7
Pepper walked into the Malibu house with a concerned expression. Astrid had been able to get into the alcohol cabinet and she had gone on a bender. The disappearance of Tony was hitting her harder than she let the public know. She headed up the stairs, her heels clicking on each step, and opened the cherrywood door. Astrid was bundled up in a cocoon of blankets, her dark hair the only sign she was in it.
"Jarvis, remove the blinders from the windows," Pepper quietly ordered.
"Right away Miss Potts," Jarvis complied.
The room brightened and Pepper saw the extent of the bender. The room was littered with bottles and a few odd webs with bottles hanging from them. She'd have to ask about that once she got the teenager up and moving. She moved towards the bed and placed a hand on a shoulder. Astrid let out a groan of sorts before moving her head out of the cocoon. Her nose crinkled as her eyes shut immediately due to the light. There was something endearing about the action.
"Pepper? What time is it?" Astrid groggily asked as she slowly sat up, turning her head away from the windows.
"It's eight in the morning," Pepper answered as she stood up straight, "how did you even get into the liquor cabinet?"
"I hacked into the lock," Astrid said as she slowly removed herself from the blankets, "am I able to leave the house now?"
"You might have to take up Tony's position," Pepper stated.
Astrid froze for a few seconds at that. She hadn't even thought about the likelihood that she'd have to start running the company in Tony's absence. Obadiah had done that originally and she'd be damned if he did it again. She didn't know much about running a company, but she had Pepper and Pepper was the one with the business degree. Pepper clicked her fingers in front of Astrid's face to break her out of her thoughts.
"How badly is this going to suck?"
Astrid's question was met with a quiet sigh as Pepper began to pick something out for her to wear. She could get the teenager to look and act the part, but she wasn't so sure the go-lucky teen could stand up to the pressure that would be put on her shoulders. She tossed the dress shirt at the teen, and it was caught with ease, her reflexes startling the older woman slightly. She sometimes forgot she could do that. Astrid had no issue with getting ready with her in the room and Pepper was welcomed to a strange sight. Since when did she have a birthmark on her back? It was right above her heart and starshaped.
"Have you always had a birthmark?" Pepper asked.
Astrid turned to her in confusion and her brows raised. Obviously not. She motioned the teen forward and maneuvered a mirror to where she could see her back. Astrid was surprised, she hadn't thought there would be anything telling of her first death but there it was. In the exact spot she had been stabbed was a mark. She brought a hand back and brushed it against the bumpy skin, it was oddly freezing compared to the rest of her body. She could think on the strangeness later and simply gave Pepper a slight shrug before the woman rolled her eyes and steered her into the bathroom to brush her teeth. The door closed after her bottoms for the day were tossed in. Astrid took the moment alone to let out a quiet sigh as she turned to her reflection. Dark circles stood out and caused her eyes to look sunken in. The colour seemed lighter than usual, seeming closer to a steel than the light blue they were. She shook her head and looked up towards the light of her bathroom. That was the reason behind it, she was sure of it. She grasped onto the counter and took a deep breath before turning to get ready for the day.
"I think you like putting me in green to get a rise out of people," Astrid dryly commented as she walked out of her bathroom, placing the gold cut links on.
"It brings out your eyes," Pepper stated as she watched the teen uncomfortably smooth the skirt down, "you have two meetings today and a stack of paperwork waiting for you."
"Did he ever do his paperwork?" Astrid grumbled.
"No, he usually left it all for me to do."
Peppers words stopped the teenage grumbling, she knew they would. Astrid was unlike her father in that regard. She didn't like pushing work onto people if she could help it. A good kid, but could she be ruthless in the business world? She probably could. They headed down the stairs, Astrid pulling on a pair of heels. She stumbled a bit before regaining her balance. Breakfast was a quiet affair; a simple stack of pancakes was enough for them seeing as lunch would be larger. Pepper pulled Happy aside while Astrid cleaned up.
"Happy, make sure she doesn't leave your sight," Pepper ordered with a sharp look, "Jarvis knows where she is at all times, but I'd rather she not get the chance to disappear like she usually does."
"I still have no clue where she goes," Happy muttered at that, "no problem, Pepper, I can keep an eye on her."
Astrid soon found that the world of business was filled with pitfalls. She found her eyes straining to read the small print on all the documents that were sent her way. She would only sign off on the documents that seemed to be good for the company. She didn't sign anything that would go further than three months, Tony was going to shut down the weapons department when he came back. She'd rather maximise profit. She paused for a few seconds before grimacing. She was starting to sound like a true businesswoman, ew. She sat up straight as Obadiah walked into the office. It was decorated in a manner that screamed Tony, but also spoke of his grandfather. The small model for the Stark Expo sat in a corner, gathering dust. She interlocked her fingers and gave him a pleasant smile.
"What can I do for you, Obi?" She asked, making sure he didn't notice her increased discomfort around him.
"You didn't cancel the meetings?" Obadiah questioned, moving towards the bar.
"Of course not," She answered turning her attention towards another document, "Dad may have an issue with sitting through meetings, but I believe they're important to understand how people react to new ideas."
"You seem to be taking the news of his disappearance well," He commented, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
"He wouldn't want me falling to pieces, and I can't afford to do so," She informed him in a stern tone, "I have faith that he'll come back, I trust in how stubborn my Dad can be, now we need to head to the meeting."
She stood up from the desk and shot him a look before motioning towards the door. She didn't want him alone in the office, she didn't trust him not to make things worse. He could completely mess with her search program. She was trying hard to find her Dad, but she didn't know if she'd find him before the three months were up and he freed himself. She turned off the monitor and followed Obadiah out of the room.
"Tony usually wears red to these meetings," Obadiah offhandedly commented, and she gave him a look behind his back.
"Dad likes the colour, I like cooler toned colours," She monotonously said, "if people have issues with the colours I like, then are entitled to their opinions just as I am entitled to not care."
Obadiah didn't have anything to say about that. They entered the meeting room and Astrid took the seat that would belong to Tony. The man lived for comfort, and she found herself wanting to fall asleep in the chair. She restrained herself as Pepper came in and sat down next to her. The meeting began and she found herself growing a bit lost. They were talking about the manufacturing of new weapons that had yet to be tested and she put her foot down at that. It was too dangerous to do such a thing. It was like the Manhattan project; Little Boy had been dropped on an unassuming innocent population and had caused horrible devastation. She refused to be a part of something similar happening. Howard Stark, her adoptive Grandfather had been one of the minds behind it in this universe. The man was a genius, but she felt uncomfortable about the mass loss of life.
"You're in charge of the company until your father is found," One of the shareholders reminded her, "you need to sign off on the production of weapons."
"I will sign off on the weapons that have been tested and approved before he went missing," She stated and Pepper seemed pleased by the fact that she was standing her ground, "I will not allow our troops to be fitted with weaponry that have yet to be tested by all guidelines."
The topic moved after that, and they began to talk about the glider the brown recluse used. Astrid stayed quiet, but internally froze. The technology she had basically lifted from Oscorp was being coveted by Stark Industries. She hadn't even thought about that, only about the fact that the Green Goblin would always have a glider and as such she needed something similar. It had been a moment of a need to get revenge against Oscorp. For the fact that she had spider DNA so closely interwoven with her own that the traits followed her to her next life, for the fact that she lost Aunt May when she shouldn't have. She had a lot of anger towards the company, and it would be her pleasure to see it fall when the new Spider-man finally rose. She looked down at her lunch, a bento that had chicken katsu, a spicy tuna roll, gyoza, and pickled vegetables covered in an eel sauce. Pepper gave her a strange look before it finally dawned on her.
Astrid wasn't a big fan of red meat, preferring to eat fish or chicken when she could. Tony had been sad when he learned that she didn't like burgers, or that she'd rather have a salad for dinner instead of a steak. Pepper made a mental note to tell him when he finally got back. She took a deep breath when she felt a spark of grief rising in her. She needed to move her thoughts away from her lost boss. Lunch finished and they went back into another meeting, one that was just as boring as the first one.
"You have my undying respect, Pepper," Astrid informed the red head as they headed to the car with Happy, "I don't know how you deal with them."
"The pay is great," Pepper quipped and that got a snort out of the teen.
A month had passed, and Astrid found herself growing worried for Tony. She had yet to find any trace of him, and she didn't know where the cave was that he was being kept. How was it that she couldn't even get the satellites in orbit to find him? She hated to admit it, but it was clever. She sighed a bit as she listened to her music and did paperwork. She was being suffocated by the amount of people constantly surrounding her. It didn't help that people were starting to wonder where the Brown Recluse had gone. She needed to get away, but she didn't want to worry the people that cared about her. She looked up towards the flat screen that had the local news playing and her expression darkened. Sandman, he had finally emerged. He was terrorizing a large block of homes and businesses. She couldn't go and help, but she wanted to. She was torn. She looked towards the documents in front of her before letting out a sigh.
She stood up from behind the desk and moved to activate the privacy feature on the glass. She moved to the small bag she had started toting around with her and pulled out her suit. She changed out of sight and placed her clothes on a hanger inside the adjoining bathroom. She brough a hand up and placed a finger against the earpiece she wore.
"Jarvis, call the glider," She quietly ordered.
"Right away miss," Jarvis confirmed.
She moved towards the large windows and pulled the mask on. She could see the glider speeding towards the office and she took a leap of faith out the window. She landed and held her arms out as she tried to remain on the small piece of metal. She shifted her weight forward and sped up. She didn't have a large window of time to deal with the sandman.
"Where's a giant vacuum when you need one," She quipped as she came up to the scene.
"Never heard that one before," Sandman grumbled, and she shook her head in response.
"What can I say, I'm too tired to be original at the moment," She muttered as she dodged one of his attacks.
She needed to lead him to water or bust a couple fire hydrants. She took off on the glider and she inwardly smirked as he followed. It was too easy, she sometimes wondered why it was so easy to defeat her villains. She didn't have an Obadiah or a Loki as her villains and she gathered she should be relieved about that. She missed moving around people and genuinely thinking about her next move. She ignored those thoughts as she hit the first fire hydrant, water splashing against the back of her head.
"You have an incoming call from Miss Potts," Jarvis informed her, and she winced.
"Answer it," Astrid reluctantly said.
"Where are you?" Pepper immediately asked, "And why aren't you wearing your clothes?"
"I am wearing clothes," Astrid defended before ducking under an attack.
"It sounds like you're driving with the top down on a convertible," Pepper commented.
Astrid didn't get to answer as she hit another fire hydrant and caused it to explode, her entire body getting soaked that time. It was difficult to breath with the fabric of the mask sticking to her mouth. She endured it and went upside down to avoid a hit to her head.
"Stay still recluse!" Sandman yelled and Astrid paled when Pepper took in a sharp breath.
"Astrid," Pepper said, calmly.
"Yes, Pep?" Astrid answered.
"We're going to have a talk when you get back."
Astrid hummed her agreement and Jarvis stopped the conversation. She needed to use one more fire hydrant to take down the Sandman. She sped up and destroyed another one, effectively stopping him. She grinned behind the mask as the police rushed forward with handcuffs made to stop mutants from using their abilities. She didn't know how well that would work with Sandman, but it was good enough for her to return to Stark Industries. She flew up and disappeared before any reporter could take a picture of her. She crash landed into the office where Pepper waited for her.
"Why are you all wet?" Pepper immediately asked as she closed the office door, allowing the privacy lenses to appear again.
"I broke some fire hydrants to stop Sandman, he's made of sand, so I made him out of mud," Astrid answered as she got to her feet and brushed her hands against her thighs, "It is incredibly hard to breath with the wet mask."
"Go change, and hurry," Pepper ordered as she looked back towards the office door, "Obadiah was looking for you."
"Got it, Jarvis, have the gilder return to the workshop," Astrid quietly ordered, and Jarvis took control of the glider.
Pepper watched as Astrid hurried into the bathroom and managed to close the door just as Obadiah walked in. Pepper found it rude that he would just walk in as though he had been invited. She knew that it would cause Astrid to be upset as well. She could think on it later, she just wanted to make sure the teenager's secret identity was protected. Pepper had an inkling that Astrid was the Brown Recluse, but she never assumed. To have her theory be proven true made her a bit smug.
"Can I help you, Obi?" Astrid asked as she started to braid her wet hair.
"You disappeared for a while," He commented, "the shareholders believed you were going to do something drastic."
"I don't really know how to respond to that," Astrid muttered as she finished her braid and tied it off with a green hair tie.
She was wearing green more often; gold was strewn in as well. Ties and small pieces of jewellery, not enough to stand out. She found it strange to be wearing the colours of a different person, especially one she'd yet to meet. It was odd. She was brought out her thoughts by the sceptical expression sent her way by Obadiah, she smiled, and he headed out of the office. She must not have been needed if he left like that.
"So, how long have you been the Brown Recluse?" Pepper asked.
"Before I was adopted," Astrid answered, deciding to come clean with one of the few important women in her life.
Pepper pursed her lips at that before turning towards the bar and pouring herself a drink. Astrid couldn't blame her one bit. The teen sat down in the desk chair as Pepper downed the drink before pouring a second one and finishing that as well. The red head sat down on the couch inside the office and stared at the teen in thought.
"Tony's okay with this?" Pepper asked in disbelief, Tony was protective of his kid, more then he'd ever let on.
"No, he'd rather I leave it to the police, but he understands that it's something I have trouble doing," Astrid truthfully answered, "I care about innocent people, more than I probably should."
Pepper didn't know about that. She felt a surge of pride towards the teen for her actions, even if she wished she didn't do them. She'd rather Astrid be safe than risking her life, but she was her father's daughter. They were chaotic to a degree, but their hearts usually ended up in the right place. She got up to pour another drink, she'd have to do something about her being in constant danger. It wasn't like Tony was the only parental figure Astrid had.