Hiding in the Shadows

Chapter 1 - The News

"What are you trying to tell me?" I asked my dad, confusion plastered on my face.

"Tony, just tell it to her straight, she's going to have to find out anyway," Steve encouraged my dad, making me thankful for his presence in the room.

My dad let out a sigh, "(Y/N), I know that you may not choose to come out as my daughter when you become eighteen and I want to make sure that you have options ahead of you. You are clearly one of the smartest kids of your generation, but you'll be more likely to get accepted into top colleges if you demonstrate your academic superiority to other high schoolers. That is why I, with the backing of the rest of the Avengers, have decided that you will attend a public school for your senior year."

"A public school," I almost whispered in horror. I then shook my head, "what is wrong with me being homeschooled for my final year? Dad, you know as well as that I will be coming out to the world the first opportunity I can. This is ridiculous!"

"(Y/N), I know that you must be upset, I would be as well, but we think that this is the best option for your future. Who knows, maybe you'll find joy in being the top of your class and making everyone around you look like complete idiots," my father encouraged me.

"Are you trying to say that I don't do that already?" I smirked at him, recalling the time last week that I solved an equation in a matter of minutes that he had been stumped by for hours.

"Darling, sending you to school is not me trying to insult your intelligence, I just think it will be a good experience for you to ease into society and have a foundation in case you don't wish to carry the weight of the Stark name. Besides, I have found the top school in the area for you. You'll have to travel to Queens everyday, but I think it will be worth it to attend Midtown. And you'll be happy to hear that it is a science and tech school."

I sighed, "I know that I won't be able to change your mind since I'm supposed to start tomorrow, but can I at least drop out if I discover that I despise it?"

"Of course, but you must stay for the first semester before deciding whether or not to drop out," Tony finalized, looking relieved that I had not fought him as much as I usually do. "Now you should go get some rest, school starts at 7:30 tomorrow morning."

I groaned and stood from the very comfortable couch I had been occupying, although an early start was something I was used to living with the Avengers. I passed Steve on the way out and he gave me a reassuring smile, to which my only response was a dramatic eye roll.

This sense of family was something relatively new to me. Before the alien attack on New York, it was just Tony and I living together. After Loki, my life changed for the better, despite the destruction that came along with the attack. I finally found a family I could call my own, albeit it being a little dysfunctional.

I had never met my mother, but Tony assured me that she was beautiful. According to him, I was a product of one of the many one night stands he had in his past life. My mother had traded her life for mine, choosing to continue the pregnancy even though she knew she would die if she did so and when Tony found out about me, he took me in and sheltered me from the world. Even before he became Iron Man, being the daughter of Tony Stark was not a safe thing. He made many enemies through his weapons company and was constantly in the limelight, therefore he chose to hide me from the public for my own safety.

And I believed that story. At least I did until my powers started showing up. When I was six I realized that I could move a few objects with my mind if I concentrated hard enough, discovered thanks to my small obsession with Star Wars, and I could create an invisible barrier around me when I did not want to be touched, although the discovery of that power had been a little more traumatic.

However, when I shared my powers with my dad, he seemed furious with me and ordered me never to use them again. Perhaps he thought that if I stopped using them I would eventually forget about them and I would return to being the daughter he had once had. But the damage was already done, even if I had listened to him and stopped experimenting with my powers; I was fascinated by my powers and I began to realize that Tony, who had no hint of the same powers, might not actually be my father.

So when I was nine, I tested my DNA in my father's lab while he was out saving the world as Iron Man and my worst fears became true. Tony was not my biological father, he had lied to me. When I confronted him about, he finally owned up to having adopted me. He found me abandoned one night that he was drunk and took me home with him. As soon as he sobered up and found a small infant crawling around his house, he tried putting me into an orphanage. However, by the time all of the paperwork was completed, he had grown attached to me and chose to adopt me as his own.

I continued experimenting with my magic throughout the following years, despite my father being afraid of what I could do with my powers. I approached Tony about my magic again once I was 12, noting that Loki, who had just invaded Earth, was able to use magic as well. However, he ordered me to keep it hidden as he feared SHIELD getting ahold of me.

School-wise, I had actually attended a public school up until I was 8, when my father announced to the world that he was Iron Man. Hoping to decrease the chance of me being found out, he pulled me from public school and hired a private tutor, his silence being part of his contract. However, Tony realized the fast pace I was picking up material and decided to start teaching me himself two years later. And then when the Avengers moved in when I was 12, the subjects were divided between them. Bruce and Tony taught me math and science, Captain America taught me history, Clint and Natasha shared gym duty (which was heavily self-defense when Natasha was in charge), JARVIS, my father's AI, taught me English, and Rhodes taught me politics. Whenever Thor was around, he would educate me on his knowledge of the universe, which was by far the most fascinating. After the new avengers joined, Vision took over teaching English, Falcon ran gym class, Natasha created an entire class of self defense, Natasha and Vision teamed up to teach me various foreign languages, Wanda taught me art, and Bucky teamed up with Cap on history.

But now that all would change. Tony was forcing me to return to public school and leave behind the best teachers I have ever known.

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(A/N): So I just had this story idea so I figured I would write it, despite it being neither Phantom of the Opera or Star Wars (but trust me there will be Star Wars references mixed in). I apologize for most of this chapter being background, but I really needed to set the character up and I may have overdone it a bit with the background I came up for her! Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this story!