Grey resisted the urge to swat at the woman doing her hair. Bucky gave her a long look through the mirror, urging her to calm down so the stylist could finish. A sudden still came over Grey, as she took a deep breath and locked her joints in place. She didn't so much as twitch until the woman finished and left, allowing Grey to shake her hair loose again, sending one tendril of her bangs back in her eyes. Pepper entered the room, handing over the red blazer that had almost become Grey's signature, with her red pumps. Happy was right behind her, handing over their preferred holsters and weapons.
"Barnes is going to finish things at the offices, I'm taking you to the airfield. Rhodes should be landing within an hour or so. Tony's good to go directly to the conference, he's just hungry. Medics were able to tend to the visible wounds, and no one but Jim has seen the reactor," Happy said, passing his tablet to Bucky. A shiny new security badge on a lanyard was on top. "Jayne's already there, she plans to sit next to Christine and give a hint about the next direction. Stane's only aware of the conference. He's going to be there."
"We should also expect to see Agent Phil Coulson there," Grey said, standing up. She looked fierce, with her makeup hinting at war paint. It was bolder, more dramatic than the last time she stood in front of the cameras. It was intentional. "He wants to debrief on how Dad escaped, because SHIELD is full of nosy assholes. If he talks to you, stall. We only have one statement to make, and it isn't to him."
"Are we giving a statement to Stane if he stops us?" Pepper asked, looking like she wanted him to try.
"If you can think of a polite way of telling him to go kill himself, you can say it, other than that, just ignore the man. I've already put out the legacy call, so we should expect the house to fill with spooks soon enough."
"Please don't tell Stane to kill himself," Pepper said wearily, as if she'd had to argue that point before. "I believe that might still be illegal."
Happy and Grey simply pointed to Bucky, who was also gesturing to himself. Pepper let out a long-suffering sigh. She flipped everyone off and left, leaving them to crack up behind her.
"Stop adding stress to Pepper's plate, she's losing her mind over Tony," Bucky said after he stopped laughing. "You all go, I'll drive down to the offices and meet with Jayne, get everything set up. They think we're starting at eight, right? What time will you actually be there?"
"Eight forty-five," Grey said, checking her reflection again. Her skin looked porcelain smooth and clear with a dramatic eye and a bold lip. "Not sure if I'll come in behind the podium, or if I'll gate crash, but it will be fun regardless. Happy, grab dad's suit and meet me in the car, let's go bring him home."
"Let's bring him home," Happy said, clapping Grey on the shoulder, a wide smile on his face. "He's gonna be so proud of you, kid."
Bucky pressed a quick kiss to the top of Grey's head, shook hands with Happy, and left the house wearing his new lanyard proudly. As Grey and Happy stopped by the kitchen to pick up her coffee thermos, they could hear Bucky peel out of the garage in his favorite little Audi coup. Pepper was sitting in the back seat of Happy's SUV, drafting emails and sipping at her second coffee of the morning. Grey gathered two notebooks and Happy handed her a folder of printed paper. It was the speech she'd written for Tony, typed and printed so he didn't have to try and decipher her handwriting.
"First stop Burger King, three American cheeseburgers, and two large fries, I'm starving," Pepper said as Grey and Happy finally joined her in the car. "Let's get moving or we'll actually be late."
Happy peeled out of the driveway, hitting the public road like it had offended him. Grey and Pepper barely swayed in the backseat as he drove like a maniac, first through a drive through, then off to the airfield. Grey sat sideways in her seat, chattering away about several ideas she'd had that morning about the press conference.
The three of them stood together, staring near unblinkingly at the sky as they waited for the C-130 to bring Tony and Jim home.
"Jesus Christ, I miss my mom," Grey said suddenly, clutching her chest. She looked furious as she waited for the tears building in her eyes to subside. "I don't know what I thought, but fuck I want my mom."
Pepper was quick to pull Grey into her arms, mindful of both women's makeup and weapons. Grey kept staring at the sky, trying to blink away tears.
"She'd be proud of you," Pepper murmured in her ear. "You're saving the world."
"She didn't see the movies like I did," Grey said, sniffling a little bit. She pulled out of Pepper's arms and straightened herself out, even peeling off her blazer to check her sidearm. "She supported my writing though. Even read a fic or two I posted online. But they weren't real to her the way they are to me."
"We're lucky to have you," Happy said, slightly awkward in the face of tears. Grey shook herself and gave Happy a smile. She glanced upward.
"Dad's home," Grey said, smiling at the sky. She pulled her blazer back on and straightened the sleeves.
"How can you tell?" Pepper immediately looked up, scanning the sky herself.
"C-130s are loud, listen," Grey instructed, tapping her ear. Sure enough, Pepper and Happy could just hear the low rumbling of an engine. Grey stood there, doing her best impression of a birddog on a scent, every muscle taut as she waited, listening to the engine grow louder and louder. It came into view, a silver spec hiding in the wide blue sky. "Finally."
The aircraft landed a ways away, taxiing over to them. The rear cargo bay door lowered, and Grey finally laid eyes on Tony Stark for the first time in three months.
"Look what I found," Rhodey called, practically beaming. "A sand rat, just for you, kid."
"Took you long enough," Grey shouted back, forcing herself to not cry. The ramp finally stopped, laying flush with the tarmac. Rhodey escorted Tony down the ramp, a hand hovering an inch from his back. Pepper launched herself at Tony, throwing her arms around his neck, very careful of his injuries. Jim was glad he'd had his hand there, having to steady the two. "Potts, don't fuck up your makeup, I won't fix it in the car for you."
"Your eyes are red, shed a few tears for your long-lost boss?" Tony asked, a smile starting to form on his face as he carefully wrapped his good arm around Pepper's waist, pulling her closer for a moment. "Actually, you look good, don't let me mess that up. What's the occasion?"
"We're taking over the world on your dollar, haven't you heard?" Happy teased, shaking Tony's hand. Pepper finally pulled away, straightening her jacket, before placing her hands on Tony's cheeks. She didn't have to say anything, her eyes said it all. "Welcome home boss."
"Next time, take that brat with you, she's a menace," Pepper said meaningfully. She stepped back and let Grey move in to hug Tony.
"Who dressed you?" Grey asked, looking her dad over with a critical eye. "Rhodes, if this ugly ass suit was your doing, you're on scut for a month."
"She gives more orders than General Morrow," Jim pretended to complain. "What's the plan Tones?"
"Whatever she says, goes," Tony said, stepping forward to hug Grey. Father and daughter melted into the hug, finally reunited. "She knows more than me."
"And don't you forget it."
"Let's get going, Jim, are you driving with us?"
"No, I'll follow on. General Morrow is here, I'm bringing him to the press conference, it's only fair." Grey nodded, shifting immediately from daughter to heiress. "Dad, get your ass in the car and change out of that suit, seriously, I hate 2010 fashion. We've got you a change of clothes. Are you good to ditch the sling?"
"I'd love nothing more." Jim clapped Grey on the shoulder, handing her a slim file, it was the recovery report. She nodded as he turned and headed to the hangar. As Jim broke into a jog, Tony dove into the backseat and started changing. "Is red the family color?"
Pepper smacked her palm on the window, urging him to change faster. Eventually he opened the door and let the women inspect him.
"Let's get a move on, Hogan, what's the fastest you can get us outta here?" Pepper asked, gathering up Tony's shed clothes and throwing them in the trunk with a decisive slam.
"Twenty minutes is my best time," Happy boasted, walking around the car to get in the driver's seat. Pepper chose the front seat, and Grey climbed in the back with her dad, a beaming grin on their faces.
"Take me to Stark Industries, not home, please Happy," Tony said, adjusting his new black jacket. He wore a red silk shirt with tiny gold details sewn in place. He realized he was matching Grey, who wore a red blazer over a black and silver silk shirt. She had shiny gold pins in her hair, making Tony think of a crown or a fancy circlet.
"Where did you think we were going?" Grey snarked.
"Shush you," Pepper said, buckling up as Happy slammed the gas, peeling out of the airfield. "Tony, eat."
Keeping a handful of fries for herself, Pepper passed back the Burger King bag to Tony, who gaped in surprise.
"I want a press conference, Pepper will you call one?" Tony asked, nodding his thanks for the food.
"We've already got one called," Grey said, taking over. "Everyone's there, including Stane, and Jayne let me know that horrid Smith woman is there. Barnes says Coulson is there too, trying to stay hidden. Barnes managed to hide a tracker on him. Maybe I can finally figure out where their bases are."
"Have Barnes or Robbins get rid of Smith, and make sure Christine is put up front with Jayne," Happy said, glancing back through his rear-view. Tony dug into his burgers, trusting his family to have everything accounted for. Clearly, they were competent.
"Already done. Robbins is gonna deal with Smith, Barnes is gonna drag Christine to where we need her," Grey said, moving things around on Pepper's tablet. They had a mark-up of where they were hosting the conference.
"So, we're cancelling weapons, right?" Tony asked. He received three resounding no's, causing him to frown.
"We're going to freeze weapon's production, pending a full investigation as to why our weapons are in the hands of terrible people. We're going to keep the company afloat by expanding into personal devices like cell phones and tablets." Grey, still sitting sideways in her seat, with the door behind her, pulled out three pieces of paper and handed them over. "You don't have to stick to this completely, but make sure you hit the three main bullet points in bold there."
"This would completely restructure Stark Industries," Tony said. "You're a genius, kid."
Pepper cracked up in the front seat, covering her mouth with her hand as she laughed at Tony's surprise. Tony watched her like a hawk, absorbing everything she did with a puzzled expression on his face. Pepper adjusted her light red lipstick and wiped any perceived excess off with a napkin. Unlike the Starks, she wore a white shirt with a white blazer, and an off-white skirt. Her heels were golden, wrapping around her ankle, giving her an angelic presence. Pepper's makeup was subtle, just a touch of gold around her eyes, and the same gold pins in her hair as Grey.
"You've got no idea, do you, boss?" Happy asked, amusement in his eyes. "Just wait until we get home."
"She didn't bankrupt me, did she?" Tony asked, recalling the challenge he gave her before everything happened.
"I did buy several frivolous things I didn't need," Grey said. "As well as a bunch of things I did need. And a tattoo… Or three. Jarvis was nice enough to run off a list of all the money I spent, if you want to go over it."
"How much did you spend?" Tony asked.
"Eight hundred three million, two hundred sixty-eight thousand, four hundred and ten dollars, thirty cents," Grey said, flipping the tablet around so Tony could see it. The billionaire stared at the number; his mouth slightly open in surprise.
"What the fuck," Tony said softly.
"Oh, we are definitely gonna have to start a swear jar," Pepper said, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry about that, for now. Focus on that speech."
Iron Man
"Wasn't this supposed to start already?" Christine asked the reporter next to her. Jayne looked up from her Stark Industries tablet and checked her watch. It was eight forty. "It isn't like Potts, or the younger Stark to be late."
"It is unusual, especially for Pepper and Grey to be late, but I'm sure they've got a good reason. Maybe they'll even tell us."
"You became a reporter because you're nosy, didn't you?" Christine smiled at the younger woman. Jayne beamed, nodding. "I get it. Christine Everhart, Vanity Fair."
"Jayne Vittori, Stark Industries."
"I've been following your work; Tony's daughter has done some impressive things in the past three months. Do you know why they called this?"
"Well, I'm not supposed to say anything," Jayne said, leaning closer to Christine so they wouldn't be overheard. "But Grey was telling me that they want to expand the company. Not just weapons. See this? It's a Stark Tablet. Better, sleeker and more durable than anything Apple has out right now. Grey wants to release them for public consumption. They've got phones too."
"Grey wants to expand away from weapons?"
"Potts jokes that Tony accidentally raised a hippy." Jayne laughed and glanced over her shoulder. Security was escorting Marsha Smith out of the building. Obadiah Stane was leaning against the back wall, glaring at the podium. A coffee thermos was already set out for Grey. A man with a visitor badge, but no press creds was standing off to the side, his arms crossed over his chest. Jayne could see Bucky tracking his every move.
There was a loud bang, causing several gasps from the crowd as everyone's attention flew to the stage. Hogan and Rhodes had shoved open the doors, leading the way for Grey to walk out. And right behind her was Tony Stark, back from the dead.
Reporters shouted out questions as cameras flashed almost violently at the father-daughter pair in front of them. They stood there, twin smirks on their faces as they let everyone stare and shout. Grey stepped up to the podium after a long moment, and silence reigned. The press had learned her rules quickly.
"Tony Stark stands victorious!" Grey roared, raising her dad's hand as if he'd won a boxing match. Cameras flashed, doing their best to blind everyone in the room. Everyone cheered, jumping to their feet clapping their hands to make as much noise as they could. Jayne watched it all with amusement.
Pepper stood in the back and was approached by a man she guessed was Phil Coulson. Stane stood in the corner, looking like he sucked on a lemon. "Three months he spent in the desert, captured by a terrorist organization hell-bent on using Stark weapons to commit atrocious acts. Stark Weapons they should not have had access to. And today he is home again."
"Three months ago, I went to Afghanistan to present a weapon that was designed to be the crown jewel of Stark Industries weapons. The Jericho missile system was designed solely to protect America and her allies, instead I was taken by a terrorist group." Tony easily fell into the role of ringmaster, smiling charmingly at the reporters present. He matched Grey's body language, leaning slightly to the side so the two of them formed a slight V shape, their shoulders almost touching. "This group is called the Ten-Rings and is known to our troops. Today I stand here, in front of you to thank the brave service men and women that risked their lives to find me and bring me home. It is because of these men and women that I'm able to stand before you, here today."
Grey faced her father, a beaming smile on her face as she looked at him. It was a picture that would grace magazine covers for weeks.
"Stane's on the move," Bucky said through their comms. Grey turned slightly on her heel and pinned the man with a glare that the cameras couldn't see. Obadiah froze, caught. "Pepper's got Coulson occupied. You're clear."
"Today we stand in front of you, a changed family. Three months of grief has left us with a new perspective, one we are proud to show to you today," Tony continued, unaware of the machinations happening around him. He continued to read off the speech Grey wrote, making slight embellishments to fit who he used to be. Jim and Happy stood boldly off to the side of the stage. Happy in all back with a red tie, Rhodey still in his Air Force dress blues. "I spent three months in a cave, in the desert, with a terrorist organization that had more of my weapons than I do. Weapons they shouldn't have access to. But it was when they demanded I build them the Jericho, I knew we had been betrayed. The Jericho was a top-secret Stark Industries project, one that required NDAs for everyone involved. And not only did the ten-rings know about it, they demanded I build them one."
Reporters shouted questions at the Starks, several even standing up to try and be called on. Grey stepped in front of her father with an unimpressed glare, and the reporters froze. They sat back in their seats and waited, no one wanting to be removed from the building. Tony hummed an impressed question, just quiet enough to not be picked up by the microphones.
"I refuse to let my family legacy be a terrorist organization with my weapons, and my first instinct was to come home and shut down weapons production, effective immediately, then bankroll the cleanup of whatever weapons caches they had stashed around the world." Behind the reporters, Obadiah went the color of sour milk as the color drained out of his face. A complete weapons shut down would destroy all his plans. "But my daughter reminded me of something today. We are responsible for more than just creating weapons. Stark Industries has hundreds of offices around the world, and just as many factories and warehouses. Stark Industries has weapons contracts with the US military and has thousands of employees relying on us. So, starting today, Stark Industries promises this; we will freeze weapons production temporarily pending a full and thorough investigation as to how our weapons ended up in Afghanistan. We will work with not only the Air Force, but a senate committee to discover how weapons with our name on them ended up being used against US servicemembers and innocent civilians, like the Ahmadiyya Mosque Massacre back in May."
"Stark Industries is so appalled by the actions of those that should never have had our weapons that we vow, not only will the investigation be done, it will be done publicly, so everyone can see how this happened, and so it can be prevented from happening again." Grey continued seamlessly from where Tony left off, as if they'd practiced for years. "Those Stark Industries employees that currently work for our weapons departments will be taken care of to ensure they are able to keep their jobs while this company transitions. You have my word."
"I never got to say goodbye to my father," Tony said, going off script slightly. "Never got to ask him if he had regrets, or if he was exactly the man we remember from the newsreels. And I almost did that to my daughter. Today, we restart the Stark Legacy. Today we stand before you, a changed family."
Tony and Grey stood tall, letting reporters take their photos, framed by Happy and Rhodey. Pepper walked up, standing just behind Grey so they presented a fully united front, the five of them. Grey scanned the people in the crowd until she locked eyes with Bucky, lurking in a shadow. She winked at him with glowing eyes that faded in the camera flashes.
Iron Man
"You can't just cancel weapons production, we're a weapons manufacturer!" Obadiah raged in a conference room. "What were you thinking, were you even thinking?"
"I wrote that speech," Grey said, deceptively quiet in her seat. She was leaning back, one leg crossed over the other as she inspected her golden nails in the light pouring from the windows. "Because it's the right thing to do, Stane. Please remember who is actually in charge of this company."
"Tony is in charge of Stark Industries."
"I am in charge of Stark Industries," Grey said icily, glaring up at Obadiah through her lashes. When she finally tilted her head back to look at him fully, she did so with as much malice as she could put in one smooth motion. "Pepper is CEO pro-tem. We have to go to court to undo the fatality clause, or did you forget? You rushed the paperwork, declaring dad legally deceased in an attempt to sneak the company out from under me, don't think I didn't notice."
"You wouldn't even know what to do at the head of this company," Stane snarled. Grey smiled up at him, her eyes wide and innocent, and just a shade too yellow.
"It doesn't matter if I run this company headfirst into the ground, I have the legal right to do so." Grey's voice, whipping like an icy wind around Obadiah didn't match her expression, serving to spook Stane. She didn't blink as she stared at him, daring him to continue to question her. "You will remember that you only have your job because my father wishes it. Insult me publicly again and I won't have you fired; I'll have you hanged. Try and stop me."
"Grey, Jayne is ready for you in your office," Pepper said brightly as she entered the room, shattering the tension. Obadiah used the interruption to take several steps back, adjusting his jacket to hide his fear. "Obadiah Tony is ready to see you, he's admiring the arc reactor again."
Obadiah fled the room, leaving his dignity dead on the floor.
"I'm surprised he didn't piss himself," Bucky said, sliding out of a shadow. "You certainly scared the hell out of him."
"That was so much fun," Grey said, giggling slightly. "Please tell me Jarvis recorded that."
"You actually threatened to have him hanged, is that still a legal punishment?" Pepper asked, relaxing against the wall.
"Technically, hanging is still the correct punishment for treason."
"Has he committed treason?" Pepper asked.
"Against me he has." Grey stretched out in the chair, leaning back precariously as she yawned. "And that's really all I care about."
"Nice crown," Bucky said, realizing the symbolism in the hair pins. Grey's smile was sharklike. "Rhodes and Hogan are with Stark, right? Stane won't do anything overt, not after that threat, but I don't trust him."
"Yeah. Hogan is posted up in a nest, just in case." Grey stood and looked around. "Bucky, why don't you take Pepper home, I've gotta meet with Jayne, see how her meeting went with Christine, and then I'll come home with dad and Happy."
"Jim's playing clean up with the Air Force?" Pepper asked, glancing at her tablet. "We've already received six pissy emails."
"Jim's attempting to make nice on our behalf, claiming he didn't see it coming either. We're releasing the statement that the idea had been floated after Ahmadiyya, but discarded as the thoughts of a grieving daughter, only for dad to come home and make the announcement himself."
"We're gonna have paperwork coming out of our ears," Pepper complained. "Let's get home, Bucky, we've got work to do. Grey, I'll order dinner. Tony's going to want his favorites."
"No carry out needed, I meal prepped," Grey said, shaking her head. "I made my famous lasagna. Just preheat the oven to 375, I'll do the rest when I get home."
"You cook?" Pepper demanded. Grey shook her head.
"I host. Big difference. You'll see, probably." Pepper hugged her and left, Bucky doing the same. Grey sighed and dragged her fingers through her hair, scratching at her scalp for a moment. "This skirt is annoyingly uncomfortable. I'm officially demanding pants from here out."
Grey complained to herself for a moment, then left the conference room, shutting off the lights behind her as she tried to remember the way to her office. She had more scheming to do.
Iron Man
Tony stood in front of the arc reactor his father created, based off the tesseract, and wondered. Wondered about Howard, Pepper, and Grey. He wondered about Jim and Happy and Obadiah too as he watched the light show that came with the advanced engine. He wondered what exactly Grey had spent almost a billion dollars on, and when exactly Pepper changed from his assistant to the woman, he might very well love. He wondered if they'd been successful in getting Barnes out of Hydra, or if he'd even been worth saving. He wondered what the plan was, and how they were going to undo all the damage his weapons had done. Tony wondered if this hadn't all been a giant mistake.
Obadiah stormed through the doors, shaking the fear Grey instilled into him off as dust. Tony was once again in his hands and would still be the manipulable child he had been at seventeen in 1991.
"Well, that… That went well," Stane said around his cigar. Tony cast an unimpressed look at the man.
"I painted a target on the back of my head," Tony said, grinning wryly at his godfather. Tony wondered when Stane changed from his godfather to the terrorist, treasonous snake in front of him.
"Your head, what about my head?" Stane asked. The Ten-Rings, Hydra, none of them would be happy with this decision. Obadiah was the more likely victim of targets. "What do you think the over-under on the stock drop is gonna be tomorrow?"
"Optimistically, forty points," Tony said, even as he knew Grey and Pepper would've accounted for that, and likely had a plan to prevent even a ten-point drop.
"At minimum," Stane sniped, trying not to glare at Tony. "Tony, we're a weapons manufacturer."
"I don't want a body count to be our legacy," Tony said shortly. He knew, this was supposed to be when he pulled on the family connection to convince Obadiah, he always did around this point in an argument, then Stane would pat him on the head like a dog and promise to make it better. Not this time.
"That's what we do, we're Iron Mongers, we make weapons," Tony locked in on his phrasing, the Iron Monger was the first bad guy Grey had promised. Of course, it was Stane.
"It's my name on the side of the building," Tony said.
"And what we do keeps the world from falling into chaos," Obadiah said, his words running over Tony's.
"Not based on what I saw," Tony said, ending the conversation.
"So what, you want us to make baby bottles? Pull another publicity stunt like this? The arc reactor?" Stane looked at Tony expectantly.
"Could you have a lousier poker face?" Tony asked, suddenly surprised he'd never noticed on his own. "Who told you? I know it was Pepper or Rhodey."
They both knew it hadn't been Pepper or Jim, even though Tony was content to allow Stane the falsehood. Obadiah would never admit his terroristic connections, so said nothing. Tony unbuttoned his shirt and let Stane see the mini reactor in his chest. Stane looked around like he was expecting police to jump out of the shadows. He paused as he saw two orange lights in a shadow. Obadiah wondered if it was a piece of machinery, or if Tony's infernal daughter was lurking in a shadow. He quickly closed Tony's shirt. He put his arm around Tony's shoulders. Tony fought the urge to throw him off.
"Listen to me, Tony, we're a team, do you understand? There's nothing we can't do if we stick together, like your father and I," Obadiah pulled out all the stops to convince Tony.
"I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads up, but if I had…" You would've shot the C-130 out of the sky and blamed the ten-rings. Tony left it unsaid, for now.
"You gotta let me handle this. We're gonna have to play a different game of ball here. We're going to have to take a lot of heat. I want you to promise me that you'll go home, lay low." Tony shook his hand and watched him leave the building. By the time the man climbed on his segue and wheeled off, Happy and Jim had reappeared by his side, this time, Happy carried a sniper rifle.
"That's a bit much, right?" Tony asked, patting Happy on the arm. His two oldest friends merely shrugged.
"We put Grey in a crown, I don't think anything is overkill anymore," Jim said, sounding tired. "I should be home for dinner, but I've got to head back to base and drop off General Morrow. He doesn't like this."
"I've got thirty on Grey handling it," Happy said. "She mumbled something about lunch, and wings?"
"Oh, that," Jim said, nodding. "Go ahead and get Tony home, Pepper should be on her way too. Grey had some loose threads to deal with."
Whether those loose ends were handled legally was a question they would make sure to never ask.
"Finally, home," Tony sighed. "Let's go Hapster; Rhodes, thank you."
Iron Man
Grey, makeup free and freshly showered, slid into the kitchen like a woman on a mission, throwing three lasagnas into two ovens, pulling things out of the refrigerator, and jumping from task to task, mumbling under her breath the whole time. Bucky tried to help and got whacked with a spatula for his efforts.
By the time Happy and Tony arrived home, the dining room table was set and laden with enough food to feed an army. Lasagnas, handmade garlic bread, a fresh salad, red wine, and plenty of water to go around.
"Woah! Did we hire a chef?" Tony asked, looking around.
"No, your daughter likes to play hostess," Pepper said, reading something on her tablet. "This, however, is a first."
"This is an occasion. I do occasions very well," Grey said, taking off an apron as she came out to greet everyone. Happy gave her a fist bump before taking her apron from her. Tony was hugged and led to the dining room. "Potts!"
"Yeah, yeah, moving," Pepper complained, getting to her feet.
"Dad, I'd like to introduce you to James Barnes, Bucky, this is my dad, Tony Stark." Tony looked at the man, understanding on some level that this was the man that killed his parents, murdered his mother. Then he stuck out his hand. Bucky hesitated, then accepted, relaxing. "Let's eat, I'm fucking starving."
Grey waited until everyone was seated before serving everyone. Bucky poured everyone a glass of wine and passed out the garlic bread. Pepper was the first to dig in.
"Holy shit this is good, Grey!" Everyone was quick to take their first bite, and all fell into agreement. It was easily the best lasagna they'd had.
"I told you I was famous for it," Grey preened. She took a sip of wine and leaned back in her chair. "Dad, the floor is yours."
"Welcome home, Sir," Jarvis said, flashing the walls blue. "It is good to see you again."
"Good to see you too, buddy," Tony said, looking up at the ceiling. "That fucking sucked. Next time, I'll listen to you, I have sand everywhere."
"Okay, Anakin," Grey snarked, a hint of a smile on her face. Tony just rolled his eyes and reached for another piece of garlic bread.
"And the heat. And the cold. This, this thing burns. But I really don't want to think about it right now. Tell me what you all did. And tell me how you managed that." Tony gestured to Bucky, who was already on his second piece of lasagna. "Oh, and the eight hundred million, I wanna know about that too."
So, Grey talked. She regaled Tony with the story of how she basically broke into a secure SHIELD building to ask for the Winter Soldier.
"He was so astonished I don't think it ever occurred to him to say no," Grey said. "And when he found out, well, he did try to have us killed. Nearly ruined my birthday too."
"You say that like it was a minor thing?" Tony asked, horrified.
"Bucky sleeps with guns and I'm a good shot," Grey shrugged, sipping her wine. She noticed that Tony wasn't drinking anything other than water.
"You're sleeping with my daughter?" Tony demanded of Barnes. Everyone was surprised at the quick conclusion Tony drew.
"I always forget he's a genius," Happy said. "I owe Jim fifty bucks."
"You're not going to shoot me, are you?" Bucky asked Tony warily. Tony heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes, turning away from Bucky and facing his daughter. She gave him a dimpled smile, her eyes wide and innocent. Tony just stared at her. Eventually he blinked and shook his head. Grey took a celebratory bite of lasagna.
"Explain the money," Tony said, lounging back in his seat. He took the plate of lasagna with him.
"We bought Marvel Entertainment outright," Pepper said. Jarvis turned the blank wall into a spreadsheet of Grey's spending. "Grey's planning on publishing two books on various captains which we're going to turn into movies to fund the Avengers. Marvel got bought out for six hundred million. Most of the rest went into starting the buyout process to re-privatize the company."
"And then I built a particle accelerator in the basement," Grey said. "That was expensive too."
"You built a particle accelerator?" Tony demanded, glancing down at the floor, as if he could see it.
"What's powering the reactor in your chest?" Grey demanded, raising a single eyebrow. Tony sagged.
"Palladium," Tony said softly.
"And what's it doing?"
"Killing me very slowly?"
"Exactly. Papaw discovered an element structured very similarly to Vibranium but couldn't synthesize it." Tony stared at Grey with his mouth open. She looked very smug. "I did. It'll power the reactor with no poor side-effects to you. And I've already written the paper for the scientific community. You're welcome."
"You built a particle accelerator?" Tony asked again. "Without me? Sure, have all the fun without me!"
Grey snorted, then continued her story of the past three months. By the time Bucky went to the kitchen for the tiramisu waiting for them in the fridge, Tony had started his own story of the past three months.
"I guess the real question is, what next?"
"Since you've asked," Grey started, a grin on her face. She pulled a stack of notebooks out of nowhere and thunked them on the table. "Shall we get started?"
Iron Man
Despite Tony having returned, the girls didn't change their schedule, and were up early the next morning for a long run, and a workout, with Jim showing up during the last hour to spar with them.
"Jesus, you learned that in three months?" Tony asked from the door. Grey grinned at him while offering Jim a hand up from where Pepper had thrown him.
"Two actually," Bucky said. "Took me a while to feel safe enough to teach them. Grey picks things up quick."
"I mimic people, it's old hat."
"Pepper's the deadly one," Jim complained. He accepted the water from Bucky. "She's thrown Barnes before."
"She flipped me," Bucky corrected. "And I let her."
"Uh-huh, sure," Tony said. "When do I start?"
"August fourth," Pepper said sharply. "Dr Cho is coming out to do a physical for you with that thing. So, get it switched to the new element and get used to it before she gets here. This isn't optional."
"Of course, Miss Potts," Tony said, hearts in his eyes. Pepper blushed violently, causing Grey to grin knowingly. "Do we have plans until this Dr Cho comes?"
"You gotta teach me how to make the mini reactor," Grey said, "with the Starkanium. And I'll help you swap those out. And I'll need you to proof the paper before we publish."
"You're calling it Starkanium? What about badassium?" Tony pitched. Both women hit him on the arm. "Or Starkanium, that's totally fine too."
"Family Legacy," Grey promised. "Speaking of the legacies are coming for dinner in two weeks. We have all put our differences aside. You will agree to this."
"Pretty sure mini-Morita still hates me for skipping that commencement," Tony said.
"He understands that I broke my arm, and you have a tendency to panic first think later with family," Grey said. Tony and Grey locked eyes and had a conversation no one else could understand. Tony scrunched his nose, looking so much like Grey in that moment that Pepper was forced to blink. Grey smiled, looking exactly like her father. "I told you, I got'cha. Come on, it's Barnes' turn to make breakfast, and his eggs are the best."
"So, once I'm cleared, how much running is involved?" Tony asked, wrapping his arms around his girls, and heading back upstairs to the main floor.
Iron Man
"His vitals do appear stronger," Jarvis said as the light finally calmed down. Grey kept blinking, swearing she'd gone blind when Tony put the new reactor in his chest.
"Tastes like coconut," Tony said, sticking his tongue out. "Feels better, more powerful."
"I can hear it humming," Grey said. "The first one definitely didn't hum."
"How'd it go?" Pepper asked, coming into the lab. "That meeting was awful. Stark tablets have begun production across the country, three days after the announcement, that might legitimately be a record somewhere. I deserve a raise."
"Stock?"
"Down thirty-six, up by fifty-three," Pepper said, flicking the numbers from her tablet to the desktop in the lab. "Stane is livid, which personally, makes this even better."
"And the investigation?"
"FBI has most of their teams ready to move, we're just waiting," Grey said. "Although why we're waiting, I have no idea."
"Bureaucracy," Pepper bitched. "We have to wait for warrants."
"But we have government contracts."
"That we just announced we're going to cancel," Tony put in. "Even our friends don't want to help us right now, so they're going to drag their feet until they're forced to act."
"When Stane tries to get the board to lock you out," Grey said. "September. The vote will fail, Stane will try to make a move and his house of cards will fall."
"And so the prophet speaks," Bucky teased, surprising Tony and Pepper, who hadn't known he was in the lab. Grey simply turned and smiled at him. "God say anything about what we're supposed to do till then?"
"We're waiting," Pepper said dryly. "Again."
"You know we can always-"
"Step up our training?" Pepper and Grey asked in tandem. Bucky gave them his best innocent smile, causing Grey to raise an eyebrow. The girls looked at each other and nodded.
"I suppose it makes sense," Grey mused. "We can try, but if it starts taking time out of my day, I won't have it."
"You don't have any time to lose, anyway," Pepper said. "None of us do, and we have to work in flight training?"
"Flight training?" Tony asked. "For the suits? I haven't designed those yet."
"Yes you have," Grey, Pepper, and Bucky said at once. Tony didn't bother looking sheepish.
"Yes I have," Tony said. "Wanna see?"
Grey and Bucky perked up, glancing at each other like excited puppies. Tony beamed, dragging them over to a window he could use as a whiteboard, and started sketching, talking a mile a minute. Pepper rolled her eyes and headed out, skimming over an email from legal. She wasn't interested in how the suits worked, only that they did.
"Miss Potts, you have received an email reply from Dr Cho, would you like me to send it to your personal tablet?" Jarvis asked, flashing the stairwell blue.
"No, could you pull it up on my desktop in my office, I'll read it there. Would you also pull up whatever file Grey has on her?"
"Miss Stark has drafted several contracts for Dr Cho, including a part-time contract to last until we move to New York," Jarvis said, his voice moving as Pepper moved through the house. "She also has NDAs prepared. They're easily accessible from the folder I've taken the liberty of opening on your desktop."
"Thanks, Jay," Pepper said. She detoured through the kitchen for an apple and a fresh bottle of water before dropping into her desk chair with a sigh. "Remind me in three hours to get up and stretch, please."
Iron Man
"I'm not thrilled that we're in the private sector," Tony said, looking over the Avengers contracts while the girls did their cooldown. "But I'm guessing that's all we get?"
"Yep! Unless you wanna turn Stark Industries into a government funded intelligence agency?" Grey asked, half upside down on the ropes course Tony paid to put in. She had a giant grin on her face as she clung to the rope that Bucky was determined to throw her from.
"Absolutely the fuck not," Pepper shouted from her spot. "If we get involved with the government you'll end up murdering a politician!"
"Grey or Barnes?" Tony asked, mildly curious.
"Me," they both said, giving Tony twin looks of excitement. Pepper let go of the rope and fell, landing neatly on her feet.
"No, we'll stay in the private sector, we'll make more money that way," Pepper said, wiping her face with a towel. Tony threw her a water bottle that she caught easily. "Ew. Capitalism."
Grey laughed at Pepper, then shrieked as Bucky succeeded in throwing her from the rope. With surprising agility, Grey twisted in the air to flip and land next to him, nailing the superhero landing.
"Oh Gods, my knee," Grey complained as she stood upright. "And that was rude, twisting the rope like that, no one's gonna think to do that if we're hanging from a helicopter, they're just likely to shoot at us."
"Nice landing," Bucky said. "Good reflexes. Eventually, I'll load up some rubber bullets and we'll practice that."
"Yay, free bruises," Pepper said, leveling Bucky with a glare.
"Not if you dodge," Bucky said cheerfully.
"Grey, you have friends in the press, right?" Tony asked.
"Several. And enemies."
"We need damage control," Tony said tersely, pouting at the tablet in his hands. "Some loon shot up his place of employment with a Stark gun."
"What?" Grey demanded, turning on her heel to face her dad.
"Hartford Connecticut at some beer distributor. We're not being blamed for the attack, actually, the anti-gun crowd is talking about how glad they are that we're going to do something about the guns. We are, aren't we?" Tony asked, skimming through the article. Grey let out a long-suffering sigh.
"Jarvis, dictate an email to Jayne for me real quick. Hartford mass shooting was a Stark weapon, reach out to finance and ask if I'm able to donate for funeral costs, repairs, and/or any medical bills. Release a statement, we're horrified, so sorry, the usual such and such, go ahead and release as you finish, I don't need a draft. Then reach out to Christine Everhart at Vanity Fair, ask her to do a piece for us on gun violence in America and come up with options for us."
"I have sent the email to Jayne, hopefully she is able to understand your rambling," Jarvis teased.
"As if you didn't produce a perfectly understandable email that sounded more sympathetic than me. I appreciate all you do!" Grey bent her knee until she was able to flop onto the floor with a muffled thud. "I hate guns."
"Oh my God, I did raise a hippy," Tony said, pretending to be horrified. Grey cackled from the floor. "Great."
"I'd laugh, but it isn't funny, everything changes in 2012," Grey said, losing her humor for once. "And there's nothing I can do about it."
"Grey?" Pepper looked over, concerned at the change in demeanor. The girl was staring at the ground, an unreadable expression on her face. When Pepper looked closer, she could see that Grey was crying about something.
"I don't remember when it was," Grey said softly. "I just remember the fallout. I can't fix this."
"Woah, hey, kiddo, you don't have to fix anything," Tony said, sitting on the floor next to Grey. He put his hand on her knee and waited until she looked up at him. "Nor do we expect you to fix everything."
Grey sent a hurried glance at Bucky, who was watching, concerned.
"We don't care about the future, Grey, only you," Bucky said. "We can worry about the future when it gets here."
"People will die," Grey said, almost resigned to the fact.
"People will die anyway," Bucky pointed out. "Gun violence, knife violence, war, crime, it all happens anyway. There's not shit we can do about it. Come on, shake it off."
"Wanna go for a run on the beach?" Pepper asked, smiling softly. "The whole family can come; I'm sure Tony can survive a three mile run."
"Sure," Grey said, finally pulling herself together. "Let's go for a run on the beach. I'll resist the urge to throw dad in the waves."
"Jokes on you, I know how to swim," Tony teased, letting Pepper pull him to his feet. She was strong, and he could see the muscles she'd built in her tank top. He tried not to stare.
"Sure, but can you keep up?" Grey climbed to her feet and started leading the way out of the sub-basement and into the sunshine.
"Probably not, he's got old man bones," Pepper teased.
"Barnes is old, I'm young. I'm a spring chicken."
"Seasoned chicken, maybe," Grey mumbled under her breath. Pepper barked out a laugh that echoed along the stairs. "Sweet and sour, I'd think."
"You're such a rude child," Tony pretended to scold. "I know for sure I did not raise such a rude-ass child."
"Fatherless behavior over here," Grey giggled. For one reason or another, that cracked Tony up, leaving him leaning against Bucky, barking like a seal as they headed out, through the living room and by the pool, where the path to the beach was. Jim just shook his head and followed, amused by his family.
Iron Man
"This is fascinating technology, Doctor Stark," Doctor Helen Cho said as she examined the arc reactor in his chest. "What is powering it?"
"Starkanium," Tony said. "Grey had to synthesize it for me, the original was powered by palladium."
"I'm going to have Hali run a heavy metals blood test, just to make sure nothing else is lingering. She created you a new element?"
"Technically, papaw discovered it, I just put it together. I'm decent at puzzles," Grey said, waving away any praise.
"Modesty isn't a good look for you, kiddo," Tony said. Dr Cho nodded, giving Tony permission to put his shirt back on.
"Your lung capacity is diminished. I understand you want to start some physical training, I would be very careful with cardio. I won't forbid it, but you need extra oxygen. I'd like you on supplemental oxygen when you can. You don't have to do it publicly or anything, but supplemental oxygen might save your life."
"So, you are an old man!" Grey teased, taking notes on Pepper's tablet. "Gotta hook you up to oxygen. We'll figure it out. Dr Cho, is there anything else we should be aware of?"
Hali, Dr Cho's assistant squinted at her computer before tilting the screen to show the doctor. Grey glanced up at the ceiling, before looking directly at the computer. A blue light flashed, just out of sight of the visitors.
"His heavy metal screen is clear. There's still a little palladium in his blood, but not enough to worry about. Dr Cho can leave a prescription for a chelating agent to help get that passed faster," Hali said.
"I'll do you one better, I've got two IV bags of it, I'll leave them here for you." Doctor Cho turned to Grey. "You know how to do an IV?"
"Yes ma'am." She didn't, actually, but Jarvis could talk her through it fairly easily. He'd helped her take and run samples of Bucky's blood.
"She knows everything," Tony pretended to complain. "Except how to take out the trash."
"I thought that was Happy's chore," Grey said. "Or Pepper's, according to what she said to Christine. Love that woman."
"You didn't love her this morning," Tony pointed out.
"She shot me," Grey said. Doctor Cho looked at Grey, who lifted up her shirt to show what would later become an amazing bruise. "Airsoft for training, painful, but not terribly deadly."
"He cannot take blunt force to his chest," Doctor Cho said firmly, pointing at Tony. "I don't mind your training, but if Doctor Stark is taking part, he has to wear protection on his chest. Any blunt force damage could force the few remaining shrapnel further into his heart. In addition, because of the arc reactor, he has limited lung capacity, and his heart is weaker."
"We will take every precaution for him, Doctor Cho," Grey said gravely. "If necessary, we won't let him train at all."
"You'd bench me?" Tony demanded, hurt clear on his face.
"If it saved your life, yes," Grey said, her eyes glowing as she stared at her father. He flinched back, unused to being on the receiving end of them. With a blink, her eyes were back to normal, and Tony nodded, understanding this wasn't a fight he was going to win.
"I've finished, you'll have my notes tomorrow. Hali, would you pack everything up? I have a meeting with Miss Potts."
"Of course, Doctor Cho," Hali said, taking her gloves off.
Jarvis, work on the oxygen problem. Grey typed out and sent. Again, a small light flashed blue, letting Grey know he was on it.
"I'll take you upstairs, this way Doctor Cho," Grey said, tucking her tablet under her arm and leaving the lab. Grey delivered the doctor to Pepper, who was sitting in the living room, reading a stack of papers. "Pepper, they've finished downstairs. Hali is packing up now."
"Happy's outside, arguing with Jim about some sport, you can let him know," Pepper said, standing smoothly to shake the doctor's hand. Grey took the dismissal and headed out through the kitchen.
"They're wrapping everything up now," Grey said the moment the door shut behind her. "Dad's fine. Needs extra oxygen and officially needs chest protection, but other than that, he'll live."
"He can use my mask," Bucky said, leaning against Happy's SUV. He looked incredible, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a light jacket with his right sleeve shoved up. Grey couldn't help but smile at him, basking in the sun. "It filters the air, pulling more oxygen in with each breath."
"Beg pardon?" Grey said, looking at him in confusion. Bucky held his hand in front of his face, right where he used to wear a mask. "Yeah?"
"Functioned to pull extra oxygen in for us, filtered out smoke and toxins. Tony can take it, he can probably modify it too." Grey stared at him, unblinking for a long moment.
"I fuckin' knew it!" Grey burst out suddenly. "Oh, someone somewhere owes me money."
She pointed at the sky, fury on her face before she ran her fingers through her hair and settled down. Whatever she was thinking left her shaking her head on occasion as she thought something through. The men were used to her doing this and waited to see if she'd say anything else.
"I still can't believe you prefer baseball over football," Jim said, picking up their previous conversation. "Baseball is boring."
"Football is rugby with padding," Bucky argued. "I'll support the Army team, they're obviously the best."
"Navy's better," Grey said absently, still thinking something through.
"Absolutely they are not," Bucky said, turning to face her. When she didn't look up at him, he pulled his left hand out of his pocket and tilted it in the sun, directing it right in her eyes. "Army's a million times better."
"Wrong, Navy's won more games, with our current line up being fifty-four Navy, forty-nine Army seven ties nine games not played. Navy's in the middle of a win streak lasting from 2002 to 2015. Eat shit, Army," Grey said, her eyes glowing a bit.
"You can't bring the future into this," Bucky said.
"You mean to tell me the Navy's winning this year?" Jim said, talking over Bucky. "I'm going to the watch party in December this year. Last year I bet on Army, lost a thousand bucks."
"Don't ask me Superbowl winners, cause I got no fuckin' idea," Grey said, immediately holding her hand up at Jim. He pouted. "Hogan, go help the pretty nurse pack up and get out, dad and I have science to do. He's finally putting together the main flight thrusters. Tomorrow, after morning PT we're doing flight training."
"Tony's cleared to join us tomorrow?" Bucky asked, excited. Happy shook his head and walked in the house. "I'll bring him the mask tonight in case he wants to make modifications. How well can he shoot?"
"Tomorrow's Thursday, are we doing weapons?" Grey asked.
"No, weapons are Monday and Friday, I'm just curious, Tony's invented half a billion weapons, I want to know if he can use them," Bucky explained.
"He can," Jim said. "Howard had him in self defense classes from a young age, and you can't really invent something without learning how to use it."
"Is he a better shot than you?" Bucky asked. Jim frowned, unsure.
"Guess we'll find out on Friday, won't we?"
"I'm gonna make tomorrow's workout fun," Grey said brightly.
"How?"
"Cadence," Grey said, a manic grin on her face.
"No," Bucky and Jim said firmly, neither knowing where Grey would've picked up any cadences, but knowing they did not want her barking at them while they ran.
"You can't stop me," Grey said, still grinning. Bucky sighed and shook his head. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and left, heading back in the house to take a stack of papers from Pepper. "Knew that third movie was full of shit."
"Huh?" Jim asked.
"Iron Man Three, when we have to save the president. They portrayed Tony as someone with minimal fire-arm skills. Knew they were shit."
"I have a better question, do you just randomly know everything about Army-Navy football?"
"Oh, Gods no, Jarvis sent me those stats, I did know about the win-streak though. I started following football like three days before I ended up here," Grey said. "Wanted to look up the stats for the Navy."
"Why Navy?"
"Mom and I were in the Navy," Grey said, a soft smile on her face. "I washed out, of course, bad leg made boot camp a bitch, and ten-counts? Not my friend. Still, I remember enough."
"You continue to surprise me, and I really hate it," Jim said, throwing his arm around Grey's shoulders and leading her back inside. "But I am glad we gave you a change, kid. You did good."