I was determined to get this out before June. Whew, this chapter was a beast for me to edit, 25 pages! However, I didn't want to break it up because I felt everything just flowed better, but you all will have to let me know! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and please continue to fav, follow and, review. It makes my day when I can interact with people about my writing. I am always striving to improve so please anything you want to share would be helpful. Hope everyone is keeping healthy and safe. A big thank you to everyone who is of help in these crazy times! XOXO

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Elena woke up just as the sun was rising the next morning, she quickly inquired to Jarvis about Tony's location but was disappointed when the A.I. informed her that he was still unavailable. Disappointed by her father's absence, Elena hurriedly checked her phone to see if he had messaged her at all. She only saw a text from Josh and decided she would open it later.

Slowly getting out of bed, Elena got ready to take Remy to the vet. She had Jarvis connect with the vet's office to make sure they had received her late-night message. Once it was confirmed that the vet would be able to take them Elena quickly got dressed into some running shorts and a Stanford gymnastics T-shirt. Elena looked in the mirror and realized her hair was a mess from all the teasing from the hairstyle last night. She hastily threw her hair up into a bun and decided that would have to do for now.

Grabbing the rest of her stuff she ordered Jarvis to have the elevator waiting for her and Remy on the third floor. She gently grabbed her pup in her arms again and walked to the waiting elevator. Remy causally licked at Elena's hand in comfort while they rode the elevator back down to the lab.

Once in the lab Elena carefully maneuvered around the broken glass, calling out, "Jarvis please have the lab drones clean up all of the glass!"

She carefully maneuvered Remy into the back of her Jeep, making sure to strap him in so that he wouldn't try to stand up and hurt himself. Remy whined and howled a little as she got into the front seat, not happy with the fact he was not upfront with her. She quickly put on some music and he calmed down, only emitting a low whine every few minutes.

As they made their way out of the garage, Elena looked at her pup in the back and felt a tug at her heart, he looked so sad. "I know you hate the backseat, but I promise to make it up to you with some whipped cream later." As if he understood, Remy let out a high-pitched bark that usually told her he was happy with a treat.

Once they had made their way to the vet, Elena quickly checked her phone hoping her father had finally texted or called, but she received nothing. She looked at Josh's text to see he had sent her the address of the restaurant for their date, and a picture of her from last saying the dress would certainly fit the restaurant.

She texted back a reply and put her phone away as the vet came in. The vet, Dr. Alisha Bava, had a calming presence to her that Elena immediately responded to. "How is Remus this morning?" She asked as she sat on her stool and rolled over to be eye level with Remy.

"Well he stepped in some shattered glass last night, I removed all the shards, disinfected, and wrapped his front paws. I wanted to bring him in to make sure none of his cuts look infected or needed extra attention." Elena explained while stroking Remy's back. Remy was patiently laying on the table, very accepting of the doctor in front of him. Dr. Bava nodded along as Elena talked and grabbed one of Remy's bandages in her hand and started to unravel it. While she inspected Elena works the vet asked, "Any chance he ingested any of the glass?"

"Remy's not one to eat anything that's not handed to him or put in his food bowl. He's not an adventurous taster or a chewer." Elena explained to her, carefully monitoring how the vet checked over Remy. Elena was keeping a careful eye, not because she didn't trust that the vet, but she was concerned Remy may react negatively to a harsh touch at such a vulnerable time. Dr. Bava knew that Remy didn't respond well to strangers in his personal space, and seemed to be doing a fine job.

"Was his face near the glass when it was shattered?" Dr. Bava continued to question now moving on to the other paw. "Not that I am aware, I was not home when the glass shattered," Elena told her a certain frustration in her voice at the end of her statement.

Dr. Bava nodded again in understanding, and check Remy's face, he shuffled away for a second but Dr. Bava was patient and waited for Remy to accept her touch. After a minute Remy was okay and leaned his head into the doctor's hand. "I see he is more accepting of strange touches since when you first brought him in. Was he any trouble with his vet up in Stanford?" The vet inquired never taking her eyes off of her patient.

"Took him a few visits but we have been working on his training. I can take him to dog parks and crowded places now. He loves kids and other dogs, it's just adults he cautious of." Elena explained to the vet. Dr. Bava had been the vet to look over Remy when Elena saved him from the shelter.

"That's wonderful, I see his weight gain is good and his eyesight fully recovered from surgery. You've taken good care of your dog Elena." Dr. Bava praised knowing that not all rescues rebounded this well and that it had to do with Elena's TLC.

Elena expressed her thanks and felt her phone vibrate with a phone call. She didn't want to be rude by answering it while talking with the vet, but she was curious if her father was finally getting in touch with her. "I'm sorry, would you mind if we paused? I want to step out to check my phone, but I don't want to leave him." Elena asked as she pointed to the phone in her hand.

"You can take the call in here I'm going to put in an order for an x-ray real quick, to check his stomach. I don't believe he ingested anything but just want to be on the safe side. We should be ready to take him in a few minutes. You can turn the TV on if you want while you wait." The woman explained pointing to the blank TV behind her. She smiled before she left the room.

Elena gave Remy a stroke with her left hand while she grabbed her phone out of her pocket with her left. The phone had stopped ringing, but she heard her text go off signaling that whoever called had most likely left her a text as well. She hoped that this was Tony finally getting back to her. Opening her texts, she only saw one message from Rhodey. Letting out another sigh of disappointment she opened the message.

It read: Do you know what your father has been up to?

Aggravated with the fact that she didn't know what Tony had been up to, Elena texted him back as fast as she could. She went to asked if Rhodey knew, but before she could finish, he sent another text telling her he was about to have a press conference, and they would talk later.

She quickly turned on the tv to the first new station she could find. The main chyron on the station read, U.S.A. Airforce addresses involvement in Gulmeria fire attack.

Rhodey stood behind a podium as reporters waited for him to begin.

Elena listened in as Rhodey explained about a pilot that was uninjured in a training exercise and that the military was unsure about who had attacked the insurgents who had commandeered the town of Gulmeria. With a sinking dread Elena knew who had interfered. The news broadcast showed the devastation that had been delivered to the village. Piles of weapons were on fire as Humvees lay overturned. People staggered about in the ruins of their village.

"What have you done?" Elena whispered to herself, as she tried to figure out the motivation behind her father's actions. Had he known the town was taken with their weapons?

Elena sent a flurry of text messages to her father asking him what the fuck was going on before the veterinarian returned. She brought in the wheeled gurney along with the tech to take Remy to the x-ray room. "Sorry Elena you know the rules," Elena nodded and gave Remy a kiss. He gave her a lick and a small howl but didn't freak out when they took him away. Elena swiftly decided to call Pepper.

"Good Morning Ellie, did you get home okay last night?" Pepper asked in true interest, a little worried that the girl hadn't texted her when she arrived home. "Morning Pepper, question are you at the house this morning?" Elena asked hurriedly. Elena had hoped the maybe Pepper had seen her father.

"No, I wasn't planning on heading over today, why do you need something?" Pepper's concern was easy to hear. Elena was now starting to worry that no one had a location on him. "Yeah, I need you to go check and see if Dad is home yet, please," Elena begged. Elena could hear her own desperation, but she couldn't stop it from bleeding into her voice. She had just gotten her father back and now she was worried he had gone and done something reckless. Again.

"Home, yet?" The confusion was evident in Pepper's tone. "Did he not come home last night?" Pepper asked her voice held a tinge of panic. Pepper knew Tony tended to stay out all night after events, but he was always home in the morning.

"No, he did but then he left before I got home. Jarvis isn't telling me anything and I need to speak with him. Remy's at the vet right now, so I need someone to make sure he doesn't go anywhere before I get back home." Elena explained rubbing her hand down her face in frustration over the situation. She could feel the start of a headache coming on.

"What's wrong with Remy?" Pepper asked ignoring everything about Tony, which brought a small smile to Elena's face. "Long story Pep, just please go check on my Dad. I'm a little worried about him." Elena gripped her phone desperate for someone to tell her where her father was.

"I'm sure he is fine Ellie." Pepper did her best to try to console the young woman. Pepper knew she had some trauma from her father's hostage situation and not hearing from him was triggering something in Elena. "Yeah, I'm not," Elena spoke harshly, tired of people dismissing her instincts. Something was not right with her father and everyone seemed to be brushing it off.

"Okay Ellie I'll check in on him, you want me to have him call you?" Pepper decided the best course of action was to placate Elena's request. She knew where Elena's worry came from, she was just concerned that this new fear would consume Elena at some point. "No, at this point, I think it better if we speak face to face. Just tell him he's not allowed to disappear for the rest of the day." Elena requested, knowing she probably wouldn't be able to control her temper if her father called her.

"You got it. I'm leaving to go now." Pepper disconnected the call leaving Elena alone clutching her phone like a lifeline. Elena felt some relief that Pepper was going over to check on Tony. Elena knew that if her father had gone and attacked a bunch of terrorists, he was not in his right mind last night.

It didn't take much longer for them to finish Remy's X-Ray and for Dr. Bava to give him a clean bill of health. She gave her a prescription ointment to use on his paws, so he wouldn't bite at them while they were healing, but other than that he was good to walk so long as he kept the bandages on.

Elena decided to drive to Starbucks to pick up some coffee. She pulled into the parking lot, parking her car far the others in order to try not to be recognized. She brought Remy into the store with her, so he could stretch his legs. The store was fairly empty for this time in the morning, but Elena was thankful she wouldn't have to wait long for her caffeine fix. There was only a few people in line a head of her.

While she was waiting in line, she felt a presence behind her that felt far too close. The person was practically breathing down her next. Elena was sure if she leaned back even the slightest, she would be touching them. Uncomfortably, Elena looked around and notice the store had not become any more crowded and there was no reason for some to be standing so close. Once it was her turn, Elena ordered herself an Americana and a cup of whip cream for Remy.

While she waited for the cashier to ring up her order, Elena discreetly turned her head over her shoulder and profiled the man behind her. He was a tall man with slightly tanned skin, normal for most Californians. He was wearing a black baseball cap with no logo and common sunglasses, with both of those items on, it was hard to see any distinguishing features. Next to her, she felt Remy's whole body vibrate, ready to bark at the man standing so close to her.

She quickly placed a hand on Remy harness, "Easy Remy." He did not ease in his posture but kept by her side. Elena speedily walked over to the waiting area to try and put some space between herself and the man. Something about him was setting both herself and Remy off. All of this was enough for Elena to put herself on guard. She tried to make sure her back was never to him.

While waiting for her coffee, Elena got out her phone and sneakily took a picture of the man. She thought for a moment and sent it to Clint, asking if this was someone his organization had sent. Elena for a moment was starting to feel overly paranoid but she figured it was better to air on the side of caution. She noticed the man kept glancing over at her. Profiling her. He was sizing her up as she had sized up him a few minutes ago. Elena tried her hardest to make it seem like she was no longer keeping track of him. Hoping that might get him to take his attention off of her. Elena's leg bounced up and down in impatience, as she waited for her drink. Suddenly the large store felt too small, too cramp. Her attention was pulled away from the man when her name was called out.

As the girl handed Elena her order, it took everything in her to accept it at normal speed and not grab it and dash away. Elena thanked the girl and attempted to juggle the drinks while fished for her keys. She looked around the store and a feeling of dread came over her when she realized she no longer saw the man in the black hat. No longer felt his piercing gaze keeping track of her. She wasn't sure if she should be relieved or nervous that he was no longer in the same pace as her. She decided not to dwell on it for too long. Once she got to her car, she would be fine.

Not wanting her hand to be preoccupied with Remy's leash, Elena let out a sharp whistle followed by, "Remy à mes côtés." This commanded Remy to stay by her side. He knew what that command meant, and dutifully he obeyed. Elena had trained Remy to be off-leash but didn't often do it in public because his breed mix made other people nervous many times.

Remy walked out along side of her as Elena quickly checked her surroundings. She paused swiveling her head to survey from one side of the lot to the other. After not seeing a sign of anyone she walked to her car. Turning her head to look behind her and double check her surrounds was making her feel paranoid. There was no one there.

After unlocking her jeep, Elena opened the passenger side door for Remy to enter. He jumped in quickly and settled comfortably on the seat. Reaching over her dog as he licked her face, she placed her coffee and his treat in her cup holders. After patting Remy on the head, she gently closed the passenger side door. After walking around the car, Elena had made it back to her side when she heard Remy let off a series of warning barks. Before she could even react, she felt her head being slammed into her window. A blinding pain consumed her head as she saw a flash of light. A cry of pain rang out from her lips but her body running on pure instinct, reacted by shoving her pointed elbow behind her.

A grunt from a deep voice echoed behind her. Elena didn't hesitate for his response, she followed her elbow jab by turning her body around, her left hand up raised up to protect her head. At the same time, she struck out her right arm landing a solid punch to his gut. His body reacting to the punch shuffled a few inches away from her. Slightly surprised by her strength, Elena quickly straightened up, got her bearings, while raising both arms to ready herself for an attack. She finally got a clear look at her attacker, she felt dread as she realized that it was the man from the store. The man was quick to recover from her strike, his body tense and look as if any moment he would attempt to run at her again. The stood apart for a slit second, but then tension was too much for Elena.

His silence while he attacked was unnerving to her. So, she decided to talk and before the words fully formed, they were out of her mouth, "You picked the wrong female to prey on limp dick!"

He growled in anger and Elena realized that while that may not have been the smartest thing to say, maybe she could use his anger against him.

The man remained silent but moved forward swinging at Elena with full force, she quickly moved her hand upward pushing his head back and kneeing him in the groin. He doubled over and ground out "Easy target my ass." He swung blindly, angrily a few more time but Elena simply evaded him. His anger at her either for her antagonizing remarks or simply for the fact that this attack was not as simple as he thought it would be, made his movements hastened and sloppy.

Elena knew she could use that to her advantage and quickly threw a punch square to his nose, speedily, following it with strongly kicking him to the ground. He landed with a thud on his back, his face bloody from the punch Elena had just landed, swiftly breaking his nose. Before Elena could react once he was on the ground.

A voice yelled out "KNIFE!"

The shout distracted Elena for a moment as she looked for the source of the sound, taking her eyes off the man in front of her. A dangerous mistake.

Quick hot pain flashed across her leg as the man haphazardly slashed at Elena's thigh. A loud hiss of pain escaped her as she reached out to cover her wound. Taking advantage of her distraction, the man quickly shot to his feet and hastily ran to his car. He escaped into a basic black Honda Civic with no plates before he peeled out of the parking lot.

Elena's ears could only hear the sound of blood pumping through her veins before she slowly lowered herself to the ground. Her spike of adrenaline quickly fading. Looking down at her thigh she let out another hiss at the discomfort and pain radiating from her wound. She recognized almost immediately though that the wound was superficial and would not require any stitches.

A woman from the Starbucks quickly was at her side, informing her that the police had been called and were on their way. Elena looked around the girl to the store front and cringed. People lining the store's front windows had their cellphones out and were taking pictures of her. Understanding Elena's discomfort with the situation the woman quickly blocked everyone's view

"Are you Elena Stark?" The girl asked her politely. Looked at the girl Elena recognized that they were probably around the same age. She gave the girl a nod.

A cry of pain released from Elena as she attempted to stand. Staring pleadingly up at the girl, "Xan you help me to the back of my car? I have a first aid kit back there." The tanned girl didn't hesitate to help Elena to her feet and help her shuffle back to her car, making sure to continue to block her from the view of the people inside the store.

As she made her way back to her car, Elena recognized the roar of Remy's bark. He was freaking out that he couldn't get to his owner. Elena was huffing quickly in an effort to catch her breath as they made their way to her car. Once Elena opened the back hatch of her Jeep, she sank down grabbing for her first aid kit. Opening it up, she quickly took a puff of her rescue inhaler before taking one deep steadying breath. Looking over at the tall athletic Starbucks worker before her she praised, "Thanks so much for the help. I'm Elena." She held out her hand for the girl to shake.

The girl accepted the hand and replied, "Tasha, and I know."

Elena chuckled and shrugged. Remy's barking now turned to howls as he tried to reach her from the back seat. Elena struggled while trying to twist her body to pet him, she let out an aggravated groan before she turned to the woman who remained in front of her. "Could you do me another favor and let him out for me?" She asked the girl kindly.

Tasha hesitated, nervous that the anxious dog would attack her in his state, "Um is it best to let him out like that?" Elena firmly let out the order, "Remy Silence," followed by two short whistles. Remy immediately calmed and sat diligently looking out into the trunk from the back seat, a low whine escaped him.

Elena looked back at the girl, "He's better now. Just open the door and stand back I've got the rest." Tasha nodded her head and followed Elena's instructions. The minute Elena heard the door open, she let out one long low whistle and followed it with "Venez à moi," in a crisp tone.

Remy not even sparing Tasha a second glance made his way around the car and jump into the trunk to be by Elena's side. He went to lick Elena's wound, but she stopped him, "I'm okay Rem." Remy let out of his sassy whines, that let Elena know he disagreed. She swiftly went back into her kit to grab a spray-on disinfectant and applied that along with a gauze bandage. The wound wasn't long or deep, so she had really lucked out.

"I don't think anyone realized who you are, they were just taking pictures because someone was attacking a girl in broad daylight." Tasha tried to offer as Elena bandaged herself up.

Elena let out a bitter chuckle, "There's no way I'm that lucky but thanks for the effort. I apricate you coming out here to help me." Elena looked up at Tasha and notice she was fiddling with her dark black hair coming out of its braid.

"Was he some crazy fan?" Tasha asked nervously.

Elena shrugged, "Who knows? Maybe he just assumed I had cash on me." Elena didn't believe her own words. She heard him say target, she knew someone had sent him after her. However, the girl in front of her did not need to be privy to that information. Her phone vibrated violently with a call. Elena motioned with her hand for the girl to excuse her while she answered the phone. Before she could speak, a voice was shouting at her. "Way to give me a god damn heart attack Trust Fund! Answer your damn phone the first time I call you after sending me a picture like that." Clint's urgent voice rang in Elena's ear.

Elena grimaced, "Sorry I was busy defending myself," sarcasm lacing through her voice.

Clint tsked, "So your instincts were dead on."

"Yeah pretty much." Her mouth popping on P in pretty. She quickly dug around for some medicine as she felt her head pounding. Elena figured that was due to her attacker knocking her head into her window in an attempt to disorientate her. Reaching up to check that area on her forehead Elena let out a pained hiss as her fingers were met with a sensitive bump sthe area surrounding it slightly tender.

"You ok Elena?" Clint's voice serious, worried that the attacker had done some damage to her.

"I got a bump on my head, possible mild concussion, a little pain but no nausea or light sensitivity. Also, a superficial gash on my left thigh from a knife wound, no need for stitches. Overall I'm okay." Elena ticked off in a professional tone as if she were listing off a diagnosis.

"Get a good look at him?" He asked assertively.

"Kept his eyes and hair covered with sunglasses and a hat. He was covered all over with black clothing which was basic and not descriptive. I noticed he had a small scar on the right of his upper lip. Lastly, he escaped in a basic black Honda with no tags." Elena explained trying to rack her brain for any other distinguishing factors she had picked up on. However, her head being slammed into her window had left her a little hazy with the whole experience.

"Very impressed that you retained all that information Trust Fund, I'm on my way," Clint clipped trying to let her know he admired her keeping her wits about her when this was not an environment, she was familiar with. He knew cadets that weren't as observant after months of training.

"No need, police had already been called," Elena tried to placate the man on the other end not wanting him to fuss about her. She had a feeling Clint could be a littler mother henish about things.

"I'd rather we handle this, who knows how the police could fuck it up. This doesn't sound random to me." Clint's tone left no room for agreement, and honestly, it gave Elena some slight comfort to know the people Clint sent wouldn't be distracted with who she was. She relented, "I guess you have a point."

"I'm not far from you I'll be there in 10." Clint hung up before anything else could be discussed. Elena sighed and leaned back to rest against the back of her back seat. Tasha remained by her car and made sure to wave off or block any passers-by who wanted to get a look at her.

"Again, thank you for your help." Elena said, making a note that she would have to figure out a way to properly thank the girl in front of her. Tasha shrugged, "No problem."

Realizing she had never given Clint her location, she was suddenly very curious how the man knew her location. The two women chatted back and forth for a little as they waited for officers to arrive. Before any police showed up, a black Acura MDX SUV barreled into the parking lot screeching to a halt next to her car. Clint quickly got out and flashed his badge to Tasha so she would realize he was an official here to help. Even though Clint's badge wasn't one of a police officer's, it looked official enough that Tasha didn't question it.

"Thanks Miss, I got her." Clint dismiss that girl at Elena's side. Tasha went to leave but Elena called out one last quick thank you. Clit waited for her to head back inside before he turned to Elena, "That's a pretty big hit on your head Trust Fund, you need medical?" He asked arms crossed as he took his sunglasses off to get a better look at her head. He moved closer to her to inspect the wound.

Moving her head away from his gaze, she looked up at him unamused, "I am medical."

Not in the mood for Elena's sass, he fixed her with a stern look. A look, Elena thought, that only a father could give, "You know what I mean." His tone was downright parental.

Elena left out a huge sigh before finally giving him an answer, "No, if I have a concussion it's mild. I'll mark in my medical history, so future doctors know if they look at my chart. My leg is fine, it should stop bleeding in the next few minutes. Waiting for medical to show up will just be a waste of both of our times." Elena was being frank with Clint. Honestly, she didn't need him to baby her about this. While she appreciated the protective nature of Clint, Elena did not need that right now.

"Any idea-" Elena stopped him, "Someone sent him, he called me a target." She gritted out annoyed that someone had sent a person after her to do go knows what with her. Were they looking just to rile her up or were they actually trying to hurt her?

Clint nodded and looked around. "Let's get you away from the crowd. I'll drive you back in your car, I can have someone pick up this one," he motioned to the car next to hers. "And to handle police when they arrive." He whistled three high pitched notes that had Remy running back into the back seat. She slowly stood and walked to the passenger side as Clint took over the driver seat.

"You think anyone knows it was you?" Clint asked looking out and seeing people still trying to get a good look at Elena. She had been far enough away that it would be hard to distinguish who she was.

Elena shrugged as she fiddled with her jacket's zipper, "Possibly, I'll call Pepper on our way back to the house and tell her to squash any stories about me." Elena's voice held a note that this was something she was used to doing.

"You can do that?" Clint knew organizations like his has the power to do that, but he hadn't known that the Starks had that power as well.

"Power of influence," Elena offered out not really knowing how else to explain it. The Starks made deals to keep certain stories quite with offers of better – juicier - pieces later down the line. This story would probably cost her a tell-all with the major networks about what she did during her father's time away.

They sat in silence for a second, only Remy's deep panting could be heard between them. Elena, had a question come back to her but paused before she asked, "By the way how did you know where I was?" She peered over at Clint to see if his face would give anything away before he answered her question. Elena was felt foolish for that thought, when Clint kept his face completely stoic. She realized Clint was capable of allowing Elena to only see the emotions he wanted her to see, "I put a tracker in your phone." He spoke to her as if that was completely normal.

"Well that's coming out," Elena told him without hesitation, already looking down at her phone to try to figure out if she saw any changes to it, not realizing when he would have had time to do that. She figured she would have to take it apart in order to find where he had placed the tracker. Elena was slightly impressed that he was that speedy with dissembling her phone, implanting the tracker, and reassembling everything probably in the span of time that she had gone to the bathroom.

Clint looked over at the young woman next to him who looked very put out, he smiled at her and teased, "Look how in handy it came today, sure you want to take it out?" Elena sent him a looked that told him she was not amused. Her eyes shouting out her annoyance, and Clint gave a light chuckle at her expense.

"Fluke incident Bird Brain, I don't need a government agency tracking my every move. If I told my dad he can't, what makes you think I want you to?" she raised her eyebrow taking a sip of her coffee before throwing the pain killers, she had grabbed earlier, into her mouth. She took a deep sip of the now lukewarm coffee, slightly put out that due to all of this, her coffee time had been interrupted. Elena was quick to reprimand herself that coffee was really not a priority at this moment in time.

Looking over at her console she saw Remy's cup of whip cream was still sitting untouched in her cup holder, luckily it didn't seem to have melted too badly. She grabbed it and turned towards her dog offering him the cup, "Here Remy you earned this, you were such a good boy." Elena praised her voice raising an octave as she spoke to her pup.

Not taking his eyes off the road Clint spoke out his disapproval, "You're going to spoil him."

Elena stuck her tongue out at him for a quick second, "So? He's my baby I'm allowed." Elena's tone sounded petulant. She crossed her arms in front of her annoyed at being called out. Remy barked in happiness as he attacked the cup in the back seat.

"No wonder the guy wasn't afraid of him. He's like a big baby." Clint called out motioning behind him at the dog that at that moment looked like he wouldn't hurt a fly. His nose was currently stuck in the Starbucks cup, attempting to lick out every drop of whip cream it held.

"Well the attacker waited till I had him in my car so I think he might have been a little scared of Remy." Elena sassed back raising her hand and squishing her thumb and pointer finger together.

Clint's jaw ticked in annoyance, "You didn't check your surroundings?" He knew that she knew better than to not do that. He couldn't help her if she was going to be reckless.

"I did, he came out of nowhere." Elena defended herself annoyed that Clint was assuming she was careless with her safety.

Clint nodded as he continued to clench his jaw in frustration, his whole posture let Elena know he was tense about this attack. "Call Pepper. Tell her you're on your way home. I'll stop at the border of your property and get out."

"You don't want to come home with me?" She smirked, knowing he wanted to remain unknown to the people in her life.

"You want to explain me to your dad?" He turned his head slightly towards her raising a questioning eyebrow towards her. His posture relaxed as he joked with Elena.

"Eh," She shrugged, "Not really. I don't have all day." Elena tried to act as if her worlds colliding at this moment would be no big deal, but they both knew Tony would freak out if knew a government agency was keeping tabs on Elena in an effort to recruit her.

Clint nodded as he kept his eyes on the road, Elena opened her phone and dialed Pepper. The phone had barely rung once before Pepper screeched over the phone as a greeting. "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU TWO BEEN WORKING ON?"

Elena tried to pull her phone away from her ear in an attempt to save her hearing, but it was too late. Her ears were already ringing. Pepper's tirade could be heard by Clint as he tried to hide his smile over Elena being yelled at, "He had BULLET holes Elena – BULLET HOLES! I thought you were swaying him away from doing anything dangerous!" Pepper volume never really faltered, it only raised on her key points.

"Pepper what are you talking about who has bullet holes? Is Dad okay? Did someone attack him?" Elena asked in concern. She was now wondering if an attack on her and an attack on her father had been coordinated for some reason. "Your father's new flying suite has bullet holes in it from butting into an active war zone." Pepper made sure seethe out the words active war zone. Her tone then turned maternal, "So help me, Elena, if you have a matching suit-"

Elena interrupted before Pepper could finish her threat, "Pepper, breath I don't have a suit." She attempted to calm down the obviously stressed-out woman. "Also, he was supposed to be using that suit for flying not for fighting in war zones." Pepper butted in hastily, "Well that really makes me feel better Elena!" Deciding to ignore the snipe Elena continued, "I was not in the know as to where he was going last night Pepper. He left us both in the dark."

Elena waited a second before she continued in order to not inundate Pepper too quickly with everything. "Now I need you to take a deep breath for me. I have something important to tell you." Elena instructed as she heard Pepper's breathing even out after she had been panting in anger.

Pepper took a few more deep breaths before she spoke to Elena again, "Okay what do you have to tell me?" Pepper braced herself for more trouble from the younger Stark. "Someone attempted to mug me in a Starbucks' parking lot."

Clint's head snapped in Elena's direction in surprise, Elena ignored his look, slightly shaking her head and continued, "I scared him off, but people may have filmed it. Can you please kill any stories that mention me. I'll do any interviews they ask for, that don't involve a deep dive on my dating life." Elena offered knowing that it would be the first thing they requested.

Pepper paused for a second trying to control her annoyance with Elena, "So you are just going to casually tell me someone tried to mug you? As if that is a completely normal thing?" Pepper asked incredulously as to Elena's bravado. Elena had brushed off some things before, but this was really taking the cake for Pepper.

"Um yeah, that was the plan. If I was hysterical you would be hysterical and that wouldn't help anyone." As Elena was talking, she noticed a black Acura SUV like the on Clint was driving earlier was behind them in traffic. She snapped her fingers to get Clint's attention and pointed behind her. Clint checked his review mirror and nodded, signing the words Coulson - my boss, to her. Elena nodded.

"You and your father really are peas in a pod. You know that?" Pepper's frustration had not seemed to dissipate. "You both are ridiculous! Elena have you called the police? Do you need me to come pick you up from somewhere?" Pepper's voice strained a bit as she scrambled to gather herself in case, she needed to make a mad dash to find Elena.

"The proper authorities have my statement. I'm fine, I'm on my way home now." Pepper made a noise as if she wanted to argue but Elena continued, "Honestly Pepper, I'm fine. Just don't let Dad leave the house okay?" Elena asked gently.

Pepper huffed out in frustration, "You two are the reason I'm going grey prematurely!" Elena laughed at that "I love you too Pepper," Elena told her lovingly knowing that Pepper was so frustrated because she cared. Pepper responded with letting Elena know she loved her as well. They both hung up after that, Elena looked out at the blurred scenery before her. Car rides had always helped to calm her down.

Silence filled the car for another moment, before Clint decided to speak, "You lied to her." No question there just a statement, but Elena knew what he was asking with that statement.

Elena shrugged, "You and I know what it was. Pepper was already hysterical after whatever my father did last night, she didn't need this added to her pile." Elena wanted to protect Pepper from all of this craziness if she could.

"You don't know what he was up to last night?" Clint asked, surprised that Elena hadn't figured it out yet.

"I can piece it together from context clues but officially no. I have don't exactly know what he was up to last night. I just know it involved some terrorists and a town in Afghanistan." She said plainly.

"He attacked the terrorist organization known as the Ten Rings. It's the same organization that held him hostage, all those months." Clint explained keeping his eyes on the road and occasionally checking to make sure Coulson was still the only one following them. Elena appreciated that Clint was giving her this information straight out.

"Any idea as to why he attacked yesterday or who even told him where they were? Did you guys approach him last night about it?" Elena was curious to know if his organization was looking to stir up trouble with her father.

"We continue to solely monitor your father. We have not made any contact with him yet about our intentions. It was that reporter that talked to you last night who confronted your father about it. She told him about the village, he seemed to take it personally from what we observed. He left to talk to Obadiah shortly after their conversation, after that we lost contact with him once he returned home." Clint was clinical in his explanation of the situation. All business. Elena was a little uncomfortable with how detached he seemed.

However, she now understood what had upset Obadiah last night, "So that's why Stane was pissed off last night with me. He assumes I was the one who told Dad about the village."

This information surprised Clint, no one had been keeping eyes on Elena after her father left the party early, "Stane was mad at you?" He turned to look at Elena with an expression that told her Clint was not thrilled with this information.

"Stane doesn't like me on a normal day but last night he seemed particularly pissed off with me. He grabbed me by my arm tightly and was a step away from threatening me with something." Elena explained taking her arm out of her jacket and showcasing the large bruise on her arm to Clint

"Interesting," Clint seethed his fingers tightening against the wheel, "Any thought as to him being behind today's attack?" Clint was slowly putting together that they needed to pay closer attention to Obadiah Stane then they had been.

Elena shrugged and hesitated, "Like I said he did threaten me last night, but I never imagined he would be capable of having me assaulted."

"We can look into him, in the meantime try to limit you and your father's interaction with him," Clint instructed. He wasn't comfortable with the idea that Obadiah Stane may have fallen through the cracks. "Easy for me, but I'll talk to my dad about it." Clint nodded in understanding "Will you tell him about today?"

Elena hesitated again before she answered, "I -um, I haven't decided yet." She still wasn't sure that she wanted to worry her father with all of this while he was working through his PTSD, from being captured.

Clint understood Elena's hesitation, "Listen I'm gonna stay in town a few more days till we figure out who is trying to attack you so if you need me just call." Elena smiled and nodded at Clint in gratitude. While she may not want to bring her family into this mess, she was glad that she didn't have to go through it all completely alone.

They drove in comfortable silence once more, till they got to the edge of the Stark property. Clint pulled over to the side and smiled while he handed her a watch, "Here Trust Fund, I got you this fitness tracker. State of the art!" Elena smiled and said, "You know I could make one of these in my sleep, right?"

"Okay brat. Get out!" He joked shoving her towards her door. Elena laughed and shook her head at him, "So sensitive Bird Brain." She teased him, sending a mocking pout his way.

They both got out of the car, Elena walked over to her driver side and smiled as Clint held the door open for her, motioning for her to enter. She smiled back at him and went to slide into her driver seat. She stopped and turned her head to look over her shoulder. She watched as Clint went to walk away but Elena stopped him by yelling out "Hey Clint!"

The muscular man stopped in his tracks and turned to look back at her in confusion, "Yeah Trust Fund?" Elena nodded her head up and smiled brightly at him, "Thanks, for everything. I'm happy you lied your way into my life." Her smile turned into a smirk at the end of her words. Clint smiled in return and nodded back at her "Me too kid, me too." Clint turned his head forward again and lifted his hand up to wave goodbye to her.

One he was back into the Acura's passenger seat Elena closed her door and restarted her car. She took a minute to reorientate herself. She gently caressed her steering wheel while she practiced some deep breathing. Once she was ready to start driving, she looked into her back seat to see Remy's face was covered in whip cream and burst out laughing. "Maybe you are a little hopeless." Remy barked out his response. Elena shook her head in amusement at her pup and then turned back and put her car into gear.

Once at her house Elena drove down the path that took her to the garage. As she pulled in Elena noticed Tony's metal suit was now colored red and gold, although the suit seemed to have already been through hell. There were scratches and dents littler through-out the suit, it looked like whatever he had done last night had been a little rough on it.

As she got out of her car, Tony call out to her from somewhere in the workshop, "Hey there Squirt! How's it hanging?" He was trying his best to be nonchalant, not sure what temperament his daughter was in currently.

Elena felt her fake smile slip into place, "Oh yah know, just doing the normal errands." Tony relaxed as her voice sounded calm and airy. "Running out for some coffee, taking a drive, and Oh yeah-" Her facial expression became serious and her tone became fiery, "Taking Remy to the vet. Because when I came home last night, he had glass in his paws due to the glass wall down here spontaneously combusting! You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" While she had asked the question both her tone and her pointed facial expression let Tony know that she already knew the answer.

He sent her an innocent smile, which resulted in Elena shooting him an icy glare. Tony slowly tried to duck behind his computer screen to avoid her chilling look. He may be her father, but his mighty daughter could be very intimidating when she wanted to be. "Yeah, I may have gone a little overboard last night." Tony rubbed the back of his neck and tried to send her an apologetic look as she moved closer to him.

Elena looked at him unimpressed, "I would call you painting your suit hot rod red a little overboard. You destroying a whole wall is a tantrum!" Her voice rising at the word tantrum. She motioned over to her car, "And during your childish tantrum, you hurt Remy!" At that moment when his name was mentioned Remy came bounding over, his paws wrapped and his tongue hanging out of his mouth goofily. He barked when he saw Tony and made his way over to him, licking his hand as soon as he reached Tony. Tony pet the dog with the hand that wasn't currently being licked.

"Remy, Halt!" Elena commanded and snap her fingers once before clapping, Remy immediately stopped licking Tony's hand and came back to Elena's side sitting dutifully by her and looked up at her. Elena looked sternly down at her pup and explained, "We are mad at him, Remy no kisses for him."

Tony rolled his eyes at her daughter's slight pettiness, "Squirt I'm sorry that Remy was hurt last night. When I destroy the lab - again, I promise to clean up after myself." He raised his hand to signal scouts honor. "Very funny Dad." Elena's voice plainly expressed her displeasure towards him.

"I promise, last night was a freak thing." He shook his head slightly. Elena raised her left eyebrow at him, "Was freeing a small town from its terrorist organization captors also a freak thing?" Tony tried to hide his surprise over the fact that she knew what he had done last night. He attempted to talk his way out it. "I ah-" Tony looked around the room for anything to help him explain. However, Elena crossed her arms at his stalling and spoke out "Yeah, didn't know I knew about that did you?" Her smug expression slightly impressing Tony.

"How did you find out?" Tony tried to process what he had missed, and what Elena had done to figure out what he was up to. "I have an above-average IQ and was able to piece together some things." She was now trying to come off breezily, but Tony knew her fury was simmering just under the surface.

Tony began to plead, "I had to help Elena." His tone bordering on desperate "That town being under attack was my fault, and I alone needed to correct it." His eyes pleading for her to understand where he was coming from. However, Elena scoffed in disbelief "Your fault? How is this your fault?" Elena was not keen on the fact that he had made this about him.

"They were using my weapons," He explained to her hoping that it would allow things to click in to place for her, but she held fast, "So because they are your weapons, you and only you have the responsibility to risk your life to fix it?" She demanded furiously. Anger filled her over the idea that he was attempting to play martyr at this moment. How could he not realize that there were people who could help him and that he didn't need to shoulder this burden alone?

Tony looked at her in desperation, "Our company approved the shipments Elena, it's my fault that town was taken over. I needed to fix this," His desperation quickly gave way to cockiness, "Besides with my suit I was never in any danger." He boasted puffing out his chest in pride a little

Elena looked at him in disbelief and gestured over to the recovering suit, "I heard there were bullet holes!" Her words told Tony that she was not buying his story. He made no effort to re convince her and merely stated "Those are no big deal," his hand waved in front of him as if wiping away the idea.

Elena realizing that a conversation with her father about his safety was no longer productive, decided to changed topics, "Who approved the shipment?"

She was curious if her suspicion was the same as his. Tony let out a defeated breath and looked over at his daughter, shame radiating from him, "I believe it was Obie." He became solemn as he spoke those words. He was not really sure if he had believed it until he had said the words out loud. Elena nodded her head in understanding, she knew how hard this would be on her father if Stane ended up being the one who went behind his back. Never the less, Elena knew she could no longer keep her suspicions to herself. Sensing her opportunity, she let out a sigh out, "Dad we need to talk about Obadiah."

"I don't think we can trust him any more Ellie." He looked upset at this notion, hurt shining in his eyes. Elena softened her expression towards her father, to him this would be like losing another father figure. Nervousness twisted in her stomach, Elena knew her next words would not sit well with him, "I'm sorry Dad truly I am, but-" she paused. "I don't think you ever could trust him. I think he's been after the company since you took over."

"What do you mean?" His disbelief was evident. Elena let out a sigh and made her way closer to her father, "Every instinct is telling me the Obadiah has been attempting to undermine you for a while. I think if he had his way you would have remained missing and I would be out of the picture." Tony shook his head at her statement.

"I don't think he would go that far Elena. Obadiah has done a lot for us. He was there for me when your mother died, making sure the company was looked after. Hell, my old man trusted him. I think he has just become consumed with greed." Tony couldn't fathom that the man who was a second father to him would try to take his legacy from him. He had to believe that Obie had just lost his way.

"Dad," Elena pleaded, "I'm begging you to think on it. Whether it has always been his motive or it's a new development you have to watch your back. Please." She implored to him hoping he would not remain blind on this matter. The silence filled the space between them as Tony thought on it for a moment, "Okay we lay low, gather some information."

Elene let out a breath she hadn't realized she had held in, "That's all I ask."

Tony took a minute to look over his kid and realized something was off, "What happened to your head that looks like a nasty bump?" And before she could think of telling him the truth she spewed out, "Oh, just a kickboxing injury." Her tone indicating that it was nothing of concern.

"Better be careful Squirt don't want to damage the big beautiful brain of yours. Might lose the cure for cancer or something!" He joked with her, Elena was glad he had taken her words at face value.

She smiled at him and his concern, "Thanks, Dad." She took a beat before she moved the topic of conversation away from herself, "I think we owe Pepper an apology for keeping her out of the loop. Oh, and scaring her to death with all the bullet holes." Her tone teasing towards the end of her statement

Tony shrugged, "Eh like I told her, she has seen worst from me." His smirk at her held as Elena's face deadpanned.

"Worse than bullet holes?" Elena sounded disgusted, "I don't think you pay Pepper enough."

Tony let out a hearty chuckle, "I probably never will, considering all she does for us." Elena smiled at the heartfelt compliment from Tony. "We owe her everything," Elena spoke fondly of the woman who helped keep the two of them together.

"Yeah Squirt, I think we do."

Elena looked over at the new red suite being repaired in the corner of the workshop and look wistfully at it. "Hey, Dad?" Her tone imploring before she even really asked a question. Tony looked up from his area in curiosity, "Yeah Squirt?"

Elena paused mulling over what she wanted to say, or if she even wanted to ask it, "What if we made a medical super suite for me? I don't want to fight in it, but I think we could really do some good." Tony thought over her words for a second. He decided he could hear out her ideas. "What did you have in mind?"

She brightened at his question and went into a tirade over all her ideas for a medical emergency suit. She showed him schematics and blueprints she had been making for her ideas, pouring her passion and intellect into every crevice of her design. Tony took a step back and watched her in her element for a moment. He felt nothing but pride over Elena. She was better than he could have ever hoped for. He felt in his gut that whatever this brewing conflict was with Obadiah, he had to make sure she was protected at all cost, unsure what he would do if she were to be harmed because of him.

Once she was out of breath, Elena paused to look over at Tony to see what he thought of all her ideas, "Well?' He paused for a moment to torture her but with a wide smile he replied, "I'll think about it."

Over the next few days Elena and Tony worked on his suit, they spent their time designing in tandem. One idea flowing to the next, as they worked in such sync that they weren't sure where one's work ended and the other's began. Elena also continued to work on designs for her own suit. She didn't think she wanted it to be bulky or super weaponized. She had no desire to fight, but she did realize that she may need a thing or two to help her if she got herself into a bind. She also wanted her suit equipped with her nanospray. She still hadn't perfected the formula, but she was close to calibrating the nano-bite technology needed for her design. She believed her father's company vastly under used nanotech. There were so many possibilities with it that they had yet to look into. Most of them medical of course.

Elena was in her corner messing with Remy when Pepper came barging into the lab. She glared over at Elena and said firmly, "I need to speak with your father alone. Ellie, please go upstairs."

Not even hesitating Elena jumped up from her seat, "See yah!" She yelled out as she threw up a peace sign to her dad. As she and Remy fled speedily to the elevator, Elena heard her father call out, "Traitor!" before the doors closed behind her.

Once upstairs with nothing to really do Elena took a look outside. The sun was glistening off of the pool and looked so inviting. She decided she would take advantage of the gorgeous Malibu weather, while she could, and go for a swim. She quickly changed and was outside with her new book. A new biography on one of her favorite people in history, Peggy Carter. She walked outside with all of her things, Remy following with a towel of his own hanging from his mouth.

Before she could get settled Elena's phone went off, startling her. Elena threw her stuff on to the lounge chair in front of her haphazardly while attempting to answer her phone. Placing her phone between her should and her ear, she let out a hurried hello, as she began to lay out her towel. The voice on the other end immediately jumped in, "So I was thinking, if I inject caffeine into my veins, I can bypass coffee and just stay awake forever." Josh's voice came through the phone, a tinge of desperation and tiredness bleeding through. Elena laughed as she stretched a little on her chair, "What hour are you on?"

"24, no 48, I don't know anymore." He complained, "I went in when the sun was up and now it's up again. Maybe it never went down and I'm only on hour 2, who knows what time is anymore!" he paused before asking, "How are you?"

Elena looked around at her setting and smiled, "I don't want to tell you." She teased. Josh took the bait, "Why? Trying to remain mysterious?" He flirted.

"No…" She drew out and then mockingly pouted, "You'll be mad." Her voice bordering on whiny.

"Now why would you think that?" He laughed at her voice. She let out a satisfied sigh before answering, "Because I'm currently stretched out by my pool with a good book soaking up some vitamin D." Her voice airy as she depicted her surroundings to him. Laughing as he let out a frustrated groan.

"I told you" She sang out laughing over his frustration.

"Ugh, you can't tell me shit like that when I'm stuck in a sad dingy on-call room, at who knows what time." Elena laughed again at him and smiled brightly, enjoying teasing him just a bit.

"You are a cruel woman Elena Stark," Josh mockingly complained to her. Pulling the phone closer to her, Elena spoke out sensually, "Oh? However can I make it up to you?" Her voice smooth and silky. Elena was almost sure she heard a small hum of approval from the other end of the phone. At that moment she did, she wasn't sure if the sudden heat she felt was from her conversation, or from the glow of the hot sun above her.

There was silence for a moment before he responded, "Well if I weren't such a gentleman I could think if a few ways." His tone was deep and serious. Elena smile widened, "Well it's a good thing you are a gentleman than isn't it."

Josh let out a disappointed sound, "Unfortunately." Elena turned over in her chair, her skin prickling with excitement, "It such a shame you can't be here, I could really use some help rubbing some lotion on my back. It's so hard to reach," She voice dropped as if to tell him a secret, "You know I have to lay on my stomach with the top untied to I don't get any of those pesky tan lines. Can't be seen with those."

Josh's voice strained on the other end, "No of course not."

Elena smirked knowing she was winning this round between them "I can't really reach back unless I want to give people a show, hence why I could use your help putting lotion all over my sun-kissed backed"

"Oh, so you were designed only to torture me, is that it, Miss Stark?" Joshed asked a little taken away at how brazen Elena was. He knew she wasn't shy, but he was happy she wasn't holding back. "Why whatever do you mean?" She donned a fake southern accent for the question causing Josh to let out a laugh.

"You just wait till we are on the same side of the country, and we will see who is the bigger tease." Elena felt a tingle of pleasure hit her with the word tease. Josh's voice became smooth, "I'm sure I could find a way to wind you up."

Elena trying to act as though his words had no effect on her answered, "Oh yeah, how do you think you would go about doing that?" Without missing a beat his responded, "And give away my secrets so fast?"

Elena let out tsk, "You wouldn't know what to do with me if you had me." Before Josh's reply could be heard there was a loud clearing of a throat followed by, "Who has you?" Elena whipped her head around to see her father standing by the glass sliding door. A frown etched across his face as he leaned against the door frame with his arms cross.

Elena quickly said into the phone, "I've been made. Text me the next time you're free." Josh was quick to reply, "Copy that good luck, Elle." She hung up the call and glanced away from her father.

"You want to tell me who was on the end of that phone call," His tone disapproving as he remained at the door with his arms crossed.

Elena rolled her eyes, "Not particularly. You want to tell me what Pepper was yelling at you about?" She sassed him. Tony rolled his eyes back in reply answering, "Not particularly."

She let out a hum, "Thought not."

"I needed her to run to the office for a few things, and she wanted to remind me that I have to stop acting like I'm alone in all this." Tony sat down on the chair with her, taking a quick glance at her book. He focused on the cover, lifting the book up to point at the female on it, "You know my old man knew her."

Elena pushed up and maneuvered so she was now sitting up on the chair, "Really? That's so neat! I like her, she doesn't seem to take crap from anyone." Tony laughed and got a thoughtful look on his face as he recollected one of the stories his father had told him when he went on one of his admiration tirades about Captain America. "Yeah, he told me that one time she was so pissed at Captain American, that she shot a gun at him."

Elena laughed at that and responded, "Kick-Ass!" Tony looked out thoughtful before responding "Yeah, kick ass."

There was a peaceful silence, between them before Tony gripped Elena's ankle lightly, "You know you are the most important thing to me, right?" Tony asked her, trying to send out his sincerity. She covered his hand with her, "I know Dad."

"I know sometimes I get my priorities mixed up and get preoccupied, but you are my endgame kid." He smiled at her fondly squeezing her ankle a little tighter.

Elena looked at Tony noticing there was something he was leaving unsaid, "You okay Dad?"

Tony let out a breath and nodded, "Pepper's in my head" he motioned his left hand around his head to indicate what he meant, "I think she's right, but at the same time I'm conflicted. Does me helping others mean, that I risk hurting you?" Elena looked uncertain for a minute before she gave him her reply, "Depends are you helping others to be of help, or are you doing it for selfish reasons?"

Tony looked upset at the question, "I don't mean to be selfish." Elena nodded, and moved her hand to rest on his shoulder now in comfort, "I think your heart is in the right place. I understand you thought it was your duty to fix the wrongs our company had caused. I admire that decision. Do I like that it put you in harm's way? No. But so long as you're doing this for the betterment of mankind and not to feed your ego then I'm on board." She spoke to him with such seriousness, Tony forgot how young she really was for a moment

He let out a quick chuckle, "You have always been my rock, Squirt. I'm so thankful for you. I know I'm shit at showing my appreciation, but I am trying. Really trying for what seems like the first time in a long while."

"I've never felt left behind by you. I knew we weren't normal and what we have works for us. Not everyone understands it. I'll say it again though, I think we hurt Pepper by leaving her out."

"Yeah, our bad" Tony looked upset for a second before taking a deep breath. "She let me know that you have been leaving me out too. I understand why."

Elena looked at her father in confusion, "Meaning?"

"Meaning that people I've put my faith in have been treating you wrongfully. Meaning that you feel you have to protect me from arguments and threats. Meaning you sometimes act like the parent when I should be." His voice growing a little tenser every time he said the word meaning.

"I just didn't want to hurt you." She said brokenly. "You love Obadiah, the last thing I wanted was to take someone you love away from you. You've had enough of that." Her voice hitched a little with her last statement.

"He's doing that, not you Elena. He is the reason for the end of that relationship." He said vehemently.

"You keep things from me to protect me and I keep things from you for the same reason. it's a vicious cycle on both our parts." She explained to him sending a strained smile his way. Tony looked at his daughter, "Maybe we work to putting a stop to that." Elena looked back at her dad and nodded, "Maybe we do."

Tony got a wicked grin on his face, "Let's start by you telling me about whoever was on the end of that phone call that no father should ever hear." He pretended to gag a little. Elena groaned and covered her face with her book, "Oh god, how much did you hear?"

"I opened the door at rubbing lotion." Elena slumped in her chair, "I'm going to go drown myself in the pool." Tony let out a big chuckle. Remy out of nowhere left the chair and went to retrieve something from the corner of the porch. He returned with a ball and dropped it in Tony's lap. Tony quickly threw it into the pool and Remy jumped in after it with a splash.

"I know you are growing up and becoming one hell of an adult and I'm sorry if you have grown up faster than you were meant to," Tony said, worried that he had done wrong by her growing up.

"My brain is partially to blame for that. Besides I like who I am. I didn't need a normal childhood. That would have been boring." She scoffed. Tony laughed as he patted Elena's ankle and stood up to stretch, his arch reactor shining through his white lone sleeve shirt.

"You're a good kid Squirt, one of the best I've made. I think I'm going to have to be visiting New York a lot more." Elena let out a scoff at that, "Hey! I still need space Old Man." Elena argued. Sending a mock glare over her sunglasses.

"No space if there is a boy in the picture. I'm too good looking to be a grandfather." He mocked.

Elene gave him an unamused look, "Lovely Dad." He shook his head, and went to stand up, "Deep talks make me hungry. You want pizza or something?"

Elena looked at her watch seeing it was later in the day than she had realized. "Maybe in a little bit."

"Copy that I'll go look for a snack."

Before Elea could respond she received a text, looking at her phone she saw it was from Clint. It read: Hey let's work on your response time with some workouts tonight.

Elena quickly responded that she wanted to spend some time with her Dad, but she was up for a later spar session. Once Clint had confirmed that around 8 was fine, Elena went back into the house to grab some coconut water. Once inside she saw her Dad blending up some green juice.

"Glad you took my recommendation seriously Old Man," She smiled as she pulled her water from the fridge before grabbing a metal straw to pop into the box. He looked at her smugly, "See I listen."

"Yeah when you want to," She stuck her tongue out at him. He mumbled, "Brat," as he took the blender and pour its contents into a tall glass. "So, I was thinking we should look into power alternatives for the suit, we don't want it to max out your new heart. Also, you should make the facemask have an emergency hatch for removing the face cover, in case something happens, and you pass out, you won't suffocate from lack of air." She explained her reasoning.

"Noted. I'll look into some calibrations. Power sources may have to be put on the back burner for right now?" He compromised. "Maybe you could make the suit absorbent? Be able to pull from other sources?" She offered him.

"What would have that much power for me to absorb?" He questioned her trying to pull another idea for her, but she simply shrugged, "Not sure but I think it's worth looking into." He thought for a moment. "I agree. I'll get on it!"

"Sounds good. I'm going to get some more sun and go for a swim. You want to order so the food will be here in an hour?" Elena asked as she took another sip of her drink.

Tony nodded at her and began to drink his juice while he walked towards the elevator to take him downstairs. "Oh! I think I'm going to fit in a training session around 8 if that's okay?" She called out to him, knowing that she didn't really need his permission. However, she didn't want to bail on him, if he had thought they were going to spend some quality time together.

"Sounds good. Pepper should be back later tonight with the stuff I sent her for, and we can all go over the game plan so no one is left out." Elena nodded at him as he turned his back to her, "Sounds good to me Old Man!"

Time seemed to be speeding by for Elena. After swimming a few laps in the pool, the pizza had arrived. Elena and Tony sat crossed-legged on the floor watching Return of the Jedi, as they ate. Elena even made a joke that with all the technology her father had invented she was surprised he hadn't found a way to make a real-life lightsaber. They bonded over their franchise rankings, both agreeing Attack of the Clones was their least favorite.

After the movie was over Elena checked how much time she had before her session with Clint the decided to jump in the shower real quick, not wanting to smell like chlorine when she was working out. Once she was done, Elena threw on her workout outfit, which consisted of some compression shorts, a sports bra, and her zip-up sweat wick jacket. Elena was surprised when she looked out and saw that it was dark already, the day had passed by so fast.

She was about to put on her sneakers when all of a sudden Remy started to freak out by barking rapidly and tossing his head around as if to shake something off of him. He started zooming around the room and continued barking wildly. Elena dropped her shoes and quickly tried to grab him, but he just kept zooming around continuously barking, "Remy what on Earth?"

He soon began to howl, and Elena suddenly realized that her father must be working on something ultrasonic that was freaking Remy out. She quickly put Remy in the bathroom, hoping to prevent him from zooming around or hurting himself. He continued to howl and bark as she closed the door. Annoyed that her father was once again upsetting her dog, Elena went to go yell at him. Quickly she ran out of her room, making her way to the staircase as she yelled out, "Hey Old Man you're freaking my dog out can you knock it-" Just as her foot touched down on the second step, her whole body seized up. Unable to move, Elena lost all control of her functions and like a piece of lead, her body dropped down. She quickly lost consciousness as she felt the pain of her body hitting a solid object.

Elena's body slammed down the steps, thudding hard as she hit every step. There was a sickening crack as her body landed in an unnatural heap at the bottom of the staircase. The fall had clearly rendered Elena unconscious. A small pool of blood began gathering under her head, darkening her auburn hair as it matted to it. Painful wheezing sounds could be heard from her as her lungs struggled under the paralysis. Her left leg was angled unnaturally as her body lay supine against the marble floor.

The room held a beat of deafening silence before a voice broke out, "Right well now that she is taken care of, it's on to business." Obadiah didn't hesitate to continue pulling out Tony's reactor as the father was forced to remain motionless while staring at his daughter's injured, unmoving body.

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UH OH! Like I wrote earlier this took me forever to write and I hope I did the fight scene well! I really liked how this chapter evolved and I hope you did as well! Thanks to all of my reviewers, followers and favs, keep 'em coming please!

Pun Queen – Not boatloads, but not pup kisses for him! Glad you came back to read the update! Thanks for taking the time to review, much appreciated!