Chapter Text
Amberly Stark dragged her feet as she walked towards the penthouse elevator. The day’s press conference, had her stomach tangled up in knots. This would be the first time all of her dad’s kids were gathered together in front of cameras to make an official statement.
It’s been one year since she had moved into the Avenger’s Tower. Despite that, she felt like everything was moving too fast. She had thought about speaking with Tony and asking for more time, but she’d overheard him and Pepper talking about how time was of the essence. Any thoughts of approaching him had been squashed.
“Eighteenth floor please Friday,” she spoke into the void of the elevator.
Amberly fixed the blazer Pepper had laid out for her that morning, and adjusted the gold rimmed glasses on her face.
“I feel like I’m playing dress up,” she muttered.
The metal doors opened, and Amberly stood up straight.
Natasha Romanoff stood in the hall fixing the tie on Bruce Banner’s neck. “There you are. Everyone’s waiting.” She jerked a finger down the hall. “Better get going before Stark pops a blood vessel.”
“Are you talking about the purple one that bulges above his left eye when he’s stressed?” Bruce asked, coughing when Natasha pulled his tie too tight.
“Obviously.”
Amberly would argue that’s a side effect of having so many kids and being one of Earth’s mightiest heroes.
“I’m going to join them,” she said awkwardly, still having trouble knowing what to say around the Avengers.
“We’ll be watching!” Bruce called out as she walked away.
Amberly didn’t think any of the other Avengers would be attending the day’s press conference. She hadn’t seen Steve or Bucky in awhile and Wanda had gone on vacation with Vision. No today would just be the Stark family and a few friends.
Pepper sat bouncing a fussy Morgan on her leg when Amberly entered the small green room. “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands,” she sang to try and cheer up the toddler.
In the corner was Tony hovering over a laptop with Peter. He looked stressed like Natasha had predicted, but Amberly didn’t think it was due to them heading on stage in a few minutes.
“This is measuring up to be a great success.” Harley came up and said over Amberly’s shoulder. “Tony still doesn’t know he’s missing his speech cards.”
“How do you?” she whispered back.
Harley pulled out a set of white flash cards with wrinkled edges from his pocket. “I found them on his desk like an hour ago. Him and Peter have been so occupied with some new villain of the week that everything else became nonexistent.”
Like herself, Amberly thought.
In a world of superheroes and CEOs, Amberly felt herself fading into the background. It was something that had brought her and Harley so close together, bonding over their normal human status.
Harley Kenner, a pseudo son to Tony Stark, spent the summers with the billionaire and his family since a chance meeting years before.
Amberly was sad that as the summer was coming to a close Harley would be traveling home until presumably winter break. She enjoyed their antics and having someone to hang out with while the rest of her new family was otherwise occupied.
Harley’s looming departure was also part of the reason Tony wanted to have a press conference sooner than later.
“I want the whole family together for the announcement.” Tony had said to Pepper while Amberly stood listening on the other side of the door.
Sadness must have been evident on Amberly’s face because Harley nudged her with his arm. “I heard the guy they’re chasing has been giving Dr. Strange trouble.”
“That can’t be good.” The wizard had kept his distance from the family in recent years. Him and Tony didn’t always get along, so for him to reach out for help must mean the problem is bigger than expected.
“Maybe not, but Tony’s going to love rubbing it in his face if he can solve the mystery before him.” Harley smirked, thinking about how that would go down, and it made Amberly giggle.
Pepper stood, putting Morgan on her hip as Happy entered.
“They’re almost ready for you. Is everybody set?” Happy asked as he ruffled Morgan’s hair.
“Almost, Tony are you and Peter ready?”
Tony continued typing on the laptop that looked like it had seen better days. Amberly assumed it was Peter’s personal computer, the guy going through tech faster than Tony could repair it.
“Just a second honey. Peter found a connection to the guy we’ve been tracking.”
“Tony there’s not time. They’re waiting on us.”
“Okay, okay, one more…” Tony shut the laptop and smiled at his wife innocently. “All done.”
Satisfied, Pepper handed Morgan off to Happy and made her way to the middle of the room where everyone else lined up. She rearranged the group so Tony was in the center with Peter to his left and Amberly to his right followed by Harley.
“Sorry about getting distracted,” Tony said to Amberly.
She bit her lip and looked at the floor. “Don’t worry about it. Is everything alright?” She understood that there would be times when her dad would have his attention pulled away due to a crisis. He was more than a dad or billionaire after all. Tony Stark is a hero, he’s Iron Man. The world would always need him more than she does.
“It will be soon. We’re close to getting this guy.” He looked confident in his suit. A casual smile on his face told her he wasn’t too worried about the threat.
Pepper led them to the stage, where Happy and Morgan already stood behind a podium.
Amberly fought the urge to cover her face from the camera flashes. Hours long media training sessions from Pepper had been drilled into her, and she knew she needed to try and present a good front.
Remember to look strong and confident. They won’t have anything to say if you don’t give them a reaction.
A small black sticker on the stage marked where Amberly was supposed to stand. As she took her spot Amberly clasped her hands together and realized she had already made a mistake. She’d forgotten to take the Stark Watch off that Tony had given her. Pepper had wanted them to leave all technology backstage, a rule mostly set in place because of Tony. She quickly hid her hands behind her back hoping Pepper wouldn’t notice with everything going on.
Harley passed behind her to stand at the other end of the stage. She noticed as he subtly slipped Tony his tone cards and Peter gave him a thumbs up.
The noise in the room died down, as Tony cleared his throat.
“Thank you all for being here today. The Stark family has looked quite different over the years. I adopted Peter Parker a few years ago as you all remember and got married to the ever lovely Miss Potts. Eventually we were blessed with little Morgan here..”
Morgan clapped at hearing her name, earning some laughs and coos from the audience.
Amberly risked looking up to observe the room for the first time. She was relieved to find all eyes weren’t on her. Natasha and Bruce stood at the back of the room paying attention, however Amberly noted that they were suspiciously close to the table with appetizers. She was sure that had been on purpose.
Glancing to the side she noticed Peter frowning at the ceiling. He seemed transfixed with the tiles above his head, as Tony continued with his speech.
“Today I want to introduce everyone to two other members of my family. It shouldn’t come as a shock to everyone that…” Tony was cut off yet again by Peter pulling him away from the microphone.
Amberly heard shocked gasps from the reporters in the front as suddenly a person fell through the ceiling.
The room as thrown into darkness seconds later. Emergency lights came on soon after, lining the bottom of the walls in a yellow tint.
Morgan screamed from across the stage. Once Amberly had brushed the dust from her eyes she could see Pepper had grabbed the girl and held her close to her chest while Tony and Happy stood guard.
Peter must have taken the blackout as an opportunity to make himself scarce so he could return as Spider-Man.
A man laid on the ground wearing a strange set of robes. He grunted as he pushed some debris away from him.
“Hands up,” Natasha commanded, having quickly made her way to the stage. She pointed a gun at the man.
He began to laugh as he raised his arms. “Stupid girl. That won’t do anything to me.” The man stood up to face Natasha. Not a hint of intimidation on his face, as he dared to reach for something hanging around his neck.
“I would put that down if I were you,” Tony shouted. His suit began to grow out of the bracelet on his wrist.
“But isn’t this what you wanted Stark? Thought that you were smart enough to fight against magic? Well let me tell you none of your little gadgets are going to help you now.”
Peter chose that moment to drop in, wearing his mask and uniform. “Did you say magic? I’m somewhat of an amateur magician myself. Alakazam!” Peter shouted sending a kick straight to the guy’s chest. The force sent the necklace he was wearing flying.
The thick silver medallion landed inches away from Amberly’s feet glowing an eerie red.
“Impulsive idiot!” the man screamed.
Harley tried to pull Amberly away from the dropped necklace, but her feet were glued to the ground. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t move away from the device, as it sucked her closer.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got you.” Harley leaned back and grabbed Amberly with both hands holding tight.
It was no use though. In what felt like slow motion, Peter lunged to take her hand. His fingers poked out of the ripped suit, that he had yet to repair and just barley brushed hers. Harley’s grip was loosening too.
Amberly’s feet were first to disappear from sight. A tingling sensation went up from her body, as it reached her head, her vision went black and she was gone.
-----
Amberly’s first thought was that she had died. It was ironic how on the day her life was supposed to begin, everything had come to a close.
Death wasn’t as peaceful one expected. Pain radiated through her head, then there was the noise. She thought death would be quieter, not filled with the annoying sounds of New York traffic.
She opened her eyes and was greeted with a view of the city below. Amberly was laying on her side, left arm crushed beneath her body. Maybe she wasn’t dead after all?
Senses came back slowly. The smell of the city made her want to gag. Sewage reeked even at the top of a whatever building she was on.
At first, she assumed she was on top of the Avenger’s Tower. While that might be explainable, the skyline was all wrong.
She willed herself to sit up and assess the damage. Glasses lay nearby, broken in whatever fall she’d had. Her head hadn’t faired much better. When she touched a hand to the side of her head, her hand came back a sticky bloody mess. That would be fun to get out of her hair.
A chilled wind blew and Amberly wrapped her arms around herself. She could either try and wait till someone came to rescue her, or attempt making her way down the building on her own Climbing down wouldn’t be much fun with a possible broken arm, but she didn’t know how long she’d been knocked out or if anyone even knew where she was.
This was bad. Her thoughts were hard to make out with the pain in her head. The last thing she remembered clearly was the stage and then Harley and Peter trying to grab for her. Something had to happen in between then and now, that led her to being dropped on a rooftop.
She padded her pockets down and cursed when she realized she didn’t have her phone. Any chance of using the emergency credit card she kept slipped inside the case was lost with it. Only her Stark Watch remained, though severely cracked. When she touched its screen, nothing happened. She’d need to find another way to get in touch with her family.
Each movement hurt, but Amberly was able to drag herself to the edge of the rooftop where she found a fire escape. Adrenaline, she would decide later was the only reason she was brace enough to scale down the creaking metal steps without faltering.
On the ground, she walked towards the end of an alleyway. Pedestrians on the street passed her by without a glance. Most of them wore black rain jackets or darker clothes. Wherever she was it was definitely a depressing comparison to the streets of New York.
Amberly was suddenly grateful for Pepper’s choice of her clothing for the day. The almost too long black blazer and fitted dress pants allowed her to blend into the crowd and their unspoken dress code.
Surely multiple members of her family would be out looking for her, but until they did she needed to try and contact them. The only positive thing was that she assumed she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone recognizing her as Tony Stark’s daughter yet. That disaster of a press conference ensured it.
She wandered down the sidewalk, taking note of a newspaper stand that placed her in Gotham, New Jersey. That couldn’t be right. If she was really in a place called Gotham that could mean . . . Was she in another reality? Different dimension? A whole other reality? The man who appeared out of nowhere had claimed to be a magician. It could very well be true.
A feeling in her gut told her to keep walking. She followed the flow of people and was guided down a few blocks where the buildings changed from looming towers to older brick styles. She stumbled in front of a library. The outside reminded her of Dr. Stranges Sanctum, with its large circular window at the top overlooking the street. It was like an eye in the sky.
Libraries have computers inside, something that would be a constant anywhere.
The idea bloomed in her head. Yes, she would access the computer email Tony and they would laugh about this stupid little city that had her thinking the impossible had happened to her.
Amberly pushed through the doors quietly. She wanted to remain unseen if possible. Another one of Pepper’s lessons floated through her fogged mind.
It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to people possibly photographing you in public.
When she entered, Amberly noticed only one other person in the building. The young red haired librarian was typing away at the front desk computer. She didn’t pay Amberly much mind.
Amberly relaxed and began to scope out the library. Finding no computers on the first floor, she climbed the spiral stairs to the second, forgoing the old looking elevator. An arrow on the wall pointed her towards the computers where she logged into a guest account.
She pulled up a browser and tried to access her Stark email. Nothing came up, which led her down a rabbit hole of searching for anything related to Stark Industries. A last ditch effort of typing in Stark Labs only frustrated her more when it redirected her to S.T.A.R. Labs.
Even with the fog of her head injury, Amberly couldn’t deny the facts she was piecing together. This was not the reality she knew.
The bright screen made her head hurt worse, so she put the screen to sleep so she could think.
She was effectively homeless in a strange city in an alternate reality. There was no one she could contact, and she was hurt.
Unless there were heroes here who would help her. She shook the mouse and typed in Avengers. A counterpart of the people she knew might believe her.
Instead of finding articles on the Avengers, she learned there was a group called the Justice League, with the only hero of the group operating in New Jersey being someone called the Batman. She skimmed articles about him, unable to really process many of the words. What she read wasn’t helpful either. The only conclusion she could come to was that the guy scared her. The dark cape and Kevlar uniform screamed STAY AWAY. He was nothing like the brightly colored heroes she was used to.
Hearing a squeak behind her, Amberly exited out of all her tabs.
The librarian she had seen at the desk rolled up to her in a wheelchair Amberly hadn’t noticed when she first entered.
“Hi, I’m Barabra, can I help you with anything?” She was cheery, and the first person Amberly had seen in the city in any color other than black. Barabra wore a purple shirt and green scarf around her neck.
“No thank you. I was just browsing.”
Barabra looked at Amberly discerningly. Her eyebrows pinched together as her eyes took notice of Amberly’s cracked watch and bloody mess that was her head. While she hadn’t seen herself in a mirror, Amberly could only hope the blood was somewhat disguised in her black hair.
“Are you alright hon?”
“I fell on my way over, dumb break in the sidewalk. Clumsy me.” Amberly tried laughing, while she covered the watch with her right hand. She wasn’t sure if any tech like it existed here, and didn’t want it to give her away as a stranger to this place.
“Gotham isn’t known for upkeeping its streets very well, but that looks a bit nastier than a simple fall.”
Amberly had to wonder why anyone would name a city that.
“I could call someone for you. My father is a cop.” A small beep sounded and Amberly noticed the librarian’s pressed a button on a small pager type object.
Alarm bells started ringing in Amberly head. The last thing she needed to do was attract the attention of the police in this city.
“Oh no, that won’t be necessary. I’m actually late for an appointment, but thank you for letting me stop in.” Amberly sidestepped the woman and made a break for the stairs.
“Wait what’s your name. Maybe we can get you set up with a library card before you leave?”
Amberly wasn’t going to stick around for that long. “Perhaps next time,” she called out as she started her descent.
-----
Barabra had seen a lot of strange things in her life. Normally it was confined to the nightlife of the vigilantes she supported, leaving her day job unaffected.
The library was a passion project for her, that allowed a flexible schedule and escape from the corruption that flowed through Gotham’s streets at night. So she was caught off guard when a young girl that looked no older than 16 showed up dressed like she was going to a job interview with a bloody head.
She shouldn’t have brought up that her dad was a cop. Clearly that had scared the girl off. If she hadn’t said anything maybe the girl would have stayed long enough for one of the bats to respond to the signal she sent. It was an amateur mistake on her behalf.
Dick eventually showed up with Damian in tow, and Barabra was prepared to explain herself.
“I don’t know I approached her and noticed that her watch was cracked, and her head was a mess,” Barabra told her old friend.
Dick sat in the reception chair spinning, while Damian wandered off to definitely not look in the kid’s section. If he checked out a fantasy chapter book before the pair left Barabra would gladly keep that secret between them.
“You said she was dressed nicely?”
“Black blazer and dress pants. I think something might have been wrong with her arm too. She was holding it weird.”
Dick sighed and scratched his head. “I don’t know that there’s much we can do Babs.”
“We can’t just let some young girl wander Gotham looking like that. She’s going to get eaten alive.” Barabra wasn’t sure why, but something was telling her that there was something off about the girl. She needed their help.
“We know next to nothing about her.”
Barabra pushed him to the side watching him roll into the wall. She opened up the computer and access the library’s security footage.
“Take a look.” She tilted the monitor so Dick could see the girl as she had.
They watched as the girl entered the building and then spent more than an hour on one of the computers. The small break the girl took looked almost like a panic attack.
“If you email me the video or a screen shot of the girl I’ll send it around the family so everyone keeps an eye out for her.”
“I’ve already done that.”
Dick stood and stretched. Barabra felt bad for him having to come all the way out here, when she knew for a fact, he worked across the river in Bludhaven that morning.
“She reminds me of myself when I was younger. I don’t want her to get hurt.”
The city streets were no place for anyone. Barabra herself had lost a lot to Gotham, and she didn’t want another girl to follow in the same fate.
Perhaps it was the recent Arkham breakout that had her on edge. With the Joker escaping yet again she was constantly paying more attention to her surroundings. She found herself locking and re-locking her door multiple times a night, a nervous habit that Barabra thought she had finally broken. The memories of being paralyzed by the psychopath haunted her nightmares, and she hadn’t had a good sleep in nights.
“Everything is going to be okay,” Dick reassured her with a hug. “I promise I’ll look into the girl personally.”
“Thanks.” A weight lifted off Barabra’s shoulders. Dick was always one to keep his promises.
Damain returned to the desk with a stack of books. He eyed Dick determining if it was safe before setting down his collection.
Barabra understood the young boy’s hesitancy, though wondered why he even thought that Dick would make fun of him for whatever he chose to read. In any fashion, she was careful to scan the books out of Dick’s line of view for Damian’s sake.
“Are you going to read all of those before school starts?” Dick asked a scowling Damian.
“I am going to attempt to.”
“Excited for school to start?” Barabra questioned as she handed the books back to the boy.
She thought Damian was going to burn permanent frown lines into his face like his father if he continued on with the sour look.
“My schoolmates get distracted far too easily, and the lessons tend to drag out. I would prefer it if Pennyworth tutored me again, but father said that he is far too busy for that.”
Barabra would take that as a strong no.
“Bruce wants him to socialize,” Dick interjected.
Damian huffed. “I do not think it’s necessary.”
“You might make a friend, never know.” The boy didn’t respond, probably thinking she was wrong. “Well let me know if you find anything out. I can’t be on comms tonight, so Tim is stepping in.”
“Will do,” Dick jumped over the counter and opened up a tote back for Damian to drop all his books in before putting it on his shoulder. “What’s got you occupied tonight?”
“Family dinner with my dad. He wanted to talk to me about something.” Barabra wheeled around the counter to follow them out.
Dick held the door open for Damian. “Tell Commissioner Gordon I say hi.”
She promised she would and bid them goodbye. Guilt always ate away at her when she couldn’t be on comms. If something happened, she would feel a responsibility, but tonight she had other familial duties.
-----
If there was one thing Amberly was good at it was avoiding confrontation. Pepper suggested an outfit, Amberly would wear it no questions asked. Tony wanted Amberly to step into the limelight as another living Stark, easy peasy. Tony was too busy working on something with Peter to answer her question, it was fine. There were plenty of other people around the tower to ask. She was grateful to be accepted into the family and wanted to make the transition smooth for everyone.
Now being faced with a man in a mask pointing a gun at her, Amberly didn’t know how to deal with that. It wasn’t like it was the type of situation she could ignore and hope for the best.
“Give me your wallet,” the guy ordered.
She couldn’t blame him really. Her tailored jacket and pants did make her look like a good target for robbery.
“I’m sorry I don’t have anything on me.” Amberly turned her coat pockets inside out to show him.
“Hand me your jewelry then.” He gestured around with the weapon, making her uncomfortable.
Now Amberly would have given him whatever, but she had no jewelry on her besides her broken watch. She was starting to wonder if there was anything she could do right.
“Listen here little lady.” The guy grabbed her by her bad arm and twisted it. “If you don’t have anything to give me then maybe I’ll just need to kidnap you and hold ya for ransom.”
On a normal day that would work too, but if she couldn’t get in contact with her family, she doubted this common criminal would have much more luck.
“Again, I’m really sorry, but I don’t know who you would call about that. Everyone I know is unreachable at the moment.”
The man pulled his hand with the gun back and swung. Amberly anticipated his hit and ducked. He must have had a loose hold on her arm too because she freed herself from his grasp in the same movement.
“You did it now bitch.”
He pointed his gun at her again. Amberly quickly kicked his feet out from under him. The gun fell out of his hands, and Amberly snatched it from the ground to throw it away before running.
“If I see ya again, you’re dead,” he shouted chasing her.
Amberly ran taking random turns until she lost the man.
This was most definitely the worst day of her life.
Adrenaline continued to pump through her body, keeping her on edge. She wanted to think anything besides how dumb it was that her first instinct was to fight instead of flee for once.
“What was that?” she asked herself, trying to shake the feeling of unease from her body. The hairs on her arms stood up, waiting for another attack that never came.
The sky above Amberly was growing dark, and soon nighttime would roll in. She needed to find somewhere to lay low until she could come up with a plan. If only the librarian hadn’t had such a keen eye. It would have been a great place to hide out.
“What would Peter or Tony do?” They would find shelter, whatever that looked like.
She stepped back, pressing herself flat against the wall of a building. Her fingers dug into the crevasses between the stacked red bricks. Pieces of red and gray dust flickered beneath her touch. A handprint was permanently indented when she pulled back.
It was a brittle wall, Amberly decided.
She decided to continue to walk on, the feeling of unease only continuing to grow. Streetlights that had been as common as two to a block, disappeared altogether, and a neighborhood she encountered was nothing more than some homes falling apart with all their windows boarded up.
Eventually she came across an abandoned gym. The once neon sign that lit the front now hung crooked over the front door. A voice inside her head was nagging at her, telling her it was safe inside. Amberly was all for trusting her instincts, but they had never screamed so loud at her since landing in Gotham.
Taking a moment, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She let herself feel out the landscape, no one seemed to be around and she couldn’t hear anything coming from inside the building. An old tree nearby would be easy enough to climb where a window about ten feet off the ground would grant her access inside.
It took a bit of maneuvering with her injured arm, but she was able to pull herself up the tree. Amberly scooted to the end of one of the branches and made a jump. She caught herself on the window ledge. From there Amberly threw on of her legs over and scurried inside.
Her wrist was pulsing with pain by the time she stood up inside what looked like used to be an office. She would need to find something to wrap it with.
Amberly took stalk of the room. A desk sat in the center that she just wanted to crawl under and sleep for a century. When she woke up she could work on getting the supplies she needed to take care of her injures and figure out a way to contact Tony.