Blind Eyes

Chapter 1

I wished I was at home in my PJ's.

Instead I was squished between two very loud and skimpy dressed girls. Not the way I wanted to spend my night.

I groaned and put my fingers in my ears, trying to block out the thousands of voices around me chanting one thing.

"Iron Man! Iron Man! Iron Man!"

I was in Flushing, New York in the newly reopened Stark Expo for the opening ceremony. And I was regretting my decision to stand in the throng of people instead of backstage. I had wanted to see my father the way everyone else in this crowd did and to see how the man with the 'Iron' suit had taken the world by storm. I was amazed at how many people had crammed themselves into this arena to see Iron Man. People had come from across the country, just to get a glimpse of Tony Stark and his extraordinary suit. Some people were holding up signs that said things like 'Iron Man Rules!' and 'I Love you Tony!' while others had bought the plastic masks that looked like Iron Man's mask and hand gloves with a light in them to resemble the suits repulsors. The world was in love with Iron Man.

Six months had passed since dad had announced at that press conference that he was in fact Iron Man. I had been furious at first. The minute he had entered my hospital room I yelled at him until the nurses had to send him away. Pepper and Rhodey gave him the same lecture, though not as loudly as I had done. I had been concerned about people wanting the suit bad enough to do anything to get it but dad had had no such worries. He thought that since he had the suit to defend us, people would be stupid to try and steal it. And it seems like he was right because in the six months since his public reveal, no one had made any attempt to steal it. I was happy but still wary and waiting for it to happen. I hoped it wouldn't.

People had been cautious of the suit at first and thought that it hadn't safe to use in our country but dad had soon changed their minds. In just a few months he had stabilised the east-west relations, saved thousands of lives and become a national hero. Now Iron Man comics were in stores along with little action figures, each month he graced covers of numerous magazines and he even had an 'Iron Man' cartoon series for kids on TV. Life was great for Iron Man.

Dad's public image had never been better. All his good work was in the news without the words "playboy" or "drunk" being used. Stark Industries was back on top after the drop we had after shutting down the weapons division. And the Stark image was getting another boost tonight when Dad officially reopened the Stark Expo. Until Dad starting talking about plans to reopen it, I had never heard of Stark Expo.

I bet no one in this crowd had heard of it either until a few weeks ago but they weren't here for the expo, they were here for Dad. The people around me were getting restless, jostling each other as they waited. Of course Dad couldn't simply walk out on stage. No, he had to make a grand entrance.

Suddenly fireworks boomed above us, an explosion of colour in the dark sky. Dad's cue. I was the only person in the crowd who knew how Dad was going to make his entrance, so while most of the crowd's eyes flew back to the stage, mine stayed glue on the sky. My eyes, now adept at spotting the soaring suit, quickly zoomed in on it.

Hand suddenly pushed at my back, causing me to stumble. Cheers erupted around me. I looked up to see Iron Man standing centre stage, arms in the air. Damn it.

The "Ironette Dancers" began prancing around the stage in their ridiculously skanky outfits. They had been Dad's idea. Everyone around me was going crazy, jumping up and down, dying to get a glimpse of Iron Man. My eardrums were beginning to throb in pain. The stage around Iron Man began to disassemble. The familiar machines rose out of it and began to take apart the suit.

Within seconds Dad was standing before the still roaring crowd in a plain old suit. His eyes scanned the people in front of him and I wondered if he was looking for me. Even though I was only 10 feet away from him, the crowd was so dense I doubted that he would spot me. The Ironettes ended their dance circled around Dad and promptly left the stage.