Chapter 4

Stark's Swan

Tony looked around the field that had seen better days. The earth was churned up and bodies littered it along with twitching body parts. He was slightly disturbed to see the horse sized wolves gathering the fallen limbs and putting them in neat little piles. He shook his head, Bella had left out the part about her pups when Shade had been revealed.

"Everyone, okay?" Tony asked through his ear piece which every member of the group had, except his daughter who they hadn't been able to communicate with. And the Hulk, he wasn't allowed around any of Tony's toys. Plus no one wanted to hear the big guys roars coming through their ears.

"What are we to do with these beasts?" Thor asked before anyone could confirm or deny that they were injured, he waved a huge fist in the direction of the wolves.

"Leave them to their macabre artwork?" Tony suggested. He didn't fancy taking them on, that and they were his daughters' friends. They had protected her while the Avengers were still stuck in the air, he would be in their debt for the rest of his life.

"They're kind of cute," Nat said and Tony could hear her smirking even if he couldn't see her.

"Need a hell of a ball to play fetch with one though," Dr Banner said, the big guy had retreated as there was not much left to smash.

"Not to mention housebreaking them," Cap agreed with a chuckle.

"Has anyone got eyes on Bella?" Tony asked sending his suit in the air so he could find her. Last time he'd seen her Spider-soon-to-be-castrated-man had caught her from her terrifying fall.

"Haven't seen her since she saved my ass. Hell of a daughter you've got Tony. Are you sure she's yours?" Nat snarked with a laugh.

"Ha ha, seriously, has anyone seen Bella?" Tony asked, panicking as he couldn't see her on the field.

"Barton and I have got her, we're in the woods, North-west corner. Banner, we're going to need you," Fury said, his voice serious and composed. Tony's heart dropped.

Tony flew as fast as he could to where Fury and Barton were standing over Bella who was laid out. She was pale, not moving and for a moment Tony thought the worst.

"Jarvis, full body scan on Bella," he instructed his A.I. struggling to get the words out as the other Avengers came.

"Contusions to the right deltoid, left bicep and to her abdomen," Jarvis started to recite. "Miss Swan has also received a concussion from a blow received to the left temple. The third rib on her left hand side is cracked. I do believe the young miss will be fine sir after a few days of rest and recuperation."

The air left Tony's lungs and he swayed slightly on his feet.

"Careful," Tony informed Bruce who was examining her, he went to turn her. "She's got a cracked rib and a concussion." Bruce nodded with a sigh.

"Excuse me?" Tony turned to see a large Native American standing behind them in just pants. He looked beat to hell and his eyes were worriedly on Bella.

"Yeah?" Tony asked, standing protectively in front of his daughter. He was sure this was one of Bella's puppy pals but he wasn't taking the risk. He also decided to ignore Peter who was knelt by Bella's side holding her hand.

"Is B going to be okay?" Wolfy asked, his voice breaking a little.

"Who are you?" Natasha asked sternly, her guard not down yet either.

"I'm Paul, Bella's best friend," the wolf said with a bite to his voice but it was obvious he was trying to be respectful.

"She talks about you alot. Thanks, for what you did for her today. I mean it kid. You have some skills and she wouldn't have lasted as long as she did without you," Tony said, retracting his helmet so the guy could see his face.

"Sure, it's B, life would be boring without her causing trouble," the guy smirked a little but his eyes held worry.

"She's going to be just fine kid," Tony informed him.

"Do you have any doctors at all? One of the pack has been hurt, he's phased back now but it looks like he's broken his collarbone and arm. We can't exactly take him to the hospital. He'll burn through pain meds and heal at an accelerated rate."

Tony glanced at Banner who shrugged.

"Come on, show me. I'll do what I can," Banner nodded standing up. "Your daughter should be fine Tony, give her a while to rest and we'll try to wake her up. A couple of those cuts are going to need stitches though."

"You're her dad? Holy shit! We thought it was like the president or something! So much cooler!" Paul said, his eyes wide and a grin on his face.

"You hear that guys? I'm cooler than the President," Tony said, trying for his usual levity.

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Tony turned away, giving Charlie a moment to compose himself. He couldn't have picked a better father for Bella, as much as it pained him. He cared as deeply as Tony did. Charlie and Renee could have reneged on their deal, could have stopped Bella from visiting or calling. Charlie could have been bitter about the fact Bella called Tony dad. They never had though. Not once. Tony would always be in their debt and loved them like they were blood.

Tony had visited Charlie up on the reservation, the man had been fishing with his friend Billy Black. He had told Charlie everything. About the Cullen's about the shifters, though he wasn't too caught up on that one himself. He told him about the battle that had just happened and how well their daughter had done. And then he'd told him the big kicker.

Bella wasn't safe there in Forks anymore. There were certain things he could do to make Charlie safer or Charlie could go into witness protection of a fashion. Whatever happened though Bella couldn't stay.

Understandably the father broke at that. Tony got it only too well. So he turned away and looked out over the frigid waters of First Beach.

"When does she have to go?" Charlie asked after a few moments. "As soon as possible I'd guess, right?"

"That would be for the best, yes. You can come with her, write, visit, facetime, whatever. You've never cut me out Charlie, I would never cut you out. Never," Tony said firmly. He was uncomfortable with the emotions, he wasn't always so great at expressing himself, he knew that, but with Charlie and Bella, he tried. He used to try with Renee as well, but she usually got the wrong end of the stick. He shuddered in remembrance.

"You just make her safe, take care of her," Charlie said gruffly before clearing his throat. "Do what I failed to do."

"You failed nothing," Tony disagreed passionately. None of this was Chief Swan's fault. Teenagers had boyfriends, it was natural, especially for one as beautiful as Bella. Tony hadn't known the ex was a vampire either, and he had met aliens so it was less out there for him than it was Charlie. And this newest threat, they had come looking for Bella because of Tony, not the Chief. This was all on him.

"All of this supernatural crap? That I failed at. I hadn't a god damn clue," Charlie was determined to beat himself up about that it seemed.

"Even if you had known, what would you have done? Against vampires? I don't know that I could fight them. Yet anyway. And those huge dogs? They're her friends. One of them is by her bed holding her hand. Bella is a sweet, caring kid who can look out for herself and is more compassionate than anyone I've met. Don't sell yourself short, Charlie. That's not genetics. That's you. You failed nothing. You excelled. Now the awesome grades, I'm taking that one as genetics," Tony said, his arms draped over his knees.

"We best get back and tell her then," Charlie said, standing up and offering a hand to Tony. His brown eyes held a sadness that Tony felt. The nod they gave each other spoke of a brotherhood no one else would ever understand.

"Yeah, we might want to make it quick too. I left the guys at your place. No telling what they're doing," Tony smirked, Thor had looked ridiculous crammed into the Chief's house. Tony wanted a picture.

"What guys?"

"The Avengers," Tony smirked again.

"You're an ass," Charlie sighed but the other man could see his lip twitching beneath that fuck awesome porn stache.

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Paul stood watching as the Avengers minus Tony Stark, got ready to head back to New York. They didn't stick around long after a battle apparently.

Doctor Banner had checked once more on Bella, assuring Paul that she would be fine and so would Jake. Paul had just nodded, muttering out a 'thanks'. He didn't like having them all in the Swan's house. They might be the good guys but his wolf alter-ego was having trouble trusting them and it put him on edge. Plus they were intimidating, even to him.

To his surprise Spiderman came to say goodbye to Bella, even though she was still out cold. His hand took hers and squeezed it gently. He whispered a goodbye into her ear, his eyes worriedly taking in the bruises littering her face and body. Paul wanted to roll his eyes. She was tough, tougher than Spiderman obviously thought she was.

"Erm… hey… I'll message her, but can you tell her, if she's up to it, to give me a call when she wakes up maybe?" Spiderman said to Paul. He was a lot more hesitant out of his super suit. He reminded Paul of Bella a little actually. Tough but awkward. Though Spiderman didn't come across as shy as B did.

"I don't think B has Spiderman on speed dial dude," Paul said.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Actually my non made up name is Peter. Peter Parker but keep that between you and me," the guy said, sticking out a hand towards Paul. "Bella's got my number."

"No shit!" Paul said and couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up out of him as he shook the guy's hand. Of course. He shook his head, only Bella. "She couldn't have gone for a normal guy."

"Sorry?"

"B… she likes you and I saw the way you were checking her out while you were fighting. And the fact that you guys talk every day. You like her too. Hard not too I guess," Paul shrugged. Bella was funny, witty, sarcastic and hot, he got it, she was also a pain in his ass though and he thought of her like a really annoying sibling. Lucky for Peter, otherwise B would be Paul's.

"Erm…"

"Look, you go there, with Bella. There's a couple of things you should know," Paul said seriously. Bella had been genuinely happy talking to this guy and he was already a superhero so should be able to deal with the danger magnet aspect of her.

"Okay?" Peter said with a frown while leaning against the doorframe.

"She has like zero self esteem. Her ex did a huge number on her. Always pointing out just how plain she was in comparison to him, nothing she did was good enough. The things she liked were childish, her music, movie selection, even the books she liked other than the classics. We've spent a lot of time trying to put her back together, but it's a work in progress. You'd have to have a lot of patience," Paul said, looking Peter in the eye.

Peter's eyes softened as he looked back at Bella. He gave a small smile and a nod of understanding.

"Don't treat her like she's made of glass. She's kickass, she doesn't need wrapping in bubble wrap. She cliff dives, rides a motorcycle, takes on armies by herself. She doesn't need to be treated as though she'll break," Paul said firmly. "And the last thing… the most important thing."

Peter nodded to show he was listening, his eyes darting to Bella. Spiderman had it bad, it was good to see.

"She's got six guys who see her like family. Six large guys who turn into giant wolves capable of ripping a spider to pieces. Keep that in mind," Paul said, his voice coming out purposefully with a growl. To give the guy his dues he didn't look or smell scared even after seeing the pack in action. He was either brave or stupid. Time would tell.

"Dude, if she decided to give me the time of day I would consider myself extremely lucky. I would be extremely lucky. Don't worry, I'm a good guy," Peter said with a small smirk, his eyes once again darting to Bella. Hope was clear in his voice.

"The last guy was supposed to be a good guy too," Paul raised his eyebrows before walking away and heading to the bathroom. He didn't need it but it seemed like a walk away was needed there to make his point.

0202020

Bella stared out of the window of her fathers private plane as the sprawling metropolis that was New York came into view. Tears silently streamed down her face. Everything had happened so fast. She was supposed to have more time. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

She was moving to New York to live with her father for the first time ever. Her meager belongings were stashed in a suitcase that her dad had handed to the one stewardess on the plane.

Bella had said goodbye to Charlie not long after she woke up with a terrible headache and a burning pain in her side. Her body and her face ached with bruises covering what felt like every inch of her.

The goodbyes to Charlie and then her pack had hurt deeply. She was supposed to have longer. She was supposed to graduate and have the summer before she moved. Her goodbyes were to have lasted days rather than minutes.

Bella understood why this was happening. She couldn't put Charlie and her friends in danger. It didn't make it hurt any less though as she was leaving everything she knew to live with a man she saw only two weeks of the year.

She loved her dad, she enjoyed their time together, she enjoyed speaking with him. But they had an easy relationship. They talked about what they'd been doing all month then their time was up. They spent two weeks on vacation and that was it. They'd never had to deal with real life day-to-day things. Bella didn't know how they'd coexist. And then there was Pepper…

"Is Pepper okay with this? With me living with you guys?" Bella asked quietly. Her dad had sat opposite her for the plane ride with a sympathetic expression but hadn't said anything as she'd watched the clouds pass and cried. Not just for the new circumstances. No, she had also cried about the battle. The lives she had taken, the men who had tried to take her, Jake's injuries, Victoria's words. She cried for it all.

"Kiddo, Pepper loves you. She's going to be so happy having you with us," her dad said softly.

"You haven't told her have you?" Bella guessed.

"I haven't not not told her. She loves surprises! And I can't think of a better surprise!" Her dad smirked and shot her a wink.

"Maybe next time go with jewellery," Bella suggested, trying to smile.

"Huh, well fine if you want to be boring," her dad smirked again as they started buckling up, they would soon land and Bella would soon start her new life. She went back to staring out of the window.

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Bella stepped out of the limo, Happy for once not the driver. They were in front of the Avengers tower. It was even bigger than she had thought. It towered over everything casting a shadow over the sidewalk in front of them.

Her dad took her luggage and she followed him into a bustling building. It was very modern and sleek, unlike anything she was used to. People in suits rushed past all seeming to be extremely busy, most of them shooting them looks as they did.

"Okay, so we're on the top floor. Obviously," her dad said as they walked into an elevator with numerous buttons. They were surprisingly the only ones in it. "The code is 19071004, there's only a few people that know it."

Bella nodded as the elevator rose quickly, her stomach seemed to drop like she was on a rollercoaster. She giggled as AC/DC played as elevator music. Thunderstruck.

"Hmm… seems Thor's here too," her dad grinned, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her.

The doors opened up to a huge space, with marble and glass everywhere. She felt like she was dirtying it up by just standing there.

"Tony!" Pepper came from the apartment with a huge grin. "Bella! You're here, that's gr- what happened to your face? Tony what's going on?"

Pepper's smile dropped and she pulled Bella in from a gentle hug before she faced her fiance.

"Pep, honey, sweetheart, angel, Bella's come to live with us!" Her dad exclaimed as though it was an exciting turn of events. Not the huge imposition Bella knew it to be.

"That's wonderful, but what happened?" Pepper said, narrowing her eyes slightly at Tony.

"Eh, the usual, armies, a fight, plane crashes. Bella kicked ass though. You should have seen it, Pep," Tony said, sweeping into the living area of the vast room.

"Oh god, are you okay sweetie?" Pepper asked Bella, checking her over with worried eyes. Bella smiled, she saw Pepper less than her dad, spoke with her less but Pepper had never been anything other than welcoming and nice. She thought that the CEO of Stark Industries was probably one of the best step-moms out there.

"I'm okay, thanks," Bella shrugged, feeling her face burn as she gave a small smile.

"Ooh, look the whole gang's here. Bella, honey, come say hey," Tony called.

Pepper took Bella's arm with hers and led her to the living area. There was a large collection of sofas, all of them looked comfortable and set around a coffee table that was covered in mugs and glasses. Scattered over the couches were the Avengers and a woman Bella hadn't met yet.

"Bella, I'm sure you recognise this motley crue, as the people responsible for rescuing you. But here we have Captain America himself, Steve Rogers," her dad said, pointing out the unmistakable man.

"It's good to see you again ma'am," Steve said with a huge smile as he stuck out a large hand for Bella to shake.

"You too Mr Rogers, thank you for yesterday," Bella said with a smile.

"It's Steve, please," the man said, his smile turning to one of warmth as gave her a gentle squeeze of the hand that he was still holding.

"Then we have the Thunder God himself, Thor," her dad said, gesturing to the other huge blonde.

"Well met, young warrior maiden, you fought well!" Thor boomed as he took her hand and placed a kiss on it instead of shaking it. Bella felt her face turn bright red.

"What! She fought well! Tony what has happened!?" Pepper asked, she was a little on the shrill side.

"You already know Peter, Peter you take over the introductions. Pepper and me will go put your things in your room Bella, come on Pep," Tony said, taking Bella's bag and Pepper's arm before basically dragging the fraught looking woman away.

"It's good to see you up and about," Peter smiled at Bella who was once again blushing as he pulled her in for a hug. She hugged him back, her head in his chest.

"So that is Doctor Banner, he put you back together after the battle," Peter did as her dad suggested and took over the introductions.

"Nice to meet you again, and thanks," Bella smiled at the dark haired man, she shook his hand too.

"You're welcome, how are you feeling?" He asked in a kind voice. She was sure that tone was universal to most doctors.

"Okay, a bit sore but nothing I can't handle," Bella admitted honestly.

"Good, if you need anything or the pain gets too bad let me know," Doctor Banner insisted.

"This is Agent Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye," Peter said, pointing out the blonde that Bella remembered from the battle as the man held at gunpoint.

"Hi, good to see you again. It's Clint," the man said, extending his hand to her.

"How are you feeling? That guy hit you pretty hard," Bella said, shaking his hand and looking for a bruise where the man holding him had clocked him good with the butt of the gun.

"I'm okay, had much worse. I should be asking how you're doing," Clint grinned at her. "You had some great reflexes back there."

"Thanks, yeah, I'm good," Bella let go of his hand and felt her face bright red once more. She really wished, not for the first time, that she could control her blush.

"And this is Agent Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow," Peter pointed out a beautiful woman with vibrant fiery red hair and a small smile on her painted red lips.

"Hey," Natasha waved and stayed sitting.

"Hi," Bella replied with a small smile.

"Lastly we have Commander Maria Hill, she works for S.H.I.E.L.D," Peter pointed out the brunette that she hadn't met yet. "This is Bella Swan, Tony's daughter."

"I've heard basically nothing about you, nice to meet you though," Maria smirked in Bella's direction, her face was carefully blank other than that little smirk.

"Same," Bella replied with a nod.

Feeling awkward Bella smiled at Peter as he sat down and gestured to the free space next to him. She was also a little awestruck at being sat with the Avengers. It was very surreal. They were all so larger than life, and all so very pretty. Even the guys. Captain America looked so perfect that if he didn't have a tan then she would have sworn he was a vampire. Black Widow was the prettiest person Bella had ever seen, vampires included.

"So you're going to be living here now, that's cool. Did you bring your drones?" Peter asked her enthusiastically. "They were awesome by the way. That shock worked better than you said."

"No, they were piles of scrap unfortunately. I'll have to rebuild them from scratch," Bella said, all that work, months of it was down the drain. But at least they'd helped keep her alive and not imprisoned somewhere. "Erm, how do you know how they worked? That was before you guys got there to save me."

"Your dad had the fight on satellite, we all saw it and your phone was still on so we heard it too. Those comebacks are getting pretty snappy. Paul must be proud," Peter grinned. "Plus, you didn't actually need much rescuing, you took on like an army and a half on your own."

Bella fought a groan and the impulse to cover her face. They had heard her give herself pep talks. They had heard her conversation with Paul. She was mortified. Peter knew she had a crush on him. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to kill Paul or her dad more. Both. Definitely both.

"Bella, honey, come here please!" Her dad shouted from somewhere back in the huge apartment. Seriously, it was like an entire mansion on one floor.

"Erm, excuse me," Bella said quietly to the gathered superheros. Before leaving the lounge area and walking towards where her dad had shouted her from. She felt her face burn bright red and kept her eye on the floor so she didn't trip over anything.

"Marco!" Bella called walking down a corridor that seemed to go on forever. The floor was still white marble, the walls white too.

"Polo!" Her dad yelled back from a room towards the bottom, the door open unlike the others.

She entered the room where Pepper and her dad were standing waiting for her.

Facing a wall of windows was a huge four poster bed, it looked like it was chrome and it had light blue curtains hanging from it, matching light blue bed sheets. A rug of the same colour stretched from under the bed to either side of it. On the wall to the right of the bed hung a large flat screen tv that Charlie would have cried over. A deeper blue comfortable looking chair rested next to the bank of windows. The only other furniture was a bookcase that went from the floor to the ceiling, also made out of chrome looking material.

"This is a beautiful room," Bella said honestly, feeling oddly shy.

"Thanks, it's yours. Do what you want with it. There's a bathroom and a closet through that door over there. You want to paint, paint, you want the layout changing, done, you want a jacuzzi in the bathroom? Well tough use the one outside like the rest of us," her dad teased her with a huge smile. "We put your things away but I thought before we get some dinner we could give you a tour too. Help yourself to anything you want at all and if you want something that's not here we can get it."

"Thanks, really, but you don't need to do that for me," Bella said, she didn't need a lot to be happy. This already felt like too much.

"I don't do anything I don't want to. You should know that by now. And I want to spoil you for once. You're here with us for the first time, I want to make up for birthdays and Christmas and hanukkah. So I will," her dad said with a shrug in a no nonsense voice that was useless to argue with.

"We just want you to be happy here sweetie," Pepper added gently, pushing a piece of loose hair behind Bella's ear. She wanted to cry, the gesture was so soft, so kind…

"Thank you. Both of you," Bella said with her lip between her teeth. She didn't know what living here in the Avengers tower would be like. What living with Pepper and her dad would be like, but she was sort of looking forward to it. She had a feeling that if anything at least it wouldn't be boring.

This is all Ihave written for this story so far and as much as I love it and know where I'd like it to go eventually I have major writers block for the next chapter. Couple with that and being homeless until August it might be a wait for the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed :)