The amazing thing about flying, is the adrenaline, Tony thought as he soared through the night sky, a sleek, silver suit darting through the clouds over Los Angeles.
"Iron Man, you copy?" Grey's voice broke through the excitement, and Tony focused on his heads-up display. Altitude was listed, as was a list of codenames logged into his comms line. Right now, it showed Pepper, codename Rescue, Grey, code name Peacemaker, and Jim, War Machine logged into his comms. Bucky didn't have a code name yet, but Tony was sure he was listening. "How's your visual?"
"Crystal clear, no lag. Zoom and satellite are functional," Tony said back. "How's backend?"
"Boring, but Jarvis has started running calculations for Mark three," Grey said, centered behind three monitors, one dedicated to Tony's vitals, one for his location, tracking him through his bracelet with the Stark Satellite. "Dad I don't want you going too much higher, oxygen is thin enough up there."
"Jarvis is pumping my suit with supplemental; I should be fine to finish this test flight." Tony didn't think he ever wanted to land. "Stop worrying."
"Absolutely not," Grey said. Tony pushed the repulsors harder, gaining a burst of speed and flying past a Ferris wheel on the boardwalk.
"Take note, it's significantly less core work when in the full suit. The exoskeleton does all the work," Tony said, doing a barrel roll for the fun of it. "I will however, never fly out through the garage again, that was horrifying. Jarvis, what's SR-71's record?"
"That's a bad idea," Grey said, but was cut off by Jarvis.
"The altitude record for fixed wing flight is eighty-five thousand feet, sir," Jarvis said.
"Records are made to be broken, come on!" Tony tilted back and launching himself upward, aiming for the moon. He wobbled slightly from side to side, but dismissed it as just needing practice.
"Sir, there is a potentially fatal buildup of ice occurring," Jarvis said. Grey sighed and shook her head, pulling on her VR glasses to see through the floors above her.
"Barnes, Potts, get a broom, Dum-E, I want you on standby for any possible fires. Bambi, we're gonna need a construction crew out here tomorrow."
"Why?" Pepper asked. As if by fate, or really good timing, the screen showing Tony's telemetry went red and started screaming out an alarm. Grey sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Got it."
"Should we worry?" Jim asked, concerned. Grey shook her head, and by the time she looked over, Tony's vitals had popped back up. The family could hear him cheering, or screaming, one.
The satellite tracked the suit as it toward them, speeding along the highway. Iron Man flew toward the house, pulling up when he was on the roof.
"Cut power," Tony instructed. Grey yanked Pepper back as Iron Man crashed through the roof, the piano in the living room, the living room floor, the lab floor, and into the garage, crashing onto Grey's mini. Grey gave Bucky a glare and took the broom out of Pepper's hands and smacked the arm of the suit. Tony just leaned his head back. The family could hear him groan through comms.
"Did you at least break the record?" Bucky asked, looking at the destruction scattered around the garage.
"Fuck you," Tony bitched. He sat up, jerkily and stomped over to the machines designed to take off the suit. It was a seventeen-minute process, and at the end of it, Tony was forced upstairs to the couch, his oxygen tank next to him, and a hot coffee in his hands, decaf. "So, gold titanium alloy then, yeah?"
"Should've thought of that yourself first," Grey complained. "You're a genius, dumbass."
"Don't talk to your father that way," Tony said, his eyes glittering. "Jarvis, make the revisions to the designs, use the alloy to prevent icing. Increase balance calculations, I kept wobbling. Can I see the specs? The main transducer is sluggish at plus forty altitudes."
Jarvis turned the coffee table into a holo table, pulling up a 3D hologram of the mark two. Grey's tablet was commandeered to show what the suit would look like, once finished.
"We're nicely ahead of schedule," Grey commented idly. "The benefit is still later this week, we should have enough time to get all three of our suits combat ready. Jim, you and Bucky will quarterback from downstairs. I'd like one of you to make sure Stane stays at the benefit, I don't want him able to even try and claim any credit with our work. Jim, hate to do it, but you gotta get us flight clearance to get into and out of Gulmira without raptors crashing our party."
"How?"
"Call the damn president, I don't fuckin' know!" Grey sniped back. "That's why it's your job. My job is to not pee my pants when I'm launched into the sky at mach-jesus by my lunatic father."
"And save the hostages," Tony said.
"And save the hostages," Grey repeated, smiling. "They're using human shields, with Jarvis and Bambi doing targeting, we should be able to take out just the hostiles. Speaking of, Bambi, have you got us satellite footage?"
"Streaming to your tablets now," Bambi said, this time through Grey's phone so they could be heard.
"See the Jericho?" Pepper pointed out. "I thought we halted construction on those, and the only three we had, were under lock and key. How do they have it?"
"Stane must have a factory off the books somewhere, still SI, but not under our control, Jarvis, send the intel to Katherine and Brian. If anyone can find it, they can," Jim suggested. Headlights had the five of them reaching for weapons, before they recognized the SUV as Happy's. Three knocks at the door, and the family could hear his key turning in the lock.
"What happened here?" Happy asked, looking at the piano. He glanced at Grey first, wondering if it had been her. Pepper pointed at Tony before standing to take some of the pizza boxes from his arms.
"Forgot the suit weighed as much as a small tank," Tony said. "Landed on the roof."
"After he iced over and fell out of the sky," Bucky put in, leaning back in his chair with a beer. "Screamed like a girl."
"Did not!"
"Lil bit," Pepper teased, leaning over to press a kiss to Tony's cheek. "It's okay, I would've been louder."
"I probably woulda fainted," Grey said, staring at Happy until he pulled a bottle of ranch out of the bag in his arms. She beamed at him and took it, plopping some down on her cheese and black olive pizza. "Not convinced I won't this weekend anyway."
"How are we getting there?" Pepper asked, smiling at Bucky in thanks for her wine.
"Flying, obviously," Tony teased. Pepper swatted him. "I figure we'll just take the suits. Easier to slip under the radar, and we won't have to argue with governments yet."
"This one's a freebie," Rhodey said, reading an email on his tablet. "General Morrow is going to pull a few strings, get us permission to enter Afghanistan air space. Thankfully, there's a Stark Industries in the country, so we don't need a visa."
"We don't need a visa?" Grey asked.
"When Tony was negotiating to turn Stark Industries into an international company, he was able to argue that he and his immediate team needed the ability to get in and out of the country at the drop of a hat, as long as it was Stark Industries related, they agreed," Pepper lectured. "We still need passports, but the governments have given us the green light to not need a visa."
"So, I could go, right now to our office in Kyoto?"
"Only for Stark Industries related things, and then again, only me, Pepper, and now you," Tony said. "Jarvis did some work on that for me before Afghanistan."
"Ah. Well, shit, how long's the flight gonna be?" Grey asked. "It's nine from Ohio to Amsterdam."
"It will take approximately twenty two hours, from Los Angeles to Afghanistan by airplane," Bambi said helpfully. Grey looked at Tony and glared at him until he got the hint.
"With the speed our suits go, it'll take about nine hours. I figure we take off, Jarvis and Bambi can handle autopilot and we sleep most of the way there."
"In an uncomfortable suit?" Pepper asked.
"The suits that require a machine and seventeen minutes to currently get out of, yes," Tony said back.
"Eighteen hours plus one for the fight, nineteen hours we're going to be in these cans?" Grey exclaimed. "Bambi, will my knee brace fit under the suit?"
"You won't need it," Tony said. Grey frowned; her nose scrunched. "The flight suits Barnes put together? Has a compression sleeve in yours for your knee."
"Okay fine, I'll ask – bathrooms?"
"Mark three, ask again later," Tony said with a hopeless shrug. "There's no way to get anything to handle that in the mark two suits, not in the time we have."
"Don't add anything to the suits, they aren't designed to be worn for ridiculous lengths of time," Grey said, the deciding vote as usual. "Just focus on making mark three and up easier to get in and out of."
"I can do that. I have an idea for a suit in a case," Tony said, pushing the sketches he had from his tablet to Grey's. "Have to figure out how to make the suits lighter."
"The alloy should help with that, shouldn't it?" Jim asked, the only other rocket scientist in the room. "Making it lighter?"
"Yeah, but if we want the suits to stay bulletproof, we need the adamantium."
"What if we wove Kevlar through our flight suits?" Bucky asked, running the ideas through his head. "How often are we actually getting shot at?"
Everyone looked at Grey, who shrugged, her mouth full. She thought it through as she wiped a drop of ranch from her cheek.
"Maybe stick with the something solid, bullets might not get fired at us, but we are likely to see laser weapons, whatever nonsense the terrorist organizations use, Hydra, and then aliens."
"Aliens?" Bucky asked, his eyes wide.
"Have you not been paying attention?" Pepper asked, unfazed. "Apparently terrorists with our weapons are the least of our problems."
"I fucking love this family," Bucky said softly in amazement. "I get to fight aliens?"
Grey couldn't stop the sappy look on her face as she looked at Bucky, childlike glee on his face.
"Oh hell, there's two of them," Happy said, looking at the same excitement on Tony's face at the prospect of aliens. "Am I the only normal person here?"
Grey looked at Pepper, who had already scheduled the two of them a time to go sky diving for the twenty fifth so they could get used to heights. Then she looked at Jim, who had already spent at least a decade jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. Bucky was a reformed-ish assassin from the nineteen forties, and Tony had technically volunteered to get kidnapped by terrorists.
"Yep," Grey said brightly.
"Crap," Happy said, grabbing a beer from the fridge and getting comfortable in his armchair.
Iron Man
Obadiah Stane was not used to the house being dark. From the top, even through the garage, there was not a single light on in the house, which meant that there was no one in the building. With a sneer, Obadiah threw the pizza box into the trash.
"That brat is ruining everything," Stane snarled to himself. He didn't even know which one he was calling a brat, he just knew that one of the Starks were behind this, ruining his every attempt at stopping that blasted investigation. If he didn't get it stopped, he knew they would find everything. He needed something else, something big. Stane climbed back in his car and drove off, thinking all the while.
Stane was here. Jarvis sent to Bambi, who would give the information to Grey when she came off do not disturb. Jarvis was quite pleased to have the house to himself, it gave him time to run updates, and interminably shut off the wifi without accidentally pissing off the family.
Movie's not done. Bambi sent back. Grey and Bucky had finally gone out together, doing something as a couple that wasn't sparring or testing weapons at the range. Jarvis was glad, it would give him a break from watching their version of foreplay.
Jarvis would send the notification to Sir, but he was finally investing in himself, and had asked Happy several days before to find him an AA group. Sir was going to get sober, and Jarvis was pleased to see it. He knew Grey would be too, but Jarvis wouldn't announce it, it was Sir's business.
Miss Potts would also be informed, but she'd taken no prisoners when arguing that her sorority sisters were getting her full attention, one last time before things changed permanently. Her phone was off and left in her car for good measure. Colonel Rhodes was in a similar situation, although less fun. He was stuck in a meeting in a SCIF, leaving him without access to Jarvis.
He left, so it is of less importance. Jarvis sent to Bambi again, their version of a conversation actually just lines of code sent across Stark servers.
I can get in his car, even from here. Bambi offered. Jarvis considered letting Bambi run wild, as Sir had programmed her to be able to do if Grey needed it, but Jarvis knew that both Sir and Grey had plans for Sir's Godfather. He reminded Bambi as such, who then gave off a sense that they were pouting at being denied. Grey has plans, I know, but I don't like him.
They will be home again soon. Jarvis soothed. The family would always return him, safe under Jarvis' watchful code. The suits are almost ready.
Iron Man
"Good to know the cinema is still just as incredible," Bucky said, carrying the tub of popcorn under one arm, his other wrapped around Grey's waist. "And people can actually dance like that?"
"Oh yeah. Stays popular for a long while," Grey said, pausing only to finish off the bottle of water she carried. She tossed it in the recycling bin as they left, Bucky's Audi coup waiting for them in the parking lot. Her watch face flashed purple. "Stane tried to stop by. Brought pizza, of all things."
"Thoughts?"
"Jarvis thinks it was another manipulation attempt, I think it was to make sure we don't show up at the gala this weekend. Not that we were even invited, which kinda irks me cause we're paying for it. It's our name on the banner."
"Are you gate crashing your own party?"
"You sure I can't convince you to come?" Grey asked instead of answering. "Be my date for the evening?"
"Too many cameras, it's not the right time. I will come back to life for you, when the time is right."
Grey let him open her door, and accepted the popcorn bucket he passed to her. He walked around the car and climbed in himself. They were on the road moments later.
"Bambi, log us back in, who's on?"
"Go for Stark," Tony's voice said, coming through the comms the couple wore daily.
"I'm here," Happy said, refusing to pick up a catchphrase.
"Rhodes, all clear," Jim said.
"Pepper is still with her friends, I've arranged a car to pick her up in an hour," Bambi said calmly. (In a bar, downtown, Pepper just noticed a light flashing a familiar shade of blue, just out of sight of everyone else. She glanced at the closest security camera and nodded, knowing her family was checking in on her.)
"Stane stopped by," Grey said flatly. "Brought pizza from New York. Was right pissed no one was home."
Her tablet was showing feed from Jarvis' exterior cameras. She could see the fury in Stane's eyes, the line of his shoulders and the clench of his fists.
"This guy is really starting to piss me off," Bucky said, glancing briefly at the tablet before pulling onto the highway and flooring it. "And that's bad for his health."
"Betraying my father was bad for his health," Grey said darkly, her eyes yellow in the car light.
"Soon, calm down you bloodthirsty lunatics," Tony promised, laughing to break up the sudden tension. "Remember, this isn't Hydra, we're doing things the right way."
"Take all my fun," Bucky pretended to pout, a smile on his face. He took another handful of popcorn and weaved through traffic seamlessly. "Is there really anything to do but the gala? We've only got one combat ready suit ready to go, Pepper's is still in fabrication, and we haven't even started on Grey's."
"No, there's nothing left to do," Grey said, sounding like she was complaining. "I hate waiting."
"We'll have a lot of that to do in our lives," Jim said, well aware of the itch he got when waiting during a mission. Right in the middle of his spine whispering go, go, go, until it was too hard to ignore. "It's not the most fun. At least tomorrow will be busy."
"Yay, dress fittings," Grey whined. "I am excited about the shoes though. Cynthia always brings the best shoes."
Iron Man
Bucky was losing his mind. Cynthia had come and gone with clothes for the girls and Tony; the stylist had gone to Grey first, then Pepper, then finally Tony. But Grey still hadn't come out of her room. Bucky could hear, faintly, that Grey had both headphones and was dancing around their room as she finished getting ready.
"Everything is set up in the lab for you, Bucky," Bambi said in his comms. He nodded, knowing they would understand.
"Are you really gonna sit out here until she comes out?" Tony asked, stepping into the hallway. Bucky whistled his appreciation of the tuxedo. Midnight black with the tiniest threads of a Persian blue woven through. His pocket square was the same blue color, a shiny satin to match Pepper's dress. Rather than his usual orange Jarvis connected glasses, he wore a similar pair in blue to complete the set. Tony blushed at the compliment. "Or are you going to come check out the set up?"
Bucky sighed but hauled himself to his feet to follow Tony to the lab. Bambi and Jarvis had given him four screens, showing him ten different camera angles from the Disney Concert Hall, giving him full view of everything at the fundraiser. One monitor showed four different news teams covering everything. He could see Jayne in the sea of reporters, her new glasses recording everything she saw. The faint music coming from Grey's room stopped and Bucky smiled.
"Gametime. Clear comms. Check in."
"Go for Stark."
"Rhodes, all clear."
"Pepper's hot."
"Grey's clear."
"Soldier's ready."
"I'm here," Happy said, still refusing a phrase.
"Jarvis is connected."
"Bambi's here."
"You never fail to amaze me, Stark," Bucky said, his eyes flitting over the screens. "Let's get you and the girls on the road and wait for our queue."
Bucky was the first up the stairs, eager to see Grey dressed up. The girls were by the front door, waiting. Pepper was beautiful, a satin dress in Persian blue that complimented the peach color of her skin. Bucky could hear Tony come to a screeching halt behind him as he took in Pepper, but it was Grey that took his breath away.
Black strappy heels and a corseted red dress that stopped above her knees but had a high neckline. Her usual watch was gone, instead she wore delicate gold chains around her wrists. All her tattoos were gone, giving her tan, unblemished skin. The stylist had once again hinted at a crown with her hair, but rather than gold pins, she braided a halo into Grey's hair, and put shiny diamonds in it. Grey held the red tinted glasses her father typically wore in one hand.
"You two look incredible," Tony said when it became obvious that Bucky wasn't going to say anything. "Barnes, we might be the two luckiest bastards on the planet."
"Wow," Bucky finally said, after Tony elbowed him in the ribs. "You look, wow."
"Not too bad yourself," Grey said, leaning up to press a quick kiss to his mouth. Happy came into the room with a digital camera and snapped the first photo of the night. "What is this, prom?"
"Photos are non-negotiable," Happy said, snapping another. Grey just smiled, letting Happy take his pictures. It did feel very prom to her, but she wasn't going to complain. Bucky ushered them all into the limo and waved them off before returning to the lab.
"We're good to go," Grey said when they were a block away from the party. "All we need is our entrance line."
"Yeah, waiting," Bucky said, watching the screens for the reporter. Grey had the same view on her tablet.
"It is right here at the Disney Concert Hall where Tony Stark's third annual benefit for the Firefighter's Family fund has become the place to be for LA's high society." Grey reached up and tapped at the window, giving Happy a silent thumbs up.
"Green light, Happy, go," Bucky said at the same time.
"Tony Stark, who hasn't been seen since his victorious press conference nearly a month ago. Some claim he is suffering from post-traumatic stress and has been bedridden for weeks. Whatever the case may be, no one expects an appearance tonight."
Their timing was perfect, and right after the reporter said that Happy came to a halt, and event security opened the door. Tony stark climbed out, and the volume skyrocketed as the press clamored to get pictures. When he turned back to the car and held out his hand, everyone expected his daughter. When Pepper climbed out, her dress matching the new colors in Tony's suit, the flashes increased as Los Angeles' new it couple premiered. They paused and let them have their pictures, before Tony turned back to the car, where Grey climbed out and stared defiantly at the cameras, a devious smile on her face.
Reporters and fans shouted out questions and comments, photographers cried out for a pose and a smile. They posed as a family, before Tony offered his arm to Pepper and escorted her to the gala. Grey followed behind them, an amused smirk on her face. Just before heading inside, Grey spotted Jayne and blew a kiss in her direction. The camera on her glasses transmitted the image to Bucky, watching back at the lab.
Tony and Pepper made the rounds, greeting friends and business allies, and the odd politician that ended up at the party to campaign for themselves. Grey walked around the edge of the party until she found the man she was looking for.
"I thought about majoring in history, you know," Grey said. "I always believed that if we don't learn from the mistakes of the past, we're doomed to repeat them."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, come on, Coulson, don't play shy."
"You know who I am." If he was still surprised, it was only visible in the way his eyes darted to the closest exit before glancing at Grey to ensure she wasn't holding a weapon.
"I know everything," Grey said, smiling broadly. "Well, I know more than I should anyway."
"What do you know?"
"What do you want to know?" Grey asked, leaning slightly closer to Phil. He swallowed and rocked back on his heels slightly.
"How did Doctor Stark escape from the Ten Rings?"
"He's a genius. He repurposed the weapons in the cave to give him an escape. Caused a giant explosion on his way out with a flamethrower and the stores of ammo they already had. The Air Force saw it and sent Uncle Jim."
"How did he survive?"
"Survive what?" Grey asked, deceptively calm. "Their torture? Stark stubbornness. Patent pending, of course. Why does S.H.I.E.L.D. want to know?"
"We just want to debrief Doctor Stark on his time in captivity."
"We'd rather you didn't," Grey said, her dimpled smile vanishing. "I like you, Agent Coulson. And one day, I'm going to ensure you get the chance to live a life full of love. You'll understand when you get older."
Grey patted Phil on the cheek and turned on her heel, walking off toward the buffet table laid out. Phil immediately pulled out his phone and made a call, leaving the party as he did.
"I don't believe we've met," a voice came from behind Grey as she glanced over the food on offer.
"Ian Quinn," Grey said, dimpling up at the man as she turned around. "CEO of Quinn Worldwide. I heard you just got permission to break ground in Malta, congratulations."
"That hasn't hit the press yet," Ian said, shaking Grey's hand. Her grip was stronger than his and left him feeling uncomfortable. His skin crawled where her fingers dragged across his palm. "How do you know that?"
"Oh, I'm a pretty face, Ian, people tell me things they shouldn't. You'll have to invite me over, I love a good tropical climate."
"Stark Industries is interested in Quinn Worldwide?" Grey laugh, a bright, bubbly laugh that caused Tony and Pepper to glance over worriedly. Ian resisted the instinct to take a step back.
"Goodness no, I'm interested in you." Grey raked her eyes up and down Ian. If flattery had been her intention, she missed it by a country mile as Ian felt like a lab specimen. "You're going to do so many things. Eventually, I hope you'll understand the gravity of this meeting, and you'll call me, when things get too bad for you. I think you should stay out of Italy."
Grey turned and left, her smirk in place as she crossed the room to go chat with Jayne. Tony and Pepper watched her from the dance floor, equal parts confused and amused as they watched Ian Quinn stand there with his mouth open.
"Do you think she's always been like this?" Pepper asked, watching Grey get stopped by a politician, who, after a few words left, fury on his face. "Ready to fight the world?"
"I think that bad thing that happened in 2020 had nothing to do with us," Tony said, pulling Pepper close. "I think whatever it was made her jaded and full off that rage. I think we just gave her the ability to do something about it."
"Sometimes, when we're training, she gets this look on her face, and I'm so scared of her world," Pepper said softly, still watching Grey, who was now beaming and dancing with Jayne. "Day before your birthday, three Hydra goons broke in, after Barnes. She killed all three."
"Jim told me," Tony said, sad that his daughter was getting used to violence, but it was the path that she chose, he wouldn't stop her, just support her in everything. "Said she spent the day after at the range because one of her shots went wide."
"The second guy, one bullet went so far left that Trip ended up finding the slug in the hall. To be fair to her, it was the fifty caliber that Barnes prefers, so the recoil was definitely what made her miss."
"Still, five shots, three kills? Even Barnes wouldn't be upset with that. Especially with one of them being enhanced."
"Barnes wasn't the one upset, Grey was," Pepper explained. "Pushed herself even harder. I'm worried that she considered failure to be worse than death."
"I can hear you two, you know that, right?" Grey asked through her comms, twisting away from the DJ in the corner. "That's what open comms means, that everyone can hear you."
"Well, we're not all super spies," Pepper said, blushing furiously. "I'm not used to being on comms."
"Could be worse," Grey said, smirking from across the dance floor. "You two may want to get out of the way, this is my time."
When they glanced around, Jayne was also pushing people off the dance floor, and many of the younger celebrities were grinning. The only difference between the celebrities and Grey was that Grey kept her heels on, leaving her in six-inch heels for whatever she was planning on doing.
When the DJ hit the lights and the next song started up, Pepper was the first to laugh out loud as Grey danced to the middle of the now empty dance floor.
"If it hadn't been for cotton eyed joe, I'd been married a long time ago, where did you come from, where did you go, where did you come from cotton eyed joe?" Grey was first to start the line dance, though not the one Tony and Pepper had seen before, which made it slightly more impressive for what she was doing. Two one footed jumps on her left foot, then two to the right, switching back to her left foot, she leaned back, before twisting in the air, kicking her left leg up to clap under her knee, turning to do it again, slowly turning in a circle. People were quick to join her on the floor, laughing and dancing along, Grey in the middle, still in her heels. Tony quickly turned on the feed from his glasses, sending the video to Bucky's monitors so he could see the beaming smile on Grey's face.
When the macarena came on, Pepper was first to start pushing her way to the dance floor, a smile on her face. When footloose came on, Tony was the one to push his way to Grey's side, knowing every move. Jayne led the way through the electric slide, and Grey's cheer was the loudest for the still-new cupid shuffle.
"Now it's a party!" Grey cheered, her eyes glittering with happiness as they danced the cha-cha slide. Grey had to be dragged off the floor and over to the bar for a drink as the YMCA started. The family gathered off to one side, water in hand as they laughed together about the fun dancing.
"You gonna do this to every party we show up at?" Tony asked.
"Just wait until I can do karaoke, Bambi, make a note, I gotta do some Broadway research," Grey said offhandedly, as if something had just occurred to her. The family was more than used to her making off hand comments like that, usually before she vanished off to work on some project.
"Stane's making his way to the press, anybody want me to stop him?" Bucky asked.
"Let him have his fun," Grey sighed, shaking her head. She pulled a straw out of somewhere and drained her cup of water. She stole Jayne's too, sucking it down with urgency. "Speak of the devil, look who is making their way over to us? Christine, lovely to see you again!"
"You have a lot of nerve, showing up here tonight," Christine said sharply to Tony. Pepper immediately took a dangerous step forward, standing in front of Tony almost violently. Grey reached over and took her arm, pulling her back. "Can I at least get a reaction from you?"
"Panic, I would say," Tony said, slightly confused. "Definitely panicking over what you want."
"Cause, I was talking about your companies involvement in the latest atrocity."
"What the fuck happened now?" Pepper almost whined, looking skyward for divine intervention. When none was forth coming, she looked back at Christine, who pulled out a few photos from her purse.
"It's a town called Gulmira, ever heard of it?" Christine demanded. The pictures were dated yesterday. A shipment of Stark Industries weapons. The Jericho.
"Where did you get these?" Grey demanded, stepping forward and snatching the pictures out of her hands. "That's Raza, Dad, recognize him?"
"He had me tortured. You said this is Gulmira?" Tony looked at the Jericho missile and smiled, but it wasn't a good one. "Thanks for the intel Christine, we can use this."
"What?" Christine asked, bewildered. She'd been prepared for many reactions, panic and confusion prominent, or guilt. Not this. Grey was already on her phone, pulling drinks out of people's hands and shoving her family in the direction of the doors. "Jayne, what just happened?"
"You gave them the proof they needed that someone was dealing under the table. Congrats." Jayne smiled at the retreating backs of her family. "You're going to want to keep an eye on your email."
As if planned, Jayne's phone lit up with notifications, including several emails. Jayne smiled and took her own leave, waving to a stunned Christine, who was feeling slightly left out.
"What if I came with you?" Christine offered, calling out to Jayne. "I can help."
"You will. But not this time. Grey has an offer for you," Jayne promised, winking at the surprised reporter. "We'll talk soon!"
Jayne made it to the exit just in time for Robbins, of Happy's security team, to pull around the corner and have the door opened for her. Once she was in the back, to the astonishment of the reporters watching one of their own, Robbins pulled out, speeding away, heading to Malibu.
Iron Man
"Everyone's got fifteen minutes to go to the bathroom, and get into their flight suits," Bucky said, standing at the front door when they got there. He accepted the purses from the girls, opening them to pull out their phones and IDs to lock in the hidden compartment in the suits. Tony handed over his glasses and phone. "Pepper, you're going to want to put your hair back."
Fifteen minutes later, the trio stood in their flight suits, waiting to suit up. Janye had appeared and stolen a pair of sweatpants from Grey's dresser. Tony went first, his red and gold suit being built around him, while Bucky started getting the telemetry set up on his screens. The vitals and readings from the suit was visible on a wall, while the computer screens showed their flight plan, and their credentials. Happy was on a call with General Morrow, Rhodey just visible off to the side, double checking they had permission for this op.
"The three of them are green lit," Morrow said. "But if this goes bad, we're stopping all future ops. Reputation or not, I'm not about to let three of the most politically prominent figures in America right now die because they're too stupid to let the professionals handle this."
"We are the professionals you need to handle this, General," Grey said, shouldering Happy out of the way. "No one else can do what we can. I know you're taking this on faith, but relax, we know what we're doing."
"You know what you're doing," Pepper said after the screen went dark. "The rest of us are trusting you."
"So, no pressure or anything, right?" Grey said, adjusting her watch nervously.
"No, there's pressure," Tony said from where his suit was being assembled. He was almost finished, just needing his chest plate and helmet. The suit assembled with lots of clunking and thunking sounds, but Tony's vitals were stable and steady. When the helmet was snapped into place, the eyes lit up an ominous orange color that matched Grey's when they glowed. "We just know you can handle it."
Iron Man stomped off the dais, and let Pepper step up. She took a deep breath, pulled her hair back in a low ponytail and let Jarvis suit her up. The Persian blue of her suit matched the shade of the dress she wore earlier perfectly, surprising Pepper, who had expected to see the reds and golds of Tony's suit. She looked over at Tony, who had the faceplate flipped up, watching Pepper with a sappy expression.
"It's my favorite color," Pepper said, finally finding her voice.
"Of course, it is," Tony said. Pepper blew him a kiss, before holding still so the frame could be locked in around her waist.
"Here," Bucky said, walking over to Grey. He handed her a pill, and she tossed it back, dry swallowing. "It'll wear off in six hours, but it should get you through most of the flight. Adrenaline will kick in after that."
"I adore you," Grey said, pressing a kiss to Bucky's cheek. Her still red lips left a mark. "Thanks, sugar."
"Awh, nothing for us?" Tony asked, watching for Bucky's blush on the back of his neck. "Don't care about us, huh?"
"Oh, boss, let them be kids in love," Happy said, ecstatic to be surrounded by people in love. Watching Tony be happy would never be boring for him.
"Kids?" Bucky demanded. "I'm ninety-three years old."
"Maybe chronologically, sure. But you're not even thirty," Happy said. "I, however, am forty, so shut up."
"I always forget you're older than me," Tony said, looking at Happy appraisingly. "Ha, old man."
"We can't all have graduated MIT at seventeen, dad," Grey put in. "Hell, I haven't even gone to college yet. Not Happy's fault you're a baby."
"You're nineteen, shut up, you haven't even voted yet." Grey had to give him that point.
"Least I wasn't a teenage parent," Grey pointed out. Tony acted wounded, while Pepper couldn't help but laugh while her chest plate was secured. She had beautiful gold detailing around her wrists, and the arc reactor. "Awh crap, it's my turn."
Rescue stomped down, her faceplate up like Tony's, showing Pepper's excited face. Grey took a shaky breath and pulled Bucky down to her for a fierce kiss. When she pulled away, he seemed slightly stunned, and definitely out of breath. She adjusted the line of her lipstick and stepped up, letting Jarvis build the suit's frame around her.
"Are you ready for this?" Tony asked Pepper, his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm never letting you out of my sight again, Stark, don't even try it," Pepper said, gripping the back of his neck with her gauntlet. "It's you and me, forever. Got that?"
"Of course, Miss Potts," Tony said gently, a warm smile in his eyes. "You doin' okay kiddo?"
"Nope, definitely having a panic attack," Grey said calmly as she stared straight ahead of her, forcing herself to not look at the suit slowly building it's way up her legs.
"Your heart rate is elevated," Bambi said, bringing her telemetry up on the wall. "Are you alright, Grey?"
"Nope, definitely scared out of my mind." She closed her eyes and trembled for a moment, shivering as if she were cold. When she opened her eyes, she was calm. She held out her arms so Jarvis could start on the gauntlets, while the main pieces of the boots were put on. They were a pinkish red color, with dark purple and gold accents. She grinned, slowly gaining confidence in what she was doing. "My favorite colors."
"American Rose, it's a pinker shade of red. I figured the purple was just for fun. And now the three of us look like family."
"Terribly unrelated question," Grey said as her legs were encased in the rest of the suit. "Is Libya still a no-fly zone?"
"They've never been a no-fly zone."
"Maybe that hasn't happened yet." Grey looked puzzled. "I swear I remember dad saying something about it."
"You barely remember to brush your teeth at night, I'm not too concerned," Bucky said, laughing slightly. Grey pretended to be offended but ended up laughing.
"Please remember to hold still," Jarvis said, directing the machinery required to suit up. Grey straightened up and let the shoulder pieces get locked on. The chest piece had the same filigree in gold around the reactor that Pepper had. "We are almost finished."
"We've got flight clearance; the FAA and the Afghanistan government is aware you're coming and going again within a twenty-four-hour period. Once Grey's set, you three are good to go."
Grey felt a full body shudder run through her accompanied by every single doubt she'd ever had about being good enough, just before her faceplate came down. She stood in darkness for a moment before Bambi finished their upload.
"Welcome, Iron Peacemaker," Bambi said through Grey's comms. Grey could see the room around her through the heads-up display and looked around until she caught her reflection. Her suits eyes glowed the same way her eyes did. She smiled.
"This is badass," Grey said, startling when she heard her voice through the speakers of her suit. She flipped up her heads-up display, letting her look at her family through her own eyes. "So, what next?"
"Time to work for a living," Tony said, a cold smile on his face. "Ready?"
"I'll come home to you," Grey said, her face even with Bucky's with the help of her suit. "Every time."
"See you on the flip, Stark," Bucky said, grabbing Tony by the forearm. He reached out his left hand for a fist bump from Pepper, and Grey snapped down her HUD. That was the queue for Pepper and Tony to do the same, lifting up and taking off behind Tony, up the garage spiral. And if Bambi had to mute Grey's mic, so no one else could hear her screaming, that was between the two of them.
Iron Man
"I want troops ready to go when they give the all-clear," Bucky orders, talking to Jim. The trio in the suits would check in from a safe distance once they were in Afghanistan. "What do we have in the way of foreign aid?"
"The Maria Stark foundation is on my heels," Rhodey promised. "They're not equipped for this, but they're all we got. General Morrow is reaching out to contacts in the UN, there's a chance we'll get something from them to help."
"I don't think it's going to be enough," Happy said, frowning. "These insurgents have lost their minds. Human shields, the Jericho systems, cleanup is going to take years."
"I've got two units suited and booted, waiting for the all clear. They're coming in first, dropping in once the family has cleared airspace."
"Sir has prepared for that, activating Grey Stark Foundation protocol," Jarvis said, sending a file to the three left in California. "Humanitarian aid, Bambi and I have them slated, they'll arrive twenty-four hours after the troops."
"What's the Grey Stark protocol?" Jayne asked, looking up from the article she was working on.
"Sir, create a foundation for Grey, as an apology for getting kidnapped," Jarvis explained. "A foundation, similar to the Maria Stark foundation, but designed to clean up after the Iron Family and the future Avengers when needed. They are also in place for humanitarian aid after natural disasters and terrorist attacks."
"I heard my name," Grey said, her voice coming through comms. Bucky switched over to a view of the family, showing all three of them starting to wake up from their naps. "What's going on? Bambi, eta?"
"You are thirty minutes to Gulmira. I suggest landing and putting together a plan," Bambi said. GPS confirmed it, so the trio touched down, disengaging their static locks and doing some quick stretches.
"We need a plan," Pepper said, her HUD popping up.
"We have a plan," Grey said. "Attack."
"Jarvis, turn on suit cameras, Bambi pull satellite for us back home," Tony said, tilting his head side to side. "Ready to work for a living?"
Grey and Pepper had twin grins, and glitter in their eyes as they looked at Tony.
"Time to clock in," Grey said, hopping up and letting her thrusters kick in. She hovered a foot off the ground. "Jim, are they ready for us?"
"Knock knock, mother fuckers," Jim said, giving them the green light. Grey's HUD snapped down as she took off, arching backwards to flip before barrel rolling to land in front of the terrorists, loading women into the back of their truck. Iron man and Rescue landed behind her, the whine-thump of their repulsors standing out from the crack of automatic gunfire as the Ten Rings realized they weren't alone. Behind them, smoke from the Jericho was still visible. Grey was quick to blast the terrorist holding a man at gunpoint, standing fiercely between the men of the village and any further threats. One man tried to shoot Iron Man, but his bullets hit the adamantium in the suits and fell to the ground. Rescue blasted the man away, sending him careening into a wall. Five men threatened the women and children, hiding behind the women's bodies.
Tony clocked them all through his HUD, powering down his gauntlets. The shoulder rockets popped out, and with a simple command, each terrorist took two bullets to the head. One son broke away from his mother and ran past Grey, shouting for his father. She flipped up her face plate, letting the little boy smile his thanks at her. She winked at him; glad she left her makeup on from the gala.
"There's one there, dad, be a dear?" Iron man stalked off, reaching through the wall to pull the one remaining threat through it, leaving him at the feet of the villagers. It wasn't Raza, sadly, but the family trusted that the villagers would make sure the man saw justice.
"The weapons cache is one klick west," Bambi said, slamming Grey's faceplate and starting liftoff.
They flew west, following Bambi's directions. One anti-aircraft missile was fired, knocking Pepper out of the sky. She swore and climbed out of the hole, launching a missile from her forearm at the tank. A dozen seconds passed, and the tank exploded, their signal to the Air Force that things were hot. Grey and Tony landed behind her just as several remaining terrorists opened fire. Grey snorted at how ineffective their weapons were and glanced at the HUD, selecting her own three missiles to go out and take them down. Iron Man chose to target the Jericho, his cameras zooming in to try and catch the production number. It had one, meaning it was manufactured and sold – not stolen. That was their proof that it was an inside job. Grey had been right all along. Once the gunfire stopped, the three knew their jobs were done, and they took off, Tony dropping the marker for the Air Force.
The Iron Family headed home, intent on getting out of their suits and showering before debrief.
"Air Force is landing now, thanks for the help, Iron Man, Rescue, Iron Peacemaker," General Morrow said, Bucky and Jim having patched him in for the mission. "We'll see you at debrief."
"I need a fuckin' nap," Grey bitched as Bambi took over flight controls. "And a bathroom, Gods above this was a terrible idea."
"We can push the thrusters on the way home," Tony promised.
"How hard?" Pepper asked, already giving Jarvis the go ahead for her suit. No one heard Grey's scream as they left a sonic boom in their wake, tearing through the skies heading back home to California.
Iron Man
"The last Stark Expo was held in 1991, as we didn't believe we could have the expo without Howard," Tony explained, thrilled beyond belief that this was a sit-down interview and not the typical press conference he has to stand for. His leg was killing him! "And then it just seemed low priority when we were focusing so hard on weapons production, who wants to celebrate that?"
"So, this is to celebrate the new direction of Stark Industries?" Christine asked her recorder out, as well as a notepad, already two pages full. Jayne was sitting next to her, not taking half as many notes, already having her pieces written, just needing fluffy details. "Is Stark Industries announcing a new direction? Has the investigation been concluded? When will the reports come out?"
"Relax, Christine," Grey teased, leaning back in her chair. "You'll get all the information you need."
"We are officially announcing a new direction, to start in the new year. Grey, in her incredible wisdom, went through the Stark Industries employee handbook, and all our hiring processes and updated them, lessening the impact of discrimination in the workplace. Now it's my turn to step up and make some changes."
"Weapons are a fine thing," Pepper said, taking over the presentation as the soon to be CEO of Stark Industries. "And we do plan on continuing our nine-millimeter line for three years for those in law enforcement. We also plan on finishing out our current contracts with the US military. But we're going to devote our time and resources to different endeavors."
"And you're not going to tell me, are you?" Christine asked, amused. Grey gave her a dimpled smile and pulled out a Stark Industries folder.
"This is going to outline the next few steps we're taking, including pushing for more renewable energy sources. We're planning on going fully green by twenty fifteen," Grey said, her excitement almost pouring out of her. "Stark Industries locations around the world are being given the funds to install solar panels, and new and improved HVAC systems that all cost less to run. These are just our first steps. More will be announced as we get closer to the expo."
"And I'll be publishing these with Jayne?" Christine asked, pulling out the tentative contract they were presenting her with, additional compensation for free-lancing for them.
"No, I've got my own projects I'm working on," Jayne said brightly, tapping the cover of her own folder, this one significantly thicker than the one Christine was flipping through. "These are less introductory pieces, and more targeted articles."
"Like a sniper scope," Grey mumbled, causing Pepper and Jayne to start snickering. Tony reached over and swatted at Grey. "Sorry, dad."
"Jayne is going to be your main contact for these," Tony said, taking control of the meeting. "We've, unfortunately, got too much to deal with in the next few months so if you have questions, reach out to her, she knows almost everything we're up to."
"Almost?" Christine asked, looking at Jayne.
"Still working on getting their list of dirty politicians," Jayne said, smirking slightly.
"Just wait," Grey said, her usual smirk on her face, her eyes dancing with ideas. "You two will be plenty busy in the coming years."
"That's what I'm worried about," Jayne said petulantly. "I've got the Expo announcement ready to go, I've already sent it through to Bambi, who gave me the green light. Here's your copy, we're posting it, well, now, since it's already noon."
"It's noon?" Tony demanded, twisting to look at the clock on the wall. "Awh hell, I'm late for a meeting."
Tony and Pepper grabbed their tablets and practically fled the conference room. Jayne and Grey frowned at each other.
"Isn't that meeting with General Morrow tomorrow?" Jayne asked, trying to keep a straight face. Grey shrugged, she trusted Bambi to have her where and when she needed to be places.
"They'll be okay, I've emailed Morrow and explained that they're willing to have the meeting today if he wants," Bambi said. "We'll just be ahead of schedule for once. That will be nice."
"We're never ahead of schedule, this is just gonna suck," Grey complained, scooping her tablet up and shaking her head as she headed after her parents. She was needed in that meeting, if only to prevent Stane from interrupting. "Nice to see you again, Christine, Jayne can you wrap up here?"
"I got it," Jayne said, watching Grey leave the conference room. "So, what questions do you have?"
"She trusts you to take over?" Christine demanded. "The family trusts you with that much? Are you the new head of PR?"
"No, they're going to offer that to you, eventually." Christine sat there, stunned. "But not yet. For now, I'm in charge. We'd like your first article to be about the new Grey Stark Foundation, and their efforts in Gulmira, Afghanistan after the Air Force was able to take back the area from the Ten Rings."
"How did the Air Force take back Gulmira?" Christine demanded. "Two days ago the Ten Rings were using civilians as human shields. Our troops couldn't even get in the area, they didn't have permission!"
"That's the article I published fifteen minutes ago," Jayne said. "And in a few hours, Grey is going to stand in front of a camera and make the Expo announcement. You just have to write about her foundation. All the information is in your email."
Christine's phone lit up with notifications, three emails, a text message, and four new contacts were added to her phone. She stared in surprise, but immediately pulled up a new word document and got to work. Jayne smiled, and pulled up several of her own articles, adding details as necessary.
Iron Man
"This is the fourth meeting I've had since seven this morning, and it's barely one in the afternoon," Grey bitched while Cynthia compared shades of red against Grey's complexion. Another stylist was carefully applying eyeliner with a steady hand while another pinned curled segments of her hair up. "Technically it's the fifth, because you forced that meeting with Tom through today instead of just waiting until tomorrow."
"Wasn't my fault," Pepper said back, also getting prepped for the cameras. "Your father sprinted outta that room like his ass was on fire and had Tom on the line before I'd even made it to the boardroom. I just took your advice."
"My advice?" Grey asked, surprised.
"Fuck it, we ball," Pepper said, causing Grey to crack up laughing, having to push the stylists away from her so she could double over, tears building up in her eyes.
"Okay, please, please say that where dad can hear you," Grey wheezed out, trying to calm down while the makeup artist fixed under her eyes. "Sorry hun, that was just the funniest thing I've ever heard Pepper say."
An outfit with Persian Blue accents was sat out for Pepper, including a new blazer that perfectly matched the shade and shine of Rescue's suit. Cynthia laid out a similar outfit in American Rose for Grey.
"Dress," Cynthia ordered. "Cameras are ready."
"I just want one week with no cameras," Grey complained lightly, standing and rolling her shoulders until they popped. Pepper made a face, but stood as well, taking an extra moment to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. The gold and blue earrings Tony designed for her were lovely, and Pepper couldn't wait to show them off to her friends. "Is that too much to ask? Yes."
"That's backwards," Pepper said, seeing the shirt in the mirror. Grey grumbled and flipped it around, pulling on the shiny gold wrap shirt, careful of her hair and makeup. It was backless, but paired with a blazer, keeping her decent for the cameras. Rather than a skirt, she chose black slacks, and a pair of towering heels that stood her even with Pepper's five eight frame. "I'm kind of jealous of your ability to walk, in six-inch heels."
"I was the shortest person in my grade, I started wearing heels as a freshman, irritated everyone, but I loved being able to reach the top shelf. I kept it up, and eventually it became a joke, here comes Grey, only she makes that much noise walking in the halls. I hate public school."
"I hated it too," Pepper said, pulling on her gun holster before her blazer. She didn't really like the backpack feel of the holster, but it was the easiest to conceal in dress clothes. "But you know what I really hate?"
"Shooting the fifty cal?" Grey teased.
"I was going to say the automatic," Pepper said, laughing. "Did you see the batons your dad finished for me?"
"If you think I'm gonna spar with you this evening, you're wrong. I've got three interviews this week, I don't need another bruised jaw."
"That's entirely fair," Pepper said. "Are you excited for the expo though?"
"I'm excited about the announcements," Grey said, adjusting her blazer in the full length mirror in Pepper's office. "They're going to be thrilled. And, guess what is getting wrapped in December?"
"You're kidding? Already?"
"They're perfectly on schedule, which means it'll be late, but that's okay!"
"I'm so excited. Ready?"
Stark Expo Returns!
Jayne Vittori
This afternoon, CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts, announced the unexpected return of Stark Expo, a month long celebration of all that Stark Industries has to offer, starting May First, 2011. While this tradition paused after the death of founder Howard Stark, current leadership believes now is the right time to bring it back. Stark Industries, the current leader in weapons production for the American Military, will be announcing a new direction, following previous CEO and current owner of Stark Industries Tony Stark's press conference in August after being rescued after three months of captivity at the hands of terrorist organization the Ten Rings.
Following a board of directors meeting, Tony Stark has been forbidden from taking the CEO position again. He had this to say; "When I was in that cave, I had time to think about things, and I thought a lot about my legacy, about my father's legacy. But we also have to make sure that we're moving in the right direction. My daughter is tuned in to what the people want from us. I figure as long as we listen to the younger generations, while learning from the past, we'll get somewhere worth getting."
Grey Stark added this, "This Stark Expo is set up to be more of an introduction to the future, than an introduction to Stark Industries. We're going to usher in a new era of technology, and what better way to do that than a month long party? Stark Industries won't be the only company. Apple will be joining us, as will Marvel Entertainment and Disney. Stark Industries has so much to offer, and we can't wait to share it."
Iron Man
"If I have to proofread one more email for someone with a college degree, I'm going back to Hydra," Bucky said, looking mutinous. "And instead, I'm getting emails from people smarter than me with spelling and grammar issues. I've met smarter illiterate people!"
"I just got an email from Jeff Bezos," Grey complained, "asking me why he wasn't invited to the expo. Even though no one was invited to the expo. They all signed up like people were told to. So I'll trade you in a heartbeat."
"Do people even read anymore?" Bambi added, turning the living room TV into a screen, where she pulled up a twitter feed dedicated for #StarkExpo that was trending following yesterday's press conference. "Because even I'm seeing a ridiculous amount of questions that we already answered."
"Direct them all to the Expo FAQ page, because it's all there," Grey instructed. "Everything they could possibly want to know, including flight arrangements, hotels, airbnbs, whatever they want to know, it's posted. If you want, Bambi, you can link direct answers to their questions, see if that helps cut down the amount of bullshit I have to deal with. And send Pepper an email asking her if I can have interns, I'm drowning."
"Apparently drowning so much you failed to realize I'm sitting right next to you," Pepper said from Happy's armchair. Grey looked up from her spot on the floor and beamed up at her.
"Great, I need interns."
"No," Pepper said firmly.
"Great, good talk," Grey said, turning back to her paperwork. "Why?"
"Because half of what you do is classified, and the other half is illegal, so no, I don't want you roping interns into things."
"That's annoyingly valid. Shit, I need a PA then," Grey tried.
"You have Bambi for that, and Barnes for the rest. Make do," Pepper said. Grey huffed and flipped her off but ended up laughing moments later. "You're going to have to email Bezos back yourself."
"I'd literally rather Hydra try and kidnap me again," Grey pouted, typing a response email. After she finished a paragraph and reread it and deleted it. "I said fuck twice in one sentence. Are we sure someone else can't respond to him?"
"Just send it, we don't really like Jeff either," Tony said, cutting through the living room, an Air Force folder open in his hands. "And Amazon doesn't have anything worth presenting."
"Just wait until 2014, then we can point and laugh."
"Why?"
"Alexa." Grey paused for a moment. "Don't worry, she's nothing like AIDA. Sadly, she's nothing like Jarvis either."
"I hate the future," Tony complained, stooping to ruffle Grey's hair. He pressed a kiss to Pepper's cheek and left again, smiling to himself.