Anna stood backstage of the main pavilion at the Stark Expo. With her headset in place and her tablet in hand, the now eighteen-year-old Stark directed the girls scantily clad in mock Iron Man costumes to the wings of the stage. Glancing down at the tablet, she could see the view from her father's suit. "270 at 30 knots. Holding steady at 15,000 feet. You are clear for exfiltration over the drop zone, Dad," she spoke into the headset, cueing her father's entrance." Turning to the Jake and the other men sitting at the sound and lights board, she motioned at them to start the show, "Cue the music and lights." Shoot to Thrill by ACDC begins to play in the speakers surrounding the stage and the roar of the crowd gets lighter. Seconds later, Tony lands on the stage in a crouch.
If Anna thought the thundering shouts and applause of the audience was loud before, she was proven wrong. The music continued to play; the dancers went out to do their part of the performance and fireworks shot off in the background, all while her father was being removed from the suit. It was all very ostentatious for the younger Stark, who while at times had her dramatic moments where she wanted to be the center of attention, was still more reserved than her father. The suit was finished being dismantled and the dancers were exiting the stage.
"Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony!" the crowd chanted.
Her father stood center stage, arms open to the elated audience, "It's good to be back! You missed me?"
Anna chuckled as she heard someone from the audience yell, "Blow something up!" Her tablet forgotten for the moment, she stood just off stage and watched her father through the curtains.
"I missed you too. Blow something up? I already did that," her father continued. "I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of me. I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a greater phoenix metaphor been personified in human history. I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea because I haven't come across anyone who's man enough to go toe-to-toe with me on my best day." The crowd hooted and hollered, loving every second of the speech.
"I love you, Tony!" a woman shouted from the audience.
Tony addressed the call by continuing his speech while the crowd continued to chant his name, "Please, it's not about me. It's not about you. It's not even about us. It's about legacy. It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations. And that's why for the next year and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, share their collective vision, to leave behind a brighter future. It's not about us. Therefore, what I'm saying, if I'm saying anything, is welcome back to the Stark Expo!"
The roar of the crowd was deafening. They were eating this up.
"And now, to help me usher in the brighter future. I present my daughter, and the future of Stark Industries, Anna Stark!" Anna had not been expecting her father to invite her onto the stage. Quickly gathering her wits, she hands her tablet to Jake who came to stand nearby and walked out on the stage to stand beside her father. With the introduction of Tony's own legacy, the crowd erupted again.
"Thank you, everyone, for joining us on this journey of innovation and technology," Anna spoke, addressing the audience. "To help us start off, making a special appearance from the great beyond to tell you what it's all about, please welcome my grandfather and founder of Stark Industries, Howard."
The two Starks vacated the stage as the clip of Howard Stark played. "Everything is achievable through technology. Better living, robust health, and for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace. So, from all of us here at Stark Industries, I would like to personally introduce you to the City of the Future. Technology holds infinite possibilities for mankind…" As the video played, Anna did not realize her father had wandered farther away. She turns to look for him and finds him with his back towards her, head down. Moving to stand beside him, she sees the blood toxicity test in his hands. The screen giving a reading of nineteen percent.
Anna and her father discovered the cons to the arc reactor's palladium core not too long before and Tony's blood toxicity was rapidly increasing. The notion made Anna anxious, but she also remained optimistic. Despite any toxicity being bad, nineteen percent was still relatively low. There was still plenty of time to come up with a way to fix this. Although, Anna did notice a spike in toxicity whenever her dad used the Iron Man suit.
"You have to take it easy and only use the suit whenever necessary, dad. Just two days ago it only read twelve percent," Anna commented seriously. Tony sighed and nodded at his daughter knowing she was right.
"And one day rid society of all its ills. Soon technology will affect the way you live your life every day. No more tedious work, leaving more time for leisure activities and enjoying the sweet life. The Stark Expo. Welcome," Howard's voice finished in the background.
With that, the start of the Expo wrapped up and the group consisting of Tony, Anna, Jake and Happy moved through the crowd with purpose. It was a bit of a chaotic scene. Everyone was calling out to Anna and her father trying to get a quote or comment for whatever news station they were with. Others asked for an autograph or picture. Tony ruffled the head of a young boy in an Iron Man helmet. A blonde woman even came up to Tony telling him to call her. As if he even has your number, Anna thought. The younger Stark also had her fair share of admirers, you girls and boys alike who looked up the teenage genius. She herself was even hit on by a decently attractive guy before her father, Happy and Jake, shooed off said guy. She rolled her eyes at their overprotective attitudes. Larry King even made an appearance in the hustle and bustle of their exit.
The group finally got out of the building to see Tony's new Audi and Anna's new Maserati waiting for them. Anna loved her old car but when the new model came out, she traded in the 2009 and upgraded. The only thing that was out of place was the auburn-haired woman leaning against the Audi waiting for them.
"Look what we got here, the new model," Happy said, looking at the attractive woman.
"Hey, does she come with the car?" her father asked back.
Jake decided to throw in his own comment, "I certainly hope so." I rolled my eyes again. Boys. An attractive guy cannot even look at me without them getting their panties in a twist and here they are all ogling the same girl.
"Hi," Happy and her father greeted before Tony continued, "And you are?"
"Marshal," the woman answered simply.
"Irish. I like it," her father quipped.
"Pleased to meet you, Tony," Marshal replied.
"I'm on the wheel," Tony said as he got into the driver's seat, Happy going around to the passenger's side as Anna and Jake stood off to the side. "Do you mind? Where are you from?"
"Bedford."
"What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you." She mainly kept eye contact with Tony through the conversation but at this point, her eyes shifted to Anna too, causing the young brunette's nose to scrunch in confusion.
"Yeah? You found me. What are you up to later?"
And there was the catch. "Serving subpoenas." The woman pulled out two files, holding one out to Tony. The older Stark makes a face before Anna reaches out to take it.
"Yikes," is Tony's only response.
Anna grabs the letter, "He doesn't like to be handed things."
"Yeah, I have a peeve." The Court Marshal then gives the second letter to Anna.
"I got it. Then I may as well give this to you too. You have both been served." Anna passes the one subpoena to her father, knowing he would take it from her. "You are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow at 9 am."
Tony looked at the document briefly before turning back to the Marshal, "Can I see a badge?"
"You wanna see the badge?" she asks.
"He likes the badge," Happy interjects. She pulls a badge out of her pocket and flips it open.
"You still like it?"
Tony stares at the badge for a moment as if thinking about it before spouting out a "yep" and starting the car engine. The Court Marshal backs away from the vehicle as Anna and Jake turn to the other two.
"How far are we from D.C.?" Tony asks Happy.
"D.C.? 250 miles." He guesses.
"Then I guess we'll meet you there," Anna calls over and she begins to walk to her own vehicle. The Audi takes off down the road and Jake turns to his best friend.
"I'll take the first round of driving?" he states, sounding more like a question.
Anna shrugs and tosses him the keys, moving to the passenger's side, "Sure. Why not?" and the two friends were on their way.
Anna is rudely awakened the next morning when the sheer power of the sun blinds her through her closed eyelids. Squeezing her eyes closed even more, she lobs her arm over her face and rolls over away from the torturous sunlight. "Aghh," she groans in discontent. She picks the pillow out from behind her head in an attempt to bury her face in it only for it to be ripped out of her hands and thrown at her.
At the sudden attack, her green-hazel eyes shoot open only to see the laughing face of her best friends. Narrowing her eyes at Jake, she grabs the pillow again, and hits him with full force, knocking him off the bed beside her. "Go away," she mutters, curling back into her sheets.
"Anna," Jake starts, pulling himself back onto the brunette's bed and jumping on it. "Your Senate hearing is in an hour and a half. We gotta go," he finished in a singsong voice.
"Senator Stern can eat shit, this whole thing is bull. How dare they take away my sleep time, pompous dicks," she grumbled.
Jake laughed at Anna's attitude, "Come on Anna, I thought you were a morning person."
"I am a morning person, just not when I go to bed at four in the morning, and have to wake up three hours later. Thank you very much." She shot Jake a death glare, dark hair flying all over the place. He knew was she was in an especially bad mood, considering he is the one that kept her up to four in the morning playing a Friends drinking game. Not only tired but a little hungover, the Senate hearing was the last place she wanted to be.
"You know," Anna started, getting out of her bed and stretching her muscles. "This is all your fault. I thought you were supposed to be making sure I didn't get trashed before an important event like this."
"What can I say, I guess I'm a bad influence. Now hurry up and get dressed, I'll be waiting in the lobby for you so we can fill you with as much coffee as possible before meeting up with your dad, Happy and Pepper."
"Fine!" After Jake left, Anna stripped off her soft oversized Henley that she was sure she stole from Jake at some point, her short black Soffe shorts, and her undergarments before taking a quick shower. She brushed her teeth, leaving her hair to air dry for the time being and went to change into appropriate clothes. If it had been up to Anna, she would have shown up to the hearing in jeans and a hoodie with her converse propped up on the desk. However, as she pulled on the white jumpsuit with navy stripes on with a navy suit jacket over top. Finishing up her look, by blow-drying her hair into a loose wave and applying minimal makeup, she grabbed her purse and went to meet Jake.
She saw Jake sitting in the patio area of the hotel, sipping on some coffee. Sitting across from him, he shot her a pleasant smile. "You clean up nicely."
"Thank you," she said as she noticed a coffee mug sitting in front of her already. Giving the cup a questioning look, Jake interrupted her thoughts, "One cream, two sugars, just how you like it."
"Nice to see you're sucking up after the rude awakening earlier," she retorted, casually sipping her coffee and looking over her mug at him. Shortly after she sat down at the table, a server came over to grab their orders. When the server came back, she placed a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast in front of Jake and a rather large stack of strawberry pancakes in front of Anna.
"I'm glad to see that you aren't nervous about the hearing," Jake said just as Anna shoved a huge forkful of her pancakes into her mouth. Struggling to hurry and swallow before answering, she swallowed with a painful gulp, taking a swig of coffee to wash it down.
"Why would I be nervous?"
"Um, because they're trying to take the Iron Man suit from your dad, the suit you helped him build. Also, they do know about your skates. Although they may not know how fully functioning they are nor the part that you played the night Obadiah attacked your dad, it doesn't mean they won't be coming for those next."
Finishing another bite of pancake, she shook her fork at Jake, "You wanna know why I'm not worried? Because this is the Senate we're talking about. When was the last time they were able to make a lasting, good, substantial decision on anything? And for as long as I can remember, my family has been able to wrap that Armed Forces committee around their finger. Now, we have the public on our side too. So, no, I'm not worried. I guarantee that by the end of this hearing, my dad and I will be off scotch free and Stern, the whiny ass, will be wishing he just kept his nasty thoughts to himself."
Anna and her father sat in front of the Senate Armed Forces committee for about fifteen minutes and already it was a shitshow. Not that Anna hadn't seen that coming. Tony was completely blowing off Senator Stern, who tried desperately to keep order and regain the attention and the man-child billionaire. Anna was not much help in that department. Her father's attitude had rubbed off on her lately, as the two became close and spent more time with each other. The younger Stark had already deemed the hearing a complete waste of time, knowing that there was no way she or her father would ever let the government control something as powerful and personal as the Iron Man suit.
Tony was distracted again, by Pepper this time, as Senator Stern called out to him, "Can I have your attention?"
Tony quickly spun around after one last glare from Pepper, "Absolutely."
"Do you, or do you not, possess a specialized weapon?"
"We do not," Tony answered on behalf of he and his daughter. "Well, it depends on how you define the word weapon."
"The Iron Man weapon," the Senator deadpanned.
"Our device does not fit that description."
"Well… how would you describe it?
"Let's cut to the chase Senator because this conversation seems to be going in circles. The Iron Man suit is not a weapon if anything it is… a high-tech prosthesis. My father and the suit are one. Am I not correct?" Anna stated, looking to her father for his own input.
"That is… That's actually the most apt description that I could have made for it. Well done, Prodigy." Anna smirked at the nickname he had started to refer to her as. It is not like he was the first one to come up with it, the tabloids have been referring to her as Tony's prodigy daughter for years. It was just recently that Anna finally started to embrace it instead of pretending that she would not constantly be linked to Tony.
Stern was not impressed by their answers, "It's a weapon. It's a weapon, Mr. and Miss Stark." Anna huffed. The man acted like he was an expert in the field, meanwhile two actual experts were sitting in front of him and he was getting his rocks off thinking he was better than the both of them. Anna hated politicians.
Tony seemed to be getting just as fed up with the bullshit as well, "Please, if your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen…"
Stern cut him off, "My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America."
"Well, you can forget it. I am Iron Man. As my daughter so eloquently told you before, the suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending on what state you're in" Tony finished getting a chuckle from the crowd.
"Regardless of how you want to see it, as we've stated multiple times now Senator, you can't have it," Anna retorted, before glancing back at Jake and rolling her eyes. He mouthed to her, stay calm, hoping to get her to keep the grumpy snaps to a minimum on Capitol Hill. She blamed her hangover.
"Look, I'm no expert…" Senator Stern started.
"In prostitution? Of course not. You're a senator. Come on." Even Anna had a hard time keeping her laughter quiet with that zinger from her father, although Pepper didn't agree.
"I'm no expert in weapons," Stern started, causing Anna to lean towards her father and whisper, "No shit Sherlock." Stern continued, "We have somebody here who is an expert of weapons." Eliciting another comment of "Yeah, we've been sitting in front of him this whole time," from Anna. Tony cracked a smile at his daughter's commentary that quickly fell when Senator Stern introduced Justin Hammer, the current primary weapons contractor of the U.S. government after Stark Industries stopped producing weapons.
Anna did not hold back her groan. Honestly, after her graduation, she hoped she would never have to come in contact with the man again. He was just one of those people who rubbed her the wrong way. Glancing back at her best friend, she could tell Hammer had the same effect on him as well.
Tony was quick to microphone though, "Let the record reflect that I observed Mr. Hammer entering the chamber, and I am wondering if and when any actual expert will also be in attendance."
Hammer brushed off the jab with a fake smile, "Absolutely. I'm no expert. That's why they asked me to speak at the MIT commencement. For your daughter's graduating class, too I might add."
Anna unable to bite her tongue reached for the microphone, "If you're referring to the commencement speech that my father was unable to attend due to fighting for his life in Afghanistan, I wouldn't toot your own horn too much. If you have a similar testimony prepared for today, then I suggest we call it a night. Much rather fall asleep in a comfortable bed than at this desk, seeing as that is the only thing I wish to do whenever you open your mouth." The courtroom hushed and Anna's scathing comment; Pepper gave her a scolding look, Jake and her father giving her an amused yet proud look, as Hammer stuttered to continue on with his testimony, desperately trying to ignore the glare of the younger Stark.
Looking back to Tony and addressing his comments, Hammer continued, "You're right, I'm no expert. I defer to you, Anthony. You're the wonder boy. Senator, if I may. I may well not be an expert, but you know who was the expert? Your dad and grandpa. Howard Stark. Really a father to us all, and to the military-industrial age. Let's just be clear, he was no flower child. He was a lion. We all know why we're here. In the last six months, Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet, he insists it's a shield. He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it. I wish I were comforted, Anthony, Anna, I really do. I'd love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain't Canada. You know, we live in a world of grave threats, threats that Mr. and Miss Stark will now always be able to foresee. Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America." An awkward slow clap started in the courtroom before ending just as quickly. Tony and Anna shared an eye roll at the audacity of this guy. Tony may not have had to best relationship with his dad, and Anna may not have known him at all, but that did not give Hammer the right to taunt the Starks with Howard's name.
"That is well said Mr. Hammer," Stern said. Of course, he would believe so, Anna thought, it wasn't like Hammer stated anything of actual substance in his rant. "The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber."
"Rhodey? What?" her dad questioned, sitting up straighter before rising from his seat to greet his friend, Anna following closely behind. The three exchanged handshakes, although Anna much would've preferred to give the man, who she thought of like an uncle, a hug. Although, she supposed in the current situation that would be inappropriate. "Hey, buddy, I didn't expect to see you here."
Rhodey sighed and waved him off, approaching the desk, "Look, it's me, I'm here. Deal with it. Let's move on."
"I just…" Tony tried.
"Drop it," Rhodey said finally, taking a seat.
"All right, I'll drop it." The two Starks sat on either side of the Air Force Lieutenant Colonel as Senator Stern continued the hearing.
"I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, compiled by Colonel Rhodes. And, Colonel, for the record, can you please read page 57, paragraph four?"
"You're requesting that I read specific selections from my report, Senator?" Rhodey asked. Anna saw right through the Senator, trying to get Rhodey to read the most incriminating and suspect passages from his report to make the Starks look bad.
"Yes, sir," the Senator agreed.
"It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner."
Stern seemed to get more anxious, wanting to get to the passage he had specifically picked out for Rhodey to read, "I understand. A lot of things have changed today. So if you could just read…"
Rhodey cut him off and Anna could tell, he thought Senator Stern to be just as squirrelly as she believed too, "You understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summary of my final…"
"Just read it, Colonel. I do. Thank you." Anna rolled her eyes, yet again, as Rhodey began.
"Very well. 'As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests.' I did, however, go on to summarize that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh the liabilities and that it would be in our interest…"
"That's enough Colonel," Stern said, attempting to cut him off but Rhode kept talking.
"… to fold Mr. Stark…"
"That's enough."
"… into the existing chain of command, Senator."
Tony leaned forward at that moment to add in his two cents, "I'm not much of a joiner, but I'll consider Secretary of Defense, if you ask nice." The crowd laughed at the comment as did Anna. "We can amend the hours a little bit."
"Honestly, Senator," Anna spoke up, "You really expect a single sentence from Colonel Rhodes' extensive report to be enough to convince not just the committee but the entire public that the Iron Man is not a force for good. Before your many attempts to silence and censor Colonel Rhodes, he, himself, stated that further in his report he deemed the benefits of the suit to be worth it, and here you are trying to twist words and further spin this in your favor."
"That's enough Miss Stark. I'd like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that's connected to your report, Colonel Rhodes."
Rhodey tried to advise against this, "I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images to the general public at this time."
"With all due respect, Colonel, I understand." Anna mumbled a 'Do you?' under her breath as the Senator continued speaking. "And if you could narrate those for us, we'd be grateful. Let's have the images."
Aerial view images appear on the screens displayed in the courtroom as Rhodey explained them. "Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Mr. Stark's suit. This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground…" Anna and Tony both have devices out, communicating with each other about commandeering the screens for their own images. Succeeding in finding the videos they were looking for, Anna sends them to her father as Rhodey wraps up, "indicating that these suits are quite possibly, at this moment, operational."
"Hold on a second buddy. Let me see something here," Tony interrupts Rhodey before connecting his device to the monitors. "Boy, I'm good. I commandeered your screens. I need them. Time for a little transparency. Now, let's see what's really going on." The courtroom chatter grew louder and even Senator Stern was panicking at how to handle this situation. "If you will direct your attention to said screen, I believe that's North Korea." A video of mock suit falls over and the guns start shooting on their own; years, possibly a decade, away from working the way Tony's does.
To the side, Justin Hammer tries frantically to disconnect the screens at Senator Stern's orders.
"Iran," Tony continued. The suit flew… for a moment, before crashing back to the ground in a ball of smoke and fire. "No grave threat there." The image changed again. "Is that Justin Hammer? How did Hammer get in the game?" The video shows Justin Hammer coaching his man on how to use the suit only for it to go very wrong as the suit twist too much, very likely causing damage to the soldier inside. "Justin, you're on TV. Focus up."
Anna turned to Jake, shaking her head at the supposed expert, "Just Justin Hammer putting more people to sleep, possibly permanently."
Jake scoffed in agreement, wondering how Justin managed to get this far in life without a lawsuit that would shut him down if this were how he conducted business.
"Wow. Yeah, I'd say most countries, five, ten years away. Hammer Industries… well, what do you think Prodigy? Tony asked his daughter.
"Twenty?" she replied lazily with a shrug.
"Yeah, twenty sounds about right."
Justin, who had finally got the TV screens unplugged, jumped forward and interjected, "I'd like to point out that that test pilot survived."
"Thank god," Anna and Jake said in harmony.
Stern finally realizing how far south this hearing had gone, tried to pick up the pieces, "I think we're done is the point that he's making. I don't think there's any reason…"
Tony looked Senator Stern right in the eyes, "The point is, you're welcome, I guess."
"For what?" the Senator tried to argue.
"Because I'm your nuclear deterrent. It's working. We're safe. America is secure. You want our property? You can't have it. But, I did you a big favor." Standing up to face the crowd, pulling Anna up with him, he exclaimed to the crowd, "I've successfully privatized world peace." Shooting the crowd peace signs as he made his way through, Anna trailing behind with her own peace sign. The crowd was up and talking all at once, clapping for the Starks. Happy and Jake to joined Tony and Anna helping make a path for them get out of the room, Pepper and Rhodey remaining behind.
Before leaving the courtroom, Tony turned back to the Senate committee, "What more do you want? For now! We tried to play ball with these ass-clowns."
"Fuck you, Mr. Stark. Fuck you, buddy. We're adjourned. We're adjourned for today," Stern called out.
"Real classy Senator!" Anna called out behind her.
The Starks put on their sunglasses as they left the building, Tony continuing to speak, "My bond is with the people. And I will serve this great nation at the pleasure of myself. If there's one thing I've proven, it's that you can count on me to pleasure myself." Anna's face scrunched in disgust as she heard Jake choke on a laugh behind her. She threw an elbow back at him, but he stopped it before she could hit him.
"Gross," Anna remarked.
"Oh, come on. It was funny," Jake said, not hiding a smile.
Meanwhile, Pepper and Rhodey shared a look still in the courtroom. Lately, Tony seemed to be taking things less and less seriously. And now, with his newly patched-up relationship with Anna, she seemed to be following her father's lead. With the way things were going, they were soon going to have two egocentric Starks to deal with, and neither seemed ready nor willing to do that.
Hey everyone! Sorry, it's been so long. And sorry for the shorter chapter. I had a lot of family troubles over the past few months. My cat died back in January and my grandma, who I was very close to, passed away relatively suddenly in March, so I've been struggling to find inspiration. Anyway, I have decided that this book will span through Iron Man 2 and up until the start of the Avengers, then I will start a new book. I plan on having some other Avengers-related stories coming out so they will have their own separate books, and then the characters from each will come together in the Avengers book.
Speaking of Avengers, I saw Infinity War and it was awesome yet simultaneous ripped my heart out, although I remain optimistic about how things will turn out. If anyone wants to talk about it, feel free to PM me. Please don't comment on it to keep people from getting it spoiled.
Anyway, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out. I have some pressing schoolwork for my Master's that I need to finish but hopefully, it'll be up soon. I am honestly surprised I got this one out when I did because I just got my wisdom teeth pulled and I honestly just want to sleep all day.
But, THANK YOU to everyone who reviews, follows, and favorites my stories! You keep me going!
