A/N: Hey guys, I am really sorry for the long wait for this, been busy and hardly had the time to keep up with everything. However, here is the next chapter, and yes we are finally getting through the movie. So, enjoy this chapter!

Ruby sat in the passenger's side of one of her father's Audi's as he sped through the streets of LA, heading for the Disney Concert Hall where the party that neither had been invited to was in full swing.

"Think they're going to be surprised?" Ruby asked her father casually, watching as the world whizzed past her outside of the car.

Tony chuckled a little, having a pretty good idea of how everyone was going to react when the pair of them showed up. "Well, considering I've been on total bed rest since my 'breakdown' and you've fled the country, yeah, I think a few people might be surprised."

That was when Ruby actually remembered something, and her face dropped. "Oh… oh no, didn't think this through." She grumbled, trying to quickly form a plan in her head.

"What? What's wrong? You feeling okay?" Her father asked her in a bit of a panic. He still wasn't sure she was really feeling better, and that she should have been out of bed. He had sent a message to Ruby's doctor and asked if the woman thought it would be okay to take her out for a few hours, and she had said yes. But then, he hadn't been completely honest with where he was taking her.

"Pepper's going to be there." Ruby informed him, letting out a groan. "I totally forgot about that. She told me she was going to this big function, one that she really couldn't miss."

Tony frowned a little. He wondered why his assistant would have gotten an invite to the party, while he and his daughter were both forgotten about. "And you're sure it's the same party?" He ended up asking, trying to get it straight in his head. "When exactly did she tell you this?"

"Yeah, I'm positive. She said there was an annual function held by the company that she needed to attend, she even got a new dress for it and everything." Ruby could remember it much better now, even if she had been sick when Pepper had reminded her about it. "She told me about it a few days ago, well she reminded me. She told me to get onto Happy if I needed anything and he would deal with it all."

His eyebrow rose at that little piece of information. "So, Pepper is telling you that Happy can be your personal slave now?"

Ruby just rolled her eyes at him. "No, it was because Pepper knew she might not have been able to get away if I needed her. And it's not like I have called Happy for anything, have I?" She reminded him, knowing that she didn't get other people to wait on her hand and foot. It wasn't the kind of thing she was used to, she was used to doing things for herself, even if she was sick.

"Great, so she gets an invite and we don't. You know what that means, don't you, honey?" There was a smirk on Tony's face now. It was pretty clear that he had a plan forming in his head, and knowing him, it was going to be rather elaborate.

Ruby looked at her father with an innocent expression on her face. "What, you mean go in there and stun them all, before doing something that is completely over the top?" She knew that he was going to do something like that, it was the annual benefit after all.

"Got it in one." He told her as they finally pulled up at their destination. "You ready for this?"

A huge grin took over her face. "Oh, I am so ready for this." She replied, smoothing out the fabric of her dress, and giving herself the once over in the small mirror in her hand. "The world better watch out, the Starks are on a mission." Tony couldn't help but chuckle at his daughter's attitude, and the fact that she seemed to be enjoying herself and they hadn't even gotten out of the car yet.

Tony quickly got out of the car, causing a few people to stop and look at him with wide eyes. Within moments he had bounded to the other side of the car and was opening the door for his daughter, a large smirk on his face.

Ruby was wearing a smirk to match, as she took a hold of her father's hand and let him help her out of the car. Her emerald green heels clicked on the sidewalk as she put her feet down, before getting up and out of the car. All eyes were on them both now, and Ruby refused to let herself feel self-conscious in the lush green dress she was wearing. It was one that she had brought on a shopping trip with Pepper, and it was only now seeing the light.

"Just keep on smiling." Tony whispered to her as she wrapped her arm around his and they began to walk forward.

"Oh, I'm going to. If I find out who the hell decided to say I had skipped the country…" Ruby had to stop herself, because she knew that she needed to keep herself calm. There was no way that she was going to let them get away with it, she was ready to make their lives a living hell.

Her father couldn't help but chuckle as the walked along the red carpet. "And you have my permission." He said, causing Ruby to look at him sharply. "No repercussions, no punishment, nothing. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like you want to get revenge on these guys just as much as I do." She replied, beaming away for all the cameras that were snapping them. They had to stop for a few poses, which they didn't really mind, it was just one of their ways to get back at the world.

"Hey, I just want to prove to them that my daughter is still in the country and that she hasn't gone into hiding. They can say what they like about me, they usually do, but I'm not going to let them get away with trying to put it on you." Tony told her as they finally started walking forward again.

Ruby was actually rather surprised, he was being pretty protective of her since they had made it back from their unscheduled holiday in a cave in the desert, even more so since the press started to put her in the spotlight in a bad way.

As they past an old man surrounded by women with long legs and pretty faces, Tony tapped the guy on the shoulder. "You look great, Hef." He said, without bothering to stop to see if it really was the man he thought it was. But Ruby had a quick glance, and the man just looked utterly confused.

Ruby then noticed Obadiah talking to some of the reporters. "Oh look, an interview opportunity." She said, ready to just jump straight in there and let the whole world know that she was still at her father's side, and to stop all the rubbish they were saying about them both.

It seemed that her father knew exactly what she was thinking, and they both headed over there. "What's the world coming to when a guy's got to crash his own party?" Tony asked his old friend, swiftly ending the interview.

The bald headed man seemed shocked, and Ruby could have sworn that she saw a hint of anger in the man's eyes for just a moment, before a smile was plastered across his face. "Look at both of you. Hey, what a surprise!" Obadiah said, the cameras snapping away.

"Yeah, Ruby was getting bored at home. My poor girl has been pretty ill recently, redecorated her bathroom at one point." He said, making sure that the reporters could hear him as well.

Ruby tugged at his arm and looked up at him with a frown on her face. "Hey, you didn't have to tell him that, dad." She cried, playing along with his little game. "And anyway, I'm fine now. The doctor gave me the all clear so we thought we'd come out and see how everyone is."

"Miss Matthews-Stark!" The man who had been interviewing Obadiah called, getting her attention. "Would you mind answering a few questions?" He gave her a pleading look, and also gave that same look to her father, hoping that they would say yes.

"Of course I don't mind. What do you want to ask?" She was all smiles and cheers, ready to put on a show for them all.

Her answer seemed to perk the man right up, as if it was the opportunity of a life time for him, which was actually possible. "There have been reports that you left the country to get a little space from everything, where have you been?"

That was a question that Ruby had been expecting, and was ready to answer. "Honestly, I haven't been anywhere. I don't know who started all this stuff that I had left the country, but I've really just been at home, stuck in bed because of how sick I was. Believe me, it wasn't a great time, but my dad was there looking after me, making sure that I was all right and getting me anything that I needed." It wasn't just her that she was setting the record straight about, she was also going to let them know that Tony was her father and that he was being a pretty great father as well. "He got really worried when I first got a fever and refused to let me out of bed."

That was when Tony stepped in, catching onto her little plot and not wanting to let her have all the fun. "Yeah, well first it was the fever, then it was the throwing up." He told her, before looking at the reporter. "At one point, she was pretty delirious, I couldn't make out a word that she was saying, something about Robin Hood I think it was." The comment seemed to get a few laughs.

"How do you think Stark Industries has been coping without you and your father there?" The man then asked once everyone had calmed down.

This was something that Ruby wasn't that comfortable talking about, because she was not as involved with the company as everyone seemed to think she was. "I believe that Mr Stane has been doing everything he can for the company. He is a great friend to my father, and he has been working diligently while my dad has had to stay home and look after me." She thought that sounded rather good, praising Obadiah, keeping him sweet, while still managing to answer the question.

Tony was rather impressed with her as well. He had expected her to go off the handle, like she usually did with reporters, but she was actually handling it all pretty well. "Obie has been taking care of the business, while I've been taking care of my family." He told them, giving ruby a huge smile as she hugged him.

All the cameras went wild at the action, wanting to get the perfect picture of the two Starks having a little bit of a family moment. It wasn't very often the media or press had that kind of opportunity, they were going to make the most of it.

"You think they've had enough yet?" Ruby whispered to him, still smiling away.

"Give them a few more minutes, they deserve a few more shots of the happy father and daughter, don't you think?" He was actually enjoying it, although he would never admit to it. The feeling that Tony had when he was with his daughter was something he had never experienced before, and he really did want to just share it with the world.

Soon enough, Ruby let him go and turned back to the reporters. "Anyway, it was good to see you all, but we really should go and show our faces inside. Enjoy the rest of the night, guys." She called to them, before dragging her father away from them.

They didn't get far before they were stopped by Obadiah. "Hey, listen, take it slow, all right? I think I got the board right where we want them." He told them in a hushed voice.

"You got it." Tony told him, not really paying that much attention to what he had just said, he was still thinking about how proud he was of his daughter and how she had just handled the press. "Ruby just needed a change of scene and some fresh air, you know? We'll just be a minute." He added, before the two Starks walked confidently into the building and straight up to the bar.

The first thing that caught Ruby's eye was the man standing there, his suit making him blend in for once. She wanted to let out a groan and walk the other way, but she knew that she couldn't. "So, am I allowed a drink tonight?" She asked hopefully, knowing that it would annoy certain people.

Tony didn't answer her as he spoke to the barman. "Give me a scotch, and a club soda." He said, answering Ruby's question and causing her to pout a little. "Hey, you've been sick, I am not letting you have even a sip of any alcohol." He told his daughter.

She let out a slight sigh, but was rather touched by the fact that he was concerned about her still being ill. "Fine, I'll just have a club soda then." She grumbled at him, trying her best not to look at the man who was standing on the other side of her father.

"Mr Stark?" The man said, completely ignoring Ruby.

"Yeah?"

"Agent Coulson." He was still the same old Phil as far as Ruby was concerned. Even when he was off duty, he was still working, still wearing that suit.

Tony quickly grabbed his drink off the bar the moment it was set down in front of him. "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The guy from the…" He had never really paid much attention when he had been told the name of whatever that organisation was.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." Ruby said at exactly the same time as Agent Coulson.

It did result in her getting a rather strange look from her father, and a firm look from Phil. "God, you need a new name for that." Tony managed to say, handing Ruby her glass of club soda.

"Yeah, I hear that a lot. Listen, I know this must be a trying time for you and your daughter, but we need to debrief you. There's still a lot of unanswered questions, and time can be a factor with these things." Phil said, being as polite as he could while still being firm.

But Tony really wasn't that interested, he hadn't been interested the first time they had approached him, and he still wasn't interested now. "Uh, let's just put something on the books." He said, not actually meaning a word of it.

"How about the 24th at 7pm at Stark Industries?" Agent Coulson said, more to Ruby than to her father because even he could see that the man wasn't really listening.

"Tell you what, you got it." Tony replied, shocking both the man and his daughter. "You're absolutely right. Well, I'm going to go to my assistant, and we'll make a date. Come on, honey." He tried to take her with him, but she firmly stayed put.

"Uh, yeah, give me a second, dad. Let me just make sure that we've got this guys number and all that. I know what you're like, you're not going to remember or anything, are you?" That was the best excuse she could come up with, the best excuse that he would believe so that she could get a minute or two just to speak with Phil.

Tony eyed her suspiciously, it wasn't that he didn't believe her, because he knew she was totally right, it was because he didn't trust the guy standing there. "You got two minutes, then I want you over there with me and Pepper, got it?"

Ruby nodded at him. "Yeah, I got it." She said, before watching him walk over to where Pepper was standing, talking to some of the people she worked with. "Hi, Phil."

"I'm surprised to see you here, I thought you were rather sick?" Phil questioned, obviously checking up on her.

"I was sick, I've been in bed for about a week, throwing up and acting all delirious and stuff. Hence why SWAIN got Maggie to come and check on me. Oh, and you can tell that stupid Hawk that I am really going to kill him the next time I see him." Ruby told him, remembering what her doctor had brought her.

Agent Phil Coulson couldn't help but smile a little. "You didn't like the gift?"

Ruby simply glared at him. "Gift? Really? Well, next time I see him, I'm going to give him a gift, a very painful gift."

"I'll pass on the message." Phil told her, before getting down to business. "Do you think you can actually get him to talk to us now? It's been long enough, time is of the essence here, and you refuse to talk to us about what else happened."

"Yes, 24th at 7pm at Stark Industries, I'll make sure he is there, Phil, I swear." She knew there really was no other option now, it was tine for her father to start cooperating, and she was going to make him do that whether he wanted to or not. "Anything else? Fury want me to go check in with him as well or something?"

The man shook his head at her. "No, you're good. Just look after yourself, we were all worried when we found out you were sick. Agent Romanoff even approached the Director about getting permission to come and visit." That made Ruby freeze. She hadn't heard from Tasha in a while, but if she had been trying to get out of there to visit her, then she must have been worried.

"Tell Tasha that I'm sorry, I didn't mean for SWAIN to worry you all like that, honestly, I really didn't." Ruby told him truthfully. "I'll give her a call soon, let her know that everything is all right." She told him, before the sound of her father and Pepper talking rather loudly reached her ears.

Both Ruby and Phil turned to look, and saw them both heading towards her, Pepper looking rather irritated and slightly vexed, while Tony looked completely fed up. "I'll be in touch." Phil told her, before quickly making an exit. The man really didn't want to get involved with what was most likely going to be a little domestic.

Ruby didn't want to be in the middle of a little domestic either, but she knew it was coming, so she put on her best smile as Pepper got even closer to her. "Hey, Pepper. Wow, that is an amazing dress." She said, trying to distract the woman from whatever it was that had her so wound up.

The woman didn't say anything, she just snatched the glass from Ruby's hand. "What are you doing here? You should be in bed, resting. And what are you drinking?" Pepper asked, before sniffing the drink that she was now holding.

"Uh, first off, that's a club soda that I was drinking. Second, I've been in bed for almost a week. I needed to get out and get some fresh air." Ruby told her, wondering why she was so angry. "I've been stuck in my room the whole time, Pepper, I just needed to get out for a bit, that's all."

The red head gingerly gave the glass back, a sheepish look on her face. "I still don't think it was wise for your father to bring you to a party."

"I'm okay, honestly. Look, the fever has gone, I haven't been throwing up, I can stand on my own, and I'm not talking about Robin Hood." Ruby said, earning a confused look from the woman before her.

"Uh, yeah, she was a bit delirious at one point, kept going on about how she was going to kill Robin Hood." Tony clarified, knowing that Ruby really didn't remember anything about that. He had asked her why she was going to kill him, but all she kept saying was that he was a traitor and he was going to get it.

Now it was Ruby's turn to look a little sheepish. "Yeah, so I was in a bad way that day, but I really am better now."

But Pepper just shook her head. "No, you're going home. Right now." She said, wagging a finger at her before turning to face her boss. "And you… well, I can't even believe you would think this was a good idea."

"Hey, now come on, be fair. Ruby wanted to come, she said she was feeling better, so I believed her. Come on, Pep, look at her, does she look sick to you?" Tony really didn't understand why Pepper was so upset about it all.

Ruby just stood there are the woman looked her over. "Well, I guess not. But I still don't think it was a great idea." Pepper was going to stand her ground on this one. "I still think you should go home, Ruby."

The young Stark knew that this was not going to be an easy situation to get out of, not with the mood that Miss Potts was in. "I thought it would be a good idea for us to show our faces. Pepper, we didn't even get an invite for this, it's like they didn't want us here or something. So, we thought we'd show up, clear up those stories about my dad being bedridden and suffering from post traumatic stress, and stop them all saying that I had basically run off to hide from everything."

"I know what they've been saying, Ruby." Pepper told her, letting out a slight sigh. "I've been trying my best to contain it. I've not been happy with what they've been saying either."

Ruby was still confused as to why Pepper seemed to be getting so concerned all of a sudden. "Can we make a deal?" She asked the woman. "Let us stay for just a little longer, just so that there is enough evidence that we were actually here. And then, I promise, we will go home and I will get straight back to bed."

And then she pulled her best pleading puppy dog eyes on Pepper, and they seemed to work like a charm. "Fine, but if you are still here in an hour, then I will be taking you home myself." The woman said, before walking off in a bit of a huff.

Once the pair was sure she was gone, they both let out a sigh of relief. "Uh, what was that all about?" Ruby asked her father, wondering if he had said something to upset the woman when he went over to her.

"Well, she really wasn't happy that you were here." Tony told her honestly. "She thinks that you should still be at home resting. And you know what, I wanted to agree with her, but I didn't. So then she got mad at me, and thought you were drinking alcohol and started getting even more stressed."

Ruby could understand why the woman was getting so stressed out. "Well, she's keeping the company going, looking after you, and keeping an eye on me as well. It has to be taking its toll on her, she needs a holiday, somewhere sunny, with lots of shopping."

Tony had to admit that Pepper was long overdue for a break. "Great, well you can get that sorted then, right? Take her on a shopping trip as you tour Europe, yeah?"

"Excuse me?" She replied, staring at her father with wide eyes.

"Well, why not? You could do with a break, Pepper could do with a break, and you can go and spend hours and hours shopping." He said, before ordering another drink at the bar. "I thought you'd enjoy it."

Usually she would have jumped at the chance to spend some time with Pepper, and go do some shopping with her, but she couldn't, she knew she couldn't. "Dad, now really isn't a good time. What with everything that is going on with the company, it just wouldn't be right. Plus, do you really think I am going to leave you on your own while you're working on that project?"

Tony knew that she had a point, it probably wasn't the best time to go anywhere, and Ruby would kill him if he carried on with the suit without her. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He replied, letting out a long sigh.

Suddenly, Ruby stood up straight, her eyes fixed on a blonde haired woman walking towards them. "Oh great, just perfect." She grumbled, averting her eyes and looking at the glasses on the bar in front of her.

Before her father could say anything, to ask her what the matter was, there was a woman standing beside him. "Wow, Tony Stark and his daughter. Fancy seeing you here." The woman said mockingly.

Ruby simply glared at her, while her father just looked at her with a blank expression. "Carrie?" He asked, pretending not to know who she was. But he knew, he remembered exactly who she was, and he was surprised that she had managed to get an invitation to the function.

"Christine." She said, a hint of spite in her voice.

"That's right." Tony replied, picking up his drink and glancing at his daughter. He could see the way Ruby was looking at the woman as if she wanted to tear the woman to shreds.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here tonight. Can I at least get a reaction from you?" Christine asked, deliberately ignoring the fact that Ruby was standing there glaring at her.

Tony cleared his throat a little. "Uh, well…" He didn't really know what to say, because he really didn't know what the woman was talking about.

However, it seemed like Christine, the journalist from Vanity Fair, did know what to say. "'Cause I was referring to your company's involvement in this latest atrocity."

That still hadn't made things any better for Tony, but it had certainly caught Ruby's attention. "Yeah. They just put my name on the invitation. I don't know what to tell you." He replied, quickly looking over at Ruby and noticing the frown on her face.

"Is this what you call accountability?" She asked, before handing Tony some photos. "It's a town called Gulmira. Heard of it?"

All the colour drained from Ruby's face as she looked at the pictures that her father was holding. There was a group of people, all with Stark Industry weapons, and that included the Jericho missile that had gotten them into all that trouble in the first place. This was the last thing that she needed to see, but those photos were actually going to help. They had the lot numbers on them, there was something on them that she could track, and that was a start.

"When were these taken?" Tony asked, quickly pulling Ruby to his side. He could see that she was in shock, and with everything that had happened recently, this was the last thing she needed to deal with.

The woman wasted no time in answering his question. "Yesterday."

"I didn't approve any shipment."

"Well your company did." Christine retorted.

"Well, I'm not my company." Tony told her, before trying to drag Ruby out of there with him.

But she pulled back, a few words of her own to give the woman herself. "We know nothing about this, and if you even think of publishing anything about this before we have had a chance to investigate it, then you will regret it." Ruby warned her. "I can have you out of your job in seconds, I can have to homeless in minutes. So believe me when I say this, you keep this to yourself or you will wish you had never crossed me. Is that understood, Ms Everhart?" It was clear to see by the woman's wide eyes that the young Stark had scared her, but that had been her intention. "Enjoy the rest if you evening." She added, before letting Tony drag her out of there.

"So, got the power to make her homeless, have you?" Her father asked her, trying not to smirk too much. He had really enjoyed the way she had dealt with the woman, and he was pretty sure that no one was going to find out what she had.

"Yeah, I have." Ruby answered him as they both spotted Obadiah still outside surrounded by cameras.

Tony held the pictures in his hand tightly as he looked at his life long friend. "Have you seen these pictures? What's going on in Gulmira?"

Obadiah quickly pulled Tony and Ruby away from the press. "Tony, Tony. You can't afford to be this naïve." He told him gently, as if he was trying to sooth an upset child.

"You know what? I was naïve before, when they said, 'Here's the line, we don't cross it. This is how we do business.' If we're double dealing under the table… are we?" Tony just wanted answers, he wanted to know the truth, he wanted to know what the hell was going on.

One of the reporters shouted out, asking for Tony's picture. Obadiah ended up being all too happy to oblige, putting has arm over Tony's shoulder while Ruby still clung to her father. "Tony, who do you think locked you out?" Obadiah whispered to him while the pictures were being taken. "I was the one who filed the injunction against you. It was the only way I could protect you, and your daughter." The man said, before walking off, leaving the two Starks staring at him in shock.

Ruby could actually feel her anger bubbling up now. She had always had a bad feeling around that man, but she let it go, because he was a good friend of her father, he had known her grandfather as well and worked with him. But now she knew that she couldn't trust him, that he was not playing a fair game. He knew all about the weapons, he was involved. The only thing she didn't know was to what extent. That was soon going to change. She had more evidence now, and she was not going to rest until she had found out the truth, found out the depth of his lies and schemes.

A/N: Well, there you go. I changed it a bit, obviously, but I hope you all enjoyed it.

On my profile is a poll, about whether I should split the story with the movies or just do one, great big, long story. So go and check it out and vote please.

Big hello and welcome to all the new favourites and follows on this story, I smile when I find out there are new readers out there enjoying it. Also, an absolutely massive thank you, with extra hugs and cherries, to those few who take the time to leave a review.

Right, time for me to go and get back to work on m ore chapters! So, until next time!

Pippa.