Chapter 100! Note at the end.
As always, please review :)
Izzy breathed out a soft sigh as she sat on the pier, looking out over the lake. The light was just barely starting to break, and birds were starting to wake the area with their morning song. It was peaceful.
Pulling the sleeves of her hoodie, actually Johnny's hoodie, around her hands, she tried to not let her thoughts drift to what today would bring.
About ten minutes later, she heard nearly silent footsteps approaching behind her, alerting her to the presence of her favorite archer before a coffee cup was lowered into her line of sight. Looking up, she smiled and took the hot cup into her hands, clasping it tightly to warm her fingers.
"Thank you." She said taking a sip.
Clint dropped down beside her, still careful not to get too close to her. It was awkward to her, the space that had been formed between them, but she understood where Clint came from as well. He was filled with self-hatred and remorse over his actions, but she still didn't judge him for it.
"How did you sleep?" He asked.
She really hadn't. "Fine." She said instead.
Clint gave her an immediate side eye. "Try again." He said.
Izzy sighed. "I slept for about an hour." She said.
"Were you in the workshop?" He asked. She shrugged. "How? FRIDAY was supposed to have shut you out."
"You're forgetting at the end of the day I was one of FRIDAY's creators." Izzy replied. "I know how to get around a command, especially one that I didn't make." At the deep frown that had set in, she continued. "I can't sleep, Clint. If I'm not in the workshop it means I have to be awake all night just thinking."
"It's been three days Zee." Clint said, not unkindly. "Everyone is worried. You're hurting yourself."
Izzy picked at a loose thread on her sleeve. "It's not that I don't want to sleep…" She said quietly.
Clint sighed. "I know." He said. "Look, I know I'm not the one to talk about dealing with problems. Sleep deprivation and fixation is only a slightly better coping strategy than what I did."
"Only slightly?" Izzy asked with a chuckle.
Clint laughed briefly before sobering. "I am serious though Isabel. You need to sleep." He said. "We don't want to lose you too."
Izzy's throat clenched as she fought the unexpected wave of tears that threatened to overwhelm her. "I won't let that happen." She said. "You're right. Three days is a little long to go without a siesta."
Clint nodded, seeming more satisfied. He looked out over the water. "It's peaceful here." He said. "I can see why Tony chose it."
"You when I was searching for you in the beginning." Izzy said. "I would come back here a lot and I would just sit here on the deck. Dad would come out and sit with me most of the time."
"I'm sorry kid." Clint said quietly.
Izzy shook her head. "Don't be." She said. After a second, she looked over at him. "How are you doing?"
Clint looked over at her and smiled sadly, the dark circles under his eyes prominent. "About the same." He replied.
Nodding, she leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder, he rested his cheek against the top of her head and they just stared out at the water in companionable silence, both reflecting on the losses.
"Is Laura bringing the kids from the hotel?" She asked. She felt him nod. "You could have stayed with your family…I don't want to take more time away from them than you already lost."
"You're my family too kid." Clint replied softly.
Feeling a couple tears slip down her cheeks, she gripped his hand tightly, smiling.
After a minute, the silence had to be broken. "Come on, we need to go get ready." Clint stood up and held out a hand to her, pulling her to her feet. He smiled and tugged at the brim of her well worn Nationals cap. "I can't believe that you still have this."
Izzy grinned. "Of course, I do." She replied straightening it. "You know that taco truck is still in DC."
"Seriously?" Clint grinned. "I miss that food."
"We need to go back." She said as they walked to the cabin.
Even though it was brief, it was nice to have a conversation that just felt normal for once.
…
Izzy stood in front of her bathroom mirror brushing her hair. It was long, longer then she every really cared to keep it. Even as a child it stayed between shoulder length and middle of her back. Now it was down to her waist and she really didn't know what to do with it, but the menial task of brushing it was keeping her mind occupied for now and not focused on the black dress that hung on the back of the door behind her.
As she pulled the brush through her raven locks, she thought back to being a little girl with Pepper was standing to the side while she gave instruction to Tony on how to put Izzy's hair into a simple French braid.
A knock on the door brought her back to the present.
"Zee, you okay?" Johnny's voice drifted through the door.
Clearing her throat, she straightened. "Yeah." She said. "I'm almost ready."
Izzy quickly tied her hair back in a loose half ponytail, leaving most of her curls to cascade down her back and got dressed, giving herself a quick once over in the floor length mirror before exiting the room to see her husband sitting patiently on the edge of the bed, dressed in his black suit. He stood up as she approached.
Not knowing what to say, she simply wrapped her arms around him, and he returned the embrace, knowing that she didn't want him to say anything right now.
After a few minutes, the left the room to see Pepper coming up the stairs.
"Izzy, can you go check on Morgan please?" Pepper asked. "I have to go talk with Rhodey."
"Sure." Izzy said. She looked at Johnny. "Can you go check on everything please? I'll be right down."
Johnny kissed her cheek. "Of course." He squeezed her elbow gently and followed Pepper down the stairs.
Izzy went to her little sister's room and knocked on the door. Opening it, she saw Morgan sitting on her trying to buckle her shoes. "Hey Madam Secretary." Izzy said. "Want some help?"
Morgan nodded and held out her shoes. Izzy sat down on the bed and Morgan turned, propping her little feet up on Izzy's lap. Izzy knew that Morgan could buckle her shoes, she had seen the girl do it a hundred times, but she knew the little girl was just stalling.
"You okay?" Izzy asked.
Morgan nodded, but her unusual somberness belied that.
Once the shoes were finished, Izzy slid off the bed and kneeled down, so she was at eye level with her sister. "You know that it's okay to be sad right?" She said.
"Yeah." Morgan said quietly.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Izzy asked.
Morgan looked down for a moment and then looked back up. "I miss daddy." She said, little lower lip wobbling.
Izzy's heart broke for her sister. Coming back to tell Morgan that Tony was dead brought back every memory and feeling that Izzy had from when she was given the news at eight after he went to Afghanistan. The only difference was this time he wasn't coming back. "I know baby." Izzy said hugging her tightly feeling Morgan's arms wrap around her neck. "I miss him too." She pulled back and looked at Morgan. "And that's okay to miss him. But you know what? We're gonna talk about him, we're going to remember all of the good things."
"Tell stories?" Morgan asked.
Izzy smiled. "So many stories." She agreed. "He'll always be with us. I promise."
Morgan gave a small smile. "Okay." She said.
Leaning forward, Izzy kissed Morgan's cheeks before scooping her up into her arms. She turned as Morgan rested her head against Izzy's shoulder to see Pepper leaning against the doorway smiling with tears in her eyes.
Izzy pulled Pepper into a tight hug as the red head wrapped her arms around both her daughters. They were going to be okay.
Proof that Tony Stark has a Heart
Izzy stared at the emblazoned words on the original Arc Reactor as it floated in the middle of the flower arrangement, moving further out into the lake. She was crouched on the dock, her arms around Pepper and Morgan after they had released it together. Though she hadn't been able to completely look up as the descended the steps from the house after hearing Tony's final recording, she could feel the presence of their family standing behind them.
Straightening up, Izzy turned feeling a little numb as she hugged Rhodey tightly.
Everyone spread out, each offering comfort but space as well. There were some farewells that had to be made, not everyone was staying.
She exchanged brief words with Hank Pym, Janet Van Dyne, Hope and Scott before their departure. Pym wasn't a man of many words, but he offered his respect and thanks.
"When things settle down, do you think I could get a moment of your time?" Izzy asked. "There are some important matters to discuss."
Pym nodded and they departed as a young man approached.
Izzy embraced Harley. "Thank you for coming." She said, smiling at the once wide-eyed kid who was now getting ready for college.
"Of course." Harley said. "I'm— "
Izzy smiled gently as he broke off, choked up. "I know." She said. She sniffed slightly and offered a bright smile. "When you graduate you have to promise me that you'll give SI a fair shot at scooping you up, yeah?"
Harley smiled, chuckling slightly. "Where else would I go? Oscorp?" He asked.
Izzy laughed and saw him off. She then turned to Secretary Ross as he approached.
"My condolences Miss. Stark." He said.
"Thank you." Izzy replied. She didn't quite know what to say to this man, she had despised him for so long but now it was just too tiring.
Ross, for his part didn't seem any more comfortable, but he surprised her by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Your father was a hero. He will forever have the gratitude of the world." He said.
Izzy nodded. "Thank you." She said.
As she walked back to the house, her eyes sought Morgan, smiling once she saw the little girl sitting with Happy on the porch. She turned her attention to T'Challa, Shuri, and Okoye.
Shuri wasted no time in embracing her tightly. The two didn't need to share words, even after five years the two understood one another well enough that all the emotion was there.
Okoye offered her condolences and ushered Shuri off to the waiting car leaving her alone to speak with T'Challa.
"Nakia sends her comfort and prayers." T'Challa said. "She is sorry that she couldn't make it today."
"It's okay." Izzy smiled. "I'm glad you guys are here."
T'Challa placed a hand on her shoulder. "If you or your family should ever need anything, you need only to ask." He said.
Izzy smiled. "I know." She said. "Thank you." She grinned after a second. "Is it against Royal Protocol for me to give you a hug."
T'Challa smiled and the two embraced as friends before he left.
Thor was leaving with the Guardians to head back to Norway, so she embraced him tightly. There weren't a lot of words to be said at the moment, but a promise passed silently that should either need the other, it wasn't a question that they would be there, always a team, always family.
Next farewells were exchanged with Carol, Hill, and Fury. It was brief, but it wasn't uncharacteristic, however, before they left, Izzy stopped Fury.
"I need to ask a favor from you." She said producing a small glasses case, holding it out. "There are instructions inside, but when the time is right…can you give these to Peter?"
Fury looked at the case. "Why don't you want him to get it from you?" He asked.
"Because I don't want him to feel like he has to take them." Izzy said. "He will if I give it to him."
Fury nodded. "Okay." He agreed.
"Thank you." Izzy said.
Speaking of Peter. She saw May talking with Pepper, but she had to look for a moment to find the spider-kid. What she found was something that would melt her heart to the day she died.
Peter was by one of the biggest trees that stood in front of the lake. He had webbed up two swings to hang from a branch and was pushing Morgan and Nate Barton.
Before she could approach them, she heard a soft voice call her name. She didn't need to look, recognizing the accent immediately. Turning she saw the Twins approaching.
Wanda hugged her first. "How are you holding up?" She asked.
Izzy smiled faintly. "I'm okay." She said. Her gaze softened. "How about you?"
When Vision had disappeared, Izzy didn't have to guess to know that Wanda was the destination. Izzy had five years to mourn Vision, for Wanda it was still very fresh.
Wanda shrugged, not really replying. Izzy frowned slightly but she didn't want to push her.
Looking at Pietro, he gave her a halfhearted smirk. "Will your husband be angry if I give you a hug?" He asked, teasing lightly.
Wanda elbowed him but Izzy laughed.
"No." Izzy said opening her arms.
All the history aside, Pietro did give great hugs. Izzy smiled and squeezed him tighter before releasing him. She looked up into his blue eyes. "Are we okay?" She asked.
Pietro smiled genuinely. "Yeah." He replied. He gave her a cheeky grin. "Besides, you're too old for me now anyways."
Despite everything, Izzy busted up laughing and gave him a playful shove. Shaking her head, she was glad that she hadn't lost the two as friends.
"Look Izzy." Morgan called.
Looking over, she saw Morgan swinging high on the web swing, Peter keeping a careful eye on her. "I see." Izzy smiled brightly as she walked over with the Twins.
After a few minutes of playing with the kids, May approached. "I'm sorry, but Peter, we really need to be going." She said.
Peter nodded.
Izzy spoke quickly. "Can I borrow Peter for just one minute before you leave?" She asked. May nodded.
The two walked closer to the water, away from the two youngest kids.
"I haven't had the chance to ask you yet." Izzy asked Peter as he looked at her, brown eyes wide. "How are you doing with all of this?"
"Me?" Peter said in surprise. "I—I'm fine."
Izzy raised an eyebrow. The kid still couldn't lie for crap. Instead of calling him out on it, she just pulled him into a warm hug. His arms quickly went around her, and she heard him sniffle quietly.
There weren't enough words that could express all that she wanted to tell him. This kid who had become like her little brother, meaning so much in the short time that she had gotten to know him, not just to her but to Tony as well. She wanted to take his pain away, but she saw what Tony had. He was meant for great things. He would get through this as well.
"I want you to promise me something okay?" She said as they pulled apart. He nodded instantly. "If you need anything, I want you to call me. I don't care if it's 3am and you just need to talk, or if you are having trouble with a sewer lizard, you call me okay?"
Peter nodded a small smile forming. "Thanks Izzy." He said.
Izzy smiled and wrapped him in another tight hug. "I'm so proud of you and I know he is too" She said releasing him. "I'll see you soon."
She was about to head back to Morgan when something caught her eye. Strange was standing a considerable distance away from the cabin and the people gathered there. He was staring out at the water lost in thought. While normally, this wouldn't be anything unusual, she knew that he wasn't exactly a social person, there had been something that had been nagging at her, and she had a feeling that he was standing away from the group because he knew what she wanted to ask him.
"Isabel." Strange greeted as she approached, not looking away from the water.
"Doctor." She replied.
He turned to face her. With a small motion of his hand, they began to walk further away, following the path around the lake.
Izzy paused for a second before she could begin. "Ever since I touched the time stone, I started having…" She paused. "Not quite nightmares, or even dreams, but I would see images of a battle—of the battle." She looked up to see he didn't seem surprised by this. "Dad dying wasn't the only winning scenario out of the 14 million, was it?"
Strange paused for a long moment as they stopped walking. "For the immediate battle, no." He answered after a long moment.
Izzy felt tears spring to her eyes.
"What do you remember from touching the Time Stone?" He asked seeing the tears, knowing where her thoughts were taking her. "What did you see?"
Izzy shook her head. "I don't remember it." She replied.
"Yes, you do." Strange replied firmly. "What did you see?"
She sniffed, trying to hold back a sob. "A new team." She whispered.
"And was Tony there?" Strange asked.
She shook her head, covering her mouth as a small sob escaped and tears started to fall.
"You want me to tell you that you could have saved him by taking the stones yourself." Strange said. "But the reality is that Tony would never have been able to live with the trade." She looked up at him and his gaze was soft as he looked at her. "Despite the opinions that people have over him, Tony Stark lived every moment of his life with the desire to make the world safer for you and for your sister. Knowing that you died in his place, he wouldn't have been able to live with that. The world, the universe, would have lost you both."
Tears continued to streak down her face. "It's not fair." She cried softly arms wrapped around herself.
Strange shook his head, looking up for a minute before looking back down to her. "Life rarely is." He said. "But there is a purpose."
…
That night, after almost everyone had left, Izzy found herself sitting in the garage/workshop. She had come here with the intention of working on the time travel GPS, but she just sat there, staring into the distance.
Finally, after a while, she picked up the Iron Man helmet that was sitting nearby. She had put this off for far too long.
Facing the helmet towards the wall behind her, she took a deep breath as she turned to face that wall. "Okay FRIDAY…" She said quietly.
The eyes of the mask lit up and projected out in front of her. Soon, she was staring at the projection of her father.
"Hey Izzy."
"Hi daddy." She whispered.
"I really hope that I can come back and delete this before you ever have to see it. But somehow I think this isn't going to be like all of the other times." Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she kept her gaze focused on the projection. "I'm under no disillusion that the world is going to be perfect, even after we pull this off. But the one thing that I know is that it will always be protected. I know you aren't a stranger to the criticism of you being allowed to put on the suit and fight, especially from such a young age, and there isn't a day goes by that I don't feel some form of guilt over this. I've watched you fight, and cry, and bleed over a path that I started us on, but the one thing that will never change is how proud I am of you." She felt her chest constrict. "I've watched you fall—and this will happen a lot, you'll fall, and you'll bruise, and sometimes you'll break—but the one thing that you have always done, and I know you'll continue to do, is you'll stand up and you'll take those broken pieces to make something better. I am proud of the woman and the hero that you have become. The one thing I want you to promise me though is that you'll never forget that you don't have to make my mistakes. You have a team, our family, that will stand with you if you ask them, you will never be alone. I love you, tons."
"I love you 3,000." She sobbed quietly as the projection disappeared.
…
Izzy walked with Steve towards the newly reconstructed Quantum Gate that was set up a short distance from the cabin. "Are you sure you don't want some help?" She asked.
Steve smiled. "I'm sure." He said. "Besides, there's a good enough reason for you not to travel back right now."
She shrugged but she stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm. "Thank you for everything Steve." She said earnestly. She stood up on her toes so she could wrap her arms around his neck in a hug which he returned gently.
I'm going to miss you.
"Remember…" Bruce said to Steve as he and Izzy stood at the controls. "You have to return the stones at the exact moment you got them. Or you're gonna open up a bunch of nasty alternative realities."
"Don't worry, Bruce." Steve said. "Clip all the branches."
Bruce paused. "You know, I tried." He said. "When I had the gauntlet, the stones, I really tried to bring her back. I miss them, man."
Steve nodded. "Me, too." He said.
"You know, if you want, I can come with you." Sam offered as Steve went to the platform.
"You're a good man, Sam." Steve said with a smile. "This one's on me, though." Steve approached Bucky next who was standing with his hands in his jacket pockets. "Don't do anything stupid 'till I get back."
Bucky smiled at the obvious inside joke. "How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you." He said before hugging Steve. "Gonna miss you, Buddy."
"It's gonna be okay, Buck." Steve said.
"How long is this gonna take?" Sam asked.
Bruce shrugged. "For him? As long as he needs, For us, five seconds." He replied. "Ready, Cap?" Steve nodded. "Alright. We'll meet you back here, okay?"
"You bet." Steve said.
Izzy smiled sadly. One look at Bucky confirmed it. He knew too.
"Going quantum. Three…two…one…" Bruce said as the time white suit closed around Steve and he disappeared. "And returning in, five, four, three, two, one…"
Izzy had stepped away from the terminal, her eyes focused elsewhere, when Steve didn't return to the designated spot.
"Where is he?" Sam demanded.
"I don't know." Bruce said. "He blew right by his time stamp. He should be here."
"Well, get him back." Sam said.
Their arguing faded to the background as she walked over to stand beside Bucky who was looking towards the lake.
"Sam." Bucky called.
Sam and Bruce stopped arguing to turn and see what had their attention. There was a man sitting on the bench looking out at the lake.
Sam walked over slowly. Izzy and Bucky looked at him.
"Go ahead." Bucky said when Sam looked at him.
Sam looked at Izzy and she nodded too, smiling.
As Sam walked over, Izzy gave Bucky a one-armed hug, keeping one hand in her jacket pocket. Bucky put a brotherly arm around her shoulders as they watched what happened next.
"When did you figure it out?" Bucky asked.
"Probably around the same time you did." Izzy said with a shrug. "Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't realize it when I first met him."
She felt happy tears sting her eyes and she smiled brightly as she watched Sam receive the Shield. Keeping her hand in her jacket pocket, she hugged herself a little tighter.
…
Morgan was bouncing around the back seat of the car, crawling over people looking around excitedly as she stared at the ocean passing by the window. Izzy laughed as Johnny finally caught her, keeping her still as she pressed her face against the window.
Pepper was in a meeting at SI headquarters, so Izzy wanted to take this time to show Morgan some of her favorite places.
"How much longer?" Morgan asked.
"Not much longer." Happy said with an affectionate smile as he looked in the rearview mirror.
Morgan looked at Izzy. "Are we going to go swimming in the ocean?" She asked.
Izzy smiled. "Maybe, if we have time." She said. "I want to take you somewhere first."
They pulled up a long driveway that Izzy had not been to in years, though she still ensured that it and the rest of the property was well maintained. They stopped in a flat area that overlooked the ocean in a still spectacular view.
Izzy kneeled next to Morgan, holding her close as the stood near the edge overlooking the water while Happy and Johnny waited back by the car, watching. "This place is really important." She said. "And I wanted to share it with you."
Morgan looked up at her.
"This place has history." Izzy said.
Morgan's eyes lit up. "A story?" She asked.
Izzy smiled. "Yes." She nodded. "You see, way before you were born, there was a beautiful house that stood here. It's where I grew up. But more importantly—" Feeling a flutter, Izzy paused and took a deep breath as she placed a hand against her slightly rounding stomach. She took another deep breath. "More importantly, this is where daddy first started on the path to become a superhero."
Oh my goodness! You guys I cannot believe that we are here! I started this story almost a year and a half ago and this has been the craziest ride. I cannot begin to thank you all for your support and all the love you've given me and this story. I feel like I wrapped everything up nicely but if there is anything you guys have questions about, anything major I missed let me know and I will happily answer if I can. I'm toying with the idea of releasing little side stories because there are some things I alluded to that would make fun little novellas, like the kidnapping story, but I just didn't have the space for in the main story. The other side of it is when I finish revamping all the chapters I may just add them in, let me know what you guys would prefer.
Again, I can't believe that we are here at the end. It has been incredible. I love you 3,000!