Stark Found [completed!]

Chapter Twenty

Tony

The automatic doors opened and heads turned as I strode into the building. A rogue photographer slipped in and began snapping pictures. After what happened with Sophie last night, I'd decided to speed things up as much as possible with construction of her room. It should be ready by the time she gets off of work later tonight. I was eager to deliver the news in person.

As I walked to where Sophie was working, I noticed two things: 1) a vaguely familiar man in a suit more expensive than my own was leaving in a huff, and 2) there were more paparazzi following him than myself. Sophie caught my eye and groaned.

"May I help you, sir?" she asked in a tone that wasn't nearly as happy as I was hoping for.

"No kiss for daddy?" I teased.

She frowned. "Please, don't bother me today. It's been busier than I would've ever imagined and I haven't had my lunch break yet."

I searched the immediate area for someone important. "Really? I'll talk to your manager! Pretty sure that's a violation of-"

"Please, please, please, just tell me what you want," she begged. A stray hair fell to block her eyes. Instead of replacing it back in her ponytail, she left it where it was.

"All right, I came to tell you that I, your generous father, have completed your one of a kind, traditional but completely upgraded New York apartment!"

Her sigh was full of relief. "Thank god. Does that mean you'll be leaving me alone for the next little while to live in peace?"

"Not without a thank you." I leaned on the counter between us. "You do realize what I've done for you is incredibly expensive, kind, and did I mention generous of me? Who else has a father that would do this for them?"

"Normal people, that's who." She picked up her clipboard and prepared to go back into the backroom. "Thanks, Tony. I really appreciate it."

Before she could run away, I tossed a set of keys to her. "And don't forget your car. I bought it for you; the least you could do is use it. And be careful at this party you're going to tonight." I laughed at her surprised face. "I know more than you think. I've got to make sure you're safe."

"Whatever," she grumbled as her back turned to me. I had to remind myself that spanking a twenty-something was frowned upon, even if it's your own child.

Sophie

Geek stared ahead of him as I swerved through the streets. The car that was sent to pick us up managed to get ahead, in order to lead the way. I expected it to be another tall, stately Manhattan building. It was, but a bit shorter than anything my dad owned.

"Let's go around the back, shall we?" I swerved to the left. Security chased us until I reached a gate.

"Sophie, what are you doing? You can't get in!" Geek worried. As if my subconscious knew something I wasn't aware of, I grabbed the invitation and showed it to the (seemingly) empty guard booth. The gates opened up immediately.

I grinned at Geek. "See? We're in the cool club."

"This doesn't feel right," he grumbled. I found a back door and parked in front of it. Before I could convince my date to get out of the car, a group of security guards burst through the door. A man in a sleek suit followed behind them, rushing to fix his hair.

"I take it you're Victor?" I guessed.

He smirked. "I should've known you Stark's would've made your own entrance. Welcome to my humble abode!"

"Thanks. But I'm the only Stark, here," I reminded. A funny looked passed his face before he offered his hand to shake.

"Of course you are. Shall we go in and join the others?"

He led us through the back rooms, directing our attention away from things he wanted to keep hidden, until we reached an elegant ball room. The rude fairy Englishwoman appeared out of nowhere.

"Victor. I need you elsewhere," she hissed, eyeing Geek and I the whole time. She dragged our host away to some unknown destination.

"What are we doing here, again?" my guest asked.

"I dunno. I guess we're supposed to mingle?"

"I've never seen any of these people in my life! How am I supposed to –"

"Hush, you don't need to do anything. We won't be here very long, anyway," I assured him. A flash of blonde caught my eye. "Besides, we do know someone here."

I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the lone girl hidden in the corner. Once she spotted us her face lit up. "Sophie? Geek? What are you guys doing here?"

"Nice to see you, too, Bethany," Geek answered.

"Looks like this Victor person wants something to do with us," I surmised, still looking around, and failing, to find what I was looking for.

"Right, but the question is what does he want with us?" Bethany agreed.

"You two stay here, and I'll find out."

They called after me, but I was already lost in the crowd. I wore the dress he'd provided, but I was regretting it immediately. It was too constricting, so if I needed to sneak around it wouldn't be easy. But there had to be a computer around here somewhere. Usually they don't keep one too far from parties, lest they need to do some quick business. I did my best to melt into the back of a large group near the door. I needed to get past the security, but there were far too many than necessary. What I needed was a distraction...

"What the hell?!"

I managed to successfully black out the room long enough to fly into an empty hallway. It hardly took long for me to find a computer. Perfect. Armed with my dad's tech, I attached it to the back of a monitor. It loaded and I plugged in my USB. All I needed was five minutes and everything I needed to know would be uploaded to my laptop at home.

"Where do you think she is?" Voices from the other side of the door could be heard. The damage was nearly done, so I shadowed out of the room and stayed hidden until I could reemerge back into the ballroom.

"Where the hell have you been?" Bethany scolded.

I shrugged. "I wanted to know who we're dealing with."

"He's basically the Fantastic Four's arch nemesis, and one of the smartest and richest men in the world. I wouldn't be messing with him!" she insisted. Geek nodded in heavy agreement.

"The same could be said about my dad." A strange buzzing in my ear caused me to wince.

"You okay?" Geek asked.

"Yeah, just some weird... a headache. I'm fine," I lied. I could feel my body temperature rising. That same feeling from the day I moved out was back. It was almost as if my mind was a computer, and someone was trying to hack it.

"Are you sure you're fine? You look sick," Bethany asked again.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Who wants to dance?"

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Hey guys!  I know it's been a (ridiculously) long time, but I promise I will do my best to finish this story!  It's not going to be the best ending ever, like I intended, but life has a way of changing priorities.  Anywho, hope you're all doing well and I hope I don't disappoint any of you too bad! XDee