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Chapter Text

Remember that sensation one gets before waking up? Sometimes one forgets it or doesn't even pay attention because one feels too drowsy and warm, with no desire to wake up. One can easily hear and answer everything perfectly, but it's more of an autopilot reaction with the conscious brain not really computing it. Afterward, one mostly forgets about it… It's hard to describe, isn't it?

Well, that's what she's feeling at the moment.

There's like a voice asking her, "Who do you want to be? What do you want to be?"

"Me?" she hears himself ask through the fog inside her mind. "Dunno. Can I be a cat?"

There's a giggle. From whom comes the giggle? From her, or is this voice the one giggling? She's not sure. "You can be whatever you want."

"I want to be a Pokémon, then. The best it ever was. I like Pokémon. I enjoy helping people, too, you know."

"Which one would you like to be, then? A Pokémon that helps others?"

"Yeah, sure. Strong, too. To protect the ones I'm helping. And cute. Because cuteness is so overrated, you know?"

"Yes, it's true. You can help others and be cute, too."

"Yeah, can you picture a cute lil Pikachu helping Thor or Ironman? Talk about empowering."

"Would you like to do that?"

"Sure."

There's a hum, and she drifts off for a while, talking from her favorite dishes (everything spicy) to her favorite colors (Blue and red, like Spiderman, you know?), not knowing if the other is listening or not. She just feels so friendly and talkative.

"I've decided," the voice says, and she's not sure what they're talking about. She was just talking about the time she dyed her hair blue because her nephew's favorite soccer team's uniform color was blue.

"What?"

"Yes, I'm sure about this," it ays, ignoring her, which is rude. "You'll be my little hope, my precious ***."

"Again, whaaa—" the word stretches out like a yawn, soft and warm.

She's feeling somewhat sleepy, but more aware now. The yawn continues, and it's long and loud. She opens her mouth to let it go, not wanting to suppress it but, at the same time, wanting it to be over. That she can continue talking with the voice. She feels tears forming in her eyes from the strain. There's also a click sounding from her jaw. That's how wide her jaw is.

She rubs her left eye with a hand, and stops, feeling something hairy touching her.

Is she… wearing some gloves?

She opens her eyes and sees a blue paw in front of her.

"What the…"

Halting herself, she jumps in fright at hearing her voice, jumping a little high to be normal. Actually, scratch that, it's too high. She's not coming down. Why is she not coming down?!

She stops going up but doesn't go down either. She just floats. So she tries slowly to turn around, away from the too-sunny sky, and sees sand covering the ground. Wait, no. Everything seems to be sandy around her. And are those dunes?

No, stop. Focus.

Her thoughts feel more scattered than usual.

And then, as if summoned by the word "thoughts", memories come to her flowing like lava pouring on ice, with the ice being her little brain. Though not really. They are not memories, more like… moves.

Shit.

And the epiphany hurts like hell, too, but it does explain some things.

She looks down at herself and sees four blue paws. And yeah, there's a tail too.

She's a freaking shiny Mew.

And going by the memories (moves) she has, she's a level 100 Mew, with all the twelve moves they could have in the game by only leveling up. And considering there are no TMs thrown around near her, she would go with the premise there won't be new moves soon.

Great.

She tries to box away all her worries and questions by going through the motions of trying to return to the ground. She's never been really afraid of heights, but falling must hurt anyway and her brain has suffered enough pain already.

She takes ten minutes to control her levitation.

Now that she's on the ground, she feels her tail flicking in agitation when she remembers that dream (?) she had before woken up. She compartmentalizes her thoughts by boxing her worries inside a chest and then throwing them away deep inside her mind. She needs to find out more about her situation first.

She looks around and sees nothing but sand. She floats up and there's more sand, some reptile-like beings, a couple of scorpions, and some dry plants.

Great

She could choose a direction and see what she finds but better to be prepared in case of enemy action. After all, she doesn't know if she's in a hostile place or not. Maybe this is an apocalyptic world (let's hope it isn't) or a medieval place (which means she can proclaim herself a higher being, who knows). Anyway, it means that it's time to train!

.

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She starts with her strength and speed. She lifts rocks to gauge her strength, but she can just lift one half her size and that seems to be her maximum, which is a kind of sad thing, but Mew is a psychic Pokemon, so maybe she can lift more with her mind. Her speed by running is more in line with a normal cat, so not that high either; flying is quicker.

Now that the base has been done, she should start with her moves, so she does so. First is Pound, which results in too much sand covering her body. She should have predicted that using Pound against a rock that's near a dune would cause her to get dirty.

No pain, though! So that's mostly a win.

Also, she totally destroyed that rock.

Reflect does nothing, probably because there is no other Pokémon to try it.

Amnesia, for some reason, reminds her of Gamer's mind because it leaves her focused and makes it easier to hide the box with her worries more easily. Though she knows it should raise her Special defense, too.

She doesn't even try to use Baton Pass as it would be the same as Reflect.

Ancient Power makes the sand move strangely. It feels rich in energy, too. It also makes her stronger and faster.

Life Dew makes some drops fall around him. When it touches her skin, it makes her feel revitalized. She may or may not have spent a couple of minutes licking her fur because she got a little wet. She snapped from this cat-like instinct soon, though. So it doesn't count.

Nasty Plot is what he feels going on the acceptable drugs would be like. Everything is just sharper. Like Amnesia, the move is something she will have to be cautious of.

Metronome is a wild ride. First, it came out with Sing, which she instantly learned it by the way. Then with Flamethrower, which she also learned. Then it came out Sunny Day, which made the next fifteen minutes Hell. And stopped her from trying it again because, while this form may not despise the sun (and actually likes it), the intensity of this desert's sun being doubled is not something she would recommend to anyone. Especially if one has fur.

Imprison she didn't even try it.

Transform is weird. At first, she tried transforming into a person because that's what he knows best. And it worked. Though she doesn't have a mirror, she can see her body, and it's a well built one, not fat or too thin. It reassembles her old body when she was in her early twenties with olive skin and… she doesn't seem to have any hair on her body. Not even pubes.

She touches her eyebrows and sighs in relief when she finds it there. Eyelashes, too. And what seems to be… blue hair, like her fur was.

Great.

At least, it's short hair. Exactly how she likes it. Really short on the sides and has a long tuff of hair in the center.

Well, she now hopes she's in some anime world or somewhere where no one will mind a person having blue hair. Also, she's naked. Because apparently, she can't make clothes when using Transform. Maybe if she learns to do some illusions, she would be able to do it, but it still will feel like being naked, so maybe not. She would just have to be a Mew until she can find some clothes.

She tries with a Pokémon and chooses Milotic because it's one of her favorite Pokémon and why not, right? What could go wrong?

Yeah, famous last words.

If remembering Mew's moves hurt, having to deal with the moves of Milotic's is simply torture.

Remember the first time one tries to fry eggs and a little of oil splashes on one's hand? Yeah, it's like that, only you're putting your whole body inside the oil. The boiling oil.

She may have blacked out for a second there.

When she feels like her skin is not on fireanymore, she looks at herself. And yeah, it may have not been a smart choice to try for a Pokémon without limbs first. For one long second, she just rolls around like a worm, trying to find her balance.

It must look funny for a regal and beautiful Pokémon like Milotic to be seen flailing like a Magikarp.

No one must know about this, she thinks as she gets up with her hair-like fins.

At least, she has new moves. Nineteen, to be exact. The original nineteen Milotic could learn naturally in the games.

Nice.

She starts by throwing a Water Gun up into the sky to refresh her new dry body and it works… until the mud starts forming.

She returns to a Mew and floats away from all the mud. Luckily, the moves she learned from being a Milotic are still there, so she uses another water gun to clean herself.

She decides to learn first all her Mew moves before going for her new Milotic moves.

Aura sphere is easy, and she thinks Psychic would be more powerful if she trained it a little more. However, when she's trying to lift some sand and make some forms with it to improve her control, she hears a faint sound coming from her left. It's like a minor explosion going on. She turns around and sees some smoke coming from that place. There's something flying away from there, too.

So, being the curious Mew she now is, she floats in that direction. And if for the first couple of minutes she looks like he's swimming in different styles… well, she doesn't have much practice flying, sue her.

.

.

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When she reaches the place where the smoke comes from, obviously too high in the sky for others to notice her, she sees some chaos going on. She can't hear the people from how high she is, but it's easy to make out their forms with her new eyesight. She can see weapons and what look like missiles, which means it's not a medieval world.

No Mew goddess then.

They look to be hidden in plain sight, which means she still doesn't know if it's an apocalypse world or not. As they could be easily hidden from zombies or worse, the law.

It seems to be the latter as they start packing things up to leave away from their base.

Giving them a moment of attention, she follows the trail of smoke that leads to the thing that flew away. It's still flying pretty quickly, easily covering thousands of kilometers. She follows it and it doesn't take her long to see the familiar robot-like being that's tipping to the ground.

Shit.

She follows a couple of hundred of kilometers more until it starts to fall as one of its legs thrusters stops working.

With a small token of effort, she uses psychic to gently slow down the Mark 1 until she carefully lays the robot-covered person onto the ground. She hears him curse, which is better than the screaming he was doing before, as he takes off parts of Mark 1 from his frame. His curse increases because of what she guesses is the temperature of the surrounding metal.

She helps him, of course she does. Consequences be damned.

It only takes him a second to see the floating parts gently moving away from his body before he turns his head in her direction.

And, woah, the resemblance with young Rodney Downey Jr. is strong on this one.

"Hello… floating kitty?" he says with a dubious tone before following in a quieter voice, "Am I that dehydrated? Or has the sun finally burned my brain?"

His gaze is unfocused as he starts to babble about crazy scientists and other stuff she doesn't care about. She's mostly worried about his well-being. Tony is too thin to be healthy. Not Infinity War thin, but still thin enough to be noticeable. He's also covered in bruises and some light burns that could be—wait.

She refocuses on his babbling again.

Did he just call her… little pussycat?

She glares at him. "Oh, Hell no."

Tony winces for a second before turning around, seeming to search for something before looking right at her. "Did you just… talk? In my mind?"

"Did I?" she says, mostly to herself but also concentrating on that feeling of giving him a piece of her mind.

Another wince. "Yeah, you just did."

Awesome. This at least helps with her problem of talking when she's not transformed into a human form. She shakes her head when she sees Tony moving away from the fallen pieces of the robot suit and wincing with every step.

She ponders for a bit as she follows him before deciding to use Life Dew on him.

He looks surprised as he glanced at the small shiny drops raining onto his form. The tense air around him relaxes as he shot her a grateful nod before continuing to walk.

"Okay. Figment of my imagination, I'm Tony Stark. Do you have a name? Or do I need to give you one?"

She glares at him, but still answers dryly, "I'm not a pet."

"Does that mean you've got a name, then?"

She hums as she thinks of that question. She did have a name, but she always complained about it for how hard it was to pronounce. Also, it was long. She's kind of tired of constantly repeating her name or correcting it.

Maybe a change would do her well. So, she needs a name that could describe her well.

Mew is supposed to be the mother of all pokemon or something, so maybe something similar. The problem is that she doesn't know many name's definitions. Well, she can always go with Eve, who is supposed to be the Mother of all humans, but it doesn't sound right and is too English for her. She remembers being from South America in her previous life, a real Latina. Maybe she can go with the Spanish version of it.

She turns to Tony, who is inspecting the faint recovery of his wounds, and says, "My name is Eva. EH-BAH."

Because why not?

He looks up. "Oh. Not pussycat then?"

A glare. "You're lucky you're injured or I would have done some serious damage to you."

He rolls his eyes as he continues walking, one hand going to her small head to give her a pat.

"Yeah, little—Huh. You're surprisingly solid for a figment of my imagination."

"Not part of your imagination," she answers dryly. "I'm a Mew."

"A mew? You mean a cat?"

"No. A Mew. The name of my particular species. Though if you want to be more general, I'm a Pokemon."

"A Poke-what?"

She does a small spin as she floats alongside him. "Like, a spider is an arachnid, but also an animal. I'm a Mew, a type of pokemon."

"And what do you eat? Hopefully not humans. Also, your species habitat is…?"

She touches her rear paws and starts rolling around. "Dunno. The god of Pokemon created Mews to create other different types of Pokemon."

"And Pokemon live where exactly?"

"In another world," she says with a half-shrug. And then, to be more confusing and trolling, she adds, "I'm not from this universe."

"Oh," he says, his face clearly expressing his doubts about life. Now that he stays in that state for long. His stomach starts growling at that moment. He doesn't seem embarrassed, mostly just resigned.

She looks around and after seeing nothing, she uses another Life Dew at him and then says, "I'll search for something for you to eat. Wait."

He just waves his hand as he takes off his shirt and starts covering his head with it.

Huh. At least he's resilient.

Chapter Text

She flies off smoothly, which greatly increases her confidence in her flying skills. However, it takes her ten minutes of quick flying around to decide that there are only small reptiles for Tony to eat.
She catches two large ones and takes their head off with her telekinesis. She then grabs some dry grass to make a fire before returning. It must have taken her thirty minutes in total, but by the time she finds Tony, she finds him stumbling. She quickly gets him up and shows him her prizes.
"There was just this."
There's no disgust or apprehension at seeing the dead reptiles, just this continued resignation. For some reason, she wants to see him smile. She wants to play pranks to make him happy. She remembers being the type of person who likes to put smiles on others, but it seems to be strengthened to a higher level. Also, this mischievousness she feels is a bit foreign.
'My nature should be Jolly then.'
"I hope you know how to light a fire, Eva, because I don't know how. Never been a boy scout type of person."
She scratches her head. She was thinking of using the Flamethrower she learned, but now that she thinks about it… that's too potent. 'Maybe if I try to reduce it, I could learn ember?'
She tries using the minimum of her energy as she softly exhales, intending to approach the dry grass a little to light it.
It works. More or less. The fire is smaller, yes, but still too hot. Luckily, she thought of putting just a small piece near so as to not burn everything.
They wait until the reptiles are slightly brown before Tony gives it a try.
He devours it with hunger clear on his face. "I'm so gonna buy a hamburger as soon as I can."
She smiles, offering another Life Dew when he's finished eating everything. She uses Water Gun on the fire and Tony uses the opportunity to drink some of it and he seems to throw her suspicious glances after using the water to drink and refresh himself.
"Is everything alright?" she asks with a light smile and because she's an awful person, she adds, "Is the figment of your imagination too vivid?"
He rolls his eyes but nods slowly. "Yeah, okay, I admit you're not something I made up with my fried mind, but still… Another universe?"
She nods. "It gets weirder."
He seems to agree. Actually, he seems done with everything, but semantics.
They continue walking. However, even with some food in his belly and some water, Tony is still tired. By the time four hours have passed, he's walking with almost all his weight on her small self. And if it wasn't for her telekinesis maintaining her afloat, she wouldn't have been able to help.
They also talk. Well, mostly she talks. Tony has the energy to just answer with hums and some snorts as she regales some stories about Pokémon.
It's by the next half an hour when they hear it.
The helicopters.
It comes from some place in front of them, slightly to the right.
Tony's energy seems to leave him as he stumbles down, taking her with him.
She looks up and sees him so relieved.
"Everything is going to be alright," she says with a smile and is happy to see Tony answering with one of his own.
The helicopters sound closer with each second it passes. She glances at it before looking at Tony. "I think we may be able to see each other in the future, though who knows when."
"Are you leaving?" he says, his voice neutral and almost disinterested, but there's nothing to hide the hint of panic in his eyes.
She stops from where she's been floating up and tilts her head. Tony hasn't tried to reach for her, but she can see how his hands trembled for a moment there.
She gives him a dry look. "I'm very conspicuous if you haven't noticed."
He blinks, his head slightly tilted down. "Oh."
For some reason, that action makes her sad. Tony may think she doesn't know, but even if she hadn't watched the films before, she would have noticed that he received torture and is under a lot of stress. Hell, he just saw someone he respected die in front of him.
With a light sigh, she tries to think of all small Pokemon or one that looks more like a normal animal. Maybe a Joltik. She doesn't remember how small it is, but she knows is one of the smallest Pokemon. Maybe others will think she's just a big, strange spider Tony met?
Yeah, right. As if that wouldn't look strange.
Maybe a Sandshrew would fit better, but if she's not mistaken, they're a bit heavy.
Oh! She knows!
With a small amount of concentration, she prepares apprehensively for the pain.
And oh boy, does it come.
It's not until just the faint tremors on her body start leaving her that she hears Tony panicking as he babbles.
"I'm okay," she says, happy to still have her telepathy working. She's also glad that she hears everything muted at the moment, or his slightly raised tone would have hurt even more her head.
"You just fell and almost crashed to the ground, twisting as if you had just received the cruciatus."
It did feel like it. Also, nice to note Harry Potter is still a thing here.
"It's a side effect of transforming to a new Pokemon for the first time."
"Yeah, well. Don't do it again." He takes a deep breath. "Are you supposed to be a ferret, then?"
She nods slowly. "I'm supposed to be a Linoone."
Tony seems to want to say something but by that time, the helicopter is near, and to talk would mean to shout. Sadly, Tony doesn't have telepathy.

Chapter Text

It takes the helicopter another fifteen minutes to come to them and when they do, a man she recognizes as Rhodes is one of the first to get them. She can almost feel the worry and relief exuding from him.

"How was the fun-vee?" he says as soon as he sees him, noticing, like her, how close Tony is to a breakdown and also knowing he wouldn't want to be seen in that state. It works, as Tony regains his composure. He grabs his free shoulder and adds, "Next time, you sit with me, okay?"

Tony just nods. He swallows once before saying, "Do you have a burger inside your ride?"

Rhodes laughs before looking at her. "And who's your new friend?"

Eva tilts her head as she looks at him, trying to look like a little innocent ferret.

"Oh? This is Eva. Never mind her, I'm famished. I really, really am."

"Sure, Tones. Though I warn you, we've only got some rations in the helicopter. And they're no better tasting than what you've probably eaten here."

Tony grimaces. "Then just give me a small one. I assume there's good food inside whatever place you are going to take me."

"Better not get your hopes up and wait for your plane to receive a better-tasting meal."

"Never thought I would someday wish to eat some plane cuisine before."

"I know," Rhodes says with a sad little smile.

After some debriefing that comprised Rhodes trying to pull some info from Tony, they got into a nice-looking airplane. It was big and better organized than her old apartment. It certainly had more stuff than it. Bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, and more. Tony concentrated on taking a well-deserved bath and eating like there was no tomorrow. He naturally gave her some of the food on a small plate that was more likely used for coffee cups, but it was still delicious.

He had asked her if she could handle everything he's been eating or if there was anything her body couldn't process in a roundabout way.

"Hope this doesn't make you sick. Don't need to have you pooping on my plane," he says, sounding like he was muttering to himself for the flight attendant. However, considering the look he was giving her, it was serious.

She answered in his mind with a 'Don't worry, Tony. We Pokémon are made of sturdier stuff.'

Afterward, Tony looked like he wished he could fall asleep, but was wary of it at the same time. Eva moved onto his shoulder and promised him to take guard, which seemed to mollify him a little. Instead of going to the bedroom part of the plane, he just sat there, in his seat, with her on his shoulder.

She leaned a bit onto his cheek to comfort him whenever he saw his hands trembling and jaw clenching in what sounded to be a nightmare.

She didn't use the move Sing, afraid she will make everyone fall asleep. Even so, she hummed inside his mind, hoping she'll be more successful that way.

And that's how the hours flew by.

It wasn't until one hour before arriving that he woke up. Rhodes returns from wherever he was to wake Tony up. Tony refreshed himself, adorning the one suit he keeps in each of his jets (And yes, jets, as in plural) in case the one he uses is not… 'Presentable' enough.

And it's a big contrast to see him wearing clothes he was comfortable using just a couple of months ago being loose on his body now. It's sad, too. Because of the way Tony's eyes grow lost in thought, slightly vacant when he sees himself in the mirror.

So she quickly nudges his leg, waking him up from whatever horror he's in.

When they finally land, Rhodes is the first to assess the situation outside. She can't see it clearly, perched on Tony's shoulder, but she can feel him take a deep breath when no one is looking. It's subtle, but the previous slump on his shoulders is no longer there. He stands tall and proud, a light smile appearing on his face as soon as the ramp lowers and Rhodes moves to help him move. It's not really necessary as, unlike movie!Tony, this one received some help from her.

"Watch it, coming up here."

Tony looks at him, his gaze moving towards the medical personnel that's waiting for them to hurry down so they can help. "Are you kidding me? Get rid of them."

She glances at Rhodes just in time to see him roll his eyes. She wants to laugh, but it'd be weird to see, so she quickly adverts her gaze just in time to see a teary-eyed Pepper.

Tony walks up to her and points at her. "Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?"

After the amused and wet chuckle, Pepper regains her bearings as she says, "Tears of joy. I hate job hunting."

"Yeah, well. Vacation's over," he says, giving Eva a quick glance.

Pepper follows his gaze, just as Happy opens the door of the limo for them and they go inside. "And this is?"

"Eva. My new friend. Isn't she cute?"

Pepper nods absently and seems ready to question some more but Happy, having just seated in the driver's seat, asks, "Where to, sir?"

Attention diverted from her furry self, Pepper looks forward as she says, "Take us to the hospital, please, Happy."

"No," Tony says, quick to interrupt.

"No? Tony, you have to go to the hospital."

He shakes his head. "'No' is my complete answer."

Pepper frowns. "A doctor has to look at you."

"I don't have anything," he says, his voice slightly harsher. He seems to notice it as he takes a deep breath and answers calmly, "I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger and the other…"

She looks exasperated. "That's enough of that."

"… is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now."

Chapter Text

"Call for a press conference?"

"Yeah."

"What on earth for?"

He doesn't give an answer, choosing to turn to Happy. "Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."

"Yes, sir."

Pepper takes her phone out. However, she hesitates before making the call. "Are you sure you're fine?"

"Peachy," he says, but there's a metaphorical cloud on top of his head. Eva tries cheering him up by puffing her chest and leaning on the side of his head, offering comfort by trying to arrange his hair with her nose.

It works somewhat, but it's inevitable that each phone call Pepper does makes him grow even tenser.

Luckily, the stop to buy the burger is quick. Most likely, it's already ready by the time they pass by. As they didn't go out. It kind of reminded her of Mc drive.

By the time they arrive at the Stark industries HQ, there's the press waiting for them, with Obadiah by the center of it all. Tony runs his hand on her fur one more time to settle himself and she sits up to nuzzle his face. She uses that moment to hunch slightly in a quasi-hug, his fingers tangling deeper into her fur.

"Wish me luck, Eva."

She pats his face as she says in his mind, 'Good luck, Tony. I'll accompany you, so don't worry.'

He nods to herself or to Pepper; she doesn't know. She only knows that the door is opening, and she needs to put on her cute face on.

Game on!

"Look at this! Tony, we were going to meet at the hospital," Obadiah says as soon as they come out, all smiles as he places a hand on Tony's shoulder. He takes quick notice of her as she comes behind Tony, his expression morphing into something weird. Though Tony's answer of 'No, I'm fine,' takes his attention back to Tony and his burger.

"You had to have a burger, yeah?"

Not answering him, Tony chooses to motion for him to walk next to him. "Well, come on."

Obadiah goes, his gaze turning to her every so often. "You get me one of those?"

Tony's grip on his burger tightens, trembling slightly. She knows he's been asking for it since she met him, so maybe he sees it as proof that this isn't a dream. So she's not surprised when he answers with, "There's only one left. I need it."

Holding his hands up in a 'take it easy' action, he glances one last time at her. His face frowns when he sees her going inside with them.

"Shoo, shoo," he says. "Animals are not allowed here."

"Let it go," Tony snaps his fingers at her. "Walk next to me, Eva."

She ignores the fact that he's commanding her like a pet for this time. Choosing to go down as she trots quickly forwards with a spring in her step as he shoots a smug glance at Obadiah, who just looks at her blankly. In the end, he just shakes his head, puts on his best smile, and claps.

"Well, let's get this started," he says. A second later, he walks to the podium with Tony a step behind. Then he seems to realize he doesn't actually know what this interview is for. He looks at Tony. "Uhh..."

He probably expects Tony to waltz to the podium and talk with his usual exuberance, but it doesn't happen. Instead, he sits in front of the podium, his tiredness not showing on his face but on his posture. "Hey, would it be alright if everyone just sat down? Why don't you just sit down, that way you can see me, and I can…" He gives a bite of his burger as he waits for all of them to follow his instructions, which they do, luckily, or it would have been awkward real quick. "…A little less formal."

When he's almost done with the burger, and all the people are already sitting or squatting, Tony finally speaks, "I never got to say goodbye to Dad. There are questions I would have asked him. Like how he felt about what this company did. If he had conflicts, if he ever had doubts. Or may he was every inch the man we all remember him from the newsreels."

She leans into him, and Tony uses his free hand to pet her in an attempt to calm him or her. She doesn't know. What she does know is that he seems more relaxed.

"I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of the system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

When he finished, the reporters immediately started talking, shouting, 'Mr. Stark' every now and then. Tony lift his hand and pointed to one person. "Hey, Ben."

"What happened over there?" the reporter, Ben, is quick to ask.

"I had my eyes opened," he says, giving her the last small piece of burger for her to eat. He stands up and moves behind the podium. "I came to realize that I have more to offer to this world than just making things that blow up." He takes a deep breath, his shoulders squaring and his whisky-colored eyes determined. "And that's why, effective immediately, I'm shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark international." Everyone stands up in shock, but Tony doesn't care. He continues, "… until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be."

Obadiah moves close to the podium. She can see him moving his lips, but can't hear his muttering. After all, her attention is on Tony, who continues talking about the direction he wishes his company should take. He doesn't seem sure of what it is, but he's confident in being consistent with the highest good for this country.

After that, he moves aside, seemingly done and wanting to go away. Obadiah is quick to grab the microphone after him. "What we should take away from this is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever. We're going to have a little internal discussion and…"

She doesn't bother hearing him anymore. She's following Tony.

Chapter Text

Soon, they're in front of the giant arc reactor.

He sighs, his hand going to his chest like he's trying to comfort himself. There's some pain on his face, so she does another Life Dew. Tony looks up at the glitter falling, before glancing down and giving her a smile.

"I know you didn't have to come with me, or even heal me, but still you did." He looks ahead to the reactor. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that-er…"

She sees him struggle for another two seconds longer before she smiles. 'You're welcome, Tony.'

He points at her. "Yeah, that. Took the words out of my mouth."

'Sure I did.'

"Hey, no one likes a smartass."

'Yet I'm here, so I'm proof that I can at least tolerate them.'

"Ha. Ha. You're so funny."

'I know.'

He rolls his eyes. "Also, good at noticing sarcasm."

She's about to answer that, but she feels someone approaching hearing distance, so instead, she says, 'Someone's coming.'

He nods lightly, tilting his head to the left.

A couple of seconds later, they hear Obadiah's voice. "Well, that. That went well."

Tony lets out a tiny scoff. "Did I just paint a target on the back of my head?"

"Your head? What about MY head? What do you think the over-under on the stock drop is gonna be tomorrow?" his voice is light, but she can detect the clear anger he's giving off as if it was a smell.

"Uh, optimistically, 40 points."

"At a minimum," Obadiah is quick to point out.

Tony shrugs, seemingly unconcerned. "Yep."

"Tony," he emphasizes his name, his tone becoming just a tad condescending. "We're a weapons manufacturer."

A sigh. "Obie, I just don't want a body count to be our only legacy."

"That's what we do. We're ironmongers. We make weapons." An involuntary growl escapes her. She really doesn't like the smell of anger and resentment coming off Obadiah. The large man glances at her, his leg twitching like he's holding himself back from kicking her. He decides to ignore her as he once again gazes back at Tony. "And what we do keeps the world from falling into chaos."

Tony shakes his head. "Not based on what I saw. We're not doing a good enough job and we can do better. We're gonna do something else."

The negative emotions, which diminished because her growl startled him, come back with fervor. "Like what? You want us to make baby bottles?"

Tony waves back to the arc reactor standing behind him.

"Ah, come on. The arc reactor? That's a publicity stunt! Tony, we built that thing to shut the hippies up."

She can almost feel the determination coming off Tony in waves as he says "it works" as clear as she can smell Obadiah's disgust as he answers back, "Yeah, as a science project. The arc was never cost-effective. We knew that before we built it. Arc reactor technology, that's a dead end, right?"

Tony smiles and she can almost see what his next action will be as he moves to open his shirt, so she reaches a paw to his pant leg, wanting to stop him.

Obadiah seems to see the mischief more clearly than her, though that's most likely because he can see his face. Damn tall people.

"Huh? Am I right? We haven't had a breakthrough in that. In what? Thirty years."

Tony picks her up, misunderstanding her intentions. "That's what they say. Could you have a lousier poker face? Just tell me, who told you?"

Oh shit. He already knew?

"Never mind who told me," he says. And no, no. 'Never mind' my lil blue furry ass. She wanted to know. "Show me."

Luckily, Tony and she are on the same page. "Rhodey or Pepper?"

Obadiah narrows his eyes. "I want to see it."

Tony shrugs, as he starts opening his shirt with one hand, as his other is holding her. The ease with which he does it makes her look at him dubiously. Obviously, that skill came with his playboy ways. "Okay, Rhodey."

She would have warned him, but considering Obadiah already knows, well, she doesn't want to sow discord when Tony most likely won't believe her. After all, what can she say? I watched some of the important parts of your life in a film in my other life.

Yeah, no. She probably won't say that to anyone.

Obadiah leans slightly to see better, a hand going up as to touch, but she growls so he quickly steps back. "Okay."

"Okay?" Tony seems offended as he pets her head, which is easier to see as she is nearer to his face. "It works."

Obadiah continues talking, but she ignores him in favor of the petting she's getting. Is this how animals usually feel when they're getting some of this? She feels like pudding and her brain doesn't seem to work all that well. She can even feel her leg kicking in pleasure through her muddled brain is horrifying. Even more so in the fact that she doesn't seem to care much, if at all.

Before, Tony was more like running his hand through her fur or just grabbing it in reassurance. But this? This is full-on petting.

By the time her brain is finally turned on, which is mostly because Tony stopped petting her, she can faintly hear Tony mutter, "That was Dad's line."

She hears Obadiah chuckle. He once again lifts his hand to give him a pat on his shoulder, but with another of her glares, he stops himself. "You gotta let me handle this. We're gonna have to play a whole different kind of ball now. We're going to have to take a lot of heat. I want you to promise me that you're gonna lie low."

Tony sighs and that seems to be enough reassurance for Obadiah as he gives him one last nod before walking away.

She looks up in time to see Tony glancing down. He raises an eyebrow. "Why so aggressive?"

Chapter Text

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. I just didn't peg you as someone aggressive. Or territorial."

Hesitating for a second, she decides to tell him a partial truth. She did not want to get kicked out before she can help Tony. And she thinks she will get kicked out if she just frankly tells him that his father-figure was the one that caused his kidnapping.

Better to answer vaguely.

'I could smell the emotions coming off from that man… and it didn't seem very friendly to me,' she says, hoping she doesn't come off as manipulative. 'Who is he?'

"Friend of my Dad's. Helped me with the company when my parents died."

She hummed but didn't say more. Instead, she changed tracks. 'You should go to sleep. You haven't got a proper rest on the plane either.'

Rolling his eyes, he replied with a "Yes, mom."

'Hey, don't use that tone. You should be happy I haven't asked you to eat something healthier instead. '

"Don't diss the burger. It had tomato in it."

'Sure it did. In the ketchup.'

"Still tomato."

After going on that trip to Stark Industries, they go to Tony's Malibu house, where she instantly commands Tony to his bedroom. He says 'hi' to Jarvis as they walk to the room, and then she realized she didn't know where his room was mid-way into the trip. Going by the smirk on his face, Tony realized early and didn't bother telling her. Luckily for him, he takes pity on her and doesn't tease her. Much.

"I've got lots of ideas. You're wasting time with all this 'sleeping' you want from me. I've slept enough on the plane, but I'll make you happy and give it a try. Be ready to be disappointed though when I can't though."

'A catnap is not enough, Tony. You need to rest or you'll burn out.'

"Sure I do," he says with a roll of his eyes. He still goes to his bed, taking off his shoes and jacket first, not even bothering to cover himself with the covers. He just lies on his bed, hands interlocked, as he hums an annoying tune.

"It isn't working," he says in a sing-song.

She smirks. 'Then I'll just have to Sing you then.'

"Not even a story? How sad I am."

With that same smirk, she uses the move Sing.

It's super effective.

She kind of wants to clap her paws for her well-done job, but instead, she yawns. She was pretty tired herself as she didn't sleep since waking up in the desert, too frazzled to do before. Instead of finding a guest room for herself, she decides to just use the corner of the bed, the one that covers the longest distance between them.

She'll probably wake up before Tony as she wasn't one to sleep for long in her old life. Just a quick nap will do her good.

Thinking in later pulling a Jigglypuff and painting Tony's face later, she closes her eyes, the light of the room still faintly visible from the borders of the curtains as it's still early.

And when she opens them, it is to a dark room, alone. The light that was bright when before she closed her eyes was now a shade of orange.

… How long did she sleep?

She turns her head around and almost jumps when hearing Jarvis's voice coming from above. "Good morning, Miss Eva. Sir has already shared the details of what he knows of your existence, so if there are any questions you wish to ask, feel free to ask."

She nods, signaling she understands. Then she points to the place where she left Tony sleeping.

"Sir awoke five hours ago. He's currently in his lab. If you wish to talk with him, I suggest hurrying, as Miss Potts is parking her car at the garage."

She nods once before changing back to her Mew form and floating toward where Jarvis is instructing her to go. The change is easier, but something tells her that she endured such pain at transforming first because they differed completely from her typing. Maybe if she tried a Psychic Pokemon she'll have better luck? She remembers a few, as they were one of her favorite types.

She shakes her head. It doesn't matter. She goes faster, and it takes her less than a minute for her to reach it. She enters and is not really surprised to see him lying shirtless in a chair. The hole in his chest was clearly seen.

'Are you sure you're supposed to do this without a professional?'

"Hey, I'm a professional. I've got doctorates, you know." He says, emphasizing the letter 's' in doctorates.

'In medicine?'

He rolls his eyes and ignores her. "Jarvis, how long until Pepper arrives? I need to know the size of her hands, like yesterday."

'Kinky,' She says with a raised brow, or at least tries. She doesn't have any brows in this body.

"Not that I'm not kinky, but not this time." He waves a hand on his chest. "I need small hands to swap the reactor in my chest for an upgraded unit."

His other hand shows her the old arc reactor and it's then that she notices the faint tremble of his hands.

'I've got small hands.'

He looks down at her hands with her following his gaze to her… paws. "Yeah, no. A little too furry for me. I'm not kinky enough to have some paws going inside of me."

'You're an ass, you know?' She rolls her eyes, before taking the arc reactor for his slightly trembling hands with her mind and puts it on the table next to him. 'I can also do this.'

"Huh."

'Huh, indeed. Now tell me what I need to do.' She floats near and goes to his side, her nose twitching at the smell coming from his chest. It doesn't smell like pus, but it's still strong.

'Okay, lay it on me, doc,' she says in a cheeky tone.

Chapter Text

'Okay, lay it on me, doc,' she says in a cheeky tone.

"Smartass," he mumbles, but quickly gains a more serious tone as he explains. "There's an exposed wire under this device and it's contacting the socket wall and causing a little bit of a short circuit. I just need you to reach in and gently lift the wire out."

She knows he'll be fine, but seeing on film and watching it live are two different things. 'Are you sure this is safe?'

"Should be fine. It's like Operation. You just don't let it touch the socket wall or it goes 'beep'."

'I never won in that game, but okay?'

He gives her a sharp glance before turning to his chest. "Just gently lift the wire"

Following his orders, she lifts the wire slowly. There's something slightly heavier under it and she doesn't know what it is.

'Huh. What do I do now?'

"Just makes sure to pull it out—"

She pulls it out.

"Agh! There was a magnet at the end of it. You didn't have to pull it out!"

'Shit. Start with that the next time, then! What do I do now?!'  She freaks out at the awkward noises Tony is making. His whole body is tense and she can't believe she forgot about this part? Wasn't it like the movie, too? 'What's wrong with you?!'

"Nothing, I'm just going into cardiac arrest—"

She groans, which comes out like a cute, little soft noise. 'Do I put it back in?'

"No, no. We gotta so it fast. Take the arc reactor and switch it out real quick."

She nods. Though before putting it in, she decides to be wary and ask, 'Nothing else to add, right?'

"No. Just gotta attach it to the base plate."

She follows the instructions and is almost surprised by how quick it goes.

"Was that so hard? That was fun, right?" he says, but he's full of sweat and his voice is still a little too high for her tastes. She kind of wants to help because he can see that he hurts.

Well, she kind of wanted to try the theory if changing into a psychic would be less painful... what a better time than now, right?

Though she needs one that knows Heal Pulse. And most of those are Fairy type. Uhh... The only Fairy/Psychic type she can remember now is Hatterene. Maybe she knows it?

Before transforming, though, she probably should let Tony know, as he kind of freaked out the last time he saw him transform.

'Tony?' she asks when he sees his breathing has returned to normal, though his face is still set on a grimace. When he looks at her, she continues, 'I'll change to another form.'

"Uh. Why?"

'Because that Pokemon has a healing ability.'

Tony blinks a couple of times. "You know you don't need to—"

She transforms. She only let him know so as to not cause him any more heart attacks, not because she wanted to be persuaded.

And well, who would have guessed? It does hurt less. If before it was like bathing in oil, now is more like someone is squeezing really hard every surface of her skin. More really unpleasant than outright painful.

When she stands up, she can feel herself taller. And her body is kind of weird.

"Ehh... What are you supposed to be?"

'A Hatterene.'

"Suuure. And that is?"

'A Fairy type Pokemon.'

Tony is ready to open his mouth, but it's then that JARVIS interrupts him. "My apologies for the disturbance, but Ms. Potts is coming down."

Not wasting any time, she 'looks' at her moves and is glad to find Heal Pulse between them. So she uses it on Tony. Going on by the return of color on Tony's cheeks and the faint healing of the injuries and the slight burns he still had.

While Tony inspects his healed body, she changes into a Mew once again, before transforming into a Linoone, which thankfully doesn't hurt as she already memorized her gene. Just in time, too. She can see Pepper appearing from the stairs. The door of the lab opens to show a slightly gaping Pepper. "What's this?"

"Uhh... Surprise?"

Pepper gives him a perfect deadpan that lasts a second before she walks closer and sees the new arc reactor in his chest. Her gaze moves towards the old one and she blinks. "Did you change it? Alone?"

"Not alone. I had Eva with me."

Pepper glances at her, which makes her do her best innocent expression, with a lolling tongue out and everything. Pepper doesn't find it amusing and says so to Tony, who glances at her and gives her doggy look a glance before deadpanning, too. "Not helping, Eva."

She shrugs, and luckily Pepper doesn't see it as she keeps inspecting the old reactor.

"What are you planning to do with this?"

"That? Just throw it out."

Pepper doesn't look so sure, but Tony is already standing up. The assistant gives him one last look before she smiles down at the arc reactor and Eva is kind of giddy as she gets to see this part of the story panning out.

Tony starts dressing in his lab. She tilts her head as she realizes that the clothes he has chosen are formal, for going out. Pepper seems to have noticed the same as she asks, "Are we leaving to somewhere?"

Seemingly distracted, Tony doesn't answer until she asks again. "No? I'm going to visit Rhodey for a project I'm planning to work with him. Why?"

Pepper gives him a slightly concerned look as she points out, "You were the one who called me here."

"Was I? I only needed to ask for your hand size."

That gets both of her eyebrows raised. "You could've called."

He waves his hand to the whole operation shtick he had going on the lab. "I needed help to change the arc reactor. I fixed that already, so no problems now. Don't worry."

Pepper looks dubious, but is too professional to call him out. "Nothing else, then?"

"No. Thanks, though, Ms Potts."

"Mr. Stark" She nods at him once and then she turns to leave.

When they're sure she's gone far away enough to not be heard, he turns towards her. "Wanna accompany me to say hi to Rhodey?"

She hums as she turns into Mew. 'I'm feeling kind of dirty, so maybe I'll shower first and eat some snack. Maybe I'll cook us dinner later, or do you plan to eat with Colonel Rhodes?"

"You can cook?"

"What can I say? I'm a cat of many abilities."

Tony snorts. "Weren't you a Mew? And woah, I think I just lost a couple of brain cells just saying that name."

"Screw you," she says, but with no heat in it. "So?"

"I want to taste what you make. Though no lasagna, Garfield."

"Har. Har."

.

.

Chapter Text

When Tony leaves, she decides to do as she said and take a shower. Though because she only knows where Tony's room is and she doesn't want to check every room, she decides to just use his bathroom. Besides, probably his room is the only one with good shampoo and conditioner.

So there she goes, floating away with a giggle as she thinks of finally touching some water that doesn't come from herself. And washing, let's not forget that part. It's important for someone who hasn't been some time in the desert.

When she reaches the bathroom, she's not surprised to find big enough to be a bedroom on its own. There are some handles here and there, which she doesn't want to ask what are they for. But yeah, she was right. Every product smells divine. As a good narcissist, Tony takes good care of himself, after all.

She could go Mew on this, but she wants to enjoy being a person for a while, so she transforms into one. She faintly thinks about why it never hurt to change into a human, but shrugs it off as something that comes with familiarity and lack of Moveset.

She pampers herself a little in the time she spends under the shower, relaxing her muscles as she does so. Afterward, she uses one of the many body lotions on herself, one with a vanilla smell, because it leaves her body feeling so smooth.

When she's ready to leave, she decides to just keep this form while she cooks. After all, it's easier to do so and she can admit to herself that she would find such work relaxing. Though no way is she going to do so naked. She could grab one of Tony's shirts but she's not the type to grab other's clothes without asking. So, she grabs one bathrobe that's obviously made for women in mind, which makes her smile dryly. She's about to put it on when she looks at her reflection in the mirror.

"Woah," she says, her voice coming slightly husking from using it for the first time. It rasps a little, so she drinks some water from the tap to help her throat. Then she goes back to look at herself and what made her so awed.

Mainly, the blue eyebrows and eyelashes.

"It looks kind of cool," she mutters to herself. She kind of looks like a slightly tanned Jinx from League of Legends. Maybe that's the blue hair talking, though. Her haircut is totally like Captain Marvel's, short and easy to care, just as she likes it.

She touches her boobs and finds them a respectable size. Her body is slightly more toned, though. Not the muscular type she used to drool at, but like, she's got some definition. She doesn't look like she can't even kill a chicken, like before. Hopefully, she's got more strength than her old life. Though looking at her thin arms, so much like her old life's, maybe it won't be as she wishes.

Still, she looking good.

Now, with her bit of narcissism done, she puts the bathrobe on and goes out.

"Excuse me, Miss. May I inquire your name?" JARVIS voice says as soon as she steps out of the bathroom. He probably knows who she is, smart artificial intelligence that he is, merely asking for confirmation.

"I'm Eva, JARVIS," she says with a smile, kind of happy to have the indirect admission that there were no cameras in the bathroom. She was kind of suspicious for a moment there.

"Miss Eva, my apologies, but may I ask why choose to take a human form now?"

'And not before, with Tony present' is clearly implied, but JARVIS is too polite to say it outright. Also, he's more intelligent than she thought.

"Oh. Well, for one, it's easier to dry than fur. And then, I did promise Tony to cook." She shows her hands. "These will come handy."

Then, because she's an absolute dork, she snorts. Because, 'handy'. Get it?

"... I understand," he says, sounding nonjudgemental, but she can still somehow feel him judging her.

Better to go cook.

.

.

By the time dinner is close by, Eva can hear Tony's car parking in the garage. It's kind of hard not to, with how loud they are. She rolls her eyes, but still throws the pasta into the pot filled with boiling water, already weighted for two portions.

Considering how unused Tony's kitchen looks, it's still pretty stocked. So she made something easy as she still doesn't know Tony's preferences regarding food. So spaghetti with ragu' it is.

She hears him come closer, probably following the scent.

"JARVIS, did Eva really cook?" Tony sounds surprised, which, rude. She promised, didn't she?

"I watched the step-by-step process, sir."

"I hope you're feeling up for Italian!" she shouts. Tony curses and runs quicker.

"Who—" he stops as he reaches the kitchen. She doesn't look at him because she's trying to make the spaghetti stop sticking to the bottom of the pot, because seriously: an induction oven? The heresy!

"I already put the table, but if you want to drink some wine, better pick it yourself, as I don't know where it is."

"... Eva?" She nods as she turns off the pot and puts the colander inside the sink. She's ready to pour all the spaghetti and water into it, when Tony's next question throws her off guard. "Why are you wearing a robe?"

She looks up, sees his confused face, shrugs, and returns to her task. "When I transform, I just transform my body. I can't create clothes."

Tony walks near and looks closely at her like she's an interesting problem. "Could've used mine."

She pushes him back when he starts to pull her hair gently aside to see the color of her roots. "I didn't want to impose."

"Not imposing, really," he says, snorting. Then he seems to have realized something as he watches her even more closely as she puts the dried spaghetti into the pot once again and pours some of the ragu' into it. "Wait. Does that mean you're totally naked underneath?"

She blushes. "Hey! That's a bit invasive, don't you think?"

He holds his hand up in surrender. "You're right, sorry. Thought that, because you're always parading yourself naked in your cat form, you wouldn't mind."

Glaring, she scoffs. "I think not. Besides, I'm a Mew. I already told you."

"Yeah, yeah. Mew mew, okay. Anyway, is there any difference between this body and a normal human female?" he gives her one once over before correcting himself. "Besides the blue hair, I mean."

"Er..."

"Hoh? There is? Do you have your cat tail?" he leans forward slightly, his gaze going to her butt as if waiting to see any hint of tail.

"No, but..."

Seeing her so doubtful, his curiosity increases and he starts to poke her shoulder. "I know you want to tell me. Spit it out."

She sighs, gives one look to her spaghetti that needs at least one more minute of being cooked with the ragu' to be done, before she mutters, "I don't have any hair in my body."

The poking stops, clearly not being able to hear her well. "What?"

"I said, I've no hair."

He looks up at her head full of blue hair pointedly. She blushes harder. "I mean, in other parts of my body that's not my head, eyebrows, and eyelashes."

"... Oh." He sounds thoughtful for a second before he looks down at her, where her privates are. "Can I see?"

She prays to the ROB that pulled her here to give her patience, because if they give her strength, she may kill him.

Chapter Text

Tony compliments the food as soon as he tastes it, which is good. He's still curious and makes her wish to return to her Mew form, but she doesn't want to dirty herself with the pasta, so better not. Or at least, not now.

"So, now that we finally got time for ourselves, mind telling me about your species and why are you able to transform in such a painful way?"

She could bullshit her way through, but better to give him half-truths, as she's the type to harbor a deep sense of guilt for anything that she thinks may think hurts others. Being physically or emotionally.

"Well, Arceus, the god of pokemon, was the one who created the first Mew. He gave her the ability to unlock the DNA of every pokemon in existence, but each one of them comes with a moveset of original powers according to their typings."

"Oh. So like what you used to heal me and to make fall asleep?"

"Yeah. I think the new powers hurt my brain. Though I found out that it hurts less if the Pokemon I change shares my typing."

"And what's your original type?"

"Psychic," she says with a smirk.

Tony covers his chest as if he were a schoolgirl who's been found naked by her crush. "So you can read my mind?"

She rolls her eyes. "I've been talking in your mind for a while now. Why are you surprised?"

"True, true. So, how many types are there?"

"Eighteen."

He raises both eyebrows. "That's a lot."

"I know. But they compliment and restrain each other. I could give you a chart of how it works?"

"Really? Sweet!" he says, looking giddy, before he stops. "Wait, how many of these Pokemon exist?"

She rolls her eyes, but there's a smile tugging at her lips. "Well, first of all, you've got to understand that most Pokemon have got at least one or two evolution forms. Like the Pokemon I used to heal you was the third evolution of their species. And Linoone was the second evolution of another. Also, sometimes they've got variants, depending on where they are from, which changes their looks and typing."

"... So how many?"

"Around a thousand."

He hums. "Not as many as I thought, but yeah, interesting nonetheless."

Nodding, she decides to move on before he decides to experiment with her. Though, maybe that could help her... Not the experimenting bit, but the one where he could use his big brain to help her with her moves. "So anyway, got anything to do after dinner?"

"Oh. Already got a dinner with me and want to move to the next stage already? How forward of you."

She glares at him, a dry smile on her lips. "Yeah, no. I wanted to know if I could use one of your empty garages to train my powers. Maybe helping me with them."

That makes him sit up with a grin. "Do I get to see more of your powers? Sure! Though, I've got a new project I'm excited to try. Maybe we could do both my project and your power testing downstairs in my lab. I've got an enormous garage in there, too. Let's just move the cars and there will be even more free space for us!"

She smiles. "Sure!"

.

.

It takes an hour to get everything ready; she going back to her Mew form, which made Tony sad. But she ignores as she takes five whole minutes to appreciate her new soft, shiny fur. Tony's laugh startles her from what he realizes is the sound of her purring.

She looks at him and finds him sitting in front of the hologram table. After his laugh is done, he pets her head, which she ignores by lifting her head up, glad she's covered in fur and unable to blush.

"Heh. Anyway, JARVIS, you up?"

"For you, sir, always," the ever polite AI answers.

"I'd like to open two new project files, index as Mark Two and Project MEW."

She looks up at him with a sardonic smirk. 'Mew?'

"No, no. Gotta give it emphasis, Eva. It's MEW, all caps."

Before she can banter some more, JARVIS interrupts with a "Shall I store this on the Stark Industries Central Database?"

Tony hums, his brow furrowing. "Actually, I don't know who to trust right now. Till further notice, why don't we just keep everything on my private server?"

"Working on secret projects, are we, sir?" the sass is strong on this one.

"I don't want this winding up in the wrong hands. Maybe in mine, it can actually do some good. Besides, I don't think Eva would like to share her abilities, either."

She shakes her head, no.

"I thought so." He writes something on the computer nearby for a couple minutes in which she floats in circles before he finally stops. "Okay. Gotta wait until JARVIS finishes working on these calibrations. So let's go back to you."

'Yeah?'

"So, tell me about your powers. Or the ones that come from your original Mew form."

She does so, explaining what she understands of each move as she got a brief summary of what each move does and, going on by what she remembers of some of the moves, sometimes it's totally different from what she remembers it said in the description that came from the game.

Well, this life isn't a game, so it's obvious it wouldn't work the same. Then, she shows some of the visible one, with him talking with JARVIS and recording what each does, their potency and what JARVIS registers from each.

It takes them until the end of the night to do every Mew move. At one am, she bullies Tony once again into going to sleep. She Sings to him when he gets stubborn before lifting him up with psychic into his bed.

Then she takes a nap as she knows Tony would wake up as soon as the effect is over and go back to work. Better to sleep as much as she can. Tomorrow would be when the boots of Tony's suit will be done, too, so yeah. She's excited.

Chapter Text

This time she wakes up at the same time Tony goes to the kitchen for some coffee. She slept on the couch, which was surprisingly comfy. She floats up with a yawn and sees his animated face as he gulps down the holy beverage. 'Not going to eat?'

He jolts slightly before turning towards her. "Eating is for the weak."

She gives him a dry look. 'Showering and changing clothes is for the week, too?'

"Exactly," he says, pointing at her with his cup. "Come on, let's go do some testing."

She sighs, grabs an apple from the kitchen, and follows him. Later, she will make him eat at least a fruit. He's too excited at the moment to be persuaded.

.

.

They decide to try Tony's little equipment first because if they wait any more, he will explode from impatience. She wanted to be the one filming at first, but decided it would be better if she's ready for any fall, in case he breaks his neck or something.

The robot called 'U' instead is the one filming, while Dummy is in charge of the fire extinguisher.

"Okay, let's do this right," he starts, and she gets ready her telekinetic hold on him, just in case. "Start mark, half a meter, and back and center. Dummy, look alive. You're on standby for fire safety. U, roll it."

He takes a deep breath and looks at her. Maybe for some encouragement, she doesn't know. Still, she nods and raises her paw in front of her. She then frowns.

"What's wrong?" he asks nervously.

'Hm? Oh, nothing. I just realized I don't have opposable thumbs, so I can't do a thumbs up.'

He chuckles, shaking his head, though her statement seems to calm him somewhat. He gets into position.

"Okay. Activate hand controls. We're gonna start off nice and easy. We're gonna see if 10% thrust capacity achieves lift." A gulp. "And three, two, one."

As soon as he gives the order, he flings back and almost hits the upper wall. Luckily, she grabbed him in time. She then slowly puts him down. She's about to say something to the shell shocked man when Dummy moves towards him and uses the fire extinguisher on him.

'Are you okay?'

"Peachy," he mumbles, before slowly getting up as he starts grabbing the tools to fix the flight stabilizers.

"Sir, Ms Potts will be in the lab in three minutes," JARVIS says.

Usually Tony wouldn't have JARVIS letting him know when Pepper is coming, but because of Eva, who is constantly floating in her Mew form, he has to be more cautious.

"When did she come?" Tony asks, distracted.

"She's been buzzing for a while now."

'Oh. So that was what that sound meant!"

He throws him a pointed look. "You noticed?"

She shrugs. 'With all this noise, I thought it was part of the equipment."

He gives her another pointed glance, and she transforms into Linoone, not saying anything as he continues working in the hands/arms of his suit.

They soon hear the door opening and click clack sound of her heels as she goes inside with a wrapped box and a cup of what she guesses is coffee in her hands.

He seems ready to greet her but he notices something in his gauntlets and he speaks with JARVIS instead, "Up two. All right, set that."

"I've been buzzing you." she says as soon as she's near Tony. "Did you hear the intercom?"

"Yeah, everything's… What?" he murmurs the last word as he looks even more closely at the data JARVIS is now showing.

Seeing she's getting ignored, she subtly rolls her eyes with a fond smile and changes the subject. "Obadiah's upstairs."

Eva grimaces at the same time Tony says, "Great!"

"What would you like me to tell him?"

Tony smiles, still distracted with the gauntlet as he leaves the tools aside and turns his hand around, bright light coming from the thruster.

"Great. I'll be right up."

"Okay." She nods before focusing her attention on the clear weapon in Tony's hand. "I thought you said you were done making weapons."

"I am. This is a flight stabilizer. It's completely harmless."

Knowing what's to come, she scoots away from the direction Tony's pointing. Just in time, as the stabilizer shoots, flinging Tony backwards and scaring Pepper. This time Eva doesn't stop him as doing so would be suspicious. "Okay, I didn't expect that."

Pepper exhales loudly and goes upstairs as Eva decides to go near and start sniffing him to see if he's injured. Luckily, he isn't. He tries to pat her head, but she evades, not wanting to be near the gauntlet after what just happened. Tony stops, looks at his hand and pulls the gauntlet off.

"Oops."

She shakes her head but follows behind as he goes upstairs. They find Obadiah playing the piano and Pepper working on the couch.

"How'd it go?" it's the first thing Tony says. She's too near the ground to see what's happening, but it must not be good if Tony's apologetic shrug is anything to go by. "It went that bad, huh?"

"Just because I brought pizza back from New York doesn't mean it went bad," he says, still playing the piano. And oh, pizza! She lived in Italy for some time in her previous life and wants to see how the pizza in New York is.

"Sure doesn't," he scoffs as he sits down. She doesn't follow his next movements as she goes to the pizza. But she does hear him murmur, "Oh, boy."

"It would have gone better if you were there."

"Uh-huh. You told me to lie low. That's what I've been doing. I lie low, and you take care of all…"

She wants to shake her head at how like a puppet Tony sounds in his own words. It makes her annoyed, a thing that increases in volume as she opens the pizza box and sees what's inside.

"Hey, come on. In public. The press." He comes over to sit next to Tony, who is watching her look of disgust with a raised eyebrow, trying to sound supporting, but she can easily feel how darkly pleased Obadiah is as he continues, "This was a board of directors meeting."

"This was a board of directors meeting?" Tony says, looking away from her.

"The board is claiming you have post-traumatic stress," he intones, as if talking to a child. The amusement she senses coming from him increases with his next words, "They're filing an injunction."

"A what?" he asks. She also tilts her head to the side, not knowing anything of business.

"They want to lock you out."

Now Tony looks affronted. "Why, 'cause the stocks dipped 40 points? We knew that was gonna happen."

"Fifty-six and a half," Pepper is the first to clarify.

Tony shrugs. "It doesn't matter. We own the controlling interest in the company."

"Tony, the board has rights, too," Obadiah says with a sigh. "They're making the case that you and your new direction isn't in the company's best interest."

"I'm being responsible! That's a new direction for me, for the company." Tony runs a hand through his hair, exasperated. "I mean, me on the company's behalf being responsible for the way that..."

Trailing off, Tony looks to the side as he murmurs, tired, "This is great."

.

Chapter Text

Tony stands up, taking the pizza box away from her. It leaves her pleased and annoyed, because while the looks were disappointing, she still wanted to taste it. Like people say, never judge a book for its cover, right?

She follows him with Obadiah behind them. "Oh, come on. Tony."

Tony squares his shoulders in that stubborn line she's seen in others. Obadiah keeps calling him once more, but Tony just says, "I'll be in the shop."

Now she can feel real annoyance coming from Obadiah and Eva is subconsciously ready for a fight even if she knows it won't happen. "Hey, hey! Hey, Tony. Listen. I'm trying to turn this thing around, but you gotta give me something."

Uh-oh. She puts between them when Obadiah moves to grab Tony's shoulder. He throws her an annoyed glare, but ignores her quickly in favor of Tony. "Something to pitch them, you know? Let me have the engineers analyze that. Draw up some specs."

She looks up at Tony, glad to see him shake his head. "No. No, absolutely not."

The annoyance grows into something slightly greedy and malicious. "It'll give me a bone to throw the boys in New York!"

"This one stays with me. That's it, Obie. Forget it."

Obadiah huffs as he takes the pizza box. "All right, well, this stays with me, then."

Tony glances at her when she whines and gives Obadiah a raised eyebrow. The large man rolls his eyes.

"Go on, here, you can have a piece, then." Tony grabs one so, but then his hand hesitates. "Okay, take two."

"Thank you."

Obadiah waves his free hand before looking in the lab's direction. "You mind if I come down there and see what you're doing?"

"Good night, Obie."

.

.

She turns once again into Mew as soon as they are down in the lab. Tony hands her one of the pieces of pizza and she floats it closer to her mouth. Her mouth opens, but before she can take a bite, Tony says, "You really don't like hum, huh?"

She tenses up. "That obvious?"

"I'm a genius, after all."

"And so humble, too."

"Yeah, yeah. Spit it out."

"I already told you." She sighs, putting her pizza slightly away from her. "I can feel the echo of his emotions. And they're not pretty."

He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Finish your pizza. We will work next on the first transformation you did."

Eva takes a bite of the pizza, and it's... passable. Not as fluffy and thick as the one that she tasted in Italy. Actually, it tastes like the one she used to make when she wanted one with little effort done in it, made from Mexican tortilla as base.

"So how it is?"

She looks up. 'It's good, though not something I'd buy for myself.'

"Yeah, sure, but it does help fill the stomach."

"I will still cook something later. Just this won't be able to feed us."

"Awesome, then." He finishes his pizza with quick bites before cleaning his hands with a rag that's filled with oil. She looks at him wryly, but he ignores her as he claps his hands. Okay, so! Transformation, if you would."

Nodding, she takes a small breath and transforms into a Milotic. This time, though, she concentrates on her movements so as to not look silly. Tony would never let her live it down otherwise.

"Oh, cute. How's this one called?"

'Milotic,' she says as she carefully glides back to where there's more space. Apparently, Milotic is bigger than she gave it credit for. Tony moves forward and touches her fins.

"Oh. So it's not scaled hair, but fins. Huh. Okay, I'm no biologist, but it's interesting. Anyway, let's go for the cool powered stuff."

She nods and starts with a simple Water Pulse towards the metal targets Tony prepared beforehand. When it leaves an indent in the metal, she croons. 'This is Water Pulse. It has a chance of confusing someone if it's hit by it.'

"If not outright destroying it. Was this one the strongest you could make or are we still following the half power rule from yesterday?"

She tilts her head to where there's a destroyed old machinery that wasn't able to survive her Pound. 'Half the power, of course.'

"Okay, next."

She thinks about it. 'Umm, next would be Flail, Splash, and Tackle, which come from the base evolution of Milotic: Feebas, who is a fish.'

"Oh. Those attacks sound..."

'Yeah, I know. They're not really useful, except for maybe tackle.'

"What kind of Pokemon is Feebas, anyway? Does it have any other attacks or..."

'It's like a normal big fish. Just uglier.'

He looks at her form. "How ugly are we talking about?"

'Well, if Milotic is considered one of the prettiest Pokemon, Feebas is considered the ugliest.'

"Huh... Next!"

'Wrap is pretty self explanatory and until the machinery to resist pressure and the one for hits arrive, we won't know how much force I do.' She sighs before brightening up. 'At least the next is cool. It's called Water Gun.'

Not waiting for a prompt, she shots a torrent of water towards the target. It manages to bend it, somewhat.

Tony whistles. "JARVIS, send me the info on the power of that shot."

"Done, sir."

"Okay. For the next one, I would need you to cover your ears."

When Tony follows suit, she uses Disarming Voice. And it hits even if she doesn't focus on doing so. 'This one is Disarming Voice. It never fails to hit.'

"Ow. We're lucky you talk by using your mind or I wouldn't be able to hear you."

She laughs and continues by doing a Twister. 'This is a dragon type move, Twister.'

"There are dragons in your world?"

Thinking of Dreepy and Goomy, she grimaces. 'They're not the types of dragon you've got in mind.'

"Have you ever transformed into one?"

'Nope. Do you want me to...' she trails off, unsure.

"No, no. Better not." He shakes his head. "Okay, I think I can hear better. Let's move to a more fun power."

She thinks for a while before looking at him and winking. There are hearts coming out and they're (ugh) pink. Tony gets a dazed look before stepping forward involuntarily. Then he stops, shakes his head. He blinks and turns his head to the side with a mildly horrified gaze. "I had thoughts I shouldn't on a pretty snake. I need some time."

He goes to the couch near the computer and lies down, groaning.

She turns into a Mew and floats towards. 'Are you fine? It's supposed to be a move to make the other infatuated.'

"Yeah. My mind is just a double-edged sword. I just realized it's too dirty." He sighs. "Can you Sing to me? I never have dreams when you sing to me."

Swallowing, she Sings.

Chapter Text

Luckily, Tony felt better after sleeping and having a nice dinner. He was once again giddy and wanted to see Attract being used once again. Something about trying to gain resistance. She refused, of course. She doesn't want him to gain a serpent fetish or something because of her.

She still trained, thought we decided it to not use Rain Dance and Surf indoors and to leave Hydro Pump for when the machinery comes as her Water Gun is already strong and they don't want to see how the targets would fare against Hydro Pump.

Safeguard helps with status conditions, so it's hard to see in action, and Recover she used it for last. It's supposed to help with the HP, but she wanted to see if it helps with stamina, too. Which it does, unlike Aqua Ring, who is also supposed to recharge HP constantly for a short time.

.

.

They spent the next couple of days like that, working on both projects at the same time. Usually Tony writes what she's sure is the prototype of the Mark 2, while she reads about this world's history and other policies about meta-humans. Then, when JARVIS does the calculations, they try another form.

Close to two weeks, they finish with the ones that she has so far transformed. They decide to rest for the day with her training. Though they are unsure if continuing with it to perfect her moves or to choose another Pokemon to transform. Obviously another Psychic as Hatterene has confirmed that it doesn't hurt as much as transforming in non-Psychics.

Tony is now preparing for another flight test. This time, he's wearing both the hand and booths stabilizers. He is more confident than the first time he tried it thanks to her, who is ready to grab him in case he goes flying away.

"Okay. Day 11, test 37, configuration 2.0." he says confidently. He's pretty sure he's done it right this time, after all. He then sighs. "For lack of a better option, Dummy is still on fire safety. If you douse me again, and I'm not on fire, I'm donating you to a city college."

Dummy beeps sadly, and she tries to hide her smile. She knows Tony is too emotionally attached to Dummy as to follow in his promise. Tony sees her trembling lips and rolls his eyes.. "All right, nice and easy. Seriously, just gonna start off with 1% thrust capacity."

He starts the counting and when he reaches one - he lifts off the ground, hovering for a bit with a smile, before landing. Dummy as always follows his movements and she giggles.

"Har. Har." He huffs, before pointing at Dummy. "Okay. Please don't follow me around with it, either, 'cause I feel like I'm gonna catch on fire spontaneously. If something happens, then come in."

She pats Dummy's head when he keeps its position. Tony at least doesn't sound as exasperated as he continues, "Okay, let's bring it up to 2.5."

He once again does the countdown, following the same routine of the other times. He lifts off the ground with less control than before. She straightens up as she watches him sharply. He's hovering all over the lab but doesn't seem to be in danger. Though he's approaching the two cars that are still in the lab because Tony wanted to add them a bit of oomph!

"Okay, this is where I don't want to be! Not the car, not the car!" She giggles, but does steer him away from the car. Though he does pass a table with instruments and semi-destroys it. "Okay, could be worse!"

'Don't tempt Murphy!'

He shots her a glare, but reluctantly nods as he lands. Dummy is there, near, ready to use the fire extinguisher.

Tony is quick to point at him with a finger. "No!"

She giggles, waiting for him to cut the camera before approaching. 'So, you can fly now?'

That effectively changes his humor. "Yeah. Do you know what it means?"

'That you and your ego will finally be at the same height?'

He quirks a smile. "Nope, my furry friend. It means it's time to suit up!"

Then, Tony fist bumps.

The chuunibyou is strong on this one, indeed.

.

.

He does suit up, and it looks as cool as she imagined. Now he's talking with JARVIS about the display inside the mask and the interface and things she honestly should pay attention to, but she can't. She's in too much awe. Because this would be almost impossible to do in her other life. However, Tony did it in a couple months if we consider his time in Afghanistan.

Just, woah.

"All right, what do you say?" says Tony, and she finally looks up at where his eyes are supposed to be. "Finished ogling me, Eva?"

She rolls her eyes, but still smiles at him and claps happily. 'I've got to admit that it's really cool, Tony.'

SHe can hear the smugness in his tone as he turns around and says, "Can we start the virtual walk-around?"

"Importing preferences and calibrating virtual environment."

"Do a check on control surfaces."

"As you wish," says JARVIS. "Test complete. Preparing to power down and begin diagnostics."

"Uh, yeah," he starts, giving her a quick glance as he whispers. "Tell you what. Do a weather and ATC check. Start listening in on ground control."

Unfortunately for Tony, she hears him. Also, JARVIS, pretending to not understand him, answers him through the speakers, "Sir, there are still terabytes of calculations needed before an actual flight is..."

"JARVIS! Sometimes you got to run before you can walk."

She sits up. 'Tony—'

"Ready? In three, two, one."

And he goes out.

She groans out loud, grabbing her head between her paws. There is a corner where Tony threw a shirt and she goes there. She quickly changes into human, as that's the only form where she can talk with JARVIS.

"Okay, JARVIS. How's it going?"

"Sir is currently trying to break the altitude record for fixed wing flight. Though there is a potentially fatal  buildup of ice occurring."

She sighs. "When I transform again, I'll put the bluetooth in my ear, be ready to guide me to the place he is falling."

"Of course, Miss Eva. Though I would advise you to hurry, as I just lost contact with him."

She transforms into Mew and goes out of the garage, ready to catch him before he breaks his neck.

Chapter Text

She's following JARVIS directions at her highest speed, when she sees Tony falling. He's a little too far away but she still manages to slow down his fall enough for the suit to activate once again. Luckily this time, it was before he reached the buildings, not even close to the traffic.

He turns around and goes towards her.

'We're going to your house. Now.'

The bluetooth, which previously had JARVIS' voice in it, let out a slight crackle before Tony's voice comes out of it. "Yeah, yeah. Okay."

He sounds tired as they reach the mansion. She sees him fly quicker, towards the roof. He stops above it and for a moment she thinks he's waiting for her until he turns off the thrusters and goes down through the roof.

She tries to catch him, but only manages to reduce the impact of whatever object that now is under him. Quickly flying through the hole, she see what was the piano destroyed on the first floor. Then, down in the lab, he finds Tony on top of a ruined car with Dummy dousing him with the fire extinguisher.

'Are you okay?' she says, as she grabs the headpiece and slowly takes it out of his head.

"Peachy," he croaks. "Though if you tell me 'I told you so', I probably will have to take drastic measures.

That means petting, which she likes, but it's still too weird to let out her inhibitions out like that. So she makes that motion of zipping her mouth close.

"Uh huh. I can still see the smugness in your eyes."

"You didn't say anything of not gloating silently." She rolls her eyes. "No matter. I'll go to the kitchen for some ice pack. Can you take the rest of the suit off?

He nods with a sigh.

"Well, at least it will be easier, with that hole as a shortcut.".

"You're killing me, really," he deadpans.

.

When she returns from her trip to the kitchen, ice in hand, she finds Tony observing the package Pepper left there a while ago while he talks with JARVIS. "Main transducer feels sluggish at plus 40 altitude. Hull pressurization is problematic. I'm thinking icing is the probable factor."

"A very astute observation, sir. Perhaps, if you intend to visit other planets, we should improve the exosystems."

The techno-babble that Tony continues to say flights right over her head. She only knows what are they talking about when JARVIS says, "Shall I render using proposed specifications?"

Tony turns on the TV as he answers with a "Thrill me."

"—Tonight's red-hot red carpet is right here at the Disney Concert Hall, where Tony Stark's third annual benefit for the Firefighter's Family Fund has become the place to be for L.A.'s high society."

Tony looks at her dubiously before asking out loud, "JARVIS, did we get an invite for that?"

"I have no record of an invitation, sir."

" ... hasn't been seen in public since his bizarre and highly controversial press conference. Some claim he's suffering from posttraumatic stress and has been bedridden for weeks. Whatever the case may be, no one expects an appearance from him tonight."

"The render is complete," JARVIS says, pulling Tony out of his thoughts.

Tony motions for her to get near and they both see his new suit. "A little ostentatious, don't you think?"

"What was I thinking?" JARVIS says dryly, sarcasm heavy in his tone. "You're usually so discreet."

He smirks down at her. "What do you think?"

'I think it needs some red.'

"You heard the lady, JARVIS. Throw a little hot-rod red in there."

"Yes, that should help you keep a low profile," JARVIS says, though a couple seconds later, he adds. "The render is complete."

And she can see the image of the future Iron Man in all its flashy glory. She kind of feels proud of her friend here.

"Hey, I like it. Fabricate it. Paint it."

"Commencing automated assembly. Estimated completion time is five hours."

He smiles happily before exiting the lab, saying, "Don't wait up for me, honey."

She floats towards him. 'You're going to that Firefighter Fund place?'

"Yeah, why not?" he shrugs with one shoulder. Though he stops his walking and turns to see her better. "Wanna accompany me?"

She tilts her head. 'I don't think they let 'pets' inside.'

He rolls his eyes. "Not as a pet, but as a human."

They go in the direction of his room, where he quickly chooses for one of the hundred of suits inside his walk-in closet.

'I wouldn't mind, really. But I don't have clothes for that type of event. Or even an identity that won't be dug by the press.'

"Yeah, about that." He turns around to check for some cufflinks, obviously hiding his face away from her. "I kind of made you an identity."

'... What?'

"Don't worry, nothing invasive. You can change a couple of details, but the main thing, maybe not so much. Well, the point is now you only need to choose your name and you're set. Though I chose your last name already, which is Lamat"

'Lamat?'

"Yeah, well, you look clearly South American. So I thought about using a Mayan word and Lamat is the eighth day of the Mayan calendar. It represents 'renewal' and 0new beginnings' and well, with you now being in this world, I thought it fit."

She smiles. 'What about the clothes?'

"Got that fixed, too. There's a walk-in closet in the room I pointed you to use, like, a week ago?"

Right. She keeps sleeping on the couch and just gave it a passing glance.

'How did you even got my measures?'

"You really want to know?" He smirks slyly at her while waggling his eyebrows. "Anyway, pick a name. And no, you can't choose Eva as there are some who already know I've got a ferret called Eva. It'd be strange if I got a friend with the same name, too."

She hums. She chose Eva because it defined Mew; the Mother of life and all. However, she already used the name of one wife of Adam. Why not use the other one? After all, as a human, she will have more freedom to do more things. And the first wife of Adam wanted freedom from him. She likes Tony as a friend, but wants to have a life away from him, too, so maybe her name will suit her well.

She looks up at him. 'I choose Lilith.'

"Huh. Well, I know little about religion, but you've had Eve and now Lilith?" He whistles. "Well, she was the first independent woman. Wanna be like that?"

She nods with a smile. 'I wouldn't want to always impose on you more than I do, Tony.'

"You're not imposing. I like your company. And your food. Still, good name and goal. Though I'm sure she met a tragic fate."

She smirks. 'I'm not afraid of some pain and hardship. Besides, this shows I've got better naming sense than you, I know.'

"Hey, I resent that. Also, quickly change. We will meet in the garage. Chop chop now!"

With a giggle, she flies away.

Chapter Text

In the end, she chooses a red dress that contrasts nicely with her hair. It's a bit tight, especially near the hips and legs, but maybe that's because the skirt is mermaid style. Though near the feet, the dress flows outwards until it reaches the ground, which is good, as she's wearing small boots instead of heels. It's sleeveless, but it doesn't show that much cleavage.

There are no accessories in sight, so she goes without. It goes well because of the gold design that it has in the chest.

Surprisingly, there is makeup. She never liked to use much, so she simply makes two lines that follow the form of her eye with the eyeliner and gives it a wing as a finisher. Add some gloss on the lips and that's it.

"Woah."

She looks up. Tony is there, standing under the door of the bathroom.

"Is it late?" she says, putting the makeup inside the drawers she found them.

"Nope. I just finished. Wanted to see how much it will take."

"I'm done, too."

He blinks at her before giving a glance over and nodding. "Yeah, you look good. I thought it was gonna take longer, to be honest."

"Because I'm a woman?"

He looks aside and coughs. "Uh. Hey, look at the time. It's time to go."

"Sure it is," she murmurs with a snort as she sees him walk away. "Coward."

Still. She follows him.

.

.

She's nervous as Tony stops the car. "Just remember to wait until I open your door."

"Beware that I may grab your arm with a little too much strength."

Tony huffs as she opens the door. "I'll be sure to flex, then."

It takes him just a couple of seconds to reach her door and she uses to take a deep breath. Then, she tries to use the move Amnesia.

It works somewhat.

She's then exiting the car and walking down the red carpet with Tony's arm between her hands. The camera's flash lights their way as they walk. She smiles while reporters take pictures and ask questions.

They soon hear Obadiah's voice and Tony walks slightly faster. "... Weapons manufacturing is only one small part of what Stark Industries is all about, and our partnership with the fire and rescue community..."

A random woman blocks their way. She glances first at Eva, then at Tony. "Hey, Tony, remember me?"

Tony Stark ignores her and goes to Obadiah, who is still still talking, "We're going to have a great quarter."

"What's the world coming to when a guy's got to crash his own party?" Tony says as soon as they notice Obadiah's gaze on them.

"Look at you. Hey, what a surprise." There's a smile on his lips, but she can still feel something sour coming from him. It's not as clear as when she was a Mew, but... it's still not pleasant. "And who's this pretty lady?"

He extends his hand to take hers and she tries to not hesitate too much as she reaches for him. "Hello, I'm Lilith."

"Miss Lilith, a pleasure." He kisses the back of her hand, and she has to restrain herself from recoiling. Luckily, she used Amnesia before. Tony seems to feel her discomfort though, because he pulls her back.

"I'll see you inside."

Obadiah follows behind them until he's next to Tony. "Hey. Listen, take it slow, all right? I think I got the board right where we want them."

"You got it." He nods as they go to the bar. "Just cabin fever. I'll just be a minute."

Those seem to be the magic words, as Obadiah soon leaves them.

"Smooth," she murmurs at him.

"I know." He calls for the barman. "Give me a Scotch. And for the lady, err..."

She rolls her eyes. "For me a Hugo, thank you."

"Hoh? I thought you didn't like sweet things?"

"I like my drinks sweet, only."

He snort. "Complicated tongue you've got there. Talking about tongues, I'm starving."

She's about to retort, confused, when someone calls Tony from next to them. They both turn and she sees Coulson in his balding glory.

"Yeah...?" Tony says, trailing off at the end.

"I'm Agent Coulson."

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, yeah." She gives him a funny look at his trying-to-remember face. "The guy from the.."

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"God, you need a new name for that."

She snorts, bringing the attention towards her. She blushes but still smiles. "I think SHIELD would suit it better, in my opinion. After all, it seems someone already made great pains in making it spell like that."

"Yeah, I hear that a lot," he says dryly, before turning towards Tony, serious. "Listen, I know this must be a trying time for you, but we need to debrief you. There's still a lot of unanswered questions, and time can be a factor with these things."

"Let's just put something on the books."

Tony shrugs, but Agent Coulson is insistent. "How about the 24th at 7:00 p.m. at Stark Industries?"

"Tell you what," he starts, with that distracted smile as the bartender gives them their drinks. Though before he receives, he sees something that takes his attention. She turns around and is not surprised to see Pepper there, approaching them in a beautiful dress. "You got it. You're absolutely right. Well, I'm going to go to my assistant, and we'll make a date."

Tony gives gives him one nod and then they're off to Pepper, who gives her a glance, especially at her hair, and then dismisses her, probably thinking she's Tony's new conquest.

"You look fantastic!" Tony says, the hold on her waist tightening in what she's beginning to associate with nervousness when Pepper. "I didn't recognize you."

Pepper raises an eyebrow at them. When Tony doesn't lose her hold on her, she sighs and whispers, "What are you doing here?"

Tony shrugs. "Just avoiding government agents."

"I saw."

"Yes, yes." He then gives her a once over. "Where'd you get that dress?"

That does distract her enough to smile. "Oh, it was a birthday present."

"That's great."

Pepper glances away for one second before looking back at him. "From you, actually."

Oh shit. They're getting into mushy and awkward territory. She's feeling like a third wheel now.

"Well, I got great taste."

Uh - oh. The roguish smile is here. Shit.

She coughs, interrupting their awkward flirting. They both look at her. Pepper with a raised eyebrow and Tony with a guilty expression. She doesn't know why, and she really doesn't care. So, rolling her eyes, she says. "Well, I feel like a third wheel now. Why don't you go dance with the lady, Tony? I've got a Hugo waiting for me over there."

Tony sharpens his gaze. "Who?"

She raises both eyebrows, wishing her eyebrow game was as strong as Pepper's. "Hugo. The drink."

"Oh. Yeah." He clears his throat and slowly releases his hold on her. He gives her one last searching look before glancing back at Pepper. "You want to dance?"

Pepper seems surprised, at her or him, she doesn't know. "Oh, no."

"All right, come on." Tony extends his hand at her and Eva uses that time to turn around and leave. When she reaches the bar, the bartender is already waiting for her with the Hugo. He's looking at her pityingly.

She frowns at him and takes her drink. Then she stops.

Oh.

Chapter Text

The bartender must have thought Tony had changed her for another woman. Which, fair, Tony is considered a playboy. Still, she can't help but feel offended on his behalf, even if she's not sure if he's still a playboy. He did get together with Pepper in later movies, after all.

She decides to go with upset on her friend's behalf. So she drinks her Hugo, glaring at him and probably giving more ammunition to the fact she's a castaway. She doesn't care as the drink is really good. Maybe she will forgive the bartender, after all. He does make good drinks.

Also, she's hungry, too. So she can try some of the small food on a stick that they've got around here. She's grabbing one of the cutest when she feels someone standing next to her. She glances and sees Tony. As he watches her, she puts it in her mouth.

It's that small, yes. Unsurprisingly good, too.

"Are you mad at me?"

She frowns. She's still eating, so she speaks inside his mind. 'No, why should I?'

"I kind of ditched you for a second there."

She rolls her eyes, wanting to say how she's not bothered, as that's his future wife he's talking about. Though she would have been annoyed if it was a random girl he ditched her for. There's the 'bro before hoes' rule, after all. She's a bro.

"I'm fine. Anyway, how it went?"

"... How it went?"

She nods, a cheerful smile on her lips. She usually doesn't like gossip, but Tony and Pepper are a cute couple. "Yeah, like, what did you talk about?"

"She thinks I wouldn't be able to tie my shoes without me," he says dryly.

"Well, she's not entirely wrong." At his incredulous look, she amends, "I mean, I saw you do it, so I know you can, but do you even know your social security number?"

"She said the same, actually." He smiles. "Were you spying on us?"

Huh. Probably she remembered that from the movie, then. "Not really."

He doesn't seem to believe her, if his widening smile is anything to go by. "Anyway, she was afraid of how others would see her just because we danced. I mean, it was just dance, right?"

"I mean, I got looked at pitifully because people thought you ditched me for another girl, so I can understand her worries. You've got a reputation, after all."

"Yeah, I know." He sighs. "But I changed. I don't think I want anything frivolous anymore. I'm not.—I mean, I can't even sleep well without nightmares. I want something steady, I think. But it will be hard if everyone thinks that way."

He looks upset, so she touches his arm. "Everything will be fine, Tony. Don't worry, you've got people who care about you and they are the only opinions that matter. And if you want frivolous sex or get steady with someone, that's okay, too."

Then she sees Pepper approaching them and, not wanting to be seen so intimate with the future wife, she lets go of Tony. He looks up at her, surprised, though not as surprised as Pepper when she sees her.

Tony turns to where Eva's looking and sees his assistant there.

"Oh, hi, Pepper. Did you get your vodka, then?"

"Vodka martini, yes." she tips her drink and Eva sees the three olives inside it.

Ew. Olives, her worst nemesis.

"You're glaring," Tony says, sounding amused.

She doesn't tear her gaze away from the drink. "I hate olives."

"Sure you do."

Pepper finally looks at her with other emotion besides dismissal. "Excuse me for not introducing myself before. I'm Pepper."

"I'm—"

A woman stops her from continuing. She goes directly to Tony and smiles at him with the fakest smile she's seen."Fancy seeing you here."

"Oh, Carrie," Tony says, looking unsure.

"Christine."

Tony looks uncomfortable. "That's right."

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here tonight. Can I at least get a reaction from you?"

"Panic," Tony says, glancing at Eva. "I would say panic is my reaction."

"'Cause I was referring to your company's involvement in this latest atrocity."

Oh. Right. I remember this. Shit.

"Yeah. They just put my name on the invitation. I don't know what to tell you."

Christine lets out a low laugh. "You know, I actually almost bought it. Hook, line and sinker."

"... I was out of town for a couple months, in case you didn't hear."

Christine rolls her eyes before rudely placing a couple of photos onto his chest. "Is this what you call accountability? It's a town called Gulmira. Heard of it?"

Tony looks at it and frowns, his shoulder becoming tense. She doesn't need to look to know what's in there. She puts a supporting hand on Tony's shoulder and it does help, if marginally.

"When were these taken?"

"Yesterday."

Tony looks up. "I didn't approve any shipment."

Christine shrugs with a roll of her eyes, as if she doesn't believe him. "Well, your company did."

This time Eva moves forward between them, not liking the disgust in her tone. "He's not his company, lady. And I would like if you could move away."

Christine scoffs at her, but before she can say whatever mean thing she's thinking about, Obadiah steps in. "Please, do you mind?"

"Have you seen these pictures?" Tony is quick to say, once Christine leaves and Obadiah is left with Pepper and her. "What's going on in Gulmira?"

"Tony, Tony," Obadiah says in the tone of a child trying to correct his son. She hates it. "You can't afford to be this naïve."

Tony glares for the first time at Obadiah. He then grabs her around the waist and moves to leave. "You know what? I was naïve before, when they said, 'Here's the line. We don't cross it. This is how we do business'. However, if we're double-dealing under the table..."

"Tony, your picture, please!" a reporter shouts as soon as they step out.

Obadiah laughs as he approaches close. "Let's take a picture. Come on. Picture time! Tony, could you leave your girl, please?"

"No, I don't think so," he says, but still moves near for better photos with her.

"Who do you think locked you out? I was the one who filed the injunction against you," Obadiah whispers in a way she finds hard to follow. "It was the only way I could protect you."

She wants to snort, however Tony's tightening grip on her stops her. Wanting to punch Obadiah, but choosing to smile instead, she leans into Tony and says loud enough for others to hear, "Ready to go?"

That snaps Tony out of his thoughts. He nods, but doesn't say anything as they go.

Chapter Text

It's not until they're halfway to the Mansion that Tony chooses to turn the small TV inside the car. "JARVIS search for any news about Gulmira."

Instead of answering, JARVIS changes the channel. "—The 15-mile hike to the outskirts of Gulmira can only be described as a descent into hell, into a modern-day Heart of Darkness. Simple farmers and herders from peaceful villages have been driven from their homes, displaced from their lands by warlords emboldened by a new-found power. Villagers have been forced to take shelter in whatever crude dwellings they can find in the ruins of other villages, or here in the remnants of an old Soviet smelting plant. Recent violence has been attributed to a group of foreign fighters referred to by locals as the Ten Rings. As you can see, these men are heavily armed and on a mission. A mission that could prove fatal to anyone who stands in their way. With no political will or international pressure, there's very little hope for these refugees. Around me, a woman begging for news on her husband, who was kidnapped by insurgents, either forced to join their militia. Desperate refugees clutch yellowed photographs, holding them up to anyone who will stop. A child's simple question, 'Where are my mother and father?' There's very little hope for these refugees, refugees who can only wonder who, if anyone, will help."

When it's over, she turns it off. "It's not your fault, you know."

"It does feel like it."

She frowns as she feels his scent turn sour, though it's different from Obadiah's. She wants to turn into a Mew to identify better his feelings but doesn't think it's good to do so at this moment.

Sighing, she squares her shoulders as she looks him in the eye. "Stop this pity party. You can't do anything for what just happened. What you can change is the present with the hand you were dealt with. Just remember you will never be able to cover the sun with a hand. You knew there was something fishy going on since the start, didn't you?"

He's slow to nod, but he still does so.

"Well, you could have policed your company better, true. There's nothing you can do about that, though. What you can do instead is look for the people going against your orders. Also, you made an armor. What were you planning to do with it?"

He startles and glances at her. The mansion is already in sight, but she ignores it. She can see the fierce determination lighting Tony's eyes.

She smiles, even though she's a little worried. Even more so when they reach the lab and Tony starts to put the armor on. He's halfway done when JARVIS says, "Sir, Mis Potts is in the garage."

They both look at each other before Tony slowly nods. "Let her in."

She tilts her head and transforms into a Mew.

"I'll need your help, Eva," he says when she's now a Linoone. "I'm sorry I'm asking you this, but I need you to protect Pepper."

'What do you mean?'

"I need someone to hack Obadiah's files, and she's the only one who can safely go inside. Now, going out is going to be the problem because I'm sure dear Obie will notice. I'm asking you to protect her. Please."

She frowns. Didn't this scene happen after Tony returned from Gulmira? She's not sure anymore. It's been a while since she's watched the film.

It doesn't matter. He looks up at him and nods, just in time, too. The door opens and in comes a still beautifully dressed Pepper. She stops as soon as she sees Tony, who now only needs the headpiece and he will be done.

"What's going on here?" she asks with a hint of panic in her tone.

Tony smiles dryly before the mask is in place. "Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."

She breathes in, ready to give Tony a piece of her mind. However, Tony interrupts her. "Hey. You mind if I send you on an errand?"

Pepper loses her tense posture and shifts into something more familiar and professional. "Yes?"

"I need you to go to my office. You're going to hack into the mainframe and you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests."

Tony walks forward, which is an intimidating sight with all the armor on. To her credit, while Pepper slightly leans back, she doesn't back down. Not even when Tony walks closer to the desk with a device in it. "This is a lock chip. This'll get you in. It's probably under Executive Files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive, in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading."

"... And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?"

"Same drill." Tony shrugs. "They've been dealing under the table, and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them."

Pepper hesitates. Eva can see and sense how conflicted she's about this. She blinks twice before looking earnestly at Tony. "Tony, you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if you're going to get hurt."

Her words are strong, but Tony is determined. He shakes his head. "There is nothing except this. There's no art opening. There is no benefit. There is nothing to sign. There is the next mission and nothing else."

"Is that so?" she mutters, before she raises her voice, this time firm. "Well, then, I quit."

There's a long silence before Tony takes the mask covering his face and looks at her, his eyes sad. "You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction. And now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way, you're going to walk out?"

She shakes her head. "You're going to kill yourself, Tony. I'm not going to be a part of it."

"That's why you don't get, I shouldn't be alive. Unless it was for a reason." Pepper gives him a look, but Tony's gaze hardens. "I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right."

Eva has been looking at them like a tennis match, nervous. She already changed the timeline and didn't know if Pepper will accept or not.

Luckily, Pepper doesn't let her down. She grabs the drive back up.

"You're all I have, too, you know."

Tony glances at Eva, before giving Pepper a 'Thank you'.

He puts the mask on and turns around. However, he stops and glances over his armored shoulder. "By the way, would you take Eva with you?"

.

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Chapter Text

They first go Pepper's house for her to change her clothes. Though instead of changing into proper office assistant clothes, she puts on a pajama.

She tilts her head when Pepper can see her. She doesn't need to talk to her for her to talk. "It's a bit late to go to the office. It's closed. I'm going to take a nap and then at first light we're going, I promise."

Okay, that sounds reasonable.

After all, it was almost two am when they went out of the party. Now it must be four or something. Still, in case Pepper wants to leave her inside her house, she won't fall asleep. She promised to protect her.

.

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A couple hours later, Pepper takes her to her car, where she keeps pumping herself up into doing the mission. She keeps listening to the radio for any news. And sure enough, when they're close to the building, although there's nothing about Gulmira, yet yet they hear Rhodey's voice saying, "An unfortunate training exercise involving an F-22 Raptor occurred yesterday. I am pleased to report that the pilot was not injured. As for the unexpected turn of events on the ground in Gulmira, it is still unclear who or what intervened, but I can assure you that the United States government was not involved."

They park in the spot that says Ms. Potts, but don't go out of the car, choosing to hear it until the end.

When it's over, and they go out, she can see how tense Pepper is. She makes sure to brush her sides against her legs, though it doesn't seem to help much.

Soon, they're inside an office, with Pepper turning the computer on and looking at it. She hears her mumbling after a couple minutes about some Sector 16, but nothing else.

At least not until a voice comes through the tiny speaker. It's in another language, but she can recognize the harsh tone and the name 'Tony Stark'. Going on by Pepper's horrified gasp, it must be something serious.

"Oh my God," Pepper mumbles as Eva senses that sour feeling she gets whenever Obadiah is close.

She softly yips at Pepper. It attracts her attention, so she points to the door. Pepper clicks something and the video's audio stops. They hear steps coming closer, so Pepper quickly takes the drive out. Just in time for Obadiah to walk in.

"So, what are we going to do about this?" he says, as if continuing a conversation they were having. "I know what you're going through, Pepper. Tony. He always gets the good stuff, doesn't he? I was so happy when he came home. It was like we got him back from the dead." He sighs, almost dramatically. "Now I realize, well, Tony never really did come home, did he? He left a part of himself in that cave. It breaks my heart."

She now wants to break Obadiah's heart, though she can settle for his legs, too.

"Well, he's a complicated person. He's been through a lot." She clears her throat as she starts to move away, Eva following her steps. "I think he'll be all right."

"You are a very rare woman, Pepper. Tony doesn't know how lucky he is."

"Thank you." She points outside with the newspaper in her hand. "I'd better get back there."

"Is that today's paper?" Obadiah asks when Pepper is almost close to the door.

She's giving him her back, so Eva is the only one to see her lightly taking a breath in. "Yes."

"Do you mind if I take it for a while?"

Pepper turns around and gives it to him. "Not at all."

With a nod, Obadiah turns around to his desk. He waves a hand. "Take care."

They flee. However, when they are a couple of steps away from Obadiah's office, they meet Agent Coulson.

"Ms. Potts? We had an appointment. Did you forget about our appointment?"

Pepper is almost on the verge of a panic attack. Still, she grabs Coulson's arm and guides him forward. "Nope, right now. Come with me."

"Right now?"

"We're going to have it right now. Yeah, walk with me."

Agent Coulson looks dubious, but still nods. "Okay."

"I'm going to give you the meeting of your life," she mutters as they take the elevator. When the door closes, Pepper lets him go, her body sagging against the walls.

"Is everything okay, Miss Potts?"

She shakes her head. "No, it isn't. I just discovered someone sent the hit to take Tony out."

Coulson's placid smile disappears, his gaze turning sharper. "Care to explain. I'm one of the agents who is dealing with his disappearance, after all."

Pepper hesitates for a moment. However, she doesn't know she has her for protection, so she nods.

"We need to go to a secure place, first," she says when the elevator's doors open.

"Of course."

And so they follow Coulson, with Pepper talking as soon as they go out of the Stark building. They spent almost an hour doing so, with her glancing everywhere in case of any attacks. However, she stops when she doesn't hear Pepper's panicked voice.

"Tony? Tony, are you there? Hello?" Pepper says on the phone. She then stays silent for a second before putting the device away from her ear. She then looks at Coulson. "The call went through. However, it stopped midway. A horrible sound came in next."

Shit.

She remembers this part.

Ignoring them both, she runs.

"Eva? Eva!" she hears Pepper's voice yelling, but she doesn't care. She reaches a secluded enough place and transforms into Mew. Then she flies, wishing to be able to Teleport.

She will have to transform into another Pokemon soon. But now is not the time.

Later.

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Chapter Text

When Eva reaches the Mansion, she goes inside by the hole Tony made with his flight test. JARVIS doesn't greet her, which is suspicious as well as worrisome. However, she doesn't have time to wonder. She hears a thud coming from the lab and she goes there to find Tony crawling down the stairs, his face pale.

She flies towards him and throws a Healing Pulse at him. It's enough to give him some breathing room.

He points to the lab with a trembling finger.

"Reactor," he croaks.

Her gaze moves from the hole in his chest to the inside of her lab where the present Pepper left rest. She doesn't berate herself for forgetting that. Instead, she flies towards it and pulls it inside Tony.

He gulps air as soon as the reactor connects.

"Thank you," he says with his head thrown back against the wall. He takes another breather in which she helps him go up with telekinesis.

"Tony?" a voice calls out.

They look upstairs at the voice that's getting nearer. She's currently under Tony's chin as he rest his whole body against her own little one.

"It's Rhodey," Tony whispers.

'Do you think it's time to meet?'

Tony looks down at her before shaking her head. "Not now, at least."

She nods and proceeds to help him lean against the wall, before transforming into Linoone.

"Tony?" Rhodey's voice continues to sound. Though this time Tony answers with 'here!'.

Frantic steps are quick to come near. Not a second later, Rhodey sees him. "Tony!"

"Where's Pepper?" is the first thing he asks. Though it seems to be directed at Rhodey, it's clear to Eva, it's a question for her.

'She was safe with Coulson,' she says at the same time Rhodey says, "She's fine. She's with five agents. They're about to arrest Obadiah."

Tony shakes his head. "That will not be enough."

He then waves him into the lab, where the Mark II is resting. He first goes to the computer, though. She's not sure what he's doing until he hears JARVIS voice coming through the speakers. "My apologies, sir. I was silenced."

"Don't worry JARVIS. I was the one who forgot to take Obadiah's access from your systems." There's self-blame in his words, but his expression remains calm. "Now, bring the Mark II."

"Of course, sir."

Soon, the Mark II appears in front of them.

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen," Rhodey is quick to point out.

"Not bad at all, huh?" Tony says with a smirk, a hint of his previous self in it. "Let's do it, then."

She yips when he goes to put it on the armor. He stops and kneels towards her. "Do you trust me?"

What a stupid question, she thinks as she nods like a chicken pecking rice.

"Then trust I will be safe."

'I trust you Tony,' she repeats this time in his mind. 'I don't trust Obadiah, though. Are you sure you don't want me to help?'

"This is personal, sorry. Besides, you haven't practiced battle before and you don't have a nifty armor like me to protect you. Next time, okay?"

'I'll still be on the lookout.'

He smiles. "Thank you."

Getting up, he turns around and meets Rhodey's judgmental raised eyebrow. "Done talking with your pet?"

She growls.

"I'll be careful, Rhodey. She doesn't like to be called a pet."

"Right." He rolls his eyes, though he soon turns attentive when he sees Tony putting on the armor. "You need me to do anything else?"

"Keep the skies clear," is the last thing Tony says before he goes flying away. Eva uses the moment Rhodey is distracted to make her escape. After all, she promised to be on the lookout. Though as she's now in her Mew form and flying towards the expo, she realizes Tony's right. She has practiced her moves but not fighting.

Wait.

... Fighting?

Maybe a fighting type would do her good. She still doesn't like pain, but she knows of a form who is Psychic/Fighting type.

When she already sees signs of battle, she chooses to transform into Gallade. And woah, let's just say that while it hurts the same as other Psychic types, which is more like thousands of pinches on her most vulnerable parts instead of boiling oil on skin. The number of moves is so great she now has a slight headache. This is the Pokemon with the most moves she has transformed into.

The positive is that she now knows Teleport.

She tries to fist bump but her head is aching, so she just kind of flops for a second there. Just a second, though. The next, she's running to where she can see Pepper and Coulson. However, instead of approaching them, she keeps going forward until she can see Tony in his armor, fighting Obadiah, who's about to launch a car at him.

She's a bit nervous, but a quick use of Calm Mind helps her before she uses Psybeam to make Obadiah release the car in his confusion. It works. So she's quick to use Telekinesis to move the car away from the Ironmonger. However, it doesn't cross her mind until then that the panicked person driving would still continue to, well, drive.

The car quickly approaches her, and she involuntarily uses a Teleport to move a couple of steps away from the car.

Luckily, it doesn't work like the Harry Potter Apparition. Instead, is more like... a blink?

She shakes her head. It's not the time to wonder about it. Better to help the people around as she promised Tony to not interfere with his fight.

Though she will still keep a close eye in case he needs helps.

Though when they start to fly, she once again grows worried, as this form can't fly. Or at least she doesn't know how at the moment. She keeps trying to follow them. Though when she realizes they are going down toward the Stark building, she teleports to where she last saw Pepper.

Just in time to see Pepper talking to a stumbling Tony. "Tony! Oh, my God, are you okay?"

Tony shakes his head as if to clear it before his voice comes out of the speakers. "I'm almost out of power. I've got to get out of this thing."

"Nice try!" Obadiah is the next to talk, his colossal form making a loud thud sound come from his fall. Tony is quick to use the flares, but with Pepper here, it's hard to do much without causing her damage. He turns his head towards her when he sees her. "Ev--"

'The Agent is behind you. Don't say my name out loud.'

Tony makes the motion of running a hand through his hair, but he stops after realizing he's wearing an armor at the moment. "Mew, move Pepper away!"

She's quick to help, grabbing Pepper in a princess carry, being careful of the blades in her arms. 'This isn't working, Tony! Also, Pepper is safe now. I'm returning to you.'

She's quick to teleport near him, just after he moved away from Obadiah. "We're going to have to overload the reactor and blast the roof."

She nods. 'Tell me what to do.'

"Go to the central console, near where we were standing after the interview I did, and open up all the circuits. When I get clear of the roof, I'll let you know. You're going to hit the master bypass button. It's going to fry everything up here."

'Give me a mental image of the process and I'm golden,' she's quick to say as she once again readies herself to run, pleased of how much stamina this form has even with all the helping she did around. Her breathing is even after all.

"I'll buy you some time, now go!"

She runs and when she rounds a corner, the last sight she has of Tony is of him pulling out some wire from Obadiah's armor.

When she reaches the place where the arc reactor is, she sees some panels. It takes her a minute to recognize the one Tony thought about. When she's in front of it, she connects to Tony's mind. 'I'm here. Off the roof, now, Tony!'

She looks up, but still sees both of them in their armors, on top of the roof. She waits at him to move but he can't. Instead, he hears his voice. "Hit the button!"

'No! Move away first!'

"There's no time! Do it!"

She growls as she prepares for a quick teleport as she hit the button.

She hopes she reaches him in time.

.

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Reviews fill my soul with motivation :D

Chapter Text

She remembers teleporting to Tony quickly, but the energy beam it's already pouring out to them. Trying to use Protect lessens the pain works, but not as much as she would have liked. The pain isn't like when she transforms, but it's close. And also, unlike it, she's sure she will have some nasty wounds on her by the time this is over.

She just hopes everything will go fine.

When there's no more pain coming, she opens her eyes, not surprised by all the mayhem she finds.

'How are you?'

Tony, who has been leaning most of his weight before, sits up slightly. "Fine, I think. You?"

She releases a sigh of relief, her body's muscles finally untensing seems to be the last straw as she says with a tired tone of mental voice. 'I'll faint at any moment.'

Not giving time for Tony to answer, she proceeds to do just that. Using her last her effort in transforming into her original Mew form.

.

.

The next time she wakes up is to the sound of Rhodes talking. His voice sounds weird, though. It takes her a second to realize she's on top of something hard but warm. One longer for her to find out that what she's hearing is some sort of TV.

She still feels tired, so while she doesn't nuzzle to the warmth or open her eyes, she's still focused on the sound.

"... The official statement of what occurred at Stark Industries last night. There have been unconfirmed reports that a robotic prototype malfunctioned and caused damage to the arc reactor. Fortunately, a member of Tony Stark's personal security staff..."

"'Iron Man.' That's kind of catchy. It's got a nice ring to it." That's Tony's voice, she smiles a little. Happy that her friend is safe. "I mean, it's not technically accurate. The suit's a gold-titanium alloy, but it's kind of evocative, the imagery, anyway."

"Your alibi is on top of the table," Coulson's voice comes next. And this time she does open her eyes to see her form clinging tightly to Tony's arm. She looks up at the same time Tony lowers his gaze and she can see the palpable relief in his expression.

"Okay?"

'As I can be,' she says. Tony opens his mouth to say who knows what, but it's at that moment that Coulson talks, probably thinking Tony's word was meant for him.

"You were on your yacht and..."

Coulson stops himself, finally looking up from the tablet and seeing her. He nods his head a little in her direction before looking at Tony once again. "We have port papers that put you in Avalon all night, and sworn statements from 50 of your guests."

"I was thinking maybe we should say it was just with Eva here on the island..."

She uses that cue to float away from his arms and turn into a Linoone once again, now that her identity with SHIELD is all but revealed. She's got to admit she's afraid because she knows HYDRA hides under SHIELD, but that ship already has sailed, so it's better to not cry over spoiled milk. Or something like that.

"Just read it, word for word."

Tony reads the alibi, though it's clear he's distracted. He's constantly looking at her, probably worried, but when he only finds her stretching, he returns his attention to the card he has to read. He seems conflicted.

"There's nothing about Stane here."

Unlike Tony, whose attention seems to be divided into other things, Coulson's gaze is firm on her. He still answers Tony. "That's being handled. He's on vacation. And small aircraft have such a poor safety record."

"But what about the entire cover story that it's a bodyguard? He's my... I mean, isn't that kind of flimsy?"

"This isn't my first rodeo, Mr. Stark. Just stick to the official statement, and soon, this will all be behind you." He looks at his watch. "You've got 90 seconds."

'Don't worry Tony, everything will be fine.'

He slowly nods, though his posture doesn't untense. She moves her head against the end of his trousers, which seem to calm him somewhat. Still, she knows what he's planning to do. Or not really planning, but not wanting to hide, either.

'I'll support you no matter what you decide,' she settles on adding, because it's true.

Those seem to be the magic words because now he relaxes his shoulders. Just in time for Pepper to walk inside. The sound of her heels against the floor relaxes her, too. Probably because she remembers walking while wearing heels and taking comfort in the sound.

"Agent Coulson?" She says with a smile after nodding at Tony. "I just wanted to say thank you very much for all of your help."

"That's what we do." He gazes at everyone, giving her one second longer to her form, before he adds, "You'll be hearing from us.

"From the Strategic Homeland..."

"Just call us S.H.I.E.L.D." Coulson interrupts and Eva is so glad she can definitely call them that way, instead of that long-ass name.

Pepper blinks twice before clearing her throat. "Let's get this show on the road then, shall we?"

She sounds so wary and tired and she doesn't think it's only because of all the work she had to do. Her Tony-is-going-to-do-something-stupid senses are probably tinkling.

"You know, it's actually not that bad," Tony starts with the tone reserved for his babbling. "Even I don't think I'm Iron Man."

Yeah, that sixth sense of Pepper's is definitely tingling. She can see it in the deadpan of Pepper's expression. She has this thousand-yard stare for one second longer that she thinks her soul has already left her body.

Then, she open her mouth.

"You're not Iron Man."

To that answer, Tony crossed his arm: "Am so."

"You're not."

Tony pouts, but still lets himself be led to where the reporters are waiting. It takes her one second to decide to follow behind them, run up to Tony's pants and back until she's resting on top of his shoulders.

"Wanted some company, huh?"

'I'm here for moral support only.'

She sees the soft smirk on his lips, showing she's fooling no one. He doesn't answer back because they're already going to the sight of the reporters, making a wild flashback of the last time she was in front of them appear.

She hears Rhodes talking on the podium. "And now, Mr. Stark has prepared a statement. He will not be taking any questions."

Tony walks forward and starts talking, but she can't hear. She's still thinking in the old Tony she met. He was more tired, then. Lost and confused.

Now he's more distracted than confused, though there's some of the latter still, but there's a determination and confidence in his posture that's real.

She feels proud of her friend. Though she does stop her daydreaming when Rhodes moves closer, to remind Tony to stick to the cards.

And he sees then, the moment she knows it will change this world. When Tony looks up from those cards and says. "The truth is... I am Iron Man."

She feels so proud she's going to burst. She burrows her head on his neck, pressing her cold nose to his pulse, feeling his excitement and apprehension.

And she promises herself then that those will not be his last words. She will change the future.

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Chapter Text

As she expected, the crowd of reporters went wild after Tony's declaration. Rhodey, who was next to him, just had a second to look exasperated before his training kicked and he helped the other security guards who were in front of the excited people by walking Tony to the backstage where she was in with Pepper and Coulson.

"Are you sure of your decision, Mr. Stark?" said Coulson as soon as Tony went in. For his part, the man ignored him, instead focusing on her. "How was it?"

She voiced her thoughts to everyone in the secret so she wouldn't be left out and giggled. 'Nothing I didn't expect'

"Rude."

She could feel Coulson's frustration as he let out a tiny sigh. She rubbed his pants with her side. 'Don't worry, agent. I'll protect Tony in case he can't do it himself.'

"Hey!"

Everyone ignored Tony and he probably would have said something snarky if Happy hadn't walked in at that moment. "Boss, the path is free for us to walk out."

"Awesome, Happy." He then turned to Pepper. "So I'll go then?"

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes. You can leave and leave everything to me to fix."

Ignoring the sarcasm, Tony smiled winningly. "Awesome. Let's go, Eva."

As soon as they went out and followed Happy, she couldn't help but point out. 'She deserves a raise, you know that, right?'

Tony nodded his head, but said nothing until they were inside the limo.

"Remember me to order her a raise, okay?"

'I'm not your secretary, you know.'

"You would rock the secretary outfit, though."

She rolled her eyes. 'Anyway, what are you going to do now? I don't think you can go to other countries to put destroy your weapons anymore.'

"Why?"

Well, actually, she wasn't sure if her world's rules would apply here. 'Don't you need to bear responsibility for your actions or something?'

Tony scoffed. "I'm rich, remember?"

She deadpanned at him. 'Right.'

"Also, I've got some weight I can still throw around."

'Even with the Weapons Division of your company closed?'

"Well, my company won't produce new weapons, but I still got to continue some contracts with the military until the year's end. That way I can also slowly change the company without mass firings employes."

He was actually more thoughtful than she thought. That may be why there weren't any protests going on instead of just the fall of the stocks.

Tony threw a smile at her. "What are you thinking about? I bet is something rude."

She scoffed and looked to the side, trying to not look too guilty. 'No.'

With a chuckle, he patted her head. You sound totally guilty. I don't know if it's because you can't lie well while talking with your mind or not."

Shit. She needs to practice if what he says it's true. Or maybe not. She doesn't want to lie to others in this life. Not even to herself.

"Boss, we're here."

Tony nods as he grabs her between his arms and waves at Happy. They enter his house with the sound of the limo driving away in the background.

There is a faint happiness in Tony's steps as he calls out. "Jarvis!"

However, instead of Jarvis' polite tone, what came was his distorted voice.

"Welcome Home, Sir," is what he says before cutting himself off.

Eva is quick to transform into Mew before floating in front of Tony. Her gaze immediately goes to the other life signature in the room.

"'I'm Iron man'," the man says, his figure faintly visible to the two of them. His voice doesn't carry a mocking edge as she expected, instead he is solemn as he says the words, a tint of irony in his voice, maybe. "You think you're the only superhero in the world?"

He doesn't let Tony answer. He glances at her instead as he follows those words with, "Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe. Though perhaps you know some of it."

"Who the hell are you?" Tony says with a slight growl. She can't see him as she is in front of him but she suspects he's tense at not having his suit.

The man walks out into the light in all his bald glory. "Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."

She lowers her guard at the same time Tony says nonchalantly, "Ah."

"I'm here to talk to you both about the Avengers Initiative."

"Not interested," he says before she has a chance to speak. She turns to glare at him.

'I can give my own opinion.' She turns to Fury once again and tilts her head. 'I would like to know more about it and about the agency you represent.'

"Don't bother, Eva. All the alphabet soup of agencies are the same. What I'm more interested in is how you went in and messed with Jarvis."

Eva gives him a tilt of her head, voicing her silent agreement. 'I've got to admit that you coming inside his house and messing with Jarvis is not a great way to paint yourself or your agency. Though if you planned to make him curious, well, I think you succeeded.'

"Hey, don't reveal all my secrets."

She rolled her eyes. 'They're a secret agency. I bet they already got more information about yourself than you would like to know.'

"Can't deny it. My life has been fairly public." He shrugs.

It's kind of sad how he seems to shrug off that fact. She wants to comfort him by nuzzling against him, but before that, Fury says, "What we don't have is information about you, Miss Eva."

Tony steps in front of her, which makes her float slightly higher as to see Fury's reaction. "What do you want with her?"

The man only shrugs, seemingly unconcerned with Tony's sudden display of protectiveness. "Me? Nothing. However, what will want the world outside is another thing. They know nothing about her, after all. Ignorance breeds fear, you know."

"Are you threating her?"

'No, no,' she interrupted him, floating to be next to him instead of behind Tony. 'He's right. Most would likely see me as a threat and would try to capture me or something.'

"I can protect you," Tony says, his chest slightly puffed out.

She shakes her head. 'I don't want to cause trouble, though.'

"You wouldn't."

She smiles before floating on top of his head and lying on top of it as if to hug him. 'Thank you, really. I would prefer to solve most of my problems, but I know when to ask for help. Also, I think Director Fury would help out with the right incentive.'

She looks at the folder that's sitting next to the table. 'So, tell us about this Avengers Initiative.'

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Chapter Text

The files are what she expected them to be, though more official-looking. They didn't mention the other candidates, just that there were others. She doesn't know if it's smart of them to do so. After all, Tony is a hacker and knows his way around computers. This way just incites his curiosity, which maybe is their plan all along. Who knows what's going on around a spy's mind?

After reading alongside Tony for a while, she turns to Fury. 'You expect us to form part of this group and work together in case something threatens the world and/or humanity, right?'

"Yes. It's not a working contract, just an agreement that you will drop everything off when the conditions are met and act when we need you."

"So this merry band would work on mostly hypothetical situations, then? If there's never something like, I don't know, an alien invasion, we would be free to do whatever?"

"Basically."

"You do know how farfetched something like that happening sounds, right?"

Eva turns to him with pity in her gaze. 'Oh, you sweet summer child.'

"What? It's true."

Fury raises an eyebrow. "You do realize you're harboring an alien creature in your home, don't you?"

Tony scoffs and crosses his arms. "Yeah, whatever. Doesn't mean an invasion will happen."

Eva feels a little guilty, so she raises her paw. 'Actually, I know a bit of this universe and it is a bit dangerous. Especially for Earth.'

"I thought you weren't from this universe at all."

She glances at Fury who is still impassive before glaring at Tony. 'Doesn't mean I don't know about other universes.'

Because other worlds of fiction must exist if the MCU does, right?

Tony looks dubious, but he seems to realize his previous folly in talking about things he shouldn't in front of a spy, so he doesn't ask for clarification. At least, not at the moment.

"Yeah, whatever. This is all fine and dandy, but what I'm interested in is in what you want from Eva?"

She too is interested in that, so she chooses to look at Fury with her eyes wide innocently.

"We just want to know about her powers and about where she comes from. And if there are more waiting to come to us, too."

Eva scratches her head as she thinks about. It doesn't seem fair. She can give some of her powers away, as to pave their future collaboration with her. About her world, though... Well, she could give some information about the Pokemon world.

'We could send him a copy of the data we got by testing my powers,' she says before sending a message to Tony and saying only to him. 'They know I can transform, but don't know I gain more powers with each transformation. Better to keep that as a secret.'

Tony tilts his head in affirmation and mentions fury about some experiments they have done and how he has the data stored safely.

"I can give you an, ugh, paper copy of the data."

'Just for you and your most trusted,' she adds, as to sound paranoid and more real. 'Then you gotta destroy that info and not let anyone catalogue it inside a computer or any other digital device.'

Fury squints lightly but doesn't press the issue, choosing to accept this condition. "If you want a place to train and test your abilities, we've got a perfect place for it inside our HQ in Washington."

Huh, this sounds better and better. 'Though basically, I've got a couple of powers for attack, defense, increased speed and strength. Also, to heal and support. I'm pretty flexible to be placed in any team, actually."

"I would still like to know more about your history, though," he says before turning his gaze towards Tony. "What about you, Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah, sorry, but I'm not interested in your boy-band. Not that you could afford me, anyway." He shrugs before moving toward her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I deserve a bath."

She smiles at Fury. 'I will send you the info through Coulson, if that's okay. Also, I'm interested in the practice you said about, Director.'

Fury gives her a curt nod and moves towards the door. He looks to where Tony went to before hearing something coming from his side. He turns and sees her floating next to him. 'However, if you do something like this to Jarvis again, Tony will be the less of their problems. Believe it.'

Giving him a last cursory glance, they both nod at each other and she watches him leave.

It's not a minute longer for Jarvis to return online. "Welcome home, Sir and Miss Eva."

She smiles at the camera and waves at him before saying to herself in her mind,. "Glad to have you back, Jarvis."

Well, now what's she supposed to do?

She thinks as she floats to Tony's room to grab a loose shirt from him and then go to cooking. She tries to think about her options and what she thinks is important for her to help with.

She confirms Tony is in the bathroom, showering before deciding to transform into human and grabs Tony's ACDC shirt. It's almost like a dress to her as she's quite short, as unlike the actor that played Tony, the real one is fairly taller.

Once she's decent, she goes to cook something.

It takes her a couple of minutes for her to remember something important. It's actually when she's doing a simple soup to cook the risotto she's planning to do. She froze as it caught her in mid-action, almost burning the risotto.

She quickly shakes her head and continues cooking.

'Wasn't Tony poisoned by the palladium??!'

Shit.

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Reviews fill my soul with motivation! 

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Chapter Text

Tony has come down by the time she's almost done cooking. He sniffs the air with a smile before walking towards her and looking at what's on the oven. "Risotto, huh?"

"Yeah, you didn't have any mushrooms, so I made a simple one without it." She turned around, one fist resting on her waist. "You need to buy more vegetables. After all, you still have got the arc reactor in your chest."

He waves his hand. "Don't worry about it."

"I know you didn't want to go to the hospital at first because of how you thought you had more important thing to deal with."

"I did have other important stuff that needed my attention, don't you remember?"

"Yeah, you did. However, now you've got more time. Shouldn't you go to one, now?" Tony looks mulish, but she can feel an undercurrent of fear and worry. "Look, at least do a blood test and some x-rays to see how bad it is."

That does give her a reaction. He turns around, ignoring her to sniff more closely the risotto. She can't see his face, with him looking away from her, but she feels his guilt clearly. She doesn't know how to ask for more information, so she decides to give up and go with honesty.

"Remember how I told you I didn't like Obadiah because of the emotions he gave off?"

Tony turns his head around until she can see his profile. "Yes? By the way, it's a pretty wonderful ability. It would be perfect if we needed to know the intentions of others or needed to interrogate someone, because if you can know how they feel—"

He stops as he seems to realize what's she has been getting at. He turns around completely and looks at her, raising an eyebrow.

She nods. "I can feel your guilt. So, tell me what you know about your condition."

"Have I called it a 'wonderful ability'? I was lying, because that's not fair at all." Pursing his lips, he goes to grab two plates to serve the food. "I'm not that bad, actually. So you don't need to fret that lil pretty head of yours."

She deadpans at him. "I can tell you're lying."

"Ouch. I felt that lack of trust."

"I do trust you." She says with a smile. "If you can tell me, while looking into my eyes, that you are going to be okay and I don't need to worry. I'll trust you."

She will trust him, that's true. It will disappoint her, as it will show he doesn't trust her enough.

Tony looks unsure. He looks at her earnest expression and sighs. "There's nothing you can help with, though. You will probably feel frustrated. Still wanna know?"

"If the alternative is you suffering alone, then yes. Besides, even if I can't help you with whatever you have, I can probably help with the symptoms, right?"

Tony nods slowly with a slight smile before unbuttoning his shirt until they see the arc reactor. "See this chip here? Well, this is a palladium, and it's what powers the reactor into maintaining the shards from puncturing my heart. It's also slowly killing me."

She leans forwards, fearing to see the black veins she knows will soon appear when the toxicity is stronger. "It's poisonous, I get?"

"Yup." He says popping the 'p'. "But don't worry, I've got Jarvis running the data to see which other element could go instead of palladium."

"You can always try to discover another element," she throws the suggestion at him, wanting to know what he thinks about it. He just waves.

"Nah. First let Jarvis try."

She raises an eyebrow at him. "What are you going to do in the meantime?"

He shrugged as started serving the food. "Maybe try to do some good with my suit."

"Isn't it wrong of you to work with the suit when what powers it is the palladium?"

"Maybe, but I cannot do nothing, right?"

Rolling her eyes, she slapped lightly on his arm. "Create new things so your company's stocks don't plunge again. That will keep you busy."

"But that's boring. I just need to create new, better models for everything that's mainstream."

"If you really want something interesting. Try to discover an unknown element for you to play with. Or are you saying you can't?"

"Of course I can," he says, puffing up his chest. "And don't think I don't know what you're trying to do."

"What am I trying to do?"

"You want me to not wear my suit," he sounds annoyed.

She shakes her head, though he's not completely wrong. "I know it's now a part of you and futile of me to tell you what to do. But I admit, I wish for you to wear it less. Also, I don't want you to stress yourself while you wait for Jarvis' results. That's why I want you to keep busy."

"Oh."

"Oh, indeed."

He sighs before grabbing both plates and going to the table. "Okay, okay. I'll try to not stress myself and I'll tone down the use of the suit. A little."

She smiles, a touch exasperated, but still follows behind him. She sits on the leather-covered chair, the risotto in front of her. She kind of feels glad that she found the clean underwear inside the room Tony put aside for her as she can already picture feeling uncomfortable while sitting without it.

Tony's t-shirt is long, but not that long. And she hates the feeling of skin on leather.

"So, are we going to train with the new form you used?" Tony says as soon as he sits down. "I can send the info to Fury now, without adding the new moves you have of the new forms."

Humming, she eats a spoonful. She uses the time of chewing to think about what she wants to do next. "I think it would be better to print that info and give it to him, instead of sending it online. I don't trust what others would do if they find about what I'm capable of."

"But you trust Fury?" The doubt in his tone was palpable.

"No, not yet. He's a spy, after all. I trust he has got a bottom line and that he's paranoid and emphatic enough to understand my position."

"Huh. Well, those are you abilities so I will trust you will be safe wherever he sends you out to train."

She smiles at him. "Thank you for your trust, Tony."

"Sure, sure," he says airily, before clearing his throat and looking at her solemnly. "Now we've got another mission to do."

Wait. Hasn't she slept for, like, a couple of hours? How did they have a mission already?

"What is it?"

.

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Chapter Text

Tony sighs, looking down for a second before frantic eyes were directed at her. "The printer. I don't know where is it."

She almost facepalms. "Only that?"

"Well, yeah. I'm pretty sure I've got one, but searching for it will be the problem."

"Maybe Pepper knows where it is," she says, amusement filling her tone. "After all, she's the one in charge of you."

"Why does it sound like she's my owner or something…?" he mumbles.

She raises both hands. "Hey, you said it. Not me."

"Har har." He rolls his eyes before scratching a cheek. "You know what? We could do both."

"Both?"

"Yeah, the printing thing and working on your new moves. We would just need Pepper's help."

She raises an eyebrow. "You mean asking Pepper to help search while you have fun with watching my powers at work?"

Now, Tony is the one raising both hands, a smirk curling his lips. "Hey, you were the one who said it."

She rolls her eyes, taking one last spoonful of food before standing up. "You know what? Sure, why not. But we're going to do something nice for Pepper afterward, though."

Tony does a small fist bump and grabs the plates to the kitchen.

"You will not be as excited when I use you for my moves that deal status effect damage."

"Oh! Like 'Attract'?"

She looks at him from the corner of her eye. "Why do you sound so excited at hearing that? If I'm not mistaken, you were down for the count after I used it."

"Yeah, yeah." He waves his hand as if she was talking of some minor thing. "By the way, can you use your attacks while being in human form?"

She tilted her head. "I don't know."

That seems to make him even more excited. "Let's try it, then."

"Here?" she asks, as they still are in the kitchen. She was going to clean the dishes first, but Tony seems to be impatient as he's glaring at the dirty dishes, as if they were going to clean themselves by the power of his glare.

"Yeah. Use one of the status effect moves. Just… try to not cause too much damage, okay?"

"Well…" she trails off as she washes, her movements slowing down as she does so. Tony seems to become even more aggravated by it.

"Come on, it'll be fun."

"For you," she grumbles, before deciding to use the safest one. She gives him her best puppy eyes and tries to activate 'Baby Doll Eyes' which is one of Linoone's moves.

He blinks at her, seemingly waiting. "Okaaay…?"

It seems to not be working, but she can feel something going on inside of her, so tries to put more power into the move. Tony looks at her in curiosity for one second longer before opening his mouth to say something, but then he stops and almost stumbles on nothing.

It works!

Though she tries for puppy dog eyes, by the end it's more of a glare.

She smiles and can help but ask, "How do you feel?"

"A little weak whenever I think of attacking you…"

She tilts her head with narrowed eyes. "Why were you thinking of attacking me?"

"Hey, you were the one giving me those eyes, not me!"

Maybe she was glaring harsher than intended?

Oh well.

Still, she grins because it works! It's harder to do, true. Also, not as powerful as she is sure the move can be, but still works.

So, she cleans the dishes with more gusto than before, ignoring Tony as he taps his foot with his arms crossed. He already called Pepper for help, so he's now just waiting.

She kind of wants to go slower, if only to aggravate him, but she's a merciful Mew.

"If you helped, I would have been faster at this," she says when she's done.

Tony blinks at her, his gaze going from the clean dishes to her. "You could have used the washing machine, too."

"For just two plates?"

He shrugs, cocking his head to the side. "Why not?"

She's about to say how she doesn't want to spend that much money on the energy bill, but then remembers who she's talking to: a rich genius.

She shuts her mouth. "You know what? Better remind me next time."

He raises an amused eyebrow. And to be more of an a-hole, he adds, "I've got this place running on clean energy."

"Oh, shut up!" She stomps towards the lab. "Didn't you want me to use my new powers?"

"Yup! But let's try them on your human form, as they seem to be weaker that way. When I've got all the equipment ready, we can use your normal form."

She stops walking, one foot hovering above the stairs. She looks down at her outfit, which consists of Tony's old t-shirt on top of underwear, which she still thinks it's weird how fitting it is. "I should wear some better clothes then."

"Hm? What's wrong with what are you wearing?"

She gives him a deadpan look. Obviously, for him, it would be normal; he was a playboy, after all. And for a short time, she's okay with wearing it too. She can cook and eat in these clothes. After all, Tony was gone for most of her cooking time and while eating, there was a table covering her. However, she doesn't think she can be a longer time wearing it. She's going to feel embarrassed sooner rather than later. Also, she doesn't want Pepper to misunderstand when she comes.

"I won't even try to do any exercise wearing just this."

He looks disappointed, the pervert. Luckily, Pepper is not here to see his playboy ways remaining. He shrugs. "Okay, okay. Jarvis bought enough female clothes for you to make different outfits."

"Awesome! I'll go and take a look."

"Not alone, you won't," he says, firm. "I know how you women work and how long it'll take you to dress if I leave you alone."

She wants to bite at his sexist comment, but squints at him instead. "How many clothes did you buy?"

"Jarvis did," he says immediately, before pausing and coughing. "And yeah, maybe a bit too much."

She rolls her eyes. "So it's your fault if I take too long, then."

"Jarvis was—"

He interrupts him by motioning him to accompany her. "No matter, let's go together if it would make you happy."

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Chapter Text

After quickly checking the new clothes she now has, she decides to use a dark top with light blue jeans. She's actually kind of surprised by the amount of blue, red, and orange clothes she now has. There are a couple white and black, but mostly there are colorful clothes that go well with her hair color.

Anyway, they're in the lab, hanging out, as they were before everything went complicated with Obadiah. She feels relaxed in the face of the familiar setting, which is bizarre, since what they're about to do is totally abnormal. However, Tony seems to feel like her, because his shoulders are less tense and the grief that has been weighting him down since the death of Obadiah seems to be almost gone.

As usual, he's working on his next update for his suit while Jarvis films her. DUMMIE is with the fire extinguisher ready to fire at any fire. It's kind of cute, actually.

The last time they've done this, they analyzed half of Linoone's moves and some of Hatterene's, which was harder because she didn't have many moves focused on attack. She wanted to continue to do those that were left, but Tony was curious about the new form she used while on fighting: Gallade. He has been curious about that Pokemon ever since she told him he is a fighting type.

"He also has over 30 moves," she thinks to add, because she thinks it's important to note. "We'll be here for a while and it's already midday. Aren't you tired?"

"Never when it involves something I'm curious about," he beamed.

"What if we do Hatterene?"

"Didn't we do all her physical attacks? I think the only fun one was that Brutal Swing."

She blinks. "Weren't you the one who wanted to try status effects moves?"

"Yeah, when we were in the kitchen. Now, we're in the lab. So, let's go wild." He smiles with an eager smile while he claps his hands once. "And if you've got any Dark type attacks, the better."

"… You need help." She says around a smirk, before sighing indulgently. "Okay. Though the only dark type attack Gallade can use is Night Slash, which is pretty self-explanatory."

That said, she concentrates in the dark energy of the move, which is harder because she's still primarily a Psychic. But if Gallade can do it, so can she. She raises her hand and extends her fingers up, not leaving any gap between each digit. She concentrates until there's a dark shine covering her hand. The only sounds around her are coming from DUMMIE, who is trying to look for the best possible angle to attack, and from Tony, who is trying to improve a thruster but still keeps glancing at her to see her progress.

When she thinks the dark light is thick enough, she slashes her arm at the old piece of Titanium Tony had hanging around his lab.

It parts it into two with slightly jagged edges forming where the Night Slash made connection. With a deep sigh, she runs her fingers across the metal, feeling the jagged edges where the slash touched it, not as precise as she had hoped.

Tony quickly exclaims "Sweet!" with an excited expression, looking like a kid who just saw something incredible.

"Only you," she laughs at his excited face for one more moment before leaving the two pieces of titanium on the ground once again, noting the damage she has caused to the floor and wall. She gives a quick, 'Sorry' to Tony.

He waves at her quickly. "Don't worry about it."

She coughs in embarrassment but continues trying her moves. She's just finishing using her Leaf Blade when Pepper comes. She panics for a moment of indecision when she doesn't know if she should transform or not, when Tony touches her shoulder. It relaxes her almost immediately.

"Right," she mutters out loud. "Pepper already knows, so there's no problem."

Tony gives her a look when Pepper is going down the lab's stairs and is about to look up. "What are you talking about? Pepper doesn't know."

She turns her head so fast she's surprised she doesn't give herself a whiplash. "What?!"

Of course, fate chooses that moment to appear as the automatic doors open up and Pepper walks through, her gaze zeroing in her the next second. For one moment, she stood with her head held high, exuding confidence, before she glanced at her and suddenly seemed uncertain. It's just a second there, but it's there.

She puts a strand of hair behind her ear, a polite smile on her face as she looks at her before looking back at Tony. "Is there something you need, sir?"

"Two things, actually." When Pepper nods, he continues, "I want you to find the printer as soon as possible, or a pirate will be angry at me."

Pepper tilts minutely her head, but she manages to answer promptly. "If I'm not mistaken, that printer is in your office, sir."

"What? You're joking. I don't remember having anything like—"

"It's on the first floor, sir."

"You sure? I don't think I've seen it before."

"It's where I do your work when I stay here."

Tony seemed ready to continue bantering, but stopped when he saw Eva, who was probably looking at them with star-filled eyes. After all, she's seeing one of her favorite MCU couple interacting. She always liked them as a couple, even if she isn't too fond of Pepper's actress.

Still, she doesn't know why he looks so confused and slightly annoyed. He clicks his tongue and tells Pepper, "Lead the way, then."

Pepper does so, turning around to guide them. Or, specifically, just Tony. Not her.

Why does she say so? Well, because when they leave the lab, she's quick to point her to the couches in the living room, her professional smile intact. "If you don't mind waiting, I'll call a taxi for you later."

She blinks and looks outside through a window, where it shows a sunny day with harsh winds. Then looks at her clothes, which are comfortable but not ready for the cold that she's sure it's outside. She then looks at Tony.

"Er." At least, he's quick to act. He moves next to her and touches her shoulder in support. So even if the words don't come to him instantly, she forgives him. "Pepper, she's Eva. She can come."

He's clearly a genius.

She wants to facepalm, but doesn't do that with force of will. "What he means to say is that I'm the ferret that went with you to your home. Also, that creature who helped Tony. The green with white? Also, the blue creature that was today in the conference's backstage."

That makes her blink. Luckily for them, she doesn't reject the idea as soon as she hears it. "… You mean, you were that blue cat?"

She nods. "Yes, that's my original form. I just can transform into others."

Looking from Tony, who gives her a nod, to her once again, Pepper looks dubious as she asks, "Are you human?"

She probably already guesses the answer and is just asking for confirmation. "I'm not. I'm a Pokemon named Mew."

Chapter Text

"Mew, really?"

She scoffs. "Yes, really. And I know, a weird name for my species, but that's what I am. I would transform but I'm currently wearing clothes and I'm too lazy to put them again once I'm back into human form."

"Oh," she says. She then looks at Tony with a glare. "I hope you created an identity before introducing her to that party with tons of reporters ready to dig into your new contest."

"Excuse me?"

Pepper seems to realize what she said, because she apologies and explains. "I'm sorry, but that's what the public will see you like. You would have to hang around Tony more to be seen as part of Tony's inner circle and not just a fling."

She can appreciate how direct she is; she likes it.

"I guessed it. Anyway, I'll probably do that as he is my friend. It's too late for me to leave him alone." She rolls her eyes before pointing at Tony with a thumb. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, so don't even think about it."

"Never thought about it," he says with an amused tone before it turns mischievous. "Though because you don't work for me, you will probably look like more than a friend."

"You're right." She nods before humming and turning to Pepper. "Any advice?"

"In being seen as more than a friend?"

She blinks. "Er. No. In being seen as just a friend."

Pepper looks at Tony, which makes her glance up at him. She watches his expression shift from annoyed to icy as Pepper suggests, "Tony could be seen with another person or you could do the same and find a significant other."

She thinks hard before slowly nodding. "Well, I can confirm my identity by being seen more around. Maybe go out at night sometimes and go on a date or two and—"

"Yeah, no." Tony's quick to stop her by placing a hand on top of her head and ruffling her hair, hard. She tries to look at him, but his hand is stopping her from moving much. She wants to swat at him, but then stops when he says, "Are you doing it on purpose?"

"What— Hey, stop with the ruffling!"

Luckily, he stops. She looks at him to glare but has to blink when she finds him giving him a glare already. "What?"

"Are you that dense?"

She squints at him. "I'm not dense."

"Sure, you aren't," he says, rolling his eyes. He walks away from them and goes up the stairs. When he's almost gone, he says out loud. "Then I guess I'll just have to wait for you to find out."

"You know what he's talking about…?" she asks Pepper when Tony is out of sight.

"No hints, Pepper!"

Well, busted.

She looks at Pepper but receives an amused look for her troubles. She huffs, her breath coming out in a gust of air as she angrily thrusts her hands out.

"You both deserve each other," Eva grumbles as she follows Tony.

In the end, they find the printer where Pepper said it was. After printing the files, Pepper leaves with the address Fury gave them after Tony texted him.

"Are you sure about leaving her to go alone?"

Tony shrugs, still looking annoyed. "She's going to give the files to the Agent Coulson. He's the one who will walk up to the Stark building and then set off for the address. She will be safe in her office."

"Oh," she mutters. And she doesn't know why she didn't think of it before. It's not like Tony to leave Pepper to go to a mysterious place all on her own. Though their love is not as prominent as it was in the later movies, she knows Tony still cherishes Pepper all the same.

"Anyway, let's go back to the lab."

"Okay. Want to see more of my powers?"

He shakes his head. "I'm not in the mood. Maybe tomorrow."

She glanced in his direction, her eyes wide with curiosity, but instead of voicing her thoughts, she let out a small shrug. It's early but maybe she can cook something or—Oh. She's got an idea. Smiling up at Tony, she says, "Sure. Then you go back to the lab alone, I'll go out."

She turns around to leave, before he stops her with a 'wait.' So she casts a glance back over her shoulder, her face creasing into a frown as she inquires, "Yes?"

"Where are you going? Just so I know you're not getting into any trouble." He seems to be nervous for some reason.

She felt her heart soften as she looked at his anxiousness, thinking it's caused by the fear that she would leave him alone. "Don't worry, I'll return. I just want to get a look at the surroundings. Maybe help some people out."

"And you're going out like that?"

She quickly threw a glance at herself, before her eyes locked with his. He looks away for a second before turning back and looking her in the eye. "Erm, no? I'll go in my Mew form. I'm sturdier that way, you know?"

He lets out a breath. And yeah, this is getting weird. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck raise, reminding her of the possibility of something she didn't want to consider. Tony loves Pepper, after all, and she's a different species most of the time. Even if she does admit she looks quite stunning in her human form.

Shaking the dumb thoughts out of her head, she smiles. "Don't worry, I already memorized your house for teleportation. So, if I'm in danger, I can be back quickly."

"Oh. Want to go the superhero route, too?"

She nods. "You can't be the only one, right? Probably I'll just save a couple of cats out of trees and help old ladies to cross the street."

Letting out a snort, he patted her head before his hand moved to her shoulder, a gesture that filled the air with intimacy. She felt her body stiffen and her heart beat faster in response to the movement, but she was able to keep her composure. She felt the warmth of his hand on her shoulder, and when he moved it to the back of her head, the tenderness of his gaze made her heart flutter.

Shit.

When the hold lasts for a longer second than necessary, she quickly turns into a Mew. The clothes falling off her. Tony blinks before he looks down at the pile of clothes. He looks up at her with a smirk on his face.

She looks down too and can see the red panties she put on barely hidden by the t-shirt. She quickly grabs everything up into a ball and floats away, glad she can't blush in this form and also happy her bra wasn't seen because of being inside the shirt.

"You noticed, then?" yells Tony when she's almost out of hearing distance.

She hopes she's wrong, but still she can't help but yell out in his mind, 'Instead of being cooped up in the lab, go to your company and help Pepper!'

She can almost feel him wince at her volume. It doesn't make her better and when she leaves the clothes in the laundry room, she quickly rubs her face with her paws, hoping to be wrong.

'They were my favorite pairing,' she wails when she's out of Tony's house.

Though maybe she can still help make it happen. After all, the spark must still be there. She's sure she saw it in that ball when they danced together. Maybe she just needs to bring it out by playing matchmaker?

She cannot let Morgan not be alive.

Chapter Text

She decides that ignoring it until it becomes a problem is the way to go. Luckily, New York is nearby, so she can go there and help some to clear her mind. Though she quickly becomes guilty at the thought.

Is she subconsciously hoping for something awful to take place, just to take her mind off of her worries? She shakes her head. No, that's not true. She's not hoping for anything to happen. She's just a realist. A place like New York is full of criminals. Wanting to help others and distract herself is simply like killing two birds with one stone.

With that thought in mind, she flies faster, stretching her senses as much as she can. She's not searching for anything specific, nor is she completely concentrating on all the surrounding thoughts. She's mostly surveying the area for any distressed feeling.

She has to set a higher standard slightly because there are a lot of distressed people, mostly sad. She wants to help them all, but her priority should be those whose cries are tinged with fear and panic.

With November coming to a close and Christmas just around the corner, the streets are filled with people looking to take advantage of the holiday season, and of course, robbers lurking in the shadows.

She moves from place to place swiftly, her teleportation power allowing her to travel the city with ease and prioritize places of urgency. As she helps, she feels a sense of accomplishment, and the thrill of the wind in her hair as she soars through the sky fills her with freedom. She's happy to help even if she wished it wasn't necessary at all.

But once again, she repeats that she's a realist. The bustling city streets were a reminder that robberies were a frequent occurrence, and she could feel the tension in the air, hinting at the unseen dangers that lurked around the corner.

She spotted a couple of robberies happening, and some guys who were trying to take advantage of girls in shadowy alleys. She also noticed a woman, who seemed distressed, banging on the car of what she later learned was an ex-lover.

And all in a four hours.

It's already late, but helping people made her be calmer because she can't just go all gun-ho to the bad people and then leave. She needs to be composed when she helps others, in order to manage the victims' distress after dealing with the problem.

Most people freaked out at seeing a mind-talking, floating cat-like creature, but her cuteness gained her some brownie points because after a while, they relaxed. It made her easier comforting them while they waited for the police. Though it wasn't always the case, she had to rush away on many occasions because she could feel the distress of another person in danger.

She started by taking the criminal and the victim to several police stations she had already identified, giving the victim the opportunity to provide their statement if they were willing. Well, she didn't let the woman who damaged her ex's car get away with it; she confronted her and made sure to make her pay for the damage.

She could feel she didn't do it out of malice but of a sense of betrayal. Apparently, her husband cheated her with the babysitter and she only found because of the baby monitor, which she was supposed to throw out a couple of days ago, but then forgot.

After she gave her some moral support, she left her with a warning.

She really wanted to rescue a cat but did not see one. Probably because it's late. She soared around the city one last time, taking in the sights of the destitute places side-by-side with the more vibrant tourist destinations.

It wasn't until two of the morning that she decided to return to Tony's, hoping the inventor was asleep because even if she felt more centered after flying and helping others, she still hasn't got much time to actually think of the situation.

While making the flight back, she decides to stop procrastinating and start thinking about the problem. It's not that she doesn't find Tony attractive, because she does and she genuinely likes him as a person, even he can be a bit of jerk some times. So the problem isn't with him, but with her. Which is such a cliché thing to say, but it's the truth.

It's not the fact she's another species as she's always considered herself human first and Mew second, even if she finds her Mew form as comfortable, if not more so than her human form. Her mentality was the issue, as she had always seen Tony and Pepper as her favorite canon couple, and it was hard for her to accept them not being together.

Is it NTR if they aren't together? Or just together in her head?

After giving it some more thought, she concludes that allowing it to take its natural course is the best option. She will be friendly and not change anything of their interactions, or at least try to. Maybe she'll try to play matchmaker. If that doesn't work, maybe she will give the relationship a try, but for the moment she's not searching for romance. Though she admits to being curious about it and sex in general.

She was an asexual in her past life, after all. She had a strange chemical imbalance that kept her from experiencing any type of sexual pleasure. It probably was because she was depressed in her formative years and just numb most of her teenage life. It wasn't until she was an adult that she got 'better'. She found herself drawn to the idea of romance despite her lack of sex drive, though it wasn't something she felt was important either. In her last life, her inability to feel a full range of emotions, combined with her lack of interest in sex, resulted in her inability to maintain long-term relationships.

Now though? Now, the way she feels emotions is a huge contrast with how it was. Also, she can feel other's people's emotions, which is overwhelming but nice.

She doesn't know why she's here or if she really died, but some part of her, which she attributes to her Jolly nature, doesn't care much. It's not that she's not sad, but at least she's not depressed. And she knows depression.

New life and new body mean new opportunities, and she wishes to enjoy everything she can.

For more than ten years, she's gone without romance and sex, and while it's not something she's actively pursuing, she's willing to give it a go if it comes her way. Mostly out of sheer curiosity.

Also, she needs an apartment or at least somewhere to live that's not wired with cameras all around as she wants to know if she can really feel pleasure with her human form or not via masturbation. Maybe she will finally feel what's so special about orgasms.

Never had one, after all.

So, with that happy thought, she goes to Tony's house.

Chapter Text

He's awake, damn it.

She can hear him in the lab and the sudden silence of the clock informs her it's too late. With a sigh of resignation, she takes the stairs down to the lab.

'Tony,' she calls out when the door opens for her. 'It's time to go to sleep.'

He doesn't look up from where he's coding something. "Finally calmed down?"

She splutters. 'I was calm!'

"Sure you were," he says as he finishes writing and turns to look at her. "So?"

She tilts her head, and he sighs. "Have you come to a decision?"

Squinting at him, she speaks slowly. 'About what, exactly?'

"Are you going to be dense, once again?" he says, throwing his hands out.

'Hey, it's not like you proposed anything. I can't read your—okay, well, I can. But I won't. I've got morals and that."

He sighs once again, looking up at the ceiling for long seconds before turning to her. "Okay, fair. I'm used to people being more direct and not having to spell these things out because of how obvious they are—"

'Okay, get to the point,' she grumbles, crossing her tiny paws.

"Would you like to go out with me?"

Shit. This is harder than she thought it would be. What does she say to some direct question? He's her first friend in this world and doesn't want to damage that relationship by being hasty.

Okay, maybe being honest will work.

'Look,' she starts, but Tony cuts her with a "Huh, first time I've got rejected after being legal."

'What?'

"One does not start with that word and tone without wanting to let the other down. Believe me, I know. I said it a lot of times." He doesn't seem to be affected, yet she can feel the hurt coursing through him. "Can I ask why?"

'That's what I was going to say until you interrupted me, you know?' she says dryly and he waves his hand, motioning her to continue. 'Okay, look. One, I'm a different species.'

"I don't care, I'm pan. I thought it meant all human, but apparently it includes literal aliens, too."

She glares. "Are you going to let me continue?'

At his sheepish shrug, she does so. 'Two, I think we don't know each other enough. True, it's been almost two months, but I think we latched onto each other as soon as we met and that's not really healthy for a relationship.' Before he can ask, she continues, 'I just came into this world and you suffered a great trauma when we met. I helped you and even if you don't believe it, you helped me, too. So we clung onto each other.'

"Huh," it's all he says.

'If we're interested in being together after I'm self-sufficient and you're better, we can try it. I'm not an expert in relationships, as I've never been in a serious one before. And basically, I don't want to jump into anything without being serious about it. You're my friend and I don't want to lose our friendship just for something that might not last long.'

Her nervous monologue seems to get him contemplative. She knows he's stubborn, but he's also a genius, so there's a high chance he will accept her proposal of waiting.

She watched as his hurt feelings slowly morphed into doubt, and then hardened into determination.

She kind of feels guilty for being able to know what he feels, but she can't turn this off. Maybe if she had a higher degree of control, she could block the emotion sensing but as it was, she can't lower it further.

At least she's not reading his mind. That would get invasive and awkward pretty quickly.

"Okay, I see you've got a couple of well thought arguments, so I'll accept to wait because you might be right." He sighed, running a hand through his face. I'm aware that my mental health isn't in an ideal place right now. I may not be good at expressing my feelings, but I'm thankful for the amount of thought you're putting into this—into what we could be, and into caring for me.

'You're my friend, Tony. My well-being is important, true; but you're, too.'

He nods. "Okay, then we'll wait. I don't think I'll change opinion, but I'm able to wait for us to be in a better headspace before trying anything."

"Thank you," she says with a smile as she flies next to him.

He pats her head as he sighs. "Though I admit feeling a bit disappointed."

Her smile widens. 'Don't be afraid to find someone for a casual night out. I don't mind. We're not a couple and you must be frustrated, as you've been a playboy for so long. Being without it must be hell.'

He coughs in his hand. "Hey, now you make it sound like I'm some sex maniac."

She shrugs. 'I'm not judging. I didn't know old you, after all. Also, I get that news about you were exaggerated, but the stories must have had a hint of truth because of how constant they were and they all said how much of a playboy you were.'

He groans loudly as he covers his upper face with a hand. "I knew those comments would come to bite me in the ass someday, but… I changed, you know."

'I know. I hadn't known the previous version of you, so I can't comment on that, but I very much enjoyed getting to know the Tony I met.'

She can see the subtle smile curling his lips as he didn't bother covering that part of his face.

"Still, I don't think it's fair."

She tilts her head. 'Why not?'

With a sigh, he takes his hand away and looks at her. "Never had I expected to feel such possessiveness, given that I had been in multiple relationships or had been in open relationships. I always thought myself of open-minded guy, so—"

'Tony, you're rambling.'

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I don't know how to say it without sounding sexist as hell, but…"

When he trails off for longer than she thought he would, she continues for him. "You don't want me to date others I get?"

He let out a loud exhale, as if someone had just punched him in the stomach. Still, he cringes as he mutters, "Yeah, that's why I said it wouldn't it be fair. Sorry."

She shrugs. 'Eh, frankly, I don't mind. As I've told you before, I'm not interested in playing around, so you don't have to worry about me being in a relationship. And I said it before, right? I don't mind you being with others.'

"That attitude makes me want to make you jealous."

She huffs. 'Yeah, not happening. I'm not demeaning our friendship or anything, just being honest.'

"That doesn't help at all."

'Tough. I am open-minded and have never felt jealousy over anything. Seriously, I wouldn't even mind an open relationship. Polyamory is a thing here, too, right?'

"Er. I've been hearing about it lately, so I more or less know what you mean. I don't think it being socially accepted yet, though? At least, I haven't heard of legal cases of it happening."

'Huh. Well, I wouldn't mind being in a relationship with more people.'

He raises an eyebrow. "You between two or more men, you mean? Kinky."

She shrugs. 'I wouldn't mind if there's a woman or a man, actually. I just prefer men over women. Having seen the woman's body too often, I find it dull.

"Dull, huh?" Tony seems way too amused by the turn of conversation. "Really? I think you being with other women would be hot."

'If there's not a man in between, I don't think I would enjoy it.'

She's not sure if she would even be able to enjoy herself with a man, so she wants to explore and experiment with her new body first.

"You haven't said you're not attracted to other women and you do know strap-ons are a thing, right?"

"I'm not blind; women are hot too.' She rolls her eyes. 'Also, it's not because there's no dick, but because I just don't like the sensation of boobs. Like, I don't even like other women hugging me because our boobs touch each other and it's just ew.'

He coughs. "Yeah, I don't think it's fair to speak about things like this, either."

She cocks her head to the side just in time to see him fixing his pants.

Oh.

'Er. Yeah, we probably should go to sleep.' When she sees his raised eyebrow, she can help but add hastily, 'Not together! Ugh! Go to your room if you don't want me to Sing to you, right now.'

He chuckles, but stands up. "Sure, sure."

.

Chapter Text

After that conversation, November passes quickly. It's actually on the first days of December that she's contacted by Fury. Luckily, he takes her requests of privacy seriously and after a couple of weeks of preparing, he finally furnished a warehouse with something for her to test her powers.

Luckily, Tony had already prepared the same for her a week after their talk, so she had a better knowledge of her powers, so she only needs to go to Fury to give him something. She knows if she doesn't give him anything, then it would be problematic for her. And especially for Tony, as if he's the one hosting her.

America is most likely still salty about him closing the weapons department of Stark Industries.

All in all, it's better for all if she just plays along.

Doesn't mean she will show everything, of course. Just enough to satisfy their curiosity. She will still keep her Gallade's moveset to herself. At least until the invasion happens, or when she really needs it. Also, she's transformed into an Alolan Raichu as she needs attacks to disable others without causing much harm. And what better than an electric type for that?

After that, in the middle of December, Jarvis finishes his calculations with all the elements known, twice. The result? None worked. She remembers being the first days of the month when Jarvis gave his answer for the first time. She could feel the despair overflowing him and he would have drunk until passing out if she hadn't used Sing on him after he finished the first bottle.

She's understanding, but still won't let him ruin his liver.

The morning after, he woke up with a slight hangover that she didn't heal. When he asked why, she told him she won't heal any headaches caused by excessive drinking. He sulked and asked Jarvis to do a double check. He seemed full of anxious energy as he continued working on the new products Stark Industries was going to launch.

He wanted to drink a glass while working, but she convinced him to drink something healthier that could help reduce the poison in his body, as she remembered there being something the Tony of the movies drank to not make his condition worse.

He declined at that moment, but now that it's clear there's no element known…

"You're going to create some natural drink for you to drink. It will prolong the time you have to find a cure," she says after Tony started moving to his bar.

"Hey, you're wearing a turtleneck," Tony says as he looks at her.

There's amusement in his expression, which was the point of wearing this in the first place. After all, word spread like wildfire across New York about the mysterious blue superhero cat. And so, Pepper found out about her outings to New York city and other cities nearby. She was disappointed, but in the end, she gave her little blue turtleneck for her Mew form, showing her understanding.

They were calling her Mysteria when she started helping others, but the small turtleneck solidified her cuteness which now made them shorten her new superhero name to Myst. She kind of liked it, both Mysteria and its shortened version.

A week ago though, she used the red turtleneck Tony gifted her, instead of the blue one Pepper gave her, and the day after, the internet was calling her Americat.

She hasn't used it outside again, horrified. But at least it made Tony laugh, which is becoming rare these days. She's using another red turtleneck now, hoping to lift his mood.

It works but doesn't last long, though.

"I don't know why you're so sure I can discover a new element."

She's sure because she has seen it for herself and the trust she has for him is strong. She can reveal the truth to him, but the thought of it made her heart feel heavy, and she doesn't want to expose that vulnerability to anyone presently.

She looks down, her shoulders drooping as her heart sank. "I wish I could help more."

"You are helping. I don't think I could sleep without you Singing to me or be without pain thanks to all the Healing you've done to me."

"It's not enough, though." She releases a long, drawn-out sigh. "And I know it's not going to change your mind, but I hope you used the suit less."

"Not happening."

And that's that. She doesn't begrudge him for not considering it, as the good he is doing speaks for itself. Not only is he destroying Ten Rings operations, but he's also stabilizing east-west relations. She's incredibly proud of him, as she can feel the warmth radiating from the public towards him, even if the government is getting hostile.

It motivates her.

So she goes out to help others every night; her Psychic range increases with each practice. Instead of choosing one city to focus on, she spreads her efforts out, traveling to a different city each night to help more people. She changes her pattern every night to prevent being seen as predictable. She returns at different times, but never later than three in the morning. She always finds Tony awake. She can't always use Sing because she doesn't want him to become dependent on it. So, whenever she feels Tony will be less prone to nightmares (Empathy and Psychic for the win!), she goes to sleep with him in her Mew form.

She knows the therapeutic power of cats and dogs, and she has experienced the calming effects they can bring to those with mental health issues. She's not a cat, but close enough, right? It seems to work as Tony sleeps easier with her curled around his neck.

At eleven o'clock they both wake up, and she uses her healing powers to ease the aching he's beginning to experience. She hums to herself as she makes lunch for both of them, while Tony's phone rings and he speaks softly to Pepper about work and other matters. After lunch, Tony continues working on his projects or going on a trip if necessary in his suit.

What does she do instead? Well, she has been taking in the sights, searching on the internet for the disparities between her world and this one since she got here. She's got to admit some important things remain the same, but some things do not. Notorious books are mostly the same, but other media, like comics, manga, and movies? Not really.

Now that she's fairly certain that some works haven't been done, and although she can't recall the scene-by-scene details, she has a general idea of how it should go, allowing her to add her own unique spin to it.

First, she's going to introduce DC here, if only for the kicks. She's certain this is the path that will lead to financial success.

She's going to be a writer and her first book is going to be the first part of Batman's trilogy.

After all, she's living with Tony and his DC counterpart has always been Bruce Wayne. She's the only one that's going to get the joke, but she's fine with it.

Chapter Text

By the end of January, she's almost done with her book and Tony is finishing the last details of his Mark IV. It's early, and the conversation is buzzing with Tony's voice as he teases Bruce about being his edgier, less handsome self. He's not moving, but she can sense the anticipation radiating off of him, almost as if he's waiting for something to happen.

It's thirty minutes later when Jarvis announces Pepper is here, and Tony's spiritual fidgeting is almost palpable. After all, despite his outwardly serene demeanor, she can sense the tumultuous emotions bubbling beneath the surface. She's teetering on the edge of curiosity, but she doesn't want to ruin the anticipation of whatever Pepper's presence means by showing that she knows his emotional state.

"Mr. Stark, Eva," Is what she says as soon as she sees them, which always makes her despair because of how formal it is. She had been working on her matchmaking plans for a while, but it was obvious that her efforts had not been successful.

Although he was feeling anxious, his answers came out in a cool, confident manner. "Yes, Ms. Potts?"

"I'm delivering the tailored suit you requested. Also, I was looking at your schedule and noticed that five different dates were all set for today before noon; I wanted to know if there had been a miscalculation."

She can feel his concentrated attention on her, until the realization of Pepper's words suddenly seems to register. "Wait. Five?"

She's still writing, her eyes focused on the words in front of her, but a small smile plays on her lips. "So you weren't planning an orgy?"

Pepper seems taken aback as a sudden cough escapes her throat, her hand reflexively flying to her mouth. Tony fumbles for the right words, before speaking in a silky, polished manner, "No, no. It was totally planned." He stands up, the wrenches clinking softly against each other as he carefully puts them away. "What, you worried?"

She raises an eyebrow. "To be honest, yes. You're not in your twenties anymore, don't you dread the prospect of becoming all dried-up?

Tony groans, hand running through his hair once, before shaking his head. "Anyway, I'm taking the Ferrari and that's it. How I planned it."

"Are you sure?"

He perks up. "Yes, unless you've something to say?"

"Yeah. Didn't you say you were taking the Ferrari to the mechanic?"

He groans once again, before moving up the stairs while grumbling, "I'm going there first, of course."

Pepper, who has been checking something on her phone, looks up. "Your suit is prepared for you upstairs."

"Thanks, Ms. Potts."

"Anytime, Mr. Stark," she answers back, neutrally. And now she wants to be the one groaning—no intimacy between these two, at all. They wait a beat, until the rumble of his grumbling is nothing more than a distant echo before they look at each other.

Pepper smirks. "He's trying a little too hard, isn't he?"

"I'm actually surprised he messed up the dates."

With a shake of her head Pepper sighs. "He was a bit drunk that time, when he asked them out. I didn't hear anything at all, but I've got his working schedule. When I saw the space he's made, and the five dates, I had to ask him about it."

She giggles. "Oh, to be a fly on the wall."

Pepper snorts, not at all formal with her. They eventually became close friends, and it was enjoyable to have someone to chat with about other 'things'. She loves Tony as a friend, but there are certain topics that stir a different emotion when discussed with a woman.

"Wanna bet he ends up bored and leaves them mid-date?"

Humming, Pepper nods once. "Sure, but I bet he brings at least one here, if only to try to get you jealous."

She covered her face with her hands, her cheeks burning as a soft groan escaped her. How she wished Pepper hadn't realized Tony is attracted to her. It would have made the matchmaking easier.

She sighs, looking up.

"Okay, okay. I'm in." Before they shake hands, she can't help but add, "Doing bets on your employer, Ms. Potts? So daring."

"What can I say? He makes it so easy." She smiled and shrugged, and then she noticed the laptop Tony had given her to write on – one of the first items he'd upgraded and was ready to sell in the market. "How is the book going?"

At the change of conversation, she beams up as she always does when her book is mentioned.

Yeah, Pepper is amazing.

After a while of updating each other, Pepper leaves. She happily sits down and begins typing away, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she writes in English, a language she's more comfortable with. Weird considering her native tongue is Spanish and her second language is Italian.

It's a couple of hours later that she's decided to take a break. She's debating the aromas of homemade cooking versus the convenience of take out, since she doesn't want to prepare a meal for just herself. Finally she decides for a hamburger and is ready to fly away to buy it on her Mew form when Jarvis interrupts her.

"Miss Eva? I apologize for stopping you, but Sir has been attacked by mercenaries while being in the mechanic." Eva tenses, her body language conveying her anxiety, and Jarvis responds by softening his voice. "They're currently going to the Mansion. I've already notified the police as Sir requested, and they have passed across a parade surrounded by cops."

"Wait, they?"

"He's with the mechanic, Mike Charles. Going on by the route Sir chose, I'm sure they will soon pass the bridge near the Mansion. If you could give him a hand, Sir would be grateful."

She's already on her Mew form before he even finished talking, taking one of the Bluetooth devices and putting it close to her ear to hear other news Jarvis has for her. She teleports to the bridge just in time to see Tony's Ferrari about to come near the opening bridge. Then, he's jumping and Eva only has once second to think about helping, before she's already grabbing the car mid-air and helping them cross.

They could have made it, probably, but better to be sure.

She could see the mercenaries stopping just in time, alongside the sirens coming near. They seem to want to escape, with some even ready to take out their guns, but she stops them by closing the doors and windows while taking the tires out.

She finishes doing so by the time Tony arrives flying in his Ironman suit. He seems ready to attack, but when she sees the mercenaries inside their cars like sardines, he chooses to go to her instead.

"So, I've had to cancel my dates."

She rolls her eyes. 'Aren't you supposed to be worried about the bad guys?"

He glances at them before saying. "You seem to be handling it well."

At that moment, the police arrives.

Chapter Text

Tony's recklessness is intensifying as the bleakness of February sets in. She's getting worried, and her voice has taken on an edge of urgency as she has told Tony that if he doesn't want her to follow him, Jarvis should update her on his movements. She doesn't want to be oppressive, but Tony needs someone to help him rein in his more intense responses. And, while they now have a more amicable relationship, Pepper still feels uncomfortable doing anything that would cross her professional boundaries. She thought Rhodes could be the one to set him on the right path, but when she proposed that Tony should tell him the truth, he shook his head and told her: Don't insist, please.

That 'please' did her in.

She couldn't continue her argument when he said that word. She's that weak. And even from a distance, the few times she has seen him after the fight with Obadiah, she can almost feel the tension between Tony and Rhodes, so it wouldn't have worked anyway. After Christmas, for the first time in what seems like forever, their argument doesn't turn into a shouting match and his mood isn't sour. That's when he meets her.

From what Tony tells her, he knows about Eva, the Mew, but not about 'Lilith' the human. So, when he runs into her Lilith form, after another fight with Tony, he stops one moment at seeing her. And she doesn't blame him, she's only wearing tight shorts and one of Tony's shirts.

She waves at him in greeting. He shakes his head, and she hears the faint sound of his sigh, before he gives a small nod and smiles weakly at her before leaving.

Yeah, he's a nice person, a bit stiff, yet his kindness remains.

He is far more hospitable than she expects, given the nature of their conversation. She can still feels his moody emotions, but it's understandable, after all, Tony has been working on military missions, most often going against direct orders to not interfere. She only knows because Fury showed up at Tony's house with a dour expression, making it clear that Tony's standing in the government was not good. The military is losing trust in him and Senator Stern is preparing some moves against him to show the world that America is not reliant on Iron man.

She goes downstairs and notices him sipping beer, one of the only alcoholic drinks she allows him to have because of its lower percentage.

Leaning against the door, she says after observing him outwardly and inwardly, "You don't seem to be mad."

"Yeah, well. This was the same lecture until something more exciting happened." At her raised eyebrow and questioning look, he explains, "Apparently, the military were doing a field test for an aircraft made by Hammer Industries from the Ugandan airspace when it went radio silent."

"Do you need my help?"

He shakes his head as he looks into a tablet. "I've got Jarvis running for some info and it seems that the Congolese army shot the aircraft down. And watch this, it was supposed to be invulnerable to surface-air-attacks."

He snorts, looking a step away from laughing as she fixes him a dry look. "You don't seem surprised."

"I'm not. It was made by Hammer, after all." He shrugs in a 'what can you do' way before going to where his suits are in.

She raises both eyebrows. "Rhodes told you to act?"

"Not really. I overhear him while he was talking on the phone, but I think it won't be long before—"

"I apologize for interrupting you, Sir, but you've got a call incoming."

Tony winks at her. "Seems the military is going to let me get some fun."

Rolling her eyes, she huffs. "You're not even sure who is it."

"Jarvis?"

"It's General Turner, Sir."

When he gives her a smug grin, she feels her fists clench with a desire to smash it into the ground. He seems pleased with her expression because he motions Jarvis to connect the call with a smile.

From what she hears, the so-called General seems to hide as much information as he possibly can when he explains what he wants from Tony. Basically, only telling him that he needs to retrieve the technology and rescue the pilot.

"I'm in, don't worry. However, what am I gonna do if soldiers come to me, thinking me ready to invade or something?"

The old man was quiet for a moment, before answering firmly, "You've got the right to defend yourself, don't you?"

And then he cuts the phone call.

… What an a-hole.

"They indirectly told you to kill innocent people." At Tony's troubled look, she asks softly, "Just do what you feel it's best and will let you sleep without trouble at night."

He pats her head with a sigh. "Thank you."

.

Tony leaves and the room falls silent, so she takes a moment to compose herself before continuing to write the second volume. The first book has had its cover selection almost done, and the only thing left is deciding on an exact date of release—most likely in the upcoming month.

She wants to concentrate on her outline but finds that she can't. So she follows Jarvis' commentary of what's happening. It appears he only slightly injures the soldiers, and doesn't fight back with fire. He guides the pilot to safety, and she releases the tension she had been carrying on her shoulders.

When he's tasked with bringing the airman to their base in Cairo, she settles into her seat with a relieved sigh. Now, deciding to continue writing, she sits on her red chair. She's about to tell Jarvis to stop with the updates when she hears the name General Ross. When she tunes in once again, she realizes that the Ross they're talking about is the one from Hulk and he is scolding Tony for not defending himself, as he 'should have done'.

Now she's once again worried, because from what she hears, the USA is not too happy with Tony's actions and they haven't been for a while.

Shit.

She moves her laptop aside, knowing she won't be able to write anymore. So, she decides to wait for Tony while cooking some food for him to at least relax as it's almost dinnertime.

He comes almost by the time she's done. She doesn't need to look at him to feel the weariness exuding from him.

"So you heard, huh?"

She tries to smile, she really does, but it ends up looking more like a grimace. Tony walks up to her and runs the back of his hand on her cheek. She lets it pass this time because she knows he must need the comfort, but still. Instead of it becoming into something remotely romantic, she goes to give him a platonic hug him.

"What are we gonna do?"

"We, huh?"

She punches his back lightly. "Yes, we're friends, remember? A superhero team."

He sinks into the hug, his breath catching in his chest as he sighs. "I want to leave as my legacy something besides weapons and war and I don't think Iron man is going to cut it."

She could barely get the words out, her throat so tight she could hardly speak; "You're not going to die."

"I've been thinking of opening the Stark Expo," he continues as if she hasn't said anything, but she knows by the tightening of the hug, he heard her. "I've been planning it for some time now and just yesterday I sent the plans to Potts."

She laughs wetly. "You're giving her so much work when she's supposed to be just your assistant. I bet she's going to need one of her own soon, too."

He presses his cheek on top of her head while chuckling. "Yeah, maybe I'll give her that idea next time she calls."

"Taking the credit away from me, huh," she huffs.

"What's mine is yours. What's yours is mine."

She slaps him on the back once again. "As far as I know, we haven't gotten married."

"Yet." She's got some words ready to tell him, but he stops her by saying, "You wouldn't deny something to a dying man, right?"

"Shut up, you're not dying."

"Sure, sure," he says, humoring her.

Chapter Text

And so the month passes like that, her schedule not changing much apart from being around Tony a bit more, as he sometimes falls into odd silences where he seems pensive but going on by the feelings he gives out, it's not something that innocent.

She convinces him to go out more frequently so he won't be so cooped up in his lab. And he does so, not only by going out of the country for work-related events but just for fun, too. He may misinterpret her motives, thinking they're dates, so she wore transformed into her ferret form to avoid any confusion.

Going out and having fun doesn't mean that he's not trying to come out with a solution for his palladium problem, though. Despite the obstacles, he keeps trying, refusing to accept defeat. He wants to live, true, but is realistic enough to prepare for the worse and so comes the Wills and the plans he doesn't even let her know about.

She worries about his mental health, and so she knows those little trips are necessary for his peace of mind.

So they go to India because Tony wants to watch the race between one of his exes, Abby Rose, and a famous world-class driver, Aiden Julius. Eva accepts to accompany him. What she doesn't accept is him planning to follow the race with his suit on, as in, flying alongside the cars. She tries to convince him to go floating next to her, with her holding him in place as they follow the race, but he disagrees.

When asked why, he tells her he's uncomfortable with high heights. "You fly using the Iron Man suit, though?"

"That's different. I know how that works and I know its quality first hand." At her squinted eyes, he continues, "You could get distracted and let me fall without knowing."

She cocks her head and raises her eyebrow in disbelief. "I'm not that clumsy. Also, I can catch you if it does happen."

"Sorry, but I pass. I promise to not do anything risky, though."

She threw her hands out, a huff of frustration accompanying the motion. "Fine, but if you so much as use anything but the flight function, we're going to go to a museum."

He cringes. "Do we have to?"

"Why so worried? You said you won't do anything dangerous."

With a grumble, he accepts.

However, what none of them knew about was the diamond mine that was near where the race happened to cross by. Some people from the Ten Rings were prepared for Iron Man to appear as they had Diamond Tipped-bullets to pierce his armor.

Tony gets shot by one of those and after hearing his cry of pain, she stops the other bullets from making contact with him.

When the men realized someone's stopping the bullets, they take out a cannon. Luckily, she has already put the Bluetooth device on her ear so she could hear him curse, before informing her that the cannon was an Electro-Magnetic Pulse.

She stopped them in time, flinging them away from the cannon, both Tony and the mercenaries. Afterward, it was easy to hold them down while waiting for the authorities to deal with them.

And that's how the world found out her Mew form is friends with Tony.

On the bright side, she'll be able to pull Tony to a visit to the museum.

.

Tony's face contorts into a grimace when he is told they're going to a Museum. She yearns to wander the halls of the Louvre, but she must wait patiently for at least two months before she can do so. Getting to that famous place requires a booking far in advance. Tony can usually get in without a problem due to his fame, but she relishes the thought of entering without a trail of reporters behind her. Tony may be accustomed to it, but she isn't and doesn't want to become accustomed to it, unless it is absolutely necessary.

So yeah, it takes almost a month for their trip to another museum to be scheduled and it happens mostly because the business partner Tony needs to meet owns a museum, which has some new paintings. Intrigued by the prospect of exploring Germany, she accepts. And it's fun! Tony has a meeting later in the afternoon, so they have to make the most of the morning and half of the afternoon to explore the museum and its surroundings.

Tony grumbles and complains, but she can see the twinkle in his eye that reveals he's actually enjoying himself. Most likely because he put the condition of her being in her human form for it, which she already planned to do as, while others now knew of his connection with her Mew form, it would be too high-profile.

So human it is.

He and she have a wonderful time, but when the sun begins to dip below the horizon, Tony decides against taking her to the hotel as it's too late for that. They go to the meeting instead.

There's traffic though. Some cops are stopping some cars, searching for something. They are stopped mid-way, too. When Tony asks about it, after the police let them go after realizing they're talking to the real Tony Stark, they tell him some robbers used a red car to take over a hundred million dollars worth of art from the Maltese Museum. The same museum they were at a couple of hours ago.

Tony and Eva silently communicate before Eva utters, "What do you think?"

Tony requests Jarvis to look for the car, instead of giving an answer. He then turns to her, "Ready to have some fun?"

"Don't you have a meeting?" She carried on, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "You didn't even bring the suit with you, now did you?"

"True, but I've got my gloves ready to be used in an instant."

He puts on a thick glove that unwraps around Tony's arm and part of his chest, making him appear like a cyborg.

She snorts, prepared to make a comparison between himself and a small Alchemist, but in the end, she keeps it to herself, knowing he will not get it.

She gazes at it approvingly and says, "It looks good." It doesn't offer the same protection as the suit, but if it's only for attack purposes, it's okay.

Tony's about to say something, judging by his smirk, but Jarvis thankfully cuts him off, announcing the robbers are at 15 minutes away. Distracted, Tony grins at hearing that. "It's nearby! Let's go, then."

She braces herself, grabbing the door handle firmly as the car picks up speed, the wind whistling past her ears. "The meeting, Tony!"

"Eh. We're going to be late, anyway. Best to have a good reason for it."

And with those words, they set to pursue the robbers.

It's an easy fight, if it can be called that, at all. They surrender as soon as they see Tony with only a glowing glove. She almost rolls her eyes.

The only positive besides returning the paintings is that they were part of the collection of the guy who Tony had a meeting with, making the meeting go even more smoothly, from what Tony says to her.

.

Chapter Text

It's when they're again on the plane that they relax. She's moaning about what the media will say the next day as she's seen taking the plane back with Tony because the capture of the robbers was too high-profile and it will be weird if she disappears in the air after some took photos of her next to Tony.

Tony, luckily, can't make fun of her because of the green drink he's taking with a grimace.

"Is it that bad?" she asks.

"Worse." His grimace turns mischievous as he tilts the drink toward her. "Wanna try?"

She steps back from the horrid smell. "No thanks."

Seeing his pouting face, she can't help but feel bad. She grows serious as she sits in front of him. Ignoring the smell, she asks, "Nothing about a cure?"

His grimace worsens.

"What about—"

"It's hard to discover a new element, okay?" he snaps. He then sighs and his voice a gentle murmur as he said, "I'm trying, okay?"

"I wish there was something more I could do to help besides stop some symptoms from spreading," she mutters while thinking about how she will have to tell him part of the truth if he doesn't find anything in two weeks. She will have to think about how to reveal what his Father found out without telling him how she found out about it.

She sighs softly but thanks to sitting so close Tony hears and tries to lift the mood by saying, "Well, unless we can create a time machine that could help us travel through time to see if anyone has discovered a new element in the future, I don't see it working. But yeah maybe I should—"

She stops listening to him. The word 'time travel' resonates within her.

She knows Tony finds a way to travel time in the future with the help of Pym's technology, but maybe she could—

"Hey, Eva. Are you listening to me?" Tony says, snapping his fingers at her.

She shakes her head, feeling a pang of guilt for not paying attention to Tony. She can't contain her joy though. Grasping his shoulder and giving it a light shake, her face beams into a wide grin. "Time travel, Tony! Time travel!"

Tony lets her move him around, and she can sense his lips upturning from her delight. "Okay, can you tell me what got you so excited? Did you discover how to Time travel?"

"Basically, yes," she says, feeling proud of herself for finding the answer to Tony's poisoning and a way to successfully conceal her future knowledge. "There are two Pokémon that can travel across time."

Tony lifts his eyebrows. "Really? Is it a Psychic, too?"

She shakes her head, letting out a soft laugh, before nodding and smiling brightly. "Well, one of them. And it's the weaker of the two, but perfect for what we're trying to do, so it probably won't hurt."

"If you say so. Though… Are there really Pokémon who can do this kind of thing?"

"Well, normal Pokémon can't do it, but there are some that can affect nature's law: The Legendaries."

"Uh oh. I can feel the caps on that word. It sounds important." He frowns. "Don't you think it will be dangerous?"

She shrugs. "Maybe, but—no pain, no gain, right?"

"Yeah, no." He shakes his head. "You don't like the pain, remember?"

"I can deal with some pain."

He raises an eyebrow.

"I can!"

"You sulked for an hour after you burned yourself while cooking."

"Hey, I sulked because I made a rookie mistake, not because of the pain."

"Sure, sure. If it helps you sleep at night…"

"Ass."

"You love my ass."

She blushes and punches lightly his arm. "Asshole."

He winks at her. "Kinky. Do you also love my—"

"Ugh, shut up!" She tries to ignore her blush as she takes a deep breath and says, "Okay, I'll try it."

"Wait. Here, in the plane? At least, first tell me about those two Pokémon you mentioned."

She looks around. She knows they're alone for privacy's sake, but there's still a pilot and some attendants next to the plane room. Seemingly able to know what she's thinking about, he only waves his hand and says, "Jarvis."

She hears a whirring noise, and a raised eyebrow is all she needs for him to explain about his own security mechanisms inside his planes. Still, to be sure, she's only going to talk inside his mind. Tony rolls his eyes when she says that to him, but he complies. "So?"

'Well, the two Pokémon I was referring to before are Dialga and Celebi."

He seems to process both words before saying, "Okay, they are both 'Legendaries', I take it. But what does legendary mean?"

She looks aside nervously. 'Well, they're god-like beings, created by the God of Creation, Arceus, to maintain the order of nature… Or something like that.'

His eyebrow, which had been steadily rising since she started speaking, is now almost level with his hairline. "Something like that?"

'Yeah, well. I'm technically a Legendary myself, but obviously, I came here with the minimum powers my race can have and each transformation causes me pain, which is weird and shouldn't happen.'

"You're a deity?" he says incredulously, which, rude.

She huffs. 'Is that so hard to believe?'

"You've got a domain and everything?"

'Well, I'm not the original Mew, but I'm a Mew. The original one is the ancestor of all Pokémon. I'm… a copy? Yes, a copy of the original. That's why I can transform in all Pokémon. All Mew have that ability, but for some reason, I feel pain when I do so.' He seems to grow concerned and she, feeling guilty for putting that expression on his face, decides to change the topic. 'Anyway, the two Pokémon I was talking about both can travel through Time.'

Tony frowns. "Okay, so they're Legendaries and they have the same ability but… they can't be the same, right? Is there a difference between them?"

'Well, Dialga is the Personification of time, while Celebi is only able to travel through Time.' She hums as she thinks about it. 'Like, using a metaphor, if Dialga is the sea, with the sea being Time, Celebi would be a boat, I think? Celebi can travel as they wish, but can't command the sea.'

Tony squints his eyes and asks, "Are you comparing a minor-tier deity with a primordial one?"

'Yeah, basically.'

"Please tell me, the Psychic one is the so-called boat."

Her lips twitch upwards and she can't say anything as she was the one who made the comparison. 'Yeah. Celebi is a Grass/Psychic Pokemon.'

Chapter Text

Tony's body melts into the chair, his loud sigh of relief echoing in the room. "Just out of curiosity, what was the other one's typing?"

'Dragon/Steel.'

"Yeah, no. I've heard so many stories about prideful dragons… I don't know about your world, but I would think a primordial Dragon god would be hard to control."

'I haven't had any trouble so far.'

"So far." 

She glares at him in response to his quip, but then her face breaks into a smile as she declares, 'Alright, I'll try transforming into a Celebi and travel to the future to bring back news.'

"Are you sure about this?" Tony sounds uncharacteristically nervous as he says. "I mean, this is a legendary. Are you sure you'll be able to do it?"

Frowning, she crosses her arms. "Are you doubting me?" 

"Not really. I'm just worried. Besides, how do we know you will know how to use this Celebi's abilities when you try it? You'll probably have to practice a lot and—"

'Then I'll practice a lot. It doesn't matter, as it's worth it. No pain, no gain, I said. Remember?' She then looks around before getting up from the chair. One moment, she's a beautiful woman with blue hair, the next she's a Mew. 'Okay, ready!'

Tony straightens his posture and whispers harshly, "Wait, what? Now?"

'Yeah, no time like the present, right?'

He looks at his tablet and says, "We're flying on top of Austria. Are you sure nothing will go wrong and you won't fall to your death?"

She looks at him dryly. 'Don't jinx it. Also, I'm transforming inside your plane and in case I appear outside of it, Celebi can fly, too.'

Tony breathes in. "Can't I convince you to wait for at least until I'm in the latest stage of poisoning before trying this?"

'We don't know if I'll be able to control the form perfectly immediately. Better to use it now in case I need to practice, right?'

"Right," he mutters. He glances downward, his face thoughtful, before raising his gaze to meet hers. "I've a bad feeling in my gut, but I'm not one to believe in metaphysical sensations, so yeah, go on. Try it."

She smiles widely. 'You will not regret this.'

Tony swallows nervously, but still manages to nod. With that last assurance, she focuses on the picture of Celebi she has in her mind and tries to put it out like the other times she has transformed. As usual, when doing a Psychic Pokemon, instead of the all-consuming pain, she feels a repeated tingle all over her body. However, unlike those times, there's a heavy feeling accompanying the sensation.

For some reason, she remembers the Nietzsche saying of 'If you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you.' Because that's what she's feeling now. She doesn't feel her body. It's like that dream she's had before appearing in the Desert. Everything feels fuzzy, but she's more awake than before. She's never had a lucid dream, but she thinks this would be one.

And there's someone with her.

She's again in some place, but this time she recognizes it's a dark space. She should be afraid as she's never been comfortable in too-dark spaces, but it's soothing instead.

"Who are you?" a sweet, bell-like voice says.

She feels her eyelids droop until the sound snaps her eyes open, filling her with alertness. Her response is as automatic as it's cautious. "I'm Eva."

"Are you?"

"I am now. What about you?"

There's the sound of chiming bells. It's a gentle, tinkling sound, like a soft chuckle. "I think you know who I am."

"Celebi," she says, feeling a bit apprehensive as she feels some mental prod moving towards her. It stops, and she thinks she might have offended them somehow, but—

"I'm not going to hurt you, you know. You're a Mew, after all."

She feels unsure now, but she still approaches the mental prod with one of her own in the form of a hand. She's always felt more human than Mew, even if her Pokémon form is more comfortable than her human one. "Am I?" 

"You're now," they say, cooing as her mental hand touches his own prod. It feels warm and friendly. She sighs as she leans into the feeling, soaking in its warmth.

"So does this mean I can't transform into a Legendary?"

"Not one inside the supervision of Arceus, no." Celebi hums, the sound like a gentle wind, whispering and calming. "I can help you, though."

"Can you?"

"Sure!" they say in an bubbly, positive tone.

"But… this world doesn't form part of the ones Arceus controls, am I right?"

"Uhm. Yes, you are right." They seems to be thinking while leaning more into her hand, as if asking for pats. She obliges. "You form a part of that world now, though. But you're a pokemon and that means you fall into our Jurisdiction, too. So…"

She tilts her imaginary head, not understanding what Celebi is trying to say.

Celebi giggles. "I could give you an aspect of my power. It depends on what you need."

She's ready to mention Tony, but then she stops. She acknowledges that Tony is her friend, and she's willing to support him, but she also has plans that don't involve him. So better to think in the bigger picture when asking for something from someone who she won't be able to meet again.

Unsure of where to start, she decides it's wise to focus on her larger goal and then adjust her expectations if it can't be met. "… I want to change the destiny of this universe. I want to change the plot for the better."

"Change the 'plot'?" they said, nuzzling into her mental palm.

"The story of this Universe," she says, pushing glimpses of memories she remembers onto the link, especially focusing on the Snap. "It follows guidelines that will cause a lot of suffering. I wish to change it."

"Suffering builds character," they say, looking through all she has shown.

She feels herself frowning. "Other safer things build character, too."

She hears the sweet, lilting hum again. "Okay, I think I know how to help."

"Really?"

"Yes," they say, the sound of mirth in their voices. "You want to change the plot, right? I'll take you there."

"Take me… there?"

They don't seem to be hearing her. They start babbling happily. "And you're so close to a plot point, too! I can leave you near where you can cause bigger changes. Oh, but you need something to help you not to be erased by the Time stream itself. It doesn't like changes unless you form part of it."

"Eh. What?"

"I know! I'll give you this!"

And then something is pushing into her being. It's not painful, not really, but unlike her transformations that feel her own, this feels unnatural. She can't help but let out a cry, sounding cute in her Mew form. There's someone—Celebi—soothing her and it helps. It doesn't longer feel like glue sticking into her soul, but more like a warm bath. She sighs when she feels it over.

She wants to touch Celebi's mental prod once again, but she feels them pulling back. "Oops. Better go, or I'll be found out. Dialga is already going to lecture me when I return, but it was worth it. Good luck, Eva, and remember to not transform into Legendaries who are PART of Arceus' jurisdiction."

She can feel them winking and then Celebi is gone.

Chapter Text

With a swiftness equal to throwing out the garbage, she's thrown out of her mind. Before she can think about what has happened, she hears the sound of the wind whistling around her. 

Wait, wind?

Snapping her eyes open, she realizes there's no plane around her and she's high in the air, falling. She stops her fall and looks around, seeing only trees under her. Confused, she opens her senses to the chirping of the birds, the rustle of the leaves, the smell of the earth, and the minds around her. Wanting to know if the plane is near, she searches and searches but feels nothing for a couple kilometers. She expands her senses even more, focusing now down where the trees are instead of up in the sky, until she starts feeling faint presences. She goes down until the tall trees obscure her view and flies towards the presences, wanting to search for some phone first so she can call Tony. Or really, she just needs to be seen by a camera and Tony will get Jarvis to locate her.

Easy peasy.

Still. Better to use stealth as she doesn't want to surprise anyone. There's no reason not to use the move she's been practicing since a couple of weeks ago. It's not an actual move, but she has seen Mew using it in some of the movies. And two weeks ago, she managed to do it and a week after that; she perfected it. 

What move is she talking about?

Invisibility, of course.

She mostly perfected in case she needed to transform into human and to not be seen nude while doing so. Being the careful person (Pokemon) that she is, she uses it while approaching the people she's felt. While doing so, she can't help but think about Celebi's last words. They said she couldn't transform into Legendaries under the jurisdiction of Arceus. The only one that she can guess from the top of her head are the Ultra Beasts, Necrozma, and Deoxys.

She's really curious if it would work. She doesn't remember much about the Ultra beasts as she only knew about Alola thanks to fanfics, having stopping watching the anime after the Sinnoh region- Less be said about the games, which she just played the first couple.

So, now felling energized and a bit daring, decides to give it a try to the one she knows more about: Deoxys.

Focusing on their image, she transforms and, unlike the other times she's tried psychic Pokemon, this time, it hurts. Like lava pouring inside her veins, she feels the change. Her transformation isn't quick and smooth, but slow and so, so painful. She almost feels her bones and skin melting. She wants to cry out, but she can't as her mouth is now gone. 

She feels herself once again falling and this time she can't do anything to stop herself. Her senses seem to expand and increase forcefully. Later, she will be glad for that, for the level up her Psychic has gotten before it started filling with so many moves. Because she's forgotten Deoxys has other forms and with each form came other moves.

And then, as if waking up from a dream, she feels her back touching the ground forcefully and the dirt covering her body. The pain is then gone, and she opens her eyes and looks at herself, at her bright, yellow and green limbs. With a trembling body, she manages to stand, overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling of weakness. There's some relief that it worked and she has gained so many moves, but… yeah, not trying it again soon.

She looks around, finding it a bit weird with her limbs being what they are. So, she chooses to float a little bit. She spreads her senses so wide that she feels a headache at the vast difference in between her power then and now. The comparison of her former self to a tiny candle flame is fitting, as she now feels like an unstoppable bonfire with the upgrade. She feels as if she can know what's happening on the continent. Luckily, it's a passive ability and one she can easily ignore because otherwise ignoring the despair that large parts of the small countries around seem to be exuding would be—

She turns around sharply, feeling someone watching her. However, there's no one there. She tries to use her newfound senses to feel that presence again, but it's gone. Though now that she thinks about it, it's weird. She can feel some people being too close to each other be a town (Maybe there's a meeting?) and there are others separated into small groups as if forming a… perimeter. 

She curses under her breath, her distraction broken as she can feel them moving, some of them coming towards her. She must have made a loud sound when she fell.

Is she in the middle of some attack? Or is it some form of practice for the Austrian military? She really doesn't know, so better to be even more cautious. She hovers up, close to the trees, until she can see some of the people appearing to where the small crater she made is. She can't help but tilt her head at what she sees from the group of five closest to her. 

The men are wearing green long-sleeved jackets that look more like a shirt, with a black wide belt and pants of the same color. It's so… impractical. Aren't military people supposed to wear camouflage clothes when in action? Or are those only the American ones? What she knows about military comes from movies, so she really doesn't know how it works. Also, those green helmets look so weird. 

The guys seem to be alert to their surroundings, but still are relaxed enough to talk softly between themselves. Sadly, she doesn't understand their language, and she doesn't see a phone around, so she continues flying to where she senses more people. 

She continues like that, seeing the same dressed people. Though she does start to notice some weird things that are starting to fill her with dread. Like, their weapons seem to be cumbersome and old-looking, not like the sleek and powerful one she's seen in the movies. The people are mostly wielding rifles and have old guns in their holsters. Also, there are a lot. Like, prepared-for-war type of quantity.

She's starting to curse in her mind as she, once again, expands her senses as far as she can. Going from passive to active, without truly overwhelming herself, she tries to cover the entire continent as to know if what she's thinking about is what's really happening.

And immediately flinches, not managing to cover more than a couple tens of kilometers because she can feel acute despair coming from some part in the southeast. It's a resigned type of desperation, alongside some people that feel oddly dull, like their feelings are being forcefully smoothed down.

It makes her feel oddly angry, to know that someone is playing with someone's mind and she's sure that's what's happening. She knows too well about minds to not notice otherwise. But this foreign anger seems not her own, so she finds it weird.

She will analyze it later. There are people to help. With that in mind, she goes above the trees still in her invisible state and flies to where she can feel the despair.

It doesn't take her long to reach the place where she can feel the despairing people with the speed she's going. She could go faster, but she would probably leave signs in the sky of her increased speed. She sees the big building and one look at the sigil on top of it makes her curse softly, but firmly. 

Because that's HYDRA's sigil.

She sighs, now understanding what Celebi was trying to explain. What better place to change things than when the first Avenger made his debut? Because there's no way the HYDRA of the year she comes from is as brash as to put their obvious sigil on top of a building. That and the soldiers she's seen make her believe she's in the middle of World War II. When exactly, she doesn't know.

Spy time it is, then.

Chapter Text

She carefully keeps her body close to the ceiling as she enters the facility, so as not to brush against anyone. She wants to explore, but the feel of despair lingers in the air and draws her closer. Though those people have only a despair tinted with desperation. There's no panic or other signal that they're under danger or torture. Better to go where she feels those few people who are having their minds altered and knowing HYDRA and their tactics… Well, she's pretty sure they're trying to brainwash them.

It takes her a while to do so because, while she knows where the direction in which they are, she doesn't know how to go without losing herself in the process. This place is huge, after all. And she can't go in a direct line, destroying every wall to arrive to where she intends to go.  

So yeah, it takes a while. But in the end, she manages.

And curses once again when she sees Bucky 'Winter Soldier' Barnes alongside other six guys, all on top of uncomfortable looking tables, staring blanking into the ceiling. She doesn't know if she's lucky now that she knows that she's close to where she remembers Steve debuting as the war hero, Captain America, or if she needs to curse her luck because this doesn't give her much time to think of her backstory. Because she needs one.

Ugh.

Looking down at their unfocused gazes, she wants to help them, but she can't wake them up without thinking about her story first. And not helping them makes her feel annoyed and guilty, so she needs to think quickly.

She looks around, seeing a couple of syringes on a plate and a big map on the wall. She looks closer and sees some coordinates written. May be important later on, so she takes note of it and looks around, her gaze falling on a small closet. She opens it slowly, trying to see if it makes a sound. When it doesn't, she opens it wider and sees a couple of lab coats and a couple of white shirts. The shirts are big, but maybe she can use one as a dress if she transforms into a human, but the pants are too big and there are no belts to use. She keeps looking around, but aside from the clothes she found, there are only a couple of lab instruments and other knickknacks.  

She hums, unsure if she should show herself as a human or as a Mew turned into a Deoxys.

However, she remembers that while searching about the differences between her world and this one; she read some of Steve Rogers' story and hadn't found evidence of her Mew-self. Not that she was searching for that, but she doesn't think it happened as she has been known in this form for a while and the people of New York hadn't reacted in any outrageous manner, outside of the normal way one does when seeing a cat superhero. 

Also, the biggest evidence to support her theory is Fury. He hadn't known anything about her original form, and she could know that he wasn't faking it because she felt his emotions at seeing her. That means Mew isn't known by SHIELD. 

Also, how's it that it hasn't crossed her mind to her being here has already hanged the future? Well, she just knows this is the past of the future she came from. She doesn't know why, but the sky is blue, the grass is green, and she's sure she's in the past and not a parallel world. 

Most likely, Celebi's fault.

So, with a sigh and a look around, she decides to momentarily transform into her human form so as to not frighten the soldiers. 

Appearing naked as always, she jumps instantly and starts floating, not touching the cold floor anymore. Luckily, she isn't feeling as cold as one normally would. Still, she doesn't like cold feet. She's lucky there were a couple pair of socks in that small closet. She put them on because, while she can float, it will still look weird to do so if anyone sees her. She doesn't use the pair of shoes she's found because they're too big. Also, her curse from her old life has followed her and her shoe size is the smallest possible for an adult female, which sucks because it's hard to find nice heels in her size. 

Shaking her head, she concentrates on the task at hand. Though it's weird how she has gotten used to being naked, so much so that she's no longer bothered to being like that in the same space with seven men. It's true they are unconscious, but she couldn't even be naked in front of her sisters in her previous life, so yeah, weird.

Anyway, now that she has some clothes to cover her modesty, even if she feels the drift between her legs, she can start working. At least the cold is easy to ignore when she's inside the building. How it would be when she's outside, she doesn't know. Hopefully, it's not that cold.

She doesn't believe herself to be that lucky, though.

With a deep breath, and an use of Amnesia to calm herself, she goes to where the soldiers are. She looks between the bodies before deciding to wake up Bucky first. Mostly because she wants to implement fail safes in his mind to safeguard it. Or at least try to do so, as she has never done before. So, while crossing her fingers, she puts both hands on the sides of his face. Why do so when she can just enter his mind without touching him? Well, first to get into the mood. And also, because she's found if she's touching anyone, it's easier to focus on their minds.

She exhales and dives in, listening to how he's trying to close himself from the torture he's been put by repeating what he remembers of his life, reciting it again and again. He's strong willed, she can feel it. He does not want to forget himself, but he knows it would still make him more susceptible to brainwashing later.

She helps him lock the brainwashing by putting the techniques used on him inside a box and covering it with better memories. She then tries to reinforce his mind by accentuating his normal memories so as to make it hard to forget. Also, in case he becomes the Winter Soldier in the future, she tries copying his memories and also putting it inside another box, in case they overwrite his original memories, she can always open this box and he can remember everything.

Let's hope it's unnecessary, though.

When she's done, she looks up and notices it has passed fifteen minutes, so it hasn't been that long. She almost sighs in relief, but then she looks down and sees Bucky looking up at her. She realizes then that her hands are still grabbing the sides of his head. Clearing her throat, she lets go, murmuring a quick, 'sorry.'

"Who are you?" he breathes out hoarsely.

She can't use 'Eva' as that's the name future-SHIELD knows her by, so she it's stalling time. "Lilith. Er, hi?"

At his continued look of confusion, she adds, "Look, you've been brainwashed. I'm just trying to help out."

She straightens up and goes to the next body, a blond guy with green eyes. "I'm going to help this guy out, now. If you can look out in case someone nears, I'll be grateful. We need to escape afterwards, after all."

As if to accentuate her words, she hears the sound of gunfire going out. She curses and dives into the mind of the next guy, being quick and not as throughout as she was with Bucky. Still, she makes sure there are no hiding orders inside his mind. Luckily, there aren't.

Chapter Text

When she comes out and looks at the time again, she's glad to find out only three minutes have passed. She turns her head and sees Bucky now seated and trying to stand up, his gaze never leaving her figure. She glances down when she hears the blonde guy coughing as he looks up at her.

"Who are you?" this guy also asks, and she's quick to answer with a 'Lilith, hi', before going to the next guy, the sound of guns firing increasing as she dives onto the next guy, and then the next, and the next after that one until a fine layer of sweat is forming on her brow. 

Her control is good but being careful and quick is still hard to do. Whenever she goes out of a mind, she notices that some of the awoken guys are already in position. One is the lookout while the others search for any weapons in sight, preparing to attack.

When she's done with the last one, she looks up to see all the other guys watching her. The sounds of gunfire outside have become increased in volume and intensity, now some bombs going on alongside them.

She breathes in deeply, her shoulders rising and falling, before meeting the eyes of each person present, seeing nothing but a fierce determination within them. For one moment, she's overwhelmed by the sea of unfamiliar faces, her mind racing as she struggles to find the right words. Though her hate for empty silences is stronger than her fear of public speaking, as always, so she straightens her posture and says, "Ready to escape, boys?"

Some roll their eyes while others have smirks on their lips. In the end, Bucky is the one to step forward. "I've found a gun. I'll take point."

She looks at the small gun that looks more ready for a battle between cowboys than for a war and raises an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, no. No offence, but that little thing wouldn't help us much. Better if I take point and you guard my side."

One of the guys, a beefy one with an awesome mustache, is the one to raise his eyebrow this time. He gives her petite form a glance over before saying, "Only you, girly?"

She smirks, and hoping this won't bite her ass later, she floats up and, just knowing she could transform into Deoxys without first becoming Mew, she changes. They step back as the clothes tear apart from the transformation.

She can't breathe in as she currently has no mouth, but still manages to form a telepathic link with them as she says, 'Do not be afraid. I said it before, didn't I? I'm here to save you.'

They flinch even when she made sure her thoughts weren't too loud.

"What are you?" one guy breathes out, his hold tightening on his weapon, action followed by all others.

She can't even swallow as she doesn't have a mouth, which is a blessing as they can't see how nervous she is, but also a curse, as the action would at least calm her in its normality. 'I'm a Deoxys, but you can call me Lilith.'

Bucky is the first to pull himself together, not weird as she spent the longest time fixing his mind and must be feeling less rattled than the others. 

"I'm in," he says firmly. "Don't know about you, but I want to escape this place and with all the chaos happening outside, this would be the better time."

"There must be others like us scattered around. We need to save them," the man with the mustache says. Most agree, while the others seem to be more cautious. "What do you think, Lilith?"

She wants to smile but can't. 'Let's save them.'

She changes from her Normal Form to the Defense Form, ready to protect them. The men nod, ready to go out. 

When everyone is getting ready to go out, she feels a presence approaching. She doesn't feel any malice or other negative emotion that reminds her of Obadiah. There's concern and determination, instead. She can probably guess who it is, and there's some anger at him for what he would do to Tony in the future, but still.

It hasn't happened, she reminds herself as she says, 'Someone's coming'. And because she doesn't want the person to be injured, she adds, 'They don't seem to be bad.'

"How do you know?" Bucky asks as he steps in front of the group, but is still a couple meters away from the door. 

She doesn't get to answer because it's then that the door opens, showing a tired-looking Steve Rogers with a gun in his hands. The men instantly ready their weapons at him, but Steve ignores them. His gaze is focused on Bucky. He calls his name and Bucky frowns slightly before his eyes roam his face. Recognition finally lights in his gaze and he sounds surprised and in disbelief as he blurts out, "Steve?"

Steve smiles widely, his face set into a boyish expression that's so handsome she wants to swoon. Instead, she taps a long finger-like limb on the ground, because her arms are that long, pulling the attention of the now relaxed men towards her. 'Boys, we need to go.'

That seems to stop Bucky from asking the questions that are on the tip of his tongue about the new body of his friend, but it doesn't stop Steve from tightening his grip on his weapon, his gaze cautious as he looks at her. "And you are?"

'Call me Lilith. Now, we don't have time for this, so let's go, Mr. Dorito.'

She can see him mouthing the word 'Dorito' in confusion. He shakes his head, deciding to leave that mystery behind him as he motions for them to go out. 

'I'll take point,' she says when Steve seems ready to offer the same. 'Cover me when you get some guns on you.'

The last sentence makes Steve look at the weapons every other man is holding, and he nods at last, opening the door and motioning her to go first. "There's a group I already freed. They hijacked a tank and destroyed one of the gates, so better to go towards it. There will be some chaos, especially now that they have activated some self-destruct timer."

'It doesn't matter. You tell us where to go and I will protect you.' While running, she remembers the map where there are written the location of other HYDRA bases across Europe. They are still in range of the lab, as this form is slightly slower, so she takes it and makes it float towards Steve. 'Take this and maintain it safe.'

If Steve is surprised by the telekinesis, he doesn't show it. Instead, he opens the map quickly, his eyes widening at what he sees. He then folds the paper and puts it inside his jacket and nods at her, his eyes serious.

Chapter Text

She remembers an epic fight between the Red Skull and Steve happening, but she doesn't know if it already happened or it will happen. She can't ask Steve, as that would be too strange. Instead, she barrels into anyone by using telekinesis alongside Thunder Wave and other electric moves to cause paralysis to their opponents. That way, the people behind her can grab their weapons. When the bullets start coming and are too much for her electric moves, she uses Wide Guard and Iron Defense. It doesn't last long, but she wants to only use Protect for when they really need it, as she knows how it can fail after using it in succession.

When they manage to go outside, there's panic all around. She can see the destroyed gate and two different groups of people fighting against each other. She knows instantly who is part of HYDRA by the clothes. So, knowing she can no longer protect the Americans with her Defense form as there are too many for her big self to cover. 

So, with a last use of Recover, she changes into her Attack form, because as she's now found out, Deoxy's Defense Form increases the defensive type of moves. Her Telekinesis also improves, or more like Psychic is easier to use.

It made her a tank, but there's no need of a tank at the moment, but of a weapon.

Attacking with Zap Cannon and Toxic Spikes, she tries to give the other guys a reprieve from the bombardment. It works, but the next moment there's despair tinted with determination coming from the enemy as the sound of the alarm that has been sounding until now changes its tune. She can guess that the self-destruction is going to start soon. And if she can guess it, the others can, too.

She needs to be fast.

Changing into her Speed Form, she grabs everyone who doesn't feel the same despair-tinted determination mixed with fanaticism in her Telekinetic hold and uses Agility, hoping they're not part of HYDRA. Or if they're part of it, they are not totally brainwashed into believing their ideals so as to not commit suicide as soon as they realize they're in the enemy's hands. 

Maybe they can get some information that way.

When she has almost everyone in her hold, she floats them up above the trees, causing the men to scream. She doesn't care at the moment, but she knows she'll apologize later. However, there's nothing she can do. This is the only way to stop her from making them stumble across the trees and injure themselves. 

She uses Extreme Speed at the same time the bomb inside the HYDRA facility explodes. She can only think of using a Protect to cover the men and herself as she flies away.

The wave of heat hits them the next second and she's glad her Protect lasted as long as it did or there would be men with burns by the end of this. The explosions last for only five minutes, but they are the longest five minutes of her life. 

Not only because of the stress, but because the screams of the men are giving her a massive headache.

She stops and is careful when putting them down. Though she still feels petty enough to let them go when they're a couple of centimeters above the ground.

'Oops, sorry,' she says in their minds, trying to make her mind voice sound as dry and exasperated as possible. Going on by their grumbling, she's managed.

She spreads her senses and is glad to find more than a couple of hundred people around her. She remembers Steve only brought about a hundred back, or at least that's what she remembers from the movie. She doesn't know how much weight to give to the movies when she's clearly living in the real thing. 

(Maybe there weren't enough actors, and that's why it seemed to be fewer people than it actually was. She doesn't know.)

So she only takes what she's seen with a grain of salt. Well, not exactly grain as she gives it more credit than that… Maybe a spoonful of salt? 

She shakes her head. Anyway, she goes to where she senses Bucky and Steve are, with Steve being one of the first to shake off the vertigo and helping Bucky to stand up. She returns to her Normal Form and floats closer. They snap their heads up in her direction, slightly tense now that their adrenaline is going down. 

She tilts her head to the side. 'Are you okay?'

"Fine, thank you," says Steve with a light smile as he sees the men standing up. However, when his gaze sets on her, it hardens. "Though I wish to know why you helped us?"

'Shouldn't I have tried to help?' When she sees his firm expression waver at her seemingly innocent question, he adds, 'Did you know your friend and those other six men you found me with were being brainwashed? Quite effectively, may I add.'

Those words seem to shake him. He turns to Bucky, and his friend is quick to put a hand on his shoulder in reassurance, silently telling him he's fine. Steve relaxes and when he turns once again to look at her, his gaze filled with gratitude. He opens his mouth, ready to say something, but another person interrupts him.

"What I want to know is why you are talking to him as if he's our leader, instead of the others that have been entrapped for a longer period." He looks at Steve and holds his gaze. "Not that I'm ungrateful, or anything. I'm just curious about it."

Shit. How does she say that she talked to him first because he's one protagonist of this world? Also, why did she think it a good idea to make her voice known to the others, instead of just communicating with Steve and Bucky?

When she sees the other men start looking at her, she realizes the silence has lasted a second too long. So, bullshitting time it is. Alien or not alien?

When she looks at some men tightening their holds on their weapons while looking at Steve and her, she decides to go for alien to be be her go-to choice. After all, it's not like it's a lie, right? Even if Celebi said she's part of this world, she has not been born here. 

'Are people of this world not governed by the strongest and wisest of souls?' she asks, trying to sound as confused as she can in their minds.

The man with the amazing mustache narrows his eyes and tilts his head towards Steve. "We do not. Besides, how do you guess he's the strongest or wisest of us?"

This she knows how to answer. 

'I sense he is the strongest physically.' She then looks at him, at what she senses coming from him. She's the genetic Pokémon, so she can also feel how he's been altered, strangely. 'Also, his soul has been tempered by pain and molded into something new. He's… more. Aren't you?'

Steve stares blankly at her for a long moment. When he notices the mustache guy giving him a look over, he coughs in his hand. "I was genetically modified, yes."

She looks at mustache guy with smiling eyes. 'See? Though, my apologies if I offended you. I was merely following the guidelines I knew of. May I know your name, sir?'

He receives another hard stare before the man sighs and scratches his cheek. "Name's Timothy Dugan, but everyone calls me Dum Dum Dugan."

Oh. She's familiar with the name—wasn't he one of the Howling Commandos? Anyway, not wanting to space out, she gives him a nod and says, 'Nice to meet you, Mr. Dum Dum.'

If she had a mouth, she knows she would have smirked at his sour look

Chapter Text

The sound of a scuffle stops the meet and greet from continuing. Dugan, Steve, and Bucky all turn around to look at what's happening. She doesn't need to glance because she's felt it all before it happened and she can guess what and why it happened. Still, for courtesy's sake, she follows her gaze to where she can see a couple of men pointing at some HYDRA people and making them walk forward to where they are.

'That monster sneaked some of the Nazis with us! What do you have to say to that, huh?!"

She tilts her head, irritated. Luckily, Steve steps forward before she can decide if throwing the dude around would take the brownie points she managed to gain. "I wouldn't call 'monster' to the being more powerful than us who has been helpful so far. Though, I would also like to know why these people are here?"

Well, this time she can say the truth.

'I think you confused my intentions, gentlemen. I helped the ones being brainwashed because, as a Psychic being, I was disgusted by the act of changing someone else's mind. I attacked the ones you call Nazi because I could feel the malice in them. When I found out about the explosives, I helped the ones that weren't brainwashed, which are all of you.' She's surprised to find she feels her words coming firm. She doesn't want to join in a war for power, but she wouldn't mind doing so if it is to help others. 

And only to help others. 

She looks at the HYDRA people, moving slightly closer as she inspects their minds. 'How do you think I was able to pick you up in the middle of the night without knowing who was the 'Nazi' and who wasn't? I simply chose the ones whose minds weren't filled with any determined fanaticism. Was I wrong?'

The men stay silent, before one of them moves forward and crosses his arms, spitting on the ground. "How do we not know you're not lying? They're all evil, y'know."

How cliché.

'I wouldn't know about it. If you want me to be more through, I would need to scan deeply the mind of everyone to see who is really 'evil'.' She tilts her head, giving a brief scan to his mind. 'Though I should let you know that I think all rational and emotional beings should have free will. And for me, a form of evil is when one imposes their free will onto others without consent, like what I see you doing in some of your memories, Mr. Nigel Schultz… Am I right?'

She sees him swallow nervously while some of the others glance at him. "They're the ones who are doing atrocities left and right—not us!"

Glancing at the HYDRA people, she gives them a quick scan. They're guilty, true, but… 'The people you have here, were they the ones to do the atrocities? I'm not saying that you should not condemn them, but I think you should take a look at your side, too. After all, war does not determine who is right, Mr. Schultz, only who is left.'

She looks at Steve and Dungan, both. 'Where do I leave you, gentlemen?'

They share a glance before Steve takes out a map, a different one from the one she gave him, and opens it. He then takes out a compass and they start discussing the fastest way to go to their base camp. She takes a glance at the map, at the place that's been circled, considers where the HYDRA facility was and the other map she gave Steve, before pointing in a direction.

'If you want to go to that circled place, that's the direction.' They look at where she's pointing, check once again on the map and nod.

"Everyone, we need to go there!"

'Do you want me to take you there or do you prefer walking?' At seeing their green faces, she adds, 'I'll take you slowly and carefully.'

"As high as before?" Bucky asks.

'If you don't want to eat some leaves, then yes. But I'll go calmly as there are no bombs behind us ready to explode.'

They seem to consider it. Some European looking guy with a pencil-thin mustache walks forward. "I don't know about you guys, but I haven't eaten well in a week. I'm tired of just standing."

She can't help but eye smile at his accent. 'Are you British, Mr.?'

He raises an eyebrow. "James Montgomery Falsworth and yes, I am. You seem to know so much about our little world, Mister…?

She does a curtsy which must look weird in this form. 'You can call me Miss Lilith. And to answer your question, I've been in Italy for a while and I've picked up some of their knowledge about the rest of this world.'

An Asian looking man is the next to speak, "Isn't Italy part of the Axis Powers?"

Shit. Is Italy still allied with Germany? 

Luckily, Steve Rogers is quick to smooth things over. "Actually, a month ago they passed to the Allies side."

"That doesn't mean that, er, lady Lilith hadn't been there before it joined the Allies," A French guy is quick to add, looking as tired as Tony before his morning coffee. 

She tilts her head, deciding to go for honesty without revealing the whole truth. 'I was in a relatively peaceful place and only knew about this war because of what I read.' She shakes her head. 'Not that I need to explain myself, I only came to help. Do you want it, or should I go?'

Steve steps forward. "We'll be glad to have you. I am not feeling tired, but I can guess at the treatment the others received." He looks around, seeing the same as her: tired faces all around. "Would you be able to carry us all?"

She nods. 'Not a problem.'

Nodding, Duncan is the one to speak next. "Should stop a kilometer away from the base, too. We don't want to make the higher-ups nervous, do we?"

"I don't know, I would love to see their faces when they see us," James, the British guy, says.

"Yeah, because nothing wrong could happen when trigger happy men watch people floating alongside a creature not seen before," an Asian-looking guy says, his voice a perfect deadpan. "They're going to freak out enough when they see… 'Lilith'."

He introduces himself as Jim Morita. She nods at him. 'You're right, Mister Morita.'

Steve looks up at her in concern. "Are you okay with being seen by others?"

A dark-skinned man with an American accent is quick to add, "Yeah, you show like that and you'll be all over the news. I've found out military people gossip harder than Ma's old friends."

Aw. She can feel the concern of most towards her and it's kind of cute to see these beefy men worrying about herself especially after they've seen what's she's able to do.

She's ready to reassure them, but Bucky, who has been thinking this whole time this whole time while looking at her, finally speaks, "Can you change into that other form? The human one?"

Chapter Text

The words seem to stop everyone in their tracks as they turn to look at her. Whispers of 'human form?' are heard. She ignores them all, choosing instead to think about it. It's true that she showed herself in her human form to not make them afraid. She honestly planned to remain like that, but her Pokémon form gave her the increased strength that she needed to help them escape.
She lets her mental hum be heard so everyone can know she's thinking about it. She knows that although some people here will report what they have seen, few people will take them seriously. Maybe if she takes a chance and reveals herself on her own terms to some of the higher-ups like the Colonel or Peggy Carter, showing only them who she really is…
She nods at last. 'Okay, I would do so, but later on.'
"Can we see it now?" a dark-skinned man spoke up, curiosity clear in his voice, while some of the surrounding guys chattered loudly, filled with anticipation.
She is hit with a wave of emotion. 'Critical hit' she thinks when she sees their tired but excited faces, and the puppy eyes. So, with a sigh, she says, 'Okay, but better give me some clothes, as otherwise I'll appear naked.'
They look between each other and their sweaty, dirty clothes.
She sighs, but still points to the dark-skinned man who talked earlier. "May I know your name?"
He startles but, with a straightened back, he answers, "Gabriel Jones. Call me Gabe, though."
"Okay, Gabe. Would you lend me your jacket for a while?"
He only blinks once and without giving much thought, he takes off his jacket, which is big and warm and would cover her whole upper body and half of her lower half. She takes it via telekinesis and when it's near her; she uses to cover her. Then, thinking it won't be enough, she uses a low powered Dazzling Gleam and when everyone's covering their eyes because of the light; she changes into her human form.
The flash only lasts for a second, but the effects still remain as she can see them blinking quickly, with their posture ready to attack.
… Maybe surprising people who just escaped imprisonment isn't the best idea. Oops?
'It was me. Calm yourself, please,' she says in their minds and when they turn to look at her, she's quick to add, this time by talking with her mouth, "Sorry."
Her voice startles some of them, especially the nearest to her, as she's been a little loud for those that are in the back.
Murmurs run around as they ogle at her. She tries to ignore their intense, incredulous looks, but it's hard. Especially when they're whispering and pointing at her. Still, she manages a tight smile. The people she's talked to so far seem to be amazed at the show of emotions more easily seen in her human form.
Bucky, who has already seen this form, walks up to her and gives her shoulder a friendly pat. "Hey, haven't noticed your hair is blue. Shouldn't it be green or yellow?"
He says in reference to her shiny Deoxys' form, which, yeah; she forgot about that. Her hair is blue because her Mew form has blue fur, or she guesses it's because of that. Anyway, there's nothing she can do about it, so she shrugs. "I can't change it."
"You're still the shortest among us," Dungan notes in reference to her Deoxys' form, which shouldn't be above 1.70, but it's still larger than her barely 1,58 in her human form.
"But now you're cute," Jacques says with a flirty smile.
She glares at him, startling him and making him wary. Though her pouting and her 'I'm always cute' grumble disperse the thought that he offended her somehow.
Still, feeling self-conscious of her height, she floats up slightly. To be seen better is what she justifies to herself. She says both out loud and in their minds, "Okay, Gentlemen. Better go. I'll grab you, now."
And with that, she grabs everyone one by one. As opposed to her sudden grab when they escaped, she's gentle this time, to not freak them out. It's harder because she's still not used to using her powers in her human form, even if it's much easier than the first time she tried it with Tony.
Ignoring the pang of guilt and sadness at thinking of her friend, she focuses on the matter at hand. Choosing to change her form to Deoxys once again, she returns the jacket to Gabe. Her mood a bit down because of her thoughts. She promises herself then that when she's alone, she'll deal with her emotions regarding Tony.
.
Almost six hours after she started the trip, as planned, she stops a kilometer from where the perimeter starts. She's slightly tired because it's been almost twenty-four hours since she's been awake, with almost eight hours passing with her using her powers almost constantly. So yeah, she's tired.
She won't complain though as it seems something silly to do when the men she's been carrying have suffered worse things while being in captivity. She's also hungry, but would only eat after the others have eaten as she's heard some have been eaten the minimum for weeks. And going on by their shallow cheeks, it shows.
It's early morning when she put them down onto the ground, awakening those that have fallen sleep with a small nudge of her mind. Most have tried to remain awake, but it was a futile effort when she started rocking them as one does a small kid. She refrained from using her Sing to make them rest as she assumed it would not be well-received to make them sleep after the ordeal they suffered. She doesn't want to do anything without their consent.
"You seem tired, girlie," Dungan says when he sees her rubbing one eye. Morita looks at her droopy eyes, visible even in her Deoxys form, and gives Dungan a dry look. "Really? Wouldn't have guessed."
She shots him an eye-smile, which must look ridiculous with her droopy eyes. At least, she's not in human form as the previous shape of her eyes seems to have followed her into this life as they are the half lidded type that makes her look even more tired when she's sleepy and without makeup.
Steve, who has been looking at the guys she's still slowly putting down, careful to not make them smash the trees, turns his head towards her with a concerned gaze. "With this terrain, it will take us one or two hours to arrive at the camp. Do you want anyone of us to carry you?"
Gabe, who has asked her to call him by his first name and without a Mister behind it, scratches his head as he squints at her.
"Yeah, a catnap would be good to recover some energy," he says, which makes her giggle because her natural form is the one of a cat-like Pokemon. The others give her curious looks, which she just waves a hand at them.
'Not making fun or anything, just reminded me of something.' She then thinks about it and decides to shake her head. 'You're tired, too. I may be not the heaviest, but I don't think carrying me for over two hours would be okay.'
"I can do it," Steve is quick to say. And yeah, maybe he could do it, but still…
They see the doubt on her face, so Bucky is quick to add, " You can change your body, don't you have a smaller form then?"
She considers the proposal. Maybe she can use a smaller form she's not used before. She rules out Mew because it is already known in the future, and she also rules out Linoone for the same reason. Her Gallade has been seen while fighting Obadiah. She only has Hatterene, which is too big; Milotic, which is the same as Hatterene; and Alolan Raichu.
She smiles wryly. There's no need to think about it more, is it?
Transforming into the cute Alolan Raichu, she now has to tilt her head up to look at the others, who are now looking down at her. She turns to Steve and does her best impression of a little kid's 'up' gesture with her paws, accompanied by what she knows is a cute smile.
She gets a quirking up of lips from most. Before Steve can crouch to lift her up, she herself floats up to his arms. Luckily, they can't see her blush because being so near to his sculpted body makes her flustered.
Steve cradles her like a baby, being careful with her tail. When he's found a good position, he asks, "Better?"
'Yes, thank you,' she answers with a yawn. Trying not to nuzzle against his chest, she closes her eyes.

Chapter Text

She wakes up to the sound of people shouting. Frowning at being woken up so suddenly, she doesn't open her eyes, instead focusing on what the shouting guys say.

Something about sending a messenger to the Colonel to report something-something about the 107th Regiment? It's not Jarvis' voice, which has been the one to wake her up lately, nor does it sound like the TV, so—

"When is she waking up?" A gruff voice says. They probably receive a non-verbal answer because then the voice adds, "Better to be up for the shit show that's waiting for us."

She snaps her eyes open and sees Steve talking to Dungan, his gaze away from hers. "Not really looking forward to the report, to be honest."

"I bet," Bucky says, voice tinted with amusement. "Still can't believe you disobeyed direct orders, Steve."

Gabe is the next to comment next with, "Hopefully Lilith will want to help us explain." 

"If she stays," Morita adds dryly.

"She could have left us when she took us out of the explosion." The French accent identifies the person as Jacques. 

"Or two hours ago."

And yeah, that British accent means that's James. All Howling Commandos are near her and already on friendly terms.

She doesn't know whether to curse Celebi or not. After all, she's the one who said she wants to change the plot and the little Onion took it way too literally.

"She's awake, guys," Bucky whispers at the same time she sits up and rubs her face, stating the obvious.

Steve, the first to feel her move, is the one who notices first and looks down, his expression set into a kind smile. He asks softly. "Did you have a good sleep?"

'Yes, thank you.' She looks around and notices with her senses that while Steve is near the front, he's not at the front like it was shown in the movies. Also, the other Howling Commandos are forming some type of circle around her, as if to protect her from sight.

And that's what they must be doing, as she can feel they've entered the camp already and are approaching where she feels the largest concentration of people.

'I heard what you were talking about last.' She floats slightly up and away from Steve's arms, not so far to be seen. This time she doesn't spread her words for everyone to hear, but only to the future Howling Commandos, wanting to remain hiding. 'I'm not against explaining to some of your superiors. However, only when we're in a private place. I'll remain invisible until then.'

Saying that, she disappears from sight. The guys look around, attempting to see her, but it's going to be next to impossible with her floating and not making a sound.

"Lilith?" Steve whispers when long seconds have passed without them finding her out.

'Don't worry,' she says. 'I'll be near.'

Steve nods, his posture relaxing. He then turns to the others. "It will take a while for the messenger to reach the Colonel so they can let us in."

His words are in a pondering tone, as if he was just thinking out loud and not letting her know some vital information. The others quickly catch up on that because Gabe is the next to say in the same tone, "Especially with all the captured prisoners we've got. They will be extra careful."

Morita snorts at their obvious display and sits down on the ground. "Better to relax and wait, then."

She giggles in their minds, which causes them to crack smiles. Then, following Morita's example, they all sit down, forming a loose circle. She does the same and goes to the center of the circle, for hilarity's sake. There's an indentation on the grass, showing the place where she's sitting. 

Like Steve said, it takes the messenger a while to return, motioning the people that has been watching them over to let them in. This time, Steve is the one walking in front. She's flying next to him, watching everything in curiosity. She sees inside a big tent one woman she can easily recognize. Steve must have seen it too, because his emotions light up and his head, which has been drooping slightly from tiredness, is now held high once again.

The crowd parts to give them space, stunned and a man, who hadn't been obviously informed of their incoming, steps out of one barrack, probably surprised by all the noise going on. He looks at Steve and blurts out a surprised, "Rogers?"

She wants to giggle so badly, especially when she sees Peggy trying to rub one eye with the back of her hand discreetly, but she knows what she's feeling is a mix of elation and relief. She can hear Steve clearing his throat softly before looking in the direction of a person who she guesses must be Colonel Phillips, and says firmly, "Colonel, some of these men need medical attention."

The Colonel looks around; him seeing what she does, too: Gaunt, tired faces. He nods. And it seems that the non-verbal clue is enough for the medics who were waiting around to rush in. The Colonel ignores the chaos that's forming, instead choosing to watch Steve directly.

Steve's eyes are firm as he says, "I would like to surrender myself for disciplinary action."

The Colonel gives Steve the same glance over he did to the other people coming in, his eyes fixing on the battered, burned shield he's still holding.

"That won't be necessary."

Steve's eyes widen slightly. "Sir, I—"

"Just how many orders do you plan o disobeying, Captain?" The Colonel's voice is hard, unlike his eyes. Steve's seems to pick out his good mood because he nods, saying 'Yes, sir' to him. The Colonel then turns to Peggy, smiling wryly as he says, "Faith, huh?"

Seems a conversation has been going on about Steve. She's kind of curious to know what it was about as it's been long since she's watched the movie. Some details are clearer than others, but in the end, she doesn't remember everything.

It doesn't matter. It's more fun to see and experiencing everything. Like now. It's clear, by Peggy's twitch of her arms, that she wants to hug Steve, but she stops herself. Maybe because it's improper? She's sure relationships between men and women are more discreet in these times, so it's understandable.

Before she can think of all the old movies she remembers to use as a reference, Peggy speaks something. Eva's thinking so deeply she doesn't get to hear it. She only sees Steve make the action of putting out a big device she remembers him saying was a communication device. Emphasis in 'was' because it's currently destroyed and it's actually surprising it hasn't fallen apart already.

"Sorry, couldn't call my ride," Steve says, looking sheepish and so full of happiness at seeing Peggy. 

It's cute.

Until it isn't.

They look deep into each other's eyes, a palpable longing hanging in the air between them. It's becoming awkward. She keeps turning her head from one to the other, waiting for them to do something, but nothing happens. The tension in the air is killing her.

'She's waiting for you to do something, Steve,' she says to him in his mind. He startles, but the soldiers that are approaching fast with their loud voices and laughter are distracting Peggy enough that it's easy to ignore Steve's slight tension.

Or so she hopes.

Oops.

She moves back, whispering a quick 'sorry' to Steve as she watches him being surrounded by all sides by people who are happy to see him, waving some papers around. It takes her a while to recognize them as Captain America's comic books.

Not wanting to be around that many people, she retreats in search of some of the other Howling Commandos.

Chapter Text

Sadly for her, most of the Howling Commandos are being tended. Morita is the only one in line, but they'll treat him soon, too. Also, Bucky is near Steve.

So with a sigh, she decides to return to where the super soldier is. After all, he will soon be debriefed and she will have to be there, too.

 Apparently, she appears just in time because she can see Steve looking discretely around as he's guided by Peggy towards a building. 

'I'm here,' she says as he steps into the building. Steve's body language softens, and Peggy quickly notices, arching an eyebrow at him, which he responds to with a shake of his head and a silent 'later'.

She squints her eyes at him, her demeanor slightly frostier than before, which makes her wonder about the cause of it. What has Steve done in the time she's been looking for someone to talk that made Peggy annoyed?

She shakes her head. She's not usually one for gossip, but she can't help but be curious about something she's sure she has watched but can't remember. Not that she blames herself. After all, it's been almost ten years since she last watched the movie. She loved the MCU movies and world but wasn't the type of fan that does a marathon every year or anything.

With a shrug, she sighs and continues to follow them underground. It takes them a while for them to reach a large room where there's a table with a map on it. Around it, there are three people. One of them is what she thinks is a secretary ready to transcript whatever Steve is going to say. She's more concerned with the other two: Colonel Phillips and… Howard Stark, who, unlike his actor counterpart, looks similar enough to Tony to be known that they're father and son.

She feels her emotions fluctuating between guilt and shame as she thinks of the man she's left behind on a plane. A man who's close to dying and with little hope left. 

What he must be thinking of her disappearance?

She knows she's in the past and the future she's left hasn't happened yet, but she can't help but worry. What if, for some reason, she's not in this world when she reaches the time she left on? What will happen to Tony? Will he despair in silence, alone as he's always done whenever she's not with him?

She shakes her head. No, it's not the time to think about it. She's promised to change the future—to not make Tony's last words be done in the middle of a battle for the universe. And she will do so.

With her determination set in, she tunes in Steve's debriefing. She's surprised to note that he's already talking about the gates' explosion and him telling the imprisoned soldiers to escape.

It's when he narrates his search for more prisoners that he hesitates as he speaks of the 'outside help' he finds in one room alongside seven other soldiers. Not mentioning one of them was Bucky. 

"What do you mean by that, soldier?" Colonel Philips is quick to see the hesitance in Steve's tone and posture. Steve, seemingly wanting to be done with it quickly, recounts everything from the moment he's seen her. Her alien looks and how it changed to a similar, bigger form made to tank attacks and protect them. Then he explains how she changed once again when they reached the outside to another form made to attack the enemy. 

It must have felt to Steve that he was ripping a band aid, but for the others, herself included, it's like watching a train wreck.

Steve's eyes are forward, without looking anyone directly in the eye, which means she's the only one in the room who knows he's saying the truth and can appreciate the reactions of others. Peggy's incredulous gaze and Howard's amused disbelief work well with Colonel Philip's twitching eyebrow.

The funniest of all is the secretary. She's the most expressive, so to see her slacked jaw and her posture still in the middle of typing a word is gold.

Steve, who is finishing telling the part when she transformed into her last Deoxys' form and how the HYDRA facility was seconds away from exploding, is now starting to explain how she grabbed everyone with her mind in order to escape. He takes a deep breath because apparently the super soldier serum has also improved his lungs, to say everything with little intakes of breath in-between. However, he's still human and needs to take a break to drink some water. 

He moves to take a sip and apparently, that movement is enough to snap the others out of their stupor. When they see Steve looks ready to continue, Colonel Phillips raises a hand, stopping him. He seems to be processing everything with a forced calm that makes him look constipated. His pinched brows seem ready to become one as he thinks hard.

Howard ignores the Colonel's need for silence. Like his son, he's quick to use his wit to better annoy others. "Steve, I think I speak for all when I say, what the hell?"

He's more excitable than Tony, who prefers the use of sarcasm than funny jabs. He's also more expressive in his mannerisms. It kind of reminds her of Tony's moods after he's stayed awake for too long and his blood is more coffee than anything else.

She's startled from her reminiscing when the Colonel turns sharply to Howard. "Erskine said that the previous user went mad after the serum, do you think…"

He doesn't finish his sentence, nor does he try to lower his tone of voice. Everyone can hear him clearly, included Steve, who has a kicked-puppy expression. Howard makes a pose as if mulling over it with his hand on his chin, stroking an imaginary long beard while he hums.

Colonel Phillips doesn't seem to appreciate the levity Howard displays with his actions. He's already turning a bit red in the face.

Steve clears his throat, which makes the Colonel glare at him, clearly saying without words to be silent. As if he's not seen anything, Steve continues, "She actually came with us."

They all blink.

"Who?" the Colonel asks at the same time Howards says, "She?"

Steve nods to Howard, but answers the Colonel. "The alien. She came with us. She took us all flying until a kilometer away from base, where we proceed to walk, her accompanying us."

Peggy, for the first time since the meeting started, speaks up, looking dubious, but seemingly wanting to humor him, "And where is this… alien you brought to this private meeting?"

Clearing his throat, Steve looks slightly apprehensive as it seems he finally realized he's brought an apparent unknown element to a meeting where important people are reunited. She knows he believes in her, but one thing is to trust someone and another to take them to his leaders without previous notification.

Still, if nothing, he doesn't back down even with that knowledge. He straightens up as he says, "She's here." 

Howard makes an obvious show of looking around. "I don't see anyone here."

Steve blinks, looking at both of his sides, before sighing. "Lilith, please."

Chapter Text

Knowing he's suffered enough, she makes the giggle she's contained for so long sound into the minds of everyone in the room. They tense, with only the secretary jumping in her seat. When they start to look around, she waits a bit. When she can see the signs of impatience showing on Steve's face, she appears in all her cute, shiny glory.
Her Mew form is cute, true, but she's got to admit Alolan Raichu has a certain softness that makes it more huggable.
'Greetings,' she says, nodding her head a bit in a show of respect.
When she looks up, she almost cracks up at the sight of their funny faces. Now everyone's look reassemble the secretary when Steve started his tale.
She giggles, her little paws embracing her fluffy tail tightly in an attempt to calm herself down.
"So cute," the secretary mumbles. And Eva nods; a wise woman indeed.
Her voice seems to snap everyone out of their shock. Howard is the first to stand up as he approaches with the same look Tony had when she gave him permission to see how her powers worked. The man is almost giddy as he circles her, trying to look at her from every angle. He lifts his hand as if to touch her, but she makes her cheeks sparkle and that's enough for him to back up.
He may look like Tony, but he wasn't her dear friend.
The man, if nothing else, looks even more excited at the prospect of something supernatural happening.
The Colonel gives Steve a quick glare, before his gaze is once again directed at her, scrutinizing. "Is this the creature you mentioned? Wasn't it supposed to be big and yellow/green colored?"
Howard is quick to says, "Yes, yes, but you forgot Steve also said it has the ability to transform."
'SHE can speak, too,' she says dryly.
Howard has the decency to give her a sheepish smile. The Colonel? He's still looking at Steve, which, rude.
Steve at least gives her an apologetic glance before answering the Colonel, "As I was saying, after transporting us here, she was visibly tired and chose this transformation for us to carry her while she rested.
Howard lights up. "Does that mean she's able to change her weight as well as her size?"
This time he's talking to her, so she answers with a nod. 'I change to the molecular level whenever I transform.'
Which is true. Tony checked her DNA from all her transformations, and they were all different. Tony made her do brain scans, and it showed them all differing from her Mew form. It made him so confused and giddy.
Personally, she thinks that while her body changes, her soul remains the same, but Tony, the ever believer of science, can't accept that answer without having proof of the existence of souls.
She will probably have to contact the sorcerers if she wants an even more detailed answer, but she honestly doesn't want to meet them. So yeah, her transformation will remain a mystery for the moment.
"That's impossible," Howard blurts out, finally recovering his ability to talk. "Or at least, it shouldn't be. And less of all, naturally." He taps his chin in thought before he peers down at her. "Do you use any device to transform?"
She smiles wryly. 'It's an ability of mine, no device needed whatsoever.'
"Amazing," he breathes out. He looks towards the Colonel and says solemnly. "Earth doesn't have the technology to create someone like her. Nor does it possess something to change one's body so drastically or to communicate via the mind."
She smiles dryly, not so sure about that as she hasn't stepped foot on Wakanda yet, but they shouldn't be able to do what she can, not even with all the Vibranium they have.
"So she's an alien, you say?"
And again, not directing the question to her, but bypassing her presence as if it was nothing.
Peggy seems to notice her annoyance as she says, "Maybe we should ask her that. We would get a direct answer, at least."
She nods. 'Miss Carter is right. I can answer whatever question you've got for me. Though some I feel are too obtrusive or I simply don't want to answer, I won't answer.'
The Colonel seems ready to object, but Peggy once again speaks, her voice calm and soothing, "Understandable. You already showed being partial to us by subjecting yourself to answering some of our questions. And you've got to know, there is going to be a lot, as I think this is the first contact humanity has had with someone from outside our world."
She's pretty sure the Celestials came first, but whatever. Also, she kind of wants to gush at how cool Peggy is at taking command, but she still wants to keep some of the mystery, if only for the kicks. Fangirling would not help in doing that.
So, she nods.
The Colonel seems to calm enough to speak without sounding hostile. "We've got to inform our leaders before any questioning is done."
Peggy nods once at him, before turning towards her. "How long do you plan to stay here?"
She tilts her head to the side. 'Here as in Italy? Or do you refer to Earth in general?'
Peggy and the Colonel share a look before nodding and saying, "Both."
She shrugs. 'Here in Earth? Indefinitely. Italy, however? Well, I like it enough and I'm used to it, but I've got to admit to feeling angry at the actions committed by HYDRA.'
"Germany, you mean?" The Colonel asks.
'My anger is not to the country or the people but for its leaders, the ones behind all of this, yes. Especially those in charge of HYDRA.'
The Colonel turns to look sharply at her. "Why? This is not your war."
She nods because they're right. And besides, she doesn't want to join the war. Call her a coward or whatever. However, she's had mental problems for a long time—she's not ready to sacrifice her current mental stability for a dick-measuring contest between countries.
That doesn't mean she's opposed to helping out, though. She doesn't want to fight, which is true, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want to protect, rescue, or heal.
How to explain all of that, though? For them, she's an unknown creature. If she doesn't justify herself, they won't believe she just wants to help because it's the right thing to do.

Chapter Text

So she answers the Colonel's question with, 'That's true. However, the reason I approached that HYDRA facility was because I could feel several people being in the process of being brainwashed.'
That seems to alarm them. Before they can ask anything, she continues, 'I'm a Psychic type and I can feel emotions. I knew the moment I felt their minds. I didn't like what they were doing, so I went to stop them.'
"So it was a whim?" the Colonel grumbles.
She shakes her head. 'I'm an empath. I can feel the despair all around me. It's… crushing. I don't wish to feel it, so I helped. And I'm willing to help more to stop my suffering and the ones of others.'
They are quiet, clearly deep in thought. And she lets them have this time, as it's also a good time for her to think about the truth of her words. She can feel a passive despair hanging out on all parts ever since she transformed into Deoxys. Like a soft perfume, it's easy to ignore. However, unlike it, this 'smell' doesn't dissipate. It remains there, constant.
Whenever she concentrates too much on it, she feels sad. Just by simply thinking about it, she can feel her mood change and now she's annoyed. It goes against her Jolly nature. So, when the Peggy asks her if she's okay with fighting, she's quick to say 'no'.
"No?" The Colonel repeats, incredulous. "You were the one who said wanted to help and now—"
'Exactly, I said 'help' not that I was going to fight.' She's firm in this. She's not going to choose a side and kill for them. She's not really against killing in this context, but if she does so, she needs to be sure it's not someone simply following orders. And maybe it's naïve of her to do so, but she just wants to protect. 'I can be a front-line medic. I have powers that allow me to heal superficial injuries and I can secure the patients.'
She sees he's ready to protest, so she intervenes. 'I'm not saying I won't attack. However, it won't be to destroy the other side, but to protect the ones I'm helping.'
"May I ask why?" Peggy is the one next to speak.
She smiles without humor. 'The Colonel has said it before: it's not really my war. Also, I simply don't wish to have their deaths in my conscience.'
"And what about the death of the ones we will lose as this war prolonged when you could have stopped it?"
She thought about it, about how hypocritical she's being, but in the end, she can't help it—she's human where it matters, after all.
Sighing, she decides to concede a bit. 'I can kill the leaders I categorize as evil of the opposed party if, and only if, your own leaders promise to not take advantage of the countries who lose the war. That means not taking their territory and not taking more than the deserved interest. Also, not causing even more violence towards their citizens.'
Peggy shakes her head sadly at the same time the Colonel says, "They will never agree to that."
She shrugs. 'Then you know my answer. The offer will remain there. The ball is now in your court.'
Her words seem to sour the Colonel's mood. Peggy is quick to compose herself though, even so, she can still feel her disappointment clear as day. Howard is still as animated as he watches everything, his eyes clear and intelligent like his son's. He glances to the other people in the room before asking, "So who's going to be informed about this?"
"What do you mean?" Peggy asks at the same time the Colonel says, "The higher-ups need to know."
Howard ignores Peggy as he looks at the Colonel. "Do they?"
Peggy frowns. "A lot of people have seen her. It'll be only a matter of time before the word spreads."
"Yes, yes. However, I think our new friend can manipulate minds easily, or am I wrong?" He once again strokes his imaginary beard. "You said it yourself: you helped the brainwashed soldiers. Though you didn't explain how you did it."
How… blunt.
Also, shit. Could he not say it like that? Now Peggy and the Colonel are giving her alarmed looks. Still, it's better to quickly answer as to not create misunderstandings.
'I can do so, yes. But I hold the sanctity of the mind in high regard. I would not play with it.'
"Who said about playing with the minds of others?" he says airily, waving a hand. "I meant only to change their memories a little to keep you a secret."
"That's immoral," Steve, the sweet summer boy, says. He turns his gaze from the Colonel to Peggy, "We can't do that… can we?"
His last words come hesitant at seeing their pondering expressions.
"Stark is right. We can have too many people know about you."
The Colonel's statement is followed by Peggy's neutral tone, "Are you okay to be kept hidden?"
'Being 'kept' sounds like I'm to be a pet. I'm merely agreeing to work with you, not for you. But, yes, I agree my existence should remain a secret from everyone but those at this table.'
Peggy blinks. "You don't want us to inform our higher-ups about you? That would be impossible if you want to work with us."
The Colonel is silent, but his expression is enough to know what he thinks about it. Howard grins instead, a laugh escaping him as he says in a tone of wonder, "You can transform into a human."
She nods at the same time the others take turns to glance between her and Howard. 'Steve knows about it already.'
The Colonel glares at the super soldier, who is quick to mention how he wasn't able to finish his report. Howard's ignores their interaction and instead leans forward. "Can we see?"
She tilts her head and looks around. 'I need some clothes first as I'll appear naked otherwise.'
Steve is quick to take off his jacket and give it to her, but Howard's next words stop her.
"Why do you care?"
'Excuse me?'
"Why do you care about your human nudity if you're not one? It seems you don't care currently. Why do so then?"
Shit.
She doesn't let her panic show on her face as she raises an eyebrow. 'Two reasons. One, I've been living in the human world for a while now and I've seen the importance your people apply to it. Two, the forms I usually take don't have external reproductive organs as yours do. I find that weird.'
The others seem to take her words at face value, but Howard frowns a little as he processes her words. She thinks he's going to keep getting her into trouble, but in the end he just asks about how her species' reproduction works.
She rolls her eyes, choosing not to answer. Not only because she doesn't know the answer, but because she's become uncomfortable. So she chooses to telekinetically grab the jacket and put it open in front of her, glad there's no one behind her. Otherwise she would have need to use the low-powered Dazzling Gleam again.

Chapter Text

When she's in her human form and turns around, she sees Howard staring at her intently once more, alongside the others, unlike Steve who is looking the other way.

She closes the jacket and floats forward, not wanting to touch the ground without any socks on. She pats Steve's head once he seems to notice she's done changing.

"You're a treasure," she says to the super soldier out loud.

They then proceed to have Steve repeat his debrief, this time from when she appeared. They listen attentively. The only sound being Steve's voice and the click-clack from the secretary writing.

When Steve's done, he falls silent, waiting for the questions he knows that will come, taking all the scrutiny like a champ. When he mentions the map, a flurry of activity passes as they start planning. It's a bit wrinkled around the edges. However, apparently Steve has a good memory (or one that has been enhanced, at least) and is easily debriefing about all that he remembers.

"… and the fourth one was in Poland, here, not far from the Baltic," Steve says as he marks another point with his pen on a new map. He straightens when he finishes and an aid picks the old map up. Steve also seems to remember something as he takes out an old cartridge from one of his pockets, an old and blue HYDRA cartridge, and hands it over to Howard, whose eyes seem to shine at seeing the souvenir.

Afterward, the secretary leaves, alongside Steve and Howard, who seems to be pouting at not managing to study me. She remains in that closed room with Peggy and the Colonel. She uses Calm Mind to not fidget as they stay quiet for a long minute.

The Colonel speaks first. "Your want to help us by being a medic but I unless you've training in the medical field, it will be almost impossible for you to be anything more than being given cleaning duty. Specially if you're going to keep trying your human act."

She raises an eyebrow. "I will look like a human, true, but that doesn't mean I won't use my powers."

"And you plan to be low-key?"

Shaking her head, she clarifies. "I never said anything about low-key. I just said that my identity as alien to remain a secret."

Peggy narrows her eyes. "Are you implying that there are humans with powers out there?"

She starts nodding her head, before stopping herself and thinking carefully. So far she hasn't seen evidence of mutants being part of this universe. However, even if there are not mutants, there still were a lot of powerful humans or half humans in the present.
"There indeed are a minority of humans that have abilities beyond your comprehension."

The Colonel frowned. "Why not help?"

Both eyebrows go up. "You do realize that the nazis are practically killing anyone they classify as being different from them, right?"

He rolls his eyes. "Yes, yes. Anyway, I'm assuming you've got powers related to medicine, or something."

"Actually, they lean more to directly heal people or revitalize them, depending which."

Peggy finally moves her sight away from her to glance at the Colonel. That exchange seems to convey deep meanings, before turning towards her once more. I'll be in charge of giving you a new identity. Any preferences?"

Well, she's from South America,but taking in account how she doesn't know about the development of her country is better to go to the second option, the only other country she has stayed for almost a decade.

"Well, like I said before, the only country I have stayed for a long time is Italy."

Peggy nodded. "Anything else?"

"I want to be from a random orphanage or a simple refugee from Milano."

"Age?"

That's a bit tricky. She throws a random number, just slightly less than her real age. "25 years old."

Peggy starts grilling her about more details regarding her abilities and her time in Milano, so as to construct a more real background.

This actually takes the whole day. Is not until night that she escapes their metaphorical clutches. And even then, she's been told that she will be awaken early in the morning for the memory changing she has to do. It feels she only touches enters her new tent and leans against the bed before she's waking up. She doesn't open her eyes but she can already see the sunlight from her closed eyelids. There's a calming scent in the air, one she can't recognize, and takes her a second to distinguish it. Another second for her to realize that instead of being on a bed, she's sitting on something comfortable, her head slightly tilted to the right.

So, in total, it takes her a maximum of three seconds for her tired brain to realize she's not on the hard mattress she slept in the beginning.

She quickly opens her eyes as she sits up straight, ignoring the old furniture arranged around her and the relaxing ambiance in general. Her eyes are wide as she stares in a mixture of horror and awe to the current Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One.

In her stupor, she faintly hears the sound of a busy city in the background, coming from the slightly open window.

… Shit, she thinks as she recognizes the language being talked outside wherever she is as English.

Something tells her she's not near where she was before.

Portals are awesome when they're not being used against her.
Now how to ask the one thousand questions lingering in her mind without being thrown away.
Of course if the Ancient one doesn't kill her first.
What to do, that's the million dollar question.

Chapter Text

"Hi," she mutters as she thanks Peggy mentally for the clothes she gave her. At least, she will not have this conversation while only wearing Steve's jacket.
"Hello, Lilith." The Ancient one briefly glances at her with a nod, before returning to her tea-making, which was causing the scent that woke her up. "Or should I call you Eva?"
She sits back as she finishes brewing the tea in that fascinating way, both hands on her lap as they watch each other. The only sound coming from the levitating cutlery as it serves them both.
"I'm more used to Eva, but, uh, it probably is better if I get used to the other one."
The Ancient One smiles as she sips her tea, motioning her to do the same with her own. She does so, nervously, partly curious at its taste. "No need to be so anxious. I'm sure you've constantly wondered why I never went to you in the future that you came from, the reason I think you can easily infer it now."
"… Because we already met before. As in, the past, before." She takes a shaky breath in. "I always was meant to travel through time, you mean?"
She smiles. "Time is not a so rigid line that can easily be predicted, but yes, I do admit there are certain points that will always are meant to happen. When it doesn't matter."
Her eyes shook. "I can't change the time even with how much I want to, then?"
"Not something so drastic. These points in time are not so many as you think. Captain America was always meant to be and if you had traveled before now, you wouldn't be able to change it. Only the person can change not the symbol it represents. So, be it Steve Rogers or Peggy Carter, Captain America's birth is a fixed point in time."
She frowns. "I can only change variables, not the result, you mean?"
The Ancient One winks. "Who knows?"
"… I don't understand. You just said that these points in time are fixed, did you not? I guess the New York's battle is one of them. And… And Tony's capture might be another."
"Yes."
"Then what you mean with who knows'?" At the smirk she receives, he can't help the small groan that escapes her lips. "Can't you not be cryptic, please?"
The Ancient One chuckles and it's that sound that startles her. She always thought she was a serious character. Kind and gentle, true. It's not that she pictured her as unsmiling, but…. Now that she really looks at her, she notices the levity in her posture. She can giess that it's because she's now a real person and not just a character of films, but she can practically sense the lack of weight in her shoulders. The relief in her is almost palpable.
"Oh, so you finally noticed," she says, her tone reproaching, but still gentle.
She blinks in surprise, no knowing if it was a ploy or—no. She's an empath now. She knows her relief is real, but what…?
Oh.
Celebi.
The time travelling Pokemon did something to her. She didn't—doesn't know what it is but now with the Ancient one's clues, she can guess.
She hopes she guesses right.
"I can change the future."
It wasn't a question but a statement.
"Not yet." She doesn't get the time to deflate before she sees the Ancient One smiling. "But you will."
She perks up. "How?"
At the older woman's raised eyebrow, she blinks. "The… Time Stone?"
She's practically guessing, but she's most likely is right as the Ancient One huffs in amusement as she nods.
"But… Isn't it also part of Strange's artifacts?"
Or is that fanon? She doesn't remember.
"You've not been chosen by the Eye of Agamoto like Stephen will be," she says sipping her tea, which reminds her of her own cup, which is getting cold. "That doesn't mean your soul isn't intrinsically intertwined with Time though."
"… And that means?"
"That you need knowledge of it if you want to effectively use it."
"Oh."
"Oh, indeed. You now just need time, which is something that now that you're in the past is abundant."
She gives her a deadpan stare, which makes the Ancient One smirk.
"So for the knowledge part… You will help me, right?"
"Of course. Though considering your new duties, I can only accept you as a part-time disciple."
She raises an eyebrow. "Which means…?"
"You will not do any practice until you have a more solid foundation of the knowledge that I wish to impart to you." When she opens her mouth, the Ancient One smirks one again. "That means until you don't master the basics, you will remain as you are."
She deflates, her smile dry as she adds, "So dry texts will be my bread and butter for the foreseeable future?"
The Ancient One taps a fan that appeared from who knows where to her chin. "Maybe I can help you with astral projection after learning about the basics of the spell."
She perks up. "Really?"
"Of course. After all, Stephen has showed its many uses for studying." Ignoring her glittering eyes, she adds. "Though for you to be able to learn of the basic of that spell and many others, you will need to learn a couple of languages first."
She blinks, a finger lifting up before she retracts it as she remembers that translation apps are not around at the moment.
The Ancient One gently smiles. "You can translate word for word but I find it infinitely easier to know the language."
She shudders at her words. "Yeah, no. I prefer to learn a language, too. I've got bad memories with that form of translating."
"Oh?"
The Ancient One sounds slightly curious so she decides to share. "I did that for the second half of the sixth book of the Harry Potter series as only the first half was in Spanish. Let's just say that I did finish the book but it was more because I was too stubborn than because any enjoyment."
Another sip, probably to cover her smile. "Did you wait for the Spanish version of the next book?"
"Never managed to read it. I get the shivers just by thinking of it." She does an exaggerated shudder before adding, "I still love the series. Though I admit to only know of its end by the spoilers others gave me."
She stays silent for a long couple of seconds, thinking of how liberating is to speak of something inconsequential of her past, but more true than the half lies she told Tony, who she considers her first friend in this world. He probably suspects something and is waiting for her to approach the subject, but the truth is that her identity in the future of an alien is easier pill to take than reincarnation. So she looks up and meets her gaze. "You know about me."
Her expression is soft as she says. "The rip in reality that you made as you came into this world was easy to notice for someone who holds the keys to the barriers."
She blinks twice, straightening her back as she gulps. "Does anybody else now?"
The Ancient one shakes her head. "You're now part of this universe, and it will be near impossible for others to realize that your soul does not belong when it, in fact, belongs."
Celebi said something similar to that. She didn't understand at the moment but now that she thinks about it, it's weird.
"Like, now I'm a legal immigrant?"
"Basically, yes. You gained your permanent stay quickly, though. You've got to thank the higher tier being that did this to you for being meticulous, at least."
She nods. "I will do so."
"Then lets start the scheduling," she says while closing her fan.

Chapter Text

And that's how she spends the part of two hours inside what she's sure is the New York Sanctum. She returns to her tent, mentally tired. She sleeps like a log, without dreams, but still wakes up early thanks to all the noise going around because of the soldiers. She changes clothes quickly into something more military-looking, but her blue hair still makes her stand out.

Some soldiers give her a brief look, but she ignores them as she goes to her assigned bunker. When she reaches the place she's sure is the right room, she doesn't bother with knowing, already knowing thanks to her senses that it's empty. Though it looks more like a lab, there are adjacent empty rooms perfect for what she needs.

Afterward, the whole day is full of meditation with her first dulling the memories of all the one who have seen her so as not to make them inclined to share their experiences with her. That way, information about her won't spread. Then, it's checking the ones who she hasn't rescued, but have had probably heard some of what happened, mostly the medical personnel, to see if they have heard something about her.

After modifying their memories, she goes to the Colonel and Peggy to inform them that the massive change in the minds of the ones she recued will be at night, when they're asleep as it was planned.

Luckily, she remembers how it went in the film, so she just needs to give them the idea that the one who rescued them is Steve, who she hasn't seen all day now that she thinks about it, with her alongside him.

Shaking her head to clear her mind, she transforms into Deoxys inside a large room with a lot of inventions sprawled around for the boost of power.

She's still in the same room of before. This time with Peggy and Howard near her to observe, with the former being authorized to be here. The latter, well. Actually, she doesn't know how Howard found out about it. She knows the Colonel is near, but she hasn't seen him. She could easily send a mental prove to see where everyone is but, she doesn't pay much attention as she doesn't really care.

"Huh, so this is your natural form," she hears him mutter. He tries to look at her from all angles but luckily is stopped by Peggy before he can do more than just circle her.

She doesn't sigh because her lack of mouth, but still tries, and manages, to convey her feelings about his whole excitement.

'I'll start now, so please don't disturb me,' she says. Peggy nods and seems to want to add something but it is then that the door opens, showing the super soldier in all of his glory.

She glances at Peggy who is glaring at Howard. "You didn't close the door when you followed me?"

Obviously, he ignores her. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be picking up a medal right about now?"

"I'm off the publicity circuit," he says just as the Colonel opens the door. "Rogers, you just embarrassed a senior in front of dozen reporters and ten members of the Parliament."

Rogers posture is sheepish but his eyes are determined. Luckily for him, that only makes the Colonel smirk. "You deserve a medal just for that."

He then glances at her and gives her a once over before glancing at something behind her. She doesn't need to look back to know what it is as she can feel its energy even in its current small and sealed way. It's the cartridge that contains some of the Space stone.

"Did you figure out what this is, yet?" the Colonel says turning to Howard.

"Well, if you believe Rogers, it's apparently the most explosive know to man."

Steve frowns his brows. "If?"

"Well, either you're wrong or Schmidt's damn near rewrote the laws of physics." He walks towards some part she's now guessing is his lab, before aborting the motion and looking at her and returning to his previous place. "And I'm rather fond of the law of physics."

'Sigh.'

"Did you just mentally said 'sigh'?" he says with a giddy look. She ignores him, turning her head away from him where she sees Philips looking over the map with the HYDRA facilities.

"These are all of Hydra's factories," he says as an afterthought.

Stever is clear to point out with his free hand, the other one filled with files of different thickness. "The ones we know about. But sergeant Barnes said Hydra shipped all the bombs to another facility. And that wasn't on the map."

"Agent Carter, coordinate with MI6. I want every Allied eyeball looking for that main Hydra base."

"What about us?" Steve says, his hand tightening on the files. The Colonel looks at it before smirking.

"We're going to light a fire under Johann Schmidt's ass." He points to the files. "I think you had a similar idea. So, what do you say, Rogers? It's your map. Think you can wipe hydra off it?"

Steve posture straightens, his eyes filled with determination. "I'm going to need a team."

The Colonel smirks, his eyes not leaving the files as he grabs some other files from his desk, "We've already started lining up the best men—"

"If you don't mind, sir… so have I." He turns to look at her. "That's why I'm here before you wipe the memory of everyone. I have a request to make. Well, two, actually."

She tilts her head in curiosity, glad she doesn't have a mouth otherwise her grin would be hard to wipe. 'What is it?'

"I want you to not erase the mind of the men in these files."

She turns to glance at the files the Colonel and Peggy are looking. Some very familiar names are in it.

"I don't mind these men," the Colonel says after reading. "However you've to choose at least one or two from the files I'm giving you. They're all also here so you can talk to them at the same time, if you want."

Giving him the files he obtained from his desk, Steve now is the ones to leaf through them. She's curious so she leans forward as she says, 'What was the second request that…'

She trails off when Steve opens one of the files, her eyes widening. They all notice her lapse in attention. Steve is quick to look at her and then at the file on his hand. "Do you know him?"
She really is not sure. She hopes it's not him as there's no picture for her to really know if the guy is the one she thinks it is. Her memory is spotty at best with this kind of info, after all. So maybe she's wrong?
... There must be lots of James Howlett in the army, right???

Chapter Text

She wants to laugh hysterically but composes herself at the last second. She's so, so lucky she doesn't have a mouth and that expression on this form are difficult.

"James Howlett," the Colonel answers Steve's question, though his eyes never leave her form. "He enlisted as soon as the war started and, so far, has gotten outstanding achievements. He always completes his mission with no mark on him. Some higher ups have taken notice of him. They're calling him 'The Wolverine'."

Shit.

There's no picture, but now she's no longer doubting it. It seems the mutants are in this world, too. Still reeling from that information, she's quick to make a lie.

'I've seen him today, I think,' she says, hoping he really is on this base like the Colonel previously commented. 'Remember the people with powers I mentioned?'

The Colonel's eyes sharpen.

"He's one of them?" he says at the same time Howard adds, "Which power does he have?"

She attempts to shrug, which is difficult in this form. 'I'm not sure. I've noticed he's more animal-like, though.'

They all seem to ponder the implications of that. 'So, what was the second request, Steve?'

He shakes his head. "I want you to take part in the team as a medical assistant and to help us if we find any other victims like the ones we've encountered."

She blinks and doesn't think too much as she says. 'I'm in, then.'

The Colonel frowns as he looks at the file. "Accept Howlett in your team, with you and Lilith in it, maybe we can discover more about him."

She gives him an odd look. 'He didn't seem like a bad guy.'

"That doesn't explain why he entered the military."

Shaking her head, she tries to convey her next word as seriously as she can. 'These people may have powers, but in the end, they're still people. It's just another ability in their arsenal. Howard may be a civilian, but I'm sure he's smarter than most people on Earth. It's just genetics, Colonel.'

"You said it yourself; they're people. And from what I've seen, no one is black and white. They all come in different shades of gray, so better to be sure."

She nods at him before looking at Steve. "Inform the team. I'll erase the mind of the ones currently sleeping. We will talk when I'm done with this. That means tomorrow, captain."

"I'll offer you breakfast if the team accepts, then."

"Good Luck," she says and starts working.

Before, she could distract people from thinking about her with a something that makes her think of the anti-muggle wards from Harry Potter. But now, she has to change their thoughts directly. And she's surprised by how easy it seems to be. Shaping their minds easily is not surprising, as she expect them to not have safeguards, but having so much power is also quite scary.

She's afraid.

It makes her remember the first time she tried to smoke weed. Emphasis in 'tried'. She didn't know how to smoke, even if she was already eighteen. When her cousin offered to give her two tries, citing that it was her birthday present for becoming an adult, she just inhaled, trying to look cool. She didn't truly comprehend that the smoke had to enter her lungs literally. Or at least, she knew in theory, but practice was a quite different story. Her cousin laughed, because of course he did, but gave her no more, only telling her that maybe he will let her try once more if she learns how to smoke first.

At that time, she had depression and had heard a lot of weed and wanted to feel its effects, so she yearned to try it. That's why she learned to smoke normal cigarettes. There wasn't an opportunity to smoke weed until she was twenty-five and already on the road of recovery. Her depression was bearable thanks to pills and her family support. She stopped drinking and smoking by then. Though that phase of her life only lasted a year, she still didn't trust herself with not falling into that hole.

So, she was twenty-five and being offered her weed for the second time.

She didn't take it, didn't even bother to try it. She was afraid of herself, after all. Not wanting to become dependent on something once again. She already had to cope with taking two different pills, because what if…

No. She was afraid of it, so she didn't take it.
Like she's now afraid of the power she's now realizing she holds and how it can change her.

She knows she's powerful. She's always known as soon as she woke up as Mew, but then it was hard to realize it with how weak she had been. Only now it's hitting her. She's strong and will become stronger with time.

Will it consume her?

She shakes her head.

The better question is, will she let it consume her?

She doesn't know if her will is strong, and that scares her.

However, she can't stop. She promised to do it, so even if it scares her, she will have to do it.

Her hands tremble as she tries to detach herself as much as she can from the situation. It almost feels like she's outside her body as she edits the memories of everyone who remembers her or has listened of her.

She does it slowly, trying not to see too deep into their memories. When it's hard not to glimpse into their lives, she does two people at the same time, hoping for it to be harder. When it doesn't work, she does more at the same time. Then ten, twenty, and fifty. Until she's sweating and can't feel their hopes and aspirations. Things that remind her that these are real people. Beautiful people who hate and love, who murder and gave birth to so many wonders. They're not characters in a movie but as real as herself.

For some reason, that realization is the one that hits the hardest.

She knew about it, of course she did. She considered Tony and Pepper real people, but what about the others? The so-called NPCs were real from the films, the ones without voices or just with one line in the script. If Tony was real for her, why weren't they? She thought she was over this, but maybe she was just lying to herself.

So, she cries as she finishes editing the memories of everyone. She for the fragility of human and life. And now that she's now crying, why not let all out? So she cries for the family she lost and for Tony, whom she had to leave behind. She cries for the people around her and for all the suffering she can feel on this continent. She cries because how fragile human life is and how many greater beings are out there wanting to destroy life.

Luckily it is late, or early if you take into account the clock making it known it's almost four in the morning. Luckily, she doesn't have a mouth currently, only tears leaking from her expressive eyes.

Luckily, she's alone, and no one can see her trembling form as she sobs.

Luckily, she…

When her head touches the wall next to her, its coldness waking her a little from her little pity party, she realizes about what a shitty luck she has.

She teleports to the tent assigned to her and falls asleep.

Chapter Text

She wakes up with a slight headache because of all the meticulous work she had to do the night before. Going on by the surrounding sound, it must be six in the morning. Despite wanting to feel sorry for herself and remain inside the cocoon she's made with the sheets longer, she knows she has to tough it out. Not only because the weather is getting colder, but also because she knows others are feeling worse. She can feel their despair after all.
So, with a yawn, she dresses, makes her bed, and goes out, ready for some food and to see what she can do to help. Only to find Bucky standing near, reading some files, and clearly waiting for her.
"Bucky?" she asks, making the man look up from what he's reading. She's getting an idea of what's going on and feels slightly embarrassed to make someone wait for her. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
She's so going to kick Steve.
°Well, Steve said that you worked late yesterday and to leave you sleeping."
She groans. "You could still have woken me up."
"Sorry, ma'am. No can do. Though I'm surprised you woke up so early, even with what little you must have slept."
With a sigh, she motions Bucky to get going.
He chuckles, and with a slight bow towards her, they walk.
"It's really weird not seeing you as that different creature."
She slaps his arm, annoyed. "That didn't happen, remember? After all, I've spent the entire night trying to change those memories, so don't start."
"Sorry, sorry. Though expect lots of questions when we meet with the team. We were all very curious when Steve mentioned what you were doing," he says lightly, with a smile, but she can easily feel the discomfort coming from his emotions.
She rubs her arm and sighs, her voice coming hoarse. "First time doing that, to be honest. I—I didn't like it."
She clears her throat as she says that truth out loud. It felt weird as she invaded their privacy. She felt powerful as she had these people at her mercy and that was really frightening and a wake-up call for her.
"Yeah, well. Considering we're in war, you'll probably have to do it more," he says with a shrug as he looks at her. She doesn't know what he sees in her expression, but his eyes soften as he speaks in a gentle tone. "We will try our hardest to not put you into that position, though."
It's not as comforting as he tries to be, but she understands.
Shaking her head, she tilts her head high and tries to ignore the dread attempting to engulf her. She concentrates on the minds of those in worse conditions than her until her worries feel like a speck in comparison.
She knows it's not healthy, but she can't help it. Maybe she will talk with the Ancient One later about it.
With a sigh, she turns to Bucky. Only to find him staring at her. "Er, how long until we reach the place?"
He tilts his head to the front, where there's a bar called 'The Whip & Fiddle'. She raises an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah, I know it's a pub, but they also serve breakfast," he says as he opens the door for her. "Also, what were you thinking about before? You looked… weird."
"Weird, how?" she asks as he sees Steve's head in the back of the pub. He seems to notice her immediately and gives her a small wave. She smiles and goes to them. She sees Dum Dum, James, Jacques, Morita, Gabe, and someone who looks exactly like Hugh Jackman in the first X-Men film. That must be Wolverine.
She sits and beams at everyone, ignoring Bucky's weird look as he follows suit, before turning to look at Logan. "You're James, right?"
"Yeah, and you are?" he asks in his gruff voice, giving her a look-over, analyzing her.
Giving the other smiling men a raised eyebrow. "You didn't tell him?"
Steve is sheepish as he says. "You've got to admit it's a bit crazy, so we wanted you to be here with us when we told him."
"Surely wanting him to accept first before he had any chance to run," she says sarcastically.
"Okay, bub, you've got my curiosity," Logan says as he leans forward. "So, what's your deal, then?"
She rolls her eyes as she turns around to look for someone working here to serve her some food. "Yeah, better to clarify everything in a more secure place. For the moment, you just need to know I'll be the medic of this team."
Then she looks at the other James. "By the way, Montgomery. How do I distinguish you and Mr. Howlett here?"
Logan and James exchange a look before Wolverine says, "Honestly, I don't mind how you call me. You can call me by Wolverine or by any other name. I don't care."
"Logan, then!"
He looks at her weirdly. "That was quick."
"You've got a Logan face."
"If you say so."
It's then when a woman comes and starts taking their orders. When she goes away, they can finally talk. Though they can't really say anything too serious, it's easy to banter with them.
"I still find it weird that a bar serves real food," mutters Gabe as he nurses a beer. "Aren't they supposed to just give nuts or something?"
Jaques rolls his eyes and says something in French. She doesn't know what he means but still says, "Is that how is it in America? I know this is not Italy, but it's really close so I think it must be the same as the bars over there."
"What do you mean?" asks James.
"Well, in Italy, bars are not a place to drink alcohol, or at least not entirely. Usually is more to drink coffee or eat something light. If you drink alcohol, usually they offer this, uh, aperitivo?"
Everyone but Jaques is giving her an odd look. She feels herself blushing as Jacques sighs and says, "An appetizer, dumbasses. 'aperitivo' is the same word but in Italian."
"Ohh," everybody else says as if discovering something world-breaking.
She rolls her eyes, wanting to add an insult or two, but Steve is quick to interrupt her, "You did say you were living in Italy for a while."
Smiling, she says, "It's a beautiful country. And the pizza and other types of pasta are to kill for."
"Not literally, I hope," Morita says with a deadpan which makes her giggle. The sound makes most look at her weirdly.
"What, now?"
They look between each other, Logan being the only one not in the loop.
"Nothing," says Gabe with a shrug. "It's just weird to see you all emotional, when we've seen you being all… er, alien-like.
"Ouch," she says without any heat in her tone.
"What he means," Steve starts to say.
She raises a hand. "Don't worry, Steve. I know what he means."
Logan is relaxing in his seat, his posture lazy, but she can sense the sharp attention he's paying to all of them. She turns to him and gives her a reassuring smile before turning to the others as she senses the waitress coming with their food. "Boys, let's eat. Don't confuse the guy more. Let's finish quickly and move on to a more secure place, okay?"
With a chorus of 'yes, ma'am', they start eating.

Chapter Text

They go to the room where she had her breakdown because, of course they do. She powers through the embarrassment wanting to overcome her, and chooses the chair on the other side from where she sobbed. Logan sits the nearest to that spot, between Morita and Gabe.
"So, mind cluing me in whatever secret you've got," Logan says drily, as blunt as a butter knife.
The others look at Steve, which makes him sigh as he runs a hand through his hair. He looks at her, hoping for some help if the puppy eyes are anything to go by, but she smirks at him.
"Aren't you the boss of this team, o' fearless leader?"
He squints at her before returning his gaze to Logan. He clears his throat once and says as blunt as Logan, "She's an alien."
Logan raises an eyebrow while she facepalms. Well, she deserved it. "Mind repeating that, bub?"
With her palm still covering half her face, she mutters, "Well, he's right."
He gives her another once over. Before he can say another sarcastic quip, she stands up and transforms into an alolan raichu, not wanting to turn into Deoxys and ruin the clothes Peggy gave her. She doesn't see his expression because her face is covered with the shirt, but she can feel his surprise fine.
When she escapes the clutches of her clothes, finally being able to see, all the guys are looking at Logan. Some of them give Morita money, while the man himself says, 'Told you so.'
'What did you bet?'
Logan's only show of surprise at her mental voice is the twitch of his fingers on the table.
Gabe groans before waving a hand to Logan. "How much surprise he will show at seeing your form. Jim said he would have none, and he was right, damn it."
"He looked like he had a good poker face," Morita explains.
The guys booed.
'Well, technically, this is not my real form,' she says as she floats away from the table and transforms into Deoxys, the form they think is her real one.
The guys shut up and turn to look at Logan sharply. The man simply raises an eyebrow as he looks at her. It makes the guys boo, once again.
Steve laughs as he stands up, raising his hand to quiet them. It works like a charm, most likely because of their military discipline. "Okay, men. You've got your fun. Now, let's get to business."
That makes them serious, especially when he starts explaining how they will be the only ones to remember her alien form from now on. He looks resolute as he talks about her editing the memories of almost everyone in camp, but she can feel his discomfort.
"If none of you feel comfortable with the idea, I'll understand. So if you decide to back off, you can, but... Your memory will have to be also edited." She looks sharply at Steve, who meets her gaze. "That was what the Colonel ordered."
She shuts down the panic at thinking of doing it again, scoffing instead. 'Without talking with me first, huh?'
He looks apologetic, but she doesn't blame him. He's already torn as he is about this. Sighing, she transforms into her alolan raichu form and sits on the table, grabbing her tail like a stuffed toy.
"How does it feel?" asks Dum Dum, his gaze sharp. "Is it hard?"
She swallows, not knowing how to answer.
"It happened in this room, didn't it?" asks Logan, startling her. She looks up at him, but his gaze is where she sobbed the day before. "You cried, why?"
The others look at Logan weirdly, but she doesn't. He probably used his super senses or something. Logan seems surprised at the look the others are giving him.
"You didn't tell them," he states, explaining nothing. He fixes his gaze at her. "Why?"
'Er… I don't understand?'
"You're a telepath, aren't you? You probably know everything about us," he says with a shrug as if talking about the weather, ignoring how his words tense the others. "You didn't tell them about how different am I?"
She blinks and looks at Steve, who is the one speaking next. "She didn't mention you specifically, but while reading your file, she recognized you from the recon she did before as someone with powers."
"Woah. Are you an alien, too, James?" Gabe asks.
"I'm pretty sure I was born on Earth and had human parents, bub." He then turns to her. "So you know more about us, then. Is it a telepathy thing?"
She wants to recoil back, but she suppresses the urge. 'I didn't go through the mind of anyone here.'
He raises a skeptical brow. "But you did go through others."
'I had to. To edit many people's memories, I had to be inside their minds. But I didn't rummage through their memories.'
"Sure you didn't," he scoffs.
'I didn't!' she says, louder than intended if the way most of them clutch their heads is anything to go by. 'I'm sorry, but it's the truth. It was the first time I did it, and I didn't like it.'
"Are you sure? Because I can tell, you're not sure." She blinks at Logan's proclamation. "It's different because you're not human, but I can smell your emotions."
She opens her mouth, wanting to ask how it works, but nothing comes out. Steve seems to want to intervene, but she glares at him. He wisely shuts up.
The levity from before is forgotten. She feels like an ant under a microscope, and she hates it. So, she glares and tries to portray her emotions outwards as much as she can as she says, 'I didn't like it. I was afraid the whole time because—because of how easy it was. The minds of humans are so moldable, and I couldn't—I can't invade their privacy without feeling like trash. I felt vulnerable when I wasn't, and I shouldn't feel that way when I was molding so many minds.'
Her gaze goes to her paws for a second before she looks up, her glare softening into something more desperate. 'Is that what you want to hear? You asked why I cried. Well, why wouldn't I when I realized how unique, how fragile you all were with your memories and emotions, all so perfect and so minuscule in the grand scheme of things? But still, you war and suffer and do so many beautiful things...'
She feels herself tearing up once again, but she cleans her eyes with her tail and continues, 'It would be so easy to kill you, easier to mold you into puppets. And I cried because I was afraid for you, of my power, and the other beings greater than I that could squish you as easily.'
The room is silent for a whole minute, and she is so done. Carrying the clothes Peggy gave her, she looks at them once again and says. 'I'm tired. I'll go to my tent. Call me when you need me for a mission.'
She doesn't look back as she teleports.

Chapter Text

The sky is starting to darken when she wakes up. She doesn't know the time and can't even guess because it's hard to measure at this time of year as the light of the sky doesn't last as long as in other seasons. She changes into her clothes. Or, well, Peggy's clothes. 

She really needs a new wardrobe. Maybe she can't gain some money from Howard by offering him to do some basic tests on her? Anyway, she needs to show her powers, so it would be like a win-win for her. She comes out of the tent, hoping for the day when the Colonel will give her an official room with walls without it being freezing cold, and finds Logan outside, sitting on the ground, almost in the same spot Bucky once was waiting.

He looks at her, and she tries to fight the embarrassment as she remembers how she cried before, in front of her colleagues…

Kill her without mercy, please.

He inhales subtly, smirking at whatever he discovers, so she crosses her arms. "Coming to goad?"

That takes the smirk out of his face. He sighs and stands up, motioning her to follow him. "Let's go to a more quiet place, okay?"

"Why should I?"

He runs a hand through the lower part of his face before looking directly at her. "I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have put you in the spot like that."

Her posture relaxed at his words, making her realize how tense she was without knowing. She grumbles, "I wasn't put on the spot."

Scoffing, he once again motions her to walk. "Sure you weren't."

She just growls, swallowing the protest and rage that wants to come off. Logan glances at her, making a weird noise from his throat that sounds very much like a purr, and she instantly calms down. It leaves her blinking in bewilderment, and there's no use in asking Logan for answers because, going on by that insufferable smirk, he won't tell. At least, not yet.

"If this is how you apologize, I don't like it."

The smirk goes away, leaving only blankness to rest on his face. It's a bit intimidating because, unlike the previous Logan from the comics, who was a short man, this Logan, while not tall, has a good height on him, while she's not even past 1.60 cm. 

She really hates tall people looming over her.

Using that hate, she glares up at him, floating a bit until they can meet gazes without her having to look up.

Logan sighs and steps back, a small smile on his face as he puts a large hand on her head, pressing her down. "Are you sure you want your abilities to be shown around?"

That takes the winds off her sails. Following the motion of his hand, she goes down until her feet touch the ground, glancing around to see if someone has seen her. When she notes that few people are about, she exhales and looks up. Noticing the hand still on her head, she looks pointedly at it. 

"Do you mind?" He chuckles and lets her go, motioning her again to keep walking. "So, where are you taking me?"

"To the bar from before."

She stops for a second before reassuming walking. "Why?"

"The guys are there. We've got to work together, remember? Steve's got a mission already set for us."

"Did they tell you to bring me in?"

"… No, I asked to be the one to inform you. I wanted to apologize."

She thinks about it for a while. Noticing the honesty coming from him, she nods. "Okay. Apology accepted."

He turns to look at her, blinking twice. "Just like that?"

"I can tell you're sincere about it. I'm an empath, you see." When she sees his posture tensing, she's quick to explain, "That means, even if I try to turn down most of my powers, I can still feel others' emotions without being able to turn them off. Sorry. It's like your sense of smell, I think? Again, sorry, I didn't mean-"

He takes a deep, loud breath that interrupts her from continuing. Shaking his head when he's exhaling, he smiles at her. "Don't be. You're right. I can't completely control my powers, so I shouldn't have been angry with you in the first place."

She's quiet most of the way, though when she can see the bar getting nearer, she asks, "Why were you? Angry, I mean. I noticed you were targeting me."

"I was not really angry, but -ugh- concerned about your powers? Yeah, let's keep it like that."

She smiles at his inability to describe his feelings. Men of this time were really about not showing emotions freely, weren't they? 

"Were you afraid?" He throws her a dirty look, which she ignores to skip next to him. "So you were! Well, I understand your worries, so it's okay. All forgiven."

He rolls his eyes and seems to want to retort, but they're already near more people, the bar only a few steps away. "Sure, sure. Whatever you want to believe."

She beams at him as they enter the bar before turning around to look for Steve. She throws a questioning glance at him, and he motions for the stairs she hadn't noticed before. "There are private rooms over there. Stark wanted to eat with us before informing us about the mission."

Nodding, she follows him to the stairs that lead from the ground floor to the first floor. They walk until they're in front of a door at the back. Taking a deep breath, she goes inside, trying to ignore her anxiety at confronting everyone after her little tantrum. 

It's a medium-sized room with a table in its center, large enough for at least a dozen people to sit comfortably. The decoration is precise and elegant, going from a silver-ish cream color to a deep purple in some places. However, she doesn't pay much attention to this; her gaze is mainly on all the people who have turned around when they hear the door open.

Oh, well. Time to face the show.

.

.

Chapter Text

The first to acknowledge her presence is Howard. The man stands up and offers a handshake while asking about her powers, abilities, and whatnot.
"Let her breathe, Howard," Steve is the first to offer support.
"I can't help being curious about the science behind her powers and abilities," the man explains before Peggy adds in, "He's not without his eccentrics, but his words hold some truth. We need to better understand your powers so we can work with them."
She nods, deciding to focus mainly on her Deoxy's and Raichu's powers. "Well, Deoxys has four forms. The normal one I use whenever I transform into it. It's a generalist, without focusing on anything in particular. Like a jack of all trades but master of none, though it's easier for me to Recover when using it."
Having said that, she transforms into the Raichu form to remove her clothes without tearing them apart. When she's out of her clothes, she takes the standard Deoxys form, resting like that for five seconds before transforming again, but this time in her Attack form. 'Then I have my attack form, which, like the name implies, focuses more on attacking and teleporting.'
Then, transforming once again into her heaviest form, she makes sure to float so as to not put any unnecessary weight on the floor. "The Defense form makes me a tank. Basically, high endurance, but slow. While my Speed Form focuses on quick attacks and guerrilla tactics."
She transforms into Alolan Raichu, not wanting to go out to change her clothes. Floating to the table, she starts eating. 'I've got specific attacks I call 'moves' that do other unrelated things, but, well, that's the gist of it.'
"And about the healing?" Steve asks, looking severe and interested.
'I've got a couple of moves for that, actually,' she starts, eating some steak. 'I've got 'Life Dew' that mostly restores stamina and removes fatigue and pain. Then 'Aromatherapy' heals mostly less benign status conditions, like being poisoned, burned, or electrified. 'Heal pulse' heals all superficial injuries and takes away most internal damage. Lastly, 'Healing Wish' makes me faint, but in return, I can completely heal the person I want.'
Steve's got his game face on as he thinks deeply. She lets him be for a while, eating some mashed potatoes.
"You will still need to learn first aid and follow some of the doctors and nurses here. Are you okay with that?"
She nods. 'I like to learn new things.'
Howard looks between them before leaning forward. "Now that we are done with that... What are your other moves? Or at least, the ones you can use in your forms? Also, how many do you have? Do they have a type, like elemental or reinforcement? Do you know the science behind it? How did you learn—"
"Howard," Peggy says sharply. "Again. Let her breathe. You can ask her later when we're not in the middle of a debriefing. So, for now, nothing unrelated to work or the mission they will lead next month."
Howard rolls his eyes but complies, waving a hand in her direction to say, 'Continue by yourself then,' which makes Peggy glare at him for a while before relenting.
She sighs and starts telling them about the mission for next month to destroy one of Hydra's facilities. She doesn't mention specifics, just that it's mostly to gauge their teamwork and Steve's leadership skills, with Dum Dum being the second in command, even if Logan is the most experienced. She notices it makes him slightly uncomfortable, even with his fantastic poker face. The emotions she can feel coming from him don't lie.
She doesn't do anything to reassure him as it would only make him even more wary, but maybe she should do so as he already knows about her being an empath.
Before making a decision, Peggy asks her if she can do some light reconnaissance before they attack, to which she agrees. Peggy and the Colonel glance at each other before the old man speaks, "We already decided how to send the information about your existence."
"Because of its delicate nature and the secrecy you requested, we've decided I'll go to the English Prime Minister before requesting a passage to America to talk with their president."
Going on by Steve's kicked puppy look, he didn't know about it. However, when Peggy goes to look everyone in the eyes to assert her words as she keeps explaining the details of the trip, he changes his expression into something more reassuring.
She can feel Peggy's emotions dull at seeing him so supportive of them being far away from each other.
Ugh. Drama.
Shaking her head, she nods at Peggy when she looks at her with a grateful look because she is grateful. She just needs to try to ignore these exasperating feelings.
There's a dull conversation after the shared news in which she drinks some water. Before anyone can bring any other topic onto the table, she speaks in their minds, 'Now that we're talking about traveling, I'm considering doing some myself.'
The gazes of the Colonel and Peggy sharpen at her words. She explains before they draw the wrong conclusion. 'I don't mean I won't help. I already promised, didn't I? Whenever you need me, be it these reconnaissance missions or an official mission to thwart Hydra's plans or heal someone, I still want to keep helping others. Not just help the big picture.'
Peggy seems to understand her meaning even if the Colonel doesn't, which surprises her. She's been told she could be better at explaining herself many times but without being able to accomplish it. So, seeing the light of understanding in the other woman's eyes is certainly pleasing.
"What do you mean?" the Colonel asks gruffly.
'Helping the forest is good, but I don't want to ignore the trees either. The less fortunate guys who are drowning in despair.'
Peggy leans forward. "How do you plan to do so? By traveling by yourself?"
She nods. 'I can fly and become invisible, not to mention the teleportation I can do, even if it's too taxing. I can also sense the emotions of others, which makes it easier for me to know where to go and who to visit.'
Staring fiercely at them, trying her best to show her determination, she hopes to convince them. The Colonel looks at Peggy incredulously, probably wanting her to share how crazy the idea is.
(She can feel his emotions, so she's pretty sure that's what it means.)
However, to his misfortune, Peggy seems to intensely be contemplating what she just said. "This changes our agreement, but maybe we can change it accordingly. After all, you're a rational being with feelings. We can't be your prison." Seeing the Colonel's expression, she quickly adds, "However, you need to report frequently."
Everyone now turns to the Colonel, who crosses his arms and huffs before relenting. "You said you could teleport, didn't you? Then, we will need to see you every two days to update you about the missions and how you must act if you will be working with us."
She tilts her head. "What's wrong with how I act."
"You do need to learn the basics of the military," Peggy adds. "After all, for the normal soldier, you will be part of us."
After processing her words, she nods. 'I can work with that.'