TONY
"PEPPER! ASPEN!" Tony moved through the smoke and flames, searching for his wife and daughter, desperately needing them to both be fine.
"Sir, building implosion unavoidable. Count Down at twenty three minutes."

"Pepper! Aspen!" Tony coughed, and fell to his knees, crawling the rest of the way to Aspen's room. There he saw her, his wife, dead on the floor, blood seeping from her ruby lips. "Pepper!" He gathered her into his arms, tears coming. Sobs attacked his body.

"Count down at twenty minutes."

"Pepper..." He kissed her forehead, and her cheeks and then her lips, begging and hoping that his touch would bring the life back to her body, but it was too late. Then he remembered Aspen. "Aspen!"

"Daddy!" A wail came from Aspen's closet.
"I'm coming, baby!" He cried, laying Pepper down gently and throwing a flaming board out of his way, he reached the closet door and tried it. Totally stuck.

"Daddy! I can't bweath!" Oh god, no. I can't lose them both! "Daddy!"
"Stop breathing so hard, honey! I'm coming."

"Count down at seventeen minutes." Tony slammed himself against the door. No use. He had to use his brain. He found a large piece of metal from the structure and slammed it on the handle until there was no handle left. The door finally gave way. Coughing, Tony grabbed his blond haired daughter, whose cheeks were streaked with tears, and ran.

"Count down at ten minutes." I'm sorry, Pepper. They were out of the house in minutes, but Tony kept running. I've lost her. I've lost her. I've lost her. I'm such an idiot. Such a fool. I felt too safe.

He didn't stop running until he heard the explosion. He turned around and fell to his knees, sobbing, his daughter wailing in his arms. He'd lost almost everything in just one night. The only comfort was the tiny form within his arms. Together their sobs pierced the night stars with agony.

*** ***

"Tony. Wake up. Wake up." Tony blinked.
"Cap."
"How are you?"
Tony chose not to answer the painful question. Instead, he asked, "Where's my daughter?"

"Aspen is in ICU right now, but she appears to be recovering. She breathed in a lot of smoke, they're clearing her lungs." Tony breathed a sigh of utter relief.
"The house couldn't be saved though." So much for a normal lifestyle. So much for leaving work at work.
"What am I going to do, Steve?" Tony whispered, staring at the white ceiling above him.

"You could move into Avengers tower like everyone else." Steve suggested.
"I can't do that to Pepper. I promised her I'd keep Aspen safe. I promised her I wouldn't involve Aspen in my work."
"Tony, the best way to keep Aspen safe is to keep her in the highest security structure in all of New York." Steve frowned. Tony shook his head.

"I promised Pepper I wouldn't take her to work."
"Tony, we all live there. It's not just work. I'm on floor twenty-three, remember? Clint's on floor 20, and Natasha's on floor 21. Thor and Jane are on floor 22, and Bruce is on floor 24."
"I know." Tony sighed.
"You could have floor twenty-five again. It's been empty since you and Pepper left. Anyone who wanted to harm you or your daughter would have to get through five whole floors of avengers before getting to you."
"Just let me think, Steve, please?"

"Alright. Whatever you want. Do you want to see anyone else? They're all in the hall."
"Only my daughter." Tony snapped.
"Sorry. I can't do anything for you on that matter." Steve shrugged. "I'll have someone check in on you a little later. Try and get some sleep."
How can I sleep, when all I dream about is her beautiful face?

*** ***

"Mr. Stark?" Tony felt the touch of soft finger tips on his wrist before he heard the voice. He sat up straight and swung his arm to take out the intruder, but he only met air. She had ducked. Then he remembered where he was, and forgetting any anger or fear within him he only held the feeling of awe, that someone could be that fast.

"Who are you?" A tall young woman, dressed in SHIELD attire, was still holding his wrist. She had long black curls, and piercing blue eyes.
"Someone you really shouldn't mess with." She snapped, "You are so lucky you snapped out of it, because I was so ready to throw you across the room."

"Woah! Woah!" Tony held up his hands, but she still held onto his wrist with her two fingers and her thumb. "I think you've determined that I'm alive." Tony said, realizing she had just been taking his pulse. She quickly withdrew her hand and straightened her dark blue shirt. She smiled lightly and shook her head.

"Sorry. The Captain sent me. He needed someone to check up on you, I guess I was just the first available person. I'm not medical personnel or anything."
"What was your name?"
"Agent Oath, at your service." She smiled, saluting.

"Nice to meet you. Where is everyone?"
"They're all at Avengers Tower now. Something about cleaning up a room for you."
"Are they now?" Tony smiled. "I don't suppose, Agent Oath, that you know anything about my daughter's recovery?" "Actually, I heard she's just woken up-"

Tony was out of bed in an instant, ripping the needle out of his arm, and dashing out into the hall in just his white tank-top and blue boxer shorts. "Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark!" He didn't care that his leg was cramping, and his arm was burning like hell, and his neck ached like no tomorrow. He didn't even care when he saw the blood seeping from the side of his shirt. He had to see Aspen. He just reached the window that gave a view of her ICU room, and he saw her blond hair before Agent Oath tackled him, grabbing his arms, and pulling them tightly behind his head. His burn felt like fire. He struggled, but even with just one hand Agent Oath held him fast. Who was this Black Widow-like warrior woman?

"Sir?" She spoke into her ear piece. "Mr. Stark got out of bed and all the way down the hall before I could stop him. If I could have some assistance...? I think his wound has opened up."
"I just want to see my daughter." Tony moaned.
"Shush. You've hurt yourself far more than you need to be. And if you keep talking maybe I'll hurt you some more." Oath hissed. There was a dull thunk, and before the pain from the whack could reach Tony's nerves, everything went black.

*** ***