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❨ ∘ 𝔞𝔠𝔱 4 ∘ ❩
. . .‧₊˚ ✩ CHAPTER THREE ✩.‧₊˚ . . .
Recruitment

❛my protector❜
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Inside a SHIELD analytical room, filled with monitors of partially silhouetted people. Fury stands in the middle, frowning at the people that make up the World Security Council.

"This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control," one of the councilmen tells Fury.

"You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control?" Fury asks him.

Lydia laughs at that as she nods her head agreeing with Fury.

"You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet?" The councilman asks Fury.

"Asgard would never!" Thor exclaims as Lydia smile at him nodding her head.

"Not Asgard, Loki," Fury corrects him.

"He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother," another councilman asks.

"Those two do nothing together. They are complete opposites!" Lydia says as Loki and Thor nod agreeing with her words.  

"Our intelligence says, Thor is not hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us," Fury tells the council members.

"Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly...," the council member says as Fury shakes his head.

"Idiots," Lydia mutters shaking her head.

"PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team," Fury tells them as the council members shake their heads.

"The Avengers Initiative was shut down," one of the council members tells him.

"This isn't about The Avengers," Fury tells them.

Lydia scoffs at that. The Avengers are awesome. Even better know that Lydia was a part of them.

"We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of the human race to a handful of freaks," a Council member tells Fury.

"Hey shut up you asshole! I have heels longer than your dick," Lydia yells at the screen throwing popcorn at it that she got from Loki.

"Lydia!" Tony yells at his daughter as he shakes his head.

"What? Have you seen my heels?" Lydia asks him as Tony shakes his head.

"I never want to hear dick coming out of your mouth again," Tony says pointing towards his daughter who sticks his tongue out at him.

"Are they always like this?" Maria asks Pepper who nods.

"Always," Pepper tells Maria who nods smirking.

"Karma sucks," Maria says laughing as Peggy and Ana agree with her.

"I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people may be isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need," Fury tells them.

"Well, he's not wrong. You guys are isolated and unbalanced," Lydia says as they roll their eyes at the girl who shrugs.

"You believe?" A council member asks him.

"War isn't won by sentiment, Director," another tells him.

"No, it's won by soldiers," Fury tells them.

"No, they are won by people who want to protect the ones they love," Lydia tells the screen as Strange looks at her and sighs.

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Out in the Atlantic Ocean, Tony Stark, in his Iron Man suit, is cutting a pipeline transport with a laser cutter coming from his hand.

He then places a Stark Energy Reactor. It lights up. Iron Man rockets out of the water and flies toward Stark Tower.

"You're good on this end. The rest is up to you," Tony says.

"You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid?" Pepper asks him on the other line.

"Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy," Tony tells her.

"Wow," Howard says before smiling at his son impressed. Tony smiles at him as Lydia watches the two wide-eyed.

"What the hell did I miss?" Lydia asks herself as Peter laughs.

"Not much but they made up," Peter tells Lydia who nods still in slight shock. 

"Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over, and it actually works?" Pepper asks while meanwhile inside Tony's suit Pepper appears on his hud monitor.

"I assume. Light her up," Tony says as Iron Man flies to the Stark Tower Building, the power is switched on the Stark sign lights up.

"How does it look?" Pepper asks Tony.

"Like Christmas, but with more... me," Tony tells her with a smirk.

"Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I'm in DC tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next three buildings," Pepper tells Tony.

"Pepper, you're killing me. Remember the moment? Enjoy the moment," Tony tells her.

"And I don't know how many times I have to remind you of that," Tony says to Pepper who rolls her eyes at him.

"Then get in here and I will," Pepper tells him as Tony arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his Iron Man suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets.

"Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line," JARVIS tells Tony.

"I'm not in. I'm actually out," Tony tells JARVIS.

"Yeah that won't work," Natasha says as Tony rolls his eyes. He knew that. Now.

"Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting," JARVIS tells Tony.

"Grow a spine, Jarvis. I got a date," Tony says as he walks towards Pepper who was staring up at the monitors of the reactor device.

"Levels are holding steady... I think," Pepper tells Tony.

"Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius?" Tony asks Pepper.

"Well, ha, I really wouldn't know now, would I?" Pepper asks him as Tony looks at her.

"What do you mean? All this came from you," Tony tells her.

"Aww so cute," Lydia says making Tony bump her shoulder as Lydia squeezes his check.

"So in love," Lydia tells him in a sing-song voice.

"No. All this came from that," Pepper tells him as she points to the energy in his chest plate.

"Give yourself some credit, please. Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself... twelve percent of the credit," Tony tells Pepper who just looks at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh no," Natasha says as Lydia hits her dad over the head. Tony looks at Lydia was who staring at the screen acting as if she did nothing wrong.

"Twelve percent?" Pepper asks Tony giving him a chance to change his answer.

"An argument can be made for fifteen," Tony tells her with a smirk.

"Twelve percent? For my baby?" Pepper asks him once again.

"Well, I did do all the heavy lifting. Literally, I lifted the heavy things. And sorry, but the security snafu? That was on you," Tony tells her.

"My private elevator...," Tony says as he looks towards his new elevator.

"You mean our elevator? And it was Lydia's idea," Pepper asks Tony who scoffs.

"Thank you, Mom! At least someone remembers my brilliant brain!" Lydia exclaims as Tony rolls his eyes at her.

"Where is my mini-me?" Tony asks Pepper as he looks around the room.

"She is supposed to be asleep but is probably doing something she's not supposed to," Pepper tells Tony who nods.

"Sound like my mini-me," Tony tells Pepper who rolls her eyes but smiles as she pours herself and Tony a glass of champagne.

"That's not true," Lydia says scoffing as everyone looks at her.

"It's not partly true," Lydia corrects with a shrug.

"Sir, the telephone. I'm afraid my protocols are being overwritten," JARVIS tells Tony as Coulson walks towards the two.

"Stark, we need to talk," Coulson tells Tony as Tony picks up his phone.

"You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark, please leave a message," Tony tells Coulson.

Lydia laughs at that before pausing as her brain begins to think and looks towards her dad with a bright smile.

"I can make one," Lydia tells her dad who looks towards her.

"Make what?" Tony asks her as Lydia points to a screen.

"A life model decoy!" Lydia tells Tony excitedly.

"Oh I will be using it to my advantage all the time," Lydia says smiling brightly.

"This is urgent," Coulson tells Tony.

"Then leave it urgently," Tony tells him as if it's common sense. At that moment the elevator door opens and Coulson appears.

"Security breach," Tony says before looking toward Pepper.

"That's on you," Tony tells her as Pepper rolls her eyes at him.

"Mr. Stark," Coulson greets as Pepper smiles at him.

"Phil! Come in," Pepper greets him.

"Phil? Uh, his first name is Agent," Tony tells her with jealousy in his voice.

"Is someone jealous?" Lydia asks her dad who shakes his head and moves to sit beside Pepper

"I'm done getting bullied by my own daughter!" Tony says as Lydia laughs at him sticking her tongue out at him.

Tony pouts as he sits beside Pepper who was looking between the two amused.

"Come on in, we're celebrating," Pepper tells Phil who shakes his head.

"I can't stay," Coulson tells her.
"Which is why he can't stay," Tony tells Pepper.

"We need you to look this over," Coulson says as he holds out a file towards Tony.

"Soon as possible," Coulson tells him as Tony shakes his head.

"I don't like being handed things," Tony tells him as he takes a step back.

"That's alright, 'cause I love to be handed things. So, let's trade," Pepper says as she passes her glass of champagne to Coulson, takes the file from him, then takes Tony's glass of champagne while passing the file over to Tony.

"Thank you," Pepper says smiling as Tony shakes his head.

"Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday," Tony tells Coulson.

"You don't do consulting hours!" Lydia tells her dad as Tony looks at Pepper.

"Get your daughter," Tony tells Pepper who shakes her head at him.

"This isn't a consultation," Coulson tells Tony sending him a look.

"Is this about The Avengers?" Pepper asks as Coulson sends her a look.

"Which I...I know nothing about," Pepper says shaking her head.

"That's a lie what Tony knows so does Pepper. Same with you Lydia," Natasha says as the two Starks nod not denying that.

"The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought. And I didn't even qualify, but somehow my twelve-year-old daughter did," Tony says as Pepper nods.

"I didn't know that either," Pepper says although she already knew.

"Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, and don't play well with others," Tony says as Pepper nods.

"That I did know," Pepper says as Tony looks at her offend and she smiles at him.

"Everyone knows that," Lydia whispers to Peter who smiles at him as Tony glares at the two.

"This isn't about personality profiles anymore," Coulson tells Tony.

"Whatever. Miss Potts, got a minute?" Tony asks as Pepper walks over to Tony who places the files into his own databases.

"You know, I thought we were having a moment," Tony tells her.

"I was having twelve percent of a moment. This seems serious, Phil's pretty shaken," Pepper tells Tony who looks at her.

"How did you notice? Why is he, Phil?" Tony asks her as Pepper rolls her eyes at him.

"Jealousy. Jealousy," Lydia sings as she high-fives Peter who laughs at her.

"What is all of this?" Pepper asks him as she looks at what Tony is doing.

"This is, uh...," Tony says as he expands his arms and different profiles appear in holographic form floating in the air in front of Tony and Pepper.

"This," Tony tells her as screens appear of Captain America in action, the Hulk roaring as he attacks the army at Culver University, and Thor fighting the Destroyer in New Mexico. Another is of Loki and the Tesseract which Tony and Pepper look at in awe.

"I'm going to take the jet to DC tonight," Pepper tells Tony.

"Tomorrow," Tony corrects her.

"You've got homework. You've got a lot of homework," Pepper tells him as Tony looks at her.

"Well, what if I didn't?" Tony asks her as Pepper looks at him.

"If you didn't?" Pepper asks him.
"Yeah," Tony says nodding.

"You mean if you finished?" Pepper asks him as Tony nods his head.

"Well, um...then," Pepper says as she whispers something in his ear. Tony gasps. Coulson looks away in embarrassment.

"Eww! Eww! Eww! I'm going to be sick! Really sick," Lydia says gagging disgusted.

"Square deal. It's the last date," Tony tells her as Pepper kisses him.

"Work hard," Pepper tells him as she leaves with Agent Coulson, Tony grabs the Tesseract in holograph form, worried.

"So you going to do it?" Lydia asks Tony who jumps surprised making Lydia laugh at him.

"What do you think?" Tony asks Lydia who comes towards him eating a popsicle. She hands Tony one as she looks at Tesseract.

"Well, you have two choices dad. You can go or you can stay, but...," Lydia says as she turns to her dad who looks at her.

"Will you be able to sleep peacefully if you do? It's your decision dad but I will always be on your side because I will always believe in you," Lydia tells Tony who smiles at her.

"How are you so wise and smart for your age?" Tony asks Lydia who shrugs.

"Who knows just born this way," Lydia tells Tony as she eats some of her popsicles.

"And dad if it's because of me you are holding back I'll be fine. I'm okay dad and I always will be. I have you as my protector how could I not be," Lydia tells him as she pats his cheek and then walks away.

Tony smiles watching her go before looking at the Tesseract in holograph form with a sigh.

Tony looks towards Lydia who was laughing with Peter about something worriedly. What if he one day he doesn't get there fast enough to save her? What if he can't?

❀ ༄ ❀ AUTHOR NOTE ❀ ༄ ❀
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I love you all!  <333