𝐒𝐀𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐎, 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐀

TONY

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'Tony Stark,' Riri's mother folded her arms over her chest suspiciously. 'This must be something significant if you're at my doorstep.'

There was just something about Ronnie Williams that made her the best mother Tony had the honour of meeting. Regardless of her initial reluctance to have her daughter build her armoured suit to defend the world, she had come to realize that getting in her way to protect her would only make things worse between their relationship. She was the mother who would love everything Riri Williams achieved and continued to support her endeavours.

Mrs Williams was a tall woman, Riri taking much of her features. The choppy, curly hair and the rigid-looking dark eyes which held a tenacity to them. Even much so, her mother was one of the brightest doctors in the medical world. So technically, he should be exalting this woman.

Tony had high hopes for this conversation. He was going to ask permission on behalf of his mentee to take her on this overseas excursion to take down one of the most vicious crime syndicate to exist. 

The young genius girl stood beside him silently, not wanting for this collapse into shit. She was hesitant and grumbled about not being a child. She didn't need permission from her parent when the world was at stake here but Tony begged to differ. Riri was still a kid with a concerned parent. He had to give leeway for acceptance.

'Yeah, about that,' Tony mused quietly as he leaned into the balustrade, 'it's greater than world domination. Just for a fact.'

'For a fact,' Mrs Williams continued, 'that sounds morbid.'

No doubt that she hated him. Hated him for culturing this intellect that her daughter had been gifted with to defend the world. A young girl who should be in public school instead of Tony Stark's basement serving on mechanical hoo-ha that could change the state of science itself. Which could answer the question behind why she wasn't allowing him inside the house and having this conversation in their porch.

And also because he had trashed her pots of daisies while pulling up on the driveway. Not that he minded, he just needed the green light.

'Riri,' Mrs Williams made the eyes at Riri, craning her head to the door. She sighed out loud in defeat, looking at Tony with a squint before ushering herself out of the conversation. 

'How is she doing?' Mrs Williams asked, her gaze still firm on him. Tony knew she was only heavy because of the burden of worry that lay on her shoulders. He slid his shades off his face, tucking it between his collar to show that he was leaving no holes bared.

'She's on the good books,' Tony said honestly, 'SHIELD wants to recruit her. She declined Agent Romanoff and Carter's request because she had valid criticism regarding SHIELD's methodical exploitation of authority in the name of global security.' 

Mrs Williams beamed. 'She ain't wrong.'

'She isn't right either. But, a major shade was thrown,' he pointed out. 'Also, the wifey adores her. And it feels good to have my kid look up to her.'

'Your kid?' Mrs Williams said in disbelief.

'Believe it or not, it's the bittersweet fact.'

It was a fact. Only because Riri let Margo borrow her textbooks before she left the mansion. She would come over and pass in a new one. Riri and Margo had become inseparable after their little chat on the anti-Stark effect that Margo had got her hands on from Tony's personal pile of junk which included Howard Stark's journals. She managed to decrypt the handwritings with Riri's help and two hours later, they were gal-pals.

Mrs Williams cut to the chase with a raise of her palm. 'What is it that you want, Stark?'

He fisted his hands inside his pockets tightly, getting a handle over himself. 'There's been a hiccup in the far east. And I want her in on this.'

She let out a laugh through her nose, amused. 'You came to ask for what, my consent? Is there some sort of a parental waiver I've gotta—'

'Spare me the cynicism, Mrs Williams,' Tony said curtly. 'I have a little girl, too. Just because you don't like what I'm doing for a living, doesn't make me your adversary.'

'Actually, I don't hate you,' Mrs Williams informed him. 'At all. I'm upset that you're guiding her to protect a world that has shown her nothing but the back of its hand.'

'Mrs Williams—'

'It's Ronnie.'

'—Ronnie,' he restated with a drawl. 'I get what you're onto. Frankly, I've had it the same way. It's only the entire class of the human race who knows about my seamy side of life.'

'I just,' the weary woman let out a breath, palming her eyes for a brief moment. 'I worry about her.' 

'Oh. Um, not expecting that.'

'Like how you and Elle worry about your baby. Elle might know this better, no offence,' she elaborated. 'All mommas are engineered to worry about their babies but this is different. She's fifteen and so mature, so smart and grounded. And I end up treating her like an adult because she is a little adult.'

'But, she's not,' Tony tried to contribute. 

To the contrary belief, Tony loved to see Margo talk her genius to him. His father had never appreciated the span of his intellect, surrendering it until all hell broke loose. Careful not to commit the same blunder, her allowed Margo to cultivate her intelligence. Of course, he set boundaries because she was only four but he forced himself to not curb it altogether.

'She's just a kid,' she whispered, 'flying around in this armour when she isn't even legal to drive. And I can't stop her, can I? What sort of a mother would I be if I told her to stop being a superhero? And If I push her too hard,' she looked away, 'she'll leave. She's smart enough to figure that out.'

Riri Williams was smart enough to comprehend that she didn't have to stick around with her mother for the better when she had the whole world to reach out to. It made Tony suck in a sharp breath.

'That's why I found your offer upsetting,' Mrs Williams continued. 'I'm scared I won't have her with me. I lost two husbands already, I don't know if you knew that. I'm forty and I lost two husbands. I can't—'

'I know. I know, Ronnie.'

She looked at him with a shake of her head. Ronnie was a single mom. Obviously, she would put her child above anything else. Add up the losses both the women suffered, it wasn't an atmosphere you would see a prodigal kid grow up in. 

'Margo uh,' Tony scratched the back of his head in an obvious sign of anxiety when Mrs Williams peered up at him sceptically. 'Family overall been my priority for a while now. So, I know where you're coming from. My kid's a gamechanger for me. I am ready to put this all away just to watch her live in this cesspool of a world which is secured by these wondrous people like your daughter.'

Ronnie chewed a side of her cheek. 'Your point is?'

'Riri can't step away from a resolve she believes in,' Tony affirmed persistently. 'Ironheart is not just the future of my legacy. It's the start of her own.'

'Your kid,' she said, her lips trembling. After a good beat of glancing at his pertinent stance, she took a confident step forward. 'What if your kid did this, Stark?'

'You don't know my kid,' Tony fought out, trying not to sound offended. 'If she told me she wanted to take up the mantle of Iron Man, I would give it to her in a heartbeat.'

'That doesn't fool me for a second.'

'It's not your position to judge,' he said firmly. 'I built my suit the same way your daughter built hers. I chose to change the world. I chose to evolve and I chose to—'

'—let your daughter into this?' She scoffed.

'I love her, goddamnit!' He hissed. 'Look, I have been through some scenarios people could never imagine. I'm not selfish, Ronnie. I can't be seen as that for wanting simple stability. It's—it's not fair.'

'Stark, I—'

'No,' he stopped her. 'No, please don't. You have me in the wrong shades. I am not a monster for helping Riri. She has got what it takes. She's already there. I can see it. I pride myself in forward-thinking which is precisely why I came to her. She can handle this,' he declared in a decisive voice. 'So you don't have to bite a hole in your lip every time she walks out the door. I have my eyes on her and you can trust me to oversee her time with her suit.'

Obviously, Mrs Williams was overwhelmed. She hadn't anticipated a forward, presumptuous figure such as Tony Stark to provide her with a heart-to-heart. If he was entreating his daughter's name into this, she knew how serious he was about Riri's future. With a wary shake her head, she shrugged.

'I know she can handle it,' she said. 'Have it your way, Stark.' 

'Great,' he accepted with a grin.

'But you bring my baby back to me, clear?'

'Unquestionably,' he shot her two-finger salute, relieved that this was out of the way. 'Not a scratch.'

'Mr Stark, there's been a breach at the compound,' JARVIS hastily noted into his ear. Like a connection fell loose in his body, he blinked himself upright before speaking the first words that hit his tongue. It was a new hard-wiring into his system, natural and thoughtless.

'Mags,' he murmured. As if Riri had been eavesdropping the entire time, she popped up from behind the door with a cautious glance at him. He spotted the comms in hear so she had to be listening in on this as well.

'You might want to have a look at this footage,' JARVIS remarked as Tony palmed his pockets for the wafer-thin holographic panel and watched the pixelated camera footage from the master bedroom of the mansion play out. The lines blurred incessantly as the door unlocked to reveal Elle, in all her glory, with a haughty smile when she embraced an oblivious and elated Margo tightly. As she pulled back, the video snipped forward to when dummy Elle opened a purple-hued portal which ignited off strange currents of electricity and the portal closing behind them.

'That's not—' Riri started, confused. 'Mrs Stark?'

'It's Masque,' he informed with a subtle roll of his eyes. 'To be honest, I didn't know she could do that until now.'

'You're not even concerned,' Riri blew out in a hissing tone when she regarded his indifference. 'She took your daughter!'

'Because I know where she took her,' he mentioned, slightly terrified. He felt his heart-rate climb as he rethought his current situation. 'Remember when I told you I get freaked out easily—this is it. You're freaking me out.'

'Riri,' Ronnie admonished her, glaring. 

'Okay, okay,' she sighed in apology. 'We'll get her. So, where is she?'

He looked at her with a solid cheeky grin. 'There's a whole lot of sightseeing waiting for you, kid.'

∞

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐁𝐀𝐘 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒, 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐀𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐄

ELEANOR

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Adrenaline was flooding through my system like on an intravenous drip, making me heart feel like it would explode any moment. I had tried to quell it with deep breaths but there was no chance it would cease now. The grip repulsor unit was only materialized over my hands, held to my side rigidly when I took noiseless movements toward my quarry. My gait lengthened out when she slowed her pace, stopping abruptly.

In a flash, I wedged myself behind a wall and crushing myself into it. Between my fist was the last wand of Watoomb, starting to flicker alight as I braced it over the hotel door nearby. Earlier on that night, I had slipped into the Gehl's room to retrieve the sceptre from them and gratefully, finding it there despite Masque still on the loose.

Holding back a gulp of fear, I peered over my shoulder to see the hallway finally empty. With a short scurry down the carpeted floors and looking down the railing askance the corridor, I located the lobby desk which seemed to be empty at the moment. A few guests arrived from the glass-doored entrance and the cab outside riding off after.

'Mrs Stark, I have located the Colonel's suit and it appears to be on the move.'

'What?' I hissed. 

'Someone's piloting the suit but my readings are having an interposition,' she informed. 'It's coming in hot. Heading to the roof and using the staircase fifteen on Tower three.' 

I wasn't able to connect to Rhodey to inform him about the obtrusion that was being headed towards him. A sharp raucous commotion from the nearest door on the corridor alerted me.

'Hey, lady, let me go!' A little voice screeched out and muffled towards the end as another call shushed her with a growl. I'd know that voice anywhere. 

Margo. Masque had Margo with her. For some reason, the fear flew straight out of my system as soon as the words left her mouth. My liberal opinions and emotional generosity left with it, the anger born from the alarm. It was a wave of matrilineal anger, brand-new and I adorned it in all its novelty. No one was going to touch my baby.

'HELEN, read the thermal signatures inside the room,' I forced out through my teeth.

'I read two, ma'am,' she replied after a beat. The aluminium door's keycard reader gave off a faint click as HELEN accessed it for allowing me to enter. 'She's alone with Miss Stark.'

And that was enough. Without any other movements and the same hammering in my chest, I let my hand take an aim as the door propelled to the wall. When I entered, I saw Margo on the bed with her hands tied down with glowing, violet bands and her lips sealed shut even though she tried to move it. Like an invisible force was tying her voice down, she let out muffled cries of my name and wriggling relentlessly.

'Ah, the missus,' I heard Masque say. 'Finally.'

'Trash talk, Giuletta?'

'She's dead,' she growled through her thin lips.

'And so are you.'

Masque, in all her augmented beauty, pushed the train of her dress behind her as she leapt for me with a fisted hand. I aimed a blast for her chest which she parried with a show of her steely forearm which shockingly absorbed the power of my blast. I didn't receive the moment of collision when the blare came at my chest, knocking all the wind from my lungs. My body hit the wall with a bang and smashing down with a groan. 

'Still so weak,' Masque spat at me struggling figure, dark blue eyes smouldering as if ablaze. 'I wonder what Stark saw in you.'

'You talk too much.'

Widening my eyes, I caught her foot before she bashed it into my face and twisting it in order for her to lose her footing. And she did, falling on her face as I used this moment to help myself up. The fight wasn't all over when she directed a kick for my hind leg which I blocked with a stomp of my foot over her thigh and eluting a cry from her. I stomped on it harder for a moment before using this balance to power a good thrust at her abdomen. She groaned out a cough.

Masque only grinned devilishly at me. Using her free wrists, I saw it radiate a deep pink and her teeth bared in the effort as the light grew in size. Using my distraction as her upper hand, she assaulted me with the power and my armour blocking the potential with a swift coalesce over my chest. I was still dazed and backed into the wall as my senses were left scrambled from the hit. What in the world did she hit me with?

'Give me the wand,' I heard Masque say. 

I blinked fiercely to wad off the concussion and shaking my head free. When my vision cleared I saw Margo out of the bed and in Masque's control. Dangling out of the window which had been exploded to shards. Downward was the busy luxury mall and casino, the sound buzzing and celebrating citizens still as clear as day with the floors parting us. I seethed, inching forward with my blaster having taken an aim.

'You take another step,' she cautioned, pushing her arms further, 'and, I'll drop the kid.'

'You drop her,' I threatened back, holding out the wand to my repulsor unit. 'I'll blow this to hell.'

Masque growled with my counter-attack. Margo screamed for me, holding onto her dear life at the expense of Masque's wrist. I cast Margo an apologetic glance, tilting my head at her and willing for her to hold on to Masque's hand. A fall like that —I doubted my instincts.

'Leave her be, Masque,' I spoke strongly. 'This is between us.'

'I kinda want to make this personal,' she said, glaring. 

There was only one path for me to save Margo. Hand over the wand and cause the extinction of millions to save one life. But the thing was, the choice didn't matter if the outcome was the same. She would drop Margo anyway. Anyone could tell.

'Baby, look at me,' I called out. She gaped at me, fear swimming in her darkened eyes. A tear fell from her cheek and her small shoulders shook like leaves when I let a small smile grace my lips. In a moment, her face buckled with horror when I let a blast careen through and striking Masque in the chest. Using another stronger blast, I let her plaster into the wall and crumble down to the floor, unconscious.

'Mommy! '

Margo fell.

Suspended in the air, her eyes were squeezed shut as a harrowing cry left her lips. Her limbs flailed as I dove in after her, my foot-based repulsors picking up momentum on a shrieking command, materializing together for more agility. She tumbled like clothes in a dryer and I let out a grunt of effort as I soared in faster. Not fast enough.

'HELEN, more power!'

'I'm trying, ma'am!'

The air was pushing against us as the impact neared, the glass panels of the linear shopping mall appearing less hazy. I cried out in vain as my hand missed her flailing ones. It was if the last of the air had left my lungs when I booted her, my mind unable to comprehend the startling shock.

'No!'

Hope wasn't lost when I felt a zooming force from my right, lurch forward and catching Margo's waist before her body hit the glass. My head was flooding with anxiety as a streak of pink-black-gold soared above with a slow curve and Margo in her grasp. She grappled onto the armour's shoulders, ceasing her bawls. The aerodynamic suit powering up potent thrusters as she flew faster above.

Ironheart.

'Gotcha!' I heard Riri cheer out as she rose past the few floors to reach me. I felt the comms connect to her, my stress powering back to normal and inhaling deeply in relief.

'Riri,' I breathed out, 'oh, thank you.'

'No problemo, Mrs Stark,' she chirped as she followed me to a slow hover. HELEN picked out a room with no guests nearby and I powered a blast at the window which blew it down to splinters. Riri flew in first and letting Margo to the ground while I followed suit.

In a flash, Margo had sprung into my chest and melted into me as if we were one organism. I placed my chin over her head and feeling her warmth bleed in closer, concealing the sigh I wanted to let out. She sniffled into me, squeezing me tighter a fraction when I tried to move her. I whispered at her to simmer down, cooing at her about her being safe. Margo shook her head, holding me even tighter.

My eyes met Riri's waiting ones.

'Tony,' I whispered, hopeful.

She shook her head softly, her lips set to a grim line. I let my eyes fall back on the top of Margo's head, downcast and wasted. Tony had meant every word he had said. No more armours, no more vengeance. No more somethings.

'Alright,' I acknowledged with a heavy heart. 'Take Margo and—'

'Hold on a sec,' she cut in, 'I have no idea what's going on except some insane masked gal is going on a treasure hunt for wands. One of which is in your hand.'

'Oh,' I said airily, 'yes. Tony must've informed you about a woman named Tomoe?'

Tomoe alias Techno Golem. This young Japanese girl had the ability to control technology with nothing but her mere thoughts. Using her newfound capabilities, Tomoe drove away from the different treacherous corporations that preyed on her homeland, gathering a unit in the process which was made up of other people she considered to be abandoned and disenfranchised, and triumphantly secured control of the underworld in Osaka, as the leader of Southeast Asia Crime Syndicate. During her mission to recover these Wands of Watoomb, Masque had crossed paths with Tomoe's ninja race and found herself in a pickle. Instantly making us crossover with her and Tomoe's clan.

'Vaguely,' she popped her lips. 'Techno-Golem. Creator of the biohack ninjas and the criminal cartel. She likes treasure hunting, too.'

'That's right,' I nodded, similar to the information that HELEN had cached me in on. 'Now all you need to do get somewhere safe and away from the fight.'

Riri was displeased with my instructions, opening her mouth to argue. I was tired of putting up a verbal war so I let out a soft denial with a sigh.

'Please, Riri.'

Margo obediently went to Riri's side who latched a protective hand around her shoulder. She complied with a soft nod, eyeing the sceptre in my hand. I fisted it tighter.

'What about you?'

I quirked a small smile. 'I have a bone to pick with Masque.'

∞

[  feel the pressure? ooh yes, i love it, too! what's going on with Tony tho, do you really think he's gonna step back when there's all this shit hitting the ceiling? - deidra.  ]

edited!