When Tony heard that Bree was pregnant, he asked the same bull-headed question that most men ask when they find themselves in that situation, although in Tony's case he had a better reason then most. The question he asked was 'how' and the only answer that she could give was 'I don't know'. As far as they knew, Bree's experiment with gamma radiation had incidentally sterilized her, which was why neither one of them had panicked when the condom broke but after her announcement, it was hard to see it as anything but a panic worthy situation.

Bree had struggled not to laugh when the next thing that Tony said was "I want to marry you." Looking back she had realized that she never stood a chance against Tony; he was handsome, charming and for one reason or another he loved her. But at that time she had thought that he was crazy.

She had looked sadly at him, "I'm sorry Tony but the answer is no. I don't think that having this baby is the best thing to do. My blood is radioactive, no one can touch any of it. And we don't know if big, green and ugly-"

Tony had cut her off. He wished that she would just accept the Hulk as part of her and realize that they couldn't exist without one another. "I really wish that you wouldn't call her that."

Bree had taken off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to get rid of the headache that was starting. "The Hulk ruined my life." This was an argument that she had Tony had on a semi-regular basis.

Tony shook his head. "No honey, she saved your life."

Bree looked at Tony. She knew that this was going to happen. She knew that part of Tony wanted to be a father, wanted to prove to the world that he was capable of not fucking everything up and that he could be a better father than Howard Stark ever was. And when he looked at her with those big, brown eyes, looking lost she had known that she had lost.

That had been almost 16 years ago. And now as Tony looked at his daughter he knew that she was making the right decision. He leaned back in the seat, holding onto his daughter's hand. They had fought very hard to get where they were. He was hoping that this would be the last plight in their journey and that people would learn to leave his family alone. He looked over at his daughter. Tony took a deep breath. Lisette may have her mother's patience but with her dark hair and brown eyes, not to mention her love of building things, she was definitely her father's daughter.

Lisette stopped looking out the window. "Dad? Are...are you okay?" She was biting her lip (a habit she had picked up from her mother).

Tony's pensive look disappeared almost completely the minute she had spoken. "Of course sweetheart." As the car turned the corner he gave her hand a squeeze. "Don't let anything that they say disturb you or make you feel like your less than you are. It's going to be a media frenzy out there. Just make sure that you keep your head up. Remember, your mother and I love and support you in this."

The minute they stepped out of the car, the cameras started flashing. "Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark, how does it feel to have a freak for a son?"

Tony pulled Lisette closer as he realized that she had stiffened and her breathing was coming in gasps. "Is that the best that you can do? She is my daughter and I could not be prouder."

One reporter shoved a tape recorder into Tony's face. "Mr. Stark, isn't it true your daughter started life out as your son?"

Tony looked at Lisette, leaning in to whisper in her ear. "No more hiding honey." She swallowed thickly and nodded. "Lisette started out as my son yes, but she didn't identify as a boy. After talking with the doctors and completing gender reassignment surgery, she is as real a woman as her mother. Like I said before she is my daughter and my wife and I are very proud of her."

One of the male reporter's snickered. "Your wife who turns into a monster every time she loses her temper. I guess when you compare the two, this is rather mild."

Tony clenched his fists, and Lisette knew that this was Tony's way of controlling his temper. "Keep my wife out of this. And this is not a Q and A. My daughter was simply telling the world that she is beautiful and she has the support of not just her family but the entire Avenger's team. Thank you."

As Tony turned a member of his security team got in between him and the mob of reporters who were still shouting questions, in hopes that he would answer them. Tony opened the door for his daughter and sighed as she got in. When he slid in beside her he noticed that there were tears staining her cheeks. He grabbed her hand. "Talk to me."

She shrugged. This was not how she had imagined that things would go, but being as the damage had already been done it was too late to turn back. "I knew that it would be hard, but I never thought of myself as a freak."

Tony smiled. "Honey, of course your a freak. You have your mother's DNA and my brain. If being confused about who you are is the worst that happens, I think that we'll be counting ourselves lucky."

She leaned back into her seat. She knew that that was her father's way of trying to make light of the situation. She leaned against his shoulder. At the beginning she had been unsure as how this would play out and if she was doing the right thing. Her mother had always said that everyone had a monster to deal with, maybe this was hers. She felt her eyes slipping shut as she breathed in the unique smell of whiskey and motor oil that her dad had smelled like for as long as she could remember, she was comfortable and knew that things would only get better.

The End