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MARVEL
──── ❝ look alive.❞

CHAPTER TWO
.ೃ࿐, marvel
*ೃ༄ ﹌﹌﹌ღ ‗ ❍ . . . . .🧸🩰
•◦• ACT ONE
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✧.*

CARMEN SAT IN A COLD CHAIR, her stuffed animal pressed to her chest as she gnawed on the skin of her bottom lip. her eyebrows were pinched together as she watched the billionaire tinker with his toys. right now, they were in his lab. Carmen fought to get there, as Tony had denied her getting anywhere close to his private space. he placed her on the couch, ordering for her to stay there. but she was relentless. she continued to follow him down the stairs until he finally stopped trying. he sat her in a chair, far away from where he was. he insisted that she stayed out of his way.

Carmen watched as Tony set up a camera, stiffly backing away as the shoes that he had designed clanked against the ground, "okay, let's do this right. start mark, half a meter and back at center." he exhaled before over his shoulder.

"dummy, look alive. you're on standby for fire safety." he said shortly to the robot he had invented that resembled the lamp from pixar. he glanced at Carmen, who was mid-yawn, her brown eyes shut as a small sigh escaped from her lips.

"what, is it your bedtime or somethin'? why don't you go find Pepper. i'll get JARVIS to take the dog out." he pursed his lips as Carmen huffed, a frown falling on her face as she rolled her eyes. Brandon was still upstairs, as he had found a comfortable spot for himself in the nooks of the mansion.

"i don't have a bedtime. i'm bored." she groaned, tossing her head back. Tony said nothing, faking a frown on his lips before waving his hand and dismissing her.

"activate hand controls," he held a small device in his grasp, "gonna start off nice and easy. we're gonna see if ten percent thrust capacity achieves lift. and three, two, one-" he was quickly flung into the concrete wall, causing Carmen to gasp loudly with her little palm over her mouth. her big brown eyes widened and she involuntary laughed as his body fell limp to the ground and the robot named Dummy began to blow steam in his direction.

Tony groaned, rolling into his side as he squeezed his eyes shut. Carmen slowly crawled out of her chair, folding her lips inward as she inched toward him.

hovering over his body, she bit back a chuckle, "was that supposed to happen?"

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

     "you, stay here. take this," he shoved the remote to the television into her grasp before turning on his heel, "I'm gonna be working, so don't bother me. ever. if you do, I'll sell your dog." Tony threatened with a wave of his hand before descending down the stairs. Carmens jaw fell slack as she watched his retreating figure. she shook her head with a frown before pressing the large red button on the remote, watching as the television screen illuminated. images danced across the plasma, her big brown eyes seemingly caught in a trance. she flipped through the channels before stopping on a familiar show, watching the brunette girl in a blonde wig sing and dance across the stage. she hummed along to the tunes the girl sang.

Carmen didn't know how long she had been stuck in front of the television, and she had eventually lulled herself to sleep. she flinched as heels clicked through the large home. her big brown eyes landed on a familiar strawberry blonde, her hair pulled away from her frame and tied into a pony tail. she held a small trey of three coffees in her hand. Carmen frowned as she glanced behind Pepper Potts, staring at a large man that wore a small grin.

"Carmen!" Pepper lifted her thin brows as she approached her, "where's tony?"

Carmen folded her arms over her chest as a huff escaped her lips, "downstairs."

Pepper shook her head to herself, folding her lips inward and muttering something about him being horrible for leaving the eight year old by herself, "Obadiah, i'll be right back." she quickly strode away, leaving Carmen to stare at the man with an odd look on her face. she slowly stood up, slowly shuffling to stand directly in front of the large man with a hesitant grin. she took in his features. big and bushy eyebrows, no hair on his head, and a large grey beard. he wore a light dress shirt with a pink tie. she also noticed the large box of pizza he had in his grasp.

his eyebrows pinched together and he forced a grin on his lips as she spoke, "hi. i'm Carmen." she introduced. he chuckled in response, his shoulders shaking. he was terribly confused. why was there a child here? and why was she alone? Tony most definitely had some explaining to do.

"hello, carmen. my name is Obadiah." he then extended his large hand toward hers, and she then placed her palm against. he then gestured to the box of fresh pizza before placing it on the coffee table, "here. have some."

she inhaled deeply, the greased nourishment filling her nostrils. it was then that the man glanced over his shoulder. Carmen frowned as her big brown eyes followed his gaze. the grand piano.

"do you know how to play?" the eight year old asked curiously. the man nodded before her jaw fell slack, "then play a song!"

Obadiah complied, encouraging her to take a seat on the couch as he found himself sitting behind the instrument. he paused, inhaling deeply before lightly pressing his fingertips along the keys. Carmen listened to the tune, watching him in awe.

it wasn't long before Tony Stark cooly strolled up the stairs, Pepper trailing behind him.

"how'd it go?" Tony began, his arms swinging by his side. when the bald man said nothing, the genius sighed, taking a seat next to the eight year old.

"oh, boy. that bad, huh?" Obadiah chuckled, shaking his head.

"just because i brought pizza back from new york doesn't mean it went bad." he cleared. Pepper took a seat on the other side of Carmen as Tony reached for a slice of pizza, folding it as though it were a taco and shoveling it into his mouth.

"uh-huh. sure doesn't. oh, boy." Tony muttered mostly to himself. Carmen grabbed a slice of pizza and copied his actions.

"would've gone better if you were there." Obadiah announced. Tony hummed.

"what would've gone better?" Carmen questioned through a mouthful of cheese pizza. Tony glared at her and shook his head.

"hey, mind your business. eat your pizza. the grown ups are talking," he turned back to his close friend, "you told me to lay low. that's what i've been doing. i lay low and you take care of all—"

"hey, come on. in public. the press. this was a board of directors meeting." Obadiah left the piano, strolling towards the couch to speak to the billionaire face to face.

"this was- this was a board of directors meeting?" Tony lowered his voice and gave the bald man a side eye. as Carmen finished her pizza, she wiped her palms on her denim jeans, glancing at Pepper as she rummaged through her bag before holding out a small note pad and a pencil.

Carmen grinned, flipping the book open to find an empty page before doodling.

"the board is claiming you have post traumatic stress. they're filing an injunction." the strange man informed. Tony cocked his head at those words, brown eyes growing large.

"a what?"

"they wanna lock you out."

"why, 'cause the stocks dipped forty points? we knew that was gonna happen." Tony pointed at him. Pepper turned to face them, her expression unreadable while she set her jaw.

"fifty-six and a half." she corrected flatly.

"it doesn't matter." tony snapped, Carmen huffed and lolled her head back, "we own the controlling interest in the company."

"tony, the board has rights, too." Obadiah lectured, "they're making the case that you and your new direction isn't in the company's best interest."

"i'm being responsible! that's a new direction for me— for the company." tony raised his voice and stammered. both Pepper and Obadiah said nothing, staring at the man with unreadable expressions.

"i mean, me on the company's behalf of being responsible for the way that. . ." he attempted to correct. when he received nothing but odd looks, he abruptly stood from his seat, "this is great. i'll be in the shop."

Pepper folded her lips, turning to face the eight year old, "Carmen, why don't you go and find Brandon." the little girl nodded before jumping to her feet, exhaling softly and shuffling through the large house. the voices of the adults grew quiet as she ventured further. she inched down a staircase, squinting her eyes as she called out.

"Brandon?" she sang. she skipped into the room, doing her best to listen for the golden retrievers nails clipping against the tiles. she tightened her lips before whistling. she whipped her head to the side, her pigtail smacking her across the cheek as she searched the dimly lit room.

"come on out, Brandon." she clicked her tongue. just a moment later, the small golden puppy came out from behind a chair, his tail wagging at the sight of the brown haired girl, "there you are!" she knelt down and itched behind his ears. her lips formed a frown as she noticed a small piece of cotton stuck to his mouth. she slowly tugged on it and inspected it in her grasp before fixing her gaze on a pillow that he had torn to shreds.

"uh-oh. . ." she tucked her chin into her neck before standing up straight and beckoning for the dog to follow, inching way from the scene and ignoring the way her chest tightened with guilt. entering the living room once again, Carmen noticed that everyone had disappeared, the lights were now dimmed and there was a thick blanket with a white fluffed pillow placed neatly on the cushion of the couch.

her shoulders slumped as she neared the small makeshift bed, and she freed her feet of the mitch-matched sneakers she wore. she was suddenly very aware of how uncomfortable her clothes were, but she was far too exhausted to care. she crawled onto the couch, tucking herself underneath the blanket. she felt the weight of brandon as he hopped onto her lap, making herself comfortable at the foot of the furniture.

"goodnight, Brandon." Carmen sighed, turning on her side and folding her bottom lip in between her teeth.

Carmen couldn't help but allow a few tears to slip down her cheeks as her thoughts were swarmed with images of her mother. she could only hope that being in the presence of tony would make the pain go away.