heads up, this chapter is loooong - almost 11k!

     i would have split it into two, but i
really want to get on with age of
ultron!

𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬

༻ ❁ ༺

December 28th, 2012

And so, as the Christmas period came to an end, so did my journey. You start with something pure, something exciting. Then, come the mistakes. The compromises.

We create our own demons.

As promised, I got Pepper sorted out. But I'm still working on Charlie, it seems that her blood is not accepting getting rid of the Extremis that easily. It will take some tinkering but I promise on my life that I will help her . But then I thought to myself, 'Why stop there?'

Pepper and Rhodey watched anxiously from the outside window of the operating room as Tony underwent surgery to remove the shrapnel embedded near his heart. Rhodey has an arm wrapped around Pepper's shoulders; she looked healthier than she had done a few days previously, but she was still anxious. He looked at them before the anesthesia knocked him out and managed to give them a thumbs up, to make sure his family knew that everything was going to be okay.

Of course, there are people who say progress is dangerous, but I'll bet none of those idiots ever had to live with a chestful of shrapnel. And now, neither will I.

The surgery was a success.

Let me tell you, that was the best sleep I had in years.

Further down the hall, in a private ward, Charlotte lay in a hospital bed. But she was not alone; Natasha was there, perched by her bedside, absentmindedly smoothing her hand over the young girl's hair.

It had taken some convincing, but Natasha had managed to persuade Pepper into leaving Charlotte alone for a couple of hours, while Tony underwent his surgery. The agent had promised that she would not leave the girl's side, and she intended on seeing that through.

Some stuff about how she looked so peaceful, for what she had been through.

Bruce knocked quietly on the door frame, not wanting to startle to assassin before he reentered the room. "How is she doing?" He held her test results between his fingers.

"No change." Natasha murmured, her eyes never once leaving Charlotte. It was strange how she seemed to peaceful and blissfully unaware of the raging fire and poison that was coursing through her veins. The redhead sighed, shaking her head lightly. "I dont understand. Pepper showed almost no side effects, and we you managed to extract the chemical in a few hours. What is so different about Charlotte?

"We're looking at two vastly different cases," Bruce clarified, moving into the room to stand by the bed. "Not only are both the 'host' bodies different ages and physical builds, the Extremis that was in Pepper's system was isolated in her blood. We were able to pinpoint the ecact red blood cells and extract it at the source. With Charlotte, it's gone further. The Extremis had been injected directly into her nervous system. It would be too risky to perform an extraction, without causing severe and permanent neurological damage."

"It could paralyse her?"

Bruce nodded, somewhat sadly. "It's a worse case scenario, but potentially, yes. In the best possible outcome, she would have to learn to talk, read, even speak, all over again. Personally, I believe that the cons outweigh the pros in this instance."

Natasha just looked at him, hearing, but not quite believing. She could hardly believe how much physical and mental trauma the young Stark had been through in her twelve short years.

༻ ❁ ༺

It was another three weeks before Charlotte fully regained her consciousness.

After she woke up, and was given the all clear, Bruce wanted to keep her under observation for a few more days, just to be safe. He needed to make sure that the prolonged exposure to the Extremis had not caused any lasting neurological damage.

Every night, Tony would come and sit with Charlotte until she fell asleep. Bruce had even set up a cot beside her, so Tony could stay there overnight; he found it sweet, it was almost a different side to Tony. It was one that Bruce wished would appear more often.

On his visits and stay overs, Tony made sure to tell Charlotte about Harley Keener. He then asked if she wanted to see the boy because he was ready to return to Rose Hill to thank him properly for his assistance and give him a place to hide during his brief stay. Charlotte agreed, curious about the boy.

It was another six days before Bruce decided that Charlotte was well enough to leave the hospital. Of course, the first thing she and her dad did was fly out to Rose Hill in his private jet and had the permission from his absent mother to build a high-tech lab on the shed that only her son used to tinker with.

When her dad was finished, Charlotte looked about, shocked that he had given Harley a car - she didn't know anything about him, but her father had told her he was twelve, just like her.

He added a gaming area with complimentary refreshments, the newest computers possible, and a suitable working table for the kid to use while tinkering. When Charlotte inquired about her father's purchase of a Dora the Explorer digital watch for one of the desks, she received a wink from him.

"It's his sister's. I broke it, so I bought a new one," he said after placing the Mark II potato gun on a display. Charlotte looked at it with a curious expression.

When the door to the shed opened, the two Starks looked around to see Harley stepping in, pausing to take in his surroundings. His eyes were wandering all over the place, and his eagerness caused his smile to expand even further.

"Holy crap" Harley gasped as he closed the door behind him and tossed his school backpack aside, "Tony you're back-did you do this?" he quickly looked at Charlotte, "Oh, hi! I'm Harley," he greeted quickly, almost without breathing.

"Relax kid, breathe. Yes, I did this, as a thank you. Charlotte, meet Harley, my sidekick."

Harley gave him a look, "I'm not your sidekick, we're partners," he grinned sheepishly at her, "Nice to meet you!"

Charlotte smiled, liking Harley's upbeat attitude. "Nice to meet you, Harley!" she said nervously as she extended her hand to shake his. With the exception of Ezra, she wasn't used to conversing with children her age. "You can call me Charlie, if you want."

Harley looked at her hand with an odd expression, but then he shrugged and shook it, "Are you guys staying for dinner?"

Tony shook his head, "Nah kid, sorry. Too soon," he smirked at the feigned disappointed expression Harley began to pull, "You can let go of her hand now," he quickly added, feeling a little protective. He reminded himself they were just kids, there was no need to think about them being hormonal teenagers just yet.

"Oh, sorry-" Harley began, pulling his arm away while Charlotte giggled.

"It's okay! I hope you like your new garage," she said while looking around, "I'm kinda jealous."

"Well, you can visit any time!" Harley suggested, giving her a friendly smile.

"Really? Thanks, Harley!" she smiled back.

Tony kept a gentle expression on his face as he observed the two; he knew they'd get along, and his daughter needed more friends her age. Only time will tell if this is the start of a good friendship or the start of a headache.

After getting to know each other a bit more and promises of hanging out were made, Tony and Charlotte left Rose Hill and made their way back to New York.

༻ ❁ ༺

The Starks re-visited where their home in Malibu used to be. It was kind of disheartening to see her house not there, knowing that part of it was at the bottom of the ocean.

They reached the spot where the entrance used to be, just at the edge of the cliff, holding hands. Charlotte couldn't help but tear up a little when she saw the non-existent house; she had lost so much. Tony drew her in closer as his free arm carried the arc reactor, which was now useless.

"It's gonna be okay," he promised her. And she believed him.

Her father let go of her and moved closer to the edge of the cliff; she stayed behind him and watched as her father removed the arc reactor from the bag and tossed it into the ocean.

When he looked around, his solemn expression was replaced with a proud smile from his daughter. They walked back together, holding one other's hands. When her father gazed down at a patch of grass that had outgrown the tiles, he came to a halt.

So if I were to wrap this up, tie it with a bow, or whatever I guess I'd say my armor, it was never a distraction. Or a hobby.

Charlotte recognised the object caught on the floor as a small screwdriver, which made her father happy, so she smiled as well. He kissed it as if it were the greatest treasure he'd ever discovered and rose to his feet, handing it to his daughter to hold. They kept going till they reached his red e-tron automobile, where she couldn't help but smile at DUM-E, who was about to be fixed and tied to the vehicle.

It was a cocoon. And now, I'm a changed man. You can take away my house, all my tricks, and toys. One thing you can't take away

I am Iron Man.

༻ ❁ ༺

March 8th, 2014

It's been roughly three months since Aldrich Killian's death.

The Starks had officially moved to the newly built Stark Tower in New York. It was a big change for Charlotte; it was sad that they had lost their home in Malibu. She enjoyed the sunny weather and the city a lot, but now she had no motivation to go there since her dad sold the acre where their house used to reside.

Pepper's Extremis had totally recovered and was now dormant. Charlotte's body, however, continued to re-generate the virus even as her father and Bruce continued to extract it, a fraction of a piece at a time.

They had noticed a few changes in the girl's behaviour, notably she now preferred cold water when she showered or bathed. It seemed to really soothe her insides. And then there was the time Charlotte almost gave Pepper a heart attack, when the pair were making dinner one evening and the girl simply reached into the oven, without thinking, to retrieve the hot baking tray from inside. It left no burns on her skin, in fact, she had not felt the burning metal at all.

But the thing that changed for the worst was the constant nightmares Charlotte was having.

From his own experiences, Tony keenly noticed that his daughter was showing signs of PTSD. She would stay inside her bedroom all day, she'd be jumpy at the smallest things like her parents suddenly walking inside her bedroom without knocking, she would come inside their room in the middle of the night, crying because she thought she saw Killian outside on her landing.

It had been a very trying few weeks. One night, JARVIS told Tony and Pepper that Charlotte was sleepwalking around the tower at three a.m., and they almost had a heart attack when they found her right on the doorstep of their room, mumbling about being a murderer.

When Tony learned that Charlotte had killed two people, he had to swallow hard. After finally accepting, his daughter told him that the first time was an accident and that she didn't mean to kill Hugh with the Extremis. Charlotte found it difficult to tell him about the second woman, an Extremis soldier, whom she had to kill in order to save Natasha's life.

Naturally, Tony was shocked, as was Pepper. Their sweet daughter had just admitted to killing two people, and while they didn't blame her for the first because Charlotte was already feeling excruciating guilt; it wasn't her fault that she had been forcedly injected with a virus she couldn't control, they decided to focus on the woman. The three sat down and talked until they were sure that Charlotte understood that they were not angry at her - that they knew she didn't have a choice and Tony even praised her for protecting Natasha.

It was now clear that Charlotte needed professional help because even though she was comforted by her parents the nightmares and sleepwalking didn't stop.

Sometimes she would be fine, Charlotte would be seen smiling and humming to music while drawing and even cracking jokes - but her mood could drastically change and make her quiet, sad. Pepper's heart dropped when she once caught her daughter crying inside the bathroom, hiding, and even short-tempered when she suddenly shouted at JARVIS for speaking too fast.

Charlotte had always been polite to adults, but even more so to JARVIS; that was a clear red flag.

So they went on the search for a child therapist for Charlotte, and Tony went to any length to find the best in New York, one who knew how to keep their mouth shut about being Tony Stark's daughter's therapist. Pepper had advised Tony to talk to someone as well, but Tony had argued that he was fine and that his daughter came first.

So now the two were sitting in the waiting room as they waited for Charlotte's first session to be over. The twelve-year-old had been anxious about seeing a psychologist. They were both silent, lost in their own thoughts about their endless concern over Charlotte and curious about how the session was going.

Charlotte glanced anxiously at her own lap inside the office, forgetting how long it had been since she had entered the room and greeted Dr. Lycett. She seemed nice. Dr. Yvonne Lycett, a fifty-one-year-old child psychologist, was scheduled to meet Charlotte once a week going forward. Or, at the very least, until Charlotte was healed or of a more sound mind.

The office was large, with a space in one of the corners with a shelf full of children's books, a small canvas, two boxes full of toys, and what Charlotte liked best were the drawings that children obviously younger than her did for Dr. Lycett; it was clear they liked her because all of the paintings and drawings depicted her holding hands with the respective child.

The walls were pale yellow, and the furniture a soft grey. The sofa where she was sitting had matching pillows to the walls and Charlotte could see her diplomas on the wall right behind where Dr. Lycett was sitting, with a notebook on her hand and a pen ready to write on it as she smiled friendly at her.

"So, Charlotte," Dr. Lycett began, her tone soothing and calm, Charlotte could tell she was a patient woman. "May I ask you a couple of questions?"

Charlotte tentatively nodded, "Yes and, uh, you can call me Charlie if you want to."

Dr. Lycett smiled and wrote down something, making Charlotte wary.

"So, Charlie, it's entirely up to you to answer to these questions. It's fine if you don't want to answer some of them if they make you uncomfortable." Dr. Lycett quietly informed her.

"Okay," she nodded.

"All right. So can you tell me what brings you here?"

Charlotte looked at her with a confused expression, "Didn't my parents tell you what happened to me?"

Dr. Lycett smiled, nodding, "Yes, I know that you were kidnapped by Aldrich Killian. It was on the news, but I want to know why you think you're here."

That caught Charlotte by surprise, "Well, uh, I guess I'm here because my parents are worried about me. They told me that this would help my nightmares go away and that it would make me better."

"I see," the doctor wrote something down, "And you think they are right?"

Charlotte nodded, albeit thoughtful, "I-I think I'm not okay. They told me that I sleepwalk, I don't remember doing it."

"People who suffer from sleepwalking remember little or nothing at all. Do you have any nightmares?"

"I do. Mostly about fire though," it was shocking to her how easily that came out. She hasn't even told that to her parents.

Writing down again, the doctor continued, "Does something happen with the fire?"

Charlotte remained silent.

"And do your nightmares consist of only the fire, and nothing else?" Dr Lycett spoke with a hint of suggestion in the tone.

"I don't know, I guess." Charlotte shrugged her shoulders and slunk back in her chair, not really having a full answer. "Should they be about anything else?"

The doctor offered her a small yet kind smile, and a slight chuckle before motioning downwards with her eyes. Charlotte glanced down and caught onto her meaning.

"Oh, right." Charlotte said simply. "I've never really thought about it before. It's always been apart of me; I don't know a life where I didn't have this," she lightly swung her leg out as emphasis, "attached to me."

"Charlie, you went through a extremely traumatic ordeal when you were only a baby. It would be completely normal to have developed some repressed emotions. You can talk about it if you want to."

Sighing, Charlotte shifted a little uncomfortably her chair. "I don't hate it. I just - it's always been a part of me. I can't remember what it was like before this. I could say that I've wished that I could be a normal kid, whatever normal means, but the truth is, I don't think I would understand what it would be like to be normal."

"Do you believe that if you were, in your own words 'normal', then the fire might not have happened?" Dr Lycett swiftly changed the subject, hoping to catch the girl slightly off guard.

Charlotte began feeling a little bit uncomfortable, she began shaking her right leg. Dr. Lycett took notice of that, she wrote down and spoke at the same time, "Remember when I told you that you're not forced to answer a question?"

Nodding, she looked at the carpet on the floor, "C-Can you ask me another question?" She really didn't want to tell her about her nightmares, especially to a stranger.

"Very well, have you ever seen a counselor before?"

"No but my mom is trying to convince my dad to see one too. Hopefully he'll talk to you someday!" Charlotte stopped shaking her head, her anxiousness gone as she smiled brightly from speaking about her parents.

Dr. Lycett smiled, but she also wrote down the sudden change of mood that Charlotte gave as soon as she focused the conversation on her mom, "I know, I spoke with your mother on the phone. She's a very nice woman. Do you like her job?"

"I've never really thought about it before, but I suppose so. I've always looked up to her, I want to be like her when I grow up."

"You want to be a CEO?" Dr. Lycett asked, showing a curious smile.

Charlotte shook her head, "No. I want to be the type of woman she is when I grow up."

"Oh, so you're very proud of your mom?"

"Very!"

"What about your dad? Do you like his job?" Dr. Lycett asked, as usual, writing down in her notebook.

At first, Charlotte wanted to say yes.

But memories of Obadiah Stane, Ivan Vanko, the Expo explosions, the Chitauri attack on New York, and Aldrich Killian advancing through the fire made her stutter and her smile plummet - she held her temples as a sudden headache painfully reminded her of those events.

"Charlotte?" Dr. Lycett inquired, leaning in closer with a concerned look. "Are you all right?"

"Y-Yes my head suddenly hurt, sorry," Charlotte told her as the headache slowly vanished, like she just had a brain freeze.

"It's okay, honey. If you don't want to respond to my question-"

"No, I'm okay," Charlotte interrupted, "I like my dad's job. He has been given a huge responsibility at a very young age and he did fine. Everyone seems to forget how much he has changed. I know his life before me was full of parties, but everyone seems to forget how much he has changed. My dad is Iron Man. He saves lives and protects the world from an alien invasion - and he almost died in the process."

She didn't want to cry in front of her, but the more she talked about her dad, the more difficult it became to fight back her emotions. "We both couldn't sleep. We both suffered, but he took the brunt of it. He became afraid of what would happen next."

Dr. Lycett listened attentively to the child's words, nodding along.

"I love Iron Man. But I wished his job was less dangerous. I'm proud of my dad, but I don't want to lose him" Charlotte said with a sad tone, sighing and leaning back on the sofa, "Why couldn't he be a teacher, or something less dangerous, like a post man?"

At that, Dr. Lycett chuckled as she immediately wrote down something, "Do you usually use comedy as a gateway?"

Charlotte shrugged, "I don't know."

"Okay. You mentioned that your father's job is risky and that you wish it weren't. If your father were to retire as Iron Man, would you support it?" Dr. Lycett inquired.

The red head bit her lower lip, "Only if my dad wanted it as well," she responded.

"Very well, ready for the next question?"

Charlotte nodded.

"What is the problem from your viewpoint?"

"My viewpoint?"

"Yes, what do you truly believe is the problem?"

Charlotte straightened her back, "Bad people."

"Bad people?" Dr. Lycett repeated, writing as she asked, "Can you be more specific?"

"Not really." She shrugged, "Bad people go after my dad and then sometimes, they come after me just to get to him," she stated with a matter-of-factly tone. "It's very cliche."

"How does this problem typically make you feel?" the doctor asked.

"Horrible, of course. I hate seeing my dad suffer, and my mom too."

"I see. What makes the problem better for you?"

The question made Charlotte smile a little again, "Being around my family and my friend Ezra."

Dr. Lycett smiled as well, "Being around people makes you feel at ease?"

Charlotte nodded.

"So being lonely is when it gets rough, huh?"

"I start thinking about it again when I'm alone. I don't like it." As she continued, the tween swung her legs again, avoiding the doctor's gaze "When I can't sleep, I usually sit sat the piano. Sometimes, I just do what my dad does. I go down to the lab and just tinker.turn to drawing. Once, I was down there for so long, The sun began to rise."

"I see, do you know what sleep deprivation is?" Dr. Lycett asked as she wrote down.

"I do, my dad had it. He's doing better now though," Charlotte replied with an easy smile.

"That's great." Dr. Lycett smiled widely, "Now I'm going to ask you a fun question, ready?"

"Okay!"

"If you could wave a magic wand, what positive changes would you make happen in your life?"

Charlotte giggled, "Oh uh," she looked up, thinking about it, "I would make everyone that wants to hurt my family and friends disappear."

"That's very nice of you Charlie, but you wouldn't wish anything for you?"

The twelve-year-old smiled, "I already have everything I want. I don't need anything else!" she told the therapist with a grin.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Charlotte stared at her, "I mean, I have something inside of me that scares me, I wish it was gone."

"Yes, your father informed me about the Extremis virus Aldrich Killian injected in you, that must've been very scary."

Surprised, the little girl gasped, "You know about the Extremis?"

Dr. Lycett nodded "It's a part of your trauma, but don't worry; your secret is safe with me," she said with a smile. Everything you say to me is private and will not leave this room. I promise."

"Really? Oh, okay," she was hesitant, but continued, "My dad worries about it, and I do too. We don't know how to fix it, yet."

"I'm sure everything will be fine."

"You do?"

"Yes, in my opinion, everything that has begun will have an end. No matter how long it takes," Dr. Lycett stated confidently.

"Maybe. But I don't know, the future is also uncertain." The therapist sat back in her chair, briefly observing the girl. "You seem more relaxed. Overall, how would you describe your mood?"

"I feel positive about the future. Just a little bit, because of what you said."

"I'm glad. However, you can't heal yourself with only one session," Dr. Lycett looked at her watch and sighed, "Our time ends in three minutes."

"It's been an hour already?" Charlotte asked, a little disappointed. Charlotte was starting to like talking with Dr. Lycett, she was paying attention to her, and after the first fifteen minutes, she was genuinely feeling at ease in here.

"I'm afraid so. Before we finish, what do you expect from the counseling process?" she asked the girl.

"I just want to nightmares to go away," Charlotte responded, somewhat meekly. "I don't want to be scared anymore and I don't want everyone to be constantly worrying about me."

"Why is that? Your parents will always worry."

"I don't want to be a burden," Charlotte admitted while mumbling.

Dr. Lycett's wristwatch began beeping just as she was ready to speak, indicating the end of the session. She sighed, "Okay, Charlie, for the first session, we made a lot of progress. I'm pleased, but I'll remember what you just said. We'll speak about it next week, if that's alright with you?"

"Okay, Dr. Lycett."

Tony and Pepper both rose to their feet when their daughter showed up in the waiting room with Dr. Lycett right behind her. Charlotte was worried that Dr. Lycett had lied and was about to tell them everything, and the doctor immediately told Charlotte that she wasn't going to tell them anything, but that she still wanted to speak with her parents before they could go.

Waiting for her parents in the waiting room while the woman at the front office watched over her made Charlotte a little anxious.

Charlotte thought she could trust her after they left and she bid goodbye to Dr. Lycett because her parents didn't seem to know what they were talking about throughout the session. Either way, she actually wanted to go back, but at the same time, she was scared of facing what she just confessed to Dr. Lycett.

༻ ❁ ༺

May 2nd, 2014

The therapy sessions have been going on for five weeks now.

And Charlotte was actually starting to feel better. Her sleepwalking had ceased, but she would still have the same nightmares sometimes.

Whenever that happened, and no matter what time of night it was, Charlotte would either pull a chair by the window and stare at the city as long as her tired eyes could, the object of her affection was mostly the outline of the Avengers tower, reflecting in the office complex adjacent.

Dr. Lycett had been a good choice from Charlotte; the girl was actually starting to act like her true self again but even though everything was going well, it didn't mean she was truly healed.

The Extremis virus, for example, was still in her system, which was driving Tony mad. Even with Bruce's help, the two geniuses attempts to extricate or totally eliminate the infection from her body were all failures.

So Bruce came up with a temporary solution, a one that he had personal experience with.

He created a vaccine that would keep it under control - as in, if Charlotte became too nervous or angry, she would be safe and show no symptoms, like glowing red eyes. Bruce couldn't help but to sadly compare her situation with his, although he was much more dramatic he really pitied Charlotte and promised Tony that he would not give up on helping his friend with fixing her.

Their friendship solidified, and Bruce Banner became an Uncle to Charlotte; she even made him a mug to make it official.

༻ ❁ ༺

June 21st, 2014

The therapy sessions have been going on for ten weeks now.

Charlotte was definitely better. She promised everyone that her nightmares rarely showed up and that she was actually starting to move on from everything that happened last year.

The vaccine that Bruce invented had proven to be a success. And everyone started to notice something about her.

For example, while Tony had been actively spending a lot more time, non work related, with his daughter, the two aimlessly talking, while she completed her homeschooling for that day, somehow she got a paper cut. The cut on her finger was long, and two things happened at the same time: once the blood drop fell on the paper, it began to burn through it. And by the time Tony returned from getting bandaids, the wound on her finger had completely healed.

Bruce quickly, and with her consent, took a blood sample from Charlotte and both geniuses saw that the Extremis virus was overtaking her blood cells at an alarming pace. But to Charlotte, she felt fine, almost normal.

Then the syringe's tube shattered, and looking back at the recordings of the security camera that JARVIS has, the blood sample inside the tube had started to boil on its own until it imploded from lack of oxygen.

Tony almost had a panic attack, but Charlotte insisted she felt fine even though her blood was now almost the same temperature as boiling lava. Bruce, albeit concerned, was fascinated and requested consent to take a few more samples.

Speaking of the doctor, Charlotte was happy that Bruce was spending more time with them at the tower. Everyone had noticed that he was getting more comfortable with walking around the streets.

He once left the tower to go for a walk but came back twenty minutes later, breathing heavily and telling Tony that a dog chased him. Tony laughed but Bruce reprimanded him and explained that it could've been dangerous.

Even after the dog incident, Bruce continued to venture out, and Tony would occasionally join him. The billionaire would purchase his friend proper clothes that he would probably never wear, and he almost got away with buying Bruce a pair of Gucci glasses, much like his own, but the scientist politely declined.

When Charlotte was with them, Bruce enjoyed spending time with her at a local kid's park. He would even volunteer to stay with her her if it was date night for Tony and Pepper.

Movie nights were their favourites. Charlotte would pick whatever movie was popular at the moment and then Bruce would select a older, more classic movie. The girl loved spending time with her 'uncle', and equally, Bruce loved spending time with her. He found it refreshing that she was so lively and honest.

He was starting to realize that perhaps this is where he belonged. With these people. To them, he was simply Bruce. They didn't fear him, they weren't scared to poke fun at him in the right way and the Other Guy has certainly grown a soft spot for Charlotte; Bruce could feel it because he also had it.

༻ ❁ ༺

April, 2014

The therapy sessions have been going on for fourteen weeks now.

One evening, after their Karate lesson, Ezra came over to the tower for a sleepover that the two planned to have for the weekend.

When the two girls saw each other again after Charlotte's kidnapping months ago, the brunette girl that was usually stoic hugged her friend tightly, surprising her. Afterward, Ezra, somewhat playfully, landed a punch to her shoulder and scolded Charlotte to never scare her like that again. Of course Ezra forgave her, she could never stay angry at her best friend.

Charlotte noticed that her friend was quieter than usual during the sleepover; she still managed to be polite to Pepper, but instead of conversing, she would nod and maintain a solemn and focused expression.

When they were both lying in Charlotte's bed, with the lights off, Ezra finally talked with her about what was making her sulk. Madeline Lutz, a girl in the grade above, had been teasing Ezra because she thought the girl had been watching her while they were in the school's swimming pool. The older l, mean girl had loudly asked Ezra, in front of the busy locker room, if she liked girls.

Charlotte giggled at the thought, it seemed so strange. Her smile faded and giggling stilled when she noticed that Ezra was not laughing or smiling with her. In fact, she looked as though she was going to cry.

Pulling her friend close, and wrapping her arms around her, she told her that it was okay, and that she could tell her anything. The soothing tone in her voice was something that she had picked up from her visits to Dr Lycett.

Through sniffles and quiet sobs, Ezra told her how everyone laughed at her when she answered Madeline's question with a quiet 'yes'. It hurt Charlotte to learn that some evem pointed and said mean things, calling her friend gross and avoided her so they would not catch 'germs'.

Although, she had never thought of it herself, she knew that she had never had those sort of emotions. Admittedly, there was a time where she thought that Natasha was the prettiest person she had ever seen, but her mother assured her that it was normal and almost expected. Natasha was a beautiful woman.

Of course, she knew that it was perfectly normal, but she was too young to fully understand the kind of impact that the situation could have had on her friend.

Ezra had not told anyone else about this, especially her Uncle, and so Charlotte decided that she needed cheering up.

Climbing out of bed to throw open the doors to her balcony, the two spent the night making a blanket fort, complete with dozens of pillows and heavy blankets. Pepper smiled fondly at the girls as she brought them a small tray of snacks and drinks, warning them not to stay up top late - even though she knew that her request would go ignored.

The sky was surprising clear for the city, the stars were just visible. The two girls lay there, talking about everything and anything.

Before falling asleep, Ezra turned to Charlotte and meekly asked her if what she had just told her, changed how she thought of her.

"Not in the slightest," Charlotte had said, wrapping her arms around her, tugging the blanket around them. "It doesn't change who you are. You're my best friend. I'll love you no matter what."

"I love you too, Charlie." Ezra's reply came through a breathy yawn as she snuggled closer into her friends side. After a moment of silence, just as their eyes grew heavier and they almost drifted off, Ezra comically quipped.

"But not like that. Don't make it weird."

From her room below, Pepper could hear the girl's laughter, and smiled to herself as she shook her head.

༻ ❁ ༺

  
July, 2014

On the fourth of July, Steve was surprised when he received a letter from Charlotte.

Tony had helped her in figuring out how to send it, and the captain was quite touched by the 'Happy Birthday' postcard. He even laughed at the small joke on the cover, which read 'Happy 95th Birthday, Old Man!' Charlotte wrote on the inside of the card:

'Dear Mr. Rogers, Captain America sir, I hope you have a good birthday and that you enjoy being old but looking young at the same time. Here's a dollar, don't spend it all on candy! - Charlie'

He had to smile at the dollar bill before pocketing it, and he noticed that there was something else inside the envelope. He grabbed the folded paper and stared surprised at the drawing of himself, holding his shield in the air and hitting a monster (probably a Chitauri) in the face with it – and in the background, there was a drawing of a girl who looked like Charlotte, cheering him on.

Steve thought this was the sweetest birthday gift he'd ever received, second only to Bucky's sketch book, which he received on his eighteenth birthday. Steve felt saddened thinking about his best friend. This would be his first birthday without Bucky.

He instantly shook the feeling away and returned to his apartment with Charlotte's gifts in hand, closing his mailbox. He was going to keep the postcard safe, and for her drawing, he made sure to display it on the refrigerator, front and centre.
  

༻ ❁ ༺
 

August 11th, 2014

The therapy sessions have been going on for twenty-four weeks now.

Dr. Lycett told Tony and Pepper that Charlotte had made significant progress during their sessions, but she also recommended them to keep coming back since she believes the little girl's kidnapping isn't the only problem she has.

Dr. Lycett knows that Charlotte is homeschooled, and she suggested that maybe the girl should start spending some time with more children her age. The twelve-year-old was about to begin a part of her life where her body would start to change and have new transformations happening to it.

The doctor thought that Charlotte needed friends so she could learn how to socialise with her generation and feel a sense of belonging, a sense of being valued and help with developing confidence, the sense of security and comfort that comes from being with others who are going through similar experiences, and a social group to try new things with, especially things that are different from what her family does.

Charlotte needed information about the physical and emotional changes that puberty brings - Dr. Lycett quickly reminded Tony and Pepper that she knew they would be there for their daughter as well - but she also needed a way to experiment with different values, roles, identities, and ideas, as well as experience getting along with people of the opposite sex.

Tony frowned at that. It was too soon to even think about his little girl "experiencing" and "getting along with people of the opposite sex".

He didn't want to be overprotective when it came to boys and his daughter - he knows she's too young to understand romantic love, but he knew she was sweet and will mature into a beautiful young woman once she reached adolescence.

But still, he'll be damned if he won't complain about it. He'd do the same if he had a son instead of a daughter. His son would not be allowed to do the same mistakes he did as a kid.

Then, he remembered Harley Keener. The first boy Charlotte's age that she talked to.

Well, besides that kid that saved her in Stark Expo, and although Tony had been disappointed for not being able to properly thank him for helping his daughter.

Harley though, Tony knew where he was. And he decided to follow Dr. Lycetts advice.

So, after talking it over with Pepper, he called Mrs. Keener and told her about what occurred in December and how wonderful her son was - and then he asked if he could invite Harley to stay with them for a few weeks because Charlotte missed him. So what if Tony told a white lie? At the end of the day, all he wanted to do was follow Dr. Lycett's advice and be done with it.

But Tony would be damned if he wouldn't keep an eye on them all the time, even though they were too young, puppy love comes in all shapes and ages.

Harley was cool; he told her about how E.J. (his former bully) had become his friend and how he had protected him from other bullies at school. Charlotte was pleased for Harley because she had never experienced bullying, but she was glad she hadn't when Harley informed her about what E.J had done to him before his redemption.

Charlotte introduced DUM-E to Harley, and the boy was quickly fascinated by robots. It was nice having a friend other than Ezra.

The next day, Pepper arranged to have her lunch break at home, taking the opportunity to officially meet Harley. She thought that he was a really nice boy with a good sense of humor; Pepper was glad Charlotte was making even more friends.

When she left to go get back to work, Charlotte invited Harley to play scary games on her computer, and he quickly said yes.

Fortunately, Tony sensed something was wrong, and when he checked on the kids and entered Charlotte's playroom at the same time, they both screamed as they were jumpscared by the monster, and he yelled as well. Eventually, the kids laughed, and Tony, annoyed yet embarrassed, instructed them not to play those kinds of games and instead watch cartoons.

When Tony and Harley met in the workshop and both worked on the retro-reflective panels, Tony decided to take Harley's advice. Harley was so ecstatic that he invited the youngster into his workshop to assist him; Tony noted the boy was shaking so much from awe and excitement that he was beginning to question his decision.

Nonetheless, it was refreshing to have someone other than Bruce to assist him. Charlotte didn't like watching them work together; she found it amusing when they started tossing quips at one other, and she always backed Harley to win, breaking her father's heart in the process.

As the days passed and the two enjoyed the beginning of their summer vacation together as much as they could, Charlotte was sad when it was finally the time for Harley to go back home.

They'd only met six months earlier, but their friendship blossomed after they actually spent time together face-to-face, rather than Skyping or playing video games online. It had been pleasant, and Tony promised Harley that he could visit them every summer or anytime he pleased.

Not only was he a good friend to his daughter, but Tony had become fond of the kid and liked having him about while he was in his workshop, giving him advice and assisting him with upgrading his Iron Man suit, as much as he didn't want to admit it.

Tony was going to miss that. But he never told that to anyone, so when Harley and Charlotte hugged as a goodbye and promised to stay in touch, Tony took him back to Rose Hill.

In Tennessee, before Harley could get inside the car that Tony hired to drive him back safely, Tony had awkwardly patted his head, and then his shoulder, and then bid his a goodbye and told him to eat his vegetables.

Harley had laughed and thanked him excessively, telling him that this was the happiest summer he had had since his father had left. And Tony's heartstrings were pinched by that.

Then, before Tony could react, Harley hugged him and rushed inside the car, and just as the car pulled away, Tony saw the boy's head pop out of the window before calling out, 

"I told you we were connected!"

Tony had to smile after recovering from the sudden hug, the kid was smart – he really liked him.

༻ ❁ ༺

October, 2014

The therapy sessions have been going on for twenty-nine weeks now.

Dr. Lycett was more confident that Charlotte's trauma no longer affected the little girl's life on a great scale. The memories were still there, but Charlotte had learned to push them out of her mind and concentrate on the good things that were occurring to her.

Dr. Lycett could see the transformation taking place right in front of her eyes; the difference between the Charlotte she met on their first session and the Charlotte she met on their most recent session was incredible; the twelve-year-old was much more relaxed, comfortable, and didn't hesitate to speak up during therapy. The doctor was proud, and after their session, she told Tony and Pepper that maybe soon Charlotte would not need therapy anymore.

She was indeed changed, for the better.

Sleepwalking, nightmares (save the one where Thor stole her Pop-tarts, which she was still baffled about), insomnia, and mood swings were all gone. The only issue she had going on in her life was the Extremis virus running inside her veins – but to even that she was indifferent too.

Charlotte believed that if the virus inside her body were to kill her, it should've happened already. It's been half a year since and even when she didn't admit it to anyone, she has never felt better.

She once snuck inside one of the tower's gyms in the dead of night to test a theory.

Charlotte remembered Killian being able to lift heavy objects with only one arm back at the oil rig, and she also recalled her own scuffle with both the Iron Suit that was accidentally trying to kill her and Killian – she had been able to do things that no human body can do.

So, after sneaking into the gym, Charlotte attempted to lift a fifty-pound weight – and she was startled because she thought it wouldn't move, so when she pulled it up, she heaved it with a lot of strength, and the thing ended up being tossed towards the ceiling, making a hole in it, before falling down and nearly hitting her. Scared and confused, she ran away before anyone could see it.

JARVIS however, had shown the footage to her dad. And then he showed it to Bruce. Needless to say, a new uneasiness was born.

Charlotte apologised as she cried on her father's chest about the gym's ceiling, and Tony simply told her that he didn't care about the ceiling because they had to focus on her new ability now. Maybe she had it all this time but never had the chance to show it.

This made him seriously concerned; if someone found out about Charlotte, they could easily use her as a weapon, as Aldrich Killian had attempted, and he'd be damned to hell if he let anyone do that to his daughter.

Bruce also recognized that his vaccination was weakening, which meant that the Extremis within Charlotte was changing as well, fighting back and becoming stronger.

The only relief that the two could have was that Charlotte seemed unaffected by it, she would tell them every day that she felt fine, fantastic even. But they were still on high alert, as if she could explode any moment.

༻ ❁ ༺

November, 2014

The therapy sessions have been going on for thirty-three weeks now.

In the past few weeks, both Charlotte and Ezra had become Tony and Happy's worst nightmare. Teenagers.

With the two girls' birthdays being less than two weeks apart, Tony decided it might be nice to throw a joint birthday party at the tower. It was a small but meaningful gathering.

After her birthday, and a little bit late, an envelope came in the mail for Charlotte. After making sure it was safe, Tony gave it to her and she saw that it was from Steve.

Grinning widely, she opened it and took the Birthday postcard from inside. The cover said 'Here's to you kiddo, you're thirteen today!' and she had to laugh while Tony rolled his eyes. She opened it and both read what Steve had written:

'Happy birthday Charlotte, I hope this got to you in time and I hope you had a good day. I used the dollar you sent me to buy myself some candy, sorry! Have twenty bucks on me, but don't spend it on candy as I did. – Steve :)'

"How does he know how to make a smiley face and why did it do it," Tony immediately asked, looking disgusted at the writing.

Charlotte grinned but didn't answer. She just grabbed the twenty dollars bill and pocketed, trying to think about what she was going to spend it on.

"There's something else inside the envelope," her sad told her with a grumpy tone after she didn't answer his question.

Charlotte blinked and smiled even further when she realized what it was, he didn't have to do that. What she wasn't expecting was to see a detailed sketch of her, sitting under a tree and drawing on her sketchbook.  Compared to her drawing, Steve's was a masterpiece.

"I didn't know Mr. Rogers could draw" she drawled in awe, and Tony had to whistle in appreciation.

"That sure is a good drawing of my beautiful baby girl," he cooed, suddenly bringing her close into a tight hug and knocking out her impressed expression.

"Dad!" she complained, laughing at the same time.

Later that night, Charlotte placed the drawing in the photo album her mom had given her and smiled at it, admiring and happy that she filled a page. It might not be a photo but it was certainly a good memory to remember.

After her revelation to Charlotte a few months previous, Ezra had gained the courage to officially come out to her family and some close friends. Since then, the unwavering love and support she had received from her Uncle and the Starks, Ezra felt more at ease.

The two began to enjoy spending more time together, and Ezra commented that Charlotte looked taller from last time they saw each other. The new teen had experienced a bit of pain a few weeks previous, when she had a sudden growth-spurt, but she was happy with the results because she liked feeling taller.

Rhodey had commented that she should be thankful that she had seemingly inherited her mothers height. She had never noticed it before, but she always presumed her mother was taller than her father because she always wore high heels. But even without her tall pumps, her mom stood an inch or two above her dad's head. She found this amusing, and most certainly used it as ammunition to tease him with. 

Even with the one year anniversary of the Extremis event only a month away, Charlotte felt like things were looking up. She had been spending more time with Ezra, and her dad, she was excelling at all of her school work. Her dad had even allowed for her to practise more advanced moves in her karate lessons, once which she could incorporate her prosthetic into. She found that her new found strength was extremely beneficial, and she was progressing at a fast pace.

However, as expected, nothing lasts forever.

One evening, after Tony had treat his wife and daughter to a movie followed by dinner, they arrived home only for JARVIS to announc that Bruce wanted to see Tony in the lab. Even though her dad told her to go to her room she argued back, stating that she was going because she deserved to know what was happening with her own body.

Tony, a genius, couldn't find a sensible way to find an excuse for that. So Charlotte went with them.

Bruce discovered something strange in Charlotte's recent blood sample, it turns out. The Extremis virus was rapidly destroying her own blood cells, but it was now developing and mutating at an even faster rate. It was growing bigger by the day, and Bruce was worried that if it continued, Charlotte's blood system would be replaced entirely by the Extremis virus.

Bruce took another blood sample, and shockingly, his assumption was true, as evidenced by the fact that instead of normal, red blood, a gooey, reddish orange liquid came out of the tube, mingled with her own blood.

They were all shocked, and Charlotte didn't like the way they all looked at her; it was like she was a monster. Feeling scared and embarrassed, she quickly ran away from the lab and ignored her parent's calling her name. She ran to her bedroom and told JARVIS to please lock the door, she needed to be alone for at least an hour. Even though JARVIS obeyed, the A.I. Still held his concerns for the little girl.

Pepper tried her best for Charlotte to open the door, but then she decided to give up and let her daughter get the space she needed to absorb all the situation.

Tony and Bruce now needed to work on a new formula, one more aggressive than Bruce's original one. As hard at the tried, there was no way that two geniuses couldn't come up with a solution.

Charlotte only stared at the city through her floor-to-ceiling windows, thinking about the future and wishing she could see herself in ten years to see if she was going to be okay.

 
༻ ❁ ༺

December, 2014

Charlotte missed Thor.

But she wasn't expecting him seeing the Thunder Norse God on the television, fighting in London, England. She didn't know what happened, all she had seen was what looked like a tornado made of dark, almost negative energy taking over the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

She quickly called her dad and he was just as fast to explain that Thor had won and what she was watching was old footage – she was still concerned and asked him whether Thor was back in New York, but sadly, the God was still in London, with his lady friend.

Charlotte was confused at that, she didn't know Thor had a girlfriend.

Nonetheless, she was relieved that everything took place outside of the country. She couldn't bear another event in which the world was in danger and her father had to go save it; at least this one was won by Thor. Charlotte would surely hug him the next time she saw him.

The therapy sessions have been going on for forty-six weeks now.
    

༻ ❁ ༺

February, 2015

She has been hanging around the new tower for a while now, but Charlotte couldn't believe how much renovated the Avengers Tower was.

The top twelve floors include luxury rooms for the Avengers. But only Bruce was currently living there since the rest of the team was gone. Each room was designed and decorated according to the specific need or desire of its occupant.

There are a number of unassigned rooms that are utilized as required for guests or visitors. There is a state-of-the-art workout centre, a private cinema, a medical area, a kitchen, and a common room in the old penthouse.

Her room was on floor eighty, it was Tony and Pepper's apartment. The floor was renovated as an apartment for the couple and Charlotte, and it was located beneath the party deck. The three of them are the only ones who have unrestricted access to that floor, but visitors are welcome.

Her dad's workshop was on floor seventy-nine, just below them. It's where Tony works on his latest suit designs and inventions. Pepper has access to the workshop and Charlotte is only allowed there if her dad is, it was the same rule they had when they were living in Malibu.

Stark Industries was from floor seventy-eight to the first one. Everything below Tony's workshop belongs to her dad's industries.

Floor seventy-eight and seventy-seven contain the executive offices. Charlotte could easily visit her father's workplace, which was close to her mom's. Floor seventy-six contained various board rooms and meeting rooms. Floor seventy-five to sixty-six are dedicated to R&D.

Floor seventy-five was also Bruce's lab and is the topmost secure floor. Bruce and Tony have unlimited access to it and the Doctor has been given the authority to allow or deny access on a case by case basis.

When Tony was busy, Bruce would invite Charlotte over so he could have some company while he worked on her Extremis. Her condition has improved. The vaccine, dubbed Excalibur, was proving to be a successful vaccine and her blood was starting to look normal again.

Floor seventy-four through seventy was the classified sections of R&D usually dealing with SHIELD or other government agencies. Whenever Natasha and Steve visited they would have meetings with Fury and her dad there, Charlotte wasn't really allowed but she enjoyed their visit during Christmas – they stayed for two days.

Floor sixty-nine through sixty-six were the business and philanthropic research areas. Floor sixty-five to sixty-one contained several biological laboratories. Floor sixty to fifty-six are for testing various new Stark designs, that is where her Stark Phone was actually created. Floor fifty-five to floor two contained everything else needed for Stark Industries business functioning.

And finally, floor one had the lobby area where the public came into Stark Tower. There's also the private access area for the Avengers and Tony's garage workshop. The floors below Stark Tower contain the Arc Reactor that runs the entire building.

On this particular day, after picking her up from her latest appointment with Dr Lycett, her dad left her on their apartment floor; in the living room where the television was turned on in the World News channel.

While she was waiting for her dad to come back, Charlotte sat down on the couch and sighed, trying not to feel anxious about the unknown situation that was stressing her dad.

"JARVIS can you change the channel?"

"Your father is very attentive to the news, Miss, that wouldn't be a good idea."

She frowned, "What's going on?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you, Miss. But I do know that your father is currently speaking with your mother at the moment."

That didn't sound good enough for her. Charlotte wanted to know why she was suddenly taken and brought here. She got her answer when she looked at the television and saw a live feed of three helicarriers destroying each other in Washington D.C.

Shocked, Charlotte quickly sat down on the sofa and turned the volume up.

"We have no information yet as to what is happening but as you can see, a probable malfunction is happening right on top of the Triskelion building. The helicarriers are slowly falling into the Potomac River." 

The reporter's voice, a woman that sounded frantic, yet informed. The cameraman only showed what was currently happening in the sky above, and Charlotte couldn't help but sense that Steve was involved with this.

"But what do you mean HYDRA?! I thought St – Charlie!"

Charlotte didn't even look behind when Pepper's voice approached the room. She could feel her dad's steps walking towards and when he took the seat next to her, the brunette knew this was bad.

"Why is Charlie here?" Pepper exclaimed, walking up to them. "What about her session with Dr Lycett?"

"I don't want her alone when this is happening, they might come for her," Tony replied, watching the television intently. "Dammit Rogers, why didn't you call?" he mumbled.

Charlotte heard it, and as she watched the helicarriers drop finally on the river, she gasped and felt her dad tense up, "Is... Was he in one of them? Is Steve okay?!"

Tony arched a brow at his daughter, "How do you even know he was involved?"

"I had a feeling," Charlotte told him with a concerned expression.

Tony sighed, and then he and Pepper shared a look of him asking for guidance and her giving him the consent for him to speak about it.

"Do you know what HYDRA is?"

Charlotte nodded, albeit hesitantly. Captain America was part of History lessons now, and she learned this in fourth grade. It had been a curious subject for her to learn, and Charlotte felt sad that Steve had to sacrifice himself to win – but he was here now, "I thought Steve took down their leader. Why are you asking?"

"Well, I'm asking because Steve discovered that HYDRA has been infiltrating a number of major institutions, including the US government, the World Security Council, and SHIELD," Tony continued as Pepper sat in a neighbouring chair. She was watching them with a solemn expression on her face.

Charlotte's shocked expression said it all, Tony sighed and continued speaking, "Steve and Natasha they... they just saved many innocent lives right now. And they also made a new friend, she texted me as a warning and an explanation for what we are seeing."

"Oh gosh!"  The reporter gasped, and all eyes were on the screen. "The two helicarriers just dropped on the river! We don't know if anyone was inside, but all we can do is hope." 

"Steve was in there, wasn't he?" Charlotte asked meekly.

Tony frowned, and nodded, "Apparently, he wasn't alone."

"That's quite enough Tony, that's all she needs to know," Pepper said, cutting in and giving her husband a serious look, "Honey, I'm sure that Steve is okay," she told Charlotte with a strained smile.

Afterward, no one spoke again. Tony was always near his cell phone, waiting for the call while Pepper tried distracting Charlotte. Natasha finally called in to inform him what really went down in Washington D.C, and then she told him that Steve was in the hospital recovering but that he'd be okay.

But, Fury was dead.

Tony didn't buy it right away; he knew Natasha was lying and that she didn't even try. But he chose not to confront her and instead seemed to accept it, as she had requested. 

Tony just told his family about Steve and HYDRA, and they were all relieved that he and Natasha were okay. Charlotte immediately said that she would make a get-well-soon card and send it to Steve, and as she left the room, the adults were able to take a deep breath and discuss the gravity of the issue. 

Could they even trust SHIELD now that the cat was out of the bag? HYDRA had been inside SHIELD, and it still may be.

A few days later, Tony welcomed Agent Maria Hill into a new role of his Human Resources department. While working for Stark Industries she was interviewed and questioned by various intelligence agencies from around the world including the CIA, the NSA, and the NRO.

Maria was also interrogated by the US Congress, which she found to be the most unpleasant meetings since they acted like children in her opinion. Despite working for Tony, she was still under regular high-level observation by a number of agencies, including an unidentified Russian agency.

But Tony did the best he could to protect her.

༻ ❁ ༺

author's note

and this officially marks the end of part four!

i know that this chapter is spread over a long time period, i just can't wait to start age of ultron!