Saving Grace

Thirty One

It takes a while — though not as long as she thought — but Grace finally lands in Rose Hill, Tennessee.

It's snowing, and she's standing outside of a barn, but she doesn't see the Iron Man suit anywhere. She begins walking around. "Sai? Where's the suit?"

"One moment," Sai replies. Then, "It's not here."

"What do you mean it's not here?"

"This is the location I'd registered for the suit, and I locked onto it. It must've moved since."

"You can't track a moving target?" Grace says. Then, she mutters, "Geez, Dad, you're supposed to be better than this."

"Well, he's been a bit busy..."

"Of course he would program you to defend him."

Suddenly, a new voice joins the conversation. "Hello?"

Grace turns quickly, spotting a boy standing in the snow a few feet away from her. His hair is dark blonde, and, even from here, she can see how blue his eyes are. He's wearing pajamas, and he's shivering with cold. Grace stutters out, "H-Hi."

"Is that... Is that an Iron Man suit?" the boy asks, taking a few steps closer.

Grace doesn't know what to say. She has to be careful; this boy is a stranger. "No..."

"It looks like one."

"Well, it's purple," Grace replies. "Iron Man doesn't wear purple."

The boy nods a little as she's right. He looks up at her — the suit adds a couple inches to her height, and she's pretty sure she's taller than him anyway. "I'm Harley," he says. "Harley Keener."

"I'm..." Grace wracks her brain for a fake name. The Hunger Games worms its way into her thoughts. "Primrose," she finishes.

Harley squints at her suspiciously; she hesitated for far too long. "No, you're not."

"Of-Of course I am," Grace replies. "That's my name. Primrose Everdeen."

"Bullcrap," Harley says, sure he's heard that name somewhere before — and it wasn't connected to Iron Man.

Meanwhile, Grace frantically searches for something to say. "Well, then... your name isn't Harley."

"Of course it is!"

"Then my-"

"Wait," Harley says, finally connecting the dots. "I know who you are. You're her."

"What-?"

"You're Grace Stark."

Grace stops. Her eyes widen, and she shakes her head hurriedly. "N-No, I'm not. Who's Grace Stark? I-I'm not-"

"Well, they only say your name is Grace," Harley says. "But you're definitely Tony's daughter."

Grace, under the suit's mask, raises a brow. He called him Tony. And, yeah, everyone knows Tony Stark's name. But just calling him Tony the way Harley did sounds too informal for a total stranger. "Do you... Do you know him?"

"Yeah," Harley says. "I saved his life. And I helped him fix his suit. It just flew off, so I guess he has it now."

"Where is he?"

"Miami. He's fighting the Mandarin, I think." Grace goes quiet, bile beginning to rise in her throat at the thought of Tony fighting an extremely scary and powerful terrorist — whom he's already threatened. Harley can't see her face, but he can tell she's upset by what he said. "Come on. Let's try to call him."