Changes | Marvel

TEN. Invasion of the Failures

After Nick Fury knocked some sense into Tony, he got off his ass and was able to create new arc reactors using an element that our father discovered when he was alive. So far it hadn't failed us, and the poisoning had completely stopped, thank god. Hopefully it was permanent and not some kind of temporary solution. Currently it was about 10 minutes before our jet was supposed to leave and we were very, very late. I had to fly out to New York with Pepper and Natasha, so I could attend the Stark Expo which I really didn't want to attend but had to because I was given no other choice. Pepper didn't want me to leave me alone with Tony while he was under house arrest in case I killed him. I was still majorly pissed at him, and I have refused to talk to him since the battle between him and Rhodey that destroyed half of our home.

"Why do we even have to go to this thing." I groan in the back seat of the limo after we land, Happy was border line speeding to get us there in time for some of the guests. "We already went to the opening, isn't that enough?"

"Ave, you're basically the star of the show. It's literally named after you." Pepper sighs, rubbing her temples as I continue to whine about being here.

"Can't we just ditch and go explore. You promised I could go see some of the museums the next time I was here." I pout, crossing my arms as we pull up to the backdoor where security was already waiting. The woman ignores me as she opens the door and steps out, I look over to Natasha who looked quite amused with what was happening.

"I'll take you out tomorrow if you behave." She mutters as she also steps out, giving me a small wink while doing so. I grin, pretending to zip my lips as if to promise that I would stay quiet. Tonight, I was wearing an emerald green dress covered in glitter, the soft fabric falling to my knees. It was slightly tight on me because I got it 3 years ago, but I loved it, so I demanded that I wear it tonight which Pepper happily obliged. We get inside and sit down in the seats that we were assigned and taken to, just in time to see Justin Hammer coming out from the back, doing this weird walking dance. I exchanged looks with Natasha and she stared at the show uninterested while Pepper just looked confused.

"Yeah!" He shouts, waving to the crowd. "That's what I'm talking about. Thanks for coming." Only a few people clap. Lol. Yes, I just said lol in my head, get over it. "Ladies and gentlemen, for far too long, this country has had to place its brave men and women in harm's way but then Iron Man arrived, and we thought the days of losing lives were behind us." I roll my eyes and cross my arms, pouting a little bit at the blatant insults at our own expo. Who even let this guy apply for a guest speaker – and who decided on accepting his application? "Sadly, that technology was kept out of reach. That's not fair. That's not right. And it's just too bad." I hear Pepper sigh and I smirk.

"Oh my god." She whispers, shaking her head with disappointment. Looking around, I see that everyone in the crowd looked unamused and not into his speech at all.

"Regardless, it was an impressive innovation, one that grabbed headlines the world over." He kept going on and on, could this guy be any slower with his introduction. His invention was probably going to be a failure anyway. "Well, today my friends, the press is faced with quite a different problem. They are about to run out of ink." Only about ten people clapped and I yawn loudly, making a few people sitting around me chuckle. Pep hits my side making me cringe slightly at the sudden feeling. Justin coughed calling over some girls to take the stand away.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today I present to you the new face of the United States military. The Hammer drone." When the drone comes up, my smirk drops instantly as I stare at it open mouthed, as does Pepper. I look from my chest to the circle in the drone's chest, then meet the eyes of Justin Hammer who looked like he was gloating at my reaction. I look over at Natasha who looked angry, her jaw locked into place as I expect she was gritting her teeth.