To my utter surprise, Tony had decided that Pepper deserved the position of CEO more than he did (or that he couldn't bother doing his job) but I hope you could sense the sarcasm because everyone saw it coming from day one hundred and fifty-six. Pepper was always the leader of the company, she was always completing all of Tony's paper work and organising promotional deals or meetings with other important people; she ran the company with her heart and soul, so she definitely deserved the position as CEO and any benefits that came with it.
A few days after they had both told me, the day came for Tony to legally sign over the company to Pepper with documentation. Tony and Happy were training in the boxing ring, while I was sitting in the corner of the room on the couch as I relax after taking my finals for school – I was finally finished for life! I heard the clacking of heels walking down the ramp into the Gym signalling that Pepper and her new assistant were walking in. I met the red head upstairs earlier that day when Pepper was showing her around the home, I didn't talk to her though as I didn't want to interrupt the small tour. I did, however, wave and smile although the red head only gave me a small smile back and carried on.
Pepper walks into the room alone, smiling happily in the direction of Tony. "The notary's here! Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?" She calls out to Tony as she makes her way over to the seat next to me.
"I'm on happy time." Pepper sits down and waits for Tony, watching him throw punches at Happy. Pepper's new assistant finally walks in holding onto a large file while looking around the room and at Tony. "I promise you this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company." Pepper calls out sarcastically as the red-head opens up the transfer papers with a pen.
"I need you to initial each box." She tells Pepper lightly, pointing to each section. I sit up, staring at the women intently as they did what they had to do.
"Alright, thank you Miss Rushman." Pepper tells her as she hands the pen back.
"What's your name, lady?" My brother asks, looking over at her. Of course, he must ask for her name. She has the company's future in her hands AND she's a pretty girl.
"Rushman. Natalie Rushman." She answers instantly, her green eyes swept around the room and landed on me, her head cocking slightly at my pale form. I shivered under her hard look but stared back intently, this woman was interesting.
"Front and centre. Come into the church." Tony interrupts our small staring contest, Natalie looks away from me and starts walking towards the ring where Tony was relaxing and drinking chlorophyll from a drink bottle.
"No. You're seriously not gonna ask..." Pepper tries to stop Tony from bringing her into the ring, but he insists.
"If it pleases the court, which it does." Tony tries to tell her but Natalie shakes her head.
"It's no problem." Natalie tells Pepper as she passes over the whole folder, so she could be hands free.
"I have a feeling that Natalie Rushman is about to embarrass the hell out of someone." I lean down to whisper to Pepper.
"I'm sorry. He's very eccentric." Pepper apologises again, keeping an eye on the two. I watch as Natalie steps into the ring, bending over to go under the ropes.
"Can you give her a lesson?" I see Tony tell Happy, walking out and heading towards the chair Pepper was sitting on. She moves over so he could sit down, and I move seats to sit down on their laps in between them. I am the ultimate third wheeler.
"Who is she?" He asks, sipping the chlorophyll from his cup. Pepper thought it was a health craze that Tony wanted us on, but it was actually just helping to minimise the poisoning in our blood. It was working I guess, my blood toxicity went back down to 45% in a few days while Tony has gone down almost 15%.
"She is from legal. And she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that." Pepper tells him through her teeth, smiling at Happy who looked to be giving Natalie boxing tips.
"I need a new assistant, boss." He complains, also watching the woman and Happy talk but I had a feeling he was only focusing on Natalie.
"Yes, and I've got three excellent potential candidates. They're lined up and ready to meet you." Pepper tells him nicely, looking over to watch him.
"No one can beat you Pepper." I sigh, leaning my head on her shoulder as Tony was sweaty and gross. "Are they all nice."
"I made sure they were the best of the best." She assured me, letting her hand rest on my leg as she typed something on her phone.
"I don't have time to meet. I need someone now. I feel like it's her." Tony nods, pointing at the woman.
"She's not going to go out with you Tony, she's way out of your league." I tell him, and he gasps mockingly.
"What?! I can get her." He defends himself, looking worried. "Watch me, I'll go do it right now."
"No, you're won't. She's mine." Pepper tells him in a bright voice.
"Didn't think you went for those people." Tony mumbles, sipping from the bottle once more. Pepper only laughs, much happier than she was a few days ago when she almost had a mental breakdown at Tony's sarcastic court hearing.
"How do I spell your name, Natalie?" Tony calls out to the woman.
"R-U-S-H-M-A-N." She turns towards us and I watch as Tony turns on the screen.
"What, are you gonna google her now?" Pepper asks, rolling her eyes.
"You can't just google people, can you? That doesn't work." I think out loud, watching as Tony searched up the woman's name. To my surprise, it did work, and multiple links came up about her life and successes.
"I thought I was ogling her. Wow. Very, very impressive individual." He flips through multiple files and I look closer to see that she was a model.
"You're so predictable, you know, that right?" I laugh at his antics, getting up and heading over to the boxing ring to get a closer eye on the two individuals. I heard Happy listing off reasons and tips to help win a boxing fight, but Natalie kept turning around to face my brother and Pepper as they both talked quietly on the love seat. I reach the side of the ring and she glances down at me with interest, but I also see Happy wink at me.
"Rule number one, never take your eye off the opponent-" as he goes to 'hit' her face, Natalie spins around and grabs his arm, twisting it and then using her legs wrapped around his neck to send him to the floor.
"OH MY GOD!" I heard Pepper yell as I stare at her wide eyed.
"THAT WAS SO COOL!" I yell, smiling up at the woman who was exiting the ring and putting her heels back on. "Can you teach me that?!" I look over and gape at her.
"Maybe some other time," She smirks as Pepper and Tony reach us, both with very different reactions to the events that just happened.
Tony was laughing hysterically as he walked over to rink the KO bell he kept on a small table I the corner. "That's what I'm talking about." He cheers brightly. Happy was on his back in the middle of the floor, breathing heavily while rubbing his sore back.
"I just slipped." He defended himself, his face red and contorted in slight pain.
"You did?" Tony smirks, unbelieving.
"It didn't look like slipping to me," I giggle. "Happy! You got beat by a girl half your size!" I tease, making him groan.
"Yeah..." Happy sighs. Natalie puts on her shoes and grabs the folder out of Pepper's hand, facing Tony.
"Just... I need your impression." She tells him, I look over to see Tony looking confused and a little put out, stuttering out his answer.
"You have a quiet reserve. I don't know, you have an old soul..." He tried but fails to come up with a smart answer. Natalie kind of looks down before sighing and interrupting him.
"I meant your fingerprint." She deadpans, opening the folder with a small ink pad, shoving it towards him. Tony stays quiet and stamps his finger and then places it on the folder where she pointed to. He turns towards Pepper and taps the file.
"You're the boss." He smiles down at the red head who looked pleased and happy.
"Will that be all, Mr Stark?" Natalie asks, smiling.
"No." Tony says at the same time as Pepper who responded, "Yes, that will be all, Ms. Rushman. Thank you very much." As Natalie walks away, I watch Tony ogle her and Happy walks out after her, slightly limping.
"I want one." Tony says.
"No." Pepper states simply, walking towards the chair that I was just sitting on. "I forgot to tell you, we were invited to some Grand prix. Do you want to go?"
"Where is it?" He finishes us the cup of the green nasty stuff and stands up.
"Monaco." She answered
"Sure, why not. Is Ava coming?" He asked for me, ruffling my hair at which I slap him for.
"Under 18's aren't prohibited for the event. She'll be staying with either Rhodey of Elissa." She told me, although I wasn't allowed to go I was fine with it because those kinds of events were boring. I'd rather stay at home, especially with Rhodey or Elissa. When no one could take care of me, Elissa would come in as my babysitter to just watch over me and make sure I didn't kill myself. JARVIS was a good baby sitter, but it was easy to get away with things since he wasn't there physically. Man, if Tony made a physical representation of JARVIS then I would be in trouble.
---
When Rhodey wasn't able to come over due to his own work, I was glad to see Elissa who was ready to take me on a girl day trip. She and I spent the entire day at the spa where she let me get my nails done and my hair braided into a beautiful design. Normally, Pepper did my hair for when I needed it, so it was fun to do this with someone else and professionally. When we got home, we didn't do much, we just lazed around the house and watched movies until the day came to an end. Monaco was 9 hours ahead of us, so the grand prix was going to be aired tomorrow at 7:00am. I was going to watch it because there was going to be a special promotion for Stark Industries appearing, but I didn't know what it would be.
The next morning, I had JARVIS wake me up, but I left Elissa to sleep considering she was kept up by Tony who wanted to check up on me and to tell her things she already knew. Keep me out of the kitchen, I have to be asleep by 10, make sure I don't jump off the cliff outside – the usual. I fell asleep during his rant, so I didn't know how long it went on for.
It had already started when I turned on the TV, so I slowly took a sip from my cup of water that I poured out earlier, waiting for the actual races to start. And then my heart pretty much stopped at the sight that appeared in front of me. "What's the use of having and owning a race car, if you don't drive it." The familiar voice joked, making me choke on my water when I see that my brother was getting into the car, wearing gear for racing. Jesus take the wheel, why did this always happen when I wasn't there to slap some sense into his empty head.
I quickly tell JARVIS to phone Pepper, but she wasn't picking up, I tried Happy next who also seemed to be non-existent which was making we extremely nervous. They were adults, how did they not know how to pick up a phone? Lastly, I try the unfamiliar number I was given and call Natalie who I knew was there with Pepper.
"Hello?" I heard her strained voice over the phone.
"Miss Natalie? It's Avery. What's happening over there?" I ask rapidly, hearing her take in a deep breath.
"I don't know. He disappeared about half an hour ago and now he's on the track racing. Pepper's gone to help him out." On the TV, I see the camera focusing on a man walking out onto the track. His clothes begin to disintegrate, and it shows him wearing a metal contraption with what looks to be an arc reactor on his chest. Senator Stern is going to kill us.
"Ava, I'll get your brother to call you, but I need to go and see if they need help. Alright?" She tells me strongly, not accepting any other answer.
"Please keep him safe. I know there's something up with you, but I can tell that you can keep him safe." I beg her, tearing up at the man who seemed to be aiming for my brother.
"I will." The phone call ends, and I sit on the couch biting my nails. The man rips cars apart with the electrical whips and Tony was racing closer to him. The man hits my brother's car, forcing the car to flip and slide down the track. There was no movement and tears started to fall from my eyes and down my cheeks. Please be okay, I beg you.
"Miss Stark, would you like me to Wake Miss Frasier?" I hear JARVIS ask from above, emotionless.
"Yes." I mumble, keeping my eyes on the TV making sure to watch everything that was happening. I breathe out deeply when I see my brother dragging himself out of the car, not realising that the man was walking closer to him. He lets himself fall, and gets up, going around the car to where the man can't see him. When the whip rips through the metal of the car, Tony goes behind the man and hits him in the head.
"Ava? What's going on?" I hear Elissa ask sounding worried.
"Tony's in trouble." I cry, tears running down my cheeks as I sob at the events happening o the TV that I couldn't stop. Elissa sits down next to me and watches the screen intently, gasping when she see's everything.
"Who is that?" She mutters, but I just shake my head.
"I don't know. I've never seen him in my life." She wraps her arms around me, and we watch the destruction fall upon the arena. The man tries to hit Tony with the electrical whips but misses when Tony moves away. I sob a little, moving my hand to my eyes. If this was how he was going to die, I didn't want to watch. A black car comes into the screen and it hits the man square on, pushing him into the gate and seemingly making him unconscious.
"Thank god." I hear Elissa whisper, pulling me to her chest tightly as the coverage fades and the people on the TV begin to talk about what was happening.
"Is he going to be okay?" I ask, my voice unusually quiet and innocent.
"I think so, Ave." Dread returns as I hug Elissa back tightly. I never wanted to see my brother in that situation again.
---
Senator Stern's was on TV, talking about the suits once more. Pepper and Tony were coming home, and I was definitely going to kill Tony as soon as he walks through the door. Elissa had to leave urgently as her mother was taken into hospital, but JARVIS was a good enough alarm system, so she left me at home. They weren't going to be home for another 3 or 4 hours, which means they were going to get home after I fell asleep. I took my plate to the kitchen and washed it up, placing it on the dishrack to dry. I didn't know what to do; I was hardly ever in the house alone due to being around Tony so much. I guess this is the life of a superstar. I have no friends my age; I have no friends at all really. The only people in my life were my brother, Pepper, Rhodey, Happy and Elissa. Sometimes, I wished that I could have a normal life that I could go to school and hang out with friends. I knew that it would never happen though, I wasn't normal, but I was fine with that.
But then there was the fact that I was dying. Tony didn't want to believe it, he didn't care that his body was slowly shutting down. He was in denial and I fear that denial would kill us both. I've done some research myself to see if there's a suitable replacement for palladium, but I've found nothing of the sort. Life wasn't very good right now, and I really hope it would improve. A knock at the door startled me. "JARVIS?" I ask carefully, not wanting to be an idiot and open the door to a stranger.
"It seems that Phil Coulson and Nick Fury are at the door Miss Stark." His robotic voice tells me. My eyebrows furrow in confusion as I head over to the front door, opening it.
"Miss Stark." Fury greets me, his one eye looking down at me. I study them carefully before letting them come in.
"Mr Fury, Mr Coulson." I say respectfully, closing and locking the door behind them.
"Your brother. When's he gettin' back into the country?" Fury asks me, seeing that there was no one else home. I shrug, bitter and upset about the whole situation.
"Should be getting in at about 10 or 11. Is this about Monaco?" Phil nods, looking around our home quietly.
"Are you here alone?" He asks, looking down at me. I sit on the couch with my legs hanging off, looking at the white rug on the floor.
"Yeah. My baby sitter had an emergency." I tell him. I had a question on the tip of my tongue and I felt like I had to say it; I had been thinking about it for ages since the day I met her and I had a feeling that I was correct. "Is Natalie one of your agents?" I suddenly ask them, wanting to know. There was literally only one possibility about Natalie. She was an agent looking over Tony, or she was a ninja. Maybe even both. They both looked at me surprised, Fury raising an eyebrow at my sudden comment. "I won't tell, I promise. Maybe she should be a little more secretive though. She flipped my dad's body guard over her shoulder and he's double her size and weight."
"I'll keep that in mind. I want you to tell your brother that I'll be doing another house call soon. I expect him to be there. Also, I need to give you something." Fury pulls out a needle from his coat and my eyes widen.
"What are you doing?" I fearfully ask, eying him and the needle full of an unknown medicine.
"Relax. It's for the poisoning. It'll slow down the effects." He assures me, moving closer for me to read the ingredients listed on a small label on a bottle. "I'll be giving your brother one too when I get the chance. May I?" I nod, and I feel him insert the needle into my neck. I feel the cool liquid enter my blood stream and I shiver involuntarily at the strange feeling.
"Coulson stay here until Stark gets back. It's dangerous for a little girl to be here alone." Fury orders, walking out towards the foyer to let himself out.
And that's ow I was able to get Phil Coulson to wear make-up.