Help
A video call had been arranged between everyone upon hearing the news of your revival.
Tony, Pepper, and Happy were in the jet; Rhodey was in his office; Bruce and Clint were in Avengers Tower; and Natasha, Hill, and Fury were in a hideout while waiting for the Triskelion deal to blow over. No one was feeling too excited about the meeting.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Tony asked Fury, his tone full of anger and hurt.
"Stark, I assure you the circumstances were-" Fury tried to talk, only to be cut off.
"I'm sick of your circumstances! You had no right to keep her from me! I thought she was dead. Do you know what that does to someone? Do you even have any idea how much it hurts?"
"She wasn't safe."
"She would have been with me!"
"Tony has a point." Bruce spoke up. "I think she would've been safe in the Tower."
Tony nodded, pointing to him. "Thank you, Jolly Green."
"I'm sorry." Fury said in an exasperated tone. "When we found her, the initial plan was to bring her to you. She was the one who refused."
"Why?" Pepper asked.
Her expression was sad. She missed you so much.
"She was worried about the people who were after her." Fury tried to explain. "It was her belief that they would target the ones she loved and so she chose to start a new life."
"It worked." Natasha commented, genuinely impressed with how long you had managed to hide.
"Who knew?" Tony asked.
"That doesn't matter." Fury told him.
"Who knew?" He repeated more sternly.
The director sighed. "Agent Hill, myself, and Agent Coulson."
"Coulson?" Several people questioned at once.
"Coulson knew?" Tony mumbled, quite surprised. "How?"
"He was the one who found her." Hill said.
He scoffed, shaking his head. "I don't believe this."
"Tony-"
"No, I actually don't believe this. Someone's gotta be lying to me."
Happy then surprised everyone by speaking up in their defense. "They're not lying, Tony."
"What?"
"They're telling the truth."
"How would you know?"
"Because I saw her myself."
The following silence was deafening. No one dared speak up, too concerned with Tony's reaction.
The man himself slowly turned to face his friend, not sure of how to react. "I'm sorry, please repeat that."
Happy sighed. "(Y/n) visited me in the hospital last year after the Mandarin bombing."
Again, he got mad. "This is ridiculous! Why does everyone seem to know my daughter is alive but me?"
Pepper put a hand on his arm to try and calm him down. It worked a little bit, he did stop pacing to sit down with her, but he still looked livid.
"How..." He hesitated, struggling to process it all. "How was she?"
"She was amazing." Happy told him, smiling. "She's smart and pretty and she's just like you. Attitude and all."
"So she's literally a mini Stark." Clint commented. "Just what we need."
Natasha shot him a dangerous look and he quickly shut up.
Tony closed his eyes, lowering his head as tears threatened to fall. How one person could feel both mind-numbing sadness and electrifying shock at the same time, he didn't know.
"She wanted to see you." Happy added. "She was scared and confused and told me what Stane did. She said she felt like something bad was going to happen and that she couldn't come back to us yet."
But before he could go on, a beeping alerted everyone to a new presence.
"Sir." JARVIS's voice came through. "I have an urgent message."
Tony, still confused and tired, buried his head in his hands. "What now?"
"I have received news from another artificial intelligence that Miss (Y/n) Stark is in New York City and is in immediate danger. She needs help."
His head shot up and his eyes were wide with surprise.
"Where?" He demanded.
"Footage of the city suggests she is approaching Brooklyn Bridge. She is being pursued by unknown hostiles."
-
You cursed as bullets whizzed overhead, ducking and holding onto your wheel with an iron grip.
"Stop shooting bullets at my car!" You yelled at the HYDRA pursuers.
Of course, they didn't listen.
As you drove along the bridge you had to swerve around all the other cars. You were going too fast and panic was quickly ensuing due to the giant jet firing at the road. Fortunately for you, the car was special. It didn't just fly.
You punched a button and the hood began to lift up, protecting the majority of the car from being stripped bare by the bullets.
Behind you were several agents on motorcycles, all hooded up and covered in black. Guns were strapped to their backs as they chased you, performing the same maneuvers you did to get around the traffic. Due to them being on bikes, they were faster.
You looked for more special additions to your car and checked below the TV pad where a magenta button and steel lever lay.
You remembered something Coulson told you when he gave you this car, something about how if you were ever stuck or needed a way out, that button would show people where you were.
It was a long shot, but you had to risk it. If you were caught, not only would HYDRA get you, but they would get the scepter also. You were scared to death by the precarious predicament you found yourself in, but the scepter was your priority.
You pulled the lever and prayed it would help, only to be extremely confused as a strange whirring sounded from below the car and gradually centered on the trunk. You glanced in the rear-view to see it sliding away and revealing a small cannon pointed towards the sky.
"How did I never notice that?" You asked.
You then pressed the button above the lever and jumped in your seat as a loud bang erupted from the cannon and it shot a mix of red, black, and purple smoke flares. Even if you were constantly on the move in an attempt to escape, at least there was a trail someone could use to track and help you.
-
At the Tower, Clint and Bruce were in a hurried conversation about you on the conference call.
Since they were already in New York, they were the best chance you had. Tony was on his way, but he wouldn't arrive fast enough to help you himself.
During the conversation, Bruce noticed something through the windows. It was hard to make out at first due to the glare of the dying sun, but eventually he noticed the plume of colored smoke rising like a signal fire.
"Uh..." He glanced over his shoulder at Clint. "The sky is being weird again."
The archer came over to see what he meant and frowned, his brows furrowed as he observed the phenomenon. Among the purples and blacks and reds were flashes of orange, almost as if a very large gun was being fired.
He knew what it meant.
"That's her." He informed everybody else, grabbing his bow. "Stark, I'm gonna need a waypoint. As accurate as you can."
"Way ahead of you, Everdeen." Tony replied, already doing just that. "She's passing the bridge. Protect her with your life... Please."
Although he never would have said the words under any other circumstance, Clint nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. "You got it, boss."
With that, he left the call.
On the Stark jet, Tony continued to stare into space, his mind running in circles.
"What are you going to do?" Pepper asked, recognizing the look in his eyes.
He looked at her, a spark of determination flaring up. "I'm going after her myself."
She nodded, not wanting to argue. She just wanted you back as much as everybody else. She wanted to see you for herself, to see how much you'd grown, to see if you were still the same stubborn but brilliant girl she loved as her own.
"She's going to be okay, right?" Tony asked.
Pepper nodded a second time, holding his hands in her own. "She will be."
"Promise?"
"I do." She leaned in and kissed him softly. "Bring her home."
He managed a flicker of a smile before he leaned back and pressed a button on the arm of his seat. From the small button, his suit began to form around him bit by bit and he stood up, taking a few breaths to calm himself. He wanted to help you but the worries that you wouldn't want him back were like storm clouds.
Even though some of his key characteristics were pride and ego, it had come to the point that even he had to admit he had been a horrible father to you. He was just so afraid of you feeling like he did with Howard that he thought isolating you from his life was somehow better, only to realize that was just history repeating itself all over again. He spent sixteen years trying to pretend you didn't exist, and now he would spend the rest of his life trying to make up for that time.
He wanted a daughter again.
It was with a final goodbye to Pepper and Happy that he finally approached the door at the back of the jet. With a carefully typed code it opened just long enough for him to jump out and then shut behind him.
Pepper watched him go with both anxiety and anticipation building up. She trusted him to do whatever he could to save you while not being stupid enough to do something dangerous. Well... She trusted him enough to not get killed in the process at least.
Happy had stayed quiet for the past few minutes, his own nerves going through the roof. He couldn't help feeling like this was somehow his fault. He knew realistically it was a lot of factors, but maybe he should've said something sooner. Maybe they could have gotten to you faster and you wouldn't be running for your life that very second.
"I'm sorry." He whispered.
Pepper looked at him, showing a bewildered expression. "What for?"
"(Y/n)..." He took a long gulp of air, clasping his hands together. "If I hadn't... I should've said something."
"Oh, Happy-"
"I mean it. She told me she was afraid but I thought I was doing good by keeping the secret. I should've told Tony - or you - anyone! Maybe then she wouldn't be in danger."
"Do you really think she'd want you thinking that? It's not your fault at all."
He shook his head. "When I signed up to be Tony's bodyguard, I signed up to be hers as well. But I expected a narcissistic kid with an ego the size of the continent, I didn't expect her to be so..."
"Sweet? Charming?" Pepper smiled, remembering fondly the first time she met you. "I know."
"What if we lose her before we get her back? Tony is going to hate me."
"He couldn't." She moved over to him so they could talk properly. "You're more than just an employee to him, you know that. You're his friend. Family. I agree that something should've been said sooner, but trust me. We will save (Y/n)."