iron woman 1 - chapter 1

[𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐊𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐀𝐟𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧. 𝐀 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 "𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤" 𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐂/𝐃𝐂]

As soon as the convoy appears on screen, very distincts hisses of shock and disapproval echo throughout the room. Rhodes, Pepper and Happy look at each other in defeat, while Fury and the rest of the vampires stare at them, waiting for an explanation.

"She has never told anyone what happened out there" shared James. "And you know how she likes to babble, so we can only guess that even the memories are too traumatic, even for her."

In fact, Hope did not know her mother's speech pattern. She had watched countless talk shows and interviews of the superhero/business woman, but she had always been stern and serious on screen. Feeling self-conscious, the tribrid huddled closer to her father, trying to block Hayley and Jackson Keener away from her sight.

"Is that why she's not here?" inquired Howard Stark.

His wife was sitting next to him, seemingly distressed after hearing the additional comments from those around her about her captivity with terrorists. Oh, her little Antonia... She had wished for a daughter and the first moment she had held her, she had thanked the stars for the chance they had given her. She was barely a teenager at the time ; god knows how she had coped with such loss.

Wanda furrowed her brows and shared a look of contempt with Clint and Steve - they had been in Wakanda a few minutes earlier before being taken against their will to watch the life of the woman who had destroyed hers. Throwing a circular look around, she tried to read the mind of the unknown group before being magically pushed out. She met the fiery eyes of a teenager (that looked too much like Stark for her liking) before an older man wearing a suit captured the girl's attention.

[

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐢𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠.]

𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤: 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭-𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐲. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨? 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐟 𝐦𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤? 𝐇𝐞𝐲, 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭!

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫: 𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤, 𝐦𝐚'𝐚𝐦.

𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤: 𝐎𝐡, 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞. 𝐒𝐨 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥?

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 (𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞): [𝐒𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞.] 𝐍𝐨, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.

𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤: 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲... 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧, 𝐈'𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐳𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭.

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 (𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞): 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧.

𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤: 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝? [𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞.] 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲, 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡.

Steve rolled his eyes at the woman's behavior. She could never be serious about anything, even in dangerous situations. The soldiers were surely busy and she was bothering them with her reckless attitude and binge drinking. His behavior was noticed by Rhodes who furrowed his brows. "Rogers, before you go full on judgemental asshole, Toni grew up with soldiers. She probably knows more about them than you actually do."

Captain winced at the reminder of his training during World War 2 - he looked at Barnes, expecting his help. Instead, it was Howard who came to the rescue. "I know you're a friend of Toni and you're probably used to her total disregard of decency, but that's Captain America over there."

A red-headed woman that Hope recognized as Pepper Potts audibly scoffed. "I can't wait for you to see what your dear Captain has done with the shield you gave him."

"Who are you lady?"

"Virginia Potts, CEO of Stark Industries", she informed him while looking smug at his shocked facial expression.

"I don't know why I am surprised. That girl hated responsibilities, no wonder she pawned off the company to you and not to Obie. He must have left with the shenanigans she put him through."

It was clear to everyone his words were not welcome since most of the room stiffened when he mentioned "Obie". Hope wanted to know more, but they kept on interrupting the movies with their useless talks. Even her father and the rest of her family were interested - and the big, bad and dangerous hybrid looked at a lost puppy while admiring his soulmate.

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫: 𝐌𝐚'𝐚𝐦, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤.

𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤: 𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞.

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫: 𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟏𝟐 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟏𝟐 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫'𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐬?

𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤: 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐘𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬. 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞? [𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐉𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐲, 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝.] 𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐩, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?

Maria lightly chuckled and rolled her eyes at the surprised glances thrown her way. "Toni loved me dearly, but she was never my daughter, she's...an exact replica of Howard." Since the watches were dubitative, she explained further. "The genius, the flirting, the drinking, the total disregard of the rules and of authority...That's all Howard. I would not be surprised if she also told the Senate to shove it one day !"

At the incredulous look she was receiving, she laughed and looked at her husband. "Exactly like you, see !"

Steve did not know what to think. After all, he had always put Howard on a pedestal. To know that his daughter had just replicated Howard's behavior and mannerisms and that he had hated her for the same reason he loved her father...? It would be a low blow.

Klaus stiffened at the mention of other partners Toni might have had throughout the years away from him. He was a wolf - which meant he was territorial and possessive. He had wanted to take revenge and hurt her as much as she did him, but his wolf always stopped him before he regretted his actions once and for all. To know his father had got in the way of his happiness again was almost a relief : it meant she did not leave out of her own volition, that she could come back and maybe...see what she missed out on with him and their daughter. And Hayley...well, his brother would not begrudge him for taking action. And if he did, well they had eternity to make up.

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 (𝐉𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐲): 𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮?

𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤: 𝐘𝐞𝐬. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥. [𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭.] 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐌𝐲𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞. [𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨.] 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞, 𝐧𝐨 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬. 𝐍𝐨, 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐩. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞. 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞. 𝐈'𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞.

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 (𝐉𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐲): 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧. 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐮𝐩. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐭. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐭.

[𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐆𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞.]

The Avengers and the rest of their team were used to those sounds - even though Barnes still braced himself as if expecting an attack.

The Mystic Falls gang and the Originals were used to creatures and magical attacks, so they were a bit surprised when they saw the explosions. Even though Hope knew her mother had survived, watching her in distress while she was displaying perfect nonchalance a few seconds earlier was heart wrenching. With her vampire hearing, she heard the clear quickening of someone's panicked heartbeat and saw that both the teenagers (Peter and Harley apparently) were just as worried as she was.

𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧?

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 (𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞): 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭!

𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭?

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧]

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫: 𝐉𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐲, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤!

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 (𝐉𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐲): 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧!

𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤: 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡.

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨]

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 (𝐉𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐲): 𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡!

[𝐉𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.]

𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤: 𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭, 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭, 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭, 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭, 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭! 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐮𝐧!

Wanda let out a laugh full of derision, followed by Clint's grunt of amusement.

"I'll have you know that Toni's been trained her whole life, young lady" chastised Howard. He might have been disappointed in his daughter, but it did not mean he wanted someone to stomp on her achievements. "Do you know how many kidnapping attacks she survived by herself since the moment she was born?"

Hope shared a look with Rebekah - a quick reminder of the few years they had spent together while she was a baby. It seemed her mother and her were not so different after all : even if it was for different reasons, both had lived with a Sword of Damocles on their head.

Peter and Harley were uncomfortable ; Toni had always refused to take them outside because of the threats they could start receiving. Both had thought she was ashamed of their relationship, but it seemed like once again, Iron Woman had tried to protect them from harm.

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 (𝐉𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐲): 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞!

[𝐉𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐨, 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞. 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐦𝐛 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲: 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐦𝐛 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭.]

Howard let out a scream of outrage. He had wanted, a long time ago, to specialize in anything other than weapons. But with time, he had taken pride in his work and had followed the government's flow. After all, he had a family to provide for and a super secret spy organization to fund - while looking for his best friend in the Arctic of course. But seeing his own flesh and blood being hurt by his life's work put everything into perspective.

He was not the only one that was perturbed by the scene in front of them.

"She...she said they had her weapons. I did not know her life was ruined because of them" exclaimed Pepper while shaking. "Oh my god, the shrapnel in her heart Rhodey !"

𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤: 𝐖𝐡𝐨𝐚!

[𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐥.]

[𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐔𝐫𝐝𝐮 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢'𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠]

Fury looked at the screen - he had heard some reports of her captivity. She was his goddaughter after all, and even if he separated his personal life from business, he had tried to father and hide the information. But of course, she had been faster and had requisitioned and destroyed every piece of evidence before they could get their hands on them.

"That...that was not in her file" whispered Natasha. The Black Widow had seen her fair share of horror throughout her career, but it was jarring to see the indestructible Toni Stark at the hands of terrorists.

Hill and Fury shared a look, hesitating. "Look, we wanted her in the Avengers, whatever the cost. The Initiative was nothing without Stark ! We wanted her as a consultant only because she was my failsafe. Push comes to shove, Toni Stark will move mountains and oceans to save the world - she's the only one aside from me that sees the big picture." The Director pondered for a few moments. "We knew she had self-esteem issues because of Howard, we capitalized on that...and put Rogers in charge. Now, I see it has done more psychological damage than I thought."

As soon as he finished his tirade, the one-eyed man was hit by a pair of expensive heels. The rest of the room looked at the elegant Maria Stark in consternation. "I told you to leave my daughter out of SHIELD and you promised ! How dare you ?"

Since everyone was disturbed by her actions, she looked at them - and her defiant blue eyes looked so much like Toni's it was jarring. "You thought I was just a pretty housewife ? I was a Carbonell before being a Stark. I knew my way around the mafia and was the perfect spy to infiltrate a secret American group. Well, I had to fall in love with the founder of said group of course." The blonde woman looked at her husband with apparent fondness.

The Mikaelsons looked at the older couple, a small smile on their lips. It had been centuries since they had seen their parents together, and even though they were now aware of the issues between Howard and his daughter, it was still reassuring to see some good came out of everything.

Hope stared at them longingly before focusing back on the screen, excited to learn more about the woman who gave birth to her. She knew she was smart - but her brain still had troubles computing the information that her idol was actually her mother.