Hiding in the Shadows

Chapter 25 - Let the Fighting Commence

After drinking a cup of coffee in hopes to get a little of my drained energy back, I sat on a lab bench, trying to clean and disinfect my burn. I only hoped that the injury would respond well to the treatments as I had never received a wound from any sort of alien technology before. I wrapped my side in a bandage to protect my wound and then decided to get dressed for bed, that way I could try to recover some of my lost energy.

I threw on a gray sweatshirt and some black leggings, throwing my hair back into a messy braid. After brushing my teeth, I was about to start removing my makeup when I heard F.R.I.D.A.Y. over the intercoms, "(Y/N), your father would like to see you in his office."

I frowned, "did he say what for?"

"No, but I do think you should get there as soon as possible, he's not in a very good mood."

I sighed, wishing that I could just curl up and sleep, but knowing that I couldn't just ignore my father's request, especially not when he was in a bad mood. As I walked down to his office, my mind wandered to what he could be wanting from me. He couldn't have found out about Shadow, could he? Or perhaps it was the fact that I was dating Peter? I began to realize just how much I was keeping from him.

"Hey dad, I heard you wanted to see me?" I asked nervously, gingerly stepping into his office. My eyes widened as I saw Peter standing there, dressed in his Spider-Man suit, but without the mask, "what is Peter doing here?"

"(Y/N) is your daughter?!" Peter cried out, seeming angry at both my father and myself for not telling him. But his anger was nothing compared to the fury radiating off of my father.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" He demanded without any context. Based on the fact that Peter was in the room, I was going to choose to believe that he found out we were dating, which thankfully was a lot less scary then him discovering my secret identity.

"Dad, I can explain-" I began, but he cut me off.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out, is that what you thought?! What about the consequences, did you even consider them?! No, you never do that, you probably just leapt right in without thinking about how you could get hurt! (Y/N), there was a reason I forbade you from working as part of the Avengers, I didn't want you getting hurt! And you know what you did?! You completely disregarded everything I said and decided to go out on your own, which is a million times more dangerous than being in a group!"

So this was about Shadow, damn it. Taking advantage of his brief pause, I tried to fight back, "dad, I know that you worry about me, but-"

"I worry about you?! (Y/N) this is far more than just being worried about you! You could have gotten yourself killed on numerous occasions! Not only that, but you've exposed your powers to the world and are probably wanted by numerous organizations, including SHIELD, where I've been trying to protect you from since I found about it! You don't know what they'll do to you, even SHIELD, who are supposed to be the good guys! Do you want to end up like Bucky, being brainwashed to be an assassin?!"

"Dad, I can take take care of myself!"

"No! No, you have no idea what's out there! I can't even take care of myself and I have been doing this for years!"

"So Peter can go around saving Queens, but I can't?! Do you know how many times I saved his ass out there?! He would be dead right now if it weren't for me!"

"(Y/N), don't you-"

"No, don't you interrupt me! I am way more prepared than Peter is! My suit is made out of vibranium mesh, far more protective than whatever you made Peter's out of! Besides, I have been working on my magic, despite what you told me, and it's far more reliable than it was at first! I'm able to protect myself and those around me and I'm not throwing that opportunity away! I'm sick of sitting on the sidelines as everyone I know and love go out fighting aliens or HYDRA or whatever the hell comes and attacks us, I need to be out there with you!"

"I'm not going to let you go around risking your life! I know that you want to help, but can you at least wait until you're a little older?! I can't lose you, (Y/N)," Tony argued, but his tone got a little gentler at the end.

"You won't, dad," I assured him, hoping that I could end this argument without him banning me from going out again.

He shook his head, "you can't know that. Give me your suit, (Y/N), I can't have you going out anymore!"

"I'm not going to give it to you. Maybe if you had made the suit like you did with Peter's, I would. But I designed it, I traveled across the world to get the materials, and then I made it, I'm not going to give it up to you," I held my ground, despite feeling like I was going to pass out at any minute.

"You live in my house, you are going to give my that suit!"

"Oh so you're going to pull that excuse, are you? Well unfortunately for you, this isn't actually your house! We don't live in Stark Tower anymore, the compound doesn't belong to you!"

"Sir, (Y/N) needs to get some rest, you have to let her go," F.R.I.D.A.Y. announced of the coms, as I leaned against the wall for support, desperately trying to cling on the consciousness.

"No, not until she hands over the suit!"

"Sir, she used massive amounts of energy tonight, she needs to recuperate."

He glared at me for a moment before finally says, "fine, but this isn't over, (Y/N), you will give me your suit. You may leave now."

I turned from him without another word, starting my journey back to my room. However I didn't make it far before I heard Peter call out "(Y/N), why didn't you tell me?!"

"Peter, I'm really not up for-"

"I don't care what you're up for, your whole relationship with me has been a lie! Not only did you not tell me that you're Mr. Stark's daughter but you also withheld that you are Shadow, you're supposed to be my girlfriend! Was there anything you weren't lying about?!"

"Peter, I couldn't tell you that I was a Stark, regardless of your connection with my father. It wasn't my choice, I assure you. As for Shadow, I couldn't risk anyone knowing, including you. I-I was afraid that my father would find out and, well, do exactly what he just did. Surely you can understand why I don't want him to take this away from me. Besides, it wasn't like you told me you were Spider-Man," I tried to explain, hoping not to upset him as much as I had my father.

"But you knew! You knew I was Spider-Man! Why did you get to know about me, but I didn't get to know about you?!"

"You think my dad told me you were Spider-Man?! I had to hack his files to discover that! I'm not privileged to classified knowledge like you think I am, he didn't just tell me that my best friend was Spider-Man!"

"Oh that's rich, you're not privileged?! You, the daughter of Tony Stark, is not privileged?! I can't believe you, (Y/N), this is ridiculous! And you won't be getting any sympathy from me when Mr. Stark takes away your suit!" Peter yelled before storming away and leaving me with nothing else to say. I wanted to argue further, but I knew I needed to lie down. I understood why he was upset with me, but he needed to realize that I had no other choice but to keep my identity from him.

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(A/N): first fight with Peter! I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter!