Stark's Daughter

Chapter 10

( 10 months later ) ~~Steph's P.O.V~~

Ten months ago, I had just moved in with the Avengers. After I snuck out that night, things got pretty rough. Not for me, particularly, but for the Avengers. Loki ended up being a bigger problem than they expected. He managed to bring an entire army of aliens to invade the city. Long story short, Loki lost and the Avengers won. There was an incredible amount of damage to the city, but they won. Tony also changed the name of the Tower to the Avengers Tower.

Today, I turn twelve and tomorrow I start the sixth grade. I'm nervous and excited about it. This will be the first time I'm in a different school. What if I don't fit in? What if they show sympathy towards me because of what happened that night with Loki?

It was all over the news. The speech of the old man, Loki's speech to rule the planet, and the fight between him and Steve. There was even a close up shot of Loki holding me with his staff up to my head. Thankfully, the media has no idea that I'm associated with the Avengers at all. It'd be awesome to let everyone know I live with them and that Iron Man is my dad, but we've all decided- for my best interest- not to tell anyone. People would look at me different. Not only that, but the Avengers use that secret to protect me.

This morning, it's unusually quiet. I clumsily climb out of bed, stretching both of my hands up into the air. I let out a groan, then glance over at the clock. It's almost noon! I've been living here for ten months and I've never woken up this late. Someone normally wakes me up around nine-thirty. This change of routine has me suspicious...

I peel back the curtains from the window, allowing an enormous amount of light to shine in. I'm so sensitive to the light that I can only peek outside by excessively squinting my eyes. The sky is blue all around, not a cloud in sight. For New York, this is perfect. I allow the curtains to fall back into place, then turn on my heel and head for my dresser. I rummage through the drawers, looking for something decent to wear.

After a few minutes of deciding what to wear, I find something. Ripped jeans and a hoodie, with a pair of converse sneakers. Since this isn't super fashionable, I grab a headband to pull my hair back with. This is basically my go-to. It's comfortable and cute. I look over the outfit in the body mirror that hangs on the back of my door. It's good enough. Most days, we just hang out in the Tower anyway. There's no need to get dressed up, even if it is a special occasion.

I slip out the door and into the hallway. It's uncomfortably silent. What could be going on? Did they have a secret mission? Maybe they forgot my birthday. It's a simple mistake, really. It'd be hard to remember a birthday of someone you didn't know a year ago. Unless, they reminded you multiple times a day, everyday, leading up to your birthday.... which I did. I walk to the elevator and press the button. It's just your birthday, Stephanie... it's not a big deal. The elevator door opens and I step in. I press the button to go up to the balcony floor. I almost always come up here before I do anything else. Its nice to just relax and watch the city from above. As I ascend, I begin to hear muffled voices. There's a few voices clashing together, then immediate silence once the elevator stops.

The elevator opens to absolute darkness. There's no sound and no light. It clicks in my head as to what this is. There's a soft shuffling noise, then total silence again. Ah yes, I've caught on.

"Gee. I wonder why it's so dark and quiet in here. This is so weird." I speak sarcastically.

Before I can say anything else, the lights turn on, followed by a roar of "happy birthday". All of the Avengers stand around with a smile on their face. They start shouting the birthday song, which immediately causes me to blush. This brings so much joy to my heart, I can't help but smile brightly. This really is my family. I run around the room to hug everyone, except Bruce. We're still not friends.