Hi all! Welcome to the first installment if my Peter Park/Stark!OC series The Stark Girl.
For context:
Taking place between the events of Civil War and Infinity War, we follow Tony Stark's Inhuman daughter as she navigates life after the Avengers broke up. She shares Tony's intelligence, attitude, depression, anxiety, and willingness to sacrifice herself. But her true allegiance - although she wasn't an official Avenger - was to Captain America; her uncle, Steve. She stood with him, against the Accords. Rather than arresting his daughter for fighting on the opposing side, Tony took her back to her home, the Avengers Compound, and put her on house arrest for nearly a year, rarely visiting her. Things become tense until finally both explode, and she's sent away to NYC with Happy, going to school with her dad's favorite, Peter Parker. Will she find a way to see past her jealousy and anger, or will it consume her?
I only own my character and certain plots. Everything else is Disney and the MCU.
I yell in frustration and storm into my bedroom, making sure the metal door slides behind me. With an incredible amount of anger - enough to rival the Hulk's - I shove books off my desk and pick up my nearest science trophy, throwing it into the wall and watching as it breaks apart, leaving a sizable hole in the otherwise impeccable structure. With another enraged scream I grab my baseball bat - a gift from my favorite uncle - and bang it against the wall some more, panting and setting the uninjured weapon and smiling when I see the wall is completely torn apart.
"Lynn, do you require assistance?" I roll my eyes at the voice, but the slight robotic undertone reminds me it's not actually my father. It's just an AI meant to represent him. I guess Anthony Stark was hoping that despite his many absences, the AI would be the perfect fatherly replacement.
Dick.
"No, P.O.P." I gently mutter, sliding to the floor against the end of my bed and leaning my head back on the wooden frame. P.O.P. - Personal Operating Program - simply sighs sassily and goes offline. Probably to tell on me. Dad's not gonna like the damage. Whatever. It's his fault. Basically everything is. Speak of the devil…
"What the hell did you do, princess?!" My father yells from the now open doorway, a disapproving look on his face. I snort and stand, walking over to my books and picking them up.
"Redecorating, duh."
"That's it!" He shouts, glaring and holding his hand up above his head. "I've had it up to here with your bullshit attitude!"
"Well, right back at ya, old man."
Tony Stark just sighs and crosses past me, bending down to pick up my destroyed trophy, looking at me sadly. "This was from your first competition. You were five and made an anti-gravity chamber." He reminds me, as if I actually care.
So I scoff. "Whatever."
"See. That's what I'm talking about. God, I knew raising a teenage girl would be hard." He says to himself. "But this… this is a lot."
"Yeah, I know. I'm a lot. Bet you wish your precious Spider-Boy was your real kid, instead of me."
Dad glares. "Cut it out, princess."
I roll my eyes. "Yeah, like I'd ever listen to you."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Nothing." I sing.
Dad runs a hand through his short hair. "Fine. I know I threatened it for real, but now I mean it. I already enrolled you. You're going to Midtown School, where Peter can look after you. I bought a penthouse, and Happy will be staying with you until further notice."
My dad definitely wasn't expecting my reaction, because his mouth falls open when I cheer. "Really?"
"This is supposed to be your punishment."
"Why? Being the daughter of the jackass who broke up the Avengers is punishment enough." I glower, refusing to back down.
My dad's face grows even darker. "What did you just say?"
"You heard me." I cross my arms.
"Listen here, Brooklyn Maria Stark. I don't know where you got your attitude from, but it has to go. What happened isn't on me. I'm not the one who lied."
I laugh sardonically. "It's your fault! All of it! So stop acting like you did the world this huge favor with the Accords and realize it was all just to assuage your guilt, nothing else! This family is broken, because of you! And yeah, you have every right to be angry about what the Winter Soldier did, and uncle Steve shouldn't have lied, but it wasn't Bucky, and it wasn't him. God, I look at you, and it's like I don't even know who you are! So send me away! I don't care!"
My dad runs a hand down his face. "You're right. I don't know who you are, either. Get packing, kiddo. You leave first thing tomorrow." With that my dad exits my room and shuts it behind me, leaving me panting.
Finally I let out a feral scream, and get to work destroying what's left of my room, until all put the pictures of my real family are left. The Avengers, together and smiling. There's even a photo of Pietro Maximoff, the one I took right before he left to take on Ultron. In another, Wanda Maximoff smiles back at me, her hand surrounded by the beautiful scarlet energy. Sam Wilson and Uncle Steve stand together by the quinjet in their uniforms, an arm slung over each other's shoulders and a carefree smile on Captain America's face. He's the one who gave me the bat. And who taught me what I know about leading. We were working on my patience and aggression, and it was going well up until dad decided we all had to sign away our rights to a government easily corrupted.
Clint Barton, who's on house arrest, and Natasha Romanoff - auntie Nat - are in another picture with Maria Hill and a miraculously smiling Nick Fury. It was taken after the battle of New York.
But my most precious picture is one of me and my mom. Well, adoptive, but nonetheless my mother in all but blood. Pepper Potts - soon to be Stark - has her arms around my waist from behind, smiling brilliantly while I eat my chocolate ice cream, a pink dress on and red hair up in high pigtails. I was six when the picture was taken, the day after my dad was rescued and declared Stark Industries would be getting out of the weapons business. He took it, and I can't help but laugh at the innocent little girl with chocolate ice cream all around her face. She has no idea what's going to come. What gets revealed when I stumble into a cave in Crete, Greece when I'm 12 and touch a bunch of crystals. Suddenly I had these gifts, and according to SHIELD's files - which I hacked, thank you very much - I'm something called an "Inhuman". Someone with the mysterious Kree alien blood. At least, that's what the report said when dad found it. My birth mother was one, too, as my father later told me. He knew. Add that to a list of things he's lied about. Women, alcohol, weapons.
So yeah, I'm the freak daughter of the most popular man in the world. And after siding with Steve during the big breakup, I've been forced to where these power dampening cuffs. They look like bracelets, but still. I've been stripped of my powers for fighting for my rights. Dad says I'm lucky he didn't arrest me. I wish he did. Then Steve would've broken me out and I could've been on the run with him, auntie Nat, and Sammy.
But at least I'm getting out. It's hard, living in the compound with just uncle Rhodey around. We're on thin ice around each other, too, but whatever. At least I have Happy and mom in my corner.
And while I don't like that I'm going to be going to school under the watchful eye of Peter Benjamin "Should Have Been A Stark" Parker, I'll be far away from my dad. Like he'll visit, anyway. The longest amount of time he's spent with me since the big battle in Berlin was a week. Five months ago. It's too hard to deal with a traitor for a daughter, I guess.
With a sigh I get to work packing, carelessly shoving in designer clothes, but taking more care of things bought at smaller boutiques. Thankfully I'm not a shoe freak like my father, so I only need to pack my five pairs.
When my closet and my desk is empty I carefully remove the pictures from my wall, placing them in their photo album instead and setting it on top of my suitcase, along the with the framed picture of my dad holding me in on his shoulders, Pepper laughing next to him. It was taken when I was four, back when the Malibu house wasn't destroyed by a terrorist. We were on the deck, the ocean behind us.
I collapse onto my bed, ignoring P.O.P.'s announcement of "Dinner, Lynn." Tomorrow will be a better day. It has to be.
Happy sighs as he finishes loading in my last suitcase, my backpack already slung into the backseat. I don't like riding behind Happy. He isn't my chauffeur, he's one of the only people I can count on right now. He's family.
My dad and Rhodey stand in front of me, both their arms crossed. I roll my eyes. "Do well in school."
I scoff at my dad's words. I may have been homeschooled up to now, but I always did well academically. And socially? Well, I'm less harsh when it isn't talking to my dad.
Before they can say anything about my attitude I hold up my cuffed wrists, pull out the key I managed to copy months ago, and pop off my punishment, smirking when they fall to the floor and my dad and Rhodey look surprised. I could have broken out at any time. I just wanted to humor them.
"You -" Rhodey starts, my dad crouching down to pick up my bracelets. I interrupt him by getting into the passenger seat and closing the door, looking straight ahead. I can't look back at the compound. I can't keep looking at the hate and mistrust in dad and Rhodey's eyes. And every time I look into the building, I expect to see one of my friends. But no one's home.
I can hear the muffled sound of Happy talking to my dad and uncle, before he gets in and starts the car. Someone knocks on my window. I know it's dad, because it's the same knocking pattern we always used.
But I ignore him, closing my eyes and waiting for Happy to peel out.
When he does, and we're outside what used to be my home, I feel myself breathing easier for the first time in over a year.
Happy pats my head gently. "You're going to be okay. Things will work out. I promise, giggles."
I smile at the nickname, and look up at my other uncle. "How pissed was dad?"
"At some point you've got to start taking it easy on your old man."
I huff. "Who's side are you on?"
"No one's. I love you both equally."
"Please, I'm your favorite, and you know it."
He laughs and we make a turn onto the main road, the compound far behind us.
