Tony: I watched as she fell over in the grass. I flew over to her as fast as I could.
"What happened?" I asked frantically.
"She fell over," the man said.
"Is she alright?" Carol asked, landing next to me.
"Let's get her to the ship," I said, picking her up in my arms. Her suit was incredibly hot.
"AVIS," I said, "Can you hear me?"
"Yes, Tony," AVIS said.
"Is she alive?" I asked, my voice more panicked sounding than expected.
"Obviously, or else I don't work," AVIS said.
"Right," I said, "How alive?"
"She's hurt. She has significant burns," AVIS said.
"Do you retract the suit?" I asked.
"I was never given that sequence," AVIS said.
"Are you sure?" I asked, "Can you learn."
"Her pattern to retract can be the same as her suiting up sequence, and there's a button on her neck for the helmet," AVIS said, "But I would recommend being inside first."
"Thank you for that duh AVIS," I said
I landed in the SHIELD ship. "I need someone," I shouted, ripping off my helmet, "NOW!"
A team of people ran over to me.
"Follow me," one of them said. We ran through the halls and brought her into a white room with glass walls. "Lay her down on the bed," the man said again. I did.
"Can you take off her suit?" the man asked.
"AVIS?" I said.
"Cooling sequence is in action, but I'd say it's the best way to help her," AVIS said. I grabbed her shoulders and pulled them upwards. The suit was actually very flexible. I rolled her shoulder 3 times then rolled the other. The suit pulled itself in. The I moved her neck, pressing the final button.
Her skin was burnt, actually no, charred from her neck down. I closed my eyes.
"Is she going to be okay?" I asked.
"I'm sure," the man from before said, "I'll do everything I can."
"Do more than that," I said, "SAVE HER!"
"I will," the man said, "Now if you could please leave so I can help her."
I stepped out and rubbed my face.
"Is she alright?" Steve asked, showing up next to me.
"Apparently," I said. Steve looked shell shocked as he looked through the glass at her. "Why are you wondering?" I asked
"I'm not a terrible person," Steve said.
"I have to go, be somewhere else," I said. I disappeared down the hallway. I let my suit fall off me once I was in Tasha's room. I heard a sound. It was coming from her backpack. It was Back In Black, by ACDC. I opened the backpack to reveal a cell phone. I looked at the screen to see Pepper was calling. I answered.
"Tasha!?" Pepper asked, her voice frantic.
"Uh, no," I said, "It's me."
"Is Tasha with you?" Pepper asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"Good," Pepper said, "I've been trying to call her for two days. Where is she?"
"Um, she's on the SHIELD ship," I said, digging through Tasha's backpack for no apparent reason.
"Is she alright?" Pepper asked.
"Well, um, we were in Japan today and the Storyteller, the guy we're after, well, he bombed the place. We knew that, but that's not the point. But she, flew into the explosion after it happened. She has some pretty bad burns," I said, my voice shaking.
"What?" Pepper asked, "Tony, is she going to be okay?"
"I don't know," I said, my voice still wavering. I covered my face.
"Oh no," Pepper said, "Call me as soon as she wakes up."
"I will," I said, uncovering my face. I saw something white sticking out from the backpack.
"Is she in good hands?" Pepper asked.
"She's with the doctor SHIELDs got. She's not awake," I said.
"Is the suit off?" Pepper asked.
"Yeah," I said, "AVIS helped me with that."
"Oh Tony," Pepper said, "You sound really worried."
"I am," I said, "What if she doesn't come out of this Pepper?" I was amazed as my voice broke.
"Tony, go be with her. Call me okay?" Pepper asked, "And stay strong."
"I will," I said, pulling the white thing from the backpack. It was an envelope.
"I love you," Pepper said.
"Love you too," I said. Pepper hung up and I flipped over the envelope. Tony was all it said. I looked at the envelope, confused, but opened it. Inside was a piece of paper, which I unfolded. It took me a fraction of an instant to place who's handwriting it was, and it wasn't Tasha's. The note read:
Tony,
I'm writing this to you, despite my prayers that you will never have to read it. Tony, I'm writing this to you because you are now the one taking care of Tasha.
Tony, our daughter is amazing. She's smart, and beautiful, and funny, and good with people. She's like you Tony. She's so amazing. I can only hope you see the same in her. She graduated high school when she was 14 and started at MIT. Although, I would love for her to be my little baby forever.
Tony, I feel terrible for taking her from you. That wasn't my call to make, it was ours. And I know you loved her. I guess I'm glad for this disease, because it means you get to be in Tasha's life too.
Tony, I should probably warn you. Tasha has a suit. It's like yours, the Iron Man suit. After the Battle of New York, she decided she wanted to be a superhero. Tony, if she gets her chance, she's going to take it, no matter what you say. Protect her, Tony. She's going to need it. Because, like you, she's nuts. But she has a heart of gold. And she'll be nuts to show that.
Tony, I can only hope you can love her the way I do. She is an amazing little girl. And just so you know, I'm glad you have Pepper. Yes, I know about Pepper. She tried really hard from keeping me from that, but I'm smart too. But don't tell her. Just make sure you hold both of those girls, because life is too short.
Thank you Tony. I hope you can love her the way I do.
Love,
Whit
P.S. I gave you some pictures. They're momentsI should have let you be a part of. So here they are.
I read the letter over and over. Whit. A part of me found happiness in the words. But a part of me felt sadness at one sentence: Protect her Tony.
Protect her. And now Tasha may or may not be on the edge of death, because I failed to do Whit's dying wish. I looked through the pictures she had enclosed. There was on that was a picture of a little, 4 year old version of Tasha, her hair in pig tails, her smile too wide as she held the straps of her backpack. I saw on the back it read Tasha's First Day of Preschool. There was another picture of a slightly older Tasha, in front of a sign that read Brookside Elemamentary. On the back it read Tasha's First Day of Kindergarten. There was a picture of Tasha standing in a garage, not much older than 8, building what appeared to be a remote controlled car. Another of her at 10, standing in front of a sign that read East High School. One picture was a silly one of Whit and Tasha, Tasha probably 12 at the time. But Whit looked so different from the woman I remembered. Where curly blonde hair used to be, there was now a little bit of light fuzz, on top of a bald head. Where there used to be long thick eyelashes, there was nothing. Her skin was dry and cracked, under her eyes were little wrinkles, due to aging. But she still was beautiful. Her smile was something I hadn't gotten to see nearly enough of. At least not in the end. But she was beautiful when she wore it.
I continued to flip though the pictures. There was a picture of Tasha when she was only a little older, showing a Captain America tee shirt. Another of her standing in a cap and gown, holding a diploma. The last picture was a picture of her pointing at the dorms of MIT. She was showing off her sweatshirt. I put the pictures down. There I closed my eyes, which we were. I laid down on the bed, and let myself cry. In that moment I realized something. I loved my daughter. I didn't want her to die. I loved her like the child she was. And that in itself, felt better than anything I had felt in a very long time.