FicWad

Also, we have entered October 2023 and everything will get a bit more interesting



Morgan and I are in the play tent outside on Sunday. 

"Can we play with the stuff I found?" Morgan asks.

"Depends, what did you find?" I'm genuinely curious about what she found. 

Morgan pulls out a blue helmet and puts it on her head. It looks like a blue Iron Man helmet. I notice an Iron suit glove on her hand, too.

"Where did you find that?" 

"Morgan! Isla!" Tony calls from outside.

"Come on, take it off before-" I get cut off.

"Morgan H. Stark and Isla Parker, you want some lunch." 

Morgan walks out of the play tent with the helmet and glove still on. "Define lunch or be disintegrated." 

 I follow her out and see Tony sitting on a tiny chair. "You should not be wearing that. That is a part of a special anniversary gift for Mom." He kisses Morgan on the cheek of the helmet before taking it off and ruffling Morgan's hair. "There you go. you thinking about lunch? I can give you a handful of crickets on a bed of lettuce.

"No." Morgan says.

"That's what you want." He holds up the helmet. "How did you find this?"

"Garage." Morgan puts her hands on her chest. She is so precious.

"Really? Were you looking for it?" Tony looks at Morgan.

"No. I found it, though." Morgan plays with the ends of her brown hair.

"You like going in the garage, huh. So does daddy." Tony picks her up. "It's fine. Mom never wears anything I buy her. Come on, Isla."

"Coming!"

As we go in for lunch I see Cap, Natasha, and some other guy get out of a car, probably to talk to Tony. Natasha nods to him, and he nods back. 

Tony sets Morgan down. Isla, Morgan go eat your lunch. I'll be in soon."

"Ok." I take Morgan's hand and walk inside.

We get ready for lunch inside.

"Do you think we should set it for seven?" I ask Pepper.

"Maybe."

"Morgan, could you go save Daddy." Pepper suggests.

Morgan nods and runs out onto the porch. Even at this age, Morgan wanted to follow in Tony's footsteps. I smiled as the person I considered my little sister went running to Tony. He said a few more things to the three Avengers before carrying Morgan inside for lunch.



I sit down next to Morgan on her bed. "Ok, what story do you wanna hear tonight?" 

"Spider-Man!" Morgan exclaims.

"Ok, which Spider-Man one?" I ask.

"The one with the dance!"

"Ok. Peter was trying to stop Vulture a few times in New York. But Vulture knew how to do some pretty big damage. He'd nearly sunken a ferry earlier that afternoon before Iron Man found him and saved the day. He took Peter's suit away, knowing Peter needed to learn that the suit didn't define him. He didn't think he could be any good without the suit."

"But he's awesome!" Morgan interrupts.

I smile at her. "So he does what any superhero does when they hit rock bottom. He stopped being Spider-Man. Then he asked this girl he liked, Liz, to the homecoming dance." I continue the story. "When he goes to pick Liz up from her house her dad opens the door and, Peter recognizes him as the Vulture. In the car Liz tells her dad about Peter and how he has an 'Internship' at Stark Industries." I put the last part in air quotes so Morgan doesn't get confused. She looks at me intently, she's been sucked into the story. "So Vulture gives Peter a little talking to before letting him go to the dance. He told Pete that if he messed with business again he would kill everyone Peter cared about."

Morgan gasped. "No. he can't!"

"Peter ends up realizing that the Vulture is going to hijack Tony's plane full of tech, so he ditches the dance and finds his old sweat suit  version of his Spidey suit that he used before Tony found him. He ran out to the parking lot and to the old warehouse where Vulture did his work. He stalled Peter so he could get his wings airborne and make it go through all the pillars, causing the building to collapse on Peter, nearly killing him."

"Oh no!"

"Peter lifted the building off of his shoulders and went to track down the plane. He found Vulture and they fought on the outside of the plane, causing it to lose both it's engines and crash. It almost crashed straight into New York City, but Peter is able to turn it so it lands on this spot that has on buildings, near a theme park. He sees Vulture who is still just after the tech. He throws Peter to the ground and almost gets away, but his wing suit malfunctions. Pete tried to warn him, but he didn't listen. It combusted a few feet above the ground." I keep telling the story. "Peter rushes into the fire to save him and pulls the Vulture out of the flames before webbing him up. Peter swings to the top of the roller-coaster and watches as Vulture gets arrested."

"Knock, knock. Time for bed, both of you." Tony looks at us. I can tell he's serious.

"Ok. See you in the morning, Morgan." I smile at her before walking out of the room.

Tony says good night to her before coming into the hallway. "What story were you telling Morgan that involved fire and explosions"" He asks me.

"Just one of the ones Peter told me about years ago." I answer.

"Was I in it?"

"You took away his suit." I reply, heading into my room.

"Ok. Well good night, I guess. See you in the morning."

"Good night, Tony."

I hear a knock on the door. "Hey, Isla. It's time for school." Pepper says from the doorway.

"I don't feel that good. I think I have a stomach ache." It feels like there's a ball of air and seeds filling my stomach.

"Ok. Well, you can stay home if you need to then."

I nod to Pepper as she leaves. I'll probably feel better by this afternoon. 

I spend the day reading and watching some TV. I start feeling better bit by bit over the day. I see something sparkle yellow outside. "Pepper... what's that?"

"Isla, I have to go. Please take care of Morgan while I'm gone."

"Please don't say you're going through it."

"I am. But please watch Morgan. It should only be a few hours at most."

"Alright. But be careful. I have a feeling whatever's on the other side of that is going to be dangerous." I warn.

"I'll be careful." Pepper replies.

Morgan peeks her head around the corner of the stairs. "Where did Mommy go?"

I look over at the little kid. "I'm not sure exactly where she went, Morgan." She looks at me with nervous eyes. "She'll be completely fine." I assure her, hoping that it's true. "Wanna watch a movie?" I pat the seat next to me.

"Ok. Can we watch Raya and the Last Dragon?" Morgan asks sitting down beside me.

"Sure." I smile at her. Grabbing the remote I turn the TV onto Disney plus and put the movie on.

When the movie ended Pepper still wasn't home.

"Can we play a game?" Morgan asks. Her little brown eyes look at me lovingly.

"Sure we can, Morgan." I smirk at her.  "What game do you want to play?"

"Hide and seek!"

"Ok, but no going in the basement."

"Fine, Isla." The almost-five-year-old rolls her eyes at me.

I cover my eyes. "One, two, three, four, five..." I count aloud. "Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty. Ready or not, here I come!" I call through the house. Morgan isn't hiding in the kitchen, or behind the couch. She's not downstairs at all. "Morgan!" I run up the stairs. I quietly open the door to Morgan's room and peek over the other side of the bed. "Boo!" She's not there. Look under the bed too. Nothing.

I tip-toe over to my room. The white door creaks as I open it. I peer around the room. Closing the door so I'll hear Morgan if she moves, I'll probably hear her if she moves very much anyway. She's not hiding in the closet, or under the desk. I turn around and see Morgan at the end of my bed. "Found y-" My head snaps to the window. I see yellow sparks flying, opening some sort of... portal. Like the one Pepper went through earlier. "Morgan, stay here." I look at her. "I'm serious, something's happening."

Morgan looks back at me with at little fear in her eyes. "What's happening?"

"I'm not sure. I just need you to stay here where you'll be safe." There's a serious tone to my voice. I can tell Morgan knows I'm serious.

I rush downstairs waiting at the door, arms out. I'm ready to fight any villain that comes through the door. Hearing the footsteps getting closer and closer. Three... two... one. The door swings open I almost do a front flip to kick whoever's coming through the door. The blue Iron suit. "Pepper." I breathe. 

I see tears in her eyes. "What is going on?"

"I saw the sparks and thought a villain might be coming through. What happened? Why are you crying?"

Pepper's voice is shaky as she explains to me. "Thanos came back, trying to wipe out the rest of the universe. He had all the infinity stones again, but Tony pulled them off and..." Pepper wipes tears from her eyes. I know where this is headed. "Tony snapped his fingers, it was the only way to stop Thanos, but it killed him."

I stumble back, landing on the stairs. No! Not again! Why? Why do I lose everyone I love. First my parents and Uncle Ben, then Peter and Aunt May. And now Tony. What's next, Pepper and Morgan? "No." Tears stream down my face. My heart cracks like a piece of fragile glass yet again through the fractures left behind five years ago. Shards of it dropping into the pit in my stomach.

"It's going to be ok." Pepper tries to comfort me. It doesn't help. 

"How? It feels just like last time. I can't lose anybody else. I can't." I see people finish coming through the door. "Who are all the people coming in?" I sniffle through my tears.

"Most of the Avengers are here." Pepper answers, tears still in her eyes.

Someone comes running over to us. "Ms. Potts, uh, where can I find the-" He sees me. "Do I know you?" He asks.

My heart stops. It can't be. This can't be real. It has to be in my head. He's dead. It can't be him. "Peter?" My had covers my mouth as I ask him. 

"Yeah. You look familiar, but I can't tell where I know you from." He looks pretty beat up. Bloody nose, cut on his forehead and his bottom lip. It looks like he's going to have a black eye. His hair is a bit of a mess. His eyes are red and watery from crying. I'm pretty sure mine are too.

My heart beats so fast. "I guess after five years you can't even recognize your little sister." I try to make a joke through the agonizing feelings, especially when I can hardly tell which ones belong to me and which ones belong to everyone else in the room. It's hard my heart is being crushed by the loss of Tony but being partially put back together at seeing Peter.

"Isla." Peter can barely believe his eyes. He scoops me up into a big hug. "You've gotten so much older."

"I missed you, and May." I cry. "I... I wish Tony was still here." I stammer. I don't even think to question how he's here in the moment.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save him." Peter wipes his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault Peter." He can't blame himself for something he had no control over. The two of sit down. I'm still in tears from everything. "Morgan." I remember she's still upstairs.

"Who's Morgan?" Peter asks.

"Tony and Pepper's daughter who's practically my little sister." I answer. "I have to go get her."

"Wait. Have you been living here for the past five years?" He wonders.

"Yeah. Tony and Pepper took me in, after you and Aunt May got all dusty."

"Aunt May got dusty too?"

"Yeah, right in front of me." I try and brush the subject off. It's still something I don't like talking about, even if she's back. "Now, I should probably go get Morgan." I tell him before heading upstairs.

"Morgan." I knock on the frame of my door. "It's ok. Mom's home." I try not to sound so down. I know my eyes are full of tears, 

She nods and I take her hand and walk downstairs. I know Pepper should be the one to explain everything to Morgan, and Franky, I don't know how to explain it to her. She's just a little kid after all. Pepper takes her from the bottom of the stairs to go try to explain Tony's death to Morgan. I sit back down next to Peter. "I wonder where Aunt May is?"

"Maybe she's back in Queens." Peter suggests. 

"Maybe." I hear a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." Pepper calls.

It's Happy at the door. "What's going on?" I can hear everything that they're saying because of my enhanced hearing. It's not something I've ever been able to control, and probably never will.

"Tony died." Pepper answers. "Why are you here if you didn't know that yet?"

"I got a call from May, and I knew Isla was living here, so I brought May to see her niece." Happy answers.

"She's here?" Pepper asks.

"Yes."

"Peter." I nudge my brother. "Aunt May's here."

"Really?" He looks at me surprised.

"Did you forget that one of my powers is super hearing?"

"Yes."

I roll my eyes at him. "Her and Happy are right outside."

"Ok, Happy." Pepper opens the door letting Happy and Aunt May in. "Isla and Peter are over here." She motions to us sitting on the stairs.

"Peter. Isla?" She runs over to us. Her long brown hair and glasses look the same as they did when I was nine. 

I fan my teary eyes. "Aunt May!" Peter and I embrace our aunt.

"My, you've grown up, Isla. The last thing I remember you were yelling at me not to leave and then the next moment you're gone." She squeezes us both tightly.

"Yeah, well I'm fourteen now Aunt May." I say through fresh tears. "It's been five years since Thanos made half of life disappear."

"May..." Peter starts.

"Yes Peter."

"Tony's gone." I hear my brother sniffle. "He's really gone. And he's not coming back." I feel a stabbing pain. He's really gone, and we can't change that. Aunt May just squeezes us tighter.

I sit with Morgan and Pepper. Peter standing behind us along with all the Avengers and Guardians as a hologram of Tony plays from his Iron Man helmet.

"Everybody wants a happy ending." The hologram starts. "But it doesn’t always roll that way. Maybe this time. I’m hoping if you play this back, it’s in celebration. I hope families are reunited, I hope we get it back and something like a normal version of the planet has been restored. If there ever was such a thing." I squeeze the hem of my black dress in my hands. "God, what a world. Universe, now." Tony's hologram continues. "If you’d told me ten years ago that we weren’t alone, let alone to this extent, I probably wouldn’t have been surprised. But come on... Who knew what epic forces of dark and light would come into play? For better or worse, that’s the reality Morgan, and Isla have to find a way to grow up in." Even after living with Tony for so many years, I'm still surprised that he included me in the statement, after all, I'm almost all grown up. The fresh wound cuts deeper than any knife ever could. "That’s why I thought I’d probably better record a little greeting, in the case of...an untimely death on my part. I mean, death at any time is untimely, but...this “time travel” thing we’re going to try to pull off tomorrow has me scratching my head about the “survivability” of it all. But that’s the hero gig, right? Part of the journey is the end. What am I even tripping for? Everything is going to work out exactly the way it’s supposed to." Tony's hologram seems to look directly at Morgan. "I love you 3000." I'm trembling as the hologram vanishes.

Tears make rivers on my cheeks. Pepper kisses Morgan's forehead and I hug my little sister tight. She's my sister, whether we're blood related or not. I hold Morgan's hand while Pepper holds her daughter's other hand as we walk out to the dock. She carries on of Tony's arc reactors ringed with flowers in her arm. When we reach the end of the dock Pepper rests the flower-ringed arc reactor on the water. As it floats away I read the words "Proof that Tony Stark has a heart" around the rim. I squeeze the necklace I'm wearing as tears continue to pour down my face. 

After a while I walk over to talk to Peter and Aunt May. I can see the tears in their eyes as I get closer.

"Isla, you ok?"  Peter asks me.

"Yeah." I wipe my eyes. "No. I'm not."

"It's ok, Isla." May tells me, as she puts her arm over my shoulder. "Isla, Peter and I were wondering... are you going to move back to Queens when we find a place?"

"Yeah, May. Of course I'm going to be moving back in with you guys. I just need to have time to explain everything to Morgan." I answer, my voice still has a stutter from crying.

"Well, I'm currently in the process of trying to find an apartment, so you can stay here until we do find one."  

"Thanks Aunt May." I smile at her.

I'm in my room packing my stuff to move back to Queens.

"Knock-knock."

I spin around. "Hey Pepper, what's up?"

"I found this in the garage." Pepper hands me the thin, white box she's holding.

"What is it?" I tilt my head. "Wait." I see the note card and open it. It reads:

For Isla,

You're ready. But please be careful.

- Tony

I pull the lid off the box. "Oh my god." I gasp. Pulling a violet, magenta, and yellow spider suit out of the box. "Wow." 



I am so sorry. I tried to end this chapter on a good note. Things just go uphill from here. Also, I don't think I had the best emotional balance in the scene where Isla finds out Tony's dead and reunites with Peter, so if there's anything I can do to improve it please put it in the comments. Still, I'm sorry.

- Maple