We didn't hear from my dad until he came home around four the next morning. Pepper and I were both asleep on the couch, the tv had automatically clicked itself off, the laptop we had been using to look at dresses had gone black because we hadn't touched it in so long and had slid to the floor and laid upside down and our tea had long gone cold. We had talked boys and dresses and watched a romantic comedy until we both couldn't keep our eyes open.

I heard him come in but Pepper didn't even stir. I got off the couch to find him limping in the doorway- bruised and beaten. "Dad, what happened?!" I exclaimed as I hurried over to him- he looked as if he may collapse at any moment.

"I'm alright, Ruby. Everybody is alright." He said, clearly just trying to keep me calm.

"Let me help you." I said, "Who did this to you?"

"It's a long story- and really I don't know who they were. None of us do. Peter is the only one who has seen them before, they were the ones that did that to him." My dad said and then looked back up to me, "But you don't need to worry Ruby, we will handle this. You are safe. Peter is safe too- we left him at the tower for eyes."

"I could help you. Let me help you. All of you went and faced them and look at you. You need more help."

"Ruby, this isn't up for discussion. Not now, not ever. You will never be an Avenger, you will be a normal person. I will make sure you never are, and I don't want to hear anymore about it! Do you understand me?!"

I was taken aback to say the least. I was just trying to help him- not even necessarily bring up that conversation, just get him to bed and offer my eyes, not even to be an Avenger, and here he was, biting my head off. I almost left him there, ran from him, but I was done running. "I just want to help you get to bed." I said.

"I can get myself to bed." He snapped, then began limping away. I followed behind him and realized after a few feet that he was- in fact- not okay. I grabbed him as he grabbed his head and went forward, making his fall more gentle, but he was too heavy for me to just pick up. He groaned in pain as I flipped him onto his back and helped him sit up.

"You're bleeding." I said, seeing the blood coming through his shirt for the first time. I lifted it up despite his weak protests, "This doesn't look good, I think we should take you to a hospital." I said.

"Pass. I've had worse and lived. I just need to get some sleep." He said.

"You can't even walk." I said in a "are you stupid?" tone.

He pushed me away and slowly got back to his feet, but after a few steps he blacked out. I caught him, but he was too heavy. "Pepper! I need help!" I yelled.

"I will wake her." Jarvis chimed in as I struggled to keep my dad up right.

"Dad, wake up!" I yelled as I slumped to the ground, making sure he didn't smack his head. "Come on! Wake up!"

"Oh God, Tony!" Pepper gasped as she came around the corner to us. She got down beside of us, examining him. "We have to get him up to bed, can you help me?" She asked. I nodded quickly, and then helped her get him to his feet. He was in and out of consciousness all the way to his bedroom. Pepper helped support him with one arm, and then with another she cleared off the bed down to their sheets, and then we laid him down. "Jarvis, give me his vitals." Pepper said.

"Heart rate is above, blood pressure is low. I expect it is not the bleeding, but a head injury, ma'am." He quickly answered.

"I think you're right, that is why he is unconscious. Okay, we still need to stop the bleeding." Pepper said as she looked up at me, "Can you go into our bathroom, grab some towels and the first aid kit, the rubbing alcohol wipes, and get one of the towels wet but not soaked with warm water?" She asked.

I nodded and quickly went to get it all. She was quick to take complete control of the situation. His shirt was off when I got back and he was in a more comfortable spot in bed. She used the wet towel to remove the blood from the area, and then used an alcohol wipe to clean the area. "I think this will be fine without stitches." She said, then wiped it with both items again, used some sticky tape to pull it together, and then bandaged it. She then sent me back into the bathroom for a cool wet cloth. She rubbed it on his head while looking for any other injuries. After a while she covered him up with a light blanket and put his head on a pillow then turned back to me. "Oh honey… He will be okay." She said as she took my face in her hands. I hadn't even realized I had been crying until she wiped tears off of my cheeks. She wrapped me into a hug, "This is part of what he does. It comes with the territory."

I nodded my head, not knowing what exactly to say. She pulled back from the hug, looking me in the eyes. She gave me a gentle smile and rubbed my shoulder before dropping her arms and turning back to my dad. I was suddenly hit with an overwhelming sense of fear and anxiety so powerful it almost knocked me off my feet, but along with it I had the feeling that I needed to keep it covered. I couldn't let it show. I felt like my chest was going to burst, like my lungs were having trouble taking in oxygen, but I just had to push through it- I don't know why, but I had to.

Suddenly, Pepper's phone rang. She quickly answered it, holding it with both hands. "Clint-" She started. I could hear Clint on the other hand, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. "Yes, he made it home." She said, "He's out cold now, what-" She started again but he cut him off. She looked over at me, and then left the room for privacy. I stood there, staring at my fathers limp body, the overwhelming fear and anxiety subsiding slightly.

I sat on the corner of his bed, just staring at him, not knowing what else to do. The silence that coated the room was numbing. "I could do it, you know." I mumbled, "I could be an avenger. I could do anything. I've been through a lot, and I am strong. I'm not a weak little girl." I sucked in a long breath, "but I would never want to do it without you. So, you have to be okay. You can't die. I don't want to be in this world alone anymore. I just found you- really found you. I don't want you to go away. I love you. You're my dad, and I don't want to lose you."

There was no answer, only silence. "Hey sweetie." Pepper said as she entered the room, "Your dad is going to be fine. He just needs some rest. I promise, if anything happens I will make sure you know."

I nodded my head again at her, "Shouldn't he go to the hospital?" I asked.

She sighed, "As much as I would like to say yes, no, he shouldn't. He should have gotten treatment at the tower, but he is stubborn. Jarvis will watch his vitals, past that, I will watch him. I think he just has a concussion and that wound, but it's really not deep."

I nodded, then fidgeted. "Do I have to sleep in my room?" I asked, "Could I stay here too?"

She gave me a gentle smile. "Of course." I crawled next to her at the foot of the bed, so that way there was no chance of us bumping my dad. Surprisingly, I didn't feel uncomfortable laying next to her. I liked Pepper. I thought of her as my friend- I felt like she had my back. I knew she thought I was asleep when she started crying silently and shaking. At first, I didn't do anything, but I couldn't just let her cry in silence. I moved closer to her and hugged her.

"It's going to be okay." I whispered into the dark.

She hugged me back and continued to cry, "It's so hard having him do this, Ruby. That's why I can't blame him even a little for him not wanting you to do this."

"Why do you let him then?" I asked.

"He is his own person, this is what he does, what he feels he has to do, I can't just tell him he can't." She said, then I felt the realization wash over her, "and you are his daughter. I can't say I am surprised you feel the same way. However, you are just a child-"

"Pepper, we don't need to argue over this. Not tonight." I said.

"Thanks." She replied. We fell asleep in a hug.

I felt nudging on my shoulder I opened my eyes to see light in the room. Pepper had scooted away, and we had our backs to each other. My dad was sitting up, his face was pale, and black underlined his eyes. "Are you okay?" I whispered as I blinked to clear my vision.

"Yeah, I'm alright." He whispered back. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay." I whispered, "We were worried about you though."

"You don't need to worry about me. But thanks for taking care of me. I know I was pretty… mean... last night. I'm sorry for that."

"It's okay." I replied.

I felt Pepper stir and sit up beside me. Her eyes immediately went to Tony, "Your snoring is getting out of control. It was so bad Ruby thought there was an earthquake and came in here to sleep. It brought a whole new meaning to sawing logs, because look, it actually cut me!" My dad quickly said before she could say anything.

She laughed, his goal was accomplished. It was a small laugh, and she tried to stifle it, but it was definitely there. I slid out of bed, wanting to give them their own time. I wandered down to the kitchen, but could immediately feel something was off. Something about the house didn't feel right. "Jarvis" I whispered into the dark room.

"Jarvis is disabled right now." I had never heard the voice before. A guy stepped forward, his eyes were an eerie white color, his face was pale and his hair blue. He was tall and so thin. I stepped back, afraid to scream and also confused as to what was happening. "Oh no, don't run." His voice was monotone. He raised his hands, electricity snapping between his fingers.

"Don't you wanna play with us?" This voice came from behind me. I spun on my heel, and directly behind me stood a massive woman. Her head was shaved, and she bore scars on her face, "You're daddy didn't want to play with us anymore either." She said.

Anger and fear flared in me. I turned back to the man, who had inched himself closer. I jammed my heel into his foot, because I knew it would do no good to shove it into shreks foot. As I did it I let out a blood curdling scream. I pushed passed the guy and ran past him, but there were more of them. One wore all black and could transport herself and any one she had a hold of, I know this because as I ran around a corner, she grabbed me and transported us back into the middle of them. "The hard way it is." She said.

Suddenly my dad was there, shielding me. I turned so my back was to his back. I saw Pepper run from their room towards the basement- where several of the suits were. We were surrounded. The big one came at me. Suddenly, a charge went through my body, as she came to grab me, and the other guy came at my dad, I was no longer in control. A pink ball surrounded my hand as I brought it back, and then with all the strength I had, and some I didn't even know I had, it made contact with her jaw. To my extreme surprise, she fell back. All eyes were on me, except for my dad who had missed it, but then I saw it, his suit was flying at us. I ducked as it quickly engulfed him. Suddenly, the transporter had me, and then we were outside. "You're a mutant?!" She snapped.

"What?! No!" I yelled as I yanked away from her.

She began creating a black mass, "You can stay in the middle until we handle this." I again lost control of my body. The pink orb that had surrounded my hand now surrounded her, and she couldn't leave it. "What the hell are you?!" I suddenly knew how to control it. I whipped the ball by an invisible string, whipping it over my head and slamming it on the ground, then whipping it back over my head and repeating the motion until she laid motionless. I was suddenly exhausted. The ball disappeared and I was no longer steady on my feet. I looked to see the rest of the Avengers landing the plane. Peter shot a web, wrapping it around me and then pulling me to him and setting my in the plane. "How bad are you hurt?" He asked as he put a tissue to my nose.

"I… I don't think I am." I said, but the world that rapidly spun around me said otherwise.

"These are the people who attacked us last night. Bruce and Natasha are still pretty hurt." He said, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"My dad is still in there! He needs help! Help him!" I begged.

Peter nodded and ran from the plane. I leaned my head back, it pounded profusely. The world spun so fast around me. It wasn't long and blackness quickly consumed me.

I woke up to Thor setting me into a chair. As I looked around I could see Peter and Pepper helping my dad into the plane, Clint following behind with a man I did not recognize. "Stay awake." Thor said as he closed the door to the plane. I tried to sit myself up straight, but my head just continued to pound and spin.

"Easy, it's okay." Peter said as he was suddenly at my side. "Did you hit your head? Do you remember what happened?"

I went to answer him, tell him about the pink orb that I produced, that protected me, but I shut my mouth, and shook my head no. "Let me go, let me see Ruby!" I suddenly heard my dad bark, and Peter turned to look at him, then got up and moved back, and my dad took his place, nearly falling over as he knelt down. "You alright, kid?" He asked as he gently touched my face.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing. What happened to the big one and the transporter one?" He asked.

I pretended to think on it, knowing good and well that I could tell him every detail of what happened, then I shrugged. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. You're not looking so hot though, what happened?" He asked as he wiped blood from my chin.

"I don't remember." I said, my head pounding harder and harder, "Why are they after us?"

This time he didn't answer. He stood up and walked to the front of the ship. It didn't take long to make it back to the tower, and as we landed it suddenly felt like I was on fire. I let out a scream as my body spasmed. Peter was already beside me, he grabbed my arm quickly, "Ruby what's wrong?!" He asked and my dad came to my side to, trying to soothe me. "Tell me what hurts Rubes." He barked like an order.

"Fire" I choked out, tears streaming down my cheeks. Everything hurt, it felt like my whole body would turn to ash at any second. I couldn't breathe. My dad tried to pick me up, but Thor quickly swooped in and took me from him, and then blackness consumed me. However, it wasn't pain free, I still felt like my body was on fire. I couldn't escape it. My insides even burned. The amount of fear that filled me was like something I had never felt before.