8

Chapter 8: Tony is a Feral Cat

Notes:

Yo! You know I'm writing chapter twenty right now and I'm gonna be honest, Darcy might end up paired with someone different...I don't know. It's early days. This fic is so not about the pairings.

Chapter Text

Daisy landed at the mouth of the alley. "Mugging? Really? In broad daylight too." She shook her head at the stunned looking mugger and muggie.

The mugger stepped back holding his hands up. "Please don't hurt me."

"I'm not going to hurt you." Daisy rolled her eyes while pulling out a set of zipties. "Feel like cooperating?"

He winced but nodded. "Don't expect you'll let me run for it? I can promise to not do it again?"

"Sadly you're a bit old for a kid making a dumb mistake." Daisy caught his hands quickly cinching them together. She looked at the ruffled looking muggie. "You ok?"

Muggie fumbled, shoving his wallet back into his pockets. "Yeah...I'm good. Real good."

"Want me to walk you anywhere?" She asked while slapping one of the cheap gps trackers on the mugger's forehead for the police.

Muggie winced but shook their head. "No thanks...so uh...do I just wait here for the police to show up?"

"Basically, it's a bit boring but if we just leave him here the police can't really do anything." Daisy shrugged.

Muggie sighed. "Well at least you're following through. Not like those Avengers just going in and blowing people up." He cocked his head to the side. "So uh...can you do a backflip like Spiderman?"

Daisy sighed. "I can do a backflip." She dropped a hand onto her hip as she saw the man pulling out his phone. So this was happening...Peter owed her.

Daisy piggy backed through FRIDAY's security protocols. Sure everything was going crazy since the incident in Lagos. It was the fuck up that they'd been hoping wouldn't happen. They were in free fall politically now. But she was more concerned that no one had seen Wanda since the incident. Which stank to high heaven thank you very much.

"Do I want to know what you're doing?" Aunt May asked as she set her keys aside.

Daisy didn't look up from where she was cautiously wiggling her way into the security feeds. "I think they locked Wanda up."

"The government?" Aunt May asked, stepping behind her and looking over her shoulder, not that the laptop screen would give away much.

Daisy bit at her lower lip. "No, the Avengers. She hasn't showed up at all since the Lagos incident. And I think they've put her under house arrest. But her apartment hasn't been accessed since the week before everything. So now I'm tracing her access codes through the systems."

"Why would they do that? They're a team?" Aunt May's voice was slightly dangerous then.

She frowned as she carefully let a virus in to distract FRIDAY. Damn AI was smarter than it should be. "They're not a team, they're a group of highly skilled and powerful individuals with similar agendas. And Wanda is new, and has the type of power that makes people do stupid things."

"You think Stark would allow that over collateral damage? I mean what happened was terrible, but Stark?" She stared at her in disbelief.

Daisy leaned back as she finally found what she'd been looking for. "I don't think, I know." She pointed at the screen. "She was given access to her new apartment in the Jersey facility and then all of her access was revoked. The doors literally won't open for her, in fact according to this security protocol the entire facility would go into lock down if she tried. And Vision is locked in with her."

"That is...fuck." Aunt May laid her hand on Daisy's shoulder. "What are we going to do?"

Daisy frowned. "Well Peter and I will have to break her out. Figure Darcy can delay Stark. I'll have to do something about Vision...he is an AI...I could build a virus to infect him with. As long as it takes him a few hours it wouldn't cause any permanent harm."

"You're going to attack the Avengers?" It was a testament to their lives that Aunt May just sounded exasperated.

She nodded."Probably, have to talk to the others about it though."

"I'll call Darcy, Peter should be here in another half hour anyways." Aunt May opened up the drawer with take out menus. "Well, pizza for dinner it is since we're arguing ethics tonight."

Daisy carefully covered her tracks as she started to erase the signs of her having been into the security systems. It helped that she didn't have to erase her presence from everything. Just some of it. "I was right not to tell Tony."

"Maybe." Aunt May squeezed her shoulder. "But then he doesn't have all the pieces."

Daisy looked up at Aunt May. "How am I any different than her?"

"You're his daughter." She said as if it was the simplest thing.

And wasn't that just the most frustrating part. Because that never mattered. To anyone.

////

Wanda hadn't wanted to see anyone. She had made that very clear. As her door opened she spoke. "I asked to be left alone."

"Huh, well I suppose that's an option." A distinctly unfamiliar, female voice replied.

She spun, her powers lighting up, ready to lash out. "Who are you?" Wanda's eyes narrowed as she recognized the woman. "Quake."

"Hi." Quake leaned against the door frame. "So, you wanna break out for an afternoon? Your babysitter is going to be fighting off a virus for a few hours. Don't worry, he'll be fine."

Her eyes narrowed, but she could pick up enough from this woman's feelings that she wasn't lying. "If Vision is hurt."

"Headache at most...or whatever the equivalent of a headache is for him." Quake shrugged, honesty tangible to Wanda in her voice. "So ready to break out? Slushies, pizza, I'll pay."

Wanda's powers faded, Quake wasn't a threat; she didn't look or feel hostile. "I'm where I belong."

"Punishing yourself for what happened won't make it better. I just had that kind of beaten into my head." Quake stepped further into the room.

She curled back into her chair. "I killed people."

"So do something about it." Quake crouched in front of her. She ignored the surprise in Wanda's face. "I know what it feels like to have hurt people you didn't mean to." Her head tilted to the side. "What do you need to trust us to help you?"

Wanda's eyes lit red. "You would let me in your head?"

"No." Quake shook her head. "My powers are triggered by pain and New York doesn't need an earthquake. That and I've had someone in my head before. I'll kill anyone who tries that again."

Her back hit the back of her chair, eyes wide as her powers dissipated again. Wanda could feel the threat there. "I won't." But she frowned slightly. "Someone made you hurt people." And even without being in the other woman's head she was picking up a surprising amount of emotion.

"People died." Quake didn't flinch, but her feelings said something very different.

And Wanda...she nodded and straightened, standing. Quake mirrored her. "What is a slushie?"

"Disgusting frozen sugar syrup ice." Quake grinned, her amusement and also sincerity gently brushing against Wanda. "It's an American classic and a travesty nobody has introduced you to them yet."

Wanda wrinkled her nose as she looked at the frozen 'treat', she'd just been given. "Why do people drink this?"

"Sugar." Spiderman replied while sipping at his own. It was bizarre to see a straw going under his mask. He lifted his fist, which Quake promptly bumped.

Wanda found this entire thing bizarre. They were on the roof of a crappy apartment complex in what she had been informed was Queens. What Queens or Brooklyn or what have you meant, she didn't know. But Steve's feelings said it was important. The roof wasn't just a normal roof though, it had weird plastic beach chairs and floaties? It was...weird.

As if to punctuate the thought Quake whacked the back of Spiderman's head with a pool noodle. "You did tell Darcy right?"

"She has to pick up the pizza." Spiderman whined and Wanda was becoming more and more sure he wasn't a short man but a teenage boy. Also she could feel the affection the two felt for each other and it made her miss her brother.

Wanda set her...drink to the side. "Why are we waiting for this Darcy?"

"She's the one who understands PR." Quake replied with a shrug. "And whether you want our help or not, we kinda got to stop the Media tearing you apart on the news."

Her shoulders curled inwards. It was what she deserved after everything. But seeing what she'd done every time she turned on the news still cut. "I deserve it."

"You misjudged your power. You saved the people in the market. If the explosion had happened there it very well could have damaged the building and killed those people anyways. And if he'd gotten away and unleashed the biological agent he was trying to secure millions could have died." Quake felt...tired. "Collateral damage happens and it's tragic."

Spiderman hopped towards Quake and bumped their shoulders together. "I'll go check on the pizza." He then bounced off the roof.

Wanda took in the other woman. "I deserve their derision."

"It doesn't matter if it's your fault or not." Quake pulled off her mask, meeting Wanda's eyes. "You're a hero. All the people who sign up for this are, powers or no powers. Anyone who knows and is willing to lose their lives, ther minds, limbs everything to protect and save people is a hero. It costs everything. And sometimes that goes horribly wrong. And it's going to go horribly wrong again and again. So if you intend to keep standing against monsters then we'll help you."

Quake's face softened as she continued. "But if you need to hide or run or just leave we'll help you do that too. However that ends up needing to be."

"Why?" Wanda was careful not to intrude on Quake's mind. But she could feel the sincerity and it left Wanda's throat feeling thick and tight. Because this woman understood pain. She meant what she was saying.

Quake sighed. "Because it's the right thing. And I got mind controlled, a man...I…. he died in my place and I left. Ran around the country taking down gangsters, punched someone who I think might be the actual Satan in the face. I wanted to die, because I deserve it. But my team took me back anyway. And my family was still here. This job...takes and takes. So sometimes...I can pay it forward. And from what I can tell you're alone right now."

"And if I don't want your help?" Wanda asked, curious despite herself. Because she doubted Quake didn't have an agenda. In fact she could feel a sort of focused energy to the woman, it was hard to read without having ever truly touched her mind though.

Quake rolled her eyes. "Things will be more difficult, but what do you know about the laws and treaties being proposed right now?"

"Laws?" Wanda frowned, her head tilting slightly. She'd been hiding in her quarters since Steve had visited.

Quake sat down on a hot pink beach chair, while picking up an inflatable frog and holding it to herself. "Powers, aliens, Inhumans, science experiments, science so advanced it threatens everything, it's all happening more and more. People are scared, and scared people do...stupid things."

"They intend to control us. Registration?" Wanda knew what happened to those who were different. How could she not with her heritage?

Quake nodded. "Depending on the law. We're going to stop it."

"Holy shit you are depressing as fuck at explaining things." A new voice came. A slightly out of breath woman stepped out of the door, shutting it behind herself.

Wanda found herself smiling slightly on reflex at the fond exasperation wafting from the woman. "You must be Darcy?"

"Yup. And Quake is an idiot." Darcy bustled over, dumping a worn backpack on the ground. "The problem is the law, both nationally and internationally isn't set up to handle the big weird world."

Quake frowned. "Shouldn't you and the kid have pizza?"

"The kid is hiding with the pizza cause he sensed the angst train. Which wise of him." Darcy pulled a laptop out of her bag. "Nice to meet you Wanda. And honestly there's not a ton we can do, but someone's got to do something."

Spiderman came swinging up, three pizza boxes balanced on one hand. "Not late!"

"You're late." Quake hopped to her feet nabbing the pizza boxes. She flipped one lid open. "Though I see the delay." Her lips quirked up.

Darcy sighed. "Really kid? If you ate my pineapple slices I'm going to be mean next time we do the obstacle course."

"I didn't eat your gross pineapple pieces." Spiderman sounded disgusted. "I don't know how you eat that stuff. It's yucky."

Quake offered out pizza to Wanda only to pause. "Do you have any dietary restrictions or like allergies?"

"Not that I am aware of." Wanda picked up a piece from the offered box.

Spiderman rolled his mask up over his nose while swiping what had to be his third slice. "So we doing this or what?"

"Eat your lunch first." Quake punched him in the shoulder.

Wanda looked between the three as they ate and felt the bonds. Their affection was warm, not old, but strong. "So what is it that you want to do?"

"Time for some PR. And see what we can do to help the people who survived Lagos." Darcy proclaimed.

Wanda stilled, her voice barely a whisper. "Help?"

"I have a brand new trust fund. I intend to dump all of it into helping with Sokovia's reconstruction and humanitarian funds. Diverting six million to Lagos won't be hard." Darcy slurped from her slushy.

She blinked. "That much? But you're not involved."

"I'm Tony Stark's illegitimate bastard. And Thor's my lightning bro." Darcy frowned slightly, ignoring Wanda's gaping expression. "I know Tony's fuck ups aren't my responcibility. And I know even with that I have nothing to do with Lagos. But I don't have powers like these two idiots." She jabbed her thumb towards Spiderman and Quake who were essentially inhaling pizza. "But I do have money now apparently, which is it's own power. 'Sides, I work backend for them."

Quake passed a pizza box to Darcy. "I've been bleeding the mobs' bank accounts dry. AIM and Hydra are as close to poverty stricken as I can make them." There was a viscous satisfaction to the woman. "We have money, we can use it to help."

"Which is why if you want to help and to be helped this is what's going to happen." Darcy grinned. "You ask 'a friend' for financial support in doing what can be done to help Lagos. The money is put through the Wakandian embassy. You offer to go there and help, but acknowledge that you know they may not want or need that. Instead only that if asked you will help. It's about acknowledging that your actions had consequences, and you don't think you are above others."

Quake picked up from Darcy. "And then Darcy here has some sort of evil plot involving the kid and I being public for the media...which is..so weird."

"We officially made certified legit social media accounts!" Spiderman bounced slightly. "So we can post like you know the normal stuff we do. And like flips and stuff."

Darcy smiled fondly at the kid. "And stuff. People need to empathise with you idiots."

"I want that." Wanda looked up, her eyes burned with tears that she refused to shed. "To help the people I hurt. I cannot repay you, but I would do anything to help them."

Quake grinned. "The Avengers working with you on your powers?"

"No? I learning to operate as part of the team. Steve was helping me fit in, work with them. It's.. my brother is still recovering from Sokovia."

Darcy blinked. "Pietro right?"

"He's in a safe house, there is a lot of physical therapy. He did not want me there to see him like that but it's been hard without him." Wanda curled slightly. She missed Pietro like a limb cleaved from her body. Video calls were not the same. Even if she knew he was safe on Clint's farm, learning to walk and move again.

Quake laid a hand on her shoulder. "He'll come through, I got shot twice in the gut three years back. It took time but well, I'm doing the whole vigilante thing pretty well."

"Thank you." She wiped quickly at her cheek. It hurt. It had been so close, so desperately close to losing him.

Quake seemed to understand she didn't want to talk about it. Instead her eyes lit with humor. "So you're learning the whole agent thing. How'd you like to work with your powers? I don't know about you but getting to work with my powers is kinda hard. And knowing what I can do makes them safer to use. 60% less property damage now, and I can basically fly. Which that is so new."

"I'd like that." Wanda dared to smile at the other woman. Her first real smile in days. Because these people were so clearly a type of family. And she could tell they were helping because they were good people. They were kind.

////

Darcy stepped into Tony's workshop. "Be a pal and lock down the lab FRIDAY."

-Of course Ms Lewis.- FRIDAY's voice replied, the doors sealing themselves.

Tony looked up from the holo table he'd been working on. The blueprints he was working on looked like they were for a new type of boot for the suit. "Your sudden but inevitable betrayal is noted FRIDAY. I should have known my Spawn would usurp me some day." He turned facing her. "Afternoon Spawn."

"You look like shit." Darcy snarked while giving him a pointed up down. "Grapevine says you got into a yelling match with Capsical earlier."

He crossed his arms. "Want to tell me why you broke Wanda out? If anyone had found out, if anyone had been hurt. Kid you can't do that."

"She's a person. You can't lock her in a room like a naughty toddler and expect it not to blow up in your face." Darcy wondered if time travel to bitch slap her paternal grandfather in the face for shitty parenting was possible? Cause Tony clearly had the people skills of a feral cat.

His frown deepened. "Spawn you don't understand."

"I don't understand?" Darcy scoffed. "You made weapons of mass destruction for years, your entire fortune is built on that. You made Ultron. And now when someone else fucks up you're ready to lock them up, throw out the key, and punish everyone even slightly like them. You're being an idiot. And Capsical is too caught up in his hunt for Barnes to listen."

Tony blanched, but his jaw also tightened. "We need to be held accountable. The Avengers can't protect everyone."

"No they can't." Darcy sighed, god therapy. Her dad needed so much therapy. "But legalizing the persecution of powered individuals and building a new robot army aren't the answer. Do you even talk to Pepper about this stuff? It's not all on you."

He stiffened and she frowned as he stepped forward. "It's about protecting people."

Darcy groaned. "It's not all on you. You're not god, stop trying to be. I may be hot enough to be a demi-god, but I'm too squishy to be divine."

Tony snorted, his arms relaxing. "I'm guessing you have a master plan then Spawn? Because I'm not going to back down on this."

"You shouldn't." She handed him a rag. "Clean up, get some sleep. And maybe consider talking to those fancy lawyers about how to make it so the law applies to powered people and unpowered people equally. Maybe call SHIELD? They've been dealing with powered people for decades. I thought you were the adult here." Darcy dropped a hand onto her cocked hip.

He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't trust them."

"And you trust the government?" Darcy rolled her eyes. "Make some allies, find some middle ground. Maybe an agreed on procedure for when powered individuals break the law, and a method so international powers can either request aid from the Avengers or refuse to allow you inside their borders. Put in a planet ending exception clause. Maybe start a fund for repairing damage. Baby steps."

Tony dropped heavily onto a stool. "How'd you get so smart?"

"I'm your Spawn. And just fabulous generally." Darcy flipped her hair. "And BTDubs, Quake and I conspired with FRIDAY. No politics if you haven't slept first and talked to Pepper."

He looked at her and she knew he was weighing his options. Tony Stark was humoring her more than anything right now. He was clearly tired, hungry and drained. And honestly they didn't know each other that well yet. "I'm not your Doctor Foster."

"No you're not. You just make sentient AIs and support a modern gestapo when you're sleep deprived instead of unstable wormholes." Darcy arched a brow. Her goal really was to convince him to get some sleep. Maybe listen to her enough to not go off the rails for a few weeks so Pepper could talk some sense into him.

Tony finally groaned, his body slumping even more. "I'm repairing FRIDAY when I wake up. And firing Quake."

"That's fine. Just go sleep, and eat something when you wake up." She held out a fist to be bumped.

He bumped her fist. "You're coming to the meeting with my lawyers tomorrow."

"Fun. We can find some minimal legislation that can be a solid start." She paused slightly. "You do know none of you bothered to work with Wanda on her powers? She didn't have the experience to know she couldn't lift that explosion high enough."

Tony pinched his nose. "Fuck, look kid, I appreciate what you're doing. I do. But she's a weapon of mass destruction."

"She's a person first." Darcy didn't budge. "Go sleep. You're not the only one who wants to prevent things like Sokovia from happening again. There's left over pizza in your fridge for when you wake up." Her voice was firm. Superhero or not she would drag him from his work shop to his bedroom by the ear if she had to.