Author's Note: Iron Man 3 is coming to an end here, but Riley's adventures will still continue after this!
I don't own Avengers or its characters. I only own Riley Stark and other OCs that appear in the story.
Take on the World
Chapter 20: Merry Christmas, Buddy!
Riley groaned in anxiety as she struggled to adjust the burning pain in her body.
The Stark heiress felt completely helpless at seeing Pepper in the same situation she was in and couldn't do anything to help her.
Her warm brown eyes slowly moved to glare at Killian, her hatred for this man growing even more.
Pepper was in the room and strapped into a metal board as Riley was.
"Where have you taken us?!"Riley demanded angrily.
"Yeah. About that."Killian remarked in a casual tone."Don't you worry your pretty little head about Pepper. I am just going to make her more perfect."
On hearing this, Riley lost her temper.
"She's fine just the way she is, creep."Riley retorted with a glare."And my dad won't come to help you either."
"You see, that's where you're wrong."Killian said as he leaned against the machine that Riley was strapped to."You're his daughter, his pride and joy. He would do anything for you if that wasn't evident from the look on his face when he saw you screaming in pain."
Riley growled at the madman as her body violently shook causing her to glow a bright orange.
"Where is he?! Where's my dad?!""Riley demanded."What did you do to him?!"
Killian only smirked at Riley.
"But you see, you and Pepper not just here to motivate Tony Stark."Killian informed."You two are here as my…"
"Trophies."Pepper finished.
Riley felt sick to her stomach while the small chuckle and nod that came from Killian only made her feel even worse.
Something then hit the ground a little ways away from them and Riley quickly turned her head to see what it was.
The War Machine suit stood only a little ways away from her.
"Uncle Rhodey!"Riley remarked in joy.
However, the War Machine suit simply walked over to Killian, making Riley realise the being in the armour was not Rhodey.
"Good evening, sir."Killian greeted.
The War Machine suit then opened up to reveal Matthew Ellis; the elected President of the United States of America, replacing Barack Obama.
Killian mockingly saluted to President Ellis.
"Welcome aboard, Mr President."Killian declared.
"The Mandarin."President Ellis retorted.
"In the flesh."Killian answered.
President Ellis's eyes then flickered over to Pepper and Riley before he looked to Killian.
"You brought a child into this as well?"President Ellis questioned.
"Oh, you see, this isn't just any kid and I know that you know that."Killian informed."You know very well who she is."
"She's still just a child."President Ellis argued."Let her go."
"I can't do that."Killian replied.
Despite the pain in her body, Riley smiled lightly at President Ellis.
"It's an honour to meet you in person, Mr President."Riley replied."But with all due respect, I'll be fine. So will Miss Potts. I've handled worse people than this clown over here."
Killian frowned and sent a glare in Riley's direction.
"That's enough from you. The President and I will just leave you to your suffering."Killian scowled."I'll be back once you've had some time to yourself and we can see if you're willing to cooperate."
"I don't see that ever happening."Riley remarked with a frown."You're too boring in my point of view. So might as well never come back."
Killian gritted his teeth and turned away from the Stark heiress to look at his henchmen.
"Let's go."Killian ordered and glanced at the two scientists in the room."Take Potts down the bow."
The henchmen of Killian grabbed ahold of President Ellis while the two scientists took Pepper out of the room.
Once they were gone, Riley let the brave expression she had been wearing to fall off.
Tears instantly filled her eyes and she let out a pained whimper as she looked down at her glowing skin.
Everything hurt and all she wanted was to see her father.
Why couldn't she normally celebrate Christmas like Gwen, Peter, Ned, MJ and the rest of her classmates back in Midtown West Middle School does?
Spending time with their loved ones and creating special memories together.
Unfortunately, that seemed something hard to ask for.
If her father had called the rest of the Avengers Initiative, they would've taken Killian down easily and be enjoying the rest of the holidays together.
Was her father too scared to ask for backup upon what had happened during the Battle of New York?
He told her that she didn't need the team.
But was that even true?
Riley moaned lightly at the burning pain that was within her body and shook her head a little, trying to make sense out of what's going on.
Her attention went onto her wrists and felt something attached on each of them, making her eyes widen.
She suddenly came out of her thoughts upon hearing continual explosions shake the room and thumping sounds against her eardrums.
What was happening outside?
Riley shrieked in terror when everything around started tumbling down around her and quickly shut her eyes to prevent herself from seeing the possible chance of something heavy heading to crush her.
But when the sounds stopped, the young brunette saw there was mangled twisted metal all around her and sparks shoot off of the wall nearby.
Riley then realised she was upside down or maybe she was right side up, but it was unclear.
As she tried to wiggle around out of the metal covering her, heavy metal footsteps sound from across from her until she can see familiar red and gold boots just feet before her eyes.
It was Tony in his Iron Man suit.
A small yet bright smile appeared on Riley's face before seeing Iron Man crouch low and his hands grab onto the edges of the metal that attempted to smash her body.
The metal whined and creaked as Tony pulled it up while Riley nervously checked on the shafts.
"Careful, dad."Riley instructed nervously."It looks like things are going to collapse even more."
Iron Man quickly bend his knees and he ducked his head down.
His mask immediately lifted up to reveal his face to his daughter.
"See what happens when you hang out with my ex-girlfriends?"Tony asked.
"Yes."Riley answered slightly and reached out her hands."But now less talk, more rescuing."
Tony chuckled as he reached out his hands to bring Riley safely out of the rubble she was trapped in.
Suddenly, a burning hand burst out from the metal floor and squeezed the arc reactor chest causing Iron Man to fall to the ground.
Riley let out a cry at seeing her father getting attacked and fell back into the ground tiredly.
Killian then appeared from the melted ground and he looked over at Riley.
"Is this guy bothering you?"Killian asked.
"You are actually."Riley scowled.
Killian rolled his eyes before pushing himself up onto his feet.
He then walked over to Tony and sat on top of the suit.
"Don't get up."Killian retorted.
Killian placed a glowing red finger on the chest of Tony's suit.
The suit began to glow where his finger was and Killian smirked.
"Ooh. Is it hot in there? Stuck?"Killian sneered evilly."Do you feel a little stuck? Like a little turtle, cooking in his little turtle suit."
Riley heard the sizzling of the metal suit and she whimpered before reaching her hand out for her father.
"Dad."Riley sobbed in fear.
Both Tony and Killian brought their attention on Riley.
"She's watching. How touching."Killian taunted, making Tony glare at him."I think you should close your eyes. Close your eyes. Close your eyes. You don't want to see this."
Killian then lifted his hand up in anger and went to slash at Tony.
However, the billionaire was quicker and a short blade suddenly popped out of the Iron Man suit before cutting off Killian's hand.
The glowing hand rolled across the floor, stunning Riley.
Killian groaned in pain and stumbled off of Tony.
"Yeah, you take a minute."Tony insisted.
Riley paled when she noticed that the hand was melting the floor around her.
"Uh, Dad?"Riley spoke up.
Tony had barley even glanced at her before the floor suddenly gave way and Riley went tumbling down to the next floor.
Riley let out a scream as she fell until she hit some sort of machine beam, debris falling down on her and pinning her down, so that she couldn't get up.
And if things couldn't get any worse, the machine beam she was stuck to began to move and she was suddenly floating above some sort of oil rig.
The young brunette let out a scream and quickly tried to grab onto the pieces that were holding her up at the moment.
"Rye-Rye!"Tony yelled out.
Riley turned to see Tony a little ways away looking at her in panic.
"Dad!"Riley shouted.
Tony turned and began to run down the walkway that was near Riley.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., give me a suit right now!"Tony demanded.
Suddenly, a big explosion from below Riley caused everything below her to burst into flames.
Instead of the drop onto the damaged metal machines below, she would now be falling into a huge fire pit.
Riley knew neither of them were better than the other.
"Oh, mio dio."Riley muttered in fear.
The metal beam Riley was on continued to move and she was desperately trying to find something to help her.
"Rye-Rye!"
The young brunette looked up and let out a small sigh of relief at the sight of her father standing on the edge of the machine that was holding her.
"Dad!"Riley yelled out as she looked down at the fire below."I'm scared!"
"Look at me, Rye-Rye!"Tony instructed."Look at me!"
Riley looked to her father and saw him reaching out his hand to her.
"You're going to be okay."Tony vowed strongly."You know how I know that?"
"What gives you that idea?!"Riley cried out.
"Cause you're my little super star!"Tony declared.
An anxious smile appeared on Riley's face and Tony quickly returned it.
"Okay, now I just need you to reach for my hand, okay?"Tony instructed.
Riley nodded and bit her lip nervously as she stretched out her hand.
The two struggled to reach for each other and the billionaire looked at his daughter in panic.
"Pumpkin, I can't reach any further and you can't stay there."Tony admitted."All right? You've got to let go."
A shocked look appeared on Riley's face.
"W-What?!"Riley shouted.
"You've got to let go!"Tony insisted with a look of desperation."I'll catch you!"
"You promise?"Riley asked.
"I promise, Rye-Rye. Now, please."Tony said, his voice broke slightly as tears filled his eyes."Let go. It's going to be okay."
Riley nodded and took a deep breath before letting go so that her body began to shift forward while the metal beam above her moved a bit.
Their fingers brushed against each other for a second.
But Riley's hand slipped from her father's hold and when she saw the look of pure horror that flashed across Tony's face that made her realise he wasn't going to catch her.
"NO!"Tony yelled out.
Riley shut her eyes as she fell, not wanting to see the menacing flames that waited to devour her.
Just as it seemed Riley was going to fell to a fiery death, the magenta pink bracelets hidden in the young brunette's wrists beeped and activated into armour repulsors that flew her inches away from the fire below.
The armour repulsors attached on Riley's hands gave her a boost and brought her a couple inches away from the fire before powering down.
Riley grinned in utter amazement that her hidden invention worked for a moment and saved her from certain death.
She brought her gaze to her father who was still in the top part of the building.
"Hey, dad! Did you see that?!"Riley remarked in excitement, looking at Tony from below."I'm no damsel in distress!"
Tony let out a breath of utter relief upon seeing that his daughter was alive and managed to safe herself in the last moment.
Still he thought he was going to lose her when his hand failed to grab hers.
Tony then brought his attention to Killian, who stood in the opposite side of the bridge that he stood.
"A shame."Killian retorted bluntly as he glanced back down at the fire."I would've enjoyed seeing her burn into a crisp."
On hearing this, Tony's hands began to tremble in uncontrollable rage and his body sways in a fury.
The billionaire was hardly even thinking as he began sprinting full force towards the man that begins running towards him as well.
As Killian leaped up to land a punch on his jaw, Tony dropped down and slid on his side underneath the man.
He shoot back up and continued running face first into a suit that encases him.
His brows were darkly furrowed and his mind was raging.
It's an all-out battle then as the two men try to end each other.
Metal clanged as both grunt and groan with pain.
There was no remorse in either man's actions as they fight for their own reasons.
Killian was flushed with orange as Tony continually switched iron suits, both fighting for the upper hand that just won't seem to come.
The fighting suddenly slows as Killian stands six feet higher than Tony who was left on his knees with an arm stretched back, waiting for the Mark 42 to finally do something right.
But, of course, it didn't as always.
Tony's eyes dart back and his face falls in annoyance as the foot of the suit bumps into the railing, causing it to burst open into numerous pieces around his feet.
Tony rolled his eyes.
"Whatever."Tony muttered.
The billionaire brought his attention on his deadly foe who looked down at him.
"You really didn't deserve Pepper, Tony."Killian informed."It's a pity. I was so close to having her perfect."
Killian suddenly launched down in front of him, making Tony leap up and step back.
"Okay, okay, wait, wait, wait!"Tony protested as he brought his hands out towards Killian."Slow down! Slow down!"
Killian smirked as fire glowed in his chest and arms.
"You're right. I don't deserve her."Tony declared firmly."Here's where you're wrong. She was already perfect."
Tony suddenly curled his body and jutted his hands out towards Killian.
The scattered pieces of Mark 42 whirred to life and began to consume the man, hoisting his furious body up in the air.
Killian growled and struggled against the suit as the Extremis slid up into his face.
"J.A.R.V.I.S."Tony spoke up nonchalantly."Do me a favour and blow Mark 42."
"NO!"Killian screamed in a loud rage tone.
Then Killian was silenced by Mark 42's face mask.
Tony turned and leaped off the edge of the platform, sliding down a metal beams.
As the suit exploded, the billionaire jumped and landed into an opening suit.
The large metal platform and cranes began to drop and crash down in flames as the Iron Man suit clumsily tossed Tony around.
The billionaire landed hard on the cement as only a few meagre pieces covered him now.
His metal arm covered his head as metal fell all around him and fire raged nearby.
"Dad!"Riley yelled out.
Ignoring the destruction that she witnessed and the flame within her, Riley went over to Tony and tackle him into a hug.
"That was amazing!"Riley remarked proudly."I guess you didn't need the other Avengers after all!"
"Ow! Ow!"Tony groaned due to the pain he felt in his body."Rye-Rye, careful!"
Riley smiled sheepishly at her father as she carefully removed her arms from around his neck.
"Sorry."Riley apologised.
Suddenly, Mark 42 began to drop in pieces across the two Starks.
Both Tony and Riley's gaze grew intense as the suit's helmet which should be containing what's left of Aldrich Killian's head, stared at them.
But, when the face mask suddenly popped off, it revealed an empty helmet.
Tony tilted his head up and released a nearly let down sigh from his nose while Riley groaned in annoyance.
Then a strange clattering to their left caught their attention.
Tony's eyes slowly grow wide while Riley nervously stood close to him.
Then out from the flames, a messed up looking Aldrich Killian hobbled over to the two Starks.
"No more false faces. You said you wanted the Mandarin."Killian informed sinisterly."You're looking right at him."
Riley frowned and shook away her shock of what she was seeing before she noticed her armour repulsors still had some power left.
"It was always me, Tony. Right from the start."Killian bragged menacingly."I am the Mandrian!"
Suddenly, a metal pole whacked the lunatic hard and he was thrown a few feet away from the Starks.
Tony and Riley turned their heads to see Pepper holding the metal pole with glowing orange eyes and skin to match.
"Go, Pepper!"Riley encouraged in approval.
"I've got nothing."Tony admitted, not knowing what to say.
Before any of them could say anything else, an Iron Man suit began flying towards them, directing its blasters at Pepper.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., subject at my 12 o'clock is not a target, disengage!"Tony ordered.
When the Iron Man suit did nothing, Tony looked to his left and saw that the ear piece to communicate with J.A.R.V.I.S. was lying a few feet away.
The Iron Man suit shot at Pepper, who quickly fell out of the way.
Pepper looked to Tony in annoyance as she stood up while glowing.
"What?"Tony questioned."Oh, what, are you mad at me?"
Pepper didn't answer him and instead propelled herself into the air before punching her fist through the center of the Iron Man suit and bringing it to the ground.
"Go for it, Riley!"Pepper insisted.
Understanding what her mother figure meant, Riley lifted up her hands as her armour repulsors glowed magenta pink and punched Killian, who had been trying to sneak up on them, in the face.
Killian went flying and Riley was quick to kick a small missile at him.
"Hasta la vista, clown!"Riley retorted in an enthusiastic tone.
Riley then shot the small missile with the repulsor on her right hand.
Killian screamed as he blew up in smithereens.
Tony looked at the explosion with wide eyes before looking at Pepper.
"Honey?"Tony asked cautiously.
Pepper turned to look at Tony.
"Oh, my God."Pepper said in shock as she walked over to Tony."That was really violent."
"More like totally awesome!"Riley chuckled and lifted up her hands in delight while her repulsors powered down."Girl power rules!"
Tony chuckled and shook his head.
"Clearly you scared the devil out of me."Tony declared.
Riley folded her arms as she raised an eyebrow at her father.
"Because you thought I was going to fall to my death, right dad?"Riley assumed.
Pepper smiled. "Who's the hot mess now?"
"It's still debatable. Probably tipping your way a little bit."Tony commented as he stood up and put the earpiece back on his ear."Why don't you dress like this at home? Hmm? Sport bra. The whole deal."
"You know, I think I understand why you don't want to give up the suits."Pepper panted."What am I going to complain about now?"
"Well, it's me."Tony answered."You'll think of something."
Tony moved to touch Pepper causing her to panic.
"No, don't touch me."Pepper responded.
"Don't worry about it."Tony assured.
"No, I'm gonna burn you."Pepper cried.
"No, you're not."Tony remarked and touched Pepper, but nothing happened."Not hot."
Riley walked forward and gave Pepper a hug as well.
"See, Pepper?"Riley remarked kindly."No burn. No pain."
"Am I gonna be okay?"Pepper questioned.
"No. You're in a relationship with me and helping me raise my kid."Tony admitted casually, looking at Pepper and Riley."Everything will never be okay. But I think I can figure this out, yeah. I almost had this 20 years ago when I was drunk. I think I can get you both better. That's what I do. I fix stuff."
Riley smiled anxiously at her father before he hugged her.
"And what about your distractions, dad?"Riley asked curiously.
"Uh...I'm going to shave them down a little bit."Tony declared before contacting J.A.R.V.I.S."J.A.R.V.I.S. Hey."
"All wrapped up here, sir."J.A.R.V.I.S spoke up."Will there be anything else?"
"You know what to do."Tony informed.
"The Clean Slate Protocol, sir?"J.A.R.V.I.S assumed.
"Screw it, it's Christmas."Tony insisted."Yes, yes."
Tony gave Pepper a hug as Riley looked up in the sky and her eyes widened at the sight of the Iron Man suits all blowing up.
The Clean Slate Protocol actually meant destroying all of the suits?
"Okay, so far?"Tony questioned."Do you both like it?"
Pepper smiled at the sight that she and Riley were seeing with their own eyes.
"It'll do."Pepper responded.
"Totally."Riley chuckled lightly."Though I think I'll need to totally get some proper sleep after all this."
Both Tony and Pepper chuckled lightly before letting their heads rest on top of Riley's and the young brunette looked up at the two of them before smiling and closing her eyes as she leaned more into their touch.
The three of them were officially together again as a family after everything that happened.