AN: This chapter might be a little different than most other ones.
Chapter 7: Hades, God of the Underworld and Wealth
May 2009...
Darcy got a call last night. Obie warned her not to watch the news.
The problem is she's never been good at following orders and especially not Obie's. She's never really liked him even before Tony told her the whole story about how Obie had machinated her mother's 'retirement'. She just couldn't summon up any fondness for the man that always gazed at her almost hungrily, which just, no.
So now she's wishing that just this once she'd listened to the old goat. Because then she wouldn't be watching Tony's transport explode. Wouldn't be reading the ticker-tape at the bottom of the screen, "KABUL, AFGHANISTAN. Terrorists attack SI transport, Tony Stark MIA, presumed dead."
The words loop through her mind. Presumed dead. Goddamnit.
And then her phone rings and she scrambles blindly for it. "What?"
"You watched anyway." Obadiah. And that's so not a question. He knows her well enough to know...
"Sonuvabitch. You knew I wouldn't listen. You knew, and you wanted to make sure I saw."
"Not true." His voice is icy as she's ever heard it and that condemns him more than an admission ever would. "I wanted to spare you, but I knew you might not listen. I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"You fucking liar." Her eyes are dry only because tears are useless sentiment. Tony always told her that when she needed to cry she should do it where the only ones who could see or hear her were those she trusted. And she doesn't think there's ever been anyone she trusted less than Obadiah Stane in this moment. "I don't know what you wanted to accomplish but -"
"I'd watch yourself, little girl," Obadiah's snarl cuts through her indignation. "You are not nearly as experienced in this arena as you think you are. You may not be publicly outed as Tony's daughter, but there are always those crackpot conspiracy theorists. You've been seen with him on occasion. It wouldn't be hard to cause an accident."
Darcy barks out a harsh laugh. "No, it's not, is it? And you're exceptional at them, aren't you, Obadiah? I did a project on Tony Stark for a psych project. I researched that accident. It was weird, but not weird enough. Then there was my mother. What was the point of that? To distract him with me?" She tuts at him. "That may prove to backfire on you, Stane. I'm a poly-sci major with a minor in mechanical engineering. I have documentation that I'm the biological daughter of Anthony Stark and a will that bequeaths his SI stocks to me on his death."
She pauses. Oh god, this is dangerous, but she's sick of this man, and he just threatened her, and she is severely pissed. "I guarantee that I would have you ousted within the week if you force my hand."
"Don't threaten me, Miss Lewis." He's emphasizing her surname as if that obscures her right to call herself Tony's daughter. Please, Tony filed that will in 1992. "You might find the water too deep."
"Perhaps, Mr. Stane. But I highly doubt it."
"Fine." He chuckles, as if her thinking that she could possibly win against him is so ridiculous. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Never. And Stane enjoy your position while it lasts." She hisses and hangs up. She glares at the touch screen, wishing desperately that she still had a landline, so that she could've slammed down the receiver.
She stands and paces. Dammit, that was stupid. Worth it and satisfying but so incredibly stupid. She stops as the worst occurs to her. The accidents. Yes, she'd suspected about those for a while. But this was a step further. "Oh, god. It was him. He got Tony abducted. Presumed dead." She drops to the floor.
"I don't have any proof. I can't tell anyone or he'll make good on his threats. But I can't let him keep control of SI. He'll destroy everything. Possibly literally."
And then her phone interrupts her again. She glares at it and checks the caller ID. And her stomach drops for the what feels like the twentieth time that morning.
Oh, god. Rhodey. She hadn't even thought. He'd been in Afghanistan with Tony. She'd totally forgotten.
"Rhodey?" Her voice is shaking and, dammit, she didn't have time for that.
"Hey, kid," Rhodey says, so damn tired it carries over the scratchy line across the Middle East, past the Mediterranean Sea, and over the Atlantic Ocean. "Have you heard?"
"It's running on every station. It's like he's royalty or something. Does that make me a princess. Because, no. I saw those Anne Hathaway movies and that is not a thing that's happening."
The laugh that crackles over the line is broken and sad. "Well, shit. I had hoped to be able to spare you seeing that. What were you even doing watching the news?"
"I'm fine. What happened?" She ignores his question about the news. That had been part of why she'd been suspicious of Stane. She never watched the news. She hated all the lies and misdirection and was very vocal to anyone around that she never watched the news unless she had to.
Rhodey's too tired to notice though because he just sighs. "It was an ambush. And then there was a missile, and Tony was gone."
It doesn't compute for an entire minute. She just can't parse anything beyond gone. She can hear Rhodey talking over the line, but nothing's getting through. "He's really dead? It's confirmed?"
"God, no, Darce. There wasn't a body. And while that's not that great because he's not here. And he's probably hurt based on the amount of blood on the ground but not enough that he's positively bled out. And they took him for a reason. No one else was taken. So there's a really good chance that he's alive and even getting medical attention, for given values of-"
"Thank you, Jim."
He stops and catches his breath. "No need, sweets. He's my friend too. Even if he did force me to endure the desert sun with a hangover from hell."
She's shocked into laughter. "Oh, Rhodey, you know better than that. Did he have the stripper flight attendants?"
Rhodey's sigh crackles especially loud. "Of course he did. I don't really remember much of that, but I remember them being very beautiful. Tony knows how to have a good time."
Darcy sighs. She shouldn't ask. It could endanger Rhodey. Military accidents are so easy to stage. She shouldn't ask, but really she is a Stark. "Hey, you call Pepper or Obie, yet?"
His nickname tastes like bile, but she pushes through it. As much as she's never liked him, she's hardly ever called him Stane. It would be too obvious.
"Nope, you were my first call. I think Obie was notified, but that was a few hours ago. Some general made the formal call to him as the COO of SI. But I was gonna call Pep after I talked to you."
"A few hours ago?"
"Yeah. Early this morning."
Hours after he called her to warn her off watching the news. Talk about showing your hand. He wanted her to know. It was another warning. Well. She grins, fuck that noise.
"Okay." And, yeah, she knows there was something wrong with her voice, but she can't help the savage grin she knows is filling her face.
"What else, kid?" He's asking because that's what people do. He can't see her. He doesn't know what she does. It's just the done thing. "Darcy, what is it?"
Or maybe not.
"Nothing, Colonel. Just worn out."
"Darcy..." Yeah, calling him that was a gamble.
"No, really. I've got this, Jim. Go find my dad. Focus on that. I'm fine," she assures him and hangs up before he can argue.
Obadiah threatened her by bragging. He would live to regret that.
June 2009...
Tony Stark has been missing for one month.
Darcy Lewis has been twenty for five days and is starting to get pissed off. She can't go to the SI facility in L.A. because she would out herself and bring about her own personal apocalypse.
Stane was extremely vague.
And she can't call Rhodey because he's just a little busy. Just, you know, scouring the Afghani desert for a single man.
Because where the fuck was Tony? That asshole had been MIA for a month. He should've had enough time to MacGyver his way out of whatever mess was in Afghanistan.
Rhodey called her yesterday. There's just too much desert to search. There was just too much blood on the scene. And the Air Force is making noise like they're going to call him back.
Obadiah had sent her a message the week before that SI is going to be declaring Tony dead within the month. She'd told Rhodey, and he'd gone cold and silent like he wasn't sure what he thought anymore. Like he was starting believe that Tony was gone for good.
Darcy'd hung up on him again. She doesn't and won't let anyone tell her differently.
So here she is sitting in an internet café in San Diego. She's checking and double-checking the code. Yep, it works.
She creates a new e-mail address. And then she starts typing.
FROM: PANDORA (via starkmailer . org)
TO: HERA (vpotts via starkindustries . org)
Ms. Potts,
I understand this may seem like an odd request. I need you to stop Mr. Stane and the board from declaring Mr. Stark dead. I cannot and will not accept that he's dead without physical proof. You know as well as I do that there is more to Tony than his playboy-of-the-Western-world persona. He is alive. Do not let anyone tell you any different.
Obadiah is not what he appears.
Darcy watches the cursor blink accusingly back at her. It's not like she's signing it. Obadiah will likely never even see it. Besides he's awful at hacking, so he'd never find her at the end of this message.
On the other hand, Pepper might not trust this. She might think this is a cruel joke. She might show it to Obadiah, and he could play the wounded friend and twist it to convince the board to accelerate the timeframe of declaring Tony dead faster.
Darcy glares at the neon signs around her. She knows this plan isn't foolproof, but Tony is alive and will come back. But if Stane gets Tony declared dead there's a chance he might not be able to do anything about Stane's betrayal.
She sighs and deletes the last line. Instead she types:
I haven't lost hope and neither should you. I know he's trying to come back to us. Just make sure his coming back is still an option.
-Pandora
And before she can doubt herself or think better of it, she activates HELEN and sends the e-mail.
She sits back and glares at the cheery 'Message successfully sent!' screen, with its dancing envelope until some skinny kid asks if she needs any help. She ignores him and logs out abruptly before grabbing her stuff and storming out.
Hopefully that would be enough for Pepper. Hopefully she'd keep the e-mail private and just do what Darcy asked.
She sighs. Well, she'll find out soon enough.
Darcy loves Pepper fucking Potts. Because that woman is a genius. So far, Pepper has held three press conferences, has gone on two morning talk shows, and has given one interview to the L.A. fucking Times. All saying that the staff of SI has full faith that Tony was coming back that to say otherwise was just ill-wishing.
She made no mention of having him declared dead. She made no mention of Stane. She told everyone that she had every faith Tony would come back. And she just kept repeating it. She kept on message and whenever someone asked how much longer it would take to convince her that Tony was dead, she just let them have it.
She would narrow her eyes and glare. "Excuse me, who are you? Have you spent anytime with Tony Stark not in the capacity of a party or press conference? Are you equipped to speak on his work ethic? No. I have worked for Tony Stark for over eight years. I know him better than almost anyone. I refuse to believe he's dead. I will continue to refuse to believe that he's dead until someone produces a corpse."
Darcy was laughing about that for weeks after see saw that. God, she needed to meet Pepper Potts. She's been e-mailing that woman every other day, but there're no replies, and it would never be the same as meeting her face-to-face.
Darcy wonders if she should mention Stane. But no, that would just endanger Pepper. And is the last thing Darcy wants at this point.
July 2009...
And now Darcy is being followed. What is her life? There's an accountant type man not even trying to be sneaky as he keeps pace with her. She's pretty sure that if he didn't want her to see him she wouldn't.
And she's pretty sure that she's really tired of being unsneaky around her. So, yeah, this is gonna happen. She stops, turns, and glares.
Mr. Accountant stops and stares dispassionately.
"What?"
And no response. What an ass.
Darcy snorts. "Well, do I at least get a coffee out of this lovely stalking experience?" She gives him her most scathing glare to no avail.
"Of course, Miss Lewis." And the only thing about this man that isn't bland and nonthreatening is the fact that he obviously knows her name.
"Wow, that's not at all creepy." And he just walks off. Darcy rolls her eyes. "Dude, you are such stereotype-" She breaks off as he stops by an unmarked black van. "Wow, seriously? This is a thing? Why is this a thing? Are you seriously about to disappear me? Why are you trying to disappear me? I so-"
"Miss Lewis," he interrupts, opening the rear passenger door. "Get in the van."
"Asshole." She wrinkles her nose. Because really this is so unnecessary.
He climbs in after her and hands her a plain paper cup.
She takes it and sniffs. "Iocaine powder?" She takes a long. And hot damn! That is excellent coffee. "I thought the hero was supposed to poison the Sicilian?"
Mr Account-slash-Vizzini sighs. "Miss Lewis-"
"Or am I Inigo Montoya? Hah!" She lowers her voice. "You killed my father. Prepare to die."
Vizzini's blank face freezes. The expression doesn't so much change as much as it manifests as mild indigestion. "Your father, Miss Lewis?"
"Why are we in a black van, Vizzini?"
"My name -"
She waves him off. "Nope, don't care. If you tell me, you'll have to kill me." She smiles at the slight tic in his jaw.
"Really, Miss Lewis, who would you tell?"
"Well, I think the reason I'm in this van is that I've been anonymously e-mailing Virginia Potts."
He narrows his eyes. "Yes. About that. Why?"
"I really don't want Tony being declared dead."
"Why?"
"Because Obadiah Stane is an idiot."
"Really. I talked to him yesterday and he seemed very smart."
"Oh, he's excellent at seeming smart. It's just actually being smart that he has difficult with."
"How do you know Mr. Stane?"
"He threatened to have me killed."
That actually managed to crack some of his calm. "Excuse me?"
Darcy rolls her eyes, again. "Look, Vizzini, who do you think I am?"
"Darcy Lewis, adopted daughter of attorney Dave Lewis who took guardianship of you after you mother died when you were three months old. Biological mother was Marie Lewis. No record for biological father. You grew up in San Diego, California." He sounds like he's reading from a file.
Darcy smiles. "All true. Anything else?"
"Tony Stark is your biological father."
She purses her lips and nods. "There's also that."
"You're remarkably well adjusted for someone who spent much of her childhood around Stark."
She grins at him. "Yeah, well. The salient point of that sentence was that there were times I spent away from him."
He inclines his head. "My name is Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division."
She stares at him. "Really?" Nothing. "You made the name an acronym for SHIELD, and then you still use the full name. That's a little insane."
He grins. "We're working on it."
"Whatever." She laughs. "So what can I do you for, Phil?"
"Well, it's more of what I can do for you. Especially if Stane has threatened you."
"Oh, that was months ago. It's all good now. He was an ass. He wanted to see if I would fold. I won't, and now he knows that."
"He told me that Tony wasn't doing much inventing, but that he would mostly do the big picture work."
Darcy's not even sure if the agent is still talking. Stane was trying to minimize Tony's use. "He was lying." She snorts. "Tony is actually really bad at delegating. The projects Tony takes he designs down to production specs. He reviews all the weapons projects that he doesn't directly work on as well."
"Well, that's not good."
"You think he'll give up state secrets? No, he's tougher than he or anyone else will ever give himself credit for. Plus, he doesn't like being told what to do."
"You think he'd endanger himself to spite his captors?"
"Oh, without a doubt. My father's a selfish, self-centered ass, but he's a stubborn selfish, self-centered ass."
"Hmmm, but how much of that is hero-worship for the man who helped raise you?"
"No, Agent, Tony is no hero, but that doesn't mean he's a weak or bad man."
"Strong enough to endure torture? Good enough to resist threats to his life or person?"
She just grins at him. Because fuck him.
"Miss Lewis. What do you know?"
"in May, Tony Stark went to a weapons demo with Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes in Kabul, Afghanistan after which his convoy was attacked, and now he's missing assumed dead."
"Which is not an assumption-"
"No, I'm not going to believe Tony is dead until I see physical fucking proof."
"Anything else?"
Darcy contemplates his stony expression. He might believe her, but what could he do? "Stane is a jerk." Stop it, stop it. There's no proof. He can't do anything with it. "He called the next day and threatened me. Very traumatic."
"Horrible. how did he threaten you?"
"Very obliquely. Was SHIELD around when Tony's parents died?"
"Yes, Howard was one of the founders."
"Hmmm. Okay."
He actually sighs. "What?"
"It's just weird."
"What is?"
"That no one in your super-secret special awesome organization thought the Stark's 'accident' was suspicious."
"It was a car accident. Stane was across the world."
"Yeah, well, there's this thing people can do called scheduling."
"This isn't helping."
"I'm sorry, but you still haven't explained what I'm doing here."
"We needed to know who was sending those messages. And to what purpose."
"Oh, right, because telling someone not to let their friend be declared dead has such malicious intent."
"Yes, I will be speaking to out analysts about that."
Darcy smirks at him. "They didn't know I was Tony's daughter, did they?"
"No."
"Did you? Before meeting me I mean?"
"No."
"Do you think-"
"As far as I know, Stark has done on admirable job of hiding you, and no one in SHIELD or any other government agency thinks you're related to him."
"He is good, isn't he?" Her face falls a bit. "It was originally Stane though. Stane sent my mother away, and then arrange my adoption when she died."
"He didn't want the publicity?"
"Right. Tony didn't find out about me until after I was adopted."
Agent Vizzini just stared at her.
"What?"
"Stane did all that without telling Stark?"
Ah, there's that suspicion and paranoia secret agents are known for. Good, this one's with it. Now to be purposely annoying and vague. "Hmmm, do you actually look like an accountant in you every day life?"
"Understood, Miss Lewis." And with that the van stops. Coulson opens the door to show her uncle's house.
She glares out at it for minute. Then she climbs out. "Gee, thanks, Mr. Coulson. I had a really good time." She calls out more to the neighborhood than the occupants.
He just slams the door at her, and the van drives off.
"Yeah, fuck you too." She smiles at the disappearing van. "Go save my dad, Secret Agent Man. Don't make me have to kill you."
