A/N: So here it is everyone, the final chapter. This has been a long time in the making and really was one of my favourite, but also my most challenging chapters to write. I did, however, have the very ending pictured since the beginning and it has been a truly wonderful goal to work towards.
Thank you to you all. This wouldn't have been possible without your support, and without your amazing dedication. From the bottom of my heart, thank you one and all. A particular thanks to everyone who has reviewed and by name lolsmileyface6, candycrum, Queen of Erebor and FaithfulReader92 for your reviews on the previous chapter. All of you, my readers, are what has made The Black Swan Theory such a great success, and just so you guys know, whilst this isn't my first fic, it's the first one I have ever managed to finish. That has been down to your support and inspiration.
This is the end of the road for Ren; I'm not going to be writing a sequel for this because to be honest there is no other way I would rather end her story. But to quote The Doctor (that's Doctor Who for any readers not in the know) "If it's time to go, remember what you're leaving. Remember the best."
Creating this story has taught me so much about writing, and about how easy it is for words to touch people all around the world. It is absolutely staggering to see some of the countries that you lot come from, and the fact that we've all been able to find something in this is very special to me.
Thank you, again, for enjoying Ren's story just as much as I have.
Lucksby xxx
So without further ado...
CHAPTER 15- The Final Chapter
Cameras flashed, the light blinding as an electrical storm; the hospital was practically besieged by the press, and they were all there for one reason.
"Mr Stark-"
"Over here Mr Stark!"
"Will you continue to be Iron Man after this accident?"
"Mr Stark!"
The man in question however ignored the paparazzi as a way was cleared for him into a big black SUV; even though it was uncharacteristic it was for him. He just wanted to be out of there; to get away from the reminders of how long he'd been in a coma. In truth, it scared him.
"Let's move Happy."
The car sped through New York and Tony finally felt like he could actually breathe, though it would be a while before he could shake the worry that he would black out again and not wake up. He had been debriefed on the situation from his hospital bed after being greeted by the overly enthusiastic team and what he had managed to gather was that the guy who had messed with JARVIS had been caught. By a seventeen year old girl.
According to Coulson she had saved his life; he looked forward to meeting her, after all he would one day have to choose a successor, he had no live children of his own anymore. And this girl Seren seemed like she might be pretty good fit.
Arriving at the Avengers Tower, Tony headed straight up to get a drink. Technically the doctor had said no alcohol but, Tony reasoned, he was paid to say that. He was greeted by everyone on the communal floor, and whilst there was much talk of getting shwarma he had something else on his mind.
"Thanks, but I- um I ,might join you later."
It was Natasha who smiled and easily replied, "Sure thing Stark."
With that Tony headed towards the place he felt most at home: his lab, to quench his thirst for answers. Coulson said he would email Seren Ashmore's report on her successful investigation, and that was where Tony decided he would start. SHIELD had maintained that the girl was good, but he, as the certified genius, would be the judge of that himself.
"Well Miss Ashmore, let's see just how good you are." He rubbed his palms together, "JARVIS, bring up the girl's report."
"Of course sir, and may I just say how wonderful it is to have you back sir."
"Why thank you." He narrowed his eyes as documents flew out on the screen in front of him, and starting to skim through them Tony realised that it actually was very impressive stuff.
"You do know how to play Miss Ashmore, and play well I must say. JARVIS, bring up her SHIELD file."
"I'm afraid I can't sir." The AI replied.
"Can't?"
"She doesn't appear to have a file sir, it has been permanently removed from SHIELD's database."
"Now that is interesting." Tony mused. The girl had been brought in by SHIELD to great success and yet they had deleted her file, it was illogical. SHIELD had secret files on just about everyone. So how to find out more about her?
"She stayed here right?" He grinned, "JARVIS, pull up security camera feeds from the time of Miss Ashmore's stay."
A picture flickered on to the screen, and Tony sat down to watch as the girl out-sassed the rest of the Avengers with enviable ease. But there was something about her, something he couldn't place. It was like he had seen her before, her face, her eyes they were so absurdly familiar.
"JARVIS start running that shot there through the facial recognition software would you, and if we have a sample of her DNA, run that as well."
"Of course sir." The AI dutifully replied.
Tony smirked, relishing in the resources he had at his fingertips, or rather JARVIS' fingertips, if JARVIS had fingers…
However his smugness was wiped away the next moment when the feed on screen changed to show the girl curled in the foetal position by one of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows in the guest bedroom. When she spoke, Tony's world came crashing down.
"I should write a book. I could call it The Black Swan: Tony Stark's Prodigal Daughter." She laughed quietly to herself, "I've always wanted to be an author. I could go back to London and write a book. That's quite an idea."
As the teenager on screen began to sing, the force of her words finally sank in for Tony; "Tony Stark's Prodigal Daughter."
That could only mean one thing. She was his daughter. Ren Stark was alive.
The rest of the Avengers had just arrived back from picking up shwarma when Tony came storming out of the elevator, looking madder than any of them had ever seen him, which was quite a feat.
"Stark what's-"
"Don't you dare ask me what's wrong!" He was absolutely seething, "You have no right to ask me that!"
"Whoa, slow down, what do you mean?" It was Bruce who attempted reasoning with the furious man, but it simply caused Tony to explode.
"SLOW DOWN? YOU HAVE ALL BEEN HIDING THE FACT THAT MY DAUGHTER IS ALIVE, AND YOU WANT ME TO SLOW DOWN?" He roared. There was a stunned silence.
"Ren's alive?" Barton's question came out as little more than a whisper, but even in his rage fuelled state, Tony could tell that the assassin was genuinely surprised.
"Yes." He worked hard control his temper, "She is alive, and she was here under your very noses."
For a second time silence reigned as the Avengers took in Stark's words.
"Are you-"
"Yes I'm bloody sure!"
"I'm just saying-" Natasha was, however, cut off by Bruce before she could go any further.
"He's right. She was here, that was why Seren seemed so familiar; she is Carenza, or rather was Carenza, because she sure did a very good job of hiding it." Slightly disbelieving stares were thrown his way, but he carried on unperturbed, "What she said to me, about my work on anti-electron collisions, I wondered at the time why it gave me such a strong sense of deja-vu, but remember the day we first met?" The question was for Tony, "You talked about it then too."
"Yeah, and the day she came to the tower I said she felt familiar, in fact I even thought that she and Stark were quite similar, but I put it down to being a computer genius thing." Barton spoke up again, "Only thing is, how did JARVIS not pick it up, or SHIELD for that matter?"
A low growling noise came from one end of the room, and the team whipped round to watch as Tony began stalking towards the elevator with a terrifyingly murderous look on his face, "Because SHIELD already knew."
As dawn broke over London Ren lay in bed watching boats on the Thames. She had spent a lot of time doing that since she had arrived back from New York, and it was beginning to worry Celena, despite copious reassurances that it was simply relaxing. Out there life continued.
Truth was, the whole thing worried Cel. Her best friend was skinnier and paler despite the fact that she had been living in the tower of one of the wealthiest men in the world. She was tired and playing it off as jet lag didn't convince the French girl. She had received what she assumed was a tailored version of events from Ren, but even from those the magnitude of the emotional upheaval involved was clear.
Ren doubted the choice she had made, and Celena knew it. Who wouldn't? It was either great courage or extreme idiocy that had driven Ren to make the decision that she had; of late Cel was finding it harder to tell the difference.
"Ren, we need to go get our breakfast if we want to catch our train on time." Eyes that looked as if they carried the weight of the world blinked slowly in response, before the lanky brunette rolled out of bed with a huff.
"Okay, just give me a couple of minutes."
Cel had decided that Ren needed some time out of London to allow the wounds reopened by her service to SHEILD to heal, and was dragging her friend on day trips every weekend. Today's was to Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, and she was hoping that the change in scenery as well as the bracing history would be good for Ren. Besides, personally she thought the Tudors were fascinating.
"I'm ready." Ren was dressed to be inconspicuous, and Cel knew it, she was dressed to be able to blend into a crowd, dressed so she could hide. But tactically Cel didn't question it, she understood Ren far too well to need to.
Tony Stark angry was a scary sight, and as he stormed into the SHIELD HQ he was absolutely terrifying. Agents were practically diving out of the way of the team of Avengers as they strode down the corridors that lead to Fury's office, it was that or risk being trampled on by superheroes for whom a line had been crossed. Even Barton and Natasha, the most loyal to SHEILD, had no difficulty in seeing that Stark was right and were on his side in this. They wouldn't even have to kill anyone they admitted it to.
"Fury!" Tony growled.
"Stark, what can I do for you." The man's cool headedness wouldn't save him, Tony decided.
"You can tell me where the fuck my daughter is you asshole."
"Stark your daughter is de-"
"Don't you dare tell me Ren is dead. I've seen her. I am still alive because of her."
Nicholas Fury had a decision to make here; he had promised the younger Stark that he would not reveal her location to her father, even if he came looking, but now faced with the man himself, and in the knowledge that Ren was suffering from the emotional consequences of her choice, he didn't know if it was a promise he could keep.
He was however saved from making the decision for himself.
"She's in London."
The team all swung round to look at Coulson as he spoke, to find him standing impassively by the door.
"You knew." Bruce accused.
"Yes", it was stated simply, "I knew, in fact it was me who found her."
"What?" Now it came to it, now he was so close to answers, Tony was experiencing problems processing the information that he had never had before.
"I spotted her when she was here for the memorial ceremony back in the fall. We tracked her to London and made contact, but it took a great amount of persuasion to get her to come here to help you after the incident in Canada. The rest of the story is not really mine to tell, but what I will say is she was only ever hiding to protect herself. And to protect you." He paused for effect, "Trust me I've seen and heard proof of that first-hand."
"You said she is in London." It was Thor who broke the silence left by Coulson's words. "I believe we already knew that. Can you reveal where in that city?"
Coulson spared his boss merely a glance before replying, looking Tony straight in the eye as he did so, "If I were you I would go to Blackfriars Station on the Thames, she seems to have an attraction to the place."
It was all Tony needed to hear.
The day out had been nice, Ren would actually admit it; she had enjoyed herself. Things ain't so bad, not really. Besides this is why you chose London over New York, so to speak; for the beautifully quiet moments.
Ren and Celena were on the train back into London, on their way back to school, and though it was not late; in fact they were several hours before curfew, the sun was already beginning to set.
"So Ren, how do you feel?"
Ren wouldn't lie and say she was fine, she wasn't, so she answered truthfully, "Better Cel, thank you."
"The next stop will be London Blackfriars, please change here for trains to London Bridge."
This was them, Ren smiled slightly as the train pulled into the station, the carriage suddenly flooded with the orange light of sunset reflected off the Thames. God she loved this place.
The pair stepped down onto the platform, the wind catching Ren's long dark tresses and blowing them across her face for a moment, when she shoved them away she saw something that made her eyes widen in shock. Standing at the other end of the long platform, barely a silhouette against the blazing sky was a form that would be recognisable the whole world over.
"Dad…" a whisper lost to the world that seemed to have stopped for Ren, all she could see, all she could comprehend was the figure moving urgently towards her, until she was staring up into eyes almost identical to her own.
"Ren…"
Time stood still. It was a moment that was worthy of the movies, a moment almost too perfect to be believable, a moment that deserved its own sweeping soundtrack.
As she wrapped her arms around him she felt for the first time in so many years that she was truly home. After all, home is where the heart is, or so they say. No words were needed at that moment, though there would be plenty later, because for that fragment in time everything was right with the world.
The sun dipped lower down the horizon, casting flame coloured rays that were distorted and magnified by the water until they became an inferno, whilst father and daughter held each other in silence. The Black Swan had landed.
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." – F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby.
Fin