𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞

༻ ❁ ༺

July 2009

          SEEING THE HULK fight a monster-aptly named Abomination, in Harlem was definitely a strange way to start her summer vacation. 

However, the next day, her dad made the decision-with numerous protests from her mom, to take her along with him to New York. He was to meet a man named, General Ross. 

Although she was supposed to remain in the car with Happy, she simply refused to leave her father's side. If there was something Charlotte had come to learn over the past two years, it was that trouble always seemed to follow her dad; she was not going to take any chances with leaving him alone. Keeping a tight hold of her hand, Tony took her into the bar where General Ross was waiting. 

The conversation about them, about her dad telling Ross that a team was being put together, confused Charlotte a little bit. But she didn't say anything; she remained silent the whole time. Her dad wanted to recruit a man called Emil Blonsky – the apparent monster that Hulk defeated in Harlem.

Ultimately, General Ross declined her father's offer, stating that it was his behaviour and involvement with SHIELD which made him reluctant to turn Blonsky over to the government body.

They left the bar soon after. Her father was a bit stressed and irritated when they returned home, but it didn't last long.

Charlotte and Tony spent their days in the basement workshop. She would perch herself on the counter-top and watch as her father experimented with different mechanics and technologies. 

Charlotte adored her time with her father, who even taught her a few words of Italian as she observed him in the workshop, working on advancing the prototypes of his Mark suits. She wasn't bilingual, but she quickly discovered that her grandmother Maria was Italian, making her one-fourth Italian as well. That was enough to make her want to learn Italian, as a tribute to her late grandmother.  

So, after much deliberation, Tony and Pepper decided to hire an Italian tutor for their daughter, and if she still wanted to, she'd start studying Russian next year, just like Natasha.

Pepper was relieved that Charlotte had seemed to have forgotten about the Parker's, and how they had never called. Although she was hopeful they would call someday, however, each day that passed was another without a word from the family. Soon, the likelihood that either Ben or May Parker would call slowly began to diminish.

༻ ❁ ༺

August 2010

Charlotte began fourth grade. 

She again begged her parents to go to a normal school, but they said it wasn't possible just yet. They remained firm in their beliefs that it would not be entirely safe for Charlotte to attend a public school - her father's new 'hero' title had drawn further media attention to the family. Neither Tony nor Pepper wanted their daughter to be exposed to the harsh reality of the media.

She thought of Peter now and then, and it made her sad that the Parkers had never returned her call. It also made her believe that the worst had happened and that they had perished in the explosions set off by Ivan Vanko's drones, which had destroyed Stark Expo.

Charlotte thought it was incredible and impressive that her father was working on developing his suits, as well as the new Stark Tower building in New York City.

༻ ❁ ༺

November 2011

On the eleventh day of the month, one week after her tenth birthday, Charlotte watched the breaking news television that Steve Rogers aka Captain America's body was discovered frozen - sixty-six years after his apparent death. 

Miraculously, he was alive; all thanks to the experimental serum that was currently coursing through his veins. His whereabouts were deemed as classified; the only information that had access to, was that Captain America was currently recovering, and he was about to embark on his personal journey of readjusting to life in the new century.

To say that the world was stunned would be an understatement. But no more so than her father.

She knew that her grandfather had been acquainted with Steve - he had been one of the lead scientists of Project Rebirth and was present during the fateful experiment when Steve Rogers became Captain America. But for Steve Rogers to actually be alive after almost seventy years of being frozen? 

I was nothing short of a miracle.

Her father immediately contacted S.H.I.E.L.D., and after speaking with Nick Fury, and his request to arrange a meeting with Steve Rogers was firmly denied.

Charlotte knew her dad was frustrated, but she did not know why. She didn't know much about her grandparents, but she did know that her father and her grandfather had a strained relationship. She could tell that her father often harbored grudges from the past.

The day before leaving back to New York, Charlotte eventually gathered enough courage to inquire why he was so desperate to meet Captain America.

Tony sat her down and explained that Howard Stark had a fixation with finding Steve Rogers' body. And as a result of this, her father found that as he was growing up, his own father was rarely home, and the strain in their relationship began.

"As a child, I had convinced myself that my father thought of Captain America more like a son, than he did me," Her dad said bitterly. "It was like he loved him more than he loved his actual son."

"Why are you angry at Captain America?" Charlotte asked carefully, concerned by her father's admission. "What did he do wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing," Tony replied, glancing down at her and smiling sadly. "It's just complicated, honey."

She had the feeling that there were things he wasn't telling her. And that ultimately, it was all coming down to the 'if I have to lie to protect you' conversation they had after the attack at the Stark Expo. That made her angry, but not at her father, but at herself for not being older and more mature.

There were time that Charlotte wished she could be as intelligent as her dad. 

She was intellectual, incredibly so for her age, but she didn't share her father's knowledge. There were things that she had areas of knowledge in, that no other ten-year-old did - that she was aware of. While most children would spend their spare time at the movies, or the skatepark, Charlotte occupied her time by helping her dad tinker with robotics and mechanics, or she was reading college-level science books.

Charlotte was well aware that the adults in her life, especially her parents, made a conscious effort to shield their daughter from the media, particularly tabloids that chose to criticize her. Some questioned her willingness to follow in her father's footsteps, expressing "fear" that Stark Enterprises would be jeopardized if Tony Stark's "not-so-genius" daughter were to inherit.

The truth was, Charlotte did not want to inherit Stark Industries. Or at least, she didn't think she did. Bearing the Stark name was a fate in itself.

She wanted to do something that would make her parents proud, something that would convince the rest of the world that she was good enough to be a Stark.

Charlotte was getting tired of being protected from the truth, but she remained silent about it.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

༻ ❁ ༺

author's note

shorter chapter today, oh my god, we've finally reached the end of iron man 2!

admittedly, i had a really hard time writing this part of the book-it has been such an emotional time for poor charlotte. i should really give her a break, huh? 

thank you again to everyone who had read, voted and commented-it means so much! 

i love you all 3000