The Daughter of Ironman 2

Chapter 2

I leaned against the cool window seal, resting my chin on my fist as I watched the rain drizzle down the fogged up glass, distorted light coming in from outside.

My therapist's living room was almost entirely gray scale. The walls and couches were gray while the curtains and fluffy rug were all white. The woman sitting across from me, Ingrid, matched the room. She wore black slacks with a white blazer, and her pin straight gray hair fell to just above her shoulders, and brown eyes peered at me through gold rimmed glasses. Despite the lack of color in the room, it was oddly inviting.

In fact, I was pretty sure I was the only splash of color in the room. I wore black jeans and an army green jacket over a white top, my long brown hair stick straight and falling to a few inches above my hips.

It's been nine years since Thanos's first attack, and four since my dad died. I was just a scared 16 year old kid trying to navigate my new life as an orphan while also dealing with the unwanted press that came with his passing. Now at 20 years old, things have just gotten even more complicated. In fact, therapy was never my idea. I wanted to push down those unwanted feelings of loneliness and fear, lock them away where I would never have to face that again. Pepper talked me into it, and within the hour of me agreeing, she'd already found me a therapist and set up an appointment.

"Alice, what are you feeling right now?" Ingrid asked gently, pulling me out of my thoughts. I turned my dusty blue eyes- my mother's eyes, to look at her. I fiddled nervously with the gold ring around my middle finger.

"Good." I lied, and she sighed. I'd never been a good liar.

Across from me, she uncrossed her legs and leaned forward. Her eyes were kind and inviting, something I had grown to really appreciate with her. She was very patient with me.

"You've been through a lot these last few years, do you want to talk about it?" She inquired softly.

"So has the rest of the world." I replied, a little too quick. I took a deep breath and leaned back in my chair. "What makes my situation any different?" I asked, forcing my tone to be softer.

"You were an Avenger. That can bring feelings of responsibility, maybe even thoughts of failure." She replied, and I laughed softly to myself.

"I'm flattered you think my dad would ever have allowed me to be an Avenger. And the Avengers didn't fail, they saved the world, didn't they? Half of them are just dead now." I told her, my thoughts immediately wandering back to Steve and Natasha, some of my best friends who I knew I'd never see again. I wouldn't let myself think of my dad, who was also a part of that list.

Ingrid took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair, draping her arm over the back.

"Well, Avenger or not, you were a hero. You saved half the universe. That's something you can be proud of." She said, and I looked back to the window. I took a shaky breath.

"Everyone expects me to be my dad. How could I ever live up to his legacy?" I asked. It wasn't much for me to open up about, but I was trying as much as I dared. I feared that if I opened up too much, I would fall apart completely.

Ingrid looked away for a moment in thought before turning back to me. "What do you think his legacy is? What did he leave behind?"

I thought about all of the people he had saved, about Iron Man and who he was to the world. But Iron man wasn't something he left behind, that went with him. I thought of his company that I was now running, but that didn't feel right either.

I took a shaky breath, and replied quietly. "Me."

Ingrid smiled. "Your father wouldn't want you to be anything but yourself. You, are his legacy."