Hey, everyone. This is inspired by the MCU and by some POVs I have seen on TikTok. This is about the adopted daughter of Tony Stark. Ariana "Ari" Stark isn't normal. She wasn't adopted out of love, but for publicity. It was Obadiah Stane's idea, of course, but it had grown into a real family relationship. This chapter starts just after Tony is rescued in IRON MAN. After this, the course of events will change. This is so that it is MY version of the MCU, not just me placing a character within the existing story. There will, naturally, be similar events, but they will be altered to fit the storyline. I may have some things happen differently than in the movies for the story's sake, but ultimately, it will still be MCU inspired and will have a reason for the change.

A little background though. Ari was adopted at age ten because she is super smart, but some things from her past will be revealed as the story progresses. She is interested in studying Norse mythology, she doesn't want to take over Stark International, she hates that her father makes weapons but doesn't speak out about it because she knows that it's for the U.S. military, and she gravitates towards… certain types of guys. ;)

Differences mentioned in this chapter: Ari is in specific Iron Man scenes as they are the start of everything. Timelines are sped up for the story's sake but in the right order. I will try to keep some things after this chapter in their proper order, but no promises as some things need to happen differently or in a different order for it all to make sense.

️TW: Scene of abuse ️

Ariana Stark came home from school. She ran up to Pepper, beaming ear to ear.

"Mom, look!" the young girl exclaimed.

"This is amazing," said Pepper with a smile.

Both looked up as Tony Stark came downstairs. Even at the age of ten, Ariana knew she had only been adopted for publicity, but she didn't stop trying to make her new father proud. Pepper was his personal assistant, but Ariana picked her for her mother. They were her only family, outside of Jarvis, the computer that ran the house, and Happy, their driver. Ariana considered Happy her uncle, but she didn't know how to feel about the virtual butler.

"Dad, I passed my math test," Ariana said, walking up to him. "My teacher said that I could skip a grade with how well I do in school."

Tony looked at her for a moment. He took the paper and smiled. He ruffled her hair before going to the garage. She knew she had made him happy and she felt closer to him than she had in the last three months since her adoption.

Ariana couldn't believe her father still had her old math test, hidden in a folder with some old calculations. She looked up when he entered.

"That's not what I asked you to bring down," he said.

"You still have this?" Ariana asked, holding up the test.

"It was the first time you called me dad instead of 'Mr. Stark'," he said with a shrug. "For the first time, I felt like a real father."

"Well, other than the drinking, you're a good one." She smiled. "Who else can say they have Tony Stark for their dad?"

"'You're' as in 'you are' or 'you were'? Because there's a distinct difference."

Ariana laughed, putting the papers away and grabbing the folder she was looking for. "You are." She gave it to her father. "Honestly, though, I wish you'd stop drinking but I understand why after what happened. If I were old enough…" She looked away. "When you disappeared… when you were gone…"

He hugged her. "I know. The ground just falls out from under you and nothing feels right. I mean, I wasn't close to my old man, but still…"

"I'm just glad we got you back," she said into his chest. "You changed… got better… But I'm still…" She moved back. "Just don't don't disappear on us again."

"Before we go back, Ari, I want to let you in on a little secret."

"Does mom know?"

"No. But I trust you to help out. You see things in ways I don't."

He took her to the garage. She looked at the pieces of metal and at her father in turns. She shook her head back and forth, backing away.

"Now, Ari…"

"You said you weren't going to be making weapons. You said it at the conference!" She went to storm around him. "I'm not going to be a part of this."

"They aren't weapons!" Tony said, turning to follow her escape.

Ariana stopped at the door, not looking at him. "Then, what is it?"

"A suit. Based on the one that helped me escape. It's more refined and ties into the Arc Reactor in my chest."

She turned back at him. "And if this new one doesn't hold? What then? You can't just change them out in the middle of everything! And without it…!"

"I know the risks! Wait, how did you learn that this is a new reactor?"

"Really? Did I suddenly go blind?"

"And how did you know the risks if I don't have it?"

"Uncle Obi told me after you showed him about it and I read the report of what happened. It makes sense it's to keep you alive."

"You know, sometimes I think you are just too smart for your own good."

"Can I see what you have so far?"

Ariana watched the practice videos. She laughed every time the Dummy used the fire extinguisher on Tony. She couldn't help it. When she was done, she said, "You don't need me for anything, dad. But I'm sure if you adjust a few calibrations on the gloves, it won't throw you into the wall."

"There's my girl."

"Also, have you figured out flight stability?"

"I still have some trouble with it."

"Your lack of posture might have something to do with it."

"Excuse me?"

"You go rigid, but if you straighten your back at the same time, you should be able to maneuver and even fight in midair if you need to." She smiled up at him. "And without hurting the cars."

"Okay, smartypants. Let's go upstairs and talk to everyone."

"Actually, I'm going out, but you can have fun with everyone. Watch some TV or something."

Ariana stood up to leave but Tony grabbed her wrist, saying, "Who are you going out with? It better not be a boy."

"Dad, I'm eighteen," she replied in exasperation. "I think it's okay if I go on a date, especially since he's my boyfriend."

"When the hell did you get a boyfriend?"

"Just before you got back, actually. He's really nice, Dad. He's taking me out for our one-month anniversary. He's been really good about not crossing any lines I'm not ready for and he brings me back home before midnight. I couldn't bear to break the rules while you were…" She looked away, blushing. "It didn't feel right to defy you when you weren't here."

"You are a weird one, Ari. I don't think anyone said that they want to be scolded for breaking rules."

She smiled and said, "It wasn't the same with Pepper doing it. It just made me miss you more. I'll probably stick to the rules a bit longer, just in case you coming back is a dream."

"Kiddo, I'm not going anywhere."

"You said you'd be back, safe and sound, last time and look what happened. If this is just a trick, I don't think I'd…"

"I felt the same thinking of you while I was there, worrying about what I left behind for you and if I could have been a better father. As long as nothing happens to you, I guess I can let you go on this date today."

"Thank you, dad!" She hugged him tightly. "I'm going to go get ready! I'll see you when I get home!"

Pepper stood in the doorway as Ariana picked a dress to wear. The young woman sighed.

"What is it, mom?" Ariana asked.

"Did you tell him who you were going on a date with?" Pepper inquired. "You know your dad's going to want to do a background check."

"We've grown up together." Ariana tried to get her makeup just right. "He already knows all about him. So, why would he need to look up his background?"

"You're his daughter, so he worries. I know him well. Even if he had raised the man himself, he still wouldn't be good enough for you."

Ariana stood up and said, "Mom, you already did everything to protect me. I'll be fine."

She hugged Pepper on her way out of the room, smiling. She wanted to enjoy her date.

She got downstairs, gave Tony a kiss on the cheek as she went out the door, and went to the car waiting for her. Jebediah stood waiting for her. She smiled and ran up to him, turning him so Tony couldn't see his face.

"Let's go," she said, smiling. "Dad's giving us tonight, but then you get to see why the girls at school call me the Rebel."

"Is that how you want to go out?" Jebediah asked as they got into the Sportster. "Isn't that dress a bit too long? And a jacket? It's not cold out."

She sat down and said, "Is that how you really want to start our date? Berating me on my clothes? Last time, the dress was too short, now it's too long. I can't keep up with the demands, Jeb."

"I just want to show you off to your fullest," he said as they drove down the road. "You're a real prize."

"I'm not an object!" she said. "Stop treating me like you own me!"

"You're mine, Ari," he said, his hand going to her leg. "I want to make sure everyone knows what they can't have."

She shoved his hand off of her but stayed quiet. She got out of the car when it stopped and slammed the door shut. She stomped to the restaurant's entrance just as Jebediah joined her. They were seated but she didn't look at him.

She did, however, notice that they were suspiciously isolated. That didn't fill her with confidence in her situation. Just as fast as she got excited about the date, she just as quickly wanted out and silently texted Happy to come to get her. She hated doing this on their one-month anniversary, but he wasn't leaving her with a choice.

"You know I love you, right, Ari?" Jeb asked, holding his hand out to her.

She refused to touch him as she said, "No, Jeb, I don't. For one, this is the first time you ever said anything along those lines. And for another, I don't think this is working out. I know Uncle Obi would love for us to get together, but you and I both know we don't work. Today is already proving it."

"Where is this all of a sudden?"

"You constantly tell me my clothes don't look right, my makeup is a mess, and don't treat me like a person. What is this, the nineteen-fifties? I know when a relationship isn't working. I've begun asking myself, if one of my friends were experiencing the same treatment, what would I tell them? Well, I'm going to take my own advice. I'm going to accept this free meal and then I'm gone."

"Just like that? Tell me what to change and I'll change it."

"That's just it, Jeb." She looked at the waiter as the food she had yet to order was placed in front of her. "Things like this. I don't like that you order for me. You also order us the same thing to make it seem like we have stuff in common, but I despise the food you pick. I go home and eat a cheeseburger because I can't eat escargot." She pushed the plate away. "Just… let me go, Jeb."

She got a notification from Jarvis on her phone. Jebediah threw his napkin down as she watched in horror the international military surveillance satellite. That was her dad's suit, with him in it, and he was getting shot at. Fear welled up. Moments later, a plane from the U.S. base was chasing him. At the same time, Happy said he was outside.

"I've got to leave," she said in a breathless tone.

"No, we are going to work this out," he retorted, garnering attention from the tables across the room. "You can't just break up with me because you don't like things hitting a rough patch." He grabbed her arm as she went to walk past him. "Ari, stay."

"I'm not a dog!" she yelled, yanking her arm from him and sending Happy a 911. "You can't order me around!"

Without warning, he backhanded her. She fell onto the ground, her cheek stinging and sticky. Happy was pushing him aside, threatening to call the police. She fought back tears of anger, wanting to attack him for treating her like that.

"Come on, kid," said Happy, helping her up and getting her out of the restaurant. "Let's get you home."

Ariana heard her father downstairs. She put a robe on, went to the ground floor, and stormed right up to Tony. When all he did was adjust the ice pack on his shoulder, she threw down a book onto the coffee table. He looked up at her then.

"What the hell, dad?" she yelled.

"Nice to have you home so early," he said.

"I got the alert from JARVIS! You were shot at! I left my date early, not that he was happy about anything, and came home, hoping that maybe everything had just been time-delayed! But no, JARVIS is too sophisticated for that and you weren't here!"

That's when Tony noticed her hair in front of her left eye. He got up and when she flinched, he ran his hands through his hair.

"Let me see," he said.

"We aren't talking about me, dad! Besides, it was…"

"If you say accident, I swear…"

"I wasn't. Yours wasn't either, so don't get mad at me. Besides, Happy picked me up and got me out of there. I broke up with that lowlife. I'm done falling for the nice guy routine. Never liked them."

"Tell me. I'm your father and it's my job to protect you."

"He picked me up from the house and as soon as I got in, everything about me was wrong. Yeah, things were going south on us, but this was a complete change altogether. He never did anything to make me believe he would do this." She lifted her hair to show her cheek, cut from where a ring had torn her flesh.

"Don't worry. I've got everything in place to take his abusive ass down."

"Okay, yes, you have every right to be mad, Ari, but ruining his life…"

"What? No! Just to prison. Uncle Obi has a lot to answer for by raising a jerk like that!"

"Wait, you went out with Jebediah Stane?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I'm not happy with the entire family then. Oh, and you can stop calling him your uncle."

"Explain, please."

"Obadiah was selling to both sides of the war and had me removed from the company because I said I wanted to stop making weapons."

"Those bastards! Why are they doing this to us?"

"I don't know, but Pepper has agreed to help out with this tomorrow."

"I'll go with her. I don't like the idea of mom going to Stark International alone."

"Be safe. I don't like either of my girls being in danger."

She hugged him, smiling because finally, her mom and dad were getting past all the tension and noticing each other. She hoped this new Tony Stark wouldn't mess anything up.

Pepper walked in with Ariana. Ariana seemed on edge and her hair covered her face. Pepper was worried on the drive over, but the young woman refused to talk. When things got like this, Ariana often went over Norse mythology or math equations in her head.

Ariana looked bored with headphones over her ears when they walked into the building, but she had no music on. She wasn't going to leave Pepper defenseless, even if Ariana didn't know how to fight. She walked up to the office and sat in a chair, tapping on her phone, hoping to hack into the security cameras to watch for Obadiah while Pepper worked her magic.

She heard Pepper mumble but acted like she hadn't heard. She pulled her headphones off just in time for both women to jump at Obadiah's entrance. He motioned for Ariana to leave, which meant a private talk not to "upset the children". Ariana hid a groan when she saw Jebediah.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I want to apologize for the other night," he said. "I was stressed because of everything. I mean, your dad coming home is great, but I thought it meant we would have more time together, that you would go back to the way you were."

"That event changed all of us."

"Yeah. He's back, but he didn't leave the desert, did he? He's not the man who raised you, Ari."

She wanted to punch his perfect teeth down his obnoxious throat. She knew who her father was. This was the boy who hit her because she was done being treated like a trophy instead of a person. This was the ass hat that was trying to help his father take over Stark International. This was the bastard who…

"Let me get you a drink," he said.

At that moment, Pepper walked out. Ariana said, "I meant what I said last night, Jeb. We are over."

She and Pepper looked at the drive in her hand discreetly. Agent Coulson was waiting for them. They wanted out of the building fast. She tried not to look over her shoulder as she walked out with them, but she felt Jebediah's eyes on her. A shudder went through her.

They drove around while Ariana used the SHIELD agent's computer in the backseat.

"I've got blueprints up," she said. "Transferring them to the hard drive now. Mom, we need more agents for this. Sorry, dime bag, but one isn't going to be enough for this."

"It's understandable, Miss Stark," he said. "We'll take both of them down. We can't do much for his son, but with Stane's name in ruins and the both of them going to jail, I think it will be safe to say you won't have to worry about either of them. Their assets will be seized so they won't have the money to worm their way out of this one."

Ariana was told to wait in the car, but that wasn't her style. When Pepper came running out, Ariana got out the opposite side and moved to go to the ladder to the roof.

"Not happening, princess," said Jebediah.

She turned and felt him slap her. She fell to the ground and he pulled her up by her hair. She brought up her knee hard and began climbing. She heard her father yelling as he came to the rescue. He had been her hero as a child, and now, Tony Stark was a real-life superhero.

Halfway up and several close calls from bullets later, Ariana realized Jebediah wasn't coming after her. She didn't stop to look around her. She had to get to Tony. Tears blurred her vision and she nearly slipped off the ladder, but she held on until she made it to the roof. The sight of Tony trapped on the skylight made the fear in her more like a breathing entity.

"Dad!" she yelled.

"Ari!" Tony yelled, holding on for dear life. "Get out of here!"

Obadiah didn't stop shooting at Tony as he said, "After I'm through with you, I'll take care of your daughter next. Can't have another worthless Stark getting in the way. She'll marry…"

Ariana ducked behind some cover as she yelled, "Jebediah ran off like a little coward! I guess that will put that fucked up wedding on hold, Stane!"

He aimed at her with his other hand and bullets hit around her. She screamed, tried to make herself small, and covered her ears.

"Push it!" Tony yelled to Pepper. He didn't know what the energy surge would do to Ariana, but he prayed that she would be alright.

Power flowed through the building. Ariana gasped when it hit. She lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

She woke up in the hospital the next day. The TV was on in her room.

"The truth is…" Tony was saying, before looking at the cameras. "I am Iron Man."

Ariana cheered, getting the nurses' attention. She let them fuss over her before a coffee-skinned man entered the room. He reminded her of a pirate with his eyepatch, but she moved to sit up.

"Miss Stark, we looked over the tests performed," he said.

"Introductions first," she said, sitting up more. "I don't just talk to every Jack Sparrow I see, you know?"

"My name is Nick Fury. Director Nick Fury. I see your father taught you his sarcasm. I'd like to tell you that you're just fine, but the tests show signs of an awakening power. I'd like you to come with us after you're recovered for additional testing. It's non-negotiable."

"Sorry, Fury, but I don't have powers. You've got the wrong girl."

"That remains to be seen. I'll talk to your father tonight, but since you are young, I will show slightly more leniency towards you. After testing, it's up to you if you join."

"Join what?"

"The Avengers Initiative."