Ghost

6

"Hey!" Tony exclaimed as Dum-E tried to take off a part of his suit.  Tony had arrived home in his suit and called for Maddie to help him take off the suit. Although Tony wouldn't tell his daughter what exactly he was doing out in the suit, she helped his nonetheless.

"It's a tight fit" Maddie responded to her father as she was trying to control the robots taking off his suit.  "The more you struggle, the more it's going to hurt".

"Just be gentle Mads, this is my first time. I designed this thing to come off".

"Stop squirming" Maddie followed.

"What's going on here?" Pepper Potts voice made the two Starks freeze.

"Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing" Tony spoke to the woman.

"Are those bullet holes!" Pepper questioned with a bit of worry in her voice.

"Pffft, bullet holes. No these are....um" Maddie stuttered although she knew whatever she said Pepper wouldn't believe her.

"I was just taking it was a test run. No biggy " Tony reassured the woman.

"Look, just please don't get yourself killed. I'm already swarmed with work and I don't want 'planning your funeral' to be added" Pepper rolled her eyes and walked out of the garage.

"So where were you really?" Maddie turned to her father as soon as Pepper was gone.

"Just flying around don't worry kid" Tony smiled. Maddie knew he was lying, but she also knew that bugging him about it would get her nowhere for her father was stubborn. Probably the most stubborn person she knew. But then again, how much people does a homeschooled seven year old know?

"Oh Um before I forget, I got something for you" the girl skipped over to her backpack and pulled out a neatly wrapped gift.

"Mads, you didn't have to get me anything. Im rich, I could buy it myself" Tony joked now sitting on a stool by his workbench.

"Just be quiet and open it old man" Maddie groaned as she pushed the gift into Tony's arms. Tony began to slowly undo the wrapping. Going as slow as possible to tease the little girl infront of him to which she responded by playfully hitting his arm.

Pulling off the paper, Tony's eyes widened as he looked at the gift in-front of him.

"I thought you threw this out?" He smiled at his old arc reactor in his hands.

"I was gonna keep it but, I wanted to make it into something for you. Just to remind you that your a good person, no matter what the media says or what anyone thinks of you".  Tony traced his fingers over the box, rereading the inscription around the arc reactor.

Proof  That  Tony Stark Has A Heart

After an hour of tinkering and messing around in her fathers lab, Maddie was completely tired and made her way to her bedroom with a quick goodbye to her dad. Walking into her room she stopped in her tracks. Infront of her was a cardboard box. Creeping slowly towards it, Maddie opened the box to reveal a box full of circuit boards, wires and materials. Underneath it all was a note.

Hey Mad Dog

Thanks for helping with the suit.

From
Dad

Maddie smiled to herself as she read over the notes multiple times. She Loved the nickname her father gave to her not so long ago. But most of all, she loved how he signed the note dad.

To anyone else, this would just seem like a normal message but to Maddie, it was all she wanted. The fact that Tony was finally calling himself a dad proved to Maddie that he really has changed. From completely ignoring the fact he had a daughter to becoming her best friend.

Sticking the note onto her vanity, Maddie pushed the box next to her desk and promised herself she would use them in the morning.

********

Two days later, Maddie's life was beginning to turn upside down. Going back to the night she was given the material, Tony had found out about Obadiah's plans. For his daughter's safety, Tony had asked Pepper to find a place for Maddie to hide. With Tony freaking out, Pepper asked her mother to look after the young Stark while Tony was away on a 'business' trip but I reality, Maddie was hiding from a man she used to call her uncle.

With the rush of everything, Maddie only had time to pack a backpack full of things. All she had was one set of spare clothes, her bear and unknown to Pepper, the materials her father left for her.

"Maddie dear, lunch is ready" Mrs Potts, Peppers mother, yelled down the hall

"Coming!" Maddie yelled back, quickly hiding the circuit board she was working on in her backpack. Mrs Potts lived in a small but cozy house. Maddie was staying in Peppers old room from when she was a kid. The house was a little bungalow in the countryside, just outside New York.

"Thank you" Maddie smiled at the woman as she placed a ham and cheese sandwich infront of the young girl. The woman nodded back and then sat out on the patio, knitting.

Sticking her head around the corner, Maddie dashed into the living room, turning on the TV.  After hearing she would be looking after Tony Starks daughter, the elderly woman forbade Maddie from watching the Tv for the girls protection. If their was one thing the woman knew about Tony, it was he loved attention. Mrs Potts feared that if the young girl saw her father doing something on TV, it would upset the girl.

Maddie scanned the news channels looking for anything about her father. She was growing worried, mainly because she was rushed out of her home at ungodly hours without a goodbye to Tony.  The girl got more and more nervous as she flicked through the TV. Finally, one channel In particular catching her eye.

"And now Mr Stark has prepared a statement" the TV spoke. It was another one of  Tony's press conferences. Maddie was eager for information so she sat quietly and listened, cautious of the woman outside.

"Been a while since I was infront of you. I figure I'll stick to the cards this time. There's been speculation that I was involved In the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop.  I know that it's confusing. It's one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations. I'm just not the hero type, clearly" taking a deep breath, Tony put the cards down on the podium infront of him. It was now or never.

"The truth is..."

"I am Iron Man" Tony announced. Just like deja vu, the whole room erupted onto chatter and confusion. Reporters inching closer to the billionaire to try and get more from him.

Maddie's grin grew. She was incredibly proud of her father. He has changed from the big egoed playboy, to the big egoed Dad. 

Maddie jumped at the sound of a car horn out the front of the house. Maddie was shocked to see the one and only Happy Hogan standing outside a rolls Royce.

"Hey kid, I'm here to bring you home" he smiled at her.