Daughter of Stark (Re-edit)

Chapter 3

This chapter begins Iron Man 2.

As I watched the live feed of my father landing in his Iron Man suit at the Stark Expo, I shook my head and glanced over to where Pepper was standing next to me. Her eyes were also trained on the screen. "Do you think he ever gets tired of showing off?" 

Pepper merely grinned at me as she focused her attention back on the screen. The millions of fans shouting Tony's name was not helping dissuade my view on that subject, either. 

"You missed me?" Tony questioned. "I missed you, too. Blow something up? I already did that. I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of me." 

His words made the audience cheer a little louder.

"I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a greater phoenix metaphor been personified in human history." With every word Tony spoke, his enthusiasm grew to match the power in his tone. "I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea because I haven't come across anyone who's man enough to go toe-to-toe with me on my best day." 

"Pepper..." I started, taking a breath. "Don't you think by saying that, Tony's only asking for a challenge?"

"I would like to say that he is all talk," she began. "But after everything that's happened, I wouldn't put it past him, Ava." 

When a woman called out that she loved him, he held up a hand. "Please, it's not about me. It's not about you. It's not even about us. It's about legacy. It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations. And that is why for the next year and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, share their collective vision, to leave behind a brighter future. It's not about us. Therefore," Tony seemed to be drawing his speech to a close with his next words. "What I'm saying, if I'm saying anything, is welcome back to the Stark Expo." 

Tony then made an introduction, welcoming his father back from the great beyond. Tony stepped back into the shadows of the stage as the screen mounted behind him began to play a video of his father. And when that had concluded, the feed switched over to a reporter, who stated that the Expo would be going on all year. 

"What did you do now?" 

My father met my gaze as we stepped from the car. Supposedly, he had been issued a subpoena to appear in court in Washington D.C. the night before. He simply shrugged as we climbed the steps to the courthouse. 

The courtroom was filled to barely more than capacity, thanks to the numerous citizens of D.C. wanting to be present for the mandated trial. Currently, Tony was glancing back at Pepper, who was gesturing for him to turn around. The senator was banging the gavel every few seconds in an attempt to get Tony's undivided attention. 

"Mr. Stark, please." The senator called out.

"Yes, dear?" 

When my father had fully turned back around, the senator proceeded. "Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?" 

"Well, it depends on how you define the word 'weapon'." Expanding on the senator's clarification of the 'Iron Man weapon', Tony stated, "My device does not fit that description. I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator. It's a high-tech prosthesis." 

The courtroom erupted into laughter at the response. For a moment or two, Tony and Senator Stern spoke over the other, with Stern saying that his priority was to get the Iron Man suit turned over to the people of the United States of America. Tony then claimed that he and the suit were one, and that to turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over himself-which apparently was tantamount to indentured servitude or otherwise, depending on the state.