Author's Note: (I haven't talked in a while so yeah im gonna talk but feel free to skip, I guess).

Hey guys, I feel like all I do is apologize for not updating more often but guess what, I'm still sorry. I literally have no free time anymore. Also, I have all these ideas and I just cant seem to write it now. When I started out with this fic, I could easily type three chapters in one day but right now, it seems I have gone too conscious of what to write. I get worried over my grammar and my syntax and the more I worry, the more I get stuck. Arrrgh, I had an outline for this chapter but it took a really long time to write but here you go. I hope you guys are still reading this and do continue on supporting it no matter how long it takes for me to update.

I am now in the MCU timeline (started with Chapter 18, if you have not noticed) and everything will now be referencing the movies, phew it only took a gajillion chapters, am I right? (Thank you for being patient!) The only thing in my mind is that Marvel has films planned for Tony Stark and the Avengers and I don't think I could write that for that long. I could only do so much. I have a few ideas going that'll go with the Iron Man trilogy so I think I'll be ending Darcy Stark's story when I reach the Iron Man 3. This is not definite because I think writing about Thor 2 is a necessity and also I've been wanting to write something about Captain America 2. It all really depends on how the story goes (and what I feel).

Annnnd how are you all? (You have to answer because I'm familiar with those who regularly review and I hope you're all doing fab but I still want to know what you guys are up to anyway) I feel like I haven't talk to you guys in a while. All I do is post chapters without saying anything and some of you are probably skipping this whole note but since I've written 2 paragraphs, might as well ramble on some more.

I don't know if some of you follow my tumblr (you totally should because I want to communicate with you guys) but I just finished my first year of college! It was an amazing experience and I got to meet really cool people and party and of course, learn. I'm in the nursing track so my workload is really hectic but writing is a good stress-reliever. I've also become more open about my nerdiness about Marvel, even writing a research paper about it for my writing class and I got to meet cool people who are the same.

I will also take this moment to reply to some reviews because oh my god, I just checked them and you guys are just wonderful souls. My days are made when someone point out all the littlest details I try to add and I really love when someone goes above and beyond with their reviews. Reviews like that motivate me to write more and update faster than what I would usually do. Now some of you were expecting a big reveal in the graduation chapter and you know, I live to disappoint. Also, that valedictorian speech was a bitch to write. I had to access that non-existential valedictorian within me to choke up some inspiring words. Some of you have questions as well so I'll try and answer them:

Q: Where's the next chapter?
A: SURPRISE!

AthenaMay24 asked: How can Darcy send her best friend away like that? Do you, by any chance, speak French?
A: Darcy didn't want to but she couldn't stand the fact Ivy is being coerced by Jeanne to be her friend, threatening her that doing anything different can result endangering her mother's job. If that wasn't clear, I am sorry. And yes, je parle francais.

Yuri Amuyu asked: When did Peter give back the watch and what happened after Stane found about Darcy?
A: Peter didn't give it back. I left that part out to leave some room for the Darcy/Peter side-story—which im going to update soon. Im sorry again. And for your second question, I just want to say you're asking the right questions.

FAQ: WTF DARCY/STEVE?! PETER/DARCY IS SO MUCH BETTER!
A: Read Chapter 17, please.

[BTW Moon Witch, your review on Chapter 20 made me tear up, just saying)

Guest asked: Is that Steve's Journal?
A: Nope, I mentioned in the graduation chapter that it is Howard Stark's journal. The idea came from Iron Man 2 when Tony received some of Howard's stuff from SHIELD. I just left it as S. to throw some excitement in the air.

Q: alienyouthct said: While this is an interesting and well-written story, it's got a fairly fatal flaw. It's not Darcy Lewis. If FLAGFic was still running, I could pull a copy of this story, run Find & Replace on it, repost it as a story where Jane Foster is Tony's illegitimate daughter, and nobody would notice the difference. It might actually make more sense, given that the MCU's Jane is a scientist while Darcy is a political science major. The same remains true of calling her Willow Rosenberg, Hermione Granger, or naming her after my friends Astrid or Jessica. There's really nothing here of Darcy apart from a name. You've gone and done Rowling Genetics: everything about "Darcy" can be neatly separated and classified to be the contribution of one parent or the other, and by and large it's turned her into a teenage Tony with tits. If this was merely a story about Insert Some Female Name Here Stark? That'd possibly be acceptable. But when you tell me I'm going to be reading a story about Darcy, I expect Darcy to be in it.

A: This may be one of the few constructive criticisms I've received so far in this fic. This hurt quite a bit but I appreciate it because it's making me more conscious and cautious of how I write Darcy. If you are still reading this story, I wanna say I'm sorry that I disappointed you and thank you for reading anyway. My only defense right now is that so far the chapters I've written is set before Thor, where Darcy is first introduced. If I am correct, I don't think there are any substantial information about Darcy pre-Thor besides that she goes to Culver as a poli-sci major. I've written Darcy Lewis to be less like Darcy Lewis from Thor to give space for character development. I'm not experienced with writing character development, so I don't know if I'm doing a good job so far. I've yet still to write about Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk and I think that allows for more change to Darcy's character to slowly evolve to what we see in Thor. Also, Darcy Lewis' character is not as detailed in the canon compared to other characters and her background and personality is not as deeply covered in film and comic books but I think that amount of subtlety is what makes Darcy Lewis so likable to write about in fanfics. Readers and viewers are left with many holes to fill about Darcy and we all have fun expanding a new world beyond the small moments we see in Thor and Thor 2. Maybe you've got Darcy's character all figured out and I still have a long way to go but all I'm doing is filling the holes with my own ideas, with the help of the canon complexities of detailed characters like Tony Stark. I sure do hope so that I'll become successful in writing a more accurate Darcy when I write future chapters.

I have been receiving more reviews like this while I was writing this chapter and it made me think about how I write Darcy wrong all along and it kinda made me lost motivation to write. I'm taking some of my time re-writing some chapters as well as writing new chapters, trying to see where I've gone wrong… maybe read more fics. I really want to continue writing and I don't want to stop (I've come so far, I've written so much) and I hope that the next chapters will be better than the last.

Now, this chapter is set after Tony takes the Mark II (the silver one) for a test-flight. This is closely written according to what happens in the movie. I'm just revealing (what could be) the behind-the-scenes of the canon moments of the film. I've also added the SHIELD events from the comic Iron Man: Security Measures. If you are unclear of what is happening, because of my inept writing, message me in my main tumblr: unmarvel for a quick answer

Thank you guys for (still) reading. I know my writing can be bad sometimes but I try my best. I hope you all have a wonderful new year!

oOo

Chapter 25: I am Iron Man (Part 1)

oOo

Strategic Homeland Intervention,
Enforcement and Logistics Division
Surveillance Center
Location: [CLASSIFIED]
Time: Unknown

Dark uniformed agents scrambled around the room, analyzing the movement of one particular man. It was not too long ago that the supposed man of weapons manufacturing shut down the only thing his name was known for. The sudden reveal of Stark Industries' termination of its weapons development department heightened the suspicions of a certain one-eyed Director. He scrutinized every second of the footage of Tony Stark's press conference. He still has yet to find the billionaire's true intentions.

"I don't see what Stark gains from this," the agent beside him sighed as he fixed his suit, "He's drawn a firestorm of attention and company stock is in freefall. You think he's sincere?"

The man looked back at the agent with one glaring eye, "I'm paid to think no one's sincere. What's your take on Potts?"

"Very smart, very poised," the agent coughed, "She could probably run the company herself."

"I've considered recruiting her. Be nice to have someone inside but my intel says her loyalty to Stark is unshakeable," the man evaluated. He pondered carefully if the red-haired assistant was more than loyal to the billionaire. Looking at the last background check they conducted on Pepper Potts, she had started working for Stark nineteen years ago. According to data, she had no experience working in Stark Industries prior her employment, meaning that she was either referred by a personal friend or Tony just liked red-heads. Reports found that it was the former. The two did not meet until March 16, 1990, the day after the death anniversary of Howard and Maria Stark. Records said that she graduated from Empire University and befriended Meredith McCall-Lewis of the McCall Family, a close friend of the Starks. Witness accounts that Stark and Potts had a rocky relationship the first year of her employment, which did not surprise him, judging Stark's personality evaluation. But one thing surprised him which was the account that after that one year, the two suddenly became inseparable. He found out that at June 11, 1991, Potts and Stark's friend Meredith McCall-Lewis died from a car crash and Potts was named legal guardian of Lewis' daughter, Darcy Lewis. Bank statements stated that a small percentage of Potts' salary and Stark's resources was used to look after Lewis' daughter. He wasn't sure why Stark would care after another human being but he assumed that maybe this human baby could just be one of Stark's philanthropy projects. But something still smells fishy. One of his theories included Darcy being—

"Agreed," his agents broke his thoughts, "Although I got the impression she was as blindsided by this as anyone."

"Stay on them both. I've got to deal with some snipe hunt… a rash of U.A.V. sightings."

"Unmanned aerial vehi—"

"Director! We have a visual!" an analyst yelled out. Everyone in the room began focusing on the computer screens. The Director's scrutinizing eye glossed over the geographical pinpoint of the UAV. The signal was coming up from the west coast. It was moving dangerously fast and they didn't know what it was—which was even more dangerous.

"What feed is this?" he demanded, brows knitted in curiosity. The analyst said that the footage was patched from local security cameras. "Switch to satellite now."

They all watched in silence as they see a silver figure raise altitude in a speed nearing the speed of sound. The analyst zoomed closer and tilted his head, "Some kind of drone? Remote-controlled?"

The agent in the suit walked closer to the screen, "Why shape it like a human being? We're not that aerodynamic."

The Director narrowed his eye and said, "Could there be someone inside that thing?" Everyone in the room turned their heads and looked at him as if they finally saw his other eye.

"You're crazy. They just took it to the upper atmosphere!" the analyst exclaimed. The suited agent watched as the UAV started decreasing in altitude. It was malfunctioning as it iced up. "You'd have to be out of your mind to be in there!"

"Well, if you think about it, he is," he ignored their shock and confusion and turned around to move to another computer. Finally, he got answers.

"Agent, pull up the Kunar Province footage." He kept his eyes steady at the screens as the agent pulled up satellite feeds from Afghanistan and placed beside the footage of the man-shaped drone. He viewed the screens carefully, assessing the movement of the silver suit as it jumpstarted to zoom over the evening traffic of Malibu. There was something similar between the suit and what he was seeing in the Kunar footage. They differed in shape and form but one thing was present in both. There was expertise. Accuracy. There was also the semblance of indifference; apathy for potential consequences. They were both precisely reckless.

The Director smirked. "It's Stark."

oOo

Surveillance of the board meeting showed that they are claiming post-traumatic disorder. They are filing an injunction.

"But he does have PTSD," Darcy sighed as she rubbed her temples, "He just doesn't know it yet." The night was still young and she couldn't sleep. Something was bugging her. Her father has been unusually quiet for a few weeks now and after the whole debacle of the press conference, her suspicions haven't lessened. After Pepper said goodbye and goodnight, Darcy activated ASTRID in her room. Multiple screens popped up on the windows which showed holographic intel gathered by her AI. She wasn't worried about the possible descend of Stark Industries but she was worried for her father. The culprit of his abduction was still unsolved. She only knew that it was the terrorist group, The Ten Rings, that captured him but she couldn't help but feel anxious. She knew that they wanted him to build the Jericho Missile, but there was still fear and suspicion that all of this was not over yet.

"How about banks accounts? Did you find anything?" she said, swiping panes of data left and right. ASTRID followed her command and began opening her statements hidden in the Stark Industries server. Going into the company had taken a while when she was intercepting other satellites three months ago. The process took as long because she had to fool an employee from clicking a link that she had disguised as a computer error. Stark Industries employees are smart so she knew it wouldn't be that easy. But then she found out that Pepper was going to send out a company-wide e-mail regarding their CEO's absence and that gave her a leeway into incorporating ASTRID into the message. As soon as her link was clicked, she was able to get into every account of every Stark employee.

Hidden accounts were found inside these private servers. However, the resources used are extracted from the company's main shares. Shall I expand the search?

"Discreetly, please," Darcy used her fingers to make the bank statements bigger. Billions of dollars were being used to order crates of weapons. Normally, she would find it normal but none of the transactions were paid by the U.S. government. In fact, most of them had nothing listed on the recipient forms. Blue eyes narrowed. These shipments only included ammunition that was nothing too special. They were all artilleries a standard US soldier would use: M16A2 rifles, M-4s, M-240s, and sniper rifles. But if those were nothing special, why work so hard to hide them?

The rest of the shipping manifests are not in the network, Darcy.

"They probably put in some kind of hidden drive. We'll have to be inside the building to retrieve more files," she bit her thumb in irritation. Yep, something was going on. She'll find out no matter what. Azure eyes stared at the screens in silence. Numerous data popped out the screen as ASTRID went through every folder she had access to. Besides the bank statements and the manifest, there were news headlines that appeared. News anchors tackled Tony's decision with the company and called it his downfall. Many people mourned for "the waste of genius". Some supported it. A lot of them were requesting for his presence, others hoped that he'd just stay inside. Darcy wished for just one dinner with him.

"Wait, pause," Darcy raised her hand. The computer followed and stopped. However, the folders just kept on opening. "ASTRID, I said stop. Did you stop?"

It seems someone else is accessing the files.

Blue eyes widened. Darcy quickly swiped the window to enlarge the folders being opened. Then, she hurriedly tapped a new window open to see the codes being typed into the server. "It's not someone from the company," she noticed the codes, "It's not Dad either. The language is different."

Triangulating source…

"I'll disguise you as a firewall block, ASTRID. No one can know about you yet," Darcy began tweaking her AI. Her heart thudded nervously. Part of her wanted to run to her father and alert him. A part wanted to keep it a secret to protect him. Tony is a vulnerable state right now, she shouldn't add any more to the problems.

Rebound signals are coming from a corporate satellite owned by Hammer Industries. According to the files their virus extracted, they were mainly looking for weapons specifications from the Research and Development Department of Stark International.

"Business espionage," Darcy concluded. Other corporations try to hack into her father's company files every now and then so she decided not to worry. JARVIS would usually intercept these circumstances but it was good that she caught it earlier. Then, a sigh of fatigue escaped her lungs. No matter how all of this hacking thing has become her second nature, she has always felt tired after. Her fingers still shook for every code she typed. Her eyes frantically looked left and right for a solution.

"What am I doing with my life?" she groaned as she leaned her forehead on the window, feeling the coldness of the glass at the tip of her eyelashes. Iridescent letters and numbers continued to scroll down the window but she ignored it. She let her eyes wander behind the codes and to the crashing waves of the Pacific below. The moon ruled the sky and the waters, pushing and pulling the ferociously waves back and forth. She wondered if she could ever be like the waves, strong and confident of its power. She also wondered why she was doing all of this. Why would she stay up to get bank statements? Or stop business espionage from happening? It wasn't as if she was part of Stark Industries to begin with. Meredith wanted her to have a different life and so did Tony and Pepper. So when did she start feeling so responsible for it?

She told herself that it was for Tony. It was always been for Tony. He was the man that her mother loved, the man that took care of her when there was no one else left. He worked his hardest to keep her safe, protected her from the evils he lived to see each day. She nodded at herself. That reason was a given.

But when was the last time she did something solely for something for herself?

"There's a carnival near here. I should go," she muttered herself, forcing some amount of selfishness within her, "I could just easily ride a bike or something." But she immediately shook away the thought. This should be taken more naturally than forcefully. She'd rather wait for something she actually wanted and let herself succumb to it, for once. This year has been too troublesome, dealing with school, the abduction and other things. So, now would be the right time to finally worry about herself…

Right?

Darcy raised her head and swiped all the databanks close. She turned her back to the night sky and sauntered to her bedroom and reached for her laptop. Moving in to college was nearing and she forgot how she was looking forward to it. Instead of worry and fear, excitement shook her fingers as she began a Google search.

"Hmm," she flashed a small grin, "Let's look at the internships…" and soon became engrossed as she was ten minutes ago surfing through shady bank accounts. Empire State University gave a lot of opportunities that it would be a waste not to try any of them. She imagined all the classes she could take—learning more about mechanical engineering, familiarizing in global political theory or maybe study abroad and see the world. Plus, she had found out that the esteemed college had an even more interesting bunch of alumnis. Her room slowly dimmed into darkness with only the light from her screen reflecting on her glasses.

"I feel like I should know more of these people," she scrolled through the alumni page swiftly, muttering the names of renowned people, "Hector Ayala, Astrid Bloom, Curtis Connors—shame he became a giant lizard—blah blah, names I can't pronounce, Bob something, Emma Grace Frost…Virginia Potts—that person seems familiar—and ooh Harry Osborn—guess he graduated early—Steven Rogers, Richard Rider, Greg Salinger, Jonathan Storm and blah blah." She was surprised by how many influential people went to the university, including her mother who was listed as one of the successful alumnis. There's even that guy who Howard Stark couldn't stop writing about in his journal, the guy that was injected with the Super Soldier Serum, the guy that became Captain America. Normally, Darcy would be fascinated by the science of it, but after learning about the giant lizard and Oscorp, she made a vow not to touch any of that biochemical stuff. No matter how enticing it was, she didn't want to mess with whatever that made what she called, "that star-spangled piece of hot ass". The effects of the serum, from what she read from the journal, could be dangerously incredible.

She spent a few more hours silently reading about the university in her room until she heard a loud crash booming throughout the mansion. She didn't hesitate to shove her laptop away and bolted for the door. Her heart raced as she dashed out of the room with her Taser, immediately running towards Tony's bedroom. She yelled for him as she entered the room but there was no answer. She huffed. It should no longer be a surprise to her to see the bed sloppily unmade and unoccupied these days but somehow she was still annoyed. Workshop, maybe? Half of her was sure that it could just be another prototype exploding, as it was the norm in the household. Half of her felt the same anxiety that overwhelmed her the day he was abducted. She crept her way downstairs using the walls as a guide through the unlit halls and rooms. The entire house was void of any sounds but the gentle, continuous splashes of the waterfall in the living room. She called out his name as she blindly stepped onto the steps down the basement. No answer.

"Dad? Are you there?" Darcy called out again as she sauntered down. Nervous thoughts echoed in her mind, thinking of all the worst possible outcomes that resulted such a loud noise, thinking whether she should call Pepper or not. She snuck a peek through the glass doors of her father's workshop, gripping the Taser in her hand. The lights were dimmed down and only the intermittent blue blips of lights coming from the computers can be seen among the darkness. Blue eyes darkened by the night squinted through the shadows of the room to search for some semblance of her father, but saw no one but the pair of robots standing idly near the work desks. She showed a small smile as she tapped lightly on the glass doors, waking the robots.

"Hi, DUM-E. Is Dad there?" she asked. Her question was muffled but the robot whirred in comprehension. It shook its claw left and right into a "no" and spun to grab something from the table behind him. Darcy leaned in more to the glass to see the little contraption took and saw it was a glass cup filled with some kind of golden liquid.

The girl immediately frowned and sighed. She knew well what the liquid was and she hasn't seen a bottle of it opened in a while. Tony Stark is not truly home until a bottle of scotch has been opened. "Do you know where he went?" Darcy tapped the glass to catch the attention of the droning robot and it shook its claw again. She replied with a flat smile and averted her eyes to the ceiling.

"How about you, JARVIS?" she raised her voice. The robots began to power down as a disembodied voice replied.

He went out for a drive, ma'am.

Her eyebrows knitted in worry and confusion, "But he drank. Can you call him please?" She crossed her arms and waited, standing idly in front of the glass doors of the lab. Tony maybe reckless but he would never drive drunk.

Mr. Stark asked me to tell you that he is busy at the moment but will contact you shortly after his rendez-vous.

Darcy shook her head and said that it was fine. She perfectly knew what Tony Stark's little 'rendez-vous's meant and she was experienced enough to know not to ask further questions. A loud sigh grumbled through as she turned around. She wondered if there was any point to her worrying. He just came home, she knew that, but there was an unusual gap between him and her. Maybe Tony went out tonight to get a sense of normalcy in his life after spending time in a cave but there was something different. Something else was blocking him. As if there was a thin layer that covered him, keeping him from opening up to her. Time can only be the remedy to his situation but what if she runs out of time? It won't be long until she goes back to New York for college. It won't be long until she leaves.

What will he do then—she was curious. What will he do then when he realizes that after three months in a mountain deprived of his family had also deprived him three more months with his daughter? What will he do? What can he do?

"Goodnight, guys," Darcy breathed out, turning around, "I'll see you guys tomorrow, I hope." She took a step up the stairs until she saw a light glimmer on the reflection on the glass doors.

"Dude, no way," she whispered to herself as she spun her body around to look for the source. Behind DUM-E was something she had not encountered before in her life and she had been dying to see what it was the moment she saw it shine through her father's shirt.

"Dude, is that what I think it is?" she gasped, pressing her body close to the glass, hoping that her body would go through so she could finally check it out. Her hand unconsciously slid to the right where the electronic keypad was located and mindlessly tapped her passcode. A loud beep broke her out of her trance, reminding her that her passcode no longer worked in the lab. ACCESS DENIED, it beeped red. Darcy groaned loudly and banged her head on the door. Tony has restricted her from coming into his shop for annoyingly unknown reasons. She banged her head again at the memory of Tony always changing the subject whenever she would ask why. She banged it again when she remembered that the thing was right there and she couldn't get it. She banged again hoping that her head would break the glass.

Fortunately, two robots powered back on as Darcy's banging progressively grew louder. Their whirring noises gave her an idea. She told herself earlier that when she finds something she wanted, she'd let herself fully succumb to it. She couldn't stop now, she has to have it. So she snapped her head up to look at the two of them and smirked.

"DUM-E and U? You see, it's like 2 am and I wasn't gonna talk about the random hole in the living room I just saw earlier but it has become useful to me so you're going to get that arc reactor for me."

oOo

I received the subject's dossier days ago from Dr. Erskine a few days ago. If I remember correctly, the subject was 95 lbs., 5'4'', with severe ailments such as asthma, scoliosis, arrhythmias, deafness, ulcers and anemia. God, I still can remember when I first saw that kid. Wind can probably knock him off his feet.

And now look, he's taller than me.

S.

oOo

"I still can't believe something like this would be inside him," Pepper muttered to herself. She eyed the circular device sitting on top of the coffee table. Long, slender fingers reached for its glass case and pondered. It was strangely small, since it was supposed to be the miniaturized version of the one in Stark Industries and yet it was incredibly large to be something in someone's body. Copper coils surrounded the outer circle of the reactor. The light from the windows gleamed through the glass, hitting the words the engraved in the metal. She smiled to herself, wondering if she had made the right choice for the words. "Proof that Tony Stark has a heart, huh?"

The contraption was supposed to be an electromagnet to keep the shrapnel from reaching his heart, according to Tony. A bomb that was labeled by his own name had exploded in front of him during the ambush. Pieces of metal pierced his body—his arms, legs, face and chest. He could've died without the help of the arc reactor… he could've bled to death. But thanks to this little thing, he continued on breathing. He could still keep being Tony. He could still be her boss. He could still be Darcy's father.

Her chest twisted at the thought of what would've happened if Tony never came home. It was on her mind all along throughout the past three months that Darcy could become fatherless. She wouldn't know what to do. She didn't want to think about the chance but she knew she had to prepare for all outcomes. If Tony died, she would have to take care of Darcy alone. But to take care of Darcy, she would have to resign from being affiliated with Stark Industries. Stane would take the reins and Darcy wouldn't have any more luxury of being protected by Tony's power. She would have to say goodbye to all the resources she was given in keeping Darcy safe. She would have to move somewhere else, maybe move back to New York, and start a new life.

There was also the probability that Darcy's identity would be released to the world. After all, she was the true main successor of Stark's global empire and there would be no use of keeping her name a secret when everybody would want Tony's power. Darcy would be forced to become CEO and face the dangers of the corporate world at such the early age. It would be just be reliving the time when Tony had to take over after his parents died and Pepper didn't want that. She didn't want Darcy to walk the same path as Tony when he was young. She had already lost a mother, and she didn't want her to also lose a father. Losing her father also meant losing her freedom.

She and Tony worked their lives to keep Darcy in the light. They wanted her to be untouched of the darkness Tony had to be thrown into. So if Tony died, Darcy would be thrown in the same hole.

How could she be prepared for something like that?

"What would've I done, Meredith?" she whispered to herself, softly humming a lullaby she would hear beloved best friend sing. Meredith would always sing the same notes when they used worked together. She sang the same words when she cradled Darcy. She sang it until her last breath. Meredith knew what to do, she always did.

Blue-gray eyes looked straight at the center of the reactor. "You should've been there that day," she murmured at the device, "You could've save Meredith too."

"The arc reactor is designed to be a repulsion-based fusion system that can generate over three gigajoules per second," Pepper flinched when she heard a person suddenly. "It's only meant to be some kind of power source."

Pepper looked to see Darcy standing near her bedroom, holding an opened packet of Pop Tarts. She had her brown hair tied into a sloppy bun, only clad into a simple black t-shirt and shorts. She fixed her glasses and frowned, "It wouldn't have save Mother by itself. If something was attached to it, however, maybe things could've gone the other way," she said, munching a piece of the Pop Tart, "You know, there's hole in the living room and no one's talking about it."

Pepper smiled flatly, "Yeah, and maybe you could spending your summers in France now, maybe Monaco." Darcy grinned.

"Oh? I didn't know Mother spent summers in Europe. That's classy and I guess we're not talking about the broken piano too," the girl said as she walked towards Pepper, "But right now, I'm here with you. Pop Tart? Wait, it's strawberry-flavored, nevermind." She jumped on the couch and inched closer to her surrogate mother's body. She laid her head onto Pepper's shoulders and reached for the arc reactor.

"I'm here with you," she murmured, "With you and Dad, with Uncle Happy and Uncle Rhodey—and three random gaping holes in the house."

"I was just wondering what she would've done, you know?" Pepper sighed, averting her blue eyes to the windows. The Pacific was calm in the midst of the summer day. Seagulls squawked over the waters, oblivious of the tremors of her thoughts. She should stop thinking so negatively about everything. She should be happy. Tony is alive. He came back. And she has this wonderful girl in her arms.

"She wouldn't let me check out this awesome tech, for sure," Darcy said, raising the arc reactor to Pepper's level. "People would kill for this technology, Mom and I am holding it in my fingertips!"

Blue eyes narrowed as Pepper grabbed it back. "Why is this in your room exactly? I gave this to your father and I know I left this in the lab." Then she saw a smirk so infamous and cunning, she wondered why she ever missed seeing it for three months.

"I made DUM-E get it for me, through the hole in the living room we're not talking about. Dad restricted me from the shop so I took it and I'm gonna sell it on eBay," the girl said monotonously. Pepper was ready to retort but Darcy sat up and tucked the arc reactor on her lap, "Relax, I'm not gonna sell it on eBay. I'm not exactly lacking in funds. But let me tell you what I'm lacking though—a good old-fashioned father-daughter bonding time."

A small sigh escaped Pepper. Ever since he came back, he had been quite distant. Even during Darcy's graduation dinner, he spoke of nothing besides his dinner and how much he missed American food. Darcy would try to start a topic about Afghanistan but it would always revert back to him talking about parties and cheeseburgers. Something happened in that cave, she knew that, seeing that he closed the weapons department of Stark Industries the day he came back. But maybe the man is just not prepared to be open about it. She and Darcy were happy that he was back, but it seemed that something was missing from Tony Stark. The arc reactor may be there to cover his heart, but it did not mean that the hole in his chest was gone. He has changed and since they have not seen him in a while, they don't know if it was for the better or not.

"He had a nightmare again last night," Darcy muttered, leaning her head on Pepper's lap, "I mean it's not like he sleeps anymore, because he's always in his shop but when he does, he screams." Pepper frowned as she brushed her daughter's hair. The man seemed fine when she sees him. But it was Darcy who was there to see him break down each night. "You know, two nights ago, he was screaming about how it was so cold. He even ordered JARVIS to turn up the heat." Darcy told blankly. Half-lidded blue eyes stared emotionlessly at the glass case. "Sometimes he'll just turn on the kitchen sink stand in front of it, and look at the water. I came to turn it off then he just said, 'Thanks, Yinsen.'"

"Yinsen?" Pepper tilted her head. She had never heard of the name before. Her eyebrows knitted in confusion and worry.

"Yinsen." Darcy repeated and said no more. She gazed at the arc reactor stoically, fiddling the glass case back and forth to see all its angles. She was still quite intrigued of the science behind the tech and she had so many questions. But the man who created it was locked inside his workshop. Everything seemed normal with him after she came home after her graduation. It was an unexpected heartfelt reunion. They hugged, she cried, he made a joke, Pepper took pictures and he wanted to get a cheeseburger. Darcy was able to tell all of the things that happened when he was gone—how she was able to finish some of her research papers, how she practically exploded when her teacher asked her about palladium, how she had a fight with Sienna, and almost tasered her boyfriend. She told him the Christmas gifts she found from her closet and how she logged all her programs and codes in her new calculations book, and how she had so much trouble writing her valedictorian speech. However, she knew she had to leave out some stuff because the man seemed like he wasn't there with her at all. He smirked, he joked, he laughed normally but she remembered his eyes drifting far back into space. He was thinking, she knew that, he was thinking about something but she didn't know what. Maybe formally introducing ASTRID should be put off for now.

The two enjoyed a moment of silence, basking under the summer light. Darcy continued to eye the arc reactor while Pepper brushed hair and scanned her room. It has not changed a bit throughout all her eighteen years. Large panes of glass still panned over the walls, shining over the living area. She remembered being baby toys scattered everywhere and now, she saw books and metal parts. The long range of Howard Stark's library left their places in the bookshelves, and found themselves all over the floor, along with dull blueprints of his inventions. The grand piano her little girl used to play was covered, left collecting dust. She sighed. The windows were making the room so bright that she could see all how messy it was. Pepper leaned over to look at her surrogate daughter, "You should clean your room."

"You know, we should really talk about cleaning the broken piano in the living room and the gaping hole in the ceiling," Darcy sat up only to meet her mother's glaring eyes. She chuckled, "Come on, this room has been contained in an organized state of entropy for four months now, Mom. Are you really asking me to clean i—"

"Now." Pepper repeated, staring back with austere blue-grey eyes. The girl stood up with a childish grunt, setting the glass case on top of the coffee table. She watched her grabbed steel parts off the floor, kicking books out of the way. "Fine, let's dismiss the freaking holes in the house. Where's DUMM-E when you need him…" Darcy grumbled, picking up the stuff angrily, "He'd be more helpful here than with Dad—what is Dad doing down there anyway? Banning me from the shop like I was some kind of toddler running about with a blowtorch. 'I'm done making my weapons' my ass. I bet you he's making another missile down there."

"Darcy," the red-haired assistant sighed inwardly, gathering the books scattered over the coffee table. Tony made a wise decision in keeping her in the dark of whatever he was doing downstairs. She didn't know the whole story but she knew that he was up to something. Flight stabilizers and all that stuff, he said. "Maybe he just needs some time off, you know?"

"I wish he could just open up to me," she grumbled sourly, "and I thought I'd finally get to hang out with you two but here I am stuck in this room again. The only fun I get is getting to cut his shirts so he can show off his stupid arc reactor."

"Obadiah will be coming here more often to manage the company with Tony so your father wants you to stay here for a while until things become more stable. Unless you want to go back to New York, I could set up a flight—"

"I don't want to go back to New York, it's lonely there," Darcy smiled faintly, "and I want to be here for Dad, just in case he needs any help. I want to be here for you too."

Pepper's eyes softened and opened her arms. Darcy dropped everything she was carrying and went to embrace her. "I'm sorry things are the way they are, honey," Pepper tightened her embrace and kissed her daughter's head, "and you're such a good girl, I'm proud of you."

"I wish I can do something for him," Darcy breathed out with doleful blue eyes faced the waves of the ocean, "You guys are all I have."

"You are all I have too. You and Tony." Pepper asked herself before of what she could do. The answer was all with her all along. All she has to do is be there for Darcy as she grows, and follow Tony wherever he goes. She didn't have to think about moving or resigning, or even ask Meredith for help. She has the power to do anything and all she has to do is stay where in the same place. She made it this far and there was no going back.

Darcy revealed a cheeky grin, "It's a shame we couldn't go to that fancy restaurant that we planned for my graduation. Dad would've liked the dress we picked."

Raised brows came from Pepper as she broke herself off from the hug. "The blue dress? I only bought that because—"

"Because… Dad would like it." Darcy asked mischievously, leaned back to raise her eyebrows.

"Because it was elegant," Pepper corrected strongly, "I'm sure I won't ever get to wear it anyway."

"Well, I believe that the Firefighter's Family Fund benefit is coming up," Darcy looked away innocently, "Pretty sure that's a backless-blue-dress event."

Pepper stood up and smirked. She didn't expect that their conversation actually headed in that direction. "Darcy, I know what you're doing and it's not going to work."

"A daughter can hope," Darcy shrugged.

"Go clean your room."

oOo

Peggy and I were reassigned back to London. SSR is being retasked to go after Schmidt. I've got a few ideas ready but the Colonel put the big guy somewhere else… Alamogordo, I believe. He wasn't too happy about it. Hell, I'm not happy about it. Dr. Erskine and I didn't do all of this for nothing.

S.

oOo

"You were right, Director," the agent walked in the Surveillance Center, "We've confirmed Stark's in the suit." The one-eyed Director waited patiently as his agent pulled up images of the not-so-unmanned aerial vehicle they found flying California. "We tried to hack into his home computer system but he detected us. He traced the signal to a satellite we own through a shell corporation. We set it up to look like business espionage."

The Director nodded silently.

"Our techs think he found a way to channel the heat of the suit's bootjets to raise the surface temperature of the armor when necessary," the agent added.

"This explains why Stark's backing off weapons. He's pouring all his resources into the suits and I can see why," the man grunted. "With enough of these, the Ten Rings could take Kabul. They could take Washington."

"Stark is a threat. We should gather more intel," the agent suggested. With one eye glaring at the screen, he made his voice stern and resolute.

"Well then, it's time you and Stark meet face-to-face."

oOo

Well, what do you know, the Star-Spangled Man With A Plan is actually in Azzano with me. It seems Agent Carter told him about the 107th going for Schmidt. This sketch I've attached was actually drawn by him. Didn't know the big guy draws. He ripped this page out when he found out there's no rescue mission for the soldiers. Well, we're going to save those guys tonight. He is, I mean.

"I'm not be their dancing monkey, anymore," he said to me.

I'm just looking forward to stop at Lucerne for some fondue.

S.

oOo

I have relayed the message to Ms. Darcy of your pretend rendez-vous, sir. However, she remains suspicious of the various damages inflicted by your discreet landing.

The dark workshop began to light up as he walked towards his computers. Getting out of the suit demonstrated the same difficulty as putting it on, much to his discomfort. But it proved beneficial as a hiding spot when he suddenly heard his daughter coming down to check on him. Once JARVIS has alerted him that she had gone to her room, he squirmed out of the suit and asked for an ice pack.

His aches did not subside the next night, when he threw another useless ice pack to the trash bin. The flight test for Mark II was successful, he believed so, but there were a few tweaks needed to be added. "It's not the first time I put holes on the ceiling, they'll calm down. Notes, JARVIS," he muttered as he taped another ice pack on his arm with duct tape, "Main transducer feels sluggish at plus 40 altitude."

Blue-tinted computer monitors surrounded him, all showing various angles of his new creation. "Hull pressurization is problematic. I think icing is the probable factor."

He finally has the power, he thought while grabbing a glass of chlorophyll shake DUM-E had poured him. He believed he had it all, but this time, everything can now be grasped by the mechanical hands he created. He was even more powerful than before. Maybe this time, he can finally look at himself in the mirror. Maybe he can finally go to sleep…

A very astute observation, sir. Perhaps, if you intend to visit other planets, we should improve the exosystems.

…and maybe go to space. That would be satisfying.

"Connect to Cisco. Have it reconfigure the shell metals. Use the gold titanium alloy from the seraphim tactical satellite," he ordered, taking another gulp of his shake, "That should ensure fuselage integrity while maintaining power-to-weight ratio. Got it?"

Yes. Shall I render using proposed specifications?

"Thrill me." He didn't want to show it but he was excited. This is something the world has never been seen before, something that his father would never have expected from him. Maybe this time, he could finally be someone that Howard would be proud of, despite all the neglect he received as a child. Maybe this time, people would see him differently from the billionaire playboy he was. All of those could happen, however he didn't give one single fuck about it. He never did. He didn't care what the people think. He wouldn't be in this business if he did. But all he looked for was the gleaming pride from the eyes of the people he cared about when they see what he has created. Tony Stark had a lot of faults so maybe this could be his redemption.

Maybe he could finally reveal Darcy's identity.

When Darcy was born, he knew immediately that the world he lived in was dangerous for her. He kept a promise to himself that he would protect Meredith's wishes and keep Darcy out of the wars he fights with his weapons. He promised to protect her innocence and her life. But sometimes, plans don't work all the way through. Mistakes and unfortunate events happen. Even with the stronghold he owned, he couldn't control anything. Sending Darcy to boarding school was one of them. Her abduction was one of them. Not being a good father was one of them.

He wanted to send her to a school close to home. Take her out in a fancy dinner. Buy her all the most beautiful clothes. He wanted to pamper her, care for her, do everything that his own father couldn't do but in the end, he had to live in caution because his name was not the safest armor in the world. But now, he has the perfect armor—a sword that can diverge away from his dangerous name. With this suit, there's no more room for worry. With this, he can finally protect the people he loves with his own hands.

Maybe it is the time for Darcy Lewis to be Darcy Stark.

[Tonight's red-hot red carpet is right here at the Disney Concert Hall, where Tony Stark's third annual benefit for the Firefighter's Family Fund has become the place to be for L.A.'s high society.]

Tony raised a brow and tilted his neck back to see the TV. "JARVIS, we get an invite for that?"

I have no record of an invitation, sir.

He grabbed the faceplate of his suit and looked through the slits. Cameras flashed behind the reporter as she began to talk about him and his infamous press conference.

[…hasn't been seen in public since his bizarre and highly controversial press conference. Some claim he's suffering from post-traumatic stress and has been bedridden for weeks. Whatever the case may be, no one expects an appearance from him tonight.]

Well, this should be interesting.

oOo

Darcy tapped her foot nervously. Her presence in this kind of occasion was a rarity. She spent an unreasonable amount of time scrutinizing the flashy lights of the paparazzi that clamored over the flowing dresses and the fancy suits of glowing socialites who walked the red carpet. And she still wasn't used to it. Too bright, she thought, but it's all worth it.

"Darcy, here's what you requested," a voice called. She turned her head to saw adjusting himself on the driver seat, mindlessly handing her a pair of black binoculars. "These are military grade ones they use in night operations in Afghanistan."

The binoculars' green and violet lenses gave a shine as she took it from Happy. "You know, I'm not too used to this. Too many flashing lights."

Happy gave her a scoff. "You're not even inside the benefit, kiddo, you're sitting outside, inside a limo."

"Well, it's still too bright," Darcy playfully pouted. She then pushed a button to roll down the windows a couple inches and stuck the binoculars out. "Where did you say they were?" she muttered as she zoomed though the people going inside the venue.

"Before I left, I saw your Dad and Pepper going towards the balcony," she heard Happy. Darcy immediately swerved to her right and tilted the binoculars up, zooming in the building's balcony. "You shouldn't spy on them like this, kid."

"Hey, do you know how long it took me to get Mom to wear that blue dress?" she retorted back, staring intently into the lenses. "And do you know how meticulously I planned for Dad to see that news about the Benefit so he could go?"

"Pepper wouldn't want to be seen like that with Tony," her uncle sighed, "They're employer and employee. People will think—

"Have you not seen the sexual tension between those two? It's kinda sweet if you get past the "blech" part. You just have to get them the chance to-" Darcy added, moving closer to the window, "Okay! I see them! They're talking! They're talking really close to each other! Oh my god! Uncle Happy, do you want to see this?!"

Happy turned around to see Darcy slightly jumping in her seat with a big smile on her face. He grumbled quietly, "Not really," and then turned away.

The girl didn't hear Happy's remark and continued to watch the only pair she had been rooting for ever since she found out that they're actually not together. Darcy recalled the time when Pepper told her that she wasn't her stepmother. Pepper kept telling her that she was only her legal guardian:

"So is Dad a legal guardian too?" five-year old Darcy asked Pepper as she tucked the little girl to bed. The red-haired woman smiled, "You could say that, yeah. He's your biological Dad."
"And you're not my biological Mommy?" she tilted her head as Pepper brushed her hair, "But you're still my Mommy? You and my mommy in heaven?"

"It's complicated, I know," Pepper sighed and looked at her with warm eyes, "But yeah, that's how it is."
"When are you going to marry Dad?" Darcy chirped which shocked Pepper. She didn't know how to answer her. All she could say was "Good night, Darcy."

"Mom always knew how to evade my questions," she whispered as she continued to watch through the binoculars. The two were just talking dangerously close to each other. Just a few more inches, she thought to herself, just a few more inc—"Uncle Happy, they're gonna kiss! They're almost—gonna—WHAT? HE'S LEAVING!?"

Finally, Darcy's sulking Uncle turned around to snatch a view from the binoculars. Darcy paid no attention to him throwing his body back to the back seat and let herself out of the car with a huff. "He's coming back right?" Darcy bit her thumb and paced, "But then it's pretty awkward to resume things, I mean who leaves in a middle of a moment like that?!"

"Maybe Pepper didn't want to," suggested Happy, "Maybe it was already awkward for them."

"Shh, Uncle Happy," the hopeful girl zipped, "Mom was nervous that's all."

"She's just there all alone," Happy replied and realized that he has staring through the lenses for too long. "This is getting weird, kid. We should go back."

Darcy looked at him with stubborn eyes. Then they softened in defeat. Forcing things (and people together) was futile. After all, she promised herself to let things come naturally. Life would be more exciting that way. Why was she doing this in the first place? It was Pepper and Tony's own private lives—something that shouldn't be meddled with. She wasn't doing it so other kids wouldn't look at her differently for having weird parents because no one knows about them—except for a special few. If the two wanted to be together, and maybe officially complete their family, it should be their choice and it should be done in their own time. They have all the time in the world, right?

Happy tucked the binoculars away in the trunk while his little niece mused quietly herself. He peeked surreptitiously from the hood of the trunk for lingering paparazzi. Darcy may not be known by high society but at least he was. Tony's bodyguard and driver should be careful of who he drives around Los Angeles in its prime time. No scouring photographers were around, he observed, everyone was too focused capturing the glamour at the red carpet. But amidst the clamor and their eyes on the shimmering people, only one looked the opposite way. It was a rather average heighted man clad in an uncomfortable-looking suit. The figure fidgeted inconspicuously while talking on his phone. Happy somehow felt sympathetic to the guy. He was probably just another driver patiently waiting for their employer to come stumbling out in lavish stupor. "Poor guy—probably couldn't get in for just one hors d'oeuvre," Happy muttered to himself, feeling proud that his years of experience have awarded him to do so.

"Are you bragging to me, Uncle Happy?" Darcy piped in, jolting Happy to push the trunk close. He looked to see his niece lightly smirking at him with raised brows. The smirk reminded him too much of his lifelong friend and boss. "Just get in the car, kid," coughed Happy, "If your parents catch us, we'll both be in trouble."

oOo

"I made contact, sir. Set a time for an interview. This didn't seem like the place to press further," the agent murmured to his as he turned his back against the shining lights of gala. He silently watched people in gleaming jewels and dresses converse with each other, sipping luxurious champagne and fantastic appetizers. He had already quite had a few of the hors d'oeuvres while he waited for his target to arrive, and gulped a few smooth sips himself. Missions like this only come once in a blue moon so it'd be a shame not to enjoy it. He wondered if he should take some home for Sitwell and the others.

"The point was to let him known we're watching," his Director answered, "How's he acting?" The agent covertly turned his body to see where the billionaire was. Last time he checked the man's location, he was talking with a journalist by the bar. His intel reported that it was Christine Everhart of Vanity Fair— allegedly one of Tony Stark's one-time partners. When he laid the eyes at the bar, the man was not there anymore, with only the journalist left with two glasses of drinks. His Director waited for a response as he scanned the room quickly and then headed for the entrance. He followed the paparazzi's cries for Tony's attention for their camera , walking in a steady but quick pace to avoid any for himself. But the agent reached the end of the red carpet, past through Obadiah Stane and a few reporters, only to see Tony Stark zooming away into the traffic.

"Looks like he had somewhere to go, sir."

oOo

[The 15-mile hile to the outskirts of Gulmira can only be described as a descent into hell, into a modern day Heart of Darkness.]

Her words still continue to haunt him. Following the trail of a cable connected from his arc reactor to his armored arm, he watched footage of the situation in Gulmira. Carrie, Christie whatever name is showed him photos of weapons that was forcing these people in the TV out of their homes. Is this what you call accountability? Burning sand under his feet. Over lifeless soldiers. Exploding humvees. Crates of guns. Arid days. Freezing nights. Memories played on loop along with the ominous voice of the person he trusted. Tony, who do you think locked you out? Obadiah asked him when he has become so naïve and dumb. Families with worn-out faces, trudged the valley with little to no baggage. He watched little children clutch on their mother's hand, curious and embarrassed by the camera pointing at them. I was the one who filed the injunction against you. He felt his hand twitch inside the armor as he screwed it on.

[Simple farmers and herders from peaceful villages have been driven from their homes, displaced from their lands by warlords emboldened by a new-found power. Villagers have been forced to take shelter in whatever crude dwellings they can find in the ruins of other villages or here in the remnants of an old Soviet smelting plant. Recent violence has been attributed to a group of foreign fighters referred to by locals as the Ten Rings…]

It was them. It was them, again. The same abominations that abducted him have expanded their range of victims. It was the same imbeciles who had his weapons mass-produced for their own villainous wishes. It was the same assholes that robbed his daughter of a father. Double-dealing. He should've predicted it. Hell, he should've predicted to predict it. He tightened his grip of the screwdriver and watched the repulsor on his metal arm slowly whirred on.

[Around me, a woman begging for news on her husband, who was kidnapped by insurgents, either forced to join their militia. Desperate refugees clutch yellowed photographs, holding them up to anyone who will stop.]

Yinsen's sudden image came up in his field of view. He imagined a small family of three clutching the doctor's photo, tears in their eyes, begging to see their father once again. My family is dead…Tony looked away to shake the image. Anger and sorrow burst into his veins, his fingers tingled into a glow and with the grim feelings he felt, bright energy repulsed through his palm and shot the ceiling lights of his lab. His blood-stained mouth. His fading eyes… and I'm going to see them now, Stark. His arm swung back from the force and he realized the power he held. Yes, he promised Yinsen he'll change—he thought while in attempt to smirk at his destruction. He promised him that he won't waste his life—all of it will be poured into this armor. But others'—too many of them—were being wasted in the midst of his "change"—he then caught a glance of his face.

He frowned.

This war—he took a part in it.

[A child's simple question, 'Where are my mother and father?']

Darcy's countenance appeared before him as he twisted his body to face the glass doors of his lab. He saw her smiling, pressing her porcelain cheeks on the glass door. I love you, Dad. The Ten Ring's full intentions were still yet to be revealed but he knew well that they craved power and destruction. Be safe, ok? Her smile began to disappear. Her blue eyes quivered as his were Ten Rings saw him as a tool—the great Tony Stark as their weapon. I couldn't sleep, Dad. As he viewed the footage of homes crushed by his missiles, lives taken because of his guns, families torn because of his technology, he realized that this violence began with him. I looked for you. The moment he let his Industries take its global reign, he gave power not only to achieve peace, but also to create war. In a way, he was the perpetrator of his own abduction, the main suspect of his daughter's pain.

Darcy Lewis can't be Darcy Stark, he declared.

He shook the image of his sad daughter away, revealing his own pained visage looking back at him. Three mindless steps followed and he saw his reflection crystal clear.

Not yet.

He saw a damaged man—a broken man with a hold in his heart. He tried to patch it, he saw, stitched his battered chest with metal.

This is not my legacy.

The man will continue to patch himself up, cover each crevice of his skin with metal, so each mistake that he scarred into himself can no longer be seen.

I'll protect her. I'll protect them.

An unconscious palm was raised pointed at the broken man. He felt the power from his beaten heart grow stronger, and snaked towards his arm. With the twitch of his fingers, energy burst through breaking the glass. Tony continued to send to blast until all the doors shattered to the ground. He paid no mind to the debris as he walked away. The damage was done. But he promised to fix it. He'll patch all his glitches. He'll cover all his mistakes. He'll hide the pain—until he reaches the moment where he can look at his own reflection again.

[There's very little hope for these refugees, refugees who can only wonder who, if anyone, will help.]

oOo

The whipping sound of the helicopter slowly came down to a halt as he hopped off. Ever since the sudden exit of the billionaire from the Firefighters Family Fund, headquarters increased their suspicion and awareness of the Tony Stark's movements. According to witness, Christine Everhart, Stark seemed quite affected when he was shown photos of a town called Gulmira and immediately stormed off after. He even became more suspicious when in fact that raided village housing tons of arsenals were suddenly blown up to ashes a few days later.

"Well, Coulson. You got your wish. Welcome to Gulmira," his director stepped off the chopper. He and his agent lost their all-black outfits and donned sand colored uniforms to match the village's officials. But his one-eyed glare was still intimidating as ever. "Behave yourself. We're here on homeland security matters only. Anything relating to the local conflict is the military's job."

Coulson stared back at his director incredulously. He didn't need to be reminded of like a child. Then he saw, around him, lifeless bodies lying on the ground. Concrete houses were blasted to inhabitable shambles, covered with gunshot holes and blood. He heard children crying with their mothers, begging for a miracle that their father and husband be brought back to life. This used to be a peaceful village with peaceful people. All he saw was hell that shouldn't be called home.

"Copy that, sir."

Another agent approached the two, dusting something in his hands. Three scrutinizing eyes stared at the agent as he revealed it to be video camera. The device was battered around the edges and its crevices were filled with sand but somehow, it still powered on.

"Director Fury," the agent called, "We found this on one of the Ten Rings terrorists. You're going to want to see it." Fury grabbed the camera, and viewed the screen. He watched as the men in the video carry weapons and point at families who once lived peacefully in their village. Women and children cried as they saw scary men point rifles at their husbands and fathers. Coulson shook his head while Fury maintained a stoic expression. "This is consistent with their M.O. They record their raids on local villages…" Fury started, "…so they can show other civilians who get ideas about standing up to them… what the consequences are."

They see a larger man grab another man from his family and threw him on the dirt. He seems to be the leader of the raid, the agents concluded as they watched him order one of his men: "Kill that dog."

Black smoke covered the screen and they heard bullets fire. A woman screamed. A child called for his father. Then more screaming. The camera shook violently and whoever held dropped it in fear. The cloud of smoke slowly faded out and above the people who once held power over the village pointed their guns weakly at someone Fury and Coulson didn't expect to see.

"Looks like Stark made some improvements," the one-eyed Director smirked at the sight of the red and gold suit, repulsors ready.

The footage continued on with the clips of the metal man stop RPGs, shoot missiles, carry tanks, and blow up tons and tons of his arsenal into ashes. Fury and Coulson decided to investigate Stark's full intention back at the War Room. Fury stared at videos from Gulmira, Tony's flight test of Mark Two and the explosion made by Mark One.

"According to Stane," he started, "Stark pulled the old files on an alloy his father worked on during World War II…"

"I've heard about this operation, Director," Coulson perked up.

Fury nodded. "Project Rebirth, yes, and with that, I can guess what happened next." At that moment, they saw the metal suit destroy tanks in five seconds. "Stark probably found, what you could say, an example, of the alloy in his father's archives and used it to strengthen his suit."

Coulson flashed an almost childish grin. "It's pretty impressive, Director. What was the Project Rebirth's goal?"

"By the way you're smiling, I'm guessing you already know the answer, Agent," Fury tilted his head to raise a brow at Coulson. The agent immediately reverted back to a stoic expression and coughed. The director inwardly smiled and returned his eye to the footages. "But that's still classified. But to give you an idea of its importance, what Stark has is just a prototype… a reject."

This metal alloy was very important indeed. Coulson has read all about it ever since he was a little kid. He had the posters, the action figures, the trading cards. To think he was able to hear more about it now. How nostalgic.

"The final product was lost," his director sighed, "Although you can bet your life we'll never stop looking for it." He eyed his agent. It seems Coulson was full of hope.

The booming sound of an explosion reverberated throughout the War Room, distracting them from the memories of the past. The screen began showing Stark shooting missiles at crates containing his Jericho Missiles. "Interesting, Stark's making quite a point of destroying the Ten Rings' Jericho Missiles."

Coulson sounded resolute. "He knows we're on to him now. Maybe he's trying to wipe out evidence that he worked with them."

"Could be. But he made quite a show of it, blowing everything to a million pieces." Stark's true intentions was still unknown to them but Director Fury began having second thoughts about the billionaire.

"Director Fury!" an agent called out to him, panting, "Your bogey's been sighted by two F-22 Raptors! They're engaging now!"

A new video popped up in the big screens. They watched two jets follow the Tony Stark in his metal suit. The suit went supersonic. Fury threatened that if he ever touched a hair of the two pilots, he'll make his time in the cave seem like a day in the spa. But Stark began taking evasive measures, avoiding every single missile fired at him, and firing nothing back. No damage was done until he tried to fly away and one of the jet's wings hit him. The Raptor began spiraling down, the pilot trying to eject himself of the burning plane. It was at the moment they say Tony zoom down to release the pilot's jammed parachute when they realized they've been looking at everything the wrong way.

"Stark exposed himself to fire in order to open the chute manually," Coulson recounted, "Do you think he's afraid of provoking the military or something?"

"No I think someone's been playing us," Fury shook his head. "What would you do if a kid you've practically raised all your life has suddenly been accused of terrorism?"

"I woul—

"You would try to defend them," Fury completed his sentence. "Now that I think about it, Stane's has been quite forthcoming with information about Stark."

Coulson caught on. "Where do you want me to go, sir?"

"Back to stateside. Don't you have an appointment with Ms. Potts?"

"Good." Fury turned his back to him. His brows knitted together to a glare. He didn't like being played. "Look at the company's financials again. This time, focus on Stane's."

oOo

She opened the doors only to reveal him working on red and yellow robot thing again. At least this time, it wasn't covered with bullet holes. Pepper didn't know completely what she felt when she first saw him with the suit. Shock underestimated it. Amazement was not even part of it.

"Hey, you busy?" he felt her presence, pausing his tinkering of the hanging suit. She said nothing and only stared. There was something disconcerting watching him work on it. She couldn't see it as a weapon that Tony would usually create. This weapon had arms like a human. It had hands. It had legs. It had eyes—and those eyes looked dead.

"You mind if I send you on an errand?" he asked, his hands taking off the cables connecting the upper body of the thing to various parts of the lab. His words were gentle as if he was really asking for permission but she knew that he wouldn't take no for an answer. She watched him stand up and head to one of his tool carts and tell her, "I need you to go to my office."

His eyes didn't meet her wary ones. "You're going to hack into the mainframe…"

"…and you're going to retrieve all…"

"…the recent shipping manifests." He took a small black piece of plastic and handed it to her. "This is a lock chip," he showed her the USB drive, "This'll get you in. It's probably under Executive files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive, in which case you need…" Blue-gray eyes stared back stoically. She waited until he was finished talking. "… to look for the lowest numeric heading."

"And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?" she finally spoke with a voice serious and yet incredulous. She felt as if she already knew answer but she prayed it wouldn't be so. This man was going too far.

"Same drill." He stated, turning his body around from her. She clenched the lock chip in her grasp tightly. Pepper knew what he hinted and she knew that it meant putting bullet holes again on that red and yellow thing. "They've been dealing under the table, and I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them."

She wanted to scream but a sigh of defeat exhaled through her lungs. "Tony, you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if you're going to start all of this again." Did he not realize how much weariness he had inflicted to her heart when she saw him squirming out of the armor?

His back was still turned to her. "There is nothing except this," he breathed out. There was a hint of fatigue in his voice but he tried his best to hide it. "There's no art opening. There is no benefit. There is nothing to sign. There is the next mission and nothing else."

"Is that so?" she replied, when he finally faced her. She asked herself before what exactly she felt when she saw him covered with metal and bullets holes. She realized it wasn't shock. It wasn't amazement. It wasn't joy or pride. It was fear. "Well, then, I quit."

She tossed the lock chip to a box in front of her and turned around for the door. It was fear that seeped into her bones and anxiety that shook her fingers. She was scared of the thing he has created, the thing with the emotionless eyes, the one with weapons in his palms. She was scared of what he'll use it on, worried that his time was no longer filled with projects but now 'missions'. She was scared because this time, Darcy might actually lose a father.

Dealing under the table is a serious problem, a problem the company was bound to have. Pepper and he thought they would have everything in control but unexpected circumstances were meant to happen. What should be predicted though, was the plan of action taken if such thing were to arise. Pepper didn't prepare for this. Pepper didn't see that Tony would actually throw his body to the fire.

Her eyes shifted left and right. At that moment, she could embody the true assistant Tony was looking for. Someone clearheaded, prepared and strong. But her boss has gone too crazy. She shouldn't be handling these kinds of affairs.

"You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction. And now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way, you're going to walk out?" he stopped her. She tried to ignore the thought that he almost sounded like he was pleading her to stay.

"You're going to kill yourself, Tony," she retorted, "I'm not going to be a part of it." Her grey eyes reflected the glow of the arc reactor, he noticed as she stated, "Darcy's not going to be a part of it." He knew what she was hinting. Think about your daughter, Tony. Think about the people who will get hurt too when you throw your life into the fire. Again.

His pain was contagious. His death waited for him like vultures while his family watched as the audience. That was why he needed for it to stop. "I shouldn't be alive," he started as he tossed his body back to a seat, "Unless it was for a reason."

Serious brown orbs looked back. "I'm not crazy, Pepper." He thought he knew it all. But he has been naïve all along. He was like a child manipulated by the adults. "I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right." Even if it has been beaten and battered.

Then he looked away. He didn't want to witness her figure to disappear to leave him alone. There were cables all over the floor and he trailed them back to the red and gold suit. Its eyes stared lifelessly to the ground. The suit was designed to be smart. It can soar in the skies in supersonic speed. It can evade heat-seeking missiles. It can free hostages from their captors. Will it now be a replacement for him? Will this suit become his everything when he was slowly getting nothing?

"You're all I have too, you know," her voice was clear as bell as she picked up the lock chip again. Their eyes met and were fixed intently. "You and Darcy. You're all I have."

The two shared the silence they always cherished. It was the moment when they know that both of them are on the same page, the moment when they have come to full understanding with each other. It was the moment when no one else can come and ruin—

"—Are we having a moment?"

"—I have to go."

Except for the both of them.

Pepper tucked the lock chip in her purse and walked quickly to the stairs while Tony spun his chairs around to face his creation. No farewells were said as cool air moved slowly between. Tony felt something in his gut, urging him to continue their conversation, telling him to say something different. Maybe resume their other 'moment' back at the Firefighter's Benefit. But he was too prideful to do so. There weren't enough words to express what he feels.

"Tony? About that night…" he suddenly heard, and he immediately whipped his head to the source. The door was slightly open, revealing Pepper's red hair gracefully tilted as she poked her head in. His mouth twitched inwardly to a small smirk, thinking that maybe she was over the awkwardness and was ready to resume things.

"Oh? The Benefit thing? We can tal—

"The one when you came back with bullet holes," the alert assistant immediately interjected, which closed the genius' mouth right away. "Rhodes's upstairs. He wants to talk."

oOo

"You crazy son of a bitch!" was the first thing he heard. Tony silently received his best friend's lashes of anger and watched him pace around the living room. In the background was footage of Colonel James Rhodes in a press conference about a recent F-22 crash.

"Are you gonna ground me?" Tony asked monotonously, tilting his head left and right to get a better view of the television.

Rhodes glared. "What were you thinking?! A suit?! What happened to the closing the weapons department BS?"

"I thought that you being the liaison between Stark Industries and the military, you would be happy about this—" the billionaire muttered back, trying to grab a view of the screen, "Wait, look at this part, I love the way you minutely scowl at the camera. Is that directed to me?"

"I'm not speaking as a liaison, Tony," Rhodes sighed as he stopped his pacing to completely block Tony's field of view, "I'm speaking as your friend—

Tony rolled his eyes and pursed his lips, leaning back to the sofa to fully look at his livid friend. "I'm sorry, Mom. I won't do it again. Come on, please let me show you-"

Rhodes raised a finger, and closed his eyes to contain his anger. "—and as Darcy's godfather." At that instant, he caught the playboy's full attention. He saw his eyes look up to him, unnerving yet confused. How is this about Darcy?

"You've been building this suit thing downstairs?" Rhodes spoke in a softer tone, taking a seat on the coffee table in front of Tony. The man opened his mouth, ready to spew out engineering jargon at him but the colonel spoke abruptly. "No, I told you, the less I know, the better. I'm gonna ask again. This suit—it's downstairs?"

"Mark Two and Three," Tony answered proudly. His best friend immediately slouched his shoulders. "There are two of them now? I'm guessing you took the first one for a first drive?"

"Just around California. You see—there was an icing problem—it's just a prototype—but JARVIS—"

"Did you even think about what would happen if one of our drones followed your unregistered aircraft ass home?" Rhodey cut him off again. His voice was fatigued. "What if one of our jets followed you and took this house upside down? What if the minute they ring your door, your daughter opens it? Did you even think about that?"

Tony's gaze hardened as moved closer to Rhodes. He knew what he was insinuating. His voice was heavy and bitter. "I know what I'm doing, Rhodes."

The colonel didn't move an inch and kept his eyes steady. "Do you now?"

"JARVIS is an intelligent program. I can sense oncoming any vehicles coming my way. Also, my suits are designed to be faster and smarter than your drones and jets so don't tel—

Rhodes stood up and burst, "You just said they were prototypes, Tony! They're preliminary models! Samples!"

"My calculations are always corre—

"They. Are. Meant. To. Have. Flaws." Rhodes enunciated each word loudly, hoping it would pierce through the genius' stubbornness and pride. "Tony, now I'm not telling you to stop tinkering, or continue anything with those suits. Hell, you can do whatever you want with them but bringing this kind of unstable work home is dangerous to your family. That's why you have facilities for this, buildings with your name on it."

Tony laid back and listened. Sometimes he didn't know whether to hate or like the guy. Surely, he thought that his dear old Rhodey would back him up one hundred percent but his good intentions were not only meant for him. He knew the man was worried and he had reasons to be.

"This is new technology I have never seen before and you should be glad that the major called me first when they spotted you. What if someone else detected you before us? I don't even know if I'm the only one who knows about this. There might already be people who are tailing your metal ass." Rhodey rubbed his temples and pondered carefully. He sauntered closer to his dear friend and dropped a thoughtful hand on his shoulder. "All I'm saying is that Darcy, Pepper, and you could be in potential danger. It doesn't matter what you do with that thing but to bring this home, I—just—be careful where you fly that thing."

The two of them looked intently into each other's eyes. Both of them have different jobs, different experiences but both of them have one person they care about. "I can sense that we're having moment here," Tony put a hand in Rhodey's shoulder, "I thought Pepper and I were gonna have one but you came so are we gonna hug it out or something?"

"Calm down, Tin Man," the Colonel finally smiled at him, "You're smart, Tony, you and I know that no one will ever forget that but don't forget about your girl."

And there she was. Plain navy t-shirt. Denim shorts. Brown knit beanie. Bunny slippers. Slice of pizza.

"You talkin' about muh?" a voice distracted their "moment". The two men saw the subject of their conversation standing on the last steps of the stairs, loudly munching on a slice of pizza. "Thanksh for da pizsha, Uncle."

Tony suddenly stood up, eyes ajar in shock. His voice took a domineering tone which took Rhodey by surprise. "Darcy," he said sternly, "All Starks should have a certain grace around other people."

James Rhodes sat quietly and watched, for once, Tony actually reprimand Darcy, who in turn stared in astonishment. Such occasion was rare and it would take a great deal of mischief and fault for Darcy to actually get in trouble. Now, the man was actually going to lecture his daughter about manners—Tony Stark, of all people, teaching about manners. Maybe this guy really knew what he was doing.

"Look at you," Tony walked closer to the dumbfounded girl and sighed. He bored his eyes into her blue ones and Darcy noticed a flick of disappointment in his stare. "We talked about this," he sighed, dropping both his hands on her shoulders, which forced the girl to swallow a big bite of the slice.

"Darcy, when someone brings you pizza, you have to tell Dad right away."

A loud sigh erupted from the Colonel's throat. He didn't say anything but bow his head in disbelief. Tony caught it and turned to him with legitimate surprise, "I know, right, Rhodey? Can you believe this kid? I think I'm a good parent. I taught her to care. I taught her to share."

Rhodey shook his head and began chuckling to himself, confusing the two. Yup, he's still the same. Everything is still the same. He had noticed that his friend had been acting too weird these past few weeks but he kept quiet because he knew everything will come alight someday—and now he knew. He knew that Tony's little project downstairs was what has been keeping him busy all this time. He knew that the metal suit has unsurpassable potential for the future. He knew that Tony Stark was still the same. The man just swerved into a different lane in life.

"Actually, Uncle Rhodey told me not to tell you," Darcy interjected, "I was pretty hungry so I happily obliged."

"Et tu, Bruté?" Tony feigned shock, comically placing his hands on his chest. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Rhodey smiled and joked. "The less you know the better."

oOo

Big guy actually did it! I can't believe he actually did it. He saved them. All of them.

If only Erskine was still here to see him.

S.

oOo

There was a lighter feeling in the air, Darcy felt. It wasn't as tense as early in the morning when her Uncle Rhodey practically barged in the house to talk to her father. She didn't think too much into it because it was the usual occurrence when her Dad had done something stupid. There was no use trying to ask about what really happened. That was the point of the pizza anyway: to distract people. Rhodey used it on her and now she's using it on them.

After giving Tony a few slices and actually having a nice conversation with him, she skipped towards her room with a carefree stride. She typed in the code for access and clapped twice. All the lights in her room turned off and in a snap, all the windows were covered. She walked to her couch and let herself feel the cool air of the darkness. Why ask people who are unwilling to give answers when she can look into it herself? "ASTRID? While Dad is busy bromancing with Uncle, let's look at that mysterious F-22 crash, shall we?"

At that instant, the four large pane of glass facing the couches blinked into transparent hologram screens. A broadcast of Colonel Rhodes' press conference played on one window while photos and the recorded satellite footage of the supposed crash from the Edwards Air Force Base panned the other three windows. How convenient it was to have already hacked the satellite connected to her Uncle Rhodey's station. Darcy didn't predict that she could have another use to it again.

"Turn audio on, please," she muttered to the disembodied computer as she walked closer to the screens. Geometric audio lines appeared on the side and played along with the footage. First, she heard the people yelling in shock as she saw explosions in some kind of village.

[What the hell was that? Were we cleared to go in there?]

According to the report from Edwards Air Force Base, it was a compound containing over fifteen tons of arsenals collected by the terrorist group, The Ten Rings.

Darcy replied with nothing as she watched carefully. She knew who they were. She then heard another say that the people there were using human shields and that they never got the green light. Then she saw something zoom from the explosions, labeled with a red dot by the satellite, something small and fast. The red dot was zooming away to the left in a speed comparable to a jet.

[Wasn't Air Force. It wasn't Navy. Wasn't Marines.]

The voices rambled on and on and it seemed that they still had not recognize the red dot. Darcy bit her thumb playfully as she heard a man call for her Uncle Rhodey.

[Get me Colonel Rhodes from Weapons Development down here now.]

She wondered what must have gone through Rhodes' mind when he was sent to diagnose the unknown aerial vehicle that had just entered his war zone. What feelings did he feel when he found out the very men that captured his best friend was suddenly blown to pieces—something that he had hoped to do ever since?

Two more radars popped up on the screens as two high altitude surveillance planes were ordered to spot the bogey. Darcy watched as the fighter jets shot incessantly at it after each unsuccessful attempt. They shot and shot. They tried zooming to it. The thing went supersonic. The people panicked. The pilots fired missiles. The thing deployed flares. Then all of the sudden, it was gone.

[The sat visual has been lost. No way that's a UAV.]

Darcy wished she had popcorn with her because, "Shit, that's intense." People clamored in the audio and the pilots yelled with both shock and amazement. She heard people whisper with great confusion as to why the thing suddenly disappeared. The pilots looked left and right, over and sideways and still saw no glimpse of the thing.

[I think the bogey's been handled, sir.]

[Then mark your position and return to base.]

The radar bleeped as the two jets began to spread out to turn around. Then all of the sudden, she heard one of the pilots yell.

[On your belly!]

God, where's the popcorn?

[It looks… like… a man?]

Forget the popcorn. That was all she needed.

Muting the footage, she opened a new window and started a search. "Considering how Uncle Rhodey painstakingly covered up the crash with something, it should probably be a big deal, right?" she thought to herself, thinking of what she should type up to search, "Okay, let's see. Um so it's a thing that flies, it can go supersonic and it's shaped like a man… Should I look up MAV instead of UAV then? Does that even exist? Don't answer that, I'm just talking to myself."

Various folders began to pop up on the window, opening and closing as her computer system began to sort through public network files and hidden files she was able to intercept using hacked satellites. She bit her thumb at the nervous feeling inching down her fingers. She couldn't help but feel anxious somehow. For all her life, she had access to all knowledge available. May it be from a small bookstore down the street, or Howard Stark's private library, she was able to garner any information and welcome it with open arms. But somehow, she was nervous to keep digging. She has all these resources to find out the truth, but she didn't know what to do with it.

Sector Sixteen is locked.

Darcy raised a brow. "Sector Sixteen? That's new. Why haven't we seen that one?"

The folder was hidden until a wi-fi signal brought it out to the company's public network.

"But it's still encrypted. We have to be physically there to unlock the folder."

Darcy stared long and hard at the screen. All the other folders were opening except for that one sector. Somehow deep inside her knew something was up but there was also the chance that they were only private files of Stark Industries. "Where is the folder located?"

"So you're the one that's been snooping around."

oOo

The sun has already set when he left his workshop for a break. Improving the suit took a great deal of time and he needed to take a breather and pat himself in the back. He grabbed a small glass cup from the kitchen and poured a tiny amount of scotch. A sip was so rewarding that he almost forgot the echoing rings of a phone that had been going on for a while.

"I threw it somewhere…" he muttered to himself, leaving his cup on the kitchen counter. The halls and the living room quietly lingered in the darkness, joining the Pacific's cobalt night. His phone grew louder as he stepped closer to the couches. The house was silent. He wondered what Darcy was up to. She was probably with Pepper or something.

He looked around and around for the phone and found the source under one of the pillows. He quickly grabbed the phone and saw Pepper's face on the screen. What could be the problem now?

"Tony?" was the first thing he heard when he raised the phone to his ear. Second was the most painful whirring noise he had ever heard in his life. It was a horrible shriek, so deafening that he immediately begged for it to end after one second. His mind wanted it stop but no sound came out of his throat. He wanted to close his eyes to shut off the pain but they widened open, feeling the air dry incoming tears.

"Tony, are you there?" he heard, the whirring sound fading away. He wanted to scream but it was as if his mouth was glued closed. "Hello?" He wanted to call for Pepper. For anyone. But the sound knocked the air left out of his lungs.

"Breathe," a deep voice said. Then all of the sudden he was being laid carefully on the couch. "Easy, easy." The voice was slowly getting recognizable.

His eyes refused to move when he saw an all-familiar hand appear in front of him with an all-familiar device he knew he had discarded long ago. "You remember this one, right?" the voice asked, wiggling the device before his unmoving eyes. "It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis."

Then the hand moved away to grab him by the jaw. At that instant, he finally saw his face.

"Tony." Obadiah Stane sighed. "When I order the hit on you… I was worried that I was killing the golden goose…"

How could he be so stupid? He knew all the possibilities and he knew that Stane could be likely the one who'd be behind all this, but how could he actually be so stupid to disregard that idea?

Stane began removing earbuds off his ears and smiled to himself. "But, you see, it was just fate that you survived that."

Pain. Pain. Pain. Where was it coming from? Tony felt a tug in his chest. No. He wouldn't.

"You had one last golden egg to give."

Another tug. Pain. Pain. Pain.

"Do you really think that just because…"

Stane began turning something. He felt a jolt in his chest.

"…you have an idea, it belongs to you?"

Bright light overcame his eyes. It was the bright light that kept him alive.

"Your father, he helped gave us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?"

No. Stane wouldn't. He could die.

"Oh it's beautiful," Stane's voice was eerie in awe as he waved the arc reactor in front of Tony Stark's paralyzed eyes. The light glossed over his brown irises. Life was escaping his body slowly and all the Tony saw were years with his life-long mentor, his friend, his family wasted for this moment.

"Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony." Stane continued to talk as he sat casually beside him. The genius on the other hand had no choice but to look at the arc reactor, the only thing that kept him alive.

"What a masterpiece. Look at that." Stane sighed as Tony began to breathe shallower breaths. "This is your legacy."

Stane grabbed him by the jaw. Mocking awe no longer were in his eyes but a new kind of lingering hate that sparked from betrayal. He still smiled but Tony knew that the Obie he thought he knew was gone. He wondered if he was going to let him die this slow death. Did Obie abhorred him that much that he would willingly torture him until his end? Ordering the hit for him wasn't enough. It had to come to this. But why?

"Speaking of legacy, I found out you didn't only leave one golden egg—but two!" Stane smiled and clenched Tony's jaw tighter. Tony expected to feel pain from his grasp but he felt a different a more excruciating ache from his chest. It wasn't his forthcoming death without an arc reactor. It wasn't the shock and betrayal from Stane. It was the only fear he had possessed for almost eighteen years. The only person he sought to protect all his life was now caught from the webs of his own destruction.

Tony looked at him with wavering brown eyes. Tears welled up on the surface, screaming.

No. Not this.

Stane chuckled at his reaction and nodded, "Oh but yes, Tony." He proceeded to turn his paralyzed head to the left and saw a lock of all-familiar brunette hair on the carpet. Tony forced the haze of his heaving, aching heart to see clearly. He didn't want to see but he knew he had to confirm and at that moment, he wished he just stayed in that cave to die alone.

"Pepper mentioned her a few months ago when you were gone. Accidentally and fortunately for me." Stane stood up from the couch. "But she's quick-witted, you see, and she said that she's only her god-daughter."

He kicked the couch in front of him to reveal Darcy's full motionless body lying on the carpet. A pained groan came out from Tony. He wanted to run. He wanted to punch him in the face. He wanted to scream. He wanted to hold his daughter. But he was trapped, paralyzed.

"I didn't pay too much attention after that," Stane shrugged and sat on the couch next to Darcy's body. "But a week later, I found a small bug that targeted Stark Industries employees and our satellites. I thought it would only be those hackers that sought only our money but whoever it was just changed the course coordinates satellites over to the Middle East. Tracing it back was not an easy feat, I tell you and I congratulate her for that. But signals bounced back to your private servers in New York and a small carriage house in Manhattan. A house owned by a Darcy Lewis."

Tony's lips began to crack, drying from the numerous attempts to exhale his voice. He wanted to move his arms, his legs but his brain did not follow. All he could do is watch and listen.

"Meredith died too young, may she rest in peace, but I didn't know she had a child." Stane reached down to remove a lock of hair that covered Darcy's face. A sharp gasp escaped from Tony. Her eyes were opened. Bright aquamarine eyes were open, frozen in place… staring back at him. Her lips were ajar as if she had been trying helplessly to breathe properly. Tony wished he died alone in that cave. Death would be less painful than this.

"It didn't take me long to find her birth certificate. Her real one." Stane touched her porcelain cheek with his fingertips which elicited another protest from Tony. A small whimper came from his daughter which felt like a thousand knives piercing his chest. "You don't how it's easy to find something or someone once you've set your heart into it. You should give her more credit. She tried finding you! How do you think Rhodes found out where you were in the desert?"

Stane chuckled loudly when Tony attempted to pierce a glare at him. "Funny, she looks more like her mother than you." Tony wanted to look at the skies to beg for Meredith's forgiveness. This was the one thing she never wanted. Darcy was supposed to be safe.

"I assume Pepper had a part in all this. Since her employment started the year she was born."

I just got her back.

Tony felt the tips of his fingers shake and he forced and forced his whole hand to follow. He maintained his glare at Stane and spewed curses in his mind when Stane began to reach down to pick up his daughter.

Don't take her away.

"Too bad you had to involve her and Pepper into this." Stane muttered when he carried Darcy's motionless body. Pallid finger reached for his trembling ones. But he couldn't do anything. He has spent so much time improving himself, his suit but once again, he was stuck in a place that stood silently in front of his helpless daughter. Stane began walking away with her and the last thing he saw was a tear from Darcy's eyes before she disappeared in the darkness.

"I would have preferred that your family lived."