Life had been good for the Starks.
Well as good as life can get when you're basically the only two superheroes who don't need a flashing light in the sky. They weren't the Waynes.
Though...one day, I think I can be richer than Bruce Wayne. Without ever once dressing up like a bat. My mom is probably dead, I'm halfway there!
Main point: Starks were doing great.
Right now we were flying towards the Stark Expo. It had taken Pepper, Tony, and I months of planning and various other forms of work.
Granted, Pepper had done a lot of it. Tony or I would be called away for Iron Man and Night Mistress things. Which included myself coming over to take down a fuck ton of gangs, other terrorists, and keeping Iron Man from being dead.
Another kind of villain all itself, of course.
Also, suit upgrades. That had taken some time, mostly for creating them as I'd done mock-up's back Home.
The new suit had less blue on it. The boots were now straight black, covered in building plates up to my knees. From there I wore speciality black gear that kept out bullets, fire, and various needles. I'd tested it myself- go me. After that came the utility belt which I'd equipped with speciality guns, tiny bombs, a puch where'd I'd put a condensed version of the bo-staff, and one unique button with it's own unique pouch. Then came the tunic-style flaming-red shirt, that flared like a skirt around my waist. It had long sleeves stretching up to the golden fingerless gloves that served as focuses on my energy blasts. Last but not least the hood was the only thing still blue (with a golden trim rather than red).
"270 at thirty knots. Holding steady at fifteen thousand feet. You are clear for exfiltration over the drop zone." The pilot warned us.
The door of our airplane began to lower. My hood was fixed upright. The metal interior of the hood activated to hold it upright. It got fucked up in the wind. The rest of my suit unfolded from itself.
"Think you can make the landing?" I asked. While my identity was exposed to the world now, the domino mask stuck around because it had a good comm system.
"Uh, hell yeah. I'm way better than you at this." Iron Man replied.
"That's what you said last time, and you-"
"The suit needed a touch-up. I got distracted by that snafu you started-"
"You mean the catering snafu that you were in charge of?" I countered, rushing to the door.
"You brat!" Tony yelled, oh so mature.
I jumped out of the plane.
My boots slid the rockets into activation. They helped me keep balance in the air as I flew down towards the stage. I spun around to avoid the fireworks. My gear swirled about in mid-air, making me appreciate listening to Pepper's input. My hair did too- which is why I'm grateful to have kept it in the hood.
Before long, I saw Iron Man come up rush past me.
Ever a competitive person, I pushed the thrusters on the boots to push me faster.
In the end, Iron Man and Night Mistress arrived at the same time. The two of us landing side-by-side on stage. Fireworks went off behind us, while showgirls dressed like us started a kick-line. All the while rock 'n roll music was blasting from the speakers. I doubt many could hear it over their own cheers.
I waved at the cheering crowd. One or two got a finger gun directed at them- they wore Night Mistress cosplay, that shit deserves some props. Iron Man did the same to his adoring public.
Iron Man started the process of taking off the suit. I hopped back onto the runway, clicking a button on my utility belt.
My suit unfurled around me, in swirls of red and blue. I took off the hood, quickly flinging it out so it could unfurl to reveal a blue blazer with a matching golden trim. I slid the domino mask away too. My outfit for tonight was a dressy dark purple top with black leggings and yes the rocket boots. Tony came out wearing a nice black tie suit.
The crowd started chanting our names.
"It's good to be back. You missed me?" Tony asked.
"Please, they missed me." I countered, waving at the crowd. A bunch of them went wild at that.
"Blow something up!" One guy yelled.
"Hit someone with your stick!" Another shouted.
"I missed you too. Blow something up? I already did that." Tony replied.
"Hey I'll hit something with a stick if you throw it up!" I offered.
One person did. It was a baseball.
Pressing a button on the belt, it shot up the bo-staff. It slid together like an odd toy lightsaber before solidifying as the traditional bo-staff everybody loved.
I grabbed the staff, swinging it back so that I could hit the ball.
It went out of the park.
Everyone went nuts again.
I bowed, turning off the staff. It compressed, so I slid it back inside it's pouch on the belt. "Thank you, thank you. Oh you're all too kind! Somebody find that. Bring it to me- I'll sign it." I promised.
"I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of us." Tony remarked to the cheering crowd. "I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a greater phoenix metaphor been personified in human history."
The crowd loved the speech, cheering for Tony at all the right moments. I continued to stand, waving at various people that called out or were standing in the crowd.
"I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea because I haven't come across anyone who's man enough to go toe-to-toe with me and my badass daughter on our best day." Tony yelled.
"I love you Tony!" Someone shouted.
"Please, it's not about me." People still cheering Tony "It's not about you. It's not even about us. It's about legacy. With that, I hand the spotlight over to my legacy, the amazing Becky Stark."
The crowd cheered for me as I took center stage. I waved out to them, flipping back my hair and grinning. I moved my hands to my hips, standing almost in a superhero pose, except I was leaning on my hip way more.
"Big mistake, Dad, I'm not giving this back." I replied.
The crowd gave it the laughter it deserved.
"Ladies and gentleman, this is a big night not just for you and me, it's for everybody who is watching this at home. For the boys and girls watching, and seeing scientists come up with all their amazing inventions, and inspiring them to make world-changing things of their own. It's about the people watching this on YouTube over the next ten years, because they couldn't afford tickets here or weren't interested in science right now. It's because of them, that we decided to bring back this thing from 1974."
The crowd applauded for the inspirational speech. Jokes on them, I'm inspiring myself so much right now. I wanna build some armbands that do...something, I'll work it out later.
"The best and brightest men and women nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, share their collective vision, to leave behind a brighter future." I told the crowd, who cheered for that. "It's not about us. Therefore, what I'm saying, if I'm saying anything-" I stretched my arms out. "-is welcome back to the Stark Expo."
Everyone shouted in joy, throwing their arms up in excitement.
I clapped with them, throwing my arms up with them as the screen behind us began to swirl.
"So folks. Let me introduce to you a special guest from the great-beyond." I brought the speech to it's finish. "He's gonna tell you something really important about this event. With how warmly Dad and I were welcomed, I know you'll give him the credit he's due. Put your hands together for Grandpa Stark: Howard."
The lights dimmed to allow the video to play. Tony and I walked off stage. I blew out a breath once we were backstage. Howard's voice followed behind us, but I tuned it out.
Tony held out his hand, clapping it on my shoulder. "You did good, Beck. Like a natural."
I grinned, feeling the rush of being in front of a crowd fade for a moment. "Course I did. It was...a lot of fun."
Tony nodded. He bobbed his head to the small table they'd set up for us. "Get some water."
"I'll do what I like." I countered, walking up to the water bottle. Tony slipped a hand in his pocket, I noted from the corner of my eyes. As I drank from an Expo water bottle, I caught Tony wincing. He pulled something out of his pocket, glancing at it before smiling at up me.
I turned back to him, seeing not a trace of the fear that I knew he had. "What about you, Dad? You good? That was a lot of action for a guy you're age."
Tony just smiled. "Yeah right." He took up the other water bottle, taking a sip of it.
While he did that, I let my anxiety show. He was dying- I knew that well and good. Even without Iron Man 2 coming up I knew that reactor wasn't healthy for him. When I built it, I knew the materials we used weren't meant for human bodies in the long term.
Yet all this time, I'd come up with nothing.
Nothing that didn't involve magic of some kind, or some kind of uploading to a robot. Which no way would Tony agree to it.
But he was gonna die, without telling me. He'd been getting worse for the past two months, all the while he and I were saving the world. He had been letting me do more and more of them alone, or taking the spotlight.
He was getting sick.
And trying to make me forget.
Like hell.
==NM2==
Before long, Tony and I were making our way to his car. I was mostly there to see the fans anyway. Because I'd made a Twitter account for Night Mistress- mostly taking pictures with the bad guys I'd just beaten, or stupid memes of myself or Iron Man, people were becoming bigger and bigger fans of us.
Because well...I was really funny.
Happy was walking us to the doors.
"All right, it's a zoo out there, watch out." Happy cautioned.
I nodded, adjusting my belt for what to me felt like the hundredth time.
"Open up, let's go." Happy told the security guard at the door.
The guard nodded. He pushed the door open. Tony walked ahead. I walked just behind him. Worst case, I teleported is out. Which I'm surprised Happy didn't suggest in the first place. I'm convinced he's doing it so he can still call himself our bodyguard.
Anyway.
We were walking through the small crowd of people.
"Hey, nice to see you." Tong waved at various passers by. "All right. Thank you. I remember you."
I held up a peace sign to some cameras. "What up!" I cheered.
"Tony, Tony-"
"Becky! Hey Becky!"
"Hey person I don't know!" I replied to them.
One woman broke through, handing Tony a slip of paper. "Call me." She suggested.
Happy intervened before I could make a joke. "Hey, hey, hey, hey. Come on, come on." He pushed us along.
As we went down the stairs, people held up photos of Night Mistress. I signed the ones I could under 'Night Mistress'.
Tony signed his own pictures of Iron Man. "Hello. It would be a pleasure." He told them, signing quickly.
"Okay-" Happy tried to move us along.
Tony 'ruffled' the hair of a little boy. Well it was blocked by an Iron Man mask. "See you buddy."
The boy held up a baseball, with a curved dent in the side.
"Hey you found it!" I cheered. The small boy held the baseball out towards me. I happily picked it up, signing it as Becky Stark and Night Mistress. "Here ya go, bud." I tossed the ball back to the boy, who held it close to his chest in excitement.
I was smiling as we continued down the stairs. Tony greeted a reporter. I fist-bumped a fan or two.
We walked past the Stan Lee cameo, of which was the most essential.
Then we made it out. Alive.
I blew out a sigh when the doors shut.
"Come on, Starks. There we go." Happy urged.
"Very mellow." Tony mused.
"Gah...that was a lot of people-ing." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. After the brush I pulled it up in a ponytail.
"That wasn't so bad." Happy told me.
"No, it was perfect." Tony agreed.
"Oh it was amazing." I agreed, my head rolling back as I groaned. "Just...ugh. People."
Tony snickered at me. I stuck my tongue out at him. That only made him snicker harder.
"Look what we got here, the new model." Happy tried to distract me. He motioned towards the car pulled up to the side. Though in front of it was a woman.
"You know I can teleport, right?" I argued to Happy.
"Which is why we got the two seater." Happy replied.
"Hey, does she come with the car?" Tony asked.
"I certainly hope so. Hi." Happy greeted as we came into hearing distance.
I smiled warmly at the marshal, watching the two men walked around the car.
"Hi. And you are?" Tony asked.
"Marshal." She introduced.
"Irish. I like it." Tony remarked.
"Pleased to meet you, Tony." She replied. She gave me a nod. "Becky."
I waved.
"I'm on the wheel. Do you mind?" He asked Happy. Our guard tossed him the keys. "Where you from?"
"Bedford." The woman replied.
"What are you doing here?" Tony asked, while the top of the car sunk down.
"Looking for you." She answered.
"Yeah? You found me." He climbed into the car.
"Both of you." She added, glancing at me.
I walked up, standing beside the car.
"What are you up to later?" Tony asked.
"Serving subpoenas." She held out two letters.
Tony winced. "Yikes."
I took them both.
"He doesn't like to be handed things." Happy excused.
"Yeah, I have a peeve." Tony agreed.
"It's a new thing." I added for her sake.
"I got it." The marshal nodded. "You both are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow morning at 9 am." She informed.
"Happy to hear it ma'am." I replied.
"Can I see a badge?" Tony asked.
"You wanna see the badge?"
"He likes the badge."
"It'll make his year to see the badge."
The marshal showed him the badge. "You still like it?"
"Yep." Tony answered. He turned the car on, making it roar. "How far are we from DC?"
"250 miles." I recited.
The car sped off.
The marshal turned to me. "You?"
"Oh I'm going home to sleep." I replied, immediately teleporting away.
==NM2==
AN: Thank you everyone that's sticking with me! It means a lot you guys are following the series as it goes.
Thanks to mlr96, Ranker, yukicarr, Sparrowhawk8.20, grapejuice101, FlamingStar1, and rizarda15, for favoriting
Thanks to Scribleyellow, djmegamouth, MadSnow, yukicarr, Thornewood, CalliopeNera, FlamingStar1, Alanur64, rizarda15, and Bronzelove for following