To that guest reviewer, since I can't message you privately I'm just going to reply right now. I'm not going to be mean and I'm really trying not to, but I actually do know what autism is and I know exactly what the symptoms are considering I am autistic. I won't take this review too personally, but I do know what I'm talking about considering I go through these struggles everyday. I guess I made my OC more like me, more functional. A lot of people can't even tell I'm autistic because I've had help and support my entire life and I've gotten better. I guess I made Tyra kind of similar to me in that way. And yes, these subjects are sensitive, but I want people to know that we're just a little different from everyone else. And having a disability is not a bad thing at all, it makes you special. Does that mean everyone else isn't special? No. But we're all unique in our own way. The one thing that I still struggle with because of my autism is physical contact with other people and making eye contact with other people. We have heightened senses, so sometimes even touching someone is too much for us to handle. And I can never really make eye contact with people because in our perspective, even the most familiar face can seem like an uncomfortable threat. I'm just pointing this out in the nicest way possible. I tend to take things personally...sorry. Anyway, Tyra has several symptoms of autism, but they're not as severe as when she was a child, much like me. Thank you for reviewing though, anonymous reviewer. I appreciate your honesty. I'm sorry if I've confused some of you...I just felt like I had to explain this. MOVING ON! Enjoy this chapter! I am on a roll! Two chapters in one night! WHOOHOO!
When I get home, I change into something comfortable before grabbing my sketch pad. Immediately my mind drifts off to the mysterious man in my dream, and I can't help but sketch him out of impulse. As my hand runs along the smooth surface of the paper, I keep trying to brainstorm on how I intended to find the evidence that I needed to put Obadiah away in prison. The only thing I kept thinking of was to go to his office at Stark Industries in person, but even then, what would I know to look for? And where?
FLASH!
"No mortal has ever been able to hit me so hard. What exactly are you?" He hissed at me.
"I'm the woman that's going to kick your ass if you man handle me like that again." I returned his glare.
He responds with laughter, giving me an all too amused expression the moment he stares me down again.
"Dick." I muttered under my breath.
"You are an interesting female of the mortal species...I can see why Thor was so interested in that Midgardian..."
FLASH!
"W- -what..." I mutter to myself.
I find myself lying on the couch, my sketchpad fallen to the floor along with my pencil. When I retrieve my sketchpad, I see the face of the man from my bizarre dreams stare back at me with that same mischievous expression.
Talk about weird...What the fuck? I keep fainting for no reason...
"JARVIS? Could you tell me the time please?" I ask politely.
"It is currently 1:45 in the morning Miss Stark. Might I suggest you go to bed?" JARVIS responds.
"Shit! It's been that long? It felt like I just got home not even an hour ago." I whined.
"You went into some sort of trance before falling asleep, Miss Stark. Perhaps you should go to bed earlier." JARVIS suggests. "It might help you feel more rested."
"I mean...I guess..." I stammered.
I move to clean up and go up to my room, but before my back hits the mattress, JARVIS has spoken once again.
"I apologize, but your father has returned. He requests that you go down to the workshop immediately."
I grow confused but go down to the workshop to find my disgruntled father. He's pacing back and forth as he types in information on the computer, and has JARVIS summon the prototype to the MARKII armor that we've only recently built.
"Oh, you went with my idea after all. The red and gold clash well together, don't you think?" I smiled.
My smile fades when my dad looks up at me, his expression less than pleased. When he sees how nervous I am, he sighs and places a hand on my shoulder.
"Sorry honey, I'm just a little...mad. If you couldn't already tell." Dad informs me.
"What's wrong? And where were you all night?" I question him.
"I went to the charity ball." He replies with a gentle squeeze to my shoulder. "Listen, I found out Obadiah's been dealing under the table. I'm gonna find all those shipments and destroy them myself...for good this time."
I stare at him in surprise, never once seeing him so angry over something. Instead of telling him to think it through rationally and stay here, I found myself actually agreeing with him for once.
"Well do you know where you're even going?" I ask.
Dad also looks surprised considering I'm the voice of reason between the two of us, but he answers regardless.
"It's in a village called Gulmira. It's near the place I was held captive, so I'm pretty sure that village is my best bet. I just saw the news about people being evacuated from there." Dad replied.
I didn't ask who his source was and focused on the task at hand as my father got the suit on. Before he flies away I stop him with a call.
"Dad?"
The face piece to the suit peels back to reveal his face, and he looks at me curiously.
"I uh...I love you. And I'm sorry for yelling at you before. I was scared that I almost lost you again and..." I avert my gaze, feeling a lump in my throat. "And please, just be careful."
He gives me a warm smile before walking over to me and placing a metallic hand on my head gently.
"I...I love you too. And that's why I'm doing this tonight...but I'll be careful." Dad mumbles.
Quickly, I grab my headset and place it on my head, making sure the microphone attached was working properly.
"I'll be your eyes and ears." I assured him.
He places a kiss to my forehead, walking back a few feet before the mask comes back on and he takes off flying out of the garage.
It's almost half an hour before dad finally gets to his destination, and he hides carefully as I scan the surrounding area from my end. Using Stark technology, I'm able to highlight who is a hostage or a mercenary throughout the center of the small village.
"Alright dad, be careful. This place is full of mercenaries..." I spoke into the earpiece.
"Got it." Dad replied.
From my dad's end, I can hear struggling, screaming, and crying. After a few seconds though, most of the mercenaries around the hostages were gone, so it was easy to assume that dad took them down. I found one last target in a building nearby, and I could already tell that he was trying to call for backup of some kind.
"Dad! There's someone in that building behind you! Hurry up before he calls for backup!" I informed him.
He does so quickly, and leaves the man to deal with the angry and hurt villagers. He starts making his way towards the weapons being stored nearby, and before I can warn him, he's already hit with an attack.
"Shit! Sorry! I tried warning you." I winced.
"It's fine, honey..." Dad breathed out.
It's not long after he's destroying most of the weapons, everything within the MARKII functioning as it should be. Another tank missile makes its way towards him in the distance, and almost hits dad, but he swiftly dodged it before firing his own mini tank missile and blew the tank to smithereens. It's not long before he gets moving, and confirming that all the weapons from Stark Industries were destroyed, starts making his way home. I glance at the clock again, and my eyes widen in surprise that it's been several hours and that it's early morning already.
Shit...it's been that long already? I can't believe I've been up all night.
When I hear several alerts sounding from the computer, I immediately begin to see what the problem is and inform dad of my findings.
"Dad, we've got a slight problem...there are two jets heading for you...something tells me this isn't a welcome party." I spoke nervously into the earpiece.
"Great...just what I need, I'll try to shake them off." Dad replies.
Almost right on cue, I hear from JARVIS that he's receiving a phone call and I connect myself to the call to listen in.
"Sir, Colonel Rhodes is calling. Shall I answer?" JARVIS asked.
"Yup, might as well." Dad said.
I grew nervous as dad answered the call, knowing this would be anything but good.
"Hello?"
"Tony." Rhodey said.
"Who is this?" Dad asked innocently.
"Rhodey." He replied.
"Who?" Dad teased.
"Stop being a smartass. You know perfectly well who this is, Tony." Rhodey snapped. "What the hell is that noise?"
Dad was silent for a few seconds before I answered for him. From the video feed of my father's face within the suit, I can see him fail to mask his surprise that I intercepted the call.
"We're driving with the top down." I said quickly.
"Tyra? Where the heck are you two anyway?" Rhodey asked.
Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck, think...
"Oh we're just driving...in the canyon." I slowly answered.
"Are you lying to me by any chance?" Rhodey sounded suspicious.
"No! Why would you say that?" I smile nervously into the mic.
"Alright, well I need your help Tony." Rhodey said.
"Funny how that works huh?" I could imagine dad smirking.
"Yeah well we just got a weapons depot blown up a few clicks from where you were held captive." Rhodey informed dad.
"Sounds like one of those places that goes boom a lot huh?" I joked.
"Yup..." Dad breathed out.
"Why do you sound so out of breath Tony?" Rhodey asked suspiciously.
"I was just jogging in the canyon."
I winced at dad's mistake.
God damn it, dad...so close...
"I thought you were driving." Rhodey pointed out.
"I'm driving next to him." I corrected dad. "Come on, dad! Time to get back in the car! I'm starving!" I raised my voice a little.
"Coming, honey!" Dad yelled back.
"You two sure you don't have any tech that I should know about?" Rhodey asked one last time.
"...nope." Dad hesitantly replied.
"Good. Because it's about to be blown to kingdom come." With that Rhodey hung up.
Something tells me that this is gonna end up very badly...
"Dad? I have a really bad feeling about this...we probably should have just told him the truth." I said.
"Probably..." Dad sighed.
I heard an alarm go off on the computer and quickly looked at the screen with fearful eyes.
"Shit! Dad watch out! They've got a lock on you!" I quickly informed him.
"SSHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Dad screamed.
I heard several explosions and I after a few seconds it got a little quiet.
"Dad?! You there?" I asked.
"SSSH!" Dad shushed me.
Getting anxious again, I started pulling up Rhodey's number and finally made the decision to call him.
"Fuck it, I'm calling him again!" I shouted worriedly.
After a few dial tones, Rhodey answers the call, sounding exasperated and annoyed as all hell.
"Hello?"
"Hi Rhodey, it's me..." Dad sounded strained.
"Who?" Rhodey sounded confused.
"I'm sorry...it's me." Dad tried giving him a hint.
"Look, this isn't a game! Do you understand? You do not send active equipment into my war-zone! Do. You. Understand?!" Rhodey snapped.
"It's not a piece of equipment, it's a suit! IT'S ME!" Dad practically yelled.
"God damn it, Rhodey call it off! It's my dad!" I nearly screamed.
I heard Rhodey gasp over the line and it was easy to register his shock. Over the commotion, I noticed that dad had accidentally crashed into one of the planes. Once seeing from satellite feed that the pilot was having trouble deploying his parachute, I send dad to go help.
"Dad! The pilot you crashed into is having a hard time pulling out his parachute! It's not deploying! Go help him out!" I ordered him.
"On it!" He yelled.
I gripped the arms of my chair tightly and hoped for the best, but found myself cheering when my father managed to save the man in time. He makes a quick getaway after that, and I smile into the microphone as I congratulate him.
"Tony, you still there?" Rhodey asked.
"Hey there." Dad chuckled.
"You crazy son of a bitch." Rhodey laughs.
"No harm done." Dad said.
"You owe me a new plane, you know that right?" Rhodey told dad.
"Technically he hit me...so you wanna see what Tyra and I have been working on now?" Dad asked.
"No. The less I know, the better." Rhodey answered.
Very true, it's probably better this way...
"Now what do I tell the press?"
"Training exercise. Isn't that the usual B.S.?" Dad joked.
"It isn't that simple you know..." Rhodey sighed.
"You know you love us." I sang happily.
After arriving back to the garage, it's almost seven thirty in the morning, and the two of us are exhausted and ready to go to bed. Dad quickly orders JARVIS to help him get out of the suit. I found it funny that it was easy for him to get into the suit, but the reverse was taking a long time. Mechanical arms moved around my father to unscrew and take the suit apart, but it was proved to be difficult when he kept moving too much.
"Sir, the more you struggle, the more this will hurt." JARVIS informed him.
I heard a gasp from behind us and I froze in my spot.
Pepper...aw crap...
We all stood in silence as Pepper struggled to find words.
"Okay let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing." Dad blurted out.
So very true...
"Are those...bullet holes?" Pepper breathed out.
Pepper narrowed her eyes and gave me a look as if asking me for some explanation.
"Uh...maybe?" I smiled nervously.
Oh we're screwed...
It was as if the perfect opportunity arose when we discussed the need to get into Obadiah's office. Immediately, my mind drifted off the last conversation I had with Phil Coulson, and I knew this was my chance to get any sort of evidence on Obadiah.
"Hey you busy? You mind if I send you on an errand?" Dad asked Pepper.
Pepper looked confused, but patiently waited for my dad to finish talking.
"I need you to go to my office. You're going to hack into the mainframe and you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests." Dad handed a flash drive to Pepper. "This is a lock chip, it'll get you in. It's probably all under executive files, if not, they probably put it on a ghost drive in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading."
"And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?" Pepper glances at dad suspiciously.
"Same drill." He said. "Pepper, they've been dealing under the table. And we're gonna stop them. We're gonna find every weapon and destroy them."
"Tony, you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if you're gonna start all of this again." Pepper sighed.
"There is nothing except this. There's no art opening, there's no benefit, there's nothing to sign, there is the next mission. And nothing else." Dad snapped.
"Is that so? Well I quit..."
Pepper put the flash drive onto the table in front of us and began heading for the door that led upstairs.
I was practically speechless as I watched the exchange.
"You stood by our side all of these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction. And now that I'm trying to protect the people I put in harm's way, you're just going to walk out?" Dad looked at her in disbelief.
"You're going to kill yourself and your daughter, Tony and I won't be apart of it." Pepper shook her head.
"I shouldn't be alive, unless it was for a reason." Dad said seriously. "I'm not crazy, Pepper...I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right."
I never seen my dad be so...compassionate before.
"You both are all I have too, you know..." Pepper mutters softly.
I grab the flash drive from my father's hand and see the looks of confusion and worry on their faces. I put it in my pocket and glance back at my dad, who's clearly waiting for an explanation.
"I can do it." I spoke up.
"Wait, what? No way. I don't want you- -" Dad starts.
"I need to do this, dad." I mumble.
Pepper stops in the doorway of the workshop and gives me a saddened look.
"Tyra, you can't go in alone. I don't trust Obadiah and I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to you." Dad argued.
"I can do it." I repeated. "Obadiah's gonna get what's coming to him."
Dad pauses when he sees the look on my face.
"You...you know something don't you?" He realized.
Sighing deeply, I give in and nod at my father in confirmation.
"Dad...he's the one that tried killing you. He tried to kill me too." I confessed.
He looks at me in shock, and from the corner of my eye, I see Pepper fail to hold back a gasp.
"I know it seems like a stretch, but he basically confessed last night as he threatened me right after I called him out on his bullshit. I was bluffing of course, but he actually...he confessed. He's been trying to take over Stark Industries and almost had us both killed to do it. So when I say that I need to do this, I'm not kidding. I need to stop this man before he hurts anyone else." I told him.
When I start walking away and move past Pepper, she grabs my arm to stop me.
"Let's go." Pepper tells me. "I'm going with you."
After arriving to Stark Industries, Pepper and I move quickly as the two of us head for our main destination: my father's shared office with Obadiah. As soon as we get inside, I quickly go for the computer, and plug the flash drive in. As my father said, the lock chip helps us get access, and from there, I download everything onto the flash drive. I tell Pepper to keep an eye on the door as I start going through the files myself. Something catches my eye instantly, and I pause to read it.
Sector 16...that must be the secret project Obadiah's been working on behind dad's back!
"Sector 16? What have you been up to, Obadiah?" I smirked.
It was basically another suit, or more accurately, the prototype dad had built to escape the cave. It was as Phil Coulson had told me, that what dad had created to escape his captors was something Obadiah sought after and was rebuilding it. Next, I find a video file and open it as well. Chills go up my spine as I turn the volume up, and watch as a group of terrorists with guns surround my bloody and beat up father who's tied to a chair. I type in a command of sorts, hoping to translate whatever it is that the men are saying in another language.
This must have been when he got kidnapped...oh my god...
Pepper noticed my discomfort and came over. When she saw what I was watching, her eyes widened drastically.
"As you can see, Obadiah Stane..." A terrorist said.
"Oh my god..." Pepper gasped.
"...your deception and lies will cost you dearly. The price to kill Tony Stark has just gone up."
I paused the video and exited out of it quickly.
That bastard...Obadiah was going to pay- -
"So, what are we going to do about this?"
I froze at the very familiar voice, every fiber in my being telling me to hit it and quit it. I glanced up and down between Obadiah himself, and the progress of the download of the computer files.
I AM SO FUCKED.
I turned over to look at Pepper with a small knowing glare. I wanted nothing more than to yell at Pepper and be like, "Bitch! I told you to watch the door! This isn't like Scooby Doo where we can just sing a catchy song and get out with no problems! NOW WE'RE DONE FOR!", but surprisingly I remained silent and calm. I quickly grabbed the newspaper on the table and slowly covered the flash drive, so it wouldn't be seen by Obadiah right away. Pepper glanced at the screen watching the flash drive still download all of the files and then gazed back over at Obadiah again quickly, trying not to look suspicious.
"I know what you're going through, Pepper...he always gets the good stuff doesn't he?"
That's my dad you're talking about asshole.
"I was so happy when he came home. It was like he came back from the dead."
Oh I'm sure it was happiness you felt when he returned...
I chuckled and laid back in the chair.
"Funny how you mention that..." I mumbled.
"Well now I realize, Tony never really came back. He left apart of himself in that cave." Obadiah continued. "Broke my heart really, he's a different person now...well, he's a complicated person. I figure you must get that from him, Tyra." Obadiah smiled at me.
"I certainly got a lot of things from my dad...like his brains." I teased.
"...Right...He's been through a lot, I think he'll be alright." Obadiah turned over to Pepper again. "You're a very rare woman. Tony doesn't know how lucky he is."
Underneath my calm exterior, I was slowly but surely panicking. Pepper however, looks ready to fucking take off as fast as she can knowing the kind of man she now realizes Obadiah Stane truly is. Pepper clears her throat with a cough, getting my attention deliberately as a sign that I should get the flash drive before he noticed anything.
"Thank you...Well we better get back there." Pepper spoke nonchalantly.
"Is that today's paper?" Obadiah pointed at the newspaper hiding the flash drive.
I tense up in the seat, and give him a fake smile after noticing the download was completed. I slyly remove the flash drive from underneath the newspaper before slipping it into my sleeve. As I make my way over to the door, I roughly hand the newspaper to Obadiah, who merely raises an eyebrow. Pepper's already out of the door, and I pause before turning to look back at the man.
"Something the matter?" Obadiah smiles politely.
I resist the urge to scoff at this asshole, and decide to get fucking sassy knowing that the man is done for when the government agency Coulson works for come to retrieve him.
"Oh it's nothing. I'm just thinking how great you'll look within prison walls. I'm sure the outfit will bring out your eyes." I wink at him.
At this, Obadiah tenses, but I don't say anything else before I'm out the door and catching up to Pepper quickly.
"Sector 16...so that's where he kept dad's prototype suit. The fact that he actually retrieved the pieces from Afghanistan is still mind boggling." I muttered to myself.
"Wait, what? Did you see that on the computer or something?" Pepper's eyes widened.
"Yup." I nod.
In the distance, I see Phil Coulson walking over as he spots the two of us.
"Miss Stark, we had an appointment. Did you forget our appointment?" Agent Coulson asks.
Coulson looks unsure that he should say anything more in front of Pepper, unaware of how much she knows.
"It's okay, Mr. Coulson, she's already in the loop." I informed him.
"Just call me Coulson or Phil, no need for formalities or anything." Phil smiles.
I can't help but return the smile, and as soon as we make it out of the building, Coulson already has a car outside waiting for us.
"Did you get any information on Stane? Any evidence?" Coulson raises an eyebrow.
"Even better. I know where his secret little project is as well. But yes, I've got everything you need." I smirk.
I hand him the flash drive and give him directions to Sector 16 before we all get in the car.
Unbeknownst to everyone else, I carried my prototype 'Captain America holographic shield/laser gun' and carefully secure it on my wrist as soon as we arrive to the warehouse hours later after the drive to Section 16.
"I couldn't get ahold of your father. I don't know, but I have a bad feeling..." Pepper informs me.
At this, I grow nervous and stare at Pepper worriedly.
"Call Rhodey and tell him to check in on dad." I told Pepper. "Something's not right at all."
She nodded and began to do so right away. I walked over to Agent Coulson and gently tapped him on the shoulder. When his eyes meet mine, I begin to feel a little uneasy and find myself averting his gaze.
"So what's gonna happen now? Do you need us to do anything? I don't know if I can gain access for the door." I ask.
"It's alright. We've got it covered. Just be alert and be careful." Phil replies.
As one of Coulson's colleagues hooks a device to the door, Pepper looks at it in curiosity.
"Is that a device that's gonna pick the lock?" Pepper asks.
"You might want to step back a little." Agent Coulson smiled.
We all take a step back and Pepper held her hands over her ears as she expects some kind of huge explosion, but it was a small explosion to blow the lock off.
"Looks like you two were right. He was building a suit."
Coulson looked a computer screen that must have been next to where the armor was.
This hunk of metal must have been so heavy...how did dad even move around in that thing?
"I thought it'd be bigger." Pepper mumbled.
"It's already powered to over 45%, sir." One agent informed Coulson.
Shit...that's not good...I must have set him off, so he came here...
I looked over at this empty space where I assumed the armor once was. I was startled when a pair of glowing blue eyes lit up right before me. Seeing this, Pepper pulls me away and the two of us began running for our lives as the armor begins chasing after us. Coulson and the other agents tried holding off Obadiah, but to no avail. Once Pepper and I reached the exit, my dad called through her bluetooth earpiece.
"Pepper!"
"Tony! Oh Tony are you okay?!" Pepper asked worriedly.
"I'm fine! How are- -"
"It's Obadiah! He's gone insane!" Pepper said.
"I know. Listen, you and Tyra gotta get out of there- -"
"He built a suit and- -"
"Get out of there!" Dad yelled.
The ground exploded a few feet away and out came Obadiah in the MARKI armor.
"Where do you think you're going?"
OH MY FUCKING GOD!
I stare at the large bulking armored Obadiah in front of us, and when he raises his arm in front of my face, I notice a machine gun was attached to it.
"Shit snacks." I barely utter.
"Your services are no longer required."
Oh my fucking God...this is how I die. From this douche-nozzle...
"STAAANE!" A voice yelled in the distance.
A flash of gold and red flew by and tackled Stane, taking him far away from us.
"I think my heart almost fell out of my ass." I mutter fearfully.
"Tyra! Tyra come on!" Pepper yells at me.
I find myself rooted to the ground until Pepper gives my face a few gentle slaps.
"Snap out of it! We've gotta get moving!" Pepper gives me a stern look.
I can tell Pepper is as terrified as I was, but I know she's trying to keep it together. I nod slowly and begin following her, and after several minutes, we hear from my dad again.
"Potts!" Dad hisses through the mic.
"Tony! Oh my god! Are you okay?!" Pepper yelled frantically.
"I'm almost out of power, I've gotta get out of this thing. I'll be right there!" Dad lowered his voice.
Dad got cut off and I could hear Obadiah loudly in the background through the ear piece.
I can't let him do this alone...
I pull my hand from Pepper's grasp before grabbing a gun from an unconscious agent nearby. Pepper looks at me with wide eyes as I hold the gun wrongly, but I quickly fix that to the best of my ability.
"Tyra! What do you think you're doing?!" Pepper shouts at me.
"I can't let my dad do this alone!" I cried. "You guys can yell at me all you want later, but I need to help him!"
Ignoring Pepper's shouts behind me, I run as fast as I can, making my way to the rooftop and remembering to put the safety off of the gun.
Okay, you just aim and shoot. It can't be that hard right?
In the distance, I see my father in the armor, struggling to keep Obadiah at bay. I figure this is my chance at giving dad the opportunity to get away from Stane.
"Hey asshole! Over here!" I holler at him.
Stane turns in my direction and I start shooting whatever bullets are left in the gun. I can hear my dad yelling as Obadiah charges at me, and from that point, I take this as a sign to get the hell outta dodge. I run as fast as my legs will possibly carry me, screaming as I duck for cover when I hear the ricochets of bullets. Thinking quickly, I activate my bracelet and use the lasers to get a few hits in on Obadiah. By this time, I can see that Obadiah is on his last legs as he struggles to hit my father with more weapons.
"You finally outdid yourself, Tony! You'd have made your father proud!" Obadiah laughed evilly. "How ironic, Tony! Trying to rid the world of weapons and you gave it its best one ever! And now...I'm gonna kill you and your daughter with it..."
It feels as if the world is in slow motion, and I run one more time with whatever energy I've got left. My dad's head slowly turns towards me and looks at me with wide eyes and his lips are moving, but I don't register what he's saying while my heart pounds loudly in my ears. I'm fiddling with the arm band, pressing several buttons on the go as I make my way to my father. Finally, the world is back to normal speed again, bullets spraying in our direction as I manage to pull up my Captain America holographic shield. I hold onto my dad, who looks at me in pure amazement as we hide behind the shield together. Our luck finally runs out when a ricochet bullet hits the glass we're standing on, and it shatters underneath us. I'm screaming as I find myself falling but dad quickly grabs my hand as he too hangs on the ledge. Obadiah still keeps shooting at us regardless of the fact that dad ripped out his targeting system. Dad lets out a shout of pain as he struggles to lift me up. I blink away tears as I look down and see how far up we are from the arc reactor below us. Dad's shouting orders at Pepper in the midst of it all as Obadiah slowly inches his way closer to us.
"It's time to hit the button!" Dad yelled below.
"But you told me not to!" Pepper objected.
"Hold still, you little prick." Obadiah slurred from blood loss.
Obadiah grew angry and frustrated as he continued shooting the mini missiles at us.
"Just do it!" Dad screams.
"But you'll both die!" Pepper cried.
Dad was overloading the arc reactor wasn't he? The blast could kill all of us. It was a small price to pay to kill this bastard, but it would be worth it.
"PUSH IT!" He hollered at Pepper.
Pepper reluctantly pushed the button and high tailed it out of there as fast as she could. Dad then gave me one last glance and smiled at me through teary eyes.
"I love you so much, Tyra. You know that right?" Dad said.
"Yeah. I love you too." I felt tears flow freely down my face.
"This is goodbye, babycakes."
I frown at him in confusion, until I realize that he's using whatever power's left in the armor to haul me up and throw me out of the blast.
"DAD!" I cried.
I'm being flung into the air, as the outskirts of the blast from the arc reactor hit part of me. Explosions sound around me as I'm blown away, energy from the arc reactor surging throughout my entire body. By the time it's over, there's no more sign of Obadiah. My vision blurs as I glance over at my father's body in the distance, the light of the arc reactor in his chest flickering. My hand slowly reaches out to him, but I'm too far away to do anything as I lose consciousness.
It was miraculous in itself that my father and I had managed to survive. More agents from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division had rushed us to the hospital as discreetly as possible. However, we weren't necessarily out of the woods yet. I had broken ribs, my left arm was broken in two places, and I had a fractured knee. Surprisingly, my dad was mostly scot free and had minor bruises and cuts. After it was cleared, I was sent home since my father distrusted the very same hospital that had me put away in that mental institution under Obadiah's orders. So here I was, resting up at home the following morning. As confused as I was that I took more damage than my father, I was just relieved that the two of us were alive and kicking. I currently watched the news from my bed as I awaited for my dad to be on TV to make a statement about last night. Agent Coulson had been tasked with providing a cover story for last nights events, and even was as kind as to give me an explanation. Dad wasn't at the arc reactor incident and was on a yacht at the time of the explosion last night where there were several 'eyewitnesses'. As for the explanation of Obadiah's death, Obadiah was also on a 'vacation' when his plane suddenly crashed. However, I was to remain on the down low because no one could know about my injuries. I turned the volume up as my dad appeared on the screen and walked to the podium in the middle of the stage.
"Been a while since I was in front of you...I think I'll stick to the cards this time..." Dad joked. A few reporters laughed. "There's been speculation that I was involved in the events of the freeway and the rooftop..."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect me to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared despite the fact that you- -" Christine Everheart was cut off by dad.
"I know it's confusing...it is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely, to make wild accusations or insinuate that I'm a superhero." Dad said.
You ass monkey! You're completely blowing it!
"I never said you were a superhero." Christine smirked.
"Didn't? Well good. Because that would be outlandish and fantastic. I'm just not the hero type, clearly. With this laundry list of character defects and all the mistakes I made..." Rhodey came over and whispered something in dad's ear. "Yeah, yeah right..." Dad mumbled.
He was silent for several seconds before speaking up again.
"Well the truth is...I am Iron Man."
The reporters were yet again going nuts about the sudden news and I quickly turned off the TV.
Shiiiit...this is not good...
"Dad you ass..." I groaned.
I slowly make my way out of bed and move down the stairs despite the doctor's orders. After making my way to the kitchen, I get a glass of orange juice and sip at it slowly.
"Don't you think you should be on bed rest after what happened?"
I drop the glass in shock, wincing at the loud crash once it impacts the floor. There's a tall man standing in the living room just several feet behind me, and I grab a knife quickly from the kitchen as I slowly approach him with a limp. The African American man with an eyepatch stares at me in amusement until it becomes one of sympathy and he raises his arms up.
"I'm not here to harm you, Miss Stark. Though I was hoping to talk to you and your father about something...I'm Director Nick Fury from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. We call ourselves SHIELD now. I'm sure you've heard of us through Agent Coulson, am I correct?"
I slowly lower the knife and wince from the pain in my left arm before accidentally dropping the knife. Nick Fury is quick and catches the knife before it even hits the ground and places it on a table nearby. I stare at the man in surprise and find myself scared, but he's patient as he helps lead me over to the couch. He's surprisingly careful about my injuries and is kind enough to place pillows all around me to help me get comfortable as he places a blanket on top.
"So uh...w- -what do you want?" I mutter.
"I'm here about the Avengers Initiative." Nick Fury said.
This chapter probably wasn't my best one, but I wanted to get through Iron Man 1 pretty quickly because I'm excited to move on to Iron Man 2 and then the Avengers! XD Let me know what you think, but please be nice! I'm crazy sensitive to criticism! lol