(A/N): Hello, my fellow fanfictioners! Just wanted to let y'all know that this chapter is newly revised, and some things said may contradict a few of the things in the future chapters. It's nothing major, just little nit-picky things. I'm currently revising the other chapters so hopefully that will change soon. :) That is all!

Avengers: Branded

More Than a Shadow

Another stretch of waiting; another sleepless night of watching. The hour was well past midnight, and still there was no sign of his return. She was slumped down on a black leather couch in her father's living room with her legs dangling over the arm. The lights remained off, but she could still make out the bulky shapes of the many furnishings that lined the top room of the private mansion. She waited there for him to arrive most every night when he was off on one of his missions. He had created this room as a sort of crash site: there was a bar, a large flat-screen, and plenty of alcohol to go around. However, when she was present she refused to let him drink himself into a puddle of hangover mess. Due to her adamant hate of beer he – for the most part – refrained from drinking too much in her presence.

The thought of her father had her propped up on her elbows as her eyes searched the horizon through the wall-sized window. Outside, the stars shone brightly beyond the ocean, but dimmed as they reached over New York City. Other than the stars, though, there was nothing in the sky. Not even a passing airplane.

She had stayed up all night waiting for her father to come back from some unknown task he had to complete. Though he had fought and won many battles before, she couldn't help but be nervous. Winning battles did not necessarily mean coming out in a reasonable physical condition. In fact, there were times in which her father was literally seconds from death. These she was not present for, but rather had to be informed by her father over text or call after she hadn't seen him for a few days. Of course, not seeing him for even weeks on end was normal. Not receiving pestering texts from him every day, however, was not. He couldn't very well use his phone in critical condition.

A shiver passed down her spine as she thought about the time he was kidnapped and taken to Afghanistan as a bargaining-tool-slash-weapons-master. No one would tell her anything of the situation except, "Don't worry, Tyler, we'll get him back," and etcetera other pitying or comforting comments. That was not a time she enjoyed to remember, nor was it a time in which she was able to sleep at night.

This night was thankfully different, for she stayed up not because she hadn't heard from her father but because of his classified business he always told her about. It was actually ironic, her situation. He told her everything she wasn't supposed to know, yet there were only two people who knew that she was his daughter. Ever since she could remember he hid her from the rest of the world to protect her, which made sense due to the business he was in. She was home-schooled all the way through high school and now in her freshman year of college she was enrolled online. She was tired of being "protected." She wanted something more; she wanted to have friends that knew her real name instead of some alias her father had given her to use. She thought that maybe, just maybe, if he let her learn how to fight like he did then she could be more than just a shadow, doomed to always be less than her billionaire, super hero, genius father.

A shadow – she flinched at the word. No matter how close she was to her father she would always feel that way. She wasn't a genius, she wasn't loved by millions of people, and she couldn't even hold a job for more than two weeks; most likely because she always stayed awake when he left the house. It was insanely childish, but she often felt that she couldn't sleep when he went out, even if it was just for some laid-back party he was supposed to attend for good publicity. He always managed to turn those into some life-risking stunt anyway. Sometimes she wondered if perhaps her life would be a healthier one if she was in another home. Those were the times she remembered his sarcastic comments and cheeky grins, and those were the times she smiled to herself in reminiscence of his humor. She would rather go through her life a whole other secretive time with her dad than be bounced around from one place to another until she found a family that accepted her.

The sound of burning fuel reached her ears, and her head snapped up. She again propped herself on her elbows and looked outside to see her father's red and gold iron suit landing on the platform that extended from the balcony. She jumped off the couch and jogged forward to meet her father. She stopped in the frame of the glass door that led outside. As his mask folded back and was removed by a piece of extending machinery, Tony gave her an annoyed look.

"I thought I told you to get some sleep," he said as the rest of the suit was stripped away, "you haven't had a full night's rest for days."

"You did mention that, but I tend not to listen when you leave the house and don't return until karaoke night is over at your favorite bar. A girl can worry." She fell into step with her father as he passed her and headed toward his room. "Dad, you didn't even tell me where you were going tonight."

Tony raised an eyebrow and looked down at her. "Tell me, when was the last time I failed to return after I left?"

"As I recall, there have been three times in which you have almost died after neglecting to tell me where you were going, and even more in which I knew where you were and what you were doing. I don't care how brilliant your suit is, you can't just- Tony, are you even listening to me?"

He was staring ahead at the empty hallway and Tyler was almost certain she heard him hum a few notes of an AC-DC song. When he didn't answer, Tyler rolled her eyes and stepped in front of him so that he had to stop short to avoid running into her. She continued when he looked down at her with confusion. "I don't like to be left in the dark. What if you disappear for a week and then some secret agent comes to tell me that you've died in an extraterrestrial attack or something?"

Tony knew she was speaking of his most recent noble deed in which he had to redirect a missile aimed at Manhattan during an alien attack. She had been watching TV at the time – ordered by Tony to stay inside and hidden in the basement. By the evil glare and silent treatment she had given him for the next few days after the incident, it was evident that she wasn't happy. It wasn't as though he hadn't told her about what he was doing but… well, she didn't know everything until after it happened. That frightened her, especially due to his history of what she considered to be self-injury. With a small, comforting smile he placed his hands on her shoulders and for a fleeting moment Tyler thought he was going to be serious. He wasn't.

"You watch too much Dr. Who. An alien attack really isn't that common." He moved her aside and continued to stride toward his bedroom. Tyler turned around to stick her tongue out at him and then quickly ran her fingers through her thick hair that was thousands of tiny, black curls. She watched her dad for a moment before she caught up to him and matched the pace of his brisk walk.

"Dad, I need to talk to you about something," she said to him.

"Oh boy, this should be fun. Can I have a drink first?"

Tyler glared at him and he raised his shoulders in a shrug.

"What? It's a legitimate question."

"It isn't if you desire the ability to make children."

Tony stopped in front of his door and looked down at her with a slight scowl due to her implication. "Is that a threat?" he asked. "Whose voice controls Jarvis and his self-defense system?"

Without waiting for an answer he smiled sardonically and stepped inside of his room.

"Empty threats, Dad," Tyler huffed as she followed him. "You can't intimidate me."

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing when you threatened to disable my manly extension." He paused in the middle of the floor and looked around as if he forgot what he was going to do now that he was in his room.

"Tony, come on," Tyler pleaded. "I need to talk to you."

"You were the one who started it, weren't you?" Tony asked rhetorically as he moved past his large, king-sized bed to a cabinet that was placed above a small counter. He opened the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of scotch and a glass to pour it in. Here, he stopped and looked up at his daughter expectantly. "You were supposed to give up and go to bed by now."

Tyler just looked at Tony who stared right back with an expression so innocent it was almost sickening. It didn't help that Tyler knew him and he definitely wasn't clueless when it came to just about everything, even when he acted as though he was. When her father continued to hold his poison-in-a-bottle without giving he slightest hint that he was interested in what she had to say, she marched right up to him and snatched the scotch out of his hands before he could do anything about it.

"Hey!" he protested and lunged forward to take it back. Tyler spun out of his reach and darted out to the balcony attached to his room. Tony followed suit – he was anything but willing to give up his scotch. The last time Tyler had taken it the bottle ended up smashed three stories below on the concrete surrounding the pool. It wouldn't be so big of a deal if it was some cheap champagne or name-brand beer, but this was scotch. Not just any scotch, but expensive, strong, delicious Chivas Regal. It would be a crime to resign such a beautiful creation to a disgraceful end so far below him where he couldn't reach without having to expend more energy than he cared to.

As expected, when he exited his room onto his balcony he found that his daughter was standing with the bottle in her hand and her arm held over the edge of the rail. Tony held his hands in front of him, palms facing downward in an attempt to stop Tyler from dropping the precious liquid.

"Whoa, now, calm down. There is no need to drop that; it's my last bottle," he said cautiously.

"Well, I might hold onto it," Tyler replied, swinging the bottle back and forth, only barely keeping her grip on it, "Are you listening?"

"Yes, yes, just don't drop the bottle," he pleaded.

"Only if you're listening, Tony."

Tony rolled his eyes and dropped his hands in defeat. "I'll be listening when you come inside; it's the middle of fall and freezing out here."

Tyler raised an eyebrow, but sauntered forward and returned to the bedroom. As she passed Tony he tried once again to take the bottle from her; in anticipation she had kept it well out of his reach. She put the glass Tony had taken out and the scotch back into the cabinet before she turned and pointed to the bed. She didn't want him to even think about trying to go around her to make a grab for his precious drink again, so she kept her legs firmly pressed to the cabinet until he sat down. When she was sure he wasn't going to try anything, she took a seat next to him.

"I'm going to be out of college in three years," Tyler started (much to the dismay of Tony), "and I can't help but wonder what exactly I am supposed to do when I graduate, considering I don't technically exist."

Tony tossed his head back with exasperation. "Not this again, Tyler," he dropped his head so he could look at her, "I thought we already talked about this."

"Yes, and we came up with a conclusion that you neglected to follow through with."

"What? I thought we agreed that you don't need to do anything because of all the money I have."

"No, that's what you decided, Tony," she looked him in the eye with steadfast determination. "I am not going to live the rest of my life in hiding. From the day I met you, you kept me from the rest of the world; I don't know why, I can only assume that it was for a good reason. I'm old enough now to take care of myself, but I can't do that unless I'm given the chance to step out from behind your shadow. Every day you either bring to the world a new invention to make life easier or you protect people from evil super villains. I want to be a part of that; there is nothing else I'd rather do more. I'm not smart enough to invent some crazy piece of Stark Tech, but I do believe that I am perfectly capable of learning how to-"

"Stop right there," Tony interrupted, "I am not allowing you to start risking your life every day just because you have nothing better to do."

"Why not? You do it all the time."

"It's who I am, Tyler. I am Ironman; and I am the insane, idiotic Tony Stark that every criminal in their right mind wants to get rid of. I won't allow you to plaster a target on your back just because it's what I do."

"But I am a Stark, too, Tony. I can't make Stark Tech, so why don't you allow me to use it? And why doesn't anyone in the world other than Pepper know of my existence? Am I that much of a humiliation to you?"

"No, that's not-" he broke off as he ran a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh, "Tyler, you are anything but a humiliation to me. You're smart, even if you're not a genius like me, and you're beautiful, kind, fun, I could go on with all of the things I am proud of in you. I don't broadcast you to the world because you'd be followed in everything that you do, even if you just went out to the movies on a Saturday night. I don't want your life to be taken away because you can't do anything without the press finding out about it." He looked at her with sincerity that he only showed a few times throughout his life. Despite his genuine wish to protect her, he knew that he couldn't keep her in a shroud of secrets all of her life – she needed to make her own start. He hoped that if he could give her a chance to make a start in a world that he wasn't so important, then maybe she wouldn't be attacked by the paparazzi every day. "What do you want me to do?" he asked softly.

Tyler blinked in surprise. Of all the things she expected, Tony giving in so easily was not one of them. "I… I was sort of thinking you should teach me how to use the suit."

Tony almost choked on his surprise as he tried to stop random sounds from exiting his throat. "Seriously?" he practically squeaked.

"Yes, seriously. Don't tell me you're scared to do it," she paused and a quirky smile formed on her lips. "Astro Boy," she insulted playfully. Tony tilted his head a bit and scowled.

"For your information, Miss Swan, there is not a single thing existing on this earth that can scare me. Except maybe Pepper when she's mad."

Tyler's smile grew, part due to her playfulness and part because of offense taken, and she shoved her father down onto the pillows of his bed. "I told you not to call me that!"

Tony chuckled and threw a pillow at her. "Then don't call me Astro Boy."

Tyler caught the pillow and narrowed her eyes at him in preparation to speak.

"Don't say it," Tony said quickly with a finger pointed at her.

"Astro Boy," she responded rebelliously.

"Shouldn't have done that," Tony reprimanded as he tackled Tyler onto the bed and started mercilessly tickling her. She squealed and tried to push him off of her but found it hard to do when she was laughing uncontrollably. There was also the problem that Tony weighed at least fifty pounds more than her.

"Cut it out!" she ordered between breathless laughs and strained gasps.

"You brought this on yourself," Tony chided, not pausing for even a moment. Tyler was growing weak with the relentless torture, but she somehow summoned up the last of her strength and was able to push her father over to the other side of the bed. They both laid there, Tyler heaving painfully and Tony giving her his famous billionaire smile.

"You're a jerk," she wheezed.

"I try," Tony replied with a small wink of his left eye. Tyler stuck her tongue out and shifted so that she was propped up on her left elbow and looking down at her father.

"So what do you say?" she asked.

"About what?"

Tyler glared at him and he sighed as he pushed himself into a sitting position. "I'll tell you what. How about you get ready tomorrow at 10:30 in the morning, and I'll take you to a place that you can learn to protect yourself, okay? If you can do that then maybe I'll let you use the suit. Maybe. Deal?"

Tyler stared at him. Was he serious? With him, it was nearly impossible to tell. But she saw none of the normal indicators that he was lying, so she could only assume that he was being truthful. In that case, yes she wanted to learn to protect herself. However, there was one catch.

"Only if its not some small-business dojo for karate or something. You know how well that went last time."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Of course not, I wouldn't dream of having to go through that situation again. So I'll take you to a secret place with secret people who will teach you secret things. Alright?"

A smile slowly spread across Tyler's face.

"Yes," she agreed happily as she threw herself on top of him in a bear hug. "Thank you so much!"

Tony chuckled as he hugged her back. "You're welcome." He separated from her and swung his legs off of the bed. "And now, you will go get some sleep so that I can have my scotch."

"No way!" Tyler said with an irritated scowl. "Jarvis, lock the cabinet containing Tony's scotch."

"Of course, Tyler," the AI replied.

"What? No," Tony ordered, "Jarvis, don't lock the cabinet containing my scotch."

"As you-"

"No, Jarvis, this is a level six," Tyler interrupted. "Lock the cabinet."

Tony glared at her as Jarvis obliged and locked the cabinet. "How dare you call a level six? That's only for emergencies!"

Tyler shrugged. "I count this as an emergency. If you start drinking that scotch then you'll get a hangover and be unable to take me to wherever it is that you plan to take me tomorrow. I'm not going to let that happen."

Tony narrowed his eyes at her. "Alright, fine, but if you're not in bed by the count of three then the Boogie Monster will tickle you to death."

Tyler rolled her eyes. "Really?" she asked with disbelief, "Dad, I'm not a little-"

"One…"

Tyler placed her hands on her hips and pinned Tony down with a hard stare. "I'm not scared of-"

"Two…"

Despite her façade, Tyler stiffened as Tony inched his way forward, his hands held up and his fingers wriggling like he was tickling the air.

"Tony, don't you dare take another-"

"Three!" Tony shouted as he lunged for his daughter. Tyler squealed despite herself as she dodged out of his grip ran from the room. He had already tickled her to near-death once that night, she wasn't about to let that happen again. She could hear Tony's heavy footsteps as he chased after her and she sped up. He was on her heels the whole time and when she reached her room she was only barely able to slip in and close the automated door before Tony could get her.

"Jarvis, keep that door locked!" Tyler ordered. Before Jarvis could reply, Tony barked another command.

"Level six, Jarvis, open the door!" The door slid open and Tony barged through. He wrapped his arms around Tyler's waist before she could do anything and hoisted her over his shoulder while roaring like a monster.

"No fair," Tyler protested and struggled to get out of his grip, but to no avail. "That was a cheap trick!" Tony threw her down on her bed with a final roar and gave her a cheeky grin.

"You used Level Six when it wasn't necessary. I was only paying back the favor."

Tyler stuck her tongue out at him for a second time and he pushed her head into the pillows.

"Good night, Miss Swan," he teased before getting up and making his way to his own room.

"Yeah, whatever, Astro Boy!" she called after him. Tony smiled at the nickname and pressed the button that closed Tyler's door. Once it was shut Tony let the smile fade from his face and walked back to his room. He thought about his and Tyler's conversation and couldn't believe how easily he gave in to those large, brown eyes of hers. You'd think he'd have been immune to it by then, especially since Tyler was no longer a little girl, but he still found it impossible to resist her pleads.

He understood where she was coming from but was still reluctant to let her use one of his suits. For one, it wasn't fitted to her small, feminine figure which could be potentially dangerous if she was caught in a blast of some sort. And he also wasn't sure if she was ready for such a big responsibility. Truthfully, though he would never admit it to anyone, the first time he used his suit he probably wasn't ready for it which led him to almost killing himself. He would need time to create a suit that would fit her, and she would probably pressure him everyday about it if he told her he was planning to make one for her. He couldn't leave her hanging, especially when he gave her his word to teach her the next day. That was, admittedly, not the best idea he'd ever had, but it was too late to take it back. So the only thing he could do (and he cringed at the thought) was call Fury and get him to recruit her or at least show her what went on in SHIELD HQ. Even if it was supposed to be extremely classified. Tony had a limit to his influence with the Eye Patch and this probably extended way past the line, but he had to at least try. Besides, he had an ace in his deck that he could use if it was necessary.

When Tony again entered his room he walked over to a large desk that leaned against the wall directly across from his bed and to the left of the balcony. He tapped on an invisible screen that jumped to life, and tried not to think about that delicious scotch that was locked and out of his reach for the time being.

"Jarvis," he said, "get Fury up on the screen."

"Right away, Sir," Jarvis answered before he pulled up a program and searched the contacts for Fury. Jarvis accessed the link and the sound of a phone ringing came from the speakers hooked up to the computer. The Director ignored the first call – it was two o'clock in the morning after all – but Tony wasn't going to give up so easily.

"He is not picking up, Sir," Jarvis informed.

"Do whatever you have to do to get him on the screen," Tony ordered, "even if you have to hack into the S.H.E.I.L.D. intercom." There was a pause as Jarvis tried again. After a few excruciating moments of silence, the black square on the screen blinked to life and Fury's glaring, angry face popped up.

"Stark, you'd better have a damn good reason for contacting me at two o'clock in the morning."

Tony put on his best innocent expression before replying arrogantly, "Were you asleep? Because I don't see you dressed in your footie pajamas with a teddy bear, and I'm hoping you don't sleep with that black trench coat because that would be disturbing. I'd say this is perfect timing, no? Since you're obviously still conscious."

Fury tilted his head to the side and got that look that shows when he's about to start yelling or lecturing. Tony quickly began to speak before that could happen.

"Actually, Fury, I contacted you for a favor," he notified the Director bluntly. As soon as he said it, he wished he hadn't because it only seemed to make Fury even more agitated.

"At two o'clock in the morning?" he fumed, "Tony, can't you think of a better time to ask for a favor such as, I don't know… When everyone is awake?"

"Technically people in Asia are awake right now. Just saying." Tony replied. Fury looked as though he was about to rip Tony's head off through the computer screen (yes, Tony fully believed that was possible), so the billionaire held his hands up to defend himself before he said quickly, "Hold on, and let me explain." Fury glared at him, but after a moment rolled his eye. He didn't look happy, but he waved his hand for Tony to continue. "Alright," Tony began, "my daughter has been a little restless recently and wanted to do something out of the norm. So, I thought that you could show her the ropes and maybe, possibly, consider her for being a recruit?"

Fury snorted and gave Tony a stern look. "Our recruits have been trained from a very young age, and only if they show extreme potential. Do you really expect me to go out on a whim and train a girl who's been hiding her whole life in your mansion? Especially when she fails to show even a fraction of the talent you and your father have?"

"Wow, Fury… I think that's the closest you've ever come to complimenting me," Tony realized with amazement. When he saw Fury's glare sharpen (as though it wasn't already sharp enough) he sighed. "Look, I know what it seems like from your point of view, but she is a great deal more talented than you think."

"Oh, really? Then why isn't she capable of holding a job for more than two weeks? How come she's not finished with college? And why isn't her name and face plastered on even a single billboard in New York?"

"She's only nineteen, do you really expect her to be done with college already?" Tony asked shortly. After a moment of a stare down Tony looked up to the ceiling and took a deep breath. He really didn't want to reveal his trump card so soon, but it seemed like the only way to go, considering he wasn't getting anywhere based on persuasion alone. "Hold on a sec," he said to Fury as he moved to the second screen that was on his desk.

"Stark, what are you-"

"I'm showing you something that you need to see," the billionaire interrupted.

"Tony, I don't have time to-"

"Just trust me," Tony interrupted for a second time as he opened a video file he had taken of Tyler when she was just out of elementary school. "It'll only take a few moments and then you'll rethink Tyler's potential guaranteed."

Fury made a frustrated grumble but sat back with his arms crossed and watched as Tony moved the video in front of the webcam and clicked play. Tony watched the Director for any reaction as he stared at the video begrudgingly and tapped his foot in a rapid beat on the ground. Only about a minute into the video, Fury's impatience and irritation was replaced with intense interest, and even a little surprise. The corners of Tony's mouth twitched upward as he saw the transformation and waited for the video to finish. Fury remained silent even as the end came about and Tony couldn't help but raise his eyebrows as he flicked the video screen away.

"Well?" he asked. Fury's eye finally focused on Tony's face and he folded his hands on the desk in front of him.

"Alright, fine. Have it your way."

"Yes!" Tony fist-pumped and smiled from ear to ear; he wouldn't have to break his promise to Tyler. God knows how dangerous that would be. He almost hung up on Fury when a sudden thought crossed his mind. "Oh, I'm bringing her over at eleven thirty tomorrow morning, by the way. See you then, thanks for the favor; you won't be disappointed."

"Stark, wait-"

Fury's voice was cut off as Tony flicked his finger to shut down the computer. He broadened his smile and arched his back in a satisfying stretch; that went perfectly. For the most part. He had hoped to avoid using that video until later instances, but it all worked out in the end so he wasn't concerned. Before he could stop it, a yawn took over his mouth that brought tears to his eyes. He blinked a few times and tried to remember the last time he slept… and nothing came to mind. He didn't even bother to look at the clock or change as he threw himself onto his bed, mumbled a quick, "Set the alarm for ten, Jarvis," and passed out.

(A/N): R&R would be much appreciated! ^^ I'm open to suggestions for future scenes or any advice you can give. Especially on canon characterization, because I always feel like I might've written something out of character. Thanks for reading! :D