Jazz knew that Stane wouldn't stand for his plan to fall apart so easily, especially with an unknown variable like her at the center of it.
Which was why she was fully prepared for when he tried to dirty her name after the donation of several improved body armor and face masks for the Malibu police department and several other high-crime areas, along with people fully trained to teach the cops how to put the armor on and what the new features were.
Though perhaps sending along a new coffee maker that was easy to use and capable of brewing large amounts of caffeine with all the units she was sending was a bit much. The police weren't complaining though...far from it. Once they realized what was in the mystery box quite a few of them were singing her praises.
Which was why she was fully prepared for him to arrange a discreet meeting late at night. Rhodey was under her invisibility cloak, armed with the counter device and a video camera that would record everything.
Stane was far too predictable. He was reliant on the device to paralyze his victims, and he was too used to dealing with Tony.
He expected to be dealing with a young inexperienced kitten, not a full grown panther all too happy to rip him apart who had been watching from the shadows the entire time.
Rhodey waited patiently for the signal. Jazz went down, pretending to be affected by the frequency. Stane sneered at her, and went to the computer to plant evidence to be found later by reporters who wanted to find dirt on the new head of Stark Industries.
Which was why he never saw the blow to the back of the head coming.
"I fucking hate traitors," said Jazz, resisting the urge to spit on Stane's downed form.
She reached for the phone.
"I want security up here immediately, and someone call the police. We have a traitor in the office," said Jazz coldly.
By the time Stane woke up from the rather nasty concussion Jazz gave him, he was chained to a hospital bed in an isolation room with armed police outside his door.
With Jazz
The local cops were a bit surprised to get the call from Stark Industries, but answered anyway. They sent their senior detectives, mainly because of who had sent the call for back up.
More than a few of the older officers liked the new head of Stark Industries, if for no other reason than she had common sense and was more than happy to make their jobs a bit safer.
"You're saying that a senior member of the company tried to attack you and plant false evidence?" asked Detective Stabler.
"I have security footage to prove it, and the device he used to immobilize me. I would be more than happy to demonstrate what it does and why it's so dangerous. Especially since the traitor had the only official counter device on him and no one even noticed. We've suspected there was a traitor in the company for a while now, which is why I never announced my heritage to the public until it was necessary."
Stabler nodded. It certainly explained the 'security reasons' that the young woman mentioned in the conference.
"What would you like to have done to Mr. Stane?"
"After his unprovoked the assualt on me, I am having all his files seized and every project he was part of gone through with a fine toothed comb. When we discover any evidence of more crimes, I will be sure to file them appropriately with the proper authorities. If your department needs any help putting Stane where he belongs, please let me know. I don't abide by traitors," said Jazz.
Stabler took her statement, the device used to try and paralyze her and left with a rather healthy respect for her. She was sensible and far more respectful to the police than her father ever was.
Jazz was more than pleased when she 'discovered' Stane's part in her father's capture. The second the video was found, the man's fate was sealed...especially when she also 'uncovered' proof he was selling weapons on the side to the same terrorists who attacked the convoy.
Ironically by the time they traced the video's origin to where Tony might be held, it was already too late.
He had managed to make quite a mess breaking out on his own terms.
Tony was devastated that Obie was the one behind his kidnapping...and worse, had been selling weapons on the side to the same bastards who took him.
He was somewhat happy that Jazz had taken full control of the company and was already mitigating the damage done when she downsized the weapons R and D, but then again he had been fully prepared to cut that department out entirely the second he got home.
Being hit with one of his own weapons had been a major eye opener for him and not in a good way.
"So how was the reception to the news that Jazz is my daughter?"
"A lot of people were skeptical, but most of the people who tried to claim she was lying were shut up by the lab results. She made sure to share those in her first press conference. Obie... Stane... tried to get her kicked out because you hadn't acknowledged her publicly by getting her arrested, but she apparently saw it coming because she knocked him out in your office and called the cops. The second she showed them where to look, he was thrown into federal prison," said Rhodey bluntly.
He may have gotten a bit too used to Jazz's dislike of beating around the bush and just getting to the heart of the matter.
"I'm not talking about that. I meant how have the press handled the news?"
"Well outside of the shock that you have an actual kid who's just as smart as you are, the general consensus is that the public likes her better than they do you."
"What? Why?"
Rhodey shrugged.
"Mostly because she's been using some of the old budget for the weapons division to do a lot of 'good publicity' like opening up rec centers in low income areas and donating better body armor to police in high crime areas where guns are prevalent...and not just in California. It's estimated that within the next two or three months, most if not all of the high-crime areas will have police outfitted with the older generation Stark armor, with new face shielding. People like her because she's rather humanitarian and isn't just dumping a bunch of high-tech toys for the cops to learn how to use and being very fiscally minded when it comes to her contributions."
Tony stared at him.
"Why would she be opening rec centers and donating outdated armor to cops?"
"In her words, it's time that the rich started doing some actual good with the wealth they have. She doesn't bother with parties or half the things you did, but she also doesn't just spend it all on fancy toys to give to people who likely wouldn't use it anyway. Quite a few people are trying to find out what her angle is."
No one was ever that humanitarian when they inherited that much wealth, and considering no one was entirely sure of her background, the press were quite eager to find something they could exploit.
Tony had given them plenty of ammunition over the years.
Once the plane landed, Tony almost wanted to have a press conference...except he still needed time to process everything Rhodey had told him.
Besides, Jazz had already done the main thing he wanted to take care of the second he got home, which was deal with the weapons division.
Granted he would have shut it down entirely, but integrating it with the Defense division of Stark industries was a nice alternative that didn't piss off as many workers.
Considering what little Tony had been able to dig up on Jazz, he was quite surprised that the first thing she did when he walked into his home was an almost painfully tight hug.
He awkwardly hugged back and took a good look at her.
As much as she hated the limelight, he could tell it had been good for her.
"I'm sorry I didn't warn you about Stane sooner," she said quietly, guilt all over her face. "I just didn't think you would actually believe me if I told you he was a traitor, considering how close you were."
She had seen it all too often... if she tried to warn someone about impending danger they would dismiss her or tell her to keep her nose out of 'adult business'. Or they would pretend to look into it, but wouldn't do anything about it.
Just the memory of the mess that happened because McGonagall didn't take their warning seriously about the stone hurt.
Tony winced.
"It would have hurt, finding out he was selling weapons to the bad guys, but I would have at least looked into it. That sort of thing isn't something I would have taken lying down and you already admitted you found a discrepency that bothered you."
Jazz had a decidedly odd look on her face. Was it really that shocking an adult would take the word of a teenager seriously?
Later that night...
Tony had been stuck in his nightmare of the torture the Ten Rings had put him through when he felt someone shaking him awake.
He found Jazz at his bedside with an empty look on her face. There was no sympathy, no pity, just a general acceptance that she had known without anyone telling her that he would have nightmares.
"Most people would ask if you want to talk about it, but I know the memory is still far too fresh. Instead I'm going to offer you a few options. One, I can stay with you during the night and have JARVIS or Nyx wake me the second your brain starts to register a nightmare slash memory of your time in their hands. Two, I can give you a sleep aid that would allow you to sleep a full eight hours without any dreams at all, at least until you're ready to cope with the trauma. Or three, we can go down to the boxing ring you have downstairs and work out until you're too exhausted to do anything but sleep through the night."
All three options were appealing. Jazz didn't offer an ounce of pity or demand that he relive the experience. Not so soon after he was rescued, and he was grateful for that. Pepper might have tried to get him to see a therapist or something or he could have working on his new suit for hours on end to try and stay awake.
"What sort of sleep aid?"
"It's an herbal remedy I learned in England. Just don't ask what the ingredients are if you're squeamish. I can make enough batches to last you a month, but I would have to monitor your use of it because avoiding the trauma through an overdependence on it is not going to solve the problem. It's legal and far more effective than general sleeping pills," said Jazz without hesitation.
A few low doses of Dreamless Sleep would allow Tony to rest, since she knew perfectly well he was a muggle. However the last thing he needed was to develop a dependence on it.
To be honest, Tony didn't feel comfortable having to rely on his daughter to wake him up out of a nightmare, even if she understood without words what he was going through. And he was still too sore to fight it out in the rink downstairs, never mind the fact he had no idea if she knew how to fight hand to hand.
"I'll take option two for now."
Jazz left the room, and came back with an odd bottle and a teaspoon.
"I'm only going to give you the lowest dose, at least until we figure out which one works best for you. The minimum you'll sleep is eight hours, to my knowledge."
Tony made a face at the taste, which was horrible. However there was no denying it was highly effective. Within two minutes of taking it, he was out like a light.
When he woke up in the morning, he was shocked to find he didn't remember a single dream. Whatever that gross tasting herbal remedy was, it was very effective.
He actually felt a bit better once he woke up, even if he did have to make a face when he saw the decidedly healthy breakfast Jazz had made.
"Please tell me this isn't going to be a regular thing..."
He did not do healthy.
Jazz gave him a flat look.
"Unless you want to learn how to cook for yourself, you will have to live with what I make in the mornings. Besides, it's about time you learned to drop some of your bad habits."
Tony grimaced, but ate the food and was surprised to find it better than most.
On second thought maybe he could pretend he wasn't eating whole grain bread and yogurt for breakfast.
"Can I at least have some bacon?" he asked, pleading.
Jazz threw some bacon onto the stove, and for some reason the smell made Tony cringe and try not to throw up what he had eaten.
"What the hell kind of bacon is that?" he asked.
Jazz turned and showed him the package. It was the same one he always bought, so why did it make his stomach turn?
She had a look of sympathy on her face.
"Little known fact about pork... when it's cooked it carries a scarily similar scent to burned human flesh. There's a reason why pigs make such excellent human analogs."
Tony felt like throwing up. The smell was turning his stomach into knots and causing minor flashbacks of the cave when he broke out.
Jazz finished cooking, threw on the fan above to ventilate the air...and threw the cooked meat outside. Tony was a bit baffled by this, because he knew she didn't like wasting food...until a large white bird flew out of nowhere to snatch the thrown pieces.
Tony balked when the bird flew into the house and calmly sat on one of the chairs.
"Is that...an owl?" he said baffled.
"Her name is Hedwig. Don't worry, I'm a trained handler of large predatory birds and she's very tame," said Jazz.
Hedwig ripped into the bacon and finished it with neat bites. Then to the complete disbelief of Tony, walked along Jazz's closed hand up her arm to sit on her shoulder without once trying to maul her.
"Why an owl?"
"She was the first present I could ever remember getting. Besides, pet birds are fairly common."
"Last I checked owls were not considered pets."
"They are when you have an exotic animal license and know how to handle them correctly. Relax, she'll leave you alone if you leave her alone...though she can deliver messages. I freaked out Happy the other day when I had her deliver his lunch," said Jazz impishly.
Tony's mild breakdown crashed hearing that.
"Seriously? I thought carrier birds went out with the phone?"
"In certain areas of Europe and Australia it's not that uncommon to find carrier owls. I know certain groups that swear by them and refuse to get so much as a basic landline," said Jazz.
She went up to Tony and made him close his left hand into a fist. Then she carefully transferred Hedwig to it.
The owl gave Tony a measuring look, before huffing and flying off to one of the chairs for a nap. She was a nocturnal animal after all.
"Well that went well."
"How so?"
"If Hedwig didn't like you, you would know pretty fast by the way she was mauling you. She's fair protective of me. Her behavior says that she's settled on indifference for now," said Jazz cheerfully. "You'll have plenty of time to know her a bit better, since you have the week off."
"What?!" said Tony angrily.
"You just came back from being held captive for months with a known terrorist group and after being tortured for who knows how long. The last thing you should be doing is working so soon after coming home, especially since you haven't even begun to work on the trauma of what happened," said Jazz flatly. "There's a reason I had the lawyers write me in as co-owner of Stark Industries if you were found and returned. Once I feel that you're ready to come back, you're free to alter or undo any of the changes I've made. I'm not restricting you from your personal lab and this gives you time to adjust back into your normal routine."
Tony wanted to argue that he wasn't a child, that he could take care of himself.
Except look where that had gotten him in the first place.
Besides, even he couldn't argue with the logic she presented, as much as it grated on him to be told off by a girl twenty years younger than he was.
Jazz's expression softened.
"Look, I'll run by any important things through you first before I make any major changes. You'll still be able to do work, but you're not ready to jump back into the routine you had before. Besides... this way you can calm down without having to deal with Pepper's sympathetic or pitying looks while you're adjusting," she calmly explained.
Tony grimaced. Okay, he could agree to that much at least. For some reason the idea of dealing with pity or sympathy just pissed him off.