Author's note: This is it. I made the chapter extra long since this is the end of part 1. As my cousin would say, "This shit about to get real"
Full note at end of chapter! I recommend you read it!
P.S. just a reminder that Tony was single for a while before Civil War
P.P.S In this story Steve never sent the letter to Tony, so they never made up.
0o0o0o0o
When I walked outside into the frigid air, I realized I forgot my backpack.
I must've left it in the truck when I first arrived at New York, so by now it's either in a police station or at the bottom of the Hudson river. I was hoping for the latter.
I shivered, holding my arms around me. Thank god I had my sweater; it may not have been as cold as up home, but it was definitely still chilly enough to get hypothermia.
I just wandered around for a while, waiting for the sun to rise so I could ask someone how to get to Stark Tower that wasn't a drug addict sitting on the sidewalk.
I spent the remainder of the night (about an hour and a half until sunrise) avoiding people and crossing streets to avoid said people. I may not be as weak as I look, but I still was a very short person in the biggest city in the world.
When the first rays of daylight were visible in the night sky, the business people of the city were up and about, ready to start their day.
I was planning to ask someone for directions to the tower, but my stomach suggested otherwise (Jesus, how was it possible for a body part to sound like a whale?)
Unfortunately, all my money was in my backpack… wait! I remembered I put change in my jeans pocket from the croissant I had on the ferry.
Since I paid with a $20, and the overpriced croissant was $5, I still had fifteen left over. Enough for breakfast and a little left over.
Looking for a restaurant in New York was easier than finding a fisherman in Yarmouth (and that's saying something). I picked a quaint café that doubled as a convenience store on the corner of a huge street.
The bell dinged as I went in. The cashier was an older man with glasses. He gave me a small smile as I walked up to the counter. I went on my tip toes, so I could see the menu
"Coming in before school for breakfast, I see." He chuckled, wiping down the counter. "What can I get for you?"
"Can I please have a—wait, school? It's Sunday." This weekend might've felt like the longest two days of my life, but when Daredevil (I still can't wrap my head around that) found me, it was Saturday night.
"Poor kids, exams thee days are so much harder than when I went." He grabbed a newspaper from the rack and held it up for me to see. Sure enough, it said the date was Monday.
Shit. I wasn't out for a few hours. I was out for over a day.
I took a deep breath. Breakfast would have to wait.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have time to eat now, but can you tell me how to get to Stark Tower?" I said quickly. Finding out you missed a day of your life really makes you want to hurry up.
"Stark Tower? Haven't heard much about that place in a while." He bent behind the counter and brought out a map of Manhattan. He pointed to a red x; the location of his shop. "We're here, and if I'm not mistaken…" he trailed off and circled anther area on the map. "… Stark Tower is here, right across central park."
"How far would it take to walk?" I questioned.
"Walk? I'd say well over two hours. It would be easier taking the subway—"
I didn't hear him finish since I was already out the door. "Thank you!" I called out behind me.
0o0o0o0o
I had never really been in a park before, unless if a baseball diamond counted.
In Yarmouth, if you wanted nature you could literally just walk five minutes to the county line to reach the forest, or go east towards the marshes, or even walk 30 seconds to Water Street, which is directly beside the Bay of Fundy. There was no tall skyscrapers or pollution.
New York was the exact opposite.
I know what central park is. I know it's a huge plot of green in a city of grey, but not even pictures could prepare me for this.
It's freaking huge.
I will admit by the time I reached the halfway point I should've almost been (if not) across but cut me some slack; first time in the Big Apple, and even if I was running for my freedom, I didn't know when the next time would be I would be here.
Call it a sixth sense, if you will. At that moment, I knew something was off. I looked around widely, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary; no guys in black trench coats, no sinister people watching my every move…
Wait. Those two-people handing out flyers in the middle of the path. The man and the woman.
I felt like I knew them. Not necessarily evil, but I couldn't take any chances. I pulled my hood over my head and walked by the blonde-haired woman who was currently talking to a young teenager. I walked so close by her that I almost brushed her side, trying to hear what she what she was saying.
"… Yes please. If you think even in the slightest that it's her, please give us a call. We just want Carter back."
Shit shit shit. I instantly sprinted, trying to put as much distance between me and those people.
When I reached a small pond, I sat at a bench, trying to catch my breath. I overreacted, but this entire weekend has been terrible. Hell, I don't even know if my mom's alive…
"Stop." I said aloud. "Wondering's not going to help, so don't do it." Still, I felt tears pooling in my eyes. Swearing, I wiped my eyes and stood up trying to focus on something else, like why those people were looking for me. Thankfully, I got a distraction almost immediately.
The couple must've been hanging flyers around here too; there was one taped to a nearby lamppost. I went over to read it.
There was that same picture of me that was on my passport, which was very unsettling, since I still didn't know when the hell that was taken). At the top it had missing in big red letters. Under the picture it had some information:
Age:15
Height: 4 11"
Hair Colour: brown
Eye colour: blue
If spotted, please contact Nadia Ramone at 555-259-4369
I tugged my hood down further over my eyebrows. Why were these random strangers looking for me? If they were part of the government, they would have just put this on the news station instead of handing out flyers.
I also couldn't hake the feeling that I should know them, even though I didn't see much of the man, the woman (Nadia, I think her name was?) was definitely familiar. Where did I know them from?
Since it was a distraction, I racked my brain for any memory of the woman but couldn't find any.
Before I knew it, I was at the other end of central park, and I could see Stark tower rise over the skyline.
For the first time in what felt like forever, I smiled.
0o0o0o0o
For school last year, we had to do a "free choice" 5000-word essay for English class. You could write about any topic you wanted to, from cats to poverty to sports.
My friend Brooke chose Tony Stark.
She wrote about how a man who was once heartless and only cared about money turned into someone who fought for others, but later became a sad drunkard who was only able to run a company because of his girlfriend.
It ended up being over 7000 words, which basically told the story of his life, from the moment he became Iron Man to where he was today, living like a hermit in Stark Tower, only occasionally speaking to the press.
I loved helping her do the research; it was amazing, what one man could accomplish if he put his mind to it; a playboy turned hero.
When I reached the high-tech building, I realized I didn't have a plan to meet with him. He never talked to anyone; the closest you could get would be to pepper Potts, who has been the CEO of Stark Indrusties even before his downwards spiral.
I sighed and plopped down at the curb, trying to come up with a plan.
Think Carter. If I was Tony Stark, why would I meet with a 15-year-old girl who says she's the daughter of an avenger, but all the proof she has is a necklace…
Wait. An idea popped into my head.
Cruel? Probably. Unlikely it would work? You bet, but it was the only plan I had.
This won't work, I thought as I walked into the Stark Industries base.
0o0o0o0o
When I walked into the lobby, I was shocked.
The ceilings were at least 10 metres tall, and everything was steel, except the carpet on the floor, which was white.
It took me a few seconds to spot the visitor desk, which was at quite far away from my current position; across the huge lobby.
I walked across the lobby, getting dirty looks. Everyone was dressed in their best clothes, which probably made me look suspicious in my battered jeans and sweater. I couldn't worry about that now, though.
I walked up to the desk, which was short enough to me to see the woman behind it, who was typing furiously at her desktop. I waited for about 3 minutes before she finally acknowledged I was there.
"How may I help you?" She wrinkled her nose and frowned. (well I'm sorry if I smell like shit. Sort lost my deodorant when I got stabbed.)
"Hi. I need to talk to Pepper Potts." Better not to ask for Stark directly if I don't want to get thrown out on the curb.
"Get lost, kid. I don't have time for this."
Here it goes.
"Sorry, but I think it's urgent. You see, I've lived with my mother all my life, and she past away from cancer last month. She never told me who my father was, until she passed away. She said Tony Stark. It was right after he broke up with Miss Potts, and just a one-night stand. You know, right before half the avengers got put in jail?"
She must've been trying to figure out if I was lying or not, because she didn't answer for a few moments. "Look, kid, I can't bother Miss Potts with something like this. It's not like you would get money or anything anyways."
"Please, Madame." I started crying (which wasn't too hard, considering the amount if stress I've been under for the last two days). "It took me forever to get away from the orphanage. She was my last family member. I can't afford a DNA test, and I don't want to go to a family that I don't know."
I didn't think it worked. The woman just looked annoyed, and I was positive she was going to call security on me.
However, she just sighed and pressed a button on her desk; a pager.
"Yes?" A feminine voice asked through the device.
"Sorry to bother you Miss Potts, but you have a visitor."
"Who is it?"
"You might want to see for yourself. I can send her up."
"I swear to God if it's another one of Tony's old hookups wanting money just kick her to the curb."
The teller winced. "Not exactly."
Miss Potts must've realized what that meant, because she took quite a bit to answer.
"Send her up. I don't have any meetings today anyways. Might as well have a little bit of humour today."
On that hopeful note, the teller called for a security guard to escort me to one of the several elevators along the right wall.
He ushered me inside the elevator, which was bigger than my entire living room. He swiped his key card and pressed the button leading to the very top floor. I fidgeted with my necklace; I was beyond thankful that I put it on and hadn't taken it off.
"How old are you?" He asked as we rose.
"18." I lied. "My mother and Tony were together just before the Sokovian Accords." I knew for a fact that he and Pepper broke up for a short window.
He nodded. We were silent for rest of the ride up.
When the elevators doors opened, there was an older woman with fiery orange hair in front of the elevator.
Pepper Potts.
"Leave us." The security guard nodded, and I walked out of the elevator, trying to figure out where I go from here. The elevator doors shut, and I was left alone with one of the most famous (and feared) business person in the entire world.
She walked up to me until she was less than a meter away. She looked down at me, arms crossed.
"It's been years since the last girl came by, trying to get money. And you know what happens? Within an hour she's back on the curb. So, you want to save me some time and leave now?"
"I'm not his daughter." I said quickly. "But I didn't have any other idea to get up here. I need to meet Tony Stark."
"An interview? Really?"
"No. I need his help to find my parents."
She gave me a confused look. "Excuse me?"
"Before my mother got captured, she told me I had to find Tony Stark, and show him this necklace." I unclasped it and held it up. "I don't know what to do. This is my last chance. If you make me leave, I won't have anywhere to go." My voice cracked on the word go. She looked so unimpressed, so annoyed that I was there. "I can't go to the police, because there's a good chance they'll lock me up, and I don't any family besides my mother. You knew my parents, and I need you to help me find them." The tears were flowing down my face now. "Please, Miss Potts. Help me."
Her eyes went from slightly angry to pity. She came closer, bent over, and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Let's go talk, okay?"
And that's how I ended up having a morning tea with Pepper Potts on the first of October.
0o0o0o0o
"—and then I told the secretary that I was Tony's kid, and I can't believe it worked, but now I'm here." I took a deep breath. I had been explaining the events of the last few days for over half an hour, with miss Potts listening intently, only occasionally taking sip from her mug.
After I finished speaking, she looked at me, worry in her eyes. "You poor girl. What did you say your name was again?"
"My name is Carter." I answered.
She reached across the counter that we were sitting at and grabbed my hand. "Well Carter, why don't you go down the hall and get washed up while I find some new clothes for you to wear, okay?" She smiled at me.
"Okay." I followed her down a long hallway and she opened a door to the left. Inside was a lavished bathroom bigger than my bedroom.
"The door beside the sink leads to a spare bedroom. By the time you get back there'll be clothes there, okay sweetie?" I nodded, and she left, closing the door behind her.
When she left I blinked. Was I dreaming? I pinched myself. I guess not.
Maybe all my bad luck is gone. I thought to myself as I turned on the shower. Maybe everything will be okay.
Yeah right.
0o0o0o0o
When Pepper shut the door to the bathroom, she groaned and put her head in her hands.
"What were you thinking?" She chastised herself. "Why didn't you kick her out as soon as she showed up?"
The problem was, Pepper didn't know. Maybe it was the eyes; she recognized them. She didn't know who, but if the girl was telling the truth, then she knew who it was.
Steve Rogers.
Could he still be alive? She wondered. Could he have really settled down and had a child? She knew he supposedly died in a plane crash, but Tony didn't believe that.
He wouldn't survive a plane crash 75 year ago, only to be killed in one. He's staying hidden, as he should. She remembered Tony saying when the news got let out.
"Shit." Muttered Pepper as she walked towards the staircase. "What will Tony say?"
He'd been a wreck for the last 18 years, ever since the avengers broke up, ever since he even helped a few be in jail.
Wanda was his biggest regret. She was only a child, sent to live the rest of her days in a straitjacket, never to be let free. Those first few days after the battle were the hardest. He didn't sleep at all.
When they escaped he got a little better, even went down to his workshop. Unfortunatly, it didn't stay that way for long. Steve "died', Sam got recaptured, and Clint was still inprisoned.
God knows where Vision went (Tony speculates to look for Wanda but isn't certain). Now the only ones he talks to are Rhodey, Happy and I. He'll go out once in a while, so the press doesn't go mad, but other than that he stays in his workshop, trying to find where everyone went, and if their safe, looking at articles, YouTube videos, and even tweets of alleged sightings (so far they've all been false).
Most of his workshop is covered in dust, not being touched in over a decade.
And that's where I'm heading now. I walked down the stairs, my heels clicking with every step I took.
When I reached the bottom, I spotted him in his chair, fingers flying over the keys of his computer.
"Tony?" His chair spun around to face me. "We need to talk."
"Oh, is this this about the girl upstairs that claims to be a child of the Avengers?" He crossed his arms over his chest, looking annoyed.
I winced. "How much did F.R.I.D.A.Y tell you?"
"She alerted me a soon as she entered the penthouse. I watched the entire thing. What kind of guardian sends her child to find an ex-avenger. Who's mother still probably wants to kill me in several different ways."
Pepper was taken aback. "Wait, you know who she's the daughter of?"
"Obviously. As soon as she said her name I looked her up." He raised his hands and a hologram of a newspaper appeared between us. "Murdered her mother. What a bunch of shit. I bet Secretary Ross himself had a hand in this."
Pepper skimmed the article, tears forming in her eyes. "Do you think she really killed her mother?"
"I'm sorry, did you not just hear what I said? The government definitely made that up. She ran away from, Yarmouth, was it?" He glanced at the article. "Yes, Yarmouth. She ran away and knowing that she stayed under the radar for 15 years, they know they have no hope without the general public, so they tell everyone to be on the lookout for a small 15-year-old girl who is dangerous."
Pepper gasped and put her hand over her mouth. "She told me she doesn't know if her mother is dead or not. The poor thing."
"Miss Potts, you were supposed to be getting the girl clothes." F.R.I.D.A.Y. reminded Pepper.
"When I go do that, you make yourself look presentable." Ordered Pepper, turning and wiping the tears from her eyes. "Meet us in the living room in 15 minutes."
"Why should I do this? Last time I saw her father he almost killed me, and not by accident either." Tony grumbled.
Pepper whipped her head back to face Tony. "Wait. Her parents are…" She was too shocked to finish her sentence.
He looked at her, the only emotion on his face pure and utter regret.
"Non-other than that assistant you used to have and my best friend."
0o0o0o0o
I stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed. So this is what being rich feels like, taking a shower for as long as you want. In my small town, you couldn't have more than a five minute shower for fear that the well would run dry, especially in the summer.
I went to wrap a tower around my hair, until remembering I had cut it. 8 years of growing it out for nothing. I thought as I dried it quickly with a towel.
After wrapping a towel around my body, I walked into the bedroom Mis Potts had showed me.
It was huge, with vaulted ceilings and a giant window facing Central Park (or above t, since it was like a speck on the ground). It was painted a sky blue, with a double bed in the center.
I walked to the bed, where deodorant (thank god), underwear, a huge t-shirt and track pants were, along with the arrow necklace. After clasping it around my neck, I held up the shirt to take a look at it. Nirvana. Huh. I guess I'll just have to wash my clothes later, I thought as I got dressed. I went to the mirror to take a look at myself.
I look like a hobo. Everything was too big, but a least it was clean. The sad part was that I looked better in this than I had for the last few days. I combed through my hair with my fingers, which looked like I cut it with a hacksaw. I shrugged. At least I looked halfway decent.
"Miss Carter." A feminine voice startled me. I looked around the room, but I was the only one there. "Who said that?"
"I am F.R.I.D.A.Y, Mr. Stark's A.I. assistant. I was told to let you know Miss Potts is on her way back, so make sure you look decent."
"No way!" I exclaimed, turning in a circle, trying to locate the control pad that I knew was somewhere in here. "The coding must've taking years! I tried to do a project on you in grade 5!" I spotted the pad beside the bed and ran to it. "You're a science miracle, able to not only understand human speech, but obey it!" I was looking at the multiple commands on the pad; the possibilities were endless.
"I see you've met F.R.I.D.A.Y." I turned to see Miss Potts leaning against the door frame.
"It's amazing." I started walking towards her. "So what happens now?"
She sighed. "Now you find out who your parents are."
"Who are they?" I drummed my fingers against my thigh, getting nervous.
"I think you should hear it from him." It didn't take a genius to figure out who him was.
"I get to meet Tony Stark?" I asked, dumbfounded.
She nodded. "It's best for him to tell you. Follow me." She walked out of the room, and it took me a moment to follow her, since I was just told I was meeting the best engineer in the world.
We walked back to the living room, which was dark. Even though one entire wall was window, dark grey clouds had gathered in the sky, making it seem like evening even though it was still before noon.
As my eyes adjusted, I could make out the silhouette of a man standing beside the ginormous fireplace, holding a photo.
He looked up and smiled grimly at me.
"You look like them." He clapped. The lights turned on.
Standing in front of me was Tony Stark.
0o0o0o0o
"Mr. Stark." I managed to spit out. He used to be my idol back when I still wanted to be an engineer.
"Are you just going to stand there?" he placed the photo back on the mantle and crossed his arms. "Not going to ask any questions, or thank me for letting you enter my humble home? I can still kick you out."
I didn't know if he was joking or not.
"Tony, be nice." I heard Pepper say from behind me.
"Who are my parents?" I managed to get out, removing my necklace. I held it up and walked closer to him. "Do you know who they are?"
He snorted. "I used to." I waited for him to go on.
"When she started wearing that necklace, I would tease her, saying she had a thing with Clint." He let out a humourless laugh. "I wholeheartedly believed that they were an item until she ended up just being an aunt to his kids."
I was too shocked to say anything. He walked over and sat on a couch before continuing,
"You have his eyes, but you have her face." He paused. "I think your height and build also came from him, pre-serum of course."
My brain stopped.
Pre-serum. There was only one person ever in history describe that way, and only one avenger who was ever speculated to have a relationship with Hawkeye.
"They… they are…"
It would've taken a while for me to get the whole sentence out, but luckily he finished it for me.
"Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, the soldier and the spy."
0o0o0o0o
"Sir, we found her." Walters walked over to look at the computer. This agent was looking at cameras in central park, trying to find the girl.
He stared at the screen. The time said 9:00 A.M. A short person was walking with her head down, hoodie up, hands shoved in pockets.
"This proves nothi—" he stopped, because at that moment, she looked straight at the camera.
It was her eyes. The terrible eyes of an enhanced
"What direction was she heading in?" He demanded.
"We found her on a few more surveillance videos throughout Central Park. She entered Stark Tower at about 11:45."
"Where in Stark Tower is she?"
"Sir, we've tried hacking into the security, but it's impossible. There's some kind of A.I that keeps blocking our every attempt."
"Well than try harder." He snapped.
"We've had our best programmers working on it for the past 2 hours. It's not working."
He sighed. "I guess we'll have to hold Mr. Stark guilty of aiding a known fugitive." He rubbed his temple. "Too bad, I always admired him as a child."
He tapped his ear piece. "We found her. Get to Stark Tower and bring back-up."
0o0o0o0o
Author's note: Before I say anything else, a quick shout out to the author of "Light and Sweet", a Bucky/oc fanfic in the "Captain America" category on here. The idea for how Carter would get to meet Tony Stark came directly from this fic, so check it out! It's very well written and not one of those ones fanfiction that don't make any sense whatsoever.
Sorry if this seemed like a pretty unrealistic chapter, since a lot of the event of this chapter was left up to luck, but I wanted to give Carter a break.
Last but not least, this ends part one of MNIC part one. I don't know when this will next be updated, anywhere between tomorrow and 3 weeks. The reason for this is that I have no idea where the story is going from here, I have so many different paths for Carter to travel on, but she can only walk on one. A few weeks is just what I need to get my thoughts in order.
Rest assured that I am finishing MNIC, but feel free to leave your theories, and even requests if you have any ideas! I love hearing from you guys! You've made my bad days great by seeing how many of you enjoy my writing.
See you in a few weeks!
(I don't know if any of my readers are artists, but I'm looking for a new cover for MNIC. You can PM me if you have any ideas)
-Ahsoka101