Aria carried a small stack of folders into Tony's lab, making him smile. "Mom said to bring you these."
"Shouldn't you be in a daycare?" he asked, pointing at the table. "Put them there for me please."
Aria pouted. "Mom said you needed them."
He leaned closer to her. "I don't like things being handed to me."
"Oh! I know everyone has a thingy that upsets them." She put the folders where he had shown her. Then she started to stand on tip-toe. "Do you mind if I kiss your cheek? I know I should ask."
"That's fine." He pointed and leaned down for her. She kissed him on it and grinned as she went back to fully footed on the ground. "Why are you out of daycare?"
"Kids might be scared of me for a few more days so I'm mom's intern today," she said happily. She looked around. "Do you have scissors?"
"Not ones you should use," he said. "What were you planning on cutting?"
She held up some of her hair. "This nastiness before it needs another brush. Brushes are nasty." She looked totally serious.
"Your mom might not like that. You should ask her permission."
"Grandma said that Mom cut her own once." She smiled. "And it'll mean no more brushes!" She twirled a few times. "So do you have scissors?"
"Not that'll cut hair. Sorry." She pouted. "They make stuff to put in your hair to make it not tangle."
"But it makes my scalp itch."
"There's oils," he offered.
"Still itchy and then I'd need another shower and even more brushes. I need to avoid brushes before they turn me evil."
Tony wanted to laugh so much since she looked so serious about that. "They make people who cut hair."
"But if I do it myself it'll save Mom money and it won't take her away from work. Then we can be interns together!" She beamed. She heard a noise and her eyes went wide as she spun around looking for it. "What was that?"
"I think that was Dum-E. Hey, Dum-E," he called. The robot trundled over. "This is one of my robots. I made him when I was in school. His name is Dum-E."
"Isn't that a mean thing to call someone?" she demanded, tapping a foot, hands going to her hips. "Are you a bully?"
He could seriously see her mother's mannerisms in the little one. Darcy had done that same thing to Jane once or twice that he'd seen. "Robots are named as acronyms, Aria. Like the AI JARVIS is. It stands for Just A Really Very Interesting System."
"Ooooh!" She nodded. "So that's not calling him a rude name?"
"There's been times I wanted to. He's a bit slow on the uptake sometimes."
"Huh?"
"He doesn't always do things you tell him to do."
"So he's naughty and you ground him?"
"A lot. Usually by taking away the fire extinguishers he likes to play with." She pouted. "Right now he's being very good. You can say hi." She walked over to introduce herself to the single armed robot. Stark taped it for her mother. Within minutes of talking to the robot about needing to cut her hair, Dum-E was playing with it for her. Tony grinned, looking at the folders.
Then he heard a zap and just knew what it was. "Stay away from the cutting lasers before you get really hurt, Dum-E," he yelled. "And no letting little kids use them!" He went to find that pair. Yup, the robot was holding a laser cutter and her hair. He had cut the back of it for her. "Wow. Your mom's going to be mad at me."
"No she won't!" She grinned. "My mom's not one of those screaming moms at the mall." She hugged the robot. "Thank you, sweetie. You're very helpful." She hugged Tony around the waist then bounded off. "Have a good day, Mr. Tony."
"You too." He sent that file to Darcy to cover his butt. He didn't think she'd yell at his robot but you never could tell with some mothers.
***
Darcy watched the video, smiling at it. Her daughter had nice manners for three. And then she saw why Tony had really sent it. She sighed. Jane lifted her head and looked around so Darcy waved her over. She reran it. Jane grinned at the manners she helped Darcy teach, and then moaned at the haircut. "Where is my daughter now?" she asked patiently. "JARVIS? Where is my bouncy, twirly spawn?"
"In the break room with the mirrors and a knife she found in the hallway. Darcy sighed but got up. "She's locked the door and it's a manual lock. I'm afraid I can't open it."
"I know how to get the door open," Darcy said, going that way. "She used to do it a lot to the bathroom." She pulled off her ID as she headed up the hallway, still shaking her head. Doctor Banner looked upset. "My spawn is cutting her own hair with someone's knife she found." She looked at the lock and stuck her ID into the lock area to wiggle it so the door opened. She walked in and stared at her daughter.
"You are not old enough for a sharp knife," she said patiently. "And you're grounded for a week! No library trip!" Her daughter sniffled, pouting at her. "Yay!" She took the knife to look at and put it into the sink to clean it off. She did trim one spot that Aria hadn't gotten to but washed and dried the knife well. She laid it on the counter before walking her daughter off. "We were going to get your hair cut tomorrow night, daughter." Bruce was staring. "I left the knife she found in there."
"I'll make sure it gets back to the owner." He looked. "She didn't do too bad."
"Dum-E helped me!" Aria said happily. "He had a neat laser thingy."
Darcy sighed, looking at her. "You're too young for lasers too. They could really hurt you and we couldn't fix that sort of injury. Also, not supposed to play with Mr. Stark's things without asking. His robot might get grounded for that." She ran off to apologize and beg for her new friend to not get punished. Darcy sighed, looking up and shaking her head. "My daughter's cute. I have to keep that in my mind sometimes." She followed to grab her little girl. "C'mon, lab time, my intern."
"He's not grounded, right?" she begged Tony. "If he's grounded he can't go to the park or anything like the library with us."
"He doesn't usually get to leave the building. He has to stay in the labs so JARVIS can watch over him."
She pouted. "Then how does he have fun?"
"He sprays me with weird things."
She sulked. "But he needs more fun. Like a puppy or a toddler, without fun things they turn destructive. I nearly destroyed the moon by playing with Auntie Jane's machines when I was bored. He might do the same thing and the moon is important. Without it, some changers would never make it."
He gave her a hug. "We'll teach him to play nicer with kids and maybe he can go play in the daycare." She beamed and nodded. "You didn't do too badly with your hair, kiddo, but I think your mom wants you back." She kissed him on the cheek again before bounding back to her mother's side to go back to the lab. Darcy mouthed 'sorry about her' while being dragged off. Tony groaned but sent that whole thing to Pepper so she could giggle. That robot was beeping at the others, apparently they were gossiping. He'd have to stop that trend and teach Dum-E to play with blocks and do puzzles.
He sent a copy of that video to Darcy too so she could save it and embarrass her future teenage daughter. Parents did that as far as he knew.
***
Darcy walked Aria into the barbershop that was up the street from the tower. The guys in there all grinned. "She borrowed someone's laser cutter and then a knife she somehow found to fix her hair. Can one of you tidy it up so it's cuter?"
One of the guys waved them over. "I can do that, little one." Aria got put into the kid seat and he put a poncho over her. "Let me guess, you didn't like brushes?"
She shook her head. "They're evil and the stuff to make them less evil made my scalp itch so I asked a new robot friend to help me cut it since no one had any scissors. He found the laser cutter and did the back for me. I found a pretty knife and took it to the break room to use the mirror. I didn't do bad. Mom had to trim off one long part."
"You did do pretty good but it's always better to let professionals take care of important things like hair," Darcy reminded her. "That way you don't look lopsided." She looked at the barber, who was snickering. "She's a good kid. I did the same sort of thing when I was four. Just make it look cute please."
"I can definitely neaten it up. She did a good job. That might be a good career."
"I wouldn't mind if that's what she wanted. She likes talking to people too." Aria nodded, chatting with him about how you trained to be a hair person. He told her about how you went to a special school and learned all sorts of things. He did neaten and clip a bit of the sides and back, leaving the top a bit longer. Aria squealed when she saw it, wiggling around to hug him. Darcy paid and they went up to the nail place up the street while the barber was pleased with the little hurricane that had been so sweet.
Darcy brought Aria back, letting her run to show Jane her nails and hair. "Those are adorable stickers on your nails," Jane said, patting her on the head. "And your hair is very cute."
"The nice hair guy said I could learn how to do that."
"You probably could, yup." Aria danced around, making it to the radio to turn it on. Then she went back to dancing while her mom came over to make them all dinner. Jane looked at Darcy. "That's cute."
"It's very cute." She grinned. "She can still wear her sparkly headbands too."
"That's sweet."
"Can we show Grandma?"
"You can record a video for her," she offered, turning that feature on so her daughter could talk to her. "Hold the phone back farther so she can see more than your nose." Aria propped the phone on the table and leaned down to talk to it so she could record for her Grandmother. When she was all babbled out she handed the phone back so her mother could send it. She took a few pictures to send too then sent the whole group.
Darcy grinned at her. "I think you look adorable." Aria grinned. "Dinner's in twenty minutes. Go look at a catalog." She ran to the table to see what types of catalogs Jane had. Only for machines so she went to find one in their apartment. She found someone knocking. "Mommy's next door," she called. Then she ran back.
Darcy went to the door to look out there. A different lawyer but one she knew. "What's happened?" He came up the hall, handing her a paper. She read it and grimaced. "No, she's fine." She let the lawyer see her daughter. "I sent over photos of her scaling up, right?"
"You did and her grandmother was very happy with that." He smiled at the curious young girl. "I work with your father's family, Aria. I'm the one that gets pictures from your mom for them."
"Ooooh!" She nodded and smiled. "Well, I'm cute today. Do they need another one? I just got a haircut and my nails done." She wiggled them in the air.
"I can take pictures of that. She hasn't gotten to send us one today." He pulled out his phone to take pictures of her, including one of her twirling around to show off her pretty skirt. He smiled at Darcy. "Her grandmother said next time let her guard the kid for a few days?"
"We went to hide in a nesting cave while I was in heat."
"I figured. So did she. Just let us know if we can help."
"I will. Thank them for me."
"You're welcome." He smiled at Aria. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you too, Aria. You have a good night." He patted her on the head before leaving.
Darcy closed the door. "Your grandmother said next time she'd help if I had to yell at people." Aria hugged her around the waist then went back to her catalog. She let Jane see the note then put it up for now. She could write a long letter to Grandma later.
***
Brock found Darcy and Aria the next day, staring at the young one's hair. "You really went short."
She grinned. "No more brushes!" she cheered.
"True, that's why I keep mine short too." He handed Darcy a bag. "Those are the books that my mom suggested for young draglettes to teach them the important skills. I was thinking the Bunny book but she sighed and said it was so outdated."
"What Bunny book?"
He pointed at the bag with a smirk. "It's in there too. It's one I started with."
She looked and smiled. "Oh, I didn't know we had these."
"A lot of parents can't teach some of the more old traditions. That'll give her a good overview but it's meant for little kids. Like catechism class for being a dragon basically."
Darcy smiled. "Thank you, Commander. That's sweet of you to think of her."
"Not a problem." He looked at the kid then at Darcy. "Don't let the ultra femme idiots get to her," he said quietly. "The current in fashion locally is all you women having super long hair."
"Yeah, I've seen that and sneered at one who complained at me for not following it. She's not doing the ball and she's not doing that."
"Ball? The announcement ball? You went?" he asked dryly, smirking at her.
"I didn't want to but we sponsored a few girls so I had to go too." She grimaced while shrugging. She let Aria have the bag to look at the books. "I'm not going to make her do that."
"That's probably a good idea. There's the nice changer school."
Darcy shook her head. "I want my little girl to get to know people, real people. If we're here she can go private for a decent enough school but I want her around and exposed to a lot of people so she learns how to deal with them. One of the girls we sponsored and I were close until the anti-human homesteading sort married her."
He shook his head. "No, I can't see her being one of those. There's a few good ones that have clubs at least."
"Which is what I grew up with in my own schools." She looked down then at him. "Then again, we may be back in the middle of nowhere so I'll be home schooling." Aria gave her an odd look. "If we go back to the observatory in Norway, there's no school anywhere near there. So you'd have to learn from us instead."
"That's going to be mean, Mom. Sometimes I need time away from you being fussy at Auntie Jane."
Darcy smiled at her. "I feel the same way sometimes." Aria grinned and settled in to look at one of the new books. She looked at Brock, shrugging. "If we're going to be here then I'll gladly ask for a better school list."
"I'll get my mom to make one out if you're still here next year. You be good, Aria."
"Thank you, Mr. Brock."
He grinned. Darcy frowned. "What was that?"
"My name. I let her use my first name," he said.
"Oh!" She smiled. "I didn't know your first name. Thank you for the gift, Brock."
"Welcome." He grinned at them before walking off.
"Oh, the knife she found is still in the common area if you know who she borrowed from."
He went to look and texted someone a picture. "He lost it in the entryway," he complained. "Or so he said. He'll come get it." He grinned as he walked off.
"Thank you," Aria called. She carried her new books into the lab to settle in her corner to look them over.
Darcy walked in. "Commander Rumlow brought her a few books."
"That's sweet." Jane looked, frowning. "Is that on hunting?"
Darcy looked and nodded. "It is a skill she might need someday." She sat down to go over the books with Aria. One she did put aside. "That's for a bigger girl. You'll need that one in two years." Aria nodded at that. Jane smiled at the teaching books. They sounded all right.
***
Aria's first day back at daycare, the worker stared at her hair. She smiled. "I trimmed it and Mommy made sure the nice barber guy did a good job making it look cute for me."
"That is cute, Aria. Most girls have a lot more hair than that but that does look cute on you." She smiled at the manicure too. "Very pretty, dear."
"Thank you." She went to help the person feeding the fish tanks then went to play with some blocks.
She looked at Darcy. "I'll...."
"Those ones who insist women have long hair? I don't hold to that," she said quietly but firmly. "Frankly, I feel about like I do with ultra right wing religions. If they must, then that's their choice but if someone wants to be helped out of that abusive ways I'll gladly help there."
The woman nodded. "Many of the mothers are taking that up."
"Well, they can bite me." Darcy grinned. "And if they try to say something to her, then you can tell them I said that."
"It's not a usual thing for a dragon damsel."
"Yeah, we're not damsels," she said dryly. "Damsels are weak. We're not."
"Oh, okay. You're a traditionalist."
"Yes I am. From some of the oldest traditions. Women are strong because we have to be to handle all the things in our lives. Aria will do fine when she's older."
"Understood and I'll keep anyone from remarking on it."
"Thanks." She smiled. "She's still very girly but that whole princess and damsel thing just sets my teeth on edge." She strolled off. "See you tonight, Aria. Be good."
"I will," she called back. "Have a happy day nagging Auntie Jane!"
"Of course I do." She smirked back at her before leaving.
Aria bounded around the room gathering all the blocks in one area to stare at them to see what they wanted to become this time. She smiled at the staring worker. "The blocks will tell me what they want to become. The same as paints do when I fingerpaint." She finally found the last one she was looking for, because she really liked that small purple square block, and settled down to arrange them until they told her what they wanted to become. Then she'd build it.
The room worker nodded. "It's good when things find their true forms," she agreed. She made a note about Darcy hating that damsel ideology. Kids didn't need to see that sort of stress.
A wolf changer's mother stared at Aria when she brought her son in. "Oh, that poor dear."
"Her mother doesn't like the damsel ideology," she told the woman with the long, dyed blonde hair. "She's letting Aria pick it for herself."
Aria looked over at the woman. "There's a reason they called us queens. Queens handle things and rescue themselves according to Uncle Thor. Princesses have to be rescued thank to Disney." She went back to building. "Sam, the blocks want to be a castle today. Help me build it?" He settled in to help her build her castle. He liked blocks too.
The woman nodded, smiling at the daycare worker. "She's right. They used to call us older females queens." She strolled off. That little one was very strong personalitied. She'd learn as she grew up. Though with her mother being so tough... No, the locals would help ease those rough edges. She smiled at a dragon agent coming in. "Morning."
"Morning," he grunted with a nod. He went to log in and hit his desk. He already had two emails from people suggesting he explain hierarchies to Lewis. He sent back that she wasn't an agent, she wasn't part of the local tribe, and she was a good mother. She was a matriarch of an older line and her daughter was adorable the way she was. Weak women annoyed him and the thought that they should all be damsels made him cringe.
They both stopped that idea thankfully. He did send Lewis an email warning that the local tribe within SHIELD was being fussy about her being so strong willed but he encouraged her to say it louder to teach some of them manners. He got an email from someone in the lower level of agents, asking for an intervention on her behalf.
He went to find her to see what had happened this time. Turned out her boss was a changer and wanted her to be a more delicate woman. He sneered at the senior agent, who backed away from him. "SHIELD agents aren't weak, delicate, or femme unless they're undercover that way," he sneered. "Leave her alone before I challenge you." The man ran off. He looked at the woman.
"I filed a challenge to him being my boss," she complained. "Got told to suck it up. He docked my performance review due to my hair length and the fact I won't wear a skirt."
"Talk to Hill?"
"She huffed and said she'd fix it and hasn't in three months."
"I'll talk to Hill." He walked off to get more coffee and call her. He found her in the head office. "Hill, I got asked to talk to a senior idiot who wanted all of you to be femme little girls instead of competent agents. And you haven't taken out the things he put in the performance reviews." He sipped his coffee. She glared. He stared back. She huffed. "Not like agents can do their jobs in skirts, Hill. It'd get in my way to wear the sort of floaty, feminine skirts they want you women to wear. One dress code for all," he finished patiently.
She snorted but did look those up. He selected an agent for her to look at first. She stared, grimacing as she removed all that. "That's stupid."
"Yes he was. It seems to be creeping into all the changers anymore. I've already had two emails from whiners who hate that women have sense and strength and told them to fuck off." He finished his coffee and got more from the pot in there. Fury glared at him. He stared back. "Not like you've dealt with your pack for that same thing floating in. Half of them have made their wives embrace the whole damsel thing."
"No, I haven't. They're all idiots."
"Hmm," Brock said, walking off. "Repeatedly."
Hill got into the other reviews that had the same sort of language to fix them. She sent out a SHIELD wide email stating that she had found such problems and if she had to fix them she'd do so and fire the ones who gave her extra work. Female agents weren't weak women and didn't have to act like it either. Female agents could be pretty, cute, or femme, and still kick an ass but the dress code said no skirts on duty. And to keep your hair battle ready. She looked at Fury, who was snickering. "Have a talk with your people?"
"Tonight," he agreed.
"Thank you. They're causing me more work." She went back to her desk. She had thousands of reviews to go over for stupid things.
***
"You could be more feminine," a female in the cafeteria told Darcy.
"Why?" She ate a bite of salad.
"It's important and the way we are."
"No it's not. It never was. That's conservative Christian ideology sneaking into the changer communities." She sipped her water. "We were named queens and matriarchs. We went to war and defended our whole clans. That's not feminine. If you can defend your kids in a dress, you go for it, Sister. I'm not like that."
"It's the way we've always been!"
"No it's not. The long hair you're trying to style there, and it's all fly away so you need a conditioner, only started being fashionable when I was fifteen." She stared at her. "My grandmothers never had it. My aunts never had it. If *you* like that ideology then you go for it in your life. In mine, that's worthless and pointless. In fact, most of the world doesn't believe in that."
"It's why you're single," she sneered.
"No, I'm single because I consider a lot of changers to be frivolous, judgmental assholes. They've proven it to me repeatedly, just like you just did." She stared at her. "Frankly, I've had plenty of dates. I'm not going to hitch myself to someone because they have a nice hoard. I'm not a gold digger." She gave her ring a pointed look then looked up. The woman shrieked but stomped off.
"Bye, have a great day. Please pick up a few history books." She went back to her salad, grinning at someone staring at her as she chewed. They ducked down and went back to eating. Darcy sighed in pleasure. She hated that viewpoint. She dropped a book off on Brock's desk after lunch with a grin. "A good biography for those women who want to appear weak to look up to. A real princess and damsel who became a real queen." She strolled off.
He looked at it, skimming the first few pages. He'd heard of that queen in school. It turned out she was a lot more than the current idiocy suggested. It was an interesting read. Half of those things hadn't been mentioned.
***
Brock stood to Fury's right as he stared at all the changers in SHIELD. Some were on screens, some were in person. Most were scowling. The other top changer agents across all the breeds were on the stage too. "People," Fury noted. "We apparently have fucking idiots among you." They looked at each other then at him again. "We have people trying to *arrange* things and agents who think that their personal preferences are more important than missions." He scowled at Brock.
"I knew she wasn't the right one for that job and you proved me right by getting her killed, Fury." He stared back then looked out there. "People, quit trying to whine all the changers in SHIELD into damsels." They mass groaned. "Every damn last one of the ones in this room has fought for our spots here and our ranks. It fucking sucks that we have to have this talk about people being held back due to their short hair!"
A few shuddered and one shrank down. "No, I saw how you sent her on a mission that got her assaulted," Fury told him. "And you're done here. After this you're going to be arrested for that." He looked around. "Maria Hill found ninety-seven notes about hair length. Another fifty about not wearing skirts on duty, which isn't allowed anyway. If you want people in skirts around you all the time, go run a girl scout troop."
"My daughter's one and they don't wear skirts usually anymore," one female quipped. "Does that mean all the write ups I got that meant I didn't get my promotion are gone, sir?"
"Hell yes. If they're not, you tell Hill so she can look into it. Though, weren't more for insubordination?"
"Yup, I told my boss to suck my tit about wearing a short skirt for him."
"Oh, that. Tell Hill. I'm ashamed this has went on, and has spread to the normals within SHIELD. One of them tried to write up Hill herself for not being a delicate little princess." Brock broke out snickering. "It stops now, people. I don't care that your people are pushing you to become conservative Christians. It doesn't impact SHIELD's duty. If it does, then you're in the wrong agency and I'll expect you to retire. We need more good agents but damned if we need more like that."
He looked at the other changers, who all nodded to back him up. "We all are done with this shit. Don't make me go find individuals to talk to them in person." He stared at one screen, that then went blank. "Huh. May is having a talk with them." He smirked. "I'll be happy to let her talk to others."
"For not being a changer, she's definitely a senior dragon matriarch," one of the other changer heads quipped. Brock nodded he agreed. "Sir, we need to set up an official hierarchy."
"No we don't," Brock ordered. "Most of us who do our jobs are in and out so often it renders it pointless and then becomes a stress for someone trying to take authority." He glared at him. "Every time you leave on a mission I have to go chew on your supposed second-in-command for nearly bringing down SHIELD by forcing his ways on others. Frankly, I'd like to see your supposed second-in-command under the FBI's building. He's one of theirs and spying for them anyway."
"He is not!" he shouted. He lunged and Brock punched him, knocking him down.
Fury looked then at his commander. "Was that really necessary?"
"I could've ripped him apart," he offered. "Did you want the blood on your stage, sir?"
"No!" He glared at the other one. "I've heard the same complaint from others so get up and act like a damn adult." He looked at Rumlow. "You're too alpha sometimes."
"Yup." He grinned. "I sure as shit am. It's good for me and for STRIKE. Thank you for noticing."
He looked at the others. "I'd like to be able to brag on our agents, but it appears I can't as most of our men are scared of women and most of the women have to keep fighting them so often they can't get things done. I don't know *why*," he sneered. "But if it doesn't stop I'm naming Rumlow over all of you for six months." They shrank down.
"And look at who'll have physical mandatories to meet," Rumlow quipped. "And all the donuts will be stopped." He stared at one.
"No, sir, I'd shoot you first," he quipped with a smirk. "My wife's cravings are spreading and I'll be damned if I let her suffer in peace since she's not supposed to eat them at all."
"You could give them up too."
"Sure, when she has the kid, I'm sure it'll stop. Until then, it's keeping her happy and she's prettier and meaner than you so I like her more." He smirked. "Bite me if you pout about that, Commander."
Brock laughed. "It's good she's prettier at least." He looked at the others. "Weekly 5K runs," he said smugly. "To keep in combat ready shape."
"Sir, can we take out the commander?" one asked from a screen.
"I doubt you could," Fury said sarcastically. "You tried once and didn't manage it." That one sulked. "Any other comments on things I won't put up with?"
"No, sir," they all agreed.
"Mass trip to the beauty parlor," one of the females said loudly. The women went with her.
Fury nodded. "She's showing good handler skills." He stared at the men. "Quit being so childish and babies about women being just as strong or find another job. This is the last warning and if I see another one, well, the FBI is hiring." He walked off.
Brock looked at his people, staring at each one. "It stops now. Damsels aren't worthy of anything but being a concubine and none of us need that in our lives." He walked off. The other changers just nodded at their people and followed.
That night, on the SHIELD bulletin board, there was a group who were suggesting that Rumlow should be set up with a nice little dragon who'd love to baby him. That way he'd calm down. He saw it and laughed for a good, long while then put in what he liked in a woman to help them. Suddenly that board got shut down.
***
"Some day she'll make such a cute wife for a warrior," a woman said in the grocery store.
Darcy looked at her. She was a SHIELD agent. She was wearing the uniform. "She'll be her own warrior, thanks though."
"Women don't do that," she said firmly.
"And yet," Darcy waved a hand at the woman's uniform. "And tell that to Natasha Romanoff."
"We'd never accept someone like her in our community." She huffed off.
Darcy waved at her back. "Which is why the communities are dying and I had to go to war to protect myself and my daughter from that sort." The woman gasped but stomped off faster. "Goddess damn, people are stupid," she told her sleeping kid. "Don't ever become one of them. I'd hate to beat it out of you." She heard a female laugh and shrugged. "I would. I'd never let my daughter grow up that weak." She pushed the cart on, getting the few things they needed at home. Including oatmeal. She still didn't understand why her daughter liked oatmeal like most kids liked cookies.
She was nearly back at the tower before that older woman following her got tiresome. She glared back at her, making her go the other direction. She got into the tower and pointed her filled hand. "She was following us from the grocery store," she said quietly. They made note of her picture just in case.
***
Jane looked up as a guard let someone into her lab. "Do not do that. I don't allow outsiders in here," she ordered. The guard stepped back but nodded. "Who're you and why are you invading my lab, lady?" She had heard about the old woman from the grocery store last night so she had to wonder.
"I'm Miss Malantha. I'm the tower's coordinator for special needs people."
Jane stared at her. "I don't have any special needs beyond masses of coffee so science works."
"Your assistant, Dr. Foster."
"Darcy, yeah. She doesn't usually have special needs either. She usually takes care of them herself when she does."
"We know she's a changer, and her daughter."
"Yes. Since when has that qualified as a special need?"
"We were thinking the child may be sick. She was taking her to the doctor today and we noticed she cut off all her hair and changed her clothes."
"Kids change styles all the time and Aria hates having hair that needs brushed so she cut it and Darcy had it cleaned up."
"Most young dragon females have quite pretty, long hair."
"Yes, I'm told that means that they're trying to be damsels and that's something Darcy's never stood for. Darcy's a matriarch of the old ways. She looked into the origins of the damsel feelings and most of it seemed to come from some conservative religious ideology that she also doesn't agree with." Jane stared at the horrified looking woman. "Aria will grow up to be the woman she wants to be and the dragon she wants to be. Though I doubt you could ever call any Lewis woman a damsel."
"That's not the way the modern community works."
"Bullshit and Darcy's withdrawn from the local Council due to their faulty thinking and trying to force mate her. As far as I know she's withdrawn from all the councils because of all that and her mother." Jane glared. "Considering she had to destroy people over that? I doubt you're going to be welcome to talk to her about them and I'm pretty sure she'll have a fit if you try to talk to her daughter about such backwards ways. Darcy is not the queen of everyone but she is the queen of her family and her word is law. Aria will grow up just fine being mentored into a fine, strong young woman who has sense and an education so she never has to be rescued."
"We...we can turn her in for that," the woman huffed.
"For what? Protecting her daughter from those who seem to want them to be weak enough to be victims? I doubt social services will handle that since it's what *good* parents do." Jane stared at her. "You have a great day somewhere else before I start to lose my temper, okay?" The woman huffed off.
The guard got glared at. "Sorry, Dr. Foster. She insisted and she's the one that does all the room assignments."
"So that's the idiot that tried to put us three in a one bedroom apartment," Jane said dryly. "Figures."
The guard walked off laughing. "I'll make a note to stop her, ma'am."
"Thank you. People hate it when I slap people." She sent a text message to Darcy and got back to work.
***
Darcy looked at her phone when it beeped in case it was important. "What the hell?" she muttered. She sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"Mommy, did Auntie Jane blow up the lab again?" Aria asked. The doctor flinched away from her. "She does science stuff with stars."
Darcy waved a hand. "Jane creates portals. No, dear. One of those damsel affiliated dumbasses showed up to nag Jane." She looked at the doctor. "I've pointed out a few times my daughter isn't going to be that way."
"She clearly isn't. They always have a lot of knotted hair because no girl at that age likes hairbrushes."
"Which is why she cut her own hair and I had to get it cleaned up," Darcy agreed with a grin for him. "But I had already agreed to trim it before she did that."
"Some kids are strong willed," he agreed.
"Yes, we both are," Darcy agreed with a nod, looking at her daughter. "This is probably related to the SHIELD agent I told off last night at the grocery store for thinking you should be a weak little simpleton."
"That seems to be fashionable."
"I grew up with sense and she'll grow up with sense. And if her hair ever gets to be that fashionable waist length, I'm cutting it on her myself."
"That'd need a whole lot of evil brushes," Aria said. "I'm not doing that, Mom."
"Good!" She smiled at the doctor. "I try so hard."
"Most parents do. You're doing fine with her. I can't find any fault with her outside that ankle."
"We were almost kidnaped last year. It dislocated her knee and ankle during that. She's got exercises to strengthen that at the moment."
"That's fine. It's a good idea if she doesn't need surgery."
"No, they popped it back in. The ankle will sometimes pop out but she knows how to handle that if I'm not nearby and how to put on her brace. It's happened in daycare a few times."
He nodded, making a note of that. "Which is good for her. Children with chronic health issues do sometimes need that sort of training." He looked at her. "Her diet?"
"She...you know how some kids will only eat chicken nuggets or noodles? She's that way with oatmeal. Plain, instant oatmeal."
"Which isn't all that bad for her. She could probably be encouraged to eat more vegetables."
"Dinner always has veggies," Aria said, looking serious. "They're good for me and for Auntie Jane."
"They are," Darcy agreed with a nod. "And making you eat them means I get to make Jane eat some too."
"Your..."
"Boss. Not girlfriend, boss." That got a nod. "We lived with her when we were in London. Now we live in connecting apartments."
"That's fine. I'm sure it's made safe in the lab?"
"Yeah. Most of the time Jane's doing math. When she's creating new things Aria's in the daycare."
"That's good. Means you take care of her." He looked at her. "A lot of parents don't think about that."
"I'm used to ducking for cover when Jane builds something so I made sure she was safer." The doctor laughed but made that note too. "I know it's time for shots."
"NOOOOO!" Aria wailed. "No shots! You didn't say shots!"
Darcy stared at her. "Really?" Aria pouted. "Keep it up, no chocolate milk when we get home." Aria pouted at the doctor, who chuckled at that. "She was on the London schedule if that matters." She pointed at the shot record.
"We locally request two more. I'm surprised her daycare let her in."
"They didn't ask. What two?"
"We like the hepatis vaccine before now. We also encourage the chicken pox."
"I have a slight problem with the chicken pox. I ended up in the hospital from them after taking the stupid shot."
"Usually you see mild cases."
"I ended up in an oxygen tent. I'd rather not test that one with her."
"We can do a test to see if she'll be allergic."
"Please," Darcy said with a nod. "My mother nearly killed the hospital when I was sick."
"Do you take the flu shot?"
"No I don't. I don't mind the flu and I'm not one that's going to get it easily. She ...last year she didn't get one and got a mild version of the flu instead of the serious cases she gets most times she took it."
"Huh. Some people do react that way. The flu shot is suggested."
"And we'll think about that but it's not time yet. I was going to let her try the nasal spray option instead to see if it worked better." She smiled at him. "You'll need someone to help me hold her down for shots," she said quietly, pointing at the forms she had filled out. "She has bruised some nurses."
"Some kids do," he agreed. "We can handle that. We're used to them here." He smiled. "Some kids will fight with shots."
"She's damn good at it too. She fractured my wrist last year for the IV in the hospital after that kidnaping."
The doctor made that note and circled the 'does not take shots well' rating she had put down. "I'll get an extra nurse." He looked at her. "You get three shots." He looked at Darcy. "I would've expected you to be a slowed down schedule."
"I am for anything new. If she's not had a reaction I'm okay with the regular schedule but anything new I do ask that she only get that one. Just in case."
"I can fully understand it. As long as she's getting them." He went to get a few nurses and the shots. Aria tried to run out but Darcy caught her at the door and held the squirming and fighting little one. Even if she was going to be bruised from the kicking the kid was doing.
A nurse came to help hold her down and a third one covered her head so she didn't see the shots coming. They gave her all three shots and Aria was sobbing pitifully but it had to happen. "It didn't hurt that much," the doctor said. "And it's not a long term pain." He gave her a safety lollipop. "Be a good girl, Aria."
She nodded, pouting at her mother. "Shots are mean."
"You have to have a lot of shots to get to school," Darcy said, staring at her. "Not negotiable, sorry!" She hugged her. "I love you enough to get you shots even if you did just nearly break my thigh bone." Aria slumped but nodded, sucking on her treat. She smiled at the nurses. "Thanks."
"Not a problem. We've seen worse cases." They left with the doctor and Darcy picked up Aria, wincing as she moved. She paid her copay and they went back to the tower. Aria curled up in the corner of the lab so Darcy could sit down.
"I drove off the woman who said she'd call social services because your daughter's not a weak little whiny thing."
"Thanks. She here or SHIELD?"
"Here. She's the one that tried to get us into one apartment."
Darcy just rolled her eyes. "Great." She got an ice pack from the fridge and put it on her thigh. "It was a shot day."
"Oh." She looked at Aria. "Someday you'll quit doing that."
"Shots hurt!" she complained.
"Uh-huh. So?" Jane smirked. "Just wait until you're older and waxing the hair off, Aria. That hurts just as much for each pull." Aria huffed but curled up in the chair to nap. Jane looked at Darcy. "You okay?"
"She got me pretty good." She went into the bathroom to check it, coming back out with some toilet paper under her jeans and the ice pack. "Broke the skin from a jeans rub." She sat back down to get back to work.
Jane shook her head. "Kids are so weird sometimes."
"Yeah, so were we, Jane."
"True." She got back to her current math problem. A guard came back with that same woman. "That's the one I was about to slap earlier," Jane complained. "Didn't I say not to bring her back here and to quit bringing people into my lab?" she complained.
"She can overrule us."
Darcy looked at her. "I don't give a single bit of a damn what the local community thinks about women being strong enough to protect themselves and their families. I don't plan on hanging around with them. Especially since I had to fight so many of them recently to protect myself from being raped and killed." The woman backed off with a gasp.
"Frankly, I grew up with sense and an education and my daughter will too. All those who want all women to be *damsels*," she said with a sneer. "Need to get away from her before they ruin her mind. I'd never let my daughter be that weak or that stupid." She smiled. "You have a great day, ma'am."
"It's tradition!"
"From about when I was fifteen and the Reganites in the councils decided we were all needing to live like those evangelicals you see on tv," Darcy shot back. "Lady, my mother heads a council. Shut the fuck up. You're not going to get your way with my little girl."
"I can report you!"
"You go right ahead so I can sue you." She smiled. "That would be making a false report and trying to libel myself and my daughter. She'll need a great college fund so she doesn't have loans." She smiled. "Anything else you wanted to speak on that's none of your business?"
"You're an unfit, violent mother."
"I'm only a violent mother when I have to be to protect my daughter. I think I've pretty well proved that." The woman fled before Darcy could stand up. She looked at the guard. "She comes back and I'm shoving her out a window. We don't need that sort of problematic being around my little girl."
He nodded. "I can see that, but she overruled what Dr. Foster said and my boss, miss. Are you all right? I noticed the ice pack."
"It was vaccine day. She really hates needles."
"Ah. Yeah. I've see kids that fought back." He left to tell the head guard that. Pepper Potts was already down there with the woman who had called her to complain about evil, violent people. He ran the video from the meetings for her.
Pepper looked at the woman. "She seems like a good normal mother to me." The woman huffed again. "Frankly, that whole damsel thing is disturbing and wrong to many women. That's why only the dumb ones follow it. Celebutantes who follow it are just as stupid. I've talked with Aria. She's a healthy, happy young girl who is well spoken and has manners. That's better than half of my friend's kids too. A good quarter of them are dragon changers and their kids are a lot more spoiled and whiny than Aria is.
"Second, that is not a reason to call a social worker. Her liking short hair and to not be a flower picking little girl is perfectly normal. Not all girls like flowers and girly things. I was up trees and in the mud most of my life until I was thirteen." She smiled. "Girls like us get things done and do good things for humanity. Your accusations are harmful and I'm now annoyed." The woman stomped off. "Does she do that often?"
"Yup," the head guard said. "She nags all the dragons in the tower to be more like her or she'll complain until they give in. Even if they aren't most of the time at home."
"I noticed the ice pack Lewis had?" she asked the lower guard.
"She said it was vaccine day and the kid hates shots."
"That happens I guess." She walked off. "Do we have a higher dragon than her?"
"In SHIELD."
"Can you ask them to talk to the woman before I have to fire her?" She walked off. "Thank you for letting me know she was a problem."
"Not a bad thing," the head guard agreed. "Go find one?"
"Rumlow, Taylor, or Pekin?"
"I think I saw Rumlow leaving earlier for something. He was in tactical gear and swearing at someone who was trying to catch up to his team."
"I'll go find Pekin. Taylor's an asshole," the lower guard said as he walked off to go find that agent. He found him at his desk. "Can we talk for a minute?"
"Sure." He went with him to the hallway. "Which agent did what?"
"One of the dragon elders in Stark's part is trying to nag everyone into enforcing the damsel stereotypes and threatened to call social services on Lewis about her letting her daughter have her hair cut."
"Excuse me?" He called up the video footage so he could see them both. Agent Pekin grimaced. "That's just dumb! It's not like it's more than a fashionable thing right now."
"Which meant we had to stop her from calling social services and Miss Potts asked that someone higher up than her nag her back or something. Or order her to stop it before we have an incident."
"Yeah, I can nag that old biddy and make sure people know that the rest of us consider that harmful. That's one serious problem of those council sorts." He rubbed his forehead. "Where is the old biddy?"
"Admin floor six, back right corner office. Thank you for not making Lewis flame her."
"Not a problem. We don't need to see that either." He went to get his coffee cup and refill it before going to talk to that old biddy. On the way he called his tribal leader. He followed one of the wannabe warlords in the city and he needed to hear the party line to complain it back.
***
Darcy had a week of peace and quiet until she had a date and Aria had a problem at daycare. Darcy got dressed up before going to grab her daughter to take her to Jane. Aria came out wearing a pretty flower crown and Darcy stared before taking it off her. "Um, no, dear. That has a meaning. Who gave that to you?"
"Miss Malantha gave it to me and Jennifer." She pointed at her.
"Ummm. Okay, sit for a minute please." Aria sighed but sat down. Darcy pulled the daycare worker aside. "That flower crown means that she's ready to be mated to. It hasn't changed meaning in years," she said quietly.
"Oh, dear. Let me tell her mother."
"Please. I have no idea if her mom is affiliated with the confederation council sorts and if there's a different meaning in the other communities beyond being mated to. Last I heard that was a wedding thing."
"Oooh." She called the mother. "It's Omara in the daycare. Can I have you come down for a minute? No, not a fight. I'd rather you come down though. Thank you." She hung up and looked at Darcy. "I'm sorry."
"It's not a problem. She likes things like crowns and sparkly headbands." The other woman came in and Darcy got out of the way so she could see her daughter. "Mine had a blue one with some pink flowers." She held it up. "A Miss Malantha gave it to her according to Aria."
"She's the one that got chewed on for trying to call social workers on you for getting Aria's hair cut." She took the flower crown off her. "Dear, that's pretty but it's delicate so we'll put it on your dresser tonight?" The girl smiled and nodded. "Okay, I'll do that. I need to go get my purse and things and then we're done for the day if you can wait for ten minutes?" Her daughter bounced with her to go up to the lab and wait in the hallway. She ran into Commander Rumlow stomping in looking unhappy. "Can I have a moment?" she asked. He scowled. She held up the flower crown. "In the daycare. A Miss Malantha put it on her and Aria Lewis."
He looked at her kid then at her. "She's not ready to be married."
"I know that."
Darcy came out with Aria. "In the Council's ways, that's done when you're ready to make a commitment and mate to someone. Usually when you're ready to seriously say you're with them and make the preliminary mate moves. So like fourth, fifth date range if you're serious." She handed over the one that Aria wore. "The pink flowers are probably understood as I don't think their meaning has changed."
Rumlow grimaced. "Who is this woman?"
"Some admin with Stark," Darcy said. "She's the one that threatened me with a social worker for her hair cut."
Brock looked down at the kids. "I like her hair. It looks easy to take care of." He looked at the other mother.
"She threatened mine and my husband's job if we didn't toe the line with her. So at home she's taught to be stronger and a real queen."
"Good. I hate the damsel ideology." He took the crowns. "Let me see if someone's talked to her."
"Thank you," Darcy said. "I wasn't going to mention it but I was going to send it back and complain about her." She walked Aria off. "C'mon. You're staying with Jane tonight while I have a date."
"Lewis, what happened to your thigh?" Rumlow demanded quietly. He had noticed the edge of the older bruise.
She pointed at the kid's head without turning around. "It was shot day."
"Oh, okay, so not an attack?"
"Only of a kid sneaker."
"Good." He smiled at the other mother. "Let me talk to her."
"Thank you, Commander." She walked her daughter off. "Let's go get my purse and lock things down."
"Aria said she gets to hang out with her aunt in the lab."
"Her aunt does math stuff and I do chemical things. Math stuff isn't dangerous, chemicals are," she said patiently. "If I had an office I'd let you sit and color in it."
"Okay," she sighed.
"Maybe we can work out a playdate."
"I'd like that. Aria's pretty neat. She likes to build stuff."
"Good! Maybe she'll be an architect then. The world could use more pretty buildings."
Rumlow just smiled at that idea. The kid might do good at it. He went to put down his gear and find the other two top tier dragons. He held up the crowns. "A Miss Malantha?"
"Admin floor six, back right corner," Pekin quipped. He looked at the crowns. "The pink one go on Lewis' kid?" Rumlow nodded. "Crap. I warned the old biddy."
"I think it's my turn. Is she council?"
"Yup," the other one said. "She's the one that's threatened all the other changers in Stark to go by her ways. She had one fired for wearing pants."
"Great." He walked off, going to grab Potts first to talk about that. He had to tell her what the flower crowns meant, even to the council sorts, but she looked at all her recent actions and it was more than enough to get her fired. He followed to back her up, handing back the crowns with a smirk. "You can have those back since I don't think either child is old enough to declare a mate." She shrank away from him.
Pepper stared at her. "I believe that we're not going to keep you employed and all the harm you've caused this company's reputation will become a problem with your next career. You have a nice life, Miss Malantha." She walked off and let the guards help her pack her office. She looked at Rumlow. "Are they always like that?"
"In this city? Yes. In DC's, they were a lot more about power relationships. There's always one old aunt somewhere trying to make people conform to her ways. Most of them still wouldn't go near a kid. Children are sacred to us too. Doing that was seriously messed up." He rubbed his forehead. "A lot of their worst ways are coming out of the woodwork because the ones on top who were the earlier problem aren't there to tell them to shut up.
"Really, a lot of us consider the new councils to be the problems with all of us. They've pushed some to want to be warlords. Plenty of us ignore that they exist totally. It's a lot like regular kids versus the debutante crowd."
"I remember being one of those regular kids," she agreed. "Can we stop it easier?"
"Make sure you don't hire them?" He shrugged. "That would get the company annoyed by them for discrimination."
"We can rearrange our values questions to weed out ones like that. Thank you, Commander." She went down to HR to talk to them about any other problems like that. They sent out a memo saying that Miss Malantha had been fired. The next day, most people would be back the way they were when she wasn't looking. Pepper had wondered why there weren't anyone wearing dress pants.
***
Darcy came in the next day. Aria was in the lab twirling around in the corner. "Why aren't you in daycare?"
"They're bug spraying for the next hour," Jane said, looking at her. "You're late. You said nine last night."
"I had to find a way back from about an hour away thanks to my date taking off on me." She sat down with a huff. "He decided I wasn't his type after all so stranded me up there and with the bill."
"Oooh. You overdraft?"
"I switched some thanks to online banking. So I won't make my student loan payment until after next payday." Jane nodded, reaching over to pat her. "But I did manage it. Thankfully Greyhound went there."
"Shit. You didn't call?"
"I did call, you didn't answer, and I did text but you didn't answer." She showed her. Jane looked at her phone, letting Darcy have it. Darcy resent the last text message and it didn't come through. She stared at her. Darcy called Thor's phone. "It's Darcy. Is your phone getting Jane's texts? Because hers isn't getting texts from me, Thor."
She listened to him check it and say he wasn't. "Let me send you one to check it." She did and Thor said he didn't get it. "Huh. So it's probably my phone. Thanks, Thor. Easier day." She hung up and looked at her phone. "So I need to change phones. Let me download all my pictures and files so I can do that."
"Do we think it's hacked?" Jane asked.
"No idea."
The AI cleared his throat. "There is a block from anything coming to your phone or going from it," the male voice said. "It appears it showed up three days earlier."
"Any idea from where and if we can end it?" Jane asked.
"Not at the moment unfortunately."
"Would me getting a new phone but keeping the same number help?" Darcy asked. "Or do I totally need to change numbers and everything?"
"I would change numbers and phones, Miss Lewis. It may be safer."
"Thank you, JARVIS. That's really sweet of you to check for me. I'll get one for lunch."
Jane nodded. "Let me know when you get the new number."
"I will." She looked at Aria then at Jane. "She's quiet. Did you bribe her?"
"She fussed a bit last night but she was fine, Darcy. I didn't do any math and we watched a princess movie."
"Okay, if she wanted." She sighed, looking at her phone. She didn't actually like her phone but it was fully hers and paid for. Signing up for new service would be costly if they had to move out of the country again. Buying a new phone outright was going to be costly now. Maybe prepaid? She got online to check what her phone plans' phones were and how much they were to buy a new one.
Ones like hers were pretty expensive. Going better wasn't a real option at the moment. Going cheap might work but that'd leave her with a weak phone when she needed one. She checked her contract stats. She had just signed up when they moved back. So that was going to suck but she may be under warranty so maybe she could tell them that the phone quit calling and texting? It might work when she went to do that later. The page changed to a different site's phone and she stared at it. "JARVIS, was that you?" she asked quietly. It got Jane's attention.
"No, or sir's. Though that phone is harder to hack."
"Can you tell who hacked my system?"
"Not at the moment."
"Okay." She shut down the laptop and looked at Jane, who sighed but shut down her own. "Let's go work in the park, Jane?"
"Yay!" Aria said, bouncing around.
"Coffee!" Jane warned to get the girl away from it. Aria sidestepped away and grinned at her before going back to dancing around. "Let's go to the park to work." Darcy got them both reusable mugs that she filled and notebooks with pens and pencils. Old school but it'd work. Her phone got left there since it wasn't usable anyway. Their laptops got left there too.
The park was safer. It wasn't private, no one could attack there without being noticed. She had plenty of room if she had to shift to handle a threat. Plus they were away from the super tech of the tower in case that mattered. Jane pulled Darcy away from the lady outside trying to get them to put on flower crowns and made sure Aria wasn't near her either.
"The girl should have something pretty," the seller called.
"That's for marriage and she's too young," Darcy called back. "Please don't come near my daughter again."
Jane looked at her. "Temper," she said quietly.
"I'm not mad. I don't have reason to yet."
"Good point." They found a nice open place in the park that had a bit of traffic so they weren't totally alone but were backed up to a tree so it was safer. Aria was playing with a spare notebook and a pencil near them. When she wanted to get up and run around she could easily be seen.
Darcy looked up when she heard a loud noise and a gasp from her daughter. "Aria." She came running back to hide behind Jane's back. Darcy looked at the large green dragon who had just landed. "You needed something?" she asked him.
"Your daughter is adorable."
"Yes she is and she's three. Please don't go near my daughter."
"Was that a beg?" he joked.
"No, that was a warning and a polite request." The dragon snorted and tried to move closer so Darcy changed out to her larger but non-red form, staring at him. "Back the fuck away from my daughter. Now please. We don't want to fight here. I might have to fix the park." He backed away from her. "Thank you. Keep going." She waved a paw. "Have a good day." The dragon huffed but flew off. She changed back and huffed. "The nerve of some people!"
"Perverts exist in all places and cultures," Jane reminded her, handing over the kid. Darcy cuddled her. Jane watched out for the dragon to show back up. An officer strolled over. "He made a move toward her daughter, who he called adorable. Darcy warned him not to get near her."
"You should probably report him to the local council."
Darcy looked at him. "Not like they'd stop it. They never seem to. The local council is super shitty about that, Officer. Maybe one of the other ones if I knew where he was from." The dragon came back and landed, holding onto a male form that she knew. "Andrew." She nodded. "He with you? He made a move toward Aria."
"Not really. He's my brother's assistant." He walked over. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Aria."
She looked up at him. "I've seen your picture but I don't know you. I'm Aria, I'm three." She smiled and held out a hand.
Darcy looked at Andrew and nodded. "Pumpkin, I'm your dad," he said quietly, smiling at her.
"Oooh!" She hopped up and straightened herself out. "It's nice to meet you." She shook his hand. "We saw your lawyer guy."
"You did." He smiled, squatting in front of her. "You're sweet, kiddo. Relax. The way things were still stands but I know that your mom's about to get the hell sued out of her."
"I doubt it," Darcy said.
"Wrongful death," he said. "Got filed earlier."
"They attacked me. So that's self defense."
"You'll need a good lawyer."
She nodded. "We'll handle that," Jane agreed. "I know a few. I dated one."
"I dated a few," Darcy agreed with a smile for Andrew. "It's cool, Andrew, but thank you for telling me."
"Can she visit this summer?"
"If we can make sure she's safe? Probably for a week. I'll let her go to the house and stay at a nearby motel in case she panics or something."
"That would be fine. I know you're paranoid after what happened." He stood up, touching her cheek with a smile. "You should get to know your half-siblings with my wife, kiddo. There's three siblings."
"What's a half-sibling?"
"Ones I had with my wife instead of a full one I'd have with your mom."
She looked at her mom. "Is that okay?"
"Yeah, I think it'd be fine to get to know them, Aria. They're your family too." She smiled as she adjusted her headband. "That's fine with me. I'll let you meet them while I'm at a motel nearby in case something happens."
Aria looked up at her father, nodding. "I can video call like we did with Grandmother?"
"I can probably figure out how to do that on our end. I don't think I've ever done that before," he said with a grin. She beamed and nodded. "We'll figure that out this week then." He stroked over her cheek again. "You're a very smart little girl. Your mom has done an excellent job." He winked at Darcy. "We'll call later this weekend so we can chat. The wife wanted to get to know you too." He smiled, walking off with the changed back to human dragon. "Apologize. Darcy's rightfully paranoid about her daughter with the way the local council screwed itself up."
"Sorry, ma'am. I wasn't going to go near the kid."
Darcy nodded. "Thank you." He nodded. She looked at her daughter. "That's interesting." Aria beamed and nodded. "Go back to coloring?" She did that. Darcy looked at the officer, who just strolled off. This was getting a bit complicated. She needed a bit of normal quietness to calm her paranoid nature down.
***
Darcy looked at the judges a week later. "You do realize I was raised as a member of the confederation council of Virginia, right?" she asked the other lawyer. He winced. "And that I've seen all this before?" She put down three files and a video tape. "I'm entering these into evidence, Your Honors."
"Where is your lawyer?"
"Apparently he didn't want paid," she quipped. "That's his fault, not mine."
"You should have someone who is presently Council related so you can be represented."
Darcy pulled a book out of her messenger bag, looking at the page she had bookmarked. "According to the law, that's wrong." The other lawyer snickered. She held up the law book. "I do believe it says that all are fair and equal under the law, including the changer law councils, and that even if they are not under the jurisdiction that it is important and necessary to hear arguments from them."
She put the book down, open to that spot. "Let's see." She read it out loud, making the lawyers wince. She looked at the judges, who all looked pissed off. "Let me repeat myself here. I was raised a Council member, the daughter of the leader of our council actually. The granddaughter of Rosie DeMars." The judges all flinched. "The great-granddaughter of Russeline, and those two were my mentors growing up."
"Russeline died eighty years ago," the other lawyer complained.
Darcy looked at him. "She died four years ago. She withdrew from public life because people kept trying to get her to agree with their stupid ideas. I was sitting beside the bed she died in six days later when I was waiting on the pregnancy test for my daughter." The lawyer slumped. "She's the first one who knew. Andrew knew that too. He was in the house." She stared at him. "You may think I'm one of those crying little weak bitches that the Council up here has been encouraging us all to become but I'm not.
"Virginia's council is still full of practical and mentally healthy people. We don't fuss at someone not being a damsel." The lawyer flinched away from her. She looked at the judges again. "So, you can follow the law or I can push a request to the local regular judges network to hear this case. Or appeal it there."
"They don't like to do that," the lead judge said smugly.
"Yeah, and they will because this is going towards you guys still not doing your legal job. I mean, a murderer is walking free."
"Yes you are," the other lawyer sneered.
She glared at him. "I meant the one killed nine young women for fun. *I* was defending myself and my daughter. By the bylaws I might add since I noted multiple times that I had sent a declaration of war over this. I noted it three times in public." The lawyer shrank away from her again. "I noted it in this court and they refused to do their judicial duty. Which means that they should be disbanded and this hearing sent to the local regular courts."
The judges all moaned. "Also, as they're accomplices to him committing murder, they should probably be in jail as well. Because two of them gave that man the mates that he killed and the other is a step-uncle of one. So either he got paid off to not protect his family or he's just a shitty dragon. One of the two and still illegal and shouldn't be on the judicial panel for this or any other hearing. That is the law, is it not?" she said in her most snotty voice.
"It is," the lead judge said. "There's no need to note that here though and that will be stricken from the records."
Darcy smirked. "Sorry but no." She pointed behind her. "My guest is a reporter." The judges all stood up to glare at her. She stared back. "You guys started it. Did you think I declared a peace treaty?" The other lawyer let out a shaky laugh. "Yeah! Didn't think of that, did you? Apparently some of the older ways aren't learned any longer," she sneered. "You came after me to try to kill me and my daughter. Fuck no that won't work. I mean, elves couldn't. Loki couldn't. What makes you think you're better than a God of Chaos?"
The reporter cleared his throat. "You were in London?"
"Yeah. Right there with Thor and Jane and Ian, our intern." She smirked. "I changed to protect Jane actually. I didn't think it had been caught on film but the same night in question it was shown on a lot of news stations."
"You're not that color." Darcy changed to her smaller size, then her red smaller one. "Oh!" She changed back to human, staring at him. "How?" He waved a hand.
"I was blocked when I was seven due to a kidnaping to get at my mother." She looked at the other lawyer again. "I was mentored by a lot of people who knew the actual old ways, and how they were broken and needed to be fixed for everyone to be more healthy. You attacked me. Self defense is still a right even if the court is so crooked and full of the same sort of evil that the council became. What makes you think I'm going to bend my knee to you?"
"I can make you pay for it," he sneered.
"You can try but this court doesn't have a right to garnish wages." She smirked. "And you'd only get my student loan debt."
"We can claim your hoard."
"Yeah, that'll get you about maybe a thousand bucks at a pawn shop. My hoard isn't gold and jewels. It's mostly cheaper artwork I liked." She shrugged but smiled. "I get can get new things from those same artists mostly. One's died but his stuff isn't collectable yet."
"Your family has land."
"Which isn't in my name and hasn't been in my name since my cousin was six."
"It's in your daughter's name."
"And it's protected in her name as she's a minor. Her name's not the only one on it, just as the current holder of it. Even then you can't use this court to confiscate it, they don't have that power. Virginia's won't hold it up and nothing's near here."
"Your daughter has property in Hartford's area," he said smugly.
"Hmm. You might want to recheck that." She looked at the reporter, who was from Hartford's council. "Can you check that for him?"
"The dragon who was forced to mate with her thanks to that evil one sending her into a sudden, unexpected, dangerous heat is in Hartford's council area," the reporter said. "They do know of her and admitted her as part of the family bloodline but do not have custody or care of the child."
"She just met her father the other day," Darcy said. "He wanted to talk about all this and warned me that this attempt had been tried."
"I will force you to hand over your daughter and to marry the one they wanted you to marry," the head judge sneered.
"There's no way you could force me to do anything like hand my daughter to someone. If I did, I have an offer of her going to Asgard with her Uncle Thor." The judge flinched back. "Secondly, you have no right to force any bonding and if you did, he'd die. Quickly. Even if I was drugged, he'd die as soon as he touched me." She smirked. "You forgot that about fifteen years ago certain vows were popular." She shrugged. "I was romantic instead of practical back then. So yeah, if he touches me against my will, he'll die."
"Those don't have the magic behind them," the secondary lawyer complained.
"And yet, I have two forms," Darcy quipped. "And I'm off an original line on both sides of my family." They stared at her. She grinned and wiggled her fingers. "Grandma Rosie was on my dad's side."
The third judge heaved. "Oh, God, you're Gerald's."
"No. Uncle Gerald is pretty mean to me actually. He hates that I'm a girl and thinks women are weak. So I ran him over with a car once when I was learning to drive." She smiled. "Wrong sibling."
"Bartemy..." the third judge started. Darcy smirked and shook her head. "Oh, fuck!" He stood up. "Your father was conceived like your daughter was."
"Yeah. He was." She nodded. "And actually I was conceived at someone else's wedding when they were put into heat suddenly by his family's old world tradition of a special drink during it. My parents agreed to deal with things together but they weren't together." She smirked. "Keep going though. If you think I'm not the woman that Grandma Rosie raised you'd be wrong." They all looked at each other then at her. She grinned. "Grandma Rosie was his mom."
"Her flying mate for that one was some unknown dragon."
"Who was original lineage," she agreed with a nod. "And we know who it was. We have records on that stuff. Grandma Estella was into that stuff."
"Grandma Estella?"
"Dad's wife's mom. She used to be so amused that I was a book reading, political science studying girl."
"You have lineage," the head judge sneered.
"Yes, from the ones who built all this mess you're dirtying. So I'm about to publically call for them to be ended with the way you're corrupted it. Including the European one for not caring that London was the same sort of dirty. Maybe they'll hold elections sooner instead but we have proof so many of you are dirty." She waved a hand. "This proves it more than most things."
"Kill the reporter," the head judge ordered.
"I wouldn't do that," Darcy told the bailiff. "He's connected to DC's council. And Boston's." The bailiff winced but backed off.
"Do it or I'll have your family banished!" the head judge ordered with a point.
"People can have always lived without the councils," Darcy said patiently, looking at the bailiff. "There's plenty outside it that're not a whole lot different." The judge came at her with a dagger and she changed to bite his arm. He pulled back with a scream, dropping the dagger and changing. But Darcy was bigger and mad. He went down with multiple cuts from her claws.
She stood on top of him, staring down at him. "Keep it up. Watch me finish my war. I'll declare peace is brought when you're all gone and my daughter is safe." She got off him then snorted a bit of smoke at him when he whined. She looked at the other lawyer as she changed back slowly, staring at him. "You gonna try that?"
"No," he said. "I'm not stupid and I don't want in the middle of this war. I was hired under false pretenses."
"Hmm. So you realized you won't get paid from some mythical old hoard? No, you won't. Sorry but we hoard things that we appreciate that aren't shiny. Gold's so boring and so pre-history." She looked at the other judges, tipping her head. "So, what are we doing from here?"
"We are calling this until the reporter can be removed safely and you calm down, young lady."
"I'm perfectly calm. If I wasn't, I'd have broken him. I think I proved I can do that when they attacked myself and my daughter the last time."
The judge swallowed. "We do not want to go this direction."
"Well, that's your choice since you're all dirty. You started it, people. There's now eleven women who've been raped and force bonded by him. Nine of which we know are dead since their bodies were found. One's still listed as missing and the other one fled for her own sanity and took a vow to a Moon goddess.
"She was the second one he took and she tried to press charges but you guys blocked it for him. So you're all responsible for the other deaths. Their families should call insult on you for it but I think they're grieving too much. Maybe that's why New York has such a high pressure to make damsels, so we can't protect ourselves. Thankfully I never fell into that trap and my daughter won't either."
"Do you have their names?" the reporter asked.
"I was told that one was threatened with his family being killed if he didn't threaten me not to mention her name." Darcy looked at him. "They're in the papers. He was formally arrested in London for it. This council forced his release from London's courts as he was a New Yorker most of the time. They were supposed to put him into a New York jail and didn't. Which is why someone had to get a young woman from him last night that he was trying to force himself onto." She looked at the judges again. "So now what?"
"You're going to sign that paper, aren't you?"
"I've been asked by others who could sign it not to yet. They want the chance to fix things. The only way it'll ever live up to the intent and the actual charter documents is if it's changed from within. Frankly, you guys have made me ashamed of what my great-grandmother built. She would've been appalled and walked me up to the paperwork to end the charter to sign it."
"Are you on something?" the second judge demanded.
"I took a valium. I hate public speaking." She grinned. "It doesn't do anything but ease the anxiety of being the focus of attention. That's the whole purpose of anti-anxiety medication. I've had an emergency script for it since eighth grade."
"Nothing else."
"Nope." She stared at the broken one then at him. "It might make me lose control of my form. I never do anything beyond getting lightly tipsy now and then. It's just not wise for a woman to do that in today's world."
"We could charge you with that. You're not supposed to be here and high."
"Having a valium in my system isn't high. It's a prescription medication and, again, I've been on it for decades as needed. You can't complain about that unless you complain about people being on blood pressure medicine or insulin, both of which can affect certain people's mental resources if they're sensitive to it."
"I think it made you violent."
"Valium isn't known for that side effect. Want me to pull up the known side effects for you?"
The lawyer shook his head. "She's right, sir, that's not a reason to throw her in jail or even render her unable to make decisions for herself and her daughter."
"There's no reason for anyone to do that," Darcy noted.
The lawyer grimaced. "You dated other types of changers."
"Wow, racist asshole," she shot back, making him flinch back. "For your information, the one in the picture that's behind the judges married a human. He was her full consort and they had four beautiful, powerful dragons together. Half of the first confederation council had spouses that were different types of changers. Beyond that, I don't like dating other dragons.
"They tend to be judgmental pricks who want women to be weak. Why would I do that to myself? Dating someone like that shows a great lack of self respect. Dating someone who is mentally healthy and emotionally healthy is better for you, even if they're not your type of being. They've all respected me as a mom and liked my kid if we got that far. I wouldn't date a dragon from this region even if I had to. You've proven how worthless they are."
"What about the non council ones?" he sneered.
She shrugged. "I determine who I date on their personality, not on what they are. The same as I don't care about race when I date. I'm not a bigot and I wasn't raised to be one. Nor will I ever hopefully be one. The only thing I'm against is asshole bigots who try to make my life harder." She gave him a pointed look and he shrank away again.
She looked at the judges. They didn't look happy. She smiled at the reporter. "What do you think about making the actual, factual, biography of Madeline Canbary suggested reading for everyone? Not the historical inaccuracies that had her painted as a jezebel and adulteress but the actual one."
The reporter blinked. "I've only heard about the adultery scandals." He looked that up and frowned. "She did what?"
"She was made to do what," Darcy corrected. "Her actual history is pretty fascinating and a lot of sad. She and Isadora Duncan are the two outside the family I kinda stan on."
He looked her up too. "Huh. She had a lot of interesting times."
"Yeah, Isadora was a lot of 'don't give a fuck, I'm doing my thing' about her dancing. I like that about her." She grinned. "Madeline Canbary had a lot of that too. Even when they made her cheat on her spouse by spear point at her daughter's throat and forced her husband to charge her as an adulteress for it so they could put their chosen mate in her nest place."
The reporter looked at her. "That's actually a long history there."
Darcy smiled and nodded. "I know. I got into some historical docs from that time when we were in London. Including what her son wrote about her and her daughter."
"It'd be interesting to look that up. Even historians..."
"To the victor goes the writing of the histories," she quipped. "The same as you never really heard that the confederation councils were started as peacekeeping groups that would stop the wars and forced bondings. No one ever reads that history or the actual charters."
"If they're in that disarray they're probably void," the lawyer said. He looked it up and groaned. "They were already ended by violations." Darcy nodded with a grin. "Hell!"
"Ten years ago for the earliest one I know of that ended itself by violating the foundation clauses. We actually studied that incident in a modern history class at Culver."
The lawyer looked at the judges, nodding. "We've violated five of the seven foundation principles in the charter and it states it's to be voided if we violate more than two."
"So the council is actually illegally meeting and trying to control things," Darcy said. "I hope they can rewrite their charter so it's better for everyone in the local communities."
The judges looked at the article on the lawyer's phone then groaned. "It does appear this court is illegally meeting and has no jurisdiction." He stared at Darcy. "This will make you a bigger target."
"If speaking the truth does, we're already fouled as a society and worthless beings," she shot back. "After all, you guys made me fight. Making me be a bitch to defend myself and my daughter means I'll turn into the biggest one I can. You should be lucky I haven't tried what his clients did and sued you for all that stress you caused us. I'm not like that though. I was taught better." She looked at the lawyer then at the judges. "I'm assuming this case is adjourned?"
"Yes it must be," the second judge huffed.
"You have a good time rebuilding things so they're actually fair and right." She walked off with the reporter. "Are you okay? I didn't expect them to threaten you," she said quietly in the hallway.
"I'm fine. It happens a lot when you find out people did the wrong thing." She smiled and nodded, letting him run off to send in that report before he went home. That way it made it to print in the next edition even if they tried something against him for witnessing that event.
Darcy went back to the tower with a stop for coffee, sighing when she ran into a scowling elder dragon in the lobby. "Am I in trouble already? I just got back."
"No, I'm mad at one of my agents who was a total moron."
She nodded. "I have that feeling now and then too. Usually about myself though." She walked around him. "Let me take my lunch upstairs. Have a better day?"
"Eat real food. Coffee isn't enough for lunch for how active you are."
She shot him a smirk. "I'm not doing anything else today." Her pass tried not to work until she looked at it and tried it from the other end. "Must be where I had to jimmy open a door thanks to my daughter locking it. I'll have it resealed, guys." They just watched her go. Rumlow was watching her go. She checked herself in the shiny elevator doors to make sure she didn't have her skirt tucked into her panties or something. That would be so like her to do that.
Rumlow sighed, going to yell at his agent before he had a huge headache from all that stuff piling up.
***
Changing Your Life.