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MARVEL
──── ❝ i am iron man ❞

CHAPTER ELEVEN
.ೃ࿐, marvel
*ೃ༄ ﹌﹌﹌ღ ‗ ❍ . . . . .🧸🩰
•◦• ACT ONE
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HE COULDN'T DO IT. Here stood Tony Stark, the genius billionaire who was expected to make a statement in front of the press to address the recent events of that had gone down over the past few days. The people deserved the truth. They deserved to know why their lives were in great danger. The man had exited the waiting room and had made his way toward the podium, until-- no. He turned around and headed straight for the waiting room once again.

He couldn't bare the fact that he would stand on that podium and make a statement knowing that his little girl, Carmen, was somewhere out there watching from behind a television screen. When she should be there, standing with him.

What was wrong with him? Surely, he was coming down with something. He had even considered telling Pepper to book him a doctor appointment as soon as possible, fearful of the way that his throat tightened each time he thought of the nine year old that had forced her way into his life.

"Let's get this show on the road." Pepper sighed, forcing Tony to pry his dark eyes away from the notecards in his grasp. The man didn't do the best with improvisation, as previous events have shown.

"It's actually not bad... even though I don't think I'm Iron Man. " He waved the handful of notecards. Pepper rolled her eyes. Despite his teasing tone, she noticed the weight that he carried on his shoulders. He was thinking about her.

"You're not Iron man." The woman argued as she helped the man put his coat on, "You're not."

"Alright, suit yourself." A beat of silence went by, "You know, if I were iron man, i'd have this girlfriend who knew my true identity, she'd always be worrying if I was gonna die and so proud of who I've become. she'd be wildly conflicted which would only make her more crazy about me— tell me you never think about that night.

"what night?" She tilted her head.

"You know."

Pepper thought back to the night of the Fire Brigade, when she and Tony had a moment. A moment so intimate that it scared her.

"Are you talking about the night that we danced and went up on the roof? And then you went downstairs to get me a drink and then you... left me there, all by myself. And proceeded to drive drove home without your sweet little girl. Is that what you're talking about?." She finished flatly. Tony reeled back a bit, a huff falling from his chapped lips while he avoided her gaze.

"Mm-hmm."

"Thought so." She snickered. Tony began to wipe his sweaty palms along the fabric of his suit, exhaling deeply as his own thoughts began to torment him.

"You'll be fine." She assured, "Just read from the cards. . . And, Tony, It wasn't your fault, you know. That she left."

She almost grimaced at her own words. Maybe now wasn't the time to bring up his lost daughter, even though the little girl had been on his mind.

Tony decided to brush off her words, shoving his fists into the pockets of his suit.

"Hey, Tony." A small voice casually called out. Carmen Stark stood with her pink, glittery backpack slung over her shoulder, fiddling with the straps as she stared at her father

As soon as the girl arrived home with her aunt, she had realized how badly she wanted to be with her father. She needed him, and he needed her, whether he realized it or not. After a long while Carmen pleading to buy plane tickets back to Miami, California, Aunt Alice had finally caved.

"Carmen," He narrowed his eyes in shock, watching as she slipped towards him. A jolt shot through his chest, and he was stunned to silence as the shocking revelation hung in the air. She quickly leapt into his arms, latching onto his torso and catching him off guard. He stood still for a moment, not returning the embrace before awkwardly patting her on the head.

"Please, tell me you're not on the lam again." He rolled his eyes.

"No, this time she brought the warden with her." Aunt Alice chuckled. Tony stared at the both of them in shock.

"Tony, i thought you'd be better off without me. But, judging by the butt—whooping you took out there with the reporters, i guess i was wrong." Carmen chuckled, "I love you, daddy. I wanna come home."

I love you.

I love you.

I love you.

He could've heard those words three thousand times, and it would still have the same effect.

A line so simple. Three words. Eight letters. One meaning. A meaning with depth, so often used to express affection. Something that Tony hadn't felt so intensely in a long, long time. Staring at the little girl in front of him, with her loose pig tails, and her freckled face, he ticked his jaw and sucked in a sharp breath.

"I love you too, Carmen."

"She needs her father," Alice blinked away the tears that had managed to gathered in her eyes, "She needs you, tony."

The man paused staring down at the eight year old for a moment. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah." Alice jumped forward and embraced Tony, as well as Carmen, causing the man to tense a bit.

"Oh, hmm.. Okay, times up. that's enough."

"So, why aren't you out there? I didn't come all this way to see my dad give up this easily." She shook her head, motioning to the exit of the waiting room they currently stood in.

"I don't know. M'not sure i'm cut out for this, kid." He exaggerated a bit. Though, Carmen didn't seem to catch on.

"Did i just hear the iron man give up? we've worked way too hard for you to give up. My dad's not a quitter."

"uh, actually, according to Pepper i'm not iron man—"

"No." Pepper softly chuckled, a warm smile on her face as she watched the interaction between the three. Carmen giggled at her father's antics before quickly rushing to Pepper and wrapping her arms around her torso.

"Hey, sweetheart." Pepper mumbled into the crown of her head. Carmen pulled back happily, before turning back to Tony.

"Get back out there."

After a moment of hesitation, he decided to comply. Mumbling a quick goodbye before heading for the exit. Tony didn't dare to turn around, continuing on his path to the hoard of reporters that awaited his presence.

"...And now, Mr. Stark has prepared a statement, and he will not be taking any questions. Thank you." James Rhodes introduced as the billionaire approached the podium. The area was illuminated with flashes of light each second, paparazzi desperate to catch evidence of the event.

"Uh, been a while since I was in front of you. I figure I'll stick to the cards this time," He flashed the notecards while the audience chuckled at his humor.

"Theres been speculation on the events that occurred on the freeway, and the rooftop--"

"Im sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you---"

Tony ticked his jaw, a bit frustrated with the interruption while he casually offered, "I know that it's confusing. It is one thing to question the official story, but it's another thing entirely to make wild accusations or insinuate that I'm a superhero."

"I never said you were a hero," The reporter reeled back a bit. Tony bit his lip.

"Didn't? Good, because that would be outlandish and, uh... fantastic. I--I'm just not the hero type, clearly--" Tony continued to ramble, completely oblivious to the familiar figure that stood in the doorway of the press room.

Carmen felt her Aunt gently nudge her forward, giving her an encouraging smile. As carmen listened to Tony's rambling, her nervous grin had dropped into a frown, and she slowly began to shake her head whilst waving her arms in an attempt to get his attention.

"... All the mistakes I've made are, largely public--" He halted, his words caught in his throat as his dark brown eyes fell on the the little girl flashed him a wide smile. Now, he was suddenly reminded of her presence as she pointed to the index cards in his grasp, frantically mouthing, 'stick to the cards!'

Tony subtly nodded, not daring to pry his gaze from Carmens incase she disappeared again. He hummed, holding the sheets of paper up to read from.

"the truth is..." He trailed off, Carmen did nothing but give him an encouraging smile with a thumbs up, "I am iron man."

AUTHORS NOTE —
WE FINISHED ACT ONE!! YAYYYY so sorry for the late update but i hope you guys enjoy! i'm on winter break so ill try to write as much as possible!!