Saving Grace

One Hundred

"You're gonna be great," Peter assures her, holding her hands in his.

Next to him, Harley echoes, "You got this."

"And we're all here for you," Hannah adds.

"They're right," Happy says. "You got nothing to worry about."

Pepper, with Morgan in one arm, moves to hug Grace, and so Peter lets her hands go as she wraps her arms around her mom and sister. Pepper smiles. "No one knows more about this than you do, you know. Just speak from the heart if you forget."

"But don't forget," Morgan says, "because what you wrote down is really good."

Grace laughs. "I'll try not to, Morg."

Soon, it's time.

"And now, we'd like to bring out the artist herself to reveal her monumental piece before we place it in the museum. Please join me in giving a warm welcome to Grace Stark."

The audience claps as Grace takes her place on the temporary stage, set up outside the museum for the occasion. She places her speech on the podium, glancing at the painting displayed next to her, though it's currently covered with a sheet.

She looks out at the crowd, heart pounding, but she spots her family in the back — Peter's smiling and giving her a thumbs up, Harley's pretending to boo her while Hannah tries to stop him and look at Grace at the same time, Pepper's just smiling encouragingly and looking like she's going to cry, Morgan is copying Peter, and Happy is nodding at her reassuringly. It calms her nerves, partly because it forces her focus on not laughing.

"Hello," she says. "I'm sure you've all been wondering about me, as the last time you really saw me was in a blurry picture when I was eleven." The crowd laughs at that a little, and Grace continues, not even glancing down at her speech. "As you know from the news... I've been through a lot. And the hardest thing I've gone through yet is the death of my father.

"He said he was completely lost when having to raise me practically on his own, and the help he did have mostly came from people just as clueless as he was." This elicits a laugh. "But he did it. And he was a good father — a great father... He was my father, and there's no one in the universe who could truly replace him.

"I know him as one who tucked me in at night and who made me chocolate chip pancakes in the morning. I know him as my protector when I needed him to be that, and my biggest supporter when I needed him to be that, too. I know him as the man who often cheered me up when I thought I couldn't be cheered, and who listened when I talked to him about art or books or movies or complained about my schoolwork — the man who would read my essays when I asked to see if they were any good. He was the one who loved me more than anything, and who I love more than anything."

She pauses, fighting off tears, taking a deep breath before she can continue.

"You all know him as Iron Man. He was also your protector. He was your hero, as well as mine. He was a public figure, a face of change and hope. He was unattainable, way out there, arrogant to some, just brave to others. He was probably even strange to some of you, and he was largely private about his personal life. It was mysterious. It was entertaining. You speculated. That I cannot, and do not, blame you for. And I know he didn't either — aside from the aforementioned incident with the picture." There's another light laugh from the teary audience, and she goes on. "The point is, my dad had two sides. The side you saw, and the side I and my family saw. And those two sides mix in the middle — they overlap. And that's what this painting is all about." She steps to the side, taking the microphone with her, then grabs the bottom of the sheet. "So, I now present you... 'The Story of a Hero.'" And she pulls the sheet away.

On the left side, it's tinged orange. It shows the first Iron Man suit, Tony fighting Ivan, guiding the missile in the Battle of New York, fighting Killian, fighting Ultron, and, finally, defeating Thanos, the last image a bit bigger than the others.

The other side is tinged blue, showing Tony holding a baby Morgan, dancing with Pepper, giving Grace her easel, making Savior, with older Morgan, with Peter. In blank spaces, the names Rhodey, Happy, Grace, Pepper, Natasha, Harley, Peter, and Morgan are blended into the blue. And in the middle, the orange and blue blend together, and on top of it is the arc reactor that says, "Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart," with his funeral flowers around it.

The whole audience has tears in their eyes, though she and her family more so. She fights not to outright cry, but she does, silent tears running down her face. The man from before, the one leading the event, comes back on stage, hugs her, and then she shakily thanks the audience and returns the microphone before walking off, heading back to her seat. Morgan suggests cheeseburgers afterwards to celebrate, so they all go, as dressed up as they are. Tony would've laughed if he were there.

His story hangs in the Museum of Modern Art, treasured for years come as a memorial to the man it was painted for. Flowers and drawings and letters are often left under it, near the wall. The janitors don't pick them up, unless the flowers begin to wilt. Then, they'll replace them. He deserves at least that much, considering it's all they can give to the man who made that sacrifice for the universe.

Tony Stark — genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, hero, friend, husband, and, most importantly, father.