5
5 Years Later
Astrid looked at the windows in thought as the waves crashed against the shore. Jarvis was up and ready and was showing her the weather for the day. She ran a hand through her long hair, still finding it odd that after all these years she could have long hair, and gently pressed a hand against the window to change the feed.
"Was there something particular you wanted to look at, young miss?" Jarvis asked.
"Could I get the feed of different news stations playing on the wall with captions?" Astrid questioned.
"Of course."
Jarvis made quick work of her request and soon she was watching new feeds from around the world. It was more then she had asked for, but she was thankful, nonetheless. She smiled her gratitude, and she knew that the AI was aware of it as he started up the electric kettle. The English could be taken out of England, but the English couldn't be taken out of her. Her accent was somehow stronger this time around then it had been her second time. She was tempted to blame it on Jarvis being around, the addition of a second English accent allowed her to retain her own. A part of her was relieved to have kept one thing that remained from her first go at life. She watched the Japanese news, noting that they were having minor earthquakes in the northern region.
"Is Dad up yet?" She asked Jarvis.
"Sir has been working in the workshop since yesterday morning," Jarvis answered.
Right, Tony had only taken a break when Astrid had come home. He spent time with her at dinner before sending her to bed and heading back to the workshop. She didn't know what he was making down there, and she was almost too afraid to ask. He didn't bother her about her vigilantism when she got around to taking down bad guys, it had taken a while for them to show up, in fact he found it interesting that she was able to wear a suit made of regular materials and still be able to take heavy amounts of damage. It didn't mean he liked it; she knew that he was upset anytime she came home with heavy bruising. It meant a lot to her that he cared that much. He stepped into the role of father better than he thought, or than Pepper thought he would.
"I'll get breakfast ready," Jarvis informed her, "an omelet with turkey and mushrooms adequate?"
"That's more than perfect Jarvis," She answered, "the Christmas party is tonight right?"
"That is correct," Jarvis confirmed.
"I'll make sure he's ready for it," She stated as she changed into a long-sleeved shirt before pulling a Black Sabbath shirt over it.
She wasn't going to wear her party clothes until thirty minutes before the party. She liked suits, but they were uncomfortable to wear for hours on end. It's why she and Tony typically wore t-shirts and jeans whenever they could get away with it. She pulled on a pair of slippers and headed out of her room, the windows returning to normal as the news feed was moved to the flat screen tv in the living room. The local news had it's sound playing, but it didn't deter her from watching the other stations. She headed down the stairs into the workshop and watched as Tony moved from the table to his computer and back again. He had to be working on something important to be moving so quickly. She pressed her hand against the holographic panel to the door and it unlocked for her.
"Woah, must be important if you're blaring War Pigs," Astrid stated as she walked up to the table, "I'm here to let you know that you need to eat something, and we have the Christmas party tonight."
"It's Christmas?" Tony muttered as he looked at her.
"How long have you been up for?" Astrid asked with concern.
"Not long," Tony answered as he went back to working on what was on the table.
"Sir has exceeded forty hours of being awake," Jarvis stated.
Tony looked towards the computer where the AI was housed and raised his hands in disbelief. Astrid let out a few chuckles at the reaction before heading out of the workshop. Tony would be up shortly, he always was. The omelet was finished, and she sat down to eat her breakfast while watching the news. A cup of tea joined her breakfast, and she relaxed a bit. Tony joined her within ten minutes and plopped down at the table.
"Anything interesting going on in the world?" Tony asked her.
"Just a few earthquakes in Japan, nothing too serious," She answered, "not like a few years ago."
His lips became a thin line at the reference to what happened in New York. Astrid had been watching the news that morning before heading to school, and it had been one of the few times that he had joined her. It slightly changed his stance on weapons, placing doubt where there had been none before. Astrid was amazed by that. Jericho had been the original catalyst to his change, now it was death on home soil. He had his own omelet and was eating with a slight frown on his face.
"Hear anything from Pepper recently?" He asked.
"She wants us to be on our best behaviour during the party," Astrid answered, "other than that, she said to have a nice holiday and thanks you for your gift."
"Hope she liked it," He chuckled.
"She did," She grinned before turning back to her tea.
"What did you get her?" He asked.
"I made her a container for her watch in woodshop," She answered, "cherry wood with a nice lacquer that'll keep it safe for a good ten years."
Astrid had accelerated in her school and had jumped a few grades again. Her classes were nearing high school level and he worried that she'd be going to college at an age he had. Granted, it would be great to have her around the house so they could brainstorm together. A small statement by her was the reason why he'd been up for so long. He had to finish his project before the party.
"What's my gift?" He asked and she smiled.
"You'll find out tomorrow, Pepper only got her's early because she wouldn't be here," She answered before grabbing her dirty dishes and washing them.
"This just in, the Marksman has been sighted holding up a bank near western LA," A voice announced, and Tony turned his attention towards the tv.
"Jarvis make the local channel full screen, please," Astrid requested.
Jarvis did so and Tony took in a sharp breath. Hold up? No it was a heavy hostage situation. He turned his attention towards his kid as she thought. The tips of her fingers were rubbing together as she slowly grew angry. He knew she didn't like the idea of people getting hurt, which was odd seeing as she had a blasé attitude towards death. Her jaw clenched for a few seconds.
"It's a job for the police," Tony stated.
"I can't do nothing," Astrid informed him, "I'll be in and out, I promise. Marksman is a lot less experienced than Kingpin or Sandman."
He wasn't happy when she headed up the stairs to her room and came back down earring her suit. She was pulling her hair into a braid, before pulling her mask on. He was proud, but it really wasn't a child's job to keep people safe. He really needed to finish his project and soon. She made sure everything was where she needed it to be before moving towards the umbrella stand they had.
"You finished the glider?" Tony questioned as he looked at the device in her hands.
"Yeah, Mac had the parts I needed back at the lab," She answered, "I didn't have the right fuel, eventually I need to find a way to keep it powered…maybe in the future."
There it was the Stark genius that she shared with him. No biological connection but it made one hell of a case of nurture vs nature. He looked at the glider, painted hot rod colours to his amusement, and watched as she did one last look over for her items. She had a strap for the glider across her back for when she didn't need it. She headed out into the driveway and powered it on. He wanted to see it in action, his kid had gone and created a hoverboard. It was fast, and worked with her reflexes.
"I'll be back soon!" Astrid informed him over the sound of the hoverboard.
Astrid didn't hear what his response was as she skyrocketed into the air. She winced behind her mask at the sudden speed she had with her glider. Oh, she had used the Green Goblins blueprints to create it, but had put her own spin on it. It would end up being Jarvis compatible by Christmas next year, she just needed to change the power source. She needed to figure out the arc technology, which would power her glider for the next two hundred years. It would end up happening in a couple of years. Tony was already looking into it to power up their main building, simply to quiet some of the people who were upset at how much electricity the building used. It was a work of genius, and she couldn't wait to get insight on it. She just didn't have the math ready to make it small enough to work with the glider.
She came up on the bank and slowed to a hover, eyeing the situation. Twenty civilians and just one villain. She could take him, easily. He seemed to be searching the skies and she knew that he was waiting for her. Of course, she had her own brand of crazies after her. She cracked her neck slightly; it was time to start the show. She put her foot forward and slammed into the glass of the building. A distraction, one that would easily let the civilian's escape.
"Ah the Brown Recluse!" The Marksman exclaimed and she groaned quietly at the nickname, "We meet in battle again."
"You need to chill there Robin Hood," She informed him as she hovered above him, "you're on my shitlist for attacking innocent people."
The Marksman let out a boisterous laugh and she frowned in response before shooting a web at him. She took off by pressing her foot on a back button and he let out a yelp as he was dragged behind. The floor was covered in glass, but she didn't care. He truly did annoy her. It was Christmas and he was harming innocent people, she didn't need a reason bigger than that to put him back in prison. She swung him towards the cops, and they caught him.
"Would one of you make sure he never gets out again?" She questioned and one of the cops let out a snort of agreement, "Happy Holidays!"
Astrid took off and headed back home. She came in hotter then she meant to and used the side driveway into the workshop to land. Jarvis made sure that the door was open for her as she came to a stop. She let out a yelp as she was thrown from the top of the glider and landed on the cold concrete ground. Tony stood at the table he had been in before she informed him about breakfast being ready. He picked up his coffee mug as she coughed.
"Too much power?" He questioned.
"That and it doesn't really have much of a grip," She answered as she pulled the mask off, "like I said, I'm back soon."
"Have you thought about adding an automatic strap for your feet?" He asked.
"Yeah, but I need to work around the interface as well," She said as she finally got up to her feet and moving towards the hovering glider, "I need to be able to regulate it's speed better, not just the push of some buttons."
She'd work it out. He motioned for her to leave the glider in the workshop and head upstairs. She gave him a crooked grin that was similar to his before heading up to her room to change. She had to scurry up the stairs quickly as the door opened. Obadiah was there early, and she didn't want him to know that she was the brown recluse. How she got that title she'd never know. It wasn't like they could saddle her with Spider-man because it was obvious she wasn't a boy. She shuddered quietly as she quickly pulled off the latex suit and moved towards her walk-in closet.
"Jarvis, could you please play my Irish traditional playlist?" Astrid requested.
"Certainly," He answered.
The sounds of the Celtic Woman began to play in her room, and she began the process of getting her clothes ready. She still needed a shower to clean up her hair, which was greasy and falling out of the braid she had put it in. She took in a deep breath and quickly got ready. She looked at the red and gold tie in her hand and started to tie it around her neck. Her hair went into an elegant bun, and she kept it in place with a jeweled comb Pepper had gotten her the previous year. It was as good as it was going to get.
The sounds of merriment met her ears as she walked down the stairs and she peeked down to see people chatting amongst themselves. They held flutes of champaign and small plates of food. It was the precent to the after party, the boring part that Tony put up with for good publicity. Astrid walked into the party and was greeted kindly by some of the reporters there. She looked around for Tony or Happy, but didn't see them. She'd be glad when she finally reached her full height. Being under five feet was horrible, it made moving through crowds practically impossible.
"There you are," Obadiah's voice caused her mind to momentarily stall before she turned to face him with a pleasant smile.
"Hello, Obi," She greeted, using the nickname that Tony gave him knowing that it annoyed him, "how is your holiday going so far?"
"Well, and yours?" He asked.
"Fabulous," She answered, "is my dad up here?"
"I was just about to ask you that," He muttered, and she knew that Tony had caused him some major annoyance.
"I'll go check the workshop, he might still be down there," She sighed, "can you check his room, he could also be getting ready."
He nodded at that. It sometimes made Astrid amused at how easily they could work together when they weren't trying to slyly undermine each other. Pepper was starting to catch onto their dislike of the other and was growing weary of Obadiah. The red head knew there had to be a reason behind Astrid's dislike of the man. Oh, Astrid enjoyed being around people that could pick up on the subtleties of her actions. Few people could.
She headed back down into the workshop and peered through the windows. Tony was already in his suit for the party, but was still working on something. She shook her head and entered the workshop. She wondered what he was working on that was so important. Tony looked up from his project and spared her a glance.
"You all right?" She asked, "Obi's looking for you."
"I'm fine," He answered, and she nodded at that, "Obi can wait."
Her small grin at that caused him to shake his head. He wasn't too sure what caused the two of them to dislike each other, but it was oddly amusing watching them discreetly argue. He put down his wielder and ran a thumb over the small bump of metal. He motioned her closer and she took a stand next to him.
"Merry Christmas," He said as he held it out to her, "this bracelet will allow you to keep contact with Jarvis wherever you are, it connects to this small Bluetooth."
"Pocket Jarvis, cool," Astrid said as she put it on.
"It also allows us to know just where you are in the city," Tony continued as though she hadn't spoke, "a kid really shouldn't be facing off against adults, not when there are police that should be doing the job."
"Sometimes police aren't enough," Astrid quietly commented as she felt a familiar pit in her stomach.
Guilt. She hated making Tony worry. It didn't matter if Uncle Ben had given her his complete support before he passed away. He had known she was the spider from the moment she started playing the character. One person could change the trajectory of history, and she knew that for a fact. She had also been older, closer to adulthood. Tony was dealing with a child, one that couldn't seem to stop wanting to help people. He cared enough to allow her the freedom to help, but hated the possibility that she could get hurt. It meant a lot to her.
"How did the party look?" Tony questions was a way to change the topic.
"Completely boring," She answered, "too bad I can't stay up for the after party, I feel like that'll be more entertaining then the publicity fest."
"Any reporters bother you?" He questioned.
"Not yet, I think Obi was able to keep them clear while trying to find you," She said before fixing him a look that she had learned from Pepper, "speaking of which, we need to get up there."
"The food might be gone," He joked.
"Blame my metabolism if you want, but don't blame me personally," She huffed.
"Knowing Happy he's probably saved you some of the dessert."
She let out a whoop at that and Tony grinned. His life may have changed upon adopting the kid, but he was thankful he had. She opened the door and held it open for him. Jarvis turned off the lights in the workshop knowing that the two were going to be asleep for the night after the party. Tony moved to put a hand on Astrid's shoulder as they entered the party. The reporters in the midst started taking pictures and he easily maneuvered around, answering questions without really answering them. Astrid simply smiled for photos when it was called for. Tony made sure to leave her with Happy, he would usually make sure she was with Pepper. The amount of people in the room bothered his kid, and he wasn't blind to it.
"Happy, happy Christmas," Astrid greeted.
"Merry Christmas to you," Happy said as he handed her a plate, "Tony's ordered some of that matcha strawberry shortcake you like."
"I love you; you know that?" Astrid asked him as she accepted the plate, "You always save me a plate without needing to."
"I just know your favourites," Happy grinned as she started to eat the cake, "and your appetite."
She gave him an affronted look before returning her attention to her cake. She brought a small box out of her pocket and handed it to him. She had been smart by putting it in her pocket so she could give it to him and not forget. He accepted the box and looked at the wrapping paper. Silver with snowflakes, tied up with gold ribbon. He gently opened it up and chuckled at the small device she had made him. It turned on and he was able to input his name into it. A small PDA that had a holographic interface. Sometimes the Starks amazed him at what they could make. He placed it in the front of his suit jacket and gave her a friendly pat on the back. He'd ruffle her hair, but noticed that the unruly strands had been tamed for once.
"He's gonna go for the blonde," Astrid stated as she watched her dad play the field, "I wish he'd finally get his arse in gear and ask Pepper out."
"Those two have always tip-toed around each other," Happy confirmed, "I think they don't want to ruin what they have."
"That's fair," Astrid rescinded.
"You're right about the blonde."
Of course, she was. Astrid knew Tony well enough to pick out his type in a crowd. She would just have to ignore the woman the next morning as she usually did. Social services hadn't been called on them, and hadn't bothered with them since a year after she was fully adopted. Apparently, she had adjusted well to being adopted. No wonder, she wasn't mentally five. The ten-year-old was handed a cup of water and Happy narrowed his eyes at any reporters that tried to get close to her. She was thankful for the taller man; she could play the right people to do what Tony did. She didn't want to, at least not until she was much older.