Chapter 11: Cat Out of the Bag

Brigid was fuming as she sat in her bed after what she had she had seen. She thought her father trusted her with anything. Yet he did not trust her with the fact that he was a superhero the whole time. What did this mean? Why would her father not trust her with this? Brigid pondered these thoughts as her father came to check on her.

"Hey how are you, Little Leprechaun?" Tony asked.

Brigid wore a sour look. "Well, I was alright until I saw your little press conference."

Tony's face fell. "Yeah, about that. I went a little off script and…"

Brigid was in no mood for excuses. "Don't try to bullshit me! This whole time you were running around playing superhero, and you never once bothered to tell me!"

"I am your father. I don't have to explain everything to you," Tony replied, growing angry in turn. "I wasn't playing and I never claimed to be a hero."

"I thought you trusted me," Brigid replied. "You couldn't tell me that, what does it mean?"

"It has nothing to do with trust," Tony replied. "The less anyone knew, the better, especially you. I was protecting you."

Brigid pulled up her gown revealing her bandaged leg. "Didn't really work out, did it? Stane was unstable. He would have tried to kill me either way."

Tony sighed. "You're right. I shouldn't have kept you in the dark. It's just, you're all I have. I thought I was doing right by you."

"As excuses go, it's not bad, but you need work," Brigid said with a half smile.

"Fair enough," Tony laughed. "Now back to my original question, how are you?"

"In a little pain but the doc says I should be getting out tomorrow," Brigid replied.

"Well, you are one tough woman," Tony replied. "I'm not surprised."

"So, how does it feel now that the world knows you're Iron Man?" Brigid asked.

"A little less boring, I'll admit," Tony replied.

"As if your life was boring before," Brigid groaned. "Look, now that everyone knows your secret I was hoping to be your partner."

Tony looked at her like she had two heads. "You're kidding? You're here because of me and you want to be my partner?"

"Well, I was already in danger regardless, and so were you, so why not?," Brigid reasoned.

Tony scoffed, thinking Brigid mad. "Hell no!"

"What do you mean "hell no!"?" Brigid asked, growing angry. "I took a bullet for you and you won't-"

"That's right. I won't," Tony replied curtly. "You're my daughter and I can't have you with a target on your back."

Brigid tried to argue but Tony stopped her. "No, no. No arguing. End of discussion."

"That's what you think," Brigid grumbled before laying down in her bed.

One year later…

Brigid made her way through the airport terminal. It had been a long year since she had seen her father and Pepper. She had not spoken to her father about becoming his partner since her ordeal with Obadiah Stane. She had been given a hefty sum of money for suing Obadiah Stane and his assets. She used that to continue her education and earn her doctorate at Sarah Lawrence University. Since she had left, was uneasy about seeing her father and Pepper as they greeted her at the gate.

"Papa," Brigid greeted uneasily.

"Dr. Stark," Tony greeted proudly. "I had a funny feeling about this day, but so did your mom."

"I'm glad your faith has been rewarded," Brigid replied. "I have even better news. The American Museum of Natural History singled me out for a job giving lectures and tours about Norse Mythology."

"Brigid, that's wonderful!" Pepper gasped.

Tony could only stare at her in amazement. "It's absolutely perfect. Your mom used to tell Norse myths to you and you will share them."

Tony noticed that Brigid carried a strange green briefcase. "That's a weird briefcase."

"Yeah, I made some modifications," Brigid said dismissively.

"Anyway, your dad and I got you a surprise. Let's go," Pepper beckoned excitedly.

Driven by Happy, Brigid was perplexed when they drove past Stark mansion and approached a lovely brick mansion in the city. In the spacious driveway was a dark green BMW.

"What is this?" Brigid asked, doing a double take.

"You're nineteen years old now. It's about time you got your own place," Tony said in jest, jingling the keys in front of her. "And it did not go unnoticed that you have a thing for luxury vehicles, so we got you your own."

Brigid threw her arms around her father. "I am truly the Princess of Stark Industries! Thank you, Papa! Thank you, Pep! And you're right, I do love the leg room."

"You're welcome, Princess," Tony laughed. "Now go on and live on your own like a big girl."

Brigid carried her bags inside the mansion and was in awe. In the center, there was a large oak staircase. On the side was a grand living room. The floors were decorated with green carpet and cream colored curtains. Brigid climbed the staircase to find her bedroom. It was decorated with a king size bed with emerald bedding. On the walls were tapestries of Ireland and Norway. Then Brigid noticed another tapestry of a man with black hair and golden armor with a horned helmet. Brigid stared uncomfortably at the figure and noticed another man with golden hair holding a large hammer.

I know that hammer. Why? Brigid asked herself.

Brigid did not know it, but those figures would shape her life.

Brigid led her tour through the statues of Asgardian legends when they came across the statue of a man with a horned helmet.

"Miss Regan, who might this be?" asked an older guest.

"That would be a likeness of Loki of Asgard, God of Mischief ," Brigid replied. "He was Prince of Asgard and brother of Thor, god of thunder. Supposedly his mischief making got him into so much trouble his is in disfavor with his family. It is said he hangs upside down with the serpent dripping poison on his face and his wife, Sigyn protects him. When she empties the bowl, he is in pain again and causes the earth to shake. Thus the explanation for earthquakes. However, seeing as there hasn't been a devastating earthquake, I wouldn't put it past the God of Mischief to slip free."

The crowd chuckled as Brigid noticed Tony in the crowd after her lecture. "You trying to get me fired?"

"Great lecture, especially the whole bit about Loki. I think you might have a crush on him," Tony teased her.

"Why would I want a guy who cheats on his wife and is nothing but a pain in the ass when I have enough of a pain in the ass with you?" Brigid asked with a sly smirk. "What's the story this time? Are you giving your car to the Girl Scouts? Selling your artwork on EBay?"

"Okay I only gave my artwork to the Boy Scouts because they place a very high value on art," Tony said defensively.

"You seriously think Pepper tells me nothing when you won't?" Brigid asked. "She's told me you've gone bonkers the last few months."

"Bonkers is a strong word," Tony commented. "I'd prefer passionate. Anyway, I got invited to a press conference in Monaco and I couldn't think of anyone but my daughter to join me."

"You need me to protect you from the press?" Brigid teased.

"I didn't say that. Are you in?" Tony asked.

"Of course. Someone had to watch your back. Might as well be me," Brigid snarked.

It had been a long, exhausting week since Brigid arrived with Tony in Monaco. Along for the trip was Tony's new assistant, Ms. Natalie Rushman. Rushman was an athletically built woman with fiery red hair . Brigid had her suspicions about Miss Rushman. She found it odd that Tony had no need for an assistant and suddenly he took on a new one. Yet Brigid pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind as she, Tony and Pepper made their way to lunch in the city's finest restaurant.

As they entered the restaurant, they were swarmed by the press. In all the hubbub, Brigid had lost sight of her father. Brigid got a feeling like a brick in her stomach. Her father had been acting so bizarrely for the past year and now he was missing.

I don't like this, Brigid thought.

Brigid looked up at the television and her worst fears were realized. On the television, she saw Tony at the Grand Prix preparing to enter the race. It was not long before Pepper caught sight of the news.

"Oh my God!" she groaned before she noticed someone was missing. "Where's Brigid?"

Tony zipped along the track at the Grand Prix, his heart racing in time with his vehicle. As Tony rounded the next turn, a grey haired man with a familiar device on his chest and wielding two electric whips stepped on the field. Before Tony could react, the whip sliced through his car, splitting it in two. Patting out the flames on his suit, Tony barely had any time to react before the whip lashed out at him again, barely missing him. Tony was caught in a corner as he was pummeled by the whips. Before the attack could continue, another figure grabbed the whip. In a second, the figure blasted Tony's foe off his feet. Tony looked up and saw a figure in a green and gold suit similar to his offering him a hand. Tony took the hand of the stranger and they hid behind a divider.

The figure then pressed a button, revealing his face. "So, are you sure you needed protection from just the press?"

Tony was not happy at all to see his rescuer was Brigid. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"How about saying 'thank you?' I'm saving your life!" Brigid shouted back.

Before long, their assailant had recovered and continued to barrage them with his whips.

"You were saying?" Tony replied. "This doesn't feel like a rescue."

"Hey, you'd have been dead already if not for me!" Brigid snapped.

Before the man could continue his barrage, he was slammed into a wall by a large black sedan. Brigid and Tony looked up to find a furious Pepper. "Are you out of your mind?!"

The car was struck by the razor whips as their foe tried to escape, shredding the car to pieces. Pepper tossed Tony a red briefcase before hiding behind the barricade. In seconds, Tony had suited up in a red and silver armor. Brigid blasted behind the figure and grabbed his whip, while Tony grabbed the other. Together, they fired pulse blasts, knocking the villain off his feet. Tony stood over the man and vengefully pulled out what appeared to be an arc reactor similar to his. Tony crushed it on his hand.

The villain was hauled to his feet and laughed as he spat out blood. "You lose, Stark!"

Tony scowled as he watched police haul the attacker away. He did not know why his attacker wanted him dead, but he would find out.

Brigid came up behind him with a confident smile. "I can see why you got into this business. It feels good."

Tony gave her a dark look. "Don't you give me that confident bullshit. You almost got killed."

Brigid scoffed. "I saved you! You have a weird way of being grateful."

"I didn't ask you to put yourself in danger. Now go home," Tony snapped.

"Funny, I thought you needed me," Brigid replied.

"Clearly I can't trust you. So go home before I have you locked up," Tony said furiously.

Brigid turned sour. "Well, the cat's out of the bag. Don't need to tell me twice."

Brigid stormed off before she could say something that they would both regret.