A taste of your action
-2013-
A year had passed since the Battle of New York and things in the city were just about getting back to normal.
The major landmarks had been reconstructed, more housing had been built to shelter those who had lost everything, and the losses sustained that day had been mourned. The Avengers were also a well established group now, everyone knew their names.
It was seemingly a normal day in the tower. Most of them were wandering the halls - save for Natasha who was on a mission of her own and Tony who was somewhere else - and it was Steve who found something that piqued all of their interest.
In Tony's personal space was a picture in a frame. The frame itself was brand new, meaning it was frequently looked after, but the picture was much older. It showed a girl of perhaps fifteen years of age who looked strikingly similar to someone they all knew.
"Why does she look like Stark?" Clint asked, speaking everyone's mind.
"She seems familiar." Thor said, certain he'd seen someone like her before.
"She does." Bruce agreed.
"Does he have any living relatives?" Steve questioned.
"Wouldn't we know?" Clint asked. "I mean, the Starks have always been famous. And arrogant. You'd know if there was more than one."
"He's never mentioned a girl." Bruce said. "There's probably a reason for it."
"I'm asking Pepper."
Before anyone could stop him, Clint was off. The other three shared a glance before following suit and going all the way up to Pepper's office. She was sitting at her desk going through various paperwork, probably for Stark Industries.
Steve politely knocked on the door and she looked up, a friendly but intrigued smile on her face, before waving them in. They filed in one by one, filling the space easily.
"Are you guys okay?" Pepper asked.
"We require information." Thor stated.
"What kind of information?"
"In Stark's office there is a picture of a girl. What is she doing there?"
"Straight to the point." Clint mused. "I applaud you."
"Oh..." Her smile faltered. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why? Who is she?" Steve asked.
"It's a complicated story, and I don't think I should be the one to tell you."
"She's important to Tony, isn't she?" Bruce asked, a lot less demanding than his friends.
Pepper hesitated, but nodded.
"She's young, though. Unless he's into schoolgirls, it's gotta be-" Clint cut himself off, eyes wide. "Don't tell me he's got a kid."
Her look said it all.
"He has a daughter?" The four avengers exclaimed at the same time, as shocked as each other.
"How?" Bruce questioned.
Clint smirked a little. "Well when two people love each other very much, stuff happens."
He gave him a very unamused look.
"Look, it's a sensitive topic." Pepper said, getting their attention again. "She and him weren't very close, and she ran away. Tony tried to find her for years but there's no trace anywhere."
"What are the odds she's still alive?" Bruce asked.
"I don't know." She sighed. "I hope she's out there somewhere, we all do. Just... I think it's best you ask Tony for the whole story."
"Come on." Clint said. "Time to solve a mystery."
"Thank you, Lady Pepper." Thor said as the group once again followed Clint.
After asking JARVIS where Tony was hauled up, they eventually found him hiding away in one of his many labs. He was working on one of his gauntlets, probably fixing something neither of them wanted to even attempt to understand.
Clint, who seemed to have taken the lead on their little side mission, knocked a very melodic pattern on the door, causing Tony to glance up. Unlike Pepper, who greeted them with a smile, he looked indifferent and reluctantly moved away from his workstation to pull open the door.
"Yes?" He asked, waiting expectantly.
Clint grinned. "We have questions."
"You want a medal, Katniss?"
"Whoa. Dial down the hostility for a second, will you?"
"I was kinda in the middle of something."
"And we won't take long-"
"Maybe we should discuss this another time." Steve offered, Bruce and Thor quickly agreeing.
"Oh, no, no, no, no." Clint insisted. "I'm too curious."
Tony just looked bored. "Alright. What's up?"
"We have used our above average intellectual abilities to deduce that you, Stark, have been hiding a secret."
"Barton, you guys have the intellectual abilities of a teaspoon."
"Okay, I'm going to conveniently ignore that horrific insult and cut right to the chase." His jokey demeanor faded. "We know about the kid."
"What kid?"
"Yours."
The mood change was enough to make anyone uncomfortable. Tony's face dropped and his indifference quickly became a mix of surprise and anger.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He shrugged.
"Tony, we saw her picture." Steve said, his tone a lot more gentle than Clint's had been. "We got Pepper to tell us who she was."
For the first time around them, he seemed genuinely uncomfortable, as if the mere mention of the girl was bringing back a lifetime of bad memories.
"What is her name?" Thor asked.
He didn't say anything for a minute, his face stone cold. "(Y/n)."
"Lady Pepper mentioned she ran away. Why would she do that?"
"Because I was a terrible father."
"Tony, that's not true." Bruce tried to say.
"You wouldn't know." He snapped. However, he quickly regretted it and sighed. "It's a long story."
"We've got time."
He scoffed and motioned for them to enter his lab. He let everyone get comfortable, as well as himself, before beginning to explain.
"When I went missing years back, I left her behind. She was so much like me that I guess I got scared. I wasn't there for her. When I discovered it was Stane who organized the whole thing, he told me she'd discovered it too, and that he'd put a hit on her. I think she always wanted out, but that was the final push. Every day I blame myself and every damn day I miss her more than you'll ever understand. She just..." He tried to think of good enough words but it all came short. Instead, he lifted a hand to something around his neck, an intricate looking necklace. "This is all I have left of her."
"I'm so sorry, Tony." Steve said. "I know words alone aren't enough, but we'll help you. We'll help you find her, whatever it takes."
Tony didn't respond at first. He didn't particularly like Steve despite having saved the world together, but he did appreciate that gesture.
"Why?" He asked.
Steve smiled. "Because we're a team."
-Present Day-
"(Y/n)..." Steve mumbled, his eyes wide. "She's been alive this whole time?"
"Iron Man has a kid?" Sam questioned over comms, just as shocked.
"She's been missing for years, we thought she was dead."
"Well from what I just saw, I'm pretty sure she's alive and kicking."
"It's..." He honestly didn't know what to say. "Hill, did you know about this?"
There was a moment of pause before her voice also came through. "Yes."
"Why didn't Tony know?"
"It was at her own request. She didn't want him being in danger because of her."
"Did y'all miss the part where she's got a glowing scepter?" Sam asked. "The hell is that about?"
"It was the tool of a man playing a god." Steve explained. "Sam, can you get (Y/n)'s location?"
There was another brief pause.
"Got her. She's in the labs, 21st floor."
"Find her and help her. Make sure she's safe."
"You got it, Cap."
-
In the conference room, everyone had fallen silent again. No one knew quite what to say after seeing the one and only (Y/n) Stark announce her resurrection.
Natasha broke the silence first. "You hid her from him for six years?"
It was obvious to anyone that Fury knew all about it. Hiding someone and giving them a false life was textbook for him, no one would have expected any less, and he didn't exactly look shocked about it.
"After so long." Pierce stated, smiling cruelly. "We finally have her."
"No, you don't." Fury argued. "You never will."
Natasha was focused on the director with a hard gaze. Even she was struggling to believe what they'd just heard and seen. How could the girl who made most of their weapons be Tony's daughter? How had no one noticed when it now seemed so blatantly obvious.
"Why did you do it?" She asked.
"She asked." Was all Fury replied.
"But Stark-"
"He didn't need to know."
"He mourned her every day. The least he deserved was to know she was alive."
"It would have comprised everything."
As the two argued about it, Pierce glanced down at his hand where a small device was hiding. With it, he alerted a certain STRIKE commander about (Y/n)'s presence, along with orders to capture her and the scepter.
-(Y/n) POV-
You looked at the scientists in the room, all three of which were staring at you in complete awe. But you didn't have time to stop and pose.
"Look, you're in danger if you're within thirty feet of this thing." You warned, motioning to the scepter in your hand. "You've gotta go."
"What about you?" One of them asked, his voice trembling.
"This is my final mission. Fury asked me to protect this thing, so I'm gonna." You opened the case again, putting it inside. "FRIDAY, find an escape route."
After a moment, the voice filled your ear. "The ventilation system leads right outside the building."
"Okay." You picked up the sealed case and looked at your company. "The vents connect to an outside system. If you want to get out in one piece, that's the way to go."
You helped them open up the hatch and immediately the first two ran for it. The third, on the other hand, hesitated as he turned to you. It was the one you'd terrified by almost shooting him.
"What if they catch you?" He asked.
You shrugged. "I've got weapons."
"But you don't have a suit."
"Not every hero needs a suit to save the day."
"But..." He trailed off, looking around the lab until he finally spotted something. "Take this."
He held what looked like a bazooka gun. It was a surprisingly bright thing, with a circular slot at the top and at the end, meaning its rounds would be circular, much like your smoke bombs or acid balls.
"It's not much but I hope you can use it." The scientist said.
You nodded, thankful. "I appreciate it. And sorry for almost taking your kneecap off."
A shy smile appeared on his face. "It's all good. Be safe, Miss Stark."
With that, you parted ways.
You ran with the case in hand, going for the top floor since it was the last place HYDRA would expect you to run. They'd probably have agents at the lower exits, not the top. However, it didn't mean no agents were lying in wait.
You encountered a group of seven at first, all of whom trained their guns on you the second you came into view. They didn't waste a second and sent a hailstorm of bullets after you. You barely survived, sprinting for the corner and taking refuge behind the wall as the sound echoed.
You dropped the case on the floor and grabbed the bazooka with both hands, loading it up with an acid ball first. Then you waited for the sound of reloading before peering around and pulling the trigger.
The ball shot from the end and catapulted itself at the group, taking out two in one. The man and woman it hit screamed in agony as their flesh burned and hissed. By the time the other five had time to process, you'd already loaded up a smoke bomb and fired that too, blinding them.
Remembering the brief training you underwent with Agent Hill during your initial stay at the Triskelion, you started by leaving cover and performing a graceful cartwheel, only to catch one of the agents with your foot and stagger him. You spun around with the bazooka still in one hand and backhanded him with it, sending him to the floor.
In a movement so fluid it seemed like the same second, you smacked a female agent with your new gun. She stumbled forward from the impact and that time you went for an uppercut, sending her flying back instead. She crashed into the wall with a yell.
Moving on to number three, she took a swing at you but you dropped to the floor, instead sliding across and taking out her legs. You swung the bazooka with both hands that time, her now unconscious body sliding across the floor to join the others.
Number two was next. You jumped to your feet as he ran at you, looking for a way to win. You spotted it with the wall and charged right back at him, rebounding off the solid structure at the last minute and using your entire body to take him down as you crashed into him. Once you were on the floor, you delivered a sharp punch to his face and knocked him out cold.
Number one was last. He grabbed you from behind and lifted you up with an arm around your neck. You tried to fight but he was stronger than you, at least while he was in control anyway.
He tried pushing you into one of the walls but you held your hands out to stop the contact. As his grip loosened at the premature stop, you took advantage and kicked off the wall with your feet. Then, with his grip released, you spun around and kicked him square in the chest, knocking him down.
You picked up the bazooka, which had been dropped during the altercation, and brought it down on his head several times until he stopped moving. Breathless, you ran back to the wall you had hid behind at first and picked up the case again, continuing on your way up the building.
Halfway up a set of stairs, you ran into a HYDRA agent cornering a SHIELD one. With no time to reload the bazooka, you raised your empty hand, the one that was decorated with the watch. You performed an intricate hand motion before suddenly several darts flew from the device, planting themselves into the HYDRA agent's neck. He dropped like a stone and the SHIELD guy stuttered a thanks that you were too quick to hear.
You didn't stop, not until you finally reached the highest level of the Triskelion. Even then the only reason you stopped was because you felt a sudden burning pain in your shoulder as a bullet went through it. You collapsed to the ground, the case free of your grasp as it slid into one of the rooms.
"What the hell?!" You gasped, gripping your bleeding wound.
None other than Rumlow was approaching, his gun in hand. "I caught you, Campbell. Or should I say Stark?"
You rolled your eyes, not in the mood for sarcasm, and tried to stand. It didn't work so well and you merely stumbled through the doorway where the scepter had gone. Rumlow followed, laughing at the state of you.
He put his gun away to take the bazooka from you. "Not so tough now, huh?"
You winced as the pain in your shoulder started to magnify. "Don't tell me your fighting technique is 90s one-liners. I don't have time for that."
He laughed a second time. "Do you know how long we've waited for this? To finally take you out?"
You raised a brow. "You're only taking me out if you're the one buying dinner."
He scoffed. "You're just like Stark, you know that?"
"Yeah." You forced a smile. "Sucks, doesn't it?"
"Don't worry, we'll be the ones laughing... At your funeral."
"Dude, again with the corny shit."
When he went to retort, you leapt into action and took him by surprise, reaching for the scepter case. Rumlow grabbed you before you could, forcing you to stand on your feet. In retaliation, you threw a punch, but unfortunately he caught it and swung the bazooka, hitting the side of your face. The pain was like venom, burning everywhere.
"Was that necessary?!" You yelled.
Rumlow seemed to have finally shut up, however, and focused more on action. He hit you again and went for the case himself. You spat some blood out of your mouth and jumped on him from behind, arms around his neck. He made a sound of surprise but quickly backed into a wall, forcing you to let go.
Then he threw the bazooka and grabbed you with both hands, lifting you off the ground before throwing you at the glass table in the room. It shattered on impact and you groaned in pain as tiny shards cut your skin.
Rumlow grabbed the structure of the table and tossed it to the side, straddling your waist as he held you down with one hand and pressed his thumb into your shoulder with the other. You screamed in pure agony as more blood squirted from the bullet hole.
"Daddy won't save you now." He spat, going for your throat.
However, before he could choke the life out of you, someone else arrived on the scene and pulled him away. The stranger punched him several times until he was winded and then turned to you, offering a hand.