Stark Expo 2020: Opening Ceremony
Time:8 P.M.

The roar of crowd and music thumped the ground, even behind the stage it was a muffled but deep throbbing that caught in the chest and throat. The buzz of something large and excited. The stage was not all that different from her father’s last Expo in 2010, the back of the stage was a gigantic screen showing the logo for the Expo, a retro Stark logo, white and blue interchanged behind it.

Behind the huge stage Petre Stark stood. Dressed in a beautiful navy blue dress that was tight along her body with an expanse of ruffles only at the bottom and very little room to move her legs. Her hair was still short, styled with some hair gel and a pair of clip-on sapphire earrings matched her dress encased in silver. She felt abnormal, so unaccustomed to wearing such clothes but standing beside her father in his pin-striped black suit and blue tie, which matched the color of her dress. His sapphire cufflinks and white grin showing through tan skin, he stroked his neatly trimmed facial hair and listened to the sound growing, growing.

“I really never thought I would be standing here under these circumstances. At a Stark Expo spearheaded by my daughter,” He looked at her. “How are you feeling?” It wasn’t a question about nervousness. He knew she wasn’t nervous.

“Waiting for Miss Storm to show up.” Pete said unhappily. “If I keep everything on schedule, I’ll need her here soon. I-”

“You can always exit the stage and come back out with her,” Tony offered. “Sometimes you just have to roll with it, kid.”

“Roll with it? Nice.” Pete smirked. “Is that one of your hip sayings, Papa?”

“Hip enough when I say it darlin’.” He winked.

“I hope people show up.”

“By people I assume you mean some of those little friends of yours you tried to create an Avengers team out of,” Tony paused. He could see her brown tense. “Announcing the team here will only help it.”

“I really wanted Miss Storm to say a little something, people like the Fantastic Four.” The girl nibbled on her lower lip.

“You look beautiful, by the way.”

I look ridiculous. She said nothing, keeping a stern stare ahead of her as the music began to change and crowd became even louder.

“Even if you think you look ridiculous, you don’t. You wouldn’t know because your sense of style sucks for a Stark.”

“You dressed me.” He always knows what I’m thinking, Pete passed him a stern look. One of his own.

“I did, and that’s why you look good.”

“Put on your happy face, its time to woo the masses. Here we go, Papa.”

[Crowd]

The two Starks came out on stage, Tony looking as he had ten years ago as if immortalized by that suit of armor like some kind of time capsule that kept him from aging. He looked in his thirties. His child beside him seemed small, a slender flowing thing with a gorgeous skin tone and they came to stand side-by-side, Pete holding up her right arm in greeting and Tony his left. “Welcome, welcome,” Tony clapped slowly. “Ah, thank you. Well, well, what a welcome, thank you-” His smile seemed to sparkle, near catch the light.

“I love you Tony!”

“Stark!”

“Stark!”

Random cries sounded louder then others, the sharp whistles, the cries of women. Pete was focused beyond it. “First, close your eyes. Go back to the last time this place was so alive, back ten years when my father held me on this same stage in his armor,” She paused.

“And the cheerleaders. Where are those, Pete?”

“Despite popular belief you and I do have a few points we disagree on, Papa.” Pete frowned at her father interjecting in the start of her speech but the crowd laughed as a whole, more shouts and whistles cracked out from the dark globs of humanity like bolts of lightning. People loved to observe the family dynamic between the two Starks, just as they were always hungry for photos of Tony with his child and the one snapped ten years ago of him, Iron Man armor clad with his helmet snapped back, holding his recently battered child high up with both hands. Both smiling. Emotion in his eyes and lips. The perfect moment of father and child connecting as some single entity snapped and immortalized on the cover of TIME. People loved that. The crowd began to quiet. “Yes. A lot has happened, hasn’t it? Things we are proud of, things we regret, things beyond our control. All of us. I gave a speech ten years ago, my very first as a matter of fact, I don’t intend to give that same speech today.”

“Nor have we come to this stage to apologize or ask forgiveness.” Tony added.

“No.” The small girl nodded. “Stark Expo is not about anyone, it is about everyone. Over the course of this coming year we will sponsor speeches and demonstrations by the greatest minds on this planet, by people from all over the world-”

“By the poor and the rich.”

“By the strong and the weak.”

“We will host community projects, workshops, and activities.”

“And give you a view, a fresh view, of a future through the minds of the people who care about the future.” Petre extended a cybernetic hand towards the crowd. “You.”

The huge screen at their backs churned the blue and white and the Stark Expo logo faded in and out. “Revive not only yourself this year. I guarantee in experiencing, sharing, and inventing new things within yourself you will also revive your family, your friends, your community, your country, and even your world.”

“Experience the magic of the intellectual and the shared passion of your fellow man.”

“Be part of Stark Expo2020!” And the stage erupted with sprays of colored sparks and short fireworks rose up behind them along the screen. This was the moment that those who had officially accepted a position on the new Avengers were to come out onto the stage and join Tony and Petre.

Give ‘em a sight to remember Veck. Pete thought with passion she could hardly keep from saying out loud. Her unofficial boyfriend coming out in his new Cold Fusion Iron Man suit was the moment she had been the most excited about, all the work, all the build up, it was a great moment for the young Stark.