Behind the Veil

It was just an ordinary day where Tony spent it working on his latest inventions and provisions to current objects when there was an alarm letting him know that someone had arrived. Tony was thrown off by the intrusion on his property but when he opened the door he saw the delivery man having just set the box down on the floor. He didn’t order anything so he was immediately dubious of the situation. The delivery man gave a reassuring smile and looked down at his chart rereading the instructions.

“The instructions were to just leave the package on the ground since you don‘t like being handed things,” he says. “Have a good day Mr. Stark.”

Tony merely stared at the package that seemed rather small. The delivery truck drove off and Tony crouched down to see the neatly written letters. He noticed Lola’s name and a smile formed on his lips before he picked it up to realize it was somewhat heavier than he would have thought it would be. Heading back inside he ripped open the package to reveal the hardcover book entitled Dark Matter. On the inside he found a folded sheet of paper.

Congratulations Tony, you have unknowingly come in contact with the Anthrax virus. Go to the nearest hospital where you will be quarantined and treated for this unfortunate exposure…you should read the lengthy goodbye letter I wrote you that was in front of the book before you opened the package like a damn animal.

Tony let out a chuckle upon reading the note and noticed that he indeed dropped an envelope from the package while opening it in such a manner. She had already figured he’d open the package with haste and he had to smile knowing she would make such an assumption. He picked up the envelope from the ground and retreated back downstairs to his laboratory. Opening the letter as he entered the area, Tony sat on his stole to begin reading it.

Tony,

I know what you‘re thinking, why didn‘t I just give you a call? Here‘s the answer, I thought I‘d remind you that snail mail still exists and that I think getting mail is way better than e-mail, which I assume you just delete anyways. Since I‘m horrible with letters I‘ll just say I figured you‘d enjoy the contents of this book even if you could probably get it online. You need to read more physical copies of books, don‘t let those destroyed forests go in vain.

Have a lovely day,

-Lola

He didn’t want to admit it but he thoroughly enjoyed her little letter and gift. It was thoughtful, something that he was not. She was funny and thoughtful as well as attractive to him. Of course she wasn’t perfect. Lola didn’t have the height or perfect facial features, he noticed that she had one dimple that shown when she smiled and before she had died she had a good amount of scars he never had the chance to inquire about. He noticed a lot of things about her, her shyness when it came to public displays of affection to her hesitation. However how much he noticed he still wanted to know more yet he knew she wasn’t one to share much like himself. She understood his disposition but she lacked the forwardness he had and sometimes he could notice her pull away unable to compute how to handle him.

It was nothing time wouldn’t heal, he knew the more time they spent together she’d become more comfortable. The only thing that scared him was that he actually wanted to spend more time with her. Perhaps it was because not only did he like her, she also took away the constant pain he felt that caused him to drink so much. Tony debated whether she was intentionally taking away the pain somehow or rather just was being herself. Regardless after a month of not really seeing much of her, he was starting to drink again to dull the pain. When he caught himself doing so he decided to go visit her.

Lola and Salvatore managed to get their mother out of the hospital without much issue. They were lucky enough to get the apartment across the hall from Salvatore’s and they furnished it well enough to be habitable. Lola chose to be the one living with her mother and they adjusted together. It was going quite well aside from the fact Lydia became increasingly concerned with her daughter’s nightly behavior. She quickly took notice that at a certain time at night she would sneak out of the apartment, leave for a few hours then come back and shower. Of course she assumed Lola was just seeing someone that she hadn’t told her about, Lydia knew Lola didn’t really talk about those sorts of things with her unless it was serious. Her main issue with Lola going out at odd hours of the night was the way Lola acted, it was obvious the visits weren’t too enjoyable. When Tony Stark showed up at the apartment and Lydia answered the door while Lola was out getting groceries. Tony was a little surprised to see a brighter more aware Lydia answer the door. He gave a charming smile and held out his hand having never personally met her officially.

“Tony Stark.”

“Are you the man Lola has been seeing?” Lydia counters looking hesitant to even introduce herself to him.

“Well we do see each other,” Tony drawls unsure what to call what he and Lola had. During the exchange Lola arrived home from the grocery store to see Tony talking to her mother. Of course it was a surprise to Lola to see Tony on her doorstep so randomly but regardless she gave a smile.

“Lola what took you so long?”

“I managed to find certain kind of ice cream for you,” Lola replies in a nonchalant manner as she raised the bag holding her mother‘s favorite ice cream.

“I thought they stopped making those,” Lydia smiles brightly.

“They rebooted the brand I believe. Did you two meet?” she says looking from her mother to Tony with a smile.

“More or less.”

“I wasn‘t expecting you to come here today, you must be bored with work.”

“We were just making dinner feel free to stay, I‘d like to know who you are and why you‘re here,” Lydia states looking at Tony somewhat suspiciously. Lola gave a sideways glance at her mother that was acting rather strangely. Regardless she led Tony into the apartment and let her mother take one of the bags. Tony inhaled deeply taking in the wonderful smell of homemade food that entered his senses. He never smelt anything so delicious.

Lydia kept her eye on the door waiting for her son Salvatore to arrive to eat dinner. There was on a scowl on her face when she noticed he was late. All the while Lola and Tony sat on the couch waiting patiently. When Sal finally arrived he entered the apartment only to be smacked upside his head by his mother.

“Salvatore Michael Novak we were waiting for you,” she scolds.

“Aw ma, stop I brought you some wine,” Sal responds holding up a bottle of red wine. His eyes drifted to see Tony in the place. “Is this an important dinner or something?”

“Just dinner,” Lola replies getting up from the couch. They proceeded to sit at the table with food on their plates and Tony couldn’t remember anytime he’s ever been at a sit down dinner like the one he was presently at. It reminded him of the kind of family he wished he had growing up. Lydia decided to get to know Tony a little bit and looked up to see him staring at her daughter an adoring manner.

“So Tony what do you do for a living?”

“I‘m head of Stark Industries and sometimes save the world on the side,” Tony answers.

“Is that the answer you‘re settling on?” Lola counters with a chuckle.

“Is he who you see in the middle of the night?” Lydia question turning to her daughter. Lola shook her head and took a drink of her water.

“I don‘t see anyone, just like walking.”

“Pinche Lola at three in the morning, you need to get your head straight Lolita, I don‘t want you walking the streets at night alone, people will start thinking you‘re a hooker,” she spoke in a serious tone that seemed to bring out her heavy accent even more.

“Yeah Lola people will think you‘re a hooker,” Sal taunts with a smirk.

“I‘ll keep that in mind,” Lola retorts rolling her eyes at her brother. Rest of the dinner revolved around eating and Lydia trying to find out about the man who seemed to win over her daughter. Once dinner was over Lola and Lydia began to clean whilst Sal and Tony sat in the living room watching television. Lydia watched Lola as she cleaned the pots and pans.

“You don‘t talk to me like you talked to your father. I just hope you have someone you can confide in,” Lydia spoke looking at her daughter

“I‘m fine Ma, I‘ve got things under control.”

“You two should go out have some fun. Sal and I can watch a movie or something so you don‘t have to worry about me.”

“Are you sure?” Lola responds glancing at her mother.

“Of course, he seems to care about you, ” she smiles reassuringly. Lola finished up the dishes and wiped her hands on the nearby towel. Lydia kissed her daughter lightly on the cheek. Moving towards the living room, Lola smiled at Tony who stood up from the couch.

“Want to go for a walk or something?”

“Sure,” Tony answers. Lola led him towards the front door and he turned to look at Lydia. “Thanks for having me for dinner.”

“It was nice having you over Tony,” Lydia states before they pair left the apartment.

Tony let Lola take the lead until they got out of the building. Once out of the apartment building he took charge by leading her to his car. Lola noticed he was driving towards the hotel he had last stayed at when he was in the city. He stopped in front of the place and they got out of the vehicle then proceeded to Tony’s room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Tony brought her into a kiss. It was déjà vu all over again only they somehow turned the television on in the process. When the news anchor began talking about a mutant attack, Lola lost her concentration. Her eyes peered over Tony’s shoulder to see the serious looking man speaking. He talked about the law trying to get passed for mutants to register with the government. The segment cut to an interview with Tony Stark the very man that was right next to her, saying that he agrees that mutants should be required to register with the government. It was when Lola back away from his touch Tony immediate knew the news had upset her.

“Please tell me you don‘t support that law,” Lola says in a shaky voice.

“It‘d be safer that way for everyone.”

“Excuse me? How would making a complete list of every single mutant in the U.S. be safer for everyone?”

“There‘s a bigger picture with it, what about the mutant that killed you? Wouldn‘t you have liked to know who could do that so that he would be caught?” Tony argued.

“Let me tell you what happens when the government begins to make lists of a specific race, here‘s a hint it caused a second world war,” she retorts angrily.

“You can‘t honestly be comparing this to Germany and Hitler.”

“I can and I will. Don‘t say the same thing wouldn‘t happen here because it already has! After Pearl Harbor a majority of Japanese Americans were rounded up and put into camps. Some of us don‘t want people to know our mutations because it causes others to fear us and we get ostracized or worse, hunted.”

“That wouldn‘t happen, I wouldn‘t let that happen.”

“The passing of that law will give the extremists every reason to hate and there will be a war. I thought you would know what it was like but I guess I was wrong,” Lola states moving further away from him. Tears formed in her eyes as she pulled her dress back on.

“I don’t hide who I am, why are you so against this? I thought you‘d want to prevent anymore attacks like what happened to you,” Tony says in a soft tone as he reached out to touch her arm.

“I know damn well what happened to me Tony, I know better than anyone, there are terrible people in this world, some are mutants and some are just ordinary. I am a mutant Tony and I am not going to stand here to justify my stance because I have made myself very clear that this is wrong.”

“You just jump at the chance to leave. Like you were looking for some flaw to pounce on and fight with me,” he states giving her an angry look.

“What am I supposed to do Tony? I can‘t just stand here and act like I‘m okay with it.”

“No one’s saying you have to stay here,” Tony retorts. As soon as he said those words, Lola’s eyes hardened and she turned her back towards him. She slipped on her shoes and began walking away. Too stubborn to stop her, Tony just stood there and once she left out the door he headed to the mini bar for something strong. Lola wanted nothing more than to cry but she didn’t. Instead she went off into the night without another word. Always waiting for the chance to get her when she was most vulnerable, Franz Keller found her weakened mind and began his search to find her. In the state she was in, he knew it was the prime moment to push her further. Making a pit stop he found her first love Daniel, being the sadistic man that he was he entered the man’s mind to give the memory of Lola at the abortion clinic.

The response was better than Franz could have imagined, right away Daniel Parker opted to call Lola for an important chat. Of course Lola agreed to see him being that he sounded so shaken up. Daniel got into his car and picked up Lola from the park she sat at. Once Lola entered the car she felt as if something was wrong with Daniel. He drove them to one of the national parks in the area where no one inhabited. Shutting off the engine Daniel turned to Lola with saddened eyes.

“You should have told me, I would have supported you,” he spoke in a hurt tone. Lola took a moment to realize what he had meant by this statement.

“Danny it‘s not what you think,” Lola states looking down.

“Look I get you were all upset about what happened with your dad and your mom but you should have told me, I had a right to know if I was going to be a father.”

“You weren‘t going to be a father Danny.”

“Well obviously not anymore,” Daniel responds in an incredulous manner.

“No, you never were Danny, I cheated on you,” she replies in a soft voice filled with shame. Daniel looked at her in a disbelieving manner. “I was messed up back then, I broke things off because I thought you could do better.”

“Get out,” he orders. Lola opened the passenger door but looked back at Daniel who was set on staring straight ahead.

“I‘m so sorry Daniel, I just couldn‘t deal with things, I‘m sorry.”

“Just get out.”

A sad sigh escaped Lola’s lips and she obliged his requests. She didn’t blame him for being angry and not wanting to have her around. It was perfectly understandable but she was left to be in the middle of the nowhere with her own thoughts. She walked home and she made it there by morning feeling sore from the long distance. Lydia grew worried when her daughter arrived home with bloodshot eyes and dirt all over her clothes. She assumed Lola had heard the terrible news and Lydia brought her daughter into a tight embrace.

“I‘m sorry Lolita,” Lydia says softly through tears.

“Ma what‘s wrong?”

“Daniel, he got into a terrible accident last night,” she answers. Lola felt her heart clench tightly and she looked at her mother, praying that when she continued, she would say he was fine in the hospital. But gazing into her mother’s brown eyes she realized there was no hope and that he was gone. Lola’s legs buckled and a felt the weight of guilt overpower her being. Her mind seemed to shut off and the next few hours she refused to talk about what happened. In her eyes things only got worse when she told the truth to those she cared about. She couldn’t even imagine what would happen if she told the truth of the night that changed everything. Every thought she had revolved around the last conversation she had with Daniel.

The service was small but large enough that Lola had to hide her appearance that seemed to crack with her emotions. After everything all she wanted was to walk away and not be bothered by having to talk to anyone. It was the pressure and guilt that built up with each passing moment. Lola was not to be left alone especially by her mother Lydia who worried immensely about her daughter that was slipping away from her. Because her health wasn’t in the best condition Lydia wouldn’t allow her daughter to go out. Lydia was desperate to get things back to normal and she opted to question Nick Fury about things. He was the only other person who had the resources to help. Despite everything, Lola denied that anything was wrong with her, repeating day after day that she was fine.

Perhaps her appearance was slightly harrowing with the vines leaving impressions underneath her skin waiting to burst out. A couple areas the vines did expose themselves those areas were a dark green and the vines carried sharp thorns. Lola was still sneaking out to see Franz even though it didn’t help her mind or body. Franz took advantage of her weakened mind and amplified her guilt. When Nick Fury arrived he could see how things were affecting Lola. It was if the truth and guilt was slowly changing her. They were planning an intervention of sorts to get help her but when they all gathered in one room with her she seemed less than amiable towards any sort of assistance.

“Lola something is wrong, we just want to help you get back to normal,” Lydia says.

“I said I‘m fine, why won‘t you leave it at that huh?”

“You‘re not fine Lo, look at you,” Sal retorts gesturing to the protruding thorns underneath her skin.

“It‘s fine,” Lola snapped covering up her arm.

“Something is not right, you don‘t even talk to anyone about what‘s going on with you. I know you‘re upset about losing Danny, I know you cared about him Lolita,” Lydia responds looking at her daughter with saddened eyes. She attempted to touch her daughter’s shoulder but Lola moved away, her eyes hardened with anger.

“It‘s my fault he‘s dead, I was with him that night and I told him the truth then he drove off. I was horrible to him and now he‘s dead,” she states.

“It‘s not your fault Lolita,” Lydia says.

“You don‘t know that! You don‘t know anything, you have a luxury of not knowing the horrible things I know.”

“You‘re good I know you are, you‘re my daughter.”

“A daughter who killed her own father, how can I be considered good when I killed Pop that night?”

“You couldn‘t have,” Sal stutters out.

“I killed him,” Lola reiterates standing with her hands at her sides. “And he could have been saved like you were.”

“You shouldn‘t have kept this within you for so long Lolita. You shouldn‘t think that you were the only one to suffer, I was lost to the world for years, trapped in my mind. I finally come back and you let yourself become this?”

“Don‘t worry you won‘t have to see me anymore, none of you will.”

“Lola don‘t,” Nick Fury says as she raised her hand. Before anymore could be said they all collapse on the ground from the fumes she released from her pores. They blacked out and Lola looked down at her mother with tears in her eyes. She had to leave, she was a monster and now they knew that. There was one thing however that crept in the back of her mind, the words of her mother. Trapped in her own mind, that is what she claimed and it sounded off with the wording. Nothing seemed right anymore in her mind, nothing seemed to be what it was. She had to leave before she lost it completely and the only place she had left to go was to see Franz Keller. Regardless of everything he was the only person that knew everything and wasn’t afraid of her. Stupidly she thought this was where she had to be or at least she thought those were her own beliefs.