Imagine If You Assembled the Avengers: Volume 1

Unmasked (dad!Tony Stark x reader)

When Clint found Tony, he was sitting on the floor in the lab; the room was dark and silent, with only the glow of his phone illuminating it.  It felt intrusive for him to be there, but the team was worried, and he had drawn the short stick so he had to do it or face the consequences of ridicule. He felt bad for the guy though; Stark could be a complete ass with a penchant for egomaniacal behavior, but even he didn't deserve this.  No one did.

"We'll find her, Tony," Clint whispered, holding his position at the door.  He heard Tony clear his throat and a small sniffle, but was otherwise silent.  "We all want you to know that we won't stop until we do."

Tony took a deep and shaky breath, tears threatening to flow at any moment, though he was too angry to allow them.  He squeezed his eyes shut and a low growl grew in his chest until it became a scream that startled Clint enough for him to back away.  Sitting just on the other side of the door, Steve lowered his head into his hands and sighed with regret when Tony's phone shattered against the glass.

~~~

Today, Tony sat at the head of the jet, preparing for flight and the mission at hand.  It was the first mission that would bring him to face Hydra since the day you were taken by them; even though it had been nearly a year, he didn't feel ready and likely never would until you were returned to him. He absentmindedly flipped switches and pushed buttons, thankful that FRIDAY would be sure that he didn't mess it up too terribly.

"Hey, you ready for this?"

Tony sighed and looked back at Bruce, shaking his head slightly as he considered his response. "Nope.  But what the hell, can't get any worse than this, right?"  His friend reached down and put a supportive hand on his shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. 

"Be careful, Tony. Let's not tempt fate here, alright?"

~~~

"Listen, I don't want to hurt you, okay?"  Tony landed hard on his back, knocking the wind from his chest for a moment.  "Ugh," he panted, trying to catch his breath, "lucky hit.  Let's quit while we're ahead, yeah?" 

He smirked and raised his arm out sharply, a movement that struck a cord in you as something you had seen before, knowing that he was calling his suit to him.  You leapt forward and intercepted the gauntlet and smiled as it secured itself to your own hand rather than his.  You aimed the repulsor towards him, curious as to why he suddenly looked so shocked and so pale.

"How did you do that?" he whispered.  "There's only one other person who can do that."

Taking his chances against his own weapon, he reached forward to try to remove your mask, but you anticipated this and took a step away.  Not taking this for an answer, he grabbed your arm and twisted it enough to get a firm grasp on the gauntlet as you fired, blasting a large hole in the floor that took you both falling three stories to the hard ground below.

~~~

"Stark!"  Natasha yelled as she was peering over the edge of the massive opening, trying to see if he was moving, or even breathing for that matter. "Guys, Tony's down, I need backup!" Hearing a few harsh coughs from below, she relaxed a bit knowing that he wasn't dead, but still anxious to get him out and to safety as the floor creaked beneath her.

Clint slowly crawled to her side, trying to keep his weight from cracking the floor any further. "Holy shit, Nat.  How are we gonna do this?  We don't know how bad he's hurt."  He paused for a few seconds to look at you, confused at what he was seeing; or what he thought he was seeing. 

"Nat, I kinda hope I'm wrong...but is that her?"

She squinted to see clearer through the dust that was still hanging in the air from your fall.  Her eyes widened at the realization that she was looking at Tony and the daughter that he had so traumatically lost to Hydra, both lying motionless and unreachable three stories below.