REBEL OF THE BALL
CHAPTER THREE
"Watch the floor! Watch the floor — don't you get it dirty!" Tony yelled as soon as the kid rocketed herself towards the gleaming tiles of his usual spotless floor.
Urania settled on the large couch comfortably, kicking her muddy boots as she did so. "Finally." She sighed, leaning back. "My feet hurts like hell. Did you know how many miles I walked just to come here?"
"To be honest — I really don't care. I'd hate to break it to you kid but I'm telling you not to feel too welcomed." He said quietly.
She rolled her eyes and waved a hand, as if trying to shoo away his words. "Oh please. It'll take years for me to feel welcomed here."
Tony said nothing, his eyes tracing the mud tracks on the ground. He made a face — he wasn't used in seeing his house in so much mess. Well, most of his garbage was on his workshop and he's used to the oil stains and the car grease smell but mud? That's probably worse.
"Jarvis?" He called, straightening up and began to pace. "Have you called Pepper?"
"Not yet Mr. Stark — should I?"
"Yes!" Tony answered, more forcefully than he have expected. "And Robert."
"Robert as in your lawyer, Sir?"
"Yes — do it now for pity's sake 'cause I'm about to lose my mind!"
Urania watched him as he moved to and fro, looking freaked out. Although the sound of Tony Stark calling his secretary and lawyer would make matters more complicated, she sat there, feeling indifferent.
For a few times Tony throws glances at the girl, who looked back at him defiantly, as if daring him to question her. He had to admit, she does look quite intimidating especially with those stormy eyes of hers.
"Mr. Stark?" Pepper's voice rose from the speakers. She sounded somewhat confused and groggy. "Mr. Stark I've been telling you over and over, so many times that I am your secretary from 8 am until 10 pm. If you're drunk again, I'm sorry but I have to put my phone down. I have my own schedule so if you please —"
"Pepper." Tony cut in shortly, rocking on his heels back and forth. He ignored the amused look the girl was giving him. "I am not drunk. Now I want you here in my house ."
"It's 3 in the morning, Mr. Stark."
"Your salary will be doubled if you come. I need you here. NOW."
"But —"
Before she could argue, a beep was heard an another voice joined the conversation.
"Tony?" Robert yawned. "What's the matter? Were you issued a DUI?"
"For goodness' sake no! No DUI's — nothing's associated with alcohol right now. Even if I very much wish it was but anyway, I want you here in my house as soon as possible."
"Are you sure you're there's something serious going on in there?"
He also heard Pepper mutter something from the other line. "Mr. Stark, what exactly are you planning to do? Am I really needed? Because if —"
"Yes. Yes. And yes. You see I..." Tony stopped, looking intently at Urania and then took a deep breath. "I actually think I have a daughter right here."
There was a long pause on the two other ends. Tony almost feared they've left their souls somewhere else.
"All right — we're coming." Both of them said together.
Click.
After ordering Jarvis to cut the line, Tony's attention was stolen again by the sound of police sirens right outside his home.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"For goodness' sake there's a doorbell." Tony hissed under his breath but eventually opened the door with a small crack.
He poked his head outside and glanced at the cars. Whoa — that's a lot of vehicles just for one little girl.
Even against his will, Tony beamed. "Good morning officers. How can I be of service?"
"Mr. Stark, we just received a call coming from you that there's actually an intruder inside your house." The man in front explained.
Tony glanced behind him only to see Urania slithering on the couch, hiding away from the officers. So she's afraid of cops. Talk about being brave.
He turned to the policeman. "There were. Only they got away."
"Got away?"
"Yeah. A handful really. Told me they wanted my autograph but I said I couldn't. You know how much work I do but those kids just suddenly went berserk and started attacking my door." He pointed at the dent in which Urania actually kicked. "See? That's quite a property they damaged. I mean, I make weapons but not varnished oak doors — hell no. This could be trouble."
The officers exchanged glances at each other and Tony congratulated himself silently. He had managed to create a big fat lie just to cover up the annoying girl who called herself his daughter from the local police. Even if he couldn't read minds, Tony knew the police were actually thinking he was just some arrogant celebrity over reacting at such stuff.
The man cleared his throat. "So...no break-ins?"
"Break-ins? Oh no. Nobody could go in five steps without being fried." Pleased with the man's look of horror, Tony gave them a nod. "I'm sorry for the disturbance but I'm happy to tell you I'm all right now. Just need some rest — of course, we all need sleep right? Especially you guys!"
"Well, if that's all. I guess we'd be leaving." He gave him a curt nod and signaled his companions back.
Once they were out of sight, he shut the door and shot the kid an angry look.
"There. Happy?" Tony asked sarcastically, crossing his arms.
She grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. "Very. But...why? Do you believe me now?"
"Heck no." He answered just as quick.
Urania frowned. "But you said to that Pepper and Robert that I —"
"Don't get your hopes up girlie." Tony informed her and looked at her seriously. "I told you — you and I got a lot to discuss. And if ever you're damn wrong, you're gonna pay."
"Okay, here's the thing. We. Talk. Calmly." Tony explained to the flashing-eyed, somewhat cunning, so-called 'daughter' of his. "Just like what responsible adults do."
Urania stared at him, vaguely irritated. "I am calm. And I believe this kind of talk is new to you because you've never been responsible — as far as I believe."
"Oh, Urania — we are asking you to cooperate." Pepper said, giving her an assuring smile.
She looked at Tony's secretary. Pepper was nice — much nicer than she had anticipated. Honestly, Urania thought Tony's secretary would be a blond, uber-sexy bombshell, Victoria's Secret Angel look-alike. She was quite surprised to see her — Pepper, prim, gentle and proper. Somehow, looking at her blue eyes was calming. Even more calming than her father's brown ones, who was filled with such disbelief and confusion that it just bums her out.
Urania settled a cool glance at Tony's direction. "I will if he does."
"I already am. Aren't I doing all the explaining?" Tony replied as-a-matter-of-factly, yawning.
"Then if that's the case I —"
"Oh you two are giving me headaches." Robert muttered, rubbing his temples. "Please let's just all exclude the sweet talk so we can all go home when all of this is over and go back to sleep."
Urania huffed and shifted against her seat. It was nearing four in the morning. After the little stunt with the police, it took a lot of time waiting for Pepper and Robert (Tony's newish lawyer) to arrive. But they did though, only to find the two squabbling.
Robert went on. "Mr. Stark, Ms. Stark, if you please —"
"Ha, Ms. Stark." Tony said loudly, earning a glare from the kid.
"Ahem. As I was saying, you two talk, all right? That's the quickest and easiest way for us all to settle this. No catfights until I'm done reviewing the papers this girl has given me." The lawyer said, looking both at the young girl and at his boss. "Ask a question — the girl answers. Ask a question — Mr. Stark answers."
They both barely nodded. The two were too absorbed in a staring contest, each showing no intention to back down.
With a sigh, Tony gave in and started to ask the first question.
"Let's get to the top — what's your name?"
"Complete name? I better warn you, it's kinda long."
"Whatever. Just spit it out."
Urania stared at him, her gray eyes menacing. Then she said slowly. "My name is Maria Urania March Wainwright Stark. That's Maria Urania March W. Stark for short. To make it even shorter, it's Urania. With an even shorter name which is —"
"Fine, fine. I get your point." Tony interrupted, a little pissed with a stranger using his own last name. "Age?"
She frowned. This man is rude. "I'm fifteen. I was born on March 28. Noticed my name? That's how it's —"
Tony face-palmed himself. All this talking she does is driving him nuts. "Mother?"
"My mother is Amanda Wainwright. She was a nuclear physicist at Royal Innovations before but then she was transferred at Stark Industries. She was one of the people behind the proposed trans-uranium powered warheads."
Pepper looked at Urania with a strange face. "Wait — why the past tense? Where is she now?"
Urania blinked up at her and for a second, Tony noticed her expression shift into something sadder. Or was it just his imagination?
"My mom's dead — she got cancer. I was six when she was gone. Then I got transferred in an orphanage after that."
There was silence except the shuffle of papers made by Robert.
"Oh, I'm sorry — I didn't know —"
"It's fine."
Another silence again.
Tony evaded the look the kid was throwing him and resumed in asking questions. "Father — if ever you actually have a real one."
"My mother said that my father is Tony Stark. They actually met sixteen years ago — during the IUPAC World Conference in Dubai." She stared at Tony, face emotionless. "You and her dated for a year then she got pregnant a few months later after that."
"Of course. Right." Pepper commented, throwing looks at Tony.
The man, however, ignored what his secretary was giving him and resumed in asking another question.
"School?"
"I don't go to school." Urania explained.
"Why not?"
"Cliques, clubs, exams, teachers — no thanks. And besides, I can ace all of 'em." She gave them all a huge, gloating smile.
Tony opened his mouth, about to say something but closed it again. Seeing his boss on the verge of breaking down, Pepper decided to do the questioning. She knew how exhausted he might be — even though he was up all night drinking at a party.
"So," Pepper spoke up. "Ever since you've been born, you never went to school?"
"Ever since I was six. I tried going once but then it never worked for me."
Tony stared at the girl. "So you meant kindergarten is your only educational attainment?"
"Yep."
Robert, hearing this, looked up and exchanged covert looks to Tony and Pepper. Kindergarten? So does this mean she never even graduated from first grade? Does this girl ever think about her future?
"That's quite a shame really." Robert said after a while since the two grown-ups were too flabbergasted to speak. "See here Urania, based on the IQ tests given by St. Mary's, you've got high results. Really high, I might add."
For a while, Urania didn't seem to be too interested to reply. She sat there in silence, looking as if she's thinking and choosing her words very carefully.
Everybody was staring at her. Tony, with his utter I-don't-care face, Pepper with her gentle smile and Robert's expectant look. She swallowed, never wanting to say everything she knew because various thoughts of the past would pop into her mind — different vague memories Urania longed to bury before. And those mental images aren't happy thoughts.
She drew in a shaky breath. "Well, it helps because I'm Tony's kid. He's a genius and I got his blood. I grew up just being an ordinary kid but one time — there was one incident that didn't really help me achieve normalcy. Mom took me to her lab when I turned four — she knew how dangerous it was to bring a kid to such dangerous places. But since no one was available to take care of me, she decided to take the risk. When her attention was elsewhere, Mom said I ran away when she wasn't looking. I found a door, opened it up and boom!" Urania clapped her hands loudly once, surprising her alert listeners. "I got exposed to high levels of radiation. They thought — well, Mom's work mates thought I was gonna die you see. But I didn't. Mom said she was thankful I wasn't gone. And she said she was scared that I might encounter side effects like cancer or something."
"But abnormal changes suddenly took place a few months later. I was too advanced compared to kids my age. I can already read medical terms. I act like an seventh grader. I can already answer middle school math. I knew Mom was scared — but she never showed anything. Instead, she tried to look very happy but I knew she's terrified I'm different from the other children."
"Different." Robert repeated faintly, still staring at her. "In a...bizarre sort of way."
"I'm not a mutant!" She said defensively. "I'm not an alien. I'm just a girl who's smarter than average — near genius-level in fact. That just what makes me unique." She crossed her arms and looked back at the three adults smugly.
Urania was trying to change the subject. She didn't like the idea of going back to the past again — somehow, memories of her mom makes her tear up a little — even now.
There was another moment of silence. Tony, who went unnoticed by Urania, was now sitting there quietly — almost too quiet that it made her worry just for a second.
Pepper cleared her throat. "Um, Urania. Could you tell us how you got here? As far as I know, St. Mary's Orphanage is located on Ohio. You're in California now."
"I've got money. My papers and passport are actually in the office and I was bound to leave America today for some around-the-world-tour of a 30 year-old Mexican couple who wanted to adopt me. So I sneaked out last night, stole the documents and took the earliest flight. The adults at the airport weren't too tight on security since nothing big was happening lately."
"I see..." was Pepper's answer as she glanced at her boss who was sitting right infront of her.
Robert suddenly stood up. "Kid, excuse us for one moment — adult talk." Then he motioned the two grown-ups and lead them out of earshot.
"So," The lawyer studied both of their faces. "What do you think?"
"It's hard to say actually — but...I don't know, I mean, I have no place in this kind of situation but..." Pepper said, biting her lip and looking at her boss uncertainly.
"But what?" Robert pressed.
She sighed. "I think she's telling the truth. I might not be correct but there is just something that clicks with everything she said."
Robert nodded thoughtfully. "Truthfully, all her papers she's given us are in order, not faked at least —"
"Not faked?" Tony cut in. "Oh, what are you now dear Robert? A certificate verification machine?"
"With all due respect Mr. Stark, we've been trained to do those at Yale." He replied with a tight smile. "And although it's hard to believe, the kid has a lot of strong points. According to her stories —"
"Fantasies." Tony interjected.
Robert cleared his throat, uncomfortable. "Ah, yes, um that — well, she was saying you and Ms. Wainwright had an affair sixteen years past. The kid's fifteen now. So it's kinda reasonable. But what concerns me is her birth certificate. She has your last name but you and her mother were never married, right Sir?"
"Of course not." He snapped. "So you're saying that kid is correct?"
"Let's not forget the fact that you and her do look alike, Mr. Stark." Pepper chimed in, earning a glare from her boss which she returned with a firm smile.
Tony paled. Robert and his secretary could see that. Their boss looked like on the verge of a breakdown. Of course, with all of this happening right now — unexpected and sudden, who wouldn't? It was as if karma had come and finally got him at last.
"Tony?" Pepper called out softly, a look of concern passed her features.
He blinked, as if his mind just came back to Earth. Then, without warning, he stepped away from the two and rubbed both hands on his face.
"Jarvis?" Tony called, breathing deeply a fair few times.
"Sir?"
"Playback your recordings when we interrogated the kid. Examine the girl's breathing patterns — check if everything's stable. See if her pupils dilated or whatever you think makes her look like she's lying. Just try to be a lie detector."
"But Tony —" Pepper tried to say but Tony raised a hand. At the moment, he looked like he had enough.
"Not now Pep. I can't absorb the fact I just had a kid. Imagine what my old man would say right now. He'd be laughing his head off for sure. Shun me again, if might." Then he released an irritated groan. "Ugh, of all things — why should it be the teenage years?"
Both Robert and Pepper exchanged looks — trying to process if Tony just made a joke or not. It was hard to tell.
Soon, Jarvis' voice resurfaced.
"Mr. Stark, I have the full detail of the girl's body patterns. Her heartbeat was at normal rate, her breathing was even Sir. And her pupils didn't enlarge. As far as I am programmed, everything she said was true. Though I may not be entirely accurate. The best liars are often calm when speaking out."
"True. Maybe I'll get you to meet a politician someday Jarvis. But for now..." Tony stopped talking and was looking at the far side of the room — just a few steps ahead, just across the wall that separated them, sat a fifteen year-old girl who thinks she's her father. Which might be true or not.
"We're going to have a DNA test later on."