AN – I thought I would clear this point up for some of you –
My Pepper chapter – I didn't like it because of how quickly I just dumped the end out and said here's what happens. That's what had me so caught before – why I didn't finish the chapter originally. I knew what I wanted to happen, but didn't have the mindset to write it. I wanted to find a way to get it to you, and for it to make sense so I could go on and do the cute stuff like the last chapter!
This chapter has a new viewpoint for you =)
No one has come forward with drawing skill! I guess I'll have to go troll DA.
Chapter 13
The Storm Rumbles
"Fast!"
"What, you want faster?" I yelled over the roar of the wind in the convertible. It was a little later in the morning, so there wasn't really any traffic – so going 150 in the Audi was no big deal. And it made Emily giggle.
"FAST!" she yelled at me, hopping in the side seat in excitement.
With no hesitation, I popped it into last gear manually. Sure, the car did have a design in it where I could shift it with my thumb by push of a button – but that wasn't how cars were made to be. You pop the clutch, you yank the shifter, you jolt. That's how it works.
The car bucked like it stopped mid run, then jolted forward like a rocket blasting off. I felt like that kid again, running around in the race cars my father had been building. I got to sit in them sometimes. It was the closest thing I could get to flying at the time.
And I knew that had to be what Emily was feeling in that moment. And I loved it completely.
Her headmistress and Pepper did not enjoy our falderals, our father/daughter bonding. Me rocketing into the private school drive with screeching tires was always well received (not). Especially since the headmistress liked to yammer on with the parents when they dropped off their children. She and I had a great relationship.
"Mister Stark, you can be reckless with your own body all you please, but endangering your child like that-"
"Thank you for your input, Miss Curmudgeon."
"It's Crumger, Mister Stark!"
"Good morning to you too!"
I walked her in. Every morning that I got to drop her off I always walked to her to her classroom. I liked talking to her one-on-one teacher about how she was doing, and seeing her classroom that she never could stop talking about. We had been together since May, and it was now September. We found her a school with optimal security and that would use a one-on-one tutor with her to get her to speed. As much as I was paying these people, I should have my name on the drive. I parked there every time to piss off the crazed rich soccer moms anyway. They complained, I laughed. Whatever.
"Good Morning Miss Pakanich." I said as I opened the door. She was drawing something on the white board as Emily wandered on in to her desk and dropped her Iron Man backpack on it. She decided she wanted it even without me saying something – like father light daughter.
"Good morning Emily. Good morning Mister Stark." She was a sweet young woman, probably 25-ish. She had been raised in Latvia, spoke Russian fluently, and specifically did ESL. She was also quite attractive. Once she stopped by Emily to say something to her, she walked over to me in the doorway.
"Happy will be here to get her this afternoon. I have a meeting I have to attend to." It was always a matter of security for her. Even at school there were people trying to take pictures of her playing. Someone always brought her in, someone always walked her out. With me being her father and all, the possibility of something bad happening was way too high for my liking. Pepper thought of the school for it's catering to a number of different diplomats and whatnot – so the security would be good, and apparently the academics were too.
"Alright." She nodded and smiled before walking over to do something else, and I wandered over to the small desk Emily was busying splaying things all over.
"Principessa – I'll see you tonight, alright? Try to be good."
"Have a good day, papa!" It was still adorable that Miss Pakanich taught her that. It still choked me up. Sure, it was a little accented, but she was getting better. She knew how to put words together into sentences now. It was worth the amount of money to see her getting better. It made me feel at peace that she liked her teacher and the school was doing well to take care of her too.
I kissed her forehead then out the doors of the building I swaggered to see the plump, angry headmistress standing by my car.
"Mister Stark-"
"Oh, thanks, did anyone touch it? I have this thing about people getting near my car, you know, fingerprints, keys, whatever." I climbed in a revved the car once it started to make sure I didn't hear her complaint about me parking in the middle of the drop-off drive. I really didn't care. Maybe I'd have someone come paint my name on the concrete edge later.
I knew that bitch hated me. As long as she didn't take it out on my child, I didn't care, but it was fun to rile her up whenever I did get the chance to bring Emily to school.
I actually had to go into the office today for some weird reason. Someone from another company's R+D wanted to talk to me about some new engineering concept they had – for some reason, that involved me, but whatever. Meant I could make some men with doctorate degrees look really stupid.
I made sure to burn rubber right next to her grumpy face and was off within seconds back down the PCH.
The meeting was terrible. I felt like I was babysitting idiot newborns and having to teach them the simplest things. I kept thinking I would rather talk to my 5 year old who's learning English than these bastards, but Pepper sat next to me all the way through it. She kept trying to calm me down, but there was only so much she could do.
She couldn't stop the phone call though. Jarvis had plans for a new mission. And it was fairly close, in northern Mexico. I hadn't been to Mexico much – just to break up some giant drug fights where cartels were killing civilians. I wondered what this one was about.
And I got out of that god awful meeting.
It was only 1:30, and Emily would be out of school soon. Could I wait 30 minutes until I left? Would it be that big of an issue? Time was lives, I had to remind myself. Just because I have a child doesn't mean I can let others die for my selfishness. That had already happened for so many years.
I was suited and roaring through the sky 15 minutes after I got home. This was going to be a mission I would finish in time for dinner.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The bell! I can go home! Happy is coming to get me, cause Papa is working, and Mama always works. According to Papa, she even works when she's sleeping. I don't know. She's quiet when she's sleeping.
Miss Pakanich leads me out to the big black car that Happy drives. He takes me home when Papa is busy. He's a nice man. He gets me ice cream!
I tell Happy about my day, but I know he doesn't understand all of what I say. Miss Pakanich says soon I'll be able to talk to everyone and everyone will understand me, and I'll understand everyone. I can't wait for that day.
We drive along the ocean, and I love looking out at the blue. I never saw water in Russia. Everything was either green or white. Mama used to say the blue made the green, and the grey made the white. I didn't know what she meant. I don't think about it.
Happy tells me that Papa is gone on a mission again in the big red suit. It makes me stare at my backpack with him on it. I think it's pretty, but I want to touch it. It looks so shiny. What does it feel like to have on? Maybe Papa will let me see when he comes back. I wish he would. I want to ask Mama about it when she comes home.
There's a loud noise – and another, and another. Happy is unhappy, and the car is moving more than just going home. I look out the window to see what it is, but the window breaks and I scream. Someone's grabbing me. I scream louder and try to get away, but I don't. The hand hurts my arms. There's another loud noise, and Happy yells. There's something over my head, and lots of shouting. I'm crying, but no one is listening to me. My head starts hurting, and then I'm not crying anymore. Something's cold beneath me. Where am I? I want Papa…
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Drug cartels are idiots. Really. I don't know why I got called down for this. I mean, it's a simple bang-up job. It's 100 men with big guns threatening to shoot women and children if they don't get their drug money on time. Was it really necessary for me to show up? No, not really. They scream and run when I land, and everything ends in minutes. Some of them shoot, most cower and hide. The women cry and praise me. Why isn't every job this easy?
Once I see fit to leave, I look around once more to make sure everything is covered. Someone throws something at me from behind, but when I turn around, there's nothing there. Not even a rock.
"Sir, I'm receiving a distress call from Miss Potts. She's asking that you return home immediately-"
Mid-sentence, Jarvis cuts off. My helmet goes black. For a brief second, my chest feels off, but it goes away momentarily.
"Jarvis?" I called and called. It didn't seem too bad outside for me to take my helmet off. What would have caused that? A helmet black out? ...The armor was heavier. The parts weren't moving like normal. Jarvis controls most of the significant movement – he helps make it move more like a light exo-skeleton than a titanium suit. Something had just gone wrong in the wiring. I didn't even do much, I couldn't have blown something so easily-
I never noticed the giant rock thrown at my uncovered head that had me down and bleeding in seconds. My vision was blurred, and my head was absolutely killing me, but as I tried to get up out of the dirt, something else hit me in the neck and I was gone in the darkness.
All I could think about was what was wrong at home…that made Pepper call me…
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
AN- SO! How odd of an ending! =D …yeah, I had to figure out a way to get the man to get in trouble and caught in his suit. Made the most sense in my head…I still hate it, but it moves us on. Is it short today? Well, yes…but I want to give you as much as possible as quickly as possible!