A/N: ...hey guys. so i got bored. made a story. you know how it goes. I have no idea where I'm going with this. If anyone actually reads this shit, color me surprised. I've got a lot of anxiety in my life right now, and writing makes me feel better. I'm gonna keep writing as long as it helps me chill the hell out so.. *shrug*

warning: I cuss a lot. It's not gonna stop, so just fuckin get used to it.

"Come back here you little shit!" I grinned at the man's shout, swerving and pushing past New Yorkers. I muttered apologies along the way at the grunts and huffs people emitted as I used them all as my personal shield. I turned around for a split second to see that the man was at least 8 people behind me, which was a lot on a busy New York City strip.

There were people everywhere around me, which usually made me wanna hide, but the crowds today were perfect for stea...I mean..gathering my lunch for the day. "Sorry!" I shouted back towards him, looking back for a split second. "I just wanted some lunch!"

"You're gonna pay for that!" the hot dog man shouted back, and I picked up my speed a little bit, shoving the hot dog in my mouth. I spotted an alleyway and curved sharply to the right. There was a staircase leading up to a balcony that I could hide in till the coast was clear. I breathed a sigh of relief, and shot up the stairs.

Before I could reach the third step though, a hand grabbed on to my pony tail, yanking me harshly back. I grunted in pain, glaring up at the man holding me. "I gotcha now you shit," the man grinned, holding me up to his face. I looked down in sadness at my hot dog. I'd only gotten to take one bite of it. He placed me on my feet in front of him, making sure to keep a firm hold on my shoulder, but thankfully letting go of my hair. "Where is it?" he grunted, thrusting his hand in front of me, palm up.

"Where's what?" I asked innocently, looking up at him. He shook me roughly, making my teeth rattle. "Don't be a smart ass. Pay for the food you took!"I looked at him strangely, my eyebrows furrowing. "Dude. I'm 12. I don't have any money."

The man leaned down towards my face, and I grimaced at his stale coffee breath. "You owe me 15 bucks, and you're not goin anywhere until I get it."

"Fifteen bucks?!" I repeated in disbelief. "That piece of shit hot dog was 15 bucks?"

Suddenly, I found myself on the ground, my cheek throbbing with the slap the man had just given me. "You think you can just go around stealing from people?!" he yelled, and I scrambled backwards against the wall, my hands coming up to protect my face. "You're a spoiled little shit that's gotten away with too much, and now you think you can do whatever you want!"

The man's foot lashed out to kick me in my side, and I thrust my hands in front of me, closing my eyes tightly. "What the hell…" I heard the man breathe, and slowly cracked my eyes open. What I saw made me sigh in relief. Looks like my powers decided to kick in again.

Surrounding my body was a white bubble. It curved around me protectively, rippling every time I moved. I'd known about my powers for about two years now, which essentially led to me being homeless, but I digress….

I could essentially create a shield around myself, which sounded great, but unfortunately for me, I could barely get it to work. It would come out at the most random times. I was thankful that this was one of those times though.

Saying that, it never lasted very long. The shield began flickering around me, going from white to opaque until eventually it faded away, my sense of safety going with it. I knew what was coming next, and my heart started beating wildly in anticipation.

"You're one of those mutant freaks," the man continued and I gulped, looking up at him defiantly. He reached out as if to make sure the shield was no longer there, and upon seeing that the barrier was gone, grinned down at me. "Do your whittle powers not work freak?" he laughed and I lunged to the left when he reached for me. I kicked him in his stomach and he wheezed, but before I could go too far, I was choking. He held tightly on to my neck, slamming my back against the wall. I gasped for air, trying as hard as I could to pry his disgusting hands off of me. I kicked my legs trying to get him away from me, but it was no use. "You have to pay for the food some way," he grinned at me maliciously and I whimpered, black dots starting to appear in front of me. "I bet if I beat you till you can barely breathe, you'll think twice before stealing from me again…"

"What the hell is going on here?" I heard a voice to the right of me shout. The man choking me jumped, his hand loosening, and I used that opportunity to kick him as hard as I could in the balls. The man shouted, releasing me completely and I fell roughly to the ground, hand going up to my neck, gasping for air. Tears came to my eyes as I breathed quickly in and out.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the voice questioned, sounding angry. "This shit stole from me," the hot dog man explained, throwing his hands out toward me, and I flinched, trying to crawl backwards. "So you're going to kill her?" the voice exclaimed, and I looked up to see a man with dark hair, wearing a grey business suit, sunglasses over his eyes.

"I was just trying to explain to her how business transactions worked," the man lied, and before I could stop myself, a scoff escaped my mouth. The man shot a glare down at me and I flinched again, turning my eyes toward the ground. "Yeah, okay, buddy," the business man said, and I heard him take a couple steps toward us. "Get the hell out of here before I call the cops."

"The cops?!" the man repeated. "She's the one who stole from me!" The new man reached in his back pocket then. "Here," he said, holding out five bucks. "The brat owes me fifteen for lost business," the vendor said, and the man in the suit scoffed. "Oh please," he said. "Your business shouldn't even be up and running with all the health code violations you break on a daily basis."

"What the hell do you know about business asshole?" the man replied angrily, tightening his fists. He took a step toward the man and I held my breath. Instead of backing down though like I thought he'd do, the business man took a step forward as well. "I think I know a little bit," he responded, and took off his sunglasses. The vendor and I gasped in surprise, mine much quieter however. "Tony Stark?!" the nasty man said, voice sounding shocked. I had to admit, I was surprised as well. I'd seen the billionaire on television plenty of times, but that was different of course. It felt weird seeing a famous person in real life.

The billionaire took another step towards the vendor until he was in the man's face. "You've got three seconds to get out of here, or I'll personally see to it that your business never opens again."

The hot dog vendor hesitated for half a second before throwing up his hands and walking quickly out of the alley, not even looking back. I stared after the fat man for a few seconds, blinking in disbelief. Just then, a hand appeared in front of my face, and I looked at it uncomprehendingly for half a second. My eyes blinked up at the man, Tony Stark, and he looked back at me, concern in his eyes.

"You okay, kid?" I mentally shook my head, telling myself to get a grip. "I'm fine," I said softly, and grasped on to the wall to get myself up. Tony Stark took a step back, trying to give me room, which I appreciated. I stood up, facing him, my head barely coming above his waist. He reached his hand toward me and I flinched unconsciously, and he put his hands up in peace. "I just wanna look at your throat. He was holding on to you pretty tight."

I gulped painfully and nodded, my fear making me feel silly. This hasn't happened to me in a while. I usually had a few close calls, sure, but it had been about six months since someone caught me, much less attacked me. Stark took a step towards me, slowly reaching his hand toward my face. When he saw that I wasn't afraid of him, his hand grabbed my chin. He tilted my head up gently, softly turning it left and right a couple times.

"That's definitely going to bruise," he said softly, but I didn't say anything. I could've told him that with the way it was hurting. "You should probably go to the hospital, kid," he told me, releasing my chin. "I'm fine," I repeated, and shoved my hands in my pocket. This was my go to stance. It had the effect of making me appear relaxed and harmless, but if need be, I could quickly shoot my hands out and create my shield. Hopefully. If the stupid thing decided to appear.

"I'm sure," Stark said drily, and copied my carefree stance, hands in suit pocket. "What the hell was that anyway? Didn't your parents teach you not to steal? That guy would have hurt you a lot worse than he did if I hadn't shown up."

"I know that," I grunted, jaw tight. "I don't usually get caught," the sentence slipped out before I could help it, and I snapped my mouth shut, but the damage was already done. Idiot!

"Usually?" Tony repeated, eyebrows shooting up. "Do you make it a habit to steal?" I didn't say anything, and studied the ground. I'd already said too much.

The billionaire waited for me to answer, and when I didn't, he sighed. "How old are you?" "Why?" I shot back, looking up at him. The question came out a little angrier than I wanted, and he shot up his hands again in a symbol of peace. "Hey there, no need to get feisty on me. You're just a little young to be in the streets of New York with no adult around." "I'm old enough," I replied, voice final. I walked around the man and he allowed it. "Anyway, thanks for helping me. I gotta get home now before my folks get worried," I lied. The last thing I needed was this guy finding out I was homeless. He'd take me back to the damn orphanage, and I'd die before I went back there.

"Cut the crap, kid," Stark said bluntly, and my heart stopped. I stopped walking and looked back at him, mouth dry. "You and I both know you don't have anywhere to go." He said it so plainly that the truth of his statement shot through me, and I fought hard to keep a wince from showing on my face.

"You don't know me," I rebounded, voice hard now. "Like I said, thanks for helping me, but I'm good now. Just go back home and leave me alone."

"I can't really do that, kid," he said softly, eyes watching me sadly. "What kind of person would I be if I left a little kid on the streets of New York by herself?" "I'm not a little kid!" I replied hotly, face scrunching up. "Well you're definitely not an adult," he responded and walked towards me. I braced myself, getting ready to run.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," I said in a rough voice. We stared at each other in silence, neither of us willing to back down. Suddenly, a huge growl came from my stomach and echoed in the alleyway. The man smirked at me in victory, and I felt tears form in my eyes. I quickly turned away from him, and wiped the tears away, beyond angry at myself.

Stark let out another sigh, and stepped in front of me, kneeling down to my level. "Kid," he said softly, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I just wanna make sure you're taken care of. Why don't you go with me to get something to eat, and we'll go from there?"

"I can get my own food," I said stubbornly, and one manicured eyebrow shot up. "Did you seriously just say that?" he said, looking pointedly at my neck. Embarrassment flooded through me and I felt my face get hot. "Fine!" I grunted out, and looked straight into his eyes when I said my next sentence; my blue eyes met his brown. "One meal, and then you leave me alone." He smiled at me then, and stood up to his full height.

I gasped when his hand came down on my head, ruffling the hair playfully. "Whatever you say, kid," he replied, and I scowled up at him, reaching up to flatten the frizz down as much as I could.

"C'mon," he gestured, and began walking. "There's a sandwich shop right around the corner." I hesitated for a split second, debating making a run for it, but the man looked back at me then, waiting for me to catch up, and I knew it would be useless. I was stuck with him for the time being. My stomach rumbled again painfully, and my hand softly rubbed it as the two of us began walking towards the shop. I'd get a free meal and be on my way, and the billionaire could continue with his life free of guilt, feeling content that he'd fed a poor homeless child. Everything would be fine.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's one chapter down. thanks for reading!