Writer's note: Here's my first attempt on my favorite Avenger and the ultimate super hero, Iron Man!
I love Tony Stark and I believe Robert just got out of the Marvel Universe and doesn't remember it due to black hole traveling amnesia!
I don't own Iron Man(sadly), just the characters I created in this story.
It looked like it would be a beautiful, silent night. The sky was pitch black, the stars where shining and the waves where singing just for him. It was nice, too nice and he changed it for that.
Now the sky had a million and one colours, the stars were walking among men, lights where flashing damaging the eyes and people were screaming like it was the end of the world.
To him it was another boring fundraising ball but now he understood why she called them, hell on earth.
He stopped the car in front of the building, just a few feet behind the black limo. The screams around him should have been deafening but he couldn't hear a thing. A young man opened his door but he was as good as a ghost to him.
He waited.
Another young man opened the limo's door helping a lady out of it. She was very beautiful, a slim figure on high hill, classic dress and unmistakable red hair.
Tony jumped off his car like he was stroked by a lightning and got to her side in two steps.
"Ms. Potts!" he yelled surprising her.
"Tony! What are you doing here? I thought…" she said but he interrupted her.
"Why wasn't I invited?" he asked taking her arm to escort her in.
"Tony…"
"No, why was I invited but never got my invitation?" Tony asked childish.
"First, you were no invited, the CEO of the Stark Industries was, aka me, and second I told you there was a charity event…"
"When?" he cut her off.
"This morning." Pepper answered politely. She knew how to handle a childish and irrational Tony.
"Really? I don't remember." Tony said pretending to check out the place. There was a good chance she was saying the truth and he really hated that.
"Maybe you should actually listen when I talk to you rather than nodding blankly while dirty thoughts cross your mind." Pepper said giving him a fake smile.
Tony looked at her and smirked.
She was wearing a strapless, blue dress that matched her eyes and figure.
"Well, Ms. Potts, as your boyfriend I believe I have that right, as well as escorting you to charity events. Besides, you don't really want to go in there alone, with all those men." He said.
"Oh, I'm used to it." she said but he ignored her pulling her inside the ball room.
"I thought our relationship was supposed to be secret." She said smiling for the photographers that gathered around them like crows over dead meat.
"I never agreed to that and it's not the first time we're going to a charity event together." Tony replied making her smile.
"So why are we here?" he asked her heading to the bar.
Pepper sighed and answered in defeat.
"It's a fundraising for Lost Children's Home."
"I love children." Tony said and earned a look from Pepper.
"I do! When they are not around me." He explained
The night went as those nights always went. Women were lurking around Tony with him responding enjoying the jealousy in Pepper's eyes. She looked really smoking just talking with others, pretending to be cool but giving him those I-will-kill-you looks every once and a while. What Tony didn't enjoy was men lurking around his Pepper, making her laugh and kissing her on the cheeks. He felt his ears burning and he wished he could wear his suit and kick their butts all across the globe.
Were there always so many men in those events? Didn't they have wives or something?
Pepper was grinning as his eyes were turning green and he was sure she was really enjoying it.
Before the end of the evening, the President of the institution gave a speech as it was common.
"Ladies and Gentlemen,
I want to thank you for coming here today to help our children. I've been in this institution for almost fifteen years and I honestly tell you I never get tired of it.
I get sad when I see more and more children coming to us instead of being with their families. It is a difficult task but it's worth it and there's nothing that could make us happier than seeing them happy and successful."
He said and took a big breath raising his chest.
"I am honored to present you one of our kids, a true genius as many people have said, graduating MIT at eighteen…"
"I did that when I was seventeen." Tony snored earning an elbow from Pepper.
"Tony!" she yelled at him making him sash and hear the speech.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time for the kids to speak,
Ms. Mildred Candlelight!" he said and stepped aside for a girl to come up on the stage.
She had chocolate brown hair and white skin, she was wearing worn out jeans, a white shirt with a dark blue jacket and black all stars.
"Why don't I get to wear jeans in ballrooms? Tony whined.
"Because you're Tony Stark." Pepper answered.
"One more reason for it." he said making her avert her eyes in despair.
"Thank you, Mr. M. Can I call you Mr. M in front of all these people? All kids call him Mr. M, you know." She told the crowd making it laugh.
"My name is Mildred Candlelight and fourteen years ago I had a family." She said and everyone stopped. Silence fell upon the room as the girl told her story.
"I had a dad named George, a mum named Mary and three brothers, George Jr., Robert and Chris. They told me our house caught on fire and that it was a miracle I survived. They died that night, all of them, but I'm not sad because I don't remember them. To me they never existed and all I have is a half burned picture and a few tales I have to believe are true."
Pepper turned to look at Tony. He seemed lost, not taking his eyes from the girl but with his mind being elsewhere. He was very sensitive when it came to losing parents.
"The only family I've ever know was the Institution of the Lost Children's Home." She said changing her tone, like allowing the crowd to breath.
"Thanks to your money, me and other children were able to grow up with a roof over our heads and of course love. Lots of love!" she said emphasizing the last part.
"Mr. M here loveeeeeeeees us. Oh, I will never forget running to his office, that warm office while our rooms were cold and black with humidity." She said and faced the man who stood in the corner taking a loving face putting her hand over her heart.
"You were like a father to me Mr. M, I admired you in those fancy clothes and dreamed of getting out of those second handed and ruined clothed you always gave us." She said raising whispers across the hall.
Tony's face started to change taking a well know expression to Pepper.
Mr. Lark tried to make the girl stop but it was too late.
"Loving people, caring people, second parents with mansions and expensive cars coming to visit us, the starving and friezing poor little kids! Oliver Twist was just the boy next door and the day I left to go to college was the happiest day of my life!
I would like to change the world but it seems I can't. What I can do is tell you that your money has become Mr. Lark's car, Mr. Lark's new home at the beach, Mr. Lark's holiday in the Caribbean and Mrs. Lark's expensive furs!
Do you want to help those kids? Take a damn second and think about them!
Thank you!" she said with the whispers becoming loud dialogs and yelling with Mr. Lark trying to save what ever he could.
"Pepper…" Tony said.
Pepper looked at him. He seemed angry, mad, clenching and unclenching his fists being one step away from getting up on the stage and beating Lark to the death.
"Take the institution away from that bastard and make sure those kids are taken care of." He said serious.
"Right away." She said not giving another thought. How can you even think when it comes to something like that? Taking advantage of orphans and abused children to your own profit? The very idea made her shiver.
"Will you come home with me?" she yelled at his back seeing him disappear but she already knew the answer.
…
It didn't took him long to find that girl. She was in one of the private corridors around the ball room.
"Nice speech." He said approaching her.
"Thanks, I've preparing it for the past four years." She said with her back on him finding the wall far more interesting than him.
"Well, I made sure your friends are taken good care of from now on." He said and she burst into laughing hitting the wall.
"That's a good one. Taken good care of. For how long? A month? Maybe two, about a year? Until your company finds it bad investment." She said refusing to face him.
"I'm not my company." Tony said in a serious voice. He was more serious than ever. More serious than he was for stopping the weapon production, or being Ironman. Kids are not to be mess with.
Mildred turned around and looked at him, smirking.
"Well, well, if it's not for Mr. Stark." She said sarcastically.
"The very same." He answered.
It felt awkward. He really wanted to talk to her, meet her but what was there to say? He found himself being speechless.
"How can I trust you?" she said sizing him with her eyes.
"I am Iron Man." He answered smirking.
"That's a rather destructive announcement to make judging by the latest events." She said crossing arms in front of her, smirking back.
"Yeah, well…" Tony said taken aback. He wasn't used to people treating Iron Man as a destructive force, except for Pepper of course, and Rhodey, maybe the army, ok and the court of law but that was not the point.
"As much as I want to believe you allow me to be distrusting." She said and turned to leave.
"Well, if you got to know me better maybe you could trust me." Tony said smirking not giving the impression he liked.
"I'm not that kind of girl Mr. Stark, Good night." She said being obviously mad.
"No, no, no wait! That's not what I meant, I have a girlfriend, she's really hot, I mean pretty! She's really pretty and we have a stable-ish relation ship and I'm really trying not to screw it up." He said in one breath making her stop.
She looked at him giving him a chance.
"You said you can't change the world, but you are damn trying. Let me help you." He said looking deep down her eyes.
Mildred was in the middle of a dilemma. Should she trust him? Only God knows how much she wanted to meet Tony Stark and Iron Man, but was that enough? They were dealing with people's lives here.
"I've met you before you know. You had given a speech at MIT last year. I always wanted to meet you and… I have only one question." She said and Tony nodded.
"Do I get to see the suit?" she asked grinning making him smile.
Please tell me what you think, I love reviews!
Next chapter is on its way!
Visit my site for more stories, (not fan fiction stories) and back me up! Critic is appreciated!
c l i c k - n - r e a d - d e m i - t - g r e c a . b l o g s p o t . c o m / 2 0 1 1 _ 0 9 _ 0 1 _ a r c h i v e . h t m l
(It has both Greek and English stories.)