chosen_one386
Angel of Chaos
So, this is an alternative universe fanfiction for my fanfic The Aquapolian Initiative. Basically, it's a re-write of the Iron Man movies with a TAI backdrop. Enjoy!
Iron Man
Chapter 1.
“I wouldn’t have to do this if you weren’t abandoning me.”
“I’m not abandoning you. I’m just getting promoted…and married. I’ll still be working in the company…”
“So, you’re abandoning me, but not having the decency to completely walk out of my life? Seriously?”
Pepper Potts rolled her eyes at her boss’ dramatics. “Will you just see one more applicant? Will it really kill you?”
“No, but it will make me late.”
“As if you were going to be on time in the first place.”
Tony Stark sighed. “Fine, fine, send just one more in.” He was tired of looking for a new assistant. Ever since Pepper announced that she was leaving, taking a higher job in the company, Stark had tried to ignore the fact that he had to either hire a new assistant or continue on without one.
Seeing as how, on a good day, he couldn’t even remember his own Social Security number, option two was out of the question.
Spinning back around to face the floor to ceiling windows, Stark stood up, surveying the factories of Stark Industries that lay out in front of him, spanning acres upon acres of California desert. The company had come a long way from his father’s days as founder and CEO. Since Stark had started working as a head partner of the company in his early twenties, he had only ever had two assistants. Pepper had worked for him for a good fifteen years…and he refused to even think about his first assistant…not now.
Outside in the lobby, Pepper surveyed the college students who waited on chairs and sofas, eager for their chance to merely speak to the great Tony Stark. All of them were engineering majors from different institutes throughout the country. Stark had requested more to be from his alma mater, MIT. The rest were from Caltech.
Except for one. Pepper looked over the young woman’s bio. She wasn’t mechanical, electrical, aerospace engineering…but her bio was interesting…and she should at least get one shot. “I apologize, but Mr. Stark will only see one more applicant today.” All of the students turned to her, sitting up straighter and holding breaths. “Can I see…” She glanced down at the bio. “Miss Katharine Coulson, please?”
A young woman with long blonde hair stood up from her seat. She was dressed in a plain black skirt and white blouse. As soon as she was within a few feet of Pepper, the older woman realized that she had the strangest blue eyes she had ever seen. Their shades seemed to shift between sky blue to sapphire blue and back again continuously. Pepper almost let herself stare at them a second too long before clearing her throat and saying, “Please follow me.”
Pepper was always reluctant to leave the interviewees alone in the room with Stark. His natural personality tended to overwhelm and intimidate people who were not used to his sarcasm and offhand remarks. There was something about this girl, however…there was a fire in those shifting blue eyes that told Pepper that she could handle whatever Stark threw at her.
And that was really what he needed in an assistant, Pepper realized. Any of those students in there could do the initial jobs, running errands, picking up files, setting up appointments. The largest part of being Tony Stark’s assistant was dealing with him day in and day out.
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Stark didn’t turn around when his office door opened. He could tell by the footsteps of the last candidate that it was a young woman. He inwardly sighed. He was done with this. He would listen to one more student beg for the job, then leave for his plane to the Middle East. Pepper wasn’t leaving for another few weeks, anyway…
“Mr. Stark?” He didn’t realize that he had been staring out the window for least three minutes since she had stepped into the room. He might as well not prolong the misery.
“Sorry, I just don’t think this is going to work.” He had expected those words to be the last of the conversation, for the girl to say something and leave and for him to be free. A few moments passed in silence, until her voice startled him.
“If this is going to be a waste of your time, Mr. Stark, please tell me now so that it won’t be a waste of MY time. I’m missing classes to attend this interview, and, as you know, not everyone is as smart as you are. If I’m boring you, then save us both the trouble and end it now.”
No one had spoken to him like that since…He smiled, impressed by the girl’s tenacity, and turned around.
His smile faded, replaced by one of shock. It couldn’t be…
The eyes…He blinked and asked, “What was your name again?”
“Katharine Coulson.”
It had to be. The eyes. The name. The hair. There was no mistaking it.
If he could, he would cancel his trip to the Middle East in an instant. Twenty-one years, and here she was. But he couldn’t. This was one of those business trips he couldn’t get out of. He told himself it was only for a few days. But she would be back at school in a few days…
“Tell you what, Kat, why don’t you stick around for the next week until I get back from my business trip? I’ll cover for you at school if you have any exams or whatever.”
She frowned. “How did you know that was my nickname?”
He mentally kicked himself. “Just a guess. What do you say, we’ll talk after my trip?”
He could tell that she wanted to say no, that she just wanted to get back to school and forget this entire experience, but she couldn’t. “Okay…”
Stark didn’t want to rush her out, but he needed to leave soon…and he didn’t want to start a conversation that could end very, very badly. “Great! See you later this week.”
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Shifting blue eyes…no, green ones. She had died with her eyes open, her blonde hair spread out across the floor like a halo around her head. That carpet used to be white…the red stain refused to come out, so the carpet had to go.
It had been years since he had dreamed of her, but now…He forced himself to wake up before he came to within a few feet of her.
This time, he woke more violently than he had intended. Disoriented for a few moments, he panicked at the pressure and pain in his chest before he realized where he was…and what was in his chest.
Stark’s trip to Afghanistan and gone horribly, horribly wrong. After he had demonstrated Stark Industries’ new missiles in front of the army, his convoy had been attacked, and he had been kidnapped. Somewhere in the middle of the chaos, a bomb had exploded, sending shrapnel flying into his chest.
That was where the arc reactor had come in. The group that had kidnapped him had also kidnapped a local doctor to prevent him from dying. The man had installed an electromagnetic device in his chest to stop the shrapnel from penetrating his heart. Stark had modified it so that he no longer had to walk around with a battery attached to his chest. The terrorist cell that had kidnapped them wanted Stark to make one of his weapons for them.
But Stark and the doctor had other ideas. He had drawn up plans for a metal battle suit, one that would take them both out of there safely.
One night, they were working on the breastplate of the suit. The doctor had talked on and on about his family. Stark didn’t mind the background noise, but when the doctor started to speak about how he had met his wife, Stark inwardly flinched. The nightmare flashed before his eyes. It stayed in his mind, along with Kat’s face.
The doctor had asked a question…but Stark hadn’t heard it. “I’m sorry, what?” He looked up from the breastplate he had been wiring one of the arms to.
“Do you have a family waiting for you at home?”
He paused. “No…they’re not waiting…” The doctor waited patiently as he continued. “My wife passed away about twenty years ago.” He took a deep breath. He had not confided in many people what he was about to say. “We had a daughter, but she was taken from me when my wife died. She’s still alive. There may be some hope that I’ll see her one day.”
The doctor’s final words had been an order. Find your daughter and never let her go again.
Stark had planned on doing just that.
As the plane touched down on American soil again, all he could think about was getting Kat back to California. In fact, the first words out of his mouth when he sat down in the awaiting car with Pepper were, “Call back Miss Coulson and have her come to California immediately.”
“I think we can put off switching assistants right now…”
“No, no we can’t. Call her back.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said a bit more forcefully than he meant to. “Listen, before we get to the press conference, I want two things. A cheeseburger. And for you to call Miss Coulson back and tell her to get out here immediately. Last one first, please.”
“Now? You want me to call her now?”
“Yes. Now.”
Stark was rarely serious, but when he was…Pepper recognized the look on his face that told her he wasn’t kidding around. She picked up her phone, found Kat’s number and dialed it, waiting for it to ring a few times before the young woman’s voice sounded across the speaker.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Miss Coulson. This is Pepper Potts speaking.”
There was a pause on the other line. The press had gotten word that Stark had been rescued and was back in the States, so, of course, Kat had to know that he was back in America. It had been all over the news for days. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Kat asked, “May I help you with something?”
“Yes, the position for Mr. Stark’s personal assistant is still open. How soon can you fly to California?”
Another pause. “I got the job?”
“You can start work right away…well, of course…” She glanced over at Stark, who was watching her intently. “After a short training period.”
“I would love to, but, Miss Potts, I have school…”
“Hold on just a second…” Pepper turned to Stark. “She has school.”
“Tell her that I’ll take care of school for her. I’ll pull some strings over there, get her a 4.0 for the semester.”
Pepper repeated this to Kat, who still seemed hesitant, but finally said, “Okay. I’ll see if I can book a flight for later this week.”
“Tell her she can use the company jet.”
Pepper gave him a strange look. “She isn’t even technically hired yet.”
“So? She’s got the job, she can use the jet.”
Pepper relayed this information to Kat, who agreed to travel out to the Atlanta airport in two days’ time to get on the jet to California. Pepper hung up the phone and turned to Stark. “Okay, why are you so adamant about getting this particular girl out here to work for you? Did she impress you that much?”
Instead of outright answering her question, Stark turned away, saying in that voice Pepper knew to be his I’m-dodging-the-subject voice, “I’ll tell you later. All will be revealed.”
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Kat sat back in the chair she had snagged at the library, staring at the ceiling, vaguely aware of the other students frantically bustling and studying around her. It was finals week at her college, and everyone was hurrying to cram as much knowledge into their brains as they possibly could.
But Kat didn’t need to do that anymore. For once, she was guaranteed to walk out of a semester with a 4.0. She felt a bit empty. What could she do now but make her final arrangements and pack?
The first thing she did was slide her iPhone out of her pocket and dial her Uncle Phil. She knew he was most likely at work, but he would pick up if he saw it was her calling. She never called without a reason while he was on a case.
“Hey, Kat, what’s up?” Phil Coulson was not technically her uncle. In fact, they weren’t even related. Kat’s parents had died when she was very young, and Coulson had adopted her, raising her by himself. Though he had acted the parts of both mother and father for her, he had never seemed a father…which was why she had and always would call him Uncle Phil.
“I know you’re probably watching at work, so you know that Stark is back in America safe and sound now.”
“Yeah, we knew that a few days ago, Kat.” Coulson was a member of SHIELD, a government organization that rivaled the CIA in secrecy and efficiency. He had worked his way up the ranks and had trained many other agents, including a family friend and Kat’s personal trainer, Clint Barton. Coulson had assigned him the position due to Kat’s…powers.
“Well, his assistant just called me and full on shoved the job onto me, so I guess I’ll be packing up and moving out to California.”
“That’s great, Kat.” No hint of surprise. No protests that she shouldn’t drop out of school. Kat had the sudden urge to ask him who he was and what he had done with her uncle. “How about I come and help you move?”
“Stark Industries is sending a jet to pick me up,” she explained. “But, I’m sure they’ll let you ride with me.”
“Good, good. Kat…”
Kat frowned. “Is something wrong?” Coulson was not sounding like himself at all.
“No, I’m just glad you got the job. This is a real break for you, Kat. I’ll know you’ll do well…”
But as she hung up the phone and stared around the library at the harried students, Kat had the feeling that there was something largely unspoken in his voice.
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Coulson sat back in his seat on the private jet Stark had sent for Kat to fly out to Malibu in. The agent glanced out of the window, refusing the drink the stewardess offered him. “Sorry, I’m on call at work right now. Can’t drink today.”
She shot him a confused look, but did not say more. Coulson turned back to Kat, who was staring out of the window, growing nervous by the mile. “You’re going to do great, Kat,” he said in a reassuring voice. “Stark is…hard to get along with, but you’ve always had a gift of adjusting to your environment.”
She sighed. “I hope so. Otherwise, throwing away my academic career will be a waste of time.”
Coulson raised an eyebrow. “You do realize that he’ll probably pay for the rest of your schooling after the internship is over, right? Even if it doesn’t go well, he’s got enough money to where that wouldn’t be a problem.”
Kat squirmed in her seat. “I guess so…it’s just so sudden…I mean…a few weeks ago, he was being detained by terrorists, and now…”
“Don’t worry so much, Kat. Just look at the perks of your job. Thousands of your fellow engineering students would kill for it.”
In the airport terminal, Coulson carried several of her bags as she looked around for the assistant who was supposed to be picking them up. She finally spotted a slightly chubby middle-aged man holding up a sign with the name “Kat Coulson” printed on it in large block letters. She waved at him and led Coulson over to where he was standing.
“Miss Coulson? Welcome, I’m one of Mr. Stark’s drivers, Happy Hogan.” He shook her hand and introduced himself to Coulson as well. “If you will follow me, I’ll take you to the Stark Industry offices and I can get you set up with Miss Potts right away.”
“Is there any chance you could drop me off by the Seaside Apartments?” Coulson asked. “I’d like to move some of her luggage in as soon as possible.”
“Of course. Please follow me.”
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Kat could feel her nerves starting to kick in as she stepped into the main Stark Industry offices beside Happy, playing anxiously with her security card as he led her to the small office Pepper kept in the building. They finally appeared at the glass and wood-line office, but, unfortunately, she was late, so they had to wait in the lobby for a few moments.
After a few minutes, Kat couldn’t take standing beside Happy silently much more. “So, are there any tips you can give me about working with Mr. Stark?” She asked, trying to make sure she looked determined to do the job. The more she hyped it up in her mind as a challenge, she believed, the easier it would be to get through this experience.
Happy jumped excitedly on this question, nearly startling Kat with his enthusiasm. “Make sure you’re on your toes at all times with your verbal game. He has a fast wit, so either develop one to challenge his, or develop your own style to show him that you’re not intimidated or scared of him. Also, expect for him to be late to things…a lot.”
Happy looked like he was going to continue his barrage of answers, but, luckily for Kat, Pepper stepped into the lobby beside a tall young man dressed in a three-piece suit. As they approached, Kat could make out his light red hair and turquoise eyes. For some reason, he looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him exactly.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Pepper apologized when they were within earshot of Kat and Happy. “I had to stop by legal to pick up Grayson before I came here. Kat, this is Grayson Strauss from the legal department. He’s Mr. Stark’s personal lawyer. Grayson, this is Kat Coulson, Mr. Stark’s new assistant.” They shook hands, and Kat could feel herself getting a little flustered at how good-looking Grayson was. “Now, I have something to show you in my office if you’ll follow me.”
“I don’t know whether to congratulate you or offer my condolences,” Grayson joked in a Bristish accent to Kat as they followed Pepper to her office.
She laughed. “Maybe a little of both. It sounds like a challenge.”
Grayson smiled at her reply as Pepper turned and said, “Oh, it is. Believe it or not, though, you’re only the third of his assistants over the past twenty years. He doesn’t have a history of firing them, really.”
“Was his first assistant promoted too, or did she just leave?”
Kat was surprised at the sadness that flashed across Pepper’s eyes at her question. “No, unfortunately, she died. She was actually a cousin of mine. It was an accident.”
“Oh…” Kat could feel her cheeks burning. “I’m sorry…I didn’t know.”
Pepper waved away her apology. “It was a long time ago. Just…don’t bring it up around Stark. He’s a little touchy about the subject.” This comment led Kat to contemplate what his original assistant had meant to him as she stepped into Pepper’s office.
“Now, I brought Grayson here to our meeting today because you’re going to work with him on all of Stark’s legal issues. Contracts, paperwork, etc. Since you don’t have experience in these areas, I thought it would be great for you and Grayson to work together on this. For the first week, you’ll be shadowing me as I attend to all of Stark’s needs. The second week, you’ll be on your own. I apologize for throwing you into the lion’s din so soon, but I have to start work in my new job that week, so I won’t be able to help you. Any questions other than legal you can ask Happy…or improvise. Believe it or not, he will be prone to cut you some slack that first week.”
Pepper withdrew a paperback file from her desk and handed it to Kat. “Familiarize yourself with this playbook I’m giving you. It’s his likes, dislikes, hates, etc. The faster you learn it, the faster you’ll get along with him, though I think he likes you already. He was quite impressed at his interview with you.”
“Really?” Kat raised an eyebrow. “All I did was yell at him about his wasting my time…”
Grayson laughed. “Yes, that will do it. If you keep that up, you’ll get along with him just fine.”
Pepper glanced at her watch. “I’m sorry, but I have a meeting with Stark right now. I’ll have Happy drive you back to your apartment so you can get moved in.” Kat and Grayson followed her into the lobby and said their good-byes to her.
“Do you need any help moving in?” Grayson asked.
“Oh, no, no, my uncle is helping me, but thank you for the offer…”
“Well, then, I’ll see you sometime later this week.” He pointed to the playbook Pepper gave her. “My number is in there. Don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions.” He said good-bye and walked off in the direction of the elevators.
Kat watched him go as Happy stepped up to her side. He watched her watch Grayson for a few moments before he said, “Let’s get on out to the car. Oh, and by the way…he’s single.”
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“I cannot believe you right now,” Pepper said as she slammed the door to Stark’s office, making sure it was locked so that no one barged into their conversation.
He looked up from his desk, confused. “What did I do this time?”
“You hired Kat Coulson,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “It is obvious to anyone that knew you and Caroline were married that she is your daughter. You didn’t think I would pick that up after being left in a room with her for a few minutes? You hired her for a job that will place her at your side pretty much twenty-four hours a day and, if I know you, AND I DO, you will refuse to tell her who you really are for a good while.”
Stark waited for a few moments before asking, “Are you finished?”
“What are you thinking, Tony?” She demanded, then realized something, and calmed down for a few moments. “Is this because of your experience in Afghanistan?”
He shrugged. “I found her for the first time in twenty-one years. Even before, I wasn’t going to let that opportunity go, but now…I can’t pass this one up.”
“When are you going to tell her?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you don’t tell her, I will,” Pepper threatened. “She deserves to know, Tony, and you deserve for her to know…after all of these years…”
“What is she going to think, Pepper? I pretty much abandoned her. At least in this way she won’t hate me.”
Pepper sighed. “Tony, you didn’t abandon her. Everyone who knows what happened knows that you did everything to find her and that it ripped you apart to let her go.” She paused, thinking. “All you have to do is sit her down and explain it to her straight. It’s not rocket science. And you have Coulson to back you up on this…”
“Of course I do…who do you think sent her to me?”
Realization dawned on Pepper. “Then it’s a sign, Tony! This is a sign for you to regain the life with her that you lost!”
There was silence for a few moments until he said slowly, “I’ll tell her by the end of the year, okay?”
“That’s seven months from now.”
Stark paused, indecision flashing across his eyes. Pepper knew this was a hard choice for him. For some strange reason, he was afraid that Kat would reject him completely, that something about Stark would make her angry at him once he told her. While Stark was often brash and inconsiderate to others, Kat was the one person on Earth whom he’d never put down or hurt.
“I’ll tell her on her birthday,” Stark said finally. “That’s four months from now. Happy?”
Pepper sighed. She was hoping for something more immediate, but she would take what she could get. “Tony,” she paused before she left, turning back to him and hoping that he would listen to what she was about to say. “Kat’s not going to hate you. But…she will start to dislike you if you put off telling her for much longer.”
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“This is nice,” Coulson whistled as Kat stepped into her new glass-lined modern apartment. “Not only is the salary good…they’re paying for your living arrangements as well.” He laughed. “Might as well not finish school to quickly, Kat. Tech graduates won’t live this well for another five or six years after they graduate.”
“I could probably convince Stark to start something related to biomedical engineering in the company. I mean, come on, I’m sure he doesn’t appreciate the arc reactor they put in his heart, but others with heart disabilities might.”
Coulson paused in front of the glass walls that looked out onto the ocean. Kat stepped up to gaze with him, breathing in and out, finally relaxed after the chaos that had been the past few days. “You’ll come and visit me, right?” She asked after a few sweet silent moments.
“Of course,” he smiled. “I’ll call you at the end of the week once I look at my schedule. Unless something comes up all of a sudden, I’ll be able to stop in several times between now and the fall.” He paused, and Kat could tell he was debating over what he was going to say next. “I wanted to give you a choice on this, Kat. Say no if you want to, that’s fine. But, you know, I want you to continue with your training…”
Kat lifted an eyebrow. “Go on…” She said, when Coulson’s pause was too long.
“I asked Barton to stop in and see if he could find an apartment on the other side of town. He will only stay in town to watch over you from afar…give you regular training sessions…and be a phone call away if you need help or just someone familiar to talk to. He is NOT going to be a bodyguard or a guardian or whatever. In fact, he’s on a separate mission of his own that he’s been assigned up the coast, so he may not even be in the city much. Are you okay with this?”
To tell the truth, Kat was relieved that at least one person she knew would be in town. Clint Barton had been one of Coulson’s first recruits at SHIELD, and had trained Kat to control her powers and defend herself. He was stern in training sessions, but laid back outside of the gym, serving Kat as both a mentor and a friend. She had wanted to strike out on her own completely…but better Barton’s protection than some random SHIELD agent who would be on her case twenty-four seven.
“Yes, actually, that would be great,” she replied.
“Good.” There was another pause. Kat knew Coulson had to get back to D.C. He obviously didn’t want to part too soon. He took a breath, and turned to her, surprising sadness in his eyes. “Kat, whatever happens over the next few months, I just ask you…not to think any less of me…and never to think any less of Stark.”
Those were his parting words before he walked out of her apartment, leaving her stunned and wondering over the meaning of his declaration.
Iron Man
Chapter 1.
“I wouldn’t have to do this if you weren’t abandoning me.”
“I’m not abandoning you. I’m just getting promoted…and married. I’ll still be working in the company…”
“So, you’re abandoning me, but not having the decency to completely walk out of my life? Seriously?”
Pepper Potts rolled her eyes at her boss’ dramatics. “Will you just see one more applicant? Will it really kill you?”
“No, but it will make me late.”
“As if you were going to be on time in the first place.”
Tony Stark sighed. “Fine, fine, send just one more in.” He was tired of looking for a new assistant. Ever since Pepper announced that she was leaving, taking a higher job in the company, Stark had tried to ignore the fact that he had to either hire a new assistant or continue on without one.
Seeing as how, on a good day, he couldn’t even remember his own Social Security number, option two was out of the question.
Spinning back around to face the floor to ceiling windows, Stark stood up, surveying the factories of Stark Industries that lay out in front of him, spanning acres upon acres of California desert. The company had come a long way from his father’s days as founder and CEO. Since Stark had started working as a head partner of the company in his early twenties, he had only ever had two assistants. Pepper had worked for him for a good fifteen years…and he refused to even think about his first assistant…not now.
Outside in the lobby, Pepper surveyed the college students who waited on chairs and sofas, eager for their chance to merely speak to the great Tony Stark. All of them were engineering majors from different institutes throughout the country. Stark had requested more to be from his alma mater, MIT. The rest were from Caltech.
Except for one. Pepper looked over the young woman’s bio. She wasn’t mechanical, electrical, aerospace engineering…but her bio was interesting…and she should at least get one shot. “I apologize, but Mr. Stark will only see one more applicant today.” All of the students turned to her, sitting up straighter and holding breaths. “Can I see…” She glanced down at the bio. “Miss Katharine Coulson, please?”
A young woman with long blonde hair stood up from her seat. She was dressed in a plain black skirt and white blouse. As soon as she was within a few feet of Pepper, the older woman realized that she had the strangest blue eyes she had ever seen. Their shades seemed to shift between sky blue to sapphire blue and back again continuously. Pepper almost let herself stare at them a second too long before clearing her throat and saying, “Please follow me.”
Pepper was always reluctant to leave the interviewees alone in the room with Stark. His natural personality tended to overwhelm and intimidate people who were not used to his sarcasm and offhand remarks. There was something about this girl, however…there was a fire in those shifting blue eyes that told Pepper that she could handle whatever Stark threw at her.
And that was really what he needed in an assistant, Pepper realized. Any of those students in there could do the initial jobs, running errands, picking up files, setting up appointments. The largest part of being Tony Stark’s assistant was dealing with him day in and day out.
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Stark didn’t turn around when his office door opened. He could tell by the footsteps of the last candidate that it was a young woman. He inwardly sighed. He was done with this. He would listen to one more student beg for the job, then leave for his plane to the Middle East. Pepper wasn’t leaving for another few weeks, anyway…
“Mr. Stark?” He didn’t realize that he had been staring out the window for least three minutes since she had stepped into the room. He might as well not prolong the misery.
“Sorry, I just don’t think this is going to work.” He had expected those words to be the last of the conversation, for the girl to say something and leave and for him to be free. A few moments passed in silence, until her voice startled him.
“If this is going to be a waste of your time, Mr. Stark, please tell me now so that it won’t be a waste of MY time. I’m missing classes to attend this interview, and, as you know, not everyone is as smart as you are. If I’m boring you, then save us both the trouble and end it now.”
No one had spoken to him like that since…He smiled, impressed by the girl’s tenacity, and turned around.
His smile faded, replaced by one of shock. It couldn’t be…
The eyes…He blinked and asked, “What was your name again?”
“Katharine Coulson.”
It had to be. The eyes. The name. The hair. There was no mistaking it.
If he could, he would cancel his trip to the Middle East in an instant. Twenty-one years, and here she was. But he couldn’t. This was one of those business trips he couldn’t get out of. He told himself it was only for a few days. But she would be back at school in a few days…
“Tell you what, Kat, why don’t you stick around for the next week until I get back from my business trip? I’ll cover for you at school if you have any exams or whatever.”
She frowned. “How did you know that was my nickname?”
He mentally kicked himself. “Just a guess. What do you say, we’ll talk after my trip?”
He could tell that she wanted to say no, that she just wanted to get back to school and forget this entire experience, but she couldn’t. “Okay…”
Stark didn’t want to rush her out, but he needed to leave soon…and he didn’t want to start a conversation that could end very, very badly. “Great! See you later this week.”
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Shifting blue eyes…no, green ones. She had died with her eyes open, her blonde hair spread out across the floor like a halo around her head. That carpet used to be white…the red stain refused to come out, so the carpet had to go.
It had been years since he had dreamed of her, but now…He forced himself to wake up before he came to within a few feet of her.
This time, he woke more violently than he had intended. Disoriented for a few moments, he panicked at the pressure and pain in his chest before he realized where he was…and what was in his chest.
Stark’s trip to Afghanistan and gone horribly, horribly wrong. After he had demonstrated Stark Industries’ new missiles in front of the army, his convoy had been attacked, and he had been kidnapped. Somewhere in the middle of the chaos, a bomb had exploded, sending shrapnel flying into his chest.
That was where the arc reactor had come in. The group that had kidnapped him had also kidnapped a local doctor to prevent him from dying. The man had installed an electromagnetic device in his chest to stop the shrapnel from penetrating his heart. Stark had modified it so that he no longer had to walk around with a battery attached to his chest. The terrorist cell that had kidnapped them wanted Stark to make one of his weapons for them.
But Stark and the doctor had other ideas. He had drawn up plans for a metal battle suit, one that would take them both out of there safely.
One night, they were working on the breastplate of the suit. The doctor had talked on and on about his family. Stark didn’t mind the background noise, but when the doctor started to speak about how he had met his wife, Stark inwardly flinched. The nightmare flashed before his eyes. It stayed in his mind, along with Kat’s face.
The doctor had asked a question…but Stark hadn’t heard it. “I’m sorry, what?” He looked up from the breastplate he had been wiring one of the arms to.
“Do you have a family waiting for you at home?”
He paused. “No…they’re not waiting…” The doctor waited patiently as he continued. “My wife passed away about twenty years ago.” He took a deep breath. He had not confided in many people what he was about to say. “We had a daughter, but she was taken from me when my wife died. She’s still alive. There may be some hope that I’ll see her one day.”
The doctor’s final words had been an order. Find your daughter and never let her go again.
Stark had planned on doing just that.
As the plane touched down on American soil again, all he could think about was getting Kat back to California. In fact, the first words out of his mouth when he sat down in the awaiting car with Pepper were, “Call back Miss Coulson and have her come to California immediately.”
“I think we can put off switching assistants right now…”
“No, no we can’t. Call her back.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said a bit more forcefully than he meant to. “Listen, before we get to the press conference, I want two things. A cheeseburger. And for you to call Miss Coulson back and tell her to get out here immediately. Last one first, please.”
“Now? You want me to call her now?”
“Yes. Now.”
Stark was rarely serious, but when he was…Pepper recognized the look on his face that told her he wasn’t kidding around. She picked up her phone, found Kat’s number and dialed it, waiting for it to ring a few times before the young woman’s voice sounded across the speaker.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Miss Coulson. This is Pepper Potts speaking.”
There was a pause on the other line. The press had gotten word that Stark had been rescued and was back in the States, so, of course, Kat had to know that he was back in America. It had been all over the news for days. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Kat asked, “May I help you with something?”
“Yes, the position for Mr. Stark’s personal assistant is still open. How soon can you fly to California?”
Another pause. “I got the job?”
“You can start work right away…well, of course…” She glanced over at Stark, who was watching her intently. “After a short training period.”
“I would love to, but, Miss Potts, I have school…”
“Hold on just a second…” Pepper turned to Stark. “She has school.”
“Tell her that I’ll take care of school for her. I’ll pull some strings over there, get her a 4.0 for the semester.”
Pepper repeated this to Kat, who still seemed hesitant, but finally said, “Okay. I’ll see if I can book a flight for later this week.”
“Tell her she can use the company jet.”
Pepper gave him a strange look. “She isn’t even technically hired yet.”
“So? She’s got the job, she can use the jet.”
Pepper relayed this information to Kat, who agreed to travel out to the Atlanta airport in two days’ time to get on the jet to California. Pepper hung up the phone and turned to Stark. “Okay, why are you so adamant about getting this particular girl out here to work for you? Did she impress you that much?”
Instead of outright answering her question, Stark turned away, saying in that voice Pepper knew to be his I’m-dodging-the-subject voice, “I’ll tell you later. All will be revealed.”
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Kat sat back in the chair she had snagged at the library, staring at the ceiling, vaguely aware of the other students frantically bustling and studying around her. It was finals week at her college, and everyone was hurrying to cram as much knowledge into their brains as they possibly could.
But Kat didn’t need to do that anymore. For once, she was guaranteed to walk out of a semester with a 4.0. She felt a bit empty. What could she do now but make her final arrangements and pack?
The first thing she did was slide her iPhone out of her pocket and dial her Uncle Phil. She knew he was most likely at work, but he would pick up if he saw it was her calling. She never called without a reason while he was on a case.
“Hey, Kat, what’s up?” Phil Coulson was not technically her uncle. In fact, they weren’t even related. Kat’s parents had died when she was very young, and Coulson had adopted her, raising her by himself. Though he had acted the parts of both mother and father for her, he had never seemed a father…which was why she had and always would call him Uncle Phil.
“I know you’re probably watching at work, so you know that Stark is back in America safe and sound now.”
“Yeah, we knew that a few days ago, Kat.” Coulson was a member of SHIELD, a government organization that rivaled the CIA in secrecy and efficiency. He had worked his way up the ranks and had trained many other agents, including a family friend and Kat’s personal trainer, Clint Barton. Coulson had assigned him the position due to Kat’s…powers.
“Well, his assistant just called me and full on shoved the job onto me, so I guess I’ll be packing up and moving out to California.”
“That’s great, Kat.” No hint of surprise. No protests that she shouldn’t drop out of school. Kat had the sudden urge to ask him who he was and what he had done with her uncle. “How about I come and help you move?”
“Stark Industries is sending a jet to pick me up,” she explained. “But, I’m sure they’ll let you ride with me.”
“Good, good. Kat…”
Kat frowned. “Is something wrong?” Coulson was not sounding like himself at all.
“No, I’m just glad you got the job. This is a real break for you, Kat. I’ll know you’ll do well…”
But as she hung up the phone and stared around the library at the harried students, Kat had the feeling that there was something largely unspoken in his voice.
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Coulson sat back in his seat on the private jet Stark had sent for Kat to fly out to Malibu in. The agent glanced out of the window, refusing the drink the stewardess offered him. “Sorry, I’m on call at work right now. Can’t drink today.”
She shot him a confused look, but did not say more. Coulson turned back to Kat, who was staring out of the window, growing nervous by the mile. “You’re going to do great, Kat,” he said in a reassuring voice. “Stark is…hard to get along with, but you’ve always had a gift of adjusting to your environment.”
She sighed. “I hope so. Otherwise, throwing away my academic career will be a waste of time.”
Coulson raised an eyebrow. “You do realize that he’ll probably pay for the rest of your schooling after the internship is over, right? Even if it doesn’t go well, he’s got enough money to where that wouldn’t be a problem.”
Kat squirmed in her seat. “I guess so…it’s just so sudden…I mean…a few weeks ago, he was being detained by terrorists, and now…”
“Don’t worry so much, Kat. Just look at the perks of your job. Thousands of your fellow engineering students would kill for it.”
In the airport terminal, Coulson carried several of her bags as she looked around for the assistant who was supposed to be picking them up. She finally spotted a slightly chubby middle-aged man holding up a sign with the name “Kat Coulson” printed on it in large block letters. She waved at him and led Coulson over to where he was standing.
“Miss Coulson? Welcome, I’m one of Mr. Stark’s drivers, Happy Hogan.” He shook her hand and introduced himself to Coulson as well. “If you will follow me, I’ll take you to the Stark Industry offices and I can get you set up with Miss Potts right away.”
“Is there any chance you could drop me off by the Seaside Apartments?” Coulson asked. “I’d like to move some of her luggage in as soon as possible.”
“Of course. Please follow me.”
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Kat could feel her nerves starting to kick in as she stepped into the main Stark Industry offices beside Happy, playing anxiously with her security card as he led her to the small office Pepper kept in the building. They finally appeared at the glass and wood-line office, but, unfortunately, she was late, so they had to wait in the lobby for a few moments.
After a few minutes, Kat couldn’t take standing beside Happy silently much more. “So, are there any tips you can give me about working with Mr. Stark?” She asked, trying to make sure she looked determined to do the job. The more she hyped it up in her mind as a challenge, she believed, the easier it would be to get through this experience.
Happy jumped excitedly on this question, nearly startling Kat with his enthusiasm. “Make sure you’re on your toes at all times with your verbal game. He has a fast wit, so either develop one to challenge his, or develop your own style to show him that you’re not intimidated or scared of him. Also, expect for him to be late to things…a lot.”
Happy looked like he was going to continue his barrage of answers, but, luckily for Kat, Pepper stepped into the lobby beside a tall young man dressed in a three-piece suit. As they approached, Kat could make out his light red hair and turquoise eyes. For some reason, he looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him exactly.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Pepper apologized when they were within earshot of Kat and Happy. “I had to stop by legal to pick up Grayson before I came here. Kat, this is Grayson Strauss from the legal department. He’s Mr. Stark’s personal lawyer. Grayson, this is Kat Coulson, Mr. Stark’s new assistant.” They shook hands, and Kat could feel herself getting a little flustered at how good-looking Grayson was. “Now, I have something to show you in my office if you’ll follow me.”
“I don’t know whether to congratulate you or offer my condolences,” Grayson joked in a Bristish accent to Kat as they followed Pepper to her office.
She laughed. “Maybe a little of both. It sounds like a challenge.”
Grayson smiled at her reply as Pepper turned and said, “Oh, it is. Believe it or not, though, you’re only the third of his assistants over the past twenty years. He doesn’t have a history of firing them, really.”
“Was his first assistant promoted too, or did she just leave?”
Kat was surprised at the sadness that flashed across Pepper’s eyes at her question. “No, unfortunately, she died. She was actually a cousin of mine. It was an accident.”
“Oh…” Kat could feel her cheeks burning. “I’m sorry…I didn’t know.”
Pepper waved away her apology. “It was a long time ago. Just…don’t bring it up around Stark. He’s a little touchy about the subject.” This comment led Kat to contemplate what his original assistant had meant to him as she stepped into Pepper’s office.
“Now, I brought Grayson here to our meeting today because you’re going to work with him on all of Stark’s legal issues. Contracts, paperwork, etc. Since you don’t have experience in these areas, I thought it would be great for you and Grayson to work together on this. For the first week, you’ll be shadowing me as I attend to all of Stark’s needs. The second week, you’ll be on your own. I apologize for throwing you into the lion’s din so soon, but I have to start work in my new job that week, so I won’t be able to help you. Any questions other than legal you can ask Happy…or improvise. Believe it or not, he will be prone to cut you some slack that first week.”
Pepper withdrew a paperback file from her desk and handed it to Kat. “Familiarize yourself with this playbook I’m giving you. It’s his likes, dislikes, hates, etc. The faster you learn it, the faster you’ll get along with him, though I think he likes you already. He was quite impressed at his interview with you.”
“Really?” Kat raised an eyebrow. “All I did was yell at him about his wasting my time…”
Grayson laughed. “Yes, that will do it. If you keep that up, you’ll get along with him just fine.”
Pepper glanced at her watch. “I’m sorry, but I have a meeting with Stark right now. I’ll have Happy drive you back to your apartment so you can get moved in.” Kat and Grayson followed her into the lobby and said their good-byes to her.
“Do you need any help moving in?” Grayson asked.
“Oh, no, no, my uncle is helping me, but thank you for the offer…”
“Well, then, I’ll see you sometime later this week.” He pointed to the playbook Pepper gave her. “My number is in there. Don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions.” He said good-bye and walked off in the direction of the elevators.
Kat watched him go as Happy stepped up to her side. He watched her watch Grayson for a few moments before he said, “Let’s get on out to the car. Oh, and by the way…he’s single.”
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“I cannot believe you right now,” Pepper said as she slammed the door to Stark’s office, making sure it was locked so that no one barged into their conversation.
He looked up from his desk, confused. “What did I do this time?”
“You hired Kat Coulson,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “It is obvious to anyone that knew you and Caroline were married that she is your daughter. You didn’t think I would pick that up after being left in a room with her for a few minutes? You hired her for a job that will place her at your side pretty much twenty-four hours a day and, if I know you, AND I DO, you will refuse to tell her who you really are for a good while.”
Stark waited for a few moments before asking, “Are you finished?”
“What are you thinking, Tony?” She demanded, then realized something, and calmed down for a few moments. “Is this because of your experience in Afghanistan?”
He shrugged. “I found her for the first time in twenty-one years. Even before, I wasn’t going to let that opportunity go, but now…I can’t pass this one up.”
“When are you going to tell her?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you don’t tell her, I will,” Pepper threatened. “She deserves to know, Tony, and you deserve for her to know…after all of these years…”
“What is she going to think, Pepper? I pretty much abandoned her. At least in this way she won’t hate me.”
Pepper sighed. “Tony, you didn’t abandon her. Everyone who knows what happened knows that you did everything to find her and that it ripped you apart to let her go.” She paused, thinking. “All you have to do is sit her down and explain it to her straight. It’s not rocket science. And you have Coulson to back you up on this…”
“Of course I do…who do you think sent her to me?”
Realization dawned on Pepper. “Then it’s a sign, Tony! This is a sign for you to regain the life with her that you lost!”
There was silence for a few moments until he said slowly, “I’ll tell her by the end of the year, okay?”
“That’s seven months from now.”
Stark paused, indecision flashing across his eyes. Pepper knew this was a hard choice for him. For some strange reason, he was afraid that Kat would reject him completely, that something about Stark would make her angry at him once he told her. While Stark was often brash and inconsiderate to others, Kat was the one person on Earth whom he’d never put down or hurt.
“I’ll tell her on her birthday,” Stark said finally. “That’s four months from now. Happy?”
Pepper sighed. She was hoping for something more immediate, but she would take what she could get. “Tony,” she paused before she left, turning back to him and hoping that he would listen to what she was about to say. “Kat’s not going to hate you. But…she will start to dislike you if you put off telling her for much longer.”
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“This is nice,” Coulson whistled as Kat stepped into her new glass-lined modern apartment. “Not only is the salary good…they’re paying for your living arrangements as well.” He laughed. “Might as well not finish school to quickly, Kat. Tech graduates won’t live this well for another five or six years after they graduate.”
“I could probably convince Stark to start something related to biomedical engineering in the company. I mean, come on, I’m sure he doesn’t appreciate the arc reactor they put in his heart, but others with heart disabilities might.”
Coulson paused in front of the glass walls that looked out onto the ocean. Kat stepped up to gaze with him, breathing in and out, finally relaxed after the chaos that had been the past few days. “You’ll come and visit me, right?” She asked after a few sweet silent moments.
“Of course,” he smiled. “I’ll call you at the end of the week once I look at my schedule. Unless something comes up all of a sudden, I’ll be able to stop in several times between now and the fall.” He paused, and Kat could tell he was debating over what he was going to say next. “I wanted to give you a choice on this, Kat. Say no if you want to, that’s fine. But, you know, I want you to continue with your training…”
Kat lifted an eyebrow. “Go on…” She said, when Coulson’s pause was too long.
“I asked Barton to stop in and see if he could find an apartment on the other side of town. He will only stay in town to watch over you from afar…give you regular training sessions…and be a phone call away if you need help or just someone familiar to talk to. He is NOT going to be a bodyguard or a guardian or whatever. In fact, he’s on a separate mission of his own that he’s been assigned up the coast, so he may not even be in the city much. Are you okay with this?”
To tell the truth, Kat was relieved that at least one person she knew would be in town. Clint Barton had been one of Coulson’s first recruits at SHIELD, and had trained Kat to control her powers and defend herself. He was stern in training sessions, but laid back outside of the gym, serving Kat as both a mentor and a friend. She had wanted to strike out on her own completely…but better Barton’s protection than some random SHIELD agent who would be on her case twenty-four seven.
“Yes, actually, that would be great,” she replied.
“Good.” There was another pause. Kat knew Coulson had to get back to D.C. He obviously didn’t want to part too soon. He took a breath, and turned to her, surprising sadness in his eyes. “Kat, whatever happens over the next few months, I just ask you…not to think any less of me…and never to think any less of Stark.”
Those were his parting words before he walked out of her apartment, leaving her stunned and wondering over the meaning of his declaration.