomfortable.”

“Oh please. Some people have a fetish for that, you know. I think Ezio does, anyway.”

“Shut UP!” Pandora shouted indignantly. Belinda just laughed before leaving the room.

“What’s wrong with your leg?” Jack asked her after a long moment of silence. Pandora just pinched the bridge of her nose before kicking off her left boot and rolling up the sleeve of her jeans to expose a robotic leg.

“HOLY SHIT.” Jeff yelped. My own eyes widened at the right. Dementia simply scowled, but Jack pressed the issue.

“What the hell happened to you?”

“I… I crashed my old motorcycle on the interstate on my way up to New York three years back. My left leg got the worst of it- by the time I had been rushed to the hospital in a coma, which was estimated to be about four days after I had crashed, massive tissue necrosis had started to set in and it had needed to be amputated. I woke up four months later to Tony taking measurements for a prosthetic and signing my adoption form. This is all Tony’s handiwork, by the way. It’s completely self-sufficient, just like the rest of my limbs- it’ll even repair itself if it gets damaged. I’m officially a cyborg.”

“That’s…” Jack started, but Jeff cut him off and finished the sentence.

“AWESOME! Where can I get one?”

“How about you stop being an ass and have another near-death experience that leaves you missing a vital part of your anatomy and I’ll talk to Tony about it. And yes, I mean that part of your anatomy.”

If it had been possible, I’m sure Jeff would have paled. As it was, he simply stood there staring at her as if she’d grown a second head.

“You did NOT just imply that I need a robot dick.”

“Actually, you’re the one who just said that. Come on Alice, on to the next adventure!” Pandora grabbed my hand again and dragged me out of the room and down the hall.

It was going to be a long evening.

~~~~~OoO~~~~~

(Pandora’s POV)

I was really surprised that Jeff was letting me drag Alice around on a whim, but for now I was grateful that he was still recovering from my little implied insult.

Alice seemed deep in thought even though she was getting dragged around. Which wasn’t surprising, actually. She’d been through a lot and kept her cool, surely this couldn’t be the worst thing anybody had put her through?

‘Course, our next stop was the gym, where I knew for a fact that Altaïr, Haytham, Minerva, and Tasha (she’d come back early from assignment) were. The gym was one of the largest rooms, right next to the pool room and the indoor garden.

As predicted, Altaïr was there teaching little Lilith knife throwing basics and trying not to get impaled on his own weapons (through no fault of his own, obviously- he was a veteran at this!). Haytham was working out, while Minerva and Tasha were sparring in the rink using the sparring sticks. ‘Panic Station’ by Muse played in the background, obviously from either Minerva’s or my own disc. We’d found early on that playing music in the gym got things done a lot faster than working out without it.

“Hey guys, meet the newbies!” I called. The music instantly stopped playing as Minerva and Natasha got out of the sparring rink, wiping the sweat off their faces with nearby towels. Altaïr took his throwing knives back from Lilith and put them in the folds of his clothes, while Haytham put down the weights and slung a towel across his shoulders.

Those hot goddamn bastards.

I was sweating, I knew it. I didn’t have to look in a mirror to know that my face was flushed. I probably looked like a cooked lobster, but Goddamnit, with Haytham shirtless and sweaty not to mention Natasha motherfucking Romanoff sashaying towards us, my hormones were through the roof.

Oh, I guess I didn’t clarify that. Yes, I’m bi. Get over it. I’d lied to Alice on the plane on the whole screwed-over-in-sexuality-department.

I also lied about being a virgin. The truth was much worse.

Alice yanked her hand out of my grip just as Jeff and the rest of our merry band came in the gym. I noticed Natasha’s eyes narrowing at Jeff before she caught herself.

Seems like somebody shared my sentiments. I’m not alone, then!

“Pandora, please explain who your new ragdolls- I mean, guests, are.” Tasha prompted. I had to snap back out of my trance to answer her.

“Eyeless Jack, who’s currently snogging Dementia-“ I gestured towards the two, wincing as I felt a few strands of Dementia’s affection bleed through our psychic connection. “Alice Liddell, not to be underestimated, Leonidas Richard Liddell, the…er…” I leaned in close and whispered his parent’s names in Tasha’s ear. She cocked an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. “And Jeff.”

“The killer. You forgot the killer.” He insisted. I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah right, the baby killer.”

I didn’t see the palm swing towards my head until it was too late and I was on the floor, half-conscious and sporting a massive migraine.

“HEY! KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF HER.” Natasha immediately stepped up to my defense. I let out a quiet groan as the pain started to set in.

“She insulted me!”

“Yes, well, so will I! You’re an abusing, misogynistic son of a bitch!” Natasha had guts, I’ll admit to that. If she wasn’t fast enough to dodge his attack, she’d be on the floor with me. Though I couldn’t see anything due to my vantage point, I could definitely hear the sounds of a fight going on.

Haytham- at least, I think it was Haytham- came over and broke them up, though not before he got kicked in the Jaw by Natasha.

“Natasha Romanoff! Contain yourself, please? The last time you fought someone outside of the rink in the mansion it took us weeks to clean up the house!”

“Oh fine. He wasn’t that much of a challenge anyway. All brawn and no brains whatsoever. He doesn’t even have a proper technique, for crying out loud!”

“HEY! I was beating you!”

“Beating me up does not mean you were beating me. I was biding my time, waiting for an opening. Had I gotten it, you would be dead.”

That little comment made me scramble up off the floor, cradling my head, and get between them before the fight could begin again. “You two bicker like an old married couple, and you’ve only known each other for five minutes!”

“I know all I need to know about this piece of shit.” Natasha spat before leaving. Jeff literally spat at her, prompting me to smack him again.

“Stop it. You’re way outnumbered by the women here, and most of us will have you on your ass in less than twenty seconds without so much as getting a broken fingernail. I’m one of them thanks to my metal leg.”

“Oh really?” He gave me a snide look that I returned in gusto.

“Oh yea, all it would take is a well-aimed kick to the cro-“

“Pandora!” Haytham interjected. “Please excuse her, she never did have a lesson in manners.”

“Did too!”

“You most certainly don’t show it.” He smirked at me. I put my hands on my hips.

“Well, it’s not my fault I was born an arse and raised to be perfect, which made me more of an arse.” Talking to Haytham really brought out my English accent, which caught Alice’s attention.

“You’re English?”

“Half, on my mother’s side. Your own accent isn’t really there anymore- how long have you been over, five, six, seven years?”
“Seven.” Alice clarified.

“Well, expect it to come back. Whenever Haytham’s in the house, mine pops up faster than Tony’s suit can come off.”

“And since I am almost always in the house…” Haytham smirked, not bothering to finish his sentence as it wasn’t necessary.

Alice blushed. “I’ll be sure to remember that.”

“We’ve got ourselves a cooked lobster here! Don’t you worry, The Cap’n’s much worse than you. Lights up like a Christmas light every time I say sex, pussy, penis, fuck, or even sex. It’s hilarious.” Alice’s blush became more pronounced.

Haytham scowled at me before leaving the room.

“Nice meeting you too, Napoleon!” I yelled after him, annoyed.

Minerva was next up. She gave Dementia a scowl before scanning Jeff and Jack with a cold stare. Finally, she looked at Alice, whose blush wasn’t as pronounced now.

“Jeff, you might want to learn how to control your temper before I give you breasts. Alice, don’t mind Pandora, she’s always like that. Jack, you have no idea how much Pandora wants to run away right now because of her crush on you. Dementia, come with me.”

With everyone’s jaws hanging open, Minerva sauntered out of the room with Dementia in tow.

“She… she…” I was left speechless. Out of my peripheral vision I saw Jack stare at me before awkwardly going after Dementia.

“Wow. I didn’t know it was possible to shut you up.” Jeff taunted, recovering from Minerva’s threat.

“It takes an effort, believe me.” I retorted.

“Pan, Pan! Wanna see me throw some knives?” Lilith tugged on my pants, prompting me to scoop her up in my arms. Alice’s gaze softened at the sight of the young girl, who looked remarkably like her mother besides the color of her hair, which was as deep a black as her fathers.

“Of course, but only under your fathers’ supervision, if that’s alright with him?” I looked up at Altaïr, who shrugged.

“If you like, you can practice too. You’ve gotten a lot better under my tutelage.” He replied. Lilith squealed in my arms before wiggling out and running over to her father, snatching a knife out of his pocket before he could react and handing it to me.

“Excuse me young lady, but you need to be a little quicker than that if you wish to get away unscathed.” Altaïr brandished the flower that had been originally tucked in her hair- a white calla lily, to be precise.

“Daddy!” She protested, running back to Altaïr and trying in vain to reach the flower that he held away.

“Ah, but first you need to give me back my knife.” He held out his hand to her, where she dejectedly placed the throwing knife. Altaïr ruffled her hair affectionately before placing her flower back in it and handing me the knife. The corner of my mouth cocked in a smirk before I whipped around and threw the knife at the target on the other side of the gym. It embedded itself about a foot away from the bullseye.

Dementia laughed. “You have improved!”

I however, scowled. “Shit. I was actually hoping to get the bullseye this time, I’ve been practicing like mad.”

Altaïr chuckled at that. “You’ve only been training for a few months. Lady Romanov has been speeding up your progress with rigorous sparring sessions while I am focusing on Lilith, but you have a long ways to go.”

“Thanks for the pep talk, Alty.”

“What have I told you about calling me that?” He growled. I giggled like a little girl and reached up to screw with his hair.

“Like I give a shit what you tell me to do. The only person I take orders from is Tony.”

Altaïr’s eyes flashed dangerously at me, but I honestly didn’t care. He was so fun to screw with, anyway.

~~~~~two hours later~~~~~

“DINNER!” Ezio called from downstairs. Pretty much everyone in the house scrambled off of their asses to get downstairs to the kitchen, from which the smell of Chicken Alfredo originated. Lizzie had gotten here a few minutes ago, and together as a team they had managed to whip up enough food to feed a small army. Now it was served out in equal portions on the large dining room table, which was set thanks to me and Natasha.

Yeah, I was just that bored. Almost all of my commission work was either completed or nearing completion, and I had gotten bored of throwing knife practice fairly quickly. After tracking Dementia and Jack down I had shown our new guests to their bedrooms and left them to… well, christen them, for lack of a better term. Thank goodness Minerva had decided to soundproof the walls- my bedroom was right next to the one I had given Dementia and Jack, and they tended to bang like rabbits whenever they weren’t otherwise occupied.

I gave Zio a kiss before taking a seat at the table. He took a seat next to me, and together we waited patiently for the others to find their way to the dining room. We didn’t eat until everyone was at the table- Monday dinner protocol. Luckily for my plan, Jeff didn’t know that- he was one of the first to get to the table from the third floor, and the moment he sat down he started digging in.

Lizzie came in the dining room and started laughing when she saw Jeff digging into his meal. “Yup, Pandora, we’ve got ourselves a new designated butt monkey for the week!”

“Wait, what?” Jeff protested with his mouth full of food. Alice, who sat next to him putting the napkin in her lap, groaned.

“I tried to warn you!” She told him. Jeff shot her the evil eye, making Alice recoil. Hmmm… seems to me their relationship wasn’t exactly healthy. Good, that would work in favor of the plan.

“Well, I didn’t think it would be chosen by the first person to eat!”

“Considering that’s usually me…” I smirked at him.

“Well, that’s great! I need someone a little taller than me to test out the Mark XII!” Tony hollered as he entered the dining room, Pepper close behind him.

“A ‘little’ taller than you? Tony, Jeff’s almost a full foot taller than you! Why the hell did you make a suit for someone that tall?” I questioned. Tony simply laughed.

“Panda, even I don’t know what I’m doing with all of my prototypes these days.” He smirked at me, taking a seat and making room for Pepper next to him. Vega, Altaïr and Lilith came in next, followed by Marilyn and Haytham. Belinda stumbled through the door behind them swinging around one of her favorite bottles of tequila. A young, lithe girl with white hair and a sharply chiseled face strode through next- Selen, looking as cocky and arrogant as ever. Minerva and Loki came in next- and I had to say, I couldn’t tell between him and Selen who had a more arrogant expression. He gave me a wink, however, which I eagerly returned- we’d really hit off after I’d included him in a few lighthearted pranks of mine. I wasn’t called Madam Mischief for nothing.

Sakura came in next, looking distraught. I could see she was trying in vain to hide the fact that her hair was still wet from her trip to the underground lake, but none of the others- or, well, I should say none of the guests- seemed to notice. Dr. Banner and Natasha came in afterwards, deep in conversation. Natasha had changed out of her form fitting gym outfit into jeans and a comfy t-shirt, but it did little to hide her figure.

Once we were all settled in, Tony stood up at the head of the table and tapped his glass of scotch. All conversations at the table ceased and desisted as everyone’s attention turned to him.

“My friends, I know this may seem like a load of shit now, but I’d like to congratulate our new guests on surviving their first few hours with us. Let’s just hope our patience doesn’t snap like one of the rubber bands on Pandora’s evil gun.”

I gave a cheeky smile at that, making half of the people at the table laugh. Even Altaïr smiled in amusement.

“Finally, I just wanted to announce that Pepper and I have finally decided on a wedding location- Rome, Italy. More specifically, the Parthenon. I also scheduled our Honeymoon in Hawaii, and before you ask me, Panda- no, you’re not invited.”

“But Tonyyyy!” I whined, irked.

“No buts! I don’t want you incinerating yourself because you just had to get too close to Kilauea without some sort of protection.”

“BUT TONYYYYY…”

“I’m stickin’ by my decision.” He huffed. I gave him the puppy face and watched as his resolve faltered.

“But I’ll be here… all alone… with nothing to do… and you know what I get up to when I’m bored out of my mind…”

“OKAY OKAY YOU CAN COME!” Tony yelped, drawing a glare from Peps.

“Anthony Edward Stark, you cannot seriously be bringing your crazy adopted daughter along for our honeymoon.” She protested. I frowned, a little hurt that Pepper didn’t want me coming along. I mean, I knew honeymoons were supposed to be private affairs, and I wasn’t hurt about that, but the thought that she thought I was completely crazy… it hurt. Even though it was true, it cut me deeply.

I noticed Alice looking at me oddly, but I didn’t really pay attention to it. I was too focused trying to hold back my tears.

I’m sensitive, okay? The tough prankster girl everyone thinks I am is an act. I’ve kept it up for three years, but underneath I’m really soft. ‘course, underneath that I was black-hearted, but I tried my best to act like I cared about others. I cared about what others said about me, but what happened to them was a different story all together.

Yeah, I’m complicated. Get over it.

“Right, my little announcement is over. Dig in.” Tony quickly ended the conversation and sat back down. The table erupted in cheers before going quiet again as everyone started digging in.

Slowly but surely, conversations started to pop up. Zio and Dem started talking about assassin/ maniacal serial killer things, which was a relief to me since I had been hoping they’d get along; Alice started talking with Vega about kids, which brought a smile to my face. Jack had leaned back in his seat and draped his arm across Dementia’s chair, but when he noticed me staring I looked away, blushing. Luckily, Zio didn’t notice.

Jeff had started a conversation with Altaïr on killing strategies, much to my horror. I didn’t think Alty would be so open with Jeff, but apparently men of all backgrounds will come together over two things- women and hobbies. Sad, really.

The Chicken Alfredo was delicious, as was to be expected. Sherman came over, laid down next to me, and put his head in my lap, giving me the full blast of his puppy dog eyes. Zio looked over in amusement before getting sucked back into the conversation with Dementia, leaving me with my tank of a problem.

What made it worse was that Anya decided to come over too, but she was a bit smarter than Sherman- she decided to go for cute and rolled over onto her back, exposing her white-furred belly. I could help it- I gave her a handful of noodles. Sherman looked over at the exchange before copying her. I rolled my eyes, wiped my hand on the napkin in my lap, and focused on eating the rest of my food before Sherman decided to go on the offensive.

It was about half an hour later when people started leaving the table. Dementia and Jack were the first to leave, and it was pretty obvious why- Dementia’s right hand was in Jack’s pants, and from the straining tendons in his neck it was easy to tell he was trying his hardest not to do anything too overt. The moment they were out of the room everyone could hear them running upstairs to their bedroom.

“Ew, that’s just gross.” Leo winced, shivering in disgust. Lilith, who had taken her spot next to him, simply giggled.

“Well, I think they’re cute.” She replied. Leo looked at her like she was a Martian.

“You like that? They’re so loud at night! I can hardly sleep!”

“Leo…” Vega shot him a warning look that made him shrink in his seat before picking up his empty plate and excusing himself from the table.

Oh boy.

It was going to be a long night. Thank my lucky stars for Ezio staying over all week.

Course, there was the little issue of the deal I made with him to make him stay so long…

~~~

I got changed into my black skull pajama pants and climbed into my bed, too groggy to notice Ezio come in the door and strip off his shirt. I flinched when he got into bed, scooting away from him. I didn’t have to have my eyes open to know he was frowning.

“Mi Amore…” He began, but I cut him off.

“Don’t call me that. You don’t love me. I don’t love you. Stop acting like you do.” I spat.

“Bro-“
“And don’t call me by my real name! That’s my old life, the one I’m trying to forget.”

“BROOKE.” He insisted. I flinched again. “You need to stop running from your past.”

“Do you know what my dad did to me when I found myself in this universe? My old dad had a temper, sure, but he was calm, logical, and generally otherwise level-headed. This dad… was none of those things. I slipped on my way downstairs my first day here, and woke him up- and he beat me with a shovel for it and then raped me afterwards. I thought I’d arrived in hell. I spent three weeks there before I left! Every day, the same thing, over and over and over again- I’d screw up even a little, and he’d overreact. And you know what the kicker is? Mother didn’t do SHIT to stop him. She watched.” I shook my head, shrinking away when he wrapped his arms around me to comfort me.

“I just want to forget. I just wish I could get rid of the scars he left me with, but they’ll never go away. They’re permanent reminders.” My fingers traced over the faint scars that riddled my torso, but Ezio tipped my chin up so I was looking at him.

“You’re beautiful. Don’t forget that.”

“Bullshit! You wouldn’t even look at me twice back when I was a panda bear! Well… you might have done a double take at my short hair, but otherwise, you weren’t interested. Now I have a figure, and you’re all interested?”

“I hadn’t gotten to know you before then!”

“BULLSHIT!” I roared, tearing out of his grip but ending up somehow tumbling out of the huge bed. Ezio climbed out of bed and went around to pick me up and put me back on the mattress.

“Pandora, you are a good person, even though you do not see it yourself. You have had multiple opportunities to play one of your more sadistic pranks on me, or even kill me, but you didn’t. you love me, admit it.”

“Ezio, I’m not a good person. I’m not even worth your time. I’m a sociopath with ADHD suffering from PTSD with all the personality of Hermione Granger and Loki mashed together, why do you even bother with a mess like me?”

“Because I care! Bambina, why can you not see that? I’m in love for the second time in my life and you keep pushing me away! Why do you do this to yourself? Is it because you’re scared of becoming vulnerable to someone else? Is that it?”

“I HAD MY HEART RIPPED OUT THE FIRST TIME I FELL IN LOVE, OF COURSE I’M SCARED!”

“Well don’t be! I won’t hurt you!”

“But you’ll leave once you get what you want. Once I’m no longer interesting, no longer a challenge, you’ll stake your claim elsewhere.”

“Is that really what you’re worried about? That I’ll lose interest after having sex with you? Pandora, darling, you really do love me. You don’t even want me to leave.” He purred into my ear. His words hit home, and I had to put an effort into holding back the tears.

He knew.

“Don’t touch me! Don’t talk to me! Just go away!” I screamed, breaking his grasp on me and dashing out of the bedroom even though I knew I couldn’t outrun an Assassin. I had to get away, had to run.

It was the only thing I knew how to do when it came to personal problems. Just run.

After all, what’s the point in fighting something that can’t be hurt, but can tear you apart in an instant?

There isn’t any.

~~~ Alice’s POV~~~

I’d sought refuge in the indoor garden after dinner to find my peace of mind. All these new people wanted to talk to me, to get to know me, and I wished I could have something more familiar again. I missed home, missed Zombie.

The indoor garden reminded me of the Wonderland garden- though it was indoors, it was spacious, and I realized why- there was a sharp decline in the floor that allowed it to go under other rooms. There must have been at least two acres of well-kept foliage, flowers, trees, and walkways in there. A Koi pond was situated in the middle, filled with fish of many colors and sizes- some of the smaller ones even had fins that resembled long pieces of silk fabric, with the way they flowed in the water as the fish swam around. There were two benches, one underneath a cherry blossom tree in full bloom and another in the midst of several rose bushes, each flowering with different colored roses. The second bench was slightly hidden away- probably Pandora’s idea.

The fish were calming to watch after a while. I found my troubling thoughts slipping away the longer I watched them.

But of course, the peace was shattered when I heard the door to the garden slam open. Curious but frightened, I glanced around for a place to hide before settling on the bench surrounded by rose bushes. It would have to do for now, but I had to take extreme care not to let the thorns catch on my dress.

I watched as the intruder ran through, stopping at the pond.

… Pandora?

She was almost unrecognizable except for her mussed short red hair. She was shirtless, wearing black pajama pants that looked like they’d been torn in a few places.

“I have to get out of here…have to get away… I’ve got so many talents at my disposal, I can solve problems and fix things…. But the ONE thing I can’t fix is MYSELF! I just want the nightmares to stop, to be able to love without fear, to give myself to him without flinching every five seconds! IS THAT TOO MUCH OF ME TO ASK FOR?!” She yelled, slamming her hands into the pond and startling the koi.

“I’m nothing more than a broken and defiled toy, tossed away because I was useless. I’m nothing without this broken and corrupted mind of mine! I just want a normal life! But no, I go from semi-normal in a completely different universe to a victim in this one, then a survivor, then a hero, then a daughter to a new family, which constantly grows… I have all this talent from my old life, the memories of my old family, my old school, the few friends I had… but no clue how I got here!” Pandora started sobbing, her arms now elbow deep in the pond as she hunched over the edge.

“I’m a walking, living paradox. The intellectual idiot, the broken tool, both predator and prey. Victim and villain. I’m a monster…” I watched in fascination as she rolled up the sleeve of her pants, exposing her robotic left leg, and tapped one of the overlapping plates gently. The plate retracted, revealing a knife, which she took.

“I can’t be normal, so what’s the point of living a half-life?”

“STOP!” I cried, before clamping a hand over my mouth. I shouldn’t have done that, and I immediately regretted doing it the moment Pandora looked over at me with rage clouding her eyes.

~~~~Pandora’s POV~~~~

Alice saw me. I saw her.

I was pissed. I was frustrated. I was upset.

I was scared shitless.

How much had she heard? She probably thought I was ungrateful for my new life! She’d go blabbing to the others- I couldn’t let that happen. Jeff would kill me if he thought I was a threat. I had to stop her… to end her…

My thought processes diminished into that you’d find in a hunting predator, adrenaline filled my muscles with strength and sharpened my senses.

“Pandora, snap out of it! Don’t hurt me, I want to help!” I dimly heard Alice cry out. I paused, coming to my senses, before dropping the stiletto and collapsing in exhaustion. Rage and sadness took a lot out of me.

“Alice, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to hurt you… I didn’t hurt you, did I?” I reached out a hand to her, but she backed away.

“No… are you sure you’re…?”
“I’m exhausted, Alice. Strong emotions take a lot of energy out of me. It was something I… acquired when I phased over into this universe.”

“I still don’t understand what happened to you.”

“Neither do I.”

“Why were you so… upset?”

I sighed and sat up, unsure of how to tell her. “My old family wasn’t the best out there, but it wasn’t the worst either. I had two little brothers, a caring mother and a protective dad. But one day… I woke up here. In a shoddy house, with only one brother- the other one, my father had killed and buried. I was beaten daily with a shovel and raped by my father almost hourly. No school, my mother didn’t do anything to stop him, and I had nowhere to go. Luckily for me, my old motorcycle license had phased over with me, so I managed to hotwire an old Harley and leave… right after getting revenge.” I looked up at her, gauging her reaction. “I poisoned my father. He’d sent me to the grocery store to get some soup for dinner, and I got the can that had the most dents in it. He died of botulism a few hours later. I tied up my mother afterwards and left her alone in the house. For all I know she’s dead too. I took my only brother to my aunt and uncle’s house, and told them to adopt him. Jayden’s in a much better home now. They knew all about our abuse, but they hadn’t been able to do anything about it. I had to take matters into my own hands. Then I called Tony, told him all about Minerva and her parentage and how I knew almost everything about her, before dropping the bomb that she was my creation. That was two days before I crashed the motorcycle while I was on the interstate. I must have been just past D.C. when I did.”

“I… that’s…” Alice was at a loss for words at my confession.

“I wouldn’t wish that fate on my worst enemy. I’m strong willed and I was really angry, that’s the only reason I was able to escape. Others in my place wouldn’t have been so lucky.” I rubbed my waist, where the majority of my scars were. It looked like I’d gotten attacked by a pack of wolves right there, courtesy of the shovel my father had used.

“I’m sorry.” Alice said, and although I could hear the sincerity in her voice I turned away from her.

“All the silliness, all the smiles and laughter… it’s like Tony and his Iron Man suits- a coping mechanism. I guess that’s why he took to me so quickly- we’re both suffering from PTSD. Plus he read my file… well, the little there was in it. Apparently I was the top student in my school, getting perfect grades and was poised to receive a boatload of scholarships despite my home life. One of those scholarships was an art scholarship.” I looked back up at her. “I have talent, Alice… but that’s all I have. That’s my asset. I’m no good with people, I’ve got an animalistic temper and moodswings that might as well diagnose me with bipolar disorder, and I’m an overall wreak. My mind and my hands are all that are left to me.”

“Pandora, do you realize just how many people would die to be in your shoes? To have Tony Stark adopt them, to be as brilliant and creative as you are? You don’t see it, do you?” Alice scooted closer to me and put a hand over my own. “Your friends and daughters are willing to do so much for you. They care, Pandora…”

“You’re lying.” I said bluntly. Alice recoiled, confirming it.

“How can you think this way? Tony has no obligation to keep you here under his wing, not an inkling of it! And yet he does. The way I see it, he sees himself in you… and genuinely wants to help you.”

“Oh yeah, because that would make him feel accomplished and looks good for the press. I can see the headlines- Iron Man successfully rehabilitates teenage sociopath! What will he do next?”

“Fine. Be that way.” Alice huffed, getting up off the ground and waltzing out of the room.

I couldn’t help it. I stared, mesmerized by the way she walked.

Distracted by the sexy, indeed.

~~~ Ezio’s POV~~~~

Figlio di Puttana, I thought, dashing after her. I’d given Pandora a ten minute head start just to make things interesting, but with her so upset there was only one place I could think of that she would go to- the garden.

I found her in there, unconscious next to the pond. She looked so peaceful when she slept. I crouched down and ran a finger down her cheek, amazed at how relaxed she was.

She had to stop running. Thing was, that seemed to be the only thing she knew how to do. Every time she was with other people she acted like a frightened rabbit, constantly poised to run or to fight. She only ever relaxed around me and Singior Anthony.

I scooped her up, surprised when she immediately wrapped her arms around my neck to steady herself. Apparently, she wasn’t completely unconscious.

“Zio… please… not tonight… I’ll do whatever you want tomorrow, but not… tonight…” She murmured in my ear.

“Hush, I’m not going to do anything tonight. Except maybe sleep in the same bed as you, amore.” I soothed. Her eyes shot open, clouded with fear.

“Ezio…!”

“I’m not going to drop you easily, you know.” I smirked, tightening my grip. She relaxed slightly, before nuzzling into my shoulder.

“Just… don’t touch me… there…”

“You have my word.” I vowed. Even though she’d promised me she’d try to get past what her father had done to her… I couldn’t force her. It went against everything my own father had taught me. Plus, Claudia would be on my ass faster than I could protest, and I would never have my mothers’ respect again.

Plus Pandora would never love me if I coerced her.

She was too scared to see how much I truly cared about her.

I knew about her past- she’d told me after getting drunk on margaritas. (Which she technically wasn’t supposed to be drinking, but Anthony was incredibly lenient when it came to alcohol consumption…) Her first lover… left her. Not a word. No calls, no letters, wouldn’t even acknowledge her presence at school.

It had completely destroyed her confidence in other people. Most men wouldn’t go after such a timid thing like her, but I saw it as a challenge.

And I had fallen. Hard.

I wanted to help her, give her back her confidence in others. But the only way to do that was to accept her past and move on.

Problem being, she was stuck.

She wouldn’t let me touch her where I knew she’d like when we were in bed, if she let me get that far.

She never went to bed without something on, though Tony insisted she used to sleep in nothing more than a thin robe at times. She was still shy about showering together, and she never trusted me with anything when she wasn’t drunk out of her wits.

But I stayed. I stayed, because I believed that, in the end, it would all be worth it.

SHE would be worth it.

I was almost certain of it.

I passed Jeff on the way upstairs. He gave me a cryptic look before glancing at Pandora in my arms.

“What, her leg not working anymore?”

“Do you know how taxing it is to walk with this thing? It’s so heavy I can’t even roundhouse kick you with it!” She retorted hotly. I chuckled at her remark.

“Messere, her prosthetic leg is working perfectly, but Pandora is exhausted. She and I had a misunderstanding, and it drains her tremendously to argue with me.”

“DOES NOT!” She protested, slapping my shoulder indignantly, which only encouraged my laughter.

“I’ll leave you two lovebirds at it, then.” Jeff smirked, before continuing downstairs.

“YEAH, WELL HAVE FUN WITH YOUR PRUDISH FIANCE, YOU GODDAMN COCKATIEL!” Pandora roared back.

“Amore, was that really necessary?”

“No, but it made me feel better.” She grumbled. “Made up for my wounded pride.”

“What pride?” I smiled, nudging the door to our bedroom open with my foot.

“Ma manly pride.” She grinned, letting go of my neck as I tucked her into bed.

“Aren’t you…?” She asked. I smirked at her before peeling off my shirt.

“Of course. That was part of the deal, no?” I replied, climbing into bed next to her. She scooted away immediately, unable to look at me, but I persisted and scooted closer to her and, before she could get any farther away, wrapped my arms around her.

The effect was immediate. She shrunk in my grip, wimpering lowly.

“Shhh… I’m not going to hurt you, and I’m not going to touch you where you don’t want me to.”

“Sad that you have to tell me that.” She murmured.

“But it’s the truth. Is the truth sad, Maddonna?”

“Yes. The truth is sad and painful and better left unsaid. Lies are so much easier to live with.”

“Says the one without guilt.”

“And what are you, then? You killed hundreds if not thousands of good men in your time, men who were just following orders and doing their jobs.”

I had no comeback for that. Pandora was right, after all.

I’m just as bad as any serial killer.

But I was just doing my job. Those men were collateral damage- they had to be eliminated.

…right?

My eyes felt heavy and my mind started to dull. Eventually, I fell asleep with Pandora in my arms.

((I’m freaking lucky here, so I needed to offset things somehow. That’s the great thing about putting yourself in a different universe- you can do whatever the fuck you want.

Oh wait, that goes for writing in general. My bad.))

I define "morally ambiguous."

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psychofactz: More Facts on Psychofacts :)

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Anonymously leave a sexual fantasy you have of me in my ask.

tickled-pink1: adored…

last-of-the-american-zombies: dad—egberts: last-of-the-american...

Chapter 2 Meeting Mother

What exactly is Jeff “right about”? What do you two say about me behind by back?!

Maybe Alice wouldn't be so snippy with you if you bent her over your knee and have her a good spanking. ;)

makemestfu: So relatable blog :)

makemestfu: So relatable blog :)

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makemestfu: So relatable blog :)

did-you-kno: Source