Chapter Text
In all honesty, I wasn't the first time the Avengers stalked someone. S.H.I.E.L.D has given them assignments much like this before, capturing a person of interest to find out who they were an whatnot. And really, Tony was excited to find this caped guy and see what his deal was. They've decided (or at least, Tony has) to call him Pebbles (because really the cowl almost looks like it's supposed to be mimicking a bird and the dude throws pebble looking things). Clint jumped right onto the name, but everyone else seemed to be a little hesitant still.
They sent out Nat to search for Pebbles (let's be honest, of all of them she would have the easiest time doing so), the rest of the Avengers hanging out back at the Tower to watch via a little hidden camera in her comm. For the first week, there was nothing that Nat could find of the guy, and she searched everywhere from Harlem all the way down to the Financial District. Pebbles simply was nowhere to be found, and after the 6th day, they were all really starting to get anxious.
"Are you sure he's even in New York anymore?" Bruce asked, taking a handful of popcorn that was in Sam's lap. "I mean, 6 days in plenty of time to get out of here and disappear. For all we know, we're on a wild goose chase."
But Tony refused to let up, knowing in his gut that Pebbles was still in New York somewhere, hiding out and waiting to peak his head out.
After nine days, he would be proven right.
Around 10:30, when the only people watching the screen were Tony, Steve and Wanda, the sound sensors on Nat's comm suddenly picked up the sounds of people fighting. Swiftly and silently the assassin followed the noise from the rooftops, coming across an alley with multiple thugs in it, and a very familiar looking man dawned in a cape and cowl.
"There he is!" Tony cheered, unable to stop the smile that stretched across his face as he jumped up, Steve and Sam walking in when they heard Tony's voice. They watched as Nat skillfully hid herself from sight, keeping her focus on Pebbles the entire time as he easily took out the thugs. It was like watching a choreographed dance; each move from the caped man landing perfectly and with relaxed ease. Once the last thug was on the ground, he smiled, using that grappling hook of his to latch onto the roof and run across it. Nat waited a heartbeat and then began to follow, keeping at a safe distance so that Pebbles was seen at all times.
"He was pulling his punches," Steve mumbled almost to himself, watching the caped man with intensity as he fluidly jumped from one roof to the next, secretly amazed with how smooth and natural he looked, running like he was born to be there. The man was so small in comparison to nearly all of them, yet he filled the entire world so utterly.
For the next hour, they all watched as Pebbles made his way through the city, only stopping one other crime that he found along his path. He then climbed onto a high building, looking over the edge at the skyline. The wind ruffled his cape, and Tony almost felt like fanboying at the dight, the desire to question this guy about everything he knew because it was so obvious to him that Pebbles was a genius, one that deserved to be recognized, S.H.I.E.L.D orders be damned.
"Natasha Romanoff. If this was any other situation I think I would be honored, but unfortunately, I've dealt with enough stalkers in my life to be really sick of them."
And then Sam was choking on his popcorn (because really, that man had an addiction like no other when it came to that stuff) Wanda went stiff with shock and Steve's eyes widened.
"Did he just..." trailed off Wanda, staring at the screen where Pebbles hadn't even turned around yet. They were all stunned to silence as Nat landed on the opposite side of the roof as Pebbles, quiet as always. The caped man turned around then, studying Nat with an expression Tony couldn't decipher.
"How long did you know?" Nat asks smoothly, no hint that she was phased by any of this.
Pebbles shrugged, a hint of a smile just barely touching his lips. "Long enough. What do you want? Are you just here for the view or are you waiting for your buddies to get here?" he said with a hint of bitterness in his voice. His stance wasn't defensive, but Tony had no doubt it could change in a second if he felt threatened.
Nat hummed, replying with, "just curious. Impressed with how easily you took out a few of my teammates." Sam mouth quirked into a smile, smirking at Steve while the super soldier refused to look at him. Tony found that he couldn't really be mad at Pebbles for making them look like fools, mainly because he was so freaking awesome. It was like trying to be frustrated at a cute puppy: it just didn't last for very long.
Pebbles made a small snorting noise, definitely smiling now. "Yeah, and that's when I was running on four hours of sleep after two and half days, an injured ankle, and wildly pissed at my usual stalker. Trust me, I don't usually run away."
"Excuse me what the fuck," demanded Tony, because okay, getting his ass handed to him was one thing, but when his opponent was the equivalent of a walking zombie? Well that's just fucking embarrassing.
"Language," Steve snapped without realizing, but no one was paying attention to him. Everyone was watching the screen, wondering what was happening next. It was almost like an episode of one of those Korean soap operas or something.
"Wildly pissed at your usual stalker? Something tells me that has to deal with what you said earlier."
Pebbles shrugged again, smirking as if he was telling an inside joke. "Oh, it's nothing much. Just a thousand year old immortal that can't die, has an empire filled with ninjas, continuously sends me gifts, and wants my children. You get used to it after a while."
Wanda spit out the water she had been drinking, coughing as Sam busted out laughing and Steve just opened and closed his mouth. "How old even is this guy?" Steve demanded as Pebbles stepped onto the roof , looking very pleased with himself in the process.
"Apparently old enough to have stalker who wants his children," Wanda choked out, patting her chest to calm the coughs.
Pebbles gave a salute, tilting his head to the side as he said one final piece. "Oh, and Tony Stark? JARVIS seems like a pretty cool A.I. It would be a shame if someone were to... hack him," and jumped off the roof. Less than a moment after, there were alarms going off in the Tower.
"What the Hell did Pebbles do to my beautiful JARVIS?!"
Sorry, Tony. That's what you get when you decided to stalk Red Robin.