Arriving at Avengers Tower, Eve peeked out of the car window.

"That tower is ugly," she remarked.

Tim sighed as he parked the police car. "Please be cooperative."

"I tried, didn't I?" she replied, leaning back in her seat and glancing at the officer.

"Your mother—" he started, but a glare from Eve stopped him from finishing his sentence.

Eve didn't respond. She got out of the car, leaving Tim to sigh in frustration.

Following the three of them, Eve glances around the tower, observing workers greeting the billionaire and hurrying to their respective tasks. Some of them cast confused looks at her and Tim, wondering why an officer is accompanying a girl and what they are doing with the tower's owner.

A brown-haired man with scruffy hair and glasses approaches them with a smile. He wears a lab coat over a blue and white striped shirt, paired with simple beige trousers.

"Hey, Brucie," Tony greets, removing his orange-red sunglasses.

"Tony? What brings you here? I thought you were on vacation," Bruce replied, frowning as he notices some unfamiliar faces.

"Yeah... I need your help," Tony says, pursing his lips and glacing over at the young brunette before returning his gaze to his lab partner.

"S-sure, why don't we speak privately?" Bruce suggests, gesturing toward the elevator.

"Good idea," Tony agrees.

"I see—" Bruce nods in understanding, taking his glasses off and placing them on the lab desk. "Sure, we can do that. It will take some time, but I can handle it."

Tony informed the man about the entire situation, and he appeared to be understanding, while Eve was feeling a bit adventurous. It was left with the three of them since Tim had to return to the station after receiving a call, and Happy and Pepper had gone out to get some food for everyone.

After taking enough blood samples, Bruce chuckled as he watched the girl's head turn away from the needle. "Afraid of the needle?" he asked, placing the sample into a tube next to Tony's.

"Just not fond of them," she replied simply, pulling down her sleeve.

"Any bad experiences?"

Eve was relieved that none of them noticed her flinch for a second before she responded, "Kind of."

As they waited for the DNA test results to come back, Eve walked around the lab, avoiding Tony's gaze, who was watching her intently. The tension in the room was so thick it was almost unbearable. Bruce was sweating from the pressure, feeling that even the Hulk himself didn't want to come out.

"You know me, don't you?" Tony asked.

"Bragging much?" Eve opened a journal written by Bruce about his research on gamma radiation. "You're the Hulk?" she exclaimed, her voice rising as she addressed the scientist.

Bruce nervously scratched the back of his neck. "W-well, I—" He sighed. "Yes."

"Cool." She placed the journal back down, nodding slightly.

"I'm not talking about me being Iron—"

"I know what you're talking about." Eve interrupted him, turning toward him with her back leaning against the edge of the table. "You're asking if I know who you are to me. And yes, I know."

"So why deny it?" Tony stood up.

Eve's eyes turned cold. "Do you recognize my mother? Do you remember the name Evaleen Dyne?"

"I don't!" he answered truthfully.

"Then don't bother." She hissed, her tone sharp. "You can't continue your La-La Land existence and pretend I don't exist. Why should a 16-year-old girl get in the way of you having a normal life with your girlfriend? Maybe you'll end up having a daughter with her. Who knows? Win-win, right? So forget about the test and send me away."

Tony's expression saddened at her words, but he was also confused about why she kept insisting he not take her into custody. "I can't—"

"Of course you can!" Eve sneered, stepping toward him abruptly. "You know what you have to do. You just—"

"The results are in!" Bruce entered the room with a smile, waving the test results in the air.

"Are we fortune tellers or what?" Pepper joked as she arrived with Happy, both of them juggling food and drinks.

"Here." Bruce handed the results over to Tony, his science partner.

Tony's fingers grazed the paper as he contemplated it, glancing at the girl who looked restless from her spot on the other side of the table.

He knew what he had to do.

As he opened the envelope, he could almost feel the displeasure radiating from the young brunette, his eyes hungrily scanning the results.

"You knew, didn't you?" he asked her.

"Obviously," she replied calmly.

"Did she know?" he referenced Eveleen, Eve's mother.

Eve looked away from him. "Of course she does."

Tony frowned sadly. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"There are some things that are better left unspoken," Evelynn responded. "But you two weren't having a great life together. You two—"

"What we had was enough!" She cut him off, clenching her eyes shut. "Just let it go." She let out a shaky breath. "Please."

Though frustration lingered in his chest, Tony decided to let the matter drop, his expression softening slightly as he said, "I'm sorry."

The newly found Stark stood quietly, her mind a swirling storm of uncertainty, envisioning the various paths her future might hold, each one more daunting than the last.