Okay Guy's...I know this is a story a LOT of you have been waiting for...and I am surprised myself that I am writing it, because I truly thought I was done writing things for Tony and April. At some point it just sounded to forced to be able to pursue further. But after watching a TON of Tony Stark vines...I found myself missing the excitement of a new chapter and reading your reviews and thoughts. So...here it is! The next installment in Tony and April's life...and what happens to them as the Avenger's Initiative begins to take shape! Be kind on this first chapter...this is literally a chapter that took me months to create. The next chapters should be much easier ;). So please Read and Review!


April

Chapter One

I had sweat pouring off of me as I smacked a reinforced dummy over and over again with my, wrapped, fists. I was really going at it tonight...of course, it helped that I was kind of imagining that my dad's face was attached to the blank expression worn by this foamy doll. He just had me so angry at the moment that I could barely think! He was doing it again…the over-protective bullshit that just drove me utterly insane! And now he had taken it a step too far. I had recently discovered that my dad had placed a tracker on me…oh, but not just anywhere…it was actually IN my skin! Apparently he had spiked my body-wash with these little…micro-robotic…fuckers! Now, no matter where I was, HE was able to track and find me!

It wasn't easy finding out either. Dad had locked up that file on me like the "imaginary" gold in Fort Knox. But I thought it was weird that when I clicked on my file he had a list of locations I had been in the last six months! He knew where I had been, where I hadn't been, and that was how I kept getting grounded for going out past curfew! I should have known that my father would never be THAT observant. Well today, I remedied it. I took a sample of his micro-robotics and washed a dog with my old shower gel. Then it was just a matter of making Jarvis focus on the mutt that was running around Malibu, rather than myself.

That came in handy right about now…especially since I was at a facility with the Agent Coulson of SHIELD. I had decided that even though I had objected to their offer to join SHIELD in the beginning, I knew that it was the only way I would come into my own as a superhero and my dad's protector. Even though he had promised he would give me some room to protect him, he wasn't doing piss to keep that promise. I had been stupid to think he would…and had decided to talk to Fury about joining his cause. What was his cause? It seemed to be the same as dad's…except dad couldn't stand to follow the rules that came with it.

Panting lightly, I swung my leg around and slammed my foot into the dummy's head. It rebounded and I brought my leg down and stretched. I supposed that would be enough for right now. I really needed to get showered and head home before dad started to notice that I was missing. At some point, I knew that he would realize that he was watching a dog rather than watching his daughter gallivant around Malibu.

I used my suit to get back home and took notice to a similar flying glimmer catching up to me. I smirked as it got closer and closer and with a light kick I zoomed ahead of it.

"Um excuse miss, but this is a private air field…I'm going to have to ask you to land." My dad teased, his voice coming to me through my headset.

"I thought you were taking a swim or something…" I said, now flying beside him.

"Um, I think you meant to say "changing the world for the better by introducing the first tower run solely by clean energy?"

I chuckled and said, "Sure."

"Then yes…I was doing that. I was just telling Pepper how it felt like Christmas but with more me…"

"Yepp…a monument to your giant ego." I snorted touching down on our private landing pad.

I held my arms out as Jarvis removed my suit and started heading towards the warm glow from the apartment. These workout sessions were killing me and all I could think about was how much I wanted to just fall over and land in the warm cushions of my bed. I was beyond ready to call it a night…and I would have, but then I heard Jarvis announce that Agent Coulson was at the door.

My feet stuck fast to the floor and I swallowed hard...how the Hell did he get here so fast when we had JUST been saying goodnight to each other no less than twenty minutes ago? Why was he even here? I really hoped that whatever he needed to talk about wasn't MY involvement in SHIELD. I could only imagine Tony Stark's reaction to his little princess working with one of his rivals…ugh…please let him just be coming by to talk about his new Cellist girlfriend with Pepper.

"Jarvis…I'm not here, okay…" I heard dad whine. "Pepper! Make him leave!"

"I'm sorry sir, but it would seem I am being overridden."

I swallowed as the elevator beeped a couple times and walked over to my dad, hoping that I could convince him that we bail and let Coulson spend an eventful evening with Pepper. However, before I could even make a grab for his arm, the elevator doors slid open and Agent Phil Coulson stepped out. I liked Coulson…he was a good man and a great agent…but I just really wished he would turn on his heel and walk back out the door he came through because I was not prepared to have this fight with my father tonight.

"Mr. Stark…" he said formally. "April…"

"Hi Phil," Pepper said gently. "Would you like a drink, we are celebrating!"

"Oh, I'm fine thank you…" he said with a gentle smile. "I actually have something really important I need to talk to Tony and April about."

"Is this about the Avengers thing?" she asked. "Oh…which I know nothing about…"

"It is actually-

-Okay first," my dad interrupted. "Why is he Phil…and second of all, Fury already talked to me about this Avengers Initiative and it was scrapped…and if I remember correctly, I didn't even qualify."

"Oh really?" Pepper asked with a slight smirk. "You? I couldn't imagine why…"

"Yeah, apparently I'm volatile…don't work well with others…he LOVED April though."

Coulson took a step towards me and gently placed a hand on my shoulder. He smiled at me and then looked up at Tony.

"April has proven to be a great asset to SHIELD Tony…but this is beyond personality profiles now."

I laughed, in the hopes that dad missed that and snatched the black information tablet from Coulson's hand. Normally I would take that as the highest compliment...but right now I was more or less fearful for my overall livelihood...which wasn't looking very good at the present moment.

"Isn't that great though dad…I mean…now you get to work-

-What does he mean you have PROVEN to be a great asset to SHIELD? April isn't working with SHIELD."

Oh my God he was going to kill me. This was it…my dad was going to literally toss me out the window. I could almost sense his rage through my clothes as I watched him and Coulson talk back and forth and then Pepper swoop right in to guide the agent out in the elevator...to safety…leaving me with a very angry Tony Stark and a lot of god-damn homework to work through.

At first he said nothing but just looked at me…his lips were in a thin white line and his fists were clenched so tight that I wouldn't have been surprised if he broken his own wrists in the effort he was clearly expending to keep from strangling me.

"Daddy-

-Don't…don't you DARE daddy me…what the FUCK are you doing, April!?" he yelled. "Do you know how DANGEROUS these people are?!"

"Yes…of course I do, I'm not an idiot!" I yelled back. "But you won't let me grow as a hero or let me further my suit upgrades! Fury has offered me access to all the tech SHIELD has to offer as well as a personal trainer and weapons training…I've learned so much through them!"

"And what about your schooling, April?! Because you cannot tell me that you have been doing both!"

I felt my eyebrows furrow and I could feel the blood beneath my fair skin boil. He just didn't get it! I wanted this to be my future…I wanted to be Iron Woman forever… and help people!

"I don't NEED to go to school for this…I'm learning through SHIELD…dad, their resources are phenomenal! I've taken courses in languages…combat…and Fury says I'm top in my class-"

He slammed his fists against the glass table in front of us and I jumped as it cracked under his hand. Okay…so he was clearly VERY angry at me right now…but I just wanted him to see that I was fine. It wasn't like I was flipping burgers or wasting away in a career that would just fade into existence over time…I WAS being productive with my time.

"He doesn't give a shit about you, April…you are a pawn for him…and you are disposable to him! You get hurt in the field…captured…I wouldn't wait for SHIELD to come to the rescue!"

"You are wrong…they wouldn't leave an agent-

-Yes they would, April!" he snapped. "God damn it you are so naïve! They took you because I refused!"

"No they took ME because you are fucking selfish!" I roared. "They took ME because that meant getting Stark knowhow without having to worry about the impending explosion!"

My chest heaved up and down and I found myself regretting every last word I spoke. I shouldn't have said that…I really shouldn't have. I knew that dad felt that he did his best to help people…and I wasn't one to question his self-sacrificing nature; even though I felt he could stand to do more without branding his name onto every action. It took a couple minutes for me to think of what to say and in that while we just stared at one another…

"Dad…I didn't mean-

-Don't." he said holding up his hand to silence me. "Give me the brief."

I offered it to him and he snatched it out of my hand, pulling it up onto a screen for us to both examine. We read through the information in silence and dad went to bed way before I did as he was able to read through it and understand it faster than I was able to…but I honestly didn't feel like sleeping much after our fight. I did find myself re-visiting Captain America's file more and more…watching videos of him fight and reading about his history. The man out of time…wow…how lonely it must be for him to be living in the now, while all of his friends and family are now either dead or too old to even bother reaching out to. It gave me a newfound appreciation for being able to just walk into my dad's bedroom and see him sleeping there. To think that one day this man was frozen and had left his parents behind never to see them again.

I glanced at my watch and saw that it was steadily ticking towards three am. With a soft yawn I stood up and made my way to my bedroom…I stopped at my dad's room to steal a peak and make sure he was okay. He was sleeping soundly…and I leaned against the door frame with a soft sigh. I wished I could tell him that the reason I was doing this was for him. Honestly…I didn't care about the people out there as much as I cared for the man that was laying on the bed in this room. The misconception that Tony Stark cared more for himself than anyone else was only that...a complete misconception. He didn't care about himself nearly as much as people thought he did. My dad had some of the most self-destructive tendencies on the planet…being with SHIELD was my way of protecting him above all else. His safety was my mission…period. And if that meant he didn't like me for a while…then I guess I would just have to deal with that…but I would rather my dad be mad at me and safe…then happy I was away at college and then dead.

"Love you daddy…" I said softly before disappearing into my own room for the night.


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