The Unknown Variable

(Beta'd as of 8/8/13)

"The girl known as Cry-Pom, owns nothing besides myself, so go bother someone else."
*Penny states before threatening Lawyers with lightning.*
"Thanks Pen,"

James Rhodes sighed as he watched his best friend and his young assistant sleep on the plane.

It had taken a good two hours, and an extremely long winded conversation cough-argument-cough to get Tony into a wheelchair, and it was Penny in the end, that had finally convinced a grumbling Tony to get into the wheeled contraption.

Neither Penny, Tony, nor Rhodes had really seen the need of the chair, but the base's doctor, who still held a grudge against Tony, refused to let them board the large aircraft until he was in the chair. Rhodes had sighed in relief, and so had the other soldiers that were accompanying them back stateside, that is until Tony declared himself bored about fifteen minutes into the flight.

That had made them all groan, and later, glare at Tony heatedly.

Rhodes was unsure how his friend managed to hack into the plane's intercom, or how he got popcorn, but not even three minutes after his statement, ACDC was blasting through the plane's loud speakers, (something told him Penny had something to do with it) and nothing they did could override his music.

Then, if the extremely loud music wasn't enough, somehow, a popcorn fight had started between Penny and the billionaire. No one had dared to ask how they got popcorn.

So after Penny had fallen asleep on Tony's shoulder, and he quickly followed, there was a collective sigh from everyone on board; and they all agreed on one thing, a bored Stark was not a good thing.

Unknown to them, it was worse with two.

The plane ride had been quite… entertaining, if I do say so myself. Dad and the idiotic doctor got themselves into a fight, over a stupid wheelchair. If I hadn't stepped in, we would have never gotten home.

Then, of course, there was the actual flight, Tony and I were both bored to death within ten minutes, and when Tony told Rhodey, he got the 'I can't believe you' look in return. Deciding that I also couldn't last the long flight in complete silence, I took out my Tablet when no one was looking, and after hacking into the plane's speaker system, blared the ACDC albums that I had downloaded at the base (ok, hijacked of their private internet but really, who cares?) for the rest of the ride.

Tony and I had been keeping an unspoken agreement 'until we get home, nothing serious discussed' and I was perfectly fine with that. Half way through the flight, Death showed up with two big bags of popcorn, which I quickly took and started throwing at my father.

Which is how the Popcorn War started, with Death refilling our bags whenever we ran out, Tony didn't ask about that ether.

While the soldiers may not have approved, ok they really didn't, I felt that after everything we had been through, a little fun was allowed.

But nothing had made me happier than what Tony said when I highjacked the speakers.

With two discreet presses of buttons on the screen of my Tablet, ACDC blared to life around us, surprising and baffling everyone on board. Tony instantly turned to face me, and I couldn't help the smirk that appeared on my lips.

A large smile appeared on his face as he laughed, "You are totally my daughter."

Of-course, no one had heard him besides me, but we had decided (the only serious thing discussed) that this was to stay a secret.

Tony wanted our real relationship to remain hidden, because he wanted me to stay safe. As for me? I didn't want to deal with the attention or drama.

"Ready to go home?" Tony's voice drew me out of my musings.

I looked up at his face, and a small smile flickered across mine, "Yeah," was all I replied but he nodded, a large smile on his face.

I watched as the smile left Tony's face and his mask fell back into place as the plane landed. I knew that Rhodes had called Pepper, and that she and Happy were waiting for us at the airport. I hadn't asked where Tony had gotten the suit, we had been on a military base full of guys, and someone had to have had it somewhere; though how they had found clothes my size still confused me.

Rhodes stood on my dad's left, and I flanked his right as the large ramp lowered, revealing our waiting 'welcome home' party.

Rhodey helped Tony up from his chair (he refused to get off of the plane in it) and I silently followed as we made our way off the plane.

A cold feeling settled in my heart as we stepped back onto US soil, we were back in the professional world, back in the game, where both Tony and I had a role to play.

Part of me wished that the plane ride had never ended, that everything could stay that simple, but I knew it wasn't possible.

"Watch it coming up here," Rhodes warned Tony as they stepped off the ramp. Tony's face was an expressionless mask, and so was mine. No matter what happened, now was not the time for either of us to slip.

"Are you kidding me with this? Get rid of them." Tony ordered as he saw the paramedics that were waiting.

Rhodey quickly waved them off, even though he seemed hesitant to do so. He shot me a look, and I gave him a small glare that said, 'not going to happen'.

We quickly reached Pepper, who had a large smile on her face at the sight of Tony, her expression was one mixed with relief and joy, and she looked like she wanted to hug him.

I heard Toy sniff and "hmm"ed to himself, as he took a good look at Pepper.

"Your eyes are red," he stated "a few tears for your long-lost boss?" he teased, a small almost unnoticeable smirk on his face.

"Tears of joy. I hate job hunting," was Pepper's reply. She did a poor job of hiding her relief, but, she never had been good at that.

"Yeah, vacation's over." Tony told her.

After Tony greeted Happy we climbed into the car, I wasn't sure if I was happy or irritated that Pepper seemed to be ignoring me. Happy had patted me on the back, after reuniting with his boss, and told me it was good to see me.

I had always liked Happy.

Tony sat in the middle, something that surprised me, when we all got into the car. He shot me a quick look that said, 'no protesting' when he slid in before me. I had merely raised an eyebrow in reply and wondered just when we had become so good at silent conversations.

"Where to, sir?" Happy asked, looking in the rearview mirror at us.

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy." Pepper didn't even manage to get the whole sentence out before Tony interrupted.

"No," he said, and I heard a hint of a warning in his tone, but I doubt Pepper did.

"No?" Pepper asked, "Tony, you have to go to the hospital."

I noticed the pained look on his face, and the glint in his eyes and knew that he had a very good reason not to go to the hospital, just as I did.

"No is a complete answer," he told her, once again before she finished talking.

"The doctor has to look at you," she continued, ignoring his responses.

"I don't have to do anything." Tony stated coldly

"What about Penny then?" She asked,

"I am fine." I told her pausing on the "I", my voice like steel.

Tony pretended that nothing was said and continued, "We've been in captivity for three months." That shut Pepper up, "There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger and the other…"

"That's enough of that." Pepper interrupted, imagining what he was going to say.

"…is not what you think." He gave her look that said 'really?' "I want you to call for a press conference, now."

"Call for a press conference?" she asked, completely bewildered. "What on earth for?"

"Yeah," Tony said, "Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."

Cheeseburgers did sound delightful, I had to agree.

Everyone started to clap as we pulled up to the curb, I had not spoken the rest of the ride, Tony and Pepper had discussed how Stark Industries had been doing while its CEO had been away. I had been mentally taking notes, not only on the company's happenings, but also on how Pepper and Tony interacted.

While Tony had never specifically talked about it, I had a pretty good idea on what the conference was about. I felt like I knew him a lot better after our three month stay in Afghanistan, and I fully supported his decision. I never liked the weapon aspect of Stark Industries anyway.

I glowered as I spotted Stane, I still didn't like him. There was just something about him that made my gut squirm; and I had learned long ago to trust my gut.

"Look at this!" Stane announced with a little too much enthusiasm in my opinion, pulling open the door before the car completely stopped.

I noticed his smile became rather fixed when he saw me; I quickly exited the car and moved to the side so Tony could step out.

"Tony," He said as my father exited the car wiping his face, and wrapped him in a hug.

Tony returned the hug briefly, and I couldn't help but glare at the older man.

"We were going to meet at the hospital." Stane said, pulling back from the embrace but not letting go of Tony.

"No," Tony insisted, "I'm fine." He broke the contact between the two men.

"Look at you!" Stane continued, gesturing to Tony's sling, and I couldn't help but glance down at my matching one.

Happy quickly walked around the car and shut the door, while at the same time offering Tony and I a bag of burgers.

We had already eaten one each in the car, but both of us were still hungry. Tony was quick to grab the last two, tossing one to me, and holding onto the other.

Happy, Pepper and I silently followed the two business men as we walked up to the large building.

"Of course," Stane commented, "you had to have a burger, yeah?"

"Well," he replied looking around at the still clapping people, "come on."

"You get me one of those?" Stane asked, eyeing Tony's burger.

I glared at the man as I unwrapped my burger. We had been practically starved, and he wanted to take Tony's food? No wonder I didn't like him.

"There's only one left." Tony replied, not true, as I had one too, "I need it."

That, was very true. We did need it, a lot more than he did.

Tony put the last bit of burger into his mouth as he and Stane entered the conference room. Flashes snapped, and photos were taken as everyone tried to get a statement from the long lost billionaire.

Pepper and I waited behind the excited crowd as the two men made their way up to the stage.

"Miss Potts? Miss Telnets?" I heard someone ask as I took another bite of my hamburger.

"Yes," we both replied, I turned to see a middle aged man win a dark grey suit standing next to us. He had an ID badge clipped to his chest and stood in a very professional manor.

"Can I speak to you both for a moment?" he asked us, his stance barely shifting during the time that he spoke. It was obvious that he was not a reporter.

I opened my mouth to reply but Pepper beat me to it. "I'm not part of the press conference," I almost groaned, she thought he was a reporter, "but it's about to begin right now."

"I'm not a reporter." He stated, as Pepper turned back towards the stage. His eyes met mine for a moment before flickering back to Pepper's face. "I'm agent Phil Coulson."

I nodded, my mind racing, wondering what agency he was from. I also noticed that Pepper's smile had become fixed when he pointed out that he wasn't a reporter.

'Embarrassed most likely,' I thought to myself.

Agent Coulson continued, drawing my attention back to the present, "With the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

He presented Pepper with a card, and I took it when she did not.

"That is quite a mouthful." She stated, her eyes still glued on the stage.

'Hmm, I've heard of them. Hard core.' I thought to myself.

"I know," he replied, "We're working on it."

'Wonder if they realized that it spelled SHIELD yet…' I wondered.

"You know," Pepper continued, "we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA,"

That was a surprise to me; I hadn't known that, though I suppose I should have seen it coming.

"We're a separate division with a more specific focus." Coulson continued.

"So," I said, speaking for the first time, "What does SHEILD want with us?" I asked, really wanting to eat my burger, but thinking it would be rude to do so while someone was talking to us.

Coulson raised his eyebrow at the abbreviation but to someone who couldn't read people, looked otherwise unsurprised. To me, he looked gob smacked at the name; he was probably asking why anyone hadn't thought of that before.

"We need to debrief both Mr. Stark and you, Miss Telnets, on the circumstances of your escape." He told us, even though he seemed to be only talking to Pepper. He was barely looking at me at all.

"I'll put something in the book, shall I?" Pepper said, and I scowled at how the 'adults' were talking over my head.

"Thank you." He replied simply, and all of our attention turned back towards the stage.

Stane was now at the podium, looking over at the crowd gathered, wondering what on earth Tony wanted to say.

"Ah…"I heard him start, unsure of what to say, but it seemed unneeded as Tony called everyone's attention to the foot of the podium, where he sat. I took a large bite out of my burger, glad that I could now eat in peace.

"Hey, would it be alright if everyone sat down?" He asked the room at large, as he fished another burger out of his pocket. "Why don't you just sit down?" he waved them down with his arm, getting some amused and bewildered looks from the audience.

"That way you can see me, and I can…" he trailed off as everyone sat down, "A little less formal and…" he took a big bite out of his burger, and stared down at it as everyone, including Rhodey, Stane, Pepper, and myself, sat down on the ground.

I saw Rhodes shoot him a concerned look asking Pepper, without taking his eyes off of Tony, "What's up with the love-in?"

"Don't look at me; I don't know what he's up to." She replied, causing both of them to give me questioning looks.

I responded to their gazes with a half shrug and another bite of the burger.

"He's a big boy," I finally stated after swallowing, "He can take care of himself. I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

There, I hadn't acknowledged or denied anything, so they couldn't pin any response on me.

"Good to see you," Tony told Stane softly.

"Good to see you." Stane responded with a bemused face, and I could tell he was humoring him, like you would a small child. It made me glare at the bald man. That was another thing I hated about him. It reminded me too much of Bald…

"I never got to say goodbye to Dad." Tony said, Stane reached and arm out and gripped Tony's shoulder in support… my eyebrow twitched with annoyance at Grandfather's mention.

"I never got to say goodbye to my father." He stated louder, to the crowd, our eyes locked momentarily and I gave him a small supportive smile. Talking about Howard was painful for both of us, though more so for him.

"There's questions that I would have asked him." Tony continued, setting down his burger onto the stage. "I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts."

Tony wiped off his mouth, and I noticed how fidgety he was, no matter what mask he put on for the media, Pepper or Stane, he was nervous. I had never seen my father nervous in front of the press before.

"Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels. I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them."

I closed my eyes briefly, trying to ward off the images of the gunfights and explosions. Opening my eyes, I locked gazes with Tony, and I just knew he was having similar flashbacks.

Stane's face was hard and cold, I bet he could guess where this was going and didn't like it one bit.

"And I saw," he continued, his gaze leaving mine to scan the crowd, "that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

A few reporters cried out "Mr. Stark,"

"Yes, Ben." Tony replied, selecting the reporter he wanted.

"What happened over there?" Ben, the young reporter, asked.

I closed my eyes as the unwanted memories came flooding back; the explosions, the horror, the death, pain, and destruction.

I shivered and tried to shove the memories away, I took a deep breath as tears flooded my eyes. Now was not the time…

I blinked back the tears and clenched my fists, dead set on ignoring the memories. I saw Pepper give me a concerned glance out of the corner of my eye but I did not look at her. Tony needed my support at the moment.

"I…I… I had my eyes opened." Tony stated, standing up and obviously trying to banish the same horrors that I had. "I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up."

Tony came to stand behind the podium, his fist resting on the top of the podium. "And that is why, effective immediately; I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International."

Everyone stood up and tried to get Tony's attention, some were protesting and others were just trying to get a quote.

I heard Pepper gasp in shock besides me and I had to try very hard not to smile. I was strangely proud of my father, and I didn't care what anyone else said. He would do great things.

"Until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be." Tony continued over the uproar, Stane appeared at his side and tried to make light of the situation.

"We're going to sell a lot of newspapers." But everyone ignored him, thankfully.

"What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well." Tony said, as Stane pushed him away from the podium.

I glanced back to Rhodes behind me, as I stood up and pushed the last of the burger into my mouth. He didn't seem happy either. Was I the only one who saw the good in this? Probably.

Tony exited the stage, and reporters hounded him, trying to get him to explain or expand on what he already said.

"What we should take away from this, is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever. We're going to have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with the follow-up."

Stane trying to do damage control… what next?

Ok, this was way longer than any other chapter so far. But, hey you all probably liked it. Thanks to my Beta, I'll update soon.

Thanks for all of your support.

Cp