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STARK MANOR

MALIBU, CALIFORNIA

Tony Stark had never expected to be a father, let alone to this young girl whom he now claimed to be his own. To be frank, he had not seen her since she was a baby due to having sent her to be cared for by her maternal great grandmother. But he knew she was his daughter, after all he looked like her. He looked like her mother. She was every bit of them. Tony was still in his early twenties, growing a dark unshaven beard upon his handsome jaw. His little girl sat in front of him as he groaned over a shot of whiskey, lamenting his day. He had a tiring day in the office as he was doing some experiments again. They failed him today and it made him truly frustrated. But somehow the sight of his little daughter was a soothing thing. He always liked to come home to her looking so happy and healthy. She was just a bright little thing that he wishes to protect, no matter the cost.

"When are we going to see Granny Elizabeth again?" Asked the young dark headed girl as she looked up from her advance mathematics worksheet.

She was just seven years old and was already doing advanced level student work, even too advanced for her father when he was her age. She had loved numbers ever since she was a little girl, people told him that. And he seemed proud with her brilliance radiating like his own. He supposed she got that from her mother too. Even in her youth, the Stanhope genius adored everything to do with numbers and she would share it with him, his greatest friend and the love of her life. He shrugged the thoughts of her away from his mind, not wanting to be upset when his daughter was here with him.

"Soon." Tony replied to her as he crossed his arms, watching her frown slightly and write again. "But, you haven't even finished your worksheet yet. I think you should be focused on that right now."

"It's only because you said something was wrong with my answer and I've already corrected it too many times!" She cried out as she looked at her father with a glare.

Tony had always found that she got his gaze but not his eyes. Those eyes were Evangeline's. Blue as the wonderful clear sky.

"But of course, you don't know that." She let out one of her adorable pouts, causing her father to laugh.

"Just focus on that right now or you'll never be able to leave from there ever again."

She didn't speak and instead, looked down to her mistake again and tried to reevaluate it. Tony knew that she loved to make sure that she's never wrong and she never really is. But at rare occasions, he enjoyed knowing she made a mistake. She's still a kid, after all. And she couldn't be better than her old man just did not to be useless to her yet. She took her pencil and started to recount the things she had written down earlier. Evelyn finally saw her mistake and groaned as Tony finally smiled. She was too adorable when she was full of angst.

"There, you were right." She admitted in defeat as she handed her worksheet to her father who immediately took it and started to look at it. "I got it wrong, there was suppose to be a point."

"A point in which I point out that there was no point but then the point is in the wrong position." The young girl started to groan aloud. Tony chuckled aloud as she glanced at him bitterly.

"That's alright, kid. You never really get it the first time." He patted the top of her head and gently smiled.

Then footsteps came into the room, causing the two of them to look towards the figure simultaneously. It was Evelyn's nanny, Martha."

"Hey, Martha." Tony greeted as did Evelyn, smiling to her. "What is it?"

"I'm afraid I have to cut off your fun with Evelyn, sir." Martha tells her boss. "Mr. Grant, the equestrian teacher, just arrived for Evelyn here."

"But I still want to stay here with my dad!" Evelyn said in protest, looking at her dad then. "Dad, I don't wanna go. You leave soon for the Stark Expo and you'll be gone for a while. I won't the chance to hang out with you."

Tony felt his heart melt at her declaration and at the same time felt bad that he had to go. Of course taking care of his parent's legacy had been something of importance to him too.

"Now go and with your nanny. You have other lessons with Mister Grant. I bought you the horses cause you wanted to learn. Don't waste the opportunity, Eve. I promise I will be here when you get back!"

She didn't utter a word but immediately stood up, walking towards the tall and seasoned woman before her. But she was with an unsure look. Her father may try to keep his promises but sometimes he could not keep it at all and it broke her heart often. She was good to obey in some points but Tony knew that her feelings were different. Tony wanted to continuously distract the girl as she awaited on the school Tony had chosen for her and since he's not always around, he is trying to ensure that activities are keeping her occupied.

It was challenging to have a young daughter and be raising her on his own, especially as young as his daughter was. It has been barely seven years since Evangeline Stanhope died giving birth to Evelyn Stark. Tony had barely been seventeen when Evelyn had been born, of course so was Evangeline too was just as young as he was but they were no strangers. She and him had known each other all their lives.

Tony's parents, despite being alarmed by their young son's sudden step into fatherhood, was delighted that he managed to have Evelyn. Even Evangeline's grandmother was delighted. Elizabeth Francis-Stanhope was one of the very few of Howard Stark's truest friends and they had known each other ever since they were very young. Formerly a student of New York University before the war, she served as a scientific adviser to Howard and as a spy while a Red Cross nurse during the war, she supplied Howard with valuable information during her time tending to German soldiers in the field and helped him establish
S.H.I.E.L.D herself.

They had gone through so many things and so many moments that Tony grew up with her often around, most especially after his parents died. Tony had recalled the woman. She use to have much more dark blonde hair and looked very fair when she had been younger but the years had caught up with her as it had with his father. She was now old and grey, very lonely after losing her husband and her children doing much in their own lives. But of course she was glad to have Tony and Evelyn still, no matter how old she had gotten even if it meant losing his granddaughter.

Tony liked to think of Evangeline whenever he looked at his daughter and he always knew that he had to tell himself that she was gone. And all that remained will all that will ever be and that was their daughter. He missed every single thing about Evangeline. The bright smile that she had always had in her lips, no matter the day or hour. The beautiful voice she had whenever she would sing such tones he never knew. The way she would touch her hair whenever she felt a strand fall off and then how she would fuss about the mess of it and have to redo the styling of it again.

Evelyn looked more like her mother than she did Tony and no matter how it hurt, he was glad that Evangeline was in their bright girl. She had her blue electrifying orbs, her beautiful features that came from Evangeline excluding the hair he had given her. But those eyes, those were the kind of things that haunted him at night and sometimes thinking about it, kept him awake at some point but he thanked any god above for it. Besides the hair, Tony believes that all he gave her was her witty intelligence.

Sometimes it was hard for him to look at his daughter. She reminded him of something that was plucked from him too early. A happiness he was denied of by fate. Evangeline had sprinkled upon their daughter so much of her that it made him saddened by the idea of facing her. Shortly after his daughter was born, he couldn't stand to look at her. Elizabeth understood grief better than Tony did, it was after all her only granddaughter that died for the sake of bringing her great grandchild into the world. But she understood that Tony was heartbroken over the loss of Evelyn's mother. She raised the young girl in England for almost four years until Tony was old enough to desire to adapt to his roles as a father to this young charcoal headed child.

Three years ago, she finally moved in with him. In the first few days, she even asked him if she could call him dad. Tony knew nothing of her then but he knew that truly she was his daughter. It was a challenge for him to be a father to this child, it seemed harder than his educational progress. He spent time with her, though they usually only lasted an hour with each other as Tony was always being called away to work. The first year seemed difficult for him to adjust to, having to know his four year old first. He learnt that she loved reading books on basic physics by the age of four, learnt how to use the Morse code, understood the meaning of the atomic formula and was potty trained.

She was more advanced than he was and she adapted to knowledge better than he had. In the second year of his daughter being under his care, she was already reading newspapers, spent time trying to figure out how to crack Jarvis, can solve a mathematical equation in under a few seconds and could by then read other languages though only primarily Russian and French. He made sure that he always had time to partake in her education, knowing his father had not been around as much when he was a child. Of course, it was the very purpose he had not allowed her into public education just yet.

His parents were delighted with their grandchild, visiting her whenever they could when she lived far away in England. Three years ago was a harsh year for Tony and somehow his daughter made it all bearable. He had her everywhere he was, trying to soothe his own loneliness and he tried to smile for with her, despite his desire to stop smiling. He now couldn't imagine his life without his daughter. Seven years of having her around, it made his life better than he could think off. But he knew he can't always be around her.

He was a man grown, responsible for continuing his father's legacy. But that's not all he wanted to be remembered was going to make sure he was also gonna be remembered by his daughter as her loving and most devoted father. Of course when he started to work into making Stark Industries the best in the world shortly after he took his daughter back, he left her in the care of Edwin Jarvis who had helped raise him into the man he was.

Edwin continued to take care of him and his daughter and he was therefore forever thankful to the man for making him feel like he had a family. Edwin walked towards the young man as he wore his suit with the most unprecedented elegance, now that the two of them were alone. He had brought in some coffee for Tony, knowing he would probably drink something unhealthy at such an early hour. He wasn't the youthful man he was, but he never failed to be as sufficient as he had been in his youth. But he has yet to fail the Stark family.

"Sir," Jarvis asked his young boss who looked up to him, gazing towards the aged man's eyes. He placed the coffee into the table. " A penny for your thoughts?"

Tony sat up straight, sighing softly as he eyed his butler. "Just thinking."

"About?"

"My life." He responded placidly towards the man, looking back at his daughter's worksheet. He had rarely spoken about how he truly felt, but in a rare moment, he thought it appropriate to speak about how he felt.

"Thinking of how it all went down so far."

The aged butler raised a brow at his master's words. Tony rarely opened up about his thoughts, even as a child. He kept quiet even though he was quite the lively child, always doing the most interesting thing that would usually come to mind. He remembered this young man was the one who hacked the Pentagon as a teenager and someone who made Howard Stark feel nervous for his life's work. This man in front of him was too hard to comply with but he, he had redeeming qualities and he knew that. It was so pleasantly obvious that this young man was somehow his former boss, seemingly like father and like son. But Jarvis knew that Tony still had a chance to be better than his father.

"Are you disappointed on how things had worked out, sir?" Edwin asked his young boss who gave him a small gaze at his words. "Destiny rarely pleases anyone with their pattern."

Tony then started to think. He was rather taken by what Jarvis had asked him, was he disappointed with his life thus far? In great honesty, his life was a haven anyone would wish for. He had the world at it's heels with his great inventions and his genius like ideas. He had an enormous amount of riches people would only dream to have. He had women calling out his name when he walked by. He had men wishing to be what he is. He had a beautiful daughter who was like him, a young protege with the same golden intellect he had. He has everything. He had to be the most gifted man in life and he boasted about it with never ending passion.

But did he regret having this life? Did he find it unsatisfying and unappealing?

"I find it too explosive, my life." Tony finally answered after a few moments.

"Explosive how, sir?"

"Life always places something so different in front of me and somehow, it's always so much in my favor." He explained to the man that he had felt to be his foster father. "I'm very lucky to be in this kind of life, Jarvis. Having my life right now despite the fact that I was so much of a disappointment in my father's eyes when he was still alive, I'm still lucky at that. Even then, I was lucky. So damn lucky."

"How about lady Evelyn?" Jarvis suddenly asked his boss, "Is she a disappointment?"

Evelyn had been quite a baggage for Tony in seven years. He lost his first love because she desired to have Evelyn breathing upon the world, he had to raise her as his own despite the fact that he was a young child himself. He had to grow up for her. He had to be her father. There so many opportunities he had missed because he had to have her, so many things that should have been enjoyed by a man like him. But that was the past now.

Evelyn was his life now.

He always would get annoyed that she was trying to be better than him, he was always getting the similar sarcastic remarks he sometimes remember hurling to his father. He felt as if this is what his father had felt then, when he was swallowed by bitter disappointment in Tony.

No...

She was no disappointment to him.

She was the greatest gift he had ever received in his life.

"She's never going to be a disappointment to me, I have to admit that." He clarified to his foster father as he eyed his daughter's picture, which hung into the wall. She was about five in that photo.

She sat on a small stool in front of the old piano his father had brought from Europe three years ago when they visited France upon Elizabeth Stanhope's acceptance of an honor by the French government. She saw one of the pianos by the window stores and seemed interested in it. Evelyn pulled her father into the store and begged for him to bring it home with them. And so he did. She had played him a small song she was given by her tutor, so that she could play it for him on his birthday. Tony would always recall that moment as one of his favorites in his entire life. He smiled so much that day.

"She's...she's very much a special piece of my life, Jarvis. And I have no doubt she'll always be."

Edwin was quite touched with the words of his young master, even though he knew those words were not the words he would have said if he truly brought out his feelings. But before he could respond to his young master, Evelyn's nanny ran in Tony's office frantically with this expression on her face that read terror. Jarvis would note that day to be one of his young lord's worst days. One of the days that would change everything.

"Mr. Stark!" The woman was dreadfully panting as Tony eyed her with his curious eyes. She looked rather terrified. "Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark.."

"Just breathe!" Tony instructed as he stood up, looking at her. She was too tense and panting hard from the rushing. "Why did you come running back here? Isn't my daughter suppose to be your priority at the moment? Not jogging."

"I had to run to you, Mr. Stark, this is important." The aged nanny said as he rolled her eyes at her, "Lady Evelyn, she.."

Tony's attention became focused and he stopped with a serious look upon his features striking hard. Jarvis tried to analyse the situation, looking at the nanny.

"What happened to her?"

"She started screaming and screaming, asking two ravens to stop pecking her and she just started to become different, sir. When we got to her room to change...she's locked inside, kicking and screaming that she was someone else, she removed me from the room and-"

Tony didn't need anymore words to flow out the woman's mouth and instead ran like a madman, not caring for his legs tiredness or his breath running out of his lungs. He continued to run and finally, after passing a small statue of a small angel standing about. He got to her room and heard the sound of her voice against the door. Tony frantically pressed his hand to the doorknob but it was locked. He was sincerely worried for her. She had never been this way before and it got him worried. Tony did what he could to knock the door down but it did not seem to work, especially the fact he kept hearing the pitch of his daughter's screams grow louder by the minute.

Rushing backward, he started to think of ways. But then he looked toward the glass stained window. Tony didn't have a choice, he had to go to his daughter's rescue. Without doubt closing onto his mind, he allowed his hand to gain contact with the glass and allowing his knuckles to bleed as the window shattered into pieces. He saw her there, laying on the ground as she curled into a ball still dressed in her riding attire. Tears were all over her face as she screamed. Tony went to her side, lifting her up into his chest as she continued to cry and give into her nerves.

"Hey, hey." He cooed to her softly as he heard footsteps coming through the hall. "Honey, it's me. It's your dad. It's going to be alright."

"I..I can hear...I can feel.." She said dryly, her voice hoarse and pained. She was not like this before, she was never like this. "I can't stop hearing them. All the people..."

"What?" He asked her as he tried to comfort her by rubbing his hand onto her back, "Hear what?"

"Everything."

And in that moment, everything changed and Tony knew. Everything would never be the same again.