Life as Maya Stark • Iron Man's Daughter [ 1 ]

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"Maya, wake up," Tony whispered as he gently shook Maya. Maya slowly opened her eyes and saw Tony smiling at her. She quickly sat up and looked around to see that she was still in the car, but was now back at home. "What happened?" Maya asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"You fell asleep after dinner," Tony told her as he turned off the car. Tony got out of the car and opened the door for Maya who got out with a yawn. "Did Pepper get the file?" Maya asked. "I don't know. I haven't really had a chance to talk with her today, but I'm going to call her as soon as I put you to bed," Tony replied.

Maya smiled as she thought about how much fun she had had today. After the cafe, Tony had taken her to some of his favorite places to go to as a kid which included the arcade and the movies. "Thank you for today, Tony," Maya whispered as Tony shut the door behind her. Tony could tell that Maya was still pretty tired, so he picked the eight year old up and started to carry her inside.

Maya snuggled into Tony's embrace and let out another yawn as Tony said, "Anytime, kid." "Can we do this again sometime?" Maya asked sleepily, her eyes already shut once again. "Of course," Tony muttered.

Tony finally made it to Maya's room and went to place her down on her bed. He helped her take off her jacket and her shoes before he then tucked her in. "Goodnight, Maya," Tony whispered as he kissed her forehead. Maya smiled and mumbled, "Goodnight, Tony."

Tony turned off the lights and then looked over at Maya one last time. She was hugging her teddy bear and was already snoring softly. Tony smiled and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

As Tony walked down the stairs, he heard the phone ringing. He quickly walked into the living room and picked up the phone before sitting down on the couch. Tony smiled when he saw it was Pepper. He answered it, but as soon as he put the phone up to his ear, a loud beep filled the air which made him freeze in pain.

"Tony? Tony are you there?" Pepper asked on the phone, but Tony couldn't respond. Someone took the phone out of Tony's hand and then told him, "Breath." As soon as the person spoke, Tony knew who it was.

Obadiah.

Obadiah helped Tony lay down on the couch before holding up a small device in Tony's face. "You remember this one, right?" Obadiah asked as he pressed a button and the beeping sound disappeared.

"It's a shame the government didn't approve. There are so many applications regarding short-term paralysis," Obadiah said before putting the device away and walking around the couch to face Tony.

Obadiah then turned Tony's face so that Tony would look at him. "Ah, Tony," Obadiah sighed as he took out some earplugs. "When I ordered the hit on you, I was worried that I was....killing the golden goose."

Tony's eyes widened slightly. Obadiah was the one that told the Ten Rings to kill him? Tony watched as Obadiah took out a device before looking back at him. "But, you see... it was just fate that you survived it, leaving one last golden egg to give," Obadiah muttered as he used the device to start to take the arc reactor out of Tony's chest.

"You really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you? Your father, he helped to give us the atomic bomb. Now what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?" Obadiah asked. Tony jumped as Obadiah pulled the arc reactor out, along with the magnet at the end.

"Oh, it's beautiful. Ah, Tony. This is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece! Look at that. This is your legacy. The generation of weapons...with this at its heart. The weapons that will help stir the world back on course. With the balance of power in our hands. In the right hands. I wish you could see my prototype. It's not as... not as conservative as yours-" Obadiah was saying as he sat down next to Tony, but he was then cut off by the one person that Tony did not want to be in the room at that moment.

"Tony?" Maya asked as soft footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. Tony wanted to yell at Maya to run, to get out of here, but he couldn't. So Tony watched in horror as the little girl he had come to love came bounding down the stairs. Obadiah glanced at Tony and shook his head softly. "Tony, can I have a glass of water? I'm really thirsty and-" Maya trailed off as her eyes landed on Obadiah who was putting Tony's arc reactor in a case.

Maya then looked over at Tony and she paled at the sight of him. He was as pale as a sheet of paper and his whole face was etched in pain. "T-Tony?" Maya asked. She quickly looked over at Obadiah in anger and asked, "What did you do to him?" "Don't worry, Maya. He's not dead....yet," Obadiah chuckled as he closed he case and locked it.

Maya glared at Obadiah before glancing at the phone that was now lying on the table next to Tony. Before Obadiah or Tony knew what had happened, Maya had ran towards the phone and picked it up. Obadiah jumped off of the couch and took a step forward, but Maya held the phone up in the air. "One step closer and I'm calling the police," Maya threatened.

"Now you don't want to do that," Obadiah told Maya. Maya glared at Obadiah and said, "Actually I do, but go ahead and tell me why you think I don't want to call the police." Obadiah chuckled and replied, "Because if you do, the police will be too late and your father will die."

Maya glanced at Tony while Obadiah smirked at the girl. Maya let her guard down as she looked at Tony which gave Obadiah the perfect opportunity to snatch the phone out of Maya's hands. Maya watched as Obadiah threw the phone across the room before grabbing ahold of her arm. "Can't have you calling the police, so I guess you will have to come with me," Obadiah told Maya.

Maya's eyes widened and she struggled against the man's strong grip. But because she had just woken up, she wasn't as strong or aware as she would've been if it wasn't late at night. Maya quickly used her other hand to throw a punch at Obadiah, but he didn't seem fazed. Maya's jaw dropped, however she didn't give up. She continued to struggle to escape before Obadiah finally was able to grab her better.

Obadiah then looked over at Tony who was staring at Maya with wide eyes. "Too bad you had to involve Maya and Pepper. I would've preferred they lived," Obadiah said. Maya's eyes widened as Obadiah started to drag her out of the house. "No! I can't leave him! Please! Tony needs my help! He's going to die if you don't let me help him!" Maya screamed as she wiggled and kicked around wildly.

Tony tried to move, but he couldn't. So he was forced to watch Maya kick and scream as Obadiah dragged her out of the house. "No! Daddy!" Maya cried as she looked at Tony and tried to escape Obadiah's iron grip. But Tony just stared at Maya hopelessly and Maya knew that he couldn't do anything.

Obadiah grew frustrated and threw Maya out the front door. She landed on the ground hard and before she had time to react, Obadiah had grabbed her arm again and was dragging her towards his car. "Let go of me!" Maya yelled at him.

"Oh, stop struggling," Obadiah told her as he tossed her in his car. Maya went to open the other door, but the doors were locked. "Oh I know you did not just put the freaking child locks on because of me," Maya spat at the man who only shrugged.

"Tony will come and get me," Maya told Obadiah. Obadiah laughed as he started the car. Maya looked at him in confusion as the man turned to face her. "Without the arc reactor, the metal in your father's chest will be piercing his heart at any moment," Obadiah said. Maya frowned, knowing that what Obadiah was saying is true. The reactor was the only thing that was keeping her father alive and without it....Well, Maya didn't even want to think about that.

Obadiah turned back around in his seat and started driving away from Maya's house. "So answer this question for me," Obadiah told Maya as he looked at her through the rearview mirror.

"How can your father possibly save you if he is dead?"