I Am Karen - Spider-Man / Peter Parker [1]

Chapter Eighteen - To Disappoint A Stark

Maria couldn't have seen that going any worse. After the ferry had docked again, Maria had not been surprised to see Happy stood waiting for her. He had not looked pleased; knowing her father, he would be even more angry. Maria swore constantly inside her head the entire ride home; it was like she was trying to piss her father off. After taking some much-needed painkillers, Maria made her way to her room. Maria was currently pacing around her room, waiting for her father to enter. She was trying to come up with some way to calm him down but there just wasn't going to be one. Maria knew that he had gone to speak to Peter, it had seemed that the boy had pushed her father too far and he couldn't ignore this incident. Maria couldn't help but wonder what he was going to do to Peter. Peter had messed up big time as had Maria herself.

It was some time before Maria's door opened and Tony walked in with a grave look on his face. Maria immediately had stood up from her bed and faced her father. For a moment neither said anything, the father and daughter just stood staring at one another.

"I told the school you had a family issue and won't be in for the rest of the day" Tony started. Maria hadn't even thought about school. Slowly, Maria nodded, she knew there was more to come. "Now, I am glad you called me but I need to know now everything that has been going on. This ... I need to know how it came to this." Maria took a shaky breath. She should have seen this coming. It was something they had to discuss; Maria really should have told him in the first place. So, Maria just began talking. She tried to explain everything as well as she could, from the Vulture down to Peter's encounter at the ATM. Tony stayed quiet through it all but Maria could see the frustration building up the more she explained.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tony asked once Maria had finished. Maria froze for a moment. The main reason she had kept her mouth shut was to protect Peter. Had her father found out about his actions, Peter would have been in heaps of trouble but in not telling him more people were put in harm's way. Though Maria knew the truth, she also knew she couldn't say that to her father.

"Because he just wanted to help, I didn't see anything wrong with that."

"He nearly got a lot of people killed, first his friends then a boat load of people including yourself, had you not called me..." Tony trailed off, he didn't need to finish his sentence, it was obvious what he was going to say.

"I know dad, that's why I called you" Maria stressed quietly. Clearly, Tony was glad she called him but he wasn't happy that she had had to call him at all. Tony was at a loss on what to do and Maria wasn't an idiot, she could see his predicament.

"I told you to stay behind the computers" Tony finally said dealing with the other problem which was herself.

"I went on the ferry to talk to Peter I didn't know there was going to be a big operation, I didn't realise that he was selling to some murderer, I didn't know the FBI were there and I certainly didn't see the boat ripping in half" Maria replied just as calmly. Maria didn't like the way her father was reacting; he was so calm which was so unlike him in these scenarios. For as long as she had known him, he always at least showed his frustration somehow but at that moment he was ... fed up.

"What's in your waistband?" Tony asked pointing towards the lump that could just be seen beneath the coat she had not taken off. Automatically, Maria grabbed the weapon and pulled it free. Tony's eyebrows raised at the sight of the silver sleek gun. He wasn't sure what he was expecting but that certainly wasn't it.

"I didn't want to find myself in the same scenario as the warehouse so I borrowed some of your stuff - I'm not allowed to own a real gun but this ..." Maria trailed off whilst she pulled her coat sleeves over her fingers nervously. Tony studied the weapon carefully, turning it over gently in his hands. He could see where his own work was embedded. It was clever and he couldn't dispute that.