Was I dead?

I'm pretty sure I was dead. The last thing I remember was vivid color and the all absence of color, sort of like a balloon inflating to full capacity and then being popped.

Wait. I don't think I'm dead, because I'm not the only one here, wherever this is.

I groan and concentrate my efforts into prying open my pinched eyes, only to groan louder and slam them shut again when they're met with a really bright white scene.

There's some scuffling, another groan that isn't mine, and then a soft voice, one I know well.

"Taylor, you can open your eyes now."

I try again to pry my eyes open, this time coming face to face with a pair of grey eyes. Clint has his face blocking mine from the harsh whiteness, and his hand is cupped over my brow as a makeshift visor. "Am I dead?"

"I should hope not, because the whole gang is here." he chuckles, and I blink a few times before telling him he can move now.

I let my eyes get adjusted to my pure white surroundings and I blink around to see Steve slowly propping himself into a seated position and rubbing his head, Thor looking at everything with a bewildered expression, and Bruce and Natasha checking everyone for injuries.

"Where are we?" I wonder aloud.

"Good question, Miss Stark." a voice responds from everywhere and nowhere, and it's not Jarvis' demure British tones, but a woman's voice instead. "I should really think you would recognize this space, seeing as you have one just like it."

"What? Unless I've been purchasing rooms in my sleep again…"

"No." the voice says exasperatedly. "We are currently inside the mind of one Anthony Edward Stark. You possess one just like it."

I dubiously glance around at our pristine, diamond white surroundings. "There is no way this my dad's brain. If his is just like mine, it's cluttered and ideas are a dime a dozen."

"More like a subconscious, then. Where he goes to escape."

"This is nice and all," Natasha interrupts, speaking up for the first time, "but why are we here? And who are you?"

"You may refer to me as The Voice. And you are here because you followed my instructions, like Miss Stark said."

Okay, for the record, I never expected the instructions to land me in my dad's mind.

"You are here to do as I specified on the note; watch the secrets of Tony Stark unfold before you like the best book of all time. Have a seat and let us begin."

I'm about to ask where we sit when a set of couches, red velvet and overstuffed, appears out of nowhere – at least, they weren't there five minutes ago.

We all look at each other before Steve shrugs. Clint and I take one of the loveseats, Bruce and Natasha a second one, and finally Steve and Thor sink onto a loveseat that's more of a full-sized couch.

"Good." the Voice sounds again. "Now, one more note before the first memory; I've removed all your weapons and Dr. Banner cannot become Hulk. We wouldn't want to leave Mr. Stark mentally damaged, would we? No."

We all sigh as a screen appears and flickers to life before bracing ourselves for what we might see.

A~A~A

"Daddy, Daddy!" a young girl, about one year of age, cries out in joy as she toddles towards a younger looking Tony Stark.

"Awwww." Natasha turns to me. "That is so cute."

I just glare at her good-naturedly, keeping one eye on the monitor.

"Come on, Taylor, come to daddy! Atta girl." Tony coos gently, and Taylor wobbles a little before continuing on her path.

She suddenly squeaks and begins to tumble, but Tony swoops in and lifts her before she can do so.

"You got further this time!" Tony cheers as he cradles his daughter in his arms. "This is so much better than meetings. Daddy doesn't like meetings, but he's more than happy to teach you basic motor skills, yes he is."

Taylor grins and gurgles as she flops her head back onto his arm. "Daddy."

"Yeah, Taylor?"

"Why no like meetings?"

"Your speech was so advanced." Bruce muses, looking at me with a scientist's eye.

I shrug indifferently. "I'm a genius with motor mouth genes, I guess."

Bruce just nods and we turn our attention back to the screen.

"Well," Tony begins thoughtfully as he shifts Taylor in his arms, "Daddy really doesn't like meetings because they are full of people who think they know better than us, that we are stupid. Are we stupid?"

"No!" Taylor giggles, and it actually sounds like an unscripted response, not the mocking bird types babies usually give.

"No, of course not. But these people think that, and Daddy really doesn't like it when people call him stupid."

"Now when has anyone done that, Tony?" a new voice asks, and another man is revealed, this one with thinning brown hair and blue eyes.

"I can name a few times, Obie."

I glare at the seemingly trusting figure. "God, how I hate him…"

Clint lays a hand on my arm. "I know, Taylor, I know."

Obie just rolls his eyes. "Come on, Tony, you're just being sensitive. They didn't mean it. Can I hold her?"

Tony nods and shifts Taylor into Obie's outstretched arms.

"Obie!" Taylor shrieks happily, and Obie grins at her and bounces her on his hip.

"Tony, you were supposed to be at a design meeting half an hour ago."

Tony just shrugs noncommittally. "I'm the man of the hour, they can't start without me. Plus, I had bigger fish to fry." Tony nods at his daughter, who is currently fingering Obie's suit lapels.

"Fishy?" Taylor asks brightly.

"No, sweetie, no fishy." Tony assures her with a grin. "Daddy was joking with Obie."

"Why don't you put the kid with a nanny?"

Tony taps his foot, annoyed. "How many times do I have to remind you not to call her that? Plus, I refuse to become my father."

"Your father was just distracted Tony." Obie insists.

"That doesn't change the fact that he was never there!" Tony snaps, before forcible lowering his voice. "I need to be there for her Obie, I can't make her relive my memories."

"Well then this is ironic." I mutter.

"I'm not talking 24/7-"

"No, but if I go to one meeting, they'll push for more. And more. And soon, we will be talking 24/7. Now, don't you have clients to go calm down?"

Obie sighs at the obvious dismissal and hands Taylor back to her father, turning on his heel and leaving the room.

All is silent for a moment before Taylor wriggles in Tony's arm and he sets her on a blanket, crouching down and handing her a plastic screwdriver.

"You're my first priority, sweetheart. You may not understand that right now, but it'll always be as true as the laws of physics."

A~A~A

The screen fades to black, leaving us all staring at it dumbly.

"Just so you know," I announce suddenly, breaking the silence, "that's as close as any of you will ever get to my baby pictures. I digitized them, burned the hard copies, and firewalled the digital copies like nobody's business."

Natasha just nods with a grin before sighing and running a hand through her hair. "Well, that was insightful."

"What did that guy mean, distracted?" Steve asks. "Distracted by what?"

"From what little I've heard," I begin cautiously, "you. We don't talk about Howard much, but I've gathered that Howard became obsessed with finding you and spared little time for his wife and son."

"I never meant…" Steve starts but trails off, and I just nod before leaning back into the seat and Clint.

"I know. Now, let's see what's next on this YouTube playlist of doom."