chapter xxiii.
( iron man 2 )

you're   putting up your
armor   when you   leave
you   leave   because   you're
certain of who you want to be
icarus ─── bastille

monaco, french riviera
may 24, 2011

"Pepper," I mumble in a panic, "Pepper, do something!"

"Natalie. Natalie!" she hurriedly waves the other redhead over.

Dad waves off the actual driver of our race car who gives a fit when he sees that Dad is taking his place. The audience continues to cheer and I watch as the television screen adds my last name to the list of racers.

Natalie hurries over, "Yes, Miss Potts?"

I snap, "Did you know about this?!"

"Uh, this is the first that I have known of it," she answers, looking from me to Pepper.

Pepper breathes heavily, "This, this cannot happen."

"Absolutely. I understand. How can I help you both?"

I rub my forehead as Pepper tells Natalie to go get Happy. I moan into my hands and the pain gets worse. Dad hops into the seat and pulls on the helmet, making a face as he does. I think I'm going to pass out, either from worry or anger I can't quite tell. Dad looks at the camera and points to it. My eyes roll over to Justin, and Dad's meaning is clear: he's mocking his "competitor".

"Look! That's Stark!" a man says, motioning to the screen.

"Unbelievable, unbelievable," Pepper scowls and her face turns kind of red.

"What is he thinking?" I mumble to myself, analyzing him with squinted eyes.

Dad revs the car up and gives a thumbs up.

His eyes narrow in determination as the lights begin to change. The cars take off and I push the side of my hand against my mouth. At least he's not already dead. I know he can handle the car well; he's practiced out on tracks back home before, but never in a real race, and this is the Grand Prix, alright? I moan again as they continue to speed around the track. Pepper and I look over our shoulders as the cars race by the window behind us.

Suddenly a man in an orange jumpsuit walks right onto the racetrack. At first I think he must be crazy, a lunatic, someone not right in the head, but I immediately realize I'm wrong. He's too determined and smug to be a lunatic. He throws the helmet off his head and continues to waltz right down the middle of the track. Pepper snatches my forearm and gasps. The announcer is freaking out as the man keeps going. The man rips open his jumpsuit and my jaw drops at what I see on his chest.

"That's an arc reactor," I whisper to no one in particular.

It's white and it's strapped across his body with metal and black leather. He drops his hands and metal whips shoot from his sleeves. They spark and flash with electricity. The top half of his jumpsuit burns away as the machine strapped to his body comes to life. Just as a car rounds the corner, the man raises his whip and snaps it down across it. The car slices in half and flips over as the man easily slides to the side. I gasp as the car tumbles across the track.

Pepper suddenly leads me by my arm out of the restaurant and we're running after Happy. We throw ourselves into the back of the car just as soon as Happy starts up the car and speeds away.

Pepper hurriedly yells, "Go, go!"

We both slam back into our seats as Happy presses harder against the ignition.

"Uh, Happy!" I point towards the big yellow gate that separates us and the track.

"Hang on," is all he says just before we slam through it.

Pepper and I shriek as our car skids and bounces. We take a sharp turn and then begin speeding down the track, against the flow of the other cars. We narrowly dodge the other vehicles flying towards us. As Pepper holds me in place, I pull out my phone and quickly begin searching for a live feed of what's happening on the track ahead.

"No!" I shriek as I see Dad's car blasting down the lane, straight towards the whip.

The front of Dad's car cuts clean off and Dad flips through the air. My heart stops as I see him continue to smash against the pavement before skidding into the wall, crashing hard. The man snaps his whips and they flash with what looks like lightning. The cars behind them try to stop themselves from hitting the man and Dad, but instead they collide into each other and go up in explosions and flying debris. I still can't see Dad with the way the camera is angled and I'm gasping for air, wondering if my father is alive or dead.

"Give me the case," Pepper demands evenly, reaching forward to Happy.

Oh my word, the case! Yes! Dad is literally a genius. I mean, yes, literally he is actually a genius, but I meant particularly in this situation as well. Ugh, nevermind. Before we left, he created a case that could actually be a suit all folded up. It made it easier to carry whenever necessary. If we have the case, then we have the suit!

"Here," Happy tries to hand it back to her, but it's handcuffed to his wrist, "Take it."

"Where's the key?!"

"It's in my pocket," Happy yells back, struggling to reach it.

"Car!" I yell, pointing at the road as Happy jerks us out of the way.

I leap forward and snatch the key from Happy. My fingers don't tremble as I stick it into the keyhole and give it a harsh twist. The case drops off of his wrist, and Pepper and I pull it back in our laps. I pick my phone back up and check to see if Dad has made an appearance yet. Instead, I see the man snap his whip across the car again, cutting off the back. The man looks confused as he searches around for my father. The seat is empty! Dad's got out! Ha! Suddenly the man jolts forward and I see my father slamming a metal slab against the maniac's head.

"Hurry, Happy!" I shout as I continue to watch.

The man throws his whip, knocking the slab out of his hands and throwing him to the ground. The man yanks his whip back and hurls it towards Dad who rolls back and forth, missing both throws. He hurriedly scoots back and throws his legs apart, dodging another slash. Dad quickly twists around and sprints away, stumbling and tripping over the debris. The man whirls his whip around and catches onto Dad's foot. He goes flying into the crashed car beside him. I hear him yell and grunt as he smacks off of it and falls hard to the ground.

He doesn't move and the man draws closer. He begins twirling his whips around, and they shoot and shriek with each wave he sends them on. He crosses them over his body, moving closer and closer, powering them up to kill my father.

At the last possible second, Dad jumps up and leaps out of the way as the man brings his whips down onto the spilt oil. The oil bursts up in flames as Dad tumbles and whirls around in a better defensive position. He quickly pats the fire out on his arm and stares at the man with wide eyes.

I drop my phone and look up as I can see them both through the windshield now. Happy takes a hard turn before speeding towards them.

"Oh my God!" Pepper gasps.

Happy slams down on his horn as Dad leaps onto the fence, hoisting himself up. Our car crashes into the man, slamming his body between us and guardrail.

His torso drops down onto the hood, unmoving. His whips stop glowing and I think I might be hyperventilating. Dad lets out a deep breath and then jumps down from the fence. Pepper is screaming and I blink, trying to wake up from my shock.

Happy leans out the window and yells, "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah," Dad answers tiredly before stumbling towards us, "Were you heading for me or him?"

"I was trying to scare him!" Happy quickly defends.

"'Cause I can't tell!" Dad yells back angrily, shaking his finger at him.

Pepper also leans out the window and screams furiously, "Are you out of your mind?!"

"Dad!" I call out, relieved to see him in relatively one piece, although I think he might be missing his brain.

"Better security," he leans close and jabs a finger at her.

Pepper still keeps screaming, more intensely than I have ever heard, "Get in the car right now!"

"I was attacked!" Dad shouts slowly before ranting on, "We need better security."

"Get in the car!" Happy demands, throwing his head over his shoulder.

"Ah," I point a finger at the man who seems to be twitching on the hood of the car, "Ah! Dad, ah!"

"I'm fine, Lees, I'm fine!" he snaps before going on to Pepper, "You're CEO. Better security measures. God, it's embarrassing!" Dad's angry voice turns to a grumble as he heads for my side of the car and opens the door, "First vacation in two years."

Suddenly the door is exploding in half and part of it is in Dad's hand while the other snaps back towards me. I scream bloody murder as the man seems to almost smile through bloody teeth.

"Smalls!" I hear Dad yell out, "Watch it! Lees!"

The tires screech back and and the man straightens. Happy then slams the car into the man's body. Again.

"I got him!" Happy shouts, pulling back once more.

"Hit him again. Hit him again!" Dad commands before pointing into the car, "Football!"

Happy yells again as he moves to hit the man, "I got him!"

The half of what's left of the door keeps closing, making it nearly impossible for Dad to get to the case. I keep reaching a hand out to Dad, but pulling it back so it doesn't get crushed. Pepper is still screaming as the man's body crunches against the fence and guardrail. Happy pulls the car back, ready to smash him again.

"Dad, please, just take it!" I scream, trying to lug the case towards him, "Lord! Just take it!"

"Lisa!" Dad shouts my name, stretching a quick hand out to me.

"Take the case! Take it! Take the case!" Pepper tries to help me get it out the door.

"Give him the case!" Happy shouts as he puts the car into 'Drive' again, "Give him the case!"

Suddenly the airbag goes off in Happy's face, causing Pepper and me to scream again.

"Watch it! Watch," Dad yells, pointing to the front of the car.

Then I watch as the man's arm lifts and then the whips are sizzling down onto the car's roof. I shriek and push myself back, trying to get out of the way of the zapping wires. The sparks and the heat off the wires burn my skin as I continue to scramble desperately. The man swings his whip again, slicing off the part of the car.

Pepper screams, pushing her hands up to her head, "God! God!"

The man brings down the whip again, slicing off part of Pepper's side of the vehicle. The man winces under the weight of the car, but he's clearly not giving up anytime soon.

Dad claps his hands and demands, "Give me the case! Please! Come on!"

I look down at my glowing wires and burning palms. Pepper hurls the case out to Dad who activates it. He steps into the case as the suit slowly climbs up his body.

When the mask encloses over his face, he gives the car a firm kick and sends us away from the man. We skid to a stop and watch as the man moves towards my father. Dad tries to power up his thrusters in order to shoot at him. Before he can though, the man snaps his whips at him and sends him off flying. Pepper screams as Dad gets snapped again and again. I rip the gloves off of my hands and throw them onto the floor of the car. Suddenly I'm jumping over Pepper and launching myself out of the decimated vehicle.

"No! Lisa!" Pepper screams, reaching a hand after me.

"Lisa! Get back here!" Happy yells.

As I sprint, I allow my anger to take control and the wires shine through my flesh. I skid to a stop, raise my hand, and then there's a long white beam shooting from my thruster. The unsuspecting man and I both jolt backwards. My arm snaps back and takes me down with it. Dad is trying to push himself off the ground when he hears the blast. I grunt as I fall to my butt from the punch that the thruster packs, but I quickly scramble to my feet.

Dad's head snaps in my direction with realization of what I'm doing, "Lisa! Get back now! Lisa!"

The man begins to laugh as I stand before him, breathing heavily.

"Ah, here comes little girl," the man speaks in a thick accent, "the treasure of the butchers and thieves."

"Back off," I narrow my eyes and do my best to look intimidating, but let's be honest, I don't even intimidate reporters.

"The Stark ruler and the Stark heir," he mocks, "You coming to me makes my job very much easier. Two generations of Starks for the taking."

"Hey, Fun Times! Come on," Dad tries to draw attention to himself as he hurriedly gets to his feet, "You came to party with me. Leave the kid alone."

The man simply chuckles at his attempt, but he isn't looking at my father right now though. I duck as he slashes one whip towards me and I twist around on one foot as he slaps the other whip against the ground. Dad suddenly blasts the man and the man stumbles to the side, having had his focus still on me. Dad flies in to shield me and he shoves me back before trying to shoot him in the chest twice more. The man doesn't get hit, but he still falls back on the ground and moves to get up already.

"Lisa, come on!" I hear Pepper and Happy yell.

Dad turns to me and barks, "Get back to the car right now!"

"You need my help," I lamely start to argue.

Suddenly wires from one of the whips are wrapping around Dad's ankle. The man jerks him to the ground and I can see the voltage shooting through the suit. As the man stands back up and begins to trudge over to my father, I furiously run over towards him and hurl my body against his, making us both crash into the ground. Pushing myself up, I blast my thruster against his arc reactor, but he shoves my hand to the side and makes me narrowly miss. His legs easily toss me off of him and send me rolling across the pavement. As he whips the wires to catch around my throat, Dad slides between us and takes the blow on his arm instead. Dad lifts the whip up which allows him to shoot at the man's chest again. The man blocks it and then they're facing off once more.

Dad raises both hands and sends a bolt that the man fends off with his whips. He uses his other hand in an attempt to shoot him again, but the man fends it off once more. Suddenly the whips are wrapping around my father's chest and neck. I shriek as the man hurls my father around, yanking him back and forth until he smashes Dad's body onto the hood of the car.

"Tony!" Happy yells.

"No, no!" Pepper screams.

He drags my father off of the car and the suit clanks against the hard ground. Dad tries to get to his knees, but the suit is struggling to withstand the shocks of the whips and it's agonizing to watch. I use my elbows to push off of the pavement before I leap onto the man's back, throwing my legs around his chest and pulling back at his face.

"Lisa! No!" Dad grunts.

The man throws his elbow back and catches me in the jaw, but I keep holding on. Shouting, I raise my hand and slam my thruster against the man's neck, allowing his flesh to burn just like mine always does. The man gives a low yell as the thruster continues to glow and sizzle. Dad begins curling the whips around his chest and arms, pulling himself closer to us. The man flips me off of him, causing my body to land with a crunch. When Dad's finally just before him, he throws a hard punch into his gut and then across his face.

Then he grabs onto the whips and flips the man over his head. He lands on his back a few feet from me, groaning slightly. Easily stepping over, Dad digs his hand into the man's chest and rips the arc reactor out.

The whips stop zapping and he lays there as the police run over to arrest him. Dad looks down at the reactor he's holding his hand and his white eyes grow narrow as he studies it. The police try to pull the man away and, when he reaches an upright position, he spits blood all over my face. Dad steps closer and I jerk back as the man begins laughing.

"Y-you lose. You lose," he's still laughing as he's carried away, "You lose, Starks!"

We lose?

I thought we just won.

He just got arrested.

How could we have lost?

Dad glares back down at the glowing reactor in his hand and then he crushes it.

Disgusted, I wipe the blood off my face and snap the droplet to the side. Pepper is still gasping and Happy is still yelling out to us to see if we're okay. I pull my knees up and drop my hands down on top of them, palms up so that I can stare at them. The skin around the thrusters is looking like its usually burned self, but everything else looks normal. The wires are beginning to dim as my breathing slows and my heart rate settles. I glance up at Dad and find that he's already staring at me. His white eyes are still narrowed and I know I'm in for it.

He takes my forearm and helps me up before the police are all over us. They take Happy, Pepper, Dad, and me away to a private room on location so that we can debrief with the French police within the next few minutes. Pepper rests a hand on the wall, trying to calm her nerves down. Happy paces by the door with a thoughtful expression on his face. Dad is sitting across from me, not wearing the suit anymore. He has some cuts and bruises on his body, but he's all in all doing okay. But that doesn't mean he hasn't been glaring, or, at least giving me a look that is something close to a glare, ever since I could see his face. I keep my palms up as my hands rest on my knees and I avoid everyone's gazes and glances. Suddenly Natalie Rushman hurries in through the door with wide, concentrated eyes. She studies us each with an intensity that surprises me.

"Are you all alright?" she asks in a calm voice.

We all mumble something close enough to a 'yes', so she nods and stands off to the side. We sit in another long silence, waiting for the police to come in. I'm just realizing how exhausted I am when suddenly Dad straightens in his chair and his face leaves me with no doubt that he's actually glaring now.

He snaps harshly, "Do you have a death wish?!"

I look up at him with a surprised expression. His eyes are on fire and his lips are pushed into a thin line. My eyes narrow.

"What? Me? What about you?!" I motion my hand to him before spreading it towards the door, "You just stinkin' drove in the Grand Prix and then almost got decapitated by some maniac!"

"And you," he stands and moves closer, getting up in my face, "You went after that maniac, need I remind you?! You ran out onto that race track, practically screaming 'pick me, pick me' before getting into a fight with him! He could have killed you, do you understand?! He almost did! You have no idea how much that freaked me out!"

"Oh, I think I do," I stand up to face him better, thinking about all the times I have seen my father almost get killed.

"No, I mean it," his face grows hard and serious, "Do you really have a death wish? Because I am seeing a trend here. Nine months ago, at a party, you met a criminal who physically hurt you and then you proceeded not to say anything to anybody. The very next day, you flew by yourself into war-torn Afghanistan where you almost had your head blown off by terrorists. Then," he pauses in pain of what he's about to say, "then what I saw in the workshop before we left. And now this?!" his jaw clenches as he asks, "Are you trying to kill yourself?"

"No! I'm not trying to kill myself!" I snap, angrily.

"Really?! Because I saw you last night. I saw what you did! You had cut your wrists!" he yells back, furious although I can see the agony in his big brown eyes.

Natalie and Happy look at me with wide eyes.

"You had what?!" Pepper gasps out, horrified.

I scowl at Dad before glancing at Pepper and Happy, "He's exaggerating."

Dad gives a breathy, sarcastic laugh, "Yes, exaggerating! Is that what that was?" he steps even closer to me, "I came down to the workshop and found knives on the table with your blood all over the place while you sat in the corner, wrapping your wrists!"

"I wasn't trying to slit my wrists, Dad! I was trying to cut the wires out!" I yell harshly.

My fumbling fingers push up what's left of my floral sleeves so that my dirtied bandages are showing. I tear away at the gauze until they all can see the slices that I cut into myself what feels like a forever go. They're obviously strategically made. He takes my wrists sharply and stares down at them, studying what I've done.

Anger shoots through me. How could he really think that I would leave him?! No, that's always been his M.O., not mine! How dare he! I am not like him! I am not like my mother!

"You made me promise I would never do that and I told you I wouldn't," I scowl at his down-turned face, "God! You infuriate me! If you paid any attention at all, you'd be able to see why I'd want to try to cut the wires out. I am in pain!" I shout loudly, "But I am not in enough pain to commit suicide! Thanks for the show of faith."

I go on to leave so he grabs my forearm, but I turn and elbow him in the gut a lot harder than necessary. Dad lets out a grunt, stumbling back a few steps. Pepper gasps as Happy and Natalie raise their eyebrows. My palms burn hotter as I don't move to make any apology or excuse. He deserves that and more. He's lucky I didn't punch him in his pretty little face! Dad, still holding onto his probably already sore ribs, looks up at me with pursed lips and narrowed eyes.

"Okay, I get it, Lisa, I've been a sucky dad for the past few months! I got that!" he jabs a finger at me as his voice lowers, "But that does not mean I am at all okay with what you did today! That was stupid and wrong; it was totally out of line!"

"And I'm supposed to care what you think is okay?!" I yell.

"You are fifteen years old! Fifteen!"

I shout back, "Yes, I'm fifteen! But I was two years old when a woman, my mother, strangled me and fourteen years old when I was kidnapped and tortured - twice! Clearly, you're not the one protecting me; I am the one who has been keeping me alive! Admittedly, I have had some problems, but I think I handled it much better than others my age would've! Can't you see that I can handle what other kids my age can't?!"

"Yes, you've had to go through a lot of crap your entire life, but no way are you old enough to do anything like what you did today. I swear, I thought I was going to lose my daughter right in front of me. I don't want either of us ever going through anything like that ever again!"

I want to rant and scream, but I stop myself.

Everyone watches us, awkwardly.

There's no way I'm going to win this and the thrusters on my palms are burning. Apparently I'm not the only one who notices. We all slowly look down to my arms where my wrists are shimmering and the circular disks are shining. I make a face at the pain and gently blow on them as if this will help cool the skin. I close my eyes and start my routine of just breathing and calming down. Eventually the burning goes away and the light fades. Dad eyes me strangely, but I don't feel like talking about it anymore.

I flop back in my seat and criss-cross my legs. We all stay quiet now. I let out a sigh and rub my forehead with my fingers. The hours that pass are pretty boring compared to the past few we have had. The police talk and talk, and it's excruciating. Sometime during this conversation, I realize that we have, in fact, caused an international incident. I think that might be a new one for us.

Yay, go team!

Then, at another point, I think we almost get arrested because of this 'incident', but Dad does fabulously at getting us out of it. Eventually, he even convinces them to allow him to talk the man and see why in the world he would attack him in the middle of the Grand Prix. As soon as he gets up to go, I stand up and follow him.

He whirls around and points at me, "No."

"But,"

"Nope. No arguments. You're staying put, where I know you're safe. Got it?"

I frown and walk over to Pepper. She puts an arm around me and nods Dad a promise that she'll look after me. He nods back in appreciation before leaving. As we drive  to the hotel to pack up our stuff, I begin thinking about all that the man told us throughout the fight. He called me the 'treasure of the butchers and thieves'. I mean, the reputation of Stark Industries killing people has been put pretty much to rest after everything Dad has done to turn the business around. So, butchers? Really? He is clearly crazy, so I guess that's what he could mean.

Thieves. That's where I get hung up as I pack up my luggage, although there's not much to pack because we were literally here for less than a day. Anyways, thieves. We've never stolen anything. Howard Stark helped create the atomic bomb and he has been giving to the world ever since. I mean, he gave the world Tony Stark, who may not be my favorite person at this moment, but he still has given the world tons of cool things. We've never really taken, nothing belonging to anyone else anyway.

Dad isn't in the lounge during the very beginning of our flight. I can see his mind's preoccupied and I wish I had been in that cell with him when he talked to the man. That would clear up a lot of my questions. I slowly patter in my socked feet past Pepper who's watching TV and into the small kitchen were Dad is making something. He doesn't look up at me as I enter. But, when my thrusters make it difficult to hoist myself up onto the counter, he places his hands under my arms and lifts me up like he did when I was little. Then I'm sitting on the counter beside his dishes and he keeps chopping up vegetables. We sit in silence for a while; neither of us really knowing how to start; both of us probably still ticked with the other. Suddenly Dad uses his knife to slide some chopped cucumbers to the end of his cutting board, closer to where I sit. I look down at it before watching him move onto other vegetables.

I love cucumbers.

This is his peace offering.

I awkwardly scoop them up in my hand and begin munching.

Finally, I start repeating what the man said to me, "'The Stark ruler and the Stark heir. You coming to me makes my job very much easier. Two generations of Starks for the taking'," I blink after I finish.

He doesn't say anything, but his face shows that he's thinking about my words.

"Was he saying that if he had, well, you know, killed you," my voice fades at that part before I continue, "he was going to come after me?"

"Seems like it," Dad cracks an egg and pushes the vegetables into the pan.

"Okay," I respond rather calmly for just hearing someone actually planned on murdering me, "but why?"

"Not exactly sure yet, personal vendetta of some kind," Dad shakes his head slightly, "Don't worry about it. You're safe from him now."

"Yeah," I munch on the last piece of cucumber.

Something doesn't feel right. Something tells me this isn't over. But I'm not about to tell him that.

After a little while, he holds up a plate of food, "Okay, uh, I'm gonna go give this to Pepper."

"'Kay," I nod, looking at his feet.

He moves to the doorway, hesitates, and then keeps going. I watch his retreating back until he leaves my view.

We don't talk.

We just pass by.

Yikes, more Tony-Lisa drama. It's been rough, Guys. Did you like the fight scene between them and the crazy jumpsuit guy? I hoped I made it cool enough! Tell me your thoughts! I loved Lisa's addition to it, I think. I cannot wait for you guys to read the next chapter. It's a good one. Okay, well, vote, comment, and give me a follow! Bye all!

Spoiler for ma story:

Peter Parker is gonna be in it and it's gonna be awesome. I can't wait to hear your reactions to how I intertwine his story with the Starks'. (so, so excited)