REBEL OF THE BALL
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Holy shit.
It was a shitty situation to be in, indeed.
Seconds after Tony's sudden — absolutely stupefying, rather — announcement, Urania faced the horrors of what the media could give. She stood there, eyes the size of dinner plates as she watched journalists become Olympic athletes, scrambling towards her direction, running and talking at the same time.
"Is it true your Tony's daughter? With so many children and teenagers alike, how can you justify that you're really his?"
"Were you kept hidden for security reasons?"
"Who is your mother?"
"Is it true? What can you say about this, Miss — Urania?"
"Now that Tony Stark has made it clear that you're his, what are your plans for your father's legacy?"
Urania could only stare at them as if they've gone crazy.
That wasn't the last of it. They shoved their microphones, phones and voice recorders under her nose while cameras began flashing from here and there, momentarily blinding Urania. Security guards formed a circle around her, forcibly pulling anyone who's within a meter radius. The people started arguing, pushing against the human barrier that prevented them from getting to her. She was dumbfounded as she looked around and her brain became a blank slate. But Tony's words echoed throughout her mind. He just said it, she thought, he freaking said that I'm his daughter.
Urania felt miniscule as bodies began to weave in and about around her. Her mind was spinning and her head started to throb over the large noises. She heard Tony yelling something but she couldn't hear him — let alone make out the words coming out of each person's mouth. The noises were deafening, everything was in uproar and for a second, Urania felt like she was going to faint. The whole place was swimming like blurry pictures and she felt her knees giving up…
Until somebody grabbed her arm and she looked up to see Colonel Rhode's face.
"Come on kid!" He managed to shout over her ear — the only way for him to be heard. "Follow me, okay? Hey — you got that? We're going out!"
Urania nodded dumbly, dazed and feeling weak. The officer's grip was tight enough for her to follow him, though she felt like her brain was dripping out from her ears. Nearby, she spotted Pepper's strawberry blonde hair, strands of hair sticking out from her immaculate bun and she somehow looked harassed. She and Rhodes were briskly walking by her side — running, really —and lead her out, fighting the mob as they did so. Another flash came and Urania's vision went black. She gritted her teeth, covering her face with one hand. She hated them for doing that. For once, she hated that she was a billionaire's daughter and not a normal one.
They burst out of the doors and was immediately greeted by the image of the sleek Rolls Royce with Happy in the driver's seat. Someone opened and the door and both adults ushered her inside, them following suit as soon as she sat down.
"Drive, Happy!" Pepper shrieked as the mob was pounding on each of the car's windows, still yelling, still asking questions.
For once in her life, Urania wanted to cry.
"That was…" Colonel Rhodes cut the silence as soon as they were far enough.
"Oh. My. God." Pepper exclaimed, utterly still and motionless, face in mild shock and disbelief, as she sat on the leather seats of Tony's Rolls Royce. "Oh my God."
Her hair was a mess and her usually crisp blazer was wrinkled and in disarray. Urania immediately felt sorry for her, knowing this was all her fault. Pepper turned to her and tried to conjure a smile.
"You okay?" She asked, rubbing her back soothingly. "You want some water?"
Urania shook her head, unable to conjure enough words to speak. Her brain felt like it was short-circuited.
"I'm sorry about that kid." Colonel Rhodes said apologetically, shaking his head. "It was unexpected."
"Quite a crowd back there." Happy commented, his voice gone with any trace of his usual cheer. "Never seen anything like it. Well, your dad really dropped a huge bomb all over you."
Speaking of her dad, Urania whipped her head around the car. No, he wasn't here.
"Where's Dad?" She asked, her voice, mercifully, sounded normal.
Happy steered them to a left turn — away from the main road. "I'm taking you to him."
"Well, that's — well, thank you Happy." Pepper sounded exasperated and tired. "But I thought you were taking us home."
"He insisted."
"I really have to talk to him." She muttered and glanced at Colonel Rhodes. "I mean, we have to talk to him. Things are really getting out of hand right now."
And as the adults managed to engage themselves in a serious-sounding conversation, Urania could only lean back and stare at the window, not paying attention to the places that they were passing through. She tried to contemplate her emotions. Although her face was blank and smooth, inside, she was downright furious and seething. Angry at the press, angry at Tony — everyone, actually. Although it was unhealthy and traumatic, she couldn't help but only think of what happened moments ago.
Nia rubbed her face and checked the time. Sooner or later, her name will be splashed along the headlines altogether with Tony's and his spurt-of-the-moment decision about shutting down the weapons manufacturing. What more could the media want?
It was now official. Urania Stark is the daughter and heir to her father's billion-dollar company.
And the whole world now knows. Oh great.
The car slowly halted into a stop and Urania blinked, jolted back to reality. They were in some sort of plant, where huge structures, gigantic machines and heavy vehicles passing by. No doubt, this is part of the Stark Industries manufactory. She can only look around and then imagining her grown-up self managing all these…
Nia shook her head, silently scolding herself for assuming things. It was never certain that she's going to really have it. Who knows? Maybe she'll die even before reaching eighteen. Or maybe she'll have an older long-lost sibling who's also the rightful heir. Or maybe Tony would do something stupid and crazy and blow up the whole place —
Stupid brain, Nia thought fiercely. She was being pessimistic again.
Not that she really wanted to be an heir of a company that's as large as this. Just thinking about receiving a whole lot of paperwork can make her shudder, what more if —
"Do you want to go out, Nia?" Pepper's voice was soft and yet she managed to distract Urania from her negative thoughts.
"What?" Nia replied, distracted. "Um, I mean — no. Thank you, er, I'll just stay here. If you guys don't mind."
"Of course."
"Well, I'm coming out. To get some air, you know?" Happy said as he opened his door. But Nia was certain he was just going to smoke.
Rhodes opened his too. "I'll just check on Tony. You girls stay here."
But Urania was only half-listening because she suddenly spotted Santa Claus, expensive-looking cigar on his mouth, coming over to them — making his way to the car on a scooter-like vehicle. Most people would look ridiculous riding on that — as if they were mall cops patrolling around shopping centers. But the man made it look like it was some sort of expensive supercar. Her heart lurched, although the man looked kind, she feels uneasy whenever he's around. She suddenly found herself praying over that he wouldn't spot her and open the car door.
"Pepper." Nia called.
"Hm?" She was busy poring over messages from her phone.
Urania wasn't breathing, as if the man was close. "Who is he?"
Pepper looked up and stared to where she was indicating. "Oh, him — he's Obadiah Stane. One of your dad's friends as well as your granddad's. He's part of the Stark Industries management too. Don't worry, he's a good person."
The secretary's voice only reached half of Urania's ears. She was busy watching Obadiah talk to Happy. Even though the windows were sealed shut, Nia could still hear them — faintly, that is.
"He doesn't look all that glad…" Nia murmured to herself, her eyes never leaving the man's face.
"Where is he?" Obadiah asked.
"He's inside." Happy's words were clipped, Nia noticed, which is so unlike him.
Obadiah glanced at the car and she found herself swallowing. Thank God the windows were tinted but it felt like he was looking straight at her direction. Her heart jumped into her throat. He looked as if he wanted to go towards the vehicle but thought better of it. Urania could only breathe out a sigh of relief once his tall figure was inside the building. But somehow, a pang of worry hit her hard on the chest and she realized she was anxious for her dad. Tony was inside there, right?
Urania gritted her teeth. She was just being paranoid.
After all, nothing could go wrong, right?
Tony looked back as soon as he heard the doors slid open. Few seconds later, Obadiah's shadow loomed in. His face looked unusually grim and Tony knew the reason behind that. For a moment, he felt surprisingly guilty but he shoved it deep down. This was no time for regrets.
"Well, that…" Obadiah's voice rang throughout the silent walls of the building. "That went well."
Tony focused on staring at his knuckles, which seemed very interesting as of now. "Did I just paint a target on the back of my head?"
His father's friend strode towards him. "Your head? What about my head? What do you think the over-under on the stock drop is gonna be tomorrow?"
Guilt flooded Tony all over again. He casually tried to keep his attention at undoing his tie, which felt like it was getting tighter by the minute. "Optimistically, forty points."
"At minimum."
"Yep."
He didn't need to look at Obadiah's face to see his distress. Judging from the way he spoke, he was not at all pleased by what's happening.
"Tony, we're a weapons manufacturer." He said slowly, as if trying to make Tony understand how everything works.
"Obie," Tony called him by his nickname — mostly during times where conversations were getting a little heavy. And this certain discussion was getting a bit too serious. "I just don't want another body count to be our only legacy —"
"That's what we do." He cut in. "We're iron mongers. We make weapons."
"It's my name on the side of the building—"
"And what we do keeps the world from falling into chaos."
Tony shook his head. "Not based on what I saw."
Obadiah didn't say anything this time, though he was looking at Tony intently and from his perspective, the man looked more and more irritated as every second pass. For once, Tony felt like a kid again, back into the situation where he tried to do something what he thinks is right and yet people wouldn't support or believe him — not even his closest friends.
He sighed. "We're not doing a good enough job. We can do something better. We're gonna do something else." Even his own ears could hear the desperation in his voice. Why wouldn't they listen? Why couldn't they understand?
"Like what?" Obadiah's voice was hard. "You want us to make baby bottles?"
"I think we should take another look into arc reactor technology."
Suddenly, the man laughed — but it was heavy with disbelief. "Come on! The arc reactor — that's a publicity stunt!" He began to pace around the room. "Tony, come on. We built that thing to shut the hippies up!"
"It works." Said Tony as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, as a science project. The arc was never cost effective. We knew that even before we built it!" He scoffed. "Arc reactor technology — that's a dead end, right?"
"Maybe." Tony was quiet.
"Am I right? We haven't had a breakthrough in that in what? Thirty years."
"That's what they say." Tony turned around to face him, his eyes full of meaning as he stared at the man who had guided and helped him for so long. Obadiah can only stare back, his gaze heavy and unwavering.
Until Tony caught him glancing at his chest. If he were a woman, he'd be offended, seriously.
He knows. Obadiah Stane knows.
How? The billionaire wondered. Three people only knew about the machine on his chest — well, four actually, if you included Urania but there's no way the kid's telling Obadiah. He scares her, as far as Tony could observe. So, who was it?
"Could you have a lousier poker face?" Tony cut the silence. "Just tell me — who told you?"
Obadiah waved his comment off. "Never mind who told me. Show me."
"It's Rhodey or Pepper." Happy doesn't like Obadiah either.
Obadiah reached for his collar. "I want to see it —"
"Okay, Rhodey." Realizing he had no way out of this, Tony ripped off his sling, having suddenly found the strength to unbutton his shirt himself.
And when he showed Obadiah the glowing arc reactor in his chest, the man merely stared at it for one second and then immediately began to button back his shirt. His deft movements can only summarize the fact that he was really either in shock or disgruntled or both.
"It works." Tony said again, feeling a flash of triumph. But as he stared at Obadiah's face, who was smiling around — trying to shown to anyone around the building that they were just talking like the close friends they were, and not arguing over some machinery — his face twisted into a serious one. Why wouldn't he believe?
Obadiah smiled tightly and clamped a hand on his shoulder. "Listen to me, Tony." He leaned in and Tony could smell the strong cigar on his breath. "We're a team. Do you understand? There's nothing we can't do if we stick together like your father and I."
Tony tried to pull away but the old man's grip was strong. For some reasons, he was getting angry at him. "I'm — I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads-up, okay? But if I had —"
"Tony. Tony," Obadiah interrupted, not getting his point. "no more of this 'ready-fire-aim' business. You understand me?"
Inside, the billionaire felt hollow but he tried to keep his words light. "That was dad's line."
The man pulled back and grinned. "You gotta let me handle this. We're gonna have to play a different kind of ball now." He watched as Tony began to gather his discarded things, obviously ready to leave. "We're going to have to take a lot of heat."
Tony merely nodded as he clutched his jacket. He started to walk away but Obadiah was following him.
"I want you to promise me you're gonna lay low." He said, his words a bit teasing but Tony knew it otherwise.
"I'll try."
"Not try — do." The balding man grinned and sucked in a puff. "Your daughter's life is on the line too, you know."
Tony looked up sharply and frowned. He didn't like it when people use his daughter just to get him straight. "What do you mean?"
"She wouldn't want her daddy to go broke, am I right? For sure, her pretty dolls aren't cheap."
Seconds passed and Tony couldn't say a word. He was pissed but he couldn't just yell at Obadiah. Well, no one is allowed to yell at Obadiah Stane — not even him.
He only cocked his head and gave him a puzzled look. "Sometimes, I don't ever get you Obie. But one thing's for sure — Urania doesn't play dolls. Well, not anymore. And she's not after my billion-dollar company if that's what you're thinking. She's not a threat — no. She's just a kid."
The old man laughed — but he knew what was behind his words. "Relax Tony, I'm only kidding. She's a brilliant kid, that one. She's got your looks — but I'm pretty certain she's got your brains too. Take care of her, for one."
"Already working on it." Tony gave him a curt nod. "Best be on my way."
And before he could say anything, Tony walked out of the building, only to be met by Rhodes, who was standing by the entrance as if he was waiting for him.
"You look weird." He commented, looking at him critically. "What did you guys talk about?"
Tony could only pat him in the shoulder and say "Something weird."
After dropping off Rhodes and Pepper, the ride home was silent since Urania and Tony were the only ones left. Tony looked over his daughter, who was busy scrolling around a small device, her face looked almost nauseated.
"Hey," Tony leaned in to sneak a peek. "I haven't seen that gadget before. Is that the new PSP? Where'd you bought it?"
Nia looked offended. "It isn't. And I didn't buy it. It was given to me. As a gift."
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Who? Some young love of your life?"
"Shut up." She smacked him on the arm, rolling her eyes. "It was given to me by some widowed professor who lives right on the house next to the orphanage."
"Hm."
Nia suddenly smiled, eyes looking wistful at the memory. "His name was Professor Thomas, but I used to call him Trax — he teaches astrophysics in a university. Everyone thinks he's crazy and everything. But he's a brilliant scientist, actually. I met him in front of his house, where a couple of kids were beating me up. He saved me from them and he told me I was smart."
Little did she know that her father was looking at her, mildly surprised at the soft expression on her face. "He sounds interesting. Where's he now?"
She met his eyes and all of a sudden, her expression hardened. "He died. Just a few months before I left the orphanage. Heart attack."
Tony unconsciously bit the inside of his cheek. Okay, leave it all to him to make every conversation with his daughter awkward.
"I'm sorry, I didn't —"
"Yeah, it's okay." Urania sighed and slid her gadget closed. "That's life, I guess. You meet people, you lose people."
You win some, you lose some. It was one of life's greatest ironies. Tony suddenly felt guilt flooding his chest. He wanted to look away — to avoid his daughter's now grave-looking eyes but he found out that he couldn't. There was no anger in them — but only deep sadness into those stormy gray orbs, some kind of vulnerability that Urania rarely showed.
Tony kept forgetting that the kid was trying hard not to lose control. She had gone through tough times — born without knowing who her father really was, losing a mom, ending up alone, friendless, getting bullied even — it was almost like just another version of his own childhood. All of a sudden, he felt a pang of pity for his daughter. He knew what it felt like. Though Tony and his parents weren't that close, he still grieved over their deaths. But unlike her, he had his father's old friends like Obadiah to guide him. Urania's case was a bit different — she was completely alone.
He sighed, now remembering how sudden he had dragged her into his own mess. Tony expected her to be furious — maybe she is, deep inside — but it looked like Nia has some other things to worry about.
"I'm sorry, kid." Tony found himself blurting out.
Urania looked at him, surprised. But she didn't say anything. Maybe she was too flabbergasted to speak. But nevertheless, Tony took that as an invitation enough.
"I don't know what I'm really am talking about…" He muttered, looking at the window to avoid her eyes. Yes, Tony Stark wasn't into touchy-feely stuff but as of this time, it kinda felt right. The words tumbled out of his mouth — not even processed and filtered by his mind, unlike how it usually does. "Maybe I'm sorry about what I told the press earlier. Maybe I'm sorry about suddenly being gone and leaving you all alone. Maybe I'm sorry about not even knowing you or — or seeing you grow up." Then, he plucked the courage to look at his daughter, straight in the eye. He couldn't read her expression — she was only staring at him, her eyes deep and bottomless. "Maybe I'm sorry for leaving your mom. But I know that I…that I'm not the kind of dad a girl like you deserves to have. Everything about me's bullshit — I've got a messed-up life. I drink, I play around and-and I can't seem to take everything so seriously…I guess, it's because of the fact that I don't want to be alone. Or live alone, that's more likely. I mean, it's tough, you know? Facing everything on your own. So — so if you, if you got the feeling that I'm abandoning you — don't…I hope you won't think about that. Because I won't, okay? That is — I mean, you've got my permission to punch me in the face if ever you feel like I'm being a jerk. That's, that's all I'm saying. Um, right. Yeah."
He was babbling now, and Tony knew it. As he spoke the last word, he realized he was a little breathless and his heart was beating faster than normal. As soon as he had shut up, it took him a few more seconds to finally look at Urania's face.
She merely blinked and said "Yeah. Thanks." A few beats of silence then "Dad."
They looked at each other for a few seconds then both of them suddenly grinned like maniacs. Urania snorted and began laughing, soon enough Tony joined in.
"That was a great speech though, I'll give you that." Nia noted, laughing like a madman. She has a strange laugh, this one.
"Oh yeah?" His now dissolved into slight chuckles.
She took a deep breath, trying to regain her cool composure. "Yeah." Then she smiled — a genuine one this time. "But that was really nice of you to say, considering that you're actually not the emotional in-depth type. So, thanks Tony."
"What happened to the Dad part?"
"Oh, so you liked being labeled an old man? I didn't know."
"Being a dad doesn't mean you're old."
"It does, actually." Urania said, her eyes now gleaming with knowledge. "Being a dad gives out a sense of responsibility towards one man and that's enough for one to feel old."
"That's kinda true, Sir." Happy agreed.
Both of them looked at their driver, who flushed red by the neck and ears. "I — I mean, we're here. You guys are home."
Tony and Urania were both so engrossed in their own conversation that they didn't actually realize that the car had slowly halted into a stop. Poor Happy couldn't just interject or cut off his boss' kind-of-dramatic (and really kind of emotional, coming from him) speech to his daughter. So, he did like any other good driver would do — he waited.
And maybe, that included a little eavesdropping.
"Thanks, Hap." Tony patted him at the back as he slid out of the car.
"Shoot, I'll have to pee." Nia complained and quickly rushed out of the vehicle and into the mansion.
Before Tony could shut the car door, he leaned in and said "Oh right, before I forget — I'm tripling your salary as of this month."
Happy stared at him, bewildered more than delighted. Usually, Tony Stark doesn't do this. "W-what for Sir? Am I getting fired? Is it because I was overhearing your conversat—"
"For God's sake Hogan, just chill out. You're not going to get fired." Then he blinked, absorbing his words. "Wait — did you just listen to our conver — never mind. So yeah, just ask Pepper about it, okay?"
"Um — y-yes sir." Then he blurted out "Why?"
Tony merely grinned his cocky grin. "I've had a good day. What about it?"
And with that, the billionaire left his driver, who, in turn, sat still, too appalled to speak. Tony Stark looked tired when he came back from that curious conversation with Obadiah. And even the most foolish person could sense the heavy feeling clinging with him as he got into the car — now, Happy was surprised to know he was having a great day.
Sure, Tony Stark is a man of surprises. But as far as his driver-slash-bodyguard was concerned, this was the biggest one he had pulled off on him yet.