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₪ 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖘 𝖔 𝖗 𝖗 ¥ 𝖘𝖊𝖊𝖒𝖘 ₮0 𝖇𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉•.•• ••.••.•• ••.•╭♥

Stark Mansion Library
Characters: Veck Rodgers & Pete Stark

Pete waited for people to clear out, she wanted to talk to him. It had been a long time since they stood face-to-face. He’ll ask for his father’s room, the girl thought sharply. She wanted him too. She was betting that Veck would show up and want to be part of it because this place had housed his father for years and because the Avengers went hand-in-hand with Captain America. You have to be the one, Pete had decided that even before she started to research individuals to send invitations out to and she still had a few bargaining tools to sway Veck. Lets see if I can get him where I want him without having to bring out the big guns, with that on her mind she approached him.

She still looked like she was trying to be a clone of her father. Pete, perhaps, would never give that up. Papa was still god. “Thank you for coming, we don’t have to dance around what we both know, Veck,” The girl leveled blue eyes at the much taller force of Veck Rodgers. “I cannot make a team bearing the Avengers name function without you.” Pete was, by no means, unattractive but she kept that strange androgynous look that she’d had since a little girl from keeping her hair cut boyishly short and wearing more masculine clothing. It wasn’t even that she didn’t know how to dress or put on makeup or be sexy… but those times were reserved for the most important of parties. Her sweet sixteen she had been a gorgeous sight in a smooth black dress that left most of her back bear but here, again, she was androgynous.

₪ 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖘 𝖔 𝖗 𝖗 ¥ 𝖘𝖊𝖊𝖒𝖘 ₮0 𝖇𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉•.•• ••.••.•• ••.•╭♥

Pete leaned back and laughed the same invincible short-lived ha-ha-ha of her father. When Ezekiel the son of Obadiah Stane attacked a Stark building during a great international think tank meeting it had nearly killed Petre, Veck, and Pepper. Both the kids had been there, Tony had thought the children would benefit from being at a party with a collection of minds he deemed bright enough to solve world problems but he had become distracted by a gaggle of girls, pissed off Pepper, and the woman had collected both Pete and Veck and stormed out. That had saved their lives. Everyone in that room but Tony was vaporized by the explosion.

And Pepper, Pete, and Veck, were buried under rubble from a couple stories of the high-rise when he crashed down on top of them. Pepper could sure run fast in high heels. Not fast enough. Veck lost his leg. Pete lost her arm. Pepper had severe internal injuries and, to this day, walked around with a glowing magnet in her chest. Pete had spent six months in the hospital and months more recovering. Veck had an edge because of the super soldier serum that he had inherited from his father while Pepper and Pete were still marked inside with various knick-knacks that had held them together like Humpty Dumpty. A couple billion in Pepper and a couple more in Pete, Veck sported a leg that was a 75 million dollar endeavor. Everyone else was dead. It had been a violent act which, to this day, bound Veck and Pete to have matching cybernetics on different body parts.

“You know that you have two fathers, Steve Rodgers and Anthony Stark deny it all you want my father had done everything for you, Veck!” She showed some emotion, if Tony was brought into it, it was one of the only things that made her get emotional fast. “He tried to be a father to you! He’s paid for everything you wanted to do since your father died and you can’t even give him the most common respect? He never says a bad thing about you-” Pete stepped closer to him. “The Registration Act is old news, its time to get the hell over it, Rodgers!” The tiny girl faced him, nearly on her tippy toes to try to get in his face, which was impossible because she was too small. “You like to walk around like you’re hot s**t and you’re hot s**t because of my father! You’re more my father’s son than you are the Captains’!”

₪ 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖘 𝖔 𝖗 𝖗 ¥ 𝖘𝖊𝖊𝖒𝖘 ₮0 𝖇𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉•.•• ••.••.•• ••.•╭♥

“You’re still bitter about that night? That was Ezekiel Stane doing what his family does best, being psychotic.” Pete’s face twisted into a cold look and she stepped back from him, You don’t even know the half of it, Veck, a empty core opened in her chest, the worry of reality, of how important it was to make this work. “You don’t know me anymore,” Sometimes I hate you, you’re so impassive, you’re so much like me and you weren’t suppose to be! Pete squeezed her fingers into her palms. “Your father didn’t hold grudges or spend his life blaming other people, they both made their choices. It’s just as easy to say your father was wrong as it is to say mine was. Iron Man wants the Avengers back and Captain America would want the same-” Pete didn’t have an armor, Tony had never allowed her to be directly involved in that aspect. “You keep saying this is my Avengers, it can be yours, I want it to be yours what the hell do you think I’m trying to do here, Veck? Wouldn't you want to lead the way, Avengers Assemble, you know what it would mean to so many people to hear the son of Captain America say that and have his team swell up at his back like a proverbial wave of justice?" God that was lame, the girl winced internally. "Papa won’t let me be on the frontline,” You’re such a jerk. “You know he won't," He knows he's got my invisible balls in a choke hold. "I’ll build you an Iron Man armor,” I don’t want to. “Create some kind of fusion between my family’s technology and your father’s image so you can bear the indignity of wearing it. I'm on the forefront of a huge breakthrough, its going to generate billions and billions but what it will really do is reinvent Iron Man once more, you'd be the most powerful force on the planet. You could stand up to Hulk when I plug my new power into Iron Man tech." Cold Fusion, its going to work. "You want to be a hero, this is your chance!” I’ll make you even better than they were. She put out her hand, “Lets go home together, show everyone that… we’re better than our parents inability to compromise.” It was hard for her to give, her father never gave in. Her jaw was tight. Her back teeth clenched.

₪ 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖘 𝖔 𝖗 𝖗 ¥ 𝖘𝖊𝖊𝖒𝖘 ₮0 𝖇𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉•.•• ••.••.•• ••.•╭♥

Petre had grown up under the fire of being a Stark, she had learned not to pay attention to what people said about her or her father but when Veck ripped into her she felt emotional pain. It cut across her belly, a forced seppuku. I’ve worked so hard stay even close to what my father expects of me… thirteen hour school days since I was six years old, I’ve never had a sip of alcohol, I’ve never been to a party without my fathers permission… I’ve never even had a boyfriend… she wouldn’t cry, crying was as difficult for Pete as saying sorry. Only Veck can do this to me! “I care and so does my father but you obviously don’t and that’s screwed up, you should care more than anyone about the memory of your own father,” She felt her heartbeat picking up. Her slow words came, heavy with disappointment but it wasn’t the disappointment of not having her way. It was a deeper sorrow. One that was disappointed in him and sad for the legacy she saw as being so bright and right, one that he didn’t seem to care about. I told Papa I would make this work but it’s falling apart…and it hasn’t even started yet, she jerked foreword and grabbed Veck’s wrist. “We’re not finished here! We have to work this out, even if you don’t join the Avengers we both have things that need to be said, Veck! What if I have Papa come down and talk to you, is that what this is? You can’t take a woman seriously? How about a man than?” She pulled out her phone, ready to make the call. She wouldn’t let him go, not that easily. “Regardless if the Avengers re-forms or not, there’s more going on here!” Pete didn’t want to hint at that, not yet, but in her desperation to get him to stay she dropped it.

₪ 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖘 𝖔 𝖗 𝖗 ¥ 𝖘𝖊𝖊𝖒𝖘 ₮0 𝖇𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉•.•• ••.••.•• ••.•╭♥

“We both have to lead by example, Veck,” Pete pressed. “And I resent you holding it against me I look up to my father and-” Screw this. She showed him empty hands. “You know what? You don’t deserve to stand in your fathers position. I’ll lead the Avengers on my own, I’m smarter than everyone and I can be objective.” She felt crushed, she had truly thought she could reach him and that things would work out. Papa can make this stuff work, why can’t I? I don’t understand! She stared at the phone, thinking of her father and how she was going to tell him that things hadn’t gone so well. That hardly anyone had showed up to the meeting in the first place and those who had didn’t seem like they were interested and a few were blatantly not interested. “Besides that Veck,” Pete gave a single laugh. “You’ve been registered for years, stupid. Papa put you in the system himself. Did you forget that the people running the entire program sort of know your secret identity? We even keep the photo updated.” She scoffed to the side. “Moron. Just get out.” Pete was feeling the sensation of being wrong. She felt a flush of anger at the hours she had already put into the design of the suit for Veck, never doubting that she’d be able to convince him to be part of the Avengers. “…such a waste of time, half the people in your stupid resistance are registered and don’t even know it.” It was pure spite at him, just wanting to lash out as she felt her power drifting away and her control over the situation totally floating down the creek without a paddle.

₪ 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖘 𝖔 𝖗 𝖗 ¥ 𝖘𝖊𝖊𝖒𝖘 ₮0 𝖇𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉•.•• ••.••.•• ••.•╭♥

Let him go... Pete closed her eyes tightly. She turned and leaned into the nearest desk, Now I have to tell Papa... I better head out to headquarters and get this in before Miss Hill puts him in a foul mood and makes this even harder for me. She felt all energy flood from her and a few tears dripped down the right side of her face, which she wiped away quickly. Why do you hate me, Veck? I'm... the young woman couldn't even think it. That word that Starks did not say.

Sorry.


Continued in Next Scene: My Passion