Iron Man's Daughter

Tess and Pepper were once again at Stark's mansion. Tess really had no idea why they spent so much time there when the owner wasn't even around. She also had never heard from Leah yet. Of course, she'd taken advantage of the privacy and got to know all the cool technology Tony Stark possessed. JARVIS was possibly the coolest thing she'd ever witnessed.

"Let's try...lime green,"Tess said, looking at the giant hologram of the Corvet in the middle of the room. Green Day's "Holiday" blared in the background. The car went from black to lime green. "With purple stripes. No, go back to black and add purple flames." The car changed color to what she said.

"Is that what you were looking for, Ms. Koscher?"JARVIS asked.

"Yes, indeed, JARVIS. Thank you."
"Would you like to purchase it?"

There was a moment of temptation, but Tess finally shook her head. "No, go ahead and delete it." The picture zoomed off into a hologram trash can. "So cool..."she whispered.

"Tess?! Tess! TESS!"Ms. Potts came running through the glass door. She looked happy, but almost on the verge of tears. "They've found Tony!"

Happy--Tony's limo driver and Tess's new found friend--drove them to the military base. There was what looked like hundreds of planes and jets, going in and out of the gigantic hangers. Also, there were several hot military guys running around. Happy parked the car and They got out, waiting. Tess really could have cared less. She was almost hoping they'd never find him. He wouldn't have been really missed. Maybe Pepper would have had a major mental breakdown, but Tess would have got her through it. Just as long as Stark hadn't come back. The world would have been a better place.

Only a few minuets later, a jet came rushing out of the sky. It landed and rolled past them on the runway. It was huge up close. It stopped not far from them and everyone waited in silence. The ramp in the back of the jet lowered. Tess got a glimpse of Tony in a wheelchair before he made his descent bravely down with Lieutenant Rhodes. He looked in pretty tough shape, with scratches on his face and his arm in a cast. He shooed away the stretcher offered to him, before walking towards his welcome-home party.

"Hm." Tony studied Pepper's face for a moment. "Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?"he asked.

"Tears of joy,"Pepper explained. "I hate job hunting."

Tony leaned to the side and stared at Tess. "You're still here?"

"Yes, sir, I am,"Tess said, her tone none too pleasant.

"She's been helping me with some of everything,"said Pepper.

"Yeah, vacations over,"was all Tony said and went to car.

"Jerk,"Tess mumbled. Pepper gave her a warning glance, then followed Tony to the car.

Tony got in on behind the passanger and Pepper got inbetween him and Tess.

"Where to, sir?"Happy asked.

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy," Pepper said.

"No,"Tony objected.

"No?"

"I don't want to go the hospital,"said Tony simply, talking over Pepper's: "Tony, you have to go to the hospital. The doctor has to look at you." Tess leaned her head against the seat and rolled her eyes. Stark was so spoiled and rude...and annoying.

Tony sighed. "I don't have to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months and there's two things I want to do: I want an American cheeseburger...and the other..."

"That's enough of that,"Pepper interuppted.

"...Is not what you think,"Stark finished. "I want you to call for a press conference now."

"Call for a press conference?" Pepper asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first." Happy put the car in drive and they left the military base.

They drove to Burger King so Tony could have his "American cheeseburger",then to some big building, that Tess didnt' know about. There was a crowd of people outside and when they parked, Stane opened Tony's door and welcomed him home. Pepper and Tess got out the opposite door. Happy handed Tony his cheeseburger and the four walked into the press conference. Tess had never been to a press conference, but it was just like she imagined. All these people fauning over Tony and clapping and cheering as he made his way up the podium with Obadiah. She felt like gagging.

"Miss Potts?"The two females turned to see a guy standing beside them. He was really short, shorter than Pepper.

"Yes,"Ms. Potts answered.

"May I speak to you for a moment?"

"I'm not part of the press conference, but its about to begin right now,"Ms. Potts said gesturing to the rows of reporters.

"I'm not a reporter. I'm Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention and
Enforcement and Logistics Devison,"the man introduced himself and handed her a card.

"That's a mouthful,"Tess commented.

"I know. We're working on it"Phil said.

"We've already been approached by the DOD the FBI, the CIA..."Pepper stated.

"We're a seperate division. With a more specific focus. We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape,"Phil explained.

Ms. Potts smiled. "I'll put something in the books, shall I?"

Mr. Coulson nodded and returned her smile. "Thank you."

"Alright let's get started,"Stane's voice carried to the back of the room. "I uhhh..."He looked around the room, then down in front of him to see Tony sitting in front of podium.

"Hey, would it be alright if everyone sat down?""Stark asked, gesturing to everyone."Why don't we just sit down? That way you can see me and I can...a little less formal and..."He let his sentence drop with a bite of his burger. All the reporters sat down, somewhat confused. Pepper and Tess looked at each other and then sat down too.

"What's up with the love-in?"Rhodey asked, crouching down beside them.

"Don't look at me,"Miss Potts said. "I don't know what he's up to."
Stane put his hand on Tony's shoulder and the two shared some quiet words, before Tony turned to the press.

"I never got to say good-bye to my father,"Tony started. Tess's eyebrows furrowed together. She'd always wondered about her grandparents. "There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him what he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or if he was every inch the man we remember from the newsreels."

He paused, staring out into the crowd before continuing. "I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I...had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountabilty."

Tess blinked, completely taken off guard. She'd never thought Tony Stark could say something that deep...that meaningful. Something that showed he had emotions.

A reporter raised his hand. "Mr. Stark!"

Tony looked at him and pointed. "Hey, Ben."

"What happened over there?"'Ben' asked.

"I had my eyes opened,"Tony said, getting up behind the podium. "I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. That is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International--"Like a wave, the press stood and began to talk all at once. Pepper's and Tess's jaws dropped. Obadiah stood, getting ready to take over. "Until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be..."

Obadiah wrapped his arm around Tony's shoulders. "I think we're gonna be selling a lot of newspapers,"he joked and gently propelled Tony off stage. Tony began to wade through the crowd. "What we should take away from this is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever. We're going to have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with follow up."

Tony reached the trio. Pepper opened her mouth, but Tony held out his hand. "We'll talk about this later,"he said firmly and walked out the doors.

Tess watched him leave, a disturbing feeling building in the bit of her stomach. She felt like crying. Her mom had told her the story how he'd told her he was going to Malibu and he'd probably never see her again. Then, he'd just walked away. He'd left the reporters the same way. Told them something and let it drop, let other people pick up the pieces to his actions and words. He was arrogant, disceiteful. Any harm that came to him, he expected other people to fix. Tess hated him for every fiber of that. Every fiber of him.