New York City, New York
May, 2012
Present Day
Spring evenings in New York are something that Freya has come to enjoy over the years after bouncing back and forth from Malibu and DC to there. They're also something she's been missing a lot after having been on so many missions lately.
Dressed in dark wash skinny jeans and a red plaid shirt with a brown leather jacket, she walks down the block to her favorite café. Trying to keep her head down so she can stay unnoticed by any passerby's, her eyes are focused on her black Converse.
Even as a Stark, Freya has lived a relatively quiet, normal life (as normal a life that a trained assassin that's the daughter of a billionaire tech genius, who's also Iron Man, can have). That is, up until last year. When her father basically shoved her into the spotlight at the Stark Expo.
~Flashback~
Freya stands at the side of the stage in the shadows along with Pepper and Happy as the speakers in the arena play AC/DC's "Shoot To Thrill". Dressed in a dark grey pencil skirt, a navy blue blouse and nude heels, she absentmindedly twirls her long, blonde hair around a finger as she waits for her dad to make his entrance. While quietly singing along to the lyrics of one of her favorite songs, she rolls her eyes at the obnoxious dance routine of the girls dressed in skimpy Iron Man costumes.
Movement through the open dome of the arena catches her eye. She looks up and watches her dad come rocketing in. Doing his signature "superhero landing". He stands up with his arms wide. Making the crowd cheer louder.
Freya glances at Happy and Pepper and smirks at them when they roll their eyes. When she looks back to the stage, her father is now out of his suit and looking at her in adoration. And something else that she can't quite figure out. Sadness? She's not sure. He sends her a big smile and a wink before turning back to the crowd just as the dancers finish their routine and circle around him. When the dancers finally exit the stage he gives the crowd a large grin.
"Oh, it's good to be back!" Tony says while clapping his hands. "You miss me? I missed you, t-"
"BLOW SOMETHING UP!"
Tony looks to his right at the area where the guy that had just screamed is.
"Blow something up? I already did that," he says seriously.
Freya looks down and shakes her head in amusement. Before she can catch the next part of his opening speech, her phone starts to vibrate. She immediately pulls it out of her back pocket and reads the caller ID.
PIRATE PETE
"Really? Now?" she mutters to herself. Turning away from the stage, she answers the call. "Sir?"
She quickly glances over her shoulder at her dad when the crowd starts to cheer loudly again. Scrunching her face up, she plugs her open ear and presses the phone closer to the other in an attempt to hear better.
"I need you to come in. We got some intel that your... new friend might have his next target picked. I need you on a quinjet back to headquarters within the hour to get debriefed and prepped for a possible rescue op in Moscow. A car is already waiting for you at the curb by the side entrance."
Freya's eyes go wide at the mention of the enemy assassin she's been encountering on missions since 2007.
"Yes, sir."
The line clicks, indicating Fury has disconnected the call. She puts her phone back in her pocket and begins to think of an excuse as to why she has to leave her father's expo in a hurry. She had promised to attend it after he oddly practically begged her to go. Freya turns back to the stage and tunes back into what her father is saying.
"Please, it's not about me... It's not about you. It's not even about us, it's about legacy. It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations. And that's why for the next year, and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over, will pool their resources. Share their collective vision. To leave behind a brighter future," Tony announces to the crowd, making them cheer once more. Something about his words really hits Freya. She's never heard him talk like this before and she's honestly getting a bit worried about where this speech is coming from. "It's not about us! Therefore, what I'm saying, if I'm saying anything, is welcome back to the Stark Expo!" For a moment, Freya breathes a sigh of relief as the crowd cheers him on. She tenses up at his next words, though. "And since we're talking about legacy, which is extremely important to me, I want to show mine to the world. So, with that, I'd like to introduce someone very special to me. For the first time ever, my beautiful, genius daughter, Freya!"
The crowd goes crazy as Tony turns around to Freya with his right arm extended and beckons her out onto the stage. A few spotlights illuminate her while cameras put her up on the jumbo screen. Showing everyone her wide eyes and ridged posture. She shakes her head at her dad, silently trying to tell him no.
"Come on out here, sweetheart!"
Freya glances over at Pepper and Happy, giving them a "what the fuck?" look. Both of their eyes are just as wide and both are equally clueless as to what Tony is doing. Pepper shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head. Letting her know that she had no idea that he had planned this. Happy sticks his hands up, signaling that his hands are clean regarding Tony's decision. Reluctantly giving in, Freya slowly makes her way out to where her father is standing. He puts his outstretched arm around her shoulders and throws the other one out to the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my daughter, Freya Stark!"
Cameras begin to go wild while Freya's thoughts run a mile a minute. She knows that him doing this now jeopardizes her standing with S.H.I.E.L.D. and any future undercover ops. Her face is going to be plastered in every magazine, newspaper, blog, gossip website, you name it. The world will finally be able to put a face to the name. Of course, her father has no idea what this means for her. But she's still livid that he pulled this stunt without her knowledge or permission. Instead of showing how she really feels, she smiles at the crowd and waves. She doesn't realize Tony has finished the rest of his speech already until he's guiding her off the stage while a video of her grandfather plays on the jumbo screen. He turns to her with a grin when they finally get backstage.
"Well, I think that went beautif-"
"What were you thinking?!" Freya yells. She turns to her father as complete rage takes over her. Tony freezes mid-sentence and stares at his daughter. He's never seen her so angry before.
"Merky, what are you talking abou-"
"Don't 'Merky' me!" she interrupts him again. "I'm talking about the stunt you just pulled! Do you even realize what you've done?! You probably put my job in jeopardy! My damn face is gonna be plastered everywhere by tomorrow morning! I won't be able to walk down the street to get a fucking cup of coffee without getting swarmed by the paparazzi! Do you just not think before you speak?!" She runs a hand through her hair in exasperation before pointing at the stage angrily. "What you just did wasn't your decision, Dad," she shakes her head at him. "It was mine too. And you took that away from me."
He's in complete shock as he stares at her in silence. He didn't think about the impact it would have on her. How she might feel. He's so ashamed of himself. Because of the current situation with his arc reactor, he only wants to bring attention to the fact that he's proud of the woman she's become. Given, he did it in a horribly, incorrect and inappropriate way. Something she said plays back in his head, though. He narrows his eyes at her and tilts his head in question.
"What do you mean this probably put your job in jeopardy? How would this hurt your job working for an international real estate company?"
Freya silently blinks a few times. Realizing she let her anger get the best of her. Resulting in her blurting out something she shouldn't have. Clearly her throat, she quickly recovers.
"It doesn't matter now. The damage is done. I have to go." She begins to walk away toward the side exit. Hoping she'll be able to avoid more cameras and people along the way.
"Go? Go where? You just got back in town two days ago. We've barely spent any time together," Tony says sadly. She quickly spins back around and throws her arms out in frustration.
"Work. Damage control. Maybe go into hiding for a while. I don't know! All I know right now is that I don't want to be here." Freya angrily walks away as her heels click on the floor. She doesn't look back to see the pained look on her father's face. Or see him check his blood toxicity levels.
~End Flashback~
Thinking back on that day, she regrets the way she handled the situation. She had let her anger get the best of her. Resulting in her not speaking to her father that much for almost a week. Though, she had been dealing with an important mission for 90% of the time. But, she was completely beside herself with worry when she got back state-side and found out someone had tried to kill her father. Ivan Vanko being responsible. She'd gotten back to New York right after all hell had broken loose at the expo during Justin Hammer's presentation. Doing whatever she could to help take down the hijacked drones and free her Uncle Rhodey (who also happens to be her godfather) from Vanko's control.
Even though she had forgiven her father, she was immediately pissed off again when she found out he had been dying the entire time and had told no one. She also came to find out that Natasha Romanoff, her best friend (next to Clint) who's basically her sister, had been assigned by Fury to watch over him. Of course, she had to pretend she had no idea who Natasha was in order to keep her job a secret.
Though, one good thing had come out of the mission that week. A new ability had manifested. She had learned to how to fly. Mind that it had surfaced from a ridiculous situation in which the quinjet she had been flying to Russia was shot down. Nonetheless, she can now fly! Apparently, she's just going to keep adding to the ever growing list of abilities. Ever since her telekinesis had appeared, silvery wisps engulf whatever object or target she's focused on. Her barriers and force fields are also silver in color.
Ever since her Russia mission, a silver aura now engulfs her entire body when she flies. She can also ignite it on command even when she's not in the air. Her eyes had been intermittently glowing or flickering for years, but she can now do that on command as well. Though, she's been starting to get headaches over the past few weeks. Which is very odd for her. She never gets sick or feels ill in nature at all. She hasn't told anyone about them yet, hoping to avoid anyone worrying about her.
She's brought out of her thoughts as she crosses the final street to get to the café. This place not only has some of the best coffee and tea in Manhattan, but they also keep her frequent appearances there hushed. Any time she's in town, she goes there every morning or evening she's able to.
As she walks into the main room of the building, she's greeted by multiple workers and other people who frequent the café as much as she does. She pushes her hair out of her face as she smiles and says a polite "hey guys" before making her way out to the patio. Looking around, she realizes that there's actually no open tables. Disappointed, she starts to turn to go back inside when a smooth, deep voice makes her stop.
"Ma'am, if you'd like, you can sit with me at my table."
