Part 1
“Honey, I’m home!”
Tony shouted his statement hoping for a response but was only met with silence. Walking into the living room, he saw that it was empty.
“Kara? Layna? Anybody home?”
“Sir, Miss Layna is not on the property at the moment. Miss Stark is down in your workshop. I suggest that you join her.”
Tony winced. “How much shit am I in, J?”
“I’m not sure, Sir. She has barely spoken since her return.”
Sighing heavily, he made his way downstairs to do damage control with his little sister. “So, I see someone has been playing with the new toys.”
When all she did was lift her eyes to meet his, he walked over to his desk. He took one look at the open box of Palladium cores and turned to her. “I can explain…”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Her voice was deadly calm in a way he had never heard before. “Do you realize how stupid you’re being?”
“You mean as opposed to the usual?” He quipped but shut his mouth when she used heat vision to cut a hole in the wall.
“Were you ever going to tell me? Or would I have just come home one day and found you lying dead in your suit?” She stood now, facing him. She’d cried all the tears she had; now her eyes were just steel.
“Kara…”
“Or worse? What if Layna had found you? Can you imagine what this would have done to her?” She took a deep breath. “I could have searched the world for you, Tony. But you didn’t even bother to tell me that you were suffering.”
“Yes, because I always tell people how I’m feeling. I’m known for that, you know.” He said sarcastically.
“I’m not ‘people’!” Her voice roared, and the pictures on the wall shook. “I’m your sister. Tony, I have lost my family twice now. Both times it happened in an instant, and I couldn’t do anything about it. But you? If I lost you?” Now her voice wavered. “Losing you would be the hardest of them all.”
Taking that in, Tony sat at his desk. “I’m sorry.” Then he paused. “But how about that suit?”
“I don’t want the suit, Tony! I want you!”
Then she stormed out of the room. Behind her, Tony watched the spot where she stood and hesitated. He knew he should have told her about his health issues. He probably should have even told Rhodey. But he wasn’t ready to give up yet, and he knew that saying it out loud would make it real.
“JARVIS? Turn on every news station talking about Monaco.”
…
Sitting in her room, Kara stared at her wall. She had barely spoken to Tony since their fight, and she didn’t know how to feel. She had almost lost him so many times, and now every one of his actions in the last six months started to make more sense.
Her brother was hurting, and she couldn’t help him. She wondered briefly if that was how he felt when she was hurting. If it was, she didn’t know how he could stand it. She looked up when she heard a knock on her bedroom door and saw Kit standing in the doorway.
“I thought you weren’t coming by for a few more hours?” Kara asked quietly.
Kit meandered her way over to the bed and plopped down next to her. “Yeah, well, I dropped Layna at my parents' house a little early. She wanted me to come check on you.”
“Does she know?”
Kit shook her head. “Nah. She knows something is happening between you and Tony, but she doesn’t know what it is.”
“Kit…I don’t know what to do.” Kara’s voice was strained.
Rubbing her shoulder, the other girl nodded. “I think you’re partially right about that one.”
Raising an eyebrow, Kara turned to her? “Excuse me?”
“About Tony being sick? I know you don’t have a clue what you’re going to do. Supergirl, on the other hand…”
“Kit, not you too.”
“Just listen to me for a second.” Kit faced her. “You didn’t even give one thought to what you were doing when you put that suit on and saved your brother’s ass. I saw you in it, Kara, and I know you. It’s like you were born to be a hero.”
“I know.” The alien groaned. “But…I don’t know if I can do it. That was a one-time thing; Tony needed help. I don’t think I could do it again.”
“Well, no matter what you choose, you know I’m right here.” Kit smiled and opened the closet to reveal Kara’s green dress. “Now, let’s get ready for that idiot’s birthday party, shall we?”
…
“You have got to be shitting me.”
Kara’s ears throbbed with the bass of whatever song was playing in the house. The mansion was filled with people she didn’t know, and everything felt off. Then she saw Tony in his suit and got a headache.
“I’ll be right back.” She shouted to Kit over the music and walked over to the DJ stand he was messing with. “Hey, Tony? How about you put the suit away and change your clothes?”
“How about you take the stick out of your ass, huh? Do I bug you on your birthday?” He slurred, and Kara took a step back.
“Yes, every year! You are being incredibly stupid right now.”
“You’re incredibly stupid.”
Kara rolled her eyes. “My six year old has better comebacks than that, Tony.”
When he just grinned at her, she threw up her hands. “Fine. Be a shithole in front of all these people. God, I wish I could get drunk.”
“Party pooper!” He yelled after her, and her heart hurt as she made her way back to Kit. “Sucks to be you!”
“Like I said earlier: idiot.” The woman told her with sympathy. “Do you want to leave?”
Shaking her head, Kara watched as Rhodey walked in. “No, that would be rude. I just…”
“I know, honey. I know.”
She was about to speak again when she saw Rhodey and Pepper walk into the room and focused her hearing on their conversation.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Where the hell is Kara?”
“She’s here, and she already tried. They got into a fight, so they aren’t really speaking right now.” Pepper said.
“I don’t care if they aren’t speaking, she needs to help with this,” Rhodey growled. “That’s it…I’m making a phone call.”
“No, no. Don’t call anyone.” Pepper told him urgently.
“This is ridiculous! I stuck my neck out for this guy.” He seethed. “Both of them, actually.”
“I know, I know. I get it.” She told him as Tony fell over into his glassware. “I’m going to handle it, okay?”
“Handle it. Or I’m going to have to.” He said, and his eyes finally met Kara’s from across the room.
She watched him, and he knew the look on her face wasn’t a happy one. As Pepper walked away to talk to Tony, Kara and Rhodey observed each other carefully. Kara shook her head at him and hoped that he understood her message. She knew he was angry, she was too, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have Tony’s back. The expression just darkened, and she knew he didn’t agree with her.
Their eyes were ripped away from each other when Tony accidentally blasted the glass wall, and everyone cheered. Kara winced and flicked her eyes up to Pepper. She started forward when someone threw a bottle, and he blasted it, sending it shattering to the ground. She stopped as she ducked and froze.
“I’m only going to say this once. Get out.”