Babysitting a Superhero (Stark's daughter X Peter Parker)

29. Grounded

West Coast - Lana Del Rey

I can see my baby swingin'
His Parliament's on fire and his hands are up
On the balcony and I'm singin'
Ooh, baby, ooh, baby, I'm in love.
I can see my sweet boy swayin'
He's crazy, Cubano, como yo la-la
On the balcony and I'm sayin'
Move baby, move baby, I'm in love.

Arriving back at the tower was nerve-wracking, especially because Amara's father was waiting for her, an annoyed look on his face.

As the hatch opened, Amara saw the Hulk being escorted out, in handcuffs. She hoped that that may distract her father for a second, but he continued to stare straight at her, eyes narrowed.

Shit. Shit. Shit!

Amara stopped walking when she reached the top of the ramp. Steve put his hand on her shoulder, urging her forwards. "Come on. I'm not getting in more trouble because of you."

She groaned, knowing how much trouble she was in, just from the look on Tony's face.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my disobedient daughter," he said, crossing his arms.

"Dad, before you say anything, I'm really sorry and I messed up, I know I did, but I only did it because Steve said he needed me."

Steve's eyes, widened.

"Oh, Steve said that huh?" Tony said, looking at Steve, accusingly.

"Hey! Don't bring me into this! I'm leaving," Steve said, holding his hands up and walking away.

Tony led Amara back to his lab, where he had all his important conversations.

"So, Steve needed you is the excuse you're going for? What about when I said I needed you to stay out of the field?" Tony said to his daughter, waiting for an answer.

"I know. And I made a mistake. But you can't stop me from going on missions. I came to you when I was six because I thought that you, of all people, would understand wanting to help people, you promised, no matter what."

"No, I remember you asking to be my sidekick, and me declining, multiple times. The only promise I made was to help you train. That means you don't do any field work until I decide you're ready."

"Yeah and I train every day! For hours. But I have to go on missions. To get experience. Because that's where the real training happens. And I know you're worried about me, but I can handle it!"

"Amara this isn't about your protection, you're perfectly capable of that."

"Then what is this about?"

"It's about all the emotional trauma and pain that I can't protect you from."

"I'm fine! And as I said, I can handle myself," Amara argued.

"What? like you've handled everything so well, already? What? With your little failed attempt at proving yourself, today? And let's not forget Lagos!" Tony fired back.

Amara was getting angry, balling up her fists. How could he mention Lagos? He knew how much that affected her. "Lagos wasn't my fault. And as far as this mission went, we got samples, we got info, we took down the base."

"The base with only a dozen agents protecting it? The mission where you failed to bring Bruce back? He's stuck, Amara! He's stuck and we don't know how long he's gonna be stuck! And you think the mission was successful?! I hate to break it to you, but a successful mission is a mission where the positives outweigh the negatives. Now I know you're good at math, 'cause I taught you myself."