Lieutenant - Daughter of the Captain

Chapter 3.0 - Rogers?

"The man behind my DNA..."

"...Captain Steven Grant Rogers..."

Tony looked at the child with new eyes. She had the blonde hair, she had the blue eyes...she even had the righteous look about her. It was no question. She had to be related to him.

Pepper, on the other hand, wasn't as easily convinced.

"Sweetie, that's impossible. He's been considered dead, lost under miles of ice for over half a century. There's no way..." she turns to Tony for support, only to see the stony look on his face, "No...Tony, this is impossible, you of all people have to know-"

"It's him," he stated, his tone flat and definitive.

"But Tony...how?" Pepper asks softly, noticing the hard look in his eyes.

"Because how could it not be, haunting me through my dad wasn't enough. The man with a plan had to send his kid to my doorstep to mess with my head too." And with that, he exited the vehicle and made his way into the restaurant. Pepper sat there staring at his empty seat in shock before she turned her disbelief to the girl.

She sat there with a vacant expression on her face. Her hands slightly trembled, but she paid them no mind. She only thought of Tony's words.

Moments passed, turning to minutes. It felt like an eternity for the two in the back of the limousine. They just sat there, contemplating the discovery.

"I'm not his kid," the girl said suddenly. Pepper's ginger brows furrowed in response.

"What?"

"I'm not his kid. He's not my father," she clarified, her voice stable and strong.

"But you just said..." Pepper's voice faded and she just stared back at the girl for a moment before sighing and collecting herself, "...why don't we head inside and you can explain it to both Tony and me." She opened her door and stepped out, allowing the girl to exit after her.

They made their way into the modern Italian restaurant, not being escorted by a hostess, Pepper found her way to their table. Tony sat there with a glass of amber-colored liquid, and his head in his hand. He glanced up when the two sat down.

"Feelin' better kid?" He muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"I'm not his kid, Tony," She started immediately. She had lost control before, she had revealed too much in the wrong way. She had to attempt to rebuild his trust in her, even if it meant someone knowing her true origins. It was a risk, but it was a necessary one.

Tony finally looked at her. He just stared for a moment, seeming troubled.

"It's okay, kid. We don't have to talk about it," He said, turning his eyes towards the intricacies of his glass.

"No, you don't understand, he's not my father. He can't be," she shook her voice, her volume and pitch ascending slightly. A melody of desperation.

"What do you mean?" It was Pepper who asked, almost afraid of the answer the young girl would give.

"I don't have parents,"

She took a breath, letting them prepare themselves for information that they weren't ready for.

"I wasn't conceived or birthed. I was manufactured," she revealed, watching their faces flow through a variety of emotions. Pepper's settled on confusion. Tony's couldn't seem to settle.

"You don't mean..." he started, but upon seeing the look on her face, his sentence was forgotten.

He understood what she meant, but he couldn't figure how exactly it happened. How could they have made a human out of DNA that would've been decades old? He ran through everything he knew about biology, and nothing made sense. Nothing except...