Raising a Baby (Tony Stark Style)

Where Is He? Don't Lie

The end of the week
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     "Jarvis? Has there been any news?" Alex asked quietly. She was sitting in the lab reprogramming U, something had been off with his reactions to things.

     "No, there hasn't, Miss. Although, in this case isn't no news good news?" Jarvis said.

     Alex stuck out her tongue, although out of concentration or frustration she wasn't sure. She moved away from the robot. "He was supposed to be home yesterday. And he never called to tell me about any delays. Something isn't right." It was already past lunchtime.

     The doorbell rung throughout the house, interrupting her train of thought.

     "Jarvis?" she asked hopefully.

     "Colonel Rhodes is here Miss, but Mr. Stark does not appear to be with him," the AI said, a hint of sadness in his automated voice.

     Alex shook her head. "Oh no..." she mumbled.

     The young mutant sprinted up the stairs and to the front door. Instead of her dad waiting for her with open arms, she saw Rhodey hugging a sniffling Pepper.

     Rhodey looked up and saw Alex standing at the end of the hall. The poor girl was white with fear, and her trembling lip could be seen from the door.

     "One second, Pepper," he muttered. He took a couple steps towards her. "Alex, we have to-"

     "No! Where's my dad? He was supposed to be here! He promised me!" she cried out.

      An expensive vase on the table next to her started to shake violently.

     Rhodey grimaced. "I know he did. But I need you to calm down okay? Listen to me."

     He took a few more steps, this time she didn't move away. Rhodey walked all the way up to  her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

     Alex was trying to keep her tears at bay. She couldn't stop worst case scenarios from popping into her head. "Rhodey? Don't lie to me. Where's my dad?" The vase stopped.

     Rhodey sighed. "The cars were ambushed on our way back to base. A whole bunch of soldiers died. After the dust cleared Tony was gone. We have no clue where he is. But we kept it quiet on the news so far." There was no way he could lie to her. She would figure him out in a second.

     Anything else Rhodey wanted to say was cut off by the sound of shattering glass and Pepper's scream. The vase on the table had exploded into smithereens.

     "Alex..." Rhodey began. He had to try something before she got out of control.

     "No!" Alex shouted. Her wings sprouted from her back and pushed him away. Then she took off down the hall and went to hide somewhere in the mansion.

     "Alex!" Rhodey yelled. "Come back here!"

     She wouldn't turn back, he knew that. It still felt necessary to try. He glanced at the shards of porcelain strewn across the hall.

     Normally moving an object of that weight and size would have taken Alex no small amount of effort. Shattering in the way she did... some of it blown into dust. This wasn't effort, it was raw, emotional, instinct.

     Pepper came to stand at Rhodey's side. "What... what are we going to do?" He had a feeling finding Tony wasn't all she was talking about.

     "We have to... well... I'm not entirely sure. She needs to be taken care of. Tony needs to be found." Rhodey didn't know what to do except state the facts.