Pepper kept a straight face as Tony led her into the courthouse, his tight grip on her hand his only show of nerves. She'd been in front of cameras before, both for her modeling career, and also during press conferences for Stark Industries, but this felt different. This wasn't a careful selection of reporters and publications, this was every vulture with a camera and a blog, shouting for a statement on proceedings.
"I'll give a brief statement if you calm down and stop harassing my parents," Grey said, pausing on the stairs. Jim took the hint and kept herding the rest of the group into the courthouse. "Thank you. Today is the second day of proceedings in State vs Stane. Those of us in Stark Industries are hopeful that things will go in accordance with the law, and Obadiah Stane will spend the rest of his life in jail. A jury will decide his fate, and that is something both dad and I are more than comfortable with. For those of you asking what punishment we would like, kindly stop. We have our faith in the law and know that our judge and jury will do their jobs appropriately. Thank you all for your support and thank you to those of you who have taken to twitter in our defense. The Tony Stark Defense Squad has been a delightful surprise, and Dad is just as appreciative of what you do. Thank you."
Happy quickly stepped between Grey and the cameras, allowing her to dart up the few remaining stairs and duck into the building. Happy followed, and then led her to the conference room they'd been meeting in. Samantha and Jennifer were both there, as was General Morrow, having come out in support. Christine was there as well, whispering back and forth with Jayne about a spin she'd recently put in an article.
"It's hard to make a man as smart as Tony as fallible as the rest of us, without removing his credibility," Jayne was saying. "So, Grey and I decided to play up the dad angle. It's the easiest for relatability."
"And he gets no flak for it?"
"Did your dad know everything you did as a teenager?"
"Definitely not," Christine said, a smile on her face.
"I didn't rebel as a teenager. Worst thing I ever did was get a tattoo," Grey said. Her eyes were wide and innocent, as if she'd never done anything bad in her life, ever. Until you saw the corner of her mouth twitching, trying to smile.
"You threatened a politician like three weeks ago," Pepper pointed out. Grey frowned, pretending as if she had no idea what Pepper was talking about.
"I guess, technically, at nineteen I'm still a teenager," Grey said, as if she'd forgotten how old she was. Christine laughed. Grey shrugged, unrepentant, before settling into a chair next to her dad. "Is today going to be more of yesterday?"
"Of course," Samantha said, a plastic smile on her face. "Hey, just be glad you got to skip all the boring stuff. You get to just skip right to testimony."
"I know you've been working on this forever, and we really appreciate this," Pepper said, taking Samantha's hands in her own. "This is what we've been working toward since Tony was taken. Everything we're able to do going forward will be because of you and your hard work."
"Oh hush, Pepper, stop making this so sentimental, Stane did treacherous things, bad, terrible things that hurt and killed people, even American Soldiers. You weren't here Friday, last week, I was able to convince the judge that Stane should also face a murder charge as one of the airmen did die protecting Tony from the Ten-Rings." Samantha may have batted away the compliment like she was playing tennis, but her cheeks were red, blushing under the heavy praise.
"So, I can call him a murderous bastard, good to know," Grey said thoughtfully.
"No," Jennifer said, reaching over to poke Grey in the side. Grey twitched away from the offending finger, grinning up at Jennifer. "You're going to sit there and be really quiet. No contempt of court charges, please."
"You mean to tell me that the two adults with ADHD are supposed to sit quietly for seven hours? With no phones or other things to keep us content?" Grey asked flatly.
"Do your best." Grey rolled her eyes at Samantha and waved Happy over, taking her bag from him. She dug around until she found two fidget toys and handed one over to her dad. "Our case is being covered by CSPAN, so it'll be on live TV, keep your facial expressions to yourself. Grey, your face doesn't use its indoor voice, fix it."
"Y'all should've left me home," Grey said, all the expectations sitting in her skin like sand. She gave a full body shudder, her anxiety acting up. Eventually, she settled down, taking an anti-anxiety pill dry. "Anything else?"
"Take a notepad. If you have a question, write it down, I'll answer it during the recess. Any cheap shot comments, write those down too. If you say anything out loud, you could face contempt charges." Jennifer handed out white legal pads to everyone, making sure to give Grey two, in case she decided to distract herself with work. "There's no technology, no phones or tablets allowed in the room, not by you. So, leave them here."
"Bambi, emergencies only. If we get any calls or emails, send a stock response, I'll play catch up after court today," Grey promised, tilting her head either way until her neck popped. She twisted in her chair to get her back, then spent a minute cracking every knuckle on her hand, before she stood up and smiled. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"
Obadiah Stane was led into the room in handcuffs and ankle shackles. He was in a suit, which disappointed Grey, she wanted to see him in his prison jumpsuit. But it was on live TV, so appearances must. He was sworn in and guided to the stand. The handcuffs were removed, as were the shackles. Grey tried to keep her face blank as Stane glared at her family, but even she could feel the sneer of disdain on her face as she stared at him.
"Miss Kim, you may begin," the judge said, looking at Samantha. She stood slowly, in a single motion that made her look like a villain unfolding from their throne as they stared down the hero of the week. Grey wrote her first question on her notepad.
"Thank you, your honor," Samantha said, handing something over to Jennifer. Tony and Pepper sat next to Grey in the first row behind them. The local DA sat next to Jennifer, making notes, and scribbling something out in shorthand. "Good morning, Mister Stane."
"Sam, my favorite lawyer," Stane said, pulling at his usual god-father-ish act that he affected for all Stark Industries employees.
"This is a long list of charges, wouldn't you say? And what plea did you enter, last week?"
"I plead not guilty, you know this, Sam," Stane said, pretending to admonish her. It was his favorite tactic, to be the friendly person. Not anymore. He looked oily, not physically, he just had this air about him that screamed he wasn't to be trusted. "I would never do the horrible things Tony is accusing me of."
"But Doctor Stark isn't the one making the accusation, it's the state of California, as well as the federal government. The Patriot Act applies here." Samantha gave him a plastic smile, one that didn't reach her eyes. "Did you do the horrible things the government is accusing you of?"
"Objection!" Stane's lawyer cried, jumping to his feet.
"Sustained, Miss Kim, watch your words, please."
"Of course, apologies your honor," Samantha said, taking a step back. "Mister Stane, you're facing a great number of charges, aren't you?"
"It seems I am, yes." Samantha walked back and forth, her heels never clicking, an impressive feat. Grey wrote down her second question. Then had an idea strike. She flipped to her other notepad and started scribbling something down. She shifted so she was barefoot and cross legged in her seat.
"Would you mind if I ask you about a few of the charges?"
"Go right ahead, Sam," Stane said. On the other side of Tony, Pepper grimaced. She knew what was next, they'd been well prepped.
"Your honor, I'd like to offer up piece of evidence 7c, the ransom video from when the Ten Rings held Doctor Stark hostage."
With a press of a button, Tony's image was kneeling on the TV screen, heavy bandages wrapped around his chest, where a car battery was keeping shrapnel out of his heart. It was obvious that Tony was out of it. Equally as obvious was the fact that the speaker in the video, Raza, said Obadiah Stane's name as a greeting. The Tony on screen might have been too out of it to notice, but the jury sure paid attention.
"Was that not your name, they said in the beginning?" Samantha asked, tilting her head to the left. Obadiah swallowed heavily on the stand before he turned away from the screen.
"I'm sure there are others with my same name," Obadiah tried, but those that looked close enough could see a thin sheen of sweat building on his head. Grey looked up from her notes in curiosity and had to hide a grin.
"We've done that research as well, there are three other men named Obadiah Stane. Only one has ties to Stark Industries, and that's your father, who passed two years ago. The other two are unaffiliated. Your honor, I'd like to enter this report into evidence, exhibit 7-delta, the FBI's search and seizure of the other Obadiah Stanes, and the lack of proof that any of them committed the crimes our Obadiah Stane may have committed."
Samantha handed the FBI report to the judge, the defense attorney, and passed her original back to Jennifer.
"The question we have is why? Why try to force Tony out of the picture? At the rate things had been going, no one would've noticed what you were doing." Stane was starting to get uncomfortable under the relentless glare from Pepper and Tony, the occasional all-knowing look from Grey, and Samantha's line of questioning. "In fact, you were living it up as COO of Stark Industries. Your assistant did all your paperwork, for the legal parts of your job anyway. Why not stick with the status quo? Why shake things up?"
"Stark was already making moves to pull away from weapons, something had to be done before he completely ruined this company I built!"
"You built?" Samantha demanded before Obadiah's lawyer could shut him up. "Howard Stark built this company, and Doctor Tony Stark changed it into the giant it is today, you've held on to their coattails, trying to drag them down with you."
"Stark Weapons were only able to go international because of me and what had to be done to grow the business. Tony over there was too weak to do what needed to be done, talking about peace and green energy, he was going to destroy all I worked for!"
"So you made friends with bad people to kidnap him."
"Raza and I have worked together for years," Stane said, his rage clear as he stood up. The judge was too shocked to stop it, and let Stane keep digging his own grave. "I asked him for a favor, kill one man, he was the one that got greedy and tried to use Tony to build his own weapons, Raza's the reason this plan went belly-up."
Samantha smirked, glancing first at the heaving Obadiah Stane, then Grey Stark, who winked at her.
"Your honor, I'd like a meeting with my client, please your honor," the defense attorney practically begged.
"We will reconvene after a brief recess." With a bang of the gavel, Grey was on her feet, reaching across the barrier to hug Samantha.
"Nicely done."
"It's not over yet," Samantha sighed. "Unless his attorney offers a change of plea, we'll have to keep going with the case. Although it will be a quick one if he can't keep his temper."
"His house of cards is crumbling around him. He's gonna lash out to take as many people down with him as he can. Good news, Stane gave up his name before I did," Grey said, leaning until her hip popped. Jim swatted her shoulder; he hated it when she did that. "Oh, hang on, I have to take this call."
Grey left the courtroom, already talking to someone.
"Didn't we take her phone?" Jennifer asked, watching the way Grey moved her hands, as if she could actually touch someone over the phone.
"We didn't take her comms," Tony said. "Whatever she's doing is either important for this week, or we'll find out about it next year sometime. Either one."
"Or there'll be a giant explosion on TV, and we'll have to spend half a billion to repair whatever she broke."
"Well, I'm trying to be optimistic, love," Tony said, looking at Pepper in surprise.
"I've been spending too much time with Grey," Pepper pointed out. "She expects explosions so often I'm half worried the house will go up in one."
"Not until 2013," Grey said, startling her family as they hadn't seen her return. "And don't worry, I have a few plans in place to negate that. It definitely is going to be an interesting winter that year."
"Jump out at me like that again and you're grounded," Tony said, his hand on his reactor. "Why is my house exploding?"
"You snubbed a guy at a party once," Grey said flippantly.
"And that's enough?" Pepper asked, shocked. Grey merely raised an eyebrow. "Of course, it is. I already need a vacation."
"Can we do drinking around the world at Epcot?" Grey asked out of nowhere, her eyes bright. "I've wanted to do it for ages."
"When you're legal, sure," Pepper promised. Grey gave her a deadpan glare before beaming. "Any news?"
"Public opinion is ours, the Tony Stark Defense Squad is trending on twitter, Instagram and surprisingly ifunny? Bambi is running a few shadow accounts for me, and if I have to see one more Tony Stark thirst trap, I might drink bleach."
"See a what?" Tony asked.
"Please never ever ask," Grey said shaking her head. "There's also a fair selection of people that want you to run for president. Stark Potts 2012 is trending. Blood Stanes spelled s-t-a-n-e is also trending, the public are crying for his head. It might have just been his attitude today, but Bambi saw six edits with a guillotine. Not that I want a guillotine. That would be wrong. Or something."
"Well public opinion doesn't matter," Samantha said. "Not here."
"You're right, but it does matter, out there. That's the battle we need to win."
"We need to win this battle too," Jennifer pointed out. "If he's found not guilty it won't matter."
"He will be found guilty. My money is on Thursday. Also, Samantha, I need a favor, and you're not going to like it."
Iron Man
Samantha was as good as her word, and court adjourned early on Wednesday, and the family slipped out of the courthouse and headed to Stark Industries. They were met by a SHIELD Strike team, led by Phil Coulson.
"Did you bring it?" Grey asked, leading the way through her father's factory.
"How did you even know we had it?" Phil asked, holding out the device. Grey took it from him and looked it over before sticking it in her pocket. "They just finished the prototype."
"You're new, Agent Coulson, you'll learn to stop questioning how Grey knows things. It's usually best to just let her be," Pepper said, holding out her hand to shake. Phil shook it and nodded to Tony.
"Found it," Bucky said, stepping out of a shadow just behind Phil. The SHIELD agent spooked, jumping a little and spinning around, his hand on his sidearm. "He's jumpy, this is the one you want?"
"He's my favorite," Grey said, shrugging. "Lead the way."
"What's going on here?" Phil asked.
"Stane's up to some sketchy shit in sector sixteen," Grey explained, following Bucky to the locked door. She put the device next to the lock, and let Bucky wrap his metal arm around her. It exploded, and the Strike team ran in, clearing the room. They surrounded the Iron Monger suit, their lights brightening up the room enough for someone to find the light switch. "That's so much bigger than I thought it was going to be."
"Christ that's twice the size of the one I built in the desert," Tony said, leaning back to look up at the mask. "Iron Monger is right. Jim, cut power to sector sixteen, I don't want this to go berserk and kill us on accident."
"Dad, ideas?"
"What, you don't have one?"
"Hey, this is new territory! He's supposed to be in the suit so we can drop him and it in the reactor. You asked me to solve this without violence, therefore court. You're the genius, I'm just the damn fortune teller."
"Are they speaking in code?" Phil asked the agent next to him. Jack Rollins just shrugged, trying to pay attention, but also avoid being seen by the Winter Soldier that was watching Grey like a hawk. Rollins worried that he would be outed, so he breathed shallowly, ready to run at the slightest hint that his cover was blown.
"We could bring the bots in, have them disassemble it?"
"We could blow it," Pepper suggested. "It's rocket powered, look."
Tony looked, and indeed, the Iron Monger suit was almost identical to the original suit, using fuel and explosives to power the flight.
"Let's lock down this sector, to contain the explosion and just blow it. Jim, pull security footage from this sector, I want every employee that was involved with this, we'll have them evaluated and fired if necessary." Tony went to the nearest computer terminal and started typing. "Grey, pick an agent and have them help you clear everything out. I don't want one single casualty from this."
"Rollins, Barnes, with me," Grey said, pointing out the one she wanted. "Pepper, take Phil and the others, sweep the floor below us, make sure they're clear too."
Pepper nodded and gestured for Phil to follow her downstairs. Grey headed to the left, Bucky next to her, with Jack Rollins trailing behind, wondering how she knew his name. Grey was a good leader, Jack thought to himself as he swept the floor, Grey at his back, and the Winter Soldier leading the charge.
"Found the chief engineer," Tony said over comms. "Hogan, he's all yours."
"That hall's clear," Jack said, coming to a stop in front of Grey and Bucky. "Next?"
"Next, we clear out, get a good distance back and wait for the fireworks. I even brought marshmallows," Grey said. Behind her, Bucky holstered his side arm, moving so he could wrap his arm around Grey's waist. "Let's get out of here."
They met Pepper and Phil on the east side of the building. Jack rejoined his team, and Bucky faded into the shadows, muttering something about checking in with Happy. Tony came running out of the building, Jim on his heels, getting out before the explosion. They had decided to blow the main chamber and redirect the blaze through the vents to the roof once it blew.
"Local fire squad is on their way to help contain," Jim said. "We've got everything blocked off; reactor is safe."
"We need to do something with it anyway," Grey said, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. "The insurance on this thing alone will bankrupt us after this."
"I could shut it down, disassemble it?" Tony offered. "Could be a way to announce Stark Green Energy."
"Has R&D figured out those solar cells yet?" Pepper asked.
"No, but they're close," Tony offered.
"Have something I can release, then remove the expensive laser show," Pepper instructed. "Last quarter had us too close to the red, I'd like to never do that again."
"Marshmallow?" Grey offered, holding out a stick she'd cut from the tree next to them, sharpening one end to a point with a wicked looking combat knife. There were two marshmallows speared on the sharp end. She had five sticks ready to go when the first-floor windows exploded out of sector sixteen. The strike team, over to the right, dove for cover with the explosion, the family stood, watching with mixed expressions. Grey looked up, smiling at the column of fire arching from the roof.
"Shall we roast some mallows?" Bucky asked, bending slightly at the waist and offering Grey his hand. She laughed and accepted, the two of them sauntering off to the burning building, smiles on their faces and sticks in their hands.
"If we can't beat them, join them?" Tony offered, taking his cue from Bucky. Pepper rolled her eyes but followed Tony closer to the factory.
"Agent Coulson, you want a marshmallow?" Grey shouted across the parking lot.
"No, I'm good, thanks though," Coulson said back. Grey laughed at him, brightly with her head thrown back. She turned slightly, her eyes tracing the highway as she looked for the lights to match the sirens she could hear.
"Why are you like this?" Pepper asked, reaching into the window to get her marshmallow over top a decent flame. Grey pulled a pack of graham crackers out of the fanny pack she was wearing, and several Halloween sized Hershey bars. "Who roasts marshmallows on a burning building?"
"Someone who can't remember to keep them in the house for when we use the grill," Grey said. "I like roasted marshmallows."
"Fire department is here, finish your s'more before we're banished from the scene," Bucky said before shoving the entire s'more in his mouth. "I'll see Coulson's team out."
"How much is this going to be for insurance?" Tony asked Pepper, looking slightly guilty. "Can we phrase this as just deconstruction?"
"I've already put in for a controlled burn. I sent a team through yesterday to clear out any chemicals that could be bad. This is literally an empty building with an ugly statue in it," Grey said, taking a bite of her s'more.
"How did you know he wouldn't admit to this? He's admitted to almost everything else," Pepper said.
"I know people," Grey said. "Once I realized he wasn't going to give up his ties to Hydra, but was willing to sell out the Ten Rings, he became a very good mark to read. Besides, they changed their plea at 4:55 this evening. Stane's pleading guilty tomorrow morning."
"Press conference on Monday then?" Pepper asked, pulling out her phone. "I can send an email out when we get home."
"Are we ready to send out the 2.0 software?" Grey asked. "I thought that was still in production."
"It'll be finished by release," Tony said, leading the way away from the factory. Jim was already shaking the fire chief's hand. Phil was there as well, flashing his badge, listing out the entire name.
"Phil, you can just call it SHIELD," Grey said lightly. "It won't kill you."
"I don't think I like it when you call me Phil," he replied, looking at Grey with suspicion.
Grey just dimpled at him, "of course, AC." Phil frowned harder. Grey's eyes twinkled with the force of her cheer. Coulson turned away, causing her to giggle.
"Well, everything here is in the capable hands of the captain here so we are clear to head home for a real dinner, before court tomorrow. Samantha sent me a text, it only says fin?" Pepper said, flipping her phone around to hold up.
"Fin! It means finish, or end! Holy shit tomorrow they're going to just sentence him," Grey said, bouncing on her toes. "I have way too much energy."
"Sugar high, from the four s'mores I watched you eat." Bucky wrapped his arm around Grey's shoulders and led her to the car. "Come on Stark!"
"You are definitely not the boss of me," Tony said as he did what he was told.
Iron Man
The reporters in Los Angeles were having the best day of their lives as they swarmed the courthouse where the most important sentencing of the decade wrapped up. Obadiah Stane was led out of the courthouse in handcuffs and shackles by armed FBI agents, heading down the stairs.
Four steps behind them, walking like royalty was the Stark Family, Grey leading the charge in her signature red blazer and heels, her dad's red glasses held in her hands with another crown hiding in her hair. Pepper wore all white and gold again, her only color the Persian blue vest. Similar glints of gold were braided in her hair, giving her the same circlet Grey was known for. Tony wore all black, with a shocking red silk shirt under his jacket. He didn't wear a tie, leaving his shirt unbuttoned to the second button. His gold tinted glasses were on his face, keeping the sun and the flash out of his eyes. With Jim and Happy providing security, and Samantha and Jennifer walking behind them, they were quite the picture. Samantha and Jennifer had their heads tilted together, looking over a file. Grey stopped her party at the first landing, waiting for the reporters to surround them. The federal agents paused, half interested in the announcement, half waiting for their car.
"Today we at Stark Industries can celebrate because the traitor in our midst, the fox in our henhouse has successfully and properly been handled. Obadiah Stane finally saw the error of his ways and plead guilty. He has been handed a sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole in ten years. My dad and I would like to thank the Judge, and the Jury, as well as the federal agents that were ever so helpful in bringing this man to justice. I know I personally am grateful to our amazing lawyers, Samantha Kim and Jennifer Walters, as well as the DA's office for all their help." Grey paused to allow the photographers a chance to get the photo of her shaking hands with Samantha and Jennifer as they left. They weren't sticking around for long, they had paperwork to finalize in anticipation of the upcoming announcements on Monday. "Obadiah Stane has been a plague on our company since he was hired, and we at Stark Industries cannot wait to see what we can accomplish without his oppressive ideals."
Someone screamed as a gunshot rang out, echoing around the crowd. Many people dove to the ground, covering themselves or their friends as they frantically looked around for the shooter. Federal agents drew their weapons and looked around, eyes darting around as they looked for the source of the sound.
A whoosh sound flooded the area, and many people cried out at the distinctive sight of three suits, flying through the air to hover behind their pilots. Rescue and Iron Man flanked Iron Peacemaker as the suits stood sentry in front of the courthouse.
Obadiah Stane was lying dead on the ground, a bullet through his head. Grey kept a passive face as she stepped forward, helping a reporter to their feet.
"Clearly the friends he made when betraying my family have come to collect whatever they were due," Tony said, stepping forward to take Grey's place. She continued going around, whispering to everyone, making sure they were okay. "It says a lot about what type of man he was, that his own partners would take him out to prevent him from talking. We can only hope that the things he has admitted to is enough to give us the chance to clean up after him. And we will clean up his mess."
"Doctor Stark, who are they?" Christine called out, standing from her crouch.
"I pilot the suit Rescue Machine," Pepper said proudly, the blue of her vest the same shade of her suit.
"I am Iron Peacemaker," Grey said, the red of her blazer a stark difference to the pink of her suit. She stood tall, pride lining her shoulders as she stood next to Pepper.
"And I am Iron Man," Tony said.
"Stark Industries, but also more specifically, my family has contracted with the United States Air Force to clean up the caches of Stark Industries weapons that Obadiah Stane has scattered around the globe for his terrorist friends." Grey and Tony traded places again, letting Grey finish the announcement to the press. The suits, seeing that there was no further threat took off again, flying back to the house.
"That went perfectly," Tony said once they were safely in the back of Happy's SUV. "I kept waiting for the auto-pilot to fail."
"Are you kidding? I nearly pissed my pants when that shot went off," Pepper complained. "I nearly dropped with the rest of the crowd. Scared six years off my life."
"I told you not to finish that water bottle," Grey said, shaking her head as she pulled pins out of her hair. "Dad, are you okay?"
"Grieving a little bit," Tony said. "I know he was responsible for so much, but he… He was still my godfather and the fact that we…"
"We did what needed to be done," Bucky said as he climbed in the car, several blocks away. His rifle was disassembled and in a back on his back, which he passed over his shoulder to Grey to toss in the trunk. "If he'd gone to jail, we'd either have to deal with him again, or worse, he'd start talking."
"He's right dad, it sucks, but this is for the best," Grey said. Happy hit the gas and they peeled out of town. "Call your therapist, that's what they're here for."
Iron Man
"Why are you like this?" Grey shouted, glaring as she stormed out of the hallway and into the kitchen. She dug around under the sink, coming back up with a roll of paper towels and a spray bottle of cleaner. "Stupid fucking cat."
"What's happening?" Bucky asked, coming into the room with his new ESA on his shoulder. Alpine was a solid white cat that Bucky had taken a liking to. Chenin was a mostly white with black splotches and a black dot on his nose that Grey had adored. With approval from the family, they adopted the two kittens and brought them home.
"Chenin doesn't want to shit in his stupid litter box, so he's chosen to poop on the fucking floor, and I'm not having it!" Grey raged as she dragged the trash can over to the hallway with her. She cleaned up the cat's mess, glared at the feline in question, and stormed back to the kitchen to return the supplies. In the same move, she yanked out the trash bag and tied it shut, taking it outside. "Bambi, why won't my stupid cat just do this one thing?"
"Have you tried a grit litterbox?" Bambi asked, their voice echoing through Grey's watch so Bucky could hear too. "It could be the pellets he doesn't like."
"Why'd you get the good cat," Grey grumbled, pulling out her phone and ordering a different litterbox set. She kept complaining as she scrolled through amazon, selecting several different types of boxes, two enclosures for the boxes, the litter she wanted, and six new packs of cat toys. "Hate grit litter, gonna have to vacuum daily and I hate vacuuming. Bambi, order a Roomba, if they haven't been invented yet, send an email to dad and tell him he needs to invent a tiny robot that vacuums for me because I'm not having this!"
"Because I wasn't fooled by a dot."
"But he's so cute!" Grey held up the picture she'd taken of Chenin, it was her phone's lock screen. "Even though he's a vicious prick with sharp ass teeth."
"He'll calm down after he's fixed," Bucky reminded her. "And besides, we've only had the cats for a week. Alpine is still standoffish."
"Alpine is exactly like you. Stands in corners and glares at everyone until fed." Bucky pretended he was offended, but he reached up to scratch Alpine between the ears.
"You and Pepper's conferences are all done?"
"Yeah, she's checking the numbers now, probably a bad idea to announce new projects with half our upper management in jail, but oh well." Grey flopped down on the couch, only flinching when Chenin pounced on her leg, teeth and claws extended. "Marvel is doing alright, I think I signed my name like seven hundred times, ow, Chenin stop biting me. They're starting a comic series about us!"
"Really?"
"Iron Man and the Iron Family. I signed off on it today. Kinda excited, I get to see myself in a comic book!" Bucky had a tablet out, sitting across from her on the couch, leaning to the side so Alpine could climb off his shoulder and onto the couch. He made biscuits for a moment then settled in for a nap. Grey glared at her own cat – still trying to attack her through her sweatpants – and shook her head.
"Did you notice that Marvel's stock went up more points than Stark Industries?" Bucky pointed out, swiping his tablet so the numbers took over the TV. Marvel's stock went up twenty-six points, SI only increased by sixteen.
"Send me that as a screenshot, I want to send it to Pepper and Dad and gloat."
"Are they still in meetings?"
"Interviews, even worse. We're down a CFO, COO, several department heads, upper managers, not to mention Dad and I have plans to completely undo the board of directors and replace them with better people after we finish buying out the company."
"When is that happening?"
"Once the feds unfreeze Stane's assets," Grey said. She swiped on Bucky's tablet, checking her email on the bigger screen. There was nothing from Tony, so she closed it out. "Dad's in talks with them now, trying to see if there's anyway, we can just buy them anyway to go ahead and get it over with. We'd like it completed with time to spare before the expo."
"Is that the next big project?"
"We have seven months to make this the biggest party in the world, to celebrate technology and whatever. It's what's happening in those next seven months that has me worried."
"Why?"
"Small things," Grey said. "No visions. I know we keep going on missions and do a lot of good and a lot of clean up, but no idea."
"The expo is the next thing you can, see?"
"Told you, these powers are unreliable as hell, and it sucks. We get seven months of operating blind."
"I've operated blind for nearly fifty years, this isn't so bad." Grey gave Bucky a soft look, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "I think it's better with you."
"You two are disgustingly sweet," Pepper said as she shuffled in, her hair in a sloppy bun and a water bottle in her wrapped hands.
"Please tell me you went to the gym after the meeting, and you didn't beat the fuck out of a potential new hire?"
"I sat through seven interviews, three of which just wanted your autograph," Pepper said. "Then I went and worked over a bag. At least one of them was Hydra, according to Bambi."
"Damn," Grey said. "Any promising?"
"Samantha has agreed to take the promotion to Chief Legal Officer, as long as Jennifer agrees to stay on as her partner. Tony and I have already asked Brittany to come back for a second interview for CFO. Tony wants the current head of operations, Seema? He wants her to take over from Stane."
"Oh, I met her! She's super sweet, and yet terrifies her entire department. She'll do great. What about the board?"
"We're keeping Madison Thomas as secretary but bringing in Maxwell Howell from finance to be treasurer. Tony suggested the VP of R&D, the new Director of Ethics we're planning on hiring, and the Director of HR as well for the board, along with you, him, and Tony suggested we bring in Helen Cho and Hope Van Dyne as outside directors."
"See if Maria Hill is willing to join the board," Grey pitched, petting Chenin, who was asleep on her chest. "We're eventually gonna need her to run things, and it'd be better if she gets used to our sense of humor early. But don't ask her until after the expo."
"You want Fury's right hand to have a hand in our company?" Pepper asked, shocked. She started unwrapping her hands. "Are you insane?"
"Fury isn't the bad guy, and I'm so sorry if I made him seem to be," Grey said, frowning. "Pierce is the bad guy, the only problem is that Fury currently trusts him. Also, Fury somehow doesn't freakin' see the nazis in his own intelligence agency. I mean Jasper frickin' Sitwell is trusted. I wouldn't trust that man to blow up TNT with a flamethrower."
"I think you need an hour with the bag," Pepper said, looking at Grey warily. "You're very angry today."
"Chenin shit on the floor and I almost stepped in it, I'm perfectly within my right to be simmering with anger today."
"No, that anger is deeper than at the cat, you should call."
"If you tell me to call my therapist, I'll hit you, Potts," Grey said darkly. "Oh, you're right, I am angry today. Bambi, send an email to Doctor Tyler, ask him if he's available today or tomorrow. This anger is all consuming and I don't want to snap at the wrong person if this happens on the wrong day."
"Here," Bucky said, holding out her anti-anxiety prescription. She took one and handed the bottle back. "You need to get in the habit of taking these."
"I'm terrible with habits, that's why I have you and Bambi, the same way dad has Pepper and Jarvis!"
"Everything about the Stark family just became violently clear," Pepper said, staring in middle ground. "Who handled Howard?"
"He didn't have a handler; how do you think he got up to so much shit? He had Aunt Peggy instead of a Pepper or a Bucky." Grey laughed. "You know at one point, he got drugged and almost pulled a Captain America in a plane?"
"Really?" Tony asked, coming up from the lab. He had a band-aid on his arm. "Man, I wish I could know the man like you do."
"Hey, papaw was a complicated man, dad, the man I know didn't have a family yet. It was just him, back then. He did change a lot," Grey said.
"I know. But he never talked about his time with the SSR and SHIELD."
"Did we ever figure out if we were funding them?" Grey asked.
"We were, in fact, sending them half a billion a year through a few shell companies. Brittany and Samantha are working on a contract that will legitimize our funding of them and give them less than that." Tony shrugged and joined his family in the living room, pausing to pat Alpine and Chenin. "Any word from the birds?"
"They found a cache, this time with hostages, they want us to go in and help," Pepper said, pushing the latest report to the TV. "I can get us clearance to go in with the suits."
"Yeah, reach out to them let them know we're coming. Are they settled on base?"
"Yes, the Air Force was very grateful for the help. Jim's with them now, he says we can come out of the twenty first and do our jobs, let the Air Force follow?" Grey and Tony exchanged looks and nodded. Pepper sent the notice that they were coming in.
"Establishing the auto-pilot was a great idea, and it helped me with the suits. Wanna see something cool?" Everyone looked at Tony expectantly. "Grey, call Bambi for Peacemaker."
"Bambi, I need my suit." Grey waited expectantly, and her suit landed on the patio. Jarvis opened the door, and the suit stomped through, coming to a stop next to Grey. She stood and walked over to her suit, which opened in the front. "Holy shit."
Grey walked backward, and the suit swallowed her up, taking only three minutes to secure around her. Her HUD flicked on and she could see the faces of her family. She flipped the HUD up so they could see her.
"What do you think?"
"I think we can finally stop spending eighteen hours in the suits and take the jet back and forth!" Grey said excitedly, a wide smile on her face. Chenin, still upset he'd been dislodged, jumped at Grey's calf, claws and teeth bared, only to thunk into the suit. He hissed, puffing up twice his size as he tried to scratch at the leg of the suit. He left three tiny claw marks on the paint job. "Damnit, Chenin!"
"I can fix that."
"No, let him leave his mark, I think it's cute. Stupid cat." Grey glared at him, and eventually nudged him away with her foot. "Bambi, can you send the suit back to the lab please?"
The suit unlocked, eventually allowing Grey to step out of it and back on the living room floor. Chenin went for her ankle. She bent over and scooped him up, stepping away from the suit. It stomped outside and took off, pulling a wide arch to fly back to the lab. Grey cooed at her cat, before unceremoniously dropping him on his cat tree.
"Hey, what are we supposed to do with the cats when we have to be away on mission?" Pepper asked, looking from Chenin (trying to bite into Grey, who had pulled her sleeves down to protect her arms) to Alpine (who was batting at a stray piece of Bucky's hair.) "We can't take them with us, can we?"
"Well Happy isn't coming with us on most of the missions, same with Jayne and Christine, so while they're running back end from here, they can keep an eye on them," Tony said. "Who had the idea to bring animals into my house?"
"Mine," Grey said brightly, beaming up at her dad. Chenin used her distraction against her and got a lucky shot in on her hand. She hissed and yanked her hand back, clutching it to her chest. Grey pouted and looked at her hand. An angry red line ran from her wrist almost to the nail of her middle finger. She pretended to let out a wail, a mild grimace of pain on her face as she turned away from her pet. Chenin took the opportunity to smack her back.
"He got you good," Bucky said, taking her injured hand. He pressed a gentle kiss, just above the injury. "Go wash your hand, soap too. He's not due for his shots until tomorrow, are you sure Happy doesn't mind taking them both?"
"I've checked, he doesn't mind, and we'll be halfway to the desert by then. After they've been stabbed to health we can get them fixed before they start marking everything."
"If either cat pees in my lab, they're both being launched into the sun," Tony threatened, using the same tone he used to threaten his bots.
"I didn't know you had access to the slingshot," Grey said, teasing.
"The slingshot?"
"SHIELD facility, where they're supposed to launch the ridiculously dangerous shit into the sun but turns out they just store it in the Fridge so Hydra personnel can go shopping afterwards."
"Let me guess, you have plans?"
"Don't I always?" Grey said, dimpling up at Pepper, who just rolled her eyes. "I really hate just how thoroughly Hydra meshed into SHIELD, it's absurd."
Line Break
"Hi, honey, Sam and Riley told me they found you in one of the houses out there, are you okay?" Grey asked, sitting down in a tiny plastic chair designed for five-year-olds. There was a little girl with olive toned skin sitting a little too still at the matching table, paper and crayons scattered in front of her, but untouched. "Can you tell me your name?"
There wasn't much of a warning, but Grey threw herself backwards in the chair just as the girl moved, a blade as long as her arm in her hand. Grey rolled over her shoulder, springing to her feet as the little girl launched her second attack, throwing the knife with dangerous accuracy, lodging it in Grey's stomach. Grey glanced down at the blade protruding through her stomach with disbelief.
"Bambi, I need my suit and Bucky, now," Grey said, trying to move to stop the blood flow.
Bucky beat the suit, nearly taking down the door as he charged in. He saw the girl in a fighting stance that looked ridiculous on a child so small, and the knife in Grey's stomach and immediately moved to subdue the girl. There was a brief scuffle, likely because Bucky didn't want to hurt the girl, but by the time Iron Peacemaker game through the window, the girl was unconscious, and Bucky was scooping Grey up in a bridal carry.
"What the fuck happened?" Bucky demanded, furious as he ran down the hall, sprinting around Air Force enlisted and officers alike.
"Did I actually get stabbed by a five-year-old?" Grey asked, bewildered as Bucky shouted for a medic. "Honestly, she's a toddler!"
"She was trained," Bucky seethed.
"So, she's a widow, Christ I didn't think they started fighting that young," Grey said, breathless. "Um, I'm O neg, and am definitely going to pass out now."
Grey went limp in Bucky's arms, right as he crashed through the door. Medical was down the hall and to the right, which was where Bucky headed. Riley was there, getting patched up for a bullet that grazed his arm.
"What happened?" Riley asked, confused. There hadn't been any plan for others to go in, Sam and Riley had already done all the work.
"The girl? She's a widow!" Bucky snarled, setting Grey down on the gurney. Tony and Pepper barreled in behind him, both still in their flight suits. Medics swarmed Grey, one doctor shouting out orders to the rest. She was rushed off the moment she was flat, one nurse hanging behind, the knife still protruding from her stomach. "Is she going to be okay?"
"You got her to us quick, that's what's important. The knife didn't reach her spine, so we aren't worried about that, it's blood loss that's worrying."
"Please, do everything you can for her," Pepper begged. The nurse nodded, placing her hand on Pepper's arm before chasing after her team. Tony's knees buckled underneath him, dropping him to the floor. Bucky sat down on the ground, leaning heavily against Riley's bed, his own hands covered in Grey's blood. After a few minutes, Pepper quietly sat on the foot of Riley's bed and pulled out a tablet. "Bambi, can you hear me?"
"I'm here, Pepper," Bambi's voice came from the tablet. "What would you like me to do?"
"Set up a video conference, Sam and Allie, General Morrow, Jayne, Happy, Jim. Tell them it's urgent."
Faces started popping up on her screen. Riley didn't log in, as he was right there, so Sam and Allie were the first to appear. Jim and General Morrow were sharing a screen, likely sharing a tablet as well. Happy popped on, Alpine and Chenin just visible over his shoulder. Jayne was last to log in, there was a smear of ink on her nose.
"Pepper, what's going on, is this about the little girl?"
"What little girl?" Jayne demanded.
"Riley and I found a group of hostages, we were able to get them out, but there was this tiny girl, five or six, she didn't have parents, the locals said she came with the Ten Rings," Sam explained, his voice slightly off through the speakers. "We brought her back to base, it's SOP."
"She stabbed Grey in the stomach," Pepper said, tears springing to her eyes. "She's being rushed to surgery; it looks like this was a failsafe or something. She was a plant."
"I'll get you flight clearance back home as soon as she's stable for transport, have Jarvis keep me updated," Happy said, immediately muting himself and using his phone to start making calls.
"I'll reach out to Doctor Cho and her team," Jayne offered. "Let her know what's happened and ask her to come take a look. How's Tony?"
Pepper flipped the camera to show Tony, who was still sitting on the ground, and Bucky, who was staring at the blood on his hands.
"I'll come," Allie said. "For the girl. Kat and I can take her in, get her in therapy, maybe undo some of what the Red Room did to her."
"We're on our way," Jim said, immediately logging out of the call. It didn't take long for Pepper to hear two sets of hurried feet, running through the hall. "C'mon Tones, up you get."
Jim picked Tony up and sat him in a chair. Once he was sure Tony wasn't going to physically fall apart, he looked at Bucky.
"I'll head back to the interview room, make sure she's guarded, see if we can't figure out where she got the knife," Tom said, leaving as quick as he came. Pepper managed a small smile for him, but it was pale. Bucky was still sitting there, staring at his hands. Jim grabbed some clean gauze from the tray next to Riley and knelt next to the assassin. He started wiping the blood off, starting with the flesh hand so he wouldn't spook.
"Are you okay?" Jim asked. "She didn't hurt you too, did she?"
"No," Bucky's voice was a ghost. He swallowed and tried again. "She was so small. The youngest I ever trained was eight. Are they training them younger?"
"We'll look into it," Jim promised, taking the damp gauze from Riley's hands so he could clean more of the blood off. "Once we know how Grey's doing, we'll look into it."
"Is she going to be okay?" Bucky asked, fear evident in his voice. "She bled so much."
"She's Grey, she's going to be just fine," Pepper said, her voice wobbly. "She has to be fine."
"Is she?" Tony croaked out when he saw a doctor in scrubs come in. He was wearing a scrub cap, and had obviously just come from surgery.
"We're still operating, I just came here to give you an update," the doctor said gently. Pepper turned the tablet so the others could hear too. "She lost a lot of blood, and her stomach was perforated, but it looks like it missed most of her other internal organs. However, there was something else."
"What is it?" Tony demanded, forcing himself to his feet so he could stagger forward.
"Mister Stark, did your daughter know she was pregnant?"