Earth 312
Pre-Invasion
The apartment building laughed down at her from where she stood on the sidewalk, head craned up and dark eyes squinted against the blinding sun. She white-knuckled the suitcase as a faint breeze blew strands of orange into her face, a sudden car door closing jolting her from her trance. Then Tony was there with the other suitcase and her backpack slung across one shoulder as his other one brushed hers. Together they looked up, searching for that familiar corner apartment on the third story.
"Come on, Carles." Tony tried to make his voice soft and comforting – tried to make it do anything except sound as harsh and commanding as it came out. He was the first to take another step forward, expecting her to follow and turning back when she didn't. She continued to crane her neck up in discomfort, her eyes twitching slightly. Maybe I'll go blind if I don't blink.
"Carly." She forced her gaze down, transitioning her blank stare to his sunglasses. He wore his famous Black Sabbath t-shirt and jeans but he was just a shell of the man he used to be.
"You don't have to send me away." As a kid Carly had adored the way Tony wore sunglasses everywhere. He was that cool guy you saw walking on the street – wishing that you had just an ounce of his savvy so that one day you, too, could look as cool. He was dramatic; a quality he never seemed to shake. Always knowing when to rip the glasses off and declare something wild with that impertinent tone he never failed to utilize, or when to close the conversation and slide them on, shrugging off his problems and strutting away. She used to view them as his defense mechanism – because, as she came to find out, that's the way he saw them – but they weren't. They were for offense; his greatest weapon. Yea, say something else – I dare you. They gave him confidence, helping him keep up his Tony Stark façade for years. Even now, he was cool and collected, but Carly knew he was just a scared old man. All his life – that's all he'd ever been. Scared.
"Oh stop. You're going to the Parker's for God's sake," Tony shook his head while visibly holding in a sigh. "Sending you away. Listen to yourself." She stared hard at his shaded eyes – wishing anything that he would just take them off. Because, growing up, she didn't need snarky, savvy Tony Stark. She needed strong, genius Tony Stark who had emotions and used to laugh and smile. In that moment, staring into the black lenses, there was nothing more in the world that she hated than fucking sunglasses.
"Come on, here, take this." He grabbed her arm and slung the backpack strap onto her shoulder, the invisible eye-roll obvious in his tone. She let her gaze fall to her shoes, her other arm letting go of the suitcase to secure the other strap. Was he looking at her? Were his eyes dry and angry or were they sad and guilty? Looking down at her was he disappointed? Mad? Ashamed? Anger welled up in her chest as she kicked the stone step in front of her and pushed her hair out of her face.
"Well I'm not their responsibility! Send me to Mom or something! Isn't that kind of the point of having parents – sucking up to one when you piss the other one off?" Tony pursed his lips and snapped his fingers together, hitting his closed fist into the palm of his other hand. It was a habit of his, not only did Tony always have to be moving, but without alcohol around he needed an outlet for his emotions.
"Well then you have a lot of sucking up to do, you've really been pissing me off." Tony breathed in deeply, repeatedly snapping his fingers. "Go." It was a harsh command, angering Carly further as she grumbled past him, violently yanking her suitcase up the stairs. She never got anything more about her mother than 'she's on a business meeting' or 'we've decided to go vacationing in Peru/Argentina/Chile/Bangcock/Bejing/AUSTRAILIA/WHEREVER THE HELL WE WANT AS LONG AS IT'S AWAY FROM YOU BECAUSE WE BOTH HATE YOU WHY THE HELL DO YOU THINK PEPPER NEVER COMES HOME –'
Carly balled her hand into a fist and punched the elevator button, her face an amalgamation of thin lines, melting together to form pure anger. Tony said nothing as he stood behind her, both of them squeezing in as the doors dinged open.
The moon found its home within the highest reaches in the sky as Roman pressed his face into the cold metal bars, straining with everything he had to catch the briefest of glimpses. As he pulled away, unsatisfied, long lines were left imprinted on his haunted face and his chains rattled the familiar language of the only company he had.
For so long the moon had been his friend. It had been the only thing keeping him sane throughout all of it; nights afraid and alone as he gazed through the bars and counted the stars. He would whisper secrets to the moon and she would listen – for hours – until it was time for her to sleep. She would always come back; even if she were hidden by clouds, Roman could feel her presence. The thought of reaching the outside world again had meant freedom. It had always meant freedom.
But he wasn't so sure anymore. Not with what the man wanted from him.
A muddled whine left his parted lips as he slid down the wall, his head coming to rest against it with a dull thump, his arms resting against the cool concrete below him, the tiring resistance from the chains that wore against his wrists temporarily eased. Looking outside now – it pained him. Roman liked to think himself a humble guy, as un-humble as that might sound, but he had determined long ago that he couldn't rightfully sentence someone to a life of hell on the chance that he could get a little break – especially an innocent girl like her.
Tony and Carly stood outside of the Parker's door, silent breaths puffing through their noses in a mix of emotion. Peter wasn't home, thankfully, which meant he had enough time to knock and leave before pregnant MJ waddled to the door.
He turned to his daughter, his mouth twitching slightly. What was there left to tell her?
"I suppose," he started, scratching at the back of his neck, "We'll have to work this all out when I fix this mess."
Carly shrugged, her eyes trained on the ground. "Yea, I guess." Tony felt the hundredth pang of guilt for the day, but forced himself to push it down. He knew they both doubted they would ever figure anything out – it was way too far along for a simple conversation to even help what was going on, let alone fix it. But he'd be damned if he didn't at least try.
"I promise." That got Carly to look up for the briefest second – when had her eyes gotten so dull? – But then she rolled her eyes and turned her head away. She didn't believe him. It was fair enough, Tony wasn't sure where the words had come from. He didn't believe himself either. He wanted to, more than anything, but he knew he had waited far too long to start trying. He was the man he always feared he would become. He was Howard Stark.
His eyes closed briefly in inner torment, a soft sigh leaving his lips. He reached out to grab Carly's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. She turned to him, tears brimming in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Dad." She didn't try to hide them from him as they fell down her cheeks and she ran into his chest and hugged him. Tony couldn't remember their last embrace. Was she seven? Younger? His arms cautiously wrapped around her, but he had no time to process his emotions properly. All he knew was that there was love –
"Let me come to Wakanda with you." –
And betrayal.
"No." She looked up then, confusion in her sad, dull eyes as Tony gently pulled away from her.
"Why?" She demanded simply, her arms coming to cross over her chest as her mouth quivered and her tears ran faster.
A single tear spilled over the edge of his eye. "Because I can't trust you."
And that was why he wore sunglasses.
The door softly creaking open woke Roman from his light slumber. Pale green eyes stared ahead at the concrete wall in front of his face, his hands clenching under the pretend safety of his blanket in anticipation. There were faint footsteps that quickly stopped, causing Roman's heart to beat rapidly. To call it unmanly that he was still terrified by his capturer was unfair – especially after Roman grew throughout the years but he didn't. His face never changed and that was scary enough; remembering everything else caused him to shudder.
"Wakey, wakey, Roman-cakey." Faux kindness oozed from his velvet voice, but it quickly turned bitter and harsh as Roman refused to turn around. There was a slight pause and then, terrifyingly, he began to shout. "Do not think me foolish, cretin! I know you are awake – LOOK AT ME!" There was a large thud and Roman sat straight up, his body visibly shaking as he forced himself to turn around.
The monster smirked. "There's a good boy."
MJ opened the door with a grandeur smile. "Carly Stark, it's about time you showed up here again." Her long brown hair was tied behind her head in some sort of messy bun thing that almost made Carly smile. MJ looked crazy, but she totally rocked it. She let out a soft sigh after realizing she couldn't even begin to fake a smile, let alone pretend words to hide what they both knew was happening. Everything is my fault. My own father can't trust me. I messed up so bad that Tony fricken Stark can't even look me in the eye. She sniffed, using every molecule in her body to hold it together and not break down in front of the already stressed pregnant lady.
MJ gave her a sorrowful look, cooing softly and taking one of the suitcases before Carly could protest. "Peter's out looking at the house again; we're trying to get the owners to go down a bit more," MJ was explaining, waddling slowly through the apartment. "We moved Winter to stay with Athena and Benji so you can have your own room." Carly shook her head.
"MJ, no, it's fine. I can sleep on the couch." MJ turned to look back at her, her lips pressed together and her eyes daring Carly to argue again.
"Yea, no. I will not have my favorite Stark sleeping on our cheap-ass couch for who knows how long. Besides, my kids are well behaved. They know how to share." Carly hummed in response, feeling increasingly like a gigantic burden to the world.
"Ta-da!" MJ did small jazz hands as they reached the room. "Welcome back to your room, Carly. We've been getting ready for the baby so it's not exactly the same, but...we couldn't bear to change too much." Carly's breath caught in her throat. Welcome back to your room, Carly. MJ was still laughing. "You've had a lasting impact on us; Pete and I have missed seeing you on those weekends." She vaguely felt a hand rubbing her back as she stared hard at the door, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. "I'll call you when dinner's ready."
The words went unheard to Carly's ears. You've had a lasting impact on us. She felt empty inside. Her shaking hand reached for the doorknob, her eyes traveling up the door as it opened, pausing as they reached the familiar place where the words had been, now only faded shadows remaining. It had only been the guest room for the first few weeks they owned the apartment, then, because Tony and Pepper were busy with their business meetings and vacations and various other excuses, it became… 'Carly's Room'. Her fingers traced over the faded marks gently, a pained smile coming to rest on her face.
As she pushed the door all the way open the memories flooded her mind. Ever since she could remember she had come to the Parker's place at least one mandatory weekend out of every month. They were her forgotten second family; newlywed Peter and MJ doted on her like she was their own. Her hand traced over the doorway in disbelief, black lines surrounded by dates marked her height throughout the years, each one traced over so it was never forgotten.
"Measure me again!" Little Carly eagerly grinned at her from years past, then looked through her to a smiling MJ and exasperated Peter.
"You're not going to be any taller than you were five minutes ago," he chided with a chuckle, but MJ pinched his arm and handed him the marker.
"Kids are weird," she urged, pushing him towards a waiting red-head, "You never know what strange things might happen." MJ gasped and eyed her suspiciously, "What if she grew five inches?" Carly giggled excitedly, looking up at Peter with the world in her eyes, and he couldn't say no to that.
Carly closed the door, spinning around the room in bittersweet glee. MJ was right; a lot had changed. Soft grey walls provided comfort and happy little yellow ducks smiled up at her as she brushed her tears away and ran her hand across them. A small crib stood in the corner next to an inflated air mattress with her old Iron Man sheets 'so Daddy can be with me every night.'
As she laid down and grabbed a pillow to muffle her sobs she glanced up – the glow in the dark galaxy Peter had set up for her when he realized she was scared of the dark blinked down at her, the gentle green light caressing her soothingly.
"I won't do what you want." For a man who currently felt both helpless and hopeless, Roman's words were laced with power.
The man smiled from above Roman who was crouched over, kneeling on the floor. "We'll see about that." His hand twitched and Roman screamed out in terror, his body convulsing with pain as he crumpled to the floor.
"You can torture me all you want…" The man's foot rested on his side, and with a gentle push sent Roman's arms buckling and he hit the floor with his face.
"And let me guess: you won't change your mind?" The man tsked at him. "Shame. Well, luckily for you, I've found a bit of motivation." The man walked over to Roman, who lay there unchained and miserable, and crouched down beside him. He grabbed Roman's face and turned it gently, his thumb caressing the sharp angels and scared features. His voice was a whisper. "Would you like to meet your parents?"
"Carly! Dinner!" She sat up groggily, messily wiping away the mixture of tears and drool that had found its way to her chin as she dozed off.
The table was a holy site. MJ and the three children sat around it like angels, piles of steaming food on their plates and on silver serving trays placed beautifully at every available spot. It hurt a little to see, but it was the good kind of hurt. Familiar, bittersweet pain.
"You ordered Chinese and put it in fancy stuff," Carly smiled, sliding in her seat as MJ filled up another decorative plate and placed it in front of her.
MJ quirked an eyebrow and looked at her slyly. "I don't know what you're talking about. Now shut up and give me your goblet so I can fill it with orange soda." She did as told, watching idly as it was set back down in front of her and MJ turned to fill up Athena's sippy cup with more orange sugary goodness. "Use both hands," MJ instructed her, but the words were far away and cloudy to Carly's ears as she stared down at her food with tears in her eyes.
This was just like they used to get every time she came. They didn't have too much money back then – Chinese takeout had been their savior. And whenever Carly had a bad day MJ would always serve it to her on a silver platter as they set up TV trays and watched reruns of The Simpsons. Those weekends had been her entire life back then; sneaking into carnivals and helping MJ goad Peter into spending what little money he had left on junk food and sodas. Being given her first pair of roller blades and spending the next months falling and scraping her knees but always smiling as MJ bandaged her up and encouraged her to try again. Hot summer days when the three of them would chase ice-cream trucks and Peter would always have to buy her another one when she inevitably dropped the first one because she got distracted by MJ's funny faces and the shapes of the clouds. The crisp winter days spent bundled up inside, cutting out crude snowflakes from printer paper and making Peter hang them up until there was no wall space, anywhere. The three of them always burning the cookies – MJ couldn't cook anything and Peter was laughable at best – but decorating them anyways and then making Peter go to the store to buy real cookies and hot chocolate so they could snuggle and watch Christmas movies. And every December, with no fault, there would always be an extra present under the tree with her name on it.
"Mommy, why is Carly crying?" Carly looked up to see everyone staring at her, Winter quickly going back to stabbing her grape when they made eye contact. Where did she get a grape?
"Why aren't you eating your Lo Mein?" MJ retorted, quickly diverting the attention and smiling gently at Carly when everyone went back to doing their own things. Carly was about to express her gratitude for absolutely everything in her entire life, when Athena dropped her cup. Faster than Carly thought humanly possible MJ grabbed it before things got messy and handed it back to her, leaning over as best she could with her pregnant belly. And then MJ got pregnant and I had to stop coming because Tony and Pepper didn't want me to distract them from starting their own family.
"I told you to use two hands. Benji, help your sister." Benji looked up from shoving noodles down his esophagus and MJ laughed, complete and udder adoration in her eyes. Carly didn't blame her; the kid was pretty damn cute. How do you blame a kid that cute for ruining your happiness?
MJ leaned over to her next. "Eat."
"These people aren't my parents – they have no idea who I am!" Roman scoffed from his spot on the ground, his eyelids heavy as he watched the strangers in front of him scream and cower together. The last ten minutes had been utterly insane. The thought of seeing his parents again after all these years was a bit overwhelming and he had started to have a panic attack, but then these people walked in and were so completely unfamiliar to Roman that he had to stop, think, and realize; he couldn't remember what his parents looked like. It didn't help any that they had absolutely no idea who he was yet the man was insistent that he had found the right people.
He knelt down to them, gently caressing the woman's face as she gaped in terror. "Molly and Jack, right? Are you telling me you really don't remember your own son?" His gaze held the same kindness as his voice, Roman watching as he stood up and turned toward Roman with a sigh. "Sorry, chap, looks like they gave up on you." There was an evil glint in his dark eyes and Roman fought for anything. He knew what was next to come so he gazed over at the whimpering couple, arms wrapped around each other securely.
"Roman Thomas Fitzgerald. I was taken when I was six – I'm your son!" He screamed pleadingly, even though he knew that the only person in the room who believed him was the crazy maniac. These people weren't his parents, but he had to try.
They both shook their heads, the woman clinging to Jack as she started to cry. "Our son was Leopold James Fitzgerald and he died when he was six!" She sobbed into his jacket and forcefully closed her eyes. "Jack, make it stop!" Jack glanced up – the man's back was to him. His arms loosened around his wife. Roman's eyes widened as he scrambled to reach an arm out.
"Jack, don't!" But it was too late. Jack launched himself at the man who smirked darkly and gently raised his hand, his fingers bent like he was holding an apple. Jack immediately dropped to the ground clutching his head, agonizing screams leaving his mouth as Molly cried in the corner. The man continued to look at Roman.
"I'm telling you; these are your parents. But I suppose you don't believe, not that it matters, because you're still going to follow through with our little plan." Roman's eyes darkened as he stared the man down, his own fists clenching at his sides.
"And why would I do that?"
"Because I know how your mind works, and it's your choice. A girl who is," he shrugged, "supposedly innocent, or these two truly innocent ex-parents who have done absolutely nothing to deserve this." Roman's eyes widened, his breath catching in his throat. He's good. He's too good. A dark feeling of dread began to fill his insides, seeping through his skin like contagion.
Carly cleared the table as MJ got her kids ready for a late night walk. They were going to meet Peter at the park and be a cute family together – something Carly didn't really need at the moment so she had turned them down. As she washed another plate idly, she heard MJ behind her.
"Winter, you've been stabbing at that grape all night. Why don't you eat something?" Carly turned, watching the small pale child as she chased the same grape from earlier around her plate with the fork, messily stabbing and missing it. She looked up as she was called out, sticking the fork in her mouth and chewing on it.
"I don't want Chinese," she whined, and MJ rolled her eyes in amusement. As Athena began to cry from the next room over, she sighed and looked to Carly.
"Can you take care of this?" Carly nodded softly and MJ padded away to see what had happened now. Carly turned to the small child and leaned against the counter, her fingers drumming on the hard surface.
"You have to eat something." Winter chewed on her fork. "Dumpling. Eggroll. Fortune cookie." Each option earned her a shaking head, sometimes so energetic that Carly was half worried the kid was seizuring. She sighed. "Well, then pick something. What do you want to eat?"
Winter grinned at her, a mess of white hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. "Ice cream."
Carly grinned as she opened the freezer door. "Yea, sounds like something your dad would feed you when your mom's not looking, right?" She plopped the container down in front of her, watching as she grinned and nodded, attacking the container with her grape-stained fork.
"Carly Stark!" MJ scolded as she reappeared, glaring warmly as she carried Athena in her arms and held onto Benji with the other one.
"She's seven!" Was the only thing Carly said in defense, watching MJ shake her head with a smirk and then they were gone, the door closing gently behind them as Carly let out a small smile and she moved to grab her own spoon when there was a flash of movement outside of the window. She blinked her eyes, squinting into the darkness as she held the spoon in her hand like a weapon.
"Put the ice-cream away and get ready for bed," she told Winter who begrudgingly complied, sliding out of the chair. Carly listened as the freezer door open and closed, and waited until the bathroom door clicked shut until she walked over to the window and peered outside. Nothing.
However, Carly was smarter than that. Even if she wasn't specially trained like the rest of the Avenger children, she had watched Scream enough times to know that checking one window wouldn't suffice. She slowly surveyed the apartment, coming to her room and opening the door with a soft click. Her heart pounded in her chest, her eyes going wide as she shakily stepped inside, spoon at the ready.
As her eyes met the window she almost screamed, drawing a hand over her mouth as she jumped in surprise and clutched at her heart. Ozur grinned at her from the other side of the glass, giving a small, apologetic wave. She took a few seconds to catch her breath before opening the window to let him climb in.
"You could have just knocked on the door like a normal person!" She scolded in a hushed tone, not wanting to draw Winter out of the bathroom. Ozur was sheepish, but shook his head.
"You wouldn't have noticed me at the door," he said and Carly put the spoon down, looking wildly at him.
"I would have if you knocked!" He let out a charming laugh, his chest shaking slightly as he shook his head.
"No – that's what I meant – I'm not actually here." His body shimmered for a moment before it disappeared and Carly was slightly taken aback. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and she squawked, turning around in surprise to see Ozur trying to hold in a laugh.
"Why are you here?" She asked calmly as she tried to still her beating heart. The kind smile never left his long face, his hands resting clasped behind his back as he gazed at her.
"I can't just come to talk?" He asked and Carly gave a confused smile.
"I guess?" She responded, and they both went to talk again when Winter's voice called out for her. Carly's head snapped to the door and then back to Ozur only to find that he was no longer there.
Mack sat on the couch in his apartment, a beer pressed to his lips as he flipped through TV channels. He sighed, a nonstop plague tainting his mind.
"Come on, man – what about your kid?" Mack tried to talk some sense into him, his strong stature looming over Sasha as he begged his best friend to stay. His dark hand rested on Sasha's shoulder, his eyes pleading and filled with sorrow. "Man, if you won't do it for me, then do it for her."
Sasha looked up at him with pain in his eyes and a gentle smile on his face. "I am, Mack. What if there's little girls just like her over there? Scared and alone and in need of help. Winter's safe here – we can't guarantee that for whoever's over there."
He sighed, turning the device off and sinking back into the couch. The alcohol was callous as it poured down his throat but he didn't want it to stop. First Tripp, and now Sasha. But this was different; when Tripp died and crumbled away, Mack got upgraded to from SHIELD agent to Avenger status. With Sasha going away…Mack was left with no one.
His phone buzzed, a little alarm going off in the back of his head as he ignored it and went to drink the rest of the beer. It pressed against his lips easily, rising until it was barren and dry and he got up to grab another as his phone went off again.
"Damn thing," he mumbled, his hand reaching to turn it off as his dark gaze caught the screen. "Perimeter breech at Parker's place?" He read, his eyes going wide as the bottle dropped and he reached under the couch. Only one thought was running through his mind; Winter. His hand came back with his precious shotgun-axe hybrid, and his lips pursed as his eyes narrowed with determination.
Carly lay in her bed watching the glowing galaxy above her head for what felt like hours. Her eyes followed the curving lines and phony looking stars as a way to distract herself from thought, her eyes tired and heavy but unable to sleep. Images of the past days flashed in her mind but she pushed them down before they could properly form, her eyes vacant as they shifted from planet to planet.
There was a noise in the kitchen and she sat up, tiredly wiping her face. She looked at the clock gently clicking in the corner, figuring it made sense that Peter and his family would be getting home. She nodded idly, getting up with swampy limbs to get a drink of water from the kitchen and thank him for his hospitality. As her hand left the doorknob and she stepped into the hallway, she completely forgot that she never heard the apartment door opening.
The kitchen was dark when she got there. She looked around in mild concern, wondering if it had been Winter that she had heard. She sighed and grabbed a glass, filling it with tap water and raising it to her lips as she turned to go back to her room.
Standing there, his back turned to Winter's room, was a dark figure. Carly gasped, the water spilling over her glass and onto the floor. Green eyes peered at her from the shadows, Carly gazing past his shoulder to see that the door was still closed. She looked back at him; he had taken a step forward.
Every muscle in her body froze. She wasn't prepared for this – nothing in her life had ever prepared her enough to actually come face to face with something like this. Her lips trembled and felt dry as she hands shook, the water sloshing around recklessly.
"Get out," she ordered, her voice raspy and scared. He took another step forward, the moonlight coming through the window illuminating his scarred face and gentle eyes. He was looking at her, just staring, his expression sorrowful and reluctant. Carly's mind raced to think of something to do, but she couldn't take her eyes off of him.
"You're Carly, right? Carly Stark?" He asked soothingly, holding his hands up in surrender. She eyed him warily.
"Who's asking?" A shallow breath left his lips as her gaze flicked to the room again and he followed it. She instantly cursed at herself, fully prepared to lunge at him if he dared try to open it. He turned back to her with some sort of emotion in his eyes – sadness? Maybe that was it; undeniable sadness.
"I'm not here for her," he spoke slowly, his gaze flickering to the ground.
"Then what do you want…with me?" She whispered, her breaths coming in short gasps. She looked the man over, realizing that he didn't look much older her. His pants were too short and the short-sleeve showed off more scars on his arms and neck. She met his gaze again, and he tried to smile at her.
"My name is Roman," he offered, scratching his neck awkwardly. "I uh, don't think I was supposed to tell you that." He paused, but then continued, taking another step towards her as she scrambled back. "I don't want to do this. I refused to do this…for so long." Carly was crying now, every bone in her body like jelly as she tried not to melt and sob.
"Do what?" She croaked, looking at the apartment door out of the corner of her eye. He shook his head softly at her.
"Don't." He warned, but she wasn't listening. She lunged, the glass falling from her hand to shatter on the floor. Glass and water went everywhere as she scrambled for the doorknob, reaching for it as Roman stepped in her way. Her hand retracted back, hot sticky tears stinging her cheeks as she sobbed on her knees in front of him.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, his hands coming to clasp her face.
All around them the air changed, Roman's dull green eyes coming to life and sparkling like jade. It was like reality changed all around them, getting sucked into something behind her as a green light illuminated her world and she was pushed back. Like slow motion her mouth opened in an empty scream; her hands reaching out to grasp at nothing as she fell through green darkness, watching helplessly as it closed in front of her, the soft face of Roman ashamedly watching her sink further and further in. And then it closed and she was falling.