Leah Stark - The Unknown Child

1.02.0

Leah's POV
I dropped the food and threw my hands up above my head. I wasn't a complete idiot, the knife in Natasha's hand consumed my mind. I wasn't going to say anything to anger her, or that any of them could use against me. I had to be completely honest, I was absolutely terrified.
The look on Natasha's face was one of pure rage. Combined with the knife in her hand, alarm bells were going off, but I refused to be seen as weak. If I'd learnt anything, it was weakness that could be used against you.
Natasha marched towards me, putting the knife up to my throat, causing me to shake violently.
"You stole my pass, you little shit! You're dead meat, even if you're just a kid!" She bellowed. The last words echoed in my ears, reminding me of my last day with Oliver, the knife, the pain.
Tears streamed out of my eyes. I continued to shake, I wanted to throw up and I felt like I was in the hallway all over again.
I could feel the cold metal against my skin as sobs came out of my throat.
"Please." I choked out. "Please don't... Not again. Please- I'm sorry!"
I moved backwards, crouching, protecting the back of my neck and my stomach. I felt as though I had been forced back into his house all over again and I hated it.
I hated it so much.
I was so weak.

Tony's POV

I stood there, shocked at the child's words: "Not again".
What the hell had happened to her? She was crying and screaming on the floor as Natasha moved away from the girl, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.
The child was covering her body as though she was about to be attacked, begging to be left alone. I turned to the security officers, asking them to wait outside, by the doors in case she tried to run.
After that, my body was moving towards the girl, crouching next to her. It had happened without me even realising. I wanted to comfort her, make sure she was okay.
"Erm... Look, I'm not the best at the whole touchy, feely stuff, but... erm... you okay kiddo?" I asked, going to place my hand on her back.
She felt my skin graze her back, and flinched, pulling her body into the corner of the kitchen, her back against the kitchen cabinets.
My eyes went soft and my heart felt as though it would explode from the overwhelming sympathy I felt for the child. Her life must have been terrible if she was freaked out by physical contact.
Steve pressed a hand on my shoulder. "Let me. I saw this once before, on a mission. I'll deal with it, okay?" I nodded, giving him a pitiful smile, which he kindly returned.
He stood up and slowly approached her, talking to her continuously. "Hey kid, I'm Steve." He said in a soothing voice, calming the young girls painful sobs into desperate whimpers as she looked up to meet his eyes. "Is it okay if I come and sit next to you?" She nodded weakly, her body still shaking. "Thank you."
Steve walked over slowly, and sat about a foot away from the trembling girl. He pointed at me, saying "Thats Tony. He's a really nice guy, promise. He just wanted to make sure you were okay." He moved his finger over to Banner. "That's Dr Banner. He's super smart and nice, like Tony. He's also here to make sure you're okay." Then over to Natasha. "I'm guessing you've already met Nat. Don't worry about her, she's just angry because she doesn't like not having control over things. She wasn't actually going to hurt you."
She calmed down a bit, her breathing slowing down as she wiped her eyes of tears.

Leah's POV

Steve seemed nice, but then again, so did Oliver. However something in me told me to trust him. Something about the people surrounding me made me feel safe, well about as safe as you could feel after being threatened.
"I-I-I'm sorry." I stuttered, feeling weak in front of the adults. "It's j-just I don't h-have enough m-m-money to b-buy food and I-I wanted t-to s-s-see what w-was h-here for a while s-so I-I b-broke in." It was in that instant that my brain hated itself, as I had just broken all of my rules about staying silent.
Tony spoke up, "It's fine kid, really. You're smart and clearly not in the best position. You deserve the food." He picked up one of the dropped take out boxes and passed it to me. I stuck my hands up.
"Can you just p-put that down. I don't like being handed things, it's a w-weird peeve I have." Natasha, Bruce and Steve looked at me funny and their eyes flicked between me and Tony, who seemed to think it was the most normal peeve in the world. I picked up the small take out box and shakily stood up, just like in the hall five years ago.
"I'll be leaving then." I said quietly, making my way towards the door.
"No, you're not." Tony said, blocking the door, preventing me from escaping the penthouse. His tone was sharp and hostile, causing me to recede backwards slightly. Natasha smirked at my action.
"Please, Sir, I'm sorry. You'll never see me again. Just let me leave." I begged.
"Sorry, but doing that would be irresponsible." Tony explained. The other 3 in the room made faces of confusion, and I could have sworn I heard Natasha whisper to Dr Banner "Since when did Tony care about being responsible?" I assumed I was right when Tony glared at them before turning back to me.
"Kid, you're clearly not living in the best conditions out there and you're a genius, like me, so you should have resources if you need them. So where are your parents kiddo?"
"My mums dead, my dad could be anywhere or dead seeing as he abandoned my mum."
"Legal guardians?" He asked confused.
Memories of Oliver were bought up, freaking me out a bit. I shook my head viciously, refusing to say a word, scared I might start screaming or crying if I opened my mouth.
"Okay, So you're staying here."
"No, I'm not. I'm leaving" I replied, attempting to get past the man.
"Fine, I'll do a background check on you and find out whoever is supposed to be looking after you."
My instincts kicked in as I attempted to run past Tony before Steve grabbed my arm in a vice like grip.
"Let me go! I wanna leave!" I yelled, kicking out. Tears streamed from my eyes as I struggled to break free. I felt as though I was going to throw up or pass out. "Please. I don't wanna go back! He'll kill me! Please no!" I screamed louder.
Then, when I felt Steve's grip loosen, I felt a sharp twinge in the back of my neck. I reached up to the spot I felt If from as black spots danced into my vision. I stumble holding onto one of the counters, seeing Dr Banner holding a needle.
I passed out.