Chapter Text
My mother and father died when I was a baby, the car accident was left unknown to me for many years until my older brother had thought me to be old enough to know. The thought of them dying young left an ache in my heart, a vile taste in my mouth when I realised that I would never get to know them. I would never be daddy's little girl or go to my mum with problems. I would never grow up with them giving me hugs and kisses. They died too young and too violently. To this day, my brother and I mourn for the missing people in our lives and swore that we would stick with each other to the end.
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Anthony Stark; American Billionaire. Playboy. Philanthropist. Engineer. Known as the owner of Stark industries and also known as the older brother of Avery Stark, the little girl that lost her parents and was forced into the care of her older brother. Anthony was a handsome man and had women dropping to their knees at the sight of him; quite disgusting really. Anthony Edward Stark is my older brother, and the only remaining family member I had left. After my parents passed away when I was only a baby, he legally adopted me and became my guardian; although to me he was much more than that. He was my best friend, my protector, my stand-in father whenever I did something bad; he was all I had left, and I always made sure to take advantage of that. He made sure that I had a semi-normal childhood although that plan went down the drain when it turned out I was a lot smarter than he realised. At ten years old, I was doing work that even 15-year-old teenagers wouldn't be able to understand. To have the best education I could without any external problems, Tony put me in home-schooling and therefore this meant that I never left the mansion. Well not without my brother by my side, that is.
I'm able to help out in Stark Industries sometimes, I mean it was my last name and I deserve to have some input into the decision making. I try to make myself useful without being too annoying, I pass Tony tools, or I study the things that he is doing so I could understand them. Last year was the first year I put my skills to the test, and I built a self-sustaining car motor that could go for miles with just one fill-up. I had never seen Tony look any prouder than he did that day.
Today, I was attending a weapons demonstration with Tony; he had to attend them whenever he was promoting new weapons and sometimes I joined him but sometimes I stayed at home. Pepper - my brother's oldest and only PA – has very strong opinions about me attending these demonstrations every time I do tag along, mostly since it was dangerous and war zones surrounded many of the places we visited. Tony never agreed with her though; he thought that these things were great learning experiences for me, I thought they were fun and interesting, so I never minded going. I don't really care for the weapons our company makes but they allow me to spend time with Tony and to work my brain, if only we could replace the weapons with something else... At this very moment, I sat on my bed watching as the strawberry blond rushed around my room making sure that I had everything I needed for the 3-day trip. She turned into such a mother hen sometimes, but I would never deny loving it.
"Okay, you have your bag and clothes?" She asks once more as she zips up my green duffel bag. I only rolled my eyes, giving her a cheesy grin.
"Yes, Pepper." I tell her simply.
"And did you remember the food I packed in case you get hungry?" She asks again, unzipping the bag once more to check for sure. I grabbed her hand to stop her from going through the bag once more.
"Would I really forget the food?" I ask her simply. She sighs, smiling back at me kindly.
"Alright." She finally gave in, but then began to frown once more at the sight of the time. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here? You and I can-" I cut off the incoming rambling before I'm stuck in the room for another hour and a half.
"Pepper," I whine loudly. "Relax! I'll be fine and home before you know it, okay?" When Pepper was DEFINITELY sure I had everything, Tony and I walked towards the jet with me in his arms as he stopped trusting me around live jets due to a certain instance 2 years ago. Ahem. My 5'1 form was small enough for Tony to pick up especially when I was a midget compared to him – he stood loud and proud at 6 feet! He lets me down at the top of the stairs, and I greet Uncle Rhodey with a hug before heading inside.
Happy follows us in with our bags before saying goodbye, handing me a lollipop as he makes his way out which I smile up at him for. Happy always sneaked me sweets, Tony never liked me having them as I turned into what he called "the demon child". I settle down in my favourite seat on the Jet, making sure I put on my seatbelt and get ready for the flight ahead of me to Afghanistan. Tony and Uncle Rhodey make their way to two seats across from each other separated by a table, a bit further down towards the front of the plane compared to where I was. They were probably going to have an "adult talk" – something Tony always told me to stay out of, but I never listened. What? I'm a Stark.
"What you reading, Platypus?" Tony asks Rhodey, chewing on something the attendant offered him once the plane straightened out in the air.
"Don't call me that." Rhodey looks up from the paperwork he was reading, looking extremely annoyed with my brother who was already in his bad books for being late. Rhodey and my brother had been the best of friends for longer than I remember, the man helped raise me alongside Tony. He takes care of me whenever my brother or Pepper couldn't, they have a certain friendship close to a love-hate relationship, but it was kind of hilarious the way they act around each other. They're like brothers. When Tony starts bantering with Rhodey he throws his book onto the table in front of him and crosses his arms.
"Quiet time? Quiet Time around you? Not happening buddy, although I respect you for trying." Tony motions for the attendant to come over and she does with a tray full of hot towels. Gross, how many germs would be crawling over it. Stick to showers if you want to have hot water on you.
"I'm just your babysitter. So, when you need your diaper changed, let me know and I'll get you a bottle, okay?" Rhodey smiles passively at my older brother who only ignored him and began complaining to the attendant that his apology wasn't being accepted.
"Hey! Heat up the sake, will you? Also, bring Avery some juice of something, " He says to the attendant. "Thanks for reminding me." He mentions to Rhodey, giving him the typical Stark grin.
"No, I'm not talking... We're not drinking. For one, we're working right now and two, one drink is going to turn into ten and there is a child with us." Rhodey argues, motioning for the attendant to stop.
"Can I please have a water?" I ask the nice lady who acknowledges me with a small smile, walking back to grab me a water bottle. "Tony, how long until we get there?" I ask nicely.
"I don't know, Rhodes?" He turns to the other man who looks at his watch.
"About 19 hours Avery, try to get some sleep while you can." He tells me with a softer voice than before. I watch how tony finally gets Rhodey to relax and have a drink and I make my way into my own bubble, watching Movies on my TV screen in front of me. As the sun began to set, the adults became tipsy and that meant the music came out along with the attendants somehow turning into pole dancers. At that point, I decided that it would probably be best if I went to sleep knowing that I didn't want to see anything that was going to happen. I placed some earmuffs on my head, motioning for one normal attendant to turn down the music and I made myself comfortable. Only 8 more hours to go.
I woke up as I felt myself being lifted up from my laying position, I groggily opened my eyes to see Rhodey's familiar uniform before I wrap my arms around his neck so I could be carried properly. "We here?" I ask lightly, trying to wake up properly as the glaring sun blazes down angrily. I feel an instant layer of sweat form on my skin which was making me uncomfortable.
"Yeah, we're here. You can stay with me until it's over." He tells me as we reach a group of people surrounding a now-sober Tony. "After the demonstration, we're heading straight to our hotel for the night."
"Sure thing, Uncle Rhodes." I tell him sleepily.
"Thanks." I hear Tony tell one of the government officials towards the front of the group as he walks up to face the crowd to begin his speech advertising the new missile.
"Is it better to be feared or respected?" He begins, everyone quietening down to listen carefully. Tony was well-respected in this community, so this wasn't surprising. "I say, is it too much to ask for both? With that in mind, I humbly present the crown jewel of Stark Industries Freedom Line. It's the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary Repulser technology. They say the best weapon is one you never have to fire." He begins to walk around, speaking loudly to make sure everyone heard him. "I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once. That's how dad did it. That's how America does it. And it's worked out pretty well so far." Tony makes his way to the middle of the 'stage', throwing his arms out as he presents the weapon. "For your consideration, the Jericho."
I covered my ears when the weapon is launched into a mountain in the distance which causes a small avalanche of rocks and boulders. I watch Tony pull out a drink from an esky that sits near his feet. "I'll be throwing one of these in with every purchase of 500 million or more. To peace!" He exclaims, throwing his hands up to finish the presentation causing a round of applause from many of the old guys who looked either bored or pleased. AS many of those men converse in between each other, Tony walks over to a familiar figure who stood behind us all, someone who I never really talked to but knew ever since I was young.
"Are we going now?" I ask, fully awake after the explosion which worked like a bucket of ice-cold water.
"As soon as Tony finishes speaking with Obadiah." He tells me, putting me down as he places me down next to an open car door. "You'll be in this Humvee with three other soldiers. I'll be right behind you guys, now make sure you listen to them and no mucking around." He warns, giving me a certain look that I hardly ever got. I nod my head to make sure he knew I understood; it was the least I could do since they technically took me on a small holiday. And it was a free holiday.
I climbed into the empty car to escape the hot and muggy air that seemed to be everywhere, every inhale was full of sand and burned my lungs which brought on sweat all over my body. I was beginning to hate it more and more as time went on, maybe I should have stayed with Pepper.
"Hello." I greet the soldiers in the car happily as I settle in next to one of them. They all exchange looks, looking slightly amused.
"How are you, Miss Stark?" The woman at the front asks kindly. "I hope the weather isn't too bad for you."
"I hate it." I admit, shrugging a little which made them all laugh.
"You get used to it." She assures me. "Plus, you'll be out of here pretty quick." I nod quickly to agree before Tony walks over and gets in behind me, shutting the car door behind him. We begin to move but there was an awkward silence until - of course - my brother breaks it by conversing with the soldiers.
"I feel like you're driving me to a court-martial... This is crazy. What did I do?" He snarks "I feel like you're going to pull over and snuff... What, you're not allowed to talk?" Tony turns to the soldier next to him "Hey, Forrest!"
"We can talk, sir," Forrest replies, looking slightly frightened.
"Oh, I see. So, it's personal?" Tony questions him, leaning back in a relaxed state.
I frown at his version of making conversation, "Uncle Rhodey said to leave the soldiers alone." I speak up, pulling on Tony's arm.
"Uncle Rhodey isn't here." He speaks lightly to me, looking back up at the soldiers in the car.
"No, you intimidate them." The driver says, her voice spreading through the Humvee.
"Good God, you're a woman." Tony speaks up surprised. "I honestly... I couldn't have called that. I mean, I'd apologise, but isn't that what we're going for here? I thought of you as a soldier first." I smack Tony's head and he looks at me as if to say 'what?'
"I'm an airman." The driver smiles politely.
"You have, actually excellent bone structure there... I'm kind of having a hard time not looking at you now... Is that weird?" Everyone laughs at that, including me although It wasn't very funny to me and I was just joining in.
"Sir, I have a question to ask." The guy in the passenger seat asks, finally speaking up.
"Yes, please" Tony waves him to go on, sipping some of the drink out from the cup. The soldier glances down at me and hesitates but continues with his question.
"Is it true you went 12 for 12 with last year's Maxim cover models?" he asks. My eyebrows furrowed as I didn't understand what he meant. I may be a genius, but I don't know everything; I had a feeling that this was something for only adults to understand.
"That is an excellent question." Tony chuckles, sipping his drink again. "Yes and no. March and I had a scheduling conflict, but fortunately, the Christmas cover was twins." The soldier nods, looking impressed.
"Anything else?" Tony raises, seeing Forest raise his hand making my brother scoff at his actions. "You're kidding me with the hand up, right?"
"Is it cool if I take a picture with you and Avery?" He asks hesitantly.
"Yes. It's very cool." I laugh at my brother's response and agree to the photo, watching as the soldier opens his front pocket and pulls out an older phone which he handed to the guy upfront. I lean into my brother and he wraps his arm around my shoulders, so he could move in closer.
"All right. I don't want to see this on your Myspace page-" Forest puts up a peace sign as he goes to take the photo, "- and please, no gang signs." The man puts his hand down, but Tony likes to tease. "No, throw it up. I'm kidding. Yeah, peace. I love peace." Then he mumbles; "I'd be out of a job with peace." But I was the only one that heard I guess.
"Come on. Hurry up. Just click it. Don't change any settings. Just click it." Forest says to the soldier and we wait for the photo to be taken but the Humvee is shaken by an explosion that seemed to appear right in front of us where another Humvee was driving previously. As our own Humvee skidded to a stop, I saw bits of metal fly up into the sky, landing down next to us. A bright light filled the air and the explosion was almost deafening – it left a ringing pitch echoing through my ears making a headache start to form behind my temples.
"Oh my god!" I shout in surprise, letting tony pull me into his side protectively. Tony looks at me trying to keep my attention on him but even I could see how worried he looked.
"What's going on?" He asks, obviously becoming quite afraid.
"Contact left!" The lady screams at the front, I bury my head in Tony's chest trying to block out all the sound, but it seemed that the explosion was imprinted in my mind. All I could hear was the sound of gunshots and distant explosions along with soldiers screaming at each other.
"What have we got!?" Tony yells at the inhabitants of the car once more, but they continue to ignore us as they try to figure out who was attacking us.
"Jimmy, stay with them!" the man up front yells as he opens the door with a hand on a large gun.
"Stay down!" Forest orders Tony and myself, pushing us down towards the floor harshly.
The intensity of the situation along with the sounds of screaming was too much, I felt myself begin to tear up as my chest tightens at my thought of dying I didn't want to die! My crying alerts Tony who wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a protective, warm hug. As I hear the soldier get out of the Humvee, instantly there is blood splatter across the window and bullet holes appear in his place. I scream loudly and look away, burying my face into my brother's shoulder as I beg whatever's out there to leave us alone. I felt like I could hardly breathe in my terrified state, and I let out a small pathetic sob as Tony pulls my chin towards him and makes me look into his eyes.
"You're going to be fine Ava. We'll be fine." He assures me, but it was hard when I could see the fear in his deep brown eyes.
"Son of a bitch!" Forrest leaves the car too, but Tony tries to lift himself to grab onto the guy.
"Wait, wait, wait! Give me a gun!" Tony cries out desperately.
"Stay here! " Forrest warns, leaving the car but is also shot in the head. The sound of yelling and guns firing is the only thing I could hear other than the ringing of my ears and ragged breaths of Tony due to being so close to him.
"Whoa!" He puts my head in the crook of his neck and scrambles out of the car knowing that it was unsafe anywhere around this area. As bullets and missiles fly around us and soldiers are shot and killed, Tony dives behind a rock to hide and tries to make a phone call.
"Tony I'm scared!" I sobbed, hugging him tightly as Tony fumbles with the phone in his hand. I hear a small thump and turn to see a small Stark Industries rocket buried in the ground next to us. I whimper as Tony throws me to the side, but the small weapon explodes which throws both of us into the air so that we land quite a few feet away from where we initially were. Although I was still conscious, I'm instantly filled with a strong, intense pain coming from my chest underneath the bulletproof vest that laid beneath my shirt. All I could think of was death, and that scared me.