CHAPTER 4

As Iron Man descended down the launch tube he'd left by five days later, he was surprised to see that his garage wasn't in disarray, and, what was better, nothing seemed out of place with his workstation. Maybe he ought to have trusted Andy with the stuff down here in the first place.

"Welcome home, sir," Jarvis said in his ear as Iron Man stepped onto the concealed platform that rose slightly and stood still enough to let Tony Stark emerge from the metallic shell with the help of the robotic arms that put him in the thing in the first place. "Shall I assume that this most recent job proved successful?"

"Eh, sort of," Tony answered as he stepped off the platform, rolling his shoulders back. "What's been going on around here?"

"Miss Andrea has been rather busy. She took it upon herself to enhance the security systems for the house, and even updated several of my own systems."

"Any harm done to my collection?"

"No, sir, she stayed only to her bike and the workstation computers. She has recovered enough that she has been initializing the five computers you requested in her room for the past forty-eight hours." Tony was surprised by two things: that Andy had recovered that fast, and that she hadn't gone digging in the computers for the schematics of his suit. If she ever laid her hands on that, Tony just knew that Andy would thirst to improve it in her own way.

"Well, that's good. She still upstairs?"

"Yes, sir."

"Right, I'll see how she's doing, then." Tony opened the door and jumped up the stairs before making the turn around towards Andy's room, before nearly running over Pepper. "Miss Potts!"

"Mister Stark! Um, I – we weren't expecting you until..."

"Business got done faster than I thought," Tony said quickly, noting that Pepper had her red-gold hair down, framing her fine, porcelain-like face. He cleared his throat and glanced down at the floor for the barest fraction of time before asking, "How's Andy doing?"

"A lot better than she was," Pepper answered. "She's already kind of used to the battery, and she's kept herself busy. Those five computers sent her over the moon when they arrived." Tony chuckled, imagining exactly how much fun Andy would have once she found out exactly why he'd asked for the hacking packages. Pepper continued, "I'll even go so far as to say that I'm now decidedly certain she is your sister."

"What, did you need to run a blood test or something?"

"She's already conjured up a competition. She was working almost night and day on it; both Jarvis and I had to threaten her that we'd unplug her from the battery if she didn't get some rest."

"Well, we're just going to have to see about that," Tony said before easing past Pepper and wandering into Andy's room; lair seemed to fit better as he crossed the threshold.

The first thing he noticed was the music. Instead of Dreamweaver, as he would have expected, it was a new thing, from one of those American Idol kids. Usually, he didn't pay attention to the show, but this song wasn't half bad. He then noticed that the only light in the room came from either a desk lamp in a corner or a pentagon of computer screens, broken just wide enough to allow a swivel chair to glide back and forth between nexuses. The bed had been shoved under the window, barely cracked open to allow in the afternoon light, and the master of the lair was settled between the computer nexus and the door.

"So, a guy shoots me nearly dead and you go off to do his bidding instead of kicking his ass into the next world war only after hooking me up to a battery? Real great job jumping both sides of the aisle, there," Andy snarked, cradling the battery between her legs.

"You still would've died," Tony answered, crossing his arms. "I'd think you should be more grateful."

"Grateful enough to wire me up halfway, sure. Grateful for my new hub, plus the newfound ability to explore your garage. I don't like that guy who treats you like dirt, and treats those of us who care for you like worse." Andy pushed back, gliding the chair smoothly back to what looked like an already well-worn track through the carpet and shifted direction into the nest of computers. "And as the new security majordomo –"

"Whatever made you think that? I save your life and now you take upon yourself to take over my own security system?!"

"Have you no faith in your sister?" Andy queried, not glancing up from one of the monitors while she clattered away at another one. "If I weren't here now, your system would have suffered no less than fifty separate attempts to breach your pitiful excuse of a firewall, and more than eighty percent would have broken in and downloaded any files they so wished. Lousy and lazy, two things I never thought you would be."

"Are you going to upgrade the company's firewalls, too?"

"If I do, you're footing the bill for letting me look at your pretty top secret projects for the military, brother dear." She tapped away at the keyboard before scooting off for another one. Tony would have counted it as a dismissal if it hadn't been for the tempting drawings pinned on the wall above the desk, and more sketches littering the top. Quietly, hoping that he wasn't interfering with any grand and daring hacking business that would send the national government into internal chaos, Tony walked for the desk, wondering what Andy was getting up to now.
He barely had two seconds to look at one before Andy's voice cut across the room warningly. "Don't look, don't touch, and when I'm done talking you leave. Got it?"

"Looks like you're entering my territory," he commented smoothly, stepping back and looking over at Andy. In the bluish light of the monitors, she looked older and more wasted away than ever. "Just curious."

"Go be curious someplace else, would you? Thanks." Tony knew a dismissal when he heard it, and so retreated from the dark room. He wondered if the sketches had anything to do with the competition Pepper had mentioned, and Tony fended off a sigh. Just like Andy to start up a new project when he least expected, and he had a pretty good idea as to what it was.

He was so preoccupied he nearly ran over Pepper again, but now she looked agitated. "Miss Potts, your frustration entirely ruins your complexion, you realize this?"

"If you're offended by the way I look when you have a large function to go to in less than two hours, I can just as easily quit," Pepper threatened, and Tony was rapidly and sharply cut to the quick. How could he function without Pepper keeping his schedule and entire daily life intact when he was busy with Avenger and then generic superhero-ing while he was at it? His world would fall apart without Pepper at his side, staving off the chaos. He attempted to look penitent, and Pepper, it seemed, accepted his silent apology. "But, yes, you've got another one of those annoying little society functions, eight thirty sharp."

"You know I hate time restrictions…."

"That's how it works in the real world, Tony. I recommend you get used to it quickly."

"Or?"

"Or I could quit."

"I'll get changed." He started heading for his room when Pepper called after him.

"Shouldn't you finish assuring your sister's life span first?"

Tony stopped dead in his tracks, cold flooding his veins. Andy would rightly lockdown his home at will if he didn't assure her life wasn't going to end because of a dead battery. With a sigh, he doubled back and gave Pepper a half-hearted smirk. "Pushing some unified superhero front actually didn't take up the whole time I was away, thanks, Miss Potts. Arc-reactor's about halfway done, just needs some final tightening before we get it all hooked up. Lemme get dressed first, huh?" Pepper smiled, and Tony halfway returned it.

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Tony managed to coax Andy out of her nest an hour later, graciously carrying the battery for her. Andy flicked her black hair over her shoulder as he led the way downstairs, eyeing it critically. "I wanna get a haircut."

"Why? It looks pretty that way, you've always had your hair long."

"No one else I know has long hair. Besides, it could get tied up and tangled easily if I got it caught in something." Tony dropped the battery on a table nearby the medical table, while Andy sat down, leaning back on the bed, watching Tony warily. "So, big event, eh? I get a shrunk-down version of the big reactor that went boom some months ago, extending my life to its normal state. And the stupid thing won't die sometime in the middle."

"That's the point, and my own safety net hasn't died yet," Tony answered. He was almost done getting dressed for the charity event SI was co-sponsoring, shirt hanging loose and bow tie resting around his neck, but when he reached into the drawer where he kept one last spare arc-reactor, it was with both the tenderness of a craftsman revealing his masterpiece and the same of a brother showing off his precious favorite toy. He had been almost done before Fury had come calling, but the final touches had been accomplished in the last half an hour or so. The faint, blue-white glow illuminated his hands before he sent it next to the battery, returning his attention to Andy, who stared entranced at the power source that would keep her alive for the rest of her lifetime.

"Well, a pretty little thing. Can I classify it as an accessory when I have to declare stuff going overseas?"

"You always have to make it all a joke, don't you? You want to die in about a day?"

"No, so plug me in already." Tony shook his head; Andy was hopeless when it came to being serious. To staunch anymore wisecracks, he reached over and gently yanked out the upper part of the electromagnet. Andy fell silent as her eyes widened in fright as Tony laid it aside before picking up the arc reactor, shoving it into place before Andy started going into cardiac arrest. She looked from the reactor now in her chest to Tony before looking back at the reactor. "That hurt."

"No, it didn't."

"Yes, it did. The shrapnel was digging back in, you moron." Tony was about to fire off with a retort before Jarvis swiftly interrupted.

"Mister Stark, Miss Potts has asked me to remind you that you have an event scheduled in twenty minutes and that you need to finished getting dressed." Tony bit back a swear and quickly started finishing up his shirt. Andy got out of the bed and rapped at the electromagnet experimentally, examining it. It was placed higher on her chest than Tony's was, only because if it had been placed exactly so, it would rest between nature's feminine charms and Tony wasn't thrilled to think that his sister would take on his pre-Afghanistan nature.

"All right, Andy, you'll get run of the house, because Pepper and I are going out –"

"Nuh uh, no way am I staying behind while you guys have all the fun!" Andy retorted, setting hands on her hips. "Besides, I've made up a new friend for Jarvis, who'll be our final line of defense in case folks do manage to break in."

"Two AIs in one household?"

"Mina stays confined to my room unless there isn't any person of the household actually in the house," Andy explained. "And I have to give Jarvis an override code so they can switch control easily. Another code returns Mina to my room."

"You've already named it?"

"Yes, I did, now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get changed. Oh, Jarvis?"

"Yes, Miss Andrea?"

"First, don't call me Andrea. Second...override code Sigma Jay Double-Too, confirmation Numeral Six Seven Four." Tony was about to speak, but Andy raised a finger as she dropped her arms, watching the ceiling. He watched it, too, and, a few minutes later, there was a sigh, a feminine sigh. How hard would it have been to program up a male AI instead of another woman?

"Artificial Intelligence transfer complete," a new voice said, in a British accent that oddly reminded Tony of Keira Knightley. "Security program Mina enacted. Hello, Andy. You weren't wrong about this place being a standing security hazard...."

"Hey, private chat, there, Mina, get used to holding those back," Andy chided, but smirking in a way that told Tony that she felt like she had beaten him. Again. "All right, Mina, Tony, Pepper and I are going out on the town, so when we're gone, you manage the house."

"Any particular security requests?"

"Nope, just do what you think best. Oh, and if any military guys come around, don't kill them." Andy tossed Tony a two-fingered salute before bounding up the stairs, leaving Tony alone in the garage. He didn't know if he liked the idea of having a second AI as his home security system, not to mention the odd feeling that he was being watched. As quietly as possible he cleared his throat.

"Er...Mina?"

"Yes, Mister Stark? Something the matter?" Like with Jarvis, Tony watched the computer screen, able to read everything Mina said. Instead of the white type Jarvis 'spoke' in, Mina's text was in red, not danger-warning-red, but a cooled burgundy color. That spoke volumes on how Andy had programmed Mina's psyche.

"Nothing....nothing at all, Mina." He turned around and headed back upstairs, intent on finishing getting into his tuxedo. He hoped that Andy had found a way to keep Jarvis 'awake' so he could get that tie done.

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"Tony, you know what you look like?"

"What?" Tony Stark asked, adjusting his tie while he glanced sideways at his ten-year-old sister, Andy. She was the only one of the family who actively wore blue jeans, much to their father's dismay, but her brilliance with computers had gotten her into MIT two years after him. He figured it was because the Admissions Board thought that both heirs to Howard Stark's fortune would bring them a hefty friendly contribution twenty years from now, twenty-two from Andy. Tony was graduating today, toting his master's in mechanical engineering, while Andy was wrapping up her sophomore year in computer programming. Andy rolled her eyes at him.

"You look like one of those stiff robotic gents out of a bad movie."

"I don't! Besides, no one's gonna be able to see it under the robe," Tony denied, but as he surveyed himself in the mirror, he saw that he did look like one of those stuffy businessmen who usually ended up being one of the bad guys. He didn't like that idea.

"Oh, sure, and I bet there's at least one person out of your entire class who's smart enough to wear a simple t-shirt and jeans." She flopped back on the sofa of their shared apartment, one hand scrabbling for her laptop before she propped it on her knees. Tony shook his head with a bit of a smile while he did one button on his jacket.

"Two more years for you, Andy," Tony joked. "Is the Air Force still banging down your door? Or was it the Navy looking to recruit you?"

"I don't want to go into the military, but they like my hacking ability," Andy said without looking up from her monitor. "And, better, I can tear down their firewalls without a single thought. They think the skies are a problem for national security? Heh, no, it's cyberspace they oughta worry about." Tony loosened the knot in his tie some, thinking he didn't look so stuffy that way, before turning to look at Andy.

"You think I'd look good with a beard?"

"Tony! You're good at changing a subject, you know that?"

"Just answer the question already!" Andy rolled her eyes before she turned to look at him, frowning in thought.

"To me, you'd probably look...acceptable. Any other girl's gonna be falling head-over-heels for you, and that'll be before you drive them away with your bad jokes and horrible dress sense."

"Every girl likes a man in a suit!"

"I don't."

"Hypocrite."

Someone knocked on the door, and, after both of them did a quick bout of rock-paper-scissors, Andy reluctantly rose to her feet and opened the door. "Yeah, what – Dad!"

"Good morning, Andrea," Howard Stark, their father, said with a smile as he stepped around Andy, before his gaze immediately latched onto Tony. "Ah, there's my graduate! Fifteen years old and graduating with honors! Summa cum laude, so I hear."

"Good to see you, too, Dad," Tony replied with a smile, embracing his father. Andy stood to the side, shadowed in the corner, as Howard's partner in the family business, Obadiah Stane, strode through the door. Stane was a tall man, around six-foot-two, with glittering blue-gray eyes and thick gray beard. When Tony and Andy first met Stane, they jokingly gave him the nickname 'Obi Bouldy', because the top of his head was clear bald. When he heard it from them two years ago, he'd laughed and let them call him Obi. Andy watched him suspiciously as he walked across the room to proudly survey Tony.

"Well, so young to be graduating from college already! I'm not complaining, though; you were smart enough to get out of here when you were younger, so your dad says," Stane flattered Tony, and he beamed at the praise. Behind Stane, Andy had pulled her hair back and sarcastically did a bad imitation of Stane, forcing Tony to choke back a laugh. When both Howard and Stane turned around to look at her, Andy dropped her hair and smiled angelically. Stane had an idea at what was going on and smirked, giving her a generous wink like a loving uncle, but Howard gave Andy a warning glare before turning back to Tony.

"Well, Andy's at the top of her class, too," Tony said, trying to highlight Andy's accomplishments. "And she's gotten approached by the Air Force to be a hacker, and not to mention all sorts of other tech companies. She's real good with computers."

"Really?" Stane asked, turning back to Andy and giving her a smile. "Well, why don't you show us what you've been up to, and who knows, maybe your old man can put something together for the two of you to work on!" Howard didn't look thrilled at the idea, but Andy vaulted over the couch, giving Tony a quick flash of a wink before she tapped away at her computer.

"See, with this program, I can run simultaneous lines of code, working in conjunction with a system link, to access a mainframe, install a virus....all without the firewall knowing that I've breached it," Andy explained as she brought it up. The streaming lines of numbers glinted invitingly on the screen, and Stane looked at it with interest. "Right now I'm interfaced with the Department of Defense."

"Amazing..." Stane murmured, obviously intrigued by Andy's program. "Hey, Howie, think we could borrow this tech and sell it?" Howard was not so impressed, and didn't answer. Andy's excitement at having Stane see her program vanished almost immediately, but she faked it well. Tony knew when she was suspicious, and he was concerned that she doubted 'Obi' right now.

"That's okay, Obi," Andy cut in brightly, "because Dee-oh-dee would probably suffer a terrible crash, leaving us at the mercy of whoever's got the guts to take us on. Thanks for offering, though."

"No problem, kiddo," Stane answered, giving her another indulgent smile before clapping her hard on the shoulder. Howard gave Tony another proud hug, gently ruffled Andy's hair, and the two men departed. Andy snapped her laptop shut irritably.

"Not to be mean to Dad or Obi," she grumbled, "but those jerks couldn't tell an encryption from a wireless hookup. At least Obi faked it." Tony sat down right next to Andy and hugged her tight, Andy returning it just as hard. Tony knew that Dad favored him more than Andy, but just because she didn't want to become the next controlling stockholder in Stark Industries and had a knack for getting where she wasn't supposed to be didn't mean he could entirely ignore his just-as-brilliant daughter.

"Y'know what?"

"What?"

"When I get to be in charge, I'll make you your own division. Encryption, security, whatever the hell you want. You're my genius sister, and you deserve to get recognized for what you can do."

"You'd do that? For me?"

"All for you, And-ster." Tony planted a firm, brotherly kiss on top of her head, and they didn't let each other go until someone came pounding on the door, yelling for Tony to get a move on. He squeezed Andy tight, and he slid from her grip, grabbing cap and gown before running out the door to get his diploma.

When Tony shook hands with the college dean, taking his diploma in his free hand, he looked out into the crowd, grinning proudly. In the front row stood his father, Howard Stark, looking so very pleased with his genius son. Stane stood right there next to him, beaming and theatrically wiping tears from his eyes. The one person he couldn't make out was Andy, and her presence would have made graduation all the more worthwhile.

After the caps were tossed, Tony managed to avoid running into his father and Stane, at least for awhile, by searching for his cap. After fifteen minutes of hunting, he wondered if someone had grabbed it by mistake, but he dropped onto one knee to check under one last chair. Suddenly, there was a faint pressure on his head, and a tassel decorated with the medal for summa cum laude dangled before his sight. Tony glanced up, but Andy dropped onto her knees, looking so...well, adorable. A ten-year-old was supposed to be in the fourth grade, not already a sophomore in college. Her black eyes sparkled as she beamed at him.

"I saw you looking for me," she hissed, expression near luminescent all on its own. "I could see you, all the way in the back. I'll always find you." Andy had tears in her eyes, and Tony rubbed them back with his thumb before she shot herself into his chest. He hugged her, closing his eyes. The way he figured, Dad would be in control of the company for long enough that he and Andy could possibly make their own subsidiary, far away from Los Angeles. And when Dad finally died, and when they were ready, he and Andy would become co-CEOs. It would be great, they'd be happy even without all the money that came with the Stark name.
And if he ever got lost, Andy would always find him. She had promised.

When he finally located his father and Stane, they insisted on a quick picture, Tony proudly showing off his master's degree, before having to return to California. When he got the proof, Tony left it in the envelope. After that, Andy persuaded her best friend to take a photograph of just the two of them, Tony proudly lifting Andy while she held up his diploma in one hand, the other showing her pointer and middle fingers: V for victory. That was the graduation picture he had saved, framed, and cherished.

He wasn't one for nostalgia. But he loved his sister.