The Daughter of Tony Stark

Chapter 4

The next two days were a blur for me. I would wake up earlier in the morning to swim and cook food for my father's teammates before hiding myself in the lab to work on the Ultron program. The last night with the scepter, I didn't even bother sleeping or practicing just to try and secretly add precautions to the program without my father noticing. The effort didn't go unnoticed, and I earned a few angry snaps about possibly damaging all the work that had been made. It was around that time Clint noticed the bags under my eyes and prevented me from reentering the lab after I left to make lunch for myself, and I ended up sleeping the rest of the day away. Jarvis woke me up the next morning to alert me that my father was throwing a party, but this time I had an invitation.

I didn't leave my room for a few hours as I excitedly tried to prepare. Normally I would have never bothered trying to look nice for anything as there wasn't a reason to (except for the night of the piano), but this time it mattered. I was being included for once. I washed my naturally messy hair and curled it, making it look a tad shorter than normal. I wore a criss-cross strapped dress in light blue color, but I blanched when I looked into the mirror. Everything looked too perfect, resulting in me grabbing a brush and pulling my hair into a high ponytail.

"Well, you know, the suit can take the weight, right?" James Rhodes told us all with a grin. He had been my father's best friend since he came out as Iron Man, but I had never officially gotten to meet him. He owned a personal copy of an Iron Man suit, only his consisted of grey hues and was known as the War Machine. "So I take the tank, fly it right up to the General's palace, drop it at his feet, I'm like, 'Boom! You looking for this?" My father and Thor, there listening with me on the couches to the story, stared at him blankly. "'Boom!" Rhodes repeated. "Are you looking...' Why do I even talk to you guys? Everywhere else that story kills."

"That's the whole story?" Thor asked, confused. He was waiting for a mighty, heroic ending, but it was obvious he wouldn't receive it.

"Yeah, it's a War Machine story." I glanced down and smiled to myself. Compared to the Avenger missions, it seemed like child's play. Really advanced child's play.

"Well, it's very good then," Thor grinned politely, letting out a chuckle. "It's impressive." Rhodes smiled grimly.

"Quality save. So... no Pepper? She's not coming?" I took the question as my cue to leave, sliding off of my seat on the couch and wandering off. Pepper Potts was an awkward person for me. I didn't really get along with her for reasons I didn't understand, and my father was taking a break in his relationship with her. I had a hunch it would be for good. My eyes caught on Clint Barton playing pool with a few of the guests, and I came up to his side to watch.

"There we go," he laughed happily as knocked two of his balls into opposite holes on the table. He wrapped his arm around me in glee, already sensing my presence. "And that's how it's done!" His opponent groaned, but he continued to play the game with the Avenger. "What's up, Starkaroo?"

"Not much," I answered truthfully, leaning into his side for a few seconds before pulling out to let him continue the game. "Trying to enjoy my first party as much as I can."

"Wow, Stark doesn't really let you get out, does he?" I shook my head in response, and Clint whistled in astonishment. "Well, I do have to admit to you that this isn't the best party to have as your first, but it isn't the worst either."

"I figured," I agreed with him, watching him position himself for his round. "Any tips to make the night better?"

"I'd say get a drink or two, but that doesn't work in your case. Don't worry, Uncle Clint will figure something out."

"Uncle Clint, huh?"

"Isabel!" I looked up in surprise to see Steve and another man leaning against the balcony of the upper floor, the superhero waving for me to join them. I climbed up the stairs, managing to catch some of their conversation.

"If I had known it was going to be a firefight I would have absolutely called you," Steve said jokingly to the man, his arm extended on the railing.

"No, I'm not actually sorry," the other man chuckled. "I'm just trying to sound tough. I'm very happy chasing cold leads on our missing person's case. Avenging is your world; your world is crazy." I stood awkwardly for a few seconds as the older man looked me up and down before finally saying, "So Stark has a kid after all."

"That's me," I smiled, giving a mock curtsy. "Nice to meet you, mister..."

"Wilson," he introduced himself, offering a hand for me to shake. I took it. "Sam Wilson." There was a loud crash, and the three of us looked right over the railing to see an old man fall off a barstool, laughing drunkenly. "I'll go help with that." Steve and I watched him go for a few seconds before I turned around.

"Missing person?" I questioned, and Steve's eyes clouded with pain for a few seconds before he composed himself. "Who?"

"A friend," he explained vaguely, taking a breath. "I thought he was dead, but something worse happened." I nodded, not wanting to push him for an answer. "It comes with the job, you know? You make friends or you have friends... and sometimes you lose them."

"I'm really sorry," I told him, joining him in looking over the railing at the party guests, some dancing to music either with another person or alone. They looked to be enjoying themselves. "What's doing that like?"

"Dancing?" Steve questioned, taken aback at my question. I nodded in response. "Tony's never taught you to dance?"

"I just never learned."

"Then you're gonna learn." Steve took my hand, causing me to look up at him in shock. "C'mon, you aren't going to leave this party without learning how to do a step or two."

"People are going to stare," I protested, following behind him as he led me to a more open area. "It's not that important for me to learn!"

"I beg to differ," Steve chuckled, the negative emotions he was feeling earlier now gone. "First," he started, "take my right hand with your left." I followed his instructions, my cheeks burning. "Now, put your right hand on my shoulder." As I continued, he placed his hand on my waist, causing me to flinch. "Hey, it's okay. I promise I'm not going to hurt you."

"I'm not worried about that," I shook my head, staring up at him. "This just feels weird."

"No school dances before?" he asked, beginning his lesson with a step. I followed suit, and our clasped hands raised a little into the air as we swayed back and forth in a circular motion. "Boyfriends?"

"Have you met my dad?" I laughed, earning a laugh in return. "No, I'm homeschooled. Lot's of science and math. I have more than enough time to dedicate to learning." Did I ever even go to a public school at some point? I felt like I had, but I couldn't remember. "Plus, I bet I'd stick out like a sore thumb."

"Trust me, you wouldn't," Steve told me, giving me a spin. I went along with it, my ponytail swishing from the motion. "Though you'd probably have to keep from schooling the other students."

"I doubt it would be that hard," I snickered.

"Please tell me I don't see Capsicle flirting with my only daughter." The two of us stopped in place at the sound of my father's voice, looking over to see him staring at us from the stairs with his arms crossed. "Underage, sorry to disappoint."

"Tony, you can't actually think-"

"Uh, yeah I'm underage," I agreed with him, rolling my eyes. "I don't understand how you see it that way." Clint's words from earlier popped up in my head, causing me to smile. "Uncle Steve was just teaching me how to dance, nothing else." My father nodded, but his face seemed like he was hiding a sad expression after I had said that.