chapter xxv.
( iron man 2 )

taking over   this town,
they   should worry
but these problems aside,
i think i taught you well

but   you're   a king
and i'm a lion-heart
king and lion-heart ─── of monsters & men

queens, new york
may 30, 2011

It's the smell of breakfast coming from Pepper's kitchen that gets me moving the next morning. Well, I guess it's not really morning anymore. It's more like mid-afternoon and I haven't left Pepper's spare bed all day. The whole party situation has got me beat. Not to mention the fact that I stayed up very late last night because I had to go to the hospital and get some glass taken out of my legs and upper chest. I really wish Happy and Pepper would've just listened to me when I said I was fine because it really wasn't that bad. There were about nine glass shards about the size of my pinky-nail in my body and everything else were just some minor cuts. My back is pretty bruised though. I looked in the mirror when we got to the apartment last night; my back is completely covered in large black, purple, and blue splotches. The doctors told me I am going to be sore for the next few weeks until it heals. They aren't wrong as far as I can tell so far.

I yawn and shuffle down the hall until I reach the kitchen, "Hey Pepper, I thought you were,"

I shriek when I see that it's not Pepper standing before me, but a tall man with dark skin and leather clothes. His back is facing me as he hovers over the stove. I grab onto a lamp and hurl it at him with as much force as I can. He nonchalantly ducks before it smashes into the wall, shattering in every direction. I search around quickly for another thing to throw before remembering that I am actually now equipped with two built-in weapons. Ah, the convenience. Breathing in sharply, I raise my hands and I feel the thrusters powering up. The man merely glances at me over his shoulder. He's clearly unimpressed with my reaction.

"Miss Potts left a note for you on the table," his deep voice informs me as he nods towards the small table, "It appears you were still sleeping when she left for work this morning. She apologizes for having to go, but I'm sure you understand that there are some things with the media she had to take care of."

I keep one hand trained on him as I pick up the note and see that she did write everything that he just said.

I allow the note to flutter to floor so that I can point both thrusters at him again, "Who are you?! What are you doing here?! Get out!"

He uses the spatula to put some eggs onto a plate before turning around to face me. I'm surprised to see that he has an eye-patch and I do my best not to stare. Wait, why shouldn't I stare? Yeah, it's rude, but this guy just broke into Pepper's house! That's pretty rude on his part so I think I can be rude as I want to be!

"Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."

I blink in recognition. I've heard this man's voice and name before. The night Dad announced he was Iron Man, this man shut down Jarvis and talked to Dad as I overheard some pretty important details.

"What's with you breaking into people's houses?" I slowly lower my hands with that same cautious expression, "Does it not count as illegal because you work for the government or something? You know, there's such a thing as 'citizen arrest', so, technically, I could arrest you right now."

"Technically, you could, but because you're lowering your hands," he gives a small, nearly nonexistent smile, "Am I able to assume you're not going to arrest or shoot me, Miss Stark?"

"Still considering it," I 'eye' (oh no, a pun) him, cautiously, "So, Director Furry,"

"Fury," he corrects as his eye (oh no, hehehe, stop it, Lisa) narrows ever so slightly.

"Right," I nod and point at him before growing confused again, "So, Director Fury, again, wha-what are you doing here?"

"I heard about your father's behavior," he leans back against the counter as he starts to eat the eggs, "In fact, everyone has heard about your father's behavior."

I blush in embarrassment and shame as my socked-covered feet awkwardly shuffle, "Yeah, well, there's nothing new there."

He watches me carefully, "Do you love your father, Miss Stark?"

"Excuse me?" my brows furrow, "Director Furry,"

"Fury," he corrects again, unimpressed once more.

"Let's agree to disagree," I continue on, shaking my head, "I don't mean to be rude, but,"

"You're a Stark. I'm sure you do."

I pause and we stare at each other for a long moment.

Then I giggle before growing serious again, "Director Fury," I restrain myself from calling him by his new nickname, "I know about your Initiative," he doesn't seem surprised, "and I know how it concerns my father. But I don't see how my family's personal matters are really any of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s business."

He finishes eating his eggs before setting his fork back down on the plate and responding, "Miss Stark, your father is dying."

I feel my heart beat twice as fast and my thrusters burn as I croak out, "What?"

"Palladium poisoning," he explains simply, understanding that I'll catch on.

"The arc reactor is killing him? Ugh, because the palladium is," I rub my forehead with my trembling fingers, "His blood has become toxic?" it's not so much of a question as a statement of disbelief and my voice breaks as I ask, "Why wouldn't he tell me?!"

"Fathers do many things to protect their children, even when it comes to hiding the truth," Director Fury sets the plate and fork in the sink carefully, "So, I repeat my question, do you love your father, Miss Stark?"

I nod quickly, lowering my trembling hands to my lap, "O-of course."

"Then help me save him."

A couple of hours later, we are pulling up in front of Randy's Donuts. I loved this place when I was little. We used to go all the time and I don't really know why we ever stopped. I climb out of the back of Nick Fury's very secret agent-like SUV and walk over to the large sign that holds up a big, fat, round donut. Then, inside of that big, fat, round donut is a man in a red and gold Iron Man suit.

He's lounging back and stuffing his face with his favorite kind of donut: powdered top with jelly on the inside. Ick. His hair is wild and sticking up as if wind-blown. He's wearing sunglasses, staring off into the sunset.

"Should have stuck to the ashtanga yoga and a retreat, huh?!" I yell up, cupping my hands over my mouth so that he can hear me better.

His head turns down to look at me, "Sure, if you're a hippie."

Ignoring his previous statement, I squint in the sunlight and yell, "You look like an idiot!"

"At least I can fly, what can you do?"

"Act like a mature human being," I respond without skipping a beat.

He gives a short, sarcastic laugh.

Nick Fury walks up behind me, puts his hands on his hips, and says in a commanding tone, "Sir! I'm gonna have to ask you to exit the donut."

Dad stares down at him and lowers his sunglasses in a mixture of confusion and irritation.

Next thing I know, we are sitting at a window-side booth inside of Randy's Donuts. I'm munching away on some plain, glazed donuts as Dad holds his head in one hand, harshly rubbing his right temple with his metal fingers. The two of us are squeezed together on one side of the booth as Nick Fury sits across from us, staring at Dad with his usual unimpressed eyes. I keep glancing over at my father, but he just keeps staring at the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

He continues to rub his temple as he exasperatedly quips, "I told you, I don't wanna join your super-secret boy band."

Fury laughs a little before taking a sip of his coffee, "No, no, no. See, I remember, you do everything yourself. How's that working out for you?"

Ooh, now that is a good question.

I roll my head over to look at my father.

Dad struggles, "It's, it's, it's," he sighs before he looks over his sunglasses, "I'm sorry. I don't wanna get off on the wrong foot."

"Do I look at the patch or the eye? Honestly, I'm a bit hung over."

"Why am I not surprised?" I mumble before I take a deep breath, trying to not get upset with him again.

Dad ignores me, motioning his hand towards the man opposite of us, "I'm not sure if you're real or if I'm having,"

Fury interrupts and leans up close to Dad's face, "I am very real! I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet."

I squint an eye at him.

What's that even supposed to mean?

"Just my luck," Dad scoffs before looking around, "Where's the staff here?"

I carefully pull his collar down to see the strange grid climbing up, and it looks awful and black, "Dad, that looks bad."

He shrugs me off and responds slowly and coolly, "I've been worse."

A sudden figure approaches and I smirk in Dad's direction.

A very familiar redhead informs her boss, "We've secured the perimeter, but I don't think we should hold it for too much longer."

Dad sets his coffee cup against the table and stares at her in shock. I rest my cheek on my knuckles, blinking at him in amusement. He drops his chin so that he can look up at her over the top of his sunglasses. Fury grins as the redhead cheekily tilts her head to the side.

With his mouth open, Dad simply says, "Huh," he squints up at who we once believed to be Natalie Rushman, "You're f-fired."

The redhead sits down beside Fury, "That's not up to you."

Fury puts one hand on the redhead's arm and the other on her back, "Tony, I want you to meet Agent Romanoff."

Dad rubs his eyes in irritation, sighing out, "Hi."

I giggle a little.

He still doesn't look at me when he asks, "Did you know about this?"

"Sure, at exactly 2:54 p.m. this afternoon when Director Furry over here told me," I give a grin to the director who simply rolls his, well, eye. I actually have to stop.

"I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. shadow. Once we knew you were ill, I was tasked to you by Director Fury."

Dad lets out a puff of air and rests the side of his face against his palm, mimicking my exact position, "Ah, I suggest you apologize."

She doesn't break his gaze.

Fury straightens from Natasha and tells my father, "You've been very busy. You made your girl your CEO, you almost got your daughter killed twice, you're giving away all your stuff. You let your friend fly away with your suit. Now, if I didn't know better,"

"You don't know better. I didn't give it to him. He took it,"

I faze out at this point again. The glazed donuts are calling me and I must eat them. I'm only pulled out of my eating when Fury's voice gets increasingly louder and firmer.

"What do we want from you? No, uh uh uh, what do you want from me?!" Natasha walks away as Fury keeps going, "You have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe."

Dad sighs and groans, "Yeah, I get it."

"I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with," Fury snaps and motions to Natasha, "Hit him."

Suddenly the redhead is stabbing my father in the neck with a needle and injecting him with something. Dad and I both jerk back in response.

"Oh, God, are you gonna steal my kidney and sell it?!" I look at Dad's neck and Natasha takes Dad's chin as the grid begins to recede, "Could you please not do anything awful for five seconds? What did she just do to me?"

"What did we just do for you?"

"Wow, Fury, you were right," I grin over at him, using his correct name is my version of a 'thank you' for the time-being.

"What? You know what that was?" Dad winces, holding his sore neck.

"It's lithium dioxide," I tell him softly, feeling my anger towards him slowly crumble away.

"It's gonna take the edge off. We're trying to get you back to work," Fury informs him curtly.

Dad breathes quietly, "Alright, give me a couple of boxes of that. I'll be right as rain."

"It's not a cure, it just abates the symptoms," Natasha keeps a relatively straight expression.

"Doesn't look like it's gonna be an easy fix," Fury inspects my father's neck.

"Trust me, I know," Dad rolls his head up to look at him and unenthusiastically bounces his eyebrows, "I'm good at this stuff. I've been looking for a suitable replacement for palladium. I've tried every combination, every permutation of every known element."

I close my eyes briefly, being brought back to the reality of the situation.

My father is dying.

Fury tilts his head a little as he speaks, "Well, I'm here to tell you, you haven't tried them all."

I pretty much stare only at my feet when we get back home. I can't bear to see the place that is called my home in such disarray. My feet crunch against concrete rocks or shattered glass as I walk through the foyer, into the living room, and eventually out onto the terrace. Dad glances back at me a few times, but he always quickly looks away without ever saying anything. He eventually goes to change out of the suit, which I'm thankful for. When he comes back, he and Fury sit in a few lawn chairs as I uncomfortably hoist myself up onto the railing, waiting for them to talk.

Then, when they eventually do start talking, Fury goes onto explain how my grandfather believed that there was more to what Dad discovered than just the arc reactor. Howard believed that there was something bigger, but only my father could figure it out. I watch Dad closely as Fury explains this, and I find that his face remains hard and nearly angry. I've always known that my dad didn't like his own father. I mean, I used to see it so it was very clear. I usually try not to bring it up because it hurts him, especially the night he and Grandma died. I wish I could just remember. I wish I could give him the answers that he wants.

Then the story of a man called Vanko comes up. Apparently, my grandfather worked with this man on arc reactor technology, but he, Anton Vanko, was greedy and got shipped off to Siberia with his son, which sounds pretty sucky if ask me. I'm not sure what is in Siberia, but I imagine anyone, especially any child, doesn't deserve to be stuck in a place like that.

Fury goes on to say, "Anton Vanko's son, Ivan, is the one you two came into conflict with in Monaco. Fortunately, he's dead and we don't have to worry about him anymore."

"Wait, he's dead?" I straighten with wide eyes, "I didn't know that. What happened?"

"A bomb," Fury answers simply, "in jail."

I could have sworn there was going to be more to his story than just a bomb killing him in his prison cell, but I guess I was wrong.

My head snaps towards my father, "Dad, did you know about what happened?"

He nods slightly, looking at the ground a few feet from him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I snip, my brows furrowing in irritation.

"You didn't need to know."

"Just like how I didn't need to know that the one person on this earth that I need more than anything is dying?" my quiet, unsarcastic words hang heavy in the air.

Dad focuses back on Fury, "You told me I hadn't tried everything. What do you mean I haven't tried everything? What haven't I tried?"

"Howard said that you were the only person with the means and knowledge to finish what he started."

Dad doesn't look convinced, "He said that?"

"Are you that guy? Are you? 'Cause if you are, then you can solve the riddle of your heart," Fury leans closer as his voice grows sincere and nearly kind.

Dad scoffs, "I don't know where you get your information, but he wasn't my biggest fan."

Nick leans back in his chair, "What do you remember about your dad?"

Legacy.

I feel like that is all I have heard about for the past two years. Merriam-Webster has an example sentence for the word 'legacy' that says, "He left his children a legacy of love and respect." Look at our family legacy. What did my father's father leave him besides the material? Nothing, but the expectation for him to be a great man. From my year with him, I didn't think I could see that there was anything close to love or respect.

But what legacy has my own father been prepared to leave for me - might leave for me soon?

He didn't want me to be ashamed of him or his legacy. He didn't want us to be a family of butchers or thieves. That's why he made the suit. He wanted the Expo to leave a legacy of knowledge and discovery. I don't doubt my father has respect for me. I know he's proud of me, of what I've done. But will my father's legacy be of love for me? I don't need a suit for a legacy. I only wanted the suit to be protected because he believed it was his purpose.

What will my father's legacy be?

Dad shakes his head angrily, "He was cold, he was calculating. He never told me he loved me, he never even told me he liked me!"

The men in the Stark family have this in common. I'm struck by an interesting thought. Pepper once told me I reminded Dad of his mother, the woman of his childhood, the only person in the world before me that he ever felt loved by. Even in my short time of knowing her, I adored Maria Stark. The weeks that followed their deaths were lonely and grim. I wish I could've known her as I am now, more mature and coherent. I would've liked to actually talk to the woman who loved my father first. Maria obviously said she loved my father and 'I love you' were my very first words to him. Why can't the Stark men say it?

My eyes fill with tears even though I tell them not to.

My face flushes as I feel Fury glance my way.

Dad clenches his jaw, ignoring everything else, "So it's a little tough for me to digest when you're telling me he said the whole future was riding on me and he's passing it down. I don't get that. You're talking about a guy whose happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school."

"That's not true."

"Well, then, clearly you knew my dad better than I did."

"As a matter of fact, I did. He was one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Dad and I ask at the same time, "What?!"

Fury stands, "I got a 2:00."

There are large boxes everywhere, and Dad looks overwhelmed and confused.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. What's this?"

"Okay, you're good, right?"

"No, I'm not good."

"You got this? Right?" Fury continues to press, as if he can't hear that my dad keeps saying 'no'.

"Right? Got what? I don't even know what I'm supposed to get."

Honestly, that's how I feel all the time.

Fury ignores that too, walking towards the door, "Natasha will remain a floater at Stark with her cover intact."

Ah, so the Natalie Rushman persona lives on.

Suddenly I see a man with dark hair and a firm expression where a small smile should be appears beside us as Fury says, "You remember Agent Coulson, right?"

"Yeah," Dad nods in his direction distractedly.

"Heya, Agent Coulson!" I smile warmly, feeling kind of attached to the very man who saved me from Edgar.

He nods his hello, smiling back in my direction, "Miss Stark."

Fury turns to Dad and levels with him seriously, "And Tony, remember, I got my eye on you,"

I burst out laughing, but quickly stifle it when Fury frowns at me.

"We've disabled all communications. No contact with the outside world," Fury walks away, barely even glancing over his shoulder, "Good luck."

Dad turns to Agent Coulson, "Please. First thing, I need a little bodywork. I'll put in a little time at the lab. If we could send one of your goon squad down to The Coffee Bean, Cross Creek, for a Starbucks run, or something like that, that'd be nice."

"Actually, that sounds lovely. Me too, please," I begin pushing the boxes with my feet.

"I'm not here for that," Agent Coulson responds flatly and firmly, "I've been authorized by Director Fury to use any means necessary to keep you, Mr. Stark, on premises. If you attempt to leave or play any games, I will taze you and watch Supernanny while you drool into the carpet. Okay?"

My eyes widen, "Whoa, Coulson. I mean that's funny and completely threatening, but still, whoa."

Dad nods awkwardly, "Okay, got it, yeah."

Coulson turns to walk away as more sarcasm drips from his mouth, "Enjoy your evening's entertainment."

We get to work, sorting through the old boxes that Fury left behind. A lot of them have my grandfather's belongings in them and it's actually kind of fascinating to see. I never felt like I knew Howard very well and this just kind of gives me a sense of who he was underneath the cold exterior that he always showed my father and me. We search for anything important in complete silence all except for the soft rustling of the different papers and objects bumping into the boxes of the table. Finally, he breaks the silence with the kind of tone that I haven't heard since a year ago in Afghanistan.

His voice holds a slight weak tremor in it as he fearfully, quietly asks, "Are you okay?"

A little taken aback, I look up from the box I'm organizing, "Huh?"

He can't look at me as he puts some film reels in a old movie projector, "Are you okay? You," his brows furrow and his face harshly contorts, "you were right by the blast. I heard Pepper say she was gonna take you to the hospital. Are you," he swallows and shakes his head, "are you hurt bad?"

I shrug and shake my head too, "Nah. My back is pretty beat up; it has some bruises. But I've had worse."

His hands stop moving and his chin drops to his chest. I look up at him and see that his eyes are closed. My chair quietly squeaks as I swivel so that I can face him better. He breathes heavily like he's trying to hold himself together.

"Dad?" I call softly, allowing my hand to tug on his.

He suddenly jolts up, nods, and swallows, "I'm fine."

He turns sharply away and continues putting on the film reel. My eyes slowly fall to my feet, feeling my chest constrict with pain. After a few minutes, we silently continue looking through notebooks and other things, trying to figure out what in the world Fury was talking about. I feel so helpless. It's like I'm looking for a needle in a haystack, except this needle determines whether or not my father lives. My grandfather keeps talking on the projection. It's like the blooper reel as he keeps trying to say what he ended up saying in the video we played last month at the Expo. I try to drone it out because it's not helping me, but I think it's maybe helping Dad. Hearing his father's voice. I'm not honestly sure why, but I think it is.

I look up when I hear my father's name. Howard Stark is standing in front of the large display of buildings while my father stands on the opposite side, holding a mini-sized building and contentedly playing with it. My dad being little is perhaps one of the most adorable things I have ever seen. I faintly smile over at my father, but he has a serious expression on his face.

"Anth-Tony," Howard is saying, scolding, "What are you doing back there? What is that?"

Dad looks up at the projection. My brows furrow as Dad continues to watch, blankly.

"Put that back! Put it back where you got it from!" Howard snaps and I flinch, "Where's your mother? Maria?" he motions his young son away, "Go on. Go, go, go, go."

Dad looks away and keeps flipping through the notebook he's going through. Feeling strange tears bite my eyes, I swallow hard and keep searching too. Dad slaps the notebook closed and tosses it to the side, taking a sip of his drink. The reel continues to roll until I hear Howard say Dad's name again. I'm almost about to rip up the film because I don't want either us to have to listen to Howard scold him again, but I stop when I notice my grandfather's changed demeanor. Dad's head snaps up.

"Tony," Howard is leaning back against the display again as he says quietly and sincerely, "You're too young to understand this right now, so I thought I would put it on film for you. I built this for you," Dad crosses his arms on the tops of his knees, "And someday you'll realize that it represents a whole lot more than just people's inventions. It represents my life's work. This is the key to the future. I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world," there is pure and utter belief in Howard's voice as he says, "What is and always will be my greatest creation is you."

Dad stares at the projection, taken aback and with shimmering tears in his eyes. Howard smiles a little and nods in confidence as the film comes to an end. I'm brought back to the cave all that time ago. I was hiding in my father's side, terrified out of my mind. Dad and Yinsen thought I was asleep, but I heard every word they said. Yinsen asked Dad if I was his daughter. After Dad replied in the affirmative, he added, softly, proudly, 'she's the best I've ever created'. I smile at the memory and wipe a few tears from my face.

"Why did you come back?"

I surprisedly look over at my father before I softly reply, "Oh. Well. I was always going to come back. Originally, it was my plan to come home tomorrow, but Fury came and I-I found out about, well, I guess you know, so, yeah," I clear my throat, "Why? You didn't think I would?"

He stares into space, "I thought I had lost you. For good."

"No," I run my fingers through my dark hair and shake my head.

He doesn't say anything else.

"We're gonna figure this out, Dad," I say after a while, "I know you've said you've tried everything and you're losing hope, but the awesome one-eyed director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and grandaddy, ol' crotchety Howard Stark," Dad looks up at me finally with a hint of a smile, "had faith in you."

He clears his throat and nods.

"Maybe it's time you take a break. Get your mind off of it?" I shrug, "And I don't know, maybe it's time you go say sorry to Pepper?"

He raises his eyebrows in concession, "Yeah, that might be a good idea."

He stands and leaves without another word.

Not my favorite chapter; I like the one next a lot more! I also had a lot of gifs in there, but I just had to include them! So, please, tell me what you think and stick around for the next chapter tomorrow. It's gonna be fuuuuuun (for us, not for them). Oh my gosh, I did love the Lees and Tony interaction though, did you? Are we on our way back to how they used to be? I don't know.... *the evil writer within me laughs* Now vote, COMMENT, and follow!

Future quote:

"'Never make it easy for them. Never make it easy for them to kill you, to hurt you, to trick you. You are a woman, not a damsel. Shut up and suit up.' The wise words of my beloved Aunt Peggy."

- Lisa Stark referencing Peggy Carter, The Red Raven