Chapter 10: Interviews or Feeding the VulturesNotes:Yo! And keep in mind that just cause Tony thinks something is the situation doesn't mean that's actually the dynamic happening. Cause he's got the social skills of a shiny rock.
And on Daisy's age like the show is weird about it. Cause like there's no way she's out of her teens in season 1. Liked kids with shit experience in the foster system like her do not cling to the fairy tale their parents are out there that hard that long. Like just... there is a streak of idealistic naivety in some ways with Daisy. One which is tempered as the show goes on, but she's way too wide eyed and bushytailed for her background to not be a teenager in s1. Also then in s2 she's like 'I'm 25' which bullshit. Then in s7 they're like she's thirty. But that's not possible with the timeline?! Like unless the stuff in space between s5 and s6 took like four years. Because s4-s5 takes place over the course of four months. Then s6-7 is what a month? And I'll give you s3 might have been six months...maybe. If you really squint and then maybe six months between the end of s2 and start of s3. But frankly it's bullshit and they're just trying to make Daisy's age match the actresses which is dumb and doesn't work. So I'm saying Daisy was late 17 in the beginning of s1. Because it makes more sense dang it.
Chapter TextTony knew his Spawn was plotting. He hadn't known Darcy long, and honestly had only interacted with her a half dozen or so times. But he knew when a Stark was up to something. It was an expression he saw in the mirror frequently. And it was… he didn't know how to feel about it. "She's up to something Pepper."
"She's kept you from signing anything binding or supporting terrible laws." Pepper replied, her eyes not coming up from her emails. "I like her."
He ran a hand through his hair. "I have to do something! Why can't you see that?"
"No one is saying you shouldn't do something. Darcy and I just agree that you need to be careful about what that something is." Pepper looked up. "You're just a man Tony."
Tony turned sharply. "No! Don't you get it? If I could have stopped it and people still got hurt then it's on me."
A voice cleared from the doorway. "You need therapy Poprocks."
"Spawn." His jaw tightened, he just...he couldn't take more people judging and criticizing him when he was trying to protect them.
Darcy looked at him. "You're a good guy Poprocks. And I have something you can sign on and support." She brandished a packet of paper. "It's basically a resolution and congressional bill for enhanced individuals to be held accountable for their actions. It also has a minor expansion of good samaritan laws and legal requirements for insurance companies to cover damages caused by aliens, enhanced, Nazis, evil scientists, and all things weird and freaky. And it paves the way to building a system of checks and balances for enhanced individuals. Your legal team recommends our first case is once Capsical finds his boyfriend Barnes."
"Steve won't agree to that." Tony took the resolution that could very easily be turned into national law. But as he skimmed he felt something...unclench. His Spawn wasn't siding against him, not completely. She was at least listening. "And this isn't enough."
Darcy rolled her eyes. "Duh. But good legal code isn't shoved through in a week. It takes years of careful work. We need legal checks and balances but we need to avoid turning into a police state. Which is why this is a solid start. I mean did you build your suit in one go? Or are you on like the n'th version?"
"Alright." Tony read through the legal notes on the probable legal affects. It was something. Not enough, never enough. But it was something. "And Steve? Because he won't agree to this." Resentment sharpened his tone.
Darcy passed a second, and significantly fatter copy, to Pepper. "We stick Quake on him. And I talked to Mrs Gonzalas from legal and she's pretty certain we can get Barnes off with mandated metal help. So it shows even the Avengers aren't above the law, and sets a precedence of enhanced being held accountable for their crimes."
"Steve won't listen to compromise." And didn't that hurt. That Steve wouldn't even get off his high horse to listen to him!
Darcy looked positively feral. "Quake can punch some sense into him. And if he wants one of the best hackers with SHIELD's full backing to help him, he'll listen to her. She's got the time since you fired her. Besides, he's not totally wrong. If you two would just compromise I could have finished my Spidertasers already."
"I'll sign onto this. Hell I'll support it. But kid I don't think that's going to get through his thick skull." Tony was going to have to see what else his Spawn was working on. And he refused to accept only the babysteps she was offering. But he'd take the support where he could get it.
Pepper smiled, stepping over and hugging Darcy. "I knew unleashing you on legal was a good idea. Now why are you here instead of just emailing this to us?"
"You should turn on the tv in two minutes." His Spawn had managed to move within touching distance of him and bumped her shoulder against him. "This bill isn't the only thing I put into motion."
Tony looked at the screen. "FRIDAY turn on the news."
They watched as the news anchor straightened the papers on his desk. "And now we have Amira Ahemd with Quake and Spiderman."
The screen changed to a familiar looking reporter. Tony was mostly positive this was one of the reporters who'd been in the middle east reporting on the Ten Rings. Amira was sitting across from Quake. Spiderman perched on the back of the couch behind her.
Amira gave that banal reporter smile meant to put a person at ease. "So first of all I think the most popular question for you two is if how long have you been a couple?"
"Partners." Quake laughed. "But his face gets real red and adorably cute whenever he sees the Spiderquake tag, so please keep it up. It's hilarious, untrue, but totally makes my day."
Amira gave Quake and the slightly shifting Spiderman a look. Which point. But the reporter kept going. "You worked for SHIELD?"
"I was recruited a year before Hydragate." Quake answered. "And I didn't have powers when they recruited me."
Amira's pen touched her notebook of questions. "Why recruit you then?"
"When I was sixteen I ended up involved with the cyber terrorist organization the Rising Tide." Her lips pulled up slightly. "This is all available in the data dump. But I'd been following internet chatter about a super soldier experiment in LA. The SHIELD team investigating black bagged me and I got the choice idiot teenagers involved with terrorism get. I could join SHIELD or be prosecuted."
Amira hummed. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but this was two weeks before your eighteenth birthday wasn't it?"
"It was." Quake laughed. "I mean I managed to be kidnapped/held hostage four times before I turned eighteen."
Amira's eyes lit. "Let's talk about that. According to the data dump, and most of the details have been scrubbed, you were put into foster care to hide your Inhuman status?"
Tony's knuckles turned white as he listened. Christ, Quake was still just a kid. And damn it all he could see why his Spawn wanted him to see it. Because this was her telling him what would happen if he supported the more useful laws. It would make horror stories like the one being painted by the reporter a reality for anyone who was enhanced. It didn't change the fact it was necessary. But not everyone would understand that people like them were dangerous.
He mostly blocked out the story being gently pulled out. Most of it still classified, but before her powers Quake had been a loyal agent. And it was painting the fact most of her missions had been protecting the enhanced from the world. Not the other way around.
"What was your worst injury you received while with SHIELD?" Amira asked, she clearly already knew the answer to that.
Quake seemed to pause. And then she reached up unzipping the front of her suit. She was wearing a black tank top underneath. Rolling her tank top up a few inches showed what was clearly two gut shots. "I was shot twice. I think I flatlined sixteen times?"
"This was still when you were eighteen?" Amira prompted. She continued after Quake nodded. "And why were you shot?"
Quake's face twitched ever so slightly, she seemingly didn't notice that Spiderman's hand was on her shoulder. "As bait to find an alien drug, but also because I'd found the enhanced agent who was being turned into Deathlock against his will."
"And despite nearly dying, your heart physically stopping multiple times you stayed with SHIELD after Hydra." Amira led.
Quake stilled in a way that screamed silently. "It didn't change why we did it. Being an agent of SHIELD means something. It still means something to me."
"But you left?" Amira challenged.
Quake brushed some hair behind one ear. "A mission went wrong. And that is classified. But Director Mace and I have an agreement. I'm technically an independent contractor for SHIELD. It sounds kinda bad, but really it's just they can call me in if they need me. I'm not the only Inhuman with that deal either."
"So you support SHIELD?"
Quake huffed. "Yes. Although chances of me arguing with the director about individual policy is pretty high. Any superior who's had to work with me can tell you I can be the worst." Her lips pulled up in amusement.
Spiderman outright snickered, only to be whacked in the gutt by Quake.
Tony turned to look at his kid. "You're framing her as a good person, protector of normies and enhanced alike. And she's got enough trauma to endear her and other Inhumans to the public." He snorted. "And give SHIELD more legitimacy so they can be turned into a police force for enhanced. Impressive kid. But what are you going to do when an Inhuman like your friend kills hundreds?"
"Let the system arrest, prosecute and deal with it. Also encourage Quake to punch them in the face a few times." Darcy looked at him. "Poprocks no one can prevent all crime."
On the screen behind them Quake was saying how New York was Spiderman's city, not hers. It would be some nice soft balls about the city to close up now. Which, he should have expected his Spawn would be good.
////
Daisy rolled her neck. God she needed to punch something after that interview. She accepted it needed to be done, but she was not a fan. "It wasn't the whole story."
"I can tell." Wanda replied from where she was leaning against the shipping container. "But it was still true."
She smiled tightly over her shoulder. "Well the mind control and being turned into a weapon against my team doesn't play well in the press. And I doubt they wanted to know about how I was involved with my SO, the psychopathic Hydra agent from hell." Her teeth clenched.
Wanda had that look that said she was getting more than Daisy was saying and was curious about that. It was a fairly peculiar expression. "I don't know. The media would like that I think."
"Yeah apparently I'm too damaged to know that Spiderkid's my soulmate." Daisy couldn't help the snigger at that. "There's fanfic."
Wanda's brow pulled slightly. "What is fanfic?"
"Oh I'm going to blow your mind with that after this." Daisy adjusted her gauntlets. "First though let's work on you containing explosions."
Wanda paled, but braced herself seriously and nodded. "Alright."
"So I generate vibrations, but they can be used as shock waves. And I need to work on channeling vibrations without my hands. So I'm going to generate vibrations, you're going to contain me." Daisy stretched her arm across her chest while walking out into the open.
Wanda followed. "If I can't, is this area safe?"
"It's safe. Like as safe as we're going to get in the city." Daisy rolled her other shoulder. "We stuck a half dozen of Darcy's shock absorbers into the ground so I can't start a massive earthquake."
Wanda seemed to relax, wisps of red flickering around her fingers, her eyes red. "Alright, let's begin then."
Daisy closed her eyes and felt the air around her and it began to shiver. She could feel as Wanda's energy surrounded and contained the vibrations, reflecting them back into her.
Her teeth rattled in her head, but she could feel it. The vibrations were a part of her. And she commanded them outward. Forced them faster and faster. Shoving them out, her own vibrations rocking off of themselves harder and harder into themselves. Her entire being was nothing but the power she was commanding.
And then everything exploded outwards.
Gasping for air she slumped to the ground. Daisy laughed breathlessly. That was awesome. She hadn't known she could do that. Rolling onto her back she panted. "Wanda?"
"Ow." Wanda's voice came from further away than it should be.
Daisy's head lolled to the side. She blinked as she saw Wanda slumped against the side of a shipping container that had been twenty feet closer last she'd checked. "You hurt?"
"How powerful are you?" Wanda hissed.
Daisy lolled her head back to the sky. She reached up touching her nose and pulled her fingers away. Yup, that was a bloody nose. "I don't actually know. Simmons thinks my powers are growing though. And channeling them too much shatters my bones so…"
"Are you ok?" Wanda sounded alarmed.
She considered her body. "Nothing's broken." Daisy sat up and climbed to her feet. "That was super trippy. Ready to go again?"
"You're not serious?" Wanda asked.
Daisy wiped the blood off her lip. "Try standing three yards farther back from me this time. You need to know what the distance limit is for you to contain explosions. Once we have that we can have you work on launching me while I'm mimicking an explosion."
"That's…" Wanda looked at the cracked and dented concrete.
Daisy bounced on her toes. "Come on!" She raised her hands and beckoned Wanda forward.
"I did not know I could do that." Daisy laughed, dropping a juice pouch into Wanda's shaking hands. "You threw me and then the vibrations...super cool."
Wanda stared at the juice pouch. "Thank you."
"Anytime." Daisy nudged Wanda's shoulder. "So the kid should be here soon. Ready for joining me on video?"
Wanda curled slightly, and then sipped from her juice pouch. "This shouldn't be public."
"It shouldn't be. But do you think you can find every person and apologize individually?" Daisy sighed. "I don't like wasting time on public opinion. But Darcy's not wrong."
Wanda nodded, she turned to look at Daisy properly. "She's not wrong a lot is she?"
"Well she did suggest we kidnap a journalist. So she's not always right." Daisy laughed at the expression on Wanda's face. Her eyes teared up slightly. "I'm not even kidding. She's been talking about time travel so she can bitch slap Tony's dad for fucking him up. The rage is amazing."
Wanda sighed, shaking her head. "I like you all, but you are also very confusing."
"Well after the video you can help us with the gauntlet." Daisy adored the obstacle course she'd made for Peter. She ran through it while he was in school sometimes. It was a genuine challenge even before you added in humans with paintball guns and not just trip wires and motion triggered mounted paintball guns.
Wanda looked at her with far too much suspicion. "The gauntlet?"
"So the kid is too young for proper field experience right?" Daisy really liked the damn thing. It'd been a lot of work. Incidentally, she did not handle being bored well. And Melinda May's lessons on securing a location had fun applications.
"It's not that half of the shipping yard you warned me not to go into is it?" Wands just...she sounded tired.
Daisy grinned. "Of course! Can't have you setting off the traps. It takes an hour to reset everything."
"Of course." Wanda let out a huff, her lips pulling up. "You are a ridiculous person."
Daisy hummed, sipping at her own juice pouch. "You're invited to dinner by the way. Aunt May wants to meet you since you're training with us now."
"Aunt May?" Wanda raised a brow while looking at her.
Daisy knew that Wanda had some empathic abilities. Keeping secrets from her had been pretty doomed. But it didn't mean telling her everything. Like that she and Darcy lived with the Parkers. At least not right away. "Spiderman's Aunt. She worries about him."
"Ah." Wanda looked out over the pretty wrecked section of the shipping yard. "What is the plan exactly then?"
////
Peter landed next to his sister and pulled his mask off. "Hey guys, gals...should I say gals? Or is it sexist to say gals instead of guys?"
"Either one is fine." Daisy's smile was slightly punch drunk and absolutely thrilled looking.
He looked between the very dusty Daisy who was half slumped against the shipping container she was using as a backrest. Her nose bleeding sluggishly. Then there was Wanda who looked like she'd been wrung out and was equally as dusty. Also they'd clearly gotten into the juice pouches because there were a half dozen empty pouches scattered around them. He slowly looked at the training yard. It was...it looked like multiple bombs had gone off.
Peter's voice pitched high. "WHAT HAPPENED?!" He dropped in front of Daisy, his hands on her upper arms. "Are you ok!?"
"Totes, Wanda can contain an explosion for a distance of 100 meters." Daisy raised her hand.
Wanda's eyebrow raised, but she did high five Daisy.
He yanked the first aid kit off of his belt and pulled out some gause and dabbed at Daisy's nose. "I should call Aunt May. Or Darcy? Do you need the hospital?"
"I'm fine." Daisy waved off, but she let him inspect her face. "We'll have to work on redirecting explosions next time."
Wanda spoke up. "We are both mostly uninjured. Though I am very bruised."
"We have bruise cream?" His fingers twitched. Nothing was pinging his spidersense. But that didn't mean something couldn't be wrong.
Daisy reached out and ruffled his hair. "Kid it's alright. If I was actually hurt I'd tell you. I promised you and Aunt May no more hiding fractures remember?"
Peter sighed. "Right, but maybe I should be here next time you two train?"
"Your sister is the one whose idea it was to be a stand in for a bomb." Wanda replied dryly.
Daisy's head snapped towards Wanda. "You knew?"
"I can feel your bond." Wanda looked at their surprised faces. "It is...new but the texture is familial, not romantic like everyone thinks. It was the most likely conclusion."
Peter rubbed at the back of his head. "Oh wow...uh. If you could not tell Mr Stark though? I'm not sure I'm ready and I don't think Daisy is to tell him."
"Wait…" Wanda's eyes widened. "You're all Stark's kids?"
Peter shared a looked with Daisy. He held up his hands in surrender. He hadn't meant to! She rolled her eyes.
"Stark is a manwhore. And both of our mothers were married when we happened." Daisy's eyes narrowed. "It is… complicated."
Wanda clearly felt something and then laughed. "Please let me see his face when you tell him. I owe him for locking me in my room."
"Deal." Daisy shook Wanda's hand.
Peter sighed in relief. "So...we doing the video thing today? Cause if not I wanted to work on the new goggles with the electronic microweave Darcy requisitioned at SI."
"Excuse me?" Daisy's eyes were bright as she looked at him with mocking outrage. "I see how it is. I can't compete with a fully stocked lab."
He pouted. "Daisy!"
"Weeks of paintball all for nothing." She grinned at him. "I see where I rank."
Peter groaned. "You're the worst."
Wanda broke out into laughter. She smiled at them before speaking. "Thank you, both of you. But let's do this shall we?"
"I got the burner phone." Peter pulled out his phone for Spidervids only.
Daisy leveraged herself up to her feet. She held out her hand to Wanda. "Let's do this then."
"What happened is something no apology can make right. I know what it means to be the collateral in some else's war."
"If the people of Lagos ever need or want my help I will do whatever I can."
"I've spoken to the Wakandian embassy with a friend Quake introduced me to. An amount of six million is going to be donated to the reconstruction and aid."
"I know it is meaningless, but I am truly sorry. I will ensure I learn more, get better so that something like this doesn't happen again. Though I know that is a cold comfort."
Peter hesitantly stepped towards Wanda. "Do you need a hug? I uh..I'm going to hug you now. So please don't mind voodoo me." He winced. But wrapped his arms around the woman all the same.
She was tense as he patted her back fairly awkwardly. But she didn't pull away, so win? So he kept hugging her. Because she reminded him of Daisy when she'd first showed up. And Daisy needed all the hugs a person could stand. So that meant Wanda probably did too.
"Let's go get milkshakes and ruin our dinner." Daisy's hand settled on the middle of Peter's back. "I think we all need the comfort food."
Wanda finally took a step back. "That sounds good." Her voice was suspiciously thick.
"Cool." Peter's hands dropped back to his sides, fingers twitching slightly. "So uh… maybe make tonight a movie night?" He perked up looking at Wanda excitedly. "Have you seen Mean Girls?"
Wanda blinked. "I have not?" Her eyes moved to Daisy in question.
Daisy snorted, throwing an arm over Peter's shoulders and steering them towards where she'd have parked the car. "Don't worry, the kid and I'll get you caught up on movies. Probably chick flicks mostly till your brother is back."
"How is he doing?" Peter grabbed the conversational life line. Movies! He could talk about movies! And siblings, he could apparently talk about that now.
Chapter 11: Aunt May, Competent AdultNotes:Yo! Just a heads up Daisy talks about some of her behavior from when she was in LA dealing with Ghost Rider and how she basically had a death wish. So like...I don't think it's triggering, but if it is just go ahead and skip the part where Peter, Daisy and May are talking at the end of the chapter. That said I don't linger or really spend a lot of time on it. And its not graphic or anything so ya'll should be fine. But didn't want to be a dick and just not say anything.
Chapter TextDarcy happily bopped along to her soundtrack dujour as she moonwalked out of the lab. She spared a wave to Jane who was writing manically across the whiteboard. Janey would survive, intervention for food would be required but not for another three or so hours. Whistling she opened the hallway window. Pulling her earbuds out she crossed her arms. "You two ready to follow my lead?"
Peter and Daisy just looked at her with 'duh' expressions on their faces as they climbed in through the window. Well Daisy had a 'duh' expression. Peter's head was under his mask so it was more a general aura of 'duh' in his case.
"Right, to the gym!" Darcy announced and led them down the hall.
-Ms Lewis, do you require any assistance?- FRIDAY's voice asked.
Darcy pretended not to see the excited light in her sister's eye. "No thanks FRIDAY. Go ahead and put Quake and Spiderkid here as my guests. And tell Tony he might enjoy the video footage from the gym."
-Of course Ms Lewis.- FRIDAY agreed like the excellent AI she was.
She grinned. "Cool, now come amigos! We have a Super Soldier to defeat in public debate."
"Think he'll sign something for me? Cause I have a poster." Daisy asked, though her stride said she was so here to kick some ass.
Peter bounced. "I can't believe we get to meet Captain America!"
"Sup." Darcy waived at a very confused looking paralegal on the elevator as they all climbed in. She returned her attention to her siblings. "And sure you can ask him. But can you keep the fangirling till after you've punched some common sense into him? Cause Tony's going to have an aneurysm if he and Steve keep arguing without either of them willing to compromise."
"Uh….." Paralegal trapped in the elevator started.
Darcy sighed. "You get used to it." She turned to Daisy. "Didn't AC want you to get the Captain to sign some trading cards or something?"
"He's got the whole set. Very proud." Daisy shrugged, which only looked slightly weird when she was in the full Quake get up. The face mask was kinda ridiculous but safety first.
Peter adjusted his right webshooter. "Oh hey did you guys see that interview Amira did with your Inhuman friend?"
"Yeah, I don't think America needed to know a redeeming feature of SHIELD was her handler's butt." Daisy snorted. "Though at least they're actually a thing now and not just circling each other and drowning everyone in sexual tension. And Mack's ass is almost as nice as his arms."
Darcy had enjoyed that interview. Elena of super speed may have insisted on a dumb ass mask for an interview. But it had been wonderfully viscous about the risks to Inhumans. Also she could see why her sister liked her team. "I don't know, some solid biceps and pecs sound like excellent incentives to me."
"You both are gross." Peter groaned.
He was saved by the elevator doors opening. Darcy put on her game face, it was one all humans in customer service learned, and marched out, her siblings following her like the loyal bookends they were. She walked directly to where a confused looking Steve was standing.
Steve had a towel hanging around his neck. Standing a couple paces from him was Sam, who was panting, large sweat stains on his workout gear, and general exhaustion as he squinted at Natasha. Which, Natasha was reading something to them off of a Starkpad. As they entered all three sets of eyes looked up.
"Sup!" Darcy greeted them while marching forward.
Steve squared himself like he was going to go into battle. But Natasha spoke before he could stick his foot in his mouth. "Ah, I was wondering when you would pay us a visit." Her lips were raised in amusement.
Darcy grinned. "You're totes my favorite Avenger after Thor." She stuck her hand out to Natasha. "Now how do you feel about negotiation on the topic of legal oversight for the Avengers?"
"You're the one who's been using Wanda for views." Steve's eyes narrowed as he stepped forward.
Surprisingly it was Sam who stopped Steve with a low whistle. "Impressive work."
"What?" Steve spun on Sam, confusion painted across his face.
Sam wiped a towel across his face while straightening fully. "Lagos was a shit show. And the kid needed some help and she doesn't work through angst by punching sand bags like you Cap. Besides, with her brother still at the farm her support network was us, and we've been chasing down Hydra."
"So that makes it alright to make a spectacle of her?" Steve's voice had a dangerous edge, but he was listening.
Darcy rolled her eyes. "Wanda got to apologize, make meaningful reparations, and she and Quake are training so that particular situation never happens again. The media is asking questions about at what age people should be allowed in combat no matter how enhanced. There's debate over whether there would have been more or less casualties if Wanda hadn't been there. But it's not just ripping her to shreds anymore."
"Well done." Sam huffed. "How did you get that reporter to start on a cross country survey of Inhumans and all the organizations legal and illegal trying to use them? Cause that's some impressive reading. I'm guessing you're responsible for Everhart turning General Ross into public enemy number 1 too?"
Daisy laughed. "That was me. Well acquiring the intel, Darcy picked who to give it to" She shrugged at the looks. "Intelligence work. Discredit the leaders of enemy action."
"It's certainly working." Sam looked impressed.
Natasha tipped her chin up slightly. "Rumor has it you're responsible for the bill that was just signed into law. Pushed it through while we were dark?"
"Steve would have tried to stop it." Darcy was unrepentant. She grinned. "So I brought powered back up cause research says you're the sort who needs to like, throw some punches before you can have a nice civilized negotiation Capsical."
Steve opened and then closed his mouth. Then he snorted. "Alright." He looked over at Daisy and Peter who looked far more impressive in their hero get ups than in pajamas, so a good choice to wear them. "Do I want to know how Dr Foster's assistant marshalled you?"
"She fixed my gauntlets and is the only one that can cook." Daisy laughed looking far too delighted at the prospect of being punched in the face by Captain America.
Peter bounced. "It's a real honor to meet you Mr America Sir."
"Huh." Steve took in the two and then waved them to the sparring mats. Which honestly it was better described as a basketball court sized sparring space, vaulted ceiling included. "Let's see what you two have."
Daisy strode after him. "Kid you go low I go high."
Ten minutes later as Captain America went flying into the wall, his legs webbed, Peter was holding his shield while sticking to the ceiling, Darcy just felt proud. Also who actually thought high flying acrobat type Peter would be the one going low while heavy hitter Daisy would go high? It would have been a terrible idea. Which is why it just wasn't how her siblings fought.
"You want to put Barnes on trial." Natasha drawled from besides her. The woman's eyes were definitely dissecting Peter and Daisy's fighting.
Darcy hummed. "One of you all has to face legal consequence, and his case is the clearest cut win. And the biggest indictment of the dangers to enhanced people."
"Your reasons for thinking that?" She asked, her voice far too conversational.
Darcy knew she was being sussed out. "He's a beloved war hero, has historic importance, was captured by evil mcevil, is white, male, and is super dreamy looking. Sure he's a scary assassin, but what kid hasn't played him at recess? For that matter I know I'm not alone in growing up with a Bucky Bear. He's a beloved American hero captured by evil Nazis and brainwashed by evil Russians only to then be sold back to evil Nazis. The noble hero, taken prisoner and turned against Captain America, his best friend, only to come back in from the cold. It's a damn Hallmark movie."
"And if something happens to him while he's in jail awaiting trial?" Natasha probed.
She couldn't help it, she stared at the other woman. "Really? Tony'll pay bail in exchange for Steve supporting that new UN resolution requiring the Avengers to ask before crossing international borders. And what judge is stupid enough to think a jail would hold someone the Avengers couldn't? Monitoring anklet and huge bail. I guarantee it."
"He will be deemed a flight risk." Though Natasha's eyes were crinkled in a way that said she probably approved. And if Darcy thought that then Natasha definitely meant for her to think that.
Darcy went with it and hoped Natasha was being genuine. "Again, you Avengers have street cred you just don't use. And rich people don't play by normal people rules. Barnes will be fine as long as someone does something to his hair so he doesn't look like a hobo. Maybe make him practice hurt puppy eyes for the jury. If one of you has to be brought up on charges he's the best option."
"You are a very dangerous young woman Doctor Lewis." Natasha's lips twitched up. "I see the family resemblance." And oh she knew the Stark thing. Natasha turned her attention back to where Steve was flying across the sparring floor only to dent the far wall...again. "I believe I should make this slightly more fair." Her eyes flicked to Darcy for a second. "I'll make sure he listens to you."
Darcy beamed, her cheeks heating in hero worship as the coolest Avenger went to go beat up her siblings. "She's so cool."
"Not gonna argue that." Sam agreed.
She looked at the man. "Not going to go join in?"
"You could not pay me to get involved with that. Quake and Nat are smiling. And I don't know about Quake but I know that's a bad sign when Nat does it." Sam held up his hands in surrender.
Darcy sniggered, he wasn't wrong.
////
May opened the front door of her home and took in the man standing on her doorstep. "You figured it out then?"
"I'm not used to being an idiot." Tony Stark replied, the slightly panicked edge to him was worn down by exhaustion and shock.
She stepped aside. "Well you better come in, I have some leftover meatloaf. Darcy helped make it so I know it's edible."
"Your house is...nice?" Tony said awkwardly as he unabashedly looked around. His eyes lit at the side table with Darcy and Peter's latest project. He stepped over and picked up the tech, turning it around. "Miniaturized collapsing drone."
"For the Spidersuit." May explained while pulling the meatloaf out of the fridge. "Do you want something to drink?"
Tony set the drone down. "I'm good." His nose wrinkled at the sight of the star spangled throw blanket. "So…"
"They're good kids." May set the plate of meatloaf in the microwave before turning to face the man. "Darcy's turning into their ring leader. Daisy, Daisy is so good and she cares deeply. Peter, he's still caught up in having siblings and getting to be a hero."
Tony twitched slightly. "Why not come to me?"
"Daisy will have to explain that to you." May wasn't even sure of the details, or probably more than the rough sparknotes. But she knew enough. "She had a rough childhood though, and her experience with parents isn't positive. Don't push her, she mostly likes you already. Peter would have come to you already, you're his hero. But he loves his sister and Daisy isn't ready."
Tony's brow furrowed and May found herself realizing that the man was her age. He looked his actual age standing in her living room chewing over the fact he had three kids. "I get why the Spawn is so dedicated to Enhanced rights. At this point I think she has a fleet of reporters on speed dial. Where she finds the time…"
"I don't know you well Mr Stark but I'd say she gets it from you." May wasn't stroking his ego either. All the kids were bright, passionate, and stubborn as mules when they got their heels dug in. The bath incident when Peter was three came to mind.
"I don't know how to be a...dad? I'm already doing everything wrong with the Spawn. But she's at least an adult, sort of. So's Quake or..Daisy? But the kid?" Tony's hands waffled at his side.
May smiled. "You just be there. And really if you tried to parent any of them they'd destroy you out of spite. Do you think I want Peter swinging around getting shot at?"
"Is that not appropriate? He seems capable? I just saw a video of him and Quake wiping the floor with Captain America's face." Tony genuinely looked confused.
She set her hands on her hips. "He's fourteen. He can't drive, vote, drink, smoke, or even go to some movies without an adult. He's a child."
"That seems slightly unreasona….I mean perfectly reasonable." Tony winced. "Should I be taking notes? This feels like I should be taking notes."
May sighed, god another one. "You're actually worse than Daisy with feelings aren't you?"
"That is entirely possible. My emotional development is inverse to my IQ." He seemed proud as he said that, horrifyingly.
May took the meatloaf out of the microwave and shoved it at him. "I'll get you some milk. And just… when you talk to Daisy just talk AIs. She is very impressed with FRIDAY. It will save you from the inevitable angst spiral." She felt like laughing, god she was the only adult in the entire damn family. "The Spidersuit is kind of Darcy and Peter's pet project and if you try to touch that they'll revolt. But if you work on the automated paintball traps Daisy has been making them help her with, they'll just fold you into the group."
"Paintball traps?" Tony's face brightened.
She was going to regret this, or well her laundry machine was going to regret it. "Daisy calls them non-lethal rounds. I think she just thinks it's funny to shoot her brother with sparkly pink paint. But by the time he turns eighteen no one is going to be able to so much as dream of shooting him." And May approved of this. Peter could whine about pink stains on his clothing all he wanted so long as he stayed safe and whole.
"I can do paintball robots." Tony nodded thoughtfully, his eyes getting that glaze of 'ideas' Darcy and Peter got sometimes.
May poured Tony Stark a glass of milk and then politely manhandled his squawking form into a chair at the table. "You have till five. Today's Peter's turn to bring snacks to his academic decathlon practice. So Daisy's driving him and will be kidnapped by teenagers and probably continue her quest of turning the nerds into the scariest kids in high school. And I know Darcy is getting margaritas with Jane. So you have three hours to ask questions and then I'm kicking you out so the kids don't catch you."
"Is this how you ended up with all three living with you?" Tony looked at her like he was afraid she'd attach a bib to him or something.
She considered that. "Your daughter was living in a van. Peter's sister. So I suppose I did just forcefully adopt her. Darcy on the other hand moved herself in to better be able to better command her siblings."
"She is kind of terrifying." Tony agreed.
May took a seat at the table across from him. "So how did you figure it out?"
"The kid high fived the Spawn. Then...well spending five minutes around Quake and the kid and it's clear they're siblings. I was actually preparing a shovel talk for Quake." Tony looked baffled at that. "Spawn was just so dedicated to helping Enhanced, and clearly her driving inspiration was Quake and the kid."
She bit back her amusement at that. It was ridiculous, but understandable. Because the thing was, besides some lovely bone structure, brown hair, and similar eyes in Peter and Daisy's case, the kids really didn't look that much alike. "They all take after their mothers except for Darcy."
"I'm getting that." Tony winced. "Are there anymore? I thought I was careful but...there's three of them."
May shook her head. "Not that pinged on every DNA list Daisy could get her mitts on."
"Which is all of them." Tony gave a slightly proud smirk. "She is good at computers."
May felt herself puffing with pride at the compliment towards Daisy's hacking. It was odd. But this was her life now. She was accepting that her honorary niece was teaching a teenage decathlon team how to kill a man with their pinkies. She had long since accepted illegal hacking as a skill to be proud of. If she could stick a certificate about it on the fridge she would. Actually. "Do Hackers or Agents have awards?"
"Yes and no?" Tony looked at her cautiously as if he could sense he wasn't going to like what was coming.
May took that to mean classified or weird online meme type things. "What about gyms. Do they have certificates and things?"
Tony blinked at her.
May's hands fell onto her hips as she stared at Daisy and Peter. "Why do you have a black eye young lady?"
"Freedom punched me in the face?" Daisy offered.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "The bruising you're hiding under that hideous flannel you said you threw out last week?"
"The Black Widow kicked my ass?" Daisy looked positively dreamy.
Peter chirped in. "We totally won against Captain America though!"
May noted Peter was suspiciously bruise free. She pulled a startled Daisy into a hug. "You did good."
Daisy softened as she hugged her back.
May reached out and pulled Peter in. Pulling back she cupped each of their cheeks, looking between them. "Well, I guess you better tell me all about fighting Captain America and Black Widow." She sighed. "But first you better put some ice on that Daisy."
May batted Peter's hand away from the bread basket. "Not till the casserole is done."
"But it smells good!" Peter's eyes widened into his biggest most begging look. "I finished my homework!"
May pushed the bowl of peanuts towards him. "You can wait five minutes. And don't you have flashcards for your competition in DC next week?"
"Yes…" Peter bit at his lower lip. "But I was thinking, maybe I should quit decathlon? I mean it'd give me two more hours a week to do hero stuff."
She picked up the flashcards and set them in his hands. "But you love decathlon, and your friends are in it."
"But I could be training more! Or helping. I got three people out of that fire yesterday. That's more important." And the way Peter lit up at helping people was so like Ben it took her breath away.
Daisy spoke up from where she was doing something almost assuredly illegal on her laptop, while sitting in the window. "Kid you'll burn out. Besides, don't you want to get a doctorate like Darcy? Work in a fancy lab and everything?"
"Well yeah, but I can do more as Spiderman. And I've got these abilities, if I don't use them and bad things happen it's my fault." Peter's foot scuffed at the floor.
"No." Daisy's voice was sharp. "Ned knows the heimlich yes? Is he responsible to troll restaurants to use it for choking patrons?"
Peter huffed. "No."
"How many people do you think science inventions save?" Daisy had moved so that she was standing directly in front of Peter now.
Peter blinked. "Uh...millions. But-"
"No buts." Daisy held onto his shoulder. "How many people could you help as a scientist?"
He wilted slightly, though he still had a mullish set to his jaw as he crossed his arms. "A lot."
"And how many people will you be able to help if you burn out like I did?" She didn't flinch at Peter's eyes snapping to her face.
May held her breath. She wasn't entirely sure what to do. Of course grounding her nephew and banning him from being Spiderman till he was older was her first reaction. But it would never stick. Not really. She looked between the two siblings and stayed silent.
"What? But you didn't burn out...you're a hero." Peter was looking at her, a slight frown on his face now.
Daisy winced slightly. "I was putting my affairs in order when I found you kid." She paused, nobody saying anything But Peter was paling, "I wanted to die. When I left I...found the scariest enhanced serial killer I could find and when I couldn't beat him I told him to do it."
"But you said you would come back." Peter's voice cracked.
May was rooted to the spot. She'd guessed. But hearing was so much worse than guessing. And Daisy was solid and real. She should have pushed.
Daisy looked pained. "I didn't mean to, didn't think I was, but I lied. It was...this life takes and it takes and I have done things... " She ran a hand through her hair. "I...my whole life was SHIELD and it wasn't enough."
"Bullshit." May grabbed Daisy's face between her hands. "You are more than enough." She waited for the confused nod. Then she turned to Peter. "Now Peter you are going to stay in at least one afterschool club. I don't care which one but you're staying in it. You will have friends, go to school, get good grades, go to college, and have as normal of a life as you can while still doing the hero stuff. You will have a sleepover with Ned after the DC trip next week."
May turned back to Daisy. "And you are going to get a hobby that isn't hacking, training your brother, plotting with your sister, or in any way connected to heroing. Learn to knit or something, I don't care."
"Ok?" Daisy rubbed at one arm. "I just...I'm not trying to die anymore? I realized I wanted to come back. It's what I was trying to say. I burned out but I...had here to come back to."
Peter had grabbed onto Daisy's arm. His face still pale.
May closed her eyes and breathed out. "Heaven save me from heroes." She hauled both of her kids into a tight hug. "You both aren't allowed to die. Ever. New family rule."
"K." Peter mumbled while clinging just as tightly to both of them.
Daisy nodded against her. "Good rule."
They all jumped slightly as the fire alarm went off.
May grabbed the fire extinguisher and turned to face what should have been dinner. Damn.
Chapter 12: Is It A Master Plan?Notes:So I'm almost to chapter thirty on the drafts of this sucker and still don't see the end anywhere in sight....so uh...it got bigger then expected...I was originally going to end this after Daisy left to go do AoS plot but the fam was together. And then do like another six chapters of a short sequel. That was silly. I'm Dumb a Dumb. At this point if I say the words 'oh it'll just be a few chapters, a short fic. Ya'll should just laugh.
Chapter TextDaisy felt...better after last night. Not that she could quite explain it. But she did. She stirred at her cereal. "Does trolling internet trolls count as a hobby?"
"Huh?" Darcy blinked at her from where she was curled over her coffee. Her hangover lurking around her.
She poked at her cereal. "Aunt May wants me to get a hobby that isn't hero stuff or hacking."
"Trolling out then." Darcy rubbed at her eyes and looked at her with groggy eyes. "Bread making?"
Daisy couldn't help the face she made. While joining Aunt May for the occasional cooking class was fine, actually cooking was… "No."
"I knit? You could try knitting." Darcy offered out before sipping her coffee as if it was her salvation.
Daisy considered that and just the thing was… "I'm not good at doing nothing."
"Huh." Darcy didn't offer anything else, but she looked kinda like death. There had to have been a lot of margaritas drunk between her and Jane last night.
She tapped her spoon on the edge of her bowl. "Do you think neighborhood basketball counts as a hobby?"
"Why don't you just get a civilian job? It'll get you away from the hero-ing and the fam." Darcy shot her a glare. "And either eat the food or dump it."
Daisy cocked her head to one side. "Fair enough." She ate her cereal.
Daisy flipped through the fliers she'd picked up at the local coffee shops. "So do you think I should apply for the job at the rock climbing gym or the extreme obstacle gym?"
"How can you still move?" Wanda panted from where she was sprawled on top of the shipping container.
She looked over and laughed. "Your powers are so cool."
"I think my bruises have bruises." Wanda poked at a paint splatter on her stomach.
Daisy set the fliers to the side. "You're still in the top three sexiest Avengers."
"Top three?" Wanda blinked but looked at her curiously.
Daisy grinned. "Well you and Natasha, then no list of the hottest Avengers can not have Thor on it. Man's an alien prince of hotness."
"I will take your word for it." Wanda finally agreed after staring at her for a slow few seconds.
Daisy decided to give Wanda a break. She had shot her several times. "Your powers are far more defensive than mine. Or have more defensive application. Mine are kind of…"
"You are getting better at using your vibrations to disintegrate projectiles." Wanda offered.
She nodded at that. It was true. "I really should have found more time for training my powers when I was with SHIELD. Being able to do more than just shoot vibrations at stuff would have been super useful." Daisy mimed her outstretched hand motion.
Wanda snorted. "Your powers are quite formidable offensively. And from what you've said you have come a long way in a very short period of time."
"Babysitting the kid is...very low stress and doesn't take much time." Daisy shrugged. She didn't know how to articulate just how busy she'd been as an agent. Looking back it probably wasn't healthy to sleep, eat, work, and everything all in the same location. Actually video games and surfing the web had been the only things that hadn't been SHIELD related she had done for four years. And the web surfing had been 90% for SHIELD.
Wanda's brow furrowed slightly. "You are projecting quite strongly today."
"Lots of feelings were talked about last night." Daisy had relaxed as she'd gotten used to Wanda picking things up from her. She mostly trusted the other woman. Just...not all the way in her head.
But Wanda seemed to understand that. "Pietro called last night." She looked away from Daisy and up at the blue sky above them. "He and Clint are going to come back to the tower next week. I haven't been separated from him for this long before. It's...I miss him like a limb that's been taken from me. But…"
"You're afraid he won't fit the same as before." Daisy pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.
Wanda's accent thickened. "Exactly."
"I left my team." Daisy considered how to put it. Honestly Coulson was so much better at these speeches then her. "They never stopped looking for me. And when I went back it was... that we were family hadn't changed. If I hadn't of had here it would have been so easy to just slip back into who I had been with them."
Wanda's voice was soft. "After the bombs it was just Pietro and me. We did everything together, let Hydra experiment on us together. I knew if he was by my side we could even challenge the great Avengers. But then he was shot."
"And didn't want you to see him weak." Daisy got it.
Wanda's head turned, meeting her eyes. "You understand."
"Pretty much." Daisy didn't flinch away from the way Wanda seemed to see so much more than she said.
Wanda picked up one of the fliers. "So why are you getting a job at a gym? Your father is Tony Stark. Surely you don't need the money?"
"First he doesn't know that. So no fancy trust fund for me." Daisy's head tilted to the side. Well, Tony probably didn't know and if he did he hadn't said anything. So same difference. "And second it's not about the money."
"What is it about then? It doesn't feel like you want it." Wanda frowned.
She sighed. "Aunt May wants us all to have lives outside of the hero thing. And I agree with her, but it's kinda hypocritical of me if I make the kid keep a social life but don't have one of my own. And I never graduated so it limits the jobs I can do."
"Why not go back to school? Or just make the records." Wanda actually looked confounded on that one. "You made fake schooling records for me last week."
Daisy's lips pulled up. "I gave you equivalent American certification. Which you were really bad at math."
"You do know I can give you nightmares, yes?" Wanda whacked at her leg with a limp arm.
She snickered. "But you won't because I asked you not to."
"I could change my mind." Wanda looked at the flier again. "What is 'Ninja Warrior' training?"
Daisy nabbed the flier from Wanda and reread that part. "Huh, extreme obstacle gym it is then. And it's...actually are you doing anything besides worrying about your brother tonight?"
"No…?" Wanda looked at her cautiously.
She grinned. "You should come over for dinner then. We can watch some episodes."
"Will I at any point be shot at or required to do a push up?" Wanda's voice was surprisingly pained.
Daisy laughed outright. "No, popcorn with chocolate however is included in the offer."
////
Darcy tightened a final screw before leaning back. "Ok boss lady, try it now!"
Jane hit the switch.
The gravitational monitoring array whirred to life. There was a tense moment, but it didn't spark.
"It works!" Darcy hugged Jane. She pulled back. "Now lunch!"
Jane looked at the gravitational array. "But we have to calibrate it now that it's online. And then hook it into the rest of the system. Which will give us new data and some of the old data can be adjusted-"
"No." Darcy stayed firm, even if she kinda wanted to do that too. "We are going to eat like normal human beings. We are humans not science gremlins. Or I'm not a science gremlin and I refuse to let you miss meals."
"But the readings!" Jane protested.
She stayed firm. "Ian can handle it." Darcy saw the continued protest. "I'll have FRIDAY lock you out of the lab for an hour every day for lunch if I have to."
"Your doctorate has made you bossy." Jane grabbed her flannel and headed for the door though.
Darcy grinned and trotted after her besty, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "So there's this etheopian place I was thinking we could check out?"
"Sure, we haven't had that since London." Jane pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
She hooked their arms together. "Come Janey, excellent food awaits. And we're one step closer to opening a portal and dragging Thor's hunky ass back to earth."
"Darcy!" Jane's cheeks flushed.
She shrugged unrepentantly. "Tis true my sister from another mister. Ooo! I have Stark money now, we should see if we can make you an intergalactic cellphone or something."
Darcy blinked as she spotted Tony fiddling with her tools on her desk. "Poprocks, what up?"
"I hear my Spawn has been very naughty." Tony leaned against her desk, his face unbearably smug.
She pushed her glasses up. "I live to break the rules. Though I was under the impression that that was a genetic trait."
"I was considering giving Quake the shovel talk." His eyes glinted. "Or maybe the missile talk. But then it dawned on me. I have sneaky, lying spawn."
Darcy snorted. "I would have paid to see you give her the shovel talk. Like so much money. All the money."
"You spent all your money." Tony's lips twitched.
She pulled her new screwdriver out of his fidgety hands. "At least you can now say your Spawn got to punch Captain American in his perfect teeth? I'm guessing it was the united front in the gym that gave it away?"
"I'm insulted it took that long for me to put it together." He picked up a pair of pliers and pointed them at her nose. "I accept this only because it was my spawn pulling one over me."
Darcy grinned. "This a good time to mention we've been funneling .2% of your personal wealth into funding the foster system?"
"Is this when parents ground their children? Very well. You are grounded, no more of the good coffee for you. You must suffer the sludge they drink in the labs." His mouth pulled up into an amused expression. "Only .2%?"
She shrugged. "Well technically we're funneling a full 1.6% of the Stark personal fortune to various charities around the world. Totes my idea by the by. Call it unpaid alimony our mums never got. Ignore or be added to the taser list."
"The taser list?" Tony lit up. "I just realized my spawn have downed Thor and Steve!"
Darcy patted him on the shoulder. "Without fancy robot suits even."
"As expected of my progeny." He held out a Starkpad. "If you hire a PR team for the Avengers will you please stop doing whatever it is you've been doing to the media. Two generals resigning in shame, one of them being brought up on charges is more than enough chaos for a while."
She nabbed the Starkpad and held it to her chest. "Thank Thor. How you didn't already have an Avenger PR team I don't know. But I'll have a list for you by the end of the day."
"You are eerily like Pepper sometimes." Tony cleared his throat and held out a box.
Darcy set the Starkpad aside and accepted the box. She looked inside and then back up at him. Because it was very clearly a high tech eye mask. "Hate to disappoint but my superpowers involve toasting pop tarts, forcing scientists to eat, making Jane's creations work with 30% less 'boom', and knitting."
"You've got more powers than that." He looked smug. "But no, for Daisy. Aunt Parker said the Kid's suit was like a project of yours. Gotta keep the progeny alive, so improvement. Not that improving a fabric face mask is difficult."
Darcy picked up the mask. It was gorgeously crafted, didn't even look electronic to the untrained eye. But her eye was trained and that was definitely a tricked out mask. Probably infrared vision, definitely a built in comm system. She grinned. "What are you doing the rest of the day Poprocks?"
"Hyperventilating in the bathroom because I apparently have three spawn to traumatize, then scotch inspired robot building." Tony's voice held enough sarcasm to drown the city. Unfortunately for him Darcy could spot that was probably far closer to the truth then he was implying.
She set the box down and patted his shoulder. "Your awkward is actually painful to me. Come, we can make new gauntlets for Daisy. We couldn't afford the stuff to do more than fix up her old ones before."
////
Peter yanked his mask off as he came shooting in through the open side window. "Daisy! The craziest thing just happened to me! These guys were robbing an ATM with these high tech weapons, and they were wearing Avenger masks which is just ironic you know? But I had it and then this one guy used one of the weapons and it like cut the bank front off. So I had to go and save Mr Delmar and his cat. Which they got away. But those weapons were too high tech for just regular robbers to have."
"What type of weapons?" Daisy was up and around the table eyeing him for injuries.
He waved his hands. "One of them was like gravity manipulating? I couldn't really move? It felt very weird."
"Which bank was this at?" Daisy grabbed her laptop. "We should be able to find the surveillance footage."
"O' Queens." He frowned. "How do jerks like that get weapons like that?"
Daisy frowned as she typed. "No where good. Darcy will have to look at the footage to tell us exactly what they do. But we can start tracking them down from here."
"I'll make some hot chocolate then." Aunt May squeezed Daisy's shoulder. "And you young man go get out of your suit. No suits in the house."
Peter flushed, but zipped up the stairs. This was big! His first big investigation!
Peter sipped at his second mug of hot chocolate. "So the bank was the third robbery in Queens using high tech weapons?"
"Surprisingly high tech." Daisy agreed. "Someone is definitely selling new weapons and they need to be off the street."
Aunt May set down a bowl of popcorn. "Is this one for the police?"
"No, they don't have that kind of firepower and too small time for the Avengers." Daisy leaned back in her seat. "I can set up an alert for the kid and I. Which if you get the alert, you wait for me before you engage ok?"
Peter's eyes lit up. "But I get to engage?"
"Yeah you can engage." Daisy flicked his ear. "Not till I get there though. But you did good with the wasp things."
////
Tony waived the holographic display up. "What about a vibranium based alloy?"
"Even with the vibranium at that thin her quakes could damage it." His spawn contradicted. "You need twice the thickness so we have a hexagonal build to distribute the force. I've recorded her vibrations at the strength of 6.5."
He whistled, that amount of force, localized and controlled the damage that could do. "Is her power output stable?"
"I'm not sure. It's not like she can use her powers to their full extent without shattering her bones." Darcy reached out magnifying the nanobot build and changing the wiring. "Look, we can change the inter-connectivity. Instead of all of them connecting to a central program we make it a swarm. Each one acting independently but in communication with the others."
Tony swiped to a digital version of the process. "What if we add .3 millimeters to the base we could connect the control mechanism to the mask."
"And the mask gives audio control." Darcy's eyes lit up as she rotated the gauntlets. "Expand the base by 2.5 millimeters and we have room to add in more than just protection."
He added in the new values, and that was room to add all sorts of special bits. "How do you feel about built in tasers?"
"Only if we included dendrotoxin darts." Darcy grinned pulling up the blue prints from one of his old projects on non-lethal darts.
Tony raised his hand for a fist bump. "Not bad Spawn."
"Well I am your kid Poprocks." She bumped his fist.
Tony leaned back. "Start synthesizing FRIDAY." He poured two tumblrs of scotch and held one out to his Spawn. "I like celebrating a job well done."
"Really not a scotch gal, got any vodka?" Darcy opened up his drink cupboard and made a sound of success while grabbing the worst vodka in there and pulling it out. "And I know you have weird rich people juice."
He scoffed as he watched her rooting around in his minifridge. "You definitely don't get your taste from me. I didn't even know I had that."
"Well that's unfortunate, vodka is where it's at bitch." She gave a wiggle as she yanked out his kiwi smoothie and then proceeded to dump an...impressive amount of vodka into it.
Tony felt rather smug while dumping one tumblr into the other and then downing it all. "So I know I'm not great dad material. But want to explain why your very sizable trust fund is gone? Like you blew through millions in weeks."
"Changing the world's expensive Poprocks." Darcy raised her vodka smoothie towards him and took a truly impressive gulp of it. "Sides my prototype got bought up last week. I'll make it back, I got a few of your brains."
He gaped. "I didn't just hear that. What did you give it to saving puppies or something?"
"The Wakandan Embassy for reparations and rebuilding in Lagos and every legit Sokovian charity I could find." Darcy cocked a brow in challenge.
Tony poured himself another drink. "So what's you and the others' endgame? You've all got the Stark ambition. And I know you're plotting together. I talked to May Parker, nice lady, mediocre cook, clearly adores you all. But she's not the mastermind type."
"She's getting to be a pretty good shot." Darcy smirked. "And I know Daisy showed her how to put a smug asshole into a world of pain." She leaned against a table. "But fine we've got an evil plot. It's called Inhumans are people too, the Avengers don't have an official PR team till tomorrow morning, and Hydra is an evil fungus."
He huffed. "Save the world then. A herd of baby Starks would decide to do that."
"You think we can't?" Darcy challenged. "None of us are as smart as you generally. But I'm pretty sure I'll be out building you in a few years. Peter made web fluid under the desk in chemistry class, and Daisy, well Daisy is one of the best hackers in the world and her powers are probably growing. I figure we stand a pretty good shot."
Tony poured himself another drink. "I'll bite. What am I doing in this master plan of yours?"
"Not trying to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. I mean you don't even have the second best shoulders for world carrying on the team." Darcy stepped forward and patted his cheek. "It's cool, we got you Poprocks. Though the kid's a hugger so you're going to have to get used to that."
He twitched. "I don't do hugs."
"You do now Poprocks." Darcy snickered. "Oh and secret tip, Daisy could use a weird uncle figure. She'll punch you so hard you won't be able to drink without a straw if you try the whole dad schtick on her."
Tony blinked. "Well that's frightening, and not enlightening at all."
"She's got PTSD up the ass like you do." Darcy threw back the rest of the vodka smoothie. "So how do you feel about a tricked out taser for your oldest spawn? Cause I could use a new taser. McTaser has reached the end of his natural life span. So many frat boys, only so many charges." She sniffed theatrically.
And yep, he was so much more comfortable with that. "What type of tricked out are you thinking for McTaser II?"
"Well, concealment is important since tasers are totes not legal here in the Big Apple." She made finger guns at him. "So, how do you feel about nanobots? Like you got the mechanic candy store here. Let's make the coolest taser in the world Poprocks. One that looks like a fancy bangle or something when not turning assholes to slobbering wrecks so I don't get fined?"
Tony turned to the holotable. "You heard the Spawn, bring up some specs FRIDAY."
"You know I appreciate the thought on the kill setting, but maybe we should call it something else? Like kill setting not very PC." Darcy looked up from their new schematics.
Tony nodded thoughtfully. "We can call it Supersoldier setting." His Spawn was going to send anyone who messed with her straight to hell.