Alex's Diary, Entry Sixteen

Well, hello there, Diary! It's been a while.

I've got to say, though, not a whole lot has happened over the last couple of years. Well, I mean, stuff has happened, but nothing like The Year That Changed Everything.

The world knows that Dad is Iron Man and that I am the Iron Angel, which, of course, made us more famous than we already were, if that is even possible. We're not trying to hide our alter egos, especially given Dad's major announcement a couple years ago. However, Iron Man is a little bit more of a household name, given that he's made more "public appearances". I don't mind, though. While Dad is off trying to secure world peace, I am trying to get back as normal a life as I had before everything changed. I honestly don't think that will ever happen, but I am trying all the same.

I am officially out of the Stark Industries Internship Program and have a part-time job with the company, given that I still work part-time at the museum. Fortunately, my job requires me to spend my days primarily with Pepper, as she teaches me more about running the place then she was able to when I briefly took over during Dad's ordeal overseas. And, fortunately, I can still see and hang out with the friends I made while I was an intern. It's really a win-win!

Work at the museum has been going well! I'm still stuck working with Justine, but it is what it is. Turns out working at the museum helped her to realize that she actually had a hidden passion for history. Unfortunately, but also not surprisingly, we differ in favorite topics: while I am interested in the Tudors (among other things), she prefers the pilgrims and early Plymouth Colony. But, at least our favorite topics are kind of connected to one another? In a way? Maybe?

Unfortunately, Rachel and Noah are no longer at the museum or even in California. After they graduated, they both ended up getting jobs on the East Coast. It sucks for me, but I'm happy for them at the same time. I kind of knew that this day would come eventually, but that doesn't mean that I have to be happy about losing my backup when it comes to my constant battle with Justine.

Quentin and I have been dating for about 2 years and, I hate to say this, but I'm kind of getting bored. Whatever spark we had has definitely died. And, it's nothing that Quentin did or that I did or whatever. It's just...it's not fun anymore. It started out fun and I enjoyed spending time with him. But, he is just becoming more and more obsessed with his work. It's literally all he talks about, while he's not talking about how I am the Iron Angel. Honestly, I think he's jealous of me: of my suit, of my family background, of my brain...

Plus, I never once told him that I loved him. Sadly, it's because I don't.

I need to break up with him, but I don't have the heart to do it at the same time. It's a horrible position to be in. I know this sounds cliche, but I do want to be friends with him. I've decided to do it after the opening of the Expo. Once that's over, I'll be able to really sit down, get my thoughts in order, and figure out a way to let him down gently.

So, as you might have guessed from what I just said, Dad has decided to resurrect the Stark Expo. I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm excited all the same. I have, obviously, never been to one before and I'm looking forward to seeing what Dad's version of one looks like. Knowing him, it will be over the top and epic!

Nick Fury had been right.

It didn't take the general public long to figure out who the Iron Angel was and Alex Stark didn't bother to deny the rumors when confronted with them. However, the Iron Angel did not make nearly as many public appearances as Iron Man did.

Over the two years since she and her father created their suits, Alex and Tony had done a lot of good in the world. But, if Alex was being honest, it was mostly Tony doing the good deeds. Despite Tony allowing her to keep her suit, Alex was still hesitant in getting involved in international affairs. Nick Fury's Avengers Initiative had yet to come to fruition and, while Alex liked the idea of it at the beginning, there was a part of her that was grateful nothing had happened at the same time. There was only so much crazy she could take in her life and becoming an official superhero was not something that she was ready for quite yet, especially with her most recent bout of illness.

Illness that no one else knew about.

It wasn't that she was sick, but more that there was something wrong. Alex knew in her gut what it was, but she didn't want to admit it out loud: Spinal Tap was on the fritz. Every once in a while, Alex could feel stiffness start to creep into her muscles and could feel things start to go numb. But, the "attacks", as she called them, went away rather quickly. Or, at least they had been going away quickly. The more attacks that happened, the longer that they would last.

Alex was afraid to tell Tony, even though logic dictated that she should. She was living in yet another state of denial that everything was fine and that Spinal Tap was having no problems, primarily because, if Spinal Tap was having a problem, her miracle cure for her paralysis was floating out the window. Yes, she had the braces that she had created as her project for her internship, and, yes, she knew that wearing them would be a quick fix until Tony could figure out what was wrong with Spinal Tap. But, what if Tony couldn't fix Spinal Tap and Alex was stuck wearing her braces forever?

She knew that she was being immensely stupid. Having her braces was better than having to be bedridden for the rest of her life. But, her braces, as wonderful as they were, limited her in a way that Spinal Tap didn't. She didn't want to give up her "freedom" just yet.

So, there she was, backstage at the Stark Expo, willing her legs to move. Her most recent attack hit her a few minutes before Tony landed onstage in his suit and caused her to have to quickly find something to lean on, as both of her legs started to go stiff. She was only half listening to Tony's speech as she tried to rub the muscles in her legs into working again.

"Damn it, Spinal Tap! Come on!" Alex exclaimed, under her breath. "Now is not the time for this to be happening!"

Fortunately, just as Tony's speech was beginning to wrap up, Alex's legs - and Spinal Tap - decided to cooperate.

"Now, it is time for me to introduce you to my greatest legacy, the future of Stark Industries itself: my daughter, Alexandra Stark."

Alex put on a smile and walked out on stage to the sound of thousands of people cheering for her, as if nothing had happened. Tony had a huge smile on his face as he listened to the people cheer for his daughter and watched as she smiled and bowed to the audience. Alex laughed, unsure how to react to the accolades being given to her. She looked at Tony, who was still smiling and clapping, before looking back at the crowd.

"Thank you! I can only hope to be able to fill the immensely big shoes left behind by my father and grandfather when the time comes, a long, long, long time from now," she said, as the crowd quieted down. "Believe it or not, this is my first ever Stark Expo. I didn't even know it was a thing until Dad told me he was going to resurrect it. So, I'm just as excited about this as you all are." The crowd clapped and cheered again. Alex smiled. "I am so excited to see the projects and inventions and ideas that are going to be introduced throughout the duration of the Expo," she continued. "I am sure that wonderful things will be created and wonderful ideas will come to life. As Dad said, it's not about us. It's about what we are going to do for future generations. Let's give our children and our grandchildren a better world than what we have, alright?"

The crowd cheered some more. Alex looked at Tony as he stepped up beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. "And now, making a special guest appearance from the great beyond to tell you what it's all about, please welcome my father, Howard."**

The lights dimmed and the screen switched to an old video of Howard from the last time the Stark Expo happened back in the 1970s. Tony led Alex off stage. "Ready for dinner?"

"Yeah, just have to get a few things," Alex replied. "I'll meet you at the car."

The two went their separate ways: Tony to the parking lot and Alex to the dressing room they had given her. When Alex got to her dressing room, she found one of the crew members standing outside it. "Everything alright?"

"Alexandra Stark?"

Alex slowed to a stop and nodded. "Yeah..." she said, her fingers hovering over the bracelet that contained her suit. "Who's asking?"

The crew member handed her a piece of paper. "You've been served."

Alex glared at the man who was not actually a crew member and took the paper from his hand. "Why?"

"It's all in there," the man replied, as Alex scanned the document. "You are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM.** Your father should be getting one of these as well as we speak."

Alex folded the paper back up and looked at the man. "I'll be there with bells on."

The man smirked before taking his leave, and Alex rolled her eyes as she went into her dressing room, grabbed her things, and headed back to meet Tony and Happy at the car. She could only imagine what was going to happen the next day.

But, she knew for certain that she was not looking forward to it.

Turns out that the U.S. Senate considered both Tony and Alex's suits weapons and wanted them to be handed over to the government.

Like that was going to happen.

The two members of the Stark Family sat next to each other at a long table in front of the senators presiding over the hearing. There was something about Senator Stern that made Alex want to punch him in the face, but she wasn't sure if that was because he was trying to take her suit away from her or because his voice was just so damn annoying.

Senator Stern, after arguing with Tony, turned his attention onto Alex. "Now, what would possess a young woman, such as yourself, to design and create such a weapon?"

"The primary purpose of the Iron Angel suit was not to be a weapon," Alex replied. "As my father said, it was designed as a high-tech prosthesis."

"For what issue?"

"Does she really need to answer that?" Tony demanded.

"For the record, yes," Senator Stern replied.

"The world knows that I am a paralytic and that the only way I am able to function as a normal human being is because of the device sticking into my spine," Alex replied. "The suit was designed so that, in the event that the device should ever fail or is forcibly removed, I would not be completely helpless. The suit was designed to help me move and defend myself if necessary."

"Then why equip it with the dangerous technology that it possesses?" Senator Stern asked. "It has all of the same technology as the Iron Man suit plus some of your very own unique invention. If the suit was truly meant for medical purposes, why make it into a lethal weapon?"

"I am the heiress to one of the biggest fortunes, if not the biggest fortune, on the face of the planet," Alex replied. "And, I don't intend on ever being held against my will, as my father once was."

Tony snuck a smile at his daughter before turning back to the committee. "Not even this committee would consider taking away a medical device from a paralysis victim."

"The Iron Angel suit is not a medical device. It is just as dangerous as the Iron Man suit and has been used in the same capacity," Senator Stern replied. "Call it what you want, it is still a weapon."

"Either way, it's staying with me," Alex said. "And, I'm not going to tell you where it is. Besides, even if you were to, hypothetically, find it and take it, I would just make another one. That's the funny thing about having an eidetic memory...you never forget anything."

The hearing spiraled out of Senator Stern's control from that point on. He had brought in Justin Hammer – Tony's business rival, but it wasn't much of a rivalry because Stark Industries blew Hammer Industries out of the water. – for no apparent reason and then he brought in Rhodey too. The hearing ended when Tony and Alex walked out, after telling the government that they couldn't take what didn't belong to them.

Now, they were at home, relaxing after a somewhat long plane ride. "The videos that you found were interesting, I thought," Alex replied, sitting next to her father on the couch.

"More like comedic," Tony replied. "Hammer's attempt at making a suit was ridiculous."

"Not as ridiculous as the monstrosity from North Korea. Hammer's was the closest one to our design." She was quiet for a moment. "Dad, I know that you were trying to make light of it at the hearing, but the fact that other countries are trying to copy us…it's a little scary."

Tony looked at his daughter. "Hey, don't worry," he said. "No one else is going to be able to recreate what we've done. Not for a long time, anyway."

"But, what if they come after us to get our designs?"

"Then, we both have suits to fight them off with."

Alex rolled her eyes, but a small smile appeared on her face. "Coming from the man who made me promise never to use my suit in such a way."

"I believe that I added in an extreme circumstances clause to that contract."

Alex laughed. "Can I get that in actual writing?" She asked. "Verbal contracts are just so…insecure."

Tony returned the laughter. "Look at you! Your time as CEO left a mark."

"Perhaps it did," Alex said. She felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and, when she saw who was calling her, she made a face and threw the phone on the couch beside her.

Tony looked from his daughter, to her phone, and then back again. "Your phone has been going off practically non-stop since we left Washington. Something wrong?"

"It's just Quentin," Alex replied, leaning against the back of the couch.

"And, you haven't answered him because…?"

"I don't want to."

"Is there trouble in paradise?"

Alex looked at her father. "I'm bored, Dad," she said. "Quentin is such a sweet, smart guy but…he's boring. Every time I try to spice things up by suggesting we do something different, he always manages to circle back to his favorite topics: work and the Iron Angel."

"Have you talked to him about that?"

"I've tried," Alex said. "He just…he doesn't seem to be catching on. Whatever romance we had at the beginning is gone." She was quiet for another moment. "I'm going to break up with him."

"Wow," Tony said. "When is that happening?"

"That is the part that I am struggling with," Alex said. "I told myself that it would happen after the Expo opened, so now I have to think of exactly when."

"Well, when you do figure it out, I will be here for whatever you need," Tony said, kissing the side of Alex's head. Alex's phone started ringing again. "Ok, seriously, put the boy out of his misery and answer your phone. This is ridiculous."

Alex smiled a little at Tony as he stood and headed down to the workshop. She closed her eyes as she answered the phone. "Hey, Quentin," she said. She stood and started to head upstairs to her bedroom. "Yeah, sorry, I just got home. Fell asleep on the plane…"

Welcome to Book 2 of the Iron Angel Saga!

If you haven't done so already, you may want to check out Book 1 first, as it gives a bit of a backstory of Alex and such. Also, for the purposes of this series, I am going with the train of thought that each MCU movie is supposed to take place during the year it was released. Makes it a little bit easier to keep track of everything that way!

As a reminder, any lines marked with two stars (**) are taken right from the movie, they are not mine! Also, the only character that is 100% mine is Alex, all other characters belong to Marvel/the MCU!

I hope that you enjoy this first chapter! Please let me know what you think!