A/N: If you recognize something, it's not mine. Marvel owns the Avengers, I just play in their pool.
I am Iron Maiden.
The words ring out in the silent hall, and the looks on the faces of the reporters ranges from surprise to shock to awe. This wasn't the reaction I was expecting. When Matt and I had reveled to SHEILD that we were Iron Maiden and Iron Patriot, and that Maggie, Cam, Josie, Becca, and Bucky were Argent, Hotshot, Nighthawk, and Titanium, respectively, Coulson and Hill would not stop lecturing us about the dangers and responsibilities of being the Ironsides. This was after they got over Operation Shock and Awe, the plan devised by my brilliant brother Matthew Edward Stark and myself, Isabella Anthony Stark, to tell the world that the children of the one and only Anthony "Tony" Edward Stark were picking up where their father left off.
I am Iron Patriot.
Argent.
Hotshot.
Nighthawk.
Violeta.
Titanium.
We are Project Ironsides.
We are picking up where Iron Man, Tony Stark, left off.
We are the next generation of Avengers.
We are the future.
Only when Matt asks for questions do the reporters react.
"Mr. Stark! When did you and Miss Stark find out that your father was IronMan?"
"Miss Stark! When did you find out that Mr. Stark was your brother?"
"Miss Rhodes! Will Nighthawk replace War Machine?"
"Miss Carter! What is it like to compete with your cousin?"
"Mr. Stane! What will you do about your father and grandfather's reputations?"
"Miss Barnes! How does this change your relationship with your friends and family?"
"Mr. Barnes! How will Project Ironsides effect your service in the army?"
After almost two hours Rhodey cuts everyone off, citing the fact that we it's been two hours and we have other things to do, especially me. My poor son Luke has been sitting behind us for the past two hours, bored out of his mind.
When all the reporters file out of the room, Rhodey and Happy get us loaded into the cars to take us back to Stark Tower. We're all silent on the way home, exhausted from the bombardment of questions. We all go our separate ways: Matt and Bucky to the kitchen, Maggie and Cam to the living room, Josie to the den, and myself and Luke to the suite that I share with my partner, Steve Rogers, Captain America.
Luke is fast asleep by the time I get him into his Spiderman jammies and lay him down on his bed. I go to find Steve, who is in the den-office working on a report for Coulson. He looks up when I enter, and stands to greet me. He wraps his arm around me, and I know that whatever happens in the wake of our announcement at the press conference, his warm, tender, loving embrace will always be there for me. He is my safe haven.